Afraid to read the Gita

Why are we afraid of reading the Gita? Our mind flashes pictures of Swami Chinmayananda with his long flowing beard and commanding tone speaking of the Gita. It also flashes pictures of many other swamis in saffron robes and shaven head, speaking in a plaintive tone, talking of the futility of the worldly pursuits. An overall situation emerges in the mind in which the very word Gita brings the picture of a swami in saffron robes.

But swamis guided the society with great clarity even on social issues. For this reason, we all admire Vivekananda. But as it is often said no one wants his son to be Vivekananda. There lies the problem. We do not even want to be at least a fraction of Vivekananda. If a young man reads the Gita, the wife may suspect that he might ignore his family duties. (This may happen the other way too). We see many parents afraid of introducing the Gita to the child due to fear that the child may become a recluse, non-achiever or too good a person to survive in the harsh world.

Krishna says (in the beginning of Chapter 4) that he, as the creator, had first given the knowledge to the Sun god, who in turn taught his son King Manu (that is where the solar dynasty begins). Manu taught Ikshwaku, another king of krita yuga and from then on, a long line of kings had this knowledge. Krishna uses the word rajarshi, which means, 'a philosopher king' while referring to the kings.

Why was it told to kings? So that rulers would not be self-seeking persons, so that they would not be mere ruthless conquerors, so that they would be judicious rulers taking care of people like parents. The Gita is said to summarize the vision of Vedas. It does not merely talk of rituals but tells us to go beyond rituals and try to know the Supreme Reality. Reality is what transcends all narrow identities, prejudices which plague the mind. It tells how one has to handle trying circumstances with an evenness of mind and self-control by analyzing any problem on a bigger canvas. Success depends on the right analysis of the problem and the right strategy to tackle it. That is what the Gita teaches a person.

The Gita is concerned not only with the individual's success but with the success of the whole society. This is assured when the individual performs his duty with the right vision. That concern for all becomes spirituality.