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PHI 207: Introduction to Indian Philosophy
Everett/Waggle Section

Society and the Individual: The Bhagavad Gita

            What are my duties? How do the fundamental values of human life translate into my duties? What do I owe to others in my community? India produced a wide variety of texts that attempt to explain these related questions. We are going to spend some time addressing one of the more important texts to come out of this literature: The Bhagavad Gita. I think Koller does an adequate job presenting the philosophical threads found in the Gita, but his presentation is very compact. What I would like to do, with these notes, is to stress some of the more prevalent features of the Gita, and, as we progress through this set of readings, attempt to locate some of these concerns in the text.

            The key to understanding the Gita and its importance is the idea of synthesis. The Gita comes out of the literature from the Epic Period (approx. 400 - 200 BCE.) Two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata represent the flourishing of this type of literature. The Ramayana deals with the conflict of the Aryans with the natives of India and of the penetration of Aryan culture. The Mahabharata records the conflicts between two claimants tot he throne and, besides reflecting the culture of the age, the story is said to symbolize the struggle between the forces of good and evil. Though the events related in the epics belong to an earlier period, the composition of the epics belongs to the Epic Period, which has its origin in the 6^th century BCE. It should be remembered that while the Gita and these epics were being written, we have the challenge of Jainism, Chavaka, and Buddhism that orthodox Hinduism was competing with.

            Brahmanism in this period was readjusting itself to the needs of different communities which were being taken into the Aryan fold. Apart from the great work of synthesis attempted in the Gita, there were other developments that also attempted to synthesize the teachings and lesions from the Vedas and the Upanishads. The Mahabharata, which in a spirit of accommodation, admitted the beliefs and teachings of the various tribes, was interested in making itself a work attractive to all the people of India. This is important, because the Bhagavad Gita is a portion of this larger epic. The Mahabharata thus became a miscellany of history and mythology, politics and law, philosophy and theology. In all the variety there was a direction of unity, and the main principles of the Aryan culture were the formative motives. The authoritativeness of the Vedas was accepted. New gods were identified with Vedic deities. Shiva, Shakti, and Vishnu became prominent. Emphasis on the personal god with devotion (Bhakti) to him developede. Philosophical tendencies which later became systematized in the systems of philosophy (darshana) were suggested.

            In the Mahabharata we find the elaboration of the orthodox social code, with the four aims of life (purusharthas), namely, righteousness (Dharma), wealth (artha), worldly enjoyment (kama) and spiritual freedom (moksha); the four stages of life, the student (brahmacharya), the householder (garhasthya), the forest-dweller (vanaprastha), and the wandering ascetic (sannyasa); and the four castes, the priest-teacher (brahmin), the warrior (kshatriya), the trader (vaishya) and the worker (shudra).

            In the Code of Manu detailed instructions regarding the then social rules and practices are given. The metaphysical and cosmological speculations found in Manu are not of much importance since they are mentioned only to give the intellectual background of the social code. While in Manu’s system there is scope for some progress, the main emphasis is on the conservation of the social order. It glorified custom and convention at a time when they were being undermined. There are, however, flashes of great insight in this book.

             The Code of Manu is important in understanding the Gita. Remember, the key to understanding the Gita is that it is a work of synthesis. All of these concepts are coming together to produce a work that is often regarded as the Hindu “New Testament”. Lets’ turn to the Gita.

            The Bhagavad Gita is a religious classic rather than a philosophical treatise. It is set forth not as a metaphysical system thought out by an individual thinker or school of thinkers, but as a tradition which has emerged from the religious life of mankind. In the Gita one finds both metaphysical and ethical concerns, as well as brahmavidya and Yoga-Shastra: the science of reality and the art of union with reality.

            The Gita derives its main inspiration from the Upanishads and integrates into a comprehensive synthesis the different elements of the Vedic cult of sacrifice, the Upahishadic teaching of the absolute Brahman, the Bhagavata theism, the Samkhya dualism, and the Yoga meditation. It is part of the Mahabharata and its authorship is attributed to Vyasa.

            Let’s look at some of the concerns found in it. Metaphysics. The notion of metaphysics found in the Gita is a synthesis of the Upanishadic conception of Brahman as absolute reality, and points out that the impersonality of the absolute is not its whole significance. It develops the theistic side of the Upanishadic teaching by giving us a god who exceeds the infinite and the mere finite. In the Gita the supreme is at once the transcendental, the cosmic , and the individual reality. In its transcendental aspect the supreme is the pure self, unaffected by any action or experience, detached and unconcerned. In its dynamic aspect, it not only supports but also govern the whole cosmic action. The same supreme which is one in all and above all is present in the individual. A new innovation found in the Gita is the notion that there are three gunas or energy-matter threads: sattva, rajas, and tamas. These threads are the basis for all psycho-physical existence. These gunas constitute materiality, and connection to them obscures the goal of life, which is moksha. Hence, one of the mistakes Arjuna makes in the Gita is to fail to distinguish between his higher self (or Atman) and his lower self, or empirical self. Arjuna refuses to fight because of is connection to his empirical self, and this obscures the artha or non-attached work he must perform.

            The emphasis of the Gita is on the supreme as the personal god who creates the perceptible world by his nature (prakrti). He is responsible for the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe.

            The Gita is interested in the process of redeeming the world, and so this aspect of Vishnu is emphasized. Krishna represents the Vishnu aspect of the supreme. The Gita makes out that Krishna is an incarnation (avatarana) or descent of the Divine into the human frame. If the infinite god is manifested in finite existence throughout time, its special manifestation at one given moment and through the assumption of one single human nature by the divine person is ut the free fulfillment of that same movement by which the divine plenitude freely fulfills itself and inclines toward the finite. The theory of avatara is an eloquent expression of the law of the spiritual world. This notion that each of the manifestations of the divine is one aspect of the inexpressible whole reflects what Anthony was saying about the movement from polytheism to monotheism found in this early literature. This notion of avatars will continue to develop in Hinduism proper.

             The world of the Gita is the scene of an active struggle between good and evil in which god is deeply interested. He pours out all his wealth of love in helping man to resist all that makes for error, ugliness, and evil.

            Ethics in the Gita is a comprehensive treatise on Yoga-Shastra, a large, flexible, many-sided thing, which includes various phases of the self’s development and ascent into the divine. The different yogas are special applications of the inner discipline which leads to the liberation of the self and of union with god, may be attained by jñāna-yoga (the way of knowledge), bhakti-yoga (the way of devotion), or karma-yoga (the way of action). Knowledge, devotion, and work are complementary both when we seek the goal and after we attain it. We may climb the mountain from different paths but the view from the summit is identical for all.

            One final thing ought to be set out at this stage, and that has to do with the notion of the castes. One of the more important works from this period is the Laws or Code of Manu. In this work, the fourfold caste system through which social organization will be constituted in India. Each class or varna has a specific function and specific social opportunities. Varna divides all persons into four classes according to their fundamental characteristics. It is possible that initially varna referred to a system of social classification of persons according to their qualifications, tendencies, and dispositions. But lacking a system to classify persons according to their own natures, the varnas soon became hereditary, and determined by birth. Within each varna there are literally hundreds of castes or jatis, which are expected to provide its share of the required social functions. Indian tradition views moral duties as grounded in the very order of the universe. The universe is regarded as essentially moral. Everything happens according to a rule for the benefit of the whole. Each class of beings in the universe, by functioning according to their nature, contributes to the order and well-being of the whole.

            The following is a description of the four varnas and their basic characteristics.

1.         The brahmana varna is characterized by excellent intelligence and speech, consists of the priests and teachers, whose primary function is to maintain the cultural traditions. They are responsible for preserving knowledge and culture, performing rituals, and safeguarding morality.

2.         The kshatriya varna is characterized by strength, valor, and courage, consists of the protectors and administrators of society. They are the guardians of the rest of society, providing for their security, and enforcing the various rules required for the necessary social functions. According to the Gita, fiery energy, resolve, skill, refusal to retreat in battle, charity, and majesty in conduct are intrinsic to the action of a kshatriya.

3.         The vaishya varna is characterized by practical intelligence and initiative, and it consists of the traders and producers in society. Their chief function is to produce society’s economic goods. The Gita says that engagement in agriculture, raising cattle, and trading are the duties of vaishya, born of his own nature.

4.         The shudra varna is characterized by lower intelligence, lack of initiative and ability to take on huge burdens, consists of society’s workers and servants. According to the Gita, the dharma of a shudra, born of his own nature, is action consisting of service.

Although these castes were outlawed by India’s constitution, the notion of caste is still vital in the lives of the common and educated Indian.

For questions or comments, e-mail me at ljwaggl@ilstu.edu