One of the fondest memories of my grandfather is he asking me to recite the Bhagavad Gita when we visited him and Naniji during our summer holidays. He would smilingly listen to me struggling as a kid to read those amazing verses from the book most of which I hardly understood. It was only at a later stage in life that I developed the necessary mental capabilities to appreciate the Gita. And, perhaps that is the reason why I find the Gita to be one of the most fundamental thoughts on Art of Living and Life per se!
The Gita is so comprehensive and profound that one marvels at the deep intellect of the civilization which formulated it many thousands of years before the rest of the world could crawl out of the caves! One has to read it to grasp it and it is not complicated at all. The Gita talks in a very simple language to the humanity. The ideology is complete; the belief is universal. And a look at all other philosophies of the world makes one realize that every worldly thought stemmed out of the Gita itself – besides the other immensely intense scriptures on philosophy – and religion - which were incidentally penned down during the thriving era of the Indus Valley civilization and which was the foundation of the later period – now modern - Hinduism.
Therefore to call the Gita a militant book with mercenary motives and thus initiating its ban in Russia seemed hugely novice. Thanks to the timely action by the minister of external affairs and the wise intervention of the Russian prime minister that the bizarre move by one of the courts in the erstwhile USSR could be halted. (Coincidentally, the Indian minister is the Gita’s chief protagonist’s namesake – Krishna!) … Well, Thank you, Mr. Putin; it has saved your country from renouncing a knowledge treasure in absence of adequate exposure to the Gita.
This brings me to the fundamental of the issue: why is the world so ignorant about most of the things it possesses? Why in spite of the so-called shrinking of the planet earth and the boundaries becoming so-called irrelevant in today’s inter-connected world that we still seem to know almost nothing about anything belonging to the so-called “others”? Why has the world remained so myopic in views in spite of being inhabited by the more evolved of the species called the Homo sapiens?
In making humans more civilized gradually, one of the major contributions has been of the various world religions. (I am no proponent of any form of organized/structured religion; nevertheless I firmly believe in the oneness of the creator and It being at the helm of the Life.) And that is the reason why we see religion being at the core of evolution of all human civilizations since the beginning of the time. (I also appreciate the contrary: that the various religions were at the core of destruction of all human civilizations and continue to be the main reason for most of the deaths and defeats in today’s world.) One has to know the religion being followed by a particular human race to understand its behavior and beliefs. Moreover, knowledge of the numerous world religions opens one’s eyes and widens one’s mental horizons. Because then you realize that essentially all religions are the same with a similar central theme and therefore all humans are same. And that it is immensely foolish to fight over narrow ideologies like creed, caste, or colour. And the ways of the world look so absurdly limited that it makes you wonder if we can really qualify to label ourselves as “civilized” claiming to have broader views and basic intellect when compared to the lesser mortals i.e. animals.
Coming back to the principal issue of the proposed Gita ban throws some challenges to us Indians. In spite of Hinduism being the first of the evolved religions of the world, we Indians have not been able to take it to the world. It is high time India took progressive steps to make the world understand the nuances of this great religion. (I also accept its flawed interpretation and practice by many.) Once aware, no one would ever propagate banning and branding of the Gita as violent. (I actually feel like LOL!) Instead, in increasing fractured world, the knowledge of the Gita would show all humans the way to a real Life.
Here I also like to LOL at the fellow Indians. Because howsoever high ground we might have taken upon the news of the pending ban on the Gita and would have felt hurt and betrayed and would have laughed and wondered at the limited general knowledge of the related Russians in the case, we wouldn’t have looked withinwith the realization that we too hardly understand the Gita. In fact when it is discussed – and its verses get quoted routinely – I feel like cringing with horror at the lack of awareness amongst the Indians. Every body has his or her own interpretation of the text and most of them are absolutely faulty and twisted to suit one’s selfish interests. For most of the Indians the Gita is a “religious book” to be “worshipped” but not “practiced” as the former is sufficient to cleanse one of his or her sins. We are famous for meting out the same “revered” treatment to all other supremely authored ancient religious books – whether it is the Ramayana or the Mahabharata or the Upnishads or the Puranas or others. Same is the scene with people following other religions. (And seeing people behave in all other parts of the world as well in the name of religion, I am sure the same is being practiced elsewhere also.)
WOW! Then why blame the Russians alone? They are yet to read the Gita and understand the idea. And that is the reason why I wish all the ignorants of the world – including the Indians and the Russians – had met my grandfather …
Happy reading the Gita J
