Abstract
The Bhagavad Gı̄tā literally means the “Song of the Supreme Being.” This opening chapter introduces the Bhagavad Gı̄tā as a timeless manual for Self-mastery and leadership. After briefly recounting the author’s preparation for this book, it offers pointers on how to approach the teachings of the Gı̄tā. It lays out the setting by providing an overview of the subject matter of the Gı̄tā and its relevance for contemporary leaders and organizations. Additionally, it provides a synoptic overview of all the chapters of this book. Each chapter of the book is presented integrally as an independent whole, and yet the teachings of the Gı̄tā are unfolded in a progressive manner.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For distinctiveness, and in order to retain some flavor of the original, the book will present Sanskrit terms and phrases in transliteration, using diacritics according to the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) convention, with characters encoded in Unicode. For example, a small bar drawn over a word (ā) indicates elongated sound: as “a” in the word “park.” At the beginning of the book, a pronunciation key has been included for easy reference. The Gītā is comprised of 18 chapters comprising a total of 700 verses. They are referenced in the chapter/verse order format. For example, 2.11 refers to 11th verse of the second chapter—presented parenthetically either as (2.11) or (BG 2.11).
- 2.
“Self” is capitalized throughout this book to denote our highest Self, Ātman, our “true” or “essential” nature. Accordingly, “Self-knowledge” denotes knowledge of our “true” nature—as Pure Awareness or Consciousness. Used as lower case, “self” denotes the “ego,” or “psychosomatic apparatus” or “personality” that we generally take ourselves to be. Perhaps the most often used word in the English language is “I.” We rarely pause to consider what this “I” really means. For the most part, we take it to mean our “ego” or the “me-notion.” Self-knowledge is a journey from the pseudo “me” to the real “I.” As we shall see in the next chapter, the central theme of the Gītā is spiritual freedom through Self-knowledge (ātma-jñāna) or the knowledge of the Absolute Truth or Reality (tattva-jñāna). Throughout the book, the words “Self” and “Reality” are used interchangeably, for the truth of our being (Ātman) and the truth of the universe (Brahman) are essentially one. This understanding of the essential oneness of the individual and the universal—called the Truth of truth (satyasya satyam), what is really Real—is the harbinger all individual happiness and social harmony.
- 3.
It is with much sadness that I write that my revered guide and teacher suddenly left his mortal coil for his heavenly abode on November 3, 2015, at around 4.30 am, when he was about to take up morning classes. He was an accomplished scholar of Advaita who believed in maintaining the pristine purity of the Vedic tradition. His knowledge was deep; his devotion to his Guru was deeper. By way of tribute and a kind reminder, one member of the Advaitin Yahoo group shared a poem by William Cowper (1731–1800): sunderh@yahoo.com [advaitin].
Verse
Verse God Moves in Mysterious Ways! God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs, And works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain.
- 4.
Satinder Dhiman, trans., Kripāmayi Bhagavad Gītā: The Benedictory Gītā (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Prakāshan, 2014). Download e-book version at: http://Gītāprakashan.com/englishbook/1.pdf
Satinder Dhiman, trans., Sahaja-Gītā: The Essential Gītā—Simplified (Gorakhpur, India: Gītā Prakāshan, 2013). Download e-book version at: http://gitaprakashan.com/englishbook/3.pdf
- 5.
Pranipata Chaitanya, trans., and Satinder Dhiman, revised and edited with notes and an Introduction. Śri Śaṅkara’s Vivekachudamani: Devanāgari Text, Transliteration, Word-for-Word Meaning, and a Lucid English Translation. (Burbank, CA: House of Metta, 2012). http://www.lulu.com/shop/pranipata-chaitanya-and-satinder-dhiman/sri-sankaras-vivekachudamani/paperback/product-20465360.html
- 6.
S. Dhiman, Bhagavad Gītā & the art of leadership: Old text, new context! The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 2015, 8 (1), 7.
S. Dhiman, The ethical and spiritual philosophy of the Bhagavad Gītā: A Survey. Interbeing: The Journal of Personal and Professional Excellence, 2013, 6 (1), 19–39.
S. Dhiman, The universal message of the Bhagavad Gītā. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 2013, 8 (1), 37–48.
- 7.
The philosophy of Advaita Vedānta is crest jewel of Indian spiritual wisdom and deals with the knowledge and realization of Ultimate Reality that is One, without a second. Please see Chapter 4, entitled “Advaita Vedānta: The Science of Reality.”
- 8.
Satinder Dhiman, trans., Sahaja-Gītā: The Essential Gītā, 12–13.
- 9.
Ibid., 13.
- 10.
See: Mahatma Gandhi & John Strohmeier (Ed.), The Bhagavad Gītā According to Gandhi (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2009), 16.
- 11.
Huston Smith, Foreword. In Winthrop Sargeant, trans., Bhagavad Gītā, the 25th anniversary edition (New York, NY: New York State University Press), x.
- 12.
Right Mindfulness is the seventh of the eight path factors in the Noble Eightfold Path, and belongs to the concentration division of the path. See: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-sati/index.html
- 13.
The Gītā tells us that although the Supreme Lord of universe has nothing to attain personally in all the three worlds, still, the Lord keeps on performing the duties for the benefit of all (3.22). Even so, those in power should model their behavior since majority of people follow whatsoever an important person does (3.21). What an object lesson for the leaders to follow!
- 14.
To study the Gītā is to study yourself—the real “YOU,” with “Y” capital, “O” capital, and “U” capital, as my present Vedānta teacher is wont to say.
- 15.
In the Gītā’s view, the wise, paṇḍitāḥ, are those who know the true nature of the Self—as immortal, who have clear discernment regarding what is real and unreal; that is, those who display viveka-vati-buddhi or kuśāgra-buddhi.
- 16.
See: BG 2.16: नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: The unreal never is; the Real never ceases to be.
A.R. Orage, the great British philosopher and critic, was a great admirer of Indian wisdom. He is reported to have requested that this half-verse should be inscribed on his gravestone. He considered this verse the highest expression of perennial philosophy, philosophia perennis. Orage, whom George Bernard Shaw once called the “the most brilliant English editor and critic of last 100 years,” studied the Mahābhārata concertedly for 15 years. He believed that it embodied absolute truths emanating from the Objective and Universal Consciousness. See: Philip Mairet, A.R Orgage: A Memoir (New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1966), 121. Also see: Wallace Martin, The New Age under Orage: Chapters in English Cultural History (New York, NY: Manchester University Press, 1967).
- 17.
Īśa Upaniṣad declares: What sorrow or delusion for the one who is established in universal Oneness? तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः ॥ ७ ॥ tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvamanupaśyataḥ //7//.
- 18.
What can be favorable or unfavorable for the wise? The wise welcome all situations and experiences as opportunities for self-learning and growth.
- 19.
Verse 14.3 of Pañcadaśi, a philosophical sub-text of Vedānta, declares, “A Self-realized person is ever-blissful on four counts—absence of sorrow (duḥkhābhāvaś ), the fulfillment of all desires (kāmāptiḥ), the satisfaction of having done all that was to be done (kṛtya-kṛtyo) and the satisfaction of having achieved all that was to be achieved (prāpta-prāpyo).” See: H.P. Shastri, trans, Panchadashi: A Treatise on Advaita Metaphysics by Swami Vidyaranya (London: Shanti Sadan, 1982, reprint edition), 448.
- 20.
See also BG 6.22:Verse
Verse yaṃ labdhvā cāparaṃ lābhaṃ manyate nādhikaṃ tataḥ / yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate //
Having attained which, one does not reckon any gain greater than that, and established in which one is not affected by even a great sorrow.
- 21.
Digha Nikāya II. 156. Cited in Roberto Calasso, Kā: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), 396.
- 22.
Retrieved June 10, 2017: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-great-quotes-of-Aristotle
- 23.
Throughout the book, the masculine pronoun is used in its universal sense to reflect both the genders. The teachings of the Gītā are gender-neutral and are universally applicable.
- 24.
The verses of the Gītā are referenced in the chapter, verse format: 18.67 denotes chapter 18, verse 67. All translations are the author’s unless otherwise stated.
- 25.
Alladi Mahadeva Sastry, trans., The Bhagavad Gītā with the commentary of Sri Shankaracharya, 497.
- 26.
सर्वेषु कालेषु माम् अनुस्मर युध्य च: sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca (8.7).
- 27.
This captures the essence of all three paths, yogas : jñānayoga , karmayoga , and bhaktiyoga —the paths of knowledge, selfless action, and devotion. In short, jñāna culminating in bhakti: Self-knowledge culminating in surrender to the Divine within. When this occurs, niṣkāma karma, selfless action, happens on its own accord.
These yogas, paths/disciplines, and their application to life and leadership, is the subject matter of this book.
- 28.
Swami Nikhilananda, ed. and trans., The Upanishads: A One Volume Abridgement (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1964), 71. [Slightly revised].
- 29.
The Mahabharata: SECTION XVI (Anugita Parva)—Book 14: Aswamedha Parva (Adapted and emphasis added). See: The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. Retrieved June 24: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m14/m14016.htm
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dhiman, S. (2019). Prolegomena: The Bhagavad Gītā: A Timeless Manual for Self-Mastery and Leadership. In: Bhagavad Gītā and Leadership. Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67573-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67573-2_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67572-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67573-2
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)