श्री गुरुभ्यों नमः Salutations to Sri Adi Sankara. May I be always guided by divine grace. I seek inspiration from Gayatri mata and let the Mother guide me ever on the path of pure intellect and unbounded kindness. May She keep me free from silly arguments and vapid senseless logic. Rationality without compassion is like a sharp sword, leaving only gaping wounds and bitterness. I’ve looked at the Telugu (poetic) translation of Bhagavad-Gita by Dr. P. V. Satyanarayana Rao; the physician had translated the Sanskrit original Gita with utmost care – all the prose and poetical dialogues in toto while suffering from an incurable ailment during his last years.
32. Whether they are born of sin
Whether they are women, Vaisya, or Sudras
Whoever they be
When they seek (refuge in) me
They all obtain moksha
33. If that is so, what to
Talk about the pious, the Brahmins,
The devout Kings and rishis?
Though you’re born in this transient unhappy world
You too can obtain moksha by praying to me
“कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ” Let us first annihilate the idea of “body” with a particular individual. Once we are totally shorn of our “physical and biological individuality”, now we can concentrate on the essence of these two stanzas. At least for once let us traverse beyond the rut of limited understanding and cross the morass of doubts, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Two issues confront and baffle the modern skeptical (“rational”, doubting Thomas!) reader: a) Rebirth and its associated ‘karma’ phenomena. b) The “varna-asrama” system of Sanatana Dharma and the earlier Hindu societies. Sri Trilinga Swamy (I am fortunate to be born in the same Telugu community) kindly answered all the questions related to rebirth; he, in his inimitable gentle demeanor removed all the pestering confusion of his last disciple, Sri Umacharan. One has to patiently read the biography and pearls of advice of Sri Trilinga Swamy. His writings are readily available to Hindi, Bengali, and Telugu aspirants. Other venerable gurus also must have commented on the irrefutable (rather inscrutable) ‘rebirth’. Looked upon with an unbiased pure intelligence, rebirth appears as the most efficient instrument of the Lord (Eswara): Eswara does not have to keep on generating infinite sets of creatures like a potter – the inviolable ‘karma’ (coupled with the sakti) will keep on producing endless versions of living entities strictly according to their preferences and past deeds. Some times we may not like the outcome (ex: Yama born as Vidura) but it is best to obey, learn, and submit to the eternal dharma.
Regarding the varna-asrama, the reader can gain a better appreciation if she refers to the writings of Sister Nivedita, Sri Kanchi Paramacharya (see Hindu Dharma), and other scholars. Spread over numerous millennia many societies developed their own distinct cultures, traditions, and faith (variants of very diverse Dharma). The modern individual (encumbered with his own biases and idiosyncrasies) viewing through a narrow slit of time (at best few decades) tries to understand the ancestors, the learned rishis, and their thinking. I would not go into this subject (i.e., varna) here, as it will take us astray. But if I may, point out one important aspect of life. In the US (perhaps it is occurring now in contemporary India too), parents often exhort their children thus: “Yes, you can do anything you put your mind to.” But as we mature in life we come to face the harsh truth. Not everybody can sing as sweetly as Lata Mangeshkar or P. Susheela, even if you practice for decades under the best music teacher. Some can easily understand the Pythagoras theorem and even prove it readily on a paper napkin. But many will never get the essence of geometry, a theorem, or a rider – even if they spend their entire lives and monies. Similarly some may never learn to love water sports and enjoy swimming without fear. So, we should banish the thought that “all are equal in all aspects and everyone can excel at any (every) activity.”
[Of course miracles do happen some times to save the Sadhaka, to extricate the individual from a sticky predicament! But we must make ourselves noble, deserving for a miracle to intervene.] In the puranas sage Viswamitra, a born Kshatriya (a great rishi who bestowed us Gayatri mantra!) spent many years to become a Brahma-rishi with many pitfalls, sometimes hurting others on the way. Perhaps our ancestors knew a thing or two about human heredity, innate talent, and predisposition towards to certain abilities. Every society has certain divisions or stratifications; high and low is prevalent across the world. Except in the movie Roman Holiday, the royals do not dine with the commoner normally.
The reader need not get hung up on the phrase, “yoni”. In the larger universe and in the vast gamut of creation, we see a mix of sexual and asexual propagation. The gardener (or a scientist like Gregory Mendel) comes across the beauty of creation on the pumpkin vine, hibiscus, rose, or jasmine bush. Only in the last half a century we have begun to appreciate and understand human genetics; we are close to witnessing some progress in the area of “stem cell” for human species now, but the phenomena has been around in the plant species for centuries or even longer. The serious Sadhaka may simply consider all such matters as part of “the holy act of creation” and leave it to the Mother. The maya, the energy, and the birth phenomena belong to Her. She decides how a great sage like Veda-Vyasa is born or how a great poet-dramatist like Kalidasa comes on the stage or how a musical composer like Annamayya strings floral garlands of thousands of melodious songs effortlessly. It is part of Her play in the ever-expanding (increasing entropy!) outward world – an elegant expression of the indescribable Brahman. (To be continued) Copyright by the author 2019
