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Bhagawat Gita shows the way for the attitude to life and desirable goal of life

By NS Venkataraman* 

When a mother delivers a human body, this body has no identity. Then, parents, relatives, friends consult each other and discuss the alternate appropriate names and arrive at a suitable name for this human body and this body is known and identified by this name.
This human body, which steadily grow just like animals, plants and others and after experiencing the pleasures and pains of worldly life alternately for several years, perish one day, for the body to be burnt or buried.
This body, bearing a name as it’s identity, comes in to the world and goes away from the world and the name that is the identity for the body also goes away along with the body. This is the scenario for several thousands of years that have gone by.

The question:

One question that does not seem to be still “convincingly explained” in a way that will appeal to the brain in the human body, is as to whether this human body only consists of flesh, bone and blood with well structured different design that make different human body behave and think differently at different times or, is there anything more to it? Is the purpose of human body in any way different from that of animals and other creatures?
The prevailing view and “logic” is that any object need a creator just like a pot needs a potter to be created and by this logic, there should be a Creator for the human body as well as other creatures also. Then, the inevitable question is as to where is the Creator and who is He? Why has He created the human body?
Millions of people for several thousands of years have been asking this question.

The answer:

In the last thousands of years, large number of scholars, intellectuals, philosophers and saints and out of the box thinkers have been trying to find an answer to this vexed question and several explanations have been advanced. Such explanations differ between one another leaving millions of individuals to remain confused and uncertain for thousands of years.
The laboured explanation is that an individual is not merely a human body but must be something beyond this.
When further explanation is demanded, the answer given by saints, philosophers etc. are that the purpose of human existence is beyond the capability of the human brain to understand and appreciate as to why this physical structure of human body is repeatedly happening?
The final consensus explanation after protracted debate over several centuries seem to be that the Creator is an entity beyond the capability of human brain to understand and it cannot be explained due to the limited capability of the human brain and the human body and therefore, let not anyone make even an attempt to” discover” this Creator. Let everyone simply accept that entity known as Creator is existing. This should be so, as according to human intelligence, “any object cannot be created without a Creator”.
Therefore, everyone is advised to assume and believe with faith that there is a Creator. Then, various techniques are suggested such as sustained meditation and prayers to identify the Creator. So many mythological stories reflect on the existence of Creator, with various case studies and narratives and examples.

The confusion:

Scientists now claim that they have made animals and creatures in the laboratory ( cloning) and claim that they can modify the behaviour of the laboratory created creatures in the way they want.
While the scientists would argue that a human body happens because of the chemical and biological reactions in the womb of the mother, still the scientists cannot explain beyond this phenomenon.
Further, there is lot of confusion due to the discussions and claims about miracles, fate, astrology, rebirth, heaven, hell and so on with none of them having any proof but again only assumptions and are the result of the figment of imagination and belief.
Non believers have now a field day, questioning every idea about the origin and end of life. But, they too do not have anything to explain convincingly but only focus on criticism and negativism. It is known that in the fag end of life when the death is imminent, several non believers have helplessly become believers and perhaps die with confused state of mind.
Now, where do we go from here?
To explain the behavior of the human mind, in Mahabharat, Yudhishtira told the Yaksha, when asked about the greatest wonder, that “everyday, people die but the rest live as if they are immortal”. This clearly shows that human mind and thought process about the content of the so called life have not changed at all from time immemorial.
While the uncertainty as to from where the life come and where it goes continue for thousands of years with conflicting advocacies and theories, Bhagwat Gita, Vedas and Upanishads lay down certain guidelines, that have stood the test of time.
Vedas proclaim that Supreme Brahma is beyond the human thought and the scriptures and simply declare that human spirit is eternal and not the flesh and not the material world. The body decays and dies and the body rises only to fall.
Bhagawat Gita too proclaims that everyone should be conscious of the Supreme Being in mind and thought throughout the life. Obviously, Bhagawat Gita insists that everyone should accept this Supreme Being readily and unquestioningly and there cannot be any compromise in this.
Bhagawat Gita shows the way for the attitude to life and desirable goal of life.
A verse in Bhagavad Gita enunciates the principle of Nishkam Karma as:
“Thou hast a right to action, but only to action, never to its fruits; let not the fruits of thy works be thy motive, neither let there be in thee any attachment in inactivity.”
Certainly, such concept as enunciated in Vedas and Bhagawat Gita would facilitate peace in thoughts and life style for human body.. Further, the practice of compassion, truthfulness and detachment as prescribed in Bhagawat Gita would represent the ideal way of life for the human body that comes and inevitably goes.
Finally, there seem to be no other alternative way of moving on in the world stage with the human body for an individual, other than to accept the idea about Supreme Brahma, even though that may be unacceptable to human brain due to lack of “ logic “.
For thousands of years in the past , no one has explained the process of life in any better way than what it has been done so far and what is likely to be done in future.
Considering thousands of years of experience that generations of human beings have gained, it is obvious that the best way of living is to believe in God, have faith in God and lead a truly honest life full of compassion and with absence of hate, as per the dictates of one’s conscience. Ofcourse,     this conscience may be the voice of Supreme Brahma.
Let not anyone question anymore. But, surrender to God as there is no other path known or available.
It would be peaceful for a person to breath his /her last as a believer rather than as a non believer, whatever may be the further direction of the way out.
---
*Trustee, Nandini voice for the Deprived, Chennai

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