In the Part 1 of this series, I had given quotes on Gita from scholars around the world, and in Part 2, I had elaborated the backstory that lead to the Bhagavad Gita, the song of God. If you have not read those already, I would request you to read those first before continuing this post.
In this part of the series, we will look at three basic Sanskrit terms and their meaning. These three terms Yoga, Karma and Dharma are Sanskrit terms, are foundational to understanding the Bhagavad Gita. Typically, these terms are translated as Union, action and righteousness in English, but I feel without proper elaboration of these terms, their real meaning is misunderstood- and if we miss the true meaning of any of these three words, then we lose the true meaning on the entire Bhagavad Gita. so let me try to explain these terms clearly before I foray into Gita itself.
Yoga
The word Yoga and Yolk in English came from the same source "Yuj". In Sanskrit, this means to unite or tie together. It does not mean the physical forms like the "downward facing dog" etc.
Understanding Yoga is central to understanding of Gita. Each of the eighteen chapters are titled as a yoga as follows:
Chapter | Name of Chapter | Total Verses |
1 | 47 | |
2 | 72 | |
3 | 43 | |
4 | 42 | |
5 | 29 | |
6 | Atma-Samyama Yoga (Dhyana Yoga) | 47 |
7 | 30 | |
8 | 28 | |
9 | Raja-Vidya-Raja-Guhya Yoga | 34 |
10 | Vibhuti Yoga | 42 |
11 | Vishwarupa-Darsana Yoga | 55 |
12 | 20 | |
13 | Ksetra-Ksetrajna-Vibhaga Yoga | 34 |
14 | Gunatraya-Vibhaga Yoga | 27 |
15 | Purushottama Yoga | 20 |
16 | Daivasura-Sampad-Vibhaga Yoga | 24 |
17 | Shraddha-Traya-Vibhaga Yoga | 28 |
18 | Moksha-Sanyasa Yoga | 78 |
Total | 700 |
We will look at English meanings of the chapter names when we see each of the chapters for now, lets elaborate the meaning of Yoga.
Lets take an example. we have many automobile spares like engine, transmission, brake, ignition etc. Each of these parts perform a particular function, like the engine converts heat to mechanical energy, the transmission passes on the mechanical energy from the engine to wheels etc. But none of this is useful alone. All these parts need to be integrated to form an automobile whose function or utility is great, even greater than the sum of its parts.
Similarly, as humans we too have a lot of facilities, like body, mind and spirit. As long as these conflict with one another, there is no use. To be useful, each of these constituents should be united together as one whole. Then only one can be a holistic human being. That which helps to achieve this union is called Yoga.
Please note that, this allegory can be extended as well, When all human beings unite as one avoiding our conflicts, we can create a cohesive nation, cohesive world and even a cohesive universe. This is the notion of Yoga.
In the next post, we will look at the meaning of Karma.