The Spirit of Bhagavad Gita – One must accept Bhagavad Gita, as it is, as Lord Krishna spoke to Arjuna – no addition or no deletion to His instructions. As Srila Prabhupada says in the Introduction: The spirit of Bhagavad-gītā is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā itself. It is just like this: If we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the directions written on the label. We cannot take the medicine according to our own whim or the direction of a friend. It must be taken according to the directions on the label or the directions given by a physician.
Similarly, Bhagavad-gītā should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the speaker Himself. Ultimately Lord Krishna will reveal this knowledge to us if we sincerely surrender unto Him. He is there within our hearts and He will reveal this knowledge as we hear from the bonafide spiritual master.
Srila Prabhupada is against the idea of using selected verses from Bhagavad Gita to put forth one’s misdirected ideas. There are 700 verses in Bhagavad Gita and one must accept all the verses, just like as per your medical prescription you have to accept all medicines -you cannot reject one and accept another. There are 3 Spirits of Bhagavad Gita-
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Spirit 1: Lord Krishna is the Absolute Truth
Sri Krishna is the Absolute Truth and He is the speaker of Bhagavad Gita. Thus the message of Bhagavad Gita is Absolute – not subject to any interpretation. Vyasadeva is merely the compiler. You will see in Bhagavad Gita whenever Krishna speaks, Vyasadeva didn’t write Sri Krishna uvaca, rather he writes this as Sri Bhagavan uvaca. Everybody knows that Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita then why did he write “Sri Bhagavan uvaca”?
Because he anticipated that a time will come in future when people will ascribe Lord Krishna as a mere human being. Such understanding would minimize the Absolute position of Bhagavad Gita. Therefore to prevent such abuse of this great literature, Srila Vyasadev wisely preserves Lord Krishna’s supreme position. Krishna is God Himself. That’s why Bhagavad Gita is very enduring. It is God’s instructions for humanity.
Not only the great Vyasadeva ascertains Lord Krishna to be the Absolute Truth, all great acharyas(spiritual authorities) such as Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Nimbarka swami, Vishnu swami, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also confirm this truth. In all Vedic literatures, this truth that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been established by great spiritual authorities like Srila Narada, Bhishma deva, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Sage Kapila, Prahlada, Janaka, Sukadeva Goswami, Manu, Four Kumaras, Bali Maharaja,and Yamaraja.
Spirit 2: Becoming a right thinker
A right thinker can churn the nectar from Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita makes a person think. A person who always acts from a neutral position is a right thinker. Lord Krishna defines such a right thinker in Bhagavad Gita 2.58 as:
yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ
kūrmo ’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas
tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
Lord Krishna further distinguishes right thinkers from those who are very ordinary in Bhagavad Gita 2.69 as:
yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ
tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni
sā niśā paśyato muneḥ
Translation: “What is night for all beings is the time for awakening for the self-controlled, and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.”[BG 2.69]
Although Bhagavad Gita is literature for those who can think, anybody who starts taking interest in Bhagavad Gita starts thinking. This is the underlying sublime principle by which Bhagavad Gita works. Isn’t it a wonderful thing? That is the sublime aspect of Bhagavad Gita. Anybody who will take shelter of Bhagavad Gita, he will become a right thinker. A person who always acts from a neutral position is a right thinker. He is not biased by his selfish mentality, he is not biased by other’s selfish mentality, he is not biased by his own name and fame, and he is not biased by anything.
The moment you are biased, you cannot become a right thinker. That’s why the yogis of India leave everything – family, home and fame – and enter the caves of Himalayas or take shelter in holy places. There they perform severe austerities and spiritual practices to gain neutrality. Neutral position means neither you have any hatred nor you are partial to anyone. You are able to see everyone as God’s dear child.
Spirit 3: Building a Relationship with the Lord
Besides being a right thinker, one must be a friend and devotee of Lord Krishna. He should have simple faith in Lord Krishna’s instructions. As Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 4.3:
sa evāyaḿ mayā te ‘dya
yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ
bhakto ‘si me sakhā ceti
rahasyaḿ hy etad uttamam
Translation: “That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.”[BG 4.3]
