As the Gita contains subtle and profound teachings, you should study it under a qualified
teacher, one who is established in the Absolute. Only when studied with great and intense faith,
single-minded devotion and purity, will the truths contained therein be revealed unto you like a fruit
on the palm of your hand. Good commentaries written by realized sages will also be of immense
help to you.
Worldly-minded individuals, however intellectual they may be, cannot grasp the essential
teachings of the Gita. They enter into unnecessary discussions and useless debates. They cavil and
carp at the teachings. Such ignorant people say: “There is no intimate connection between the
verses. They are thrown in a disorderly manner. There is a great deal of repetition.” If they study the
book with reverence and faith under a qualified teacher all their doubts would vanish. They will
realize that there is a close connection between the verses in all the chapters. Repetitions in the Gita
and the Upanishads are useful repetitions. They are best calculated to create a deep and indelible
impression in the mind of the aspirant.
Lord Krishna speaks from different levels of consciousness. In the Gita the word
“Avyaktam” sometimes refers to primordial Nature and sometimes to the Absolute Para Brahman
also. Therefore, the help of a teacher is necessary if you wish to know the right significance of the
verses.
In the Kathopanishad the term “brick” is used to denote the gods. In the Hatha Yogic texts it
is stated: “At the junction of the rivers Yamuna and Ganga there is a young virgin”. The esoteric
meaning of this is that there is the Sushumna Nadi between the Ida and the Pingala. So, without the
help of a Guru, you will not be able to understand the proper meaning of the verses of the Gita. You
will be like the man who brought a horse to one who asked for saindava while taking food. The
word saindava means salt as well as horse!
Essence of the Gita
The Gita again and again emphasis’s that one should cultivate an attitude of non-attachment
or detachment. It urges repeatedly that an individual should live in the world like water on a lotus
leaf. “He who does actions, offering them to Brahman and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by
sin as a lotus leaf by water”—V.10.
Attachment is due to infatuation. It is the offspring of the quality of Rajas. Detachment is
born of Sattwa. The former is a demoniacal attribute, the latter a divine one. Attachment is born of
ignorance, selfishness and passion and brings with it death; detachment is wisdom and brings with
it freedom. The practice of detachment is a rigorous discipline. You may stumble like a baby who is
just learning to walk, but you will have to rise up again with a cheerful heart. Failures are not
stumbling-blocks but steppingstones to success.
Try to dwell always in your own Self. Abide in your centre. Think of the Self constantly.
Then all attachments will die automatically. Attachment to the Lord is a potent antidote to
annihilate all worldly attachments. He who has no attachments can really love others, for his love is
pure and divine. “Therefore, without attachment do thou always perform action which should be
done; for, by performing action without attachment man reaches the Supreme”
