The Greatness of The Gita
Truly speaking, none has power to describe in words the glory of the Gita', for it is a book containing the highest esoteric doctrines. It is the essence of the Vedas; its language is so sweet and simple that man can easily understand it after a little practice; but the thoughts are so deep that none can an'ive at their end even after constant study throughout a lifetime. Everyday they exhibit new facets of Truth, therefore they remain ever fresh and new. When scrutinized with a concentrated mind, possessed of faith and reverence, every verse of the Gita‘ will clearly appear as full of the deepest mystery. The manner in which the Gita' describes the virtues, glory and secrets of God, is hardly found in any other scripture; for in other books, the teachings are generally mixed up, more or less, with worldly subjects; but the Gita' uttered by the Lord is such an incomparable book that not a word will be found in it which IS devond of some spiritual import That is why Sn Vedavyasa after describing the Gita 1n the Mahabharata said m the end :-
The Gita" should be carefully studied, i.e., after reading the text, its meaning and idea should be gathered and held in the mind. It emanated from the lotus-like lips of Bhagavan Visnu Himself, from whose navel sprung the lotus. What is the use Of studying the other elaborate scriptures? Moreover, the Lord Himself also described its glory at the end of the Gita (Vide Chapter XVIII verses 68 to 71).
All men, irrespective of Varna and ASrama, possess the right to study the Gita; the only qualifications needed are faith and reverence, for it is God’s injunction to propagate the Gita only among His devotees, and He further said that women, Vaisyas, Sudras and even men born of sinful wombs can attain the supreme state of salvation, if they cultivate devotion to Him. And through worship of Him by the performance of their own nature-born duties, men can attain perfection (Chapter XVIII verse 46). Reerction on these verses make it clear that all men have equal right to God-realization.
But owing to lack of understanding of the truth behind this subject, many persons who have only heard the name of the Gita, make this assertion that the book is intended only for monks and ascetics, and they refrain from placing the book for study before their children out of fear lest through knowledge of the Gita the latter renounce their hearths and homes and turn ascetics themselves. But they should consider the fact that Arjuna, who had, due to infatuation. prepared himself to turn away from the duty of a Ksatriya and live on alms, being influenced by the most secret and mysterious teachings of the Gita, lived the life of a householder all his life and performed his duties; how can that very (ma produce this diametrically opposite result?
Therefore, men who desire their own welfare should give up this delusion and with utmost faith and reverence induce their children to study the Gita understanding the meaning and the underlying idea of every verse, and while studying and reflecting on it themselves, should, according to the injunction of the Lord, earnestly take to spiritual practice. For obtaining this most valuable human body, it is improper to waste even a single moment of one’s time in indulging in transient enjoyments, the roots of sorrow.
