THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 09
RAJAVIDYA RAJAGUHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE AND SOVEREIGN SECRET:
VERSE NUMBER 32
Text in Transliteration:
mam hi paartha vyapaasritya ye ‘pi syuh ;aa;ayonayah
striyo vaisyaas tathaa soodraas te ‘pi yaanti paraam gatim
Sanskrit words and phrases and their meaning:
Maam = me; hi = indeed; paartha = O Partha (Prita or O son of Kunti); vyapaasritya = taking refuge in; ye = who; api = even; syuh: = may be; paapayonayah: = of mediocre birth; striyah: = women; vaisyaah; = Vaisyas; tathaa = also; soodraah: = Sudras; te = they; api = also; yaanti = attain; paraam = the supreme; gatim = goal.
Text in English:
For those who take refuge in Me, O Partha, though they be of inferior birth—women, Vaisyas and Sudras—even they attain the Supreme Goal.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Papa yoni ought not to be misconstrued as sinful birth or wicked birth. It simply means imperfect birth, quite common in Nature. It may be found that in all species the feminine body is less perfect and less majestic than the masculine. And in the human, the mind is more important than the physique. Women as a class are less developed in mind than men, though exceptions may be found. They only are classified as Vaisyas and Sudras who are not fully developed in mind. The inferior birth, therefore, is a statement of fact. Even the mediocre mentioned herein are competent to reach Godhood. No human being is debarred from this birthright.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
When there is a hurricane, it is not possible to distinguish one tree from another. Similarly when there is the hurricane of bhakti in the mind, distinctions such as sex, cast, colour and race vanish of their own accord.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
The message of the Gita is open to all without distinction of race, sex or caste. This verse is not to be regarded as supporting the social customs debarring women and Sudras from Vedic study. It refers to the view prevalent at the time of the composition of the Gita. The Gita does not sanction these social rules.(Note:1) The Gita gets beyond racial distinctions in its emphasis on spiritual values. Its gospel of love is open to all men and women, persons of all castes as well as those outside caste. (Note:2)
Note:1
In the early times, there was the tendency to look upon the non-Hindus as barbarians, though this attitude of superiority was not confined to the Hindus. The ancient Greeks looked upon foreigners as barbarians. The Roman general, Quntilian Varus said of the inhabitants of Germania: “It is true, they are men, but except the voice and limbs of the body they have nothing of human beings in them.” The French philosopher, Montesquieu (1689-1755), said of the Negroes: “One cannot well imagine that God who is so wise should have put a soul, moreover an immortal soul, into an entirely black body. It is impossible to think that these people are human beings.”
Note:2
It is a matter of deep humiliation and shame to every sensible Hindu to think that sometimes attempts are made to justify untouchability. The Buddha welcomed antyajas into his sangha. In the Ramayana, one who will now be regarded as an untouchable took Rama across the Ganges in his boat. The great teachers of bhakti, Saiva and Vaisnava, have striven for equality and proclaimed that believers in God, whatever their origin, are the best of the twiceborn. Candaalopi dvijasresthah: hari bhaktiparaayanaat. Among the followers of Caitanya were Hindus and Moslems, robbers and prostitutes.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Chandalas or outcastes are of a sinful birth. Women and Sudras are debarred by social rules from the study of the Vedas. What is wanted is devotion. There is no need for family traditions. The elephant Gajendra remembered Me with devotion and attained Me in spite of his being an animal. The lowest of the low and the vilest of the vile can attain Me if they have faith and devotion, if they sing and repeat My Name and if they think of Me always, and think of no worldly object.
Prahlada was a demon and yet by his devotion forced Me to incarnate as Narasimha. Birth is immaterial. Devotion is everything. The Gopis attained Me through their devotion. Kamsa and Ravana attained Me through fear. Sisupala reached Me through hatred, Narada, Dhruva, Akrura, Suka, Sanatkumara and others attained Me through their devotion. Nandan, a man of low caste but a great devotee of Lord Siva, had direct vision of the Lord in Chidambaram in South India. Raidas, a cobbler, was a great devotee. In the spiritual life or in the Adhyatmic sphere all the external distinctions of caste, colour and creed disappear altogether, Sabari, though a Bhilini (a tribe) by birth was a great devotee of Lord Rama.
Hindu scriptures are full of such instances. Hinduism does not restrict salvation to any one group or section of humanity. All can attain God if they have devotion.
Comments by the blogger:
Dr.S.Radhakrishnan in his preface to his “Principal Upanishads” says that any writer however great can only express his thought in the idiom current at the time. Sri Krishna does not discriminate against women. But women being weaker sex and with their beauty, even today are treated as a luxury for men’s enjoyment. In some cases, they themselves think that way. Even in America where the highest form of sexual freedom is available, there are many crimes against women. And their beauty is used in all films belonging to English, American, Indian, and in other countries as sexual objects. In all films certified as Adults Only or ‘A’, only women are used as sexual objects and there is overexposure of the beautiful bodies in such films. Even now if a woman comes up on her own in life, mudslingers are around who connect her to some powerful men. So no one should think women are given the second place along with Vaisyas and Sudras in Gita. Sri Krishna only speaks about what was in vogue at the time. But He gives places for the women, Vaisyas and Sudras along with others who are devoted to Him and promises that they would attain their goal.
So in Gita all are treated as equal before God, which is a good message.
In today’s context, the Lord would not have used the words, women, Vaisyas and Sudras because there are only Vaisyas today. We all have become Vaisyas in today’s context. And women pilots and women strike bombers are there. Women police even in Tamil Nadu are rendering great service to the society. The end of the 19th century and the earlier part of the 20th century were marked by the Women’s Lib Movements. Women are no more discriminated against men. But there is much misuse of women in the film world all over the world. Women themselves seem to think they will be satisfied only if they use their beauty and attraction in enslaving their men. Great writers like Jeyagandhan in Tamil and other languages have written about this.
Women should come out of this mindset.
Otherwise, women have found full liberation in the present times and context.
So what is important is there is no bar to devotees. Persons, men and women, belonging to all classes and castes should become great devotees. Thus Devotion like Time is a great Equalizer.
No comments:
Post a Comment