Thursday, October 23, 2014

030 Who assigned these duties? What authority they have to assign the duties?

One Gita preacher is said to have spoken to the English Daily THE HINDU published from South India.  Here are some quotes.

The Bhagavad Gita can be a source of inspiration for GenX, who feel stress and stain in day to day life


The Gita tells us not to mortgage the present commitment to an uncertain future. But, the youth was more concerned about their future. Neither they should spend time on thinking on past. The Gita asks to discharge duties assigned to you. Unless you stop pondering over future, success will not come to you.
       What will a child learn from life of a cricketer who hasn’t paid tax for his car? Mere being a star batsman doesn’t suffice
ybrao-a-donkey's observations

There is nothing wrong in students thinking about past, present or future.  Their rights and duties are to be arrived at consensually by students, parents, teachers, probably with some inputs from the Governments and experts. 


Our country is overpopulated beyond repair.  
Consequently, there are going to be moments of anxiety and despair to parents and students, owing to unemployment and underemployment, in spite of having skills and capabilities.  This is going to be the result of excess supply of labor.  Creation and improvement of skills is one solution.  It is only one tool for making students more employ-able, internationally. 

Demand-creation for the skills of the students and unemployed, will definitely become a duty for the society and the Government.  These things have to evolve in a carefully planned and organised manner, without hurting youth.  For this  task, the precepts of Gita cannot be stretched usefully beyond a limit.




GITA'S PRESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The duties which the preacher said, have been assigned to individuals are irrelevant in today's Capitalist System and Economy.

The duties assigned (imposed) in Bhagavad Gita were caste based.  See verses 43,44,45 in Chapter 18. ( Moksha Sanyasa yOga , a chapter which was supposed to have dealt with Liberation of Individual).

MSY 41
braahman`a kshatriyavis`aam s`uudraan`aam ca paramtapa
karmaan`i pravibhaktaani svabhaava prabhavair gun`ai:
s`amoo damas tapa: s`aucham kshaamtir aarjavam eeva ca
gnaanam vignaanam aastikyam brahmakarma svabhaavajam

MSY 42
s`auryam teejoo dhrutir daakshyam yuddhee ca api apalaayanam
daanam iis`varabhaavas` ca kshatrakarma svabhaavajam
krushi goorakshya vaan`ijyam vais`yakarma svabhaavajam




paricaryaatmakam karma s`uudrasyaapi svabhaavajam

svee svee karman`i abhirata: samsiddhim labhatee nara:
svakarma nirata: siddhim yathaa vindati tat s`run`u

yata: pravruttir bhuutaanaam yeena sarvam idam tatam
svakarman`aa tam abhyarchya siddhim vindati maanava:

s`reeyaan svadharmoo vigun`a: paradharmaat svanusht`hitaat
svabhaavaniyatam karma kurvan naapnooti kilbisham

Oh Schorchrer of foes! All the duties and Actions of the Priests, Warriors, Merchants, the Fourth Caste, have all been apportioned and assigned as per the inherent qualities. (DELIVERANCE 41). (Comment: This is a ridiculous and monstrous prescription. How actions, duties and qualities can be attributed, divided and assigned to castes! Who divided them! Krishna? The Priests? The Warriors?).



Control of internal senses, Control of the external senses, penance, internal and external hygiene, endurance, simplicity, knowledge, awareness, faith (in scriptures and God) are the qualities inherent to the Priests. (DELIVERANCE 42).

Valor, vigor, courage, efficiency and effectiveness, not fleeing from the battle field, charity, desire to rule the world are all the inherent duties and Actions of a Warrior. (DELIVERANCE 43).
Agriculture, cow-rearing, trade, are the inherent functions of a Trader-caste-born person. Service is the inherent function of a Fourth-Caste born. (DELIVERANCE 44).


Those who perform their duties and actions will be entitled to fulfilment of knowledge. I shall explain you how. (DELIVERANCE 45).
The person who performs his duties will be worshipping that Supreme God from which all the Creatures have emerged and who is pervading throughout the Universe and attaining fulfilment. (Doing one's own duty is the worship). (DELIVERANCE 46).
A prescribed duty and Action.defectively performed is better than a well discharged function which is alloted to others. A person who does his duty and action inherent to his nature will not get sin. (DELIVERANCE 47).


Most Gita preachers belong to top caste of preachers.  For retaining their hold on the Society, they can misinterpret the contents of Gita.

The modern TV preachers have a habit of mixing up things.  They bring in Alluri Sitarama Raju (freedom fighter), Bhagat Singh (freedom fighter) into picture.  Late Alluri Sitarama Raju and Bhagat Singh have nothing to do with the caste system or caste imposed duties which Bhagavad Gita preaches.  Whereas the Central idea of Bhagavad Gita was Four caste system of Priests, Barons (kshatriyas), Trader-Middle-sized farmers (Vysyas of those days), and the landless laborers (Sudras), Alluri Sitarama Raju and Bhagat Singh laid down their lives for the liberation of this country.

Preacher's comment about cricketers

While children and youth may be wrong in looking for inspiration towards cricketers, the children may also NOT gain much by listening to TV preachers, because preachers have forgotten to apply their minds about the social environment of the Mahabharata period, Gupta period in which Mahabharata evolved as a scripture, subsequent Centuries in which society evolved as a feudalist society and later transformed into a Capitalist society.  This deviation of the preachers is  to gain public acceptability, and earn some money.

If the children are to really gain anything in construction of their character and personality, they have to study each verse of Gita in depth, filter out meaningless verses and try to implement some of the verses which stand to reason.  Such verses may not be more than 10.

We can't pass comments on Bhagavad Gita, even if they are genuine and stand the test of reason, because there will be law and order problems and people will be easily hurt.  It will be better to wait till people become more enlightened and are willing to spend some time, effort, analytical thoughts on the environment of the Bhagavad Gita days, its purport, and apply the 'sieves' of their mind.

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