BHAGAVAD GITA - Chapter 1

Decoding the secret of the secret of the Avataric Path

Chapter 1 - ADVAITA

Monism

We are going to look into the overview of Gita chapter by chapter as a reference for the various mystical states in self-realization paths. In this disposition we will not be repeating the symbolic representations behind the characters of Gita nor will we be touching on interpretating Gita in the light of Yogshaastara because there are inexhaustive amount of information already floating around. Equally, we will not be diving into the Sanskrit meanings of each verse nor dissecting them word for word unless when required.  The reason behind this is to narrow down and contain our focus solely on extracting the pearls of the path of Avatars-according to the unity of world scriptures-from the mystical shadings that had overshadowed Gita. This path of Avatar can be synonymously coined as the realization of Purushottamam who is a special purusha beyond all purushas or simply as The God-realization path. We have intentionally accentuated the word ‘the’ in God, as in ‘The God’ in order to differentiate this special purusha (The God) from other purushas (gods). Keeping these succinct details in mind, we shall now proceed to unravel the Gita.

Avataric Way the Path Beyond Advaita

Chap 1 of Gita commences by describing the culminative experience of a mystic which we coin it as the necessary levels of a shadow unity. In the path of spirituality, there is a structure comprising different stages and stations determined by sages of yore for the benefit of those who thread the spiritual path. With the spiritual compass in their hands, they will be able to navigate the direction to take, not misunderstand the state of experiences or the station he or she is in, to realize if they are stuck or lost in the vast spiritual ocean. Without such relative maps and compasses, it will be difficult to navigate their own progress and become caught in delusional experiences.  In this respect, there are fundamentally seven stages of which six requires our attention; The diagram below constitutes those stages.

Mankind receives the metaphysical and ontological matters of realities through two different approaches. One is through an objective phenomenon while the other is through subjective means. The objective mode is coined as the religious consciousness because it was revealed by The One Primordial God to the chosen beings sent down in specific time frames, while the subjective means is called mystical consciousness which is opened to those who strive towards realization. Ina crux religious consciousness means the descending of God’s revelation on the chosen being while mystical consciousness means the ascent of man by his or her effort to grasp that One True Absolute Reality. The concept of The One True Absolute Reality, which belongs to the domain of religious experience, is indeed different in nature from the ecstatic intuitive experience of a mystic who can stall at any stations or stream from multiplicity to trinity to duality to shadow realities finally culminating at origin of origin states depending on his or her aptitude while on the other hand, the entire path is revealed to the chosen beings. Thus, the God Purushottamam, and its relation to the world and the common man, realized purely from a religious experience is different from the mystical inner perception. The stark difference between them can also be understood by the emphasize laid down by Krishna in regards to duty, principles and importance of participating in the world which is exclusive to the Avataric paths that emerged out from the religious consciousness of which the common man can easily relate to and participate. While the route from Trinity to Origin of Origin from the mystical way advocates dispensing totally with worldly participation or having minimum contact with the world. Furthermore, the common man is not privy to mystical secrets and if he or she did take up the fork, most will not able to endure long in the arduous mystical pursuit. Hence the mystical quest is designed only for those who have a certain aptitude or flare for it. Bhagavad Gita is a unique scripture that bridges this objective and subjective matter by taking us step by step to the religious consciousness from the mystical route. We call this special path as the Avataric path because it was Krishna being a Purna Avatar, propounded the way to Arjuna. We will devote an entire chapter on these two approaches at the end of this book.

According to the Avataric path, the first step is Advaita without which one cannot progress nor proceed to the next. Unfortunately, thousands of mystics hold Advaita as the final step after which they believe that there is no more ‘journeying’. This is true if their struggle in the path is solely based on their own endeavours or through a teacher grounded in pure unity or Monistic notions. However, this is not true in the path of Avatars.  An aspirant who has tapped onto an Avatar will penetrate further and realize that Monism was only a drop compared to the ocean.  Unfortunately, many mystics run after the drop thinking that it is the ocean.  The Monistic movement has hijacked the world of spirituality to the extent that many hold Advaita as the pinnacle of spiritual experience while other paths such as Vishishtadvaita or Dvaita have been washed out from the spiritual standings as something trivial especially Dvaita where 99% of mystics do not understand its high standing position. In this muddle, the Avataric path had become totally lost. One must understand that we are not condemning any paths or experiences. It is precluded for us to do so because we cannot dispense with these stages of the mystical consciousness especially when we pursue the Avataric path through the mystical route. How then can we condemn any stations? Rather we are more interested in discussing the stages in spiritual pursuit that leads to the Avataric position which we will witness in the Gita as we proceed further. Henceforth, Monism is an important step in the mystical goal but it is not the end according to the Avataric way. In this regard, we will witness how Krishna expounds the Avataric way, the path beyond to Arjuna once he had attained Advaita. 

Many will be surprised by these bold statements because the entire Gita have been predominantly construed from the Advaita or Monistic perspective. They view Arjuna as an embodiment of the ego self and since the inception was at the egocentric self, coined also as Duality Improper, the final destination will naturally fall at Advaita, the Undifferentiated Oneness of Being. This is because when a man attempts to know the self from his or her own endeavours they can only orbit as far as their sight could reach and so their interpretation will follow suite naturally falling within that boundary also. But for those who have broken that boundary through the aid of God see beyond and further. Based on the arguments forwarded in previous chapters regarding the pre-Gita civilization’s standpoint, ultimate goal and world view, we are shoehorned to the very frontiers of our intellect to believe that Arjuna was a self-realized individual who was near at attaining Advaita which was symbolized by the event that unfolded in the battle ground, and it was for this reason that Krishna was already depicted as the charioteer for Arjuna as explained in the Chapter, The Settings. We must understand that the Gita begun with this crucial depiction or notion at hand. Henceforth, in this trail of argument, Arjuna was not a novice but a veteran in the spiritual enterprise.