By: C.S. Dinesh
When Tilak’s treatise on Gita reached Sai Maharaj, he reverentially kept it on his head and gave it to Shama to read it regularly as he was a habitual worrier. It was only when Shama started reading the Bhagavad Gita that he realized the truth in what Sai Baba had said: “The Gita is the universal mother… Her door is wide open to anyone who knocks.” The Gita contains not only deep philosophical concepts but also principles and techniques that, if put into practice with full sincerity, are extremely effective in unimaginable physical, mental, and spiritual ways.
The verse (chapter 18:66) that appealed the most to me helps me get rid of the worry habit: “Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone. I shall liberate you from all sins, do not grieve.” Baba also has assured – “Cast all your burden on me and I shall surely carry on my shoulders.”
The Gita is the quintessence of all shastras. In his book ‘Life of Sai Baba’ with a reference to the Gita, Sri Narasimha Swamiji writes of this verse: “This is the noblest of all the stanzas in the Divine Song and it is also the most effective one. There are, no doubt, a few other stanzas in the Gita wherein the Lord has almost directly commanded us to live a certain way of life and has promised that if we obey His instructions, He will directly take the responsibility of guiding us toward His Being. But nowhere has the Lord so directly and openly expressed His divine willingness to undertake the service of His devotee as in this stanza.” He proceeds to explain the term ‘dharma’ and concludes that the context of this verse, ‘renouncing all dharmas’ means ending the ego completely.
Sri Narasimha Swamiji says that we should completely surrender to His will and take shelter in His love. “Surrendering is the easiest way to Self-transcendence.” The finite soul alone cannot deliver itself from the trap in which it has been caught. He quotes Ruysbroeck, “He only is fit to contemplate the Divine light who is the slave to nothing, not even to his virtues.”
In understanding the central idea behind the verse, Sri Narasimha Swamiji’s views are inspiring. According to him, “Learned men may please themselves and draw seemingly profound meaning from the shastras but only those who have experience in the practice of their truths can explain their real meaning. Any interpretation of a shastra that is opposed to truth cannot be right. The second rule to be followed in determining the meaning of a text in a shastra is that one should not stick to its letter, but try to understand its spirit, its meaning in total context.”
The verse conveys that to get rid of all negative tendencies, unhealthy thoughts, anxiety, and worries, one should surrender to Sainath Parabrahman, the Higher Power which implies opening one’s mind without any reservations and doubts, to the inflow of divine consciousness. The needed guidance will come spontaneously.
A question is likely to be asked as to why this verse is so powerful and effective in raising one to unprecedented spiritual levels. The answer lies in the depth of its meaning, its poetic beauty, practical and inspirational value for all, and the culmination of all philosophical concepts and life principles included in the Gita. It is the essence of the most delicious spiritual fruit and the fragrance in the most beautiful divine flower, that is the Bhagavad Gita.
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