Bhagavad Gita: Shanakara's Commentary as Explained by Swami Chidananda Puri - Chapter 1 (Bhgavad Gita with Shankara Bhashya Explained)

This is the quintessence of prehistoric Indian thought. A mighty warrior on the field of a historic battle about 3000 B.C is torn with doubts and indecision. His charioteer exhorts him on the right course of action. In his advice, the charioteer distills the wisdom of the ancient sages into 700 verses that tell us about our own existence. We have, at one time or the other, asked questions like, why are we here, is there any force that ordains all this, why do people suffer, is there any deliverance from sorrow, what happens to us when we die and many more. These verses, divided into 18 chapters, walk us through all these questions, helping us find answers, step by step.
The charioteer is Lord Krishna, Godhood in human form, the warrior, Arjuna and the battle, the war of Mahabharata. Krishna's teachings summarize the wisdom of the Vedas, believed to be the first written words of humanity.
Written in the ancient language of Sanskrit, Bhagavad Gita has been interpreted and commented upon almost from prehistoric times. Debate is live even today among Sanskrit scholars and spiritual thinkers about whether it extols the time-honored path of devotion or the strenuous path of knowledge. The truth is that it suits everyone in his quest, according to his orientation. In the process, it discusses questions like how to preserve the environment , how to be a true leader, what are the work ethics to follow, how to get a more equitable distribution of wealth and many others, quite relevant for the present day. In fact, modern day writers draw lessons of management from it.
If one tries to find some common threads in the diverse range of opinions of the commentators, he will find two. One would consider God as some entity that you try to reach and the other would say that God is not different from you. In the second view, God, the universe and you are one and the same. The greatest exponent of this non-dual view (Advaita) is Shankara (also spelt Sankara and usually referred to as Sankaracharya or Adi Sankara). At a time when Buddhism was spreading like wild fire across the Asian continent and the followers of Buddha were denying the continuity of their faith from Veda, this 8th century scholar re-established the primacy of Veda. His commentary on Bhagavad Gita, and other scriptures extol non-dualism at its best.
Bhagavad Gita has been translated more than 300 times into English. Shankara's commentary has also been translated a few times. But without an explanation, an ordinary reader unfamiliar with Sanskrit or Indian thought would find it difficult to follow. Swami Chidananda Puri wrote a detailed explanation in Malayalam, the language of Kerala. This is a translation of that. His plan is one volume for each chapter of Gita and he has published nine. Vijay Chandran hopes to bring out all the volumes in English, one after the other. This is the first of the series.
Swami Chidānadapuri is the head of Advaitāshram at Kolathur, off Calicut, India, which he established in 1992. Attached to the āshram are an orphanage and a school. http://advaithashramam.org . He runs regular classes and discourses and has authored several books. He is the Visiting Professor in the Chair for Sanātana Dharma Studies in The University of Calicut. He can be reached at [email protected]
Vijay Chandran IAS (Rtd.) has a Masters Degree in English Literature and began his career as a lecturer in English. Later he joined the Indian Administrative Service and retired as Principal Secretary to the Government of Kerala. After a few more years of work involving consultancy to international organizations like the World Bank, he settled down in U.K to a life of lectures, readings and writings on spirituality. Now he shares his time between India and U.K. He can be reached at [email protected]