Gita: Beware of false interpretations || Acharya Prashant, with NIT-Calicut (2022

Acharya Prashant

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Transcript

00:00Good afternoon sir. Actually am I audible sir? Yes you are.

00:10Sir actually I have one doubt. In market there are many number of Gita's are available.

00:16Bhavad Gita sir. Somebody told me that there are 80 varieties of Gita.

00:21Even though slokas are same but I have seen the explanation is not matching sir.

00:28Two three Gita's I have seen the explanation is not matching.

00:31Since Gita has explained by Lord Krishna some thousands of years before.

00:37So how can I ensure that whatever available it is pure only.

00:43It is not impure. It is not changed by somebody for their own benefit.

00:48Also I have seen that in some Gita karma yoga is the best yoga they have explained.

00:55And in some other Gita bhakti yoga is the best yoga they have explained.

01:00And in Gita it is believing in the explanation of the Gita.

01:04It is saying about the next birth, previous birth is there.

01:10But in Ashtanga Gita that is written by Rishi Ashtavakra.

01:15There it is written that it is not previous birth and next birth is not exist.

01:20There are many things sir if I compare from Gita to other scriptures it is not matching.

01:27So how to know that which is correct?

01:30See first of all avoid the commentary part.

01:35It is in the commentary part that the maximum kind of adulteration takes place.

01:48That is where the various commentators push their agenda.

01:59Try limiting yourself to just the translation of the verses.

02:07And go for translations where you know for sure

02:14that each word has been individually and correctly translated into your preferred language.

02:24Your preferred language could be Hindi, Tamil, English whatever.

02:31There is no need to read detailed commentaries.

02:41So that is the first thing.

02:43That is where the maximum mischief takes place and that must be avoided.

02:48Secondly, remember that Gita has to agree with Upanishads.

02:59The Gita cannot have anything that goes against the basic tenets of Vedanta.

03:10So if the verses of Gita are being interpreted to mean something

03:19that is not at all in sync with the Vedantic philosophy

03:26then that particular interpretation has to be immediately rejected.

03:30What has happened is that because of the popularity of Gita

03:36all kinds of distorted ideologies have exploited the Gita to validate their own philosophy.

03:48That is why there are so many commentaries on the Gita.

03:52You can have a philosophy that is not at all in tune with Vedanta

04:01but to gain credibility among the masses

04:04you pick up a Vedantic scripture and you interpret it to show

04:12that the Gita is saying the same thing as your Guru did.

04:18Now your Guru was an ignorant chap.

04:22What he has said is not at all Vedanta.

04:29But then you have picked up the Gita just to further your own agenda

04:35and that has happened a lot and that is the case

04:40with some of the most publicized versions of Gita.

04:46If you read them carefully you will clearly see

04:53that the interpreters are so full of disrespect towards Krishna

05:00that they have deliberately distorted the meanings of the verses.

05:07In fact even where Krishna says buddhi, that's there in the shloka

05:13the shloka contains the word buddhi, the translator has written bhakti.

05:18Now this is culpable disobedience.

05:25You are not following what Krishna is saying.

05:30You are trying to make Krishna follow your ideology.

05:34This ought to be punished actually.

05:38But instead of being punished it has become propagated.

05:41That's the power of publicity.

05:45Anything can become popular.

05:47You just have to distribute millions of Gita copies

05:52of your own persuasion and ideology and interpretation.

05:57And people will think, people are gullible and people are lazy.

06:04They don't bother to read the original and they hardly know Sanskrit.

06:09People will think what you have given them is the right text

06:14and the right meaning. It is not.

06:17Few other texts have been subjected to such gross distortion

06:30as the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

06:33So you have to be very careful.

06:37You have to be careful especially of the interpretations

06:42that have arisen in the recent past.

06:46And if you still have doubts then you need to go to the Upanishads

06:53and know their basic philosophy and then ask

06:58this particular shloka of Gita how do I interpret it in line

07:03with the basic Vedantic philosophy.

07:07Even if you do not know the entire philosophy

07:12you can depend on the four Mahavakyas

07:17or the most important 10 or 12 or 15 Vedantic verses

07:28and take them as cardinal.

07:31You see these are axiomatic

07:35and everything else has to be in line with them.

07:38Therefore if I come across an interpretation that contradicts

07:43these Vedantic verses then that interpretation is false.

07:47That verse has to be interpreted in some other way.

07:53Are you getting it?

07:55A lot of superstition and a lot of useless beliefs

08:07have been drawing their sustenance from false interpretations of the Gita.

08:18The Gita in some sense has suffered because of its popularity.

08:27If you follow some rotten belief then you have to display

08:33that your belief is sanctioned by the Gita.

08:36So you pick up some verse of the Gita

08:39and slaughter it to show that it suits your belief.

08:46So be very careful.

08:53When it comes to Vedanta

08:58that Gita is an integral part of

09:03Acharya Shankar is the leading authority.

09:09It makes sense to begin with his Bhashya.

09:22In modern times Ramakrishna Mission has done a good job.

09:31The text by Gita Press is also possible.

09:40Chinmay Mission also brings out pretty accurate translations.

09:53The others must be rigorously avoided.

10:03And if you are speaking to me

10:17then your foundation has humbly brought out

10:24a couple of volumes on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

10:27And currently I am running a verse by verse course on the Gita

10:35and books on it, chapter wise, will be published very soon.

10:44So that too as a resource is available to you.

10:50I have humbly tried with all my limitations

10:55to be as true to the spirit of Sri Krishna and Vedanta as possible.

11:04So see if it helps you.

11:09Sir, shall I ask another question?

11:11Yes.

11:13Sir, is it next birth or previous birth is exist?

11:17I have answered that in detail many a times.

11:22So I advise you to go through those articles or videos.

11:30They are freely available on Punarjan, Reincarnation, Karmaphal.

11:37So I have spoken dozens of times.

11:40So please go through them.

11:42And if you still can't be clear, then I'll be there to answer.

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