| Gita Bhashya | |
|---|---|
Bronze statue of Ramanuja, 15th century.
| |
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Author | Ramanuja |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Chapters | 18 |
The Gita Bhashya (Sanskrit: गीताभाष्य, romanized: Gītābhāṣya),[1] also rendered the Bhagavad Gita Bhashya, is a commentary or treatise of the Bhagavad Gita by the Hindu philosopher Ramanuja.[2]
The work asserts the deity Vishnu to be the parat-tattva (supreme truth), and details the processes of bhakti yoga, karma yoga, and jnana yoga for the achievement of moksha (spiritual liberation). It also explores the concepts of the avataras of Vishnu and the practice of prapatti (self-surrender).[3][4]
The Gita Bhashya comprises eighteen chapters that are divided into three sections; each section comprises a hexad (six chapters).
The first six chapters of the work offer an exposition of an approach to self-realisation of the individual self. Ramanuja describes his process as sequential, beginning with the cognisance of the nature of the self, followed by cognisance of the concept of karma yoga, and finally the cognisance of the concept of jnana yoga.[5] The commentary describes Krishna urging Arjuna to perform his duty on the battlefield. The work exposits that Arjuna's hesitation and desire to abstain from his duty as a warrior emerge from the incorrect notion that a person is their prakrti (body), and the interpretation of death as the end of being. The truth, which is the knowledge that one is Brahman, is regarded to resolve this dilemma.[6]
The second hexad is centred around the concept of bhakti yoga. Bhakti (devotion to God), is defined as the flow of consciousness to Narayana (Vishnu). This is described to be achieved by devotion to Vishnu in the Atman (sense of self), causing this to be then be manifested in the jiva (life force). Vishnu is described to be the Supreme Being in this hexad, stated to be the source, upholder, as well as the destroyer of the cosmos, which is itself regarded to be his body. The author offers an interpretation of the mahavakya tat tvam asi (thou art that) as the Śarīra-Śarīrī (body-soul) relationship between Ishvara and his two natures, jiva and ajiva (animate and inanimate matter). Sincere devotion to God is described to be the only prerequisite for the purposes of worship. The vishvarupa (cosmic form) of Krishna, the distinction between the concepts of moksha and kaivalya, and the paratva (transcedance) and the saulabhya (accessibility) of God are each offered a discourse.[7]
Ramanuja offers a critique of the Advaita philosophy in favour of Vishishtadvaita, reproving the rejection of the difference that the proponents of the former made between God and jiva, and between jivas.[8]
The third hexad further examines the concepts of Prakrti, Atman, and the Supreme Being, the binding of the qualitiesofPrakrtitoAtman, and prapatti (self-surrender) to Vishnu as the path to salvation. The author explores the notion of abandoning dharma and expiatory practices and seeking refuge in God alone.[9]
