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 THE SATANIC VERSES OF BHAGAVAD-GITA Author KED AR
JOSHI BSc MA This work is released under Creative Commons
license: Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0). * Kedar
Joshi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this
work.
 Contents Preface 3 Abstract 5 The Criticism 1. Krishna— the
preacher of yoga— is himself 6 not a yogi 7 2. Krishna alone is
satanic (or evil) 8 3. Krishna is nothing short of a terrorist and the
Gita is Hindu terrorism Critical note 9 (Metaphysics & Morality)
Abbreviations 10 (As used in the "References & Explanatory Notes")
References & Explanatory Notes 14 2
 Preface The first version of this work was written (and
published on the internet) in 2005 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire,
England. + Let me declare that I am after truth, not politics. Let me
also mention that I am not anti-Hindu;* I am in fact an ardent
believer and practicer of Hindu astrology and am an impassioned
devotee of Lord Rama.§12 Hindu astrology has appeared to me to
be so profoundly and minutely true that I am on the verge of
conviction that the ultimate truth is not beyond Hinduism. I consider
myself a "weak agnostic" though.** I am not a Christian or a
Muslim. ++ f The second version was written in Pune, India and was
published in December 2009; it was republished in April 2012 on
Boloji.com. The latest version is available on SelectedWorks. * One
of my most beloved quotations is a quotation by Max Muller on
India: "If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most
fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered
over the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of some
of them which well deserve the attention even of those who have
studied Plato and Kant, I should point to India. And if I were to ask
myself from what literature we who have been nurtured almost
exclusively on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans, and of the
Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw the corrective which is most
wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect, more
comprehensive, more universal, in fact more truly human a life...
again I should point to India." (Source: India, What Can It Teach Us
(1882) Lecture IV; accessed via the English Wikiquote page on Max
Muller, last modified on 25 April 2013, at 11:22). Another one is the
one by Henry David Thoreau on the Bhagavad-gita: "In the morning
I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of
the Bhagvat-Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have
elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its
literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not
to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its
sublimity from our conceptions." (Source: Walden (1854), Ch. XVI :
The Pond in Winter; accessed via the English Wikiquote page on
Bhagavad Gita, last modified on 13 December 2013, at 15:00). 5
The character portrayed in Valmiki's Ramayana. ** Weak
agnosticism is the view that the existence or nonexistence of any
deities is currently unknown but is not necessarily unknowable;
therefore, one will withhold judgment until evidence, if any, becomes
available. (Source: The English Wikipedia article on Agnosticism, last
modified on 25 April 2014, at 00:39.) tf However, to some extent, I
respect those respective religions. How beautiful and humane the
Quranic verse 2:177 is, for example!: "True piety does not consist in
turning your faces to the east or the west but truly pious is he who
believes in God, and the Last Day, and the angels, and revelation,
and the prophets; and spends his substance - however much he
himself may cherish it - upon his near of kin, and the orphans, and
the needy, and the wayfarer, and the beggars, and for the freeing of
human beings from bondage; and is constant in prayer, and renders
the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who keep their
promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and
hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves
true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God." (Source: The
English Wikiquote page on Qumn, last modified on 22 April 2014, at
09:12.) 3
 Notwithstanding my harshest criticism of the Bhagavad-
gita,** I profoundly love the Gita for the very transcendental nature
of its metaphysics and the beautiful language in which it has been
expressed. If I refer to Krishna as a terrorist, for instance, it is only
because I quite frankly and objectively and in a sense
mathematically believe that he— especially if certain established
metaphysical interpretations of the Gita are to be believed— is a
terrorist. The fact that this work cites relatively§§ a great deal of
references may give a false appearance that it is a mere compilation
or synthesis of previous interpretations of the Bhagavad-gita. This
work, on the contrary, relies, discernibly, on none of them for its
critical ideas. Kedar Joshi Cambridge, Pune. April 2014 ** The word
"Bhagavad-gita" is spelled variantly as Bhagavadgita, BhagavadgTta,
Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavat Gita, etc. and is also
known simply as Gita (or Geeta). It literally means "God's Poem". 5§
Relative to the size of the main body of the work. 4
 Abstract This work, "The Satanic*** Verses of Bhagavad-
gita", mainly presents a hardcore criticism of the morality (or the
ethicality) of the Bhagavad-gita— the Hindu Bible,t+t the criticism
that the Gita in fact implies that 1. Krishna— the preacher of yoga—
is not in the least a yogi himself, 2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil),
and 3. Krishna— for reasons other than the ones for which he is
considered evil— is nothing short of a terrorist and the Gita is Hindu
terrorism. And, as a matter of necessity, it attempts to systematically
dig into the Gita's metaphysical foundations, further examining the
gravity of each criticism through monistic and dualistic metaphysical
interpretations (or perspectives). Finally, as a matter of example, it
also cites some of the verses of the Quran that appear similar in
meaning to the Gita's satanic verses, thereby drawing parallels
between the two seemingly antithetical religious texts. The work
thus points out that although the Gita may not seem to be as
directly and explicitly terroristic as the Quran, terrorism— the one
against unbelievers, for instance— is equally inherent in the Gita and
the Gita can be fairly interpreted as a book of terrorism. *" In this
work, the term "satanic" is meant to be "morally bad and evil"; Ref.
A. S. Hornby, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current
English, 7th edition. OUP, 2005. tft as it is usually known as, esp. in
the West 5
 The Criticism 1. Krishna — the preacher of yoga — is
himself not a yogi In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna is hailed several
times as not only a yogi but also as the Lord (or the God) of yoga,
the great Lord of yoga, etc.3 And he demands Arjuna, and in fact
every other mortal, to be a yogi,4 while contradictorily enticing him
with material prospects and benefits.5 Krishna could not be
considered a yogi basically because he claims to create the
(painful)6 manifested world (Vyakta Prakriti),7 when, as a yogi, he,
as Paramatman (i.e. Supreme Soul or Supersoul),8 would quite
simply be expected to be content within himself (i.e. to be in the
state of self-realization), and not to have any desire,9 including the
desire for the action of creation, as it seems absurd that there can
be a conscious action without any underlying desire whatsoever.
Krishna is not the God of yoga but the "God of desire and hypocrisy"
! 10 In other words, the idea of Nishkam Karma (or desireless
action; i.e. conscious action with no underlying desire)— the
principal tenet of Karma yoga— seems to be paradoxical and
unmeaning. Karma yoga may make sense only to the extent that an
aspiring yogi attempts to be as much desireless as possible while
doing any conscious (material) action. Once the aspiring yogi
becomes a (true) yogi, it would be perfectly meaningful that he has
no desire left in him other than the desire for self-realization (Atma-
sakshatkar) or God-realization (Krishnasokshotkor) and thus
performs no conscious action other than the one which is essential
for the goal of self-realization or God-realization. The idea that
Krishna is a true (or ultimate), selfrealized yogi is thus contradictory
to the idea that he creates the manifested world as a Karma yogi.
Krishna's supposed (conscious) act of perpetual creation of the
manifested world cannot be without some underlying desire which is
unworthy of a true yogi. 6
 2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil) According to the Gita, it
is Krishna who does everything, it is he who is responsible for every
good as well as evil that exists in the world,11 and yet he proclaims
to make it— the prospects of yoga— worse for evil people, 12
asserts to annihilate miscreants, 13 while contradictorily14 claiming
to be the friend of every being.15*** Krishna alone possesses free-
will. Krishna alone creates delusion (or ignorance) and causes
(unfathomable) suffering. Krishna— and Krishna alone— is evil. So,
for example, the Gita in fact implies that it is Krishna who created
Duryodhana, the Mahabharata's arch-antagonist; it is Krishna who is
the actual doer of each of his evil deeds; and it is Krishna, and only
Krishna, who prearranged the dreadful Kurukshetra War. Sometimes
it seems to be argued that Krishna lets pain and evil exist so that
Man can understand the value of good. I disagree with such
argument. First of all, if self-realization or God-realization is the only
good, the only thing to be cherished, Krishna, the so called ultimate
yogi, should only let the state of self-realization exist (i.e. should
only be in the state of selfrealization). It would be preposterous for a
true yogi to be interested in anything other than self-realization or
God-realization. Secondly, it appears impossible to appreciate that
the unfathomable suffering in the "fatalistic" world exists just so that
few "puppets" can understand the "value" of God-realization. The
eternally blissful state of God-realization would in fact entail the
understanding of its value irrespective of the way that state is
attained. A deterministic world in which a lion, for example, must
make a living by killing a weaker animal must be the work of an
incalculable evil. *** Verses with parallel meaning however seem to
exist, for instance, in the Quran (or Koran) — the central religious
text of Islam — also. Please refer to the respective endnotes with
text in italics for some of the Quranic verses with parallel meaning.
However, the text may not be citing a "complete" verse whenever it
is deemed unnecessary. 7
 3. Krishna is nothing short of a terrorist and the Gita is
Hindu terrorism As per the Gita, a lot many modern women would
be miscreants and thus would be on Krishna's hit-list— threatened to
death by him— since Krishna says that even women, vaisyas (i.e.
merchants), sudras (i.e. low-level workers), or any people of sinful
birth go to the highest goal, if they take his shelter;16 he further
says that then how much more righteous brahmanas and devout
King-sages!;17 which means that Krishna does not consider women
to belong to the category of "righteous brahmanas";18 so women
are either unrighteous brahmanas or not brahmanas at all; if they
are unrighteous brahmanas, they are unrighteous anyway, and if
they are not brahmanas at all, then the women who do the works of
brahmanas— e.g. the works of professional teachers— would be
unrighteous, miscreants, for Krishna asks everyone from a division to
do work only assigned for their division.19 It is in fact not only many
of the modern women but people of other faiths too— people who
do not believe in Krishna— such as atheists, Christians, Muslims,
Jews, etc., that could be supposed to be threatened with death by
Krishna.20 Krishna— especially for most of the modern people— is
therefore nothing short of a terrorist; and the Bhagavad-gita is
"Hindu terrorism"!21 22 23 8
 Critical note (Metaphysics & Morality) 1. If the monistic
(Advaita) interpretation of the metaphysics (or the cosmology) of the
Gita is true, then anything other than God— the Paramatman (or the
Supersoul)— is unreal and does not exist. In that case, the last two
criticisms would— at least to some remarkable extent— lose their
significance.24 2. If the dualistic (Dvaita) interpretation of the Gita's
metaphysics is true,25 there are three possibilities, since there can
be three types of relevant26 dualisms.27 > Type A: Paramatman
(i.e. the Supersoul), Brahman, and Atman (i.e. the soul) are
ontologically distinct realities.28 > Type B: Only Paramatman and
Brahman are ontologically distinct realities. > Type C: Only
Paramatman and Atman are ontologically distinct realities. ■ If Type
A is true, then all of the criticisms appear pretty significant and valid,
and the Gita would be liable to be considered as an intrinsically— if
not exclusively— satanic text.29 ■ If Type B is true, then whether
the Paramatman could be held guilty of deluding the Brahman would
depend partly upon the kind of experience the Brahman undergoes,
which, on the whole, may either be pleasant or unpleasant.30 ■ If
Type C is true, then all of the criticisms would obviously have the
same significance as they would have if Type A were true. The
normal— or the commonsensical or the common man's—
understanding of the metaphysics of the Gita however appears to be
broadly of the Type A, where "God"— i.e. Krishna— and "mortals"
are thought to be distinct beings. And therefore it is to that specific
understanding that this work would be most perfectly significant. 9
 Abbreviations (As used in the "References & Explanatory
Notes") AB. Annie Besant, The Bhagavad-Gita: The Lord's Song. The
Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Twentieth Reprint 2003.
ISBN: 81-7059-174-0. AC. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
Bhagavad-gita As It Is. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, (Pocket
edition) (English), 30th printing, February 2011. AN. Anand
Neelakantan, Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished, The Story of Ravana
and His People. Platinum Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-93-81576-05-2. AN
(2). Anand Neelakantan, Ajaya: Epic of the Kaurava Clan, Book I:
Roll Of The Dice. Platinum Press, December 2013. ISBN: 978-93-
81576-03-8. AP. A. Parthasarathy, Bhagavad Gita. A. Parthasarathy
(www.vedantaworld.org), 2008, 2011. ISBN: 978-93-81094-03-7.
BD. Bibek Debroy, The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Books India, 2005.
ISBN: 978-0-14-400068-5. BR. Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a
Christian (1927); accessed via the Bertrand Russell Society website.
BSM. Barbara Stoler Miller, The Bhagavad-Gita. Bantam Classic, June
2004. ISBN: 978-0-553-21365-2. CEW. Carl E. Woodham, Bhagavad
Gita: The Song Divine. Pilgrims Publishing, 2003. ISBN: 81-7769-
168-6. CH. Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great. Atlantic Books,
2008. ISBN: 978-1-84354-810-2. CNB. Christopher N Burchett,
Introduction to the New Edition, in Bhagavad Gita by Charles
Johnston. Pilgrims Publishing, 2004. ISBN: 81-7769-000-0. 10
 CR. C. Rajagopalachari, Bhagavad Gita, 22nd Edition.
Bhavan's Book University, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2012. ISBN: 81-
7276-374-3. DKJ. Dr. K. Jamanadas, Manusmruti Dahan Din.
Ambedkar.org, Last modified: March 28, 2000. DP. Devdutt
Pattanaik, 7 Secrets of Vishnu, westland ltd, 2011. ISBN: 978-93-
80658-68-1. DS. Dayanand Saraswati, Journal of Indian Council of
Philosophical Research, Volume 19, Issue 1, year 2002, p. 73;
accessed via the English Wikipedia article on Criticism of Islam, last
modified on 23 February 2014, at 17:29. EBV. Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Vishishtadvaita. Retrieved 16 February 2014. EE. Eknath
Easwaran, The Bhagavad Gita. Jaico Publishing House, Fifth Jaico
Impression: 2013. ISBN: 978-81-8495-090-8. FE. Franklin Edgerton,
The Bhagavad Gita. Motilal Banarsidass, 1996. ISBN: 81-208-1149-6.
GD. Gurcharan Das, The Difficulty of Being Good. Penguin Books
India, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-143-41897-9. GP. Geoffrey Parrinder, The
Bhagavad Gita: A Verse Translation. Oneworld Publications, 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-85168-988-0. GPG. Gita Press, Gorakhpur, Srimad
Bhagavadgita. Sixth Reprint, 2011. (Code 1658). ISBN: 81-293-
1391-X. GT. George Thompson, The Bhagavad Gita: a new
translation. North Point Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-86547-744-5. JDS.
John D. Smith, The Mahabharata. Penguin Classics, Penguin Books
India, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-670-08415-9. JM. Juan Mascara, The
Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Books India, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-670-08416-
6. JMM. J. M. Macfie, Myths and Legends of India. Rupa Publications
India Pvt. Ltd., Sixteenth Impression 2011. ISBN: 81-7167-131-4.
JRDL John R. de Lingen, The Bhagavad Gita: The Lord's Song.
Sterling Paperbacks, 2009. ISBN: 978-81-207-4742-5. 11
 KK. Kim Knott, Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction. OUP,
Reissued: 2000. ISBN: 978-0-19-285387-5. LLP. Laurie L. Patton,
The Bhagavad Gita. Penguin Classics, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-140-44790-
3. MD. Meghnad Desai, Who Wrote the Bhagavadgita? - A Secular
Inquiry into a Sacred Text. Harper Element, 2014. ISBN: 978-93-
5136-165-7. NA. Namit Arora, The Bhagavad Gita Revisited.
3quarksdaily.com, 5 December 2011. NJD. N. J. Dawood, The Koran.
Penguin Classics, 50th anniversary edition: 2006. ISBN: 978-0-14-
044920-4. NKG. Nagappa K. Gowda, The Bhagavadgita in the
Nationalist Discourse, Chapter 7: The Gita and Ambedkar. OUP,
2011. (Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2012)
ISBN (Print): 9780198072065. NP. Nalini Pandit, Ambedkar and the
"Bhaqwat Gita". Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 27, No. 20/21
(May 16-23, 1992), pp. 1063-1065. PS. Patrick Sookhdeo, The myth
of moderate Islam. The Spectator, 30 July 2005. PSI. Philip Schaff;
Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church.
Third edition. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Volume 4, Chapter
III, section 40 "Position of Mohammedanism in Church History";
accessed via the English Wikipedia article on Criticism of Islam, last
modified on 23 February 2014, at 17:29. PY. Paramahansa
Yogananda, God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita. Yogoda
Satsanga Society of India, 2011. ISBN: 978-81-89535-00-1. PY(2).
Paramahansa Yogananda, The Divine Romance, Volume II. Yogoda
Satsanga Society of India, Fourth Impression: 2011. ISBN: 978-81-
89535-05-6. RD. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion. Black Swan,
2007. ISBN: 978-0-552-77429-1. RN. Ramendra Nath, Why I Am Not
a Hindu. Bihar Rationalist Society (Bihar Buddhiwadi Samaj), 1993;
accessed via infidels.org. 12
 RP. Ramananda Prasad, The Bhagavad-Gita (The Song of
God). Motilal Banarsidass, 2010. ISBN: 978-81-208-1390-8. RR.
Ranganath R, Bhaqavad Gita - Another critical perspective to
consider adding to its armory of refutation. Nirmukta, January 24,
2012. SA. Sri Aurobindo, The Bhagavad Gita. Sri Aurobindo Divine
Life Trust, Second Reprint: 2011. ISBN: 81-86510-03-6. SC. Swami
Chinmayananda, The Holy Geeta. Central Chinmaya Mission Trust,
May 2011. ISBN: 978-81-7597-074-8. SM. Stephen Mitchell,
Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation. Three Rivers Press, New York,
New York, 2000. ISBN: 978-0-609-81034-7. SPCI. Swami
Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, Bhagavad-Gita: The
Song of God. Signet Classics, July 2002. ISBN: 978-0-451-52844-5.
SR. S. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavadgita. HarperCollins Publishers
India, 2010. ISBN: 978-81-7223-898-8. SRJA. Salman Rushdie,
Joseph Anton: A Memoir. Vintage, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-099-56344-0.
TROP. TheReligionofPeace.com,
http://www.thereliaionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm WD.
Wendy Doniger, On Hinduism. Aleph Book Company, 2013. ISBN:
978-93-82277-07-1. WDPH. W. Douglas P. Hill, The Bhagavadgita.
OUP, 1973. SBN: 19 560039 8. WJ. W. J. Johnson, The Bhagavad
Gita. Oxford World's Classics paperback 2004 (Reissued 2008). ISBN:
978-0-19-953812-6. 13
 References & Explanatory Notes 1 Rama, according to the
Ramayana (i. 18), is 50% Vishnu— Ref. JMM. (Pg. Ill, 116). 2 AN. —
in his Ravanayana— has, however, presented a quite unconventional
viewpoint, with Rovano as the hero. 3 E.g. Chapter 10: verse 17,
Chapter 11: verse 4, Chapter 11: verse 9, Chapter 18: verse 78. 4
Ref. Chapter 6: verse 46 (SR.): The yogin is greater than the ascetic;
he is considered to be greater than the man of knowledge, greater
than the man of ritual works, therefore do thou become a yogin, O
Arjuna. Chapter 2: verse 45 (WDPH.): The Vedas have three Strands
for their province; free from the three Strands, Arjuna, be thou, free
from the pairs, abiding in eternal truth, free from all gain and
guardianship of wealth, and master of thy soul. Chapter 2: verse 48
(SR.): Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna),
abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure,
for evenness of mind is called yoga. Chapter 2: verse 61 (WDPH.):
Holding all these in check let him sit, controlled, intent on me: for he
whose senses are restrained possesses steadfast wisdom. Chapter
14: verses 24-25 (WDPH.): He to whom pain and pleasure are alike,
reliant on himself, holding earth, stones, and gold as equal, holding
in level scales things dear and things not dear, a man of wisdom, to
whom blame and praise are one; He who holds honour and
dishonour equal, equal the friendly party and the foe, abandoning
every enterprise— that man is said to have crossed beyond the
Strands. Chapter 6: verse 3 (SR.): Work is said to be the means of
the sage who wishes to attain to yoga; when he has attained to
yoga, serenity is said to be the means. Chapter 6: verse 10 (SR.):
Let the yogin try constantly to concentrate his mind (on the
Supreme Self) remaining in solitude and alone, self-controlled, free
from desires and (longing for) possessions. {Karma-yoga is mere
practice to attain to yoga; "the true yoga"— as SR. rightly calls it— is
Dhyana-yoga, for— quite logically— without desire, there cannot be
any Karma (or work). In other words, there is absolutely no reason
for someone to do something if they have absolutely no desire
related to it. In a different perspective (or in a more fundamental or
theoretical sense), Dhyana-yoga is in fact a kind of Karma-yoga.
When a Karma-yogi Ksatriya, for example, has learnt to kill (or to get
rid of) all of his desires pertaining to a Ksatriya, he is no longer a
Ksatriya; the nature of his Duty (or Karma), according to his
changed nature (or svabhava), has changed. Other than the work
alone the body needs— presuming he would have "desire" to
maintain his body—, he would do no work. He, in a practical (or
specific) sense, would now be a Dhyana-yogi. If he still thinks that
he should do the work/s of a Ksatriya— maybe because the society
of good men he thinks needs his protection— he, that means, has
simply not become a true yogi yet, for he is yet to surpass worldly
desire/s. The reason Arjuna finally decides to fight the war pretty
much lies in 18:59-60 (WJ.): (Krishna says to Arjuna) If, falling into
such egoism, you suppose you will not fight, your resolution is quite
pointless: your material nature will constrain you. Bound by your
own activity, which springs from your own nature, ineluctably, Son of
Kunti, you will do precisely what, in your delusion you try to avoid.
In 18:73 (WJ.), however, Arjuna says: My delusion has been
obliterated, and through your grace, 14
 Achyuta, I have remembered myself. I stand, my doubt
dispelled. I shall do as you say. This verse is to be taken to mean
that Arjuna's delusion has not been completely obliterated; his
(Ksatriya) nature, per 18:59-60, has not fully changed; and thus he
should fight the war, as a Karma-yogi, only in order to simply learn
to get rid of material (or worldly) attachments, to surpass his
(Ksatriya) nature born of raja guna, to climb to higher (or true)
yoga, which is his true or only duty (or Dharma). 2:45 (AP.) is
perhaps pretty relevant: The Vedas deal with the three gunas
(attributes). Be thou free, O Arjuna, from the three gunas, free from
the pairs of opposites, remain ever in sattva (purity), free from
acquisition and preservation and established in the Self. [AP.'s use of
the term "sattva (purity)" is however not very accurate; please
consult WDPH (2:45); he more accurately uses the term "eternal
truth".] 18:40 (AP.) is however almost contradictory to 2:45: There is
no being on earth nor even in heaven among the gods who is free
from these three gunas qualities born of prakrti matter. SA. (Pg. xxi-
xxii) says, 'it is a mistake to interpret the Gita from the standpoint of
the mentality of today and force it to teach us the disinterested
performance of duty as the highest and all-sufficient law.... The Gita
does not teach the disinterested performance of duties but the
following of the divine life, the abandonment of all Dharmas,
sarvadharman, to take refuge in the Supreme alone...' AB. (Pg. xi-
xii) is thus pretty wrong in saying, 'It [the GTta] is meant to lift the
aspirant from the lower levels of renunciation, where objects are
renounced, to the loftier heights where desires are dead, and where
the Yogi dwells in calm and ceaseless contemplation, while his body
and mind are actively employed in discharging the duties that fall to
his lot in life. That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that
union with the divine Life may be achieved and maintained in the
midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not
outside us but within us— such is the central lesson of the
Bhagavad-GTta.' KK. (Pg. 38) says, 'In more recent times, karma
and karma yoga have again been endorsed. Religious nationalists
like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi recommended karma
yoga in India's struggle for self-rule and as a path of self-realization
for busy, modern Hindus.' Ironically, Tilak and Gandhi themselves, it
appears, were not karma-yogis, for just like any other freedom
fighters, they always, it seems, wanted their country to gain
prosperity and independence. In other words, it seems they never
even attempted to get rid of that particular want (or to be indifferent
to their country's state of being); and that, I think, is because they,
like many others including KK. herself, did not in the first place know
the very basic meaning of yoga itself. GPG. (Pg. 3) seems to say
quite absurdly, 'Among all scriptural writings of the world, SrTmad
BhagavadgTta occupies a unique place. As a matter of fact, it is the
only book which can be called secular in the real sense of the term.
It is a practical philosophy of living an ideal social life...'} 5 Ref.
Chapter 2: verse 2 (SR.): Whence has come to thee this stain (this
dejection) of spirit in this hour of crisis? It is unknown to men of
noble mind (not cherished by the Aryans); it does not lead to
heaven; (on earth) it causes disgrace, O Arjuna. Chapter 2: verses
32-37 (WDPH.): Happy the Ksatriyas, O son of Pritha, who find a
fight like this, that comes without their seeking! It is heaven's gate
thrown wide! But if thou wilt not wage this war, as duty bids, then
wilt thou cast aside thy duty and thine honour, and gather to thee
guilt. Yea, and the world will tell of thine imperishable dishonor: and
for a knight of fame dishonour is worse than death. 'Tis fear has
held thee from the battle-so will the lords of great cars think; and
where thou hast been 15
 highly honoured thou wilt come to light esteem. And many
words ill to speak will they speak who wish thee hurt, and mock thy
prowess. What can cause greater pain than this? Slain, thou shalt
win heaven; victorius, thou shalt enjoy the earth; therefore arise, O
son of KuntT, with no uncertain spirit for the fight! Chapter 11: verse
33 (WDPH.): Therefore arise, win glory, defeat thy foes, enjoy wide
sovereignty! I have already slain these men; be thou no more than a
means, left-handed bowman! {It is almost funny how purely 2:32-37
are contradicted by 2:38! [2:38 (WDPH.): Hold equal pleasure and
pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat; then gird thyself for the
battle; thus shalt thou not gather to thee guilt.]} 6 Ref. Chapter 8:
verse 15 (FE.): Having come to Me, rebirth, Which is the home of
misery and impermanent, Do not attain the great-souled men That
have gone to supreme perfection. Chapter 9: verse 33 (SR.): How
much more then, holy Brahmins and devoted royal saints; Having
entered this impermanent sorrowful world, do thou worship Me.
Chapter 5: verse 22 (FE.): For the enjoyments that spring from
(outside) contacts Are nothing but sources of misery; They have
beginning and end, son of KuntT; The wise man takes no delight in
them. 7 Ref. Chapter 9: verses 7-8 (FE.): All beings, son of KuntT,
Pass into My material nature At the end of a world-eon; them again I
send forth at the beginning of a (new) world-eon. Taking as base My
own material-nature I send forth again and again This whole host of
beings, Which is powerless, by the power of (My) material nature.
Chapter 14: verses 3-4 (WDPH.): For me the Great Brahman is a
womb; therein I lay the germ; thence comes the birth of every
being, Bharata. Whatever forms take birth in any womb, O son of
KuntT, of these the Great Brahman is the womb, and I the Father
that gives the seed. {Citing 9:7-8 & 14:3-4, as references, is
apparently contradicted by 4:14. [4:14 (WDPH.): Works do not stain
me, nor in me is there longing for fruit of works; who recognizes this
to be my state, he is not bound by works.] However, the appearance
of the contradiction vanishes when the falsity in 4:14 becomes
apparent: that without any longing for fruit of works a creator would
not do work that creates a creation. The same would be true about
9:9. [9:9 (SR.): Nor do these works bind Me, O winner of wealth
(Arjuna), for I am seated as if indifferent, unattached in those
actions.] Why would he at all create a creation— Vyakta Prakriti— if
he, to that work, is unattached and indifferent? Similarly, in 3:22
(WDPH.), Krishna says, 'For me, O son of Pritha, is no work at all in
the three worlds that I must do; nor aught ungained that I must
gain; yet I abide in work.' In 3:23-24 (WDPH.), he says, 'For if I
were not, tireless, to abide ever in work— my path men follow
altogether, son of Pritha— Did I not work my work, these worlds
would fall in ruin, and I should be the worker of confusion, and
should destroy these creatures.' 3:23-24, however, contradict 3:22 in
that in the former Krishna makes it almost explicit and clear that
there is something that he must do; that there is a desire in him, the
desire that the three worlds should not fall in ruin, that the creatures
should not be destroyed. AP., like SPCI. (Pg. 157-159), seems to
argue that the creation of the manifested world (Vyakta Prakriti) is
not a deliberate process born of desire but a mere automated or
necessary process. He (Pg. 555), in the commentary on 9:8, says,
'Manifold beings emanate repeatedly in the world. Brahman (Krsna)
declares Itself as the source of emanation. This phenomenon 16
 resembles the emanation of waves in the ocean. A bucket
of water produces no waves in it. Nor does a pond of water. But the
ocean of water automatically produces waves. That is the nature
(prakrti) of the ocean. Waves arise naturally from the ocean. The
ocean can rightly declare that the waves emanate from it helplessly
over and over again. So does Brahman declare that beings emanate
from It endlessly. Brahman's inherent nature (prakrti) is to produce
them.' The absurdity in the analogy is however almost evident, since
it is not the nature of the ocean to produce waves, but it is usually
"wind" that causes them. In other words, it is not necessary for the
ocean to produce waves. In even other words, it is not the inherent
nature of the ocean to produce waves; something external,
something that is not the ocean is required for the production (or
emanation) of waves. AP. further says, 'Imagine a rope being
mistaken for a snake. The snake arising from a rope is an illusion.
The illusion is a misapprehension of the rope. The 'misapprehension'
arises because of the 'non-apprehension' of the rope. When you do
not apprehend the rope as a rope, the non-apprehension of the rope
becomes the cause for creating several misapprehensions out of it.
You could mistake the rope for a snake or any other creature. The
rope can declare that the potential for non-apprehension lies in it. As
long as a rope exists one may not apprehend it as a rope. The
potential for non-apprehension lies in the rope itself. The moment
the rope is not apprehended, such non-apprehension becomes a
source of misapprehensions. This potential of non-apprehension
inherent in the rope is considered its nature (prakrti). Like the snake
projected on a rope, the deluded project this illusory world upon the
Reality, Brahman. Just as one does not apprehend a rope, people do
not apprehend Brahman. Thus, the possibility of non-apprehension
of Brahman lies in Brahman Itself. Hence, Brahman declares non-
apprehension, referred to as prakrti, as Its own nature. The non-
apprehension of Brahman produces several misapprehensions. The
kaleidoscopic patterns of beings appearing in the world are mere
misapprehensions of Brahman. These illusory projections will last as
long as you do not apprehend Brahman. But the moment you
apprehend Brahman, all misapprehensions disappear, the worlds
vanish.' Again, the flaw in the analogy becomes evident when it is
understood that it does not appear to be necessary for the
manifested world (Vyakta Prakriti)— whose existence necessitates
the existence of the state of delusion (or non-apprehension or
misapprehension)— to at all actually exist, even though the potential
(or the possibility) may ever exist. The existence of the manifested
world seems to be an act of deliberate creation per 9:7-8 & 14:3-4.
If it is not an act of deliberate creation, however, then God (i.e.
Krishna) would be reduced to some sort of a mere helpless machine
lacking any freewill.} 8 Ref. Chapter 13: verse 22 (FE.): The onlooker
and consenter, The supporter, experience, great Lord, The supreme
soul also is declared to be The highest spirit, in this body. Chapter
15: verses 17-18 (FE.): But there is a highest spirit, other (than
this), Called the Supreme Soul; Which, entering into the three
worlds, Supports them, the undying Lord. Since I transcend the
perishable, And am higher than the imperishable too, Therefore in
the world and the Veda I am Proclaimed as the highest spirit. 9 Ref.
Chapter 2: verse 55 (FE.): When he abandons desires, All that are in
the mind, son of Prtha, Finding contentment by himself in the self
alone, Then he is called of stabilized 17
 mentality. Chapter 6: verse 18 (SR.): When the disciplined
mind is established in the Self alone, liberated from all desires, then
is he said to be harmonized (in yoga). 10 RR. says, 'Anyone who
makes a comparative study of the current state verses of the Gita,
devoid of religious blinkers, will find the character of Krishna coming
across as very cynical, evasive, inconsistent, shifting philosophical
stances according to convenience, mixing ideas of differing schools
of thought at will (Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta) without any care or
regard for their cogency and coherence. How such an opportunistic
and willful entity (seen together with his role in the Mahabharata) be
passed off as a God and that too raised to the towering heights of
religious and devotional frenzy, may forever remain one of the
greatest enigmas of Hindu culture.' 11 Ref. Chapter 3: verse 27
(SR.): While all kinds of work are done by the modes of nature, he
whose soul is bewildered by the self-sense thinks 'I am the doer'.
Chapter 13: verse 29 (SR.): He who sees that all actions are done
only by nature (prakrti) and likewise that the self is not the doer, he
verily sees. Chapter 3: verse 5 (SR.): For no one can remain even for
a moment without doing work; every one is made to act helplessly
by the impulses born of nature. Chapter 3: verse 33 (WDPH.): As is
a man's own nature, so he acts, even a man of knowledge; all
creatures follow Nature; what will restraint effect? Chapter 9: verse
10 (SR.): Under My guidance, nature (prakrti) gives birth to all
things, moving and unmoving and by this means, O Son of KuntT
(Arjuna), the world revolves. Chapter 18: verse 61 (FE.): Of all
beings, the Lord In the heart abides, Arjuna, Causing all beings to
turn around (As if) fixed in a machine, by his magic power. Chapter
15: verse 15 (WDPH.): And I am seated in the heart of all; from me
are memory, knowledge, and removal of doubt; by all the Vedas am
I to be known; and I am he who made the Vedas' Ends, and know
the Vedas. Chapter 10: verses 4-5 (WDPH.): Discernment,
knowledge, freedom from delusion, long-suffering, truth, restraint,
tranquillity, pleasure and pain, existence, non-existence, fear and
fearlessness, Harmlessness, an even mind, contentment, austerity,
beneficence, fame, and infamy— such are the states of beings,
severally dispensed by me alone. Chapter 7: verse 12 (WDPH.):
Know that those states of Purity, of Energy, and of Darkness are
from me alone; but I am not in them; they are in me. Chapter 13:
verses 21-22 (WDPH.): For the Person, abiding in Nature,
experiences the Strands born of Nature; his attachment to the
Strands is the cause of his birth in good or evil wombs. The Supreme
Person in this body is called the spectator, the approver, the
sustainer, the experiencer, Great Lord, and also Highest Self. [WDPH.
(pg. 48) says, 'Freedom, in the Gita, is an illusory liberty of choice,
working within the bounds of an ultimate determinism'. GD.,
however, like quite a few others not mentioned in this work, seems
to (wrongly) believe in human freewill in the Gita. He (Pg. 208) says,
'I believe that the problem of evil exists only if one believes that God
is all-powerful and benign. This may not hold true in the
Mahabharata. Krishna seems to be suggesting that all of life is
subject to the law of karma. A person is free to act, but once the
deed is done, no one can stop its relentless consequences. Even God
cannot interfere.' EE. (Pg. 67) too wrongly says, 'the Gita places
human destiny entirely in human hands. Its world is not
deterministic, but neither is it an expression of blind chance: we
shape ourselves and our world by what we believe and think 18
 and act on, whether for good or for ill. In this sense the
Gita opens not on Kurukshetra but on dharmakshetra, the field of
dharma, where Arjuna and Krishna are standing for us all.' DP. (Pg.
181) seems to be mistaken too. He says, 'Krishna does not fight in
this war. He serves only as charioteer and guide. He can only
encourage; action is left to the Pandavas. It is their battle, their
action, their decision.' And so does PY(2). He (Pg. 306-07) says, 'you
are born with about seventy-five percent of your life predetermined
by you past. You will make up the remaining twenty-five percent. If
you yourself, through your own free choice and effort of will, do not
determine what that twenty-five percent will be, the seventy-five
percent will make the twenty-five percent for you, and you will
become a puppet. That is, you will be ruled absolutely by your past,
by the influence and effects of your past tendencies.' KK. (Pg. 39)
says, 'It is easy to be fatalistic about this state of affairs, and many
Hindu teachers, following Krishna's example in the Bhagavad-gita,
have offered spiritual recipes for tackling it. Arvind Sharma's
contemporary solution goes as follows. To think fatalistically about
karma is unhelpful when, in fact, as human beings we have the
power at any moment to change our own behaviour, and thus its
consequences for our future. Free will rather than fatalism
characterizes the operation of karma.' It well might be free will that
characterizes karma, but it is not human free will but the divine one,
for the former does not seem to exist according to the Gita.] The
Quranic verses with parallel meaning: NJD. (Pg. 59): God has
sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. God has power over all
things. NJD. (Pg. 12): Indeed, if God pleased, He could take away
their hearing and their sight: God has power over all things. NJD.
(Pg. 78): God has knowledge of all things. [The meaning is perhaps
not so parallel in this particular case though, since these verses do
not necessarily indicate ultimate determinism.] 12 Ref. Chapter 7:
verse 15 (WDPH.): Not in me take refuge evildoers, fools, lowest of
men; bereft of knowledge by delusion, turned to Devilish estate.
Chapter 7: verse 25 (WDPH.): Veiled by my power of delusion, I am
not light to all; deluded is this world, and does not recognize me as
unborn, immutable. Chapter 9, verse 12 (WDPH.): Vain of hope are
they, vain of work, vain of knowledge, void of wit; they enter the
delusive nature of Monsters and of Devils. Chapter 16: verses 19-20
(SR.): These cruel haters, worst of men, I hurl constantly these evil-
doers only into the wombs of demons in (this cycle of) births and
deaths. Fallen into the wombs of demons, these deluded beings
from birth to birth, do not attain to Me, O Son of KuntT (Arjuna), but
go down to the lowest state. [In 4:36 (SR.), Krishna (contradictorily)
says, 'Even if thou shouldst be the most sinful of all sinners, thou
shalt cross over all evil by the boat of wisdom alone'. In 9:30-31
(SR.), he similarly says, 'Even if a man of the most vile conduct
worships me with undistracted devotion, he must be reckoned as
righteous for he has rightly resolved. Swiftly does he become a soul
of righteousness and obtain lasting peace. O son of KuntT (Arjuna),
know thou for certain that My devotee perishes never'. Well, does
Krishna at all give them any chance?] The Quranic verses: NJD. (Pg.
11-12): As for the unbelievers, it is the same whether or not you
forewarn them; they will not have faith. God has set a seal upon
their hearts and ears; their sight is dimmed and grievous
punishment awaits them.... There is a sickness in their hearts which
God has aggravated: they shall be sternly punished for the lies they
ever told.... God will 19
 mock them and keep them long in sin, ever straying from
the right path.... They are like one who kindled afire, but as soon as
it lit up all around him God put it out and left him in darkness: they
do not see. Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will never return to the right
path. NJD. (Pg. 38): As for the unbelievers, their patrons are false
gods, who lead them from light to darkness. They are the heirs of
the Fire and shall abide in it for ever.... God does not guide the evil-
doers. NJD. (Pg. 39): God does not guide the unbelievers. NJD. (Pg.
76): It is God who has sealed their hearts, on account of their
unbelief. They have no faith, except a few of them. NJD. (Pg. 195):
God will not guide those who disbelieve God's revelations. Woeful
punishment awaits them.... God does not guide the unbelievers.
Such are those whose hearts and ears and eyes are sealed by God;
such are the heedless. In the life to come they will surely be the
losers. NJD. (Pg. 75): The hypocrites shall be cast into the lowest
depths of the Fire: there shall be none to help them. NJD. (Pg. 77):
God will not forgive those who disbelieve and act unjustly; nor will
He guide them to any path other than the path of Hell, wherein they
shall abide for ever. Surely that is easy enough for God. NJD. (Pg.
75): Those who accept the Faith and then renounce it, who again
embrace it and again deny it and grow in unbelief- God will neither
forgive them nor will rightly guide them.... God will surely gather in
Hell the hypocrites and the unbelievers all.... The hypocrites seek to
deceive God, but it is He who deceives them.... You cannot guide the
man whom God has confounded. [NJD. (Pg. 83): Those that make
war against God and His apostle and spread disorder in the land
shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on
alternate sides, or be banished from the land. They shall be held up
to shame in this world and sternly punished in the hereafter: except
those that repent before you reduce them. For you must know that
God is forgiving and merciful.... But whoever repents after
committing evil, and mends his ways, shall be pardoned by God.
God is forgiving and merciful. NJD. (Pg. 129): Tell the unbelievers
that if they mend their ways their past shall be forgiven...] 13 Ref.
Chapter 4: verse 8 (FE.): For protection of the good, And for