Bhagavad  Gita - Life’s  Manual  and  A Treasure House  of  IKS

Indian Knowledge System is found in Indian Scriptures which are all written in Sanskrit language. There are also hundreds of such scriptures available reading them all is a herculean task and grasping and understanding them still tougher. But these scriptures possess the true knowledge and hence distancing oneself from it because of its vastness would never be a wise decision. When it comes to incorporating these scriptures in the school, college and university curriculum the task becomes further more complex and difficult.

I remember when I was in middle school in 60s I would study Newton’s three laws. When in high school the same three laws were studied again and so I studied these three laws even at my plus two level – in those days either higher secondary or intermediate level during 70s. But every time the description of these laws by the teacher would be different and fortunately for me I had the same teacher of physics teaching these laws at all these three levels. My understanding got magnified on every subsequent occasion.  This experience of my schooling gives me the conviction that we should not get lost in the vastness of the Indian Scriptures when it comes to connecting learners to the Indian Knowledge System.  Knowing about Shruti, Smriti, Vedas, Upnishads, Puranas, Itihasa, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagavad Gita, Shashtras and Sutras, Sampradaya, philosophical schools, Vivek Cudamani, Panchatantra, listening to Guru, Rishi, Adishankaracarya, Mandan Mishar,  and hundreds of such literatures with their classifications and all makes it cumbersome to navigate oneself in this ocean of knowledge to reach the true knowledge. The gist of all these scriptures is presented in the Bhagavad Gita. It is like ghee taken out from milk.

The Bhagavad Gita contains seven hundred verses, eleven thousand four hundred words organized in eighteen chapters. All these verses have been uttered by the Lord – Lord Krishna – himself on the battlefield of Kurukshetra (symbolizing life) and relayed by Sanjay to Dhritrashtra (symbolizing an ignorant person seeking true knowledge). It renders solution to life’s every problem and so is called as life’s manual. It advances solution to problem(s) of an individual, an organization / institution, a society, a nation, the world or the universe and these solution as eternal in nature.

In my view every person – a student and a teacher or whosoever - should have in his or her pocket a copy of Bhagavad Gita scripted in Sanskrit language and translated in local language – say Marathi in our case in Maharashtra – national language – Hindi – and international language – English – for wider application throughout his / her life.  The learning does not end with completion of one’s schooling; it is a life-long learning till we breathe our last. We should refer this manual continuously and consistently such that at every situation, discussion or debate a relevant verse comes out of our mouth instantly and spontaneously to suit that situation, discussion, debate. It then connects us to our inner self, the eternal true knowledge, the Indian Knowledge System.