C. Rajagopalachari (Set Of 4 Books): Bhagavad Gita : A Handbook for Students | Our Culture | Upanishads | Stories for the Innocent

1. Bhagavad Gita : A Handbook for Students :

The Gita is one of the most authoritative sources of Hindu doctrine and ethics, and is accepted as such by Hindus of all denominations. A study of even selections from it, strengthened by earnest meditation, will enable young men and women to understand the religion of our fathers, which is the background of all the noble philosophy, art, literature and civilization that we have inherited.

There are many excellent translations of the Gita in English and in the Indian spoken languages. For scholars, the commentaries of Sri Sankaracharya and other great religious teachers are mines of knowledge before which any modern notes are but chaff. The following pages are intended for students who have not the equipment and time for studying the original text with any of these great commentaries.

Though The Gita is a chapter in the Mahabharata, one should note that the Gita, as a scripture of Hinduism, stands apart from the Mahabharata. The context has rightly receded into insignificance and has practically disappeared in orthodox Hindu interpretation. To take the battle of Kurukshetra literally and to interpret all that is said in the Gita in the light of the motive of the particular scene would not only not help the student to understand the Gita aright, but may even lead him to error.

It is true that the teachings in the Gita being of universal validity would also be applicable to the Mahabharata scene and must help to solve Arjuna’s problems and doubts. But we shall fail to understand the teaching aright if we are obsessed by the particular scene and seek to interpret the general by the particular. It is a common practice in Sanskrit literature to provide great works with such or other prologues. We should forget the battle-scene when we study the Gita as a scripture of Sanatana Dharma.

There are eighteen adhyayas in the Gita and seven hundred slokas in all. In the following pages 226 slokas are quoted. A study of them is enough to give a fairly good grasp of the Bhagavad-Gita.

The Bhagavad-Gita professes to give nothing new beyond what has previously been taught by the Upanishads. It contents itself with a synthesis of the older teachings.
This book does not propose to give any new interpretation of the Bhagavad-Gita. Let the reader not expect to find in the following pages any old interpretations controverted, any newly invented explanations.

This little book aims at a simplified presentation of the Gita content, and at bringing it within a small compass so as to enable the modern student to understand, in the midst of his other studies, the faith, discipline and ideals that lighted the path of life for our forefathers, and to which is given the name Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism.

What is said in the Gita, the Upanishads and other holy books of the world may often be not as precise or clear as we would want it to be. The explanations are not as satisfying as the proofs we find in the physical sciences. This is necessarily so because the matter is wholly different and the approach and methods of application also must differ. Things within the domain of human reasoning can be defined and proved. But for the understanding of things beyond, faith and meditation have to function. The scriptures and holy books may be looked upon as helps to assist reverent meditation, by which alone the human mind can get glimpses into the truth beyond.

To ignore the real is foolish. The unknown is no less real because it is unknown.

2. Our Culture :

Rajaji’s impact on the thought of India is an established fact. His contribution has been made on many levels for he is an unusually versatile man. It is difficult to think of anyone better suited to the task of interpreting trends, and evaluating our capacity to absorb and benefit by them, than Rajaji. It was therefore appropriate that the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan should have invited him to deliver lectures on Indian Culture and that the lectures should now be available to a wider public in book form.

In the three lectures contained in this book Rajaji has drawn upon his vast knowledge and explained the sources of our culture. He defines culture as “the habit of successful self-control”. After the needs of the body and the mind have been met, culture is the third dimension which leads depth to man’s personality.

3. Upanishads :

In the Upanishads, we have a scripture which, among all the holy scriptures of the world, displays the most scientific spirit in connection with spiri- tual enquiry. The sages, whose thoughts and teachings we read in the Upanishads, seem to be as much inspired by constructive doubt as the most modem men of science. Their questions and answers indicate that they lived. in an age when, alongside of conformism and the rigid mainte- nanoe of old practices, men thirsted’ for Truth and the atmosphere was charged with the boldest free- thought: Satyamevajayate nanrtam satyenapantha vitato devayanah.

4. Stories for the Innocent :

Vintage stories always fascinate readers because they talk of days gone by. Rajaji has penned several stories, 37 of which have been included in this book. The stories tell of real people who were sensitive, emotional and part of India’s history. Each story is different, a whiff of the emotional past of South India.

The 37 stories included in this book deal with various aspects of life, a pulsating, lively, often tender and sometimes saddening past. They are down to earth stories of people who loved, lived, enjoyed and suffered. The stories are fascinating as they talk of a time when none of the readers of the book were alive and they have heard of such happenings only through the voices of their aged relatives. Some of the customs, traditions may no longer be there but Rajaji has made them immortal. ‘The Jasmine flowers’ deals with a man’s recollection of his dead mother when he sees a hurt young woman because both of them smell of jasmine flowers. ‘Crackers’ talk of a young boy’s obsession with fireworks during Diwali and how he gets them. The end is mysterious and interesting. Each story is different, some were written by Rajaji in Tamil and translated, others were written in English and they have been written at different times of his life and all of them were written with a purpose of improving the social causes.