Protect Yourself From Misinterpretations of Bhagavad Gita

Embarking on the journey of self-realization begins with the study of Bhagavad Gita. It is the best instructional manual that is available for millennia for spiritual seekers. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that only one in a thousand becomes a spiritual seeker. In order to derive value from the words of the Supreme Lord, it is important to protect oneself from misinterpretations. It is my humble attempt to provide simple guidance to protect oneself from misinterpretation while studying this magnanimous work.

Let’s take for example this interpretation from GK Marballi for one of the most important verses. I am going to refer to him as GK from here-on.

Chapter 9 Verse 4

mayaa tatamidam sarvam jagadavyaktamoortinaa |

matsthaani sarva bhootaani na chaaham teshvavasthitaha ||

(GK) This entire universe is pervaded by my unmanifest state. All beings are based in me, I am not based in them.

To begin with, the translation itself is grammatically incorrect. There is not much of a problem to leave the translation as it stands. However, the commentary of this translation that GK provides is a misinterpretation. There are a lot of liberties taken and assumptions made while interpreting the Lord’s words.

The appropriate translation should be as follows which minimizes the scope for misinterpretation.

All of the material manifestations are pervaded by Me through my spiritual form that is beyond the perception of mind and senses. All living beings in this material world find their support in Me but I am not supported in them.

The keywords in this verse are Avyakta-murti and Sarva bhootani.

Avyakta-Murti:

(GK) translates it as unmanifest. In his commentary, he compares that to formless Ishvara (God)

Each word has multiple meanings in Sanskrit. It is important to look at the context of the verse in the overall dialogue and also take support from the previous representations of the word to derive the right translation.

The word avyakta comes up in Chapter 8 Verses 20,21 where the Lord clearly uses this word to describe his nature which is beyond the unmanifested material world i.e. atomic matter. So, we can’t translate that word in Chapter 9 as “unmanifest”. In this instance, Avyakta means Lord’s nature that is imperceptible to mind and senses. GK might argue that because it is imperceptible to the material mind and senses, it is formless. That interpretation is incorrect as well because Lord Krishna uses the word “Murti” (form) right next to the word “Avyakta” to avoid any ambiguity. So, it is a form that is beyond the perception of mind and senses, a spiritual form; not formless.

The Lord doesn’t leave any scope for misinterpretation because he knows our propensity to misinterpret due to false ego (ahamkara).

The next word Sarva bhootani which refers to living entities; those souls that are encaged within this material manifestation. Such living entities are supported by the Lord. But he doesn’t need any support from them. If we compare the Lord to Sun and living entities to Sun Rays, then we can clearly understand his statement. Sun Rays are dependent on the existence of the Sun. However, Sun is not dependent on the Sun Rays (Even if the Sun becomes bereft of helium and can’t produce Sun Rays, the Sun as an object still exists).

Why do people misinterpret Bhagavad Gita?

Such misinterpretations are not limited to GK’s translation. Misinterpretations to some degree are noticed in several translations of this great wisdom even among well-known spiritual authors. To be fair, I would say taking liberties or making assumptions in some places rather than a misinterpretation.

The question still remains why would such translations exist. I believe there are 3 reasons:

1. Indian philosophy has 6 schools of thought (darshanas) of which 3 are most common: Samkhya, Yoga, and Vedanta. Vedanta has Advaita and Dvaita schools. That makes it a total of 4 primary schools of thought. A spiritual author interprets the entire Bhagavad Gita according to the school of thought that he is inspired with. The composition accommodates all schools of thought but in different contexts. The problem arises when someone takes their school of thought the basic premise and interprets the entire text to meet that school of thought. Samkhya has its place in Chapter 2, Yoga in Chapter 6, Advaita Vedanta in the beginning 6 Chapters, and Dvaita Vedanta in the later Chapters. Lord Krishna takes Arjuna through this educational journey to uplift him from the level of a seeker to a Yogi to a Bhakta (devotee)

2. Some authors have an inherent interest and are using the most popular composition Bhagavad Gita to convey their own message

3. As it is said in the Upanishads, cheating propensity due to false ego (ahamkara) is the nature of a living entity in the material world. It makes us twist the meaning in such a way that we can become spiritually educated but doesn’t create the desire to surrender to the Supreme Lord. It is a subtle way of satisfying our ego

Lord Krishna says that Arjuna is his best friend and devotee, he becomes qualified to hear his message. So, one has to develop such a mood (bhava) to get to the real meaning of Bhagavad Gita.

There are some new age spiritual gurus who claim that they haven't read Bhagavad Gita and advocate that spiritual books are not important but they give talks on this subject matter and they publish their own books. I personally stay away from their commentaries.

Can I get a simple guide to detect misinterpretation and benefit from the true meaning?

Yes, it is very much possible. Please pay attention to these words in the verses and how those are translated. It is will protect you from most misinterpretations.

Aham:

• (Correct) I, The Lord

• (Incorrect) Self

Mam:

• (Correct) Me, The Lord

• (Incorrect) My Self

Avyakta:

• (Correct) Beyond the perception of mind and senses; spiritual or subtle

• (Incorrect) Unmanifest

Brahman

• (Correct) spiritual state

• (Incorrect) formless

Which Bhagavad Gita to read?

I am not asking you to trust my word but I think each translation has its strengths in specific areas.

Ramakrishna Mission’s translation fits well with Chapters 1-3, 5

Chinmaya Mission’s translation fits well with Chapters 1-6

Swami Prabhupada’s translation fits well with Chapters 7-12

Swami Mukundananda’s translation fits well with Chapters 13-18

One of the best translations that adhere to the commentaries of the renowned Acharya’s is here.