Krishna has referred Kapil Muni's Sankhya in Gita. In fact most of Gita's adhyatma (spiritual basis) comes out of Sankhya.
The Sankhya philosophy is based on the premise that this universe is made of one single element. That one element which is called Prakriti takes various shapes and creates universe. In Sankhya, this Prakriti is independent of Purush (or Brahma) but works as per His sankalpa (wish). However, this Prakriti is responsible for the wish in Purush to start with. This philosophy matches well with principles of modern physics. The duality which says that the matter and energy are interchangeable, fits well into this philosophy of Sankhya.
Gita later goes on proposing that everything is Brahma. Which borders to the Advaita (oneness of universe with no independent Prakriti). Gita says -
"Brahmarpanam, Brahma-havir, Brahmagnau, Brahmanahutam,
Brahmaiva ten gantvyam, Brahma Karma Samadhina"
Meaning, the offering is Brahma, the fire where offering is given is Brahma, the one who receives this offering is Brahma. The offering goes to Brahma and the whole action of offering itself is Brahma. So it undoubtedly pronounces the oneness of universe. It pronounces that everything and every action is God and there is nothing else but God.
Now the question is how can you agree with both Dvaita of Sankhya and Advaita?
Gita in itself looks to be reconciling the confrontations of various paths. It has at one point said Gnyan (knowledge) to be supreme of paths and at other it has said Bhakti (Devotion) to be best. Of course it gives different reasons for both. Then with Gnyan and Bhakti it also tries to establish utmost importance Karma (action). Ultimately the conclusion it draws is that actions with full knowledge of good and bad should be performed with utmost devotion so that ego of a Karta (doer) does not gets attached to the actions.
Similarly it tries to reconcile the Dvaita with Advaita. It takes from Sankhya the principle of this universe being real with one element creating this whole universe. It also takes the principle of one God from Adviata. It then establishes that the universe is made of one element and that one element is God himself. That the creator is the creation Himself and the act of creation is also Him. So in Gita's Advaita as against Shankar's Advaita, the universe and all actions in this universe are real. They are not illusory. But everything and every action is manifestation of only one single reality.
Thus when Krishna says he himself is God in later chapters he is not saying anything new. He is merely saying that he has realized this principle that everything is manifestation of that one reality. When he shows the Virat rupam (celestial form). He is not showing any miracle. He is merely making Arjuna realize that the universe is made of that one element which is God. This he achieves by giving him different eyes. Giving different eyes is metaphoric and it merely means giving a different point of view which makes Arjuna realize the oneness of universe.
Hence, Gita seems to be a book which reconciles different philosophies and paths within Hinduism. It acts as a concise form of entire philosohical wisdom from Vedic texts and also acts as intersection point for various philosophies.
The Sankhya philosophy is based on the premise that this universe is made of one single element. That one element which is called Prakriti takes various shapes and creates universe. In Sankhya, this Prakriti is independent of Purush (or Brahma) but works as per His sankalpa (wish). However, this Prakriti is responsible for the wish in Purush to start with. This philosophy matches well with principles of modern physics. The duality which says that the matter and energy are interchangeable, fits well into this philosophy of Sankhya.
Gita later goes on proposing that everything is Brahma. Which borders to the Advaita (oneness of universe with no independent Prakriti). Gita says -
"Brahmarpanam, Brahma-havir, Brahmagnau, Brahmanahutam,
Brahmaiva ten gantvyam, Brahma Karma Samadhina"
Meaning, the offering is Brahma, the fire where offering is given is Brahma, the one who receives this offering is Brahma. The offering goes to Brahma and the whole action of offering itself is Brahma. So it undoubtedly pronounces the oneness of universe. It pronounces that everything and every action is God and there is nothing else but God.
Now the question is how can you agree with both Dvaita of Sankhya and Advaita?
Gita in itself looks to be reconciling the confrontations of various paths. It has at one point said Gnyan (knowledge) to be supreme of paths and at other it has said Bhakti (Devotion) to be best. Of course it gives different reasons for both. Then with Gnyan and Bhakti it also tries to establish utmost importance Karma (action). Ultimately the conclusion it draws is that actions with full knowledge of good and bad should be performed with utmost devotion so that ego of a Karta (doer) does not gets attached to the actions.
Similarly it tries to reconcile the Dvaita with Advaita. It takes from Sankhya the principle of this universe being real with one element creating this whole universe. It also takes the principle of one God from Adviata. It then establishes that the universe is made of one element and that one element is God himself. That the creator is the creation Himself and the act of creation is also Him. So in Gita's Advaita as against Shankar's Advaita, the universe and all actions in this universe are real. They are not illusory. But everything and every action is manifestation of only one single reality.
Thus when Krishna says he himself is God in later chapters he is not saying anything new. He is merely saying that he has realized this principle that everything is manifestation of that one reality. When he shows the Virat rupam (celestial form). He is not showing any miracle. He is merely making Arjuna realize that the universe is made of that one element which is God. This he achieves by giving him different eyes. Giving different eyes is metaphoric and it merely means giving a different point of view which makes Arjuna realize the oneness of universe.
Hence, Gita seems to be a book which reconciles different philosophies and paths within Hinduism. It acts as a concise form of entire philosohical wisdom from Vedic texts and also acts as intersection point for various philosophies.
||Shri Krishnachandrarpanmastu||
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