The Mahabharata was written in the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD, which lasted 800 years. It is written and recited orally, and its content is constantly expanding and accumulated layer by layer. The final draft reached "100,000 Fu" (32 syllables for each Fu) and was translated into about 4 million Chinese words.
"Mahabharata" is divided into 18 poems, with the social background of India's disputed years, describing the struggle of two descendants of Mahabharata, Gulu and Pandu, for the right to inherit the throne.
Xiangcheng's national leader and general are brothers. The owner of this country was born blind, so he gradually inherited the throne. There are hundreds of children holding the country, but the eldest son is hard to beat. As an ordinary student, there are five sons, and the eldest son is strong. These are two descendants of the great India. The former is called Gulu and the latter is called Pandu. Soon, he died and was regent by the state. When you come of age, you should inherit your father's throne. However, the enemy refused and tried to occupy the throne, and the dispute began.
The enemy designed a Laker Palace for the five Pandu brothers to live in and prepared to set them on fire. Pandu's five brothers survived and went into exile in the forest. At the same time, Princess Black, the daughter of King pancaro, held a ceremony to choose her husband, and Pancho's five brothers took the exam disguised as Brahmins. Zhou Na, one of the five brothers, according to the requirements of mate selection, pulled open the big iron bow, shot an arrow and hit the target, and won the Black Princess. From then on, the black princess became the wife of the five brothers. Pandu people also revealed their true identity in this incident. So the host country recalled them and gave them half the country.
Pandu people built their capital, Tiandi City, on the land allocated to them and made great achievements. The enemy is jealous and designs a dice gambling scam. Jian Zhan didn't want to take part in gambling, but out of courtesy, he accepted the invitation of his enemy. In the dice, the sword battle lost all the property and kingdom, lost four younger brothers and himself, and finally lost the wife of their five brothers, the black princess. So the difficult enemy ordered his younger brother to drag the black princess forcibly and humiliate him in public in the gambling hall. Hou Jun, one of the five Pandu brothers, was furious and vowed to take revenge. With a sense of foreboding, he had to intervene and agreed to the request of the black princess to release the five brothers of Yidu. But the enemy refused to give up, found the Yidu family five brothers, demanded to gamble again, and said that if they lost, they would be exiled to the forest 12 years, and in the thirteenth year, they lived in hiding. If found, he will be exiled again 12 years. The result of this gambling is naturally a difficult battle to lose. In this way, the five Pandu brothers were forced to hand over their land and lived in exile in the forest for 12 years. In the thirteenth year, they lived incognito and worked as servants in the court of the king of Mozambique.
At the expiration of thirteen years, the five Pandu brothers demanded the return of their lost land, but the enemy resolutely refused. So the two sides fought for their allies and prepared for the war. Pantuo people are supported by the dark sky of Duomen City (the incarnation of Vishnu). Ambassadors of Pandu and Gulu come back and forth to negotiate. The enemy went his own way and refused to make peace. In order to avoid a bloody war, Kenzhan made the biggest concession and proposed to return only five villages. And the enemy claimed that he wouldn't even give a place as big as a needle tip. Finally, the two sides fought in the wild of Gulu.
The war lasted 18 days. After repeated fierce fighting, the whole army of the Gru people was destroyed. Seeing the success of Fan Dubang, I didn't expect the remaining three generals of Grubang to sneak attack Fan Dubang's barracks at night and kill all the soldiers of Fan Dubang. The five brothers Kuroda and Pandu survived because they were not in the barracks. Faced with such a tragic ending, his indomitable spirit was depressed, but under the persuasion of everyone, he finally became king. After thirty-six years of hard work, I learned that the dark sky died and ascended to heaven. So, he appointed Azhou's grandson, the only descendant of Fandu, as the heir to the throne, and then took his four younger brothers and the black princess on foot.
The above is just the core story of Mahabharata. This epic adopts a frame narrative structure, and the story is in it. The whole epic is in a constant dialogue, and the story unfolds in the dialogue, while the big story can be inserted into the middle story and the middle story can be inserted into the short story. This is an open narrative structure, which opens the door for all kinds of narratives. In this way, this epic is based on the Indian War, and it has incorporated a lot of myths, legends, fables, stories, religions, philosophies, politics and ethics, and finally became an "encyclopedia" epic. These inserts occupy almost half of the book. This is a special way for ancient Indians to preserve their national ideological and cultural heritage. This is also in the process of writing this epic, and the epic author consciously did so, making it a comprehensive "cultural treasure house" because both the beginning and the end of this epic declared: "Dharma, benefit, love and liberation are here, elsewhere, here and elsewhere." (1.56.33 and 18.5.38) In other words, this epic covers everything in the world. The four oldest existing Vedas in India (Rigveda, Shamenda Veda, Yale Veda and Adapo Veda) are sacred books in the Vedic era, while Mahabharata became sacred books in the epic era and was regarded as the "fifth Veda".
Among the religious philosophy elements inserted in Mahabharata, the most important is the Bhagavad-gita. Belongs to Mahabharata Chapter VI Vishnu (BH:? Ma Pa Wen chapter 23 to 40). This is the first day of the war, and the troops of Gulu and Pandu have been arrayed on the battlefield of Gulu. Azhou, on the other hand, doubts the legitimacy of this war and thinks that it is sinful for kin to kill each other and destroy clan law and caste law. Worried, he laid down his weapon and would rather die than go to war. Then, the dark sky enlightened him and lifted all kinds of doubts in his heart. Their dialogue constitutes the Bhagavad gita.
The Bhagavad-gita has 18 chapters and 700 hymns. Chapter 18 This number and Mahabharata * * * have 18 articles, and have been fighting Mahabharata for 18 days. This must not be an accidental coincidence, but it is meaningful, that is, the epic author regards the Bhagavad-gita as the ideological core of Mahabharata. "Bhagavad-gita" is a respectful name for the dark sky, which can be translated as "venerable" or "Buddha". The dark sky is the incarnation of Vishnu, so the Bhagavad gita can also be translated into the song of God.
In the Bhagavad-gita, Kuroda explained to Ah Zhou to achieve the highest goal in life (Mo? A) Three paths: professional yoga, intellectual yoga and religious yoga. "Yoga" in ancient India refers to the method of cultivating body and mind. Bo Dian Li (Pata? Jali's yoga (Yogasū tra) mentioned eight methods of yoga practice: prohibition, obedience, meditation, pranayama, awareness, concentration, meditation and meditation. In the Bhagavad-gita, the dark sky expands the meaning of yoga and refers to the way of action. The word "yoga" comes from the verb root yuj, which means to bind, connect or combine. In this way, the so-called yoga in the dark requires the actors to restrain themselves and be one with the supreme existence.
Karma is an action or behavior. Karmayoga (action yoga) means to perform one's social obligations and responsibilities with a detached attitude, without personal desires and interests, regardless of the success or failure of the action. The dark sky thinks that action is the essence of human beings. Refuse to act, I'm afraid even life is difficult to maintain. Stop acting and the world will go to ruin. Even if all actions are inevitably flawed, just as a flame always carries smoke, one should not give up the job he was born with. Action itself does not constitute a bondage, but the result of continuous action constitutes a bondage. Therefore, we can get rid of egoism and obsession with the results of action, and just act to fulfill our social responsibilities.
In the Vedic literature of ancient India, "karma" often refers to sacrificial activities, because Brahmins regard sacrificial ceremonies as the highest "karma" and preach sacrificial ceremonies to ensure happiness in this world and ascend to heaven after death. The dark sky does not completely deny the sacrifice advocated by the Vedas. He extended sacrifice to action in a broad sense, but thought that following the Vedic teaching and persisting in the result of action could not be liberated. Kuroda emphasized that everyone should fulfill their social responsibilities and take action instead of clinging to the results of action.
In ancient Indian caste society, social responsibility mainly refers to caste responsibility. Brahman is in charge of sacrifice and culture, Khrushchev is in charge of kingship and military affairs, Veda is engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry and commerce, and Dhara is engaged in fishing and hunting and various servants. Caste system is the manifestation of social class or class system in ancient India, which originated from social division of labor. The caste system is a product of history, and naturally it has its limitations and disadvantages. However, before mankind entered the great harmony society, different forms of hierarchy would exist in all countries. Even if we enter the Datong society, there will still be different degrees of social division of labor, because everyone can't know everything. This is the way of human existence and an objective law that is independent of human subjective will. According to religion, this is God's arrangement.
Dark Sky asks Zhou Na to perform Khrushchev's duties and join the battle. Of course, Pandu and Gulu are both Khrushchev, and both sides are fighting to the death. However, when the war takes place in a certain historical background, there will be a distinction between legality and illegality, that is, justice and injustice. According to the description of the epic itself, in this great battle between Pandu and Gulu, Pandu represented the just side. Therefore, the dark sky encouraged Arjuna to say, "What is better for Khrushchev samurai than legal fighting?" (2.3 1)
In the darkness, human society is always in the cycle of creation, maintenance and destruction. War is also inherent in the way of human existence. As a Khrushchev, Zhou Na could not escape the social responsibility of being in charge of the kingship and opposing it. The highest purpose of life is to get rid of it. But liberation is not by evading duties and giving up actions, but by performing duties and engaging in actions. Performing duties and engaging in actions is the first, and the success or failure of actions is the second. As long as you do your best to perform your duties, actions and action results will not become the shackles of individual souls. In other words, as long as you get rid of the shackles of actions and the results of actions on the individual soul, you will be free.
To truly understand and practice yoga, we must also combine it with wisdom yoga and belief yoga, because the three are complementary. Wisdom (j? āna) is knowledge or wisdom. In the Bhagavad-gita, it is the knowledge or wisdom of exponential theory and Upanishads. Wisdom Yoga (J? ānakarma (wisdom yoga) is to use the philosophical wisdom of number theory and Upanishads to guide your actions.
Number theory (Sā? Khya) philosophy holds that there are two eternal realities in the world: primitive man and primitive nature. Primitive man (Pu Ru? A) It is the eternal self, that is, the soul. Protoplasm (prak? Ti (or translated from nature and nature) is the original substance. Primitive matter is in an unexplored state and is invisible. But the original has three natures (goodness, worry and darkness). One or three natures, or translation of three virtues). Sattva means being relaxed, bright and happy. Rajas refers to the nature of excitement, impatience and anxiety. Tamas (transliteration of tamas) refers to the heavy, obstructive and dull nature. These three attributes are always in motion. Starting from these three attributes, the original material is out of balance and changes, resulting in feeling (intelligence), slow self (self-awareness), heart root (thought), five knowledge roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body), five working roots (mouth, hands, feet, anus and genitals) and five delicacies.
Dark Sky asks Zhou Na to distinguish the original from the original. Action is the original action, not the original human (soul) action. The essence embodies human nature. The three attributes of primitive matter are always in motion. According to the proportion of the combination of these three attributes, people can be divided into good people, worried people and dark people, and actions can also be divided into good actions, worried actions and dark actions. This is the theory of human nature in ancient India. It is neither good nor evil, but human nature contains these three natures. Everyone's human characteristics depend on the proportion of these three sexual combinations. And darkness needs to keep the soul pure, not bound by these three natures. Action comes from human nature. In order to fulfill social responsibility, the soul can get rid of the bondage of primitive nature and reach the realm of liberation without seeking self-interest and clinging to the result of action.
Upanishads philosophy pursues "the unity of Brahma and Me". Brahman comes from the verb root b? H means to show, grow or develop, so the word originally contains the meaning of "strength". In Vedic literature, this word is used as a neutral term, referring to Vedic hymns and spells and their hidden power; Used as masculine, referring to priests, especially the priests in charge of the four kinds of priests ("Vatican priests"). Brāhma originated from Brahmins? One refers to Brahman.
The discussion of Brahma in Upanishads is also the discussion of the most basic and fundamental power of the universe. In Upanishads, there are different opinions about what Brahma really is. However, in the process of discussion, it gradually tends to think that Brahma is the absolute spirit and the ontology or origin of the universe. Brahma's discussion is combined with the discussion of self (ātman, that is, soul), from which the conclusion that "the universe is me and Brahma is me" is drawn, that is, "Brahma is with me" and the universe ontology is with the individual soul. Some famous sayings in Upanishads, such as "I am Brahma", "I am Brahma" and "I am you", all express this meaning.
Upanishads regard Brahma as the highest truth and the real world as the product of magic (māyā). Magic refers to the mysterious creativity of supreme existence. Magic is equivalent to the original, that is, it is presented as various realistic forms through the original. However, the self (individual soul) is different from the original. Upanishads of the great forest (b? Hadara? Yaka Upani? Ad) said: "(self) can't be grasped because it can't be grasped. Invisible, because indestructible. Don't touch it, because it is untouchable. Free from bondage, harassment and harm. " (3.9.26) Self-nature (soul) is immortal, but it was reincarnated with good or bad karma before death. And if people "have no desire, except desire, desire has been satisfied, self-nature is desire, and their life breath is inseparable." He is Brahma, and he also goes to Brahma. "(4.4.6)" Going to Brahma "means getting rid of samsara just like Brahma. Inherited this philosophical wisdom from Upanishads. In the Bhagavad-gita, Brahma is called "immortal supreme existence". (8.3) "Brahmabhūta" and "Brahmanirvā" mentioned by Kuroda many times? A) refers to the realm of liberation, that is, to engage in actions without clinging to the results of actions, to get rid of the original bondage and to obtain peace and happiness.
"Bhakti" means piety, reverence or dedication. "Bhakti Karma" worships the dark sky devoutly and regards all actions as dedication to the dark sky. Bhagavad gita is a comprehensive development of Vedic theism and the absolute spirit of Upanishads. Brahmanism in the Vedic era was polytheistic worship, but in the epic era it evolved into three gods worship: Brahma's creation and Vishnu (Vi? U) minister of protection Shiva (? Iva) the destruction of the company. The monism of the absolute spirit of Upanishads (Brahma) helps to promote the formation of monotheism. Although Hinduism did not form monotheism in the end, the Bhagavad-gita embodies this effort.
The dark sky is the incarnation of Vishnu, the great god. He claimed to be "the highest primitive man" and "beyond immortality, he is also higher than immortality". (15. 18) "The supreme primitive man" is the supreme self (soul) or the supreme absolute spirit. From this, A Zhou also called the dark sky "Supreme Brahma". (10. 12) "Immortality" refers to the original material, and "Immortality" refers to the self (individual soul). As the supreme primitive, the dark sky did not appear. The supreme primitive man only used yoga power (yogamāyā) to present the universe through primitive matter. The supreme primitive man hides in the magic of yoga, creating and maintaining all beings. When the world is destroyed, all beings return to the true colors of the Supreme Primitive Man, and the world is rebuilt, and the Supreme Primitive Man releases all beings. In this way, the dark sky (Vishnu) has become the supreme existence of the universe, the supreme God, the creator, protector and destroyer of the world.
The dark sky requires Zhou Na to worship him wholeheartedly. Worship of the dark sky does not need to adopt the complicated rituals of Brahmanism in the Vedic era, as long as offering "a leaf, a flower, a fruit, a bucket of water" and (9.26) can show piety. The more important way to worship is to practice yoga and give up the result of action. Practicing yoga is meditation, condensing thoughts in the dark, and taking darkness as the highest purpose. The result of giving up action is that you do not persistently engage in action and dedicate all actions as sacrifices to the dark sky. Creation, maintenance and destruction are the way of existence of the world and God's arrangement. Born as a man, we must fulfill our social responsibility of dedication to God. Dark Sky thinks that as long as this is done, even the humble Vedas and sudra can reach the highest destination, which is the same as the highest existence.
The worship of the dark sky advocated in the Bhagavad gita triggered the religious movement of Hinduism in the Middle Ages. This religious philosophy poem absorbed and reformed Vedic theism and sacrificial theory, combined the primitive dualism of number theory philosophy with the Brahman-I identity of Upanishads philosophy, and adopted magnificent and peculiar literary expression techniques, which quickly spread in the Middle Ages. Indian philosophers of past dynasties often extract from Mahabharata and annotate and explain it as an independent classic. There are nearly 20 ancient versions of the Bhagavad-gita in the collating notes of the modern exquisite version of Mahabharata edited by V.S.Sukthankar.
These critics of the Bhagavad Gita are not all Vishnu philosophers, but also Vedanta philosophers and Shiva philosophers. Because philosophers of all schools cannot ignore the great influence of the Bhagavad-gita. The Bhagavad-gita itself contains various schools of religious philosophy, and it is easy for annotators to extend it according to their own religious philosophy. The earliest extant Bhagavad-gita (Gitābhā? Ya) was written by Sankara (? Answer? Kara, eighth and ninth centuries). He himself did not accept Vishnu, but interpreted the Bhagavad-gita from the viewpoint of Vedanta. After his explanation, the Bhagavad-gita, Upanishads and Sanskrit are listed as the three original works of prasthānatraya.
As a part of Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-gita, like Mahabharata, has a gradual shaping process. In the collation of Vishnbharata in Mahabharata, it was noted that some manuscripts described the length of the Bhagavad-gita as follows: "Black said 620 praises, Azuna said 57 praises, which was better than 67 praises, and the country said one." That makes a total of 745 likes. Sankara's comments on the Bhagavad gita define the Bhagavad gita as 700 carols. Later manuscripts or notes are based on this. Even in some texts, there will be more fu, but the overall difference, especially the text difference of these 700 fu, is not big.
In modern times, the Bhagavad-gita still has a far-reaching influence on Indian social thought. Roman Luo Yi, Vivekananda, Tirak, Gandhi, aurobindo and Ladakh krishnan, all these Indian thinkers have used the Bhagavad-gita to explain their philosophy and political thoughts. Especially in the context of India's struggle for national independence, Tilak emphasized action yoga based on wisdom and piety. Gandhi emphasized upholding the truth and acting selflessly. As Chato badia said in his book "Indian Philosophy", "At that time, a patriot could walk firmly to the gallows with a copy of the Bhagavad gita." [1] The Bhagavad-gita is still the most popular religious philosophy classic in India, with new translations and annotations appearing almost every year. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita is often called the Bible of India in the world.
Mahabharata is also the first religious philosophy poem translated into English, that is, the Bhagavad-gita translated and published by Charles Wilkins in England in 785/kloc-0. At that time, wilhelm humboldt, a German linguist, highly praised the Bhagavad-gita and said, "This exclamation in Mahabharata is the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical poem in all literary works we know." He added, "This is perhaps the deepest and noblest thing that the world claims." Since then, the Bhagavad-gita has been translated into many western languages, which has had a far-reaching impact on western thought and literature. C. isherwood also translated the Bhagavad-gita with S.Prabhavananda, and T. S. Eliot once said that the Bhagavad-gita "is the greatest philosophical poem after Dante's Divine Comedy". A Huxley also said, "The Bhagavad-gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of eternal philosophy" and "perhaps the most systematic spiritual expression of eternal philosophy". [2]
It can be seen that the Bhagavad-gita has the ideological charm beyond time and space. We can read the Bhagavad-gita today, and we don't have to stick to its philosophical idealism and religious theism. We can interpret religion and myth as metaphors. As the "Supreme Primitive Man" or "Supreme Brahmin", the dark sky represents the spirit of the universe (that is, the internal law), while the "primitive" of the "Supreme Primitive Man" represents the universe. The universe includes nature and society. Man is a part of the universe. If people want to exist, they must engage in actions. Action is guided by "self" (spirit or thought) and must conform to objective laws, which is "the unity of Brahma and Me". Business yoga, intellectual yoga and belief yoga represent practice, knowledge and belief, and belong to the universal life style of human beings. Knowing the world, respecting the objective laws, performing duties selflessly and fearlessly, engaging in actions and contributing to society can successfully realize life and reach the lofty realm of "harmony between man and nature".
The translation of this book is based on Bi Shi Mo Pian (BH:? Ma Simone Pavan, Bandakar Institute of Oriental Studies, Poona, 1947). The Bhagavad gita is one of the twenty-third to fortieth chapters. I mean all kinds of works, especially Bhagavad-gita and Tā by S.Radhakrishnan and its inductive articles, Sanskrit texts, English translations and annotations, New Delhi, 1948), Chahner (Bhagavad-gita: Tā by R C Zaehner) and its commemorative articles based on original materials, Oxford.
Huang baosheng
5 June 2007 to 5 February 2007