薄伽梵歌
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中文
薄伽梵歌
（《新发现》第六卷，第175—176页。）
〔弗兰克·罗德哈梅尔整理之《薄伽梵歌》（Bhagavad-Gitā）课堂笔记——此课于1900年5月24日（星期四）在加利福尼亚州旧金山举行〕
《薄伽梵歌》是吠陀（Vedas）的精华所在。它并非我们的圣经；奥义书（Upanishads）才是我们的圣经。〔《薄伽梵歌》〕乃奥义书之精髓，并调和了奥义书中诸多相互矛盾之处。
吠陀分为两大部分——业行部分与知识部分。业行部分包含各种仪式，以及关于饮食、生活、行善等方面的规范。知识部分出现于后世，由诸王阐发。
业行部分完全掌握在祭司手中，关涉的完全是感官生活层面。它教导人们行善积德，以便升天，享受永恒之乐。事实上，凡人所欲求之物，皆可通过业行或仪式获得。在仪式之中，非经祭司居间斡旋，任何事皆不能成就。因此，若有人有所求，哪怕是希望仇敌遭受惩处，也只需向祭司付费，祭司便会借助仪式达成所求。维护吠陀仪式部分，正是祭司阶层的切身利益所在，因为正是这一部分供养了他们的生计。他们因此竭尽全力，使这一部分完整保存下来。这些仪式极为繁复，有些需要历经数年方能完成。
知识部分出现于后世，完全由国王们阐发，被称为"王者之学"。伟大的君王对业行部分充斥的欺诈与迷信毫无兴趣，竭力欲将其废除。这种知识包含对梵（Brahman）、真我（Ātman）、宇宙等问题的认识。这些君王对祭司的仪式及其种种神秘法术毫无用处；他们斥之为无稽之谈，当祭司前来索取馈赠时，他们便质问祭司关于梵与真我的问题，祭司无以作答，遂被遣送离去。祭司们回到各自的父辈那里寻求解答，却一无所获，于是再度返回，拜王为师。时至今日，仪式部分已极少被遵循，大多已被废弃，仅有少数较为简单的仪式延续至今。
奥义书中还有业（Karma）的学说。业是因果律在人类行为领域的运用。依此学说，我们必须永无休止地劳作，而摆脱苦痛的唯一途径便是行善，从而享受善因所结之善果；在善行圆满一生之后，离世升天，永居安乐之中。即便在天界，我们亦无法超脱业的束缚，只不过彼时是善业，而非恶业而已。
而奥义书的哲理部分则谴责一切业行——无论善业，还是爱护与亲吻妻子、丈夫或子女之类的世间乐事——均属无益。依此学说，一切善行与乐事不过是愚痴，其本质皆为无常。"这一切终将消逝，故不如当下便弃绝；它们皆为虚妄。"奥义书的哲理部分如是言说。它主张世间一切苦痛皆由无明（Avidyā）所致，因此解脱之道即为智慧（Jnāna）。
认为人被过去的业（Karma）——即行为——牢牢束缚的观点，全属无稽。无论一人如何愚昧，无论他多么堕落，一道光明便足以将其荡涤殆尽。一大包棉花，无论多么庞大，一点火星便能将其彻底焚毁。若一间屋子黑暗了千万年，点上一盏灯便能终结这一切。每一个灵魂亦是如此，无论他多么蒙昧，也并非被过去的业无可挽回地束缚于未来无尽的劳作之中。"一道神圣的光明便能解放他，向他揭示其真实本性。"
《薄伽梵歌》（Gita）调和了上述所有相互冲突的学说。至于克里希纳（Krishna），他究竟是否真实存在，我不得而知。"关于他的故事流传甚多，但我并不相信。"
"我十分怀疑他是否真实存在，并且认为，若他从未存在，倒是一件好事——世间便可少一位神明。"
English
THE GITA
(New Discoveries, Vol. 6, pp. 175-76.)
[Mr. Frank Rhodehamel’s notes of a Bhagavad-Gitâ class delivered Thursday, May 24, 1900, in San Francisco, California]
The Gitâ is the gist of the Vedas. It is not our Bible; the Upanishads are our Bible. It [the Gita] is the gist of the Upanishads and harmonizes the many contradictory parts of the Upanishads.
The Vedas are divided into two portions — the work portion and the knowledge portion. The work portion contains ceremonials, rules as to eating, living, doing charitable work, etc. The knowledge came afterwards and was enunciated by kings.
The work portion was exclusively in the hands of the priests and pertained entirely to the sense life. It taught to do good works that one might go to heaven and enjoy eternal happiness. Anything, in fact, that one might want could be provided for him by the work or ceremonials. It provided for all classes of people good and bad. Nothing could be obtained through the ceremonials except by the intercession of the priests. So if one wanted anything, even if it was to have an enemy killed, all he had to do was to pay the priest; and the priest through these ceremonials would procure the desired results. It was therefore in the interests of the priests that the ceremonial portion of the Vedas should be preserved. By it they had their living. They consequently did all in their power to preserve that portion intact. Many of these ceremonials were very complicated, and it took years to perform some of them.
The knowledge portion came afterwards and was promulgated exclusively by kings. It was called the Knowledge of Kings. The great kings had no use for the work portion with all its frauds and superstitions and did all in their power to destroy it. This knowledge consisted of a knowledge of God, the soul, the universe, etc. These kings had no use for the ceremonials of the priests, their magical works, etc. They pronounced it all humbug; and when the priests came to them for gifts, they questioned the priests about God, the soul, etc., and as the priests could not answer such questions they were sent away. The priests went back to their fathers to enquire about the things the kings asked them, but could learn nothing from them, so they came back again to the kings and became their disciples. Very little of the ceremonials are followed today. They have been mostly done away with, and only a few of the more simple ones are followed today.
Then in the Upanishads there is the doctrine of Karma. Karma is the law of causation applied to conduct. According to this doctrine we must work forever, and the only way to get rid of pain is to do good works and thus to enjoy the good effects; and after living a life of good works, die and go to heaven and live forever in happiness. Even in heaven we could not be free from Karma, only it would be good Karma, not bad.
The philosophical portion denounces all work however good, and all pleasure, as loving and kissing wife, husband or children, as useless. According to this doctrine all good works and pleasures are nothing but foolishness and in their very nature impermanent. "All this must come to an end sometime, so end it now; it is vain." So says the philosophical portion of the Upanishads. It claims all the pain in the world is caused by ignorance, therefore the cure is knowledge.
This idea of one being held down fast by past Karma, or work, is all nonsense. No matter how dense one may be, or how bad, one ray of light will dissipate it all. A bale of cotton, however large, will be utterly destroyed by a spark. If a room has been dark for untold ages, a lamp will end it all. So with each soul, however benighted he may be, he is not absolutely bound down by his past Karma to work for ages to come. "One ray of Divine Light will free him, reveal to him his true nature."
Well, the Gita harmonizes all these conflicting doctrines. As to Krishna, whether or not he ever lived, I do not know. "A great many stories are told of him, but I do not believe them."
"I doubt very much that he ever lived and think it would be a good thing if he never did. There would have been one less god in the world."
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。