Haṃsa Gītā (Mahābhārata)
The Haṃsa Gītā is the teaching of Prajāpati to the Sādhya devas. Prajāpati came to them in the form of a golden swan (suvarṇa-haṃsa). It is told in the Mokshadharma Parva of the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, in Chapter 299. The Sādhyas asked what is the highest means of liberation. Prajāpati answered with truth, self-control, tapas (austerity) and mastery of the mind. He also taught about the right use of speech and about anger as the greatest enemy of the inner life.
The setting
Bhīshma tells this teaching to Yudhishṭhira. Yudhishṭhira had asked what the learned (vidvāṃsas) hold to be the highest means of liberation: satya (truth), indriya-nigraha (control of the senses) or uttama-buddhi (refined understanding). Bhīshma answers with an old itihāsa, the dialogue between a golden swan, who shows the form of Prajāpati, and the Sādhya devas.
The Sādhyas are a class of celestial beings who stand at a subtle level between the ordinary devas and the ṛshis. They are shown here as true seekers of moksha-tattva (the truth of liberation), and not only seekers of svarga (heaven).
Prajāpati as the golden swan
Prajāpati is eternal (nitya) and unborn (aja). He appeared in the form of a golden swan, travelling through the three worlds. When he came to the Sādhyas, they saw his great nature and asked him about moksha-dharma (the way of liberation).
The Sādhyas’ question
The Sādhyas said, “Bird-king! You are known as a master of moksha-tattva. What do you hold to be the highest means of liberation? What is the action by which a jīva (a living being) is freed from all bondage?”
The core teaching: truth, self-control, tapas and mastery of the mind
Prajāpati named four virtues as the pillars of liberation.
- Satya (truth). This is not only true speech, but thought, word and action in agreement. At its deepest, satya means living in line with the nature of the ātmā, which is sat (being, truth) itself.
- Dama (control of the outer senses). This is the holding back of the bāhyendriyas, the five sense-organs. Dama is not forcing the senses down. It is the wise drawing back of the senses from their natural pull towards the objects of the senses.
- Tapas (austerity). This is chosen restraint and discipline. It is one’s own svadharma done with full dedication and with no wish for a reward in this world.
- Ātmābhigupta (mastery of the mind, mano-nigraha). This is the guarding of the ātmā by winning over the mind. One does not let the vṛttis (movements) of desire and dislike decide one’s inner state. The word ātmābhigupta means “guarding the self”, an active and watchful guard, not a passive turning away.
By these four, the hṛdaya-granthis (the knots of the heart, which are the holding on to rāga (attachment) and dvesha (aversion)) are slowly loosened. Then one is free from both the priya (the pleasant) and the apriya (the unpleasant).
Teaching on the right use of speech
A large part of the Haṃsa Gītā is about vāk-dharma, the right use of speech. Prajāpati names several kinds of speech that are vāk-hiṃsā (violence of speech).
- Words that pierce another person’s marma (the tender, vital points). This is the most serious kind.
- Harsh words spoken in anger.
- Words that trouble another person’s mind or push him towards adharma.
- Words spoken to shame another person or to expose his weakness.
Prajāpati gives this picture: “The arrows released from a bow injure a body; the arrows of speech injure by day and by night.”
The teaching is not that one should never speak. It is that speech should be used as a fine tool of dharma and not as a weapon of revenge or attack. When another person speaks harshly against us, the right answer is śānti (peace). By keeping peace when provoked, one gains the puṇya (merit) of the one who provoked.
The teaching on anger
The Haṃsa Gītā holds one of the plainest teachings on krodha (anger) in the Mokshadharma Parva.
Anger (krodha) is the greatest enemy of the inner life, fiercer than any outside enemy, more harmful than any visible obstacle. It blazes up brightly, like a well-kindled fire, and burns the one who holds it. It also brings down what is priya (beloved) and what is apriya (hated) alike.
Prajāpati teaches that even when a person is blamed, shown up or attacked in words, the right response is calm. One who stays calm when provoked protects his own inner freedom, and he also receives the benefit of the other person’s attack. Aimed at a peaceful person, that attack brings puṇya to the peaceful one. The angry person loses his puṇya and the peaceful one gains it.
Contentment
The Haṃsa Gītā gives the principle alpa-lābhe santushṭaḥ, “content with a small gain”, as a mark of the liberated mind. It does not say one should seek poverty. It says that the calm of the liberated person does not depend on how much he receives. Whatever comes, much or little, he takes with the same thankfulness and the same steadiness. This is shown as the natural fruit of the four virtues (satya, dama, tapas and mano-nigraha) once they have ripened. One who has them does not need more pleasure to feel whole.
Place in the Mokshadharma Parva
The Haṃsa Gītā comes after the Sagara-Arishṭanemi Saṃvāda and before the Yoga-Vidhi chapter. It stands between a teaching on renunciation through detachment and a teaching on the practice of yoga.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 299