The Bhagavad Gita was revealed by our Gopala Himself. Gopala means the one who nourishes everyone with milk from the cow; he’s the one who milks the cow. This milk is a source of nourishment to all of us.
For him to milk the cow, the cow has to be willing. And for the cow to be willing there should be a calf to inspire maternal love in the cow, that will make it ready to give milk.
Source: commons.wikimedia.com
We see normal gopalas (cowherds) milking normal cows in the villages. But this milk we talk of is different from that milk. This milk is the essence of all our scriptures since it nourishes not only our body but also our soul. And the cow we speak of are the Upanishads. The essence of the Upanishads is that milk. And how do the Upanishads reveal their real meaning? When someone is very earnest and asks the right questions, the Upanishads are able to open its essence. But even that Upanishad’s essence has to be presented through a Guru.
Here the Upanishads are the cow. The Guru who is going to extract the essence of this divine cow is Bhagavan Sri Krishna Himself. And what inspired Bhagavan to give the essence, is Arjuna’s earnestness and love he had for Bhagavan. Hence the milk that came from this Upanishad-cow is the essence of all Upanishads.
Now who is enjoying this milk? Not only Partha (Arjuna). Generally a calf only stimulates the milk from its mother cow. The calf takes only a little bit, but the rest of the village enjoys the milk. Likewise the whole world, the su-dhih – people with refined intellect – are going to enjoy this Gita for ages to come. Such is the treasure of the Gita, and we are all fortunate that we have been given the opportunity to recite, memorize and listen to the Gita.
sarvOpanishado gAvo dOgdha gOpAlanandanah
pArtho vatsaha sudhIh bhOkta dugdham gItAmritam mahat
Sriram Ramanujam, Houston TX
