I propose as a subject for a discussion the PDF-Powerpoint "Self-awareness and Knowledge" which I used for the lecture at the National Seminar "Debate, Dialogue and Narratives in Indian Philosophical Traditions", organised by Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, sponsored by ICPR, New Delhi, 2-4 April 2024. My contribution took place on 3rd April 2024.
In my inquiry on the Bhagavad Gita, I shall analyse some aspects of the transformation of the individual through and thanks to his process of knowing the structure of reality. Becoming aware of his nature and of his position in the reality is for the individual the first step towards his moral development: for the individual needs and ought to walk the road of becoming aware of his nature in order to be able to know the aspects of his person which he ought to improve and to know the aspects of his persons which he ought to correct. The intervention in the reality of Lord Krishna shows that individuals are not always morally self-sufficient; men are limited entities; in them, evil can prevail. The road of knowledge, of meditation and of education is a process of fighting against the evil tendencies of the individual.
I shall begin my inquiry with the description of the three Gunas in chapter XIV: the notions of Sattva, of Tamas and of Rajas, their properties and their influences on the individual will be the first passage of my exposition. Through the investigation on the three Gunas we shall be able to observe that any individual turns out to be a composed entity which, depending on his education, engagement and meditation, can tend to the prevalence of Tamas, or of Rajas or of Sattva: the direction of the individual’s development is, as such, not given; it depends on the characters which the individual decides to cultivate in himself. The responsibility of the development, therefore, is due to the individual. As we shall be able to see thanks to the Discourses, the road to intellectual and moral development is not easy: it is, on the contrary, long, complex and difficult.
The individual cannot avoid being a composed entity which, since the factors of which it consists are not in a condition of reciprocal harmony, is exposed to a conflict in itself: therefore, the individual must reckon with mutually incompatible influences in himself; nonetheless, the individual is responsible for the prevalence of one or the other of the factors. Knowledge is indispensable in order that Sattva, the positive factor in the individual, can be improved in the individual: beholding the Supreme proves to be the way of liberation from the yearning of the objects of the senses. Lust will emerge as the enemy of the correct knowledge: knowledge is the remedy against the influence of lust.
For my analysis, I shall concentrate in particular on Discourses II, III, IV, V, VI, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII.
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