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Beyond
Race: The Bhagavad-gita in Black and White
A
New Book Is An Aid For Anyone Seeking To Transcend America's Oppressive
Race-Consciousness.
In
Charles Michael Byrd's new book, Beyond Race, each section is fashioned
after the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-gita, the essence of India’s
Vedic wisdom and one of the great spiritual and philosophical classics
of the world.
Along with synopses of each Gita chapter, Beyond Race includes commentary
culled from Mr. Byrd’s 1995-2001 Interracial Voice editorials.
During or after each chapter’s “race” commentary, is
included a specific Gita verse for the purpose of expanding on that
commentary from the Vedic perspective.
The
following is an excerpt from the book, Beyond Race: The Bhagavad-gita
in Black and White.
by Charles Michael Byrd
Introduction
In my experience, people who consider themselves of "mixed-race"
inevitably question not only the wisdom of racial identification but
also the very scientific and biological foundation of "race"
itself. To lend public expression to these heretofore private individual
challenges to the "racial" paradigm was one of the reasons
I launched, in September 1995, the Interracial Voice website (http://interracialvoice.com),
a networking newsjournal serving the "mixed-race" community
in cyberspace. Furthermore, I believe that individuals of mixed racial
backgrounds quickly begin searching for a higher spiritual truth, something
that allows them to make sense of the madness behind lumping human beings
into separate and distinct "racial" groupings.
The ability or desire to see "beyond the body," to see oneself
as more than a mere aggregate of material elements, is a blessing indeed.
It is difficult to perceive more than that which is clearly visible,
for to do so, one must transcend the norm, one must walk "a road
less traveled."
____________________________________
Henry David Thoreau wrote that in relation
to Bhagavad-gita, "our modern world and
its literature seem puny and trivial."
____________________________________
For
the past twenty years or so, I've been walking albeit haltingly at
times down the path of self-realization. At this point, however, I
can honestly say that every discipline I've ever studied to any degree
be it Taoism, Rosicrucianism, the New Age teachings of Deepak Chopra
and James Redfield, L. Ron Hubbard's controversial Scientology system,
or the 17th Century impersonalistic philosophy of Baruch Spinoza coalesces
rather nicely with the message of one book: Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita
(incorrectly referred to by some Westerners as the "Hindu Bible")
is the essence of India's Vedic wisdom and one of the great spiritual
and philosophical classics of the world. It comes to us in the form
of a battlefield dialogue between Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, and Arjuna, His intimate friend and devotee, whom He instructs
in the science of self-realization.
The perennial philosophy of the Gita has intrigued the philosophical
mind of man, both Eastern and Western, for millennia. Henry David
Thoreau wrote that in relation to Bhagavad-gita, "our modern
world and its literature seem puny and trivial."
Most of us are familiar with the late, former Beatle George Harrison's
1970 hit "My Sweet Lord" in which he sings of longing to
be with and to see Lord Krishna. More recent proof of the growing
influence and popularity of the Bhagavad-gita's message in the West
was the November 2000 movie release, "The Legend of Bagger Vance."
Set in 1931 in the southern United States, "The Legend of Bagger
Vance," based on the book of the same title by Steve Pressfield,
is a timeless tale of golf, friendship, and the lessons of life. Rannulph
Junuh, a World War I war hero, is invited to play in a 36-hole golf
tournament to celebrate the opening of a new golf course. Feeling
that his game is a bit rusty, he turns to Bagger Vance for instruction
and advice and ends up learning a lot more than a few new strokes.
Directed by Robert Redford, the film is narrated by Jack Lemmon, who
also makes a brief appearance as a veteran golf champion.
According to Mr. Pressfield, the character of Bagger Vance (played
by actor Will Smith) and his story are indeed based on the Bhagavad-gita
in which Bhagavan (Krishna), the Supreme Personality, teaches his
follower, Arjuna (R. Junuh), about life. The parallels between the
ancient spiritual classic and the novel (and movie) are elaborated
upon by Bhagavad-gita scholar Steven J. Rosen in his book Gita on
the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance (Continuum,
2000).
Far from proselytizing for a particular faith, I humbly submit that
everyone, not just "mixed" people, can use the Gita's message
to rise above America's oppressive race-consciousness which, itself,
has evolved into a sort of proselytizing religion. Consequently, I've
named and fashioned each section of my book after the eighteen chapters
of the Bhagavad-gita. Along with two synopses of each Gita chapter
(one taken directly from Gita itself followed by my own take on how
each section relates to transcending race-consciousness) I've included
commentary culled nearly entirely from my 1995-2001 Interracial Voice
editorials. In addition, during or after each chapter's "race"
commentary, I've included a specific Gita verse for the purpose of
expanding on that commentary from the Vedic perspective.
As I cannot hope to approach the scope and depth of the Bhagavad-gita's
seven-hundred verses in this limited work, I recommend that the reader
obtain a copy of the Gita for his or her own personal reading. I recommend
Bhagavad-gita As It Is (http://www.asitis.com), with translation and
commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
It is this version of the Gita that I shall quote throughout the present
work.
After the book's conclusion, I've included the text of a speech I
delivered on July 20, 1996 in Washington, D.C. at the Multiracial
Solidarity March. Even then I viewed the discussion of "mixed-race"
as an intermediate point or way-station between society's current
obsession with race and a future of racelessness. I leave it up to
the reader to determine whether over the years following my Washington
speech I've succeeded in transcending race-consciousness and am on
the track of spiritual enlightenment. Whatever your conclusion, my
love and best wishes to you as you embark on your own personal journey.
_________________________________
On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna eventually submits to Lord
Krishna as His disciple, and Krishna begins His teachings to Arjuna
by explaining the fundamental distinction between the temporary material
body and the eternal spiritual soul. The Lord explains the process
of transmigration, the nature of selfless service to the Supreme,
and the characteristics of a self-realized person.
Arjuna realizes that everyone must engage in some sort of activity
in this material world, but actions can either bind one to this world
or liberate one from it. By acting for the pleasure of the Supreme,
without selfish motives, one can be liberated from the law of karma
(action and reaction) and attain transcendental knowledge of the self
and the Supreme. Arjuna eventually realizes that it is his duty as
a ksatriya (literally, "one that protects others from harm")
a warrior or administrator in the ancient Vedic social system (not
to be confused with the perverted and corrupt caste system in present-day
India) to fight, because God desires the battle.
Beyond Race does not seek to recreate the conditions of a 5,000-year-old
Indian battlefield. It does, however, seek to convey some of the same
basic truths that were revealed on that battlefield. If Arjuna, the
hero of the Gita, was able to understand that a wise man does not
lament even in the face of death, because he knows that the soul within
the body never dies, surely, in the 21st century, we can conquer the
fear of offending others while both expressing and exercising our
honest beliefs and personal "identity" preferences. By cultivating
transcendental knowledge as revealed in the Gita, we can certainly
learn to go beyond race.
To
order Beyond Race, please visit http://www1.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=14201
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