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Hinduism

Introducing the Bhagavad Gita

Composed sometime between 400 BCE and 400 CE, the title of this text means "Song of the Lord [Krishna]". Although it is part of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, the "Gita" has gained a reputation and import of its own as the most popularly important sacred text of Hinduism. They say that this small collection of 18 short chapters captures the entire essence of Hindu spiritual wisdom in a nutshell. 

The Gita reads like a play. It is a dialogue between characters:

The scene: A battlefield in ancient India

The players:

• Arjuna, a noble/warrior of the Kshatriya caste

• Krishna, Arjuna’s chariot driver, in reality an incarnation of the god Vishnu

• Sanjata is the narrator

• Dhrita-Rashtra, the elderly king to whom the story of the battle and dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna is being told

Read the entire 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita:

American prose edition (easy to read but takes long to load [entire work on one page], also has extraneous editorial remarks not part of the original text which the neophyte may not be able to discern from the Gita text itself, does have individual verse notations)

Victorian poetic version (easier to load [chapter by chapter] but harder to read and understand due to Victorian style, original text only, no verse notations, no extraneous remarks to be confused by)

Another version (easier to read and load [chapter by chapter], includes commentary that is not part of the original material, this one does have verse notations)

You might want to compare and contrast all three versions.

Pay special attention to the following passages:

Chapter 4, which discusses the three spiritual disciplines (Yogas), Karma (verses 4:12-24), Raja (verses 4:25-32) and Jnana (verses 4:33-40) yoga (references to "work" would be references to Karma Yoga; references to various practices of the ascetic, including breathing practices, are references to meditation techniques or Raja Yoga; references to wisdom or understanding is a reference to Jnana Yoga)

Chapter 5, verses 1-15, which discusses some specifics about Karma yoga

Chapter 6, which discusses Yoga (specifically the meditation yoga of the renunciant) and the "Yogi" or "Sanyasi" who practices this discipline (note verses 6:10-19)

Chapter 9, which discusses devotion to god (Bhakti yoga) (verses 9:20-34)

Chapter 12, which addresses the question Arjuna asks as to which yoga is best

Chapters 14 and 17, which discuss the three gunas (attributes or qualities of personality) and how they manifest or express themselves in our lives

Chapter 18, which relates these three gunas to the various yogas and concludes with a discussion about the rewards of following any yogic path

Some questions to consider as you read*:

• Which yoga is considered the best and why? There seem to be different answers to this question given in different passages of the Gita. See if you can relate these different answers to each other and analyze them into some kind of general conclusion.

• What kind of people exhibit the various kinds of personality traits characterized by the three gunas?

• What kind of person is the person of "light"? of "fire"? of "darkness"? How would you imagine each kind of person lives life? By what is each motivated?

• Given that different people are motivated by different gunas, which yoga is best for each personality type?

• Traditional religion in ancient India held that only men of high caste status can achieve salvation (liberation). How does the Gita differ in its teaching on this issue? How can women and low caste people also hope to achieve salvation? (note which chapter and verse specifically addresses this issue)

Here is a good, simple summary of the Gita background and lessons

*click here to see my own answers to these questions (but don't peek until you've thought about it for yourself!)

Thinking about your own religion:

• In what ways is Karma yoga practiced? (social service)

• In what ways is Jnana yoga practiced? (intellectual pursuits such as bible study)

• In what ways is Bhakti yoga practiced? (devotional pursuits such as a worship service)

• Is Raja yoga (meditation) a part of your religion?

Activity: The Four Yogas - a collage

The Grand Metaphor and a Modern Interpretation:

We can see this text as one Grand Metaphor for life: the battle is internal - not necessarily a historical battle. What Arjuna represents, what those on the other side represent, what Krishna represents, what "the field" represents, what is being "killed" - all can be seen metaphorically: we are Arjuna. The cousins he is fighting might be our own "inner demons" or selfish tendencies that need to be "killed" - another side of ourself. "The field" is this life or perhaps even our own being/body.

A modern interpretation of the Gita appeared in the movies some years ago: The Legend of Bagger Vance (staring Will Smith). The hero of this story (a golf legend by the name R. Junuh [get it? the play on words] - played by Matt Damon) is also fighting his "inner demons" with guidance from a wise and dark golf caddy (Smith) (Krishna is a dark colored deity). The "field" in this movie is a golf course rather than a battle field but, in the grand scheme of things, the "field" is really the "field of life".

In this scene, Junah is dejected and ready to give up, but Bagger urges him on, teaches him how to concentrate and accomplish the task at hand (be it playing the game, fighting the battle or fulfilling our life's destiny - our Dharma):

 

You might want to rent and view the movie. For extra credit you can write an analysis of the movie discussing how it relates to the Gita