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Bhagavad-Gita
Bhagavad-Gita is one of the major sacred works of Hinduism. It is supposed to have been written in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, between 5000 BC and 3000 BC. The name Bhagavad-Gita means Song of the Lord. The Bhagavad-Gita is often called simply the Gita (song). It has been translated into all the main Indian languages, as well as several Western languages. Indian scholars, such as Shankaracharya, lived in the early 8th century, have written commentaries on it. The Gita is part of Book Six of the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic poem. It consists of 700 verses divided into 18 chapters.
The Gita made little religious impact until Shankaracharya's commentary appeared. From this time onward, it had an important influence on Hinduism. It is particularly important to Vaishnavite Hindus, who worship the god Vishnu. Krishna, presented in the poem as Vishnu’s reincarnation, is the spiritual teacher who recited the Gita. Most of the Bhagavad-Gita consists of a dialogue between Krishna and Prince Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. That is where the armies of the royal cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, face each other for the decisive battle to end their long-running feud. The Bhagavad-Gita debates the rights and wrongs of conflict. It also discusses a person's duty to himself or herself, to his or her fellow humans, and to God. It explores God's relationship to humans. It shows how people can begin to understand God and so free themselves from the burden of karma (deeds done in previous lives and in this present life). In short, Bhagavad-Gita teaches the true way of life with all the ‘’Life-skills’’ and ‘’the art of living’’ in its fullest sense.
Krishna and Arjuna are not the only speakers in the Bhagavad-Gita. King Dhritarashtra, the father of the Kauravas, asks his charioteer, Sanjaya, to describe the course of the battle for him. The remainder of the Bhagavad-Gita deals with the report of Sanjaya, who describes what he sees in a trance. Prince Arjuna watches his cousins and brothers preparing for battle and is greatly troubled. He asks Krishna, who acts as his charioteer, how he can justifiably take part in the battle because it must be wrong to slay his kinsfolk for the sake of power. He would rather die than kill his relatives, so he throws down his weapons and gives up the fight.
Krishna at first thinks Arjuna is merely showing signs of weakness. But when he realizes that the prince is genuinely anxious about where his duty lies, he speaks as the god Vishnu, and explains the nature of the atman (soul). The atman can never be killed nor can it kill. When the body dies, it simply passes into another body and continues to live. Death must come to all who live, and rebirth must come to all who die. Why mourn for that which cannot be avoided? It is Arjuna's duty to fight in a just war. He is a soldier and his responsibility is to fight. Real sin lies not in the killing of his enemies, but in failing in his dharma (duty).
Krishna instructs Arjuna on the three ways to union with God. The first is Karma-Yoga (the Way of Action). Each person should do his or her duty according to caste, without hope of personal benefit or ambition, but with faith in God. Those who go through the motions of performing rituals without care or interest, or do their work only for profit, will never achieve release from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Only if a person acts with his or her mind fixed on Brahman (God) will he or she become free, at peace, and at one with God. Anyone in that state feels no disturbing desires. Where there is no desire there is no disappointment, and there are no competitive stirrings of ambition. In work one's sole ambition should be to serve as an example to others, so that they too may do their duty.
The second way is Jnana-Yoga (the Way of Knowledge). By this means, the contemplative person can best seek union with God. Such a person should have great self-control and spend much of his or her time in meditation. Through God's grace, he or she will come to realize that Brahman and Atman are one. Arjuna asks which of these two paths is best. Krishna replies that the result will be the same whichever path is followed. The end means absorption in Brahman, the unchanging, the eternal. The entire universe exists in and because of Brahman, but few are sufficiently advanced to perceive this Being. Most people are absorbed with their own petty, temporary concerns, which are only Maya (illusion), which cannot last but must pass away in time.
The third way is Bhakti-Yoga (the Way of Devotion). This is one of the most important contributions made by the Bhagavad-Gita to the development of modern Hinduism. Krishna becomes the Eshvara (personal God), who may be worshipped as a spirit or as an image by his followers. He will accept any offering, however humble, as long as it is made with love. Every worshipper who approaches with a loving heart is welcomed. Union with God, and release from the suffering of birth and rebirth, is available to all through devotion to Krishna.
Krishna then reveals himself to Arjuna as Vishnu. Arjuna is overwhelmed and bursts into a great hymn of praise. He is fearful and ashamed because he had addressed Krishna as "comrade" and "friend." But Krishna is merciful and returns to human form to comfort Arjuna, explaining that God in majesty is too great for human beings to behold. Krishna continues to teach Arjuna about the nature of man. He defines the qualities that bring people nearer to Brahman and those that tend to lead them astray. The individual nature of people decides what and how they worship. Some people look to God, others to worldly things. When people make an offering to God, it must be made in faith, otherwise it is unreal and cannot result in good.
The Bhagavad-Gita provides a summary of Hindu religious thought and practice, much of it based on the Upanishads. These are part of the Vedas, the oldest sacred books of Hinduism. It points the way to developing belief, forging a personal relationship between deity and worshipper. It offers a new approach to the full perception of, and absorption in, Brahman and the Universal consciousness.
