The Bhagavad Gita
Krishna was of the royal family of Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva. Mathura was the capital of the closely linked clans of Vrishni, Andhaka, and Bhoja. They are generally known as Yadavs after their eponymous ancestor Yadu, and sometimes as Surasenas after another famed ancestor. Vasudeva and Devaki belonged to these clans. The king Kamsa, Devaki's brother, had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth son, he had the couple cast into prison where he planned to kill all of Devaki's children at birth. After killing the first six children, and Devaki's apparent miscarriage of the seventh, Krishna took birth. As his life was in danger he was smuggled out to be raised by his foster parents Yasoda and Nanda in Gokula, Mahavana. Two of his siblings also survived, Balarama (Devaki's seventh child, transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva's first wife) and Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Devaki born much later than Balarama and Krishna).
The Bhagavad Gita.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and see how it was regarded by some major historical figures.
The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit: भगवद् गीता - Bhagavad Gītā) is an ancient Sanskrit text comprising some 700 verses of the Mahabharata (Bhishma Parva chapters 23 40). The verses, using the range and style of Sanskrit meter (chandas) with similes and metaphors, are very poetic; hence the title, which translates to "the Song of the Divine One", of Bhagavan in the form of Krishna. It is revered as sacred by the majority of Hindu traditions, and especially so by followers of Krishna. In general speech it is commonly referred to as The Gita
The content of the Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of a climactic war. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties and elaborates on number of different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring glimpse of His divine absolute form.
The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gītopaniṣad, implying it to be an 'Upanishad'.[1]
Theories based on archaeoastronomical calculations from passages of the Mahabharata place the incidents upon which the Gita is based around 5561 BCE[1]. The traditional date reflecting the beliefs of many devotional Hindus places the text in the 4th millennium BC. See Mahabharata for a discussion of attempts to date the epic as a whole.
The Scripture of Yoga
The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action, and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman), which is of the same essence as the basis of Being (Brahman). According to Krishna, the root of all suffering and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by selfish desire. The only way to douse the flame of desire is by simultaneously stilling the mind through self discipline and engaging oneself in a higher form of activity.
However, abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the goal of life is to free the mind and intellect from their complexities, and to focus them on the glory of the Self, by dedicating one's actions to the divine. This goal can be achieved through the Yogas of meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. The Gita describes the best Yogi as one who constantly comtemplates God.
Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. There are four kinds of Yoga - Raja Yoga or Psycho-Physical Meditation,Bhakti Yoga or Devotion, Karma Yoga or Selfless Action, and Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge.
While each path differs, their fundamental goal is the same - to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence ) as being the ultimate truth upon which our material universe rests, that the body is temporal, and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's aim (moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through realization of the ultimate reality. There are three stages to self-realisation enunciated from the Bhagavad Gita:
1. Brahman - The impersonal universal energy
2. Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in the heart of every living entity.
3. Bhagavan - God as a personality, with a transcendental form.
The below are quotations from Krishna concerning the four principal yogas of the Bhagavad Gita:
On The Goal Of Yoga
" And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me (Krishna) alone, at once attains My (Krishna's- Transcendental) nature. Of this there is no doubt."[2]
On Bhakti Yoga
Put simply, Bhakti Yoga is Service in Love and Devotion to God (Krishna in the context of the Bhagavad Gita).
"I consider the Yogi-devotee - who lovingly contemplates on Me with supreme faith, and whose mind is ever absorbed in Me - to be the best of all the Yogis". [3] "After attaining Me, the great souls do not incur rebirth in this miserable transitory world, because they have attained the highest perfection." [4] "... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... For those whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter." [5] "And he who serves Me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these qualities [binary opposites, like good and evil, pain and pleasure] is ready for liberation in Brahman." [6] "Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly reach Me. I promise you because you are My very dear friend." [7] "Setting aside all meritorious deeds (Dharma), just surrender completely to My will (with firm faith and loving contemplation). I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not fear." [8]
On Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one's duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the result affecting ones actions. It is said that the results can be of 3 types - as aimed for, opposite of what is aimed for, or a mixture of these. If one can perform his duties (as prescribed in the Vedas) without any anticipation of the result of his actions, he is bound to succeed. It includes, but is not limited to, dedication of one's chosen profession and its perfection to God. It is also visible in community and social service, since they are inherently done without thought of personal gain.
Krishna advocates Nishkam Karma Yoga (the Yoga of Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason and the benefits of renouncing the work itself. These concepts are vividly described in the following verses:
"To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction" -- verse 47, Chapter 2-Samkhya theory and Yoga practise, The Bhagavadgita - Radhakrishnan
"Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth(Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga" -- verse 48, Chapter 2-Samkhya theory and Yoga practise, The Bhagavadgita - Radhakrishnan
"With the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the senses, the Yogis perform action toward self-purification, having abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in Yoga, having abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace..." [9]
In order to achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy and sense pleasures. The following verses illustrate this:
Verses 62,63, chapter 2- Samkhya theory and Yoga practise', The Bhagavadgita - Radhakrishnan'
"When a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and from desire comes anger."
"From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes"
On Jnana Yoga
Jnana Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real and what is not, what is eternal and what is not. Through a steady advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the Unreal, the Eternal and the Temporal, one develops into a Jnana Yogi. This is essentially a path to God through knowledge and discrimination.
"When he perceives the various states of being as resting in the One, and from That alone spreading out, then he attains Brahman. / They who know, through the eye of knowledge, the distinction between the field and the knower of the field, as well as the liberation of beings from material nature, go to the Supreme." [10].
On Raja Yoga
Raja Yoga is the stilling of the mind and body through meditating techniques, geared at realizing one's true nature. This practice was later described by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras.
" To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogi should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point. One should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life. Thus practicing constant control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist, his mind regulated, attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Krishna] by cessation of material existence." [11]
Influence of the Bhagavad Gita
In many ways seemingly a heterogeneous text, the Gita reconciles many facets and schools of Hindu philosophy, including those of Brahmanical (i.e., orthodox Vedic) origin and the parallel ascetic and Yogic traditions. It comprises primarily Vedic (as in the four Vedas, as opposed to the Upanishads/Vedanta), Upanishadic, Sankhya and Yogic philosophies. For its religious depth, quintessential Upanishadic and Yogic philosophy and beauty of verse, the Bhagavad Gita is one of the most compelling and important texts of the Hindu tradition. It is considered by many as one of the world's greatest religious and spiritual scriptures.
It had always been a creative text for Hindu priests and Yogis. Although it is not strictly part of the 'canon' of Vedic writings, almost all Hindu traditions draw upon the Gita as authoritative. Some claim that it may have been inserted into the Mahabharata at a later date, but this is only natural as it sounds more like an Upanishad (which are commentaries that followed the Vedas) in thought than a Purana (histories), of which tradition the Mahabharata is a part.
For the Vedantic schools of Hindu philosophy, it belongs to one of the three foundational texts (Sanskrit: Prasthana Trayi, literally three points of departure)( the other two being the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras). Every such school is required to have a commentary on the three. The oldest available commentary is from Adi Shankara but he mentions older commentators. He is followed by classical commentators like Anandagiri, Shridhara Swami, Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, Ramanuja, Madhvacharya, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Dnyaneshwar. While the traditional text commented upon by many scholars, including Adi Shankara and Ramanuja, consists of 700 verses, a recension of the text from Kashmir has an additional 15. The renowned philosopher Abhinavagupta(10-11th century CE) has written a commentary on this recension called Gitartha-Samgraha. Other ancient and medieval scholars (like Vedanta Desika in the Tatparya-Chandrika) seem to be aware of such additional verses but prefer not to comment on them.
Among the great sages and philosophers who have drawn inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who initiated public singing of the "Hare Krishna" mantra.
Mahatma Gandhi derived great moral strength from Bhagavad gita, which is evident in his words:
"The Geeta is the universal mother. I find a solace in the Bhagavadgeeta that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad Gita. I find a verse here and a verse there, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible or indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavad Gita."
Swami Vivekananda, the follower of Sri Ramakrishna, was known for his commentaries on the four Yogas - Bhakti, Jnana, Karma and Raja Yoga. He drew from his knowledge of the Gita to expound on these Yogas.
Swami Sivananda advises the aspiring Yogi to read verses from the Bhagavad Gita every day.
Paramahamsa Yogananda, writer of the famous "Autobiography of a Yogi", viewed the Bhagavad Gita as one of the world's most divine scriptures.
A minority of Hindus, belonging to Saivite and Shakti-centered sects, reject the Gita's authority.[2]
Upon witnessing the world's first atomic blast in 1945, J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, quoted "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" based on verse 32 from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.
(Source Wikepedia)
James
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