Bhagavad Gita


Introduction – What are Hindu Scriptures?
The Hindu religion has number of scriptures, maybe more than any other religions. These scriptures are divided into two broad categories called Sruti and Smriti:-
(1) Sruti comprised of the four Vedas such as Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva. Each of the Veda has four parts like Mantras, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and 108 Upanishads.[1]
(2) Smriti consisted of all scriptures other than the Vedas. But few of them are part of common heritage of Hinduism such as, notably the two epics called Ramayana and Mahabharata,[2] and the 18 Puranas.[3]

What is the Bhagavad Gita?
            The Bhagavad Gita literally means the Lord’s Song. It is a part of the Mahabharata and is the best known book of the Hindu Scripture.[4] It is more a religious classic than a philosophical treatise, said to contain the essence of Hindu philosophy. It has played a vital role in the revival of Hinduism in Modern India.[5]
The Bhagavad Gita is a sermon which Krishna delivers to Arjuna on the eve of the battle which is the climax of the Mahabharata. But it might not be as the original from because there is textual evidence for the process of insertion. It may also be originated as a separate composition because it presupposes the epic setting and contains a reasonably full description of Arjuna’s dilemma.[6] The whole text maybe considered as a long dialogue sermon[7] in which Krishna delivers to Arjuna on the eve of the battle which is the climax of the Mahabharata.[8]

Date and authorship
The Gita was probably written in about 2nd century BC. E. Lamotte concludes that the Gita is one work, the fruit of single dating probably from the 2nd to the 3rd of our era.[9] It is commonly assigned to about the 2nd century BC and it is certainly no older than that.[10]
The author of the Gita is unknown, but attributed to Vyasa, the compiler of Mahabharata.[11] Who can record a private conversation between Krishna and Arjuna in the battle field? A high credit in this regard is given to this sage- Vyasa. He was a talented sage endowed with unique intuitive knowledge and spiritual potentiality. He was regarded as the one who recorded the divine message.[12] However, according to some scholars, there still remains the question whether the poem is the work of one author of the common product of different contributors.[13]

Structure of the Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is a self contained episode of 700 verses embedded in one book.[14] It has 18 chapters. All the 18 chapters are designated as type of yoga that is to train the body and mind. These 18 yogas contained in the 18 chapters maybe reduced to 4 such as Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Tradition holds that the spiritual life begins with Karma Yoga and goes on evolving into the other three respectively that the sequence of the chapters bears testimony. It is true that the development of the subject in a chapter leads to the theme of the next. But that doesn’t mean that one system of yoga is anterior to another. All the four yogas together stimulate life with spirituality.[15]
The chapter divisions of the Bhagavad Gita with their titles are as the following[16]:-
   Chapter I                  The despondency of Arjuna
   Chapter II                The yoga of knowledge
   Chapter III               The yoga of action
   Chapter IV               The yoga of renunciation of action in knowledge
   Chapter V                Sanyasa yoga
   Chapter VI               The yoga of meditation
   Chapter VII             The yoga of knowledge and realization
   Chapter VIII                        The yoga of the imperishable Brahman
   Chapter IX               The yoga of sovereign science and sovereign secret
   Chapter X                The yoga of divine manifestations
   Chapter XI               The yoga of the vision of the cosmic form
   Chapter XII             The yoga of devotion
   Chapter XIII                        The yoga of the discrimination of the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna
   Chapter XIV                        The yoga of the division of the three Gunas
   Chapter XV             The yoga of supreme self
   Chapter XVI            The yoga of the division between the divine and the demoniacal
   Chapter XVII          The yoga of the threefold Sraddha
   Chapter XVIII         The yoga of liberation by renunciation

Main contents and teachings of the Bhagavad Gita
            On the eve of the great battle, Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers is beset with doubts. How can he wage war against his own people, even though the cause is just? On the battle-field the god Krishna expounds to him the moral and philosophical implications of human action.[17] Arjuna is in dilemma that he and his brothers are about to fight their cousins, the Kauravas on the issue of ancestral kingdom. Then, Arjuna gives vent to his despondency and declaring that he will not fight. The rest of the Gita is Krishna’s demonstration to Arjuna the limitations of his view and stresses the need to fulfill one’s dharma. As a Kshatriya, Arjuna’s dharma is to fight, but he argued because he considered participation in a battle for worldly gain is wrong and thought that it will be better to withdraw from such struggle.[18]
            Krishna attempts in a number of ways to lead Arjuna from perplexity to understanding and correct action.[19] Krishna responds by showing to Arjuna a new way of looking at the problems, a new perspective that makes Arjuna’s renunciation of duty unnecessary and undesirable.[20]
            The way of bhakti or devotion is developed only gradually as Arjuna becomes aware of Krishna’s divine status. Krishna begins his instruction by teaching Arjuna jnana yoga (discipline of knowledge) and karma yoga (discipline of action) to correct Arjuna’s initial confusion. Krishna argues that there is no cause to grieve for one’s own death or for the death of others because it is only body which dies, not the self, which is free from all change. Arjuna’s fears of death resulting from battle are misplaced. The self can neither kill nor be killed; therefore Krishna concludes that Arjuna should fight without fear or mourning.[21]
This is Krishna’s response to Arjuna’s initial despondency, and serves as an introduction to the second approach, karma yoga. Here the fundamental problem of dharma is faced directly. Krishna begins with an attack on those who perform Vedic rituals for the attainment of enjoyment or power, seeking merit and reward as the fruit of their action. The fruits of actions can only be within samsara. So, pursuits of these fruits must lead to continuing rebirth. The solution to the problem of dharma lies in the spirit in which action is undertaken. Krishna provides a new aspect to the understanding of karma and meets the problem in a simple yet convincing manner, by stressing the motivation involved. What is necessary is to abandon all desire for the outcome of one’s actions. This is an argument against desires and attachments, and also an arrangement against inactivity, or attempted inactivity.[22]
The Gita does not at first directly advocate bhakti as a replacement for more traditional religious forms. It approach is instead more subtle, first giving the traditional teachings and then showing how the same goal can be reached by devotion. Thus, bhakti directed to Krishna becomes the highest form of yoga and the key to samnyasa. It is the same with knowledge, which is highly praised in the Gita.[23] It teaches human to do their duty, their dharma, whatever that dharma maybe, and whatever consequences it may have. The basic teaching of the Gita centres on the need for selfless action. Such action should take place, it tells us, as part of our unfailing devotion to God.[24]
Thus, it is possible to seen form the above explication that the Bhagavad Gita contains the highest experience of Hindusim on the nature of human being and his/her place in the world. Dharma that is conducive to human’s growth and progress. The metaphysical idealism of the Gita is mainly theistic in nature, providing room for love, faith, sacrifice, non-violence, truthfulness, forgiveness, self-control, steadfastness, straightforwardness, absence of pride, freedom from hypocrisy, purity of mind and body, absence of attachment and actions without attachment.[25]

Some concepts of Bhagavad Gita[26]
            The concept Ultimate reality- In the metaphysics of the Gita, God is the Supreme-Self or the Ultimate Reality. It teaches that Krishna is identified with the Supreme Lord, the unity that lies behind the manifold universe, the changeless truth behind all appearances, transcendent over all and immanent in all. He is the manifested lord, making it easy for the mortals to know that Brahman is reaches through him.
            The concept of avatar- God is looked upon as the savior of human beings; he must manifest himself, whenever the evil forces threaten to destroy human values. An avatar is a descent of God into human form and not an ascent of man into God, which is the case with the liberated soul. Of all
the incarnations of Vishnu, Krishna is the most popular.
            Concept of the world- According to the Gita, the whole universe springs from the ultimate reality, lives in it and is ultimately dissolved in it. 

Critical appraisal of the Bhagavad Gita
            The Bhagavad Gita is the most sacred text of the Hindu religion. It is the archetype of that necessarily modern phenomenon, the classic of world spirituality. It has assumed for a number of Hindus a universal status. It is regarded not only as the quintessential Hindu religious text, but also as a charter for all types of frequently contravening social and political action. One fact of the Gita’s universality is its capacity to bear almost any shade of interpretation, because of the variegated nature of its contents. This shows the fact that the Gita is and always been a live religious text, with an obviously limitless capacity to inspire new and necessarily valid meanings, from the perspective of the custom in which they are coined.27
            In the socio-cultural aspect, the Gita provides ways and means to lead an ideal life and guides the daily duties. It teaches the most important way of life, the work and to dedicate all the fruits to God by complete surrender to him. It stressed on the social nature of human being, and said that people should seek salvation in the midst of life not in forest. But on the other hand, it also sponsoring the four-fold divisions of Hindu society accepts it as God ordained. Each individual was expected to do functional division as a kind of service to the society, according to one’s own karma which will decide his/her future destiny.28
            The Gita is said to contain the essence of Hindu philosophy and it has been called the layman’s Upanishad because it presents the difficult teachings of the Upanishad in a way that common people can understand.29 It has been said that many Hindus regarded as having all answers to the problems and worries of the people. If someone is tensed, s/he should read the Gita and s/he will find the answer to his question which is making him tensed and worried.30

Conclusion
The teaching of Bhagavad Gita is very much ethical and practical in character. It is like ‘do your duty.’ It is one of the most widely used among all Hindu sacred writings. When I visited Pushpak Hari Mandir at |huampui, the priest told me that the Gita was placed for reading in the altar every alternative day with Ramcharitas Manas. Today, it played a vital role in the revival of Hinduism.

[1] V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India (Delhi: ISPCK, 2007), chapter iii, 54-78. Hereafter cited as V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India.
[2] David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions (Delhi: ISPCK, 2009), 64. Hereafter cited as David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions.
[3] Rajeev Verma, Faith and Philosophy of Hinduism (Delhi: Kalpaz Publications, 2009), 121. Hereafter cited as Rajeev Verma, Faith and Philosophy of Hinduism.
[4] David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions…65.
[5] V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India…149.
[6] P.S. Daniel, “The Hindu Religious Tradition,” in Religious Traditions of India, edited by P.S. Daniel, David C. Scott and G.R. Singh, eds., (Delhi: ISPCK, 1988), 116. Hereafter cited as P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition.
[7] David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions…65.
[8] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…116.
[9] V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India…150.
[10] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…116.
[11] V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India…149.
[12] Swami Chidbhavananda, The Bhagavad Gita (Tirupparaitturai: Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, 1965), 18-19. Hereafter cited as Swami Chidbhavananda, The Bhagavad Gita.
[13] T.M.P. Mahadevan, Outlines of Hinduism (Bombay: Chetana Pvt. Ltd., 1984), 110.
[14] Rajeev Verma, Faith and Philosophy of Hinduism…106.
[15] Swami Chidbhavananda, The Bhagavad Gita…32-34.
[16] Swami Chidbhavananda, The Bhagavad Gita…i-iv.
[17] David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions…65.
[18] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…116.
[19] Rajeev Verma, Faith and Philosophy of Hinduism…107.
[20] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…117.
[21] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…117-118.
[22] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…118.
[23] P.S. Daniel, The Hindu Religious Tradition…119.
[24] David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions…65.
[25] V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India…149.
[26] Based on V.S. Lalrinawma, Major Faith Traditions of India…151.

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