...An Analysis of the Central Themes of The Bhagavad Gita and its Influence on Significant Historical Figures and Literature. Gavin McClung “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” -Eleanor Roosevelt The Bhagavad Gita has been estimated to have been in existence since about 500 BCE although the oldest known handwritten copy is in a museum in London and is dated to 1488. It predates the Bible, the Quran, and 50 Shades of Grey. As one of the oldest pieces of literature known to us it has gained a reputation as one of the most insightful tomes into the human condition and it’s philosophies and themes have influenced many of the most historically significant people and their actions. Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry David Thoreau, and even Albert Einstein all read the Gita and were deeply moved by it. These are not normal run of the mill people, but were great thinkers, people of action and world-changers. Surely, the world has been influenced by such a powerful text through the many people it has inspired and taught with it’s central themes of Yoga and Renunciation, and Dharma and Karma among others. Here we will take a look at some of the major themes of the Gita as well as some of the historically significant figures it has influenced and...
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...SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GEETA – HSS F334 ASSIGNMENT - 1 VIBHUTIES AND THEIR ROLE IN SPIRITUAL PURSUIT OF VARIOUS YOGIS Instructor: Dr.Aruna Lolla Name : Monica Adusumilli Id No :2014A7PS005H Date of Submission:30-October-2015 Introduction Bhagavad-Gita might have been delivered in the setting of a battle field, but illumined minds have found it very relevant in the past, present and future as well. "Here I am present as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am the Supreme”, says Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita. Understanding, knowing and experiencing the supreme in total magnitude is beyond the capabilities of humans. In an attempt to advance as a spiritual being, it is essential that we understand the divine opulence. What is a Vibuthi? A Vibuthi might be a person, place or an object in which the divine manifests himself to a greater extent. The opulences (Vibuthies) of the Lord are infinite. Indeed, the Lord alone knows his internal potency and his manifestations are innumerable and countless. Only by the grace of the Supreme Person, origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, Lord of the universe, one can try and understand the opulences of the Lord. Role of Vibhuties in Spiritual Pursuit: Lord SriKrishna in Vibuthi Yoga of Gita elucidates about some of his Vibuthies knowing about which, the supreme absolute can be easily attained. A lot of Yogis have identified...
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...Shree Krishna The meaning of the word Krishna in Sanskrit is all-attractive. He is the supreme personality of godhood, also called God of gods. He held the fate of the emperors in the palm of his hand, but never desired a throne himself. The great hero was born in a prison and died in solitude in a forest. He gave the world the Bhagavad Gita. He is the architect of Dharma who lives forever in the hearts of the people of India. I used symbolism, medium, history and my unique qualities to represent Krishna in this drawing. In the Hindu religion, Krishna is one of the most popular gods and an eighth reincarnation of the god Vishnu. In art and paintings, he is depicted blue and is known to provide protection to his followers and devotees. The special attributes that are related with Krishna are the flute and the cows that surround him. Krishna’s flute is the symbol of freedom. It is this flute that attracted the devoted Gopis, the maidens of Vraja, to meet their beloved Lord on the banks of the sacred Jamuna. The flute represents the destruction of egoism and total self-surrender. If you have completely surrendered at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, you have already reached the realm of peace. Hence, it is necessary to represent Krishna with a flute in all illustrations. Cows and Krishna have always been together. In his original form in the spiritual world, Krishna is a cow herding boy in the agricultural community of Vrindavan, where he keeps unlimited, transcendental surabhi cows...
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...Srimad Bhagavad Gita: A simple rendering by Swami Samarpanananda Srimad Bhagavad Gita : A simple rendering -- Swami Samarpanananda This work is a brief rendering of each chapter of Gita, and is meant to serve as an introductory reading of Gita for interested readers who find it difficult to comprehend the work. Necessary comments and explanations have been added wherever necessary to make it more intelligible. Serious readers, however, are advised to go through the original text/translation, preferably with a commentary. This work takes its interpretation from Sri Shankaracharya's commentary. Introduction Srimad Bhagavad Gita, or more popularly, Gita is the spiritual and philosophical heartbeat of India. The best that India has to give to the world in the fields of wisdom, religion, philosophy and spirituality is Gita. Whatever India has achieved in these area is poetically preserved in Sanskrit in this short work of seven hundred verses in eighteen chapters. The poetic beauty and the philosophical clarity of the work is unparalleled in the history of the world literature. Every Hindu lives and dreams in Gita, and when he dies, he is given a farewell of chants from Gita. Every practising Hindu makes it a point to recite from it daily, every philosophical Hindu tries to study and understand the work, and every mystic Hindu strives to mould...
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...Karma Karma Yoga is known as the “discipline of action” it is based off of the writings in the Bhagavad Gita. It teaches people the art of finding perfection in their actions or to aim to be perfect in their actions and to sacrifice of themselves. Though it is more than that, it is not right to sacrifice in order to obtain something for yourself, but to sacrifice without any consideration of what may come from it. “The righteous men who eat the residue of the sacrifice are freed from all sin; but the wicked who cook for themselves eat sin” (Gandhi, 42). As the name would infer it literally stresses the “actions” of life, what we do and why we chose to do it, and that, “Action and inaction mean the same thing,” (Gandhi, 35). “Never does man enjoy freedom from action by not undertaking action,” (Gandhi, 37). Karma, or action, is always happening events and actions happen all around the world each and every moment and to ignore them would be considered a sin. They stress that it is reason, the mindset, which has more value than the action itself. That it is impossible to not be moved by karma, “to listen and not to listen, both are forms of karma,” (Gandhi, 37) all are moved in one of three ways sattva, rajas, and tamas. “Tamasic man is one who works in a mechanical fashion; a rajasic man is one who rides too many horses, who is restless and is always doing something […] the sattvic man is one who works with peace in his mind. One is always driven […] by one or another...
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...Hist 1110/Spring 2015/Dr. Laumann Second paper Bhagavad Gita paper The Bhagavad Gita is the most famous Hindu religious text in ancient history. The two main characters are Arjuna and Krishna. Arjuna seeks guidance from the Lord Krishna for many reasons, mainly because he does not want to fight in the battle. The Gita is dialogue between these two characters after Arjuna calls for Krishna. The Gita is formed around the Hindu faith of Hinduism and is written in Sanskrit. This paper will discuss the historical context of the Bhagavad Gita and analyze some of the content. The Bhagavad Gita was written around 50 CE in India, it is the most famous Hindu religious text. Around 1000 and 700 B.C.E two of India’s great epics were written: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana (Spodek, 243). The Bhagavad Gita is an excerpt of the Mahabharata, which is the larger of the two epics. India’s main form of religion is Hinduism, which is the oldest leading religion. Hindu’s core beliefs are the caste, dharma, karma, life stages, samsara, and more (Spodek, 274). The introduction states that many “Hindu’s and non-Hindus use the Gita as a spiritual guide within their own lives, reading or hearing it regularly and bringing it to bear on their own situations by commenting on it to themselves” (Gita, Intro). Also, the Gita summarizes a few of the key doctrines of Hinduism. One of those is Karma. Karma is the set of activities of each creature and the effects that these activities have on its atman...
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...always said that God was the guiding force behind why he did what he did. He was a servant that made many mistakes and much of what he did and said was a work in progress and an experiment with life. He spent his life spreading the message that truth and freedom through non-violence was the way. He grew up in an affluent home and was married at the age of thirteen. It seems that quite a lot of his influences that helped to shape him happened when he went to London to attend law school and become a Barrister. He promised his mother that he would observe the Hindu precepts of abstinence from meat, alcohol and promiscuity (Brown, J. M. (1989). While there he joined the Vegetarian Society, the Theosophical Society and read the Bhagavad Gita which is the Hindu scriptures. In 1893, he was hired by an Indian firm to work in South Africa, where he faced discriminations that would be the turning point in his life, shaping his role as an activist. Gandhi was born to an affluent family but did not begin his journey until he was away from his family at school in London. Heredity played a role in who he was but it was the influences of the environment that made him the man he became. The adversity that he faced while in South Africa faced with never-ending discrimination created a fire in him and he knew morally it was the right thing to do. His father died when he was young and other than being told what was expected of him, the...
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...Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success. Swami Vivekananda Success, Alone, Live All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark. Swami Vivekananda Before, Eyes, Dark You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself. Swami Vivekananda Religion, God, Yourself All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything. Swami Vivekananda Everything, Kind, Secret If money help a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better. Swami Vivekananda Money, Help, Better Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak. Swami Vivekananda Greatest, Anything, Others You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. Swami Vivekananda Spiritual, Teacher, Soul Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth. Swami Vivekananda Truth, Live, Struggle ...
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...Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita means the “Song of God”. It tells the story of Lord Krishna explaining to Arjuna who he really is. The knowledge would give Arjuna the strength and the persistence to know and to defeat his enemies. Arjuna’s main conflict is that of identity and purpose: Who am I, what am I to do, how am I to see things, what my nature is, what the right attitude is, and how to attain peace and victory. It is said that our world is all an illusion. We are ignorant of our true purpose in life, and we tie ourselves to our wants and needs. This reading is meant to enlighten us by facing our life’s challenges with a positive mindset, humility, and diligence. In chapters one and two, the rival armies are on the brink of battle. Arjuna gave up the will to fight Dhritarashtra’s decision to give control of the kingdom to his son. He didn’t want to kill his family member for the crown he didn’t want. Krishna is the voice of reason, attempting to convince Arjuna to fight to restore balance and fulfill his natural duty—Dharma. In his persuasion, Krishna shares a philosophy for life. Fulfilling your duty, acknowledging God, and surrendering to God with devotion are some of the teachings of the story. In chapter three and four, we learn that as humans we must take on challenges in our lives. By acting selflessly, or without selfish motives, we become liberated and harness good karma, and achieve transcendental awareness of ourselves and the Supreme Ruler. Our actions can...
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...THE INDO-EUROPEANS Indo- Europeans Mirgrate indo- europeans- were a group of nomadic people who may have cpme form steppes steppes are dry grasslands that stretched north of the caucasus they live in tribes with the language of indo-europeans the indo-europeans language family the language of indo europeans are the ancestors of many modern language the Aryans spoked and early form of the sankrit language located in india the language chart: english sankrit persian spanish german mother matar muhdar madre mutter father pitar puhdar padre vater daughter duhitar dukhtahr hija tochter new navas now nuevo neu six sat shash seis sechs An unexplained Mirgration no one knows why people left their homeland in the steppes mirgration- movements of ward in all directions between 1700 and 1200 B.C The hittite Empire around 2000 B.C a group of indo- europeans speaker called the hittites the hittites occupied Anatolia (asia minor) the city states came together to form a huge regon Hittites Adopt and Adapt littertrue, arts, politics, and law came from the hittites the hittites used their indo europeans with one another Chariots and iron technology the hitties excelled in the technology of war chariots iron weapons the iron was the best thing for the hitties and the chariots helped a lot in war Aryans Transform India before 2000 B.C the hitties settled in anatolia the aryans also settled in that time the Aryans are another indo european group...
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...Name_______________________ Humanities 106 Fall 2011 Midterm Note: The Midterm for Spring 2012 Will not Cover China, so disregard the questions concerning non-Buddhist Chinese Religious practice I. Directions: For each of the following, choose the best answer to each corresponding question by selecting from A, B, C, or D. 1. What is this image called? A. Parusha B. Vimana X C. Mandala D. Linga 2. Which stage in the Buddha’s life is being represented? A. His youth in Kapalivastu B. His fasting with ascetics X C. His achievement of enlightenment D. His death 3. This image displays which of the following? A. Devi X B. Kali C. Guanyin D. Durga 4. Who is the figure in this image? A. Pangu B. Vishnu C. Kali X D. Guanyin 5. Who is this and what is he doing? X A. Shiva, the destruction of the universe B. Buddha, the attainment of nirvana C. Vishnu, the creation of the universe D. Parusha, his sacrifice 6 Who is this figure? A. Lao Zi B. Shen Nong C. Huang-Di D. Confucius 7. What is this object called, and what is it associated with? X A. Pillar, the Emperor Ashoka B. The mandala, Brahman C. Atman, the Soul...
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...Micheal Mink Dr. Michael McLaughlin World Religions: East and West REL-223-7504 10 July 2015 Hinduism This paper is broken up into three parts. The first part will speak to the four Yogas. The second part will be about Bhakti Yoga as seen in the International Society for the Krishna Consciousness (ISKON). And the last part will address the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads. First we must define Yoga. Yoga is defined as “a Hindu philosophy that teaches a person to experience inner peace by controlling the body and mind.” (1) There are four Yogas that will be discussed in the paper: Karma; Bhakti; Raja and Jnana. . Karma Yoga is the Yoga of work. There are key components of Karma that govern that any action qualifies as being Karma Yoga. Those actions are having the right attitude, the right motive, your duty, doing your best, letting go of results and serving God or the self in all.(2) “Every act done without thought for myself diminishes my self-centeredness until finally no barrier remains to separate me from the divine.” (3) Therefore actions accomplished with this thought process lighten the ego, bringing the person closer to achieving the real self. The second Yoga is Bahkti or the path to God through love. Basically, to strive not to be like God, but to worship God with his or her entire being. The way to God through knowledge is known as the psychophysical exercises are known as Raja Yoga. This method according to Huston Smith is “the approach for a strong suspicion...
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...Algeo 1998 Senzar: The Mystery of the Mystery Language Part I and Part II Book html Online Edition Digitized by Theosophy World J. Algeo 2000 The Bhagavad Gita: A Study Course Book pdf Online Edition Digitized by Theosophical Society in America J. Algeo 2007 Theosophy: An Introductory Course Book pdf 4th Edition Digitized by Theosophical Society in America J. Algeo 2012 Reincarnation Explored Book pdf Revised Edition Digitized by TheosophyForward J. Algeo For more works by Dr. Algeo, see bio sketch. Also list of his articles. Also Quest Books. J. Algeo, ed. 2012 Theosopedia: The Internet Theosophical Encyclopedia Online. Also available for purchase the print version. Book html Online Edition Digitized by Theosophical Society in the Philippines J.A. Anderson 1893 Reincarnation: A Study of the Human Soul Book pdf 1st Edition Digitized by Internat Archive J.A. Anderson 1895 The Septenary Man Book pdf 1st Edition Digitized by Internat Archive Anonymous 1890 Working Glossary for the Use of Students of Theosophical Literature Book pdf 1892 Edition Digitized by Google Books Anonymous Working Glossary for the Use of Students of Theosophical Literature Book html 1892 Edition Digitized by Theosophy Northwest Anonymous 1925 The Theosophical Movement 1875-1925: A History and a Survey Book html 1st Edition Digitized by Jake Jaqua Anonymous 1920-22 The Theosophical Movement (a 34-part series)...
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...Religions are formed because people want something to believe in. People follow the ways of religions because there is order that tells people how to live their life and how to achieve the perfect afterlife. Although religions tell us these things, each religion goes about it differently. Indian Salvation Religions and Classical Mediterranean Christianity want the same things for their followers but the path to achieving that goal is very different. The Bhagavad Gita, “Song of the Blessed Lord” (reader pg. 73), is a document of the Indian Salvation Religion which is a sacred text that involves a story that explains perfect detachment through one’s caste duties. The Last Judgement is a Christian text that explains how everyone must stand before...
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...Ivyanne London Dr. Bryan English 2010 7 December 2012 The Bhagavad- Gita: Influence on Civil Disobedience Advocates Civil disobedience can be described as the nonviolent means of bringing about social change. The Bhagavad- Gita is a philosophical poem that attempts to ask difficult questions of universal issues that deal with the topic of civil disobedience. The messages that are told throughout the poem have had major influences on civil disobedience advocates such as Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. This work offers explanations that can be applied to dilemmas that can’t be resolved with a simple form of action. According to the Theosophical Society of America, The Bhagavad- Gita, commonly known as the “Gita” has been passed back and forth between America and India through these civil disobedience activists. They each had influences on each other along with the Gita. Some reoccurring themes that may have influenced Thoreau, Gandhi, and King include questions about the right way to live, seeking higher knowledge, and how no action is still a form of action. The version of The Bhagavad- Gita that is told in The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 3rd edition, begins with the moment of crisis in Arjuna’s mind. Arjuna is the middle son of his five brothers who are apart of the Pandavas. He is apart of the warrior caste and is the most skilled and feared archer of his time. They are about to engage in war with their cousins, the Kauravas, because...
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