...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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...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 key point that I took away from looking at the Bhagavad Gita was the idea of oneness, that there is an underlying consciousness that connects all things. In the Gita, we see Arjuna battling with the idea of participating in fighting a battle with his family and friends on the opposing side. During his conversation with his charioteer, who happens to also be Krishna, he is told that he should do his duty as a warrior and to fight to help regain control of the kingdom. It is noted that physical death does not mean the ultimate ending of a life, that there will be rebirth or eventually moksha. The true struggle that Arjuna should be facing is not the turmoil over the killing, but should be over the act of going against his dharma. It is interesting to look at the Bhagavad Gita in relation to the caste system that played a major role in society and culture that has historically practiced Hinduism. While the system has been outlawed, it still has played a large part in shaping the society and the people in the region. The caste system is a stratification system that limited people into acting only within their assigned roles in society. Individuals are highly limited...
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...The Bhagavad Gita and many Hindu texts are Insightful, Compassionate, and a helpful secular moral guides. Hinduism text should be interpreted secularly because Hindus are conflicted in what is true about their god, as well as the fact that the sentiments in the texts are more empowering interpreted from an empowering humanist perspective, rather than a disempowering theist point of view. Hinduism texts should be interpreted as secularly. Recently Hindus are conflicted in what is true. V. V. Raman wrote in an issue of Zygon in 2003, “In the world of Hindu spirituality, Brahman is not a He or She that prescribes or proscribes behavior or a principle that is compassionate to the suffering or considerate to the repugnant but a mute substratum...
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...Abraham, led by faith, was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. Along the way he experiences despair, but he quickly renounces it so that he is able to make the movement of infinite resignation. Throughout his journey, he exudes the traits of a wise man through his powerlessness thereby regaining his happiness tenfold. Arjuna, struggles with his own path in searching for the meaning of life in his battles. Filled with despair, he looks to God to show him the way to transcendence. Both men have similar motives, but two very different paths in discovering their fate. In both Arjuna’s and Abraham’s path towards transcendence, there are similarities that contribute to the choices they make. First, both of the men have to make sacrifices; Arjuna is faced with making the decision to kill the enemy in order to have the luxuries in life, while Abraham faces what many would say is the worst thing that could happen, the loss of a child. They are both in the midst of a transition in their lives and they are looking to God for assistance. Although two very different tasks, both men are being tempted by God and it is in the response that decides their virtue, and thus transcendence. Both are striving toward the meaning of the eternal being, Abraham reaching for the infinite and Arjuna reaching for the Self; although different terms in the stories, they have the same meaning. Both of their lives at one point are filled with despair, which is crucial to experience in life in order to...
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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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...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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...The Bhagavad Gita Yaser Alwaznah University of Miami In refusing to fight, what is Arjuna calling into question? Arjuna’s fate is surrounded by a number of shocks because he is disturbed by certain facets of his primary mission of waging the war. The first incident is correlated with the killing of his kith and kin of which he had much hope in them to taken on another step. What does someone requires having in common so as to establish individual’s blood as well as flesh? Arjuna interrogates Krishna. He seems to be uncertain or does not know the relevancy and legality of the war itself. This is because Arjuna is worried and continues asking. How can too much killing and bloodshed facilitated toward a self-sacrificing cause, he asks Krishna....
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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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...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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...Bhagavad Gita : A Motivational Management Book by M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief Technical Examiner, to The Govt. of Kerala. Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Management guidelines from the Bhagavad Gita Old truths in a new context The source of the problem Utilisation of available resources Work commitment Motivation – self and self-transcendence Work culture Work results Manager's mental health Management needs those who practice what they preach In conclusion A note on the word "yoga". Abstract One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is Holy Gita which is considered to be one of the first revelations from God. The spiritual philosophy and management lessons in this holy book were brought in to light of the world by many great Indian saint's effort and they call the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone. Your followers in your establishment are continuing the mission by keeping this lantern burning always knowing the wishes of the modern generations. Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he has to fight.( Mental health has become a major international public health concern now). To motivate him the Bhagavad-Gita is preached in the battle...
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...Love in the Bhagvad Gita. In Hinduism, it is believed that the various major religions are alternate paths that will result in the same goal. In fact, within the religion itself, there are many sects with their own scriptures. Early on, the oldest and most sacred texts, the Vedas (meaning “knowledge”) declared Hinduism’s argument that “Truth (God) is one, wise men call Him by different names”. The Vedas were composed during the Vedic period (1500BC – 600BC). These texts are possibly the oldest documented literature available today. We will now review love in one of the most important Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita which was documented in the later Vedic period. This text comprises of 18 chapters and is translated literally as the “song of the beloved God” (Gita means song and Bhagavad means beloved God). Love is the primary theme in this text. In this scripture, God in the form of Krishna, speaks to his friend Arjuna on a battlefield in India. On a metaphorical level, it is suggested that when we overcome our inner struggles, we will be victorious in finding God. Topics include, loving God as well as God Himself, the soul and the goal of human existence; which in the Bhagavad Gita is to ultimately merge with God. Like any classic, the Bhagavad Gita is timeless and considered relevant even today. Many extraordinary individuals such as Gandhi and Einstein were inspired by its content. In Chapter 4, verse 11, of the Bhagavad Gita, it is stated that: However...
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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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...The purpose of this essay is to describe the role of Atman/Brahman and how they are related to one another in the Upanishads and then later re-appropriated in the Bhagavad Gita through the teaching of Krishna to Arjuna. Chapter ten in the Patterns of Religion textbook describe Hinduism as a religion of “many layers” on page 308. This analogy is further described on page 304 by likening Hinduism to a maze. “There is not a single straight line, but everything is connected.” The word Brahman is used in different context throughout the text. It is mentioned during the era of Vedism, when the Aryan migrants introduced the term for the pinnacle of the hierarchy in the caste system. An interesting note here is that rulers are placed below the Brahmans in the caste hierarchy. Later in Upanishads, Brahman is defined as “the One, which existed before the gods.” The Upanishads term atman as a distinguished self that is rebirthed throughout the journey through reincarnation. While reading the texts, I keep attempting to collaborate the information into theories that I am familiar with. The closest I am able to reach towards understanding is to liken atman to the soul, and the Atman/Brahman relationship to the path towards enlightenment and self-discovery. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna altered the relationship of Atman/Brahman from what was traditionally taught and established. Krishna taught that there is a path to moksha for everyone regardless of birth, caste, or gender...
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