The Bhagavad Gita is considered a concise summary of the vast Vedic wisdom and one of the worlds great spiritual texts. Its influence has extended far beyond India and many people around the world have admired its spiritual message and progressive ideas. It’s also part of a gripping narrative.
Bhagavad Gita originally appeared as a chapter within the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. The Gita is a conversation between Prince Arjuna and his chariot driver Lord Krishna. Arjuna and his brothers are preparing to fight their relatives in a war for sovereignty of their kingdom.
When people first encounter the Gita, they’re often surprised to find a spiritual book with a battlefield setting. God himself is advising Arjuna to fight a terrible war and the aim of the battle is apparently to gain material wealth and power. We expect spiritual activity to be peaceful and tolerant. The spiritual path is often presented as one which rejects violence, wealth and power and instead pursues higher ideals.
This apparent contradiction is our introduction to the concept of dharma. Dharma takes some time for a Western mind to fully understand and appreciate. Arjuna is a member of the Kshatriya or ruling class. According to his dharma or duty, he has a responsibility to protect the citizens and uphold justice. The administration of a society is a practical necessity, someone must maintain order. This duty falls to the Kshatriya and sometimes that duty involves conflict.
Krishna doesn’t advise Arjuna to leave his present circumstances and travel to a mountaintop to meditate. Instead, he explains how everyone can combine their practical occupation with the goal of spiritual development. The spiritual advice of the Bhagavad Gita is very practical. A recurring theme in the Gita is how to act without attachment to the results. We’re advised to perform our duty, to do what is right, without considering personal profit or loss. By following our dharma in this way, our actions won’t bind us to this world, entangling us in our own schemes for exploitation.
Very few people can personally relate to the occupation of a warrior and the battleground setting, but the quintessential message of the Gita both includes and transcends how to live in this world. From the spiritual or universal point of view we’re all standing on a battlefield, the material world of birth and death. Like Arjuna, we must face the knowledge of our own mortality, as well as the mortality of those we love, our friends and relatives. The Gita confronts our common and urgent problem of suffering and death and gives us inspiration and hope.
While the teachings of the Gita are profound and spiritually transforming, one of the most charming features is the picture it paints of God’s personality. Lord Krishna isn’t an angry or domineering God waiting to punish you for your imperfections, but a God who is your dearest friend. A God who is willing to serve you by driving your chariot, standing by your side, ready to help you.
He gives you knowledge, not commands. Knowledge that will inspire you to rise up and bravely fight for what you decide is honourable and right. At the end of the Gita, after Krishna has explained the nature of the material world, the soul, God, and the various paths of yoga to achieve liberation from suffering, he says to Arjuna: “Now that you know what you need to know, you can choose what you want to do.”
This presentation of the Gita aims to convey the essential philosophical ideas of the Gita in clear modern language, rather than provide a word-for-word translation.
“Simply hearing this conversation with faith will liberate you from suffering and you will reach the abode of the virtuous souls.”
Chapter 18
