Bhagavad Gita : Teachings Galore

The Bhagavad Gita (“Song of God” or

“Song of the Lord”) is among the most
important religious texts of Hinduism and
easily the best known. It has been quoted
by writers, poets, scientists, theologians,
and philosophers – among others – for
centuries and is often the introductory text
to Hinduism for a Western audience. It is
commonly referred to as the Gita and was
originally part of the great Indian
epic Mahabharata. Its date of
composition, therefore, is closely
associated with that of the epic – c. 5th-
3rd century BCE – but not all scholars
agree that the work was originally
included in the Mahabharata text and so
date it later to c. 2nd century BCE.

The Gita is a dialogue between the

Picture 1: Arjuna during the battle of Kurukshetra
warrior-prince Arjuna and the
god Krishna who is serving as his
charioteer at the Battle of Kurukshetra
fought between Arjuna’s family and allies
(the Pandavas) and those of the prince
Duryodhana and his family
(the Kauravas) and their allies. This
dialogue is recited by the Kauravan
counselor Sanjaya to his blind king
Dhritarashtra (both far from the
battleground) as Krishna has given
Sanjaya mystical sight so he will be able
to see and report the battle to the King.

The Kauravas and Pandavas are related and

there are mutual friends and family members fighting on both sides for supremacy of rule.
Accordingly, when Arjuna sees all his former friends and comrades on the opposing side, he
loses heart and refuses to take part in a battle which will result in their deaths as well as many
others. The rest of the text is the dialogue between the prince and the god on what constitutes
right action, proper understanding and, ultimately, the meaning of life and nature of the
Divine.

Commentaries: Numerous commentaries have been written on the Bhagavad Gita with
widely differing views on the essentials. According to some, Bhagavad Gita is written by
Lord Ganesha which was told to him by Vyasa. Vedanta commentators read varying relations
between Self and Brahman in the text: Advaita Vedanta sees the non-dualism of Atman (soul)
and Brahman (universal soul) as its essence, whereas Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita see
Atman and Brahman as both different and non-different, while Dvaita Vedanta sees dualism
of Atman (soul) and Brahman as its essence.
 Nomenclature: The Gita in the title of the Bhagavad Gita means "song". Religious leaders
and scholars interpret the word Bhagavad in a number of ways. Accordingly, the title has
been interpreted as "the word of God" by the theistic schools, "the words of the Lord”,
“the Divine Song", and "Celestial Song" by others.
Manuscripts: The Bhagavad Gita manuscript is found in
the sixth book of the Mahabharata manuscripts –
the Bhisma-parvan. Therein, in the third section,
the Gita forms chapters 23–40, that is 6.3.23 to
6.3.40. The Bhagavad Gita is often preserved and studied
on its own, as an independent text with its chapters
renumbered from 1 to 18.
The Bhagavad Gita manuscripts exist in numerous Indic
scripts. These include writing systems that are currently in
use, as well as early scripts such as the Sharada script now
dormant. Variant manuscripts of the Gita have been found
on the Indian subcontinent. Unlike the enormous variations
in the remaining sections of the
surviving Mahabharata manuscripts, the Gita manuscripts
show only minor variations and the meaning is the same.
According to Gambhirananda, the old manuscripts may
have had 745 verses, though he agrees that 700 verses is the
generally accepted historic standard. Gambhirananda's view
is supported by a few versions of chapter 6.43 of
the Mahabharata. These versions state the Gita is a text
where "Kesava [Krishna] spoke 620 slokas, Arjuna 57,
Samjaya 67, and Dhritarashtra 1", states the Religious
Picture 2: A 19th-century Sanskrit Studies and Gita exegesis scholar Robert Minor. This adds
manuscript of the Bhagavad Gita, to 745 verses. An authentic manuscript of the Gita with
Devanagari script 745 verses has not been found. Of all known extant historic
manuscripts, the largest version contains 715 verses.
Adi Shankara, in his 8th-century commentary, explicitly states that the Gita has 700 verses,
which was likely a deliberate declaration to prevent further insertions and changes to the
Gita. Since Shankara's time, the "700 verses" has been the standard benchmark for
the critical edition of the Bhagavad Gita.

THE  GITA  COMBINES THE CONCEPTS EXPRESSED IN THE CENTRAL TEXTS

OF HINDUISM,  WHICH ARE HERE SYNTHESIZED INTO A SINGLE, COHERENT
VISION.

The Gita combines the concepts expressed in the central texts of Hinduism –

the Vedas and Upanishads – which are here synthesized into a single, coherent vision of
belief in one God and the underlying unity of all existence. The text instructs on how one
must elevate the mind and soul to look beyond appearances – which fool one into believing in
duality and multiplicity – and recognize these are illusions; all humans and aspects of
existence are a unified extension of the Divine which one will recognize once the trappings of
illusion have been discarded.
 Vedas, Upanishads, & the Three Gunas

Hinduism is known to adherents as Sanatan

Dharma (“Eternal Order” or “Eternal Path”) and is
informed at its fundamental level by the texts known
as the Vedas which also include subtexts known as the
Upanishads. The word Veda means “knowledge’’,
and Upanishad is interpreted to mean to “sit down
closely” as though drawing near for instruction from a
master. The Vedas convey the essential knowledge of
the universe; the Upanishads instruct one on how to use
that knowledge.

The vision of the Vedas and Upanishads, in its simplest

Picture 3: Krishna Manifesting His Full
and most concise form, is that there is a single entity – Glory to Arjuna
Brahman – who is the creator of existence and existence
itself. Human beings carry a spark of this great Divinity
within themselves known as the Atman. The purpose of life is to reach the self-actualization
of the Atman which will then bring one into union with Brahman in life after one experiences
physical death. One achieves this self-actualization through the performance of
one’s dharma (duty) in accordance with one’s karma (right action) to eventually
attain moksha (liberation) and the recognition of Final Truth. If one does not attain self-
actualization in a given lifetime, one is reincarnated and must try again.Standing in the way
of one’s self-actualization are worldly distractions in the form of the three gunas – qualities,
characteristics, states of mind – inherent in each individual. The gunas are:

 Sattva – wisdom, goodness, enlightenment

 Rajas – passion, activity, aggression
 Tamas – darkness, confusion, helplessness

The gunas are not a hierarchy one needs to work through from bottom to top but all three
exist, to greater or lesser degrees, in every individual. The confusion of Tamas can be caused
by the passion of Rajas and the urge toward goodness or wisdom of Sattva. The gunas help to
enslave the mind by interpreting the world one sees as the truth – as the way life and the
universe truly are – and so trap one in the cycle of rebirth and death (samsara), keeping one
from self-actualization by diverting attention from the truth of reality to what one has been
taught to accept as reality.

The best illustration of this is the interpretation of death as a tragic loss both for the deceased
and for the survivors. One’s natural response to death is sorrow and anger at the loss or, for
those experiencing the decline in health of a terminal disease, fear of the unknown and rage at
being forced to leave all one knows behind. The sages of the Upanishads and the figure of
Krishna in the Gita would say these responses are simply the gunas at work. One is
conditioned to respond emotionally to loss but, depending on which of the three gunas is
most dominant in an individual, one will express that emotion in different ways. The soul
possessing more of Sattva will be inclined to be philosophical and optimistic; of Rajas, angry
and aggressive; of Tamas, inconsolable and despairing.

None of these responses, Krishna would say, are appropriate because the person who has died
has not ceased to exist and one commits a serious spiritual error in responding as though they
have. Even the response of Sattva is not wholly appropriate because it supposes an end to life,
a discontinuity, when there is none. The soul is immortal, existed before birth, and exists after
death. This understanding is emphasized in the Upanishads and illustrated dramatically
throughout the Gita which stresses the importance of moving beyond what seems to be true
toward actual Truth.

Mahabharata and Gita

As noted, the action of the Gita is set in the great Indian epic Mahabharata which focuses on
the interrelated families of the Pandavas and Kauravas and their struggle for control of the
land of Bharat (India). The work is traditionally attributed to the sage Vyasa (as is
the Gita by some, said to have been dictated by Vyasa to the elephant-headed god Ganesha)
and illustrates spiritual truths through its epic tale.

Picture 4: The Kurukshetra War

The Vedas (and, to

some schools of thought, the Upanishads) are considered shruti (“what is heard”) by Hindus
in that the works are considered eternal knowledge communicated by the Divine and heard by
sages who then preserved them. The Mahabharata, the Gita, and the other great epic,
the Ramayana, are considered smritis (“what is remembered”) as they are regarded as works
written by human beings drawing on past history, lore, and tradition. It should be noted that,
in some Hindu sects (such as the Hare Krishna movement), the Gita is understood
as shruti on par with the Vedas, but this claim is not commonly accepted.

The Mahabharata begins with the story of the king Shantanu of the Kuru clan who sets in
motion a series of events whereby his second wife, Satyavati, comes to control the kingdom
along with their son Devavrat (also known as Bheeshm). Bheeshm captures three princesses
from another kingdom as wives for his half-brother Vichitravirya, who was to be crowned
king. One of these was released and the other two married Vichitravirya who then died
without producing an heir. The two princesses were then married to Satyavati’s son from her
first marriage, the sage Vyasa, in order to preserve the Kuru line. One of the princesses gave
birth to Dhritarashtra (who was born blind) and the other to Pandu. Vyasa then had a third
son with a maid of the ladies who was called Vidur. All three boys showed exceptional skills
in different areas of government.
 In time, Dhritarashtra was married to the princess Gandhari and Pandu to another named
Kunti. The two princes and Vidur consolidated the rule of the kingdom and, when they came
of age, Pandu became king even though Dhritarashtra was older because a blind man could
not legally rule. Pandu reigned well and, when all seemed in order, Pandu requested leave
and went off to live in the woods with Kunti and his lesser wife Madri. Years later, Kunti
returned with her five sons who had been born in the wilderness – Yudhishthira, Bhima,
Arjuna, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva – along with the corpses of Pandu and Madri
whose deaths have brought the family back to the kingdom. These sons (known as the
Pandavas) are attributed to Pandu as father but, actually, each was conceived by the union of
Kunti and Madri with different gods.

While Pandu and his wives were gone,

Dhritarashtra and Gandhari had
produced 100 children, the oldest of
whom was Duryodhana, known as the
Kauravas. Rivalry between
Duryodhana's side of the family and the
five sons of Kunti informs the rest of the
story which finally results in the armies
of the two branches of the family facing
Picture 5: Pandavas each other at the Battle of Kurukshetra.  

This is where the action of the Gita takes place, just before the battle is about to begin.
Krishna, in his present incarnation, is related to both sides and declares he will fight for
neither but assist both. He serves as Arjuna’s charioteer and, as both armies move into
position for battle, Arjuna asks Krishna to drive him to the center of the field so he can look
upon all of those who are so eager for war. When Krishna obliges, Arjuna sees his friends,
relatives, old teachers, counselors, all of the people who played a part in his life and made
him who he is. He tells Krishna that he cannot be a part of any action that will result in so
much death and misery. He throws down his great bow and declares he will not fight.

Prior to the battle, Krishna endowed the counselor Sanjaya with a kind of second sight so
that, even miles away, he could see everything taking place on the battlefield and report it
precisely to Dhritarashtra. The Gita begins with Dhritarashtra asking Sanjaya what is
happening at Kurukshetra; Sanjaya then narrates Arjuna’s despair, Krishna’s response, and
the whole of their dialogue which finally culminates in Arjuna’s understanding of the nature
of existence, his place in the cosmic order, and why he has to take part in the coming battle.

The Mahabharata then continues as Arjuna picks up his bow to fight. The Pandavas win but
at the cost of almost their entire army. Duryodhana and the Kauravas are all killed.
Yudhishthira and his brothers then rule the land for 36 years before abdicating in order to
pursue peace in their final days in the Himalayas where they die and are brought to paradise.

The Mahabharata then continues as Arjuna picks up his bow to fight. The Pandavas win but
at the cost of almost their entire army. Duryodhana and the Kauravas are all killed.
Yudhishthira and his brothers then rule the land for 36 years before abdicating in order to
pursue peace in their final days in the Himalayas where they die and are brought to paradise.
 Right and Wrong action

THE  GITA  CULMINATES IN ARJUNA’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF

EXISTENCE, HIS PLACE IN THE COSMIC ORDER, & WHY HE HAS TO TAKE
PART IN THE COMING BATTLE.

The action of the Gita, Arjuna’s despair, and final

realization of Truth touches on many different aspects
of Hindu belief but central is the concept
of dharma and an ordered universe where each
person has a responsibility to do what they have been
placed on earth to do and which no one else can
accomplish. Krishna impresses on Arjuna how he is a
warrior, and it is a warrior’s duty to take up arms and
engage in battle, but this argument fails to convince
Arjuna because all he sees are his friends and
relatives who will soon be killed.

Krishna then has to go beyond the conventional

argument of dharma to explain its underlying form,
importance, and how one is only distracted from it by
the gunas which contribute to false understanding and
the acceptance of illusion. In one of the most famous
passages of the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna:

Picture 6:Arjuna at the Draupadi Swayamvar

य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते Whether the slayer thinks he

हतम ् | slays
Or the slain thinks he is slain,
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न
Both are wrong.
हन्यते || 19||
There is neither slayer nor slain.
The soul is immortal, Krishna is saying, and so death is only an illusion. Death is discarding a
body that no longer functions but it has nothing to do with the Higher Self of an individual,
the Atman, which is immortal and, once it has shed the body, will return to its eternal home
through union with Brahman.

 One must break free of illusion to recognize the truth that all things observable and
unobservable are actually Brahman – all of the people in the armies facing each other on the
battlefield are Brahman – all of the people of the country – everyone, everywhere – is
Brahman.

This recognition encourages detachment from the seeming consequences of one’s actions.
One must realize, Krishna is saying, that engaging or refusing to engage in a certain course
because one is focused on the probable outcome is to be blinded by illusion which will cause
one to fail in performing their essential duty in life. One must detach one’s self from the
consequences of one’s action and focus on what must be done, no matter how seemingly
painful, in order to play the part one has been given in the Eternal Order of the universe.

In Arjuna’s case, refusing to fight is refusing to do his dharma which means not only evading
his responsibilities but denying the truth of the nature of existence. The battle must be fought
because all the overtures and attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully have failed. Those
involved have all made choices which have brought them to Kurukshetra and battle; there is
no way, at this point, that Arjuna can do anything other than fight, even if he does not wish
to. Once Arjuna realizes this, he is at peace with what he must do, and the battle commences.

This dramatic situation, of course, applies to anyone in the same situation facing some
difficulty they would prefer to avoid. An audience is comforted by the Gita in that if Arjuna
could recognize his dharma and kill his friends, relatives, and former teachers, then whatever
one may be facing in one’s own life should be much easier to bear.

There are many other aspects to the Gita than just the importance of dharma. Krishna’s
speeches throughout 18 chapters illustrate the nature of the Divine, Divine Love, how an
individual should respond, and how the universe is ordered. At one point, Krishna – who is
an avatar of the god Vishnu - reveals himself as Brahman itself thereby showing how all the
many gods of Hinduism are also Brahman in varied forms. Krishna also discusses the so-
called Caste System (the varnas) which allows each individual to perform
his dharma without distraction. The four varnas are:

 Brahmana varna – highest caste, teachers, priests, intellectuals

 Kshatriya varna – warriors, police, protectors, guardians
 Vaishya varna – merchants, farmers, bankers, clerks
 Shudra varna – lowest caste, servants, laborers, unskilled workers

Below the Shudras are the untouchables known as the Dalits, those who exist outside of the
caste system.

In the Gita, the varnas are explained as open to anyone. Anyone whose dharma it is to be a

teacher should be a teacher, no matter what social class they are born into. This vision was
transformed into a legalistic system by the Laws of Manu (the Manusmriti) written in the
2nd century BCE - 3rd century CE, under which one’s caste determined one’s occupation and
social parameters, but this was not the original vision of the Gita.

The emphasis of the Gita on devotion, knowledge, and right action in understanding and
drawing near to God would seem to preclude a legal caste system which confines one to the
social class of his or her birth. The Laws of Manu, however, sidestep this criticism by
claiming that the caste system is divinely ordained and part of Universal Order. One has
been born to a certain caste because of the karma of a past life which must be dealt with in
this life because it was neglected before.

As noted, the Gita would inspire the religious movements which would come to be known as
Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, all of which – to greater or lesser degrees – emphasize
 the importance of devotion to a personal God, Higher Power, or Greater Good as central to
their vision. The Gita has since inspired many others besides the famous Hare Krishna
movement of the present day through the compassion of its message of Universal Love,
emphasis on personal responsibility to one’s self and others, and the underlying unity of all
living things.

The differences people note in each other – as well as the seeming tragedy of loss and death -
are recognized as illusions, the Gita says, once one has moved past the acceptance of
appearance to an apprehension of reality-as-it-is. In the end, all are a part of the essence of
the Universe and can only begin to work toward this realization by first recognizing it as the
truth. Among Hindu texts, the Gita is the fullest expression of this concept of the means
toward self-actualization and liberation which free the soul from the illusions which cause
suffering and reward one with peace in this life and union with God after death.