Power point Presentation

Bhagwad Gita
Presented By-
Brinda Bhattacharyya
Enrolment Number- A90710520008
Course Title- Spiritual And Cultural Development Of Learners- I
Course Code- EDU127
Amity Institute Of Education
Amity University, Kolkata
 Origin Of Bhagwad Gita

• Originally written by Sage Vyasa, or Ved Vyas, as a part of the epic

Mahabharata- approximately 200 BCE.
• It is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava
prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna.

• The Sanskrit word dharma, translates to "Duty” which can be explained as

an all-encompassing ideology that includes ritual and moral behaviour. 
 Karma Yoga-the concept
• The third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, known as the
Path of Selfless Service, is also called the Karma Yoga.
 Theme of Karma Yoga
• The main theme here is that the performance
of prescribed duties is obligatory for everyone.
Here Lord Krishna tells everyone how it is
one’s duty to carry out his or her duties and
how it is the duty of each and every member
of the society to comprehensively carry out
the duties.
 Duties of a Karma Yogi
• He posits that every human needs to :
engage in some sort of activity in this material world,
and these activities are those

That lead to
That lead to
bondage
liberation
Those perform duties without being attached to them , get
liberated at the end.
 Structure of Chapter III
• Divided into 43 texts, each text explains :
If one controls his/her actions by mind, (s)he is
far superior.
Whereas,
If his/her mind dwells solely on sense objects,
then he is self-deluded and a pretender.
 Theme of right action
• When Arjuna asks why Krishna pushes him to action, Krishna explains there are two
paths: knowledge (Sankhya or jnana) and action (karma and humans are driven by one
or the other.

• Krishna proposes that right action is a form of worship and that only by doing
necessary and right action can the Self find freedom.
 Neglect Of Dharma
• Neglect of dharma "would have bad social and
personal consequences."  If he were to stop,
humankind would following his example and fall into
the trap of inaction. Krishna also encourages Arjuna
to take the egocentric I out of his actions and avoid
the trap of thinking "I am the doer" of any action.
 Theme of Guna
• Krishna explains evil actions are driven by the guna called
rajas, or the quality that includes passion and violence which
cause people to engage in evil action. Krishna's explanation of
action versus inaction or wrong action draws from the
concept of the three gunas.

sattva: tamas: darkness and

rajas: passion
purity destruction

• In the example Krishna uses, a person with too much rajas will
be ruled by passion and ego and thus engage in evil or wrong
action.
 The need for Guna

• Hence the mind must be stronger than the senses .

• Arjuna asks Krishna why He is encouraging fighting if
intelligence is better than action-filled work.
• Krishna then explains 'karma-Yoga', reaction-free devotional
work, and clears Arjuna's mistaken notion that all work has
fruition and leads to bondage.

Everyone must engage in some sort of activity in this material

world. But actions can either bind one to this world or liberate
one from it.
 Karma Yoga In modern Day
• Many contemporary sages, like Sri Ramakrishna or Sri Aurobindo, have
shown that Karma Yoga is very well adapted to modern times and suitable
for all human beings, even more so than Bhakti Yoga, which suits only
those with intense religious inclinations (very rare nowadays).

• Karma Yoga is easier to practice because it does not require all these
talents.

• Moreover, Karma Yoga suits Westerners extremely well, who are always

ready to act and more or less sceptical about the value of spiritual
practices, that are taking people away from practical life in a materially
oriented society.
 A Western perspective on karma yoga
• Arjun Joshi’s The Foreigner is a story of state of mind
of the people facing human predicaments. The
protagonist of the novel Sindi Oberoi cuts his life
between attachment and detachment to do or not to
do´ He seems to follow principle of  Karma Yoga.
 Conclusion

• By acting for the pleasure of the Supreme, without selfish

motives, one can be liberated from the law of karma (action
and reaction) and attain transcendental knowledge of the self
and the Supreme.