Hinduism: Bhagvad Gita (Hindu philosophy)

It is revered as sacred by the majority of Hindu traditions, and especially so by followers of Krishna. In general speech it is commonly referred to as The Gita


The content of the Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of a climactic war.




During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring glimpse of His divine absolute form.




The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gītopanishad, implying it to be an 'Upanishad'. While technically it is considered a Smirti text, it has singularly achieved a status comparable to that of śruti, or revealed knowledge.



Background


It begins with the Pandava prince Arjuna, as he becomes filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realising that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Sri Krishna (an avatar of Sri Vishnu), for advice.

Krishna counsels Arjuna, beginning with the tenet that the soul is both eternal and immortal. Any 'death' on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, but the inner soul is permanent. Krishna goes on to expound on the yogic paths of devotion, action, meditation and knowledge.

Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from growing beyond identification with the Ego, the 'False Self', and that one must identify with the Truth of the immortal Self, (the soul or Atman). Through detachment from the material sense of Ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and enter the realm of the Supreme.

To demonstrate his divine nature, Krishna grants Arjuna the boon of cosmic vision (albeit temporary) and allows the prince to see his 'Universal Form'. He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate essence of Being in the universe, and also its material body. This is called the Vishvarupa/Viratrupa.

The Gita refers to the war as Dharma Yuddha, meaning a just war. Chapter 4, verse 7, clearly states that God takes incarnation to establish righteousness in the world.


Dating of the text
Though it is not exactly clear when the Bhagavad Gita was composed, the majority of historians assume a date between 500 and 50 BCE. There is, however, considerable debate on the subject. Based on the differences in the poetic styles and supposed external influences such as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, certain scholars have expressed the opinion that Bhagavad Gita was added to the Mahabharata at a later date.

Theories based on archaeoastronomical calculations from passages of the Mahabharata place the incidents upon which the Gita is based around 5561 BCE.

The traditional date reflecting the beliefs of many devotional Hindus places the text in the 4th millennium BC.


The Scripture of Yoga

The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action, and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman), which is of the same essence as the basis of Being (Brahman).



However, abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the goal of life is to free the mind and intellect from their complexities, and to focus them on the glory of the Self, by dedicating one's actions to the divine.

This goal can be achieved through the Yogas of meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. The Gita describes the best Yogi as one who constantly contemplates God.

Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters.
There are four kinds of Yoga -

Raja Yoga or Psycho-Physical Meditation,

Bhakti Yoga or Devotion,

Karma Yoga or Selfless Action,

and Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge.

While each path differs, their fundamental goal is the same - to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence ) as being the ultimate truth upon which our material universe rests, that the body is temporal, and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's aim (moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through realization of the ultimate reality. There are three stages to self-realisation enunciated from the Bhagavad Gita:

1. Brahman - The impersonal universal energy

2. Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in the heart of every living entity.

3. Bhagavan - God as a personality, with a transcendental form.

The below are quotations from Krishna concerning the four principal yogas of the Bhagavad Gita:


On The Goal Of Yoga