The Bhagavad Gita - the path of action

This is the first in a series of a 3 articles on the Bhagavad Gita – the song celestial – the sacred book of Hinduism religion.

Warren Hastings – the first British Governor General – wrote an introduction to the first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita. He said: -

“The writers of the Indian Philosophies will survive when the British Dominion in India shall long have ceased to exist, and when the sources which it yielded of wealth and power are lost to remembrance”.

It is now the year 2005 and Warren Hastings statements have come true. The British Empire no longer exists but the Bhagavad Gita is still studied by millions worldwide.

The unique appeal of the Gita is that it appeals to the scholar, as well as the thinker and the man of action. It is a book that captures the very essence of the Vedanta or the Upanishads.

The Upanishads speaks of method to attain the Ultimate and they also attempt to describe the Ultimate or at least to describe the nature of the experience of the Ultimate. It is a vast ocean of philosophic thought. Prior to the Bhagavad Gita no one had put forth the message of the Upanishads into a practical spiritual message.

The Bhagavad Gita furnishes exactly this message. Man is in need for guidance in his life. He finds this guidance in the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita may therefore be described as the method by which the worldly man, the man of action can attain to the Ultimate, which is spoken of in the Upanishads.

The Gita is said to be the scared text of the Hindus. But we find that at the time when this book was first written down that it was meant for the benefit of the whole humanity. At that time these were not distinctions or the classification of humanity into different sects or religions like Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or the like. Thus the message of the Gita is a universal message meant for the whole humanity. Many people of varying faiths have found that they have come to a better understanding of their faith through a study of the Gita. The Christian will better understand Christianity, the Jew, the Jewish religion and so on through the Gita.

With these introductory remarks let us look at the message of the Gita.

The first chapter of the Gita describes the circumstances or the context within which the story took place. There was a war between 2 sets of cousins – The Pandavas and the Kauravas – for a kingdom. Arjuna – the great Pandava warrior was at the battlefield with his own army facing that of the Kauravas. Arjuna was led to the battlefield by Krishna, his charioteer – who is considered to be the incarnation of God himself by the Hindus. Arjuna looks and finds in the opposing army his own blood relatives, his elders, and members of his own clan. He is seized by a great doubt, he thinks, what is the purpose of killing his own countrymen and relatives for the sake of a kingdom. However he is a warrior prince – a Kshatriya – that means that it is his duty to fight. He finds himself in a great confusion, torn between idealism and feeling, his duty and the natural feelings of love and affection for members of his clan. He resolves not to fight and proclaims as such to Lord Krishna.

So this is the first chapter. It is set on a battlefield and the conflict between duty and feelings, between idealism and feeling is clearly laid down. Arjuna is the confused warrior and Krishna is the sage who gives calm and philosophic guidance and leads Arjuna from his confusion.

We see then that the message of the Gita is meant for people who are actively involved in the battlefield of life. This is Karma Yoga – the path of action. The Gita is meant to be studied and used by the businessman, the professional, the blue-collar employee, the housewife and by a soldier in the armed forces. This is a message for those wanting to live life to the full – not for those who want to renounce it.

In future articles I will explain Krishna’s advice and the reasoning behind it.

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it will be useful to you.

If you have any comments or questions please go to The Eastern Philosophy Blog and post them. I visit the blog daily and promise to respond as promptly as I can.

Stay tuned for more articles in this continuing series.