Bhagavad-Gita

A Sanskrit title meaning "The Song of the Lord"; perhaps the most widely revered of the Hindu scriptures. The Bhagavad-Gita is a poem that makes up a small part of the mammoth Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Its author is unknown. The epic is attributed to an ancient sage named Vyasa, "the compiler." He is said to have dictated the Mahabharata to GANESA, the elephant-headed god. Like much of Indian literature the Bhagavad-Gita is diffi cult to date. Scholars usually assign it to the period between 200 B.C.E. and 200 C.E. The Bhagavad-Gita contains 18 chapters. They present a conversation between the warrior hero, Arjuna, and his charioteer, KRISHNA. The conversation occurs early in the morning before the beginning of a great battle. In the battle Arjuna and his brothers will fi ght against their cousins. The problem for Arjuna is that many other revered fi gures, such as Arjuna's teacher, are fi ghting for his cousins. Seeing in the ranks of the enemy those to whom he owes the utmost respect, Arjuna throws down his bow and refuses to fi ght. During the conversation that follows, Krishna teaches many important truths of HINDUISM. The poem is very complex, and no brief summary can do it justice. But it is possible to identify some of the poem's main topics. Krishna identifi es three paths in Hinduism, which he calls YOGAs, "disciplines." These are the path of insight, the path of action, and the path of devotion to Krishna alone as GOD. In the path of insight Krishna teaches the true nature of the ATMAN or self. Eternal and unchanging, the self does not experience change. Therefore, it cannot truly be born, die, or be injured. In the path of action he teaches the proper attitude with which to act. According to Krishna one should perform one's DHARMA or duty without thinking about the "fruits" of one's action. As a warrior, Arjuna's duty requires him to fi ght. One climax of the Bhagavad-Gita comes in chapter 11. The Mahabharata as a whole presents Krishna as a neighboring prince who has come to help Arjuna and his brothers win back their kingdom. During the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna to reveal his true nature. What follows is chapter 11, one of the masterpieces of the human attempt to describe the encounter with God. Another climax of the Bhagavad-Gita comes near the end of the poem. There Krishna summarizes the path of devotion this way: "Abandoning all thought of proper action [dharma], seek refuge in me alone. I will free you from all ills. Do not fear" (18.66). Taken at face value, the Bhagavad-Gita encourages soldiers to fi ght. The great Indian thinker B. G. Tilak (1856–1920) saw the Bhagavad-Gita as a call to use armed violence and expel the British conquerors and rulers from India. But the Bhagavad- Gita was also a favorite scripture of Mohandas GANDHI (1869–1948). He read it allegorically and used it to champion his way of opposing the British with "soul-force" and nonviolence rather than "body-force" and violence.