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CHAPTER 1
What You Should Know About the Bhagavad Gita
Tell me, Sanjaya, what my sons and the sons of Pandu did, when they gathered on the sacred field of Kurukshetra eager for battle? — Bhagavad Gita 1:1
The Basics
The term Bhagavad Gita means the "Song of God" and is the title of an ancient and beloved Hindu sacred scripture. It deals with spiritual concepts such as the nature of existence and the spiritual self (or soul), our relationship with Divinity, consciousness, the practice of devotion, and the importance of doing our duty in life. More about these topics will be discussed later.
Originally written in Sanskrit, the Bhagavad Gita has been translated into every major language of the world. There are hundreds of English versions, and it is also available online in various forms and is often accompanied by commentaries such as in The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi. The Bhagavad Gita has multiple layers of meaning, like the parables of Jesus of Nazareth, and covers three main themes: duty, the hidden self in all beings, and the omnipresent nature of God; and it does all of this in eighteen short chapters totaling seven hundred verses.
The four principal characters, in order of appearance, of the Bhagavad Gita are:
• Sanjaya, the clairvoyant scribe to King Dhritarashtra
• King Dhritarashtra, the blind king, head of the Kauravas, one of the two sides in the upcoming battle.
• Prince Arjuna, the son of King Pandu, head of the Pandavas, the other side in the upcoming battle
• Lord Krishna, Prince Arjuna's chariot driver and, unbeknownst to Prince Arjuna, the embodiment of God
In the next chapter, you'll read an expanded cast of characters with more details about their roles. However, too many details up front can make it difficult to keep straight who is who, especially because in the Bhagavad Gita the same person is often referred to by numerous names. Lord Krishna, for example, is addressed by many different names, including Unfallen Lord, Supreme Person, Origin of All Beings, God of gods, and Ruler of the World. Each name discloses additional information about his nature and reveals Arjuna's growing awareness of the Divinity steering his chariot. For this beginner's guide, I've kept to one name per character, so you can stay clear on who is being referred to and who is speaking.
The Bhagavad Gita is embedded in a much larger work: the epic poem called the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is part of the folklore of India and a guide to understanding human nature. It chronicles the history and heartbreaking events that led up to a devastating and insolvable family dispute and the war that inevitably followed. The action takes place on a battlefield, known as Kurukshetra, which is north of modern New Delhi. The dialogue inside the Bhagavad Gita takes place immediately before that massive battle, one that lasted about three weeks wherein almost every person died. It was large-scale war and is thought to be based on actual events from between 3000 and 1000 BCE.
In short, the Bhagavad Gita is the conversation that takes place between two people, Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna, directly before the battle begins. The conversation is observed from a remote location by the clairvoyant Sanjaya and related to King Dhritarashtra.
The Message of the Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is a guide to spiritual self-discovery, with the goal of returning our awareness to the indwelling presence of the Divine. It advises us to pay attention to the integrity of our soul's duty, practice single-mindedness, remain unattached to outcomes, and to do everything as an act of devotion. It guides the seeker to accurately identify what is real and what is unreal — not unreal in the sense that something does not exist, but in the sense that the external world is endlessly changing and impermanent and cannot be a reliable reference for understanding reality or knowing God. Our problem is that we perceive the world through our senses, which inform our thoughts and feelings. Our challenge, then, is to take command of our senses in the same way the five horses drawing Prince Arjuna's chariot must be commanded lest they send the chariot and its passengers to ruin. To let the horses run where they may is like being attached to and driven by unstable forms. Unstable forms lead reliably to unstable experiences. The Bhagavad Gita strives to give us a different and stable reference point for navigating the world, by exploring the nature of permanent reality, God, as the basis for the life of selfless service, devotion, and peace.
The Bhagavad Gita offers three disciplines by which spiritual life can be approached: the path of detached action, the path of devotion, and the path of knowledge. One of the many names for God in Hinduism is Bhagavan, which means the Adorable One. Therefore, the Bhagavad Gita is the song of the Adorable One, giving a hint about the centrality of the path of devotion throughout the text.
CHAPTER 2
Bhagavad Gita's Cast of Characters
And Arjuna, standing between the two armies, saw fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, and brothers, sons and grandsons, in-laws and friends. Seeing his kinsmen established in opposition, Arjuna was overcome by sorrow. — Bhagavad Gita 1:26
Prince Arjuna — Arjuna is one of the Pandu princes, a skilled warrior, and the central figure of the Bhagavad Gita. Prince Arjuna is overwhelmed with grief when he realizes that uncles and cousins are facing off to battle one another. He resolves not to fight because he believes no good can come from the war. His chariot driver, Lord Krishna, responds to Prince Arjuna's grief, and the two friends discuss the nature of action, duty, and spirituality in a conversation that is the Bhagavad Gita.
Lord Krishna — Lord Krishna is Prince Arjuna's chariot driver and adviser. Lord Krishna is a friend to both the Kaurava and Pandava families and therefore refuses to take sides or engage in battle. He offers something to each side: they can choose to have either him or his army. Duryodhana of the Kauravas choses Lord Krishna's army, thinking it would give him an advantage over the Pandavas. Lord Krishna gives himself in service to the Pandavas as chariot driver to Prince Arjuna. According to the war convention of the times, chariot drivers cannot engage in battle. In the role of chariot driver, then, Lord Krishna can keep his commitment to not engage in fighting.
Sanjaya — Sanjaya is an adviser to blind King Dhritarashtra. Sanjaya was granted clairvoyance and clairaudience so that he can remotely perceive what is happening on the battlefield. From his location, he mystically sees and hears everything that takes place and recites it all to the blind King Dhritarashtra.
King Dhritarashtra — Dhritarashtra is the blind king, patriarch of the Kaurava family. Although he was the firstborn in his family, he was never legally enthroned according to custom: his blindness disqualified him from becoming king. Nevertheless, he was the de facto ruler, entrusted with watching over the kingdom until his nephews — the sons and heirs of his brother who was the last qualified king — came of age. King Dhritarashtra had one hundred sons of his own and one daughter. His firstborn son, Duryodhana, believes he is entitled to the throne, and that is the source of the disagreement that leads to the tragic war.
King Pandu — Pandu was king of Hastinapur (in present day a city located north of Delhi) and patriarch of the Pandava family. He retired to the forest because of a complicated matter that is explained in "The Backstory from the Mahabharata." When King Pandu retired, he left the kingdom in his brother's care. Dhritarashtra was to rule in Pandu's place until Pandu's son Yudhishthira became king. The story of how his family was established is fascinating, intertwined with divine intervention, curses, blessings, luck, and bizarre misfortune.
The Kauravas — The Kauravas are King Dhritarashtra's children.
The Pandavas — The Pandavas are King Pandu's children, including Prince Arjuna (one of the central characters of the Bhagavad Gita); Yudhishthira, the firstborn and heir to the throne; Bhima; Nakula; and his twin brother, Sahadeva. Their uncle, Dhritarashtra, was entrusted with keeping the kingdom until the Pandava heir grew up. However, things became complicated when Dhritarashtra's own firstborn, Duryodhana, began plotting to take the throne for himself.
Duryodhana — Duryodhana is King Dhritarashtra's firstborn son, challenger to the throne. Duryodhana is preoccupied with the fame and the military skills of his cousins, the Pandavas. Duryodhana obsessively schemes to get rid of his cousins and take the kingdom for himself.
Bhishma — Bhishma is a respected elder, statesman, and adviser to King Dhritarashtra. As a reward for an earlier act of selfless sacrifice and love toward his father, Bhishma receives the ability to determine when he will die. This makes him a formidable foe since he cannot be killed unless he consents to die. He does eventually die later in the battle at an auspicious moment that he selects for himself.
Bhima — Bhima, Arjuna's brother, is commander of the Pandavas' army. He is immensely strong and kills all one hundred of King Dhritarashtra's sons in the battle depicted in the Mahabharata.
Drona — Drona is a master military instructor who taught all the royal princes on both sides of the family. His excellent training ensures that both armies are matched in skill.
CHAPTER 3
The Bhagavad Gita
A PARAPHRASE
Chapter One
The blind King Dhritarashtra: Tell me, Sanjaya, what is happening on the field called Kurukshetra where my family, the Kauravas, and my brother's family, the Pandavas are gathered to fight?
Sanjaya, minister to the king: Prince Duryodhana, your eldest son, spoke to his teacher, Drona, saying, "Look at all these famous people assembled for battle. Our army is unlimited in size and commanded by the legendary warrior, our granduncle, Bhishma. The enemy's army is small and is commanded by one of the Pandava brothers, Bhima. In their army is my cousin Prince Arjuna with his chariot driver, Lord Krishna."
And this is what Arjuna said to his chariot driver:
Arjuna: O Lord Krishna, drive my chariot between the two armies. I want to see who is there.
Sanjaya: Then Lord Krishna drove the magnificent chariot between the two armies and said, "Look, Arjuna, here they all are gathered for the battle." Then Arjuna said:
Arjuna: How can I fight these great people? It doesn't make any sense. They are blood relatives and good people. Just thinking about it weakens my resolve. It makes my mouth dry up and gives me the shakes. Even my hair stands on end. I can't believe any good will come of this war. I will not do it.
Sanjaya: Then Arjuna, overwhelmed by grief, threw aside his bow and arrow, fell silent, and sat back in his chariot. Lord Krishna smiled and said to the prince:
Chapter Two
Lord Krishna: You speak sincerely, Prince Arjuna, but your sorrow has no cause. The wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead. There has never been a time when you and I, or any of these people on the battlefield, have not existed. And there will never be a time when we stop existing.
The spirit, your real Self, cannot be punctured by weapons, and fire cannot burn it. Water does not wet it, and the wind cannot dry it. It is infinite, everlasting, and invisible. Knowing this, you should not grieve.
But even if you believed that your spirit, your Self, could die, why would you grieve? After all, death is as inevitable as birth. Since it is unavoidable, why get upset? Just do what is yours to do. Act! If you do not participate in this battle, you would be violating your dharma, which is your purpose for being.
To those people who lack the resolution to do what is before them, the decisions of life are complicated and difficult to make. However, when you overcome the confusion of the physical world, you will become aware of your of unity with all life, and peace and clarity will follow.
Arjuna: I would like to know about people who have attained that kind of peace. I want to know how they live and speak. What are they like?
Lord Krishna: These people are not agitated by grief, nor by lust or fear. They are meditators, and they are able to view good fortune and bad fortune equally. Even though they live in the world — and enjoy living in the world — they are not overpowered by it. They are not overwhelmed by their senses, which crave certain things and specific experiences. They know how to step back and observe life as it happens.
Arjuna, you already know what happens when you think of something over and over again. You become attached to that thing. And when you are attached to a thing, you begin to want to possess it. And when you can't get what you desire, anger and frustration rise, and these cloud your judgment. To step back from these influences and achieve peace requires committed daily spiritual practice.
Chapter Three
Arjuna: You are confusing me, and you seem to be suggesting contradictory things. On the one hand, you say meditation and study are the way to go; yet, on the other hand, you say that I should go ahead and fight. If you consider knowledge to be better than action, why do you want me to engage in this horrible war? What must I do to achieve peace? Can you please give me a straight answer?
Lord Krishna: At the beginning of time, I announced two pathways to this inner peace: the path of contemplation (right thought) and the path of selfless service (right action).
However, it is not possible for any creature to stop being active. All beings act according to their nature. It is a selfish action that causes all the troubles of the world, so I am recommending that you act selflessly, which means without any thought of personal gain.
Selfless action leads to peace because it is born from God. Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind. Not only will it lead to peace, but it will inspire countless others to do the same.
As for me, not even I can stop acting. If I did, creation would end, and everything would cease to exist. Oh, and another thing to keep in mind is that you are not the doer of any action anyway. Instead, you are the knower or the witness. As a result of your knowing, all actions are performed through a subtle interaction of forces. When you think it is you who is doing something, that is when you get attached to how it all works out in the end. Not everyone understands this.
So to simplify, I say, do everything for me, and do it all without any expectations. In this way, you can be sure to escape the complex web of causes and effects, and you can concentrate on doing your duty for me. Discover what is in harmony with your own nature and dedicate yourself to it as a service to me.
Arjuna: What makes us so selfish? It is almost like there is an independent power forcing us to act against our own nature.
Lord Krishna: What seems to be forcing people to act in selfish — even evil — ways is really the accumulation of desires coming together in a robust and irresistible appetite for self-satisfaction.
These desires have their roots in our senses, and sense information can be misleading. Senses are truly powerful. But more potent than senses is the mind. And more powerful than the mind is the will (or your intellect); and that which is above it all is the real Self, the part of you that is not deluded by the information of the sense world.
Chapter Four
Lord Krishna: I told this information to the sun god, Vivasvat, but through the ages, awareness of it has been lost. I'm telling it to you now because I love you so much and because of your devotion to me.
Arjuna: Wait a minute. How could you have told Vivasvat? He lived a long, long time ago, and you were born in more recent time.
Lord Krishna: Ah, but you and I have been through many births. You have forgotten them all, yet I have remembered them all. I remember them because I am changeless and unborn. I am the power in every creature; and through my own primal energy, I (who am infinite) appear in creation in a variety of forms. I do this whenever a decline takes place in the world, so that confidence in the real Self may be reestablished.
When you realize that you are not merely a body and truly become aware of your real Self, you also become aware of your unity in me and cease experiencing yourself as a separate being. By freeing yourself from anger, hate, fear, and attachment, you come to live in the awareness of oneness with me. But ultimately it doesn't matter which path you choose, because all paths lead to unity with me.
For example, some people approach me through sacrifices to gods, others through selfless service. Some live ascetic lives, others give to charity, and yet others take vows. All of these are forms of sacred service, and those who practice them are rewarded by the service itself.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Bhagavad Gita"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Edward Viljoen.
Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
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