Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God
I recently purchased a translation of the Bhagavad Gita specifically written for Westerners (this one). I have not previously spent much time reading any scripture outside of the Christian tradition I was raised in, and so was a bit wary of my ability to understand and apply teachings from outside my culture and tradition. This translation, however, made the language easy to follow. I found that I agreed with many parts and disagreed with some, but overall I found the work to be immensely thought-provoking and surprisingly relatable. I also noticed a great deal of parallels to Christianity (more below).
Background
The Bhagavad Gita or "Song of God" (sometimes simply referred to as the Gita) is one of the best-known of the Hindu scriptural texts. It is one portion of a much larger scriptural text known as the Mahabharata, which thought to the the longest epic poem ever written. It is thought to have been written between 400 and 200 BCE.
The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between a noble Indian warrior-prince Arjuna and his friend Krishna, who later reveals himself to be an incarnation of Vishnu or the supreme being - God.
The Bhagavad Gita is a short work (168 pages in my copy) divided into three sections: 1) knowing the self and self-less action, 2) the nature of God and 3) attaining liberation. These sections each contain six chapters, called yogas (Sanskrit for "union"). Some of these include the yoga (union) of action, knowledge, renunciation, meditation, wisdom , devotion and liberation. Thus the central message of the Gita seems to be a achieving a profound unity with one's Divine Self or the Atma (soul), elevating one's self to one's "absolute highest nature" - an Illumined One in perfect union with God and the universe. According to Hindu beliefs, a soul that does not achieve this final union will be reborn into a new body over and over again until this union is achieved.
The Concept of God in the Bhagavad Gita
While my knowledge of Hindu deities is extremely limited and there is significant diversity even among Hindus in terms of beliefs in deities (see here for a brief informative video), God in the Bhagavad Gita is represented by Arjuna's friend Krishna. Krishna, often depicted as a blue deity holding a flute, is said to be the eighth avatar or incarnation of the supreme God, Vishnu. Vishnu makes up one of three Gods sometimes referred to as the Hindu Trinity: Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. All are said to be manifestations of the Brahman (different from Brahma), which is the Ultimate Reality. So, while Krishna may inhabit a human form, God in Hinduism is not limited to a physical form. At one point in the Gita, Krishna reveals his true form to Arjuna, which quickly overwhelms Arjuna as Krishna's essence seems to have no boundaries (depicted below).
In many ways, the Bhagavad Gita seems to present a pantheistic view of deity - in other words: God is all and all is God. Each individual possesses what is referred to as the Atma, a manifestation of the Brahman or Ultimate Reality within each individual, similar in some ways to the Christian concept of the soul. The Atma is described as an "inner self," a "spirit" or a "soul."
The "supreme goal" described in the Gita is not to have a knowledge of God or to become like God but to "merge into God." To do so, one must move beyond selfish desires for rewards or avoidance of punishment, calm one's emotions, and move toward a pure motivation of love.
Here are a few passages from the Gita which describe God:
"God is not distant, but is within yourself and is your Self. See Divinity in all your actions and you can achieve Union with the Godhead.. to do so requires.. being constantly aware of Divinity every moment, no matter what you may be doing, whether eating, sleeping, working, praying, or breathing"
"Nothing in this world, animate or inanimate, can exist without Me. There is no end to My Divine manifestions. What I have described is but a tiny glimpse into My Glories. Whatever is beautiful, mighty or glorious in this world has emanated from just a part of My infinite power."
"I am the innermost True Self, the Atma seated in the hearts of all beings. And I am the beginning, middle, and end of all beings."
"Divinity is present throughout the universe, in every object, all creatures, and each individual being - and it always has been."
"Remember, dear friend, that I am subtly inherent in everything, everything in the universe... I am beauty and bliss, Arjuna. It is I of whom all the different scriptures of the world speak. In fact, it is I who authored them."
Gita as a Justification for War - Wielding Scripture Responsibly
At the beginning of the Gita, Arjuna is gearing up to fight a righteous battle against his hateful and jealous cousin, Duryodhana. However, Arjuna quickly loses his resolve as he observes his fellow kin on the other side. Naturally, he does not delight in killing his family, friends and former teachers. Krishna, however, encourages him to do his duty and fight.
I immediately wanted to side with Arjuna on not wanting to fight and naturally was taken back by the admonition to fight and slay the other side as a fulfillment of duty. Though still not a completely satisfying explanation, this battle seems to later be clarified as metaphorical for the battles of life. "Offer up all your actions to Me, Divinity. And then, with a perfectly clear mind and heart, go forth and fight this battle of life."
Certainly, the Gita could be used to justify war and other atrocities (see this article on the influence on the Indian caste system), just as the Bible or the Qur'an can and have been used to justify racism, slavery, and other atrocities. One of my takeaways from my reading of the Gita is that we each bear a responsibility to wield scripture responsibly, or use it for the betterment of ourselves and others rather than to justify our own bad behavior or pride. It would seem that to use our scripture to justify our own pride or moral superiority as compared to another belief system seems to be antithetical to the very purpose of most scripture.
Work Without Attachment
One of the more interesting sections for me was in the Sankyha Yoga (Path of Knowledge) describing work without attachment to the fruits of one's work. So often, I think we get caught up in having more money, a bigger house, a better car, or more luxurious vacations. These, of course, are their own reward. But the ultimate goal, the Gita would suggest is to move beyond performing work for the sake of obtaining a reward or avoiding punishment.
"Work hard in the world, Arjuna, but for work's sake only. You have every right to work but you should not crave the fruits of it. Although no one may deny you the outcomes of your efforts, you can, through determination, refuse to be attached to or affected by the results, whether favorable or unfavorable. Desire for the fruits of one's actions brings worry about possible failure - the quivering mind I mentioned. When you are preoccupied with the end results, you pull yourself from the present into an imagined, usually fearful future. Then your anxiety robs your energy and, making matters worse, you lapse into inaction and laziness. One does not accomplish great end sin some by-and-by future, O Warrior. Only in the present can you hammer out real achievement." (Bhagavad Gita: Sankhya Yoga 47-48)
Other short passages I found interesting:
"the overriding goal, which is to free yourself from bondage during this lifetime, to shed attachment to wordly things, detach from ego, and truly release yourself from the wheel of birth and death. When you do this, you actually become one with God." (BG 2:50)
"Life's true purpose is to achieve Divinity. Indeed the very definition of sin is not, as so many think, committing evil acts, but veering from God." (BG 3:13)
"This is the one who abandons all selfish desires, cravings, and torments of the heart: who is satisfied with the True Self (Atma) and wants nothing outside of Self. This one knows that real bliss is only found within. (BG 2:55)
"It is humanity that determines its earthly destiny. People seal their own fate. Further, God is neither responsible for nor takes note of anyone's bad or even good deeds." (BG 5:14,15)
"The wise know that living by scriptural injunctions (good deeds, sacrifice, and so forth) will help you reach heaven. But the true yogi knows that even heaven is part of nature (prakriti) and thus is eventually perishable. This yogi therefore transcends all of nature to reach Me, Brahman, the Imperishable Godhead, the Divine Love who lives in your heart." (BG 8:28)
"The answer is not to restrain your nature but to progressively improve your nature. Examine this thing called 'nature' more closely. One's own senses are major stumbling blocks to spiritual attainment. Senses derive their power from the many likes and dislikes imprinted in the mind (by family, by culture, and by one's actions in this and previous lives). This deeply embedded, largely unconcious system of likes and dislikes is what gives rise to one's thoughts, desires and tendencies... the best thing to do with these thoughts and desires is to transmute them into a devotional attitude, a desire for God. When this attitude takes hold, the system of likes and dislikes melts away, which causes the fierce power of the senses to gradually dry up. Desires are enemies when directed outward, but allies when pointed inward toward Divinity." BG 3:34
"True seers, perceiving Divinity in everyone, do no harm to anyone. The ones who don't perceive this unity separate themselves from others, seeing some as friends and others as foes. Those are the ones who do harm. It is the illusion of separateness that causes all evils perpetuated by humanity! How can one who really knows Atma insure the same Atma in another?" BG 13:28
Parallels to Christianity
Another fascinating aspect of reading scripture from another tradition is to see parallels with your own tradition. There are some that argue that based on the similarities in certain Hindu and Christian teachings that Jesus spent time in the Himalayas during the "lost years" for which we have no record of his life or ministry. Some also argue that Hinduism influenced Zoroastrianism, the principal religion of Babylon, which in turn influenced Judaism and then Christianity. Regardless of who influenced whom, I think much of the overlap are reflective of "perennial philosophy" universal reflections of the human condition shared across religious backgrounds - all truth circumscribed into one great whole.
Background
The Bhagavad Gita or "Song of God" (sometimes simply referred to as the Gita) is one of the best-known of the Hindu scriptural texts. It is one portion of a much larger scriptural text known as the Mahabharata, which thought to the the longest epic poem ever written. It is thought to have been written between 400 and 200 BCE.
The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between a noble Indian warrior-prince Arjuna and his friend Krishna, who later reveals himself to be an incarnation of Vishnu or the supreme being - God.
The Bhagavad Gita is a short work (168 pages in my copy) divided into three sections: 1) knowing the self and self-less action, 2) the nature of God and 3) attaining liberation. These sections each contain six chapters, called yogas (Sanskrit for "union"). Some of these include the yoga (union) of action, knowledge, renunciation, meditation, wisdom , devotion and liberation. Thus the central message of the Gita seems to be a achieving a profound unity with one's Divine Self or the Atma (soul), elevating one's self to one's "absolute highest nature" - an Illumined One in perfect union with God and the universe. According to Hindu beliefs, a soul that does not achieve this final union will be reborn into a new body over and over again until this union is achieved.
The Concept of God in the Bhagavad Gita
While my knowledge of Hindu deities is extremely limited and there is significant diversity even among Hindus in terms of beliefs in deities (see here for a brief informative video), God in the Bhagavad Gita is represented by Arjuna's friend Krishna. Krishna, often depicted as a blue deity holding a flute, is said to be the eighth avatar or incarnation of the supreme God, Vishnu. Vishnu makes up one of three Gods sometimes referred to as the Hindu Trinity: Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. All are said to be manifestations of the Brahman (different from Brahma), which is the Ultimate Reality. So, while Krishna may inhabit a human form, God in Hinduism is not limited to a physical form. At one point in the Gita, Krishna reveals his true form to Arjuna, which quickly overwhelms Arjuna as Krishna's essence seems to have no boundaries (depicted below).
The "supreme goal" described in the Gita is not to have a knowledge of God or to become like God but to "merge into God." To do so, one must move beyond selfish desires for rewards or avoidance of punishment, calm one's emotions, and move toward a pure motivation of love.
Here are a few passages from the Gita which describe God:
"God is not distant, but is within yourself and is your Self. See Divinity in all your actions and you can achieve Union with the Godhead.. to do so requires.. being constantly aware of Divinity every moment, no matter what you may be doing, whether eating, sleeping, working, praying, or breathing"
"Nothing in this world, animate or inanimate, can exist without Me. There is no end to My Divine manifestions. What I have described is but a tiny glimpse into My Glories. Whatever is beautiful, mighty or glorious in this world has emanated from just a part of My infinite power."
"I am the innermost True Self, the Atma seated in the hearts of all beings. And I am the beginning, middle, and end of all beings."
"Divinity is present throughout the universe, in every object, all creatures, and each individual being - and it always has been."
"Remember, dear friend, that I am subtly inherent in everything, everything in the universe... I am beauty and bliss, Arjuna. It is I of whom all the different scriptures of the world speak. In fact, it is I who authored them."
Gita as a Justification for War - Wielding Scripture Responsibly
At the beginning of the Gita, Arjuna is gearing up to fight a righteous battle against his hateful and jealous cousin, Duryodhana. However, Arjuna quickly loses his resolve as he observes his fellow kin on the other side. Naturally, he does not delight in killing his family, friends and former teachers. Krishna, however, encourages him to do his duty and fight.
I immediately wanted to side with Arjuna on not wanting to fight and naturally was taken back by the admonition to fight and slay the other side as a fulfillment of duty. Though still not a completely satisfying explanation, this battle seems to later be clarified as metaphorical for the battles of life. "Offer up all your actions to Me, Divinity. And then, with a perfectly clear mind and heart, go forth and fight this battle of life."
Certainly, the Gita could be used to justify war and other atrocities (see this article on the influence on the Indian caste system), just as the Bible or the Qur'an can and have been used to justify racism, slavery, and other atrocities. One of my takeaways from my reading of the Gita is that we each bear a responsibility to wield scripture responsibly, or use it for the betterment of ourselves and others rather than to justify our own bad behavior or pride. It would seem that to use our scripture to justify our own pride or moral superiority as compared to another belief system seems to be antithetical to the very purpose of most scripture.
Work Without Attachment
One of the more interesting sections for me was in the Sankyha Yoga (Path of Knowledge) describing work without attachment to the fruits of one's work. So often, I think we get caught up in having more money, a bigger house, a better car, or more luxurious vacations. These, of course, are their own reward. But the ultimate goal, the Gita would suggest is to move beyond performing work for the sake of obtaining a reward or avoiding punishment.
"Work hard in the world, Arjuna, but for work's sake only. You have every right to work but you should not crave the fruits of it. Although no one may deny you the outcomes of your efforts, you can, through determination, refuse to be attached to or affected by the results, whether favorable or unfavorable. Desire for the fruits of one's actions brings worry about possible failure - the quivering mind I mentioned. When you are preoccupied with the end results, you pull yourself from the present into an imagined, usually fearful future. Then your anxiety robs your energy and, making matters worse, you lapse into inaction and laziness. One does not accomplish great end sin some by-and-by future, O Warrior. Only in the present can you hammer out real achievement." (Bhagavad Gita: Sankhya Yoga 47-48)
Other short passages I found interesting:
"the overriding goal, which is to free yourself from bondage during this lifetime, to shed attachment to wordly things, detach from ego, and truly release yourself from the wheel of birth and death. When you do this, you actually become one with God." (BG 2:50)
"Life's true purpose is to achieve Divinity. Indeed the very definition of sin is not, as so many think, committing evil acts, but veering from God." (BG 3:13)
"This is the one who abandons all selfish desires, cravings, and torments of the heart: who is satisfied with the True Self (Atma) and wants nothing outside of Self. This one knows that real bliss is only found within. (BG 2:55)
"It is humanity that determines its earthly destiny. People seal their own fate. Further, God is neither responsible for nor takes note of anyone's bad or even good deeds." (BG 5:14,15)
"The wise know that living by scriptural injunctions (good deeds, sacrifice, and so forth) will help you reach heaven. But the true yogi knows that even heaven is part of nature (prakriti) and thus is eventually perishable. This yogi therefore transcends all of nature to reach Me, Brahman, the Imperishable Godhead, the Divine Love who lives in your heart." (BG 8:28)
"The answer is not to restrain your nature but to progressively improve your nature. Examine this thing called 'nature' more closely. One's own senses are major stumbling blocks to spiritual attainment. Senses derive their power from the many likes and dislikes imprinted in the mind (by family, by culture, and by one's actions in this and previous lives). This deeply embedded, largely unconcious system of likes and dislikes is what gives rise to one's thoughts, desires and tendencies... the best thing to do with these thoughts and desires is to transmute them into a devotional attitude, a desire for God. When this attitude takes hold, the system of likes and dislikes melts away, which causes the fierce power of the senses to gradually dry up. Desires are enemies when directed outward, but allies when pointed inward toward Divinity." BG 3:34
"True seers, perceiving Divinity in everyone, do no harm to anyone. The ones who don't perceive this unity separate themselves from others, seeing some as friends and others as foes. Those are the ones who do harm. It is the illusion of separateness that causes all evils perpetuated by humanity! How can one who really knows Atma insure the same Atma in another?" BG 13:28
Parallels to Christianity
Another fascinating aspect of reading scripture from another tradition is to see parallels with your own tradition. There are some that argue that based on the similarities in certain Hindu and Christian teachings that Jesus spent time in the Himalayas during the "lost years" for which we have no record of his life or ministry. Some also argue that Hinduism influenced Zoroastrianism, the principal religion of Babylon, which in turn influenced Judaism and then Christianity. Regardless of who influenced whom, I think much of the overlap are reflective of "perennial philosophy" universal reflections of the human condition shared across religious backgrounds - all truth circumscribed into one great whole.
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Bhagavad Gita
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Christianity
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"Waters from many
rivers continually flow into the ocean but the ocean never overfills.
In like manner, desires and attachments constantly flow into the minds of the
Illumined On, but he or she, like the ocean in its deepest depths is totally
still and never disturbed." BG 2:70
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"When through the
deep waters, I call thee to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not thee
overflow." How Firm a Foundation - Christian Hymn
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"These principles
must be lived, not just intellectualized." BG 3:31
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"But be ye doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" James 1:22
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"Arjuna, truly wise
persons are in the world but not of it." BG 4:18
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"I am not asking that
You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" - John
17:15-16
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"But it takes.
searching and giving one’s mind wholly to it. In due time, one comes to know
these things in one's heart." BG 4:38
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"Yea, behold, I will
tell you in your mind and in your heart." LDS Doctrine and Covenants
8:2
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"Sunlight falls
equally on all creatures." BG 5:18
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"He causes his sun to
rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the
unrighteous." Matthew 5:45
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"The wise recognize
the transient nature of worldly gratification and thus do not look for
happiness in the realm of the senses. Sensual delights are the wombs of
misery. Earthly pleasures, though they seem enjoyable, are fleeting and
ultimately painful." BG 5:22
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"Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal." Matthew 6:19-20
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"These wise one's
sins have been washed away." BG 5:25 (Other translations have
"defects have been destroyed")
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"...they have been
cleansed from their past sins"
-2 Peter 5:9 |
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"When the mind
becomes still and quiet, the Self (the Atma or soul) reveals itself" BG
6:20
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"Be still and know
that I am God." Psalms 46:10
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"Through consistent
spiritual effort over many lifetimes a person becomes purified of all desires
and achieves the ultimate goal of becoming one with God." BG 6:45
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"But he who unites himself
with the Lord is one with Him in spirit." 1 Corinthians 6:17
"that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one" John 17:22-23 |
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"This is the way to
reach the supreme goal, which is to merge into God." BG 3:19
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"Now this is eternal
life [the supreme goal], that they may know [God]" John 17:3
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"…no one devoted to
Me falls." BG 9:31
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"...whoever believes
in him should not perish" John 3:16
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"I [God] am
love." BG 10:8
“To love is to know Me. The act itself
of loving is indeed the experience of really knowing Me, for I am Love, Arjuna!”
BG 18:55
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"God is love" 1
John 4:7
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"I [God] am the
innermost True Self, the Atma [soul] seated in the hearts of all beings. And
I am the beginning, middle and end of all beings." BG 10:20
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"I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" Revelation
22:13
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Be gentle. Be forgiving of
any hurt received. Be upright and harmonized in thought, word and deed."
BG 13:7
“There are three main
methods of purification: the refinement of one’s thoughts, words and deeds…
Maintain a calm and gentle state of mind and you will not be speaking wayward
words or doing unwanted deeds.” BG 17:14,16
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“watch yourselves, and
your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds” Book of Mormon - Mosiah 4:30
“And whatsoever ye do in
word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Colossians 3:17
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"This curtain of
illusion (maya) is hard to see through, Arjuna. Only those who love and
depend completely on Divinity are eventually able to see through it." BG
7:14
“The spirit-self that
takes residence in a material body forgets its true nature (Atma) and mistakenly
identifies itself with that body.” BG 13:21
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"But their minds were
made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant
is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15
Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But
whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" 2
Corinthians 3
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