Bleeding Edge

“Bhagavad Gita” is my companion as I start another journey of Life.

For “Bhagavad Gita” is the only book that I travel with…

The “Bhagavad Gita” in Sanskrit: भगवद्गीता, means “Song of the Lord” often referred to as simply the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

The epic Mahabharata is traditionally ascribed to the Sage Ved Vyasa; the Bhagavad Gita, being a part of the Mahabharata’s Bhisma Parva, is also ascribed to him…

Yet the Gita is relevant to us because it is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Lord Krishna.

Facing the duty as a warrior to live the “Way,” to fight the Dharma Yudhha or righteous war, between the Princes Pandavas and the Kings Kauravas — Arjuna is counselled by Krishna to “fulfill his Kshatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior by establishing Dharma.”

Inserted in this appeal to “kshatriya dharma” or Chivalry and Honour is “a dialogue … between diverging attitudes concerning and methods toward the attainment of liberation “moksha.”

The Bhagavad Gita was exposed to the world many years ago through Sanjaya. Sanjaya was Dhritarashtra’s advisor and also his charioteer….

The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis of the Brahmanical concept of Dharma, theistic bhakti, the yogic ideals of moksha through jnana, bhakti, karma, and Raja Yoga, and Samkhya philosophy.

Yours,
Pano

PS:
Numerous commentaries have been written on the Bhagavad Gita with widely differing views on the essentials.

Vedanta commentators read varying relations between Self and Brahman in the text: Advaita Vedanta sees the non-dualism of Atman (soul) and Brahman as its essence, whereas Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita see Atman and Brahman as both different and non-different, and Dvaita sees them as different.

The setting of the Gita in a battlefield has been interpreted as an allegory for the ethical and moral struggles of the human life.

The Bhagavad Gita‍’​s call for selfless action inspired many leaders of the Indian independence movement including Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi referred to “the Gita” as his “spiritual dictionary”.