SUMMARY OF BHAGAVAD GITA 6
Running Head: SUMMARY OF BHAGAVAD GITA 1
Summary of Bhagavad Gita
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Introduction
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the fundamental Hinduism texts, which documents the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna, as the former prepares to engage into the war with them against the rivals Kauravas, for the epic battle contested for the Kingdom of Hastinapura (Telang, 2017). Gita has been one of the influential texts most followed by scholars in various ways. Bhagavad Gita has now been often regarded as a seminal text like the Bible and Koran and other foundations of conviction; however, it is viewed as less religious, and simple text outlining a way of life.
Bhagavad Gita Summary
Dhritarashtra, a blind king, inquire a recount from Sanjay about what transpired when his kin the Kauravas converged to battle against Pandavas, in the contest for the control of Hastinapura. The blind King’s family understands that his family is not the right inheritor to the throne; however, they have taken the authority, and the king is striving to reserve it for Duryodhana, who was his son. Sanjay proposes to Arjuna, the leader for the Pandavas in the battle, to take back his dominion with Krishna as his charioteer. Therefore, Bhagavad Gita is the dialogue between Arjuna and Sri Krishna before the eventual fight.
In the conversation, Arjuna is reluctant to fight; he does not see any reason to shed the blood of his family especially over the kingdom that he does not want. For him, he believed that killing was evil and most significantly the execution of his family members was the greatest ever sin above all others. For this reason, Arjuna downs his weapons in submission claiming that there was no way he could fight. In response, Krishna then starts a comprehensive procedure of informing the reasons Arjuna had dharmic responsibility to battle, and that it was an imperative had to fight as a way of restoring his Karma.
Firstly, Krishna starts by explaining the samsaric cycle of death and birth, whereby he asserted that the actual death of soul was not real, instead, shedding off of the body after every period of birth and death. The primary objective of this sequence is to give an individual a chance to handle their karma, which is usually amassed through all actions in a person’s lifetime. Krishna highlighted that if a person completed the actions unselfishly and also in service of god, they can be able to navigate their karma, and ultimately resulting to the disbanding of the soul, gaining illumination then vijanana, and eventual a putting a close to the samsaric cycle. In case people conduct themselves selfishly, then through the process, they accumulate more debt, which pushes the broader and deeper into the karmic debt. Through the process of explanations and illustrations, the Gita concludes with Krishna challenging Arjuna to either pick the pathway of good or the route of evil, as it was his obligation to contest against Kauravas to salvage his kingdom. By adhering to these calls, Arjuna would be correcting the balance of good and evil; hence, in the end, fulfilling his dharma, and providing the most elaborate form of selfless service, and in the end, Arjuna understands and later proceeds into battle.
The Themes of Focus and Arguments
The Bhagavad Gita presents a variety of significant themes that help shape the narrative behind the spiritual foundation that determined the actions of the people in this particular society. In the close look of the book, various themes emerge concerning the faith and beliefs of individuals. Among the key ideas is karma versus dharma, proof versus faith, theory versus action, seen versus unseen and jinana versus vijanana among others.
In the theme of karma versus dharma, this text strives to elaborate on the various way through which these aspects implicate one another. For most early Hinduism learners, these two concepts can easily be confused, but both are products of the samsaric cycle. Karma refers to the accumulation of actions throughout the lifetime of the person, and every action done reacts in the course of a person’s life. If a person acts selfishly and with too much ego, he also acquires too much karma to work off. On the other hand, when a person is reborn, he finds his dharma to work off their karma. The underlying argument of this theme is that it does not matter in which family you are born, sinful or righteous, what matters is how a person uses his or her life to dissolve as much as karma as possible to end the samsaric cycle.
On the other hand, the themes of faith versus proof, or theory versus action and seen and unseen all are built under the same foundation of understanding and believing. The argument in this text offers a great picture into the spiritual lives of people, and the need for the evidence and proof before believing an action. Buddhism encourages seeing and believing, and try to spend life trying to understand as much as possible. In the Gita, Arjuna keeps on asking for evidence from Krishna and logical explanations based on reality. These themes raise the significant aspects of human nature towards their beliefs and the inclination on the evidence or seeing before believing.
Another key theme that elaborates the arguments of the text is jinana versus vijanana. The two terms have intertwined relationships, such that jinana represents knowledge and Krishna preached knowledge as the first fundamental step towards nirvana. As the person develops self-awareness as a result of understanding the role of divine gets guided to yoga. However, this may not be enough, as Krishna encourages vijnana as the key to finding spiritual peace.
Assessing the Value of the Work
Bhagavad Gita provides significant insights for the readers about the spiritual beliefs of the past life. The text is founded in the profound ideas of conviction and basic fundamental building block of Hinduism. From the themes addressed in writing, the emerging conflicts about right and wrong. The highly regarded inputs of this text provide the scholars with another view through which philosophical formulations have come to shape the world. The high regard for Bhagavad Gita has been manifested through the high interest expressed by various translations of Gita into different languages. Gita has become a standalone kind of texts that numerous scholars and also believers return to due to its insistence on self-mastery. The flexibility of Gita makes it fitting in with the practices of other Hindu texts and takes an in-depth look in the explanation of a person’s connection with divinity. As earlier noted, Gita is now considered as a seminal text, although it highly perceived as less religious and a practical philosophy that outlines the basic principles and the way of life. Hence, for scholars and devotees, Bhagavad Gita is an instrumental text that provides a clear guideline on understanding oneself; therefore it is of value for in the field of practical philosophy and the historical understanding of various divine standpoints.
In conclusion, Bhagavad Gita is a text with an intricate illustration of the different divine understanding from the point of oneself about the external actions and the eventual impacts. The value of this text is in its elaboration of religious beliefs that sheds light into the various Hindu practices and beliefs that defined their association with divinity. Also, from a philosophical point of view, Bhagavad Gita has strong foundations in the illustration of life-divinity association.
References
Telang, K. (2017). The Bhagavad Gita. Digireads.