The “Bhagavad-Gita” translates to the divine song. One of the most sacred scriptures of Hinduism, it seeks to reveal the divinity within us, despite any particular religion, any creed or caste. It has also been called self-analysis, the art of living, science of life, self-reflection, and immortal fountain of knowledge. The characters in the Gita are symbols of our own good and bad tendencies, and the conflict between them.
History
The Gita is founded on a dialogue in the form of a question and answer between Sri Krishna (a divine personality) and Arjuna (a warrior, friend, devotee and disciple of Sri Krishna.
Five thousand years ago, the kingdom of Hastinapura was ruled by the blind Dhritarashtra, a proxy for his brother, Pandu, the true king. The kind Pandu had five sons named Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, called the Pandavas. The sons of Dhritarashtra numbered a hundred, collectively referred to as the Kauravas. They were raised together by two teachers Bhishma (their guardian) and Dronacharya (their military instructor). Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas had illegitimately claimed the right of the throne from his cousins.
When all other efforts of compromise failed, there was no other way but to wage war to claim the rightful ownership of the kingdom. Both the armies were ready for the war and gathered on the battlefield, Kurukshetra (or Dharmakshetra).
With the decision of war finalized, both Arjuna and Duryodhana went to seek the help from Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna agreed but under two conditions: first he would not hold a weapon in his hand, and second his whole army would be on the opposing side from him. Arjuna chose Krishna as his charioteer and Duryodhana took the army of 100,000 soldiers.
The son of the blind-king Dhritarasthra, Sanjaya, was given divine vision by a sage which allowed him to see and hear the happenings on the battlefield. He was then able to report this to the king. The Gita opens with the Dhritarashtra asking his son Sanjaya what is happening on the battlefield.
Here's the idea I had:
ReplyDeleteThis is the book that Gandhi had used as his "spiritual dictionary" to guide his life. It is a book that has had a profound impact on many, but I have no idea how to apply it or if it even applies to my life.
My mom volunteered to summarize a chapter a month and I'll post it here. Post your interpretations, ideas, practice or thoughts in the comments.
My hope is that not only we get a better understanding, but that we can pass it on to our kids. Eventually we can compile everything we come up with into a book we can share with them when they are older. Our Gita for them.