Bhagavad-Gita

Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata, 18th-19th century, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Bhagavad-Gita [Sanskrit: The song of the Lord] is a central scripture holy to Hindus that belongs to book VI of the epic Mahabharata. Believed by many scholars to be a more recent insert within the Mahabharata, the Gita synthesizes different, previously existing forms of yoga.

The main plot line revolves around Krishna urging Arjuna to fulfil the dharma (sacred duty) appropriate to his warrior caste (kshatrya). Taken literally, in the Gita this means Arjuna must slay kith and kin in the battlefield.

Krishna outlines additional dharmas appropriate for other castes, but Arjuna’s sacred task is to kill. Krishna further instructs Arjuna that his relatives will not really perish because the soul (atman) is eternal.

A gentler, psychological interpretation of the Gita sees the ‘killing’ in terms of the destruction of bad karma accumulated over past lives. These attributes manifest as outward aspects of the personality in the present life, not unlike that which Carl Jung terms the persona. Thus the ‘killing’ could be seen as the elimination or, perhaps, redirection of superficial and negative personality components that obscure awareness of the immortal soul (atman)

Lord Krishna instructing the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in Kurukshetra. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because God’s grace is said to be central in overcoming negative past karma, some scholars believe that the Gita was written as late as 2nd-century CE, influenced by the teachings of Jesus Christ. Regardless of the precise date, Arjuna’s dharma seems to lie somewhere between Old Testament ideas concerning the problem of social justice (“an eye for an eye”) and the New Testament emphasis on spiritual salvation (“turn the other cheek”).

While some Christians may argue that the Gita’s message is clearly inferior to the New Testament’s prescription to love one’s enemies, this claim is complicated by the additional teaching of the so-called “Just War,” a teaching which is explicit or, perhaps, implicit to many Christian belief systems.

Having said that, it seems that a valid distinction may be made between what Jesus of the New Testament says we ought to do vs. what will happen.

English: The Pandava prince Arjuna chooses to have the unarmed Krishna as his charioteer rather than the reinforcement of Krishna’s large army. The Krishna’s large army is chosen by the Kaurava prince Duryodhana. As the sky turns from gray to azure, and the army begins to wake, Arjuna confirms his decision by a solemn vow and water is poured over his hands as ritual witness. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus of the New Testament says his followers ought not to be violent, nor to even think violently, even though conflict and war will inevitably break out among some members of the population. By way of contrast, the Krishna of the Gita essentially says killing is okay in certain circumstances. And this is something that Christ never advocates in the New Testament.

As intimated above, however, the discussion need not end here. For more on this see The Bhagavad Gita in a Complicated World and comments.

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Kshatriya

Painting of Krishna, Arjuna. (Bhagavad Gita) via Wikipedia

A Kshatriya is a hereditary member of the warrior caste, as outlined in the Hindu Veda.

Arjuna, the hero of the Bhagavad Gita, is of the Kshatriya caste.

The whole concept of the Kshatriya raises concerns among some thinking people because in the Bhagavad Gita it justifies killing on the basis of this being some kind of sacred duty (dharma).

This idea is comparable to the Catholic notion of the “Just War,” but not equivalent because Catholicism, and Christian scripture in general, clearly advocates “turning the other cheek” and “loving one’s enemies” as the ultimate ideal–an ideal not found in the Bhagavad Gita.

Some Hindus maintain that Krishna only advocates war after all attempts at obtaining a peaceful solution to a family conflict have failed (not unlike the Just War concept). But these peacemaking attempts certainly are not emphasized in the Bhagavad Gita, itself, as they are in the New Testament. While the New Testament predicts that wars will occur in the future, at no place does it advocate them nor claim that a war can have a holy status, as we find in the Bhagavad Gita.

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Krishna

Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata, 18th-19th century, India via Wikipedia

Krishna (Sanskrit: black) is the eighth avatar of Vishnu in Hindu mythology and religion.

A certain Krishna, with no reference to any kind of divinity, is mentioned in the Rig Veda. Later, in the Chandogya Upanisad, Krishna is depicted as a scholar.

But it’s not until the Mahabharata, specifically the Bhagavad Gita, that Krishna is fully outlined as a divine being. He’s also traditionally regarded as the author of the Bhagavad Gita, which translates into The Song of the Lord or The Song of God.

Following this, the Bhagavata Purana details the somewhat mischievous exploits of Krishna’s youth.

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Arjuna

Arjuna Renowned hero in Indian culture and Krishna‘s charioteer in the Bhagavad Gita.

Arjuna arguably has the status of a demigod among of much the Hindu-Indian populace.

In the Gita he is prodded by Krishna to fight kith and kin.

Despite his initial reluctance, he overcomes the chronic procrastination which Shakespeare‘s Hamlet cannot–that is, a crippling fear, self-doubt and over-thinking that leads to inaction.

Krishna instructs Arjuna that the body dies but the soul is immortal. Arjuna’s kshatriya caste demands as sacred duty (dharma) that he fight.

According to a literal interpretation of the Gita, it is far better to do one’s dharma – even if this entails killing – than to ignore it.

Today the Gita is cherished for its psychological and spiritual value. Arjuna’s “killing” is usually understood as the death of negative attitudes which otherwise would bind the eternal soul (atman) to worldly pleasures and desires.

On the political level, however, the Gita may be interpreted as roughly paralleling the Christian notion of the just war and the Moslem idea of Jihad.

Image Source:

• Cropped from original by Raji.srinivas, GNU Free Documentation License

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