The Teachings of Bhagavad-Gita
The Bhagavad-Gita teaches many things, and amongst these, morality and moral law are developed for the Hindu religion. What Krishna, the primary Hindu god, declares in this somewhat epic poem to be the "basis of good in this world" (stanza 3, pg. 620 of text) is for people to take action. Action, as he goes on to state, is within the very nature of our beings to do. Krishna even states that "without action you even fail to sustain your own body" (stanza 8, pg. 620 of text). Thus, Krishna feels that action is very important and key. To take this concept as a relation to ethics, Krishna tells Arjuna, the warrior he is talking to in this poem, that "Action imprisons the world unless it is done as sacrifice; freed from attachment, Arjuna, perform action as sacrifice!" (stanza 9, pg. 620 of text). Thus, Krishna is prescribing that, in order for an action to be considered good, the good that he already declared to be the basis of all good in the world, one must detach himself from the action being performed and perform the action sacrificially. The detachment aspect is incredibly important to Krishna, for he proclaims that in "performing action with detachment, one achieves supreme good" (stanza 19, pg 620 of text). By doing this, Krishna believes that the world is preserved, for other people will follow the warrior's actions and imitate them in their own lives. A leader, such as a warrior or king, "sets the standard for the world to follow" (stanza 21, pg. 621 of text), as Krishna says and thus must take whatever action is necessary for the world to not be destroyed, to set examples of goodness and right in his own actions. By separating himself from these actions, thus becoming detached, he can achieve this. Another main reason that Krishna feels detachment is necessary is this: "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty." (Bhagavad-Gita 2.47). Thus, so long as one does not profit from his own actions, the action itself is good. And, this is Krishna's prescription for leading a life of morality and duty is the moral law to follow in order to achieve this.
In discourse 18 we see a brief summary and a couple versus greatly explain perhaps the point of trying to relinquish the mind from the actions “Renunciation of actions springing from selfish desire is known as sannyassa by the seers; abandonment of the fruit of all action is called tyaga by the wise. 3. Some thoughtful persons say: “All action should be abandoned as an evil.”” Pg.72 In the excerpt there this is being spoken to others from what the lord Krishna has presented which almost presents the entire case here strongly. So abandoning all duties does not mean relinquish all the actions you might have and this removal of the mind can be achieved to look at the bigger picture of the politics going on around them in the battles that they must
This modern day translation of the Bhagavad Gita, written by Barbara Stoller Miller, focused briefly on Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War. It was a fairly short yet in depth description of Hindu beliefs and the conflicts that humans encounter when deciding which path to follow. The translation is in poetic form, and is divided between eighteen teachings, or chapters if you will. Each teaching focuses on one discipline of the mind, revealed through the Hindi god Krishna, to the man seeking knowledge at the time of his life’s most crucial stage, Arjuna.
Arjuna is supposed to go to battle against the Kaurava Brothers but he feels that it is unjust and immoral. However, Krishna (the form of divinity) explains that it is the nature of the warrior and it is his righteous duty to fight and maintain his honor. Arjuna is not convinced until Krishna shows him his true, godly form, after which he is awestruck and states “I have seen what has never before been seen. I am filled with delight; my mind is shaken with fear” (135). When Arjuna is finally enlightened, he understands what inner battle he must overcome and affirms his
In the Bhagavad-Gita, the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna collectively sums up most of the rewards and difficulties in being human. In the case of love, the actual word is never stated; however, one can infer that Arjuna greatly loves Krishna. Out of Arjuna’s overwhelming love and respect for Krishna, love ensued. Krishna reveals his totality to Arjuna, who, in awe, states, “I see your boundless form everywhere, the countless arms, bellies, mouths, and eyes; Lord of All, I see no end, or
"From the Bhagavad-Gita." Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. Upper Saddle: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 182-89. Print.
The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most famous, and definitely the most widely-read, ethical text of ancient India. As an episode in India's great epic, the Mahabharata, The Bhagavad Gita now ranks as one of the three principal texts that define and capture the essence of Hinduism; the other two being the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Though this work contains much theology, its kernel is ethical and its teaching is set in the context of an ethical problem. The teaching of The Bhagavad Gita is summed up in the maxim "your business is with the deed and not with the result." When Arjuna, the third son of king Pandu (dynasty name: Pandavas) is about to begin a war that became inevitable once his one hundred cousins belonging to the Kaurava dynasty refused to return even a few villages to the five Pandava brothers after their return from enforced exile, he looks at his cousins, uncles and friends standing on the other side of the battlefield and wonders whether he is morally prepared and justified in killing his blood relations even though it was he, along with his brother Bhima, who had courageously prepared for this war. Arjuna is certain that he would be victorious in this war since he has Lord Krishna (one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu) on his side. He is able to visualize the scene at the end of the battle; the dead bodies of his cousins lying on the battlefield, motionless and incapable of vengeance. It is then that he looses his nerve to fight.
To thoroughly comprehend Kant’s moral philosophy, we must first understand two key elements by which it stands: good will and the categorical imperative. Primordially, Kant believes in good will. Some value happiness, justice or even authority; Kant, on the other hand, values our good will above anything else. Good will, he contends, is our commitment to do our duty for its own sake (Shafer-Landau, pg. 70). In other words, we will not be held accountable for actions out of our reach, only our ability and willingness to act in a good way—our ultimate duty. He believes this characteristic possesses unconditional value (value in and of itself, or on its own) and as such deserves to be exercised under all possible circumstances (Shafer-Landau, pg. 70-75). He goes as far as to say that actions will posses moral worth only if they are a result of our good will, similar to that which we intend to achieve(Shafer-Landau, pg. 70).
...a. Krishna takes advantage of grey areas of Dharma and his actions are more complicated to analyze. Dharma, however, is a simple concept and the readers of the Ramayana and Mahabharata can be pointed towards the Dharmic way of life by analyzing the roles of Rama and Krishna.
Kant’s categorical imperative can provide a set of rules to formulate what a good person is and should do. Kantian philosophy is deontological and it requires people to always do their duty. Kant does not forbid feeling good or happiness, but it must be the case that each person can fulfill their duty even if they did not enjoy doing it. In summary, in order to determine whether or not a particular act is good or bad, morally speaking, we must apply the categorical imperative and I have provide justifications to use it in our daily day lives.
The Bhagavad-Gita, a portion of the great epic the Mahabharata, is the “most typical expression of Hinduism.” It is eighteen chapters long and was composed around the first century BCE. The sage Samjaya recites the story to the blind king Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kaurava princes. While presenting ideas of wisdom, duty, and liberation in the midst of the rivalry between the Kauravas, the Bhagavad-Gita epitomizes the teachings of Krishna. Focusing specifically on the moral struggle of the Pandava prince Arjuna, the Bhagavad-Gita’s major themes include yoga, karma, dharma, and moksa. Yoga, being discipline or the strict and “attentive cultivation of mental character and meaningful action” , is crucial to the text because it is dharma yoga, acting properly according to one’s dharma, and bhakti yoga, a disciplined life of devotion that allows one to achieve moksa, or liberation, one of the four aims of li...
Every caste had a standard of what they were supposed to do. In the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita, there was a war going on where both opponents had members of the same family in their army. Arjuna was one of those members. When he arrived at the battlefield he realized that his family would be killing each other, he did not believe this to be right. Since Arjuna was born into “kshaktriya rajput” (caste of warriors), he was told by Kṛṣṇa to “not yield to this degrading impotence” (2.3). Because Arjuna was a warrior, it looked weak of him to allow himself to be attached to family ties over doing his warrior responsibilities. He was expected to “give up such petty weakness of heart and rise” as he was called the “chastiser of the enemy” (2.4). Arjuna disagreed with fighting against his family but according to his caste, he had to do what he was born to do; which was fight any enemy put in front of him. It was all based on
A large amount of ancient texts contain themes relating to violence, power, and war, while others, such as The Bhagavad Gita and Confucius’ Analects, focus on individual and collective development through a series of selfless acts. The two texts provide an in-depth system of duties and learning created to provide direction for the betterment of the self, as well as society as a whole. The Bhagavad Gita places a greater focus on the duties of individuals that must be fulfilled to achieve an enlightened state with the divine forces. Contradictory consequences are presented for those who choose to act in an egotistical manner and deny their duties. Confucius’ Analects, on the other hand, places its main focus on collective development and responsibility
In The Bhagavad Gita Arjuna and Krishna converse and discuss spirituality. This literature is excellent in explaining the Indian theory that true spiritual conduct is beyond what we consider logical. Before Sri Krishna instructs Arjuna to fight in the battle he says “The impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal. Those who have seen the boundary between these two have attached the end of all knowledge.
...atman to take control. The Bhagavad Gita shows that the body is considered second to the soul. Through the practice of rejecting the body, an individual will conquer the art of yoga. To Krishna yoga is the way to gain mediation and peace, which will allow the atman to be one with Brahman. The larger realization is that the body is not the way to Brahman. Arjuna must reject his personal beliefs and his body temptations to encourage the soul to take over him. The body is portrayed as negative because the body has no real purpose in life but to contain the soul. The soul is considered the main reason for the body’s movements and thought process. The soul cannot be harmed while the body can be destroyed. It is this philosophy in the Bhagavad Gita that the body is temporary, but the soul will live forever and become part of the greater good.
Hinduism is regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion, but it’s also a way of life for much of India and Nepal. Unlike other religions, Hinduism allows and encourages multiple paths to the divine. There is no single founder and no single scripture, but is rather a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. They are often understood to be different means to reach a common end. But this acceptance of variety makes it difficult to identify religious tenets that are specifically Hindu. Still, there are some basic principles common to Hinduism that are essential to one's approach to life.