Upon the reading of chapters 1-6 of the Great Scripture of Hinduism, The Bhagavad Gita (the 'Lord's Song';), I am completely and utterly fascinated. The story's emphasis on selfless acts, devotion, and meditation is like no other I have ever encountered before. Through the narration of Sanjaya and the conversation of Sri Krishna (Vishnu incarnate) and Prince Arjuna, the principles of Hinduism are eloquently illustrated.
In this story, the Lord Vishnu, whose duty it is to protect the universe from corruptive forces, takes the bodily form of Sri Krishna. He then lowers himself, out of love, and takes the humble position of charioteer to Prince Arjuna, a reluctant warrior. The battle is over a kingdom, one that will be, according to Price Arjuna, 'fruitless'; if it is won by the spilling of his relatives' blood. Arjuna initially believes that 'when a family declines, ancient traditions are destroyed'; (Ch 1, 40-41). Though a noble belief, Sri Krishna tells him that he is incorrect. Krishna then begins to set Prince Arjuna on his 'path to salvation,'; teaching him the ways of a selfless life. The most amazing aspect of all of this, I find, is that throughout the entire story – through all of Prince Arjuna's reluctance and stubborn beliefs – Krishna, the deity, never abandons him. This love and devotion, shown by a deity for a subject, is amazing. It is a kind of two-way worship that I admire greatly.
The beautiful idea of the true Self, or Atman, is raised in Chapter Two. The Self is never born and therefore never dies, allowing one to work through life for the benefit of the greater good and not personal gain. This is reinforced by the idea of Java, the soul, traveling through Samsara, rebirth. This is the reasoning Krishna gives to Arjuna in order to convince him to fight … for he will not actually be killing anyone. Though this seems to me like permission to murder his own relatives, I can appreciate the idea of rebirth. This ties into how one obtains a 'mystical union'; with Lord Vishnu, which is by acknowledging God within every living creature. Without having to worship formally (i.e. within a church or similar physical structure), one can observe God as being all around them. This coincides with what I have always personally believed about religion; that it is not necessary to designate a specific time and/or place to worship.
Some of the most prominent aspects of Hinduism are the atman and samsara which is one the clearest distinctions between Hinduism and other religions. When Krishna states, “I have never not existed; nor have you, nor have these lords of men. Nor will we cease to exist, all of us, from now onwards” (Bhagavad Gita, 185), he is referring to the atman or the human soul which is believed to have always existed and will continue to exist. And when he says, “Just as one throws out old clothes and then takes on other, new ones; so the embodied self casts out old bodies as it gets other, new ones” (Bhagavad Gita, 187), he is talking about samsara and reincarnation. It is from this text, where Hinduism gets its defining characteristics. As long as the Gita continues to be relevant in India so will these philosophies. It reinforces the idea of reincarnation, the soul, and duty which shapes the way the Hindus live their lives. The goal for a Hindu is to break out of samsara and achieve Brahman, and according to the Gita, fulfilling one’s dharma is the way to accomplish this. The Bhagavad Gita is significant to Hinduism, because it has helped Hindus identify an ultimate goal and teaches them how to achieve
In the chapter on Hinduism in Philip Novak’s book The World’s Wisdom the section titled “The Transmigration of the Soul” describes the Hindu concept of reincarnation, the wheel of life, and ultimately becoming one with god. The lines in this passage very concisely describe the Hindu concepts of Brahman, Atman, Samsara, Karma, Maya and Moksha (Molloy). I believe that these concepts are at the core of all of the expressions of the Hindu religion; which makes understanding this paragraph the key to having a basic understanding of the Hindu religion.
...ents itself in this interlude. Like the others, it ties a god to the new land through sacrifice, and presents the death of god(s) as result of a lack in, or abandonment by followers.
The Question of Origin: Hinduism believes everything has been in existence and is a part of numerous gods. In (Foundation of Indian Psychology Vol.2 Pg.116) the text Hinduism is a treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different people in different times of life. Over the centuries the Hindus beliefs are not literally interpreted by the scriptures and there ethics are derived from them.
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
Hinduism and Buddhism There are many religions that are practiced around the world, especially in Asia where there are eight different religions being practiced. In the country of India, Buddhism and Hinduism are the main religions that are practiced today. Buddhism and Hinduism were both founded in Asia, but they were founded by two different people and practiced in two different ways and languages. Buddhism is a living tradition that is passed down from teacher to student as a set of instruction and techniques for sanity and brilliance in the inner self and the world. Hinduism is more based on the thoughts and attitude about one’s everyday life, and reflects in his actions.
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...
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.
More than a religion, Hinduism is a way of life and a philosophy that is most concerned with spirituality and enlightenment. The idealism of the Hindu religion comes from the Vedas, which are the Hindu religion's oldest scriptures and are considered to be a direct revelation of God. The Upanishads are writings that take their themes from the Vedas. The Upanishads, however, seem to be more along the lines of allegories that give a fleshy quality to the religion rather than a very dry and out of touch feel that can be found in other religious texts. Lastly, the Bhagavad-Gita is a collection of teachings that are based on the conversation between Arjuna, a soldier for one of two warring families, and Lord Krishna, who appears as Arjuna's charioteer. In these conversations the two discuss everything from the purpose of life to the basis of reality. Much like Christian proverbs, the teachings of Lord Krishna give advice and general good sense and...
World renunciation is a major theme in Indian civilization, seen by the fact that all major Indic Religions deal with it in one way or another. The ancient Vedic texts laid out a cosmic and social hierarchy – a conception of ‘the world’ – and taught people how to act in accordance with their varna in a way that kept the world in harmony and kept the gods appeased. In the 6th century BCE, world renunciation emerged as a component of religious teachings that would become the heterodox traditions, the two most long-lasting of which are Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism, which coalesced about a millennium later, included concepts of world-renunciation in the Varnashrama Dharma and other texts, but its best known treatise on world-renunciation is the Bhagavad-Gita. Within the umbrella of Hinduism, the Saiva and Vaisnava sectarian traditions provide distinct ideas of world renunciation, through modeling Siva’s asceticism or through acting in devotion to Krsna and Rama.
Print. The. http://www.hinduism.co.za/karma.htm>. 3) Robert Neil Minor,. Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita.
The idea of individuality surrounds us in todays world, for society constantly encourages us to express our individuality or what makes us stand out. However, in the religion of Hinduism, many written works such as the Bhagavad-Gita, treat individualism differently. The Gita, a highly controversial text, captures a dialogue between Arjuna, a warrior, and his guide and charioteer, Lord Krishna. Throughout the conversation, Arjuna struggles to accept his duty as a warrior and fight against his fellow brethren. While the text appears to encourage violence and war, one must read it as a metaphor for many importing values of Hinduism.
...e first English translation of the Gita was published. All religious texts of ancient India were written in Sanskrit. In November 1784, the first direct translation of a Sanskrit work into English was completed by Charles Wilkins. The book that was translated was The Bhagavad Gita. Friedreich Max Mueller (1823-1900), the German Sanskritist who spent most of his working life as Professor of Comparative Philology at Oxford University, served as the chief editor of the Sacred Books of the East. (Oxford University Press). The Gita was included in this famous collection. Since then, the Gita has become one of the most widely-read texts of the world. True, there are unexplained contradictions and paradoxes in this brief book, but its wide-ranging implications based on the two ancient Darshans of India and its allegorical meanings are still being examined and reinterpreted.
Hinduism has been a religion for a long time, the Buddha was a Hindu before seeing how terrible the world was, he then found the religion Buddhism. Since the creator of Buddhism was Hinduism as a child, it is only expected for the two religions to be similar. While the two religions are similar they are also quite different as seen by their creation stories. The creation stories are these religions way of explaining how the world started. With most religions the creation story gives the most basic beliefs of the religion as this is where their religion supposedly starts its life. The two stories this paper focuses on is no different, and since they technically have the same origin, it can be obvious as to how they would be similar. However, in the case of the idea of social order and moral decline, they can be different too.
Krishna describes the body in relation to the soul in the first disclosure during the great battle. Arjuna is caught in a situation where he must choose to fight and kill his own family in war (11). Krishna encourages Arjuna to fight, because nothing on Earth can harm the atman. Krishna believes, “these bodies have an end; but they are said to belong to the eternal embodied self that which is never lost and cannot be measured (21).” To Krishna the bodies are not significant on account of the body will only be a temporary vessel. Warfare is necessary in Krishna’s eyes in view of the atman will still survive death regardless of what the circumstance. This idea of the body being worthless to humanity is the central theme in Krishna’s theory. The body to him is a mere vessel that...