The Bhagavad Gita : Unraveling the mysteries of the Known and the Unknown
To all readers, this is a personal opinion and doesn’t replicate parts of the scripture in itself. Please read the Bhagavad Gita to find more context and clarity.
I spent the last few years, in parts, completing my reading of the Bhagavad Gita as an adult, on many brilliant sunrises and oh-so-many sundowns. And let me start by saying, this book has been a trip — a personal journey that my soul undertook.
As I write this, I am reminded of my late grandfather, and my childhood memory of him buying the Gita for me to read. I asked him some very big life questions and he ventured to give me, what he deemed as the book of answers. He asked me to read and re-read Mahabharata and more so, the Gita until it made sense. All the answers were here — if the seeker shall seek with utmost patience and reverence, the divine book shall answer. The caveat was: one must know HOW to read and understand. My grandfather, was kind enough, to initiate this beautiful knowledge transfer and I feel privileged to have heard the Gita from him at a young ripe age.
Of course, as I stand now, it’s glaringly obvious that even after he passed away, I felt this constant need to revisit the old books and find what it could still feed my soul.
Codified myths and legends all in one spark— the Gita surmises life’s huge ups and downs and breaks down the essence of life in an utmost non-linear fashion yet simple detail.
Should we read the Gita only as a book of religion ? That would be odd — Since the Gita pre-dates organised religion itself.It was written 2000 years before Hinduism was a thing, a 1000 years before Mohammed the Prophet and a 500 years before Jesus Christ. The Gita, then, can be interpreted in various myriad ways. It is indeed for the reader to unfold the true meaning of the scripture. Reading it only as a book of religion, does not explain its sustained mass appeal — not just in our community but with people across the world.
So, what then, is the magic in this age-old conversation between two best friends, Krishna and Arjuna? What makes people return to it generation after generation, return to it for guidance whenever one is beset by despair or doubt ?
The answer lies in that : The Gita concerns itself not just with the meta-physical but with the very physical, not just with the other-worldy but with the very worldly, not just with the after-life but life itself.
The Mahabharata, as some of you might know, is one of the epics of India, and the Gita is a part of it. The story is of a war fought between two sets of cousins, one side are the Pandavas who are upright and righteous and on the other, the Kauravas, who are not.
In limelight in Gita are two primary characters: the Pandava Prince Arjuna: who is the greatest archer in the world. And his friend and mentor, Krishna who is his designated charioteer during the great war.
The war is about to begin when Arjuna loses his calm and nerve — a sudden epiphany that he is about to destroy some of his closest family members jolts him to the core and sick with despair, he lays down arms and turns to his trusted friend Krishna for guidance.
The two of them have a conversation and the world knows the conversation today as the Bhagavad Gita.
During this conversation there is plenty of dissent and disagreement — Krishna harangues Arjuna, even heckles him at times. Arjuna argues, challenges and questions Krishna. But through all of this, neither of them is ever offensive, needlessly aggressive or confrontational.
This makes Gita, a primer for the art of civilised debate — one that could be an essential reading for everyone.
Moving along, the setting is essentially that Krishna is telling Arjuna why he should stand up and pick up his bow now, and fight.
Continued Part 2
There’s lots more — and I would be writing another part to this series. Thank you, also I would love to talk about this and more, if you’re interested.