Examining the Bhagavad-Gita Essay

Before examining the Bhagavad-Gita I gestate it is necessary to lead a oecumenical understand of the radical teaching of Hindooism. I picture hardly intimately knowledge of Hindiism from friends, nevertheless really look at no discernment of what it really means to be Hindu. The gossipmonger that a Hindu friend of headland made to me once about Hindu is that it is not really as oftentimes of a godliness as untold it is a way of life and watch for it. I know that Hindi venerate galore(postnominal) different gods and revere some animals as sacred, unless I have never really understood the fundamental of this faith. I am grateful that this grant has wedded me the opportunity and motivation to understand the Hindu religion and one of it cracking literary works.The world-class thing to authorize about Hinduism is that it is not strictly a region. It is based on the practices of Dharma, the code of life. Dharma seduce means universal religion. Unlike other( a)wise religions Hindu did not originate from a single source, such as a individual or book. It did not drink wipe out at a discernible smudge in time both. Hinduism is an ancient religion that was inspired by the ancient rishis and the principles where observe through their meditations. The oldest writings ar about 4000 years old. Below is a narrative that captures the foundation of Hinduism.Hindu religious intellection is based upon the belief in the last Reality, confidence in the reality of the spirit, and faith in the eldritch order or the world. (The Hindu religious tradition -Stachidananda)I so-and-so now turn my up find to the Bhagavad Gita, with at least a world-wide concept to forge my understanding. The Bhagavad Gita is widely know and renowned work of Indias spiritual wisdom. The Gita has s flat hundred concise rhythms that are a definitive guide to the apprehension of ego realization within the population and the Braham-Atman. The story of Bhagavad makes with Krishna driving Arjunas chariot into the middle of a battlefield. The battle was amidst Duryodhana (Pandavas) and Arjuna (Kauaravas) for the right to rule the country. The Gita if full of symbol everything represents or stands for something. The battlerepresents the debate between honourable and evil. This would relate to the inner struggle that we all have within ourselves of our good and bad character traits.The first chapter of the Gita deals with the disconsolateness of Arjuna. When Arjuna starts make war, he bring into beings all overwhelmed with emotional attachments to the plurality he is battling. These people were once his friends, family and teachers. How could he destroy them? He stops in the middle of the battles and indeed battles within self not to fight these people. He tries to remonstrate himself out of the situation. The lesson learned in the first chapter is that sometimes we lose sight of the righteousness when we have emotional attachments to a situation.In the next few chapters of the Gita, Arjuna starts down a path of self awareness, a line fundamental belief of Hinduism. As he battles with in himself as he struggles to think an answer. At this point, he realizes he doesnt have an answer and turns to Krishna, on of the many orchestrates of God. He learns that sometimes an individual has a higher purpose and we must(prenominal) have the wisdom to acknowledge this and discover it. We must withdraw from our senses and move to an awareness where we control our mind. At that instance we will have complete self awareness and the pellucidity to move forward with conviction and wisdom.When chronic to read the Gita it becomes apparent that many nonchalant practices of Hindus are derived from it. The Gita served as the foundation for the caste system. There has been very much controversy over the caste system, but the original purpose and meaning was beautiful. It was meant to help individual be aware of their inwroug ht temperaments, talents and capacities. Again, the Gita is teaching self awareness.Another queer fact about the Gita is that it gives a person a roadmap to comprise by. It teaches individuals to give themselves over to and devote their lives to the supreme God, Braham-Atman. The Gita teaches how to surrender to Braham-Atman and how to become enlightened. With enlightenment we escape from karma have renascence and entrance into Nirvina.One of my favorite chapters of the Gita is Chapter 17 Yoga of the Three-fold Faith. This chapter deals with the practical applications of faith. Faith is a tender discipline in Hinduism. Because of faith they idolise the Supreme God and many other deities with great devotion. It is in this chapter that one git begin to understand reasoning for Hindu believe of reincarnation. This chapter explains that those who are twice-born are traditionally dedicated to spiritual knowledge. This chapter also elaborates on many rules that Hinduism and other r eligions use to live by. Examples of these are to be clean and keep you body and sprit clean, be kind and let out kindly to others and gifts should only be given if it is the right thing to do.After read the Bhagavad-Gita I am astonished. I can see so many parallels between it and the teaching of Jesus in the hot Testament. I can also begin to see how Hinduism is the Universal Religion. The Bhagavad-Gita and the symbolism that is contains either reinforces much of the Hindu religion/ philosophy or may have even set the standard. It is hard for me to tell at this point, but it makes me want to study this religion even more.The Gita is part of a greater Hindu writing call the Upansides, which evolved from an unwritten tradition that began over 4000 years ago. In the early oral tradition, the Guru (teacher) sat with his following and recited the verse. The followers then memorized the verse and passed it down through the generations. The verses are written in poetic or melodic fo rm because poems are committed to memory then prose. Also it is though that the singing of the verse took on a magical tone of voice when used in ritual.The content of the Gita is awe-inspiring and what is even just as awe-inspiring is the way it is written. The Gita contains 18 chapters with each having numerous versus. After personally reading the Gita I have been emotionally and intellectually moved. The desktop of the story and the even the personal anxiety of Arjuna is enough to gain ones interest on the surface. Once the symbolism and the deeper meaning that are represent it truly becomes a lyrical piece of literature. The piece of literature is phenomenal and tothink it was written thousands of years ago. This just shows that Humans still struggle with the analogous issues as one thousands of years ago. We may of advance technological, but intellectually we are still adolescents.ReferencesCampbell, Joseph and Eliade, Mircea. The Universal Myths Heros, Gods, Tricksters a nd Others. New York Truman Talley Books/Meridian, 1976Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli and Moore, Charles A. Indian Philosophy. Princeton, New Jersey Princeton University Press, 1973Stachidananda, Sri Swami. The Living Gita, The get laid Bhagavad Gita 5th Edition. Yogaville, Virginia Integral Yoga Publications, 2003