1. What is the Bhagavad Gita and what are the major themes within the text? How can these themes guide women living in the 21st century to live a life of purpose, happiness and grace?

Arjuna and Krishna

The Bhagavad Gita (“Song of the Lord”) is a story in the great Mahabharata epic. It is considered a Holy text for Hindus much like the Bible is for Christians. The tale recounts the story of Sri Krishna (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) and Prince Arjuna (warrior) and the conflict between the Kauravas and Pandavas in ancient India. The conflict is over the kingdom and the throne. Arjuna is the leader of the Pandavas who the kingdom rightfully belongs to. Krishna is friend to both Arjuna and the Kauravas: he lends Arjuna his wisdom as his personal charioteer and to the Kauravas, an army. Krishna tells Arjuna that he has to fight the Kauravas even though he is related to the Pandavas. But Arjuna is filled with grief at the idea of killing his own family and he refuses to do so. In “The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata,” translated and edited by J.A.B van Buitenen, Arjuna says, “I see no good to come from killing my family in battle . . . with the destructions of family the eternal family Laws are destroyed. When Law is destroyed, lawlessness besets the entire family” (70-73). The Bhagavad Gita has tapped into the debate about war and violence. On the one hand the story can be interpreted in support of just war and violence. Wendy Doniger, a well known religious scholar at the University of Chicago would agree with the claim that the Bhagavad Gita supports just war and violence. Krishna teaches Arjuna that because he was born into the warrior caste, there is no greater honor and duty than war: “Abandon lawlessness, greed, and delusion, be enterprising, and then fight without thought of self. Where Law goes goes victory” (Buitenen, 65). Therefore, because one follows their dharma, they are within the law, even if it seems as if they are not, that is, killing one’s own family. Furthermore, in “A Survey of Hinduism,” Klaus K. Klostermaier writes, “a violation of this duty would be sinful and would bring shame, because it would make people think Arjuna is a coward--the worst that could happen to a professional warrior!” (79). This duty is known as dharma. According to the Bhagavad Gita, it is by performing ones dharma and righting oneself of karma that the individual has hope of ending the cycle of samsara and attaining brahman. However, there is another popular and common interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita and the battle. 

According to Mahatma Gandhi, the Bhagavad Gita does not condone violence. Instead, the battle symbolizes the war within. Sri Krishna is not only Arjuna’s charioteer but he is his spiritual teacher. Metaphorically, Arjuna’s struggle to live his dharma wholeheartedly speaks to modern women who also struggle to know and live their dharma. The lesson we learn: it is more important to live one’s own dharma imperfectly than another’s dharma perfectly. What is stopping you from living a life full of purpose, happiness, and grace? Often the answer is simply ourselves. We may be stuck in a habitual way of thought or action that does not serve the bigger picture. This is where the practice of yoga and meditation can be supportive and even transformational. Yoga and meditation have the potential to quiet the body and mind so we can hear the still quiet voice of inner guidance. Instead of living in a place of not knowing and/or not feeling connected, we become infused with the universal pulse of Grace. Some people call Grace God/Goddess/etc. This experience of and connection with Grace ultimately allows the individual to live a life that intuitively flows with beauty and divine Grace.

Karma keeps human beings within the cycle of samsara and rebirth. To rid oneself of karma, according to the Bhagavad Gita, the individual must have no attachment to the outcome or fruit of one’s actions. Is that even possible? For example, Krishna said, “Actions do not stick to me, for I have no yearning for fruits of my actions: he who understands me in this way is himself no longer bound by his own actions” (Buitenen, 87). But how does the individual actually achieve a state where they are no longer bound by the outcome of their actions? Wouldn’t this be nice if we could act out of love instead of expectation? According to the Bhagavad Gita, to be “devoid of the intention to achieve an object of desire,” the individual must acquire “insight” (Buitenen, 87).  We also learn that Arjuna is severely confused by what his personal dharma is, as many people are. Because Arjuna was born into the warrior caste it is his duty and dharma to fight--even if that means killing his own family. The caste system in India is strong and unfortunately we have a similar albeit milder system of our own in the States. Therefore, how can we find and live our dharma without being constricted by society and our biology? Throughout time and space--until recently--women’s biology was their destiny. For example, because women are born with a vagina opposed to a penis, their biology creates certain expectations and restrictions upon them. How can we break free of labels and constructions of identity that society has violently thrust upon us? Krishna says that it is better to do one’s own dharma imperfectly than another person’s dharma perfectly. Krishna said to Arjuna, “Look to your Law and do not waver, for there is nothing more salutary for a baron than a war that is lawful” (77). Thus, Arjuna begins to accept that his dharma as a warrior is to fight. What is your dharma? What is the world demanding of you in this moment, in this coming month and year? Can you find purpose and joy in each day and each moment?

Samsara, the cycle of rebirth, is the nature of life. Reincarnation, rebirth, and death are an integral part of life within the world view of Hinduism. According to the Bhagavad Gita, “The enlightened who are armed with this singleness of purpose rid themselves of the fruits that follow upon acts; and, set free from the bondage or rebirth, go on to a state of bliss” (Buitenen, 79). What is the singleness of purpose and the state of bliss? How does the individual achieve these? The Bhagavad Gita explains: “When he experiences the objects with senses that neither love nor hate and are under his control, and thus has himself under control, he attains serenity. In a state of serenity all his sufferings cease, for in one whose mind is serene, singleness of purpose is soon fixed” (81). How do individuals live an engaged life while also being unattached from the senses? If the individual has her senses under control the individual is filled with peace and tranquility. Furthermore, the singleness of purpose is attainment of brahman. What is brahman? Krishna says, “There have been many who, rid of passions, fears, and angers, and made pure by the austerities of insight, have immersed themselves in me, resorted to me, and become of one being with me” (Buitenen, 87). Conclusively, once the individual has achieved brahman, they have ended the cycle of rebirth and as I understand it from reading the Bhagavad Gita, their soul (atman) is absorbed within the all pervasive energy of brahman and they cease to be reborn. Ultimately, in this life time the goal is to live a good life full of purpose, happiness and grace. The next post will talk more specifically about yoga and meditation from the perspective of the Bhagavad Gita and how these practices can greatly benefit the individual.