The Bhagavad Gita: Analysis

The Bhagavad Gita’s teachings solve the dilemma between following a religious path and either continue to be a part of society or steer away from it. In this text, Arjuna has a major decision to make on whether he should uphold his social order and obey his kastriya dharma (duty) or renounce and live a life of pure contemplation. Unfortunately, if he chooses to devote himself to his dharmic duty, he must kill many of his kinsmen and even family members. This action would result in one never reaching moksa, the ultimate goal of all Hindus. The Bhagavad Gita presents Krishna, who is able to help Make Arjuna’s decision much clearer and enlightened, by teaching him the three paths to Self-realization. These three paths, also known as yogas, are the Jnana yoga, the Karma yoga, and the Bhakti yoga. Jnana yoga pertains to transcendental knowledge of the Absolute. Arjuna is torn between what dharma demands of him and what morals are embedded within him. He sees that this war would lead to the bloodshed of his leaders, advisers, and loved ones, which would lead to the Self to fall down into darker realms. Arjuna realizes that if he chooses to obey his duty as a warrior, he would be going against everything that is good and that he would be feeding the fire of evil. Krishna then informs Arjuna that he must perform his duty as a kastriya, because whether he lives or dies at the end of this war, his Self persists beyond death. The Self is able to continue on through reincarnation. It is only the wise ones who know that there should be no sympathy for the living or the dead, because they realize that the Self still exists even if the body does not. Once Arjuna achieves this transcendental knowledge of the immortal nature of the Self, he should realize that he should attend to his dharmic duty. After all, if he dies fighting in the war, he would achieve heaven, and if he survives, he can embrace his glory on Earth. The next path is the Karma yoga. Karma is action that would eventually lead one to obtain liberation of the rebirth process known as moksa. In this path, Krishna teaches Arjuna that one should obey his duty, but he must also detach himself from the fruits, which is known as the success or failure of his dharmic actions. Being able to perform regular activities and uphold the social order, one can achieve moksa as long as one does not attach oneself to the outcomes of these activities. If Arjuna is able to fight in this war and not associate himself to the future conclusions of the war, he would reach the highest life-goal of liberation. The third path that Krishna teaches to his avid listener is Bhakti yoga. Bhakti means loving devotion. In The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains to Arjuna that he is of divine presence in the mortal form and that he embodies everything that is in existence. Krishna tells Arjuna that the most accomplished yogis are the ones that fully devote themselves to God, which is Krishna. A full faith love and devotion to Krishna would lead to the knowledge of the Absolute and that would lead to liberation. Arjuna learns that when one’s Self is entirely absorbed in God, those will absolutely approach God. The Bhagavad Gita integrates many earlier teachings. This text provides many of the central themes and philosophical ideas of the Hindu religion. Upholding one’s dharmic duties and thus, upholding the varnas system, is integrated through Arjuna’s decision on whether he should fight a war that could end in the tragedy of the liberation of Self or if he should back down, renounce, and leave his community. Earlier teachings have shown that one’s karma determines the process of one’s rebirth. One’s karma, or action, also leads to the performance of one’s dharma. This lesson is shown throughout the Bhagavad Gita, for Arjuna is taught that one can achieve moksa as long as his dharmic duties