| Bhagavad
Gita - "A book for every human in every country who
might belong to any religion . The Gita Doctrine is beyond Religious
and National boundaries. "
The Worlds most ancient scripture - (courtesy - bhagavad-gita.org
)
Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita on the battlefield of Kuruksetra
in 3102 B.C.; just prior to the commencement of the Mahabharata
war. This date corresponds to 1700 years before Moses, 2500 years
before Buddha, 3000 years before Jesus and 3800 years before Mohammed.
So first and foremost it should be clearly understood that the eternal
knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita has not been influenced by Buddhism,
Christianity, Hebrewism or Islam; for these religions did not exist
at that time and were established milleniums later.
Mahaabhaaratam - In ancient times there was
a king who had two sons, Dhritaraashtr and Paandu. The former was
born blind; therefore, Paandu inherited the kingdom. Paandu had
five sons. They were called the Paandavs. Dhritaraashtr had one
hundred sons. They were called the Kauravs. Duryodhan was the eldest
of the Kauravs.
After the death of king Paandu the Paandavs became the lawful king.
Duryodhan was a very jealous person. He also wanted the kingdom.
The kingdom was divided into two halves between the Paandavs and
the Kauravs. Duryodhan was not satisfied with his share of the kingdom.
He wanted the entire kingdom for himself. He unsuccessfully planned
several foul plays to kill the Paandavs and take away their kingdom.
He unlawfully took possession of the entire kingdom of the Paandavs
and refused to give back even an acre of land without a war. All
mediation by Lord Krishn and others failed.
The big war of Mahaabhaarat was thus inevitable - The Paandavs
were unwilling participants. They had only two choices: Fight for
their right as a matter of duty or run away from war and accept
defeat in the name of peace and nonviolence. Arjun, one of the five
Paandav brothers, faced the dilemma in the battlefield whether to
fight or run away from war for the sake of peace. Circa 3102 BC,
cousins went to war over inheritance of a kingdom. Their armies
were made up of relatives, teachers, and respected community leaders.
Arjuna was a renowned warrior recognized as a master archer. His
childhood friend Lord Krishna agreed to be Arjuna’s charioteer
ARJUNA’S DILEMMA - Arjuna became bewildered
upon seeing people he loved and respected ready to battle, and said:
“I desire neither victory, nor pleasure or kingdom, O Krishna.
What is the use of a kingdom, or enjoyment, or even life because
all those for whom we desire kingdom, enjoyment, and pleasure are
standing here for battle, ready to give up their lives?” “I
do not wish to kill my seniors, spiritual leaders, and relatives
who are ready to kill us, even for the sovereignty of the three
worlds, let alone for this earthly kingdom.”.
Krishna spoke Bhaghavat Gita to let Arjuna realise his Duty as
he says "If you will not fight this righteous war, then you
will fail in your duty, lose your reputation, and incur sin.People
will talk about your disgrace forever. To the honored, disgrace
is worse than death. You will go to heaven if killed in the line
of duty, or you will enjoy kingdom on earth if victorious. Therefore,
get up with determination to fight, O Arjuna.Just do your duty to
the best of your ability without becoming discouraged by the thought
of the outcome which may be success or failure, gain or loss, victory
or defeat. By doing your duty with this attitude, you will not incur
sin or Karmic bondage"
The goals of human life :
The central teaching of the Gita is the attainment of freedom or
happiness from the bondage of life by doing one’s duty. Always
remember the glory and greatness of the creator, and do your duty
efficiently without being attached to or affected by the results,
even if that duty may at times demand unavoidable violence.
One must learn to give up lust, anger, greed, and establish mastery
over the six senses (hearing, touch, sight, taste, smell, and mind)
by the purified intellect. One should always remember that all works
are done by the energy of nature and that he or she is not the doer
but only an instrument. One must strive for excellence in all undertakings
but remain calm in success and failure, gain and loss, and pain
and pleasure.
The Bhagavad-Gita consists of 18 chapters. Each chapter is called
a yoga. Yoga is the science of the individual consciousness attaining
communion with the Ultimate Consciousness. So each chapter is a
highly specialized yoga revealing the path of attaining realization
of the Ultimate Truth.
Universal acceptance - Bhagavat Gita has even been appreciated
by scientists like Albert Einstein as quoted "When I read the
Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything
else seems so superfluous. "
Bhaghavatgita
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