Week 12 Reading Diary: Bhagavad Gita

For this week's reading diary, I read the Bhagavad Gita provided by the International Gita Society. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important Hindu scriptures and was originally written in Sanskrit. It is actually part of The Mahabharata, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed The Mahabharata so much.

My yoga teacher training has familiarized me with the Bhagavad Gita. This text is especially important to yogis because of its synthesis of the yogic ideals. It is even referred to as the “Yoga Handbook.”

At the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 1: Arjuna’s Dilemma provides just that: the internal conflict that Arjuna is having to deal with. Also in this chapter, Krishna is introduced as Arjuna’s charioteer. At this point in history, war was the norm – this is the way everything was dealt with, and Arjuna made this radical observation – why are we causing pain to those we love and respect over material things?

This image depicts Arjuna and Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Source: WordPress.

The book continues to spill over with Arjuna’s beautiful revelations. The second chapter, Transcendental Knowledge, reads “It would be better indeed, to live on alms in this world than to slay these noble personalities, because by killing them I would enjoy wealth and pleasure stained with their blood.”

The Bhagavad Gita then goes on to describe those paths a person must take to reach self-realization, which he defines as knowing “one’s relationship with the Supreme Lord and His true transcendental nature.” These include:
1. Path of Service
2. Path of Renunciation with Knowledge
3. Path of Renunciation
4. Path of Meditation

These paths culminate in self-knowledge and enlightenment. Many yogis live by this literature, following these paths in order to eventually reach enlightenment. The Bhagavad Gita could even be considered one of the world’s first self-help books.