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The Bhagavat Gita for not-so-Dummies
this is only meant to help students see the basic simplicity of the Gita teaching

"Hey Arjuna, Hey Gilgamesh, Hey Bob, why do you look so scared? Are you frightened by this world and its battles? Are you worried about death and loss and the ending of all manner of affections and affiliations? Don't worry. Remember that you are happiness itself. Worry is the mark of an ignorant person. You have no reason to be ignorant. Just open your eyes and see the grand illusion of this world. I am telling you, this business of death and rebirth and heaven and what not, none of them matters when you realize that you are one with God. You are God, that's exactly what I am saying. It's a frightening thought, isn't it? That's all there is to it. You are the one. Do be arrogrant because you are God, be humble, live in the wonder of it. I know a mere assurance from me is not enough for most people. I can feel that you'd prefer to run away from this battlefield rather than admit that you can't really kill or be killed. It's like becoming a monk or something of that sort, just to avoid facing your kinsmen and all other fellows who have become a real pain in your neck. If that's what you are thinking, I want to help your correct your misunderstandings. You have some work to do in your life. What it is you may be able to figure out intellectually and through various disciples and practices or even through emotionally attaching yourself to the perennial wisdom. There are many other ways to attain clarity and realization. You know what those ways are, why should I waste my time repeating the virutes of rituals and service and all other customary things people do in order to attain happiness. If you are not convinced, I'll reveal my true form. Here it is. This is me. If you grasp the meaning of my cosmic form that I let you peek at, just now, then I tell you this: Live your life well, keeping your mind directed at me, devoted to the one true thing there is. If you are not able to do it, at least try to do good, do so without expectation of rewards and praise. If you fail to do so, just come under this shelter that is me, just be at peace in my presence, no need to look in other directions. Be at ease with me. Get it?" 
 

Tips for Reading the Ramayana, The Mahabharata, Bhagavat Gita; student discussions


 
 

Key Ideas for readers of The Epic of Ramayana and The Mahabharata 

The Hindu Trinity:(Brahama who creates the universe, Vishnu who sustains all creation, and Shiva who dissolves created world). The totality of the Trinity is called Brahmam. (This is different from Brahman, a member of the highest caste.)  It is in his role as the preserver creation that Vishnu intervenes in human history; every time there is a major violation of dharma, he takes birth in order to re-establish dharma . The myth of Ten Avatars and dozens of partial avatars illustrate this belief. 

Ten Avatars: Fish (the Hindu Flood story), Tortise (partially a creation story), Boar, Man-Lion, Vamana, Parasuram, Rama (the ideal man), Krishna (practical logic for the new age), Buddha (obviously a shrewd recent entry, which replaces Balarama), and the final one, Kalki, who is yet to come. Several of the heroes in The Mahabharata are partial avatars of gods who were initially atmospheric deities (sun, wind, fire, etc.).

Vishnu's avatars are linked to the Hindu notion of Time, which is quite complex, at times it even appears to be "unsound" from a Western perspective. Creation and existence of the universe itself is measured from different human and divine scales. Four Ages (Yugas) of the universe. Kali Yuga (the shortest, 432,000 years and the worst in terms of the quality of dharma among the people; it is so bad the Cow of Dharma has to stand on one foot.); Treta Yuga (864,000 years, Dharma stands on two feet), Dwapara Yuga (1,296,000 years, Dharma has three feet) and Kreta Yuga (1,728,000; this is the age of perfection; The Cow of Dharma stands on all four feet. Life is good.)

All the four ages discussed above totals 4,320,000,000 in human years, but such an interminable amount of Time is only one single day for Brahma. And Brahma puts an end to all Reality at the end of the day, and creates the world anew in the morning. What the Hindus are trying to do is to thumb their nose at the seriousness of human affairs and our notions of self-importance by inventing a concept of time that is vast enough to accommodate the key concept of Maya, and of course, the nature of worldly reality, which is explained as an illusion, a misunderstanding that needs correction. 

The concept of Maya is introduced throughout the entire Hindu religious scripture, some of them are popular in taste and style (the epics, the Puranas that provide the raw materials for faith and belief) and the rest are philosophical and theological (the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Gita that provide ideological basis of the tradition); hundreds of commentaries and literary versions spun off from the original scriptures add to these vast tradition. Several of these may not add up, but there is, indeed, a general agreement on the basics, and homogeneity and coherence that is remarkable for a tradition that is so old.

Dharma--personal duty, a set of rules for each individual, pre-ordained. Brahamacharya (student seeker of dharma), Grihastham (householder using dharma in his expected role in family and society), Vanaprastham (upon concluding the previous dharma well one moves on toward a pilgrimage--going into the jungle-- gradually attaining moksha through the final stage, Sanyasam, asceticism. Life itself is all about acquiring knolwledge about Reality, Brahmam and learning to deal with Maya, the wheel of samsara, into the cycle of birth and rebirth into which one gets trapped on account of ignorance, Avidya, which is the usual condition of those who are born into human life. 

The highest form of understanding is when an individual recognizes that his or her soul (atman) is no different from Brahman, the universal soul, God. Of course, there is nothing but God. Nothing but Brahmam. Following a Guru, a teacher, is an integral part of the tradition: the guru can bring a flashlight and show the frightened student that reality is only a rope, not a serpent. Our experience of this world is equated to the same fear that grips anyone who comes upon a snake in the dark! Imagine, how one is relieved upon seeing that the snake is only piece of rope on the ground. All our suffering has no basis! 

Remember that enormous social and historical events relating to migration, settlement move from matriarchal culture to patriarchy, from primitive religion to organized systems of belief, 

 
The Bhagavat Gita comments and responses

Ali Ashworth said: 

The Gita reminds me of some of the conversations I have with myself. Of course, I don't use such elaborate language. Have you ever had to make a decision that requires a lot of thought? 

 

Ali's question:

Could someone please let me know what you got from the whole dialog about the senses?(p.164) I'm a bit confused. Well, I think I'm confused!

Simply put, this passage speaks about the practice of yoga that enables a truth-seeker to overcome the bondage of senses, body, materialistic world, desires, etc. The physicial part of the yoga is attained through intense concentration and observation of the senses and of breath... some of the lines in this page alluding to that literal process, but figuratively, this segment speaks of liberation of the body from the bondage of this world.

Of course, there is more to it. This passage occurs in a chapter called Samkhya Yoga. Samkhya was
a sort of rationalist, materialist philosophy that already existed at the time when the Gita was written.
One could even say that Yoga is a rival philosophy that is being proposed by the writer of the Gita. When the logic of Samkhya  and the intelligent practical commonsense of Yoga are harmonized, we get a the Bhagavat Gita. (There is some major scholarly disagreement on these facts I stated.)

Upto verse 39, Krishna repeats the attitudes of the Samkhya philosophy, and then goes on to translate the same attitude into Yoga philosophy... (even a little of the common sense that enables one to balance logic with the practicality will help one to overcome the Great Terror of this life, Krishna says. This is a key advise of the Gita, go for unitive understanding, Gita says, the word "yoga" means union, balance, yoking together, etc).

Also remember in this passage how Krishna somewhat discredits the knowledge of the ancients, the Four Vedas, in the same way Jesus discredits the old Law by saying that he has come to give new commandment, "Love your neighbours as you love yourself." Yoga is the new method, Sankhya,
pure rationalism is old way. Yoga is not rejecting the old way, but re-stating it in a larger context.

Ali also said:
I have to admit-I enjoyed the Mahab much more than Gita.

THE TRANSLATION IS TO BLAME.
THE NEW TRANSLATIONS BY BARBARA STOLER MILLER IS BEAUTIFUL.

The Gita and the Mahabharata are saying "You are who you are" and once you accept it (no matter how much knowledge you have obtained) and become one with your god, you will be complete.
--Shelley

INDEED, BUT "WHO YOU ARE" MEANS 'YOUR UDNERSTANDING THAT YOU ARE REALLY BRHAMAN, THE SUPREME GOD. IT IS A CONVICTION OF ONE'S DIVINE ESSENCE AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE SACRED IN YOUR NEIGHBORS, TOO. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR!
 

Candy Moehn asks: How do we deal with our purpose in life? Do we question it? I understand now the role of Arjuna more clearly."

INDEED ARJUNA IS LIKE ANY OF US, THE ONES WHO ARE DRIVEN TO QUESTIONING. A CHILD WON'T HAVE TO QUESTION. A FOOL DOESN'T HAVE TO QUESTION, BUT EVERYONE ELSE WHO IS INVOLVED IN THIS WORLD WILL QUESTION HIS OR HER PURPOSE IN LIFE. DAILY. THE MAHABHARATA STORY IS ABOUT INVOLVEMENT IN THIS WORLD, ISN'T IT?
 

This line seems to tell Arjuna to forget logic & reason. He must fight the Kauravas, because it is what he is supposed to do. He should not question the war, because to surpass logic & reason is to reach a higher level of understanding.
Robert Fitch

Jennifer Goldberg asks:
But my question is: How can you know if what you're doing is right?

Does Duryodhana think he is right? I don't think so. He is aware of the evil he is unleashing upon his cousins. He is doing with considerable intelligence. Although there may not be complete consensus on what is right and wrong, I think we'd know if we are right... if we are right we'd be like Yudhistira, make sacrifice after sacrifice, made fool again and again,...if we are right we will be like Nikhil in Home and the World.

Response to Barbara Webster's Questions:
 1. Is immortality found only in the noble deeds one performs while in this life?

The beauty of the Gita is that it offers several ways, several Yogas. If
only you read the titles of each chapter of the Gita in the complete
text on the web, you will see intellectual, spiritual, this worldly
approaches toward immortality, which is in a way a liberation not only
from death but also from birth or the bonds of this world.

 2. To be right (or perhaps I should say "just"), must we sometimes do the wrong thing?

"Wrong" from the generally accpeted point of view, but right for the
context

 3. Did Arjuna do the "right"?, "just"? "wrong"? thing?

He did the right things being trapped in such a colossal structure of
unmitigated evil. The only thing he could do at that point was fight for
what is right.

 4. Are these players the ancient alter egos of modern man?

Of course, they are. That is why it has been a text for people like
Gandhi, Emerson, Thoreau, Tolstoy, Tagore, etc, not to mention generations of
people all over the world at the moment. Not at all limited to Hindus.

Steve Slusser said:

It does not matter what happens to an individual during a lifetime, "so too another body doth he win".
"Never can this embodied soul be slain in the body of any ..., therefore for no being shouldst thou grieve.

WE LIVE OUR LIVES AS IF THIS LIFE HAS NO ENDING. OFTEN I THINK ABOUT THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF MY LIFE.

My Western upbringing has taught me to always strive to be the best, get all that you can, "be the best". I see that this lifestyle often times will cause individuals to go against their personal "karma" or dharma. Thus, we begin to see the effects of stress on people and society as they begin to drift from their "natural" abilities and try to force themselves to fit into a different or unnatural existence.

YES, YOU MAY BE RIGHT ABOUT THE NATURAL VS THE UNNATURAL EXISTENCE MANY OF US LIVE.

IT IS A TRAP THAT WE GET INTO AND MOST OF US WILL KEEP ON LIVING, "GETTING SPENDING, LAYING WASTER OUR POWERS" (AS WORDSWORTH PUT IT), NEVER REALIZING THAT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER WAY, A SIMPLER WAY. NOT REALLY GOING AWAY TO THE FOREST AS THE PANDAVAS DID.

(BY THE WAY, PAGE 218 OF THE MAHABHARATA TALKS ABOUT THEIR TRUE HAPPINESS IN THE FOREST).
 
Debbie Beard:

The connections I see between the Gita and the Mahabharata are the people who seem at peace in their lives are the ones who have accepted their dharma.
 

I have a question here, Krishna tells Arjuna that we should not be afraid of death that "the embodied soul put off his worn-out bodies, and enter other new." So, then why does he make death sound so bad in this statement?
 
 

I really liked all the names Krishna and Arjuna call one another in the Gita. It was very endearing. In much the same way do Christians call our God our Protector, Comforter, Healer.

Debbie, that's a great observation. In fact, using the names in various contextual variations is a key literay technique of Indian classics. Some Indian classical music lyrics are essentially repetitions of different epithets for Krishna. I must add that this is not entirely unique. Just think about the litanies to Virgin Mary in the Catholic liturgy.

I thought our translator did a poor job with these wonderful names.

Michelle Martin asks:
What is natural? I don't remember ever seeing (in the Bible or anywhere else) a clear cut definition of this word. Is natural what you personally are comfortable with or what the society you live in is
comfortable with?
 
 
 
Jennifer Goldberg asks: 
Not caring about goals and rewards is counter to "Western" civilization. I do believe that in some ways doing so would be positive, but I just don't understand how one could get through life with the attitude that worldly life is unreal.

Surely taking at face value Krishna's assertion that "as in the body the embodied soul passes
through childhood, youth and old age, in the same manner it goes from one body to another" would be difficult, especially when one is so wrapped up in the "me." But maybe this is a difference between Western and Eastern thought/tendencies?

Shelley's Questions:

1. In the introductory portion of the Gita (p. 155 column 2), it states that Prince Arjuna later becomes King. Did I miss this in the Mahabharata?

I think it is an error (after Yudhistira, it was Parikshita who became king, and it was avenge his death that Janemajaya was offering the snake-sacrifice), although it is hard to make a final statement about these matters becuase of the number of versions of the Mahabharata that are available. As I told you the initial Sanskrit version attained its final form around 2400 years ago, but then every region in India, in every language (about 25 of them)independent and radically different versions were produced from time to time. Several of the modern novelists in India have produced their versions.I  hope I will be able to produce the most readable, most thorough English version in another 10 years.
 

2. If the highest achievement is for the souls to go to heaven and not be reborn, do you have to reach the Brahman state to remain in heaven and not be reborn?

Don't think of the Judeo-Christian concept of heaven here. It is only absence from reality, absence from the scene of suffering and the tyranny of the senses, and of course, soul's presence as part of the enormous power of the universe....

Jamie Carroll:
As a reader, I was not a bystander, but I was witnessing some deep soul searching by the characters

The God of Fire was walking in the forest and dying. He was starving to burn something. The other men were forced to sacrifce their forest to him. If the God of Fire perishes, then people will have no heat, light, or ways of cooking. This was a semi-simple story that really illustrates sacrifice.

I THINK MAHABHARATA'S PRIMARY APPEAL TO ME IS LITERARY. LOOK AT THE
FIRE GOD EPISODE MENTIONED ABOVE, FOR INSTANCE. IT TOUCHES ME SO PROFOUNDLY. IT ALSO HAS A QUALITY OF INNOCENCE THAT MUCH OF OUR CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE HAS LOST. EVEN IN TRANSLATION SEVERAL OF THE GREAT DESCRIPTIVE PASSAGES IN THIS EPIC CAME THROUGH VERY WELL.
THE  1000 PETAL LOTUS EPISODE AND CRANE'S INTERVIEW WITH YUDHISTIRA ARE OTHER EXAMPLES YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR POSTINGS.

I am confused by the 1000 petal lotus story. Hopefully, others comments can clear that story up for me.

The beauty of this episode comes through in many subtle ways. First, we must ask why should Bhima go in seach of the 1000 petal lotus. We know that the oldest brother Yudhistira weds Draupadi first.
The eldest is so virtuous, so balanced in his mind, Draupadi loves him so dearly, and he doesn't even have to make a gesture of dalliance for his bride. Bhima the second brother only gets a second chance with Draupadi. I don't have to tell you guys about the pitiable condition of any man or woman who gets only a second chance in love. We must remember that Bhima is not that smart. He is just the big guy of the family. Nice guy, but no cigar. That's why he is always trying to impress Draupadi. He'd even get her the 1000 petal lotus, if it existed. Even Bhima's younger brother Arjuna receives greater respect from Draupadi and Kunti and everyone else.....re-read the story with this bit of context  in mind.