The Bhagavad Gita is the holy book for the Krishna movement originally written in Sanskrit and is an important Hindu text dating back to 3000BC. Charles Wilkson, in London England,
translated the Gita in 1785. This is 174 years after the King Jame's bible was translated.
The Gita is in the format of a conversation known as the "song of god" between Krishna and his devotee Arjuna.
Click Here to Listen to The Gita Sung in Sanskrit
Krishna is the charioteer for Arjuna the warrior. The conversation takes place as Arjuna is about to enter battle and questions this action; a display of reason.
Why should he fight? What is the meaning of his life? Where is he going after death?
Krishna responds with teachings of the three basic instructions on how to live life; action, knowledge and devotion and outlines the five basic truths; the supreme controller, the controlled living entities, material nature, time and Karma.
The Bhagavad Gita creation story is primarily evolution based; Atmans, which are the soul, manifest into human beings after moving forward through the cosmic life cycle of amoebas, insects, plants and animals. Once the cosmic journey for the Atman ends the liberated Atman will enter the abode of God.
God in this story is Pantheistic; meaning that everything is a part of an all encompassing God. The universe or nature and God, a Divinity, are identical. However God is also Panentheistic; which is a belief the the Divine God is an external animating force behind the universe. Some theories believe that Krishna is blue because he is from a now defunct blue race and that Jesus is a reincarnation of Krishna.
I was surprised at the format of the text and found it easier to read than I expected. I was less concerned with the action of the story and found myself searching for the message as I read. The text seemed modern and relevant to me and I enjoyed the combination of scripture, poetry and philosophy. The notion that the Divine is the universe suits me and I like that this God is non punitive. I don't like all the discipline and restraint required to achieve enlightenment but the lessons of goodness, truth and acceptance can be applied to modern life.
