Loving Devotion Arjuna said: 1. There are Thy ever-steadfast devotees who love and worship Thee in the above way (as the Divine Person); there are again others who contemplate on Thee as the Imperishable Unmanifest (Impersonal Absolute) - which of these has a greater understanding of Yoga. The Blessed Lord said: 2. Those I consider as the most perfect in Yoga, who, with their minds fixed intently on Me in steadfast love, worship Me with absolute faith. 3-4. Those who are devoted to the Imperishable (the Impersonal Absolute) - who is the firm support of the world and is also undefinable, unmanifested, transcendent, motionless, eternal and all-pervading, - even they reach Me alone, striving with their senses controlled, and with mind tranquillised and set on the welfare of all. 5. The obstacles facing those devoted to the Impersonal Absolute are far greater; for the way of any unclear ideal is diff
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The Knower and The Known The Blessed Lord said: 1. This body, O son of Kunti, is called the Ksetra, the field (because the fruits of action are reaped in it). He who knows it (as his property) is the Ksetrajna or the Spirit who knows the field. So say those versed in this subject. 2. Know Me, O scion of the Bharata race, to be the Ksetrajna (the Spirit) in all Kshetras (bodies). The knowledge of the distinction between Ksetra and Ksetrajna alone is real knowledge according to Me. 3. Hear from Me in brief what the Kshetra is, of what nature it is, what its modifications are, and from what causes what effects have sprung. Also know who the Kshetrajna is and what his powers are. 4. In many and different ways have the Rishis sung about this subject in metres of varying description. The well-reasoned and definitive aphorisms of the Brahma-sutras too have discussed it. 5-6. The five great elemen
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The Three Gunas The Blessed Lord said: 1. I shall now expound to you again that knowledge relating to the Supreme Being, the most exalted of all forms of knowledge, by gaining which all sages passed from this state of bondage into the highest perfection. 2. Those who have attained unity with My nature through this knowledge are not born again even at the beginning of a new creative cycle, nor are they subjected to the distress of dissolution. 3. The Great Nature Prakriti is like a womb to Me. I deposit therein the germ of creation, the creative impulse, out of which everything comes into being. 4. O son of Kunti! All creatures. whatever might be the womb from which they are born, have really the Great Nature as the womb - the source of their origin. And I am their father, the bestower of the seed. 5. The three Gunas as Sattva, Rajas and Tamas born of Prakriti, bind down the immortal soul t
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All-Pervading Divine Person The Blessed Lord said: 1. The scriptures speak of the eternal Ashvattha, the World Tree, whose roots are in the Most High, branches in the lower regions, and leaves in Vedic hymns. He who knows it, understands the Veda really. 2. Nourished by the Gunas and covered with the budding foliage of sense objects, its branches spread into regions high and low. Stretching forth on the ground below in the world of men, are its secondary roots, entangling man in the bondage of action. 3-4. For one involved in worldly life, the form of the World-Tree is not visible, nor its origin, nor its end, nor its foundation. Cutting asunder the firmly rooted Ashvattha (World- Tree) with the powerful axe of non-attachment, and saying, "I seek refuge in that Primeval Person from whom this eternal cosmic activity has streamed forth", man should seek that Status, attaining to which there is no more ret
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Divine and Demoniac Types The Blessed Lord said: 1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and devotion, benevolence, control of the senses, worship, study of scriptures, austerity, uprightness; 2. Non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquillity, aversion to slander, compassion to living beings, freedom from sensuality, gentleness, modesty, steadfastness; 3. Vigour, patience, fortitude, harmlessness, freedom from vanity - all these, O scion of the Bharatas, are present in those born to a divine heritage. 4. O son of Pritha! Pretentiousness, arrogance, overweening pride, wrath, rudeness, as also insensitiveness to spiritual values - all these are found in those born to a demoniac heritage. 5. It is deemed that the divine heritage leads to liberation and the demoniac to bondage. Grieve not, O son of Pandu! You are born to a divine heritage. 6. In this world there are two types of creation, the divine
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Three Aspects of Faith Arjuna said: 1. There are persons who offer worship full of Faith, but without observing scriptural injunctions while doing so - of what nature is their Faith? Is it born of Sattva, Rajas or Tamas? The Blessed Lord said: 2. The Faith of embodied beings, which is rooted in their natural disposition (derived from the impressions of past births), is of three kinds - those of the nature of Sattva, of Rajas and of Tamas. 3. O scion of the Bharata race! The Faith of everyone is according to his natural disposition (derived from past impressions). Man is constituted of his Faith. What his Faith is. that verily he is. 4. Those endowed with the quality of Sattva worship the Devas; those with Rajas, the Yakshas and the Rakshasas; and those with Tamas, the spirits of dead ancestors and the elementals. 5-6. Vain, conceited and moved by powerful passions and attachments. they perform various terrible mortifications contrary to scriptural injunction
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Liberation Through Renunciation Arjuna said: 1. O mighty-armed One, famed as the destroyer of Keshin and the conqueror of the senses! I desire to know the true nature of Samnyasa, and as distinguished from it, of Tyaga too. The Blessed Lord said: 2. Abandonment of all desire-prompted actions is Samnyasa (renunciation) according to the wise. Men of discernment speak of the abandonment of the fruits of all actions as Tyaga (relinquishment). 3. Some wise men say that all action is to be abandoned as evil. Others maintain that good works like worship, charity and practice of austerity are not to be abandoned. 4. O the best of the Bharata race! Hear my conclusive view on this subject of Tyaga (relinquishment). It is said that there are three types of Tyaga. 5. Works like sacrifice, charity and austerity should not be abandoned. They should be performed; for sacrifice, charity and austerity are indeed purifying for the wise. 6. O Son of Pritha! Even these works are to be performed without at
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The date of composition of the text of the Bhagavad Gita is not known with certainty, but is widely accepted as 5000 years ago: during Mahabharata times. Showing great compassion for all living entities Shri Krishna’s lila avatar and literary incarnation Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa composed the authentic historical treatise known throughout creation as the Mahabharata. The eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita are found in the Bhisma-parva, chapters 25 to 42 of the Mahabharata and they are the exact words that Shri Krishna spoke in Sanskrit on the battlefield of Kurukshetra , India over five thousand years ago in 3137 B.C. The proof that the Mahabharata is definitely an authentic historical treatise and not allegorical or mythological is verified in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 1, chapter 4, verse 25 as follows. stri-sudra-dvijabandhunam trayi na sruti-gocara karma-sreyasi mudhanam
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The content of the text is a conversation between Shri Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of a climactic war. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and Prince and elaborates on a number of different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self- contained guide to life. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring glimpse of His divine absolute form. The discourse on the Bhagavad Gita begins before the start of the climactic battle at Kurukshetra. It begins with the Pandava prince Arjuna, as he becomes filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realising that his enemies are his
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Īśvara :- The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths: *** Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)- Īśvara , Ishvara or Eashwara (Sanskrit : "the Supreme Ruler; the Personal God") — is Brahman associated with Maya but has it under His control unlike the jiva who is Maya's slave. He has a lovely form, auspicious attributes and infinite power to create, sustain and destroy. He dwells in the heart of every being, controlling it from within. He responds positively to true devotion and sincere prayer. When God is thought of as the supreme all-powerful person (rather than as the infinite principle called Brahman), he is called Īśvara or Bhagavān . Description :- Most Hindus, in their daily devotional practices, worship some form of this personal aspect of God, although they believe in the more abstract concept of Brahma
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jiva :- The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths: *** Jiva (Living beings/the soul) :- jiva (Sanskrit: "the embodied atman") Individual Self. Types of Jivas There are three categories of jivas:- 1. nitya suri — These are the members of the Divine Ministering Assembly which, although being jivas, have never been subjected to transmigration. They are the eternal servants who make up the entourage of the Lord. (eg. Ananta, Garuda, Vishvaksena and others.) 2. mukta — Those jivas that have finally been liberated from the cycle of reincarnation after going through a myriad of births and which are now residing in the Supreme Realm (paramapada) in eternal communion with Sriman Narayana enjoying the fullness of Grace and the divine bliss. 3. baddha — Those jivas that are temporarily bound by karma which ca
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Prakrti (Matter)*** The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths: prakṛti or prakriti (Sanskrit : प्रकृ्ति, ";") — material nature. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions. It is described in Bhagavad Gita as the "primal motive force". It is the essential consituent of the universe and is at the basis of all the activity of the creation. In sankhya philosophy prakrti is comprised of eight elements: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and ego. It is characterized by the three gunas : sattva, rajas and tamas . prakṛti is female while purusa is male. According to the ancient Vedic science of ayurveda the three gunas — sattva, rajas and tamas — as the pertain to the human physiology are called doshas : kapha , pitta , vata. The balance or imbalance of these doshas
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*** Karma (Action)*** main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths: karma , kárma or kárman ( Sanskrit : कर्म, "act, action, performance") — is a noun-form coming from the root kri meaning "to do," "to make." Literally karma means "doing," "making," action. Karma is pronounced as " karmuh," the " uh" being subtle. Karma can best be translated into English by the word consequence. It corresponds to the "action" or "deed" which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called saṃsāra ). It applies to all levels of action, including thought, word, feeling and deed, and the effects of it. Karma refers to (1) any act or deed; (2) the principle of cause and effect; (3) a consequence or karmaphala ("fruit of action") or uttaraphala ("after effect"), which sooner or later returns upon the doer. What we sow, we shall reap in this or
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It is karma operating through the law of cause and effect, actionand reaction, that governs all life and binds the atman (the Self) to the wheel of saṃsāra (birth and death). The process of action and reaction on all levels — physical, mental and spiritual - is karma. God does not give us karma. We create our own. Karma is not fate; humans are believed to act with free will, creating their own destinies. According to the Vedas, if an individual sows goodness, he or she will reap goodness; if one sows evil, he or she will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of mankind's actions and their concomitant reactions in current and previous lives, all of which determine the future. However, many karmas do not have an immediate effect; some accumulate and return unexpectedly in an individual's later lives. The conquest of karma is believed to lie in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction. Unkindness yields spoiled fr
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The law of karma governs the universe and all beings within it; it acts impersonally and binds each atman (inner Self) to the world and in addition to the cycle of transmigration. The law of karma acts impersonally, yet we may meaningfully interpret its results as either positive (punya) or negative (papa) — terms describing actions leading the Self either toward or away from the spiritual goal. Karma is further graded as: white (shukla), black (krishna), mixed (shukla-krishna) or neither white nor black (ashukla-akrishna). The latter term describes the karma of the jnani, who, as Rishi Patanjali says, is established in kaivalya, freedom from prakriti through realization of the Self. Similarly, one's karma must be in a condition of ashukla-akrishna, quiescent balance, in order for liberation to be attained. This equivalence of karma is called karmasamya, and is a factor that brings malaparipaka, or maturity of anava
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