The Bhagavadgita (the Lord’s Song) is the heart of the great classical Indian Epic, the Mahabharata. The hero of this epic is given the choice, just before a great war, whether to take the offer of a mighty army- or to choose a single charioteer. Of course, that charioteer is Krishna (the avatar of the god Vishnu on earth.) Krishna will not be able to intervene supernaturally in the conflict, but only offer teaching and advice. The hero, Arjuna, chooses Krishna and his advice over the mighty army, for he knows that to be in accord with God’s will is all that truly matters. Besides, he also realises that Vishnu only incarnates on our plane of existence when things have deteriorated far out of control and it is time for Him to once again restore peace, justice, and harmony to the world. In other words, he KNOWS that he will be on the side of God, for God will literally be at his side.
This text represents the teachings that Krishna imparts to the hero, Arjuna. It is a message of how to put one’s self and soul into accord, and in doing so, put one’s self into mystic union with the divine. It is a message that one should do one’s duty in the world without becoming too attached to one’s actions or rewards (to be in the world but not of it.) It is also an assurance that the body is merely the body- to lose it is not to cease to exist. It is also a declaration that doing right for the sake of right is far more important that observing rigid rules and rituals of religious conduct.
This text is the excellent verse translation of Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904.) The Sanscrit terminology is all explained either in the forward, in footnotes, or immediately in the poetical, but highly comprehendable, text. I am not sure why this particular volume is listed as “abridged” for it is not. It is only abridged in the sense that the Bhagavadgita is an abridgment of the larger Mahabharata.
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