The Bhagavad Gita

The ‘Bhagavad Gita’ or the ‘divine song of the Lord’ is the holy book of Hindus. It is widely regarded as the essence of all Vedas. As the popular saying goes “What is found elsewhere can be found in Gita but what is found in Gita cannot be found elsewhere!”. Dec 1 2006 was celebrated all over the world as Gita Jayanti. It was on this day 5200 years ago that Sri Krishna spoke ‘The Bhagavad Gita’ to his friend and ace archer Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Arjuna was about to fight a war with his own cousins and relatives to claim the right of his own kingdom. The feeling of love and affection towards his relatives overwhelmed him. Forgetting his duty as a warrior, he was ready to give away his kingdom to his evil-minded cousins. Thoroughly confused about his duty, he let his famous bow ‘Gandiva’ slip from his hands and surrendered at the lotus feet of Sri Krishna asking for his guidance. It was at this juncture that Krishna, the Supreme mystic spoke ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to Arjuna. During the course of this holy dialogue, Krishna not only advised Arjuna of his own duty but also on the most confidential knowledge one can ever imagine of. Krishna spoke on a wide variety of topics – the most prominent of them being “How should one do his/her work?”. The Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters, with each of them speaking on different fields of knowledge. It is said that it takes more than a lifetime to understand the knowledge of Gita. May Sri RadhaKrishna bless us in our sincere attempt to understand this Supreme knowledge and the secret of all secrets.

One common school of thought about Bhagavad Gita is that it is a book only for monks and holy sadhus. In reality it is not so. Arjuna was ready to give up his kingdom and was keen to lead a life of a monk. Krishna spoke Gita to Arjuna; changed his frame of mind and made him fight for his kingdom. That being the case, this misconception about Gita being an instruction only for holy men can be shunned aside. In fact Bhagavad Gita only stopped the warrior Arjuna from becoming a monk:-) Bhagavad Gita helps one to do his work more effectively and productively. In Gita, Krishna spells out the supreme secret about the art of gaining expertise in any field of work. Let us all attempt to read Bhagavad Gita and try to become a better professional, a better son, a better daughter and above all a better human.

Jai Sri RadhaKrishna!