Bhagavad Gita Study Guide

Above we see verse 19 from Chapter 2.

The only thing we want to read
is the final English translation
in bold, circled in green.

The Gita has only 700 verses,
We can read it completely in around 2.5 hours.

After reading the entire text so quickly,
THEN we can go back to read the introduction, all the commentaries, etc.
Please begin reading at Chapter 1, Verse 26.

That's the end of the guide!
Please feel free to ask me anything any time.
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You can also feel free to leave a comment on this blog post
with your feedback on this guide, or anything else you'd like to say.

Still reading?
Join me in discussing this example verse,
it's easy to understand and implement in our daily lives!
If we simply do our work, and focus just on our work, we will certainly do better work, right?
If we focus on getting a promotion, or getting good grades, or avoiding pain, or avoiding rejection, this will probably limit the effectiveness of our work.


If I am attached to "doing a good job" and someone says I did a bad job, then I will feel bad. Won't you?
This bad feeling in response to action, is "the fruit of action" (karma)
So, this method of working JUST for the sake of work,
and not for the fruit of that work,
is called Karma Yoga.
Karma Yoga is my favorite part of the Gita,
as it is VERY easy to understand and implement in our lives.
We can very quickly see the benefits in our work, relationships and daily lives when practicing karma yoga.

More Basic Information;

The Bhagavad Gita (Song of God), also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, "The Mahabharata".

But is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition. 

It is revealed scripture in the views of Hindus, the scripture for Hindus represents the words and message of God.

The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God (Parabrahman) Himself,and is referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One.

The context of the Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place in the middle of the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra War with armies on both sides ready to battle. 

Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins who command a tyranny imposed on a disputed empire, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, and explains different ways in which the soul can reach the supreme being with examples and analogies.

This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form.

The direct audience to Lord Krishna’s discourse of the Bhagavad Gita included Arjuna (addressee), Sanjaya (using Divya Drishti (or divine vision) gifted by the sage Veda Vyasa to watch the war and narrate the events to Dhritarashtra), spirit of Lord Hanuman (perched atop Arjuna’s chariot) in his flag and Barbarika, son of Ghatotkacha, who also witnessed the complete 18 days of action at Kurukshetra.

The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gitopanisad, implying its having the status of an Upanishad, i.e. a Vedantic scripture.

Since the Gita is drawn from the Mahabharata, it is classified as a Smriti text. 

However, those branches of Hinduism that give it the status of an Upanishad also consider it a sruti or "revealed" text.

As it is taken to represent a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is also called "the Upanishad of the Upanishads".

Another title is moksasastra(mok-sa-sastra), or "Scripture of Liberation".


It has been highly praised not only by prominent Indians such as 
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but also by Aldous Huxley, Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung and Herman Hesse.




OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS:


The Gita consists of eighteen chapters in total:

1. Visada Yoga: 

Arjuna requests Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. When Arjuna sees his relatives on the opposing army side of the Kurus, he loses morale and decides not to fight.


2. Sankhya Yoga:: After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed that only the body may be killed, as he was worried if it would become a sin to kill people (including his gurus and relatives), while the eternal self is immortal. Krishna appeals to Arjuna that, as a warrior, he has a duty to uphold the path of dharma through warfare.


3. Karma Yoga: Arjuna asks why he should engage in fighting if knowledge is more important than action. Krishna stresses to Arjuna that performing his duties for the greater good, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action.


4. Jnana Yoga: Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching Yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.


5. Karma Vairagya Yoga: Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act ("renunciation or discipline of action"). Krishna answers that both ways may be beneficent, but that acting in Karma Yoga is superior.


6. Dhyan Yoga: Krishna describes the correct posture for meditation and the process of how to achieve Samaadhi.


7. Paramahamsa Vijnana Yoga: Krishna teaches the path of knowledge (Jnana Yoga).


8. Aksara-Parabrahman Yoga: Krishna defines the terms brahman, adhyatma, karma, atman, adhibhuta and adhidaiva and explains how one can remember him at the time of death and attain his supreme abode.


9. Raja-Vidya-Guhya Yoga: Krishna explains panentheism, "all beings are in me" as a way of remembering him in all circumstances.


10. Vibhuti-Vistara-Yoga: Krishna describes how he is the ultimate source of all material and spiritual worlds. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.


11. Visvarupa-Darsana Yoga: On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Viswarupa), a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.


12. Bhakti Yoga: Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti Yoga).


13. Ksetra-Ksetrajna Vibhaga Yoga: Krishna describes nature (prakrti), the enjoyer (purusha) and consciousness.


14. Gunatraya-Vibhaga Yoga: Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature.


15. Purusottama Yoga: Krishna describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.


16. Daivasura-Sampad-Vibhaga Yoga: Krishna tells of the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one must give up lust, anger and greed, discern between right and wrong action by discernment through Buddhi and evidence from scripture and thus act correctly.


17. Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga Yoga: Krishna tells of three divisions of faith and the thoughts, deeds and even eating habits corresponding to the three gunas.


18. Moksa-Opadesa Yoga: In conclusion, Krishna asks Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him. He describes this as the ultimate perfection of life.