Relevance of Bhagawad Gita Today

Relevance of Bhagawad Gita today

Page 1 of 5

Is the Bhagawad Gita relevant to us today?

Nobody knows for sure when the Bhagawad Gita was written, or if Krishna & Arjuna (the two

protagonists of this book) actually lived as historical figures. Yet, centuries after centuries, this book

continues to exert its influence upon mankind. It is well-known that this book had a great influence on the

Moghul Emperor Akbar and gave shape to his Din-e-Ilahi. It also had a great influence on the Sufi

movement through Dara Shikoh (a Moghul prince, son of Shah Jahan). History has documented the Gitas

influence on Henry David Thoreau, the great Transcendentalist and on how it gave shape to his Civil

Disobedience Movement. Through him, the ideas contained in the 700 sentences of this amazing book

came to influence the thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman. It was also through Thoreau

that the ideas of the Bhagawad Gita bore a tremendous influence on Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian

freedom struggle. But our interest is in finding out if this book, or the ideas in this book, have any

relevance for us today, in the 21st century.

One of the greatest dilemmas we face today is the pressing need of work. The other equally

pressing dilemma we all face today is the need to protect our own religious interests harmoniously with

the religious aspirations of others on this planet. Let us see what the Bhagawad Gita has to do for us in

these two areas of human interest.

We all need to work for our mere survival. No one can survive without work. What the modern

man needs today is a rational, psychological basis for work, independent of any theological undertones.

We say independent of theological undertones because, religion seems to be the only sanction for the

work that man does. The Christian works because thereby he pleases His Lord. The Muslim works

because his Prophet has ordered him to work. The Hindu works because his caste rules impel him to

work. It is only in Bhagawad Gita and Karl Marxs books that we find a rationale for work that is

completely free from such theological bases. While Marxs ideas (of class-struggle as the basis of mans

urge to work) are proven wrong by history, it is Bhagawad Gitas theory of work that alone remains today

as a theory of work that is independent of any theological basis. The Gita says that man has to work

because this tendency to work is inherent in man. Man has to work not because some religious scripture

ordains him to. Man has to work because the creative urge in man is inherent in his very being. As long as

man remains as man, he will have to work, irrespective of his other identities religious, political, or

social.

The Gita doesnt stop by merely saying this. It further delineates a general procedure for working

that every man (again, irrespective of his various identities) can follow. Two powers are needed for man

to work efficiently the power to get attached to the details of work, and the power to get detached from

the reactions that arise from work. The Gita specifies that by having faith in the personal and social

necessity of the work we do, we get the power to get attached to the details of the work that we shall have

to do. We will need to be convinced of the utility of the work that we do. But, then, simultaneously, we

need to develop the ability to detach ourselves from the work itself, or from the results that the work will

produce, as soon as a particular action is over, and move on to another activity. The absence of this

wonderful power of detachment is pervasively seen today among people and this lies at most social &

personal problems plaguing the modern man. Frustration, stress, fanaticism all come from the absence

of this marvelous power of detachment. Swami Vivekananda pointed out this marvelous idea in the

course of his lecture on Work & its secret in Los Angeles, California, USA on 4th Jan 1900, That is the

one cause of misery: we are attached, we are being caught. Therefore says the Gita: Work constantly;

work, but be not attached; be not caught. Reserve unto yourself the power of detaching yourself from

everything, however beloved, however much the soul might yearn for it, however great the pangs of

misery you feel if you were going to leave it; still, reserve the power of leaving it whenever you want.


Page 2 of 5

This is where the immense relevance of the Gita lies. While theological sanction for work impels man to

go headlong into the details of productive work, the absence of a similar theological sanction for desisting

from work, or results thereof, is poisoning our society with exploitation, greed and consumerism on the

one hand and hatred, violence and fanaticism on the other.

Religious identity is a fundamental necessity for man. Although we are seeing the phenomenal

rise of the SBNR (spiritual-but-not-religious) population in the present century, even that is nothing but

another religion-centered identity, conspicuous by absence of official affiliation to any of the major world

religions! We share a common space in this world. We share the resources of this world. When we

compete for our share of space and resources, our identities clash. Although it is the geographical and

political identities that clash in this competition, religious identities too come into the picture, because our

religious identity is very closely linked to our geographical, racial & social identities. Furthermore, this

competition for the resources of the common world we share is just another name for work that we do.

As we saw before, most of us sadly draw our inspiration for this work from our religions. Hence the

mess we find ourselves in today.

What we need today is therefore not so much as religion (we all seem to have sufficient of that!)

or a new religion (or the absence of that!), as much as a facilitator, a harmonizer, that can help us all

accommodate one another in this mad rush for our share of the resources of this common world. We find

such a quality in the Bhagawad Gita alone and in no other book available today. Swami Vivekananda

made this marvelous statement in his opening address at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893, The

present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a

declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: Whosoever comes to Me,

through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.

Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth.

They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed

civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society

would be far more advanced than it is now.

The whole problem lies in Hindus claiming that the Bhagawad Gita is their holy scripture. An

idea that is as universal as this cannot be claimed by any particular sect or community. It would be absurd

if the Jews were to claim the theory of Relativity as a Jewish idea since Albert Einstein discovered it,

wouldnt it? Universal ideas may come out from the genius of a particular community or race or region,

but once such an idea has been articulated, it becomes the property of the entire mankind. Similarly, the

Bhagawad Gita may have a Hindu origin, but men all over the world, irrespective of their various

identities stand in need of its ideas. I end my essay by quoting Swami Vivekananda who pointed out this

quality of the Gita in the course of his conversation (as recorded in Saying & Utterances in Vol-V of his

Complete Works), The scriptures of different religions point out different means to attain the ideals of

universal love, freedom, manliness, and selfless benevolence. Every religious sect is generally at variance

as to its idea of what is virtue and what is vice, and fights with others over the means of attaining virtue

and eschewing vice, instead of aiming at realizing the end. Every means is helpful more or less, and the

Gita (XVIII.48) says, "Every undertaking is attended with defects as fire with smoke"; so the means will

no doubt appear more or less defective. But as we are to attain the highest virtue through the means laid

dozen in our respective scriptures, we should try our best to follow them. Moreover, they should be

tempered with reason and discrimination. Thus, as we progress, the riddle of virtue and vice will be

solved by itself.

**********************


Page 3 of 5

1The Bhagavad Gita has been highly praised by people like Aldous Huxley, Henry David

Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, Bulent Ecevit, Hermann Hesse, and

others. Turkish Ex prime minister Bulent Ecevit, when asked what had given him the courage to send

Turkish troops to Cyprus . His answer was "I was fortified by the Bhagavad Gita which taught that if one

were morally right, one need not hesitate to fight injustice". Sir Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist

and director of the Manhattan Project, learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad Gita in the

original, citing it later as one of the most influential books to shape his philosophy of life. Upon

witnessing the world's first nuclear test in 1945, he later said he had thought of the quotation "Now I am

become Death, the destroyer of worlds", verse 32 from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.

We give below certain famous sayings pertaining to the Gita:

When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on

the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in

the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new

meanings from it every day.

- M K Gandhi

The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a

new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization.

- Sri Aurobindo

Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of

the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring

value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.

- Aldous Huxley

The Bhagavad Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of

action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander

purpose of the universe.

- Jawaharlal Nehru

In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad

Gita in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.

- Henry David Thoreau

Bhagavad-Gita is perhaps the most beautiful work of the literature of the world.

- Hermann Graf Keyserling

The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables

philosophy to blossom into religion.

- Hermann Hesse

I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or

unworthy, but large, serene, consistent,the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate

had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

1 This entire section has been culled from Wikipedia


Page 4 of 5

The most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue ... perhaps

the deepest and loftiest thing the world has to show.

- Wilhelm von Humboldt

I hesitate not to pronounce the Gita a performance of great originality, of sublimity of conception,

reasoning and diction almost unequalled; and a single exception, amongst all the known religions of

mankind.

- Warren Hastings

When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else

seems so superfluous.

- Albert Einstein

The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link

with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant. This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.

- Carl Jung

The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is

manifested by actions.

- Dr Albert Schweitzer

In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is

necessary to attune our soul to it.

- Rudolph Steiner

Literary Influences of Bhagavad Gita2

While one expects the Bhagavad Gita to influence India as a country and Hinduism as a religion,

this influence has spread beyond India to many other countries and cultures and has even veered outside

the bounds of religion. One influence that is readily known is the influence of the Gita on

Yoga. However, there are many other influences that the Gita has on many aspects of different cultures.

The Gita affected many influential Americans and Europeans in the past centuries. Henry

Thoreau read the Gita during his time at Walden Pond. According to Ian Chadwick, a Canadian

journalist, Thoreau wrote in his book Walden, In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed

and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seems puny and trivial". There are

many overt references to the sacred texts of India, as in "How much more admirable the Bhagvat-Geeta

than all the ruins of the East!" (Walden 63) There are also many less obvious references, such as flute

playing, his own and that of John Farmer, is also mentioned and is reminiscent of the god Krishna's

favorite musical pastime. Most significant of all are the many references to the river and the definite

equation of Walden Pond with the sacred Ganges. To dismiss all of these references as simply part of

Thoreau's affinity for India is to underestimate the extraordinary influence of the Orient on his own

thinking and to misunderstand the purpose of Walden.

2 This entire essay is copied from Wikipedia


Page 5 of 5

Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, who wrote an introduction to one version of

the Bhagavad Gita, is reputed to have stated, The Bhagavad Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive

summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but

to all of humanity.

According to Dr. Neria H. Hebbar, Ralph Waldo Emerson received a copy of the Bhagavad Gita

and its influence reflects itself in his work as the poems Celestial Love, Woodnotes and Brahma describe nature and immanent God, akin to that seen in the Upanishads. Hebbar also indicates that Emerson believed in the Supreme Being, and was a believer of immortality and reincarnation. Furthermore, many

believe that the Gita directly influenced Emersons essay Over-Soul. William Torrey Harris and John Smith Harrison after him insisted that Bhagavad Gita-verse No. 8.3 was Emerson's prototype.

Rudolph Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, literary scholar, educator, artist, playwright, and

esoteric gave a series of lecture (now in book form) called The Bhagavad Gita And the West: The Esoteric

Meaning of the Bhagavad Gita and Its Relation to the Letters of St. Paul. In these lectures, Steiner

essentially connected the Bhagavad Gita and Lord Krishna to Jesus Christ and his teachings.

President Obama stated the following in his book The Audacity of Hope concerning the Gita: In [my mothers] mind, a working knowledge of the worlds great religions was a necessary part of any well-rounded education. In our household the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf

alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology.

President Obama was also given his own copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is (which is considered to

be one of the bestselling versions of the Bhagavad Gita in the West) by Krishnalaulya Dasi, a disciple of

Srila Prabhupada, right after his inauguration last January. Dasi attended school with Obama back in

Hawaii and with her gift, she wrote a note to him that read:

In modern times, Bhagavad-Gita provided guidance, wisdom, and solace for Mahatma

Gandhi, who regularly turned to it. Even the great American transcendentalists Thoreau and

Emerson found great wisdom in the Gita and often quoted from it. My hope is that you will

also find the same support in this classical Vedic text. Please let it speak for itself.

The Gita's influence even reaches the American cinema. According to Steven J. Rosens article in Hinduism Today, Robert Redfords film The Legend of Bagger Vance is based on the book The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield, who in turn, based his text off the story of Krishna and

Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Rosen states, In his work, Pressfield introduces us to the mysterious caddie known as Bagger Vance, a variation on Bhagavan, a name for Lord Krishna, who knows the

parallels between the secrets of golf and the secrets of life, and the famed but troubled war hero,

Rannulph Junuh, that is "R. Junuh. Get it? Arjuna...

All in all, Albert Einsteins quote regarding the Bhagavad Gita sums it up succinctly, When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so

superfluous".

******************

Documents

Relevance of Bhagawad Gita Today