HARE KRISHNA

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

sarvopanishado gAvodogdhA gopAla-nandanaha

pArtho vatsah su-dhIr bhoktAdugdham gitAmrtam mahat

All the Upanishads are like a cow, and the milker of the cow is Sri Krishna, the son of Nanda. Arjuna is the calf, the beautiful nectar of the Gita is the milk,

And the fortunate devotees of fine devotional intelligence are

the drinkers and enjoyers of that milk

GITA MAHATMYAOF

THE PADMA PURANA

THE CONCEPT OF SCRIPTURE IN

VEDIC CULTURE

sarvasya CA’ham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnAnam apohanam ca

vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedAnta-krd veda-vid eva CA’ham

I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance,

knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I

am the knower of the Vedas.

BG 15.15

tene brahma hrdaya Adi kavaye

Srimad Bhagavatam1.1.1

Lord Krishna imparts Vedic knowledgeto Lord Brahma

from the consciousness of his heart

Vyasiti iti VyAsaha

Krishna DvaipAyana

A literary incarnation of Krishna

Expanded / Divided Veda

MAHABHARATAA BRIEF SUMMARY

MahArAja Shantanu &

Ganga devi

MAhArAja Shantanu &

Satyavati

Bhishmadeva’s Vow of

Brahmacharya

ChitrAngada&

VichitravIrya

DhrtarAshtraPanduVidura

GAndhAriKuntiMAdri

Kauravas PAndavas

VS

Treachery, Deceit &

Suffering

Gambling Game

DraupadiInsulted

Exile

Peace Negotiations

WarInevitable

War at Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra – A Place of Pilgrimage

VyAsa’s benediction to

Sanjaya

Is Bhagavad Gita a book promoting war & violence?

HISTORY OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA

MahAbhArata ShAnti Parva 348.51-52

sri-bhagavAn uvAca imam vivasvate yogam

proktavAn aham avyayam vivasvAn manave prAha manur iksvAkave 'bravit

The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga

to the sun-god, VivasvAn, and VivasvAn instructed it to Manu,

the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to IkshvAku.

BG 4.1

Completed about 5000 years of Kali-yuga

Kali-yuga total duration432, 000 years

DvApara-yuga total duration800, 000 years

Treta-yuga total duration1,200,000 years

Manu spoke to IshvAkusome 2,005,000 years ago

Age of Current Manu to last some 305,000,000 years

120,400,000 Manu years have passed

Gita spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago to VivasvAn

2 MILLION YEARS IN HUMAN SOCIETY

imam rAjarshayoh viduhu

Spoken to Rajarishis(pashyati iti rishihi)

BG 4.1

sa kAleneha mahatA yOgo nashtah parantapa

Teachings scattered / lostBG 4.2

bhakto ’si me sakha cetirahasyam hy etad uttamam

Because you are My devotee...

BG 4.3

WHY ‘AS IT IS’?

Whose Gita?Krishna’s Central Importance

“Don’t Adulterate”Arjuna’s Mood - sishya

CONTENTS

5 Subject MatterIshvara – God

Jiva – Living EntitiesPrakrti – Nature

KAla – TimeKarma – Action

-----------------------SambandhaRelationship

AbhideyaProcess

PrayojanaResult

•2: Contents of the Gita Summarized •3: Karma-yoga •4: Transcendental Knowledge •5: Karma-yoga--Action in Krishna Consciousness •6: Sankhya-yoga •7: Knowledge of the Absolute •8: Attaining the Supreme •9: The Most Confidential Knowledge •10: The Opulence of the Absolute •11: The Universal Form •12: Devotional Service •13: Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness •14: The Three Modes Of Material Nature •15: The Yoga of the Supreme Person •16: The Divine And Demoniac Natures •17: The Divisions of Faith •18: Conclusion--The Perfection of Renunciation

•1: Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra

CHAPTER TITLES

yatra yogesvarah krsno yatra partho dhanur-dharah

tatra srir vijayo bhutir dhruva nitir matir mama

Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the

supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence,

victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my

opinion.

BG 18.78

Bhagavath Gita Kinchita TheerthaGanga Jalalapi Kanika Peetha

Sakruthapi Yena Murari Samaracha Kriyathe Thasyaya Menana Charcha!

To one who has studied the Bhagavad Gita even a little, who

has sipped at least a drop of Ganges-water, who has

worshipped at least one Lord Muraari, to him there is no

quarrel with Yama, the Lord of Death.

Sri Adi SankarAcharyaIn Bhaja Govindam