A couple of days ago, we celebrated Gita Jayanti. It was on this Mokshada Ekadashi day, more than 5,000 years ago, that Sri Krishna Bhagavan himself taught Arjuna the sacred Bhagavad Gita. Before that, there was no such book. The entire text is nothing but a dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.
Unlike other sacred books in Hinduism, which are typically dialogues that take place during peaceful times in ashrams, forests along the Himalayas, or on riverbanks, this unique dialogue occurred on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It took place amidst the chaos of war, neighing horses, trumpeting elephants, and the sounds of bugles and drums.
Despite this racket, both Krishna and Arjuna found inner leisure to have this profound dialogue, with the sword of war hanging over their heads. This could have happened only because both the student and the teacher were great warriors, and therefore at peace, irrespective of the situation.
People often mistakenly view the Gita as a book of right and wrong or ethics. They even fail to respect Arjuna, claiming he was confused about the war. These are pseudo-interpretations of the Gita.
A successful politician, whom everyone considered a saint, once said that whenever he faced a problem, he looked into the Gita and found a solution. However, the Gita is not about offering solutions to day-to-day issues or problems.
Arjuna was not confused about the war. His questions were about fundamental, existential issues: What is the reality between oneself and the world? What is the ultimate purpose of life, not just immediate priorities, but something much deeper? When faced with the potential destruction of everything he holds dear, he sought to understand the ultimate purpose of human life.
It is these profound questions that the Gita addresses. It is a highly technical text that cannot be simply read and understood. It can only be read and, more often than not, misunderstood. The best way to understand the Gita is to find a traditional teacher who is both traditional and contemporary, and learn from him or her, just as Arjuna learned from Krishna.
The writer is the founder of Aarsha Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com
