The Bhagavad-Gita
Philosophy & Spiritual
Discipline
The Bhagavad-Gita
• The Bhagavad-Gita is an early Sanskrit
manuscript in Hinduism that is contained
with in one of two epic poems that tell of
the birth of Indian culture & stress one’s
duty to deities and spiritual discipline.
• The two epic poems are known as the
Mahabharata.
• It is a sacred text of Hinduism.
The Mahabharata
• The Mahabharata (“the great story
of Bharata’s descendents”)is one of
two epic-poems that provide the
origin & history of the Indian society.
• It tells of two rival families
descendent of King Bharata in early
Indian culture--the Kauravas & the
Pandavas.
The Bhagavad-Gita
• The Mahabharata chronicles this family
conflict.
• The Bhagavad-Gita literally means “Song
of the Lord”
• The Gita episode interrupts the
Mahabharata.
• It is a dialogue between Arjuna, a
Pandava, and Krishna, a deity, and his
charioteer.
Arjuna & Krishna
• Arjuna is upset before a battle with
the rival family -the Kuaravas-
because he does not want to shed
the blood of his kinsmen.
• Krishna, unbeknownst to Arjuna, is
the incarnation of the most
important Hindu god--Vishnu
Arjuna & Krishna
• The dialogue is divided into 18 parts
in which Arjuna & Krishna speak
together about
-the nature of the body and soul
-the relationship of humans to deities.
-ways to attain “the pure calm of
infinity” or “Nirvana”, a Hindu
principle.
The Bhagavad-Gita
• This work played an important role in
shaping the philosophies of Gandhi,
who guided Indians to
independence from Britain in 1947.
• Gandhi’s ideals directly influenced
Martin Luther King’s quest of civil
rights in America.
The Bhagavad-Gita
• The Bhagavad-Gita indirectly
played a role in the civil rights
movement critically affected
modern American society.
Selection Vocabulary
• Immutable adj.: unable to be
changed
• Manifest adj.: revealed
• Impartial adj.: not favoring one thing
over another
• Mundane adj.: pertaining to the
world.
• Lucid adj.: rational