Internal Conflict In The Bhagavad Gita

Serenity and peacefulness are Lao-Tzu’s focal points throughout “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching.” By stating, “Violence, even well intentioned, / always rebounds on oneself.” he establishes his belief that war is problematic for everyone involved. (60; sec. 30). War disrupts the nature of peace which goes against everything that Lao-Tzu stands for. While having a country where war and violence are obsolete sounds ideal, it is not realistic. Leaders can only control their own people, and even then, they are at the liberty of what their people are willing to do. Lao-Tzu’s form of government only works if leaders from all around the world abide by the same principles and implement peacefulness among their own

The author Stephen Mitchell reflects on a scripture titled “Bhagavad Gita”. This scripture is a new translation based on ancient Hinduism. Throughout the scripture, it explains the teachings that can be used in an everyday life situation. Its diverse audience can learn how to face different dilemmas, and how to live in this world with happiness and peace by doings ones’ duties. It also helps the audience understand the true purpose of life. For those who go through the encounters of life educating themselves with perfection, knowledge, and intelligence, they are considered God dearest devotees. Overall, the scripture assures that God will respond to his devotees with love. Its teachings focus on those who are suffering and

The quest towards developing the ideal human character is sought after in both the Bhagavad-Gita and Confucius’ The Analects. In the Bhagavad Gita, the concept of sacred duty is prevalent throughout the text, as the warrior-prince Arjuna faces a moral dilemma throughout the story. In Confucius’ The Analects, filial piety is a virtue which impacts an individual’s character in relation to the Confucian religion. Sacred duty within the Gita requires the protection of one’s dharma, which is defined as the religious and moral law that manages an individual’s actions. Within Confucian thought, filial piety is a virtue of respect for one’s elders, ancestors, and parents within a community. Despite the differences between the contextual meanings of developing the ideal human, both the Bhagavad Gita and The Analects utilize their teachings towards developing ideal human character within the themes of sacred duty and filial piety with the goal of establishing a set of communal ethics to be maintained through different caste systems, essentially protecting the existing social structure. To argue this claim, I will begin by analyzing the similar intentions of deviating from selfish actions and thoughts to develop ideal human character. I will then express how the nature of this character leads towards the development of one’s sacred duty and filial piety. I will then connect these two ideas to show how together they work to develop a communal set of ethics aimed at maintaining order

Humanity is constantly searching for this idea of inner peace. In a modern world of sometimes seemingly endless suffering, how can one interpret this idea of peace into their daily life? The ancient Taoist text, the Daodejing of Laozi, makes many lofty and vague sentiments about how to find piece and rise above inner struggle in order to find an abstract “Way” which will guide one to inner piece. However, this text leaves much to be desired in how one is supposed to find this way amidst a world that is often very painful and bleak. Shane Koyczan’s spoken word poem “Instructions for a Bad Day” focuses less on the idea of finding you way, and more about overcoming current struggles. Life, however, is neither just overcoming struggle, nor just finding your way. It is a constant struggle between rising over pain, and finding inner happiness. These two texts together, though, examine the ways in which one can rise above their struggles into this greater “way” of living. Together, these pieces argue that one can make their own inner peace by accepting that pain is as much a part of living as happiness is, and by allowing these two things to cycle in and out of their lives naturally without fighting against either.

The paths help to explain that for one to evolve they should worship more, "Men who worship me, thinking solely of me, always disciplined, win the reward I secure" (Gita 9:20 p.58) and be following and doing your duties, "Look to your own duty do not tremble before it" (Gita 2:31 p.57). These two ways of fixing the problem are explained by Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita. Arjuna is set to fight in a battle but in the last minute he twirls around the idea of retreating because of the fear of dying and killing. He believes that the act of killing will be bad in karma. Krishna is outraged with this non-sense and makes it his duty to open Arjuna's eyes to see and realize that he has a duty and that it is to be a warrior and fight. Krishna argues that by not fulfilling his duty in reality will be what brings him the bad karma that he so truly fears. In the end, Arjuna can not back down into his fears because that would be like turning your back on the God. A Hindu must follow their duties, beliefs, and many rituals in order to reach their inner peace, to receive good karma and possibly a better ranking in the caste system and stages of life.

“Weapons are tools of fear. A decent man will avoid them.” Lao-tzu is against military action. The only way he is in favor of military action is in the “direst necessity.” And only in the most

While when discussing the history of the world’s power forces, violence makes for stimulating discussion, other tactics were put to good use, one of these alternatives being non-violence. With the guidance of three worldwide heroes - Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela - with contagious optimism and high spirits, it became apparent just how much of a difference could be made carried out through non-violent terms. Mankind was introduced to another way to resolve major problems just as effectively, if not more, than violence could.

Tzu believed in action through inaction, Hsun Tzu linked "dull and determined effort" with "brilliant achievement" (18). Hsun Tzu also emphasized self-improvement through "conscious activity" (158), but Lao Tzu believed that the ideal human "disregards himself" (Lao Tzu, 7) and "does not want to be anything for

The Bhagavad Gita uses the conversation between Pandava Prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna to portray Hinduism world view and Krishna’s view on the different fundamental questions. When he’s facing a war, Arjuna is guided by Krishna to be a selfless leader, and dedication to the cause.

Lao-Tzu’s stand on war is not what one might expect; he believes that peace has more power than war and that all men with a good set of morals look down upon the men who seek to fight. Along with war being an unnecessary product of compromise, Lao-Tzu view’s weapons as a disgrace as well; this idea is shown on page 209 when he adds, “Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent men detest them.” He later then states, “There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy,” (page 210). Lao-Tzu detests war and sees it as a shame to even take part of the hate that is involved with fighting. On the other hand, Machiavelli suggests that it is fit for a leader to show close to perfect fighting techniques on and off the battlefield. War is shown as a lesson of fortitude for leaders during his time, Machiavelli explains, “Its institution, and its discipline; because that is the only profession which befits one who commands; and it is of such importance,” (page 221). He later discusses, on page 222, how a leader must train in his free time to prepare and become the most powerful fighter of all the men by mentioning, “and in peacetime he must train himself more than in time of war; this can be done in two ways: one by action, the other by the mind.” One can conclude that Machiavelli defines a strong leader through both psychological warfare and hand to hand combat. He also sees war as a learning curve for the men who wish to become a leader; Machiavelli’s understanding off a strong leader

In The Heart of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh’s uses simple but powerful words and real world examples to illustrate the profound Buddhist philosophy from the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, an important representative of Mahayana Buddhist literature. The Mahayana school of Buddhist teachings emphasizes the doctrine of Sunyata- emptiness. The doctrine of emptiness, one of the most important Mahayana innovations, focuses on the relational aspect of existence. Thich Nhat Hanh coins and introduces a new word- interbeing to explain the state of emptiness. This idea of interbeing not only illustrates emptiness well but also provides understanding of other fundamental Buddhist ideas such as No-Self, impermanence and non-duality.

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

One way I believe that Wu Wei “non action” can be applied in my life is when I coach softball. I share how to become a better team and we teach team building skills and keep these teenagers from staying off the streets and having fun all in one. It is nice when the parents thank me for dedicating my free time to give back to our communities youth, but it also fulfills my desire to keep playing and enjoying softball. Coaching is a very emotional and mentally stressful activity at times , but by volunteering my time to do the right thing to keep these young individuals from staying out of trouble is the reward in itself winning and the attention is not my intention. I coach for the pure action of the greater good of others not for my own desire

According to the Bhagavad Gita, a truly wise person should seek to subdue his senses in order to achieve Brahman State. The Bhagavad Gita opens with a scene in which Arjuna, a warrior prince, is speaking to his chariot driver who is really the god Krishna. Arjuna is deeply troubled by the fact that he is fighting his relatives and wishes to abandon the fight. It is here that his dialogue with Krishna begins. Their conversation revolves around many issues and questions that Arjuna has, one of them being about emotion and desire. There seems to be a fairly straightforward answer to his question. Many times in the book, Arjuna is told that he should subdue his emotions. However, there are still more questions to be answered. Why should emotions and desires be supressed? How does one suppress these desires? Finally, what is the cultural effect of this teaching? It is through these first two questions that Arjuna is able to understand the role of his desires, and through the third that the cultural effects of this doctrine can be explored.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Bhagavad-Gita, gods play an important role in society and the way of life. In the Bhagavad-Gita, people portray their gods as almighty and perfect beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian people see their gods as imperfect, human-like beings. The way the people depict their gods, determines how long the religion will last and how much power the gods withhold.