The Core Text Of Hinduism

Arjuna questions Krishna’s intent by stating “I see omens of chaos, Krishna; I see no good in killing my kinsmen in battle” (27). Through this statement, Arjuna once again challenges the will of Krishna by choosing to look past the action of fighting and focuses on the result of his kin dying—the fruits of action. Krishna, in his response to Arjuna, retains the idea that Arjuna must serve a greater good and that his dharma, his sacred duty, is to do this as well. Further, through the statement “A man cannot escape the force of action by abstaining from actions; he does not attain success just by renunciation. No one exists for even an instant without performing an action,” Krishna displays the concept that disobedience or abstaining from a cause harms society more than it benefits it (43). Rather, the mere act of abstaining demonstrates some sort of deed-- this deed, or renunciation of a cause, will not obtain success but rather prohibit success from transpiring. The Bhagavad-Gita thus implies that killing and destruction, no matter how evil they appear, do not truly reflect the end goal of a cause, and that disobedience does not truly exhibit rejection of what one considers wrong.

Arjuna is faced with an internal dilemma during the Second Discourse of the Bhagavad Gita, and although the God Krishna seeks to help guide him towards an understanding of the meaning of his life, Arjuna is still wary of making the wrong decision. This decision concerns itself with either fighting in a civil war against family relatives, having to kill those Arjuna cares most about, or abandoning his dharma as a warrior and jeopardizing fulfilling his duty the greater Self that plays such a pivotal role in his people’s culture and beliefs. While advocating for the battle and fulfilling one’s dharma, Krishna utilizes the point that the Self – an overarching force in life – is a formless, eternal entity that cannot die and is more than the mere vessels that encompass the human beings across the battlefield. It is more important to the greater vitality of one’s existence to complete a duty to the Self rather than live with the temporary benefits of living in what may appear to be a more pleasurable life, but one with no fulfillment.

One of the most important divergences between Buddhism and the Gita is how dharma is interpreted. In the Bhagavad Gītā Krishna is able to shed some light on the significance of dharma. On the subject of dharma Krishna says: “It is better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another. Nothing is ever lost in following one’s own dharma. But competition in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity” (BG 3:35). Here Krishna is talking to Arjuna. Krishna is trying to get the point across that Arjuna is always better off following his svadharma rather than adhering to what others want him to do. It is important for Arjuna to follow his own path in order to reach moksha. Krishna is stressing that Arjuna must follow the path that has been carved out

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.

Hinduism is known as the world's oldest religion. According to ISKCON Educational Services (2004), it is hard to construct a timeline because Hinduism has no identifiable human founder or specific origin in history. It is so old that its past goes into pre-history. It is extremely diverse with the Hindu people being more interested in the meaning of events than in providing first hand records. There is also no clear-cut divide between history and myth.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the fourth discourse which is composed of forty-two verses, Lord Krishna, the narrator guides Arjuna- a warrior who is finding himself pondering about the simple principles of life while he is fighting the war. In the fourth discourse Arjuna learns from Lord Krishna about faith, wisdom sacrifice, ignorance, doubts of the soul, action and inaction, selfless service, and self-realization which ultimately leads to the ultimate truth, which is the path for the spiritual soul to reach its maximum potential here on earth and the afterlife.

One’s worldview is immensely influential in every aspect of a person’s life. In “The Bhagavad-Gita”, the importance of having a strong viewpoint is displayed through the actions of Arjuna and Krishna. This epic is a great example of how one’s worldview impacts one’s actions and decisions. Additionally, Arjuna discovers how trying it can be to keep hold of his outlook on life when faced with difficult situations. “The Gita” is an accurate illustration of how one’s worldview persuades the actions and decision making of a person because of Arjuna’s worldview, the theme of karma and dharma, and how one’s world view effects every aspect of a person’s life.

War has been treated as an acceptable response to political or personal disagreements. The Bhagavad-Gita shows how a person can have a moral dilemma when faced with the prospect of fighting against people who are familiar. This story explains how, if there are no other options available to solve a dispute, then violent conflicts are acceptable responses. The use of armed conflict to resolve any political or personal disputes has been a theme that is visible in famous warrior stories. The Odyssey, The Ramayana of Valmiki, and The Bhagavad-Gita all deal with conflicts of war and how it can affect the lives of those involved. Violence as a solution to combat any disagreements or problems has been viewed as noble and necessary in many stories. Armed conflict and violence has an effect on everyone involved and the aftermath can be just as destructive as the initial fighting. The characters in these stories are defined by their status as a warrior and hero. A man’s ability to be successful in battle has been praised in these stories. Odysseus and Rama are both viewed as strong heroes and they have been praised for the violent actions taken in order to solve the situations in their lives. Arjuna was a warrior who was expected to fight against loved ones because that was his job as a solider. The nature of war in these ancient stories showed how accepted and valued violence conflicts were to a hero’s status and legend.

To get from South India to South Florida, normally, a person would need to travel roughly 15,117 km or 9,394 miles. Being that it is hardly just a hop, skip, and a jump away, members of the South Florida community, who are also a part of the Hindu community, desperately wanted a place where they could feel close to their motherland and yet remain near their newfound homes. To ensure this dream would become a reality, devotees gathered funds and support from friends and families to build what would later be known as the South Florida Hindu Temple. Interestingly, this temple, dissimilar to many others in the country, was built strictly from love and charity. All of the funds used to create the holy place

The sacred books are very important to the Hinduism religion. The sacred books are used for spiritual guidance and practical advice. It helps Hindus to understand their religions through stories. They are encouraged to follow their heroes, like, the story of Ramayana. There are many instructions in the book that teaches how to live and worship the life of Hinduism. The sacred text is treated with great respect. It can’t be put directly on the floor nor touched it with dirty hands. They are often placed on shrines and wrapped in beautiful silk clothes. In mandir, temple or special occasions, like, a wedding, the priest will often recite verses before reading the books. The priest read prayers and sing songs. In the past, a priest will recite at public ceremonies. He studies them and explains to those who seek spiritual guidance. The teachings are always remembered. Today, the stories are explained and learned through cinemas and television. Nevertheless, it’s still important and a big part of the Hindu culture.

Hinduism’s sacred texts are known as the Vedas which are comprised of four ancient books written from 1200 BC to 100 AD. These Vedas are the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda. Over time these books have been extended by other texts known as Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. Other texts include the epics: Ramayana and the Mahabharata, as well as the Puranas or the history of the universe. The Puranas were “designed for and used by the average Hindu” (Hinduism-Sacred Texts). The earliest book is the Rig Veda, which is contains more than a thousand hymns that were meant to be said during sacrifices by priests.

In looking at the story there is an emphasis on Arjuna struggling with the outcome of death and destruction as a byproduct of war, and not on fighting the war itself or determining whether the war is justifiable. The god Krishna tells Arjuna he must perform his duty. This emphasis on Arjuna having a duty or job with a binding responsibility that must be executed provides a reason why Arjuna is justified in fighting. Sen stresses that with this responsibility to fight, Arjuna did not dismiss any consequences of war on own personal life or the lives of other. Sen presents three key points that can be taken from looking at the Bhagavad Gita (Sen 208-211).

India gave birth to Hinduism which expanded quickly. This spiritual tradition focused on finding peace and eternal tranquility rather than temporary satisfaction from the worldly pleasures. In order to transmit the idea to other people and guide them through it, they came up with different writings to illustrate this. The Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads are popular writings that exemplify the beliefs and thoughts of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita addresses the question about how a person can be one with Brahman, the universal soul or god, while living in this world. This document is set as a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. Arjuna is being encouraged by Krishna to fulfill his duty as a warrior and part of the Kshatriyas, one of the higher divisions in the caste system. Arjuna has to enter this battle and fight in order to live up to his duty and consequently live free from attachments and walk in the path of finding himself as one with Brahman. On the other hand, the Upanishads guided all kinds of people regardless of

The Bhagavad Gita and A Thousand and One Nights serve as a lesson for how to live and act in the world. A Thousand and One Nights employs parables to expound on the decadence of human nature and the Bhagavad Gita discusses how to live a spiritual life without complete withdrawal from society. In A Thousand and One Nights, the dualism between vengeance and mercy as told through Shahrazad’s stories teaches us about the complexity of life and need for empathy in an unjust world. By choosing to be vengeful over merciful, people assert their own power and self-importance. The text encourages people to place other people’s importance above their own, inevitably relinquishing self-importance. In the Bhagavad Gita, the dualism between soul and body as explained by Krishna, teaches Arjuna about relinquishing attachment to the physical world. By giving up his personal attachments, he defers to the divine knowledge instead of his own desires. The dualisms in both works represent the necessity of detaching oneself from self-importance in order to cultivate peace and harmony for ourselves, since one can only reach peace and harmony through mercy and an understanding of the human soul.

The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu text that serves to illustrate many of the morals and ethics of Hindu culture, by way of the exchange between Arjuna and Krishna. One of the things Krishna tells Arjuna is that the war he is fighting in is righteous. Is this to say that all wars are righteous, that those of the warrior caste will know if a war is righteous, or that they have to guess and then suffer the consequences if they’re wrong? The first two seem naïve and oversimplified from the modern perspective, and the third seems unjust because regardless of caste, Hindus are said to be capable of fulfilling their dharma. Krishna also assumes that people know their purpose in life, which may have been the case at the time the text was written, but is no longer true. While in Arjuna’s day people were born into certain castes, today people are descended from a combination of what would have been considered castes, and often switch between castes within a lifetime. Regardless, Krishna’s argument for why Arjuna should fight seems relatively sound in that specific situation, but can be twisted to condone what many consider to be evil actions in others. Nonetheless, Krishna seems confident in the fact that it is a universal truth for everyone to know his or her dharma, and that he or she needs to follow it to achieve moksha. Although Krishna makes a strong argument for Arjuna’s specific case, it can be seen to condone evil, raising the questions that if all wars are righteous, and