Gita - Yathartha Bodh

By Garg, Inder

Book Id: WPLBN0100750280
Format Type: PDF (eBook)
File Size: 3.61 MB
Reproduction Date: 7/19/2024

Title:	Gita - Yathartha Bodh
Author:	Garg, Inder
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Religion, Gita
Collections:	Authors Community, Religion
Historic Publication Date:	2024
Publisher:	Inder Garg

Member Page:	Inder Garg
Citation APA MLA Chicago Garg, I. (2024). Gita - Yathartha Bodh. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
A war was about to be fought for the control of the kingdom of Hastināpur (in present-day Uttar Pradesh near Delhi) between the armies of the Kauravas and the armies of the Pāndavas. Kauravas were sons of Dhritrāśtra (a descendant of Kuru) and Pāndavas were sons of Pāndu (himself also a descendant of Kuru!). Dhritrāśtra and Pāndu were brothers. Although both Dhritrāśtra and Pāndu were descendants of Kuru and had equal claim to be called Kauravas, Dhritrāśtra’s sons were called Kauravas since he was the king and the sons of Pāndu had to be called Pāndavas. Kurukśetra (in present-day Haryānā) was chosen as the venue of this war in which all the Kśatriya clans of that time are said to have participated. The war was won by the Pāndavas but after a great destruction of the warrior class of that time. The Gītā is an account of a philosophical discourse between Śrī Kriśna (the God incarnate) as teacher and his friend, Arjuna (a son of Pāndu and the leading warrior of Pāndava army) at the start of this war. Arjuna was caught in a dilemma and a state of delusion about the rights and wrongs of a war in general and killing his own kinsmen in particular. So, he turned to Śrī Kriśna to guide him to the right path. Thus, the Gītā is a spiritual journey of Arjuna from a state of despair to a state of enlightenment.

Summary
The aim of this text is not only to translate its verses and share what I know and understand about the Gītā but also to give context to the message of the Gītā vis-à-vis other Hindu religious texts and to show how rich and inter-twined the Hindu thought is. In my translation, I had the opportunity of referring to the thoughts of many commentators as also many Hindu texts. During this pursuit, I found many similarities as also differences in the presentation of the ideas, some minor and some substantial.

Excerpt
Early in 1995 at State Bank Institute of Rural Development in Hyderabad (India), I was attending a management development program as a young manager, where a new realization dawned on me. One day the instructor asked us about our hobbies. Thoughts flashed through my mind and by the time my turn came, I was ready with my answer ‘reading the Gītā’. The instructor looked surprised, paused for a moment, and said, “Good, so who is a Dehi?” That moment, it dawned on me that reading the Gītā cannot be a mere hobby; it has to be explored for a deeper meaning, for deeper understanding of complex issues of existence, who we are, whence we evolved, and where we dissolve at the end of our life’s journey. It is a search for self-realization. And, there I found a new purpose in its reading!