Guiding Light: Geeta Jayanti

A few days ago we celebrated Geeta Jayanti. More than 5,000 years ago, on this very day of Mokshada Ekadashi, Lord Krishna himself preached the holy Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. There was no such book before that. The entire text is nothing but a dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna.

Unlike other sacred books in Hinduism, which are usually dialogues that take place during peaceful times in ashrams, forests along the Himalayas or by river banks, this unique dialogue took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. This took place amid the chaos of battle, neighing horses, elephants blowing trumpets, and the sound of bugles and drums.

Despite this racket, both Krishna and Arjuna found inner leisure to have this profound dialogue while the sword of war was hanging over their heads. This could only happen because both the student and the teacher were great warriors, and hence were at peace no matter what the situation.

People often mistakenly view Geeta as a book of right and wrong or morality. They also failed to respect Arjuna, claiming that he was confused about the war. These are pseudo-interpretations of Gita.

A successful politician, whom everyone considered a saint, once said that whenever he faced a problem, he would look into the Gita and find the solution. However, Geeta is not about providing solutions to everyday issues or problems.

Arjuna was not confused about the war. His questions were about fundamental, existential issues: What is the reality between the self and the world? What is the ultimate purpose of life, not just immediate priorities, but something deeper? When faced with the possible destruction of everything he held dear, he tried to understand the ultimate purpose of human life.

Geeta addresses these deep questions. It is a highly technical text that cannot be easily read and understood. It can only be read and often misunderstood. The best way to understand the Gita is to find a teacher who is both traditional and contemporary, and learn from him, just as Arjuna learned from Krishna.

The author is the founder of Arsh Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com