The Bhagavad Gita is known as the Song Celestial. It is the most important sacred text in the Hindu
tradition. The Bhagavad Gita is some 700 verses and is a part of the great epic Mahabharata.
The backdrop to the Bhagavad Gita is the battle of Kurukshetra between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Arjuna finds
himself reluctantly fighting for the Pandavas against his cousins the Kauravas. Before the start of the battle Arjuna
is a given a choice between having the help of either his beloved friend Krishna or the entire army of Krishna. Without
hesitation Arjuna chose to have Sri Krishna as an adviser, rather than his army. Most of the Bhagavad Gita comprises
the discourse that Sri Krishna gave to his disciple Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurushetra. The battle becomes a
synopsis for life and provides Sri Krishna the opportunity to explain to Arjuna the philosophy of Yoga and Vedanta, in
a practical and meaningful way.
The Gita begins with Sri Krishna explaining the essence of man is not the body but the immortal soul. On the eve of
battle Arjuna is filled with deep misgivings; he feels to kill his relatives and friends would be a great sin. But Sri
Krishna replies that Arjuna should not seem himself as the doer. It is only God who gives and takes life away.
Furthermore the death of the body does not harm the soul. As the immortal quote of the Gita runs.
“The soul migrates from body to body. Weapons cannot cleave it, nor fire consume it, nor water drench it, nor
wind dry it. This is the soul and this is what is meant by the existence of the soul.”
By revealing his universal form, Arjuna views Sri Krishna as not just a friend, but as an Avatar or incarnation of God.
It is quite apt to note the English writer Christopher Isherwood would later comment on the Gita as being “like a
university lecture delivered by God.” Their relationship changes from good friends to Master and disciple. It is Sri
Krishna’s revelations that give the Gita its Divine power. Sanjaya the scribe of the Gita remembered the words of Sri
Krishna and this is why the Gita is usually looked upon as śruti, or revealed knowledge. Even though technically the
Gita is Smrti because it was later remembered and written down by Sanjaya.
When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe
everything else seems so superfluous. - Albert Einstein
