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1-Page Summary of The Bhagavad Gita
Overall Summary
The Bhagavad Gita is part of the sixth book in the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic. In this section, Arjuna is talking to Krishna, who turns out to be God incarnate. However, Sanjaya (the advisor) tells Dhritarashtra about it after the war has already taken place and the Pandavas have won.
In the first section of the Bhagavad Gita, Sanjaya describes how Arjuna’s chariot enters a battlefield between two armies. While one army has more men than the other, it seems that they have divine favor because their conch horns are responded to by divine horns from Arjuna and Krishna’s side. After thinking about what he would be doing if he killed his cousins (which he believed would destroy his family’s standing in society), Arjuna drops his weapon and starts crying.
Krishna tells Arjuna that he is a coward and blind to the truth. He also says that people’s souls don’t die with their bodies, but are reincarnated in new ones. If Arjuna fights in battle, he will ascend to heaven; if not, he will be disgraced. Krishna also tells him that people can learn to relinquish attachments by practicing yoga or meditation and experiencing the absolute being called Brahman.
In the third book, Krishna tells Arjuna that he must still act because everyone is part of life and it’s impossible to entirely remove yourself from action. However, actions are dictated by our gunas (our nature) rather than our own will. Only sacrifices to the gods can please them enough so they’ll allow us to live on earth.
Lord Krisha, who was first introduced in chapter 2, reveals more about himself to Arjuna. He has many lives and nature: he is eternal or everlasting and also manifests whenever the Dharma or righteousness needs it most. In addition, he enjoys pleasing devotees by receiving sacrifices from them which can be interpreted as offering knowledge in the form of teachings devotedly to him.
In the fifth discourse, Arjuna said that renouncing action and practicing yoga seem to be opposites. Krishna says that both are means to enlightenment because they help people overcome their ignorant motivations for action. In the sixth discourse, Krishna explains how meditative yogic discipline helps people understand their unity in Brahman with all other beings, which can lead them to transcend the cycle of rebirth or reincarnate into a purer body.
In the seventh discourse, Krishna explains that he encompasses everything from the earth to his higher form. He is beyond all dualities and loves those who understand this. In the eighth discourse, Krishna suggests that people can transcend rebirth if they fix their minds on him constantly at death. The ninth discourse expands on his nature—he is all-pervasive, has absolute power over the world, and providence over those who worship him.
In the tenth and eleventh discourses, Krishna explains his power in greater detail. He shows Arjuna a more concrete demonstration of it by listing off all the things he is: wisdom among wise men, authority among rulers, silence among secret keepers, and ancient seed for every living being. However, this barely scratches the surface of his infinite power; he has many forms that contain everything including infinite light. In fact no one—not even the gods—has seen these forms before.
After securing Arjuna’s loyalty, Krishna talks about how it is easier to worship his incarnations than to understand him in his true form. He also gives practical advice for people with different dispositions and offers a way for them to achieve enlightenment. The gunas that make up the body are sattva (purity), rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance). By letting go of rajas and tamas, one can rise above the cycle of reincarnation by becoming disembodied. In the following discourse, he discusses an ashvattha tree whose roots can be severed by “the strong axe” of non-clinging – or letting go of attachments. This will help one overcome even the most firmly rooted connections to worldly things and integrate oneself into indestructible eternal spirit that lies behind apparent reality.
