Interesting facts about Bhagavad-gītā | Fact #3 | by Dr Kausthub Desikachar
The Bhagavad-gītā, often know as The Gītā, is one of the most popular scriptures in the Vedic tradition. It is an in-depth conversation between the prince Arjuṇa and Lord Krṣṇa and takes place just before the great war and presents a range of philosophical topics that offer helpful ideas about how to live our life.
The text is a synthesis of high quality of the core teachings from the Vedic culture, and hence is also often called as an Upaniṣad, despite it not being part of the four Veda-s. It combines many different elements from Sāṁkhya, Yoga and Vedānta philosophies and therefore provides insight into various facets of the Vedic tradition.
Fact 3 | Duryodhana refused to learn the Bhagavad-gītā!!!
Before the great war, Lord Kṛṣṇa attempted to impart the Bhagavad-gītā to Duryodhana, the leader of the Kaurava-s. Had Duryodhana had the humility to receive these precious teachings and understood its message, the epic battle could have been averted. Duryodhana's ego was so dominant, that he told Lord Krishna that he already knew what was right and wrong. However, he also acknowledged to Lord Kṛṣṇa that despite knowing the difference between the two, something in his nature (Prakṛti) did not allow him to choose what is right, what is dharmic. Lord Kṛṣṇa knew this was owing to the Prakṛti of Duryodhana, based on his karmic predispositions and did not insist further that he learn the Bhagavad-gītā.
It takes a lot of humility to receive precious teachings, especially those that are spiritually transformative. This is the reason why, even to Arjuṇa, Kṛṣṇa does not start to offer the Bhagavad-gītā instantaneously. We can see that in the first chapter, when Arjuṇa starts to have doubts, Kṛṣṇa chides him as a friend to take up arms and fight the battle. It is only when the warrior prince surrenders to Kṛṣṇa as his teacher (Verses II.7 and II.8) that Kṛṣṇa takes the role of a teacher and begins imparting the precious knowledge.
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In October 2020, we are offering an online seminar titled The Yoga of the Bhagavad-gītā, where Dr Kausthub Desikachar will present key Yogic Concepts presented in the text and compare it with how they have been presented in the Yogasūtra-s of Patañjali.
Don’t miss this chance to dive deep into the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā.