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 5 | The Bhagavad-gītā is considered a Yoga text!!!
The Bhagavad-gītā, among other things, is also considered an essential Yoga text and is therefore referred to a Yogaśāstra. While educating Arjuṇa on the role of Dharma forms the central theme of the book, there are also innumerable concepts of Yoga interspersed within the teachings.
There are some important definitions of Yoga that form part of this text. The concept of Citta-vṛtti-nirodha, as presented by Patañjali, is also expounded elaborately in the second chapter of Bhagavad-gīta, through the idea of Sthita-prajña.
Later chapters also elaborate on Dhyānam, an essential tool of Yoga. It details on concepts on how to meditate, what to meditate on etc.
It also presents critical concepts like Svādhyāya or self-reflection. Discussions on other topics like Śraddhā, Īśvara-praṇidhāna, principles of Prāṇāyāma, among others essentially make it an invaluable Yogic text. Hence traditional Yoga masters always insisted on an in-depth study of such a text for all Yoga practitioners.
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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.