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 6 | Three philosophical schools are expounded in The Bhagavad-gītā
Although it is considered a monolithic text focused on the laws of Dharma, The Bhagavad-gītā also expounds teachings of three different Vaidika-darśana-s - Sāṁkhya, Yoga and Vedānta.
The school of Sāṁkhya highlights that liberation is possible through the discriminative wisdom between what is conscious (Puruṣa) and what isn't (Prakṛti). Krishna deliberates on this concept quite a bit early on in the Bhagavad-gītā, and these teachings are called Jñāna-yoga and pertain to the Sāṁkhya approach.
When Arjuṇa isn't taking up his Dharma with the clarity of Sāṁkhya offered by the Lord, he is taught the Karma-yoga teachings. These pertain to the approach of the Yoga-darśana. Krishna highlights how Arjuṇa must act out his Dharma linking to his heart. These precious discussions delve deeply into the teachings shared by Maharṣi Patañjali, through his school of Yoga.
When Arjuṇa is still not convinced to pick up his weapons and begin fighting the war, Krishna offers the teachings of Vedānta philosophy. These discussions are titled Bhakti-yoga, where the Lord reminds Arjuṇa that all actions must be dedicated to the divine, and this is the only way to liberation.
So essentially the Bhagavad-gītā is a rich garden of rare teachings and includes the essence of three Vaidika-darśana-s. So if you get a chance to study it, don't you hesitate to dive deep into the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa through the Bhagavad-gītā.
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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.