The Bhagavad Gita- The Review
When reading, Chapter 4 would highlight the Bhagavad Gita. With the text as a whole and how it's being interpreted in small sections of the Gita. In this post, I would take on the reading itself and my thoughts on the Gita itself. That's being said, I would highlight in the reading what I think about it, overall.
Starting with some of the highlights, even though the reading itself would be a difficult task since things happen from one place to another. One of the quotes I wanted to take a look at is, "Writers on the subject almost invariably use the expression that the Gita is set like a precious jewel in the midst of the Mahabharata. Some have speculated that this jewel was not always there, that the Gita began life as an independent Upanishad and was appropriated by the author...it's a beautiful addition, they say, but extraneous to the story of the epic. Most scholars today feel that this is highly unlikely. The integrity of the style of the Mahabharata continues more or less evenly through the Gita." (Bresnan 76). That part really highlights the Gita based on the text provided based on how it would inspire the Mahabharata, based on how writers would take on each section and have their own story into the Gita and would take on the inspiration for today's scholars. Another thing to highlight would be, "Selfless
service does not mean 'good deeds'—helping someone across the street, for
example, or picking up a hitchhiker. Good deeds are wonderful, of course, but
that’s not the point; selfless service means something else. The 'service' in 'selfless service' refers simply to action that in some way is of real value to the
community... 'Selfless' means simply that
the action is not ego-bound. We all know such selfless moments. In fact, any
time that one is totally absorbed in a task, the ego-consciousness is temporarily
suspended. (Bresnan 89). Since it sticks to me when I read some of the yoga forms, mostly on Karma Yoga because it discusses how we used selfless service and the focus on oneself and the good deeds alongside. Lastly, I want to point out this quote, as well, with the mention of Karma Yoga, saying, "this separation between action and its reward is precisely what Karma Yoga
seeks to overcome. So long as there is separation, the ego is in control. That
is why Krishna wants Arjuna to see that it is essential that the reward is in
the doing, not separated from it. If we work for the sake of 'profit,' we are separating the reward from the work itself, something that would never happen could never happen if the action was something loved in itself." (Bresnan 90). That being said, these are some of the highlights that I want to point out, the reason being is that it would take on the self and the mind when reading the Gita.
In conclusion, my thoughts on this are that, even though it's a difficult read since there's a lot of things going on in my life that reading this is sort of taking over. I would say this reading is that the Gita is different from the others from before. Also, from what I found it's mostly come from the mind itself and the stories the writers have in the Gita. Overall, I might read this again in the future if I have time.
Work Cited
Bresnan, Patrick. “Thw Bhagravad Gita.” Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought, Routledge, New York, 2022, pp. 73–93.
Comments
Post a Comment