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Introduction to Bhagavad Gita

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praveen

Life is a dream
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The followers of Sanathana Dharma (otherwise called as Hindus) did not fall back on any single prophet or a single book as the basis of their religion. Right from the beginning, this religion (thought process) had a pluralistic view. On one hand the religion appeared to depend on rituals, prayers and rites and on the other hand it appeared to depend on a very democratic exchange of philosophic ideas between the teacher and the student as in the Upanishads, which were at the end of the Vedas. Not all Upanishads were discussion of philosophy and many of them did indeed discuss rituals and prayers to individual God. The sum total of the Hindu philosophic thought was individual research aided /under the direction of the Guru. The thought process slipped down to worship of individual gods and epic stories (Puranas) about the Gods were written down. The person who compiled and systematized all the religious knowledge contained in the initial Vedas as well as the stories of Individual Gods was a sage called Veda Vyasa.(Veda means “knowledge” and Vyasa means “essay writer”) He compiled the information available on different Gods in to 18 epics besides compiling the four Vedas. The most encyclopedical epic of them all was called the Mahabharata. The main theme of this epic was the struggle for supremacy in India by the hundred sons of King Drutharashtra (called Kauravas) and the 5 sons of his younger brother Pandu called the Pandavas. At the end of struggle is a war between them. On the first day of the war, Arjuna the most valorous among the Pandava brothers appeared in the battle field driven by Lord Krishna who is his cousin, mentor and guide. But once Arjuna faced the prospect of killing his own cousins aided by his teachers, uncle and grandfather, he suddenly felt aghast and decided that, even starving to death would be a better option than killing them all. Lord Krishna then advises him (possibly the first recorded psychological counseling). Arjuna is not easily convinced. The next 700 stanzas of conversation between them in the battle field is Bhagawad Gita (The song of the Lord). Apart from simple advice to him, that Arjuna should fight, Lord Krishna summarizes the entire Hindu thought process on Sanathana Dharma in these 700 verses. By the blessing of Veda Vyasa all these was seen and heard by Sanjaya (collector and reporter) to Drutharashtra and were called the Bhagawad Gita. This was considered as a summary of Hindu religious thought and was revered by all Hindus. For a long time, this state of thought existed. Things changed with the writing of a commentary to this great work by Adhi Sankara, who proved that this great book provided support to his interpretation of Hindu philosophy of Advaitha (non dualism). The great Ramanuja who came out with a different philosophy called Visisthadvaitha (specialized non dualism) again wrote a commentary and claimed that Gita supported his system of philosophy. It was again followed by another interpretation to gather support to the philosophy of Dwaitha (dualism) propounded by sage Madhwa. After this period Bhagawad Gita became the most important religious book of Hindus. Several more commentaries and translations to Indian languages followed. The great commentators were by Abhinava Guptha, Nimbarka, Vallabha, and Gnaneswar in Marathi etc. The book became so popular in the Hindu psyche that, Hindus took oath on Bhagawad Gita like Christians took oath on Bible. In 1785 Charles Wilkins published an English translation of the Bhagavad Gita, which was the first time that a Sanskrit book had been translated directly into a European language. In 1808 passages from the Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through which Friedrich Schlegel, who became known as the founder of Indian philology in Germany. Edwin Arnold was the first one to publish a translation in to English verse in 1885. Many commentaries and translations followed with great regularity. Mahatma Gandhi who also wrote a commentary was so impressed by this great work that he wrote
“I find a solace in the Bhagavagītā that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavagītā. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagawad Gita.”

The first chapter of Gita details the back ground circumstances, which lead to this teaching. In the second chapter Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he should fight because It is his duty and that by killing a body he does not kill a soul and the highest form of action is when action is done without bothering about the fruits of such action. In this connection he also tells him that inaction is a great sin. Later at the request of Arjuna he explains about the difference between, deeds which take you to heaven but you are reborn later and that deed which once for all merges you with the lord. Some of the prominent approaches explained by him are:-

1. Doing action without bothering about fruits of such action.
2. Simple and steadfast devotion, surrendering all results to him.
3. Physical meditation of the highest order by which one becomes him.
4. The path through intelligent search of the God.
5. Simple and pure renunciation

During this discussion , he also shows him his supreme form, tells him , in which beings his presence will be felt more, the differences between the three states of Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas, the differences between the four varnas and so on. In short it is concise encyclopedia of all that for which Hinduism stands for.
Thousands of translations, interpretations and commentaries of the Bhagawad Gita in English as well as various other languages are already available. As mentioned before Edwin Arnold attempted to do a translation in English verse. Recently a similar effort was made by Sanderson Beck. The present translation is done in free English verse in as simple language as possible. I have tried to understand what has been written in Gita and wrote what I have understood, after reading various translations and commentaries, in a simple verse form. Not being a great scholar, I have not attempted for a commentary on what is the implication of each verse.
I dedicate my translation to the lay English reader interested in Hindu philosophy with a request to him to treat this translation as an appetizer. I am hoping that my effort would make him read several, more scholarly commentaries on Gita by very great souls and try to clear his various doubts. I am making this request because I have still not understood the treasure house of Gita and am doing exactly that.
Given below is what great people all over the world told about Bhagawad Gita from a collection published by Sri.M.P.Bhattathiri (Tamil Nation & Beyond  - தமிழ் தேசியம்: ஓரு வளர்கின்ற ஒன்றிணை&#2)
When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seemssosuperfluous."AlbertEinstein

"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day." Mahatma Gandhi

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial." Henry David Thoreau

"The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions." Dr. Albert Schweitzer

"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization." Sri Aurobindo

"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita." Carl Jung

"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe." Prime Minister Nehru

"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion." Herman Hesse

"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it." Rudolph Steiner

"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures." Adhi Shankara

"The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity." Aldous Huxley

"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity."
Ramanuja

The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigation of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

"The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers." Madhvacarya

"Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is “a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord Krishna is a real Yogi who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis." Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
References Used:-

 
how to add maerials for slokas etc

The followers of Sanathana Dharma (otherwise called as Hindus) did not fall back on any single prophet or a single book as the basis of their religion. Right from the beginning, this religion (thought process) had a pluralistic view. On one hand the religion appeared to depend on rituals, prayers and rites and on the other hand it appeared to depend on a very democratic exchange of philosophic ideas between the teacher and the student as in the Upanishads, which were at the end of the Vedas. Not all Upanishads were discussion of philosophy and many of them did indeed discuss rituals and prayers to individual God. The sum total of the Hindu philosophic thought was individual research aided /under the direction of the Guru. The thought process slipped down to worship of individual gods and epic stories (Puranas) about the Gods were written down. The person who compiled and systematized all the religious knowledge contained in the initial Vedas as well as the stories of Individual Gods was a sage called Veda Vyasa.(Veda means “knowledge” and Vyasa means “essay writer”) He compiled the information available on different Gods in to 18 epics besides compiling the four Vedas. The most encyclopedical epic of them all was called the Mahabharata. The main theme of this epic was the struggle for supremacy in India by the hundred sons of King Drutharashtra (called Kauravas) and the 5 sons of his younger brother Pandu called the Pandavas. At the end of struggle is a war between them. On the first day of the war, Arjuna the most valorous among the Pandava brothers appeared in the battle field driven by Lord Krishna who is his cousin, mentor and guide. But once Arjuna faced the prospect of killing his own cousins aided by his teachers, uncle and grandfather, he suddenly felt aghast and decided that, even starving to death would be a better option than killing them all. Lord Krishna then advises him (possibly the first recorded psychological counseling). Arjuna is not easily convinced. The next 700 stanzas of conversation between them in the battle field is Bhagawad Gita (The song of the Lord). Apart from simple advice to him, that Arjuna should fight, Lord Krishna summarizes the entire Hindu thought process on Sanathana Dharma in these 700 verses. By the blessing of Veda Vyasa all these was seen and heard by Sanjaya (collector and reporter) to Drutharashtra and were called the Bhagawad Gita. This was considered as a summary of Hindu religious thought and was revered by all Hindus. For a long time, this state of thought existed. Things changed with the writing of a commentary to this great work by Adhi Sankara, who proved that this great book provided support to his interpretation of Hindu philosophy of Advaitha (non dualism). The great Ramanuja who came out with a different philosophy called Visisthadvaitha (specialized non dualism) again wrote a commentary and claimed that Gita supported his system of philosophy. It was again followed by another interpretation to gather support to the philosophy of Dwaitha (dualism) propounded by sage Madhwa. After this period Bhagawad Gita became the most important religious book of Hindus. Several more commentaries and translations to Indian languages followed. The great commentators were by Abhinava Guptha, Nimbarka, Vallabha, and Gnaneswar in Marathi etc. The book became so popular in the Hindu psyche that, Hindus took oath on Bhagawad Gita like Christians took oath on Bible. In 1785 Charles Wilkins published an English translation of the Bhagavad Gita, which was the first time that a Sanskrit book had been translated directly into a European language. In 1808 passages from the Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through which Friedrich Schlegel, who became known as the founder of Indian philology in Germany. Edwin Arnold was the first one to publish a translation in to English verse in 1885. Many commentaries and translations followed with great regularity. Mahatma Gandhi who also wrote a commentary was so impressed by this great work that he wrote
“I find a solace in the Bhagavagītā that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavagītā. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagawad Gita.”

The first chapter of Gita details the back ground circumstances, which lead to this teaching. In the second chapter Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he should fight because It is his duty and that by killing a body he does not kill a soul and the highest form of action is when action is done without bothering about the fruits of such action. In this connection he also tells him that inaction is a great sin. Later at the request of Arjuna he explains about the difference between, deeds which take you to heaven but you are reborn later and that deed which once for all merges you with the lord. Some of the prominent approaches explained by him are:-

1. Doing action without bothering about fruits of such action.
2. Simple and steadfast devotion, surrendering all results to him.
3. Physical meditation of the highest order by which one becomes him.
4. The path through intelligent search of the God.
5. Simple and pure renunciation

During this discussion , he also shows him his supreme form, tells him , in which beings his presence will be felt more, the differences between the three states of Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas, the differences between the four varnas and so on. In short it is concise encyclopedia of all that for which Hinduism stands for.
Thousands of translations, interpretations and commentaries of the Bhagawad Gita in English as well as various other languages are already available. As mentioned before Edwin Arnold attempted to do a translation in English verse. Recently a similar effort was made by Sanderson Beck. The present translation is done in free English verse in as simple language as possible. I have tried to understand what has been written in Gita and wrote what I have understood, after reading various translations and commentaries, in a simple verse form. Not being a great scholar, I have not attempted for a commentary on what is the implication of each verse.
I dedicate my translation to the lay English reader interested in Hindu philosophy with a request to him to treat this translation as an appetizer. I am hoping that my effort would make him read several, more scholarly commentaries on Gita by very great souls and try to clear his various doubts. I am making this request because I have still not understood the treasure house of Gita and am doing exactly that.
Given below is what great people all over the world told about Bhagawad Gita from a collection published by Sri.M.P.Bhattathiri (Tamil Nation & Beyond* - தமிழ் தேசியம்: ஓரு வளர்கின்ற ஒன்றிணை&#2)
When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seemssosuperfluous."AlbertEinstein

"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day." Mahatma Gandhi

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial." Henry David Thoreau

"The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions." Dr. Albert Schweitzer

"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization." Sri Aurobindo

"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita." Carl Jung

"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe." Prime Minister Nehru

"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion." Herman Hesse

"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it." Rudolph Steiner

"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures." Adhi Shankara

"The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity." Aldous Huxley

"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity."
Ramanuja

The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigation of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

"The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers." Madhvacarya

"Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is “a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord Krishna is a real Yogi who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis." Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
References Used:-

IF I have some material to add to the slokas mantras etc
how to do it please
 
bagavath gita

"கன்மம் பயன்றரல் கர்த்தன தாணையாற்
கன்மங் கடவுளோ வுந்தீபற
கன்மஞ் சடமதா லுந்தீபற

வினையின் விளைவு விளிவுற்று வித்தாய்
வினைக்கடல் வீழ்த்திடு முந்தீபற
வீடுதரலிலை யுந்தீபற

கருத்தனுக் காக்குநிட் காமிய கன்மங்
கருத்தைத் திருத்தி யக்து வுந்தீபற
கதிவழி காண்பிக்கு முந்தீபற "

பாடல்கள் ..... 1 2 3
....

"இருக்கு மியற்கையா லீசசீ வர்க
ளொருபொரு ளேயாவ ருந்தீபற
வுபாதி உணர்வேவே ருந்தீபற

தன்னை யுபாதிவிட் டோர்வது தானீசன்
றன்னை யுணர்வதா முந்தீ பற
தானா யொளிர்வதா லுந்தீபற"

பாடல்கள் .. 24 25

--
உபதேச வுந்தியார் ..தமிழில்
upadesa sara .. Sanskrit............ Rendered by bahgavan sriramana
 
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