Bhagavad Gita Paper

Grade 8/10

Teacher feedback: Good discussion of the key concepts! Your paper is well-organized and -written. You include good examples of the terms requested and place them in separate paragraphs in your analysis. However, you do not include explanations of the four terms (-0.5 each). Otherwise, good work.

Celeste Jackson                                                                                           02/06/22

REL 230 Religions of the World 

What is the reason for Arjuna’s indecision?

At the end of The First Teaching, page 27, stanza 47 we read that Arjuna has slumped down into his chariot and “his mind is tormented with grief”. He finds himself at a personal crossroad in the middle of a battle where the opposing side is his family.  We can understand his internal conflict when he says “How can we ignore the wisdom of turning from this evil when we see the sin of family destruction, Krishna?”(pg. 26, st. 39). Arjanu tells his charioteer Krishna that his only choices are to kill his family which will be a sin, or surrender (pg. 27, st. 46). Through our reading of the Bhagavad Gita’s four principles we can see how Anjanu’s understanding of his circumstance results in his indecision and how Krishna challenges Anjanu and teaches him the true ways of karma, dharma, bhakti, and moksha. 

Karma

Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, tells Arjuna that he does not need to worry about the karma that will come from killing his family in battle. Krishna says to him, “Death is certain for anyone born, and birth is certain for the dead; since the cycle is inevitable, you have no cause to grieve” (pg. 33 st. 27). Krishna is saying that everyone will continue on in their cycle of samsara.  Krishna wants him to practice karma marga and detach himself from the results of his actions.

Dharma

Arjuna believes “a place in hell is reserved for men who undermine family duties”(pg. 26, st. 44). He is troubled because he cannot see how he can kill his family without great consequence. Krishna reassures  him that this battle is actually his dharma as a warrior. Krishna says “Look to your own duty, do not tremble before it; nothing is better for a warrior, than a battle of sacred duty”. (pg. 34 st. 31). Krishna also tells him “No effort in this world is lost or wasted; a fragment of sacred duty saves you from great fear.(pg. 35 st. 40)”. By fighting this battle Arjuna is following his dharma and fulfilling his “sacred duty”.

Bhakti

Krishna tells Arjanu how to attain moksha by following the principles of bhakti when he says, “He who really knows my divine birth and my action, escapes rebirth when he abandons the body-- and he comes to me, Arjanu” (pg. 50 st. 9). Krishna wants Arjanu to rid himself of his perceived reality and only focus on him. Krishna also tells him “Men who always follow my thought, trusting it without finding fault, are freed even by their actions” (pg. 45 st. 31). This shows that when Arjanu detaches from “the body” and focuses on Krishna, any action that he does will bring him closer to being released from samsara.

Moksha

Arjanu says,“Honor forbids us to kill our cousins...how can we know happiness if we kill our own kinsmen?” (pg. 25 st. 37). This shows his attachment to the consequences of the battle. Krishna tells Arjuna that the way to find moksha is by no longer having attachments to this reality when he says “Impartial to joy and suffering, gain and loss, victory and defeat, arm yourself for the battle, lest you fall into evil.” (pg. 34 st. 38). Krishna also says “Action imprisions the world, unless it is done as sacrifice; freed from attachment...”(pg. 42 st. 9). Krishna is telling Anjanu that fighting this battle without attachment is fulfilling his karma marga which puts him on his path to moksha. 

Conclusion

Through the four principles we see that Arjuna’s indecision is caused by his attachments in the maya. Krishna tells him to live the principles of karma, dharma, bhakti, and moksha which will free him from the maya. Krishna teaches him that by fighting this battle and relinquishing any desired result Arjanu will be following his dharma and the will of Krishna. This will allow Arjanu to follow bhakti, escape his samsara, reach moksha, and enter into brahman-atman.