The Srimad Bhagavad Gita, more commonly known as the Gita,
is part of the epic tale of Mahabharata. The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is a
dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, narrated in the Bhishma
Parva (part) of the Mahabharata. It comprises eighteen discourses of
a total of 701 Sanskrit verses. A considerable volume of material has
been compressed within these verses. On the battlefield of Kurukshetra,
Shri Krishna, during the course of his most instructive and interesting
talk with Arjuna, revealed profound, sublime and soul-stirring spiritual
truths, and expounded the rare secrets of Yoga, Vedanta, Bhakti and
Karma. All the teachings of Lord Krishna were subsequently recorded as the Celestial Song or Srimad Bhagavad Gita by Rishi Vyasa for the benefit of humanity at large. The world is under a great debt of gratitude to Rishi Vyasa who presented the Gita to the humanity for the guidance of their daily conduct of life, spiritual upliftment and self-realization. Those who are self-controlled and who are endowed with faith can reap the full benefit of the Gita, which is the science of the Soul.
Essence of the Gita
Man is a composite of three fundamental factors - will, feeling and cognition. There are three kinds of temperament-the active, the emotional and the rational. Even so, there are three Yogas-Jnana Yoga for a person of enquiry and rational temperament, Bhakti Yoga for the emotional temperament, and Karma Yoga for a person of action.
The central teaching of the Gita is the attainment of the final beatitude of life-perfection or eternal freedom. This may be achieved by doing one's prescribed duties of life. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna : "Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform action which is duty, for, by performing action without attachment, man verily reaches the Supreme".
The Gita again and again emphasises that one should cultivate an attitude of non-attachment or detachment. It urges an individual to live in the world like water on a lotus leaf. "He who does actions, offering them to Brahman and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin as a lotus leaf by water".
The Bhagavad Gita is a message addressed to each and every human individual to help him or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and progressing towards a bright future. This holy scripture is not just an "old scripture", nor is it just a book of "religious teachings", nor even a Hindu holy book. It transcends the bounds of any particular religion or race, and is actually divine wisdom addressed to mankind for all times, in order to help human beings face and solve the ever-present problems of birth and death, of pain, suffering, fear, bondage, love and hate.
It enables man to liberate himself from all limiting factors and reach a state of perfect balance, inner stability and mental peace, complete freedom from grief, fear and anxiety. Within its eighteen chapters, the entire human drama is revealed. This is the experience of everyone in this world, the drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter dejection, hopelessness and total breakdown to a state of perfect understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph.