Chapter 1:
Plot Summary:
The first chapter in the bhagavad gita is simply showing us the setting as it is all about what the Pandavas see on the battlefield
Just before the Battle one of the five pandavas undergoes an emotional crisis and doesn't want to fight his cousins, teachers, family. But Krishna (God) explains to him that it is his duty to fight for righteousness. If he dies then he would have a dutiful death and if he won then righteousness would prevail.
Learning Summary:
- Forsaking your duty will result in more pain and disharmony than death
- Even during times of confusion, if we are holding God's hand, learning will emerge.
Chapter 2
Plot Summary:
In this chapter instead of sympathizing with Arjuna, Krishna explains to him the importance of his duty and helps him overcome his weakness in his heart so that he can do what is necessary to win his inner emotional battle
This conversation also leads to krishna becoming Arjuna’s spiritual guide/master. He will eventually guide and answer arjuna’s questions that will lead to him to establish himself in equipoise and then perform his duties
Learning Summary:
- Atma cannot be destroyed or created
- We can only focus on our action not their outcomes
- Your Duty always brings you joy and peace
- We must become a sthitpragya (one that controls his/her senses and is self-contented)
- We should avoid desires and worldly pleasures and focus on our duties and karma
Chapter 3:
Plot:
Arjuna is still confused. He thinks that sankhya -yoga means that one should retire from active life and practice penance and austerities. But Krishna says, “no. Fight! But do it in a spirit of renunciation and offer all the results to the Supreme. This is the best purification. By working without attachment, one attains the Supreme.”
Performing actions for the pleasure of the Lord guarantees material prosperity and freedom from sinful reactions. Even a self-realized person never gives up his duty. He acts for the sake of educating others.
Arjuna then asks the Lord what it is that causes one to engage in sinful acts. Krishna answers that it is lust which induces one to sin. This lust bewilders one and entangles one in the material world. Lust presents itself in the senses, mind, and intelligence, but it can be counteracted by self - control.
Learning Summaries:
- There are two ways to attain culmination, Gyan Yog (Path of Knowledge) or Karma Yog (Path of Action)
- Karma Yog (Path of Action) is considered superior to Gyan Yog as it takes more effort to live a life and dedicate all actions to God rather than to mediate for life.
- You are always doing some action
- Since you are always acting you should invest that time into actions that will benefit all
- Everyone is born to attain the supreme goal and if not they have wasted their lives and will return to the birth - death cycle.
- God has created this world not for himself but for us to experience life and attain the supreme goal
- Egoistic People think they are doing the action but really humans are just the doers of Gods actions
- You should always keep your senses under control or you will waiver when it comes to your duty
- Desires and Anger are the enemies of karma yog
(*Discontinued plot summaries as there isn’t much of a development in the plot from after Chap 3)
Chapter 4:
Learning Summary:
- God is unborn, inimitable and the regulator of all beings
- When one comprehends true perception they connect with god at a divine level
- One must be aware of how their ancestors performed their duties so that they can follow their foot steps and perform their duty
- Do your duty happily but don't expect any happiness from the outcome
- Everything is Bhrama! Self realisation is simply accepting and becoming a part of it
- The prasad from spiritual yagna is bliss & joy
- One who has attained true perception is not distracted
- One must give up skepticism to become a karma yogi
Chapter 5:
Learning Summary:
- Karma Yoga is considered superior to Sankhya Yog as it takes more to act and live your life then simply meditate
- The characteristics of a Karma Yogi : Intellect (takes right decisions) , Controlled Mind (detached) , Controlled Sense (In control) and identification of consciences
- One who has established their divinity attains lasting peace
- Renouncing all actions and attaining self control establishes one in peace
Chapter 6:
- One who does his work without expecting the fruits of the results is a true karma yogi
- One should concentrate and control their senses
- One who sees God in everything will never lose God
- You need to discipline your mind and body for meditation
Chapter 7:
- There is nothing but God, we are all a part of him
- He is in the water, in the sun, in the air we breath, God is everywhere
- God is the intelligence in the intelligent and the glory in the glorious
- God is neither a part of Satva, Rajas and Tamas nor are they a part of him
- 4 types of people worship god: the desperate, the seeker of wealth, the seeker of wisdom and the man of wisdom (Jnani)
- The Jnani is the best one and is favoured by god as his mind and intellect are established in god
- The ignorant don’t recognise God as an imperishable, unborn , supreme deity
- God knows all beings in the past, present and the future
Chapter 8:
- Brahman is the indestructible
- Adhyatma is one’s own self
- Adhibhuta is all perishable object
- Adidev is not changing , always there like the Sun
- Great souls have reached God with the highest perfection and have been relieved of the birth, death and rebirth cycle.
Chapter 9:
- This chapter is about the yoga of supreme knowledge
- This knowledge is sovereign, holy, secret, easy to practice and imperishable
- In order to get close to God we must have constant and firm faith in him
- All of the beings that don’t abide by God, just haven’t realized God
- Those you don’t have faith in God remain in the birth and death cycle
- During the “end” all enter God’s Prakriti and then at the beginning of creation God sends them forth again.
- The world is constantly destroyed and then recreated
- You can worship anything as everything is a part of God, whether that be rivers or plants
- Even if a sinner worships God with exclusive devotion he will become a saint as he has rightly resolved.
- For God, all beings are equal
Chapter 10:
- This chapter is about the yoga of divine glories
- Even the sages and saints don’t fully know the Supreme
- Those that know of God share this realization
- Ek Roop - 1 God
- Anek Roop - Many Gods
- God has existed forever, he is the beginning, the middle, the end, the before the beginning, the before the end.
- God is everything (objects, places, people, time)
Chapter 11:
- This Chapter is about the Yoga of the Divine Form
- In this chapter Arjun is cleared of all doubts and requests to see the lord's divine form if he deems fit
In this part arjun sees the lord and there are multiple descriptions but none can be so accurate so chose to leave it out
- Krishna (The Lord) gives Arjuna the divine eye as human eyes cannot see the lord
- Arjuna then see’s how the lord is everywhere
- Arjuna sees the annihilation of both armies in the lord
Chapter 12:
- In this chapter Arjun compares Bhakti Yog with Gyan Yog
- Arjun wants to know which method of devotion are better:
1) Direct Devotion without form
2) Devotion and Worship through a form
- God tells him that Bhakti yog is easier for most to achieve in comparison to gyan yog but they both reach the same goal.
- God Describes how to practice devotion:
- Establish intellect in God,
- dedicate action to God,
- relinquish fruit of action ,
- dedicate work to God
- God treats everyone the same (sinners and devotee’s)
Chapter 13:
- Kshetra is the field where one can work out ones karma.
- One who realizes this sublime truth is called Kshetrajna the knower of absolute truth.
- Lord Krishna briefs Arjuna about different forms of Kshetras and that internally all Kshetras had same entity
- A believer of wisdom of sages and saints of different era who gained enlightenment in their lifetime, believer of various Vedas and Brahma Sutras must also believe in concept of Kshetra and Kshetrajna.
Chapter 14:
- Someone who is aware has the ability to balance their Guna’s hence change the course of their lives.
- In order to attain liberation one must stop being lazy and take action, but the action has to be for the greater good of humanity
Chapter 15:
- This chapter is about Purushothama Yoga
- One must understand that everything has come from the universal source (God)
- With the example of a tree:
- The Roots are the supreme spirit
- The trunk is Atma or Brahman
- Cosmos are the branches
- Holy books / scriptures are the leaves
- Individual souls are the fruits & flowers.
Chapter 16:
- We all have good and bad qualities
- We have to enhance the 26 divine qualities mentioned in this chapter
- Some divine qualities are :
- fearlessness
- honesty
- Some wrong qualities consist of:
- Ego
- Jealousy
- Pride
- Anger
- If we don’t change our habits and start to posses more of the divine qualities we will be walking on the path of ignorance
Chapter 17:
- Everything and everyone is made up of the three gunas
- Satogun
- Rajogun
- Tamogun
- Faith is built on the 3 gunas
- Your character/ behavior is impacted majorly by the dominant presence of one of the Gunas
Chapter 18:
- Renunciation is a method through which someone can attain liberation
- True sanyasa is giving up ego
- What is renunciation? Renunciation is giving up all of the fruits of action to god
- What is Sanyas? Sanyas is giving up a desire prompted by an action of some sort
- All actions are dominated by the presence of one Guna (eg. Satvick Action)
- We must just put in our best effort and receive the results as God’s wish
- Where there is a man like Arjun - who is ready to do his duties (gaandeevdhaari Arjun), and where there is God - the ishwar of all Yog (Yogeshwar).......prosperity, divinity, purity and bliss will prevail
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