The sacred Indian scriptures, collectively known as the Vedas, derive their name from the root word vid, which means “knowledge”. Within the Vedas, the portion where spiritual teachings are directly discussed is called Vedanta, also known as Upanishad. However, the profound truths expressed in the Upanishads were often difficult for most people to comprehend. To make these spiritual insights more accessible, the wisdom of the Upanishads was conveyed through an epic story called Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part.
The Epic Tale of the Bhagavad Gita
The Gita begins on the eve of a great battle between two armies fighting for control of a kingdom in ancient India. The family of the Pandavas had been unjustly exiled and stripped of their territory by their own cousins, the family of the Kauravas.
The central characters of the Gita’s dialogue are Arjuna, the leader of the Pandavas, and Krishna, the charioteer of Arjuna’s war chariot, who is actually an incarnation of Vishnu, the supreme deity in Hindu culture.
As Arjuna surveys the opposing army, he sees the faces of his cousins, uncles, friends, teachers, and acquaintances. Overwhelmed by the prospect of fighting against his own family, Arjuna decides to lay down his weapons and refuses to fight. However, through his teachings, Krishna persuades Arjuna of the righteousness of his actions and convinces him to take up arms and wage war against the Kauravas.
Arjuna’s reluctance to fight stems from his fear of the negative consequences his actions may have on his soul. He chooses to remain passive, a mistake that many of us make in our own lives.
Unveiling the Wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita
We often believe that leading a spiritual life requires us to refrain from all kinds of action. It’s common to perceive successful people as inherently evil. The stereotypical image of an enlightened person is an elderly sage living on top of a mountain, having renounced all earthly temptations.
However, living an apparently religious life does not guarantee spiritual perfection. A hermit may become dependent on his cave, his cushion, his incense, and when faced with the threat of losing his possessions, he may lose his composure entirely. In truth, it is much easier to pretend to lead a spiritual life in isolation than in the daily chaos of everyday living.
The Path of Karma Yoga
To change Arjuna’s mind, Krishna expounds the basics of Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is action free from ego and personal desires. When we act without our false sense of identity, our actions serve the divine consciousness and arise spontaneously from it. Through Karma Yoga, any action can become a prayer and an act of devotion to God.
Whatever we choose to do in life can become an expression of the divine within us. We can pray through creating a successful business, playing football, or becoming poker champions, as long as our actions are free from ego and personal desires and are offered as a sacrifice to God.
Following Your Dharma
In a sense, Krishna, the embodiment of the divine will, wants each of us to honor our own dharma, our unique purpose in life, and achieve our highest potential. For Arjuna, this means becoming the leader of his army.
To practice Karma Yoga and purify our actions from personal desires, we must choose to sacrifice our life for Krishna. In Hindu culture, reality is a reflection of God, and every person is an incarnation of the divine. As Krishna says, “I am the true essence in the heart of all creatures. I am their beginning, their middle, and also their end.”
Thus, sacrificing oneself doesn’t only mean serving God in an absolute sense but also serving every person we encounter in our daily lives. When you sacrifice for others, you are actually sacrificing for God as well. A mother caring for her child is, in essence, sacrificing herself for God. Sacrifice is synonymous with love.
Nature itself is a relationship of sacrifice and love. The Sun sacrifices itself to give light to the Earth. The rain sacrifices itself to make the grass grow. The grass sacrifices itself to provide energy to the animals. Unfortunately, this concept has largely been lost in our modern culture.
Sacrifice and Karma Yoga
When Native Americans hunted buffalo, they thanked the divinity within the animal for sacrificing itself and providing them with energy. For them, the sacrifice of a buffalo was a truly sacred event. When Europeans invaded America and began to slaughter buffalo without restraint, it was a sacrilege to the Native Americans.
The sacrifice Krishna asks of Arjuna is to follow his Dharma, and engage in battle against the Kauravas. The question each of us must ask ourselves is “How can I serve, sacrifice, and love God by following my dharma?”
For a sculptor, the best way to serve God is to fully express his abilities by creating sculptures, free from personal desires, allowing their actions to become a manifestation of the divine will.
The most important and pragmatic teaching of the Gita, in my opinion, is this: when we follow our dharma and act free from ego and personal desires, there is no difference between a life of contemplation and a life dedicated to action. As Krishna says to Arjuna:
“When you follow your vocation, you worship the Creator of all living beings, and through this, you attain perfection.”
By embracing the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita and the path of Karma Yoga, we can transform our actions into sacred offerings, aligning ourselves with the divine will and discovering our true purpose in life.