Teachings of Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred and ancient text, which has its origins thousands of years ago. Even though it’s an old text, it teaches us about many important aspects of life, and those teachings can also be applied to our day-to-day lives. Some of those teachings that are taught in the Bhagavad Gita are Dharma, the 3 Gunas, and ethical conduct.  

Dharma:

Duty, moral code, what’s right and wrong, Selfless service

(2nd chapter, 3rd chapter, 5th chapter, 16th chapter, 18th chapter)

The Bhagavad Gita has 2 meanings for Dharma. They are righteous and duty. In chapter 1(shlokas 28 - 47), Arjuna refuses to fight the war, because he believes that killing his family members is not righteous. Arjuna thinks that by killing them, he will accumulate sin. Arjuna continues on in the beginning of chapter 2(shlokas 5-9), saying that his refusal for war is not fear, but instead, since he can not fight an unfair war (by killing his relatives, whom he respects very much). Arjuna then tells Krishna that he is very confused on what to do, whether he should fight the war or not. 

Krishna continues in chapter 2 and tells Arjuna that he has to fight the war since it is his Dharma(duty). He also encourages Arjuna to fight the war, since he says that he is fighting a righteous war for the protection of righteousness, which is the greatest duty to do for a Kshatriya. Krishna then tells Arjuna that by not fighting the war, he’ll accumulate sin, since he is not performing his duty, and he’ll fail to fulfill the 4 causes of his existence. Krishna further goes on and tells Arjuna the other consequences he will face if doesn’t fight the war, such as being disrespected, and losing his name and fame, which is important for a Kshatriya(warrior). Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 3 that he has not reached a state where he doesn’t need to perform any duties, so he tells Arjuna to perform his duty selflessly to reach god. Krishna then continues to tell Arjuna that he shouldn't give up his Dharma, though it has flaws. And if he does so, it will be calamitous. In chapter 4(shlokas 21-22), and chapter 18(shloka 17), Krishna tells Arjuna that if he has to engage in unrighteous action(killing) for self-protection (In Arjuna’s case, killing, because he’s fighting a war) if he performs those actions with certain qualities, such as freedom of desire, even-mindedness, freedom of pleasure and pain, etc, the sin of this action won’t touch him. In chapter 18, Krishna again reminds Arjuna of his duty as a warrior once again and tells him that by following his duty with diligence, he’s worshiping god. Krishna then tells Arjuna that even if he refuses to fight the war, his tendencies will force him to fight the war. The Gita teaches us that one should follow his Dharma(duty) with no desire, and while doing so, one should engage in dharmic actions(performing actions that must be performed for one’s duty in spirit of Yajna). 

Gunas:

Attributes, is defined through past lives, can be changed, people sway through the 3 gunas, one must go beyond them

(14th and 17th chapter)

Another topic taught in the Bhagavad Gita is the 3 gunas. In the 14th chapter, it says that the 3 gunas are qualities, known as Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Sattva Guna is the best among the 3 gunas, since those who are predominantly Sattva, engage in good actions, seek knowledge, and are pure. Rajas Guna makes a man greedy, restless, quick-tempered, and never satisfied. Tamo Guna, which is the worst among the 3 gunas, makes a person sleepy, lazy, and confused and causes a person to only exist, not live. In Sloka 10, it says that each person has these 3 gunas, and there are times that a guna will be more dominant than the others. Based on the predominant guna of a person when he/she dies, he will go to heaven and be reborn as a good person, be reborn as a human being with endless desires and ambitions, or go to hell and be reborn as beasts and insects. But if a person wishes for liberation, he must go beyond the 3 gunas, since they all bind one to the cycle of births and deaths. He must be even-minded, undisturbed by the 3 gunas, and fix his attention on the Self. By doing so, one will reach the supreme lord, who is everlasting, the embodiment of perfect dharma, and is untainted by sorrows. 

In chapter 17, Krishna tells Arjuna about how a person's past qualities affect his current Gunas, and that his future actions will affect his future Gunas. Krishna says that all people are born with these 3 gunas, and that it’s impossible to not have any Gunas. The gunas affect a person's prayer, since those with Sattva Guna worship gods, with selfless attitude, those with Rajo Guna worship demons and demigods with a desire to gain wealth and power. And those with Tamo Guna worship demons and ghosts with evil intentions, such as hurting other people. Krishna then continues to talk about how these gunas affect a person's preferences, such as food habits, and the way a person performs his duty, charities, and penance. Those with Sattva guna perform duty, charities, and penance with devotion, faith, concentration, and in Yajna spirit following the commands and rules in the scriptures. Those with Rajo Guna perform them with great show and pampore, trying to show off their wealth and power. They are not performed with humility, but instead with ego, and a desire for name, fame, and recognition for performing these acts. Those with Tamo Guna perform these acts with laziness, no devotion, and don’t follow the rules of the scriptures. They perform these actions incorrectly and with a desire to inflict pain upon others. The Gita teaches us about the major influence the 3 Gunas play in our lives, Satva, Rajas, and Tamas. It tells us how they affect us, and the way to go beyond the Gunas and reach the lord

Ethical Conduct:

Divine qualities, Demonic qualities, thought process of a demonic mind, gates to bad life, how one should perform actions

(16th and 17th chapter) 

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Another topic taught in the Bhagavad Gita is ethical conduct. Arjuna says in chapters 1 and 2 the reason he refuses to fight is that he can not fight an unfair war, by killing his relatives, whom he respects very much. But in chapters 3 and 4, Krishna tells Arjuna that the act of killing isn’t wrong, but the motive behind it is what makes it right or wrong. He reminds Arjuna in chapters 2 and 18, that he has to perform his duty as a warrior, otherwise, he’ll commit sin, and break his ethical code, by committing unrighteous actions. Krishna then tells him that god has blessed him with this duty, and by not performing his duty, he’ll fail to worship god and will go against the commands of the Sastras and Vedas, which say to perform one’s duty, no matter the flaws it has. In Chapter 16, Krishna tells us the qualities of a divine person and a demonic person. Qualities such as fearlessness, purity of mind, non-violence, truthfulness, absence of desire, and freedom from anger take one to heaven. And qualities such as arrogance, pride, anger, harshness in thought and speech, and absence of discrimination take one to hell. 

Krishna continues on and tells the mindset of a demonic person, and how they speak and act. Demonic people lack discrimination, they don't know whether the actions they are doing are good, or bad. They are unclean in all 3 ways - thought, word, and deed. They view life from a small, evil viewpoint, and think that this is the only life, and that there will be no consequences of their actions. Filled with ignorance, they believe that god doesn’t exist. They think that since there is no lord, there will be no consequences of the evil actions one does. Due to this mindset, they fail to gain knowledge of the self, and instead fall down and commit evil actions, wasting this precious human birth given to them by god. Filled with evil qualities, such as pride, ego, and arrogance, they worship evil forces, such as demons and ghosts. They create endless desires, which they chase for their entire life, without any satisfaction for the desires that have been previously fulfilled. They are only greedy and eager to fulfill even more. Along with fulfilling desires, the only other thing demonic people care about is wealth. They view these 2, fulfillment of desires and wealth, as the highest goals in human life. Such people chase these 2 goals nonstop, no matter how many evil action they have to commit to attain them. They are ever restless, filled with greediness, and lack peace of mind and satisfaction. Such demonic people, instead of being happy with what they have earned, instead think “I have earned this much wealth, and defeated this many enemies. Tomorrow, I will earn even more wealth, and defeat even more enemies. I alone deserve to enjoy these luxuries. No one else can enjoy them, since they are below me, I am the greatest among all” With such a deluded thought process, such people get trapped in the web of ignorance, and become addicted to worldly pleasures, causing them to fall to hell. Demonic people only praise and worship themselves. The boast about their possessions and achievements, and look down upon others who lack these things. Such demonic people are always possessed by lust and anger, as they disrespect the commands in the Vedas, Sastras, and make fun of those that are pure and virtuous. If such wicked people ever perform yagnas, Pujas, or Tapas, they do so with an evil intention of gaining more wealth than needed, or to hurt others. They perform such acts through evil ways, without regards to proper procedure. 

Krishna continues to say that such people, who disrespect the Lord, and those who talk bad of the people that follow the path of Dharma, will face the consequences of their actions in  hell, and will be reborn as beasts and insects. They will continue to sink lower and lower, and will be reborn again and again as germs, beasts, and insects. They will be unable to reach the path of Dharma, due to their dislike towards it. In sloka 21, Krishna tells Arjuna the 3 main gates to hell. They are desire, anger, and greed. If one seeks to reach God, one must give up these qualities. Once a person goes beyond these 3 evil qualities, through the constant practice of Dharma, he will slowly get closer and closer to God, until he reaches liberation. If one wishes to know what is right and wrong, they must follow the commands of the Vedas and Sastras, since they are the scriptures that give the knowledge required to attain discrimination. Without such knowledge, it will be impossible to know what actions to do, and what not to do. Krishna goes into so much depth on what not to do, so we can gain that knowledge. Through this knowledge, if an instance ever occurs where we are unsure on the right action to do when performing duty, we can use this knowledge given to us, so we can figure out the correct course of action. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Bhagavad Gita is an extensive text that teaches about many topics such as Dharma, the 3 Gunas, and ethical conduct. It has gone into detail about duty, and how to perform duty ethically. It also has extensively told about the qualities a human has, how they affect his tendencies and habits, and how to go beyond these qualities. The Bhagavad Gita also tells us the importance of the motive when one performs an action, that it is even more important than the action itself. And it also tells us the qualities a good and bad person has, and tells us how a bad person thinks, speaks, and conducts themselves. By teaching these topics, the Bhagavad Gita helps a person blossom his personality, be a better version of oneself and eventually be useful to society and world. This knowledge helps one walk the path of righteousness, helps one solve the many problems that come in our daily lives, lead a happy life and come closer to God. Hence everyone should learn the meaning of Gita and apply it in their daily lives.