BHAGAVAD-GITABETH BARNES, NADIA ELCHAER, GARRET SMITH

MAIN CHARACTERS• Dhritarashtra is the king of the Kurus. Blind since birth, he serves as the king of Hastinapura,

but is not the rightful ruler. The Gita begins with Dritarashtra aiming to keep the kingdom in the hands of his family, and willing to battle against Arjuna, the rightful heir, in order to keep it.

• Sanjaya is the wise sage who recounts the Gita epic to the blind king Dritarashtra, who cannot witness what is happening on the battlefield.

• The sons of "Pandu" are the Pandavas, and include Arjuna. The Pandavas have to fight the Kauravas for the kingdom of Hastinapura because the Pandavas have the rightful claim to it.

• Kauravas are the sons of Dhritarashtra. Duryodhana and his brothers are the Kauravas and they fight against Arjuna and the Pandavas.

• Duryodhana is the son of Dhriharashtra, who tries to bequeath him a kingdom which isn't rightfully his.

• Arjuna is the central figure of the Gita. He is Krishna's disciple. He is one of the five Pandava brothers, and next in line to take over Hastinapura

MAIN CHARACTERS CONTINUED• Krishna (Madhava) is technically an incarnation of Vishnu, and is the main character of

the Gita. Here in battle, he serves as Arjuna's charioteer, and comes to earth precisely to help Arjuna see his dharmic duty.

• Brahma-one of the most revered Hindu deities, and is also known as the Creator. Brahma shouldn't be confused with Brahman, which is a concept, as opposed to a manifested deity.

• Shiva completes the "Trinity" of deities with Brahma and Vishnu -- and is also known as the Destroyer.

• Yudhishthira-Arjuna's brother, and the rightful heir to the kingdom. • Vishnu is the Preserver, responsible for maintaining the cycle of dharma(law, morality,

duty, and obligation) and karma in the world

WEEKLY NOTES

• THE AUTHOR OF THIS WORK IS STILL UNKNOWN TO THIS DAY

• BHAGAVAD-GITA IS PART OF A BIGGER EPIC CALLED MAHABHARATA

• BHAGAVAD-GITA IS MOSTLY ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG, GOOD AND EVIL, KNOWN IN THIS STORY AS DHARMA

• IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE BACKGROUND OF THIS STORY…

OTHER NOTATIONS • The warfare in the Bhagavad Gita is a symbol of the ongoing conflict of life and

the struggle for the wisdom to live life in a way that is meaningful to us as individuals. It is the struggle between two warring tribes; it is also a struggle between right and wrong and between good and evil.

• At the beginning of the story, Arjuna, the hero, does not understand the nature of his struggle and wishes to withdraw from the war.

• The Bhagavad Gita is about making the correct choices through wisdom. Earthly actions are good or evil and have enduring consequences. Choices using true wisdom allow a person to ultimately gain eternal liberation.

CHAPTER 2• - LORD KRSNA TELLS ARJUNA THAT HE SHOULD NOT GRIEVE FOR THOSE THAT ARE

GONE BECAUSE THERE WILL NEVER BE A TIME WHERE THEY SHALL NOT EXIST (REINCARNATION)

• KRSNA EXPLAINS THAT THERE IS NO MURDERER AND VICTIM. THE BODY MIGHT BE GONE BUT THE SPIRIT LIVES ON. SO, KILLING SOMEONE SHOULD NOT STOP YOU FROM DOING THEIR DUTY.

• HE GOES ON TO EXPLAIN THAT A WARRIOR = A WARRIOR. WHETHER YOU SUCCEED OR FAIL. DO YOUR DUTY

• ARJUNA IS A WARRIOR SO HE SHOULD LOOK PAST THE RESULTS AND FOCUS ON DOING HIS DUTY. IF HE DOES NOT FIGHT IN THE BATTLE.

• IF HE VIOLATES HIS DHARMA (DUTY) AND HIS HONOR. YOU SUFFER A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH

CHAPTER 3

• ARJUNA ASKS IF KNOWLEDGE IS GREATER THAN ACTION, THEN WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME TO DO THIS APPALLING TASK

• ARJUNA IS CONFUSED ABOUT HOW TO BE THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY

• -THE BLESSED LORD IS JUST LIKE THERE ARE 2 PATH TO WISDOM; DISCIPLINE OF KNOWLEDGE AND DISCIPLINE OF ACTION.

• ( SUBDUE THOUGHT AND DESIRES ;DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO )

• - DON’T BE SELFISH. YOU ACHIEVE WISDOM BY BEING SELFLESS. YOU SERVE THE WELFARE OF THE WORLD NOT FOR YOURSELF.

CHAPTER 6

•YOGA=CONTROLLED IN THOUGHT AND SELF WITHOUT DESIRES AND POSSESSIONS

•- YOGA ( MEDITATION) PG. 1296

• - BECOMES ONE WITH SELF FREE FROM ALL DESIRES THEN HE IS

DISCUSSION COMPARE THE CONCEPTS OF DUTY AND OBLIGATION AS DEPICTED IN ANTIGONE AND BHAGAVAD-GITA. WHAT SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES ARE THERE? ARE ANY OF THE IDEAS UNIQUE TO THESE CULTURES, OR CAN YOU SEE EVIDENCE OF SIMILAR IDEAS IN OUR SOCIETY?

• DUTY- THE GOD(KRISHNA) TELLS ARJUNA THAT HIS DUTY IT TO BE A WARRIOR. AND GOD SAYS TO HIM IF YOU ABANDON THAT THEN YOU WILL ABANDON YOUR DUTY AND HONORED NAME.

•  THE GOD TALKS ABOUT HOW EVERYONE HAS A PLACE, LIKE ALL WHO DIE ARE BORN AND ALL WHO BORN MUST DIE AND HE IS SAYING DON’T MOURN DEATH.

•  OBLIGATION- SINCE ARJUNA CAN NOT LEAVE HIS DUTY BECAUSE IT WILL ABANDON HIS HONORED NAME, ITS HIS OBLIGATION TO DO THAT AND TO DO IT WITHOUT ATTACHMENT ACCORDING TO THE GOD KRISHNA.

•  IDEAS UNIQUE TO THIS STORY- WHEN IT SAYS THAT SELF IS ABOVE SENSES MIND AND INTELLECT, SEEMS KIND OF SELFISH. (WHAT TYPE OF SELF?)

•  IDEAS SIMILAR TO OUR SOCIETY- THE IDEA THAT WE SHOULD TRY NOT TO BE TOO SHAKEN BY DEATH BECAUSE IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE.

•  SIMILAR TO CHRISTIANITY BY SAYING THERE IS SOMEONE OR SOMETHING THAT MAKES A MAN DO BAD THINGS, KIND OF LIKE THE DEVIL.