there are specific themes in the gita:
"fight the battle," action in inaction, the importance of karma yoga, one's duty, the idea of karma vs dharma, the gunas, salvation, spiritual discipline, ignorance of avidya, maya, etc.
what's your favorite (if it's not here bring it forth),
go ahead.
3 comments:
My favorite theme in the Bhagavad Gita is the theme of transcendence. In the Bhagavad Gita, transcendence is described as a state of being at which one is operating above the three modes (gunas) of material nature: goodness (sattvas), passion (rajas), and ignorance and/or darkness (tamas).
When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in transcendence – devoid of all material desires – he is said to be well established in yoga (6.18).
As stated in the aforementioned verse, the activities of the yogī are much different from those of an ordinary person by his remission from all kinds of carnal desires. A perfect yogī is so well disciplined in the activities of the mind that he can no longer be disturbed by any kind of material desire.
I like this theme the most because it offers emancipation from our enslavement to sense gratification. By operating above these three modes, one sees everything with equal vision. Much like one who practices stoicism, the Bhagavad Gita preaches neutrality and detachment in any given situation. It preaches that one should engage one’s self in the devotional service (bhakti yoga) of the lord so that his identity with the material body will be forgotten.
I'm taken by the theme of Samsara; when one acknowledges that life and death are cyclical, a feeling of relief arises. When the realization comes that the end of this life isn't an end at all, you feel free, its liberating, fear has no hold on you. Seeing life from the viewpoint of Brahman lets the mind skip over the trivial annoyances and accepts the world as it is. Connecting to the verse that really rocked my socks, was from the second teaching, 22, the metaphor was perfect! The body is just an outfit, one that gets old and wrinkled and is discarded, then you get a new one and continue on. It makes the treachery of death seem so simple and casual...because it is...death is part of life.
I <3 Karma/Dharma!
When confronted with a tough affair we tend to ask ourselves, "why me? What did I do to deserve this?". Karma/Dharma enlightens us of the truth, we are suffering or profiting in this life due to how we once lived in another life. Therefore, we cannot covet another's dharma because those gifts obtained, are fruits of their karma.This, whatever it may be, that we're enduring is the fruit of our own actions.We all have our own dharma, and as Krishna clarifies "Your own duty done imperfectly is better than another man's done well. It is better to die in one's own duty; another man's duty is perilous".
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