Krishna's book - the Bhagavad-gita
Bhagavad-gita Page
The Bhagavad-gita. It looks like a book. Well, yeah it is a book, but inside this book . . .
Bhagavad-gita. Is it a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna on a battlefield over five thousand years ago? Well, yeah. How is that relevant to us? What did they talk about?
Arjuna had a problem. He was getting ready to fight a war, and at the last minute, when all the armies were already on the battlefield, he decided he didn’t want to fight anymore.
He had family on the other side. Friends. His teachers were over there. his grandfather was over there. all of a sudden, the idea of fighting them all to the death was the last thing Arjuna wanted to do:
"Killing is wrong. I shouldn’t be here. I should just go away, or just let them kill me. . ."
Sounds nice. Arjuna was a peaceful man. He didn’t want to hurt anybody. But his friend, Krishna, had a whole different perspective.
He said, "First of all, Arjuna, you’re not that body. Body and soul are different. You can’t kill the soul. None of these personalities is going to stop existing, ever—not you, not me, all these warriors. . .
"At the same time, it’s My plan that everyone here is going to die—at least their temporary bodies are going to come to an end—and I've already done it. it’s a done deal.
All you need to do is be My instrument for getting the job done."
Then Krishna explains everything to Arjuna. And I mean everything. The nature of the soul. How the soul is different from the body. How did all these eternal souls wind up in temporary bodies. What are we supposed to do in this world. Are we supposed to stay here forever? Who is God, and what does He have to say about all this?
Bhagavad-gita (literally, the song of God). Krishna telling it like it is. Always relevant. You got questions, at least, really good philosophical ones? Bhagavad-gita has a lot of really good philosophical answers.
Find out more about Bhagavad-gita in this section. You’ll find excerpts, book reviews, lectures on Bhagavad-gita, what scholars say about it, the story behind the Gita, the entire Bhagavad-gita online, online eCourses to study the Gita in-depth.
It looks like a book, but there’s a lot to it. it’s actually a whole lifestyle. Is that OK?
Bhagavad-gita Online version(s)
Online edition of the renowned Bhagavad-gita, “The Song of God.” Translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
- Read Bhagavad-gita online.
- Listen to the audio book.
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- Learn more about the Bhagavad-gita through an E-course.
The Bhagavad-gita is the main source book on Bhakti yoga and a concise summary of India’s Vedic wisdom. It explains how to act for God in our life and develop our love for Him, the three modes of material nature, the divine and demoniac natures, and much more.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is is the largest-selling, most widely used edition of the Gita in the world. It includes the original Sanskrit text, the English equivalent for each Sanskrit word, prose translations, plus elaborate commentary on each verse.
"The Macmillan Miracle"
by Satyaraja dasa
The Bhagavad-gita was important to Srila Prabhupada. He saw it as the perfect book to convey Krishna consciousness, as it consists of the Lord's own words and His interactions with His loving devotee. In 1939, just seven years after Prabhupada was initiated by his spiritual master, he wrote a lengthy introduction to the book in English, presaging his full translation and commentary, which appeared soon after he began his mission in the West.
When Prabhupada arrived in New York in 1965, he gave priority to his work on the Gita. In India he had already completed a translation, spanning well over a thousand pages, but it was stolen. In March 1966, Prabhupada was adjusting to life in the Western world when he met with another loss: his typewriter, cassette recorder, and several books were taken from him. But he was resilient and determined to complete his work. In 1967 he finished the new manuscript, again over a thousand pages, and resolved to get a major publisher so that his message would be heard throughout the world.
At the time, Allen Ginsberg, famous poet of the Beat Generation, was visiting the New York temple, and he was enjoying a friendly relationship with Srila Prabhupada. Since Ginsberg was an experienced published author, Prabhupada asked him to show the manuscript to his benefactors, which Ginsberg did. But they were unimpressed, claiming the book had little commercial value.
Prabhupada then gave the manuscript to Rayarama Dasa, an early disciple with some experience in the publishing world. Rayarama, too, was unsuccessful in his attempts, his contacts explaining their hesitation in much the same way that Ginsberg's did.
The Miracle Begins
Enter Brahmananda Dasa (Bruce Scharf), one of Prabhupada's earliest disciples. He vividly relates the story as if it were yesterday, though it was more than forty years ago.
"I didn't know anything about publishing," he admits. "But Prabhupada put the manuscript in my hands, saying, 'You must get this published.' So I knew what I had to do."
What he didn't know was how to do it. If Ginsberg and Rayarama couldn't get the book published, how would he?
"I bought a couple of books on publishing, and I was about to take a publishing course at New York University-I just didn't know what to do. Still, Prabhupada wanted me to get the book published, and that was that."
Around this time, the devotees had released the "Happening" album, an assortment of devotional songs sung by Prabhupada with musical accompaniment. They had placed an ad for the record in the Village Voice and were receiving orders from various parts of the East Coast.
One such order came from uptown Manhattan, relatively close to the little storefront serving as a temple for Prabhupada and his early disciples. Brahmananda brought the letter to his master.
"Look, Swamiji [as Prabhupada was then called]. It's an order from Macmillan. They're one of the biggest publishers in the world."
Prabhupada gazed knowingly into his disciple's eyes and gave the following directives: "Do not mail out this order as we do with others. Instead, bring the record to Macmillan's offices and hand deliver it to the person who sent us the letter."
Brahmananda nodded, aware that Krishna was using him as an instrument.
"When you deliver the album," Prabhupada continued, "tell them that you are a disciple of a guru from India and that he has translated the Bhagavad-gita. They will publish it. Do not worry."
Brahmananda was stunned. Prabhupada seemed so confident. There was no doubt the book would get published-and by Macmillan! One couldn't do much better than that.
Wading in the Ocean of Nectar
The next day, dressed in suit and tie, Brahmananda made his way up to the Macmillan skyscraper at 866 Third Avenue, just off 52nd Street. His expectations as large as the building itself, he was disappointed when he learned that the order for the album had come from a clerk in the mailroom.
"This really had nothing to do with the publishing company-it was just a simple worker who had some interest in mantras and meditation."
So Brahmananda dutifully delivered the album and had pretty much given up hope that his teacher's Gita would get published. Just then, in the midst of polite small talk with the clerk, a young executive happened to appear, hoping to collect his mail. The clerk introduced him to Brahmananda.
"This is James O'Shea Wade, our senior editor."
Brahmananda seized the moment.
"I am a disciple of a guru from India," he said, trying to repeat Prabhupada's words verbatim. "He has translated the Bhagavad-gita."
"What?" Wade responded, incredulously. "We've just published a full line of spiritual books, and we were looking for a Bhagavad-gita to fill out the set."
Brahmananda's mouth dropped open. Though at a loss for words himself, he contemplated the potency of Prabhupada's: "They will publish it. Do not worry."
Wade then broke the awkward silence.
"You bring in the manuscript tomorrow," he offered, "and we'll publish it, sight unseen."
Brahmananda raced back down to the storefront and told Prabhupada the news. In his own inimitable way, Prabhupada was nonchalant, as though he knew what would transpire before it happened.
Firsthand Corroboration
Now, are these the memories of an over-zealous disciple, an exaggerated footnote in ISKCON's forty-year history? I decided to find out.
I found James Wade, and he confirmed the events in question. He remembered the incident with tremendous clarity, supporting Brahmananda's story. And he offered an addendum.
"I vividly remember the stir caused in our rather sedate and boring office the day the Swami came to visit, accompanied by followers in orange robes."
Apparently, Prabhupada himself brought the manuscript the day after Brahmananda's brief visit to Macmillan.
Wade shared his thoughts about Prabhupada's spirituality.
"I remember the Swami as being a very imposing and striking figure, with a powerful spiritual aura. His like had never before been seen in the Macmillan offices. Around that time we also published Alan Watts and John Bleibtreu, who was involved in the spiritual and communal movement called Arica. Macmillan had a tradition of publishing books about spirituality and religion at that time. I think that ended not long after I left to become the editor-in-chief of the now defunct World Publishing Company. But the Swami was special. That was clear."
I asked Wade to elaborate on that fateful meeting.
"Our office was a rather austere, coolly modern place as far as decor. I remember having some apprehension about how comfortable the Swami would feel in this rather alien setting, but it turned out that he was a man who was at peace and at home in any environment. I remember him as a rather tall man, physically imposing. But of course, he wasn't, being rather small in stature and not at all daunting. Quiet, modest, and surrounded by a kind of stillness, a peacefulness that was, well, welcoming. I can't think of a more precise word. He was in the world and, at the same time, not of it. He knew that we live in a world of illusion-something science has also taught us, as we go from sub-atomic particles and quantum mechanics to string theory. I remember that he wanted the Bhagavad-gita As It Is to get the widest possible exposure in the US. As I recall, things like the Hare Krishna movement were in the very early stages. Alternative spirituality-ranging from Zen to Tibetan Buddhism, for example-had not then touched the minds and spirits of people the way such alternatives do today for so many."
James Wade was senior editor at Macmillan from 1965 to 1969. But in his few years at their offices, he made history by publishing a pure devotee's edition of the Bhagavad-gita. The abridged version came out first, in 1968, and because of seeds James Wade planted, Macmillan published Prabhupada's unabridged Bhagavad-gita As It Is in 1972.
A Translation with Spiritual Power
Srila Prabhupada's translation and commentary are not merely his own; they bring to bear the insights of his predecessors in disciplic succession. And so he titled his edition "As It Is." The name boldly announces to his readers that this is not yet another interpretation but rather the original message of the book's initial speaker: Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Accordingly, Prabhupada's Gita was the first English edition to bring people to Krishna consciousness, to make them devotees of Krishna, which is the book's intended purpose (see Bg. 18.65).
Prabhupada's Gita went on to become the most important edition in the modern world, often outselling both popular and scholarly translations. Claiming millions of readers in some fifty-five languages, from Polish to Japanese, German to Azerbaijani, Danish to Croatian, English to numerous Indian languages, Srila Prabhupada's Gita is a phenomenon. It can be found in homes, bookstores, research libraries, and academic institutions around the world.
The history of Prabhupada's meeting with Macmillan shows that James Wade, then a senior editor, served as an instrument in the hands of Krishna, who had already signed the contract.
The Gita: Condensed
by Kalakantha dasa
In 1968 His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada published the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, which has since sold tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages. As a lifetime devotee of Krishna and a consummate Sanskritist, Srila Prabhupada spells out the clear conclusions of the Gita that are often obscured by arms-length commentators with their own agenda. Srila Prabhupada's purports (commentaries) illuminate for us the verses spoken by Krishna and Arjuna. The following condensed version of their historic conversation combines key points from the verses and purports in the same sequence as the original. These are not direct quotes and thus cannot replace the complete Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Instead, this version provides an overview of the philosophical thread of the Gita. It is consistent with Srila Prabhupada's comprehensive edition and can be used for introduction or review.
Part 1: Action
Arjuna: Krishna, please drive my chariot between the two armies. Let me see which followers of that criminal Duryodhana have come here to fight.
Krishna (Steering the fine golden chariot between the two huge armies facing each other on the vast, flat battlefield): Just see, cousin, all the great warriors assembled here.
Arjuna (aghast): Krishna, I can’t fight all these dear relatives, teachers, and elders. My whole family would be destroyed. I’d rather die, or just live as a beggar.
Krishna (smiling kindly) : You forget that everyone is an eternal soul, not a physical body. You can kill the body but not the soul.
Arjuna: Krishna, how could I kill these worshipable men? Any victory would be tainted with their blood. I don’t know what to do. Please instruct me.
Krishna: My friend, you’re a warrior. Fight, but not for yourself. Fight for the Supreme. Then you’re acting as the eternal soul you truly are. Fight all varieties of materialism and be a yogi.
Arjuna: What do yogis do? How do they behave?
Krishna: Yogis perform their external duties without attachment because they have mastered their mind and senses. They enjoy an inner happiness that is lost to most people.
Arjuna: You’re telling me to be happy within and fight at the same time. That’s a contradiction.
Krishna: You can’t live without acting, Arjuna. Instead of acting for yourself, turn what you do into a sacrifice for the Supreme. Then you’ll be happy.
Arjuna: What is this power pushing me toward acting selfishly?
Krishna: Lust, Arjuna, born of festering desire. Lust destroys your ability to think clearly. For a long time I’ve been teaching people how to use yoga to conquer lust. I taught the Sun-god, who taught his son, who started a long chain of teachers. Somehow, though, the original knowledge has been lost, so today, dear friend, I’ll teach it to you Myself.
Arjuna: How could You teach the Sun-god, who’s so much older than You?
Krishna: Ordinary bodies age and die, Arjuna, but My body is spiritual and never deteriorates. From time to time I appear in society to help the good people and to vanquish the bad. Good people get rid of their lust and turn their love to Me. But there are many kinds of people, and I respond to everyone individually.
Act for My sake, Arjuna. When you do, everything involved—your work, your equipment, your knowledge—becomes part of a blissful offering, a sacrifice for the Supreme. There are many ways to sacrifice, Arjuna, so you need to find a truly enlightened guru to help you sort them out.
Acting without attachment and acting for Me are both forms of yoga. However, by acting for Me you automatically act without attachment. Remember that I’m your friend, that I own everything, that all action is meant for Me. Then you’ll have endless inner peace. You’ll do your duty in perfect yoga, or union with Me. To do this you may find it helpful to perform the long austerities involved with the mystic process of yoga and meditation.
Arjuna: Making the mind sit still is like trying to control the wind. Mystic yoga seems too hard for me.
Krishna: Yes, it is hard, but it’s possible.
Arjuna: What if I start the path of yoga and fail? Then I’m a loser, materially and spiritually.
Krishna: If you do the right thing, how can you lose? At least in your next lifetime you’ll be better off. On the other hand, if you simply learn to serve Me with love, at death you’ll come to Me and leave this horrible world.
Part 2: Devotion
Krishna: Arjuna, just listen. You’re one of the rare souls who want to know the truth. Just try to understand these points:
Everything comes from Me, Arjuna, even the three types of materialism, which affect everyone except Me, their creator.
People who are materialistic, arrogant, falsely wise, or dull ignore Me. People turn to Me when they’re curious, desperate, sad, or wise.
People who think I’m just a mouthpiece for Brahman, the formless spirit, never get to know Me personally. But wise people who serve Me come to Me after death.
Arjuna: Tell me about this formless spirit, please, as well as the gods, the soul, karma, and Your presence in my heart. And, please, how do I know You at death?
Krishna: The formless spirit, or Brahman, is my spiritual effulgence, and the spark-like individual spirit souls are of the same spiritual substance. By nature, the individual souls serve, but if they choose to serve this endlessly changing world of matter they suffer karma. As for the gods, I create them to manage this material world. And yes, I do live in your heart as the Supersoul, Arjuna.
As for remembering Me at death, practice by thinking of Me as you fight. At other times think of Me as both ancient and fresh, grand and minuscule, but always as a person, shining like the sun. Mystic yogis train themselves with long, deep, mechanical meditation to leave their bodies at just the right time. That helps them proceed to Me in the spiritual world–the only world free of the extended misery of birth and death. But you can get there simply by remembering Me. In fact, by serving Me you gain whatever you might achieve from study, austerity, charity, renunciation, or any sort of religion.
Let Me tell you more. These lessons comprise the king of education, Arjuna. Because you have no envy toward Me you’re able to understand them. You must simply listen with faith.
I create the universe and everything in it, but I remain an individual, untouched by My creation. Fools see Me as an ordinary man, but great souls bow to Me and serve Me with love. Some offer great sacrifices to the gods instead, for they like the material enjoyment the gods can give them. But if one lovingly offers Me a little water or a flower or some vegetarian food, I accept it.
Even if you make a mistake, I’ll still accept you; I’m equal to everyone but partial to My devotees. Be My devotee, and I promise you’ll come to Me.
In short, just know that I create everything. Always serve and speak about Me, and you’ll be happy, for I, sitting in your heart, shall shine the lamp of knowledge and destroy all the ignorance in your life.
Arjuna: I love listening to You, Krishna. It seems that only You can truly know Yourself. How can I know You?
Krishna: When you see the best of anything—the shark among the fish, or lion among beasts, for example—think of Me. Yet anything wonderful you see in this world is just a spark of My true splendor.
Arjuna: Krishna, You have kindly dispelled my illusion. Although I see You now as You are, if You think I am able to behold it, please show me Your form in which You are the universe and everything within it.
Krishna: Yes, Arjuna. I shall give you divine eyes to see this divine vision.
Arjuna (amazed): Krishna, I see the huge gods with their weapons and jewels, dispersed on every planet, dazzling with every imaginable color. The blazing glory of it all surrounds and blinds me. And yet the gods bow in fear before You. Truly You are everything, Krishna! You see everything with your eyes, which are the sun and moon.
(fearful) Now I see You crushing the bodies of every living being with Your terribly sharp teeth. My relatives, my enemies—everyone is rushing into Your mouth! Why are You doing this?
Krishna: I am time, the death of all. All these warriors are already as good as dead, Arjuna. Fight as My weapon and win your fame!
Arjuna (trembling): Almighty Lord, I bow to You from every side! Every living thing should glorify You, but I have foolishly treated You as a friend. Please forgive me, as a father forgives a son or a wife forgives a husband. And please, let me see You again as Krishna.
Krishna: My universal form has frightened you, Arjuna. Be calm. Now see Me in the form you hold dear. Arjuna, even by performing every kind of good deed, a person will not see Me like this, as I am, as Krishna. Only by loving devotion can I be truly seen.
Arjuna: My Lord, should I contemplate You as Krishna or as infinite, formless spirit?
Krishna: Some people meditate on Me as an endless spirit. That kind of meditation is troublesome, but eventually they may achieve Me. But if you directly think of Me, I swiftly rescue you from the sea of birth and death.
If you can’t always think of Me, then hear and chant about me in the practice of bhakti, or devotional yoga. If you can’t do that, then work for Me, or at least work for charity, because detachment brings peace—more so than mere knowledge.
Those who think of Me in devotion show wonderful qualities of kindness, tolerance, steadiness, and determination. They love Me, and I love them.
Part 3: Spiritual Knowledge
Arjuna: Krishna, what is the relationship of the body and the soul?
Krishna: The body is like a field of action for the soul. An ordinary soul interacts with the body by using the senses and by feeling emotions such as lust and hate. However, taking help from a guru, a wise soul becomes detached from the material body. Such a person is humble, equipoised, and truly independent.
As the Supersoul, I offer guidance to all souls, however wise or unwise they may be. Each soul can choose between Me and materialism. Those who choose materialism suffer repeated birth and death in different species. Those who choose Me come to see the whole situation—the compassionate Supersoul and the plight of a spiritual soul encased in dull matter.
Let me tell you more about matter. It comes in three varieties, or modes: goodness, passion, and ignorance. As the seed-giving father, I bring dead matter to life by implanting the soul. Then the modes take over. Goodness forces the soul to happiness, passion to ambition, and ignorance to delusion. The three modes compete for supremacy, knocking you, the eternal soul, from one material situation to the next. Only when you are free of their control can you taste real happiness.
Arjuna: How does one rise above the three modes, and having conquered them, how does one behave?
Krishna: To conquer the modes and be free of karma, simply love and serve Me in every circumstance. Then as the modes come and go you’ll observe them without loving or hating them. At that point you’ll be unshakably calm and treat everyone equally.
Arjuna, imagine this world as a great, ancient banyan tree with branches that grow down to become roots. No one can figure out where such a tree begins or ends. If you want to escape its entangling branches, you must cut it down. Then you can enter My self-illumined abode, where there is no need of sunlight or electricity. When you go there, you won’t miss this mortal banyan tree.
I want everyone to come to My abode, so I sit in every heart as the Supersoul, offering guidance. I also write the Vedic literature so that people can understand Me. I exist beyond both the materialist and the enlightened soul. If you know Me, you’ll be wise and everything you do will come out perfect.
I’ve told you something about enlightened souls; they’re honest, pure, self-controlled, and detached. You are such a person, Arjuna, but I’d like you to hear something about the materialistic, atheistic demons.
Demons don’t know what to do or what not to do. They’re unclean, dishonest, and preoccupied with sex. Thinking My creation to be their personal property, they build costly, destructive weapons and feel powerful and proud. Their occasional pretenses of religion or charity are meaningless, for lust enslaves them. Chained to materialism by greed and anger, they fall into lower species of life birth after birth.
The Vedic scriptures, which could save them from such a fate, are of no interest to demons.
Arjuna: What becomes of those who don’t refer to the Vedas but make up their own ways of worship?
Krishna: Religion by imagination is a product of the three modes. In goodness one worships the gods, in passion, powerful demons, and in ignorance, ghosts.
The three modes affect everything, even your food. Juicy, fatty, wholesome foods are in goodness; bitter, salty, pungent foods are in passion, and stale, cold, putrid foods are in ignorance. The modes also influence what kind of charity you give and what kind of discipline you impose on yourself. Still, you should not renounce charity or penance.
Arjuna: What does it mean, then, for one to be renounced?
Krishna: Renunciation means detachment from the fruits of your work. One in the mode of goodness works dutifully but renounces the result. One in the mode of passion renounces work when it grows troublesome. One in ignorance renounces work out of laziness or confusion.
By seeing others as souls and acting with that understanding, you will stay in goodness. That takes a determined mind, but the initial trouble will later bring you happiness. Happiness in passion seems splendid at the start but ends up being painful. Happiness in ignorance, such as taking intoxicants, is bitter from beginning to end.
Those who work in goodness, or brahmanas, are often judges, teachers, or priests.
Kshatriyas, those who work in passion, are often administrators, police or soldiers. Passion and ignorance combine to produce vaishyas, businesspeople or farmers. Those largely in ignorance are called shudras, and they work as artisans, laborers or servants.
Regardless of the kind of work that best suits you, by doing your work for the Supreme you turn it to yoga and become enlightened. For that reason it’s better to do your own work imperfectly than someone else’s perfectly.
My dear Arjuna, here is a final summary of what I have been teaching you.
By serving Me you will learn to act and live in simple wisdom, controlling your mind and senses and renouncing the fruits of your work. Soon you will enjoy peace and insight as you achieve unprecedented happiness and appreciation for everyone. In such a state of mind you will attain My abode.
Think about Me and stay with My devotees; I will clear every obstacle from your path. If you become egoistic and think that you can make it on your own, you’ll be lost.
You’re a warrior, Arjuna; because of your nature you’ll fight no matter what. Fight for Me and you’ll return to your original home in My abode.
Now I’ve told you the secrets of perfection. Think over what I’ve said, and then do whatever you wish to do.
Since you are very, very dear to Me, I’ll conclude with this:
Think about Me always. Become My devotee. Worship Me and give Me homage, and you will return to Me. Give up all other duties, Arjuna, and submit yourself to Me. Don’t worry; I’ll free you from the results of any past mistakes.
Please, repeat these words of Mine, but only to pious people. That too shall ensure that you will return to Me, for no one is more dear to Me than one who shares this message. And anyone who hears it faithfully, without envy, attains to the worlds of the pious.
Arjuna, do you understand?
Arjuna (firmly): Infallible Krishna, You have destroyed my illusions and doubts. By your kindness I have remembered who I really am. Now, according to Your instructions, I shall fight.
Bhagavad-gita Audiobook
Bhagavad-Gita As It Is is the most widely read edition of this classic of world literature. It contains knowledge of five basic truths: Krishna (God), the individual soul, the material world, action in this world, and time. Bhagavad-gita thoroughly explains the nature of consciousness, the self, and the universe.
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Kanai Natashala: Where Sri Chaitanya's Ecstasy Awakened
By Sachinandana Swami
During the month of Karttika, which falls across October and November in the lunar calendar, devotees of Lord Krishna are advised to increase their concentration on His worship by dedicating their daily devotional hearing and chanting to Srimati Radharani, His eternal consort. This advisory for Karttika is best carried out in a secluded place, if possible. But anyone can apply this principle anywhere by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, which addresses both Radha and Krishna: “O energy of the Lord (Radha), O Lord (Krishna), please engage me in your service.”
Many years ago, during Karttika I briefly visited Kanai Natashala, in West Bengal, with a group of devotees and fell in love with its seclusion. It is surrounded by a dense jungle called the Jharikhanda Forest. Five hundred years ago, the forest animals here miraculously chanted Krishna’s names together under the influence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is Krishna Himself in the role of His greatest devotee, Radharani. The jungle is still an untouched wilderness of ornamental trees (the tamal and ashvattha), fruit- and flower-bearing trees (the chico, mango, golden champak, kadamba, and malati), and trees with medicinal properties. Kanai Natashala lies atop a tall rock formation and overlooks the majestic Ganges. Wildlife abounds. The Ganges is inhabited by dolphins, and the jungle by jaguars and snakes.
In late 2005, I returned to Kanai Natashala with an assistant and stayed there for Karttika. After a six-hour Jeep ride from ISKCON’s world headquarters in Mayapur, where we crossed the Ganges twice (once by bridge, once by ferry), we arrived and at once felt fascinated by the calm atmosphere. Kanai Natashala now has a new ISKCON temple, and behind it, on the bank of the Ganges, a wonderful guesthouse. The devotees have a bathing place on the river, and the villagers also come there to bathe. The bank is beautiful, with steep rocks and crocodile caves; however, there is nothing to worry about, since the crocodiles do not live there anymore. Now one can peacefully chant inside the caves.
What makes Kanai Natashala significant is its connection with Sri Radha-Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. According to local tradition, it is considered to be gupta Vrindavana—a hidden replica of Krishna’s holy land. When Radharani wants to be alone with Krishna to relish His sweetness and intimacy, She comes here. And it is the seedling place of sankirtana, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s ecstatic movement for the congregational chanting of the holy names of God: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Sri Chaitanya’s Ecstasy
Sri Chaitanya went to Gaya and received initiation into the Gopala mantra, which is chanted to worship Krishna. Then He wanted to visit Vrindavana (ninety miles south of present-day Delhi) to search for Radha-Krishna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in Sri Brahma-samhita that one aspect of chanting the Gopala mantra is that it makes “the pure soul run after the all-attractive Sri Krishna, the Lord of Gokula [the land of cows] and the divine milkmaids.” How this blessing took effect on Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is described in Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata (Adi-khanda 17.115–137):
One day He sat down in a solitary place and meditated on His ten-syllable mantra. He directly saw the Lord of His heart. After some time, He regained external consciousness, shed tears, and called for Krishna: “O my dear Krishna! O Hari, my life and soul! Where did you go after stealing My heart? I saw you, my Lord, but now where have you gone?”
The Lord then cried and recited beautiful verses about Krishna, absorbed in sentiments of ecstatic love. His body became covered with dust because He rolled on the ground, loudly calling in distress, “Where did you go, leaving Me behind, My dear Krishna?” He became greatly agitated in ecstatic love of God and floated in the ocean of devotional feelings of separation from Krishna. His students pacified Him with great care.
Sri Chaitanya then said to them, “You go back to Navadvipa; I will not return to My material life there. I must go to Vrindavana, where I will see the Lord of My life, Sri Krishna.”
The students tried to keep Him peaceful, but He was absorbed in devotion, and His heart was agitated. Early one morning, without informing anyone, in ecstatic love Chaitanya Mahaprabhu departed for Vrindavana. As He walked, He called out, “O Krishna! Where can I find you?”
After travelling awhile, the Lord heard a voice from the sky—a representative of the demigods—saying, “O crest-jewel of the twice-born, do not go to Vrindavana now. You will certainly go when the appropriate time comes. Now just return to Your house in Navadvipa. You are the Lord of the spiritual world and have appeared with Your associates to deliver the people of the world. Please start Your movement of congregational chanting. When You distribute the wealth of ecstatic love of God, Your chanting will inundate innumerable universes. We are Your servants, and thus we offer this reminder at Your lotus feet.”
Subduing His immediate desire to visit Vrindavana, Sri Chaitanya continued the return journey to Navadvipa. In a poem, the devotee and scholar Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura describes Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s return from Gaya: “I saw the most extraordinary person on the road from Gaya. His form was very handsome, and He roared just like the thundercloud. His eyes rained tears, and He rolled about on the ground, His voice chocked up in the ecstasy of love of God. All glories to that Lord!” (Sri Sacinandana Vijayashtakam 1)
On the way home, Sri Chaitanya made a detour. Alone, He went to Kanai Natashala by crossing the Ganges. It was this encounter with the hidden Vrindavana that shaped Him and impelled Him to start His sankirtana movement. Before visiting Kanai Natashala, He had played the role of an invincible scholar; after being in Kanai Natashala, He adopted the role of a devotee with an extraordinary devotion never before seen. Returning home, Sri Chaitanya started the sankirtana movement in the mood of searching for Krishna. He described His experience in Kanai Natashala to His friends in these words (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Madhya-khanda 2.180–195):
“There I saw a young, beautiful boy, with a glowing, dark complexion, blackish like the bark of a tamal tree. His enchanting curly hair was decorated with wild flowers, a fresh garland of gunja berries, and a colorful peacock feather. His jewellery and gems were so bright that I could not see Him properly. Thus it is impossible for Me to describe the beauty of the delicately ornamented flute in His hand. His soft lotus feet were adorned with attractive ankle bells. His strong, graceful arms defeated the strength and beauty of blue pillars. How will I describe the wonder of His golden-yellow silk dhoti, His dangling fish-shaped earrings, and His lazy lotus-petal eyes? He sweetly smiled as He approached Me, and after embracing Me, He suddenly ran away.”
Sri Chaitanya then fainted. The devotees hastily picked Him up and chanted, “Krishna! Krishna!” They pacified Him to some extent, but He could not remain calm. He continuously cried, “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?”
The devotees suggested to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that He lead them in kirtana, and this is what He did. He started the sankirtana movement, which gave expression to His motto: “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?” In Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya-lila 17.60–61), this mood of Sri Chaitanya is revealed: “Alas! Where is Krishna, the treasure of My life? Where is the lotus-eyed one? Alas! Where is the divine ocean of all transcendental qualities? Alas! Where is the beautiful blackish youth dressed in yellow garments? Alas! Where is the hero of the rasa dance with the milkmaids? Where shall I go? Where can I find You? Please tell me. I shall go there.”
Our Purpose Fulfilled
We stayed in this holy place to dedicate our attention to chanting. We would chant, remembering Srila Prabhupada’s instructions:
Those under the shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can understand that His mode of worship of the Supreme Lord Krishna in separation is the real worship of the Lord. When the feelings of separation become very intense, one attains the stage of meeting Sri Krishna. So-called devotees cheaply imagine they are meeting Krishna in Vrindavana. Such thinking may be useful, but actually meeting Krishna is possible through the attitude of separation taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-lila 4.108, Purport)
This feeling is required to meet Krishna. When we feel separation in this world, we become sad and troubled because we cannot fulfill our own desires for satisfaction. But feeling separation from Krishna is different. It awakens in those who have a desire to please Krishna. When one feels separation from Krishna, something wonderful happens. Externally, the Lord may not be present, but through those strong feelings, He becomes present in the heart. It is something that needs to be experienced to be understood.
Ferries and Boats
While staying in the jungle, we occasionally received Mr. Santosh Singh, a businessman who owns ferries that run up and down the Ganges. He is known for letting all the devotees ride his ferries for free. When I asked him about his motive, he explained to me, “I want the devotees to give me free passage over the ocean of repeated birth and death when it is my time to go.”
This reminded me of the boatman in Lord Rama’s pastimes. When Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana came to the river that separated their kingdom from a jungle, a boatman took them across.
On the other bank, the Lord’s exile started, so Rama told Sita, “Give the boatman your pearl necklace.”
The boatman declined Sita’s offer by saying, “In this part of the country, boatmen have an agreement: they ferry one another for free. So I cannot accept your payment.”
Rama was surprised. Since when had he become a boatman?
The man explained: “My Lord, I am a small boatman; I ferry people from one side of the river to the other. But You are a big boatman, for You ferry the conditioned souls across the ocean of birth and death. When I stand before that ocean, please do not ask me for any qualification. I am not able to give any suitable payment. Please also ferry me across for free.”
The great devotee Srila Locana Dasa Thakura has described that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also has a ferry:
O brothers and sisters! Who wants to cross beyond the ocean of material existence? My beloved Sri Chaitanya’s ferry is taking everyone across the material ocean, free of charge. The spiritual master is the helmsman on the boat of the holy name. With His arms upraised, He induces everyone to chant. With the help of the wind of divine love, all living entities easily cross the material ocean.
Kanai Natashala is a special place to visit to imbibe the mood of Sri Chaitanya’s devotion. Just by visiting, one feels relieved from the dreadful influences of the present materialistic age. And if one can enter the boat of the holy names there, one soon will feel the transcendental ecstasy made so freely available by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy.
Dharma in the Bhagavad-gita
Hridayananda dasa Goswami
The Sanskrit word “dharma” has joined “yoga” and “karma” in common English usage. dharma is often taken to mean “religion” or “duty.” But these meanings are incomplete. In the Gita, Lord Krishna refers to dharma in progressively deeper ways, shedding light on the meaning of the term and its importance for personal spiritual growth.
In life we all encounter ethical conflicts, although perhaps less dramatically than Arjuna. As we shall see, the Gita helps us make intelligent decisions by showing how ordinary piety fails to deliver the endless satisfaction of service to God.
Dharma is the first word in the Bhagavad-gita. The great work begins when the blind old king Dhritarashtra asks his secretary, Sanjaya, about the battle that was to take place at “the field of dharma” (dharma-kshetra). Dhritarashtra, knowing his sons to be evil, worried that the spiritual influence of the dharma field would favor the pious Pandavas. As the Gita’s first chapter unfolds, Arjuna also grows wary of the influence of dharma. He fears that his, and Krishna’s, participation in the war will lead to a violation of dharma and perpetual residence in hell.
In the name of dharma, Arjuna argues for nonviolence by assuming that to attack and kill so many leading men, nearly all of whom are fathers and husbands, will destabilize the important families and communities for which these men are responsible. The families themselves are vital to the peace and virtue of society. Arjuna’s argument, literally translated, proceeds as follows:
On destruction of the family, the perennial family dharmas perish. When dharma perishes, adharma [the opposite of dharma] overwhelms the entire family. From the predominance of adharma, O Krishna, the family women are polluted. When the women are polluted, O Varshneya, a confusion of social orders arises. This confusion leads only to hell both for the destroyers of families and for the family. Certainly the forefathers fall [from heaven] since the ritual offerings of food and water are suspended. By these crimes of the family killers, who propagate a confusion of social classes, community dharmas and the everlasting family dharmas are devastated. We have always heard, O Janardana, that those men who devastate family dharmas have their residence fixed in hell.
—Bhagavad-gita 1.39-43
Arjuna has sounded a familiar theme from many Vedic books, namely that dharma protects when it is protected, but injures when it is injured. Arjuna would be killing kings in the battlefield, virtually all of whom protected at least the basic rules of dharma in regard to ethics, social order, and traditional, worldly religious rites.
Lord Krishna is about to teach His friend Arjuna that above even dharma is God, who, for His own reasons, desires this battle. Lord Krishna rejects Arjuna’s argument as mere “weakness of heart” (hridaya-daurbalyam) and “impotence” (klaibyam) and urges Arjuna to fight.
Despite his previous arguments on the basis of dharma, Arjuna now admits that he is actually “confused in mind about dharma” (dharma-sammudha-cetah).(Bg. 2.7) Arjuna then gives up his arguments and surrenders to Lord Krishna as his spiritual master, and Lord Krishna begins teaching the Bhagavad-gita in earnest.
First Some Lessons on the Soul
Lord Krishna does not at once address Arjuna’s argument about dharma, as we would expect in a typical debate. Rather, the Lord first reveals to Arjuna, in twenty verses (Bg. 2.11- 30) the eternal nature of the soul. Then the Lord comes back to the topic of dharma, to show that it is Arjuna who is neglecting his dharma by refusing to fight: “And even considering your personal dharma as well, it is not right for you to hesitate. There is nothing better for a warrior than a fight based on dharma.” (Bg. 2.31)
It is significant here that after a thorough explanation of the eternal soul, the Lord mentions dharma as an additional point to consider. From other scriptures one may get the impression that life is meant to practice dharma. But we find in the Bhagavad-gita that dharma itself is meant to assist the real goal of life: understanding the eternal soul and its relationship with the Supreme Soul, Krishna.
Lord Krishna concludes this brief reference to dharma as one’s personal duty by saying, “Now if you do not execute this battle, then having given up your personal dharma and reputation, you shall incur sin.” (Bg. 2.33)
Arjuna previously argued that if he and Krishna were to fight the Battle of Kurukshetra, they would be destroying dharma and incurring sin. Now Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that the truth is just the contrary. By not fighting, Arjuna would be rejecting dharma—in fact, his personal dharma—and thus incurring sin.
Throughout the rest of the Gita, Lord Krishna speaks of dharma in terms of His own teaching of spiritual knowledge and not directly in response to Arjuna’s argument about dharma as ordinary religious and moral practices.
Having explained the soul as distinct from the material body, Lord Krishna now states (Bg 2.39) that what He has just taught Arjuna is “real intelligence or understanding”(buddhi), and that He has taught it “in a philosophical sense” (sankhye). Now, says the Lord, He will talk about the same buddhi, or spiritual intelligence, but “in practice” (yoge). And it is precisely this applied spiritual understanding (buddhir yoge) to which Lord Krishna now gives the name dharma: “Even a very small amount of this dharma saves one from great danger, for there is no loss in such an endeavor, and it knows no diminution.” (Bg. 2.40)
One’s Own Duties
Lord Krishna’s next reference to dharma reinforces his earlier statement that Arjuna must perform his own dharma, and not neglect it in the name of dharma. Arjuna can neither protect dharma nor keep himself on the spiritual platform if he abandons the duties born of his nature. Thus the Lord says: “One’s own dharma, performed imperfectly, is better than another’s dharma well performed. Destruction in one’s own dharma is better, for to perform another’s dharma leads to danger.” (Bg. 3.35)
In the fourth chapter Lord Krishna reveals that He appears in this world to protect the principles of dharma and curtail the destructive influence of adharma: “Certainly whenever a decline of dharma occurs, O Bharata [Arjuna], and an uprising of adharma, I then manifest My Self. To deliver the saintly and vanquish the evil-doers, to reestablish dharma, I appear in every age.” (Bg. 4.7- 8)
It is clear in this context that a sadhu, a saintly or good person, is one who follows dharma, whereas an evil-doer, duskrit, is one who practices and promotes adharma. So Krishna Himself vows to reestablish dharma, upholding those who support dharma and vanquishing those who oppose it.
Thus the complete picture begins to emerge. An effective government must not only create laws but enforce them as well. Similarly, the Supreme Lord brings forth His law as dharma. When obedience to His law collapses and human beings propagate instead their own illicit “law,” the Lord descends to protect the good citizens of His kingdom, vanquish the outlaws who practice adharma, and reestablish in human society the prestige and power of His will.
We can now see why Arjuna’s initial argument, that to obey Lord Krishna and fight would go against dharma, cannot be correct. dharma is nothing but the Lord’s will. For Arjuna to fight, then, is true dharma.
As further emphasis of this point, Lord Krishna later states that even activities that appear to be most mundane, such as fighting or sexual intercourse, can be performed on the spiritual platform if done according to dharma: “And I am the strength of the strong, devoid of lust and attachment. O best of the Bharatas, I am sex not contrary to dharma.” (Bg. 7.11)
dharma and Spiritual Knowledge
Lord Krishna again speaks of dharma in the ninth chapter when he declares that spiritual knowledge of Himself is dharmya, or conducive to and consistent with dharma: “I shall speak to you, who are free of envy, this most confidential knowledge, together with its realized discernment, knowing which you shall be freed of the inauspicious. This knowledge is the king of sciences, the king of secrets, and the supreme purifier. Understood by direct perception, it is conducive to dharma, very easy to perform, and everlasting. People who do not place their faith in this dharma, O burner of the foe, do not attain Me but return to the path of death and material existence.” (Bg. 9.1- 3)
It is significant that Lord Krishna here repeats the words “this dharma” (asya dharmasya) noted earlier: “Even a very small amount of this dharma saves one from great danger, for there is no loss in such an endeavor, and it knows no diminution.” (Bg. 2.40)
Clearly Lord Krishna reserves the phrase “this dharma” for discussions of Krishna consciousness, pure devotion to the Lord. In Chapter Nine “this dharma” refers to the supreme process, which Lord Krishna calls “very easy to perform” (susukham kartum): the devotional service of the Lord—the only process praised in the chapter. In marked contrast, Lord Krishna criticizes the ordinary Vedic dharma by which one seeks residence in Indra’s heaven:
“Those who follow the science of the three Vedas and drink the Soma, their sins purified, aspire to go to heaven through sacrifices. Having reached the pious world of the king of gods, they partake in heaven of the celestial enjoyments of the gods. Having enjoyed the vast world of heaven, they fall to the mortal world when their piety is exhausted. Thus those who desire sense gratification, and who have consistently resorted to the dharma of the three Vedas, achieve only going and coming.” (Bg. 9.20-21)
Thus Lord Krishna starkly contrasts the ordinary dharma of the Vedas with “this dharma,” which is pure devotional service to Krishna. Krishna concludes the important ninth chapter by showing the power of this dharma, unalloyed Krishna consciousness, to purify and save the soul: “Even if a man has grossly misbehaved, if he worships Me and is devoted to Me exclusively he is certainly to be considered a sadhu [good person], for he has actually come to a perfect determination. Quickly he becomes a righteous soul [dharma-atma] and attains to lasting peace. O son of Kunti, proclaim that My devotee is never lost!” (Bg. 9.30-31)
It is simply on the strength of devotion to Krishna that even a man of terrible conduct quickly becomes devoted to dharma. There is no corresponding assurance in the Bhagavad- gita that practice of ordinary Vedic dharma will make one a pure devotee of the Lord. Rather, the fruit of trayi- dharma, the religious duties of the three Vedas, is that one goes up to the mundane heaven and falls again to the mortal earth.
Thus for one exclusively devoted to God, Krishna (bhajate mam ananya-bhak), a solid standing on the highest platform of dharma comes automatically.
Everlasting dharma
Now that Lord Krishna has explained “this dharma” (asya dharmasya), which leads to His eternal abode, we can better understand Arjuna’s statement in the eleventh chapter that Lord Krishna is the protector of “everlasting (shashvata) dharma”: “You are the indestructible, the supreme object of knowledge. You are the transcendental receptacle of this universe. You are inexhaustible, the protector of everlasting dharma. I conclude that You are the eternal person.” (Bg. 11.18)
Lord Krishna later declares as much in the fourteenth chapter: “Indeed, I am the foundation ofBrahman[spirit], and of unending immortality, and of everlasting dharma, and of the ultimate happiness.” (Bg. 14.27)
In the last verse of the twelfth chapter also, Lord Krishna indicates that there is a truly eternal dharma: “But those who fully honor this immortal nectar of dharma as it has been spoken [by Me], having faith, taking Me as supreme—those devotees are exceedingly dear to Me.” (Bg. 12.20)
The eighteenth and final chapter of the Bhagavad- gita summarizes the entire text. In this chapter Lord Krishna refers three times to dharma, the first being a reaffirmation of His earlier admonition to perform one’s own, and not another’s, dharma: “It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly.” (Bg. 18.47)
But beyond this, we have seen that the Bhagavad- gita begins where ordinary Vedic dharma leaves off. Lord Krishna has indicated this in various ways. Here, at the end of His teaching, the Lord most dramatically declares that full surrender to the Supreme Lord stands above the entire range of sacred duties known generally as dharma: “Renouncing all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone. Have no regret, for I shall free you from all sins.” (Bg. 18.66)
Thus, surrender to Krishna, as declared in the ninth chapter, is the highest duty of the soul and therefore the supreme dharma. All other dharmas are preliminary duties, meant to bring one to the highest spiritual understanding of Krishna consciousness. Such conventional dharmas are useful until one comes to the point of utter surrender to God. So there is nothing incoherent when the Lord finally declares that the entire Bhagavad-gita is conducive to dharma, in all its aspects: “And if one will study this dharmya conversation of ours, he will indeed worship Me by the sacrifice of knowledge. That is My opinion.” (Bg. 18.70)
Receiving Krishna’s Teachings As They Are
by Dhrishtaketu Dasa
Is Lord Krishna just a messenger for a higher, impersonal truth?
Bhagavad-gita is the record of a conversation that took place between Lord Krishna and the great warrior Arjuna in approximately 3,000 b.c. Krishna, standing with Arjuna on a chariot between two massive armies poised for war, explained to him the details of spirit, matter, and the controller of both. For the past five thousand years scholars all over the world have struggled to understand the meaning of Bhagavad- gita, but many have failed to grasp the key to this understanding: recognition that Krishna, the original speaker of Bhagavad-gita, is a person, the Supreme Person.
In common usage the word person refers to an individual being, distinct from others. A person has form, qualities, and a history by which others can identify and describe him. A person can express himself and understand ‘the expressions of others; he has feelings and desires and can share relationships. In the context of Bhagavad- gita, the word person refers not only to the limited mortals of this world but also to higher beings, such as demigods, and to God Himself.
It is on this issue of the personality of God that the two major classes of Bhagavad-gita scholars divide. The impersonalists, or mayavadis, believe that God has no form, qualities, or activities. They conceive of Him as a shapeless, impersonal entity, often as an all-pervading white light. And since the mayavadis believe that God, or the Absolute Truth, is without varieties, they also maintain that all varieties are false, or illusory. According to the mayavadis, whatever form, color, sound, taste, smell, or touch we perceive is unreal, and thus personality and personal relationships are also unreal. The impersonalists’ ultimate goal is to lose all personal identity and merge with an impersonal God.
The personalistic Bhagavad-gita scholars reject the idea that God is a formless entity. On the contrary, the personalists, or Vaishnavas, maintain that God’s personal form is the source of all others. Some varieties, they say, are temporary and in that sense illusory, but others are permanent and real. According to the Vaishnavas, God and His abode possess eternal forms that can be realized and attained. Thus the ultimate goal of the personalists is to perfect their relationship with God through service and love.
When these two groups—the impersonalists and the personalists—approach Bhagavad-gita, their conclusions naturally differ. The impersonalists believe that Krishna, the speaker of the Gita, is an ordinary man, a historical or even mythical figure. He is a mouthpiece, they say, for the higher, impersonal truth that is God. The impersonalists believe that the statements of the Gita should not be taken literally; rather, they should be interpreted in one’s own way. To them, Bhagavad-gita is an allegory, a mere story containing hidden philosophical meanings, understandable by deliberation and interpretation.
Personalists, on the other hand, accept Krishna as the Supreme Godhead. Therefore they regard the statements in the Gita as the Lord’s direct instructions for our benefit. Rather than interpret the words of the Bhagavad- gita, the personalists understand them according to their literal meaning.
Objectively speaking, there is no need to interpret the statements of Bhagavad-gita, because interpretation only covers their authority. The verses of Bhagavad- gita are as clear and bright as the sun, and interpretation is like a cloud that obscures their light. A statement needs interpretation when its meaning is unclear. For example, if I say, “The village is on the Ganges,” someone may require an interpretation, because on the Ganges may mean either “on the bank of the Ganges” or (by some stretch of the imagination) “on the surface of the Ganges.” In Bhagavad- gita, however, the meaning is simple and clear. There is no interpretation required. Still, people interpret it. Why?
First, though the meaning is clear, persons confused about spiritual life cannot understand even the simple concepts presented in Bhagavad-gita. Therefore they derive their own explanations of Krishna’s words. Second, many cheaters and hypocrites twist and distort the meaning of the Gita to spread their own self-motivated doctrines. They know that Bhagavad-gita has been popular for thousands of years. Taking advantage of this popularity, they hope to gain an audience for their views, which they pass off before the public as commentaries on the Gita. Krishna Himself, however, neither sanctions their ideas nor gives any conclusive evidence in Bhagavad-gita to support them.
An interpretation of Krishna’s words that ascribes to them a meaning different from their original grammatical and semantic sense can only mislead the reader. Krishna’s teachings are meant for the enlightenment of anyone who hears them, but one must accept them as they are in order to receive their beneficial effect.
About the Bhagavad-gita: Setting the scene
from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is
Although widely published and read by itself, Bhagavad-gita originally appears as an episode in the Mahabharata, the epic Sanskrit history of the ancient world. The Mahabharata tells of events leading up to the present Age of Kali. It was at the beginning of this age, some fifty centuries ago, that Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad-gita to His friend and devotee Arjuna.
Their discourse—one of the greatest philosophical and religious dialogues known to man—took place just before the onset of war, a great fratricidal conflict between the hundred sons of Dhritarastra and on the opposing side their cousins the Pandavas, or sons of Pandu.
Dhritarastra and Pandu were brothers born in the Kuru dynasty, descending from King Bharata, a former ruler of the earth, from whom the name Mahabharata derives. Because Dhritarastra, the elder brother, was born blind, the throne that otherwise would have been his was passed down to the younger brother, Pandu.
When Pandu died at an early age, his five children—Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—came under the care of Dhritarastra, who in effect became, for the time being, the king. Thus the sons of Dhritarastra and those of Pandu grew up in the same royal household. Both were trained in the military arts by the expert Drona and counseled by the revered “grandfather” of the clan, Bhisma. Yet the sons of Dhritarastra, especially the eldest, Duryodhana, hated and envied the Pandavas. And the blind and weak-minded Dhritarastra wanted his own sons, not those of Pandu, to inherit the kingdom.
Thus Duryodhana, with Dhritarastra’s consent, plotted to kill the young sons of Pandu, and it was only by the careful protection of their uncle Vidura and their cousin Lord Krishna that the Pandavas escaped the many attempts against their lives.
Now, Lord Krishna was not an ordinary man but the Supreme Godhead Himself, who had descended to earth and was playing the role of a prince in a contemporary dynasty. In this role He was also the nephew of Pandu’s wife Kunti, or Pritha, the mother of the Pandavas. So both as a relative and as the eternal upholder of religion, Krishna favored the righteous sons of Pandu and protected them.
Ultimately, however, the clever Duryodhana challenged the Pandavas to a gambling match. In the course of that fateful tournament, Duryodhana and his brothers took possession of Draupadi, the chaste and devoted wife of the Pandavas, and insultingly tried to strip her naked before the entire assembly of princes and kings. Krishna's divine intervention saved her, but the gambling, which was rigged, cheated the Pandavas of their kingdom and forced them into thirteen years of exile.
Upon returning from exile, the Pandavas rightfully requested their kingdom from Duryodhana, who bluntly refused to yield it. Dutybound as princes to serve in public administration, the five Pandavas reduced their request to a mere five villages. But Duryodhana arrogantly replied that he wouldn’t spare them enough land into which to drive a pin.
Throughout all this, the Pandavas had been consistently tolerant and forbearing. But now war seemed inevitable.
Nonetheless, as the princes of the world divided, some siding with the sons of Dhritarastra, others with the Pandavas, Krishna Himself took the role of messenger for the sons of Pandu and went to the court of Dhritarastra to plead for peace. When His pleas were refused, war was now certain.
The Pandavas, men of the highest moral stature, recognized Krishna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the impious sons of Dhritarastra did not. Yet Krishna offered to enter the war according to the desire of the antagonists. As God, He would not personally fight; but whoever so desired might avail himself of Krishna's army—and the other side could have Krishna Himself, as an advisor and helper. Duryodhana, the political genius, snatched at Krishna's armed forces, while the Pandavas were equally eager to have Krishna Himself.
In this way, Krishna became the charioteer of Arjuna, taking it upon Himself to drive the fabled bowman’s chariot. This brings us to the point at which Bhagavad-gita begins, with the two armies arrayed, ready for combat, and Dhritarastra anxiously inquiring of his secretary Sanjaya, “What did they do?”
