The Bhagavad Gita is divided into eighteen chapters. Each chapter is designated as a system of yoga. Here are some helpful summaries of the eighteen chapters courtesy of this website, The Bhagavad-Gita.
Chapter One: Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra.
As the opposing armies stand poised for battle, Arjuna, the mighty warrior, sees his intimate relatives, teachers and friends in both armies ready to fight and sacrifice their lives. Overcome by grief and pity, Arjuna fails in strength, his mind becomes bewildered, and he gives up his determination to fight.
Chapter Two: Contents of the Gita summarized.
Arjuna submits to Lord Krishna as His disciple, and Krishna begins His teachings to Arjuna by explaining the fundamental distinction between the temporary material body and the eternal spiritual soul. The Lord explains the process of transmigration, the nature of selfless service to the Supreme and the characteristics of a self-realized person.
Chapter Three: Karma-yoga.
Everyone must engage in some sort of activity in this material world. But actions can either bind one to this world or liberate one from it. By acting for the pleasure of the Supreme, without selfish motives, one can be liberated from the law of karma (action and reaction) and attain transcendental knowledge of the self and the Supreme.
Chapter Four: Transcendental knowledge.
Transcendental knowledge - the spiritual knowledge of the soul, of God, and of their relationship - is both purifying and liberating. Such knowledge is the fruit of selfless devotional action (karma-yoga). The Lord explains the remote history of the Gita, the purpose and significance of His periodic descents to the material world, and the necessity of approaching a guru, a realized teacher.
Chapter Five: Karma-yoga - Action in Krishna Consciousness.
Outwardly performing all actions but inwardly renouncing their fruits, the wise man, purified by the fire of transcendental knowledge, attains peace, detachment, forbearance, spiritual vision and bliss.
Chapter Six: Dhyana-yoga.
Ashtanga-yoga, a mechanical meditative practice, controls the mind and senses and focuses concentration on Paramatma (the Supersoul, the form of the Lord situated in the heart). This practice culminates in samadhi, full consciousness of the Supreme.
Chapter Seven: Knowledge of the Absolute.
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Truth, the supreme cause and sustaining force of everything, both material and spiritual. Advanced souls surrender unto Him in devotion, whereas impious souls divert their minds to other objects of worship.
Chapter Eight: Attaining the Supreme.
By remembering Lord Krishna in devotion throughout one's life, and especially at the time of death, one can attain to His supreme abode, beyond the material world.
Chapter Nine: The most confidential knowledge.
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Godhead and the supreme object of worship. The soul is eternally related to Him through transcendental devotional service (bhakti). By reviving one's pure devotion one returns to Krishna in the spiritual realm.
Chapter Ten: The Opulence of the Absolute.
All wondrous phenomena showing power, beauty, grandeur or sublimity, either in the material world or in the spiritual, are but partial manifestations of Krishna's divine energies and opulence. As the supreme cause of all causes and the support and essence of everything, Krishna is the supreme object of worship for all beings.
Chapter Eleven: The Universal Form.
Lord Krishna grants Arjuna divine vision and reveals His spectacular unlimited form as the cosmic universe. Thus He conclusively establishes His divinity. Krishna explains that His own all-beautiful humanlike form is the original form of Godhead. One can perceive this form only by pure devotional service.
Chapter Twelve: Devotional Service (Bhakti-yoga).
Bhakti-yoga, pure devotional service to Lord Krishna, is the highest and most expedient means for attaining pure love for Krishna, which is the highest end of spiritual existence. Those who follow this supreme path develop divine qualities.
Chapter Thirteen: Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness.
One who understands the difference between the body, the soul and the Supersoul beyond them both attains liberation from this material world.
Chapter Fourteen: The Three Modes of Material Nature.
All embodied souls are under the control of the three modes, or qualities, of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Lord Krishna explains what these modes are, how they act upon us, how one transcends them, and the symptoms of one who has attained the transcendental state.
Chapter Fifteen: The Yoga of the Supreme Person.
The ultimate purpose of Vedic knowledge is to detach oneself from the entanglement of the material world and to understand Lord Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who understands Krishna's supreme identity surrenders unto Him and engages in His devotional service.
Chapter Sixteen: The Divine and Demoniac Natures.
Those who possess demoniac qualities and who live whimsically, without following the regulations of scripture, attain lower births and further material bondage. But those who possess divine qualities and live regulated lives, abiding by scriptural authority, gradually attain spiritual perfection.
Chapter Seventeen: The Divisions of Faith.
There are three types of faith, corresponding to and evolving from the three modes of material nature. Acts performed by those whose faith is in passion and ignorance yield only impermanent, material results, whereas acts performed in goodness, in accord with scriptural injunctions, purify the heart and lead to pure faith in Lord Krishna and devotion to Him.
Chapter Eighteen: Conclusion - The Perfection of Renunciation.
Krishna explains the meaning of renunciation and the effects of the modes of nature on human consciousness and activity. He explains Brahman realization, the glories of the Bhagavad-gita, and the ultimate conclusion of the Gita: the highest path of religion is absolute, unconditional loving surrender unto Lord Krishna, which frees one from all sins, brings one to complete enlightenment, and enables one to return to Krishna's eternal spiritual abode.
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Great summary, John. There is amazing wisdom in this Holy Book and I'm looking forward to the sharing here. I see our friend Viola Larson has already decided to share and completely discount and totally misunderstand the BG in her post "The Bhagavad-Gita, the Bible: grief and being human".
ReplyDeleteAs you know, John, I am acquainted all too well with grief and I find Viola's critique of the BG to be far off the mark. Without ways to attain detachment from worldly things and devotion to the Eternal, I could easily be stuck in grief. I have seen all too many people stuck in grief and all kinds of other emotional dead ends. A Christian classic which deals with getting on with life after a period of grief is The Way of a Pilgrim. This hermit finda a new and wonderful life through following a spiritual path centered in the Jesus Prayer: "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen" or just "Lord Have Mercy."
Liberation is a major theme of all of the planet's great wisdom traditions. Nobody should discount or deny the wisdom of Hinduism. It is enormous. Thanks again.
+ Love + John A Wilde + Whitesboro NY + The John A Wilde Blog + We are intimately, intricately and infinitely connected by a matrix of unconditional, unlimited and uniting love which is miraculous, mysterious and marvelous.
Echoing John W's sentiments here, very much looking forward to your exploration of the Bhagavad-Gita, as well as the later Holy texts you'll take a look at.
ReplyDeleteThis blog and "Qur'an and Jive" are wonderful examples of you walking the walk when it comes to being open and generous to the wisdom of other traditions.
On the posting John W mentioned, in fairness, I think for someone coming from an overtly (perhaps even willfully so) ethnocentric worldview, it must seem extremely frustrating and disheartening to perceive someone as moving away from "the tribe".
This misdirected and frustrated angst can be very difficult to deal with compassionately, and lovingly. I applaud your efforts to engage this openly. I think I'll just stay out of it though ;)
Pretty sure I'm "preaching to the choir here" but..
I'd imagine that it has been your experience (It certainly has been mine), that digging deeply into the unfamiliar wisdom traditions greatly deepens one's understanding and experience of life.
It also brings so much to the table in terms of how you (potentially) relate to others. I'll be the first to admit, I certainly have my fair share of unfortunate reactions, expressions ;)
For those coming from a specific wisdom tradition (say Christianity, but it could be others too), I find that for many, their generosity, humility, love, and openness determine what they'll get out of their study of "outside" traditions.
A genuine respect and appreciation can develop as we move forward into greater understanding of those precious and beautiful jewels of "other's" tradition, until "other" finally disappears.
This can be a sharp contrast to an ethnocentric approach to study, in which the result is well... not the same.
I have nothing but respect for you and your congregation for moving into yet another beautiful endeavor. I have no doubt that it will refresh, deepen, and strengthen your commitment to Christ.
As a side note, are either of you familiar with Ken Wilber's work (I'd imagine yes)?
A recent interview available here
Part 1: http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/?p=1370#bottom
Part 2: http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/?p=1380#bottom
We may each interpret Ken's terms in different, more comfortable language as needed, but I think it is just so refreshing and exciting to see plural/integral Christians.
It is an amazing thing to be alive in these days. Please keep up the great work, brothers.
Much Peace and Love to you and yours now, and in the coming year,
Kevin Radcliffe