Bhagavad
Gita is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the
Bhishma-Parva chapters 23–40. A core sacred text of
Hinduism and philosophy, the Bhagavad Gita, often referred
to as the Gita, is a summation of the Vedic, Yogic, Vedantic
and Tantric philosophies. The Bhagavad Gita, meaning "song
of the Lord".
Bhagavad Gita
in General :-
The discourse on the Bhagavad Gita begins before the start
of the climactic battle at kurukshetra. It begins with
the kshatriya prince Arjuna as he becomes filled with
doubt on the battlefield. Realising who his enemies are;
relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he turns
to his charioteer, Sri Krishna, an avatar of Sri Vishnu
for advice.
Krishna counsels Arjuna, beginning with the
tenet that since souls are immortal, their deaths on the
battlefield are just the shedding of the body, which is
not the soul. Krishna goes on to expound on the yogic
paths of devotion, action, meditation and knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita
as a Yoga Scripture :-
The Gita describes the best yogi as one who constantly
thinks of God. The term yoga covers a wide range of meanings,
but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita it describes a
unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action, and
the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atma),
which is of the same essence as the basis of being (Brahman).
While each path differs, their fundamental
goal is the same: to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence)
as being the only truth, that the body is temporal, and
that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's
aim (nirvana, moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation
through realization of oneness with the ultimate reality.
There are three stages to self-realisation enunciated
from the Bhagavad Gita:
1. Brahman - The impersonal universal energy
2. Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in
the heart of every living entity.
3. Bhagavan - God as a personality, with
a transcendental form.
"When the mind comes to rest, restrained
by the practice of yoga, and when beholding the Self,
by the self, he is content in the Self."
" He who finds his happiness within,
his delight within, and his light within, this yogi attains
the bliss of Brahman, becoming Brahman."
