Voices of South Asia

Essential Readings from Antiquity to the Present

Patrick Peebles

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781317452478
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Organisational Behaviour
• Index: Business

An ideal supplement for any course treating the history or culture of South Asia, this collection offers a cross-section of South Asia's ancient and modern classics of thought and expression. It includes a unique mix of poetry, novels, drama, and political and philosophical treatises, each accompanied by a detailed introductory essay on the specific historical context, the author, and the work.

Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita (“The Lord’s Song”) is probably the best-known and best-loved document in all of Indian religious literature. As it has come down to us, it forms part of Book VI of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata probably originated in oral accounts of a great battle fought in about the ninth century BCE. Part heroic tale, part religious lesson, it tells the story of the battle fought on the plains near modern Delhi between the sons of the blind king Dhritarastra and their cousins, the rightful heirs to the throne.

Because of his blindness, Dhritarastra yielded his throne to his younger brother Pandu. Pandu had five sons, all secretly fathered by deities, who were known as Pandavas from their father’s name. Dhritarastra, who had a hundred sons, divided his kingdom between his sons and Pandu’s sons. The five Pandava brothers were raised at Dhritarastra’s court. They excelled in every competition, incurring the jealousy of Dhritarastra’s heir Duryodana. Duryodana cheated his cousin, the Pandava king Yudhishtra, out of his kingdom and then reneged on a promise to restore it to him after Yudhishra spent twelve years in exile. The god Krishna attempted to prevent war, but when it seemed inevitable, he decided to serve the outnumbered Pandavas as the charioteer of Yudhishtra’s brother, the great archer Arjuna. In the eighteen-day war that followed, most of the combatants perished.

Over the centuries bards and poets added to the Mahabharata, until it now consists of some 100,000 couplets and is the world’s longest poem. As the product of many centuries of development, it exhibits a wide variety of attitudes. About four-fifths of the whole are episodes having little connection with the main story. The Mahabharata was probably completed in its present form by the second century BCE, though some revisions were undoubtedly made later.

In eighteen brief chapters or “teachings,” the Gita centers on the concept of yoga, or “spiritual discipline.” There are many kinds of yoga in India and elsewhere today, but the Gita emphasizes three: karma yoga, jnana yoga, and bhakti yoga. The word karma (often mistranslated as “fate”) is from a root meaning “to do” and is translated as “action.” Karma yoga is the “discipline of action”; it means to adhere to one’s duty (dharma) while remaining detached from the reward. Jnana in Sanskrit means “knowledge” or “discernment” and is cognate with the Greek word gnosis, which has acquired a similar meaning of “spiritual knowledge” in English. Jnana yoga, the “discipline of knowledge,” is a means of seeking salvation by developing identification with the real self (atman, also translated as “soul”) rather than with the body or ego. The root of bhakti means “to be attached to God.” Later in the Gita, Krishna says that devotion to God (bhakti yoga) is the supreme yoga. This concept became more widespread later in Indian history than the previous two.

The Gita takes place just before the great battle on the plain of Kurukshetra (“field of the Kurus”). Arjuna foresees that this battle will prove disastrous for both sides. But Arjuna is also a Kshatriya—a member of the hereditary warrior class—and as such is duty-bound to fight bravely. He is forced to resolve the conflict between two apparently conflicting dharmas —the duty of family members to respect their relatives and teachers, and the no less stringent duty of the warrior to fight.

The entire Gita is cast in the form of a report by the charioteer San-jaya to Dhritarastra. Some scholars prefer to regard it as the creation of a unique, inspired poet. But it is difficult to believe that a single author would include the contradictions, unnecessary repetitions, and irrelevant dialogue. It is more likely that diverse religious statements were gradually added to an original Gita narrative that focused on the impending battle.

The following extracts are taken from the first three lessons, in which Krishna presents two conflicting explanations why Arjuna needs to fight. One emphasizes karma yoga as the path to salvation. Individuals must fulfill their obligations, but must do so without selfish attachment to personal satisfactions. The other explanation mentions jnana yoga. In the middle six lessons, the focus shifts toward knowledge of Krishna and presents the idea of bhakti yoga as the highest path to salvation. The final six lessons explore various ways of reconciling the apparent contradictions of the previous lessons.

A vast number of images from the Bhagavad Gita can be found on the Internet. Some of the most extensive are at h­t­t­p­:­/­/­w­w­w­.b­h­a­g­a­v­a­d­g­i­t­a­.u­s­.

Questions

• According to the Bhagavad Gita, how should we conduct ourselves in our daily lives? How can we obtain the highest good?

• What questions does Arjuna ask Krishna regarding life and death? How does Krishna answer these questions? What impact does such knowledge have on everyday actions?

• What is the Bhagavad Gita’s attitude toward war?

• Compare the advice of Krishna to Arjuna with that o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Map of South Asia
• Vedic Hymns
• Sermon at the Deer Park
• Bhagavad Gita
• Arthasastra
• Poems of Love and War
• Mahāvamsa
• The Perfect Bride
• Gitagovinda
• Songs of Kabir
• Sacred Writings of the Sikhs
• Akbar Nama
• Hanuman Chalisa
• On the Burning of Widows
• Govinda Samanta
• Gitanjali
• Hind Swaraj
• Muna and Madan
• What Is India?
• Waiting for the Mahatma
• All Is Burning
• Bibliography
• About the Editor