− | It is said that the world is one huge battlefield. The real Kurukshetra is within us. The battle of the Mahabharata is still raging within. Ignorance is Dhritarashtra; the individual soul is Arjuna; the indweller of our heart is Lord Krishna, the charioteer; the body is the chariot; the senses are the five horses; mind, egoism, mental impressions, senses, cravings, likes and dislikes, lust, jealousy, greed, pride and hypocrisy are our dire enemies.<ref name=":2" /> Once born, there is no escape from this Kurukshetra within us.<ref name=":0" /> The modern man is greatly in need of an effective guide to light. He sees only problems everywhere and no solutions are to be found anywhere. He does not know which way to turn, what course to adopt and how to move towards a better state of things. Therefore, his life is filled with restlessness, unhappiness and complication. The Bhagavad Gita contains words of wisdom and practical teachings that contain the answers to the above-mentioned condition of the present-day individual.<ref name=":1">Swami Sivananda (2000), Bhagavad Gita, Uttar Pradesh: The DIvine Life Society, Forward.</ref> Lord Krishna guides us to face the kurukshetra boldly and defeat the rajasic and tamasic tendencies within us. And the Gita is the greatest guide he bestowed on us.<ref name=":0">http://hindu-sanathana-dharma.blogspot.com/</ref> | + | It is said that the world is one huge battlefield. The real Kurukshetra is within us. The battle of the Mahabharata is still raging within. Ignorance is Dhritarashtra; the individual soul is Arjuna; the indweller of our heart is Lord Krishna, the charioteer; the body is the chariot; the senses are the five horses; mind, egoism, mental impressions, senses, cravings, likes and dislikes, lust, jealousy, greed, pride and hypocrisy are our dire enemies.<ref name=":2" /> Once born, there is no escape from this Kurukshetra within us.<ref name=":0" /> The modern man is greatly in need of an effective guide to light. He sees only problems everywhere and no solutions are to be found anywhere. He does not know which way to turn, what course to adopt and how to move towards a better state of things. Therefore, his life is filled with restlessness, unhappiness and complication. The Bhagavad Gita contains words of wisdom and practical teachings that contain the answers to the above-mentioned condition of the present-day individual.<ref name=":1">Swami Sivananda (2000), Bhagavad Gita, Uttar Pradesh: The DIvine Life Society, Forward.</ref> Lord Krishna guides us to face the kurukshetra boldly and defeat the rajasic and tamasic tendencies within us. And the Gita is the greatest guide he bestowed on us.<ref name=":0">http://hindu-sanathana-dharma.blogspot.com/</ref> |
| + | The central teaching of the Gita is the attainment of the final beatitude of life—perfection or eternal freedom. This may be achieved by doing one’s prescribed duties of life. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna:<ref name=":2" /> <blockquote>तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर । असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ॥३- १९॥<ref>Bhagavad Gita, [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%83 Chapter 3.]</ref></blockquote><blockquote>tasmādasaktaḥ satataṁ kāryaṁ karma samācara । asakto hyācarankarma paramāpnoti pūruṣaḥ ॥3- 19॥</blockquote>Meaning: Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform action which is duty, for, by performing action without attachment, man verily reaches the Supreme.<ref name=":2" /> |