What is Bhagvat Gita?

There was a king ruling Hastinapura, now known as Delhi. He had two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra was born blind. Therefore, Pandu became the King. Pandu had five sons. They were called the Pandavas. Dhritarshtra had one hundred sons. They were called the Kauravas.
After the death of king Pandu, his eldest son, Yudhisthira was to be the Ruler. But the Kauravas would not like it. The eldest of Kauravas, Dhuryodhana wanted the whole kingdom for himself. Through trickery and treachery, he made many attempts even to kill the Pandavas. All peace talks by Pandava Ambassador, Sri Krishna also failed. So the war between Pandavas and Kauravas could not be avoided.
Both Pandavas and Kauravas belonged to the same family and therefore many family elders were also part of this war. Arjuna, the Pandava Prince had disliked the idea of fighting against the family elders, Gurus and close relatives. Lord Krishna was the Charrioteer to Arjuna in the battle field. Arjuna communicated his hesitation to get on with the war. And it was left to Lord Krishna to respond to the hesitation of Arjuna. And this response given by Lord Kishna to Arjuna was very long and is codified in 18 chapters.

Who reported this talk taking place at the battle field? King Dhritarashtra was curious to know what was happening in the battle field. You know he was blind. He therefore asked Sanjay, his Charioteer to tell him about it and it was he who reported the entire talk verbatim to Dhritarashtra. According to Gita, Sanjay had the boon of " Divyachakshu" i.e. being able to see from the Palace as to what was happening in the battle field.

Bhagvat Gita is the actual talk between the confused Arjuna and his Charrioteer Lord Krishna in the battle field. This talk was basically a spiritual talk encompassing real truth about human life. The 18 Chapters of Bhagvat Gita can be broadly divided into three parts each dwelling about Gyana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.

I had great difficulty in understanding the concepts of Gyana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga until I studied Bhagvat Gita. It is such a nice Hindu Scripture that clarifies many aspects of our lives.

Mahatma Gandhi had said: When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad Gita and find
a verse to guide me.

Albert Einstein had said: When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect, everything else seems so superfluous.

Henry David Thoreau, American Writer & Philosopher had said: In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous philosophy of Bhagavad Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet and Philosopher had said: I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books, It was as if an empire spoke to us. Nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent. The voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and disposed of the same questions which exercise us.

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist and Critic had said: The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had said: The Bhagavad-Gita is a call for action to meet the obligations and duties of life.

Such is the indelible impression Bhagvat Gita had left in the minds of even the great people that we know of. And sure it would help you in your own personal life as well.

I know there are many translations available of Bhagvat Gita written by eminent persons including Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India. and I am not a scholar to attempt any Translation of this Great Spiritual Discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. But yet, I take pleasure in presenting before you the Bhagvat Gita, as I understood and benefited from it. I dedicate this humble effort to my respected father, Late Shri K.S. Raghavacharya, a Great Vedic Scholar and a Religious Teacher.

I wish every reader a joyous journey through this Great Life Philosophy. ----- R. Raghunathan