When we consider the Bhagavad Gita solely as an old and valuable literary text, we still cannot remain untouched by the interesting nature of its content. In the epic literature of ancient India, the Bhagavad Gita holds a special place. Most educated Indians are familiar with this holy text by heart. In general, it is considered the best expression of the Indian worldview and the essence of ancient Indian philosophy.
The Bhagavad Gita, or in translation “The Song of the Sublime,” is one of the episodes of the epic Mahabharata, “The Great Song of the Bharata Clan.” This massive epic, which is considered the most extensive work in world literature, originated from the oldest traditions of Aryan civilization, which were orally transmitted, and its written form as known today was created over centuries, from 400 BC to 400 AD. The content of the Mahabharata intertwines mythical and ritual motifs, elements of history and political skills of Aryan civilization, Brahmin and warrior traditions, theological and philosophical ideas, moral teachings. Through legends, stories, fables, and parables.
The Bhagavad Gita stands out as the instructive part of the epic. It is called more fully Bhagavadgita Upanishadah, which means “The Secret Teachings Sung by the Sublime.” The term bhagavad derives from the epithet bhagvan (sublime, merciful) given to divine beings, while gita signifies a song, divine wisdom that reveals the hidden laws of life. In the Song of the Sublime, the lesson is given by Krishna, portrayed simultaneously as a prince, hero among heroes, and all-powerful creator of worlds.
The Bhagavad Gita has been interpreted in many ways. Given the symbols contained in the entire epic, interpretations have related to different levels of their meaning in historical, astrological, astronomical, and even mathematical terms. However, the psychological interpretation provides the best way to understand the ancient Indian teachings about human beings by linking symbols to inner characteristics and experiences of human beings.
The symbols of the Bhagavad Gita are inseparable from the content of the Mahabharata, which was. The core of the story is a conflict between two branches of the same royal family in the Bharata tribe. Ganesha, the god of wisdom and writing, is said to have once written down the epic Mahabharata with his tusk. The Bhagavad Gita begins on the battlefield, with the armies of the Pandavas and Kauravas lined up on Kurukshetra. Both are equally numerous and powerful, and the outcome of the battle is uncertain. In the middle, between the two armies, is Arjuna on his chariot, driven by Krishna. In Arjuna’s hands is a bow, and the first drawn arrow will signify the beginning of the battle. However, as Arjuna surveys both armies, he sees familiar faces in each of them – members of his own family, childhood friends, playmates, teachers… Instead of releasing the arrow, he slumps down in despair on the floor of his chariot, discards his bow, and desperately implores Krishna for help and advice. What is the point of fighting? Neither glory nor a kingdom is reason enough to destroy what is a part of his life. Arjuna does not want to fight… Thus begins the conversation between a god and a man on the battlefield of Kurukshetra: a discouraged warrior. Nik, overcome by doubts, asks, and the Sublime One responds…
The psychological interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita is connected to symbols that are a continuation of the content of the Mahabharata. These symbols include Arjuna, Krishna, the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the two branches of the Bharata family, and Hastinapura, for which the warring parties are fighting. However, precisely because these are symbols, their external form in which they are presented in the epic takes on a significantly different meaning in the psychological key:
* Prince Arjuna, of divine origin, the one who has the natural right to rule over Hastinapura, a member of the warrior caste – is the external form of this symbol. In the psychological key, Arjuna symbolizes a human being, a being who possesses divine power but also all human weaknesses. According to ancient Indian teachings, in order for a person to realize their divine potential, they must engage in a battle with their weaknesses. This is an inner warfare, the strength with which a person resists temptations and with which, even after failure, they are ready to fight themselves again. , this is preceded by a conscious choice, a moment in which a person weighs what they think and do, in which they decide what they will strive for: what is best or divine within them, or whether they will surrender to what is currently their weakness. The Bhagavad Gita focuses on this time of “weighing” that precedes the final choice. The man – Arjuna reacts simply humanly: doubts everything and questions everything, is afraid, aware only that it is difficult for him, feels infinitely alone and helpless.
* Krishna, the charioteer and Arjuna’s friend who reveals himself as a deity, is an external image by which the ancient Indians depicted a dimension that exists within a human being. This is the divine part of every person that is always ready to offer help and advice, if the person wants to hear and listen to their messages.
* The Pandavas and Kauravas, two branches of the same family, symbolize the two sides of the same being – a person. The Pandavas, divine sons, are those impulses in the human being that elevate them and is connected to his celestial origin. By listening to the Pandavas, a person expresses the best in themselves, or rather, lives the virtues.
The Kauravas, sons of a blind father, are the earthly part of human beings, impulses that drive a person to blindly submit to their own instincts and bind them to materialism, and then the person necessarily expresses themselves through their flaws.
Indian teachings therefore say that one of the first great tasks of a person is to distinguish between the impulses of their dual nature, to recognize their own Pandavas and Kauravas, and only then to follow or not to follow their calling. It is precisely because of their dual nature that humans are constantly torn apart by inner unrest, as these two sides are constantly in conflict. But, Indian teachings say, this is natural and will continue to happen until a person completely liberates themselves from all attachments to the material.
This is a city that naturally belongs to the Pandavas, but it is not easily conquered, say the Indians, and the Kuravas will not surrender without a fight.
* Kurukshetra, the battlefield where the Pandavas and Kuravas will clash, symbolically represents the human consciousness. It is the field of human action. The most important battles take place there and the most significant changes occur that shape the human being – it is where spirit and matter, permanence and transience, virtues and weaknesses clash within a person.
Bhagavad Gita symbolically describes the inner self of a person, a being that possesses dimensions that are yet to be discovered and reached. The person – Arjuna is one of the Pandavas, with a celestial origin, he is a friend and disciple of the divine principle that he carries within himself. His heritage is spiritual consciousness, Hastinapura, the consciousness ruled by virtues and wisdom. A person is a being of great potential, however, they still need to realize their potentials. The Pandavas still need to conquer Hastinapura because the nature of a person is not only heavenly. Equally strong is their attachment to z and therefore the current consciousness of man is a field of conflict, torn between different forces that exist within it.
The Bhagavad Gita does not speak of a battle that occurs only once in a lifetime. Every day, man has the opportunity to ask himself whether he will fight against his own flaws, and the ancient verses of the Bhagavad Gita equate human life with this inner battle that is necessary for the growth of a human being.
For this reason, Krishna advises Arjuna to fight, to make an effort to overcome what is not Arjuna’s true nature. However, Krishna does not only speak of the flaws that Arjuna needs to conquer. Ignorance is also what binds him to matter and prevents him from escaping the state of attachment in which he is constantly wounded.
Therefore, the first task of man is realization: to recognize his dual nature and its various impulses. To differentiate between his noble aspirations and his instinctual desires, duty and the desire for pleasure, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Then he can choose. But even then, he is still at the beginning of the path. The battle that Krishna and advice means “taking action”, acting, because:
A person can never free themselves from action and therefore save themselves by avoiding activity, nor has anyone ever achieved perfection solely through renunciation.
There is no being capable of remaining inactive even for a moment, as the very properties that arise from nature – even against their will – force and drive towards action. Even thinking itself is an activity in the realm of thoughts.
Life is action in itself, but it needs to be lived in the right way. Just as taking action does not mean doing anything, living also does not mean living in any way. Once a person has successfully discerned and chosen their own path, they should apply their knowledge to life. Therefore, Krishna teaches Arjuna that action needs to have a certain quality: gaining control over one’s own impulses and using “effective limbs” for valuable actions, without seeking anything for oneself. This means acting out of duty instead of instinctive desires. The desire for gain should be replaced with the desire for duty. He who replaces cruelty with nobility, that is the struggle of Arjuna – the man. Only then can the rule of the Pandavas gradually strengthen within the human being. By reigning over oneself, man frees himself from everything that is not his true nature.
For a yogi, one who completely rules over oneself and is rich in knowledge, with a heart full of bliss, for whom every thing in this world is equally valuable, whether it be a stone, clay, or even shiny gold – we say that he is in harmony.
He is always full of kindness towards everyone he meets, whether they are friends or opponents. Going,
be they acquaintances or strangers,
be they good or bad,
it’s all the same to him:
he loves them all equally…