The Bhagard-Gita
THE BHAGAVAD-GITA
1. The God Krishna
The god Krishna has his origins in the non-vedic (non-Aryan) religion of the Satvatas, a tribe in northern India, whose principal deity was Krishna Vasudeva. This tribe eventually was incorporated into the caste system as ksatriya status and their god Krishna was incorporated into the Vedic pantheon. The Satvatas continued their devotion to Krishna and he became over time the only supreme god; also they maintained their distinctive religious practise and belief (referred to as the Vaisnava tradition) against the Brahmins.
This leads to a consideration of the Bhagavad-Gita. This work represents the synthesis in Indian religion of the Vaisnava tradition with the Upanishadic tradition. Krishna becomes Brahman but retains his nature as a personal god: there is a fusion of monism and monotheism in this work. Eventually Krishna is identified with Vishnu, thus connecting it with the Vedic pantheon and therefore with popular "Hinduism."
2. Introduction to the Bhagavad-Gita
Although it can and does exist as an independent text, the Bhagavad-Gita, meaning "Song of the Lord" (i.e, Lord Krishna) is actually part of the much larger epic poem called Mahabharata; this epic poem relates a feud over succession in the ancient kingdom of Kurukshetra; the rivals factions are two sets of cousins who are descended from king Bharata. In the Bhagavad-Gita the two rival factions have met on the battle field; Arjuna is one of the conbattants. Although he is initially ready and willing to do combat, Arjuna falls into a state of despair at the prospect of killing his own kinsmen; he confesses his reluctance to Krishna, his charioteer. Thus the stage is set for the philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna. (Actually, the reader soon discovers that Krishna is more than he appears.) The narrator of the poem is Sanjaya, who is the charioteer for another...
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