The Bhagavad Gita

“The most important, the most influential, and the most luminous of all Hindu scriptures.” –R.C. Zaehner

The Bhagavad Gita (in Sanskrit, “Song of the Lord”) is the most famous poem in all of Hindu literature and part of the Mahabharata, the Indian epic masterpeice. The Gita consists of a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna on the morning of a climactic battle. Krishna provides Prince Arjuna with the spiritual means to understand his own nature so that he can take action and prevail.

Of course the larger canvas painted in the poetry is that of the moral universe of Hinduism. As Eknath Easwaran, one of the worlds premier teachers of meditation and spirituality, notes “The Gita does not present a system of philosophy. It offers something to every seeker after God, of whatever temperament, by whatever path. The reason for this universal appeal is that it is basically practical: it is a handbook for self-realization and a guide to action.”