There is no use denying the fact that India is one of the most ancient countries in the world with its unique history and culture. Great number of generations of people follow traditions which were created thousand years ago. Additionally, nowadays, many people all over the world know Buddhism and its main peculiarities. This philosophy and religion can be taken as one of the greatest achievements and creations of human thought of people in Ancient India.
Being rather popular and well known, this philosophy appeared in ancient times, though it still has many adherers. People also know different peculiarities of Buddhism due to different ancient creations which could be taken as religious, philosophical and literature works. Bhagavad Gita is one of the greatest masterpieces of this kind. With this in mind, it is possible to analyze its main aspects to understand peculiarities of Buddhism and philosophy and literature of ancient India better.
First of all, it should be said that Bhagavad Gita is a part of the great epic of Mahabharata, which is known to be one of the greatest literary works of Ancient India. It is often considered to be the basis of Hindu philosophy. The whole work is presented in the form of a dialogue between prince Arjuna and Krishna.
They talk at the battlefield before Kuruskshetra War. Arjuna, being one of the most influential princes, has some doubts which are connected with his role in this war and necessity of his participation. However, Krishna persuades Arjuna to take part in it as it is his duty. In the course of a dialogue between these two characters a reader gets to know about some main aspects of Yoga which can lead to salvation.
The whole work is organized in the way which helps to understand the main sense of Yoga better. Krishna helps Arjuna to move from one kind of Yoga to another, understanding their peculiarities better. In general, it is possible to say that Krishna presents Yoga as the way to save the soul of a person.
There are three different kinds of Yoga which are touched in the work. They are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Though, these three ways have different peculiarities, there is only one main aim which should be accomplished with the help of these three different practices and it is liberation or Moksha.
Some practical approach to liberation is presented in the form of Karma Yoga. Krishna states the necessity of action. However, it should be thought through as it is also pernicious to be too involved in the process. Krishna states the fact that a person should be able to clean his/her mind and participate in spiritual activity. Additionally, this kind of Yoga can also be taken as the way to realize potential which is hidden in a person and save his/her inner substance.
Bhakti Yoga, mentioned in the work, can be taken as another step which can help a person to save himself/herself. This kind of Yoga centers around love and devotion to God. Krishna explains Arjuna that total surrender and love to God can help a person to save his/her soul and, moreover, understand his/her inner world better. Krishna underlines great importance of this step and emphasizes that only a person who respects the feeling of devotion to God and also has this very feeling can be taken as a good one.
Finally, Jnana Yoga is described as the most difficult practice among all mentioned in the work. A person should refuse his/her desires and actions in order to become close to God and save his/her soul.
The work Bahgavad Gita is very important for understanding the main peculiarities of the whole Hindu philosophy as for centuries it has been taken as one of the most sacred texts which influenced the whole Indian culture. Being a part of epic of Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita has the same problematic. The war between Kauravas and Pandavas is the main theme of the epic.
However, Krishna, as one of the main characters of this literary work, has his own peace mission and tries to stop this war He is not able to persuade leaders to stop the conflict, however, he tries to make people understand peculiarities of self recognition. The dialogue between him and Arjuna serves to show these attempts of Krishna. Trying to explain the main aspects of Yoga, Krishna also wants to make Arjuna understand the world in the whole and stop the war between people who are close to each other.