Bhagavad Gita
Study guide
Terms:
³Yoga: [Skt.,=union], general term for spiritual
disciplines in Hinduism ,Buddhism , and throughout S Asia that are directed toward attaining
higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering, and rebirth²
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Chapter 1
Like Book 1 of the Iliad, this chapter opens up the field of
tension. After the narrator sets the scene, we¹re confronted with Arjuna, the
mortal about to make war with his relatives, and the deity Krishna. Arjuna has a series of questions for
Krishna about the appropriateness of fighting against these people: ³I
do not wish to kill them.²
Chapter 2
Krishna¹s
response will seem quite strange to most of us. He justifies going to war, but
with an argument we don¹t normally make.
Key: what does he have to
say about the ³senses,² and about mortality?
Chapter 3
At section
35, Arjuna lists reasons why he should not go to battle. These are worth remembering.
Chapter 4
Be sure you
understand the emphasis on incarnation in this chapter. When does it take place? What does it
mean?
Section
7:
Dharma:
³a. The principle or law
that orders the universe. b. Individual
conduct in conformity with this principle. c. The essential function or nature of a thing. 2. Hinduism Individual obligation with respect to
caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred law.²
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Section 24:
Brahman ³1. also Brah·ma (-m )Hinduism a. A religious formula or prayer and the holy or sacred power in it
and in the officiating priest. b. The holy
or sacred power that is the source and sustainer of the universe. c. The single absolute being pervading the universe and found
within the individual; atman. 2. also Brahmin (-m n) A member of the highest of the four major castes of
traditional Indian society, responsible for officiating at religious rites and
studying and teaching the Vedas. 3. also Brah·ma (-m ) or Brah·min
(-m n) One of a breed of domestic cattle
developed in the southern United States from stock originating in India and
having a hump between the shoulders and a pendulous dewlap. Well adapted to hot
climates, it is used chiefly for crossbreeding.
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Chapter 5
On
completion of this chapter you should be able to comment briefly on the
relation between action and knowledge.
Chapter 6
And here,
you should be able to state Krishna¹s thinking on discipline.
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
At the end
of this chapter the text says that the believer should never be bewildered (or,
in different translations, ³deluded²).
Why not?
Chapter 9
Now we come
to the most secret or confidential form of knowledge. Can you describe it?
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18