The Bhagavad Gita: The Path to Enlightenment

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Introduction

The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley is a book that recounts a conversation between Arjuna, one of the five princes of the Pandava brothers, and Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer who happens to be a Hindu deity. 

Realizing that the enemy he is facing are friends, teachers, and his own kin, Arjuna would lose his resolve to fight as "his attitude seems to waver and he appears confused" (Hawley 7). 

Arjuna believes that even if he were to fight and win for his kingdom, nothing good will come out of it as he would cause a grievous sin by killing those he once cared about. 

As Arjuna asks Krishna for his advice on what he should do, "Krishna transforms into His true role as the Divine Teacher" (Hawley 13) and proceeds to to respond to Arjuna's concern through a spiritual discussion. 

Through these discussions, Krishna explains three different types of yogas to Arjuna in order for him to merge with divinity and find the Atma (One's True Self): Bhakti, Sankhya, and Karma.

The Three Yogas

Bhakti yoga represents a loving devotion and worship to Godhead (Krishna) through meditation.

To Arjuna's initial discomfort, Krishna tells him
the way it is

Sankhya Yoga represents the path of knowledge where one becomes "an Illuminated One, a Sthithaprajna (literally, one who is established in wisdom). This is the one who abandons all selfish desires, cravings, and torments of the heart; who is satisfied with the True Self (Atma) and wants nothing outside the Self" (Hawley 23).

Karma yoga is represents the path of action, where "One's job in life is to act selflessly, even sacramentally, without thinking of personal benefit" (Hawley 29). 

Krishna believes Karma Yoga represents Arjuna's "dharma (right action, living a truth-based life)" (Hawley 32) due to his inner nature as a warrior and it was his duty to fight with a selfless purpose.

Arjuna's Decision

Arjuna and Krishna ride into battle
By the end of Krishna's teachings, Krishna explains to Arjuna that the sole purpose of these teachings was "to lead humanity from the darkness of ignorance to enlightenment" (Hawley 165). 

Krishna would then ask Arjuna to reflect on his teachings before making his decision. 

In the end, Arjuna stayed committed to his dharma and fought for his righteous cause.

However, the battle would not have gone smoothly if Krishna had not given advice to Arjuna or if Arjuna had not chosen to follow his dharma.

For if Krishna had chosen not to intervene, "the battle, and dharma, would have been lost" (Hawley 170).





Works Cited

Bhagavad Gita. "Bhagavad Gita Quotes by Lord Krishna." https://bhagavadgita.io/bhagavad-gita-quotes/. 

Accessed 4 October 2021

Hawley, Jack. The Bhagavad Gits: A Walkthrough for Westerners. New World Library, 2001.

Rajan, C.V. "Was Bhagavad Gita directly written by god 

/ Sri Krishna." https://hinduismwayoflife.com/2018/07/16/was-bhagavad-gita-directly-written-by-god-sri-

krishna/. Accessed 4 October 2021.

Susan, Sister. "The Bhagavad Gita on Karma Yoga." http://www.sistersufi.com/bhagavad-gita-karma-

yoga/. Accessed 4 October 2021.

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