Bhagavad-Gita

“Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord) is considered the great scriptures of the Hindus and the Indian text most familiar to the west.”  The Bible is considered the great scriptures of many religions. The Christians use the Old and New Testament. Jews use the Old Testament and Muslims use the Old Testament with some consideration of the New Testament in their religion.

After reading parts of the Bhagavad-Gita I find some similarities to the Bible with more specifics in the Old Testament in the book of Proverbs. I’m not saying they are exact but similar in the sense of wisdom, discipline and knowledge.

Here are a few that I found very interesting in the Bhagavad-Gita that I will not be pairing with the bible but I will be sharing as to allow one’s own intellect to interpret their own thoughts and feelings on the verses.

“Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action; avoid attraction to the fruits and attachment to inaction! Perform actions, firm in discipline, relinquishing attachment; be impartial to failure and success- this equanimity is called discipline.” (Bhagavad-Gita: From the second teaching: line 47-48)

“When he gives up desires in his mind, is content with the self within himself, then he is said to be a man whose insight is sure, Arjuna.” (Bhagavad-Gita: From the second teaching: line 56)

“Gluttons have no discipline, nor the man who starves himself nor he who sleeps excessively or suffers wakefulness.” When a man disciplines his diet and diversions, his physical actions, his sleeping and waking, discipline destroys his sorrow.” (Bhagavad-Gita: From the sixth teaching: line 16-17)

“He who sees me everywhere and see everything in me will not be lost to me, and I will not be lost to him. I exist in all creatures, so the disciplined man devoted to me grasps the oneness of life; wherever he is, he is in me.” (Bhagavad-Gita: From the sixth teaching: line 30-31)

I find that there are many versus that I love from the bible and find it extremely complicated to narrow down my selection so I found more that I felt were very similar to the Bhagavad-Gita’s sayings.

Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry. (Proverbs 19:15 NIV.)

Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. (Proverbs 20:13 NIV.)

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs 21:21 NIV.)

Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you. Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, teaching you true and reliable words, so that you can give sound answers to him who sent you? (Proverbs 22:17-21 NIV.)

The word “Religion”, I find rather interesting because it’s the one word that seems to divide all, yet when you look at the core of it all, we seem to desire similar things. To know our God, to seek him and to learn and become more like him!

Thoughts

There are many factors in my life that I consider important and that I know I take major advantage of, one of them is being able to love my God the way I desire. I am not forced to become nor partake in specific religions because of the country that I live in. I am able to love and proudly proclaim my love for Jesus Christ and to tell the world what he means to me without persecution from the government.

Many other factors that are important to me and that I know I take for granted is that I’m a woman that lives in the United States of America; with that comes freedom of speech, the ability to work if I desire, bare arms, I can further my education if desired, I can own property, I can vote, I can marry if decide to, I can be independent without depending on others if I want to, I can own my own company, I have the freedom to express my sexuality however I choose. Of course with all of these freedoms there are some consequences that may come into play. However, they are still my decisions and I’m not being told what to do.

Many of the stories that I’ve read for my world literature class are from the beginning of time. It’s rather obvious that the women back then did not have the same freedoms that I do today. With that said, I can only say, I’m extremely thankful to be a woman of the present and not of the past. I fear that if I ever were forced to go back in time, I would be beheaded for my stubborn, independent, strong willed ways!!!