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Outline Lecture Eight— Abiding by One’s : Krishna’s Guide for

Key Terms for Today’s Lecture: Samsara Dharma (Cycle) (Release) (Sacred duty) (Action) (Discipline) (Devotion)

I) The Bhagavad-Gita as a Universal Manual for Life a) Historical Context of the Philosophical Poem i) Part of the war , ii) 12th century B.C.E. conflict between two kindred clans in NW (1) The clan vs. clan iii) Arjuna’s moral and personal dilemma (1) Central conflict is between personal feelings and sacred duties iv) The ageless, ubiquitous problem of reconciling life’s conflicting choices—feelings vs. duties, preferences vs. obligations, desires vs. v) The appeal of the Bhagavad-Gita as a “gospel of selfless action” b) How the Narrative is “Framed” i) ’s question for (1) “Tell me what my sons and the sons of did when they met” ii) The centrality of “sacred duty” or dharma (1) Examples of misguided familial sentiments and attachments (2) “Flaw of pity” vs. pragmatic detachment

II) The Broad Appeal of in India a) More Ascetic Paths towards Moksha i) Vedic Culture (1) Rig —1,028 hymns compiled between (15th to 8th centuries B.C.E.) ii) The Upanishad Tradition (8th to 5th centuries B.C.E.) (1) Shift from sacrificial ritual to spiritual contemplation (2) —absolute “Soul” vs. Atman—individual “soul” b) Two “Norms” towards moksha in Hinduism i) “Extraordinary Norm” or renunciation of worldly life () (1) “self” and relinquish all “action” ii) “Ordinary Norm” or Disciplined Action (Karma-yoga) (1) Acting according to one’s “dharma” or “sacred duty” (2) can as a manual for the “ordinary norm”:

III) The Wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita a) Dialectic of Pragmatic Detachment i) “Be intent on action (karma); not on the fruits of action (phalam)” ii) Act without attachment to results (1) Mindset of “lucid action,” as opposed to “acts of passion” or “dark inertia” b) Disassociating Actions from Ego i) What’s in it for me? How does it reflect on me? ii) Cassandra’s wisdom (1) “You don’t have to overdo it, just do it. There are not many who take the work seriously—you do. This is your best and this is all that’s required of any of us. Not to overdo—not to outdo—but to do our best. This is enough. To try to do more is to dislocate from the equation.” iii) Action does not come from the “self” but from Brahman (Universal Soul) c) Disempowering or empowering ideology? i) Rationale of dharma for the Hindu caste system (1) Brahman, , , (2) “Your own duty done imperfectly is better than doing another man’s well” (46) ii) Potential problems with this logic? (1) Where is an individual’s “free will” or accountability in all of this? d) Dialectic of “Self” i) Is “free will” or individuality actually a delusion? ii) Krishna as “all creatures’ timeless seed” iii) The disciplined notion of “self” e) The Way to the Disciplined Self—Bhakti i) Sublimation in Krishna (1) Antidote to individuality as the “lord of discipline incarnate” ii) Total devotion to a god leads to abnegation of the ego iii) The wisdom through Hindu polytheism (1) Idea of the “divine eye”—Darsan (2) The qualities of a “” (Read 37)