The Bhagavad Gita “Songs of the Master” Translated With an Introduction and Commentary by Charles Johnston Sacred Texts Series www.universaltheosophy.com General Introduction The Bhagavad Gita is one of the noblest scriptures of India! one of the deepest scriptures of the "orld# It is rich in beauty and full of poetic power# The characters stand out in heroic grandeur! in the midst of a splendid setting of martial valor# The figures of $r%una! very human in despondency and doubt, and of &rishna! ma%estic, resolute! persuasive! are clear! living! of universal truth# 'n another side! the Bhagavad Gita is full of inspiration! of religious devotion! of (eenest insight into the heart of man# The conflict of motives that beset human action! the clinging fetters of selfishness "hich check us in the path to the immortal! the subtle evasions of the lur(ing "hisperer in the heart: all are clearly seen and vividly revealed# *et, "ithal! the claims of abstract thought are not forgotten+ every stage of Indian philosophy! every shade of logic and metaphysics! is given its place+ and many practical suggestions are put for"ard! touching the problems of Indian politics and history! hints as valid to- day in human affairs as they were two thousand years ago. “Bhagavad Gita” means The Songs of the Master! that is! of &rishna! Prince of .vara(a! a /a%put of royal line# The occasion is the decisive battle of &uru(shetra! and the opening of the poem is epic and martial in spirit. 'nly a part of the battle is recorded# We are not told the result. 0or this "or( is but a section of a much longer poem! the Mahabharata! "hich embodies a "hole cycle of Indian history! tradition and legend# The leading events of the great Mahabharata "ar are historical# They have left a dee mar( on all later ages of Indian life! down to our day# The great struggle between (indred branches of the /a%put race recorded there! permanently "ea(ened that race! and eclipsed its glory! thus ma(ing "ay for the long dominance of the sacerdotal Brahmans# The growth of the Brahman power forms! as it "ere! a measure of the passage of ages in ancient India# In the archaic days of the first 1panishads! "e find the sacred "isdom "holly in the hands of the /a%puts! the royal races a(in! as it "ould seem! to the ancient 2gyptians and Chaldeans# T"o of the Upanishads record the first initiation of a Brahman into that "isdom# The initiator! a princely /a%put mar(s the occasion by declaring that this wisdom had never before been given to a Brahman, but in every region was the hereditary teaching of the Kshatriya, the warrior! alone# i Sacred Texts Series www.universaltheosophy.com In the days of the Mahabharata "ar! the Brahmans have already gained much ground! but they are far from being the strong and dominant caste they later became# There are many instances in "hich the privileges and dignity of Brahmans are some"hat curtly treated+ and in many cases! as in the marriages of the Pandu brothers! Brahmanical la" is broken in a "ay that "ould be unthin(able later on# There is abundant evidence that it "as precisely this great fratricidal struggle among the /a%put princes that gave the Brahmans their opportunity, opening the way for the consolidation of their power# In the days of Prince Siddhartha! also a /a%put of the Solar race! the priestly hierarchy "as not only grown strong and great all over northern India! but, in many regards! it had fallen into over,ripeness and decline# 'ne of the Buddha's most elo4uent sermons is directed against the many abuses of the Brahman order! and preserves for us a picture! uns aring in its satire! and perfect in detail! of the life of the Brahmans! in spiritual and e5ternal matters alike! in the Buddha's day# $s "e (now that the Buddha's long life "as lived some twenty, five hundred years ago, "e can easily see that the epoch of the Great War! in "hich &rishna and $r%una fought, must have been many centuries earlier+ and far beyond the time of the Great War lie the archaic days of the greater 1panishads# In general! "e may hold that no man "ho has been "ell forgotten! suddenly becomes the hero of a popular poem# The very essence of ballads and bardic songs is that they record doughty deeds still fresh in all memories+ and! the "orld over! the bards have gained glory and re"ard by singing the praises of "arriors! and the beauty of 4ueens! at the courts of the 4ueens and "arriors they celebrated! or at least before their children! "ho shone in their reflected glory# Praise of living princes has al"ays been the business of heralds and bards# We are %ustified! then! in believing that every bardic poem! every ballad belauding some hero, "as in the first instance genuinely contemporary! though many later changes may have been made# $nd this is true! no doubt, of the cycle of ballads and bardic poems "hich form the (ernel of the Mahabharata# They "ere made in the first instance "hile the echoes of the Great War "ere in all men's ears+ "hile the victors were still flushed "ith victory+ "hile the "reaths "ere still fresh on the tombs of the fallen# $nd amongst those ballads there "as one! if "e may trust the great cyclic poem itself! "hich recorded the ii Sacred Texts Series www.universaltheosophy.com .espondency of $r%una in sight of the armies! and the "ise and stinging "ords by which Prince Krishna stirred him to the conflict. This poem of &rishna and $r%una! made soon after the battle! no doubt, formed the (ernel of the present "or(# To that (ernel many elements "ere added! and its growth followed the growth of Indian life throughout centuries# Gradually developed and perfected in form! it came at last to stand as a symbolic scripture! "ith many meanings! containing many truths# This development has ta(en place! in a large degree! by "eaving together the different threads of Indian thought, the "or( of the great lines of Indian tradition# There is but one problem of life+ throughout all lands! in all age! it has been the same# It is the problem of the soul and immortality# 0rom difference of temperament or race! or both! there have been certain "idely divergent lines in the effort of ancient India to solve the immemorial secret. 2ach had its growth and development; each its long line of adherents+ each its controversies! its commentators! its triumphs# In course of time! the difference between these systems gre" more mar(ed than their agreement, and controversy overshadowed appreciation# 'ne great tas( of the Bhagavad Gita is that of reconciler between these divergent systems! and the revelation of the truth that they all lead to a single goal# These different lines of thought may have had their origin in difference of race+ since a blending of four great races "ent to the forming of the Indian polity# These are the red race of the /a%puts! the "hite race of the Brahmans! the yellow race of the 6aishyas! and the black race of the Shudras# The "hite race "as! perhaps! the most northerly! and may have come into India by "ay of the Hindu &ush# We find the red race of the /a%puts stretching from the Indus to the Ganges! on the "est holding /a%putana! and on the east e5tending to $yodhya or 'udh! and the Buddha's country in Behar# South of the /a%puts! along the 6indhya hills! the mountains of 'rissa! and certain spurs of the Ghats, are the yellow agricultural races from whom the Vaishyas were recruited# $nd in the southern peninsula,down to the e5tremity of India, are various black or nearly black tribes and races!"ho contributed the Shudra element to the ancient 0our-Caste system# The local disposition of these four great races "as! doubtless! the source of the ancient parable that from the head of Brahma "ere iii Sacred Texts Series www.universaltheosophy.com born the Brahmans+ from his arms! the /a%puts+ from his middle! the 6aishyas+ from his feet, the Shudras# $ large part of ancient Indian la" "as concerned "ith the balancing of duties and rights between the four races# 2ach had its genius and gifts+ and the selective force of development had naturally assigned a province of activities to each# 0or each! there "ere certain duties! a certain “dharma” by fulfilling "hich he could obtain fulness of life and salvation+ and thus an ideal race perfection "as held u to each of the four stems# 0urther! every barrier "as placed in the "ay of intermarriage! for it "as found that, in general! half-breeds failed to inherit the better 4ualities of either arent. The "ord mulatto, or mule-like! is used by Manu's commentator! in describing the half-bred stocks! the result of caste-mixture+ and the Manu code is most stringent in its prohibition of race mixture# This is "hat $r%una means! "hen he spea(s of mingling of caste! or! more properly! mingling of color! and the social anarchy "hich "ould follow it, toward the close of the first book+ and it is of the genius and duties of the different races that Krishna spea(s later on# There "as another 4uality "hich sprang from the original difference of race) a difference in spiritual insight and religious ideal# The /a%puts had their ancient tradition! "hich is put forth in the greater 1panishads! and "hich held the twin doctrine of rebirth and liberation# This tradition! as "e have seen! "as at first the hereditary teaching of the /a%puts alone! and "as much later imparted to the Brahmans# The Brahmans also had their faith# In Indra and Agni, they adored certain great cosmic principles, and the 6edic hymns record the ritual of their worship.