The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important sacred texts of Hinduism. It occurs as a part of the great epic Mahabharatha. It is timed by historians at around 5000BC.
The Bhagavad Gita is a record of the conversation between two protagonists, Krishna and Arjuna. It is interpreted as an instruction by God (Krishna) to man (Arjuna) on the path to salvation. In the process of the dialogue, one gets to have an opening into varied facets of life like religion, spirituality, philosophy, society, science, art, literature etc.
Understanding the Bhagavad Gita can be daunting and even misleading. For one obvious thing, Krishna asks Arjuna to fight while He advises ahimsa (non-violence) and the spirit of yajna (sacrifice) all through the dialogue. In the wrong hands, a call for fighting can be dangerous and thus there is a minimum qualification necessary to read it, which is compassion for others. Arjuna had this qualification which can be seen from chapters 1 & 2.
Lord Krishna has never encouraged War. The Lord simply says that in event of war one should not runawa
y from it.The Gita is a perfect scripture and needs a guru to understand it.If guru is not available then one should not study t
ranslations by westerners . The best available annotated Gita in the world is by Srila Prabhupad of Iskon
It is easily available and can be had from any ISKON centre.
Thanks Prakash for your comment.
A Guru is not necessary if one surrenders to the supreme Guru, Lord Krishna Himself.
While it is true that westerners bring errors in interpretation, there are exceptions to it. Annie Besant's translation carries the spirit of the Gita to an amazing degree.
I first read the Gita in 1995, and found it very instructive. I have never perceived the Gita as advocating war, no more than I would perceive Jesus doing so. Language of bringing a sword, and not peace; or the spiritual duty of having to slay his loved ones, which so plagued Arjuna, are of a spiritual nature. When reading a text of wisdom, anything that doesn't seem to fit is a result of reader perspective rather than textual incongruities. The richness of the reading comes in meditating on what is puzzling or unclear, and in due time it becomes clear. The Gita, as with any spiritual text, is a tool to understanding; however, remember to "Know thyself" - Socrates. You can know scripture till it comes out your ears, but this means nothing if you do not inquire within. The Tao, the Gita, the Bible, the gnostic texts are all rich with wisdom, but you access that wisdom as a result of a consistent practice of meditation.
Buddha asked his followers to reject his words if it does not appeal to them. Krishna too asks Arjuna finally to think about everything He said and do what he deems fit.
At the beginning Arjuna used Krishna as a crutch. When the sermon was over, Arjuna was strong enough to stand on his own legs.