The Mahābhārata, the Bhagavad Gītā, & Bhakti

Question 1

What does Mahabharata mean?

Answer 1

“The great story of the descendants of Bharata” or “The great war of the Bharatas.”

Question 2

When was the Mahābhārata composed?

Answer 2

200 BCE – 300 CE.

Question 3

What kind of text is the Mahābhārata considered to be?

Answer 3

Considered to be smṛti - “that which has been remembered”.

Question 4

How many verses are in the Mahābhārata?

Answer 4

100,000 verses

Question 5

Is there one Mahabharata?

Answer 5

• Extremely fluid – there is no single Mahābhārata
• Comics, television series, films.
• Hundreds of myths and folktales, philosophical discourses, religious parables.

Question 6

When were the events in the Mahabharata said to take place?

Answer 6

• Events said to have taken place at the end of Dvāpara Yuga.
• -Superior to present Kali age but a time of less perfection than earlier ages.
• Reflected in the characters – more human – more flaws and shortcomings than heroes of Rāmāyaṇa.
• Wonder what to do when confronted with hard choices and at times make wrong choices.

Question 7

The Mahabharata is primarily concerned with the dharma of which class?

Answer 7

Also primarily concerned with kṣatriya dharma

Question 8

Which author is the mahabharata attributed to and who is said to be the scribe?

Answer 8

• Authorship attributed to the sage Vyāsa.
• • Name means “the separator”.
• Gaṇeśa is said to be the scribe.

Question 9

Who were the two families involved in the mahabharata?

Answer 9

• The kauravas (Dhrtarastra and Gandhari, had 99 sons and 1 daughter and Duryodhana)
• the Pandavas (sonsof pandu). Pandu had two wives Kunti (who had three sons: Yudhissthira, Bhima and Arjuna) and Madri (who had two sons: Nakula and Sahadeva)

Question 10

What kind of things are discussed in the Mahabharata?

Answer 10

• Discussions about dharma, spiritual peace and liberation from saṃsāra.
• Vedic sacrifices.
• Debates about ahimsa and the justice of war.
• Challenges to and justifications for the class structure.
• The start of the sects and sectarianism.
• • Great gods of classical Hinduism.
• Pilgrimage.
• Concern for the dharma of warriors, the goal of mokṣa, and the importance of devotion to the gods.

Question 11

What are the three layers of meaning in the Mahabharata?

Answer 11

1. Mundane – the epic story about the war between cousins.
2. Ethical – war as conflict between dharma and adharma – the final victory of dharma.
3. Transcendental – war is between the higher and lower self in man.
   - - Kṛṣṇa – charioteer – divine power that drives the lives of all persons.
   - - Pāṇḍavas – internal virtues
   - - Kauravas – innumerable psychological obstructions (anger, greed, vengeance, etc.).

Question 12

What is the mahabharata war symbolic of?

Answer 12

The Mahābharata war – symbolic representation of the inner battle between our quest to live dharmically and the internal forces that draw us to adharmic deeds.

Question 13

What did the early vedic religion focus on?

Answer 13

• Focused on ritual sacrifice for this wordly benefits and to maintain social order. Conventional practices associated with householders way of life (sacrificial rites).
• Goal: Dharma

Question 14

What was the sramana philosophies/ upanisadic worldview?

Answer 14

• Focused on renunciation and the practice of meditation.
• Quest for Self-realization and ending of suffering.
• Goal: moksa

Question 15

How did brahman orthodoxy suggest compromise for the two conflicting goals?

Answer 15

• Two conflicting goals – Brahminic orthodoxy suggested compromise: Included Upaniṣads, varṇāśramadharma, The goals of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa could all be pursued.
• Many wanted to devote their lives to mokṣa.
• Mounting pressure for religious inclusion from other disenfranchised groups.
• • Buddhism responded by permitting women, śūdras, and untouchables to become monks and nuns.
• This was the social backdrop for the emerging teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā.

Question 16

What was the view on Asceticism by the epic period?

Answer 16

• By the time of Mahābharata– asceticism regarded with considerable respect.
• • Depicted as powerful.
• • Śiva, the ascetic god, is given some importance in Mahābharata – attests to increasing importance of world renunciation.

Question 17

What two central scenes are set in the context of this tension?

Answer 17

Two central scenes are set in the context of this tension and seek to provide solutions:
- Arjuna’s reluctance to fight before the great battle (Bhagavad Gītā).
- Yudhiṣṭhira’s dilemma (to rule his kingdom or renounce after the battle).
The solutions provided, permit a balance.

Question 18

What was Yudhiṣṭhira’s dilemna?

Answer 18

• Now heir to the kingdom.
• Disheartened by the battle and death of his allies - wanted to renounce - seek peace and liberation in the forest.
• To rule as king would require he punish others in order to maintain order – sick of misery and pain.
• Best path is renunciation.
• Brothers, counselors and wife object to his desire to renounce the world.

Question 19

What were the counter-arguments from Draupadi (Yudhiṣṭhira’s) wife?

Answer 19

• inconsistent
• Brother’s fought for him, no reward for them?
• Calls manhood into question

Question 20

What were Arjuna’s counter arguments for Yudhiṣṭhira’s?

Answer 20

• he should follow custom]
• disorder and chaos will result
• bad karma- lowly rebirth
• violence is natural and meritorious for a king in administration of kingly duties
• violence is natural order of things
• use of violence by king is divinely sanctioned

Question 21

What were the brothers counter arguments for Yudhiṣṭhira’s?

Answer 21

• Gods use violence against their enemies .
• To administer punishment and fight in battle - sacred rites for a king.
• All of the world, including the gods, depends on the king doing his duty.
• Householder stage superior to all the rest.
• True renunciation is renunciation of desires.
• Renunciation before fulfilling ones obligation to society - unnatural and untraditional.
• Put it off until later – follow the stage of life appropriate to his age.

Question 22

What is the conclusion of Yudhisthira’s dilemna?

Answer 22

• After all this, he takes the throne.
• At end of the Mahābhārata when he is old, he does abandon the world.
• So – not convinced of the superiority of worldly life - just of its necessity.
• Still views renunciation as ultimate path to liberation – convinced that it should be put off until a more appropriate time/stage of life.

Question 23

What does the Bhagavad gita mean?

Answer 23

(“Song of the Lord”)

Question 24

What is the bhagavad gita?

Answer 24

• 200 BCE – 200 CE.
• Found within the Mahābhārata but read as a stand-alone text.
• 18 chapters in length.
• One of the holiest books in the Hindu tradition.
• Widens the parameters of what composes Hinduism.

Question 25

What were the three paths to liberation that emerged from the Bhagavad gita?

Answer 25

Discusses three major approaches (marga) to liberation.

• the Jñāna Marga (The Path of Knowledge)
• the Karma Marga (The Path of Action)
• the Bhakti Marga (The Path of Loving Devotion).

Question 26

What happens between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad gita?

Answer 26

• A conversation between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa (avatar/ incarnation of the god Viṣṇu).
• Takes place on the eve of the great battle between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas.
• Arjuna asks his charioteer, Kṛṣṇa, to take him out on battlefield so he can see the enemy assembling.
• Arjuna sees his family, friends and beloved teachers on the side of the enemy.
• He loses the will to fight.
• In refusing to fight, Arjuna calls into question the virtue of his social role as a warrior and the importance of upholding social order.
• Vedic ideal his duty is clear – as warrior it is his responsibility to combat forces that threaten order.
• He suggests to Kṛṣṇa that it will be preferable to renounce.
• Kṛṣṇa tells him that it is correct to fight for what is right – must fight for righteousness (dharma).

Question 27

What does Krishna offer to Arjuna as a compromise for his conflicting ideals?

Answer 27

• Kṛṣṇa offers Arjuna a brilliant compromise between conflicting ideals – the three paths:
• • Jñāna Marga (Path of Knowledge)
• • Karma Marga (Path of Action)
• • Bhakti Marga (Path of Loving Devotion).

Question 28

What are the teachings of the Bhagavad gita?

Answer 28

• Appeals to dharma:
• The true Self endures beyond death.
• Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa and all the warriors assembled have always existed and always will.
• True Self changes bodies with each rebirth as a person changes clothes.

Question 29

What is the Jnana Marga?

Answer 29

• Jñāna means “knowledge.” (path of knowledge)
• True knowledge = insight into real nature of the universe, divine power and human soul.
• Teaches Arjuna many conventional ways to attain the highest knowledge.
• Self restraint, concentration of mind, yoga.

Question 30

What is the Karma Marga?

Answer 30

• One should perform one’s ordained duty, act – yes.
• Key is performance of action with the proper understanding/attitude/knowledge.
• Actions themselves are not binding - desire that prompts actions that cause bondage.
• Acting with expectation of future reward (or repercussion) leads to bondage and unhappiness.
• Karmaphalasanga – karma = action/act, phal = fruit, results, asanga = without attachment (niṣkāma karma - action without attachment)
• True renunciation is not renunciation of one’s social role and retirement from society but renunciation of desires for the fruits of actions.
• Doesn’t matter what a person’s social role may be, anyone may seek liberation while remaining in society if one disciplines one’s actions.
• May gain mokṣa by doing this.

Question 31

When Arjuna asks how the path of action is possible, what did krishna say?

Answer 31

• Arjuna asks how this is possible.
• Kṛṣṇa recommends that he perform every action as a sacrifice to him.
• “Whatever you do – what you take, what you offer, what you give, what penances you perform – do as an offering to me, Arjuna!”

Question 32

What is the Bhakti Marga?

Answer 32

• First text to elaborate upon the meaning of bhakti.
• Bhakti grants access to worship and mokṣa to all.
• Sincere devotees uplifted to the highest status.
• Kṛṣṇa teaches that even those who worship other deities with sincerity actually worship him.
• Kṛṣṇa identifies himself with every deity that receives genuine devotion.
• Important in understanding Hinduism’s characteristic tolerant polytheism.
• All devotion – regardless of the form this devotion takes or to whom the devotion is directed – leads the devotee to to liberation.
• Kṛṣṇa is a god with qualities (saguna) whom Arjuna can love and and reach union with the god without qualities (nirguna) - Brahman

Question 33

Who is Krsna?

Answer 33

• Shows Arjuna his universal form (viśvarūpa).
• Makes statements that mark a shift in Hindu theology.
• Identifies himself with Upaniṣadic Brahman.
• And with the traditionally imagined 4-armed Viṣṇu.
• He is the ultimate deity, a personal god, incarnates periodically to protect humans.

Question 34

What do the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings allow for?

Answer 34

• Gītā’s teachings allow for the understanding that God is embodied within the creation.
• Allows a panentheistic formulation.
• Panentheism – the belief that God encompasses the creation and yet is greater than it - God is both within and also transcends the creation.
• Rationale for traditional form that pūjā, Hindu devotional worship, takes.

Question 35

How does the Bhagavad gita make a compelling case for the bhakti marga?

Answer 35

• Makes compelling case for Bhakti Marga.
• It links the other paths to devotion.
• Jñāna Marga - effective, but highest knowledge (knowledge of God) most easily attained through loving devotion.
• Karma Marga – detached/selfless action best applied to devotion to God.
• Only by fixing one’s mind on God through loving devotion can one’s true Self, come to God.

Question 36

How does the gita redefine the meaning of action and sacrifice?

Answer 36

• The Gītā, while not contradicting Vedic views – redefines the meaning of action and sacrifice.
• ”Action” -not only the performance of sacrificial rituals.
• ”Action” becomes more encompassing – includes all of one’s thoughts, words and deeds.
• Sacrifice then becomes offering up these actions with devotion, while renouncing attachment to their fruits – this is the supreme sacrifice – can obtain liberation.
• Fuses renunciation with the householder way of life.
• Synthesizes the world-maintaining view of the Vedic tradition and the world-denying view of Upaniṣads.