Bhagavad Gita Q&A
- 1
What are Arjun's chief reasons for not initially wanting to fight the Kauravs? How does his attitude change by the end?
Arjun finds the battlefield filled with people that he loves and reveres, and on both sides of the war sees a relative or friend. He begins to believe that it would be unjust for him to seek to harm his kinsmen for the sake of a mere earthly kingdom. Arjun seems to believe that his dharma, or duty, towards his family compels him to lay down his arms and defy the dharma of his varna.
By the end of the Gita, Arjun has come to realize the importance of achieving salvation through the practice of Karma yoga. Krishna makes him realize that the death of the warriors in the field has already been decided, and Arjun's role is simply to be the instrument of God's will.
- 2
What is a more powerful way to achieve God -- renunciation or selfless service? Why?
According to Krishna, both paths eventually lead to salvation. However, the path of Karma yoga, or selfless service, is more powerful as renunciation is an extremely complex path that those with embodied souls struggle to fulfill. Krishna at several instances in the Bhagavad admonishes those that take to the path of Asceticism, and therein deny the fulfillment of their Dharma.
- 3
Explain the karmic cycle of rebirth in the context of dharma and samsara. How can one end this samsaric cycle?
Krishna explains that the jiva moves from one body to the next after the death of its mortal shell. The karma that the spirit has accumulated over life leads to either a suitable rebirth or a poorer one. Those that seek to free themselves from Samsara, must learn to embrace selfless service or wisdom or seek salvation through Devotion, Bhakti Yoga. An individual exits the cycle of life and death and gains Moksha by recognizing and acting in faith to the one Supreme God.
