Rather than being the reward for one's earthly obedience to God, and therefore a destination in and of itself then, as it is within Islam, Christianity and Judaism; arrival at nirvana and therefore the ceasing of further reincarnations comes from finally reconciling non-attachment in one's present life with personal responsibility in one's present life - as Krishna advises Arjuna to do now, on the eve of this war.
Holden further points out that during Krishna's conversation with Arjuna, Krishna, with his words from Bhagavad-Gita 2.12 "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be" (qtd. In Holden)

Krisna [sic] is telling us that death is not an end - life itself continues, and always will, as it always has. The implication here is that reality is not what it appears to be to….

Bhagavad Gita and the Tale of Genji
ithin the Bhagavad Gita, there is the persistent of three major themes: knowledge (jnana), action (karma), and love (bhakti).hen it comes to knowledge, one of the major lessons that Krishna is able to demonstrate is the damage via the misplacement of grief, since the eternal soul, unlike the body, cannot be killed. Thus, some of the major lessons regarding knowledge refer to the importance of discriminative wisdom, achieved through a steadfast mind, which is comparable to a lamp unflickering in a place without wind. The attainment of this stability is achieved through practice, such as via yoga, which can help the mind come to a state of repose (Prasad).

Action is still another major theme of this text: action is important with the endeavor or not getting too invested with the results of the action. The fruits of action often cannot be controlled: yoga….

There they see just how far removed from reality they previously were. In the cave, they knew only shadows of what were only copies of ordinary objects; in the light of the sun they are able to see the objects themselves and finally the sun itself, which gives being to all else. (79)
hile Plato's forms may be difficult to conceptualize, these remains the perfect embodiment of what these objects represent, and for humankind, the attainment of light out of the dark represents the freeing of the soul and imagination. For example, Rice notes that "Plato treats the form of the good, then, as a final and highest reality upon which all other things are dependent. It is a sort of cause of all causes; without knowledge of goodness our knowledge of other things is uncertain" (Rice 80).

hat Can Be Learned from These Analogies?

At first blush, the sun analogies in….

The goddess' relationship with Odysseus and Telemachus is similar, though she takes more of a parental role with Telemachus, who lacks the maturity of his father. With Penelope, Athena only interacts to the extent that it helps her objectives regarding Odysseus.
5) the Odyssey is more about Telemachus because Odysseus is fully-formed but Telemachus comes of age. Much of Odysseus' tale is more for entertainment while Telemachus' tale is richer in morals and insight.

6) Krishna inspires Arjuna by pointing out that the prince's misunderstandings, such as the nature of life and death, and that for him to stay out of battle would upset the balance of the universe. He realizes that Arjuna must see the truth for himself in order to fight.

7) the Bhagavad Gita stresses that the individual must understand the universe and fulfill his or her role in it - that individualism should not run counter to the….

1. Arjuna’s crisis is established in Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita. The crisis is a classic choice between fighting or fleeing, standing up to injustice versus passive inaction. Of course, had Arjuna refused to engage, the rest of the Gita would not have been written. Arjuna is a hero because he was willing to make personal sacrifices and to walk the delicate razor’s edge of the middle path. A balanced and truly yogic response is to fight judiciously and consciously.
2. Arjuna is a disciple of Lord Krishna. As he is confronted by the presenting crisis in Chapter 1, Arjuna consults with Krishna about how to proceed, and in Chapter 2, Krishna offers his advice. Krishna advises Arjuna to take action based on the spiritual principles of both dharma, duty, and also the immortality of Atma, the oversoul of each person. As long as one takes action consciously, selflessly, and….

Dante, Machiavelli, Bhagavad-Gita
Epic Ethics

The ethics of the epic quest, as expressed in Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey," to take just two examples of nationalist and epic heroic sagas, are ultimately justifications of cultural dominance of a particular ruling group and set of values. Although these heroic epics may highlight occasional great moments of individual morality, they ultimately provide support, justification, and legitimating narratives for the dominant, aristocratic form of government of the day. For instance, Achilles is a great warrior because he is a decedent of the Gods. Odysseus is chosen as the legitimate focus of his own dramatic poem because Athena favors his kingship of Ithaca. Although the narrative structures of Homer's epics may 'test' these men, the narrative epic structure also validates the values of military prowess and social rewards that lie at the heart of establishing a great and epic kingdom, ruled by the few. The stories suggest….

Gita
Srimadbhagabath gita

Srimadbhagabath Gita, the most sacred book of the Hindus, belonging to the Vedic-Brahminic tradition, can be read and interpreted in thousand and one ways. It has folds of meanings, like all great intellectual work which only time and research can reveal. Gita is a part of the great Indian epic, The Mahabharata, where a wearied general (Arjuna) resented to fight against his own kith and kin and gave up his arms after what he thought to be a worthless battle (the battle of Kurukshetra). At this point, Lord Krishna, the Supreme being according to Hindu beliefs, gave advise on the philosophy of life and the mysteries of the universe that govern human existence to his intimate disciple Arjuna. The Gita's seven hundred concise verses provide a guide to the science of self-realization, which was already present in the Vedic tradition of India. Like all epics, Mahabharata, belonged to an….

Gita
Most of us think of the "self," the individual person, as fully self-contained and autonomous. How does the author of the Gita delineate "the self"? That is, when this author says "I" or "you," what does he apparently mean?

Usually the word "I" denotes me, myself, the person who is making the statement and "you" is another entity with whom I am having a direct discourse. However, the Gita makes no distinction between the individual self and another human being. A perfect example of this is in Arjun's dilemma. In this passage, Arjun witnesses armed forces all going off into battle to protect him. But, of course, the soldiers are not only going to battle to protect Arjun, but all people who are like him. hen the narrator states: "I do not wish to kill teachers, uncles, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives who are about to….

Ancient India
The havagad-Gita

In the beginning of "The hagavad-Gita," two groups of opponents prepare for battle. On one side, the one hundred sons of Dhritarashtra stand and on the other side, and the Pandava brothers stand. These soldiers are in the middle of a family feud over the right to govern the land of Kurukshetra.

A soldier named Arjuna, who is the leader of the Pandava armies, prepares to battle as Lord Krishna heads toward the opposition. Just before the battle, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna for advice.

Arjuna is ridden with hesitation and guilt as he faces his family and knows he will have to kill many loved ones to win the battle. Arjuna has set down his weapon and is ready to sacrifice his life. Arjuna approaches Krishna to tell him about his emotions regarding the battle. "Krishna, I seek no victory, or kingship or pleasures" (Miller, 25).

Arjuna does not believe that….

Pilgrimages in India
Pilgrimage:

A Quest for Finding Oneself in India: Introduction

Humans are born with an incredible amount of mental capacity to learn and grow, yet we are not born with a pre-determined set of rules guiding our thoughts. Religious practice around the world is thus the result of a collaboration of ideas between humans within a society in order to bring a framework of understanding into everyday life. Yet even with justifications of existence provided by religion, some individuals choose to pursue unanswered questions, in order to find a deeper meaning to life, and existence. Pilgrimage is such a quest, and is the pursuit of knowledge, as well as a journey of the mind and body, in search of answers to the unknowable questions of the universe. Pilgrimage also serves to prove one's own devotion to his or her faith, and can be qualified as a measure of good will, intended….

By verse 10, the Bhagavad-Gita is clear that "a transcendentalist should always try to concentrate his mind on the supreme self." Again, here we see reference to the self, defined in verse 7 as one who has achieved complete control of the mind.

This concept is mentioned again in this verse (Bhagavad-Gita, 27).

Finally, in verse 15, we see the Sankhya belief on the eventual result of this control. The passage describes the ultimate goal of Sankhya philosophy. It is clearly not the attainment of materialism, but rather, the cessation of all materialistic existence. The unconscious self, along with desire and want and emotion, is discarded in favor of complete consciousness and understanding (Bhagavad-Gita, 27). In other words, in Sankhya, the system is designed to attain freedom, rather than a mystical "Heaven" or kingdom which is merely a brief refuge from suffering.

It is clear that Sankhya has a similar foundation to other….

The poems Catullus wrote to the woman Lesbia are among his best known. How would you characterize their affair?

Catallus describes a conflicted and stormy affair with the women of Lesbia. Sexual tension is evident in his poems, which have a strong erotic content. Therefore, his affairs were passionate and physical.

If the gender roles were reversed and the woman were the narrator, do you think this series of poems would read differently? Explain.

The poems would read differently not because their content would have changed but because they would subvert social norms. As a male, Catallus is allowed, almost expected to write such explicit details about his physical affairs including references to love and hatred. Females would have been more subtle because of the widespread social persecution they might suffer if they admitted to promiscuity or tumultuous romantic interludes especially with married people.

Catullus ends up calling his lady a whore. Would you….

Chinese First Emperor as with the Egyptian pharaohs, the tomb was a microcosm of the world that they knew in life, and filled with the objects that they would use in the afterlife. In early times, servants, soldiers, concubines and entertainers were even put to death so they could serve the monarch in the next world, although later these were mostly represented by statues and replicas. For the First Emperor of China, the tom was an elaborate "analogue of life," reportedly constructed by 700,000 men over many years -- far more than the number of workers used by the Egyptian pharaohs to build their tombs and pyramids (awson, 2007, p. 123). He even had a terracotta army with cavalry, archers, chariots and thousands of troops buried in pits to defend him from his enemies in the next world, along with stone armor to protect against evil spirits. Pit 1….

Hindus?
hat Am I? My Atman is so subtle that I am unable to perceive it. I know, therefore, that I am not in danger of experiencing the undifferentiated creative energy mentioned in verse 11 of the Katha Upanishad. That, however, does not answer the question posed. hat am I? A Hindu might see me as a seeker on one of many possible paths to salvation.

Believers in Hinduism are not condemned from birth with only one possible path to salvation. They do not have to feel guilt for their humanity, nor suffer admonishment for their shortcomings. Hindus seek truth. I am a student and therefore a seeker of knowledge. I am on a path. My life is full of riches. A Hindu would perceive that my former incarnation was, at least, reasonable. I did not come back as harijan. For this, I am grateful. Only grateful, of course, that a….

Vairagya

Vairagya refers to a state of mind characterized by the discrimination of the temporary, fleeting nature of the worldly pleasures from the state of permanent joy. Vairagya is nothing but non-attachment to the objective world. As sage Patanjali indicates in his Yoga sutra, "Non-attachment is self mastery; it is freedom from desire for what is seen or heard" (Swami Prabhavananda, 10). A vairagi or a spiritual aspirant who practices Vairagya constantly discriminates his thoughts. Every sensory impulse or desire that crosses his mind is weighed on the scale of discrimination and thus impure thought waves are eliminated before they take a stronghold. (Swami Sivananda) Vairagya dawns from the truth that lasting pleasure is not to be found in the sensory realm. Vairagya is the gateway to divine wisdom. It helps the mind get fixated in the supreme self. Thus, the aspirant by means of exercising Vairagya and doing contemplation and….