Spiritual Enlightenment and Hinduism
October 19th, 2008 | Posted by admin | Category: Spiritual Books | Tags: Bhagavadgita, Hinduism, Spiritual Enlightenment |
Bhagavadgita is a hinduistic text written around 500 B.C. The title translates “Song of God”, and it tells the tale of the prince Arjuna, who is about to enter battle in an attempt to regain his fathers lost kingdom. As he sees the opposing army, he realizes it consists of his old friends, relatives and loved ones. He is struck to the ground with grief, and wants to abolish his mission. But as Krishna, his charioteer, begins to explain to him the nature of existence, God and purpose, his views change. Krishna, of course, is really God, and the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna becomes something like God’s basic introduction to the Life and the Universe.
There’s many aspects about this book I find fascinating, like how ancient and unchaging the art of Spiritual Enlightenment really is. What Krishna explains in this book, is just the same as a drunk Mykonos talks about in “Wild Nights“, or David Hawkins (soberly) talks about in his works. I believe that when you have Spiritual Enlightenment explained to you in many different ways, something will click with you each time, gradually completing the puzzle.
Another very interesting aspect of the book is Krishnas encouragement of Arjuna to fight. One would expect the words of God to be more along the lines of “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, or “Just give ‘em a hug!” What it comes down to, is the distinction between letting go of the “fruits of action”, and letting go of action altogether. This is, to me, a very crucial understanding, and the book explains it well (there’s also a very good article by Ariel Bravy on the subject).
If you’re interested in this ancient, but very much still valid, take on Spiritual Enlightenment, Bhagavadgita can be found here.