Bhagavad Geeta for a Purposeful Life - Volume 1

This English edition of the Bhagavad Geeta is derived from an original text in Hindi by Usha Gadodia. The Bhagavad Geeta is a part of the great epic, the Mahabharata. Lord Krishna, through a medium of Arjuna, has delivered the message of how to live a life toward a purposeful life. Arjuna, like most of the people, was not with a scholarly frame of mind. He had received education and training in all the facets of wars, and knowledge of scriptures, and he was always willing and anxious to follow the righteous path. But he found out that that knowledge of scriptures was of not much help in an actual situation. Like Arjuna, every one of us is immersed in a constant war. Inside us are residing good and not so good, and they are battling each other all the time. The perverse ones keep raising doubts about existence of and usefulness of goodness in the world. They keep urging us to do whatsoever, right or wrong, if personal goals are to be achieved. Situated between these two ways to proceed is us. On one side are the attractions the world has to offer, and the other side offers a life of restraint and sacrifice and control. As a result, a constant churning of ideas goes on. Because truth does not change with time and circumstances, the reality of dharma (or duty) at the basic level remains the same. However, in practice, dharma has to be modified somewhat with place, time, and circumstances, etc. Bhagavad Geeta presents those principles for self-improvements, but also shows how to put them in practice in the presence of all of tensions and tussles of life. The fact is that if dharma, duty, or religion has to be of use, it must be there at all levels of a person’s life whether one is at home, is in any business, is in government, is a member of a community or society, is a citizen of a country, etc. This volume one discusses the chapters 1 through 9 of the Bhagavad Geeta. Read more