Chapter 7: Wisdom from Realization
-Krishna: “I know everything about the past, the present, and
the future, Arjuna; but there is no one who knows me completely” (v.26).
Contradiction:
said people who attain Wisdom will know him…?
-What is the Hindu version of Heaven?
-What is Brahman?
-Krishna: “Depend on me completely” (v.1).
How so?
How is one expected to do this?
-Krishna: “One person and many thousands may seek
perfection, yet of these only a few reach the goal and come to realize me”
(v. 3).
Are
there religions that contrast & state that you always continue learning?
Chapter 8: : The Eternal Godhead
-Krishna: “My highest nature, the imperishable Brahman, gives
every creature its existence and lives in every creature as the adhyatma. My
action is creation and the bringing forth of creatures. The adhibhuta is a
perishable body; the adhidaiva is Purusha, the eternal spirit. The adhiyajna, the
supreme sacrifice, is made to me as the Lord within you” (v.3).
What is
the sacrifice in the form of? (giving up the senses, etc? or different?)
-Krisha: “your concentration fixed in the center of
spiritual awareness between the eyebrows” (166, 10).
Like a 3rd
eye? Why that particular spot?
Krishna: “the day of Brahma dawns…” (passage of verses 17-19)
What
does this passage mean?
Chapter 9: The Royal Path
-Krishna: “I am he; I give and withhold the rain. I am
immortality and I am death; I am what is and what is not” (v.19).
Sounds
like something from the Bible. Did the Bible come after this scripture?
What are your thoughts on your own questions? How do these questions relate to the class, and can you give a modern interpretation or application of them? Do you think that these should be taken literally, or are this quotes meant to force one to question their lives? As it stands, I believe the Gita is indeed older than the bible.
ReplyDeleteI would like to respond to the contradiction you pointed out from chapter 7, about Krishna saying that no one knows him completely yet he had previously said that those who attain wisdom will know him and be with him. I have noticed many little contradictions like this one throughout the Gita, but I have also found that Krishna contradicts himself in a much larger way as well. He has been emphasizing to Arjuna this whole time about the importance of selfless service and never prioritizing yourself. But then he turns around and starts talking about how amazing he is and how no being is as great as him. While this may be true (since he's God and all), he is contradicting his own teachings in displaying such an attitude.
ReplyDeleteOur principle of interpretive charity demands that we go beyond merely noticing these tensions in the text, and try to find credible ways to interpret it that resolve them. Notice that the text itself actually models this process, as when Arjuna himself points out that Krishna seems to contradict himself.
DeleteAlex -- I think your posts would be more useful if instead of citing several texts and making one-line comments on them, you chose the one of most interest to yourself and tried to think it through with us.
ReplyDeleteFor example, if you pointed out what biblical passage(s), specifically, the line in question reminds you of, we would be able to speak meaningfully about whether there might have been influence one way or another (probably not in this case), and which likely came first.