HARE KRISHNA A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

sarvopanishado gAvo dogdhA gopAla-nandanaha pArtho vatsah su-dhIr bhoktA dugdham gitAmrtam mahat All the Upanishads are like a cow, and the milker of the cow is Sri Krishna, the son of Nanda. Arjuna is the calf, the beautiful nectar of the Gita is the milk, And the fortunate devotees of fine devotional intelligence are the drinkers and enjoyers of that milk

GITA MAHATMYA OF THE PADMA PURANA

THE CONCEPT OF SCRIPTURE IN VEDIC CULTURE sarvasya CA’ham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnAnam apohanam ca vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedAnta-krd veda-vid eva CA’ham I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas. BG 15.15

tene brahma hrda ya Adi kavaye Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.1 Lord Krishna imparts Vedic knowledge to Lord Brahma from the consciousness of his heart

Vyasiti iti VyAsaha Krishna DvaipAyana A literary incarnation of Krishna Expanded / Divided Veda

MAHABHARATA A BRIEF SUMMARY

MahArAja Shantanu & Ganga devi MAhArAja Shantanu & Satyavati

Bhishmadeva’s Vow of Brahmacharya ChitrAngada & VichitravIrya

DhrtarAshtra Pandu Vidura GAndhAri Kunti MAdri

Kauravas PAndavas VS

Treachery, Deceit & Suffering

Gambling Game Draupadi Insulted Exile Peace Negotiations War Inevitable

War at Kurukshetra Kurukshetra – A Place of Pilgrimage

VyAsa’s benediction to Sanjaya

Is Bhagavad Gita a book promoting war & violence?

HISTORY OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA MahAbhArata ShAnti Parva 348.51 -52 sri-bhagavAn uvAca imam vivasvate yogam proktavAn aham avyayam vivasvAn manave prAha manur iksvAkave 'bravit The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, VivasvAn, and VivasvAn instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to IkshvAku. BG 4.1

Completed about 5000 years of Kali-yuga Kali-yuga total duration 432, 000 years DvApara-yuga total duration 800, 000 years Treta-yuga total duration 1,200,000 years Manu spoke to IshvAku some 2,005,000 years ago Age of Current Manu to last some 305,000,000 years 120,400,000 Manu years have passed Gita spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago to VivasvAn 2 MILLION YEARS IN HUMAN SOCIETY

imam rAjarshayoh viduhu Spoken to Rajarishis (pashyati iti rishihi) BG 4.1 sa kAleneha mahatA yOgo nashtah parantapa Teachings scattered / lost BG 4.2 bhakto ’si me sakha ceti rahasyam hy etad uttamam Because you are My devotee... BG 4.3

WHY ‘AS IT IS’? Whose Gita? Krishna’s Central Importance “ Don’t Adulterate” Arjuna’s Mood - sishya

CONTENTS 5 Subject Matter Ishvara – God Jiva – Living Entities Prakrti – Nature KAla – Time Karma – Action ----------------------- Sambandha Relationship Abhideya Process Prayojana Result

2: Contents of the Gita Summarized 3: Karma-yoga 4: Transcendental Knowledge 5: Karma-yoga--Action in Krishna Consciousness 6: Sankhya -yoga 7: Knowledge of the Absolute 8: Attaining the Supreme 9: The Most Confidential Knowledge 10: The Opulence of the Absolute 11: The Universal Form 12: Devotional Service 13: Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness 14: The Three Modes Of Material Nature 15: The Yoga of the Supreme Person 16: The Divine And Demoniac Natures 17: The Divisions of Faith 18: Conclusion--The Perfection of Renunciation 1: Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra CHAPTER TITLES

2: Contents of the Gita Summarized

3: Karma-yoga

4: Transcendental Knowledge

5: Karma-yoga--Action in Krishna Consciousness

6: Sankhya -yoga

7: Knowledge of the Absolute

8: Attaining the Supreme

9: The Most Confidential Knowledge

10: The Opulence of the Absolute

11: The Universal Form

12: Devotional Service

13: Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness

14: The Three Modes Of Material Nature

15: The Yoga of the Supreme Person

16: The Divine And Demoniac Natures

17: The Divisions of Faith

18: Conclusion--The Perfection of Renunciation

1: Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra

yatra yogesvarah krsno yatra partho dhanur-dharah tatra srir vijayo bhutir dhruva nitir matir mama Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion. BG 18.78

Bhagavath Gita Kinchita Theertha Ganga Jalalapi Kanika Peetha Sakruthapi Yena Murari Samaracha Kriyathe Thasyaya Menana Charcha! To one who has studied the Bhagavad Gita even a little, who has sipped at least a drop of Ganges-water, who has worshipped at least one Lord Muraari, to him there is no quarrel with Yama, the Lord of Death. Sri Adi SankarAcharya In Bhaja Govindam