As is well known, the Mahabharata tells of the dynastic struggle among the descendants of Bharata, that is, the Pandavas and the Kurus. This epic also reflects the culture of the age and, on the philosophical side, symbolizes the struggle between the forces of good and evil. The Bhagavad-Gita is part of the Mahabharata, and is regarded as one of the three most authoritative texts of Indian Philosophy. The other two are the Upanishads and Samkara’s commentaries on the Vedanta.
It is important to remember that the Upanishads are the concluding parts of the Vedas, which became the bases of Vedanta philosophy. And as is well known, Vedanta philosophy is the crowning achievement and the zenith of Indian philosophy.
The Bhagavad-Gita is more of a religious classic rather than a philosophical treatise. It is set forth not as a metaphysical system thought out by an individual thinker or school of thinkers but as a tradition which has emerged from the religious life of mankind. However, colophon (that is, the finishing touches of the book) indicates that the Bhagavad-Gita is both a metaphysics and ethics, brahmavidya and yoga-sastra, the science of reality and the art of union with reality.
The Bhagavad-Gita as Metaphysics
The Bhagavad-Gita takes up the Upanishadic conception of Brahman as absolute reality, and points that the impersonality of the absolute is not its whole significance. It develops the theistic side of the Upanishadic teachings by giving us a God who exceeds the infinite and the mere finite. Thus, in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Absolute is viewed as the transcendental, the cosmic, and the individual reality. In its transcendental sense, the Absolute is the pure Self unaffected by any action or experience, detached and unconcerned. In its dynamics sense, it not only supports but also governs the whole cosmic action. This Absolute, that is, the Brahman, is present in the individual.
The emphasis of the Bhagavad-Gita is on the Absolute as the personal God who creates the perceptible world by His nature. He (God) is responsible for the creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe. It must be noted that the term “destruction” here should be viewed in a negative sense. Destruction here could refer to decay or death which gives way to life.
The Bhagavad-Gita is also interested in the process of redeeming the world. Hence, as we can see, the aspect of Visnu (or Vishnu) is emphasized here. Krsna (or Krshna) represents the Visnu aspect of the Absolute. This Krsna is understood as incarnation or the decent of the Divine into the human frame. This is very similar to the Christian notion of “incarnated subjectivity” or the becoming of the Divine into a human flesh. This notion of incarnation makes the idea of the Infinite manifested in the finite. Hence, we have the notion that God exists even if we don’t experience Him since He reveals Himself in nature.
The Bhagavad-Gita as Ethics
The Bhagavad-Gita is a comprehensive Yoga-sastra, treatise on yoga, which includes various phases of the self’s development and ascent into the Divine. So, as ethics, the Bhagavad-Gita seeks liberation of the self, which leads to the unification with the Absolute or God. This goal of unification with God may be attained by jnana-yoga (the way of knowledge), bhakti-yoga (the way of devotion), or karma-yoga (the way of action). Therefore, Knowledge, devotion, and work are complementary when one seeks the goal.