Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita (; |lit=god's Song|translit=bhagavad-gītā|translit-std=IAST}}),}} often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE,}} which forms part of the Epic Mahabharata. It is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, including the Vedic concept of ''dharma'' (duty, rightful action); samkhya-based ''yoga'' and ''jnana'' (insight, knowledge); and ''bhakti'' (devotion). It holds a unique pan-Hindu influence as the most prominent sacred text, and is a central text in Vedanta and the Vaishnava Hindu tradition.

While traditionally attributed to the sage Veda Vyasa, the Gita is probably a composite work composed by multiple authors. It is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, at the onset of the Kurukshetra War, incorporating teachings from the Upanishads and samkhya yoga philosophy.

While praising the benefits of yoga to release man's inner essence from the bounds of desire and the wheel of rebirth, the Gita propagates the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or ''dharma'', in contrast to the ascetic ideal of liberation by avoiding all ''karma''. Facing the perils of war, Arjuna hesitates to perform his duty (''dharma'') as a warrior. Krishna persuades him to commence in battle, arguing that while following one's dharma, one should not consider oneself to be the agent of action, but attribute all of one's actions to God (''bhakti'').

The Gita posits the existence of an individual self (''jivatman'') and the higher Godself (Krishna, Atman/Brahman) in every being; the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue has been interpreted as a metaphor for an everlasting dialogue between the two. Numerous classical and modern thinkers have written commentaries on the Gita with differing views on its essence and essentials, including on the relation between the individual self (''jivatman'') and God (Krishna) or the supreme self (Atman/Brahman). The Gita famously mentions, in chapter XIII verse 24–25, the four ways to see the self, interpreted as four yogas, namely through meditation (raja yoga), insight/intuition (jnana yoga), work/right action (karma yoga) and devotion/love (bhakti yoga), an influential division that was popularized by Swami Vivekananda in the 1890's. Provided by Wikipedia