Bhagavad-Gita
Selected
Concepts
A
Comparison to Buddhist and Pagan Philosophies
"Every variety of Hindu
philosophy has it's source in the Upanisads, the Brahma
Sutras of Badarayana of
Vyasa and the Bhagavad-Gita"
Ok .. now can I say that
again .. In English :)
As
with any study you have to know the Jargon ..
the
terms and Language used, before anything you read makes sense ..
Hindu
Philosophy ..for starters ..there is no such thing
as
"One Way" In Hindu, but on this they all agree,
the Bhagavad-Gita.
All
of the former.. the Upanisads, the Brahma (teacher)
sutras
(work) are works of the Sages,
much
like the Dharmas of Buddha, in fact
they
are almost Identical in many ways.Buddha
was
accepted as a Brahma by the early Hindu.There is
a
great deal of overlap between the system of the Brahma sutras
(Badarayana
of Vyasa is a persons name and clan)..and Buddhism
..
like
the concept of Karma
for
example
Karma
is a Hindu concept, but is so interrelated with Buddhism,
which
we tend to think of as more Asian,
that
it is hard to tell where one religion stops,
and
the others begin.
The
Vedas, which are the earliest works, are a collection of hymns which date
back
to 1200 BC. The Vedas present the world according to mythology rather
than
philosophy. Siddhattha (Buddha) would
have been schooled in the Hindu faith
and
therefore the Vedas, as he was born to a minor Royal house in India.
The belief that the world
is somehow a Mystical place many Pagan paths share,
while we have in place
some firm Philosophies, a great deal of what we do,has
to do with the Mythos of
the race.The part of the mind
that can see beyond the
here and now.
The
basic way of all Hindu faiths
and
the Bhagavad-gita in particular,is a simple one
It's
not what a man does, but how he does it
What
did he do it for ?
What
state is his mind in ?
What
are his intentions ?
Does
he act only for self gain ?
Is
the outcome more important than the work ?
This
is what determines if the action is right or wrong,
The
Will ..if the will is correct..there is no "Sin"
Sound
familiar ? :)
"Love
is the law, Love under will ..
there
is no Law beyond do what thou will"
And
if your will is driven by love .. as it should be
there
is no error in the action
Connection
with the Spirit is the Goal here
and
the Hindu realize that there are many paths
to
this end."and no path is to be preferred exclusively
and
none to be disdained "
Which
sounds a lot like the Pagan Paths,in that we Know the paths are
many,
each
man must walk that road
how
they see it and any way that gets there,is valid
This
seeking of the Way, an End to uncertainty
and
suffering is a human concep, the questions of ...
Why
are we here ? Why do we suffer in life ?
What
can be done about the suffering ?
Where
to we go when we die ?
These
are questions called Brahma-jiijnasa.
The
questions of the human mind about the :Absolute:
These
sound pretty familiar don't they ? :)
They
are questions that intelligent persons have tried
to
answer, to thier own satisfaction, for eons
The
Absolute ? Is the One .. the All .. The Force
the
Essence of the Godhead as the Gita would say.
There
are 5 basic truths to the Bhagavad-Gita
Isvara
= The Controller or Godhead
Jivas
= The Controlled .. or Living things
Prakrti
=The Material Nature of things
Time
= The duration of existence
Karma
= The effects of actions taken
In
real simple terms this means
Every
living thing is subject to a higher law..I can walk with that .. :)
That
some things just happen because its their nature to happen
That
things have a limited life span, (Everything..even the mountains wear down
over time)
The
cycle of Birth, Life, Death and Re birth ..is how things work ..
and
that the actions living things take,
that
have independent action,effect what happens
to
it in this life time
What
you put out you get back .. times Three ..
so
says the Wiccan Rede :)
Buddha
might say .. trouble comes to all lives
but
how we respond to it, is all that matters.
All
trouble is fleeting and for the souls sake has little meaning,
this
life is transitory,and should be transcended to the higher places.
All
things are mortal and therefore short lived,the soul however is eternal
If
you transcend this cycle of birth and re birth by your actions,
or
live a life that gains such karma as to demand life again, to amend the
fault,
is
up to you
A
lot of these basic concepts were .. re thought
(even
though they didn't know it Was rethinking it)
in
times of Revival by the old Masters of Philosophy
Plato..Immanuel
Kant..Socrates..Aristotle, upon which we Westerns base
a
great deal of our thought.Which just goes to show Great Truths
will
find a way to manifest, even if separated by time and place
and
will arise independent of any other input.
Or
as we Pagans like to say .. No matter what it is ..
Mother
will find someone to say it .. if it needs saying :)
We
are all much the same on this spinning blue ball of ours
then,
now and into tomorrow ... Men and Women of faith
and
good will will try to live life,free of grief
and
to help there fellows do the same. As the Brahma's did,
As
Buddha did,as all the old Masters of Philosophy did ..
As
we on the Pagan paths try to do :) ..
Blessed
be the Great work ... Past and Present
and
may the morrow be so bright with promise
We
gotta wear shades :)
Companion Works
Dharmas
of the Buddha
Buddha
.. Man or God ?
There is so much more to
this wonderful work
Want to read the Bhagavad-Gita
Online ?
See Sacred Texts off my
Banners page .. Link
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