Bhagavad Gita Introduction

The Bhagavad Gita Introduction

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, we introduce The Bhagavad Gita.

Objective

Understand the Gita’s prominent role in yoga philosophy and establish a foundation for exploring its teachings.

Description

Become familiar with this foundational text that features a dialogue between the incarnate god Krishna and the warrior-prince Arjuna. Tell how the Gita is structured. Provide an overview of its contents. Summarize Arjuna’s “impossible task” and consider some of the concepts that are central to the Gita, including detachment and renunciation. Review how the Gita describes yoga.

Vocabulary

Yoga Foundational Philosophies-Yoga Foundational Philosophies-Vocabulary

  1. Arjuna — In The Bhagavad Gita, a warrior-prince who faces a moral crisis
  2. The Bhagavad Gita — A portion of the Mahabharata featuring “a dialogue that takes the soul on an inward journey culminating in the ultimate state of yoga”
  3. Detachment — Doing the right thing for its own sake, not for the expected results
  4. Gita — Another name for The Bhagavad Gita
  5. Krishna — An incarnate god, in the form of a charioteer in The Bhagavad Gita
  6. Mahabharata — An epic poem containing 18 books and approximately 100,000 verses
  7. Renunciation — Active involvement without seeking rewards and results