Bhagavad Gita Discussion: Chapter 2

Bhagavad Gita Discussion: Chapter 2 - Topic of Knowledge

So now that the stage has been set by Chapter 1, establishing the context for the revelation of this knowledge, we get to the good stuff, so to speak. The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita explores knowledge of the self, and in reading it, I get the feeling that the overall message of the second chapter was summarized by Gandhi during his organization of resistance to British rule, in this single quote:

"Everything that you do will be insignificant. But it is important that you do it."

It certainly seems contradictory at first. But the Bhagavad Gita does a beautiful job of explaining what it means. To me, this chapter's discussion of the eternal nature of the soul and knowledge of one's place in the universe gets across the following message: you gotta do what you gotta do, but if that happens to conflict with someone else, then it's not the end of the world.

It's a lesson I still have to internalize, for I still cannot deal with conflict. Someone once said to me, "you need to learn to piss someone off." (Pardon the vulgarity.) When I asked why, this person said to me, "so you can learn that someone being angry at you isn't the end of the world."

And to think I just wrote a blog post on apologies and if I apologize too much or not. So apologies are good, obviously, but I shouldn't have to apologize for doing what I gotta do. Wow. The Bhagavad Gita is more applicable to my life than I thought!

I know the Bhagavad Gita's teachings are more complicated than this, since they deal with the metaphysics of the soul and of being, and how the universe is supposed to work. I get that. Still, though, I think it's good to discuss how practical the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita are for everyday life. After all, it's my belief that any faith that's legit doesn't just reward you in the hereafter, but benefits you in the here and now. So...I guess I would apologize if I offend anyone with oversimplification, but no one has accused me of that yet, so...

As usual, if you readers think I'm right, wrong, or somewhere in between, please chime in, in the comments section. Namaste.