Bhagavad Gita

[JonSL]

he Essence of Bhagavad Gita Excerpts from God Talks with Arjuna:

The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda


The Essence of Bhagavad Gita

(Paramahansa Yogananda was one of the only souls recognized by Mahatma Gandhi as a living saint)

 

[Sand Dancer]

he Essence of Bhagavad Gita Excerpts from God Talks with Arjuna:

The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda


The Essence of Bhagavad Gita

(Paramahansa Yogananda was one of the only souls recognized by Mahatma Gandhi as a living saint)

I haven't read through it all the way, but I have decided that one of the gods that I would like to get closer to is Krishna.

 

[JonSL]

Hinduism is monotheistic, not polytheistic. Mahatma Gandhi wrote directly to that point.

Part of the ideas regarding Hinduism being polytheistic comes from the political spin of the British rulers of India.

They wanted to paint Hindus in a derogatory manner, as kind of "savages," in order to further their ends of political domination.


So, in Hinduism, there is only one God. Krishna is an ancient saint of God, in the same way that St. Francis of Assisi was a saint of Christianity.

The term "gods" in Hinduism usually refer to two different categories of beings. Usually referred to as "gods" with a lower case "g," the gods simply refer to the Archangels. And sometimes to lesser angels.

So, Indra, the King of the Gods, would be the same being as Metatron in Western religion, or the same god, as Zeus in the mysticism that came out of Greece.

St. Michael the Archangel would be Kumar in the Hindu tradition and St. Gabriel would be Ganesh in the Hindu tradition.

Now, the beings referred to as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, are not "gods" in that sense. They represent three different names for the same one Supreme Being.

You can find more discussion of these terms in the writings of:

Mahatma Gandhi
Sri Ramakrishna
Swami Vivekananda
Paramahansa Yogananda
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Ramana Maharishi
Sri Ananda Moi Ma

 

[sayak83]

Hinduism is monotheistic, not polytheistic. Mahatma Gandhi wrote directly to that point.

Part of the ideas regarding Hinduism being polytheistic comes from the political spin of the British rulers of India.

They wanted to paint Hindus in a derogatory manner, as kind of "savages," in order to further their ends of political domination.


So, in Hinduism, there is only one God. Krishna is an ancient saint of God, in the same way that St. Francis of Assisi was a saint of Christianity.

The term "gods" in Hinduism usually refer to two different categories of beings. Usually referred to as "gods" with a lower case "g," the gods simply refer to the Archangels. And sometimes to lesser angels.

So, Indra, the King of the Gods, would be the same being as Metatron in Western religion, or the same god, as Zeus in the mysticism that came out of Greece.

St. Michael the Archangel would be Kumar in the Hindu tradition and St. Gabriel would be Ganesh in the Hindu tradition.

Now, the beings referred to as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, are not "gods" in that sense. They represent three different names for the same one Supreme Being.

You can find more discussion of these terms in the writings of:

Mahatma Gandhi
Sri Ramakrishna
Swami Vivekananda
Paramahansa Yogananda
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Ramana Maharishi
Sri Ananda Moi Ma

This analysis is quite incorrect. Hindus can be polytheistic, monotheistic or monist.
Krishna is considered an incarnation of God, not a saint in usual Hinduism.

 

[JonSL]

Well, you can assert that if you want, but Mahatma Gandhi disagreed with you.

If you have qualifications and achievements beyond those of Mahatma Gandhi, giving us more reason to take your opinion as valid, please, by all means list those accomplishments.

Krishna is considered an Avatar, a direct incarnation of God. All God-realized souls are considered incarnations of God.

"Saint" is an English word, not a Sanskrit word. Saints in India include those who have achieved God-realization.

I lived in an ashram.

I have been meditating since the early 80's.

I am not passing along my own thoughts, but those of the writings of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and others.

If you hate India, Indians and Hindus and want to diminish and spit on everything they do, play internet troll and whatever other things you do with your time, you can do that.

We lost 4 people to COVID. My wife and I both just had omicron. We both have post COVID problems. We are both over 60 and both disabled.

I really wish you could pause and moment, reflect on that...and stop with the endless internet stalking, confrontation, trolling, flamebaiting and etc.

It is juvenile and just helps make the world that much worse.

Go find a soup kitchen. Ladle out some soup to a homeless person. You will experience real religion right there.

Not in throwing spitballs at people you don't know.

 

[JonSL]

Have not seen a single post on this website that was not from a troll. Not one.

 

[JonSL]

Why don't you guys take up bowling or something and leave the rest of us alone?

 

[JonSL]

I mean, you do realize, spending your life annoying other people, is not, you know, the highest aspiration of human beings. There are other things you can do with your time. Like, for example...anything else. Anything else has got to be a better life for you than this.

Study karate, go for a walk, learn guitar...anything but this.

You are utterly wasting your potential.

 

[Jedster]

Well, you can assert that if you want, but Mahatma Gandhi disagreed with you.

I lived in an ashram.

I have been meditating since the early 80's.

PMFJI

In your profile your religion says you are a Christian.
I am curious to know how come you were in an ashram and what type of meditation do/did you practice ?

Regards Jedster

 

[metis]

I loved reading the Gita, but interpreting it can be contentious.

 

[Jainarayan]

interpreting it can be contentious

As J. Robert Oppenheimer demonstrated in his absolutely bastardized translation and conflation of two verses, 10.34 and 11.32. The Gita cannot be taken at face value verse by verse, for the most part. Some verses do seem to be standalone (9.26, for example) but they are largely interwoven giving a bigger meaning.

 

[Jainarayan]

Mahatma Gandhi disagreed with you.

Mahātma Gandhi was not a religious scholar, teacher, guru, acharya, or paramahansa. He was not qualified to give commentary on Hindu theology any more than his own beliefs.

 

[Jainarayan]

Krishna is considered an Avatar, a direct incarnation of God. All God-realized souls are considered incarnations of God.

Yeah uh, no...

I’m a bit biased being a Vaishnava but Krishna is not only an incarnation (an incorrect term anyway, and technically not interchangeable with avatār)) of God, He is God. He is pūrnavatāra (lit. full avatar), as are Rāma and Narasimha. There are other avatars of the 24 (or 42, or 46 depending on the source) that are anśāvatāra (lit. partial avatar), as well as expansions. The brothers of Rāma, Shatrugna and Bharata are expansions of Vishnu’s shanka and gadā. Lakshmana is an avatār of Adi Shesha, who accompanies his Lord.

At the end of the day I really don’t think you should be telling Hindus their theology.

 

[Aupmanyav]

(Paramahansa Yogananda was one of the only souls recognized by Mahatma Gandhi as a living saint)

That was Gandhi's view. We Hindus are very individualists and are not necessarily required to follow others..

 

[Aupmanyav]

I haven't read through it all the way, ..

Here is an unadorned, true to original, translation of BhagawqdGita: The BHAGAVAD-GITA in English

 

[Aupmanyav]

Hinduism is monotheistic, not polytheistic. Mahatma Gandhi wrote directly to that point.
Part of the ideas regarding Hinduism being polytheistic comes from the political spin of the British rulers of India.

Like @Jainarayan said, don't teach Hinduism to Hindus. Quoting Gandhi or any other does not help. Don't blame the British wrongly. Majority of Hindus are emphatically polytheists. Denying any God or Goddess is considered blasphemy in Hinduism. Please try to know more about Hinduism before making statements. Just as believing in One God does not make anyone savage, believing in many Gods and Goddesses also does not make anyone savage. Those who insist on one view are the real savages. They deny the variety of the world.

Well, you can assert that if you want, but Mahatma Gandhi disagreed with you.

Mahatma Gandhi is not a definer of Hinduism, and same for All the people you have listed. Hindus have a right to hold their individual opinions..