Chapter Two
The Divine Teacher
Note 2.1
Distinctiveness of Gita
▀ ▄ ▀ Peculiarity of Gita against other scriptures
▀ ▄ 1 Gita is not a standalone work by itself
In the historical context, Gita is different from other scriptures.
The peculiarity of the Gita among the great religious books of the world is that it does not stand apart as a work by itself – like the bible, Quran.
▀ ▄ 2 Not a life story of a great personality
It is not the fruit of the spiritual life of a creative personality like Christ, Mahomed or Buddha.
▀ ▄ 3 Not a spiritual philosophy
It is also not of an epoch of pure spiritual searching like the Veda and Upanishads.
▀ ▄ 4 Peculiar Circumstances of the birth of Gita
The circumstances under which Gita is proclaimed is completely different from the other spiritual works. Gita is given as an episode in an epic history of nations – the Mahabharata. This history is related to wars, men and their deeds.
It arises out of a critical moment in the soul of one of its leading personages - Arjuna. The moment is when he stands face to face with the crowning action of his life.
The time is when he is called upon to do the work terrible, violent and sanguinary (causing much bloodshed). The critical point is when he must either recoil from it altogether or carry it through to its inexorable completion.
▀ ▄ ▀ Was Gita a later insertion?
The modern criticism supposes that the Gita is a later composition inserted into the mass of the Mahabharata by its author.
This was supposedly done in order to invest its teaching with the authority and popularity of the great national epic.
We are here hardly concerned with this supposition even though there seems to me to be strong grounds against this supposition. Moreover, the evidence, both extrinsic and internal, in support of this supposition is in the last degree scanty and insufficient.
▀ ▄ ▀ Gita having a bearing upon a practical crisis in the APPLICATION of ethics and spirituality to human life
For the argument's sake let us assume that the evidence is a sound evidence. Even in such a scenario, we have to note that the author has taken pains to interweave his work inextricably into the vast web of the larger poem. More ever, he is careful again and again to remind us of the situation from which the teaching has arisen. He returns to it prominently, not only at the end, but also in the middle of his profoundest philosophical advice. We must keep this aspect at the back of our mind and give due weightage to this recurrent preoccupation of the Teacher and the disciple.
The teaching of the Gita must therefore be regarded not merely in the light of a stand alone general spiritual philosophy or ethical doctrine – more on the academic side.
On the other hand It is also having a bearing upon a practical crisis in the APPLICATION of ethics and spirituality to human life.
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The Divine Teacher
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