Chapter One: Observing the Armies on the
Battlefield of Kurukshetra
As the opposing armies stand poised for battle, Arjuna,
the mighty warrior, sees his intimate relatives, teachers and friends in both
armies ready to fight and sacrifice their lives. Overcome by grief and pity,
Arjuna fails in strength, his mind becomes bewildered, and he gives up his
determination to fight.
Chapter Two: Contents of the Gita
summarized
Arjuna submits to Lord Krishna as His disciple, and
Krishna begins His teachings to Arjuna by explaining the fundamental
distinction between the temporary material body and the eternal spiritual soul.
The Lord explains the process of transmigration, the nature of selfless service
to the Supreme and the characteristics of a self-realized person.
Chapter Three: Karma-yoga
Everyone must engage in some sort of activity in this
material world. But actions can either bind one to this world or liberate one
from it. By acting for the pleasure of the Supreme, without selfish motives,
one can be liberated from the law of karma (action and reaction) and attain
transcendental knowledge of the self and the Supreme.
Chapter Four: Transcendental knowledge
Transcendental knowledge – the spiritual knowledge of the
soul, of God, and of their relationship – is both purifying and liberating.
Such knowledge is the fruit of selfless devotional action (karma-yoga). The
Lord explains the remote history of the Gita, the purpose and significance of
His periodic descents to the material world, and the necessity of approaching a
guru, a realized teacher.
Chapter Five: Karma-yoga – Action in Krishna
Consciousness
Outwardly performing all actions but inwardly renouncing
their fruits, the wise man, purified by the fire of transcendental knowledge,
attains peace, detachment, forbearance, spiritual vision and bliss.
Chapter Six: Dhyana-yoga
Ashtanga-yoga, a mechanical meditative practice, controls
the mind and senses and focuses concentration on Paramatma (the Supersoul, the
form of the Lord situated in the heart). This practice culminates in samadhi,
full consciousness of the Supreme.
Chapter Seven: Knowledge of the Absolute
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Truth, the supreme cause and
sustaining force of everything, both material and spiritual. Advanced souls
surrender unto Him in devotion, whereas impious souls divert their minds to
other objects of worship.
Chapter Eight: Attaining the Supreme
By remembering Lord Krishna in devotion throughout one’s
life, and especially at the time of death, one can attain to His supreme abode,
beyond the material world.
Chapter Nine: The most confidential
knowledge.
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Godhead and the supreme
object of worship. The soul is eternally related to Him through transcendental
devotional service (bhakti). By reviving one’s pure devotion one returns to
Krishna in the spiritual realm.
Chapter Ten: The Opulence of the Absolute
All wondrous phenomena showing power, beauty, grandeur or
sublimity, either in the material world or in the spiritual, are but partial
manifestations of Krishna’s divine energies and opulence. As the supreme cause
of all causes and the support and essence of everything, Krishna is the supreme
object of worship for all beings.
Chapter Eleven: The Universal Form
Lord Krishna grants Arjuna divine vision and reveals His
spectacular unlimited form as the cosmic universe. Thus He conclusively
establishes His divinity. Krishna explains that His own all-beautiful humanlike
form is the original form of Godhead. One can perceive this form only by pure
devotional service.
Chapter Twelve: Devotional Service
(Bhakti-yoga)
Bhakti-yoga, pure devotional service to Lord Krishna, is
the highest and most expedient means for attaining pure love for Krishna, which
is the highest end of spiritual existence. Those who follow this supreme path
develop divine qualities.
Chapter Thirteen: Nature, the Enjoyer and
Consciousness.
One who understands the difference between the body, the
soul and the Supersoul beyond them both attains liberation from this material
world.
Chapter Fourteen: The Three Modes of Material
Nature
All embodied souls are under the control of the three
modes, or qualities, of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Lord
Krishna explains what these modes are, how they act upon us, how one transcends
them, and the symptoms of one who has attained the transcendental state.
Chapter Fifteen: The Yoga of the Supreme Person
The ultimate purpose of Vedic knowledge is to detach
oneself from the entanglement of the material world and to understand Lord
Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who understands Krishna’s
supreme identity surrenders unto Him and engages in His devotional service.
Chapter Sixteen: The Divine and Demoniac
Natures
Those who possess demoniac qualities and who live
whimsically, without following the regulations of scripture, attain lower
births and further material bondage. But those who possess divine qualities and
live regulated lives, abiding by scriptural authority, gradually attain
spiritual perfection.
Chapter Seventeen: The Divisions of Faith
There are three types of faith, corresponding to and
evolving from the three modes of material nature. Acts performed by those
whose faith is in passion and ignorance yield only impermanent, material
results, whereas acts performed in goodness, in accord with scriptural
injunctions, purify the heart and lead to pure faith in Lord Krishna and
devotion to Him.
Chapter Eighteen: Conclusion – The Perfection of
Renunciation
Krishna explains the meaning of renunciation and the
effects of the modes of nature on human consciousness and activity. He explains
Brahman realization, the glories of the Bhagavad-gita, and the ultimate
conclusion of the Gita: the highest path of religion is absolute, unconditional
loving surrender unto Lord Krishna, which frees one from all sins, brings one
to complete enlightenment, and enables one to return to Krishna’s eternal
spiritual abode.
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