I do not believe in God although I do believe in philosophies. But heeey! Whatever helps you sleep at night. I believe that everybody needs a strut, a divine support when things do not go their way cause 'Hope is a wonderful thing'(Yeah!That's right! I quoted Shawshank too). Some believe in God, others believe in philosophies. When the two come together it can wreak havoc as it happened in the Bhagavadgita. Devout followers of Lord Krishna, read no more. But if you do have the appetite for blasphemy, read on.
The Bhagwadgita is made up of 700 verses. SEVEN HUNDRED VERSES!! Let me put it into context. This is the battle of Kurukshetra, and the mighty warrior Arjuna is filled with doubt about murdering innocents on the battlefield. He looks to his charioteer Lord Krishna for advice in the middle of a raging battle with a gazillion arrows , several of them capable of spewing everything from acid to flames to water, whizzing past their heads. Now in this situation, I find it quite amazing how Lord Krishna managed to steer the chariot, while answering Arjuna's doubts in prose and that too in 700 verses. Here's how I think things actually panned out :
The battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna about to head into battleArjuna: Isn't this mass murder?
Lord Krishna: Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.
Arjuna : Huh?
Lord Krishna: Just kill them, nothing will happen to you, karma and all that.
Arjuna: Cool, onward then
Lord Krishna : Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth , abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga
Arrow whizzes past Arjuna's helmetArjuna: Jeeezus Chhhrist Krishna, that was a close one... watch where you're going!Take me over to Duryodhan! Im gonna let him have it! Mwahaha
Lord Krishna: From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes
Arjuna: You just went past him! We're a laughing riot now, Duryodhan's army is in splits! Hard right! NO! Right! Arrows coming in at 6 O'clock!Aieeeeaaa!
Lord Krishna: See, I told you, from anger rises bewilderment, from bewilderment...
Arjuna: God damn it Kris! We've got to focus!Over there! Karna's chariot seems to be stuck in the mud
Lord Krishna steers the chariot over to KarnaKarna:Whooooaa there! Look, show me some mercy mates! I've been cursed all my life, and now I find myself helpless with my chariot immobile!Spare a thought....
Lord Krishna: Kill him!
Arjuna: But, he's helpless
Lord Krishna: Do your duty dammit. There's no place for mercy on the battlefield.
Arjuna: You sure?I mean I could take him on once his chariot is fixed
Lord Krishna: You don't stand a chance
Arjuna : Whaa? Im Arjuna. Im one of the best archers out there.How dare you?!
Karna: Yeah! He's Arjuna, one of the best out there, let this be a fair fight.
Lord Krishna: Look, Im Lord Krishna, the LORD Krishna, I know how this ends for you both. So quit your whining and get a move on
Arjuna looks at Karna, shrugs, and takes his head off with an arrowArjuna:You think he's dead?
Lord Krishna: Of course he's dead. His head is no longer on his neck. Im pretty sure that means he's no longer with us
Arjuna: Ok!Where to now...
Lord Krishna: Let's go win this war!
Arjuna: So tell me more about this karma stuff. You saying that if I just do my duty everything's gonna be OK
Lord Krishna: You didn't do your doodie today?Well, I have an excellent laxative made from neem leaves and...
Arjuna:NOT DOODIE!!Duty....D U T Y.Oh , for God's sake
Lord Krishna: Don't you 'for sake' me....did you see what I did there, that was my little joke.
Arjuna: Sigh! This is gonna be one loooong war.
Lord Krishna: You bet! Say, did I tell you about the time I slayed this big ass snake as a kid. I was I think 5 at the time. I even did a dance on its head.No?Well, you see, this snake had poisoned the waters and....
Lord Krishna cracks the reins and off they go into the sunset, the chariot bouncing up and down and Arjuna holding on for dear life, praying for the war to come to an endSo that's how stuff really went down at the battle of Kurukshetra. Now, I know what you're thinking. He made fun of Lord Krishna. In my defense I think the Bhagwadgita is really amazing and I love its ideals about karma. The allegory about the charioteer and the warrior helps to aid in narrating the ideals and I have no problem with that too. I just think that the world needs to be a little more open minded and a little less rigid (especially with regards to me!) .