Every time I have read the Gita, I have been struck by its depth and its beauty.

The Gita contains eternal spiritual teachings, and is said to have been spoken by Lord Krishna himself during the ancient Mahabharata war in India.

After reading many different versions of this masterpiece, I noticed that its meaning was inaccessible to the common English reader. The original Sanskrit version expresses a poetry as well as profound depth in spiritual meaning. Whilst translating into the English, translators have tried to do justice to the original poetry, sometimes at the cost of simplicity and meaning. It is a hard task because many spiritual Sanskrit words have no English equivalent.

I am by no means a great spiritualist, but I find so much wisdom in the Gita that I want it to be accessible to common readers. I feel that if we all understood the message of the Gita, and tried to live by it by even 25%, then there would be a great, beneficial change in society.

Therefore, I have written a linguistically simple version of the Bhagavad Gita – or Lord’s Song – hoping that the depth of its teachings will come across with less effort.

Chapter 1: The Setting

A great war is about to take place. There is a battlefield in front of us, ready with armed soldiers, horses and weapons.

This war is the result of a family feud. The royal family has become divided over who should rule the kingdom in the next generation. There are the rightful rulers, the Pandavas, and their power-hungry cousins, the Kauravas. They face each other on the battlefield whilst their old, blind uncle, Dhritarashtra, watches from the palace. But he cannot see anything because he is blind, so he asks his advisor, Sanjaya, to tell him what is going on.

Sanjaya sees that there is an interesting dialogue happening between one of the Pandavas, Arjun, and Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna represents a physical manifestation of the Supreme Soul, God. Naturally, Krishna sides with the rightful rulers in this battle, because Krishna is Truth embodied. Although Krishna acts as Arjun’s charioteer, Arjun is actually Krishna’s student and disciple.

The Bhagavad Gita, or Lord’s Song, is Sanjaya’s narration of the conversation that takes place between Arjun and Krishna right before the Mahabharata War. The wisdom imparted by Krishna to Arjun in his moment of crisis has now become one of the most important spiritual dialogues in the world.

The Beginning of the Dialogue

Chapter 2: Death is an Illusion

Sanjaya is sitting with the blind Dhritarashtra in the palace. They watch the battle below. Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya to tell him what is happening. Sanjaya narrates the dialogue which he sees taking place between Arjun and his charioteer, Lord Krishna. The Gita or ‘Lord’s Song’ commences.

Arjun: Krishna, please take our chariot between the two armies so that I can see what I have to do in this battle.

Krishna moves the chariot and positions it between the two armies. Arjun pauses in silence and looks mournfully at the scene ahead.

Arjun: I feel depressed looking at the scene in front of me. I have to kill my own family members to rule in this kingdom. It’s wrong to kill those who I should love and respect. I cannot do this. I will not fight!

Suddenly, Arjun throws down his sword.

Krishna: Arjun, calm down. You are not seeing the situation properly. You’re reacting emotionally, and your perceptions have been clouded. Of course you should fight, and I’ll tell you why.

First of all, you mourn for something that cannot die. You think that people die and everything ends, but this is not the case. It is only the body that dies. The life of a person, their soul, continues its journey after the physical body has died. Just as you change your clothes when they are dirty, the soul sheds the body and enters another. All you are doing on this battlefield is destroying the bodies of those who threaten your kingdom; you can never harm their true identity, you can never harm souls. The soul can endure anything and yet it is never damaged. It is an energy which lasts forever.

But even if you think that people die and never come back, still you should fight. Because death is inevitable and if it were not you, then some other cause would lead to your family’s death. Death is a certainty that happens to everyone.

You are doing something good – protecting your kingdom from the ignorant and harmful hands of your cousins. The act of killing is necessary in this battle, so that this kingdom can pass into the hands of the rightful rulers.

This righteous task is your duty. You have been born into the caste of Kshatriya. As you know, there are four castes in the Hindu way of life (dharma), and these are interchangeable according to a person’s conduct. The Brahmins’ duty is to teach, advise and educate. The Kshatriya’s duty is to lead and govern. Therefore, you have to fulfil the responsibility of your profession. This is an opportunity for you to fulfil your responsibilities on this earth!

If you fulfil your duty properly and protect the citizens of your kingdom, then you will be rewarded by the law of karma. The law of karma ensures that every action has an appropriate consequence. If you give into self-pity and weakness then the consequence of that will be a lifetime of shame and dishonour from your countrymen. If you fight against your ignorant cousins and protect your kingdom from them, your whole kingdom will reward you with honour. If you die in this battle, you will go to heaven, an abode of happiness. If you win the battle then you will enjoy your victory on earth.

So stop worrying about what the end result will be. As long as you act according to your divine duty, you are walking the correct path. Actually, a wise man or woman that has united with God never cares about the fruits of his or her actions, because s/he has the conviction that he is acting according to God’s plan, and that is all that matters. He engages with purity of heart and mind in his sacred duty. He is detached from the fruits of his labours.

So many priests pray to God and perform ritual offerings, but only because they want something in return. They ask God for this and that. Only a wise yogi (one united with God) understands that whatever we get in life is temporary. It all comes to nothing. Just as something is born, it will also decay and die. Everything will pass except the soul, which lasts forever. The wise man concentrates on bettering the soul. He practises so intently on this that his mind becomes extremely disciplined and he can deal with anything.

Arjun: How, Krishna, can a person practise yoga (union with God) to become disciplined? What are the character traits of a disciplined yogi?

Krishna: A true yogi has no preference for fortune over disaster. Oppositions don’t bother him. He does not feel anger when he does not get something, greed for possessing something or arrogance when he has attained something. These things come when a person is absorbed in his role in life (ego) and cannot see beyond into his true identity as a soul.

Human beings have five senses, and when objects make contact with these senses, they create sensations like pleasure and pain. The yogi is detached from this phenomenon and his senses are completely under the control of his mind.

The yogi is at peace with himself and his true identity, and even when he dies, he feels no distress.

Chapter 3: Action

Arjun: Krishna, you speak about the greatness of a yogi’s understandings. I would also like to have a greater understanding of things, but instead I have to take actions which distract me. Why do you push me into action when I would rather sit and meditate and come to deeper understandings?

Krishna: Just because a yogi understands the reality of things does not mean he avoids action. To live in this world, you have to act. Nature itself is full of activity. Even your body needs action in order to stay fit and healthy. The yogi acts whilst remaining detached and peaceful. He carries out his duties. If he is a philosopher then he follows a disciplined practice of study and education; if he is a working man then he performs disciplined action.

A yogi finds balance for the mind and the body. He does not avoid action, but controls action so that it is performed properly, for the greater good.

If a man abstains from actions and indulgences but is all the time thinking about things he would like to do, then he is deluding himself into thinking that he is disciplined and peaceful. Such a person is not peaceful within.

Actions can suffocate you and lead you to egotism unless you perform action as sacrifice. Do it for the benefit of the world, and be detached from its outcome. If you act through sacrifice, all your needs will be looked after because you are looking after the world. All the world will find balance.

Brahma, the first father of man, created the world so that action could take place as sacrifice. He told his son, Manu, to act selflessly.

Those who act selflessly are rewarded and cared for by the Universe. Their action becomes a prayer, like the sacred sound OM. The world is in constant movement, represented by the eternal sound, OM. This is the wheel of creation, constantly turning.
Therefore, Arjun, perform action with detachment. There have been many ancient kings who have gone to heaven, rewarded by their good karma, because they devoted their lives to serving their people through action.

A leader such as you can make a huge impact on others. Through your example, others will learn and imitate your behaviour. Therefore, act righteously.

I am an embodiment of God. I have no need to do anything, yet I engage in action because all of creation depends on me. There would be total chaos and turmoil if I did not act at the right time.

Actions are actually governed by the many forces of Nature which touch upon your life. But an ignorant person thinks, ‘I am the actor. I am making things happen.’ This is an egoistic illusion.

When a person can see the forces of Nature and understand that EVERYTHING depends on EVERYTHING ELSE, then he becomes detached. He is one piece in a greater network.

If you follow my advice and fight now, you will be doing the right thing. People who find fault in my explanations are deluding themselves. Everything follows its Nature. Act according to your natural place in this world.

It is better to fulfil your own responsibilities poorly, with all your effort, than to fulfil the duty of another person well. Follow your path, your own destiny. Stay in harmony with Nature.

Arjun: Krishna, sometimes people do not act according to their rightful duties. They commit evil without knowing. What is it that makes people behave like this?

Krishna: It happens because of desire and anger. The natural forces of passion become imbalanced in such people. Beware of the quality of passion!

True knowledge of reality is obscured by passion, just as fire is obscured by smoke, a mirror by dust, an embryo by the womb.
The senses have been created in order to fulfil a purpose, but sometimes they the mind allows them to govern and this weakens a person. You, the conscious soul, are more powerful than these passing sense sensations and their desires. Fight your battle and conquer your senses!

Chapter 4: Knowledge

Lord Krishna: I have taught this deep knowledge to many sages in history. I first taught it to the Sun itself, who told Manu, the first man. So my knowledge has been passed on through the generations.

Arjun: But how is that possible? The Sun existed before you, its age is greater than yours.

Krishna: It appears that way, yes. But actually, I am timeless. I have passed through many births and I am the origin of the Universe. Arjun, I AM GOD!

You may not remember your many lifetimes, but I remember all of mine.

Whenever ignorance and chaos descend upon this earth, then I come. I come to save humanity.

If a person gets to know me fully, then they seek refuge in me. They don’t want to be born onto this earth anymore. They escape the cycle of birth and death and, finally, they come to me.

In this world, you can perform actions according to your duties, or you can perform the wrong actions, or you can become lazy and perform no action. The wise yogi who understands reality performs action but remains detached. He sees movement where there is stillness and stillness where there is movement. Dualities mean nothing to him.

Eventually such a person may want to renounce this world because it means nothing. Such a yogi seeks me alone by sacrificing his sensual desires and doing penance.

It is not necessary to do this, however. The yogi who performs all actions as sacrifice is also rewarded by me. There can be no sacrifice without action, so remember to perform actions, Arjun. It is better to sacrifice the actions of knowledge – do service through your mind and body – than simply to sacrifice material objects.

But how do you step towards knowledge? You can take the help and advice of wise men if you want to. But you can also gain knowledge through submission and enquiry: ask questions and listen to your intuition for the answers.

Knowledge is very powerful. Even if you are the most evil sinner in the world, through knowledge and disciplined action, you can redeem yourself. Past actions which you are sorry for can be burned away with the fire of knowledge. Knowledge is a great purifier. It will lead you to ultimate peace, and any disciple of knowledge will come to see its benefits if they practise service through knowledge.

On the other hand, the ignorant person who lacks faith and is overcome with self-doubt has to suffer for much longer due to his or her own ignorance. If you are knowledgeable, you can perform actions as sacrifice and therefore you will not get tied to the outcomes of your actions. Yet, you will give all your dedication and devotion to the actions which are meaningful to you.

So get rid of any doubts of ignorance from your mind and rise to the occasion, Arjun!

Chapter 5: Action and Renunciation

Arjun: Krishna, you have talked about performing actions, but you have also mentioned renunciation – the act of leaving society and devoting one’s self to meditation and contemplation. Which of the two things is better?

Krishna: They both take great discipline, but living within society and performing actions properly is more valuable. It shows your true strength.

Really, they are not two separate things. Performing actions and sitting in contemplation are both part of the same goal; they complement each other and they can help you to attain complete knowledge and live correctly.

Whilst performing actions, you must remember that it is the senses that engage with the surrounding world, with the sense objects. You do nothing at all. You are like a lotus, which stays pure and clean even though there is dirt all around it.

God is not responsible for actions and their consequences. God does not create good and evil. There is only knowledge and ignorance, and the consequences of knowledge and ignorance. God merely exists as the embodiment of knowledge.

To a person with knowledge, all things are equal and rewards are temporary and meaningless. The real goal is ultimate knowledge and access to ultimate reality: access to God. Such a person is not attracted to some things and repulsed by other things. Such a person sees everything in its essential state, with an equal and detached eye.