{"id":506,"date":"2013-07-26T15:42:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-26T15:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/worldreligions\/2013\/07\/reading-the-bhagavad-gita-today.html"},"modified":"2014-07-28T20:50:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T01:50:01","slug":"reading-the-bhagavad-gita-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/worldreligions\/2013\/07\/reading-the-bhagavad-gita-today.html","title":{"rendered":"Reading the Bhagavad Gita Today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Here\u2019s a great essay about the value of the Bhagavad Gita<\/a> today, written by Charles Martin who co-authored a new translation of the Hindu classic. The Gita is part of the great Indian classic, the Mahabharata and Martin sees a number of lessons from the story that are still valuable today.<\/p>\n

The Gita is a drama that pits Arjuna in battle against his cousins and teachers for control of the kingdom of Bharata in northern India. The moral dilemma that this causes Arjuna is the subject of the book as he debates what he should do with his charioteer, who also happens to be the god, Krishna, in mortal \u00a0form.<\/p>\n

Arjuna ultimately decides to wage war against his relatives. Martin suggests that \u201cKrishna\u2019s reasons are deeply set in Hindu doctrine and practice: as a member of the warrior class, Arjuna has a duty to wage war, and it would be shameful for him to turn away from his responsibility.\u201d<\/em>
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\n<\/em>Martin sees a number of lessons that Gita still has to teach us.<\/p>\n