After going through the period of Vedic Yoga for 2,000 years, another era was beginning to blossom at the start of 200 A.D. – one of the most important Yogic literature emerges. The Upanishads is a series of texts that revolve around the idea of the metaphysical speculation and the interconnectedness among all living things. Moving away from ritualism and structure of the Vedas, The Upanishads brought a sense of wholeness and yoga slowly began to find its form. These secret scriptures spoke of an individual system of thought processes, passed down from teacher to student, guru to yogi. The Ramayana and The Mahabharata are two other influential Yogic texts written in the pre-classical Yoga era.
The Katha Upanishad: Death as a Teacher…
“The Tree of Eternity has its roots above
And its branches on earth below.
Its pure root is Brahman the immortal,
From whom all the worlds draw their life, and whom
None can transcend. For this Self is supreme!”
The Bhagavad Gita
The Mahabharata, an epic of its time, contains one of the most well-known Yogic texts read and studied today – The Bhagavad Gita. The conversations between Krishna, the god of Hinduism, and Arjuna, an Indian Prince appear as a poem, beautifully written. Arjuna turns to Krishna for answers when he finds it difficult to fight members of his own family and friends out on the battlefield. The plot takes place on the battlefield portraying the many distractions in our turbulent world today, which became the foundations of yoga meditations.
Arjuna seeks help from Krishna, desperate to fight the bonds that hold him to the material world in order to set himself and soul free. Krishna reveals this is Arjuna’s destiny, that he must face the difficult task at hand and emerge victoriously. This enlightening book between guru and yogi describes several Yogic paths to the ultimate goal of yoga: moksha (freedom). The Bhagavad Gita can be applied to anyone’s life circumstances who seeks answers and direction. In the introduction, it claims that Yoga is not only for the superior students but also to those who have an unfocused mind and is slow to grasp the point:
“Let go.” – What does that mean? “It means this.” – I don’t get it. “It means that.” – I still don’t get it. “Then let me paint you a picture.” – But how do I let go? “Just act in this way.” – But I can’t. “Alright, then act in that way.” – But what if I can’t do that either? “All right, here’s still another approach.” Thus, generously, patiently, the poem guides even the least gifted of us on the path toward freedom.” (pg. 18-19 from The Bhagavad Gita).
Krishna describes four ways to the goal of Yoga, freedom (moksha):
- Bhakti Yoga – Path of devotion or love (community)
- Jnana Yoga – Path of knowledge or wisdom
- Karma Yoga – Path of action (service/right action, clarity, letting go of the ego)
- Raja Yoga – Path of meditation
In the beginning of The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna speaks to Arjuna and says,
“Know what your duty is and do it without hesitation. For a warrior, there is nothing better than a battle that duty enjoins. Blessed are warriors who are given the chance of a battle like this, which calls them to do what is right and opens the gates of heaven.” (pg. 2.31-32)
Krishna starts the teachings of Yoga with such powerful encouragement to keep Arjuna trecking on through the distractions and troubles we go through in life. Anyone who studies and reads The Bhagavad Gita will begin to realize that the teachings Krishna shares to Arjuna apply to our daily lives today – facing difficult tasks, knowing the right thing to do, transcending into wisdom and discovering true happiness – freedom (moksha).
This beautiful picture depicts Arjuna’s reaction when seeing Krishnas “true form,” in the chapter called Cosmic Vision, and is taken back by his magnificence,
“After he [Arjuna] had spoken these words, Krishna, the great Lord of Yoga, revealed to Arjuna his majestic, transcendent, limitless form. With innumerable mouths and eyes, faces too marvelous to stare at, dazzling ornaments, innumerable weapons uplifted, flaming – crowned with fire, wrapped in pure light, with celestial fragrance, he stood forth as the infinite God, composed of all wonders.” (pg. 133)
Krishna describes himself beautifully as if you already knew Him,
“I am the taste in water, the light in the moon and sun, the sacred syllable Om in the Vedas, the sound in air. I am the fragrance in the earth, the manliness in men, the brilliance in fire, the life in the living, and the abstinence in ascetics. I am the primal seed within all beings, Arjuna: the wisdom of those who know, the splendor of the high and mighty. (7.8-10)
Final Thoughts from Emerson and Thoreau
Emerson was incredibly intrigued by the Gita and wrote about it often in his journals:
“It was the first of books: it was as if an empire spake to us, nothing small or unworthy but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age & climate had pondered & thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.” (pg. 13)
Thoreau speaks of the Gita in awe:
“The reader is nowhere raised into the sustained in a higher, purer, or rarer region of thought than in the Bhagvat-Geeta… Beside [it], even our Shakespeare seems sometimes youthfully green and practical merely.” (pg. 13)
The teachings of Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita will apply to everyone’s life differently, but all lead to the ultimate goal of Yoga: freedom (moksha) with a faithful heart and determined mind. I hope this encourages you to read The Bhagavad Gita, discover the first-ever teachings of Yoga, find your inner “warrior” to take on the stresses of life and transcend into your true Self.
Attached is an article more about The Upanishads and The Bhagavad Gita! I hope to make a separate blog post more on the different paths of Yoga and teachings of Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think! Namaste!
Article: Upanishads from http://www.ancient.eu
Article: Krishna’s Ten Definitions of Yoga in The Bhagavad Gita from http://www.elephantjournal.com
Rachel Wood Yoga 