[Sri Ramakrishna] Two questions sent to us.... Can list members help? You may respond directly

[Guest guest]

> what i don't understand is why is the bhagvad gita so

>important to many hindus when actually it's not the text of authority.

 

Is this just an academic question, or have you read the Gita? if you have read

it and yet you do not understand why it is important and where its authority

comes from, then I urge you to keep reading it and pray to

be shown.

As I wrote in the preface of my book, Bhagavad Gita: Annotated & Explained

(SkyLight Paths Publishing):

 

" For many people in the world, not only Hindus, reading or reciting a portion of

the Bhagavad Gita is part of their daily spiritual practice. The hearts of many

others have been touched by reading it only once with openness to the

transforming power of the words of Lord Krishna. May you be so blessed. "

 

Maybe this passage from my introduction will help answer your question:

 

According to Hindu tradition, the author of the Mahabharata (including the Gita)

was the sage Vyasa, whose name means " compiler. " He is said to have also

compiled the Vedas, ancient texts based on revelations received by various seers

(rishis) while in a superconscious state. Thus, although the Gita is officially

classed among the texts known as " traditions " (smriti, " remembered " knowledge),

it has attained the status of a divine revelation (shruti, " heard " knowledge

that is eternally existent), similar to the Vedas. The Gita is sometimes also

called an Upanishad, the term used for mystical writings that convey the " hidden

meaning " of the Vedas concerning the true goal of life and how to attain it. If

the Upanishads are the cream of the milk of the Vedas, then the Gita is said to

be the butter churned from the cream. The philosophy based on the Upanishads is

known as Vedanta, and the Bhagavad Gita has been deemed " the best authority on

Vedanta. "

Contemporary secular scholars consider Vyasa to be a legendary figure

and not the literal author of the Gita. They date the composition of the

Mahabharata to sometime between the fifth and second centuries bce and believe

that the Gita was added to the epic at a later time. To account for apparent

discrepancies in the text, such scholars attribute the Mahabharata to several

different authors. In terms of chronology, one ordinary human being could not

have literally written both the Vedas and the Mahabharata. Tradition nonetheless

regards Vyasa as a single individual, although not an ordinary human being.

According to some authorities, the name of a rishi designates not only a

specific individual but also a characteristic state of consciousness, along with

its functions, which is shared by different historical figures who may bear the

same name in the literature. Regarded in this light, the attribution of the

Bhagavad Gita to Vyasa is more understandable.

 

 

 

 

 

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