The Bhagavad Gita details the spiritual journey of Arjuna, someone who is guided by the teachings of Krishna. Arjuna is at a crossroads and doesn’t know who he should trust, but he discovers that Krishna is a loving God giving him counsel. Arjuna is about to go to war and Krishna gives him advice on religious devotion, violence, and yoga, among other things.

The story’s structure was accessible and each discourse was organized in such a way that it was easy for me to follow along. The concepts discussed in the text weren’t simple ideas, but the way each section was organized made the reading straightforward. I was able to clearly see where each section began and ended, therefore where the separation of ideas took place.

Throughout the book, three main teachings were explored: devotion, action, and knowledge. I originally thought that these would be applied only to Arjuna’s dilemma, but the teachings were related to yoga practices as well. Krishna’s advice is that the true yogi follows his teachings and keeps his mind occupied on his practice. I found that some of the advice dispensed to Arjuna in the story applied to me in my practice, or even lines about how a person should live their life in relation to their yoga practice. “…From where does pleasure come for the one who has no peace?” These words made me believe that Krishna not only wanted Arjuna to make an informed decision about his future, but he wanted Arjuna to seek peace for himself as well. This advice is something I need to remind myself of. Sometimes I forget that if I’m unhappy, I can’t be confident about myself and find inner peace.

When I first started reading the story, I expected specific yoga postures to be referenced. I realized that Krishna was advising Arjuna more on a mindful and religious state of yoga. His words were focused on purposeful intent and the benefits of the yoga of action, knowledge, and devotion. “…Nor does one reach fulfilment only be renunciation,” is said after Krishna references the yoga of action. It is another piece of advice that holds multiple meanings for me. This reminds me of the Buddha refusing to become an ascetic in order to reach a tranquil state. He too wanted to reach “fulfilment,” but not by starving himself from the beneficial aspects of life. This is something I too am learning about. When practicing yoga, I try to pay attention to how much discomfort I am experiencing. When I descend into a posture, I need to remind myself that some discomfort is fine, but I shouldn’t allow myself to be in pain. If I reach “fulfilment” through pain, then I’m not really experiencing yoga.

In conclusion, I think that The Bhagavad Gita can be read as a religious text, or for yoga research. The teachings are rooted in the Indian culture, so I could see this book being beneficial for someone wanting to understand Hinduism. Some of the names of the Hindu gods were already familiar to me after reading The Ramayana. Even though The Ramayana was written after The Bhagavad Gita, both are steeped in Indian culture. For example, I was familiar with Rama and the concept of him being an avatar. Although The Ramayana was only referenced a few times in the book’s Notes section, I had read another book about Indian mythology beforehand; this helped me to better understand The Bhagavad Gita.