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.

The Yoga Sutras, split into four books, explains reincarnation and how a person filled with faith can ascend into the spirit world. Within each book there are a set of numbered instructions for how to attain spiritual bliss, enlightment, or peace once a person has died. The instructions aren’t concrete, instead it’s more like guidance for someone to lead a more beneficial life. For example, in Book II the means of yoga are mentioned and one of them are the “commandments.” The commandments include “…truthfulness, abstaining from stealing, from impurity…” The book presents these commandments as goals to aspire to, and as a way to live a wholesome life.

Where in Book I the idea of reincarnation was introduced, Book II begins to detail how a person would accept rebirth for themselves. Starting here the book used several anecdotes to clarify philosophical and religious ideas. This was helpful to me, because I’m only partially familiar with Hinduism and the concept of reincarnation. Even when a quote from William Shakespeare was used to explain man’s limitation, it was a comparison I was more familiar with.

Book III is about the attainment of man’s psychic abilities. Whenever I saw the word “psychic” being used, I had to remind myself that it wasn’t what I usually associated with psychics. Instead of carnival soothsayers, this use of the word was related to religious belief. I found the scientific anecdotes to be the most surprising comparisons in the text. In most of books I read, science and religion stay far away from each other. However, in The Yoga Sutras, it supports the idea that everything is connected. Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin are described as almost reaching a meditative state because they were so focused on discovering something unknown to science. These anecdotes served as reassurance for me while reading. The book presented the idea that anyone, when focused, could reach a meditative state; it just takes practice.

Book IV summarizes man’s journey to rebirth and the steps it took for him to get there. The parts I most enjoyed in the book were the references to Buddhism, famous scientists, and the brief mentions of yoga. When the connection was made between the similarities in Christian and Buddhist religions, it really struck a chord with me. I thought the book did a fine job of supporting the idea that everything is connected and shares similarities. There were some concepts about reincarnation that confused me, but that was partially because the language describing it was so sophisticated. In short, The Yoga Sutras was an eye-opener to the many aspects of reincarnation and how everything connects back to a person’s soul.