Analysis

The Satanic Verses of Bhagavad-gita

This work mainly presents a hardcore moral criticism of the Bhagavad-gita, the criticism that the Gita in fact implies that

1. Krishna—the preacher of yoga—is not in the least a yogi himself,
2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil), and
3. Krishna—for reasons other than the ones for which he is considered evil—is nothing short of a terrorist and the Gita is Hindu terrorism.

And, as a matter of necessity, it attempts to systematically dig into the Gita's metaphysical foundations, further examining the gravity of each criticism through monistic and dualistic metaphysical interpretations (or perspectives).

Finally, as a matter of example, it also cites some of the verses of the Quran that appear similar in meaning to the Gita’s satanic verses, thereby drawing parallels between the two seemingly antithetical religious texts. The work thus points out that although the Gita may not seem to be as directly and explicitly terroristic as the Quran, terrorism—the one against unbelievers, for instance—is equally inherent in the Gita and the Gita can be fairly interpreted as a book of terrorism.

The Criticism

1. Krishna—the preacher of yoga—is himself not a yogi

In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna is hailed several times as not only a yogi but also as the Lord (or the God) of yoga, the great Lord of yoga, etc. And he demands Arjuna, and in fact every other mortal, to be a yogi, while contradictorily enticing him with material prospects and benefits. However, Krishna could not in fact be considered a yogi, basically because he claims to create the (painful) manifested world (Vyakta Prakriti), when, as a yogi, he, as Paramatman (i.e. Supreme Soul or Supersoul), would quite simply be expected to be content within himself (i.e. to be in the state of self-realization), and not to have any desire, including the desire for the action of creation, as it seems absurd that there can be a conscious action without any underlying desire whatsoever. Krishna is not the God of yoga but the "God of desire and hypocrisy"!

In other words, the idea of Nishkam Karma (or desireless action; i.e. conscious action with no underlying desire)—the principal tenet of Karma yoga—seems to be paradoxical and unmeaning. Karma yoga may make sense only to the extent that an aspiring yogi attempts to be as much desireless as possible while doing any conscious (material) action. Once the aspiring yogi becomes a (true) yogi, it would be perfectly meaningful that he has no desire left in him other than the desire for self-realization (Atma-sakshatkar) or God-realization (Krishna-sakshatkar) and thus performs no conscious action other than the one which is essential for the goal of self-realization or God-realization. The idea that Krishna is a true (or ultimate), self-realized yogi is thus contradictory to the idea that he creates the manifested world as a Karma yogi. Krishna’s supposed (conscious) act of perpetual creation of the manifested world cannot be without some underlying desire which is unworthy of a true yogi.

2. Krishna alone is satanic (or evil)

According to the Gita, it is Krishna who does everything, it is he who is responsible for every good as well as evil that exists in the world, and yet he proclaims to make it—the prospects of yoga—worse for evil people, asserts to annihilate miscreants, while contradictorily claiming to be the friend of every being. Krishna alone possesses free-will. Krishna alone creates delusion (or ignorance) and causes (unfathomable) suffering. Krishna—and Krishna alone—is evil.

So, for example, the Gita in fact implies that it is Krishna who created Duryodhana, the Mahabharata’s arch-antagonist; it is Krishna who is the actual doer of each of his evil deeds; and it is Krishna, and only Krishna, who prearranged the dreadful Kurukshetra War.

Sometimes it seems to be argued that Krishna lets pain and evil exist so that Man can understand the value of good. I disagree with such argument. First of all, if self-realization or God-realization is the only good, the only thing to be cherished, Krishna, the so called ultimate yogi, should only let the state of self-realization exist (i.e. should only be in the state of self-realization). It would be preposterous for a true yogi to be interested in anything other than self-realization or God-realization. Secondly, it appears impossible to appreciate that the unfathomable suffering in the “fatalistic” world exists just so that few “puppets” can understand the “value” of God-realization. The eternally blissful state of God-realization would in fact entail the understanding of its value irrespective of the way that state is attained. A deterministic world in which a lion, for example, must make a living by killing a weaker animal must be the work of an incalculable evil.

3. Krishna is nothing short of a terrorist and the Gita is Hindu terrorism

As per the Gita, a lot many modern women would be miscreants and thus would be on Krishna’s hit-list—threatened to death by him—since Krishna says that even women, vaisyas (i.e. merchants), sudras (i.e. low-level workers), or any people of sinful birth go to the highest goal, if they take his shelter; he further says that then how much more righteous brahmanas and devout King-sages!; which means that Krishna does not consider women to belong to the category of “righteous brahmanas”; so women are either unrighteous brahmanas or not brahmanas at all; if they are unrighteous brahmanas, they are unrighteous anyway, and if they are not brahmanas at all, then the women who do the works of brahmanas—e.g. the works of professional teachers—would be unrighteous, miscreants, for Krishna asks everyone from a division to do work only assigned for their division. It is in fact not only many of the modern women but people of other faiths too—people who do not believe in Krishna—such as atheists, Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., that could be supposed to be threatened with death by Krishna. Krishna—especially for most of the modern people—is therefore nothing short of a terrorist; and the Bhagavad-gita is “Hindu terrorism”!

This, of course, does not mean that anyone who preaches the Bhagavad-gita is necessarily a terrorist (or an accomplice of a terrorist), for they may be completely unaware of the terroristic message hidden in the Gita.

Note:

The full version of this work is available at SelectedWorks and at the Internet Archive. It includes vital references and explanatory notes, a section on the relationship between the metaphysics of the Gita and the moral criticism, the Gita’s parallelism with the Quran, as well as my review of the commentaries on the Gita. The full work shows, for instance, how verses 16:6–9, 4:8, and 9:11–13 in the Gita collectively imply that the Gita is in fact terroristic towards people of other faiths.

Let me also mention that I am not anti-Hindu; I am in fact an ardent believer and practicer of Hindu astrology and am an impassioned devotee of Lord Rama. Hindu astrology has appeared to me to be so profoundly and minutely true that I am on the verge of conviction that the ultimate truth is not beyond Hinduism, though that does not discourage me from questioning the morality of the Bhagavad-gita. Also, notwithstanding my harshest criticism of the Gita, I profoundly love the Gita for the very transcendental nature of its metaphysics and the beautiful language in which it has been expressed. And I deeply appreciate the noble spirit of Islam too. How beautiful and humane the Quranic verse 2:177 is, for example!

16-Apr-2012

More by :  Kedar Joshi

Top | Analysis

Views: 10339      Comments: 113



Comment I love Narayanan. I couldnt read your article because it was painful. May Shri Krishna have mercy on you.

Sree
02-Feb-2022 10:03 AM

Comment this is some kathmulla madarsachap hiding behind a hindu name

Sudarshan
23-Jan-2022 03:03 AM

Comment Dear Khan,

Have courage to disclose your true name. Hiding behind Hindu name and disguising the sacred texts has no meaning in itself.

When you are yourself are not sure about your own identify, it's futile to interpret the meanings of verses in Geeta.

Instead practice Islam and be what you are..."a Muslim"

Abhay
04-Dec-2021 17:59 PM

Comment Shrimadbhagvad Gita is only scripture with "BHAGVANUVACH" word.
It is translated in most of the languages of the world admired globally by many religious philosophers. No One has criticized it in such non religious ugly language. The author can't be HINDU and written with fake name.He doesn't have right to write against feelings of a major religious people. Google should ban this content from search engine.Now a days there is global anti Hindu propaganda going on by Christians and Muslims.

Anil
26-Aug-2021 05:28 AM

Comment When I first started to follow the Gita I had no Bhakti, I just wanted to feel good. I wanted my suffering to end so like everyone I also believed praying to god will reduce my suffering when in fact my suffering increased alongside my Bhakti. Everyone understands Gita differently. Your analysis was hurtful to me because my love for krsna is so much that hearing anyone speak negatively about him makes me sad.but there is krsna in you too and one day you will allow the krsna within in your shine.

Mehak Saini
03-Aug-2021 14:53 PM

Comment I have read the gita but i haven't seen any satanic verses ....i think the writer had read from any other translated version of gita cuz it had been translated by many writers ....but also i have read couples of bible verses and i found them satanic...or any logical thinking person can easily Found that it cannot be the verses form god instead it could be satanic or it would be written by normal person.

Be honest
19-Jul-2021 02:00 AM

Comment Ahahahah,

Wait you're serious ?

Let me laugh even harder.

Anonymous God
15-Jul-2021 18:52 PM

Comment The person who has written all this would have some metal problem thats why he has written such bullshits about our
great bhagvat gita have he ever read the gita if not then read properly keep other books aside and read the whole gita and then comment if anything is wrong written in it.

Nitesh
07-Feb-2021 13:24 PM

Comment I can demolish each and every line this writer says, using proper references WITHIN the Gita.

Refiner
16-Dec-2020 02:55 AM

Comment Needless to say, interpretations of any verses by different people will be different. I have not seen commentators describing how they conduct their day to day life and what they base their choices on. Most of them write comments to show off their intellectualism, superiority and exclusiveness, covering up their hypocrisies.

Kastoori
06-Nov-2020 08:05 AM

Comment Such a propaganda writing.. Even a Hindu person who hasn't read Gita can write a better article than this. This is just Hinduphobia and Hindu bashing at it's finest

P Shinde
03-Jun-2020 00:48 AM

Comment Thanks for exposing this fake religion, I myself left hinduism way back because of lots of contradictions and hate towards lower caste. I wish more Hindus will understand it with open mind instead of following blindly.

Ex-Hindu
24-Apr-2020 13:29 PM

Comment The so called intellectual author can’t be devotee of Ram.
He is either lying or he is some fake propagandist.

This Man who doesn’t understand the concept of submission then how can he write that the call of Krishn: to submit the devotee to him as terrorism?

The idiocy of this writer is clear from the fact that Every Scripture has some details of karmic imprint & its impact on us.
So by his illogical commentary every God is a terrorist as they call for submission on their path else its a Sin ?

Puneet Shandilya
07-Apr-2020 01:36 AM

Comment The author has the most superficial understanding of Gita. And formidably armed with such an understanding, has chosen to profess criticism in the most noble and enlightened tradition of the left intellectuals since such criticism is the supreme virtue of the left.

UGja Suv
06-Jan-2020 14:27 PM

Comment Then why has ISKON not killed him yet? Isn't Bhagavad Geeta a book promoting Hindu terrorism?

22102001
11-May-2019 08:12 AM

Comment Fascinating thoughts. And you are a devotee of Ram? Even more fascinating.
The links you gave ( to read more), is not working. I'll be interested in reading more of your thoughts. Please provide the exact link.

Regards
Roshni

Roshni
28-Apr-2019 03:56 AM

Comment According to my own knowledge I think that all relegion present now day is evil / false / corrupted / changed from truth to false theory as if one ready any relegion one can observe that this relegion telling us that your life does not Matter the only thing matter is your only Faith in only one supernatural power that we call parm atma that he is everything according to their Faith he is only living being in universe in every religion but if it true then technology is false as it is impossible .

Truth Seeker
25-Feb-2019 23:01 PM

Comment Kedar Joshi is confused between Who should take Action & Inaction. This is a common misunderstanding as not all actions require an action or Inaction as it depends on the practitioner and the circumstances.

Therefore just meditate on why some should take Action and Whys some should be Inactive? The answer will come when you consider the circumstances and the outcomes of a complex world of colonization by conquest and by economic dominance.
It is indeed complex and needs deep thought.

Save Mankind
08-Nov-2018 21:01 PM

Comment Please read my books "Bhagavad Gita preaches Bible, Quran, Socialism and Swadhama (to bear God as Swa)" and Win Nuclear War (Translation of Quran Siparo 30) with comments to prove that Quran and Bhagavad Gita support each other totally, as appreciated by Narendra Modi as CM in 2012 and by CJ, SCI in 2010..
-ramesh

Ramesh
30-Oct-2018 10:11 AM

Comment 1 & 2. Vyas was grandfather of Arjuna and teached four castes by Birth, which is myth at a glance. So, Krushna tells him that Krushna is God.
3.You enter in God -Krushna within you- every night in deep sleep and become fresh. On death your fathers have been Pitru. If you follow Chapter 4, shlok 11 (first half) by implementing faith in Ch. 10/20 , you may enter in God, as Veds too guide. Do you deny Veds? If yes, then you are a Satan if notliving as a person to visualize God present in all.

Ramesh
30-Oct-2018 10:06 AM

Comment Dear Sir,
Please accept to discuss on Bhagavad Gita & Krushna, as otherwise you are a Satan. In fact, Veds are collected by Vedvyas about 5,200 years ago but Yoga was preached about 10,000 years ago. So, confess that there can be no families as birth-Brahmins etc.
Quran says that all preachers preached the same one religion for entire mankind. Dr. Ambedkar has framed Constitution of India to preach the same one religion, Swa-dharma to bear God as Swa (of each and all),
-Ramesh

Ramesh V. Sheth
30-Oct-2018 09:57 AM

Comment sir,
it appears from the inhterpretation of the author that he has not understood BG correctly either due to his background being a nonhindu (though his name reads like Hindu) or he has some vested interest

N M NAIR
22-Dec-2016 23:13 PM

Comment MR Kedar joshi ,

Bhagavath gita has many transalations , any one can narrate gita with their own view points , but befire ctiscizing gita you should study it properly . if u have dowubts regarding this then u should read it again or refer bhagavtha or mahabharat

researchandthink
22-Aug-2016 04:55 AM

Comment This is height of self vanity based person, trying to justify his own conclusions.Lord Krishna is Avatar of Supreme Soul who is performing the act as a human and if you had not read Great Mahabharata in full of which the Great Bhagavad Gita is part of it then you are too not qualified to comment.

Lord Krishna did not came as God but as a human, Lord Krishna dies as human in it and suffers all human emotion which is life and it is from Supreme Soul God, Ishwara whos Avatar is Lord Krishna. This world is not about God doing all the works of humans and humans doing miss creation.

Many texts in all scriptures are symbolically said and all scriptures have gone through some editing so feeling oneself smart by pointing out a single verse is height of ignorance.

Read Mahabharata first in which Lord Krishna risks all to get back justice in form of 5 villages and Lord Krishna says if this could happen it will be his greatest achievement and when all fails then war starts to maintain the righteousness. Righteousness is the basis of all religion and it is not by just embracing every thing it is maintained. Every step of Lord Krishna was to maintain it with least harm to common people, people who died in war were people who were there to fight, no one touched the common people even in such grave war it was because of peaceful righteousness of Lord Krishna in it, war happened because of people and time what Lord Krishna got to do for it,
Lord tried to stop but others do not listen so maintaining righteousness was first priority so war happened. Bhagavad Gita was not said to start the war but to stop the Great Arjun to run away from the war of righteousness which was already started so things should not go worse.

And Lord Krishna did not took any thing from war just maintained what was right. So come out of delusion your whole intelligence is not even one billionth of the one line of the scripture you are making joke of.

Bhagavad Gita explains what is impossible to even guess and read it it is most scientific and psychologically fit scriptures. For that sake all scriptures are great wisdom and none can be judged by any one it be Vedas, Mahabharata, Gita, Bible, Qurana, Buddha, Taoism etc.

Life is governed not by puppy concepts but by its own and by time and all things happens for reason.

Scripture is not judged by a single para but in its whole concept.
Gandhari women cursed Lord Krishna for war and whole Yadvas were destroyed and Lord Krishna bowed to her so Lord Krishna not respecting women is foolish.

Sudra in Mahabharata are people who do not know about the right method of living and so they serve the people who know to learn it and maintain there life and Karma and are respected. Many references are there that a person born as Sudra if is capable is real Brahman and if Brahman does not acts the way it is Sudra. The distinction is not in people it is the job they follow and all were respected. All things are way of calling by writer. I can keep on and on about it as you are so ignorant and full of vanity and in total delusion

Most importantly you don't even got a single clue about what Lord Krishna means by self contained and same in all conditions and what is meant by without desire and controlling it. For your information understanding this is key and you are not worthy of it as you judging and mocking such Great scripture and Lord

You do not understand even meaning of Yoga and you did not mentioned Yagya too it is also in Gita because you are ignorant with no sense at all about what you are explaining.

Bhagavad Gita is that text which can give some one the insight of reality as very rare it is available anywhere. It is deep, it is real and it is the truth which comes when you respect and bow down to knees to Lord Krishna

So take a chill pill and take a brake this is really funny column with no sense at all it is height of self vanity to say such things with out even reading it in full.

And as per Lord Krishna says never tell the secret of this text to one who does not respects so no knowledge for you. You can live in ignorance as long as you wish but you do not have even a clue about what is actually said in the text of Great Great Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna the ultimate master of Yoga and Life from whom all system runs because Lord Krishna is from Super Soul and every thing runs from Super Soul this a hint about understanding which you will not get at all. So arrogant, ignorant and foolish

Who disrespects any great scripture like Vedas, Gita, Bible, Quran, Buddha or any other that is followed by people living in peace, that person neither respects his own religion nor other religions and nor can have any wisdom but can have only vanity that is useless and good for nothing. so just chill people know better then you and all this is not going to harm any great scripture





Rajiv Kakaria
22-Feb-2016 11:48 AM

Comment Mr Joshi, have you read and understood Gita under teacher(Guru) or this is your self-understanding and judgment? Thorough study of Gita will take 3-5 years . Self study can be done in few days/months which may lead towards distorted conclusions to few like you. I read Gita and I could not get to your conclusions so far . I have been reading since two years now.
Same time appreciate that you are reading our religious books at young age.

keshav


keshav
21-Feb-2016 03:03 AM

Comment I advice the writer to first hav faith in gita and try to learn frm it and not judge it...then u will use your mind to the fullest to understand the even hard things to understatnd. Then you will understand watever you said is incorrect and Krishna is right.

Aman
29-Jan-2016 18:26 PM

Comment When people are not equal even in the eyes of god and branded as superiors and inferiors to one another by the reason of their birth gita deserves no better place than dustbin.

ashok
22-Aug-2015 11:29 AM

Comment While some shlokas may be controversial, the wholesale criticism is utterly invalid. Of course, it depends on one's ability to understand & intention. Pray, where is all the terror due to Bhagavadgita?

Jayarama Bhat
26-Jul-2015 09:47 AM

Comment Persons endowed with lesser intelligence shall not interpret Hindu scriptures lest it should lead to disastrous consequences. Bhagavad Gita had inspired far more intelligent men blessed with incisive thinking.

H B Subrahmanyam
22-Jul-2015 15:06 PM

Comment According to the Gita, it is Krishna who does everything, it is he who is responsible for every good as well as evil that exists in the world, and yet he proclaims to make it—the prospects of yoga—worse for evil people, asserts to annihilate miscreants .

--------------

I request the author of the article to quote exact verses which state that Krishna asserts annihilation for the people who don't believe in him.

James Bond
20-Jul-2015 02:13 AM

Comment Author makes assumptions and casts aspersions therewith. No need to take his opinions - yeah opinions - seriously.

Hank Rudr
06-Jul-2015 13:36 PM

Comment I luv what the author Kedar Joshi did. It is a great work. But I can come to Krishna defense in that if Krishna is everything and he is eternal spirit then he cannot die and his 'forms' as in the wars he creates are only 'Himself' appearing and disappearing in his own Grand Scheme of things. He can also since he is god act as the sole viewer of this vast earthly play or play each individual part and rather the worst bum or coldest rich man, he cares not for it is all an illusion to him- for he is the only and ultimate reality of ALL THINGS seen and unseen manifest and yet to be manifest- however I like the idea of Krishna being Satan- "For we are all in his command, like pearls on a string!" Hee! Hee! 3:)

Brewster
18-Apr-2015 11:19 AM

Comment hatss off to this bull shit author..
if you are saying Krishna is Sataniv just stop believing in god..

it would be better for you..


Krrish
14-Apr-2015 11:57 AM

Comment God is all about love , Love towards his children,
And a true living God never discriminates in his children nor any of his words do ,, If any of his scriptures are found so I doubt it is by God ..
A true God will never encourage evil nor provoke his children to follow the devil !!! Does our parents tell us to steal or kill someone or kill his own children! .. Search for the Living God don't make your own or worship his creation or searching In it,, instead find him in yourself by loving your brother n sisters of you in God meaning love and help the people around u as your own self, !!

I think this man is in search of truth , If he is,, No one can stop him because God is truth!!

A child of God
30-Mar-2015 15:31 PM

Comment Ravish R, it's actually you and partisans like you who have no knowledge about the Gita, and you just want the (false) good image of the Gita sustained.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
29-Mar-2015 06:10 AM

Comment Kedar Joshi has no knowlege about Bhagawat Gita. You just want your article to get noticed that's it

Ravish R
26-Mar-2015 03:42 AM

Comment The translations of the Gita I have mainly cited are by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Franklin Edgerton, and W. Douglas P. Hill. The first two’s translations came well before ISKCON and the last one (like the first two) is an acclaimed scholar of the Gita. These three scholars cite thinkers like Sankaracharya and Ramanuja in their works on the Gita. Neither they nor I rest our knowledge of the Gita on ISKCON’s understanding and interpretation. And for your kind information, Prabhupada’s translation of the Gita first appeared in 1968, not 1927.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
23-Mar-2015 22:24 PM

Comment Kedar Joshi,

I read the full article in the internet archives and saw the references you have given. Most of your references point to people from ISKCON or who were once part of it. I suggest you to not consider any of their publications as true translations of Bhagvad Gita. They have manipulated Gita to further their cause of so called "Krishna Consciousness". They believe that Krishna is everything, which is not true. They are the ones who are spreading the Hindu/Krishna Terrorism.

I also want to point out that during the British rule of India, sacred texts were manipulated to uproot people from their beliefs.

I deeply suggest that you find the oldest possible version of Bhagvad Gita by any means. The oldest version ISKCON offers is the 1927 version of Prabhupada. Please do not consider this. The starting point should be the translations of Bhagvadgita by Max Muller's colleagues and then go backward as much as possible.

The best alternative would be to learn sanskrit and translate it yourself.

Regards,
Vinay Bhargav

Vinay Bhargav
23-Mar-2015 15:47 PM

Comment This just makes sense, Kedar. If God is all powerful and in control of all things, why would he set things up that so many abominable tragedies are needed in his pastimes? He can do anything, why the need for war, demons, killing of relatives, Brahma raping daughter, and so on? Couldn't he think of a more peaceful. blissful, loving, story-line? Thank you for your contribution.

L. Sky
20-Mar-2015 23:29 PM

Comment You have no knowledge about Gita. You are just out of your mind. Gits never been criticize at anyway. Gita is not about translate verses. It is all about philosophy. Everyone love Gita in the world who read it. Every single person. I seem you are not Hindu. You are Muslim using fake Hindu name.

Yogesh
20-Mar-2015 13:57 PM

Comment Please Kedar Joshi,

I need to contact you. Its important and urgent. I am writing a book and need your advice
on few key aspects of Gita.
Thanks,
Dinesh

Dinesh
10-Feb-2015 04:27 AM

Comment Well, quite frankly, they who say (or mean to say) that I have not understood the Bhagavad-gita, have in fact understood neither the Bhagavad-gita nor The Satanic Verses of Bhagavad-gita or maybe in spite of understanding both they say (or mean to say) so merely in order to protect the image of the Gita.

The full version of my criticism of the Gita, which includes my review of the commentaries on the Gita, is available at http://works.bepress.com/kedar_joshi/26/

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
04-Feb-2015 18:22 PM

Comment DHARMA=DUTY
NOT RELIGEON.
THIS PROVES THAT THE WRITER HAVE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
AND
ATMAN IS NOT SOUL,IT IS ENERGY OF LIFE
E=MC2
vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ''parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi

MEANING THE ATMAN(ENERGY OF LIFE)
FLOWS FROM ONE BODY TO ANOTHER
IT HAS NO BIRTH AND DEATH
THIS IS ONLY
E-MC2
ENERGY IS NOT CREATED(BIRTH)
NOR DESTROYED(DEATHY)

ATMAN IS SANSKRIT WORD OF ENERGY IN ENGLISH
IT IS JUST LANGUAGE PROBLEM TO UNDERSATAND

bharat
31-Jan-2015 03:35 AM

Comment I think Kedar is a brilliant marketer. If you want to right a book and sell a few copies...fast, the thing that you do is write a book opposing the generally held views on any subject. If that subject has any emotional connect with the people...Bang! you have a winner! Not a new strategy though...Remember Dan Brown and his books. He made a lot of money at the end of the day!! Kedar wants to be the Dan brown of India.

This might even work with people buying the book to oppose it. even I might have bought it to see what it found out that I (myself a sceptic of organised religion) could not find in the Gita. However, I find it rather tardily done and superficial, like the arguments of Zakir naik or some christian evangelical ignoramuses who care not to seek the truth but to push a predetermined agenda.

If he actually wanted to oppose the book, the least he could do was include the well respected commentaries of the book from time immemmorial to the present. But this requires a lot of work, and such make money quick nitwits maynot be upto the task. Its a pity that he has wasted time and effort on such mediocre platitudes masquerading as criticism of the book. He does a literal reading of a book which is part of the Mahabharatha which is full of metaphors and is an elaborate examining of the Human condition. Yes it''s ambiguous and yes its difficult and So is life and So is God, if there be some one like that. The author wants a clear cut book ''God and salvation for dummies''. Oh please spare us, there at least two who do that in their own stupid manner or write one on your own and don''t forget to mention that you are the last prophet and the final world.

The one and only thing that lends Gita its greatness is this sloka:

Iti te gyanamakhyatam guhyadguhyataram maya,
Vimrishyaitadasheshenam yathechhasi tatha kuru.

Geeta; Chapter 18, Shloka 63
Meaning: I have passed on to you the most secret of knowledge there is. Now, critically examine the message and act the way you consider it fit.

This is freedom of choice and respect for individual intellect. That, for me, is above all!

Sooraj Nair
27-Jan-2015 03:36 AM

Comment
The author of this article is misguided soul. He is advised to have intelligent, eye opening, though provoking discussion i.e. ''Dharm Charcha'' on this topic with any Hare Krishna /ISKCON pundit. I am sure that after this charcha author will post new article acknowledging that above article was written in ignorance and with incomplete knowledge.

prem
15-Jan-2015 14:01 PM

Comment Read here lies of Islam/Quran:

See the Koran Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCrCsTMokTU&feature=related

The Muslims consider the Qur’an as uncorrupted. Yet it''s historical and scientific blunders are numerous. it is in NO way connected with peace.

-> There are more than 100 verses in the Qur''an (Koran) advocating the use of violence to spread Islam. There are exactly 123 verses in the Qur''an about killing and fighting.

-> According to Sura 19:71 every Muslim will go to Hell (for at least some time)

->Before Muhammad the Arabs had 365 gods - one for each day of the year. Muhammad picked Allah (the Arab moon god).

They claim the founder of Islam is a prophet named Muhammad...however Muhammad himself says he is not a prophet and has never personally heard from God...in fact Muhammad who heard voices thought himself it was from evil spirits....his wife encouraged him to change his mind and claim God had spoken to him...

Muhammad performed no miracles, spoke no prophecies, and died like all mortal men

Didn''t Allah have a Basic Education? As per kuran it doesn''t seem like. Read for yourself.

It just doesn''t add up: Sura 4:11-12 and 4:176 state the Qur''anic inheritance law. When a man dies, and is leaving behind three daughters, his two parents and his wife, they will receive the respective shares of 2/3 for the 3 daughters together, 1/3 for the parents together [both according to verse 4:11] and 1/8 for the wife [4:12] which adds up to more than the available estate. A second example: A man leaves only his mother, his wife and two sisters, then they receive 1/3 [mother, 4:11], 1/4 [wife, 4:12] and 2/3 [the two sisters, 4:176], which again adds up to 15/12 of the available property.

Islam offers HELL and that is all.Allah Promised hell for his followers:

See the Koran Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCrCsTMokTU&feature=related

prem
15-Jan-2015 13:58 PM

Comment Gita was a compilation of several philosophical thoughts and words of wisdom. This was hijacked, plagiarised and modified by the so-called brahministic society. To make it appear as if those have come straight from god, this was shrewedly but very foolishly inserted in the Mahabharat, to fool the gullible by accrediting as the words of Krishna.

ashoke
29-Dec-2014 14:03 PM

Comment You seriously need 360 degree understanding of Shrimad Bhagvatam..... Learn properly it will help you to come out of ignorance...... Hope one day you will become sincere student & get fine teacher.

Raj Shekhar
02-Dec-2014 05:59 AM

Comment i somehow or other stumbled upon this page and read all the comments and Kedar ji's commentary on BG.
I would just suggest him to refer to THESPIRITUALSCIENTIST.COM with the same open mind with which he has written this thesis and see if he could understand something.

Yashwant
26-Nov-2014 04:14 AM

Comment You have not understood Bhagvad Geeta. You see, that is why, teachers exist...because along with the procurement of knowledge it is equally important to have it stored in the right box inside of your brain. Should you read the verses and then close your eyes and find out the meaning, I am sure you will find the right answers for all the questions for which you have formed your own assumptions as answers.

Bhagwad geeta is all about the following points...

1) Wanting bloodshed is violence, but not fighting against the crime. No matter if there is blood all over during the fight and you have to kill the enemy, but then it has a right motive. Violence is not "fighting" but "fighting for own benefits"

2) in order to have a proper balance in this world, it is require to have both, the evil and sanity co exist along side. When the evil starts getting heavier and dominates over sanity, it is must that the balance should be formed, even if the attempt involves killing. But the killing should not affect the innocent lives in any negative manner.

3) women, lower births or people born poor and / or disabled or as a beggar are here in this world, for us to learn. Now we learn out of their living or presence in our life, is what god wants to see in us. Every creator has to perform the trial and error task. There can't be a final flawless piece without that. Women, are weaker physically as compare to men. There are lot of factors in the life of women, that requires them be circumspect about as it may cause an irreversible damage in their life otherwise. They get menses, it is a cleaning process and is extremely painful for mos of the women during the period...why do men don't get it? If they show off a lot of skin, they might fall prey to perverts and criminals who would then ruin their modesty...They can get pregnant if they get raped (i wish that no female gets raped ever)...apart from this it is a clear fact that you can't stop your thoughts to think clean while watching an outrageously beautiful women with extreme curves, beautiful face and semi or full nude state....And a man who says "there is nothing wrong in showing cleavage" ...means he doesn't want his entertainment to stop in this world and thus would always want women to show a lot of cleavage in any dress they wear...remember...it could even be his brother's wife....women have a lot of fears and pains and are more in secured as compare to men in this world...can a man be raped? can a man become pregnant forcibly? that is why...souls are born in as women, which actually depends upon their karmas from the previous birth because that is the way that soul must suffer the punishment of his evil deeds from previous births by living the life of a woman and suffer pain. Your karmas, from every birth is being accounted...even this one.

4) When a creator creates a piece..he tries and rectifies it until it achieves the final shape or performance. We are all his creations and we are here to learn the life lesson and become a sage human being (read verse 13.56). The trial process can be done only by letting the machine run by its own, with just a guidance or safe hand alongside to protect it from any unforeseen damage. And that is why.... he never intervenes personally to solve your problems but is always there when you need guidance or direction. Instead, he has place a piece of him in every soul. Your inner voice is the same....that calm and composed voice that restrains you from doing anything wrong....is god's own voice.

5) "Dharma" is the first milestone path towards sanity. And so that must be accomplished at every instance in your entire life, when it is needed. "Karma" is the second milestone towards sanity. Your karmas or in case of a creation...its performance, justifies whether the desired shape is achieved.

6) In the path of sanity, you will always see the righteous things that you will need to accomplish, and your inner voice will ascertain whether that thing is righteous or not.That is the perfect way to know whether you are on the right path or no. Even if you have to suffer pain, consider it the punishments carried forward from your previous birth to this birth, so that you qualify at all the levels and become clean. If the problems in your life arise often, then remember....that it must be one big piece of punishment that you were to suffer, which the god has divided into various pieces and spread across your life period, so that you dont get the entire stuff burden you and make you loose your life.

you will always find things in common in all the holy books in this entire world.... believe me... we have created the religions on earth....god narrated those books to all different religions in their native ways and languages, because he knew that it was difficult to reverse the "religion" sickness out of this world...all that he found as a solution was....to deliver it to every being, in their own followed religion.....because the motive was one...get polished, get qualified and then depart as a soul back to him...to then live with him...in heaven.....

Ritesh Singh
14-Aug-2014 16:19 PM

Comment one has to find out the truth by oneself. The one that knows the truth is benefitted. If one realiszed the the Godly verses of Bagavadgitha as the Sataniv, who is the loser. Please read the Swarajya Bhagavadgitha in telugu written by Swami Vedantam Laxmanaryulu,available with Swarjya Sangham, Asramam Road, Proddatur, Kadapa Dist.,A.P. India or its English translation, available with Mr.S>V. Ramana, 21/303, Murugeshan compound, Near Janatha Medical Shop, 7 Roads, Kadapa Dist and twown, A.P.India.

DR.S.KALAVA
11-Aug-2014 18:15 PM

Comment I am all for freedom of expression & speech. Every one has right to express his views. This kind of freedom and flexibility is only possible in our Vedic Culture and no where else. Scriptures of any type have to taken positively be it "Holy Vedas", "Holy Bhagwad Gita" (the essence of all Vedas), "Holy Quran", "Holy Bible", etc. Vedas do not mean by the word "Religion" what we mean by it today while referring to the derogatory word Hindu, to Islam or to Christianity. These latter are merely what was called "the sects" or "the Panths" or "paths". God is "Anadi" (without beginning), "Anant" (endless), Nirgun & Nirakaar (Formless or shapeless). It is an all encompassing entity, an omni-presence. It is the very flexibility and tolerance of the Vedic Culture which permits worship of any form including idols. It also says that you do not have to do even that. All is required from you is to keep doing your destined work and keep discharging your duties sincerely but without any ego and such attached to it ("detachment" needs to be understood properly first).

Kedar Joshi's essay is to be appreciated thus only as the work which is the result of stupidity of highest order. The very tolerance and flexibility of our culture allows such people to vomit words like these against the scriptures with complete impudence and immunity. I would appreciate and welcome and even dare him to understand and try same scholastic approach with "Holy Quran". Some people, like spoiled brats, just act and do things simply to get noticed. Idiots can not be convinced. It is essential that "phrases" or "verses" are not taken in isolation but the context is fully understood. It is essential to understand "Mahabharat" first and to understand that "Gita" is but a minuscule portion of that epic.

It is simply an incident which sparks Lord Krishna into making Arjun understand the real meaning of the word duty which in "Gita" is synonym to "Dharma". I would request and implore all to make real efforts to really "UNDERSTAND" this great scripture. One may even take is a philosophical work of greatest order. But please carry with you a decent mind and an understanding that no one in his/her right mind advocate or condone any wrong actions from the fellow beings.

Just think of the actions of this fellow as to what he will do if his near- & dear- one is about to be raped. Would he stand contemplating non-violence and prefer to preach the assailant or he will burst in a sudden violent action? Understand the story of Mahabharat first and then only go for lecturing on "Gita" is the path to follow. Let all those who support such people as our learned shri Joshi, also read what people like Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Alfred North Whitehead , Julius Robert Oppenheimer, Lin Yutang etc. have written about our scriptures.

It will also be interesting to verify if this character Joshi has indeed real Vedic blood in him or not. I consider the word "Hindu" derogatory to say the least and instead prefer the word Vedic.

Written without prejudice and hatred to defend the great scripture. The same I would do if I come across such disrespect against scriptures of any other religion too. It is not right to write or express such negativity about work of any religion what so ever.


Dilip Sane
10-Jul-2014 12:21 PM

Comment .He is there for everyone whatever be there biological limitations and given qualities and nature maybe(due to past actions etc).it applies to all the creatures of this world

jh
09-Jul-2014 03:34 AM

Comment I appreciate frank views. Actually, we must take 360 degree view.All views accepted !!!

Abhinava Gupta
13-May-2014 01:20 AM

Comment My dear friends & followers of BhagvadGita.....

I would like to bring to our attention a few points….

1.What you see here as comments by our friend Kedar Joshi is nothing new, and has been said in the Gita. Allow me to recollect and quote the sloka 3.29 “akrstna-vidah na vichalayet”; - do not disturb those unintelligent persons lacking knowledge. It will be difficult to make them understand.

2.Please re-collect sloka 10.8; “aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate”; - I am the original generating cause of all causes, and everything emanates from me. Hence our Kedar is part of Krishna and hence we cannot bear or have any Ragha Devsha with him or any such persons.

3.To really test ourselves whether we have understood BhagvadGita; the acid test is Sloka 6.9 where it says, how well act with equanimity with 9 different types are people listed. One such test we have is here !!! See how well we pass this test in acting and understating and seeing with equanimity our friend Kedar Joshi.

With the above clarity, I pray that all of us will have to come out of our argumentative time being spent and discuss better our understandings to gain overall knowledge.

M Krishna
05-May-2014 12:32 PM

Comment When I was non devotee.. I used to be an alcoholic and highly ambitious.. Now practicing what Krishna said in Bhagwat Geeta, my life has changed.

Like, now a days..
-I stopped desiring
-I stopped my attachment with family but started acting ONLY as good father, husband, brother, son
- I started thinking myself as a soul, this led me to be free from envy, pride.
- I started believing in next life and to prepare my better next after life, I stopped violence, I have become kind..
- and many more..

Now all loves me. I have such a peach in me that I can NOT explain.
So bullshit to this author.




Jack M Corton
04-May-2014 11:02 AM

Comment Siva is everything - A to Z. All ideas, all thoughts, all contradictions, all speculations, all bogus ideas, all sense ,all nonsense,...- all includes in Him.

Siva is the source of all kinds of creations, all kinds of maintainances and all kinds of destructions.

Siva includes everything and everyone !

What Kedar has done is just one part, one dimension only.He has to explore all ranges , all directions, all dimensions.

It is a fact that the most talked about book on Hinduism is missing on some crucial issues.




Abhinava Gupta
02-May-2014 02:57 AM

Comment How can an infinite and multiple cosmic energy can be so dogmatic and turn yoga into a mental suicide, full of restrictions and more? ISKCON is a dangerous bullshit, and the totality of the Indian people who keep going thinking that this wisdom is like their property, are idiots. Once again, the cosmos doesn't belong to them only.

KALKI
01-May-2014 19:08 PM

Comment Somethings are like a matter of perception. if you are of the 'satanic' mindset you perceive every other thing as satanic or devilish. The real logic behind Bhagvad Geeta is not satanic but due to lack of proper knowledge people often tend to get misguided. The verses included here like verse 4:8,Paritranaya Saadhunam, Vinashayacha dushkritam, dharm sansthapnarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge. I can't understand what is satanic in it? The lord says that he will reincarnate on the earth as an avatar everytime, the righteous people are harassed. if you think 'Sadhu' means a hindu saint, you have got it mistranslated. Sadhu here means a righteous man or a man of virtue, whether from any religion. if you translate 'Dharma' as religion, again you are wrong. Dharma here means righteousness.
Just an example of how are ancient scriptures are misinterpreted and twisted.
another word I recall being misinterpreted. In Shivalinga, the word Ling is translated by foreign authors inadvertently as the male reproductive organ. But in fact in Sanskrit literature, ling also means 'Shukshma Sharir' which is the corrdct translation here. Often mistranslated words arise the confusion

Kirti Kumar Kasat
30-Apr-2014 22:52 PM

Comment Let me take up 9.32 in specific to start the discussion…..
The meaning of this is …. “all these category or types of people (1)Anyone of Sinful birth, (2)Women, (3)Vaisyas, (4)Sudras, who take shelter in me will attain supreme destination or moksha”
Now let us look at each of the 4 categories;
1. Any person of Sinful birth.
Let us understand the meaning of “sinful birth”….. In real life aspects, when one is born in a situation that is non-conducive to a healthy Mental, Emotional and Physical growth one may call himself or call others in such a situation as sinful birth. The real meaning, Sin from previous birth. The various reasons could be disharmonious parents at home, Physical abuse at home either between the parents or Child or both, Non parental home, and so many more reasons. This situation is due to previous karma and nothing from present karma.

Before we move to next category, reference is drawn to 4.13….

If you look at the sloka, it says .... “krishna created 4 divisions”, but on what basis ? “ Guna-Karma Vibhagasah” by nature of Quality and Aptitude of Work / Activities and not by BIRTH. Over a period this has been mis-interpreted as divisions created by birth, because this is what we experience now. Let me state this through example…

Let us go back to 1960-1970 time frame. Most of the famous front line Cine actors or Industrialist or Politicians have no ancestral linkage to their profession. They are first time entrees. However their generation next and second generations have turned into their fathers’ or grandfather’s profession to such an extent that it is more or less like dynasty. They have little choice to select any other profession. Now in span of 30-40 years, what started as acquired profession is now looking like profession by birth. Any politician son is considered a born politician, and a leader in spite of many older and experience people on board.

Thus when 4 divisions of people are referred, these are not division by birth but division by their attitude and aptitude for spiritual pursuance. In quest for a spiritual conquest, there will levels of competency which in very broad term in named as Lower and Higher levels.

2. Women.
In spiritual pursuance, the most critical aspect to be understood and Critical to Success factor is non-emotional or “Detachment”. Women by nature, both biologically and physiologically are not tuned for detachment, but rather extremely lean towards attachment. This “Attachment” is predominant in whole of female gender of the animal kingdom and not just limited to human race. Given these natural constraints for women, practicing detachment is relatively more difficult than men. Also the women in general, have emotion dominate over rational thinking. Hence women are taken as generic category.

3. Men
We said the 4 divisions created by krishna, were based on GUNAs. GUNAs are of 3 independent types. [Stava ,Rajas, & Tamas]. Stava being the top end and Tamas being bottom end. However in real-life GUNA of any person is always in some specific proportion of the 3 basic gunas. This is similar to primary colors in a spectrum, where the different colors are formed with various proportions of primary colors. The Guna level [higher scale or lower sclae] is based on percentage composition of the 3 Gunas, and higher the Stava percentage higher the scale level.

For a spiritual pursuance, the lowest in GUNA scale is considered lower in Competency or Lower Class. This is attributed by highest percentage of Tamas, medium percentage of Rajas and very low percentage of Satva. These lower class combination of Guna is termed as Vaisyas and Sudras. Here we must be clear, Vaisyas and Sudras are nothing to do with their Professional / Material nature of work or Birth. Thus very highly successful People even Brahmin by birth in material life can be at lowest [Sudra] guna in spiritual life.

Here another important point we must understand and comprehend is that, the Guna scale or Competency level is our decision out of FREE-WILL in this birth. To clarify further, when we are at lower spiritual competency level or lower GUNA as Vaisya or Sudra, we have decided to focus into material world and not into spiritual world. As we move towards spiritual growth, our Guna level will also move up which means composition of 3 basic Gunas change in positive proportion.

So what is being mentioned here in 9.32 as Vaisyas and Sudras - are lowest in competency levels in spiritual pursuance.


Summarizing 9.32
Even the lowest category of the people based on Guna or spiritual competency level [4-examples mentioned - Sinful birth, Women, Vaisya, & Sudra]; will get liberation if they take shelter in the lord.



M.krishna
26-Apr-2014 06:00 AM

Comment Nothing great with this criticism. People with full of "Thamo Guna" talking like this since long time.
A person with clear heart "Satwa Gun" can take whatever he want from Gita.

Sreekumar
25-Apr-2014 08:54 AM

Comment This analysis is a classic example or a proof of "Right Data but Wrong Conclusion".

The aspect that my friend is missing is this....

If you or me to be advising an Army personnel, we will ofcourse [assuming we are capable of advising!!] advice them to be brave and fight. We will tell them to lay down arms and talk peace at the battle field. The country honor these men with medals who have fought bravely. This does not mean Vir Chakra is a terrorist medal!! or conslude State Sponsors terrorism !!!

Friend, if supposing Krishna would have had the opportunity to advice some one other than Arjun and at some place other than battle field, he would have advised different.

The ability to see through the meaning is what we need to achieve in life.

I am very happy to create such thought process which will kindle sparks in people and ignite creativity.

M.krishna
19-Apr-2014 13:36 PM

Comment Well said!!

Those who are criticizing him, please come up with logical conclusions to counter him.

Thanks Author !!

Abhishek
08-Apr-2014 15:55 PM

Comment Excellent analysis. Hindus have been brainwashed and it is not possible to find criticl essays on Hindu scriptures. The same case with Islam. But Christian West is highly literate and free thinkers and there are thousands of critical essays on the Bible and Biblical characters. It is this freedom of thought that the Bible gives to readers that makes Christians to write critical reviews about Christian scriptures.That is the reason that the West is culturally and scientifically advanced. But in Hinduism there is total censorship Nobody is bold enough to write critical essays.I congratulate Kedar Joshi for his boldness to reveal the inconsistencies and immorality in the Bhagavad Gita.

P.Radhakrishnan
08-Apr-2014 15:30 PM

Comment as written in quran about dress code for women even in hinduism dress code was done but to day due to dirty west influence and fashion woman are committing sin by not covering bosom and other parts of the body
god should give right direction
swamiji
sanyasi and social worker
india

swamiji
12-Mar-2014 02:25 AM

Comment Excellent work!!!

Aniruddha Ayyar
22-Jan-2014 20:14 PM

Comment For a more systematic and formal treatment, please consult my other work: “The Satanic Verses of Bhagavad-gita (Dissertation)”, available at http://works.bepress.com/kedar_joshi/47/
Thank you.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
19-Jan-2014 02:22 AM

Comment The Satanic Verses of Bhagavad-gita in a Nutshell –

Firstly, in the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna, who is not in the least a yogi himself, demands Arjuna, and in fact every other mortal, to be a yogi (Ref. Chapter 6: verse 46), while contradictorily enticing him with material prospects and benefits (2:32-37, 11:33). Krishna is not a yogi basically because he claims to create the [painful (7:14, 8:15)] manifested world [Vyakta Prakriti] (9:7-8, 14:3-4), when, as a yogi, he, as Paramatman (10:20, 13:22), would quite simply be expected to be content within himself, and not to have any desire (2:55, 6:18), including the desire for creation. Krishna is indeed the "God of desire and hypocrisy"! Secondly, according to the Gita, it is Krishna who does everything, who is responsible for all good and evil that exists in the world (3:27, 13:30, 9:10, 18:61, 15:15), and yet he proclaims to make things worse for evil people (16:19-20, 7:25, 9:12), asserts to annihilate miscreants (4:8), while contradictorily claiming to be the friend of every being (5:29). Thirdly, as per the Gita, a lot many modern women would be miscreants and thus would be on Krishna’s hit-list – threatened to death by him – since Krishna says that even women, vaisyas [merchants], sudras [low-level workers], or any people of sinful birth go to the highest goal, if they take his shelter (9:32); he further says that then how much more righteous brahmanas and devout King-sages! (9:33); which means that Krishna does not consider women to belong to the category of “righteous brahmanas”; so women are either unrighteous brahmanas or not brahmanas at all; if they are unrighteous brahmanas, they are unrighteous anyway, and if they are not brahmanas at all, then the women who do the works of brahmanas – e.g. the works of professional teachers – would be unrighteous, miscreants, for Krishna asks everyone from a division to do work only assigned for their division (18:47-48).
If the monistic interpretation of the Gita is true, then anything other than God, the Paramatman [or the Supersoul], is unreal and does not exist. In that case, the last two criticisms would lose their significance. However, if the dualistic interpretation of the Gita is true – i.e. if Atman [or soul] and Paramatman [or Supersoul] are ontologically different realities – which per 15:17-18 appears to be likely, then all of the criticisms appear pretty significant and valid, and the Gita would be liable to be considered as a hard-core satanic text.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
16-Jan-2014 09:08 AM

Comment Let me put it this way: In the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna, who is not in the least a yogi himself, demands Arjuna, and in fact every other mortal, to be a yogi (6:46), while contradictorily enticing him with material prospects and benefits (2:32-37, 11:33). Krishna is not a yogi basically because he claims to create the [painful (7:14, 8:15)] manifested world [Vyakta Prakriti] (9:7-8, 14:3-4), when, as a yogi, he, as Paramatman (10:20, 13:22), would be quite simply expected to be content within himself, and not to have any desire (6:18), including the desire for creation. Krishna is indeed the "God of desire and hypocrisy"!

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
14-Jan-2014 03:25 AM

Comment What a great way to waste internet traffic.

Hari krishna
05-Jan-2014 00:41 AM

Comment Krishna wants Arjuna to be a yogi; Krishna wants every mortal to be a yogi; but is Krishna a yogi himself? No, he is not; for if he were a yogi, and if he were God too, as he claims himself to be, then he would not create the world in the first place. He, as Paramatman, would have no desire, and would be content within himself. Krishna is indeed the "God of hypocrisy"!

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
10-Dec-2013 01:04 AM

Comment In short, if the soul and the Supersoul are interpreted to be two ontologically different realities, then the Bhagavad Gita is doomed to be interpreted as a hard-core satanic text.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
25-Nov-2013 11:25 AM

Comment Though these seemingly “monistic” interpretations – the world as God’s dream – appear to contradict the Samkhya philosophy in the Bhagavad Gita which is strongly dualistic, the contradiction would seem to disappear if the Bhagavad Gita could be understood to be quite unclear in the presentation of its meaning. (Franklin Edgerton, for instance, says that the Gita makes no attempt to be logical or systematic in its philosophy.) Since the most fundamental metaphysics in the Bhagavad Gita seems to contradict its relatively trivial or extrinsic metaphysics – that the eternal, non-spatial Supersoul and the ephemeral spatial material world could not both be equally regarded as realities – the only way to resolve the contradiction, it seems, would be to believe in the monistic interpretation that basically attempts to rescue the fundamental meaning from the trivial one, by considering the former to be reality while the latter as unreality.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
24-Nov-2013 10:51 AM

Comment I would like to quote Paramahansa Yogananda on this:
“You are walking on the earth as in a dream. Our world is a dream within a dream; you must realize that to find God is the only goal, the only purpose, for which you are here. For Him alone you exist. Him you must find.” – from the book “The Divine Romance”. Similarly, “Just as a dreamer differentiates his one consciousness into many dream beings in a dream world, so God, the Cosmic Dreamer, has separated His consciousness into all the cosmic manifestations, with souls individualized from His own One Being endowed with the egoity to dream their personalized existences within the Nature-ordained drama of the Universal Dream.” – from the book “God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita”

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
24-Nov-2013 08:18 AM

Comment And it is very essential to understand that the God in the Bhagavad Gita is the non-spatial “Supersoul”, not any “spatial” – of or relating to space – entity such as Krishna or Vishnu. The Supersoul only imagines or thinks of itself as Vishnu in its dream state. Vishnu is thus not reality but a mere part of the divine dream or illusion. (Ref. Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7, Verse 24.) The Supersoul is the only real thing that exists; and it has free-will, the mechanics of which appears to be inconceivable to mankind. Individual souls are nothing but mere states of consciousness that altogether constitute the Supersoul’s dreaming experience.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
23-Nov-2013 06:11 AM

Comment Let me explain it in a different way. Suppose you are having an experience of seeing a blue coloured thing and a red coloured thing simultaneously in your dream. According to the Bhagavad Gita, whatever experience any living being is having at any given time is in fact nothing but a part of what God is experiencing in his dream. In other words, one man having an experience of seeing a blue coloured thing and another man having an experience of seeing a red coloured thing at the same time in what is normally thought to be “reality” is actually nothing but God’s experience of seeing a blue coloured thing and a red coloured thing simultaneously in his dream. The ephemeral world is thus nothing but God’s dream. God creates a world just by deliberately going into a dream and destroys it by coming out of the dream. He then creates another world by going into another dream, and so on. God is therefore unlikely to be considered morally blemished or “satanic”, since each and every painful and evil experience that ever exists in reality is God’s own experience alone, not of anyone else, as no one except God exists. However, whether God, i.e. the God in the Gita, could be considered “sane” or “insane” in doing all this is probably a highly interesting and open question though.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
22-Nov-2013 05:18 AM

Comment I think the fundamental metaphysical meaning of the Bhagavad Gita is that the world is nothing but a dream of God. When a mortal living being, a man, for example, suffers, it is in fact God who, in his dream, suffers. When, at the same time, some other living being, some other man, for example, rejoices, it is in fact God who rejoices. I, Kedar Joshi, am thus nothing but one of the dreams God is having at present. And the Gita would ask me, i.e. the soul dwelling in Kedar Joshi’s body – which, the body, is a miserable and ephemeral unreality – to get out of the dream, i.e. to understand its true nature, to know that it, the soul, is the same as the permanent reality called the Supersoul, i.e. God. And this knowledge or understanding is called self-realization. In that way, though the God in the Bhagavad Gita is responsible for causing unfathomable grief and suffering, he could not be held responsible for making anyone else suffer, since no one else in fact at all exists. And therefore the God in the Bhagavad Gita looks less like a Satan and more like a madman, for causing himself so much unhappiness for no rational reason.

Kedar Joshi, the author of this article
19-Nov-2013 07:57 AM

Comment This is the best way to misinterpret the Gita!

Jay
18-Nov-2013 09:32 AM

Comment The author of this is half informed. For example, Krishna is God. We are all subject to die. Therefore Krishna kills everyone in the material world. When a Muslim kills someone, ultimately Krishna authorizes it. If a Christian dies, Krishna authorizes it. Same with Buddhists. Same with Jews.

Krishna Kills Everyone! And why? Because Srila Prabhupada said if someone is too proud to bow down before Lord Krishna when they are alive then they will be forced to bow down before Him at the time of death. And that is just one point. I could spend years going over all of the Vedas with you. But I don't have time.

On a battlefield the medics don't waste their time on someone who is going to die anyway. They would rather help those they can. They might be able to save ten or twenty soldiers that way. Similarly devotees won't spend all their time trying to save someone who is not ready to surrender to Krishna. Better to spend our time preaching to others.

Bill
12-Oct-2013 19:11 PM

Comment A surprisingly good article. Thank you for this, Kedar. The picture you paint with your words of Krishna as a terrorist egomaniac rings true. And your description of Krishna prearranging the Kurukshetra War, which (is said to have) resulted in so much death and heartbreak, reminds me of a twisted child, torturing insects and small animals for his own pleasure. That is just sick. There is nothing high or noble about it. When children torture animals, that is often a sign that they will grow up to be a serial killer. Krishna is sick in the head, and needs help. He needs to be protected from himself, and society deserves to be protected from him. And from his cruel and casteist book. Krishna's schtick about how no one is dear to him brings to mind the psychopath's cold affect, and his inability to form any meaningful bonds with anyone.

We need to look to real heroes, not this blue Jeffrey Dahmer.

Ramprasad
11-Oct-2013 06:07 AM

Comment It is true! One only has to look at the ISKCON cult to see the impact of Bhagavad Gita on the founder's teachings. He even confessed he was a danger to society.

"Prabhupada said, 'If they knew what I was thinking they would have me killed.' And someone else had told me Prabhupada once said, 'If they knew what I was thinking they would put me in jail.' "

Now why would that be?.... Is it because he was a crazy violent sociopath?

Prabhupada (founder of iskcon) :- “Arjuna was a great Vaishnava, and he was killing. Bhima was a great Vaishnava, and he was killing. Dhruva Maharaja was a Vaishnava, and he was killing. Parikshit Maharaja was killing. Prahlada Maharaja was killing. Rama was killing. Krishna was killing. Practically speaking, Vaishnavas are killers.”

"We can use everything for Krishna, we can use the ATOM BOMB FOR KRISHNA !!."

Look at the bottom of this page (knots in a thread) and tell me they aren't nutty!

http://www.b-i-f.com/Cannibaloney.html





Sharon Lion
10-Oct-2013 23:21 PM

Comment Dear Kadar,

I am a former Hare Krishna with many hours reading the Bhagavad-Gita. All of what you say is true, and more, but Hare Krishna people and believers as such cannot hear you because of cognitive dissonance and because their critical thinking has been pulverized by a well-honed system of indoctrination.

Rather than get into a shastric pissing contest with the closed-minded, suffice it to say that the proof is in the pudding. The violence of the Gita and other such interpolated phony "scriptures" echoes through its followers, who believe the fiction to be law. The Hare Krishna movement, for instance, is full of contraversy - murder, rape, suicide, and stikingly, pedophilia. Worse pedophilia than even the Catholic Church!!! All these horrible and criminal things are condoned in their scriptures and systemic to their movement. They call scientists, historians, and whistle-blowers "demons" (which both Krishna says in the Gita and devotees say among themselves) and assert should be killed rather than given an honest ear.

The leader of that movement and the translator and purporter of their version of the Gita, A.C.Prabhupada suggested privately many, many, many violent things to spread what he called Krishna Consciousness, like dropping an A-Bomb on America if the people didn't accept his interpolated, back authored back dated, phony Alice In Wonderland scriptural yarns. Those that heard him say this thing didn't connect the dots and realize that dropping an A-bomb on an alleged wicked civilization means killing women, children, babies, pregnant women (abortion), cows, and even the parents of those that heard him. Such is the sin bred from blindness. Religious fascism to the nth. Of course they advertise the opposite, peace and love, etc. Most devotees are unaware of the hidden agenda Prabhupada had in store for humanity to spread his teachings and when in power to rule with a theocratic iron-cruel hand. Rank and file devotees are restricted from sites that expose the duplicity, warning that they will "contaminate" the mind.

You are brave to stand up to such forces. They are strong and widespread, completely corrupt, and dwell in all major religions. Images like Jesus with his clean-cut haircut and called the Prince of Peace, or Krishna the Darling of Vraja with his chubby childish blue smile are PR covers for violence.

Matt-ji
10-Oct-2013 18:27 PM

Comment
You have guts, Kedar. To take on a horde of oxytocin oozers with commonsense is not everyone's idea of a good time. But you do have supporters, who, like you, believe the TRUTH will out and inspite of the howling. Here is an excerpt from www.b-i-f.com "Whopper War."

"From a believable historical perspective, Sri Krishna's role in the MB War is of undeniable importance. His interaction with both families and final resolve to war, is of utmost essence to cause and effect: the final annihilation of both warring factions Notwithstanding, to then corkscrew that historical role only to assert and promote him as "param bhagavan," contradicts the truth; his glorious achievements and teachings. How is that? you may ask. The answer is- Simply because, while he achieved his goals as an advisor and ally, the pious were never delivered (just ask the Tamils who wrote the nonsense,) nor were the miscreants annihilated, not even for a moment.... Villains, scoundrels, blackguards, rascals, rogues and knaves are eternally present, pre and post MB. They flourish unrestricted within the tabernacles of the bhakti cult itself. As for reestablishing the principles of religion- the law struggles on a daily basis to enforce morals and ethics... and not least among cultists who exhibit little or no regard for national legislation or enforcement, women, children, elderly or families outside cult values... doctrine and dogma. So the conclusion that Krishna is god falls flat when we note that he failed to achieve anything outside the wholesale slaughter of two warring families in a fratricidal war."

whistleblower
10-Oct-2013 16:24 PM

Comment Fool.

HigherVedic
16-Sep-2013 22:16 PM

Comment HAHAHA you really put a smile on my face with your silliness.
"Moreover, the message of the Gita is violent. In 2:31 to 2:38, 4:42, and 11:33 & 11:34, Arjuna is advised to fight the irreligious people with violent means."

The background of the Gita is where Krishna pleads(yes, pleads) with Duryodhana to settle things peacefully. He arranges for Duryodhana to give just 5 villages to the Pandavas instead of their kingdom, but Duryodhana refuses even this. Krishna is almighty, but he has granted free will to the individual souls and hence the war is caused by the Kauravas, not peace-loving Krishna.

"and if that is the case, why Krishna doesn’t prearrange all good in the first place?"
See above - he has given the individual spirit souls freedom, as they are qualitatively the same as Krishna himself. If the spirit souls use their freedom for an entire yuga to do misdeeds (which makes them miscreants) they are liable for punishment at the end of the yuga. This is similar to our judicial system. How is it satanic?

"If he were really good and noble, he would only create numerous pleasant (mental) states of self-realisation – the thing that he hails throughout the Gita, including 3:17 & 4:35 – and not any of suffering."
"Isn’t, therefore, Lord Krishna – being responsible for unfathomable violence and suffering – satanic?"

It is the individual soul who creates delusions and views material reality as being separate from the Supreme that causes the suffering. Krishna does not prevent the individual souls from doing this, since he has given the individual souls free will. You are free to enjoy. You are free to suffer. It is your result by your own actions, do not blame Krishna since he is infinite and from his point of view in eternity, suffering and pleasure are temporary states, so he lets the jivas choose.

"Lastly, the Gita is full of contradictions,"
How is that a contradiction? He states he does not want anything for himself. But his desire to save people is a want that is not "lobha" (greed), it is duty borne from compassion and hence his "dharma".

"inconsistencies"
What the first verse means is that Krishna isn't partial to anyone "not a friend or enemy to anyone" a.ka. "I am not biased". Even a delusioned being and a mass murderer like Hitler, if he takes to becoming his devotee in a future life will cause Krishna to show his benediction upon that soul and cause his deliverance. ("He will be dear to me")

"absurdities"
He states clearly that he arrives at the end of a yuga. We are just 5000 years into the Kali Yuga. Did you even read the whole book or just copy paste snippets without context to prove your point?

"and flawed philosophies"
How exactly is it "flawed"? To an atheist or a nihilist, it might appear contrary to his doctrine. However just because something is contrary to your worldview does not make it flawed.

"its concept of Atman"
Again, your branding of something as satanical because it does not conform to what you believe is childish. You will acknowledge the existence of the soul when you die, that is for sure. Alternatively, do some potent psychedelic drugs(if you are really foolish enough to not have figured out the truth while sober) and see for yourself that the material universe is illusory and the soul is real.

"And some of the verses are conspicuously and hilariously false & stupid – e.g. 3:14, which states that rains are produced because yajna is performed."
In the Uddhava Gita, Krishna also explains the process of evaporation in the following verse, so do not think he is a fool:
* 50. Just as the sun evaporates large quantities of water by its potent rays and later returns the water to the earth in the form of rain, similarly, a saintly person accepts all types of material objects with his material
senses, and at the appropriate time, when the proper person has approached him to request them, he returns such material objects.*

I must assume then that by performing vedic yajnas, one is also able to bring clouds to the region. Again, Krishna lived in the dwapara yuga, when men were spiritual and possibly had more powers of spirit than the materialistic man of our times.

That's all I have to say. Have a good day and read with more care in the future.




Arvind
23-Aug-2013 06:51 AM

Comment Very nicely put together and very informative.

The Red Pen of Doom
07-Aug-2013 07:31 AM

Comment Daring truths for a billion blind and stupid people. You wrote all that I wanted to write. I have even more to say.

Gautam
28-Jun-2013 15:18 PM

Comment Honestly i didnt waste my time on reading this ..... Its first few sentences told me its foolish. I am not a blind believer of geeta but there is no such verse in geeta that relates to this time. Most of the verses are symbolic and they stand on a common understanding.when its said that lowest of people can attend godhead it means everyone can. God doesnt differenciate.Those verses are for the understanding of arjuna not godhead. Its highly stupid to when you try to understand it from the perspective of godhead just be arjuna dont try to be a godhead.

govind_gara@rediffmail.com
25-Jun-2013 08:53 AM

Comment Good work. Just noting that it's fascinating to see how the commenters see everything from their pre-established viewpoint that "anyone who does not understand the loving grace of God/Krishna" is ignorant/tamasic/satanic. This viewpoint is able to dismantle any attempt to talk to the religious people.

Arpit Chauhan
15-Jun-2013 09:52 AM

Comment bhagavath geeta is not for a critical analysis.the daily reading of gita gives positive energy to the mind. that is the main adventahe of gita.the main content of gita is nishkama karma which means work with out attachment. kama or attachment of mind is the main reason of all papas so you works without kama or DURGUNA ASAKTHI(negative energy of mind which causes all bad things) and develope SATGUNA BALA(positive energy of mind from which all good things begins) krishna saya that you first control your sense and destroy kama.BHAKTHI or devotion is mainly for the destruction of this KAMA.after this you feels a positive energy mind.......you dont think what is god you first try to destroy your kama through bhakthi and sense control .

sarath
06-Jun-2013 10:56 AM

Comment Ironically, the best (sweet)medicine for your malady is the bhagwad gita itself. Its redemptive power is far superior to a psychiatric pill with hazardous side-effects. Just a whiff of chapter 2 is sufficient to allay and set to rest all doubts , fears, confusions and make men out ot mice. The nobility of thought and sentiment expressed there is enough to convince us that it has not come from the mouth of a bigot, but a sage no less than god himself. I have much to say about this chapter and particularly the seemingly cryptic yet
extremely strightforward verse but another occasion.

sundaresh
15-May-2013 08:22 AM

Comment A very poor superficial reading of the text, and objections raised incidental and vague,
and the argument is bordering on the pointless. There is nothing even substantial here much less true.
But I do not beleive that god is god and man is man and the twain shall never meet
rather that the two were, are and always will be inseperably and indivisibly one.

sundaresh
14-May-2013 10:00 AM

Comment The author has provided a critique of the BG.

Those who had responded had poured their anger and condemnation.

The author had quoted specific verses in the BG in support of his views/conclusions.

Those opposing this "fool", "idiot" could also provide point for point and argument for argument rebuttal quoting from the BG instead of a broad condemnation. This would be highly enlightening for commoners like me.

R.Nitya
26-Apr-2013 02:34 AM

Comment This fool is going to hell for sure.

This dog can't even predict if he is going be alive the next moment and he is saying bad things of Krishna.

This is what is stated as low birth, whatever is written in BG is proven by statements of people like this idiot. the more the stupid people like this Kedar Joshi or monkey do things like that, whatever krishna says in BG becomes true. because he has already said low birth fools like this fellow without surrendering to Krishna will be doing this kinda of things in future. How true is that!!!

No need for us to get agitated because Yamaraj is always waiting to take him and people like him and put him thru the patala loka processes.hahaha good luck to him.

To all Joshis, please dont fellow the foot steps of your fellow joshi. if not only krishna can help you. not his devotees like yamaraj who is going to fry you dry because of your blaspheme towards his beloved lord.

good luck


KrishnaIsSupreme
16-Apr-2013 00:02 AM

Comment Dear Kedar Joshi,

Firstly You should consider yourself lucky that Hindus in general have such high tolerance levels for imbeciles like you.You would have been in SERIOUS TROUBLE had you said anything remotely derogatory about the quran or the bible for that matter.Also you don't seem to understand that mostly every sloka or verse of our religious scriptures have an exoteric meaning as well as a esoteric (hidden) meaning.That is why we the importance of a guru is stressed in Hinduism. Simply by reading the verses and forming opinions based upon it shows the levels of your ignorance.Well its a free country and everyone has their opinions.Hope God showers some 'light' on small-minded people like you.

Take care.

Karan Rathore
15-Apr-2013 16:50 PM

Comment Well you need to mature your thoughts. Whilst comments and critiques are not new to Geeta, but it has to have some worth to be recognized. I do not care to comment on the merit of this article (which is self evident), I would most certainly advise the poor author to develop some understanding of these matters. All the Best.

Abhishek Dabli
01-Mar-2013 05:23 AM

Comment Yeah! the author's understanding appears skewed but what I'm seeing is critical assessment of his thoughts by people...they are thinking of him as fools
They are not going after his neck or life, that is maturity and tolerance and not having any inferiority complex
Am feeling proud of the comments here. :)

rahul bamal
25-Feb-2013 21:46 PM

Comment dilution of the verses ................illogical arrguments.......pls refer this authar to a good phycatrist he badlly needs it.......

parth
30-Jan-2013 05:26 AM

Comment BHAGAVAD GITA
If we delve deep into the Mahabharata, it is only a story of a war between two families. It remained a story for several centuries. During the Hindu kingdoms of Gupta, Vijayanagar and Mahratta the story aspect of the Mahabharata alone was etched in the minds of the prople. There were no philosophical discourses in temples. Devotees worshiped the idols of gods and goddesses. All Hindu scriptures remained mnemonic and there were no manuscripts, for it was considered sacreligious to produce manuscripts or to print books of the sacred scriptures. A prayer like the Gayatri mantra could be recited only by Brahmins. If a non-Brahmin had accidentally heard the recital by a Brahmin, molten led would be poured into his ears. The Asiatic Society was founded in 1784 by William Jones. While still on board of the frigate Crococlile carrying him from England to India, he prepared a memorandum detailing his plan of study. This included “the laws of the Hindus and Mahomedans; the history of the ancient world; proofs and illustrations of scripture; traditions concerning the deluge; modern politics and geography of Hindusthan; Arithmatic and Geometry and mixed sciences of Asiaticks; Medicine, Chemistry, Surgery and Anatomy of the Indians; natural products of India; poetry, rhetoric and morality of Asia; music of the Eastern nations; the best accounts of Tibet and Kashmir; trade, manufactures, agriculture and commerce of India: Mughal constitution, Marhatta constitution etc." So even before landing India, Jones was bent upon establishing the fact that ancient Indians were well versed in philosophy, mathematicas, science and medicine. But there were no manuscripts of Hindu scriptures and no original sources about Indian knowledge of science and medicine. The preferred method of Jones and other British scholars was to sit in the company of Sankrit-knowing Brahmins's and other Hindus, and to ask them to recite from memory Hindu scriptures. Scientists say that memory loss begins at the age of 40. How could the old Brahmins recite by heart century-old Scriptures? Recital by Brahmins contained many modern ideas which they have learnt from the educational institutions founded by the Missionaries and government in Calcutta. William Jones and other Orientalists syncretised Sanskrit with Classical and Biblical narratives, to establish transcultural correspondences by means of often crude conjectural etymologies. There were Brahmins such as Pundit Ramlochan,Balachandra Siromani, Rajendralala Misra, Bala Sastri of Benares, Radhakanta Sarman who were allowed to produce their own versions of Hindu scriptures. . Brahmin scholars could get easy access to Christian scriptures and western literature because of the establishment of Fort William College and Sanskrit college in Calcutta by the government. Another scholar, Francis Wilford, claimed that he had discovered the relationship among Hindu traditions, the Bible and the ancient British antiquities. Jones and other scholars, in collaboration with Brahmins, produced Sanskrit manuscripts with these fake claims. Krishna’s narration of creation in the Bhagavad Gita and the creation account in the Manu smriti produced by Jones are modified reproduction of the creation account in the Bible. Sir Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavad Gita into English in 1785, and he had used the Sanskrit manuscript produced by Asiatic Society scholars with so many interpolations and deletions. Deception and forgeries can be detected in the manuscripts produced by them. In 1788, Wilford, claimed to have found innumerable references to ancient Egypt, its Kings and holy places in Puranas by publishing a long text of baroque complexity in Asiatic Researches. However, Wilford was forced to admit with a humiliating note in the same journal that he had been systematically duped by his head Brahmin Pandit between 1793 and 1805. Probably the modernized version of the Bhagavad Gita was interpolated during this period.




A.Yeshuratnam
14-Jan-2013 12:54 PM

Comment Very Good Work Kedar.. the only problem with other so called philosophers is they don't see things as a scholar sees it ..
Recently I was a part of such debate , where it ended when the other person said "You need to believe in geeta to understand geeta"
It really pissed me off.. when I heard that !

Thanks a lot for posting , keep up the good work.

Vaibhav
14-Jan-2013 04:31 AM

Comment Satanist concept only have an age of 2000 years and Gita...?

Hiran Babu
06-Jan-2013 11:09 AM

Comment Hehehee...I cannot stop laughing at this skewed representation. I can see that knowing smile on Krishna's face too! :)

Umang
18-Dec-2012 03:38 AM

Comment krishna also says mudhas cannot understand him.whose intelligence is stolen maya can never under bhakti.speculation is the worst way to gain knowledge said in the scriptures.Inspeculation one can only say what he thinks.logically how something which is not there in the speculating brain can come suddenly without recieving from external source .and better author should try to understand the varna asrama which is vedic way of division of society.sudra means it is not the division by birth.a person can be called sudra if he thinks only of his bodily comforts and try to enjoy even if is born in a brahmana family .asvarthama born in bharmana family is considered lower than sudra.kanaka das in updipi even though born in so called sudra division he is great devotee of krishna.when temple authorities did not allow him to enter temple krishna gave darshan to him by making the temple walls fall and tuning towards kanaka das.even now in udipi darshan of krishna in done through the same entrance.kanakadas is considered a vaishnav. birth propensities and consciuosness are not acquired just by the family he is born.when man and woman unite they have a particular consciouness a soul having same kind of consciousness enters the mothers womb through the semen of father . natural propensities and consciousness child carries are from his previous life deeds not from birth.author should understand the law of karma.krishna speaks about woman and man on the platform of soul l. author should try to come to the soul platform and understand the division between man and woman.anyone born as man in this life can be born as woman in the next life .the bodies are given by material natuere according to their desires and his karma from his past lives.most dear to krishna is shri radha who is a woman and godess of fortune.now in kali yuga scriptures say every one is a sudra.because every one is thinking selfish enjoyement but one can become bharmana by bhakti .

banu
12-Dec-2012 21:05 PM

Comment if this reader sees satanism in the Gita,I shudder at what he would see in the scriptures of other religions.
Critical thinking and perversion are two different things and some cant see the difference
there are several layers of meaning in scriptures ,especially the Gita and it takes some BUDDHI YOGAM to understand that
three modes of material nature vary in combinations and ,manifest in all differently acording to one's knowledge of one's true self and yes the TAMASIC CANNOT EVER UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH OF ONE'S OWN EXISTENCE
the verse on women ion the context is to be understood as a mere list of all those who can be saved- and incidentally Arjuna was surrounded by woen who with all their failings painted a poor picture of womanhood indeed and thus Krishna's statement - Had Krishna being really discriminary ,then the srimad bhagawad should have lent support but it doesn't do so - infact Krishna fought for women's rights and is the first feminist - whihc one will understand if onje reads the bhagawatham
even during Krishna 's times there were dissenters like shishupal,duryodhan etc etc revelled in maligning Krishna but K never bothered because values the FREEWILL he himself conferred on all human beings
Krishna did'nt want anything for himself ,O wise interpreter- it was yes for the sake of mankind yes but never for him- he could have bee King of all that he surveyed if he had wanted
read the Mahabharata ,Srimad Bhagawatham in the oriniginal as learned people do and stop wasting your precious time n lapping up leftovers of other such deluded mudhas o have inspired your puny intellect
may Krishna give you some buddhi yogam I pray because you uKrishna's name so often - dont worry you will be saved j as Shishupal and others were all experts at NINDA STUTI
hare Krishna

Krupa Shanker
13-Nov-2012 03:03 AM

Comment What a time waste!!!!!
Who ever he is...if he is existent.....he is cheap tactician...
I have unnecessarily wasted an hour or so on this guy...who is hollow...
I am a fool to read this...

S,Koteswara Rao
25-Oct-2012 10:24 AM

Comment I have read many enlightening articles on Boloji. Never expected this kind of article being OKd by your editorial team. Some of us are not even aware how Hinduism is respected by the scientific community.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pueVNbuZ2A4

S.M. Bawa
24-Aug-2012 11:23 AM

Comment The Author is on some drugs - - seriously.

Or the chap is a Communist / Congressi / Muslim or Missionary

The name seems to be fake to showcase that he is Brahmin. (Joshis are usuallly Brahmins in north india - dont know much about Joshi's in Maharashtra etc)

The idiot has translated Dharma and Adharma as religioius and irreligious. What sort of fool he is.

Dharma was never religion its always righteousness, duty. Now this fool is going to write with lack of basic understanding - responding to him seriously is not worth it.

Though I dont like ISKCON's theory of only one Krishna and undermining of other Gods in Sanatan Dharma but even they would not write such crap.

And a few words for this apology of an intellectual who is ridiculing Shrimad Bhagwad Gita of not being scientific

Go and read Bhagwad Gita again and you will find the concept of time given in terms of light starting from nano seconds to time travel. In Einstein's theory of relativity it was said that if you are travelling at speed of light the time slows down. The same is mentioned in Bhagwad Gita when it says that one day of Lord Brahma is equivalent to x number (i dont remember the exact number) of days of a normal human being

So author who is worthy of being a village idiot - should not preach us about Bhagwad Gita.

He seems to be a one book - one god thesis follower and I have observed that understanding of Sanatan Dharma is usually beyond these guys.

Readers no need to get angry with the author - his mental faculties have failed him and please be kind to such dumb animals

Vineet Bhardwaj
14-Jun-2012 02:23 AM

Comment the author is strange, at one point writing an article about ANTI BRAHMANISM in MAHARASHTRA and here, trying to refute GITA itself..may be he has read ISKCON's version of GITA,hence those SATANIC VERSES..yes, ISKCON has completely distorted the meanings of GITA

radhakrishna
27-Apr-2012 10:31 AM

Comment Most probably the author isn't a hindu at all, and is simply here to talk be hateful about hinduism because he knows we are tolerant and peaceful people.


AND the quotes and everything in the bhagvada geeta vary from translation to translation. I have three of them and all of them claim different things for the same quote. What we need to realise is that the translator usually puts in his views into the translator.

I am sure if a female were to translate the bhagvada geeta, it would not be derogatory to women. Some quotes would still remain so- because arjun somebody spoke them and our religious scriptures always show everybody's point of view, but it will be a LOT less than the present trash they claim.

For example, one person whose geeta translation I own has a biography that basically talks about how the "modern women" are leading to our down fall and reading the geeta will prevent women from the pitfalls of being "loose."

In fact, the influence of the author fcan be so huge that I have apparently FEMINISTIC books with me in hindi that show a picture of durga on the cover and are all for "janni" shakti and all that..
And what does the book actually have? Comments about how women dress up this way or that, how women belong in the home and are being misguided, etc.
My father bought that book for me with great expectations, hoping that it would give me an ideal woman to become. Instead, when I finally admitted that the book discriminated against women, my father was pretty sad.

This happens all the time.

kritika
19-Apr-2012 18:12 PM

Comment Well,I dont agree with the author of this article.

The Gita is generally considered as the condensation and essence of Vedas/Puranas and upanishads. Down the ages, one can failry conclude that , just like any other Indian scripture , Gita too has unfortunately undergone interpolations, inaccurate translations etc. So we cannot blame Lord Krishna or Vyasa for this.
If you read the Upanishads, most of them seem to be above caste or gender bias.
My conclusion is , Gita is a great scripture but there are some shlokas/verses which are later additions/modifications/interpolations. These interpolations unfortunately might give one the feeling that, Gita preaches somethng negative. This is not true.
Gita is great. I encourage everyone to read Gita and understand its universal message. While reading use your common sense and take in only what is necesary , true and righteous :).

Harsha
17-Apr-2012 04:51 AM

Comment It has to be conceded that the author has tried to fathom the Bhagavad-Gita, which cannot be said about even those who profess by it in their public discourses. Understandably, the criticism is about the version-in-vogue and some of it, involving women at al, which is attributable to interpolations, is unexceptionable. But the flaw in the criticism that followed by which the work is labeled as Satanic Gita lies in the critic giving cognizance to the very aberrations and absurdities that he himself had noticed.
While complimenting Mr. Rajender Krishan for encouraging the Gita related debate and discussion, I invite Mr. Keadr Joshi and others to some of the points of view in this site (linked below) on this issue including mine own in “Mundane distortions in the Divine discourse’ and my ‘Bhagvad - Gita: Treatise of self-help’ in contemporary idiom sans 110 interpolations.
1) Mundane distortions in the Divine discourse http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=11241
2) Bhagvad-Gita: treatise of self-help http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=11237 and
3)Ambedkar and the Bhagawat
Gitahttp://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=11759

BS Murthy
17-Apr-2012 02:39 AM

Comment Who is this bullshit author?

Sunita
16-Apr-2012 22:37 PM

Comment Could it be possible that the author of this colomn be suffering from strange delusion!

Kamath
16-Apr-2012 17:23 PM