An Interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita

Note: This is a paper written to obtain my 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification based on a specific version of the interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita. I encourage you to compare my findings to others so that you can have a well-rounded view of this topic, as it is deeper than this article can ever describe.

When first picking up the Bhagavad Gita, I was a bit skeptical about what awaited me. I was a girl whose parents believed in the Catholic/Christian faith and after many failed attempts at trying to connect with their teachings, I was just about ready to give up on any spiritual texts altogether. The Bhagavad Gita was the first spiritual text that I’ve read cover to cover that finally made sense to me. It gave me an insight into who we are as humans, our purpose, and the almighty being that pulls the invisible strings of the universe. Though it is impossible to retell all the lessons that I’ve learned while reading this book, I’d like to share a few of the biggest takeaways that I plan to carry with me throughout my life. I hope that my reflection both intrigues and inspires you to pick up your own copy and find out what the Bhagavad Gita is all about.

This was the first text I’ve encountered that has not only given me a detailed explanation of who God is and what He looks like but also a thorough explanation of what the point of human life is in general. The book itself is a recorded conversation between a man named Arjuna and the almighty creator in this story, Lord Krishna. After seeing his friends and family standing on the battlefield ready to tear each other apart, Arjuna is distraught and seeks counsel from Lord Krishna. When Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he needs to fight this battle and not lament the dead, I was just as confused as Arjuna. But Lord Krishna is a being of great clarity and simplicity, and he goes on to thoroughly elaborate on what this means and who he is.

I felt oddly comforted by His words when Lord Krishna explained that our job as humans is to get rid of the material world. It made sense that this world wasn’t meant to last forever, and it makes even more sense why our world seems so crazed and out of order. Our eternal souls are trapped in a reincarnation cycle based on our actions in the material world. If we spend our lives believing in demi-gods and do “good” in our mortal life, we ascend to one of those heavenly planets and live a “good” reincarnation there until our “good karma” has been spent and we return to the material world to try again. If we have no faith, act like the scum of the earth, and skip through the flowers with our inner demons, we will eventually reincarnate into a demonic womb and spend our “bad karma” there until we return to the martial world and try to be better than we were before. This cycle continues until we decide to put our foot down and follow the very clear, yet not-so-simple instructions of Lord Krishna.

Though His almighty being is both magnificent and terrifying in appearance, it is not for us mortals to understand. After all, who seeks comfort in worshiping a planet-sized, multi-faced being chomping on the dead? That’s why Lord Krishna appears to us in a loving form that humans can understand and respect as we do our best to free our eternal souls from the material world and join Him in his eternal abode. He explains to us thoroughly that He is all of the best things that this world has to offer and that all beings, including demigods, devils, and demons, come from Him. He explains that though all beings hold a fragment of His eternal soul, it is up to us to fulfill our individual destinies. We are not puppets on strings, but free souls living in the world that Lord Krishna is, creates, and destroys. It’s a hard concept to wrap your head around, to say the least. Seeing everything and everyone around us as a fragment of God isn’t as easy as it seems. But as I began to move around in my life and really paid attention to the world around me, it wasn’t as hard as I thought. All living beings, including plants and animals, are more alike than we admit. We all need air and water to survive and benefit from the positive connection with other living beings. The superficial gunk that we add to those simple facts is exactly what we need to detach from to officially be free of the material world. We are more than just bodies; we are eternal souls.

If you would like to free your eternal soul from reincarnation, you must practice a few new habits and let go of others. Being aware of Lord Krishna (The Great Spirit), the cycle of reincarnation, and your eternal soul is only a fraction of the battle. We must accept that Lord Krishna is the one and almighty creator and constantly work on keeping our souls in a balance between purity, passion, and darkness. We strive to live in purity, seeking no rewards for our actions and doing them for the sake of necessity. This can be hard when we live in a world of rewards for the act of mere participation, but it’s a non-negotiable action. We must meditate on Lord Krishna alone and focus on distancing our emotions from our sense pleasures, becoming indifferent to change, and abstaining from anger altogether. We must focus on our purpose in this material world and do the work with the idea that all the credit goes to Lord Krishna, as we are all one and the same. Whether you’re a king, merchant, or the working class, we all have a part to play and we must stay focused on those roles the best that we can. Then and only then will we be free from this world of suffering.

To some, the teachings of The Bhagavad Gita may seem unreal and borderline insane. To them I say, embrace the unfamiliar and set yourself free. I truly believe there is one Great Spirit that we all come from that holds this universe together. They can be called Krishna, Jesus, or Zues, but they are all the same in my eyes. I don't know about you, but I don't want another go at this whole "human" thing and would like to be free of this nonsensical world. We’re only here for a moment and then we return to dust. How will you spend your life this round? I look forward to seeing you in whatever form I appear. Until next time!

About the Author

Crystal Cabrae is a storyteller who specializes in writing dystopian, romantic, and adventurous worlds for animation and fantastical fiction. She is a proud graduate of Full Sail University, AMDA, and New World School of the Arts. Her six years of acting training in both New York and Miami gives her a unique perspective when approaching her characters. She has a passion for sharing how to create stories with the world and inspiring the storyteller that lives within all of us. Follow her on IG or Pinterest to know the latest.