Gist of Srimad Bhagavad Gita

First Chapter

Many a times, we face challenges where we have to take actions in our lives
against our wishes. Arjun himself was no exception to this in the first chapter where he had to
wage the righteous war against his own kinsmen. When the thunder of various conch shells
blew just before the advent of war, Arjun started to feel the tremble. Furthermore, when he
requested to draw his chariot before his own kinsmen on the other side, he was about to lose
balance. The loosing of balance here was not just physical where his bow was slipping from his
hands, but also a symbolical representation of one losing the mental balance. We lose our
intellect and realistic approach, where we can’t curb our senses and lead to irrational thought-
process. He underwent those emotional pangs which were unbridled and was difficult for him
to discriminate the right and the wrong. He even preferred to die unarmed by his own kinsmen
than to slay his own brethren. He was blind (by mind) and wished to surrender to the challenge
which anyone of us faces in life. This is in a way also displays today’s insecurities which people
have today. Before venturing into any action, they get the oscillating feel whether or not they
would survive. The first chapter here of Bhagavad Gita, albeit revealed in dwapar yug rightly
demonstrates our situations in Kali Yug today. Dhritarashtra was the uncle of Pandavas as their
father Pandav was his younger brother. The first verse of the first chapter where Dhritarashtra
asks Sanjay, “What my sons and Pandu’s sons are doing in battlefield” displays the selfish-
centeredness of Kali-Yug. Although Pandu’s sons are his nephews still he has displayed the
discrimination of “My sons and Pandu sons” in his dialogue, which today is quite evident in self-
centered world. People do not love their neighbor’s (others) as they love themselves anymore.
They have ceased to perceive an ant and elephant or human alike in their minds to attain
equanimity of brain.
Second chapter

The second chapter deals with how The Supreme Lord rebuts the ignorant
statements of permanence in life. Therefore, such the impermanence in life should not be
disturbing one’s mind. This is the central theme for this chapter by Sri Krishna to Arjun. One
must neither be despondent nor rejoice in good or bad situations. The pinnacle of philosophy
what Sri Krishna taught to Arjun here is, irrespective of whoever dies, it is finally the body which
departs but not the soul as the latter one is eternal. We all one fine day will renunciate this
body, so as it is there was nothing to grieve about. Sri Krishna further for the sake of limited
intellect of we humans further said to Arjun, that if he still feels soul along-with body does get
destroyed, still he had no reason to grieve as whatever takes birth has to die. Sri Krishna further
gives innuendos to Arjun that those people at this birth who are standing in front of you as
enemies may have been your friends and his friends may have been enemies in past life of
Arjun. The one who gives up all sense of proprietorship and works without any fruitive results is
devoid of any false ego and can rest in peace forever.
Third Chapter

The third chapter demarcates the two factors well by not having fruitive results
to our work versus not working at all. Everyone due to their material nature is forced to do
something and cannot refrain from doing work, even for a moment. The Upanishads usually go
on the brink of renouncing everything and some of them even espouse to stop urination, sleep
and other activities. Such verses from Upanishads perhaps brought a lot of misunderstanding
and to debunk the myths of Vedanta philosophy, Lord Supreme himself descended on earth to
re-establish the misrepresented Vedanta philosophy in the form of Bhagavad Gita.