The Gita is considered the essence of the Hindu religion by many learned scholars. The divine message is indeed worthy of this distinction, for the teachings that it contains guide us on path of living life the right way.  Rich with examples, profound yet simple enough for the common man to understand and implement, these life principles show us how we too may attain the Almighty by the means of following one’s duty unswervingly. The messages of Gita was taught to Arjuna by Lordk Krishna in the war at Kurukshetra. These are still relevant even today.

 

The Gita forms a part of the epic Mahabharata which is the ideal setting indeed for this invaluable gem of knowledge. The Lord himself is believed to have imparted this discourse on the significance of one’s bounden duty to his friend and devotee, the peerless archer- warrior Arjuna. With the backdrop as the unfair means by which Arjuna’s kingdom was stolen by his wicked cousins, this divine message gave him the courage to stand up and fight against his own blood relations because this was his duty as a warrior to raise arms against injustice.

 

The message of the Gita is timeless and is applicable to all aspects of life and details the karma doctrine of attaining the Almighty. Man is required to follow his duty with his heart and soul. At the same time he must dissociate himself from the results or fruits of his efforts. This alone will help him succeed in staying calm in face of adversity and keep unaffected in times of overabundance. This unswerving devotion to one’s duty is also the path to the divine.

 

The Gita is a practical manual of how one should live in order to be content and at peace for life. When one follows the teachings of this divine message, he/ she emerges from both calamity and celebration unchanged and undisturbed. Even as it lifted Arjuna out of his despair at having to fight his own people, the Gita is a lifeline to millions across the world, lifting them out of the worldly mire of despair, jealousy, anger and sorrow.