Influence of Bhagavad Gita
Influence of Bhagavad Gita has not been limited to a single period in history or a single country in the world.[1] The book has been highly praised numerous times not only by Indians but also people like Aldous Huxley, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, and Herman Hesse etc.[2][3][4] The main source of the doctrine of Karma Yoga is obviously Bhagavad Gita. Dr. Albert Schweitzer found in Gita "a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions."[5]
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Famous reflections[edit]
Indian[edit]
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
The Bhagavad Gita's emphasis on selfless service was a prime source of inspiration for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi told-"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day".[6]
- Sri Aurobindo
According to Sri Aurobindo, the "Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."[6]
- Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda evinced much interest in Bhagavad Gita. It is said, Bhagavad Gita was one of his two most favourite books (another one was "The Imitation of Christ"). In 1888-1893 when Vivekananda was travelling all over India as a wandering monk, he kept only two books with him — Gita and Imitation of Christ.[7]
Non-Indian[edit]
- Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley, the English writer found Gita "the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind.", He also felt, Gita is "one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity."[6]
- J. Robert Oppenheimer
J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad Gita in the original, citing it later as one of the most influential books to shape his philosophy of life. Upon witnessing the world's first nuclear test in 1945, he later said he had thought of the quotation "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds", verse 32 from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.[8][9]
- Herman Hesse
Herman Hesse felt that "the marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion."[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Influence of the Bhagavad-Gita". http://newbhagavadgita.blogspot.in/2009/12/influence-of-bhagavad-gita.html. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ [1] "The Gita of J. Robert Oppenheimer" by JAMES A. HIJIYA, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (PDF file)
- ^ Pandit, Bansi, Explore Hinduism, p. 27
- ^ Hume, Robert Ernest (1959), The world's living religions, p. 29
- ^ "A Book Referred to by the Greatest Minds". http://www.goodreads.com/. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Famous Reflections on the Bhagavad Gita". http://www.bhagavad-gita.us. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Self-Control, the Key to Self-Realisation". http://www.eng.vedanta.ru/. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ James A. Hijiya, "The Gita of Robert Oppenheimer" Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 144, no. 2 (Retrieved on 27 February 2011). [2]
- ^ See Robert_Oppenheimer#Trinity for other refs
