“Ishvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakriti (nature), eternal time and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are eternal.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Introduction)

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“Listen, I am not one of these skeptics, who only has negative things to say. I am not entirely cynical. I am not one of these people who gets jealous when I see other people happy, when they are dedicated to a cause or interested in something. Like that kid in kindergarten who intentionally knocks down a pile of blocks that the other children were happily playing with. That guy who only feels happy when other people are miserable. No, I genuinely appreciate the sentiments people have towards their object of worship. I am never one to bring them down, to hurt their feelings, or to rain on their parade.

“At the same time, when it comes to religion, in even trying to define the term, how is there any comparison once you come across the Vedic tradition? Seriously, think about it. We can focus on a single work, if attempting to run comparative analysis. If feeding entries into a large language model, to give a side-by-side comparison, the obvious candidate would be Bhagavad-gita. I don’t think anything else compares. It’s not a contest, but at the same time I am left scratching my head.

“The outsiders will castigate the process of deity worship. They will refer to Krishna as a ‘Hindu god’. They will say that the followers are demonic, bowing down in front of false gods. In response, I simply mention the five principal topics covered in Bhagavad-gita. I won’t complicate matters by using the Sanskrit terms. I will simply say that we study the essence of identity, the factor of non-identity, the sequence of action and consequence, time, and the individual or force overseeing the entire thing. Those are the five topics.

उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर:
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुष: पर:

upadraṣṭānumantā ca
bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ
paramātmeti cāpy ukto
dehe ’smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ

“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.23)

“I have one question. Why aren’t other religions addressing these topics? Notice I have not touched on dogmatic insistence. There is no sentiment involved. The concepts I listed apply to every person. They apply to every form of life. They apply to every period of time and every location in the world. Seriously, why aren’t these discussed? I am not forcing you to come over to my side. There is no question of conversion. I am genuinely curious.”

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada often invokes the comparison between dictionaries. There is the full and complete edition, which is large and obviously filled with the most words and the corresponding definitions. Then there is the pocket or abridged edition. This obviously has less content than the full edition, based on volume alone. Both are dictionaries. Both are valid, in this respect. Both have specific use cases, as well.

Another way to answer the question is to look to the Vedic tradition itself. Bhagavad-gita is but one work. That work is nestled as a small part of a historical narrative that reaches an epic size in length. That is to say, Bhagavad-gita is within the larger work known as Mahabharata. Which one is more important, then? Bhagavad-gita, which is short by comparison, or the rest of Mahabharata?

Moreover, there are the many Puranas. There are the works in smriti, which refers to that which is to be remembered. There is shruti, or that which is heard. There is the telling of the story of the avatara of Shri Rama by Valmiki. There is a similar story told by Mahadeva. Others take the opportunity to do the same, sometimes summarizing and sometimes highlighting key aspects. Why are the five principal topics covered in Bhagavad-gita but not necessarily in a specific set of prayers that are sung in temples on a daily basis?

The explanation is that time and circumstance sometimes dictate that the people need something else. The people are the audience, after all. Bhagavad-gita is a conversation at its core. There is a teacher and there is a student. Depending on where a conversation takes place, the student might require a narrower presentation. They need help that is specific to their situation. They first require purification in order to rise to a higher standard.

Outside of the realm of spirituality, we see a similar distinction through signage in places of business. In one place, there are guides to greet you upon entry. They might even park your vehicle for you. The surroundings are beautiful. Everything about the place says class. In another place, there are warnings left and right. You can only park in this place, for a certain period of time. They insist that you lock the doors to your vehicle. The owners of the establishment are not responsible for theft and loss. There is also a curfew, meaning that people need to exit the place by a certain time each day.

Why does the first place lack the signage of the second place? The reason is that the people are at a higher standard. They do not need to be told to protect their belongings because theft itself is a rare occurrence. They do not need to follow the rules strictly because they are already well-behaved. It is their instinct to be respectful, polite, and kind. In the second place, the standard is lower. Therefore, the instructions, the rules, the system of dharma, so to speak, looks different.

यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके
तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः

yāvān artha uda-pāne
sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu
brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

“All purposes that are served by the small pond can at once be served by the great reservoirs of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.46)

Even Bhagavad-gita touches on this distinction. The speaker, Shri Krishna, makes the comparison to small ponds and larger bodies of water. The larger collection already has everything of the small pond. This is inherently the message of the work itself, that if you have Krishna then you already know everything needed to be known. It might be difficult to accept that truth in the beginning period of instruction, and so we have training through both precept and example, from the most merciful acharya.

In Closing:

Based on time and place,
Presentation of varying face.

When at Bhagavad-gita to arrive,
Covering principal topics five.

But like with the many ponds small,
Purpose served when highest of all.

As your friend and well-wishing guide,
Like Arjuna in Krishna to confide.

Categories: questions

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry