Oh Krishna Where Art Thou

A detailed Summary of Oh Krishna Where Art Thou

To quickly explain how I will go about writing this essay I will dedicate the first couple lines in doing so. Since there is so much to write about I will pretend I'm a member of one of the religions in question and flip through the book and pick at random a passage or two. Then I will write about how I feel about that passage as if I was a member of that religion as I stated above. This is generally how I will be answering the two questions asked of us in a single bodied essay. Also whenever I am quoting passages of the Gita, they will all be from the Barbara Stoler Miller translation. Now I will begin.

Quickly flipping through the Gita I come to the opening verses of the seventh teaching which is entitled knowledge and judgment. The verses I would like to focus on are 7.6-7.7, which go like this.

Learn that this is the womb Nothing is higher than I am;

of all creatures; Arjuna, all that exists

I am the source of all the universe, is woven on me,

just as I am its dissolution like a web of pearls on thread

If I was a Vedic Brahmin priest from the 6th century BCE I would quickly recognize that the first set of lines are very similar to what the Rg Veda 10.90 is talking

Now finally to switch over to a Vedic Priest point of view of suffering, I would come to realize that I am unfamiliar with what Krishna is talking about to Arjuna. The whole idea of suffering due to attachment would be new to me. I believe that due to this unfamiliarity the Vedic Priest would reject this idea and teaching. The same would be for the Jain who reads these passages. Due to the unfamiliarity of the text, I would have to reject the teaching of Krishna.

Switching once again to a Vedic Priest, I would have to say as it is know in Vedic religion, that all action has consequences. What ever actions you take can have a long lasting toll on your karma. Some actions will of course have short lasting effects on your karma although more serious acts of action can seriously add up karma. So if I was to choose between the action of going to war, and the inaction of saying no, I would have to choose inaction as to not build any Karmic weight.

Switching gears now to a Buddhists reflecting on the lines, I would have to strongly disagree on the Atman = Brahman. I would strongly disagree because Buddhists do not believe in Atman. There is no eternal soul that goes on and on. This is the reason why many Buddhists believe that they suffer throughout their lives, because of birth and rebirth. Only through the Four Noble Truths can they reach the Eightfold Path which leads to no Karma or rebirth.

Or he is born in a family There he regains a depth

Now to take a look at it from a Jain point of view. I would have to say I don't believe in action. Any action I take, I have the risk of creating more karma in my life

A man who sees inaction in action The wise say a man is learned

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1667
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion