Week 12 Reading A: The Bhagavad Vita

In this epic, the story that caught me for part A of the reading was Chapter 2, Transcendental Knowledge.  It was interesting to me to see Arjuna struggle with the thoughts of fighting and potentially killing Bheeshma and Drona.  He says this because he wants to avoid this sin of slaying his kin in battle, professing to rather be slain defenseless instead. To this, Krishna gives an extremely long speech to Arjuna, talking about Atma (consciousness/self), and fate, and tells him how all things are fated to be, and death and life hold very little meaning because all is just a part of Atma.  This is the Transcendental Knowledge the chapter was talking about, and a very interesting persepective into the beliefs of the writers of this epic. 
Statue of Arjuna, from wikimedia
Bibliography:
The Bhagavad Vita, translated by Prasad, Ramanand, Source

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