Bhagavad Gītā is an ancient text that was spoken by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa to His friend Arjuna more than 5000 years ago. They both belonged to a society that adhered to the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, a system based on social duties prescribed by the Vedas and Smṛtis.
Bhagavad Gītā is not an independent book. It forms a small part of Mahābhārata, the greatest epic of the world. The latter was written by sage Veda Vyāsa primarily for people who were considered ineligible to study the Vedas. To study the Vedas in former times it was a requirement that one had to belong to the first three social classes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas) of the varṇāśrama society. Mahābhārata contains the same essential knowledge as found in the Vedas but in a simplified manner through the use of elaborate stories. It narrates the history of the famous dynasties of India. There were two major dynasties, namely, the Sun dynasty and the Moon dynasty. In Bhagavad Gītā, the focus is on two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, who appeared in the Moon dynasty.
Bhagavad Gītā has eighteen chapters, and each is designated as a type of yoga. The word yoga has many different meanings. In the Gītā it is used principally in the sense of the means undertaken to accomplish or to be united with one’s goal. Therefore, the word yoga can also be translated as “path,” as has been done here especially in the chapter titles. There are primarily three different types of yoga, namely, karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. When we employ karma, or selfless action, for uniting with or reaching our goal, it is called karma-yoga. Similarly, when we cultivate jñāna, or the intuitive insight of our conscious identity with the Absolute, it is called jñāna-yoga. When bhakti, or devotion, is adopted as the means of attaining unity in love, it is called bhakti-yoga. In the case of the latter, bhakti is not only the means but also the goal.
God wants to give us His mercy, but our mind is not free. It is filled with lust, attachments, and greed. Our mind is like a pot in which lust and greed need to be removed so God can fill the pot with his mercy. Either we can have Krishna or we can have maya. We may think that God is doing an injustice by taking away our wealth, but He is actually making space so He can give us something that we can’t even imagine.
