33 – The Bhagavad Gita

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

Arts, History, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2016

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Written over the span of 800 years from ca. 400 B.C. to ca. 400 A.D, the Mahabharata tells a riveting tale of disputed kingship and warring families. But just as the action-packed narrative reaches its climax, the story pauses to convey a dialogue between the reluctant warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna, who dramatically reveals himself as the incarnation of God. This passage, known as the Bhagavad Gita, has proved inspirational to hundreds of millions of religious seekers and was regarded by philosophers from Henry David Thoreau to Mahatma Gandhi as perhaps the greatest distillation of philosophy and religion ever written. How does this philosophical treatise fit into this fast-paced story? What lessons does it have for us? And how did a two-thousand-year-old argument that a warrior should fulfill his duty on the battlefield end up inspiring some of the most famous advocates of non-violence in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? You can find more literary discussion at jackewilson.com and more episodes of the series at historyofliterature.com. Contact the host at jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or by leaving a voicemail at 1-361-4WILSON (1-361-494-5766). Books Discussed: The Bhagavad Gita (tr. Easwaran) Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation (tr. Mitchell) The Norton Anthology of World Literature (Third Edition) (Vol. Package 1: Vols. A, B, C) Music Credits: “Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the Free Music Archive / CC by SA). “Sweeter Vermouth” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to The History of Literature, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding literature, history, and storytelling like Storybound, Micheaux Mission, and The History of Standup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podgolomorate Network and LIT Hub Radio.
0:07.0	Hello everyone, this is Jack Wilson, the host of the History of Literature Podcast.
0:14.0	I'm so glad you're here and welcome to the show.
0:17.0	One quick note before we begin, you have found one of the oldest episodes in our archive.
0:22.0	The show doesn't discuss literature in chronological
0:25.3	order, so you won't be missing anything if you start with the more recent episodes instead
0:29.8	of the earliest
0:34.3	quite a bit since these early days.
0:36.3	But of course, where you begin is up to you and if you'd like to give this one a try,
0:41.3	please be my guest.
0:43.0	All of the episodes in the archive are yours to enjoy for free.
0:47.0	Hello, it's the greatest epic story in Indian literature and possibly in the history of the world.
0:58.0	Written over the span of 800 years, from 400 BC to 400 AD, the Mahabarada tells the riveting tale of disputed kingship and
1:06.9	warring families.
1:08.5	But just as the action-packed narrative reaches its climactic peak, the story pauses to deliver perhaps the greatest summary of philosophy and religion ever written.
1:18.0	The resulting passage, a text within a text known as the Baghdad Gita, has proved inspirational to hundreds of millions of religious
1:25.4	seekers, with philosophers from Henry David Thoreau to Mahatma Gandhi expressing their
1:30.5	admiration for the dialogue between the reluctant warrior Arjana and the driver of his chariot, Krijna, who turns out to be the incarnation of God.
1:40.0	How does this philosophical treatise fit in such a fast-paced story?
1:45.0	What lessons does it have for those inside or outside the Hindu tradition?
1:49.2	And how did a 2,000-year-old argument that a warrior should fulfill his duty on the battlefield
1:54.1	end up inspiring some of the most famous advocates of nonviolence in the 19th and
	...

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