Philosophy: Bhagavad Gita on a Battlefield

First, it was the perfect field to explain transmigration of the soul and the science of action and duty in relation to spiritual advancement in life.
For the people that says Krishna and His devotees were violent, take into consideration they were warriors and the wars were of a different kind at that time.
No innocent member of society was injured as the battles took place off the populated areas. And the political differences were not affecting the society at large.

Krishna does not "represent" God, He is God.

The battlefield where the battle took place happened to be a dharmakshetra. Drtarashtra was very worried, as Srila Prabhupada explained in his purports that the battle was about to take place at a dharmaksetra, because that could advance the rightful cause of the Pandavas.

If you follow reading the next chapter of the Mahabharata (of which Bhagavad-gita is but one), the battle ensued and got millions of people killed on it.

Krishna did not explained the laws of war, but the transcendental knowledge raja vidya raja guhyam (means the king of confidential knowledge, not the knowledge for kings) for all varnas and ashramas and all Humanity.

I'm sure there are several reasons why the Gita was spoken on the battlefield as Krishna is expert and perfectly chooses His venue.

One point that came up recently is that Krishna describes in Gita how He is not affected by work nor does He have any material duties (being Bhagavan) yet he still engages in work to set an example for us. He drives this point home by taking the lowly occupation of charioteer for his dear friend Arjuna.

In other words, He is beyond Varnasrama being transcendental to the modes of nature, yet He still works within the system (although elusively and interchangeably - sometimes as Vaisya, Ksatriya or in this case Sudra (chariot driver))

Neelima Ghosh:Hare krishna and Hari Bol Thank you very much Prabhu Mishra for correcting me. YES, LORD KRISHNA IS GOD. Prabhu Abhiram- These are not my explanations, inferences or conclusions. The first chapter of Gita is crystal clear. Neelima Ghosh

Dear Neelima, Which Gita are you reading? There are so many bogus Gitas on the market!

One answer to the question could be: Even in the midst of the greatest imaginable calamity and injustice known to mankind, this knowledge is what we should strive to recall. What are some of the other answers you've heard Amalagaura prabhu?

Krishna has spoken the Gita in other environments too. For example, the Uddhava-gita spoken in private in the city of Prabhash, or the Anu-gita spoken in a royal mansion amongst Krishna's friends and relatives. In all of these Krishna speaks essentially the same teaching. I find the Anu-gita is especially interesting. It starts with Arjuna saying, (paraphrased) "You taught me such wonderful things just before the battle, but I've forgotten them. Please tell me again." Krishna then chastises Arjuna for his poor memory and says (paraphrased), "I' can't repeat exactly what I said to you then, but I'll tell you the same thing in another way." The first lesson Krishna imparts is that we have experienced so many mothers and fathers in countless lifetimes, have been extremely happy and extremely sad in countless lifetimes, lived in heaven and lived in hell for countless lifetimes. Take refuge in the Supreme, end this cycle and go to the place where you do not have to undergo this cycle anymore.

Prabhuji, 'Bhagwat Gita As It Is' is in English and 'Bhagwat Gita Yathayath/Yatharup' is the replica in Indian Regional dialect - Hindi Devanagari. This sacred book is available in at least eleven languages today. I can since read English, Bengali, Hindi(Devanagari), Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Oriya Indian Regional languages, I could compare two of these. These are all in fact replicas but certainly cannot be the mirror image. Hari Bol.

kumara_faith:This is the quote from the book " Essence of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is" by Iskcon Youth Forum(I.Y.F) Pune "There is a significance for why the Bhagavad Gita was spoken on a battlefield. Life is a struggle, just like a battle.Our survival also is crucial as Arjuna's position in the battlefield. Bhagavad Gita is for those who want to tackle the battle of life. Bhagavad Gita was spoken for everyone one us, to deliver us from ignorance. Bhagavad Gita is a panacea for all problems of life in any age" [page 15].

I have been looking for this book and another one they put out about preaching. Do you know where to find them?

Regarding those 72 virgins there are various explanations. An interesting one is that they actually represent nadis.

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The Myth of 72 Virgins and Vedic Yoga Proposition

Swadesh Kumar Bose

Those of us, who have known something about the Islamic hoaxes, should
agree that the unseen promise of a set of 72 beautiful celestial
virgins alias Hooris kept for true Muslim male in his after life is a
major motivator of those fidayein jihadists throughout the planet.
However, going through the Vedic Yoga books, I am transformed into a
doubting Thomas of that Islamic fable. Before expressing my view on
the topic, I want to clarify that I am a scholar neither in Yoga nor
of Hindu Philosophy.

As an amateur, I have been attached myself to the noble cause of Hindu
renaissance for some time. In my quest to find out the root of Islamic
customs, I came by the special Puja issue of a tiny magazine "OMKAR",
published by the Ramananda Math. In that magazine, Swami Kalikananda
Giri wrote an excellent piece of article under the caption of "Nadir
Tan" (Attraction of Nadis). The revered Swamiji explained that there
were 72000 Nadis in our body. Those Nadis have been doing their jobs
in incessant manner. A Sadhaka (devoted person) feels the joy, only
when the Jeevatma makes a conscious connection (Ramana) with
Paramatma. Through this action, the "Chit" power of a Sadhaka
increases beyond normal level. Actually, a Yogi cleans his (her) Nadis
through a systematic way. These are called the rules of Sadhana. After
the cleansing of Nadis, the Jeevatma of the Yogi is purified to the
level of ever-purified Paramatma. This phenomenon is called the mating
of Jeevatma and Paramatma. In other word s, the intercourse of Shiva
and Shakti or Radha and Krishna etc. are nothing but the different
editions of the same thing.

In the pre-Islamic Arabia, the land was a great place of Shaiva and
Shakti worship. Numerous Yogic scriptures loudly declare this fact.
Muhammad himself was born in priest lineage of Kaa'ba Temple.
Naturally, he was aware of the Yogic practices in Hira Mountain. He
knew it very well that; the Arabic people had much faith in the
traditional wisdom of Yoga Shastras. Therefore, his clever mind fond
an easy way to drive those gullible least-conscious Arabians out of
their ancestral spiritualism by distorting the noble truth. In his
task in building up a faithful army he had to announce that, every
martyr or duty bound Muslim would get the reward from Allah. Do not we
know that, sexual pleasure is the cheap cause of waging war?

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My conclusion after comparing these different paradises is that they are all one - Goloka.