There are many non-traditional scholars propagating wrong ideas about Vedas and the
BhgavadGita and Hindu religion in general. Many of them don't know Sanskrit
and have not read any of the traditional Gita commentaries written by great
achAryas. Most of them are influenced by commentaries on B.Gita by MK Gandhi
and other commentaries written by foreigners or Indians with an aversion to tradition.
I recently had an opportunity to listen to one such scholar.
Here are some non-traditional purvapaksha for B.Gita with my answers:
Q1. BGita was given by Krishna to Arjuna on the 10th day of the Mahabharata war.
A: This is the standard confusion among all non-Sanskrit non-traditional scholars.
As per MB critical edition - Sanjaya narrated the event to Dhritarashtra on the
10th day. But the actual BGita was delivered on the 1st day just before the war.
Q2. Krishna is the atma and arjuna is the mind.
A: If the above is true then B.Gita will end up as a discourse given by our own self
to our own mind. Obviously, this is absurd. Mind cannot be arjuna because it is inert.
Arjuna is the atma/individual soul/jiva and Krishna is the paramatma/universal soul/ishwara.
Q3. There are many kinds of calendars in Hindu culture and so no dates pertaining to
B.gita can be accurate.
A: Probably Veda vyAsa knew that pseudo scholars would bring up such stupid arguments
to put down the historicity of Mahabharata / Gita. That is why he has given hundreds
of astronomical data using which the accurate date could be precisely calculated.
These astronomical data also clearly tally with findings from other sciences like
geology, archaeology, oceanography and so on. For detailed information please read
Nilesh Oak's book "When did the Mahabharata war happen".
Q4. There are so many versions of scriptures also including Maha bharata...
so many versions...and also changes in the stories...including the number of slokas
in the whole of MB and BG in particular.
A: The critical version of MB is now available which is accepted by all true scholars.
Veda vyAsa himself has provided the numbers of slokas in Mahabharata - One lakh with
upAkhyanas/sub stories, 24K without upAkhyanas and 8K koota slokas. All the three
great Acharyas - Sri Shankara, Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhwa have provided commentaries
for the same slokas in the Bhagavad Gita. There may be some differences in the versions of
Mahabharata by vyAsa maharshi but the overall theme about the supremacy of Sri Krishna
and greatness of pandavas and so on remains the same.
Q5. Devi Bhagavatam is the oldest and is authentic
A: This is not valid based on the earlier argument of many calendars and versions.
Devi Bhagavatam is not part of the 18 Puranas but it is considered one of the many
other scriptures. Also just because something is old doesn't mean it is authentic.
Some part of Devi Bhagagavatam is not authentic as it is incompatible with the BGita.
Q6. Vaishnavas say that Shiva is an amsha of Vishnu. Shaivas say otherwise.
So there is no one pointed view in Vedas.
A: The above is a vicious strategy to divide hindus. People who are true to Veda will
look upon the entire universe as that supreme Brahman. In the B.Gita Sri Krishna
shows his universal form that includes all devatas. Infact Sri Krishna identifies himself
as "kAla" who is none other than Shiva. Other purAna statements prove that Shiva and
Vishnu exist in each other and worship each other. This inseparable, integral oneness is
what Vedas and BGita are teaching which cannot have any opposition.
Namaste
Suresh
BhgavadGita and Hindu religion in general. Many of them don't know Sanskrit
and have not read any of the traditional Gita commentaries written by great
achAryas. Most of them are influenced by commentaries on B.Gita by MK Gandhi
and other commentaries written by foreigners or Indians with an aversion to tradition.
I recently had an opportunity to listen to one such scholar.
Here are some non-traditional purvapaksha for B.Gita with my answers:
Q1. BGita was given by Krishna to Arjuna on the 10th day of the Mahabharata war.
A: This is the standard confusion among all non-Sanskrit non-traditional scholars.
As per MB critical edition - Sanjaya narrated the event to Dhritarashtra on the
10th day. But the actual BGita was delivered on the 1st day just before the war.
Q2. Krishna is the atma and arjuna is the mind.
A: If the above is true then B.Gita will end up as a discourse given by our own self
to our own mind. Obviously, this is absurd. Mind cannot be arjuna because it is inert.
Arjuna is the atma/individual soul/jiva and Krishna is the paramatma/universal soul/ishwara.
Q3. There are many kinds of calendars in Hindu culture and so no dates pertaining to
B.gita can be accurate.
A: Probably Veda vyAsa knew that pseudo scholars would bring up such stupid arguments
to put down the historicity of Mahabharata / Gita. That is why he has given hundreds
of astronomical data using which the accurate date could be precisely calculated.
These astronomical data also clearly tally with findings from other sciences like
geology, archaeology, oceanography and so on. For detailed information please read
Nilesh Oak's book "When did the Mahabharata war happen".
Q4. There are so many versions of scriptures also including Maha bharata...
so many versions...and also changes in the stories...including the number of slokas
in the whole of MB and BG in particular.
A: The critical version of MB is now available which is accepted by all true scholars.
Veda vyAsa himself has provided the numbers of slokas in Mahabharata - One lakh with
upAkhyanas/sub stories, 24K without upAkhyanas and 8K koota slokas. All the three
great Acharyas - Sri Shankara, Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhwa have provided commentaries
for the same slokas in the Bhagavad Gita. There may be some differences in the versions of
Mahabharata by vyAsa maharshi but the overall theme about the supremacy of Sri Krishna
and greatness of pandavas and so on remains the same.
Q5. Devi Bhagavatam is the oldest and is authentic
A: This is not valid based on the earlier argument of many calendars and versions.
Devi Bhagavatam is not part of the 18 Puranas but it is considered one of the many
other scriptures. Also just because something is old doesn't mean it is authentic.
Some part of Devi Bhagagavatam is not authentic as it is incompatible with the BGita.
Q6. Vaishnavas say that Shiva is an amsha of Vishnu. Shaivas say otherwise.
So there is no one pointed view in Vedas.
A: The above is a vicious strategy to divide hindus. People who are true to Veda will
look upon the entire universe as that supreme Brahman. In the B.Gita Sri Krishna
shows his universal form that includes all devatas. Infact Sri Krishna identifies himself
as "kAla" who is none other than Shiva. Other purAna statements prove that Shiva and
Vishnu exist in each other and worship each other. This inseparable, integral oneness is
what Vedas and BGita are teaching which cannot have any opposition.
Namaste
Suresh
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