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In this episode we take a look at the geographical and historical setting of the Mahabharata, and the Origins and Evolution of Brahminism in the region.

We start following the narrative and discover the points at which it goes off track, contradicts itself and reveals not one, not two, but three different Krishnas hiding in plain sight.

This is the original Gita, the first edition inserted into Jaya. The conversation between Arjuna and Krishna is straightforward, and makes perfect sense. The battle is about to begin and Arjuna the Warrior Prince has lost his nerve. Krishna puts forth arguments directing him to action. This text has few philosophical discussions. Krishna is very precise, in the role of a coach, simply pointing out that it Arjuna is duty bound to fight according to the Warrior Code. He warns him of the infamy he will incur if he flees from the battlefield, and advises him to disassociate his actions from his feelings and focus on the task at hand. Arjuna’s despair is dispelled, he thanks Krishna for his timely advice, and promises to act accordingly. That’s it. We will discuss how this conversation was pieced together in the next episode.

In this chapter, the Vedantists inserted the Yoga of Analytical Intelligence, using common sense to overcome the letter of the law, of multiple scriptures. That is the core of the chapter. There are preceding verses explaing the concept of Brahman (Spirit) and it’s characteristics of Immortality and Ummutability that emerge from the question of Arjuna’s grief in the firt chapter, as further qualified by the Vedantists in order to give the appearance of continuity. However, barring the remnants of the original conversation that appears once, the emphasis is really on focusing one’s intelligence on Self-realization. The attack on the ritualistic Brahmins is at once direct and non-confrontational. The Vedantists urge the old schoolers to dovetail their practices into self-realization.

This is a special episode in honor of my grandfather, and spiritual guide Indranath Anand. This is in his voice, recorded more than 30 years ago on a cassette tape and now extracted to mp3. This is Side A of the cassette.

This is the second special episode in honor of my grandfather, and spiritual guide Indranath Anand, and his 109th birth anniversary on the 4th of November, 2021. This is in his voice, recorded more than 30 years ago on a cassette tape and now extracted to mp3. This is Side B of the cassette.

It all started with a desire to read the entire conversation between Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, from end to end, without purports, as it were. I didn’t want to know anyone’s explanations, I just wanted to know what the two talked about, how the conversation went. However, when I progressed on this journey I suddenly found the narrative deviating into bylanes and contradictions. That led me to a completely different understanding of the Gita, one that required me to disassemble the text… then put it back together again. In the process I discovered the facets, the colors, and the magic of this puzzling book. Walk with me through this crisis of faith, and I will bring you back. In this trailer, I examine how the Bhagavad gita fits into its parent Canto in the Mahabharata, the Bhisma Parva, and in what context does it appear in that larger text. It also prefaces the question of the narrative “song” being broken down into chapters…