What do and should we value, and why?

Maha=great/grand

Bharata=ancestor king Bharata

400 bce-400 ce

Two groups of people who have claims to kingdom of northern India—one sends other into exile—“if you do a certain number of tasks, you’ll getr inheritance.”

Ruling group doesn’t honor agreement. Exiled group raised an army.

Kauravas—keeping it away

Pandavas--disinherited(Arjuna)

Doesn’t want to fight his family. War of last resort. (dharma, or duty, of making sure there’s proper succession)

Pulled into middle: imagine them pulling to the center.

Personal and ideological moral impasse

  • Personal: Upset about killing teachers he remembers teaching him, uncles, grandfather (personal). What’s it worth to be a king when all the people are dead.
  • Ideological: break down of the caste system.

Really a victory if you have to kill your family to get it? Looks at it as more as what will happen after. No peace—nothing will change.

Caste system—strict system of social stratification—broken down socioeconomic positions in society. (groups they are born into and not allowed to leave). Divided based on occupation, inherent. 4 (5) major varnas.

Priests (Brahmin)

Warriors, kings

Merchants, scribes

Peasants

Untouchables

Merchant+ peasant= child would have no caste

Reincarnate- up, down this scale of caste.

Pass on to heaven

Moksha—becoming one with godhead

Thus, Arjuna worries about spiritual state of souls: no caste, means you can’t move up the ladder, means no moksha (hell is actually continuing to reincarnate on earth—hell is on earth).

Worried about duty—what should be done vs what must be done?

Karma-what should be done

Dharma—what must be done (duty)

*just war—only thing left as dharma is to fight, because its justified.

Fruit of action. Do things based off actions. Don’t be overwhelmed by feelings and thoughts: take action.

Warrior’s delight=desire (so Arjuna might be acting out of the wrong impulse anyway when he takes delight in his actions—he’s too attached).

Do it because it’s right, not for what you get out of it. Fruit=reward (end result)

Finals week=overwhelmed. Study because it’s what right

Born into family—different family when reincarnated. Destined to take care of each other, maybe not (thus personal connections don’t matter as much?).

“Fruits of action”=soul as eternal. Body as temporary

Mindfulness/yoga: the “how to” of detaching from material world, from the senses.

Clothes get old, you throw them away. Soul gets new body. Human experience as eternal, through reincarnation. Just as clothes are temporary, so is our body.