The Bhagavad Gita (The Song of God), often referred to as the Gita, is a Sanskrit scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It presents a synthesis of Hindu ideas about dharma, theistic bhakti, and the yogic ideas of moksha. It is the best known and the most famous of the Hindu scriptures. Some scholars give it the status of an Upanishad. No one knows when it was composed and by whom, even though sage Vyasa is given the credit. Some scholars date it as early as the fifth century B.C.E., others as late as the first century C.E. But there is general scholarly consensus that in its original form it was an independent poem, which was later inserted into its present context, Book Six of the Mahabharata.

The Gita takes place on the battle field of Kurukshetra (near Delhi), at the beginning of the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas cousins. Pandava brother Arjuna has his charioteer, Krishna (who turns out to be God incarnate) drive him into the open space between the two armies, where he surveys the combatants. Overwhelmed with dread and pity at the imminent death of so many brave warriors- brothers, cousins, and kinsmen- Arjuna drops his weapons and refuses to fight. This is the cue for Krishna to begin his teaching about life and deathlessness, duty, non-attachment, the self, love, spiritual practice and the inconceivable depth of reality (Mitchell).

The Gita has total of 700 verses in 18 chapters.

Chapter-1
Lesson No-1: Question the authority if the advice is contrary to your conscience

Krishna (divine incarnate in the form of a human being) insists that Arjuna’s duty is to fight, irrespective of his evaluation of the consequences. Arjuna questions Krishna whether it is right to be concerned only with one’s duty and be indifferent to the consequences of one’s action- in Arjuna’s case the slaughter of his friends and cousins.
Arjuna – “As I see my kinsmen gathered here, eager to fight, my legs weaken, my mouth dries, my body trembles, my hair stands on end, my skin burns, the bow Gandiva drops from my hand, and I am beside myself, my mind reels. I see evil omens, Krishna; no good come from killing my own kinsmen in battle. I have no desire for victory.
Though they want to kill me, I have no desire to kill them… What joy would we have killing Dhritarastra’s (father of the Kaurvas) men?
Having spoken thus to Krishna, Arjuna said: “I will not fight”, and fell silent”.

Chapter-2
Lesson No -2: Wise men do not grieve for the dead or for the living

“The Blessed Lord said:
Although you men well, Arjuna,
your sorrow is sheer delusion.
Wise men do not grieve
for the dead or for the living.
. . . Death is certain for the born;
for the dead, rebirth is certain,
Since both cannot be avoided,
You have no reason for your sorrow.”

Chapter-3
Lesson No-3: Do your duty- the yoga of action

“The Blessed Lord said:
In this world there are two main paths:
The yoga of understanding,
for contemplative men; and for men
who are active, the yoga of action.
…The superior man is he
whose mind can control his senses,
with no attachment to results,
he engages in the yoga of action”.
Lesson No-4: Questionable advice?
Krishna-
‘‘It is better do your own duty
badly, than to perfectly do
another’s; you are safe from harm
when you do what you should be doing”.

In my humble opinion, this is one of the worst lessons of the Gita. India had a caste system long before the Gita was composed. But Gita gave a justification for the so called upper- castes Indians to discriminate against the lower castes people in all spheres of their lives. Lower caste people were not even allowed to read the scriptures, be a priest or enter the places of worships. The persistence of the caste system even in the 21st century is a disgrace to all sensible Indians. For that the teachings of Gita is partly responsible.

Lesson No- 5: Wisdom is better than ritual

“Better than any ritual
is the worship achieved through wisdom,
wisdom is the final goal
of every action, Arjuna.
Find a wise teacher, honor him,
ask him your questions, serve him;
someone who has seen the truth
will guide you on the path to wisdom.”

Chapter-5
Lesson No -6- Treat everybody as equal

“Wise men regard all beings
as equal: a learned priest,
a cow, an elephant, a rat,
or a filthy, rat –eating outcaste”.

Chapter-6
Lesson-7-Perform your duty with no concern for result

“The Blessed Lord said:
he who performs his duty
with no concern for results
is the true man of yoga-not
he who refrains from action.”

In my opinion this is a questionable advice. It is very hard to work on something and not care for the outcome of the work. If everybody has the attitude that result does not matter than there will be no progress in the society. If you are a student and going to school every day and you are satisfied with passing in third division, you are not going to succeed in life. If you want to succeed in life, you have to aspire for higher goals and work hard to succeed.

Lesson No- 8: Moderation in everything

“For the man who is moderate in food
and pleasure, moderate in action,
moderate in sleep and waking,
yoga destroys all sorrow.”
In the sixth century BC.E. , Buddha taught similar doctrine.

Chapter-9
Lesson No -9: All Gods are one. God loves everybody equally

“Arjuna, all those who worship
other gods, with deep faith,
are really worshipping me,
even if they don’t know it.
. . . Any offering- a leaf,
a flower or fruit, a cup
of water- I will accept it
if given with loving heart.
. . . I am the same to all beings;
I favor none and reject none.”

Chapter-11
Lesson-10- Benevolence to all beings will lead to salvation or moksha

“He who acts for my sake,
loving me, free of attachment,
with benevolence toward all beings,
will come to me in the end.”

Chapter-12
Lesson No -11- Treat all beings with kindness and compassion

“He who has let goes of hatred,
who treats all beings with kindness
and compassion, who is always serene,
unmoved by pain and pleasure,
free of “I” and “mine”,
self- controlled,firm and patient,
his whole mind focused on me-
that manis the one I love the best.”

Chapter-16
Lesson No-12: Divine traits and demonic traits

“The Blessed Lord said:
fearless, purity of heart,
persistence in the yoga of knowledge,
generosity, self-control,
nonviolence,gentleness,candor,
integrity,disengagement,
joy in the study of scriptures,
compassion for all beings,modesty,
patience, a tranquil mind,
dignity, kindness, courage,
a benevolent, loving heart-
these are the qualities of men
born with divine traits, Arjuna.

Hypocrisy, insolence, anger,
cruelty, ignorance, conceit-
these, Arjuna, are the qualities
of men with demonic traits.

The divine traits lead to freedom;
the demonic, to suffering and bondage.”

Chapter- 17
Lesson No -13: Different kinds of charity

Charity given to the worthy,
without any expectations,
for the sake of the act itself-
this kind of charity is sattvic.

Rajasic charity is given
halfheartedly, with the thought
of securing some favor in return
or to gain some spiritual merit.

Charity is called tamasic
when given to the underserving,
at the wrong time and wrong place,
grudgingly, without respect.”

Conclusion

The Gita is not an integral part of the Mahabharata. It is essentially an Upanishad. The Upanishads (800-500 BCE) are commonly referred to as Vedanta, later parts of the Vedas.The Gita is concerned with the struggle for self-mastery. Arjuna represents everyman. It places human destiny entirely in human hands. It is one of the best philosophical scriptures in the world. Every student should be familiar with its teachings.
P.S – All the quotes are from Stephen Mitchell.

Sources:
1- Stephen Mitchell (translator). Bhagavad Gita, Anew Translation: New York: Three River Press, 2000.

‘The importance of playful learning for children cannot be overemphasized.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics, 2018.

I have been a children doctor and medical educator in the United States of America since the early 1970s. I have kept up with the children health and development literature. A few days ago I read a book titled “Let the Children Play” (Oxford University Press, 2019) by two education experts from Harvard University, professors Sahlberg and Doyle. The book is superbly documented. Out of total of 445 pages 75 pages are the appendix. The book has been written for parents, educators and policy makers. I was very impressed by the ideas expressed in the book. The present article is my brief take-away lessons from the book.
“Extensive scientific evidence demonstrates that regular physical activity promotes growth and development in youth and has multiple benefits for physical, mental, and cognitive health. Physical activity is related to lower body fat, greater muscular strength, stronger bones, and improvements in mental health by reducing and preventing conditions such as anxiety and depression and enhancing self-esteem.”
– National Academy of Medicine( USA), 2013
“Children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active”
– National Academy of Medicine(USA),2013
Play is the ultimate 21st century skills booster
What does your child need to succeed in life?
No one knows for sure.
There is no question that children need to learn the basics of subjects like math, language, science, and the arts. According the World Economic Forum(2016), the top 10 skills they need to learn are: complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility.
The idea that play is essential in school can seem like a startling counterintuitive concept. But it is essential. We all want our children to be smart and successful. It is reasonable to think that you can set children up to succeed by minimizing play and working them real hard. But lots of studies show that free play conducted largely by the children themselves-must be an important part of learning.
Doctor’s orders: The children must play
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the leading professional organization of children doctors in the Unites States. It is the group that establishes pediatric policy on wide range of critical children’s health issues like, immunizations, screen time, car safety, and breast feeding.
In a series of land mark research based clinical reports issued from 2007 to 2018, the AAP strongly recommends that in order to learn, children must have plenty of play- in school, at home and in the community.
This is what America’s pediatricians say about learning and play.
1. Play is integral to a child’s education. The importance of playtime cannot be overephasized to parents, schools, and community organizations.
2. The benefits of play are extensive and well documented and include improvements in executive functioning, language, early math skills, social development, peer relations, physical development and health, and self-esteem.
3.The most effective ways for parents to prepare children for a happy, successful adulthood are not shuttling them between numerous activities or scheduling multiple extracurricular or academic commitments but showing unconditional love; spending pleasurable time together; playing with children; listening, talking, and reading to children even at very early ages; and guiding them through effective and developmentally appropriate discipline.
4. The most effective way of developing children’s academic preparedness may be low-cost time spent reading with parents.
5. Free play is essential part of childhood. Much play should be child driven instead of adult directed, and active play rather than passive entertainment like TV and computer games.
6. Unstructured play outdoor in nature- among dirt, trees, grass, rocks, flowers, and insects – offers children creative inspiration and physical and emotional benefits.
7. Recess is necessary break in the day for optimizing a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Recess should never be withheld as a punishment.
8. All children should get at least 60 minutes per day of recess time, outdoor when possible, and at least 30 minutes of physical education per day in elementary school and 45 minutes per day in middle and high school.
9. Schools should be safe and enjoyable for children. All children including lower-income children should receive a healthy meal, recess, physical education and the arts so that they can achieve their highest potential for cognitive, physical, and social development.
10. Parents should read to their children from very early age.
Conclusion
A strong scientific and medical consensus confirms that children at home, in school and in the community need to play. Free play and guided play, will help a child in learning and develop her/his social, emotional and cognitive development. Every school should be well funded by the government to provide healthy meals, manageable small class sizes, physical activity, a full curriculum including the arts, and regular assessments by fully qualified professional teachers.
(Source: Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle, Let Children Play. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.)