Posts tagged "spirituality"
Gita Doubts
The Gita and "The Reader"
I have recently read the book and seen the movie, "The Reader". I find myself admitting that all these years that I have taught the Gita I am still uncomfortable about how it treats war and violence. I have always rationalized that the text is not a defence of war but a literary vehicle that uses war to dramatize the doctrines of non-attachment on the battlefield of life.
Dharma versus Ahimsa
However, there seems to be an implicit condolence of war and violence as appropriate responses to injustice and tyranny. The Gita places caste obligation/dharma above all other virtues while surrendering the moral conflict to Krishna. "The Reader" reminds me of the dilemma that Nuremberg Judges and juries faced and what we postmodern Europeans can not ignore. Where does the Gita fit into this debate regarding duty and conscience?
Desire
"He who knows contentment is rich; there is no disaster greater than not being content." -Lao Tse
Desire
Throughout the world and across centuries sages have advised that the way to overcome desire is not by fulfilling it, but by mastering our desires. Perfect mastery of our desires is probably not possible, but a relative mastery seems acceptable. By learning to sort our desires and choosing to fulfill some, while attempting to reduce others, is a more practical approach than the extremes that promise 'perfect' happiness.
Content, adj,. Having one's desires bounded by what one has (though that may be less than one could have wished); not disturbed by the desire of anything more, or of anything different.
- Oxford Enfglish Dictionary
Little is needed to make a wise man happy, but nothing can content a fool. That is why nearly all men are miserable.
- La Rochefoucauld
