In Hinduism, Uttara Gita, or later Gita, forms, in essence, a supplement to the Bhagavad Gita and is, again, couched in the form of a dialogue between Bhagavan Sri Krishna and Arjuna. In three chapters, Uttaragita deprecates absolute dependence on theorization and advocates actual practice of Yoga for moksha or liberation from worldly travails. In short, the work answers some of the questions that might arise after the study of the Bhagavad Gita.
Arjuna, after the successful Kurukshetra battle, amidst the pleasures of rank, riches, and prosperity, had forgotten the priceless instructions imparted to him by Sri Krishna in Kurukshetra just before the start of the war in the Mahabharata. He now asks Kesava again to propound to him the secrets of the Brahma Jnana.
Uttara Gita instructs us that, after gaining Vedic knowledge, one should discard the knowledge texts like husk, which is discarded after thrashing out the grain. One should then take to yogic meditation. With a purified heart, one should meditate on the Supreme One as ‘I am the One and all this’. One would then reach the Supreme. Even as water mixes with water, and milk with milk, the Individual self merges into the Supreme self without any difficulty.
Uttara Gita reminds one of the facts that the knowledge texts are vast and knowledge is unlimited, but time is short and obstacles endless. Hence the fire of brahma jnana burns both merit and demerit, friendship and enmity, happiness and sorrow, the pleasant and the unpleasant, the good and the evil, honor and disgrace, and also praise and abuse. Wishing for liberation, an individual should eat only to sustain his body, and wear clothes to just keep off cold. Gold and stones should be considered as equal and so also sweet and plain food, if he desires to attain liberation. Uttaragita stress the practice of yoga, which alone matters.