The philosophy of the Bhagavata is intensely practical and affects all aspects of life. A thorough understanding of this philosophy can be had only by a study of the lives of the great philosophers presented in it. They come from all walks and stages of life, from all classes of society, from both sexes, and from all age-groups.
But the greatest amongst them all is Bhagavan Sri Krishna,
who, according to Swami Vivekananda, is the first great teacher in the history
of the world to discover and proclaim the grand truths of love for love’s sake
and duty for duty’s sake. Born in a prison, brought up by cowherds, subjected
to all kinds of tyranny by the most despotic monarchy of the day, and derided by
the orthodox, Sri Krishna still rose to be the greatest saint, philosopher, and
reformer of his age. All the greatest sages and the most immaculate saints of
his time pay him divine honours; they consider him the best and most perfect
among the spiritual men of the age, and with one voice acclaim him as divinity
manifest on earth, looking up to him for light and guidance. To them, he is not
only a vibhuti (an especial divine manifestation), vyuha (the fourfold
expression of Purushottama), bhaga vattama or avatara, but also the personal
God and even absolute Reality.
In him we find the ideal householder and the ideal sannyasin,
the hero of a thousand battles who knew no defeat, the terror of despots,
sycophants, hypocrites, sophists, and pretenders, the master statesman, the
uncrowned monarch, the king-maker who had no ambition for himself. He was a
friend of the poor, the weak, the distressed, the champion of the rights of women
and of the social and spiritual enfranchisement of the Shudra and even of the
untouchables, and the perfect ideal of detachment. In him, again, we find the
perfect harmony of jnana, bhakti, and karma — of head, heart, and hand. (Swami
Tyagisananda).
Arjuna and Bhagavan Sri Kṛshina were remarkable personalities;
they were warriors. And the teacher, Sri Krishna, was a man full of compassion,
and endowed with universal vision. The Gita is thus a heroic message from a
heroic teacher to a heroic pupil. Its universality makes it applicable to any
human being anywhere in the world, to make him or her realize one’s fullest
human possibilities. The Upanishads or the Vedanta expounded the science of
human possibilities a thousand years earlier, and the Gita expounds the
practical application of that science. Hence, Swami Vivekananda considered the
Gita as the best book of practical Vedanta. (Swami Ranganathananda)
Krishna’s teachings are for everyone — as much for the
beginner in spiritual life as for the most advanced sadhaka. Whether one is
inclined towards karma, bhakti, or jnana—one can benefit greatly by studying
the Gita. It has the essence of all Vedic and Upanishadic knowledge. As the
colophon at the end of each chapter of the Gita announces, the text is both
brahma vidya, an exposition on the knowledge of Brahman, as well as yoga Shastra,
a compendium of the science of yoga. ‘Its message is universal, practical,
strengthening, and purifying.’ (Swami Tadgatananda)
We are always after truth, but never want to get it. We simply want the pleasure to go about and ask. We have a lot of energy and spend it that way. That is why Krishna says: Get hold of any one of these chains that are stretched out from the common centre. No one step is greater than another. ... Blame no view of religion so far as it is sincere. Hold on to one of these links, and it will pull you to the centre. Your heart itself will teach all the rest. The teacher within will teach all the creeds, all the philosophies. (Swami Vivekananda)