The Bhagavad-Gita and Concept of Darsan for Hindusim - Essay Example

The series of Lord Krishna’s explanation of his duties as a warrior and the ways where he can elevate his consciousness to the level of Krishna made the Bhavad Gita a structured theology for the Hindus just like the Bible to the Christians.  The Gita, as it is simply known, contains a guide on how to live one’s life which led Hinduism to be “a way of life”.

In the Gita, Lord Krishna explains to Prince Arjuna why he has to fight the Kurukshetra War to restore his karma; that there is a cycle of birth and death and the soul does not die but only the body that decays during the cycle of birth and death.  This is to allow a person to improve on their karma through their lifetime of action until enlightenment and vijnana are achieved.

Darsan for Hinduism is a way of seeing with reverence and devotion that one may receive blessings.  It is the equivalent of the Christian faith’s “vision” of something holy or divine.  In simple practice, Darshan only involves seeing the image of god so that the devotee may experience spiritual upliftment (Pattnaik).

1. The New Testament, the Gospel of Mark, chs 14-16; Gospel of John, ch. 1; and the Irenaeus excerpt for Christianity.

The New Testament’s Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John is one of the synoptic gospels of the life of Jesus Christ, the central figure of the Christian faith.  The Gospel of Mark is the narration of Jesus Christ’s baptism to His nailing to the cross to ascension.  The Gospel of Mark Chapter 14 – 16 is the prelude to Jesus Christ’s nailing to the cross when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.  Jesus Christ knows about it as he already predicted the betrayal and had the Last Supper with his Disciples before he was arrested. 

The miracles that Jesus Christ is known to perform are also contained in the Gospel of Mark such as healing of the sick.  The Gospel of John on the other hand accounts for the teachings of Jesus Christ when He was doing His ministry. It began with Jesus Christ’s affirmation with St. John the Baptist and culminated with His resurrection from the dead.  Gospel of John’s chapter 1 was Jesus Christ’s teaching of the “Word of God”.

Irenaeus' excerpt for Christianity was an effort to have one united doctrinal authority that is aligned with Rome and that it is only the bishops who can accurately interpret the Bible.  To achieve this, he worked against the Gnostics or those who have an oral tradition of Jesus' teachings that came from Jesus Christ Himself.