Background

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The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Mahabharata (a sacred Hindu poem) and is a guide to Hindu philosophy. The essence of the Gita is a conversation between the Lord Krishna (the Hindu deity known as the Supreme Being) and Arjuna (the hero of the poem) before the Kurukshetra war. Arjuna has doubts about fighting in the war because he would have to fight his family, friends and acquaintances. Krishna assures Arjuna that the body is only a temporary thing, it's the soul that is permanent and will not be harmed. Krishna goes on to explain the 5 truths of Hinduism: Ishvara (The Supreme Controller), Jiva (The Individualized Soul), Prakrti (Nature), Dharma (Universal Harmony or Duty), and Kaala (Time). Krishna goes on to explain the yogic paths to enlightenment: action, meditation, devotional service, and knowledge. Krishna also explains that the root of all suffering is from self desire, to break away from self desire one must still the mind through self-discipline, to free the mind from worldly complexities and focus instead on dedicating one's actions to the divine. There are 6 things that evils that the Gita says you should avoid: lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobh), delusion (moha), pride (mada) and jealousy (matsarya)