In this post, we discuss our interpretation of an aspect of the Geeta. Specifically, how it emphasizes the importance of emotions.
The Geeta is often translated as "The Song of God" [1]. "Geet" means song in various South Asian languages. As we discussed in a previous post on cognitive biases, when the mind is free from sensory perception and thoughts, it senses absolute reality, and it is the emotions that the senses and thoughts create that make up perceived reality [2]. Specifically, there are no emotions involved when the mind senses the absolute reality.
The Geeta, instead of being philosophical text like the Upanishads, is supposed to be remembered as a song [3]. It is important here to emphasize the context in which the Geeta is set. The Geeta takes place on a battlefield where millions of soldiers died [4]. In spite of such a grave context, it is a song.
We note a few properties of songs:
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They have a structural pattern in the concrete, i.e., words; they have a rhythm[5]. Or rhyme, in English/Hindi/Urdu poetry.
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They have a structural pattern in the abstract, i.e., there is a raga in which they can be sung, or a type of rhythm that they follow.
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They are meaningful. They speak to the poet's ability to create meaning while keeping the aforementioned refrains.
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They emphasize the importance of emotions in the listeners. That is, listeners can become attached to the song in the concrete—the words of the song—not just the patterns, as in a theorem or a philosophical text, or to a raga.
We believe that the Geeta is a song because it is telling us a truth while also making us attached to the text so that we can remember it more easily. In other words, it leverages and emphasizes the importance of human emotions. We would like to end this post with a quote from Manu Smriti [6]:
सत्यं ब्रूयात प्रियं ब्रूयान्न ब्रूयात सत्यमप्रियम ।
प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयादेष धर्मः सनातनः ॥१३८॥
Translation: One should speak the truth. One should speak what is pleasant. One should not speak unpleasant truth. And one should not speak falsehood, even if pleasant. This is the eternal natural law (dharma).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita
[2] https://m-chaturvedi.github.io/blog/040/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śruti#Distinction_between_śruti_and_smṛti
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurukshetra_War