ABSTRACT
Embedded in one book of the great Indian epic the Mahabharata occurs the Bhagavad-Gita, or Song of God, the most popular work in all the religious literature of India. The Gita is mainly concerned with Krsna the teacher, who is identical with the divine Self, or the Infinite in man. The commentaries upon the Gita are numerous. So the Gita contains the germs of all forms and systems of Indian religious thought, but it cannot itself be limited to any particular system of the metaphysics or religion. The Gita carries it to its logical conclusion in blending, synthesizing, and reconciling conflicting metaphysical theories and opposed conceptions of spiritual discipline. The Gita teaches that through yogic practices of nonattachment, and through freedom from lust and anger, one attains purity and perfection and everlasting peace while living in this world.
