Bhagavad Gita
When one reads a religious text other than their own, remembering to stay objective is necessary, because if one add their personal feelings and beliefs into the reading they will easily miss the message, forever living in a state of ignorance. The Bhagavad Gita (Song of God) is a philosophical discourse on the duties and the meaning of life and death. Many believe this text holds specific instructions on how to please God and stay in his favor. Either argument can be made because the Bhagavad Gita does both; helping one deal with daily life struggles and giving them a better understanding of what is happening, while simultaneously pleasing God. But is this all the Bhagavad Gita entail? A text with a bunch of touchy verses, telling it’s followers how to feel and think? The state of objectivity will help one break the religious barriers and grasp the full message of the Gita. “The Bhagavad Gita is a small excerpt of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is the larger of two India epics, the other being the Ramayana. The period of their composition [was between] 500 B.C.E.- 500 C.E.”(Bhagavad Gita,xi). During this period (500 B.C.E.- 500 C.E.) numerous things are going on in the continent of Asia. You have two major religions, Buddhism and Hinduism, competing against one another trying to spread their ideology, faith and beliefs. Buddhism was successful in the widespread of their belief until about 200 C.E.; one hundred years later, 300 C.E., Hinduism quickly became dominant in Southeast Asia and spread throughout all parts of the region, leading to the decline of Buddhism. One may question how did this religion spread so rapidly? Well, unlike other religions such as: Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism, which focuses around a specific person or event, “Hinduism emerged through the weaving together of many diverse ancient religious traditions of India, some which precede written records”(Spodek, 274); therefore appealing to a much larger crowd since people did not