The Bhagavad-Gita is an ancient Hindu scripture that encompasses seven hundred verses and conveys how we are attached to the pleasures, desires, and duties that distract us from our true self. Slightly older, the Daodejing is an ancient Chinese text that is comprised of eighty-one brief chapters. As the fundamental text of Taoism, the Daodejing expresses how we must be in a state of “Wei Wei,” in order to be synchronized with the ever-changing universe. The author of the Daodejing was a sage named Laozi, corresponding with ancient, Chinese tradition. On the other hand, the author of the Bhagavad-Gita remains unknown, most likely lost with the passage of time. On the surface, the Bhagavad-Gita and the Daodejing are very similar religious texts
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Essentially, our understanding of reality is simply a constructed idea, dependent on the body and the mind. The Dao, translated as the ‘path’ or way’, is an actual living experience that we cannot label in simple terms. The Dao is finding the universe and being completely harmonized with its ever-changing, limitless nature. The Gita shares similar conceptions with the Daodejing, what lies behind our true self are the desires that pollute us; people must live without superficial aspirations that only provide for themselves The Gita doesn’t specify the problem of labeling, but the Daodejing articulates that names are unable to describe change, which is the very nature of the Dao. Labeling what is limitless, and what surges through every fiber of existence, is unattainable. “The great image is without shape. The Way is hidden and without name. Only the Way is good at providing and completing” (Laozi 41). Each of us has an inner, subjective reality; it is impossible to accurately label another being’s perception of the world around them. The only way to properly exist, is to observe your environment without categorization, free from bias and be individually connected with the Dao; energies do not have stamps that define …show more content…
The Gita suggests that life is utter bondage, but only when you subscribe to that mindset. The true, ultimate state that must be sought is that of being in the moment. Detached from the karmic web of cause and effect that controls our lives, must be reached. Your true self is beyond nature, and karma is the law of nature. Pure awareness, reached through detachment, does not involve karma, or anything found in the objective world. Having attachments with this karmic cycle ignores our true self, below the surface of our fabricated identity. Contrasting from the Daodejing, nature does not effect us, nature effects nature. Good and bad are qualities of nature, that depend on other qualities. Letting go allows us to have ultimate “non-control.” It is impossible to escape action, yet performing deeds without personal gain and as a sacrifice, or act of love to God, is the way to be free from bondage. As Krishna explains to Arjuna, “action imprisons the world unless it is done as sacrifice, freed from attachment, Arjuna, perform action as sacrifice” (Bhagavad-Gita, 3.9). Conducting actions as a sacrifice, without expectation of reward, is the only way to be emancipated from our bondage. Most actions are forms of imprisonment that reinforce our sense of self, further binding ourselves to the karmic web of existence. Selfless action is the key
Essentially, our understanding of reality is simply a constructed idea, dependent on the body and the mind. The Dao, translated as the ‘path’ or way’, is an actual living experience that we cannot label in simple terms. The Dao is finding the universe and being completely harmonized with its ever-changing, limitless nature. The Gita shares similar conceptions with the Daodejing, what lies behind our true self are the desires that pollute us; people must live without superficial aspirations that only provide for themselves The Gita doesn’t specify the problem of labeling, but the Daodejing articulates that names are unable to describe change, which is the very nature of the Dao. Labeling what is limitless, and what surges through every fiber of existence, is unattainable. “The great image is without shape. The Way is hidden and without name. Only the Way is good at providing and completing” (Laozi 41). Each of us has an inner, subjective reality; it is impossible to accurately label another being’s perception of the world around them. The only way to properly exist, is to observe your environment without categorization, free from bias and be individually connected with the Dao; energies do not have stamps that define …show more content…
The Gita suggests that life is utter bondage, but only when you subscribe to that mindset. The true, ultimate state that must be sought is that of being in the moment. Detached from the karmic web of cause and effect that controls our lives, must be reached. Your true self is beyond nature, and karma is the law of nature. Pure awareness, reached through detachment, does not involve karma, or anything found in the objective world. Having attachments with this karmic cycle ignores our true self, below the surface of our fabricated identity. Contrasting from the Daodejing, nature does not effect us, nature effects nature. Good and bad are qualities of nature, that depend on other qualities. Letting go allows us to have ultimate “non-control.” It is impossible to escape action, yet performing deeds without personal gain and as a sacrifice, or act of love to God, is the way to be free from bondage. As Krishna explains to Arjuna, “action imprisons the world unless it is done as sacrifice, freed from attachment, Arjuna, perform action as sacrifice” (Bhagavad-Gita, 3.9). Conducting actions as a sacrifice, without expectation of reward, is the only way to be emancipated from our bondage. Most actions are forms of imprisonment that reinforce our sense of self, further binding ourselves to the karmic web of existence. Selfless action is the key