Bhagavad Gita’s Pointers for Freedom, Rights, and Righteousness

Bhagavad Gita, an ancient text related to Hinduism, is in fact a practical handbook for life, universal in outlook and applicable to all of humanity. It has guidelines for the exercise of freedom—the freedom to act in a situation, choice of vocation beyond the limits of the misconstrued caste system, and the ultimate freedom of realizing that all beings are equal, that all are potentially divine. While everyone merits freedom, it is also a solemn responsibility to be exercised responsibly. Bhagavad Gita elucidates this twofold approach and shows how best to use our free will. Ensuing naturally is the question of rights, talking of which arises the question of duties. How does one approach duties? How does one manage his actions and its results? What causes one to err on the path? These are dilemmas faced in our daily lives, for which the Gita has the answers defined in its verses. This session provides the Gita’s pointers to these subjects—significant as the theme of this Parliament Convening.