Gita and Duty

-
Ok, so from the first few chapters of the Gita that I've read so far, I notice that Lord Krishna seems to emphasize the role of duty and work in life. He had a few ideas that caught my attention, which I'll detail here:

In his state of despondency and depression, Arjuna asks Krishna what the purpose of work even is, when renouncing one's desires is the action that brings one closer to God. Krishna responds that work (karma) is an integral part of life, and that while suppression of temptation is indeed crucial, it does not imply that one should turn to inaction, but that one should merely work because it is work, and not expecting any return or reward. Even Lord Krishna engages in work and fulfilling his duty (as with life and soul inevitably comes work), but he does so in a manner that is disengaged and not expecting or anticipating some outcome, but simply because it is Dharma.

Different castes have different roles to fulfill in life, and Arjuna's role is that of a Kshatriya, so it is the soul's obligation in the present life for him to fight, though he should do so without emotion. Next post, I want to discuss duty in my personal life...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Summer

-
So today is Saturday, October 7th. Yesterday was the end of Week 1 of the quarter, meaning that we have about 10 more weeks before Winter Break, which doesn't seem like a lot. Summer this year was eventful. Firstly, I joined Smash Gyms for about two months, which I attended in the evenings after coming home from my internship. I attended the Muay Thai and Strength/Conditioning classes mostly. Secondly, I interned this summer at the same place I had interned at last summer, Cadence Design Systems. I enjoyed my time there and I didn't feel very stressed. Thirdly, during the last three weeks of summer break, which were also roughly the first three weeks of September, my parents went to India, leaving me and my brother to take care of the home, which we did. Now that I am growing older, I feel that I should be more careful about the words I choose, particularly on a public-facing blog like this one. There are pros and cons to this blog being public. The self-critical voice inside m...
Read more

Thoughts on LLMs and Modeling

-
I am sharing here something I have written about LLMs and modeling. Most of it leans towards the science-fiction side, but it is at least partially based on reality and hopefully it will serve as a foundation for some future research ideas. Hope you enjoy! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1He_KZDnfAaKOfcLkrfY_XVwMsHLmdhHK/view?usp=drive_link
Read more

A Realization

-
I just realized something that is simultaneously great and terrible--that hard work is the key to satisfaction. It is great because it means that if you work hard, life will be better. But at the same time, it is terrible because it means that you have to work hard even if you don't want to. I woke up around 8:30 full of fear, worry, and frustration. After I finished a long day of work (~10 hrs work at least I think), however, I feel satiated and fine. I still have a lot of work, but I feel a little calmer. I also had a random thought a few days ago that I thought I would talk about. Religion seems like not just one thing but rather a combination of multiple things. It is the stories and literature or mythology that comprise the story it tells. E.g. The Ramayana It is a set of rules by which you must live your life and tells you your values. E.g. The Ten Commandments It is your personal relationship with God. It is a source of comfort and love to help you get through tough times an...
Read more