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Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

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Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#51

Post by notduncansmith »

ignoramous wrote: post #39
momentmaker wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Lord Krishna said that to Arjuna that you might fight because it's your "duty". The death blow Arjuna deals to one of his enemy is that that enemy's "karma". Arjuna is merely an instrument/tool of God/Lord Krishna. That enemy is already "dead" whether by Arjuna's hands or another's. That's why Lord Krishna said to Arjuna "Whatever you do, do unto Me." You're not the "doer", the "Doer" is Creation/God/shaki/energ…

I really like some of the teachings in Bhagavat Gita. It is a treasure trove of wisdom to be cherished. I need to point though that a group of extremists justified Muslim massacres because karma (Gujarat 2002). I'm curious how does one fight and argue effectively against such interpretations that cause turmoil and conflict due to a abhorrent nihilistic view of the text which seems valid on its face value but undermin…

The Gita does have some great teachings, as does the Bible, and as do the works of people alive today. I think the most important lesson is not to cling too tightly to any one set of scriptures. It seems a lot like programming languages to me.

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#52

Post by croh »

rblion wrote: post #6
thewhitetulip wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gita means many things when you read it from a perspective It helps you deal with life aka tells you that nothing is more important than Karma and that money/sex/costly things are bad It also encourages familal war. It literally tells Arjuna to wage a war against his entire family "for righteousness". That being said, Gita is great.

It's important, in my view, to not only study but to sincerely experiment and eventually embody the teachings. I also read the Upanishads and the Dhammapada often to get the full message of Vedanta and living in accordance with Dharma. I also study Greek and Egyptian wisdom, it's amazing how much overlap there is when you put all of them side by side. I've spent a good deal of my 20's exploring the American National…

Well said. Many philosophies are common in between religions. What amazes me how people focus on differences instead commonality. Indeed empathy is most important character.

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#53

Post by bcaa7f3a8bbc »

dbKooper wrote: post #48
noonespecial wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Commodore Amiga used to give it a shot now and again.

then? What happened?

Obviously, the system crashes.

For those who didn't get the joke, "Guru Meditation" on Amiga is the equivalent of "Kernel Panic/Oops" on Unix.

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#54

Post by richard23132 »

Mugwort wrote: post #8

I've wanted to study Sanskrit for a while now but nobody around where I live can teach it. So I've been nibbling at at occasionally. Some points of pronunication are a bit vague such as there being two kinds of T's and D's which sound almost identical to me. I've read the Gita and the Uphanishad s in English (Eaknath Easwaran's translation). Here's my impression. It's definitely worth reading through a translation. Y…

Hinduism can not be compared with Judaism. Hinduism is fundamentally build to protect the Brahmin supremacy and caste system is used to deny access to education to the majority of people and to control the society by the priestly class. All the scriptures are there to divert the attention from the main subject when questioned. This essay "Annihilation of caste" by Ambedkar http://www.ambedkar.org/ambcd/02.Annihilation%20of%20Caste.h... gives a factual reasoning behind the construction of Hinduism. Its short but full of verifiable facts. Especially for a non-indian this is a must read if you want to understand the Hindu society.

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#55

Post by gourabmi »

Mugwort wrote: post #8

I've wanted to study Sanskrit for a while now but nobody around where I live can teach it. So I've been nibbling at at occasionally. Some points of pronunication are a bit vague such as there being two kinds of T's and D's which sound almost identical to me. I've read the Gita and the Uphanishad s in English (Eaknath Easwaran's translation). Here's my impression. It's definitely worth reading through a translation. Y…

I have studied Sanskrit for a few years, not because I wanted to but my school had it in mandatory coursework. I agree that the 8 cases and 3 numbers (singular, dual and plural) are a bit of a mouthful. But the grammar is very precise.

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#56

Post by denton-scratch »

danans wrote: post #30

The Bhagavad Gita is a bit like Moby Dick in that it is abstract enough that everyone projects their own interpretation onto it, filtered through their own experiences. However, because it is a religious text, people have been fighting over the meaning for millenia, often to justify or motivate one political stance or another, no doubt because motivating the protagonist to political action of physical battle is itsel…

All of these long, ancient religious texts are palimpsests (by which I mean simply the work of multiple authors, over a period of time; I know that isn't the strict meaning, and indeed some of them are strictly palimpsests, i.e. documents that have been erased and written over).

I don't know for sure that the BV is such a palimpsest; but it is not plausible that the Mahabharata as a whole is a record composed by a single author, at a point in history.

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#58

Post by dang »

throwaway564678 wrote: post #31

Friendly reminder that, like all known religions, Hinduism fails to fit evidence & loses substantially on Occam's razor. It was most likely a means to preserve social order as society scaled up beyond small tribes. As someone who has deeply studied many of the Hindu religious scriptures when I used to believed in them, I'd say that one should look elsewhere for meaning and guidance and not take books like the Bhagava…

Religious flamewar isn't welcome here. Please don't post like that, and please don't create accounts to break the site guidelines.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#59

Post by bigred100 »

rblion wrote: post #2

Great article, confirms what I always believed about Oppenheimer and many others in that time. My grandma used to read the Gita to me every day when I was a toddler before I started school. She had a stroke in December and in her final days, I would read verses from the Gita to her returning the favor. Death is the greatest teacher of all, teaches us the value of life and power of decision. Since her passing, I've gr…

My question is why as a Western dude who grew up with lots of exposure to Christian scripture and surrounding culture elements or churches I can visit am I gonna try and learn someone else’s religion (with none of those advantages) when even taking the “easy” route is extraordinary difficult?

Re: Oppenheimer and the Gita (2014)

#60

Post by narag »

bigred100 wrote: post #59
rblion wrote: post #2

Great article, confirms what I always believed about Oppenheimer and many others in that time. My grandma used to read the Gita to me every day when I was a toddler before I started school. She had a stroke in December and in her final days, I would read verses from the Gita to her returning the favor. Death is the greatest teacher of all, teaches us the value of life and power of decision. Since her passing, I've gr…

My question is why as a Western dude who grew up with lots of exposure to Christian scripture and surrounding culture elements or churches I can visit am I gonna try and learn someone else’s religion (with none of those advantages) when even taking the “easy” route is extraordinary difficult?

Some of those traditions are previous to Christianism and most likely had a strong influence on it. So maybe for context.
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