The Light of Understanding: Bhagavad Gita Chapter Eight

The eighth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is sometimes overlooked as it can seem somewhat obscure. However, this obscurity appears partly because the teacher is aware of difficulties the pupil is having, and is trying to re-present them in steps that the pupil can follow. So there is much here that we may all find interesting and helpful.

At this stage the pupil does not yet have access to higher intuition and is relying on the mental abilities with which he is already familiar, in particular, his powers of reason. The teacher realizes this, and also knows that when the reason is purified and focused, it leads to the awakening of hitherto dormant instruments of higher knowledge. And so the teacher proceeds in a way that will engage the pupil’s understanding, such as it is at the present time, and further the process that will lead to the purification, and ultimately the transcendence, of his present mental powers.