The Significance of Krishna revealing himself to Arjuna

In chapter 11, Sri Krishna reveals to Arjuna his "true form," a scene which brings Arjuna to his knees. This scene, as we discussed in class, was one that is itself still simply an image, an illusion to Arjuna, no more real than the "mortal" body of Krishna that Arjuna has grown up with. Wherefore this presentation, then? If Arjuna is genuinely listening to what Krishna has to say, he should realize that the presentation of the cosmic figure was an illusion. The achievement of Moksha is something that will literally lead to a "nonexistence," a situation in which there is no cosmic being. As such, it seems illogical for Arjuna to believe that that was the "true form" of Krishna (or Brahman, as it were). What, then, was Krishna hoping to achieve by this display?

Pre-critical Thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita

I am currently taking an Hellenistic (Greek) Philosophy course, in which we are discussing Pyrrho and some other members of the Skeptic school of thought. The skeptic school of thought, it seems, attempts to argue that there is no objective truth involved in our perceptions, and we cannot in fact know any truth. Well, that is a painfully short summary of their thoughts, but it will serve for the purpose of this post. The Skeptics believed that concerning ourselves with the world we live in was essentially pointless, because there is no way to prove it, and it is more likely than not that what we observe is not real. Needless to say, their arguments frustrated many, fro many years. Still the contributions of the Skeptics led to such distinguished philosophies as those proposed by Des Cartes and Hume. But that is not why I mention them here.

 

I mention the Skeptics here because many parts of the Gita reflect this ideology, not as explicitly, and to the extent that the Skeptics argued, but there are some glaring similarities between them. The Gita, for example, argues that the trivial ideas and objects that we encounter in this world are meaningless, and interfere with our understanding of Atman, and thus inhibit progress towards Moksha. The idea that what we concern ourselves with distractions of this world is not limited to this religion, or even to a few; it is fairly widespread. The difference, and what leads me to make the connection between the two, is that they seem to believe in a "nothingness" after death, a release from any and all distractions, unlike more Judeo-Christian religions and beliefs, which promise riches in the next world. 

Of course, as the title suggests, this is a pre-critical thought on the connection between the two, but I find it interesting that this idea permeates throughout several different cultures, and it is so well articulated and explicitly outlined within the Gita. I think this would make for an interesting research article, though it may have, and probably has, been done. Now that I think about it, I recall a peer of mine making parallels between the gymosophists, "relatives" of the Skeptics, and Hinduism.

An Introductory Blurb

As you can probably tell by my profile, my name is Thomas Chiang, though I prefer Tom over that, as Thomas is just so unnecessarily formal. I am a senior at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, formerly North Adams State College, and I am dual majoring in Psychology and Philosophy. I chose those fields because they both deal heavily in thought and thought processes, how we come to conclusions, and why we should believe those conclusions. I think they are incredibly useful when it comes to interlocution, and I find that the two fields, though set by certain parameters, delve deeply into almost every field of academia, and I find that to be quite intriguing. The purpose of this blog, aside from exploring thoughts more comprehensively simply for their own benefit, is for the World Religions class that I am currently enrolled in. As such, most of the posts you will find in this blog will be about that class, and the material we will cover in it.

Having summarily covered the academic portion of this introduction, I think that knowing a little more about the other aspects of my life may lend insight to my thought processes and "worldview" on the upcoming matters. I am an avid rugby player and fan, and have been playing for the entirety of my college career. I have partaken in a myriad of extracurricular activities including, but not limited to, archery, wrestling, kung fu, music (I have intermittently played 4 different instruments, none of which am I, in any sense of the phrase, skilled at), hiking, biking, horticulture, tai chi, and socializing.
Not mentioned in that list are the things I have a particular proclivity towards, which are culinary cuisine/cooking, carpentry, and the active pursuit of education. These are things that I have a particular passion for, hope to continue learning about for the rest of my life.
Anyways, I hope this has given a little insight into my character, and that you can extrapolate more about me given this information. Until we see each other in class, or bump into each other around campus, I bid you adieu.