The unlikeliness of the Gita’s setting underscores the urgency of its message

Suppose a cricket World Cup final match is about to start. Thousands of spectators have assembled and are cheering; the fielders are in place; and the bowler has taken guard. Suppose at that intense moment the batsman calls the non-striker and the two start talking – and keep talking, on and on. If the two batsmen were reputed to be high-minded, competent players who wouldn’t resort to any underhanded delaying tactics, then the very unlikeliness of their actions would suggest that whatever they are discussing must be something extremely important and urgent.

The Bhagavad-gita’s battlefield setting points to a similar inference. The two armies have assembled; the conches have been blown to signify the war’s start; and the Pandavas’ foremost warrior Arjuna has raised his bow. But at that critical moment, he asks his charioteer Krishna to take his chariot in between the two armies (01.21) and then engages in a fairly long philosophical discussion with him. Arjuna is famed as a principled, powerful and fearless warrior. And Krishna is God himself incarnate on earth for the purpose of establishing dharma. Neither of them is likely to adopt any delaying tactic – and certainly not at the cusp of a dharmic war for which Arjuna has trained lifelong.

The Gita’s unlikely setting emphasizes the urgency of its message. Such emphasis is meant especially for those of us who think that a philosophical book like the Gita is for armchair speculators, not go-getters like us. But few things call for a go-getting attitude as much as does a war. If a warrior about to fight his life’s most important war found the Gita’s wisdom relevant and empowering, so too will we.

Thus, the Gita’s unlikely setting anticipates and addresses an apprehension that prevents many people from exploring life’s spiritual side.