Bhagavad Gita & Russian Ban

Bhagwad Gita / Bhagwat Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, is facing a threat of legal ban in Russia. The holy book is also being asked to brand it “an extremist” literature across Russia. The Moscow Times reported that Bhagwad Gita and Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf may be included in the Russian Judicial Ministry’s list of banned extremist literature.

The prosecutors are citing a passage from the original book as a reason for the ban and not the translation that is available there. The translation has been done by the founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The translation is called “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”.

However, a Russian court on Monday suspended its verdict till December 28 on the demand for banning Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, which a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church has described as 'extremist'. "The ruling has been postponed till December 28, as the lawyer of ISKCON requested the court to seek opinion of Russian ombudsman and experts from Moscow and St. Petersburg - the main centers of Indology in Russia", Sadhu Priya Das of ISKCON told PTI after the court in the Siberian city of Tomsk suspended its verdict.

The Bhagvad Gita is a holy Hindu scripture where Lord Krishna preaches the followers. It is also considered a great piece of literature in philosophical studies and is an important part of the Indian epic, Mahabharata. On the battle field of Kurukshetra, when Arjuna, the disciple of Lord Krishna got infatuated & forgot his duty to fight, then Lord Krishna reminded Arjuna of his duty to fight a lawful, justful war & gave him the teachings of Bhagwat Gita. Arjuna after having been taught in the path of knowledge by Lord Krishna came back to his path of duty & fought a lawful battle against the Kauravas (his enemies) & won the battle with the grace of Lord Krishna.

Bhagwat Gita is the "Song of the Divine" told by the Divine (God himself) to His disciple Arjuna. In it God (Lord Krishna) himself teaches Arjuna the philosophy of truth. In it Lord Krishna tells Arjuna about the philosophy of rebirth or reincarnation & how individual soul transmigrates from one body to the other. It also teaches you the difference between a Soul & Supersoul (God). It also tells you, what is Karma & how you can do the Karma effectively through Karmayoga.

In Bhagwat Gita, God teaches basically the four paths through which one can understand the philosophy of soul or oneself. First one is "Sankhya yoga" or the "Yoga of Knowledge". In it one can know the God through knowledge or through one's intellect. The second one is "Karma yoga, or the Yoga of Action." In it one can know the God through offering all of his / her actions to God. Third one is "Dhyana yoga" or the "The Yoga of Meditation". In it one can know the God through Meditation of God. Fourth one is "Bhakti Yoga" or the "The Yoga of Devotion." In it one can know the God through having devotion, love towards God.

So Bhagwad Gita / Bhagwat Gita does not teach us hatred & is not an extremist literature. It teaches one to do one's duty properly. It also teaches us the philosophy of life. It teaches us who we are, how this universe was born, how we can understand this universe, how we can know our true self, Soul, How we can know Super Soul God. It is a marvelous book of knowledge & is not at all an extremist literature. Russian court should not BAN this book at all & should respect its teachings.