The Truth About the Gita: A Closer Look at Hindu Scripture

Taking a rationalist, skeptical approach, a journalist and humanist advocatecritiques the famous BhagavadGita on many levels. Among other things, he points out the improbability of the historical events recounted, the logical inconsistencies in the work, and, above all, the retrograde moral perspective represented by the characters. He emphasizes that the long dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and Lord Krishna (an incarnation of the god Vishnu) ends up by condoning violence, even wholesale slaughter. Furthermore, the work extols the Hindu caste system as noble and reinforces superstitions about reincarnation and karma. All of this was anathema to the author, who spent much of his career working for human rights and critical thinking.For students of Indian literature in both the East and West, this critical appraisal of a classic Hindu epic will prove enlightening.

V. R. Narla (1908-1985) was an ardent skeptic and humanist advocate, who edited two Telugu daily newspapers in India—Andhra Prabha and Andhra Jyothi—and lectured in several Indian universities. Among his many publications was a book of his aphoristic sayings, Gods, Goblins, and Men.