Genesis Vs Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita vs. Book of Genesis

Being born in a traditional Indian family I was taught about hinduism and its religious text, The Bhagavad Gita. It is said that Gita holds answers to all of life’s questions and by reading it one can attain the eternal peace and freedom from stressors. This was very interesting to me as a kid growing up in America, which is the center of diverse religions and cultures. I was introduced to not only Hinduism but to several others, like christianity, islam and judaism to name a few. Comparing and contrasting two sacred scriptures, The Bhagavad Gita and The Book of Genesis, reveals that even though these scriptures belong to different religions the theme that God created the earth and universe are the same.

One similar aspect both scriptures share is the idea that God is the creator of earth and the universe, as clearly stated in Genesis as “God created the Heaven and Earth…” (Genesis 1:1) and in The Bhagavad Gita as “...the whole cosmic order is under me…”(Gita 9.8). Both scriptures contain creation myths which tell a story of how the universe was created. However, the contact between God and human is different among the two. In The Bhagavad Gita God communicates directly with Arjuna in a conversational/friendly manner to get the message across. Whereas, in Genesis God is referred to in third person and his actions, as commands.

Stories and characters different, they might contain. The message did not change all that often throughout these texts. As Harrison in Creation of Universe notes, “we begin by turning to the creation myths that might offer insight into the views of earlier societies on the birth and death of the universe.” It is interesting to see scriptures written for different religions through different times contain such similarities in their theme. I guess, there is more that connects us than could possibly divide us after