When you say, “I love you unconditionally,” even the syntax betrays you. You are using love here as an active verb, one with a direct object, and establishing yourself as the agent in the exchange
To study the Bhagavad Gita and to understand it culturally and historically, one must begin with the larger context from which we get the Gita – the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.
Whether you wish to argue the validity of a text that for hundreds of years fell out of practice in India or to full-heartedly embrace its philosophy, it is hard to argue that the eight-limbed path of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras does not bring both high-value and practical purpose to one’s sadhana.
Material reality is an illusion; our attachment to form and possessions is the obstacle to happiness, and in order to know the Truth we must participate fully with no expectations or attachments to the all too human process that got us into this situation of suffering (dukha) to begin with.
We must start with the primary premise of Yoga philosophy and related schools of thought: True Reality is free from all qualities, atemporal, all-pervading, and impassive.
The Mahabharata is highly symbolic; while a dramatic historical study of a kingdom, it is also an allegory of human morality, psychology, and a transformative theology.
There in the midst of both armies, Arjuna’s mind reels as he foresees the imminent death of his teacher, relatives, and friends. He throws down his bow and arrows and decides not to fight.
Ancient sages studied and practiced Patanjali’s eight limbed path to gain mastery of the body, mind and spirit in an effort to reach moksha and kaivalya: liberation and emancipation.