Bhagavad Gita 1

[hindupridemn]

Could "slay kinsmen" really mean abandoning familiar yet evil ways?

 

[Riverwolf]

I believe that's part of what the commentary by Sri Yogananda teaches.

 

[Vrindavana Das]

Could "slay kinsmen" really mean abandoning familiar yet evil ways?

It could very well mean what you are saying. Something like our kinsmen - lust, greed, envy, anger, pride and illusion, who are in all our hearts need to be killed.

However, you need to provide the appropriate verse for a clear answer.

 

[hindupridemn]

I'm sorry my copy of the Gita does not have verse numbers.... but I'm glad I am apparently in agreement with the great Paramhansa Yogananda.

 

[Syrokal]

I always read the "Slay Kinsmens" in the BG as literal, since he was about to fight and kill a large number of his family and friends, and then did proceed to.

 

[Madhuri]

I tend to believe that these lilas are literal and symbolic. It is all layered in deep meaning. To only take it literally, I think, is to do it little credit.

 

[Maya3]

I see the first chapter to mean that you should always stand up for and do whats right, EVEN if it is a conflict with your own family.

It would be very easy to agree with people in your family for reasons of family peace. But it is better to do and say what is right if your family is clearly wrong.

Maya

 

[Jainarayan]

I tend to believe that these lilas are literal and symbolic. It is all layered in deep meaning. To only take it literally, I think, is to do it little credit.

Indeed, because to take it only literally without symbolism or metaphor is to render it simply a historical conversation. The challenge is to discover the take-home lesson. Commentaries don't always provide it fully.