Bagger Vance and the Bhagavad Gita - I WON'T DO IT
Back
Next Chapter
This illustration depicts a house painting—located in Bishnupur, West Bengal, India—which depicts a scene from the Bhagavad Gita. The charioteer (who, unknown to the passenger Arjuna, is Lord Krishna) explains why the reluctant Arjuna must fight on the battlefield. Photo of the painting by Amab Dutta; online via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
From the center of the battlefied, Arjuna—a main character in the Hindu Scripture the Bhagavad Gita—surveys the scene. He realizes that if he fights, he will kill his near relatives.
The battle would be fought between two sides of the same family. One side (Arjuna’s) had been forced to leave the country and wanted to return; the other side (Arjuna’s near relatives) had the power to keep them out.
The battle would decide the issue of power and whether Arjuna's family members could return to their homeland. Arjuna, however, refuses to fight.
Like Arjuna, Rannulph Junah surveys the golf course and sees two legends—Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen—waiting to begin their match against him. He doesn't want to play against them.
| Bhagavad-Gita | The Legend of Bagger Vance |
| Arjuna sees the people on the battlefield as his near relatives. He pulls up and refuses to fight. He orders Bhagavan to take him off the battlefield. | Junah sees two people on the golf course as his heroes. He pulls up at the second hole and refuses to play. He orders Bagger Vance to take him off the golf course. |
After considerable discussion—one with his charioteer and the other with his caddy—both Arjuna and Junah begin to understand what they need to know about fighting their respective battles:
| Bhagavad-Gita | The Legend of Bagger Vance |
| Bhagavan tells Arjuna he must fight. He explains the five horses are Arjuna's five senses. The chariot driver is his intelligence. The rein is Arjuna's "driving instrument" (his mind). Arjuna has everything he needs to do what he was made to do: Fight the battle the best he can. |
Bagger Vance tells Junah he must play. He will find his "authentic swing" when he lets his body and all his senses work together. Junah has everything he needs to do what he was made to do: Play golf the best he can. |
Back
Next Chapter
AwesomePrint
