In 1373 AD, thirty-year-old Lady Julian lay on her deathbed in Norwich, England, having suffered for weeks from an unknown illness (Julian VII). Around 3100 BC, the Mahabharata War broke out in India, leaving the villages in devastation and the Indian population in despair (Gita IX). These two events, separated by thousands of years, apparently have little in common. However, both events led to profound theological texts that have been read for centuries: Lady Julian's Revelation of Love and the Hindi Mahabharata. These texts seem as different as the events that produced them. Lady Julian shaped her work as a devout Christian in the Middle Ages; his ideas would apparently never compare to the most sacred text of a Middle Eastern religion. However, Julian's views on the transcendence of God's love and the willingness to move beyond human suffering continually parallel the ideas and values ​​expressed in the most famous book of the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Both The Revelation of Love and the Bhagavad Gita deal with human suffering and the need for God in times of despair. Julian focuses on God as she suffers greatly: "...I felt that my body was dead...[but] I told myself that I was fine, because my eyes were fixed [towards God and ] heaven, where I trusted to come..." (Julian 6). However, she expresses that "...left to my own devices with all the heaviness and weariness of life, I was so burdened with myself that I barely had the patience to live" (34). Without God, she clearly states, her despair would have overcome her. In the Bhagavad Gita, a warrior named Arjuna turns to Krishna, a human manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu (essentially the Hindi equivalent of Christ), seeking help through his desolation in life and in his metaphorical war between the soul and despair: Arjuna has been defeated. with great compassion and with sadness I uttered these words: O Krishna...my limbs fail and my mouth becomes dry. The bow slips from my hand and my skin burns intensely, O Krishna... It would be much better for me if my cousin brothers killed me with their weapons in battle while I am unarmed and without resistance. Having said this on the battlefield and leaving aside his bow and arrows, Arjuna sat on the seat of the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with sorrow and despair. (Gita 1:30-47) By casting down his bow, Arjuna not only abandons his mortal life, but he abandons his faith for despair. However, neither Julian nor Arjuna are truly defeated. Both receive visions of God, Julian in the form of Jesus, Arjuna in the form of Krishna. To Arjuna's grief, Krishna responds, notably with laughter: “You mourn that which is not worthy of sorrow. The wise man mourns neither the living nor the dead. There has never been a time when these monarchs, you or I, existed; and we will never cease to exist in the future...so why grieve, Arjuna? » (Guita 2:11-15). Krishna continues to state what is now a characteristic Buddhist and Hindu saying: “Life is dukkha [a Hindi word that is loosely translated as despair or sorrow]” (Gita 4). It is said in both of these Eastern traditions that our great goal in life is to overcome this sorrow. However, the term refers to much more than just one type of grief. Many translators have defined this as a deep anguish in life, which is usually associated with mortality or aseparation from the Lord, an idea which is repeatedly reflected in the revelations of Julian. In one of Jesus' visions of Julian, he said to him: "What is the use of pain or your sorrow now?" - "[whatever you do, you will have sorrow. Therefore I want you to understand... that this whole life is a penance which is for your benefit..” (Julien 45; 168). Besides the troubles of despair being comparable in the texts, Krishna and Jesus designate love as being the key to the end of the suffering of their disciples. Julian's revelations and Krishna's teachings focus on the theme of universal love between God and his creations. Julien declares: “For before creating us, he loved us; and when we were created, we loved him... and thus the human soul is made of God and, at the same time, united to God. All souls... without end are bound in this knot and united in it, and made holy in its holiness” (Julian 118-19). This absolute love is also expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, as Krishna states: “Brahman [the Ultimate Spirit] is equally present in all beings. There is no one [who] hates me. But those who love me with love and devotion are very close to me and I am close to them” (Gita 9:29). This idea, although common in Eastern religions, is rarely mentioned in Western Christianity. Usually, God is separated as “other” and not in relation to oneself. However, this concept of God or Spirit (Brahman) being present in everything is fully expounded in both the Bhagavad Gita and the revelations of Julian. Additionally, there is the theme that God/Brahman is in every action and is, in fact, the "true author" of that action: "One and the same Lord is seen existing equally in every being... He who perceives that all works are done by the powers of such a Nature truly understands, and therefore does not consider himself the doer” (Gita 13:28-29). In fact, according to the verses of Krishna: "The wise who knows the truth thinks: 'I do nothing at all.' By seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing; and in speaking, in giving, in taking, in opening and closing the eyes, the wise know...all this is Brahman" (Gita 5:08-9). Similarly, Julian says: "...I I saw that [God] is in all things... I saw clearly that God does all things, even the least... It is easy to understand that the best things are done well: yet, as well as l. “the best and highest action is accomplished, the smallest thing is equally well done and all this because it belongs to the order that God has ordained... because he is the only one to accomplish it” (Julien). 26-7). Seeing this very Eastern concept in a Western text is unexpected and rather astonishing. Julian expresses a very intuitive and open mind and soul, accepting this very foreign ideology and associating it with his own beliefs. idea by stating: "...I saw no difference between God and our substance, but as if God were everything... We are enclosed in the Father, and we are enclosed in the Son, and we are enclosed in the Son." in the Holy Spirit. And the Father is enclosed in us, and the Son is enclosed in us, and the Holy Spirit is enclosed in us..." (120). The presence of God in all things is important to the idea of ​​love in the Bhagavad Gita and in the Revelations of Julian For example, whenever there is love between people, there is love for God, because God is in these people. why, for the love of God, we love all his people This idea is the link to universal peace and also makes the love of God much more personal By worshiping God as a person, the Bhagavad.. 1992.