Part 1/5:

The Wisdom of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Call for Artistic Reflection in Politics

Exploring the Mythic Roots of Duty and Destruction

The opening reflection draws a powerful parallel between a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the human experience of confronting destructive forces. In the Gita, Lord Vishnu, in his multi-armed cosmic form, attempts to persuade the warrior prince Arjuna to fulfill his duty, illustrating the profound tension between action and morality. During this divine display, Vishnu declares, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds," a phrase later popularized by Robert Oppenheimer after witnessing the nuclear bomb's first test.