In an Institute for Culture and Society seminar, Mariano Iturbe, honorary associate professor of K. J. Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham, discussed the importance of the Hindu sacred text Bhagavad Gītā (The Song of the Bhagavan) in India's religious literature. The activity was organized by the Religion and Civil Society project.

The Gītā is a 700 line-poem within the Mahābhārata, one of the two most famous Indian epics. Centering on the rivalry between the Kaurava and the Pāndava families, the text presents several stories, legends, and moral and philosophical teachings. It was first translated into English in 1785 and later spread throughout Europe.

As Professor Iturbe explained, "The Gītā has been very influential in Indian culture and daily life. The case of Mahatma Gandhi is the most prominent example in the modern era and, through him, the nationalist movement in India, which led the country to proclaim independence from British power in 1947."

The concept of "disinterested action"

As Professor Iturbe indicated, "disinterested action" is one of the most original concepts developed in the text "and it involves meeting obligations that derive from our position in life, but with detachment from that position."

Professor Iturbe noted that the various schools of Indian philosophy distinguish between a life devoted to action and one devoted to knowledge. This debate is marked by the participation of two great thinkers: Śaṅkara and his Advaita Vedānta school, which stresses the importance of knowledge as a path toward liberation, and Rāmānuja and the Viśiṣṭādvaita school, which emphasizes the importance of action.

According Rāmānuja, the Gītā deems human action free and rational, as well as liberating, that is, it leads to man's ultimate end. This requires giving up the fruits of our actions. "In this way, the ancient debate on whether to act or not is resolved with this doctrine that teaches us to relinquish the fruits of our actions."