In the year 1373 AD, the thirty-year-old Lady Julian lay on her deathbed in Norwich, England, after suffering for weeks of an unknown disease (Julian VII). Around the year 3100 BC the Mahabharata war broke out in India, leaving the villages in devastation and the Indian people in despair (Gita IX). These two events, separated by thousands of years, apparently have little in common. Yet 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 appear to be as diverse 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 push beyond human suffering continually parallel the ideas and values ​​expressed in the Mahabharata's most famous book, The Bhagavad Gita. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Both the Revelation of Love and the Bhagavad Gita deal with human suffering and the need for God in times of despair. Juliana focuses on God while suffering greatly: "... I felt that my body was dead... [but] I thought to myself that I was fine, because my eyes were focused [on God and] on the sky, where he had faith that he would come…” (Julian 6). She expresses, however, that “…left to myself with all the heaviness and weariness of life, I was so burdened with myself that I scarcely had the patience to live " (34). Without God, she plainly states, her desperation would have defeated her. In the Bhagavad Gita, a warrior named Arjuna addresses Krishna, a human manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu (essentially the Hindi equivalent of Christ), Seeking help in his desolation in life and in his metaphorical war between soul and despair: Arjuna was defeated with great compassion and pain I spoke these words: O Krishna... my limbs fail and my mouth becomes dry. The bow slips from me of 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 cast aside his bow and arrows, Arjuna sat down on the seat of the chariot with his mind overcome with grief and despair. (Gita 1:30-47) By casting his bow, Arjuna is not simply giving up his mortal life, but he is giving up his faith in desperation. Neither Julian nor Arjuna, however, are truly overwhelmed. Both are granted visions by God, Julian in the form of Jesus, Arjuna in the form of Krishna. To Arjuna's grief, Krishna responds, notably by laughing: "You grieve over that which is not worthy of grief. The sage grieves neither for the living nor for the dead. There has never been a time when these monarchs, you or I did not." exist; nor will we ever cease to exist in the future... so, why grieve, Arjuna?" (Gita 2:11-15). Krishna continues to affirm what is now a characteristic Buddhist and Hindu saying: "Life is dukkha [a word Hindi which is loosely translated as despair or pain]" (Gita 4). In both of these Eastern traditions it is said that our great goal in life is to overcome this pain. However, the term is actually more than just one type of pain. Many translators have defined it as a deep anguish in life, which is usually associated with mortality or separation from the Lord, an idea that is reflected many times in the revelations ofJulian. In one of Julian's visions of Jesus, he tells her, "Where is now the sense of pain or grief?" - "Whatever you do, you will have pain. Therefore I want you to understand... that all this life is a penance for your benefit.." (Julian 45; 168). In addition to comparing the problems of desperation in the texts, both Krishna and Jesus point to love as the key to the end of their disciples' suffering. Both Julian's revelations and Krishna's teachings focus on the theme of universal love between God and His creations. Julian states: "For before he created us, he loved us; and when we were created, we loved him... and so the human soul is made of God and at the same point united with God. All souls... without end are woven into this knot and united in this unity, and sanctified in its holiness" (Julian 118-19). Absolute love is equally expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, as Krishna states: "Brahman [the Ultimate Spirit] is equally present. in all beings. There is no one [who is] hateful to me. But those who love me with love and devotion are very near to me, and I am near 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 connection with oneself. However, this conception of God or Spirit (Brahman) present in all is fully expounded in both the Bhagavad Gita and Julian's revelations. Furthermore, there is the theme that God/. Brahman is in every action and is, in fact, the "true agent" of that action: "One and the same Lord is seen to issue equally in every being...He who perceives that all works are performed by the powers of such Nature truly understands, and therefore does not consider himself as a doer" (Gita 13:28-29). In fact, according to Krishna's verses: "The wise man who knows the truth thinks, 'I do nothing at all.' Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing and speaking, giving, taking, opening and closing the eyes, the wise know... this is all Brahman" (Gita 5:08-9). In the same way, Julian says: "...I saw that [God] is in all things... I saw clearly that God makes all things, even the smallest... It is easy to understand that the best things are well done: however, just as the best and highest action is done well, so also the smallest thing is done well, and all because it belongs to the order that God has ordained... since he is the only agent" (Julian 26-7). Seeing this highly Eastern concept in a Western text is unexpected and quite surprising. Julian expresses a highly intuitive and open mind and soul, accepting this highly foreign ideology and adapting it to his own beliefs. Julian continues with this idea by stating: "...I saw no difference between God and our substance, but as if everything were God... We are enclosed in the Father, and we are enclosed in the Son, and we are enclosed 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). Bhagavad Gita that in Julian's Revelations, whenever there is love between people, there is love for God, because God is in those people idea is the connection with universal peace and also makes the love of God much more personal. By worshiping God as a person, the Bhagavad Gita explains: "...sages are able to assume human-like relationships with Brahman" (Gita). 9). D. Platt, in his introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, expounds this belief, saying that there are: "[many roles of] God as parent, devotee as child; God as Lord, devotee as servant. It is also much easier for many people to develop love for God. 1992.