For whom is the Bhagavad-gita spoken?
That the Bhagavad Gita is spoken. So for whom is the Bhagavad Gita spoken? It is for everyone.
It is spoken historically to a specific person, Arjuna. But Arjuna represents every man, every human being in fact. And that universality is seen from the message itself.
Although the Bhagavad Gita is spoken at a particular time, in a particular context, when a war is about to take place, among the 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita, after the setting is made in the first chapter, after that barely 10-15 of the remaining 600-650 verses refer to the context, refer to the war that is happening or anything else circumstantial. So from the circumstance the Bhagavad Gita rises up to universal questions. The Bhagavad Gita is spoken to Arjuna and through Arjuna to all living beings, to all people who have the questions about what is life meant for? What is the best course of action that I should follow in my life? And for understanding this, suppose we are travelling.
At that time we come to a fork on the road. Now whether we choose right or left will depend not just on which road looks good. We will choose based on where we want to go.
And where we want to go is determined by what we are doing or what we ultimately want to do with our life. If we are going to meet a friend, why are we going to meet a friend? Because we value relationships. If we are going for a business appointment, why are we going there? Because we consider that profession important.
So ultimately that simple choice of turning left or right on a fork is determined by our basic conception of what life is and what we are meant to do in life. So the Bhagavad Gita is spoken to Arjuna when he was at a life-defining crossroad in his life. And it doesn't speak so much about which road Arjuna should take as it speaks about what is the fundamental basis on which we are meant to live our life.
So the Bhagavad Gita is often seen as a holy book of one particular religion and that is a valid view in the sense that in India the Hindus consider the Bhagavad Gita to be their sacred book. And at the same time the Bhagavad Gita itself does not use the word Hindu nor does it restrict its message to people who are of a particular history or geography or faith. It addresses all religions.
In the Bhagavad Gita the speaker Krishna who is God incarnated in this world addresses all living beings as his children. He says, I am the seed-giving father of all living beings and he speaks this message for sarva-bhuta-hite rataha for the benefit of all people. So all those people who want to understand what is the best way to lead one's life.
For all of them the Bhagavad Gita is spoken.