Today is as good day as any to brush one's memory of the Bhagavad Gita. The much misquoted and appropriated Hindu scripture that allegedly teaches you how to wage a war and feel good about its righteousness.

The author(s) of the Bhagavad Gita, however, anticipated this tendency to appropriate.

ymim puhpit vcha pravadanty-avipahchita

veda-vda-rat prtha nnyad astti vdina

kmtmna swarga-par janma-karma-phala-pradm

kriy-viheha-bahul bhogaihwarya-gati prati

These shlokas from the scripture can be loosely translated as:

"The undiscerning get attracted to the flowery words of the Vedas and glorify only those parts of the Vedas that please their senses. They indulge in acts and rituals that promise opulence, sensual gratification, and heaven."

These two verses from the Bhagavad Gita enunciate the tendency and dangers of appropriating religious/spiritual wisdom.

The irony, explicated even in the Bhagavad Gita, is that the righteous feel that their actions have the divine sanction.

The reality, however, couldnt be further from the truth: most actionsand their foundationshave sentiments and not principles at their core.

See the article here:

In India's Battle Between Sentiments And Principles, Peace is An Orphan - The Quint