IKS and Waiting for Godot
From Kurukshetra to the Barren Tree : The Gita and the Theatre of the Absurd
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Here is a brief video overview of my blog-
Section A: Conceptual Warm-Up
1. Arjuna’s Vishada and Vladimir–Estragon’s Crisis
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna feels confused, hopeless, and emotionally broken before the battle. Similarly, in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon feel lost and uncertain about their purpose. They do not know why they are waiting or what will happen. Like Arjuna, they question existence, but unlike him, they receive no clear guidance or solution.
2. Karma and the Absence of Action in the Play
Krishna teaches Arjuna to perform action (karma) without worrying about results. In Waiting for Godot, however, Vladimir and Estragon mostly avoid action. They only wait for Godot and repeat the same routine. Their inaction shows a failure of karma. Instead of meaningful work, their lives are filled with delay, uncertainty, and helplessness.
3. Cyclical Time in Waiting for Godot
The play reflects cyclical time in two main ways. First, Act I and Act II are almost the same, showing repetition instead of progress. Second, the boy comes each day to say Godot will come tomorrow. This repeated message suggests time moves in circles, not forward, similar to the Gita’s idea of eternal cycles.
Section B: Guided Close Reading
If we understand that “Godot is not a character but an expectation,” the title Waiting for Godot changes its meaning completely. It no longer refers to waiting for a real person to arrive. Instead, it shows that Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for something to happen in their lives—some change, purpose, or meaning. Godot becomes a symbol of hope for the future. The play then becomes less about a person and more about the human habit of waiting for something outside ourselves to solve our problems.
Godot can be compared with the concept of Asha (hope or desire) from the Bhagavad Gita. In the Gita, attachment to desire creates suffering because people expect certain results. Similarly, Vladimir and Estragon’s hope that Godot will come keeps them trapped. Their expectation gives them a reason to live, but it also prevents them from acting freely. Unlike the Gita, which teaches detachment from desire, Beckett shows characters who cannot let go of hope, even when it leads to endless waiting.
Section C: Comparative Thinking (IKS + Absurdism)
Section D: Creative–Critical Task
Dialogue : Krishna Explains “Waiting” to Arjuna , The MA English Student
Arjuna : Lord Krishna, in my MA class we are reading Waiting for Godot. My professor says the play shows meaninglessness. The characters wait, talk, and repeat the same actions. Nothing changes. Is life truly meaningless in this vision?
Krishna : Arjuna, meaninglessness is not a property of the world; it is a condition of the mind. Tell me, do these men act with purpose?
Arjuna : No, Madhava. They wait for Godot. They believe he will give direction to their lives. Until then, they do nothing.
Krishna : Then they have surrendered their inner power. When a person expects meaning to arrive from outside, he forgets his own duty. Did I not teach you about Karma?
Arjuna : Yes, Lord. You taught me to act without attachment to the results.
Krishna : Just so. Meaning arises through action aligned with one’s dharma. These men neither act nor accept responsibility. Their waiting becomes a symbol of spiritual paralysis.
Arjuna : But they seem afraid and uncertain, much like I was on the battlefield.
Krishna : You were confused, but you sought wisdom and prepared to act. Confusion is the beginning of knowledge when one faces it courageously. However, to remain in confusion and call it destiny—that is ignorance.
Arjuna : So their world feels meaningless because they refuse to create meaning through action?
Krishna : Precisely. When one avoids action, time feels empty. When one acts with awareness, even suffering becomes meaningful. Meaning is not found in arrival but in engagement.
Arjuna : Then Godot represents a hope that replaces responsibility?
Krishna : You understand well. They cling to expectation instead of embracing effort. If they practiced Nishkama Karma, even waiting would not trouble them.
Arjuna : I see now, Lord. The play shows what happens when humans abandon action and wait for salvation.
Krishna : And thus, Arjuna, remember: the world may appear silent, but the self must not be. Act rightly, and meaning will follow like a shadow.
Section E: Critical Reflection
Question 2: Do you think Absurdism becomes more meaningful or more challenging when read through the Gita? Why?
Reading Absurdism through the Bhagavad Gita makes it both more meaningful and more challenging. It becomes more meaningful because the Gita provides a philosophical framework to understand suffering, confusion, and uncertainty. In Waiting for Godot, life appears meaningless, and the characters remain trapped in waiting. But when we read the play through the Gita, we can see their problem as a failure of Karma (right action) and detachment. This comparison deepens our interpretation.
At the same time, it becomes more challenging because the Gita offers clear spiritual guidance, while Absurdism rejects certainty and divine answers. The Gita believes in cosmic order (Dharma), whereas Beckett presents disorder and silence. This contrast forces us to question whether meaning exists or must be created. Thus, reading Absurdism through the Gita creates a productive tension that encourages deeper critical thinking and comparative understanding.
How does using Indian Knowledge Systems change my reading of a Western modernist text ?
Using Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) changes your reading of a Western modernist text by giving you a new philosophical lens. Instead of seeing only despair, fragmentation, and meaninglessness (common in Modernism), you begin to compare these ideas with concepts like Karma (action), Maya (illusion), Dharma (duty), and Kala (time).
For example, what appears as hopeless waiting in a modernist text may be understood as a failure of right action (Karma) through the Gita. IKS adds spiritual and ethical depth, turning confusion into a space for reflection. It makes your reading more comparative, critical, and culturally rooted rather than purely Western in perspective.
Conclusion :
The comparison between Beckett and the Bhagavad Gita highlights two opposing views of life. While Absurdism shows the pain of inaction and endless waiting, the Gita offers a solution through right action and detachment. This contrast suggests that meaning is not found by waiting but by consciously engaging with life.
Academic Integrity & AI Use Disclosure
This work reflects my own original analysis and critical thinking. Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or NotebookLM were used only for brainstorming, structure, and concept clarification. All interpretations, arguments, and final writing have been developed independently in accordance with academic integrity guidelines.
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