Religions

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Roman Piety and Krishna’s Teachings from the Gita
Essentially, Roman piety/pietas” was devotion that people showed first to the pantheon of gods and goddesses, one’s family and to Rome the homeland (Stark 3). Krishna’s dialogues with Prince Arjuna, commonly denoted as “The Bhagavad Gita” in the war detailed in the Mahabharata, stresses the importance of contentment in leading a happy life. While Roman piety focuses on devotion, the Gita is more concerned about contentment through pursuing “moksha” or liberation (Bora 47).
There are similarities between Roman piety and Krishna’s Gita. For one, both stress on the value of reciprocity. In Roman piety, people prayed to the gods and devoted themselves to family heads and the empire/state so that they would be rewarded in one way or another. The Gita takes a different approach, but the reciprocity is still the same. Krishna instructs Arjuna to seek peace, and he will be happy and live a fulfilled life. Secondly, both Roman piety and Krishna’s Gita emphasize the importance of spirituality and devotion to the gods (Roman piety) and God (Gita).
There are some differences between the two. Roman piety is more focused on devotion and power. The Gita is more personalized in showing the importance of contentment, moksha, peace and happy life. Roman piety is more authoritarian; the Romans were expected to obey without question, for example, Roman heads of families were so powerful they could sell off family members (Breij 336).

The Gita is more spiritual in that it focuses on walking the good path, living harmoniously and avoiding jealousy.
In conclusion, Roman piety was more of a state religion; everybody was expected to be loyal and devoted. In the Gita, which translates to the “Song of God,” Lord Krishna is God (Prabhavananda np). Roman piety recognized other gods. The Gita is a story while Roman piety was a lifestyle.

Works Cited
Bora, Manashi. “THE CONCEPT OF LIBERATION (MOKSHA) IN THE BHAGAVAD GITA.”
Breij, Bé. “Dilemmas of pietas in Roman Declamation.” Sacred Words: Orality, Literacy, and Religion. Brill, 2011. 329-348.
Prabhavananda, Swami. Bhagavad Gita-The Song of God. Read Books Ltd, 2013.
Stark, Rodney. “Religious Competition and Roman Piety.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion 2 (2006): 1-30.