To whom is the Bhagavad Gita useful?

To answer this question, let us first understand the difference between 'Knowledge' and 'Ignorance'. In philosophical terms 'Truth is Knowledge' and 'Falsehood is Ignorance'. 

Let us get back to the snake and rope analogy. When you see a coiled rope and understand it as a rope; then it is truth and it is knowledge. But if you understand it as snake; then your understanding is false. But in Vedanta, we don't say it is false but say ignorance has covered the knowledge. This ignorance is called the basic ignorance or Avyaktam or Maya.

This wrong understanding or false knowledge gives rise to different interpretations that the coil of rope is a snake or something else. Because of this wrong understanding you are driven to action like beating that coil of rope, etc.

Suppose you see a person beating a coil of rope thinking it to be a snake and if you tell him that it is just a rope then he will exercise his mind and resources to see the rope. Ignorance would vanish and he will stop beating the coil of rope.

But what if even after being advised that it is merely a piece of rope and if he fails to inquire and still continues to beat it then there is no use of any further talking to him.

Atma is Truth, Knowledge and Bliss. The super sensuous Truth is the highest Knowledge and its nature is a state of absolute happiness. There is no difference like in a sensuous object and its Knowledge like in the case of say, a snake and its knowledge. However, since the super sensuous is beyond all means of valid knowledge, the mind tries to cling on to the sensory perceptions and accepts them as truth and presents them as desirable or undesirable from the point of view of happiness. 'That is the basic ignorance' and that is what leads to action in terms of acquisition or rejection of that object.....

If you tell a person this fact; if he accepts and is ready to inquire into the truth; it is to such a person the Bhagavad Gita is useful and takes him step by step to the Reality and realization that Bliss is the natural state of the Atma that is the truth and that is knowledge.

But if a person who refuses to accept this truth and stubbornly chases happiness in illusions of happiness as presented by the objects; for him Bhagavad Gita is of no use. 

Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. We all had breakfast together. There were frequent power interruptions, all through the day.

It rained rather heavily by noon and the washed clothes had to be retrieved from the outside to prevent them from getting wet in the downpour.

A quiet evening.