Re-Reading Waiting for Godot through the Bhagavad Gita: An Indian Knowledge Systems Approach to Absurdism
This blog is written as a task assigned by the head of the Department of English (MKBU), Prof. and Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. Here is the link to the professor's research article for background reading: Click here.
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Introduction:
Western modernist literature, particularly the Theatre of the Absurd, is often interpreted through the framework of European existentialism, emphasizing alienation, meaninglessness, and metaphysical uncertainty. However, when read through the philosophical insights of the Bhagavad Gita, such texts acquire new dimensions of meaning. This blog attempts a comparative interpretation of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett using key concepts from Indian Knowledge Systems such as karma, nishkama karma, maya, kala, and moksha.
Rather than viewing the play merely as an expression of absurdity or nihilism, this approach explores it as a dramatization of spiritual stagnation, attachment to illusion, and the failure of meaningful action. By placing Beckett’s modernist text in dialogue with the Gita’s metaphysical teachings, this study moves beyond Eurocentric existential discourse and demonstrates how cross-cultural philosophical engagement can enrich literary interpretation.
This comparative framework not only deepens our understanding of Absurdism but also highlights the relevance of Indian philosophical thought in contemporary literary studies.
Section A: Interpret Waiting for Godot using an Indian philosophical framework.
1. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna experiences vishada (existential crisis). Briefly explain how Vladimir and Estragon experience a similar crisis in Waiting for Godot.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna’s vishada is a profound existential breakdownhe questions duty, identity, and the meaning of action. Similarly, in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Vladimir and Estragon suffer a crisis of purpose and certainty. Their endless waiting, fading memory, and fear of abandonment reveal a modern spiritual emptiness where meaning is absent and guidance never arrives.
2. Krishna emphasises karma (action) without attachment to results. How does Beckett portray the absence or failure of karma in the play?
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna teaches karma right action performed without attachment to results as a path to meaning and spiritual balance. In contrast, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett portrays the failure of karma. Vladimir and Estragon rarely act meaningfully; they only wait, hesitate, and repeat routines. Their inaction produces no transformation, suggesting a world where action lacks purpose, direction, and divine assurance.
3. The Gita presents time (Kala) as cyclical and eternal. Identify two moments in Waiting for Godot that reflect cyclical time.
In the Bhagavad Gita, time (Kala) is cyclical and eternal. Similarly, in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, cyclical time appears clearly in two moments:
- The identical ending of both acts each act concludes with the decision to leave, yet they remain motionless (“Yes, let’s go.” They do not move.), suggesting endless repetition.
- The Boy’s repeated message the Boy arrives in both acts to say Godot will come “tomorrow,” reinforcing an unbroken cycle of postponement and eternal waiting.
Section B: Apply concepts from the Bhagavad Gita (karma, duty, detachment, time, action) to modern Western drama.
Read the following idea carefully: “Godot is not a character but an expectation.”
1. How does this idea change your understanding of the title Waiting for Godot?
If we understand Godot not as a character but as an expectation, the meaning of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett changes profoundly. The title no longer refers to waiting for a specific person; instead, it suggests waiting itself as the central condition of human existence. Godot becomes a symbol of hope, salvation, purpose, or meaning something always promised but never fulfilled.
This interpretation shifts the focus from “Who is Godot?” to “Why do they keep waiting?” Vladimir and Estragon are not simply expecting someone to arrive; they are clinging to the belief that something external will give their lives direction. Their waiting becomes a metaphor for humanity’s tendency to postpone action while hoping for change from outside whether that be God, society, destiny, or success.
Thus, the title emphasizes a state of suspension. Life is reduced to anticipation. The real drama is not Godot’s absence but the characters’ dependence on expectation itself, revealing the existential anxiety and paralysis at the heart of the play.
2. Compare Godot with any one concept from the Bhagavad Gita:
- Maya (illusion)
- Phala (fruit of action)
- Asha (hope/desire)
- Ishvara (idea of God)
Godot in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett can be fruitfully compared with the concept of Maya (illusion) in the Bhagavad Gita. In the Gita, Maya refers to the cosmic illusion that makes the transient world appear permanent and meaningful. It clouds human understanding and keeps individuals attached to false perceptions of reality. Spiritual wisdom lies in recognising and transcending this illusion.
Similarly, Godot may be understood as an illusion that structures Vladimir and Estragon’s existence. Godot never appears, never speaks, and never confirms his reality directly. Yet the belief in him governs their actions, thoughts, and sense of purpose. Their waiting becomes meaningful only because they assume Godot is real and significant.
Like Maya, Godot sustains a fragile framework of hope that prevents deeper self-awareness. The characters do not question the foundation of their belief; instead, they cling to it to avoid confronting emptiness. Thus, both texts suggest that illusion can shape human life powerfully even when its object may ultimately be unreal or unknowable.
Section C: Critically analyse Absurdism beyond Eurocentric existentialist discourse.
Concept in Bhagavad Gita Explanation Parallel in Waiting for Godot
Karma (Action)
Nishkama Karma
Maya
Kala (Time)
Moksha / Liberation
Concept in Bhagavad Gita | Explanation in the Gita | Parallel in Waiting for Godot |
Karma (Action) | Action is unavoidable; one must perform one’s duty (dharma) responsibly. Meaning emerges through engagement in life. | Vladimir and Estragon fail to act meaningfully. Their repeated inaction leads to stagnation rather than growth. |
Nishkama Karma (Desireless Action) | One should act without attachment to the fruits (phala) of action. This leads to inner peace and spiritual balance. | The characters do not practice detached action; instead, they wait passively for Godot, depending entirely on an expected result. |
Maya (Illusion) | The material world creates illusion, binding individuals to false perceptions and attachment. | Godot may represent illusion an unseen promise that sustains hope but prevents self-realisation. |
Kala (Time) | Time is eternal and cyclical, governing creation and destruction. | Time is circular and repetitive; both acts end similarly, suggesting endless waiting and suspended progress. |
Moksha (Liberation) | Liberation is attained through wisdom, detachment, and disciplined action. | No liberation occurs; the characters remain trapped in waiting, symbolising existential imprisonment. |
Section D: Develop comparative, reflective, and interdisciplinary critical thinking.
Option A (Dialogue Writing):
Write a short dialogue (300–400 words) where Krishna explains one key aspect of Waiting for Godot (waiting, hope, time, or meaninglessness) to Arjuna as an MA English student.
On the silent field of Kurukshetra, Arjuna sits beside Krishna not with a bow in his hand, but with a notebook. He is now an MA English student, troubled not by war, but by literature.
Arjuna: Madhava, I have been reading Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. I do not understand this endless waiting. Why do Vladimir and Estragon not leave? Why do they remain?
Krishna (smiling): Partha, you once stood between action and despair. Now you stand between interpretation and confusion. Tell me what are they waiting for?
Arjuna: For Godot. For someone who never comes.
Krishna: And what is Godot?
Arjuna (hesitates): Perhaps… hope? Meaning? Salvation?
Krishna: Just so. Their waiting is not for a man, but for assurance. They believe meaning must arrive from outside. In the Bhagavad Gita, I taught you that action itself is the path. Meaning is not delivered it is realised through engagement.
Arjuna: Then their tragedy is not that Godot fails them, but that they fail themselves?
Krishna: Indeed. They postpone action because they expect revelation. Each day they say, “Tomorrow.” But tomorrow is only another form of illusion. When one waits endlessly for purpose, life becomes suspended.
Arjuna: But they are afraid. If they stop waiting, they must confront emptiness.
Krishna: Fear binds the human heart. Yet understand this waiting can be spiritual if it prepares the soul. But their waiting produces no insight, no transformation. It is repetition without growth.
Arjuna: So their condition is the opposite of karma?
Krishna: Yes. Where there is no action, there is no evolution. Beckett shows a world where divine guidance is silent, and man must face his own responsibility. The stillness of their bodies reflects the paralysis of modern humanity.
Arjuna (thoughtful): Then the play is not meaningless it reveals the danger of seeking meaning only in arrival, never in the present act.
Krishna: You understand now. Waiting becomes bondage when it replaces living. True wisdom lies not in expecting Godot but in rising, even when Godot does not come.
Section E:Articulate literary interpretation through culturally rooted philosophical insight.
1. How does using Indian Knowledge Systems change your reading of a Western modernist text?
Reading a Western modernist text through Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) significantly deepens interpretation by shifting the philosophical lens. Modernist works often emphasize alienation, fragmentation, absurdity, and existential despair. However, when viewed alongside the Bhagavad Gita or other Indian philosophical frameworks, these themes can be reinterpreted in terms of karma, maya, dharma, and cyclical time.
For example, a play like Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, often read as portraying meaninglessness, may instead be seen as dramatizing spiritual stagnation the failure to act (karma) or transcend illusion (maya). Rather than concluding that life is absurd, an IKS perspective asks whether the characters lack self-realisation or detached action.
Thus, Indian Knowledge Systems introduce metaphysical depth where modernism appears nihilistic. They encourage comparative reading, revealing that what seems like despair in Western thought may parallel spiritual ignorance or attachment in Indian philosophy. This cross-cultural approach transforms reading from purely existential analysis to a dialogue between traditions about action, time, and liberation.
Refrences:
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