This blog is written as part of an academic task assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad, for the MA English course on Modern Drama. He provided a structured worksheet that encourages us to interpret Waiting for Godot through the philosophical lens of the Bhagavad Gita within the framework of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). The objective of this assignment is not merely to summarise the play but to critically engage with it by placing a Western modernist text in dialogue with Indian philosophical thought. By exploring concepts such as karma, maya, kala, and moksha, this blog attempts to develop a comparative and interdisciplinary understanding of Absurdism while reflecting the academic expectations of postgraduate literary study.
Introduction
Modern literature often reflects the crisis of meaning, faith, and action in the twentieth century. Waiting for Godot presents a world where human beings wait endlessly for purpose, resolution, or salvation that never arrives. Traditionally read within the framework of European Existentialism and Absurdism, the play portrays paralysis, cyclical time, and existential uncertainty. However, when examined through the philosophical lens of the Bhagavad Gita, the play opens up new interpretive possibilities. The Gita’s concepts of karma (action), nishkama karma (detached action), maya (illusion), and kala (cosmic time) offer a culturally rooted framework to rethink Beckett’s drama beyond a purely nihilistic reading. This blog attempts to explore how Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) can deepen our understanding of Absurdism by placing Western modern drama in dialogue with Indian philosophical thought, thereby encouraging comparative, interdisciplinary, and decolonial modes of literary criticism.
Section A: Conceptual Warm-Up (Short Answers)
Vishada (Existential Crisis)
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna’s vishada is a crisis of purpose and moral paralysis before action. Similarly, in Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon experience existential uncertainty. They question their identity, memory, and purpose while waiting for Godot. Like Arjuna, they are suspended between action and inaction, trapped in doubt and indecision.
Absence or Failure of Karma
Krishna teaches action without attachment to results (nishkama karma). In contrast, Beckett portrays characters who neither act meaningfully nor detach themselves from expectation. Vladimir and Estragon endlessly wait instead of choosing decisive action. Their inertia reflects the failure of karma; they depend on external intervention (Godot) rather than exercising responsibility or agency.
Cyclical Time (Kala)
The Gita presents Kala as eternal and cyclical. In Waiting for Godot, cyclical time appears in the repetition of events across two acts: the same setting, similar dialogues, and continued waiting. Secondly, the daily arrival of the boy messenger announcing Godot’s postponement reinforces temporal repetition, suggesting a circular rather than progressive movement of time.
Section B: Guided Close Reading (Text + IKS)
1. Reinterpreting the Title: Waiting as Existential Condition
When we say that “Godot is not a character but an expectation,” the title Waiting for Godot shifts from referring to a person to describing a psychological and philosophical condition. The emphasis moves from the identity of Godot to the act of waiting itself. Waiting becomes a way of being. Vladimir and Estragon structure their existence around a promise that is never fulfilled, suggesting that human life is often sustained by deferred meaning rather than concrete reality.
2. Godot as Asha (Hope/Desire)
If Godot is understood through the concept of Asha (hope or desire) from the Bhagavad Gita, he represents attachment to an external expectation. The Gita warns that attachment to outcomes leads to suffering and illusion. Similarly, Vladimir and Estragon’s dependence on Godot prevents decisive action. Their hope sustains them emotionally, yet it also traps them in paralysis. Godot thus becomes a projection of desire—an embodiment of postponed fulfilment that perpetuates existential stagnation.
Section C: Comparative Thinking (IKS + Absurdism)
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Section D: Reflective–Critical Note
“Beckett shows what happens when human beings wait for meaning instead of creating it.” This statement captures the existential paralysis at the heart of Waiting for Godot. Vladimir and Estragon spend their days anticipating the arrival of Godot, believing that his presence will provide clarity, direction, or redemption. However, they do nothing to transform their condition. Their waiting becomes habitual, almost ritualistic, and meaning is endlessly deferred. The tragedy lies not in Godot’s absence but in their refusal to assume responsibility for their own existence.
When read through the lens of the Bhagavad Gita, this paralysis contrasts sharply with the doctrine of karma, especially nishkama karma (action without attachment to results). In the Gita, Krishna advises Arjuna to act decisively according to his duty rather than remain immobilised by doubt or expectation. Meaning, therefore, is not something to be awaited but something enacted through conscious action. Beckett’s characters, by contrast, remain attached to the “fruit” of an anticipated arrival. Their dependence on Godot reflects attachment to phala (result), which, according to the Gita, leads to suffering and delusion.
Thus, Beckett dramatizes the spiritual emptiness that arises when individuals substitute expectation for action. The play suggests that waiting for external validation produces stagnation and cyclical despair. Through the Gita’s ethical framework, the Absurd does not merely reveal meaninglessness; it exposes the consequences of abandoning agency. Meaning, the Gita implies, must be created through action—otherwise life becomes an endless rehearsal of postponement.
Section E: Critical Reflection
Using Indian Knowledge Systems has significantly changed the way I read a Western modernist text like Waiting for Godot. Earlier, I understood the play mainly through the framework of Existentialism and Absurdism, focusing on meaninglessness, alienation, and despair. However, when I began reading it through the philosophical lens of the Bhagavad Gita, my interpretation shifted. Instead of seeing the play only as a representation of nihilism, I started viewing it as a dramatization of failed action and misplaced expectation. The Gita’s concept of karma helped me realise that the real crisis in the play is not simply the absence of Godot, but the characters’ refusal to act. This perspective adds an ethical dimension to my reading. It also makes me more aware of how literary interpretation can move beyond Eurocentric frameworks. For me, IKS does not replace Western theory; rather, it expands the interpretive possibilities and allows me to engage with the text from a culturally rooted and intellectually balanced standpoint.
Academic Integrity & AI Use Disclosure
For this blog, I have consulted Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and NotebookLM only for brainstorming and conceptual clarification. The arguments, interpretations, and written responses presented here reflect my own original thinking and academic understanding of Waiting for Godot and the Bhagavad Gita.
Conclusion
Reading Waiting for Godot through the philosophical framework of the Bhagavad Gita demonstrates how Indian Knowledge Systems can meaningfully expand the scope of literary interpretation. While the play is often associated with Absurdism and existential despair, the Gita introduces an ethical and action-oriented perspective that reframes the crisis of waiting as a failure of karma rather than a condition of pure meaninglessness. This comparative approach reveals that the absence of Godot is less tragic than the characters’ attachment to expectation and their reluctance to act. Integrating IKS into the study of modern Western drama does not diminish its complexity; rather, it deepens critical inquiry by encouraging interdisciplinary, culturally rooted, and reflective reading practices. Such dialogue between traditions enriches postgraduate literary study and promotes a more balanced, decolonial understanding of global literature.
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