Waiting for Meaning: An IKS Reading of Waiting for Godot

Assignment by Pfr. Dilip Barad 

Introduction

The dialogue between Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Western modernist literature offers new ways of understanding meaning and existence. Waiting for Godot portrays human beings trapped in endless waiting for meaning. When read through the Bhagavad Gita, this waiting reflects attachment to hope, illusion (maya), and fear of action. This comparative approach deepens both philosophical and literary insight.

Waiting for Meaning: An IKS Reading of Waiting for GodotExistential Crisis: Vishada and Absurd Despair

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna experiences vishada, an existential paralysis on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Overwhelmed by moral doubt, fear, and emotional conflict, he questions the purpose of action itself. His crisis is deeply philosophical centered on duty, selfhood, and the consequences of violence.

Similarly, Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot suffer from an existential crisis, though in a modern, secular form. They do not face a battlefield but an empty stage and an undefined future. Their confusion about why they are waiting, whether Godot will come, or whether their existence has meaning reflects a modern version of vishada. Unlike Arjuna, however, they lack a guiding voice like Krishna, leaving their crisis unresolved.

Karma and the Failure of Action

One of the central teachings of the Gita is karma yoga, the philosophy of performing one’s duty without attachment to results. Krishna insists that action is unavoidable and meaningful when aligned with dharma. Even in uncertainty, action provides spiritual growth and inner clarity.

Beckett, however, portrays a world where karma fails entirely. Vladimir and Estragon engage in constant activity talking, arguing, remembering, forgetting but none of these actions lead to progress or transformation. Their repeated decision to “leave” followed by inaction symbolizes paralysis. Action exists, but it is empty, mechanical, and detached from purpose, emphasizing the Absurd condition of modern existence.

Cyclical Time: Eternal Return vs Endless Waiting

The Bhagavad Gita presents Kala (time) as cyclical and eternal, where creation, destruction, and rebirth occur endlessly. This cyclical view provides cosmic meaning human life is part of a larger, ordered universe.

In Waiting for Godot, time is also cyclical, but without meaning. The two acts of the play closely mirror each other, suggesting no real movement forward. Each day resembles the last, and the boy’s repeated message that Godot will come “tomorrow” traps the characters in an endless loop. Time does not heal or enlighten; it merely prolongs waiting.

Section B: Guided Close Reading 

Godot as Expectation: A Comparison with Maya and Asha in the Bhagavad Gita

In Waiting for Godot, Godot functions not as a real character but as an expectation that gives Vladimir and Estragon a reason to continue waiting. This idea closely parallels the concept of Maya in the Bhagavad Gita. Maya refers to illusion, the false perception that binds humans to hope and misunderstanding. Godot, like Maya, creates an illusion of meaning and arrival, preventing the characters from recognizing the emptiness of their condition and taking responsibility for their lives.

Godot also strongly resembles Asha, or hope and desire. In the Gita, Asha is seen as a source of attachment that leads to suffering when desires remain unfulfilled. Vladimir and Estragon’s hope that Godot will arrive “tomorrow” sustains them emotionally but also traps them in endless waiting. Their desire for Godot replaces action, just as excessive attachment to Asha obstructs spiritual growth in the Gita.

However, while the Bhagavad Gita offers liberation through awareness and detachment from Maya and Asha, Waiting for Godot presents a world without such resolution. Godot never arrives, reinforcing the modern existential view that meaning is endlessly deferred rather than divinely revealed.

Section C: Comparative Thinking

Concept in Bhagavad Gita	Explanation	Parallel in Waiting for Godot
Karma (Action)	Action is unavoidable and defines human existence; one must act according to duty (dharma).	Vladimir and Estragon exist in inaction; their lives revolve around waiting instead of purposeful action.
Nishkama Karma	Performing action without attachment to results leads to inner peace and wisdom.	Characters act (talk, argue, wait) but with no purpose or outcome, showing meaningless repetition rather than detached duty.
Maya (Illusion)	Illusion that hides truth and binds humans to false hopes and attachments.	Godot functions as an illusion, making characters believe meaning lies in his arrival.
Kala (Time)	Time is cyclical and eternal, part of a cosmic order.	Time is repetitive and stagnant; both acts mirror each other, creating circular time without progress.
Moksha / Liberation	Freedom from illusion and suffering through knowledge, action, and detachment.	No liberation is achieved; characters remain trapped in endless waiting and uncertainty.

USE CHAT-GPT 

Section D: Creative – Critical Task

A Dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna: Understanding Waiting for Godot

Arjuna: O Krishna, as a student of literature, I struggle with Waiting for Godot. Vladimir and Estragon wait endlessly, yet nothing happens. What meaning can such waiting hold?

Krishna: Arjuna, their waiting reflects a truth of the modern mind. In Waiting for Godot, waiting itself becomes existence. They believe meaning will arrive from outside, just as many humans await destiny instead of shaping it through action.

Arjuna: Then is their waiting similar to my vishada on the battlefield my paralysis before action?

Krishna: There is a resemblance, but also a difference. You doubted action because of moral fear, yet you sought understanding. Vladimir and Estragon doubt action because they lack faith in purpose itself. They wait for Godot as an assurance that life has meaning.

Arjuna: But Godot never comes. Does that mean their hope is false?

Krishna: Hope is not false, Arjuna, but attachment to hope can be. Their waiting resembles Asha, desire bound to expectation. They believe Godot will deliver meaning, yet meaning cannot be gifted; it must be realized. Their hope binds them, just as attachment binds the self.

Arjuna: And what of time, Krishna? Each day repeats, unchanged.

Krishna: That is absurd. Unlike Kala, which is cyclical yet purposeful, their time circles without growth. They move, speak, remember, forget yet remain the same. Time passes, but wisdom does not arise.

Arjuna: Then where lies their failure?

Krishna: In inaction rooted in fear. They choose waiting over responsibility. I taught you Nishkama Karma to act without attachment to results. They act only to pass time, not to transform it.

Arjuna: Is liberation possible for them?

Krishna: Beckett offers no moksha. That is the tragedy of the Absurd world. Yet for you, Arjuna, literature itself is a lesson. Learn from their waiting. Do not wait for meaning create it through awareness and action.

Arjuna: I understand now, Krishna. Their waiting is a mirror, warning us of life without action or insight.

Krishna: Indeed. To read is to reflect, but to live is to act.

Section E: Critical Reflection

How Indian Knowledge Systems Change the Reading of a Western Modernist Text

Using Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) significantly deepens and reshapes the reading of a Western modernist text. When a play like Waiting for Godot is read only through Western existentialism, it often appears bleak, nihilistic, and trapped in meaninglessness. However, applying concepts from the Bhagavad Gita introduces a comparative ethical and philosophical dimension that expands interpretation rather than replacing it.

Through IKS, ideas such as karma, maya, and detachment allow the reader to see Beckett’s characters not merely as victims of an absurd universe, but as individuals paralysed by attachment to expectation and fear of action. The contrast between Arjuna’s movement from vishada to action and Vladimir and Estragon’s endless waiting sharpens the tragic implications of inaction. IKS thus provides a moral and philosophical counterpoint, highlighting what is absent in the Absurd world.

At the same time, this approach encourages self-reflection as a reader. It reveals how cultural frameworks shape meaning and shows that modernist despair can be reread as a warning rather than a final truth. IKS therefore transforms reading into a dialogue between traditions, making Western modernist texts richer, more layered, and more intellectually engaging.