Oppenheimer And Bhagavad Gita: How The Physicist Quoted The Epic To Justify The Manhattan Project

Movie buffs around the world are waiting for the release of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ on July 21, 2023. Both movies have created a huge buzz, and have already sold thousands of tickets in India as well as abroad.

While there are many critical details that one needs to talk about in these films. ‘Oppenheimer’ has been making headlines for its reported connection with the Hindu epic ‘Bhagavad Gita’.

On July 16, 2023, Cillian Murphy, who is playing J Robert Oppenheimer in the film, said that he read ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to prepare for the film. He added that the epic has ‘absolutely beautiful text’. But why would an actor read a Hindu epic to prepare for the role of an American theoretical physicist who is known as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’?

While many are taking pride that an actor, belonging to the American film industry, has praised Bhagavad Gita, it will leave you shocked to know that the physicist quoted a few lines from the epic to justify the Manhattan Project on the Trinity Test that ended the World War II with atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan between 6 to 9 August, 1945.

What Was The Manhattan Project And Trinity Tests?

Inscribed in world history, the Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking to produce the first nuclear weapons during World War II (September 1, 1939, - September 2, 1945). Led by the United States of America with undivided support from Canada and the United Kingdom, nuclear physicist J Rober Oppenheimer held the offices of the Los Alamos Laboratory, which was tasked to design the atomic bombs.

The tests were conducted in three different places. The first explosion happened on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico. Not more than a month later, two atomic bomb blasts happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. It ultimately made the US the supreme power in possession of bombs that could turn the planet into an infinite ground of radioactive waste.

Oppenheimer And Bhagavad Gita Connection

You must be wondering what the Manhattan Project containing Trinity tests has to do with the Hindu epic 'Bhagavad Gita'. The ‘father of the atomic bomb’ has many interests apart from developing deadly nuclear weapons.

He is known to have picked up a hobby of reading classic Hindu mythology texts. Initially, he read the translations of epics and other scriptures. However, later he learned Sanskrit and read original texts of the 'Bhagavad Gita’ and Upanishads (Vedic texts). Reportedly, he wrote to his brother that the Gita was ‘quite marvelous’. His brother was also quoted saying that the scientist was taken by the charm and wisdom that the epic had to offer.

After the first of the three successful Trinity tests in Mexico under the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer quoted a few lines from the Gita that described what it would be like to witness the almighty. It said, “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendour of the mighty one.” The physicist compared it to the light generated in the first few seconds of the explosion before it turns the affected area into ashes.

During a television broadcast, he said, “We knew that the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, and a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I become the Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”

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In the text, Lord Krishna takes his divine form as Lord Vishnu while preaching to him why it was necessary for the Pandavas to fight Kauravas and other family members during Mahabharata. He was telling him that the war was necessary for the good to prevail. When he said that he became the death and destroyer of the world, he merely was asking Prince Arjuna to put the onus of all deaths and misery of the war on his shoulders. It was all happening with his wish.

While quoting Bhagavad Gita, it looked like the scientist compared himself with Lord Vishnu. By creating weapons and being the lead scientist in the Manhattan Project, he became the ‘death’. During Mahabharata, Lord Krishna inspired Arjuna to fight the war for a good cause, whereas the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the deaths of thousands of people so that the US could emerge as the supreme power.

On August 6, 1945, Oppenheimer clasped his hands when he took the stage after Hiroshima was bombed with the second atomic bomb in the Trinity test. A few people compared a scientist’s presence on the stage with a prize-winning boxer. He expressed his disappointment for not being able to develop the nuclear bomb during the war against Nazi Germany.

It was also reported that Oppenheimer and other scientists in the team felt it was unnecessary to bomb Nagasaki a few days after bombing Hiroshima. They could not understand the point of view of the military.

After World War II ended, Oppenheimer became a national hero that earned the US the title of being the most powerful country in the world.

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