Revered by many, understood by a few, the Bhagavad Gita is the most fascinating introduction to the spiritual path. It appears in the middle of a battlefield, not a hermitage. It celebrates the experience of God in ordinary, everyday activities.
You do not have to forsake the world for a life of dry asceticism and self-denial. You can continue to enjoy your wealth, business, and family, yet live a life of inspiration and detachment. In addition, you will be free from the stress and trauma you now go through.
Krishna, the enlightened One, was the guru in the Bhagavad Gita. When Krishna played the flute, everyone flocked to him.
The flute is a hollow bamboo with seven apertures. It represents the human being. The five senses, mind and intellect are the windows to your personality.
Krishna, the expert flautist, brought mesmerising music from the flute. The ordinary person only succeeds in making noise! The Bhagavad Gita gives the technique of living which enables you to attract the whole world with the music of life.
The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between two close friends, a style that encourages questioning, reflection and exploration. Each time you read it, you discover more and are able to integrate it in your life to transform into a better person.
The Bhagavad Gita is a scientific handbook that takes you from spiritual infancy to the heights of Perfection. Unlike general perception, it is easy and has answers to every kind of person in any situation.
It has inspired generations of people, from ordinary citizens to sportspersons, rulers and celebrities. It resonates with everyone. Each verse has valuable insights to life. One of its many gifts is its mind-stretching quality.
If you think assertive is the way to go, it speaks of gentleness. If non-action seems to be the way, it emphasises the importance of action.
If you think grasping will help you, it counsels you to let go. Lose it to gain it. If you adopt simplicity it tells you to enjoy the vast kingdom of the world. If you go for opulence, it says more is less. The more you have, the less you enjoy. If you espouse passivity, it says fight, but with love!
How old is the Bhagavad Gita? It is timeless. It comes alive today as much as it did when it was first spoken, perhaps 5,000 years back.
The inner space of doubt, indecision, sorrow and depression is what we all experience. The Bhagavad Gita speaks only to a person who has set aside pride and certainty. Krishna waits for that moment in Arjuna, and in you.
You are gifted with the freedom to choose. But do you know what to choose? Do you seek tradition or shun it? Do you uphold values or go for a no-holds-barred pursuit of wealth? These are the dilemmas we face, brought on by confusion.
You need to pause and reflect on the mysteries of life. Find clarity.
Everyone is born with a unique talent, a special gift. What is your passion? Discover it. You have tremendous potential. But because you get involved and entangled in trivial, insignificant things of life you miss the grandeur and magnificence that lies within.
You develop a myopic vision and wallow in mediocrity.
The Gita helps expand your mind. Shed the small-mindedness and embrace a cause. Identify with a larger goal.
Then you take off into subtler realms and shake off the clutter. Japan was devastated after World War II.
It rose from the ashes to become an economic power because every Japanese worked for the country. What will we not achieve if we all think of India first!
Open your heart to the power of oneness even when the illusion of separateness appears more real. View others as extensions of yourself.
In the Ramayana, Kaikeyi was perfectly happy until the thought of otherness polluted her mind. She asked that Rama be banished for 14 years and her own son, Bharata be made king.
In the end she lost everything, including the son for whom she embarked on her disastrous path. X-ray through superficial differences and zero in on the one among the many. The rewards are enormous.
Sita, in the Ramayana, was happy and untouched by the adversities of life as long as her focus was on Rama, the Spirit within.
She was at peace, whether enjoying the luxuries of the palace or enduring the rigours of the forest. Her problems began when her attention shifted away from Rama to the golden, fleeting deer. The deer represents passing, tantalising sense objects.
As long as your attention is on the Spirit within, the fluctuations in the world will not affect you. But you are looking outward, to the enticing, but transitory objects of the world. Hence the roller coaster ride of life.
Just as the deer was not what it seemed, sense objects do not confer happiness. They are like the mirage, giving way to disappointment and frustration. The Gita guides us to the abode of infinite Bliss within.
Just a little knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita will protect you from great sorrow, says Krishna. Listen to it with an open mind and it will give you a rich reward of immense success, tremendous happiness and growth to your infinite Stature.
For more insights from Bhagavad Gita, join us every Saturday at the Bhagavad Gita webinars by Jaya Row from 6.30 -7.30 pm. Followed by Q&A. Register at www.vedantavision.org/gita. WhatsApp +91 98201 38429.