The Gita is a practical code to man’s life.

Discussion in 'Chitvish on Hindu Culture & Vedanta' started by Chitvish, Apr 19, 2007.

  1. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    33,566
    Likes Received:
    3,756
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    The Gita is much more than a scripture for intellectual appreciation. It is a positive pragmatic code to regulate man’s life and to answer all situations. It is universal in character, dealing primarily with one who has to live in this world, love his neighbours and leave, when the call comes.

    The Gita does give an answer to every problem, a man faces in life. The Gita never commands one what to do and does not also say anywhere “Thou shalt not”. This is the beauty of the Gita. It just gives the pros and cons of every issue and allows the individual to take one’s own decision. Do we not learn better that way ?
    We must remember that after listening to the Gita, Arjuna did not become a hermit ! He fought a fierce war and won over his enemies. By following the Gita, a man undergoes a complete change of consciousness and there need not be a change in his outward appearance or lifestyle! It teaches the annhilation of desire and ego. It advocates selfless actions and different ways to control the mind and the senses.

    Life has to be purposeful and the Lord’s message in the Gita lays down the dictum that man should be free from malice and be friendly even to one who envies him. He should also be kind to those who have gone astray and remain ever-balanced. He should be forbearing and forgiving. The Lord says that man should cultivate equanimity even under the most disturbing circumstances.
    Lord Krishna says,

    “Look upon friends and foes alike, ignore both obloquy ( disgrace or defamation) and honour, be indifferent to praise or blame.”

    The Gita contains the unwritten laws of the universe. So if you study the same in a logical manner, you will achieve salvation. But on the other hand if you are a devotee of Lord Krishna and read it with devotion, you will achieve salvation. So, the Gita will lead you to God both the intellectual way and the devotional way.

    Devotion is a quality of the heart and not mere external symbolism. One can call it, a one way traffic where one always gives without expecting anything back in return. The supreme devotee submits himself without expecting any reward. For him, life is wedded to daily activities.
    Mere bland action is “Karma”, but when impregnated with desireless devotion and service, it turns into “ Karma Yoga”, which is doing an act without expecting any return.

    Desireless service is best. Lord Krishna says all acts should be consecrated to Him. We must have the attitude of “ Sarvam Krishnarpanamasthu”. As a devotee, one should perform his duties leaving the resuts to God. The core of His message to mankind runs thus:
    “ Take shelter in Me alone as the highest Divinity.
    I shall deliver you from all sins”.

    Love,
    Chithra.
     
    sindmani likes this.
    Loading...

  2. jothi

    jothi Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    340
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    23
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Chithra,

    Wow. What a eyeopening information on the Gita. I am learing so much from reading your posts. This is my first time reading your thusrday post on thursday. YAY!!

    Mere bland action is “Karma”, but when impregnated with desireless devotion and service, it turns into “ Karma Yoga”, which is doing an act without expecting any return.

    This is my favorite part. When we include desireless devotion in our actions then we become Karma Yogis then I guess all mothers are Karma Yogis. Thanks for enlightening me every week.

    Love,
    Jothi.
     
  3. Kamla

    Kamla IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    8,454
    Likes Received:
    5,103
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Chithra,

    As soon as I saw the subject, I read it with eagerness. As usual, you have written it with heart and it incites one to take up the study of Gita.
    I am on my first few steps into this learning and it is still only at that stage, a beginner's class in Gita. All the same, I always return refreshed from a Gita class. One day, God willing, I will be able to study it more deeply. The call is yet to come!?!
    Though I appreciate what you wrote, I am still waiting for you to write not about Gita, but some insight into the Gita. I am sure that you will make a wonderful job of it.
    Please do so. Please elaborate on few selective verses of Gita, I so want that. How about if you take the verses from Sapthshloki Gita?
    Sorry, instead of lapping up what you give so generously, I seem to get greedy.
    Thanks for this.

    L, Kamla
     
  4. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    33,566
    Likes Received:
    3,756
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Jothi,
    You are unbelievably fast with your feed back, this time even ahead of my general "first feed-backer" - my dear friend Kamla.

    Well, a small point, for your "mulling". As mothers, we are Karma Yogis, when our children are young & we are ready to sacrifice time, energy money etc in bringing them up. But , I see my friends commenting or lamenting about their married sons
    "For all the effort I took togive him the best in life, he has no time for me now ! He has time only for his wife & children".
    I cannot stand this talk, because then it interprets itself as though you were insuring for your future by giving your best for your children !
    What right do we have to expect a return at all ?
    I very much like Gibran's words
    Your children are not your children.
    They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
    They come through you but not from you.
    And though they are with you yet they belong to you.

    As the mother of married children., I tell myself this very often !

    Thanks again for your F B .
    Love,
    Chithra.



     
    sindmani likes this.
  5. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,626
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear Chithra
    Your Thursday bonanza sounds like a curtain raiser for The Bhagawad Gita.
    Even those who are not unto the Wisdom of God know the essence of His Eternal Exhorataion.
    As far as I go, I find Gita the most difficult to follow than all other Divine Laws. Not expecting a reward for one's labour is perhaps the toughest to practice. From our childhood, we are taught to expect a return for our work. Have we not seen mothers and fathers always dangling a succulent carrot before their children? Get a rank in 10th, I'll give you a bicycle, secure a state rank in 12th, I'll give you a Suzuki Mobike! Even as toddlers we are told if we behaved ourselves, we would be taken to beach, given a balloon or ice cream! We keep feeding them with expectations and nothing else.
    To expect them to totally dissociate themselves from the fruits of labour is well-nigh impossible! As a man of 65, when I post a thread in IL, I expect people to lap it up and shower praises on me! If any of my posts goes unnoticed, I wither like a plant not watered for days!
    So what do we do? We can at best train ourselves not to get too disappointed or overjoyed by the results of our actions.
    It is all very easy to talk about detachment and whenever we hear a discourse on it, our hearts melt and for a moment we even feel ashamed of our own attitude!
    I have ben watching a programme of music competion for children conducted by VijayTV. When children who do not perform well are shown the door, their mothers cry more than the children! Some mothers even enter into a wordy duel with the judges! How do you expect such children to gow into a character of total detachment?
    Even the Mother of Adi Sankara wants her son to be like others , get married and produce children! It is possible only for such highly evolved souls to understand the purpose of their being here and accordingly go about their allotted task.
    All these should not make you think that I am questioning the relevance of Gita in the modern context. Far from it. All I am trying to say is that it is not wrong to be ambitious or expecting a return on two conditions:
    1. We should never get enslaved by what we desire for and run after it like a demented person. We must always remember that the means are as important as the ends. If our ambitions lead us to actions which are totally contrary to accepted cannons of human behaviour, that will require some serious introspection against the backdrop of the Divine Wisdom
    2. We should develop the Inner Strength to take failures and successes with composure.
    The first two Yugas never needed a Gita. The third Yuga did. It was given at the battlefied of Kurukshetra and the battle itself signified the advent of Kaliyuga. Even in Dwapara Yuga, the Lord had to chose one in a million to teach His Lesson. What can I say of Kaliyuga?
    In all my humilty, I bow to the Great Text but must at the same time caution that total compliance with it can happen only in one in a million cases. The lesser mortals can only hope to temper their actions in tune with the God's word.
    Sri
     
  6. meenu

    meenu Bronze IL'ite

    Messages:
    627
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Chith,
    Once again you have scored high.The gita is very simple and the rules it suggests for a harmohious life is very adaptable. Naturally your explanations are very lucid and clear and on rereading it I did not have any confusion at any place. You are right , many mothers say that bringing up children is a thankless job and I dont agree with it too. Every person is an individual creation of God come into this world with a definite purpose.So no one can claim any returns for services.Imagine a world of harmony and peace if more and more people discipline themselvesafter reading gita! OOH! how beautiful the world will be then! Thank you, dear friend, for relaxing me with this post,
    Regards and God bless you,
    Meenu
     
  7. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    33,566
    Likes Received:
    3,756
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Kamla,
    Thankyou for "feeding (me) back" promptly, in your frank, inimitable style.

    Since you have already on the Gita trip, the introductions or the
    " curtain raisers" as my friend Sri, puts it, are superflous to you. I understand your point fully.
    The gita is considered more as a scriptural text than as a practical text, that people prefer to stay away from the Gita. So I want to give introductions to the Gita, from various perspectives so that atleast one will appeal to a person, to know what the much talked about Gita tells us at all.
    I request you to patiently bear with me, for the following posts

    The Gita's special charm.
    Why is the Gita universal?
    Does the Gita preach us religion?
    The Gita is a discovery of life.
    The Gita teaches the art of living.

    Thereafter, it will be a small beginning with the Gita teachings - pray God be with me & guide me right.

    Love,
    Chithra.






     
  8. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    33,566
    Likes Received:
    3,756
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Sri,
    I feel honoured that you chose to reply me, within such a short time after it was posted.
    So I have the blessings of Lord Krishna, for attempting in a small way, to carry His message.
    Deivam manushya rupena !

    Sri, this is not the only curtain raiser, but one of the few to come. Kindly read my post to Kamla.
    I fully agree with every word of what you have written.

    I have experienced in life:
    One has only partial power over future, since it will be influenced by many factors.
    Do your best, hope for the best, but remember that future may not be what we plan, since other unknown factors can play for or against us.

    Now, I have come to the choiceless decision that there is as much pleasure in executing a job to your fullest contentment and be done with it.( I know you will ask me, if you can refrain from sending me F B s for my further posts - no, no, no !!).
    Though I write a cookery column here, believe me, when I say, that V never has the habit of appreciating any dish that I prepare ! Initially, as a young bride, I used to be heart-broken. Then, when I decided that I will involve myself in the pleasure of creating a dish, putting all my efforts into it, without taking even a minute detail for granted, I realised that it gave me a lot of pleasure & self-satisfaction, irrespective of whether V made a comment or not !
    Over the years, I have developed the attitude of doing every action with the fullest enjoyment - not that I can always do, without appreciation. I do enjoy them, boosting my ego , but I am learning to accept, if it is otherwise also.
    This has nothing to do with the Gita - but a life lesson learnt by me, in a tough way.
    Please continue with m, Sri & give us food for thought with your posts written in your inimitable style.
    Thanks again, Sri.
    Love,
    Chithra.



     
  9. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    33,566
    Likes Received:
    3,756
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Meenu,
    Thankyou for the feedback.
    As Sri says rightly, the rules of the Gita are very simple, though not very easy to follow.
    I just think, we must take the first step in this janma, atleast to know what the Gita tells us all about !
    I wrote purely my experiences as a mother. That was my first life lesson in the Gita. The first time after marriage, my daughter came home from her husband's house, she was telling me so many things " amma says this, does that " etc. I was wondering when I ever said or did all that. Then it dawned on me that she was referring to her MIL as Amma. I had to graciously accept the choice of taking a back seat in her life. Just imagine, my arguing with her, otherwise !
    This was one of the many instances which made me realise that we must learn to enjoy any job we do, putting our heart & soul into it !
    Please continue with me, Meenu.
    Love,
    Chith.




     
  10. vidhi

    vidhi Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    313
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Chithra

    I was eagerly waiting for Thursday to hear from you. As usual you have explained well.It gives me a great relief to read your posts chithra. Thank you.

    I like to cultivate equanimity under most disturbing circumstances. But when it comes to face the situation I understand how tought it is to follow. As you said this I think this can be achieved over a period of time. This is where I find your shlokas come in helpful for me. I like the following lines "we must learn to enjoy any job we do, putting our heart & soul into it !" . will keep this lines in mind always.

    Love
    vidhi
     

Share This Page