Everyday Geeta

December 27, 2010 Today Chinmaya Jeevan Darshan is two years old. The Chinmaya Jeevan Darshan is an audio-visual tribute to Pujya Swami Chinmayanandaji , the pre-eminent Geetacharya of the 20th century. All lovers of the Gita, the Upanishads and those who have drunk from the fountain of Vedanta must pay a visit to the Chinmaya Jeevan Darshan exhibit at Kolwan, situated between Lonavla and Pune. It will take about two hours to do justice to the exhibit and come away energized and inspired. Admission is free. I would advise going there without small children to distract you. In the two years, since it was inaugurated by Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji , over 16000 people have visited, of whom almost 4000 have never heard of Swami Chinmayananda or the Chinmaya Mission . If you have visited the Chinmaya Jeevan Darshan, do post your impressions in the comments section. Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post.

December 25, 2010 I was driving with my 3 year old son in his child seat in the back of the car. When another car cut into my lane with very little warning, I yelled, "gadha" (ass (the animal, not the body part) in Hindi). I continued riving. In less than a minute, I heard a voice in the back seat say, "Gadha". Impossibly cute, my son was practicing this new-found word. Suddenly, it occured to me, like it or not, I am a role model every day for my son. I recalled a shloka from chapter 3, that my Gurudev, Swami Chinmayanandaji loved यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः | स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ||३-२१|| yadyadAcharati shreShThastattadevetaro janaH . sa yatpramANaM kurute lokastadanuvartate .. 3-21.. "Whatever a great man does, that alone other men also do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world (people) follows." In every Chinmaya Mission Gnana Yagna on chapter 3, he insisted that the audience memorize this shloka and chant it loudly...

December 22, 2010 My son was chanting Geeta chapter 7 in preparation for the Singapore Geeta Jayanti competitions scheduled for January 2011 when he came to the following verse. मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय | मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ||७-७|| mattaH parataraM naanyat-ki~nchidasti dhana~njaya . mayi sarvamidaM protaM suutre maNigaNaa iva .. 7\-7.. "There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Dhananjaya. All this is strung together in Me, as clusters of gems on a string" It occured to me that there were only two letters of the alphabet that differentiated the Vedic vision from that of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). The Abrahamic religions say that: "There is on e God." The Vedic vision is: " There is on ly God ." My son liked the comparison, so I thought I'd share that. Let me rush to add that this is by no means my discovery. I heard it somewhere. If anyone knows the original source, please post in th...

December 21, 2010 I have always wanted to examine how the Gita is portrayed in popular media. Today, we'll look at  Hollywood, tomorrow in a slightly different context, we'll look at Bollywood. "The Legend of Bagger Vance" was a very interesting movie that was released in 2000. Directed by Robert Redford, the movie had an impressive cast. Matt Damon was golf champion Rannolph Junah, Will Smith played the role of a mystical caddie named Bagger Vance, and Charlize Theron was cast in the female lead role. The movie was based on a book of the same name by Steven Pressfield . Based on an analysis of 128 published reviews, the movie is rated 42% on Rotten Tomatoes while 64% of the audience who voted on the site, liked the movie. A friend of mine, Vishwanath Murthy, brought the movie to my attention as it was said to be loosely based on the Bhagavad Gita with Rannulph Junah (RJuna - get it?) as the champion golfer who appears to be falling to pieces and his caddie, Bagger...

December 20, 2010. In the 10th Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna declares यद्यद्विभूतिमत्सत्त्वं श्रीमदूर्जितमेव वा | तत्तदेवावगच्छ त्वं मम तेजोंऽशसम्भवम् ||१०-४१|| yadyadvibhuutimatsattvaM shriimaduurjitameva vaa. tattadevaavagachchha tvaM mama tejo.nshasambhavam.h .. 10-41.. "Whatever it is that is glorious, prosperous or powerful in any being, know that to be a manifestation of a fraction of My splendour" . There are many occasions to recall this. My most recent instance was when I came across this video below (thanks to the Daily Dish ). Aurora Borealis timelapse HD - Tromsø 2010 from Tor Even Mathisen on Vimeo . This is a time lapse photography of the Aurora Borealis over Tromsø, Norway photographed by Tor Even Mathisen, with Music by Per Wollen and vocals by Silje Beate Nilssen. Perhaps, Shri Krishna would have said today something as follows: "Among photographers, I am the nature photographer". Feel free to post your own suggestions in the comments...

December 19, 2010 As seekers, we're constantly faced with a plethora of options for our sadhana or spiritual practices. Nowadays, it is not unusual for the main stream media itself refers to discuss the benefits of yoga and meditation. We may have friends who follow a particular Swami or themselves observe certain practices. These friends are articulate about the efficacy of their sadhana . Apart from these everyday challenges on the spiritual path, when our own seeking takes us to listen to a teacher or read different texts, we're again faced with apparent choices. We wonder whether the the sadhana being discussed would give better results for us. Krishna appears to further confuse matters in the Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter 4, starting with the 26th verse ( daivameva ....), Krishna describes several practices (referred to as yagna, also translated as sacrifice ) including p raanayaama (regulation / control of breath) and pratyaahaara (disciplined consumption of food, avoidi...

December 17, 2010: Gita Jayanti Singapore has a beautiful tradition of celebrating Gita Jayanti as a major event. All Hindu organizations collaborate to celebrate Gita Jayanti through seminars, Gita chanting competitions and a well organization Gita Havan. This year the havan (or homam for Tamilians) is scheduled for 13th February 2010. There is a very practical reason why it does not take place when Gita Jayanti occurs in the Hindu year - that is always during school holidays in Singapore and hence participation cannot be guaranteed. Whereas, with a date in early - mid February, the havan is very well attended, a large number of devotees chant the full Bhagavad Gita and the havan concludes with mahaprasad. If you're in Singapore, you must participate. Hari Om and Namaskar until the next post.

December 17, 2010: Gita Jayanti Today is a special day. On this day, several thousand years ago, Shri Krishna rescued Arjuna from the depths of despondency on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. I discovered that the Holy Geeta Ready Reference had the Srimad Bhagavad Gita Ashtottaranamavali, the 108 mantras to do archana at the altar of the Gita. So, I placed my copy of the Holy Gita on the altar, chanting the 108 mantras and offered flowers. The mantras are enchanting and give you a bird's eye view of what the Gita offers. At some point, I will try and get the whole text scanned or composed for use on the web and try and get some blog posts on it but would definitely recommend you get the book. The ashtottara was composed by Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji and is marked by his distinctive style of simple, yet elegant, Samskritam. While chanting the Gita itself this morning, another memory flooded in. The mellifluous chanting of the Bhagavad Gita by Pujya Swami Brahmanandaji has made my ...

December 17, 2010, Vaikuntha ekadasi OM shrI gaNeshaaya namaH  ।।  ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः ।। OM shrI Chinmaya sadgurave namaH  ।।  ॐ श्री चिन्मय सद्गुरवे नमः ।। OM shrI tejomayaaya namaH  ।।  ॐ श्री तेजोमयाय नमः ।। OM shrI sarasvatyai namaH  ।।  ॐ श्री सरस्वत्यै नमः ।। Looking at the world, to help understand the Gita and to understand the world, through the meaning of the Gita is a fascinating exercise. I start this project to post my own musings on aspects of the Bhagavad Geeta that appeal, that charm, and ultimately help me grow. I admit that there is a certain arrogance to feeling that my personal musings are worth sharing. My prayer is that this becomes a way for me to frequently reflect on what the Bhagavad Geeta means to me personally. Prostrations to my Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayanandaji. He brought me the power and tejas (brilliance) of the Geeta. Pranams to Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji. Guruji showed me the beauty, the hidden gems, th...