Salutations to the Masters

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, the vibhooti, many of which still lie undiscovered by me.

My gratitude also, to the other swamis and brahmacharis of the Chinmaya Mission, Swami Shantanandaji and Swamini Vimalanandaji, to name two - their teaching has all spiced up my understanding in unimaginable ways.

I also bow to all great teachers, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda, Shri Eknath Eswaran, Swami Dayanandaji and many more who have inspired me at different times in my seeking.

मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिम् ।

यत्कृपा तमऽहं वन्दे परमानंदमाधवम् ।।

mUka.mkaroti vAchAla.m panghumlanghayate girim . yatkR^ipA tamaha.m vande paramAnanda mAdhavam ..

Prostrations to that Madhava, the source of Infinite Bliss, by whose grace alone, the dumb become eloquent, and the crippled able to scale mountains!

While the above is a prayer for strength in overcoming our handicaps, for a spiritual seeker, it is the grace of Madhava alone that enables us to seek and discuss that Truth which is un-knowable / indescribable and it is He alone who enables us to walk the path to gain that wisdom which is beyond the reach of the mind and intellect!

This project also highlights for me the classic conflict raised by the most famous shloka of the Gita, karmaNyevaadhikaaraste... I have control over the action of contributing and publishing these posts, not much control over who reads it and likes it. Yet, there is no question, I would love for many to read it and am not ready to say that I won't be attached to that result, should it happen... Most certainly, a topic we'll look at again.

Comments welcome.

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post.

Geeta Dhyānaṁ 2 - Vyāsā's Vast Intellect

January 7, 2013 Previously on Geeta Jayanti, I had posted on the eternal debt of gratitude to Mother Geeta that is the basis of Geeta Dhyānaṁ. I love Param Pujya Gurudev 's commentary on the Geeta Dhyānaṁ. Pujya Gurudev's commentary is after the introduction to the Bhagavad Geeta in the commentary on Chapters 1 & 2 published by the the Chinmaya Mission. I personally believe it should be a book by itself. After invoking Mother Geeta, we now pay tribute to the wise Vyāsa Rishi - the Guru whose Jayanti marks Guru Pūrnima every year. Pujya Gurudev starts His tribute to Veda Vyāsā in his commentary on the 1st verse of the Dhyānaṁ. Vyāsa, the father of the Vedās, who, first collected, edited and published the Veda texts and who thereafter, gave us the dialectics of Vedānta in his Brahma Sūtra, himself a great man of realization, was indeed well fitted for the job. The ancient seer had both the mastery of the theoretical science of religion - Hinduism and also the practical expe

Geeta in Literature - IF by Rudyard Kipling

September 12, 2011 I came across a nice YouTube video that is an animation of Rudyard Kipling reading his famous poem IF . The full text sourced from wikisource is below: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same: If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And los

In every field, let Dharma flourish - क्षेत्रे क्षेत्रे धर्म कुरु

August 9, 2012 Swamini Vimalanandaji has done a series of talks at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) called "406 SMS – Sure Mantras for Success from Bhagwad Geeta" (item 406 at this AMA link ). In this she has a very interesting take on the 1st line of the Bhagavad Geeta. धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे १-१ dharmakShetre kurukShetre 1-1 <i> on the holy plain of Kurukshetra... </i> Swamini turns that slightly and says, क्षेत्रे क्षेत्रे धर्म कुरु - kShetre kShetre dharma kuru. Swamini goes on to establish that we can use this mantra to make that: "In every aspect of society, must be pervaded by Dharma" Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

Everyday Geeta

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