Everyday Geeta

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...

September 10, 2011 We're very familiar with before and after images that are embedded in every weight loss or hair restoration ad. Below is a typical ad for hair treatment from the web. We can easily find many word pictures in the Geeta that demonstrate this before and after effect except that the transformation is spiritual. Guruji once referred to the dramatic transformation of Arjuna's mindset. In verse 2-1, Sañjaya describes Arjuna as कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् विषीदन्तं kR^ipay-aavishhTam-ashrupuurN-aakulekShaNam.h vishhiidantamida.n or "overcome with pity and despondency, with eyes full of tears and agitated" . The same man in Geeta 18-73 declares emphatically, नष्टो मोहः स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव nashhTo mohaH sthito.asmi gatasandehaH karishhye vachanaM tava "My delusion is destroyed. I am firm; my doubts are gone. I will do according to your word" . There are others sprinkled in different chapters. Geeta chapter 3 offers this: Befo...

September 4, 2011 I came across an interesting citation in the Wikipedia entry for the Bhagavad Gita . An article in Business Week asks if the Bhagavad Gita is replacing the Art of War as the text of choice in MBA programs. An exaggerated claim but nectar to my ears, neverthless. The trigger for the article was a 2006 trip by Swami Parthasarathy that included several corporate seminars. The article also includes an interesting slide show show casing leading Management experts of Indian origin. Enjoy. Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

September 3, 2011 Phil Jackson led the Chicago Bulls and later the Los Angeles Lakers to a total of 11 NBA championships. Add that to his own 1973 NBA championship ring as a reserve for the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson easily deserves the title of "all time great" in any sport. In his book, 'Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior' which Jackson co-authored with Hugh Delehanty, Jackson lays out the combination of Christianity, Zen Buddhism and the religion of Sioux Lakota that formed the foundation of his approach to coaching the Chicago Bulls. Given that the book was published in 1995, there are no references to his coaching the LA Lakers. At the outset, let me be clear, Jackson does not reference the Bhagavad Geeta or Hinduism in his book. Yet, for me Jackson's philosophy finds several echoes in the Geeta and that makes me a big fan of the book. It is difficult to limit oneself to only a few quotes from the book. Here are some: My dream was not ju...

August 31, 2011 My blog is predicated on the view that the Geeta as teaching relevant in daily life. That is why I particularly liked a recent post in which Padma Kuppa has an interesting angle on the Dumbledore - Harry Potter relationship. Padma makes sure that readers get a flavor of the true meaning of the word Guru as opposed to the caricature that underlies common use of the word. I had the same response as Padma to a particular dialog in the last Harry Potter blockbuster. And the final question Harry poses Dumbledore is a testament to the beauty and complexity of what a disciple can learn from the guru: "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?" Dumbledore's response? "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" That is the faith to which only a guru can lead one. In the Geeta, Arjuna's relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not quite as tortured as the one between Harry Potter ...

August 28, 2011 In today's world, we assume that retirement is freedom from work. Yet, in the Geeta's vision, no one is ever free from work. Śrī Kṛṣṇa categorically declares in Geeta 3-5: न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् | na hi kashchitkShaNamapi jaatu tishhThatyakarmakR^it.h . No one can remain without performing action even for a moment . Yet, everyone dreams of being free from the rat race, dream of escaping nasty bosses, insufferable colleagues and the compelling need to put food on the table and pay the bills. (For this discussion, I will use the words action and work interchangeably even though there are clear distinctions from a transactional point of view) Śrī Kṛṣṇa, ever the pragmatist, recognizes this universal aspiration for freedom from work and throws in a teaser: यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः | आत्मन्येव च सन्तुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ||३-१७|| yastvaatmaratireva syaadaatmatR^iptashcha maanavaH . aatmanyeva cha santushhTastasya kaaryaM na vi...