Everyday Geeta

January 27, 2012 My frequency of posting has recently reduced. Hope this one kick starts the series of posts in 2012. I have posted previously on the Online Gita course conducted by the Chinmaya International Foundation. I have been doing it since July and I am on lesson 5, a bit behind where I should be. Their expectation is that one does two lessons per month - however, just haven't had the time. In my previous post on the " Lord as Dentist " I have discussed Geeta 3-8. The succinct pointers on duty in lesson 5 are very interesting. Without giving much away, here they are: Duties come unasked Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to duties (as it is for the law) Duties are thankless Duties have no special rewards Duties and responsibilities increase with age and stature Lots of food for thought there. BTW, I have made it very easy for readers to subscribe to my posts by email. Just enter your email address on the top right of the post and hit the submit button. Also, ...

January 4, 2011 - Vaikuntha Ekadashi Arjuna presents a beautiful tribute to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Chapter 10, possibly indicating finally that he accepts Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Lord and is very eager to know more about His nature. I present it below without commentary from me. अर्जुन उवाच | परं ब्रह्म परं धाम पवित्रं परमं भवान् | पुरुषं शाश्वतं दिव्यमादिदेवमजं विभुम् ||१०-१२|| arjuna uvaacha . paraM brahma paraM dhaama pavitraM paramaM bhavaan.h . purushhaM shaashvataM divyamaadidevamajaM vibhum.h .. 10-12.. Arjuna said: You are the Supreme BRAHMAN, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, Eternal, Divine PURUSHA, the God of all gods, Unborn, Omnipresent. आहुस्त्वामृषयः सर्वे देवर्षिर्नारदस्तथा | असितो देवलो व्यासः स्वयं चैव ब्रवीषि मे ||१०-१३|| aahustvaamR^ishhayaH sarve devarshhirnaaradastathaa . asito devalo vyaasaH svaya.n chaiva braviishhi me .. 10-13.. All the RISHIS have described you in this way, as also the DEVA-RISHI Narada, and the sages Asita, Devala and Vyasa; and now You Yourself say ...

January 4, 2012 - Vaikuntha Ekadashi Gandhiji being weighed during the 21-day fast for Hindu-Muslim unity, Delhi, 1924 On this holy day, my eyes strayed to a book that I have owned for a few years but hadn't read properly. Eknath Easwaran has profiled Mahatma Gandhi beautifully in his book "Gandhi, The Man" . A Geeta blog is the perfect venue to review a book written by a noted teacher of the Geeta about that colossus of the 20th century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi . Shri Easwaranji was an accomplished spiritual teacher based in California, and has written a three volume set "Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living ". Shri Easwaranji approaches Gandhiji's story as a story of transformation, not focusing on his political accomplishments but on how Gandhiji transformed the struggle for India's freedom by changing himself and his approach to life and to the world. Aptly, the subtitle of Shri Easwaran's book is "The Story of His Transformation". As qu...