Skip to main content

Beyond Bhagavad Geeta, Many Geetas!

July 28, 2012

Just back from a camp with Param Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji and Swamini Vimalanandaji at Chinmaya Gardens trust.

An interesting thing that was mentioned by both Guruji and Swamini was the existence of multiple Geetas in our spiritual texts. The literal translation of the word Gita or Geeta is song. However, Swamini explained that in the scriptural sense, Geeta refers to a discussion between teacher and disciple where the focus is on the Truth. We were fortunate to hear talks by Pujya Guruji on:
Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji, himself has spoken on two other Gita texts as far as I am aware:
  • Sri Rama Gita, a dialog between Shri Ramachandraji and his brother, Lakshmanji sourced from Adhyatma Ramayana
  • Ashtavakra Gita, a dialog between Ashtavakra Rishi and Raja Janak. This is a fairly complex dialog revealing some intricate nuances of Vedanta and should not be attempted for self study
Besides, talks of Pujya Guruji on several other Geetas have been published:
  • Kapila Gita, a dialog between Kapila muni with his mother, Devahuti
  • Hamsa Geeta, sourced from the 11th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam
  • Bhikshu Gita, a dialog between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Uddhavji also sourced from Srimad Bhagavatam
Lastly, if you are interested in a nice overview of many such, then make sure to get the book "Divine Songs: The Gītās of India". Pujya Gurudev says in the introduction to this wonderful book: 
"In everyone of them, there is a clear unveiling of the supreme center of Truth within each of us, which is the one Essence behind the entire universe of names and forms."
Shortly, I will share you a few of the gems from the Swamis teaching. Hard to believe that 10 days flew by so quickly. A very useful system recharge...

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Philip Glass and "Satyagraha", the Opera

May 27, 2012 The famous music composer Philip Glass composed an Opera called Satyagraha on Mahatma Gandhi's movement against the South African apartheid laws (strictly speaking the system wasn't officially called apartheid until ater the Second World War). I was intrigued by this because the Wikipedia entry for this opera says that the opera is sung in Sanskrit. Yet the link to the libretto (the latin name for the lyrics of an opera) on the Metropolitan's website, shows the text in English. Act 1 of opera is titled "The Kuru Field of Justice" begins with Gandhiji narrating, "I see them here assembled, ready to fight, seeking to please the King’s sinful son by waging war.” And thus addressed by Arjuna, Krishna brought that splendid chariot to a halt between the two armies. In front of Bhisma and Drona and all the rulers of the world, he said, “Behold Arjuna, these kinsmen assembled here.” And the Prince marked on each hand relatives and friends in both a...
2 comments
Read more