Salute to Mother Geeta - Śrī Bhagavad Gītā Jayanti and Happy Anniversary

December 23, 2012

Today is the auspicious occasion of Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā Jayanti (Anniversary). It is said that on this holy Ekadashi day, over 5-6000 years ago, Śrī Kṛṣṇa taught this sacred message to the warrior Arjuna. It is also marks the second anniversary of the day that I started this blog. On this occasion, I invoke the 1st verse of the Geeta Dhyanam, attributed to Śrī Madhusudan Saraswati.
ँ़ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेनस्वयं
व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् ।
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीं अष्टदशाध्यायिनीं
अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ।। १ ।।

OM paarthaya pratibodhitaa.m bhagavataa naaraayaNenasvaya.m
vyaasenagrathitaa.n puraaNamuninaa madhye mahaabhaaratam.h |
advaitaamR^itvarshhiNii.n bhagavatii.n ashTadashaadhyaayinii.n
ambatvaamanusandadhaami bhagavadgiite bhavadveshhiNiim.h | | 1 | |

OM, O Bhagavad Gītā, by which Pārtha (Arjuna) was enlightened by the Lord Nārāyaṇa himself, which was incorporated in the Mahābhārata by the ancient sage Vyāsa, the Divine Mother, who showers, the nectar of the philosophy of Advaita in the form of eighteen chapters, upon Thee, O Blessed Mother, I constantly meditate. You are the sure antidote, i.e. destroyer of Saṁsāra (cycle of birth and death).

To quote Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji:

"Without reverence, respect and faith for the very textbook in hand, no serious study can ever take place; therefore, the very first stanza for meditation is dedicated to register our reverence and express our adoration to the Divine Mother Gītā Herself.

In the last line, the Gītā is addressed and approached as a mother and this is to be understood as very significant. The Gītā Mother, that gave birth to the universal religion, is the one to whom the children of any age can always confidently turn, expecting but total forgiveness and complete love, even after they have committed a million outrageous acts.

Constant remembrance of the way of life and the ideal goal of existence as indicated in the Gītā is therefore the surest and best method of revering and respecting Mother Gītā."

My praNām to the Guru Shishya Paramparā, Parama Guru Swami Tapovan Maharaj (whose Jayanti is also observed today) and Param Pujya Gurudev. A gentle nudge to checkout on this page today.

For those in Singapore, please checkout http://gitajayanti.org.sg/ for details of innumerable activities, competitions and the magnificent havan that is performed every year in honor of Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā.

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

PS: The picture shown is of the chariot that adorns the gate to Gangaji at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh in the Himalayas.

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...

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

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...

Everyday Geeta

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