Studying the Geeta - Some Guidelines

Whether you're 15 or 95, it is neither too early nor too late to start the study of Srimad Bhagavad Geeta. This has been conclusively established by mahatmas through the ages.

If you're completely new to the Geeta or Hindu philosophy then two places to start would be:

When Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji started teaching the Gita in English in the 1950s, the options for studying the Gita were limited. Today, it's a smorgasbord of choices. There is a Geeta translation and commentary to suit every type of seeker in innumerable languages. In fact, the Geeta is the 2nd most translated book in the world. However, that complicates our study because though many of the Geeta publications have the same source material, interpretations can differ widely. Hence, we need to choose carefully and having chosen, give the Geeta a chance to flower in our hearts.

Once someone boasted to Pujya Gurudev, "I have been through the Geeta many times." Swamiji retorted instantly, "Yes, but has the Geeta been through you?"

Our study of the Geeta will be more fulfilling provided we keep in mind the following guidelines:

Books are good, they might even provide answers to questions others have had. They can enrich but will never enlighten.
You need a Guru to really understand and make the teaching true for you. As Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji once said, "The book cannot answer your questions, only a Guru can".
No one can force you to go to a Guru - it is entirely upto you. There are many excellent teachers today, one of them is right for you. You will know it when you meet the Guru. As Pujya Gurudev says, "when the student is ready, the teacher will come".
Make sure you keep company with other spiritual seekers such as yourself. Please do not underestimate the power of satsang. More on this topic in a separate post.

Among the many books available, my personal favorite is the Holy Geeta by Pujya Swami Chinmayanandaji. Just the introduction is worth the book. An excellent accompanying reference book is the Holy Gita Ready Reference edited by Swami Advayanandaji.

In June 2011, Chinmaya International Foundation announced an online & postal course on the Bhagavad Geeta. Watch out for my posts and enroll if you can.

Enough said. Start now, and above all, enjoy the study of Srimad Bhagavad Geeta!

Hari Om and Namaskaar.

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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