Everyday Geeta

September 2, 2014 As Arundhati and I waited to pick our son up from tabla class, we suddenly saw a cluster of photographers chase a fashionably dressed lady in front of a trendy restaurant in Singapore. For the next several minutes, the young lady tossed her head hither and thither and struck a multitude of poses as the photographers clicked away on their fancy DSLR cameras. Given the lack of frenzy that is said to surround celebrities and the paparazzi who stalk them (did you just ask, "how do I know?"), Arundhati and I concluded that this was a group of student photographers who were practicing their craft on a live model outdoors. Within 10 minutes, I had come to the earth shattering conclusion that I was not cut out to be a supermodel. How could any rational person want to preen on demand so that a photographer caught the perfect image? And on why on earth did it require so many shots? Imagine if it was the old days of film photography? These guys would be bankrupt expos...

January 26, 2014 India's Republic day is a good day for me to resume posting to this blog after a hiatus of over 8 weeks. The impetus for this came from listening to Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji's audio talks on the " Art of Man Making ". The audio and the accompanying book are the results of 114 talks on All India Radio by Pujya Gurudev in the 1960s. The talks are wonderful, crisp, lyrical at times, yet always marked by the razor-sharp insights into the Bhagavad Geeta, the familiar hallmark of Pujya Gurudev's teaching. As he sets the context for the first chapter, Gurudev vividly lays out the setting of the Bhagavad Geeta. (the Upanishads) are given out in an atmosphere of quietude and in an inner mood of total dispassion. The hum of the Ganges, the hymn of the eternal snow peaks and the salubrious climate are all conspicuous witnesses in the Upanishadic literature. Even the students who listen to the declaration of these Rishis are calm and cool, s...

December 1, 2013 In my last post, I discussed Śrī Kṛṣṇa's masterful marketing technique as seen in the Bhagavad Geeta. Now we will continue to see how He expertly seeks to keep us on "the path of virtue, courage and wisdom" . Śrī Kṛṣṇa is never shy as He waxes lyrical about the nature of the knowledge He is set to reveal in chapter 9. In 9-2, he describes the knowledge as a “ Royal secret, the King of all Knowledge, supremely purifying” ( राजविद्या राजगुह्यं पवित्रमिदमुत्तमम् - raajavidyaa raajaguhyaM pavitramidamuttamam.h) . He says it can be “ known by direct intuition ” (प्रत्यक्षावगमं - pratyakShaavagamaM) and “ easy to practice ” (सुसुखं - susukhaM).। There is reason to believe Śrī Kṛṣṇa because in 18-73, Arjuna declares unequivocally “ my delusion is destroyed ” (नष्टो मोहः - nashhTo mohaH). The delusion that inspired Arjuna to accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as his teacher is gone and in keeping with Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s assurance, having gained this knowledge, Arjuna knows there is not...

August 25, 2013 A while back I had posted on "Redefining Sin". I somehow missed a very good quote in the Holy Geeta by Param Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayanandaji . In Geeta 10-3, there is a discussion of one who is "freed from all sins" , सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते In his commentary on Geeta 10-3, Swamiji says: An individual is not punished for his sins, but he is punished by his sins. Sin is a self-insulting act arising out of a misunderstanding in the sinner as to his identity. When one wanders away from one's own Real Nature as the Self, identifies oneself with the happenings of the world and behaves as a mass of repulsive flesh, or a bundle of throbbing emotions, or a pack of ideas, one is in a manner, dishonouring one's Godly dignity and divine status. Such acts and thoughts chain a person down to a pursuit of the low pleasures only, never allowing him to rise above and climb the higher peaks of real Perfection. On re-discovering the nature of the Self and...

August 24, 2013 Always available here ! Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

August 8, 2013 भक्तोऽसि मे सखा चेति ||४-३|| bhakto.asi me sakhaa cheti .. 4-3.. for you are My devotee and My friend An absolutely adorable picture taken by Arvind Ramteke @ Pandharpur last month during the recent pilgrimage. The month of अाषाढ (ãṣāḍha - typically in the June-July period) is a particularly auspicious time to visit Pandharpur and have darshan of Lord Viṭhobā (विठोबा - the same form captured in this picture). The quote is something sweet that Śrī Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad Geeta. Param Pujya Swami Chinmayanandaji in his Holy Geeta commentary explains why this statement is key to the message of the Bhagavad Geeta. Mind and intellect blossom forth only in a warm climate of love and freedom, friendship and mutual understanding. Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

July 26, 2013 On my recent flight from Singapore to Mumbai, I saw Carnage , a movie starring Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet. I was blown away by this contemporary reflection on anger and the destructive power of speech. The movie is set in the background of a playground fight between two 11-year old boys. Zachary beat up Ethan with a hockey stick and broke two of his teeth. The boys' parents meet in a nice New York apartment to discuss how they should handle it like civilised parents. This clip provides the context while this tells you where these sophisticated New York parents got to. That is by no means the end of the argument. I can't count the number of times, when prompted by anger, I have said things, unintentionally revealing my ugly side. क्रोध (krodha), anger and its impact, is well laid out in verse 2-63. क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः | स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ||२-६३|| krodhaadbhavati sammohaH sammohaatsmR^itivibhramaH . smR^it...

June 9, 2013 In Bhagavad Geeta 6-8, there is an interesting phrase. समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ....to whom a lump of earth, a stone and gold are the same Literally, such a person described by this phrase could be considered a fool who is easily separated from his money. Personally, I recall my mother telling me the story of a stranger who approached my grandfather while travelling by train in India in the 60s. He claimed to be a jeweller and told that my grandfather that what he thought were diamond ear-rings were worthless. My grandfather came home to report how the kindly stranger did him a favor by offering to buy those off him for a small sum. My poor grandfather sold the earrings and never was forgiven for this by his daughters! Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji in commenting upon this verse, puts it very all in context, very simply. He says (and what follows below is not a direct quote) that this सम or sameness (now you know where the English word comes from) implies a few things: Ea...

February 28, 2013 Concluding the series on the Lord's vishwarūpa , we now come to Arjuna's declaration: अदृष्टपूर्वं हृषितोऽस्मि दृष्ट्वा भयेन च प्रव्यथितं मनो मे | तदेव मे दर्शय देव रूपं प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास ||११-४५|| adR^iShTapUrva.n hR^iShito.asmi dR^iShTvA bhayena cha pravyathitaM mano me . tadeva me darshaya deva rUpaM prasIda devesha jagannivAsa .. 11\-45.. I am delighted, having seen what was never seen before; and (yet) my mind is distressed with fear. Show me your previous form only, O God; have mercy, O God of gods, O Abode of the Universe. Like Arjuna, if this journey leaves you fascinated, bewitched, puzzled, dis-satisfied and yet wanting to know more, Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji has conveyed his sympathies in his commentary, The Holy Geeta : A limited human intellect is not the instrument with which one can perceive in one sweep the Infinite majesty of the Universal-Form. It must necessarily stand staggered at the vastness of the concept and the ...

February 24, 2013 Continuing the series on the Lord's vishwarūpa , we now move from the Lord's magnificent creation to the उग्र or fierce form. In verses 11-26 & 27, Arjuna says: अमी च त्वां धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्राः सर्वे सहैवावनिपालसङ्घैः । भीष्मो द्रोणः सूतपुत्रस्तथासौ सहास्मदीयैरपि योधमुख्यैः ||११-२६|| वक्त्राणि ते त्वरमाणा विशन्ति दंष्ट्राकरालानि भयानकानि | केचिद्विलग्ना दशनान्तरेषु सन्दृश्यन्ते चूर्णितैरुत्तमाङ्गैः ||११-२७|| amī ca tvāṁ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ sarve sahaivāvanipālasaṁghaiḥ bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūtaputras tathāsau sahāsmadīyair api yodhamukhyaiḥ 11.26 vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti daṁṣṭrākarālāni bhayānakāni kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu saṁdṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ 11.27 All the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra with hosts of kings of the earth, Bhīshma, Droṇa and the son of a charioteer, Karṇa, with the warrior chiefs of ours; Enter in haste, into Your mouths, with terrible teeth, and fearful to behold. Some are found caught in the gaps between the teeth with their heads cr...

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...

December 30, 2012 Thanks to NPR 's TED Radio Hour broadcast on the " Power of Crowds ", I present Marcin Jakubowski and Open Source Ecology . It is a great follow-up to my earlier post on Wikipedia's 10th Anniversary . In that post, I had extolled Wikipedia as a great example of the यज्ञ that is at the heart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's prescription of Karma Yoga as the road to freedom from the bondage of action. Take this wonderful TED talk by Marcin Jakubowski and take a look at the Open Source Ecology website (OSE). I realized that the truly appropriate, low-cost tools that I needed to start a sustainable farm and settlement just didn't exist yet. I needed tools that were robust, modular, highly efficient and optimized, low-cost, made from local and recycled materials that would last a lifetime, not designed for obsolescence. I found that I would have to build them myself. So I did just that. And I tested them. And I found that industrial productivity can be achieved o...

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 s...

December 12, 2012 In Geeta 3-10, Śrī Kṛṣṇa states: सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः | अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ||३-१०|| At the beginning (of creation), having created mankind, together with sacrifices, The PRAJAPATI (the Creator),said, "by this shall you prosper; let this be the milch-cow of your desire - "Kāmadhuk" (the mythological cow which yields all desired objects). I came across a wonderful letter by Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji in my personal collection. Pujya Gurudev always referred to his public Geeta talks as Geeta Gnana Yagna borrowing from verse 4-33 in which Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares that Gnana Yagna is superior to any form of material Yagna. He also referred to the process of organizing the Yagna as an exercise in working in the Yagna spirit as in the verse above. Pujya Gurudev constantly guided us (the organizers) with boundless compassion, yet was always insistent on high quality planning to ensure that the audience be a...

December 8, 2012 The video above shows failure of the first launch of the SpaceX mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) on May 19, 2012. Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji once used the example of a failed spacecraft liftoff to describe the why tuning the mind is so critical on the spiritual path. In Geeta 18-67, Śrī Kṛṣṇa clearly warns of unqualified people trying to understand the Bhagavad Geeta. He is pretty explicit in his caution: इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन | न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति ||१८-६७|| idaM te naatapaskaaya naabhaktaaya kadaachana . na chaashushruushhave vaachya.n na cha maa.n yo.abhyasuuyati .. 18-67.. This is never to be spoken by you to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion, nor to one who does not render service, nor to one who desires not to listen, nor to one who cavils at Me (speaks ill of me). In the " Holy Geeta ", Swamiji says: Verses like this in a śāstra are meant as instructions for the students on h...

December 6, 2012 अर्जुन उवाच | मदनुग्रहाय परमं गुह्यमध्यात्मसंज्ञितम् | यत्त्वयोक्तं वचस्तेन मोहोऽयं विगतो मम ||११-१|| arjuna uvaacha . madanugrahaaya paramaM guhyamadhyaatmasa.nGYitam.h . yattvayokta.n vachastena moho.ayaM vigato mama .. 11-1.. By this word of the highest secret concerning the Self, which You have spoken out of compassion towards me, my delusion is gone. Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji in "The Holy Geeta" on chapter 11-1. To realize the "Unity in Diversity" is to get an inoculation against the sorrows of plurality. What is the "Unity" vaccine? See Geeta 18-20 सर्वभूतेषु येनैकं भावमव्ययमीक्षते | अविभक्तं विभक्तेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि सात्त्विकम् ||१८-२०|| sarvabhuuteshhu yenaikaM bhaavamavyayamiikShate . avibhakta.n vibhakteshhu tajGYaanaM viddhi saattvikam.h .. 18-20.. That by which one sees the one indestructible reality in all beings, undivided in the divided, know that "knowledge" as SATTWIC (Pure). Hari Om and Namask...

November 13, 2012 In 13-28, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says: समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् | विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति..13-28.. samaM sarveshhu bhuuteshhu tishhThantaM parameshvaram.h . vinashyatsvavinashyanta.n yaH pashyati sa pashyati .. 13-28.. He indeed sees, who sees the Supreme Lord existing equally in all beings, the imperishable in the perishing (world). Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post The picture shown is from sacred space created within the exhibition dedicated to Param Pujya Swami Chinmayanandaji at Chinmaya Vibhooti

October 28, 2012 Pujya Swami Swaroopanandaji kicked off a very interesting series of talks in Singapore. Titled, " 14 Spiritual Laws of Success ", the talks started on Friday October 25 at the RELC Auditorium in Singapore. The talks go through till October 30th. The first two laws directly relate to Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Geeta. They succinctly encapsulate Śrī Kṛṣṇa's teaching in verses 2-11 to 2-28. The first law according to Swamiji is the Law of Eternity. The Self is Eternal, undying. Swamiji quoted Geeta 2-20: न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन् नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः | अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ||२-२०|| na jaayate mriyate vaa kadaachin.h naayaM bhuutvaa bhavitaa vaa na bhuuyaH . ajo nityaH shaashvato.ayaM puraaNo na hanyate hanyamaane shariire .. 2-20.. He is not born, nor does He ever die; after having been, He again ceases not to be; Unborn, Eternal, Changeless and Ancient, He is not killed when the body is killed. According to Swamiji, t...

October 14, 2012 This is how the Bhagavad Geeta comes together for me....

September 24, 2012 It is a strange situation when people undertake a pilgrimage that is a saatvik (noble, pure action) activity but becomes an expression of tamas (stupid, thoughtless attitude). This India Today report of the Amarnath yātris who produce fake medical certificates of fitness to go to Amarnath is a sad story. This is a quote from the report: Dr. Anita Murthy, who volunteered to serve Amarnath yatris at the Baltal base camp, said most of the medical certificates given to the pilgrims certifying that they were fit for the yatra were obtained through fraudulent means. "Their medical certificates are not genuine. Action needs to be taken against doctors who issue such certificates," she said. According to her, most of the yatris have respiratory, cardiac and orthopaedic problems. "Many yatris do not come with adequate clothing and commence climbing without any acclimatization, attempting to complete the yatra in the shortest possible time. Bhagavad Geeta 18-2...