Everyday Geeta

October 15, 2013 Ram Dass is an American teacher of Hinduism and is the author of " Be Here Now ." His recent blog post has a very neat explanation for the famous Geeta verse that is traditionally chanted before a meal. ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम् | ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ||४-२४|| brahmaarpaNaM brahma havirbrahmaagnau brahmaNaa hutam.h . brahmaiva tena gantavyaM brahmakarmasamaadhinaa .. 4-24.. BRAHMAN is the oblation; BRAHMAN is the clarified butter, etc. , constituting the offerings; by BRAHMAN is the oblation poured into the fire of BRAHMAN; BRAHMAN verily shall be reached by him who always sees BRAHMAN in all actions. This translation above is by Param Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananadaji and can often puzzle those unfamiliar with the cryptic manner of the Hindu texts. Here is how Ram Dass puts it: Now, when I bless food, the statement I say, when I say grace, is an old Sanskrit one. It means "This offering of this little r...

October 2, 2013 Today is Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. It is wonderful that earlier this year, that the Navajivan Trust released a beautiful coffee table book containing 100 Tributes to Gandhiji . According to www.mkgandhi.org , a website that is an incomparable resource for all things related to the Father of the Nation, on June 15th, 2007, the United Nations adopted a resolution that declared October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence, aka अंतरराष्ट्रीय अहिंसा दिवस . The book itself is illustrated by wonderful pencil portraits of Gandhiji drawn by Ramesh Thaakar and the story of how this book came about is a treat in itself. I intend to get this the next time I am in India. I also came across a beautiful book, Epigrams from Gandhiji compiled by Shri SR Tikekar. One beautiful one in that relevant to us is: Let the Gita be to you a mine of diamonds, as it has been to me: let it be your constant guide and friend on life's way. Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

October 1, 2013 I find it interesting that an eminently accomplished actor such as Tom Hanks , cannot bring himself to say that it was all free-will. See question at the Tom Hanks AMA and the response by the Oscar winner who played roles such as Forrest Gump.     Click here for more Karma Chronicles posts. Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

September 26, 2013 How steep the fall! From being a nation where our ancient seers have explored the subtlety of karma in all its varied flavors, we now have this... the result of a search for "karma" that led to an ad on some site. Yes, it could be anyone's "fate" (only one of many meanings of karma) that they need a walker and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Is it really an appropriate brand name? Opinions anyone? Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

September 22, 2013 अहिंसा (ahimsa), non-violence or non-injury, is a widely misunderstood term. Mahatma Gandhi deployed ahimsa strategically to oppose the British rule in India. Gandhiji successfully inspired a mass movement of civil disobedience and in the United States, the struggle for civil rights adopted non-violence as a corner-stone. These examples conclusively prove that ahimsa is not a response prompted by cowardice. On the other hand, it is widely assumed that any display of "violence" violates the principle of ahimsa. In Geeta 2-32, Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares: यदृच्छया चोपपन्नं स्वर्गद्वारमपावृतम्। सुखिनः क्षत्रियाः पार्थ लभन्ते युद्धमीदृशम्।।2.32।। yadR^ichchhayaa chopapanna.n svargadvaaramapaavR^itam.h . sukhinaH kShatriyaaH paartha labhante yuddhamiidR^isham.h .. 2-32.. Happy indeed are the kshatriyaas, O Partha, who are called to fight in such a battle, that comes of itself as an open-door to heaven. Again in 2-18 तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत (tasmaadyudhyasva bhaarata)- ...

September 21, 2013 A fascinating article titled " This Is The New Favorite Pastime Of The Business Elite (Hint: It's Not Golf) " on the HuffPo website. Readers of this blog will have seen my earlier posts on meditation , where I have highlighted social trends indicating greater faith in meditation. I have also talked in the past about the value of role models , so if the CEOs of these big corporations motivate you to take up meditation, more power to you. I find it specially interesting that HuffPo prefers to place this under its Healthy Living site, rather than its religion website. The fear is that if something is religious, it might be bad for you. Fortunately, my dear readers never make that mistake! Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

September 20, 2013 Designed by Pujya Swami Mitranandaji . Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post