Gita Satsang: Swami Paramathananda's Message from Gita

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namaste,

 

In the incomparable poetry of the Gita, the sequence is:

 

" dhyaayate vishhayaanpu.nsaH

sa~Ngasteshhupajaayate .

sa~Ngaatsa~njaayate kaamaH

kaamaatkrodho.abhijaayate .

krodhaadbhavati saMmohaH

saMmohaatsmR^itivibhramaH

smR^itibhra.nshaadbuddhinaashaH

buddhinaashaatpraNashyati .. " 2:62 & 63.

 

Contemplating on the objects (to satisfy desires) produces attachment;

attachment leads to desire; lack of fulfilling them leads to anger;

from anger results delusion; from delusion forgetfulness (of one's true

nature - contentment); from forgetfulness loss of discrimination;

which is the root of ruin.

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

 

 

 

 

----Original Message Follows----

"Ram Chandran" <chandran

advaitin

"advaitin" <advaitin >

Gita Satsang: Swami Paramathananda's Message from Gita

Wed, 5 Jan 100 07:04:06 -0500

 

Contentment, Key to Man's Happiness: Swami Paramarthananda's Message from

Gita

 

Desire is the motive for all human actions. Legitimate desires which do not

transgress Dharma have scriptural sanction but human nature is such that

fulfilment is rare in worldly life. As soon as one desire is fulfilled

another raises its head and life thus becomes a perennial strife without

contentment at any stage. In fact, one finds to one's dismay that it is not

possible to satiate one's endless desires. This must lead a

right-thinking person to analyse the reason why contentment is so elusive.

All desires are the expressions of one basic desire i.e., the feeling of

incompleteness or unhappiness about the present situation. According to

Vedanta it is the finite "I", the ego, which seeks to become complete, the

infinite, but this is not possible.

 

One can easily understand that the whole approach is illogical because any

number of finite additions cannot become the infinite. Out of ignorance man

tries to find happiness by fulfilling his desires as and when they arise

with the hope of realizing infinite bliss. This basic ignorance will become

apparent only when one takes to spiritual life and scriptural study.

 

Desire is not the only weakness of man but anger also, which makes a person

violent. Violence in any form is sinful and spiritually retrograde. Desire

and anger make a person extroverted and violent; hence he becomes unfit to

follow the spiritual path. Though they appear to be different, desire and

anger were not separate entities but two sides of the same coin, said Swami

Paramarthananda in his lecture on the Bhagavad Gita. Frustrated desire

turns into anger and fulfilled ones lead to greed. How does one tackle

this situation? Lord Krishna points out how desires will lead to the loss

of discrimination, "As a flame is covered by smoke, mirror by dirt, and

embryo by the amnion, so is knowledge covered by desire." There is no need

to emphasize the importance of discrimination in day-to-day life. If one

allows desires to blind one's rational thinking, all judgments and actions

will be affected.

 

The examples given in this verse in the Gita is further helpful in

understanding how the problem can be resolved. First is the possibility of

assessing the situation rationally, considering its practicality, if it is

not possible to renounce the desire. Another method of approach will be to

satiate the desire to find out whether one derives contentment and

eventually try to grow out of it. In some cases as in the case of the

growing foetus, the only recourse will be to wait patiently because only

with time can one hope to expect a change in attitude.

 

Source: An Article from the Religious Section of The Hindu taken with

permission: "Copyrights 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc."

 

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