Gita Satsang: Prerequisites of Spiritual Life

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An Article from The Hindu on Message from Gita

 

A spiritual aspirant who adopts the path of action (Karm yog) enunciated in

the Bhagavad Gita must constantly remember the scriptural guidelines while

applying it in his daily life because it involves conscious reorientation of

all actions to the ultimate goal, which is liberation from rebirths. The

material end which results from every action must be subservient to the

spiritual goal. This requires a discriminating mind which should be able to

understand clearly what is eternal and what is ephemeral in life. Except the

spiritual end, all other achievements in life are not lasting. To enable the

seeker to remember the spiritual goal, the mind must be attuned properly

without allowing it to be distracted. Otherwise, it will always be preoccupied

with material ends. The only way to remain true to the goal is through

involving God in all actions, the reason being that all other ends have an

element of impurity because they are material. By remembering God in all

endeavors even routine actions become worship of the Divine.

 

In his lecture on the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Paramarthananda said that the

aspirant must have absolute faith in divine dispensation. Mental preparedness

to accept the result of one's action as God's grace (Prasada), especially when

it is unfavourable, with equanimity of mind, is important spiritually. If one

meets with success then one must not take the credit, but accept that as an

act of divine grace. It is important to remember that human effort is

absolutely necessary in every action. As the impediments that arise may be

beyond one's control, to thwart them God's grace is essential. Most of the

problems in life are due to the reason that one does not enjoy what one does.

This can be seen especially in the case of a person's avocation which he may

be doing due to family commitments. This creates unnecessary tensions and

conflicts in life. What is the way out for those who are caught in such a

situation? If one does not have a choice to switchover to a job of one's

liking, one has to make a conscious effort to enjoy doing it.

 

Contrary to the general notion that one who takes to the spiritual path gets

divorced from worldly life, only a person who has oriented his life to the

spiritual goal develops a balanced perspective of life. Without being cynical

he is an embodiment of optimism and compassion, develops serenity of mind

accepting the vicissitudes of life with the certain knowledge that God is

just.

 

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

permission: "Copyrights

2000 The Hindu & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc."