Gita Satsang: Update and an article from Hindu - Surrender Must be Absolute

[Guest guest]

Greetings Advaitins:

 

In this article, the message of Gita is described from the Bhakti aspects.

With this we will conclude our preparation for Gita Satsagn which will start

from tomorrow. We follow the Traditional approach with several prayers and

the Gita Dhyana Sloka. During next week, we can share other slokas and prayers

pertain to Bhagavad Gita. This will motivate all of us to read Gita and live

our life following the role models such as Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi,

Vinobhava, Tilak, Rajaji, Chinmayananda, Dayananda Saraswathi, and others.

 

On behalf of Madhavaji, the coordinator of Gita Satsang I request all

advaitins to take the Satsang seriously. By drinking the Gita Rasam (the

essence of Gita), we can purify our mind and soul and make this world better

today and tomorrow.

 

Thanks and we are looking forward to your active participation in the Satsang.

 

Ram Chandran

On Behalf of Madhavaji and other Moderators.

 

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The Hindu Article: Surrender must Be Absolute

 

The Almighty's manifestation in human form as Krishna among His several

incarnations is important to humanity as He assumed the role of a world

teacher and taught the subtle truth of the Self through Arjun to the entire

humanity. Though the Vedas have prescribed various disciplines to realize

God, Lord Krishna had after expounding all the methods in the Gita entreated

Arjun to surrender to Him after renouncing all the other methods, if he is

unable to adopt them. The act of surrender to God as the sole refuge by

which man transfers the responsibility of his spiritual progress to the

Almighty has been hailed as the path which anyone can adopt. But is it easy

in practice?

 

Even Arjun who had the great fortune of being taught the supreme science of

the Self by the Lord Himself, did not develop detachment and total surrender

to God. When his son Abhimanyu died in the war he cried as any other parent

would have done, unable to accept the same as divine will. But, another

character in the same epic who understood that it was divine grace which was

responsible for protecting her family during adversities and submitted to Him

with total faith was Kunti. Her prayer to Lord Krishna after the war stands

testimony to her total surrender to God, ``May calamities befall us at every

step through eternity... for it is in adversity alone that we are blessed

with Your sight, which eliminates the possibility of our seeing another

birth.''

 

In his discourse, Shri Sadagopachariar said Kunti's devotion to Lord Krishna

and her attitude of total surrender to Him enabled her to accept her

personal tragedies in the Mahaabhaarat war with equanimity of mind. Instead

of feeling remorseful about the outcome of the war, she expressed her

gratitude to Him recalling to mind the several instances of His grace.

 

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

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