Re:gItAsatsang: Atha Shrimad Bhagwad Gita

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Prabodh:

 

You have made some excellent points on your recent post with the

discussion using the first verse of Bhagavad Gita. You have

demonstrated your scholarship with a compelling but smooth flow of

logic. Specifically your explanation of the reference to

"DharmaKshetre KuruKshetre" brought some new insights to our

understandings. I am glad to see that you diverted your attention

more to the philosophical points instead of the historical facts. By

this post, you have confirmed the poetical ability of Vedavyasa and

the spiritual message of the very first verse of Gita.

 

Now I want to follow it up with some suggestions and questions:

 

Please don't change the thread title by adding the names such as

Ramchandranji, Sunderji, Geethaji, etc. This unnecessarily complicates

the thread title for future references and it unintentionally creates

new threads without new substance. Let us not start some new

traditions to further complicate the identification of message vs.

personalities.

 

Also please note that most of us understand the distinction between

`story' and `history' and there is no dispute between us regarding

some exaggeration of events in stories within Ramayan and Mahabharat.

The Hindu religion is quite unique in the sense that spiritual

messages were communicated through stories. Stories are the backbone

of Hindu Culture where the derivation of morals from the story was

quite simple and straight forward. A good example is the Panchatantra

stories where the story may not believable but everyone loves to see

the animals talk and behave like human beings! The Hindu tradition

somehow found that the most effective way of teaching the religion and

the morals is through stories, sometimes they are believable and other

times they are unbelievable. Most of us who read the Ramayan and

Mahabharat focus more on the ideals behind the characters rather than

on the story behind them.

 

With your article explaining verse 1 of chapter 1 you have

communicated your deep belief and conviction of your viewpoints.

However, any continuation of a new thread of Gitasatsang starting all

over from Chapter 1 may become a duplication of the chapters already

discussed. Such an effort will also divert our attention from the on

going discussion coordinated by Sri Sunder. A more productive

approach should be to use your scholarship and energy by discussing

your viewpoints on the ongoing Gitasatsang of Chapter 5. This is

just a suggestion and I hope that you agree. Please feel free to

express your interpretations without any hesitation as long as it

pertain to the subject matter and list guidelines. You indicated in

your previous posting that you are young and it is His Grace that you

are endowed with keen interest and scholarship on Ramayan, Mahabharat

and Gita. By sharing your knowledge with all the members of this

list, you will be helping us purifying our minds along with self

purification of your mind,

 

warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I would like to express my full concurrence with Ram-ji's

comments, and thank Sri Prabodh for the clarifications.

No energy is ever lost in discussing any aspect of Gita,

because as Sri Krishna has pointed out a study of Gita itself is a

j~naan-yaj~na [18:70].

My sincere apologies if my comments have come across

as 'baculine'. To attribute resistance to accepting a hypothesis

to 'religious ego' [individual or 'ad populum'] is not a fair

characterisation was the point I tried to make.

The Rishi poets were masters of allegory, and to imply that

because allegory is used the history did not happen is to walk on

thin ice.

 

Regards,

 

s.

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "Ram Chandran" <rchandran@c...> wrote:

> Namaste Sri Prabodh:

>

> You have made some excellent points on your recent post with the

> discussion using the first verse of Bhagavad Gita. You have

> demonstrated your scholarship with a compelling but smooth flow of

> logic. Specifically your explanation of the reference to

> "DharmaKshetre KuruKshetre" brought some new insights to our

> understandings. I am glad to see that you diverted your attention

> more to the philosophical points instead of the historical facts.

By

> this post, you have confirmed the poetical ability of Vedavyasa

and

> the spiritual message of the very first verse of Gita.

>

> Now I want to follow it up with some suggestions and questions:

>

> Please don't change the thread title by adding the names such as

> Ramchandranji, Sunderji, Geethaji, etc. This unnecessarily

complicates

> the thread title for future references and it unintentionally

creates

> new threads without new substance. Let us not start some new

> traditions to further complicate the identification of message vs.

> personalities.

>

> Also please note that most of us understand the distinction between

> `story' and `history' and there is no dispute between us regarding

> some exaggeration of events in stories within Ramayan and

Mahabharat.

> The Hindu religion is quite unique in the sense that spiritual

> messages were communicated through stories. Stories are the

backbone

> of Hindu Culture where the derivation of morals from the story was

> quite simple and straight forward. A good example is the

Panchatantra

> stories where the story may not believable but everyone loves to

see

> the animals talk and behave like human beings! The Hindu tradition

> somehow found that the most effective way of teaching the religion

and

> the morals is through stories, sometimes they are believable and

other

> times they are unbelievable. Most of us who read the Ramayan and

> Mahabharat focus more on the ideals behind the characters rather

than

> on the story behind them.

>

> With your article explaining verse 1 of chapter 1 you have

> communicated your deep belief and conviction of your viewpoints.

> However, any continuation of a new thread of Gitasatsang starting

all

> over from Chapter 1 may become a duplication of the chapters

already

> discussed. Such an effort will also divert our attention from the

on

> going discussion coordinated by Sri Sunder. A more productive

> approach should be to use your scholarship and energy by discussing

> your viewpoints on the ongoing Gitasatsang of Chapter 5. This is

> just a suggestion and I hope that you agree. Please feel free to

> express your interpretations without any hesitation as long as it

> pertain to the subject matter and list guidelines. You indicated

in

> your previous posting that you are young and it is His Grace that

you

> are endowed with keen interest and scholarship on Ramayan,

Mahabharat

> and Gita. By sharing your knowledge with all the members of this

> list, you will be helping us purifying our minds along with self

> purification of your mind,

>

> warmest regards,

>

> Ram Chandran