[Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] 'Gita' the manual of Life

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Hare Krishna,

Our friend Balagopal has created some ripples and riddles by quoting from the

cowherd friends manuel(Gita) 3 stanzas from 3 chapters without taking any effort

to describe what they import.I am also like him not an expert on Gita and

occasionally glanced over the various chapters.Balagopal made me to scramble

thru the chapters and verses to find out what he means when he concluded

understanding and following them will resulr in whatever we want.I am sure most

of the Members also must hv gone thru the Gita reg the same.As this forum is for

discussion I wish to express my opinion and I do not expect the same will be

that of others.But I wish others also to express their opinions so that there

can be some healthy discussion.This is not a forum for competition but to get

more knowledge by exchanging views.

 

On a perusal of Ch 8 st.6 Krishna says whatever being a man thinks of at the

last moment when he leaves his body ,that alone does he attain,O kaundeya ,being

ever absorbed in the thought thereof.Balagopal dubs the same as power of the

spoken words.Well, I dont know what he has in his mind.All know that Gita was

taught some 4500 yeras back and the conditions at that time cannot be compared

to the modern day world of fast life with eversomany problems creeping in

everywhere and life itself has become miserable how could one think of what he

shuld be when he dies?People die in thousands by

bombing,accidents,earthquakes,diseases,communal violence,and other factors.Under

such circumstances when death comes unexpectedly how could he think of what he

wil be after he leaves his body?

Suppose if he has quoted st.5 there is some meaning in that.In that Lord says

" And whoever at the time of death leaving the body goes forth remembering Me

alone ,he attains My being,there is no doubt about this " .In this the essence of

the sum total of the entire thoughts and feelings that hv been taking place in

the mind of man during the span of his life,stands condensed into a single state

of mind at the time of his departure fro the body.To effeect the thought of the

Lord at the last moment is well nigh impossible.Preparation has to go on thru

the life.He who is absorbed in the thought of God while departing from the body

gets merged in Cosmic Consciousness.And this is mukti getting which there is no

more return to mundane life.This is the universal law.Here also other factors

like accidents etc are applicable but to a lesser degree bcoz of the protection

of God.

Births and deaths take place according to Law of Karma, the gud and bad deeds

one would hv done in eversomany earlier births.According to that the birth takes

place in such n such place to such n such parents who must hv connection with

the person in earlier births.This is the Lawof Nature and nobody can flout the

same.Whatever we suffer or enjoy,whatever position we hold are all due to our

past Karmic deeds.Otherwise why there is so much disparity in the world?So what

Lord Krishna said thousands of years back may not be suitable for the present

day world.This is an inexplicable factor and remain so for ever.Then why the

Lord made such comment?The teachings were given to arjuna at the battle field

when he was in an embarassing mood to fight and the Lord had to cajole him to

fight by narrating so many anecdotes to dilute the confusin that crept into the

mind of arjuna as Krishna had already decided that the war shuld go on and

nemesis must take place as Gauravas had violated dharma

and Himself being the Dharmapurusha shuld take the burden of its protection and

wanted to use arjuna as His tool.So in such a situation the Lord had to coax

arjuna by saying all the things to make his mind strong.So at that point of time

upadesa to arjuna was ok.But in the present day world of rat race will that

help?Certainly to some extent provided one offers himself completely at the

Mercy of the Lord then He is bound to protect him,Here also the theory of Karma

cannot be overlooked into.Even God has His limitations as He himself cannot go

against the Laws of Nature enunciated by Him.However out of compassion He could

dilute the sufferings of His devotees.This we hv seen inmany instances.So Bakti

to God shuld be a continuous affair without break and at the time of death by

just thinking that one wants to be born as a rich person,or a scholar or any

other thing wont help unless the foundation is strong.If this is understood and

followed then it is ok.

Secondly Balagopal has taken a stanza from ch.17 st.15 which says abt the speech

which causes no excitement,which is truthful,pleasant and beneficial and also

the practice of sacred recitation.Of course the harm done thru speech is often

more painful than that caused by physical violence.Words of excitement and words

that hurt people shuld by all means be avoided by the spiritual aspirant.Truth

in some cases is unplesant to hear and untruth plesant to hear.The best course

is to present truth in as pleasant a way as possible.Flattery is often in tune

with truthfulness and very pleasant to hear.May a sadhaka employ it in his

dealings with people?No flattery has to be scruplously avoided.Harsh words hv

done more harm to society as undue compliments hv done.Here for getting

austerity in speech there shuld also be austerity of the mind and body.Only in a

serene mind great things will come.If our friend means this then he is perfectly

right.

Then Balagopal dwells on his third salvo by taking St.22 from Ch.7 which

says " Endowed with the form the devotee wants to take engaging himself in the

worship of that form and from it he obtains his desires,which are being actually

ordained by Me " .The river ,the well,the lake,the spring these are the sources

from which water can be availed of.but the grand source for all these is the

rain,without which all these come to nought.Similar to this is the grace of the

Lord which gives the start.sustenance and support to all beings.All the need of

all beings come from the same Cosmic Source.But the mediocre men of

understanding take it that help comes to them from the gods they worship.If our

friend means this then also he is correct in his observation.

But I cannot understand when he says the principle of how the end things really

happen(if we want this chat to be lively and useful).What he means by this?What

the above quotes hv any connection to the pertinency and liveliness of the

chat?He has taken some verses from some chapters which are relevant materials

but how can that change the course of the chat?Since he has not expressed any

opinion except with the conclusion understanding and following them will result

in whatever we want without any explanation.

This Forum is only emphasising that prayers and dedication to the Lord Krishna

or whatever form one wishes to worship as all are the same in the eyes of the

true devotee which can eventually lead him/her in the spiritual course though

engaged in mundane matters,constant remembering of the Lord,dedicating

everything to Him with affection and love will surely get him/her His benign

blessings.In Gita also Krishna teaches the same thing emphasising to do ones

duty without expecting rewards and all His needs He will take care of.Then where

is the qn for confusion.

As I said earlier I am not for offending anybody or wish to create controversy

and since Balagopal did not specifically mention what exactly he means in his

last paras I cannot make any comment.Or does he mean the discussions are getting

bored for him?That also I dont know as he has not given any hint of that.Only he

alone can clarify what he means when he says for chatting to be lively and

pertinent.I dont find fault with him but only wished he shuld hv been more

outspoken instead of putting riddles as I hv already made it clear this forum is

not for showing ones intellectual attainments but one for pursuing lofty ideas

to brotherhood among the Members in their search for solace and peace at the

feet of the Lord.Anyway I wish him well.

 

Hare Krishna,

agraman

 

Hare Krishna,

agraman

 

balagopal ramakrishnan <rbalpal wrote:

Hari Om,

 

Mr. Sunil Menon's call for more activity is worth

noting.

 

As we follow our cowherd friend it makes sense to look

in the manual (Gita)he has provided us.

 

Though I am not an expert I find the following stansas

indicates to the mechanics.

 

Stansa 6 of chapter 8 indicates the principle of how

things happen in the future. In general parlance we

say it as the 'power of the spoken word'

 

Regarding how our speech should be (how we need to

form our chat) is indicated in stansa 15 of chapter 17

 

Stansa 22 of chapter 7 shows the principle of how at

the end things really do happen (if we want this chat

to be lively, useful and pertinent).

 

Understanding and following them will result in

whatever we want.

 

Those of you who have a better grasp on the 'Gita' may

throw more light

 

Om Namo Narayanayah

 

Balagopal

 

 

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