SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GEETA

SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GEETA

As we all know, Srimad Bhagavad Geeta, literally, the Divine Song of the Lord, is the holy book of the Hindus. A dialogue between Lord Krishna and Pandava Prince Arjuna, it comprises 700 shlokas across 18 chapters as part of the epic Mahabharata. It is believed to be a straight gospel from the lips of Lord Krishna as he advised Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna tells Lord Krishna that he is becoming increasingly morose about losing his family and killing his brothers as he is forced to go to war with them: "Na ca saknomy avasthatum bhramativa ca me manah nitmittani ca pasyami viparitani kesava/ O Krishna, I am unable to keep composed; my mind is unsteady, and I see dire indications of inauspicious omens."The battlefield is symbolic of life. Most of us are also full of fears and misgivings about meeting the challenges that life throws in our face. There are many moments when we feel overwhelmed, and want to slip away and not face situations that need solutions.
 The Bhagavad Gita can be utilised like a daily Bible, a guide for every problem that we may encounter. It is a handbook of instructions about how every human being can imbibe the Vedanta philosophy in one's life. One of the most well-known verses from the Gita is "Karmani ave adhikars te"/ma phalesu kadachana/ma karmaphal hetur bhoo/ma sangostu akramani", which means "You have the power to act only/you do not have the power to influence the result/therefore, you must act without the anticipation of the result/and without succumbing to inaction."Doesn't this completely make one take a 360 degree turn in our attitude to life? We live in anticipation of results; ours is a success-driven mantra and when not happy with the results, we switch off and slip into inertia. But what if we bring quality and excellence to our lives, and add passionate zeal as a "tadka", does that make us any less of a contributor to success? Just do our bit as best as we can, bring fresh ideas to the table, think out of the box, and derive satisfaction from that itself. Doesn't that make the consequences extra sweet because they were not anticipated?

Prof. John Kurakar