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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Essence of Gita


That which has happened
Happened well!
That which happens
Happens well!
That which will happen
Will happen well!
What have you lost,
that was yours?
For what do you lament?
What have you brought,
that you can loose?
What have you created,
that can get spoiled?
What ever you took,
you took from here!
What ever you give away,
You give them, back here!
What ever is your's today,
will be some other person's tomorrow!
And the day after,
it will be a third person's possession.
This is the eternal rule!
The essence of my creation!

Krishna knows the nature of human mind. He knows that the human mind is like a pendulum. It keeps oscillating from the present to the past, past to the present and from the present to the future. It keeps going on and on this way, leaving the individual soul with anxiety about the future, with regrets of the past and with restlessness in the present.

Krishna the Master psychiatrist, wants to remove this psychological disorder from us.

Hence he reassures us.

That which has happened has happened well. Never regret for the past.
That which is happening is happening well. Be at peace with the moment, shedding of your restlessness.
That which is yet to happen, will happen well. Don't be anxious. Be cool. It is not going to go out of control.

Regretting about the past, you waste the present. Wasting the present, you fail to mould the future. Hence, always be at peace with the moment. Only the present is true. The past and future are just the conceptions of the mind. They exist only in your mind and never in truth. So always stick with the truth and be in the present.

This reminds me of a dialogue that comes in the cartoon movie, Kungfu Panda.

"The past is dead. The future is never born. All you have in hand is now. And that's why it is called present."

Human mind tends to get attached to persons, places, things and experiences. When the mind is not attached, it feels like removing a dress from the body while losing it. When it gets attached, it feels as though the skin is being peeled of from the body. This leaves the individual soul in sorrow, pain and misery.

Krishna knows that every individual soul will have to loose what ever it possesses.

Krishna the supreme soul wants to protect the individual soul from the misery of pain that arises while loosing things that it is attached to. Hence, he warns before hand.

The soul is like a fire. Thinking is the act of burning. When the thinking burns bright, the garbage of the mind gets burnt down and the soul becomes a pure, smokeless flame.
Krishna kindles this fire by questions that fuel the thinking process.

Krishna wants the individual to realise that nothing is his/her's. Hence he asks, "What did you loose which was your's?"

Krishna doesn't pacify the soul that cries. Instead he poses a question, "Why do you cry?"

He says, "You came with nothing. You created nothing. Nothing was your possession. Nothing was your creation. But still you mourn, thinking you have lost something. How could you loose something, when you never had anything?"

He says, "You have nothing to loose. Nor anything to get spoiled. Don't worry. Just be free."

By saying this he attempts to completely remove all the stress, guilt, anxiety, tension, regrets, worries, sorrows and pains off the mind.

When the mind is clouded, the soul is in stress.
When the mind is free, the soul is free.

There is a very beautiful song sung by Maestro Ilayaraja in Tamil, that conveys the same message. When ever I hear the song in his deeply mesmerizing voice, I feel tremendously nourished and reassured. It sets my nerves on a spree to The Gita Way of living. Translation of the song is below.

The one who sowed the seed,
will water the plants!

Seeing the quality of the mind,
he changes the quality of life!

Oh mind, don't get baffled,
nor worry needlessly.

All your burdens,
Will be shouldered by the Creator Himself.

Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!

When the creator supports you,
why do you look for other's support?
When the courage resides in your heart,
Why muster grievance?

To make a man out of you
So good and clean!
Who is the one,
who conceived the idea?
Who can recognize Him?

A day will come
when the world will sing your glory!

Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!

Learn to help the helpless!
Learn to feed the food less!

For the one who has intelligence
What is the need of bookish knowledge?
For the one who has the power
Where is the difficulty in righteousness?

Who knows the count of men,
awaiting to be defeated by you?

Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!
Om Shanthi Om!

Though the last six lines are irrelevant to the topic discussed in the post, I have given the translation because they suggest selfless service and the fighting for uplift of Dharma which is again a guidance from The Gita.

To watch the video of the song in youtube.com, click here.

11 comments:

Manivannan Sadasivam said...

You've wonderfully given the essence of Gita, without losing its flavour anna :-) Great!!!

I loved the way you used simple quotes from movies, and songs, and enriched us with wisdom. There could be no better way to approach life positively!!!

And the translation of our Illaiyaraja's evergreen song is very admirable! It's indeed an life-giver :-)

Excellent work done!

ramesh sadasivam said...

Thanks you very much Mani. I am greatly encouraged.

Ayesha Parveen said...

The purpose of life is to understand that:
"Vaasudeva sarvam iti"
The purpose of education and wisdom is to admit that:
"Vaasudeva sarvam it"
The essence of The Geeta is:
"Vaasudeva sarvam iti"
Nothing else is needed other than knowing that:
"Vaasudeva sarvam iti"

Best wishes to you, Ramesh :)

ramesh sadasivam said...

Exactly Ayesha! That's the highest knowledge.

If one has come to that realization, no more learning is necessary.

But to get to that state, one has to pass through a lot of hurdles. And that's when this Essence of Gita comes handy.

The mountain top is the highest. No doubt. But that doesn't mean, the steps are not necessary. Some are gifted to be born on the mountain tops. But many are born only in the valleys. And they can't get to the mountain top in one jump. For them these steps are necessary.

Thanks for your comment and best wishes to you too!:)

Niru said...

The way you have written is simply superb.You have explained the essense of Gita simply.Only the person who is talented in teaching can explain like this. :)
I admire this post very much.
Translation of Ilayarajah's song also simple and nice.

Thank You & God Bless You!

venuss66 said...

A beautiful post and you have said it well in one go.No pain no gain.

ramesh sadasivam said...

Dear Niru and Venus,

Thank you very much for the read and comments. :)

AutoDT said...

A great posting...I really liked your commentary...and enjoyed watching the video...

Namaste to you brother,

Cyrus:)

ramesh sadasivam said...

Hello brother,
Thank you very much.

I hope you liked our thalaivar's style in the video. :)
He is quiet popular for it, here.

Namaste!

NARANG said...

SANYASA AND KARAMYOG ARE DIFFERENT INWORDING BUT SAME IN ESSENCE AS IN BOTH INVOLVE DESIRE OF FRUIT OF WHAT NATURALLY COMING AS ACTION.
A EMBODIED SELF SOUL CAN NOT BE FREE TILL ONE DETACHES ONE SELF FROM MATERIAL NATURE

ramesh sadasivam said...

Thanks for your comment Sir!