Om Shanti Om dialogue - Om's Bottle award speech ( This ones got Hindi transliteration)

Just visit You Tube and listen to it once..."Om's Bottle award speech"

"Itni Shiddat se mene tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai

Har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai"

Put simply

"Kisi cheeze to agar dil se chaho to puri kayanaat use tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jati hai"

When you really want something, the whole cosmos helps you get to it.

The caveat being - its wanted by a pure soul, for a good reason that harms no one and is for social good.

Some call this "Grace Flowing". We all have experienced a few of these miracles when good things just happen.

Or when we are in trouble and ask God for help & it comes around in some form.

Or when we work for God , God in turn works for us!!!

The principle is that God says, you have to "want" the right thing first. This is called "self kripa", then comes "Shaastra kripa", then guru kripa and then prabhu kripa...

Which means when we "really want" the right things then the cosmos comes to support us

A funny one !!! Gita for email addicts!!!!! ( a copy paste)

Bhagvad Gita – Adhyay 19 (note Gita had 18 chapters...this is the modern day addition)

Arjun: Hey Vasudev, how can I do the most heinous and unpardonable act of forwarding email that I receive, to my friends, relatives and revered elders?

Krishna: Paarth, at this moment, none of them is your friend or foe, relative or in-law, young or old and good or evil. You have no escape from following your Net-Dharma. Make haste to log on and send off the email to one and all. That is the only Karma expected of you and Dharma you must follow.

Arjun: Hey Murari! Do not implore me to do something that pricks my conscience and stirs my soul.

Krishna: O Kunti-Putra, you are caught in the vicious circle of Maya. In this material world, you are committed to no one except to yourself, your Dharma and your mouse. emails have existed for the last 25 years and will remain long after you are gone. Rise above the Maya and perform your bounden duty.

Arjun: Lord Krishna, pray and enlighten me on how email is related to Maya.

Krishna: Vatsa, email is the 6^th element in the universe – Aap, Vaayu, Jal, Agni, Aakaash and email. It is at the same time animate and inanimate, living and dead beat. It overloads the system and fills up the hard disk. But it serves one great purpose. It leads people to believe that they are filling their time in an intellectual pursuit by reading and re-forwarding mail. It gives them a sense of achievement without investing their intellect and efforts. Like the Atman that leaves one’s physical body and moves on to another, the email moves from system to system and never gets deleted or dies.

Arjun: Great Giridhaari, kindly tell me what the true attributes of email are.

Krishna: Neither fire can burn it, nor air can evaporate it. Neither can it be conquered nor can it be defeated. Email is omnipresent and immortal like your noble and eternal soul. Unlike an arrow shot from your bow, many a time the email forwarded by you, will even return to you safely after some months or even years, allowing you to re-re-forward it to the same people.

Arjun: Great Saarathi, my salutations to you. You have opened my eyes to the cult of email. I was lost in the Maya and have been reading all the email that I keep receiving and doing no other Karma. Now on, I will just press the "Forward" button without reading any of it and send it to all and sundry, friends and foes, relatives and in-laws, young and old. That will surely bring them to their knees in this epochal battle of Good against Evil, in the Kurukshetra.

Krishna: Arjuna, victory or defeat is not in your hands. Do not ponder over the fruits of your labour. Just keep forwarding email and make one and all go bananas reading it and you will have done your supreme duty…..Tathastu.

Don't quit

We all have hear the famous qoute "Quitters never win & Winners never Quit ".

Did they pick it from Gita????

Krishan when explaining to Arjun why he must fight as it was the right thing to do , mentioned if you quit you have not just lost the war you have lost everything. Only if you fight you will win.

"Kid" follows Ahimsa in Kid Vs Kat episode

In a recent episode of Kid Vs Kat where the children are playing Capture the flag, it has an interesting co relation to Gita.

The opportunity to win is countered with the opportunity to save a friend ( from a falling tree). The Kid has to decide and even though winning means a lot to him, and loosing the game would mean having to clean the cats poo for an year!!! (Yuck!!!) , the naughty boy values his friend life and runs to save his friend. He followed Ahimsa & did what was right.

Then they show that one of his team members manages to tag the last player of the other team and they still win as Kid was not tagged yet!

Did we see a bit of Gita principles here !!!!

Kid followed the right path ( Ahimsa, saving his friend) and God was with him. So in the divine plan God provided an opportunity to his team member to tag the opponent. And they won as Kid was not tagged yet.

When we do what is right with the right intentions God will make things work out, as he is always watching.

PS - My son watched the episode & since I dont approve of watching too much TV he gave me the argument that this show had some Gita kind of stuff too!!!!

Parents teaching kids - an intersesting perspective

Kids need to understand (or parents may need to explain ....)

1. What is their goal / destination (this could be multiple - one for health, one for academics and one for swimming etc). Kids need to know where are they headed.

2. That the scolding & guidance from parents is always for their benefit.

Its like getting from point A to B. And the shortest distance is a straight line (most of us know that...else demonstrate). So each time the child is not moving ahead on the straight line and takes a detour ( changes direction, gets distracted, loses focus et all) , the mum knows the child needs a shake/ a reprimand or a reminder to get back on track. Else he will end up at point C which will take him away from B (the goal). And then going from C to B - may be time consuming, difficult or may be not possible!!!!

All the guidance & scolding are like bumpers on the bowling alley which the little ones use to make sure the bill ball stays does not fall off.

All the things parents say to their kids ( which the kids may not like sometimes) are in way for the parents benefit. Its selfless and for the good of children. When kids get this , there will be a lot more harmony in many homes.

( I am still waiting and my patience runs out very often!)

The food chain & God

As per the food chain taught at school we learn that the energy passes on from Sun to plants &thru the chain. Plants are the primary consumer (it consumes energy from sunlight) but for rest its the only producer in the food chain.

Herbivores (animals & insects) live on plants & other creatures live on plants &/or Herbivores.

Lets look at it from another perspective ....We all think/know/believe there is life in the plant.... so where does it come from???

So where does the plant get its food ???

soil ? if you remove the plant from the soil it dies.

sunshine ? but no Sunshine no plants

or is it water ? we have learnt plants need water to survive

or is it air ? they don't grow in vacuum...

The plant needs air, sunshine, water & soil to grow ...and where did these elements come from??? Get it...

The plants gets its life from the "seed + water+air+ soil + air + sunshine = plant"

So where is God in this equation???? Well the elements are the nature created by God, and the unmanifested plant in the seed is the little bit of God inside each plant & seed which is always there and can grow to give more to the world.

But some theories say that the seed had life inside it, the rest of the elements just help it grow...but other says that the energies & life forces of all combine to make it into a plant to bear flowers & fruit & recreate the cycle of life.

Do we see a grain of wheat as just a grain? Or a seed that has the capacity to grow and produce many more grains ( or seeds with the ability to multiply with support from nature !)

Someone is bound to argue that by cooking the grain we destroy its ability to grow ....think of it this way that the cooked grains also have energy & gets passed to the person eating them. So energy does not get destroyed only the form changes.

When plants & animals die they merge back into nature ( the elements)

The food chain makes it evident that energy from the elements transforms and passes through the food chain ( read nature & the world) and then returns to the elements .

Origin & essence of everything leads to GOD

This is simple & yet very complex.

As discussed with my daughter she exists because me, I am because of Nani & nani is due to great nani & so on ....and eventually because of GOD.

But lets take an example that I heard during a chapter 15 discourse.

The rose smells beautiful & looks lovely ..so where did it get this? The plant, coz if you pluck the rose it dies away. So where does the plant get it???

soil ?? coz if you remove the plan from the soil it dies.

sunshine ?? coz no Sunshine no plant

or is it water ??? we studied plants need water to survive

or is it air ??? they don't grow in vacuum...

The plant needs air, sunshine, water & soil to grow ...and where did these elements come from??? Get it...

Lets try another example ....the computer ...made with metal & plastic & lots of inputs from people in terms of design & software . The material physical things are refined forms of natural resources. And people are an extension of God .

So we the mortals don't create anything. We just fabricate , modify what is provided by God in the form of nature using our intellect which is the gift of God to mankind.

Why sing Bhajan & or Chant or do Jap?

Modern generation kids often question why chant? why sing bhajans? why jap????

Well here is a way to explain..

When someone abuses us / or says soem unkind words (Gali di) we remember it for a long time ...it has an impact.

So if that ( a negative ) has an impact so does chanting and singing the names of the lord in bhajans ( a positive) has an impact.

Well another one...

Some say when I abused, I did not mean it.....but listener has heard it & will remember it , it has an impact.

One more..

Chanting & Singing brings about positive vibrations ...simple way making the environment around us positive.

So if we sing or chant with or with out understanding / with or with out focus ...someone is listening & knows that you are calling his name.

Technology of Spirituality

Please visit You Tube and view the 7 part video by a senior Art of Living teacher who focusses on youth.

Its great to share with children.

just search for Technology of Spirituality or for Khursheed Batliwala

Brownie points in the bank ( Karmas & their impact)

Some karmas give instant results but same take little longer. For eg. if you put your hand in fire you feel the pain immediately, But if you plant a tree it takes a few years to bear fruit.

When we sow seeds the veggies and the veggies usually are ready in 6-12 weeks. But we also know that vegetables perish quite fast.

When we sow grains like rice & wheat, we need to care for them longer like 18-30 weeks and grains have a longer storage life.

Think about diamonds... they happen over centuries !!!!

The time taken to fruit, life span and the ability to reproduce is very different between a vegetable and say a grain of rice.

Good karmas are similar. Each good karma has a good fruit in future, but we don't know when.

Also good karmas and collect and have a cumulative impact.

So like we deposit money in the bank it accumulates & earns interest and we can use when needed. So do our good karmas.

Bank pays interest on our deposit . Similarly good karmas accumulate and grow and come back to us when we need them.

Unlimited Knowledge & Love of GOD

There are some resources that are limited and often there is a competetion amongst individuals to get the most of it. Be it water in some towns or be it mothers time in a large family. Or be it a high postion in a corporate or place in schools team. Nothing wrong with that.

But here's another point.....there is no limit to knowledge & the love of God And these are the two rare things that grow by sharing. The more you share the more it grows. Its perenial, never ending & never in short supply.....(sometime the demand does fall!)

Its evident that people striving for knowledge and to get closer to God don't fight. They just move on alone or together.

Sow the seed of spirituality (This ones for Mom's)

If you want your kids to have the spiritual awareness or knowledge of Gita - Sow the seeds whilst they are young...talk to them about Gita and identify the righhteousness and good around.

Give the enviorenment to the extent you can...speak, demonstrate, do your reading or chanting or taking them along for spiritual events etc...and leave the rest to GOD

Have heard from many of the moms of older kids (the ones that have kids and university or even working), that it stays in the subconcious and they come around later in life.

Other moms say - ask God to help in getting the kids aligned at least to the point that they don't run away or refuse to participate in religious / spiritual activities. God will do what is best for them.

Selflessness - a manifestation of GOD

Rivers...they flow to give us water and merge into the ocean

The Sun shines for us and helps plants produce food for the rest of the consumers

Trees give us oxygen, shade, fruits, wood and so on and then perishes back into the soil

Nature ( Prakriti) is the feminine side of God...always giving and all the actions are done selflessly.

Selflessness is the best quality. It is the divinity in oneself.

When we do a random act of kindness to another person ( selflessly ) with out any expectation , we have the good feeling inside.

When we act selflessly and do things for others , we are being are truselves and thats what makes us happy.

Most of the time we are caught up in actions that WE want to do & have some in it for US and believe we have limitations.

One selfless act , gives joy & can lead to another if we listen to our true self.

Old & new versions of religion/Vedas

They say that Vedas are the oldest form of knowledge. The Veda's are the source of all the knowledge the human mind can ever desire or envisage.

The Purans and the various other mythological stories were created to convey this knowledge in a story telling mode. The Mahabharata falls in this category too. So anything that is written in the Gita is derived from the Veda's.

All religions new & old, say the same things. There is nothing new and it can all be found in the Vedas ( This is hear say, but I seem to believe it).

Now some people argue that the new religions are the refined versions. Just as Windows 7 is supposed to be better than its old version or the latest version of SAP is the smartest. But in case of Flour we are learning the more refined the grains more of the original qualities are lost.

In recent times we all have tendencies to follow a person or a group or an organisation. One should separate the principles from the person/organisation and follow the principles. Makes it simple.

In case of religions and spiritual groups , there is no better or worse. They all lead to the universal truth and each one does what suits the best.

Angles & Pie in relation to Gita & God

In Geometry we learn about angles...acute, obtuse and so on...but all angles are a part of the whole !!!

If we had no whole of 360 how will we have parts ....and how will we measure them!!!

The whole is not acute or obtuse or even an angle!!!!! but we say its 360 degrees to give us an absolute to compare with. If someone decide that the whole is 400, then the right angle will have to be 100 degrees, but will their relation ship of 1:4 change????

Pie is the relation of radius to circumference we all know. Its a constant, central to so many formulae & calculations, , cannot be expressed as a fraction or decimal, and its digits do not repeat in a pattern and decimals do not terminate

3.1415926535897.........its a transcendental number!

Does this remind anyone of GOD - constant, important, multiple application, infinite, no specific pattern....

Algebra & Gita ( for older kids & adults)

In Algebra, we apply maths principles to find out "x" the variable.

In life we go all around trying to understand what is the variable that impacts me!!!

And we reach Gita it teaches us of the only constant - the self!

The fact that everything but the self is variable , knowing the self is more important than knowing the variables. ( Unlike Algebra where the constants help in understanding the variable)

Also in life we think the variables impact us and with Gita study we when we learn that in life the constant impacts the variables , its a revelation!

Gita in recent Bollywood movies.....Ra One

Most Bollywood fans would have watched Ra One...

In this movie a child, whose dad makes video games , is upset ( and unaware!) that the good guy is always stronger & wins. So to please him the dad creates a game where the bad is more powerful. The movies has a lot of science fiction & effects. But there is something interesting that links to Gita ...the weak good guy is alone yet wins coz he is strengthened by the truth since what he is doing is right.

Would the movie goers be happy if the bad guy wins in any flick??? I doubt it.

We all want to see the truth win. And we see in all movies (new & old) the the good person battles along till he/she wins. So what makes him/her go through!! The faith that Truth will win gives courage & strength. Yet in daily lives we often waiver in doing the right things.

So simple & profound.

Gita in Fairy tales

Lets see what is common across some popular fairy tales.

1. Cinderella - she is hardworking & polite & truthful ...life gets difficult for her but she stays happy with what she has ....and lo behold she gets fairy Godmother to help and a very happy ending.

2. Snow White - she too is polite, hardworking & caring ....losses her Mom but not her smile....when thrown out of the palace she cares for the forest animals & the dwarfs. And the seven dwarfs look after her and later protect her from the wicked witch as well. And again a happy ending.

3. Beauty & the Beast .... Bella is sincere, faithful, keeps her promise ....she marries & stays with the beast to keep her promise, falls in love with the beast as she senses the good person behind the ugly face . And her life has a happy ending too.

All the fairy tale characters who have good virtues, don't leave their good virtues in difficult times and they keep their faith in themselves & God and the end is happy. Yes the Princesses had to face problems but they were patient and did not loose their faith and continued to do their best in their respective situations.

Gita says do your duty, be truthful, do no harm and believe you are a part of God. Gita talks about doing our duty with commitment & love and leaving the result in hands of God.

Did the above Princesses do that??? I think so...what do you think??

Any other story that you know which has a similar story line??? Please share .

How to impart values to kids ????? ( For moms !)

We all have heard the story about a hungry man begging for food. A wise man passing by takes him along & teaches him to fish so he could always be able to feed himself.

So we learnt about whats noble - give a man a fish or teach a man to fish.

It's about the value of a concept or principle or a skill.

Telling kids don't tell lies or make right choices ( is what we moms do all day!) does not get us anywhere...its like begging.

If only we could demonstrate them this & impart this value it will a great parenting job done....but how????? Any ideas!!!!!

We all have read that stories is a good way. I think it would be better to find examples from our own lives to share ?? Or ideally grab the first opportunity you get ( if you are lucky to recognise that) to demonstrate the value of virtues you want to impart Truthfulness, Kindness, empathy et all.

Please share in comments your thoughts on this.

Google & Gita

As netizens for all questions we rely on Google. We type in & click search. Then it throws up options and we click on the various options trying to find what we are looking for. Sometimes we are content in a few clicks and sometime we have to rephrase our search. Most netizens have faith that Google will be able to help them in finding what they are looking for.

Gita followers often say Gita has answers for everyone. And for each one in different situations, seeking different solutions, it does give hope & direction. And for those wanting to go further on the path of seeking , on further readings & engagements find new / deeper meanings.

So some of those on the spiritual journey, vouch by Gita being their "Google" in searching for the answers!!!

Core subjects & Gita

In formal education English, Maths & Science are considered core subjects.

The way I explained to my son was that any language , Maths & Science is the basis of knowledge development. One can probably prepare for a History/ Geography exam by studying in the last 2 weeks prior to exam . But can any one do that for Math? or English. These subjects are to be imbibed & practiced. The knowledge of these is built block by block from Kindergarten days.

There is a bit of Science in Geography when they learn about types of rain. And their is Math in History when they speak of army formations. There is Chemistry & Physics in understanding erosion of coastlines. There is loads of mathematical applications in Astronomy . There is a lot of Geometry in Art and the world without languages, we cannot imagine. There is load of scientific principles in learning to swim.

In the spiritual space, knowledge from the Gita is like core knowledge that can be found & applied all around us. If you have knowledge about this core, developing the rest should not be difficult at all.

Fundamentals of Maths and Principles of Gita

When we teach math we start with simple fundamentals of addition , subtraction , and so on. Initially with very small numbers and then with larger numbers.

So we teach children 2+2=4 and then larger sums. And similarly with other fundamentals of mathematics.

As kids grow they are given word problems which need application of the fundamentals. As they grow older the word problems get complex and they need to apply more than one fundamental.

Same in life are problems change and get complex. But to solve them one needs to know which fundamental to apply.

Preachers of Gita all say that principles from the Gita can be applied to daily life. Knowledge of Gita principles and belief that it has universal application , will help an individual to apply these principles in life.

Black & White and Spirituality.

We all have seen the good depicted in white & the bad in black, be it in movies or comics ( with may be Batman as an exception).

If you watch Hindi movies then in Chandni Chowk to China the hero's buddy always has his tiny devil self persuading him to do the wrong things (dressed in black) and his angelic self guiding him to do the right things (of course dressed in white flowing robes) .

Is black a colour? Yes. Some say if you mix all colours ( in a certain proportion) it will reslut in black.
Is white a colour?? Or the absence of colour?

Have we ever wondered if this had a spiritual message?????

Have you seen a saint dressed in Black???

Think of this.... Sun is always shining and the moon (which does not have its own light) shines just by reflecting the suns light.

Similarly we could be shining and reflecting Gods light if we were not covered up with the dust of ego et all.

White reflects light and heat we have studied in science. Just as black absorbs it.

Black clouds bring rain & thunder....white clouds usually just sail pass witnessing the Earth.

White snow peaks are visible in the moonlight, and dark forests can only be seen in the Sunlight

So what does all this lead to.....White is reflective, a witness of the surroundings and non absorbing.

Gita for Children & beginners

I found this & would like to share the link...

http://www.gita-society.com/childrengita.htm

Pinocchio & Gita : A simplified approach to understanding the Gita for kids ( a copy, edit & paste)

An interesting & simplified approach to understanding the Gita

Young girl: Mommy! Can you solve this riddle for me?

Mommy: Well, my little darling, I can try.

Young Girl: What is it that can speak any language; does not speak until spoken to and it is sometimes strong and sometimes weak?

Mommy: It must be very clever. Can speak any language, did you say? And very polite too; does not speak until spoken to. I wonder! You can tell me the answer.

Young girl: It's an Echo!

Mommy: That's a very clever riddle. I enjoyed that. Now it is my turn to ask you a riddle. Can I?

Young girl: Yes Mommy.

Mommy: What is it that weapons can not cut it; fire can not burn it; water can not make it wet and the air can not make it dry?

Young girl: Mommy, if weapons can not cut it and fire can not burn it then it is something indestructible, and waterproof on top of it! Mommy, please tell me what can it be? Now I am really curious to know.

Mommy: It's the Soul also known as the Self or the Atman. This riddle is taken from the Bhagavad Gita, second chapter, verse 23. It is written in Sanskrit language and reads:

"Nainam chhindanti shastraani, nainam dahati paavakah,
Na cha enam kledayanti aapah, na shoshayati maarutah".

Na=not, Enam=this (Soul or Self), Chhindanti=to cut,
Shastraani=by weapons, Na=not, Enam=this, Dahati=burns,
Paavakah=by fire, Na=not, Cha=and (even), Enam=this,
Kledayanti=wet, Aapah=(by) water, Na=not, Shoshayati=dries,
Marutah=air (wind).

'Enam' refers to the Soul within the body (the embodied soul).

Young girl: If the Soul is indestructible, then what happens to it when a person dies? And what happens to the body when a person dies?

Mommy: In order to understand the relationship of the soul with the body, let me make it very simple by asking you to play the part of the wooden puppet Pinocchio. If we want Pinocchio, the wooden puppet, to be alive, and be able to behave like us, then Pinocchio will have to be provided with some highly specialised equipments.

Let us begin with the tongue. Pinocchio will have to have a tongue with which to experience different tastes such as sweet, bitter, sour, salty, pungent (hot) etc.

Going up the face from the tongue, we come to the nostrils. Pinocchio can smell different types of smells, fragrances and odours. When Pinocchio comes home from school, at times he can tell by the smell of the delicious food from the kitchen that his mommy has prepared his favourite dish.

Going further up the face , we come to the eyes. Pinocchio will acquire the power of vision that will enable him to see different types of shapes (forms), and different types of colours as well as intensity of light (bright or dark).

Next to the eyes are the ears. Without the ability to hear, Pinocchio will not be able to learn how to speak. His ability to communicate with people will be restricted. Without the hearing abilities of the ears, Pinocchio will not be able to listen to the sounds of musical instruments or hear songs. In the wilds, he will not be able to hear and thereby be warned of the presence of wild animals.

So far we have talked about the tongue, the nostrils, the eyes, and the ears. One more, from amongst the five highly specialised equipments is still to be considered. Can you tell me what it can be?

Young girl: Something to do with touch?

Mommy: You are absolutely right. Touching by the skin provides information such as cold or hot, sharp or blunt, hard or rough or soft etc.

These five equipments are known as organs of (sense) perception (Gnana indriya); Gnana = knowledge, indriya = organ.

These five organs of perception gather information or knowledge relating to taste,smells,vision,sounds and touch. The eyes are like the lenses of cameras, capturing the vista before the cameras; and the ears are like microphones capturing sound.

Young girl: Mommy, are there any more equipments besides these five organs of perception?

Mommy: Oh yes! Again, to make the explanations very simple, I will relate about an incident in the life of Pinocchio.

One day, Pinocchio was very naughty and did not want to listen to his mother. So his mother scolded him and Pinocchio got upset and was very cross.

Can Pinocchio get cross with his skin or with his ears? Obviously not. Pinocchio will have to be provided with the mind to take care of his emotional needs.

Another day, Pinocchio was very helpful to his mother, and upon being praised by his mother, he was feeling happy and elated. The mind was feeling the emotion of happiness.The mind provides the emotional needs which produce joy and sorrow, happiness and unhappiness anger and peacefulness etc.The mind is also an equipment but it is not visible and therefore it is called subtle. The mind's work is far more specialised and complex than that of the five organs of perception. In fact, without the mind, the organs of perception will become powerless to register the information or knowledge they gather.

And yet, there is still one more highly specialised equipment, without which Pinocchio will be greatly handicapped in life. To illustrate the point:

One day, Pinocchio was at school and the teacher was teaching maths to his class.The teacher wanted to test the pupils and asked them to spot an error.

On the black board the teacher had written 2 + 2 = 5. Many of the pupils raised their hands to point out to the teacher that two plus two makes four and not five.These pupils demonstrated the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

Now, for doing the job of distinguishing (discriminating) between the right and the wrong, Pinocchio will have to be provided with intellect. Intellect is also an equipment. It's more subtler than the mind. The intellect will exercise the faculty of discrimination. It can be trained to tell the difference between what is Real and what is unreal. It can make out what is right and what is wrong in the spiritual and social fields connected with ethics, morality, justice, conduct or behaviour, speech etc.

Swami Chinmayanand referred to these equipments as B-M-I (body-mind-intellect).The big question is: If the five organs of perception attached to the body,plus the mind, plus the intellect are all equipments,then WHO AM I?

I am the Soul or the Atman also known as the Self. The body-mind intellect (B-M-I) equipments are attached to the body. The indwelling (embodied) Soul enables these equipments to function. Often the example of electricity is cited. Electricity is invisible but the effects of electricity are seen or felt as in an electric light bulb or a heater, an electric fan or a hot plate on an electric cooking stove. A radio or a television set is enabled to function when powered by electricity. Similarly the B-M-I equipments are powered by the Soul.

The body can remain functioning even when some of these equipments are damaged. The body can function without the power of vision in the eyes or the power of hearing in the ears. A person can be mentally deranged and can still be living. Another can be brain damaged, but still be alive. The presence of the indwelling Soul keeps it alive.

The indwelling Soul or the embodied Self is described in the Bhagavad Gita in great detail.

Mention of enviorenment & ecological balance in Gita

The Lord, the life in us, pervades all living beings, be they plants or animals. Hence, they are all regarded as sacred. Human life on earth depends on plants and trees. They give us the vital factors that make life possible on earth: food, oxygen, clothing, shelter, medicines etc.

Hence, in India, we are taught to regard trees and plants as sacred. Indians scriptures tell us to plant ten trees if, for any reason, we have to cut one. We are advised to use parts of trees and plants only as much as is needed for food, fuel, shelter etc. we are also urged to apologies to a plant or tree before cutting it to avoid incurring a specific sin named soona.

Certain trees and plants like tulasi, peepal etc., which have tremendous beneficial qualities, are worshipped till today. It is believed that divine beings manifest as trees and plants, and many people worship them to fulfill their desires or to please the Lord.

There is a mention in Gita (never mind where !) that an average unaware man while cutting wood will think of his need for firewood. Where as an aware person will think if the forest, about will there be enough trees in future , will cutting this tree cause imbalance in nature as its part of nature and so on. In the modern world we hear about ecological imbalance & climate changes all caused by misuse of natural resources.

Gita teaches us USE nature as provided, DO NOT ABUSE nature.

Arjun's chariot

This is no ordinary chariot. It signifies the human being.

The chariot is the body

Arjuna is Atma - the Lord of the chariot

Krishna is the intellect , the charioteer

The 5 horses are the 5 gyan indriyas (5 senses) which can run in their own direction if not controlled.

The reins is the mind that guides the movements of the body through the usage of its senses.

The senses as extensions of the mind, they keep straying and need to be controlled. Horses are never stable, only the reins (the mind) in the hands of the charioteer (the intellect) can steer them in the right direction.

So if the 5 indriyas are in complete control of the mind, and the mind is in line with the intellect, then the self will move in the right direction.

The horses are white , denoting that this are pure, un influenced 

Promises & Vows relating to Gita

There are many promises & vows in the story of Mahabharat
1. King Santunu - for not to ask his wife any questions : broken after 7 children drowned
2. Bhishma Pratigya - vow for celibacy , which he maintained
3. Princess Amba - to revenge Bhishma, also she got that

And am sure there are few more in the story

One broken promise & the story began!!!!

Imagine if that promise was not broken their would be no Mahabharat , hence no Gita...and our loss. So the Divine plan had it all worked out.

They say God created the world to manifest himself . So the divine plan had worked out the characters and what they do to give teh huge complex back ground to provide a platform for Gita.

Promises are hard to keep , so think before you make a promise!

What is right?

This is tricky. And as per Gita what is right is circumstantial. For a soldier to kill in war to protect his country is right. But most circumstances killing is murder & wrong.

Similarly the medicines which often contain some poisonous & harmful chemicals are not good for us. But when the body has an infection or a disease they are good for us.

So right and wrong is sometimes difficult to understand & controversial .

In Gita it mentions that if confused try the following test to determine what is right
1. Will it bring you fame ( in the good sense) ?
2. Is it something the noble / good guys will do?
3. Will it be for the common/social good ?

Usually this will help clear doubts & help in taking the right decision.

Fruit of action

We often misconstrue the " karam kar, phal ki icha mat kar"

In daily life we raise kids with the reward & reprimand process and usually for us mortals there is that attraction of the end result.

As per my understanding Gita teaches you to do the "karam" or task at hand or what ever with focus on doing or the effort of doing. If that is good & done with commitment, passion , love et all the result will always be good/appropriate . If one keeps the focus on the "phal" then the focus on the "doing" is diluted and hence result is not as could have been !

Why some of us dont understand the Gita??

It is said Gita has the answers to all the questions (life & spirituality related, not science questions!) we mortals have. But some of us dont get it after reading.

Well one theory is that unless you want the knowledge desperately you wont get it.

And another theory is that your time for the learning & evolution is yet to arrive.

And another thoery is that there are 3 states of learning the Gita

1. Shravan - when you read or hear it

2. Manan - when you analyse it/ relate to your life

3. Nidhidhyasan - when apply the principles

and unless you progress from 1 to 2 , you shall never quite get it!

Another view is the Bhagavad Gita is best understood by a person who has qualities similar to Arjuna’s. That is to say he must be a devotee in a direct relationship with Krishna.

We all have a relationship with Krishna eternally. However in the material state of life that eternal relationship is covered and we are unaware of our relationship with Krishna. But the process of Krishna consciousness can revive that original relationship.

How come Dhritrashtra has 100 sons!!!

Have you wondered about the 100 Kauravas???

In the Gita Duryodhan & Dhritrashtra represent the negativity inside us. The 100 sons are the various logics we give to justify the negative actions.

Well the explanation can also be - when we do something wrong, we can build up 100 excuses to justify it. Or when we tell lies we come up with numerous ways to rationalise that. These 100 sons signify that.

So Duryodhan had 99 brothers supporting his wrong and yet they lost to the 5 Pandavs . Coz the Pandav's were fighting for what is right and hence God was in their camp.


There is a mention of this in Chapter 11, shloka 28