Hanuman Ji

Well Hanuman ji depicts many things

1. Devotion : his devotion is always quoted as an example. He is also in Arjun's chariot flag to symbolise devotion
2. He helps in all areas of life
- Sickness : he brought the herbs for Laxman
- Relationships : got Bali & Sugreev , Ram &Sita to re unite
3. He is able to zoom in & out as well as increase in size or shrink; show his valour and be humble.

Teaching us that we have different roles to play & show different abilities

Stairway to doom

Path to doom (& unhappiness) :

Sensory attraction leads to
Thought,  creates
Attachment & then we have a
Desire, which when not fullfillled leads to
Anger......

5 senses and animals

Here is another one

All animals have few senses and some are more developed than others. They too have weaknesses.

1. The Elephant's weakness is touch and gets distracted with presence of another elephant especially a female elephant.
2. The Moth's weakness is sight and is attracted to light , and we have all seen them crowd near a candle
3. The Deer is very attracted to sound and often hunters use music to attract them & kill them
4. The Bee's weakness is fragrance/smell. Attracts him to the flowers and sometimes is trapped there
5. The Fish has taste as its weakness and gets attracted to bait as it cannot stop eating and eats whenever & what ever

The Human being with all 5 senses well developed and all 5 can be our weakness!!!

Further  :
an explanation from Chapter 2, Shloka 67 
Indriyannam Hi Charataam Yanmanonu Vidheeyate
Tadasya Harati Prajnaam Vayur Navam Ivammbhasi
which says
If the mind attaches itself to even one of the senses, which are constantly preoccupied with their objects, then even one sense alone can carry away the mind in the same way as breeze carries away a boat lying in the water

Yog in Gita

Yoga is generally understood as the ancient form of exercise or asanas/postures .

The true meaning of YOG is described and understood as a combination of
- adding to
- combining with
- connecting with
- merging in
- aligned with
- leading to
- associated with

and so on

Yoga ( sanskrit word Yog) is union with the self which Energizes to do more with less . 

In Gita its
1. Karam Yog : Ishwar Arpanam & Prasad Budhi - all our actions sumitted to God & all results accepted as prasad
2.  Gyan Yog
&
3. Bhakti Yog

Gita is inspiring for the entire life and everything we do to be connected with God/Divine

Goals, Aspirations & Desire

From Oxford Dictionary 

• Goal : The object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result:he achieved his goal of becoming King of EnglandThe destination of a journey:the aircraft bumped towards our goal some 400 miles to the west literary A point marking the end of a race.
  Aspiration : (usually aspirations) A hope or ambition of achieving something:the needs and aspirations of the people
  

  
  

  
  

  Desire : A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen:

  
  

  Now lets try & compare it with a spiritual perspective :

  
  

  Goal is a state we want to achieve and we are working towards it, a journey to a defined destination, a plan to support it. ( Goal to complete reading the BG this year. For goals at work we have KPI's ( Key Performance Indicators) and for Spiritual goals we have different KPI's (Krishna's Powerful Instructions) )
  
  

  Aspiration is more like a want, not always supported with a plan ( I must read the BG and then not attending classes ) . I want to have/ I would like to....
  
  

  Desire is an aspiration where we have a strong attachment and when not fulfilled causes anger. When fulfilled , gives birth to another desire. (I desire to read the BG, but if I cant attend a session I get depressed and angry as my desire not fulfilled.)

  
  A related copy paste from FB :
  
  

  Expectations lead to sadness, yet goals are also expectations. I am confused. Please clarify.
  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
  Goals are needed.
  Set some goal and keep moving in that direction. An aimless life will lead to depression. But when you have a goal, ‘I have to do this. I have to learn this. I have to do this service', then that aim will move life in the right direction.
  Expectations reduced joy. You must understand that I don’t mean that you should never expect. Expecting is part of life. We simply need to know, surprises give us more joy.

BG as an acronym.

What BG as an acronym could be :

Bhagwad Gita
Bank Guarantee
Beginners Guide
Blessed Guy
Beloved Girl
Before God
Boring Game
Baseless Gossip
Blood Group

Now try connecting them or looking at them with a spiritual perspective.

The Gita is a guide and it guarantee's realisation if we can implement the teachings.
Blessed and loved by God are the people who get to read the Gita.
There was no time before God
Gossip is baseless and should be avoided
Blood groups decide certain things about people & O+ is like "satva" with universal donor status.

Some of my views about Mahabharat characters

We all know some bits of it or at least with reference to Gita.

Well as I see it each character in that has a very strong conviction and their actions are aligned with that.     In my opinion each one does some mistake(s), usually in ego or their conviction of what is right , and the impact is contributes to the war in future. However intentions of each also are reflected

It all starts with Satyawati wanting the kingdom for her sons if she marries the King....thinking as an individual not as a righteous queen ! And not even for the man she loved!

Then Bhishma who wanted the best for his father & his happiness takes the famous oath. Intention was selfless & good but centered towards his father's happiness not the good of the kingdom or world at large.

Dhritrashta who is impaired as blind lives in his own beliefs, far from reality. Mind is blind

Gandhari blinds herself to be her husbands equal and in empathy , and he takes it as an insult! She as a wife could have been the "Intellect" for him, but she blinds herself!!!!

When Mind & Intellect are blind, it gives birth to 100 Kauravs ...the negatives

Also Dhritrashtra  means acquiring others land & represents material thoughts

Duryodhan literally means dirty warrior & represents material action 

Kunti has a baby from Sun God, and she has to desert him but she seeks blessings for his protection for life before doing that. A kind and concerned mother.  Her 5 sons hold her word as a command and when tells them to share Draupadi, she cannot plead ignorance that she spoke without knowledge! For the one who commands , must be aware

The Pandavs were 5, depicting the positive.

Draupadi is born from fire and is beautiful and pure , but she too ridicules Karna & Duryodhan at different instances

Drupad was fair & just, and his one grave mistake of not helping Drona cost him heavily.

Karan was righteous but his one oath towards Duryodhan made him suffer every day.

Shakuni takes the marriage proposal for his sister to mary a blind Prince as a grave insult and spends the rest of his life in manipulating & destroying the Kuru Kingdom. His love for his sister is exemplary but his revengeful thoughts & actions are amazingly wicked.

Vidur is the epitome of righteousness. Once he has taken oath as minister, he declares that the blind Prince cannot become King. When questioned, he says , earlier he spoke only in capacity of a brother, but now the oath towards the Kingdom supersedes and his stance is in the interest of the Kingdom as his duty. A true Karam Yogi!!!

Handling Praise

" Am never too busy to accept compliments" was hung at my table many years ago.

I was reminded of it since heard something interesting about handling praise.

Like every action has many outcomes, how we deal with a compliment and praise could be in many ways...

1. I am so good, glad you noticed, thank you
2. I am awesome , had to be noticed !
3. Wow my talent is noticed, must keep doing this
4. Thank you
5. Thank you you are so kind to notice and to praise
6. Thank you ...and thank you God
7. I did nothing special , we all are the doers of God


and so on

The best would be a combination of
1. Being thankful to the person seeing the good/talent in you
2. Understanding that I must continue to do same/ similar things
3. Knowing this is divinity manifested thru me , and submitting the praise to God and seek blessings to be able to do what is required.

How we handle praise determines how the talent grows or how ego grows and that in turn decides whether we move closer or away from the spiritual path.

PS : Humility comes from realizing that God is the Doer, not you. When you see that, how can you be proud of any accomplishment? Think constantly that whatever work you are performing is being done by the Lord through you.
Another related one "I'm working for the Lord, & even though the Lord's pay isn't very high, his retirement program is - one enlightened soul."

More acronyms for GITA

Get
In
The
Awareness

Get
Introduced
To
Atma


Go
In
To
Awakening

Grow
Inside
Thru
Action

Gather
Information for
Transformational
Ascent

Gain
Insights
True &
Amazing

18 principles of Spirituality ( From AOL Sri Sri, a copy & paste from FB)

In Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta we learn 18 golden principles or rather rules of Spirituality. Each chapter teaches us one of these.

1. Self Confidence.
2. Stop Blaming Others and Yourself.
3. Praise Others and Yourself.
4. Sincerity - Honesty.
5. Responsibility.
6. Let Go of the Past.
7. Acceptance.
8. Confirmation of Your Death - You are Going to Die one day. Death is Inevitable.
9. Impermanence of Life - Life is mortal.
10. Trust - Faith.
11. Unity in Creation - Unity in Universe.
12. Your Nature is Love and Peace - Love and Peace is Your Very Nature.
13. Balance - Equanimity.
14. Self Enquiry - Search for the Truth. Self-Exploration.
15. Dispassion and Maturity.
16. Appreciation of Beauty - Praising the Beauty.
17. Worshipfulness - Respect and Honor.
18. Life is Immortal - Imperishable.

Earth & Sun

The Sun is constantly shining , but Earth is revolving as well as circling the Earth, which causes day & night and seasons.

Sun is the constant and the Earth is ever changing.

The Earth does not receive the Sunshine when it turns away or when clouds come in between.

And depending on where we are on Earth we experience the seasons and different lengths of sunshine and darkness

To minimise variation in seasons and night and day, one can move closer to Equator. But after that, on Earth one will still experience day & night.

This if you look from a spiritual point of view : When Knowledge is being shared what we receive and how much we understand is not the same , since we all are at different stages of spiritual evolution.

Seeds of Knowledge

For a seed  to grow & flower needs soil +pot + water + sunshine in the right quantity and at the right time & eventually it will grow into a plant & flower & fruit

If knowledge is the seed
we are the soil
Satsang & practice etc are water & sunshine
Increased divinity is the plant and a beautiful life of giving is the fruit.



Here is a short story about a mango seed & monkeys

Monkeys love Mangoes and figure out that planting a seed will give them a tree and loads of fruit.
So they plant a seed. But the monkeys keep checking. Everyday one of them is digging up to see what is happening. They have no patience for mango to grow and because of there expectation and impatince the seed does not sprout into a plant.

Same for knowledge, we need to nourish it with service and satsang and sadhna and be patient. Then it blooms.

For a seed to become a plant it had to be destroyed. Someone who does not understand growth will see it as the destruction of the seed.

Word plays

• (DO)n't qu(IT)
• Listen and Silent , use the same letters 
• Man is part of Woman. Woman is the "World of Man" / "Wife of Man" / "Wisdom of Man". Wo(man) contains man and in incomplete without it.
• Water Vapour ?? its either water or vapour / liquid state or gaseous state...can't be both.
• Slow Death ? does death have a speed? in which case Life would be slow detah as we are all moving towards it constantly

In other words:
Do It relates to Action as in the Gita
Listening is important and so is Silence. Being silent helps listen !
Man & Woman are complimentary in nature not to compare & compete. 
We can be in one state at one time..
Life is a journey towards death is how some people see it. Death is the culmination of a mission as others see it.

Body, Mind, Intellect & Soul.

Experiencing the world thru the 5 senses is a function of the mind. Even a lovely fragrance you will miss if the mind is else where. 
The intellect is that which categorizes experience into good or bad or indifferent. 
The memory is where past is stored, unpleasant memories are trauma, pleasant ones are, well, pleasant  
Intellect works between the mind and the memory. 
Ego is that which creates a sense of identity. 
And all these including the body are continually changing. 
The body, mind, intellect, ego keep changing - but to identify change, there needs to be an unchanging reference point... This is the Self.

The self/soul/atma ...is the unchanging  

Though there is an argument that the vasna's & karma's etc are carried forward so how is soul unchanging.

Glass half filled with water

Pessimist : Its half empty
Optimist : Its half full
Realist : Its full as there is air. Nothing is empty except vacuum.
Opportunistic : I will drink what I get!

Its a perspective and they all are right from where they see it.