Wednesday 3 August 2011

Bhagavad Gita


According to Wikipedia,

The Bhagavad Gītā (Sanskrit: भगवद्गीता, IPA: [ˈbʱəɡəʋəd̪ ɡiːˈtɑː], Song of God), also more simply known as Gita, is a Hindu scripture, though its philosophies and insights are intended to reach beyond the scope of religion and to humanity as a whole. It is at times referred to as the "manual for mankind" and has been highly praised by not only prominent Indians such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but also Aldous Huxley, Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung and Herman Hesse. It is considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita comprises exactly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God (Parabrahman) itself and is referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One. 


“Yoga of Devotion” from the Bhagavad Gita

A man should not hate any living creature. Let him be friendly and compassionate to all. He must free himself from delusion of ‘I” and “mine”. He must accept pleasure and pain with equal tranquillity. He must be forgiving, even contented, self controlled….

He neither molests his fellow men, nor allows himself to become disturbed by the world. He is no longer swayed by joy and passion, anxiety and fear.

He does not desire or rejoice in what is pleasant. He does not dread what is unpleasant or grieve over it. He remains unmoved by good or evil fortune.

His attitude is the same toward friend or foe. He is indifferent to honour and insult, heat and cold, pleasure and pain. He is free from attachment. He values praise and blame equally. He can control his speech. He is content with whatever he gets. His home is everywhere and nowhere.

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Some realize the Self within them through the practice of meditation, some by the path of wisdom, and others by selfless service. Others may not know these paths; but hearing and following the instructions of an illumined teacher, they too go beyond death. - Bhagavad-Gita 

The lord of unlimited power dwells in the heart of all beings, and by his magic power of illusion, causes them to move about like wooden dolls fixed on a machine. - Bhagavad Gita

Just as a reservoir is of little use when the whole countryside is flooded, scriptures are of little use to the illumined man or woman who sees the Lord everywhere. - Bhagavad-Gita

To the illumined man or woman, a clod of dirt, a stone, and gold are the same. - Bhagavad Gita

For he who has no tranquility there is no concentration. - Bhagavad-Gita

2 comments:

Peaches Ledwidge said...

This is hard work - "A man should not hate any living creature. Let him be friendly and compassionate to all. He must free himself from delusion of ‘I” and “mine”. He must accept pleasure and pain with equal tranquillity. He must be forgiving, even contented, self controlled…."

I don't hate spiders, but I don't want them crawling on me...

Vincent said...

Hi Peaches,

Basically, it is about acceptance and being compassionate to all things. :-)

Cheers,
Vincent