gita - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-29T05:57:18Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/gitaPossessiveness, for a grihastha by Radhanath Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/possessiveness-for-a-grihastha2024-03-22T08:30:00.000Z2024-03-22T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515065559,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515065559,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515065559?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>According to the shastra, the way to counteract the very deeply strong tendency for possessiveness in the grihastha life is to giving charity to the Vaishnavas and the brahmans, to the mission of the guru. According to the shastra, the first fifty percent you have give it to your guru’s mission. And then whatever else you have, maintain, that is the ideal standard. You never be possessive if you do that, because the first priority with whatever you get goes to Guru and Krishna. You cannot do fifty percent; you should aspire to come as close to that as possible. But that should be the first thing you do with your Laxmi or your wealth or whatever you have. Not that I will take care of my own needs and whatever little is left will see. This is how a grihastha suppose to be trained according to the shastra. Then you will not be possessive, for you should give in charity and you should also always be aspiring to be the humble servant of the servant. And very important that you are always looking of to those who are in a renounced order of life. To the degree the grihasthas have respect for the dignity of the brahmacharis and the sannyasis, to that degree they will advance properly in Krishna consciousness. This is always been the teaching of Srila Prabhupada through his books. But this is very important for the first class brahmacharis and grihasthas. Because although grihasthas might be very very expert in whatever they do, often times they are very very expert. He may be expert managers, expert preachers, expert at giving donations and managing affairs, business, and doctors whatever. They will become proud and they will become possessive and they will become attached. Unless they have a very very deep and high esteem for those in the renounced order of life and they are thinking when will I become like that?</p>
<p>And we find the great kings like Yudhishtra, who was more an expert grihastha than him? When Narada muni or some great soul would come, he will simply bow down and say when will I become like you? You are really great, look at me. Dasharatha maharaja same thing, these are the real great grihasthas. They might even be better than those who are in renounced order of life. Ambarish maharaja was thinking that way towards Durvasa muni. He was far more advanced than Durvasa muni, but his humility was as a grihastha, that when will I become like you? You are so renounced and so great. So that high esteem for those in a renounced order of life is a very very essential ingredient within the heart, necessary within the heart of the grihastha. And therefore that high esteem must manifest in aspiring to be the humble servant of those in the renounced order of life.</p>
<p>And as far as brahamachari counteracting possessiveness, that comes by serving the other Vaishnavas. By keeping nothing for oneself, but being a servant. Whatever we keep we should understand it’s like holding on when we are trying to swim in the ocean, it’s like holding on to some heavy weight. Bhagavatam says, when one is drowning in the ocean and he is attached to beautiful golden crown, it might look nice, it might give him pride and prestige, but it only helps him sink faster and deeper. Nothing is ours, everything is Krishna’s…..voice missing…., dive for ourselves, we should know its bondage, and it’s going to cause us suffering.</p>
<p>A question is asked on how should we deal with our relatives, wife, children.</p>
<p>Possessiveness means that you are meant to protect them on behalf of your guru and Krishna. They are not yours, they are not your slaves, and they are not your servants. You are their servant, you may have to train them, you may have to discipline them but in the mood of being their servant. Because they are Krishna’s children and Krishna has entrusted them and He has entrusted them to you. But they are His sacred property. Therefore you must always be in a mood of being the servant of all Vaishnavas, all family members, everyone. Sometimes we may have to serve them by disobediently following the order, Sometime you may have to serve them by disciplining them, by giving them instructions, But the mood is always service, there is nothing is yours. It is the sacred property of God, every devotee. The temple president is the servant of the people who are under him, he doesn’t think they are mine, they are my servants. He is serving them because they are his guru’s property. He must engage them in guru’s work. The father sees the children and the wife in the same spirit and the wife must see the husband and the children in the same spirit. This is an essential necessity of all our relationships, but nothing is ours. We are the masters over no one; this is ego and the servant. These people are my guru’s property, they are more precious than me. I have a great responsibility in my relationship with them.</p>
<p>We are not takers, we are givers. Even when we receive we are actually giving them the chance to serve, we are not taking something from them. When we expect something for someone, we should not expect it for ourselves; we should expect it for them. It’s like when you are a doctor when he expect someone to take medicines, is it for your good or his good? Devotional service is a medicine, if someone is serving you as the representative of the guru, we should not be expected for our self, and we should be expected for their benefit. It’s a medicine that will heal them. That should be our spirit. Therefore we are not attached, we have no personal attachment. But out of compassion we are diligently trying to engage them in their duty. A wife is meant to serve the husband, but the husband should not be proud thinking that she is serving me. By some inconceivable arrangement, I am supposed to be the representative of guru to this person. Therefore in serving me she is actually purifying her own existence because she is serving a guru. It’s not for me; I am not attached to what she gives me. I am only attached that she makes spiritual advancement. Then you are always in a mood of a servant, not an enjoyer. This we must cultivate, this consciousness being the servant of the servant.</p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=24199">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=24199</a></p></div>Srila Prabhupada and the Gita by Giriraj Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/srila-prabhupada-and-the-gita-by-giriraj-swami2023-12-22T08:30:00.000Z2023-12-22T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:562px;width:400px;" src="https://i.imgur.com/qu1UQSB.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>On Gita Jayanti, the day of the advent of the Bhagavad-gita, spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, I reflected on Srila Prabhupada and how he addressed members of the Gita Pratishthan (Gita Foundation) in India, in 1976. The way Srila Prabhupada dealt with the conference was exemplary and extraordinary as I shall relate.</p>
<p>In May a prominent industrialist named Ramkrishna Bajaj (almost everyone in India knows Bajaj Autos and Bajaj Electricals) wrote Srila Prabhupada that he was organizing a conference under the banner of the Gita Pratishthan, to promote the preaching of the Bhagavad-gita, and that he wanted Srila Prabhupada, as the world’s foremost preacher of the Gita, to attend. Srila Prabhupada, however, did not want to join, because although the purpose of the conference was to discuss how to preach the message of the Gita, he was concerned that different participants would have different ideas of what the message of the Gita was. The meeting would host many Mayavadis (impersonal speculators) who preach in the name of the Bhagavad-gita that people can become Krishna, that they can merge and become one with God. Then, who would decide what the actual message of the Gita was? So, Prabhupada considered, “What is the use of my going and wasting time, with no conclusion?” Rather, he asked me to go on his behalf.</p>
<p>In his letter to me, Srila Prabhupada wrote that we must insist that the Bhagavad-gita be presented as it is and that people not use the words of Krishna simply to make money or to promote their own philosophies. “If they have got their own philosophy, then let them preach their own philosophy, but not in the name of the Gita.” And he gave an example: “Suppose a man wants to smoke ganja [marijuana], but he does not want to be caught. So he takes a friend’s hand and smokes it in his hand, and then when the authorities come he says, ‘Oh, I have not smoked ganja. See, my hands are clean!’ The idea is that if one wants to preach the Gita, then he must preach it as it is. Otherwise, don’t use the Gita.” (In other words, don’t preach your own concocted philosophy and present it as Lord Krishna’s.)</p>
<p>Eventually, Mr. Bajaj came in person to appeal to Srila Prabhupada to attend, and Prabhupada finally agreed. And so, in December, we went to Wardha, near Nagpur, in Maharashtra, in the center of India.</p>
<p>Most of the Bajaj family members were followers of Vinoba Bhave, a prominent freedom fighter under Mahatma Gandhi. And Ramkrishna’s father, Jamnalal Bajaj, had been Gandhi’s treasurer. So, every day Srila Prabhupada and his party would take prasada on the veranda of the house where Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, and Jamnalal Bajaj all used to take their meals. And Mr. Bajaj would point out where each of them sat, as we sat in the very same places.</p>
<p>On the main day of the conference, and all the participants went to Vinoba Bhave’s Paunar ashram. When Srila Prabhupada addressed them, his argument was clear and simple: Krishna preached the Bhagavad-gita to instruct people to become devotees (man-mana bhava mad-bhakto), and how do people become devotees? By chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra (harer namaiva kevalam). Therefore, those who want to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gita should propagate the chanting of the holy names of Krishna - Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare because that will fulfill the Lord’s purpose in the Bhagavad-gita.</p>
<p>Then Srila Prabhupada took his karatals and began to chant Hare Krishna, which infused the meeting with tremendous spiritual energy, especially after so many impersonal speculators had just spoken. The kirtana wasn’t in the schedule, and Srila Prabhupada didn’t take anyone’s permission (not that he had to); still, he was very tactful, and before the audience could become impatient, he stopped the kirtana in what had been a most dramatic interlude.</p>
<p>On the last day, there was to be a meeting of all the invitees to discuss practical programs for promoting the teachings of the Gita, and the organizers told Prabhupada that they would invite him when they were ready to present their proposals to him. Later than expected, they finally invited him to come.</p>
<p>When he entered the meeting room, everyone had to pay heed to him because he was the most senior preacher of the Gita in the world, and from every point of view - age, learning, success in preaching he was the leader. When he spoke, he stuck to one point: parampara. Unless you follow the disciplic succession and present the Bhagavad-gita as it is, without personal interpretation, you have no right to preach the Bhagavad-gita. “You can preach any philosophy you like,” he told them, “but don’t take the name of Bhagavad-gita.” And he explained his success: “There is no interpretation. Krsna says, ‘I am the Supreme.’ Mattah parataram nanyat. We are presenting, ‘Here is God.’ You are searching after God, Krsna, and they [foreign devotees] are accepting. . . . How they are accepting? Because it is the real thing, there is no interpretation.”</p>
<p>Of course, no one could really refute what he was saying.</p>
<p>Then Srila Prabhupada agreed to hear their proposals. The committee wanted to produce a list of resolutions on how to promote the message of the Gita. As soon as they presented their first proposal, Srila Prabhupada again insisted on the point of parampara: First you must surrender in parampara, as Arjuna surrendered to Krishna as guru, and then you can preach the Bhagavda-gita. Srila Prabhupada was so heavy - truly powerful. After the meeting, he commented, “We have injected our poison, and now it will act.” Of course, he actually meant, “We have injected our nectar, or medicine,” but as a sort of poetic device he said, “We have injected our ‘poison’, and now it will act.”</p>
<p>Although Srila Prabhupada was bold and forceful when he preached, and sometimes blunt in private, he was most polite and tactful otherwise. Even though he argued on philosophical principles in debate, he was always cordial in personal dealings. And because Srila Prabhupada was so genuine, Mr. Bajaj remained friendly even after Prabhupada took such a strong position, and later Mr. Bajaj gave quite a large donation to one of Srila Prabhupada’s farm projects. And, out of respect for Srila Prabhupada, he held the next Gita conference at the Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan, in Srila Prabhupada’s last days.</p>
<p>Even then, Srila Prabhupada repeated the same message to Mr. Bajaj one can lead others only if he follows the supreme leadership of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, through parampara.</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9119">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9119</a></p></div>Defining the Divine, East and West by Satyaraja Dasahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/defining-the-divine-east-and-west2023-08-04T08:30:00.000Z2023-08-04T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515228852,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="300" alt="2515228852?profile=original" /></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>From Back to Godhead</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Conceptions of God in the Bhagavad-gita encompass those of other traditions and give full picture of the Absolute Truth.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">“The Bhagavad-gita teaches a pantheistic view of God,” he said, his confidence and years of learning clear from his authoritative tone. “The massive vishvarupa—Krishna’s universal form, which encompasses all material phenomena, including time—tells us much about God in the Gita.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">His friend, another scholar of some renown, seemed to disagree.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">“The Gita goes beyond pantheism. It shows us how to perceive God in all things. The Tenth Chapter, especially, shows us how Krishna is the superlative exemplar in seventy categories, how He exists in the perceivable world.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">A third colleague gave his considered opinion as well: “The Gita ultimately teaches bhakti, devotion to Krishna, the supreme personal Deity. In this sense, it is not unlike the great monotheistic traditions of the West. I think you’ve both missed the point.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">I was attending a panel discussion at a conference of the American Academy of Religion, and as I sat back and listened, I noted that all three scholars were correct, each in his own way. I considered deeply their individual perspectives, and I realized something: The Gita has it all!</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In the West, theologians tend to speak of God in three ways, using the terms pantheism, panentheism, and monotheism, with a few variations in between. That is to say, Western theology speaks of God (1) as impersonal, diffused throughout all we see and beyond, or as nature itself, (2) as existing both within and outside everything, or (3) as the Supreme Being, omnipotent, omniscient, and all the rest.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Those familiar with Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is will immediately recognize the correlation between these conceptions of God and Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan, the three levels of Godhead expressed most succinctly in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11): “Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.”<br /> Pantheism and Brahman</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Pantheism is understood in several related ways. First of all, pantheism equates God with nature, saying that He exists as everything and that everything is God. In Greek, pan = all, and theos = God. According to this view, the universe, including all matter and energy, is a metaphysical entity that is more than what we perceive. The pantheistic “God”—both impersonal and nontheistic (if we consider the usual sense of theism)—is entirely immanent, or close by, if only we had the eyes to see it.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The doctrine of pantheism often goes further, espousing “a belief that every existing entity is only one Being, and that all other forms of reality are either modes (or appearances) of it or identical with it.” [Footnote 1] This is clearly a Western articulation of God as Brahman. The Vedas describe Brahman as a transcendent impersonal divinity. The Rig Veda, in particular, tells us in a prayer known as the Purusha-sukta (10.90.4) that Brahman, here in a more personalized form, expanded a portion of Himself as the created world, where He exists, without personality or form, as its essence. This is perhaps the earliest reference to pantheism—even if it doesn’t use that word—in any religious literature, East or West.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In the Gita, one can find hints of pantheism (specifically God’s oneness with the universe) in the Seventh Chapter, where Krishna identifies Himself with various material phenomena: He is the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the sound in ether, the ability in man, and so on. A closer look, however, shows that these are manifestations of His energy and He stands quite apart from them. Still, He does say that He is, in a sense, everything that exists (vasudevah sarvam iti), and the Gita’s Ninth Chapter tends to confirm this fact. (See texts 4, 5, 6, 16–18.)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The Lord elucidates His all-pervasive nature again in Chapter Ten, identifying Himself with the best of everything: He is Shiva, the ocean, the lion, Garuda, the Himalayas, the letter A, inexhaustible time, Brahma, truth itself, victory, adventure, and so on. But clearly, again, this is not all there is to Krishna, and He says so Himself by describing all of the above, and more, as a “mere indication” of His glory (esha tuddeshatah proktah, 10.40) and but a spark of His splendor (mama tejo ’msha-sambhavam, 10.41).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">A pantheistic view seems somewhat more apparent in the Gita’s Eleventh Chapter, wherein the Lord reveals His Universal Form (vishvarupa). Details of this form appear in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Canto, particularly in chapters one and six. Here we learn that “the gigantic manifestation of the phenomenal material world as a whole is the personal body of the Absolute Truth . . .” (2.1.24), and that, “the sphere of outer space constitutes His eye pits, and the eyeball is the sun as the power of seeing. His eyelids are both the day and night, and in the movements of His eyebrows, Lord Brahma and similar personalities reside.” (2.1.31) In this way the Bhagavatam goes on to deliver an elaborate meditation on the Absolute, allowing practitioners to virtually “see” Him in the material world.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">However, the Bhagavatam (1.3.30) is clear: “The conception of the virat universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord’s having form. But factually the Lord has no material form.” Thus, the universal manifestation of the Supreme is meant to take practitioners from an impersonal understanding of the Absolute to a more developed, personal conception of Lord, and to help them realize that while He has no material form, He does have a spiritual form.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Because this universal vision of the Lord equates God with the phenomenal world—that is, as being wholly amalgamated with, or inseparable from, visible nature—it is a form of pantheism, and one needs to go further to understand God’s spiritual nature. A pantheist who fails to look beyond the complex, majestic manifestations of matter may even be regarded as atheistic, having overlooked their all-attractive, transcendent, personal source.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">That being said, a more liberal view of pantheism can also be found in the teachings of the Gita. Srila Prabhupada writes:</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Pantheism in its higher status does not permit the student to form an impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth, but it extends the conception of the Absolute Truth into the field of the so-called material energy. Everything created by the material energy can be dovetailed with the Absolute by an attitude of service, which is the essential part of the living energy. The pure devotee of the Lord knows the art of converting everything into its spiritual existence by this service attitude, and only in that devotional way can the theory of pantheism be perfected.<br /> (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.20, Purport)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Here Prabhupada suggests that the pantheistic perspective may be an imperfect preliminary stage that can lead to a more mature or complete realization of the Absolute Truth as something far greater than can be found in material nature. This correlates with the Vaishnava view of Brahman realization as a low-rung, impersonal conception of God.<br /> Panentheism and Paramatma</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">While the Gita views pantheism as immature or incomplete, it more readily embraces a panentheistic view, seeing all things as imbued with God’s presence and all things as being in God as well. As opposed to pantheism, which sees God as everything, panentheism sees God in everything (pan = all, en = in, and theos = God) or everything in God. The word is used in both ways. [Footnote 2]</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The term panentheism is attributed to German philosopher Karl Christian Friedrich Krause (1781–1832), who wanted to reconcile monotheism and pantheism. From a Vaishnava point of view, panentheism has some redeeming features. For example, Krishna says in the Bhagavatam (11.15.35–36), “I exist within everything as the Supersoul and outside of everything in My all-pervading feature.” The Gita (6.30) encourages us to see everything in Krishna and Krishna in everything: yo mam pashyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi pashyati. And the Brahma-samhita (5.35) tells us, “All universes exist in Him [Krishna], and He is present in His fullness in every atom.” Clearly these are all panentheistic statements.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Now, for God to fit within everything He would have to be smaller than the smallest, and for everything to fit within Him, He would have to be larger than the largest. He would have to simultaneously be both, inconceivably. In fact, this is precisely how He is described in numerous scriptural passages. The Svetashvatara Upanishad (3.9), for example, tells us that God is smaller than the smallest and larger than the largest (anor aniyan mahato mahiyan). The Gita tells us that God is both the smallest (anor aniyamsam, 8.9) and the greatest (vibhum, 10.12), and it also reveals that all beings are in Krishna (mat-sthani-sarva-bhutani, 9.4).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The alternate side of the same concept, that God is within everything, brings us to the subject of Paramatma. Panentheism, in this case, might be considered a Western equivalent for Paramatma realization, wherein one views Krishna (or His expansion Vishnu) as all-pervading—existing within every human heart and, indeed, within every atom. This is a more localized, personal feature of the Lord, as compared with the pantheistic Brahman conception. But all is not so easy.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">There are differences between panentheism, as commonly understood, and the Vaishnava conception of Paramatma. While the similarity of “God in all” exists in both, Paramatma goes much further, putting a “face” on panentheism’s God. The critical factor here is form. Both the Gita and the Bhagavatam (2.2.9–11), especially, are quite specific about Vishnu as He appears in every atom: “He has four hands carrying a lotus, a wheel of a chariot, a conch shell, and a club, respectively. His mouth expresses His happiness. His eyes spread like the petals of a lotus, and His garments, yellowish like the saffron of a kadamba flower, are bedecked with valuable jewels, and He wears a glowing headdress and earrings.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Moreover, while the panentheistic view holds that everything is in God and sometimes that God is in everything, it is never quite clear about the relationship between God perceived in nature and the transcendent being who is the source of all we see. [Footnote 3] The Bhagavatam and the Gita give us a much more developed, or shall we say sophisticated, idea about this source. Those Vaishnava texts tell us that Krishna is the root of all divine manifestations and that Paramatma is an emanation from that original source, partaking fully of His transcendent nature. The omnipotent Supreme Person can reproduce His essential being by appearing in “an extended personal form of Himself,” as Prabhupada describes Paramatma. Thus, if we may offer new terminology to the Western theological tradition, let us call the theology of Paramatma “Personal Extensionism.” This differs both from the view that God is in one sense identical with all that is (pantheism) and that He is impersonally within all things we see (panentheism). But this is still not monotheism proper.<br /> Monotheism and Bhagavan</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">When scholars talk about “the three great monotheistic traditions,” they are usually not talking about Vaishnavism or the tradition of the Bhagavad-gita. Rather, they are talking about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But if they would look just a little beneath the surface, they would perhaps find the earliest monotheistic tradition.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">True, one should be cautious when applying the terms of one set of religious traditions to another with its own history, insights, and ways of thinking about spirituality. People who identify with the Judeo-Christian tradition have very particular ideas in mind when they refer to monotheism, and that should be respected. The same might be said about the terms pantheism and panentheism. But given that caveat, the God of the Gita is clearly a Supreme Being and the recipient of monotheistic worship: Krishna is described as God of gods (10.14), the origin of all other gods (10.12), the primeval person (11.38), the Lord of the worlds (5.29), the creator and sustainer of everything (8.9), and on and on. As Krishna says, no one is equal to or greater than Him (11.43).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Krishna’s supremacy is so blatant, in fact, that one wonders why there would be any question at all. Perhaps it is because He is contrasted with other gods—demigods, or specially empowered beings—who serve as universal administrators. Indeed, this is why various forms of Indian religion are often described as polytheistic, or endorsing the worship of many gods. But, at least in terms of the Gita, such charges cannot stand. Though other gods may exist, Krishna is clearly supreme.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Biblical scholars might want to stop us here, claiming that, since other gods are even acknowledged, the Gita’s religion is not really monotheism in the traditional sense of the word. It should be remembered, however, that early Israelite tribes practiced “monolatry” as opposed to strict monotheism: they worshiped one Supreme God among many. And besides, as already stated, we use the term monotheism with caution.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">It should also be noted that the Gita’s monotheism is distinct, deserving terminology of its own. Apropos of this, Graham M. Schweig, associate professor of religious studies at Christopher Newport University, Virginia, calls the Gita’s Vaishnavism “polymorphic monotheism,” that is, a theology that recognizes many forms (ananta-rupa) of the one, single, unitary divinity. [Footnote 4] Since it is here stated that God has many forms, one could superficially accuse the tradition of polytheism. But those who understand the tradition well know that it hereby merely acknowledges God’s capacity to be in many places and forms at the same time. This is not to say that all forms are God’s. The Vedic literature is quite clear about what constitutes a form of the Supreme Lord, and only those are to be worshiped.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The Gita promotes the worship of one Supreme Personality of Godhead, also known as Bhagavan. [Footnote 5] But the monotheistic worship of Bhagavan, lovingly adored as Krishna or Vishnu, is unique in the history of religions, for here we actually get to see, or visualize, the Lord of our prayers. If the scriptures place a face on Paramatma, as He exists within every atom, they do so much more for Sri Krishna. Devotees become privy to His numerous ecstatic features and His day-to-day activities with eternal associates in the spiritual world.<br /> Three Aspects of the Same Truth</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">I would agree with the three scholars mentioned in the beginning of this article, accepting their diverse views. Like the first of these well-meaning men, I acknowledge that the Gita promotes a type of pantheism, God’s presence as a metaphysical dimension of nature. But I would hasten to add that the Gita’s pantheism goes beyond the kind we usually hear about in the West. It shows us that there is a person behind the divinity perceivable in the natural world. I agree, too, that the Gita shows us a form of panentheism, sharing with its readers God’s immanence and how we might perceive that immanence in our day-to-day lives. And finally, of course, I agree with the third scholar most of all—that the Gita’s ultimate teaching is bhakti, or devotion to a Supreme Personal Godhead. This is the Gita’s crowning glory.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">What I disagree with is how the three scholars address the Gita’s diversity. The Gita gives us several views of God, all legitimate and each revealing different aspects of the divine. It’s not that if one of these aspects is correct then the others must be wrong. Rather, the Gita revels in multi-faceted reality, taking its readers from fundamental conceptions of the Absolute Truth to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan are three aspects of that same Truth, manifesting variously according to the realization and wisdom of the practitioner. Those who approach God through knowledge tend to realize His eternality aspect, and in perfection this is Brahman realization. Yogis and mystics meditate on the Lord in the heart, and the highest point of such meditation is called Paramatma realization. This is where one realizes not only eternality but the ultimate end of all knowledge as well. Finally, the highest and most inclusive theistic pursuits culminate in devotion to God. Those who adopt this process focus on Bhagavan, the worship of whom leads to divine love. Here one reaps the benefit of all other processes, affording the practitioner the zenith of not only eternity and knowledge, but bliss as well. This is the best that pantheism, panentheism, and monotheism have to offer.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=22820">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=22820</a></p></div>Our abilities are our endowments, not our entitlements by Chaitanya Charan Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/our-abilities-are-our-endowments-not-our-entitlements-by-chaitany2023-07-05T12:50:00.000Z2023-07-05T12:50:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10925980255,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10925980255?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="500" /> </p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">We all have certain abilities that enable us to make a contribution and gain satisfaction.<br /> When we use our abilities properly, we get a sense of self-worth and specialness. But sometimes those talents can also make us proud because we may feel superior to those who do not have such talents. To avoid such pride, we need to see our abilities appropriately. Gita wisdom explains that our talents are not our entitlements, that is, we are not entitled to have these talents. Even if we have certain abilities right from birth, still we didn’t do anything special in the womb to get them. Even if we developed those talents by commitment, still we can’t take credit for what we started with. Indeed, introspection will help us see that our talents are endowments – they are gifted to us by divine grace.<br /> The Bhagavad-gita helps us gain this vision when it (07.08) declares that all the abilities we possess are the manifestations of God through us. He is manifesting a spark of his glorious infinite abilities through us (10.41).<br /> When we see our abilities as gifts from the divine, then our abilities won’t steal us of our humility. Rather, devotional contemplation and utilization on those abilities can deepen our humility. We will understand that Krishna has given these talents to us and he can take them away from us when he wants, as he did with Arjuna’s archery skills towards the end of his life. While we have those gifts, we can use them to serve Krishna and others in the mood of loving service. And by such a service attitude, we will go closer to Krishna, thereby enriching ourselves with devotion for him. Thereafter, whether we have or don’t have abilities, we will have Krishna – and that is life’s supreme attainment.<br /> <br /> <strong>Verse 07.08 –</strong> “O son of Kunti, I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Think it over:</strong><br /> Why are we not entitled to our abilities?<br /> How are our abilities endowments?<br /> How can we ensure that our abilities don’t steal our humility?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=69626">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=69626</a></p></div>A humble scholar asks his taxi driver to narrate and sign the Gitahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/a-humble-scholar-asks-his-taxi-driver-to-narrate-and-sign-the-git2023-02-28T11:57:54.000Z2023-02-28T11:57:54.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10974768463,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="300" alt="10974768463?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></p>
<p>For about ten years, I maintained myself and my family by driving a taxi. Srila Prabhupada’s kirtan always softly played in the taxi, and I was distributing his books to my passengers. Some happily accepted, and some refused as always.</p>
<p>One day, I picked up a passenger from the airport to take him downtown, about a forty-minute drive with traffic.</p>
<p>On the way, he recognized the maha-mantra in the background and started a conversation with me. I slowly introduced him to the message of the Bhagavad Gita. He started listening to my narrations very attentively and began expressing his emotions.</p>
<p>He said, “I am a professor at a university, and here I am listening to a taxi driver! I am spellbound by the knowledge and wisdom you are sharing.”</p>
<p>I handed him a Bhagavad Gita. After I came to know his profession, I became a bit nervous. He sensed that and requested me to continue sharing the knowledge. We had a nice, smooth ride to the city.</p>
<p>Upon arriving downtown, he requested me to sign the Gita so that he will remember me whenever he reads the book. I was shocked, and I said, “Sir, this is my spiritual master’s work; I cannot write in his book. Moreover, I am just an ordinary taxi driver, and you are . . .”</p>
<p>He stopped me there and said, “The knowledge you have shared with me today is priceless. And I promise I will start reading this book from now on.”</p>
<p>I prayed for forgiveness from Srila Prabhupada, wishing for the professor to become a devotee of Krishna in this lifetime, and signed the book as requested.</p>
<p>Hare Krishna!</p>
<p>Acyutananda Gaurahari Dasa<br /> ISKCON Melbourne, Australia<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://www.iskconbookdistribution.com/a-humble-scholar-asks-his-taxi-driver-to-narrate-and-sign-the-gita/">https://www.iskconbookdistribution.com/a-humble-scholar-asks-his-taxi-driver-to-narrate-and-sign-the-gita/</a></p></div>The Heart of the Gita by Ananda Vrndavanesvari Devi Dasihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-heart-of-the-gita-12022-06-21T09:30:00.000Z2022-06-21T09:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ML9uNpzXgHQ/V9-xltTd7UI/AAAAAAAAe7Q/tOXIc55blcE/s0/2016-09-19_11-36-12.jpg?profile=RESIZE_400x" alt="2016-09-19_11-36-12.jpg?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="400" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Just as a very good sweet will have something hidden inside of it, or a company will have the inner group of key people, the Gita has a core made up of four verses. These are called the Catur Sloki (catur = four, and sloki = verses), and they summarize the entire Gita.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The eighteen chapters of the Gita are themselves divided into 3 parts. The middle six chapters focus on bhakti and are “protected” on either side by teachings on karma-yoga (the first six chapters) and jnana yoga (the focus of the last six chapters). It’s considered that the Bhakti chapters are the heart of the Gita and the catur-sloki are located in that heart.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In the catur-sloki you find the essence of the teachings of the 700 verses of the Gita. They establish the scope of the Lord’s opulence (verse 8), the result of truly knowing those opulences (verse 8), how pure devotees worship Him (verse 9), and how He reciprocates with their devotion (verses 10 and 11).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Here they are:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align:justify;">10.8 I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their heart.</li>
<li style="text-align:justify;">10.9 The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.</li>
<li style="text-align:justify;">10.10 To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.</li>
<li style="text-align:justify;">10.11 To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align:justify;">We see in these verses the loving exchanges between the Lord and us, which is the highest point of self-realization. We are trying to love Him and He is loving us by lighting up our heart in reciprocation. It’s love at the beginning, middle and end – just deeper and deeper feelings and expressions of that love.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">These four verses are easy to learn and are a daily spiritual tonic to recite. One person I know has a clever way to learn verses. He sticks the verse on a door he uses a lot, and every time he goes out he recites the verse. He said he learns verses in no time by that method.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">You can learn both the Sanskrit and English, or either one. Find the verses here at <a href="http://www.vedabase.com/en/bg" target="_blank">vedabase.com</a>. These are great verses to have in your head. They can lead you to the heart of it all.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31506">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31506</a></p></div>Encourage by Bhaktimarga Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/encourage-by-bhaktimarga-swami-12020-12-27T12:46:24.000Z2020-12-27T12:46:24.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8346583852,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8346583852,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="350" alt="8346583852?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>Thus far it is a mild winter. Such is the forecast. Such is the experience. Stepping outside for an eager stroll allowed me to feel the atmosphere. I encouraged one of our boys in the ashram, who hails from Bangladesh, to go for a daily outside experience. “Get acclimated. Go out for some air. There is lots of prana.” Actually he’s constitutionally quite strong.</p>
<p>“It is when you stay indoors that you get sick,” I continued.</p>
<p>However, he is actually a bit under the weather. Now, I can’t pressure. I can only advise. I can only encourage and reassure in some way.</p>
<p>In today’s reading from The Gita I relished a passage of reassurance—one of the most supportive, encouraging statements Sri Krishna delivers. From 16.5 He says to His warrior friend, Arjuna, “Do not worry, oh son of Pandu, for you are born with the divine qualities.”</p>
<p>I can’t skip the explanation by Prabhupada:</p>
<p>Lord Kṛṣṇa encouraged Arjuna by telling him that he was not born with demoniac qualities. His involvement in the fight was not demoniac, because he was considering the pros and cons. He was considering whether respectable persons such as Bhīṣma and Droṇa should be killed or not, so he was not acting under the influence of anger, false prestige or harshness. Therefore he was not of the quality of the demons. For a kṣatriya, a military man, shooting arrows at the enemy is considered transcendental, and refraining from such a duty is demoniac. Therefore there was no cause for Arjuna to lament. Anyone who performs the regulative principles of the different orders of life is transcendentally situated.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://thewalkingmonk.blogspot.com/2020/12/saturday-december-19-2020.html">http://thewalkingmonk.blogspot.com/2020/12/saturday-december-19-2020.html</a></p></div>The Glory of Gita Wisdom by Caitanya Carana Dasahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-glory-of-gita-wisdom2020-12-25T06:30:00.000Z2020-12-25T06:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><h1 class="page-title" style="text-align:center;">The Glory of Gita Wisdom</h1>
<p><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3_Lwx61B6jc/VR1Yd5fsaSI/AAAAAAAANj4/t9eZeAvZdcA/s0/2015-04-02_16-55-44.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3_Lwx61B6jc/VR1Yd5fsaSI/AAAAAAAANj4/t9eZeAvZdcA/s0/2015-04-02_16-55-44.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="2015-04-02_16-55-44.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="500" /></a></p>
<p>Einstein, Emerson, Thoreau, Huxley, Hesse . . . I was amazed that this list an intellectual who’s who from recent world history was actually a list of thinkers who had appreciated the Gita.</p>
<p>As I had been born and brought up in India, the place where the Gita was spoken millennia ago, I was familiar with it as an ancient Hindu text. I had even memorized some of it for verse recitation contests. But I had no idea that its contents were of interest to the modern mind, much less praised by some of the greatest modern minds.</p>
<p>Reading such appreciations of the Gita motivated me to study the text seriously. After reading several Gita commentaries, by well-known spiritual teachers, I came across the rendition of the Gita that I found most relevant: the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, by Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of ISKCON. Studying that text in the association of Krishna devotees initiated for me an intellectual adventure that continues till this day. That adventure has involved studying the commentaries of many illustrious saintly teachers from the past, discussing the Gita with contemporary devotee-scholars, memorizing and relishing its verses, and choosing to dedicate my life to sharing Gita wisdom. All this intellectual engagement with the Gita has helped me understand it better. It has also helped me better understand just how much there is still to understand in it.</p>
<p>Now, with the holistic understanding of the Gita that the bhakti tradition provides, when I look back at those appreciations of scholars and intellectuals, I can see how they help elucidate the glory of Gita wisdom.</p>
<p>Insights on Essential Questions</p>
<p>“When I read the Bhagavad-gita and reflect about how God created this universe, everything else seems so superfluous.” – Albert Einstein, Noble Laureate German Scientist</p>
<p>We live amidst a degree of information overload that makes us susceptible to a particular sort of intellectual malfunction an inability to contemplate life’s essential questions. Through newspapers, TV, and the Internet, data on hundreds of subjects from hundreds of sources swamps us daily. Much of this information is irrelevant to our core concerns; knowledge about the favorite food of a popular actor, and similar information, makes no difference to our lives in any practical sense.</p>
<p>The Bhagavad-gita (13.12) leaves just this sort of intellectual superficiality far behind by explicitly declaring that spiritual knowledge is the most important among all branches of knowledge. Significantly, it doesn’t let spiritual knowledge remain in the realm of remote abstraction. It brings that knowledge to bear on issues that lie at the heart of our existential dilemma: who we are, what our role in the world is, and how we can find real happiness. Gita wisdom underscores the fact that we are not just physical bodies but spiritual beings. Our purpose is to harmonize ourselves with the underlying order that pervades the universe, which can be achieved by learning to love the Supreme Being, Krishna, who can grant us supreme fulfillment.</p>
<p>The Gita’s sophisticated theistic framework, as evident, for example, in its delineation (Gita 9.510) of Krishna’s relationship with the world, provides us with the exciting possibility to reconcile age-old conflicts between science and religion. The mainstream scientific worldview implies that the cosmos functions as an impersonal mechanism, governed by universal and immutable laws. Conventional religion implies that such laws can be superseded by a personal God who bestows grace and intervenes in the lives of His worshipers for their greater benefit.</p>
<p>In this conflict, those who side with science usually have to settle for some kind of deism. But this reduces God to a mere first cause, a passive observer unable to intervene in the world He set in motion, on behalf of His devotees or a otherwise a notion unacceptable to the religious mind nourished by God’s independent desire to be merciful. Those who side with religion frequently have to settle for a God who arbitrarily works miracles a notion unpalatable to the scientific mind that thrives on the sort of orderliness that characterizes the universe.</p>
<p>How does the Gita help resolve this conflict?</p>
<p>By outlining a profound theistic framework wherein God, Krishna, plays a fascinating double-role. It presents a multi-level conception of God as both a neutral overseer (Paramatma) and a reciprocal giver and receiver of love (Bhagavan). The understanding of God as a neutral overseer provides room for the universe to function as a mechanism governed by natural laws. The simultaneous parallel understanding of God as a reciprocal giver and receiver of love provides room for divine intervention.</p>
<p>No doubt, the conflict is philosophically complex and the two level conception of God is theologically intricate. So, this article won’t give a comprehensive presentation of either; it intends rather to serve as an introduction to the impressive scope and depth of Gita wisdom. This same principle applies to the other complex issues addressed in the remaining sections.</p>
<p>Systematic Guidance for Spiritual Evolution</p>
<p>“The Bhagavad-gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.” Aldous Huxley, English writer</p>
<p>Perennial philosophy centers on two vital principles: understanding philo the perennial, the function of the head; and loving the perennial, the function of the heart. Gita wisdom boosts both the head and the heart in their voyage towards the eternal.</p>
<p>For the head, the Gita explains that reality comprises three levels: the arena of material forms, which is temporary; the arena of formlessness that lies at the threshold of eternity; and the arena of spiritual forms that lies at the heart of life in eternal reality. We can visualize these three levels in a graphical representation of reality as a continuum along the y-axis. The lower, negative side of the axis represents material reality. The upper, positive side refers to spiritual reality. And the zero point refers to the transition where matter ends and spirit begins. These three levels can also be alternatively referred to as material personal, impersonal, and spiritual personal or trans-personal.</p>
<p>Thus the Gita provides an inclusive framework for contextualizing and integrating notions of reality that have emerged in various traditions throughout the world. Its nonsectarian understanding of the Absolute Truth is evident in its declaration that Krishna is the father of not just all human beings but of all living beings. (14.4) The same universal spirit is manifest in the Gita’s declaration (10.8) that Krishna is the source of everything.</p>
<p>For the heart, the Gita offers a positive role for emotions: they can be reinvented as roads to spiritual perception instead of being rejected as roadblocks in spiritual life. It first underscores that material emotions act as roadblocks because they distort our vision, making worldly things seem desirable when they are in fact the source of suffering. So it repeatedly (Gita 2.38, 9.28, 12.19, for example) urges us to evolve spiritually and grow beyond the grip of our emotions.</p>
<p>But the Gita wisdom refuses to let the material realm have a monopoly on emotions. It indicates that spiritual emotions emotions of the soul for Krishna, and of the soul through Krishna for other souls are our original, natural emotions of which material emotions are pale shadows. The Gita (15.19) declares that the ultimate spiritual reality is personal and lovable, and can be approached with devotional affection. (10.10 bhajatam pritipurvakam) Thus it celebrates spiritual emotions as roads to reality. In fact, it deems love for Krishna to be the pinnacle of reality, life’s crowning achievement. (4.10)</p>
<p>Overall, the Gita presents spiritual perfection not as oneness or as an emotionally barren void, but as an emotionally fertile arena of endless love shared between Krishna and all living beings.</p>
<p>East-West Theistic Synthesis</p>
<p>“The Bhagavad-gita is an empire of thought and in its philosophical teachings Krishna has all the attributes of the fullfledged monotheistic deity and at the same time the attributes of the Upanisadic absolute.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher</p>
<p>The Western conception of a personal God is emotionally appealing but intellectually unappealing. The Eastern conception of an impersonal absolute is just the opposite intellectually appealing but emotionally unappealing. The Gita’s revelation of God as Krishna is both intellectually and emotionally appealing. Here’s why.</p>
<p>Emotionally, the idea of a personal God who protects and guides us appeals to our innate need for relationships and reciprocation. Without them, existence becomes an emotional wasteland. Yet most notions of a personal God in the Western theistic traditions can’t survive serious intellectual scrutiny.</p>
<p>Intellectuals like to go beyond appearance to substance, to the first principle, to the root cause of all things. So they often consider anything that has form and personality to be superficial and external. They feel impelled to go beyond to some deeper underlying universal truth. Thus, for example, the notion of God as an old man with a long beard who sends thunderbolts to cast the sinful into the fires of hell for eternal damnation strikes rational people as primitive and parochial.</p>
<p>To those who wish to go beyond appearance to substance, the Gita offers an arena of non-differentiated oneness known as Brahman, the impersonal conception of the Absolute. But it also urges such intellectually minded seekers to probe deeper and recognize transcendental individuality and variety within spiritual homogeneity. The Gita indicates that the transcendental person, Krishna, resides in His full glory beyond the Brahman effulgence (Gita 4.27). He is the support of Brahman and is the ultimate spiritual reality. In the supreme spiritual arena, He eternally reciprocates love with all those who choose to love Him. This vision of the supreme spiritual arena as a world of endless love is eminently emotionally fulfilling.</p>
<p>Thus by revealing a personal absolute who exists beyond all the sectarian categories that characterize the world of matter categories that intellectuals wish to transcend the Gita offers an understanding of God that is a synthesis of East and West and that appeals both emotionally and intellectually.</p>
<p>The Blossoming of Philosophy into Religion</p>
<p>“The marvel of the Bhagavad-gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.” The bane of most modern philosophy is its divorce from any transformational methodology for experiential verification. Most modern philosophers, no matter how brilliant, reign largely in the arena of armchair speculation. Philosophy divorced from transformational methodology loses its social relevance and becomes the shrunken domain of ivory tower intellectuals who agonize over semantics. In popular culture, philosophy is superseded by pop psychology, wherein self-help platitudes gain center-stage and wisdom is recast in soothing sound bites. People futilely turn to self-help without looking for the self.</p>
<p>Gita wisdom shows us the way out of this plight. It couples philosophy and religion into an integrated whole that serves as a potent tool for self-transformation and God realization. The Bhagavad-gita (9.2) indicates that it offers the king of all knowledge (raja-vidya) that can be verified by direct personal experience (pratyaksavagamam). Thus the Gita’s approach to exploring reality is bold, inviting, and scientific. It presents theoretical propositions about the nature of reality we are souls who have an eternal loving relationship with the all-attractive Supreme, Krishna. And for personal verification of its theory it presents the experimental methodology centered on the yoga of love, bhakti-yoga.</p>
<p>The Gita’s philosophy, far from being a matter of armchair speculation, focuses on the issue closest to our hearts love. Gita wisdom explains how life’s driving force is existence’s crowning reality the love that activates us in our daily life when purified and re-directed towards Krishna becomes the supreme reality, to which even the Supreme submits in His world of endless love.</p>
<p>And the Gita’s religion is far removed from conventional religions that ask followers to pray, pay, and obey. It invites devotee-seekers to analyze, utilize, and actualize its wisdom through personal practice practice that Krishna rewards proportionally with divine revelation, as indicated in the Gita (4.11) Thus, the philosophy of love blossoms into a religion of love, wherein all our daily activities, whether religious or secular, become integrated into a magnificent master plan. This plan aims for our purification and restoration in the eternal world of love to which we actually belong and for which we subconsciously long.</p>
<p>Comprehension through Spiritual Tuning</p>
<p>“In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.” Rudolph Steiner, Austrian social reformer</p>
<p>The Bhagavad-gita indicates that its mystery is revealed to those who have tuned their hearts with the Absolute through devotion. (4.3) What the Gita offers is not just a different worldview for intellectual titillation but a different world to view for emotional transformation. A blind person can speculate endlessly about the nature of an elephant, but such speculation can never provide the understanding available through surgical restoration of vision. Analogously, the Gita indicates that those who are stuck at the material level due to their attachments are blind to spiritual reality. (Gita 5.1011) Those who break free from the fetter of matter by diligent practice of yoga and raise their consciousness to the spiritual level become healed of this blindness; they perceive spiritual truth with the eyes of knowledge (jnanacaksu). The most complete spiritual cognition comes, as the Gita (11.5354) indicates, to those who cultivate a heart of devotion.</p>
<p>This devotional tuning characterized the words, the actions, indeed the life of Srila Prabhupada. When George Harrison asked him how one could recognize an authentic teacher of the Gita, Srila Prabhupada replied in essence that the Gita was a call to love Krishna, so an authentic proponent of the Gita had to be a lover of Krishna.</p>
<p>Through his personal example and his philosophical exposition, Srila Prabhupada unleashed the supremely transformational power of divine love. He thus opened for millions worldwide the door to not just intellectual comprehension of Gita wisdom but also to devotional realization of Krishna’s love. By this appealing spiritual egalitarianism, he “transformed hippies into happies,” changing aimless people with self defeating habits into purposeful and joyful devotees of Krishna dedicated to the service of humanity.</p>
<p>Hope amidst Hopelessness</p>
<p>“When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.” Mahatma Gandhi</p>
<p>Life is a battle, filled with regular obstacles and occasional reversals. Maintaining our morale amidst these stresses and distresses is often difficult, sometimes impossible. When we become demoralized, we lose the battle before we begin to fight, for we lose the will to fight at all.</p>
<p>We can best preserve the will to fight by linking ourselves with a transcendent reality that is forever secure, far beyond the threats and tribulations of material existence. Gita wisdom reveals that world to be Krishna’s world of love. The link to that world is loving remembrance of Krishna, remembrance especially of how He tirelessly prepares the way for us to reach that world, no matter what may be the hazards along the way.</p>
<p>Gita wisdom solaced and strengthened Arjuna in his worst crisis, when in the face of the most important battle of his life, his emotions went on over-drive and dragged him into an abyss of confusion and dejection. Meditation on the Gita’s verses has the power to heal and thrill, as testified by one of its first conveyors, Sanjaya. (18.7677)</p>
<p>The Gita’s potential to empower beckons each one of us. By contemplating its wisdom, we can guide our thoughts beyond the immediate to the ultimate, beyond the circumstantial to the eternal, beyond matter to Krishna. Thus, we can find the supreme shelter, the supreme strength, the supreme satisfaction. That is the Gita’s greatest gift and life’s ultimate achievement.</p>
<div class="itemView clearfix eBlog"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16590">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16590</a></div></div>The Other Gita of Krishna by Gauranga Darshan Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-other-gita-of-krishna-by-gauranga-darshan-das2020-09-11T10:15:00.000Z2020-09-11T10:15:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:343px;width:500px;" src="https://i.imgur.com/oUyMu5e.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Context and Crux of Uddhava-gita</p>
<p>Bhagavad-gita is the great philosophical song by Lord Krsna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra to motivate His bewildered friend Arjuna. There is yet another Gita that Krsna sang in Dvaraka to pacify another of His friends named Uddhava. Famous as Uddhava-gita it forms the longest philosophical section of the magnum opus literature Srimad Bhagavatam.</p>
<p>Lord Krsna’s descent into this world was requested by the devatas headed by Brahma, to reduce the burden of the earth. Having performed various pastimes over 125 years and with nothing more to do on behalf of the devatas, Krsna decided to return back to His supreme abode. Grateful demigods also requested Krsna to return if He so desires but begged Him to continue protecting them, His servants. Krsna told Brahma that He would soon depart from this world after withdrawing the Yadu dynasty.</p>
<p>Understanding Krsna’s imminent departure, Uddhava, the unalloyed devotee and dearest friend of Krsna was overwhelmed with separation anxiety. Pleading with folded hands he requested Krsna to take him along to His spiritual abode.</p>
<p>During His manifest pastimes on earth Krsna had various exchanges with several of His devotees at Vrndavana, Mathura, Dvaraka, Indra-prastha, Hastinapura, Mithila and so on. He also graced heavenly planets with His presence and gave darsana to Aditi and Kasyapa during the parijata tree episode. He had visited the lower planets and met Bali and Yamaraja while there to retrieve Sandipani Muni’s son. He even went to Vaikuntha and met Mahavisnu and others, on the plea of retrieving the son’s of a brahmana in Dvaraka.</p>
<p>One place where Krsna hadn’t personally visited during His earthly sojourn was Badrarikasrama, where great sages like Nara-narayana resided. With His departure due now, Krsna wanted Uddhava to go and enlighten the sages at Badarikasrama on His behalf. Krsna considered Uddhava as good as His own self and thus gave him confidential teachings in the form of Uddhava-gita. </p>
<p>In the Uddhava-gita Krsna spoke about bhakti, jnana and vairagya to teach us through Uddhava. Krsna inspired Uddhava to ask questions that lead to discussions on various topics spanning over twenty-three chapters of the Eleventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam (11.7-29).</p>
<p>More elaborate than Bhagavad-gita, Uddhava-gita constitutes a wide range of topics along with deeper details, fitting examples and reference validation to historic incidents. Below is a succinct presentation on this beautiful song – The Uddhava-gita. Readers are requested to taste its full glory from the pages of the Bhagavatam.</p>
<h3><strong>Becoming One’s Own Guru: ‘The 24 Gurus’</strong></h3>
<p>Krsna begins by explaining that an intelligent person, by use of commonsense, can analyze the worldly situation by perception and logic to rise above sense gratification. Adopting means that are both positive (inculcating certain principles) and negative (avoiding certain activities), one can search out and ultimately attain Me, the Supreme Lord. Therein lies the glory of human life. King Yadu once saw a young avadhuta brahmana (Lord Dattatreya) who appeared learned, wandering about fearlessly. Yadu learnt that the brahmana had taken shelter of twenty-four gurus from unconventional sources including the plants, animals, birds, insects and nature. With his refined intelligence he had learnt the science of the self and developed detachment by carefully studying his guru’s activities, qualities and other natural phenomenon. Yadu worshipped him and developing equal vision himself became free from all material attachments.</p>
<h3><strong>The Process of Disentanglement</strong></h3>
<p>Krsna: “Taking full shelter in Me through bhakti, without selfish desires, practice varnasrama. Work dutifully without attachment to fruitive results for sense enjoyment. Approach a bona fide guru with faith and affection, and be eager to receive knowledge of God from him. Such pure spiritual knowledge destroys illusion arising from the material modes.”<br /> Krsna Illuminates Uddhava on The Nature of Fruitive Activity<br /> Fruitive workers desire perpetual happiness, but they are unhappy too often and satisfied only occasionally, thus proving that they are not independent and their destinies are under some superior control. Even if people are able to avoid misery, still they cannot avoid death. Happiness, either on earth or in heaven, is polluted by envy, decay and death. So, materialism caters no uninterrupted or natural happiness. Through pious acts one achieves heaven but after brief enjoyment fall back to the mortal plane. Through impious acts one can extract some short-term pleasure but consequently suffer in hell and get an inauspicious body. Evidently, those devoted to material activities and rituals are bewildered & subjected to lamentation.</p>
<h3><strong>The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Souls</strong></h3>
<p>Krsna further explains that bondage and liberation do not actually exist for the spirit soul. The jiva’s relationship with the material nature arises only due to ignorance. The conditioned soul identifies with the material body like a person who identifies with somebody in a dream. The liberated soul, although situated in the material body, doesn’t identify with it. Such a person is fully awakened to one’s spiritual identity as a soul – servant of God. Just as ether, sun and air are unaffected by things they pervade, such persons maintain equal vision towards everything. Fixing the mind on Krsna, and performing devotional service in association of His devotees, anyone can reach the platform of ultimate liberation – Krsna’s supreme abode.</p>
<h3><strong>The True Devotee and Best Devotional Service</strong></h3>
<p>A true devotee has 28 qualities: merciful, forgiving, truthful, non-envious, undisturbed, self controlled, peaceful, steady, accepts Krsna as the only shelter and so on. The practice of bhakti includes 64 kinds of activities: seeing, touching, worshiping, serving, glorifying and offering obeisance to the Deity and pure devotees, hearing and chanting about Krsna, meditation on Him, and so on. “Being their ultimate shelter, I remember these devotees who performs such bhakti. If one does not engage in bhakti, which arises usually by associating with My devotees, there is no means of escaping from material existence.”</p>
<h3><strong>Krsna Reveals the Power of Devotee Association to Uddhava</strong></h3>
<p>“By associating with My pure devotees, one can destroy one’s attachment for all material sense gratification and attain perfection. Such purifying association brings Me under the control of My devotee. Other methods like astanga-yoga, sankhya (analysis of material elements), piety, nonviolence and so on cannot win Me over. Daityas, raksasas, beasts, gandharvas, apsaras, sudras and so on were purified in devotee association. Some examples were Vrtrasura, Prahlada, Vrsaparva, Bali, Vibhisana, Jambavan and so on. These persons did not undergo serious Vedic studies, nor did they execute severe vows or austerities, but simply associated with My devotees. The gopis of Vrndavana are My topmost devotees who are attached to Me in deep love.”</p>
<h3><strong>Vedic Processes and Bhakti</strong></h3>
<p>Krsna: I manifest in sound vibration of the Vedas and I gave the methods of karma, jnana and bhakti. This tree like universe, consisting of the forces of maya, with its various flowers and fruits of material happiness and distress, can be cut with the axe of knowledge (jnana) and through cultivation of devotional service (bhakti) by surrendering unto a guru. The three modes pertain to material intelligence and not to the soul. By aligning oneself to the items in mode of goodness, which gives rise to knowledge (jnana), one increases that mode and conquer the lower modes. Thus, discarding the material covering of the soul one can realize God.</p>
<p>Uddhava Understands that the Mind’s Misidentification Causes All Miseries<br /> Due to misidentifying oneself with the material body and mind, the conditioned soul develops false knowledge. Once the four Kumaras asked Brahma how to destroy the mutual relationship between the sense objects and the mind. Brahma couldn’t answer it, but fixed his mind on Me. I then appeared as Hamsa, the Swan incarnation, to explain the Sankhya philosophy. The mind and sense objects are merely designations that cover the spirit soul. Their mutual attraction is due to constant sense gratification. Being dedicated to Krsna, one can renounce the material mind, sense objects and the false ego that causes material bondage.</p>
<h3><strong>“Bhakti Yoga is the Supreme Process”</strong></h3>
<p>Different processes exist because different people have different natures and desires according to the particular modes they are influenced by. With intelligence bewildered by maya one speculates what could be good for others, leading to different theistic or atheistic viewpoints. This proliferation of Vedic formulas indicates only a variety of material illusions and not a variety of ultimate purpose. Such processes only bring temporary fruits with future miseries and such enjoyment is saturated with lamentation. “But fixing their minds upon Me, giving up material desires, they share with Me a happiness which is not possible through sense gratification. A devotee desires neither positions nor pleasure, not even liberation. He desires Me alone, attainable only by loving devotional service – bhakti. Giving up undue attachment to opposite sex, focusing on Me, one should carefully overcome obstacles in bhakti.”</p>
<h3><strong>Krsna Explains Astanga-yoga, Siddhis and Vibhutis</strong></h3>
<p>Astanga-yoga, the eight limbed process includes asana (sitting postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), pratyahara (bringing the distracted mind back), dharana and dhyana (overall and limb-by-limb meditation on the Lord’s form in the heart) and so on. “Such practices help conquer the senses and by fixing the mind upon Me the yogi attains mystic perfections (siddhis) which are of 18 types. These siddhis are ultimately impediments and distractions for one who practices bhakti.” Krsna then described His material and spiritual opulences (vibhutis) explaining that all power, beauty, fame, humility, charity, fortune, valor, tolerance and wisdom, wherever manifest, are simply expansions of Himself.</p>
<h3><strong>The Varnasrama System</strong></h3>
<p>“I am the origin of all varnas and asramas (social and spiritual orders). The brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras appeared from My face, arms, thighs and legs respectively. The brahmacaris, grhasthas, vana-prasthas and sannyasis appeared from My heart, loins, chest and head respectively. The varnas and asramas appear as per the inferior and superior natures of people.” Krsna then describing the qualities of people in different varnas and duties of different asramas says, “One is purified by performing prescribed duties of varnasrama. Such duties when dedicated to Me in loving service, award the supreme perfection of life.”</p>
<h3><strong>The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge</strong></h3>
<p>Jnana is the knowledge of 28 elements and ultimately seeing one element within all those. Vijnana is one’s experience when one sees the eternal ultimate cause of the 28 elements — God. Vairagya is detachment from the insubstantial material world and is cultivated from four types of evidences — Vedic knowledge (srutih), direct experience (pratyaksam), traditional wisdom (aitihyam) and logical induction (anumanam). “Bhakti-yoga includes firm faith in Me, My pastimes, constant chanting of My glories, unwavering attachment to My worship and so on.”</p>
<h3><strong>Uddhava Learns the universal Aspects of Civilized Life</strong></h3>
<p>“Actual Religion (dharma) is that which leads one to pure devotional service to Me. Awareness of My all-pervasiveness and complete disinterest in the sense objects are Jnana (real knowledge) and Vairagya (detachment), while aisvaryam (opulences) are the eight mystic perfections.” Krsna then gave the standard definitions other qualities namely, nonviolence, truthfulness, humility, celibacy, silence, steadiness, forgiveness and so on. Krsna concluded that to see good and bad is in itself a defect, and one has to learn to transcend both.</p>
<h3><strong>Pure Bhakti Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment</strong></h3>
<p>There are three paths for perfection namely jnana, karma and bhakti. Detachment towards material life, and attachment to material pleasures, are the qualifications for jnana and karma respectively. The qualification for bhakti is balanced attachment and detachment. Until one reaches this stage, one has to act according to the Vedic injunctions and discern between good and bad. Utilizing the human form of life one has to perfect it by performing bhakti. “I destroy all the material desires of a devotee who constantly worships Me. Since bhakti is independent, for a devotee, knowledge and detachment are not the means to achieve the highest perfection. Everything that can be achieved by any other process is easily achieved by My devotee through bhakti unto Me. My unalloyed devotees desire nothing besides Me. They do not even accept liberation even if offered by Me. Material piety and sin cannot exist within them. They attain freedom from illusion and attain My abode.”</p>
<h3><strong>The Vedic Path</strong></h3>
<p>“Cultivation of insignificant sense enjoyment only continues one’s material existence. The path of spiritual evolution begins from karma-yoga, progresses to jnana-yoga and then to bhakti-yoga. A conditioned soul should not artificially disrupt the natural evolution of his Krsna consciousness by deviating from prescribed duties. Discretion between good and bad is thus prescribed by the Vedas. In order to restrict materialistic activities, I have established in the Vedas proper and improper conduct. Steadiness in one’s own position is piety, and deviation from it is considered impiety. Ultimately, consideration of piety and sin is also circumstantial. In special cases piety become sin, and sin becomes piety. Thus, Vedic knowledge is difficult to comprehend without Me or My devotees. But the actual intention of the Vedas is to eventually refute all material duality and bring one to the stage of God consciousness, bhakti.”</p>
<h3><strong>Material Elements</strong></h3>
<p>The elements of material creation are counted differently by different philosophers, who spoke different non-contradictory truths. Their conclusions as authoritative and logically established. Material nature (prakrti) and its enjoyer (purusa) are clearly distinct. Prakrti is unconscious and dull, fully dependent on purusa and is subject to transformation. Purusa on the other hand is self sufficient, omniscient and not subject to change. Therefore, prakrti is full of dualities while purusa is one, Absolute.</p>
<h3><strong>Reincarnation, Birth and Death</strong></h3>
<p>“The mind shaped by fruitive actions goes from one body to another and the soul follows the mind. This is reincarnation. Death is the forgetfulness of one’s identity with old bodies to get absorbed in the pleasures and pains of a new body. Birth is a person’s total identification with new body. A person accepts a body as much as he accepts a dream as reality. Time imperceptibly creates and destroys everything. Yet no one can see Time.”</p>
<h3><strong>Being Peaceful in Provoking Situations</strong></h3>
<p>One who desires the highest goal in life should use intelligence to keep oneself safe on the spiritual platform, even in difficult situations like being neglected, insulted, ridiculed, envied or agitated by ignorant people. Krsna then described the story of Avanti brahmana who soberly tolerated the insults flared at him, considering them to be the results of his own past deeds, and took shelter of the Supreme Lord. In the maturity of his realization, he sang a song called the Bhiksu-gita.</p>
<p>The bodily conception can be transcended by understanding how the three modes affect a jiva. The jiva attains a particular nature by the association of modes that combine with each other to produce various effects. In human life, through bhakti, one can conquer the modes and thus attain pure love for Me.</p>
<h3><strong>Good and Bad Association</strong></h3>
<p>“One should avoid bad association of sense gratifiers, and especially undue attachment to the opposite sex. Otherwise, one falls into the deep pit of ignorance. Emperor Pururava exemplified this fall and attachment. Only by taking shelter of Me he was elevated and in his mood of detachment he sang the Aila-gita. One who hankers after the association of opposite sex certainly spoils one’s spiritual progress. One can be saved from such sex attraction by awakened spiritual intelligence through association with saintly devotees.” Krsna then explained the significance of worshiping the deity form of God.</p>
<h3><strong>Krsna Concludes – The Glory of Bhakti</strong></h3>
<p>“Remembering Me always, with mind and intelligence offered to Me, perform all duties for Me. One who sees Me in all living entities and offers all due respect to everyone, is considered actually wise. Until then, one must continue to worship My Deity form with speech, mind and body. I consider bhakti to be the best possible method of spiritual enlightenment. Since I have personally established it, this process is transcendental, free from any material motivation and certainly there is no loss in its adoption. This is a process of supreme intelligence for by following it one can in this very life attain Me.</p>
<p>Hearing these elaborate teachings, Uddhava offered his prayers to Krsna out of gratitude. Krsna then instructed him to go to Badarikasrama, assuring that he will soon come back to Him. Uddhava circumambulating Krsna, fell at His lotus feet and drenched His feet with his tears. Greatly pained by separation from Krsna, Uddhava, placing Krsna’s slippers upon his head departed for Badarikasrama. Thus Krsna spoke to His devotee this nectarean knowledge of spiritual bliss. One who hears this Uddhava-gita with great faith attains liberation.</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=80420">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=80420</a></p></div>5 Minute Meditations Podcast Presents Practical Gita Philosophy for Publichttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/5-minute-meditations-podcast-presents-practical-gita-philosophy-f2020-07-29T12:18:28.000Z2020-07-29T12:18:28.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_byline" style="text-align:center;"><img style="border-width:0px;border-style:solid;height:309px;width:550px;" title="Covid-19" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/img_versions/2020/07-Jul/nc1_slideshow.png" alt="Covid-19" /></div>
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<div><strong>By Madhava Smullen <br /><br /></strong></div>
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<p>The podcast boom has accelerated in the first half of 2020, perhaps partly due to the appetite for more streaming content while people stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. ISKCON devotees have also embraced the medium, and recently a new podcast, 5 Minute Meditations, has emerged as a digestible weekly slice of Bhagavad-gita philosophy, practically applicable to everyday life. </p>
<p>Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor.fm and Youtube, the podcast is hosted by ISKCON Dallas congregational director Nityananda Chandra Das, and is intended to be accessible by the general public as well as ISKCON devotees. </p>
<p>The podcast was launched on March 26th, instigated by the fact that due to COVID-19, Nityananda Chandra could no longer give his regular short Bhagavad-gita talks at the BKS Iyengar Yoga Studio of Dallas. </p>
<p>For about a decade, teachers at the Studio would ask Chandra to recite a verse from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and speak on it for four minutes at the end of their classes as they guided students through the shavasana relaxation pose.</p>
<p>“Those who attended very much appreciated it,” he says. “If I missed out on a class, they’d say, ‘We really miss your Bhagavad-gita meditation.’”</p>
<p>As well as students from the BKS Iyengar Yoga Studio, 5 Minute Meditations is also popular with those who attended ISKCON Dallas’ program the Darshan Room, which reaches out to the local population and which also had to halt gatherings due to COVID-19. <br /> <br /> <strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://iskconnews.org/5-minute-meditations-podcast-presents-practical-gita-philosophy-for-public,7447/">https://iskconnews.org/5-minute-meditations-podcast-presents-practical-gita-philosophy-for-public,7447/</a></p>
</div></div>गीता की महिमा ( Gita ki mahima) HINDI POEM/कविताhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/gita-ki-mahima-hindi-poem2020-05-27T18:44:36.000Z2020-05-27T18:44:36.000ZShalini Garghttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/ShaliniGarg<div><p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>गीता की महिमा</strong></span></p><p><br />वैदिक ज्ञान का सार है गीता,<br />जीवन जीने का है ये तरीका ।।<br />भगवान के मुख से है कही हुई,<br />यह औषधि स्वयं कृष्ण की दी हुई।। <br />पहले भी कही थी यह सूर्य देव को,<br />वापिस दोहरा रहे हैं कृष्ण अर्जुन को।।<br />पहले तो अर्जुन ने कृष्ण को गुरु स्वीकारा,<br />जब ज्ञान हुआ तो उन्हें भगवान पुकारा।।<br />पर पूछता रहा प्रश्न अंत तक वो डटकर,<br />संशय का बादल जब तक उड न गया छट कर।।<br />अर्जुन का ज्ञान पाना तो एक बहाना था,<br />असल में तो उन्हे हमें ही सब बताना था।।<br />अगर जरा सी श्रद्धा है तो सुनना जरूर,<br />गीता का ये वाणी अमृत पीना जरूर ।।<br />गीता का मकसद हमसे पहचान है कराना,<br />हमारा असली स्वरूप क्या है हमें यह बताना।।<br />हमारे जीवन का उद्देश्य क्या है?<br />हममें और पशुओं में अंतर क्या है ?<br />वह परमपिता है हमारे, उनसे पुराना रिश्ता है,<br />एकजन्म का नहीं जन्मजन्मों का यह नाता है।।<br />हम भूल गए है जो संबंध वो फिर से बनाना है,<br />अपने मन बुद्धि को केवल कृष्ण में ही लगाना है।।<br />कृष्णा नाम का ही सदास्मरण करके,<br />कर्मों के फल को उन्हें अर्पित करके,<br />उनके चरण कमलों मे ध्यान लगाना है<br />जीवन मरण के चक्र से मुक्ति पाना है<br />चाहे कर्म कर कर, चाहे ध्यान लगाकर,<br />चाहे ज्ञान पाकर, चाहे भक्त बनकर<br />मैं तुझको मिल जाऊँगा प्यारे बस तू,<br />मुझे प्रेम कर,मुझे प्रेम कर,बस मुझेप्रेम कर,<br />गीता रुपी गंगा जल में डुबकी लगाकर<br />पापों से क्या इस भवसागर से मुक्त हो कर<br />सफल हो जाएगा यह तेरा मानव जीवन ,<br />गीता में स्वयं भगवान का है यह वचन ||</p><p><em># शालिनी गर्ग #</em></p></div>Bhagavad Gita As It Is In Hindi - <a href="https://srimadbhagavadgitahindi.blogspot.com/">https://srimadbhagavadgitahindi.blogspot.com/</a>https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-in-hindi-https-srimadbhagavadgitahindi-blo2020-04-05T17:17:53.000Z2020-04-05T17:17:53.000ZAshwani Kumarhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/AshwaniKumar58<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4333418701?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><span style="font-size:18pt;">Hare Krishna,</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;">PAMHO,</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;">I am happy to inform, that Bhagavad gita Yatharoop can be read verse by verse in Hindi at : <a href="https://srimadbhagavadgitahindi.blogspot.com/">https://srimadbhagavadgitahindi.blogspot.com/</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;">Please bookmark : <a href="http://gloriousgita.com/">http://gloriousgita.com/</a> as well.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;">Hari Bol !!</span></p></div>Gita Coach Invests in Devotees to Help Them Succeedhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/gita-coach-invests-in-devotees-to-help-them-succeed2020-01-24T10:15:28.000Z2020-01-24T10:15:28.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_image" style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/img_versions/2020/01-Jan/ak1_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="ak1_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" /></div>
<div style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Madhava Smullen<br /><br /></strong></div>
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<p>When the late Sridhar Swami introduced Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to ISKCON in 1995, Serbian-born Akrura Das was intrigued, and began to take leadership training seminars. </p>
<p>Starting a newsletter called Leadership Excellence, which was read by many top leaders of ISKCON, he was further inspired by the leadership books of Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and learned that people need personal coaching as a follow-up to help them apply their leadership training. </p>
<p>Coaching seemed a very brahminical occupation to Akrura, so he took professional training from coaching academies in England and began to develop a “Gita Coaching” program for devotees in 2000.</p>
<p>“At first I focused on leaders,” he recalls. “My first clients were temple presidents, GBCs, sannyasis and gurus. Then I began to accept anyone who was sincere, and who wanted to develop themselves and take responsibility in the mission.”</p>
<p>Starting at London’s Radha Krishna Temple, and now based in Croatia, Akrura has coached more than one thousand devotees over the past twenty years.</p>
<p>Today, his mission statement is “Investing in Devotees to Help Them Succeed.” Serving the Bhagavad-gita by helping people to apply it through his Gita Coaching program, he offers personal and group coaching to devotees all over the world both in person and online via communication apps like WhatsApp and Viber.</p>
<p>Akrura regularly helps devotees with sadhana (spiritual practice), relationships, health, depression, finances, self-discipline and more.</p>
<p>Broadly-speaking, there are two types of coaching – directive, wherein the coach gives advice and teaches the client; and non-directive, in which the coach primarily listens and asks questions. Akrura favors the latter. </p>
<p>“The advantage is that you help them learn how to think,” he explains. “You don’t listen to respond; you listen to stimulate their better thinking by your attention, encouraging attitude, and incisive questions which root out assumptions. Non-directive coaching empowers the individual to find their own solutions.”</p>
<p>Akrura also helps devotees move away from a negative inner dialogue – which he says causes most problems – and develop a more positive and spiritual inner dialogue.</p>
<p>“We work on how to perceive things,” he says. “You can see something as a problem, or you can see it as an opportunity. One of my main teachings is that every problem is an opportunity.”</p>
<p>For improving inner dialogue, Akrura also draws from the Bhagavad-gita 17.15: “Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.” </p>
<p>“This verse is so powerful, because it not only helps you communicate better with others, but also with yourself,” he says. </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/images/2020/01-Jan/ak2.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="ak2.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="500" /></p>
<p>To Akrura, the Bhagavad-gita is an excellent success manual, with several verses and purports proving very helpful in personal development. As well as the instructions that can be applied to inner dialogue, verses 6.16 and 6.17 discuss how with balanced eating, sleeping, recreation and work, one can “mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.” The Gita also explains how to elevate oneself from the modes of ignorance and passion to goodness and beyond. </p>
<p>Using coaching support, Akrura has helped depressed or even suicidal devotees come to a state where they can not only help themselves, but also others. </p>
<p>He has also helped ISKCON leaders overcome their own unique set of issues. “Sometimes leaders are lonely, don’t talk to anybody, become something they are not, or are afraid to admit that they have weaknesses, because they will look bad in the eyes of those who are following them,” he explains. </p>
<p>As well as providing personal and group coaching, Akrura has introduced “success parternerships,” in which he teaches devotees to coach each other by practicing on him. “For half the session they are a coach, and for the other half they are the client,” he says.</p>
<p>Several hundred of Akrura’s clients, in fact, have gone on to become coaches, counselors, therapists, or mentors themselves.</p>
<p>Such devotees become “change agents” in their communities, spreading a culture of care, support and love. “If a client becomes himself a helper of others, that makes me the most happy,” Akrura says. </p>
<p>Along with his coaching, Akrura also gives Gita and Bhagavatam classes, writes articles and e-books, and has a Youtube channel and Facebook page which all offer wisdom and inspiration. </p>
<p>He offers multi-part seminars around the world, such as one on the “Avanti Brahmana” story from the eleventh canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which teaches one how to stop blaming others and take full responsibility for one’s life. This Akrura plans to turn into a book. </p>
<p>In additition, he gives regular Facebook Live talks on a sequence of six main topics, each of which build on the last, entitled: 1) Excellent Questions; 2) Positive Language; 3) Use Your Intelligence; 4) Grow a Giver’s Heart; 5) Become a Trusted Guide; and 6) Make a Wonderful Contribution, and Leave a Legacy.</p>
<p>In some places, Akrura’s work has helped bring about a change in ISKCON’s culture of management, inspiring leaders to become more people-oriented rather than project-oriented, to value devotees, and to focus on individuals’ benefit and care. </p>
<p>“When people feel cared for, appreciated and supported, their highest potential is released,” he says. “Miracles happen when people feel loved.”</p>
<p>To reach Akrura Das on mobile, Whatsapp, and Viber, call: +385917647925. </p>
<p>Email him at: <a href="mailto:gitaseva108@gmail.com">gitaseva108@gmail.com</a></p>
<p>For inspiration and live talks visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gitaseva">https://www.facebook.com/gitaseva</a></p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://iskconnews.org/gita-coach-invests-in-devotees-to-help-them-succeed,7246/">https://iskconnews.org/gita-coach-invests-in-devotees-to-help-them-succeed,7246/</a></p>
</div></div>Gita Jayanti - The Topmost Knowledge Divulgedhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/gita-jayanti-the-topmost-knowledge-divulged2019-12-15T05:51:45.000Z2019-12-15T05:51:45.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_image" style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/img_versions/2019/12-Dec/gjy1_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" alt="gjy1_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></div>
<div id="article_body">
<blockquote>
<p>“Anyway, print books, distribute profusely, and that will be the best preaching work. What will your three minutes; preaching do?—but if they buy one book, it may turn their life. So make this your important task, to print our books…and distribute widely, and that will please my Guru Maharaja. Never mind it takes little time to make progress, our process is slow but sure, and we are confident that if we continue in this way we shall go one day back to home, back to Godhead.” - Srila Prabhupada in a letter to Bhagavan das, Vrindaban, 5 November 1972 </p>
</blockquote>
<p>5244 years ago, on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna delivered the most confidential and topmost knowledge to Arjuna, a warrior prince, and to humanity at large, in order to help all devotees understand the purpose of life and the way to surrender to Him. Every year on the anniversary of that day, devotees of Lord Krishna gather and recite the Bhagavad Gita. </p>
<p>In Sri Dham Mayapur, around 700 students from the Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy organize a huge Gita Jayanti festival. They go for Mangala arati, then bathe in the Ganga before going to the festival pandal. A beautifully decorated yajna Kunda is set up, and oblations are offered into the fire during the recitation of the Sanskrit verses of the Bhagavad Gita. On average, over 4,000 devotees gather in one place to recite the Bhagavad Gita in unison. The atmosphere is surcharged. After the recitation of the Gita, a delicious feast is served. </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/images/2019/12-Dec/gjy2.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" alt="gjy2.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p>The devotees organize a five-day festival. Various sanyasis, senior brahmacharis and qualified dignitaries speak on the importance and relevance of practicing the teachings of Gita, in morning and evening. In between, they engage in various interactive activities such as going for parikrama, quick quiz competition, and Question and Answer session. </p>
<p>This year was the 23rd-anniversary celebration. It first started out celebrating with only 20 devotees, whereas this year, approximately 2100 came from around the world to attend this festival. The devotees fasted until noon, went to Ganga to bathe in her holy waters and chanted Harinama-sankirtana which was held in the evening. </p>
<p>During this time, many copies of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is are also distributed to the visiting pilgrims. A Gita Book Marathon takes place and devotees take part in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita to visitors. This distribution is a combined effort of many of the Mayapur community devotees, as well as some visiting devotees from around the world. Everyone helps in the distribution of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Even little children. </p>
<p>In the Sri Mayapur International School, there is also a Gita Jayanti festival, where all the students and teachers gather and recite the Bhagavad Gita. In this way, this most auspicious Gita Jayanti festival is wonderfully observed in Sri Dham Mayapur by all the devotees of Sri Krishna.</p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://iskconnews.org/gita-jayanti-the-topmost-knowledge-divulged,7191/">https://iskconnews.org/gita-jayanti-the-topmost-knowledge-divulged,7191/</a></p>
</div></div>If we prayed as much as we worried, we would worry a lot lesshttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/if-we-prayed-as-much-as-we-worried-we-would-worry-a-lot-less-12019-11-30T13:25:00.000Z2019-11-30T13:25:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3611597324,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="3611597324?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="427" height="240" /></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Chaitanya Charan Das </strong></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">We all worry sometime or the other. And to some extent, worrying is just natural and unavoidable because so many things that are important for us are not in our control.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Still, if we consider the amount of mental time we spend on worrying, we will recognize that it is enormous – and enormously unproductive, in fact counterproductive.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">While there are no quick fixes to the problem of excessive worrying, still we can progress towards a solution by appreciating that the same mental time can be more productively used by connecting with the one who is the controller of everything – including the things that are not in our control, the things about which we are worrying so much.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The best way to shift our focus thus is by praying, praying not just that the uncontrollable issues be resolved but also that our own uncontrolled mind’s tendency to obsess over the uncontrollable be curbed. And that inner redirection happens through not just praying for something material but by praying to connect with the supreme trans-material reality, God, Krishna.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The Bhagavad-gita (18.58) assures that the more we become conscious of Krishna, the more we can pass over all obstacles by his grace.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Henceforth, each time we start experiencing a worry attack – a sudden upsurge in our mind’s tendency to obsess over the uncontrollable – we can strive to become prayer warriors, who counter that worry attack by focusing on the Lord of our hearts and of our world, Krishna. The time-honored process of bhakti-yoga enables us to become expert prayer-warriors who can at will and with effectiveness focus on Krishna.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Even if our bhakti practice doesn’t remove all our worry, it can decrease that worry substantially, thereby decreasing our distress and heightening our happiness.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Verse 18.58 – “If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Think it over:</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">How can we get the impetus to stop or at least decrease worrying?<br /> When dealing with worry, what can we pray for?<br /> How can we become prayer warriors?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=70891">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=70891</a></p></div>We are our greatest hope – and our greatest horror by Chaitanya Charan Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/we-are-our-greatest-hope-and-our-greatest-horror-by-chaitanya-cha2019-09-26T07:32:08.000Z2019-09-26T07:32:08.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:justify;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515277856,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="2515277856?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Traditions across the world have stories similar to the Western classic about Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. In such stories, the same person acts sometimes like a principled, selfless benefactor and sometimes like an opportunistic, self-centered malefactor.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">And similar is our own story too. What makes us behave like this? Our mind, or more precisely, the way we respond to our mind. Our mind reacts impulsively to external perceptions and internal recollections; it becomes infatuated with some things and repelled by others. During its roller coaster, it occasionally comes up with good ideas and regularly with bad ideas. When we uncritically buy into its ideas, we often do foolish things. Thus, we become our greatest horrors.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The Bhagavad-gita (06.05) exhorts us to elevate ourselves with our mind, not degrade ourselves. How can we elevate ourselves? By connecting with an inner presence that is stronger, steadier and wiser than the mind. That presence is God, Krishna, who is our greatest benefactor and is therefore the source of our supreme hope.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Whenever we do anything inspiring, we often channel Krishna’s divine potency, even if we don’t realize it. Gita wisdom helps us recognize that all ability comes from him (07.08). And bhakti-yoga practice enables us to connect strongly with him, thereby empowering us to resist our lower side and to release our higher side.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">We all want to change for the better. But we often hope that something special will happen externally that will change us for the better. Instead, we need to see ourselves as our greatest hope. That is, we need to take the responsibility and the initiative to change ourselves. Equipped with Gita wisdom and bhakti practice, we can connect with the one who is our greatest hope – and he will fill our life with light and love and joy.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">*****************<br /> Verse 06.05 – “One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">*****************<br /> Think it over:</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">How do we become our greatest horror?<br /> How can we elevate ourselves?<br /> How are we our greatest hope?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=71270">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=71270</a></p></div>Our longing for equality points to our spirituality by Chaitanya Charan Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/our-longing-for-equality-points-to-our-spirituality-by-chaitanya-2019-09-26T07:28:11.000Z2019-09-26T07:28:11.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515276473,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515276473,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515276473?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="400" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In our times, equality is considered one of the most cherished values. Few things provoke as much indignation as incidents of discrimination – or even allegations of discrimination. Such outrage is healthy, for it helps create a world where everyone has equal opportunities.<br /> Still, what is the basis for our longing for equality? Intuition, we might say – we innately feel that everyone should be treated equally. Yes, but what is the basis of that intuition? In other words, what is the worldview that grounds this intuition in a coherent living framework? The prevailing worldview of materialism offers no basis.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Consider various parameters often used to rate people. Height, weight, strength, complexion, IQ – people score differently on all such metrics. Whatever material metric we use for comparing people, we find that they are different. Materialism tells us that people are different, not equal.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">To ground our longing for equality in reality, we need an alternative worldview: a spiritual worldview. The Bhagavad-gita states that all of us are souls who are essentially similar in our core characteristics – we are eternal, conscious and joyous. And we are parts of the divine.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Those who understand this truth see all living beings equally (05.18) – not just all human beings, but all living beings. Such seers acknowledge the variety that characterizes living beings at the material level, but they focus on seeing beyond that variety to their essential equality.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">That spiritual vision is the foundation for a most inclusive sense of equality. To the extent we can focus on developing our own spirituality and helping others develop theirs, to that extent we will be able to place the aspiration for equality on a stronger foundation. The more we raise our consciousness to the spiritual level by potent purificatory practices, the more we will seek equality, see equality and savor equality.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Verse 05.18 – “The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Think it over:</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">How does materialism militate against our longing for equality?<br /> How does the Gita ground our longing for equality in reality?<br /> How can we help create a more equal world?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=70942">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=70942</a></p></div>Just because we have drunk a sip of poison doesn’t mean we have to drink the whole cuphttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/just-because-we-have-drunk-a-sip-of-poison-doesn-t-mean-we-have-12019-09-24T06:19:27.000Z2019-09-24T06:19:27.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515277263,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="2515277263?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Chaitanya Charan Das</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Suppose we accidentally take a drink that acts like poison for us in our particular health condition. As soon as we realize what we are doing, we will immediately stop drinking it and take some antidote.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">When we gain spiritual knowledge, we understand that sensual indulgence acts like poison, even if it tastes initially like nectar (Bhagavad-gita 18.38). Despite understanding this, we still succumb to sensuality because our conditions or conditionings highlight the initial nectar alone.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">After some indulgence, the initial nectar, ends and we become aware of what we are doing. Still, our devilish mind eggs us on: “Now that you have fallen from your standards, just fall down completely and enjoy.” The mind is double, deadly wrong. First, we won’t enjoy more by further indulgence because our awakened self-awareness will keep reminding us that such indulgence is toxic. Second, to choose to fall down completely because we have fallen slightly is stupid, suicidally stupid – it’s like drinking the full cup of poison just because we have drunk a sip.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Instead, we can immediately take an antidote. The best antidote is the remembrance of Krishna, our all-pure Lord. When we remember him by practicing bhakti-yoga, we access a higher pleasure that makes giving up sensual pleasure easier. Moreover, remembering Krishna is powerfully purifying: it drives out impure sensual desires. Pertinently, the Gita recommends that, despite serious lapses, we keep practicing bhakti determinedly (09.30) and assures that we won’t ever be destroyed, but will soon be situated in purity (09.31).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">How does practicing bhakti situate us in purity? When we strive to correct ourselves as soon as we realize we have erred, our self-awareness starts awakening faster. Eventually, we become so self-aware as to not just rectify indulgence quickly, but also resist it entirely.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Verse 09.30 – “Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Think it over:</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Why is the mind doubly wrong when it eggs us to fall down completely on falling slightly?<br /> How does the antidote of remembering Krishna counter the poison of sensuality?<br /> How does practicing bhakti situate us in purity?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=71130">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=71130</a></p></div>