Introducing Srimad Bhagavad Gita - A User's Manual for Every Day Living

Why  Study The Gita?

Srimad  Bhagavad Gita has been a source of inspiration and enlightenment for  generations. The message of the Gita is not merely a general spiritual  philosophy or ethical doctrine but it has a bearing upon the practical aspects  in the application of such principles in our day-to-day lives. It is indeed  "An Users' Manual for the Practice of the Art of Right Living".

The  centuries old Bhagavad Gita continues to be the most relevant beacon light for  all of us today. The modern man, like Arjuna, is at the crossroads where the  focus is more on improving the Standard of Living rather than the Standard of  Life, more on the Stock Exchange Index than on the Human Development Quotient,  more on the Cost of Living than on the Quality of Life. This has resulted in  his disorientation and imbalance in an environment of shifting values. While  science aims to enhance the comfort of human life, spirituality teaches us how  to be comfortable with what we have. That is the difference. In this scenario,  the Gita is the only source of strength for the development of an integrated  personality, a complete man, within us.

The  Gita teaches how to achieve harmony with divinity in the midst of disharmony by  subduing all outward energies and remaining in equanimity with pairs of  opposites like pain and pleasure, aversion and attraction, success and failure  etc. The focus of the Gita is moderation and its aim is the total surrender of  man before the Supreme while continuing to perform his duties in the spirit of  Yoga. 

The  problem that is facing us today is that while the world is coming closer  physically it is drifting apart mentally and emotionally. Hence all the conflicts  and violence, destruction and damage across the globe. The urgent need,  therefore, is the reconciliation and reconditioning of the human mindset, to  inculcate a global vision and bring about the universal brotherhood.

The  Gita is specially suited for the purpose, as it attempts to bring together  varied and apparently antithetical forms of the consciousness and emphasizes  the root conceptions of humanity which are neither ancient nor modern,  belonging neither to the east nor the west, but eternal and universal.

Its  beauty and sublimity lie in its everlasting relevance to the daily problems of  human life, either occidental or oriental. It prescribes the methods which are  within the reach of all. It has a message of solace, freedom, salvation,  perfection and peace for all human beings. The more you study it with devotion  and faith, the more you will acquire deep knowledge, penetrative insight and  clear, right thinking. It is indeed a recipe for sane living for every man and  woman across the world.

Thoughts  for self evaluation
1. Where is the Bhagavad Gita to be found?
2. What is the historical epic Mahabharata?
3. Who is the author of the Mahabharata?
4. What is the Bhagavad Gita?
5. In what form the Gita was written?
6. Where was the Bhagavad Gita originally spoken?
7. What is the composition of the Bhagavad Gita?
8. What is the central theme of the Gita
9. What are the broad topics covered in the Gita?
10.What are the main concepts elucidated in the Gita?
11.What can be learned by the study of Srimad BhagavadGita?
12.Why the Gita is popular in the world even today?

We will take up Chapter 1 of  the Bhagavad Gita next time.

HARIH OM

Also read:<
1. Perennial Psychology of the  Holy Gita by Swami Rama
2. The Holy Geeta is a guide to one’s life
3. War and Non Violence in the  Holy Gita
4. Peace of Mind a roadmap in  the Bhagavad Gita
5. Travel to modern day  Kurukshetra

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