The ten incarnations of Vishnu are a recurrent theme in Vedic history. Vishnu exists outside the material realm as the creator, and he exists within every being as the Supersoul. He also enters this world as avatar, 'one who descends', to restore balance whenever his presence is needed. His descent is described by Krishna:
"Whenever there is a decline of religion, and a rise of irreligion, I incarnate myself. To protect the good, to destroy the wicked, and to re-establish religious principles, I appear in every age."
There are said to be more incarnations of Godhead than there are waves in the ocean. It is also said that Vishnu incarnates in all species of life. The ten avatars of Vishnu are of particular interest because He takes progressively more developed forms, from fish, tortoise and boar to half-animal, half-man, and finally human form. That God should incarnate as an animal, even a supernatural one, shows that animals have an important role to play in God's eyes. They are not simply dumb beasts, or 'livestock' meant for satisfying human needs and appetites. They are living expressions of the spirit and of the presence of God.
The First Incarnation
MATSYA - The Fish
All glories to you, O Lord of the universe, who took the form of a fish. When the sacred hymns of the Vedas were lost in the waters of universal devastation, you swam like a boat in that vast ocean to rescue them.
Once a King named Satyavrata was performing a sacred ceremony beside a river. While scooping water from the river he accidentally caught a tiny fish in the palm of his hand. The fish begged him not to throw it back into the river where it would be eaten by larger fish. The king felt sorry for the little fish and took it home to his palace where he put it in a small bowl. Next morning the fish had outgrown the bowl and begged the king to put it in something larger. The king then transferred it into a pond, but it very quickly outgrew that too, so he put it into a small lake. Within no time the fish had outgrown the lake and had to be put into the largest lake in the kingdom. Soon, however it had grown so big that even this was not large enough and the amazing fish had to be put in the ocean.
By this time the king concluded that the fish must be a divine appearance of God. He offered prayers and asked it why it had taken this form. Matsya, the fish incarnation of Vishnu, replied that in seven days a huge devastation would engulf the lower part of the universe. He told the king to call the seven great sages and gather samples of all the herbs and seeds and all kinds of living creatures. He promised that he would send a large boat to save them all. After that the king would fully understand who he was. Then he swam away.
As Matsya had predicted, huge clouds appeared from all directions and began pouring incessant water on land and sea. Soon the ocean overflowed onto the land. Then Satyavrata and all his companions saw a large mysterious boat floating towards them across the waves. Remembering the words of Matsya, Satyavrata led them aboard it and they found safety. Matsya, who by now was a golden fish of inconceivable size, then appeared in the ocean. Using the giant serpent Vasuki, they tied the boat to Matsya's horn and he towed it, full of all the different species of life, across the waters of devastation. For countless years darkness covered the worlds and together they wandered across the stormy wastes waiting for the waters to subside. During their journey Vishnu-Matsya instructed King Satyavrata and the sages in the spiritual knowledge of the Vedas.
It is said that whoever hears this story is delivered from the ocean of sinful life.
Showing posts with label Bhagavad Gita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bhagavad Gita. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Story of Krishna and Jarasandha
King Brihadratha of Magadha was married to the twin daughters of the King of Kashi. Brihadratha loved both his wives equally and had all the material joys of the world, but no son. This left him in a depressed state.
The sage Chandakaushika visited his kingdom and Brihadratha served him with respect. Being pleased with his service, the sage granted Brihadratha a boon. Brihadratha asked the sage for a son and the sage gave him a mango, which Brihadratha was to give one of his wives. Now Brihadratha loved both his wives equally so he cut the mango in two equal halves and fed both of them.
Nine months later, both his wives gave birth to a child, or rather half a child each. Seeing this the queens attendants were horrified and decided that they must dispose of the two halves, so they dumped them outside the kingdom. Now outside the kingdom, there lived a demoness named Jara. Sensing human flesh, she found the two halves of the child. Hoping to carry them home to eat them, she placed both the halves side by side in a basket and lo behold the halves miraculously joined up, making one complete human child. Jara realized that this must be the son of the King of Magadha, and wanting a reward, took the child to the palace. The King was overjoyed and named the child Jarasandha in order to honor Jara, the demoness who had saved him.
Jarasandha grew up and became a very powerful king. He defeated many other kings and made them promise their allegiance to him making him supreme emperor. He gave both his daughters in marriage to Kamsa of Mathura.
Now Krishna killed Kamsa, making Jarasandha an enemy. Jarasandha attacked Mathura seventeen times and Krishna decimated his army, sparing Jarasandha alone.
Krishna had five cousins, the Pandavas, who had just acquired a kingdom -Indraprastha. The eldest Pandava, Yudishtra wanted to perform the Rajasuya Yagya. In order to perform the Rajasuya Yagya, a king had to be declared emperor and all the surrounding kingdoms had to recognize the emperor as their overlord. In order for this to happen, Yudishtra would have to defeat Jarasandha and obtain the title of emperor. Yudishtra, not knowing how to go about this, asked Krishna for help. Krishna said that he, Arjuna (the third Pandava) and Bheema (the second Pandava) would dress up like brahmans and go to Magadha and challenge Jarasandha to a wrestling match.
Upon reaching Magadha, Krishna, Arjuna and Bheema challenged Jarasandha to a wrestling match. Jarasandha seeing their physiques realised that these were not brahmans and asked them who they were. Krishna revealed their identities and told Jarasandha that they had come to challenge him and that Jarasandha must pick an opponent. Jarasandha said that he would not fight Krishna as he was a cowherd and he did not match his dignity and social standing. He then refused to fight Arjuna saying that Arjuna was too young, but he agreed to fight Bheema as Bheema seemed mighty and a worthy opponent.
Bheema and Jarasandha fought for days, both equally matched and neither succumbed to the other's blows. Bheema realizing that Jarasandha was an equal match looked to Krishna for help. Now Krishna who knew the story of Jarasandha's birth, picked up a twig from the floor, broke it in two halves and threw the two halves far away from each other.
Bheema now knew what he must do. He threw Jarasandha to the ground, held his legs and split his body in two. He then threw the two halves of Jarasandha far away from each other so that they might not join. Bheema had defeated Jarasandha and Krishna installed Jarasandha's son as the king of Magadha. In return, Jarasandha's son agreed to be a vassal to the Pandavas.
The sage Chandakaushika visited his kingdom and Brihadratha served him with respect. Being pleased with his service, the sage granted Brihadratha a boon. Brihadratha asked the sage for a son and the sage gave him a mango, which Brihadratha was to give one of his wives. Now Brihadratha loved both his wives equally so he cut the mango in two equal halves and fed both of them.
Nine months later, both his wives gave birth to a child, or rather half a child each. Seeing this the queens attendants were horrified and decided that they must dispose of the two halves, so they dumped them outside the kingdom. Now outside the kingdom, there lived a demoness named Jara. Sensing human flesh, she found the two halves of the child. Hoping to carry them home to eat them, she placed both the halves side by side in a basket and lo behold the halves miraculously joined up, making one complete human child. Jara realized that this must be the son of the King of Magadha, and wanting a reward, took the child to the palace. The King was overjoyed and named the child Jarasandha in order to honor Jara, the demoness who had saved him.
Jarasandha grew up and became a very powerful king. He defeated many other kings and made them promise their allegiance to him making him supreme emperor. He gave both his daughters in marriage to Kamsa of Mathura.
Now Krishna killed Kamsa, making Jarasandha an enemy. Jarasandha attacked Mathura seventeen times and Krishna decimated his army, sparing Jarasandha alone.
Krishna had five cousins, the Pandavas, who had just acquired a kingdom -Indraprastha. The eldest Pandava, Yudishtra wanted to perform the Rajasuya Yagya. In order to perform the Rajasuya Yagya, a king had to be declared emperor and all the surrounding kingdoms had to recognize the emperor as their overlord. In order for this to happen, Yudishtra would have to defeat Jarasandha and obtain the title of emperor. Yudishtra, not knowing how to go about this, asked Krishna for help. Krishna said that he, Arjuna (the third Pandava) and Bheema (the second Pandava) would dress up like brahmans and go to Magadha and challenge Jarasandha to a wrestling match.
Upon reaching Magadha, Krishna, Arjuna and Bheema challenged Jarasandha to a wrestling match. Jarasandha seeing their physiques realised that these were not brahmans and asked them who they were. Krishna revealed their identities and told Jarasandha that they had come to challenge him and that Jarasandha must pick an opponent. Jarasandha said that he would not fight Krishna as he was a cowherd and he did not match his dignity and social standing. He then refused to fight Arjuna saying that Arjuna was too young, but he agreed to fight Bheema as Bheema seemed mighty and a worthy opponent.
Bheema and Jarasandha fought for days, both equally matched and neither succumbed to the other's blows. Bheema realizing that Jarasandha was an equal match looked to Krishna for help. Now Krishna who knew the story of Jarasandha's birth, picked up a twig from the floor, broke it in two halves and threw the two halves far away from each other.
Bheema now knew what he must do. He threw Jarasandha to the ground, held his legs and split his body in two. He then threw the two halves of Jarasandha far away from each other so that they might not join. Bheema had defeated Jarasandha and Krishna installed Jarasandha's son as the king of Magadha. In return, Jarasandha's son agreed to be a vassal to the Pandavas.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Hinduism - Hindu Religion - a positive way of Life (part-2)
The history of religions illustrates the tragic effect of intolerant and exclusive faiths.
God has no special favourites.
God as a jealous one and there will be no peace in the religious world.
According to the भगवद गीता (Bhagavad Gita): "I am alike to all being."
"None is hateful or dear to me। But those who worship me with devotion are in me and I in them"
Hindu seer has no contempt for other religions. He does not believe that salvation is to be had only through any one particular religion. God does not refuse his truth, his love and his grace to any who, in sincerity, seek him, wherever they may be and whatever creeds they may profess. It is unfair to God's love and mercy to assume that he left millions of men to stagnate for thousands of years, practically without hope in the darkness of ignorance.
The word Hindu is a geographic rather than a religious term. Hindus call their religion सनातन धर्मं (Sanatana Dharma)- 'Eternal law'.
It is based on the practice of धर्मं (Dharma), the code of life. Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can call himself a Hindu.
Knowledge, vision, wisdom, is the goal of the Vedas/Upanishads. It is a new kind of thinking in which the whole man in implicated. The aim is not intellectual conformity to inherited doctrine, but one of attainment of knowledge. He can question the authority of any scripture, or even the existence of the Divine. Hinduism extends into every aspect of the believer's life.
Hindus have never been communal. They represent an ancient civilization not known either to draw a boundary between the faithful and the faithless, the blessed and the damned, or to engage in heresy hunting and its counterpart, persecution of other faiths.
J. Abbe Dubois, (1765-1848) French missionary, has said that India is:
"the only nation perhaps in the universe which has never sunk into barbarism, and which...may deserve to fix the attention of the philosopher."
To the Hindu, religion is an awareness of ultimate reality, not a theory about it; religion is psychology and method rather than theology and dogma. Hindus have been able to rise above their biological boundaries and roam at will in transcendental realms from which the intellect is forever barred.
Hinduism is life style, where human beings are exalted to God himself. Everyone is God - a minute God. All living beings, human, animals and plants do have an element of God, the soul and again a part of a kind of suzerainty.
हरे राम हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण, हरे हरे
हरे कृष्ण हरे राम, राम राम, हरे हरे
Hare Rama Hare Krishna , Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Hinduism is not a religion of the book: it is a 'heard' tradition. Its scriptures are recited, or sung not read. Though the Rig Veda is very ancient, it was not written down until almost 3,000 years later.
more to come in part-3 of this multi part series...
God has no special favourites.
God as a jealous one and there will be no peace in the religious world.
According to the भगवद गीता (Bhagavad Gita): "I am alike to all being."
"None is hateful or dear to me। But those who worship me with devotion are in me and I in them"
Hindu seer has no contempt for other religions. He does not believe that salvation is to be had only through any one particular religion. God does not refuse his truth, his love and his grace to any who, in sincerity, seek him, wherever they may be and whatever creeds they may profess. It is unfair to God's love and mercy to assume that he left millions of men to stagnate for thousands of years, practically without hope in the darkness of ignorance.
The word Hindu is a geographic rather than a religious term. Hindus call their religion सनातन धर्मं (Sanatana Dharma)- 'Eternal law'.
It is based on the practice of धर्मं (Dharma), the code of life. Since Hinduism has no founder, anyone who practices Dharma can call himself a Hindu.
Knowledge, vision, wisdom, is the goal of the Vedas/Upanishads. It is a new kind of thinking in which the whole man in implicated. The aim is not intellectual conformity to inherited doctrine, but one of attainment of knowledge. He can question the authority of any scripture, or even the existence of the Divine. Hinduism extends into every aspect of the believer's life.
Hindus have never been communal. They represent an ancient civilization not known either to draw a boundary between the faithful and the faithless, the blessed and the damned, or to engage in heresy hunting and its counterpart, persecution of other faiths.
J. Abbe Dubois, (1765-1848) French missionary, has said that India is:
"the only nation perhaps in the universe which has never sunk into barbarism, and which...may deserve to fix the attention of the philosopher."
To the Hindu, religion is an awareness of ultimate reality, not a theory about it; religion is psychology and method rather than theology and dogma. Hindus have been able to rise above their biological boundaries and roam at will in transcendental realms from which the intellect is forever barred.
Hinduism is life style, where human beings are exalted to God himself. Everyone is God - a minute God. All living beings, human, animals and plants do have an element of God, the soul and again a part of a kind of suzerainty.
हरे राम हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण, हरे हरे
हरे कृष्ण हरे राम, राम राम, हरे हरे
Hare Rama Hare Krishna , Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Hinduism is not a religion of the book: it is a 'heard' tradition. Its scriptures are recited, or sung not read. Though the Rig Veda is very ancient, it was not written down until almost 3,000 years later.
more to come in part-3 of this multi part series...
Friday, March 07, 2008
What will matter: The Ant Story
One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather cross my back terrace. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after a momentary pause it would make the necessary detour.
At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10mm wide. After brief contemplation the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked across it and picked up the feather on the other side then continued on its way. I was fascinated by the ingenuity of this ant, one of God's smallest creatures. It served to reinforce the miracle of creation. Here was a minute insect, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. But this ant, like the two-legged co-residents of this planet, also share human failings.
After some time the ant finally reached its destination - a flower bed at the end of the terrace and a small hole that was the entrance to its underground home. And it was here that the ant finally met its match. How could that large feather possibly fit down small hole
Of course it couldn't. so the ant, after all this trouble and exercising great ingenuity, overcoming problems all along the way, just abandoned the feather and went home.
The ant had not thought the problem through before it began its epic journey and in the end the feather was nothing more than a burden. Isn't life like that!
We worry about money or the lack of it, we worry about work, about where we live, about all sorts of things. These are all burdens - the things we pick up along life's path and lug them around the obstacles and over the crevasses that life will bring, only to find that at the destination they are useless and we can't take them with us...
People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace.
They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them.
The irony is that the only place they ever needed to search was within themselves.
THINK: the most important things in life are NOT things...
THINK: about the end...
Related Post:
What will Matter
At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10mm wide. After brief contemplation the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked across it and picked up the feather on the other side then continued on its way. I was fascinated by the ingenuity of this ant, one of God's smallest creatures. It served to reinforce the miracle of creation. Here was a minute insect, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. But this ant, like the two-legged co-residents of this planet, also share human failings.
After some time the ant finally reached its destination - a flower bed at the end of the terrace and a small hole that was the entrance to its underground home. And it was here that the ant finally met its match. How could that large feather possibly fit down small hole
Of course it couldn't. so the ant, after all this trouble and exercising great ingenuity, overcoming problems all along the way, just abandoned the feather and went home.
The ant had not thought the problem through before it began its epic journey and in the end the feather was nothing more than a burden. Isn't life like that!
We worry about money or the lack of it, we worry about work, about where we live, about all sorts of things. These are all burdens - the things we pick up along life's path and lug them around the obstacles and over the crevasses that life will bring, only to find that at the destination they are useless and we can't take them with us...
People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace.
They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them.
The irony is that the only place they ever needed to search was within themselves.
THINK: the most important things in life are NOT things...
THINK: about the end...
Related Post:
What will Matter
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Mind Matter and Soul: Wake up to epiphany
Material nature is not independent. She is acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord. As Lord Shri Krishna says, "Prakti (nature) is working under My direction." When we see wonderful things happening in the cosmic nature, we should know that behind this cosmic manifestation there is a controller. Nothing could be manifested without being controlled. It is childish not to consider the controller.
For instance, a child may think that an automobile is quite wonderful to be able to run without a horse or other animal pulling it, but a sane man knows the nature of the automobile's engineering arrangement. He always knows that behind the machinery there is a man, a driver. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is a driver under whose direction everything is working. Now the the living have been accepted by the Lord as His parts and parcels.
A particle of gold is also gold, a drop of water from the ocean is also salty, and similarly, we the living entities, being part and parcel of the supreme controller- Supreme Lord Shri Krishna.
We have all the qualities of the Supreme Lord in minute quantity because we are minute isvaras (Immeasurably small Lord) or subordinate isvaras. We are trying to control nature, as presently we are trying to control space or planets, and this tendency to control is there because it is in Lord Krishna. But although we have a tendency to lord it over material nature, we should know that we are not the supreme controller.
credit: excerpts from Bhagavad Gita As It Is by A C Prabhupada
For instance, a child may think that an automobile is quite wonderful to be able to run without a horse or other animal pulling it, but a sane man knows the nature of the automobile's engineering arrangement. He always knows that behind the machinery there is a man, a driver. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is a driver under whose direction everything is working. Now the the living have been accepted by the Lord as His parts and parcels.
A particle of gold is also gold, a drop of water from the ocean is also salty, and similarly, we the living entities, being part and parcel of the supreme controller- Supreme Lord Shri Krishna.
We have all the qualities of the Supreme Lord in minute quantity because we are minute isvaras (Immeasurably small Lord) or subordinate isvaras. We are trying to control nature, as presently we are trying to control space or planets, and this tendency to control is there because it is in Lord Krishna. But although we have a tendency to lord it over material nature, we should know that we are not the supreme controller.
credit: excerpts from Bhagavad Gita As It Is by A C Prabhupada
Friday, February 01, 2008
Mind Matter and Soul: Bhagavad-Gita The Ultimate Truth
Here are some quote of the world's most famous personalities about Shri-Bhagavad-Gita:
"The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive one, of the summaries and systematic spiritual statements of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done"
Aldous Huxley
(English Writer)
"When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous."
Albert Einstein
(Theoretical Physicist)
"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
(Major political and spiritual leader of India)
"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."
Henry David Thoreau
(American author and philosopher)
"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."
Sri Aurobindo
(Scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru)
"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita."
Carl Jung
(Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology)
"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe."
Jawahar Lal Nehru
(Former Prime Minister of India)
"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion."
Herman Hesse
(German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter)
"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement)
"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
(founder of Anthroposophy)
"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures."
Adi Shankara
(Philosopher)
"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)
"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is to relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity."
Ramanuja
(Indian theologian, philosopher)
Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to this end. And common to all the three is renunciation. Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for every desire related with body and mind creates bondage. Our focus of action is neither to save the humanity nor to engage in social reforms, not to seek personal gains, but to realize the indwelling Self itself.
Swami Vivekananda
(Influential spiritual leaders of the philosophy)
"Science describes the structures and processes; philosophy attempts at their explanation. When such a perfect combination of both science and philosophy is sung to perfection that Krishna was, we have in this piece of work an appeal both to the head and heart."
Swami Chinmayanand
(former union minister state of India)
I seek that Divine Knowledge by knowing which nothing remains to be known!' For such a person knowledge and ignorance has only one meaning: Have you knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are ignorant. As said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self, observing everywhere the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is declared to be true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is ignorance."
Sri Ramakrishna
(Hindu religious teacher and an influential figure in the Bengal Renaissance)
Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
(founder of Transcendental Meditation technique - schools and university with campuses in the US and China)
The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana. My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not fail to thoroughly understand this ancient science of worldly life as early as possible in one's life.
Lokmanya Tilak
(Popular social reformer and freedom fighter)
I believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity, non-violence, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma). To my knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world's literature as high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind.
Madan Mohan Malaviya
(Popular social reformer and freedom fighter)
"The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive one, of the summaries and systematic spiritual statements of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done"
Aldous Huxley
(English Writer)
"When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous."
Albert Einstein
(Theoretical Physicist)
"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
(Major political and spiritual leader of India)
"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial."
Henry David Thoreau
(American author and philosopher)
"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."
Sri Aurobindo
(Scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru)
"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita."
Carl Jung
(Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology)
"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe."
Jawahar Lal Nehru
(Former Prime Minister of India)
"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion."
Herman Hesse
(German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter)
"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement)
"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
(founder of Anthroposophy)
"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures."
Adi Shankara
(Philosopher)
"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)
"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is to relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity."
Ramanuja
(Indian theologian, philosopher)
Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to this end. And common to all the three is renunciation. Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for every desire related with body and mind creates bondage. Our focus of action is neither to save the humanity nor to engage in social reforms, not to seek personal gains, but to realize the indwelling Self itself.
Swami Vivekananda
(Influential spiritual leaders of the philosophy)
"Science describes the structures and processes; philosophy attempts at their explanation. When such a perfect combination of both science and philosophy is sung to perfection that Krishna was, we have in this piece of work an appeal both to the head and heart."
Swami Chinmayanand
(former union minister state of India)
I seek that Divine Knowledge by knowing which nothing remains to be known!' For such a person knowledge and ignorance has only one meaning: Have you knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are ignorant. As said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self, observing everywhere the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is declared to be true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is ignorance."
Sri Ramakrishna
(Hindu religious teacher and an influential figure in the Bengal Renaissance)
Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
(founder of Transcendental Meditation technique - schools and university with campuses in the US and China)
The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana. My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one should not fail to thoroughly understand this ancient science of worldly life as early as possible in one's life.
Lokmanya Tilak
(Popular social reformer and freedom fighter)
I believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity, non-violence, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma). To my knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world's literature as high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind.
Madan Mohan Malaviya
(Popular social reformer and freedom fighter)
Thursday, January 24, 2008
What will matter
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours or minutes. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
Your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire too. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
Remember:
** Everything that has a beginning has an end.. **
** The most important things in life are not "things". **
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bhagavad-Gita Saar (भगवद गीता सार) ...the ultimate essence of life
Whatever happened, it happened for good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for good.
Whatever that will happen, it will be for good.
What have you lost for which you cry?
What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
What did you produce, which has destroyed?
You did not bring anything when you were born.
Whatever you have, you have received from Him.
Whatever you will give, you will give to Him.
You came empty handed and you will go the same way.
Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s yesterday and will be somebody else’s tomorrow.
Change is the law of the universe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.”
Albert Einstein
(1879 -1955)
To myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
Isaac Newton
(1642-1727)
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
Your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire too. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
Remember:
** Everything that has a beginning has an end.. **
** The most important things in life are not "things". **
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bhagavad-Gita Saar (भगवद गीता सार) ...the ultimate essence of lifeWhatever happened, it happened for good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for good.
Whatever that will happen, it will be for good.
What have you lost for which you cry?
What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
What did you produce, which has destroyed?
You did not bring anything when you were born.
Whatever you have, you have received from Him.
Whatever you will give, you will give to Him.
You came empty handed and you will go the same way.
Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s yesterday and will be somebody else’s tomorrow.
Change is the law of the universe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.”
Albert Einstein
(1879 -1955)
To myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
Isaac Newton
(1642-1727)
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