The Bhagavad-Gita has much for every one to ponder upon and this thread is for everyone to contribute on snippets from the Gita. This is what I saw on a calendar a few years ago, and this really changed my way of thinking after: "You were born with nothing and would die with nothing; So why do you grieve on losing something in between thinking it is yours?" (Bhagavat-Gita)
The problem with philosophy of life in any religion is that it only kicks in after ones basic human needs are met: such as food, clothing and shelter. I love Gita but only at the highest level of Maslov's heirarchy of needs....same for Ten Commandments or "Buddham Saranum Gachhami"...
I agree km. But this phiolosophy has much to make a person detached. Did you know that the above verse is commonly played/recited when somebody departs! It is a soother in that one gets a feeling that the departed one would be met again, and that we are just miniscule parts of an infinite game. And maybe it also allows for becoming less possessive with everything in the world, save the basic needs as you mentioned. Thoughts?
Here is my contribution ... "Brooding about sensuous objects makes attachment to them grow; from attachment desire arises, from desire anger is born. From anger comes confusion; from confusion memory lapses; from broken memory understanding is lost; from loss of understanding, he is ruined." -Bhagavad-Gita 2:62-63 _____ "When he renounces all desires and acts without craving, possessiveness, or individuality, he finds peace. This is the place of the infinite spirit; achieving it, one is freed from delusion; abiding in it even at the time of death, one finds the pure calm of infinity." -Bhagavad-Gita 2:71-72
The degree of possessiveness is akin to the "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". One person's desire is another person's need. Unlike Bible that is claimed to be written in stone as the God's word, Gita is written by philosophers. When there is doubt...I always try to go to the source...in this case the philosophy of Vedas. It is not true that we are born with nothing. We are born with an operating system and a body with sensory perceptions that acquires knowledge as days pass into months and years. By any economy standards the value for a human being is more than nothing. The universe created itself and went through hoops to create this earth and go through Matschya Avatar (fish incarnation) all the way to Rama Avatar (human) for nothing? The point is, our emotions are a part of who we are. It is in our very soul. And if it takes grief to center oneself - so be it. And reciting to solace one is also a part of the big picture. One without the other is like a day without the night. The key is in balance...there is another recitation during ones passing anniversery that says....O! soul, come in darkness and go in light. Extrapolated, it also means that one comes in darkness, and ignorance and dies with the knowledge. One may not be able to take physical properties but sure can take the knowledge that was aquired during ones life time. Imagine at the moment of death, your soul (Information - the memory, application program) was transfered to another body in another galaxy far far away...with your new body, you will still remember who you are and all the knowledge you have. That is "something" on anybody's book....right? Just some thoughts....
kmguru, May be we are talking about possessiveness towards different things. Man might be born with the Operating system, but all required software is loaded after birth. And at death, eveything on the system is formatted. (Hmm... did you say Opera 6 was better?) I think the verse is about material possessions on the earth, including the relationships with other human beings. All of these are developed after birth and cease at death. The soul according to Bhagavad-Gita is immortal and keeps moving up the chain to reach God.
My point is , the soul can not move up the chain without a good understanding of the life on earth, that includes earthly matter. Everything that you see on earth - whether man-made or natural is part of earth and understanding things as well as relationships is what fills the knowledge basket. As I said, being a vegetable can not be a path to nirvana.... BTW: No software is loaded after birth. Only data flows from sensory perception. The decision system is besed on the primary application that one comes with. Otherwise, the soul can not move up the chain....
So what would the verse convey in that case? And you are saying that the relationships and bondages are important?
To acknowledge ones limitations and do everything in balance... Yes, relationships and bondages are important. That is how the soul learns both the darkness and light...to get a complete picture of creation. To reduce the unnecessary pain and suffering, one needs to do the work with excesive emotional detachment but not a complete absense of it...otherwise you will turn into a robot of today - lose your humanity.
I did read your post somewhere here and do accept that there are various ways to reach salvation (Rajayoga...) and that includes a family life too, but was always sure that the relationships and bondages end when a person departs. Anyways, there is always a feeling that the dead people return to the same family as the next baby. So, maybe you are right!
According to a friend who is a Kabala practitioner, in my family - the parents (me & Mrs) have gone through several cycles together while the kids are from elsewhere met in the astral plane. Go figure...
plz help me in figuring!!??Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! bye!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
What i Kabala? Is it an english version of an actual word you could say? i would appreciate some help.thanks. bye!
Hi zion: Do a google search on kabala (also at www.kabala.org), you will find a lot of hits. It is a Jewish mysticism which is before Moses I think. My feeling is that Judaism and Hinduism come from the same roots. Had Hitler known that, who had an obsession with Hindu secrets (Mysticism, Swastika, Arya etc) - he would have behaved differently. Anyway, since you are learning the astral projections - keep the practice. Gradually you will move through time and space as in to the past and see what you have been. After a few years, you may move through other worlds and/or dimensions. For the last two years, I am having lucid dreams about worlds that are similar but different from us. I do not know, if there are separate Earths with similar conditions within our universe or they are in other dimensions (branes). When I had my first astral projection at age 14/15, I was floating close to the center of our galaxy in a matter of seconds. That means the rules are different and are purely information based (akashic records?).
<i>"Anyway, since you are learning the astral projections - keep the practice. Gradually you will move through time and space as in to the past and see what you have been. After a few years, you may move through other worlds and/or dimensions. "</i> Very interesting indeed.But how is the higher level attained in these projections? And though it may sound silly,But whenever i project,i feel like its the <i>real</i> me whos there on the plane,i mean i feel pure! bye!
It comes naturally with an open mind to possibilities. Your mind has safety system built in so as not to expose you to alien situations. But as you think and accept about diffrent possibilities, the mind gradually opens up to link itself to the universal consciousness. It does not happen overnight anymore than a child can understand complex structures and meanings without the knowledge behind it. It frustrates a lot of people who can say that I have a masters in so and so, why can not I understand the higher functions? Just as our neural pathways are formed at childhood for pattern recognition and understanding, so the next level takes time. And just as a child can get hurt with wrong activities or understanding, so can the new information cause confusion if not assimilated properly. I think, we are better prepared to handle such new information than our ancient counterparts - since we have more detail knowledge in science and technology. Without a full understanding of physical laws and science, it is difficult to use the new capabilities. Imagine a laptop in the hands of a person in 5th century...or understanding of lever principle to move a large object. In my case, when I projected myself to the galaxy, I was on a chaise lounge outside in a spring night looking up at the stars. Suddenly my body felt very light and up up I went. I thought, it was cool. At the time, I thought it was just a dream until I saw the picture of Earth in Life magazine. Many years later I saw the pictures from Hubble Telescope that matched like a deja vu.
Isn't it more just recognizing your emotions for what they are, and letting them go? To me detatchment means feeling nothing, but the way I've had these pasages explaine to me is that there is a feeling of serenity and it isn't that emotions aren't felt, its that they're recognised and they are not held on to. Once you realise you have anger, why hold on to it? It'll only make you miserable. Maybe that's the same thing...
We can neatpick...but it is the same thing. The way the books say and even Buddhism teaches is that one must act like a lotus leaf where the worldly affairs including the emotions are like water drops on the leaf...they barely touch and more like float on the leaf... While, we mere mortals would have difficulty in achieving that state due to our responsibilities and obligations and social presentations...one must try atleast to keep such emotions floating in oneself.
I agree Avatar. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! You know, it reminds me of this excerpt from the Dhammapada: If you are filled with desire Your sorrows will swell Like grass after the rain. But if you subdue desire Your sorrows fall from you Like drops of water from a lotus flower.
