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