Thought on The New Year 

Thought One

Every New Year, there is one thing that most of us will indulge in,  ie making new resolutions.

But do they work? And if they do, for how long? I would like to share with you something that I read in  'Awaken the Giant within'  by Anthony Robbins that seems to make sense.

Associate pain with a habit that you are desperately trying to break... I remember, my son,  when he was younger would offer his friends a chocolate with the quip "Have a pimple!"

If you hit a level of pain that you aren't willing to settle for anymore you change your old habits or way of living. You could get fed up when you cannot fit into your clothes, or when  you cannot bear another hangover, or the sight of the pained look of your wife when you have lost your last penny at the gambling table...finally you say, ' I have had it ' and you make a decision. 

Charles M. Sheldon states: Good resolutions are like babies crying in church. They should be carried out immediately.

It is the desire to remove pain from your life and establish the pleasure of self esteem.

May all your dreams come true this coming year. May we have the strength to kick our old debilitating habits and may we all experience  tremendous pleasure at the idea of adopting a new empowering Life.

Have a great year!

Another fresh new year is here

Another year to live

To banish worry, doubt and fear,

To love and laugh and give!

This bright New Year is given me,

To live each day with zest,

To daily grow and try to be,

my highest and my best!

I have the opportunity

Once more to right some wrongs,

to pray for peace to plant a tree,

and sing more joyful songs

William A Ward

 

Chapter 4 Lesson 2
We learned in the last lesson that Krishna states that He is born from age to age to protect the virtuous and take him (man) to the Supreme. And the latter happens when righteousness is on the decline and unrighteousness is on the ascent.

In Verse 6 of Chapter 4 Krishna states: Though I am unborn and of imperishable nature…yet I take birth by my own Maya.
My note: What does the above mean? It means that the Lord, keeping his Maya perfectly under His control, He comes into the world through His own free will.
The Lord is NOT compelled, like the rest of us , by our karma to take birth after birth under the Laws of Nature.

In Verse 9, Krishna makes a wonderful statement: Krishna states that those who understand the Lord in true light, is not subjected to rebirth but attains the Supreme State. In Krishna’s own words: “He comes to Me, O Arjuna!

For years my ma thought I was born on 4th Jan. At the age of 50 I decided I needed to know my real birthdate so consulted an astrologer.  My horoscope said 26 dec but astrologer said  I could not have been born on the 26th. It seems I was born on 27th early morn when the sun was not out yet. Decided to celebrate my birthday on the 26th as the horoscope said. Hv noticed that 27th is always a hard day to get thru so perforce devote it to prayer. Thanx for all ur blessings. 26 th was good. 27th was difficult. Husband was not really well and kids out of town, so I had to spend my day gvg medicines, praying and learning to 'surrender ' wonder what the lesson is? Why I cannot have a peaceful day on the 27th?
Was reading that looking back at our life experiences, we will find that our lives are easier, more livable because of the difficulties and trials we overcame and the spiritual strength that we gained!

  
   


CHAPER 4

In the  Chapter 3 Krishna propounded the concept of Karma Yoga.
In Chapter 4 Krishna talks about the fact that man re-incarnates.
Krishna declares that the Lord is born from age to age to protect the virtuous and take him (man) to the Supreme. And the latter happens when righteousness is on the decline and unrighteousness is on the ascent.
Krishna says: I taught this immortal Yoga (what Krishna has been teaching so far to Arjuna) to Vivasvaan (Sun God). Vivasvaan conveyed it to Manu (His son) and Manu imparted it to his son Isvaaku.
Arjuna argues that since Krishna is in the present and Vivasvaan is of ancient origin, how is Arjuna to believe that Krishna taught this Yoga at the beginning of Creation?
Krishna replies: “ Arjuna, you and I have passed through many births, I remember them all, you do not remember.
 
To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm
 





 

  
   

This

Xmas,

I would

like to put

up a tree in my

heart, and instead

of hanging presents,

I would like to put the

names of all my friends.

Close friends and not so close

friends. The old friends the new

friends. Those that I see every day

and the ones that I rarely see. The ones

that I always remember and the ones that

I sometimes forget. The ones that are always

there and the ones that seldom are. The friends of

difficult times and the ones of happy times. Friends

who, without meaning to, I have hurt, or, without meaning

to have hurt me. Those that I know well and those I only know

by name. Those that owe me little and those that I owe so much.

My humble friends and my important friends. The names of all those

that have passed through my life no matter how fleetingly. A tree with

very deep roots and very long

and strong branches so that

their names may never be

plucked from my heart. So

that new names from all

over may join the existing ones. A tree with a very

pleasant shade so that our friendship may take a

moment of rest from the battles of life. May the

happy moments of Xmas brighten every day of

the new year. These are my sincere wishes for all of you
Love
Shakun Narain Kimatrai and family

Chapter 3 Lesson 15

In the last lesson Krishna taught us that the seat of desires is the senses.
Now Krishna states: if you control your senses, you will be able to win over 'desires' which is the destroyer of knowledge and wisdom.
In verse 42 Krishna states:
1) Senses are superior to the body
2) Mind is superior to the senses
3) intellect is superior to the mind
4) Aatman is superior to the intellect.

My note:
Through meditation and deep awareness we break our false identifications and discover our divine nature. Then we continue to play the game, but without being attached to results.
I am reminded of a song:
Ab saunp diya is jee van ka sab bhaar tumhaare heathon mein
Hai jeet tumhaare heathon mein aur haar tumhaare haathon mien
And thus ends the third discourse.

To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm

Geeta Jayanti

The 17th of December 2010 is Geeta Jayanti
Geeta Jayanti is the anniversary of the day, when the Divine Song (Bhagavad Geeta) was sung.
On this day Shri Krishna spoke to Arjuna, on the battlefield in Kurukshetra.
The Bhagvad Geeta was transcribed into words by Veda Vyasji.

I have read: "The one who takes a dip in the Ganges is liberated. The one who lives according to the Gita can liberate others."

Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Geeta Ch 18 Verse 68,69:

Those who teach this supreme mystery of the Geeta to all who love me perform the greatest act of love; they will come to me without a doubt. No one can render me more devoted service; no one on earth can be more dear to me".

The Gita consists of 700 shlokas (verses)divided into 18 chapters

The teachings of the Gita do not apply only to inner and outer conflicts in the battlefield, but to the combat zone (of good and evil) that lives within us.

One is not required to be a Hindu, highly spiritual or extremely intelligent to understand and follow Lord Krishna’s teachings.

Lord Krishna does not advocate only one path in the Bhagvad Geeta.

In fact throughout the Divine Scripture, Krishna explains how one can attain liberation depending upon the inclination of different temperaments of man.

One may unite with God through devotion (Bhakti), through wisdom (Gyaan), and through action (Karma) -

Mahatma Gandhi said, "When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad-Gita...I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies and my life has been full of external tragedies. If they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita."

Ideally one should recite the whole scripture on Geeta Jayanti, but if it is not possible because of the fast paced times that we live in, will you at least click on these links?

http://www.dalsabzi.com/Wisdom_Script/two_geeta_verses.htm

http://www.dalsabzi.com/Message/krishna1.htm

http://www.dalsabzi.com/Articles/kurukshetra.htm

Chapter 3 Lesson 14

We have understood in the last lesson:
1) Man sins due to unbridled desire
2) Anger is born when desire is not fulfilled
3) Desire and anger delude our rational capacity
How is desire generated?
In the 40th Verse of the 3rd Chapter, Krishna states that the seat of ‘desire’ is the ‘senses’

My note:What does the above mean?
It means the eyes see something and it desires it
Similarly with the other senses, one desires to see, smell, taste, hear, touch.
In other words:
External stimuli reach the mind through the sense organs.
The sense organs function without restraint.
When the desires are not fulfilled or take their own time, it gives birth to sorrow.
Strangely, I have read that there are 2 reasons for suffering:
1) When your desires are not fulfilled
2) When your desires are fulfilled
So then what is the solution?
The right application of knowledge or in today’s parlance, the right attitude.

To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm

Chapter 3 Lesson 13At this point, Arjuna becomes more introspective. He realizes that there are certain forces that work against higher impulses.
Arjuna asks a question which has occurred to most of us at a certain point in our lives.
Arjuna asks: “Why does man sin, against his wishes, as it were, by force?”
Krishna answers: Man sins due to desire. It is due to the anger born of the “active” all devouring, all sinful; know this (anger, obsession) to be the enemy (What makes one sin) in this case.
My note:
I would think that ‘desire’ here would mean a constant agitation of the mind, an uncontrollable obsession to gain something. At this points ones mind gets so deluded that one does not think how many, one tramples and hurts to achieve the coveted goal.
How is anger connected to desire?
Just think about the following: Anger arises when a desire is obstructed. Take some simple examples:
1) One expects (desires) that a person should be on time, the other person is late, One gets angry.
2) One expects (desires) to be appreciated. One is not appreciated, one gets angry.
3) One expects to win a ‘battle’ a ‘game’one does not. One gets angry…
|Krishna gives three different examples to illustrate how desire and anger can delude our rational capacity.
1) As fire is enveloped by smoke
2) As a mirror by dust
3) As an embryo by the womb.
It is interesting to note that Lord Buddha also claimed that the reason for our ‘suffering’ is unbridled desire.

To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm

Chapter 3 Lesson 12

We learned earlier that though Dharma is generally explained away as 'religion, duty...In the Hindu concept 'Dharma' means a lot more.
It is the Dharma of a soldier to fight and the dharma of an ascetic, not to.

When the children are young it is the 'dharma' of a mother to look after them, but as the children, come of age, it is the 'dharma' of the same mother to 'let them go'

In Chapter 3 Verse 35 Krishna states: “Better is ones own law (dharma) though imperfectly carried out than the law of another carried out perfectly”
I would quote Shakespeare here: “…and above all else to thine own self be true”
Maybe we could also add “To be or not to be that is the question”
In the context of the Geeta the message of Krishna for Arjuna would be:
Do not talk of going to the hills, meditate in caves and renounce what is due to you. You are a prince, a soldier, trained in the art of war. Do not suppress your own personality and copy activities of someone else…

To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm

Lesson 11
In the last lesson we learned: ‘Man’s nature is governed by the thoughts that arise in him…so even though a man of knowledge may know the technique of action, it is not easy for him to follow it…’
Let us learn more about knowledge, but before that let us keep in mind that being knowledgeable is not necessarily being wise.
In the Inuit tradition, a person becomes wise when they could see what needed to be done and did it successfully without being told what to do.
In Mesopotamia the god Enki represented wisdom and intelligence and wisdom was achieved by restoring balance.
Confucius held that wisdom can be got in 3 ways- imitation, the easiest; reflection the noblest; and experience, often the bitterest.
Plato reached the understanding that those who claimed to know did not really know, or knew far less than what they claimed.
Socrates we are told is wise because he unlike others does not consider himself wise.
Refined thinking involves becoming more aware, informed, interested, discerning.
Processing feelings requires being less reactive and more responsive, letting feelings touch but not direct us.
Wise beings embody the essence of wisdom that is discernment.
Discernment of what’s right from wrong, just from unjust, wholesome from destructive, truth from delusion.
These wise beings are usually regarded as compassionate towards others, content in themselves.
Inspired by Marguerite Theophil


To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm

Chapter 3 Lesson 10
In the Verse 33 Krishna says: …Beings will follow their own nature…
My note: Man’s nature is governed by the thoughts that arise in him…so even though a man of knowledge may know the technique of action, it is not easy for him to follow it as
the thoughts that arise in him are due to past impressions on man’s mind (vasanas)
So what is to be done ? We cannot do much about the past, but we must make a massive effort to change the present so that the future impressions (Vasanas) make it easier for man to follow these lofty tenets.
Please do not miss the compassion of Krishna in understanding man’s weakness…


To read what I have written so far, click:
http://www.dalsabzi.com/wisdom_script/bhagvad_gita.htm

This is me celebrating my son's bday and mine (which falls later during December) at Raffles hotel, Singapore, Yum! Mee Goreng in Singapore. Enjoyed every moment of my short trip.
A Life worth living is made of happy memories. That is why holidays, so rejuvenate one...
Reminds me of the song:
Zindagi pyaaar ki do chaar ghadi hoti hai
chaahe thodee bhee ho yeh umar badi hoti hai...