J for Judge well (discernment)

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.      

Read I for Ignorance here.

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Translation.

This is one of my favourite verses. After presenting the entire Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, Krishna tells him, 'Deliberate (vimrsya) on what I have spoken thus far, and then do what ‘you’ wish to do (yathecchasi tatha kuru), be a judge of your own decisions.'

Do as you deem fit!

We often give suggestions or advice to someone and expect them follow our decision. Conversely, we also tend to follow someone without using our own judgement. 

But here is Krishna, doing the opposite. The situation is urgent – there’s a war about to begin. Arjuna has been reluctant to fight – an entire Gita has been advised to him to make him see things clearly. Yet far from asking him to buckle up and get going, Krishna gives him the freedom to deliberate on what he had advised and make a choice based on his wisdom and understanding – ‘yethecchasi thatha kuru’ – do as you deem fit! How freeing that must have been - no pressure to listen to Krishna, and the choice to reflect and make your own judgement! 

 

    

The story of Nachiketa from the Kathopanishad.

Long ago, a sage named Vajashrava performed a grand sacrifice. As part of the ritual, he was supposed to donate cows. But when his son Nachiketa saw him donating old, weak, and useless ones, he questioned his father about his intentions and asked him whom he would donate his son to? When his father angrily replied that he would donate him to Yama, the god of death, Nachiketa took it seriously and went to Yama.

Waiting at Yama’s door.

Nachiketa was granted three boons by Yama. For his third boon, Nachiketa wanted to know what happened to a person after his death. Yama did not want to answer it and instead of answering, asked him choose between the ultimate truth (preya) and material pleasures – wealth, long life, power, pleasures, and heavenly enjoyments (shreya).  

Yama left the choice to Nachiketa.

Nachiketa reflected carefully and realised that ‘preya’ was temporary and will eventually fade away. With clarity and firmness, Nachiketa chooses ‘shreya’ – knowledge of the ultimate truth.

Be your own judge.

There’s a certain responsibility on us when we are told to be our own judge. In today's world of social media, where people blindly copy each other, or follow the latest trend, being your own judge really matters. Thinking for oneself and choosing what best fits us, is more likely to bring success rather than blindly following someone. 

Can we stop for a moment, deliberate and think before we act, rather than being blindly influenced by other voices?

 

 

I for Ignorance

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.        

Read H for Health here.          

Translation

Here, Krishna says, just as smoke (dhuma) covers the fire (vahni), dust (mal) covers a mirror (darsa) and the womb (ulbena) covers the foetus (garbha), similarly, ignorance covers  knowledge. This is such a beautiful thought. It says that knowledge is not absent, it is always there. It is covered or hidden under ignorance.

The Gita treats ignorance not simply as lack of knowledge, but as a veil that hides reality and leads to confusion, doubt, and suffering. Knowledge, on the other hand, brings about transformation.

The story of Varaha

The Srimad Bhagavatam narrates the story of Varaha, the boar incarnation of Shri Maha Vishnu.

The demon Hiranyaksha had hidden the Earth (Bhudevi) in the depths of the cosmic ocean. The world plunged into darkness and chaos. Brahma’s son, Swayambhuva Manu complained that there was no place for him to live and start his family. No one knew where to find Earth. That is when the gods invoked Shri Vishnu. Vishnu took avatar as Varaha and fought against the demon. Earth finally came back into light, when the demon was killed.

What it means symbolically…

Interpreted symbolically, when our consciousness (Earth) is plunged into confusion (cosmic ocean) due to ignorance (Hiranyaksha), only the divine (Varaha) can restore our awareness and take us from ignorance to knowledge.

Hiranyaksha embodies ego and arrogance, that covers our consciousness and keeps us trapped. Once the veil is removed, knowledge dawns.

Knowledge is merely hidden under the cover of ignorance.

The Gita calls for lifting the cover of ignorance to reveal knowledge which is already there. And the one who can rescue our consciousness from this ignorance is Krishna alone.

 

H for Health

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.         

Read G for Gratitude here.         

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Translation

Sattvic foods increase the duration of life (ayuh), purify one’s existence (sattva) and give strength (bala), health (arogya), happiness (sukha) and satisfaction (priti vardhana). Foods which are juicy (rasya), made from healthy fats (snigdha), nourishing (sthira), and pleasing to the heart (hrdya) are healthy foods.

Why sattvic food?

Food is not merely something to fill our stomachs with. Krishna says that sattvic food has the power to not only nourish us but also purify our mind and body. Sattvic food shapes the way we think, speak, and act. It keeps us healthy, mentally and physically. If we remember that food has to be offered to Krishna before we eat, we will also be conscious of what we eat and how well we prepare it.

A story from the Mahabharata.

Bhishma pitamaha lay on the bed of arrows, watching the rest of the war unfold before his eyes. By the time the war came to an end, most of the blood had flowed out of his frail body. Yet, he looked on, waiting to be assured that his precious Hastinapur would be in safe hands. Having the boon of ‘ichha mrutyu’, he could choose the time of his death and so he had not yet given up his mortal body, waiting to see the Pandavas emerge victorious.

After the war, the Pandavas, stood around him, devastated by the sight of their great-grandfather lying in that state. Even as they shed tears, Bhishma was instructed by Krishna to impart wisdom on dharma to Yudhishthira and his brothers.

As Bhishma spoke with clarity about righteousness, duty, kingship, and ethics, a question arose, often attributed to Yudhishthira or to other members present at the scene –

‘You possess such deep understanding of dharma, but why did you remain silent when you saw injustice happening? Why did you not stop the humiliation of Draupadi in the court? Why did you not oppose the wrongful acts of Duryodhana?’

Bhishma smiled sadly.

‘During my years in Hastinapur, I lived under the protection and patronage of the Kauravas. I ate their food, was sustained by their wealth, and bound by loyalty to the throne of Hastinapura. Over time, this dependence clouded my judgment.’

Bhishma says that the food he consumed, earned through Duryodhana’s unjust rule, affected his clarity of mind. It dulled his ability to act decisively for dharma. Only now, after his body had been pierced and that ‘tainted blood’ had flowed out, did he regain full clarity and detachment to speak purely of righteousness.

Is it only about food?

This explanation is not merely about the food we eat. Whatever one accepts, materially or morally, shapes one’s thinking. To stay healthy mentally and physically, we must be careful not only about the food we put into our mouths but also the thoughts we feed into our minds, and the dependency we allow into our lives. 

   

 

G for Gratitude

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.                

Read F for Faith here.

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Translation 

In this verse, Krishna tells us to offer unto him first, whatever we consume. That way, it frees us from attachment and sin. It is only right to show gratitude to him for everything that he has given us.

Does Krishna need our offering?

 

This verse is not just about offering food to Krishna before we eat. Wouldn't it be like taking a glass of water from the ocean and offering it back to the ocean? When he is the provider, what is the point in offering it to him? Krishna himself says that he accepts anything that you offer with love - be it a leaf (patram), flower (pushpam), fruit (phalam) , or even water (toyam). So this is not just about offering, it is about love and gratitude. 

We are not independent entities. Our lives depend on several others and above all on Krishna himself as indicated in the subsequent verses. Showing gratitude keeps us grounded, and aware of this fact. 

The story of Sudama.

 

We read the story of Krishna and Sudama as an example of friendship, but it is also a story of gratitude and affection. 

Sudama and Krishna were the best of friends as students in the gurukul of Guru Sandipani. While Krishna went on become the king of Dwarka, Sudama lived a life of piety, worship, and unwavering devotion to Krishna. He found contentment in his poverty, offering whatever he had to Krishna before partaking it. Once, nudged by his wife to seek help from his wealthy friend, he went to Dwarka. Having nothing much to offer, Sudama carried a tiny bundle of flattened rice as an offering for his friend. 

When Krishna saw his childhood friend, he ran towards him and embraced him warmly, treating him like a king. Though Sudama felt ashamed of his humble offering, Krishna accepted it with deep joy, seeing the love behind it. Sudama could not bring himself to ask for his help, and returned home with the bliss of having met Krishna. When he returned, his hut had transformed into a palace filled with everything one could think of. Krishna had given him everything without asking for it.  Sudama was filled with gratitude—for true friendship that gives without being asked and remembers without being reminded. 

     

Let's be grateful.

 Bearing a sense of gratitude to everyone who makes life here possible for us, makes our hearts lighter and happier. Who/What are you grateful to/for?

 Read G for Gratitude here.

 

F for Faith

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.       

Read E for Ephemeral nature of life here.        

 

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Translation

Krishna says, a person is made of their faith (sraddha); whatever one’s faith is, that they become. 

One’s faith depends on their nature, not on the environment they are in. An inherent sattvic nature brings about faith in the mode of goodness. A rajasic nature brings out faith in the mode of passion. A tamasic nature brings about faith in the mode of darkness, and illusion.

 The story of Prahalada.

The story of Hiranyakasyapu and Prahalada emphasises how complete faith in the Supreme protects us from all dangers and evil.

Hirayakasyapu was a demon king, egocentric, pompous, powerful and wicked. He hated Maha Vishnu and considered him his enemy. His subjects were forced to chant his name and sing his praise and forbidden from worshipping Vishnu. When his son Prahalada was born, he became a devotee of Vishnu, singing his praise and chanting his name at all times, by the grace of sage Narada.

Hiranyakshayapu was angry.

Hiranyakasyapu ordered Prahalada’s death, unbothered by the child’s tender age. He tried poisoning him, getting him trampled under wild elephants, throwing him from the mountains, and finally burning him in a pyre. So strong was Prahalada’s faith in Vishnu that he chanted Vishnu’s name as he went through the ordeals and escaped unscathed each time.

Hiranyakashyapu was invincible.

He was seething with anger. He was sure he could not be defeated by Vishnu for he had the most unlikely boon that he had obtained from Lord Brahma.  He could not be killed by any man or animal. He could not be killed during the day nor at night. He could not be killed by any weapon. He could not be killed either outside or inside the house. If the gods declared war, he was invincible. 

Hiranyakashyapu demanded to know where Vishnu was.

Prahalada with folded palms said, 'Father, Bhagavan Vishnu is all pervading. He is everywhere. There is no place where he is not present.'

‘Is he in this pillar?’ he thundered. 'If he is there, let him come out before I sever your head from your body.'

‘He is, father. He is everywhere, he is in this pillar too,’ said little Prahalada, with complete faith in Vishnu and unafraid of the demon king. 

Hiranyakasyapu broke open the pillar with a strike of his mace and Maha Vishnu sprang out of it – in a form no one had seen before. 

Vishnu did not let his little devotee down.

Lord Vishnu broke out of the pillar, appearing as Narasimha, with the face of a terrifying lion and body of a man. Lord Brahma's boon no longer could protect the demon. Lord Narasimha was neither a man nor an animal, yet he was half man and half animal.  He growled fiercely as walked up to the demon, and all the fourteen worlds shook with his roar. Thunder and lightening struck the entire universe. 

The sun had not yet set. It was dusk, the time opportune, it was neither day nor night. The Lord carried the demon king to the threshold of the house. The demon was now neither inside nor outside the house. He placed the demon on his lap and with the slightest touch of his sharp nails – needing no weapon – tore open his belly, killing him instantly.

Prahalada’s faith in Maha Vishnu did not dwindle even for a fraction of a second. Shri Vishnu did not break his little’s devotee’s faith either.

                                                                 

How strong is your faith in the Supreme?

Our belief and faith are conditioned by the nature of our soul. If our faith in the Supreme is strong, we can be sure that the one we trust will never let us down.    

 Read G for Gratitude here.