B for Balance

 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.     

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Translation

In this verse, Krishna asks us to stay equipoised or balanced in every situation in life. Having a balanced approach in happiness (sukha) and grief (dukha), pleasant (priya) and unpleasant (apriya) situations, praise (stuthi) and criticism (ninda) , honour (maana) and dishonour (apamana), and treating friend (mitr) and foe (ari) alike,  helps us rise above the agitation of the mind.

                                                     

Have you observed how the human mind reacts to situations and circumstances? 

When we are happy, or in a favourable situation, or are rewarded, or appreciated, we cannot contain our excitement. But should we be in an unfavourable situation, or criticised or in grief, our world comes crashing down. Our mood swings from one extreme to the other influenced by our environment.

Everything is cyclic in nature.

Krishna tells us that loss and gain, happiness and grief, praise and criticism and so on are sides of the same coin. They are also cyclic in nature, meaning they follow one after another – nothing lasts forever. We could be sad today, but this too shall pass.

Imagine, if we were served only sweet dishes at lunch, we’d not only tire of it soon but would also not be able to appreciate the taste of sweetness. Just like a good balance of sweet and savoury makes for a fulfilling meal, a healthy balance of good and bad makes for a fulfilling life.   

                                                    

A story from the Ramayana.

In the Ramayana, Shri Rama shows by his own example how one can maintain a balance in our emotions.

The entire city of Ayodhya had been buzzing with festivities. King Dasharatha had just announced the coronation of his eldest son, Rama, and the subjects could not wait to see him as their new King. The beating of all kinds of drums, blowing of conches and playing of cymbals added to the festive mood. The entire city was decked up like a bride – fresh flowers, mango leaves toran and colourful rangolis lined the streets.

The happiness around, however, did not affect Rama at all. He continued to be his calm self, situated in his yogic state. He was merely carrying out his duties as a son, and sharing his father’s responsibilities. While the excited subjects could not sleep a wink waiting for the night to pass, it was like any other night to Rama.

The next morning dawned soon but brought a news that left the entire city grief-stricken. Rama had been banished to the forest for fourteen years by his stepmother. He had been ordered to leave immediately. The calm on Rama’s face remained as it was the previous day. The news of banishment did not agitate him at all. He bore no ill-will towards his stepmother. All around him, he saw people drowning in a sea of grief, but to Rama, it was just another duty – an order that had to be carried.

Neither happiness nor grief affected Rama. He neither let the joy of coronation affect him nor the grief of banishment.

                                                         

Is it possible to stay balanced?  

Rama's example shows us how nothing can affect the one who is balanced in his mind. Finding this delicate balance is difficult, though not impossible. What do you think?   

                                                                                          

 

A for Attachment

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.  

    

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Translation

In this verse, Krishna says that the root of all miseries in life is 'sanga' or attachment.

 Attachment (sanga) leads to expectations/desires (kama) . 

Unfulfilled expectations (kama) lead to anger (krodha). 

When we act in anger, it leads to loss of discretion (smrti bhramsh) and regrettable decisions and our eventual downfall (pranasya). 

What are we attached to?

 We could be attached to our family, our job, even our house or our car. We expect that our family remains grateful to us for the things that we do for them, or our workplace appreciates the hard work that we put in, or people reciprocate our kindness with kindness. When we are attached to something or someone, we develop expectations from them. 

What happens when the desire is not met?

This desire or expectation could either be met or unmet. If the desire is met, it leads to greed for more, and if the desire is not met, it leads to anger. If our family acts in a favourable way, we hope they will keep doing so. If they do not, it makes us angry. 'How could my efforts be in vain?' 'How could someone else get promoted over me?' Am I being taken for granted?'

Anger leads to downfall.

When angry, we lose the discriminatory power between right and wrong and act in ways we might regret later. Anger can turn the best of men into beasts - nasty words, verbal or physical abuse, revengeful actions, you name it.  We might regret our words and actions later, but sometimes there is no room for recovery. 

Stay detached, but how?

Krishna says, stay detached from your efforts.  Easier said than done, right?

Krishna shows us the way too. He tells us to think of everything we do, as an offering to him. When our services offered are to Krishna, there is no expectations from anyone because the recipient was Him. The efforts that we put in tending to our work, family, or friends are purely out of love for him not for any individual person. This completely eliminates the cycle that starts with being attached.  

                                                                                              

A story from the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The Bhagavatam narrates an interesting story of King Bharata who got attached to a fawn.

King Bharata, the son of Rishabhdeva, was a pious man. His responsibilities as a King and family man had been fulfilled satisfactorily. He handed over his kingdom to his sons and retired to the forest. He hoped to spend the rest of his life meditating near the Gandaki river with a goal to attain liberation.

One day, as usual, he stood meditating in the river, when he was awakened by the roar of a lion. The lion was chasing a pregnant deer and the deer leaped across the river to save herself. As she jumped in fear, her foetus was delivered in the river, even as she drowned to her death.   

Seeing this heartrending scene Bharata took pity on the poor, orphaned fawn, rescued it and started looking after it like his own offspring. He gradually got very attached to the fawn, giving up on his meditation and worship. He would get agitated if the fawn went out of his sight, worried if a lion or tiger has caught it. Like a madman, he would look for it in the shadow of the moon. He would lose sleep if it did not eat well or was sick.  Even when death came calling, he could think of nothing but the fawn and how it would live without him.

Instead of attaining liberation, he was reborn as a deer in his next life,. All the penance he had undertaken in his life came to a naught. Being overly attached to the fawn, he forgot the very reason he had forsaken his kingdom and family, and retired to the forest.

We might wonder if it was wrong to care for an orphaned fawn? No, that was dharma. Getting ‘attached’ to it was the cause of his downfall. Had he tended to it for some time and let go of it as soon as it grew stronger, he would have gone back to his penance and attained his goal.

That is the trap of attachment that Krishna cautions us against.  

       

What do you think? 

The story teaches us to love all creatures alike yet we must consciously stay detached. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.                                                 

A Blank Page

A blank page
and I begin writing, with a quill. 

My fingers and nails stained in cobalt blue. 

A blue that has bled deep into my fingertips. 

My fingers move, forming shapes and curves, dots and dashes...

forming words, spoken by the heart.

 

Once in a while the quill stops. 

To dip in and write again. 

And then, there is a blotch of blue. 

A blotch that spreads into several pores of the paper, 

washing over a word or two on separate lines. 

The blotch makes a couple of lines seem meaningless. 

Or perhaps, they didn't have much meaning earlier either. 

But all I had done, was followed the dictates of my heart. 

My fingers dance across the page,

A tango, full of drama,

And on and on I write.

In my mind I had written reams, 

while, in reality, I had barely filled a solitary sheet. 

I dip the quill again. 

This time the pot of ink spills over. 

On all the words I had written. 

The paper is soaked. 

Little by little, I see my words and the intervals of ivory turning into a brilliant cobalt blue. 

I watch, 

while the ink carries my words along, dripping on to the hard ground below. 

A short journey that was, 

from paper to the floor. 

My words now rest in peace. 

So many of them. Or maybe, not so many. 

Completely contained in a few drops of cobalt blue, as they were before. 

More so now. 

And like a scar the stain will remain, 

containing and reminding me of words that once were, 

neatly arranged, 

on a piece of paper. 

April A to Z Challenge -2026 (Theme Reveal)

The Bhagavad Gita. 

Some call it a scripture, some call it the 'Song of God,' others call it a philosophical book, but to me it is a practical guide to living; not just an ordinary life, but a balanced and a purposeful life. 

The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the magnum opus, Mahabharata. God, Shri Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Shri Vishnu, revealed the teachings of the Gita to Arjuna, the Pandava warrior, in the midst of the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Consisting of 700 verses, it is the most profound words of wisdom one can hear and learn from. 

There are times when we wonder about the purpose of our life. Life's struggles can seem unending at times, and the rollercoaster of emotions that we go through each day might overwhelm us.  The Bhagavad Gita provides an answer to all our questions and more. The most fascinating part about the Gita is that the answers that are sought, dawn upon the seeker from within. Through my study of the Gita over the years, I've found answers to questions that have plagued my mind from time to time - ranging from the most mundane to the most complex. 

The theme of the April Challenge this year is 'Lessons from the Gita.' When Shri Krishna becomes the charioteer of our life, holding the reins, and we become Arjuna, the seeker, life becomes blissful, meaningful and peaceful. 

Join me as I pick up key verses from the Bhagavad Gita and gather what it teaches us about living life, everyday, throughout the month of April.   

Happy Blogging!

 

 

Indianised!!

Would Shakespeare be turning and twisting in his grave

Upon learning that we've taken over the nuances of his trade?

Would he 'break his head' or 'crib' over his fate?

Perhaps, he would like to 'prepone' his date!

If we asked him his 'good name' would he, 

'Revert back to us' or say poor me?

I'm sure he does not know what 'ladies finger' is,

Not knowing 'loose motion' is certainly bliss!!

I'd tell him he took the 'long cut' home, 

And if he's too annoyed, 'Relax it's just timepass' bro!'