Mahatma Gandhi quoted “The
Gita is the universal
Mother. I find a solace in
the Gita which I miss even
in the Sermon on the Mount.
When disappointment stares
me in the face and all
alone, I see not one ray of
light, I go back to the Gita”.
Swami Chinmayananda said
“The Gita is a handbook of
instructions as to how every
human being can come to live
the subtle philosophical
principles of Vedanta in the
actual world. This is a
great handbook of practical
living”.
The battlefield of
KURUSHETRA gives origin of
“The Gita”. This great holy
book preaches the truth of
life and principles on which
the super structure of life
stands stable. It says human
life is worth living and
asks to make use of this
golden opportunity by
following principles of life
to deal with various modes
and ways. These principles
showers knowledge and wisdom
and play as guidance to the
essence of true life. The
human life is swinging
between Birth and Death.
This physical body is
mortal, i.e., it is
perishable, Soul, i.e.,
“atma” is immortal. Between
life & death, human life
faces so many incidences and
experiences emotional
feelings and meets
challenges. These are the
different aspects of human
behaviour. The Gita provides
with instructions to control
human mind in times of
unfavourable circumstances,
to achieve true knowledge
and to attain peace and it
shows the way out of
negativity like pessimism,
fear, despair,
disappointment, anxiety,
tension which every human
life suffers every day.
The Gita shows the true
picture of how human being
fall into the hands of Maya
i.e. illusion or material
existence. The Gita explains
the reality of God that is
Soul which is in existence
in every human being. This
soul is ever changing
nature; it provides
fundamental truths of life.
It explains the true concept
of life as well goal of
life.
The Gita tells us that there
was life before birth and
life continues after death
also. For common man life is
short span between birth and
death. The first day of life
starts with birth and death
is the last day of life. But
this does not convey the
reality of life. The Gita
quotes that “Life is just
like flowing water which
takes different forms and
death is present state of
existence which is not the
final destination. The Life
continues even after death”.
Life is a combination of
physical body and Soul i.e.
Atma. Atma being subtle
seeks the help of physical
body to operate during the
given span of time. During
this journey a physical body
attains knowledge, acquires
intelligence and applies
mind and perform various
actions in life. This active
operation is named as Life
i.e. individual self called
inner voice or Atma.
The Gita clearly
differentiates between the
body and the soul. It
clearly indicates that life
is never ending. The soul is
the driving force of life
which never dies; it is the
body which perishes. The
soul takes on new body after
death, the life moves from
one body to another. The
ultimate goal of life cannot
be achieved in single span
of life, it has to travel
through series of span of
life in different shapes and
forms of life. The ultimate
goal is self-realization
i.e. knowing oneself which
is soul. The Soul is eternal
life and the eternal life is
God.
To know the true essence of
life, the human life passes
through various stages.
During these stages human
life is filled with
pleasures and pains. This
life primarily depends upon
actions and performances.
Every action or performance
results in success or
failure. With a plethora of
options a person who
achieves success at one time
may face failure at another
time. In the same way an
individual who faces failure
at one time, may achieve
success at another time
.This is the process of
nature which goes
hand-in-hand with human
life. Whatever we achieve or
attain never remain stable
with us. Sometimes we may
feel that we have possessed
everything whereas at
another time we may feel
that everything has vanished
and lost. Thus it changes
with the changing time and
circumstances.
The Gita shows the path
leading to true life. It
preaches valuable guidance
or principles for attaining
the ultimate goal of life.
First it preaches to develop
the attitude of Humanity
which is the utmost essence
of existence of this Human
Life. Humanity leads a
person to simplicity and on
this basis the very
existence of human life
stands stable. Power, fame,
money and authority make an
individual arrogant who
loses his temperament at
minute incidence. As a
result one loses humanity
and acts like a beast and
lands up into the pit. Even
Mahabharata war was caused
due to arrogance of the
Kaurav prince Duryodhana.
Secondly it says that not to
cultivate the habit of Ego
within ourselves which gives
painful effects on our life.
Ego results into aloofness
and creates false notion
about others.
Thirdly, it says, to always
think about the good of
others and welfare of
society at large. Thinking
bad or evil about others may
render evil for us or shower
negativity upon us. For each
and every action, there is
always an equal & opposite
reaction. Based on this
essence of life, cultivate
the habit of looking at life
with a positive approach and
be helpful to others.
Fourthly it preaches that to
develop the habit of
Forgiveness for a person who
realizes that one has
committed sinful act.
Forgetting and forgiveness
is the best policy that
always holds.
Fifthly it preaches to be
straight forward and have
clarity of thoughts. Keep
our outlook with clear
vision along with pragmatic
approach.
Lord Krishna teaches us to
shed away the bad habits
which just look like
maligned chandrama (Moon)
leading to destruction of
life. Always apply right
approach with clarity of
thoughts and welfare of
human race. Life is so
precious we should feel
every moment of life.
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