Renunciation of Action
The Supreme Lord Said:
"Although I am unborn and inexhaustible, and although I am the Lord of all beings, keeping nature under My control, I manifest Myself by My own self induced illusion."
[Chapter 4 Verse 6]
"Whenever and wherever there is decline of dharma (righteousness) and ascendance of adharma (unrighteousness), at that time I manifest Myself in visible form."
[Chapter 4 Verse 7]
"For the protection of the righteous and destruction of the wicked, and for the sake of establishing dharma again , I incarnate Myself on earth from time to time."
[Chapter 4 Verse 8]
"He who knows correctly the truth of My divine birth and actions, on leaving his body, would never take birth again. He would certainly come to Me."
[Chapter 4 Verse 9]
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 1:36-43
ARJUNA: O Krishna, what satisfaction could we find in killing Dhritarashtra's sons? We would become sinners by slaying these men, even though they are evil. The sons of Dhritarashtra are related to us: therefore, we should not kill them. How can we gain happiness by kiling members of our own family?
Though they are overpowered by greed and see no evil in destroying families or injuring friends, we see these evils. Why shouldn't we turn away from this sin? When a family declines, ancient traditions are destroyed. With them are lost the spiritual foundations for life, and the family loses its sense of unity. Where there is no sense of unity, the women of the family become corrupt; and with the corruption of its women, society is plunged into chaos. Social chaos is hell for the family and for those who have destroyed the family as well. It disrupts the process of spiritual evolution begun by our ancestors. The timeless spiritual foundations of family and society would be destroyed by these terrible deeds, which violate the unity of life.
It is said that those whose family dharma has been destroyed dwell in hell. This is a great sin! We are prepared to kill our own relations out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom. Better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to attack me in battle and kill me unarmed and unresisting.
SANJAYA: Overwhelmed by sorrow, Arjuna spoke these words. And casting away his bow and his arrows, he sat down in his chariot in the middle of the battlefield.
Though they are overpowered by greed and see no evil in destroying families or injuring friends, we see these evils. Why shouldn't we turn away from this sin? When a family declines, ancient traditions are destroyed. With them are lost the spiritual foundations for life, and the family loses its sense of unity. Where there is no sense of unity, the women of the family become corrupt; and with the corruption of its women, society is plunged into chaos. Social chaos is hell for the family and for those who have destroyed the family as well. It disrupts the process of spiritual evolution begun by our ancestors. The timeless spiritual foundations of family and society would be destroyed by these terrible deeds, which violate the unity of life.
It is said that those whose family dharma has been destroyed dwell in hell. This is a great sin! We are prepared to kill our own relations out of greed for the pleasures of a kingdom. Better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to attack me in battle and kill me unarmed and unresisting.
SANJAYA: Overwhelmed by sorrow, Arjuna spoke these words. And casting away his bow and his arrows, he sat down in his chariot in the middle of the battlefield.
The Bhagavad Gita: An Overview
The Bhagavad Gita is a story about a struggle for hereditary economic/political power, within the ancient royal Kuru family. One of the young princes of the family, Arjuna, is called upon to lead a war against another branch of the family that has made a fraudulent claim on the throne of what we know as India.
Arjuna prepares to fight and is accompanied and counseled by his charioteer, Krishna, who is a lower member of a different house in the same Kuru dynasty. Krishna also happens to be the eighth quintessential manifestation, a.k.a. an avatar, of Vishnu, the sum of cosmic forces that preserve the created universe from other forces that constantly work to corrupt and destroy it.
Arjuna is deeply stressed by this situation in which family is attacking family. The Bhagavad Gita is Arjuna's and Krishna's conversation about the problems inherent to the situation in which Arjuna finds himself and Krishna's suggestions for behavioral principles to guide Arjuna through the decisions he will have to make.
Arjuna prepares to fight and is accompanied and counseled by his charioteer, Krishna, who is a lower member of a different house in the same Kuru dynasty. Krishna also happens to be the eighth quintessential manifestation, a.k.a. an avatar, of Vishnu, the sum of cosmic forces that preserve the created universe from other forces that constantly work to corrupt and destroy it.
Arjuna is deeply stressed by this situation in which family is attacking family. The Bhagavad Gita is Arjuna's and Krishna's conversation about the problems inherent to the situation in which Arjuna finds himself and Krishna's suggestions for behavioral principles to guide Arjuna through the decisions he will have to make.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)