THE Gita Abhiyan, Karnataka, was inaugurated in a colourful function at the Kurukshetra Auditorium, Hubli, on 28th October, 2007. It was a unique function with spiritual and judicial luminaries without any political personalities.
The function began with the Vedic recitation and also an invocation song by the renowned vocalist Ms. Radha Desai.
H.H.Sri Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji of Swarnavalli, who is the convener of this campaign, gave an introduction and said that this campaign is to create a nation with affluence and satisfaction without satanic elements. He said that dharma and nyaya are the twin faces of the same coin. Individual as well as universal well-being by following the principles of Gita is the main object. The Gita has a universal message. It aims at individual, national and international integration. This campaign aims at universal peace and harmony.
He said that this auditorium is named as Kurukshetra, not because Mahabharata war took place there, but long before this war, great emperor Kuru had done penance in that place and it has been a holy place since then.
Sri Sri Vishvesh Teertha Swamiji of Pejawar inaugurated the campaign by lighting the lamp (with all the other dignitaries) to the melodious chanting of the 14th chapter by the women of Hubli and Dharwad.
He said: ?Our inner psyche is the Kurukshetra. The good qualities & bad qualities are the Pandavas and Kouravas. The conflict between the good and evil is taking place every moment in each individual. Mahabharata is known as jaya (victory). It is the victory of the good over the evil in us. This campaign is to eradicate the triviality of thought and mind and to raise high.?
Justice M.Rama Jois (former Governor of Jharkhand & Bihar) released the books Astika Parva by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan
N. Ranganatha Sharma, Bhagavadgeeta?Adhyatma Vidya by H.H. Sri Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji of Swarnavalli and Sri Madbhagavdgeeta edited by Vidwan Shankar Bhat, Baligadde.
Sri Sri Niranjana Gurusiddha Rajayogeendra Swamiji of Murusavira Muth, Hubli, who inaugurated the exhibition, entitled the Gita Vaibhava (depicting the academic, literary and artistic works like books, manuscripts and paintings in various languages on the Gita), said: ?You all have come to drag a chariot. In the Indian devotion tradition Deity is worshipped through chariot service, palanquin service, etc, once a year. It is a festival of devotion and faith. You all have assembled here to take part in the chariot procession of Gita-Jnana. This procession has to visit each and every village of Karnataka, nay India, may the whole world.?
Sri Sri Vamanashrama Swamiji of Sri Krishnashrama, Haladipura, Kumta, said: ?The Gita is a divine dialogue having subtle truths about health, psyche, society and above all a philosophy of life. As it is difficult to capture air in a fist, so is it difficult to confine or control mind. The Gita teaches us how by slow and steady effort one should train his mind for peace and happiness.?
Sri Sri Chidroopananda Saraswati Swamiji of Arsha Vidya Gurukula, Hubli, said: ?The very first word in the Gita is Dhritarastra, who is a blind king. If the blind, who are obsessed with selfish motives, lead the nation, it is nothing but doom and destruction as happened in the Mahabharata. The Gita advocates various methods of worships like meditation, chanting, prayer, worship, rituals etc. according to each individuals temperament and interests.?
Sri Sri Dayananda Saraswati Swamiji, the President of Arsha Vidya Gurukula, Rishikesh as well as the Convener of the Acharya Sabha, explained in his lucid style: ?A form without spirit is dead-corpse. A spirit without form is a ghost. So we need both form and spirit. We should memorise the Gita and its meaning will automatically unfold in stages. Ours is the only culture where everything is in memory, even a dictionary. Our different cultural forms have profound meaning and message.?
H.H.Sri Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji of Swarnavalli, said: ?The construction of a nation should be the living style of its people. For that the Gita should be declared the national book. According to Ajja, who was a realised person, Dharma is the path, which takes an individual to God. Constitution being the soul of a nation, should give a proper position to Dharma, which is the life and breath of the Indians.?
Explaining the three main principles of the Gita, he said the karma yoga can be understood by the saying ?Go for the best, be ready for the worst?. The suicide cases regarding failure to get a rank or a seat in an aspired course, is because of ones excess thrust on result. The bhakti yoga is akin to cat-kitten principle where the mother holds the baby with its teeth firmly. Similarly, the deity will take care of the devotee, in the bhakti yoga. In the jnana yoga, akin to monkey & its baby'sexample where the baby holds the mother, the spiritual aspirant has to hold the God.
The Gita Abhiyana has to be a concentrated effort of all the saints, spiritual leaders and like-minded people. A tableau?the Gitopadesh?where live Krishna and Arjuna stood standstill for four hours attracted the audience.
The 14th & 15th chapters of the Gita will be taught to children and public during the next 18 days in Dharwad district.
