This book, written by the founder Chairman of Prasanna Trust and one who has extensively travelled and written many books on how to discover a new way of life, looks at life differently.
The author begins with the importance of creating awareness at the fist level and how to apply it in daily life at the second level, just as a musician increases his awareness and converts sounds into a melody. Like the Vedas say, ?Rasovai saha?, one can make one'slife journey pleasant if one knows how to do so. Swamiji says that this is possible only if instead of dragging our experiences we could change our inner state of being on the basis of what the Bhagwad Gita advises. When we change the inner state we are in a position to put our experiences into a certain harmony which create a melody in life?rasovai saha.
Man tends to create a conflict within a conflict. Even those who regularly listen to discourses on the Bhagwad Gita are unable to create a spiritual alchemy because of their inability to atmavare shrotavyam?first learning to listen before going into mantavyam?learning to reflect to reach the state of nidhidhyasitavyam?learning to meditate. Just by rattling off the mantra is not enough for spiritual enlightenment. The eleventh verse of the second chapter of the Bhagwad Gita says, ?Ashochyanan (we grieve over those who should not be grieved about) and ends with nanushochanti (do not grieve) telling us not to wallow in sorrow but remove the cause of the sorrow. And what is the cause of sorrow? It is shokasya karanam moha, i.e. it is delusion (moha) and therefore the essence of the Bhagwad Gita is to eliminate your shoka by removing the moha. When moha is eliminated, the shoka too gets eliminated.
After we stop worrying, we have to become aware of what is happening as this is the next step. Be more aware, more silent and the two combined create a synergy. Gyanam (knowledge) and vigyanam (wisdom) are essential for personal excellence as mere knowledge is not enough. With intelligence, we can be in harmony even in a conflicting situation and this constitutes the principle of warfare also. For instance, when we get angry, we are angry at our anger which doubles the anger and we feel guilty for being angry. If we feel guilty, we get upset and more angry. This way, as Swamiji says, ?dabba pe dabba pe dabba?, layer on layer on layer, forms, making us more miserable. Harmony is created by finding the cause of anger and by diffusing the cause?we all know that with no cause there will be no effect?karana abhave karya abhavahah. In this way the Bhagwad Gita stresses on avoiding creation of a conflict in a conflict.
So the Bhagwad Gita says that we should follow gyanam yoga (knowledge) by praying with bhakti (devotion) so that the mystical blessings can transform our life making it the yoga of devotion. It adds, we may offer a patram (leaf), a pushpam (a flower), a phalam (a fruit) or even toyam (water) but it should be done with bhakti.
(Jaico Publishing House, 121 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai-400 001.)
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