Recipes For Peaceful Life

Recipe 3 - Art of living from Bhagwad Gita

It is a scripture written more than 5000 years ago. It is meant not only for people of India, but also for all people for all times.

Krishna means God Himself and Arjuna means common man. Arjuna and Krishna are shown sitting in one chariot and driving forward in the battlefield. It depicts man and God have to work together in battles of life, then there will be victory, happiness, prosperity, and righteousness. Chariot is the body of yours.

All teachings were given by Lord Krishna Himself to Arjuna In the battle of Mahabharata. The battle was fought between Pandavas and Kauravas. There is a deep philosophy in the whole battle.

The Pandavas are nothing but your five senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and sound. The Kauravas are the hundred vices that attack your senses everyday but you can fight them and do you know how?

When Krishna rides your chariot! Krishna is your inner voice, Supreme soul, and your guiding light and if you let your life in His hands you have nothing to worry.

Bhagwadgita is not only a textbook of Hinduism but also a book of humanity. It gives three types of teachings.

1-Truth alone triumphs but not falsehood, for that purity of mind-intellect is required.

2-The teaching concerns "Ought." What should be done and what

should not be done, e.g. whatever you give to others, give with love, reverence and joy.

3-The teaching is " Ask, and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you." This is possible only when there is clarity of mind-intellect, not when you pollute the mind with all negatives.

Anyone daily practicing a few teachings of Gita will experience beneficial effects. He will be a better human being every succeeding day. He will overcome his difficulties more easily than others. He will discover an unending source of inspiration for his whole life. He will grow in strength, wisdom, and inner stability, in one word-spirituality. The battles of life, including duty towards the family and spirituality can go together. So Gita explains philosophy of living, while doing so it demonstrates science of living.

It is a script of activity and optimistic endeavor. It does not suggest any inaction. It emphasizes the supremacy of man over his weaknesses and circumstances. It gives secret teachings. It is secret because it has concern with that which can't be seen with the eyes.

It gives knowledge about Body-Soul-God.

You got so busy and engrossed with the activities of your body that you forgot about the power within you, that of Soul and Supreme Soul. It is very much within you. You will be surprised to know your real nature that is the quality of Soul. Your nature should have been comprised of these seven qualities. Knowledge of the soul, purity of body-mind-Soul, love for all, peace, and happiness constantly, bliss, will power. Real goal of life should be to achieve all of these.

Gita teaches harmonization of oneself with the atmosphere in which one lives. It includes the external objects and the persons. But you get entangled in likes-dislikes, good bad, friend-enemy, rich-poor, hot-cold etc.

Gita advocates that society should be perfectly organized by principle of co- operation, so that peace is there for everyone. There should be mutual regard for each other; otherwise it may lead to fights and wars. If one is for own self only, likes few and dislikes others, there will be chaos outside as well as inside in your mind too. Then there will be no harmony. Why don't you think of your own body, there are co-operative activities of various parts and organs of your body Due to any reason if the balance is disturbed, you land up with disability and diseases. So purification and balance of mind- intellect has been given lot of importance.