The journey of life

In a way the last chapter of the Geeta is the end, but in many ways it’s a beginning. As Krishna ends his discourse, he tells Arjuna (and you) that he has shared the entirety of knowledge that is to be known. Now the choice is yours, do as you wish ( Yatha ichchhasi tatha kuru: 18.63 ).  So, you can continue life as you have always lived it, or you can turn the direction towards the path of eternal bliss. The way he summarizes the entire teachings in this chapter is stunning & virtually impossible to capture in a blog. It’s as if he is picking up the best flowers from each chapter and putting it into a beautiful bouquet for you to enjoy. He entwines the 3 yogas of Vedanta into a simple truth that can be simply condensed into one sentence: Your purpose is to find true happiness & this bliss is accessible to you right now, IF you know who you really are.   As a first principle, always remember your raison d’etre : reason for your existence. The purpose of your life ...

“Your faith decides the life you lead” ! Chapter 17 th starts with this bold proclamation which basically tells you that you are defined as an individual by your faith ( Yat sharadhah sah eva sah ). Now that is a big statement, so let us understand what “Faith” is, as it is probably the most misinterpreted word in history of religion.  Is it the same as belief? Is it defined as blind trust or hope? Not at all! Probably a short story I heard explained it the best: One day, an expert acrobat who used to walk the tightrope hundreds of feet above the ground decided to up the ante. He told the audience he will do it without a safety net. He asked the audience: “Do you believe I can do it?” The audience who had seen him do amazing acts shouted: “Yes!” He upped the ante even more: “Do you believe I can carry a child on my shoulder and do it?” The audience cheered even louder: “YES!” He asked: “All right since you believe in me so much, which of you will let your child come on my shoulder...

 Enough of the theory, lets ask a practical question: are you walking on the path to happiness? As he starts closing this amazing scripture, Krishna takes a very pragmatic approach in the last 3 chapters. Now that you know (hopefully!) about your true nature, the code of life and all the other concepts, he uses 16 th chapter to help you start using them. The application is a simple & practical synthesis of the teachings which you can start applying in every moment of your life from tomorrow morning. He starts with a simple analogy: As you go through life you can build two kinds of properties ( sampatti ), one of divine nature ( Daivi ) or the other of demonic nature ( Asuri ). Every act that you do is a choice between these two qualities and these choices will ultimately define who you become. In one of the most blunt and powerful message Krishna gives a very linear correlation  between your choices and your destiny as well. In the 23 rd verse, He says if you decide to...

When we started this journey, we talked about a 90 degree turn & as we come towards the end, this scripture still continues to surprise us by saying that it is only half the journey. In the 15 th chapter Krishna starts with a very interesting analogy to explain the revelations he has given in the previous chapter. Why is it that our life is driven by the motive of Rajas (Greed, anxiety, ambition) & Tamas (Sensual pleasures, ignorance) while happiness is so clearly linked to Sattva ? Krishna tries to give a simple problem statement and a simpler answer. First the problem statement: See the picture below and imagine you start the journey at the foot of this mountain, and you believe that the aim of your life to climb and reach the summit. If you are able to achieve it, you will be at top of the world and you will win. This is exactly what you are trying to do in real life as well and this is the source of your problem. You might ask, what is the problem? Well, the problem is...

After the 13 th chapter shakes the fundamental core of who we are and shows how our perspective of life is completely warped, Krishna knows it is bound to raise questions for a seeker. The quest for eternal happiness will seem even more elusive once one internalizes the concept of Kshetra (field) of life. So, he addresses the  question in the 14 th chapter: How to play in this newly discovered field ? Krishna says that you will need to understand the defining rules and only then you can play successfully and blissfully. Hence, he starts the first verse by saying that understanding this supreme knowledge ( Gyan uttamam ) is an absolute must. There are 3 aspects which make this knowledge so powerful: a)        This entire world, samsara, is very similar to a Virtual Reality game ( Yog Maya ) b)       There is an underlying code which drives the entire VR game and he explains it in this chapter c)    ...

Think about your favourite sport which you love playing or watching, for me its Tennis. Now assume for years, a player has been trying to get better and better at this sport. After years of playing & toiling, he gets a shock: He has been playing on the wrong field all his life. He was playing tennis on a cricket pitch! Seems ridiculous? Well, chapter 13 tells you that you are doing exactly the same. You are playing the game of life intensely & with great vigour but unfortunately you have not realized that you are on the wrong field. Let us get into why. The normal view of how the game of life is played is as follows: I am the player, the world outside is the field in which I play the game with all my supporters and detractors and the aim of the game is go out in this field and win the game by playing well. Right in the 2 nd verse of this chapter Krishna shreds this myth by saying the world outside is NOT your field. Your field ( Kshetra ) of life is your body. He doesn’t onl...