The Final Frontier

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 and for everybody’s life is nothing but a search for happiness. Every action you do, every thought you think is towards that goal. Every desire that you have today, assumes that fulfilment of the desire would take you closer to happiness. Whether it is a desire towards a better job, towards a better relationship or a better future of your child, it has one and only one premise: it will lead you to happiness. Think of the biggest desire you have right now, suppose you knew that it would come with intense misery, would you ever want it fulfilled? So, start focusing right now on the things that matter!  

The second principle is even starker than the first one. You don’t need to become a monk and go to a Himalayan cave for finding this eternal bliss. You can get it right here, right now in the battlefield of life! Simply by divinizing your every action & fulfilling your everyday duties with 100% intensity, vigour and attention. On one side, just be fully conscious of what you are doing right now & you will drive excellence, making even the impossible come true for you. On the other side, avoid wasting a single iota of your mental processing capability into the baggage of past or anxiety of the future. Just this small (!) change will make every action an amazing piece of divinity and will make the journey of life a literal walk in the park. It will make you realize a fundamental truth: There is no difference between your meeting room and your meditation room and both are serving exactly the same purpose.       

The final principle is about finding the truth about your real nature, who you really are? Go deep inside and you will realize that You have always remained the same all through your life. You were present as a child going through the fun of a school life, you were the same through the exuberance of youth & changes of your relationships and professional life. The You that remained same over your lifetime seems the same it was twenty years back. Sure, it has seen a lot of ups and downs but it has remained the same, exactly the same, 100% the same.

Tat Twam Asi, my friend, you are That. 

The 3 principles encapsulated above defines the journey of Geeta: Know your Dharma, Do your Karma & Offer it to Brahman!  Whether to walk on this journey to bliss, the choice is yours: Yatha ichchhasi tatha kuru! 



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