Gita Acharan

The thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is called Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhag Yog (Yoga through the distinction between the field and the Knower of the field). The chapter starts with Arjun's question, “I wish to understand what are prakriti (nature or matter) and purush (spirit or living entity); and what are kshetra (field) and kshetrajna (knower of the field). I also wish to know what is knowledge and that which ought to be known" (13.1). Krishna replies, "This body is termed as kshetra and the one who knows this is called kshetrajna "(13.2). Kshetra or field is a scientific word and in that sense, this chapter presents a scientific perspective too. In verses 12.13 to 12.20, Krishna talked about various attributes which are dear to Him. These include dropping hatred, agitation, desires, expectations, jealousy, fear and anxiety; attaining samatva (equanimity) by treating praise and insult; honour and dishonour; sukh (pleasure) and dukh (suf...

Krishna says, "To whom praise and insult are the same, who is silent, content with anything, who is not attached to a place of stay, stable-minded; those devotees who follow this nectar of wisdom (dharma) declared here, endued with shraddha (trust), regarding Me as supreme -are exceedingly dear to me" (12.19 and 12.20). At its core, the game of praise and insult is the play of ahankaar which gets elated with praise and hurt with insult. When we are centered in the self which Krishna earlier called atmavaan , praise and insult lose their ability to affect us.  This concludes the 12th Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita titled ' Bhakti Yoga (yoga of devotion). For easy adoption, a nine fold path for Bhakti is given in Ramayan by Lord Rama to his devotee Sabri. These include Satsang (company of saints), Katha (listening to stories of Paramatma ), Sewa (service), Kirtan (singing), Japa (chanting) etc. These are relevant and practiced even today. This chapter st...

Krishna says, "He who neither rejoices nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires, renouncer of good and evil, alike to friend and foe; to honour and dishonour, alike to experiences of warmth and chill, to pleasure (sukh) and suffering (dukh) , free from attachment, he who is full of devotion is dearer to me" (12.17 and 12.18). Essentially, it is witnessing these feelings and emotions rather than identifying with them. A newborn is a 'universal baby' with many free neurons in the brain to take care of future requirements and challenges. During the formative years, many neural patterns are formed based on upbringing, family, society etc. These patterns label external situations and people as either good or bad. That's why Krishna earlier suggested that (2.50) endowed with intellect, one sheds both good and bad deeds, which implies that labelling is shed once we attain yoga of equanimity. The same is reflected here that those devotees are dear to HIM who drop ...