The second chapter of The Bhagavad Gita deals with what is known as Sankhya Yoga, which is the yoga of understanding – an understanding which was not adequately present in the mind of Arjuna at the time when he was very much confused as to the duty to which he was obliged under the circumstance in which he was placed. One cannot…
Lord Shri Krishna in the 4th chapter of The Bhagwad Gita introduces different Yogas to attain salvation or one-ness with God. He talks of Pranayama as a very useful way of moving forward on this path of self-attainment and salvation for an aspirant. He states, अपाने जुह्वति प्राणं प्राणेऽपानं तथापरे |प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणा: || अपरे नियताहारा: प्राणान्प्राणेषु जुह्वति |सर्वेऽप्येते यज्ञविदो यज्ञक्षपितकल्मषा: || Meaning, Aspirants offer the outgoing breath and incoming breath as a sacrifice.…
सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः।पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् || The ‘Upanishadas’ are the cows milked by Gopala, the son of Nanda, and Arjuna is the calf. Wise and pure men drink the milk i.e., the supreme & immortal nectar of theGita. Bhagwad Gita, explains some of the highest spiritual realizations. It explains exactly who and what we really are. Without…
In today’s fast & complicated life, we often come face to face with problems & difficulties and are so lost that we don’t even know …..what should we do ? …..which is the right path to choose ? At these times, we often need a person who can mentor us & guide us in what is right for us. I…
योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय | सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते || Continuing from where I left my last article, Lord Krishna is telling Arjuna to be steadfast – i.e loyally committed to his responsibility, without budging an inch from his course of responsibilities irrespective of the situation. For attaining this state of equanimity one has to be able to…
During the course of my work with wellness, philosophy & mentoring, I come across people from various streams & walks on a daily basis. I have been recently coming across people who seem to be quoting the following verse from The Bhagvad Gita to me, trying to give it a very different meaning from what it actually is. I thought…
I have been reading the Mahabharata over the last two decades but each time I read it, it never fails to amaze me by its vastness. But what really amazes me the most, is personality of the man himself, Lord Krishna. The enigma around this personality and his actions create a realm of awe around the entire Epic. I thought…
As we saw in previous articles, Sage Patanajali englightens us with different ways of attaining samadhi. In his next aphorism, he takes his students-Yoga aspirants one level up by introducing the concept of Submitting to Ishwara. He quotes, ईश्वरप्रणिधानाद्वा॥२३॥ Ishvara pranidhana va Translated loosely into English; ‘Or from intense devotion and total surrender to Ishvara.’ Samadhi can be obtained by…
In the previous aphorisms, after having told us the type of aspirants set out to achieve mastery on thier mind and its modifications, Sage Patanjali tells us about importance of a strong desire for goal in the journey to achieve this mastery. Patanjali invests two sutras to emphasize the crucial importance of the desire for attaining victory over the mind.…
