‘5 156 years spoken by Lord Krishna’
Q: I HAVE realised in my journey through life that I need to focus on my inner being and elevate myself to a higher consciousness. Please assist me in finding out how to start this new chapter.
Many thanks for the numerous outstanding articles you have given us thus far. | RM
A: Once a person achieves self-realisation then they remain constantly in the state of eternal bliss, peace, harmony and ecstasy throughout their life.
To start the process of selfrealisation as a beginner, join any enlightened spiritual path like Iskcon, Divine Life Society, Ramakrishna Centre, Chinmaya Mission,
Brahma Kumaris, Sai-organisation, Swaminarayan, Shiv-yoga, Manavdharam, Arya Samaj, Gayatri-pariwar, Art of Living, Radha Swami or Sidhdata Ashram and many more other organisations.
There are many paths to attain self-realisation yet there are many who choose to attain the knowledge from all different parts so that they can raise their consciousness to such a great extent that they see “One God” in all organisations and in all religion. One important aspect of self-realisation is to read the Bhagavad Gita.
There are many philosophers, thinkers and self-realised people who have written commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
The Bhagavad Gita (“Song of God”) is the essence of the Vedas and Upanishads. It is a universal scripture applicable to people of all race, groups, caste, creed and nationality. It is a book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on yoga, devotion, Vedanta and action. The Bhagavad Gita has influenced many great thinkers over the years.
According to Hinduism the
Bhagavad Gita is universally regarded as the most influential philosophical text, shaping spiritual thoughts and life. Spoken by Lord Krishna to his devotee Arjuna, the Gita’s 700 verses provide an ultimate guide to selfrealisation. It reveals the essential nature of man, his environment and his relationship with the Almighty, which is most unique. The teaching of the Bhagavad Gita is said to free you from all sense of limitation.
Some of the popular Bhagavad Gita’s commented by self-realised people are Swami Prabhupada, Shri Shivananda, Shri Chinmayananda, Shri Eknath Easwaran, Shri Shankaracharya, Shri Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Vivekananda, Shri S Satchidananda, Shri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Shri Ramsukhdas ji and also impressive commentaries from Western writers.
The choice of reading is entirely yours. One should read as many versions as possible from these high, great souls. Each time one reads the Bhagavad Gita, one always discovers new information and different perspectives of knowledge.
A few Bhagavad Gita’s may require a guru or learned person to fully understand the interpretation of the commentator, however a highly recommended version that is simple and easy to understand without a guru is the Shri Ramsukhdasjee Maharaj “Srimad Bhagavadgita”. In this Gita, Swamiji has written an extensive and very detailed commentary.
It is published by the “Gita Press” in Gorakhpur. Founded in 1923 by divine inspiration to propagate the Gita, serving humanity for truth and peace. It is the greatest non-profit organisation in India and promotes the most widely read spiritual text all over the world.
Special note: On Gita Jayanti (December 8) marked 5 156 years since Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. This number is extremely auspicious, spirituality, astrologically and numerologically.
This month offers a powerful opportunity to get maximum benefits of reading the Bhagavad Gita and will not be repeated again in history. We are extremely fortunate to be present and be given such a tremendous opportunity. One should start reading a few pages daily and complete it by the next Gita Jayanti.
It is a universal resource of inspiration for mankind. It is a divine and unique scripture which caters to the entire range of human evolution.