The relevance of Srimad Bhagavad Gita in pre-5G era

Sudipp Saaha

6 years ago

Today is Mokshada Ekadashi, popularly celebrated as Gita Jayanti as on this day, The Bhagavad Gita was narrated to Arjun by Lord Shri Krishna, just before the epic battle of Mahabharat. Most of the people (including me) had this perception that it is a religious book and it is meant for those people who are in the advanced stage of life. But, a few months back, I came across an interview of Dr Vivek Bindra, Motivational speaker, where he was discussing some principles of Bhagavad Gita. After watching that video, some questions came into my mind. I tried to find out the answers on my own.

I tried to analyze the background of Bhagavad Gita. It was said when Arjun gave up everything and wanted to surrender. The lessons of Bhagavad Gita gave him the willpower to fight back. So, if it was only related to spirituality, would it motivate someone to that extent to fight the greatest epic of all times? I have heard many people saying that the Bhagavad Gita answers all the questions related to life…is it so? Is Bhagavad Gita still relevant in the pre-5G era? To find out the answers, I have decided to read it myself and prepare a simple analysis of what we can learn from this holy book.

Listening

In the entire first chapter, Arjuna speaks about his dilemma. Lord Shri Krishna didn’t interrupt him. He didn’t speak a single word in between. He patiently listened to his thoughts. Lord Krishna was the 8th avatar of Lord Vishnu, he could have easily read Arjun’s mind and provided him with the solution to his problems…But he didn’t do so. He allowed Arjun to speak his heart out and the Lord patiently listened till he finished.

Here, we understand the importance of listening. Now, what is the difference between hearing and listening?

Hearing: It is the act of perceiving sounds by our ears.
Listening: It requires concentration and attention so that our brain can process those sounds to meaningful sounds.

In today’s world, most of the problems occur because we don’t listen. Everybody want to respond… Nobody wants to listen. This is the source of all misunderstandings.

Doing our work

Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,
Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani

– Bhagavad Gita (Sloka – 2.47)

It means that we have the right to perform our duties, not to enjoy the fruits. We shouldn’t get motivated by the results, and not get attached to inaction. This sloka has become the mantra of my life.

Karma Yoga means Yoga of action. It tells us that we shouldn’t focus on the fruits while doing our work. We should focus on improving the quality of our work, We should never allow ourselves to get motivated by the outcomes as it creates an invisible boundary. Now, you may ask me that, if you don’t get motivated by the results or by the goals the, how will you know your progress? Well, there’s no harm in setting goals. We must clearly define our goals and have a proper plan to execute it. We can always get motivated by the goal, but not by the outcome.

Let’s take an example. During a cricket match, both teams give their best performance. Here the goal is giving their best performance and the outcome is win or lose. At that time, they don’t think about the post-match celebrations. Should they start doing that, they lose focus and deviate from the goal. The team which plays best wins the match. The team which loses goes back and analyses their mistakes. Rectifies them and tries to change the outcome of the upcoming matches. Bhagavad Gita tells us that change is the only law nature and it is the only constant thing. Everything is constantly changing with respect to time.

In sloka 3.21, the lord says that common men always follow in the footsteps of a great man. If we refer to our history books, we will find the presence of ONE SINGLE person behind every ‘out-of-the-box’ concept. It was started by a single man and as he started moving forward, people started joining in and made it a grand success.

Controlling our mind and emotions

“Your mind is your great friend if you control it…

But your mind is your greatest enemy if it controls you.”

I am sure most of you have come across this saying while growing up. Even in sloka 6.5 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, we find the same. So, the now the question is how do we control our mind? Arjun had asked the same question to Lord in sloka 3.36. In sloka 3.37, the Lord answers his question by saying that lust is the root cause of it. Lust? Well, while reading the Bhagavad Gita, you need to think horizontally. Here, lust means anything that keeps you distracted from your goal or performing your duties. When lust is unsatisfied, it turns into wrath; wrath is transformed into illusion and this is a never-ending process.

Where does lust reside? This lust resides in the senses, mind, and intelligence; which veils the knowledge that he has acquired. So, how to get rid of it? In sloka 3.41, the Lord says that we can curb this senses by regulating our senses.

Now, consider your body as a computer system. Then, your sense organs become your input devices, the brain is the CPU and your actions are the output. Now, we know that the output is fully dependent on the inputs that we provide. Sometimes a well-written program may encounter an abrupt halt. If we start filtering our inputs then we will able to regulate it. So, always stay focused on your clearly defined objectives. The moment you get distracted, try to bring yourself back on track.

Lifestyle

yuktahara-viharasya yukta-cestasya karmasu

yukta-svapnavabodhasya yogo bhavati duhkha-ha.

– Bhagavad Gita (Sloka 6.17)

In this sloka, the Lord teaches us the importance of leading a disciplined life. Discipline is the first step of progress. Why? Let’s analyse the sloka.

yukta—regulated; ahara—eating; viharasya—recreation; cestasya—of one who works for maintenance; karmasu—in discharging duties; svapna-avabodhasya—regulated sleep and wakefulness; yogah— the practice of yoga; bhavati—becomes; duhkha-ha—diminishing pains.

Now, we all know that balanced diet and an adequate amount of sleep plays an important factor in staying healthy. Also, while performing our duties, we need to take a break. All of us have heard the famous proverb, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. The above sloka tells us that everything in our life should be regulated. We should maintain a disciplined lifestyle.

We should always have a balanced diet by including foods that are low in unnecessary fats and sugars and high in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Otherwise, it may lead to nutrition deficiency diseases. We should have an adequate amount of sleep. Sleeping for shorter duration may lead to fatigue and if we sleep for a longer duration then, we are spending unnecessary time sleeping. Now, time is precious. Any time which is spent on unnecessary activities is considered a great loss. Here, the concept of time management comes into play. Now, we all know the importance of time management to scale success.

Medical Science

Recently, a team of researchers have found a spiritual way to heal diabetes. A spiritual solution to diabetes? Yes, with the help of Bhagavad Gita. The title of the review article is “Coping with illness: Insight from the Bhagavad Gita” published in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. The review article talks about various situations in life and how can they used to deal with the situations that arise when one is suffering from diabetes.

“After the initial feelings of anxiety, stress, and negativity from the diagnosis of diabetes, come feelings of confusion. This confusion relates to the dilemma of choosing the right path of action. Similarly, in the Gita, Arjuna is confused and uncertain about what to do.”, the researchers said (pointing to sloka 2.04). It was Lord Shri Krishna, who taught Arjuna to get rid of this confusion while narrating the Bhagavad Gita.

“The Gita points out negative situations and goes on to showcase positive coping skills suggested by Lord Krishna and implemented by Arjuna,” the researchers said. One who is suffering from lifestyle diseases like diabetes may think negative. Bhagavad Gita teaches us to stay positive at all times. In the beginning, Arjuna became weak as he didn’t want to fight the war and wanted to surrender. But, the epic battle ends with Pandavas being victorious. Similarly, Bhagavad Gita teaches us how can we can defeat our lifestyle diseases by empowering ourselves, as per the study. If you read it, you may help yourself as well.

Author’s Note:

As I started moving forward, it appeared as if most of the things are known to me. Every morning I receive many motivational messages. It appeared that everything was borrowed from here. If we look at the background, we will find that the Bhagavad Gita was narrated in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, more than 5,000 years ago. It was narrated at the time of a crisis when one of the greatest battles were about to begin. Arjun had surrendered on seeing that he will have to fight against his family to win the battle. It is the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita that helped Arjun to get rid of his dilemma and to fight back. So, it won’t be wrong to say that Lord Shri Krishna was the first ever motivational speaker in the history of mankind. In some places, the principles of Bhagavad Gita are used to teach management. Some people regard it as the ultimate book of management, motivation and leadership.

Each and every sloka tells us something new…which we can relate it to our daily life. In this post, I have tried my level best to share the important things in the first 6 chapters. My sincere apologies if I have missed something. In other posts, I struggle to reach 200+ but for the first time in my life, my word count has crossed 1700+. In the near future, I shall more things as I come across. All, I can say that the principles of Bhagavad Gita are timeless. They are applicable at any time, place and circumstances.

Jai Shree Krishna Radhey Radhey !!