Bhagwad Gita - Post 4

Paathe’asamarthah sampoornam tato’rdham paathamaacharet; 
Tadaa godaanajam punyam labhate naatra samshayah.

If a complete reading is not possible, even if only half is read, he attains the benefit of giving a cow as a gift. There is no doubt about this.

Tribhaagam pathamaanastu gangaasnaanaphalam labhet;

Shadamsham japamaanastu somayaagaphalam labhet.

He who recites one-third part of it achieves the merit of a bath in the sacred river Ganges; and who recites one-sixth of it attains the merit of performing a Soma sacrifice (a kind of

ritual).

Ekaadhyaayam tu yo nityam pathate bhaktisamyutah;

Rudralokam avaapnoti gano bhootwaa vasecchiram.

 That person who reads one discourse with supreme faith and devotion attains to the world of Rudra and, having become a Gana (an attendant of Lord Shiva), lives there for many years.

Adhyaayam shlokapaadam vaa nityam yah pathate narah;

Sa yaati narataam yaavanmanwantaram vasundhare.

If one reads a discourse or even a part of a verse daily he, O Earth, retains a human body till the end of a Manvantara (71 Mahayugas or 308,448,000 years).

Geetaayaah shloka dashakam sapta pancha chatushtayam;

Dwautreenekam tadardhamvaa shlokaanaam yah pathennarah.

Chandralokam avaapnoti varshaanaam ayutam dhruvam;

Geetaapaathasamaayukto mrito maanushataam vrajet.

He who repeats ten, seven, five, four, three, two verses or even one or half of it, attains the region of the moon and lives there for 10,000 years. 

Accustomed to the daily study of the Gita, a dying man comes back to life again as a human being.

Geetaabhyaasam punah kritwaa labhate muktim uttamaam;

Geetetyucchaarasamyukto mriyamaano gatim labhet.

By repeated study of the Gita, he attains liberation. Uttering the word Gita at the time of death, a person attains liberation.

Geetaarthashravanaasakto mahaapaapayuto’pi vaa;

Vaikuntham samavaapnoti vishnunaa saha modate.

Though full of sins, one who is ever intent on hearing the meaning of the Gita, goes to the kingdom of God and rejoices with Lord Vishnu.

Geetaartham dhyaayate nityam kritwaa karmaani bhoorishah; Jeevanmuktah sa vijneyo dehaante paramam padam.

He who meditates on the meaning of the Gita, having performed many virtuous actions, attains the supreme goal after death. Such an individual should be considered a true Jivanmukta.

Geetaam aashritya bahavo bhoobhujo janakaadayah;

Nirdhootakalmashaa loke geetaa yaataah param padam.

In this world, taking refuge in the Gita, many kings like Janaka and others reached the highest state or goal, purified of all sins.

Geetaayaah pathanam kritwaa maahaatmyam naiva yah pathet;

Vrithaa paatho bhavet tasya shrama eva hyudaahritah.

He who fails to read this “Glory of the Gita” after having read the Gita, loses the benefit thereby, and the effort alone remains.

(This is to test and confirm the faith of the reader in the Bhagavad Gita, which is not a mere philosophical book but the word of God and should therefore be studied with great faith and devotion. The Gita Mahatmya generates this devotion in one’s heart.)

Etanmaahaatmyasamyuktam geetaabhyaasam karoti yah;

Sa tatphalamavaapnoti durlabhaam gatim aapnuyaat.

One who studies the Gita, together with this “Glory of the Gita”, attains the fruits mentioned above, and reaches the state which is otherwise very difficult to be attained.

Suta Uvaacha:

Maahaatmyam etad geetaayaah mayaa proktam sanaatanam;

Geetaante cha pathedyastu yaduktam tatphalam labhet.

Suta said:

This greatness or “Glory of the Gita”, which is eternal, as narrated by me, should be read at the end of the study of the Gita, and the fruits mentioned therein will be obtained.

Iti srivaraahapuraane srigeetaamaahaatmyam sampoornam.

Thus ends the “Glory of the Gita” contained in the Varaha Purana.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!

(Source- Swami Sivananda's writing on Bhagwad Gita)

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Bhagwad Gita - Post 3

GITA MAHATMYA

GLORY OF THE GITA

(To be read at the end of the day’s Gita study)

Sri Ganeshaaya Namah! Gopaalakrishnaaya Namah!

Dharovaacha:

Bhagavan parameshaana bhaktiravyabhichaarinee;

Praarabdham bhujyamaanasya katham bhavati he prabho.

The Earth said:

 O Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord! How can unflinching devotion arise in him who is immersed in his Prarabdha Karmas (worldly life), O Lord?

Sri Vishnuruvaacha:

Praarabdham bhujyamaano hi geetaabhyaasaratah sadaa;

Sa muktah sa sukhee loke karmanaa nopalipyate.

Lord Vishnu said:

 Though engaged in the performance of worldly duties, one who is regular in the study of the Gita becomes free. He is the happy man in this world. He is not bound by Karma.

Mahaapaapaadipaapaani geetaadhyaanam karoti chet;

Kwachit sparsham na kurvanti nalineedalam ambuvat.

 Just as the water stains not the lotus leaf, even so sins do not taint him who is regular in the

recitation of the Gita.

Geetaayaah pustakam yatra yatra paathah pravartate;

Tatra sarvaani teerthaani prayaagaadeeni tatra vai.

All the sacred centres of pilgrimage, like Prayag and other places, dwell in that place where the Gita is kept, and where the Gita is read.

Sarve devaashcha rishayo yoginahpannagaashcha ye;

Gopaalaa gopikaa vaapi naaradoddhava paarshadaih.

All the gods, sages, Yogins, divine serpents, Gopalas, Gopikas (friends and devotees of Lord Krishna), Narada, Uddhava and others (dwell here).

Sahaayo jaayate sheeghram yatra geetaa pravartate;

Yatra geetaavichaarashcha pathanam paathanam shrutam;

Tatraaham nishchitam prithvi nivasaami sadaiva hi.

Help comes quickly where the Gita is recited and, O Earth, I ever dwell where it is read, heard, taught and contemplated upon!

Geetaashraye’ham tishthaami geetaa me chottamam griham;

Geetaajnaanam upaashritya treen Uokaan paalayaamyaham.

I take refuge in the Gita, and the Gita is My best abode. I protect the three worlds with the knowledge of the Gita.

Geetaa me paramaa vidyaa brahmaroopaa na samshayah;

Ardhamaatraaksharaa nityaa swaanirvaachyapadaatmikaa.

The Gita is My highest science, which is doubtless of the form of Brahman, the Eternal, the Ardhamatra (of the Pranava Om), the ineffable splendor of the Self.

Chidaanandena krishnena proktaa swamukhato’rjuna;

Vedatrayee paraanandaa tatwaarthajnaanasamyutaa.

It was spoken by the blessed Lord Krishna, the all-knowing, through His own mouth, to Arjuna. It contains the essence of the Vedas—the knowledge of the Reality. It is full of supreme bliss.

(The Gita contains the cream of the Vedas and Upanishads. Hence it is a universal scripture suited for people of all temperaments and for all ages.)

Yoashtaadasha japen nityam naro nishchalamaanasah;

Jnaanasiddhim sa labhate tato yaati param padam.

He who recites the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita daily, with a pure and unshaken mind, attains perfection in knowledge, and reaches the highest state or supreme goal.

Continued....

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Bhagwad Gita - Post 2

When we see the divinity everywhere, installed as the indweller in every being, and we serve that omni-present divinity in all we do, then karma yoga automatically becomes bhakti yoga. Our work becomes worship. But in this there is still some separation between ourselves and God; there is still some duality. Baba is not satisfied with our spiritual progress until we become totally immersed in non-duality and reach our highest truth, the realization of the immortal self. That is the final stage.

Baba tells a little story of an old woman who was sewing in her home at night. She was working on her tapestry when she lost her needle. The light being very dim in her house, she went out to the street lamp where the light was bright, to look for her needle. Baba ends the story there. Whenever he tells this story he always seems a little amused by the silliness of it.

We are like that old woman. We have also lost our needle while working on the tapestry of our many lives. Our lost needle is the knowledge of our truth, without which we cannot finish our work. 

After groping through countless lives caught up in illusion, we now know that there is something vital to our existence that we have lost. We go to great teachers and to ashrams where the spiritual light is intense, hoping to find there what we have lost.

We get great solace being in the light and we gain deeper understanding of what we are looking for, but the final discovery of what we have lost can only happen when we look inside our own heart of hearts. 

There within, deeper than the body and the mind, deeper than our sense of I-ness which stands at the core of our individual self, beyond all sheaths, subtle and causal, which cover our truth, we find the brightest light of all, the light of atma. When the atma, our true self is realized, the tapestry of our long journey in the world which we have been working on for so many eons and so many lives, is finally complete.

Baba assures us that, just as was true in the vision given to Arjuna showing the final outcome of the war, the outcome of our long trek and our inner war has also already been determined by the divine will. We are destined to return home. 

Nevertheless, we must still tread the path and fight the battles and win final victory over our inner enemies. We initiate this process by making friends with the divinity in our hearts, keeping it as our steady companion and allowing it to guide our inner journey.

As we proceed on our path the clouds of illusion thin out and we become aware of a great mystery. We realize that the spiritual journey we thought we were on is itself an illusion. We are not individuals on the spiritual path following the direction of the divine inner Guru. In truth, we are the totality. 

We are the divinity itself. We are and always have been the atma. Atma is neither born nor reborn; nor does it ever die. As atma, we have not come from somewhere nor are we going somewhere. We have never changed. Only the illusion of individuality and separateness has changed. Ultimately that illusion disappears, and we discover the glorious truth that we have always been one with God. Baba tells us, "God if you think, God you are. Dust if you think, dust you are. Think God. Be God. You are God. Realize it."

Some years ago, in a public discourse, Baba directed us to repeat several times daily, "I am God, I am God, I am no different from God. I am the infinite supreme. I am the one reality." If we allow this declaration of truth to suffuse our lives and fill us with the consummate love that is God, these powerful words will gradually become our direct inner experience. More and more we will identify ourselves with the divinity, our real self, and less and less with these ephemeral personalities which are but shadow selves. Thus, we realize who we are, the immortal self, the one divinity, which is love itself.

That is the inspiring message of this Gita.

(Source - Sai Baba Gita, a compilation of Divine Discourse on Bhagwad Gita delivered by Bhagwan in Aug / Sept 1984 in Prashanti Nilayam.)

Love.