Religion's Wars and Bhagavad Gita

The Supreme Lord Krishna was gracious enough to clarify the abstract
teachings of the Upanishads. Arjuna's craving for enlightenment was the
immediate cause of this gracious clarification. Love of the calf induces the
cow to secrete and yield milk in plenty. That bounteous supply goes to
benefit many other parched mouths. This is the case with the Bhagavad-
Gita also.

Milk may be consumed in proportion to one 's digestive power. From the
athlete down to the ailing, all can have recourse to it as a wholesome
food. The utility of the Bhagavad-Gita is equally all ranging. It is an
indispensable guide to a novice who has just commenced his spiritual
development. Even to an adept who is at the proximity to the goal it has a
message to deliver.

Life both in its secular and sacred aspects gets abundantly enriched by
the application of the tenets of the Bhagavad-Gita (the Song of God). For
these reasons a status is conferred on the Bhagavad-Gita equal to that of
the ancient Upanishads.

Indeed, the battle as described in the Bhagavad-Gita is constantly taking
place within ourselves; Because of Arjuna's faith and the Supreme Lord
Krishna 's instruction, we can all gain insight into our own problems and
struggles.

All the events, great or small, magnificent and minute, taking place in the
universe are verily the doings of Ishwara (the all pervading energy of
Ksara Purusa)). The universe itself is the revelation of the glory of
Ishwara.

Among all these manifestations and revelations, the Bhagavad-Gita
occupies a unique position. It explains the working of the universe and the
divinity inherent in it. It expounds the laws governing human life.

The bedrock which is the Source of the universe and the beings in it, is
lucidly presented by it. Knowledge pertaining to the Divine and the
mundane (the worldly) is all contained in it.

To put it in another way, the ways and the means of attaining the Supreme
and also of making earthly life prosperous and fruitful, are all
convincingly conveyed through it. The follower of the Bhagavad-Gita
would very soon become a yogi (self-developed).


DIVINE WORSHIP LEADS TO SELF-REALISATION

yesam tv anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam

te dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam drdha-vratah (7.28)

yesam - those, whose, of whom; tu — but; anta-gatam - is at an end, have come
to an end; papam — sin; jananam - of men, of the persons; puny a - pure, pious,
virtuous; karmanam - involved in deeds ; punya-karmanam - men of pure
deeds; te — they; dvandva — of dualities, the pairs of opposites; moha —
delusion; nirmuktah — free from; moha-nirmuktah - released from the delusive
pairs of opposites; bhajante —worship; mam — to Me; drdha-vratah - steadfast
in their vows, with determination in their vows.

But those men of pure deeds whose sins have come to an end, released from
the delusive pairs of opposites {the dualities), steadfast in their vows, they
worship Me. (7.28)

The Bhagavad-Gita today

That was several thousand years ago, and today the Bhagavad-Gita is found in
every household in India and has been translated into every major language of
the world. Literally billions of copies have been handwritten and printed.

What is the appeal of the Bhagavad-Gita? First of all, it is totally practical, free
of any vague or abstract philosophy. During my first trip to India over forty
years ago, I heard about a yogi who lived in a small houseboat on the Ganges
river in the holy city of Benares (Varanasi). He never spoke or wrote; yet every
day for many years people came to him for advice. How did he manage? He had
a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita, and after he was told the problem or question he
would open the book and point to a portion. And the inquirer would have a
perfect and complete solution to the trouble.

My own spiritual awakening began by kicking me out of the nest of the
comfortable Roman Catholic Faith into a vaster world of realities. I floundered
around in the sea of my new horizons until one day I bought a hardboard edition
of the Bhagavad-Gita, by Ramananda Prasad, Ph.D. I did not read it, I inhaled it.
Through it, the Eternal Self spoke Eternal Truth to me within my inner-self. The
Bhagavad-Gita changed my life by giving me Life, indeed. That very "Life" that
has never ended ever since I opened the Sacred Book, "The Song of God". I
worked every since with the American Gita Society, and translated Ramananda
Prasad version into French and Dutch. After, I also translated into English my
own version of the Bhagavad-Gita.