Bhagavad Gita- The lighthouse to lead a virtues life

So at first I was sceptical of whether I have done a right thing by choosing the Bhagwat  Gita classes for this year or not as I always regarded Gita as ‘bhagwan wali book’  sure it sound cliché but is was how I regarded this book as. As it was a ‘bhagwan wali book’ I was never interested to know about it. But then I thought it must not be merely a book about God as we are planning to have classes on it, so I thought of giving it a try. To my surprise these sessions have turned out to be very fruitful and it has changed my perspective about it completely.

Each session conducted by Guruji were like unfolding our existence and how exactly the life has to be lived. The session were structured in such a way that they offered a uniform approach towards understanding this book of life- starting from chanting verses to understanding the minute details about each and every word contextually with real life situations which helps us to understand the true essence of our life.  During these six sessions there were times where I could relate with what my mother keeps on sharing when she watches some mythological shows or simply sharing her life experiences. To be frank, I never  paid much heed to it as I felt ‘it’s not my thing’ but Guruji’s approach of bringing in the rational in to focus while explaining these life lessons made me ponder upon them often this year which also lead to a healthy discussion different topics like Karma, purpose of life etc with my mother.

Terms like Dharma, paap, puniya karama where hard to swallow for me as I believed that they are only connected to God (an idol in the temple) but to my delight I was wrong.  Desires something around which our entire life revolves upon which is looked at as bad was clarified by Guruji that having desire is ok, in fact it is the ability given to human beings so we are bound to have them. The problem arises when we cling to them and if they are not fulfilled then it brings resentment. This made me think upon my needs and wants and their importance in my life.

It was like an AHA moment for me when Guruji explained what Karma exactly is. He rightly pointed out that we follow this notion that ‘Karam kar phal ki asha maat kar.’  We in a way give up on ourselves  and we leave everything to our ‘destiny’ which is true we don’t take ‘responsibility’ of our own life which is not we are here for.  So that was something which was in a way in line with my approach to karma and coming from  him gave me assurance that my approach is on the same lines and I should continue to believe in it.

Second AHA moment was surely the meditation. I have never tried it so I was happy that I experienced it for the first time in its traditional form. The whole process of accepting ourselves, our loved ones and each and every human being was a breakthrough for me. Every time when I meditated and saw my mother, father and brothers with objective lenses that feeling was so overwhelming that it made me very emotional. Now not only during the meditation but I have automatically started applying it in day to day life too. I have tried accepting them every time I’m with them and if there is a conflicting situation I pause and try to understand their perspective and then respond to the situation and it has made me more tolerant towards others. As Guruji said you can only ‘wish’ for a person to change or behave in a certain manner this thought itself brings peace to my mind.

And the third AHA moment is understanding ‘Dharma’  according to my understanding  following the path of dharma is nothing but following the learner profile  being ‘Principled’ in all the walks of your life. As explained by Guruji the benefits of walking on the path of Dharma brings psychological relief in times of helplessness. It adds to our puniya accounts and also neutralizes the duritas.

To sum it all, after attending not only the Gita classes  this year but all the classes which I have attended right from ‘life’, ‘love’, ‘integrity’, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ and the ‘book and film club’ there has always been many take-away and AHA moments. Through the course 5 years in FS I have been on a journey to discover myself and have also become more ‘aware’ of who I am and others around me. I have made mistakes but I feel that’s the whole idea of how you should lead your life. You learn, unlearn, relearn and become an emotionally mature individual.

My Sankalp

I’m going to invest my energy in self-growth by following the path of Dharma. And meditate to accept my true self and lead a life of virtue.