How to Motivate Yourself in depressed situations - Bhagwad Gita Perspective

 

This article deals with how you can Motivate Yourself in depressed situations of life.  When you get depressed in life then its very difficult and frustrating to cope with it. With proper guidance, you can come out of depression & eventually can come out of it. To come out of depression shall not be easy but you can motivate yourself through the methods shown below & can do it surely. 

In our day to day life, whether you are working for an organization or are doing your own business or are responsible for your household work, the most common thing many times is that you get depressed while doing your work. Depressed employees in any organization is a common sight. Dejected employees, depressed employees, unmotivated employees, desolate employees, morose looking employees are very harmful to any organization as they not only decrease the productivity but they also create an atmosphere in which other colleagues may also feel de-motivated & dejected. Similarly if you run your own business & remain depressed while doing your work, certainly you shall not achieve that much in your business if you would have been highly motivated & energetic.

Now, De-motivation, Depression, Dejection, Desolation all these D-words relates to your mind or relate to your mental position. It's only your MIND that gets depressed, dejected. You may be physically fit with blood oozing in your nerves, but if you are not well with your MIND then you are certainly not going to perform to your full potential. Mental health is where the key to success lies. If you are mentally supercharged then you can achieve any milestone in spite of having any physical inadequacy.

Now, how to get out of this Depression, De-motivation & how to increase the productivity at work is where the great teachings of "Bhagwat Gita" come into play. Now for those who do not know about "Bhagwat Gita".

"Bhagwat Gita" is an ancient religious book of the "Hindus" & in this book are great philosophies of Hinduism. These philosophies teach you all about, how you should do your duty, how you should lead your life etc. This "Bhagwat Gita" teachings were given by "Lord Sri Krishna", God Himself, to his disciple "Arjuna" on the battle field of Kurukshetra in Haryana state of India in ancient times. "Arjuna" was involved in a war against his enemies (some of them his own relatives too) but he refused to do his duty of fighting a righteous battle as he got infatuated & started thinking of his enemies as his own near & dear ones. He told his master "Lord Sri Krishna" that he is going away from the war & do not want to fight on the battle field. Arjuna's mental health became weak & he got deeply depressed. To overcome his disciple Arjuna's depression & to motivate him to fight a righteous war, "Lord Sri Krishna" gave the great teachings of "Bhagwat Gita" to his disciple "Arjuna". After listening to all these great teachings, Arjuna's mental health became well & he became motivated & energetic to fight the war.

Now many of us & many of our employees in our organization find themselves in the same state of mind, as that of "Arjuna". Their de-motivated, depressed state of mind can be changed to motivated & energetic one by these teachings of "Bhagwat Gita". Through these teachings, mental equilibrium of any depressed person can be overcome & he can come out of any crisis situation. The teachings of "Bhagwat Gita" can simply transform a person.

Now Bhagwat Gita teaches about "Mind Control". Mind is that makes the personality of a person. De-motivated mind makes a person depressed one & a motivated one makes a person cheerful. If one's mind is in one's control & he/she can concentrate deeply on one's work, then that person can do wonders at work. Mind is very powerful one & to control it, to keep it in one's control is very difficult. It just wanders like wind here & there & it takes enough of self discipline & practice of meditation to control it, to get it concentrated on any job or activity. As per "Arjuna" to "Lord Sri Krishna" in Chapter Six verse 34:

"chanchalam hi manah krishna
pramathi balavad drdham
tasyaham nigraham manye
vayor iva su-duskaram" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 34)

"Arjuna said: For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, to control it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind."

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
asamsayam maha-baho
mano durnigraham chalam
abhyasena tu kaunteya
vairagyena cha grhyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 35)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O mighty-armed Arjuna, it is undoubtedly that mind is very difficult to curb & is restless, but it is possible by suitable practices of meditation and by detachment."

"asamyatatmana yogo
dusprapa iti me matih
vasyatmana tu yatata
sakyo ’vaptum upayatah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 36)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: For one whose mind is unbridled, uncontrolled, self-realization is a difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion."

So in the Bhagwat Gita, "Lord Sri Krishna" first of all asks one to do his DUTY. If a person does his/her duty then half of the problems of that person are solved. Not doing one's duty is very harmful as it produces negative results only in one's life, like frustration, depression, de-motivation etc. If one does at least his/her duty, then such negative factors affect that person to a lesser degree or do not affect at all. As per "Lord Sri Krishna", doing one’s prescribed duties, even though faultily is better to have a better Mental Health.

"sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah
para-dharmat sv-anusthitat
sva-dharme nidhanam sreyah
para-dharmo bhayavahah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 35)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another’s duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous."

Another teaching of "Bhagwat Gita" is to do one's work for the sake of work only without caring for the fruit arising out of that work. That simply means to get deeply involved in one's work or to just think single mindedly about performing the best in one's job without thinking about the results arising out of those actions performed while doing one's work or duty. Just concentrate on your work, that's it. Below verse of "Bhagwat Gita" explains this.

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

Another below verse of "Bhagwat Gita" explains that one should do one's duty equi-poised or to have the equanimity of mind, without caring & renouncing all attachment to success or failure. If one does one's duty efficiently & with single minded devotion, without any fear of success or failure in his/her Endeavour, then certainly that person shall succeed in his/her work, as he/she is doing that work without any fear of success or failure. His/her mind shall be at peace & ease while doing such work without any fear of success or failure. Any person whose mind is at peace, certainly works effectively.

"yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 48)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: Perform your duty equi-poised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga."

So if a person is dedicated to his work & works for the sake of work only without any fear of success or failure, then that person is going to be certainly successful in his/her carrier. By doing meditation & other yoga techniques, one can control one's mind & a disciplined mind can be made to concentrate on one's job better, producing better results. So by following the teachings of "Bhagwat Gita" one is certainly going to excel in his/her job & in life.

Jai Shri Krishna

People who do Bad Karmas are Punished surely by the God at one time or the another

Sometimes we feel that those people who do Good Karmas are not rewarded & those who do Bad Karmas are not Punished by God. But it is not so. Domain of God runs for Many lives & it is not that a person is not punished by God for his bad Karmas. So here are examples of how God punishes for bad Karmas.

Lets first take the case of Bhishma Pitamah. He had to Suffer on a Bed of Arrows? To the question as to why Bhishma Pitamah was suffering this punishment even when he had not committed any sin during past 72 birth lives (Great Bhishma could peep into his past lives through Samadhi), Lord Krishna replied him that he committed a folly in past 73rd life birth when he inflicted injuries to insects by piercing thorns / needles into their bodies. Those thorns have now appeared as bed of arrows for you. Your sinful Karma remained dormant as you were a pious person throughout these lives but since you have now become a party to Adharma of Duryodhana, the sanchit evil Karma’s of 73rd life has ripened now.

So if a person has done good Karmas in past lives, he/she gets a good life in future births & if he/she has done bad Karmas in past lives then that person has to suffer bad fruit of those bad Karmas. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Next lets take the case of Ashwathama who was given a curse by Lord Krishna at the end of Mahabharata war.

At the end of Mahabharata war, Ashwathama entered into the tent of the Pandavas and mistakenly killed all the 5 sleeping sons of Pandavas and set the camp on fire. Later on Ashwathama through deadly weapon called Brahmastra also killed the child in the womb of the pregnant ‘Uttara’ (wife of martyr Abhimanyu - the great archer and son of Arjuna), however Lord Krishna later revived the child through His Grace. So Ashwathama tried to kill everyone in the Pandava’s family. On this Lord Krishna became very angry with Ashwathama & Cursed him badly. Lord Krishna Cursed him like this:

O! Ashwathama “You will carry the burden of all the people’s sins on your shoulders and will roam alone like a ghost without getting any love and courtesy till the end of Kaliyuga, You will have neither any hospitality nor any accommodation; You will be in total isolation from the mankind and society; Your body will suffer from a host of incurable diseases forming sores and ulcers that would never heal. May you, Ashwathama, lead the most wretched life anyone can ever lead. May you never receive love or affection ever in your life unto the end of Time ”.

It is said that from the last 5152 years, Ashwathama is still roaming on earth in and around the Narmada river in India. As Mahakaal (Lord Shiva) can only free him from the curse so it is said that he still visits the shivling at a temple near the Narmada river every morning and places a rose flower there in temple which he creates from his tap / spiritual power every day.

Similarly all those people who do bad Karmas are Punished surely by God at one time or the another as showed in above examples. Otherwise also God has created 8.4 Million different species in which a person goes after death. Say if a person has done very Bad Karmas, then he may become an animal or bird like a dog, snake, cat, crocodile, cow, bull, monkey, pig, horse, donkey, lion, crow, falcon  etc. or a person can become insect etc. also & may have to suffer for innumerable years in such lives for his bad Karmas before he can get redeemed for his bad Karmas.

So if a person has done good Karmas in past lives, he/she gets a good life in future births & if he/she has done bad karmas in past lives then that person has to suffer bad fruit of those bad Karmas. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness (after doing good Karmas) , he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance (after doing bad Karmas) , he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

So it is said that we should do all our Karmas for the God only as by doing such Karmas no evil result shall come out of those Karmas in future lives.

"yajnarthat karmano ’nyatra
loko ’yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samachara" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 9)

"Sri Krishna said: Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O Arjuna, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage."

So let’s do Good Karmas only so that we shall get Goof Fruits of those Karmas in future births. Let’s do all the Karmas for God only as by that way God shall protect us always.

Jai Shri Krishna

You have evolved through many Rebirths.....to be what You are today

We all have had many rebirths in the past. This body of ours is only one of the bodies in which your soul lives now. It lived in many other bodies in the previous births of yours. A person eveolves into a great soul only in evolution of his soul & becomes a great soul after getting knowledge of the God. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita points to that.

"bahunam janmanam ante
jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma su-durlabhah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 19)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna : After many births and deaths / after taking many rebirths, he who is actually in knowledge of God, surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and Lord of this universe. Such a great soul is very rare."

Now do you believe in rebirth? Do you believe in your previous lives? What you were in your past lives? How many births have you been through prior to this life? How one is reborn? How soul travels from one body to the other? If all such questions are of any interest to you then this article shall also be of some interest to you.

All the Hindu & Buddhist religion is replete with rebirth stories. As per the philosophy of both the religions, soul of an individual being travels at death from one body to the other. In the case of Lord Buddha, he was able to see all his previous births with vivid clarity. Many Yogis & persons advanced in meditation can also see all their previous lives vividly. So can you if you are also advanced in meditation. As per Lord Buddha an individual soul goes through innumerable births & you have been in different bodies in your past lives before you were born this time. As per him this continuum of births was so lengthy that it did not make sense to see exactly where the process began. In the case of Lord Buddha, he acquired two sorts of insights, the ability to recall with visual clarity his previous lives & the ability to do so in the case of others too. All the previous lives of Lord Buddha are recorded as "Jataka Stories".

As per Lord Buddha he was in his previous many births, not only in human bodies but also took birth as birds & animals. Hindu religion also talks about 8.4 Million different types of species in this universe & a soul goes from one type of body to the other as per the Karmic law.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about the rebirth:

"dehino-asmin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvnam jara
tatha dehantar-praptir-
adhiras tatra na muhyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: Just as boyhood, youth & old age are attributed to the soul & the embodied soul continuously passes through these cycles, similarly the embodied soul passes into another body at death. The wise man does not get deluded & bewildered with such a change."

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur
dhruvam janma mrtasya cha
tasmad apariharye ’rthe
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said: One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
bahuni me vyatitani
janmani tava charjuna
tany aham veda sarvani
na tvam vettha parantapa" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 5)

"Sri Krishna said: Both you and I have passed through many, many births. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O winner of the enemy!"

Sometimes it happens in our life that some unknown out of the crowd seems so known to you, though you have met that person for the first time. If we meet someone & form meaningful close relationship with that person, then the assumption is that we may have previously met & have associated with that person in previous births also. As a Karmic connection we meet that person again & maintain connections in this lifetime also. Same is the case with all the persons who are close to us in this life. It is not just like that we have suddenly become so close to those people. It is only that all these people were in our lives in our previous births also. We are together here because we had been together before in our previous lives.

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, As the wind carries away odours from their seat, even so the Jivatma (soul), the lord of the body, snatching these (the mind & the senses) from the body, which it casts off, migrates into the body, which it acquires.

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So, whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

Jai Shri Krishna

How Long it takes for Self Realization

What is Self Realization? How Long it takes for Self Realization?

Self Realization is nothing but knowing the reality about yourself. Reality that you are not this physical body but someone beyond this body. Reality that you are a Soul which is part & parcel of that omnipresent Super Soul which is called Brahmn, Kutastha Chaitanya also, which is immortal & which is present in all the creation.

Now How Long it takes for Self Realization? To realize your true self, you only need to change your thought & have a firm faith, realization that you are a Soul & not that physical body which perishes in time. Once you move away from body conception of yourself & move towards Soul conception of yourself, then you have Self Realization automatically. Such Self Realization can actually occur in a flash of time only if you believe yourself to be a Soul than body. Other wise, it may take, years, many births also till you get out of this conception of yourself as a physical body. So believe yourself to be a Soul which is part & parcel of that omnipresent Super Soul called Brahmn & you shall get Self Realization at this very moment.

Here below a a story in which a man asked Gautama Buddha the same thing:

A young man went to Gautama Buddha and sought the Master’s guidance to achieve Enlightenment, The conversation went as follows:

Young Man: Master how long will it take for me to achieve enlightenment?

Gautama Buddha: It all depends on you......

Young Man: If I put in ten hours of meditation every day how long will it take?

Gautama Buddha: Maybe ten years

Young Man: What if I put in fifteen hours meditation?

Gautama Buddha: Maybe fifteen years

Young Man; [getting irritated] What if I meditate for twenty hours?

Gautama Buddha: Maybe twenty five years

The young man was almost infuriated.

Young Man: I cannot understand your logic—the more effort I put in, the more time it will take—this is ridiculous, Please explain.

Gautama Buddha: As long as you are fixated and obsessed about your goal you will not achieve it. Just do spiritual practice without one eye on the goal. Let events take their shape.

Recently Nobel Laureate V. Ramakrishnan, an Indian American said in an TV interview that he embarked on his research not out of a desire to win laurels but out of curiosity to solve a scientific problem. He was not working with one eye on the Nobel Prize.

So ‘’It does not matter what you do in life. Let you aspire to be the very best in terms of excellence in whatever you do."

In other words EXCELLENCE ought to be our ideal and everything else ought to be a side effect.

Bhagwat Gita also teaches us to do work in this way. Doing work in such a way, is called "Nishkama Karma". "Nishkama Karma" just means, no egoism in our action, no expectation of any gain or reward but doing your work effectively. It is also that : “You have a right to action but never to the fruits of action.” Below verses of Bhagwat Gita Explains that only.

"Karmanye vadhikaraste
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)"

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

"Yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 48)"

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Perform your duty with an equipoise mind, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga."

So just do your work with your 100% involvement & dedication & derive pleasure out of doing such work. You yourself shall then see that when you care for the work only & not it's final outcome, you work most effectively. Doing work in such a way is only called "Karma Yoga".

Read also...............It's Journey not the Outcome that matters

Read also.............What is Karma Yoga? 

Jai Shri Krishna

Work is Worship - Karma Yoga

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

In the above verse God is asking his disciple Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty & not get attached to the fruits of its action. If one does all his/her actions without considering or thinking about the Fruits these actions shall produce & devotes that action & its fruit to the God only, then he/she is not bound by that action & that action shall not bear such fruits which shall be the cause of his/her next birth. Once a person is relieved of taking rebirths then that person can go to the abode of God & live there with Him & he becomes a liberated soul.

Art of doing actions for the sake of God only & doing all his/her actions without thinking or keeping in mind the fruit of that action is only what is called Karmayoga.

Work is Worship” but When “Work is done as the Worship of God, it is called Karma Yoga”. To offer all of your actions to God, to live your life for the God, to service the God in every way is actually called the practice of Karma Yoga. By practicing Karma Yoga our future actions shall get purified & all of the bad karmas of our past shall get dissolved.

By devoting all our Karmas to God our mind gets purified of all the impurities & our mind receives the Godly light, Godly grace and Godly knowledge. If we do Service of humanity then also it is the service of God as God sits in the heart of all human beings. Let’s work without attachment and egoism & offer all the good works of ours to God.

By practicing Karma Yoga our heart reaches out to other people & through it we see God in all people’s hearts. By such devotional practice, divine virtues such as love, mercy, tolerance, kindness, patience, self-restraint, etc. are developed in us. Karma Yoga destroys jealousy, hatred, malice and the idea of superiority in us.

Below are verses from "Bhagwat Gita", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only. The below verses are firstly, written in, as it is written in original Sanskrit in Bhagwat Gita & below that is English translation of that verse.

' Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate '
' Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam ' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

"mayi sarvani karmani
sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa
nirasir nirmamo bhutva
yudhyasva vigata-jvarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight."

Now, how we can work for God only? This whole world is the creation of God only & knowingly, unknowingly, we all are working for the maintenance of this world only. Just introspect & see that, whatever, work or job (good one), you are doing in this world, it is helping in someway or the other in maintaining & sustaining this world. Just take it in that sense, that if all the people of the earth stop doing their daily work, duties, this whole world shall come to a standstill. In that case nobody shall grow food, vegetables, fruits & other things which sustain our life & hence we shall all die. Same is the case with other professions & each person is adding value to this world by doing his/her duty.

Now, though we do duty to sustain this world only but we don't realize that. As this world is a creation of God, so we should work for Him only. If we develop this sense that we are working selflessly to sustain this world created by God only, then also we shall develop an affinity towards God. In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Jai Shri Krishna

Doing Bad Karmas Lead to Lower Births

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So ,whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities; and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom."

"urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha
madhye tisthanti rajasah
jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha
adho gacchanti tamasah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 18)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the abominable mode of ignorance go down to the Lower hell worlds."

In above verses Lord Krishna explains the result of “Rajo Gun” or mode of passion being predominant at the time of death is that the jiva or embodied being is born into families that are are involved in vigorous activity. Likewise the result of “Tamo Gun” or mode of ignorance being predominant at the moment of death then the jiva is born in the wombs of irrational species as animals.

Lord Krishna describes that when a jiva or embodied being dies while in “Rajo Gun” or the mode of passion, one takes birth among those who perform activities out of desire for rewards and having been born as such will endeavour mightily to accomplish works that would be rewarded by immense wealth and power even up unto the heavenly spheres. Similarly if one dies while under the influence of “Tamo Gun”or the mode of ignorance then such jivas will be born from the wombs of animals such as pigs and dogs where one would be completely incapacitated to perform any activity that would give any spiritual benefit.

Lord Krishna states that if death comes upon a jiva or embodied being while predisposed to “Rajo Gun” or the mode of passion then one takes birth next from those who are obsessed to perform actions in anticipation of rewards. Also a jiva dying while under the influence of “Tamo Gun” or mode of ignorance is forced to take birth as an animal in the next life.

So we should do Good Karmas only as result of doing good karmas is good only. Those people who do Bad Karmas, do harm to other people & do sinful activities, such people shall have bad consequences as they are in the “Tamo Gun” state at the time of their death. Such “Tamo Guni” people shall take birth in the animal species as a dog, or pig or other animals, or in the birds species or even in lower species as an insect or worm. So Lets do only Good Karmas only in our life.

Jai Sri Krishna

Understanding Karmayoga as per the Hindu Philosophy

In the Earlier post on Karma, we have known & understood in detail about the "Karma" & how it is related to the origin of one's own body. How Karmas of earlier births become the basis of this birth & how Karmas of this birth become the basis of one's next birth & so on. Now in this post we shall understand about the Karmayoga & how one can know God through Karmayoga.

Simple meaning of Yoga is to get attached to God or to get one with the God. To attain this, there are many types of Yogas that are expounded in the Bhagwat Gita, like Sankhyayoga or the Yoga of Knowledge, Karmayoga or the Yoga of Selfless Action, Bhaktiyoga or the Yoga of Devotion etc. Among all these Yogas, Karmayoga is the one through which one can attain God by just devoting all his/her daily actions to God i.e. doing service of God by doing/devoting all life actions to Him.

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Twelve- Verse - 6-7", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only.

'Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate'

'Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

Now, how can we work for God only? This whole world is the creation of God only & knowingly, unknowingly, we all are working for the maintenance of this world only. Just introspect & see that, whatever, work or job (good one), you are doing in this world, it is helping in someway or the other in maintaining & sustaining this world. Just take it in that sense, that if all the people of the earth stop doing their daily work, duties, this whole world shall come to a standstill. In that case nobody shall grow food, vegetables, fruits & other things which sustain our life & hence we shall all die. Same is the case with other professions & each person is adding value to this world by doing his/her duty.

Now, though we do duty to sustain this world only but we don't realize that. As this world is a creation of God, so we should work for Him only. If we develop this sense that we are working selflessly to sustain this world created by God only, then also we shall develop an affinity towards God. In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Below is a verse from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Two Verse - 47",

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

In the above verse God is asking his disciple Arjuna to perform his prescribed duty & not get attached to the fruits of its action. If one does all his/her actions without considering or thinking about the Fruits these actions shall produce & devotes that action & its fruit to the God only, then he/she is not bound by that action & that action shall not bear such fruits which shall be the cause of his/her next birth. Once a person is relieved of taking rebirths then that person can go to the abode of God & live there with Him & he becomes a liberated soul.

Art of doing actions for the sake of God only & doing all his/her actions without thinking or keeping in mind the fruit of that action is only what is called Karmayoga.

Jai Shri Krishna

Understanding Karma as per the Hindu Philosophy

"Karma" in its simplest term is "Action" only. Any action that we do with our body & mind is termed as "Karma" but the word "Karma" has a much greater significance as per the Hindu Philosophy than just simple meaning as "Action". In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of his next birth & so on. This relation of Karmas to rebirth in Hindu Philosophy is the key thing which makes it different from doing just any action in life. Now how these Karmas are related to rebirth as per the Hindu Philosophy?

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any action that we do, produces some fruit or has a consequence. In simplest term, if a man works for 8 hrs in a mall, he expects his salary of 8 hrs at the end of his job. It may be given to him at the end of the job on that day, may accrue to his account weekly or monthly, but the man expects that he shall get his salary after doing the asked for job. So this "Expected Salary" is the "Fruit" of his 8 hrs of "Actions". Similarly any other "Action" or "Karma" done in life automatically has some "Fruit" attached to it. In terms of "Karmas" done by a man, all the consequential "Fruits" are determined by God himself. Say you donate some money to a Charity or you feed a poor man, what "Fruit" shall incur to you for this good work done by you? Or say some man beats a poor man or a man murders someone, then what "Fruit" shall incur to him for this ghastly act done by that person? In all such acts or Karmas done by all persons, the consequential "Fruits" are determined by God himself as per the divine laws & not by any human being.

So by now we have seen that all "Karmas" or actions done by a man have a Fruit related to it & that Fruit is determined by God only. But how these Karmas become the basis of Rebirth as per the Hindu Scriptures?

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. Unless that person enjoys good or bad result/fruit arisen out of doing that Karma, it shall remain forever with that person & leave that person after that person has enjoyed the fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. Now whatever action/karma one performs with his body, mind or even speech, that Karma after getting finished, goes in to his reserved stock of Karmas i.e. it adds up to all the other accumulated karmas earlier done by him.

This stock of Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) is having all the Karmas done by that person in this life & also done by that person in earlier births taken by that person. At the death of a person he/she takes with him/her all that accumulated Karmas which contain Karmas done in this birth & also the Karmas from the previous births for which its fruit is yet to be enjoyed .

So at the death of a person, out of this accumulated Karmas which that person carries, Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas which have begun to bear the fruits & a new body is made with the seeds of these fruit bearing Karmas. So basically any Karma done becomes the seed of the next birth. In Hindu Philosophy all these Karmas which become the basis of or the seeds of a new birth of a body, are called "Prarabdha" or "Fruit bearing actions" or "Fate" even. In the next birth, a person again does Karmas & these gets added to his earlier accumulated, unspent stock & so on this cycle goes on for a soul of taking birth after birth.

So in this way, so long as the reserve stock of Karmas remains with that person, a part of it continues to be taken out of that reserve stock by the Divinity as "Prarabdha" or "Fruit bearing actions", for being enjoyed in one life-time of that person. A soul's perpetual journey from one birth to next birth goes on like that with the law of karma. This soul knows no liberation, so long as this stock of un-disposed off actions or karmas performed in number of lives of that person is not completely exhausted.

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Twelve- Verse - 6-7", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only.

'Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate'

'Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Jai Shri Krishna

Do Your Work as the Worship of God

“Work is Worship” but When “Work is done as the Worship of God, it is called Karma Yoga”. To offer all of your actions to God, to live your life for the God, to service the God in every way is actually called the practice of Karma Yoga. By practicing Karma Yoga our future actions shall get purified & all of the bad karmas of our past shall get dissolved.

By devoting all our Karmas to God our mind gets purified of all the impurities & our mind receives the Godly light, Godly grace and Godly knowledge. If we do Service of humanity then also it is the service of God as God sits in the heart of all human beings. Let’s work without attachment and egoism & offer all the good works of ours to God.

By practicing Karma Yoga our heart reaches out to other people & through it we see God in all people’s hearts. By such devotional practice, divine virtues such as love, mercy, tolerance, kindness, patience, self-restraint, etc. are developed in us. Karma Yoga destroys jealousy, hatred, malice and the idea of superiority in us.

Below are verses from "Bhagwat Gita", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only. The below verses are firstly, written in, as it is written in original Sanskrit in Bhagwat Gita & below that is English translation of that verse.

' Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate '
' Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam ' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7)

'Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

"mayi sarvani karmani
sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa
nirasir nirmamo bhutva
yudhyasva vigata-jvarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight."

Now, how we can work for God only? This whole world is the creation of God only & knowingly, unknowingly, we all are working for the maintenance of this world only. Just introspect & see that, whatever, work or job (good one), you are doing in this world, it is helping in someway or the other in maintaining & sustaining this world. Just take it in that sense, that if all the people of the earth stop doing their daily work, duties, this whole world shall come to a standstill. In that case nobody shall grow food, vegetables, fruits & other things which sustain our life & hence we shall all die. Same is the case with other professions & each person is adding value to this world by doing his/her duty.

Now, though we do duty to sustain this world only but we don't realize that. As this world is a creation of God, so we should work for Him only. If we develop this sense that we are working selflessly to sustain this world created by God only, then also we shall develop an affinity towards God. In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Jai Shri Krishna

When Lord Krishna Cursed Ashwathama

All religions of the world teach us to do good karmas, good acts & that we should not harm anybody by our acts. God is also with those people who live a life who do good karmas / acts in their life. God bestows on those people all the health, wealth, happiness & bliss of life. On the contrary, God gets very disturbed, very angry with those people who always do bad karmas / acts in their life. Once God gets angry with some person, then that person loses all the health, wealth & happiness in life. Below is the story of Ashwathama who was given a curse by Lord Krishna at the end of Mahabharata war. Story goes like that:

“Mahabharata war happened between the Pandavas and the Kauravas in 3139 BC or 5152 years before, from this year 2013 AD. The Pandavas, after winning the Mahabharata war, ruled Hastinapur for 36 years and 8 months until the beginning of Kaliyug in 3102 BC. In the end of the Mahabharata war when Duryodhana was killed by Bheema, then remaining Kauravas warriors (including Ashwathama) made a deadly attempt to kill the Pandavas brothers in the night when they would be sleeping. Ashwathama was the son of Dronacharya, Guru of Pandavas and the Kauravas.

On that night Lord Krishna somehow took all the 5 Pandavas, somewhere else & Ashwathama entered into the tent of the Pandavas and mistakenly killed all the 5 sleeping sons of Pandavas and set the camp on fire. Later on Ashwathama through deadly weapon called Brahmastra also killed the child in the womb of the pregnant ‘Uttara’ (wife of martyr Abhimanyu - the great archer and son of Arjuna), however Lord Krishna later revived the child through His Grace. So Ashwathama tried to kill everyone in the Pandava’s family. On this Lord Krishna became very angry with Ashwathama & Cursed him badly. Lord Krishna Cursed him like this:

O! Ashwathama “You will carry the burden of all the people’s sins on your shoulders and will roam alone like a ghost without getting any love and courtesy till the end of Kaliyuga, You will have neither any hospitality nor any accommodation; You will be in total isolation from the mankind and society; Your body will suffer from a host of incurable diseases forming sores and ulcers that would never heal. May you, Ashwathama, lead the most wretched life anyone can ever lead. May you never receive love or affection ever in your life unto the end of Time ”.

Ashwathama had a Mani (gem) since his birth in his forehead which used to protect him from the fear of any snakes, ghosts, demigods and demons. Lord Sri Krishna asked Ashwatthama to surrender this Mani (gem) & took it from him. Lord Sri Krishna further said that “the wound caused by the removal of this Mani (gem) on his forehead will never heal and he will suffer from leprosy and wound in his forehead will always seep blood and Puss, thus arousing a foul smell till the end of Kaliyuga”. So in this way, Ashwathama will be in search of death every moment, and yet he will never die. At the end of Kali Yuga, Ashwathama shall meet God Sri Kalki, the tenth avatar of Lord Vishnu.”

It is said that from the last 5152 years, Ashwathama is still roaming on earth in and around the Narmada river in India. As Mahakaal (Lord Shiva) can only free him from the curse so it is said that he still visits the shivling at a temple near the Narmada river every morning and places a rose flower there in temple which he creates from his tap / spiritual power every day.

So from the above story it is quite evident that we should never do any harm to anyone, as otherwise, God shall punish us badly. In Bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna says that:

"aneka-citta-vibhranta
moha-jala-samavrtah
prasaktah kama-bhogesu
patanti narake ’suchau" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 16)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, these evil people become too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and fall down into hell."

"tan aham dvisatah kruran
samsaresu naradhaman
ksipamy ajasram asubhan
asurisv eva yonisu" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 19)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, "These haters, evil, cruel, & vilest among men, I ( God) repeatedly throw them into demoniacal wombs in this world."

"asurim yonim apanna
mudha janmani janmani
mam aprapyaiva kaunteya
tato yanty adhamam gatim" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable, lowest type of existence."

So let’s do good karmas only & not harm anybody by our acts. God shall be with us if we live a life doing good karmas / acts in our life. God shall bestow on us all the health, wealth, happiness & bliss of life, if our Karmas / acts are good.

Jai Shri Krishna

Immortality of Life & Soul

Basis of Hindu philosophy in 'Bhagwat Gita' is that one who is born, shall die one day & whosoever, dies shall be reborn again certainly. The embodied soul in this body is immortal. As per 'Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Two Verse - 23', It cannot be cut with any weapon, fire cannot burn it, it is impervious to water & it cannot drench it & neither air can dry this soul. As soul is beyond this visible nature elements of fire, water, air, earth etc. so these nature elements cannot cause any damage to the immortal soul.

"nainam chindanti shastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na chainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 23)

"Sri Krishna said: The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

If a person becomes firm in that belief only that soul inside his body is immortal, then too he attains immortality as then that person goes beyond the visible nature which has formed this visible body of ours.

Now what is immortality? This soul of ours wears this body made of nature elements. After karmic cycle, depending on the Karmas of our previous life, soul drops this body at death & takes on another body based on the Karmas of our present life. Again we do Karmas in our next birth & that becomes the basis of our further next birth for this soul. So this cycle of wearing different bodies goes on for this soul. As we all feel pleasure & pain in one's life, so can't it be possible that we can avoid this pain that we feel in our body.

As per 'Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Eighteen Verse - 55', when we go to a perpetual divine life, which is beyond this nature, which forms this body then that life is beyond all this pain & is a blissful life. To attain that we have to establish our self in our soul. As God is the Supreme Soul from whom all these souls have emanated, so worshipping him constantly, one shall be established in the soul & shall attain a blissful life.

"bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas chasmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 55)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God."

Jai Sri Krishna

Don't be like a Parrot but be Practical

"Once there was a Holy teacher who was having a big hermitage. He was having a pet Parrot to whom he taught how not to get caught in the forest by the hunter’s trap. His parrot, who could speak well learnt all those ways & recited daily to his friends in the forest those ways, how not to get caught in the hunter’s trap. All of his friends learnt all the ways well.

One day a hunter came in the forest. The parrot started reciting loudly all the ways how to run away & not to get caught in the hunter’s trap. All of the friends of the parrot ran away & escaped the hunter’s trap but that parrot did nothing but went on chanting those lines, how not to get caught in the trap of the hunter. So he himself was trapped & killed while all his friends acting on his advice ran away & saved their lives.

So the Holy teacher told his disciples that, "Don’t be like that parrot who only believed in chanting but be practical in implementing his advice in their lives as then only they can be great people. God is happy with those who do the action & not mere recite the holy words."

Below are verses of Bhagwat Gita which tell that doing action is better than not working at all :

"niyatam kuru karma tvam
karma jyayo hy akarmanah
satire-satrapy cha tee
an prasiddhyed akarmanah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: Do You perform your prescribed duty; for doing action is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work."

"brahmany adhaya karmani
sangam tyaktva karoti yah
lipyate an sa papena
padma-patram ivambhasa" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: One who performs his duty offering all actions & surrendering the results unto the God, remains unaffected by sin; same as the lotus leaf is untouched by water."

"ye tu sarvani karmani
mayi sannyasya mat-parah
ananyenaiva yogena
mam dhyayanta upasate"

"tesam aham samuddharta
mrityu-samsara-sagarat
bhavami an cirat partha
mayy avesita-cetasam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 6-7)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, But those depending exclusively on me & those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pritha (Arjuna) — for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death."

"sreyo hi jnanam abhyasaj
jnanad dhyanam visisyate
dhyanat karma-phala-tyagas
tyagac chantir anantaram" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 12)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind."

So let's do all our work always remembering the God & offer all our work to God. In this way you shall be sustaining your family life & shall be doing good to the society also. God shall be happy with you as you shall devote all of your work & life to God only.



Jai Sri Krishna

Basis of Life & Rebirth as per 'Bhagwat Gita'

Basis of Hindu philosophy in 'Bhagwat Gita' is that one who is born, shall die one day & whosoever, dies shall be reborn again certainly. The embodied soul in this body is immortal. As per 'Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Two Verse – 23' : 

"nainam chindanti shastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na chainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 23)

Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

It cannot be cut with any weapon, fire cannot burn it, it is impervious to water & it cannot drench it & neither air can dry this soul. As soul is beyond this visible nature elements of fire, water, air, earth etc. so these nature elements cannot cause any damage to the immortal soul.

If a person becomes firm in that belief only that soul inside his body is immortal, then too he attains immortality as then that person goes beyond the visible nature which has formed this visible body of ours.

Now what is immortality? This soul of ours wears this body made of nature elements. After karmic cycle, depending on the Karmas of our previous life, soul drops this body at death & takes on another body based on the Karmas of our present life. Again we do Karmas in our next birth & that becomes the basis of our further next birth for this soul. So this cycle of wearing different bodies goes on for this soul. As we all feel pleasure & pain in one's life, so can't it be possible that we can avoid this pain that we feel in our body.

As per 'Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Eighteen Verse – 55' :

"bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas chasmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 55)

 "Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God."

When we go to a perpetual divine life, which is beyond this nature, which forms this body then that life is beyond all this pain & is a blissful life. To attain that we have to establish our self in our soul. As God is the Supreme Soul from whom all these souls have emanated, so worshipping Him constantly, one shall be established in the soul & shall attain a blissful life.

Jai Sri Krishna

Why Bhishma Pitamah had to Suffer on a Bed of Arrows?

When Bhishma Pitamah was struck down by Arjuna,in the Mahabharata War, he fell down from his chariot. But since the arrows had pierced his chest (gone aar-paar), he did not touch the ground, but remained lying on the bed of arrows. His head was hanging, he needed to rest it, and told Arjuna to make some provision. Arjuna immediately stuck 3 arrows beneath his head to support it. Bhishma remarked joyfully - "What a fitting pillow for a warrior like me - a pillow to match the bed !". Next he asked for water, since he was thirsty. Arjuna once, more, struck a mighty arrow right through the earth, and Ganga maiya surged up to pour cool water in the parched mouth of her beloved son. So Bhishma Pitamah had to suffer the pangs on the bed of arrows in battlefield before attaining final beatitude and redemption to Vaikuntha Loka.

Now what was the Karmic reason that Bhishma Pitamah had to Suffer on a Bed of Arrows? To the question as to why Bhishma Pitamah was suffering this punishment even when he had not committed any sin during past 72 birth lives (Great Bhishma could peep into his past lives through Samadhi), Lord Krishna replied him that he committed a folly in past 73rd life birth when he inflicted injuries to insects by piercing thorns / needles into their bodies. Those thorns have now appeared as bed of arrows for you. Your sinful Karma remained dormant as you were a pious person throughout theses lives but since you have now become a party to Adharma of Duryodhana, the sanchit evil Karma’s of 73rd life has ripened now.

So if a person has done good Karmas in past lives, he/she gets a good life in future births & if he/she has done bad karmas in past lives then that person has to suffer bad fruit of those bad Karmas. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness (after doing good Karmas) , he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance (after doing bad Karmas) , he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

So it is said that we should do all our Karmas for the God only as by doing such Karmas no evil result shall come out of those Karmas in future lives.

"yajnarthat karmano ’nyatra
loko ’yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samachara" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 9)

"Sri Krishna said: Work done as a sacrifice for Vishnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O Arjuna, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage."

So let’s do Good Karmas only so that we shall get Goof Fruits of those Karmas in future births. Let’s do all the Karmas for God only as by that way God shall protect us always.

Jai Shri Krishna

Our Present Life is The Result of Our Deeds in Past Lives

At the end of Kurukshetra War, when Bhishma was lying down pierced by thousand arrows of Arjuna, then Pandavas asked Bhishma to give them knowledge of life & past life. Pandavas said:

“O Great Bhishma! Some people in this life earn money without any effort and some people do not get a single pie inspite of their strenuous efforts. Some people, inspite of having lots of money, are not inclined to enjoy the life. Some people, without learning anything from any Guru, acquire more knowledge and intelligence. Some people, inspite of serving many gurus, learn nothing in life. Some people, inspite of suffering with number of diseases and receiving death blows with lethal weapons, do not meet their death. But some people, even though they are strong and mighty, meet their death by receiving a smallest blow from a small piece of stick. What is the reason for all these adversities & why it happen like that?

At this Bhishma siad:

“O Pandavas! the only answer for all the above questions is the result of their deeds in past life. Without sowing seeds, plants never sprout. Similarly, good or bad deeds done in past life give good and bad results in the present life. By making charities in past life, one gets enormous wealth in present life without any effort. Tapas made in past life yields pleasures in present life. Service done to elders and gurus in past life results in acquiring knowledge and intelligence without studying under any guru. If one observes non violence in past life then that person lives for long age in present life. Therefore, Sadhu / Saintly people always observe nonviolence, make charities, regard gurus, serve elders and guests etc. Then only they enjoy pleasures in next life. So it’s all about doing Good or Bad Karmas in past life that one get a good or bad result in present life."

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, As the wind carries away odours from their seat, even so the Jivatma (soul), the lord of the body, snatching these (the mind & the senses) from the body, which it casts off, migrates into the body, which it acquires.

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So ,whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

Read also...............Understanding "Karma" as per the Hindu Philosophy?

Read also...............Is there Life after death?

Jai Shri Krishna