Bhagwad Gita Transcribed from Parisamvad at The Yoga Institute.
Chapter 2, Sloka 69
That which is night to all beings, in that the self-controlled man wakes; where all being are aware , that is the night for the sage (muni) who sees.
“In this Sloka, the question is about our outlook. How do we look at things? Things are the same. If you are confused, dull, ignorant then clear things would not be properly seen. Those individuals who are in high position, well placed, they are able to see things in a different way than the ordinary individual. Just like in the Indian epic, Ramayana, Rama walked out of the palace into the forest, though he had the right to be the king. He did whatever he could do for the people. This kind of proper attitude is the issue. We had a great Jain saint who was treated as an ordinary young man, made to work in Zaveri Bazaar, Mumbai. He had the clarity that material things have no meaning. Ultimately the parents had to to shift him from there and he took to a kind of Sanyaas.
In our cases , unfortunately, this rarely happens. We are stuck to the material things, consider them to be the ultimate and do not have any alternate thinking. Had we right from early childhood developed a different attitude as many great people have, then we don’t get caught. That constant awareness is there, as in case of Buddha. This inability to understand the truth, the fact, the reality, makes us to get lost into material life. The infection is very strong. You want to catch it. People are running after money and pleasure and we can’t be different, right from the early childhood, if some impressions have been placed. I will just quote an example: A young boy listens to the teacher in the class about the importance of spiritual life. The teacher is very sincere and the boy is affected by it. So even though he was very young, this thought and feeling gripped him and it kept on developing. In the school later on, the teacher asked for ‘a happiest day in my life’ and the boy wrote down an essay. The moment he will sit alone and think about God and get lost, that would be the happiest day. The teacher was surprised, and feared that the boy was out of his mind. The boy kept on to that thinking and it influenced his choice in life, the job he did, all along. So a complete change occured. There are a few people in our classes who have taken such a step, believing in something more than just material. As a result they are continuing year after year. Thirty years have passed and that faith has strengthened, life is different, though they happen to be very rich people. These things do happen, provided right from the early times, that kind of an interest is there, that thinking is there .
We get very much affected by immediate things. A young person gets influenced by the things he can see, touch, enjoy and it can’t get removed. So when you grow up, those deep seated things, take charge and it becomes very , very, very hard to get away and think of something else. We use this word, ‘something else’, but personally we are not interested in something else. We are interested in things we are seeing and our life is being moulded like that. Arguments are there. I have so many responsibilities, so many members in the family, so much expense. How can I get it all, if I devote myself to yoga? Arguments are there and we fully believe in this. What about the others? They also have these kind of arguments, but they know that each one has his own destiny and nature takes care. One who has material interest will grow materially and he will feel happy in that. One who has understood the limitation of matter would take up a different direction. This conviction has to come. We unfortunately can’t think like that.”
“Today’s Sloka is very popular in many ways . When the ordinary person is busy in the day to day activities, worried, tensed, busy in material management, the wise take it as unimportant. It’s night for him, not worthwhile. The other way around , when the wise person is busy in spirituality, the ordinary man doesn’t think it is worthwhile. The Sloka uses the words day and night i.e. worthwhile and worthless. When I was shooting for a television show, the compere would come very very late and say, “I was busy preparing the talk till 3 a.m”. He would say this Sloka, wise people stay awake at night. This became like a joke. King Sugreev gave a very costly garland to Sita and Sita gave it back to Hanumanji. It was a very costly and precious garland. Hanumanji broke every bead to see if there was Rama and Sita inside. His thinking was that if Rama and Sita are there, then only it is worthwhile, otherwise it is worthless. Everybody is disturbed but Hanuman is clear, anything other than God is worthless. We may talk like that, but we don’t feel that way. The whole life goes in creating problems and solving problems. We should listen to wise people.”
About Parisamvad
On every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, The Yoga Institute, Santacruz holds Parisamvad sessions – Free interactive sessions that are open to all. These session begin at 7:20 am and end around 7:45 am.
The Tuesday Parisamvad is dedicated to explanation of the the Bhagwad Gita by our esteemed Gurus, Dr. Jayadeva and Smt. Hansaji.
All are welcome to attend.Click Here to learn more about The Yoga Institute, Santacruz, Mumbai.
(Picture credit http://www.ishwar.com/hinduism/holy_bhagavad_gita).