(Contributed by Peterananda)
1)
TO HELP EACH OTHER IS THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF THE CREATOR
In the ancient
time, the Creator created human beings together with selfless service (Seva,
Yajna, sacrifice) and said: By serving each other you shall prosper, and the
sacrificial service shall fulfill all your desires. (3.10)
Nourish the
celestial controllers with selfless service, and they will nourish you. Thus
nourishing each other, you shall attain the Supreme goal. (3.11)
It
is believed that selfishness saps our natural health and immune system also.
When we take steps to move ourselves away from self and think about the needs
of others and how to serve them, a physical healing process seems to set in motion.
This is especially true if we personally help a person we may never meet again
in life.
Peace,
composure, and freedom from Karmic bondage await those who work for a noble
cause with a spirit of detachment and do not seek any personal reward or recognition.
Such persons enjoy the joy of selfless service that ultimately leads them to
the bliss of salvation. Selfless service purifies the mind and is a
very powerful and easy spiritual discipline that one can practice
while living and working in society. There is no religion better than selfless
service. The fruits of vice and virtue grow only on the tree of selfishness,
not on the tree of selfless service.
One who makes no sacrifice, but grabs everything without
helping others, is like a thief. It is said that celestials are pleased when
people help each other.
2)
PRACTICE MODERATION IN ALL ACTIVITIES AND MEDITATE
This yoga is not possible, O Arjuna, for one who eats too much
or who does not eat at all, who sleeps too much or too little. (6.16)
The yoga of meditation destroys all sorrow for the one who is
moderate in eating, recreation, working, sleeping, and waking. (6.17)
The Gita teaches that extremes should be
avoided at all costs in all spheres of life. This moderation of the Gita was
eulogized by Lord Buddha who called it the middle path, the right way, or the
noble path. A healthy mind and body are required for successful performance of
any spiritual practice. Therefore, it is required that a yogi should regulate
his daily bodily functions, such as eating, sleeping, bathing, resting and
recreation. Those who eat too much or too little may become sick or fragile. It
is recommended to fill half of the stomach with food, one fourth with water,
and leave the rest empty for air. If one sleeps more than six hours, one's
lethargy, passion, and bile may increase. A yogi should avoid extreme
indulgence in uncontrolled desires as well as the opposite extreme of yogic
discipline ---
the torturing of the body and mind.
3) METAPHYSICAL KNOWLEDGE IS THE ULTIMATE KNOWLEDGE
Transcendental
knowledge destroys the ignorance of the Self and reveals the Supreme Being,
just as the sun reveals the beauty of objects of the world. (5.16)
Persons whose
mind and intellect are totally merged in the Eternal Being, who are firmly
devoted to the Supreme, who have God as their supreme goal and sole refuge, and
whose impurities are destroyed by the knowledge of the Self, do not take birth
again. (5.17)
If intellect is not powerful enough to
control the mind, the passenger will not reach the goal. Self-knowledge is
superior to the intellect. The intellect yoked with the Self through
Self-knowledge and contemplation becomes pure and strong to control the mind
and the mind will control the senses. Thus it can be seen that Self-knowledge
is essential for the success of the spiritual journey. Self-knowledge provides
power of purification (See 4.37-38), scriptures supply necessary tools (the
rein and the whip) and techniques to the intellect to be able to control the
mind.
After
discovering the metaphysical truth, one looks at everything with reverence,
compassion, and kindness because everything in the material world is part and
parcel of the cosmic body of Lord Vishnu.
4)
FIND YOUR OWN METHOD OF WORSHIP TO GOD
Some perceive the Supersoul in
their inner psyche through mind and intellect that have been purified either by
meditation or by metaphysical knowledge or by selfless service. (13.24)
Others, however, do not know the
yogas of meditation, knowledge, and selfless service; but they perform deity
worship with firm faith and loving devotion, as mentioned in the scriptures by
the saints and sages. They also transcend death by virtue of their firm faith
in what they have heard. (13.25)
Blessed are
they that have not understood, yet have believed (John 20.29). If you believe,
you will receive whatever you ask for (Matthew 21.22). It is not necessary to
completely understand God to obtain His grace, to love Him, and to attain Him.
Any spiritual practice done without faith is an exercise in futility. Our
intellect stands in the way as an obstruction to faith.
5)
LEARN TO FORGIVE OTHERS
If you forgive others, your Father in heaven will also
forgive you (Matthew 6.14). Resist no evil with evil (Matthew 5.39). Love your
enemies, and pray for those who mistreat you (Matthew 5.44). One should control
anger toward the wrong-doer. The controlled anger itself punishes the
wrong-doer if the wrong-doer does not ask forgiveness (MB 5.36.05). One who
does wrong is destroyed by the same act of wrong doing if he or she does not
ask forgiveness (MS 2.163). One who unconditionally forgives others is happy
because the anger of the forgiver is exterminated. Progress in spiritual
discipline is impeded if one's interpersonal relationship is full of hurt and
negative feeling, even for a single living entity. Therefore, one must learn to
forgive and to ask forgiveness.
6)
RECOGONISE THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN ALL LIVING BEINGS
O Arjuna, I am the Supreme Spirit (or Supersoul) abiding in the
inner psyche of all beings as soul (Atma). I am also the creator, maintainer,
and destroyer --- or
the beginning, the middle, and the end --- of all beings. (10.20)
The Spirit in the body is the witness, the guide, the
supporter, the enjoyer, the controller of all events, and also the Supreme
Self. (13.22)
The Supreme Lord is seated in the inner psyche as
consciousness of all beings. The Spirit within us is the divine guru. Outside
teachers only help us in the beginning of the spiritual journey. The Divine
Being within all of us is the real guru, and one must learn how to tune in with
Him.
7)
LUST IS THE ORIGIN OF ALL SIN
Arjuna said: O Krishna,
what impels one to commit sin or selfish deeds as if unwillingly and forced
against one’s will? (3.36)
Lord Krishna said: It is the lust,
born out of passion, that becomes anger (when unfulfilled). Lust is insatiable
and is a great devil. Know this as the enemy. (3.37)
Managing your wants with a proper frame of
mind gives control over Lust, the passionate selfish desires for all material
and sensual pleasures. Lust becomes anger if it is unfulfilled.
When the attainment of fruits is hindered or interrupted, the intense desire
for their achievement turns into fierce rage. Hence, the Lord says that lust
and anger are two mighty enemies.
8)
MIND IS THE BEST FRIEND AS WELL AS THE WORST ENEMY
One
must elevate --- and not degrade --- oneself by one’s own
mind. The mind alone is one’s friend, as well as one’s enemy. The mind is the
friend of those who have control over it, and the mind acts like an enemy for
those who do not control it. (6.05-06)
All spiritual practices are aimed
towards the conquest of the mind. Guru Nanak said: “Master the mind, and you
master the world.”
9)
ATTACHMENTS AND AVERSIONS ARE MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCKS
Attachments and aversions for sense objects abide in the
senses. One should not come under the control of these two because they are,
indeed, two (major) stumbling blocks (on one’s path of perfection). (3.34)
'Attachment' may be defined as a
very strong desire to experience sensual pleasures again and again. 'Aversion'
is the strong dislike for the unpleasant. We can have desires with a proper
frame of mind that gives us control over attachments and aversions. If we can
manage our wants, most of the things we possess become dispensable rather than
essential.
A disciplined person, enjoying sense objects with senses that
are under control and free from attachments and aversions, attains tranquility.
(2.64)
Real peace and happiness are achieved, not
by sense gratification, but by sense control.
10)
GOD IS THE MACROCOSM AND MAN IS THE MICROCOSM
Lord Krishna said: O Arjuna, this physical body, the miniature
universe, may be called the field or creation. One who knows the creation is
called the Creator (or the Spirit, Atma, God, Ishvara) by the seers of truth.
(13.01)
Whatever is here in the body is
also there in the cosmos; whatever is there, the same is here (KaU 4.10). The
human body, the microcosm, is a replica of the universe, the macrocosm.
11)
FALSE EGO PREVENTS US FROM ATTAINING ONENESS WITH GOD
One who abandons all desires and becomes free from longing and
the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘my’, attains peace. (2.71)
O Arjuna, this is the superconscious state of mind. Attaining
this state, one is no longer deluded. Gaining this state, even at the end of
one’s life, a person attains the very goal of human life by becoming one with
God. (2.72).
The Supreme Being is the ultimate
Reality and truth, knowledge and consciousness, and is limitless and blissful
(TaU 2.01.01). The individual soul becomes blissful and filled with joy after
knowing God.
12)
GIVE UP ASKING GOD TO FULFILL SELFISH MATERIAL DESIRES
The misguided ones who delight in the melodious chanting of the
Vedas ---
without understanding the real purpose of the Vedas --- think, O Arjuna, there is
nothing else in the Vedas except the rituals for the sole purpose of obtaining
heavenly enjoyment. (2.42)
They are dominated by material desires and consider the
attainment of heaven as the highest goal of life. They engage in specific rites
for the sake of material prosperity and enjoyment. Rebirth is the result of
their action. (2.43)
The resolute
determination for God-realization is not possible for those who are
attached to pleasure and power and whose judgment is obscured by ritualistic
activities for fulfillment of material desires. (2.44)
Self-realization is to know one’s
relationship with the Supreme Lord and His true transcendental nature. The
promise of material benefits of Vedic rituals is like the promise of candy to a
child by the mother to induce him or her to take the medicine of detachment
from the material life; it is necessary in most instances. Rituals must be
changed with time and backed up by devotion and good deeds. People may pray and
meditate anytime, anywhere, without any ritual. Rituals have played a
great role in spiritual life, but they have been greatly abused. Lord Krishna
and Lord Buddha both disapproved the misuse of Vedic rituals, not the rituals
as such. Rituals create a holy and blissful atmosphere. They are
regarded as a heavenly ship (RV 10.63.10) and criticized as a frail raft (MuU
1.2.07).
** These excerpts are all from our 4th
Edition Hardcover Bhagavad Gita.
