Shri Gita Dhyānam (Meditation) (All nine verses)

(Meditation on Gita to be read before start of the Gita study)

1. OM, O Bhagavad-Gita, with which Arjuna was illuminated by Lord Nārāyana Himself, and which was composed within the epic of Mahābhārata by the ancient sage, Vyāsa; O Divine Mother, the destroyer of cycles of birth and death, and the showerer of the nectar of monoism (Advaitism) consisting of eighteen discourses ---upon Thee, O affectionate Mother, I meditate!

2. Salutations unto thee, O sage Vyāsa, of high intellect and with eyes like the petals of a fully blossomed lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge --- filled with the oil of the Mahābhārata --- has been lighted!

3. Salutations to Lord Krishna, the fulfiller of all desires of those who take refuge in Him, the holder of the whip in one hand, the holder of the symbol of knowledge and the giver of the divine nectar of the Bhagavad-Gita!

4. All the Upanishads are the cows; Krishna, the cowherd boy, milks the cow; Arjuna is the calf who facilitated the milking process, persons of purified intellects drink the milk, the great nectar of the Holy Gita.

5. I offer my obeisance to Lord Krishna, the world teacher, who is the son of Vasudeva, the remover of all obstacles, the supreme bliss of His mother Devaki.

6. With Krishna as the boatman, the big battle-river --- whose banks were Bhishma and Drona, whose water was Jayadratha, whose blue lotus flower was the king of Gāndhāra, whose crocodile was Salya, whose current was Kripa, whose billow was Karna, whose terrible alligators were Vikarna and Asvatthāmā, whose whirlpool was Duryodhana --- was verily crossed by the Pāndavas.

7. May this lotus of Mahābhārata, born in the lake of the words of Vyāsa, sweetened with the fragrance of the meaning of the discourses of Krishna, the destroyer of the sins of the present time (Kali yuga). And the nectar of the Gita, drunk joyously by the bees of good men in the world, become day by day the bestower of goodness to all of us!

8. I salute Lord Krishna, the source of supreme bliss, whose grace makes the dumb

eloquent and the crippled cross the mountains!

9. Salutations to that God whom gods such as Brahmā, Indra, Varuna, Rudra, and Maruts praise with divine hymns, of whom the chanters of SāmaVeda and Upanishads sing; whom yogis see with their eyes of minds absorbed in Him through contemplation and meditation, and whose ends are not known even by gods (Devas) and demons!

OM TAT SAT

The Glory of the Holy Gita Society (All 23 verses)

(Gita Māhātmya from shri Varāha Purāna. To be normally read at the end

of the day’s Gita study (also see verses 18.67-73). one may read it together with

Gita Dhyānam as a second choice.)

OM Shri Ganeshāya Namaha

The Mother Earth asked:

1. O Lord, the Supreme, how can unflinching devotion arise in one who is immersed in his or her fate-bound worldly duties?

Lord Vishnu said:

2. Though engaged in performance of worldly duties, one who is regular in the study of the Gita becomes free from the bondage of Karma. He or she is the happy one in this world.

3. just as the water does make the lotus leaf wet, even so sins do not taint those who are regular in the study of the Gita.

4. all the sacred centers of pilgrimage, like Prayāg and other places, dwell in that place where the Gita is kept, and where the Gita is read.

5. all gods, sages, yogis, divine serpents, sage Nārada, Uddhava and other friends and devotees of Lord Krishna dwell where the Holy Gita is read and taught.

6. help comes quickly where the Gita is recited and, O Earth, I ever dwell where it is read, heard, taught and contemplated upon.

7. I take refuge in the Gita, and the Gita is My best abode. I protect the three worlds with the knowledge of the Gita.

8. the Gita is My highest knowledge of Brahman, the Eternal Being, the sound of OM and the ineffable splendor of the Self.

9. it was spoken by the blessed Lord Krishna, the all-knowing, through His own mouth, to Arjuna. it contains the essence of the Vedas--- the knowledge of the Self. it is full of supreme bliss.

10. the one who recites the eighteen chapters of the Gita daily, with a pure and unshaken mind, attains the perfection in Self-knowledge and reaches the highest state or the supreme goal.

11. if a complete reading is not possible in one sitting, even if only half is read, one attains the benefit of giving a cow as a gift. there is no doubt about it.

12. one who recites one-third (six chapters) of the Gita achieves the merit of a bath in the holy Gangā river; and who recites only three chapters of it attains the merit of performing the ritual of a Soma sacrifice.

13. the one who reads even only one chapter with faith and devotion attains the world of Rudra and, having become Gana --- an attendant of Lord Shiva --- lives in Shiva’s abode for many years.

14. if one reads a part of the chapter or a verse daily, he or she retains a human body till the end of many many yugas.

15. one who repeats ten, seven, five, four, three, two verses or even a part of one verse daily, attains the region of the Moon and lives there for 10, 000 years. Accustomed to the daily study of the Gita, a dying man comes back as a human being.

17.by repeated study of the Gita, one attains liberation. uttering “Gita” even at the time of death, one attains liberation.

18. though full of sins, one who is ever intent on hearing the meaning of the Gita, goes to the kingdom of God and rejoices with Lord Vishnu.

19. one who meditates on the meaning of the Gita, having performed many good actions, attains the supreme goal after death. such a man should be considered liberated while living.

20 in this world, taking refuge in the teachings of the Gita, many kings like Janaka and others reached the highest state after being purified of all the sins or the bonds of karma.

21 one who fails to read this “Glory of the Gita” after having read the entire Gita, loses most of the benefit of the effort of the study ( because reading the glory of the Gita with great faith and devotion generates Bhakti in one’s heart).

22. one who studies the Gita, together with this “Glory of the Gita”, attains the fruits mentioned above, and reaches the state which is otherwise very difficult to attain.

23. this greatness or “” Glory of the Gita, which is eternal, as narrated by Me, should be read at the end of the study of the Gita, and the fruits mntioned therein will be obtained.

Thus ends the ” Glory of the Gita” contained in the Varāha Purāna.

OM TAT SAT

(The English Meaning of verses taken from Swami Sivananda’s “Shrimad Bhagavad-Gita” (1984), Divine Life Society.)