God Speaks in Bhagavad Gita: for Young and Old: Complete Book of Wisdom with 700 Gita Verses and Enchanting Stories

By Ajay Gupta

The 5,000 years old ancient wisdom of Bhagavad Gita comprising of 700 verses was given by God-incarnate Sri Krishna many centuries before the emergence of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and other religions. Gita explains the characteristics of body and soul, Moksha, Nirvana, Self-realization and Karma.
Everything said in Bhagavad Gita is of universal nature and applies to all human beings, irrespective of ones caste, religion, age, gender or beliefs. Great spiritual texts like Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads do not belong to one particular culture only; but they belong to the whole world.
Every human being has this fundamental question, as to why I am here on this earth? What is the purpose of my life? Is my destiny inextricably linked with the will of God? An in depth study of Gita verses provides the answers to these questions.

Dr. Arogyaswami Paulraj, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, United States wrote, This book is a commendable work of illuminating the universal values of Bhagavad Gita with illustrations of interesting spiritual stories. An absorbing book and a great read,
RS Vasan, Director Chennai Centre for Asia Studies wrote in a review, Ajay Gupta has brought out the profound and eternal teaching of Bhagavad Gita as a thoroughly enjoyable book. A must read book of surpassing excellence for both young and old.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Feb 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781482888317

Ajay Gupta

Commander Ajay Gupta is an engineer, who served in the Indian Navy in different Naval Ships, Naval Aircraft, and DRDO research Organization. He has nurtured a deep passion for the study of Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and other spiritual texts for the last thirty years, which resulted in the writing of this book. Readers can reach the author on e-mail [e-mail].

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Copyright © 2017 by Ajay Gupta.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4828-8832-4

                eBook          978-1-4828-8831-7

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Distress of Arjuna

Chapter 2 Knowledge and Wisdom

Chapter 3 Selfless Action and Karma Yoga

Chapter 4 Wisdom through Action

Chapter 5 Renunciation

Chapter 6 Meditation and Yoga

Chapter 7 Knowledge and Self- Realization

Chapter 8 Eternal Spirit of God

Chapter 9 Royal Science and Royal Secret

Chapter 10 Divine Manifestations of God

Chapter 11 Cosmic Form of God

Chapter 12 Devotion and Bhakti

Chapter 13 Difference between Body and Soul

Chapter 14 Distinction between Three Gunas of Prakriti

Chapter 15 The Supreme Spirit of God

Chapter 16 Distinction between Divine and Evil

Chapter 17 Three Types of Faith

Chapter 18 Moksha and Nirvana through Renunciation

BHAGAVAD GITA:

QUOTES OF FAMOUS MEN

Professor Stephen Hawking, physicist and cosmologist said, There are hundreds upon hundreds of Galaxies of various shapes, sizes and colours in the universe. The faintest galaxy that could be detected was more than ten billion light-years away. When we consider the vastness and number of stars, and planets making these galaxies, it is beyond the range of science and human mind. Earth is just a small spot when seen from other Galaxies. God only knows the vastness of the universe.

The great Mahavatar Babaji said, Mankind should follow the tenets of Bhagavad Gita in real life. Just a little practice of this ‘Dharma’ protects one from great fear; and this practice is always rewarded, and there is never any loss of any effort in this.

The great Scientist Albert Einstein said, "When I read Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how God created this universe, everything else seems so superfluous."

Mahatma Gandhi expressed his love for Bhagavad Gita in these words, When disappointment stares me in the face, and I do not see a ray of hope, I go back to Bhagavad Gita, to read a verse here and there, and I start smiling.

Sri Aurobindo said, "Bhagavad Gita is a Scripture of the world for the future generations; and Hinduism has acquired a much wider relevance through Bhagavad Gita."

Swami Sivananda said, "Bhagavad Gita is the most precious jewel of Hindu religion."

Swami Chinmayananda said, "The study of Bhagavad Gita should be undertaken as a ‘Jnana Yajna’ to worship the divine Spirit of God, and invoke wisdom. Bhagavad Gita is a universal scripture for mankind irrespective of one’s age, caste, creed or religion, and its study turns the mind from a state of confusion and agitation into inner contentment, peace of mind and dynamic action."

Swami Vivekananda followed Bhagavad Gita in totality. It is said that ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and ‘The Imitation of Christ’ were his favourite books. When Swami Vivekananda was travelling all over India as a wandering monk, he kept only these two books with him.

Aldous Huxley, the English writer found Gita as the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution for mankind. He said, "Gita is the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is valuable not only to India but to the whole world."

Hermann Hesse felt that the marvel of the Bhagavad Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into spirituality.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a keen follower of the teaching of Bhagavad Gita. In his maiden visit to the United States on September 29, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a copy of ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to the former US President Barack Obama during a dinner hosted at the White House.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan on September 3, 2014, he gifted a copy of Bhagavad Gita to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In addition to the Sanskrit version, a Japanese version of the Bhagavad Gita was also presented to the Japanese Prime Minister, Abe.

This book is dedicated to the Spirit of Lord Vishnu who incarnated as Sri Krishna and gave the eternal teaching of Bhagavad Gita to the humanity

and

My late father Dr. Hari Ram Gupta M.A, PhD, D.Litt. Sikh historian and former Pro-Vice Chancellor, Punjab University, Chandigarh (Punjab)

and

My late mother Mrs Uma Gupta

PREFACE

Bhagavad Gita is the most thought provoking, powerful, life changing and enchanting book. Everything stated in Gita is of universal nature and applies to all human beings whether young or old and irrespective of whichever religion one may be following. A great spiritual book like Bhagavad Gita does not belong to one particular culture; but it belongs to the whole world. Bhagavad Gita is the living ‘Word of God’ and hence it is very powerful and appealing to the intellect.

Rudyard Kipling said, If history was taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten. Similarly if religion and philosophy is explained and narrated in the form of stories, it will leave an indelible mark on the mind, and there will be no confusion on its interpretation and understanding.

This book has more than thirty short and fascinating stories, interwoven with the important verses of Bhagavad Gita, to explain their meaning and purport. These spiritual stories make the otherwise complex text of Gita very easy-to-read and understand. This gives an added flavour to the book to make it a delightful reading. The readers can therefore, gain immense knowledge and wisdom from this ancient scripture.

The books we read answers our questions and queries, and broadens our intellect. The time-tested ancient wisdom of Bhagavad Gita given by God-incarnate Himself, takes a person to the lofty heights of divinity within one’s own soul.

Verse 9:30 of Bhagavad Gita says, "Even if a person has committed the biggest of heinous and vicious crimes in the past, but finally he or she becomes virtuous with a firm resolve to worship My Spirit (Krishna-consciousness of God) wholeheartedly with an undeviating devotion; then such a person must be considered as righteous, as he or she has rightly resolved."

It is a great relief to the modern men and women as it opens the doors of heavens for the common man, since everyone at some point or the other had committed some sins and transgressions in the past. Although no one can go back and make a brand new start in life, yet we can always start from now onwards. Life always offers us a second chance. We always have tomorrow till we are alive, and every day is a new day.

A person, who never made a mistake, never tried anything new. Life goes on whether we choose to move on and take a chance to the unknown, or we decide to remain passive, locked up in the past, thinking of what we could possibly have achieved, if we had not made those mistakes in the past. Life is all about taking decisions, some of which are right, and some wrong.

Life is like a book, enjoy it till the end. There is no friend as loyal as a book, which asks for nothing in return from you.

I have endeavoured in this book to present the most valuable scripture in an interesting manner, which can be read like an absorbing novel. The scripture of Bhagavad Gita contains precious pearls of wisdom which ought to be read by all, irrespective of one’s age, caste, colour or religion.

Reverence and respect for the tenets all religions is the underlying criteria for anyone to assimilate this exalted scripture. There is however one important injunction in Bhagavad Gita by God-incarnate Sri Krishna; that this sublime scripture is not to be declared to a person who finds faults or speaks ill of this teaching. This aspect is explained in verse 18:67 of this book.

Verse 18:70 of Bhagavad Gita says, And whosoever shall study this sacred Gospel and dialogue of Bhagavad Gita; shall gain the merit of worshipping My Divine Spirit as Jnana Yajna (worship through knowledge). This is My declaration (as Krishna-consciousness of God).

And all those who with utmost faith, and without finding faults; will listen to the teaching of this sacred Gospel; they too will be liberated from all evil and shall attain the auspicious regions, equal in merit to those who have performed meritorious deeds.         (18:71)

Therefore, just mere reading of this scripture with faith and attention has the merit and virtue, which is higher than even the biggest acts of charities, penances, and austerities. This is an added bonanza and blessing associated with reading a book like this. May all those who are keen to obtain benefit from the ‘Word of God’ and have respect for all religions, enjoy reading this high spirited teaching of Bhagavad Gita?

I have accomplished the entire task of writing and typing this book all by myself. I therefore, acknowledge my gratitude to the Spirit of God, who made me an instrument to accomplish this onerous task of presenting this book to the readers.

Readers are welcome to send me their comments and queries on my e-mail [e-mail].

Ajay Gupta

A1-214, JAL VAYU TOWERS

SECTOR-56, GURGAON-122011 (INDIA)

CHAPTER 1

DISTRESS OF ARJUNA

The teaching of Bhagavad Gita was given by God-incarnate Sri Krishna, more than five thousand years ago, which is many centuries before the emergence of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism and other religions. Sri Krishna was the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but the roots of Hinduism started from the ancient beginning of civilization itself.

The universal teaching of Bhagavad Gita is as relevant in today’s world, as it was in the ancient past. The teaching was given in the form of very compact Sanskrit verses as the ‘Word of God’, and also known as the ‘Song of God’. The scripture is so lofty and full of wisdom, that it has been translated into all the major languages of the world.

There are eighteen Chapters in Bhagavad Gita with a total of 700 verses. Different writers have translated these verses from Sanskrit according to their mind and intellectual understanding. For ease of reference, I have marked Gita verses as (1:1) which means Chapter 1, verse 1, and similarly verse (5:5) means Chapter 5, verse 5 of the original Bhagavad Gita Sanskrit book, as declared by Sri Krishna.

This book contains all the 700 verses and therefore, it is a complete scripture of Bhagavad Gita. Below some of the important Gita verses, I have given a brief commentary and a few moral stories, to explain the essence of these verses.

The main verses of Bhagavad Gita in ‘Sanskrit’ have remained the same till to date. These verses when translated from Sanskrit into different languages may have a different slant in meaning due to the difficulty of finding the exact equivalent word in a different language, but the essence of the teaching is conveyed.

There are numerous interpretations and various commentaries on the Gita verses by different writers and authors. These verses become easy to understand and assimilate, when explained through the medium of short stories, as in this book.

King Dhritarashtra said to Sanjaya:

O Sanjaya! Gathered together and facing each other on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, eager to fight a war to determine who is righteous; what are the Kaurava warriors on my side, and the Pandava warriors on the other side doing?         (1:1)

The blind king Dhritarashtra is standing on a hilltop with his charioteer and minister Sanjaya, overlooking the battlefield. King Dhritarashtra turns to his minister Sanjaya to describe the happenings on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Sage Vyasa temporarily bestows on Sanjaya a divine eye to see distant happenings on the war front. It is the modern equivalent of television channels these days, to describe the real time events as live commentary.

Science has now made it possible to give live relay of war events with the help of communication satellites. But in those days 5,000 years back, the sages did it with their divine powers, which was a forecast of what technology has now achieved in the modern world.

Bhagavad Gita is a sacred book on spiritual matters which leads to ultimate ‘Nirvana’ and God-realization. Then how does it happen, that the holy book starts with a war scenario to begin with? The eternal teaching of Bhagavad Gita was given on the battlefield of Kurukshetra for a specific purpose to emphasize the fact that we as human beings are constantly at war with each other. It is as true in the modern world now, as it was in the ancient past.

Wars and terrorism is a constant happening in the world, due to many reasons like conflict of territorial lands, differences of ideology among different religions, political ambitions to dominate over others and to show supremacy of one country over the other. If one side is not willing to accommodate the views of the other party, then war becomes unavoidable and inevitable. The issue is then decided by the power and might of the sword. With the advancement of technology modern warfare now uses sophisticated guns, missiles, aircraft, warships and bombs.

In point of fact, there are mini-conflicts within many families over ancestral distribution of property and money, and clash of personal opinions. Millions of pending court cases all over the world relating to property and money matters, murders, and fights between people, are testimonials of disputes among human beings. The war of Kurukshetra fought 5000 years ago, was also one of such disputes. In this case the issue was not settled in the court, but on the battleground.

The world has seen two World Wars; First World War in the years 1914-1918, and the Second World War in the years 1939-1945. The conflict virtually involved every part of the world to make it one of the bloodiest wars resulting in a large scale killing of people and devastation of property.

Indian soldiers under the British flag fought the war in other countries. Forty million people including civilian and military personnel died in the Second World War, since it was a prolonged war. The dropping of a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan ended the Second World War due to its devastating effect.

The war and terrorism between countries is continuing even to this day. India has seen two wars with Pakistan in the years 1965 and 1971 and with China in the year 1962. Terrorism attacks in different countries, in the name of religion and disputes of territorial claims of land and sea areas, are continuing even to this day. When all efforts at mediation fail, then war is the only recourse left between the two sides. The war therefore, is as relevant in today’s world, as it was in the ancient past.

Followers of Hinduism did not put the tenets of Bhagavad Gita into practice. They did not follow karma yoga (performance of duty), and Bhakti yoga (devotion to God) together in unison, in the performance of their duties. It is like the two wings of a bird flying in the air. The bird cannot soar into the skies with just one wing. Hindus never resorted to the use of sword and war as part of their duties, if it was necessary and thrust upon them; and they were thus subjugated and ruled by the foreign invaders in the past.

Past history tells us that in the last few centuries before independence of India in 1947, Hindus were first ruled first by the Muslim Mughal Empire, and later by the colonial rule of the Christian British Empire. Although Hinduism has deep roots in the teaching of Bhagavad Gita, yet Hindus failed to practice the tenets of Bhagavad Gita in its true perspective.

Sri Krishna repeatedly tells Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita to perform his duty as a warrior in battlefield, as there is no going back once a war has been declared. If victorious you will rule the kingdom and if killed in war, you will attain meritorious regions in heaven. It was a win-win situation both ways.

Hindu population in general follows the temple rituals and superstitions of various kinds, but they have little knowledge of the essence of Bhagavad Gita scripture. Their knowledge of Gita is just peripheral, and from the outside. Majority of the Hindu population barring a small segment, know just a few Mahabharata stories shown on the television channels, but the real message of Bhagavad Gita was missed all along.

Bhagavad Gita emphasizes the performance of one’s duties and spiritual discipline concurrently and together, irrespective of whether one is a soldier, a doctor, an engineer, businessman, a housewife, a carpenter, a sweeper, or engaged in any other work. The evil effects of all karma are nullified when all acts and deeds are dedicated to God.

A soldier, for example should not turn his back from his obligatory duty to fight a war due to emotional reasons, or from the fear of losing his life. The soul is immortal and body has to die one day or the other. It is therefore better to die a valiant death while performing one’s duties, and thus gain respect and attain heavenly regions in the afterlife.

It will be appropriate here to narrate the real life story of a young Russian girl of eighteen years, in the year 1980. At that time ‘Hare Krishna Movement’ of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) was making a great impact worldwide. The movement had become very popular with the joining of prominent groups like Beatles, George Harrison and with the hippie culture of sexual freedom.

This Russian girl expressed her desire to join the Hare Krishna movement, to a Russian monk who had become a Hindu. The Hindu monk told the girl to chant the Maha mantra ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ sixteen times in the mornings and evenings for six months so as to connect with the divine energy of God. He promised her that after completion of six months, he will give her the sacred book of Bhagavad Gita for her spiritual progress, and betterment in life.

This Russian girl met the Hindu monk after six months, and told him that she was losing the precious time of her youth, and she is very eagerly waiting to read the contents of the Holy Scripture of Bhagavad Gita. The Hindu monk gave her a voluminous book of Bhagavad Gita comprising of 1000 pages, with huge philosophical commentary on the Gita verses. The girl gratefully accepted the book, and started reading the book at her home, with great devotion.

After one month, the girl came back to meet the monk again. She told him that she is totally confused, and she is not able to understand anything in the book. She pointed out that the first Chapter is listing out of the names of warriors, chariots, and the sounding of conch shells on the battlefield. Is this a book on war or a book on spiritual discourse? What is this book about?

She was under the impression that the Holy book of Bhagavad Gita will describe spiritual matters of meditation, God-consciousness, Nirvana and Moksha, from the first Chapter itself. Then, how come it was describing warriors, chariots, and a war scenario in the beginning of the book?

The Hindu monk replied, Bhagavad Gita is a sacred scripture which takes the human soul to the lofty heights of heavenly regions. It explains all aspects of human life like distress of human beings in different situations, which can be in the form of family conflicts, Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga. The characteristics of Moksha and Nirvana, divine manifestations of God, reincarnation as birth and death are all explained. Therefore, you have to read the entire book with utmost attention, to understand the mystery of body and soul, and other aspects related to human life. You meet me later after you have finished reading the entire book.

The girl with great devotion studied the entire book, but she still could not understand the purport and essence of the Gita verses. She went to meet the Hindu monk again, and told him that she is unable to understand the true meaning of the verses.

The monk told the girl that she will not be able to understand the true purport and meaning of the Gita verses until and unless she gets the grace and blessings of God. He said to the girl, Be humble and go back home and make a supplication to God, till tears come to your eyes.

The monk then narrated the following story to the girl. A hermit was meditating by a river, when a young man came to him, Master, I want to become your disciple. said the man. The hermit asked, Why?

The young man said, Because I want to get Nirvana.

The Master jumped up, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dragged him into the river, and plunged his head under the water. After holding him there for a minute, while he was kicking and struggling to free himself, the master finally pulled him out of