Alchemy of divine love-tidbits from My Gita

Growing up in the 90’s, Sunday mornings used to be about waking up late, listening to old hindi music & having an elaborate South Indian breakfast-Dosas to be precise! The stir often followed by watching mythological television shows on the old fashioned Doordarshan channel especially –The Ramayana and the Mahabharata-which inadvertently added to one’s spiritual awakening. One used to wake up to Ramanand Sagar’s interpretations of the epics with its enchanting soundtracks-‘Managala Bhavana Agamala Dhaaari’ or “Katha Hai Yeh Mahabharat Ki” often humming the tunes incessantly as the title track gets imprinted in your heads forever.

Two decades later, on a peaceful quiet Sunday morning I revisited the epics by reading or rather studying the book-My Gita that explains the same themes of the mythological epics to understand the panacea of problems in my life. As I read, vivid memories and voices of my childhood started replaying in my mind. Contrary to the past- what I learned today is a much deeper understanding of the meaning of Gita- which in literal sense is the ‘song or art of letting go’. Such wisdom is invaluable and enlightens humankind to manage one’s knowledge and relationships.

Alchemy as unlike the original Gita, my Gita thematically combines examples of both epics to draw meaning through the 18 chapters –structured in three themes- Karma yoga (behavioural), Bhakti yoga (emotional) and Gyana yoga (intellectual),my Gita helps one find solutions to innumerous problems in life. The Gita originally demonstrates modern techniques of communication with the help of Krishna’s recital to Arjuna before the Mahabharata to deliver a thought provoking message “to understand rather than judge one’s relationships” right at the brink of war. This indispensible subject is of supreme importance in today’s increasingly self-indulgent world as one must learn to sustain one’s family and friends with food, love and meaning even during misunderstandings and fights.

In one of the verses Krishna explains to Arjuna how to be accommodative in one’s relationships-

“Sometimes you see more than me but pretend to know less so that I don’t feel intimidated by you. I do the same for you. We donot feel superior when the other is vulnerable, or inferior when we feel helpless. This is what sustains our relationship.”

The book begins with a brief history of the Gita and the socio-political facts that led to its impact in the society. Pattanaik has simplified and sometimes oversimplified the verses to combine mythology with philosophy for better understanding. Redesigned for those not inclined to read the original, my Gita is as good as reading the original Bhagvad Gita as it delivers the meaning magnificently.

Here’s a gist of from my Gita to yours:

Karma Yoga

1. You and I donot have to judge-Do you see me as a hero, villain or victim? If yes, then you are not doing your darshan. If you can empathise with fears that make people heroes, villains and victims, then you are doing your darshan. For then you look beyond the boundaries that separate you from the rest.
2. You and I have been here before-This life is not the first time we you and I have experienced each other. We have been here before, but we have not learned, from past experiences that much of life defies explanation and control, that life always offers a second chance and that word existed before us and will continue to exit after us. As long as we resist reality, we will not discover the immortal, and go from lifetime to lifetime, hungry for meaning and validation.
3. You and I experience life differently- My deha is different from yours. My hungers are different than yours. My assumptions are different than yours. My capabilities are different from yours.

My experiences are different from yours My experiences are different from yours. My experiences are different from yours. My expressions are different from yours.

1. You and I seek meaning-Plants and animals including humans seek food. Additionally humans also seek meaning. The dehi within the deha, the meaning without the word, the soal within  the body, the metamorphical within the literal.
2. You and I have to face consequences- I want to control your actions and your reactions. You want to control my actions and reactions. We want to control the world around us and make it predictable. To act is karma. Karma yoga is when we act without seeking control over the outcome.
3. You and I can empathize- Dharma is more about empathy that ethics, about intent rather than outcome. I follow dharma when I am concerned about your material, emotional or intellectual hunger. I focus on adharma when I focus on my hunger at the cost of yours.

Bhakti Yoga

1. You and I can exchange-To do yagna is to assume we live in a sea of assumed expectations and obligations You and I can hoard, grab give in order to get, get before giving or simply withdraw from exchange. We can act out of desire, duty or care. We can choose to control the outcome, or not.
2. You and I withdraw in fear- A yogi looks within to appreciate the mind that occupies the body, the thoughts that occupy the mind, the fears that occupy the thoughts, the opportunity and threats that occupy the fears, and fears of others that occupy those threats and opportunities and those threats.
3. You and I hesitate to trust-We all ride waves of fortune and misfortune. If you and I believe we alone control the waves, then we are asuras. If you and I feel entitled in fortune or remember God only in misfortune or in fear of misfortune, then we are devas. We are not in touch with the atma within and without.
4. You and I have potential-I want you to be my Bhagvan – see my slice of reality, my insecurity, my vulnerability and comfort me without making me feel small. You have that potential. So do I. If not you and I surely there is somebody else.
5. You and I can include- When I feel that you acknowledge, appreciate and accommodate my world view rather than dismissing, tolerating, adoring or even following it. I know you are expanding your mind and walking the path of Bramhana.
6. You and I can accommodate- Sometimes you see more than me but pretend to know less so that I don’t feel intimidated by you. I do the same for you. We donot feel superior when the other is vulnerable, or inferior when we feel helpless. This is what sustains our relationship.

Gyana Yoga

1. You and I have no control- We are all a masala box of guna. With one guna dominating at all time. We can all be lazy, assertive, detached or engaged. Yoga makes us aware of the guna at work.
2. You and I value property-You may value me for what I have or what I do. But I’ not what I have or what I do. If you love me focus on who I am: my hungers and my fears and my potential to focus on who you are.
3. You and I compare- Do you derive your identity by comparing yourself with me?

This is Maya. A necessary delusion without which the society cannot function. It can uplift you with inspiration, depress you with jealousy or grant you peace by revealing how different you are from me.

1. You and I cling- There is no violation in nature. Only violence. Violation follows when we grant meaning to things and derive our identity from them. We are attached to property as long as we’re disconnected from atma.
2. You and I can be generous-Am I aware of my fears that make me greedy, stingy and controlling? What stops me from being generous materially, emotionally and intellectually? Liberation essentially is letting go of our insecurities that disconnect us from others.
3. You and I matter to each other-Can you and I participate in a relationship without seeking to control the behavior of other? Can we help each other outgrow our hungers and fears?Then we are on the path of Bramha Nirvana. When we derive joy from within, not from achievements outside, we are on the path of atma rahi.

With “Gayatri Mantra” playing in the background as family gets ready for the ritual evening prayers, I complete writing this post thinking “yet another Sunday well spent”.

"Lipsa Mohanty is currently working as a Manager in Citi Bank. She is a post graduate in Economics(H) from Madras School of Economics after having completed her graduation from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. She has close to 8 years of experience working in the Banking and Analytics domain and has worked for MNCs such as American Express and Royal Bank of Scotland in the past.A bibliophile at heart and an aspiring writer who is learning the craft, she enjoys travelling, blogging and listening to music in her free time. She currently resides in Bhubneshwar with her family due to the work from home situation due to the Covid pandemic."