Hari om everyone,
Here's our class synopsis for the week. We started the class with meditation and continued with Geeta chanting. We finished learning the whole of chapter 4. Our students are doing wonderfully. From next class, we will practice chanting the chapter every class.
The Kyun Kyun (QQ - Quirky Question) of the day was - There was a huge party to which many people went. The host fed every single person till they were stuffed. Yet, some people went home starving! Who were they?
Some said, 'Maybe the chefs and servers?'
Others said, 'The hosts...?'
Nope! All married people went home hungry because 'every single person' at the party was fed 😉Heheee..
The reason we asked this question is to establish that words have multiple meanings. Here, everyone presumed 'every single person' meant each and every person. But we meant 'single' person as in people who were not married :).
In Bhagavadgeeta too, many words and terms could have different meanings in different contexts. Without understanding the context, if we use a dictionary to translate words literally, we will end up misunderstanding what is said. That is why it is said that one must not learn the meanings of the Geeta on their own, to avoid misinterpretations. It is to be learned through the teachings of a teacher only!
We finished the story of Mahabharata up until the end of the war. Now that we know the context and background of the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna (Bhagavadgeeta), we started with the discussion of Chapter 1.
Before the war began, Arjuna asked Krishna to take his chariot to the center of the battlefield. Krishna strategically parked the chariot in front of Bheeshma and Drona. The moment he saw his dear grandfather and guru, Arjuna felt weak in his limbs! He could not comprehend that he had to fight with his most dearest people and possibly kill them too... He was unnerved. He was distraught. He was distressed! His agony knew no bounds...
Had Krishna parked in front of Duryodhana, Arjuna would have been so enraged that he would have started fighting right away and we wouldn't have received the knowledge of the Geeta (through Arjuna). But then, later on during the war, he would have broken down in front of his dearest people, Bheeshma and Drona. To avoid that, Krishna made Arjuna go through an intense emotional turmoil at the very beginning itself.
Arjuna was in a great emotional dilemma in a war situation. Our situations may be different. However, the emotional conflicts we go through many times are relatable to Arjuna's situation. The moment we become that Arjuna, the entire teaching becomes absolutely relevant to us, for our day-to-day lives!
Geeta is not meant for us to just learn after we get old and frail. It is for us to learn here and now, as well as apply the teachings to our daily lives! The below picture describes the utility of Geeta very well.
Let's all find that chisel to shape ourselves :). See you all next week.
Regards,
Rashmi.
http://sanskritpearls.blogspot.com/
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Rashmi.
http://sanskritpearls.blogspot.com/
On Facebook,
http://www.facebook.com/SanskritPearls
