The Bhagavadgeeta is the Mother of all Scriptures
The Bhagavadgeeta is the mother of all books. It is superior even to the vedas, because while the latter were the result of God's exhalation, the former emanated from His own lips. What is the subject of the Geeta? It discusses both the theoretical and practical aspects of philosophical ignorance and its removal. It begins with the misconception that overtook Arjuna: he had a fit of discontentment owing to the pride of doership, and this gave rise to doubts about what to do and what not to. The Geeta ends with the clarification of these doubts; that is, the pleasure and regret both disappeared with the restoration of the knowledge that it is God who is the real doer.
The exposition of the Bhagavadgeeta in the Jnyaneshwari is so masterly that one can only think that the exponent was but a re-incarnation, centuries later, of the Lord Himself. The exposition, no less than the original, was from the same divine source of inspiration. We should try to practise its preaching, which, very succinctly, is that God is the real doer and we have only to act without a feeling of ego and pride.
If a marriageable girl goes to attend the wedding or betrothal of a friend or relative, she watches the ceremony with a mind crowded with hopes and aspirations about herself. Similarly, as we read, or listen to the reading of, a book concerning spiritualism, we should ponder over the descriptions about the various stages of spiritual advancement and how we can attain them.
Prarabdha will take its due course concerning the body and its conditions, but we should maintain a psychological unconcern or mental detachment. In a law suit an advocate pleads vehemently to defend his client's position, but is mentally unconcerned with the joy or sorrow of winning or losing the case; he may outwardly share the joy or sorrow of the client, but he gets the stipulated fees nevertheless. We should keep a similar attitude.
I behave in a similar way with my disciples in their moments of elation or despondency. Treat prapancha as a game: a win or loss is of little consequence if, all the while, we maintain constant awareness of God. However, we should play the game in all seriousness. This becomes very easy if we continually chant nama. This is why day and night I din into your ears that, come what may, one should never forget nama.
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