Monday 27 January 2014

Introduction to Bhagavad Gita

Wednesday 8th July 8-9pm - Online

The Bhagavad-Gita stands among the most cherished works of literature of all time.
It records the conversation taking place between the seeker of Truth – Arjuna, and his friend and charioteer – Krishna, the embodiment of total knowledge of life. During the course of their two and one half hour conversation, Arjuna attains the state of full enlightenment – the full realization of his infinite cosmic potential, and with it, the ability to spontaneously perform all action in perfect attunement with the natural laws upholding progress, success, and fulfillment on every level of life.
Maharishi has referred to the Gita as the textbook of the Age of Enlightenment, containing all the laws of nature as applied to human life. In the Introduction to his translations and commentary, he writes, “The Bhagavad-Gita is a complete guide to practical life. It will always be there to rescue man in any situation. It is like an anchor for the ship of life sailing on the turbulent waves of time.”
Seekers of Truth, East and West, have gained inspiration, guidance, and strength from this timeless and universal work of literature, as seen in the following passages:


Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“It was the first of books – it was as if an empire spoke to us – nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered over and thus disposed of the same questions that exercise us.”  
Henry David Thoreau:
“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of theBhagavat-Geeta, since whose composition, years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which, our modern world and its literature seems puny and trivial.”

Albert Einstein:
“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect on how God created this universe, everything else seems so superfluous."

Aldous Huxley:
The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of enduring value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed. Hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity."  

Geddes MacGregor:
“No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better loved in the West than the Bhagavad-Gita.”
Rudolph Steiner:
“In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding, it is necessary to attune our soul to it."  
Rishi Aurobindo:
“The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race – a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization."
Mahatma Gandhi:
 "When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who reflect on theGita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day."

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru:
"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life, yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe."  

Adi Shankara:
"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita, all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic literature… Even a little study of the Bhagavad-Gita, like a drop of the flow of nectar, is sufficient for enlightenment.”

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