There once was an elderly couple living in the mountains. They were of simple means, yet were extremely devoted and pious. The man would sit every morning at the small temple in their home and read passages from the Bhagavad Gita. The couple’s grandson, who was completely enamored with his grandfather, lived with them. The young boy would emulate everything his grandfather did.
One day, the boy came, sat down in his grandfather’s lap, and said, “Grandfather, I see you read the Bhagavad Gita every morning and I see the way your eyes fill with tears. I have heard you tell so many people that the Gita has changed your life. So, I have also started to try to read the Gita, but I do not understand it. If I do understand a small passage of it, in just a few short hours I have already forgotten what I read.” The old man simply said, “Do not worry, my child, if you understand it or not. Just keep reading it.” So, the boy did as he was instructed. However, a few weeks later he again came, sat on his grandfather’s lap and admitted, “Grandpa, I have done what you said, but still I do not understand the Gita, and I forget so quickly. It seems like such a waste of time. Why is it so important to keep reading if I am not benefiting?”
At this, the Grandfather handed the young boy an empty basket that was used for carrying coal. He said to his grandson, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me a basket of water.” The boy did as his grandfather instructed, but inevitably he returned with an empty basket. All the water had leaked out of the many holes before the boy had reached home. Again the grandfather sent the boy to the river, telling him, “Bring it faster next time, before it leaks out.” So the boy ran quickly from the river to the home, holding the basket as water poured out. Again, the basket was empty long before arriving at his grandparents’ house. He told his grandfather that carrying water in a basket was impossible and instead he would require a bucket or pail. But the grandfather was firm. “I don’t want a bucket of water,” he said. “I want a basket of water. You’ll have to try harder next time.”
This continued for five or six rounds from the river to the house. Each time the boy would arrive, breathless from his sprint, the basket would be empty. Finally the boy dropped to his knees and said, “Grandfather, it is useless.”
Sitting down, the grandfather took the boy and basket in his lap and smiled. “You think it is useless, my child?” he asked. “Have a look at the basket.” The boy turned his attention from the lack of water to the actual basket, and he noticed that where the basket had once been black and dirty from all the coal was now clean and beautiful. The trips to the river, attempting to carry back the water, had washed the basket clean.
“Just as you may not have succeeded in carrying the water to me,” the grandfather said, “your act of trying has served to transform the dirty, old basket into a clean, beautiful basket. Similarly, you may not succeed in understanding or remembering everything in the Gita, but the act of reading it cleans you from the inside out! When Lord Krishna enters our lives, we too become new and transformed.”
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The Bhagavad Gita literally means “Song of God, Song of the Soul, Song of the Spirit.” It is not a scripture reserved for Hindus, but rather is universal. Regardless of your religion or culture, the Gita has the power to transform, to heal, and to uplift, and will bring greater insight and awareness to one’s life.
The Bhagavad Gita is a journey from depression and despondency to devotion. The great warrior Arjuna was despondent and dismayed as he surveyed the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Suddenly, Arjuna laid down his arms and told Krishna that he could not fight. “I see in the opposing army my cousins, my uncles, my revered teachers. It would be better to renounce the kingdom than to fight with those who are so close to me,” he bemoaned. Thus to pull Arjuna from his despondency and to remind him of his dharma, Lord Krishna put forth the Bhagavad Gita.
Lord Krishna took Arjuna on the journey from despondency to devotion – devotion to God and devotion to his own dharma. That is the divine gift of the Gita: to carry us from a state of despair to a state of joy.
The teachings of the Gita are not applicable merely to life on a battlefield, when war with our relatives is imminent. Rather, the true battlefield is within us. Through the story of Arjuna and the war of Kurukshetra, Bhagwan Shri Krishna gives each of us lessons for our lives. The real Kurukshetra is within us. Each of us is Arjuna, struggling with right and wrong, temptation, fear and frustration. Our bodies are our chariots, being driven all too frequently by our senses as the horses. The mind, ego, desires, lust and greed are the evil Kauravas with whom we must do righteous battle, from whom we must not shy away in fear. If we give the reins of our lives to God (as Arjuna made Krishna his Divine charioteer), we will surely be victorious.
If we, too want to transform our lives from despair and depression to devotion and delight, we merely have to allow ourselves to be bathed in the Bhagavad Gita’s divine and healing powers.
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