few words from Bhagavad GITA

1.All problems arise from a feeling of separateness. Feel one with all, including your opponent or enemy. The mind will be at peace, intellect sharp and clear. And actions effective. But do not allow love to come in the way of hard decisions. A mother loves her child always. But takes corrective action when needed.

2. Fear and insecurity come from wrong-doing, ignorance, viciousness, selfishness and otherness. Follow your conscience and be unselfish. You will become fearless even against the greatest odds.

3.Righteousness is the single most important determinant of success and victory.

4. View a situation from from a higher viewpoint to gain clarity.

5. Do not allow emotions to cloud your judgement. Look at things dispassionately.

6. Focus on your obligations. Perform them well. Do not waste time judging others. Do not get derailed by weak pity which is a temporary aberration of the mind.

7. When you look within and stand between the two opposing armies, doing neither good nor bad, you see the Kurus – negative tendencies.

8. When mental agitations mount you begin to hallucinate. You see things that do not exist.

9. Grief induces a sense of false renunciation. Defer decisions when your mind is troubled.

10. Rise above hatred and you are able to take the necessary corrective steps.

11. Ignorant people are most adamant about their wrong views. Examine the things you are most sure of. There may be some fundamental errors in judgement there.

12. Dejection and depression are self-created. Hence the solution also lies within. A slight change in outlook resolves the problem. 

13. Grief comes from a narrow, self-centred view. When you understand the totality and have a larger vision there is no grief. 

14. Everything in the world changes, passes, moves on. The body must die but the Spirit within never dies. Know this and you will not grieve. 

15 Even the mind, intellect and vasanas (unmanifest desires) remain. Only the body is discarded and a new one acquired to enable you to fulfil your mission in life.

16.Practise titiksha(fortitude,character by which we complain not against existing conditions......withdrawal from a temptation to retaliate) Endure unfavourable circumstances. Bear with difficulties cheerfully. Do not get victimised by the changes in the world.

17. In this kaleidoscope of change do your karyam karma, obligatory duty. Do what you ought to do wholeheartedly, objectively, without excitement. You will be happy regardless of success or failure.

18. Dedicated action towards a higher ideal, the highest being Self realisation, makes one equanimous in the fluctuations of the world – profit and loss, joy and sorrow, victory and defeat. This is worship.

19. Perfect action that emerges from a calm mind is yoga. A calm mind is the prerequisite to meditation and Enlightenment.

 Importance of the intellect.

20. Self control – two methods: Scan existing likes and dislikes with the intellect and do not linger in the enjoyment of new enjoyments.

21. Escalate to higher desires and you will be free from the lower ones. Finally the desire for Realisation removes all other desires and itself vanishes. What remains is Atman.

22 Action is a must. All beings are driven to action.

23. Identify your svadharma – your talent, core interest.

24. Fix a higher ideal in the area of your svadharma.

25. Create energy - focus the intellect on the ideal, surrender to it and act dedicatedly towards it.

26. While acting do not allow the mind to slip into the unproductive avenues of the past worry and future anxiety.

27. Cultivate sattva, refine rajas

and eliminate tamas.

28. Understand that desire is the enemy and bring it under the control of the intellect.

29. Finally eliminate desire by picking up higher desires until the desire for Liberation removes all desires.

 30. Good and bad are both part of life. Neither can be eradicated. You can only restore the balance in favour of good.

31. You attain whatever you seek. Make sure what you desire is what you really want.

32. Everyone has the three thought categories of sattva purity, rajas passion and tamas inertia. It is the proportion that determines your nature and vocation.

33. Atman enables all activities but Atman does not determine the quality of action and is unaffected by the outcome. Identify with Atman and you will be unaffected by life’s turbulence.

34. Knowing this, your ancestors performed action. You also perform action like they did.

35. You should know what ought to be done, what ought not to be done and the inactive Principle that supports all action.

36. Perfect action is free from desire and expectation. It makes you harmonious with external things, internal conditions and effects of action.

37. Surrender to, ask when not clear and serve the guru.

38. There is no purifier like knowledge. It is gained by sense control, devotion and sraddha focus.

39. There are four types of people – bhogi materialistic, yogi spiritual novice, sannyasi spiritual master, and jnani the enlightened one. Assess yourself to determine which category you belong to and make a concerted effort to move up the ladder.

40. Renunciation is not giving up action. It is acting in a spirit of renunciation.

41. Renunciation is not turning your back on enjoyment. It is growing to enjoy more meaningful things in life.

42. Renunciation is not moving away from your family. It is giving up attachment that comes in the way of relationships.

43. The test of development is the ability to see oneness with all beings.

44. Live life like a lotus leaf in water – unattached and unaffected.

45. Renunciation leads to happiness.

46. Gain knowledge which destroys ignorance. Ignorance is the cause of all suffering.

47. Develop equality of vision.

48. Contact-born pleasures are wombs of sorrow. The wise do not delight in them.

49. You will be happy if you withstand the force of desire and anger. Renunciation is not giving up action. It is renouncing the obstacles that stand in the way of perfect action.

50.The path of action is meant for the active people and path of renunciation for the contemplative.

51. Redeem yourself by yourself. Nobody else can help you.

52. Moderation and regulation of life’s activities are a must for material or spiritual progress.

53. When the mind is in a scattered state there is no power. A gathered mind has power, is calm and effective.

54. The intellect has high penetrating power when developed. It enables effortless excellence and takes you to Self realisation.

55. Yoga is the separation of union with sorrow. Disconnect this union with sorrow. Then you fill find happiness within yourself.

56. All desires are born of imagination.

57. The test of spiritual development is the ability to see yourself in others and all beings in yourself.

58. The doer of good never suffers. Selfish people will be destroyed.