Gita Jayanthi

Gita Jayanthi

By Shyamagopika dd on Fri, 2009-11-27 16:20.

On the occasion of Gita Jayanthi, devotees around the world are enthusiastically distributing Bhagavad -gita in every corner of the world. As I saw hundreds of students of Gita Study course congregating in Mayapur to celebrate this festival, I was reflecting on how this message of Godhead is reaching millions all over the world by the divine mercy of Srila Prabhupada. After the Mangala Arti, I walk around the campus chanting my japa, I take a look at the local pilgrims opening their eyes wide in amazement on seeing Srila Prabhupada Pushpa Samadhi Mandir, which is as magnificent as his personality. My heart is filled with feelings of gratitude for this unlimited compassion for giving shelter under his lotus feet.

For me, though born in a so called Brahmin family, it was merely a ritual to recite few verses of Gita on festival days of Vishnu or also I  remember memorizing the verses to get the prize in Sloka recitation competition until I was bestowed with the mercy of receiving “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. I am ever grateful to those kind representatives of this unbroken disciplic succession, who took time and effort to put me in the right path, saving me from sinking in the dark well of  material existence. I am sure everyone will have their eye opener or favorite words, but for me it is the introduction to Bhagavad-gita which introduced me to Krishna Consciousness.  The introductory part of Bhagavad-gita has profound insights of this timeless wisdom, which I often share in the congregational meetings, for it contains ‘all in all’ of Srimad Bhagavad-gita in nutshell.

“We work not with our body, actually, but with our mind and intelligence. So if the intelligence and the mind are always engaged in the thought of the Supreme Lord, then naturally the senses are also engaged in His service. Superficially, at least, the activities of the senses remain the same, but the consciousness is changed. The Bhagavad-gita teaches one how to absorb the mind and intelligence in the thought of the Lord. Such absorption will enable one to transfer himself to the kingdom of the Lord. If the mind is engaged in krsna’s service, then the senses are automatically engaged in His service. This is the art, and this is also the secret of Bhagavad-gita: total absorption in the thought of Krsna. Modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon, but he has not tried very hard to elevate himself spiritually. If one has fifty years of life ahead of him, he should engage that brief time in cultivating this practice of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ (Bhagavad-gita As It Is-Introduction)

I pray at the lotus feet of Sri Nrsimhadeva to remove all the obstacles and bless all the wonderful servants of Srila Prabhupada who are engaged in distributing this transcendental literature.