Sunday, October 4, 2009

Obeisances to Lotus Feet of Bhagavad Gita

Chaturmasya is a period of four months during rainy season in India. During this period there is a tradition of austerity to enhance one’s God consciousness. It is an ideal occasion to commence a gitagyan forum. "Gitapada" begins with obeisances to the Lotus Feet of Bhagavad Gita.

Bhagavad-gita (BG) is also known as gitopanishad. It is the essence of Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upanishad in Vedic literature. The speaker of Bhagavad-gita is Lord Sri Krshna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. All great acaryas who were authorities of Vedic knowledge, the Lord Himself and scriptures like Brahma-samhita, Srimad-Bhagavatam establish the Truth of Lord Sri Krishna. We should take Bhagavad-gita As It Is directed by the Personality of Godhead Himself.

The topics discussed by Dhratarastra and Sanjaya, as described in the Mahabharata form the basic principle for this great philosophy. It is understood that this philosophy evolved on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, which is a sacred place of pilgrimage from the immemorial time of the Vedic age. It was spoken by Lord Krishna when He was present personally on this planet for the guidance of mankind.

Bhagavad-gita is the widely read perfect theistic science summarized in the Gita-mahatmya (Glorification of the Gita by Lord Shiva to Mother Parvati in Padma Purana). It is the perfect theistic science because it is directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. Gita-mahatmya says that one should read Bhagavad-gita very scrutinizingly with the help of a person who is a devotee of Lord Sri Krishna and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretations. The teaching has to be understood as it was understood by Arjuna, who heard the Gita directly from the Lord.

Extracts: Bhagavad Gita As It Is by HDG Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada, founder acarya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)

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