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Lion Spirit Walker
January 24th, 2010, 11:48 PM
Here at MW (2.0) we often discuss various theological and philosophical perspectives. One such perspective that I have found inspiring in it's unique fashion is Hinduism.
Following our wise BlueStar's lead with the "Tao Te Ching", I thought I would post one of the better english translations of the "Bhagavad-Gita".
May you (the reader) find it inspiring as I have.

SoulChild
January 25th, 2010, 12:03 AM
I am extrememly curious about those writings...please post away! I am very, very interested and look forward to your posts. I have searched....maybe not hard enough, but I have always wanted to read this...my curiosity is through the roof!!! :) Thanks Michael :)

Lion Spirit Walker
January 25th, 2010, 12:24 AM
~1~
The Sorrow of Arjuna`

DHRITARASHTRA:

TELL ME, Sanjaya, what my sons and the sons of Pandu did, when they gathered on the sacred field of Kkurukshetra, eager for battle?

ARJUNA addresses Krishna, his friend and charioteer:


Krishna the changeless,
Halt my chariot
There where the warriors,
Bold for battle,
Face their foremen.
Between the armies
There let me see them,
The men I must fight with,
Gathered together
Now at the bidding
Of him their leader,
Blind Dhritarashtra's
Evil offspring:
Such are my foes
In the war that is coming.
SANJAYA (TO DHRITARASHTRA):

Then Krishna, subduer of the senses, thus requested by Arjuna, the conqueror of sloth, drove that most splendid of chariots into a place between the two armies, confronting Bhisma, Drona and all those other rulers of the earth. And he said: "O Prince, behold the assembled Kurus!"
Then the prince looked on the array, and in both armies he recognized fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles, sons, brothers, grandsons, fathers-in-law, dear friends and many other familiar faces.
Whne Kunti's son saw all those ranks of kinsmen he was filled with deep compassion, and he spoke desparingly, as follows:

Lion Spirit Walker
January 25th, 2010, 01:08 AM
ARJUNA:
Krishna, Krishna,
Now as I look on
These my kinsmen
Arrayed for battle,
My limbs are weakened,
My mouth is parching,
My body trembles,
My hair stands upright,
My skin seems burning,
The bow Gandiva
Slips from my hand,
My brain is whirling
Round and round,
I can stand no longer:
Krishna, I see such
Omens of evil!

What can we hope from
This killing of kinsmen?
What do I want with
Victory, empire,
Or their enjoyment?
O Govinda,

How can I bare for
Power or pleasure,
My own life, even,
When all these others,
Teachers, fathers,
Grandfathers, uncles,
Sons and brothers,
Husbands of sisters,
Grandsons and cousins,
For whose sake only
I could enjoy them
Stand here ready
To risk blood and wealth
In war against us?

Knower of all things,
Though they should slay me
How could I harm them?
I cannot wish it:
Never, never,
Not though it won me
The throne of the three worlds:
How much the less for
Earthly lordship!

Krishna, hearing
The prayers of all men,
Tell me how can
We hope to be happy
Slaying the sons
Of Dhritarashtra?
Evil they may be,
Worst of the wicked,
Yet if we kill them
Our sin is greater.
How could we dare spill
The blood that unites us?
Where is joy in
The killing of kinsmen?

Foul their hearts are
With greed, and blinded:
They see no evil
In breaking of blood-bonds,
See no sin
In treason to comrades.

But we, clear sighted,
Scanning the ruin
Of families scattered,
Should we not shun
This crime, O Krishna?

We know what fate falls
On families broken:
The rites are forgotten,
Vice rots the remnant
Defiling the women,
And from their corruption
Comes mixing of castes:
The curse of confusion
Degrades the victims
And damns the destroyers.
The rice and the water
No longer are offered:
The ancestors also
Must fall dishonoured
From home in heaven.

Such is the crime
Of the killers of kinsmen:
The ancient, the sacred,
Is broken, forgotten.
Such is the doom
Of the lost, without caste-rites:
Darkness and doubting
And hell for ever.

What is this crime
I am planning, O Krishna?
Murder most hateful,
Murder of brothers!
Am I indeed
So greedy for greatness?

Rather than this
Let the evil children
Of Dhritarashtra
Come with their weapons
Against me in battle:
I shall not struggle,
I shall not strike them.
Now let them kill me,
That will be better.

SANJAYA:

Having spoken thus, Arjuna threw aside his arrows and his bow in the midst of the battlefield. He sat down on the seat of the chariot, and his heart was overcome with sorrow.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 25th, 2010, 01:12 AM
Thank you dearest Elizabeth. I was so pleased to scroll up and see your post after I had finished the first chapter.
It is such a timeless book of wonder and wisdom. It is actually my favorite book, and I enjoy reading it repeatedly. Each time, seeing it from a renewed perspective.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 25th, 2010, 01:35 AM
Sri Krishna

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/psy_Michael/krishna.jpg

planetlove
January 25th, 2010, 04:19 AM
Shri krishna ......
Representing all that is truth and love...
He is the dwelling of love that is deep within the energetic centre in the middle of your chest..
The BG is an epic ....
glad your enjoying it ..

Lion Spirit Walker
January 25th, 2010, 04:26 AM
Thank you V, very much.


Cosmic Krishna
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/psy_Michael/krishna-vishwaroop1.jpg

MystEerieUsOne
January 25th, 2010, 08:54 AM
Great thread to find here, yes!

I have a gorgeous Ganesh statue right here at my desk. It has been a while since I read the Gita, but I passionately loved it every time I have and its message is of brilliant awakening!

I used to study Sanskrit and Hindi (language) passionately, too, and I hoped one day I would be able to read the Gita all the way through, in Sanskrit. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to cross that one off my dream list! (I'm currently studying monastic Tibetan...again! I'm far more intrigued by how the mind originates and uses language (sound) than mastering these ancient languages for conversation. LOVE their character scripts, too!)

Ganesh and I thank you for your thread, :) :) and I, er...we... look forward to reading along.

BlueStar
January 25th, 2010, 01:28 PM
Thank you so much for starting this thread, I am absolutely delighted you stepped up to do this. I read the Gita a few years ago and loved it but never got around to rereading despite my intentions, so I am all the more delighted to be able to do so in this very thread. Thanks again Michael, I look forward to following this and am very grateful to you ... it is an incredible book filled with the deepest wisdom.

planetlove
January 25th, 2010, 02:48 PM
Thank you V, very much.


Cosmic Krishna
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/psy_Michael/krishna-vishwaroop1.jpg

I have that same picture on my altar ..
It's amazing that it ended up in this post ....... maybe i will scan it and post it in here later....
As master visnu is represented as the majestic ONE ...."in oneness"
This photo is a symbolic representation of who we truely are ...... "ONE"
Visnu being the Higher self of Sri krisna ....
or sri krisna being the reincarnation of visnu...looking at it from either side of the circle.....

As per M1 I absolutely adore Maha Shri Ganesha ..... I love him with all of me ....
well that statement is a little bit biased .. what I truley mean to say is I love them all with all of me ....

I guess my ego is in here to play with a few words...lol.... {varune speaks to lower thinking ego mind - be-gone ego thinking"}

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o266/varunepersad/IMG-1.jpg

Just as an addition to this post I would love to hear what you all see in this photo ....
there are more than 1000 words that this picture represents .......

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 04:02 AM
Dear Myst, I would so love to have the wonderful opportunity to read the "Bhagavad-Gita" in it's original form. What an experience that truly must be. Your studies are wonderful. Perhaps you may find time to share with us that which you have learned. I truly agree that the writings of the east are indeed very beautiful.
I too have a love for Ganeash.
Perhaps you might have a special image you might share with us here in this thread.?.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 04:07 AM
My dear friend BlueStar, I so completely agree with you. With each read a new perspective is realized and new wisdom found.
Thank you so very much for your wonderful encouragement.
And as I had written in your thread "The Daily Tao", it is my sincere hope that others may read both wonderful rightings. And riealize the wonderful wisdon that is both.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 04:14 AM
My dear friend V... your experience and understanding is so very appreciated. Your love is indeed amazing.
I actually had a very unique experience when I looked at the wonderful image you shared. My consciouusness opened beyond the confine of time and space. It is beyond words. It is all. It is 'one'.
Thank you very much.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 05:31 AM
~2~
The Yoga of Knowledge

SANJAYA:

THEN HIS eyes filled with tears, and his heart grieved and was bewildered with pity. And Sri Krishna spoke to him, saying:


SRI KRISHNA:

Arjuna, in this hour of battle the time for scruples and fancies? Are they worthy of you, who seek enlightenment? Any brave man who merely hopes for fame or heaven would despise them.
What is this weakness? It is beneath you. Is it for nothing men call you the foe-consumer? Shake off this cowardice, Arjuna. Stand up.


ARJUNA:

Bhisma and Drona are noble and ancient, worthy of the deepest reverence. How can I greet them with arrows, in battle? If I kill them, how can I ever enjoy my wealth, or any other pleasure? It will all be cursed with blood-guilt. I would much rather spare them, and eat the bread of a beggar.
Which will be worse, to win this war, or to lose it? I scarcely know. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra stand in the enemy ranks. If we kill them, none of us will wish to live.
Is this real compassion that I feel, or only a delusion? My mind gropes about in darkness. I cannot see where my duty lies. Krishna, I beg you, tell me frankly and clearly what I ought to do. I am your disciple. I put myself into your hands. Show me the way.


Not this world's kingdom,
Supreme, unchallenged,
No, nor the throne
Of the gods in heaven,
Could ease this sorrow
That numbs my senses!

SANJAYA:

When Arjuna, the foe-cosuming, the never-slothful, had spoken thus to Govinda, ruler of the senses, he added: "I will not fight." and was silent.
Then to him who thus sorrowed between the two armies, the ruler of the senses spoke, smiling:


SRI KRISHNA:

Your words are wise, Arjuna, but your sorrow is for nothing. The truly wise mourn neither for the living nor the dead.
There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings. Nor is there any future in which we shall cease to be.
Just as the dweller in this body passes through childhood, youth and old age, so at death he merely passes into another kind of body. The wise are not deceived by that.
Feeling of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, are caused by the contact of the senses with their objects. They come and they go, never lasting long. You must accept them.
A serene spirit accepts pleasure and pain with an even mind, and is unmoved by either. He alone is worthy of immortality.
That which is non-existent can never come into being, and that which is can never cease to be. Those who have known the inmost Reality know also the nature of is and is not.
That Reality which pervades the universe is indestructible. No one has power to change the Changeless.
Bodies are said to die, but That which possesses the body is eternal. It cannot be limited, or destroyed. Therefore you must fight.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 05:32 AM
[I love this...]

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 06:22 AM
Some say this Atman
Is slain, and others
Call it the slayer:
They know nothing.
How can It slay
Or who shall slay it?
Know this Atman
Unborn, undying,
Never ceasing,
Never beginning,
Deathless, birthless.
Unchanging forever.
How can It die
The death of the body?
Knowing It birthless,
Knowing It deathless,
Knowing It endles,
Forever unchanging.
Dream not you do
The deed of the killer.
Dream not the power
Is yours to command it.
Worn-out garments
Are shed by the body:
Worn-out bodies
Are shed by the dweller
Within the body.
New bodies are donned
By the dweller, like garments.
Not wounded by weapons,
Not burned by fire,

Not dried by the wind,
Not wetted by water:
Such is the Atman.
Not dried, not wetted,
Not burned, not wounded,
Innermost element,
Everywhere, always,
Being of beings,
Changeless, eternal,
For ever and ever.

This Atman cannot be manifested to the senses, or thought about by the mind. It is not subject to modification. Since you know this, you should not grieve.
But if you should suppose this Atman to be subject to constant birth and death, even then you ought not to be sorry.
Death is certain for the born. Rebirth is certain for the dead. You should not grieve for what is unavoidable.


[Migraine headache. I need to wait for my vision returns befoe I can return. Sorry. Shouldn't be too long. BRB.]

Lion Spirit Walker
January 26th, 2010, 08:03 AM
I will have to pick this back up after the morning comes. But here is one of the images I enjoy.
"Krishna-gokula"
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/psy_Michael/krishna-gokula.jpg

planetlove
January 26th, 2010, 03:27 PM
shri krishna absolutely beautiful ...

he describes to his freind what we truly are ...

the atman / god / the spirit all words that mean the same ....... out cyclic reincarnations ......with such gentle words ....

"This Atman cannot be manifested to the senses, or thought about by the mind. It is not subject to modification. Since you know this, you should not grieve.
But if you should suppose this Atman to be subject to constant birth and death, even then you ought not to be sorry.
Death is certain for the born. Rebirth is certain for the dead. You should not grieve for what is unavoidable."


Im so loving this thread .....
great pictures .....the last one i love how the animals can detect the truth in the being in front of them ...
as to everyone else should be the same way not judge and detect the truth in everything else ..
This photo is symbolic as the way I really look at the beautiful place called mother earth....and all the beings that are visible to the human eye...

when you are LOVE you attract it more....
when you are LOVE be it more
or simple JUST BE ....in remembrance of it


The loving that is shown here is what I know myself to be .....
I have reneacted parts of the BG in this lifetime already ....

Kiran
January 26th, 2010, 03:38 PM
We couldn't really have a thread like this without including Kuan Yin/Quan Yin


http://www.essenceofthedivine.com/Kuan%20Yin.jpg

BlueStar
January 27th, 2010, 02:45 PM
Powerful transcendent words of deep wisdom and insight...and beautiful images that are equally powerful. thank you :)

Lion Spirit Walker
January 28th, 2010, 04:14 AM
(cont.)

Krishna:

Before birth, beings are not manifest to our human senses. In the interim between birth and death, they are manifest. At death they return to the unmanifest again. What is there in all this to grieve over?
There are some who have actually looked upon the Atman, and understood It, in all Its wonders. Others can only speak of It as wonderful beyond their understanding. Others know of Its wonder by heresay. And there are others who are told about It and do not understand a word.
He who dwells within all living bodies remains for ever indestructible. Therefore, you should never mourn for any one.
Even if you consider this from the standpoint of your own caste-duty, you ought not to hesitate; for, to a warrior, there is nothing nobler than a righteous war. Happy are the warrioirs to whom a battle such as this comes: it opens a door to heaven.
But if you refuse to fight this righteous war, you will be a sinner, and disgrace. People will speak ill of you throughout the ages. To a man who values his honour, that is surely worse than death. The warrior-chiefs will believe it was fear that drove you from the battle; you will be despised by those who have admired you so long. Your enemies, also, will slander your courage. They will use the words which should never be spoken. What could be harder to bear than that?
Die, and you win heaven. Conquer, and you enjoy the earth. Stand up now, son of Kunti, and resolve to fight. Realize that pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, are all one and the same: then go into battle. Do this and you cannot commit any sin.
I have explained to you the true nature of the Atman. Now listen to the method of Karma Yoga. If you can understand and follow it, you will be able to break the chains of desire that bind you to your actions.
In this yoga, even the abortive attempt is not wasted. Nor can it produce a contrary result. Even a little practice of this yoga will save you from the terrible wheel of rebirth and death.
In this yoga, the will is directed singly towrd one ideal. When a man lacks this discrimination, his will wanders in all directions, after innumerable aims. Those who may lack discrimination may quote the letter of the scripture, but they are really denying its inner truth. They are full of worldly desires, and hunger for the reqwards of heaven. They are beautiful figures of speech. They teach elaborate rituals which are suppose to obtain pleasure and power for those who perform them. But, actually, they understand nothing except the law of Karma, that chains men to rebirth.
Those whose discrimination is stolen away by such talk grow deeply attached to pleasure and power. And so they are unable to develop that concentration of the will which leads a man to absorbtion in God.
The Vedas teach us about the three gunas and their function. You, Arjuna, must overcome the three gunas. You must be free from the pairs of opposites. Poise your mind in tranquillity. Take care neither to aquire nor to hoard. Be established in the consciousness of the Atman, always.
When the whole country is flooded, the reservoir becomes superfluous. So, to the illumined seer, the Vedas are all superfluous.
You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to the fruits of the work. Desires for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either.
Perform every action with your heart fixed on the Supreme Lord. Renounce attachment to the fruits. Be even-tempered in success and failure; for it is this eveness of temper which is meant by yoga.
Work done with anxiety about results is far inferrior to work done without such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. Seek refuge in the knowledge of Brahman. They who work selfishly for results are miserable.
In the calm of self-surrender you can free yourself from the bondage of virtue and vice during this very life. Devote yourself, therefore, to reaching union with Brahman. To unite the heart with Brahman and then to act: that is the secret of non-attached work. In the calm of self-surrender, the seers renounce the fruits of their actions, and so reach enlightenment. Then they are free from the bondage of rebirth, and pass to the state which is beyond all evil.
When your intellect has cleared itself of its delusions, you will become indiferent to the results of all action, present or future. At present, your intellect is bewildered by conflicting interpretations of the scriptures. When it can rest, steady and undistracted, in contemplation of the Atman, then you will reach union with the Atman.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 28th, 2010, 04:48 AM
Atman
of my mind's eye

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/psy_Michael/orion-nebula-hubble.jpg

Lion Spirit Walker
January 28th, 2010, 05:37 AM
Arjuna:


Krishna, how can one identify a man who is firmly established and absorbed in Brahman? In what manner does an illumined soul speak? How does he sit? How does he walk?


Sri Krishna:

He knows bliss in the Atman
And wants nothing else.
Cravings torment the heart:
He renounces cravings.
I call him illumined.
Not shaken by adversity,
Not hankering after happiness:
Free from fear, free from anger,
Free from the things of desire.
I call him a seer, and illumined.
The bonds of the flesh are broken.
He is lucky, and does not rejoice:
He is unlucky, and does not weep.
I call him illumined.
The tortoise can draw in his legs:
The seer can draw in his senses.
I call him illumined.
The abstinent run away from what they desire
But carry their desire with them:
When a man enters Reality,
He leaves his desires behind him.
Even a mind that know the path
Can be dragged from the path:
The senses are so unruly.
But he controls the senses
And recollects the mind
And fixes it on me.
I call him illumined.
Thinking about sense-objects
will attach you to sense-objects;
Grow attached, and you become addicted;
Thwart your addiction, it turns to anger;
Be angry, and you confuse your mind;
Confuse the mind, you forget the lesson of experience;
Forget experience, you lose discrimination;
Lose discrimination, and you miss life's only purpose.
When he has no lust, no hatred,
A man walks safely among the things of lust and hatred.
To obey the Atman
Is his peaceful joy:
Sorrow melts
Into that clear peace:
His quiet mind
Is soon established in peace.
The un controlled mind
Does not guess that the Atman is present:
How can it meditate?
Without meditation, where is peace?
Without peace, where is happiness?
The wind turns a ship
From its course upon the waters:
The wandering wind of the senses
Cast man's mind adrift
And turn his better judgement from its course.
When a man can still the senses
I call him illumined.
The recollected mind is awake
In the knowledge of the Atman
Which is dark night to the ignorant:
The ignorant are awake in their sense-life
Which they think is daylight:
To the seer it is darkness.
Water flows continually into the ocean
But the ocean is never disturbed:
Desire flows into the mind of the seer
But he is never disturbed.
The seer knows peace:
The man who stirs up his own lusts
Can never know peace.
He knows peace who has forgotten desire.
He lives without craving:
Free from ego, free from pride.
This is the state of enlightenment in Brahman:
A man does not fall back from it
Into delusion.
Even at the moment of death
He is alive in that enlightenment:
Brahman and he are one.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 28th, 2010, 06:17 AM
~3~
Karma Yoga

Arjuna:

BUT, KRISHNA, if you consider knowledge of Brahman superior to any sort of action, why are you telling me to do these terrible deeds?
Your statements seem to contradict each other. They confuse my mind. Tell me one definite way of reaching the highest good.


SRI KRISHNA:

I have already told you that, in this world, aspirants may find enlightenment by two different paths. For the contemplative is the path of knowledge: for the active is the path of selfless action.
Freedom from activity is never achieved by abstaining from action. Nobody can become perfect by merely ceasing to act. In fact, nobody can ever rest from his activity even for a moment. All are helplessly forced to act by the gunas.
A man who renounces certain physical actions but still lets his mind dwell on the objects of his sensual desire, is deceiving himself. He can only be called a hypocrite. The truly admirable man controls his senses by the power of his will. All his actions are disinterested. All are directed upon the path to union with Brahman.
Activity is better than inertia. Act, but with self-control. If you are lazy, you cannot even sustain your own body.
The world is imprisoned in its own activity, except when actions are performed as worship of God. Therefore you must perform every action sacramentally, and be free from all attachment to results.

In the beginning
The Lord of beings
Created all men,
To each his duty,
"Do this," He said,
"And you shall prosper.
Duty well done
Fulfils desire
Like Kamadhenu
The wish-fulfiller."
"Doing of duty
Honours the devas:
To you the devas
In turn will be gracious:
Each honouring other,
Man reaches the Highest.
Please the devas:
Your prayer will be granted."
But he who enjoys the devas' bounty
Showing no thanks,
He thieves from the devas.
Pious men eat
What the gods leave over
After the offering:
Thus they are sinless.
But those ungodly
Cooking good food
For the greed of their stomachs
Sin as they eat it.
Food quickens the life-sperm:
Food grows from the rainfall
Called down out of heaven
By sacrifice offered:
Sacrifice speaks
Through the act of the ritual.
This is the ritual
Taught by the sacred
Scrptures that spring
From the lips of the Changeless:
Know there fore that Brahman
The all-prevading
Is dwelling for ever
Within the ritual.
If a man plays no part
In the acts thus appointed
His living is evil
his joy is in lusting.
Know this, O Prince:
His life is for nothing.

Lion Spirit Walker
January 28th, 2010, 06:20 AM
By due of my avian dinosaurs popular demand... ~3~ KARMA YOGA, will be continued.
[sorry...]

Lion Spirit Walker
January 28th, 2010, 06:57 AM
Until next time...

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/psy_Michael/krishna-Brahman.jpg

planetlove
January 29th, 2010, 04:48 AM
Enlightenment is truly wonderful....
it is so needed in this world.....
Transcendental Meditation has helped me alot with settling of mind ...
MIND = EGO
until we all truly realize this ......and settle this mind ...we will never "fully" be enlightened.....
sai baba says man - ego = god

V is loving this post more and more everytime....
the BG is truly amazing ....