Mind Management Text of all Times : Srimad Bhagavad Gita - Swami Udit Chaithanya

Saturday, September 05, 2020. 07:15. AM.

The disastrous war, Mahabharata ensues where we see the two forces finally facing each other on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Out of the four political methodologies prescribed by the scriptures, Sama, Dhana, Bheda, and Danda, the fourth one i.e., Danda is the last resort. This is typical of people who perform impulsive actions under the influence of their emotional mind rather than their rational mind.

The inevitable consequence of war is total destruction. Overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions, blinded by rage, Man commits acts of violence. A world free of hunger, violence and fear can only be realized with the cumulative efforts of each and every one of us – a world envisioned by the ancient Rishis of India, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”

In the Mahabharata epic, Duryodhana refuses to agree for any sort of compromise with the Pandavas.  His refusal to give up his greed alone results in the tragic war. This indeed is an invaluable lesson for all of us.

Moreover, Dhritharashtra had miscalculated that Pandavas would never take up weapons against the great grandsire Bheeshma or their Guru Dronacharya. When Bheeshma succumbs to the arrows of Arjuna, Dhritharashtra is shattered. This is the setting for the holy Gita.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita,  the Divine Song is sung in 700 shlokas, against the backdrop of Kurukshetra.

Before we start with the first sloka of the first chapter, let us keep in mind, the fundamental truth in this world. That is, every mind is unique and independent, yet all minds function in the same way. The psychology of human mind is the same all over the world from time immemorial.

We feel pain when rejected, angry when insulted, happy when appreciated and motivated when inspired. We have attachments and possessiveness towards people and objects. We feel withdrawn with failure and proud with success.

We have fear of the unknown and over confidence in knowledge too.  We have no time for and hence find excuses to stay away, from things that we dislike.

We race for things that we cherish to have and once they are ours, we lose charm in them. We retain memories of past and regret over mistakes. We are anxious about our future. We seldom forget an insult and take revenge as best as possible.

All over the world, an ordinary human mind functions in this way, controlled and driven away by emotions. Obviously, human life becomes a misery because of all these emotional storms that leads man to dilemmas in his every day life. An animal does not have to face such mental conflicts as they do not have any power of discrimination and hence choices.

But humans, with their ‘Vishesha Budhi’ has to discriminate between the right choices and wrong ones and choose the best decision – almost every day in our modern world and society. This makes our minds a ‘war-field’ where the rights and the wrongs compete and fight among themselves. Who, or the thought that, wins in the race makes the decision.

The series of these decisions constitute our life! Wrong or negative thoughts destroy our life and right or positive thoughts construct our life. Thus, the same mind turns out to be our enemy or friend as we use it to be.

So, isn’t it important to take care of this faculty called mind?

Yes, being the foremost mind management text of all times, Geeta shows us the way.

End.
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