Today is Gita Jayanti, 2nd December, 2014 (Tuesday) In 1996 or 1997, on Chinmaya Jayanti, I/we, a small group had chanted the whole “Bhagavadgitā Pārāyanam”, in Muscat in the Shiva temple. We were foolish enough to finish the whole 18 chapters in one go, that took more than 3 hrs. After that, I just could not get up, thought I will never be able to get (and this was 18 years ago, I wasn’t so old or prosperous then in weight). So, next year in 1998, we did the Pārāyanam in the Krshna temple (Yes, we have two Hindu Temples in Muscat. His Majesty is aware of it) in 3 parts, with a small tea-break in between to stretch ourselves. Next complete Pārāyanam was in 2001 in Anaikatti Gurukulam led by the two sisters. In 2007, I had the whole Bhagavadgitā chanting recorded. In 2011, we uploaded in the You Tube. After that, I have been doing complete Pārāyanam on almost every Janmāshtami. In between, I have taught the chants to a few of my close students with individual attention. One of our Ācāryā said, studying Upanishads is fine, but sticking to the study of Upanishsds alone can make a person top-heavy (in the brain). Being in touch with the “Bhagavadgitā” keeps one grounded, since there are topics that are not handled in the Uapnishads, say - Karmayoga (Ch-3), Values and attitudes (Ch.-12 and 13), the three gunas (Ch. -14), what is divine what is not (Ch-16), 3 types of Sraddhā (Ch-17) summing up (Ch-18). These are besides the Self-knowledge and equation between Brahman-Ātmā that is there in all the Upanishads. The “Bhagavadgitā Home Study” takes a complete 3 years to study by oneself. (It takes that long when Pujya Swāmiji unfold everyday, one class. And again someone told me, that in one study a bright person can retain only 1/3 = 33.33% (of whatever one studies). So effectively, it takes three readings (studying) of the Bhagavadgitā to have it under one’s grip. And being familiar with the ‘slokas’ helps immensely. It is like having a mental black-board while teaching the text. So, I have completed chanting 6 chapters only, I must finish the rest in 2 more sittings during the day. https://youtube/watch?v=kPR4Qh6QjP4&list=UUvaXayHfKs8kM-mjzS8J8ew
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:22:13 +0000
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