Animals live with instincts and very little use of intellect. Humans, on the other hand, have been blessed with a mind, intellect, ego, and memory. Although different people have variable degrees of discrimination for understanding right and wrong, good and bad, moral and immoral, and so forth, these four inner instruments and the faculty of discrimination make human beings worthy of a higher position in God's creation.
We humans have well-developed spines and sophisticated brains with highly developed motor and sensory nerves. With our unique human form we are able to work and evolve in a systematic manner. Human life is full of infinite opportunities for self-development and emancipation.
When discrimination is used in daily life, we become more skillful and efficient. A simple example will elucidate this point. Food is needed for the body, mind, and spiritual progress. Most people eat based on habit, taste, and the palate's preference. Salt, oil, and sugars are not essential constituents of a diet, but most people love to have them. They are good for the palate but bad for physical and mental well-being. They are detrimental to the health of the body and mind.
When we cultivate the ability to discriminate in our food habits, we become extremely cautious. Then we do not merely eat for the palate's enjoyment but for good health. There is a saying, "Ordinary people live to eat, but the intelligent and the wise eat to live." Acharya Shankara said, "Hunger is a disease; treat it with the medicine of food."
If a person does not use rational discrimination, then they are far away from human life. In such a situation, human life becomes worse than animal life.
We should always be good human beings and even divine human beings. Shri Gurudev reminded us to be God in a human being and a human being in God. It is clear and evident that we should always be careful to use every sense organ for evolution and not for sense pleasure. The truth is, that which is pleasurable may not always be good.
Moreover, we should be careful in our thoughts, words, and actions. Our conduct should never be hurtful but always helpful.
We should rise above our demonic nature and our animal qualities.
We should always be wary of our own nature, our habits, and our way of interacting with others. We should always be giving and forgiving. Our scriptures, our saints and sages, and our great teachers remind us to be better human beings. There is a population explosion in the present world; unfortunately, there is also a visible erosion in human values and noble qualities. We are at the crossroads of human civilization. Material development, destruction of nature, erosion of environmental conditions, and a rapid increase in fatal diseases are rampant. It is an alarming call to humanity.
In spite of the transformation in our hearts, lifestyles, and quality of living, discontentment, mental instability, stress, and strain are rapidly increasing. Suicide and human unhappiness are rising. It is time to awaken from the delusive nature of life and rein in our extroverted and exploitive nature. We must be good, kind, compassionate, loving, and caring.
The purpose of this book is to ignite a spiritual attitude in the minds and hearts of its readers. Hopefully, they will strive to become good human beings, which is essential at this present time.
Let the blessings of God and the masters be on the entire creation.
The battle of the Mahabharata ended with the defeat and the death of the Kauravas (the negative demonic power) and the victory of the Pandavas (the positive divine force). It was the greatest war of its time. After this decisive fight an unusual peace and a flood of sadness and sorrow arose, especially in the mind of King Yudhishthira. The war was devastating and filled with the deaths of near and dear ones. Lord Krishna taught Arjuna the Bhagavad Gita just before the battle started. The Lord desired a moment when all the Pandavas including Draupadi would be together to receive practical spiritual instructions.
This assembly was possible on the Kurukshetra battlefield where the Bhagavad Gita had been taught. It became a place for discussing many spiritual, social, and religious topics. However, the instructor was not Lord Krishna; instead, Lord Krishna took the Pandavas to grandsire Bhishma, the son of Mother Ganga and King Shantanu. Bhishma possessed the highest form of firmness and spiritual wisdom; he was resting on a bed of arrows waiting for an auspicious moment for his final exit.
During this unique meeting, he answered many of King Yudhishthira's spiritual, ethical, moral, social, political, and diplomatic questions. The great Bhishma's wise answers were not only appropriate for that time; they are a timeless treasure, eternal instructions for humanity.
These dialogues are found in the Shanti Parva (the Book of Peace) in the Mahabharata, mainly in the discourse of grandsire Bhishma to King Yudhishthira.
The Hamsa Gita.
The Mahabharata is the source of many Gitas, including the Bhagavad Gita, the eternal song of the Divine, delivered to Lord Krishna's friend and beloved disciple Arjuna. The present text is the Hamsa Gita, the conversation between Mahatma Bhishma and King Yudhishthira in the presence of Lord Krishna and many others.
Vedas (1182)
Upanishads (493)
Puranas (624)
Ramayana (741)
Mahabharata (354)
Dharmasastras (165)
Goddess (496)
Bhakti (242)
Saints (1503)
Gods (1290)
Shiva (370)
Journal (187)
Fiction (60)
Vedanta (362)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist