Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame. ..................................

Monday, March 16, 2009

Why should we read Gita ?

Why do we read Geetha, even if we can't understand a word in Sanskrit???

An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains, with his young grandson.
Each morning, the grandpa was up early, sitting at the kitchen table, reading his
Bhagavadh Geetha. His grandson wanted to be just like his grandpa and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavadh Geetha just like you but I don't understand it, and whatever I understand I forget it as soon as I close the book.
What good does reading the Bhagavadh Geetha do?"

The Grandpa quietly turned from adding coal to the hearth and replied,
"Ok I'll answer you. Can you please take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he returned.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You have to move a little faster, next time,".

This time, the boy ran faster. But again the basket was empty before he returned.
Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "No child, I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"You think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket looked different.
It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket to a clean one, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavadh Geetha.
You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be cleansed, inside and out.
That is the power of the message of Lord KriShNa, versified by Lord Vyasa (KriShNa himself)".

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yes, I listened to the 'GITA' at the feet of Swami Chinmaynand & felt as cleansed! At Siddhbari in the Himachal , near Dalhousie! Being a solitary traveller helps in discovering oneself! Good going for you!