Four kinds of people do worship Me: Those who want something,
those who are unhappy,
those who want to know the truth,
and those who are wise.
Of these four kinds of people, the best are the
wise
because they love Me most.
Wise people love God with all their heart and I love them back very much.
But only a very wise person after many many
lives realizes the truth: God is everything.
Excerpt from The Gita, By Irina Gajjar
The world seems real because I use My divine
Maya
to make it appear.
“Maya” is make-believe. It is magic.
It causes the world and everything in it
to seem solid and permanent.
But the things in the world are always moving and always changing.
That is why they are not real
and they do not last forever.
Only God is forever real.
I am the wetness in water
the light in the moon and the sun;
I am Om in the Vedas.
“Om” is God’s magic word.
I am the manliness in men
and the smell of the earth
and the brightness in fire.
I am life in living things.
I am the seed in all beings.
I am the wisdom in men’s minds.
I am the strength of the strong
and the wish in your heart.
Everyone thinks that the things in the world
are real,
but only I, God, am real and unchanging. Everything else is make believe.
Only people who understand God can
understand this.
Only the wise can understand
that God alone is real.
Bhagvan said:
Arjun, listen now
to how by thinking of Me and loving Me
you will know Me and be sure about Me.
I will help you to understand
and after you know God,
nothing in the world will be a secret.
Of thousands and thousands of people, only a few try to know Me.
And of the few who try,
just a handful of special ones
really understand God completely.
I am made of earth, water, fire, air,
ether, mind, reason, and the self.
These eight things are one side of Me.
The other, higher, side of Me
is what makes the whole world exist
and is called the “life principle.”
Arjun, now you know that everything comes
from Me
and it all will turn back into Me.
And there is nothing in the world but Me. And I am God.
I am the wetness in water
the light in the moon and the sun;
I am Om in the Vedas.
“Om” is God’s magic word.
Violence and destruction is not always harmful. Burning fields to improve their fertility is a good thing. It is different from starting a wildfire that will burn and destroy forests. The Gita speaks of a moral war, explaining that the soul cannot be killed and that the body does not matter at all. The Mahabharata and the Gita illustrate rather than explain what constitutes a moral war. Lord Krishna speaks on the “Battlefield of Sharma.”
The noble hero, Arjun, does not want to slay his enemy. He does not want a kingdom, or victory, or pleasures. He would rather his enemy kill him than kill them. Lord Krishna convinces Arjun to fight, leaving the outcome of the war in God’s hands:
Do not care if your fighting brings pleasure or pain,
Victory or defeat.
Just do your duty.
In this way you will be free.
(Gita 2:38)
These lines make it clear that Ahimsa, or nonviolence, is not strictly a pacificist doctrine. It may not even be a doctrine as much as awareness, a consciousness of what human beings need to do to maintain universal harmony and balance.
Read more from On Hinduism at www.irinagajjar.com. You can purchase the book at Amazon.com.
May the joy, cheer, mirth and merriment of this divine festival surround you forever. May the happiness, that this season brings… Festive occasions fill our lives with a new charm and happiness. May this Diwali prove to the beginning of something great in your life!
Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Pittsburg, those whose lives were senselessly taken by hate, and for the loved ones they leave behind. Now more than ever, we need to remember that love is stronger than hate.
I’d like to take a moment to wish all my followers a happy and healthy new year. Focus on the positive aspects of life and don’t get bogged down by the negativity of others. This is a healthy step we can all strive for in 2018.
I look forward to sharing new blogs and discussing my books with you in the year ahead.
–Irina Gajjar
Ahimsa, or nonviolence, is a Hindu principle that means we should live in harmony with the universe. We should be considerate of all creatures and all natural forces and live in balance with them. We should be compassionate. We should exercise self-control and not go into frenzy to satisfy our desires, treading on the toes of those who stand in our way. We should be at peace within ourselves and with the world. We should not needlessly hurt others in any way. However, we should do what our duty demands.
While Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism all endorse the doctrine of Ashimsa, they consider it differently. Buddhism bans killing along with stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, and intoxication. Jainism opposes all killing categorically. Hindu tenets are not so specific. They go to motive. Hinduism des not oppose killing. Rather, it opposes senseless killing. The distinction is difficult ti put into words. The effects of an act depends on the thoughts that engendered it. The doer of the act must decide whether an act is hurtful or not and whether it is necessary or not. It is the quality of the actor’s nature that determines if her or she makes the right and good decision and that sets karma in motion, for better or for worse. While a wise person performs acts that are in keeping with universal harmony, an anger driven fool is likely to commit acts of unwarranted violence.
Violence and destruction is not always harmful. Burning fields to improve their fertility is a good thing. It is different from starting a wildfire that will burn and destroy forests. The Gita speaks of a moral war, explaining that the soul cannot be killed and that the body does not matter at all. The Mhabharata and the Gita illustrate rather than explain what constitutes a moral war. Lord Krishna speaks on the “Battlefield of Dharma.” The noble hero, Arjun, does not want to slay his enemy. He does not want a kingdom, or victory, or pleasures. He would rather his enemy kill him and kill them. Lord Krishna convinces Arjun to fight, leaving the outcome of the war in God’s hands:
Do not care if your fighting brings pleasure or pain,
Victory or defeat.
Just do your duty.
In this way you will be free.
(Gita 2:38)
Read more from On Hinduism by Irina Gajjar
Wishing my readers a happy and healthy 2017!
