Gita in 18 Days

 Synopsis Shri Krishna noted his most divine and the utmost secret knowledge that is recited in Gita in this chapter. He describes the three natures (satvik, rajasik, and tamasik) of sacrifice, knowledge, duties, performance, intellect, determination and happiness. He also describes a sankhya yogi and a karma yogi and their lifestyles. He presents the realistic view of caste categories (brahman, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra). Finally, Krishna asks Arjuna, “Have you understood the Gita?” Arjuna replies that his dilemma has ended and he no longer had any doubts in his mind. He is ready to shed his inhibitions and is prepared to fight. His attachments vanish, the dust on the mirror is cleared and Arjuna is ready for the war.

Relevance: Knowledge is your power. With the right knowledge and practice, you can control your senses. Concentrate  within yourself and look inward to attain contentment and happiness. Forget detrimental emotions like anger, shyness, pride, ego, and so on, and remember the god within you. Take the path to excellence and success will follow. Arjuna refused to take part in the war due to his attachments. However, his true nature of a Kshatriya overcame him and he eventually fought as that was his core character. Similarly, we hesitate or do things that are out of our character due to ego or ignorance. Our true happiness is when we find our true ‘nature’ and are in harmony with our true self. Take a leaf out of the Gita every day, for it is the secret of good and truthful living. Krishna is you, and you are Krishna. 

 Synopsis Everything that happens in this universe is because of the following three natures: 1. Satvik nature is the vision of equality and selfless duties.
2. Tamasik nature is ignorance and madness.
3. Rajasik nature is the never-ending desire and greed. Krishna explains the influences of these three natures on us and how our behavior depends on the above characters. He also describes these natures as bonds between the soul and the body. The body and the mind follow the character and act accordingly.

Relevance: Our personality and character are dynamic, and there is no way to tell how we would react to the same situation at two different times. The above three natures define our characters. Our behavior in a particular case depends on the dominance of one of the three (sat, tamo, rajo) personalities then. We should be aware of the prominence of one nature that overtakes the other two. We have to realize that it is nature that is doing the act and not us. If Gita in 18 Days 96 we can control the characters and balance them, we can have better-managed responses to everything 

 Synopsis In this chapter, Krishna answers the questions:
• Who are we?
• Where have we come from?

Relevance: We keep repeating the same cycles birth after birth due to our ignorance and apathy towards understanding ourselves fully. Once we start our journey inwards, we break the cycle of repeated learning. We liberate from the destructive thoughts of greed and desire and raise ourselves to higher vibrations of truth and goodness 

Synopsis In this chapter, Krishna explains how different people react in the same situation. At times, when one needs help, some reach out to help while some keep away. Why do people behave differently?

Relevance: Demonic characteristics like pride, arrogance, greed, and so on are detrimental to us. They are the opposites of the godly attributes of love, compassion, and empathy, which bring humanity together. The more we practice to enhance our godly natures, the closer we will be to other fellow humans in need. To live a peaceful and happy life, one must fight the demons inside and throw them away in the far-off sea. 

 Synopsis Arjuna asks, ‘Who is an excellent devotee? The one devoted to the formless one or the one dedicated to the physical form of god?’ To answer this, Krishna explains different types of devotions in this chapter.

Relevance: It is not essential how and to whom we pray. However, it is necessary to have clarity in our mind and heart about the intention of our devotion. The devotional path should ultimately lead to being kind, compassionate, loving, fearless, lacking anger, and being steadfast in any situation. Every god that you choose loves the one who is compassionate to other fellow beings.

 Synopsis In this chapter, Arjuna desires to see Krishna’s vishwaroop (divine form). Krishna displays his vishwaroopa to Arjuna in this chapter. Arjuna could see the entire universe in Krishna’s form, which ascertains Krishna’s omnipresence. This divine form is the most kept secret that is unknown to anyone until Krishna decides to display it to Arjuna on the battlefield.
Relevance: We have no control over destiny. Whatever has to happen will happen. Krishna demonstrates to Arjuna that, irrespective of whether he fights the war or not, kills his friends and family or not, they all eventually will die and will get immersed into Krishna finally. Arjuna is not the cause of their death. So, we should not think about the cause and effect and keep doing our duties. Arjuna is not able to see Krishna’s divine form with his ordinary mortal eyes. Hence, Krishna provides the divine sight to him to experience his divine form. 

Synopsis In this chapter, Krishna describes the secret of science and knowledge that frees one of karm bondage. 

Relevance: Here ‘Krishna’ means the “supreme divine force.” Our happiness is in the belief that everything happens for a good reason. If we connect the dots, we realize that ultimately whatever decisions that we take or the choices that we make are a part of the divine plan and are for our higher goodness. This encourages us to derive our strength from the divine power and surrender ourselves with the belief that there is power ultimately present to protect us 

Synopsis Arjuna is still not convinced by Krishna’s explanations in the past few chapters that Krishna is the Divine Force behind everything. Arjuna wants to know the exact form of Krishna to whom he can offer his devotion. To answer this, Krishna repeats his philosophy in this chapter. He reiterates that he is omnipresent and found in every being. To be specific, Krishna illustrates few forms so that Arjuna can relate to them. The pinnacle of any form (good or bad) is Krishna.

Relevance: We always are suspicious about our capabilities and, instead of believing in ourselves, we tend to find strengths and answers from the external world. Krishna tells us that it is not necessary to find a form of devotion. You can look inside you; everywhere, you will find the force of life present. It is there to guide and protect you. Krishna is within you, and you are the god himself