Few
days ago, 8thDec was the day of Gita Jayanti,the day of the Advent of Srimad
Bhagavad-Gita i,e the day on which Lord
Sri Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra
war.As per Hindu calender, it was a Shukla Ekadashi, 11th day of the waxing moon
of Margashirsha month.Also known as Gitopanisad, Srimad Bhagavad Gita contains
the essence of Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upanisads in Vedic
literature.The speaker of Bhagavad-Gita is Lord Sri Krishna who is mentioned as
Bhagavan or the Supreme God in every page of Gita and, the same is confirmed by
all the great acharyas (spiritual masters) like Shankaracarya,
Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and many other
authorities of Vedic knowledge.
Thus
about 5000 years ago, on this very day Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to
Arjuna, who accepted him as a spiritual master. Arjuna is confused about his
duty and surrendered to Lord Krishna and requested him to guide him and clarify
his doubts.This is when, Lord Krishna starts speaking to Arjuna.
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| JYOTISAR - The place where Lord Krishna spoke the Gita |
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| JYOTISAR - The place where Lord Krishna spoke the Gita |
The
subject of the Bhagavad-Gita entails the comprehension of 5 basic truths:
Isvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakrti (nature), kala
(eternal time) and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-Gita. Out
of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are
eternal. The manifestation of prakrti may be temporary, but it is not false.
Some philosophers say that the manifestation of material nature is false, but
according to the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita, this is not so. However, the
karma, is not eternal. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our
activities from time immemorial, but we can change the results of our karma, or
our activity, and this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge. We
are engaged in various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of
activities we should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all
these activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-Gita.
Sometimes
People say that Kurukshetra does not exist and that it's a mythological place,
a symbol of the body or Kshetra and the senses. They say it is an allegory to
explain certain truths.But,the fact is that Kurukshetra is a place in Haryana
State of India. It is located at a 2 hour journey from New Delhi by Train and
about by by Bus takes about 3 and haif hours.While travelling by bus there is a
stop called “Pipli” on Kurukshetra by-pass. From there catch an auto-rickshaw
to reach ISKCON Main Bazaar temple (6 km) and then see the holy places with the
assistance from the local devotees, or at a nominal cost one can take the
auto-rickshaw to visit all the important places to be seen in and around
Kurukshetra.There are so many old temples and historic places to see in and
around Kurukshetra that once,one is lucky enough to visit this places, no
longer considers the place Kurukshetra and the historical incidents as a myth.
One can see everything that is mentioned in the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.
One
can visit “JYOTISAR”a place in Kurukshetra which is the Exact Spot where Lord
Sri Krishna spoke Srimad Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna.Today, as a testimony at the
place a huge banyan tree can be seen.During the rule of Moghuls, the tree was
cut down but, the tree again grew back. What is seen today is the tree that came
back to life from the roots of the original tree.There is a board placed on the
tree in which is written “The immortal banyan tree witness of the celestial
song Bhagavad-Gita”. In fact this place is named as the “Gitopadesh sthal -
place where the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken”.Doing the Parikrama or
Circumambulation of the tree is considered as a very auspicious.There are a
number of historic places and old temples including the recent ones like, ISKCON
(International Society for Krishna Consciousness) which has 3 Temples in
Kurukshetra: (1) Sri Krishna-Arjuna Jyotisar Temple which is very next to
“Jyotisar”, the exact spot where Lord Sri Krishna spoke Srimad Bhagavad-Gita.,
(2) Sri Sri Radha-Radha Kant Temple, Main Bazaar (3) A preaching centre in
Kurukshetra.
Everyone
knows, about the famous incident of Grandsire Bhisma lying on a bed of arrows,
asks Arjuna for water to quench his thirst.The problem was and could be
only
percieved by ones dear to him (Pandavas - Arjuna), that only the special water
of river ganges would be able to quench his thirst.Thus,during the course of
discussions between Bhismadeva and Yudhisthira Maharaj,when Bhismadeva asked
for water, and Arjuna shot an arrow on the ground from which emanated the sacred
Ganga
water
which flowed into Bhisma’s mouth like a jet that quenched his thirst. This body
of water is called ‘Ban Ganga’ which means that the Ganga that emanated from
the e shot of a ‘Ban’ (arrow).Today, you can find a lake called Ban Ganga.
Similarly,
you can find other places like,
Karnavadha
- a long trench where the wheels of Karna's chariot were stuck before Arjuna
killed him.
Parasar/Dvaipain:
Parasara Muni, the father of Srila Vyasadeva, had his asrama here, about
twenty-five miles south of the town of Thaneswar. Duryodhana hid in
the
lake here after running away from battle at the end of the Mahabharata war. He
came out of the water when the Pandavas challenged him to fight.
Chakravyuha:
At Chakravyuha, 8kms south of Thaneswar, the general Dronacarya organized his
army in the shape of a discus (cakra). It is also where Abhimanyu, the
son
of Arjuna and Subhadra, was killed.
For
further reading and details please visit the link;
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| Bhagavad Gita - As it is |
There are so many
versions of Bhagavad Gita written by so many authors but, I would like to encourage all my readers to
read this version called “ Bhagavad Gita –
As it is” written by Srila Prabhupad. I remember myself, from childhood
reading so many copies of Bhagavad Gita written by different authors but, they did
not make much difference to my understanding of the subject matter of Gita.
Yes, I would get the dry meaning of the verses and some interpretation and I actually got more confused and wonder
what is it, all about.Then, once I got a copy of Bhagavad Gita As it is by
Srila Prabhupad and just by reading the introduction, I was blown away. I could
get so much information and knowledge just by the initial few pages that, I
then read the whole book like crazy. Everywhere, in the bus, tram, Lunch time,
night etc and completed the book in 7 days. Since then, I keep going back to
the book, reading it again and again and every time, I find that I find
something new
