Gita in Daily Life - 04/11 - Handling Life's Challenges - Talk by Swami Aparajitananda.

Описание: Hari Om !!
Gita in Daily Life - Handling Life's Challenges - Talk by Swami Aparajitananda, Chinmaya Mission Chicago.

There is no human without challenges and problems. But there is an easy way to handle them. In this lecture, Swamiji takes us through easy solutions to handle any simple or complicated problems of life. Lord Krishna throughout Gītā has given this instruction again and again that ‘Come to me and you shall be taken care,’ ‘when I am here why fear,’ ‘my devotee shall never perish.’

Who takes care of devotees?
We as individuals are busy throughout our life just doing two things, yoga (acquiring what I do not have) and kṣhema (preserving what has been acquired). In Verse 9.22 of Gītā, Lord says that this is my responsibility, you just need to surrender to me.
Is Lord partial to His devotees?
Yes! Lord is partial to His devotees. Lord has promised in Verse 9.31 of Gītā that His devotees shall never perish.

Why should I surrender to God?
Swamiji explains this in a persuasive way with following verses from Gītā-
• Verse 7.7. - Whatever you see in this world exists because of me and me alone.
• Verse 9.18 - After listing what He is for all living beings, He empathetically says - I am alone everything! Hence, when we face any problems, we must go to God and God alone.
• Verse 9.17 -He says I am the Father and Mother of this Universe. Whenever a child has any problem, whom should he go to? To parents, as only parents can give the best solution since their love is pure, unconditional, uncontaminated, and non-transactional. In the same way, we as His children must go to Him.
• In vedantic terms one of the names of the Lord is Abhinna-Nimiitta-Upadana-Karana– So approaching him is the only solution.
What has the Lord said in Gītā about how He solves our problems?
In chapter 18, verse 58 and 62, He explains to us how He solves our problems and protects us.

Lord! I am sinner. Will you still protect me?
• In chapter 9, verse 30 and 31, Bhagavān says that even if a rank sinner turns to HIM, consider the person to be a dharmatma. A devotee need not worry about his present state of evolution. Lord just wants us to come to Him, and He shall take care.
So, everywhere, throughout the Bhagavad-Gītā, the call is to ‘surrender unto me, turn to me, bring your problems to me, never forget me.’ It is a very simple solution to all problems; we just need to go to Him.

Are there any examples that Lord has actually protected anyone this way?
Swamiji with the help of a verse from Mukundamala gives us 6 examples of different situations wherein the Lord has kept His promise and protected His devotees. The famous examples from puranas are Prahlada, Vibhishana, Gajendra, Draupadi, Ahalya and Dhruva.
Where is God? How far is God from us? How are we connected to God in this body?
God is nearer than our own life breath. He is the very Self in us. He explains this to us in verse 10.20 and 13.3

Who is a Saṃsāri?
A saṃsāri is one who gives importance to the world (Saṃsāra - all that is not important) and forgets the Lord (the most important thing).

What is the greatest mistake we?
We always try to solve our problem by approaching the world. We have faith in some politician, some wealthy person, some person who has good worldly knowledge and have confidence that they can give solutions to our problem. This is the mistake we do.
In verse 28 of Mukundmala – a devotee king has assured us that the Lord of the universe is ready to give Himself if anyone serves Him.

Why is there suffering in the world when God is compassionate?
God is always ready to help you, but you need to approach Him, right? If a person is drowning, and there is a person who is ready to save the life, but if drowning person is not ready to take the help of his saviour, then can he be saved?

What is the easiest way to remember God?
In Bhāgavatam, Kunti Mata asks Bhagavān to give her only problems, so that from the depth of her heart she can surrender to the Lord each time she faces a problem. It is easiest to surrender to God when we are in problems. We need not ask more problems like Kunti Mata, but we need to take our existing problems (which we have in abundance  )to the Lord.

What is our Gurudakṣiṇā to Guruparamparā?
Nowadays, there are lots of people getting into depression and the suicide rate is also increasing at an alarming rate, all because they are not aware of this option of seeking the Lord when in problem. If they would attend Satsang and gain this precious knowledge, they will surely come out of their problems and lead a more meaningful life.

Hence, our Gurudakṣiṇā to Guruparamparā is not only to learn and practice, but also spread this knowledge and talk about this knowledge for the benefit of all.