bhagavad geeta is one of the most important religious book of hindus. although thousands of religious books and commentaries are there in hinduism. but none surpass the reverence which is given to bhagavad geeta.
its because lord krishna has spoken on many paths like bhakti yoga (path of devotion), karma yoga (path of performing your duties in a righteous and detached way), gyana yoga (path of knowledge) and so on. so the seeker can focus on the teaching from bhagavad geeta which suits him and can make quick progress on the path.
bhagavad geeta is a heart to heart conversation between two friends in the middle of a battle field. but during this intimate talk, they have taken the role of a guru and disciple. the guru is lord krishna who is incarnation of lord vishnu and disciple is his dearest friend arjuna who needs guidance in the middle of war which is going to be fought between brothers, friends and guru-disciples. its a very touching, grave and serious moment. on one side there is dharma which needs to be protected and on other side stands your loved ones, family members, friends, guru and elders who needs to be slayed to protect the dharma. now arjuna is totally confused and heart broken. he does not want the kingdom which comes by protecting the dharma and by killing the loved ones.
so warrior prince arjuna is dejected and is in great dilemma. he is seriously thinking of quitting the battle. but lord krishna reminds him of his duty as a warrior and also uplifts his consciousness with his spiritual discourse in the form of bhagavad gita.
for thousands of years, this spiritual talk has helped millions of seekers. whoever reads bhagavad gita with devotion will find purpose of his life and solution to his problem. millions of seekers have been benefited by this holy book.
15 teachings from bhagavad gita:
1. the soul cannot be cut, burned, drenched or dried because it is everlasting, present every where, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
2. one who always remember god without thinking anything else can easily realize the god.
3. whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever austerities you perform – do that as an offering to me (krishna or god).
4. one who can withdraw the senses from the sense objects like the tortoise withdrawing its limbs into its shell is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.
5. when the mind contemplates on sense objects, it develops attachment towards them. from attachment arises desire and from desire anger arises.
6. if senses are under restraint then steady intelligence prevails.
7. whenever the restless and fickle mind wanders, one must withdraw it and fix it back to self (or to god).
8. one who sees me (supreme soul) everywhere and all souls as existing in me, is never parted from me and i am never separated from him.
9. the person who is desireless, free of ego and does not crave for possessions attains supreme peace.
10. perform all your duties without getting attached to the fruits of the activities. performing duties without getting attached, one can attain to supreme (consciousness).
11. if you become conscious of me (fixing your mind on krishna), you will be able to overcome all obstacles (of life) by my grace. but if you act through false ego and refuse to listen to me, you will surely be lost (or fail).
12. always think of me, become my devotee, worship me and prostrate before me. i promise you that you will indeed come to me, for you are dear to me.
13. by worshiping the lord (god) who is source of all beings and who is every where, one can attain to perfection (self realization) through the performance of one’s own duty. (meaning – do your everyday work but keep on remembering god side by side)
14. even if you are most sinful of all sinners, you would be able to cross the sea of evil and miseries, while (traveling) in the boat of transcendental wisdom (knowledge).
15. whenever there is decline of religious qualities (righteousness or dharma) and upsurge of irreligious acts (adharma or unrighteousness), at that time i descend myself.
references:
1. srimad bhagavad gita by Vanamali
2. bhagavad gita as it is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada