Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God - Chapter-2.10: Swami Mukundananda.

Chinmaya Mission:

"As a part of the ongoing Sewa projects at Chinmaya Vrindavan in Cranbury, 50 bags of food were packed and given as donations to the HomeFront organization for their Thanksgiving food drive. Kids from Grade 8 Bala Vihar eagerly joined in the activity with enthusiasm. They happily participated in putting together the food bags, contributing to the community and helping those in need. It was a heartwarming effort by the young volunteers to make a positive impact during the Thanksgiving season, spreading joy and support to others through their involvement in this charitable project."

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Wednesday, 29 Nov 2023. 07:00.

Chapter 2: Sankhya Yogam

The Yogam of Analytical Knowledge

Slogam-10.

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Slogam - 10.

"Tam-uvacha hrishikeshah prahasanniva bharata

senayorubhayor-madhye vishidantam-idam vachah."

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tam—to him; 

uvacha—said; 

hrishikeahah—Shree Krishna, Master of mind and senses; 

prahasan—smilingly; 

iva—as if; 

bharata—Dhritarashtra, descendant of Bharat; 

senayoh—of the armies; 

ubhayoh—of both; 

madhye—in the midst of; 

vishidantam—to the grief-stricken; 

idam—this; 

vachah—words.

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Translation:

BG 2.10: 

"O Dhritarashtra, thereafter, in the midst of both the armies, Shree Krishna smilingly spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.

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Commentary:

In sharp contrast to Arjun’s words of lamentation, Shree Krishna smiled, displaying that the situation was not making him despair; rather he was perfectly happy with it. Such is the equanimous attitude exhibited by someone with knowledge in all situations.

With our incomplete understanding, we find faults with the situations we are in—we complain and grumble about them, wish to run away from them, and hold them responsible for our misery. But the enlightened souls inform us that the world created by God is perfect in every way, and both good and bad situations come to us for a divine purpose. They are all arranged for our spiritual evolution, to push us upward in our journey toward perfection. Those who understand this secret are never disturbed in difficult circumstances, facing them with serenity and tranquility.

“The snowflakes fall slowly to the ground, each flake in its proper place” is a famous Taoist expression. It beautifully expresses the inherent perfection in the design of the world and the macro events taking place in it, even though we are not able to perceive it from our material perspective.

The Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad explains why earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, floods, and typhoons are created in the world by God, as a part of the grand scheme of things. It states that God deliberately creates difficult situations to prevent people from slowing down in their journey of spiritual progress. When people become complacent, a natural calamity comes along, forcing the souls to strain their abilities to cope with it, which ensures their progress. However, it must be noted that the progress being talked about here is not the external increase of material luxuries, but the internal unfoldment of the glorious divinity of the soul over a continuum of lifetime.

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To be continued

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