BHAGAVAD GITA
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BOOK XVIII, VOLUME X
The Meaning Of Life
Authored by
THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM
बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं शृणु।
प्रोच्यमानमशेषेण पृथक्त्वेन धनञ्जय
॥ १८-२९ ॥
buddherbhedaṁ dhṛteś cai ‘va
guṇatastrividhaṁ śṛṇu
procyamānamaśeṣeṇa
pṛthaktvena dhanañjay
Now hear Me explain, fully
and separately, the threefold
division of intellect and
resolve, based on modes of
material Nature, O
Dhanañjaya.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Each journey must be enjoyed
being in the space of
completion.
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये ।
बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ॥ १८-३०॥
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca
kāryākārye bhayābhaye
bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti
buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
O Arjuna, that intellect is in the mode of goodness which understands the path of work and the path of renunciation, right and wrong action, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Completion is power!
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च ।
अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥ १८-३१ ॥
yayā dharmamadharmaṁ ca
kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca
ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ
sā pārtha rājasī
That intellect is in the mode
of passion that cannot
distinguish between
principles of right conduct
and wrong doing, and right
and wrong action, O Pārtha
(Arjuna).
POWERFUL COGNITION
Completion is the basic need of life.
अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसावृता ।
सर्वार्थान्विपरीतांश्च बुद्धिः सा पार्थ तामसी ॥ १८-३२ ॥
adharmaṁ dharmamiti yā
manyate tamasā 'vṛtā
sarvārthānviparītāṁśca
buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
That intellect is in the mode
of ignorance that accepts
unrighteousness as
righteousness and thinks
everything to be that which
it is not, O Pārtha.
POWERFUL COGNITION
A human being has everything
in him to become the ultimate
reality, the divine reality
HERE KṛṣṇA REFERS TO THE APPROACH KNOWN AS DEFINING THE PURUṢārTHA OR MEANINGS OF LIFE.
Dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa
are the four puruṣārtha. These
can be translated as
righteousness, wealth, desire or
lust and liberation. These are the
four-fold meanings of life. I
prefer not to call them the
purposes of life. There is no
purpose to life. Once we fix a
purpose to life, it becomes a
goalpost and attachments and
expectations result.
Life is a path without a
destination. Once we assume
there is a destination, we hurry.
The future becomes a stress-
inducing factor. Let us say we
travel from New York to
Washington. Once we fix
Washington as our destination,
the next issue is, 'When will we
reach there?' From then on, we
are constantly tormented by,
'When will we reach there?' It is
a different matter that we may
have nothing to do in
Washington once we arrive, and
therefore there is no need to
hurry! In the process we do not
enjoy the journey. The journey
becomes an irritation that we
must cross in order to reach our
destination.
In life, do not fix a destination. Each
journey must be enjoyed being in the
space of completion. The path and the
journey are what life is. Life is
completion. I tell you, have the space
of completion for yourself. That will
attract all the right experiences.
Completion is power! Completion is
Life! Enjoy the people you meet, the
experiences you have and what you
pick up on the way, without being
greedy to acquire more. The journey,
the path, becomes so enjoyable that
whatever destination you reach is the
right destination.
COMPLETION GETS YOU ALL THE BEST THINGS OF LIFE! COMPLETION IS THE BASIC NEED OF LIFE.
People who attach a purpose to life are disturbed. Philosophers who have no other work create false purposes to life. Philosophers exist to confuse people whereas mystics solve problems and provide guidance to awaken intelligence. When we let life lead us, when we let life enrich us, when we take life as it comes, we enjoy every moment. We truly live with completion in the present, like a God. We realize and manifest our potential, possibility and reality! As of now, man is only a possibility. A human being has everything in him to become the ultimate reality, the divine reality.
GOALS:
Helping students
understand the
importance of being in a
space of completion.
Helping students realize
how they can move from
being a possibility to
becoming the divine
reality.
ASSESSMENTS
❖ What do we do when we assume there is a destination? ❖ How can we attract all the right experiences? ❖ What happens to people who attach a purpose to life? ❖ How can we enjoy every moment of life? ❖ How does a God live life? ❖ What happens to us when we live that way?
ART OF THE DAY
ART OF THE DAY:
NOW!
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Paper markers, pencils, eraser, etc.
PROCEDURE:
Ask students to draw their life in the present only. Ask them to draw, represent, write down only what is happening in this moment. Then discuss how living in the present awakens our intelligence and our energy.
INFERENCE Life is a path without a destination. Once we assume there is a destination, we hurry. The future becomes a stress-inducing factor. In the process we do not enjoy the journey. The journey becomes an irritation that we must cross in order to reach our destination. When we let life lead us, when we let life enrich us, when we take life as it comes, we enjoy every moment. We truly live with completion in the present, like a God. We realize and manifest our potential, possibility and reality!
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY
Materials required:
Timewatch paper pencil, eraser
PROCEDURE:
Set a goal. Tell the students that they have 1 minute to go up to each person around them and gather information about their name, their Ishta Devata and when they first connected to Swamiji. Then ask the students to take a few minutes to write down how the experience was like, do they feel enriched by the interaction, do they think the people they spoke to feel enriched, etc.
ACTIViTY OF THE DAY:
IT iS ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY
PROCEDURE:
Now tell students to go up to the same people and to engage in a conversation with them for 1 minute without having any specific goal. Then ask students to write down how they feel after the conversation and to ask people whom they spoke to how they felt during both interactions (which one was more enriching for them and why, etc.). As a group, discuss what happens when we do not fix a destination in life..
ACTIViTY OF THE DAY:
iT iS ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY
iNTERFERENCE
Enjoy the people you meet, the experiences you have and what you pick up on the way, without being greedy to acquire more. The journey, the path, becomes so enjoyable that whatever destination you reach is the right destination. Completion gets you all the best things of life! Completion is the basic need of life.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
(VAAKYARTHA SADHAS) THE DIVINE REALITY
PROCEDURE
Ask students to share whether they have associated a purpose to life, whether it came from them or from what they have heard people around them. Also ask them to discuss how focusing on purpose impacts their ability to live the present moment. Then, ask each student to sit in silence with their eyes closed for 11 minutes and to drop whatever purpose they carry at Swamiji's feet. At the end of the meditation, ask them to write a short essay about:
What the process of dropping purpose felt like. Did it create relief, insecurity, uncertainty, bliss... How they can move from a possibility to become the ultimate reality, the divine reality.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
(VAAKYARTHA SADHAS) THE DiViNE REALiTY
CONCLUSION
Surrender to your own being, to your own consciousness, to your own inner space.
- BHAGAVAD GITA -
BOOK XVIII, VOLUME XI