About The Author
Rajiv Sachdev, an Electronics and Communication Engineer, is currently working as Vice-President in an IT MNC. He has also pursued an Executive Leadership course from the Cornell University. Widely travelled across the world, he has held various portfolios in India as well as abroad. His favourite book is the Bhagavad Gita which he has read a few hundred times over the last thirty years. He finds deep hidden messages in the holy scripture addressed to all the mankind for leading a righteous life. Neeraj Gupta, a commerce graduate and an MBA is currently working as General Manager in an IT MNC. He has also completed Cyber Security course from Indian Law Institute, along with several other IT certifications. He has immense domestic and international experience across diverse industries. His extensive travel across the globe has fortified his belief in the values of Austerity, Mercy, Truthfulness and Purity, which he strongly feels are keys to a successful career and a prosperous life.
Foreword
The Bhagavad Gita, along with the Bible and the Quran, is one of the three most widely circulated spiritual texts in the world. Although the supreme shastras of Hinduism are the Upanishads, over the centuries the Gita has become the most popular Hindu text as also a widely read book for all those interested in spiritualism, religion and the interfaith movement. Along with the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras, the Bhagavad Gita is one of the three foundations of the Vedanta, and all great philosophers and thinkers from Adi Shankaracharya down to Sri Aurobindo, have written commentaries on these three texts to substantiate their particular point of view. It is for that reason that we have a large number of commentaries on Gita written from different philosophical viewpoints. Adi Shankaracharya in one of his stotras says that even a little knowledge of the Gita can free us from the fear of death, and the Gita itself says - swalpmapyasya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat-- Even a little of this dharma saves from a great fear. Fearlessness, therefore, seems to be a keynote of the Gita and in fact, the last words of Sri Krishna are-ma shuchah- fear not. The popularity of the Gita can be traced to four unique factors. The first is that the Gita is a scripture of conflict. Unlike the Upanishads, which are spoken in a very calm and serene atmosphere with the Guru seated and one or more disciples seated around him on the banks of a river or on a mountain-side, the Gita setting is in the midst of a fratricidal are arrayed, conches have sounded and the battle is just about to begin when the Gita is revealed. Today we find ourselves in a conflictual situation. Despite great progress, humanity is still in the throes of multiple battles, and therefore Krishna's exhortation to Arjuna to arise and fight resonates within all of us. However, we must remember that the fight is not simply for Arjuna's ego, or even for the victory of the Pandavas. The challenge is to become a warrior for the divine cause, a fighter for the divine destiny. This call to arms is therefore something which appeals to all of us. The second unique feature of the Gita is the extraordinary personality of Sri Krishna. The Upanishads contain many great gurus and disciples, but in the Gita it is Lord Krishna himself who is speaking and hence his words have a special authority. In the course of the Gita, Sri Krishna makes it clear that it is not simply as an individual that he is speaking but as representative of the divine power itself, hence the teachings of the Gita make a special impact on our minds. The third reason for the Gita's popularity revolves around the extremely close and holistic relationship between Krishna and Arjuna. In a beautiful verse after Arjuna gets the vishwaroop darshan, the all embracing vision of the Divine, Arjuna says "I prostrate before you and demand grace from you, as a father to a son, and as a friend to a dear comrade and as a lover to the beloved." Although the Guru-Shishya relationship is central to the entire Hindu teaching, no where it is more integral than between Krishna and Arjuna. Krishna's voice is not simply emanating from a seventh heaven to a trembling disciple below, but rather a dialogue suffused with love, compassion and understanding. This factor makes a special impact upon us today, besieged as we are by inner and outer conflicts and tension.
About The Book
Secrets of Living in based on the teachings of widely read books in the world in toatay' buty life, we hardly get any time to deeper the ansf purpose of like. We tend to take certain things and such as our status wealth, educational achievements, etc. and that they will be given to us in our rot birth But scmptures do not endorse this view. All our possessions, or the lack of them, are the result of our karma in the previous berth, We rewrite our desting everyday for our future births. Hence, we should decide our actions in accordance with the teachings of the scriptures and not allow our materialistic aspirations to distort our understanding and conduct in this world. Also one should not wait till the old age to start reading the scriptures. The right age to read scriptures is as early as one gets the consciousness so as to minimize the loss of deep, illuminating thoughts which an insightful reading of the Bhagavad Gita entails and hence, engage in righteous actions. The divine wisdom of Lord Krishna, encapsulated in the Bhagavad Gita, is addressed to each and every individual to help solve perplexing problems and progress towards a brighter future."
Vedas (1182)
Upanishads (493)
Puranas (624)
Ramayana (741)
Mahabharata (354)
Dharmasastras (165)
Goddess (496)
Bhakti (242)
Saints (1503)
Gods (1290)
Shiva (370)
Journal (187)
Fiction (60)
Vedanta (362)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist