GITA FOR CHILDREN - PART 10
Continued from the previous issue….

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CHAPTER 5

17. A puzzled Arjuna asks, ‘I don’t quite understand what You are saying. Please can You come again?’

18. With His eternal smile, Krishna replies, ‘Of course. You see Arjuna, the Yogi’s body and Mind function just like yours. But there the similarity stops. His body would always perform sacred actions. His Mind is always full of Pure thoughts.’

19. Arjuna asks, ‘How does that happen?”

20. Krishna replies, ‘Suppose there is a well. If you throw a pebble into the water, ripples are generated which then travel to the edge of the well. The Yogi’s Heart is the well, absolutely Pure of course. If the pebble of good thought is thrown into this well, it generates ripples. When the ripples reach the edge that is the body, it results in good action.’

21. ‘Arjuna, for the Yogi the Atma is in the driving seat. He as the Atma commands the Mind. The Mind then gives appropriate orders to the body and the senses; the net result is that there is perfect harmony between feelings, thought, word and deed. This really is what the so-called human values are all about.’

22. ‘If you ask the Yogi as to who is acting, he would simply say, “I don’t act; I am the Atma, and the Atma is just a Witness; it is the Mind and the body that act. As for me, I am not the body or the Mind.” Notice he does not even use words like my body, my Mind, etc.’

23. ‘The Yogi is speaking the Truth, though his way of talking might appear strange to ordinary mortals like yourself. I shall come back to this point later maybe but for the moment let Me stay with what I was telling you a short while ago.’

24. ‘The Yogi is not like a hibernating bear, absolutely still all the time. He may shun the pleasures of the worlds, he may be above desires, he may not want food, he may not experience hunger and thirst the way normal people do. In all such respects, the Yogi clearly belongs to a different species, if I might say so.’

25. ‘Yet, such people do act in their own special way. They gather disciples around them and groom them carefully and patiently. Why? Because humanity always needs noble souls, and Yogis often take upon themselves the task of grooming such people. This is the service that they render to Society.’

26. ‘You might ask, “OK, one Yogi produces ten others but of what use are they to society? They keep to themselves and apart from Society. They may be wise but where is the action?” I shall answer that.’

27. ‘True the Yogis stay with their students but they keep wandering and in their travels, they pass through many villages. Every time the party enters a village, the residents welcome them, extend hospitality to them and listen to discourses delivered by these Wise men. In this way, even Yogis serve society.’

28. ‘Arjuna, you must have heard the advice: Avoid Bad Company and Always seek Good Company. The wandering Yogis provide the good company that people need. These Yogis come as a breath of fresh air, sanctify the places they visit and reinforce the faith that simple people have in God.’

29. ‘In short, if the Karma Yogi journeys from Action to Wisdom the Sankhya Yogi goes from Wisdom to Action.’

30. ‘Suppose you want to make syrup. There are two ways of doing it. You could take a tumbler of water, add sugar and then stir. Alternately, you could first put sugar in the tumbler, next add water and stir. Either way the end product is the same. In a like manner, the two paths that I referred to earlier are completely identical as far as the final goal is concerned.’

31. ‘Having said that, I should also point out that for you especially and indeed for 99.99999 % of humanity, the Path of Action is much easier to follow. It is a lot easier to go through life working for God rather than telling yourself all the time, “I am God, I am God….”!

32. Arjuna asks, ‘ Krishna , if it is so difficult, then how come the Wise man is able to say “I am God,” and get away with it?’

33. Krishna replies, ‘You must get one thing clear. The Wise man does not go about proclaiming to the world that he is God. Instead, he constantly reminds himself: “I am God in the essence. Therefore, I must do nothing that is contrary to my native Divinity. I must see only what is good, hear only what is good, speak only what is good and think only what is good! Further, I must see God in everything all the time”.’

34. ‘This is how the Wise man spends his life. He is immersed in Constant Integrated Awareness. In simple terms it means seeing God everywhere, in everything, all the time! In the process, he also sees the same God within himself, naturally,’

To be continued…

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