GITA FOR CHILDREN - PART 8
Continued from the previous issue….

---

32. Arjuna asks, "Krishna, can you tell me some more about the Avatar?"

33. Krishna replies, " Yes I can, but right now since time is short let Me just say that in whatever way people adore Me and relate to Me in that very same way I respond. Thus, to a child I am a child, to a woman I am a woman, to a man I am a man; but when I am alone, I am God!"

34. " People wonder: ' Why did God who is Indivisible, create diversity in the Universe?' Well, that is for the purpose of staging My Cosmic Drama. You would have noticed, Arjuna, that people are very different in their aptitudes and attitudes. Some like to paint, some like to sing, some are interested in sports, some hunger for power, some are mad about business, and so on. All this diversity is needed for making My Drama spicy! Thus it is that there are good guys as well as bad guys!"

35. " Talking about My Drama, let Me now add a couple of more remarks about when I make My appearance. You see, people normally tend to forget God, especially when there are plenty of worldly attractions. But if the Avatar happens to be around, His Divine Attraction draws millions to Him like a magnet, and this way many many people start thinking about God, at least part of the time."

36. " They come to Him with all kinds of doubts to start with, but once they see Him, they are straightaway captivated. And when He talks to them, they are instantly charmed and begin to transform. In short, the Avatar initiates God-consciousness on a large scale, which in subsequent years grows substantially.

37. " The Avatar also provides many opportunities to devotees to redeem their lives by serving Him in many ways. He gives “tasks” to many and people plunge into these tasks in order to please God in human form. Actually, God does want any of these things; but He pretends that He wants this or that done, so that people could sanctify their lives."

38. " Just to give an example, in My earlier Avatar as Rama, there was a need to build a bridge across the ocean. I could have easily created such a bridge with a mere wave of My hand. But I did not. Why? Because I wanted to give the vanaras or monkeys accompanying Me a chance to do service. In fact, you might remember that even a small squirrel came forward to help in this mighty project. What contribution can a mere squirrel make? But God does not evaluate in terms of quantity; He cares only for the spirit in which service is done, and thus it is that the squirrel became eternally famous by winning the Grace of God. Remember! One teaspoon of cow" s milk is far preferable to a barrel of donkey" s milk!"

39. " All this sort of thing happens while the Avatar is around. But after the Avatar withdraws and as the years pass by, man begins to forget again, and one more trip down becomes necessary for Me!"

40. " Arjuna, being close to the Avatar confers one priceless advantage. Proximity helps one to watch closely the Avatar in action and learn innumerable lessons from Him. This is because the Avatar's life is always His Message. As has been said, "Living with God is true education!"

41. " Let Me now revert to the business of action and inaction. Normally, these words are used in a purely worldly sense but that is not correct."

42. " Let us say there is a hyperactive businessman. He might be very busy all the time, chasing money of course. However, a Wise man will not see all this as action; rather, he would describe it as inaction! Why? Because for the Wise that alone is action, which is performed in a selfless manner and as an offering to God."

43. " Perhaps this would make clear to you that though Yogis might seem very passive and “inactive” they actually are very active in a spiritual sense. Let Me explain with an illustration."

44. " Let us say there is a Yogi who is deep in meditation. You would think this man is utterly inactive and frozen, giving a good imitation of a statue! Not correct!! You see, even while meditating, this Yogi spreads sacred vibrations all around him. People get drawn to the Yogi on account of his goodness, and when they are in his proximity, they experience badly-needed calm and inner peace, at least for some time. The Yogi is hardly conscious that he doing this; yet what he is doing is valuable service and therefore counts as action in the spiritual sense, valuable action in fact. Tell Me, how many are there who can render the important service of making people experience calm and peace?"

45. " The two important points you must note regarding actions are: firstly, they must be totally free from ego, and secondly they must be done with Love. In fact, as the saying goes, true Karma is Prema made visible! If action is performed in this spirit, then automatically there is no thought of reward; it is this sacrifice of the desire for the fruit of action or Karmaphala Tyagam as it is called, that would ensure eternal escape from rebirth."

46. " Over the ages, people have devised various methods of making offerings. Some build a sacred fire and offer material objects to that fire. This is OK for a start, but what is preferable is to sacrifice or offer or give up, call it what you will, one’s undesirable traits, like bad desires, for example. Make this offering in the Fire of Knowledge."

47. " Knowledge or Wisdom is the greatest and most purifying fire that one can think of. Physical fire can burn only material objects whereas the Fire of Knowledge can burn even such subtle entities as bad qualities."

48. " There is nothing greater than Absolute Knowledge for that alone gives a glimpse of the Oneness that is God. It is Knowledge alone that will generate Constant Integrated Awareness or the capacity to see God everywhere, in everything, all the time."

49. " Once you are able to see God everywhere, even the traditional ritual involving offerings to the fire would manifest as a part of the Cosmic Loop. That is to say, you would realise that the one who is making the offering is God, the object offered is God, the fire to which the object is offered is God, and the ultimate receiver is also God. In short, everything is by God, for God and of God! That is the awareness that true Knowledge would bring to you."

50. " Arjuna, without Knowledge, you would be reduced to a bundle of doubts. Therefore, seizing the Sword of Wisdom, slay ignorance, before you embark on battle."

To be continued…

---