Last month, I attended the Gita Forum in Singapore and it was so enlightening. Swamini Supriyananda ji of Chinmaya Mission, Hong Kong explained beautifully how we can practice Gita in our daily lives. Below are some of the points I had jotted down:
Uplift yourself; we are our best friend as well as our worst enemy.
Our mind is the most powerful thing on this planet. It controls our lives all the time. So use your mind to lift yourself, to be a friend to yourself. Don't waste it by putting yourself down.
All of us have split personality-- we are at our best during the day, but worst in dreams.
We "wait" for life to happen, to be happy, and in this wait, life gets wasted.
We have to "create" our life; act rather than react, which means create 'love' around us.
Don't just sit there, waiting for love, happiness or blessings to come to us. Get up and create the world you want to live in.
Humility is not bowing down to someone; it simply means that 'I am not better than you', and 'I am not worse than you'.
When we bow down to God, or some elder, it is to lift ourselves. Their gesture of blessing or raising you up indicates that you are being lifted up.
How to do things differently?
Swaminiji gave 3 step process for this:
(1) Understand why you need to do that thing differently. Is your way of doing or behaving hurting you or others? What are the benefits of doing it some other way?
(2) Have willpower to start the project, work or the intended activity, without any excuses.
(3) Practice that work or activity till you start enjoying it. Practice, and practice again, to leave the old habit; then only new habit will form. It takes a lot of work, effort and strong desire to change our habits or way of doing things.
How to tap the divinity within us?
When we quieten our mind, hush chatter of our mind, let go of all the desires that drive us, then only we can stay in the present moment. When our layers of different personalities are 'shut down', either by meditation or mindfulness, then we connect with divinity within us.
The best way to inspire others is to bring change in ourselves.
Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
Uplift yourself; we are our best friend as well as our worst enemy.
Our mind is the most powerful thing on this planet. It controls our lives all the time. So use your mind to lift yourself, to be a friend to yourself. Don't waste it by putting yourself down.
All of us have split personality-- we are at our best during the day, but worst in dreams.
We "wait" for life to happen, to be happy, and in this wait, life gets wasted.
We have to "create" our life; act rather than react, which means create 'love' around us.
Don't just sit there, waiting for love, happiness or blessings to come to us. Get up and create the world you want to live in.
Humility is not bowing down to someone; it simply means that 'I am not better than you', and 'I am not worse than you'.
When we bow down to God, or some elder, it is to lift ourselves. Their gesture of blessing or raising you up indicates that you are being lifted up.
How to do things differently?
Swaminiji gave 3 step process for this:
(1) Understand why you need to do that thing differently. Is your way of doing or behaving hurting you or others? What are the benefits of doing it some other way?
(2) Have willpower to start the project, work or the intended activity, without any excuses.
(3) Practice that work or activity till you start enjoying it. Practice, and practice again, to leave the old habit; then only new habit will form. It takes a lot of work, effort and strong desire to change our habits or way of doing things.
How to tap the divinity within us?
When we quieten our mind, hush chatter of our mind, let go of all the desires that drive us, then only we can stay in the present moment. When our layers of different personalities are 'shut down', either by meditation or mindfulness, then we connect with divinity within us.
The best way to inspire others is to bring change in ourselves.
Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
