यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र ( Bhagavad Gita - 6.30) - Change The Way You Look At Things and....

Verse 6.30 is just beautiful. 

"yo māṁ paśhyati sarvatra sarvaṁ cha mayi paśhyati" 

Lord Krishna says that when someone looks at all other beings with an awareness of the presence of Cosmic Consciousness in everyone, he is always looking at GOD. 

In turn, GOD who is present in all is also looking at that person. GOD is with such a person always! In this way, both don't forget each other. 

"tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśhyāmi sa cha me na praṇaśhyati"

This means if you see GOD in everyone and GOD in everyone sees you always. I got immense insight and joy reading this verse and listening to our Gita Guru, Shivaswamiji explaining this.

This verse I tried to interpret is below.

Though it was told to us many times, in many ways from childhood, the joy this verse gives is class apart.

ಅನ್ನವನು ಇಕ್ಕುವುದು ನನ್ನಿಯನು ನುಡಿಯುವುದು 

ತನ್ನ೦ತೆ ಪರರ  ಬಗೆದೊಡೆ

ಕೈಲಾಸ  ಬಿನ್ನಾಣವಕ್ಕು ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞ 

Sarvagna vachanas said that if you see yourself in all, then surely you will reach Kailasa.

With the new understanding of 6.30- I interpret the vachana as if you treat everyone same as the GOD in You, then the GOD in others will treat you well- with that the life becomes ao enjoyable like living in Kailasa. 

I recalled that at the Convent school where I studied, there were quotes from Bible  -  "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself".  This again points to a similar concept.

I am a huge fan of Wayne Dyer and influenced by his speeches and books. He has said that  

“Change The Way You Look At Things And The Things You Look At Change".

I see a lot of things are said and a lot is hidden in this quote which relates back to "yo māṁ paśhyati sarvatra sarvaṁ cha mayi paśhyati" 

Do let me know what you feel...

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं (Bhagavad Gita - 6.5) - I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |

आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || 6-5||

ಉದ್ಧರೇದಾತ್ಮನಾತ್ಮಾನಂ ನಾತ್ಮಾನಮವಸಾದಯೇತ್ ।

ಆತ್ಮೈವ ಹ್ಯಾತ್ಮನೋ ಬಂಧುರಾತ್ಮೈವ ರಿಪುರಾತ್ಮನಃ || 6-5|

In this verse, Lord Krishna is clearly telling us to be the driver of our life and destiny. He tells that one has to work towards the upliftment of oneself and never let it down. since No one else but himself is the greatest Friend and the worst Enemy.

My Gita Guruji reiterated it by saying that " ನಮ್ಮ ಉದ್ದಾರ ನಾವೇ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು", that is you only are responsible for your upliftment and no one else. 

It is a Command from Lord himself. So we can't blame anyone for our situation. It is our own absolute responsibility.

After I heard this , I was contemplating on this verse and recalled lines from the poem, Invictus by William Ernest Henley  " I am the master of my fate,  I am the captain of my soul". 

My daughter MM read it to me a couple of days back. She has written a beautiful post on this here:

Invictus- William Ernest Henley

Being in Present - गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिता (Bhagavad Gita - 2.11)

This is one of the powerful verses in Gita.Here Srikrishna is telling us neither to live in the Past nor in the Future but to be in the Present.

It also says, only wise men don't dwell in the Past or worry for future. So whenever we drift away to past or future, the question to ask is Am I a Wise person or not!

As Indians, we bask in the glory of ancient India and all that we had and did 2000 years ago. But as Lord Krishna says here, we need to go on doing our duty and make today's India Great and not just talk about the past!

अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे |

गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिता: || 11||

aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase

gatāsūn-agatāsūnśh-cha nānuśhochanti paṇḍitāḥ|| 11||

ಅಶೋಚ್ಯಾನನ್ವಶೋಚಸ್ತ್ವಂ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞಾವಾದಾಂಶ್ಚ ಭಾಷಸೇ |

ಗತಾಸೂನಗತಾಸೂಂಶ್ಚ ನಾನುಶೋಚಂತಿ ಪಂಡಿತಾಃ ॥೧೧॥

Guiding Lines - Mankutimmana Kagga

I derive inspiration from DVG's Mankutimmana Kagga. One of the Kagga which stands out for me is 

ಇಳೆಯಿಂದ ಮೊಳಕೆಯೊಗವಂದು ತಮಟೆಗಳಿಲ್ಲ ।

ಫಲ ಮಾಗುವಂದು ತುತ್ತೂರಿ ದನಿಯಿಲ್ಲ ॥

ಬೆಳಕೀವ ಸೂರ್ಯಚಂದ್ರರದೊಂದು ಸದ್ದಿಲ್ಲ ।

ಹೊಲಿ ನಿನ್ನ ತುಟಿಗಳನು - ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ॥

There are no drum beats when a sprout rises out of the earth. 

No trumpets when fruits ripe. 

The Sun and the Moon shine silently. 

Stitch your lips!

These lines make me introspect in many ways. 

We are always in a hurry to show off  (mistaken for accomplishment!). The most prominent and most important things in the Universe go on without any pomp..,

Sprounting, Ripening of Fruits, and even the Sun and Moon work quietly but eternally!

This is also a reminder about doing work that we are meant to do...Keep doing your work irrespective of whether it is being noticed or not...and without showing it off!

The Strong & Shocking "Sakthi" - The Amazing People in My Life Series

I met Sakthi in one of my Quickrides. He is one of the quick friendships I made during Quickride rides. Read my earlier post here. 

I had taken a ride on Quickride one day when I heard a conversation of co-riders. The person was saying that after he reaches home he will go cycling up until the Airport and be back by midnight! I was shocked to hear this and what shocked me more was he does it all weekdays! I could not believe this and told him it is better to go to a bigger Apartment where there is ample place to cycle than to go on roads like this at night. The answer to this shocked me further -  He said he has got used to it and he goes cycling to nearby places like Nandhi Hills, Ramnagar, Savandurga, etc on weekends! I could not believe what I heard as he got down from the car as we reached near his place.

After a couple of days, when I and MM offered a ride, Sakthi joined us. This gave me some more time and freedom to talk to him. He worked for an Engineering MNC and he loved his work as a Mechanical Engineer. We also got to know that he was from Mumbai. In about one and a half hours long ride on the first day, we got to know that after he went for a long assignment to the UK, on the day he returned to Bangalore he met with a major accident and he was bedridden for more than 2 months with no hope of getting back on his feet again. But he made up his mind and started walking slowly, then cycling, and later swimming so that he triggers his muscles and gets back to normalcy quickly and he had done it in less than 6 months. His Doctor had told him that it is not less than a miracle. This shocked me yet again also could not stop thinking about his Grit! His Courage and determination impressed me naturally. I had heard or read such stories of people but never met one in person before!

Sakthi became regular to join us on our rides and in each ride, he would say one or the other thing which will leave us shocked, surprised or dumbstruck or all at a time!

One of the days the discussion was about our alma mater colleges and he said he is from IIT Powai in a lowly voice. He is an IITan! A B.Tech from IIT Bombay. The modesty he shows when he says about his alma mater is unbelievable! 

With time, I got to know about his family - that his Father is Marathi and his Mother is a Tamilian so he has relatives in both Maharastra as well as in Tamil Nadu. His siblings have done well too with One a Master's in Management and another pursuing Medicine. As I had gotten used to his Shocking revelations- I probed him further, and again I was not disappointed! His brother is from IIM Ahmedabad! 

Sakthi, had taken help of a Physiotherapist, won over himself and get back to his feet. Then he was planning to go on Tour de France 2020. He was preparing for it with zeal! He would cycle long distances while his physiotherapist will follow him in his car! Highly intense and disciplined in his practice! However, the world was hit by virus and so he could not make it..

Sakthi is also a Chess Champion who has won many contests.

On one of these rides, we had a Techie joining us who was let's say was a "Cool Dude". He was talking about his college days and his Biking hobby(he had Royal Enfield) with an accent and attitude. Sakhi chimed in and told him that he also was a biker one time and had Triumph! As the conversation picked up, Cool Dude was shocked one by one as he got to know about Sakthi's accolades one by one! While getting down from the car he said "This ride has just changed my Life" and I agree every ride with Sakthi is life-changing. 

Sakthi as his name says is a "Power" packed personality. His never-give-up attitude is an inspiration. I always told him that his parents have named him very aptly as what is called 'Anvartha Nama' in Sanskrit. 

Sakthi shocks me with the projects he is involved during last two years of lockdown every time we talk! He is also penning down his life as a book which will come out shortly. I wish him powerful energies to achieve his goals.