Chapters 8-9-10-11 - The Bhagavad Gita for Children

[Guest guest]

Om Sai Ram !

Personally, I am really impressed by this particular version of Shri Bhagwat

Gita which is for beginners and children and so I request all the devotees to

not only read it themselves and pass it on to your friends but also save it in

your inboxes and read it to your children or grandchildren. It has 25 stories ,

133 gita verses and other teachings. In this way you will not only spend some

quality time with them but also teach them the good moral values which will

help them become better individuals and give them the right knowledge to lead a

happy, peaceful and blissful life..

May Sai baba's blessings and grace always be with us and our families...

Sai bhakt,

Deepa H

PS - IF ANYONE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY OF THE CHAPTERS FOR SOME REASON--, DO LET ME

KNOW BY SENDING ME AN EMAIL AND I WILL BE GLAD TO SEND YOU THE MISSING

CHAPTER...

Om Shree Gneshaya Namah!!!

 

CHAPTER 8

THE ETERNAL BRAHM

 

Jai: I don’t have a big spiritual vocabulary, Grandma, so I don’t

understand many words that I hear at the temple. Can you explain some of them

in a simple way?

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Grandma: I will explain some of the Sanskrit words, so listen very

carefully. You may not completely understand these terms at your age.

The Spirit that is inside all living beings is called Brahm in

Sanskrit. Brahm not only supports living beings but also supports the whole

universe. This is the formless nature of God, the Absolute. Brahm is

beginningless, endless and changeless, therefore, it is also called Eternal

Brahm. The word Brahm often gets confused with the word Brahma, the creative

force or creator of this universe. The word Brahm is also spelled as Brahma or

Brahman. The word Brahman often gets mixed up with another term Brahman, which

refers to the intellectual class of people in India. I will explain this term

further later.

ParaBrahm, Paramatma, Father, Mother is the Supreme Being, Who is

the origin of everything, including Brahm (Spirit or Atma).

The word ‘Karma’ has several meanings. Generally, it means to do. It

also means the stored up fruits of one’s work over past lives.

Daiv (or Deva, Devi, Devata) is one of the many powers of Brahm. We

worship these powers to get our desires fulfilled.

Ishvara is the power of God that stays in the bodies of all living

beings to guide and control us.

Bhagavan simply means powerful. This term is used for God. We call

ShriKrishna also as Bhagavan Krishna.

Jeeva or Jivatma means living beings that take birth, have a limited

life span, and die or change form.

Hindus believe in life after death. Lord Krishna said: Whatever

object you remember as you leave the body at the time of death, that object one

gets after death. At the end of life, you remember whatever thought existed

during most of your lifetime. (Gita 8.06) Therefore, you should always remember

God and do your duty. (Gita 8.07)

 

Jai: How often should I remember and worship God to make sure that I

remember God when I die?

 

Grandma: We should form the habit of remembering God before taking our

food, before going to bed, after getting up in the morning, and before starting

any work or study.

 

Jai: Are we always reborn as human beings?

 

Grandma: Human beings can take any one of the 8.4 million life-forms on

earth. Here is a story to answer your question:

 

8. The Story of King Bharata

 

When Sage Vishvamitra was busy creating his own universe. Indra, the King of

heaven could not tolerate that. So he sent a beautiful heavenly dancer, Menaka,

to disturb him from his work. She succeeded and bore sage Vishvamitra's

daughter, Shakuntala. She was raised in the hermitage of sage Kanava after

Menaka left for heaven.

One day a King named Dushyanta wandered in the hermitage of sage

Kanava. There he met and fell in love with Shakuntala, whom he secretly married

in the hermitage. Afterwards, she gave birth to a baby boy named Bharata. He was

very handsome and strong even during his childhood. Bharata looked like the son

of a Deva. When he was only six years old, he used to play in the jungle by

tying up baby wild animals, such as tigers, lions, and elephants.

Bharata became the king after Dushyant. Bharata was the greatest

king of the land. Even today we also call India BharataVarsha, the land of King

Bharata. He had nine sons, but none of them seemed fit to rule after him, so he

adopted a qualified child, who took over the kingdom after Bharata. Thus, King

Bharata laid the foundation of democracy.

King Bharata had a great love for animals from childhood as he was

raised in an Ashram in the jungle. One day, while hunting, he found a new-born

baby deer lying helplessly in the jungle. The mother of the baby deer had died

during childbirth. Being not only very strong, but also very gentle at heart,

King Bharata brought the baby deer to his palace and took care of him. He loved

the deer so much that he could not live without playing with the deer every day.

He became so attached to the deer that he remembered it at the time of his

death. The legend says that in the next life, Bharata was born as a deer. This

is the theory of transmigration of the soul, which we believe. Some western

philosophers believe in reincarnation. The reincarnation theory is based on the

assumption that a human soul takes birth only as humans, not as animals. The

theory of transmigration seems more universal than the theory of reincarnation.

 

 

Jai: If living beings go through cycles of birth and death, how about the

Sun, Moon, Earth, and stars? Do they also take birth and get destroyed?

 

Grandma: The entire visible creation has a life span. The visible

world, such as stars and planets, have a life span of 8.64 billion years.

During this period, the entire visible cosmos is created and destroyed. (Gita

8.17-19) But Brahm is everlasting and is never destroyed.

 

Jai: If some people do not come back to this world after death, what

happens to them? Do they go to heaven and live there forever?

 

Grandma: Those who have done good work here on earth go to heaven, but

they have to come back after enjoying the pleasures of heaven. (Gita 8.25,

9.21) Those who have been naughty and bad go to hell for punishment and also

come back to earth. Those who have gained salvation (Nirvana) do not take birth

again. They become one with God and go to His Supreme Abode called

Parama-Dhama). The Supreme abode is higher than heaven.

 

Jai: How can we gain the Supreme Abode, the house of God?

 

Grandma: Those who have the true knowledge of God are called

God-realized and rea

Roman">ch the house of God. They do not reincarnate. This is called the path of

no return. (Gita 8.24) This path is blocked for the ignorant and persons

without the necessary qualities, such as austerity, faith in God, and knowledge

of God. Only those who have these qualities will walk this path of no return.

Those who have not realized God, but have done good work, go to heaven by

virtue of their good Karma and take birth on earth again until they perfect

themselves and become Self-realized. (Gita 8.25)

Chapter 8 summary: Some of the common Sanskrit terms have been explained, which

you will understand better as you grow older. Also explained was the theory of

transmigration and the cycle of creation and destruction of the universe. A

very simple method of God-realization is to always remember God and do your

duty.

 

CHAPTER 9

SUPREME KNOWLEDGE AND

THE BIG MYSTERY

 

Jai: If God comes sometimes on earth, is He the same as we are, or is He

different from us?

 

Grandma: This is a very good question, Jai. It has been answered both

ways. For example, look at my chain and my ring and this gold coin. They are

all made of gold, so you can see them as gold. And you can see everything else

made of gold as gold. They are different forms of gold. But you can also think

of them as separate things --- a chain, a ring, or a coin. The chain, the ring,

and the coin are nothing but different shapes and forms of gold. In the same

way, we can look at the Lord and all creation as nothing but an expansion of

the Lord Himself, as all Lord Himself. This viewpoint is known as non-dualistic

(not two, but One and the same) or Adi Sankara’s Advaita philosophy.

The other viewpoint sees God as one reality and creation as a

different reality but dependent on God. When gold and the objects made of gold

such as a chain and a ring and a coin are considered different, this viewpoint

or philosophy is called Dvaita or dualistic philosophy (Gita 9.04-06).

 

Jai: Is that what people mean when they say God is everywhere and in

everything?

 

Grandma: Yes, Jai, God is the Sun, the Moon, and the wind; fire, trees,

earth and stones, in the same way that everything made of gold is gold. That’s

why Hindus see and worship God in the stone and the tree as if these are God

Himself in that form.

 

Jai: If everything comes from the Lord, then will everything become the

Lord again, like everything made of gold can be melted into just gold again?

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Grandma: Yes, Jai, the cycle of creation and destruction keeps on

going. It’s like turning my chain and ring and coin into gold again and then

using the gold to make new jewelry and coins. (Gita 9.07-08) The entire

creation appears and disappears again and again.

 

Jai: If Lord is us, and we all come from the Lord, then why doesn’t

everyone love and worship Lord?

 

Grandma: Those who understand this truth do just that. They know the

Lord is our Lord, and we are from Him, for Him, of Him, and depend on Him, so

they love and worship Him. But the unwise do not understand or believe in God.

 

Jai: If I pray to God everyday and love Him and offer Him flowers or

fruit, will He be pleased and help me in my studies?

 

Grandma: Lord Krishna said in the Gita that he takes care of all the

needs of His devotees who worship Him with strong faith and loving devotion.

(Gita 9.22)

 

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Jai: Does that mean that God loves only those who pray and worship Him?

 

Grandma: God loves all of us the same, but if we remember Him and pray

to Him, we come closer to God. So we all should think of God, worship Him,

meditate, and bow down to Him with faith, love, and devotion.

 

Jai: I would like to be close to the Lord Krishna, Grandma. How can I have

more faith in Him and love Him more?

Grandma: Just think of all the nice things God does for us. He gives us

so many different foods we enjoy. He gave us the Sun for heat and light. Look at

the beautiful sky with the Moon, the stars and clouds in the night. This is all

His beautiful creation, so think how beautiful the creator Himself must be!

Worshiping God is saying thank you for His kindness. Praying is asking for what

we need from God. Meditating is connecting with the Supreme power to get help

and guidance. So you should daily worship, pray and meditate on God.

 

 

Jai: If there is only one God who gives us everything, why do you have so

many deities in your prayer (Pooj|) room, Grandma? Why don’t you just worship

the one Lord Krishna?

Grandma: Lord Krishna said: Those who worship other deities, also

worship Me through those deities. (Gita 9.23) We can worship any deity we feel

close to. That favorite deity is called IshtaDev, our own personal god who

becomes our personal guide and protector.

 

Jai: Why do we offer fruits and flowers to God? He does not need them.

 

Grandma: Lord Krishna said in the Gita that anyone who offers Him a

leaf, a flower, a fruit, water, or anything with love and devotion, He not only

accepts it, but eats the offerings! (Gita 9.26) That’s why we always offer our

food to God with a prayer before we eat it. Food offered to God is called

Prasada or Prasadam.

Anybody can reach God who worships Him with faith, love and

devotion. This is the path of devotion and is open to all of us. Here is a

story about the power of faith:

 

9. A Boy Who Fed God

 

A man used to worship his family’s deity everyday with food offerings. One day

he had to go out of his village for the day. He said to his son, Raman: Give

the offering to the deity today. See that God is fed.

The boy offered food to the deity in the shrine, but the image would

neither eat nor drink nor talk. Raman waited a long time, but still the image

did not move. But he totally believed that God would come down from His throne

in heaven, sit on the floor and eat.

Again and again he prayed to the deity, saying: “O Lord, please come

down and eat the food. It is already very late. Father will get angry if I did

not feed you.” The deity did not say a word.

The boy wept and cried: “O Lord, my father asked me to feed you. Why

won’t you come down? Why won’t you eat from my hands?” The boy wept for some

time with a longing soul. At last the deity came down smilingly from the altar

in human form and sat before the meal and ate it. After feeding the deity, the

boy came out of the prayer room. His relatives said: “The worship is over. Now

bring the Prasadam for us.” The boy said: “God has eaten everything, He did

not leave anything for you today.” They entered the prayer room and were

speechless with wonder to see that the deity had really eaten every bit of the

offering.

The moral of the story is that God does eat if you offer food with full faith,

love, and devotion. Most of us don’t have the faith Raman had. We don’t know

how to feed Him! It is said that we must have faith in God like a child or we

shall not enter the supreme abode, the house of God.

 

Jai: Grandma, what if a person is a sinful thief or robber. Can that

person also love God?

 

Grandma:

Yes, Jai, there is a story about such a robber.

10. The Great Highway

Robber Sage

 

We have two very popular epics or historical tales. The first one is the Holy

Ramayan. The other one is Mahabharata. The Bhagavad-Gita is a part of the

Mahabharata. It was written about 3,100 years B.C.E. Originally, the Holy

Ramayan may have been written about over a million years ago, according to

latest findings of NASA. The original writer of Ra

Roman">mayan was a sage named Valmiki. After Valmiki many other saints have

written Ramayan, the story of Lord Rama that all children should read. The

legend is that Valmiki was given the power by sage Narada to write the entire

episode before the event actually happened.

In the early part of his life, Valmiki was a great highway robber.

He made a living by robbing travelers. One day, the great celestial saint

Narada was passing by when Valmiki attacked him and tried to rob him. Narada

asked Valmiki why he was doing that. Valmiki said that this is how he supported

his family.

The sage told Valmiki: When you rob a person, you commit sin. Do

your family members want to share that sin also?

The robber replied: Why not? I am sure they do.

The sage said: All right, go home and ask everyone if they will

share your sins along with the money you are bringing home.

The robber agreed. He tied the sage against a tree and went home and

asked each member of his family, saying: I bring you money and plenty of food by

robbing people. A sage told me that it is sinful to rob people. Will you share

my sins?

No one in his family was willing to share his sin. They all said: It

is your duty to support us. We can’t share your sin.

Valmiki realized his mistakes and asked the sage what to do to atone

for his sins. The sage gave Valmiki the most powerful and the simplest “Rama”

mantra to chant and taught him how to worship and meditate. The highway robber

gave up his sinful activity and soon became a great sage and writer by the

grace of guru Narada, the power of mantra, and his sincere spiritual practice.

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Lord Krishna has said in the Gita: If even the most sinful person

decides to worship Me with loving devotion, such a person must be regarded as a

saint because he or she has made the right decision. (Gita 9.30)

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Here is another story, Jai, that you should always remember.

 

11. The Footprints

One night, a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the

Lord. Across the sky he saw scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two

sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the

Lord.When the last scene of his life came before him, he looked back at the

footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life

there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the

very lowest and saddest times in his life.This really bothered him, and he

questioned the Lord about it. “Lord, You said that there is no one hateful or

dear to You, but You are always with those who worship You with love and

devotion. (Gita 9.29) I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in

my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I

needed You most, You would leave me alone.” The Lord replied, “My dear child,

you are my own soul, My dear self. I love you and I would never leave you, even

if you leave Me sometimes. During your time of trial and suffering, when you

see only one set of footprints, that was because then I carried you. When you

have trouble, that is caused by your own Karma. That is when you are tested and

can grow stronger.”

The Lord Krishna said in the Gita: I personally take care of both

the spiritual and material needs of devotees who always remember and love Me.

(9.22)

 

Chapter 9 summary: The dualistic philosophy sees God as one reality and creation

as a different reality dependent on Him. Non-dual philosophy sees God and His

creation as One. God loves all of us the same, but He takes personal interest

in His devotees because such a person is closer to Him. It is like one gets

more heat if one sits close to the fire. There is no unforgivable sin or

sinner. The fire of sincere sorrow burns all sins.

CHAPTER 10

MANIFESTATION OF GOD

 

Jai: If Lord Krishna said He will take care of us if we always remember

and adore Him, then I want to know and love Him. How do I do that, Grandma?

 

Grandma: The love of God is called devotion (Bhakti). If you have

devotion, God will give you the knowledge and understanding of the Self. (Gita

10.10) The more you know and think about God’s glory, power and greatness, the

stronger your love will grow. Thus the knowledge and love of God go together.

 

Jai: God is so great, and powerful, how can I really know Him?

 

Grandma: Nobody can fully know God. He is the cause of cosmic energy

and power, a cause that will always be a big mystery. God is unborn, without

beginning or end. Only God can really know God! (Gita 10.15) If anyone says, I

know God, that person does not know. Anyone who knows the Truth says: I do not

know God.

 

Jai: Then what can we know about God, Grandma?

 

Grandma: God knows everything, but nobody can know God. According to

Sankara, the entire creation is nothing but another form of God. The creation

has come out of God’s energy called Maya|. Everything comes from Him and

eventually goes back to Him. God is One, but has become many. He is everywhere

and in everything. (Gita 10.19-39) He is the

Generator or creator,

Operator or maintainer, and

Destroyer of all beings. He creates everything, including the sun, moon, stars,

wind, water, air, fire, and even our thoughts, feelings, intellect, and other

qualities. We can see His glory and greatness throughout creation. The

beautiful sky with earth and all the planets you see is only a small part of

His glory. Seeing God everywhere purifies our mind and makes us a better

person.

Here is a story about how and why we know very little about God.

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12. The Four Blind Men

 

Four blind men went to see an elephant.

One touched the leg of the elephant and said, “The elephant is like a pole.”

The second touched the trunk and said, “ The elephant is like a thick club.”

The third touched the belly and said, “The elephant is like a big jar”

The fourth tou

Roman">ched the ear and said, “The elephant is like a big hand fan.” Thus they

began to quarrel amongst themselves as to the shape of the elephant.

A passer-by, seeing them thus quarrelling, said, “Why are you all quarreling?”

They told him the problem and asked him to be the judge.

The man said: “None of you has seen the elephant. The elephant is not like a

pole; its legs are like poles. It is not like a thick club; its trunk is like a

thick club. It is not like a big jar; its belly is like a big jar. It is not

like a fan; its ear is like a fan. The elephant is all these --- legs, trunk,

belly, ears and much more.”

 

In the same way, those who argue about the nature of God have seen only one form

of His Reality. That’s why sages say God is “neither this, nor that”.

 

Jai: What about people who do not believe in God?

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Grandma: Such people are called atheists or disbelievers. They do not

believe in the existence of a creator because they cannot think that such a

cosmic person or power can exist. So they question and doubt the existence of

God. Their doubts may someday be erased if they meet and sincerely inquire from

a real spiritual master or guru. Atheists are those whose journey towards God

has not yet begun. Doubts arise even in the minds of believers, so just have

faith, believe in God, and do your duty.

 

Chapter 10 summary: Nobody can know God, the Supreme Being, because He or She is

the origin of all beings, the cause of all causes. Everything, including our

body, mind, thoughts, and feelings, comes from God. He is the creator,

supporter, and destroyer of all. He is infinite and has no beginning or end.

The entire universe is the expansion of a tiny fraction of His energy. (Gita

10.41-42) All deities are just the names of His various powers. Worshiping God,

using any name and form, with faith gives us what we want and helps us become

good and peaceful.

CHAPTER 11

THE VISION OF GOD

 

Jai: You said we can know little bit about God. Is it possible for people

to see God, Grandma?

 

Grandma: Yes, Jai. But not with our eyes. God does not have hands and

legs like we have in our world. But when God is pleased by our selfless service

(Seva) and devotion, He may show us in a vision in dream. He can show Himself in

any form, or in the form of one’s personal god (IshtaDeva).

 

Jai: Is there any other way to see God?

 

Grandma: The best way to see God is to feel His presence in everything

because, everything is part of God. Yogis see the whole world as God’s

expansion. Everything is just another form of God. Knowing this, we can see God

all around us. The entire universe is God, and we are His children and tools.

(Gita 11.33) God uses us to do His work. He is within all of us. Here is a

story about God being always with us.

 

13. God Is with You

 

A man wanted to smoke and went to a neighbor’s house to get fire to light his

charcoal. It was in the dead of night and the householder was asleep. After he

had knocked and knocked, the neighbor finally came down to open the door.

At the sight of the man he asked, “Hello! What’s the matter?”

The man replied, “Can’t you guess? You know I am fond of smoking. I have come

here to get fire to light my charcoal.”

The neighbor said, “Ha! Ha! You are a fine neighbor, indeed! You took the

trouble to come and do all this knocking at the door in the dead of the night!

Why? You have a lighted lantern already with you!”

What we seek is very near and all around us. Everything is God in different

forms. Everything in creation is within His gigantic form!

Another way to see God is to develop good habits. The Lord Krishna

Roman"> said in the Gita that if we have no selfish desires, hatred, or

violence, we can also reach and see God.

 

Jai: Has anybody seen Krishna as God?

 

Grandma: Yes, many saints and sages have seen Lord Krishna in various

forms. Mother Yashoda saw Krishna’s cosmic form. Arjuna also wanted to see

Krishna as God. Because Arjuna was a great soul and a very dear friend of

Krishna, Lord showed him His cosmic form. What Arjuna saw is described in great

detail in Chapter 11 of the Gita.

Here is a brief description of the cosmic form of Krishna that Arjuna saw. He

saw the whole world with all gods, goddesses, sages, Lord Shiva, as well as

Lord Brahm|, seated on the lotus in the body of baby Krishna. Lord had many

arms, mouths, stomachs, faces, and eyes. His body had no beginning or end.

Bright light was shining all around Him. Arjuna also saw all his cousins, along

with many other kings and warriors, quickly entering into Lord’s fearful mouths

for destruction. This cosmic form of Krishna was very frightful to see, so

Arjuna wished to see Krishna in the four-armed Vishnu form with a crown,

holding a conch, discus, club and lotus in His hands. Krishna then showed His

four-armed Vishnu form to Arjuna.

Afterwards, Krishna showed His beautiful human form and comforted Arjuna, who

was frightened to see the cosmic form. Then Arjuna became peaceful and normal

again. Lord Krishna

Roman"> said that He can be seen in this four-armed form only through devotion. (Gita 11.54)

 

Chapter 11 summary: We cannot see God with our human eyes. We can see Him only

in a vision or trance (Samadhi). We can also see Him all around us. The entire

creation is nothing but the body of the creator, and we are part of the cosmic

form of God.

 

"Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu

Gurur Devoh Maheshwar;

Gurur Shakshat Parambramha

Tashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah"

May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and

remove our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck,

success and happiness with peace of mind.

Sai bhakt,

Deepa H

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