THE BHAGAVAD-GITA -For Children and Beginners

[Guest guest]

'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">chings of the Bhagavad-Gita.

Would you help me? Grandma: Of course, Jai, I will be glad to. You

should know what this holy book

teaches is how to live happily in the world. It is an ancient holy book of

Hinduism (also known as San|tana Dharma), but it can be understood and followed

by people of any faith. The Gita has eighteen (18) ch

10.0pt">apters and a total of only 700 verses. Anyone can be helped by daily

practice of only a few of its teachings. Here is the introduction

to the Gita:

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> In ancient times there was a king who

had two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. The former was born blind; therefore,

Pandu inherited the kingdom. Pandu had five sons. They were called the

Pandavas. Dhritarashtra had one hundred sons. They were called the Kauravas.

Duryodhana was the

eldest of the Kauravas. After the death of king Pandu, his eldest

son, Yudhisthira, became the lawful King. Duryodhana was very jealous. He also

wanted the kingdom. The kingdom was divided into two halves between the

Pandavas and the Kauravas. Duryodhana was not satisfied with his share. He

wanted the entire kingdom for himself. He tried several evil plots to kill the

Pa

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">ndavas and take away their kingdom. Somehow he took

over the entire kingdom of the P|ndavas and refused to give back without a war.

All peace talks by Lord Krishna and others failed, so the big war of Mahabharata

could not be avoided. The Pandavas didn’t want to fight, but they

had only two choices: fight for their right because it was their duty or run

away from war and accept defeat for the sake of peace and nonviolence. Arjuna,

one of the five Pandava brothers, faced this ch

10.0pt">oice in the battlefield. He had to choose between fighting the war and

killing his most revered guru, who was on the other side; his very dear

friends, close relatives, and many innocent warriors; or running away from the

battlefield to be peaceful and nonviolent. The entire eighteen ch

mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">apters of the Gita are the talk between confused

Arjuna and his best friend, mentor and cousin, Lord Krishna --- an incarnation

of God --- on the battlefield of Kurukshetra near New Delhi, India, about 5,100

years ago. This conversation was reported to the blind king, Dhritarashtra, by

his charioteer, Sanjay. It is recorded in the great epic, Mahabharata. All

lives, human or nonhuman, are sacred, and nonviolence or Ahimsa

FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"> is one of the most

basic principles of Hinduism. So when Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to get up and

fight, this may confuse you about the principle of Ahimsa if you don’t keep in

mind the background of the war of Mahabharata. This spiritual talk between the

Supreme Lord, Krishna, and His devotee-friend, Arjuna, occurs not in a temple,

a lonely forest, or on a mountain top, but on a battlefield on the eve of a

war.

Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Jai: This is an interesting story,

Grandma. Can you tell me more? Grandma: If you come

to where I sit every evening, Jai, I will tell you the whole story, one chapter

each day. Just make sure your homework is done and you have time to listen. If

you agree, let’s start tomorrow.

1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in">Jai: Thank

you, Grandma. I’ll be there to hear more."Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devoh

Maheshwar;Gurur Shakshat ParambramhaTashmai 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 Hdebu7366