GITA FOR CHILDREN - VI

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short-lived; it is transient, it is ephemeral. You may be happy for a while but

after that pain would visit you for sure.’ 21. ‘This external world is what

the Wise refer to as a dual world; it is full of “pairs of opposite” such as

pleasure and pain, profit and loss, joy and misery, success and failure, and so

on. These two members of a pair are like the two sides of a coin. They can never

be separated. Can you ever have a coin with just one side?’ 22. Arjuna asks,

‘So? What exactly are You trying to convey?’ 23. Krishna replies, ‘Simple!

You cannot have joy alone. If there is joy today, be sure you will experience

sorrow tomorrow. As I often

say, pleasure is an interval between two pains! Pleasure and pain form a package

deal; if you pray for pleasure, it would be granted, but then, you must be ready

for the pain that would come along with it as a part of the inseparable package!

Now do you understand what I am trying to tell you?’ 24. Arjuna says slowly,

‘Am I right in saying that the happiness that a transient world can offer is

also short-lived?’ 25. Krishna joyously replies, ‘Great! You got it!! The point

Arjuna is that man is right in seeking happiness. In fact he must, since Bliss

is his true nature. But he must go about it in the proper way. Bliss means

eternal

happiness, and eternal happiness can be found only in the Inner world and NOT in

the outer world. The outer world is temporary and therefore, the happiness it

can offer would also be temporary. How can the temporary offer something that

is permanent? Man is not able to understand this simple fact!’ ‘Arjuna, true

happiness is union with God. Now where do you find Me? What is My permanent

address? Your Heart is My permanent residence. Look for Me in your Heart, and

there you will find Me for sure. Become one with Me there and you can enjoy

Bliss forever! Got it?’ 27. ‘In the external world, happiness comes bundled

with sorrow because it is a dual world. A dual world MUST have the pairs of

opposites. But My world is not a dual world. It is a single world; there are no

opposites. Bliss is thus all by

itself and has no opposites.’ 28. ‘Let Me explain the point. Suppose you eat

a delicious mango. That would certainly give you great joy. Fine. Now suppose

five years after that event you recall your eating this mango. You would

probably tell yourself, “Well, that was a very nice mango,” that is all. You

will not experience the sweet taste once again and feel equally joyous as you

first did. With Bliss, it is very different.’ PART-14 Chapter 6 – Dhyana

Yoga 29. ‘Suppose you invite Me to your house. I come and we spend a nice

time together. Five years later you think, “Oh how nice it would be if Krishna

comes again,” and start recalling My earlier visit. In the process, you begin

to experience the SAME joy that you did earlier. You can actually relive every

second of the earlier experience and taste the SAME happiness.’ 30. ‘Now do

you get the significance of this? Since I live in your Heart, you and I can be

together for as long as you wish, and in this way you can be in Bliss as long

as you want! It is so very simple; it does not cost you a penny; no

need to make travel plans, reservations and all that. Yet, people don’t seem to

want this bargain offer!’ 31. Arjuna says, ‘Krishna , You are making it all

appear so very simple but I don’t think it is. To start with, when You come

physically to my house, I know what being with You means. But how am I to be

with You in the Heart? That is not clear.’ 32. Krishna replies, ‘Arjuna, just

take a lesson from what great devotees do. They like to hear people talking

about Me, and that fills them with Bliss. They imagine I am physically before

them and sing for Me; that fills them with Bliss. They talk to Me all the time,

and that too fills them with Bliss!’ 33. ‘You can think of Me or chant My Name

while doing your household work, and that would fill you with Bliss. You can be

doing service and singing songs about Me; that would fill you with Bliss. There

are a thousand different ways open to you. And they can be followed in any

place, any time, free of charge!’ 34. ‘Are you now clear about the difference

between Bliss which is Divine happiness and worldly happiness? Let Me now get

back to the Yogi about whom I was telling you earlier.’ 35. ‘Man will ascend

to the level of a Yogi only when he practises firm Mind and sense regulation.

Anyone can become a Yogi but most people don’t even try. Of the small number

who try, most quit very quickly; this is most unfortunate.’ 36. ‘Arjuna in

all this the Mind plays a vital role. It can be your friend or your foe. If you

turn the Mind towards God, it is your friend but if you turn it towards desires,

it becomes your enemy.’ 37. Let Me give you a simple example. There is a lock

and a key. You insert the key in the lock. If you turn one way, the lock opens;

if you turn the other way, it closes. The Heart is the lock and the Mind is the

key. Got it?’ 38. Arjuna asks, ‘OK, I want to become a Yogi and I practise

Mind and sense control or regulation, call it what You will. How do I know I

have become Yogi?’ 39. Krishna replies, ‘That is simple; just do a

self-check. Are you able to see a saint and sinner as alike? Can you regard

gold and clay as being alike? If so, you have arrived.’ 40. ‘The Yogic state

must be demonstrated with a real-life test and not simulations. People do not

quite understand the point, and so let Me tell you a story.’ 41. ‘You know

Sage Narada, don’t you? He is a great devotee of Mine, and keeps wandering over

all the three worlds, singing My Glory.’ 42. ‘One day Narada came to

Me and said, “Lord, I find that I am very short-tempered, and I want to get rid

of my tendency to flash easily into fits of anger.” I said, “Narada, that is

very good. What exactly are you going to do?” Narada replied, “I am going to

withdraw into the forest and do penance in solitude for ten years.” To this I

said, “Is that so? Well, good luck!”’ 43. ‘So Narada went away and ten years

later he came back beaming. Prostrating before Me he said, “Lord, you must

congratulate me. I am now free from anger.” I replied, “Narada, I am very glad

to hear that but are you really sure you have got rid of anger?” In a pained

voice Narada said, “Lord, how can You doubt me?” I then said, “Narada, it is

not like that. Great men have tried earlier to rid themselves of anger and have

not quite succeeded.”

Narada replied, "They may have failed but I am different.” Appearing to be tired

I then said, “Well, that is what you say.” Narada was now beginning to get

impatient and show signs of anger. In a testy voice he asked, “Are You doubting

my words?” I replied mischievously, “Narada, did I ever say I was doubting your

words? I merely said that great men have failed.” By now Narada was furious;

raising his voice he shouted, “You might not have said so but the fact is that

You are doubting my words. Here I am going round the three worlds singing Your

Glory all the time and You don’t have any faith in me at all! If You don’t

believe Your devotee, whom else are You going to believe?”’ 44. ‘While Narada

was exploding in this manner, I remained silent but was smiling all the time.

After Narada had

finished his outburst, I gently said, “Did you see? You became angry! My dear

Narada, for ten years you were all by yourself in the forest. Where was the

opportunity there to test your calmness? If you say you have conquered anger,

you must prove it here in this world. You must face situations that are likely

to inflame you and show that you do not get angry despite the provocation.

Without a proper demonstration, how do you expect Me to accept your claims?”’

45. ‘I narrated this story just to drive home the point that a true Yogi is

always a picture of equanimity and perfect composure. And that can come only

from strict disciplining of the senses and the Mind. One who constantly thinks

of God progressively acquires this attitude, of course only over a long time.’

TO BE CONTINUED… With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’

Source and courtesy: http://www.radiosai.org/Journals

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