SECRET OF SUCCESS

Swami Vivekananda has said that the great secret of true success is this: the man who asks for no return from his work,  the perfectly unselfish worker, he is the most successful man on earth. It would seem to be a paradox. But it is true.We happen to see that unselfish men often get cheated or even get hurt by others. That is their success and not failure. Christ was unselfish; yet he was crucified. We know that his unselfishness  had been the reason for his great success --the true success that crowned millions  of lives with its blessings.
Giving is strength and receiving is weakness. So give whatever you can.  Want nothing, ask nothing in return. What is due to you, will come back to you in several multiples. But do not think of it now. Your attention should be on what you are giving and give it fully with love and care. Giving is love and asking or desiring anything in return is opposite of love; it is mere trading. In trading there is chance for both success and failure. So let us cease to be traders  and be lovers. Love every fellow- being with all our heart, giving them as much as possible and expecting nothing in return.
We may think that in order to give some thing we have to be rich in material wealth. It is not so. A man who has no material wealth in his possession can help some one in distress by giving a helping hand, or a smiling face. We can give solace to an ailing person with consoling words and personal care. If we have money, we can help the poor and needy with that money. In Sreemad Bhagavad Gita Sree Bhagavan has said:
Dataviamiti yaddaanam deeyathe anupakaarine,
Dese kale cha paathre cha thaddaanam sathwikam smritham .(Gita17-20)
(That gift which is given with the conviction that  it is one's duty to give, at the proper place , at the proper  time and to the  proper(needy) person from whom no return is expected, is considered  as Sathwika Daanam.)
Danam is considered to be the best way for humans to achieve fulfilment of life.Once Devas, Asuras and Humans went to Lord Brahma Deva and asked him for advice to achieve fulfilment .The Lord uttered only one syllable 'Da' in reply to their query. He asked each group if they have understood what He had said. The Devas said:-''We understand that since we are  people engaged very much in sensual pleasures, we should practice 'Dama'( control over the mind and senses) in order to achieve salvation.''  Brahma said they have understood it correctly. Then the Asuras said:-''We understand that we are very cruel people and therefore we need to practice 'Daya' (mercy towards all beings) in order to achieve life's goal. Brahma told them that they were correct in   their understanding of His word.When the turn for Humans came they said:- 'We are very selfish people and so it is necessary for us to practice 'Danam' (Gift) for attaining liberation.''. Brahma approved their interpretation also as correct. Thus  Danam is the most effective way for humans to achieve the final goal of life--that is God-realization. The true success of life is nothing else.
It may, however,  be understood here, that Devas and Asuras  are not separate categories of people living in  far off worlds .They are living in this same world. We can most often see the characteristics of Devas namely,sensuousness , in a person. At times he may evince the character of an Asura. Most of the time he will be a Human in his behaviour. That is to say a Deva, an Asura and a Human are dwelling in the same person as different characteristics. It is ,therefore, our first and foremost duty to ourselves  to become purely humans after shedding off the characteristics of Devas and Asuras inherent in our nature by practising Dama and Daya. Then we must strive to reach our goal through the path of 'Danam' prescribed by Lord Brahma ,
The Success in life means successfully reaching the ultimate goal of self realisation.  Our ancient masters have told us that selfless service or Nishkama Karmayoga will take us to this goal. Let us pursue this path as best as possible. The Lord will come down in the form of a Sadguru  and help us in our efforts,
                                           MAY GOD BLESS ALL

THE CENTRAL THEME OF BHAGAVAD GITA

MAN'S DUTY
Bhagavad Gita starts with the word ''Dharma'', meaning 'duty' in the first stanza beginning "Dharma Kshetre KuruKshetre........" and ends with the word ''Mama'' meaning 'my' in the last stanza ending"Dhruvaa neethir mathir mama " Putting these two together we get "mama dharma" or 'my duty'. From this we can understand that Gita mainly deals with Man's duty in this world. The question then arises, duty to whom? A probe into the answer to this question will lead us to the
central theme of Bhagavad Gita.
MAN NEEDS MENTAL PEACE;WHERE AND HOW TO FIND IT?
What man needs most , whether in India, Europe, America or any other part of the world , whether a follower of Hinduism, Islamism , Christianity or any other religion , or has no religion and has no faith in God, is just one thing and that is peace of mind.But today his peace of mind is badly disturbed , and man runs every-where ,helter-skelter in search of peace.If he cannot find it anywhere, he himself is to be blamed and none else. Having built up an environment conducive to constant restlessness and panic, and having been fully immersed in it, to expect peace is nothing but putting your hand into burning fire and expecting not to be burnt.
Our peace of mind can be disturbed by various external reasons.Death of dear and near ones,diseases to ourselves or near relatives, problems arising from loss of wealth or fame,strained human relationships,disturbances at work-place and innumerable other causes can destroy our mental peace and equanimity. That , one cannot find peace at a place where there is no peace, needs no emphasis. It, therefore, follows that to find peace ,one has to look where peace actually exists.This is what Bhagavad Gita asks us to do and also shows us how to do it.Thus Bhagavad Gita speaks of Man's duty to his own Self.
Having born as a human being on this earth ,what is man's duty? Lord Krishna gives a clear definition of man's duty which can be seen in verse 33,Chapter9 of the Gita :
"Anityam Asukham lokam imam prapya bhajaswa maam" (having come to this world which is transient and full of miseries , your duty is to worship Me.)
How is this worship to be done? The answer is in the next verse 34 in the same chapter:
Manmanaa bhava madbhakto mad yaajee maam namaskuru,
Maamevaishyasi yuktvaivam aatmaanam matparaayanah:''
(Fix your mind on Me;be devoted to Me; perform sacrifices for Me; prostrate before Me; thus having Me as your Supreme Goal and harmonised in Me as your own
Self , you shall come to Me without doubt.)

KRISHNA BHAKTI -THE CENTRAL THEME OF GITA.
It is ,therefore, evident that the central theme of Gita is the liberation of mankind from the miseries of this mundane world through undivided devotion to Lord Krishna.Sree Yamunacharya, the guru of Sree Ramanuja Acharya, the founder of Visishtadwaita cult,has in his Gitartha Sanmgraha,stated that the central theme of Gita is the attainment of Sree Narayana Para Brahman ,which is possible  only through Bhakti attained through right performance of one's duties, supreme spiritual knowledge and non-attachment.
WHAT IS RIGHT PERFORMANCE OF DUTY?
Every man is born with a package of Vasanas(tendencies) acquired through the several lives he had lived in previous births.These Vasanas prompt man to variuos actions in accordance with his inherent nature which in turn are tuned by the Vasanas themselves. Normally every man performs an action expecting to achieve some results out of it.It is the rule of nature that every action has its reaction. Likewise it is the rule of Karma that every action has its fruit and the doer of Karma is entitled to receive it, unless he has surrendered it to the Lord.Thus Good actions bring good results and bad actions bring bad results. The fruits of action whether good or bad, are the knots that bind man to this world  to enjoy or suffer those fruits. It  therefore, follows that any person who wants to escape from this bondage of his Kama must forsake the fruits of his action by surrender to the Lord. That is called Nishkama Karma(desireless action). Gita enjoins on us to perform all prescribed duties without attachment to their fruits. So Sree Bhagavan says:
''Karmanyevaadhikaarasthe maa phaleshu kadaachana' meaning, your domain is only to do your duty and not to aspire for its fruits.
         IF WE HAVE NO CLAIM FOR THE FRUITS OF OUR ACTION,WHAT IS THE INCENTIVE TO DO OUR DUTY?      
Of course it is the natural tendency of any ordinary man in such a situation, either to ignore or to discard his duty. As if to forestall such a tendency, Sree Bhagavan  warns us: maa karmaphala hethurbhoo maa the sangosthu akarmani''  meaning ,don't  be a slave to the results of your action and also do not entertain the tendency to neglect your duty. Why should it be like that? Because, the performance of our duty after surrendering its fruits to the Lord becomes a worship of the Lord , which cannot be ignored or neglected by a true devotee of the Lord. That is what Sree Bhagavan asks from us.
The results of action come in the natural course. A true devotee accepts them as Bhagavan's Prasadam. As he is totally unattached to them, the good or bad about them is not a concern for him. The performance of all actions by a devotee is an offering to the Lord and its object is self-purification. Only such a purified self can achieve Supreme Spiritual Knowledge through which one can reach the Supreme Reality.
Thus the central theme of Bhagavad Gita can be summarised as follows:
       First concentrate your mind on Lord Sree Krishna and become a devotee. Having become a devotee of Sree Bhagavan,  praise His glories and  chant his Names  incessantly.Perform all your duties as a worship to the Lord with total detachment on their fruits. Thus uniting all your thoughts and actions with the Lord,  you gradually attain the Supreme Knowledge of the Self and become one with the Lord, which enables you to enjoy the eternal Peace, Happiness and Tranquillity.

(To be continued)
I invite comments, queries and opinions from the readers, so we can have an open discussion on this topic.

PRANAMS TO ALL

I am coming back to this Blog after an interval of more than four years. Much water has flown under the bridge. I hope, by the Grace of my Sadguru, Sreemad Abhedanandaji Maharaj, I may be able to write something useful in these pages hereafter. All my friends and well-wishers are requested to continue their patronage and participation as before and supplement my postings by their comments thereon.