The Seven Commandments of Bhagwad Gita by J. P. Vaswani

The Seven Commandments of the Bhagavad Gita by J.P. Vaswani
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sadhu Vaswani in his inimitable style interprets the Geetha. All of them relevant. Instead of trying to interpret or state my opinion, let me quote some of the quotes that impressed me the most.

In the beautiful words of Kahlil Gibran, “Work is love made visible.” When we do our duty in a spirit of joy and love, we grow in devotion, in pure love for Sri Krishna.

In our constant struggle with illusion and reality, the mind is our enemy: it perceives only what it wants to perceive. It is clogged with sense-impressions. And what the mind puts out – its offspring – are also tied down to material reality and the ego.

The great Spanish philosopher, Diego Y Garcia, once described a ‘specialist’ in any academic discipline as a person with a ‘painfully vast amount of knowledge in a pathetically small area of study.’

If each one of us attended to our duties in the right spirit, this world will surely be a kingdom of God! If there is chaos, confusion, anarchy, and indiscipline rampant in the world today, it is because the emphasis has changed from duties to rights. Today, everyone is claiming rights – workers, teachers, farmers, builders, investors, women, government servants, doctors, and others. Everyone is clamouring for their rights, but nobody talks of the duties that they have to attend to. I feel that if each one of us gave first priority to our duties, if each one of us fulfilled our obligations conscientiously, everybody’s rights would be automatically protected. If the employer fulfilled his duties well, the employees would have no reason to go on strike; if the men fulfilled their duties conscientiously, rights would automatically accrue to women. There would be no fight against injustice, there would be no need to struggle for equality! Let me add too, there are a hundred ways of doing the same thing. Some of these ways are right, some of these ways are wrong, but only one is the very best. We must do our duty in the best way possible, because it is our offering at the lotus-feet of the Lord. How can we offer Him the second-best or worse? How can we offer Him anything but the best?

I am saddened when young married couples, in the guise of asserting their rights, actually impose their will on each other, and erect barriers between them! If a marriage is to be successful and happy, the partners must forget about rights and do their duty. (My addition, it is important both sides adopt this principle)

To help people is in itself very good – but not to reveal your identity to your beneficiary is great!

Do not seek to serve others to prove your superiority. This brings disgrace to you, and it degrades those whom you ‘serve’ in this spirit.

Therefore, I tell my friends that when they set out to do good to others, they must practise what I call ‘the Five Fingers of Service’ : 1. Serve silently! Do not serve for show or publicity. Let the right hand not know what your left hand gives away. Do not seek to serve for name, fame, popularity, or publicity. 2. Serve humbly! Be grateful to those who give you the opportunity to serve them. You are not doing meherbani on them – they are offering you the chance to show your gratitude to the Lord, for the numerous blessings we have received from Him. 3. Serve lovingly! Do not speak harsh words to the people you serve. A sense of identification is very essential to the spirit of true service. Do not criticize or condemn others. Give and serve in the spirit of love and sympathy to all. 4. Serve unconditionally! Therefore, seek no reward for your service, nor ‘recognition’ from the world. Don’t let your service become an interference; don’t serve others with an ulterior motive – to convert them to your ideology; to force them to follow your beliefs; or to support your political party. This is not true service. 5. Cultivate the soul through service! In other words, become aware that you are only an instrument of God. He is the One Worker – you are but His tool, His agent. Therefore, renounce all idea of egoism, of the narrow Self, and become an instrument of the eternal shakti that shapes the lives of individuals and nations. I repeat, service, lokasangraha, is a God-given opportunity for the upliftment of mind and soul. Therefore, let us serve others in the spirit of serving God.

A very good read.

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