Gita Daily

Gratefully ambitious While most people acknowledge the importance and even the necessity of gratitude for a happy life, some people fear that if they are grateful for what they have, that will slow or even sabotage their pursuit of the things they don’t have. In other words, they wonder whether that gratitude and ambition are incompatible bedfellows. Actually however, if gratitude and ambition are not together in our heart, our ambition won’t take us anywhere – at least take us anywhere that will grant us any lasting happiness. If we are driven solely by ambition which essentially directs our attention toward the things that we don’t have, then we will never be able to appreciate what we already have. Why? Because no matter how much we increase the things that we have, there will always be far more things that we don’t have as compared to the things that we do have. Consequently, ambition that is devoid of gratitude will keep us deprived of happiness. Such ambition morphs into insatiable greed which the Bhagavad-gita (16.10) cautions is the cause of endless illusion and tribulation. Thankfully however, ambition can be coupled with gratitude. When we are grateful for what we have, then ambition drives us to share the good things that we have. If we have musical ability, for example, and we are grateful for having that musical ability, then ambition drives us to make beautiful uplifting musical compositions that can reach many people and enrich all those whom they reach. A similar dynamic applies for any other talent or resource that we have — we feel driven by ambition to do justice to our gifts and make meaningful contributions.  Empowering us to live with such purposefulness, the Bhagavad-gita (17.16) recommends contentment as an austerity of the mind. This guideline won’t keep us away from ambition; rather, it will keep us away from ambition that keeps us away from satisfaction. Summary:  Ambition without gratitude drives us away from happiness; ambition with gratitude drives us to share our happiness. Think it over. Why do some people think that gratitude and ambition are incompatible bed fellows? How can ambition drive us away from happiness? How can ambition drive us to share our happiness? Audio explanation of article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/gratefully-ambitious 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/gratefully-ambitious/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

The healing power of gratitude When we lose a loved one, for example, or when we experience rejection in an important relationship, the catastrophic severity of the wound to our heart is conveyed by the expression “my heart is broken.” Is there a herb that can heal a severely wounded heart? There is indeed: the herb of gratitude. Gratitude enables us to shift our focus from what we have lost to what we still have. The more we apply the healing herb of gratitude to our heart, the less our life feels empty and the more the wound in our heart starts healing. Even if that wound doesn’t decrease in size, our heart expands as we behold and hold the things that are still there to enrich our lives. In contrast, when we obsess over what we have lost, we become blinded to the things that we still have. The inability or unwillingness to contemplate and appreciate the things we have is the essence of ingratitude. When a person is ungrateful, then even a small loss which has caused barely a wound to the heart can seem unbearable. Such people hyperventilate over small things, thereby stripping their life of peace and joy  — and similarly stripping the lives of those around them. If we compare our heart to a garden, ingratitude is like a toxic weed that can ruin the entire garden.  Thankfully, the Bhagavad-gita’s wisdom enables us to shift from a state of ingratitude to a state of gratitude. Pertinently, it (17.16) recommends that we consciously cultivate contentment as an austerity of the mind. By thus disciplining the direction and focus of our thoughts, we can make our hearts more resilient so that they don’t get wounded by small losses and heal faster from big losses. Think it over:  How does our heart become wounded?  How does gratitude and ingratitude affect our response whenever our heart is wounded?  How can we strengthen our hearts to become more resilient? Summary: Gratitude is a herb that can heal even a severely wounded heart, whereas ingratitude is a weed that can poison even a barely wounded heart. Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/the-healing-power-of-gratitude   17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/the-healing-power-of-gratitude/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

Learning the language of gratitude For two people to connect effectively, they need to learn a common language and be on speaking terms. A similar dynamic applies to our mind’s connection with happiness. Though our mind constantly craves and makes us slave for the things it believes will bring happiness, yet happiness often eludes us. Why? Primarily because our mind has not learned the language of gratitude. To be happy, we need to focus on the things we already have and value them — such appreciation for what we have is the essence of gratitude. Without such gratitude, even if we get many of the things we dream about, our mind will still obsess over the things we don’t have and keep us unhappy.  What about times when we do express gratitude? At such times, even though our mind nominally goes along, it often reduces those expressions to mere rituals, devoid of any real feeling of appreciation for the things we are verbally appreciating. Consequently, even when it seemingly mimics the language of gratitude, it doesn’t come on speaking terms with happiness. How can we change our mind? By striving to consciously notice and appreciate the simple things of life that bring us even a moment of joy: things such as a friend’s welcoming smile, the rising sun’s soothing rays, or a gentle breeze during a walk. Prompting us toward such actions, the Bhagavad-gita urges us to cultivate contentment as a mental discipline (17.16). When our mind starts experiencing the joy inherent in such heartfelt expressions of gratitude, it becomes more open to the idea that happiness doesn’t have to be dependent on the fulfillment of its cravings.   Gradually, as we become more fluent in the language of gratitude, happiness won’t just reside within us but will also radiate outward, enriching those around us.  Summary: The mind that fails to learn the language of gratitude can never be on speaking terms with happiness. Think it over: When two people have difficulty in communicating properly, what are the two main causes?  To be happy, why do we need to learn the language of gratitude? How can we get our mind on speaking terms with happiness?  Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/learning-the-language-of-gratitude   17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/learning-the-language-of-gratitude/

Two obstacles to gratitude When we try to cultivate gratitude, we may encounter various obstacles, with greed seeming to be the most evident candidate. The focus of gratitude and greed are opposite: gratitude centers on appreciating what we have, while greed centers on craving for what we don’t have. Counterintuitively however, the greatest obstacle to gratitude is not greed; it is pride. When we are proud, we feel entitled to far more than what we currently have. Pride goes beyond just making us crave for things we don’t have; it makes us believe that the world is wrong for not giving us those things which we believe we have a right to. Much more than greed, pride erodes our ability to appreciate what we have or to even dwell on what is good in our life. Hence, when cultivating gratitude, we need to challenge the entitlement mentality created by pride, along with the craving mentality created by greed.  The Bhagavad-gita’s sixteenth chapter describes that the godly are characterized by humility and gratitude, while the ungodly are characterized by craving, arrogance, and perpetual discontent.  Gita wisdom also provides us a  holistic vision of life, wherein we understand that we are spiritual beings, and that the most important things in life are not things. Such a vision makes it much easier to cultivate the mental discipline of contentment, as recommended by Bhagavad-gita (17.16). Thus, we can free ourselves from both greed and pride, thereby opening our hearts to be enriched by gratitude.  Summary: Gratitude is obstructed not just by greed, but also more so by pride. Greed makes us focus on the many things we don’t have, while pride makes us feel entitled to them. Think it over. How does greed undermine gratitude? How does pride undermine gratitude even more? How can we curb greed and pride and cultivate gratitude? 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/two-obstacles-to-gratitude From: https://gitadaily.com/two-obstacles-to-gratitude/

Two connections between gratitude and mental health Nowadays, there are increasing concerns about mental health. More and more people find themselves feeling internally slowed, stymied, or even sabotaged by their own emotions, desires, hurts, hang-ups, and overall conditionings — all of which point to an unhealthy mind.  Our mind is meant to be a tool for perception. While there may be many things wrong in our life both externally and internally, there are also many things that are right. Gratitude is the characteristic of the mind that realizes and relishes many good and right things in life and triggers a positive appreciative state of mind. Indeed, a grateful mind is a healthy mind.   But what if our mind is unhealthy, and we neither see nor feel grateful for the things that are right in our life? That’s where we can tap the healing and restoring power of gratitude: it can be an exercise for making our minds healthy. Prominently, the Bhagavad-gita (17.16) urges us to cultivate contentment as a mental discipline.  That means we consciously, even conscientiously, strive to look for what is good in life, even if such looking requires effort. Such a purposeful shifting of our consciousness from what is wrong to what is right will create the corresponding impressions in our mind. By noting and rejoicing in what is right in our life, we gain a steady foundation for working constructively: to protect what is right and to make more things right as per our capacity.  Gradually, as we habituate ourselves to looking for what is good and right in our life, and as the corresponding impressions within us become stronger, then gratitude will become a more natural and easier emotion for us to cultivate and relish. Thus, our mind will become increasingly prompted, even propelled, toward a more healthy state.  Summary:  Gratitude is not just an expression of a healthy mind; it is also an exercise for making our minds healthy.  Think it over: What does a healthy mind do, as contrasted with an unhealthy mind? How is gratitude the expression of a healthy mind? How can gratitude be an exercise for making our mind healthy? Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/two-connections-between-gratitude 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/two-connections-between-gratitude-and-mental-health/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

Gratitude for the ordinary During our life, whenever we receive something special —  for example, getting an unexpected job promotion or winning the lottery — we feel overjoyed. And if we are somewhat spiritually inclined, we also feel grateful. Such gratitude is desirable and laudable because if we give it a little thought, we will recognize that we did not attain this windfall solely through our own efforts. Even if we did make some effort, fortune smiled upon us by arranging for much that was beyond us. Preserving this realization is vital for our well-being — specifically, in terms of our emotional wellness, which stems from positive emotions such as gratitude.  Good as such gratitude is, it alone is not enough for our emotional wellness because strokes of extraordinary good fortune are just that: extraordinary. They happen only occasionally, if at all. If we are to have regular emotional wellness, we need to cultivate gratitude on a much more regular basis. To that end, we need to be appreciative and thankful every day for the ordinary things in life. These include driving through traffic without an accident, not experiencing severe pain, and simply getting to breathe air — all of which enable our existence and functioning. Thus, we can recognize how even in the ordinary, there is reason to be grateful. Unfortunately, such insight is rare for we usually don’t think much beyond our efforts and our attainments. And even if we get the intellectual insight, that doesn’t automatically translate into emotional appreciation for life’s ordinary gifts, which is even more exceptional.  The Bhagavad-gita (15.12-15) helps us see that the divine is at work maintaining us in our daily existence —  and the more we cultivate remembrance of the divine, the more we can experience gratitude for every small blessing in life, what then to speak of life’s bigger blessings. This indeed is the path to contentment, which the Gita recommends as the first discipline of the mind (17.16).  Summary:  Gratitude for the extraordinary is ordinary, while gratitude for the ordinary is extraordinary. Think it over:  When do we normally feel grateful? Why are even life’s ordinary things worth feeling grateful for?  Why is gratitude for ordinary things extraordinary? 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/gratitude-for-the-ordinary/

No to incite, yes to insight The world contains many power-hungry people who ruthlessly pursue their selfish, even devilish, agendas. To serve their own ends, they have no compunctions about manipulating others. For instance, politicians may use ideology, be it religious or secular, as a tool to incite fear, resentment or hatred in people. Being this incited, even normal, decent people can do terrible things especially when they are infected by mob mania. Is there a way to protect people, ourselves included, from the machinations of those who seek to incite? Yes, there is: by developing insight. Broadly, insight refers to the vision that comes by seeing beyond what is visible to what is essential. Specifically, in the context under discussion, insight refers to our ability to see beyond the emotions that arise within us to the primary source of those emotions: are they coming primarily from inside or from outside? That is, are those emotions authentic expressions of our needs, interests and concerns? Or are they simply our unprocessed default reactions to the provocative, and often deceptive, stimuli bombarded upon us by people?  For aiding us in developing such insight, the Bhagavad-gita is a time-honored guidebook. It helps us realize our core spiritual identity as souls who exist beyond the world’s situations and the mind’s emotions (13.30). When we ground ourselves in our spirituality, we become empowered to not act solely by the impelling of our emotions, but rather to act with non-attachment and discernment, even in provocative situations. Summary:  Those who lack insight are easy to incite — seek the insight to know whether our emotions arise from inside or from outside.  Think it over:  Why may some people want to incite others? What is insight?  How can insight help us protect ourselves from manipulative people? Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/no-to-incite-yes-to-insight 13.30 One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created of material nature, and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees. From: https://gitadaily.com/no-to-incite-yes-to-insight/

Might life be better if we pursued something other than happiness? We live in a world that oversells happiness to us, with unending promises and unendingly glamorized products. And we have minds that are programmed with rigid beliefs about what will provide us happiness. Impelled by both the world and the mind, we keep running, almost unthinkingly, towards much-touted sources of happiness.  Yet the pursuit of happiness frequently ends up being an anti-climax. Most of us can recollect the deflation, even emptiness, felt after making a big purchase or at the end of a much-touted party. Fixating over happiness leaves us impoverished, both when we pursue it and when we attain it: in pursuit, because we are filled with emptiness due to craving for something we don’t have; and in attainment, because what we sought for so long didn’t turn out to be anywhere near as good as we thought it would be. A more enriching emotion to experience than happiness is the emotion of wonder, or more precisely meaning and purpose through a sense of wonder. Wonder is the sublime and rapturous feeling that arises in the presence of something far more majestic than ourselves. Such a wonder-inducing encounter evokes a range of diverse emotions that harmonize far better with the messy complexity of our lived reality. In fact, contemplation on the message of the Bhagavad-gita fosters such a sense of divine wonder (18.76).  How does Gita wisdom nurture this sense of wonder? By encouraging us to contemplate three things: the endurance of the divine plan for the world, no matter how chaotic the world might seem; the inviolable reality that we are always parts of the divine, no matter how flawed we may be; and the empowering realization that we all have the opportunity to play a part in that higher plan, no matter how tiny we seem to be. When we thus pursue meaning and purpose, by bringing ourselves in the presence of a reality bigger than ourselves and by opening ourselves to experiencing the resulting wonder, we relish the richness of life in a way that the monochromatic pursuit of happiness can never provide. One-sentence summary:  Don’t get so busy pursuing happiness that we don’t ask whether happiness is worth pursuing — the pursuit of meaning and purpose, imbued with a sense of wonder, make for a much richer life.   Audio explanation of the article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/might-life-be-better-if-we-pursued Think it over: How does the pursuit of happiness end up impoverishing us? How can the pursuit of meaning and purpose through a sense of wonder be more enriching? Recollect one incident when a sense of wonder has enriched your life. 18.76: O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment. From: https://gitadaily.com/might-life-be-better-if-we-pursued-something-other-than-happiness/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

Feeling God or trusting God? During our life, there will be times when we are down, yet we feel God’s presence guiding, strengthening and uplifting us. However, there will also be particularly dark times when we may not feel any presence of God, let alone His guidance or grace. In such situations, it is vital for us to remember that God is too big and profound to be felt by emotions alone. The fact of God’s omnipresence is not dependent on our feelings about his presence. Because our mind is restless, the emotions arising within it tend to be unpredictable and unreliable. That’s why we may not feel the presence of things, even when they exist — for example, children disappointed due to not getting a toy may not feel their parents’ love.  God, Krishna is the supreme parent and is supremely benevolent. If we can maintain our connection with Krishna in spite of the absence of apparent communication from him, we will pass a major test on the path of devotion. The Bhagavad-gita (4.39) states that those who maintain faith gain the knowledge to perceive the ultimate reality and to achieve the peace that transcends the temptations that abound in our immediate reality. By such redirection of consciousness, we attain a sublime inner peace that is ineffable, imperishable and inviolable. Through that peace, we will discover divine taste that will enable us to pass the toughest of life’s tests. When we go through dark phases in our lives, if we somehow hold on to our relationship with Krishna, he will become pleased with us, and grant us increasing insight and taste in his remembrance and service. Summary:  Trusting God’s benevolence is far more important than feeling God’s presence — maintaining our connection with him in the apparent absence of communication from him is a great test of our devotion and will grant us great taste in devotion.  Think it over. When might we not feel the presence of God? Why not? What is more important than feeling God’s presence? Why? What happens when we maintain our connection with Krishna even in the absence of any communication from him? 04.39: A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace. From: https://gitadaily.com/feeling-god-or-trusting-god/ Audio explanation of this article is here: https://gitadaily.substack.com/p/feeling-god-or-trusting-god To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

How to speak more effectively: Cross or Across? Whenever we have a difference of opinion with someone, wherein despite our best attempts to persuade them, they just don’t seem to get our point, we tend to become cross with them. Though such a reaction is understandable, it is utterly unhelpful.   When we become cross with others, our tone and overall demeanor become hostile, aggressive, or even derisive. This disposition only makes the other person double down on their position, either in a defensive or a counter-aggressive mood. This increases polarization and decreases the possibility of resolution. To avoid such an unfortunate turn of events, the first thing we need to do is make it a point to not become cross with the other person. Instead of making our point more forcefully, we need to pause and explore the cause of why the other person is not able to understand our point, or more appropriately, why we are not able to get our point across to them. Thus, we take responsibility for effective communication and place the onus on our articulation of the point, instead of on the other person’s obstinacy or stupidity, as we would either consciously or unconsciously imply when we become cross with them. Therein, our readiness to introspect and improve can help us better articulate the point, thereby increasing the chances that it will be heard and accepted. Our more reflective demeanor, as contrasted with an aggressive demeanor, may also inspire the other person to become more reflective rather than defensive or aggressive. To help us adopt such an approach, we can apply the Bhagavad Gita’s guideline for effective speaking (17.15): speak in a way that is not just truthful and helpful but also pleasing at best and non-agitating at least. The more we consider not just the content of our speech but also the impact that speech has on the other person, the more we can avoid the tendency to get cross and increase the probability of getting our point across. Summary:  To get our point across, make it a point to not get cross.  Think it over: How does getting cross with others affect our communication with them? How can we avoid getting cross? Contemplate any recent interaction when you got cross. How could you have avoided that? You can hear audio version of the article here: //gitadaily.substack.com/p/how-to-speak-more-effectively-cross 17.15: Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature. From: https://gitadaily.com/how-to-speak-more-effectively-cross-or-across/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

Facing losses, but not feeling lost — the reorienting power of gratitude Suppose we are driving through a remote area guided by GPS and suddenly the GPS connectivity gets lost due to a heavy storm. Not knowing the way ahead, we take several wrong turns at subsequent crossroads. When our GPS connectivity returns, we may understandably feel annoyed or even angered. But we won’t let our irritation incite us into smashing our GPS device.  When going through life, especially when going through life’s tough phases, what keeps us on track is our inner GPS: Grateful Perspective Seeking. Gratitude, which can be said to be the tendency and the ability to look for the positive and to be ready for the positive, keeps us inspired to make wise choices when encountering life’s crossroads.  However, sometimes life’s storms may cause such severe losses that we lose our inner GPS connectivity; we just can’t find any reasons to feel grateful. Driven by negative feelings, we may take unwise turns at life’s subsequent crossroads. Thankfully, like all storms, this storm of negative emotions is also temporary. When it subsides, we regain access to our inner GPS: we can again start seeking perspectives that ground us in gratitude. Tragically however, we sometimes destroy our inner GPS. How? By letting resentfulness replace gratefulness as our defining and driving emotion. That negative emotion clouds our vision so much that we grumble, fumble and tumble — we make existing adversities worse and we miss potential opportunities. Thankfully, we don’t ever have to destroy our inner GPS.. Gita wisdom offers us a philosophical worldview that reminds us that ultimate goodness always exists within the universe. Indeed, that timeless GPS — Gita perspective seeking — strengthens our timely GPS: gratitude perspective seeking. Bolstered, we don’t feel lost even amid losses. We stay content and confident (Bhagavad-gita 17.16), knowing that divine goodness will eventually guide us to a good place and responding to that underlying cosmic goodness with our good choices. One-sentence summary: Even when we can’t avoid losses in our life, we can avoid feeling lost — provided we hold on to our inner GPS: Grateful Perspective Seeking. Think it over: What is our inner GPS? How does it help us? How might we destroy our inner GPS? How can we avoid feeling lost amid losses?  17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/facing-losses-but-not-feeling-lost-the-reorienting-power-of-gratitude/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

From gifts in life to the gift of life When striving to cultivate gratitude, we often attempt to look at the things that are good in our life and see those things as gifts. But such a vision can make our gratitude conditional to our finding gifts in our life. But we may go through phases when we feel that all our gifts are being taken away and that we are plunged into situations that seem like curses — how, then, can we cultivate gratitude? By seeking a deeper vision of life, wherein we see life itself as a gift.   A little contemplation, possibly assisted by our scientific knowledge of the universe around us, can help us appreciate how our very life is a miracle, in whose occurrence we had very little, if any, hand. And this miracle begins right from our conception. The journey of the sperm in the mother’s body till it reaches the egg is so perilous that the success of the journey is itself miraculous. Similarly thereafter, throughout our life there are so many miraculous arrangements by which we are provided the universal necessities for living such as air, light, heat, water and so forth. Apart from these gifts, Gita wisdom explains that our very life, specifically our life in the human form, is a precious opportunity for us to dramatically progress in our spiritual evolution toward life and love eternal. When we thus learn to see the ground of our existence itself as a gift, then even if on that ground, gifts seem to go missing, gratitude won’t go missing in our heart. By persevering gratefully through such dark times, we can find inner contentment (Bhagavad-gita 17.16), and evolve toward a higher, deeper, richer understanding of our place and purpose in the universe.  One-sentence summary: To cultivate gratitude, seek not just to see the gifts in our life; seek to see our life itself as a gift. Think it over: What’s wrong with basing our gratitude on the gifts present in our life? How can we see life itself as a gift? Have you had any moments when you realized that life itself is a gift? 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/from-gifts-in-life-to-the-gift-of-life/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

Is gratitude a state or a trait? Gratitude can be both, and it is best when manifested as both. Let’s see how.  State: Gratitude as a state refers to the emotions of positivity, joy and contentment that we feel when we have something of value and when we value that thing. This state can arise within us when something good happens to us or when something good is done for us by someone. If we never experience this state, we will lead an emotionally barren existence wherein we never appreciate what is good in life and fixate only on what is bad. To experience the state of gratitude at least intermittently is the beginning of emotional health and positivity. If we can regularly enter into that state and experience it, then that itself is something to be grateful for.  Trait: Gratitude as a trait is the natural tendency of a person to look for things that are good in one’s life and to not just rejoice in the resulting positivity but to also radiate that positivity by expressing thanks to those who have done something for us. Gratitude as a character trait makes a person attractive in others’ eyes. We all like to feel valued; and when we do something of value for someone else, we feel happy when they appreciate and articulate what we have done for them. Wouldn’t the same apply to others who do something good for us?  Significantly, gratitude as a trait is seen not just in our public interactions but also in our personal contemplations. That means even when we are alone, we dwell on the good things in our life and thereby stay content and cheerful, as recommended in Bhagavad-gita (17.16). One sentence summary: Gratitude as a state occurs when something good that we seek happens in our life; and gratitude as a trait enables us to notice and appreciate the good things of life even if they are small and otherwise unnoticeable. Think it over: What does gratitude as a state mean? How is it different from gratitude as a trait? When did you recently experience a state of gratitude? How can you cultivate gratitude as a trait? 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/is-gratitude-a-state-or-a-trait/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

What we do with our blessings In our life, we all have both blessings and problems. Unfortunately, we often tend to fixate on our problems, which may arise due to our deficiencies and defects or our adversities and adversaries. By such fixation, we subject ourselves to an endless flood of negative thoughts. To cultivate positivity, we need to consciously shift our focus from our problems to our blessings. And we all have blessings, which we can recognize if we consciously look for them and regularly appreciate them.   However, focusing on our blessings by itself may not counter our negativity. Why not? Due to our comparing mentality, whose overreach can extend even into our blessings. We may start comparing our blessings with others’ blessings. Even if we have some talent such as singing ability or some resource such as wealth, we may still obsess over someone who has that talent or ability more than us. By such fixation, we may feel that our blessings are insufficient – or even insignificant. Thus even thinking of our blessings can end up becoming another problematic thought. To counter such problematic thinking, we need to make our focus more specific: not just on our blessings, but on what we do with our blessings. Gita wisdom explains that our blessings are not meant for our own aggrandizement through gaining fame, wealth and so forth; they are meant to be shared for everyone’s benefit and enrichment. When we strive to serve others with whatever resources or abilities we are blessed with, that attitude of service will become a source of fulfillment for us, independent of the size of the blessing. This is one time-tested way to find inner contentment, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gita verse about mental discipline (17.16). Indeed, to have a consciousness that aspires to share its blessings is itself a blessing..   One-sentence summary: To have blessings is good; to appreciate our blessings is better; to aspire to share our blessings is the best. Think it over: How may we open ourselves to a constant flood of negativity? How may even thinking of our blessings be a problematic thought? What kind of thinking will provide us fulfillment? 17.16: And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. From: https://gitadaily.com/what-we-do-with-our-blessings/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

What is Bhagavad-gita? – 2 The Bhagavad-gita is centered on the ethical and metaphysical conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. Textually, it is presented as a part of a much larger discussion between the blind king, Dhritarashtra, and his assistant, Sanjaya, who described to the king the incidents on the battlefield at Kurukshetra. This narrative framing places the Gita in its historical context, conveying how its wisdom was spoken to address a real-world crisis and is thus meant to be philosophy made practical.  Within the Gita’s 700 verses, Krishna speaks 574 verses, Arjuna 84 verses, Sanjaya 41 and Dhritarashtra 1. These 700 verses are divided into 18 chapters, with the first chapter containing most of the verses spoken by characters other than Krishna. After this chapter describes the battlefield situation and Arjuna’s conflicted disposition, Krishna addresses Arjuna’s concerns over the next 17 chapters. These chapters are of variable lengths, with the shortest chapter being 20 verses and the longest being 78 verses. The length of the chapters is independent of their significance. The two longest chapters — chapter 18 with 78 verses and chapter 2 with 72 verses — are often considered to be among the Gita’s most important chapters; they are sometimes considered to be the starting summary and the concluding summary. Simultaneously, the two shortest chapters — chapters 12 and 15, both featuring 20 verses — are considered highly important, both for their content and for their value as sections of the Gita to be recited for sacred purposes. The Gita is essentially an answer to Arjuna’s key concern (2.7): what is dharma, the right thing to do? While hearing and contemplating Krishna’s answers, Arjuna raises sixteen other questions throughout the Gita: 2.54, 3.1-2, 3.36, 4.4, 5.1, 6.33-34, 6.37-39, 8.1-2, 10.12-19, 11.1-4, 11.31,12.1,13.1,14.21,17.1,18.1. When these seventeen questions are complemented with Dhritarashtra’s starting question (1.1), the Gita features eighteen questions, which mirrors the book’s eighteen chapters, thus revealing the artistic symmetry of the poetic text. This symmetry is seen to be further significant in the light of the epic of which the Gita is a part: the Mahabharata is composed of eighteen book-length sections (parvas), and its climactic war extended to eighteen days.  From: https://gitadaily.com/29553-2/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP

What is Bhagavad-gita? — 1 Literally, the word Bhagavad-gita means the song (gita) of God (Bhagavan, changed to Bhagavat as an adjective). It is book-length wisdom about life and living in the form of a poem and is spoken by the supreme divinity, descended to earth as Krishna. Textually, the Bhagavad-gita, which is often referred as the Gita in short, contains 700 verses, divided into 18 chapters. The Gita is a part of a much longer book, the Mahabharata, which is composed of some 110,000 verses and is widely considered the longest poem in world history. Literally, the Mahabharata means greater (maha) India (bharata); it is an epic narrative about the dramatic and often traumatic incidents in the life of the Bharata dynasty, after which India is named. This epic focuses on the generation of the Pandavas, five heroic brothers in that dynasty, specifically the challenges they faced from their cousins, the Kauravas, who wanted to be sole inheritors of the throne. The lifelong tension between these cousins culminated in a massive military confrontation at Kurukshetra. Just before that fratricidal war, one of the five Pandava brothers, Arjuna, archer par excellence, faced a crisis of conscience. Feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the impending war and perplexed whether fighting was the right course of action, he turned for guidance to his friend, Krishna.  Krishna had chosen to support Arjuna in the war by playing the non-combatant role of a charioteer. He is revealed in the Mahabharata to be the supreme divinity descended to earth; he had taken on the part of a prince, and main protector, in another powerful dynasty, the Yadu dynasty. Responding to Arjuna’s crisis, Krishna changed his role from charioteer to counselor and spoke the Gita, whose 18 chapters form chapters 23 to 40 in the Mahabharata’s sixth book-length section, known as Bhishma-parva. In the Gita, Krishna provided an inclusive worldview that placed Arjuna’s concerns in a broader context. He addressed universal questions about the purpose of life and the ways of living that can best infuse life with enduring meaning. It is this deliberation on timeless issues that has made the Gita one of the world’s greatest philosophical classics.  From: https://gitadaily.com/what-is-bhagavad-gita-1/ To get short articles daily on the practical application of the Bhagavad Gita now on telegram, join the channel via this connecting link Gita Daily https://t.me/gitadailyCCP