Modern men and women are far ahead than the past generation, in material possessions, knowledge of science and technology, but maybe at the price of our happiness, peace and harmony , in direct and indirect ways. In the present scenario, if mankind seems to be nearing catastrophe - if climate change, social injustice, violence of all sorts, have become the norm, it is because man's mind has gone astray. The misfortune of mankind is that the scriptures have most likely fallen in the wrong hands. The highest of words have come in the hands of the lowest of minds. Now the lowest of the minds do not want to rise to the highest level. Instead what we are possibly doing is, bringing those words down to a low level. Ancient spiritual texts like the Upanishads and Gita are more relevant today than they were ever before. To spend a lifetime without the words of the Gita, might be, to lose a lifetime. Be it the past or present, or even future, the fundamental seeking of mankind will remain the same.
The fundamental seeking of all human beings in the past and present, is security, peace and happiness, and liberation. All human pursuits can be essentially reduced to these three basic endeavours. More often, we tend to search for these goals among external sources such as materialistic objects, people, and situations.However, we soon discover that no lasting peace and security can be found in external things because, in their ultimate bidding, they are unpredictable, unreliable, and subject to constant change. By gently pointing out that our whole problem is a misdirected search due to self-ignorance, the Gita tells us that the only place where permanent and complete happiness and fulfilment can be found is within ourselves—in the fullness of our own being.
Bhagavad Gita got an undeserving notoriety that only those in sorrow or old people should read it but in reality, it is far from it. It teaches us as to how a man should think, act and conduct himself in a fruitful & constructive way.
The best way to absorb it is, to read it repeatedly. In time, phrases (shlokas) and ideas get imprinted on your mind. These are sure to affect your outlook, you will actually begin to recall those and relate those with your life experiences in to this day.
( The above bit of writing and the attached paper were written in 2019 !)
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