In flight reading
After i switched companies, my new company asked me travel to Munich for 3 weeks. This was my second trip to Europe and the longest. The earlier trip was to Milano for 2 weeks. These trips happened at different times of my spiritual evolution. I was a rookie when i went to Milano having the childlike enthusiasm of a novice. How to maintain ones consciosuness inflight and during trips abroad is a challenge and one learns with multiple experiences. Food impacts consciosuness like nothing else. A spiritualist is always careful on what he eats, where and when. Once having tasted the high levels, a spiritual aspirant fears going down due to temptation of the tongue. I always ensure that i take an apartment so that iam not at the mercy of meat restaurants. One always finds good yogurt in western countries with flavored yogurt being an exception. Flavored yogurt has gelatin in it which can be an animal derivative. In contrast to US, europe is better that their ice creams and desserts dont have eggs.
The Sunday before my travel i was attending a sankirtan program in HSR layout Bangalore. iam very careful on what i read inflight, so i was on the lookout for some good reading material to consume my mind in the 15 hour 2 way flight + transit time. In the temple library i chanced upon 'Mahabharatha' by Kamala Subramaniam, a Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan publication. Being an ardent follower of Sri Krishna, i always had several questions about interaction between Pandavas ans Sri Krishna. What was the first time Sri Krishna met the pandavas? What and how were the loving dealings between them? What all are the different ocassion and events when Sri Krishna saved Pandavas from danger? I wanted to delve deeply into the role of Sri Krishna in each day of the Kurukshetra war. How Sri Krishna was the most dangerous non-playing captain till date the history has seen? With tears in my eyes i completed Mahabharatha till Draupadi swayamwara on my onward flight. The perfection is if you can emote while reading Ramayana, Mahabharatha or Sri Krishna lila. 'Sada kale kale pramatha pathina gita charito' - 'when will the day come when i will incessently discuss, remember Sri Krishna's glories and cry out of love for him' says a goal statement in Jagannath ashtaka. The development of loving relationship with the supreme being Sri Krishna is the goal of life according to vedas. Sri Krishna being the embodiment of Satchitananda, one can feel the arousal of consciousness while the mind gets absorbed in Mahabharatha. Katha yoga is an ancient yoga system - an important component of Bhakti yoga. One can feel more than the experience of Art of living's 'sudarshan kriya' just by absorbing ones mind in lila of Sri Hari like Ramayana and Mahabharatha. In the return flight i could relish Pandavas brief bliss after they get Khandavaprastha and with Sri Krishna's blessings turn it into Indraprastha. Yudhistira completes Rajasuya yajna and becomes the proclaimed emperor. The killing of Sisupala, the Pandavas banished to vanavaasa, Arjuna's adventure in heaven with this father Indra. Iam always intrigued at the character of Karna or Radheya. But one thing i can conclude is that he did not have the favor of Sri Krishna. As the sloka in Gita goes - victory is where Sri Krishna showers his favor - 'Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion(Sanjaya's opinion)'.
karna sided with Duryodhana and his downfall is a lesson to all of us to be discriminating in cultivating friendship. Cultivate 'satsanga' goes the vedic saying. Becoming friends with devotees of Sri Hari is important. Vidura is one example who always favored the sided the pandavas. This earned him the grace of Sri Krishna.
The Sunday before my travel i was attending a sankirtan program in HSR layout Bangalore. iam very careful on what i read inflight, so i was on the lookout for some good reading material to consume my mind in the 15 hour 2 way flight + transit time. In the temple library i chanced upon 'Mahabharatha' by Kamala Subramaniam, a Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan publication. Being an ardent follower of Sri Krishna, i always had several questions about interaction between Pandavas ans Sri Krishna. What was the first time Sri Krishna met the pandavas? What and how were the loving dealings between them? What all are the different ocassion and events when Sri Krishna saved Pandavas from danger? I wanted to delve deeply into the role of Sri Krishna in each day of the Kurukshetra war. How Sri Krishna was the most dangerous non-playing captain till date the history has seen? With tears in my eyes i completed Mahabharatha till Draupadi swayamwara on my onward flight. The perfection is if you can emote while reading Ramayana, Mahabharatha or Sri Krishna lila. 'Sada kale kale pramatha pathina gita charito' - 'when will the day come when i will incessently discuss, remember Sri Krishna's glories and cry out of love for him' says a goal statement in Jagannath ashtaka. The development of loving relationship with the supreme being Sri Krishna is the goal of life according to vedas. Sri Krishna being the embodiment of Satchitananda, one can feel the arousal of consciousness while the mind gets absorbed in Mahabharatha. Katha yoga is an ancient yoga system - an important component of Bhakti yoga. One can feel more than the experience of Art of living's 'sudarshan kriya' just by absorbing ones mind in lila of Sri Hari like Ramayana and Mahabharatha. In the return flight i could relish Pandavas brief bliss after they get Khandavaprastha and with Sri Krishna's blessings turn it into Indraprastha. Yudhistira completes Rajasuya yajna and becomes the proclaimed emperor. The killing of Sisupala, the Pandavas banished to vanavaasa, Arjuna's adventure in heaven with this father Indra. Iam always intrigued at the character of Karna or Radheya. But one thing i can conclude is that he did not have the favor of Sri Krishna. As the sloka in Gita goes - victory is where Sri Krishna showers his favor - 'Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion(Sanjaya's opinion)'.
karna sided with Duryodhana and his downfall is a lesson to all of us to be discriminating in cultivating friendship. Cultivate 'satsanga' goes the vedic saying. Becoming friends with devotees of Sri Hari is important. Vidura is one example who always favored the sided the pandavas. This earned him the grace of Sri Krishna.
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