The Gita Happiness Retreat. Sheetal

fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.

      In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor disliking it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge.

      One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.

      The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ending such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.

      The senses are so strong and quick, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is trying hard to control them.

      One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence.

      While thinking deeply about the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

      From anger, complete misunderstanding arises, and from misunderstanding confusion of memory. When memory is confused, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.

      But a person free from all attachment and hatred and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord.

      For one thus satisfied [in Krishna consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one’s intelligence is soon well established.

       One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can have neither transcendental (superior) intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?

      As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.

      Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are kept under control from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence.

      What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the inward-looking sage.

      A person who is not disturbed by the never-ending flow of desires-that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still-can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

      A person who has given up all desires for sense pleasure, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is free from false ego-he alone can attain real peace.

      That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not confused. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.

       Now let me Summarize Chapter 2:

      Arjuna who was confused about his duty, surrenders to Lord Krishna as His disciple and requests the Lord to instruct him. Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna the difference between temporary material body and the eternal spiritual soul. Lord Krishna reminds Arjuna of his duty as a Kshatriya and encourages him to fight on religious principles. Lord also explains him the ill effects of not fighting. Lord Krishna explains the process of transmigration, the nature of soul, devotional service to the Supreme and the characteristics of a self-realized person.

      He talks about how to work without fruitive results, by engaging in devotional service to the Lord and becoming free from the results of work in the material world. In this way become free from cycle of birth and death and attain the state beyond all miseries by going back to Godhead. This state is known as Krishna consciousness. When one is connected with Supreme in Krishna consciousness, he receives superior intelligence and a steady mind and from this comes the ultimate state of peace and happiness.

      I asked everyone, “Can anyone tell me what do you understand from this chapter?” One participant replied, “Arjuna surrenders to Lord Krishna asking to help him or guide him”. The other said, “It talks about transmigration, the difference between our body and soul.” One participant asked, “How is this relevant today?” I said, “This is my favorite question, let me share something interesting with all of you.

Lifesaver

      I want you all to close your eyes and imagine you are on a big ship; suddenly the ship is about to sink. Captain of the ship calls for emergency “Abort, Abort” and you jump into the water to save your life. You see a lifeboat and swim towards it. After you climbed on it, how many people do you think will be there with you on that lifeboat? 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 etc. These are exactly the number of friends you have in your life, this is according to a personality quiz that I happen to come across many many years back while surfing the Internet. Now I want you to ask yourself how many best friends do you have in your life? 0,1, 2, 3, etc. These best friends are nothing but your Lifesavers who will help you through trouble waters. So have at least 1-2 best friends in your life.

      There are 4 ways to find your best friend for life.

      1: Find a friend with two ears and an open heart

      I came across a beautiful meme which says, ‘When two ears are put side by side, it forms the shape of the heart. Interestingly, the word “ear” sits right in middle of the word “heart” (h-ear-t). The ear is the way to the heart. So, if you want to win someone’s heart, learn to listen to him or her.’ Sometimes in our life, we don’t need any advice but just a sincere friend to talk our heart out. There is a quote that says, “Just being with your best friend, is all that you need.” So have that Lifesaver who will listen to you and console you in trouble situations.

      2: Find a friend who will guide you in the right direction

      We all know that Lord Krishna and Arjuna were Best Friends. When the war between Kauravas and Pandavas was finalized, Duryodhana and Arjuna went to Lord Krishna for support. Lord Krishna said, “I will help you both, but to one I will give my vast army and to the other I will only give moral support because I will not fight”. Arjuna immediately chose Lord Krishna because he knew with His support and guidance they will win the war and Duryodhana was too happy to have the army by his side. This was indeed the turning point in the Mahabharata, where just the presence of the Lord was needed to win the war. Arjuna surrendered himself to Lord Krishna for guidance. Similarly, we are also like Arjuna who are facing challenges in our day-to-day lives and we too need a best friend like Lord Krishna by our side to help us win inner battles, to achieve success in our lives, to live our life in happiness and peace. So have that Lifesaver, have that Best Friend who will guide you in trouble situations.

      3: Find a friend whom you can trust but keep your eyes open

      You see trusting someone is the most difficult thing. You feel scared what if this friend tells someone or what if he or she laughs at me or gives me a wrong advise. But the thing is unless you open your heart out, how will you know that this person can be my best friend. You finally will get two results: A best friend for life or a lesson for life. I have 2 best friends in my life for the past 20 years and 1 best friend from school. Many a times they would advise me that there is a ditch ahead of you, don’t go. I used to not listen and then I would fall into the ditch. But they were always there giving their hands to pull me out of the ditch, of course after having a hefty laugh. That’s what friendship is. It takes a lot of time, patience and energy to build trust. But also be careful of those friends who can take you in wrong direction. Never let anyone take advantage of you for money, love, sex, drugs or revenge. So have that Lifesaver whom you can trust, who can take you out of trouble waters but at the same time keep your eyes open on the Lifesaver, making sure he or she doesn’t drown you.

      4: Find a real friend who will hold your hands and give you a hug

      Today we are