With the growing popularity of yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda, there has also been an increased interest in Vedanta, where all of this ancient wisdom comes from. With that in mind, I thought we’d take a look at some of the verses of the Bhagavad Gita, from my translation Song Divine: A New Lyrical Rendition of the Bhagavad Gita. We’ll take it chapter by chapter each week and see how we can apply the knowledge to our lives today.
Chapter 5:
KRISHNA:
Happy is the one who knows
What is true and what is real.
There’s no work in any action,
And no suffering to feel.
What makes us unhappy, dissatisfied, and frustrated is mistaking the “unreal” for the “real.” When we go after money, or fame, we find that it never fills us up, no matter how much we have it leaves us empty, wanting more. Yet when we work with love in our heart, time flies, we have fun, we smile, we connect with one another, and we feel the joy. In this verse, Krishna is reminding us to remember what is real, what is important, what is lasting. It’s so much bigger than any paycheck.
Chapter 6:
KRISHNA:
In all actions maintain a pace,
Never too little or too much.
With moderation in food and sleep
You can lift your sorrows and such.
In this verse Krishna is talking about what some call “the middle path.” Everything in moderation. When we stay away from the extremes in life and find that “sweet spot” that is “middle ground” then the road ahead is much smoother for us. When we overdo, we get tired, and when we underdo, we get bored. When we eat too much we feel bloated and stuffed, and when we eat too little we feel hungry and restless. Neither of these extremes is good. It applies in every area of life. We each know where that moderation lies and we can apply it to our own situations, so that, like Goldilocks, everything for us is “just right.”
Lissa Coffey is the author of Song Divine: A New Lyrical Rendition of the Bhagavad Gita. For more information visit: www.SongDivine.com
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