Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita

1. Gita is the essence of the four Vedas. The word Veda means knowledge. The purpose of the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita is to guide humankind to move from:

· Ignorance to wisdom

· From mortality to immortality

· From false to truth

Human beings have self-awareness that is the foundation on which superior human intelligence has grown and which should be used to master the art of living.

2. Attachment describes the connection between an individual and an external object which could include people, things, possessions, power, face etc.) Most people are attached to something or the other in life whether they are aware of it or not.

Attachment is different from love. Attachment is born out of dependence and comes with expectation. Love on the other hand is free from dependence and attachment. Therefore it is possible to love without expectation which is known as true or unconditional love.

3. All our problems are actually located in the mind. All our problems in life are represented by negative emotions like fear, anger, jealousy, worry, grief, frustration, shame. When we encounter a situation in life that is not in keeping with our expectations we experience negative emotions. While the problem is within our mind, the cause of the problem is in the external circumstances. Instead of changing the cause of the problem, we need to work on the actual problem which is suffering.

Most people do not acknowledge the presence of the problem in the first place. If they do not even recognize the problem, the solution is of no use. The problem is in the mind and we need to resolve the problem only through knowledge. Experience and knowledge do not always co-exist. We assume that as we gain more experience in living life, we will learn to deal with problems in life in a better way. This is not true.

4. You are eternal. From this statement we understand that:

· I am not the body (since the body is ultimately perishable)

· I am the Atman (I exist all the time. It is wrong to say that I have Atman. Actually you are Atman)

· Since I am Atman, I am not attached to anything or anyone.