Guiding Light: Life lessons from Shrimad Bhagavad Gita

The body is temporary, but the soul is permanent

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna compares the body with a piece of cloth: that is, once it’s used, it’s discarded. This means a person should identify not with the body, but the real Self within. Just as worn-out clothes are replaced by the new ones, the soul of a person acquires a new body. When we identify with the body instead of the spirit within, it leads to all kinds of problems.

Anger causes delusion

A person who cannot reason justly is destined to be doomed. As soon as anger takes over, a person loses their ability to think clearly. Anger is one of the fundamental cause of all sorts of failures in a person’s life. One must try to sidetrack anger while keeping the mind at peace.

Be temperate in everything, and avoid extremities in life
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that a person is bound to fail in meditation if he does not strike a balance in his day-to-day activities. Eating too much or too less, for example, is not going to bring you any closer to God. Meditation can help a person find enlightenment, but he must eat and sleep well, work daily, and find time to enjoy recreational activities too.

Wisdom becomes inaccessible due to a selfish attitude

Think of a mirror: When it gets covered up by dust, it’s useless. The same is true of wisdom. Selfish attitude obscures our ability to understand situations. A selfish person cannot perceive the truth as it is when tackling relationship issues. Whether a person wishes to gain material wealth, succeed in a profession, or acquire spiritual wisdom, giving up personal agendas is absolutely necessary to wade through doubts and disappointments.

And the biggest lesson is... We came to this world empty-handed. We have made everything, be it relations, money, love or respect. We cannot take anything with us when we die. Everything will be left behind.

(The writer is an author and a storyteller)