Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

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Day 4

Day 6

Day 7

We should have Josh and Hosh. In Ramayana, Hanumanji, accompanied by Angad and Jambhavanji were wondering how to cross the ocean. Jambhavan boasted that he had gone around the lord thrice during Vamanavatar. But now he was old. He then told Hanuman that this was the very purpose of his birth. Hanuman immediately became enthusiastic and he got Josh.

Swamiji had gone to a clinic in the US. All the technicians were introduced to him. Mary, Teri, Uski, Sabki etc. etc. Then the Doctor there started complimenting Mary. He said that she tested blood and produced the reports. They were so accurate, that the Doctor could sign it blindly!! Swamiji told her, "You are so good and have so much patience. You do all the work and the Doctor takes the credit. Why are you a technician and not a Doctor?". She said, "Are you an Indian? Is it therefore that you are talking like this? In your country, when you are children, your parents love and save you. So, kids educate themselves and become well qualified. Here, when we reach our teens, we are left to be independent and so we roam around. The years of study are hence wasted and so we become technicians instead of Doctors".

Nobody can stop what is coming to us. We should be prepared for it. We know that disease will come to us and we must be prepared for it. As long as we remember the ideals and advice of our elders and carry on life in this manner, we get Self confidence and understand the permanence of God. So, the Lord tells Arjuna, "You should not avoid your duty".

What is duty or Karma? Even very intelligent people do not understand what is Karma and Akarma. God tells Arjuna, "I will tell you and you will be freed from Ashubha". Does this mean that, If we are told to sweep the floor and we do it, we lose the Ashubha? This is not the meaning. If we do our duty and if we are not happy about it, then we have not done our duty.

We should know Karma, Akarma and Vikarma. Karma pertains to all the acts that come to us based on our position. Suppose I am a father in front of a son, I don't have to learn what I have to do as a father. Suppose I am a student. I don't have to know what I should do as a student. In this hall, Swamiji is the teacher, and we are the listeners. His duty is to teach the Gita. If he sees somebody and remembers his father, he derelicts his duty. Similarly if we decide to sing or dance instead of learning or listening, we derelict our duty. Arjuna too should have been a warrior and fought the battle. Instead he thought of himself as a son, grandson, disciple etc. and thought of ignoring his duty.

The 18th Verse is the essence of Chapter IV;

Swamiji explains, "The most intelligent amongst men, the yogi, the one who has performed all his actions is He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction". Is he intelligent or confused? To help us understand this riddle, Swamiji explains further;

Akarma is Paramatma or that act which has no ego. A small kid who is just growing up, does various acts which do not have ego. He can eat, love or even slap his parent. He is not the doer or the controller of his action. But when the same kid grows up and when he is 25, he cannot slap his father or pull his hair, because he is now the controller of his actions. If a person sees paramatma in his actions, then he is a yogi, he is intelligent and he is one who has fulfilled his actions. Paramatma is the embodiment of joy. So, If in action we see Paramatma, we get happiness from action. This is possible only if the action is not a burden and this is possible only if we do it out of free will and not under compulsion.

On a hot day, when a child is asked by his mother to go out and buy some Coke or vegetables, he immediately refuses. At the same time, if his friend calls him for a cricket match, he will run. In both the cases the situation is the same. The day is hot and the person is the same, but the response is different. Swamiji says, "When an action is done as a habit, we become slaves and when it is done as a hobby, we are masters of it".

When Swamiji goes somewhere to speak, he does not bargain or put a price on it. So he speaks without fear. His job is not a habit, but an expression of joy. When any act is done, even as a result of position, we should experience joy. Once we experience joy while doing it, any act that is done will also result in happiness. Then, we see Inaction in action. That person who sees happiness in action can never become unhappy, because one who is happy in the present can never be unhappy in the future.

When we do something for a person, with love, then the act becomes easy and joyful. So, if we love everybody, then all our acts will be joyful. Then Swamiji asks, "But, how do we love everybody? Only by insistence. We should remember that nobody other than the Lord enters our lives. So everyone who enters our life is the Lord himself. If we keep insisting this, we will believe this."

Once Swamiji went to a person's house. While Swamiji was there, a man came and gave a letter to that person. He opened the letter and then requested Swamiji to read it, because it was in Hindi. As Swamiji started reading, he said, "Let me guess the contents, It must be somebody asking for some donation". When Swamiji read out the letter, it turned out to be in appreciation of the person's service to society and a request for an appointment to honor him. So, whatever we keep in mind, that is what we will observe and if we think good about everybody, only then we will be able to see goodness.

If a person who enjoys music is given an opportunity to sing, he will not sing with a sword and an angry expression, but with joy and a smile on his lips. When the mind and face are happy, everybody wants to see us and be with us. On the other hand, When our attitude is bad, everybody wants to go away when they see us and we become Human repellents.

If someone bothers Swamiji, he phones and calls another person, who is not liked by the person who is bothering him. Immediately he is rid of the person who bothers. The Snake is killed and the stick is safe too!! Swamiji says "Those who do not experience happiness in life are true followers of Darwin. They have simply come down from the trees but have no other change!!"

Not doing anything and being a wastrel is the greatest sin. We are not the controllers of action or inaction. Once a person asked Swamiji, "How do I get rid of all desire". Swamiji replied, "Just get rid of two desires, First, the Desire to die and secondly, the Desire to live. Thereafter, Life will be lived through us. There will neither be a live man nor a dead man. So, life will be joyful."

A person who is inert like a stone, should be beaten to work. A person working without enthusiasm should be bribed , "Show a carrot". Talking of carrots, Swamiji says, that people who come to visit him, bring carrots, maybe attracted by the color of his robes. When people bring him carrots, Swamiji wonders, why they are dangling carrots as though he is a donkey. Jokingly Swamiji says, "Thankfully, there are others accompanying him and hence there is always the benefit of doubt".

When Swamiji attended a marriage, he saw the bride and groom sitting in front of the fire. The groom's face was covered by smoke, It was red from the fire and tears were running down his face. Swamiji went up to him and told him, ".. and this is just the beginning!!"

Swami Chinmayananda used to say, "Nobody should waste even a moment of their existence. We do not have right even to a cup of tea, if we haven't contributed to the society". He once said, "If I hear that a disciple of mine, collapsed while lecturing on stage, that day, I will truly be happy". This was the extent to which he believed that Nobody should be a parasite on the society.

A Yogi is one who does not expect fruits of action. A Yogi sacrifices laziness and finds God in every action. When we are ready to die, we should be free from the guilt of our existence and should be ready to take on God. If we lead a righteous path, we get Vairagya in our minds. Whatever action we do, we must dedicate it to God. What is required is to see Paramatma in every action.

The term Budhahah Panditam refers to one who has burnt all actions in the fire of knowledge. This is sacrificing action and the control of all action or doer-ship. If you want to slap a person, your hand should be OK, the mind should want to slap and the person to be slapped should appear in front of you. If the hand does not function, even if the desire is there, one cannot slap. The person who understands that action is incomplete just by desire, is a sage. A person who understands that no action is possible without the wish of God, has sacrificed doer-ship and has wisdom. Actions that do not have doer-ship or control, do not have papa or punya.

Once there was a king who went to a forest. He shot an arrow on a lion. The lion moved away and a cow came in the way and it died. The spirit went to the king and asked him why he killed it. The King replied that he was not responsible and it was the arrow that killed the cow. The spirit then asked the arrow and it replied that it was the bow, which shot the arrow and hence the bow was responsible. When the spirit asked the bow, it said that it was the hand that held the bow that was responsible. He then asked the hand and it replied that the king of senses, Indra was responsible. When the spirit asked Indra, he said that the Lord of Lords Narayana should be asked. When the spirit approached Narayana, he said that they would both disguise themselves and approach the King. They then went to the King and said "The Kingdom is so beautiful, the roads are all very neat, there are so many trees and the people are all very happy". To all of these, the King said, "I did it" but when asked about the murder, he said, "I am not responsible". This reflects the tendency of people to take credit only for good things.

A sage is one who burns the thought "I did" or doer-ship. Those actions which are not dictated by desire for fruits of action are the right actions and a person who does these actions is a sage / intellectual / pundit. Before performing an action, one should sacrifice doer-ship notion and after action, one should sacrifice the desire for the fruits of action.

A Nithyathruptha is one who has accepted happiness in life. Happiness is contentment. A big industrialist, who was Swamiji's friend, met him once. He had many companies and was constantly involved in many of his businesses. He met Swamiji at the Airport and told him, "Please advice me, I cannot sleep. I have met all doctors and there is no effect. Please help me". Swamiji said, "Put up one more unit". One should draw the line somewhere and be satisfied.

Nirashraya refers to that person who has no expectations from or dependence on others. Swamiji was going to pick up another Swamiji. He said, "You don't have to come. I don't become better if you come or worse if you don't. I am what I am.". A Lady went to a party wearing an expensive imported sari. She was expecting everybody to compliment her. When nobody said anything, she said, "No one here has taste". This was because of her own unnecessary expectations that were not fulfilled. Another lady came to Swamiji and said, "Nobody comes to me. They move away. Swamiji said, "Be a person and come here, not an actress. Move properly with others and so will they."

The responsibility of keeping the society properly is the prerogative of social workers. Or so they feel. So do politicians. The only people who really do it are the saints and they do not claim credit. 'Asha' or hope is a disease and one should be free from it.

Once an educated man told Swamiji. There is one big difference between Christian priest and Hindu Swamis. Christian priest give money, feed people and take care of them. On the other hand, Hindu Swamis visit houses and they eat. Swamiji replied that this is because, Hinduism is not an organized religion. People are Hindus by choice. This is not forced on people by Swamis nor do Swamis have targets to meet.

Once Swamiji went to a meeting. After the lecture, he had been invited by one of the devotees for dinner. When Swamiji reached the house, the devotee saw that only Swamiji had come. None of his other followers had come. The host asked, "Where are the others?". Swamiji said, "Did you invite them? Even a Kamandala will not come unless invited". This describes one of the attributes of a Sadhu. Swamiji concluded saying that he would discuss the other attributes in the next discourse.