Living “the dash” – Satsangh Takeaways

This Saturday’s Satsangh was on Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita. Paramji gave a wonderful synopsis of the feelings of Arjuna after he has seen the Vishwaroopa of Lord Krishna. He brought out the feeling of remorse that Arjuna experienced for having taken the lord for granted. Paramji also related some great anecdotes that went with the theme of the evening.

Very often, we make the mistake of “Taking for granted” – this relates to people in our lives – whether it is our parents, spouse or kids. We need to pause and take time to appreciate the people in our lives and the great moments we share with them.

Paramji gave the example of an elderly man who is cleaning his attic. He chances upon some old diaries that he and his son used to write many years ago. He picks up his diary and sees the entry for a particular day. The entry read – “Today, Jimmy and I went fishing. Caught no fish. What a waste!”. He remembers the day and his son who is no longer living with him. The man is now curious to see what his son had written about the same day. He retrieves the diary and fingers through to his son’s entry and this reads – “Today was an Amazing day. Dad took me fishing and I had the time of my life”. Like the old man, very often, we don’t see the great things that life showers us with on an every day basis. time . Just as Arjuna could not appreciate the fact that it was the Lord of the Universe who he had been having at his beck and call, we often do not give enough importance or realize the full value of the great people who cross our lives and the ones that live with us.

Paramji also referenced the famous poem “Dash” by Linda Ellis
It is customary to inscribe tombstones with the dates of birth and death which are separated by a “Dash”. What is ironic is that it is this inconspicuous “dash” that symbolizes our entire life and the poem summarizes this beautifully in the following words..

“”For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.”"

Some really great thoughts well worth pondering on..

Please feel free to add what I have missed. If you want to contribute a Satsang Takeaway for publication, please send by Email or post to the comment box.