Loving Hart

Dear friends,

Today, 31st July 2009, our much respected Registrar Major(Retired) V K Premanadhan retired from CWRDM after 8 years successful service in the Centre. In fact this is the second retirement for him as the first one was from Indian Army after 20 years of distinguished service. He joined in CWRDM as Registrar on 30th June 2001 after the retirement of the erstwhile Registrar Shri Unnien Kutty. Shri Unnien Kutty was a strict officer considered everything very seriously and his actions were viewed suspiciously by the staff and his mannerism created a sense of fear and ill will towards him. When the news of selected person for the post of Registrar is a retired Major from Indian Army the staff of CWRDM felt that he will also be a hard person to tackle.

My first boss was a retired Major , Mr K C Ahammed Sahib, who was a very strict and serious person with high commanding power. So, I was under the impression that the present Major will also be a hard nut to crack. But on the contrary to our expectations he was a nice lovable person and he gave full freedom for the staff. He treated all problems lightly and didn't allowed to misuse the freedom. He was one among the staff in all issues of CWRDM.

In his tenure a great leap occurred in the field of infrastructure development and uplifting the Centre with Vision and Mission. He brought back all NMR workers to CWRDM head quarters at kunnamangalam. He has given full support to Dr E J James, the Executive Director at that time for the implementation of research activities as well as all programmes conducted by CWRDM. He was very sympathetic towards employees demands and his actions eventually succeded in getting a favorable order from Honorable High court of Kerala on the scale issue of the Technical Assistant Grade(2) and the order for the disbursement of the arrears of the long pending issue was also signed by him at the verge of his retirement.

Before coming to CWRDM he was serving as Principal in Bhavan's school, Chevayur. He is bestowed with Master of Personal Management and LL B degree. His wife is an employee of Veda Vyasa school, Calicut. They have one son and one daughter.

I wish him and his family a long healthy, happy and prosperous retired life
With Best wishes
ktv

Sreemad Bhagavat Gita

Dear friends,

Divine Life Society founded by Swami Sivananda has narrated Sreemad Bhagavad Gita in a very brief manner and Swamigi has published it in the net as 'Bhagavat Gita for Busy People' . In the froward letter the Divine Life Society points out that 'Gita is your benefactor and constant companion. Gita is your teacher and Guru. The Gita is your real Father and Mother. Gita is your solace, support and property. The Gita is an embodiment of nectar. Drink this nectar daily and attain Immortality'.

I am not a learned man to give a commentary on Sreemad Bhagavat Gita, but I want to give you a glimpse of Gita with my understanding and to quote what the learned peoples openioned about Gita. I was made to go through Sreemad Bhagavat Gita by my father-in-law Shri Kommadath Chandrasekharan, Retired Divisional Accountant, PWD. He was a great admirer of Swami Chinmayananda and life member of Chinmaya Mission. Swamigi is one of the 20th century world renowned and revered exponents of Vedanta, the foundation of Hindu religion and culture. His actual name was Balakrishna Menon born on 8th May, 1916 in Palakkad in Kerala . While he was working in The National Herald he decided to write an article about the fraud sanysies and he traveled to Ananda Kutir, swami Sivanandas ashram in Rishikesh. Swami Sivanandas divinity, love and vetanta teachings made him renunciate himself and accepted sanyasa on the holy day of Maha Shivaratri, 25th February , 1949 by Swami Sivananda who blessed him with the name 'Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati'. He underwent an intense study of Vedantic texts under renowned Vedantic master of the time, Swami Tapovanam, who lived in Utterkashi in Utterpradesh(Present day Uttaranchal) in Himalayas. With his Guru's blessings he started to spread Vedatic knowledge to the masses. His first Gita Jnana Yanjna was in 1951 at a small temple in Maharastra. Chinmaya Mission was started in 1953. Swamigi popularised Bhagavat Gita by conducting 576 Jana Yajnas. Swamiji's Mahasamadhi occurred on 3rd August, 1993 in San Diego, California.

My father-in-law has given me a copy of Bhagavat Gita published by B V Book Depo & Printing works, Thiruvananthapuram with the commentary of Dr L A Ravivarma. This version was quite understandable but some of the explanations were un-affordable to me and I had a feeling that he wants to revive Chathur varnya through his commentary on Gita. So I purchased a concise pocket book of Sreemad Bhagavat Gita published by H&C Publishing House, Thrissur with the commentary of Smt Jaya Venugopal, M A, BEd, M Phil. I have also purchased an English version of Srimad Bhagavat Gita published by India Book Distributors, Bombay forwarded by Dada J P Vasawani. I was also benefited by the Sreemad Bhagavad Gita published (PDF version) by Bhakti Vigyan Nityananda Book Trust, Berhampur, Orissa and articles published by wekipedia.

It is stated that Sreemad Bhagavat Gita is the summary of all Vedas. It is the narration of karma by Lord Krishna to Arjuna which acts as a catalyst in motivating Arjuna in performing his duties as a Shatriya in the battle field of Kurushatra where he was filled with grief on seeing his Gurus and kinsmen in the battle field and throws away his bow and arrow and sank down on the seat of the chariot. In order to revive him from the anguish Lord Krishna said to Arjuna 'Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. This body and the world are in-welt by imperishable Atman, Brahman or the soul. None can cause destruction of that - the Imperishable. This Atman is not born nor does It ever die. It is unborn, eternal, changeless ancient and inexhaustible. It is not killed when the body is killed'. It portrays the way to liberation through renunciation.

I was very much impressed by the Sloka of 35 in Chapter III (Karma yoga) ie.,

Sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah Para-dharmot swa-anushtitat

Sva-dharme nidhanam sreyah Para-dharmo bhayavaha

Now a days people are very much interested in doing others duties(dharma) but they fail in doing their duties. Lord Krishna reminds them that even if a person imperfectly does his duties it is far better than the duties of another performed with all perfection. It is better to die for ones own duties, but doing the duties prescribed for others is dangerous.

Another Sloka which attracted me is :2.47

Karmanya vadhikaraste ma phalesu kadachana
Ma karma-phala-heturbhur ma te sangosttvakarmani

You certainly have the right for prescribed activities but never at anytime in their results. You should never be motivated by the results of the actions, nor should there be any attachment in doing your prescribed activities.

The other Slokas attracted me are2.62 and 2.63

Dhyayato visayan pumsah sangastesupajayate
Sahgat sanjayate karmah kamat krodho'bhijayate

Krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smrti-vibhramah
Smrti-bhramsad budhi-naso budhi-nasat pranasyati

when a man dwelling his mind on the senses objects, an attachment for them arises. Desire is born of that attachment. From attachment anger is born. From anger comes delusions, from delusions springs failure of memory. From wrecked memory results the ruin of the understanding and then he perishes.

Scholar Steven Rosen summarizes the Gita in four Slokas ie., 10.8,10.9,10.10 and 10.11

Aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate
Iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah

I am the foundation of all spiritual and meterial worlds. Every thing emanates from Me. The wise man who know it perfectly well, they engage in My devotional service and worship Me with love and with great attention.

Mac-citta mad-gata-prana bodhyantah parasparam
Kathayantas ca mam nityam tusyanti ca ramanti ca

With minds fixed on on Me, with lives concentrated to Me, My pure devotees fully absorbed in Me, and they derive grea pleasure enlightening one another and conversing on My glorious attributes and deeds.

Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam
Dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mamupayanti ta

Those who worship Me with love and devotion, I give them un-udulterated love born of pure intelligence, which enables them to attain My blissful realm

Tesamevanukampartham-mahamajnanajam tamah
Nasayamyatma-bhava-stho jnana-dipena bhasvata

Out of my causeless mercy for them, I dwelling in their hearts, destroy their darkness born of ignorance, with the lamp of pure knowledge.

The oldest commantary on Gita was written by the founder of veedanta school of adaida Sankaracharya(788-820 AD). Balagangadhra Tilak (1910-1911)and Mahatma Gandhi(wrote in 1929 in Marati while he was in Yervada jail) were the modern commentators of Gita.

Dr Radhakrishnan considered that the the essance of Gita is contained in Sloka 11.55

Mat-karma-krnmat-paramo mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah
Nirvairah sarva-bhutesu yah sa mameti pandava

He who does work for me, he who looks up on Me as his goal, he who worship Me, Who is free from attachment, who is free from enmity to all creations, he goes to Me, O Partha

Sreeramakrishna Paramahamsa said that the essential message of Gita can be obtained by repeating the word 'gita' several times. Gita, Gita,Gita, you begin, but then find yourself saying ta-Gi,ta-Gi,ta-Gi, tagi means one who has renounced every thing for God'

According to Swami Vivekananda on reading 2.3 one gets all the merits of reading the entire Gita, for in this one Sloka lies embedded the whole message of the Gita.

Klaibyam masma gamah partha naitattvayyupapadyate
Ksudram hrdaya-daurbalyam tyaktvattistha paramtapa

O son of Prita, it does not become you, Shake off this base faint-hartedness and raise O scorcher of enemies

Mahatma Gandhi wrote' the object of the Gita appears to me to be that of showing the most excellent way to attain self- realisation', and Gandhi wrote that this can be achieved by selfless action -'by desire less action, by renouncing fruits of action, by dedicating all activities to God- ie., by surrendering one self to Him body and soul'. Gandhi called Gita 'the gospel of selfless action'
May Gita help you in overcoming the difficulties of worldly life.

With best wishes
KTV