Talks on Selected verses of Bhagavad Geeta Ch3 by Br. Abhijit Chaitanya (14-16 November 2014)
Brahmachari Abhijit Chaitanya conducted a 3 day discourse at the Chinmaya Mission Ashram in Chatsworth, Montford. The talks took place from the 14th to 16 November from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. It was a historic moment for Chinmaya Mission Durban as Br. Abhijit conducted his first yagna. He was also the first person from South Africa to take Brahmachari Diksha in Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai after studying for the 2-year residential Vedant course..
Br. Abhijit commenced his yagna by saying that life is full of battles. Battles and war do not only occur outside at the physical level but also in our own minds. Br. Abhijit explained how the most crucial battle is the one that is continuously occurring at the mental level. At every step, there is a battle between right and wrong(righteousness and unrighteousness) and by choosing dharm even at the minutest level, the stronger it becomes. Br. Abhijit also mentioned that the immediate fruit of committing a wrong deed is disturbance in the mind. By going against the Laws of God and the world, a person can never be peaceful and happy. Brahmachari Abhijit also highlighted how the principles of the Mahabharat and Bhagavad Gita are relevant even in today’s modern society. It was explained how Arjun was an extremely valiant, divine warrior, not an ordinary individual but he slipped into delusion because of his misplaced compassion. The cause of Arjuna’s delusion was
- forgetfulness of what his role and true duty was and
- his attachment for his family.
Br. Abhijit described how the mind gets disturbed wherever there is attachment.
Br. Abhijit explained that nobody can act without desire. Desire alone prompts action and the nature of action is that it binds a person. An ordinary person doing action lives his life from his own individuality and likes and dislikes. This occupies a big place in his mind and he is constantly buffeted up and down. It was discussed by Abhijit that the karmayogi also has desire but he surrenders and offers this desire to Lord. Whatever he gets as a result of his action, he accepts it as a prasad.The glory of prasad is that Lord has accepted it and it becomes a blessing. The karmyogi does his duties to please Lord alone sacrificing his own likes and dislikes. Br. Abhijit also mentioned that the path of karmayog purifies the mind and paves the path of gyanyog. It was mentioned that the mind has to be free from desire, quiet and peaceful for knowledge to take place.
Brahmachari Abhijit explained that a karmayogi is able surrender all his actions because he has extreme love for God. God is that one altar where there is no difference and everything merges. The person that practises karmyog has more acceptability because he sees God in everything around him. Br. Abhijit discussed how the karmayogi allows the Cosmic desire to flow through him and he thinks of himself as only an instrument of the Lord. It was re-iterated that love for Lord can be developed by attending satsang, by being in the company of the saints who have already experienced the joy of the Lord’s company. In the presence of saints, mind automatically changes to become more peaceful. When we love God, then every attempt is made to please Him. A person can go to any extent when he has a big altar of sacrifice.
Brahmachari Abhijit concluded the discourses by expressing his heartfelt gratitude to Pujya Swami Abhedanandaji for accepting and loving him. He said that whatever words, that he was able to say was only because of Swamiji’s grace and blessings. He also thanked his parents for giving him the opportunity of furthering his studies in Vedant and allowing him to thread the spiritual path ahead.
