Listening (श्रवणम्) and Singing Bhajans / Speaking ( कीर्तनम् ) about Shree Krishna are one of those supreme ways of worshipping Shree Krishna.
My progress in reading Śrīmad Bhāgavatam helped helped me understand Reading and Writing could also be related to Listening and Speaking in modern world. Bhagvad Gita wasn't first told to Arjuna on Kurukshetra but first it was told to Lord Surya. It was then inherited through Guru - Shihya (Teacher - Student) tradition. With time it was elapsed and then Shree Krishna again told it to Arjuna.
Shree Krishna knew that after end of epic Mahabharata Dwapar Yuga will come to an end and Kaliyug will start. Bull who represents Dharma will be struggle to survive on only one leg, who used to have all his four legs in fist Yuga - Satva Yuga.
That's one reason why Shree Krishna incarnated as Ved Vyasa to compile Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas in literature form. One of the major reasons for that being lifespan of a human and his memorising power was supposed to be reduced in Kaliyuga.
In modern world it is difficult to find a spiritual master who would be able to convey original philosophy of Bhagvad Gita and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Hence Shree Krishna recommended me to refer books.
Some people might argue it's still not an original philosophy and interpretation of an author and this is a very valid argument. However when I started Bhagvad Gita as it is by Shree A. C. Bhaktivedant Swami Prabhupada I realised why Shree Krishna suggested me to go for the same.
It has a break down of Sanskrit words (संधी / समास ).
Each broken down word has been translated to English or Local Languages. Depends on which version of the Bhagvad Gita you purchase
Explanation of the shloka. This is basically cherry on the cake. Because author has given references of Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavatam and Puranas.
This makes whole journey of reading Bhagvad Gita and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam extremely exciting and no doubt knowledgeable.
So basically reading is analogous to listening. Now coming to Speaking part. As I stared gaining this knowledge, I started correlating it with my life and everything happening around me. All these thoughts started crowding in my mind. Only friend and a life coach I had moment to discuss about all of it was Shree Krishna himself.
That's the reason I put this painting on my wall. When I'm reading/writing I sit front of my Guru.
Later as I started understanding Bhakti Yoga more through Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, I could understand reason for all those crowded thoughts. Initially when I stared penning down my thoughts, my primary targeted readers for notes were just my future self and Ayaansh. My future self would probably want to go back and read how my thoughts evolved over the time. Same thoughts should probably help Ayaansh guide on his journey some or other way.
These notes in my diary are thoughts cluttered in my head which I have literally scribbled down. They are not structurally reformed after penning them down neither grammatically corrected or curated. Including this current note. Sometimes I start diverting and I have I literally instruct my mind to stop and come back to the topic.
So coming back to topic of speaking, Bhakti Yog described in Bhgavad Gita and further elaborated deeply in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam By Kapil Muni, inspired me to not just keep my experience to myself. Through the medium of writing I can reach out to more people and inspire them to read Bhagvad Gita and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. It also helps me to connect with like minded people / Bhakt and discuss on such topics further. That's the reason even though I read everything in Sanskrit - Marathi, I write down my notes in English. Otherwise I won't be able to connect with as many as people I'm able to connect now. Meanwhile I'm aware of the fact that as completed my primary and secondary education in Marathi, my English is still pathetic. But trust me in past few years it has improved from ultra pathetic to somewhat pathetic. And credit for that improvement goes to Aakanksha and English sitcoms with subtitles which binge watched like anything.
So while I want to thank everyone who are spending their valuable time in reading my thoughts, excuse me for for my typos, grammatical errors and somewhat bearable pathetic English. It's not my mother tongue so I'll continue work on improving the same.
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