'The Gita has universal appeal'
Sunandaji, the daughter-disciple of Swami Parthasarathy and a student of the ancient philosophy of Vedanta for more than three decades, tells what is the nature of devotion
What is the significance of chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita?
Every chapter in the Bhagavad Gita has a theme and that can be applied in life.
In chapter 12, Krishna explains what true devotion is. The Gita relates 35 qualities that a person must have that define devotion. And since nowhere does Krishna say "worship Krishna", the values have universal application.
Devotion and love in the individual are the same emotion; the former is a feeling directed towards something higher while the latter is directed to something on a par with or lower than yourself. The Gita gives us a universal philosophy on life and living.
What is the difference between devotion and rituals and practices?
Any ritual is a symbol of something higher. Marriage, as a ritual, symbolises a sacred bond between a man and a woman. How can it work without devotion?
With devotion, there is identification, a feeling for the people. The first quality of a devotee Krishna speaks of is "one who hates no being". People may not cater to your needs but you still have to love them.
For example, Jesus Christ, when he was crucified,said: "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do."
What can come between an individual and devotion?
Selfishness. If we had to write an equation, it would be: Love +Selfishness=attachment or Attachment-selfishness=love. The moment you drop selfishness, you begin to identify with a wider range of people and unilateral attachment is converted into a universalistic one.
It is natural to love things that are close to you. But let what is close to you be the centre from where your love radiates.
What qualities complement devotion to make a whole being, according to you?
There are three parts to everyone: The physical, emotional and intellect. It is through actions you perfect the physical aspect. It is not about what you do, but how you do it and when action takes the flavour of sacrifice, it is perfect. The emotional part is perfected through devotion. For the intellect, you gather knowledge. But only when you convert knowledge into wisdom, it becomes perfect. Rabindranath Tagore cautions us when he says: "The world is made up of sound scholars, but not sound men."
Sunandaji, the daughter-disciple of Swami Parthasarathy and a student of the ancient philosophy of Vedanta for more than three decades, tells what is the nature of devotion
What is the significance of chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gita?
Every chapter in the Bhagavad Gita has a theme and that can be applied in life.
In chapter 12, Krishna explains what true devotion is. The Gita relates 35 qualities that a person must have that define devotion. And since nowhere does Krishna say "worship Krishna", the values have universal application.
Devotion and love in the individual are the same emotion; the former is a feeling directed towards something higher while the latter is directed to something on a par with or lower than yourself. The Gita gives us a universal philosophy on life and living.
What is the difference between devotion and rituals and practices?
Any ritual is a symbol of something higher. Marriage, as a ritual, symbolises a sacred bond between a man and a woman. How can it work without devotion?
With devotion, there is identification, a feeling for the people. The first quality of a devotee Krishna speaks of is "one who hates no being". People may not cater to your needs but you still have to love them.
For example, Jesus Christ, when he was crucified,said: "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do."
What can come between an individual and devotion?
Selfishness. If we had to write an equation, it would be: Love +Selfishness=attachment or Attachment-selfishness=love. The moment you drop selfishness, you begin to identify with a wider range of people and unilateral attachment is converted into a universalistic one.
It is natural to love things that are close to you. But let what is close to you be the centre from where your love radiates.
What qualities complement devotion to make a whole being, according to you?
There are three parts to everyone: The physical, emotional and intellect. It is through actions you perfect the physical aspect. It is not about what you do, but how you do it and when action takes the flavour of sacrifice, it is perfect. The emotional part is perfected through devotion. For the intellect, you gather knowledge. But only when you convert knowledge into wisdom, it becomes perfect. Rabindranath Tagore cautions us when he says: "The world is made up of sound scholars, but not sound men."
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