Rain drops and the River of Knowlege

All of last week the good earth absorbed a shower of raindrops, while my mind strangely hungered for spiritual Knowledge.

Call it a cosmic connection between Nature and the inner Mind, every single day, I got some knowledge, even while the raindrops beat incessantly against the window panes. From where I sat with my books, I could see the banana plants sway pleasantly in the roaring winds.

First, we had Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar's discourse on the Gita which I really related to, because it was so wonderfully down-to earth. I learned about importance Sankhya Yoga or the knowledge of the soul which Krishna explained to Arjuna, right at the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita.

Then I attended the first day of a 3-talk series by Swami Sukhabodhananda on the Bhagavad Gita. He is a great orator. And very inspiring.

Pic taken from the web.

My key take-home on Day One of the talk was there were several kinds of listening. One type of listening was like the water on a frying pan. The minute a drop lands on a hot frying pan, it evaporates. So people who have a lot of 'noise' in their minds, will not be able to absorb knowledge properly. Another kind of listening was like a dewdrop on a lotus. A calm resting point for the dewdrop, whose beauty is enhanced by the lotus flower. Such listeners grow and enrich their very being when a Guru imparts knowledge.

The third type of listening is akin to water drop landing in an oyster. With time the drop becomes a pearl. A late onset, albeit a wonderful ending. Such a pupil takes time to turn a Guru's knowledge into a gem by his or her own behavior.

Swamiji hoped that we were all like those lotus flowers. We did a lot of chanting. Even as the lightening blazed from the skies, our minds were silenced by dewdrops of this Supreme knowledge.

I grew hungry for more knowledge of the Gita and re-opened my textbook which was gifted by my counselor from ISKCON. I decided to read a chapter a day along with the interpretation. I plan to put up a small text every time I blog, in the sidebar, so keep watching that zone.

I also found a site online and bookmarked it.

Here's an excerpt from the site:

The Bhagavad- Gita is considered by eastern and western scholars alike to be among the greatest spiritual books the world has ever known. In a very clear and wonderful way the Supreme Lord Krishna describes the science of self-realization and the exact process by which a human being can establish their eternal relationship with God. In terms of pure, spiritual knowledge the Bhagavad- Gita is incomparable. Its intrinsic beauty is that its knowledge applies to all human beings and does not postulate any sectarian idealogy or secular view. It is appproachable from the sanctified realms of all religions and is glorified as the epitome of all spiritual teachings. This is because proficiency in the Bhagavad- Gita reveals the eternal principles which are fundamental and essential for spiritual life from all perspectives and allows one to perfectly understand the esoteric truths hidden within all religious scriptures. Many great thinkers from our times such as Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweizer as well as Madhvacarya, Sankara and Ramanuja from bygone ages have all contemplated and deliberarted upon its timeless message. The primary purpose of the Bhagavad- Gita is to illuminate for all of humanity the realization of the true nature of divinity; for the highest spiritual conception and the greatest material perfection is to attain love of God!"

The week has passed ever so quietly, like a sleep-walking child. But some pictures caught in the moment, will never fade away. The Supreme Lord will always seated on a Golden Chariot looking gently at the slowly awakening Arjuna. And in the backdrop, there will always be the rain-soaked banana leaves swaying gently to the rhythmic wind-song. In resonance to the Holy Rhythm.