MEDITATIONS - PRAYER - GITA DHYANAM
ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं
व्यासेनग्रथितांपुराणमुनिनामध्ये महाभारतम्
।अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतिमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं
अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद् गीते भवद्वेषिणीम्

Om parthaya prathibhothitham bagavada narayanena swayam
Vyasena grathitham puranamunina madye mahabaratham /
Advaithamrithavarshineem bagavatheemastadasadyayineem
Amba thvam anusandadhami Bhagavatgeethe bhavadveshineem // 1

Om - Om (The monosyllable, indicative of Supreme Brahman), parthaya prati bodhitam - with which Partha ( Arjuna ) was enlightened,baghavata - by the Lord, narayanena - Narayana svayam - himself, vyasena - by Vyasa himself, grathitam - incorporated, purana munina - by the ancient Muni, madhye mahabharatam - in the midst of Mahabharata, advaita amritha var shinim - the showerer of the nectar of Advaita, bhagavatim - the divine Mother, ashtadasa adhyayinim - in the form of eighteen chapters, amba - affectionate Mother, tvam - Thee, anusandadhami - I meditate, bhagavadgite - O! Bhagavad Gita, bhavadveshinim - destroyer of rebirth.

Bagavad Gita
is the essence of the entire Veda. It begins with nine Dyana Slokas; the author being Sri Madhusudhana Sarasvathi. He has also written a commentary on Bhagavad-Gita - Goodartha deepika - throwing light on hidden meaning.

Thro' these nine slokas he offers four `Namaskaras'- 1.Salutation to Bhagavad Gita, where Gita is personified as the Universal Mother (2 verses), 2. Salutation to Mahabharata as Bhagavad-Gita is an integral part of Mahabharata. (1 verse), 3. Salutation to Vyasacharya, - also known as Krishna Dwaipayana. He is the author of Mahabharata including the Gita. 1 verse 4.Salutation to Lord Krishna who taught Gita to Arjuna. (5 verses)

1. Gita Namaskar
: bagavat gite ambha thvam anusanthatami - Oh ! Mother Bagavad Gita, I meditate upon you and I offer my namaskars to you. What is the glory of the Gita? This is described in the first three lines. - Parthaya pratibothitam- systematically communicated or taught to Partha (Arjuna) - Pritha putra or Kunthi putra. Pritha means big hearted, generous. Arjuna was successful in the material front; but this did not help him at the time of crucial emotional challenge of loosing all his kith and kin in the Kurukshetra battle field. Hence he thought that he should strengthen himself. Emotional strength can be achieved only by Spiritual knowledge given by Bhagavata Narayanena - Lord Narayana himself, who is the Adi Guru. This knowledge was not taught by any ordinary local person; but by the Adiguru himself by taking the incarnation as Sri Krishna. Vyasacharya captured the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna - vyasena grathitam - incorporated by Vyasa, purana munina - who is an ancient sage having written many Puranas (18 puranas and 18 Upapuranas) in the middle of Mahabharata.-madye mahabharatham; Advaita amritha varsinim - showerer of the nector of Advaitha. The central teaching of Bhagavad-Gita is the knowledge of the ultimate reality behind the individual, the world, and the Sara - Jeeva, Jagat, and Iswara thatvam.That thatvam happens to be one and the same like the water which is behind the wave and the ocean. - The Advaita -non dual is infinite truth. This Knowledge is Amritham. It gives happiness and leads to immortality - freedom from fear of death and insecurity. - in the form of eighteen chapters - I meditate (anusandadhami) upon Amba - loving mother bhagavathi - divinity personified.- Sarasvathi Devi herself, who has to feed me with milk of Wisdom (Karmayoga - liquid Milk, Upasana Yoga - semisolid, Jnana Yoga - Solid food) This spiritual knowledge make me grow up inwardly. Bhavadvesinim - destroyer of birth, antidote or medicine for bhava (samsara) roga - constant struggle to become somebody else - emotional self dissatisfaction. Bagadvad Gita teaches us to be athmanyeva athmana thusta: We do not do anything for satisfaction but with satisfaction. This is called Liberation. Bagavad Gita is the only medicine for this. Daily we have to do parayanam of Bagavad Gita, Rudram, Purusha Suktam, Visnu Sahasranamam etc.
5th September 04


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Sarvopanisado gavo dogdha gopala nandanah /
Partho vatsah sudhir bhokta dugdham gitamrtam mahat //

Sarvopanishado - all the Upanishads, gavaha - the cows, dogdha - the milker, gopalanandana - Krishna, the cowherd boy, parthah - Partha, vatsaha - the calf, sudhihi - men of purified intellect, bokta - the drinkers, dugdham - the milk, gita - Gita, amirtham - nectar, mahat - the supreme.

All the Upanishads are the cows, the son of the cowherd is the milker; Partha (Arjuna) is the calf; men of purified intellect are the drinkers and the supreme nectar Gita is the milk.

The analogy given is symbolic. The entire Veda is pictured as cow. - Upanishado gavo. the milking man is gopalanandana - Krishna, the cowherd boy; Partha vatsah- Arjuna becomes the calf. And he is benefited as well as the men of purified intellect (by the teaching). The drinkers of this glorious Gita milk are the beneficiary - the beginners of life.