A Lesson from Ashtavakra Gita

Here to share a small incident and then how a beautiful message from Ashtavakra Gita propped up in front of me and suddenly things were in perspective and I was feeling so much better.

Coronavirus and the lockdown has been heavy on us and its been crazy taking care of the whole household with no help and even no schools to keep kids engaged.

Hubby is back after 3 months and he is in quarantine in a place close by. We visit him to deliver lunch and dinner. And while doing so he made a small remark which happened to hurt me. He did not mean it to hurt at all. He is the kind who would not hurt an ant. But my emotions were in a state of imbalance and I ended up feeling bad. I guess emotional roller coaster is something most of us experience with the Corona pandemic. We are easily disturbed, being home all day with so much work load and over that the influx of all that is happening wrong around the world has made us super sensitive.

So later at home while I was scrolling mindlessly through Facebook, this beautiful message from Ashtavakra Gita came to me. Ashtavakara Gita was a conversation between Ashtavakara and Janak, who was the king of Mithila. Ashtavakra means literally eight bends, which refers to the eight physical handicaps that he was born with. This beautiful conversation gives us beautiful insights to our oneness with the supreme being, our own soul and the illusions of this material world. In present times more so these scriptures can give us so much wealth of knowledge to remain undisturbed and calm.

I realised how true it is, how easily we get swayed by praises and blames. More so by blames. Because we accept blames more easily then we would a praise. When someone praises us we doubt the credibility of his word. While on the other hand if someone were to pinpoint our mistake we would very eagerly absorb it and lament over it for hours perhaps. It is very important that one remain unaltered emotionally by these. The world is a mirage… an illusion…. we give so much credibility to this life…. but we are really living very shallow. Life is beyond what happens on this planet.

In the face of praise as well as blame we must not get personally attached to it. Remember it is just the action that is being spoken about. Look at it from the perspective of one watching a drama. Play your role in the act, but do not get absorbed by it. Sometimes you may really be wrong and at those times you only need to introspect and register it for future.

Everything that happens to us and around us we must just watch it as a drama. None of this is permanent, we are not permanent. We must make efforts to change what we can but what we cannot influence, just bless the situation and move on.

It is important that we be compassionate and kind towards everyone in these days of distress and most importantly towards ourself. We have to keep reminding ourself such positive thoughts. If possible start and end your day by reading something or listening to something inspirational. Some of the people I love to read and listen to are Osho, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from Art of Living foundation, Sadguru to name a few.

What you seek finds you is so very true. In this moment of sadness I had wanted to talk to someone. But somehow perhaps as a result of my own meditative practices I was not convinced in bickering about it. I could make out that it was something within me that needed attention. I was seeking this very knowledge that came to me.

If you are not already meditating do read this blog I wrote to help people start a meditation practice.

I am sharing it here because I know that most of us fall prey to this game of words – praises and blames. We must make efforts to come above it. It is not a one time process. I may do it again but perhaps now I would be more aware. Like the very next day a friend said some words of praise for my blog that I had shared and how helpful she found it, I was getting swayed by the praise…. and then I reminded myself of this wonderful quote from Ashtavakra Gita.

I hope this helps and I hope the world is able to cherish the divine love instead of being affected by the worldly affairs.

Divine blessings for the world. May we all come out of this pandemic physically, mentally and spiritually stronger.

You may follow this Facebook Page for more Wisdom from Ashtavakra Gita. You may also read this wonderful commentary on Ashtavakra Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.