Of all the books I've had to get for my Teacher training, this one right here is giving me the most trouble! It's not that thick (220 pages), and the whole thing is basically a non-rhyming poem, but the language has a lot of meaning and symbolism behind it, making it a challenge to read more than a few pages in one go. This book has come with me to Paris, to the pool, to NJ, to Boston, to the nail salon, to my couch, and I'm still only halfway through it.
The Bhagavad Gita is essentially the Hindu bible's equivalent of the Psalms. It is quite a departure from the Christian Bible I grew up using and reading. Instead of the many allegories, stories and lessons about good and bad people and events that occurred long ago, the Gita is a conversation between a warrior, Arjuna, and his blessed lord, Krishna. Arjuna is about to enter a great battle, where he will be fighting with and against friends and relatives he has known his whole life. He decides this is senseless, and refuses to fight. At this point, Krishna begins to teach Arjuna about wisdom, freedom, and the secret of life. Sounds compelling, like something I should be paying attention to. Except I'm not getting it.
Truthfully, I recently finished the chapter on meditation (chapter 6), and it was the first chapter so far that made sense to me. Now, I have never been one to meditate. I know my yoga teachers meditate, and I have many friends who swear by meditation as being transformative for their bodies, minds, and spirits. I've never given it a try - and you can't really know ANYTHING unless you give it a try once - but I can't envision myself getting into meditation. It takes 20 minutes or more of sitting and emptying your mind so you can connect with your true, inner self. I know that my time is limited, and I'm used to multi-tasking. Even when I'm on the yoga mat, I'm thinking about how I will need to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer when I get home, swandive, but I should stop at the grocery store first on the way to pickup milk, and I need to keep my back foot at at 45 degree angle, was it a light load or a dark load? And now we're windmilling down, and as soon as I get the milk and get home I have to remember to call the roofer to asking about the copper flashing and chaturanga, updog, downdog, breathe, is there anything else we're running out of that I can get when I'm at the store...
If I was taking 20 minutes to empty my mind, how would I remember to do any of those things? Wouldn't I spend the entire 20 minutes thinking about how I should be exercising because I had gelato last night from the new place in town? Maybe I'd be thinking about all that laundry I should be folding, or tiles I should be scrubbing, or recycling I could be organizing (I won't kid you, I never organize my recycling. Shameful, I know. Disgusting, perhaps, but I just don't have the time).
But in reading this chapter on meditation, I "get it". "when the mind has become serene by the practice of meditation, you can see the Self through the self and rest in the Self" What this means is that you'll be like a candle sheltered from the wind - one that does not flicker and is still. The chapter continues to explain that this is the true yoga; you'll be rooted, stable, courageous. The book admits that the mind will wander and it is part of the process to reign your thoughts back in for clarity and peace. Eventually you'll gain freedom and infinite joy.
I've not made plans yet to meditate. I can, however, take these words with me and keep them in mind as I finish reading the text. I'm only on chapter 8, and I have 10 more to go. (Hopefully I'll finish before my classes start!) Anytime my mind wanders, I'll have to reign my thoughts back in so I can focus on the message and meaning of the text. Eventually I'll gain freedom (even if it's only freedom from reading this dang book!) and find infinite joy!
You are right, Arjuna: the mind is restless and hard to master; but by constant practice and detachment it can be mastered in the end. - Krishna, in Bhagavad Gita 6.35
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