Shree Krishna and Bhagwad Gita is famous all over the world. Shree Krishna who is called as Yogeshwar is as famous as Yoga itself. Bhagwad Gita, which is a conversation between Shree Krishna and Arjuna is becoming well known all over the world. Shree Krishna in many ways is the ultimate consultant, guide, counsellor and a life coach. Today on Janmashtami, I life coach Sahil Kumar Nagpal is sharing some essential life lessons from Shree Krishna.
1) Take Charge Of Your Attention
Either out of love, hatred or out of fear, when a person focuses on any object, that person attains the form or qualities of that object.
– Uddhav Gita 4.22
Many of us have heard about law of attraction. We become what we think. Wherever we pay our attention we attract the qualities of that person or object. Law of attraction says if we focus on negativity we will attract negativity. If we focus on positivity we will attract positivity.
But do you know that in India we had a concept similar to the law of attraction? It is called as ‘Kitta Bhringi Nyaya’. Kita is an insect that build its nest from the mud on the wall. Bhringi is the house bee. Bhringi while hunting the insect makes a humming sound. While sitting on its nest when bhringi makes that sound, the insect listen to that sound with immense fear. This makes the insect become bee in next birth.
When you look at life you will see this concept all over the place. When you focus your attention on negative things with intense emotions, you will become more of those negative things. This is the reason that many children who had abusive parents grow up to become abusive themselves. A person who comes out of a bitter relationship becomes bitter himself. If we don’t consciously take charge of our attention, we will become what we hate the most.
So, take charge of your attention. Include people, places and things in daily life that makes you feel positive and motivated.
2) Take Charge Of Your Emotions
“The one who overpowers himself becomes his own biggest ally and the one who doesn’t, becomes his own biggest enemy.”
– Bhagwad Gita 6.6
Every one of us has desires. Desires to eat, drink, meet people, and go to places. These desires are for a reason. But if those desires overpower our decision making then it will start giving pain rather than pleasure.
When our desires are fulfilled, we get pleasure. But if our pleasure solely becomes dependent upon the fulfillment of our desires then our life will become hell. The objects that give us pleasure will bind us.
So, it is essential to overpower our desires and passions. If we can overcome our desires and passions we can lead a holistically successful life, if not, maybe we can become successful in one or two sectors of life but as a whole, we will ruin our life in the long run.
3) Realize Your True Nature
“The true self residing inside is the true guru. Listening to that devas defeat danavas.”
– Anu Gita
Who am I? This is the question, that has been a source of success of many spiritual masters. The topic: ‘What is the nature of the true self?’, is a grand subject. But once you realize your true inner self, it makes sense to stay connected with that inner self and listen to that true self.
Some people might know this as intuition. But knowing your true self and staying connected is entirely different from intuition. When you are connected with your inner self you realize that everything that you ever learned is just because of that true self. People, situations, and things are just mediums.
Knowing the element that is beyond and establishing your mind in it will help you navigate through all the storms of life. This in my experience is the biggest life coaching lesson one can ever learn.
4) Give Up Your Likes & Dislikes
“Everyone performs actions with an intent to get rid of all the pains and get all the pleasures in life. This action is itself is the cause of all the pain. It is better to not indulge in pain and pleasure and then perform actions.”
– Bhagwat Mahapurana 16.60
Pain and pleasure are part of life. Not everything that gives pleasure is good and not everything that gives pain is bad. But most of us focus on getting pleasure and avoiding pain. Getting up early is uncomfortable but can productively change our life in the long run.
Staying up late at night, watching movies, and binge-eating is pleasure giving but causes lot of pain in life. If our actions are based on pleasure and pain we will suffer in the long run. Forgetting about pleasure & pain and take actions that are right in a given point of time will benefit us in the long run.
The Conclusion
- Take Charge Of Your Focus
- Take Charge Of Your Emotions
- Realize Your True Self
- Give Up Your Likes & Dislikes
Ancient shastras do not teach moral values. But they provide a blue print of living an optimum life.
