This Gita camp is organised with the blessings of Amma, Satguru Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, who inspires us through Her life and teachings of LOVE to achieve great heights in life.
While Amma abides in the height of God Realisation, she teaches the spiritual truths in a simple manner that everyone can understand. To her spirituality is the art of retaining mental equipoise in all situations in life, seeing the divine in one and all and serving the world accordingly. Amma says Her religion is love, and She accepts people of all races, faiths and beliefs. Her teachings of love and compassion have inspired thousands to come and embrace life of service and sacrifice. Her Moola Mantra is “लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ” May All beings of All the Worlds be Happy.
Amma’s thoughts on Gita.
“The Gita is not asking us to worship a God who is sitting up in the sky on a golden throne. Nor is it asking us to strive to attain heaven after we die. ‘How can you experience peace and happiness right now, right here?’ That is what Gita is showing us. The Gita helps us to realise our true Self.”
“One learns Bhagavad Gita is to become Sri Krishna. One learns Ramayana is to become Sri Rama”
“Honey and its sweetness are not two. Similarly, the Guru and his words, Sri Krishna and his words are not two, they are one. The commentary of upon Sri Krishna’s life is Bhagavad Gita.
“One cannot live without being active in some way, whether physically, mentally, or intellectually. Everyone is constantly engaged in some form of action; this is an unchangeable law of nature. No one becomes pure and selfless overnight; it involves time and concentrated effort coupled with tremendous patience and love. Do your actions in the world, without forgetting that your final goal in life is to break out of all bondage and limitations. Always remember that you have a higher goal to attain. Simply do what needs to be done; but at the same time, don’t miss the opportunities you come across to perform unselfish actions. You will then gradually gain mental purity and devotion. As you proceed with diligence, you will attain more clarity of mind and a deeper understanding. This will finally lead you to the state of Perfection, the state of Self-Realization.
“The Gita is not asking us to worship a God
who is sitting up in the sky on a golden throne.
Nor is it asking us to strive to attain heaven after we die.
How can you experience peace and happiness right now, right here?
That is what the Gita is showing us.
The Gita helps us to realize our true Self.
“Daksha Prajapati conducted Yagna, it became a war, Arjuna participated in a war, it became a Yagna. Attitude is what matters. When we do every action as a worship, it becomes a Yagna.”
Sri Krishna is asking to change Arjuna’s the mindset (मनःस्थिति ) not the external circumstances (परिस्थिति ). If you can change the mindset (मनःस्थिति ), the external circumstances (परिस्थिति ) also will change.
“Honey and its sweetness are not two. Similarly, the Guru and his words, Sri Krishna and his words are not two; they are one. The commentary of Sri Krishna’s life is Bhagavad Gita.”
“We should try to live according to our own dharma. We should never try to adopt someone else’s dharma, for that would be as dangerous as it would be if a dentist were to act as a cardiologist and treat someone afflicted with heart disease. It would be dangerous for both him and his patients if he tried to do something which he is not qualified to do. Needless to say, the dentist should stick to his own job. He has enough to do in his own field. By diligently performing each action with an attitude of love, dedication and self-surrender, he can attain perfection.”
“You cannot experience the state of God-consciousness through your mere senses or through the scriptures that you have learned. To experience it, you need to develop a new eye, the inner, or third eye. The two eyes that you have now should become one, only then can you see God. This means that even while you are seeing everything with both your eyes, you should not see the dual world. All duality disappears and you behold the oneness of creation, the whole universe. The inner eye, or the eye of true knowledge, can only be opened by a real Master.”
Question: What determines the conditions of the next birth?
Amma: “The next birth is in accordance with the thought that one has at the time of death. Only intense and unfulfilled desires will come at that time.”
Question: Then would one become a house in one’s next life if one thinks of a house at the time of death?
Amma: “If one dies thinking of a house one will not become a house, but one may become a person who builds houses. Otherwise, if the thought is about a half‑built house, one will take another birth to fulfil the desire of completing it.”
Question: “The Gita asks us to act without any desire for the fruits of our actions. Amma, how can we possibly do this?”
Amma: “The Lord prescribed that for a life free from sorrow. Perform your actions with shraddha, without thinking and worrying about the results, and you will certainly get the result the action deserves. For instance, when you are a student, learn your lessons with alertness, without brooding over whether you will pass the exam or not. When you are constructing a building, build carefully, according to the plan, without worrying whether the building will stand or fall.”
“Any action done with the right attitude, understanding and discrimination will take you closer to liberation. If, however, the same action is done without the right attitude, it will bind you. An action can either serve as a purifier, which will finally help you realize your godly nature, or it may add more and more to the already existing amount of negativity, which will eventually cause you tremendous suffering.”
“Good actions will bring good results. If a farmer sells quality rice, people will buy it, and he will be properly rewarded for his work. But if he sells an adulterated product, hoping for extra profit, he will be punished today or tomorrow; then he will lose his peace of mind. Therefore, do each action with alertness and an attitude of surrender to God. Each action will receive its result in full measure, whether we worry about it or not. So why waste time worrying about the fruits of our actions? Why not use the time to think of God?”
-Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi