Bhagavad-Gita: Change the world – change yourself

     Author: Syamananda dasa

How do we process all this information that is poured into our poor little brains everyday?

It will not come as a surprise to anyone to say that the world is in a ‘little bit of a mess’, to put it softy. Political, environmental and social issues seem to be escalating on a daily bases. And with the many endlessly instant ways we are informed of all these issues on a global level, staying positive and hopeful can become challenging.

One way to respond to this 24/7 news input that many are choosing, is to simply reduce our exposure to it. Log out and turn off from the phone/computer/tablet for at least a few hours a day and spend more time taking in your own space and the people in it. And you never know but you might see that not everything is all gloom and doom.

But that only seems possible for brief periods in our world where if you don’t log in very regularly, people wonder is something wrong! But actually its more like, something is right! Maybe we are simply talking to the people who are actually in the same room as us.

So then the real question we are left with is…how do I change myself? Then from that we have to ask ourself honestly…‘What is the self”? This is where the Bhagavat-Gita comes in.

But as well as reducing our time online, we do need to equip ourselves with ‘mental muscles’ to cope with all that is going on in the world around us. How do we process all this information that is poured into our poor little brains everyday? Is there actually anything that I can really do to help the world? It is explained that reform take place on three levels:

  1. Personal
  2. Social
  3. Political.

First I change myself, then to the degree I am successful then I may impact others in my life (social) and then if that is successful then I will be given access to ways and means to impact others who are not in my life (political).

So then the real question we are left with is…how do I change myself? Then from that we have to ask ourself honestly…‘What is the self”? This is where the Bhagavat-Gita comes in. The human life is distinct in our ability to acquire and develop knowledge systems and the most important knowledge we need to have is the ‘knowledge of the self’. But the Bhagavad-Gita isn’t just some distant, dry philosophical treatise but also a practical guidebook in how to work on ourselves step-by-step. So from Bhagavad-gita we learn what is the self and what are the ways and means to work upon myself so I am better able to function as a positive force in this crazy world. The Bhagavad-Gita directly puts in our hands tools to be a better person, right here, right now…what are you waiting for…switch off the phone and pick up the book!

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