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Learning the ways of the mind.

This weekend when I was running and stopped at 9.55 I wanted to do 10 but did not want it enough - and that’s the reason there was nothing that woke up inside me and helped carry me for the half mile - the other day when I ran 13.1 the last three miles I could feel my mind carrying me - coaxing me to complete it - running is complex but to me it points to one more thing - when the student is ready the teacher will appear ... to bring yourself to a point where your mind starts helping you overcome the physical pain is yoga. This is where the coach comes in. One can not become Arjun without a Coach.

What did I learn from reading Mahabharata..

The gist of Mahabharata

• in one word - OM
• in two words- Hare Krishna

If I try to expand beyond two words- it is such a spiral- that points to infinity. Its unfathomable. The way it expands - reminds me of the great Banyan tree in Bangalore. Its a tree - one tree- which has taken over the entire garden with its branches. I realized- at most points during the reading of this book- May be the summary is just- It is important to accept things as they are. Give it your best shot. Always do what is right and never hurt others intentionally. Consequences of your actions are never under your control. But Actions are- Act- Act with Dharma in mind- always be on the right side of Dharma. Where there is Dharma there is Krishna and where there is Krishna- there is Victory.

Somethings that appear across the book

1. Human enterprise can not change fate or destiny
2. Industrious people- bow to the destiny and then perform their actions
3. Fruits of your actions are always a function of enterprise and destiny- only enterprise is not enough and just waiting for your destiny to play out is also forbidden
4. Life as we know- has already been planned and you are doing what is already done. Do it in the name of Krishna
5. Submitting yourself to Krishna absolves you of all the sins
6. Krishna works in different ways
• He will try to explain what can be explained
• There are some absolute truths for which no explanation can be given
• He will give you what is yours and when its time
• He will never give you what you are not supposed to have and when you are not supposed to have it- but if you pray hard enough- he will give you the next possible thing
7. Krishna will always treat you as your child- he will always take care of you and guide you in the right direction. Always seek his directions and he will help. as long as you are on the side of dharma
8. Krishna will intervene when you are troubled and he will get you out of that situation as long as you are on the side of dharma
9. Krishna is willing and will always change the rules to get you out of trouble- as long as you are on the side of dharma
10. Donate when you can, per your capacity and without any expectations

Reading Mahabharata...

So..This started on the first day of Navratri in 2017 (Friday-22-Sep-2017). I committed myself to 10 books ..roughly 5500 pages in all. The book - Mahabharata. The unabridged version by Bibek Debroy.  I am intrigued and fascinated by this story since B.R. Chopra pushed the story in our homes. At that time- it was a gripping story- the baritone of Samay, the actors and the characters- it was so captivating- streets of India were deserted for Sunday 10:00 AM. Time passed.. I grew older. Tried to inculcate the reading habit. Then I stumbled upon some other books like Art of Subtle Dharma, Autobiography of a Yogi, My Gita. They are awesome books in their own regard. After reading these books - I started looking at BORI- the critical edition- was in Sanskrit- definitely hard to read. Then I realized I had a book on my kindle which has been lying around for quite a while and that book was Mahabharata- Volume 1 by Bibek Debroy. I remembered I had started reading it- but then could not- because the language was difficult. I picked up the book again- this time around the language did not seem like an impediment. and I started- it was good to read the intro notes by Bibek Debroy. Talks about what did it take to translate the book and notable is the mention of Sarma's child that stayed at his feet through the entire journey.
Introduction of the book- is the story about how did the book come about and may be - a summary about the entire book.
The entire Mahabharata has been translated into 10 volumes- and these 10 volumes cover 18 Parvas. The longest being Shanti Parva and the second longest being Vana Parva. Listing the Parvas for my own reference

1. Adi Parva
2. Sabha Parva
3. Vana Parva
4. Viraat Parva
5. Udyog Parva
6. Bhisma Parva
7. Drona Parva
8. Karna Parva
9. Shalya Parva
10. Saupatika Parva
11. Stri Parva
12. Shanti Parva
13. Anushasan Parva
14. Ashwamegha Parva
15. Aashram Parva
16. Mausala Parva
17. Mahaprasthan Parva
18. Swarg Rohana Parva