Vessel of Surrender

History hails Arjuna, the valiant and invincible warrior.

His arrow followed the path of undivided concentration. 

His unwavering gaze pierced only the bird's eye.

Yet mastery alone could not contain the Infinite.


Pride was his armor, bright and sure—until he saw his kinsmen in Kurukshetra.

Arjuna stood—unarmed within,

his body shuddering, the Gandiva slipping from his hand,

his mind whirling in confusion.


In that pause, vast and bare, the soul surrendered—

becoming the vessel, ready for Krishna's nectar wine.

Kurukshetra became the cradle for

the celestial song of the Lord—the Bhagavad Gita.


His doubts dissolved in the Light Divine;

the Gandiva rose with a will merging with Krishna’s Will.

No longer the doer, but the instrument of the Lord,

He fought, not for victory, but for Dharma.


Divine wisdom is not received by power alone,

nor by skill alone, nor by fame alone.

Arjuna became the living vessel of the Supreme—

aspiration rising from below; Grace descending from above.

- Dr. Sudevi Basu (India)

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for posting a comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Mental Assumptions in Relationships

Relationships. This seems to be the favourite area to work upon in young people. Relationship with family – especially the parents and siblings, with friends and more and more with that one special friend who acquires a special meaning as one enters the teenage years. Meeting young people, working with them, I am again and again asked for ways to work on one’s relationships. Here are some thoughts based on self-observation – simple things that can impact any relationship in a big way...... Mental Assumptions I had some work with a colleague. She said we will do it on Saturday when she comes to the office. Saturday morning – no sign of the colleague. My angst rising by the minute. “Why is she so irresponsible? She is just not interested in the work. Always tries to make things difficult for me. Why did she have to say that we will do it on Saturday?” Hold on! Did she give a particular time? No. Then why did I assume one? Why did I imagine that she will come for the morning meditation an...
Read more

Follow your Swadharma!

“Each man has a swadharma, a law of his inner being which he must observe, find out and follow. The action determined by his inner nature, that is his real Dharma. To follow it is the true law of his development; to deviate from it is to bring in confusion, retardation and error.” — SRI AUROBINDO Essays on the Gita, ‘Swabhava and Swadharma’   I have always had a tendency in this life to weigh more heavily on the spiritual which has probably been a pattern over lifetimes. If one is on the path of the Integral Yoga, we have to be very vigilant to not fall into the ascetic path as ‘All life is yoga’. I hadn’t realized that with all the spiritual classes and meditations I was doing, how reclusive I had become, meeting very few friends, not going to music concerts I loved or painting or listening to my favourite music. I was totally immersed in studying the books of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and was living in a beautiful mental formation of the ideal spiritual life! Not engaging with...
Read more

What is the Right Attitude in Integral Yoga for Observing our Defects?

Sri Aurobindo wrote: "I don’t know whether dwelling on the defects and weaknesses is very wholesome. To know that they are there is one thing, to keep them always before the eye may be depressing and retard the progress." Yet we have been told over and over by both Mother and Sri Aurobindo that it is absolutely necessary to be aware of our defects. How do we balance this with what Sri Aurobindo wrote above? One of my favorite writings from the Mother, from "Words of Long Ago”, speaks of the need for a LIFELONG effort to balance consecration with becoming conscious of one's defects. There's also a statement in  Bases of Yoga  where Sri Aurobindo writes to a disciple, it's not enough to have a general sense of your defects; you need have a precise detailed knowledge. And of course, there's that absolutely wonderful list of all our stupidities: "rejection of the movements of the lower nature ― rejection of the mind‘s ideas, opinions, preferences, habits...
Read more