The song of the bamboo

Bamboo Wisdom

The Bhagavad Gita, words of consciousness - flowed from the lips of the cowherd king who revelled in the strains of the flute that he played. Just as the formless wind that flows through the different holes of the flute that creates the music of the soul, the words Sri Krishna spoke to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshethra rings as music to the ears torn asunder by chaos and turmoil in the everchanging word.

So Bamboo Wisdom is about each verse of the Bhaqgavad Gita, not as a text for glorifying some bygone era, but for its relevance today, now, in the present moment. Tune in to the music of the bamboo, wafting the essence of eternal wisdom.

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Arjuna Vishada Yoga: Chaos is the precursor to cosmos. Just so, confusion is a prelude to clarity. Arjuna, the great warrior, skilled in archery, adept in concentration, bestowed with divine power, is a blessed fighter who knew no fear. Yet, confronted by his teachers, relatives and friends in the enemy camp, he is confused, shaken and cannot be his agile self. Doubts cross his mind like a storm.

This is not an Arjuna that lived in some mythological past, but the ordinary human being of today. Technology and organisation have provided all the comforts that even kings of the past did not enjoy. From simple questions like why should I work? What is the meaning for my life? What should I do? Why should I be part of this rat race? Is there no liberation from a life so full of sorrow, sadness, disaster, war, terrorism, bomb blasts and deaths? Every moment is beset with doubts and fear. Even the few happy moments are eventually lost in the fear of that happiness slipping away.

What is that changeless one absolute in this chaotic world of change? The confusion of Arjuna is our confusion too. The words flowing from the depths of consciousness from the friend-turned Guru and mentor - Sri Krishna, are the words of clarity flowing from the depths of our own being. The confused mind that asks questions throughout the Bhagavad Gita is Arjuna and the clarity of reply is from the intellect submerged in Consciousness - that is Krishna. Both are one and the same person - the mind is you, the consciousness is you. The doubt is you and the solution is you. The Arjuna is You and the Sri Krishna is also you.

So here go the words of wisdom, flowing through this bamboo flute....

- Swahilya Shambhavi.