Business to the Buddha

Tag: Ashtavakra Geeta

  • Karma







    The Endless Knot

    Associating Karma with financial success seems completely falsified way of using the doctrine of Causality.

    I was reading an article and it referred to financial success of people as the results of their Karma. Specially when we speak of “Karma” the context is effect of past life on the current one. Additionally, Karma of current life influencing the future life.

    The conceptual explanation of financial success of people to their Karma made me question the concept of Karma itself. Does Financial success mean everything and is the END in itself?

    I believe – Not necessarily.

    I have seen kids playing with mud, plastic bottles & almost without cloths very happy and kids with LEGO toys at home crying for something else. Just let the kids be little old and see adults or old aged people – they start grumbling about money! But we forget we leave empty handed. Karma in my opinion should be construed as – something that will help us progress. Progress spiritually – if finances help in spiritual progress – be it. But otherwise putting the whole concept of Karma around Financial success is not agreeable.

    Specially, when west misunderstands the concepts and tries to prove every point of their belief using concepts such as Karma – I remember Ashtavakra. I remember reading that Ashtavakara in his Geeta denied the concept of Karma.

  • Amazing, isnt it?







    When I was thinking about the title of this blog – I literally went to Thesaurus. I wanted to write the best possible word for <Hindi> “आश्चर्य”! This word reminded me of Ashtavakra Geeta. Janaka repeatedly says “आश्चर्य” in that – a different Geeta. Well, I am no scholar to write on most succinct knowledge bank – Ashtavakra Geeta –  on Enlightenment. That book takes you in a different dimension.

    I was amazed with Nature. This is what this brief story all about.

    It was January 2000-2001, I was traveling to Gwalior early morning train reached Jhansi at about 1:30-2:00 may be 3:00 AM. Of course I was a student and thus was traveling in General (unreserved) boggy. It was so cold that I was wearing 1. thermocoat 2. Banyan 3. Shirt 4. Sweater and 5. a good quality jacket. I went on platform for having a cup of tea. Cold was such that I was shivering, even after wearing those many cloths. While sipping tea, hands were shivering and jaws wrecking. I have that image always as definition of cold one may face in North.

    Recently, I went to Indore and Gwalior. I have been living in Mumbai for 8+ years so had not seen in that cold thus didn’t have cloths of that kind with me either. The experience of winter I have raises hair, thinking of cold of Gwalior 3-7 degrees scared me. No doubt it was cold in Indore & Gwalior; for a Mumbaite (now at least), it was too much. Nevertheless I survived, in fact I did not have trouble in facing the cold. Neither I fell sick (which I was afraid of).

    No, before coming back to Mumbai, I asked my Art of Living Teacher Dr Shrikant Agashe – a professional MBBS Doctor. How is that possible? I haven’t been living in Indore; I was in Gwalior more than a decade ago, how could my body not give up on this cold? How is that possible, when every month or quarter – may be – at cellular level we are completely new! What he answered me, amazed me about us – more precisely the nature!

    He said every cell has a memory (somewhat amazing! For example, in case of any allergy even if you think that 25 years would be enough for forgetting about something at cellular level – your allergic nature wont be lost. Bigger amazement.

    I still remain amazed about this memory stuff. This amazement is overall for the nature, isn’t Nature amazing, functioning in its own surprising ways? “आश्चर्य”! I know I am no Janaka, nonetheless, I can be amazed with Nature

    Ashtavakra Geeta in English here

    Here Sanskrit verse, word meaning and English translation