“I find a solace in the Bhagawad Gita….When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone,I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagawad Gita.”- Mahatma Gandhi

“The Gita is a bouquet composed of the beautiful flowers of spiritual truths collected from the Upanishads.” -Swami Vivekananda

After going through Gita many times, I find Bhagawad Gita as the most secular scripture providing solution to all the confusions of a person (represented by Arjuna)through the advices of Krishna(The Supreme Self).It can be accepted whole heatedly by all the countries of world as Yoga has been. My request and appeal to all educated and highly educated professionals and business persons of our country:Particularly,if you are above 50 years of age, please start reading Bhagwad Gita through a book in your mother tongue or English with good commentary. If not whole that has 700 Slokas, please start by reading only Chapter 2 and 18. If that is also too much, please read only chapter 2 that too from 11th Sloka onwards to end, the 73rd sloka.

1.Slokas (11-46) deal with the yoga of knowledge called Gyan-yoga, for example the following sloka,

वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय, नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।

तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णान्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥2.22॥

Just as a man cast off his old,wornout clothes and puts on new ones,so also the embodied Self casts off its worn out bodies and enters others which are new.

2.Slokas 47-60 sketch Karma-yoga, the yoga of action,for example,

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥2.47॥

Thy right is to work only, but never to it’s fruits;let the fruit of action be not thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction.

3.Slokas 61-70 deal with Bhakti-yoga, the path of love, example,

या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संयमी ।यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः ॥2.69॥

That which is night to all beings,in that the self-controlled man keeps awake;where all beings are awake, that is the night for the sage(muni)who sees.

4. Slokas 71and72, concern with Sannyasa-yoga, the path of renunciation,example,

विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति निःस्पृहः ।निर्ममो निरहंकारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति ॥2.71॥

That man attains peace who,abandoning all desires, moves about without longing,without the sense of ‘I-ness’ and ‘my-ness’.

If you consider the whole of Slokas 11-72 to be too heavy on you, you may attentively just read Slokas 54-72 only that provide the description of a ‘Man of Steady Wisdom’(स्थितप्रज्ञ,sthitaprajna). You can always select the best ones out of these Slokas and read daily till you absorb and may be starting to act on the suggestions. If any one of you are like me in late sixties to eighty and with not much involvement, please focus on Gita for an hour daily preferably early in the morning,with focus for grasping it.I request you all to share my request.It will be a good holy work, punya on your part. Among the commentaries, one by Chinmayananda of Chinmaya Mission or the another one of Eknath Easwaran, are the best ones that I have found.You can yourself research and take the decision.You will not lose anything but get gradually increasing peace of mind and you will enjoy life better, I promise.