Background articles
A completely new way of looking at the Bhagavad
Gita
The Bhagavad Gita’s message is as eternal as life itself.
Seekers of truth have been drinking from its sacred waters for
many thousands of years and will undoubtedly continue to do so
throughout ages to come. A masterpiece of psychological development,
the Gita describes our complex human plight and then offers solutions
based in the most profound wisdom. In this sense, the Gita’s
appeal is universal, not applicable to any one religion as such.
Everyone, no matter what their caste or creed, needs to know how
to skilfully rise above the confusion of the mind and to deal effectively
with life as it presents itself.
The Dru Bhagavad Gita is a completely new and original
interpretation of this age old message, adapted by Mansukh
Patel, Savitri MacCuish, John
Jones and Chris Barrington to
appeal to the person on the street. No longer do you have to be
a philosopher or scholar to appreciate the Gita’s message.
Mansukh Patel and his colleagues from the Life Foundation have
skilfully distilled the high minded philosophical teachings into
a form that even children can understand. In fact, the General
Secretary of the Hindu Council, Anil Bhanot, after examining the
Dru Bhagavad Gita said, ‘This is a Gita I can show to my
eleven year old son.’At the same time Mansukh assures us
that its format is not so simple as to lose its appeal to the older
generation. In fact Mansukh Patel challenges us to deny that this
Gita has a full spectrum appeal to both young and old.
Mansukh Patel, an Indian Hindu himself, is well aware of the great
reverence that the Indian sub-continent feels for the Bhagavad
Gita, apart from his own great respect for the Gita. Mansukh, who
has written a summarised story form at the beginning of each of
the three volumes of the Dru Gita, carefully re-presents the glorious
dialogue between the God-man Krishna and the great warrior Arjuna
so that the western mind can accept and understand this unique
relationship. In reading this story, it becomes very clear who
Krishna and Arjuna represent to each one of us. Mansukh Patel tells
us to see ourselves in Arjuna and the highest part of ourselves,
sometimes referred to as our divine self, in the personality of
Krishna.
Krishna takes Arjuna from a state of despondency and despair into
one of illumination and complete, empowered clarity about his real
nature. Mansukh Patel is keen for everyone to understand that this
is a synopsis of the spiritual journey. We are born in ignorance
of our true selves, like a child born into royalty is stolen away
at birth and grows up oblivious of their royal heritage. We are
here to re-discover our true heritage –that we came from
a divine place to which we must return. The Bhagavad Gita according
to Mansukh Patel, Chris Barrington, Savitri MacCuish and John Jones
is a careful and precise map of that journey.
The Dru Bhagavad Gita is so called because Mansukh Patel, Chris
Barrington, John Jones are co-founders of Dru Yoga, an international
school of Yoga promoting health and well-being at every level.
According to Mansukh Patel, Dru represents the still point within
us all, from which everything is born. The goal of Dru Yoga according
to the Dru Yoga School’s recent book entitled, ‘Stillness
in Motion’is to reconnect with the still point, because from
stillness, every activity is born. Actions that come from this
point of stillness are skilful, wise and discriminating. Once again
we return to Arjuna, the warrior who must learn how to act with
skill in order to achieve the very highest goal.
Mansukh Patel’s understanding of the Gita’s message
and his ability to interpret that message for the western world
is immensely appropriate for our time. This is a Gita to read and
read again. And what is it that sets this Gita apart from the hundred
or so other English translations of the Bhagavad Gita? Every verse,
of which there are 700, has a practical application –a daily
lesson that advises the reader how to apply the wisdom contained
in the verse to their day. This is where Mansukh Patel, Chris Barrington,
Savitri MacCuish and John Jones shine. They are making the highest
teachings available and applicable to you and me, on a daily basis,
in a form that can help us to live with skill and precision.
The Dru Bhagavad Gita by Mansukh Patel, Savitri MacCuish,
Chris Barrington and John Jones and The Dru Bhagavad Gita Correspondence
Course by Yamuna Loyal and Chris Barrington is available from:
UK: the Life Foundation School of Therapeutics, Snowdonia
National Park, Nant Ffrancon Valley, Bethesda, Gwynedd, North Wales,
LL57 3LX, tel: 01248 602900 and Maristowe House, Dover Street,
Wolverhampton WV14 6AL tel: 01902 409164;
gita@druworldwide.com, www.drugita.org
Australia: Life Foundation Australia, 4 Pandanus St,
Fisher, ACT 2611,
Tel 02 6161 1462, sales@druyoga.com.au; www.druyoga.com.au
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