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What and why do we need a practice?
The very purpose of practice is to experience
what we know or pursue to know. Like theory and practice. No one would be
satisfied with a theory without a practical application of it. The practical
application is a validation of the theory. Here we do an enquiry about the
mystery of our mind and finally seek freedom from its limitation and remain
at peace. So the purpose of practice is to walk through the path of enquiry.
Every exercise that we intend to do here are the steps of that enquiry. You
yourself would know whether this enquiry was beneficial or not and for that
very same reason you conduct it. Nothing here given is a belief system for
you to swallow it, but for you to analyze and use it. This warrants then
application of the mental exercises or mental practices. You would understand
the depth of the enquiry only when you practice it yourself.
Practice Gita- An Introduction
Gita is not to be read but to be practiced to attain
inner purification.
Generally everyone reads Gita or attend Gita classes every day or once a
week but seldom practice which means apply the teachings in one's life. It is like reading a book on how to
do swimming or cooking or drive a
car and never practicing it. Without practicing we can intellectually
appreciate the greatness of Gita but never experience the greatness of the
teaching itself. Understanding from personal experience and experience of
many spiritual seekers we here focus on how to practice Bhagavad Gita
in daily life. The end result of practice is inner purification.
Purification - the
culmination of all practices
Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word
and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Purpose of
Purification Aim
of any spiritual practice is to purify the mind. Why should the mind be
purified? The mind like the blind king allows his son Ego to rule the
kingdom instead of allowing the wisdom to exercise its power. The mind does
not entertain any enquiry that will put end to its hypocritical rule instead
will allow only thoughts that supports Ego's whims and fancies. This should
be understood clearly and only then we can understand the purpose of
purification of the mind. Purification is really then allowing an
unbiased enquiry keeping out the Ego's interferences. This is symbolism of
purification is Vidur in Mahabharata who is the prime minister of the blind
king as well as his younger brother.
We cannot proceed in the enquiry path unless we are able to separate the
chaff from the grain (the mind and the Ego). The mind can pursue the "Truth"
only if it is detached from the Ego. As long as it is attached to the Ego,
it can never trek the path of enquiry. Therefore all the Gita-exercises are
meant to detach this Ego from the mind and this detachment is |PURIFICATION.
Ego is the veil that covers the mind from seeing the truth in front of
it. Ego is the cataract that prevents the mind from seeing the reality of
life. It is this Ego that imprisons us in the dark cell of
sorrows.
Purification is removing the husk from the grain. To eat the grain the husk
has to be removed and so is to remove the Ego from the mind to seek peace.
Without this purification we can never know peace and if even if we
experience it will be only for only fleeting moments in life.
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