Chapter 13/18 B G.

The yoga of distinction between the field and the knower of the field. Ksetra Ksetrajna Vibhaga Yoga.

Arjuna says Nature and spirit, the field and the knower of the field- this I should like to know and also knowledge and the object of knowledge O! Kesava.
The Lord replies O! Son of Kunti, is called the field and the soul that is cognizant of it is called the knower of the field by those who have knowledge. Know that I am the knower in all the fields, O! Bharata, and only the knowledge of the field and its knower do I regard as true knowledge.
The main elements self consciousness, understanding and unmanifested; the ten senses, the mind and the five objects of sense, desire, hatred, pleasure and pain organism, intelligence and the will to hold together briefly, described this is the field along with its modifications.
Modesty sincerity non violence forbearance and uprightness; service of the teacher, purity steadfastness and self control, detachment from the object of sense; self effacement and the perception of the evil of birth death old age sickness and pain; detachment and freedom from identification with children, wife and home. a constant evenness of mind among events agreeable and disagreeable, unswerving devotion to me through constant meditation, resorting to solitude with aversion to society; steadfast in the knowledge of the spirit, and in insight into the object of knowledge of the truth- this is declared to be true knowledge and all that is contrary to it is no knowledge (some people may argue that solitary living away from society is not necessary, but they are fooling themselves as it is impossible to live in society and be all of the above. a time apart in solitude is the quickest way of realisation.)
For His hands and feet are everywhere, his eyes heads and mouth are facing in all directions his ears are turned to all sides and he exists enveloping all. he is without and within all beings, he has no movement and yet he moves. he is too subtle to be known. he is far away and yet he is near. The light of all lights, he is said to be above darkness as knowledge, the object of knowledge and the aim of knowledge. he is set firm in the hearts of all. When he sees that the manifold nature of beings is centered in the one, and that all evolution is only from there - he becomes one with the absolute.
Those who perceive by their spiritual insight this distinction between the body and the soul and the deliverance from Nature, the cause of all beings - they reach the supreme.

Chapter 12/18 BG.

First the Story.
In the city of Kolhapur a generous king lived ruling his kingdom well, punishing the evil minded and wicked and protecting the virtuous. The King Brhadratha desired to poerform the Asvamedhayaga and therefore let loose the sacrificial animal. by the time the horse returned to the capital, king Brhadratha was dead and his body was embalmed and preserved in oils. By the time the son of the king could go and bring back the horse to the city it had mysteriously disappeared. The prince so sorrow striken went to the shrine of the goddesses and devoutly offered his prayers, she appeared to him and told him to beg the brahmin who was at the threshold of the shrine and that he would be able to bring back his horse and save him from his miserable plight.
Accordingly as the prince appeard to the Brahmin at the entrance and begged him to save him, the merciful Brahmin invoked Indra and the other Gods. They were much pleased with his prayers and got him back his horse. The prince then begged the Brahmin to bring back to life his father whose body was preserved in oils. the Brahmin sprinkled some holy water on the corpse and animated it with life and saved him. 
Brhadratha literally reborn prostrated himself upon the feet of the holy Brahmin and addressed him "O! Excellent Brahmin, you have brought me back to life. Your powers are indeed marvellous. your glory is unbounded". The Brahmin replied O King it is not on account of me that you are thus saved. I have been in the habit of reciting the 12th chapter of the B G every day. All this is the wondrous consequence of the recital  of the said text. 
Brhadratha successfully completed hs yaga and devoutly recited the 12th chapter of the B G unto his death. when the call came from above he could go straight to heaven.

The Yoga of Devotion Bhakti Yoga.
Arjuna questions: The devotees who are ever steadfast, and worship thee and those again who worship the imperishable and the unmanifested which of these are better versed in Yoga.
The Lord replies.
Those who have fixed their minds on one and who are ever steadfast and possessed of supreme faith, worship me them do I consider perfect in Yoga. The dificulty of those whose minds are set on the unmanifested is greater, for the goal of the unmanifested is hard for the embodied to reach. Fix thy mind on me alone, let thy thoughts rest in me. And in me alone will thou live hereafter. Of this there is no doubt. If thou art not able to fix thy mind on me O! Dhananjaya, then seek to reach me by the practice of concentration of mind. If thou art not able to even practice concentration of mind, then devout thyself to my service. For even by doing service to me, thou canst reach perfection. If thou art not able to do even this then give up the fruit of all action, seeking refuge in devotion to me with thy mind subdued. For knowledge is better than the practice of concentration and meditation is better than knowledge, and renunciation of the fruit of action is even better than meditation, for renunciation leads to peace.
He who never hates any being and is friendly and compassionate, who is free from the feling of I and Mine and who looks upon pleasure and pain alike has forbearance and is ever content and steady in contemplation self restrained and has a firm conviction with his mind and understanding in me is dear to me for the devotion he has.
He who has no wants who is pure and prompt unconcerned and untroubled and who is selfless in all enterprises is dear to me. He who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, and who has renounced both good and evil is dear to me.
He who is alike to friend and foe and through good and ill repute, who is alike in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, and who is free from attachments, he who is alike in praise and dispraise, who is silent and satisfied with whatever he has and is firm in mind he is dear to me.
those who are devoted having faith and following the righteous way of everlasting life regarding me as the supreme are exceedingly dear to me.

Javgal Lakshmi Narasimhar ther.

Unusual for us as we used to descend at Gorur Hassan Nerelge and Javgal for the Narasimha Jayanthi and theer in van loads with ample arrangements, this year it was only the three of us. but the experience left me again speechless. It was a comfortable journey and having participated in the car festival gives one an experience of achievement. The comradeship and the people you have associated with gives one a feeling of belonging. They make you feel so wanted their hospitality unbound. It is with great joy that we all look forward to the annual visit to the ancestral home town and family deity. The temple Lord and the people make it all possible.
Photographs will be posted by mail this evening. this year was tops with seven sweets. the separate mantapa for Vasanthotsava the darshan where very few people were present. the gifts exchanged. the baby girl amulya, the good food, the drive up from bangalore and back. no river bathing no dam climbing, no picnic, no movie watching, but still a joy of just being a part of all the celebration.
Tops was the well planned pooja and theer arrangements, the joy and commitment of the local people every year the celebrations improve and it is nice to see the progress. food is tastier, everything better managed. on the whole a day well spent. three days has been cut short to one, the fifteen eighteen gang diminished to three. But the thanks offered to the Lord Narasimha yes he is the shanthi roopa as Godesses Lakshmi has already pacified him and his ferociousness anger has vanished. he is the smiling happy Narasimha the overlord glad at the progress of his loving people. For gods devotees are a class apart, may all the people be led to become his true devotees.

Chapter 11/18 BG

The yoga of the Vision of the Cosmic Form. Visvarupa Darsana Yoga.
Arjuna says'
The supreme profound discourse concerning the soul has dispelled my delusion by thy grace. But I desire to see thy divine form O Supreme Person.
The Lord says'
Behold my forms O Partha by hundreds and thousands - manifold and divine and of varied hues and shapes. behold the Asvins and also the Maruts. Behold many marvels never seen before. Behold here today O Arjuna the whole universe with the moving and the non moving, and whatever else thou desirest to see. all concentrated in my person. But thou canst not behold with this thy eyes I shall give you the divine eye to see.and behold my sovereign power having many faces and eyes, presenting many a wondrous spectacle, decked with many divine ornaments and bearing many a heavenly weapons.
Arjuna says in wonderment
in thy body O God! I see all the gods and all the varied hosts of being and Brahma the Lord on his Lotus throne. all the rishis and heavenly Nagas.
I behold thee as one with no beginning middle nor end with infint arms and infinite strength. with the sun and moon as thy eyes, thy face shining as a flaming fire, and with thy radiance consuming all of the universe. I see all the sons of Dhrtarastra together with the hosts of kings and also Bhisma, Drona and Karna here and the leading warriors on our side as well. I see some already slain and crushed to powder.
The Lord says Therefore arise and win renown; subdue thy foes and enjoy a prosperous kingdom. by me they have been slain already. Be thou only an instrument. O dexterous Arjuna.
Arjuna says 
Thou art the first of Gods, the Primal person. Thou the supreme treasurer of the world. thou art the knower and that which is to be known, and the supreme abode and by thee is this universe pervaded. O thou of infinite form I rejoice that I have seen what was never seen before, but my mind is also distracted with fear. Show me that other form of thine and be gracious O Lord of Gods, abode of the world, I wish to see thee as before with thy crown and Thy Mace and with Thy disc in hand. Assume again thy four armed shape, O thou of a thousand arms and of endless shapes.
Krishna showed him again His own form. the mighty one assumed the graceful shape again, soothing the a frighted Arjuna. 
The Bhagavan said: Neither by the Vedas nor by austerity nor by alms giving, nor yet by sacrifice can I be seen in the form in which thou hast seen me now. But by devotion to me alone may I thus be known, truly seen and entered into O Arjuna. He who does my work and looks upon me as his goal, he who worships  me without attachment, and who is without hatred towards any creature - he comes to me O! Pandava.

The blank has lasted the longest now.

The blankness has lasted the longest this time. The books say it is good it clears the mind of the unwanted so new lists can be made. but for such a long time its unusual. change is happening but gradually a peace is descending. anger blobs but disappears soon the quiet descending tranquil mind though physically busier than before mentally satisfied that life is leading me in the right direction. the way of the Lord are mysterious and pleasurable. japa smrithi should set in and take me back to the same experience left abruptly a few years ago. waiting for direction and change. 

Divya PRABHA ndham

The heading is not so because part of my name is embedded in the words but just to throw light on the works that throw light into our lives.It seems dangerous to even imagine what our lives would have been without the important 4000 verses which we can cling to to cross the ocean of samsara. Being the guiding light we depend so much on the works of the Alwars that what if never seems to arise in our minds. If it were not for the works of the alwars we would be groping in the dark. remember the story of a blind folded man left in front of an elephant and who was made to imagine what he could feel by touching the elephant. the picture the blind folded man draws is frightening cause we are able to imagine the scene before our eyes and we are aware both of being blindfolded and having seen an elephant. But our condition is just what the blindfolded man experiences when in concern with the Lord. The alwars however have supplied a wide range of characters and canvas where anything and everything is depicted as either a source or goal. The connect has to come by the grace of the Lord.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=wMWUAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PT30#v=onepage&q&f=false

Narasimha Jayanthi.

Vaishakha Shukla Chaturdashi is celebrated as Narasimha Jayanti. Lord Narasimha was the 4^thincarnation of Lord Vishnu. On Narasimha Jayanti day Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Narasimha, a half lion and half man, to kill Demon Hiranyakashipu. 

The combination of Vaishakha Shukla Chaturdashi with Swati Nakshatra and weekday Saturday is considered highly auspicious to observe Narasimha Jayanti Vratam. 

Narasimha is the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the aim of the divine incarnation of half-man half-lion was to save the world from the clutches of Hiranakashipu, the demon king. Narasimha incarnation was also the result of the unwavering devotion of Prahlad the young devotee Vishnu. But fiery Narasimha threatened to destroy the world and it was Goddess Lakshmi who calmed him down.

Hiranakashipu as a result of intense austerities (Tapas) got a boon from Brahma that he will not be killed either by a man or a beast, neither will he be killed indoors or outdoors and nor during day or night. Armed with such a powerful boon, Hiranakashipu asked the people to worship him and not Vishnu. He over powered the Devas and people started worshipping him except for his son Prahlad.

Child Prahlad displayed exemplary courage and worshipped Vishnu before Hiranakashipu. Hiranyakashipu tried several methods to change his son’s mind. When the attempts failed, he tried to eliminate the boy but each time he was saved by Vishnu.

Finally, the prayers of young Prahlad were answered and Lord Vishnu appeared to get rid of Hiranakashipu. He appeared as Narasimha – neither man nor lion – dragged the helpless Hiranakashipu to the threshold of his palace door and killed him at twilight.

But the fiery form of Narasimha was beyond the control of human beings and Devas. They tried to propitiate him in many ways but all attempts failed. Narasimha threatened to annihilate the world. Finally, Brihaspati, the guru of Devas, invoked Goddess Lakshmi to calm Narasimha down.

Goddess Lakshmi appeared before Narasimha and this calmed him down and he then returned to Vaikunta.