Shrimad Bhagwad Gita changed my life

First of all let me tell you, its totally up to you whether you want to make changes in your life or not but Shrimad Bhagwad Gita is certainly one of the most influence holy book which i have come across. When I was a kid our financial condition was not very strong so relatives and others used to say it's all written in fate whatever is in your fate you will get is a all it is not there you will not get no matter how hard you work.

I used to ponder how can this be possible and used to ask my grandmother even if I will put my 100% we can't be rich (Can lead a good life)? She used to say the same if it is there in your fate you will get, but while reading Shrimad Bhagwad Gita I came across many quotes which I took seriously and work towards to attain a better life, below are some of the quotes which gave me immense power and somewhere my intuition told me to hold on and work harder to fulfill yours and others dreams-

“No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come” "Just believe in your Karma" "You are the creator of your own life" “Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.” There are many more which I wanted to share, and believe me it has actually given me power to believe on myself and on my dreams. First time I read Shrimad Bhagwad Gita with no commentary in a friend’s house and nothing much changed. He had brought it back from India and it was in his bookshelf collecting dust. The pages were yellowed and soft and the print was a bit erratic. I flicked through it and only understood who Krishna/Bhagavan was and what he was saying to Arjuna. To be honest, I didn’t really understand any meaning of it, and I was done looking at it after about an hour.

There wasn’t a great storyline I could follow, just a couple of people talking before a battle. It had a sort of profound and ‘holy’ feel to it because of the words, like some of the King James Bible does, but no message jumped out at me. Arjuna also seemed to have trouble deciding what to do. I was interested in Indian ‘spirituality’ having read Autobiography of a Yogi many years earlier, but I wasn’t that interested, so I put it back and went down the road for a beer.

Many months later I had another copy of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, this was a very solid, hardbound copy with hundreds of pages, lots of illustrations and a commentary on almost every verse. I was reading it in a Hare Krishna temple with devotees answering any questions I had as I read through it. The commentaries were by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. It seemed a wild idea that Krishna was God and He was on a chariot instead of on a throne with cherubs hovering around him, but the commentary was quite clear that this was exactly what the verses said. God wasn’t fair complexioned with a white beard, but He was a blackish-blue colour and appeared only 16 years old.

I don’t know how it sank in that Krishna is God, but it did, and then every word of Bhagavad Gita was automatically true. Gradually one point after another became clear. The soul is eternal, separate from the body, temporarily joined with a body one life at a time. Every living thing is spirit-soul and every body is dead matter, animated by the soul. The world is a place of suffering, with a veneer of enjoyment spread thinly over it to stop everyone going mad. Many people have seen God, He drives chariots for His friends when needed. I can also see Him if I qualify. He will appear before me and look me in the eye and smile at me.

What changes did I see? I dropped everything and got busy qualifying myself to see Krishna face to face.I willingly accepted all the restrictions, which was a very major redirection of my life. Up till then, I was a regular guy growing up in the Western culture who ate non-veg at every meal, drank, smoked cigarettes and dope, had girl-friends, liked fast motorbikes and rock music. I had long hair, a scraggly beard, and some pretty rank jeans. I considered it a fair deal to trade all that and add chanting Hare Krishna for the chance to come face to face with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I thought in ten years I’d be able to do it.

After a couple of years I revised that, and after a few more years I revised it again. Now after 40 years I don’t have a figure. I’ve discovered that it doesn’t work like that. We don’t ascend to Krishna by our own efforts, He descends to us when He is pleased. I’ve had some tantalizing glimpses so however long it takes, it’s going to be worth it. Now, I find myself at peace. I have realized that everyone in this world has their own unique abilities within them. Until they realize their potential, they remain depressed. They feel that they are lost, they are inferior to others. They start blaming themselves or others for their own mistakes. This ultimately lead to depressed state of mind. All I have to do is perform my duties. Results will appear in due time. I have no control over that.