In Dec 2023, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Gita Parayanam event organized by my IIMB Professor Shri. B Mahadevan as part of the Gita Jayanti event. Though I knew only a few Gita shlokas, I participated along with the crowd and chanted the entire Gita. The energy of the event felt so divine and blissful. As a Yajna Prasada, all participants got a copy of his book that was launched on the very same day - "Timeless Gita, Endless Bliss - Vol 2".
K had bought and read the first volume many years back. It was now my turn to pick it up.
Having read many self-help and philosophy books written by new-age authors in the past few years, the realization dawned on me that this one single book called Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is enough as a life manual to answer all our questions on life and how to approach various challenges and obstacles that we might encounter.
Professor Mahadevan's book - Timeless Gita, Endless Bliss is an interesting teaser that provides a captivating glimpse of what one can receive from the sacred text. Volume 1 is all about the individual and one's approach to work and life.
It is divided into four logical sections - Managing oneself, Building Life Skills, Our approach to work, and Larger Meaning of Life. Most of the Shlokas that are used as the foundation to explain the different aspects of these four sections are drawn from the 2nd and 3rd chapters.
For each topic, he first sets the relevance and the present-day context. He then brings up the relevant Shloka in Sanskrit (along with English text) and breaks it down to give a layman's understanding.
The section on Life Skills has valuable takeaways on sustained commitment, coping with changes, reacting to outcomes, and developing a steady mind.
There are quite a few management and organization-related challenges that are addressed in the context of the workplace. This is very much needed to look for time-tested solutions on the topics of change management, organizational excellence, sustainability, and a dharmic way of living.
Anyone who reads the book will feel motivated to go deeper into the wisdom shared by Bhagavan Krishna through Gita. It is a life-long pursuit and this book can give that initial impetus to undertake this pursuit.