Carpe Diem #713, devotion

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As I was starting to create this episode I realized that I have done an earlier post on devotion. So in a way this will be a kind of reprise prompt, but I think that's ok.
We are busy with reading and exploring the Bhagavad Gita, the story in which Arjuna and Krishna have a conversation about the goals of life, life and death and so on. There they are in the middle of two big armies. Families, friends and teachers who are willing to start a battle against eachother. As Arjuna sees the both armies he isn't sure to start the battle.

The Bhagavad Gita is about devotion. Devoted to Krishna to become a better man. Discovering Self and selflessness. Arjuna learns this right from Krishna himself and that makes him a kind of prophet or even similar to the human idea of Jesus.

In several of our episodes we asked our self the question, hypothetically seen, if all religions have derived from Hinduism, because of the fact that Hinduism is the oldest religion we know of. There are a lot of similarities as we have seen already, but still the questions stays on "Did all religions derive from Hinduism?" That's a great question, but it will not be easy to find the answer, because historians have "made" history to point the Western world to the Romans and Greek as being the base of our history. The Eastern world isn't seen as the base of our history .... In this time the 21st century there are historians who finally are giving the world the insight that there was an Eastern world, that maybe there is a connection with the Eastern world and their religions. That's a very big change of ideas and it will take time to accept that idea.

Back to our prompt for today, devotion. Every one is devoted to something (or someone). For example I am devoted to my patients, but also to haiku. I am not a devotee of some religion, but I belief that there has to be something, a strong spiritual power, that leads me on the path I am going. Devotion to God, Allah, Krishna or what name the gods have, isn't really what I am doing, but of course I respect others who are devoted to something or someone ... and they will respect me (at least that's what I think is the best way to find peace of mind, and maybe peace all over the globe).

That's also the main theme in the Bhagavad Gita, devotion, peace of mind and peace all around the globe. And that's what (again) gives me the idea that our hypothetical question is close to the truth.

chanting their mantra
broomstick and rake in hand
true meditation

(c) Chèvrefeuille

We are almost at the end of our journey through the Bhagavad Gita and we have read and found wonderful insights in this gorgeous story .... just a few days and than we will go "on the trail with Basho" .... I am excited ....

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until April 27th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, Universal Self, later on.