Let me fall asleep

 I have running all my life,

After false respect, money and pride;

In the process I found myself loneliness,

But alas! I thought money will buy me all the happiness;

I have searched for happiness hither and thither,

But couldn’t find the happiness that I truly desire;

Now I am weary under my own burden,

Burden of false respect, pride and money;

Now I have up to you o dear,

Take me home; don’t close the door on my rear;

Let me sleep in your lap, while you comb your fingers through my hair;

Take me to a land so rosy, while you sing your beautiful lullaby;

Where there is no hatred and joy is distributed free,

Where all falsehood has ended under the glowing presence of truth,

Destroy my selfhood and bring out the I hence forth,

Let the cacophony end and silence fall,

And while your cold soothing touch takes off my weariness,

As the evening breeze does to the fuming earth;

Let me become one with you forever………

-Debabrata Banerjee  

MOTHER

I dedicate this poem of mine as a humble tribute to one of the two living gods I have seen every day from my child hood

MOTHER

Many made promises of staying forever with me,

But during my tough times I found only thee…

I didn’t care for you when my pastures were greener,

When my eyes saw the world through gold tinted glasses of pleasure;

Then you stood at one corner,

Wiping silently your tears, but I didn’t bother.

But when tough times came upon me,

All my fair-weather friends started to flee

I cried for a helping hand,

But they were too busy to help me stand;

When all others had fled,

You ran towards me instead.

You yourself fell in the process,

But made sure I stand up and make progress.

You protected me from rough weather,

You are none but my sweet mother…..

                       -Debabrata Banerjee  

Two old questions

For days I have travelled on the face of earth,

With two questions plaguing my mind;

On a beautiful day in my youthful guilessness,

When the dawn of knowledge,

had still not removed the veil of ignorance;

I had asked it to his omniscience.

who am I? and for what purpose I am here?

‘Seek and ye shall find’ was his only answer.

So as days become months and months turned to years

I kept searching for the answer everywhere

I played the role of child, husband and father

Each time trying to find the true answer

I assumed my duty was to perform those roles

But when I looked around, I found everybody doing those

And so I have kept searching over the years…

To find answers to the questions I asked in my tender years.

Even now as the curtain on my life is about to descent;

I ask the same questions again to the omniscient…

Who am I? and for what purpose I am here?

Who knows if I will get my answer before my act is over……

 -Debabrata Banerjee

Dance of cosmic harmony

See how the cosmic rhythm is flooding the universe,

To the great symphony dances the sun moon and stars.

All creatures are drinking to their stomach full,

The elixir of selfless love, so wonderful.

O ignorant! Why are you sitting in the corner of your home?

Have bound yourself by shackles of insatiable desire for more?

Can’t you see the world is calling you with arms open?

Come out of your prison and break the chain.

Stop fighting complaining and hankering for power and money,

Listen and dance to the cosmic harmony….

-Debabrata Banerjee

The true nature of atma as described by Gita and upanishad..

In chapter 2 of Gita lord krishna tells about atman for the first time. But before that he tells
   nasato vidyate bhavo,nabhavo vidyate satah
   ubhayor api drsto ’ntas,tv anayos tattva-darshibhih
                                                         .......B.g.chap2..sloka..16
English translation-"Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent  there is no endurance and of the eternal  there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both."
Who is this destructible? Lord krishna says
             antavanta ime deha,nityasyoktah saririnah
          anasino ’prameyasya,tasmad yudhyasva bharata
                                                                        .......B.g.chap2..sloka..18
English translation-"The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity (soul or atman) is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata."
So it is clear that soul is undestrucible..it is the only truth, and this living body is untruth.
Describing characterstics of atman lord krishna says..
na jayate mriyate va kadacin,nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano,na hanyate hanyamane sarire 
                                                        .......B.g.chap2..sloka..20
English translation-"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."
 vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya,navani grhnati naro ’parani
 tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany,anyani samyati navani dehi
                                                 .......B.g.chap2..sloka..22
English Translation:-"As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."
       nainam chindanti shastrani,nainam dahati pavaka
     na cainam kledayanty apo,na sosayati marutah
                                                .......B.g.chap2..sloka..23

English Translation-"The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

  acchedyo ’yam adahyo ’yam,akledyo ’sosya eva ca
  nityah sarva-gatah sthanur,acalo ’yam sanatanah
                                          .......B.g.chap2..sloka..24

English Translation:-"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same."

avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam,avikaryo ’yam ucyate
tasmad evam viditvainam,nanusocitum arhasi
                                     .......B.g.chap2..sloka..25

English Translation:-"It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body."

The fact that atma is indestructible and all powerful is also expressed in Isha Upanishad..



It is motionless, one, faster than mind ; and the Devas (the senses) could not overtake it which ran before.Sitting;, it goes faster than those who run after it. By it, the all-pervading air (Sutratnum) supports the activity of all living beings.
                                         .....isha upanishad..sloka 4

It moves, it is motionless. It is distant, it is near. It is within all, it is without all this.
                                         .....isha upanishad..sloka 5
This concept is explained by lord krishna in Gita where he refers to one who knows and sees atman as tatvadarshi and refers to the rarity of such an individual in chap2 sloka 29.
ascarya-vat pasyati kascid enam,
ascarya-vad vadati tathaiva canyah
ascarya-vac cainam anyah srnoti,
srutvapy enam veda na caiva kascit
                        .......B.g.chap2..sloka..23
English Translation:-"Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all."
The upanishad also goes on to add that.....
Who sees everything in his Atman and his Atman in everything, by that he feels no revulsion.                   .....isha upanishad..sloka 4
This concept is also pointed out by lord krishna..
   vidya-vinaya-sampanne,brahmane gavi hastini
   suni caiva sva-pake ca,panditah sama-darsinah
                             .......B.g.chap5..sloka..18
English Translation:-"The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]."                                          

So, till now we have seen that atman is pure atman is the only truth, atman is indestructible. But lord krishan doesnot stop here in his description of atman and continues his discussion in later chapter over the topic of atman....

Management concepts from bhagbat Gita

Most of us consider and look up to Gita as Spiritual book. For the Hindus it holds the same position as Bible is for Christians. Although there is not an iota of doubt of Gita as a spiritual guide of very high order, but looking towards Gita only as a spiritual guide will be underestimating its other dimensions. Gita can also be viewed as agreat management guide where the great management Guru Krishna advices today’s managers on how to deal with difficult situations.

In this view point Arjuna can be considered as a highly skilled worker who is overwhelmed by seeing the task at hand and begins to doubt his own abilities. How Lord Krishna re-motivates Arjuna to do his job gives us a glimpse of his leadership qualities. The concepts of management that we get from Gita are;-

Utilization of available resources

The first lesson of management science is to choose wisely and utilize scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser before the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna's large army for his help while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna's wisdom for his support. This episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the effective manager ‐ the former chose numbers, the latter, wisdom.

Work commitment

A popular verse of the Gita advises "detachment" from the fruits or results of actions performed in the course of one's duty. Being dedicated work has to mean "working for the sake of work, generating excellence for its own sake." If we are always calculating the date of promotion or the rate of commission before putting in our efforts, then such work is not detached. It is not "generating excellence for its own sake" but working only for the extrinsic reward that may (or may not) result.

Work culture

An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks.

Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture – "daivi sampat" or divine work culture and "asuri sampat" or demonic work culture.

Daivi work culture ‐ involves fearlessness, purity, self‐control, sacrifice, straightforwardness, self denial, calmness, absence of fault‐finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride.

Asuri work culture ‐ involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work not oriented towards service.

Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.

It is in this light that the counsel, "yogah karmasu kausalam" should be understood. "Kausalam" means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. “Yogah" isdefined in the Gita itself as "samatvam yogah uchyate" meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.

Manager should not look at the background of workers but only at their skill

Lord Krishna advices in chapter 5 verse 18 that the “sage look evenly at a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even the most despicable of men are blessed with the highest degree of knowledge.” Here the sage can be a taken as a synonym for perfect manager.

Manager always helps the workers focus on their strong points to overcome their weakness

Lord Krishna motivates Arjuna in Gita by telling him that all your weakness are result of your sensory attachments and you shouldnot forget that “Above senses there is the mind and above mind there is the intellect, and the one which lies above all of them is the Soul within, supremely powerful and yet subtle.’’(ch3 verse 43)

The manager should Practice what he preaches

"Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow," says Sri Krishna in the Gita. So he says “Although, O Parth, there is no task in all the three worlds which I have to do, and neither is there any worthwhile object which I have not achieved, I am yet engaged in action.’’(chapter 3 verse 22).....

What is yagna that has been described as niyat karma by Gita?

Describing on the nature of yagna Lord krishna says
       brahmarpanam brahma havir, brahmagnau brahmana hutam
         brahmaiva tena gantavyam, brahma-karma-samadhina 
                                              -B.G. CHAP-4 SLOKA 24
English Translation-“Since both the dedication and the oblation itself are God, and it is the Godlike teacher who offers the oblation to the fire which is also God, the attainment, too, of the man whose mind is set on Godlike action is God himself.”


The emancipated man’s yagya is God, what he offers as oblation is God, and the sacred fire to which the sacrifice is made is also God. That is to say that what is offered by the Godlike worshipper to the sacred fire that is an embodiment of God is also God himself.That which is worthy of being secured by the man whose actions have been dissolved and stilled by God’s loving touch is also God. So this man does nothing; he only acts for the good of others.

These are attributes of the realized sage who has reached the 

stage of final attainment. But what is the nature of yagya that is 

performed by worshippers who have just set out on the quest ? So lord krishna says in the next sloka:-

                daivam evapare yajnam, yoginah paryupasate
                brahmagnav apare yajnam, yajnenaivopajuhvati
                                             -B.G. CHAP-4 SLOKA 25
English Translation- “Some yogis perform yagya to foster divine impulses, whereas some other yogis offer the sacrifice of yagya to (a seer who is) the fire of God. ’’


In the last verse Krishn portrayed the sacrifice made by sages who have made their abode in the Supreme Spirit. But he now depicts the yagya performed by worshippers who wish to be initiated into yog. These novices undertake sincere performance of yagya to gods to foster them, that is, they strengthen and augment divine impulses in the heart. Here it is useful to remember how Brahma had directed mankind to foster gods by yagya. The more virtues there are cultivated and garnered in the heart, the more the worshipper advances towards the ultimate excellence until he at last attains it. The novice worshipper’s yagya is thus aimed at strengthening the forces of righteousness in his heart. Other yogis perform yagya by offering sacrifice to the accomplished teacher in his heart-the sacred fire that is an 

embodiment of God.

These other yogi offer oblations to the Godlike teacher who also annihilates evils like fire. They perform sacrifices aimed at this accomplished teacher who is also an embodiment of sacrifice. In brief, they concentrate their minds on the form of the accomplished teacher, a realized sage.



           srotradinindriyany anye, samyamagnisu juhvati
          shabdadin visayan anya, indriyagnisu juhvati 
                                         -B.G. CHAP 4 SLOKA 26
English Translation- “While some offer their hearing and other senses as sacrifice to the fire of self-restraint, others offer speech and other sense objects to the fire of the senses.’’


Yet  other yogi offer all their senses of action-ear, eye, skin, tongue, and nose-to the fire of self-control, that is, they subdue their senses by withdrawing them from their objects. There is no real fire in this case. 

There are then yogi who offer all their senses of perception, sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, to the fire of senses; they sublimate 

their desires and thus turn them into effective means for 

achievement of the supreme goal.

            sarvanindriya-karmani, prana-karmani capare
         atma-samyama-yogagnau, juhvati jnana-dipite
                                           -B.G. CHAP 4 SLOKA 27
English Translation- “Yet other yogi offer the functions of their senses and operations of their life-breaths to the fire of yog (selfcontrol) kindled by knowledge.’’

In a still higher state than this, yogi offer as oblation the 

functions of all senses and operations of life-breaths to the fire of 

yog that is lit up by knowledge of God. When restraint is integrated 

with the Self and the operations of breath and senses are stilled, 

the current which stimulates passions and the current which propels 

one towards God merge into the Self. 

Yogeshwar Krishn again explains yagya :
          dravya-yajnas tapo-yajna, yoga-yajnas tathapare
         svadhyaya-jnana-yajnas ca, yatayah samsita-vratah
                                           -B.G. CHAP 4 SLOKA 28
English Translation - “Just as many perform yagya by making material gifts in service of the world, some other men perform yagya through physical mortification, some perform the sacrifice of yog, and yet others who practise severe austerities perform yagya through the study of scriptures(vedas).’’


There are many who make sacrifice of wealth. They contribute riches to the service of saints. To serve every man, to bring those who have strayed back to the right path, by contributing wealth to the cause is the sacrifice of riches. These sacrifices have the capability to nullify the natural sanskars. Some men mortify their senses through penances for the observance of their dharm. On the basis of this dharm they have been divided into 4 classes Brahman, khatriya baishya and shudra. There are many who practise the yagya of yog. Yog is the joining of the Soul, wandering amidst nature, with God who is beyond nature.
               apane juhvati pranam, prane ’panam tathapare
              pranapana-gati ruddhva, pranayama-parayanah
               apare niyataharah, pranan pranesu juhvati
             sarve ’py ete yajna-vido, yajna-ksapita-kalmasah
                                          -B.G.CHAP4 SLOKA 29-30
English Translation-“As some offer their exhalation to inhalation, others offer their inhaled breath to the exhaled breath, while yet others practise serenity of breath by regulating their incoming and outgoing breath.”“Yet others who subsist on strictly regulated breath and offer their breath to breath, and life to life, are all knowers of yagya, and the sins of all who have known yagya are destroyed.’’


Thus there are many forms of yagna but their result is same to get united with god head. In brief yagna is the act of devotion, act of penance to achive unification with god head...om Tatsat.!