ISKCON celebrates 5000th Gita Jayanti Day with prayers, yagnas

Temples dedicated to Lord Krishna worldwide celebrated the 5,000th 'Gita Jayanti Day' on Thursday by performing Gita Yagnas, Gita Aartis and taking out Gita Rath-yatras, an official of International Society for Krishna Consciousness said here.

"On this day, Lord Krishna had recited the 'Shrimad Bhagwat Gita' to his disciple, Arjuna, in the battle field of Kurukshetra during the Mahabharat War between the Kauravas and the Pandavas," said ISKCON spiritual leader Radhanath Swami Maharaj, explaining the significance of the day.

He said the Bhagwat Gita is an 'operating manual for mankind' and in it, Lord Krishna has not restricted its scope to only Hindus or Indians, but it is completely non-denominational and intended for anyone enquiring about his reason for existence.

"The golden words uttered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna 50 centuries ago are relevant even today... Bhagwat Gita is known for its philosophical depth and practical applicability in our daily life," Radhanath Swami said.

For instance, it shows the path of life, teaches us how to conduct ourselves, what is the true meaning of life, where have human beings come from and where will they go after death, what is our relation with the creator, he added.

The spiritual leader said Bhagwat Gita provides the concise conclusion of millions of verses in all the Vedic scriptures, and Lord Krishna answers all questions about the duty of the living entity in 18 chapters containing 700 verses divided into three sections -- Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga.

--IANS

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