A doctor's chat show on the Gita

THINK OF the Bhagwad Gita and immediately long-winding lectures by saints and sanyasins come to one's mind. But an Indian doctor living in the U.S., Krishna Bhatta, has now endeavoured to produce a chat show on the Gita for television based on a recent book that he has authored, "Gita Today".

"The Gita is a book of techniques that can help us grow as a whole person," says Dr. Bhatta, who has established the "Gita Foundation" to bring all discourses on the Gita on a common platform and to present it as a method that can help attain centering growth. "We all have a center but we live off it. The techniques that bring you to the center are yoga techniques," he points out.

And while the book has been published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the talk show is being produced for TVAsia. Basically in the form of a dialogue between Dr. Bhatta and Dr. P. Jayaraman, Executive Director of the Bhavan's New York Centre, the show will also have eminent persons like Kapil Dev and Bhupender Kumar Modi talk about their achievements. "The aim is to present Gita as a treatise that is very much relevant today," says Dr. Bhatta.

Both the talk show and the book focus on several themes relating to the Gita but ending mediocrity and ending pacifism are two ideas which echo very powerfully. "Krishna stands for excellence and he has the methodology on how to get there with a happy face," reasons the physician from Bihar.

On the issue of pacifism, Dr. Bhatta says Krishna defaults to peace but has no problem being involved in a war if the situation arises. "We have become pacifist at heart and it takes a lot of effort for us to stand up for ourselves."

And while the book has focussed on only one chapter of the Gita - Chapter 2 - the talk show, six episodes of which have already been made, will attempt to speak the language of humankind and the dilemmas facing it. "The Gita has helped me a lot in life and in fact, ever since I took it upon myself to propagate it, my practice has only increased manifold," says Dr. Bhatta. " The Gita is life affirmative, it teaches you to live life as it is and face all the imperfections that are inherent in it. Realisation of the ultimate is possible without quitting life. Krishna would like you to be at ease in all situations, be it in boat or an ocean or a tank in a battle."

Interested in the Bhagwad Gita and meditation for a long time, Dr. Bhatta has been writing columns in newspapers and airing his views on the radio. He has also brought out a cassette containing eight songs he has penned. And one of these songs carries his message succinctly - "Arjun Bano, Arjun Bano, Gita Pado" .

By Kannan K
Source: The Hindu