As part of habit building, I decided to spend time in the wee hours between 5-6 AM reading something spiritual to develop concentration and train my mind to focus on one thing at a time.
I decided to use this time to start reading the Bhagavad Gita, the Divine Song that captures the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on various types of Yoga. I owned the Bhagavad Gita in various sizes in my library but never once made time to read it. Many a times it was the fear that I won’t understand it or the prejudice that it is read by older folks. However, since my father had read it and was always encouraging me to discover it, decided to start reading it as part of my habit building in the morning.
As per James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, habits will stay with you longer if they seem easier, can be done with least effort and provide immediate satisfaction. Of all the versions of the Gita that I owned, I purposely chose the thinnest book from Gita Press, that had only the sanskrit versus (slokas) and its meaning. There was no big paragraphs explaining the meaning (purport). This made the whole exercise of reading the Gita effortless or easy.
I initially started with the goal of completing one verse along with its meaning so my habit stays (used the 2 min rule as explained in my previous blog). However, as I finished the first verse, I was inquisitive about the next verse and so within no time, I realized I had completed reading the 1st Chapter in less than an hour. This gave me huge satisfaction of accomplishment that motivated me to continue for the rest of the days and weeks.
This new habit of reading one chapter of Gita every day helped me to complete reading the entire book within 18 days, a feat that I could never have imagined performing if not for my habit to start small.
Continuing to read every single day (even if it was one verse) without fail as a habit helped me to accomplish a unimaginable feat in my life. Through the exposure to Gita, I developed interest in various Hindu texts such as Bramhasutra, vedas, upanishads that were quoted in the Gita. Overall, reading the Gita on a daily basis, elevated my soul and brought new meaning into my life.
Today, Dec 4, 2022, on the occasion of Gita Jayanti, (the birthday of Gita) I am filled with pride that I chanted ~ 700 versus of Gita (1-18 chapters) at a communal recital “Parayanam” at the Chinmaya Heritage center, an exemplary culmination to my habit of reading the Gita.
This accomplishment has triggered my inner quest to reading many more Hindu books.. especially the Upanishads. Planning to start the Kathopanishad from tomorrow !