Welcome Address and Introduction on release of 'Shrimat Bhagwad Geeta - The Song Celestial' at IIC on 24.01.2014 by Justice A.K.Patnaik

While invoking the divine energy that continue to exist within and all around us, I welcome you all here on this cold Delhi evening. I believe that the energy of our own awakening ignited by the presence and expressions by the profound speakers here will keep us warm and enlightened. I am overwhelmed by the presence of you all and I am certain that this will be one of the most memorable evenings for us all and we will all certainly cherish it for times to come. We will cherish this evening for we all will have the privilege of hearing the greatest existing minds in the country, expressing themselves on a subject which they have in fact lived with the highest integrity, while searching and imparting truth and justice to the fellow human beings. It is very difficult to say why they are great, but everyone who comes in touch with them has been touched by a spark of reality which is way beyond physicality. They have continued to hold themselves and carry on their profession with remarkable ease, joy and an eternal bliss as they continue to exist amongst us. Each one of them has a varied background, experience and approach but all of them have one thing in common, they have and are serving truth and justice with the highest possible integrity and have manifested a consciousness all through their legal and judicial career without fear and favor, with a zeal, magnanimity and fervor to impart justice and that comes only to few. They are clearly personification of the men of steadfast wisdom, steeped in samadhi. Ladies and gentlemen let us all spend this evening with the divine energy that moves the cosmos, the nation, the institutions and us all through karm yogies sitting with us… who will enlighten us all today. I welcome all the dignitaries on the dais and all my colleagues and friends to enjoy the divinity all around.

We all have moved in our life from mother’s love and grandfather’s story to telling stories. In our education we moved from grade to grade. We got into sports and enjoyed the team spirit. We got myriad information and developed knowledge and wisdom and continued to move towards professional excellence. We focused on material wealth, physical fitness, emotional maturity as a prerequisite for embarking on our journey of discovery to unknown, which unfolds every other moment. Social status, respect from fellow beings, political connection and visibility also followed. To keep fit we continued to undertake morning walk, perform yog, pranayam and meditation.

But all through the process we continued to be aware of our spiritual existence and growth, we have always been aware of the existence of a quiet mind and a deep consciousness within, which allowed us keen observance of the road ahead and evaluate the options available for renewal of life energy within. We continued to crave to do what we always wished to do in life and that is the final freedom of action in true sense. The final freedom is to create something or be a part of a creative process. This is the real final choice… to move ahead and undertake actions without any baggage.  The final key is to be true to our self and therein lays our path to Gross Personal Happiness. This book is my way of achieving the gross personal happiness in its highest form. I am certain that while going through the pages, the book will provide all the readers a closeness and a close awareness with their own larger cosmic existence and carry their self to a here-to-before unknown blissful existence.

Understanding of Shrimat Bhagwad Geeta provides that basic substratum at soul level, which is not afflicted even when the greatest of trauma continue to raise their heads around. The Song Celestial continues to apply in every situation. The book produced is a shalok by shalok translation of the great divine expression and is in fact a bare act of Geeta, without any commentary and without any foot notes.

Thank you