Tale of Two Tents

This is how Baba introduced the Gita during a discourse in Puttaparthi some years ago.

Once there was a King who had a large empire. He was very sad because he was under the control of his wives. He thought that, if he was successful in keeping his wives under control, he would also be successful as a king.

One day, he summoned all the people in his kingdom to his palace, after erecting two huge marquees. Then the Prime Minister announced, “Those who are successful in keeping their wives under control should go to the marquee on the right. Those who are under the control of their wives should go to the marquee on the left.” The King was relieved to see all his subjects entering the left marquee! He thought, “Well, I am not the only one!” Then, suddenly, he saw someone entering the right marquee. The king was happy that at least there was someone who was successful in keeping his wife under control.

So, the King called him and said, “I congratulate you. Tell me the secret of keeping your wife under control. How did you do it?” That subject said, “My Worship, I can’t tell you that. My wife ordered me to go to this side.”

Baba explained that every human being is under the control of five wives, which are our five senses. The human body is the chariot and Krishna is seated as the charioteer in our hearts. Our five senses are the organs that we must control in order to reach our destination. This is the essence of the Gita in a nutshell.