Summary of Feb 9th class

Summary of Feb 9th class

Upto verse 34 Lord Krishna has been talking about Karma yoga.  He has covered various aspects and the last advice he has given Arjuna is to follow his own calling.  He advices Arjuna to follow his SwaDharma.

Arjuna is beginning to understand that what Lord Krishna is talking about is logical but when he reflects upon it he sees that in spite of the logic in Lord Krishna's advice the people around do not seem to be doing what lord Krishna is talking about and they seem to be compelled to act quite the opposite.  He asks Lord Krishna as to why is this so.

Lord Krishna responds that the root cause for this is Attachment or Desire.  This takes us back to Chapter 1 where we have seen that root cause of Arjuna's problem was his attachment.  Attachment to his near and dear, Attachment to his ideas of right and wrong and Attachment to winning or fear of losing.  We also saw in Chapter 2 verses 62 and 62 how attachment takes man all the way to destruction. 

Lord Krishna goes on to explain the desire of attachment is in the mind,  When the mind controls us we are under the sway of attachments and desires.  The only way to liberate oneself from the tyranny of desire and attachment is to make sure that the intellect is the one that is controlling.  This intellect has to be firmly rooted in a higher power.  We had seen in the BMI discussions that Body Mind and Intellect are enlivened by the Atman.  It is only when the intellect dictates our thinking, our actions and when this intellect is constantly aware of it being enlivened by the Atman will one find one self being liberated from attachment and desires.

With this we conclude Chapter 3 on Karma Yoga.

The beginning of Chapter 4 is very interesting.  Lord Krishna is a master teacher and he begins the chapter by establishing the credibility of the teaching and says that what he is about to teach Arjuna is some thing that he had taught to the sun itself and the sun taught it to Manu and so on and so forth.  The importance and significance of the knowledge that is about to be delivered is being established.  Also the fact that this knowledge is eternal is also being established as the Sun is a symbol of all that is creation and if the knowledge preceded even the sun then it has to be eternal.

Arjuna is a keen student and he see Lord Krishna as his friend,  as a Yadav Prince as his charioteer and immediately challenges Lord Krishna by saying that the Sun has been around  for eternity however Lord Krishna is only a human that is born a few decades ago.

Now Lord Krishna starts telling Arjuna his true nature.  He tells Arjuna that he is in fact the eternal Brahman. That eternal consciousness that which enlivens all of creation and that in which all of creation exists. He also tells Arjuna that as the enlivening force of all creation he wills his own birth.  He takes birth when ever there abnormal rise in evil and humanity needs help to correct the balance to establish righteousness and protect the good.

February 2nd notes......

We used the first half of the class to try and connect the first 6 chapters of Bhagavad Geeta so that as we go deeper into each chapter we are constantly reminded how the whole logic fits together. Bhagwad Geeta is like a necklace of pearls.  Each verse is a beautiful pearl that we study and understand but we also need to step back ever so often to admire the beauty of the whole necklace.

Chapter 1 showcases Arjuna's problem.  the problem that is rooted in attachment.  Attachment to relations, Attachment to being successful in war, Attachment to his ideals of what is right and wrong. Seeing the Kaurava army which symbolizes serious problems Arjuna's attachments take on a life of their own and drives him to a point of complete nervous break down. This is what we face when confronted with seemingly insurmountable odds.

Chapter 2 starts with Arjuna surrendering to Lord Krishna and seeks His guidance. To begin with Lord Krishna talks to Arjuna abt Duty and Work.  later from verses 54 onwards Krishna delivers a beautiful word painting of a man of perfection and talks abt contemplation, Knowledge and renunciation.  So in effect he talks abt 2 paths.  Path of action and duty and the Path of Knowledge and renunciation.

Chapter 3 starts with the obvious. Arjuna is confused and asks Lord krishna to tell him which path he should follow.  Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that like all of us Arjuna is also a man of action and for him like for all of us the Path of action is the right place to start with.  Lord Krishna also tells Arjuna that the 2 paths reinforce each other.  Regular systematic selfless action done with the right attitude finally leads to the path of renunciation and knowledge.

Chaper 4 Lord Krishna further talks abt how Selfless action ends in renunciation.  And that spiritual knowledge is absolutely a pre requisite to liberation.

Chapter 5 lord Krishna talks abt how the path of renunciation supported by un wavering faith and knowledge leads to liberation and that liberation is becoming one with Brahman which is essentially our true nature to begin with.

Chapter 6 lord Krishna gives us the methodology for meditation.  It is only in the seat of meditation that the spiritual knowledge can be experienced and liberation realized.  Bhagwad Geeta gives us not just the philosophy but also the method to realize the philosophy.

We then came back to Chapter 3 and went through verses 30, 34 and 35.

In Verse 30 Lord Krishna is reiterating the first step of Karma Yoga which is Ishwar Arpan Buddhi. All work done is done with an attitude of it being an offering to the lord.  This is a very simple but powerful method to excel in ones work.  When we make an offering to the lord we make sure that the offering is always of the highest quality similarly when work is offered to the lord as an offering, automatically the quality of what we do scales new heights.

In verse 34 Lord Krishna identifies our over involvement with our senses and the over involvement of the senses with the sense objects in the world around us as the core problem that we need to over come.  We have no control on the world around us,  but we can have full control on our perception of the world through our senses of perception and our actions through our organs of action.  We usually have no control to getting stuck in a traffic jam or in facing a tough exam paper but what we do when we face these problems is  completely upto us.  The key is the art of contact with the world around us. 

In Verse 35 Lord Krishna asks us to follow our own true nature or Swadharma.  Our Swadharma is a function of our dispositions, our attitudes, expertise and inclinations.   We need to be intensely self aware and follow our dreams.  We should be clear that we have understood our own true calling and once we have done so we must follow that path without wavering. We should be making choices not based on what looks good or what is convenient but based on what we believe in deepest parts of our hearts and mind as to be our own true calling, essentially what makes us happy.  

Notes from Jan 26^th Class

1.       Chapter 2 is considered as a summary of the Bhagavad Gita.  The Chapter starts  with Arjuna complete dejected deluded psychotic and not wanting to fight at all.   He surrenders to Lord Krishna asking the Lord to show him the way. To begin with in chapter 2  Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the need to do ones duty and talks about action as the way forward.  Then from Verses 54 to 72 Lord Krishna breaks into 18 beautiful verses that expound the glory of contemplation and knowledge.

2.       At the beginning of Chapter 3, Arjuna is confused as to which path he should follow.  The path of action or the path of contemplation/knowledge, and in the opening verses ask Lord Krishna to stop confusing him and tell clearly which path is the right path.

3.       Lord Krishna responds that both paths are complementary to each other.  Each cannot be practiced in isolation without some support of the other. However for Arjuna who is a man of action like most of us, the path of action is the preferred path to start on.  The beauty of Vedic philosophy is so self-evident here.  The student is allowed to in fact encouraged to ask questions and challenge the teacher and also because all of us are not the same,  different approaches are prescribed for people of different temperaments.

4.       While following the path of action it is important to have ones senses under control and do work without any attachment to the results of the action.  Any work done in this way is Karma Yoga.  So while studying the distraction (electronic and others) have to kept away. The Mind has to be fully absorbed into the subject matter.  No thoughts about the exam results and doing the studies as an offering to the lord will make us the most efficient students.   

5.       Lord Krishna gives new meaning to the word Yagna.  The word yagna or sacrifice was understood only as a ritualistic sacrifice where a ceremony was done in which money material and land was given away as a sacrifice.  Lord Krishna paints a very different picture of the word Yagna.  As per lord Krishna  work is done in the Yagna spirit when selfless work is done for a greater good and the doer of the action is the last to receive the fruits or results of the action. 

6.       For eg.  When Prasad is being served we find that a group of people are serving the rest.  They eat only after every one else has been served and very often the best dishes are over by the time the serving group starts to eat.  This  serving group is exhibiting the Yagna spirit.  The villagers who build a dam  across a raging river very often losing their own land in the building process but making sure that the people downstream are protected from floods are exhibiting the Yagna spirit.

7.       Lord Krishna also goes on to say that leaders (great people) need to be very watchful of what they do and how they do it. They will always be imitated.  The word great people has to be understood carefully.  Even if one does not feel great one is always great for someone else.  The younger siblings look up to the older ones.  The children in the lower classes look up to seniors.