Summary of 9/30/13 Class

Hari Om!

We spent class time yesterday, discussing in detail, the relevance of the text that we are studying.

Arjuna can be used to parallel ourselves and our minds. Leading up to the war, Arjuna is extremely focused but when he goes up to the middle of the battlefield, Arjuna has a "point of inflection" at which time he has a complete mental breakdown. What are those things that cause this mental breakdown?

How can we connect this to situations that we face regularly?

We can start by looking at battles we have:

• Sports Competitions
• School/Exams/Grades
• Dealing with parents

One of the most difficult things for Arjuna was that he was opposing people he loved and cared about. In our battles, we also often have to face and compete with family and friends that we care for.

          One of the examples we discussed was that of Eli and Peyton Manning -- is it not a reasonable assumption that the two brothers care for each other and therefore may have conflicting feelings about "fighting it out on the field?"

So now that we have acknowledged that we have similar situations to Arjuna, what made Arjuna have a complete breakdown and what factors cause us to have a breakdown? Are they similar?

Points of Inflection - Causes of breakdown:

• Fear of Failure
• Overwhelming Odds
• Attachments
• Misplaced Confidence
• Being psyched out

Arjuna was psyched out by Dhritrashtra who tried to convince him not to fight Duryodhana and to be the "bigger man." Arjuna is most affected attachment to family members and those that he respects and cares about.

In our own battles, we face the same "points of inflection" and if they cannot be controlled, they can lead to breakdowns on the sports' field, examination center, etc.

As we see that Arjuna's situation is not so different from situations that we face regularly, the solutions to his problems, can also help us to solve our own.

Having understood this, we go on to understand the excuses and arguments that Arjuna makes to not have to fight the war. We ended by asking the question:

"Was Arjuna's desire to switch to the path of ahimsa (non violence) and renounce his duties as a warrior plausible?"

Announcement:

There will be a Chyk Leadership Workshop by Swami Sarveshananda from 7:30-9:30 PM this Tuesday October 1st at the Asian American Cultural Center at Rutgers' Livingston Campus. Refer to Maneesha Aunty's email for more info or email Aparna Shankar at: aparnash@eden.rutgers.edu.

Address: Rutgers University - Livingston Campus
Asian American Cultural Center
49 Joyce Kilmer Ave.
Piscataway, NJ 08854

Hari OM Yuva Kendra,

We started the class by asking a simple question "What makes us Hindu ?".  We got answers like birth. values, traditions, culture, heritage, parents teachings etc..  Being born a Hindu is not enough.  It is a start but just being born a Hindu does not make one a practicing Hindu.  Which means that other things like values, traditions, heritage, culture, teachings are all relevant.  However the obvious question is who or what establishes these traditions, values or culture.  We learn from people around us but what is the source.  If one goes deeper into this question one realizes that the source of these are our scriptures.  The scriptures are the final authority that determine the heritage, values, traditions.... 

The Vedas give us the scriptural foundations.  The Upanishads which are a part of the Vedas deals with the spiritual knowledge or the philosophy.  The study of the Vedas and Upanishads is long and difficult also by its very nature need an environment that is serene and idyllic, far away from the hustle bustle of our day to day life. So the what are we supposed to do ?. Here is where the Bhagawad Geeta comes in.  The Bhagawad Geeta brings to us the Upanishidic knowledge in a manner that people like us can appreciate, understand and emulate.  Bhagawad Geeta was related to a warrior by the Lord himself on a battlefield.

There is one more key issue that makes the Bhagawad Geeta so unique.  Any philosophy can be complete only when a clear well defined path is made available to practice the philosophy.  It is just like to design a car one not only need the understanding of the basic sciences of physics, chemistry and related mathematics  (thermodynamics, motion, fuel calorimetry  etc) one also needs a thorough understanding of the engineering and the technology that goes in to design a great automobile.  Similarly the Bhagawad Geeta not only gives is a very lucid understanding of the philosophy enshrined in the Upanishads, it also gives us the a path of how to live based on that philosophy.  It gives us both the basic science and the applied engineering.  This is what makes the Bhagawad Geeta so unique and has been a source of tremendous inspiration to so many great leaders in all walks of life.

Verse 1 of chapter 1 starts with the blind king Dritharashtra asking Sanyaya to tell him as to what are the Pandavas and Kauravas doing on the Kurukshetra battlefield.  The opening words are "Dhramashetra Kurukshetra" are full of meaning.  Dharma means righteousness.  Some where in Dhritarashtra's mind lurks the understanding that the war that is about to happen is not just any war but it is war between good and evil and the fact that the Kauravas are on the wrong side.  It is the desire to hide this understanding that he labels the battle field as a Battle field of righteousness. 

Verses 2 to 11 Duryodhana the Kaurava prince is seen to be berating the Kaurava commanders especially Dronacharya.  Full of arrogance Duryodhana is suspicious of Dronacharya's loyalty.  Dronacharya love for Arjuna as a student was no secret.  Bhishma sees what is going on and feels that this would be a bad beginning for the war.  And in verse 12 in an effort to bolster the morale of the Kaurava commanders he blows his conch thus signalling the beginning of the war, thus the Kaurava's start the war and are the aggressors.  

As both sides are now making last minute preparations for the start of the war that is now imminent, Arjuna asks Krishna to take his chariot to the middle of the battle field so that he may survey the opposing army.  Krishna takes the chariot to the middle of the battle field and in verse 25 says the only words that He utters in the first Chapter "Behold the Kurus gathered together"  The word "behold " is full of meaning...  Arjuna is an accomplished archer,  he is fully armed and is a prince...  However Krishna is not sure if Arjuna is mentally ready for the war.  The word Behold is like a wake up call to Arjuna to wake up and take notice of what is about to happen.

Krishna words hit home... Arjuna sees his cousins, uncles, family members, teachers like Dronacharya who he loves and respects, Bhishma whom he reveres. Arjuna resolve to fight is broken. He starts giving Krishna a series of seemingly very intelligent arguments on why he should not fight.  That it would be a sin to kill, what good is land that is won like this, that it would be better to retire to the Himalayas than fight.  He complains that his body is on fire that he trembles and finally his bow slips from his fingers and he sits down in the chariot refusing to fight. He just not prepared to fight his family and friends and in spite of all his training and expertise as a warrior he goes through a complete and total mental break down. 

All through Krishna looks on without a word smiling away letting Arjuna rant.

Think of this setting not just as a story but as how it relates to us on a day to day basis.  Our Krukshetra is in our own minds  we are constantly in  state of conflict between numerous negative thoughts and tendencies and positive thoughts and good choices.  How do we make the right choice...  when confronted with very difficult choices between what is convenient and what is right how do we choose.  We are just too scared to act we are scared of failure and freeze into inaction.  A blank out in a test situation ...The Bhagawad Geeta is the manual of life that gives us the answers.

Next class we will go deeper in to the common between

Barriers to Success..

Why happiness ends in sadness and

Arjuna's grief.

Have a great week...

Hari OM 

Hari OM Yuva Kendra,

We had our first class on September 15th and it was a pleasure to see all of you.  Hope you all had a good summer and are all geared up to have a great school year.

It was great to see all the returning juniors and seniors and a very warm welcome to all the 10th graders.

We have just 2 simple guidelines that we discussed and to recap they are..... 

1.  You are more than welcome to ask questions and challenge any thing that is said in class.  Don't accept any thing as given. However the only rule we have is that we do not do any side ways conversations.  

2.  Please bring to class a) my prayers book b) The Holy Geeta with commentary by Swami Chinmayananda c) and some thing to write with and write on.

As a start we went around the class to try and understand as to what brought each one of us to Sunday class.  The 2 common themes we got that underlined all the responses were "Happiness" and "Success".  Each one of us felt that we had fun, had a sense of community, did things that we loved which all related to happiness and also that we got to learn our culture and values which in turn would make us successful.

We will use these themes of happiness and success as we start our next class.

This year we will studying the first 6 chapters of Bhagawad Geeta and we hope that all of you be a part of this journey and get the best out of this eternal text.

Look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday September 22nd.

Hari OM

Maneesha Aunty and Vikram Uncle

Hari OM YuvaKendra,

1.  Chapter 13 is about Lord Krishna answering Arjuna's questions
around 6 key terms. Field and  Knower of field,  Knowledge and That
which ought to be know, and Matter and Spirit.  We had looked at Field
and Knower of field in 11/11 class.  TO recap. Lord Krishna says that
"This body" is the field and "I" am knower of the Field.  For what is
the Field please refer to 11/11 notes.

2. To go deeper into the Knower of the field which Lord Krishna simply
says "I am the knower of the field" .  The question that comes up is
who is this "I" is it  Krishna the Cowherd, the Charioteer or what ?.
Here it will be interesting to think of the Laws of causality.  The 3
laws of causality are.
a) For every effect there must be a cause.
b) All effects are nothing but the cause in different forms
c) Remove the Cause all the effects disappear.

With these 3 laws in mind it is easy to how they apply to say "gold
ornaments"  all the different ornaments are the effects and Gold is
the Cause.  The ornaments are nothing but Gold  in different forms.
If Gold is removed then all ornaments will disappear.  Similarly one
can apply these laws to say "cotton clothes".  Where different Clothes
are the effects and Cotton is the cause.  Now if we apply these
causality principle to all of creation..  We start wondering as to
what is that ultimate cause of all creation.  What is that cause that
manifests all of creation.  What is that cause that if removed all of
creation ceases to exist.  That ultimate cause is the "knower of the
field" and Lord Krishna says that that is Me.  It is the ultimate
subject and every thing else is the object and hence the field.

3.  Now we move to Knowledge and that which ought to be known.  The
term Knowledge is used to represent a set of 20 values that in their
totality actually indicated the Knower of the field.  These are in
verses 8-12.  The very first values is Humility.  It is not a random
chance that the very fist value is Humility.  Without humility no
learning can ever start.  There is no way more water can ever be
poured into a cup that is already full.  Also Humility is a a very
ephemeral value.  The moment some one says "I am humble'  humility
itself has disappeared.

4.  In verse 9 an interesting value of "perception of evils in birth
death old age and pain" is described.  Here Lord Krishna is drawing
attention to the pain that represents every transformation that
happens to the human body.  Only sharp and constant awareness of that
pain will prompt a seeker to look for a higher purpose of life.  Also
evil in birth sounds strange but the fact is that every birth is a
function of unfulfilled desires, desires driven by ignorance of ones
true nature.  Also the fact is that every thing born must necessarily
age and die.

5. In verse 10 another interesting values is described and that is
'non -identification of self with son, wife, home and rest'  what is
Lord Krishna saying here.  Should we not care for our near and dear,
yes we should but it is intense attachment that builds up to
possessions and relationships is what Lord Krishna is alluding to.
The very word Selfish when associated with ones own self is obviously
a negative emotion but when we associate selfish with an ever
expanding realm like Selfish about  family to Selfish about Community,
about country and then to finally selfish about all of creation
suddenly the word selfish itself disappears and it its place we see
selflessness.  It is not the emotion but the place where the emotion
is attached to is the problem.  Gurudev when asked to summarize
Vedanta once said "Detach Attach"  Detach ones own mind from mundane
relationships and possessions and attach to the higher and higher to
the supreme lord himself.

6.  It s important here to understand that the word Knowledge used
here to signify values is like calling a train bound to New York as
New York Express.  The train is not New york but if we are in that
train we will reach New York.  Similarly the values are not the
Knowledge of Self but if one has these values in entirety, then
Knowledge of Self is easy to come by.

7. Verse 13 to 18 Lord Krishna talk about " That which has to be
known"  All these verses are indicative in nature as it is not
possible to describe the subject itself.,  The moment one tries to to
describe some thing one is objectifying it and the fact is that " that
which has to be known " is the ultimate subject which cannot be
described as an object of language or thought.

8. Lord Krishna says that Knowing what ought to be know one gains
immortality. and that Brahman is neither a being nor not one. It
exists every where and every thing is in it. It is enlivens all the
senses but at the same time is unaffected by them. It enables all
movement but at the same times does not move itself. It is a supporter
of all life and it also destroys all life and also generates life.  It
is self effulgent  at the same time beyond darkness.  These verses may
sound self contradictory obviously when trying to describe some thing
that logically cannot be described because it is the ultimate subject
language and thoughts cease.  In fact these verses are excellent
meditative verses.  Reflecting on these verses with faith and devotion
is meditation in itself.

Next class we will discuss Matter (Prakriti) and Purusha (Spirit)
and will hopefully close Chapter 13.

Look forward to seeing all of you  Sunday morning.

Hari OM,

Summary of 11/11/ class.

1. We will now start chapter 13.  before we do so it is important to
re visit the 3 sections of the Bhagawad Geeta.  Chapters 1-6 deal with
all things to do with the individual or the jiva.  Who am I, what is
my role, w hat should I be doing what is right action,  how should I
do it etc are covered.  Chapters 7-12 deal with what we see around
ourselves- the creation, the Jagat. and finally Chapters 13 -18 deal
with the connection between me the two.

2.  With this back ground it is interesting to look at the very first
verse of Chapter 13 where Arjuna asks Lord Krishna for an explanation
into  concepts/terms.  The field and the knower of the field, Matter
and Spirit and Knowledge and that what ought to be know.  It is said
that this verse was not a part of original text. however without this
verse it would be almost impossible to understand the chapter.  The
opening verse sets up all the concepts that the chapter deals with.
And in a sense also summarizes the connection between the Jiva and
Jagat.

3.  Lord Krishna answers the question by saying that "This Body" is
the field and the One who knows it, is the Knower of the field.  The
term This Body is very loaded.  The body here signifies the Body Mind
Intellect the ego  all our emotions, our sense organs and organs of
action,  It also signifies the five elements and the objects of our
senses.  Which in effect means that every thing that we can perceive
and know and see is the field.  Even that which has a potential to
manifest is the field.

4.  Lord Krishna also says that the He himself is the knower of the
field. One way to understand this is that any thing that can be an
object of perception is the field and the Subject that finally
perceives it all is the knower of the field.  When I see some thing
the question to ask is who is seeing, are the eyes seeing,  is the
brain seeing,  who is that is effect is really seeing.  That sentience
(knowling / awareness principle)  that allows me to perceive or do do
any thing,  that is the Knower and every thing else that is an object
is the field.

In the next class we will look at Knowledge and that what ought to be
know.  Knowledge here signifies those values that allow us enable us
to experience that what ought to be know.  there are a total to 20
values that Lord Krishna elaborates.

see you all on Sunday.

Hari Om,

1.  By the end of Chapter 4 Krishna has established the paths of
Action (Ishwar Arpan Budhi) and the path of renunciations (Prasad
Budhi). So now at the beginning of Chapter 5 Arjuna asks the opening
question as to which of the 2 paths is superior.

2.  Krishna responds by saying that both paths leads to the same goal
which is divine reality, however for most of us it the the path of
action that is easier to follow.  This advice is lovingly given
because Krishna understands human nature very well.  As humans we are
predisposed to action and so long as we can act in a way that our
action itself is an offering to the lord as a sacrifice as a selfless
action we will be able to cleanse our minds and prepare ourselves for
the path of renunciation that is sure to follow with the right
knowledge. (Verses 5.1-5.9)

3.  In Chapter 6 lord Krishna gives us the technology to realize the
self knowledge and the is the art of meditation.  Krishna also makes
it clear to us that it is only self effort that can lift us to the
divine.  Just as a hungry person has to eat himself to quell the
hunger and no one else can eat on his  behalf.  Similarly it is
dedicated disciplined SELF effort that is the sure path to spiritual
success.

4.  At this point it is worth while to pause and consider the central
theme  that the first 6 chapters are  centered upon.  It is clear that
the first 6 chapters are centered upon "the individual) or the Jiva.
Philosophy asks very simple 3 questions
Who am I (what is my role, what should I do, how should I do it,
purpose of life etc )  :    These are all answered in the first 6
chapters.
The next Question that any philosophy would ask is What is this
creation this Jagat that I see around my self. :  The next 6 chapters
(chapters 7 to 12) deal with the questions to do with creation.  And
then the next 6 chapters (Chapters 13 to 18) deal with the next
question and that is about the connection or relations between the
Jiva and the Jagat.  In this way the entire Bhagawad Gita lays out the
philosophy that is indicated by the Mahavakya TAT TWAM ASI.  THAT THOU
ART.

5.  To help is think about creation and the basis of all creation lord
Krishna gives many many examples like asking us to focus on the thread
in the pearl necklace.  the most beautiful pearls will not form a
necklace without the thread.  The pots can be of many shapes sizes and
colors but all of them are essentially clay.  Lord Krishna is pushing
us to think of the substratum that upholds everything in the universe
and that Substratum is the lord himself.

6.  Just as space is in everything and everything is in space.
Similarly the lord is in everything and everything is in the Lord. We
know that space or the universe itself is accelerating  changing but
for every change one needs a reference.  What is the reference against
which the space is changing...  The scientific minds STOPS...  This is
where we take help from Philosophy  that substratum against which the
space itself changes is the Lord himself.

Next class we will start Chapter 13 and start exploring the last part
of the Philosophy. The connection the relationship between the Jiva
and the Jagat.

Hari OM,

Carrying forward with the previous class discussion of action and duty.

1. Krishna says that we have only a right to action and action alone,

we cannot be attached to the results while doing the action And not

doing any thing or inaction is not an option.  As humans one thing is

absolutely guaranteed is that we have to act.  We are wired to do

stuff.  It is the attitude of doing that Krishna is teaching us about.

 When Michael Jordan takes the 3 pointer on the last second buzzer all

he is thinking of is the ball and the hoop, everything else the roar

of the crowd, the on rushing defender, the weariness of the long game,

the prize money at the end of the game  all of it is completely out...

 any thought about winning or losing the game cannot enter his mind.

That is the attitude that Krishna is talking about all the time every

time...  (verse 2.47)

2.  All of us have unlimited potential, Krishna is showing us how to

become more efficient in what we do and unleash that potential to

reach unlimited heights.  The philosophy of the Himalayas has now

found a way of manifesting itself in our day to day lives to make us

more efficient and reach our potential.

3.  This attitude is Karma yoga.   How do we we do it. ...  How do we

make sure that what ever we do we do it the best the very best we can

and how do we make sure that we embrace what ever results that may

come out of our actions. As humans act we must and every action will

have an out come, some good some not good. How do we act in a manner

that we are 100% focused on it and do it to the best of our ability

and how do we make sure that we embrace the results no matter what the

results may be.

The 2 part method to this is

a)  when we are doing any thing, think of that action as a our

offering to the lord..  if we do that the quality of the action will

be the best this is Ishwar Arpan Budhi. (attitude of action as if it

is a offering to the lord)

b) the second part of this is that we accept the results as if it is

blessing from the lord.  Like the way we accept prasad in a temple.

With humility with reverence and with a thank you on our lips. We do

not cross compare with others on prasad received,  we are content with

what each one of us has received and embrace it.  This attitude can help

us in embracing the results of our actions and this is called "Prasad

Budhi"

4. Krishna also explain to Arjuna the reasons why this does not work

and give the 8 steps to failure or destruction.  Thoughts abt objects

- attachment - desire - anger - delusion - loss of memory -  loss of

discrimination - man perishes.  What is unique about this thought

process is not the end but the beginning..  It all starts with a

simple thought...  Also the point that needs to be understood here is

that Anger is  nothing other that desire denied.  (verse 2.62 and 63)

5.  So in Chapter 2 Lord Krishna has given Arjuna the importance of

action and has also talked about the importance of divine knowledge.

So at the beginning of Chapter 3 Arjuna who still does not want to

fight asks a question whether as to what is more superior Action or

Knowledge and also says that obviously Knowledge is more superior and

hence why is Krishna asking him to act and fight.

6.  Lord Krishna now unequivocally announces that Action is superior

to knowledge.

7.As humans we must act, however it is that action that is done with

an attitude of sacrifice that action is the most superior.  Sacrifice

is when we do some thing that connects us with some thing higher than

us as individuals.  It is interesting to see as to how many things

that we do in a given day that are truly one of the nature of

sacrifice.  Expanding that type of action should be our on going

endevour.  The word Selfish is bad when some one is selfish about his

own self however that same word selfish dissolves away into selfless

when the attachment of the word goes from one as an individual to

larger and larger contexts like family, community, society, country,

humanity, to creation.  (Verse 3.8 and 9)

8.  Also when we act we must keep in mind that others people who look

up to us will follow our actions.  Even as high school students the

younger siblings as well as children from lower classes look up to the

high schoolers as an example and it is incumbent upon each one of us

to set an good example by what we do and how we do it. (verse 3.21)

9.  Krishna also says that doing OWN duty is the most important thing

even if it is not done 100% correctly.  Trying to do some one else

duty is full of peril. (verse 3.35)

10.  At the beginning of 4th chapter Krishna tells Arjuna that the

knowledge that he is giving him is the same that Lord Krishna had

given to the Sun and Manu and all the rishis of the past.  Arjuna does

not belive this and says that Krishna could not have done so because

the Sun and Manu were born much before Lord Krishna,

11.  To this Krishna starts revealing his true nature...  Krishna

tells Arjuna that though both Arjuna and Kirshna have had many births,

Krishna knows all his past births but Arjuna does not.  Kirshna being

the lord himself wills himself into being born and the objective of

his birth has always being to establish righteousness, protect the

good and destroy evil (verse 4.7)

12. Different people worship the lord in different ways.  The lord

does not prescribe a path,  all that the lord does is to give the

devotee all that the devotee has aspired for.  This leads into a

discussion on what are the different types people and Krishna now

gives Arjuna the caste system.  The cast systems is based on the

attitude (guna) and work (karma) of an individual and NOT based on

birth.  There is no superior or inferiors caste.  All castes are

equally important for the smooth functioning of any community.  In

every organization there is a caste system in play, the Principal, the

teachers, the office staff and the Janitorial staff in a school are

like the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras..  each is

required for the smooth functioning of the school. The present state

of the caste system is not the way it was designed or supposed to

function.  the present system is a concoction of power and greed and

has no meaning for us as Hindus.

See you all on 10/14.