Class Summary for Mar 08, 2020 - Chapter-12 Slokas 1-5

Summarized by :  Prarthana Gururaj

During the class we reviewed our discussions on verses 1-5. We watched Gurudev’s videos of the
shlokas.

1. The path to bhakti begins with taking the mind towards God and surrendering the mind to God.
2. There is a difference between faith and belief. Belief is lost in the face of adversity. Faith is
immovable despite adversity
3. A firm faith of the understanding that the world is a manifestation of the unmanifest God is
important. An example / comparative was that our dreams are a manifestation rising from the
body of our knowledge
4. The path of faith or devotion can be pursued in two ways – focusing on the manifested God in
his various forms like Krishna, Shiva etc( Saguna) or focusing on the unmanifest God (Nirguna)
5. The path of devotion to Nirguna Brahma is considered the most difficult.
6. The understanding of the concept of Nirguna Brahma can be pursued by using the pointers that
indicate the qualities of the unmanifested God. However caution should be taken to ensure that
the indicators are not considered the description of the unmanifest. Some of the indicators are
that the Lord are
- imperishable, indefinable, omnipresent, unthinkable, unchangeable, eternal, immovable
7. Gurudev’s summary

- At the physical level - understand that the world is a physical manifestation of the
Lord and serve mankind with devotion.
- At the mental level – surrender the mind and bring the mind towards the Lord
- At the intellectual level – attempt to understand the Lord through the information
in the scriptures.