Class Summary for Jan 31, 2021 - BG - Chapter-4 Slokas 37 - 42

 Summarized by: Sridhar V

The class started off with Omkar routine followed by prayers,pranayama & meditation.

We did a recap from our last class  where in verses 31,32,33,34,35 and 36 from Chapter 4 were discussed.

We watched videos of Gurudev explaining the meaning of the above verses where in Gurudev’s explains that there could be multiple paths to liberation but the ultimate destination remains the same. Each person chooses his/her path based on various factors but the end goal remains the same.

Gurudev also reiterated that merely external worship of the Lord is not good enough but it has to be sanctified by Jnanayoga as well to earn his blessings since Jnanayagna is more subtler than Drivyayagna.

One should follow “Paripresnena Sevaya” which implies:

Prostration-surrender(Path of devotion)

Paripresnena- Intellectually surrender.(ask questions and clear one’s doubts).

Sevaya- Physically serve the master(not because the Master needs it but to attain liberation).

We also discussed few stories on real knowledge or Jnana :

Story No 1. Teacher and Disciple:

 A teacher gave his disciple(teaching brahmayagna)a container which had holes in it and asked him to fetch water. The student used to fill up water in the container and everytime he would reach the class it would be empty and the same would happen while going back home too.The class used to ridicule him but he stuck on to his task for several years without a break.

One fine day the teacher finally enquired if he knew the reason and the student replied in the negative. The teacher then asks for the basket and points out to the class that the holes have become clear and the bottom part of the container has become clean compared to the other areas.

Story No 2:Anguli Malan and Buddha:

There used to be a robber who would rob and kill people passing through a jungle. He would cut a finger after robbing or killing them and would retain it- hence the name Anguli Malan. The reason for this activity was because he was told by someone that more the no of people he robs & kills the sooner he would attain salvation.

Gautam Buddha once passed by the jungle and no matter how hard Anguli Malan tried to catch up, Buddha always evaded him and was ahead of him.Finally he requests Buddha to stop and enquires the reason for him always being ahead of him to which Buddha mentions : I have already reached that place and you are not yet there..

Buddha mentions that one should give up anger &  practice detachment.  Anguli Malan surrenders and goes to stay with Buddha at his ashram.

The King on hearing Anguli Malan’s story from villagers was on the lookout to catch and punish him.

On his way to the jungle,he happens to stay at Buddha's monastery and mentions the purpose of his quest. Buddha retorts to the King that he need not go to the jungle to search Anguli Malan and that he is present in his monastery itself. The King couldn’t find or identify Anguli Malan amidst all the monks and finally Buddha pointed him out. Buddha explained to the King that whatever sins Anguli Malan had committed were washed out  as such but still the King wanted to punish him for his past deeds and Anguli accepts the same wilfully.

Story No 3:

Lord Rama had placed outside his palace a huge bell and if anyone needed the kings attention all they needed to do was to ring the bell for any grievance and they would get justice.

Once a dog rang the bell and Shree Ram came outside to check. The dog complained that his master used to beat with a stick a lot and that it needed justice. Lord Rama was clueless and didn’t know how to accord the correct punishment as there was no precedence for such a crime. He enquires with the dog to suggest an apt punishment and to which the dog suggests to make the master the acharhya of an ashram situated outside the village as a suitable punishment so that he gets refined too in the bargain.

Story no 4:

Dharmaraj or Yudishtira was the ruler(varna system was different those days) and if a crime was committed  by a Shudhra he used to warn him and let him go. If a Vaishnaya did the same he would levy a fine and.if a Kshatriya did the same crime he would get more severe punishment. Ultimately if a Brahmana did the same crime, the punsihment used to be the most stringent.

Same type of crime different punishment- The reason was that  a Shudhara doesnt know or possess knowledge of the right and wrong.

Since Brahmana had the knowledge of the right and wrong, the worst punishment was reserved for him.

 

The verses  37,38,39,40,41 and 42 were chanted and the summary of the shlokas are as below -

Excerpts of verses 37 to 39

Analysis:

Lord Krishna says that in this world,there is nothing as purifying as divine knowledge A person who has attained purity of mind through prolonged practice of yoga receives such knowledge in the heart in due course of time.

The way a burning fire reduces the wood to ashes,Lord mentions to Arjuna that the real knowledge would burn all the reactions from materialistic activities to ashes.

Lord Krishna reiterates that a person who has ultimate faith and practices restrainting their mind and controlling their senses attain divine knowledge and that this is the path through which a person can attain supreme peace quickly.

Excerpts of verses 40 to 42

Analysis:

Lord Krishna states that a person who has no faith or knowledge and perennially of a doubting nature would eventually suffer downfall. For the skeptical soul there is no happiness in this birth or the next one.

Lord mentions to Arjuna that a person who has renounced Karma in the fire of Yoga they are not bound by actions. A person who has realized his true self through knowledge have all their doubts dispelled.

Lord Krishna reiterates Arjuna to dispel all the doubts that have arisen in his mind by the sword of knowledge. He mentions to Arjuna “O scion of Bharat,establish yourself in the karma yog- Please stand up and take action”.

In the next class, all of us would be summarizing one or 2 instances from the past where in our reaction was more from a “doership” perspective and as to how we can improve in future from a “non doership or seer” perspective.           

Class Summary for Jan 24, 2021 - BG - Chapter-4 Slokas 31 - 36

 Summarized by: Shivkumar Natarajan

We began the class with a recap of previous week's lecture on yagnas. We discussed how gross form wood is sacrificed to make fire . 

 
we discussed the benifits of Ahara - Ekadashi Upwas .
we watched the Gurudev's video of Verse 28 in which the distinction between Prana & Svasa was mentioned . On how the Germans tralated it wrongly as our breath.
Prana - All physiological activities in living organism . The expression of our life through BMI .
Main Prana's(Expressions of life) are Prana , Samana , Apana, Udhanaya, Vyana
Swasa - means Breath .Controlling Swasa or Breath impacts in control our mind.

We then chanted verse 31 to Verse 36

From here the Lord takes it to the next level and starts Gnyan Yoga.

  
Theme :
1. Yagna is letting Go of Lower for Higher
2. Those who perform Yagna & wait for the Result/Prasad will get Moksha
3. All these Yagnas are given in the Vedas & are all in some form of Action (Karma). These are to help us learn detachment & purification of mind .
4. Student --> Physical --> Do Seva
  --> Mind     --> Prepare to surrender to Guru
  --> Intellect -> Ask Questions
5. Teacher gives the knowledge of Jeeva , Jagat , Ishwara.
6. This Knowledge is ultimate Happiness , Not removal of Sorrow.
7. This is the only knowledge that makes the GOD same as the Devotee. This is beyond Logic .
8. This knowledge takes you beyond the worst of sins (Liberates the worst of sinners).
9. Real knowledge should be devoid of Materialistic desires/gains (like Butter Floats).
Even a Jevan Mukth swami cannot get rid of Prarabdha .

We discussed the story of Birbal where when the emperor challenged him to make a line smaller without erasing the line, he drew a bigger line next to it.
Similarly we can dwarf our current problems by realizing the (Larger purpose) that we are Divine.

Class Summary for Jan 10, 2021 - BG - Chapter-4 Slokas 25 - 30

Summarized by: Sree Sekhar Palaparthy

We started the class with our Prayers, Meditation, Pranayama. Did a recap of our previous class which

gave the summary of verses 19-24 of chapter 4. 

Recap

 We reflected back on verse 24 and discussed few aspects in which we could put it into practice.

 not to just recite it before eating, but to be able to live up to it, by not complaining about taste

etc.

 Another perspective was to be grateful and thank everything and everyone involved in getting

the food to plate, by remembering brahman in all of them

Reaction vs Response (Verse 18)

Then we very broadly discussed about how to apply some of the concepts that we learnt so far and put

them into practice, especially when we encounter specific external situations which might affect our

emotions.

 In summary, we discussed that in such situations, one needs to respond more (if possible) than

just react,

 Reactions get triggered during the situation instantly and take control over us. It only adds

agitation at body, mind and intellect level

 If one can respond to the situation (in one’s control) and stand up for dharma, they should

pursue that

 Suppression is also not an option, instead one needs to substitute as we have seen in earlier

chapters. For instance, instead of ignoring the external situations, one should substitute with

actions of higher order – ex: take a break and do meditation and internalize/reflect on the

situation

 Every individual needs to take their own path/use tactics to handle such situations to reduce the

agitations (could be to completely dis-engage, meditate, respond and so on)

After this discussion we recited Verses: 25-30 and went over the details. In previous verses, Lord Krishna introduced the concept of Yagna and in these 6 verses, Krishna extrapolates the idea of Yagna, by providing practical ways of, how one can perform various types of Yagna/ offerings at different levels of spiritual maturity

Theme: 12 types of Yagna or offerings

1. Daiva yagna:

a. This is the common understanding of “yagna” which we all have. (Ex: Ganesh homam,

and so on).

b. The offerings are not just physical materials like flowers and such, but also one’s BMI is

expected to be offered while performing yagna.

c. Here we are choosing one deity as representative of Brahman

2. Brahma Yagna: Sacrificing one’s life for a greater cause (Brahman) – Ex: Gandhi, Buddha

3. Dhama: Controlling one’s sense; Sacrificing the experiences coming from senses

4. Shama: Controlling one’s mind. Sacrificing the experiences coming from external objects

5. Dhravya yagna: Sacrificing wealth, time or any form of one’s own possessions for higher good

cause

6. Tapo Yagna: Disciplining oneself and minimizing energy dissipation

7. Yoga Yagna: This is to practice Ashtanga Yoga, for controlling 5 koshas of one’s self

8. Svadhyaya Yagna: Reading scriptures and sacrificing/offering ignorance

9. Gnana Yagna: Giving spiritual knowledge and offering the ignorance

10. Prana/Apana Yagna: Sacrificing inhalation for exhalation and vice versa

11. Pranayama: Sacrificing breath to HOLD.

a. Inhalation ( Puraka) -> Retention Holding ( Kumbhaka) -> Exhalation ( Rechaka) ->

Retention Holding ( Kumbhaka)

12. Aahara Yagna: Sacrificing intake of food for higher cause (ex: Ekadasi vrat and so on)

We also looked at a perspective of linking all the above 12 in reverse order, to work through our way to

get to higher order

In next class, we will continue to look at the subjective analysis, where we will discuss how to at least

practice 5 yagnas.

Class Summary for Dec 20, 2020 - BG - Chapter-4 Slokas 19-24

 Summarized by: Shilpa Sail

Started the class with meditation. This helps us calm our minds and prepares us for the class.

Discussed verses 19 to 24 and more specifically delved deeper into the "Action Inaction" concept.

Continuing further on our discussion about action and inaction. There is another perspective about "Inaction during an action."

How can we attain that state?

We have to keep the BMI fully engaged in our action but try to dissociate the Atma/Brahman.

We need to understand and keep reminding ourselves that the real me is not the BMI, and it is beyond the BMI, and that real me should be just watching.

Without the support of real me, the BMI is not useful. For example, in a car, gas is essential. The steering wheel, the engine, tires, etc., perform the real action.  Gas is just an enabler, but all the parts are fully engaged.

That's the state we need to achieve. 

For an action to be fully efficient, it requires BMI's complete engagement,  but Atma should be in the Sakshi mode.

Meditation and reflection will help us differentiate that Atma is beyond BMI. 

During the state of detachment, the human tendency may divert to not giving our 100%. We need to be watchful of this attitude as it will fall into a vicious cycle.

We know that by performing nishkaama karma we can cleanse our minds and exhaust our vasanas, but some deep-rooted vasanas may not be exhausted through karma yoga.  Some of those vasanas can get burned through meditation. These vasanas may manifest during meditation; we need to let them go and deplete them.

Key takeaways-

Perform all actions for the common identity as an offering.

Inculcate the Yagna attitude - various actions performed as a sacrifice for the greater good; this helps us eliminate/reduce attachments.

Sarvam Brahma Mayam - Laddle, the item, the fire, offered to, offered by. 

Brahman the infinite is limited in expression by each of our equipment.

We watched Gurudev's videos - Chapter 4, verses 20 and 24.

Verse 20 - Explains about attachment and detachment.

Verse 24 - Explains about the One everywhere. 

Additionally, we shared some stories - 

1) Tale about the King and his minister 

There was once a King who had a wise advisor. The advisor followed the King everywhere, and his favorite advice was, "Everything happens for good." One day the King went hunting and had a little accident. He shot an arrow at his foot and was injured. He asked the advisor what he thought about the accident, to which the advisor replied, "Everything happens for good." This time the King was agitated and ordered for his advisor to be put in prison. The King asked his advisor, "Now, what do you think?" The advisor again replied, "Everything happens for good." So the advisor remained in prison. The King continued with the hunting trip, this time without the advisor. Some tribe then captured the King. He was taken to the tribals' camp as a sacrifice. The tribe saw the wound on the King's foot and decided to throw him back into the jungle. According to the tribe's tradition, they would not sacrifice anything imperfect. As a result, the King was spared. The King suddenly realized what his advisor said was true. The advisor also escaped death because had he not been in prison, he would have followed the King on the hunting trip, and the tribes would have sacrificed him.

2) In Mahabharat, after the war, the winning army began an argument about who was the best warrior, and it was decided to put the question to Barbarika. As he saw the whole war from the top of the mountain. He answered that he saw  Krishna everywhere. He said Krishna alone was responsible for the victory: his advice, his presence, his gameplan. 

3) As parents, we need to find a balance between attachment and detachment with our kids. The group shared some of their experiences with the kids.  As parents, we should be caring/loving to our kids but not force our desires on the kids. The kids should be allowed to follow their path. We should always be there to guide them/ enable them, not to push our views on them.

Class Summary for Dec 13, 2020 - BG - Chapter-4 Slokas 19-24

 Summarized by: Angila Singh

We started the class with our Prayers, Meditation, Pranayama.

Class started with a discussion on Inaction in Action topic, Verse 18 – “One who sees inaction in

action, and action in inaction, he is wise among all people, he is well integrated and

accomplishes his actions”

Key points for understanding above Shloka-

- Once we stop associating with B , M , I layer ( Body, Mind and Intellect) we are in Inaction mode.

- Inaction does NOT mean just sitting down and doing nothing.

- The definition of Inaction is relative to a “Realized “ and a “Non- Realized” person.

- For a Realized being Inaction is equated to “being with Brhaman” . This is Right kind of Inaction.

- For a Non -Realized being Inaction is equated to “ Inertness” . This is Wrong Inaction.

- Experience the action but do not be the experiencer rather be the Witness to that action.

Later watched Gurudev’s videos of Verse 17 and 18.

There are 4 ways that help in the Journey.

- Shravanam/Mananam- Reading, listening to Spiritual texts and contemplating.

- Dhanam- Helping others giving time, knowledge etc.

- Sadhana(Work)- Doing your duties , rituals .

- Maunam- Quietness of the mind.

Subjective interpretation from Verse 16,17,18- Substitution followed by sublimation are the tools to be used for training mind.

Chapter 4 Verse 19,20 , 21, 22, 23, 24.

Read commentary and recited these verses.

Ch4 , verse 19- The enlightened sages call those persons wise, whose every action is free from the desire for material pleasures and who have burnt the reactions of work in the fire of divine knowledge.

Renounce selfish actions for material pleasures and dedicates all actions to God, the works performed produce no karmic reactions.

Ch4, verse 20 - Such people, having given up attachment to the fruits of their actions, are

always satisfied and not dependent on external things. Despite engaging in activities, they

do not do anything at all.

Ch 4, verse 21- Free from expectations and the sense of ownership, with mind and

intellect fully controlled, they incur no sin, even though performing actions by one’s body.

Ch 4, verse 22- Content with whatever gain comes of its own accord, and free from envy, they are

beyond the dualities of life. Being equipoised in success and failure, they are not bound by their actions,

even while performing all kinds of activities.

Ch 4, Verse 23- They are released from the bondage of material attachments and their intellect is

established in divine knowledge. Since they perform all actions as a sacrifice (to God), they are freed

from all karmic reactions.

Ch 4, verse 24- For those who are completely absorbed in God-consciousness, the oblation is Brahman,

the ladle with which it is offered is Brahman, the act of offering is Brahman, and the sacrificial fire is also Brahman. Such persons, who view everything as God, easily attain him.

Key points for understanding above Shlokas -

- Person who is practicing Inaction in action will be freed from Sanchita and Aagami karmas.

- Arrow example- One is who is acting without desires or expectations is simply acting based on

Prarabdha is compared to an arrow that has been shot.

- Disassociate from the fruits of the action. Of course, same can NOT be applied for the wrong

action.

- Take the Seer association not the doer association.

- Being CONTENDED in the dualities of the World.( success/failure)

- Perform all actions as an offering to God , Yagna bhava.