Class Summary for Mar 23, 2025 - Bhagavad Gita Chapter-9 - Generic discussions

Summarized by: Angila Singh

Today, we chanted three OMs, did meditation, and reviewed key points from our previous classes.

A key takeaway from our discussions was the idea that much of what we do in life—be it marriage, raising children, or pursuing various goals—is fundamentally motivated by our own self-interest.

We also explored a profound moment from the Bhagavad Gita when Arjuna witnesses Lord Krishna in His Vishvarupa (Universal Form). It was noted that Arjuna's ability to see this divine form was due to the Lord lifting the veil of his ignorance; it wasn’t that he gained this vision on his own.

Additionally, we had a thought-provoking discussion about the implications of an accidental death for a Jivanmukta (one who is liberated while still in a body). According to the scriptures, any remaining prarabdha karma (the portion of past karma that manifests in the present life) is erased by the Divine when a Jivanmukta departs.

In contrast, we considered the fate of those who are not Jivanmuktas. For them, if causation is interrupted by an accidental death, the Jivatma (individual soul) enters an intermediate state until it can take birth again, continuing the cycle of causation.

A significant question arose: Do we truly possess free will? While everything can be viewed as God's will, it was asserted that human beings have a degree of free will, especially when compared to animals. Even within the framework of divine will, we exercise free will on a micro level, allowing for personal choice and agency in our lives. 

The Paradox of Divine Will and Free Will: Though everything ultimately occurs as per Brahman's will, within the realm of empirical reality, humans experience the sense of making choices. This dichotomy honors both the belief in divine orchestration and the paradoxical experience of individual autonomy. Thus, while God’s will encompasses all, there still exists a space for individual actions and decisions within the manifested world.

 

Class Summary for Mar 2, 2025 - Bhagavad Gita Chapter-9 Slokas- 21-23

Summarized by: Shailesh Vyas.

Started with meditation, anulom vilom.

Recap & Initial Q&A 

• How can Sanchit karma be dissolved in this life, when we are just born to fructify Prarabhda karma?
• Karmas are associated with subtle identity of self. Once a seeker dissociate itself from his identity, there is no identity to bear the results of these Karmas.
• Swamiji often shared a story of Abdul with three wives. When Abdul dies, which one will get widow first. If the husband has died, all three are widow at the same time.
• Being consistent in this spiritual path by doing Sarvanam, Mananam, Nidhidhyasam, one cannot reduce the physical suffering but surely can minimize the mental suffering.
• Can you drop the "i" yourself by doing Abhyasa and Vairagya?
• Scriptures suggest continuing on this path and have faith. When a seeker will be close to the final stage, this is where grace will help.

Chapter 9 (Raja Vidhya Guhya Yog - Royal Knowledge and Secret) 

Verse 21, 22, 23

• Verse 21 
• te taṁ bhuktvā swarga-lokaṁ viśhālaṁ
  kṣhīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśhanti
  evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
  gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante
• Translation
• When they have enjoyed the vast pleasures of heaven, the stock of their merits being exhausted, they return to the earthly plane. Thus, those who follow the Vedic rituals, desiring objects of enjoyment, repeatedly come and go in this world.
• Verse 22
• ananyāśh chintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
  teṣhāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣhemaṁ vahāmyaham
• Translation
• These are those who always think of me and engage in exclusive devotion to me. To them whose mind is always absorbed in me, I provide what they lack and preserve what they already possess.
• Verse 23
• ye ’pyanya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śhraddhayānvitāḥ
  te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajantyavidhi-pūrvakam
• Translation
• O son of Kunti, even those devotees who faithfully worship other God also worship me. But they do so by the wrong method.

Theme/Discussion

• Earth is Karma Bhumi, Heaven is Bhog Bhumi and Bharat is considered as Punya Bhumi.
• Actions to be performed with intense awareness of the ultimate God.
• When you seek the ultimate goal, materialistic items are obtained as a by-product.
• e.g. Marathoner keeps focus on ultimate goal and not on cookies and drinks that are served on the way.
• We are behaving like a prisoner who gets comfortable in jail after staying there few days, conveniently forgetting that his goal is to seek ultimate freedom.
• All our effort can get us to the final thought of obtaining Moksha. Beyond this, it just dissolves by his grace.
• Verse 22 - This one is middle shloka of Bhagwat Gita.
• Our scriptures talk about both Karma Kanda and Gyan Kanda.
• e.g. Ramanuja was good at Math but not at other subjects.
• e.g. Tansen was so good at Music but at some point, he was begging.
• So keep your focus on ultimate goal, while keep doing other stuff.
• One may ask - why do we need Karma Kanda, if Gyan is the ultimate theme of our scriptures?
• Everyone has different texture and not the same thing will suit to all.
• Some people do rituals, some do Seva, some don't show up at all.
• Everyone has different immediate needs, if someone is struggling to make ends meet, it's hard to seek ultimate knowledge. So even though knowledge is ultimate path, there is a path for different to seek materialistic needs as well.
• There is no separate Bhakti Yoga in Gita. However, Bhakti is the underlying foundation for both Karma Yoga and Gyan Yoga. 
• God is saying here, do the rituals but still continue to absorb in me.
• e.g. If one organize Satayanarayan puja, don't ask for personal outcome as fruits of that puja.
• e.g. When a runner run for a Marathon, the goal is not to collect a water bottle or cookies that are offered on the way. Even though they collect them, but don't lose focus on the ultimate goal of finishing the Marathon.
• Yog Kshema - Not only I will help you to acquire but also sustain.

• Yoga	• Kshema
• Spiritual Growth	• Material Success
• Acquire	• Preserver
• Wealth	• Happiness

• •
• Accomplish person behaves the same as un-acommpalished person. He still operates in the transactional world with no attachment. The only thing that changes is in his internal attitude.
• A quote from Hui Neng, 7th century, Zen Patriarchy fits well here -
• Before I sought enlightenment, the mountains were mountains and the rivers were rivers. While I sought enlightenment, the mountains were not mountains and the rivers were not rivers. After I reached satori, the mountains were mountains and the rivers were rivers.
• Subjective Analysis - Moderation and Balance is the key.

Videos

1. Video 
1. Title - Seek Him Series - 8 - Two types of devotees - 2. Single pointed devotion Chapter 9 Verse 22
2. Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2C6JGhq_jY
3. Summary - To those people who have turned their mind entirely to me, remember me sincerely, I shall look after their Yoga and Kshema. Most humans, however diff they are, they focus their entire energy in Yoga and Kshema, whether it be wealth or anything else. Even after one acquire the wealth, rest of the energy goes in looking after it (maintaining it).
2. Video
1. Title - Bhagavad Geeta - Seek Him Series - 9 - Seek Him Directly (Chapter 9 Verse 23)
2. Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWJlRobBZ98
3. Summary - Those who are running after these various centers of powere in the society, the community, those who are seeking these other Gods. They also are really seeking me only. All these various mighty powers are given to them by me. e.g. You can go to revenue department to seek a land, but all these departments are getting power from the ultimate Government.  

Ended class

Class Summary for Feb 23, 2025 - Bhagavad Gita Chapter-9 Slokas- 18-20

Summarized by: Rajesh

Ch 9, 18-20 videos covered in the previous class

Theme:

• Our imaginary emptiness cannot be filled (Example given was the person gets a call saying that their car is burning, he goes down running to put it out.  By the time he gets down, he realizes that he doesn’t have a car).  Hence we have to reach the ultimate goal
• V-20:  How to get what we want?
• Shear mechanical ritualistic doers go to heaven and Demi god’s world
• 3 types of pursuits
• Selfish pursuits (desire based) typically results in HELL (agitation and sorrow)
• Unselfish pursuits (still desire based) Yagna/rituals results in HEAVEN (peace and happiness)
• Selfless pursuits (no desires) - reward is like NECTAR

• Shift in self, not scene
• Sincerity, Purity, Clarity 
• Go beyond letter to spirit
• Passive good actions no good

Subjective Analysis:

• how to be SELFLESS as a Grihasta?

As Grishastas, we have to do the transactional aspects.  We should adjust the attitude that we do these transactions.

Physical sufferings cannot be avoided but mental suffering can be.

Go back and read chapter 2 again (from time to time).

“What you have gotten is from the past, how you face it is in your present” - Swamiji

People will put meditation into it’s own classification for Dhyana yoga, rather than Bhakti, Jnana or Karma Yoga.

 

Class Summary for Feb 2, 2025 - Bhagavad Gita Chapter-9 Slokas- 18-20

 Summarized by Prasanna Kumar:

We started with prayanam and meditation
Then we went through the following verses.

Chapter 9 verse 18
gatirbhartaa prabhuh saakshi nivaasaha sharanam suhrita |
prabhavah pralayah sthaanam nidhaanam beejamavyayam || 18 ||
I am the outcome, nourisher, master, witness, abode, refuge and well-wisher. I am the origin, dissolution, sustenance, repository and the imperishable seed.
verse 19
tapāmyaham ahaṁ varṣhaṁ nigṛihṇāmyutsṛijāmi cha/
amṛitaṁ chaiva mṛityuśh cha sad asach chāham arjuna//19//

 I radiate heat as the sun, and I withhold, as well as send forth rain. I am immortality as well as death personified, O Arjun. I am the spirit as well as matter.

verse  20
trai-vidyā māṁ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpā
yajñair iṣhṭvā svar-gatiṁ prārthayante/
te puṇyam āsādya surendra-lokam
aśhnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān//20//
Those who are inclined to the fruitive activity described in the Vedas worship Me through ritualistic sacrifices. Being purified from sin by drinking the Soma juice, which is the remnant of the yajñas, they seek to go to heaven. By virtue of their pious deeds, they go to the abode of Indra, the king of heaven, and enjoy the pleasures of the celestial gods.

Discussion:

 We don’t have to visit temple to experience Bhagwan. as the divine presence is considered to be everywhere, including within yourself; therefore, you can find and experience the divine around you regardless of location. It’s in every breath and every step we take.
We have to remember to thank God and we need to practice it till it becomes a habit. We should give our best  and accept the outcome though good or bad as a Prasad from God. A prasad could be sweet ( good outcome) or bitter ( bad outcome) but surrender the outcome and learn to accept it as a prasad from God .

• Shift in self not scene 

A person changing houses wont change his luck , but one has to change from within to change our destiny.

• Sincerity, purity, and clarity

This " represent a core spiritual ideal, emphasizing the importance of acting with genuine intention, maintaining a clean inner state, and having a clear understanding of one's actions and motivations while performing one's duty; essentially, doing everything with a pure heart and focused mind, without hidden agendas or self-serving desires. 

• Go beyond letter to spirit /passive good actions no good

Not just attend the class or hear Gita principles but Implement this in your day to day life and only when we practice what we learned or we embody them we are able to follow this path to God. We need to be an active participant to this process.

Imaginary emptiness cannot be fulfilled, we have to require a real and ultimate goal. An example is given of a man jumping to action and rushing to put out his car fire, then realizing he doesn't own a car. 

• Pursuits can be three types
• Selfish pursuits (desire based): lead us to hell
• Selfish but without desire : we will obtain the rewards and Reward is like nectar. 
• Unselfish pursuits (havan  - Yagna)

( the material below quoted from art of living org)

• Focus on your work, not on the results

“karmany evadhikaras te

ma phalesu kadachana..”

The most famous adage of the Bhagavad Gita is that we should focus on the task at hand, not on the outcomes - for we can only truly control our actions, while the results are a permutation of many different variables. Internalizing this concept in our day to day lives makes us more productive, as we can expend all of our energy into the task at hand without worrying about the results.

2. Be stoic
Noted Indian writer Khushwant Singh believed that the Bhagavad Gita’s philosophical essence was that of stoicism – adopting a mindset of being indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain. If we are to truly enjoy a joyous existence, we should not be too attached to labels or objects. Suffering comes from being obsessed with one’s success and failures. Being stoic frees us from the bondages of pain and suffering.
3. Cultivate empathy
Love is at the core of Bhagavad Gita’s message. One might think that because the Bhagavad Gita was delivered by Lord Krishna on a battlefield, it focuses only on the principles of duty and action. But the Gita is actually a treatise on life as a whole. Krishna’s call to Arjun to perform his duty is ‘Karma Yoga’ while the principles of love and devotion explained by the Lord form the essence of ‘Bhakti Yoga’. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that a spiritually advanced person can understand both the happiness and the distress of others. Thus, empathy is a key step in aligning one’s mind with spiritual mastery. In our day to day lives we come across many different people, each with their own joys and sorrows. Cultivating empathy towards them sets us on a path of spiritual enlightenment and also helps to lessen the misery of people around us.

4. Don’t give in to gratification
‘ye hi samsparsha-ja bhoga
duhkha-yonaya eva te’
‘The pleasures that arise from contact between the senses and their objects are in truth the sources of all suffering.’
What often deviates us from our goals is the habit of sense gratification – doing things for the mere purpose of pleasuring one or more of our senses. It breaks our focus, wastes our energy and stops us from achieving our full potential. By applying this teaching of the Bhagavad Gita, we can make or day to day life more rewarding and productive.

Class Summary for Jan 26, 2025 - Bhagavad Gita Chapter-9 Slokas- 15-17

Summarized by Anand Santhanam:

Bhagavath Gita Chapter 9 Verse 15

Versa 14 explanation: When do you follow devotion, worship, all these are paths towards good. “I am not this, I am that”. In the light of new understanding, to burn the old stupidity is called as the “Jyana yagya. Here, when we burn our false notion using knowledge, this is called “Education”. As education comes, we give our childishness, then we become a cultured man. We may know all vedanta, and become eloquent speakers, there is no point, if we don’t burn up our old motions. Never enter spirituality, if you are not ready for change. 

Spoke 15 explanation as per certain other schools of thought:

 There are three levels of worship. First level of worship is “Self-level” worship. It refers to the one with the lord. We are workshopping the lord within you. Second, is the one who creates an image of the lord. The third, is the universal form of the lord. The brahman is everywhere and is an abstract concept.

Sankara-charya came in a time when there are a lot of buddhism. 

Ramanuja-charya focused on a blend of bhakti and jana as a solution. His guru was a shaivite. He came when there were lots of fights between shivites and vaishnavites. Vishistadvaita says, I am part or extension of the brahman.  

Madhva-charya focused only on Bhakti as a solution. 

How should I consider lord ?, is it one lord only? You follow whatever you want. You may consider it as one mass of consciousness. If it is hard to consider, then consider the davit bhaava. The rest will automatically come. You adore and give him good food. If you don’t even believe that, if you think the sanskaras, believe that the good is the people around you. Do social work and the people’s happiness is the god’s happiness. If so, consider that as good and continue in that direction. 

Verse 16 explanation.

Store: On my 20th birthday, my dad bought me a beautiful car. This is first car that came to US. The son jumps into the car and goes and crashes the car. The son was lying down in the carpet, who woke up from the dream. Now the question is, where is the car, father road, accident etc., everything is in my mind. Similarly, when we wake up to that consciousness you will see that everything is just ripples created in your mind. “Aham kratu” I am the elaborate. You will realize that everything is just the “waking” mind and you will only realize it when you wake up.

Verse 17 explanation 

The non-apprehensions of the reality gave wrong understanding. The only truth is the supreme conscience. The total vasanas in the mind is the iswara. I am the father of this entire universe. I am the mother, the protector, sustainer, and the destroyer. The dream in your dream world, you are the father. You are the mother. The mind sustains the dream. The dream is just a projection of the mind in the non-apprehension of the waking state. This is the thing to be known. In the objective world, everything is “knowledge of” the science. The greatest purifier where the vasanas are exhausted, is the representation of the “Om”. When the mind quietens, the god who was always there will appear before you for your understanding. This is the key thing to be known.