Gita Wisdom - Teachings for the Modern Day Yogi

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July 12, 2018 – Long Island Series, Week 13 – [BG 4.4-4.6]

Arjuna, who grew up with Krishna, questions how Krishna taught the science of the self to the sun god at the dawn of time.

Topics include:

  • The role of karma in shaping our lives and bodies
  • Why we don’t remember our past lives
  • What happens when we are liberated
  • The story of Jada Bharata

Additional topics include:

  • Three obstacles to chanting
  • The story of Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto

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Homework

Read verses and purports from Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 4 Verses 7 and 8 [BG 4.7 – 4.8]

Mentioned in this podcast

Abbreviations used in these notes: BG for Bhagavad Gita

Books

Verses

BG 4.4

Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvān is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?

BG 4.5

The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!

BG 4.6

Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.

Vocabulary

Janma – birth
Veda – knowledge
Moksha – liberation
Samsara – the cycle of birth and death
Sadhu – a holy person who has renounced material life
Prasadam – literally “mercy”; food that has become sanctified by first offering it to God
Pranayama – yogic breathing techniques
Sat-chit-ananda – the inviolable qualities of all souls: eternity, self-awareness, bliss
Maya – illusion, “that which is not,” e.g. thinking the visible world to be the only reality

Test Your Knowledge

QUIZ START

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June 28, 2018 – Long Island Series, Week 12 – [BG 4.1-4.3] In the Beginning…

Until now, Krishna has not given any hints as to his true identity. In Chapter 4 Krishna reveals he taught this ancient knowledge to the sun god at the dawn of the millennium.

Additional topics include:

  • An explanation of the invocation om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
  • The power of the Gita teachings for good and evil
  • The role of faith in understanding the Gita

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Homework

Read verses and purports from Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 4 Verses 4 through 6 [BG 4.4 – 4.6]

Mentioned in this podcast

Abbreviations used in these notes: BG for Bhagavad Gita

Books

Verses

BG 4.1

The Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.

BG 4.2

This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.

BG 4.3

That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.

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June 21, 2018 – Long Island Series, Week 11 – Dhruva

Chapter 3 of the Gita points to the pathology of conditioned life and obstacles on the spiritual path. This class includes a summary of the Vedic story of Dhruva, the boy king who found God through meditation. Additional topics include:

  • How our spiritual knowledge can help us navigate life’s challenges
  • The role of guru

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Homework

Read Chapter 4 verses 1-3 and purports of Bhagavad Gita As It Is

Mentioned in this class:

Books

Recommended Reading

Bhagavad Gita As It Is
Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text

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May 24, 2018 – Long Island Series, Week 9: Leadership [BG 3.21]

Bhagavad Gita 3.21: The importance of good qualities in a leader.

Topics include:

  • Developing good qualities
  • Krishna’s instructions on meditation

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Homework

Continue reading Chapter 3 of Bhagavad Gita As It Is
Find an article and analyze it from a bhakti perspective

Mentioned in this podcast

Abbreviations used in these notes: BG for Bhagavad Gita

Books

Verses

BG 3.21

yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate

Synonyms
yat yat — whatever; ācarati — he does; śreṣṭhaḥ — a respectable leader; tat — that; tat — and that alone; eva — certainly; itaraḥ — common; janaḥ — person; saḥ — he; yat — whichever; pramāṇam — example; kurute — does perform; lokaḥ — all the world; tat — that; anuvartate — follows in the footsteps.

Translation
Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

Purport
People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior. A leader cannot teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes. Lord Caitanya said that a teacher should behave properly before he begins teaching. One who teaches in that way is called ācārya, or the ideal teacher. Therefore, a teacher must follow the principles of śāstra (scripture) to teach the common man. The teacher cannot manufacture rules against the principles of revealed scriptures. The revealed scriptures, like Manu-saṁhitā and similar others, are considered the standard books to be followed by human society. Thus the leader’s teaching should be based on the principles of such standard śāstras. One who desires to improve himself must follow the standard rules as they are practiced by the great teachers. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also affirms that one should follow in the footsteps of great devotees, and that is the way of progress on the path of spiritual realization. The king or the executive head of a state, the father and the schoolteacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general. All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents; therefore they must be conversant with standard books of moral and spiritual codes.


Vocabulary

  • Bhava – Ecstatic love for God
  • Guru – Gu-darkness, ru-dispeller. Guru is one is one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. Guru also means heavy (with knowledge).
  • Saucha – Purity. Refers to cleanliness inside and out.
  • Sisya – Disciple. One who voluntarily submits to discipline in spiritual life

Recommended Reading

Bhagavad Gita As It Is
Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text

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May 17, 2018 – Long Island Series, Week 8 – [BG 3.6]

Bhagavad Gita 3.6: Being honest about our spiritual capabilities.

Topics include:

  • Realistically assessing our daily practice
  • A brief explanation of the four regulative principles
  • An explanation of the Hare Krishna mantra

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Homework

Continue reading Chapter 3 of Bhagavad Gita As It Is

Mentioned in this podcast

Abbreviations used in these notes: BG for Bhagavad Gita

Books

Verses

BG 3.6

karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya
ya āste manasā smaran
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā
mithyācāraḥ sa ucyate

Synonyms
karma-indriyāṇi — the five working sense organs; saṁyamya — controlling; yaḥ — anyone who; āste — remains; manasā — by the mind; smaran — thinking of; indriya-arthān — sense objects; vimūḍha — foolish; ātmā — soul; mithyā-ācāraḥ — pretender; saḥ — he; ucyate — is called.

Translation
One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.

Purport
There are many pretenders who refuse to work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness but make a show of meditation, while actually dwelling within the mind upon sense enjoyment. Such pretenders may also speak on dry philosophy in order to bluff sophisticated followers, but according to this verse these are the greatest cheaters. For sense enjoyment one can act in any capacity of the social order, but if one follows the rules and regulations of his particular status, he can make gradual progress in purifying his existence. But he who makes a show of being a yogī while actually searching for the objects of sense gratification must be called the greatest cheater, even though he sometimes speaks of philosophy. His knowledge has no value, because the effects of such a sinful man’s knowledge are taken away by the illusory energy of the Lord. Such a pretender’s mind is always impure, and therefore his show of yogic meditation has no value whatsoever.

Other

The Four Regulative Principles
Students aspiring for initiation into the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage are encouraged to follow these four behavioral guidelines:

  • No eating meat, fish or eggs
  • No intoxicants
  • Limiting sexual activity to one’s life partner
  • No gambling

Further, those interested in initiation into bhakti practice are encouraged to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. (16 times around a mala of 108 beads — 108 x 16 = 1,728 mantra recitations daily.)

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Vocabulary

  • Mantra – Non-material sound, hymn, manas-traya: sound that liberates from the mind

Recommended Reading

Bhagavad Gita As It Is
Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text

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May 10, 2018 – Long Island Series, Week 7 – The History of Science in One Verse [BG 3.3]

Third chapter Bhagavad Gita begins with a concise summary of how knowledge is attained and the formula for lasting prosperity (BG 3.3). Additional topics include:

  • The cycle of ages: satya, treta, dvapara, and kali yugas.
  • Why do some people resist pursuing what would make them happy?
  • Who are the demigods (devas), what do they do and what is our relationship with them?

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Homework

Read Chapter 3 verses and purports for verses 13-24 in Bhagavad Gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Mentioned in this podcast

Abbreviations used in these notes: BG for Bhagavad Gita

Handouts

Books

Verses

BG 3.1-12

TEXT 1: Arjuna said: O Janārdana, O Keśava, why do You want to engage me in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?

TEXT 2: My intelligence is bewildered by Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively which will be most beneficial for me.

TEXT 3:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
loke ’smin dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā
purā proktā mayānagha
jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ
karma-yogena yoginām

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who try to realize the self. Some are inclined to understand it by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.


TEXT 4:

na karmaṇām anārambhān
naiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo ’śnute
na ca sannyasanād eva
siddhiṁ samadhigacchati

Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one attain perfection.

TEXT 5: Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.

TEXT 6: One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.

TEXT 7: On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] without attachment, he is by far superior.

TEXT 8: Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work.

TEXT 9: Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.

TEXT 10: In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”

TEXT 11: The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all.

TEXT 12: In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief.

Other

Yugas

Four yugas, or epochs, make up one cycle which last about 4.3 million years. Each yuga has specific characteristics:

  1. Satya yuga: the golden age, lasts about 1.7 million years, the process for self-realization is meditation on Vishnu.
  2. Treta yuga: the silver age, lasts about 1.3 million years, the process for self-realization is sacrifice (yajna).
  3. Dvapara yuga: bronze age, lasts about 860,000 years, the process for self-realization is worship of deities within temples.
  4. Kali yuga: iron age, our current yuga, lasts about 430,000, the process for self-realization is the chanting of God’s names. We are currently about 5,000 years into Kali yuga.

Vocabulary

  • Deva – demigod, empowered being
  • Yajna – sacrifice; any action offered as a gesture of love for God (and not contrary to scriptural standards)

Recommended Reading

Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text

Bhagavad Gita As It Is

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