Essence of Bhagavad Gita3 session course

Revision of Session 1

•  Nature of material world. •  Be prepared to face the problems. •  Understanding the nature of happiness. •  Senses, mind, intelligence and living force. •  Elevating consciousness is the solution to

problems and a way to obtain real happiness.

Revision of Session 2

•  Identity – interaction with matter. •  Karma •  Re-incarnation. •  Life as a preparation to reach our final

goal.

Source of knowledge

•  Every living entity – desire to know – curiosity. •  NASA spends millions of dollars every year. •  What is our origin? Where did we come from?

How was the universe created? •  What determines birth in a particular

circumstance? •  Is there an underlying intelligence or

consciousness that is beyond the marvel of the laws of nature, physics and biology?

2 Systems of Knowledge 1.  Inductive / Ascending Method:- Not accepting any authority and trying to find out truth

by one’s own endeavor or speculation

2. Deductive / Descending Method:- Knowing things by hearing. Not experimental

knowledge.

1. pratyakña - sensory perception

2. anumäna - logical inference

3. çabda - the words of a reliable authority

“According to Vedic principles, there are three different types of evidences. Everything must be proved by evidence. So these are primarily three evidences. Pratyakña, direct perception, pratyakña; anumäna; and çruti.”

Çrémad-Bhägavatam 6.1.46 -- San Diego,

July 27, 1975

(sensory perception) prati means near or through, and akña means the eye or the senses

when one of our senses contacts its object & our mind chooses to give the received sensation attention, knowledge has been created

a)  external – by senses

b) internal – by mind (emotions, pain, pleasure, love, hate)

Four human defects

1. Bhrama - confusing one thing for another illusioned

(identification of the body as the self )

2. Pramäda - inattentiveness, commit mistakes

3. Vipralipsä - the desire to deceive others, tendency to cheat

4. Karaëäpäöava - weakness of the senses, imperfect

“If pratyakña, direct perception, would have been perfect, then there was no need of sending these boys to school to hear from the teacher. But this is very scientific, çabda-pramäëa.” >>> Discussions with Syamasundara Das

•  the mind's attempt to know what is beyond the reach of sense perception

•  based on repeated (generalized) experience or authoritative verbal testimony one arrives at some probable general principle called vyapti

•  the instrument of knowing an unperceived fact on the basis of its being known to accompany another fact that is perceived

(logical inference - knowing after, reason, logic)

“From newspapers and radio we also understand that such and such events are taking place in China and India and other

places all around the earth. We're not experiencing these events directly, and we don't know that such events are actually taking place, but we accept the authority of the newspapers and radio. We have no choice but to believe authorities in order

to get knowledge. And when the authority is perfect, our knowledge is perfect.”

(Raja Vidya)

the words of a reliable authority (Vedas)

1.  reveals knowledge of subjects which lies beyond our sense perception or inference

2. everyone relies on such knowledge in day-to-day life even those who proudly declare that they have no faith in authority

3. everyone’s mental & intellectual development depends on sound vibration

4. most powerful tool for conveying knowledge from one person to another, especially if they are greatly separated by time or space (which is almost always case in spiritual matters)

ORIGIN OF VEDAS

KRISHNA

BRAHMA

NARADA

CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU

A C BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI

Atharva Veda states that Lord Sri Krishna instructed Lord Brahma

Transcendental Sound Vibrations

Theory of Relativity

Kakudmuni

5000 yrs ago

Description of embryo in scriptures Matches modern day

science

Vedas predicted the birth of great personalities

Buddha Chanakya Ashoka Christ Mohammed

•  Volumes of literature giving scientific evidence of the knowledge of the Vedas.

•  How scientific is the science as known to us?

•  Science certainly has made tremendous progress but real problems of ecological disruptions, health & psychological problems, violence, hatred, etc has just increased.

•  We are not saying science as we know is useless but our point is that we need to integrate modern science with spiritual knowledge.

•  Spirituality is the highest science through which we can directly know the true nature of reality.

•  Vedic sciences open the door to a cosmic intelligence - to a sense of self and reality that is universal, not bodily-based but rooted in awareness, love and bliss.

•  We are meant to function as a species to involve to a higher consciousness, not simply enjoy at a mundane level.

•  Linking individual consciousness with universal consciousness gives an access to a much deeper level of knowledge.

Essence of Bhagavad Gita

•  What does BG say about spiritual nature? •  Creation? •  Creator?

What is the solution ?

We are in the material world which is

MISERABLE & TEMPORARY

“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to

this temporary world, which is full of miseries,

because they have attained the highest

perfection.”

“Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is

transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested world. It is

supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains

as it is.”

Spiritual World

•  Blissful •  Eternal •  Free

from all inebriety

Our eternal home, where we all originally belong to.

What about Creator? 1. ARGUMENT FROM NUMBERS

Quotes by Scientists

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story (of the big bang) ends like a bad dream. For the past three hundred years, scientists have scaled the mountain of ignorance and as they pull themselves over the final rock, they are greeted by a band of theologians who have been seating there for centuries.” (Robert Jasthrow, Professor at Columbia University and Founder and Director of the Goddard Space Center)

"The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.“ Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT physicist)

"We know that nature is described by the best of all possible mathematics because God created it.“ Alexander Polyakov (Soviet mathematician)

2. ARGUMENT FROM NATURE

i.  ORDER §  A casual universe §  Anthropic Principle

a.  Earth b.  Water c.  Sun d.  Air

2. ARGUMENT FROM NATURE

ii.  DESIGN All bodies have specific designs according to their needs

a.  Girafee b.  Bats c.  Humming Bird d.  Camel e.  Spider

2. ARGUMENT FROM NATURE

iv.   LAWS

a.  Gravity b.  Electro Magnet c.  Seasons d.  Planetary Movement

3. ARGUMENT FROM PURPOSE

a.  4 things imperative while creating a.  Purpose b.  Design c.  Raw materials d.  Construction Crew

A Clock & Child

4. ARGUMENT FROM URGE

For every urge there is fulfillment in nature

5. ARGUMENT FROM PAROCHIALISM

Have you been everywhere to prove He’s not there?

6. ARGUMENT FROM INFINITE REGRESS

i.  What caused the Big Bang? ii.  How u know this? iii. Any experience of creative

explosion?

7. ARGUMENT FROM FAULTY PERCEPTION Defective senses can’t see objective reality

3 DEFECTS

1)  Same object appears to be different to same person

2)  Same object appears to be different to different person

IS GOD PERSONAL OR IMPERSONAL?

LIGHT / BRAHMA JYOTI

Brahmajyoti is

the effulgence

from the body of the

Supreme Personality of

Godhead. Jnanis realize this Brahman

aspect of God.

Yogi meditating

on the Paramatma

Anyone possessing all the opulence in full is naturally

‘ALL ATTRACTIVE’ Krsna means ‘all attractive’ in Sanskrit

ALL KNOWLEDGE

ALL STRONG

ALL BEAUTIFUL

ALL RENUNCIATION

ALL FAMOUS

ALL RICH

BRAHMA SAMHITA

Isvarah parama Krishna Saccid ananda vigraha Anadir adir govindah

Sarva karana karanam “Krishna (God) is the supreme

controller. He has a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss. He is the prime cause of all causes.”

Krishna says in B.G. 10.8. that

He is the source of all spiritual and

material worlds and

that everything emanates from

Him.

DIFFERENT YOGA PROCESSES – KARMA, DHYANA, JNANA & BHAKTI

l  Merciful l  Compassionate l  Friend l  Magnanimous l  Equal to all l  Truthful l  Performs welfare for others l  Respectful

l  Humble l  Surrendered l  Desireless l  Fixed l  Controls six bad qualities l  Grave l  Silent

l  Clean l  Mild l  Without material possessions l  Peaceful l  Indifferent l  Eats only as much as required l  Without inebrieties l  Without false prestige l  Poet l  Expert l  Faultless

Art of Giving (Towards other)

Characteristics / Signs

Art of Being (Towards self)

Bhagavad Gita 16.1-3 Chart No. 25

l  Humble l  Free from false ego l  No sense of false proprietorship l  Equipoised amidst dualities (BG 12.13-20) l  Free from attachment, fear and anger (BG 4.10, 2.56) l  Attached to Krishna's service in association of devotees l  Self controlled (BG 12.13-20) l  Servant of everyone (BG 5.7) l  Satisfied by experiencing higher taste (BG 2.59) l  Does not like to waste time l  Unbreakable determination (BG 18.33) l  Mind and intelligence fixed on Krsna (BG 12.13-20) l  Acts as Krsna’s instrument to please Krsna (BG 11.33)

l  Follows authority of guru, sadhu and sastra l  Expert-knows how to connect everything to Krsna l  Truthful l  Pure-internally and externally l  Behavior - non-envious, friend to all l  Selfless l  Compassionate l  Simple

l  Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead from whom everything comes (BG10.8) l  He is the supreme enjoyer, supreme proprietor and ever well wisher (BG 5.29) l  The living entities are his eternal fragmental parts – simultaneously one with and different from Him (BG 15.7) l  Matter is His separated material energy which controls deluded living entities (BG 7.4) l  By engaging everything in Krsna’s service, one becomes liberated to go back to Godhead (BG 2.51) l  Goal of life is pure devotional service and Krsna prema (BG 11.55)

Nature

Philosophy

l  Always chanting Krsna’s glories (BG 9.14) l  Performs devotional service l  Acts as duty to set example (BG 3.21) l  Not dependent on ordinary course of activities (BG 7.14) l  Dependant on Krsna’s mercy (BG 7.14) l  Preaches to enlighten suffering humanity (BG 12.13-20) l  Always enlightening one another and conversing about Krsna (BG 10.9)

Mentality and Attitude

l  He escapes the cycle of birth and death l  He attains real happiness and fulfillment. l  He return home - spiritual world

Action

Result

Bhagavad Gita 6.32, 9.11-19, 9.20-25 Chart No.10

Conclusion Summary •  Our real self – spiritual identity. •  Material world – place of suffering. •  Don’t take the problems of this world too

seriously – this too will pass. •  Act as a matter of duty as an activity

towards our final destination. •  Things are meant to be used and people

are meant to be loved. •  Be kind and compassionate to every living

entity. Don’t be envious, do not find faults.

•  Be grateful for what you have and express that gratitude. Attitude of gratitude.

•  Modes of material nature are very strong. Six enemies are real enemies.

•  Regular practice of principles of bhakti: •  Mantra meditation, association, books –

think about spiritual concepts, values; you are what you eat.

•  Prioritize your life based on teachings of Bhagavad Gita.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS REALIZATIONS THANK YOU