Class Summary for May 23, 2023 - Self Unfoldment topics

 Summarized by :Pranavi Sreeramoju

We began discussion with why do we meditate before class. It is to focus our minds, to set aside everything else so that we can contribute more to the class. It is a spiritual and mental warm up to train our minds. 


The moderators reviewed the study group format so we are all on the same page. The discussion centered around the fact that this is not about the Mahabharata and what we will get out of discussing the Gita. The moderators stressed the importance of Body-Mind-Intellect (BMI) readiness to receive the powerful message of the Gita. 


While the moderators are in this learning journey with everyone, active participation is required. Level one participation is showing up to class. Level two is discussing what is being covered. Highest level, level three, is self-reflection and application of the learnings in each of our lives. 


Four books are recommended for reading and reflection that help understand the messages of the Gita. They are: Mahabharata, Self-Unfoldment, The Holy Geeta, and Slimed Bhagavad-Gita


In preparation for receiving the messages of the Gita, understanding the following six concepts is important. 


Values: There are three values. The first is Satyam, which refers to truthfulness, honesty, and integrity. The second is Brahmacharya, which refers to balancing and moderating energy expenditure on unnecessary distractions. The third is Ahimsa, which is nonviolence of any kind and broadly means having a positive attitude. Those who identify with the goal of “aham Brahmasmi” and practice these values are able to direct energy to achieving these higher values. 


Sadhana: This refers to practice, as a result of which someone can reach their goals. There are three components to Sadhana. Shravanam  is active listening or taking input; Mananam is reflecting on and repeating the procedure everyday; and Nididhyasanam Is associated with meditation and applying what is learnt & reflected upon. Sadhana allows to reaffirm commitment to goals and allows you to internalize the content and the process and achieve goals. 


Vasanas: These are tendencies as a result of past and present karma. They result in Gunas. They can be exhausted in current life although they were accumulated in present and past lives. Sadhana helps with exhausting them in current life leading to liberation and self-realization. 


BMI: the body-mind-intellect chart was reviewed in detail. Life is a series of experiences and the body, mind and intellect are vehicles of these experiences. Taking care of body leads to good health, taking care of mind leads to good focus, and taking care of intellect leads to good decision-making. Intellect can be used to focus the mind and the body will follow. BMI is your equipment. The body is perceiving objects through five senses, and it needs the mind for single-pointed focus. The mind feels the emotions. The intellect is thinking thoughts. This field of experiences is the ego or the jiva. 


There is symbolism in every aspect of the Gita. In the image of Gita, the chariot is the body, the five horses are the five senses, the path is the sensing of objects and the reins are the mind. The charioteer Krishna stands for the intellect, and the rider Arjuna stands for the ego, i.e., the jiva. 


The “real me” is not the body or the mind or the intellect. It is beyond them, the “Om”. The “real me” is veiled by vasanas, but if you go beyond that, you get to Om. The hierarchies shown in the BMI chart are not an hierarchy of subtleness. 


Karma: we didn’t have too much time to discuss karma, but it is an accumulation of results of actions in past and present lives. It is impacted by every action we perform. 


Gunas: There are three gunas, satvik (a state of peace and equanimity), rajasik (a state of being always on the go), and tamasik (a state of inertia), which are states of the mind. They texturize our minds. The bondage in each of the three gunas can be different each day. The study group members are encouraged to reflect and introspect on the volatility in each day and fluctuation of the mind between the three gunas. 


Understanding the above six concepts is necessary before we dive into the actual Gita. 


Hari Om. 

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Summarized by : Jyotsna 


  • Group discussion


        Values –


            satyam – integrity, non-lying, truth.  Display who you are with integrity


            brahmacharya – discipline, balance and modesty; not necessarily celibacy


            ahimsa – non-harming – physical/mental


               Why are values important in self-realization? God protects children, not egoists.  He is a powerhouse of all values.  If we give up our ego and identify yourself as ahaM brahmaasmi, it becomes easier to practice the values and direct our energy to the Higher goal and be virtuous.


               Though these are important values, these lead to more values as we move further in our study


        sAdhana –


               practice of getting your mind to a place where it involves repetition and commitment.


               3 steps of sAdhana(repeated practice) as below:


               shravaNam, mananam and nidhi dhyAsanaM


           vAsanAs –


               our tendencies and impressions of our past and present karmas.  These represent our guNas.  We have freewill to change these thru sAdhanas.


  • From the BMI chart:


            Vasanaas – Conditioned Experience


            Supreme Consciousness – Unconditioned Experience


            BMI – (Body/Mind/Intellect) - Vehicles/subject of experience. 


            Body – is perceiving thru our sense organs


            Mind is a medium/array of thoughts.  Mind is the feeler of emotions.


            Intellect – discriminates the thoughts, analyzes, guides the mind.  It does that by focusing. 


            PFT – (Perceiver/Feeler/Thinker) – The action of experience –> I, the ego, the jiva


            OET – (Objects/Emotions/Thoughts) – object/field of experiences


Reflection for this week – Introspect/think about and catch yourself go between sAtwik/rAjasik/tAmasik


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