Class Summary for June 13, 2023 - Chapter-1 (4-11 slokas)

 Summarized by: Neelima Turaga

• The class started with opening prayers and meditation.We did a brief recap of the previous class. Some of the group participants shared their experiences of introspection. 
• The importance of introspecting daily was reiterated.It is an effective way to increase awareness and to identify negative thought patterns, so they can be replaced with positive ones. Introspection should be like a thought parade of what happened in the day, without getting stuck anywhere or becoming judgemental.
• We then proceeded with Shlokas 4-6. After hearing the chanting by Swamiji, we looked at the objective meaning of the shokas. Duryodhana is speaking with his Guru Dronacharya, and pointing to the pandava army. He is talking about the accomplished warriors that are there, like Bhima, Arjuna, other great kings, and the sons of the Pandavas. 
• These shlokas indicate the extremely nervous and agitated state of mind of Duryodhana. He is really afraid, because deep inside, he knows he is wrong. He is especially scared of Bhima and his vow, and Arjuna, who is the greatest archer. He is almost like a child who is afraid of darkness and seeing all kinds of things in that darkness.
• Coming to the subjective analysis of the shlokas, Arjuna is considered to be Self Control, and Bhima is the power of vitality.Self control will help us overcome our negative tendencies. On the other hand, Strong desire and vasanas (represented by Duryodhana and Dronacharya respectively) can try to ward away positive tendencies.
• Sometimes during our introspection, we feel remorse for things we said or did. This happens when our positive tendencies come into play. As a tip, we can analyse how positive tendencies can make us feel remorse during introspection.
• We then heard the chanting of Shlokas 7-11. In these shlokas, Duryodhana is still speaking, but switches the angle. He is now talking about the strengths on their own side. He is talking about the great warriors like Bheeshma, Karna, Kripacharya and Ashwatthama, who are all in the Kaurava army. He talks about how everyone in his army is well trained in warfare and has all kinds of weapons. He talks about the unlimited strength of his army, and how the pandava army is limited in comparison.
• Duryodhana is still frightened and is trying to reassure himself by talking about his side. It's like a person in the dark whistles to overcome his fear. He is also doubting others and makes sarcastic remarks to Drona, about him being a "twice born" . We then watched Gurudev's video explaining shloka 7. Gurudev talks about how the inconsistent words of Duryodhana represent his agitated mind. 
• Coming to the subjective analysis, all our six enemies  Kama, Krodha, lobha, moha, mada , matsara are personified by different people in the Kaurava army, and Pandavas have to fight to overcome these vices. Bhisma is considered to be pseudo self or false ego. Just like we are not able to recognize our true self due to ignorance, desires and vasanas, and we identify with the pseudo self, Bhisma due to various reasons like his vow, or his loyalty to the King, identifies himself with the wrong side, the Kauravas. Ashwathama is considered to be latent desire, and Karna is considered to be "Raaga" or attachment to materialistic things. Kripacharya is considered to be Avidya. He has no strong reason to be on the Kaurava side. Only because of ignorance, he was not able to discriminate between good and bad, and he is stuck with the wrong side.
• The class concluded with closing prayers and a short meditation to recollect what we learnt in class.