Vrindavan Bhagavad Gita Study Group

  Summarized by:   Sudha Radhakrishnan: After a brief recap of the previous class, we continued with the subjective theme of Shlokas 38-40 from Chapter 2. Karma Yoga helps us purify our mind. Bhakthi Yoga is the underlying fabric that helps us focus our mind. Gnana Yoga helps us with the final realization. Vyavasaarika buddhi was explained by drawing a comparison to a farmer’s life.  A farmer toils the land, sows the crop, and then leaves it to the external forces to do their actions! Similiarly we should perform our actions with the right attitude and leave it to the Lord.    The key takeaway should be for each one of us to perform all the yogas in Kali Yuga for self realization.      Shlokas 41-43 were chanted and the underlying themes were discussed: When one is able to do actions with the right attitude, our mind does not waver and works with a single pointed focus.  In such instances, achievement is imminent! However ...

Summarized by:   Yamini This class we talked about swadharma and paradharma Both depend on stage of life and the profession / carrier path that we have chosen. Krishna tells Arjuna to think about how his legacy would last. He tells Arjuna that however he dies he is going to attain moksha. But he is going to be judged if he quits fighting. Is Krishna trying to play on his ego? Kaikeyi uses similar strategy to fulfill her boons, asking Dasharatha how he is going to be perceived if he does not fulfill his promised boons. They had to undergo all the results of their karmas before they attained Moksha. Slokas : 38-40 Krishna is going to lay the foundation for karma yoga (or buddhi yoga).  He says so far I have been explaining sankhya yoga or the knowledge of absolute brahman,  Now I am going to talk to you about buddhi yoga. Do your karma with the right attitude without being swayed by your emotions and don’t worry about the result. You should not think about who wil...

  Summarized by: Aishwarya Ramani Started with reflection of previous chapter. Explanation of Subtlety: Sword, cannot cut water or fire, cannot shoot a bullet through , or shoot a bullet to water   Aatman is the subtlest, cannot be destroyed.   Shlokas 26-29: These Shlokas deal with relative reality   Only death is certain. Yakshaprashna: In a conversation between Yama and Yudhishtra: the latter was asked, what is the most surprising thing in this world: Yudhistra answers that only death is certain, everyone sees death around them but doesn’t accept that it could happen to them too   Each individual is comprised of gross, subtle and the causal body Aatman manifests as the gross form and unmanifests when it gives up the body   Example of a virtual avatar in a video game was discussed, I.e. taking up avataar in a video game, avatar is unmanifest after the game is done   Aatman needs tp be realized   A story of a rich man and the thief was discussed:...

   Summarized by: Sachin Gaikwad The class started with prayer, pranayama, and meditation.  Previous class summary: One of the participants summarized the previous class discussion. In summary, we also reiterated the Atma's nature, i.e., 'Akartha' is a non-doer of any action, and 'Abhoktha' is not a experencer of any activity. We expanded on a few examples: Movie screen - Atma is like a movie screen, a substratum on which the whole movie gets played, but the screen itself doesn't get impacted Electricity - Atma is like electricity needed to run any electrical equipment. Irrespective of what kind of equipment, such as a bulb or a fan or TV, electricity is still required to run the equipment.   Note on the current conflicts in the world: In the previous class, there was a question regarding the current conflicts in the world. Maniji shared a response from Akalka-ji (Brahmacharini @ Chinmaya Ramdoot). The gist was that we don't have any control over external co...