Class Summary for Nov 14, 2023 - Chapter-2 Slokas 34 - 40

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 will die and who will not. Your karma is to fight the righteous war.
  • Right action is always noble. When we do actions without right attitude, we build vasanas and the cycle of life and death becomes repetitive.
  • Animals are very impulsive. If they hungry they eat if they are tired they sleep. Unlike animals we have the ability to think and decide and we should use it properly.
  • We have duties that we need to perform in a daily basis -nimitya & kamya karma.  When these are done in balance we can be rid of vasanas.
  • Eg. We do our job with a grudging attitude but do our kids project with joy without worrying about the result

If you do every job with the same enthusiasm, we would not accumulate vasanas.

Gurujis videos:

Geeta is not a war mongering book.

Whatever result comes out of our action, we should take it with the same attitude.
Living life is important not winning and losing one situation.
Maintain your balanced attitude. 
If you lose don't get disappointed and just say we will try again.
When the mind is tranquil, intellect works at its best.
When mind is disturbed intellect becomes zero.
Without failure what is success, and without success there is no meaning to failure.
Both are like two sides of a coin. Life needs be a mixture of both.
Don't measure life by the successes or failures, but as a whole.
How one lived life without convict is important. 
Nature of ocean is waves. Our complaining will not stop them. If you just stand, you will be beaten by the waves like the rocks. So, try to understand the nature of the waves and learn to work with it.
Enjoy the game. Nothing is permanent in the world.
Learn the nature of life and try to work with it.
Fulfill your duties, that is your work with the right mental attitude. Then only it becomes intelligent and creative work.

Toiling is not working, its only laboring. Animals only act, plants only respond. Man alone can work.

How a normal man and educated man responds to seeing a beautiful woman. 
An intellectual man goes through the same emotions, but he is controlled by his thought and intellect.
He is controlled by the thoughts about how his actions are going to affect the people and society around him.
Work is not action, but intelligent action.

Questions/discussions during the class:
Why did Pandavas not go to swarga even after fighting righteously?Although kauravas and pandavas both fought, the underlying cause was dharmic for pandavas
Pandavas went to Swarga after they fulfilled their penance for the karmas.
They had to undergo all the results of their karmas before they attained Moksha.

Are Swarga and Moksha different?Hindu scriptures talk about attaining Moksha more than going to Swarga.

Do Sankhya yoga and Buddhi yoga refer to same? 
Sankhya Yoga is the study of absolute brahman or is the knowledge of absolute brahman. 
Kapila muni talks about Sankhya yoga when he explains about child conception and its growth. However, this is considered as part of "Tarka Shastra" and not "Sankhya Philosophy" (Refer to Swami Chinmayananda's Chapter 1-2 book) 

Buddhi yoga is being referred to both the knowledge related to Brahman (Sankhya) and the knowledge of action (karma yoga).

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