Class Summary for Mar 5, 2024 - Chapter-3 Slokas 1 - 7

 Summarized by A K Srinivasan

Mani-ji recommended a few books that are relevant to the study of the Gita, in particular, the following books: 

• Many Lives, Many Masters, by Brian L Weiss, MD 

• Same Soul, Many Bodies, by Brian L Weiss, MD 

• Mahabharata, by C Rajagopalachari 

Dr. Brian, a trained psychiatrist, practices past-life therapy and hypnosis and delves into his patient’s past to arrive at solutions. “Using past-life therapy, he was able to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career. With more than one million copies in print, Many Lives, Many Masters is one of the breakthrough texts in alternative psychotherapy and remains as provocative and timeless as it was when first published”. 

Class went thru a brief recap of Chapter 2. 

Class urged to practice the sadhana package everyday. 

Chapter 3  -  Karmayoga. 

Class reviewed feedback on video by Swami Abhedananda, CM, South Africa, on Ch.3, the class assignment from before. 

Arjuna is confused at the end of Chapter 2. 

Summary - This chapter is about the result of our Actions. We have to act; we cannot not act. We are filled with Satva, Rajas and Tamas gunas, so we must act. But in the act of taking action we are suffused with feelings of anger, sadness, happiness, attraction, attachments and a host of other emotions. We are caught up in the emotions, we feel sorry for ourselves, we are bound by it, and in turn, this takes us away from service to the Lord. This bondage to our individuality, and separation from the Lord is the cause of our misery. 

Even small actions get us caught up, trap us; vasanas increase and our fruits of action increase and this leads to repeated rebirth. 

Action should be an ego-dissolving, attachment-defying, hatred-removing process. The intent is to dilute our individuality and separate-ness from the Lord. Action should be for the Lord – karmayoga. This can only happen when you have love for the Lord – yagyam - this is achievable thru 2 ways – negate my individuality/ahankaram and increase the devotion to the Lord. 

Sl. 1 to 7 discussion

Arjuna is confused on which path to take – the one of knowledge or one of action. 

Both are complimentary to each other. One cannot be attain freedom from karmic reaction from either abstaining from any physical actions and focusing on sense objects in the mind, nor by only focusing our efforts on physical action.  

Karma yogis are those who engage and control the mind, while working without attachment. Karma yoga prepares the mind for Gnana yoga(Ultimate knowledge). It is like washing hands before eating with your hands. One is needed for the other. Knowledge is within us (jeevatma), but we are filled with ignorance, which in turn is nothing but a bundle of our accumulated vasanas. 

Vasana – > desire – > thoughts –> action

With karmayoga, we can attain nishkama karma, which is desire-less action. Reducing desire reduces ignorance

Inaction is not an option. Action is performed based on your temperament and the Ashram (stage of life – brahmacharya, grahasta…) you are currently in. The path of action is the means, while the path of knowledge is the goal. 

Action-lessness = action without desire, without thought, without Vasana, replaced by grateful/obligatory action

Example given was of 2 brothers in two different places – one at a Bhagavatam class and the other at a place of disrepute. But both were thinking about the other’s good/bad experience in their minds. This is not the right way. Thoughts and actions should be managed. A clean, focused mind is the goal. Like the example of an exposed camera film.

Next class – Next 4 shlokas