Class Summary for Jan 7, 2025 - Chapter-4 Slokas 37-42

Thanks to Anuji for the notes

We started with our invocation prayers, followed by Pranayama and meditation.

Then we recapped what we did last couple classes and went over the 12 types of yagnas (in short).

Review of the Shlokas 37,38,39.

Shloka 37:- Agni burns all the things put in the havan kund in the same way all the vasanas get burned with Gyana Agni.

Sholka 38:- how yoga is a common term in Sanskrit. It is talking about purity of mind by prolonged performing of the karma yoga example formula pickle jar. We need to cleanse by karma yoga and purify with bhakti yoga. One who has attained this and will quickly attain the bhagawan.

Sholka 39:- What kind of trust or faith should one who is learning must have towards the guru. The student who is learning gynana from the guru must always have nature of faith and any questions or enquiring he/she puts to the guru must be out of intention to learn and eagerness and not to examine the knowledge of the guru. Any question/enquire must be meant for the learning of the self and development and growth of the self and not to bring down or put down or test the guru.

Review of the shlokas 40, 41, 42

Shloka 40:- when someone who has a doubt will have a downfall. It is OK to ask questions but what is the objective of asking this question.

What is the intention of asking the question?

4 ways or techniques (Saama Dana Bheda and Danda) to dissuade the people asking the wrong type of questions.

Krishna never says he is the lord and does not take away free will. All the choices are given and the free will that we have is used to make a choice.

Shloka 41:- three things is being said, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and Gyana yoga. Knowing things intellectually is important to situate yourself in the knowledge of the self. We need to purify ourselves and then get the knowledge.

Knowledge is what is understood as what is real.

Shloka 42:-

There was a discussion on the story of a person who was asked to go in forest and meditate and when he gets all the required things for the rituals and sits down in forest to mediate while chanting the mantra a tiger comes and eat this person. Meanwhile a person who sees tiger at a distance climbs up the tree and sits and at the same time he hears this mantra being chanted and also watches the whole episode of this person being eaten by tiger. The person on the tree comes down and since he heard this mantra comes and sits down and chants it three times and the devi appears before her, he is very astonished and asks why and how come the devi is gracing him, she tells that this is because of his past karmas and only very little was left which was completed and hence she has graced him and the person who was eaten up by tiger still needs more time for her grace.

We went over the explanatory and the additional context for the verses:-

When we have self-knowledge it burns the results of past actions be it paapa or puniya. Just like fire burns firewood, in a similar way knowledge burns karma. When we destroy the 'I'-ness in us then the Bhakti and Gyana come to us.

When the doer is dead the result of the action will not affect you. One who is anxious of the result. When we do not have anxiety of the attachments then the doer in us is dead.

A king loses his son at a very young age. Several years later based on birthmarks someone reports to the king that they found the prince. This prince, after becoming king, feels he should go and beg

Since he had nothing to lose he had no attachment while begging.

The experience he gets takes him to different thinking. We need to have this kind of experience.

If we gain the knowledge and have the grace of the lord then our Sanchita karma and Aagami karma (anything that we are accumulating) Prarabhda karma (we don’t have control of over it)

Note: Prarabhda karma is the karma bundle we are born with. We are given this life time to exhaust that bundle. Aagami karma is the set of karmas we are accruing in this lifetime. We cannot live without doing any action. Hence Aagami karma accrues. Some of the fruits of aagami karma are attained in this very life. The unfructified Aagami karma is joined back to the big mountain of karmas - Sanchita karma which is the mountain of karmas from prior lifetimes. When this life ceases, and the jivatma goes in search of the next body to be born in, the next bundle of Prarabhda karma is formed (by Ishwara) and the circle of life continues.

Fire the conflagration that is not gyana ie nothing but the thirst of knowledge and bhakti

Jodyji asked a question: - How can knowledge burn the Sanchita karma? Since it was about time, this will Question in be taken up in next class