Class summary for Sep 16, 2025 - BG Chapter-6, Slokas: 19 - 25

Summarized by: Neelima Turaga

The class started with Opening prayers,pranayama and meditation. After a recap of last week's class we proceeded with the next set of shlokas. 

We looked at the translation of the Shlokas 19 to 25 and then went into the subjective analysis of the same.

In Dhyana yoga we have so far learnt what are the prerequisites for dhyana or meditation. Once we have satisfied the prerequisites and feel that we are eligible, the next important requirement is to keep our mind calm in order to practice dhyana yoga. 

We need to lead our life in a certain way in order to keep ourselves ready for dhyana. We need to maintain an equanimous state of mind as much as possible. A completely agitated mind cannot suddenly switch to a meditative state. Now we proceed to learn what has to be done right before or during the dhyana.

The word "Samadhi" that came up in shloka 21 is that state where you experience oneness with the Brahman. There have been great people who left their mortal bodies in that ultimate samadhi state. It is also possible to be in that samadhi state while living as well. This is also referred to in Ashtanga yoga. For instance, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa would be in the samadhi for hours, before  he would come out and transact with others. He would always want to be in that state of complete bliss. 

Subjective analysis of the shlokas :

When there is wind the lamp keeps flickering. Desires are like the wind, which cause disturbances in the mind.  It may not be possible to completely eliminate the desires, but it is important to reduce and manage them. Only then we are able to focus in our meditation. We need to  discipline our mind and have our own lakshmana rekha that we should not cross.  Even Sitaji, in the context of a human form,  gave in to her desires a couple of times and crossed the lakshmana rekha although she was not supposed to. We need to know upto what level we can go and what limit not to cross. A steady flame is always going to go up. Similarly, only a steady mind without desires/vasanas can connect to the higher. 

How can we reduce the vasanas - Karma Yoga  helps reduce vasanas and cleanse your mind. Combination of Karma , Bhakti and Gyana Yoga will help in our day to day lives - to cleanse, focus and get the realization. 

We have different emotions. We need to maintain samatvam through all of them. We need to find a way to deal with sorrow or suffering. For example, a small child suffering from a terminal disease suffers only the physical pain. If some medication helps him with the pain, he is happy and is playing. There is no emotional impact of having such an illness on the child. . On the other hand, if an adult has a similar illness, he not only suffers the physical pain, which is unavoidable, but probably suffers more with the emotional aspect of being in that state. This emotional suffering is self inflicted and can be avoided. Mahatmas like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharshi have suffered with such illnesses. When someone asked Ramana Maharshi about how he was doing with the cancer, he simply replied -" this" (the body) is suffering , but "I" am fine. He was able to separate the physical pain that the body has to undergo  from the mental agony or suffering that he completely avoided.

We  are generally not able to do what these Mahatmas were able to. We have created our own prison cell and thrown away the key ourselves. We are bound in our own emotions. The emotional suffering we go through is self-inflicted,and we have the ability to get over that. 

A magnet does not have any effect on a piece of wood, because it is insulated. Whereas, a magnet has the power to attract or repel a piece of iron. If the wood is tied to the iron, the magnetic impact is still there. Once the vasanas that are holding on to us like the iron piece are removed, we become like the piece of wood which is totally insulated and are not affected by these emotions anymore.

We need to learn to look beyond ourselves, our family or extended families and have a larger view to free ourselves from this self imposed prison of emotions. 

Our entrapment is completely our own doing. We are born with our own prarabdha and vasanas, and we keep allowing them to affect us, continuing to keep ourselves bound by them. If we were brought up with the idea that all the prarabdhas and vasanas are just tied to your body, but we are essentially free,  meditation would come naturally. Just like we are brought up with food adequately salted, for us, even a little less salt would make the food bland and tasteless. On the other hand, if kids are brought up on a very low diet of salt  they will grow up to dislike salty foods. It's basically how the mind is conditioned. 

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Just as the flame of a lamp remaining in a corner without any cross breeze does not flutter, and  It flutters only when the breeze reaches it. Similarly, when your thoughts are steadily going up towards the higher reality,  you are not disturbed. . Whenever desires enter, the mind flutters. 

To an intellectual man it is hard to explain that God is within you. He will not be able to grasp it, because in  his perspective everything about objects, emotions and thoughts can be understood by intellect. Intellect can explain and understand everything but this great reality.  For example, if we enter a dark room with a flashlight, in that beam of light it's possible to see everything in that dark room. But there is something in the room that cannot be illuminated. It's the battery inside the flashlight. If you want to see what kind of battery that is there inside, you have to open the flashlight and remove it. But you still cannot see it, as the flashlight will not work anymore. The intellect works only when life is functioning in it. There is nothing that the intellect cannot understand in the world of objects, emotions and thoughts, but only as long as life is functioning. Once the battery of life is removed, intellect does not function anymore. 

What is that state beyond the intellect.  It's not an object of intellectual understanding. Even in pitch darkness you know you are "you". You don't need a flashlight to know that. It is the self that you are searching. It cannot be seen, felt or thought of, but it's only because of that,  you are able to perceive, feel and think. Bhagavan says, Yoga is divorce from all your sorrows. That state cannot be explained in words. We can just say "it happens". You can only give pointers to Brahman. You cannot exactly define it. It's hard to explain the samadhi state where you are one with the Brahman.

Giving up all desires is not possible. It's not possible to live without our natural desires. Bhagavan tells us what kind of desires have to be removed. We anyway have to live with some innate desires due to our own vasanas. The problem is we live in the world of objects, which can create new desires. "Sankalpaprabhavankaman"   These are borrowed desires. Whatever desires are arising in your mind due to external objects are all borrowed desires. When you see something someone else has, a new desire can form and crystallize, which is a borrowed desire.We need to work to eliminate such desires. 

Just because someone else is doing something, you should not desire to do it. We need to do what is appropriate, in order to address the inherent desires, not the acquired ones. For example, even when doing seva, pick an activity that is appropriate for you, rather than an activity just because someone else is doing it.

Desires are inserted into you subconsciously, because of external objects. If you do not like anything, it will come to you- like Swamiji's anecdote about the eggplant curry. So it's important to rise above the raga and dvesha. 

To be discussed in the next class - Sorrow is a part of life. Happiness is closer to our natural state. There were examples of how great men suffered physical maladies, without any emotional disturbance. Please expand/explain about this further. 

The class ended with closing prayers.