Summer (2025) assignment

Summarized by Prema:

What is the importance of the three Yogas, Karma, Bhakti and Jnana?

The Bhagavad Gita Question #3.The Bhagavad Gita Question #3.

What is the importance of the three Yogas, Karma, Bhakti and Jnana?

Each of these yogas are paths to spiritual growth,liberation and Union with the Divine.

The Bhagavad Gita Question #3.

What is the importance of the three Yogas, Karma, Bhakti and Jnana?

Each of these yogas are paths to spiritual growth,liberation and Union with the Divine.

The Bhagavad Gita Question #3.

What is the importance of the three Yogas, Karma, Bhakti and Jnana?

Each of these yogas are paths to spiritual growth,liberation and Union with the Divine.

Explain the BMI chart.
The BMI chart has been used as a tool developed by Swami Chinmayananda.
The body is the instrument through which life is experienced. Mind is the subtle instrument of
emotions and thoughts. Intellect helps us experience reality. Faculty of reason governs the body
and mind. The three concepts help us to understand the SELF, our true nature.
The body, mind and intellect help us to interact with objects,emotions and thoughts. The goal is
to overcome innate urges and tendencies from our past and realize our true SELF, symbolized
by OHM.
We tend to search for happiness externally through the BMI, but true happiness comes from
rising above these limitations and connecting with the spiritual. We need self introspection, and
spiritual growth by understanding the right way to achieve happiness. We need to understand
the human personality. All three are intertwined. We also need to understand how these
elements interact. It is important to know what happiness is and where spiritual growth begins.
Do we see how thoughts and actions influence our happiness? If we do,then we may be able to
think deeper and reflect on and understand ourselves. Our supreme consciousness is in us to
be experienced and our Vasanas may limit us in our experiencing it.
The action of experiencing our consciousness comes into play as we feel,think and perceive in
our lives on a daily basis. It is good to look back and examine our growth now and then.
How do we respond to our day to day experiences? Are we stuck with the same old habits?
Could this be driven by our ego? We should ask ourselves the question, “Who am I”. Due to
ignorance, are we looking for happiness in the wrong places,things and people?
Understanding oneself, leads to true knowledge.

Explain how energy can get dissipated from us.

We have been blessed with our lives full of energy to fulfill the purpose of understanding our

own self and serve our communities. Just as we use natural resources in a productive way, we

need to direct ourselves to be focussed on setting goals and accomplishing good results.

The worldly desires, objects and distractions can each draw us into habits which start little bit at

a time, and gradually spiral into a ball of wrong doings. Once our energy dissipates, we are off

the target and away from meeting our goals. We lose our balance between work and recreation

and other obligations. We dwell on outcome, results, success and praise. All of these are based

on ego. We may indulge in negative thoughts and attachments. Also, excessive talking,getting

overly involved with others pave the way in dissipating our energy even further.

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Summarized by Yamini:

What is the importance of the 3 Yogas

There are three different Yogas suggested in Bhagavad gita to dissipate karma phala and attain moksha. The 3 Yogas are as follows

Karma Yoga: Karma Yoga is the path of attaining moksha through the actions that we perform on a daily basis. Karma Yoga is the process of performing action without attachment to the result or performing action without any selfish agenda , “Nishkama Karma”. Performing actions without attachment to the result frees us from accumulating more karma. Performing actions this way also removes the anxiety about the results and frees us from the effects the results have on us.

Gyana Yoga: Gyana Yoga is the path of attaining moksha through knowledge. It is the pursuit of knowledge and self-realization. To fill the mind with gyana, one has to first clear the mind of any residue from previous karmas or actions. A way to do this is my substitution and sublimation, by concentrating on the higher goals.

Bhakti Yoga: Bhakti Yoga is the underlying Yoga for the above two Yogas. Bhakti is the belief and devotion to higher self. It is the act of performing ones duties with prasada buddhi and surrendering all results to God.

The 3 Yogas are not mutually exclusive. They are intertwined in each other and run as an undercurrent to attaining moksha. An individual has to choose the particular path of Yoga based on their temperament and their swadharma.

 

Explain the BMI chart

BMI chart that shows how the Body, Mind and Intellect influences our thoughts and actions.

Body is what is used to feel what is around us, Mind is what processes what we perceive and Intellect is what understands and controls how the other two influence our thoughts and outcome.

              V

B            M           I

P            F            T

O           E            T

B-Body is the instrument through which we P-perceive O-objects.

M-Mind processes those F-feelings and creates E- emotions

While the I-intellect helps us T-think through the feelings to form T-thoughts.

 

Explain how energy can be dissipated from us?

Energy is dissipated in 3 ways namely, worry about the past, anxiety about the future and excitement about the present. If we concentrate on the current work at hand without being influenced by any of these three avenues of energy drain, our full energy will be properly utilized.

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Summarized by Sucheta

1. Importance of the 3 Yogas (Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana) -

In the Bhagavad Gita and Indian philosophy, three primary paths of yoga are emphasized. Each one is a discipline to purify the mind and progress toward self-realization or union with the divine.

Karma Yoga (Path of Action)

Focuses on selfless action without attachment to results.

Teaches us to perform duties sincerely and dedicate the fruits to God or a higher purpose.

Importance: Reduces selfishness, trains us to work with detachment, and purifies the mind.

Bhakti Yoga (Path of Devotion)

Focuses on devotion, surrender, and love for God.

Practices include prayer, chanting, rituals, and seeing God in all beings.

Importance: Cultivates humility, compassion, and emotional purification by channeling feelings toward the divine.

Jnana Yoga (Path of Knowledge)

Focuses on self-inquiry and wisdom: realizing the difference between the eternal Self (Atman) and the temporary world (Maya).

Practices include meditation, study of scriptures, and contemplation.

Importance: Leads to direct realization of truth and liberation (moksha).

 All three complement one another: Karma purifies actions, Bhakti purifies emotions, and Jnana purifies thoughts.

2. BMI chart explained -

The BMI Chart is a Vedantic teaching tool that explains the human condition and the path to true happiness through understanding the connection of the Body, Mind, and Intellect (BMI) with the perceived world. It shows that our personality, including unmanifest tendencies called Vasanas, causes the Perceiver, Feeler, Thinker (PFT) to seek happiness in the temporary world of Objects, Emotions, and Thoughts (OET). The goal is to realize our True Nature as the Supreme Reality, OM (the Self), by transcending Vasanas and ignorance through self-knowledge, which leads to permanent happiness.

 

Key Components of the BMI Chart

BMI: Body, Mind, Intellect 

• Body: The physical form through which we interact with the world. 

• Mind: The flow of thoughts and emotions that arise within us. 

• Intellect: The faculty of discrimination that governs thoughts and actions, helping to decide what is right or wrong. 

PFT: Perceiver, Feeler, Thinker 

• These are the "experiencer" faculties within us—the sense of individuality or the ego—which use the BMI as equipment. 

OET: Objects, Emotions, and Thoughts  

• This represents the entire world of our experience, including physical objects, emotional responses, and mental thoughts. 

Vasanas: Innate tendencies 

• These are deep-seated, unmanifest urges or tendencies that influence our actions and desires. They are the "cause" behind our desires, thoughts, and actions, leading us to seek happiness outside ourselves. 

OM: Our True Nature 

• This symbolizes the Supreme Reality or the Eternal Consciousness—the true, permanent, and blissful Self. It represents our inherent oneness with the ultimate reality. 

How the Chart Explains Our Experiences

1. Seeking Happiness:

The chart illustrates that the PFT, through the BMI, is constantly seeking permanent happiness. 

2. Misplaced Pursuit:

Instead of looking within, the PFT seeks happiness in the temporary and ever-changing world of OET. 

3. The Influence of Vasanas:

Unconscious desires (Vasanas) drive this outward search, creating a veil of ignorance that prevents us from recognizing our true nature. 

4. The Result:

This process leads to a sense of emptiness and a false identification with the limited individual self, forgetting the true self. 

The Path to Realization

Transcending Vasanas:

By studying Vedanta, practicing religion, and gaining self-knowledge, one can purify and reduce the pressures of Vasanas. 

Destroying Ignorance:

Through this process, ignorance is destroyed, and the PFT begins to realize its true identity as OM. 

Experiencing Permanent Happiness:

This realization of the Self as the Supreme Reality is the source of permanent happiness, not the external world. 

3. How does energy get dissipated from us -

According to Vedanta, a person's vital energy, or prana, is dissipated primarily through mental and emotional disturbances and desires. While physical exertion uses energy, it is the unrestrained activity of the mind that is the major source of energy drain.