Class summary for Oct 21, 2025 - BG Chapter-6, Slokas: 37- 42

Summarized by: Neelima Turaga

The class started with Opening prayers,pranayama and meditation followed by recap of last week's class.

We discussed the possible challenges of meditation -

Given the "chanchal" or the fickle nature of the mind, it's very hard to keep it focussed and quiet for a long time. A very common problem we see is that many times people fall asleep when meditating. There are  ways to overcome this issue - try to eliminate some of the factors that can contribute to  it.

- Do not meditate after eating

-.Do not meditate after a heavy workout or when tired.

- Pick a proper time to do it -  preferably early in the morning when you feel fresh and its calm and peaceful.. 

As our mind is not used to being in a meditative state, it can get stunned or in a state of shock at the seat of meditation. This can be overcome by letting the mind wander for a few minutes, letting the emotions churn and flow. Give it some time to settle down. 

Focus is another issue -  This can be solved by focusing on the breath or if unable to do so, do japa. 

One needs to reach the state of absolute silence in a natural way by overcoming these challenges. It cannot be forced or it's not instantaneous. It comes with abhyasa or consistent practice.

The other important aspect - Vairagya - detachment. We all live in this materialistic world with several attachments. Although being attached may not be wrong per se, and it may not also be possible to completely detach, it is important to reduce "unhealthy attachment" and practice "healthy detachment" 

Unhealthy attachment can push you into a spiral of thoughts which will cause unnecessary worry. In this state one is neither able to help anyone nor themselves. It's like jumping into a pit when a person is already there. Instead if one is able to think properly with healthy detachment, he is actually able to help the person in the pit to come out. 

How can one practice healthy detachment - By attaching to the higher, or the Brahman. By remembering that everything in this world is happening with Bhagavan's grace and you are just an instrument can reduce attachment to a large extent. It'll not only help progress on the spiritual path, but also put you in a position to help others as needed.

Story - Poem of Rustom and Sorab - This is a short story about a King and his son. It shows that unhealthy attachment can only lead to destruction. 

Due to certain circumstances, the King is separated from his child, even before he is born. He does not even know that he had a son born to him, and he is growing up in another kingdom. He for some reason was told that a daughter was born. The King never did see his child. The King, being very ambitious, waged many wars and expanded his kingdom. Many years passed, the prince grew up to be a warrior himself. Fate was such that the KIng waged a war against  the kingdom in which his son lived, and fought with him in the battle. The king fought ferociously, and the son was killed in the battle. The King then notices a bracelet on his hand and is completely taken aback. It was a special bracelet he had given his pregnant wife secretly and told  her to put it on the hand of his to be born child. In that moment he realized that the young man he had killed was none other than his own son. Overcome by grief, he collapsed and died right there. A mighty warrior who killed many, collapsed at the sight of the dead soldier , the moment he recognized him to be his son. Such is the power of the mind, that it can turn into your worst enemy, if not controlled.

We then chanted Shlokas 37-42 and saw the translation.

In these shlokas, once again we feel that Arjuna is a prototype for normal human behaviour. The questions he asks are still very relevant to us even after thousands of years.Although he is asking these questions from the perspective of gyana yoga, these are relevant to us in any stage of our life -

- What if unsuccessful ? What if one is not able to reach the goal of "Yog " due to an unsteady mind?

- Does not such a person end up in Trishanku swarga - neither here nor there?

- Please clear my doubt O Krishna. Who else can clear it other than you? 

Bhagavan responds to these questions and assures Arjuna, that the abhyasa done on the spiritual path does not go waste. He is reborn in a good family with an environment conducive to further spiritual growth. Basically you can pick up in the next life just where it was left off in the previous life. Maybe that's the reason we are all here in this study group and have the opportunity to be able to acquire this knowledge, while millions of others are not on this path.

Power of righteousness is cumulative in nature from life to life. It never goes to waste. It carries forward to the next life. 

We need to identify and work to remove the lower qualities like selfishness, ignorance and low thinking.

Again, this can be achieved by practising Karma, Bhakti and Gyana Yogas. 

We briefly discussed the story of Dhruva. Dhruva is a five year old prince mistreated by his stepmother, and humiliated and sent away as he tries to sit on his father's lap. At the advice of his mother, he goes to the forest to meditate on Lord Narayana. Having gotten mantra upadesha from Sage Narada, he performs a severe penance. Lord Narayana is pleased with his devotion and blesses him to be a great king for many many years and after that attain the highest position anyone can think about - a star in the sky. This little boy's story demonstrates the power of unwavering focus and perseverance.

Another short story of tribals who lived in a cave and believed that was the entire world, until one person in the tribe wants to break out of it,  explore and find a better place for everyone to live. It's his dedication and single pointed focus that saved the entire tribe from starvation and death.

Another great example of unwavering faith is that of Maa Sita. No matter how much rakshasa maya was around her, and how much negative talk she heard from Ravana and the other rakshasas, she firmly believed Rama was going to come and rescue her. 

When we are engaged in this spiritual journey with dedication and persistence, things are bound to fall in place and we are able to progress, despite any hurdles on the way.

We watched two of Gurudev's videos explaining these shlokas. Gurudev gives a beautiful example of how a toddler picks up a ball of woollen yarn that his mother was working with. He starts pulling the thread effortlessly. By the time the mother came, all the thread was pulled out and the kid was entangled in the woolen threads, and starts crying. No one tied him. It was his own doing.  Similarly, Arjuna got himself entangled in his own intellectual argument and cries to Lord Krishna, to free him from the entanglement and clear his confusion. 

Subjective analysis - Keep up your sadhana and efforts, knowing you are accumulating to your account.

We ended the class with closing prayers.