introduction to bhagavad-gita hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama...
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Introduction to
Bhagavad-gitaHare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
ISKCON founder His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Dedication
Mangalacharan Prayer
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasyajñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yenatasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
How to approach Bhagavad-gita?
In spirit of devotion to the Supreme Lord
With humility and submissiveness
As surrendered soul
Best received in in parampara system – disciplic succession
Who spoke Bhagavad-gita?
Lord Krsna spoke Bhagavad-gita
Lord Krsna is regarded as the Supreme Person
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāmapavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavānpuruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam
ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum
Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. He is eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest. [BG 10.12]
Purpose of Bhagavad-gita
Deliver mankind from the nescience of material existence.
Teach that our existence is eternal (sat)
Teach not to get entangled with temporary existence (asat).
Come out of anxiety and suffering
Reminds us the real purpose of life: Serve God
Relationships with Lord
Passive: A person recognizes that God is great
Active: Since God is great therefore must serve Him
Serve the Lord in various degrees of intimacy
Friend: Like Arjuna
Parent: Like Yashoda and Nanda Maharaj
Conjugal lover: Like Radha and gopis
Five basic truths
Who is God (Ishvara)?
- God is the Supreme Controller, the Absolute Truth
What is Living Entity (jiva)?
- Jiva is the conditioned living entity
What is Material Nature (Prakriti)?
- two types: superior conscious and inferior separated
What is Time (Kala)?
- How living entities are controlled by time?
What is Karma?
- Activities of living entities.
Five basic truths
Ishvara
Lord Krsna is the Supreme Controller (Ishvara)
- Eternal, Supremely conscious and unaffected by modes of nature
Everything emanates from Him [BG 10.8]
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartateiti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and
worship Me with all their hearts.
He controls the material nature.[BG 9.10]
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaramhetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate
This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under
its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
Jiva
Jiva or living entity is part and parcel of God
- Eternal, Conscious of own self and affected by modes of nature
Has same qualities as God in minute quantities
- Just like a drop (jiva) of ocean (Ishvara)
Has limited free will and exploits the lower nature.
- Thus Jiva is superior to lower nature however always under Lord’s control
Ishvara and Jiva
Eternal
na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥna caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.[BG 2.12]
Indestructible and unborn
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācinnāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇona hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.[BG 2.20]
Ishvara vs Jiva
Ishvara Jiva Verse
Eternal Eternal 2.12
Everything emanates from Him
Part and parcel of Ishvara
10.8
Supreme Controller Minute Controller 15.17
Conscious of all bodies Conscious of own body 13.23
Indestructible & unborn Indestructible & unborn 2.21
Has same transcendental body
Take up different types of decaying body
4.9/15.6
Remembers all births Forgetful 4.5
Unaffected by work Suffers/Enjoys results of work
4.14/13.21
Not materially affected Materially affected 9.10
Prakriti
Material Nature or Prakriti is of two types: Inferior (apara): Separated material energies
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego all together these eight constitute Ishvara’s separated material energies. [BG 7.4]
Superior (para): Comprises of living entities
Exploit the resources of inferior nature. [BG 7.5]
All created beings have their source in these two natures. [BG 7.6]
Prakriti is eternal however is sometimes manifested sometimes un-manifested
- Appears and disappears under the purview of time. [13.20]
Ishvara is cause of both the origin and the dissolution of material nature [BG 7.6].
Prakriti
Prakriti
sattvaṁ rajas tama itiguṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥnibadhnanti mahā-bāhodehe dehinam avyayam
Material nature consists of three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes. [14.5]
Goodness (satva): Conditions one to happiness
Purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge.[BG 14.6].
Passion (rajas): Conditions one to fruitive action
Is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kuntī, and because of this the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions.[BG 14.7].
Ignorance (tamas): Covering one’s knowledge, binds one to madness
Born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul. [BG 14.8]
Kala and Karma
Time or Kala is eternal
Karma are activities performed by a combination of the modes of material nature under purview of eternal time.
We suffer or enjoy the results or fruits of our activities
Karma is temporary
Its possible to change the results of Karma with perfect knowledge
Jiva covered by false ego, intelligence and mind thinks himself as doer of activities and has false sense of enjoyment and suffering.
Karma has reactions that bind the conditioned soul causing more fruitive actions
Activities we should adopt that will give us relief from the actions and reactions of all activities. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita (Verses: 2.61, 2.71-72, 3.6-7, 3.9)
What is consciousness?
The feeling of existence “I am” is consciousness
Jiva’s consciousness gets materially affected
Two types:
Contaminated Consciousness:
- I am the product of material nature.
- I am the independent enjoyer and creator.
Pure Consciousness:
- I am spirit and NOT this material body
- I am eternal part and parcel of Supreme Lord.
- Naturally must act lovingly in accordance to Lord’s instructions.
Advantage of Bhagavad-gita
Bhagavad-gita teaches us how to purify our consciousness and get out of the chain of Karma by dovetailing our activities to the will of Ishvara.
We don’t have to cease our activities, we have to purify it.
Bhakti is purified activity
Importance of human form
There are 8.4 million species of life forms
Humans, unlike other species, is responsible for the results of his actions.
Human life is meant to realize the aim of existence.
Human life is meant to cross the ocean of material existence
Human life is meant for inquiry unto the Absolute Truth
Human life to go back to Godhead as beyond the temporary material sky is an eternal spiritual sky
Improving behavior
Behavior Verse
Learn to tolerate 2.14
Engage in the discharge of duties allotted by Kṛṣṇa 4.15
In every endeavor be devoid of desire for sense gratification
4.19
Act only for the bare necessities of life 4.21
Learn truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him.
4.34
One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him.
5.7
The Supreme Abode
na tad bhāsayate sūryona śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥyad gatvā na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world. [BG 15.6]
How to reach the Supreme Abode?
bhaktyā mām abhijānātiyāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥtato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
viśate tad-anantaram
One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God. [Bg 18.55]
Q & A – True or False
You simply go on remembering Me and give up your present occupational duty is said by Lord Krsna
Consciousness develops under certain circumstances of material combination.
Authorities of Vedic knowledge have not accepted Sri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In the Bhagavad-gita that impersonal Brahman is also subordinate to the complete person.
We do not have to receive the knowledge from the right source in the disciplic succession of spiritual master beginning form the Lord Himself.
The Lord being purnam or all-perfect, there is no chance of His becoming subjected to the laws of material nature.
A man dies after it has not been decided what form of body he will have in the next life.
Lord is absolute; there is no difference between His name and Himself.
This material world is three fourths manifestation of the whole creation.
All transcendentalists enter into the spiritual sky but only the devotees who have practiced personal touch with the Supreme lord enter into the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka Vrindavan planet.
Q & A – True or False
You simply go on remembering Me and give up your present occupational duty is said by Lord Krsna. False
Consciousness develops under certain circumstances of material combination. False
Authorities of Vedic knowledge have not accepted Sri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. False
In the Bhagavad-gita that impersonal Brahman is also subordinate to the complete person. True
We do not have to receive the knowledge from the right source in the disciplic succession of spiritual master beginning form the Lord Himself. False
The Lord being purnam or all-perfect, there is no chance of His becoming subjected to the laws of material nature. True
A man dies after it has not been decided what form of body he will have in the next life. True
Lord is absolute; there is no difference between His name and Himself. True
This material world is three fourths manifestation of the whole creation. False
All transcendentalists enter into the spiritual sky but only the devotees who have practiced personal touch with the Supreme lord enter into the Vaikuntha planets or Goloka Vrindavan planet. True
Q & A – Fill in the blanks
The Bhagavad-gita also should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the __________ Himself.
We should accept Sri __________ as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and receive this Bhagavad-gita in a submissive spirit and aural reception.
So the ____________ Lord is actually the creator and enjoyer.
The whole ____________ knowledge is infallible.
That is also not allowed, that we accept a certain portion of ____________ and reject another portion.
Q & A – Fill in the blanks
The Bhagavad-gita also should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the Lord Krishna Himself.
We should accept Sri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and receive this Bhagavad-gita in a submissive spirit and aural reception.
So the Supreme Lord is actually the creator and enjoyer.
The whole Vedic knowledge is infallible.
That is also not allowed, that we accept a certain portion of Bhagavad-gita and reject another portion.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
References
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
http://vedabase.com/en/bg
Lecture on Intro to BG by Srila Prabhupada
http://www.prabhupadavani.org
GT001, GT002, GT003 & GT004
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