Chap 17 : Another summation

Five fold faith ...

1. Object of worship
2. Food/ Ahaara
3. Yagna 
4. Tap / Austerity
5. Daana/ Charity

Three Gunas

1. Satvik
2. Rajasic
3. Tamsic

= 15 outcomes. These 15 explained is majority of the chapter.

The 2 key emotions are Faith & Fear. And am reminded of a famous quote " Let your Faith be bigger than your Fears".

Faith in itself is satvik, but get clouded by the individuals Gunas.
We all have faith...about the sunrise tomorrow, about the lift reaching down safe, the taxi driver or pilot taking us to our destination and so on. But on spirituality our faith needs a lot more to be established. Faith is like a rubber band , its strength can only be felt when stretched!

Symbolism in Indian Scriptures

1.The 100 sons of Dhritrashtra : When a naturally blind man and a woman who chooses not to see, have children, they are bound to be unusual. The 100 Karuvas represent the desires of an aspirational father, the negatives born from a strange couple ( one blind & others blind folded!!) , the excuses for doing wrong things.


2. In Ramayana at the point when Sita sees the deer & later is separated from her husband . The golden deer signifies her senses being attracted to something unreal & coz she looses control, she is separated from Ram. Though Sita is considered epitome of womanhood, she allowed her senses to take control & hell broke loose. Here Sita is the Mind, Deer is the distraction and Ram signifies Knowledge.


3. Also another version ref Ramayan : Ram is your soul. Sita is your heart. Raavan is your mind that steals your heart from your soul. Lakshman is your consciousness, always with you and active on your behalf. Hanuman is your intuition and courage that help retrieve your heart to re-animate your soul!!

4. Further,  Hanuman is your breath , that reconnects the soul & consciousness to fight the enemy.

5. Arjun's Chariot has Hanuman ji on the flag to signify devotion.

Also remember : Gita is Yog Shastra & Ramayan is Prayog shastra.

Word plays again...

• God in chains is man; Man unchained is God
• We are having a divine experience. Or the Divinity in me is having a human experience
• You can only loose what you cling to - Budha 
• Man controlling Mind OR Mind controlling man ?
• YTD Year To Date for all in corporate. Yagya / Tapa / Dana for those reading Gita 

Gita students are part of Gyan Ganga

Every body who gets the chance to read or listen to Gita is said to be blessed.

Most listeners & readers tend to share their joy & Knowledge...and become part of the Gyan Ganga .

Ganga is said to signify knowledge and has various tributaries joining it before it reaches the ocean.

All of us associated with the Gita or any for of spiritual knowledge , in any form are adding to the sum total of knowledge being shared & spread amongst humanity , and hence become part of Gyan Ganga .

Some more about Gita

Bhagavad Gita is the true word of God...................
Bhagavad Gita is the living word of God.
It is the only book which deals with every aspect of life. 

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Bhagavad Gita is the most thought provoking, powerful, life giving and enchanting book on Planet Earth, since everything that is discussed in Gita is universal in nature…..

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It should be read by everyone on earth.......( so say all the followers. ISKON and many followers distribute the books free all the time)

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Bhagavad Gita is the most systematic treatise of analytically dealing with problems we face in our daily lives as well teaching us many ways to deal with those problems as well as teaching us FOUR PATHS to attain SELF REALIZATION.

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There is no other scripture in the entire planet, which can help every human being to deal with their problems, like Bhagavad Gita, irrespective of one is a HINDU or not.

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Lord Krishna never judges or orders;
He only shows to us, the pros and cons of every issue and left to each one us whether to follow his teachings or not.

He did not even influence the free will of Arjuna.

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There is NO such statement beginning with “Thou Shalt Not” in the entire Bhagavad Gita.  ( a few suggestions of what we should abstain from)


also look up http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Articles/faq.html

Five again: in Gita & Spirituality

• Five Koshas
• Five Elements
• Five senses
• The 5 Swabhaviks / Innate nature / based on Karma & result of previous lives actions
• Jal / Water 
• Santan / Offspring / children we have ( we are all connected from previous births)
• Kal / Yug / Age / Stage of life
• Janam / Birth / Section of society or family that we are born to
• Sanskar / the backlog of good & bad Karmas that we bring along
• The 5 free will based / Shastraja / what we acquire by choices that we make
• Shastras / the scripture we choose to read
• Desh / Company we keep / where we choose to live and who we spend time with by choice
• Karmas we do in this life
• Dhyan / Meditation 
• Mantra / Jap

Avidya-Kama-Karma : the triangle that entangles

Swami Dayanand Saraswati (Arsha Vidya Gurukulam)

Between ātmā and the deha there is a granthi, a tie, bought about by avidyā, ignorance. From that comes kāma followed by karma, old and new. By this three-stranded string, avidyā-kāma-karma, together called hṛdayagranthi, an individual is bound and is released when that knot is untied. Doing varieties of things only makes it more knotted since action stems from a failure to understand the original problem. As in untying a tangled ball of yarn, pulling at the wrong threads will only make the ball more tangled. You must get the "hang" of it; then the knot will resolve. Spiritually also, you must first understand that seeking a solution within saṁsāra is only complicating the problem. The problem is ignorance and to determine that you need viveka. Dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa are the four strands hanging from the tangled ball of saṁsāra. If you pull on the first three, you are tightening the knots. Pursuing artha and kāma only create further problems and though dharma resolves problems to an extent it does not untie the fundamental knot. For that you have to remove avidyā. When you do, the knot resolves because there is no longer any doubt about whether ātmā is Brahman or limited, kartā or akartā, bhoktā or abhoktā.

Avidya-Kama-Karma : the triangle that entangles the body,mind & intellect.

Lack of knowledge leads to desires that lead to binding actions & the cycle continues....

Stock keeping – FIFO & LIFO for thoughts

An accountant will be familiar with the terms used here. First In First Out : what we get in first we use first & Last In First Out : What comes in last gets used first. Contradictory approaches, but are used for accounting in any business that has stocks.

A kitchen has fresh & dry goods as well as tools. Could we possibly apply these concepts? Well for rice & dry goods a FIFO may make sense and for lettuce the LIFO approach will have best crunch. 

Ask any kitchen manager or store keeper and they will know how best to use all ingredients and minimise wastage's

 Now try applying this to our thoughts....does the thought to actions process follow FIFO or LIFO ? Hard to say. Also do all thoughts result in action? Well only what we dwell on and give importance to. If we applied FIFO , that is every though either actioned or dumped, we will have little or no back log.  Where as in LIFO , the earlier thoughts will be hanging out till we turn attention on them. 

Think about it.

Some more Gita facts & quick summary for initial chapters

The first word is "Dharma" & the last word is "Mama". Its all about doing ones duty.

Very quick recap of first 4 chapters.

Chap 1 - Panoramic view of battlefield & the vast armies & illustrious warriors
Chap 2 - Atma & Parmatya gyan : Sankhya yoga. Index to rest of Gita. Shows him the goal here and rest of the chapters takes him thru details. Do your duty with spirit of renunciation & sense of sacrifice. Be Stithpragya.
Chap 3 - Arjun reluctant to fight , argues if God can be reached by alternate route. Karam Yoga (doing self less action) is essential.  (KYC- karma Yoga chap)
Chap 4 - Knowledge passed thru Avatars. Thirst for knowledge and search for Guru and he / she is the guide.

So far Karam Yog & introduces sacrifice

Chap 5 - Introduces sacrifices & leads to meditation. Arjun is a Sansari & has many desires hence Karam Yoga is the path for him. Going straight into Sankhya yog with complete mind control is not for everyone. The grahastha stage supports the rest of the 3 ashrams! Hence an important part of life. Being aware and having a KY attitude in this stage is key. Example of lotus un affected by the dirty water where it grows. Ever changing world.

Power of repeating / memorising / chanting

Just like in Math at young age kids are made to learn the tables unto say 12*20. After that forever they seem to remember them. Other complex ones we may not be able to answer as fast cause we did not repeat it enough...think about it.


Also why do Moms say the same thing again and again....and then they seep into our subconscious and stay with us forever.

And they say if you repeat Lords name or sing his praises , he will look out for you? Well when someone abuses us or praises us we usually as humans never forget, and Lord is divine , will surely remember. This they say is the power of chanting or singing bhajan or hymns.

Gita & Bollywood

Mother India : When a mother kills her son when he is doing something which is wrong and against the honour of the village.  Doing what is right and keeping her word by killing her son must have been tough. But what a character upholding her dharma!!!

Om Shanti Om : The re incarnation story to complete his vasna's of doing something for his beloved. And the entire cosmos helping him ( the famous bottle award speech)

Safar : The song about Zindagi ka safar, koi samjha nahin, koi jaana nahi" hints towards the mystery of human life.

Where is God

Where is God? Why don’t I see Him? And what does he do all day?
Beautiful Story from The Upanishads
In ancient India there lived a most virtuous Brahmin who was considered by all to be the best authority on philosophy. One day the local king ordered him to appear before him. When he did so, the king said: “I have three questions that puzzle–even torment–me: Where is God? Why don’t I see Him? And what does he do all day?If you can’t answer these three questions I will have your head cut off.” The Brahmin was appalled and terrified, because the answers to these questions were not just complex, they were impossible to formulate. In other words: he did not know the answers. So his execution date was set.
On the morning of that day the Brahmin’s teenage son appeared and asked the king if he would release his father if he–the son–would answer the questions. The king agreed, and the son asked that a container of milk be brought to him. It was done.
Then the boy asked that the milk be churned into butter. That, too, was done.
“The first two of your questions are now answered,” he told the king.
The king objected that he had been given no answers, so the son asked: “Where was the butter before it was churned?” “In the milk,” replied the king.
“In what part of the milk?” asked the boy. “In all of it.”
“Just so, agreed the boy, “and in the same way God is within all things and pervades all things.”
“Why don’t I see Him, then,” pressed the king.
“Because you do not ‘churn’ your mind and refine your perceptions through meditation. If you do that, you will see God. But not otherwise. Now let my father go.”
“Not at all,” insisted the king. “You have not told me what God does all day.”
“To answer that,” said the boy, “we will have to change places. You come stand here and let me sit on the throne.” The request was so audacious the king complied, and in a moment he was standing before the enthroned Brahmin boy who told him: “This is the answer. One moment you were here and I was there. Now things are reversed. God perpetually lifts up and casts down every one of us. In one life we are exalted and in another we are brought low–often times in a single life this occurs, and even more than once. Our lives are completely in His hand, and He does with us as He wills.” Bible also says (“He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.” Luke 1:52)
The Brahmin was released and his son was given many honors and gifts by the King
”

Essence of / Key points / Main themes from Gita

The following are mentioned in Gita , time and again.

• Soul : Endless. Birth & Rebirth
• Gunas : Satwa, Rajas & Tamas
• Effort & Fruit of Action 
• Duty & Dharma
• Attachment  & Delusion
• Qualities of Good & Divine 
• God in every thing 

All these are introduced in Chapter 2 and revisited again in following chatters and each one is part of Chapter 18 as well.

If one was to develop a basic understanding of these and then keep dwelling on them and deepen our understanding it would be very beneficial in Gita learning.

The 18 chapters as per Wikipedia

1. Arjuna–Visada yoga (The Distress of Arjuna contains 46 verses): Arjuna has requested Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. His growing dejection is described as he fears losing friends and relatives as a consequence of war.
2. Sankhya yoga (The Book of Doctrines contains 72 verses): After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed into various subjects such as, Karma yoga, Gyaana yoga, Sankhya yoga, Buddhi yoga and the immortal nature of the soul. This chapter is often considered the summary of the entire Bhagavad Gita.
3. Karma yoga (Virtue in Work contains 43 verses): Krishna explains how Karma yoga, i.e. performance of prescribed duties, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action for Arjuna.
4. Gyaana–Karma-Sanyasa yoga (The Religion of Knowledge contains 42 verses): Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.
5. Karma–Sanyasa yoga (Religion by Renouncing Fruits of Works contains 29 verses): Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act ("renunciation or discipline of action").Krishna answers that both are ways to the same goal, but that acting in Karma yoga is superior.
6. Dhyan yoga or Atmasanyam yoga (Religion by Self-Restraint contains 47 verses): Krishna describes the Ashtanga yoga. He further elucidates the difficulties of the mind and the techniques by which mastery of the mind might be gained.
7. Gyaana–ViGyaana yoga (Religion by Discernment contains 30 verses): Krishna describes the absolute reality and its illusory energy Maya.
8. Aksara–Brahma yoga (Religion by Devotion to the One Supreme God contains 28 verses): This chapter contains eschatology of the Bhagavad Gita. Importance of the last thought before death, differences between material and spiritual worlds, and light and dark paths that a soul takes after death are described.
9. Raja–Vidya–Raja–Guhya yoga (Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery contains 34 verses): Krishna explains how His eternal energy pervades, creates, preserves, and destroys the entire universe. According to theologian Christopher Southgate, verses of this chapter of the Gita are panentheistic, while German physicist and philosopher Max Bernhard Weinstein deems the workpandeistic.
10. Vibhuti–Vistara–yoga (Religion by the Heavenly Perfections contains 42 verses): Krishna is described as the ultimate cause of all material and spiritual existence. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.
    
    

    Krishna displays his Vishvarupa(Universal Form) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, described in Visvarupa–Darsana yoga, chapter 11
11. Visvarupa–Darsana yoga (The Manifesting of the One and Manifold contains 55 verses): On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Viśvarūpa), a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.
12. Bhakti yoga (The Religion of Faith contains 20 verses): In this chapter Krishna glorifies the path of devotion to God. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti yoga). He also explains different forms of spiritual disciplines.
13. Ksetra–Ksetrajna Vibhaga yoga (Religion by Separation of Matter and Spirit contains 35 verses): The difference between transient perishable physical body and the immutable eternal soul is described. The difference between individual consciousness and universal consciousness is also made clear.
14. Gunatraya–Vibhaga yoga (Religion by Separation from the Qualities contains 27 verses): Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature pertaining to goodness, passion, and nescience. Their causes, characteristics, and influence on a living entity are also described.
15. Purusottama yoga (Religion by Attaining the Supreme contains 20 verses): Krishna identifies the transcendental characteristics of God such as, omnipotence,omniscience, and omnipresence.^{[web 19]} Krishna also describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), which has its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.
16. Daivasura–Sampad–Vibhaga yoga (The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine contains 24 verses): Krishna identifies the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one must give up lust, anger, greed, and discern between right and wrong action by discernment through Buddhi and evidence from the scriptures.
17. Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga yoga (Religion by the Threefold Kinds of Faith contains 28 verses): Krishna qualifies the three divisions of faith, thoughts, deeds, and even eating habits corresponding to the three modes (gunas).
18. Moksha–Sanyasa yoga (Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation contains 78 verses): In this chapter, the conclusions of previous seventeen chapters are summed up. Krishna asks Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him and describes this as the ultimate perfection of life.

Essence of Gita ( Copy paste from web)

Geeta Saar (Essence of the Geeta)

(English)

• WHATEVER HAPPENED WAS GOOD
• WHATEVER IS HAPPENING IS GOOD
• WHATEVER WILL HAPPEN WILL ALSO BE GOOD
• WHAT HAVE YOU PARTED WITH THAT MAKES YOU CRY ?
• WHAT DID YOU BRING WITH YOU THAT YOU HAVE LOST ?
• WHAT DID YOU CREATE WHICH IS NOW DESTROYED ?
• WHAT YOU HAVE TAKEN, YOU HAVE TAKEN ONLY FROM HERE.
• WHAT WAS GIVEN WAS GIVEN ONLY FROM HERE.
• WHAT IS YOURS TODAY, WAS SOMEONE ELSE'S YESTERDAY, WILL BE SOMEONE ELSE'S TOMORROW.
• CHANGE IS THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE