WHAT I LEARNT FROM "BHAGAVAD GITA"

Everyone of us can develop Cognitive intelligence , involving conscious intellectual activity such as thinking, reasoning or remembering. A person has an ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

The second one is Emotional Intelligence which involves intense feeling. A person having feelings that are easily excited and openly displayed. Many of us are emotional characters and show our feelings in many situations.

The third is Moral intelligence where we are concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour and the goodness or badness of human character. It is derived from the code of interpersonal behaviour that is considered right or acceptable in a society.

The fourth is Social intelligence relating to society or its organisation. Society is for activities in which people meet each other for pleasure. It is the ability to get along well with others and to get them to cooperate with you. A toxic behaviour indicates a low level of Social intelligence - the inability to connect with people and influence them effectively. For example a company can be a million dollar corporation - having put up huge factories but if they let out the waste gas (flare) into the atmosphere without building chimneys and if they allow waste water go into open drain without treating them by installing waste water treatment plant for pollution control, they are deviating from Social responsibility.

Finally and most important one to be cultivated by all of us is the Spiritual intelligence. By reading and understanding "Bhagavad Gita" one gets Spiritual knowledge. If you have a Guru who has read the Gita already and profess knowledge and who himself has practiced the same for some time and is also a practitioner of Gnana yoga it will be beneficial for us. Our brain has Neurons and full of energy which has to be activated. 

Spiritual intelligence is synchronous processing of the whole brain. 

Emotional intelligence is parallel processing of the right brain. 

Cognitive or intellectual intelligence is serial processing of the left brain.

By reading and understanding the underlying concepts contained in "Bhagavad Gita" one will get Spiritual intelligence. 

Spiritual intelligence results in a sense of deeper meaning and purpose , combined with improvements in a wide range of important life skills and work skills. It is a higher dimension of intelligence that activates the qualities and capabilities of the authentic Self (or Soul) in the form of wisdom, integrity, compassion, joy , love , creativity and peace. Studies in neuroscience confirm that spiritual intelligence is correlated with hemispheric synchronisation and whole brain activation. The resulting whole-brain coherence optimises brain function, and results in greater fulfillment , increased creativity, sharpened intuition , more empathy and compassion , and improved performance in a wide variety of work skills and life skills. 

There is another learning that you are a constituent of energy inside you. Cosmos or outer space consists of waves which is filled with energy. When you read "Bhagavad Gita" line by line and understand the content and do meditation, your Mind will be filled with Positive energy. The neurons in your mind unleashes and gets connected with the energy waves around you in the Cosmic system and gives you the mental strength to face all challenges in your life happily.

Benefits that you get by reading "Bhagavad Gita" are many. 

Some of them are:

You will be a cool person all the time. 

You will be Calm, Cheerful and Confident at all times. 

You will be peaceful at all times , In spite of Provoking circumstances. 

You will have an equanimous mind and treat the pair of opposites the same Viz. Success and Failure, Good and bad, Win and Lose, Gain and Loss. 

You will have Satvic qualities, eat Satvic food, remain cool and calm and have satvic manners. 

You will have crystal clear clarity of your mind and a doubtless belief in YourSelf. 

You are ready to face the future with Happiness. 

You will see Life as a blessing, which will make others to seek your guidance and advice.

You will understand yourSelf and attain Poornathvam or Fulfillment.

You will get to know the truth inside you and claim "Aham Brahma Asmi" (I am God Myself).

Hope I have given enough explanation on what I learnt from "Bhagavad Gita" which in turn will make you to dwelve into it and understand the hidden secrets for your own betterment in Life. Don't you fell the Urge inside You to look immediately for "Bhagavad Gita" study? One should have the Grace of God even to Study "Bhagavad Gita". I consider Myself lucky to have gone through it with my guru swami Paramarthananda.

Be blissful.

S.Sekar - On a Spiritual Path.

Cat has Nine Lives but I have only one.

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com

SATPURUSHA AND BHAKTHI (Uddhava Gita)

Lord Krishna talks about the importance of Satsanga or the company of holy people in the spiritual cause and spiritual growth. Thereafter he defined who is a Satpurusha so that we can identify and associate with a Satpurusha. He told 30 virtues of a Satpurusha. When we have association with such people who value 30 virtues, unknowingly we will also develop all 30 virtues because of our association with them. He has talked all these virtues up to 33^rd verse. From 34^th verse he talked about improving our devotion towards the lord. Bhakthi is an important discipline. Five topics of Bhakthi are described in Bhagavad Gita. They are Karma yoga, Upasana yoga, Gnana yoga, Bhakthi and Values. They are very important virtues. Every sloka/verse of Bhagavad Gita/ Uddhava Gita can be connected to one of the virtue topics. Gnana yoga is pursuit of Self knowledge as it gives liberation and others are supportive in nature. Bhakthi, Values, Karma yoga and Upasana yoga prepares the mind. The medicine is Atma gnanam. We can consume this medicine only by doing Shravanam, Mananam and Nidhithyasanam. In all devotional exercises Karma, Upasana and Gnana yoga will be involved. The atmosphere is one that of devotion to God which will get converted into devotion to Scriptures which in turn will give me Knowledge. Eswara Bhakthi will get converted into Sastra Bhakthi. By the time we come to Gnana, eswara teaching will be like eswara himself. Scriptures are words of eswara enlightened about our own real nature. At the grossest level is karma yoga in which Bhagavan is invoked in various idols (verse no 34); Symbols of God like the deity in the temple or the photo in your pooja room. Daily cleaning the pooja room is necessary. Krishna says may you develop reverence towards my devotees also. One who has converted his body into a temple is a true devotee. He decorates the body with vibhudhi, kumkum and chandanam make it a temple of god. The Jivatma inside is none other than god. Mahavakyam starts there itself. A devotee who is constantly worshipping the lord is invoking the lord in the temple of his body. In Vaishnava devotees are called Alwars. By immersing in the devotion or in the thought of the lord Alwars are respected as much as bhagavan himself.

TDS is a worry replacement skill. TDS can be described as thought displacement skill. Sometimes certain thoughts like fear, worry take charge of my mind and I am not able to push them out. Mind becomes my own master. I am not able to control my mind. Krishna says, may you practice Upasana yoga. Thinking of lord at regular intervals our mind will bring the lord personified which will displace my other thoughts. When Rama comes into my mind Kama goes away. May I spend some time daily keeping the lord in my mind for a length of time. After I do this repeatedly I will be able to see a sea change in myself for sure. Whatever you acquire in life may you dedicate it to the lord. Never gain ownership of anything. All your worry is on objects and people in the world. Whenever we have got a fencing (of certain areas and certain people) it indicates a dangerous Samsara. Mamakara is a serious problem. Practice by saying,”I use everything. I am not the owner of anything. Bhagavan is the owner and has given me things for my use. He can take away anything from me without giving advance notice to me”. That is the way we have to prepare our mind. I should know that I am a tenant in my own house which is Bhagavan’s temple. I should convert my house into a temple. I should dedicate everything to the lord who is my survivor. I should place myself for the service of the lord by going to temple and doing service. All forms of social service are also a part of devotional exercise.          

Be blissful

S.Sekar

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PANCHADASI BY VIDYARANYA (Sloka 39)

From verse no 32 Vidyaranya points out that the primary means for Atma Gnanam is Vedanta Vichara only which means doing Shravanam and Mananam.

Many students of Vedanta gain knowledge through vichara under the guidance of a Guru. Some students gain knowledge through Shravanam and Mananam. This is called Aparoksha Gnanam. There are some others who are not able to gain this knowledge. Guru and Shastra together are able to give knowledge to a student who is a serious seeker. Students who are not able to gain knowledge have some obstacles preventing them. Obstacle in the shisya’s mind is there. In tharka sastram it is defined clearly.

Tharka is logic (reasoning). Tharka will not reveal the truth. We should never use logic as an independent means of knowing the truth. Tharka must be used to extract message from the Vedanta.

For example Tharka is like a juice crushing machine. Vedanta sastra is like the sugarcane. Use tharka sastra and enquire Vedanta. Shruthi and Smirithi combined will give the answer to us. We will get the right message Viz. “Aham Brahma Asmi.”

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

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26102019

UDDHAVA GITA (Satpurusha, Bhakthi)

In the first part of the chapter 6 lord Krishna pointed out that Adwaitha Atma Gnanam alone is the means of liberation. All spiritual seekers will have to come to Adwaitha gnanam as presented in Vedanta. He should come to the conclusion that Adwaitha Vastu is no other than myself. I should know that Brahma satyam Jagat mithyam (mithya meaning names and forms). Everyone has to come to this knowledge to attain Moksha which is the only means of attaing Moksha. I can relax only after discovering this fact. This is what Krishna said in CH 6 up to verse 21. Krishna says that spiritual seekers will be very few only. Among those only very few will gain the knowledge says Krishna. This is the only method of attaining the lord. By preparing the mind you can make this knowledge easy to gain. It is easy for the prepared and difficult for the unprepared mind. From 22^nd verse onwards he says if you are not ready for Vedanta you need not worry. You can come to Karma yoga which is saguna bhakti. Krishna says by going to satsanga of knowledgeable people one can develop values.

Then Uddhava asks Krishna who is a satpurusha?  

Krishna has enumerated 30 virtues of a satpurusha. Those who have and who also value these virtues are to be associated with Satpurushas. I should start my Bhakthi exercise and make my Bhakthi a refined one. Artha and Ardhartha bhakthi is unrefined (bhakthi with a purpose) and I use for finite worldly benefits. They are called Sakama Bhakthi. I have to soon replace Sakama bhakthi with Nishkama Bhakthi. I gradually reduce family centric prayers and Me centric prayers and start praying for the whole humanity. This is Sarve Bhavanthu Sukinaka pooja wherein my Ahamkara (strong attachment to body mind complex) and Mamakara (strong attachment to family, possession and position) are gradually reduced. So long my Mamakara and Ahamkara are not diluted Moksha is far away for me. The notion that I am an individual is Jiva Bhava. Moksha is replacing Jiva Bhava by Brahma Bhava. Our destionation is from Jiva Bhava to Brahma Bhava. Aham Mama centered is Raga and Dvesha (likes and Dislikes). I am interested in me and my spouse as per my likes and dislikes. I extend this to my children and grand children and my thoughts are centered on me and my family. This is reinforcement of Jiva Bhava. I should know that Jiva Bhava and Spiritual wisdom are diagonally opposite. While strongly retaining the Jiva bhava when I study the Vedanta this study will be an academic study only. I can’t be liberated as Vedanta will never bless me. Jiva bhava and Brahma bhava will never coexist. Finite and infinite cannot coexist. One of the methods of dilution is converting all our poojas and prayers into Universal prayer and for the whole humanity. Sarve Jana Sukino Bhavanthu should be my prayer; Loka samasta sukino bhavanthu. It is difficult but we have to practice. We require a refined attitude wherein we include the whole humanity in our prayer. Exercises are mentioned in Vaidiga karma kanda. The same vaidiga karma becomes unpopular (doing sandyavandanam, agnihothram nithya karma). Vyasa said it should be replaced by Agama sastra forms of devotion in which worship of different deities are involved. Afterwards Sankaracharya talked about worship and 6 forms of deity. They are Shiva (saivam), Vishnu (vaishnavam), Shaptam (sakthi, Sri Vidya pooja), Ganapathya (ganapathi worship), Koumaram (name of Subramanya) and Sowram (surya devatha where surya is visible). Sankaracharya accepted all of these and said Chathurmasya is a Vedic ritual. If you don’t know Vaidiga karma it does not matter. It is ok to replace it by Agama pooja. In uddhava Gita Lord Krishna talks about Vaishnava form of worship. All these poojas are not for Moksha and meant only for preparing the mind. Thereafter all people will have to come to Vedanta by doing Shravanam, Mananam and Nidhithyasanam. One may start with Bhagavad Gita and then Upanishads and thereafter Brahma sutra. Ultimately we have to come to the knowledge “Aham Brahma asmi”. We should come to the conclusion Aham satyam Jagat Mithyam. One who acknowledges this fact is called a smartha. A Smartha knows that ‘I have to come to Aham Brahma asmi’. Whoever accepts this fact is called a Smartha. Adi Sankaracharya is a Smartha. Whoever is following Sankaracharya’s teachings is a Smartha. I have to purify my mind through Nishkama pooja.  

Be blissful

S.Sekar

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UDDHAVA GITA CHAPTER VI

Lord Krishna has pointed out to Uddhava in verse 25 (Ch VI) that Satsangha or Company of Satpurushas are very essential for spiritual growth. When we have the company of noble people, dharmic people, people of devotion to God and people who are Satpurusha this association will be very useful and unknowingly we will imbibe all their virtues.

Thereafter Uddhava asks Krishna the definition of a satpurusha. Krishna answers in verses 29 to 33. Lord Krishna mentions 30 virtues that can be found in a satpurusha. In the 29^th verse 7 virtues are enumerated. They are do not pain others (ahimsa). Be compassionate to others. Restrain violent impulsive responses. Be honest, speak truth and have integrity. Avoid unhealthy tendencies (jealousy). Have a mental balance (samatvam). They have freedom from stress, anxiety. In verse 30 Krishna enumerates 11 virtues. In our early part of life we can give importance to Artha (material desire), Kama (sense pleasures, worldly entertainment). This should get shifted to Dharma pradana (a life of contribution and service) says scriptures. Then only we can go to Moksha pradana way of life. We have to shift gradually to moksha pradana before we die. If worldly desires over-power me then it becomes impossible for Moksha. A Satpurusha spends time for Dharma and Moksha. Sensory addiction can be disastrous. Karma yoga is defined as keeping the mind equanimous. Freedom from stress is possible and is important for spiritual growth. Be calm always under any situation. Surrender to the lord and give all your responsibilities and worries to God. Then God will give you the strength to face every situation in life which is experienceable here and now.

Ananyāśh chintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣhāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣhemaṁ vahāmyaham (BG Ch9 Verse 22)

There are those who always think of Me and engage in exclusive devotion to Me. To them, whose minds are always absorbed in Me, I provide what they lack and preserve what they already possess. when we offer ourselves exclusively to Him, māmekaṁ śharaṇaṁ vraja, God bestows His complete grace and takes full responsibility, by preserving what we have and providing what we lack.

We should have shreddha in Bhagavan’s promise. We should gradually get exposed to scriptural teachings and scriptural study which is compulsory. All other sadanas will not give me a clear direction. Scriptural study is like a GPS. Scriptural study will tell me where I stand and will show me where I have to Go. I should have a scriptural Road Map.

Self confidence is the most important virtue. Never ever look down upon yourself.

In the 6^th chapter of Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna talks about 4 types of Grace. First is Atma Kripa. I should have my own grace in the form of Self confidence. Then the other three will follow. 2^nd is Eswara kripa, God’s grace will follow. Next is Guru Kripa. Bhagavan will send a guru to guide me as I don’t know any guru. Eswara kripa will lead to Guru kripa. Next is Sastra kripa. Scriptures should come to my mind. Guru will introduce, interpret and transfer the scriptural message to me. It will become a Sastra kripa. Without Atma kripa the other three is not possible. You should never lose your heart. Never use the word it is difficult, it is tough, it is impossible. Remove these from your dictionary.

At Karma yoga level the 6 enemies are Kama (worldly desires), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed or miserliness), Moga (delusion, depening on finite world, finite possession and finite relationship for my peace, security and happiness), Madha (arrogance, superiority complex) and Matsarya (Jealousy, envy).

Regarding Gnana yoga the 5 enemies are enumerated in Brigadharanya Upanishads. The 5 problems are because of our identification with various layers of our body. Annamaya kosha has the problem of death. Pranamaya kosha has the problem of hunger and thirst. Manomaya kosha has got the problem of Soga (grief). Vignanamaya kosha has got the problem of delusion. Anandamaya kosha has the problem of desire. A gnani transcends all of these by learning to identify all the Kosas. A Gnani will say “I am not the pancha kosas. I am the transcendental Atma”.

Every one of us is the creation of God. God resides in every one. You should see divine in every one. After studying the scriptures, you have to share, interact, and discuss with likeminded people what you have understood. Then you will get more clarity of what you have studied. We have to maintain good relationship with everyone. Show compassion to others. Your prayer should be “Sarve Bhavanthu Sukinaga” (let all people in the world be happy). You have to pray for the humanity to be happy.

Mental purity will make you get a desire for scriptural study. Spend more time in Shravanam, Mananam and Nidhithyasanam. You will get more time for Vedanta Vichara. If your children are grown up, take Vanaprasta ashrama. Remain in home and not do any household activity. Children are there to take care of household activity. From Grihashramam to Vanaprasthashramam to Sanyasa ashramam; then take Gurukulam (find a competent Guru) and study there.

Be blissful.

S.Sekar

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UDDHAVA GITA CHAPTER VI VERSE 20

In Uddhava Gita Chapter VI, Ver. 20 Lord Krishna gives a beautiful instruction to all the people. The instruction is about the purification of the organ of speech. When physical body is associated with all kinds of dust it becomes impure. We purify the body by taking a bath. We have got a powerful organ which is the organ of speech and the only given gift for all the human beings by Bhagavan. This indriyam will also get polluted because of wrong association and by the utterance of all kinds of rubbish words. When the organ of speech is used wrongly by uttering bad words, indecent words, it gets polluted which we never notice.

If the organ of speech is polluted by using indecent words, how to purify the same. The only way to purify / sanitize the organ of speech is by chanting slokas from sacred scriptures. Words uttered from scriptures will wash off all the pollution by the words we chant. Why scriptural words purify? They talk about only the ultimate purifying agent. Vishnu Sahasranamam is considered to contain words which are sacred. By chanting words from Vishnu sahasranamam, our speech will get purified. If you cannot avoid these bad words keep quiet. You can chant “Sri rama ramethi rame rame Manorame. Saharanama tathulyam Rama Nama Varanane” ten times. Lord Krishna says one should have some scriptural parayanam. Otherwise he will become useless. Speech associated with scriptures has to be uttered everyday by you. Nirguna Bhagavan is talked about in Veda Antha Bagha. Actual Bhagavan consisting of Shristi (creation), Srithi (sustenance) and Pralayam (destruction) should be read by all and understand who is Bhagavan. Before the origination of the universe, before the origination of time and space Isvara was present. He is Anadhi (beginningless). He has no form. He is a formless Jagat Karanam. Reading the scriptures will purify our speech. Learning the meaning after reading will purify our mind. You will get rid of the ignorance of Bhagavan and ignorance of yourself (Isvara agnanam and atma agnanam). Ignorance and Self misconception are the worst mental impurity. This will go away by reading and learning the meaning of Scriptures. Learning the meaning is called Jignasu, which means enquiry (vichara). Surrender your mind on the Lord who is the Karanam. The instantaneous benefit is that your mind becomes relaxed. All the worry about your family, Children, grand children will go away. We need not worry and everything will be better off.

Enjoy life.

Be Blissful.

S.SEKAR

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CAUSE OF BONDAGE AND MEANS OF LIBERATION

In the 6^th chapter of Uddhava Gita Lord Krishna is answering the questions raised by Uddhava at the end of the fifth Chapter. The question pertains to the cause of bondage and the means of liberation. Also Uddhava wanted to know the difference between a liberated person and a bonded person (samsari) because both of them live in the same world. There are some people who think that moksha is possible only after death by going to some other higher loka. Krishna says one can be liberated even when one is alive and he is called jivan mukthi. He continues to live in the body after attaining jivan mukthi.

How a Gnani looks at the world, how he looks at himself and his experiences is only at his perspective. Krishna is discussing the topic from verse 5 (CH VI) onwards. Initially he talks about Bhagavan himself as a liberated Gnani. He talks about Bhagavan also as a gnani and a liberated one. Bhagavan has Maya Sakthi and pervades the whole creation and pervades all living beings. He is the consciousness pervading the Karana Sariram of every Jiva. In the karana sariram alone all the potential karmas of all the jivas are residing. Behind Stula sariram (Physical body) and Shukshma sariram (Subtle body) we have Karana sariram in which our future Prarabhda karma is hidden. It will give pleasurable and painful experiences. This holds good also for a Gnani who has to exhaust his prarabhda which he has got before he became a Gnani. As even the body grows, it has to give pleasurable and painful experiences to the body. Bhagavan is the Karma Pala Dhadha. Bhagavan is the witness of every good and bad deed we are doing. Bhagavan is called Karma adyahshaga who is the witness of all the things that we are doing. At the appropriate time Karma palam will be given to us. Some of the karma will fructify in the present janma. Some will fructify in the future janma. Bhagavan is a gnani who has discovered he is Akarta and abhokta. Bhagavan does not experience any karma pala. Bhagavan is Akartha and abhokta only because of Self knowledge. A jiva can become Akartha and Abhoktha only if he becomes a wise person (Gnani). Whosoever has got ignorance (Self ignorance) he will be bound whatever may be his accomplishment in life. A person having Self knowledge (without any degree or qualification) is a liberated person. He has Vidya (Atma Gnanam, Self Knowledge).

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com