Click Here for study Material- Bhagavad Gita – Swami Paramarthananda Ebook
Contributed By Dr T Hegde
Recap... Chapter 7
Chapter 1 to 6 (Prathama Shatakam)
Jiva Svaroopa Imperishable, unlike body/mind
Prayatna Self Effort & Free Will
Karma Yoga Proper Action + Proper Attitude
Chapter 1 to 6 Chapter 7 – 12 (Madhyama Shatakam)
Jiva Svaroopa Imperishable, unlike body/mind Ishvara Swaroopa Para + Apara Prakriti
Prayatna Self Effort & Free Will Ishvara Anugraha God’s Grace
Karma Yoga Proper Action + Proper Attitude Upasana Yoga Meditation upon the Lord
Svaroopa: Ishvara = Apara Prakriti + Para Prakriti
Apara Prakriti Para Prakriti
Matter Principle Consciousness Principle
Beginningless, Never Created or Destroyed
Changing, Perishing Unchanging, Imperishable
Jnanam (Saguna) Vijnanam (Nirguna)
Ishvara = Cause of Entire Universe
•Manifests (not ‘creates’) as the universe
•Effect (Universe) is not separate from the Cause (Ishvara) e.g. Furniture vs Wood
•World is Isvara i.e. Apara + Para
Cause of Human Misery
•Reliance on Apara for permanent PHS
•Mistake = Expecting Oil from Sand
•Solution = Rely on Para
•Rejection of Apara, not required
•How? Through Bhakti (Surrender unto Him)
Take home message
•Ishvara = Para + Apara
•Jnani is a Nishkama Bhakta
•achieves Para Prakriti
•achieves permanent Peace, Security & Happiness
Akṣhara Brahma Yoga - Nature of God Chapter 08
Knowing Life is Knowing Death
Once you know what life is you will know what death is
Ordinarily we think death comes at the end, Death is against life, Death is the enemy
Death is not the enemy
Death is integral part of life
Life exists because of death
Death is, in fact, a process of renewal
Death also happens each moment
breath is both Life and Death
LIVE AND DIE MOMENT TO MOMENT
If you understand Death/Life
Out of fear, we have created a division
We think that life is good and death is bad
We think that Life has to be desired and Death is to be avoided
We think somehow we have to protect ourselves against death and become incapable of living
Living Involves Dying
If you really want to live you have to be ready to die. Who is afraid of death in you?
Ego is Afraid of Death/ Life
life afraid of death?
It is not possible
How can life be afraid of its own integral process?
Something else is afraid in you
The ego is afraid in you
Death Complements Life
Death and life are two polarities of the same energy
Death is not the end of life
It is a completion of one life
The crescendo of one life
The climax, the finale
No beginning nor end
It never ends, it never begins anywhere
We are involved in eternity
We have been here since the very beginning – if there was any beginning – and we are going to be here to the very end, if there is going to be any end.
We are Life, we live in Eternity
Forms, bodies, minds change
What we call life is just an identification with a certain body, and what we call death is getting out of that form, body, out of that concept
If you get too identified
You change houses
If you get too identified with one house, then changing the house will be very painful
Eternal non ending Atma in You
Those who have looked within themselves, those who have found who they are, come to know an eternal, non-ending process
Are you aware of your real self
We are completely oblivious of your transcendence, of your real nature, of your authentic being
The real sadness is this: we don’t know who we are
Death is beautiful only for those…
•Who have lived their life unhindered, uninhibited and unsuppressed
•Who have not been afraid to live, who loved and who have celebrated
The Art of Living / Dying
All religions teach or an art the teach you how to die
And the only way to teach you how to die is to teach you how to live
Live your Life
Your life is your life
So don’t allow yourself to be dominated by others
If you allow yourself to be dominated by others you will miss your life
The pure ‘existence’ is what we call godliness “Sat”
The pure ‘existence’ is what we call godliness
If you can understand your inner divinity, you have understood what life is
This is the message of all Masters – that you are God, you are divine.
Once you have understood it, then there is no death
Arjuna uvāca
kiṃ tad-Brahma kimadhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣōttama|
adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ prōktam adhidaivaṃ kimucyatē||8.1||
Arjuna asked –What is that Brahman? What is adhyatmam? What is Karma? What is said to be adhibhūta? What is said to be adhidaiva, O Krishna!
adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ kō'tra dēhē'smin madhusūdana |
prayāṇakālē ca kathaṃ jñēyō'si niyatātmabhiḥ || 8.2 |
Who is adhiyajñaḥ? How does (he remain) here in the body? And how are you to be remembered at the time of death by the self-disciplined ones, Oh Madusudana.
adhibhūtaṃ kṣarō bhāvaḥ puruṣaścādhidaivatam |
adhiyajñō'hamēvātra dēhē dēhabhṛtāṃ vara || 8.4 ||
The perishable creation is adhibhuta and Hiranyagarbha is adhidaiva. I myself, (who reside), in this body, am adhiyajñā. O Arjuna, the best of the embodied.
What is Brahman?
• Brahman is the greatest (paramam) Imperishable (akṣaram)
•The Consciousness principle
•Brahman is derived from the root Bṛh which means big, that which is superlatively big
•This chapter is called Akṣara-Brahma-Yogaḥ
What is Adhyātmam?
•The all-pervading Consciousness within the body
•Adhi-ātmam means obtaining within the body
•The Consciousness when seen as the totality is Brahman
•Jiva is adhyātma (micro)
What is Karma?
One’s birth is the result of previous karma
(in this verse referred to as visargaḥ);
The present creation is the result of past action.
What is Adhibhūtam?
Every perishable entity is adhibhūtam. Anything that is experienced in the material world come under this category.
What is Adhidaivam?
According to the śāstras, Hiraṇyagarbhaḥ is the total of all the subtle bodies is in the universe
Krishna defines adhidaivam as Puruṣaḥ
Puruṣaḥ here means Hiraṇyagarbhaḥ
What is Adhiyajña?
Krishna says that He is Adhiyajña
This means Īśvara is Adhiyajña
The Lord resides in everybody. He is called Narayana
Nāram means living being. Ayanam means residence
Why is he known as Adhiyajña?
He is associated with every action (Yajña)
He is the giver of the result (phalam)
No one is there
I was there
1.What is Brahman?
2.What is adhyātmam?
3.What is karma?
4.What is the meaning of adhibhūtam
5.What is referred to as adhidaivam
6.Who (or what) is Adhiyajña?
7.How does Adhiyajña reside in the body?
8.What is the significance of remembering God at the time of death?
9.How can a person remember God at the time of death?
Aksharbramhayoga CHAPTER 8 – SHLOKA 5,12
Contributed By Dr Minal
Arjuna’s 7th question – antakale ishwar smaranam – How and why?
The method of krama mukti
Method of karma mukti
Sagun ishwar upasana : sakam and nishkam upasanas.
Sadyomukti/jeevanmukti or akrama mukti: instant ie here and now.
Krama mukti: Stepwise mukti after death in Bramhaloka.
An upasak can never get moksha until nirgun ishwar jnan is obtained.
Why is antakala/prayankalishwarsmaranam important?
Antakale ishwar smaranam is a sure way to attain moksha/ ishwar aikyam.
How to ensure antakala ishwarsmaranam?
Nitya Ishwar smaranam & yogabhyasa is the best way of ensuring antakala Ishwar smaranam
CHAPTER 8 – SHLOKA 15
Contributed By Dr Ravishankar
māmupētya punarjanma duḥkhālayamaśāśvatam.
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṅsiddhiṅ paramāṅ gatāḥ৷৷8.15৷৷
Human goal
CHAPTER 8 – VERSE 23-26
Contributed By Dr Suman
Two Routes
Two paths
•Śukla mārga / gati: Bright path à leads to GOD.
•Kṛṣṇa mārga / gati: Dark/gloomy path.
•Heaven once punya is exhausted come back to earth.
•The next 2 verses, Krishna explains the bright and dark paths.
SUKḶA MĀRGA
The 5 devatās guiding on śukla mārga
Agniḥ (fire),
jyotiḥ (brightness/light),
ahaḥa (day),
śuklaḥ (bright lunar fortnight. Lunar phase in month.)
Uttarāyaṇa: (northern phase of sun)
agnirjōtirahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam |
tatra prayātā gacchanti brahmavidō janāḥ || 8.24 ||
Who is entitled for śuklamārga?
•Brahmavidaḥ janāḥ; the saguṇa Īśvara upāsakaḥ
•Merely performing rituals/charity à only kṛṣṇa mārga.
•What about jñāni? No ticket to krama mukti, because have attained liberation here and now
CONCLUSION: śukla mārga is not for karmi’s nor jñāni’s. Only for: saguṇa Īśvara upāsakās.
kṛṣṇa-mārga
•Who goes to kṛṣṇa-mārga (darker/gloomy path)??.
•Here ‘yogi’ refers to physical oriented karma-yogi. Ritualistic people.
•Reach Svarga loka.
•The 4 devatās of kṛiṣna mārga
Dhūmaḥ:
Rātriḥ: night.
Kṛṣṇaḥ: dark fortnight.
Dakṣiṇāyana: Southern phase of sun.
dhūmō rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam |
tatra cāndramasaṃ jyōtiryōgī prāpya nivartatē || 8.25 ||
. śuklakṛṣṇē gatī hyēt
Two paths called śukla gatiḥ & kṛṣṇa
gatiḥ, refers to maarga NOT TIME
. jagataḥ śāśvatē matē
Created along with Universe
śuklakṛṣṇē gatī hyētē jagataḥ śāśvatē matē |
ēkayā yātyanāvṛttimanyayā''vartatē punaḥ || 8.26 ||
CHAPTER 8 – SHLOKA 27
The 2 Travellers
Contributed By Dr Sunder
Dhyana Sloka 7
Contributed By Smt Aruna
DHYANA SHLOKA - 7
Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-IdamPuurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate
PuurnnasyaPuurnnam-AadaayaPuurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om ShaantihShaantihShaantih ||