Hari om everyone,
Here's an update for our Dec 20, 2020 class. We started the class with gitaa chanting and learnt chapter 2 till verse 18.
We continued discussing ch. 14 and did a recap before Christmas and New Year break.
We discussed the three gunas which infuse all humans in different combinations – these are sattvaguna, rajoguna and tamoguna.
While sattvaguna represents more intellectual pursuits;
Rajoguna is passion, enterprise and activity;
Tamoguna represents sedateness and passivity which can potentially lead to negative outcomes like ignorance
We have all these guNas at different times. The guNas themselves are neither good nor bad. It is how we employ them and how we overcome their outcomes.
We have discussed in previous weeks, the concept of liberation from the constant cycle of pain and pleasure. Krishna lays out a path towards liberation for people of all tendencies and characteristics – one does not need to be an ascetic meditating in the forest to find liberation! Those without the patience for meditation may attain liberation through study while those more action-oriented may prepare themselves for liberation through Karma Yoga. Even those individuals with no desire for intellectual pursuits or possess an orientation towards enterprise might attain liberation by living a devout life focused upon the Lord. Krishna also lays out what fates those of each tendencies will encounter upon death – for instance, those who are extraordinarily rajasic will be born into a life that further compounds their desire for action and hopefully this will exhaust their tendencies. Those of tamoguna might be born as animals or among the 'senseless' and this will be an opportunity to exhaust their appetites as well and attain a 'higher' birth. We will focus on the implications of gunas during the present life – the ultimate goal is to transcend the gunas and go above them. Even living a sattvic life, striving towards attaining knowledge. We hope to discuss during our next meeting on the strategy of transcending the gunas and this will conclude our study of chapter 14.
Regards,
Raghav and Rashmi.
