Hari om everyone,
This week we learnt verses till 33 from Chapter 2 of bhagavadgeeta.
We then reviewed chapter 15 of the Geeta. We reviewed Krishna's metaphor of the world like an upside-down tree. We moved on to discussing what characteristics we can develop within ourselves to perceive the true nature of the world rather than the superficial perception we have of it now. The ideal seeker of the truth should be free from pride and delusion; overcome their attachments and attach themselves to the Lord; become indifferent to pleasure and pain and desires.
We emphasized that this is not an advocacy for nihilism ('nothing matters') or gross indifference to the world (that is, if someone is hanging for dear life from a cliff, help them up!) One strategy to achieve the mindset detailed above is the daily practice of prayer or meditation. If we are to give up our attachments, the mind will be left unoccupied and this state is alien to the mind. Focusing on the Divine will fill this void. Daily meditation or prayer will help focus one towards the Divine and away from the material world. Krishna makes a point about his all-encompassing nature – he is the light of the stars, the nourishment of plants and every human contains His Divine essence. In light of this fact, pride does not make sense as there is a divine spark in all of us – when we claim to be better than someone else, it is like one wave in the ocean claiming to be greater than another despite the fact they both belong to the same body of water and are made of the same water. The fact that one wave may rise above all the rest should not be a point of pride for the wave. All waves rise and crash along the shore or back into the ocean like all other waves.
We gave an introduction to the next chapter which is daiva-asura-sampad-vibhaaga yoga. It deals with our own divine and devilish characteristics. Krishna lists out the divine qualities in the first few verses and goes on to elaborate on the devilish aspects in all for most of the chapter. We will discuss in the upcoming classes.
Stay warm and stay safe in this extended winter weather!
Regards,
Raghav and Rashmi.
