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Children are not vessels to be filled but lamps to be lit.
- Swami Chinmayananda
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Nov 21, 2021 - Bhagavadgeeta (Sunday AM)

Summary:
  • We started off our class with prayers
  • Suggestion to have class members chant the prayers
  • Deep dive on verse 8:
    • Different types of karma:
      •  नित्य कर्म (Nitya karma) - Daily duties
      •  नैमित्तिक कर्म (Naimittika karma) - Duties to be undertaken on special occasions
      •  काम्य कर्म (Kaamya karma) - Actions that are prompted by desires
      •  निषिद्ध कर्म (Nisiddha karma) - Actions that are condemned
    • नियत कर्म (Niyata karma) - Obligatory duties that include both Nitya and Naimittika karmas
    • Why Niyata karmas to be done and not Kaamya karma?
      • Example of camera capturing the picture
        • Camera captures everything in front 
          • Associated likes and dislikes
          • Kaamya and Nisiddha karmas gets captured and repeated again
          • We always do what we like 
          • Selfish intentions
          • Creates impressions - vasanas 
        • if white paper is kept in front of camera. nothing is captured
          • Selfish intentions has to become selfless in order for not getting captured
          • Method to exhaust vasanas
  • Discussion about atheists being happy
    • They see the reality as it is
    • In order to have spiritual progress, Viveka (discrimination) is needed
      • understanding of the principle behind the reality
    • Pattern in chaos gets repeated
  • Example - Swami Chinmayananda
  • Review of verse 5:
    • Prakriti - three gunas 
      • satva, rajas and tamas
  • Review of verse 6:
    • Satya 
    • Mithya 
    • Disconnect between what's in mind and action
  • Review of verse 7:
    • Impressions are created and gets registered and comes out as desire
    • We give energy to the desire
    • Needs Viveka (discrimination) and Vairagya (dispassion) to control the senses
    • Vivekachudamani
  • Review of verse 8:
    • Connect verse 8 to verse 5
    • Minimum work is to be done
    • Kurukshetra always happens in our mind
    • let nara (man) surrender to Narayana 
    • let Narayana guides us
    • Before doing any puja, sankalpa is done
      • Time
      • Place
      • Panchangas
      • Shree Lakshmi Narayanasya Preethyartham
    • Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ramakrishna
      • If you ask, it will be given
      • If you do not ask, you will be given more
    • Needs and wants - come from where?
    • Source of thoughts
    • Passion, purpose, falling in line
      • Passion without purpose - delusional
      • Duty is with purpose, but no passion - drudgery
      • Align passion and purpose (Satvic state) - "Flow" happens (book "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
      • Passion - getting lost in the work, abundance of energy
      • Swabhava and Prabhava
    • Sadhana 
    • Gita dhyanam
      • Verse 4:
सर्वोपनिषदो गावः दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः। 
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत्॥  

sarvopaniṣado gāvaḥ dogdhā gopālanandanaḥ 
pārtho vatsaḥ sudhīrbhoktā dugdhaṁ gītāmṛtaṁ mahat
    • What is Mantra?
      • Mananat trayate iti mantrah
    • Shravanam, Mananam and Nididhyasanam
  • Verse 9: 
    • "The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of sacrifice; do thou, therefore, O son of Kunti, perform action for that sake (for yajna) alone, free from all attachment"
    • Binding actions creates impressions - vasanas, hence do actions with yajna attitude
    • Yajna meaning 
      • yaja deva pujayaam
    • Trees give out oxygen, animals utilize it 
    • ओषधिः (Osadhi) - plants gives energy
    • Higher entity is behind the universe
    • Karta - Doer
    • Bhokta - Enjoyer
    • Do the work and accept the results as prasad (prasada buddhi)
    • Happiness is not in external world
    • Yajna is happening everywhere, all the time - Sun, Body hairs
    • सङ्गः (sangah) - "I" thought + "I want"
    • Arjuna is referred as Kaunteya (son of Kunti) in this verse
    • Three states - Waking, dream and deep sleep
    • Give up the attachment to the fruit of actions
    • Santana dharma
    • Behavior - Child like versus Childish
  • Assignments
    • Contemplate on yajna attitude and look into the selfless activities done within the family and outside
    • Contemplate on what can I do right now with yajna bhavana?
  • Keshav ji showed us the technique to remove toxins from the body