Bhagavad-Gita 18th Chapter Glimpse - Conclusion

This is the last episode of Syama and I speaking about the Bhagavad-Gita, at least for this series. We do a recap of each of the chapters from 1 to 17 and then wrap up with chapter 18. Again, setting the scene, the Bhagavad-Gita is a chapter of the Mahabharata and earlier in the story, there has been a build-up leading to war over a kingdom between the Kauravas and the Pandavas who are from the same extended family...

Transcript

Hello Yogi!

Welcome to my podcast.

I'm Aiko and on this show we explore ways to put spiritual theory into sustainable practice.

And here we are.

Welcome Shobhananda.

Thank you.

We are finally at the last chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

Yeah,

It's amazing.

I think,

Did we start last spring or when was it?

I think so.

Yeah.

It's been like a year.

Yeah,

More than a year.

Incredible.

Yeah,

I think it's gonna be a little longer episode today.

We're gonna go through the entire Bhagavad Gita and of course the chapter I think that we are discussing today.

Yes,

That's right.

So maybe you can say something about what happened in the Bhagavad Gita externally.

So what's the scene?

What's the story that we are now reading?

Yeah,

So the Bhagavad Gita is one chapter in the epic Mahabharata.

So the scene has been set a little bit before and we will see some of that in the beginning of the first chapter.

It's a war between two parts of the same extended family basically over a kingdom.

And there are several divine personalities here,

Because this was at a time when gods were playing on earth and also God himself,

Krishna.

So of course this is like a drama sort of also.

So it's both for fun and also very serious at the same time because it's kind of like a juncture point between divine reality and material reality.

So the gods are here to play and we are to learn something and to join that play ultimately.

So at this point in the story here,

The battle is about to happen.

So you have two sides of the battle and we have our hero Arjuna is with Krishna on a chariot and Arjuna is asking Krishna to take the chariot in between the two armies so he can see who he's about to fight with here and it's people that he respects very much and looks up to and he does not want to kill them,

Which of course is very reasonable and noble.

So the scene is that Arjuna is standing there with Krishna in the middle of the battlefield looking at the army they're about to face and Arjuna is very afraid.

He's trembling and this is shocking to the reader if you have read the whole story because Arjuna has never backed down for a battle before.

So you can see that something is different about this battle.

And of course it's very special here that Arjuna has Krishna as his charioteer and the Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna.

Yeah and of course like this is what is happening externally but what the Bhagavad Gita is here to teach us it's how to handle the fighting and the war that we're handling every day within ourselves.

So Arjuna in this case represents ourselves and Krishna represents the higher source and all the teachings behind every chapter are helping us to understand and handle our inner war.

Yes.

And the Bhagavad Gita is it has 18 chapters and it's divided in three main sections.

We have the first six chapters the second six and the last six and the first six chapters they are speaking about the self.

So how we relate how we not should but how we can behave like in a proper way.

And of course here and there it's mentioned there are mentions about Krishna that if you don't believe in Krishna or if you don't see Krishna as God that doesn't matter you can simply change the name with your own God and try to understand the teaching behind this book.

So the first six chapters speaks about the self let's say and the second six chapters which are the core of the Bhagavad Gita where we will find in chapter 10 the four main verses the Chatusloki are the source of all selves.

So in the second six chapters we will go more deep into God into Krishna and we will see what roles he takes in our life in the world and everything around.

And the last six chapters this they analyze everything spoken before so they analyze us in relation to Krishna to God and to the world and in during our life etc.

Etc.

So I think we can go like through all the chapters like just briefly mentioning what is happening there.

So we have the chapter one which is the Yoga of Doubts and in the first chapter we mentioned the concepts of Dharma and Adharma and how it's hard to leave our attachments our material attachments that in this case are represented by the parents and relatives of Arjuna who are on the other side of the battlefield.

So in chapter two Krishna starts speaking.

It's called the Yoga of Analysis and it's a kind of overview of the entire Bhagavad Gita explaining all different kinds of yoga.

The main point there I think it's the analysis between the matter and spirit in chapter two.

So in chapter three the chapter three is called the Yoga of Action.

Here we speak about Karma Yoga.

Karma Yoga in a state where some is still attached to one's material personalities and work but in this chapter we see how we can offer these personalities to higher purposes like Krishna is teaching that we are part of a bigger picture.

He instructs Arjuna to make sacrifices still maintaining his identity and when I say sacrifices I mean I don't mean like you have to do offer animals or fire sacrifices but like you offer your actions and in that episode we give a lot of examples about how we can give sacrifice our actions for higher purpose.

Then we have chapter four the Yoga of Knowledge where this knowledge this Yoga of Knowledge is about letting go of your attachment.

In this chapter it's very much like related to chapter two and it's kind of a continuation that makes much sense when you read it in sequence of chapter two and three.

Then we have chapter five Nisakama Karma Yoga and this is the Yoga of Action but without the ambition.

Then we have chapter six Dhyana Yoga Yoga of Meditation and this chapter is very well known to be studied by the Yogis who study ashtanga yoga and here we see the kind of meditation that comes after Yama and Niyama so it's a focused meditation and complete and it explains like how to reach Samadhi.

Then we have chapter seven where Arjuna doesn't speak at all in this chapter and here is the Yoga of Knowledge and Realizations and here Krishna says that if you can see him everywhere then you will be able to feel him in the time of death.

And this verse it's kind of important because then we have chapter eight where Krishna is just going to explain what he meant by saying this last verse in chapter seven.

So here we talk about the moment of death and how the sum of your emotional development is sort of tested at the time of death.

Then we have chapter nine the Yoga of Inner Treasure and we will see in the chapter that the inner treasure is bhakti and here we talk about the meaning of being free of envy.

Krishna speaks to Arjuna and says that he can speak with him,

He can say this thing because he's free of envy and it's a very fundamental state of consciousness to be free of envy in order to progress spiritually.

And then now we go to chapter 10 where we will find the peak of the Bhagavad Gita with the four main verses,

The Chaturshloki.

So I give the word to you because I feel I speak already too much for this episode.

So please can you continue?

Actually it's quite fair because you didn't know nine chapters and there is nine chapters left so it's all right.

It's very fair.

I didn't even think about it.

Yeah.

Yes.

So in this Chaturshloki as you mentioned is considered the four main verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

You can say that all the rest of the wisdom comes out of these four verses and they're like in the middle.

So it's like the hidden gem.

Now I'm not going in the exact order that the chapter is going but if you read the whole chapter then you will have this kind of image that Krishna is giving many examples from nature which he has also done a little bit in the previous couple of chapters but here he does it more.

He points out prominent things in nature.

So for example if among mountains you know Mount Everest is the highest mountain.

So if you take examples like that then Krishna says you can see me as that like out of mountains I am Mount Everest for example.

Among birds I am Garuda which is a it's a Vishnu's carrier eagle.

Of course that's maybe not very relatable to everyone but some have also kind of creatively continued this explanation and given more examples that are not mentioned in the Gita itself like out of trees I am the or let's say out of the example I heard was a little funny like out of trees in California I'm the redwood for example because they are big and tall and live for hundreds of years.

So everyone has these things that they consider the most prominent and you know that some things are attractive to them some aspect of God is attractive to them and those who are able to appreciate that others see other aspects they are very fortunate because it means they can come together and they can compare notes and they can learn more about God and not just be fixed at their specific point of view.

And here they were speaking also about the way of debating in a healthy way right?

Oh yes that's right.

Oh yes because Krishna said there that out of ways to debate I am the kind of debate where both parties actually want to find out the truth.

Yeah because also like if we give the example of the elephant where everyone is touching a different part of the elephant and they are blind and the elephant represents God and one says one touch the leg and say oh God is like like a trunk is very thick and another one touch the tail and says oh no no what you talking about God is seen and it has some kind of fur at the end and the point is that are both right.

So one thing is if they kind of go against each other say oh you're wrong God is not like that but the point is that they are both right so if they discuss like in a healthy way they have a debate then both will simply nourish each other.

Yes exactly very well.

So like if people who have a point of view about God is able to accommodate other people's point of view and see that God is the source of all those things that all those people see they will kind of spark something together they will kind of of course God is not an elephant God is something more than an elephant too.

So that people come together and share their insights about God doesn't mean that they understand everything about God because God is infinite but when you do this you kind of get some you kind of get some eagerness for knowing more and as you continue that way God will reveal more to you also like among the among these people who are they're not just enlightening one another but they are all as a group being enlightened by God in this way and will finally actually have direct realization of God.

Then in chapter 11 that kind of comes out God actually reveals himself as the universal form that he is everywhere and Arjuna gets to see him in this way and it's kind of frightening because God has many forms but this is God's universal form is maybe not as friendly as when he comes in as an avatar and it's more kind of relatable but it is an important step to kind of see that God is actually everything.

Yeah we have this wonderful word in the title the yoga of theophany.

Yes so it's like epiphany but theophany like that epiphany is when you have this kind of striking insight and theophany is when God just strikes you as he does here so Arjuna gets to see Krishna as the form of time that basically devours everything but also of course creates everything but it's still it's a very it's things we all know I mean we know that everything comes and goes but there he kind of got to see it directly.

So then in chapter 12 it comes down again to kind of kind of relatable Krishna and devotion to him.

So even though he's the source of everything you don't always have to see him in that way as as something fearful and that is going to take away everything you're attached to because if you become attached to him that it's all a very gentle and for example dying will be very gentle because you won't be attached to the kind of superficial things.

Then in chapter 13 which is the analysis of matter and spirit and God we start to look at the relationship between all these things in a very systematic and analytical way so it's kind of stepping back from all what we have seen so far and analyzing everything which as you mentioned it continues in these last six chapters throughout these last six chapters.

So in chapter 14 we learn about the three gunas the three qualities of nature how first everything is created then it's maintained and then it is destroyed and new things are created so everything comes and goes in these cycles and these qualities of nature are in everything in the material world so also in our minds in our intellects in our egos in our bodies and so it's it's very interesting it's yeah once you start studying this and learn these concepts you you will see it everywhere.

Then in chapter 15 it talks about the material world as a tree turned upside down so it means like we have to go higher if we want to find the roots it's a nice metaphor and of course the idea is is to then kind of climb in this upside down climb and climbed to the roots so it's you know which is Krishna.

And in chapter 16 it's analysis again about between the kind of the spiritual mentality and the mentality that is not helpful for spiritual practice it's kind of looking at the many aspects of of that.

Chapter 17 is analysis of the three kinds of faith so it's faith in these three kinds gunas the modes of nature and Krishna says that we are our faith so this is a like our like our personality in this world is depending on what our faith is whatever it is so now we have come to chapter 18 and in this chapter it continues it's kind of wrapping up the whole Bhagavad Gita of course it's the last chapter and it's so it's kind of going to reiterate many things that has been gone through.

Yeah and it's so rich the chapter I think it's really like if you are going to study it like take time please read it's true and it's very very rich.

Yes and it goes through so many themes like you know of course Arjuna is scared about the battle so they're discussing the different kind of motivations for acting and giving up actions and renunciation and knowledge so here all of this is being reiterated again and talked about in new and interesting ways and very analytical ways the three gunas are a big part of this to look at everything in relation to to the three gunas which were explained in chapter 14 what they are so it talks about renunciation in the three modes of nature and also the action in the three modes of nature and the interesting thing is that both action and renunciation in the mode of goodness sattva is basically the same thing whereas renunciation and action in rajaguna and tamaguna just kind of are the opposites of each other so like renunciation in the mode of goodness is to like do do your duties but without being attached to to what the result will be you do it because it is to be done it's your duty and and whatever is the result that's that's up to god basically but then in if we look at rajasic action and renunciation rajasic action is when you're very ambitious and you think that you are doing something big something important and that you are doing a lot to accomplish that and see so you have like a lot of kind of ego motivation and ego motivation that's that something is like your contribution kind of so then like the opposite of that renunciation in rajaguna is when you don't do something because it is difficult to do yeah so so they just kind of reflect one another and then in in tamaguna action is just very irresponsible not considering like it's different to like not be attached to what the result will be but in tamago that's in sattva guna but in tamaguna you know you like like you don't care like you don't even care what the result will be it's like you're just acting without thinking of the consequences and you're just hurting yourself and others basically and the opposite of that is to just not do anything because you think that's what action is like like you don't even think that there could be such a thing as good action you just see all the trouble that action entails it just acting gets you into trouble so just stop acting of course suicide is like the worst how you say yeah example of that but it caused me to simply not act like kind of try to not act at all which is of course impossible yeah let's go in a corner and just wait to die yeah pretty much um so we have many other interesting lists here like intellect according to the three modes of nature fortitude like steadiness in the three modes of nature happiness in the three modes of nature and it talks about the the different kinds kinds of people and the duties they have in society like according to your kind of personality you have something that you can contribute and like you can do your spiritual practice through doing that like through doing your duty to society and gradually you will like realize your your spirit your spiritual nature and oh and i forgot to say that um it is important to speak about these kind of kind of duties we have because we have a duty according to what is our nature and so to do someone else's duty even if we do it perfectly it like won't have won't be as good for us as if we do what is actually our thing even if we do it maybe with faults like like maybe maybe i can i can better do something that is not my nature because somehow i have mastered it maybe by pressure from my parents or whatever so i'm good at that somehow like externally i'm good at that but it's not it's not me but then there can be things that that is my nature but that i still haven't like learned how to do so it's it's more difficult but it's better if i do that to do like what is not my thing even if i do it perfectly like when you're yeah when you're a kid and have you know one two years you have a pacifier and it's it's okay it's nice and there's nothing wrong with it but if at eight or nine years old again you you take the pacifier then because you know how to do it because i mean it's so cool that doesn't really sounds good you should learn to stay without that's not the age anymore it is something that you've done and it was okay when that was the time at the same like in the future like in the 30 years old you're not going to take pacifier in your mouth because you're good at it like you keep going and learn things and challenge and grow yes so thank you for this very nice insight way of looking at it because i was looking at it in a more like this is my duty this is my nature but actually also our nature changes and develops also yeah so what was the right thing to do 20 years ago may not be the right thing to do today even if um like you're the same you know the same person doing yeah even yesterday from today can change yes so this is actually a very i think we need to kind of tune into like what is right for us now and um and the bagavad kirta it really gives an entire view on how to understand this because anyway it's personal what's good for me is not good for you it's not good for you so it's a really deep work inner work in progress yes yeah very much so and to kind of wrap up here so it began with arjuna kind of dropping his bow and arrow he's he's an archer arjuna and uh the whole baguad gita ends with that he he picks up the arrow and his bow again so he is he does understand he is not like stuck stuck in these old patterns like doing greatly but he used to be good at but what is not the kind of need of need of the moment now so he he picks up the bow and arrow and it means that he he has come to this realization like now it's time for this wow i have to admit i really enjoyed to do this uh series with you it's have been it has been really helpful to my own study of the bagarad gita so thank you very much for this thank you and and also also for me it's it's so beautiful that we are doing this every ekadashi which is a day in the in the lunar calendar on which the baguad gita was spoken on a day like that so so it's beautiful it's we're kind of reminded of that every time yeah and next we say it we are going to we will go through the yoga sutra that i think to be also awesome to do with you yes i'm very excited about that yeah so what would you say that is the main teaching the main the main point of the baguad gita and what is your suggestion to our audience yeah so so as we just said here kind of in the in the wrapping up of the 18th chapter there is like not not one point of the baguad gita but that is the point so that the point is to see where you are and and to see where you want to go and to draw the line between the two of them and figure out how to get from one point to the other it's a lot it's very much like just in one sentence yeah it's a long work in progress as i just say yes but it's well worth it yeah and um i think we already mentioned in some episodes the bagavad gita edition we were going through is the bagavad gita it's feeling and philosophy from swami bhaktivedanta tripuraari which is our which is our spiritual teacher and we follow his teachings so that's it we finished the bagavad gita yes thank you so much thank you and uh and of course we can go through it again because really there is so much in this in this text that's in the future we can do many more series on the same on the same book instantly it will be totally different episodes thank you thank you i hope this episode fulfilled its purpose of inspiring you if you like it feel free to share it give a review or a rating subscribe and if you have any question please get in touch at aikoota.

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Reviews

Loved this series, one of the best IT has to offer. Thank you. 🙏❤️🩶🤍

"We finished the Bhagavadgita. Thank you." 😀🙏 I am through reading the book and listening to your sweet podcast, which I enjoyed very much. Thank you! Namaste.