Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta By cover art

Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta

By: Vedanta Society San Francisco
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  • Swami Tattwamayananda’s class on Srimad Bhagavad Gita is held at the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco (founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1900) on Friday evenings in the First Universal Hindu Temple in the West (founded by Swami Trigunatitananda in 1905). Classes are held on Friday night at 7:30 pm. All are most welcome.

    The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the most important spiritual classic of Hinduism.

    Swami Tattwamayananda, currently the Minister of the Vedanta Society of Northern California, San Francisco, (originally founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1900) served in various centers of the Ramakrishna Order in India as editor, publisher, and teacher of Sanskrit, Advaitic texts such as Sri Shankaracharya's commentaries on the 'Prasthanatraya' (the fundamental Sanskrit texts of Vedanta philosophy), Buddhism and Indian philosophy. He underwent traditional training in Hindu scriptures, Sanskrit, Vedic and Vedantic literature for many years, from his early days. Before coming to the United States in January 2012 he was teaching Sanskrit, Vedantic scriptures and Indian philosophy at the Training center in Belur Math, the institution that trains the monks of the Ramakrishna Order at the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, Kolkata, India. Apart from his traditional education, the Swami has also received modern University education in English literature, psychology, European history, and Western philosophy. He is frequently invited for lectures on Yoga, Vedanta, and traditional Hindu scriptures and for participating in interfaith dialogues.

    For more:
    Web: www.sfvedanta.org
    Livestream: https://livestream.com/sfvedanta
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    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SFVedanta
    All Original Content © Vedanta Society of Northern California
    Copyright Vedanta Society, San Francisco
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Episodes
  • 159 - Daivam – The Unknown Factor in All Actions | Swami Tattwamayananda

    159 - Daivam – The Unknown Factor in All Actions | Swami Tattwamayananda
    Feb 16 2024
    The 13th, 14th and 15th verses discuss the five factors involved in any kind of activity.

    14th verse: “In any activity, there are five factors involved. (1) adhiṣhṭhānam – The body-mind-complex, which is the basis of all actions. (2) kartā – the agent of action, which is the jivatma. (3) karaṇam – Different instruments of action, such as the senses of perception and action. (4) pṛithak cheṣhṭāḥ - Different gestures and body movement. (5) daivam – the unknown factor in all activity, which is beyond human grasp.

    In laboratory science experiments, we can predict the result. But life is beyond human calculations. In life, there is Daivam - an unknown, unpredictable factor that makes life beautiful and worth living.

    Take the example of aa very successful entrepreneur. In the beginning itself, if he is aware of all the difficulties he has to face in the journey, he may never embark on the journey. The unknown factor and the optimism that the next step may be easier keeps him going.

    The basis of Daivam is in the law of karma and the doctrine of reincarnation. Daivam is constituted by our own karmas over many life cycles.

    Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. These Samskaras form our character and determine further actions and influence Daivam (the unknown factor).
    Positive daivam can be generated by doing unselfish, noble activities, reading of scriptures and through holy associations.

    15th verse: “Whatever action we perform with our body, speech and mind – whether it be a right or wrong action, these five factors are involved in those action.”

    An action is good if it produces positive daivam. Its opposite is bad action. The 42nd verse of the 18th chapter describe the characteristics of a person who is inclined to do the right action – withdrawing the mind from temptations, sense control, focused on noble causes, internal and external purity, straightforwardness, learn what is worth learning form the empirical world, strong belief that wrong actions do not help in the future.

    16th verse: “Those who are with an unrefined intellect and mind identify with the body and have a strong sense of doer ship. They think: “My atma is my body. I should give as much pleasure to this body. They do not understand the daivam aspect.”

    This verse is a reference to Charvakas, the school of Indian materialism. They taught: “Might is right. We should not believe what we cannot see with our own eyes. Live in the present - don’t think of yesterday or tomorrow. Don’t think of anything other than giving pleasure to this body.”

    The true interpretation of “Living in the present” is grounded in the fundamental impermanence of the empirical world. Due to this impermanence, we should focus on the right actions in the present but with a sense of detachment.

    17th verse: “Those whose mind, body, thoughts are refined by listening to spiritual instructions, they are free from the sense of doer ship. They think: “I am not this body. There is a divine element within me.”

    18th verse: “Knowledge, the known and the knower – these are the three factors that prompt action. The instrument of action, the action itself and the doer – these are the three constituents of action.”

    Any activity is prompted by three factors – the knower, what is to be known and the act of knowing. For example, when one meditates, there are three factors: (1) Dhyata – the one who meditates (2) Dhyeya – the object of meditation and (3) Dhyanam – the act of meditation.

    In the 19th verse, Lord Krishna states that knowledge, action and doer have three levels of refinement – sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.

    The 20th verse describes the Sattvik nature of knowledge. “That knowledge by which one sees the one supreme reality which is immanent, which is all-pervading, which remains the same without division, which is the indweller in every being, is Sattvik knowledge.”

    Whatever divides is inferior. Whatever harmonizes is superior. In spiritual path, one progresses from many to one, from plurality to oneness.

    Vedanta accepts plurality. Behind everything, there is one reality. Diversity is the penultimate stage.
    Beyond that, at the experience level, there is oneness and unity.

    Bhakti is a preparatory stage towards the highest advaitic experience.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • 158 - Renouncing the Fruits of Actions | Swami Tattwamayananda

    158 - Renouncing the Fruits of Actions | Swami Tattwamayananda
    Feb 3 2024
    5th verse: “The three virtues of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up. These three virtues become natural to the enlightened and become the means to those aspiring to be enlightened.”6th verse: “Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed giving up our attachment to the results and our selfish desire to enjoy the results of the work.”Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose.The panchamahayajna should be performed by everyone. These five yajnas are:Brahma Yajna – We perform this yajna when we discuss great ideas and spread the noble idea of spiritual universalism. This is the way we pay back to ancient sages.Pitri Yajna – We perform this yajna when we do rituals to preserve the sacred memory of our ancestors. When we are grateful to our ancestors, we will be able to transmit their values to the next generation. This is the way we pay back to our ancestors.Deva yajna – We perform this yajna when we preserve the memory of divine beings (devas).Bhuta yajna – We perform this yajna when we take care of other living beings (such as animals), nature and earth. We should look upon ourselves as guests of earth, not masters of earth. We should be kind and compassionate to other beings.Nara Yajna - We perform this yajna when we show hospitality to fellow human beings.The panchamahayajna should be practiced by everyone. They are natural to the enlightened. For others, it is a means to get enlightenment.The 4th, 7th, 8th, and 9th verses describe the three forms of tyagas. Of these three, only one is ideal (verse 9) – the other two are not desirable.4th verse: “Relinquishment is of three types – sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.”The 8th verse describes the worst form of tyaga, which is rajasik. “There are a set of people who find work difficult or painful. They provide false justifications for not taking up the tasks that they are expected to do. Then they boast in front of others that they have relinquished.”The 7th verse explains tamasik tyaga. “Those who give up because they are under the wrong notion, who imagine that they can live in peace and meditative mood by running away from their duties and obligations, their relinquishment is tamasik.”The 9th verse describes the ideal way of tyaga. “Those who do not give up work, who perform the actions enjoined by the scriptures, but who mentally renounce the fruits of the work, their tyaga is sattvik.”Our focus should not be on karma-tyaga. Instead, it should be on karma-phala-tyaga. We do not give up work; we transcend work.Giving up work is easy – a lazy person can do it. It is more difficult to do all our duties with full efficiency but without any selfish desire and attachment to the results. Selfish attachment is the most difficult to renounce. Mystics and great spiritual men were always active but had no selfish attachment to results.We can never run away from our core duties and responsibilities. They will follow us. Even if we are physically lazy, the mind will not stay inactive. In fact, people may feel more tired sitting quiet. The best way is to change our perspective towards work, as a sattvik person does. Then work won’t bother us.There is an earlier verse in the Gita which compares two brothers. Both work with equal efficiency and are successful. However, one is not attached to success while the other is attached. The former practices the ideal of renunciation and is contented. The other sways between happiness and unhappiness.When we carry a heavy weight on our head, we feel it. However, if a one-millimeter gap is created between the head and the weight, we do not feel it at all. When we are detached from results of actions, it is like creating the one-millimeter gap.10th verse: “A spiritual person endowed with sattva guna is even minded in all forms of action as he has renounced selfish attachment to results. He is free from doubts. He does not blame or praise any form of work, irrespective of whether it leads to temporary happiness or not.”If we do not practice detachment, we may get temporary happiness but not contentment or everlasting happiness. The happiness that we normally experience is only a temporary absence of unhappiness. They are two sides of the same coin. To get to contentment, we have to stop the pursuit of temporary happiness and detach ourselves from the results of action.11th verse: “It is impossible for anyone with body consciousness to remain in total inaction at mental and physical level. One should renounce the fruits of action. He should transcend action by being active at the physical and mental level but identifying with the Atman, knowing that the body and senses are in the hands of a higher power.”...
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • 157 - Yajna, Dana and Tapah Should Not be Given Up | Swami Tattwamayananda

    157 - Yajna, Dana and Tapah Should Not be Given Up | Swami Tattwamayananda
    Jan 26 2024
    Title: Yajna, Dana and Tapah Should Not be Given Up18th Chapter: verse 3, 4, 5, 6, 73rd verse: “According to Samkhya philosophy, all actions should be given up. According to Mimamsa philosophy, performance of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up.”According to Kapila and Samkhya philosophy, every action is mixed with some imperfection and, therefore, it should be given up. Mimamsa philosophy upholds the views of the vedas and says that Yajna, dana and tapah – activities which serve the good of others – should not be given up.Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose.The 4th verse is a response from Lord Krishna to a request that Arjuna makes in the 7th verse of the 2nd chapter. There Arjuna expresses his helplessness and asks Lord Krishna to tell him what he should do. He surrenders himself to the will of the Lord (prapannam).If a glass is half full of water and we pour milk in it, it will only have 50% milk. However, if we empty the glass and then pour milk, it will have 100% milk. Similarly, when we empty our mind and surrender to God, the mind can then be filled with the pure milk of God’s grace.Those who have completely surrendered to God or who have reached the highest spiritual enlightenment, they live in constant communion with God and do not have to worry about dos and don’ts. It is impossible for them to do anything wrong. They are like a pencil which does not assert its independence and only operates as a tool in the master’s hands.Those who have not reached the highest level have to be reminded of moral values such as truthfulness, non-stealing, practicing unselfishness, and so on. According to Shankaracharya, whenever scriptures describe characteristics of an enlightened person, these characteristics constitute the road by which we should travel to reach the goal that the enlightened person has reached.5th verse: “The three virtues of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up. These three virtues become natural to the enlightened and become the means to those aspiring to be enlightened.”The panchamahayajna should be performed by everyone. These five yajnas are:Brahma Yajna – We perform this yajna when we discuss great ideas and spread the noble idea of spiritual universalism. This is the way we pay back to ancient sages.Pitri Yajna – We perform this yajna when we do rituals to preserve the sacred memory of our ancestors. When we are grateful to our ancestors, we will be able to transmit their values to the next generation. This is the way we pay back to our ancestors.Deva yajna – We perform this yajna when we preserve the memory of divine beings (devas).Bhuta yajna – We perform this yajna when we take care of other living beings (such as animals), nature and earth. We should look upon ourselves as guests of earth, not masters of earth. We should be kind and compassionate to other beings.Nara Yajna - We perform this yajna when we show hospitality to fellow human beings.The panchamahayajna should be practiced by everyone. They are natural to the enlightened. For others, it is a means to get enlightenment.In the Vishnu Purana, there is a verse, which says: “Those who give up their own Swakarma and Swadharma, who do not take care of their parents and elders, who are cruel to other beings, who treat ancient tradition with a sense of indifference, who break the principles of panchamahayajna, such people are fools as their prayers won’t be taken seriously by God.”6th verse: “Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed giving up our attachment to the results and our selfish desire to enjoy the results of the work.”Those who cannot practice total detachment, they should start by performing these activities with attachment. Slowly, they will evolve to naturally be good human beings and will be able to perform these activities without selfish motives.4th and 7th verse: “4th verse: Relinquishment is of three types – sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.” The 7th verse explains tamasik relinquishment. “Those who imagine that they can live in peace and meditative mood by running away from their duties and obligations, they are deluded. Their relinquishment is tamasik.”We can never run away from our core duties and responsibilities. They will follow us. Even if we are physically lazy, the mind will not stay inactive. In fact, people may feel more tired sitting quiet. The best way is to change our perspective towards work, as a sattvik person does. Then work won’t bother us.
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    54 mins
Spirituality
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Bhagwat Gita - The song of God

This is a series of lectures on Bhagwat Gita. The narration is very simple, clear and precise. It is a detailed commentary on Gita which explains the most important versus of the ancient text for those who would like to understand it and also understand the underlying philosophy of Advaith Vedanta. Although Gita is a Hindu scripture but the philosophy explained here not pertaining to any specific religion. I find the teachings to be very practical and logical and it helps me introspect my actions and fine tune my mindset for peace and success.
It is an amazing commentary and I am really very happy to have found it.

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