Explore every episode of the podcast Bhagawad Gita : Scripture Study

Gita 18:67 - Never share these truths with one who is without self-control or devotion, nor with one who won’t share with others in a spirit of service, nor give them to one who is indifferent to them, or who finds fault with Me.

Gita (18:55, 56) - By supreme devotion to Me he can quickly realize Me in My true nature: what and who I am. Knowing these truths, he can unhesitatingly enter into Me.

Over and above the faithful performance of all one’s duties, and taking shelter (completely) in Me, he must still be received by My grace.

Ah! Grace! Eventually it all comes down to grace.

As we enter the second last of our classes on the Gita, we come to the key ingredient in all that we strive to do - God's grace.

Gita (18:41) O Scorcher of Foes! the duties of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, as also of Shudras, are (inborn and diverse) according to the gunas uppermost in their natures.

The inner, mystical caste system is a practical way for us to gauge our level of awareness and the play of the gunas within us. Krishna helps put these stages of evolution of consciousness into the right perspective for us.

Gita 18:30 - That intellect, O Partha (Arjuna), is sattwic which understands the nature of right action and knows when to refrain from (even right) action; which knows what should be done and what should not be done;

which understands the distinction between what ought to be feared (as wrong) and what ought to be embraced fearlessly (as right and dutiful), and between what constitutes bondage and what constitutes the path to liberation.

Gita 18:19 - Awareness of an act, the accomplishment of that act, and the person accomplishing it are described in the Shankhya system as being of three types, according to the gunas involved. Hear Me now about the manifestations of these three types.

It's amazing how absolutely essential the role of the gunas is in everything. Understanding the gunas is probably one of the biggest themes of the Gita. let's hear what the Lord has to say about it this time.

Gita 18:12 - The fruits of action are threefold: pleasant, unpleasant, and mixed. They accrue after death to those who have not renounced them.

For the self-surrendered, however, they do not accrue. And that, ladies and gentleman, is the simple game of Karma, and the not-so-simple game of lifetimes and lifetimes of trying to achieve perfection.

Gita 18:1 - Arjuna said: I desire, O Mighty-armed Slayer of Keshi! to know the true meaning of sannyasa (renunciation), and also of tyaga (self-surrender), and the distinction between the two.

As we begin the final chapter of the Gita, Arjuna is ready for that final stage of letting go, and offering up himself into the Bliss of God's presence. Are we ready too? Shall we give Arjuna some company?

Gita 17:14 - Veneration of the devas, the priestly, the gurus, and the wise; purity; straightforwardness; sexual restraint; harmlessness: these are considered the austerities of the body.

Krishna also shares the austerities of the speech and the mind as completing the trifecta of the sattvic perfection. Let's open our hearts to His transformation.

Gita 17:1 - Arjuna said: Those who set aside scriptural rules, yet sacrifice (to God) with devotion - what, O Krishna, is the status (of their sacrifice)? Is it sattwic, rajasic or tamasic?

A great question Arjuna! For those of us who are not steeped in scriptural rules, what happens to our prayers, mantras or offerings? Do they count? Or are they, as the "learned pundits" would have us believe, not pleasing to God?

Gita 16:12 - Bound by the fetters of hundreds of selfish hopes and expectations, and enslaved by passion and anger, they strive by unlawful means to amass fortunes with which to purchase sensual physical pleasures.

Continuing with the attributes of the demonic qualities, Krishna reminds us all, how easy it is to slip into these states of consciousness. But if we pay close attention to Him, He will show us the way out.

Gita 16:1 - The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness; purity of heart; perseverance; charity; self-restraint; the performance of holy rites; service to holy persons, and agnihotra; study of the scriptures; self-discipline; straightforwardness: these qualities are the endowments of those who are divinely inclined.

How many of these can we honestly say we practice and express daily, and at their highest? And this is only just 1/3rd of the list : )

Gita 15:8 - When the Lord as the jiva takes on a body, he takes with him the mind and the senses. We he leaves the body, he takes them with him and departs even as the breeze wafts scents away from their dwellings.

Looks like it's much harder to get rid of the mind and senses. Again and again they follow us, from body to body; life to life.

But there is a way out : ) Krishna's way.

Gita 15:1 - The Blessed Lord said: They speak of the imperishable Ashvatta tree, with its roots above and its branches below. It's leaves are the Vedic hymns. Whoever understands this tree of life knows the Vedas.

Gita14:17 - Wisdom arises from sattwa; lust and avarice, from rajas; and (the darkness of spiritual) ignorance, from tamas.

Gita 14:9 - Sattwa attaches one to happiness; rajas, to activity; and tamas, by stifling discrimination, submerges one in difficulties.

Now that's a very simple and practical way to ascertain the gunas we are expressing.

Gita 14:1 - The Blessed Lord said: I will declare to you once more that supreme wisdom, higher than any knowledge, in the realization of which sages have, after death, attained the Final Perfection.

Verse 23: Whatever his mode of life, one who understands the relationship the Spirit and Nature with its three-fold gunas, even though he engages outwardly in the activity of this life, need never again undergo rebirth.

Verse: " Krishna says- I will now tell you what knowledge one should pursue which bestows immortality.Here what i have say about the supreme beginingless Brahman- he who cannot be said either to exist or not to exist, since existence implies coming to being"

Verse:"O Krishna, I look to know the mystery of Prakriti and Purusha, of Kshetra and Kshetragya and of knowledge and its object"

Verse: - " Between those who worship you with steadfast devotion and those who concentrate on the absolute which is better versed in the yoga science"

Verse:" The Blessed Lord said- By my grace exercising my Yoga Power I have revealed to you as to none other this Supreme form of mine radiant and Infinite"

Verse:"Arjuna asks, Who are thou Lord , what is thy Cosmic will, what is thy purpose,till what end has all this been done"

Verse:-" Arujuna says, In your compassion you have revealed to me the secret wisdom of the Self and have thereby banished my delusions.O Lotus eyes Krishna , you have spoken extensively of the beginning and end of all beings and you have spoken to me about your eternal soverignity.O Great One, you have declared yourself to me,I accept as true everything you have said and yet I long to behold you for myself in your infinite form."

Verse: " O Supreme Yogi Krishna, How shall I meditate on You? "

Verse: "Krishna says , Neither the multitude of Gods nor the great sages know me in my unmanifested state ,I am their source of origin."

Verse: " Krishna says - By following the scriptural regulations in their desire for celestial rewards they endlessly repeat the cycle of ascend and return."

Verse: " Krishna says, Those who in their human nature bring bring the higher qualities of divinity they pay undeviating homage to me."

Verse: " The Blessed Lord said, to you who has overcome the carping spirit I now reveal the sublime mystery which is the eminent and transcendent nature of God, armed with this intuitive wisdom you shall escape all evil"

Verse:"O Partha, I am reached easily by that yogi of single heart who daily and continuously keeps me in his consciousness and is wholly focused on me"

Verse: " O son of Kunti , Arjuna, the uppermost thought in a person's mind as he dies determines his next state of existence "

Verse: " Arjuna says, O best of the Purushas, Please tell me what is Brahman , what is Adhyatam, what is Karma, what is Adibhoot, and what is Adi daivya. O Slayer of the deamon Madhu, what is Adiyagya and in what manner is Adiyagya possible in this body.how finally at the time of death are the self disciplined to know you?"

Verse: " Krishna says- 4 types of people who seeks me- one who is in distress, one who is seeking understanding, persone who is seeking Power,he who is already wise"

Verse:- Krishna says:" Evil doers in whom Tamas is predominance lowest of human beings dull with it and bereft of understanding by the power of Maya,failing to take shelter in me,partake of the nature of the deamons"

Verse: " The Blessed Lord said, O Partha Arjuna, here how by following the path of Yoga and absorbing yourself in my consciousness and taking shelter wholely in me, you will realize me wholely as i am both in my infinite unmoving self and outwardly with all my attributes and Powers.Knowing me thus you will transcend every possibility of doubt"

Verse : " O Madhusudan Krishna,owning to my restlessness I have achieved no lasting results in the attempts you have taught me to steady the mind.Verily the mind is restless , tumultuous,madly stubborn, O Krishna, I consider it to be as difficult as to master wind"

Verse: "Krishna states- that state that which one attains is considered treasure beyond all other treasures, in that state alone does the yogi become immune to grief,even in the face of greatest tragedy"

Verse: " Krishna says - The Self governed Yogi, his mind fully controlled attains the peace of Supreme Nirvana, the state of individual extinction in union with my Spirit"

Verse: " Free from the hopes engendered by desire and untouched by any craving for possession, the waves of feeling in his heart controlled by yoga concentration, the yogi retiring alone to a quiet place should try to unite his little self with the Supreme Self. "

Verse: " the Blessed lord said- the true renunciate and the true yogi are those who perform beautiful actions actions without desiring their fruits."

Verse" Even on this earthly plane of existence the relativity such as birth and death, pleasure and pain are overcome by one who views everything evenmindedly, those who can do so are verily enthroned in the unblemished, incapable of being distorted spirit"

Verse: " For purification of the ego, yogis merely work with the body, mind, discrimination and sense organs, they are never atatched to them"

Verse - " O Krishna, you speak of renouncing action, at the same time you recommend it, I would like to know for certain, which of these two is the better path"

" By eating the Blessed food, left from any of these spiritual fire rituals,one attains Brahman"

Verse 25: Some Yogis make sacrifices to the Deities, others see sacrifice or Yagya as an offering of the Self in the Cosmic fire or Spirit.

Verse 21: Even in doing physical labor, as opposed to meditative work,one incurs no Karmic limitation, who has renounced all sense of possession, who is without personal desires and who's feelings or Chitta is controlled by the Inner Self

Krishna says" Though acting, i am without attachment, nor do i desire any particular outcome from any activity"

Krishna says "Whenever Virtue declines and Adharma is ascended , i incarnate myself on earth as an Avatar, appearing in age to age in visible form, i come to restablish Dharma"

All nature is play of Gunas

O Krishna" By what is one impelled even against his will , to do wrong, as if being forced to do so"

Krishna says" Whatever the Superior being does ,lesser being imitates, his behaviour set the standards for the right living in our world"