The Daily Vedantic Ep. 62: Gita Series: Context = Ethics (12 of 20)
In this episode, James continues our 20-part series on the Bhagavad Gita, focusing on under-discussed themes within Vedanta. Today's reflection explores the often-overlooked topic of contextual ethics and the perspective Vedanta offers. Unlike other philosophies with extensive commandments, Vedanta sees sin as that which agitates the mind, not as a list of external rules being broken. James emphasizes the context of ethical decisions, highlighting that it's not just about what you do but the intention behind it. Drawing from Arjuna's dilemma in the Gita, he delves into the crucial idea that it's not the act itself but the intention behind the act that truly matters in the end. Join us as we navigate the nuances of ethical choices in The Daily Vedantic.
The Daily Vedantic is a daily podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to the timeless wisdom of the Upanishads (https://www.thedailyvedantic.co). Dating back to over 5,000 years ago, the source of nearly all Eastern Philosophy, and loved by Western giants from Emerson to Thoreau to Carl Jung and Alan Watts, studied daily by Joseph Campbell to Aldous Huxley to Arthur Schopenhauer and countless others, The Daily Vedantic aims to make this ancient philosophy as modern and accessible as it is simple, practical — and profound.
James Beshara (https://www.twitter.com/jamesbeshara) is a renowned startup founder of multiple companies, a prolific startup investor in 200+ others including some of the biggest startup names on the planet, a husband and father of three little girls, and philosophy student and teacher in Los Angeles.
James also co-hosts Yoga For Your Intellect (https://www.YFYI.co), a biweekly long-form conversational podcast with his teacher Joseph Emmett ( https://www.instagram.com/yogaforyourintellect ).
James is a student of Swami Parthasarathy, the acclaimed author of Vedanta Treatise (Vedanta Treatise – The Eternities) and teacher at Vedanta Academy in Malavli, India. As James says often, when you’re ready for the real thing, Swami’s daily lectures are where the true wisdom and systematic discovery of the world’s oldest continually studied philosophy resides: https://www.vedantaworld.org
Interested in this particular translation of the Bhagavad Gita? Find it here: https://www.vedantaworld.org/books-and-media/12-books/82-bhagavad-gita