Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta 29 - Karma-Yoga: Contrasting the Enlightened and the Average Person | Swami Tattwamayananda
Feb 14, 2020
58:41
3rd chapter: verses 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on February 14, 2020.
-Karma-Yoga is the science of combining spiritual values in our secular worldly duties. It can be practiced in every moment, with every thought, every word and every action.
-22nd verse: People follow the path of the enlightened ones. The enlightened person does not sit quiet – instead, he is always active. In a state of contentment, he acts. This is true of all great spiritual teachers.
-Contentment refers to the feeling: “I have done what I should done, and I have achieved what I should have achieved”. This is possible when action and contemplation are combined, and when we practice detachment from desires.
-Action is problematic for the un-enlightened – he feels enslaved, is driven by desires, and the sense of incompleteness prompts further action. Action is a blessing for the enlightened, who works as a master for the good of others, and has no need to work for selfish purposes.
-23rd and 24th verse: Lord Krishna says: “If I did not continue my work, the whole world will perish”. He means that since people follow the enlightened, if he preaches a philosophy of inaction, people will imitate and there will be disaster.
-Lord Krishna: Never go about teaching the highest spiritual ideal to people who do not have the spiritual maturity to understand its true implications. All great teachers come down to the level of the student. Ashoka’s example is cited from Indian history – because he tried to force a uniform social structure based on a high ideal, the country was ultimately invade by barbarians.
-Imitation is a problem and blocks path to future progress. It prevents one from achieving the qualities that can only be achieved through hard work – those qualities alone takes one to the highest level.
-25th verse: There are two types of people. (1) Those who work hard with motive and are ignorant of the higher philosophy of Karma-Yoga. For them, every small problem becomes a big headache (2) Those who work equally hard, but who are grounded in Karma-Yoga, and see their work as Swadharma. They are not worried and are called Vidwan.
-Detachment does not mean lack of sensitivity. Rather it means doing more for the good of the world, as a master of the senses, with mind as friend, and facing unpleasant duties with a smile.
-26th verse: One should not try to disturb the natural understanding of the average person. For the average person, the sense of purpose helps him organize his actions. All of his actions are crystallizations of his vasanas and samskaras. If we tell such a person to work without a sense of purpose, their mind will go blank.
-Shankaracharya’s life is discussed: At the age of seven, he became a monk. By the age of eight, he had read the scriptures. By the age of sixteen, he had mastered the scriptures and written philosophical discourses. He then walked the Indian subcontinent four times and left by the age of thirty-two. His life is an inspiration but an average person cannot imitate his example.
-Sri Ramakrishna and Girish Chandra Ghosh’s story is discussed to illustrate how a teacher determines what is the right spiritual dosage for the student. Girish had high integrity but was an alcoholic and not ready to do even a single prayer every day. Sri Ramakrishna asks him to give him his power of attorney. Thereafter, it became impossible for Girish to touch alcohol, and he transformed into a saint.
-Every person should evolve gradually. The difference between a Buddha and an average person is of degrees, not of kind.
-We can generate healthy samskaras by our own effort and starting this instant. We start by doing good actions because we have freedom at a physical level but not at mental level. Physical actions done with noble objective generate healthy samskaras.
-Witness-ship is a higher state of spiritual evolution under Vedanta, where we observe our own mind as Sakshi. Samskaras of mind become objectified, resulting in non-attachment.
-Sankhya philosophy is dualistic and does not accept witness-ship. This philosophy believes in (1) Purusha, who is effulgent but inactive and (2) Prakriti, which is non-effulgent but active.
-Advaita-Vedanta accepts the psychological analysis of Sankhya. For example, its theory of evolution and how the chakra of actions, vritti, samskaras and vasanas operate.
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on February 14, 2020.
-Karma-Yoga is the science of combining spiritual values in our secular worldly duties. It can be practiced in every moment, with every thought, every word and every action.
-22nd verse: People follow the path of the enlightened ones. The enlightened person does not sit quiet – instead, he is always active. In a state of contentment, he acts. This is true of all great spiritual teachers.
-Contentment refers to the feeling: “I have done what I should done, and I have achieved what I should have achieved”. This is possible when action and contemplation are combined, and when we practice detachment from desires.
-Action is problematic for the un-enlightened – he feels enslaved, is driven by desires, and the sense of incompleteness prompts further action. Action is a blessing for the enlightened, who works as a master for the good of others, and has no need to work for selfish purposes.
-23rd and 24th verse: Lord Krishna says: “If I did not continue my work, the whole world will perish”. He means that since people follow the enlightened, if he preaches a philosophy of inaction, people will imitate and there will be disaster.
-Lord Krishna: Never go about teaching the highest spiritual ideal to people who do not have the spiritual maturity to understand its true implications. All great teachers come down to the level of the student. Ashoka’s example is cited from Indian history – because he tried to force a uniform social structure based on a high ideal, the country was ultimately invade by barbarians.
-Imitation is a problem and blocks path to future progress. It prevents one from achieving the qualities that can only be achieved through hard work – those qualities alone takes one to the highest level.
-25th verse: There are two types of people. (1) Those who work hard with motive and are ignorant of the higher philosophy of Karma-Yoga. For them, every small problem becomes a big headache (2) Those who work equally hard, but who are grounded in Karma-Yoga, and see their work as Swadharma. They are not worried and are called Vidwan.
-Detachment does not mean lack of sensitivity. Rather it means doing more for the good of the world, as a master of the senses, with mind as friend, and facing unpleasant duties with a smile.
-26th verse: One should not try to disturb the natural understanding of the average person. For the average person, the sense of purpose helps him organize his actions. All of his actions are crystallizations of his vasanas and samskaras. If we tell such a person to work without a sense of purpose, their mind will go blank.
-Shankaracharya’s life is discussed: At the age of seven, he became a monk. By the age of eight, he had read the scriptures. By the age of sixteen, he had mastered the scriptures and written philosophical discourses. He then walked the Indian subcontinent four times and left by the age of thirty-two. His life is an inspiration but an average person cannot imitate his example.
-Sri Ramakrishna and Girish Chandra Ghosh’s story is discussed to illustrate how a teacher determines what is the right spiritual dosage for the student. Girish had high integrity but was an alcoholic and not ready to do even a single prayer every day. Sri Ramakrishna asks him to give him his power of attorney. Thereafter, it became impossible for Girish to touch alcohol, and he transformed into a saint.
-Every person should evolve gradually. The difference between a Buddha and an average person is of degrees, not of kind.
-We can generate healthy samskaras by our own effort and starting this instant. We start by doing good actions because we have freedom at a physical level but not at mental level. Physical actions done with noble objective generate healthy samskaras.
-Witness-ship is a higher state of spiritual evolution under Vedanta, where we observe our own mind as Sakshi. Samskaras of mind become objectified, resulting in non-attachment.
-Sankhya philosophy is dualistic and does not accept witness-ship. This philosophy believes in (1) Purusha, who is effulgent but inactive and (2) Prakriti, which is non-effulgent but active.
-Advaita-Vedanta accepts the psychological analysis of Sankhya. For example, its theory of evolution and how the chakra of actions, vritti, samskaras and vasanas operate.