Gita Study Group : Chapter 4 : Dnyan Karma Sannyas Yoga

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam.

Thank you Ganeshaji for posting the compilation of the theme and nice commentary on it.

Man of Self Knowledge has been described in this stanza. As Ganeshaji has written in his reflections, person has to be totally unattached, liberated, mind totally established in knowledge and acing only for the purpose of sacrifice, for helping others. When a person is like this, all his actions are dissolved and they do not bind him, he is already liberated and is acting only for the sake of others.

Regards

[sathiavathi]

HARI OM

VERSE-18.

Action is a gross expression of some known or unknown deep desire in the intellect.A complete state of actionlessness
would necessarily be the state of desirelessness or the state of infinite God head. Being one quite, we cannot state that
he is inactive.A Budha under a fig tree, an artist at his easel, a poet at his desk all of them functions with still
movements of inactivity called unactivity as they bend forward to pour out their artistic and literary creations.
All this physical movements of cessation are not mere inactivity, but are the silence necessary for the mind and intellect
to perform with highest velocity.An intelligent phylosophical mind can, even when it is actively functioning in the
outer world, detach itself from these activities, and observes itself as acting in the given field. The observer in us,
who observes the activities, is most inactive. The body mind and intellect function and act but not the self.
Desireless activities purify us when performed in a spirit of dedication and intellect there by gains a new keeness out of
such a purified mind, a new faculty arises. The capacity to observe ourselves as acters on the stage of life is a capacity
divine and noble, because it immediately redeems us from our selfish preoccupations with lives ever changing incidents
and accidents.One who realizes this secret of action that is karma in akarma and akarma in karma, he is intellegent.
He is a sage who does all actions in the right way.

VERSE-19.

Desire motivated actions are actions that are capable of rebounding upon us with their reactions.These desires are nothing
but the expression of our spiritual ignorance.When the ignorance has ended with the congnition of truth desire must
also ends.Such a saint even when he is found to be working in the world outside,is expressing the will of the god
and not his desires.It is said that the fire of knowledge burns one's actions.
BY PAINTING THE psychology of a sage at work, Lord is indicating the mentel attitude and intellectual composure with which
Arjuna, a seeker should enter his fields of activity.Devoid of all desire prompted actions and attachment to their results,
having no selfish end in view,when a man acts in the cmmunity, he really does no action. His action is equivalent to
inaction,since all his actions are consumed in the fire of knowledge

VERSE-20.

Desire for the fruits of actions and attachments to the fruits of actions reduces ones's energy to perform the actions.If we
have a desire, we will have attachments to its results.One who know about the self,he does not have any desire.He is satisfied
in himself.he does not depend on the world of objects for his enjoyments.His body, mind and intellect works in the objective world
world and not the self.He does desireless actions without attachments and sense of doership, and act only at the leval of body

VERSE-21.
A wiseman is not effected by his karma because he does not have the sense of doership.All karmas flow through him.
He is not the doer of actions,but only an instrument to carry out the God's will.Our ego ends when we starts doing desireless
actions, controlling mind and intellect.When ego ends his actions can not produce any bad effects on his mind and intellect.

VERSE-22.

When ego ends one can not work with selfish interests.He is content with what ever is comming to him.He is not affected
by happiness or sorrow,hot or cold, success or failure,good or bad because pairs of opposites are the defenitions that
our mind give to the objective world.He keeps equality of mind in all situations.Firmly believing in the self,without
any attachments and selfish motives he works to maintain the world order.

[sganesh0112]

Hari Om and Pranams!

On this auspicious day of GURUDEV"S JAYANTI, best wishes to all the co-sadhakas. May His blessings help us all in our Sadhana always.

With Sashtang Pranams to Gurudev,

Hari Om

Ganesh

[murugans61]

Hari OM

Thank you Ganeshji for your kind wishes on this auspicious occasion and i warmly reciprocate the same to all.

pranams
murugan

[murugans61]

Hari OM

Ganeshji and Umaji have very nicely explained the verse 23. My understanding is as follows:

This verse gives a synopsis of karma yoga and Jnana yoga through a three point program for life

1) Being devoid of attachment to the results ( with Prasada Budhi)

2) Acting for the sake of sacrifice, contributing to the existence ( with Isvararpana Budhi) - Right actions with Right attitude

3) Well established in Self Knowledge ( through the process of Shravanam, Mananam and Nidityasanam).

An individual who lives his life as per the above program is liberated and his actions do not bind him.

pranams

[vignesh]

The entire action of one whose mind is established in knowledge, who is free from attachment, who is independent and who acts for the sake of sacrifice, dissolves.
His actions are meant for the worship of the Lord, which lifts the humanity.

regards
vignesh

[sathiavathi]

HARI OM

VERSE-23

When the mind of the seeker gets centered in the right discriminative knowledge and develops for itself a capacity
to distinguish between real and nonnreal he accomplishes perfect detachnent, which produces a sense of complete
liberation.It is natural for the mind to run after objects because it has no existance apart from its thoughts,
which are always on objects.If the mind were centered in knowledge,if the discriminating intellect led the mind
faithfully in all its sense activities,the minds false attachments would drop of.A perfect sage who is free from
all attachments,with his mind well balanced under the light of his wishdom, becomes completely liberated from
the chains of moral, ethical,and sensuous imperfections.Such a sage performs all his activities in a spirit of
dedicated activity(yanja), that act does not produce any reaction or new vasanas.

Jnanavastitacetasah stands for the yogi who sees brahma everywhere and in everything and whose mind, therefore remains
ever conscious of god during every action.
The word karma qualified by the adjective samagram means the totality of past actions,done in the current as well asin all
previous lives of the karmayogi, stored up in his mind in the form of latencies,as also actions which are being performed
by him as stated above.Actions are said to melt away when they lose their capacity to cause any form of bondage.
Just as ignited grass thrown in to a heap of grass is itself reduced to ashes and at the same time reduces the heap to ashes
, even so actions burned in the fire of absence of attachment, desire for the fruit and feeling of possession melt away
along with the whole stock of past karmas,and thereafter none of his actions can ever bear fruit.

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam to all.

Let us continue with our studies.

The next theme is " Methods of dissolving action- Right knowledge makes action a yagna" - stanzas 24 -32.

We will study 3 stanzas at a time, under this theme.

Please post

Verse 24 Ganeshaji
25 Sathiavathiji
26 Uma

HGRR :

Terms and Conditions

7 Vighneshaji

Thoughts and Concepts

21, 22 Vighneshaji
23 Uma
24 Muruganji


Selections for Reflection

11, 12 Muruganji

Verse for Memorisation for all : Verse 24

Regards

uma

[sganesh0112]

Hari Om and Pranams!

V.24 Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavih Brahmaagnau Brahmanaahutam |
Brahma eva tena Gantavyam Brahmakarma Samaadhinaa ||

Brahma arpanam - Brahman is the oblation, Brahma havih – Brahman is clarified butter, Brahmagnau – fire of Brahman, Brahmanaahutam – Brahman is oblations poured into, Brahma eva – only Brahman, tena – by him, gantavyam – destination, Brahmakarma Samaadhinaa – Who always sees Brahman in all actions.

BRAHMAN is the oblation; BRAHMAN is the clarified butter, etc., constituting the offerings; by BRAHMAN is the oblation poured into the fire of BRAHMAN; BRAHMAN verily shall be reached by him who always sees BRAHMAN in all actions.


Regards,

Ganesh

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam to all.

श्रोत्रादीनीन्द्रियान्यन्ये संयमाग्निषु जुह्वति |
शब्दादीन्विषयानन्य इन्द्रियाग्निषु जुह्वति ||२६||

shrotradinindriyanyanye sanyaagnishu juhvati
shabdaadinvushayananya indriyaagnishu juhvati

श्रोत्र आदीनि - organ of hearing and other senses , अन्ये - others, संयम - अग्निषु - in the fire of restraint, जुह्वति - sacrifice, शब्द - आदीन - विषयान - sense objects such as sound etc , अन्ये- others, इन्द्रिय अग्निषु - in the fire of the senses, जुह्वति - sacrifice

26. Some again offer hearing and other senses as sacrifice in the fire of restraint, others offer sound and other objects of senses as sacrifice in the fire of senses.

HGRR : Thoughts and Concepts 23

23. What is the significance of chanting the following verse before taking food?

ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हवि: ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतं |
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ||२४||

brahmaarpanam brahma havih brahmaagnou brahmana hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahmakarmasamaadhinaa

Brahman is the oblation , Brahman is the clarified butter etc, constituting the offerings, by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman, Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in all actions.

To live we must eat. food is necessary for existence. Whatever be the type of food, when one is hungry one will enjoy one's meals. The suggestion is that even at this moment of natural enjoyment, we are not to forget the great Truth that it is the Brahman eating Brahman , and that during our meals we are offering to Brahman the food that is Brahman ivoking nothing but the grace of Brahman. To keep this idea constantly in the mind is to get perfectly detached from the enjoyment and raise ourselves to a greater and endless beatitude. Hence, this stanza is chanted as a prayer in all Hindu traditional households before taking food. (4.24 )

Regards

uma

[murugans61]

Hari OM

Thoughts and concepts

24) What does the word 'deva' mean? From the subjective view point what are the devas?

The word'deva' comes from the Sanskrit verbal root 'div'meaning ' illumination'. Subjectively viewed, the gretest 'devas' are the five sense organs: eyes illumining forms and colours, ears illumining sounds, the nose illumining smells, and the tongue and the skin illumining tastes and touch respectively. ( 4.25).

Selection for reflection:

11. When an individual's sense organs of perception and action are to function and act -not for his own egocentric,selfish satisfactions but for the sake of serving the society or the world-then even if such an individual lives in the world of objects he will not be enslaved by his attachments to his possessions. ( 4.25)

12. The more we try to satisfy the sense organs the more riotous they become and loot our inner joy. By self -control alone can the sense organs be fully controlled and mastered. ( 4.26)

pranams

[vignesh]

Terms and Definitions:

Define the terms 'Brahman' and 'Atman'

The infinite Reality,which is the changeless substratum behind and beneath the changing panorama of the world, is termed 'Brahman'. The very same infinite Reality when functioning in and through the body is called 'Atman'. But though the Eternal Truth has been thus indicated by two different terms, Vedanta roars that ' the Atman is Brahman'. ( 4.24).

Thoughts and Concepts

21) Right knowledge makes every act a yajna.

22) What are the four essential factors of yajna?

In every yajna there are four essential factors:
1) Deity invoked to whom the oblations are offered.
2) Fire in which the offerings are poured
3) Material things that constitute the offerings
4) Individual who is performing the yajna. ( 4.24)

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam.

Posting the Verse 25 on behalf of Satyavathiji, as her machine might be troubling her again, but with a request to her to post her study reflections, if possible.

Verse 25 -

दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिन: पर्युपासते |
ब्रह्माग्नावपरे यज्ञं यज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति ||२५||

दैवं - pertaining to devas, एव - only, अपरे - some, यज्ञं - sacrifice, योगिन: - yogis, पर्युपासते - perform, ब्रह्म अग्नौ - in the fire of Brahman, अपरे - others, यज्ञं - sacrifice, यज्ञेन - by sacrifice, एव - verily, उपजुह्वति - offer as sacrifice

25. Some Yogis perform sacrifice to Devas alone (Deva yajna), while others offer "sacrifice" of the Self, (i e Atman itself) as sacrfice (oblation) by the Self, in the fire of Brahman (Brahma yajna)

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam.

Here are the Verses 24-26 for our discussion. Please post your thoughts,
your study notes, reflections on these verses.

Offering this garland of verses to you O Krishna with Love from all of
us...please help us in our studies.
============================================================
Verse 24
ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हवि: ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतं |
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ||२४ ||

Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavih Brahmaagnau Brahmanaahutam |
Brahma eva tena Gantavyam Brahmakarma Samaadhinaa ||

ब्रह्म अर्पणम् - Brahma arpanam - Brahman is the oblation, ब्रह्म हविः - Brahma havih – Brahman is clarified butter, ब्रह्म अग्नौ - Brahmagnau – fire of Brahman, ब्रह्मणा हुतं - Brahmanaahutam – Brahman is oblations poured into, ब्रह्म एव - Brahma eva – only Brahman, तेन- tena – by him, गन्तव्यं - gantavyam – destination,
ब्रह्म-कर्म-समाधिना -Brahmakarma Samaadhinaa – Who always sees Brahman in all actions.

BRAHMAN is the oblation; BRAHMAN is the clarified butter, etc., constituting the offerings; by BRAHMAN is the oblation poured into the fire of BRAHMAN; BRAHMAN verily shall be reached by him who always sees BRAHMAN in all actions.


दैवमेवापरे यज्ञं योगिन: पर्युपासते |
ब्रह्माग्नावपरे यज्ञं यज्ञेनैवोपजुह्वति ||२५||

daivamevaapare yajnam yoginah paryupasate
brahmaagnaavapare yajnam yajnenaivopajuhvati

दैवं - pertaining to devas, एव - only, अपरे - some, यज्ञं - sacrifice, योगिन: - yogis, पर्युपासते - perform, ब्रह्म अग्नौ - in the fire of Brahman, अपरे - others, यज्ञं - sacrifice, यज्ञेन - by sacrifice, एव - verily, उपजुह्वति - offer as sacrifice

25. Some Yogis perform sacrifice to Devas alone (Deva yajna), while others offer "sacrifice" of the Self, (i e Atman itself) as sacrfice (oblation) by the Self, in the fire of Brahman (Brahma yajna)


श्रोत्रादीनीन्द्रियान्यन्ये संयमाग्निषु जुह्वति |
शब्दादीन्विषयानन्य इन्द्रियाग्निषु जुह्वति ||२६||

shrotradinindriyanyanye sanyaagnishu juhvati
shabdaadinvushayananya indriyaagnishu juhvati

श्रोत्र आदीनि - organ of hearing and other senses , अन्ये - others, संयम - अग्निषु - in the fire of restraint, जुह्वति - sacrifice, शब्द - आदीन - विषयान - sense objects such as sound etc , अन्ये- others, इन्द्रिय अग्निषु - in the fire of the senses, जुह्वति - sacrifice

26. Some again offer hearing and other senses as sacrifice in the fire of restraint, others offer sound and other objects of senses as sacrifice in the fire of senses.

HGRR :

Terms and Definitions:

7. Define the terms 'Brahman' and 'Atman'

The infinite Reality,which is the changeless substratum behind and beneath the changing panorama of the world, is termed 'Brahman'. The very same infinite Reality when functioning in and through the body is called 'Atman'. But though the Eternal Truth has been thus indicated by two different terms, Vedanta roars that ' the Atman is Brahman'. ( 4.24).

Thoughts and Concepts

21) Right knowledge makes every act a yajna.

22) What are the four essential factors of yajna?

In every yajna there are four essential factors:
1) Deity invoked to whom the oblations are offered.
2) Fire in which the offerings are poured
3) Material things that constitute the offerings
4) Individual who is performing the yajna. ( 4.24)


23) What is the significance of chanting the following verse before taking food?

ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हवि: ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतं |
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ||२४||

brahmaarpanam brahma havih brahmaagnou brahmana hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahmakarasamaadhinaa

Brahman is the oblation , Brahman is the clarified butter etc, constituting the offerings, by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman, Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in all actions.

To live we must eat. food is necessary for existence. Whatever be the type of food, when one is hungry one will enjoy one's meals. The suggestion is that even at this moment of natural enjoyment, we are not to forget the great Truth that it is the Brahman eating Brahman , and that during our meals we are offering to Brahman the food that is Brahman ivoking nothing but the grace of Brahman. To keep this idea constantly in the mond is ot get perfectly detached fro the enjoyment and raise ourselves to a greater and endless beatitude. Hence, this stanza is chanted as a prayer in all Hindu traditional households before taking food. (4.24 )

24) What does the word 'deva' mean? From the subjective view point what are the devas?

The word'deva' comes from the Sanskrit verbal root 'div'meaning ' illumination'. Subjectively viewed, the gretest 'devas' are the five sense organs: eyes illumining forms and colours, ears illumining sounds, the nose illumining smells, and the tongue and the skin illumining tastes and touch respectively. ( 4.25).

Selection for reflection:

11. When an individual's sense organs of perception and action are to function and act -not for his own egocentric,selfish satisfactions but for the sake of serving the society or the world-then even if such an individual lives in the world of objects he will not be enslaved by his attachments to his possessions. ( 4.25)

12. The more we try to satisfy the sense organs the more riotous they become and loot our inner joy. By self -control alone can the sense organs be fully controlled and mastered. ( 4.26)


Verse for Memorisation - Verse 24


ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हवि: ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतं |
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ||२४ ||

Brahmaarpanam Brahmahavih Brahmaagnau Brahmanaahutam |
Brahma eva tena Gantavyam Brahmakarma Samaadhinaa ||

BRAHMAN is the oblation; BRAHMAN is the clarified butter, etc., constituting the offerings; by BRAHMAN is the oblation poured into the fire of BRAHMAN; BRAHMAN verily shall be reached by him who always sees BRAHMAN in all actions.

Regards

uma

[murugans61]

Hari OM

Verse 24:

He holds himself the agent of performance of a sacrifice cherishes the feeling of distinction between himself, the Deity to be worshipped, the things offered and the medium of fire. But he who takes to Jnana yoga, the process of enlightenment, views all these as Brahman alone.

Consuming the daily food regularly is obligatory on all including the enlightened; but the enlightened convert eating itself into Jnanayoga. The food, the eater, the process of digestion – all these are mere modifications of Brahman as the waves are of the ocean.

Verse 25:

The various Devas are all facets of Brahman. Sacrifices and prayers done to them with devotion are conducive to spiritual growth. The senses are also called devas. Sublimation of senses is the sacrifice that certain sadhakas perform devoutly.

Sacrifice of the self by the self is to dedicate oneself to Isvara. It is surrendering oneself to the cosmic consciousness, as the river enters the sea. Crucifying the ego, the apparent man becoming the real man – these are the other ways of expressing the same spiritual fact.

Verse 26:

Two diametrically opposite types of Yajna are explained in this verse. One is to make the senses ineffective and the other is to make them super effective.

In the first type, the fire of restraint becomes total sense control. The senses are suspended except for the bare maintenance of the body and not for the enjoyment. The mind is completely withdrawn from the senses and made introvert. The physical life goes on mechanically while the mind revels in the Self within.

In the second type of Yajna the senses are made best use of, for the adoration of Almighty. In the fire of senses the sense objects are offered as oblation. The objects of all five senses are sanctified and transformed into spiritual.
Though these two types seems to be opposite in nature, the result produced by them is same – purification of mind.

pranams

[vignesh]

The wise man never sees anything other than Brahman, that being the truth of all. The ladle is Brahman. The offering is Brahman. It is offered into the fire of Brahman by Brahman. Brahman alone is to be reached by him who sees Brahman in every action.
Some yogis offer the very self by the self into the fire of Brahman. Others perform devayajna alone.
Some people offer the sense organs like the ears into the fire of sense-control. Others offer the sense objects like sound into the fire of sense organs.
Regards
vignesh

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam.

Dhanyavad Muruganji and Vighaneshaji for elaborating so nicely.

The crux of these three verses is:

We should remember that everything is Him, despite the differences in form.

We should control our senses and let them not indulge as they love to do it. A little self control can go a long way.

There may be different ways of worshipping and maybe what is worshipped also differs. And yet ultimately, He is the only one and He is everywhere.

Brahman and Atman are one.

Any action, if performed with right knowledge ( He is the only one and He is everywhere), becomes a sacrifice.

Actions performed for the sake of good of others, can be termed as yajna.

[sganesh0112]

Hari Om and Pranams!
Continuing His Supreme discourse the Lord is now elaborating the theme Methods of dissolving action- Right knowledge makes action a yagna
4.24 BRAHMAN is the oblation; BRAHMAN is the clarified butter, etc., constituting the offerings; by BRAHMAN is the oblation poured into the fire of BRAHMAN; BRAHMAN verily shall be reached by him who always sees BRAHMAN in all actions.

4.25 Some YOGIS perform sacrifice to DEVAS alone (DEVA-YAJNA); while others offer “sacrifice” as sacrife by the Self, in the Fire of BRAHMAN (BRAHMA-YAJNA).

4.26 Some again offer hearing and other senses as sacrifice in the fires-of-restraint; others offer sound and other objects of sense as sacrifice in the fires-of-the-senses.

Continuing with the gist of Swami Madhavanandaji’s Shravan Sadhana, 4.24 stanza enumerates the last of the 6 categories of Action.

The sixth category of Action is Brahmakarmasamaadhinaa- Seeing Brahman in all actions. Acting thus the seeker who is always acting and seeing Brahman in all his actions becomes one with Brahman.

Regards,

Ganesh

[sathiavathi]

HARI OM

VERSE-24.

THE PRACTICE OF SEEING bRAHMA IN EVERYTHING IS SPOKEN IN THIS VERSE.this is to show that the practice of seeing all things appearing diversely as the agent,
the action, and the instrument of action ect.,as brahma is verily a sacrifice in as much as it is a means to god realisation.In this sacrifice the ladle,
the oblation, the act of pouring oblation, the sacrificer,and the fire are not represented by different things. He sees everything as brahma.He finds no difference between them all.
them at all.Viewing everything as no other than brahma is what is meant by being absorbed in brahma as the act of such sacrifice. The statement that brahma
alone is the goal to be reached by such a practicant shows that such a practice surely leads to god realization.


VERSE-25

The practice of seeing brahma everwhere and the perception of identiti between soul and god mentioned in the present verse, both are practiced bi the wise following
the path of knowledge; and in both these forms of sacrifice brahma or the oversoul represents the fire.Therefore, the seem to be identical in character.Union
with brahma, the embodiment of truth, knowledge and bliss, through identiti being the goal of both, there is no difference between the two. their methods of
practice are different.The practice of seeing brahma everwhere and in everthing and the practice of dissociating oneself from the objective world,and seeing soul
and god as one, both leads one to god realization.

VERSE-26

Different senses have to be controlled individualli and severelli to practice self discipline.Bi perceiving through the senses which are disciplined and free from
likes and dislikes, onl such objects as are legitimateli obtained according to ones order in societi , stage in life and circumstances, the objects are made to lose
their existance in the senses; in other words, the are robbed of their power to produce, during their enjoment or at other times an unhealthi reaction on the
mind or the senses. This is what is ment bi offering sound and other objects of perception in to the fires of senses. While hearing censure or praise or
an other agreeable or nonagreeable words through the ears, seeing pleasant or unpleasent scenes through the sight, tasting some thing palatable or unpalatable
through the palate, and even so perceiving through the other senses in a detached wa all other objects legitimateli obtained bi force of prarabdha or destini,
the wise reffered to above keep the mind balanced and donot allow it to be swa ed either bi attraction and repulsion or jo and grief etc,and depriving the
sense objects of their power to agitate the mind and senses go on merging them in the senses.For when attachment and fasination for sense objects and the
sense of their being delightful have disappeared , their enjoment cannot effect the practicant in ani case ; like the hai thrown in to the fire, the are all
reduced to ashes.

[uma]

Hari Om. Pranam to all.

Let us continue with our studies.

The current theme is " Methods of dissolving action- Right knowledge makes action a yagna" - stanzas 24 -32.

We will study the next 3 stanzas now.

Please post

Verse 27 Muruganji
28 Vighneshaji
29 Uma

HGRR :

Terms and Conditions

8 Muruganji
9 Vighneshaji
10 Uma


Thoughts and Concepts

25 Muruganji
26 Vighneshaji
27 Uma

Regards