# 14: Bhagavad Gita Class by Swami Tadatmananda - Ch.2 Verses 37 - 41

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K48e4zn_lZU

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[01:05] Welcome to our weekly class on Bhagavad-Gita.
[01:09] We continue today in chapter 2.
[01:11] We'll begin as always with some recitation.
[01:14] Be sure to glance at the meaning while I'm reciting then repeat after me.
[01:21] We'll start with verse 34.
[02:00] [Music]
[05:38] Very good, let's return to where we left off.
[05:42] We finished verse 36.
[05:46] We'll continue with verse 37 just to set the context here in chapter 2.
[05:52] Way back in verse 11, Sri Krishna told Arjuna, "Arjuna, you're grieving unnecessarily; you're grieving for those whom do not deserve grief."
[06:04] Why?
[06:04] He proceeded then to give three different reasons.
[06:07] Shri Krishna said first of all that when your beloved family members die on the battlefield, nothing will happen to atma.
[06:17] Reason one.
[06:20] Reason two is that the sukshma sharira, the reincarnating entity, will travel on after they fall on the battlefield and take another life.
[06:32] And reason number three, which we're discussing now, and that is that it is Arjuna's duty.
[06:39] And responsibility to fight it is his dharma.
[06:43] If he fulfills dharma he will be praised by everyone.
[06:46] And if he fails to perform his dharma he'll be heavily criticized.
[06:53] We just saw that topic.
[06:56] And Sri Krishna gives further reasons that Arjuna should stay on the battlefield and fight to fulfill his dharma.
[07:05] He gives another another reason in the verse 37 atova prophecy swargam.
[07:43] [Music]
[07:45] Two possibilities hatovah.
[07:49] If you are killed on the battlefield, arjuna props you see you will gain swargam heaven, you'll go to heaven because you are engaging yourself in a dharma yudha, you a righteous war.
[08:07] By fighting you actually accumulate good karmas and avoid bad karmas.
[08:14] And as a result of which, if you happen to die on a battlefield, which he doesn't, but if he were to die in the battlefield, arjuna would then go on to heaven after this lifetime.
[08:28] Je toivon the second possibility.
[08:31] First possibility is arjuna might die in a battlefield.
[08:34] Second possibility, of course, is he might be victorious.
[08:39] Jet wava, if you are victorious, bhaksha say you will enjoy.
[08:46] Mahim the world referring to the kingdom, you'll enjoy the fruits of this battle which is regaining the kingdom that was unjustly taken away from the Pandavas.
[09:01] So in either case, in American English they say it's win-win.
[09:06] If he dies, he wins heaven; if he conquers the enemy, he wins the kingdom.
[09:14] Tasman therefore, Kaunteya, O son of Kunti, Arjuna, therefore uttistha, get up.
[09:23] I think maybe about a half a dozen times in different places and maybe in different ways, Shri Krishna says these same words, tasman, get up, get up and fight.
[09:37] Because that's the big picture of the whole Bhagavad-gita, the Bhagavad-gita in the most simplistic.
[09:47] Way is Shri Krishna's encouraging Arjuna to get up and fight the war.
[09:55] So get up with tishta countaya yudhaya krishkrita nish.
[10:04] Means being resolved, being clear and committed you'd hire to fighting the war, to entering into battle.
[10:18] All right then, one by the way, one more verse will then conclude this current topic.
[10:25] Uh, let's see the verse and then we'll wrap this section up.
[10:53] [Music]
[10:58] See mentioned before, it's a win-win situation for Arjuna.
[11:05] Therefore, this is this final bit of advice from Sri Krishna.
[11:17] Having made the same sukha, pleasure, and dukkha, pain, suffering, making pleasure and suffering alike.
[11:34] You know that 'ou' ending is a dual ending.
[11:39] So making gain and loss, labha, gain, and alabha, the opposite of gain, loss, making them alike.
[11:49] Making them jaya, ajaya, making victory and defeat.
[11:56] The same, treating them as the same.
[12:00] If it's a win-win situation, then what difference does it make if Arjuna experiences such and dukkha which are inevitable in life?
[12:09] If Arjuna gains the kingdom or loses the kingdom, if Arjuna is victorious or if he's not victorious, in either case Arjuna is blessed.
[12:23] Blessed by either going to heaven or by regaining the kingdom.
[12:31] Thereafter, after treating pleasure and pain, after treating gain and loss, after treating victory and defeat, after treating them all the same, gaining the big picture, standing back to understand the overall consequences of the situation, then thereafter yudhaya, you just.
[12:57] You just want engage yourself, you die.
[13:01] In this battle, go into battle, engage yourself in this battle.
[13:07] Na evam evam.
[13:11] Thus, na papam of obsidina of obsce, you will not incur sin.
[13:18] Generally in a battle, generally when you kill someone, you incur papa sen.
[13:23] But because this is a dharma yudha, as we discussed before, a dharma yoda, a righteous war, being a war in which the consequences of not fighting are worse than the consequences of fighting.
[13:40] So in this particular situation, by killing his enemies, Arjuna will not incur sin.
[13:47] In fact, it's the other way around.
[13:51] If he doesn't fight, he'll incur sin, as we've said, because it is his dharma, his responsibility.
[14:00] Okay, and that concludes this whole opening section of chapter two.
[14:04] Chapter two is unique in that it contains several subject matters; it is very long.
[14:12] Most of the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita contain one subject, but chapter two is unique in that it contains several different topics.
[14:22] So now we move on to the next topic.
[14:24] The next topic is karma yoga, and by the way, the topic of karma yoga is hinted at in this verse.
[14:39] Treating pleasure and pain alike, it hints at karma yoga, and we'll explain that in quite a bit of detail as we go ahead.
[14:47] Karma yoga is a very important practice, a much discussed practice, and a much misunderstood practice after we go through this topic.
[15:00] You'll really understand very clearly what karma yoga truly is.
[15:08] So this verse concludes that the three-fold encouragement to Arjuna to fight the war: he should fight, he should not grieve, and he should fight because one, nothing happens to atma; number two, sukshma sharira, subtle body, travels on at the time of death; and number three, it is Arjuna's dharma, his responsibility.
[15:36] Now we begin the next topic.
[15:39] Oops, yeah, the next topic, karma yoga, is.
[16:22] This, this which has been abhi.
[16:26] This which has been literally established.
[16:29] But established in the sense of being taught to Arjuna.
[16:33] This switch has been to Isha, this these teachings.
[16:37] Abihita, which have been taught unto you, Arjuna, these teachings are sange with regard to Sankhya.
[16:45] Sankhya has several meanings.
[16:50] It's the title of our chapter 2, right?
[16:53] Sankhya Yoga is the title of chapter 2, and here in this context, Sankhya means spiritual knowledge, wisdom.
[17:01] It has other meanings as well, but in this case, it means spiritual wisdom, knowledge.
[17:12] So this, he's now making the transition.
[17:15] So up to this point, from chapter, from verse 11 up to verse 38, he has been teaching.
[17:24] All of this with regard to spiritual wisdom to imam two, but you have to break those words apart to imam tu.
[17:38] But now imam this, this listen, listen to uh sunu, listen, listen imam shanu, listen to this topic now which is about buddhi yogay with regard to buddhi yoga.
[17:59] Now you're thinking I thought we're going to talk about karma yoga.
[18:03] Well, Sri Krishna doesn't call it karma yoga right here.
[18:07] He calls it buddhi yoga, and buddhi yoga means what you understand as karma yoga for a very important reason.
[18:15] Buddhi also has many meanings, one of which is intellect, but here it means attitude.
[18:23] Buddhi yoga is the yoga of.
[18:26] Attitude, specifically attitude towards your karmas, attitudes towards the deeds you do.
[18:35] Do the work you do; we can really say karma yoga is a yoga of attitude.
[18:43] Attitude towards work, and let's make that clear right off the bat.
[18:46] We'll see a very common misunderstanding, a terrible misunderstanding of karma yoga, is that karma yoga is doing your duty.
[18:56] You've probably heard someone say that, "Oh, such and such is such a great karma yogi, they always do their duty well."
[19:08] Doing your duty is absolutely not karma yoga.
[19:15] Doing your duty is the minimum to follow to be a good person.
[19:22] Suppose someone does their duty, but they're complaining about it.
[19:27] All day long to every single person they meet, oh, I have to do this, oh, I have to do that.
[19:33] They go on complaining.
[19:34] They do all their duties, but they do so, it's a terrible attitude.
[19:39] Always complaining, that certainly is not karma yoga.
[19:43] So karma yoga is not what you do.
[19:47] Doing your duty is not karma yoga.
[19:56] Karma yoga is the attitude with which you do something.
[19:59] It's the attitude you have while you're engaged in various actions.
[20:06] And we're going to talk about that extensively, especially when we come to verse 47, the famous verse that's so often quoted, carmen yeh vadi goddess day, coming soon.
[20:22] Here Sri Krishna has just introduced the shift of topic.
[20:31] Arjuna, this much that we've discussed is with regard to spiritual wisdom, Buddhism.
[20:39] But now listen to these teachings about, about...
[20:55] He makes it very clear, Imam.
[20:58] This buddhi, this attitude, you have to translate it as attitude here.
[21:04] And the word buddhi is not uncommonly used to mean, but it can mean, it can mean knowledge, it can mean wisdom, it can mean intellect, it can mean decisive thinking.
[21:16] Several meanings are there, but here absolutely it means attitude.
[21:24] So listen, Imam, to this, to this teaching, this buddhi, this teaching.
[21:33] This attitude yoga, which is a yoga, which is a spiritual practice.
[21:40] So he's introducing here karma yoga in this way.
[21:44] And how does he do he he one more before he goes on.
[21:56] Arjuna, endowed with this attitude.
[22:07] This my translation here I think could be improved.
[22:11] So I have teachings here, it's okay, okay.
[22:14] But I think attitude would be a more precise translation in this context.
[22:19] Endowed with this attitude, Arjuna, prahasya, see, you will be freed, karma bundam, from the bondage.
[22:35] Of karma very important, perhaps you see.
[22:39] You will be freed from the bondage of, of, of karma.
[22:45] What is this bondage of karma and what is the purpose of karma yoga?
[22:51] Let's see that briefly here before we, we continue.
[22:55] The bondage of karma is based on the fact that all conventional behavior, all conventional human behavior, is based on a two-fold principle: raga and dvesha.
[23:13] You've heard these terms before, I think.
[23:17] Raga is an attraction; dvesha is a, the opposite of attraction, revulsion.
[23:26] Raga means you chase after what you want.
[23:30] Dvesha means you run away from what you don't want.
[23:34] So, raga, attraction to that which you think.
[23:37] Will make you happy.
[23:38] Dwesha is being repulsed by that which you think will make you suffer.
[23:45] All conventional human behavior is driven by these two factors.
[23:52] Think about it.
[23:52] This is this is the basic psychology of the Bhagavad-Gita.
[23:59] And many teachers have commented on how there's a lot of very important psychological teachings in the Bhagavad-Gita.
[24:08] And this teaching about raga and dwesha is one of those important psychological teachings in the Bhagavad-Gita to recognize that all conventional human behavior is either raga, a compulsion to get what you want, and dwesha, a compulsion to avoid what you don't want.
[24:35] That shapes our lives.
[24:38] and you may you may think well that's
[24:41] pretty normal
[24:42] and it is it's absolutely normal
[24:47] but it's problematic that which is
[24:51] normal that which is natural is not
[24:54] necessarily that which was desirable
[24:56] pardon me from pointing this out
[24:58] i hear this argument but swamiji that's
[25:00] normal everyone does it it's natural
[25:03] that which is normal or natural is not
[25:05] undesirable
[25:07] it's natural for a an infant
[25:11] not to know how to use the bathroom
[25:14] that's normal that's natural but it's
[25:17] not desirable that infant has to grow up
[25:20] and learn to use the bathroom
[25:23] in a manner of speaking we have to grow
[25:26] up
[25:27] so that we are not compelled
[25:31] by raga and isha shri krishna uses
[25:35] uses this term karma bundam bondage
[25:39] and here's the sense of the bondage
[25:44] inside of you is this compulsion
[25:49] a compulsion that that makes
[25:52] you chase after whatever you consider to
[25:56] be
[25:57] a source of happiness you're compelled
[25:59] to do that
[26:00] and inner inner compulsion is there
[26:04] and similarly an inner compulsion to
[26:06] avoid anything
[26:08] that you think will make you suffer
[26:12] that which compels you it's like
[26:16] it's like having having having a
[26:19] demanding
[26:20] boss inside your mind a boss that tells
[26:24] you
[26:25] go there do that a boss that tells you
[26:27] don't go there
[26:28] don't do that you're being bossed around
[26:31] no one likes to be bossed around like
[26:33] that
[26:34] we all like to be free to choose what we
[26:38] do
[26:38] in life well here's a case where you're
[26:41] being bossed around not by
[26:43] not by a superior supervisor in a
[26:47] workplace
[26:48] you're being bossed around by your own
[26:50] mind
[26:51] you're being bossed around by raga and
[26:54] dwisha these
[26:55] inner compulsions which in a manner of
[26:59] speaking
[26:59] deny you freedom
[27:05] and just to give a silly example
[27:08] you're sitting comfortably in a chair
[27:10] like i'm sitting comfortably in a chair
[27:12] and you're experiencing contentment
[27:16] then comes the thought oh i'd really
[27:20] like a cup of tea
[27:23] now that desire for tea
[27:27] is an example of raga
[27:31] i want tea meaning you've made the
[27:34] judgment
[27:36] that a cup of tea is a source of
[27:39] happiness or more
[27:40] that gaining that cup of tea getting
[27:43] that cup of tea is essential
[27:45] for your contentment a moment before you
[27:48] were content in your chair
[27:50] now you're no longer content why
[27:54] you want a cup of tea raga
[27:57] and that raga is enough to drive you
[28:01] to get up from your comfortable chair go
[28:04] to the kitchen
[28:05] and make a cup of tea now you could have
[28:09] sat in the chair very
[28:11] comfortably but that boss inside was
[28:14] telling you
[28:15] get up go
[28:18] get a cup of tea that's an example of
[28:21] raga duisho works exactly the same way
[28:25] these are inner compulsions
[28:30] and it is the compulsivity
[28:34] of raga and dwisha that is the problem
[28:37] let's be very clear about it
[28:40] oftentimes rag and dwisha are are
[28:43] simply translated as likes and dislikes
[28:47] that's not a very helpful translation
[28:52] because it's natural to have likes and
[28:55] dislikes
[28:56] many years ago somebody asked my guru
[28:59] would you saw me dine and uh
[29:01] do you swamiji do you want tea or coffee
[29:05] swamiji was raised in south india
[29:07] drinking coffee so he says
[29:09] i'll have i i'd like some coffee
[29:14] perhaps he said i like some coffee you
[29:16] mean he has a like
[29:20] i thought he's enlightened enlightened
[29:23] people
[29:24] have likes and dislikes
[29:28] to like one thing to like coffee
[29:31] more than tea is
[29:35] is a is an orientation
[29:38] that can certainly be present in an
[29:41] enlightened person
[29:43] what is not there is the compulsion
[29:47] the compulsivity so if he likes coffee
[29:51] if he's sitting comfortably in a chair
[29:54] and the thought comes oh i'd like some
[29:56] coffee
[29:58] the question is will he be
[30:01] compelled to get up from that
[30:04] comfortable chair
[30:05] go into the kitchen and make some coffee
[30:08] no that's the difference likes and
[30:12] dislikes are present for
[30:13] all whether you're enlightened or not
[30:17] raga and weisha though are not merely
[30:19] likes and dislikes
[30:22] they're a compulsion to get what you
[30:25] want
[30:26] and avoid what you don't want
[30:29] the purpose of karma yoga sri krishna
[30:32] says here
[30:33] prahasi si karma bandam you will become
[30:36] free from the bondage of
[30:40] karma the bondage to do karma
[30:43] the bondage that comes due to that inner
[30:46] boss telling you do this and don't do
[30:49] that
[30:50] that inner boss which is that
[30:53] compulsivity the raga and doisha
[30:56] being compelled to chase after what you
[30:59] want
[31:00] and run away from what you don't want
[31:02] it's as though
[31:04] you are being dragged about
[31:07] by raga and dwisha in our minds
[31:11] that is certainly not freedom
[31:14] that's an absence of inner freedom
[31:17] that's a kind of
[31:19] bondage sri krishna calls it karma
[31:23] so karma yoga is a way to overcome
[31:27] [Music]
[31:28] being compelled
[31:31] to do certain karmas being compelled
[31:35] to avoid other karmas
[31:38] so when we'll see how that works we'll
[31:41] see that as we
[31:42] continue let's let's proceed this is all
[31:46] introduction
[31:58] of
[32:05] [Music]
[32:21] this verse needs some introduction
[32:26] apparently there was some confusion
[32:28] about what karma yoga means so karma
[32:31] yoga
[32:31] yoga is a spiritual practice
[32:35] the spiritual practice of doing karma
[32:38] and as we've just defined we said that
[32:40] karma yoga
[32:42] is a spiritual act practice in which you
[32:45] adopt
[32:45] a particular attitude in doing whatever
[32:49] karmas
[32:50] you're doing the confusion comes
[32:53] in ancient times
[32:56] karma the word karma frequently was used
[33:00] to refer
[33:01] to vedic rituals you may have heard the
[33:05] term
[33:06] vadika karma vadika
[33:12] the karma of the vedas and there the
[33:15] word karma
[33:16] specifically means rituals
[33:19] vitika karma are vedic rituals
[33:23] so it's possible that in ancient times
[33:27] because there was so much focus on vedic
[33:30] rituals
[33:31] much more so than there is today because
[33:34] of that
[33:35] excessive focus on vedic rituals
[33:38] the term karma yoga could have been
[33:42] confused
[33:43] with doing karmas doing
[33:46] vedic karmas doing vedic rituals and
[33:49] what shri krishna
[33:51] wants to do here right off the bat is to
[33:53] make it
[33:54] extremely clear that karma yoga
[33:58] has nothing to do with doing
[34:01] vedica karma with doing vedic rituals
[34:05] and what he does is he compares
[34:09] true karma yoga which is a yoga of
[34:12] attitude attitude towards actions he
[34:16] compares it to
[34:18] doing vedic rituals so
[34:21] with regard to vedic rituals he says
[34:28] breaking the words apart
[34:36] here means with regard to karma yoga
[34:39] properly understood
[34:40] with regard to proper yo with regard to
[34:43] karma yoga
[34:45] no asti there is no
[34:48] abhikrama nasha there is no
[34:52] destruction of that which has
[34:55] begun this is a rather obscure reference
[34:59] to a problem
[35:01] in the performance of vedic rituals and
[35:04] that
[35:04] is you begin of a ritual
[35:08] the rituals he's referring to are some
[35:10] rituals that were very
[35:11] long and complicated so you've begun a
[35:15] ritual
[35:16] but in the performance of the ritual
[35:19] there are some
[35:20] errors made maybe some mantras are
[35:24] dropped some offerings are missed
[35:26] something goes wrong later in the ritual
[35:29] so even though you've begun the ritual
[35:31] correctly
[35:32] if you've made errors later in the
[35:35] ritual
[35:37] the benefits of the ritual are are
[35:40] destroyed
[35:42] that's called abi nasha the rituals are
[35:45] meant to
[35:46] produce punya read
[35:49] karmic merit karmic merit that can
[35:53] bless you in this life and bless you in
[35:55] the next life
[35:57] karmic merit which can take you to
[35:59] heaven
[36:01] but that karmic merit punya is only
[36:05] produced
[36:06] through the proper performance of a
[36:08] ritual
[36:09] so if you begin a ritual properly and
[36:12] then make some mistakes
[36:14] the ritual produces no punya so there's
[36:17] avikrama nasha
[36:19] there is a destruction of that which has
[36:23] begun and therefore your effort is
[36:25] wasted
[36:26] but here sri krishna says
[36:31] in karma yoga there's no such thing
[36:35] in doing vedic rituals if you begin
[36:38] properly and then make a mistake all is
[36:40] lost
[36:42] in karma yoga if you begin properly and
[36:45] then go off base
[36:47] you still are blessed to the extent
[36:50] that you started properly it's not that
[36:54] make let me try to make this clear if
[36:57] you have a
[36:59] complicated rituals with 100 steps
[37:03] and you make a mistake in the
[37:06] 99th step the penultimate step
[37:10] theoretically the whole ritual could be
[37:14] wasted as a result of that one
[37:17] mistake sri krishna says that is not
[37:21] true in karma yoga in karma yoga you are
[37:24] blessed
[37:25] to the extent that you adopt
[37:28] the proper attitude towards what you do
[37:32] and we'll discuss all that
[37:34] much more
[37:38] also with regard to vedic rituals
[37:40] pratyavaya can mean a mistake in general
[37:44] or it can mean a uh it's often used in a
[37:47] technical sense
[37:48] a sin of omission
[37:51] you forget to do a particular ritual or
[37:54] you forget to do a particular step
[37:57] in a ritual so these are all
[38:00] so there are so many rules
[38:04] associated with these rituals which
[38:06] makes it
[38:07] frankly speaking intimidating and shri
[38:10] krishna says you don't have to worry
[38:12] about that
[38:13] with karma yoga you just do your best
[38:18] with the right attitude finally he says
[38:21] one more factor
[38:22] the rituals i said some of them are
[38:24] extremely
[38:25] elaborate they go on some of some vedic
[38:28] rituals go on for several days
[38:30] you have to hire several priests
[38:33] you have to have two or even
[38:36] three different ritual fires there's a
[38:39] lot
[38:40] and so many mantras to be chanted very
[38:43] elaborate
[38:44] but here he says with regard to to
[38:47] contrast
[38:49] the vedic rituals with karma yoga he
[38:52] says here
[38:53] swalpum
[38:58] of this dharma of this practice
[39:02] of karma yoga swalpham api
[39:05] even a little bit of this practice of
[39:09] karma yoga triathlon
[39:15] will help you cross over
[39:18] mahataha bayat great fear
[39:22] means that even a little bit
[39:25] of karma yoga can bless
[39:28] you tremendously a little bit of a
[39:32] ritual
[39:34] what funny logic a small ritual
[39:38] gives you a small result if you want a
[39:41] bigger result you need a bigger ritual
[39:43] it's like if you're pouring ghee into a
[39:46] ritual fire
[39:48] if you want a small result you just pour
[39:50] a little bit of ghee into the ritual
[39:52] fire
[39:53] if you want a bigger result you pour
[39:56] more
[39:56] ghee into the if you want something
[39:58] really big
[39:59] i'm being facetious you better be ready
[40:02] to pour gallons and gallons and gallons
[40:04] of ghee into that ritual fire
[40:07] shri krishna says karma yoga isn't like
[40:10] that
[40:11] at all it says even a little bit
[40:15] of the performance of karma yoga
[40:19] will bless you a lot here's a better way
[40:21] of understanding even
[40:22] a small shift
[40:25] of attitude can create a
[40:29] huge change in your attitude towards
[40:33] what you do and that's what
[40:34] in your in towards in your attitude
[40:36] towards your actions
[40:38] this is the key karma yoga is a
[40:42] small adjustment to your
[40:45] attitude towards what you do
[40:48] in life towards your karmas and we're
[40:50] going to see that attitude
[40:52] in some detail after we finish
[40:55] this introduction he continues
[41:00] am i here here all right
[41:08] [Music]
[41:32] foreign without some introduction this
[41:36] verse is almost
[41:38] it's hard to get any meaning at all
[41:41] teachings that are
[41:42] well ascertained are one in this
[41:45] matter or arjuna but countless are the
[41:49] many branches of teachings for those who
[41:52] have not
[41:52] ascertained properly what does that mean
[41:55] it's a literal translation
[41:57] but we need the context and the context
[42:01] is really
[42:03] the goals of life
[42:06] and how we pursue those goals
[42:10] of life let us this is a very
[42:13] fundamental topic and let me show you on
[42:15] the board
[42:17] when we speak of goals of life
[42:21] in the hindu tradition you may have seen
[42:24] this teaching before
[42:26] it's common to refer to when we're
[42:28] talking about goals of life
[42:30] it's common to refer to four
[42:35] sorry let me try to write clearly
[42:44] for purusharthas that's not
[42:48] sorry i'm writing too high i can see
[42:52] i want you to see this clearly for
[43:02] there we go four purushartas
[43:05] purusa arta arta has many meanings
[43:09] here it means gol purusa person
[43:12] four purusharthas are the four goals
[43:16] pursued by people this is fundamental
[43:19] and we need to understand this too
[43:22] to understand this next verse those four
[43:25] purusharthas you may have seen this
[43:27] topic before
[43:28] very important the four purushartas are
[43:33] dharma
[43:38] artha
[43:40] comma and
[43:44] moksha are the four purusharthas the
[43:47] four goals of life
[43:50] just a brief definition of them
[43:54] starting with comma pleasure
[44:02] fundamental to life we all want
[44:05] pleasure we all want to avoid pain comma
[44:08] is a a goal of life but we also want
[44:13] comma we want pleasure not just today
[44:18] but we want comma tomorrow
[44:21] and for the rest of our lives for the
[44:24] result
[44:25] reason of maintaining
[44:28] comma in our day-to-day lives we're
[44:31] going to need arta
[44:32] and here we're going to translate it
[44:34] simply as well
[44:37] notice the purpose of arta the purpose
[44:40] of wealth is not for its own sake having
[44:42] a lot of money in a bank account
[44:44] doesn't help you unless you spend it
[44:48] to produce kama pleasure
[44:52] and finally dharma dharma here
[44:56] is the accumulation of religious merit
[44:59] punya and avoiding religious demerit
[45:03] papa so that whatever happens
[45:06] in your next life will have
[45:10] more kama the principle is if you have
[45:13] bad karmas
[45:15] bad karmas will prevent you from
[45:17] enjoying pleasure
[45:19] good karmas can help you enjoy pleasure
[45:22] so therefore dharma is
[45:27] you know we'll say dharma is is the
[45:31] accumulation of
[45:32] merit
[45:36] and i want you to see a progression
[45:40] of these three the order is always
[45:42] dharma artakama moksha
[45:44] but logically there's an order that
[45:47] begins with comma
[45:49] comma means pleasure now
[45:52] in the present moment arta means
[45:55] pleasure pleasure is maybe too weak a
[45:58] word contentment
[46:00] happiness peace joy love
[46:03] whatever whatever it is that you
[46:07] that makes you feel happy content and
[46:10] peaceful
[46:11] that's what we mean here by comma not
[46:14] mere
[46:14] not not sensual pleasures not like you
[46:17] know
[46:18] any it includes sensual pleasures but
[46:21] not
[46:21] limited to that so true pleasure
[46:24] happiness contentment we want it now
[46:28] that's expressed with the word comma we
[46:31] want it
[46:32] tomorrow and for the rest of our life
[46:34] and for that reason
[46:35] arta is also a goal of life
[46:39] and we want it not only in the rest of
[46:42] this life but we want it
[46:44] in the next life whatever follows this
[46:47] life and that's a way of understanding
[46:49] dharma accumulation of religious merit
[46:52] so notice here you want
[46:56] let me use the word contentment and
[46:58] peace you want contentment and peace
[47:01] now that's the pursuit of comma you want
[47:04] contentment and peace for the rest of
[47:06] your life therefore
[47:07] you pursue arta wealth you want
[47:10] contentment and peace and whatever
[47:13] follows this life that's called dharma
[47:16] the accumulation of merit and this
[47:20] pretty much summarizes
[47:23] conventional life conventional life
[47:26] is the pursuit of of pleasure as a con
[47:30] i've been saying uh contentment and
[47:33] peace
[47:34] the pursuit of contentment and peace now
[47:38] later and dharma will say much later
[47:45] which means after this life
[47:49] this is conventional
[47:52] living conventional life conventional
[47:55] thought
[47:56] of course vedanta and the
[47:59] teachings of the ancient rishis go far
[48:02] beyond
[48:02] conventional thinking the
[48:06] the rishis understood very clearly
[48:09] that the true source of the contentment
[48:13] and peace that you seek
[48:15] now the contentment and peace that you
[48:18] seek for the rest of your life
[48:20] the contentment and peace that you seek
[48:22] in later
[48:24] later lives the true source of that
[48:26] contentment and peace
[48:29] is already within you it's already
[48:32] your true nature therefore
[48:36] the one more purushartha one more goal
[48:40] of life
[48:41] is moksha literally liberation or
[48:46] freedom
[48:48] liberation or freedom freedom from
[48:50] suffering
[48:52] don't narrowly define it as freedom from
[48:56] rebirth it does mean
[48:57] freedom from rebirth but it has
[49:01] more meaning than that right now
[49:04] freedom from the struggle
[49:08] to gain contentment and peace notice
[49:11] if you're pursuing comma arta and dharma
[49:15] takes a lot of effort this is
[49:17] conventional life
[49:19] a lot of effort to gain pleasure now
[49:22] contentment and peace let me say a lot
[49:24] of effort to gain contentment and peace
[49:27] for the rest of your life a lot of
[49:29] effort to gain
[49:30] contentment and peace in your later
[49:33] lives
[49:33] you have to accumulate a lot of
[49:35] religious merit
[49:37] in order to enjoy contentment and peace
[49:39] and later lives
[49:41] and in ancient times doing a lot of
[49:43] rituals
[49:44] was involved a lot of work a lot of
[49:47] effort
[49:48] a lot of effort here's the irony of
[49:51] vedanta
[49:53] a lot of effort chasing
[49:56] after what you already possess
[50:01] you've heard it said so many times
[50:04] that your true nature is divine
[50:08] you've heard it said so many times that
[50:10] the true source of happiness and peace
[50:12] is within you
[50:14] these are not just mere sayings
[50:17] this is a reality to be discovered
[50:21] and the irony of vedant and the irony of
[50:24] life
[50:25] is that we spend so much time and effort
[50:28] and struggle trying to gain
[50:32] the happiness and contentment that's
[50:35] already your true nature moksha
[50:40] liberation is the
[50:43] you'll hear me you most often use the
[50:46] term enlightenment
[50:48] enlightenment in the sense of gaining
[50:52] that discovery discovering that true
[50:55] source of happiness and contentment
[50:58] within you
[50:59] moksha we is literally liberation or
[51:03] freedom
[51:04] but the sense of moksha is the discovery
[51:09] that the true source of happiness
[51:12] contentment peace
[51:13] love and joy is within you with that
[51:17] discovery
[51:18] you are liberated or freed
[51:22] from the struggle the struggle of daily
[51:25] life
[51:26] the struggle of chasing after pleasure
[51:29] now
[51:29] chasing after pleasure for the rest of
[51:32] your life chasing after anything for
[51:34] your next life
[51:36] all of that effort and struggle goes
[51:39] away there is liberation or freedom from
[51:42] that struggle
[51:43] and difficulty so we need to understand
[51:46] these four purusharthas to understand
[51:48] this verse
[51:49] and the verses that follow and here's
[51:51] how it works
[51:54] the vedas
[51:57] the source scriptures on which the
[51:59] entire hindu tradition is based
[52:01] including the teachings of vedanta
[52:04] those vedas are specifically meant to
[52:07] help us
[52:07] gain these four purusharthas
[52:10] specifically
[52:11] the four goals of life are meant to be
[52:14] pursued with the help of the vedas
[52:17] the vedas have two parts
[52:20] one part of the veda and this is this
[52:23] terminology is important
[52:24] one part of the veda is
[52:28] is that yeah that's visible one part of
[52:31] the veda is called
[52:32] karma khanda
[52:36] the karma kanda is the conda means part
[52:39] or
[52:40] section karma remember
[52:43] i said karma in this context means
[52:46] rituals karma khanda
[52:49] is the portion of the vedas concerned
[52:52] with
[52:53] rituals and the karma kanda is actually
[52:57] the largest part of the of the vedas the
[53:00] vedas have several parts
[53:02] and most of those parts are included
[53:06] in this karma conda there is a
[53:09] smaller portion of the veda
[53:12] called is that showing up yeah called
[53:15] nyanakanda
[53:22] the portion of the veda concerned
[53:25] concerned with
[53:25] gnana with spiritual wisdom
[53:30] it turns you know this already but just
[53:32] to make sure that we understand this
[53:34] nyanakanda the portion of the vedas
[53:37] that is concerned of spiritual wisdom
[53:39] that portion is found at the end
[53:42] of each of the four vedas that's why we
[53:46] have the term
[53:47] vedanta veda anta
[53:50] the anta the last portion of the vedas
[53:55] is the is vedanta it is this nyanakanda
[53:59] and it's the portion of the vedas that's
[54:01] concerned with gaining
[54:03] moksha so the vedas are huge
[54:08] and in that huge collection of vedic
[54:11] teachings
[54:12] most of those teachings are involved
[54:14] with
[54:15] various rituals and prayers
[54:18] and meditations meant to help you gain
[54:22] dharma arta and kama
[54:25] even comma the idea being that
[54:28] that by
[54:32] doing rituals those
[54:36] rituals will yield their
[54:38] [Music]
[54:39] religious merit yield their results
[54:42] and they can yield the results very
[54:46] quickly so the results the blessings you
[54:50] get from a ritual
[54:51] some of those blessings come immediately
[54:54] in fact you know that already you do
[54:55] some rituals
[54:57] you feel a sense of contentment and
[54:59] peace so
[55:00] when you do rituals some of the benefit
[55:03] blessings come now some of the benefit
[55:06] and blessings from those rituals will
[55:08] come
[55:08] later in this life some of the blessings
[55:11] and benefits of those rituals will come
[55:14] much later means in in later
[55:17] lives that's what the karma kanda
[55:20] is involved with the performance of
[55:23] rituals
[55:24] to help you gain kama arta
[55:28] and dharma as distinguished from
[55:32] the whose purpose is to help you
[55:36] look within yourself to find
[55:39] that which you seek through kama arta
[55:42] and dharma
[55:43] that which you seek is already within
[55:47] you
[55:48] and the mo the nyana karma nyanaconda
[55:52] excuse me
[55:53] is that which helps you discover that
[55:57] that inner divinity
[56:00] and having discovered that inner
[56:02] divinity you're then freed from the
[56:04] struggle
[56:04] of pursuing dharma arta and kama we
[56:08] need to understand this to understand
[56:10] this
[56:11] verse now the verse will make sense
[56:17] otherwise i'm afraid it won't make any
[56:20] sense
[56:20] at all okay so returning now to our
[56:23] verse
[56:28] he
[56:34] and here buddhi will take in a different
[56:38] in the sense of knowledge wisdom
[56:41] spiritual wisdom so this
[56:45] buddhi this spiritual wisdom which is
[56:51] whose whose nature is via the
[56:54] sahaya yahsaya is discernment
[56:58] ascertainment
[57:01] so this wisdom this
[57:04] understanding which is viva sayat meka
[57:08] which is
[57:09] well ascertained
[57:15] here in this matter in this
[57:18] teaching of karma yoga it is
[57:22] it is one kuru o beloved one of the
[57:25] kuru lineage arjuna it is
[57:29] one now now what do we mean by one
[57:33] this karma yoga is with regard to
[57:37] a single direction
[57:40] in life and that single direction in
[57:43] life
[57:44] is the pursuit of moksha
[57:48] as opposed to the multiplicity
[57:51] of seeking comma arta and dharma
[57:55] there's multiplicity and multiplicity
[57:58] also of all the rituals
[58:00] or various rituals in pursuing dharma
[58:03] art and comma this is in ancient times
[58:06] in ancient times you'll pursue many
[58:09] you'll perform many different rituals
[58:12] for the sake of dharma artha and kama
[58:15] but the pursuit of moksha is
[58:19] eka aka
[58:24] there is one understanding
[58:27] one truth we can say the truth of your
[58:31] own inner divinity
[58:33] on the other hand
[58:39] [Music]
[58:42] he indeed ananta
[58:46] limitless and bahu
[58:50] countless is a better translation ananta
[58:54] countless and bahu
[58:58] having many branches having many
[59:01] branches are the
[59:02] buddha the teachings
[59:06] the teachings
[59:10] for those who do not have the
[59:13] one direction via visaya is this
[59:16] clear ascertainment of the ultimate
[59:20] goal of life the vasaya
[59:24] the ultim the clear understanding that
[59:28] moksha is the ultimate goal of life
[59:32] but for those who are a via messiah
[59:36] for those who lack that discernment
[59:39] for them the let me get back
[59:43] to the verse for
[59:46] those who lack that discernment that
[59:49] moksha is the
[59:50] ultimate goal of life for them buddha
[59:54] teachings are bakusaka
[59:58] manifold ananta
[01:00:01] countless those meaningful countless
[01:00:04] teachings
[01:00:06] are all the rituals
[01:00:09] that are expressed in the karma kanda
[01:00:12] the karma kanda contains
[01:00:15] numerous rituals which are meant to help
[01:00:19] you gain
[01:00:20] dharma artakama as opposed to the
[01:00:23] nyanakanda which has one central
[01:00:27] teaching
[01:00:28] the one central teaching of the karma
[01:00:31] kanda
[01:00:32] is tattoo masi i'm sorry
[01:00:35] i misspoke the one central teaching
[01:00:38] of the anaconda is
[01:00:42] [Music]
[01:00:43] you are that and here in this
[01:00:47] in this rather obscure verse sri krishna
[01:00:50] is
[01:00:51] contrasting that the one
[01:00:54] clear teaching
[01:00:58] found in the anakhanda of the vedas
[01:01:01] is contrasted here with the multiplicity
[01:01:06] of rituals meant to help you gain
[01:01:10] dharma artakama the multiplicity of
[01:01:14] teachings that are found in the
[01:01:15] karma kanda when we continue we'll see
[01:01:19] how sri krishna is actually
[01:01:22] highly you'll be surprised sri krishna
[01:01:24] is highly critical
[01:01:26] of the excessive ritualism
[01:01:30] involved with that karma khanda he's
[01:01:33] quite
[01:01:34] quite clear in his criticism of that and
[01:01:38] we'll see that in our
[01:01:39] next class
[01:01:43] [Music]
[01:02:32] oh
[01:02:37] [Music]
[01:02:45] you