Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta

Gita is the most celebrated spiritual text of Hinduism and Vedanta. Shankaracharya immortalized Gita with his commentary. Many of Buddha’s teachings were taken from Gita. The 26th chapter of Dhammapada is repetition of the characteristics of a “stitha-prajna” (wise man) described in the 2nd chapter of Gita. The concept of moderation discussed in the 17th verse of the 6th chapter of Gita was also a...

63rd verse: “You have listened to the great spiritual truth and My instructions. Now, you do whatever you want. Act according to your own conviction and understanding.” There is no compulsion from the teacher, Lord Krishna. He encourages the student to use his own intellect and conviction. This is because everyone in the world is at a different level of spiritual evolution. The goal is to experien...

The 59th and 60th verses take us back to the original narrative of Gita, where Arjuna was facing conflicts as he did not want to do an unpleasant duty. Lord Krishna says: “If instead of practicing karma yoga, you think you can run away from your duty, that is your fantasy. Your own swabhava will compel you to do the duty.” Swabhava is our inherent nature that determines our outlook to life and our...

Title: Buddhi Yoga: Art of Working Intelligently 18th Chapter: verses 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 57th verse: “Mentally offer all actions to Me. Buddhi Yoga is the tool with which you should live and work in this world.” Buddhi Yoga refers to purified intellect. It is the higher faculty of the human mind that enables us to perform our actions without obsessive attachment to the outcome. Our actions sometim...

Title: Universal Approach of Gita 18th Chapter: verses 56, 57, 58, 59 Gita offers four paths for spiritual realization: Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Dhyana Yoga. 56th verse: “Surrender all your actions and results to Me. Then My grace will take you to the highest spiritual destination.” 57th verse: “Mentally offer all actions to Me. Your life will be spiritualized through this philosoph...

Title: Bhakti and Self-Surrender 18th Chapter: verses 54, 55, 56 54th verse: “The one who does his work with sanctity and sacredness, he ultimately become a Prasanna-atma. He becomes identified with Brahman. He has no desires and no reason to worry. He sees everyone as the same. Such a person attains the highest devotion.” A true devotee of God has equanimity of mind and serenity. He is not shatte...

18th Chapter: verse 45, 54, 55. 12th chapter: verse 8, 9, 10, 11. 13th chapter: verse 10 45th verse: “By engaging in one’s own swadharma, man attains perfection and the highest inner fulfillment.” If we dedicate our resources to our appointed duty, and if we do it with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, and with total unselfishness, then that attitude becomes our instrument for our own spiritual...

Title: Intellect With Spiritual Wisdom 18th Chapter: verse 45, 47, 51, 52, 53 45th verse: “By engaging in one’s own swadharma, man attains perfection and the highest inner fulfillment.” Swadharma, is work that naturally comes to us “unasked” due to our samskaras and natural traits. It is work that we are supposed to do, that we are qualified to do and that the society expects us to do. We can list...

18th Chapter: verse 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 45th verse: “By engaging in one’s own swadharma, man attains perfection and the highest inner fulfillment.” Swadharma, is work that naturally comes to us “unasked”, by virtue of our samskaras and natural traits. We feel such work is our calling/duty. When we do our Swadharma, we find contentment and a sense of fulfillment. Sometimes the work that we are train...

18th Chapter: verse 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 40th verse: “Everyone in this world is dictated by these three gunas.” Lord Krishna divides human traits in three areas – sattvic, rajasik and tamasik. A sattvic person is calm and serene even in difficult situations. A rajasik person is swayed by his circumstances. A tamasik person is lazy, confused and deluded. The sattvic person has emotional equanimity. H...

Title: The Three Levels of Intellect and Happiness 18th Chapter: verse 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 39 Lord Krishna divides human traits in three areas – sattvic, rajasik and tamasik. Jnanam (knowledge), karta (doer), karma (action), buddhi (intellect) and sukham (happiness) – all can be divided into these three traits. We can infer which trait is predominant in a person by observing his extern...

Title: The Three Traits of Karta 18th Chapter: verse 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 Gita is a condensation of the entire vedic literature. The 18th chapter is a condensation of entire Gita. Lord Krishna divides human traits in three areas – sattvic, rajasik and tamasik. Jnanam (knowledge), karta (doer), karma (action) and buddhi (intellect) – all can be divided into these three traits. Jnanam refe...

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion. Gunas are not visible and cannot be physically verified. We can infer which guna is predominant i...

The 13th, 14th and 15th verses discuss the five factors involved in any kind of activity. 14th verse: “In any activity, there are five factors involved. (1) adhiṣhṭhānam – The body-mind-complex, which is the basis of all actions. (2) kartā – the agent of action, which is the jivatma. (3) karaṇam – Different instruments of action, such as the senses of perception and action. (4) pṛithak cheṣhṭāḥ -...

5th verse: “The three virtues of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up. These three virtues become natural to the enlightened and become the means to those aspiring to be enlightened.” 6th verse: “Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed giving up our attachment to the results and our selfish desire to enjoy the results of the work.” Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done w...

Title: Yajna, Dana and Tapah Should Not be Given Up 18th Chapter: verse 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 3rd verse: “According to Samkhya philosophy, all actions should be given up. According to Mimamsa philosophy, performance of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up.” According to Kapila and Samkhya philosophy, every action is mixed with some imperfection and, therefore, it should be given up. Mimamsa philos...

The 18th chapter is the longest and is about moksha-sannyasa-yoga. It is also considered as a condensation of the previous 17 chapters. Moksha represents the highest value in human existence and means liberation from the bondage of samsara. Sannyasa means giving up the feeling up doer-ship and the renouncement of ego. According to Hindu tradition, four values guide human life – dharma, artha, kama...

The 18th chapter is the longest and is about moksha-sannyasa-yoga. It is also considered as a summary of the previous 17 chapters. Moksha means liberation from the bondage of samsara. In modern times, it can be interpreted as liberation from utilitarian values, ultimately reaching a state where we stop searching for continuous happiness, and where we don’t suffer from the ups and downs of life. Sa...

Title: Performing Actions with Sattvic Shraddha 17th Chapter: verses 26, 27, 28; recapitulation of 17th chapter It is difficult for normal human beings to perform their spiritual practices with perfection. With the utterance of “Om Tat Sat”, when we perform any act - Yajna, dana and tapah – they become purified. When we offer our activity to the all-pervading reality that is present in everyone an...

Title: Purifying Spiritual Practices with Om Tat Sat 17th Chapter: verses 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 23rd verse: “In the Vedic literature, specifically the Upanishads, it is stated that “Om Tat Sat” constitutes the essence of all vedic literature. It represents the triple designation of Brahman. These three words are behind the origin and creation of the Brahmanas, Vedas and Yajnas.” Om represents the ved...

Title: Meaning of Om Tat Sat 17th Chapter: verses 20, 21, 22, 23 Yajna, Dana, and Tapah – these spiritual principles have the triple dimensions of Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and as an offering to God. Our everyday activities can be spiritualized when we perform them as yajna. Then there is no diffe...

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion. The three gunas reflect in different areas of human conduct such as the way we practice rituals,...

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion. These three temperaments are based on our samskaras. Every action leaves a residual effect (vritt...

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion. 7th verse: “The food that we eat is linked to the three gunas. The way we practice rituals, auste...

Shraddha cannot be properly translated in English. Shraddha refers to a sense of sanctity and sacredness that helps us preserve higher values. It can also mean faith in scriptures, God, teacher, and a sense of integrity. One of the verses says: “A man is only as much as the shraddha he has.” 2nd verse: “The shraddha of human beings is three-fold – Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. It is born out of...