Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta

21st verse: “There are three gates to a hellish life – hellish conditions created from our own actions. These three gates are lust, anger and greed (kamah, krodhah, lobhah). These three should be abandoned.” Every wrong action has desire or lust as its source. Once we have a desire, we direct our senses and energy to fulfill that desire. Not all desires are fulfilled. When the desire remains unful...

17th verse: “Extremely conceited, haughty, filled with pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform all sacrifices with great ostentation disregarding all ordinances.” This is the literal translation. The meaning of the verse is that such people do things in an improper manner without any consideration for propriety. Kama refers to desire – the mind wants to go after worldly desire all the time....

The 16th chapter is an analytic study on the basic elements of human personality. Its purpose is to help people understand fundamental values that have enriched human civilization. It reminds us that we should not forget those values in our pursuit of wealth, power and comfort. 11th verse: “There is continuous thought in the mind – no control, no restraint – with a desire to acquire something. Gra...

The 16th chapter does not just give a list of dos and don’ts. It makes us understand the subtle differences between the characteristics. For example, one of the Asuri traits that is described is Dambhah , big show of one’s status. In relation to it, it describes Darpah as another Asuri trait. Someone who may be humble and calm, may assure himself of his superiority and feel that he does not need t...

16th Chapter: Verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Gita’s conclusion is that the essence of spirituality is about becoming a good human being. This is emphasized in the 9th chapter, in the 12th chapter and in the 16th chapter. The qualities described in these chapters should be imbibed and should express themselves in our everyday interaction with fellow beings. In the 13th verse of the 9th chapter, Lord Krish...

The 16th chapter discusses human characteristics by dividing them into two groups. The first group is called Daivi Sampat – those who have divine spiritual characteristics and are naturally inclined to do good. The second group is called Asuri Sampat – those who have a natural instinct for the opposite qualities. For example, there are some who live in the world, do their normal jobs, but follow t...

15th Chapter: Verses 8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 The 15th chapter discusses the idea of immanence, transcendence and omnipresence of the Absolute Reality. The Absolute Reality is beyond verbalization and description – it can only be experienced. 15th verse: “This divine principle is present as the indweller in every living being in this world. It manifests as memory, knowledge, ignorance, and forget...

Title: Expressions of the Divine 15th Chapter: Verses 12, 13, 14, 1512th 12th verse: “There is one all-pervading, immanent, omnipresent, and supreme divine reality which is the Atman . This Atman is the divine light that is present in every being. The light that is in the sun, in the moon and in the fire – that light is nothing but the light of the Atman .” Our creativity and our ability to think...

Title: Atman – The Light of all Lights 15th Chapter: Verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 10th verse: “In this body, there are physical senses. There is a perceiver who uses these senses to perceive sense objects. Those who are deluded equate that perceiver to the body-mind complex. Those who are enlightened see him as separate and as the real perceiver.” Those who identify with the physical body continu...

15th Chapter: Verses 8, 9, 10 In the 15th chapter, the whole world is compared to the Ashvattha tree – the tree of life. Its roots are above and the branches are below. Roots represent the origin or the source which is the Atman . From this Atman , the empirical world, which is represented by the branches and leaves, evolves and moves downward. Only the Atman is eternal – the empirical world is no...

Title: The Weapon of Non-Attachment 15th Chapter: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 In the first verse, the whole world is compared to the Ashvattha tree – the tree of life. Its roots are above and the branches are below. Roots represent the origin or the source which is the Atman . From this Atman , the empirical world, which is represented by the branches and leaves, evolves and moves downward. Only th...

Title: The Nature of the Empirical World 15th Chapter: Verses 1, 2 In previous chapters of Gita , various methods of spiritual practices are discussed, such as the path of bhakti, the path of karma yoga , the path of dhyana yoga , the path of jnanam , and the path of transcending the three gunas . One essential characteristic in all these paths is that the seeker should develop detachment towards...

Title: Characteristics of a Guṇātita 14th Chapter: Verses 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 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. Highest spi...

14th Chapter: Verses 20, 21, 22 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. 20th verse: “Highest spiritual evolution happens when we transce...

14th Chapter: Verses 18, 19, 20 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...

Title: Effects of the Three Gunas 14th Chapter: Verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; 6th chapter verses 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 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 a...

Title: The Bondage of the Three Gunas 14th Chapter: Verses 6, 7, 8, 9 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 6th verse of the 14th...

Title: The Secret of Plurality in Human Nature 14th Chapter: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 6th chapter 46th verse The 14th chapter is important because it describes the secret of plurality in this world. There are many common factors such as the divine spark that is present in everyone. The plurality comes from the three guna s – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna – which constitute the entire materi...

Title: Summary of Thirteen Chapters Summary of earlier chapters of Gita; introduction to 14th chapter 55th through 72nd verses of the 2nd chapter of Gita discuss the characteristics of an enlightened person. The 26th chapter of Dhammapada also discusses similar characteristics. Such a person is not worried when there is a problem, and he is not over-joyed when something pleasant happens. He has no...

Title: Practicing Detachment 13th Chapter: Verses 29, 30, 31, 32; Summary of 2nd chapter 29th verse: “A spiritual person realizes that all actions of the mind and body (thoughts, words and deeds) take place at the superficial or material level. Our true nature is Atman , which is unchanging and actionless. This Atman when joined with samskaras makes us do things.” 30th verse: “A person who underst...

13th Chapter: Verses 26, 27, 28, 29 26th verse: “There is one supreme divine reality present in everything and everywhere. Everything in this world is nothing but a combination of this divine spark and external elements. 27th verse: “Who is the wise person? The one who sees that there is one unchanging supreme reality in everything in this world, both perishable and imperishable.” When we evolve s...

13th Chapter: Verses 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 Verses 19-21 deal with the two fundamental categories of Samkhya philosophy. (1) Purusha, which is self-effulgent, eternal and inactive. (2) Prakriti, which is active, non-effulgent, and impermanent. The entire universe comes from Prakriti and exists in Prakriti. The problems that we face in our lives are due to our false identification with the...

Title: Purusha and Prakriti 13th Chapter: Verses 19, 20, 21, 22 These verses deal with the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy. There are two main schools of thoughts in Indian philosophy. (1) Theistic schools which accept Vedic testimony and (2) Atheistic schools, which do care much for Vedic testimony. The six theistic schools were the Mimamsakas of Jaimini, Vedanta (Uttara Mimamsa of Badarayana...

Kshetra or the phenomenal world is constituted by 24 elements. These are Prakriti, Mahatattvam or cosmic intelligence, Ahamkara or ego-sense, the mind, the five senses of perception, the five senses of action, the five subtle elements and the five gross elements. The sixth verse adds seven other elements to kshetra - desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, body, intelligence and fortitude. With these, we...