[ad_1]
Q: What are the important topics in ch 2?
Ans: This is a very long chapter, also the gist of Gita. There are four topics discussed in this chapter as below.
1. The nature of our problem is fear, confusion and sorrow. Jiva vichara, self inquiry.
2. Knowing the supreme presence. Gita reveals the solution .. To know the nature of Self is meant for everyone, like hunger and sleep. Only when you're really hungry you'll feel satisfied. This atma knowledge is for everyone but one has to aspire for it .. All the fear confusion are removed. Mighty sorrow will not disturb us. We becomes free of all grief. How to get there?
3. The connection between the two the jivan, individual and the supreme. Yoga (not the popular physical yoga) reveals us moving from the present state to the state of enlightenment very systemically and scientifically.
4. Benefit of this Self knowledge. From karma yoga to various stages of upasana to knowledge to stage of meditation and finally, the state of realization where one comes to recognize one's own Self ..
Q: Explain the 'Karma theory', 'Cause & Effect theory.
Ans: Every action has a consequence. When we walk we reach our destination. When we eat we subside hunger,
There are two types of consequences for every thought, word and deed. Tangible and non tangible benefits. (Drishta palan and Adrishta palan). When you donate something, you get tangible benefit like tax benefit or name, fame in transactional life. Such a benefit is 'Drishta palan'.
There is also a non tangible result and gita says it is 'Adrishta palan' which is is 'punyam' says sastram (A drishta..not seen)
Adrishta Palan, not tangible result is two types
Su adrishtam is punyam .. danam, charity, donation. Dhur adrishtam is papam, like harming, stealing etc.
An example would be a surgeon vs. murderer, based on their intentions. The intention is named as 'Sankalpam' in Sanskrit. If the intention creates appropriate consequences, which results in positive or negative experiences. names as punyam and papa min Sanskrit.
"Karmanyeva adhikaraha …" Ch 2.47 is a very important verse in Gita.
We're responsible for my intentions and actions and therefore consequences coming to us based on our actions.
We have accumulated consequences, which gives happiness and sorrow. It is like fuel in a car..it will exhaust once used, just the results of our actions exhaust once we experience it. This exhaustion does not take place instantly. it is like the seeds. watermelon seeds may give the fruits in three months but a coconut seed will take many years. (incubation period)
Q: How do the consequences of actions materialize?
Ans: Pain and pleasure both are only when we identify with this external world, in sleep we do not experience this world. Therefore the consequences of our actions first has to give us a body, the world and conducive situation to experience. Then the five elements (panchabhootam) create this body based on our karmas.
These consequences give us pain and pleasure to purge our impressions (vasanas).
We have earned this body and the world around us based on our karma. What goes around comes around.
The pain and pleasure is different in a dog from humans. One body can not enjoy all the sufferings and all types of pain and pleasure therefore different bodies are required. Therefore many bodies are needed, which explains and confirms the need for reincarnation.
For all the accumulated consequences of actions (papa punya) one needs a human body. Once those are exhausted, then it ends and this body is not needed any more, that's when a particular body is dropped, meaning death to the body.
For some, human body is necessary, for others animal body may be necessary. So our life expectancy is based on our karma palan, consequences of actions.
Q: Where did the papa punya (good and bad interviews) originally came from? Egg or the chicken? Seed or the tree? Body or consequences?
Ans: Each individual has a big bag of consequences of actions (papa punya). This big bag of collection of karma is sanjita karma, say your savings.
There are three types of consequences. Sanjitha karma, Prarabdha karma, Agami karma in Sanskrit, very much like your bank savings, cash on hand and future income or expenses.
Therefore it is only a fraction from Sanjita karma that we experience in this body. You have withdrawn 'X' amount. That's called 'Prarabhdha karma'. We have much more left in Sanjita bag to experience.
As we go through life! what's accumulated in the current birth through thought, word and action called Agami karma gets added to Sanjita (bank balance).
Sanjita – Prarabhdham – Agami
Savings – Liquid cash – income / Expense
This cycle goes on because when one exhaust liquid cash, one also adds much more expense than cash on hand. The prarabdha karma palan (the cash on hand gives our body, parents, siblings, situations and the experiences.
Q: What is the nature of realized person? How does he interact in the world, other beings, good and bad pleasure and pain?
Ans: Answer to this question is the goal of a spiritual seeker ..
This is nothing to do with his dress or what that person does, or personality. It is very humble and last 18 verses talks about the nature of a realized person ..
Sthitta prajna, realized person. The enlightened person lives in the world from a totally different plane. How he responds to the world and worldly situations is very different.
Faulty interaction causes all negative emotions. As I see, my mind interprets it and emotions arise.
There are lots of misunderstanding based on our own faulty philosophies. For ex .. When I watch a movie in a different language my emotions are different than the one that I can understand.
There are a lot of misunderstandings of a realized person because we see him from our standpoint, confusion of scriptures, our own likes and dislikes, ideas prejudices, faulty philosophies. We see the outer image, his beard, dress etc ..
These are not signs of realization.
Lord replies in 18 verses .. 18 is imp. Gita has 18 chapters, 18 versions describes stitha pragya.
18 days war wasought, 18 chapters 18 puranas, 18 verses describing stitha pragya. "1" is the reality, "8" expression of that one is eight fold.
"Ekam evam Adyiteyam, Brahma"
He is in a state of complete contentment, Bliss, 'thushti', santhushta, enough without the need for any object or outer condition.
Changes in the body, situation or others nothing can change that Bliss. A person is happy even if he changes the clothing !! Likewise even if his body is dropped dead his Bliss does not change.
Body is only an outer equipment to interact with the world like a microphone, if the equipment is taken away the speaker is still speaking but others can not hear. Simply a realized master 'stitha pragya' is ever present. He rejoices in atma alone, which is all pervading. He is enlightened, but others might not understand him. For a realized person, his body mind and intellect are in alignment. When a situation of sadness comes, his mind does not get agitated. does not cause sorrow.
Most of the time, our balance is based on external conditions like the welfare and wealth of our family, then we feel like a realized person, only when a sudden shocking message comes we know where we stand. Even a little sorrow or pain disturbs our mind. A realized person is beyond all these ..
Q: What is Ladder of fall and ladder of rise?
Ans: versa … 62-63 very important
Ladder of fall starts with likes, desires, you want an object, or a thing, or a person, which you contemplate on it, enjoy it in mind. That desire, called 'kama' turns your mind to now wants to possess it … Now this kama is at a deep intense level, and often is out of control.
When it is not possessed, it turns to anger. Intense need to possess and anger go together. When our desire is fulfilled, it is converted into loba, greed wanting more and more, with six enemies of mind.
Desire, attachment (kama)
Anger (kroda)
Greed (lobha)
Delusion (moha)
Pride (madha)
Jealousy (mathsarya)
This is the spiritual energy wasted !! If you know the obstacles then you can be cautious, you can avoid it or when you meet them you know how to get out of it. In martial arts they teach how to fall down without hurting ourselves, then you rise up.
Ladder of rise
One should first try to be free from raga dvesha (Likes and dislikes). Through Karma yoga, upasana, knowledge, meditation attachment and repulsion are eliminated. Peace and happiness are not in the field of objects. An object by itself do not make you happy or unhappy. They have no control it is over us. It is our mind that have ideas superimposed to that feeling of happiness or unhappiness … It seems to be making us happy or unhappy
Vairaghya (dispersion) is free from the world of stimuli of the world. Cause of all happiness and sorrow are on something outside of me due to the likes and dislikes.
Continue to experience everything in life without raga dvesha (likes & dislikes). You eat to live not live to eat. You do not need to restrain yourself from enjoying but try not to over indulge !!
Prasad means prasannatha, a deep sense of joy. We experience it when we are with nature … Water, mountains, stillness, … Only the sound of water flow, without music, or trash around, you're sitting silently, without desires … You do not have to go anywhere, meet anyone, do anything, you do not need to get anything, no important phone calls, no appt. as though everything is standstill and at that moment where there are no negative emotions in your heart fear anger worry, there is a deep sense of peace that you experience … It is not coming from any object but from within. You're totally at ease with nature. You have no complaints against anyone. That is called Prasad, (prasannatha) moksha, not because of any attachment. to any object but contact of our senses with the worldly things outside of you. Hate no one like no one.
When this Prasad arises in our heart all sorrow disappears.
The pleasures can not reduce the deep sorrow in anyone, can temporarily be paused, can be suppressed or forgotten for some time by becoming workaholic, alcoholic or sleep but sorrow is exists. Even if you go to a different place it is with you.
When the heart becomes free of raga dvesha (likes & dislikes), fills with joy, then sorrows get destroyed. They do not have the potency to affect your mind.
Even death can not destroy sorrow. If one dies with sorrow, one is born with sorrow.
Once we gain this viraghya, free from likes & dislikes, we gain this prasad that's when the intellect becomes absolutely still in that Self which is all pervading, goes into the state of samadhi, no other effort is required but only the attitude of living. Such a person is stitha pragya (realized person).
When there likes and dislikes, meditation can not happen.
Q: Describe the Spiritual journey.
Ans: Our spiritual journey begins with recognizing our duties with the current body and performing them with a specific attitude that becomes a sadana to reach the state of enlightenment.
Performing actions is different from the attitude with which it is performed.
It is like a soccer game. There are many players, goal keepers, referre in specific positions, they have their duties within that area. Offensive, defensive positions, they can not be chatting when the game is going on … One has to understand the entire situation and one's role in the bigger scheme of things. Responsibility is a team work. We're a team, all animals, plants, the entire system, existence. We have responsibility to avoid imbalance and take care of ourselves our family our society our nature, our environment to create a harmony in this world.
Q: What is the attitude with which we should perform actions in this planet, in this life?
Ans: Adjust your mind with samathva, equanimity, then you'll not get entangled in samsara..pain and pleasure, gain or loss, victory or defeat. Make your mind to accept both in advance. Attention should be focused on performing and not on the result.
I'm fine with winning and I'm also fine with a loss that's the attitude in bhakti language it is called Prasad.
When you're balanced in the result you're balanced in your actions towards it. Otherwise you're always scared, worried, inefficient in performing action because the more focused what would happen than the task on hand. The result depends on the totality so perform your duty and leave the result to happen ..
Equanimous, samathva in both joy & sorrow, in advance then we're balanced but if we leave this thought to the end, it causes tension and we're imbalanced.
Gita is not a secret of success, it gives us the secret of the attitude to face both success and failure in a balanced way.
Do your duty in this attitude and you'll not experience confusion fear and grief. Mind becomes free of any anxiety.
Q: What are the modes of acquiring any knowledge?
Ans: 1. Direct experience, (Prathyaksha praman) is we use our senses to understand the knowledge of the world. Red colored rose is known to the eyes, music through ears ..
2. Inference .. Through smoke and we can infer fire
3. Comparison, (Upamanam). The unknown is understood by comparing to the known
4. Cause, (Arthapatti). Be studying the effect we know the cause … Flood and rain
5. Verbalzing, (Sabhta praman) We have not seen atoms and molecules but we trust the scientists. We accept it because people who know about it talk about it
6. Absence (Anupalabdhi) Knowledge of absence of something … By having the positive knowledge of the absence of something. You see confirm and say there is no cat in the room. A definite knowledge of the absence.
Astronauts go to a planet and confirm that they're no life there … The knowledge can not change but if it is a belief, it can change.
When you follow the method (praman) properly, gain knowledge then that knowledge becomes conviction. Convictions gained with knowledge do not change. Only through the study of the scriptures, satsang, contemplation we gain conviction about our spiritual goal and path.
At present our intellect is wrongly persuaded by the mind that we're the body, a limited being.
Your intellect is convinced that five plus five is ten, if you try to tell the intellect it is five, it will resist because your conviction is based on the knowledge.
If you already believe that it is five, the knowledge that it is ten will change the belief !!
If you're convinced that science is always right, then you'll always go with science but if you know science is evolving, what is today may change with another scientist tomorrow and when the change happens, that knowledge will then change your belief in that particular theory of science.
Similarly there is a false conviction of our own identify and goal of life and his we can attain it
Therefore the sankhya buddhi and yoga buddhi are based on scripts, logic and on personal experience. One who understands this full proof knowledge, the conviction is firm and that person's life is different.
Such a strong conviction based on scriptures will enable a seeker to realize that all are One.
We all want happiness which is eternal, peace, contentment and want to be free. Such a state is 'moksha', freedom from the bondage which can only be attained in human life through Self knowledge.
[ad_2]
Source