My summary of bhagavad gita

[NaturaNaturans]

Hello all, wanted to share what i got put of this text. Ill hapilly listen to what you got out of the gita, or Your thoughts on the topics.

 

here we go:

 

Dharma

• O Sun, sole traveler of the Heavens, controller of all, Surya, son of Prajapati, remove thy rays and gather up thy burning light. I behold thy glorious form; I am he, the Purusha within thee.
  Isha Upanishad
   

Over 3,000 years ago, two rivaling royal families stood ready to battle in northern India. Arjuna, the rightful heir to the throne, was prepared to fight for his rights. But as he looked at his relatives, teachers, and friends on the opposing side, he was overwhelmed by deep sorrow. How could he kill his own kin?

It was at this moment that the Supreme Personality of god, Krishna, revealed Himself to Arjuna. In the text, Krishna is described as the source of all existence. Arjuna humbly asked for guidance: "Now I am your disciple, and my soul is surrendered to you. Please instruct me."

Krishna/the Supreme Personality of Godhead said: "My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy. (...) Give up this petty weakness of heart and arise."

Through gripping dialogue, Arjuna learns about the transient and ever-changing nature of the material world. They explore temptations, desires, and suffering and how these affect our lives. They learn about the three qualities that govern the universe: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Krishna also reveals the essence of the soul and its boundless nature: "I am the soul, O Arjuna, which exists within the hearts of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all that lives."

The soul goes through a cycle of bodies, just as a person changes worn-out clothes for new ones. Although Krishna teaches us about the illusion of the material world, it does not absolve us of our duties. It teaches us that we must perform our roles selflessly, with love and devotion to God. In the end, Krishna reveals His universal form, showing that He is the source of all creation and destruction.

"The Bhagavad Gita" addresses profound philosophical and ethical questions and provides valuable guidance on how to live a life of purpose and meaning. Its teachings have inspired countless individuals on their spiritual journeys and continue to be a source of wisdom and inspiration for people around the world."

"Karma in line with dharma leads to liberation and spiritual growth. The text provides us with timeless guidance on how to achieve this liberation. Furthermore, by acting in Krishna consciousness and performing actions with love and devotion, we can attain yoga - union with the divine. Krishna consciousness strengthens our personal connection with the oversoul and provides a deeper understanding of the divine aspect in our lives.

Sri Krishna said: It is far better to perform one's own duties imperfectly than to perform another's duties perfectly. Even though they may be imperfect, one's own duties are related to one's natural disposition, while performing another's duties without fully understanding them can lead to danger.

The illusion of the material world does not free us from our duties. The Gita teaches that one can practice dharma (righteousness) through karma (action). These actions should be performed without attachment to the results. Understanding and living in accordance with this not only is virtuous but also leads to self-realization and purpose. A teacher teaches, an apple tree bears apples. A leader delegates, inspires, and leads in battle. A baker bakes bread, and a good baker bakes good bread. Karma in harmony with dharma leads to liberation. By acting in Krishna consciousness, with love and devotion, one can attain yoga: union with the divine.

[old3bob]

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Edited October 19, 2023 by old3bob

[Taoist Texts]

10 hours ago, mat said:

The illusion of the material world does not free us from our duties.

why not?

 

10 hours ago, mat said:

A teacher teaches, an apple tree bears apples. A leader delegates, inspires, and leads in battle. A baker bakes bread,

is not this what normal people do without any voices in their head?

[NaturaNaturans]

1 hour ago, Taoist Texts said:

why not?

 

is not this what normal people do without any voices in their head?

I had an interresting convo about this yesterday acctually. The spiritual is in one way primary, and the physical secondary (made by conciousness). But why are we here? I think we are here to build and take part in the creation, making the secondary primary, in a sense.

second part: yes, thays what humans do. I am human, arjuna is human, my neighbours are human. I was exploring the concept of dharma, finding once purpose and human flourishing. And no, you dont need a voice in Your head to find it.

[NaturaNaturans]

10 hours ago, old3bob said:

Some of the Saivite schools have a different take than the commonly given one you've mentioned...anyway everyone has a right to their own take.

 

Btw, I wonder that if Krisha was in a (particular) physical form at that time then he too could have joined in the bloody battle and practice his preaching at that level besides just cosmically & philosophically...

Id love If you could share some : ) 

edit: by some i mean alternative takes or your own perspectives. Im not that familiar with hinduism, but i do love the indo-european/iranian traditions. 
 

Got any reccomendations for further reading on hinduism? I find it a little overwhelming.

Edited October 6, 2023 by mat

[Taoist Texts]

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But as he looked at his relatives, teachers, and friends on the opposing side, he was overwhelmed by deep sorrow. How could he kill his own kin?

if there is a voice in one's head urging him to kill his family - i just hope he is institutionalized in time. any book that makes killing one's family a prerequisite to  'attain yoga: union with the divine' is satanic evil. I am sure many will disagree but for the saner amongst us: please dont drink the Kool-aid.

[oak]

1 hour ago, Taoist Texts said:

if there is a voice in one's head urging him to kill his family - i just hope he is institutionalized in time. any book that makes killing one's family a prerequisite to  'attain yoga: union with the divine' is satanic evil. I am sure many will disagree but for the saner amongst us: please dont drink the Kool-aid.

 

That is way out of context @Taoist Texts. I personally don't think it's good karma making such light comments towards other people's favourite scriptures.

[NaturaNaturans]

If anyone are interrested, im working on a little text at the moment. Here is the part that follows the summary of the gita:

 

Monism 

Atman refers to the individual's true self, or soul. In Hinduism, it is asserted that Atman is eternal and divine, and it is identical to Brahman, the universal spiritual reality. Monism is a philosophical position that claims there is one fundamental substance or reality in the universe, and everything that exists, including the physical, the mental, and the spiritual, is derived from this one substance.

Science is all well and good. However, it is important not to equate it with the one and only truth. Science consists of theories that have not yet been disproven and is ill-suited for non-quantifiable knowledge, such as consciousness. So far, there is no theory that can satisfactorily explain how a collection of non-conscious cells can become a conscious entity. However, it logically follows that consciousness can create something seemingly material.

We are obviously not God, since we are limited, but we have a divine spark within us. A common analogy is that we are like waves in the ocean, where the ocean is the oversoul, and the wave is the self. The Trinity, the understanding that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, shows that a part of God resides within us.

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 The Gospel of John begins as follows: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (...) The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Continuing, we read that John has been tasked with proclaiming the light, even though he himself has not received it, and the Jews remained skeptical. Jesus descended from heaven; the Word became flesh. John the Baptist saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained upon Him (the Son of Man/the Logos/Christ). Jesus explains that to see the kingdom of God, one must be born of water and the Spirit. His disciples baptized more people than John himself. Later on, Christ described Himself as the "living water," which grants eternal life to those who drink from it, and proclaimed, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!'"

 

____

Edit: feedback appricated

Edited October 6, 2023 by mat
Feedback

[old3bob]

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Edited October 19, 2023 by old3bob

[Taoist Texts]

5 hours ago, oak said:

it's good karma making such light comments towards other people's favourite scriptures.

oh i understand:

you think that pointing that  'killing own family is bad',

A} brings  a worse karma than actually 'killing your family' as preached in whatever scriptures.

B}  worse karma than preaching the ' 'killing of own family'.

 

i see. thanks.

[Daniel]

19 hours ago, mat said:

The illusion of the material world does not free us from our duties.

 

9 hours ago, Taoist Texts said:

why not?

 

see below:

 

19 hours ago, mat said:

The soul goes through a cycle of bodies, just as a person changes worn-out clothes for new ones.

 

TThe assumption that is being made which produces the question: "why not?" is that the illusion is of a specific manner.  That is a baseless assumption conceived from a desire to escape duty.  This baseless asssumption is falsely encouraged by plucking out just a few words of the text and ignoring the others.  The "illusion" is not "duty-exists" such that "disillusionment" reveals absolute "nothingness" and freedom from duty.  "disillusionment" reveals, acccording to the text, a "cycle".  This cycle is hidden, cloaked, under a veil of "illusion".

 

And this is demonstrated, by the illusion that that is being conjured by ignoring what the text actually has written and instead only focusing on the little bits, the few words, that are imagined to dissipate and evaporate "duty". 

 

That is no different than the illusion of seeing each indivdual "body" and each individual set of "clothes" as the only ones thus ignoring the "cycle".  It's hyper focusing on the one individual tree, that is most pleasing and desirable while ignoring the entire grove. 

 

This desirable tree, "no-duty",  is so very-very desirable that all the other trees disappear, and an illusion is produced such that there is no grove.  The one little sentence, with the one little word "illusion" and the words "free us from our duties" are so very-very desirable that the rest of the words vanish.

 

And that is no different than focusing on the current body, the current shell, and the rest of the cycle of soul and bodies vanishes.

 

But the text is saying that this ^^ , the above,  is an illusion.  The vanishing of our duties is an illusion that is banished by realizing... see below, from the text:

 

19 hours ago, mat said:

The soul goes through a cycle of bodies, just as a person changes worn-out clothes for new ones.

 

I sincerely hope this helps and answers the queestion for you any others.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Daniel

[oak]

On 06/10/2023 at 5:09 PM, Taoist Texts said:

oh i understand:

you think that pointing that  'killing own family is bad',

A} brings  a worse karma than actually 'killing your family' as preached in whatever scriptures.

B}  worse karma than preaching the ' 'killing of own family'.

 

i see. thanks.

 

If we take a fundamentalist, literal approach to the text we could say in Arjuna's defense that he was in a do or die situation so, "family" in this context are those willing to kill him...at least we could say that Arjuna strugles with guilt just comtemplating the thought of killing his "family"...

However,

Being this a mythological text the fundamentalist, literal approach isn't the one to take as you very well know. As an example that would be the equivalent as saying that any scripture that has an image of a god (Saturn) devouring his son is evil per se.

 

 

Saturn-Francisco-de-Goya-Museo-del-Prado-Madrid.webp

Edited October 8, 2023 by oak

[old3bob]

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Edited October 19, 2023 by old3bob

[NaturaNaturans]

2 hours ago, Daniel said:

 

 

see below:

 

 

TThe assumption that is being made which produces the question: "why not?" is that the illusion is of a specific manner.  That is a baseless assumption conceived from a desire to escape duty.  This baseless asssumption is falsely encouraged by plucking out just a few words of the text and ignoring the others.  The "illusion" is not "duty-exists" such that "disillusionment" reveals absolute "nothingness" and freedom from duty.  "disillusionment" reveals, acccording to the text, a "cycle".  This cycle is hidden, cloaked, under a veil of "illusion".

 

And this is demonstrated, by the illusion that that is being conjured by ignoring what the text actually has written and instead only focusing on the little bits, the few words, that are imagined to dissipate and evaporate "duty". 

 

That is no different than the illusion of seeing each indivdual "body" and each individual set of "clothes" as the only ones thus ignoring the "cycle".  It's hyper focusing on the one individual tree, that is most pleasing and desirable while ignoring the entire grove. 

 

This desirable tree, "no-duty",  is so very-very desirable that all the other trees disappear, and an illusion is produced such that there is no grove.  The one little sentence, with the one little word "illusion" and the words "free us from our duties" are so very-very desirable that the rest of the words vanish.

 

And that is no different than focusing on the current body, the current shell, and the rest of the cycle of soul and bodies vanishes.

 

But the text is saying that this ^^ , the above,  is an illusion.  The vanishing of our duties is an illusion that is banished by realizing... see below, from the text:

 

 

I sincerely hope this helps and answers the queestion for you any others.

Eternity is now

[NaturaNaturans]

1 hour ago, old3bob said:

speaking of mythology, I suggest some caution in not taking all of it just as stories for lessons,   for there are countless beings in a great many realms besides the physical earth realm that are real enough, thus not just of fanciful stories used to demonstrate  lessons that have meaning.  Who can say for sure that some beings in various mythologies don't exist on the astral or mental plane or in a "dream time" and can't have an impact here?  I sure won't.

The thing is, proving that something doesnt exist is literally impossible. Whats going on in the other realms im not in a position to talk about, as i havent seen it. But you got me intruiged. 

[old3bob]

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Edited October 19, 2023 by old3bob

[Daniel]

12 hours ago, mat said:

feedback appricated

 

OK... but before I do, please know I have a great respect for christianity and the book of john.

 

12 hours ago, mat said:

Word became flesh

 

where did flesh come from, and what does flesh represent spritually in christian theology?  once this is applied to that famous, imo, misunderstood chapter, Is it **actually** monist?  

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Daniel

[Daniel]

6 hours ago, mat said:

Eternity is now

 

agreed.  now what?  

 

but seriously, it's only "now" from that "eternal" perspective, and that is not here-and-now.  One would need to escape "here" and approach the infinite in order for that "eternity" to become "now".  And one could never get there, only approach it.  Gen 3:24.  Or I could discuss without scripture if you prefer.

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Daniel

[Nungali]

9 hours ago, old3bob said:

speaking of mythology, I suggest some caution in not taking all of it just as stories for lessons,   for there are countless beings in a great many realms besides the physical earth realm that are real enough, thus not just of fanciful stories used to demonstrate  lessons that have meaning.  Who can say for sure that some beings in various mythologies don't exist on the astral or mental plane or in a "dream time" and can't have an impact here?  I sure won't.

 

ESPECIALLY  when many myths seem a 'display' of the 'Gods'  human psychological issues    

 

I see people playing out 'mythological '  (  / 'psychological '  ?  )  stories and roles often .

[old3bob]

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Edited October 19, 2023 by old3bob

[NaturaNaturans]

13 hours ago, Daniel said:

 

agreed.  now what?  

 

but seriously, it's only "now" from that "eternal" perspective, and that is not here-and-now.  One would need to escape "here" and approach the infinite in order for that "eternity" to become "now".  And one could never get there, only approach it.  Gen 3:24.  Or I could discuss without scripture if you prefer.

 

The Gnosis is too much. Or maybe it's the ketamine haha. Anyway, please continue, it's great fun. Let's see, Gen 3:24: 

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. 

I know that I hung on a windy tree nine long nights, wounded with a spear,
dedicated to Odin, myself to myself, on that tree of which no man knows from where its roots run. No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn, downwards I peered; I took up the runes, screaming I took them, then I fell back from there.
Runatal 139-140

[Dedicated]

What I gained was that the state desired to be attained, is possible despite shortcomings. It was encouraging

[old3bob]

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Edited October 19, 2023 by old3bob

[Dedicated]

Yeah, not very clear of me. Been feeling a little low lately and shows in my writing. I felt the Bhagavad Gita was talking about internal Alchemy when it said that 'it' can be obtained even if you come from a toxic womb. Was trying to phrase it more delicately, but just stuffed it up. I'll come good, had a tiring month

[Daniel]

 

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it's great fun

 

Agreed, I love this stuff.

 

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maybe it's the ketamine haha

 

Just FYI:  I'm not a user, but virtually all my friends are ( maybe not ketamine, tho ), so, please, by all means, enjoy your"self".  

 

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Anyway, please continue

 

Your wish is my command.  See below:

 

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The Gnosis is too much. = on that tree of which no man knows = a flaming sword that turned every way

 

The flaming sword which is turrning every way is like a disposal, a disposer that prohibits entry into the realm of the absolutely literally infinite, aka, the tree of life, it's the "tree which no man knows".  Technically though, it's not that one cannot enter its realm, it's that doing so would be like sending a spark into a bonfire.  The spark immendiately is eclipsed, subsumed, and assimilated with the bonfire.  It stops being the spark, anything that was "sparky" about it is gone, annihilated on entry in the inferno.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Daniel