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images of Shiva as Yogeshvara, the Lord of Yoga, suggest that meditation was practiced in a civilization which flourished a millennium before the Vedas were committed to an oral tradition.
dharma implies support from within: the essence of a thing, its virtue, that which makes it what it is.
On a larger scale, dharma means the essential order of things, an integrity and harmony in the universe
Sankhya, the philosophical system whose practical counterpart is the school of meditation called Yoga.
At this instant of creation, thrown into imbalance, prakriti differentiates itself into three basic states or qualities of primordial energy. These are the gunas.
Tamas is frozen energy, the resistance of inertia.
rajas, activity, is like a swollen river, full of uncontrolled power.
sattva, harmony, can be compared with steam when its power is harnessed.
Tamas, the lowest level, is the vast unconscious, a chaotic dumping ground for the residue of past mental states.
There is no choice in tamas, no awareness; this is complete ignorance of the unity of life, ignorance of any other need than one’s own basic urges.
Rajas is what we ordinarily mean by mind, the incessant stream of thought that races along, desiring, worrying, resenting, scheming, competing, frustrating and getting frustrated. Rajas is power released, but uncontrolled and egocentric. Sattva, finally, is the so-called higher mind – detached, unruffled, self-controlled. This is not a state of repressive regulation, but the natural harmony that comes with unity of purpose, character, and desire. Negative states of mind do still come up, prompted by tamas and rajas, but there is no need to act on them.
What kind of yoga does the Gita teach? The common answer is that it presents three yogas or even four – the four main paths of Hindu mysticism. In jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge, aspirants use their will and discrimination to disidentify themselves from the body, mind, and senses until they know they are nothing but the Self. The followers of bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, achieve the same goal by identifying themselves completely with the Lord in love; by and large, this is the path taken by most of the mystics of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In karma yoga, the yoga of selfless
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“You have the right to action, but not to the fruits of action”: each of us has the obligation to act rightly, but no power to dictate what is to come of what we do.
Those who are compulsively attached to the results of action cannot really enjoy what they do; they get downcast when things do not work out and cling more desperately when they do.
To live without the daily sacrifice (yajna) of selfless service – to work just for oneself, or worse, to do nothing at all – is simply to be a thief (3:12).
As charioteer, he is in a perfect position to give advice and encouragement to Arjuna without violating his promise not to join the fight himself.
although war is evil, it is an evil that cannot be avoided
“Yoga is evenness of mind”:
This is how Arjuna, the great warrior, spoke to Sri Krishna. With the words, “O Krishna, I will not fight,” he fell silent. 10 As they stood between the two armies, Sri Krishna smiled and replied to Arjuna, who had sunk into despair.
The impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal. Those who have seen the boundary between these two have attained the end of all knowledge. 17 Realize that which pervades the universe and is indestructible; no power can affect this unchanging, imperishable reality. 18 The body is mortal, but that which dwells in the body is immortal and immeasurable. Therefore, Arjuna, fight in this battle.
The Self cannot be pierced by weapons or burned by fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. 24 The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundations of eternity. 25 The Self is unmanifested,
The Self of all beings, living within the body, is eternal and cannot be harmed.
Considering your dharma, you should not vacillate. For a warrior, nothing is higher than a war against evil.
Your enemies will ridicule your strength and say things that should not be said.
now listen to the principles of yoga. By practicing these you can break through the bonds of karma. 40 On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.
There are ignorant people who speak flowery words and take delight in the letter of the law, saying that there is nothing else. 43 Their hearts are full of selfish desires, Arjuna. Their idea of heaven is their own enjoyment, and the aim of all their activities is pleasure and power. The fruit of their actions is continual rebirth. 44 Those whose minds are swept away by the pursuit of pleasure and power are incapable of following the supreme goal and will not attain samadhi.
Just as a reservoir is of little use when the whole countryside is flooded, scriptures are of little use to the illumined man or woman,
yoga is perfect evenness of mind.
yoga is skill in action.
Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind.
Krishna remembers his former births, but he is no ordinary being. He reveals that he has chosen to take on human birth
Vishnu is believed to descend and incarnate himself on earth from age to age to reestablish divine law (dharma).
profound meditation called samadhi. When meditation becomes very deep, breathing becomes slow, steady, and even, and the windows of the senses close to all outward sensations.
yogi, among other things, is a person who is an adept at meditation.
Krishna assures Arjuna that no attempt to improve his spiritual condition could possibly be a wasted effort. Even looking ahead to the next life, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He will be reborn in a household suitable for taking up his quest where he left off. In his next life, he will feel drawn to the spiritual goal once again, and he will have a head start. The general Hindu belief is that Self-realization requires many, many lives of spiritual discipline.
Select a clean spot, neither too high nor too low, and seat yourself firmly on a cloth, a deerskin, and kusha grass. 12 Then, once seated, strive to still your thoughts. Make your mind one-pointed in meditation, and your heart will be purified. 13 Hold your body, head, and neck firmly in a straight line, and keep your eyes from wandering. 14 With all fears dissolved in the peace of the Self and all desires dedicated to Brahman, controlling the mind and fixing it on me, sit in meditation with me as your only goal.
Krishna's way to meditate
When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.
The term used for wisdom is jnana; for realization, vijnana.
jnana is the standard term for the highest kind of knowledge: not scholarship or book-learning but direct knowledge of God, spiritual wisdom.
Sankhya recognized two fundamental principles underlying all things: prakriti, the principle of mind and matter, and Purusha, the principle of pure spirit.
In much Hindu mythology, it is the god Brahma who takes credit for creating the world. It is he, the four-faced deity, who has flung forth the manifold worlds of this and former (as well as future) universes. But in the mythology of Vishnu, Brahma is born in the lotus that grows from Vishnu’s navel. The lotus is Vishnu’s womb. In it Brahma is born, and at Vishnu’s urging he creates the worlds. Vishnu is the real Creator; Brahma is a demigod born of Vishnu’s will to create. Here in the Gita Krishna directly assumes all the roles and honors usually shared with the other aspects of God worshipped
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Earth, water, fire, air, akasha, mind, intellect, and ego – these are the eight divisions of my prakriti.
My highest nature, the imperishable Brahman, gives every creature its existence and lives in every creature as the adhyatma. My action is creation and the bringing forth of creatures. 4 The adhibhuta is the perishable body; the adhidaiva is Purusha, eternal spirit. The adhiyajna, the supreme sacrifice, is made to me as the Lord within you.
You are Vayu, god of wind; Yama, god of death; Agni, god of fire; Varuna, god of water. You are the moon and the creator Prajapati, and the great-grandfather of all creatures.
prakriti – the basis of the world of mind and matter.
the three qualities of prakriti, known as gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas.
three gunas born of prakriti – sattva, rajas, and tamas – that bind the immortal Self to the body. 6 Sattva – pure, luminous, and free from sorrow – binds us with attachment to happiness and wisdom. 7 Rajas is passion, arising from selfish desire and attachment. These bind the Self with compulsive action. 8 Tamas, born of ignorance, deludes all creatures through heedlessness, indolence, and sleep.
Sattva binds us to happiness; rajas binds us to action. Tamas, distorting our understanding, binds us to delusion.
When sattva predominates, the light of wisdom shines through every gate of the body. 12 When rajas predominates, a person runs about pursuing selfish and greedy ends, driven by restlessness and desire. 13 When tamas is dominant a person lives in darkness – slothful, confused, and easily infatuated.
is tamas their way of addressing mental illness?
The fruit of good deeds is pure and sattvic. The fruit of rajas is suffering. The fruit of tamas is ignorance and insensitivity.
