The relationship between science and spirituality (chapter 7 verse 1)

 

•The first chapter of the Gita spoken entirely by ShreeKrushna. Why ShreeKrushna rather than Arjuna began this chapter. Only when a relationship is strong and close is there less of a need for words and less of a need for questions, and the answers just come straight away. And the more of a distance between people in a relationship then the more there is a need for words. The deeper the topic of conversation then the less that there is a need for words and the shallower the topic then the more there is a need for words.

​

•The transition of the Gita from the path of karma (action) in chapters 1 to 6 to the path of bhakti (devotion) in chapters 7 to 12 before going on the path of gnyan (wisdom) in chapters 13 to 18. Why bhakti (devotion) is placed between karma (action) and gnyan (wisdom). Once we learn about meditation, who should we perform meditation of?

​

•Why wisdom only comes from vismay (awe and adoration). The difference between jigna (curiosity) and vismay (awe and adoration). The difference between a scientist and a child in asking questions. The consequences of wisdom being attained through both jigna (curiosity) and through vismay (awe and adoration)

​

•An introduction to the word maam (Me) said by God. So our expectations, so we will see God. Why Vedanta says that your God will be determined upon the answer to the question "Who am I?"

​

•How different people perceive God in different ways. A description of how different people saw ShreeKrushna in different ways in 10th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavad at the time when Shree Krushna is coming into the wrestling arena in order to kill Kamsa. The beauty of the poetry of Vyas Mahashree.

​

•Why we have so many Gods and so many Idols in Hinduism; the beauty and uniqueness of Hinduism.

​

•The differences in perceiving God when you identify yourself with the body, senses, life breath, mind, intellect or soul.

•The meaning of the Sanskrit saying tat tvam asi ("I am That").

​

•How to be free from vasnas (mental impressions) and the selfish will.

​

•Three things that are needed in order to know the Supreme Soul in full: have your mind clinging to God; having God as your refuge; and practising yoga.

​

•The two types of love: love when the other person is separate from you and love when the other person is the same as you. Which is the better of the two?

​

•How to have your mind engrossed in God. The two examples in our scriptures of oil spilling and food spilling.

​

•The journey of bhakti (devotion) of God through five steps.

​

•How Birbal witted Akbar at the dinner table.

​

•What the ego is formed from?

​

•The reason for erotic descriptions in our scriptures such as the Shiv Purana and the Shrimad Bhagavad. When the seeds of consciousness (the male) and nature (the female) combine then a child is born which is the "I" or "me".

​

•The two outlooks we can have towards life: the outlook of denial and the outlook of acceptance.

​

•How love and humility accepts everyone. The story of when a devotee of Buddha created an idol of Him out of gold.

​

•The difference between dvaita (dualism) and advaita (non-dualism)

​

•How fear keeps a person running. Two ways of getting rid of the fear of the other person: the way of Swami Vivekananda of the East and the way of Winston Churchill of the West

​

•Why love with fear is not true love.

​

•The Supreme Soul is not someone sitting high up in the sky or someone sitting within the four walls of a Temple; the Supreme Soul is avyakta (the latent Truth) and vyakta (the Truth that is inside the forms of every creature in this world that appear in front of us).

​

•The two types of belief: belief with doubt and belief without doubt

​

•The relationship between Dharma and science. Dharma is belief without any doubts and acceptance in its totality whereas science is belief with doubts. How science keeps changing its conclusions and Dharma never changes its conclusions. How science does not regard its decisions as final whereas Dharma does. Science tries to bring Truth within its own grasp whereas religion goes and stands within the grasp of Truth. 

​

•The debate about whether we should drink milk.

​

•The many meanings of the stem Go in the name Govinda

​

•The reason why there is corruption, poverty and problems in India: the flaw of the education system. There was a time in India when man lived the Gita. There was a time when people were living the Upanishads. Now the system of education is changing. The education that we are getting today is that of doubt and confusion. We are trained to doubt. And the more a person doubts then the more that society calls him an intellectual person.

​

•The mind becomes habitualised to creating doubts and confusions. The mind of Yudhistira in the Mahabharat is just like this. That is why Yuddhistir is such a knowledgeable person and yet not only did he remain unhappy but he also made other people unhappy (his four brothers).

​

•Through doubt science advances, you get technology and you get the comforts of life but there is no peace when there are doubts. This is because the path of science is the path of doubt. 

​

•If you wish to keep the activity of science going on then you have to keep doubts alive. This is because as soon as doubts finish then the book of science is closed. Dharma does not grab doubts by the throat; Dharma gives one the inspiration to go beyond doubts.

​

•The secret to effective time management and the ashram system where we divided life into four stages.

 

Chapter 7 introduction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFed3uYy5Es

 

Chapter 7 verse 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuJSszEPE1Y 

​

GO TO THE NEXT CLASS BY CLICKING HERE.

​