http://seminary.bhaktivedantaacademy.com/content/uploads/sc/year1/bg101/2010-11-21-BVPS-BG-5.26-5.29-sophisticating-naiskarmya-ND.mp3
This course is part of Sastra-Caksus, Year 1 and consists of 91 lectures, available on:
http://seminary.bhaktivedantaacademy.com/classes/bhagavad-gita-seriatim/
Given in Bhaktivedanta Academy, Sridham Mayapur, September 2010-April 2011
The following are lecture notes briefly delineating its contents.
- One is able to control senses by using intelligence, and that is coming from consciousness. The nature of jiva is the choice to properly apply consciousness. We are in a certain situation due to our previous choices. By using intelligence, one makes better choices.
- 5:00 Duality is there, because we see complete difference between things. There IS difference, but not duality. Like heat and cold are aspects of the same thing, temperature
- Krishna conscious person is free from anger, because by seeing something as ours we work within duality, and therefore there is nice and not nice. But if it's all connected to Krishna, no material desires, there will also be no anger from frustration.
- The Brahman platform is only the happiness of removal of all pain, but there is no positive happiness. But the soul always wants to function in a position of variety, but that variety is for the pleasure of the Lord, not for the jiva.
- Impersonalists endeavor to achieve Brahmananda, but afterwards stop endeavoring, therefore ananda stops. Only devotees have the concept of activities on the liberated platform in the service of the Lord, therefore their happiness is eternal.
- 24:30 Keys to soft preaching - Prabhupada uses terms like "liberation in the Supreme", but he preaches direct Krishna conscious philosophy, by re-defining and refining those terms. Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentions how any small thing that has some value fits into a bigger picture. From that point, we can start preaching to a person.
- Impersonalists and buddhists' concept of nirvana is that material energy does not exist, and liberation is a state of having no conception of material energy. But devotees understand that material energy exists, so even in the liberated state, freed from illusion, they can still act within the material energy for the pleasure of the Lord.
- 34:00 In preaching, we should not completely deny the wrong conception of the other person, but rather see where they have a correct, but incomplete understanding.
- The subtle body is mainly the mind, it just has the subdivisions of mind, intelligence and false ego.
- 40:00 Mother Yashoda is using intelligence in her activities to please Krishna, but her affection to Krishna needs no intellectual explanation.
- Process of attachment to material and spiritual is the same - by associating with devotees we develop attachment to Krishna.
- Matter is just an inferior spiritual, but in the beginning when our spiritual intelligence has not yet developed, we make strong discrimination between material and spiritual. But with time we see how all things, even seemingly material can be connected to Krishna.
- Devotees may get distracted by karma and jnana and make mistakes, but the solution is not to not do service, it is to engage in more direct activities for some time, then return to their service with renewed spiritual consciousness.
- Some devotees don't pay much attention to the Vedic culture, but at the same time they have complete faith in Prabhupada and mainly engage in direct activities, so that's okay. But if one neglects the Vedic culture, but at the same time has great faith in the sophisticated modern, that will create problems.
- 66:30 Any philosophy or religion to become popular, it has to have a Supreme and it has to entail selfless work.
- 71:00 Why wouldn't we be the most popular religion?
- 73:00 - 89 approx. Using gas vs cow-dung for cooking - simple lifestyle does not stand on its own
- People are inspired because they meditate on a certain point, that point is Krishna.
- Krishna's quality as friend to all living entities manifests through preachers
- 96:30 Without inspiration, nothing happens, and Krishna is that inspiration
- Karmi, jnani, yogi are working so hard, but their work could have elevated them to devotional service, otherwise it's a waste of time. Therefore BG introductory chapters are dealing with the mentalities of karma, jnana and yoga, so it can be connected to devotional service.