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.

• The purpose of all yogas is bhakti, other yogas are part of bhakti, but the explanations of different parts of karma, jnana, astanga yogas are made in such a way as to appeal to those people with those particular mentalities, because then they follow something pious, and there is more chance that they will surrender to Krishna. But Srimad Bhagavatam makes devotional service direct, because there is danger that by indirect explanations one get deviated.

• 09:50 Devotees getting distracted by indirect sciences.
• Our goal is pleasing Krishna, but we use pious activities as a medium of our service. Pious activities are not to be thrown out, but they are only useful as a medium to use in Krishna consciousness. In abhideya we use pious work, knowledge etc. to please Krishna. We put ourselves in such a situation that we can use these things for Krishna - home environment, work environment, preaching environment etc should be conducive to pleasing Krishna.
• Other yogas may be used for elevation, but the point of yoga is concentrating the mind on Krishna in devotion
• 21:00 Performing activities for Krishna, developing knowledge about Krishna and meditating on Krishna have to be performed in devotional service, favorably towards Krishna - body, mind and words engaged. But when one takes Krishna out of them, they become karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, ashtanga-yoga
• 22:00 Knowledge is more important than skills, because skills go away with time, but even material knowledge is gone at death. Therefore seeing knowledge in connection to Krishna and using it favorably towards Krishna is most important.
• Fruitive activities and liberation do not stand on their own, they are only useful in connection to Krishna consciousness
• Krishna defines family life, occupations, etc, here it's only reflection from the spiritual world. All there is is Krishna consciousness, Krishna makes everything happen, but we think it's separate.
• 40:00 STARTING CHAPTER 7
• First 6 chapters - karma yoga, Middle 6 chapters - bhakti yoga, last 6 - jnana-yoga
• According to Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, first 6 chapters speak about the nature of soul and how to realize it
• 2nd 6 chapters - nature of the Lord and how to realize it.
• 49:00 The best use of speculative process is analyze how things around us connect to Krishna according to authorities.
• 50:00 Krishna tells about Himself in the element of tattva, but about Rasa we have to hear from devotees.
• 55:00 How teacher should create field for the student to present questions.
• 58:00 If we are able to see Krishna in everything, there is nothing more left to know, just the mechanical skills for dealing in a particular field. We have nature and skills for our service - both in the material and in the spiritual world.
• 60:00 seeing on the Brahman platform means seeing Krishna's energies acting in everything: as the original cause, formal cause and material cause.
• Acting according to our nature and values, making goals is Paramatma platform.
• 65:00 material energy does not have a separate potency, it's like a mirror reflecting the activities going on in the spiritual world. The mirror is our desire.
• 67:00 Why would we think that what we want should happen? If we want things to work, we should see and act according to scriptures.
• But skills and knowledge given in the scriptures should be used for the purpose of devotion.
• 70:00 Krishna explains this knowledge to devotees , because through it they can get Him.
• 74:00 If by doing activities we think of Krishna automatically, that's nice, but if not, then we have to use knowledge of causation
• If things work, nice, but if something doesn't work, we can fix it if we have the proper knowledge
• 78:15 The skills of the material world are "a box of matches" for one who has proper knowledge in Krishna consciousness.
• 80:00 Devotional service is the most practical thing.
• 88:00 What does it mean that by engaging in devotional service things happen "automatically". Automatic means that if we see things in connection to Krishna, we elevate ourselves spiritually, we develop the same mentality of the spiritual world.
• Devotion and the connection to Krishna is the hidden element that makes things work.
• If we think that things are ours, we become entangled in them, but if we know they belong to Krishna, we will not be entangled.
• Discussion on heat and light and fire