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 best analysis of the world is Vedanta-sutra
• Gita, Bhagavatam and Vedanta Sutra describe the same things
• Sandarbhas analyze Bhagavatam. Vedanta Sutra analyzes Upanishads.

• There is nothing we can do about the situation we are in, but what to do is 100% our choice. Still, we usually act according to certain patterns. Therefore Vedanta knowledge is so important, because it can bring change.
• The residents of the spiritual world are not interested in mental speculation, all they discuss about relationship and service.
• But the details in the material energy are given to connect everything to Krishna consciousness - so nothing is theory in Vedic literatures
• Unmanifest are the modes of nature that are not acting. Aggregate is pradhana
• Getting out of material world is a bigger thing than being successful materially - kids don't know there are multinational companies.
• Without training, you have kids and you have big kids. If you have training, then you have adults.
• "The body of knowledge doesn't change. If it's connected to Krishna, then it's considered knowledge, if it's not connected to Krishna, the same facts and figures are ignorance. Why? Because they'll bind you. It doesn't mean it's not a fact, but just you'll become bound by it. But if it's connected to Krishna, you are not bound by it, you are freed."
• "You have five husbands, they are very considerate to Draupadi. Even Bhima who would rip your head off with no problem, when Draupadi comes to him, he is very, very gentle. Anything she comes, like if she has got a real problem that someone is bothering her, she doesn't go to Yudhishthira, because he will tell her about tolerance and all that, she goes to Bhima. Because Bhima will rip his head off. But he is very conscious, very careful."
• People have problem with working with 2 contradictory things happening at once, but that is Vedanta.
• The soul's material coverings correspond to its real, spiritual mind, intelligence etc.
• Becoming free from entanglement, developing good qualities is not the goal. The goal is Krishna.
• The good qualities, not used in connection with Krishna, for our own benefit, is stealing.
• 63:00 Should we hold on or Krishna will pull us - both.
• Lord has His hands and legs everywhere - as the Universal form, and also because living entities are everywhere.
• There is only one Supersoul, but He is in everyone's heart.
• Mayavadis are just great orators, they make their presentations to be accepted by the mind, even though they may not be intelligent.
• Jalpa, vada, vitanda. Someone can use the system of logic to very convincingly present things, but it doesn't mean it's true.
• 'We want to preach to karmis. Karmis like pants. Therefore preaching means pants.' That's the logic. So it sounds really good, and if it's really nicely presented, people buy it all the time. But the problem is is, it's not proper logic. Since when does pants mean preaching? Or since when does the satisfaction of the public mean pants? But we define it that way and everybody, "Oh, yeah, that's right!" But it's not that the guy has this great pair of pants and now his whole life is perfect."
• 92:20 "His Divine Grace" - there are extremely few people who might have problem with this, but they think their perspective is the world.
• Even karmi indologists have no problem with "His Divine Grace"
• Wherever Maharaja goes, devotees only want to hear straight Krishna conscious philosophy.
• 101:30 Krishna is knowledge, the object of knowledge and the goal of knowledge.
• 102:00 Only devotees can understand this knowledge and the knowable. A person may even be a devotee, but unless they apply that devoteness into their intellect, therefore their intellect is not used in a devotional way, therefore they will never get devotional conclusion.
• They may be very expert in vitanda and argument, but they will not get proper conclusion.
• Karmis and jnanis always fight, but if they are not Krishna conscious, it's the same thing, even though they might deny it.
• But unless one is a devotee, one can't understand that.