http://seminary.bhaktivedantaacademy.com/classes/bhagavad-gita-thematic

Given in Bhaktivedanta Academy, Sridham Mayapur, November 2011-April 2012

The following are lecture notes briefly delineating its contents.

• Technically there is no difference between gross materialists and the Vedic philosophers who do not accept the existence of the soul.
• 4:00 Mayavada is the ultimate feminine reaction to not being taken care of. It is the ultimate feminist liberation movement.

• Just as activity, renunciation also has to be in connection to the Lord.
• Mayavada gives rise to more sense gratification. Mayavadis still want to enjoy, just on the subtle platform.
• Material consciousness and its varieties have always existed, they are just given different names at different times.
• The history is written by those who win, not those who lose. Difficult to write when you are dead.
• To enjoy one has to be in control, on whatever platform one wants to enjoy.
• 27:20 Feminine nature in materialism, on the platform of the soul.
• Real platform of Brahman means understanding that we are subservient Brahman. Otherwise, one may be situated in Brahman, but one does not have the mentality of Brahman.
• The materialistic philosophies are present in all ages, but in Satya-yuga there might be just a few people who think that way, while in Kali-yuga there is a maximum number of them.
• The Vedic understanding is based on nonexistence of the material body and the existence of the spiritual body.
• The law of conservation is the Lord's law. Sometimes things are manifest and sometimes not manifest, but the matter always exists. Even at the unmanifested stage nothing is lost.
• There is nothing to lament about, whether we accept the existence of the soul or not.
• It is a dream that we think that we are the body and we can enjoy here. There is no enjoyment in the material world, but there is an actual place of enjoyment, the spiritual world.
• If there is too much attachment to the material platform, we can use the spiritual knowledge to break it down. Once one loses excessive attachment, one is able to work with things in Krishna's service.
• 66:00 In one sense, the masculine principle is senior because it is working and changing the environment. But it is doing so for the sake of the feminine.
• The soul is described as 'amazing' because it is beyond comprehension.
• 75:00 Can we get off bodily platform with any service, or just by book distribution? Realization comes from practice of what we know.
• All living entities are eternally subordinate to Godhead.
• 82:00 The masculine and feminine principles are eternal
• Part means it's part, parcel means it's of the same nature.
• In explaining spiritual knowledge, it is not that one jiva is enlightening another jiva, it is the Lord's cit potency that is doing the work.
• Is the concept of time illusory? Time gives support to rasa. In the spiritual world there is only a flavor of future and past, while here they actually exist due to the modes of passion and ignorance.
• 96:00 till end Feminine principle follows the masculine
• The Lord's energy has unlimited variety, so there are unlimited ways to describe it, but it is still one thing.
• People talk about the Mona Lisa painting since hundreds of years, because it is not clear whether she is smiling or not. Similarly, Lord's energy is not straightforward.
• If there was a FB page for the material world, the status would always be 'it's complicated.'
• Raga, bhaya and krodha arise from the feminine nature.
• If the Lord is taking care, maintenance in the material world is not a problem. But if one has to maintain oneself, one has to struggle very hard.