This course is part of Sastra-Caksus, Year 2 and consists of 101 lectures, available on:
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.
- Brahman is the basic field of creation. Matter is created by spirit.
- We think that the field of activity is the material energy, but actually it is Brahman. The material energy manifests according to the desire of the jiva.
- In the primary creation all the activities that can be performed in the material world are established by the Lord and His energies.
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The living entity can never get away from God, it's just a matter of whether he recognizes it or not.
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Even any modern machine or material only functions according to the rules established by the Lord.
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09:40 Vastu shastra on building materials. Natural things have very little illusory potency in them.
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Logic and Pancanga-nyaya. Srila Prabhupada uses the system of logic of Gautama.
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In logic Krishna is the siddhanta, conclusion. Otherwise, one can win the argument by other tools, but it is not proper, Krishna is not there in that manifestation. In such a debate, only interest is in winning, not in establishing the truth.
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The difference between the living entity and the Lord always has to be emphasized, otherwise there is always the idea that they can become equal.
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58:00 In a natural environment, with natural things, it is easier to be God conscious, but it is not that natural things on their own create God consciousness. Krishna consciousness comes first, it is the principle, other things are detail. Krsna consciousness is not dependent on the natural lifestyle.
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When the living entity just comes into the universe he becomes Lord Brahma, because even though one has material consciousness, one is very pious.
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Krishna as the taste of water. Krishna is the value in everything. Krishna is so many other values in the water and in other things, but in the Bhagavad-gita He just mentions the principal ones.
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Preparing a nice, healthy meal for Krishna is conducive for His service, but it is not that such a meal on its own has value, just like a very colorful dream is not somehow a 'better' dream.
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The best place to look where to connect to Krishna is where our values are.
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One always gets devotional benefit from direct activities of devotional service, but to get devotional benefit from indirect activities, one has to be conscious of Krishna.
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101:00 Seeing Krishna in beauty cream
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Once we understand what is our value in a particular activity or thing that we like, we can find more and more ways to engage it. Such understanding is an important part of self-realization
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Technically all materialists are impersonalists, just some identify as karmis and some as jnanis.