1. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 - Lesson 1 of 9

Srīmad Bhagavad Gītā is the ultimate sacred scripture of yoga, Yogaśastra and the pristine glory of the Vedic culture, the eternal living tradition called sanātana-dharma. It belongs to the whole Universe for it is delivered to the Universe by the source and embodiment of

Universe. We salute and bow down to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who spoke the Bhagavad Gītā out of His infinite love and compassion for all beings.

Whenever unrighteousness, adharma becomes predominant and dharma, righteous living declines and the Yoga of Enlightenment is lost,

Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Consciousness appears again and again to revive this sacred yoga, to protect and to enrich the devoted beings; and destroys adharma to re-establish the pure and everlasting dharma. Song

Gītā is also called Brahmavidyā the Knowledge of Brahman, the supreme absolute truth; it is Jīvan Mukti Vijñāna the Science of Living Enlightenment.

As with all scriptures, it is the knowledge and experience that is transmitted verbally as Śri Krṣṇārjuna Saṁvād, an intimate dialogue between Master of the world, Jagadguru Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His dear devotee and disciple, Arjuna. It is called śruti in Saṃskṛit, meaning something that is heard.

Gītā, as Bhagavad Gītā is generally called, translates literally from Saṃskṛit as 'Sacred Song of God'. Unlike

the Vedas and Upaniṣads, which are stand alone expressions of Truth, the Gītā is written into the greatest Hindu epic, the Mahābhārat, called a purāṇa, an ancient historical happening. It is part of the recorded history of the greatest tradition, the paramount civilization in all its Divine grandeur and its human complexity, so to speak.

No other epic or part of an epic has the special status and space of the Gītā. No other book but the Gītā gives a scientific, systematic, applied science of living joyfully in completion, while empowering the human actionfield with authenticity to evolve into a responsible Divine play-field.

Called the royal supreme knowledge rājavidyā rājaguhyaṁ (9.2), this one sacred book conveys the essence of knowledge contained in all written and oral vedic truths to enrich the simplest to complex humans at all planes. It holds within itself the direct key to every possible human enquiry, the solution to every dilemma of emotions, and the sublime righteous path and goal of every quest of rising or falling civilizations for every age, time or geography. As a consequence of the presence of the Gītā, the Mahābhārat epic itself is considered a sacred Hindu scripture.

Gītā arose from the super consciousness of Śri Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme God, the complete Incarnation Purṇāvatār, and is therefore considered Gītāśastra—the essential scripture, knowing which, one is liberated from all incompletions, yaj jñātvā mokṣyase asubhāt (9.1) and Gītopaniṣad—the essence of all Upaniṣads, the purest and highest knowledge to be ever known and cognized because it gives the direct experience of the Self pavitram idam uttamam pratyakṣāvagaṁ dharmyaṁ (9.2).

Gītā is the ultimate practical teaching on the inner science of spirituality that expresses as outer victory and success in life now and after. It is not, as some scholars incorrectly claim, a promotion of violence. It is about the impermanence of the mind and body, and the need to go beyond the mind, ego and logic.

The answers of the Divine, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, transcend time and space. Śrī Kṛṣṇa's message is everlasting and joyfully performed, and is as valid today as it was on that fateful battlefield over five thousand years ago. The science of Gītā is the eternal technique of living in completion; the song of Gītā is the eternal life-enriching nectar, having no expiry date, time or age!

Mahābhārat, literally meaning the great Bhārata, is a grand narration about the nation and civilization, which is now known as Bharat. It was then a nation ruled by king Bhārata and his descendants.

Your whole life is nothing but the Mahābhārat War. The Mahābharāt should be read again and again to understand the intricacies of life, the complications of life, and the ability to handle life. The true story of this perfectly recorded epic is about two warring clans, Kauravas and Pānḍavas, closely related to one another. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind king of Hastināpur and father of the 100 Kaurava brothers was the brother of Pānḍu, whose children were the five Pānḍava princes.

It is a tale of strife between cousins and ultimately between dhārmic and adhārmic,

Since Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind, Pānḍu was made the king of Hastināpura. Pānḍu was cursed by a sage that he would die if he ever entered into a physical relationship with his wives.

He therefore had no children. Vyāsa says that all the five Pānḍava children were born to their mothers Kuntī and Mādri through the blessing of divine beings. Pānḍu handed over the kingdom and his children to his blind brother.

Kuntī, who is the embodiment of tapas, spiritual penance, had received a boon when she was still a young unmarried adolescent, that she could summon any divine power at will to father a child. Before she married, she tested her boon. The Sun god, Sūrya appeared before her.

Karṇa was born to her as a result. In fear of social reprisals, she cast the newborn away in a river. Yudhiṣṭra, Bhīma and Arjuna were born to Kuntī after her marriage by invocation of her powers, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Mādri, the second wife of Pānḍu. What happened during the MahabharatA?

Yudhiṣṭra was born to Kuntī as a result of her being blessed by Yama, the god of death, dharma and justice, Bhīma by Vāyu, the god of wind, and Arjuna by Indra, god of all the divine beings. Nakula and Sahadeva, the youngest Pānḍava twins, were born to Mādri, through the Divine Aśvini twins.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra had a hundred sons through his wife Gāndhārī. The eldest of these Kaurava princes was Duryodhana. Duryodhana felt no love for his five Pānḍava cousins. He made many unsuccessful attempts, along with his brother Duśśāsana, to kill the Pānḍava brothers. Kuntī's eldest son Karṇa, whom she had cast away at birth, was found and brought up by a chariot driver in the palace, and by a strange twist of fate, joined hands with Duryodhana.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra gave Yudhiṣṭra one half of the Kuru kingdom on his coming of age, since the Pānḍava prince was the rightful heir to the throne that his father Pānḍu had vacated.

Yudhiṣṭra ruled from his new capital Indraprastha, along with his brothers Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.

Arjuna won the hand of princess Draupadī, daughter of the king of Pāñcāla, in a svayaṁvara, a marital contest in which princes fought for the hand of a fair damsel.

In fulfillment of their mother Kuntī's desire that the brothers share everything equally, Draupadī became the wife of all five Pānḍava brothers. Duryodhana persuaded Yudhiṣṭra to join a gambling session, where his cunning uncle Śakunī defeated the Pānḍava king.

Yudhiṣṭra lost all that he owned—his kingdom, his brothers, his wife and himself, to Duryodhana. Duśśāsana shamed Draupadī in public by trying to disrobe her. The Pānḍava brothers and Draupadī were forced to go into exile for fourteen years, with the condition that in the last year they should live incognito or ajyāta vāsa.

At the end of the fourteen years, the Pānḍava brothers tried to reclaim their kingdom. In this effort they were helped by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the king of the Yādava clan, who is the eighth divine incarnation of Bhagavān Viṣṇu.

However, Duryodhana refused to yield even a needlepoint of land, and as a result, the Great War, the War of Mahābhārat ensued. In this war, various rulers of the entire nation that is modern Bharat aligned with one or the other of these two clans, the Kauravas or the Pānḍavas.

Kṛṣṇa offered to join with either of the two clans. He says, 'One of you may have Me unarmed. I will not take any part in the battle. The other may have my entire Yādava army.'

When the offer was first made to Duryodhana, he predictably chose the large and well-armed Yādava army, Nārāyaṇī Senā, in preference to the unarmed Kṛṣṇa.

Arjuna joyfully and gratefully chose his dearest friend, his life mentor and his Guru, Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, to be his unarmed charioteer!

This whole history is such a beautiful happening. Mahābhārat is actually your life! Every character in the Mahābhārat teaches so much! We don't need to go anywhere for our life success or fulfillment or for anything else that we may desire. We don't need to study any other book to learn the human psychology or the science of living and leaving. Whether we seek righteous living—dharma; or we want to learn business or administration, economy or abundance—artha; or we want to create the best rich lifestyle—kāma; or we want to be a leader and want the enriching life of being enlightened mokṣa, for all these purposes, we don't need anything other than the Mahābharāt!

Study each character. We will not find any more characters in our life than the characters described in the Mahābharāt!

Any character we see in our life is mapped to Mahābharāt's one character. They are either half or full representation of some character.

To know how to handle them and even handle yourself, just see how Śrī Kṛṣṇa handles them and handle them the same way. The Mahābharāt war is a representation of life as it was lived in that age.

Vyāsa, its author is an unbiased historian who recorded the whole history as it happened without trying to apply any makeup. People ask whether the Mahābharāt war happened at all!

If the Mahābharāt was a story and not history, Vyāsa should receive multiple Pulitzer prizes for his highly creative work! The Mahābharāt is the longest literary work in the whole world with hundred thousand Saṃskṛit verses—the longest poem ever written with such delicate harmony of unmatched poetic perfection. It is larger than the Greek epics. Vyāsa had no computer, no tape recorder with speech-to-text capabilities. He dictated and Bhagavān Ganeṣa wrote it down!

• Yudhiṣṭra is embodiment of Integrity the power of words, vāk śakti.
• Bhīma is embodiment of Authenticity the power of thoughts, mano śakti.

Arjuna is embodiment of Responsibility—the power of feeling, prema śakti.

• Sahadeva is embodiment of Enriching the power of living, ātma śakti.
  • Nakula is embodiment of causing reality for others.

• Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.

• Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.

• Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.

• Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities and all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic, conflict-free way.

Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate Till now everyone blames Bhagavan Sri Krishna for this Kurukshetra war but that's the greatest sacrifice Bhagavan Sri Krishna did to save the planet Earth. If Kurukshetra was not conducted at that time under the controlled conditions and direct supervision of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, planet Earth would not have survived more than three years.

act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities a nd all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and The wide spread availability of the Astra shastras without Shastra, without the knowledge and vision, was posing a huge threat to the whole of humanity and planet Earth, and for life itself. The greatest achievement of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is destroying all the weapons in one controlled condition and saving planet earth, eliminating the nuclear weapons and the knowledge of these nuclear weapons to save humanity from total annihilation.

conflict-free way.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

Bhagavad Gītā appears in the heart of Mahābhārat in Bhīṣma Parva, the sixth chapter of its eighteen chapters. Veda Vyāsa, the narrator, in glorifying the Gītā sings, 'the one who drinks the water of Ganges (the sacred river for Hindus) attains liberation, what to speak of the one who drinks the nectar of Gītā?

Gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārat, bhāratamṛta sarvasvam as it is directly spoken by Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān kṛṣṇa Himself.'

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukṣetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle out of total powerlessness unbecoming an invincible warrior among warriors.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra out of His utmost concern and love for him and humanity is the content of Bhagavad Gītā. Of its seven hundred and forty-five (745) verses, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa sings the Gītā in six hundred and twenty (620) verses responding to Arjuna's fifty-seven (57) enquiries.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa persuades Arjuna to give-up his powerlessness unfitting an Ārya—the spiritually evolved one who understands human life and urges him to raise himself again as Parantapa—the conqueror of enemy, and take up arms and vanquish his enemies. They are already dead,' says Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your responsibility. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

śrī bhagavānuvāca idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave jñānaṁ vijñāna sahitaṁ yajjñātvā mokṣyase'śubhāt

Kṛṣṇa says: Dear Arjuna, because you trust Me and you are not envious of Me; I shall therefore impart to you this profound and secret wisdom and experience; This will free you of all miseries of material existence.

Once we know this secret, then there is no difference between the Divine and us.

rājavidyā rājaguhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

This knowledge is king of all knowledge and the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, sacred, and because it gives direct perception of the Self by Self-realization, it is the perfection of religion, dharma. It is eternal, easy and it is very joyfully performed.

Whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, realize it or not, you are God. You have two choices. You can either sleep as long as you want to without experiencing this truth, or you can make the conscious choice to experience your enlightenment. But the truth is, 'You are That'.

aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa aprāpya māṁ nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani

Those who have no faith in this knowledge cannot attain Me, O Parantapa, conqueror of foes. They will return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

Have faith in dharma and it will lead you to the Ultimate.'

We are now at the halfway mark of the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna started in total confusion and dilemma. His questions were varied and repetitive. It was as if he did not listen to what Krsna told him. As I said, questions arise from inner violence. They arise from the ego to prove one's correctness.

These questions gradually morph into doubts. Doubts are essential for any seeker. Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. Without doubt, we cannot develop faith. Blind faith is based upon social conditioning and will collapse under pressure. Real faith develops in the seeker when he sincerely questions spiritual truths. Raising sincere doubts before an enlightened master actually does a lot to integrate a person and strengthen his faith.

Krsna sees the change happening within Arjuna. He feels Arjuna'sinner violence and conflict is clearing up and that his individual consciousness is opening. The master is ready to change gears now and take the dialogue to the next level that is needed to address this change in Attitude. Now Krsna reveals to Arjuna the greatest of all secrets, the secret about Himself.

Here Krsna says, 'Because you are never jealous, never envious of My status and Me, I give you the ultimate secret of this state.' And I tell you,this is the ultimate secret. And He says, 'Knowing which, you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.

'What are the miseries of material existence? Whether we have something or not, it is misery. If we don't have, then the misery is, 'I don't have.' If we have, then we have the misery, 'I must protect it.'

Yoga means achieving. Ksema means protecting or preserving. Both are miseries. Whether we have or not, it is misery. Krsna says that the miseries of having wealth and not having wealth, both disappear by knowing this secret. This is the ultimate secret that needs to be understood. Knowledge of this secret liberates you.

He says, 'This knowledge is the king of all knowledge. The greatest secret of all secrets, it is the purest knowledge and because it gives direct perception of the Self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting and it is joyfully performed.'

See, religion or a spiritual path should have three characteristics. First,it should clearly describe the goal of life. Next, it should clearly give you the path to achieve the goal. Third, it should make you happy to travel in that path. The path itself should be joyful.

In this chapter Krsna says, 'I am something more than God. Whatever you think of as God rests in Me. All created beings rest in Me.' But He is not crucified, because He declares this truth to a person who understands and accepts it. We need to see whether a person is mature enough to receive the truth before we share it.

Here, Krsna says it is a secret, because it can be delivered only to a person qualified to receive it. However, these chapters are intimate secrets delivered only from the master to a qualified disciple who really wants the knowledge.

Here Krsna gives the qualification of people who can attain Him. When I say 'Him' , it is the universal energy I am referring to. In the first two verses Krsna says, 'It is a great truth that I am going to tell and it is a secret that I am revealing to you.' Now He lets Arjuna know what kind of people can know the secret.

He says people who do not have faith in His teachings go back to the path of rebirth without attaining Him. He says the qualification required is to have faith in His teachings. Only those people can come out of the vicious cycle of birth and death. Faith is one of the most important things, especially in the spiritual path. Whenever an enlightened master speaks, every word he utters is the Absolute Truth.

Here, Krsna talks about faith in dharma, His teachings. When Krsna says dharma, He means anything that leads us to a higher level of consciousness. Man without consciousness is an animal, a danava. In Hindu epics there are two types of people: manava and danava, humans and non-humans. The first category has faith in dharma and a higher level of consciousness. Danava are animals. They do not have faith in any dharma, so their level of consciousness is low.

The only difference between man and an animal is the seed of consciousness implanted in us. We must water this seed and allow it to germinate. We must nurture this sapling to flower into a fully-grown tree. We need faith in dharma for this tree of consciousness to happen in us. Krsna clearly says that we must allow consciousness to flower in us, and in order to do that we must have faith in dharma.

To help the child realize some of the truths of existence as shared by Krsna, so that they can build a strong foundation in allowing their consciousness to blossom. GOALS:

• 1. Why does Krsna feel confident in revealing these sacred truths to Arjuna?
• 2. What is the truth of material existence?
• 3. What is the meaning of Yoga and Ksema?
• 4. What is the required qualification to understanding the secrets shared by Krsna?
• 5. What is dharma?

1. Paper 2. Pencils

Make the children sit in pairs, one child will draw half of the picture and other child will complete it. After the picture is complete both the children will talk about their picture. Art of the day:

What Krsna means through jnana yajnya is the spiritual path that leads one to Self realization. This realization of the deepest truths about oneself happens through a combination of two things: understanding about similar spiritual experiences by observing others, and our own efforts to contemplate upon these experiences so that they are reproduced within. Review how this exercise helps us to observe others and ourselves in relation to this sacred truth shared by Krsna.

Materials Needed: Chairs

• 1. This easy listening game works great with young learners. Arrange chairs as if to play musical chairs. Students will walk around them, but in this case they won't be listening to a song. They will listen to a conversation. As always, give them the context and ask them a question: What is Tom's favorite food? Students walk around the chairs as you play the audio and the student/s who hear the answer to the question sit/s down.
• 2. Pause the audio. Those who are seated answer the question, and if it's correct they will remain seated. If several students sit down at the same time, that's fine, but ask them to whisper the answer in your ear to make sure they all heard the answer from the audio.

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 - Lesson 1 of 9_English_part_2.md

• 3. Ask another question (whose answer will come up next in the audio). The students who were left standing now walk around the chairs till they hear the answer. Go on asking questions and giving students the opportunity to secure a seat. The last student left standing, like the usual game of musical chairs is left out of the next round. A chair is removed from the circle and so it continues until you have one chair and two students competing to answer the final question.
• 4. It's convenient to have the script of the audio so it's easier for you to ask the questions. You can use one of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's satsangs. Also, bear in mind you will play longer with a longer audio, but you can also play with several short ones. The game will go much faster if several students sit down (have the answer) at the same time, but only those who got it right should remain seated.

Just as we collect things for the outer space, we need to collect knowledge for our inner space: life solutions. If we feel depressed or if we face some adverse situation, how are we to react? We need knowledge of the inner space to handle it. Collecting life solutions is what Krsna calls jnana yajnya. What is nitya (eternal) and what is anitya (temporary)? What is satya (truth) and what is asatya (falsehood)? Acquiring all this understanding is jnana yajnya . Review how this activity opens up the mind to receiving knowledge and reacting accordingly.

• 1. Pen
• 2. Paper

Who have we given up on?

• 1. Make two lists lists of people who we have NOT given up on. And list of people who we have given up on.
• 2. Sit and contemplate what part of the other person have we given up on?
• 3. How does that correspond to an incompletion within you?
• 4. Observe how you have given up on that part of yourself.
• 5. Write down how by enriching the other person you will be enriching your own life. Now make a resolution to not give up on the other person.
• 6. Create a plan for how you are going to enrich the other person
• 7. Share your plan with the class

Enriching Your Teamily:

So now we will do a process to complete with our Power of Living.

• 1. Make a list of the top ten relationships in your life.
• 2. Recall any incident or incidents you remember where you could have enriched the other person, but did not.
• 3. Now, complete with those incidents by declaring that you will enrich those relationships now onwards. Note down at least five new ways in can you enrich each of your top relationships. These could be new thoughts words or actions that you are now going to engage in, to enrich and expand these people and relationships.

When we have internalized Krsna's dharma in everything that we do, our consciousness automatically blossoms. When we reach that state of consciousness, we merge with universal consciousness and then we are free from the cycle of birth and death. workshop of the day:

Krsna says people who do not have faith in His teachings go back to the path of rebirth without attaining Him. He says the qualification required is to have faith in His teachings. Only those people can come out of the vicious cycle of birth and death, therefore we ought to cognize how to bring us to a space of dropping the inner violence within us so that we can have more trust and faith in these divine teachings. Krsna clearly says that we must allow consciousness to flower in us, and in order to do that we must have faith in dharma.