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B hagavad Gita Notes Dedicated to His Holiness Rädhänäth Swami Maharaja On the most auspicious occasion of Vyäsa-püjä ceremony 21 March 2009 st i Preface When I first read the Bhagavad-gita, it appeared to me that all the purports are just a repetition of the same facts again and again and the translations would not appeal to me at all. In fact, for several years I could never go beyond the second chapter; as is the realization shared by many devotees. It appears that it takes a certain level of purification in the association of devotees before one can start understanding the Holy scriptures and develop a taste for studying Them. It was not until I read His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu’s “Surrender Unto Me” that I started developing some understanding of Bhagavad-gita. I would like to offer my deepest heartfelt gratitude to His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu for presenting such wonderful and lucid explanations of Srila Prabhupada’s “Bhagavad Gita As It Is” in “Surrender Unto Me”. After repeated reading of the Bhagavad-gita I noticed how Srila Prabhupada brought out a unique purport to each text, for us to understand the mood and spirit of the Krishna’s instructions. At this time I began extracting points from the purports which throw light on the individual points of the translation. I soon discovered that the purports were not certain vague presentations or repetitions of the same facts but rather each purport perfectly links and expands on all the points of the respective translation. With this discovery I started studying Bhagavad-gita with a deeper interest and the notes are presented herewith. They were originally made for my personal use while teaching Bhakti Sastri courses at Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir. At the request of many devotees we decided to compile these notes in its current format. These notes have been developed based on my understanding and study of the Bhaktivedanta purports, in conjunction with ‘Surrender Unto Me’ by HG Bhurijana Prabhu, the VTE notes and the North American VIHE notes. It is a small addition to an already available variety of study notes on the Bhagavad-gita. They are meant as a supplement to enhance one’s own sastric study and should not be used independently of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. I have tried my best to keep intact the philosophical integrity, but as this is my first attempt to present my personal notes for others usage, please excuse any shortcomings. Gauranga Priya Dasa ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my heartful gratitude to the following devotees who have assisted in the compliation of these notes. First and foremost I would like to offer my gratitude to Suman Sankar who readily agreed to help me in compiling these notes. He offered his valuable time and energy, sacrificing his personal interests and using the best of his technical skills to type and edit all of my hand written notes. He endured hours of effort in making repeated changes while encouraging me at every step. Also I would like to offer gratitude to Laxminarayan, Avataar Lila dasa, Vasudeva Krishna dasa, and Mohan Vilas dasa who helped in various ways in typing and printing the material. A special thanks to the Brahmachari trainees 2008/9 who enthusastically sat through all my presentations on Bhagavad-gita and encouraged me by active participation and valuable feedbacks on how to improve my presentation. A brief guide to the notes These notes are presented under the following headings: 1. Chapter Connections Every chapter, after Chapter 1, begins by explaining it’s connection with the previous chapter. 2. Chapter Breakdown Each chapter is divided into several sections, as presented in “Surrender Unto Me”. This helps to understand the major themes covered in each chapter and to get an overview of the chapter at a glance. 3. Practical Application Almost every section begins with a Practical Application box which offers practical relevance in our lives based on the theme discussed in that section. Some individual texts where deemed appropriate also have their own Practical Application boxes. When practical application statements are extracted from the Purport, it is included inside the Focus of Learning section for that purport. Please note that the practical application points are not taken from the translations or purports and have very little relevance for the Bhakti-sastri exams. iii 4. Verses 4.1 Themes Each verse has a theme which presents the essential subject matter of the translation. It may also include a breakdown of the translation into important points. 4.2 Common Themes In cases where we have combined themes of several verses we have placed them under the heading “Common Theme” 4.3 Focus of Learning This section presents in point form the key concepts, definitions, arguments & refutations, analogies and various facts & references of the points in each purport. It aims to clearly present the purports in light of the points of the translations. At instances where the Focus of Learning box is not present, we have included the points of the purport under the Theme. 5. Link between verses Links between verses are also provided to assist in understanding the flow from verse to verse. They have been mainly taken from “Surrender Unto Me” 6. Summarized Themes Special summaries have been provided to help in assimilating the major themes of the chapter. These major themes convey important subjects for discussion. They are presented in the form of tables, diagrams or dotted boxes 7. Usage for exam These notes can be valuable for those preparing for the Bhakti-sastri exam. The most important points to focus on from the exam point of view are the Themes and the Summarized Themes. Thereafter one can focus on points given in the Focus of Learning (Purport) boxes. 8. Lead words and headings Lead words are given at the beginning of many points to make the flow of understanding and memorization easier. They are mainly based on the lines of the purport. Sometimes, however, I have also provided my own lead words to make the flow easier to understand. 9. Formatting of the notes Throughout the notes we have used formating conventions to highlight important points. Bold is generally used for headings and main points. Underlining for subpoints and important words. Italics for sanskrit words. And single and double quotes to highlight specific phrases or words extracted from the translations and purports. iv 10. About chapter wise appendices Every chapter is provided with an appendix at the end which provides additional information on the verses marked with an asterisk(*). In order to preserve the basic flow of verses and to make the notes easy to understand we have not included certain sections of “Surrender Unto Me” in the main part of the chapter notes. These sections contain the realizations of H.G.Bhurijana Prabhu and his references to the commentaries of Srila Vishwanath Chakravarty Thakur and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushan, so as to give a deeper understanding of the subject and also help the preachers who intend to use this book. v kärpaëya-doñopahata-svabhävaù påcchämi tväà dharma-sammüòha-cetäù yac chreyaù syän niçcitaà brühi tan me çiñyas te 'haà çädhi mäà tväà prapannam “Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” BG (2.7) Bhagavad-gétä Notes Part 1 Karma Yogä Section Chapters 1 – 6 Based on “Bhagavad-gétä As It Is” By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda Founder-Äcärya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness & Supplemented by additional sources from - „Surrender Unto Me‟ by HG Bhüréjan Prabhu - Notes from Vaishnava Training & Education (VTE) - North America VIHE notes Çré Çré Rädhä Gopénäth Mandir ISKCON Chowpatty Mumbai India Bhagavad-gita Notes 1 Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 OBSERVING THE ARMIES ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF KURUKSHETRA COMMON THEME: The very beginning of Bhagavad-gita, the first chapter, is more or less an introduction to the rest of the book. BREAKDOWN OF CHAPTER 1 SECTION I (1.1 — 1.27) INTRODUCTION PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SECTION I Chapter one repeatedly presents the following 2 themes: 1. The Lord’s protection – Devotees who surrender to the Lord’s protection are assured victory, regardless of the material odds 2. The Lord as an intimate servant – The Bhagavad-gita introduces Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the intimate servant of His devotees. (e.g. As Arjuna’s charioteer) Page 1 of 14 Bhagavad-gita Notes 2 Chapter 1 SUBSECTION A — PREPARATIONS FOR WAR (1.1 — 1.11) Text 1.1 THEME: Dhrtarashtra inquires from Sanjaya  “After my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage (Dharma-ksetra) at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORT 1.1 (a) Bhagavad-gita is the perfect theistic science – because the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally spoke it (b) How to study Bhagavad-gita – (Srila Prabhupada quotes this based on Gita-mahatmaya):  Scrutinizingly  With the help of devotees of Sri Krishna  Without personally motivated interpretations  In the line of disciplic succession (c) Example of clear understanding of Bhagavad-gita – It is given in the Gita itself, in the way the teaching is understood by Arjuna, who heard the Gita directly from the Lord (d) Benefits of such study – one surpasses all studies of Vedic wisdom and all scriptures of the world (e) Specific standard of Bhagavad-gita – It contains all that is contained in other scriptures, but also that which is not to be found elsewhere (f) Dhrtarashtra inquiry reveals Dhrtarashtra’s doubtful and fearful mind (Shown by 2 points) 1. Partial to his own sons – Dhrtarashtra refers to only his sons as ‘Kurus’ which shows his specific position in relation to his nephews, the Pandavas 2. Uses the specific words ‘Dharma-kshetra’ and ‘Kuru-kshetra’ – Their importance is as follows:  Kuru-kshetra is a sacred place of pilgrimage from immemorial time of the Vedic age  Kuru-kshetra is a holy place and a place of worship even for heavenly denizens  The Supreme Personality of Godhead is personally present on the Pandavas side  Pandavas are virtuous – therefore the holy place may influence them  Dhrtarashtra is fearful about the holy influences on the fate of the battle because: o It may influence his own sons to compromise, or o He hoped that under the holy influence, the Pandavas may renounce their claim, to avoid bloodshed  Analogy: Paddy field (Kshetra) – unnecessary weeds taken out, similarly in religious ‘field’ of Kuru-kshetra in the presence of the ‘father of religion’ Sri Krishna, unwanted plants like Dhrtarashtra and his son Duryodhana and others would be wiped out Page 2 of 14