Today. Next Wednesday. Wk09 Wednesday, May 23. BG 12-17, Perrett, Facts, Values and the BG. Matilal, Caste, Karmā and the Gītā.

Transcription

1 Wk09 Wednesday, May 23 Today BG 12-17, Perrett, Facts, Values and the BG. Matilal, Caste, Karmā and the Gītā. BG 18 Wrap up: BG, course Next Wednesday 1

2 BG Brief Outline Nature of ātman Arjuna s despondency Kṛṣṇa s response Karma-yoga Jñāna-yoga Brahman, meditation Ātman, meditation Nature of supreme deity Theistic Sāṅkhya Meditation The Sublime Mystery God s powers Theophany 12. Bhakti-yoga BG Outline, cont d Relation between ātman & supreme deity 13. The field & knower 14. The three guṇa-s 15. Puruṣa(-s?) 16. The divine & demoniac within 17. Three-fold faith 18. Recap, conclusion 2

3 Ch. 12: Bhakti Yoga 12.1: Q. Who knows Yoga best, those who do bhakti or who worship the Imperishable Unmanifest? 2-5: A. Those who do bhakti, though the other worshippers [of Imperishable] also reach me but it is harder. 8-12: Easier is better? Meditation: manas on, buddhi in me, Otherwise, abhyāsa-yoga = practice, Otherwise, karma for my sake, Otherwise, renounce fruit of all action peace Practice < knowledge < meditation < renouncing fruit 13-20: Attributes (dharma-s) of one who is dear to me, devoted to me Ch. 13: The Field & its Knower : Field (kṣetra) = body, Kṛṣṇa = its knower. 3: knowledge = knowledge of field AND knower 4: Reference to Brahmasūtras 5-6: Field contains the unmanifest, 5 great elements, ego, buddhi, 11 senses, 5 sense-objects, desire + aversion, happiness + suffering, bodily form, consciousness, continuity. 11 senses = 5 sense-organs, 5 action-organs, mind 7-11: Knowledge is [list of attributes to cultivate]. 12: Knowledge immortality, Brahman 12-17: Attributes of Brahman. 3

4 Ch. 13: Vision of the Seer 13.19: Prakṛti & Puruṣa both beginning-less, change, guṇa-s are from Prakṛti. 20: Prakṛti cause of effects, Puruṣa cause of experience of joy & suffering. 21-3: Relation of Prakṛti, Puruṣa, guṇa-s, Īśvara. 24-5: Means to see ātman, by ātman, in ātman: dhyāna, Sāṅkhya-yoga, karma-yoga, hearing + worship means to cross over death 26: Birth/creation = union of field, knower *: Vision of the seer [28 = Golden Rule]. 32-3: Similes 32: Praise for knowledge! Ch. 14: The three guṇa-s : My womb = mahat Brahman, in it/all wombs I plant the seed, from it are born all beings (bhūta). 5: Sattva, rajas, tamas born of prakṛti bind the unchanging embodied [self]. 6-18: The guṇa-s & interactions described : Knowing guṇa-s are the agent immortality. 21: Q. Description of such a person? 22-6: A. Beyond desire/dislike, dualities, serves me with bhakti-yoga, transcend the guṇa-s, is fit for becoming Brahman. 27: I am the foundation of immortal, immutable, eternal Brahman, of eternal dharma, of constant joy. 4

5 Ch. 15: Puruṣa(-s?) puruṣottama-yoga : Cf. KaU 6.1 roots tangled in action, branches nourished by guṇa-s cut it with axe of detachment 4: Take refuge in Puruṣa from which Prakṛti originated. 6,12: Cf. KaU 5.15, Mu : A part of me becomes the eternal jīva, pulling together the 5 senses & mind from Prakṛti. Ch. 15: 2 Puruṣa-s, 3 Puruṣa-s 15.8: Īśvara takes these [senses & mind] along, body to body, like the wind bears scents : Yogīs with eyes of knowledge see Īśvara : Immanence. 16: Two Puruṣa-s in the world: perishable [Prakṛti], in all beings & imperishable [jīvātman], immovable : Another, supreme Puruṣa, supreme ātman, immutable Īśvara, enters and sustains the three worlds, = Kṛṣṇa : The one who knows this, knows all, worships me, is enlightened (buddhimān), has done what is to be done. 5

6 Ch. 16: The Divine & Demonic Within : Divine attributes, 4,6-18: Demonic attributes. 5: Divine mokṣa, demonic bondage : Consequences of demonic attributes. 21-2: Three gates of hell: desire, anger, greed destroy ātman. 23-4: Importance of śāstra-s, tradition, laws of injunction, teaching. Ch. 17: Threefold Faith, śraddhā 17.1: Q. Guṇa of one who does yajña with faith? 3-4: A. sattva gods, rajas spirits & demons, tamas ghosts & corpses. 5-6: Criticism of extreme tapas, these torment me. 7-10: Three kinds of food : Three types of sacrifice : Bodily, verbal, mental tapas, austerity/penance : Three types, by guṇa : Three types of charity, dāna : On Om tat sat, triple designation of Brahman. Chanted during sacrifice, penance, charity, by ritualists (24), knowledge-seekers (25), karma-yogī-s (26-7). 6

7 Perrett Facts, Values and the BG Argument? Successful? Read Saints & the Supramoral? Matilal Caste, Karma and the Gītā Theodicy Caste Merit-based = rational? Karma caste? Story: python Nahuṣa & Yuddhiṣṭhira 7