Gita: A Mantra for Success

In this episode, we describe

• The Eight Limbs of Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.
• The Yamas listed as
  • Ahimsa – not harming or non-violence;
  • Satya– speaking the truth or avoiding falsehood;
  • Asteya– not stealing;
  • Brahmacharya – celibacy; and
  • Aparigraha– having no sense of ownership.
• The Niyamas are what Patanjali wants Yogis to adapt. These are –
  • Shaucha– purity of both body and mind
  • Santosha– contentment in the sense of not always seeking more than one already has
  • Tapa– acts of religious austerity
  • Svadhyaya– study and recitation of the Veda; and
  • Ishvara-pranidhana– devotion to God.
• Learn why Yoga is a way of life, not those complex Yoga postures.

This is the end of Season 1. Please help us understand what you would like us to cover in Season 2. You can email us at [email protected]
You can follow us at Instagram
We have written a blog about Patanjali Yoga Sutras. You can find it here

In this episode, we cover the entire Chapter 3, which is one of the most useful chapters for Karma Yogis (Entrepreneurs, students, business leaders, professionals). In this episode, we cover

1. The power of gratitude. Let's learn how ancient people from the Vedic era used yajna as a means to show gratitude to gods.
2. How the habit of showing gratitude can help us in both personal and professional lives.
3. Get great quotes of Krishna from chapter 3 (We have shared them below)
4. Listen to the story of the "most beautiful donkey" in town and how delusional we can get about ourselves
5. Listen to the story of the King and his plants, and learn why we should be the best version of ourselves.

Krishna's quotes that we explained in this episode.

“Perform all the actions, completely absorbed in your true goals, and without any expectations, keep fighting! But stay free from the fever of the ego (3.30).”

“Those, firmly established in their faith, keep going without complaining irrespective of the outcome will succeed. But those who indulge in criticizing and complaining about any outcome are utterly deluded. You should know they are dull-witted and are the cause of their sufferings (3.31-3.32)."
“We are conditioned by attraction to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant. Do not fall for these tendencies. They are obstacles in your path (3.34).”
"It is far better to struggle following your own path than to succeed in someone else’s path. Nothing is ever lost when following your path, but competition in another’s path breeds fear and insecurity (3.35).”

In this last chapter, we summarize the entire Gita. Our goal in life is to increase Sattvic Guna, refine Rajasic Guna, and eliminate Tamasic Guna. Learn what’s it’s to live a life of Arajarshi, which means sagely inwardly, kingly outwardly.

In this chapter, Krishna explains how our behavior or our conduct is made of the three gunas – Sattvic,
Rajasic, and Tamasic. And how these three Gunas force us to act in a certain way.
Learn what Om Sat Tat means. “Om tat sat” is a mantra which ensures that our approach to life is not tāmasic (for ill purpose) or rajasic (for temporary selfishness).

NOTE:
Krishna's first teaching, which is also known as Samkhya Yoga, speaks about our immortal nature: the Atman, that never dies. Thus Krishna does not lead us from stage to stage of spiritual awareness. Instead, Krishna begins with the ultimate premise - the immortal soul is more important than the passing world.
In this episode, we will focus on Krishna's first teaching, which is, the relationship between soul and body. While describing the concept of Atman, Purusha or soul, we will discuss

1. How does Krishna take references from the Upanishads and Samkhya Philosophy?
2. Are Upanishads part of four Vedas that come under Shruti Hindu scripture?
3. What is Samkhya Philosophy? Why was it one of the most popular doctrines in ancient India?
4. A brief introduction to Vedanta philosophy, focusing on Advaita Vedanta philosophy. How is Advaita Vedanta philosophy different from Samkhya philosophy?

We have written a blog explaining the concept of Samkhya philosophy at our website One Story Avenue
What is Samkhya Philosophy?
It regards the universe as two independent realities, purusha which is the consciousness or atman and prakriti which is matter. Samkhya philosophy is known for its theory of gunas (qualities, innate tendencies). This Samkhya theory of guṇas was widely discussed, developed, and refined by various schools of Indian philosophies.

Sage Kapila, the founder of Samkhya philosophy, created a sophisticated system of explaining how prakriti has three distinct qualities (Sattava, Rajas and Tamas) and how these three qualities of nature influence human intelligence and ego. It is a complex philosophy, but very useful in our daily life; because it helps us think about looking at the bigger picture.

While the Samkhya school considers the Vedas a reliable source of knowledge, it is an atheistic philosophy. The existence of God or a supreme being is not directly asserted nor considered relevant by the Samkhya philosophers.
Why did Krishna start with the most complex philosophy?
Krishna is just giving us all different options to find our inner peace. In his first teaching, Krishna is telling people to rise above the conditioning of life’s dualities and identify with the Atman or the immortal self. Basically, he is asking Arjuna to have this detachment from pleasure and pain.

There is a leadership and life mantra here. One should not get carried away with or get too attached to either success or failure. If you are too attached, success might make you obnoxious and arrogant; and failure might make you desperate and depressed.
What is Vedanta Philosophy?
Vedanta literally means End of Vedas. Veda- Anta – and Anta means the end. Now it is not necessarily negative. It also means the highest knowledge of all Vedas. These are the three foundations of the Vedanta system of thoughts - Upanishads, Brahma sutra, and the Bhagavad Gita. So, Vedanta philosophy is relatively new.
There are different schools of thought under the umbrella of Vedanta Philosophy - some dualistic in nature, and some non-dualistic. In this episode, we will discuss Advaita Vedanta Philosophy that was made popular by Adi Shankaracharya some 1200 years ago.