Ravi Ranganathan's Podcast

This is the final epsiode of the  jnAna yagna podcast "BG - yah pashyati sa pashyati". This final episode has audio messages from Swami Chidananda ji and Swami BodhAnanda ji as well as feedback from listeners and my final thank yous.

Episode 100 gives a recap of the entire Bhagavat Gita through a division of topics. A brief idea about 18 topics and some observations about why people find it difficult to understand some aspects of Bhagavat Gita, the three pairs of conversations about BG, and why the image of Bhagavan and arjuna on a chariot surrounded by warriors is the most popular image of BG are all addressed in this episode. 

Episode 99 recaps chapter eighteen. The first part was covered in the previous episode. This episode covers the second and final part.

Episode 98 covers the first part of the two part recap of chapter eighteen. 

Episode 97 covers. the recap of Chapters sixteen and Seventeen. Chapter sixteen is the chapter on divine and demonic values. Chapter seventeen is the chapter explaining the three types of tyAgam, food, sacrifices, austerities, charities and what is the meaning of "OM tat sat".

Episode 97 covers the final recap of chapters sixteen and seventeen.

Episode 96 covers the final Recap of chapters fourteen and fifteen.

Episode 95 covers the recap of chapter thirteen.

This episode covers the final recap of chapters four (Cont.), five and six. Essentially this covers karma sannyAsa yogam and dhyAna yogam.

Episode 89 has the summary of the first two chapters - arjuna vishAda yoga and sankhya yoga. The first chapter sets the background and the reasoning for Gita teaching.

In Episode 86, this podcast has reached the final concluding teaching. This covers the final advice for peace. BhagavAn who was all along talking in first person suddenly switches to third person. Why so? This is a very subtle and at the same time very important transition in BG. Listen to the episode to understand what is going on. This episode also covers the very popular verse "sarva dharmAn parityaja ...".

In the final summary chapter, after completing His summary about the three guNAs and varna division, and attaining the state of perfection, Bhagavan reaches the final stretch. In this episode He talks about a Jeevan mukta, devotion, surrender and grace of God. 

After covering all aspects of the three guNAs, Bhagavan now moves on to wrap up His teachings. In chapter three He mentioned about the naishkarmyam state, the actionlessness state. In this summary chapter next he brings that topic about attaining the state of perfection. 

Episode 83 covers the final summary of varna division and varna duties and its purpose.

Episode 78 of podcast "BG - yah pashyati sa pashyati"With Episode 78 this podcast has reached the final chapter of BG. The final eighteenth chapter is the longest chapter in BG and it covers all the major topics that has been taught in earlier chapters. In fact, In this chapter, BhagavAn actually uses  some of the phrases he has used earlier. For anyone who has not been following the previous episodes, this chapter alone will give a good understanding of BG. Because of that I will not be taking a short cut to finish this chapter. A total of eleven episodes will cover chapter 18. I will give lots and lots of cross references to earlier chapter where the idea has been brought up. If you refused

Episode 77 covers the final part of chapter 17. In the first three parts we have seen the influence of the three guNAs, sattva, rajas and tamas on faith we have, food we consume, sacrifices we perform, austerities at the body, speech and mind levels and also charities we give. The final part explains the meaning of the three words OM tat and sat separately and together, and when they are used. This is followed by chapter appreciation which will address two important aspects of this chapter.

Episode 74 starts chapter 17. This chapter is titled as shraddhAtrayabhAga yogo, The glories of three fold faith.  You can see this chapter as an extension of chapter fourteen. If Chapter fourteen is theory about the three gunAs, chapter 17 is application of the three guNAs in our daily life.This chapter explains three types of faith (shraddhA), food (annam), sacrifices (yagnAs), austerities (tapas), and charity (dhAnam). In addition to these the meaning of the expression 'om tat sat' is also explained.

Chapter 16 is a unique chapter in the sense that the entire chapter 16 has a battlefield context.  As part of the chapter appreciation, episode 73 will cover the battlefield context of the divine and demonic values taught in chapter 16.

Episode 71 covered twenty six divine and six demoniac values. Episode 72 cover the philosophy and life style of demoniac people.

Episode 71 covers twenty six divine values and six demonic values.

Episode 70 covers the final verses of chapter 15 where Bhagavan stresses the importance of sAstrAs. The episode also includes chapter appreciation, where Consciousness in some of the Indian darsans including vedanta and science are examined. 

The previous episode 68 covered who is the nourisher of the body and how nourishment is created for beings to have a life. Episode 69 covers who digests the food we eat and who is purushottama, the best person in the universe. When we say the best, there has to be at least three entities. The ordinary, the middle and the best. These three beings are covered in this episode.

What is the difference between a jeevAtma and paramAtmA? What does jeevAtmA move from one body to another mean? After death, what does jeevAtmA take along with it and how does it do it? Where is nourishment for our body coming from? Who is giving that nourishment? These are some of the questions for which BhagavAn is giving answers in this episode.

Episode 67 continues the metaphor of an Upside Down Tree from the previous episode. This upside down tree represents samsArA. Even though the samsArA itself is eternal, individual samsArA can be cut down. Bhagavan explains what tool should be used to cut this tree-of-samsArA.  This episode also explains the goal set for human beings. He also explains a streaming service that he had started long long ago and how his place looks like. Also the verse that gives the foundation for vishishtadvaita is covered in this episode.

This episode covers, how to identify a person who has crossed the three guNAs. BhagavAn gives 12 qualities of the person who has crossed the three guNAs.  This is like a short summary of the teachings in earlier chapters.  The chapter end with the answer to the question I asked in the first episode   BhagavAn himself answers who He is.

Episode 64 focusses on how to identify a person who has crossed the three guNAs, a guṇātītaḥ,  Bhagavan lists twelve qualities of the person who has crossed over the three guNAs.  In this epsiode we will also see what happens when a person crosses the three guNAs.  The chapter ends looping back to the beginning of the chapter. At the end of the chapter Bhagavan brings in a idea which is the seed for the following chapter 15.

Episode 63 of podcast "BG - Yah pashyati sa pashyati" - One who sees that person sees.With BhagavAn's blessings, having finished thirteen chapters, Episode 63 starts chapter fourteen. Bhagavan has been talking about three guNAs from the very beginning of his teachings. In chapter two, he pointed out to arjuna that vedAs have stuff other than karma kANDA rituals and it teaches something called three guNAs. Subsequently every now and then this guNA propped up in His teaching. But for the sattva guNA, he did not even introduce the other two guNAs early on. He introduced the names one by one in different chapters. The one thing that was made clear was that the three guNAs are part and parcel of the prakriti and cannot be separated from the prakriti. Finally in this chapter Bhagavan gets into the details of the three guNAs. The names of the three guNAs, how they bind us, which is the strongest one among the three, what kind of result each one produces, the qualities of a person who has crossed the three guNAs, what happens when a person crosses the three guNAs are all described in this chapter. This is not a difficult chapter to understand in one or two listens. p.s: Entire chapters 17 and part of 18 also cover the three guNAs

Episode 62 continues the chapter 13 appreciations. This episode covers the interesting story of creation as per kashmir shaivism,  aadi sankara's imaginary dialogue to make his point that samsarA is a superimposition,  the idea of consciousness in  other Indian schools of thought and finally the right perception of the world.

This episode covers the final few verses of chapter 13 which talks about brahman, the ultimate reality. This is followed by chapter appreciation. The creation aspect discussed in chapter thirteen is seen in different angles by different Indian darsans. Therefore chapter 13 gets two appreciation episodes. In this episode, as part of chapter appreciation, sAnkhya kArika and ishvara tattvam are covered. Episode 62 will cover creation as described in kashmir saivism.  

Episode 59 has the first part of what is purusha and prakriti.

Episode 58 discusses about jnAnam and jNeyam - The knolwedge and what is to be known.  What is to be known is kshetrajna covered in the previous episode. It is knowing who we really are.As part of knowledge, twenty means of accomplishment are covered. These twenty means of accomplishment covers the ultimate human goal and how to achieve that goal. As part of what is to be known Bhagavan covers who is kshetrajna and how it achieves the performance of all actions. The subtlety of kshetrajnA is explained in nine different ways using a paradoxical language.

Episode 57 starts chapter 13. In this episode we have introduction to the chapter and what is kshetra and kshetrajna. 

This episode gives a recap of chapters ten through twelve.

Episode 52 gave an intro to the chapter on bhakti (devotion) and explained two out of five levels of devotion. In episode 53 Bhagavan keeps coming down to our levels step by step and gives three more levels of devotion. Nothing in this seems to match what most people think devotion means. After that Bhagavan explains what qualifications one must have to become dear to Him. You be your own judge.

Through out the year, the hindu calendar is full of religious activities. Especially during Navarathri community engages in a lot of activities - golu and pujas in homes and temples, festivals and concerts, garba dances, visiting each other's home and interacting with friends and more. This is a very colorful period of the year. This period is celebrated as a period of devotion next only to mArgazhi in TN. Considering this period is celebrated by all parts of India and also abroad, one can say this is more a broad based celebration. But what exactly is devotion? Is it just chanting mantrAs, slokAs and visiting temples or something else? What is bhakti (devotion), not from the point of view of purAnas but from the point of view of tattvas (truth) as explained in the sanAtana dharma philosophical texts like upanishads and BG? Is bhakti under sanatana dharma same as bhakti in western religions? Follow episodes 52, 53 and 54 to get an idea of what is devotion, the various levels of devotion and who is dear to Bhagavan. Be ready for a shock! All the traditional ideas about bhakti will be thrown out!