101: Bhagavad Gita Class by Swami Tadatmananda - Ch.15 Verses 1-3

[SwamiT]

Sorry that we don't have class video available this week - audio only with video of text. Back to normal next week.

[shanti]

Precious, priceless messages, thank You Dear Swamiji 💞🙏🕉

[vs]

The wonders of technology. The gyan acquired by rishis after years, maybe lifetime, of studying is now available to us at the touch of a button. Filtered, pure nectar. Thanks a lot to swamiji for your kripa. A 100 naman to you for explaining the metaphor of an upside down peeple tree and it's spiritual symbolism. 🙏

[cvf]

Thank you Swamiji for another wonderful teaching. I have enjoyed very much your detailed exposition of the symbolism of ashvattha tree.
With my own resolutions for the New Year, last week I revised your explanation of the slippery slope and the importance of discernment. Now, I have another tool to help me, this “asanga-sastrena”, keeping in mind my desire of moksha.
On the other hand, I would like to thank very much to all people who work with you every week to make it possible that we can have access to your teachings from all over the world.
Pranams🙏

[StevenParrisWard]

This is one of the most subtle sacred chapters. We are currently studying this precise verse (15 1-3) at the Vedic Institute London in an online class. I was not aware that the study of Bhagavad Gita followed a time chronology in its oral teaching, but as this is the exact passage, and we are mirroring progression, I guess it is a tradition.

[binakapila]

namastae swami ji, cant find words to thank you for imparting the knowledge of the inverted tree of sansar in such a clear and interesting manner. bina

[sriharimulukunte]

It was an amazing class of Atma Bodhana from the Sadguru Guruji.

[gridcoregilry]

thank you for sharpening the axe of detachment in my hand

[dvchandrasekar]

His elucidation of Advaita and BG are excellent. I wish the ashram brings out a book on his speeches for all to read and follow. When will that be?

[ganavidya]

Thank you swamiji. Excellent and clear explanation of the upside down tree which has always been a bit obscure in my mind until today.

[makingofmandala]

Namaste and Happy New Year dear Swamiji. Such an appropriate lesson for the start of the year. It is truly a core teaching for spiritual growth therefore so, so important. Applying this profound knowledge can truly help us leave all those "things" which makes us stick to the tree of Samsara. Fantastic lesson! Thank you! Om Shanti! 🙏

[vs]

Decades ago, when i was in my twenties, i had started to smoke cigarettes. This was way before i had got interested in spiritualism. I was smoking almost 20 cigarettes a day. One day i decided to quit smoking for a year, just to test my self control. The target was not lifelong. It was just one year. The whole year i longed for the year to end so that i could start smoking again. On the 366th day i picked up a cigarette and smoked it. On finishing, a thought came in my mind and i decided to stop smoking for another year. At the end of that year there was no desire to smoke again. Now, i may smoke once in a while. Maybe, 2-3 times in a year. Whenever i feel like doing it. But there is complete detachment. No desire, as such. I don't even think about it. I would say, self-control is a spiritual practice, although i did not know it then when i started practising it. Self-control will gradually lead you to higher practices like karma yoga, meditation, etc..

[ravish]

Thank you swamiji for the great talk. I am still confused regarding why would shri Krishna come up with such an elaborate upside down tree symbolism for concepts around karma that he has already covered in prior chapters in great detail. It is mystical as you have pointed out but I am also able to understand what's the point of all this symbolism at this juncture.

[vrindarao]

Could the first verse of chapter 15 also mean that the tree is depicted as being upside down which could be its reflection in water to compare it to the opposite view of life in the mind of the ignorant individual? Here water could be compared to the ignorant mind.

[carlossoares]

Thanks for making me wiser

More on the sacred banyan tree for the curious:

The sacred tree is the ficus benghalensis which have really many aerial roots and is indeed a great reference as there are so many roots going down the ground, being strongly fixed on the earth as we are attached to samsara

In fact not all but most plants on ficus family of plants have aerial roots as on the nature they usually are born/germinated on the top of other tree and its roots keep growing down to the ground and nowdays those ficuses which have this life cicle are usually called banyan trees, being ficus religiosa the most commonly refered as the sacred fig

The term banyan is related to the ancient banyan merchants, which are recognized as being distinct from the others mostly for being religious

Thanks again!

[chandrarangnath]

Sorry Swamiji, Katha Upanishad is meant to be pronounced "कठ उपनिषद्" or "कठोपनिषद्".

[bridgetegap]

Swamiji is it possible to put up the 3 verses and their English translations on the YouTube page just below the main title.

[johannahidalgo]

Dear swamiji, have you considered doing these classes but based on the Shrimad Baghavatam?