Shall we read together...?

[Rakhi]

I wanted to read Bhagawad Gita for many years now but never got around to it. Yes, I did listen to the Gita (didn't understand) but never read it. I was wondering if there is anyone else here who are interested in reading the Gita along with me, a Verse a day and discuss it here?

It need not really be The Gita, any book which is really interesting can be discussed too....like a chapter from India after Gandhi, The Insider etc.

[aragorn]

:up: nice idea. count me in.

[vyomkeshsaxena]

I wanted to read Bhagawad Gita for many years now but never got around to it. Yes, I did listen to the Gita (didn't understand) but never read it. I was wondering if there is anyone else here who are interested in reading the Gita along with me, a Verse a day and discuss it here?

It need not really be The Gita, any book which is really interesting can be discussed too....like a chapter from India after Gandhi, The Insider etc.

if you have a gmail account...u can use their igoogle application and add this 'geeta' tool in it....everyday they refresh it with new shloka or whatever with its meaning....:)

[dollyg]

yeah im in too...pls post the link for online geeta here.

[Sane Less]

I tried reading the Bhagawad Gita a couple of years back. Heard a lot of quotes and a lot of philosophy all my life from it so thought it was about time to get to the source itself. But could not go past more than a couple of pages. It all seemed to silly and idiotic to some extent.

Rahiki tai, you will have my active participation in this thread... if and when it goes anywhere... and not all my observations will be holy and saintly:D

[Rakhi]

Thanks all for your interest...I was looking at the below site:

http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/categories/The-Gita%3A-Chapter-1/

Shall we take our lead from here? It has Sanskrit and the English translation. If any one else have a better site in mind, do let me know and we will take it from there.

[landyaBhai]

Thanks all for your interest...I was looking at the below site:

http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/categories/The-Gita%3A-Chapter-1/

Shall we take our lead from here? It has Sanskrit and the English translation. If any one else have a better site in mind, do let me know and we will take it from there.

Rakhi tai ... it is too easy to get lost in the translation ... As it is Krishna, has made bhakti yoga of prime importance when talking about it .. then he does the same for Karma Yoga ... if that was not enough, He gives the same importance to Jnana Yoga, when He talks about it ...

Plus all these words that have been used to describe the indiscribable i.e. atma, soul, self, brahman, et. al., we really dont know what each means in the context they were used ... to make it more confusing, we are all dependent upon the translator to be in the same wavelength as Krishna, while translating His sanskrit words to english ... which is not possible ...

But the idea of reading a shloka a day and discussing its meaning, is very interesting ... count me in as well ...

[landyaBhai]

Plus one more important question for you to answer, is which branch of philosophy do you subscribe to ... The dualist or the non-dualist .. that is the one who believes that there is a person who created this world vis-a-vis there is no such creator and the world has existed timelessly ...

Both the dvaits and advaits have their own interpretation of Bhagawad Gita ...

I am a Jain and Jains dont believe in any such creator ... the same applies to Buddhists ... and other advaitists ...

[ashdoc]

It need not really be The Gita, any book which is really interesting can be discussed too....like a chapter from India after Gandhi, The Insider etc.

which gita is the best, do you know? long time ago i read the one by the hare krishna founder swami prabhupad- my grandmother lovingly had given me as a birthday present. do you know a better translation of the gita? iam asking because i dont know.

not india after gandhi please..... we do not want another pravachan in nehruvian pseudosecularism.

[JaiSpeaks]

which gita is the best, do you know? long time ago i read the one by the hare krishna founder swami prabhupad- my grandmother lovingly had given me as a birthday present. do you know a better translation of the gita? iam asking because i dont know.

not india after gandhi please..... we do not want another pravachan in nehruvian pseudosecularism.

I started reading one by Yogi Paramhansa Yogananda. but then owner whisked it away :D

[landyaBhai]

I started reading one by Yogi Paramhansa Yogananda. but then owner whisked it away :D

Jai pai you still remember ... that was one weird explanation of BG ... in the end I sold it on Amazon due to pressure from ISKCONists that I cannot have any other version of BG except the one from Prabhupada ...

[tantric_yogi]

I tried reading the Bhagawad Gita a couple of years back. But could not go past more than a couple of pages. It all seemed to silly and idiotic to some extent.


True ... very true. Is the reason why you must skip back of the cover, the first page (blank), 2nd page (name and telephone of the publisher), 3rd page (title of the book in bold) ... very silly and idiotic.

Fifth page is where first chapter of SRIMAD BAGHWAD GITA starts ... normally.

You should perhaps buy cartoon version with nice, colorful drawings ... THE BOOK was never intended for the silly and the idiotic.

[28virgo]

True ... very true. Is the reason why you must skip back of the cover, the first page (blank), 2nd page (name and telephone of the publisher), 3rd page (title of the book in bold) ... very silly and idiotic.

Fifth page is where first chapter of SRIMAD BAGHWAD GITA starts ... normally.

You should perhaps buy cartoon version with nice, colorful drawings ... THE BOOK was never intended for the silly and the idiotic.

ROTFL :rotfl::rotfl:Tantric bhai in full form. Your turn SaneLess Pai... :D

Popcorn anyone????

[krantikari]

Plus one more important question for you to answer, is which branch of philosophy do you subscribe to ... The dualist or the non-dualist .. that is the one who believes that there is a person who created this world vis-a-vis there is no such creator and the world has existed timelessly ...

Both the dvaits and advaits have their own interpretation of Bhagawad Gita ...

I am a Jain and Jains dont believe in any such creator ... the same applies to Buddhists ... and other advaitists ...

Raakhi ji !! If you really intend to read and accomplish something here.... beware of Landya and his sutras... remember my words... when Landya comes.... just run !! :D :D :D

[swami]

Jai pai you still remember ... that was one weird explanation of BG ... in the end I sold it on Amazon due to pressure from ISKCONists that I cannot have any other version of BG except the one from Prabhupada ...


Whats the difference in these two versions ?

[ShivSainik]

ROTFL :rotfl::rotfl:Tantric bhai in full form. Your turn SaneLess Pai... :D

Popcorn anyone????

Tantu ji works in periodic cycles. Sometimes he is totally off, sometimes little off and sometime on peak picking up on people. Looks like he is nearing his peak. I should watch out :D

[krantikari]

Whats the difference in these two versions ?

ISKONIC version of BG is something written in a book called "as it is". And when you point to descripancy from one pyra to other .... the answers are similar to Landyas posts on sutras and links everywhere in all vedas, upnishads, purans and maybe even kuran. If you are asking what is ISKON ? Well... to simply put it ... ISKON is a bunch of Landyas.

[landyaBhai]

Raakhi ji !! If you really intend to read and accomplish something here.... beware of Landya and his sutras... remember my words... when Landya comes.... just run !! :D :D :D

I am just talking about the classification ... She asked which one is better (I did not point any) ...

Rekhaji, these are just classifications, you can start with any version of BG ...
I am sure the sutras can be assumed to be original ... we can start with that ...

And for the last time, please dont get personal (not to you rekhaji), trying to address multiple personalities here!

[landyaBhai]

ISKONIC version of BG is something written in a book called "as it is". And when you point to descripancy from one pyra to other .... the answers are similar to Landyas posts on sutras and links everywhere in all vedas, upnishads, purans and maybe even kuran. If you are asking what is ISKON ? Well... to simply put it ... ISKON is a bunch of Landyas.

Nobody is asking what ISKCON is and yes nobody is asking Who Landya is? but you are giving answers to whom I dont know :D

Why bite when you cant even chew properly :D

[krantikari]

Why bite when you cant even chew properly :D

Just don't get into your version of advaita and dvaita and you should be okay darling.

I do agree you are a hard nut to crack. ;)

[landyaBhai]

Just don't get into your version of advaita and dvaita and you should be okay darling.

I do agree you are a hard nut to crack. ;)

I am not giving any meaning to anything ... I am saying meanings are different depending upon which version of BG she reads ... there is no doubt about that ... because there are million versions of BG ... second, you dont need to worry about me ... you should be worried about yourself ... if my sutras cause you trouble, then somewhere your fundamentals are not that strong ... that is not my problem ...

And we have had the discussions about advaita and dvaita and I am sure I dont need to put it here ... there are ample ...

You should be cracking yourself ... I mean your nuts ... they are closest to you ... unless you forgot to look at them ... not your fault ... you can find people of all types ...including the ones that admire other people's nuts :-)

[DesiBaba]

a Verse a day and discuss it here?


i would love to..but this "discuss" word scares me..the thing with me is, i need a direct meaning of what the fuckin verse means..i DO NOT want anyones interpretation (based on his or her throught process or agendas or pseudo-intellectual prowess) of what the verse means..

based on that, i will be either be in or out..but gr8 thread idea :up:

[krantikari]

I am not giving any meaning to anything ... I am saying meanings are different depending upon which version of BG she reads ... there is no doubt about that ... because there are million versions of BG ... second, you dont need to worry about me ... you should be worried about yourself ... if my sutras cause you trouble, then somewhere your fundamentals are not that strong ... that is not my problem ...


we saw your funda-mentals in the other thread ...


And we have had the discussions about advaita and dvaita and I am sure I dont need to put it here ... there are ample ...


oh yeah ?!!


Plus one more important question for you to answer, is which branch of philosophy do you subscribe to ... The dualist or the non-dualist .. that is the one who believes that there is a person who created this world vis-a-vis there is no such creator and the world has existed timelessly ...


what was this ? Just don't let us know what you think Dvaita and Advaita are. I have already told your information is all wrong .... with all due respeks :D . You should be ok.... Now do not drag in Jainism and Buddhism or Sikhism in here... :D


You should be cracking yourself ... I mean your nuts ... they are closest to you ... unless you forgot to look at them ... not your fault ... you can find people of all types ...including the ones that admire other people's nuts :-)

By the way, I wasn't describing your nuts sweetheart ... I was describing you.

[Rakhi]

Guys this is just great! I am so happy to see you all interested in The Gita. As suggested I will start the first verse in the religious section. But for those of us who do not actually remember the story of Mahabharata, here is my small narration. I tried to keep as short as possible. Please do correct me if there are any mistakes.

The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata, comprising 700 verses. Krishna, the divine one, the supreme manifestation of the Lord Himself (as believed by many Hindus), is the teacher, Arjuna being the student. The entire Gita is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna taking place in the battle field before Kurukshetra war begins. The Gita starts in response to Arjunas moral dilemmas as a warrior and Prince. Realizing that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Lord Krishna, for advice.

The main theme of the Mahabharata revolves around royal cousins, Pandavas (5 sons of Pandu) and Kauravas (100 sons of Dhritarashtra). Pandu dies early and the young Pandavas are placed in the care of Dhritarashtra, the king born blind.
Pandava brothers are Yudhishthira the eldest, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva while Duryodhana being the eldest of Kauravas. Pandavas and Kauravas were brought up in the same household with same teachers, notable of who were Bhishma and Dronacharya.

The Pandavas were blessed with the knightly traits while the Kauravas were cruel; especially Duryodhana who was often plotting means to destroy the Pandavas.

When the time came to crown Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas as the prince, Duryodhana through a game of dice exiles the Pandavas into the forest. Upon their return the Pandavas demand the throne, rightfully. Duryodhana refuses. Many attempts made by the elders for a reconciliation fails. The war becomes inevitable.

This is where Krishna, who is a friend of Pandavas and a well wisher of Kauravas, intervenes, with little success. Both Pandavas and Kauravas request Krishna to support their teams respectively. Krishna offers his vast army to one of them and be a charioteer and counsellor for the other. Duryodhana chooses the army and Arjuna chooses Krishna.

The sage Vyasa offered to endow Dhritarashtra with supernatural sight so he can follow the war but Dhritarashtra refuses saying that death of his dear ones is too painful for him to watch. Thereupon Vyasa bestowed supernatural sight on Sanjaya, who was to act as reporter to Dhritarashtra.

The war is about to begin. The Gita opens with the question of the blind king to Sanjaya regarding what happened on the battle-field when the two armies faced each other in battle array.[29]

The first verse is going to be in the religious forum.

[Ravi]

I was taught Bhakti Yog (chapter 12) by heart as part of schooling. I can recite it with anyone interested. I am also interested in other chapters.

Does anyone have a good audio file of Gita? The fast paced ones with absolutely no commentary of any type.
The ones I had were from ISKCON which I hated (they had more about Prabhupada than Gita).

[Rakhi]

I was taught Bhakti Yog (chapter 12) by heart as part of schooling. I can recite it with anyone interested. I am also interested in other chapters.

Does anyone have a good audio file of Gita? The fast paced ones with absolutely no commentary of any type.
The ones I had were from ISKCON which I hated (they had more about Prabhupada than Gita).

Oh dear! now I am worried. The one I started is also Prabhupada.

Its great to know that you know the Bhakti Yog by heart.

[landyaBhai]

I wanted to read Bhagawad Gita for many years now but never got around to it. Yes, I did listen to the Gita (didn't understand) but never read it. I was wondering if there is anyone else here who are interested in reading the Gita along with me, a Verse a day and discuss it here?

It need not really be The Gita, any book which is really interesting can be discussed too....like a chapter from India after Gandhi, The Insider etc.

Rakhi tai, I forgot to ask: Why do you want to read it? for what purpose? Is it merely for some intellectual/philosophical reason or is it a matter of life and death and you have nowhere to go but to this scripture ... what is it that you are trying to search?

[Rakhi]

Rakhi tai, I forgot to ask: Why do you want to read it? for what purpose? Is it merely for some intellectual/philosophical reason or is it a matter of life and death and you have nowhere to go but to this scripture ... what is it that you are trying to search?


I wanted to understand The Gita for philosophical reasons. I believe that its self-contained guide to life. I believe that I can understand myself better if I make an effort to understand the timeless Song of God. I also heard that the Gita deals with the science of the absolute. And it contains the summary of the Upanishad’s teachings.

[chitrala]

FDFS ... Maidan ... Arjuna got cold feet. He refused to fight. Lord Krishna had his own personal agenda. He wanted to be remembered in history books as a wise man ... like your two heroes in INDIA AFTER NEHRU AND GANDHI.

Lord invited Arjuna for a cup of coffee to straighten him up. Their dialogue went something like this: of course much of the dialogues have been edited out of the book to make it family friendly book.

Lord Krishna said: Pe****d ... what the %$#$ is wrong with you? First you send invitations and now you don't want to f$#$%g fight no more. You think this is a joke?

Arjuna said: Hey Ram ... I don't know what to do. Look at the people I have to fight. I love them.

LK: f$%k Hey Ram ... what the %$#$ are you bringing Ram in to this for ... this is my story. You will regret the day you were born if I ever hear you utter words of my competetion. Do you understand? F%$%$g idiot.

Arjuna: Sorry. I forgot.

LK: Okay fine. Now what the f%$k is your problem?

Arjuna: Look ... that is my uncle ... that is my uncle ... that is my uncle ... that one there is also my uncle ... that one standing there in corner smiling at me is my Shikhandi.


Rekhaji ... this made Arjuna very angry.

more later

Please count me in too ...

:D @ Virgin and Sainikbhai ... let's convert this thread in to RANBHOOMI

:rotfl: Tantu jee.... I once wrote a shallow and humorous interpretation of some verses and got flaks from non-believer friends also...but this one beats all...awesome... come up with more... hope no one gets offended..:D

[landyaBhai]

I wanted to understand The Gita for philosophical reasons. I believe that its self-contained guide to life. I believe that I can understand myself better if I make an effort to understand the timeless Song of God. I also heard that the Gita deals with the science of the absolute. And it contains the summary of the Upanishad’s teachings.

RakhiTai, I wish you all the best ...:up:

[Sane Less]

:rotfl: Tantu jee.... I once wrote a shallow and humorous interpretation of some verses and got flaks from non-believer friends also...but this one beats all...awesome... come up with more... hope no one gets offended..:D
Why should anyone be offended... this is probably what happened actually... if it happened:D

Tantrichghay pai... I read a few pages, past the blank, the title and then couple of pages of the actual verses... in fact probably went up to 4 pages. The verses seemed mostly common sense... and quite mundane. Probably because I might have heard them from all and sundry... echans. There was nothing new or mind-blowing... they was nothing like... this will change my life... this will give me elt... this will show me the right path. There were no new ideas... or philosophy. I could not take it anymore.

Now, if you promise to write the entire mahabharat in the way it actually happened... of which you gave us a sample above... I promise... I promise I will read it all.

[Rakhi]

[quote=Sane Less;421850]
Tantrichghay pai... I read a few pages, past the blank, the title and then couple of pages of the actual verses... in fact probably went up to 4 pages. The verses seemed mostly common sense... and quite mundane. Probably because I might have heard them from all and sundry... echans. There was nothing new or mind-blowing... they was nothing like... this will change my life... this will give me elt... this will show me the right path. There were no new ideas... or philosophy. I could not take it anymore.

quote]


Sane, just because The Gita is a guide to someone’s life doesn’t mean it should be yours too. Since you didn’t really complete reading it, maybe its a little too early to assume that the remaining pages, past page 4, would be mundane too.

[Sane Less]

Sane, just because The Gita is a guide to someone’s life doesn’t mean it should be yours too. Since you didn’t really complete reading it, maybe its a little too early to assume that the remaining pages, past page 4, would be mundane too.

Agreed... maybe I stopped reading it a little early. That's why I am here... in your thread. I will be following it with sincerity. Keep posting... spread your gyan.

[Rakhi]

Agreed... maybe I stopped reading it a little early. That's why I am here... in your thread. I will be following it with sincerity. Keep posting... spread your gyan.

Spread my gyan? Sane, I didn't find the Gita mundane and I didn't think that its all common sense. I am gyanless.

[Sane Less]

Spread my gyan? Sane, I didn't find the Gita mundane and I didn't think that its all common sense. I am gyanless.
You gyanless... me saneless:D

[Premi]

You gyanless... me saneless:D

your title says "just call me sane" so should we start calling rakhi dear "gyani" ;)


P.S. "i" from janani

[krantikari]

Oh dear! now I am worried. The one I started is also Prabhupada.

Its great to know that you know the Bhakti Yog by heart.

By the way, Gita itself has nothing to do with Prabhupada. Prabhupada's work has been criticized by many scholars from all schools of thought. His work does not comply to any particular school as well.... in fact many times have been proved that his interpretations are flawed and his texts contradict themselves. So his texts are considered tamasika as per tattvawada. In fact his description of the souls surrounding the God as sparklets in some of the interpretation contradicts in the next few paragraphs.

Also as per one ISKONIC I met, Moksha is not the ultimate destiny :D :D. ROTFLMAF to him. If I can put some common beacket to group all Hindus, it would be the Chatur-Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha). If Moksha is not the final destination as per your text, the text in no longer a Hindu text :D.

Landya !! please spare me the sutras...... bhago !!!

[chitrala]

Jai pai you still remember ... that was one weird explanation of BG ... in the end I sold it on Amazon due to pressure from ISKCONists that I cannot have any other version of BG except the one from Prabhupada ...

Landyapai...nothing personal...but I would find it highly offensive if someone would force me to get rid of another version.... You see this how religions and cults work.... There is no better explanation than what we give... I, your God is supreme, rest are fake.... There is no place for other faith... And moderate lobby would say that our faith has place for every belief...:mad:

[landyaBhai]

Landyapai...nothing personal...but I would find it highly offensive if someone would force me to get rid of another version.... You see this how religions and cults work.... There is no better explanation than what we give... I, your God is supreme, rest are fake.... There is no place for other faith... And moderate lobby would say that our faith has place for every belief...:mad:

ChitralaPai, at that time, I must admit, I had no guts to say that, although I wanted to ...In the name of liberation, we add these stupid bondage ... cant have the freedom to say what I felt at that time ...

There are many things that happened at that time ... the ISKCON devotee actually put down the photos of Jain Tirthankars down on the table where all the other Gods were ... I mean, I had so many roommates that were with me and with their graduation, what they left were Gods on my prayer table ... so these had to go as well ...

[landyaBhai]

By the way, Gita itself has nothing to do with Prabhupada. Prabhupada's work has been criticized by many scholars from all schools of thought. His work does not comply to any particular school as well.... in fact many times have been proved that his interpretations are flawed and his texts contradict themselves. So his texts are considered tamasika as per tattvawada. In fact his description of the souls surrounding the God as sparklets in some of the interpretation contradicts in the next few paragraphs.

Also as per one ISKONIC I met, Moksha is not the ultimate destiny :D :D. ROTFLMAF to him. If I can put some common beacket to group all Hindus, it would be the Chatur-Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha). If Moksha is not the final destination as per your text, the text in no longer a Hindu text :D.

Landya !! please spare me the sutras...... bhago !!!

I do not follow any cults or religion ... At one point, I was with ISKCON, but I did not like their way of looking down upon other non-devotees ... plus they couldnt answer a flaw I had found with Prabhupada's interpretation of Srimad Bhagvatam, Tenth Canto, where he talks about the past times of Lord Krishna ... and where he describes what one shloka means about the status of women ...

[DesiBaba]

I think :) did mean our individual interpretation of ancient versus.

Its okay ...


aah..i c..i am out..thx :)

[JaiSpeaks]

I always considered all religions as equal . So I was very open to every interpretation , maybe because growing up I was exposed to both Christianity and Hinduism and also Jains to some extent.

Hence the whole comparison of this ISKCON guru about how Christianity is all material and being Krishna conscious in ISKCON terms is the perfect way kind of ticked me off.

Also the other problem was his constant answer to everything that raised confrontation : I am not spiritually advanced yet. Once I get there I will understand ...
I really started feeling that he has gradually started questioning my intelligence.

Here is the story. One guy he did all bad things in his life but when in death bed he took Krishnas name and hence he got to heaven. If a spiritually advanced person interprets in a different way I need to know about this . Because his whole argument of Christianity being material falls flat right here .

Anyways I gradually lost interest as I found his so called enlightenment as a farce because I could not relate to any of it .