bhagavad-gita study group
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Any study groups out there who welcome beginners? :)
Would be great if sessions are held in English, and in the evenings.
Thanks! -
Originally posted by rootie:
Any study groups out there who welcome beginners? :)
Would be great if sessions are held in English, and in the evenings.
Thanks!me would like to join if there is one too
hope someone replies
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Hi Bangulzai,
Are you a beginner too?
I was thinking that if there isn't an established study group out there, we could form our own... But we'd definitely need someone experienced in the text, to lead discussions and structure the sessions.
Hope to hear from someone!
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Originally posted by rootie:
Hi Bangulzai,
Are you a beginner too?
I was thinking that if there isn't an established study group out there, we could form our own... But we'd definitely need someone experienced in the text, to lead discussions and structure the sessions.
Hope to hear from someone!
yes, not only a beginner, but an absolute dummy to it's contents too
i am only touching the surface of hindu gods and dieties, of course looking at the bhagavad-gita and to bring me to a higher level of understanding
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Count me in. I'm keen!
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Originally posted by snowstar:
Count me in. I'm keen!
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Three of us now... :D Do hope we find ourselves a teacher or a mentor. Heheh
On a related note, do you think Hindu temples hold this sort of lecture/discussion group? If we can't form one ourselves, we can all join together... at least we won't be the only newbs in the class... haha
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Originally posted by rootie:
Three of us now... :D Do hope we find ourselves a teacher or a mentor. Heheh
On a related note, do you think Hindu temples hold this sort of lecture/discussion group? If we can't form one ourselves, we can all join together... at least we won't be the only newbs in the class... haha
i haf no idea, unless we step in n ask
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Originally posted by Bangulzai:
i haf no idea, unless we step in n ask
Wah, I don't know where to begin... Haha
I'll look around on the internet though, there might be info online..
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Thanks rootie!
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For lack of a better lead, I just sent an email to the Hindu Endowments Board... Hopefully they are able to help. :)
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Originally posted by rootie:
For lack of a better lead, I just sent an email to the Hindu Endowments Board... Hopefully they are able to help. :)
really appreciated
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The HEB replied very promptly, and I sent an SMS to the person they told me to contact, but I haven't received a reply so far. I'm thinking of calling him, but I'm usually busy during regular hours, and I'm worried about disturbing the other person too. Maybe I'll try to ring him tomorrow.
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Originally posted by rootie:
The HEB replied very promptly, and I sent an SMS to the person they told me to contact, but I haven't received a reply so far. I'm thinking of calling him, but I'm usually busy during regular hours, and I'm worried about disturbing the other person too. Maybe I'll try to ring him tomorrow.
thank you rootie and hope snowstar comes by and take a look at the forum
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Hi guys,
I finally got around to calling Sunil Ji, the person HEB referred me to. He said he would have a class this coming June, and asked me to call him back around the second week of June. So it sounds like something you have to enroll in... I'll probably SMS him again next week or something, to ask about schedule and *gulp* fees, if any.
In the meantime, a discussion group still sounds good... =P
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Originally posted by rootie:
Hi guys,
I finally got around to calling Sunil Ji, the person HEB referred me to. He said he would have a class this coming June, and asked me to call him back around the second week of June. So it sounds like something you have to enroll in... I'll probably SMS him again next week or something, to ask about schedule and *gulp* fees, if any.
In the meantime, a discussion group still sounds good... =P
thank you
hope snowstar see this
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Hi, there are good guidances and mentors for bhagavad-gita on videos at the following links. Hopes that you will find them useful for your studying and understanding. Bliss be with you.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=burtharding&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DattatreyaSivaBaba&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=davidbrucehughes&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=yogeeshashram&view=videos
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Originally posted by grandeur:
Hi, there are good guidances and mentors for bhagavad-gita on videos at the following links. Hopes that you will find them useful for your studying and understanding. Bliss be with you.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=burtharding&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DattatreyaSivaBaba&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=davidbrucehughes&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=yogeeshashram&view=videos
these are good for self-learning, thank you grandeur
if you happen to be a Hindu and knows more than us, let us know some study groups
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Hi Everyone, I've finally gotten around to calling Sunil Ji again, and he said to give him another call next Wednesday, because there will be a session that evening. He will give me the details then.
So far he's told me that the sessions are every Wednesday, 7.30-8.30. He didn't give the place, and I forgot to ask. He did say that there is no charge for the sessions, and we can give donations if we wish.
I'll give snowstar a PM, just in case he isn't checking the forums. :)
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Originally posted by grandeur:
Hi, there are good guidances and mentors for bhagavad-gita on videos at the following links. Hopes that you will find them useful for your studying and understanding. Bliss be with you.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=burtharding&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DattatreyaSivaBaba&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=davidbrucehughes&view=videos
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=yogeeshashram&view=videos
Thanks for the links grandeur, I'm sure they'll be very helpful once I have some background on the Gita :)
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Hi guys,
Sunil Ji confirmed that the session is going on tonight at 7pm (not 730pm as I previously said). The address is #3 Hindoo Road, off Serangoon Road. The landmark is Broadway Hotel. :)
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snowstar
Sunil Ji gave a summary of Chapter 1 of Bhagavad Gita
briefly speaking, the Oneness and knowledge of One Self
please come for the next session
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When will the next session be??? Is there any procedure for joining the class or is just walk in?? please give me the details as I am very keen on learning abt Bhagvad gita.
Thanks and Regards,
S.
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Hi Soumya, the only procedure so far is to call Sunil Ji on Wednesday mornings to see if there are any changes in schedule. Then you just show up at the address given above. It's easy to spot, there's a plaque outside the building that says "Amriteswari Society". If you like I can post here every Wednesday morning to update on the schedule... That is, if you have net access, otherwise I could SMS you, or you can call Sunil Ji directly (I can PM you his handphone #). :)
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Here're some of the stuff from last session that I remember, as a summary, and to give you all an idea of how Sunil Ji conducts the session.
This week the class started early, and when I went in they were chanting the 12th chapter in Sanskrit. My book didn't have the Sanskrit so I just stayed silent.
After the chanting we started on where the rest of the group left off (there were four others), Chapter 3 Verse 17. Sunil Ji's style is to explain the words in Sanskrit, discuss the verse in terms of the philosophy, then chant the verse in Sanskrit (the group follows once, then repeats alone).
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3.17 talks about a person content within himself. "Himself" here is atman, not atman as ego-self, but the transcendent being, one with his environment, one with Brahman. For him, "there is nothing more to be done." He is beyond desires, there is nothing left to do, and what is done is right. Sunil Ji takes the example of yogis who transmit enlightenment by simply being there. Some yogis conduct classes where they merely sit with the students in silence, and when they are asked why they don't say something, they just smile. But they still impart the enlightenment simply by being there. Sunil Ji says that the highest peace is silence, quietness of the mind.
I think the quietness can be connected to something Sunil Ji mentioned in the earlier class, that we are stuck in the realm of body-mind. We have no referent for the transcendent oneness, which can't be reached by logic. I'm not sure though.
3.18 says that this sort of person is not just beyond desire, but is also beyond necessities. He mentions yogis who go for days without food, clothing and bath, but are healthy, comfortable and smell of jasmine. He explains this from the nondual philosophy, where there is "no gain and no loss," where there is no preference for heat or cold, etc.
(There's a part of the verse that says that the self-content man has "no one to depend on but himself." I don't understand it =P)
At this point Sunil Ji remarks that although the third chapter is on Action, the past few verses have been on inaction, and how to understand one in terms of the other.
3.19 explains that "inaction" doesn't mean no action, but detachment from the results of action. Action without desire, without care for the results. With this detachment, one can attain supreme good. Sunil Ji points out that the "one" or "he" in the verse is Purusah (Purusha) in Sanskrit, which can be interpreted to mean that the only ones who can reach this level is a Man, as opposed to someone with a weak personality.
3.20 uses the example of Janaka, a king who attained the transcendent knowledge, but still pursued action, not for its fruits, but so that his subjects would have a model to follow. Action performed for the betterment (or in my copy's translation, "preservation") of the world, even from a higher plane. But again there is nothing to gain, and nothing to lose from these actions themselves.---
For your reference, here are online copies of the book Sunil Ji uses (Bhagavad-Gita As It Is). A new copy is $26.65 in Kinokuniya, but Bangulzai is hunting around in temples, I think =P
http://www.asitis.com/1/1.html
http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-01-01.html