The Relevance of the Bhagavadgita to Humanity 10-2: Swami Krishnananda.

Chinmaya Mission: 

Bala Vihar Kids from Chinmaya Mission, Portland, showcased their compassion and culinary skills by preparing a heartfelt meal for 100 individuals at the Transition Projects’ River Navigation Center, serving the homeless community. The menu featured Mexican Vegetable Soup, Veggie and Tofu Tacos, and Oat Energy Bars, thoughtfully prepared to nourish and comfort. Additionally, the children extended their kindness to seniors by creating 22 beautifully crafted care cards for a local senior center, spreading joy and warmth through their efforts.

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Monday 20, January 2025, 07:30.
The Relevance of the Bhagavadgita to Humanity:10-2.
Chapter 10: The Need for Sankhya-2.
The First Six Chapters of the Bhagavadgita: 
Swami Krishnananda
(Spoken on Bhagavadgita Jayanti

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We have a social duty. It is simple common sense. It does not require much of a study and logical understanding. Any sensible person will realise that there is mutual give and take of assistance. So, from this point of view also, we cannot say we shall do nothing. That is not a possibility.

Secondly, there is a fear that the body will die. The argument from the physical point of view also is brought out in a simple, homely manner. There is no body which will not die: 

jatasya hi dhruvo mrtyur dhruvam janma mrtasya ca, 

tasmad apariharyerthe na tvam socitum arhasi (BG 2.27). 

It is an unfounded imagination that by not doing anything we will be protecting our body, and that we will be endangering our physical existence by entering into the fray of human enterprise. There is no one who will not be subjected to death, physically speaking. If we accept that the body had a beginning, it shall also have an end, and no one knows when that end will come.

Matrasparsas (BG 2.14), or the contact of the senses with physical objects, is brought as an illustration of one of the conditioning factors of the duration of the physical existence in the world. This is a slightly complicated matter. How long can we live in this world? Humanly it is not possible to measure this duration, but there is a background for the duration or the span of life of each person in the world. It is not visible to the eyes and cannot be contemplated by the human mind, because these conditions are beyond ordinary individual comprehension.

The physical body is said to be an embodiment of the forces of karmas, or the effects produced by one's desires and actions. Now, they condition the body in a very important manner. The body does not exist unnecessarily. We do not live here in this body for nothing; there is a purpose in it, and it will be in this world as long as the purpose for which it has been manufactured has not been fulfilled. As a silkworm manufactures a cocoon, as a spider spins a web from its mouth, as the subtle can concentrate itself into a gross object, as gas can become liquid and liquid can become solid, similarly, the potentialities of longing or desire within the mind of a particular individual are for certain types of expression and enjoyment through contact with externals. These potentialities for self-expression in this manner will decide the duration of physical existence in a particular space-time complex, and also the kind of experiences one has to pass through.The pertinent sutra of Patanjali in his Yoga System is relevant here. 

Jati ayuh bhogah (Y.S. 2.13): The species into which one is born, the length of life which one will enjoy in a particular sojourn in this world, and the experiences that one will pass through are all decided already even in the mother's womb. Due to the fact that all the potentiality for further expression in life outside are in the seed form at the very root of manifestation, the kind of impulsion of mind, the type of this desire and the intensity of it will decide the length of the physical existence, and also the kind of experiences that one has to pass through. Therefore, the body has to end one day. The momentum of the force of desires is the conditioning factor.

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Continued

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