PREFACE Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Glory to Lord Krishna, the World Teacher, who gave the immortal teachings of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in the middle of a battlefield. The Bhagavad Gita is a universal gospel which has been translated into many modern languages. It is a “Song Celestial” in seven hundred verses. Numerous commentaries have been written on this book, which are studied all over the world. The teachings are practical. They can be applied in all circum- stances in one’s life. Bharatavarsha is held in high esteem the world over due to the Bhagavad Gita. Mahatma Gandhi once asked the librarian in one of the biggest libraries in London: “What spiritual book do you most often issue?” The librarian replied, “The Gita.” Mahatma Gandhi himself said, “I lost my mother when I was young, but the Gita has been a mother to me. In all moments of sorrow and dejection, whenever I opened the Gita and read one or two verses here or there, it consoled me.” Worshipful Sri Swami Krishnanandaji, who was a leading disciple of His Holiness Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji, served Gurudev’s institution as General Secretary for almost forty years. Originally he gave a series of talks on the Gita in the early seventies, some of which I had the privilege of attending. Then in 1989, at the request of many devotees from both the East and West, Pujya Swamiji gave the 51 discourses included in this book. Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj expounded this Great Book in a very easy way that even a layman can understand. In his discourses he gave numerous interesting incidents and brief stories which created great interest among the listeners. This wonderful book throws a flood of light on the subject and illumines our path. When the path is illumined you can walk steadily towards the goal. Therefore, study these discourses regularly and make your life sublime. It is my sincere hope that this book has a wide circulation and that a large number of people will read these discourses of Pujya Swami Krishnanandaji and derive immense benefit. May the choicest blessings of Lord Krishna ever be upon all. Swami Vimalananda President, The Divine Life Society Hqs. Sri Krishna Janmashtami August 17, 2014 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Anu Gita . Anu Bilvashtaka Stotra . Bilva Brahma Sutra . B.S. Brahma Vaivarta Purana . B.V. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad . B.U. Isavasya Upanishad . Isa Katha Upanishad . Katha Mahabharata . M.B. Mandukya Upanishad . Ma.U. Munduka Upanishad . M.U. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras . Y.S. Purusha Sukta . P.S. Rigveda . R.V. Siksastakam . Siksa Sri Caitanya Caritamrta . C.C. Srimad Bhagavata . S.B. Taittiriya Upanishad . T.U. Yoga Vasishtha . Y.V. Unless otherwise specified, all the verses quoted in this book are from the Bhagavadgita. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface........................................................................................ 7 List of Abbreviations.................................................................9 Discourse 1: The Colophon of the Bhagavadgita............... 17 Discourse 2: The First Chapter Visada Yoga, the Yoga of the Dejection of the Spirit..........24 Discourse 3: The Second Chapter Begins Sankhya Yoga...........................................................................37 Discourse 4: The Second Chapter Continues How to Live in the World......................................................51 Discourse 5: The Second Chapter Concludes The Establishment of the Soul in Universality....................63 Discourse 6: The Third Chapter Begins The Relation Between Sankhya and Yoga...........................78 Discourse 7: The Third Chapter Concludes The Knower of Reality............................................................96 Discourse 8: The Fourth Chapter Begins The Avataras of God.............................................................108 Discourse 9: The Fourth Chapter Continues The Performance of Action as a Sacrifice .......................... 118 Discourse 10: The Fourth Chapter Concludes Methods of Worship and of Self-Control ......................... 129 Discourse 11: The Fifth Chapter Begins Knowledge and Action are One ......................................... 143 Discourse 12: The Fifth Chapter Continues The Characteristics of a Perfected Person ......................... 150 Discourse 13: The Fifth Chapter Concludes The Characteristics of the Sage Who is Established in Brahman .......................................... 160 Discourse 14: The Sixth Chapter Begins The Characteristics of a Sannyasi and a Yogi ................... 171 Discourse 15: The Sixth Chapter Continues Requirements for the Practice of Meditation ................... 185 Discourse 16: The Sixth Chapter Continues Meditation on the Ishta Devata .......................................... 195 Discourse 17: The Sixth Chapter Concludes God’s Great Promise to Us ................................................. 206 Discourse 18: A Summary of the First Six Chapters ....... 217 Discourse 19: The Seventh Chapter Begins Transcending the Sankhya .................................................. 229 Discourse 20: The Seventh Chapter Continues The Glory of God and His Creation .................................. 240 Discourse 21: The Seventh Chapter Continues The Gospel of Universal Religion ...................................... 252 Discourse 22: The Seventh Chapter Concludes Worshipping Deities ............................................................ 264 Discourse 23: The Eighth Chapter Begins The Different Facets of the Supreme Being ...................... 279 Discourse 24: The Eighth Chapter Continues The Thought at the Time of Death..................................... 288 Discourse 25: The Eighth Chapter Continues Types of Liberation .............................................................. 300 Discourse 26: The Eighth Chapter Concludes The Journey of the Soul After Death ................................. 313 Discourse 27: The Ninth Chapter Begins The Kingly Knowledge and the Greatness of God ......... 321 Discourse 28: The Ninth Chapter Concludes Undivided Devotion to God ............................................... 336 Discourse 29: A Summary of the First Nine Chapters .... 349 Discourse 30: The Tenth Chapter Begins The Glories of God ............................................................... 356 Discourse 31: The Tenth Chapter Concludes God’s Special Manifestations ............................................. 371 Discourse 32: The Eleventh Chapter Begins Introduction to the Visvarupa Darshana .......................... 386 Discourse 33: The Eleventh Chapter Continues The Visvarupa Darshana ..................................................... 393 Discourse 34: The Eleventh Chapter Continues The Visvarupa Darshana Continues ................................. 406 Discourse 35: The Eleventh Chapter Concludes Whole-souled Devotion to God ......................................... 419 Discourse 36: The Twelfth Chapter Begins The Best of Yogins ................................................................ 428 Discourse 37: The Twelfth Chapter Concludes The Supreme Devotee of God ............................................ 437 Discourse 38: The Thirteenth Chapter Begins Consciousness and Matter .................................................. 444 Discourse 39: The Thirteenth Chapter Continues The Field and the Knower of the Field ............................. 451 Discourse 40: The Thirteenth Chapter Concludes Understanding Purusha and Prakriti ................................ 462 Discourse 41: The Fourteenth Chapter Rising Above the Three Gunas .......................................... 480 Discourse 42: The Fifteenth Chapter Begins The World as an Inverted Tree ........................................... 492 Discourse 43: The Fifteenth Chapter Concludes The Greatest Secret Revealed ............................................. 506 Discourse 44: The Sixteenth Chapter Begins Divine and Undivine Qualities .......................................... 517 Discourse 45: The Sixteenth Chapter Concludes What is Proper and What is Improper in Our Life ......... 530 Discourse 46: The Seventeenth Chapter Begins The Threefold Character of Faith ....................................... 537 Discourse 47: The Seventeenth Chapter Concludes The Meaning of Om Tat Sat ................................................ 553 Discourse 48: The Eighteenth Chapter Begins Renunciation, and Types of Action ................................... 559 Discourse 49: The Eighteenth Chapter Continues Types of Understanding, Determination and Happiness .......................................................... 573 Discourse 50: The Eighteenth Chapter Continues Knowing One’s Duty ........................................................... 584 Discourse 51: The Eighteenth Chapter Concludes The Bhagavadgita Concludes ............................................. 598 Appendix: Sri Krishna—The Guru of All Gurus ............. 610 Discourse 1 THE COLOPHON OF THE BHAGAVADGITA Brahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvāde. These words occur at the end of each chapter of the Bhagavadgita. Those who do not know Sanskrit might not have even noticed this. Those who know Sanskrit just take it for granted and bypass it as something that needs to be recited at the end of each chapter, whatever the reason may be. But there is no redundant word in the Bhagavadgita. There is nothing that can be bypassed or considered as introductory, just to be glossed over. Even if there is a well-known apostrophe—śrībhagavān- uvāca—that also has a meaning by itself. What does the Bhagavadgita