Introduction: The first in a series of 23 discourses on the Bhagavad Gita. These talks were given at a time when I was truly inspired by the charioteer of Partha. I was in a state of ecstasy and hardly knew what I was saying. Now when I look back on these talks I am amazed at my audacity in having dared to write on something about which I knew little more than nothing. But looking back over my life I see that I seem to have continued to dare to write on things about which I knew very little....

Introduction: The first in a series of discourses on the Bhagavad Gita These talks were given at a time when I was truly inspired by the charioteer of Partha. I was in a state of ecstasy and hardly knew what I was saying. Now when I look back on these talks I am amazed at my audacity in having dared to write on something about which I knew little more than nothing. But looking back over my life I see that I seem to have continued to dare to write on things about which I knew very little. I...

The first chapter is called Arjuna Vishada Yoga: Union By Means Of The Despondency Of Arjuna. The word Yoga means union. Thus any activity which enables us to obtain union with the Divine can be called a yoga. ...The message of the Gita is thus addressed to the fighter- the man of action... life is the battlefield of Kurukshetra which each one of us has to learn to face and fight our way through, before we can reach the other side which is Dharmakshetra. Each chapter begins with the...

The second chapter is called Sankhya yoga but actually it deals entirely with Vedanta. The eternal nature of the atman and the ephemeral mature of the body is revealed to Arjuna. "The atman is eternal, immortal, never born and therefor can never die. It is pure consciousness and pure existence. That which is existent can never cease to exist. This is one of the laws of physics - energy can never be destroyed. it can only change its form. One body falls and the jivatman flits to another body...

The second chapter is called Sankhya yoga but actually it deals entirely with Vedanta. The eternal nature of the atman and the ephemeral mature of the body is revealed to Arjuna. "The atman is eternal, immortal, never born and therefor can never die. It is pure consciousness and pure existence. That which is existent can never cease to exist. This is one of the laws of physics - energy can never be destroyed. it can only change its form. One body falls and the jivatman flits to another body...

Karma yoga the yoga of action is the theme of the third chapter. This is one of the most difficult sections in the whole text and provides a key to understanding the whole message. Chapter 3, 4 and 5 of the Gita deal exhaustively with Karma yoga. However we find that even in the 6th chapter the Lord starts by reiterating what has already been said. “Anashrita karmaphalam … He who performs his swadharma without any dependence “anashrita” on the fruits of his action, he is both the karma yogi...

The Yoga of Knowledge and Action is the title of the fourth chapter. All existence is a working out or evolving of the One Eternal Spirit. Every Atom...imbued with the will and intelligence of the Spirit... This being the case can we call every man an Avatar? Sri Krishna reveals the secret of action and the ideal of yajna or sacrifice. Mataji is the author of eleven wonderful books that share the ancient legends and timeless teachings of the Puranas and Vedas in English. Of these Sri...

The Yoga of Renunciation And Action. Is asceticism and non-action superior to action? This is one of the questions Shri Krishna addresses in this liberating teaching. ...once more the central idea of the Gita is postulated... an Infinite Being who is not merely the witness, but the enjoyer of all action done as yajna. Visit: Vanamali Ashram’s Home Page

The Yoga of Self Discipline. The divine Self is present in everything and is constantly beckoning to us... Detachment and practice are the keys to Self knowledge. Sri Krishna offers instructions for meditation. The chapter concludes extolling Bhakti Yoga. Visit: Vanamali Ashram’s Bhakti Yoga Home Page

The seventh chapter, The Yoga of Wisdom and Decernment, opens the door to the exhalted mansion of Bhakti Yoga.

Yoga of The Impeirshable Brahman Sri Krishna explains the metaphysical concepts: Brahman, adhyatma, karma, adhibhuta... Visit: Vanamali Ashram’s Bhakti Yoga Home Page

The Yoga of Sovereign Knowledge and Sovereign Secret. A powerful religious impulse permeates the ninth, tenth and eleventh chapters... Visit: Vanamali Ashram’s Bhakti Yoga Home Page

The Yoga of The Divine Manifestations The yoga of the Gita...is the gospel of the Divinity in man which forces him out of the encasing of his lower nature to an increasing awareness of the Divine within him and outside him, through the methods of yoga... visit www.vanamaliashram.org

The Yoga of the Vision of Cosmic Form ...the illusion that all things exist separate from God has been dispelled from his mind. He realized that all nature is but a revelation of that Godhead... Mataji’s love songs are translated at at the www.vanamaliashram.org Vanamali Love Songs page. Her Vanamali love Songs album is available at the Ashram’s on-line store. Visit: Vanamali Ashram’s Bhakti Yoga Home Page

The Yoga of Devotion Lord Krishna unites the triple strands of divine love, divine knowledge and divine works, Bhakti, Jnana and Karma and unites them into one. Creature, creator and creation blend into one... This is the supreme teaching of the Gita. Visit: Vanamali Ashram’s Bhakti Yoga Home Page

The Yoga of the Distinction Between the Field and the Knower of the Field. In the thirteenth chapter, Lord Krishna says that the entire universe is a field for the play of god. This field has two parts. On the universal level it includes the whole of cosmic manifestation and on the individual level it consists of the body, mind, intellect and ego. The first cannot be separated from the other. It is only now that western science is coming to understand this truth. The Gita describes this all...

The Yoga of The Distinction Between The Three Gunas. What is Liberation? Who is it that is liberated and from what, when all is Spirit and Spirit alone. The special feature of the Gita is that it insists that "karma" or action has to be done since we live in an active universe and we cannot say that we will not act. Nature will force us to act. But this action has to be done without expectation of any personal rewards. In this way we will get out of the thrall of the law of karma. This is...

The Yoga of The Supreme Person The 15th chapter delineates three Purushas - The Kshara, the Akshara and the Uttama. The Kshara is the Kshetra of the 13th chapter - all of visible nature. The Akshara, He says "is an eternal portion of myself that becomes the jiva in this world". "Mamaivamso jivaloke, jivabhuta sanatana". This means that each person in his spiritual reality is the very divine, however partial its actual manifestation may seem to appear to our eyes. We call it the jiva because...

The Yoga of The Distinction Between Divine and Demonic Qualities. ...the advice of the Gita is given by an avatar or God incarnate. The recipient of the message is Arjuna, the prototype of the struggling human soul who is ready to receive the great knowledge by his close companionship and increasing nearness to the divine Self within himself. This symbolic companionship of Krishna and Arjuna, the divine and the human soul is further dramatized by the fact that their dialogue takes place...

The Yoga of The Three Fold Faith Om Tat Sat is the mantra that embodies the sraddha or faith which can divinize our every action through a consciousness of the transcendence and eminence of Reality.

Chapter 18. The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation..... “Abandon all dharmas..give yourself to the Lord alone... Fix your mind on Me, be devoted unto Me, worship Me, prostrate unto Me. I give you my solemn pledge that you shall attain Me for you are indeed dear to me.” Mataji sings her original love poems.... ORU MUKHAM MATRAM (Raga – Bairav) One face alone do I see, One melody alone do I hear. O Vanamali! Thy beauteous form alone do I nurse in my heart. O thou enchanting blue baby, Wilt...

Chapter 18. The Yoga of Liberation and Renunciation... “Surrender your ego which is a myth of your own making, together with the duties imposed on you by that ego to Me the Lord sitting within the chariot of your body and I will cary you... as I carried Arjuna... I give you my absolute assurance that I Myself will lead you beyond sorrow to the highest abode”. VANAMALI KRISHNA MURAREE (Raga – Chakravakam) O Vanamali! Krishna! Muraree! Reveal thyself to me. O flute-bearer with the entrancing...

Bhagavad Gita Summary-Nitya Yoga: The Yoga of Constant Communion. The purpose of the Gita is to fashion a God out of this mortal clay- to unveil the divinity within the humanity... "Abandon all dharmas..give yourself to the Lord alone... Fix your mind on Me, be devoted unto Me, worship Me, prostrate unto Me. I give you my solemn pledge that you shall attain Me for you are indeed dear to me."