Unofficial Summary of
Bhagavad Gita Presentation and Discussion

 

By going first I did not have another presentation to be inspired by. I chose to write a script

and found that it was more factual than a personal analysis of passion and reason in the text. I did not focus enough on passion and reason but my hope was that the discussion would revolve around these themes. I'm finding that I just accept the texts as they are and for what they are; documents from a historical and geographical context far removed from ours. I look for the message or lesson that makes sense to me and is relevant to modern day. I am not critical or analytical (yet). My favourite questions were:

1. In Modern society the promise of being a sage and reaching the Brahmic state if one gives up passion, desires and attachment that cause suffering does not seem to be enticing enough to the majority. Why not?

2. Are our religious and spiritual beliefs restricted by historical and geographical contexts?

3. Krishna philosophically explains to Arjuna his role as a warrior and prince. Are our modern roles rooted with philosophical meaning?

I was hoping for a lively philosophical discussion that would consider this text as it pertains to the modern masses. I found that the discussion rolled along quite smoothly and rapidly. I did not need to say much although I would have liked to have brought the focus to my favourite questions. The discussion mostly focused on the battle which, as I read, was of very little interest to me. The battle was the action in the story not the spiritual teaching and that interests me more. My main curiosity was; does the way that the Krishna consciousness movement present themselves inhibit the possibility of the Krishna teachings from being more widely spread and accepted/adopted by people who might otherwise agree and believe the ideas.

Is it possible to modify or adapt the presentation of the teachings so that it it is more palatable to the masses? How far removed are we from a deeper spiritual connection to the meaning of life or is it still there but manifesting differently? We see Karma tip jars everywhere. Is this blasphemy? Are tips gifts or offerings? Is heated discipline and giving up all attachments really necessary to attain _______________?

Or can we replace Krishna with our favourite brands and companies? We are loyal and devoted to them after all. Or perhaps the ideas have been co-opted by New Ager's, or

Landmark Education

http://www.landmarkeducation.com/landmark_forum_educational_methodology

 

corporations like Lululemon

http://www.lululemon.com/about/manifesto

Eckhart Tolle

http://www.spiritualcritiques.com/author-criticisms/eckhart-tolle/
http://innertraditions.blogspot.ca/2009/07/eckhart-tolle-and-new-earth-awakening.html

“What Krishna talks about throughout the Bhagavad Gita is transcendence. Achieving transcendence is the essence of spirituality – its heart, its life, its soul. Without that, spirituality becomes lifeless, soulless.
“Can human beings lose the density of their conditioned mind structures and become like crystals or precious stones, so to speak, transparent to the light of consciousness?” asks Tolle. “Can they defy the gravitational pull of materialism and materiality and rise above identification with form that keeps the ego in place and condemns them to imprisonment within their own personality?” Tolle answers his question: “The possibility of such a transformation has been the central message of the great wisdom teachings of humankind."

Meaning we are exposed to the ideology without knowing it's Krishna. Maybe Krishna does not have sole rights to these thoughts and perhaps these thoughts did not even originate with Krishna. Maybe Krishna thought is reserved for the Krishna consciousness movement and because some of the ideas are good ones and we have a modern consensus that it is something we agree with then the source of learning for a non -Krishna will come from elsewhere ie: Eckhart Tolle and does not have to do with Krishna at all.

My questions reflect my reason and passion not the reason and passion in the text. Perhaps I am looking through a lens that is too big and need to narrow it to the actual text itself.

How can anyone have an original thought these days?

Perhaps by giving thought to all these ideas we cycle through a vortex of endless questions, answers and possibilities because anything is possible and there can be truth to anything.