Alex’s Bhagavad Gîta discourses

Alex Medin is giving discourses on the Bhagavad Gîta in his house every evening for two weeks here in Mysore.

He’s amazing. He’s a great yogi. His speech from the heart and beyond touches everybody. He’s pouring the nectar of the Gîta on us. We are all so grateful.

This touched me today especially. Alex said that our innermost essence doesn’t belong to us, but to Divinity. When we understand that and surrender to that, when we don’t want to own that part of ourselves, that’s Ishvara Pranidhana – surrendering to our own nature.

These eyes were looking through me last week.

Narasimha on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra

In India, many texts and knowledge systems, called Shastra (=complete).

Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is one Shastra. You have source, course and goal exposed.

First Pada: How to achieve Samadhi

Second Pada: How to practice that in life

Third Pada: What are the marks of the practice

Fourth Pada: What is the ultimate result?

Every time there’s a new term, Patanjali explains it and then goes further

Patanjali’s approach is from mind, psychological

200 years ago, the world was fait-orientated (religions). Then, science, the analytical took over and very little possibility of emotions or faith

The world has become mechanical, human being a machine

Patanjali’s system: balancing the rational and the emotional mind

The scientist way is reductionist: in the end, there’s nothing > < Patanjali’s system goes towards the Infinite

Nowadays science is measuring yoga and the philosophical systems too

In Sadhana Pada, first sutra Tapahsvadhyayeshvarapranidhanani kriyayogah,

TAPAH means penance, to go through a lot of troubles to modify yourself. You burn yourself in many ways to purify.

SVADHYAYA is self analysis and self-understanding where ‘I’ is not pure and how should I correct it. See how your practice which is a progress by tapah influences. Know your defects and study yourself. What is the measure? Only those who have gone the path before, know. Their information – the scriptures tell.

ISHVARA PRANIDHANA: https://annenuotio.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/narasimha-on-ishvara/

Different kind of yogas. Different yogis depending on how they feel and what they do. Unity of emotion and action:

Karma Yoga (Action)  – Tapas

Jnana Yoga (Knowledge) – Svadhyaya

Bhakti Yoga (Devotion) – Ishvara

Any action always creates some dirt.

Photo Bill Brundell