Omm Namo Bhagavate
In yoga, becoming a witness does not mean being stoic. Witnessing is a dynamic state that comes through practice, and enables the yogi to maintain inner balance while handling whatever experiences may come. This is the topic of the following segment from a December 2023 Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram.
Omm Namo Bhagavate
Over-eager yogis sometimes have a tendency to blur the line between self-control and self-torture. This is a critical distinction. One must approach it like a scientist working with explosive chemicals, as Swamiji discusses in this December 2023 Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram.
The Chapter 3 verse cited in this talk is Verse 160 (3.41).
Omm Namo Bhagavate
Performing sadhana is not the purpose of Gita yoga. Sadhana is just a transitional stage on the path that takes us toward the goal. But what happens when we reach the goal? What do we do then?
Swamiji discusses the responsibilities of a seeker that has become a seer, in this advanced Interaction on Chapter 16 of Gita, at Sayachetana Ashram in March 2024. It can be viewed from the angle of the yogi that has reached that stage, and now has the work to guide others, or from the perspective of the striving seeker that comes to such a seer for guidance.
Omm Namo Bhagavate
Imagine trying to fill a bucket with water when there is a hole in the bucket. That’s what happens when a yogi is not diligent about preserving sattwa—it keeps leaking out. Swamiji shared this during the Advanced Course on the Yoga of Bhagavad Gita. The analogy relates to a challenge faced by many sincere seekers, and Swamiji describes the most important means of resolution, in this segment of a March 2024 Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram.
Key verses mentioned here are 608-610 (17.14-17.16) and 689 (18.67).
Omm Namo Bhagavate
To be linked with our true state, our svarupa, we must be able to see the difference between prakriti (nature) and her attributes, as Swamiji explains in this segment of a March 2024 Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram.
Omm Namo Bhagavate
From the perspective of Gita verse 347 (9.9), Swamiji discusses how to remain unidentified with the actions of others, and the importance of purifying one’s aspiration, in this excerpt from an Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram in March 2024.
Omm Namo Bhagavate
Here Swamiji continues to discuss the difference between you reacting and your system reacting, in an excerpt from a March Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram. The first two Gita verses quoted in Sanskrit early in this recording are 178-179 (4.16 and 4.17). The one quoted near the end, in regard to Chapter 15, is verse 553 (15.3).
Omm Namo Bhagavate
In this March Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram, Swamiji discusses what happens when a yogi that has reached a high state is compelled to be in a rajasic or tamasic environment, and the difference between the response of a yogi and the reaction of that same yogi’s system. To be continued.