Two Types of Beings

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

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.

Don’t Volunteer Advice…

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

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).

Retain Your Awakening

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

Omm Namo Bhagavate

Annual school function at Satyachetana Sikhyashram Balanga

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.

To Free Ourselves

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

Omm Namo Bhagavate

Speaking to students in Keonjhar, Odisha

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.

This Cobweb of Karma

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

Omm Namo Bhagavate

Visiting a library of devotion in Bhubaneswar

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).

A Yogi Responds; a Yogi’s System Reacts

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

Omm Namo Bhagavate

Deep in Veda revelation at the Ganeshupuri studio.

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.

One Key Verse

Swami Sri Atmananda Posted on by

Omm Namo Bhagavate

Here Swamiji demonstrates how to pick one key verse from a chapter of Gita that encapsulates the whole essence of that chapter. He also explains the beginning of Chapter 7, and the difference between knowledge (gyaana) and the process of knowing (vigyaana). From a December 2024 Interaction at Satyachetana Ashram.