Vedanta Society of Southern California | Bhagavad Gita in the Light of Sri Ramakrishna (Class 30: BG 3.20-3.26, EG ch. 14) | Swami Medhananda @VedantaOrg | Uploaded September 2024 | Updated October 2024, 5 hours ago.
In this class (Class 30, on Sunday, September 15th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.20–26 of the Bhagavad Gita as well as chapter 14 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Principle of Divine Works" (pp. 134–144).
Link to Swami Medhananda's comparative study of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Sri Ramakrishna's Vijnana Vedanta:
https://www.academia.edu/114859846/Harmonizing_the_Personal_God_with_Impersonal_Brahman_Sri_Ramakrishna_s_Vijñāna_Vedānta_in_Dialogue_with_Gauḍīya_Vaiṣṇavism_2024_
The assignment for our next class (Class 31, to be held on Sunday, October 6th at 9:30 am PST) is as follows:
1. Read 3.27–3.37 of the Bhagavad Gita
2. Read chapter 21 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Determinism of Nature" (pp. 212–223)
3. Read pp. 24–32 of my article, "Hard Theological Determinism and the Illusion of Free Will: Sri Ramakrishna Meets Lord Kames, Saul Smilansky, and Derk Pereboom."
Link to Swami Medhananda's article, "Hard Theological Determinism and the Illusion of Free Will":
vedanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Hard-Theological-Determinism.pdf
Please also answer the following Study Questions for Class 31:
1. According to Sri Aurobindo's interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita, do we have free will?
2. Please compare the Bhagavad Gita's views on free will and determinism with the views of Sri Ramakrishna. What are the similarities and differences in their respective views?
3. How are the Gita's teachings on free will and determinism helpful to us as struggling spiritual aspirants?
4. Please compare Sri Aurobindo's and Swami Tapasyananda's interpretations of verses 3.33 and 3.34 of the Bhagavad Gita. (Swami Tapasyananda's interpretation of 3.33 and 3.34 is found on pp. 110–111 of his book.) How can these verses help us as spiritual aspirants?
5. Do you have any questions about the reading? Did you have difficulty understanding anything? Do you have any doubts or confusions?
Please submit your responses to the Study Questions by Saturday, October 5th at 7 pm PST by clicking on this link:
https://forms.gle/RG6snNGA2Jefk5u66
To follow the class from the beginning and get access to all the course materials in a systematic manner, please visit this website:
swamimedhananda.com/bhagavad-gita-in-the-light-of-sri-ramakrishna
Main textbook: Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita:
vedanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/19EssaysOnTheGita.pdf
Supplementary texts:
* Sri Aurobindo, Bhagavad Gita and its Message, edited by Anilbaran Roy (amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Its-Message-Aurobindo/dp/0941524787/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2IRWYV8HEWNHH&keywords=anil+baran+roy+aurobindo&qid=1691445964&sprefix=anilbaran+roy+aurobin%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1)
* Swami Tapasyananda’s Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā: The Scripture of Mankind (archive.org/details/bhagavad-gita-scripture-mankind-tapasyananda-1)
* Swami Chidbavananda’s The Bhagavad Gita (archive.org/details/TheBhagavadBySwamiChidbhavanand)
* Śaṅkara's commentary on the Gita (archive.org/details/bhagavad-gita-with-the-commentary-of-adi-shankaracharya-by-swami-gambhirananda-a)
* Rāmānuja’s commentary on the Gita (vedanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ramanuja-Gita-commentary-translation.pdf)
Gita app based on Sri Aurobindo’s commentary:
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.org.bhagavadgita&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
iPhone: apps.apple.com/in/app/bhagavad-gita-sri-aurobindo/id1143882659
In this class (Class 30, on Sunday, September 15th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.20–26 of the Bhagavad Gita as well as chapter 14 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Principle of Divine Works" (pp. 134–144).
Link to Swami Medhananda's comparative study of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Sri Ramakrishna's Vijnana Vedanta:
https://www.academia.edu/114859846/Harmonizing_the_Personal_God_with_Impersonal_Brahman_Sri_Ramakrishna_s_Vijñāna_Vedānta_in_Dialogue_with_Gauḍīya_Vaiṣṇavism_2024_
The assignment for our next class (Class 31, to be held on Sunday, October 6th at 9:30 am PST) is as follows:
1. Read 3.27–3.37 of the Bhagavad Gita
2. Read chapter 21 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Determinism of Nature" (pp. 212–223)
3. Read pp. 24–32 of my article, "Hard Theological Determinism and the Illusion of Free Will: Sri Ramakrishna Meets Lord Kames, Saul Smilansky, and Derk Pereboom."
Link to Swami Medhananda's article, "Hard Theological Determinism and the Illusion of Free Will":
vedanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Hard-Theological-Determinism.pdf
Please also answer the following Study Questions for Class 31:
1. According to Sri Aurobindo's interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita, do we have free will?
2. Please compare the Bhagavad Gita's views on free will and determinism with the views of Sri Ramakrishna. What are the similarities and differences in their respective views?
3. How are the Gita's teachings on free will and determinism helpful to us as struggling spiritual aspirants?
4. Please compare Sri Aurobindo's and Swami Tapasyananda's interpretations of verses 3.33 and 3.34 of the Bhagavad Gita. (Swami Tapasyananda's interpretation of 3.33 and 3.34 is found on pp. 110–111 of his book.) How can these verses help us as spiritual aspirants?
5. Do you have any questions about the reading? Did you have difficulty understanding anything? Do you have any doubts or confusions?
Please submit your responses to the Study Questions by Saturday, October 5th at 7 pm PST by clicking on this link:
https://forms.gle/RG6snNGA2Jefk5u66
To follow the class from the beginning and get access to all the course materials in a systematic manner, please visit this website:
swamimedhananda.com/bhagavad-gita-in-the-light-of-sri-ramakrishna
Main textbook: Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita:
vedanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/19EssaysOnTheGita.pdf
Supplementary texts:
* Sri Aurobindo, Bhagavad Gita and its Message, edited by Anilbaran Roy (amazon.com/Bhagavad-Gita-Its-Message-Aurobindo/dp/0941524787/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2IRWYV8HEWNHH&keywords=anil+baran+roy+aurobindo&qid=1691445964&sprefix=anilbaran+roy+aurobin%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1)
* Swami Tapasyananda’s Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā: The Scripture of Mankind (archive.org/details/bhagavad-gita-scripture-mankind-tapasyananda-1)
* Swami Chidbavananda’s The Bhagavad Gita (archive.org/details/TheBhagavadBySwamiChidbhavanand)
* Śaṅkara's commentary on the Gita (archive.org/details/bhagavad-gita-with-the-commentary-of-adi-shankaracharya-by-swami-gambhirananda-a)
* Rāmānuja’s commentary on the Gita (vedanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ramanuja-Gita-commentary-translation.pdf)
Gita app based on Sri Aurobindo’s commentary:
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.org.bhagavadgita&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
iPhone: apps.apple.com/in/app/bhagavad-gita-sri-aurobindo/id1143882659
