ShrimadBhagwadGita prachar at Atlanta Vedic Temple on 01/11/09

Summary of talk on ShrimadBhagwadGita, given at Atlanta Vedic Temple on 01/11/09 by Acharya VedShrami
(This is part of the continuing series of lectures on ShrimadBhagwadGita)
Summary provided by: Mr. Vikas Bagga

Currently the series is covering the Meaning of Bhagwd (Bhagwan)

3 main topics of discussion:

· First, the benefit of performing a YAGYNA.
· Second, satisfy your hunger with SOUL FOOD
· Finally, continued discussion on attributes of Bhagwan – DHARMA.

Plea for Performing Sunday Yagyna
The benefits are attainment of: Aayu, Pranam, Prajam, Dhanam – which means long healthy life, meaningful living, wealth and prosperity. We pray so that all our actions we do in daily life help spread our fame, increase our wealth and provide the intended benefit to all.

Second is a plea to devote a few minutes of our lives devoted to the study of Gita or the Vedas, contending that you may treat this as a bitter medicine with magical advantages such as beneficial to health – physical and mental well being, wealth, fame etc. An easy way to get benefits of knowledge is to attend Satsang, which leads you to the path of how to attain God (Ishwar ki prapti) and consequently attain Moksh. This is supported in both the Gita and the Vedas. To illustrate this:

Every being in his human life strives to achieve something. The ultimate goal for what you are trying to achieve, whether fame, wealth etc is to attain Happiness (Sukh) But at the same time every human being is also faced with hardships and sorrow. These are 2 sides of fast flowing river. We embark on our journey through life, in this river. We need to develop the tools in our life that help us steer clear of riptides and disturbances and plan to reach and stay in calm waters. This can be attained only by knowing Parmatma/Prabhu (God). For reaching this state we have to make efforts that can only be attained by knowledge of the Gita and Vedas.

A simple prescription.
We pay so much attention to the nutritional needs of our body. We focus on eating right, so our bodies may have the strength and energy to make us strong and intelligent. Similar to the way we understand and recognize the needs of our physical body and try and service it, we should understand the need of our Soul (Atma) and its need, which can be satisfied only by Soul Food. Soul Food is found by studying the Vedas, Gita, and going to Satsang. So please understand your inner and less discernable hunger and fulfill it by following the simple prescription.

Continuing the discussion of Meaning of Bhag is a person bestowed with Opulence. There are seven attributes to Bhag. The previously discussed was Aishwarya or having wealth. The next attribute is Dharma or duty. Following the tenets of Dharma make you Dharmik. Question is how do you become Dharmik? There are 3 stages to becoming Dharmik.

First, we need to continue to grow and attain – knowledge.
Second, attain qualities that move us ahead in life.
Third a combination of the above two will lead to the development of person that is indestructible. Outstanding example is SriKrishna.

Our human body and soul undergoes a constant seesaw battle of emotions that cause positive energy (good forces) and negative energy (negative energy) in our life. That is why we refer to our body as the Kurukshetra or the battlefield where Good forces (Pandav) has to battle bad forces (Kaurav). The soul is Dhriti-rashtra that has to be able to discern between the good and bad for the Body. If the soul is not fed the right inputs it will impair
the ability to make the right judgment.

Thus to serve our Dharma we have to be able to make sound and objective reasoning (Dhriti) and lead you to the path of righteousness (Dhair Dhairyant), which will make you a righteous person who is seen as protector of dharma and thus Dharmik. A person who has attained this attribute may be referred to as Bhagwan.

Vedic Prachar on ShrimadBhagwadGita 01/04/09

Summary of talk on ShrimadBhagwadGita, given at Atlanta Vedic Temple on 01/04/09 by Acharya VedShrami.
(This is part of the continuing series of lectures on ShrimadBhagwadGita)
English Summary provided by: Mr. Vikas Bagga

Currently the series is covering the Meaning of Bhagwd (Bhagwan)

Earlier Sections covered the topic on defining "Who Am I?" and meaning of the term "Bhag" (Wealth) and the six attributes for one to be called Bhagwan.

Last Sunday's talk concentrated on expanding the understanding of Bhagwan.
Bhagwan is to be differentiated from the terms God (English) or other terms such as Prabhu, Parmatma, Ish or Ishwar. The latter set of terms refers to Creator of the Brahmaand or the Universe. The Super Natural being.

Some of the terms that have been introduced are:
Bhag refers to Opulence or Excess. The term also refers to 'Superb'. Bhagwan is a term coined for any one who possesses these qualities.

Kurukshetra which implies the Self as a battlefield, Bhoomi which implies the operating platform or environment in which we exist and survive.

The word Gita just refers to a song or musical composition. Thus any reference to the holy book should be by its full phrase - ShrimadBhagwadGita and not just Gita,

Every parent would want to see the attributes of Bhagwaan in their child. There are 3 attributes be followed by every parent, if they would like to raise good kids.

1. Prashasta/Prashast: This refers to harboring purity of thoughts by the father and mother to be. It is implied that if you want to have great children, even before conception, both parents should do Tapsya (Tapasya implies a self-discipline or austerity willingly expended both in restraining physical urges and in actively pursuing a higher purpose in life) to obtain the purity of thought. To illustrate the point, Rukmini told Krishna that she wanted to have a offspring that was as great as Him, Krishna advised her they would need to do Tapasya to obtain great offspring.
2. Dharmik/Dhaarmiki: This does not refer to going to temples and swirling incense in front of moorti (idols) but reaching out to the soul.
3. Vidwaan/Vidushi: This refers to being learned intellectual. Self study is the knowledge we obtain that allows us to earn a livelihood, such as getting an education degree from school. But it is important for a person to obtain Shiksha of Vedic knowledge and scriptures. This also helps you become a Vidwaan/Vidushi and step forward to becoming Mahaan (Great).

Swasti - Refers to being healthy. This refers to our responsibility keeping our self and all our faculties (body parts/organs) to function as they were deemed to perform. Aswasth refers to being unhealthy or even allowing unhealthy conditions to prevail in ourselves. It is thus necessary and our moral obligation to maintain our health, if we want to develop the purest thoughts and intellect within us.