“Yoga is hard to do, but it’s pretty neat.” -Krishna

Discourse 5

• This discourse opens with Arjuna asking Krishna which path is better: renunciation of actions or yoga?
  • Krishna says that yoga is better but that a person that practices just one will find the fruit of both
    • What does that mean?
  • 6
    • Says that renunciation is hard to achieve without also practicing yoga
  • 8
    • I think this verse is a lot deeper than it seems at first glance
      • Basically, I think it’s saying that a person joined with yoga does not consciously think that they are doing anything other than living in a way that will lead them to Brahmin. Whether that means seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping or whatever, they do not necessarily see themselves doing specific actions for specific purposes, but see themselves living in accordance with the divine.
    • 17
      • Shaking off evil through wisdom causes one to stop the cycle of reincarnation
    • 20
      • Moderation
        • This just seems incredibly difficult to me. What’s something you love that you could see without feeling happy? For instance, I like cookies, but if someone gave me a cookie, I would just sort of nonchalantly thank them for giving me a cookie. But like, if someone gave me a car, I would definitely be happy and get excited about the situation.
      • 21
        • What do you think about the concept of reaching eternal joy by not clinging to sensations?
          • To me, it almost seems disingenuous. It’s like saying you don’t want to accept a bonus at work because you know that, by refusing to accept the bonus, you’ll get an even bigger bonus offered right after it.
          • This same idea gets brought up in discourse 6, verse 27, so this isn’t a 1-off idea.

Discourse 6

• What do you think about Krishna saying that no one becomes a practitioner of yoga without giving up purposeful intent?
  • This goes back to verse 8 in discourse 5, which is talking about living in accordance with the divine. I’ve liked a lot of what we’ve read in the Gita, but I really dislike the idea of giving up personal agency. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding this passage, but I’m really struggling to wrap my head around the benefit of going through life in this sort of trance-like state.
• 3
  • I think the wording here is important to note.
    • Action will bring one toward yoga, but being quiet shows that one has reached yoga.
    • Is action enough to achieve yoga or will it only ever bring you “closer?” It really makes me think of Achilles and the Tortoise. (Get 2 volunteers, have one be “yoga” and the other one be “action.” Have action walk halfway, then halfway again, then halfway against, and so on and so forth)
  • 8
    • Here’s another verse on detachment
      • A lump of clay, a stone and a piece of gold should all be considered the same
        • Now, I think the significance comes from only seeing Brahmin in everything. Since all that is seen is Brahmin, everything is equal.
        • However, that’s really hard to practice. I joked with my girlfriend about this the other day and asked if she’d rather have an engagement ring or and engagement piece of clay. She was less than amused.
      • 11
        • Did everyone catch this? Just some more info about where to physically do yoga.
          • Where does one get an antelope skin if they shouldn’t harm animals?
        • 17
          • A number of people in this class have physical injuries/pain of one sort or another. In Verse 17, it says that yoga destroys all pain. Now, what does that mean if you have a literal interpretation? Or, does it seem more likely that Krishna means yoga can distract one from the pain and ‘destroy’ pain in that you forget about the pain? I struggle to see how a literal interpretation would stand up under scrutiny. Unlike in How Yoga Works, doesn’t it seem like some injuries are too serious for yoga to fix?
        • 30
          • I just really like the language of this verse. It just seems comforting.
        • 34
          • I think Arjuna is finally addressing what a lot of us are thinking; this all sounds awfully hard. Not only is it difficult, Arjuna says it would be like holding back the wind, which is impossible.

• 40
  • Same with verse 30, I just like how comforting this verse sounds. What happens when someone strays from the path? Krishna says that those people are not lost or destroyed. Basically, it sounds like he understands that accidents happen and everyone can slip up from time to time.
  • He also writes that no one who does good travels the hard road, which sounds sort of like the idea that good people will go to Heaven/break out of the reincarnation cycle.

My outside practice suffered over the past week. I wrote about it last week, but with all the tests and deadlines, I was extremely distressed and found little time to practice. That said, I still did manage to practice, but only a little. I ran through the basics a few times; Downward Dog, Tree Pose, and the different Warrior poses. I also did that one – which I think is part of the Warrior series – where you stand on one leg, put the other leg out behind you and place on hand on the ground by your foot. I really like that pose for some reason.

As for reading reflections, my thoughts are all over the place – as seen above – with my reading and presentation for Tuesday. Across the board, I am not struggling with understanding the book, but the seemingly overwhelming difficulty of following the teachings in the book is still a bit of a sticking point for me. The amount of detachment required seems almost inhuman. Perhaps that just means that an overwhelming majority of people are still trying to ‘join the self with yoga?’