6 Gita Course 7 Ways To Journal With Gita Wisdom (GEV)
Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. Dear Lord, please guide us so that we can use writing and journaling as a tool to apply your wisdom and to realize your presence in our hearts, in our lives better. So, my main inspiration for journaling based on the Bhagavad Gita comes from 6.5. We will not go into all the verses, but I will just give this as an indication of what it means.
6.5 is basically, Krishna is talking about self-observation. He is saying, Udharet Atmanatmanam. Elevate yourself with yourself.
There are many different ways in which words can be translated. Elevate yourself with your mind. Don't degrade yourself with your mind.
There are previous acharyas who translated also that we have a higher self and we have a lower self. Udharet Atmanatmanam. Elevate yourself with yourself.
Naatmanam avasadayet. Don't degrade yourself with yourself. Atmayvaya Atmanobandhur.
The self can be the friend of the self. Atmayva ripuratmanah. The self can also be the enemy of the self.
Now, all this talk of the self can be a little confusing. But, let me explain this. Basically, if we consider this to be the self.
So, we have a higher self and a lower self. Sometimes we talk about there is a good dog inside us and a bad dog inside us. Sometimes we talk about the intelligence and the mind.
Whatever be the term we may use. So, now another way to understand this is there is an active self. And then there is a contemplative self.
So, the active self is what does the various actions in our life. And the contemplative self is what can observe. It can evaluate.
It can decide. Sometimes we get angry. And at that time we just act out.
And afterwards some part of us seems to come back and say Why do you speak like that? You should not have spoken like that. So, basically we could say that within us Sometimes it happens that when we are acting It is almost like the lower self takes us over. And the higher self becomes like a tiny presence.
It is sidelined. So, this is when we fly into a temper. And then afterwards what happens is the higher self comes back.
And when the higher self comes back At that time we may make amends. We may apologize. And then we feel bad.
Ok, I might do something like this. So, there is this dynamic that keeps going on within us at various times. So, for us when Krishna is saying Elevate yourself with yourself.
That means use your higher self to elevate the lower self. Don't drag yourself down but raise yourself up. So, how can we raise ourselves up? One thing is self transformation has to begin with self observation.
So, we can observe ourselves. I will give three exercises here for journaling. You can do any one that you like.
You can note down the other two. But you can do any one. What does this self observation mean? That means say I am here and I can observe myself from above.
Say for example, right now we are doing certain things. Ok, I am sitting on this chair. I am slouching a little bit.
I am sitting carefully, attentively. I am focusing on this. But we can also observe.
Ok, I am feeling a little bit confused. I am finding this interesting. So, we can observe ourselves.
We discussed earlier about this free will and evil. There is a tendency within us. Something within us that acts against us.
Something that sabotages us. So, if the tendency to sabotage is there. So, when we observe ourselves.
Simple form of observation. A daily journal. Basically, what we are trying to do is.
We are trying to apply the Gita. How can I elevate myself? And how can I not degrade myself? So, a simple journal that we can do. Is that we note down these four things.
What was the, basically in life. If we consider. There are broadly.
Things that we do. That are what we call as actions. And things that happen to us.
That we can call as events. Now, among the actions. There might be.
Some actions that we do are good. Some actions that we do are bad. Among the events that happen.
There might be some that are good. And some that are bad. So, if we observe ourselves.
Okay. If I look back at my last 24 hours. What was the best thing that I did? What was the worst thing that I did? What was the best thing that happened to me? What was the worst thing that happened? And then.
Much more important than this making a list is. Why? Why means. Why do I consider this to be the best thing? Why do I consider this to be the worst thing? This was the best thing that I did.
Now, somebody may say. Okay. You know, I woke up at 4 o'clock in the morning today.
That is the best thing. Now, why was that the best thing? Okay, because you know, I was feeling lazy. I thought I would not be able to wake up.
But the alarm rang and I woke up. And okay. So, what happens is.
Not only we want to observe our actions. But we also try to understand the values that are driving us. Why do I value this? And what are the worst things that I did? You know, when that person greeted me yesterday.
I just snubbed him. Okay. Why did I do that? Or why do I feel bad about that I did that? So, why? So, by that we started.
Oh, this person is. I want to be courteous. I want to be polite.
I don't want to be a person who. I won't like it if others snub me. So, I don't want to be.
I don't want to snub others. By the way, how many of you know the word snub? So, okay. Okay.
Okay, snub. Snub basically means that. You know, if we greet someone.
Say Hare Krishna. And that person just acts as if we don't exist only. That person just looks through us.
Or looks away and goes off. That is called a snub someone. Snub means to deliberately neglect someone.
Basically. So. When I was speaking, I was feeling as if you were snubbing me.
Faces were. Faces were not very. Your faces were looking as if you are watching a foreign language movie without subtitles.
So, basically. This is one exercise by which. We can start observing this dynamic of the lower and higher self.
The something that I. So, the worst thing that I did. What does that mean? That is the time when my lower self took over me. And my lower self did something.
Made me do something. Or did something through me. Which I have regretted.
And then what is the best thing that I did? That is the thing means. My higher self. That has been strong and active properly.
We could. So, what are the best thing that I did? What are the worst thing that I did? So, basically. Through this, we can all develop certain capacity for self observation.
So, this is one exercise. We could just look back at 24 hours. Last 24 hours.
And. This is one way of doing self observation. Now.
Another is. We talk about gratitude. Krishna talks about this in 1716 in the Bhagavad Gita.
Where he says. Each one of us needs to cultivate contentment. Manahaprasadasamyatvam.
That. That we need to cultivate. Cheerfulness of the mind.
And cheerfulness of the mind. Generally comes through gratitude. We.
When we are grateful. Then we can naturally be joyful. So.
When you want to cultivate gratitude. So, basically. When we.
The nature of. If I am looking at myself. The nature of life.
When we are functioning. Is that. There will always be dualities.
Sometimes things will work in our favor. Sometimes things will not work in our favor. And sometimes when we go through a bad phase.
Many things seem to be working against us. And generally. When we are caught in the heat of the moment.
We are so busy. Okay. This is the opening here for me.
This is how I get this thing done. This is how I manage this. And this is the problem I am managing this.
So, we get caught in the emotions. Of the moment. And because of that.
Sometimes life can just seem to be like an unending struggle. And. We can forget.
That. We all have. Some blessings in our life.
So. Some people say count. Our blessings.
But more important than that is. Make. Our blessings count.
Count our blessings means. We actually make a list. But make our blessings count means.
When negativity is coming within us. We remember those blessings. We are able to cultivate.
A positive emotion. When life is bringing negative emotion around. So, it's good to make a list of our blessings.
And not just. It's like when we make a list of what. And why.
So, why means. That okay I feel grateful. For.
I feel grateful that my health is good. Okay. But why do I feel grateful for that? I feel grateful for x, y, z. So, generally.
We just make a list. The list won't be very helpful. When negativity is coming upon us.
Because. That list will not mean much. If we have written some more description.
You know this, this, this. Because of this, this, this. This is this positivity.
Then we will be able to trigger some emotion. When negative emotion will. Repeatedly come for us in our life.
And we want to get. More positive emotion. So.
Basically a gratitude journal. Can be. For us.
Like to counter. Life's negativity. It can be a very powerful resource.
To cultivate cheerfulness. To cultivate contentment. That's a second journal.
So, we will. I mentioned specific exercises. So, basically the point is.
What do I feel grateful for? And why do I feel grateful? So, this is one way. To apply the Gita's teachings. Now.
Again. As I said. There is this tendency for.
Self-destruction. Or self-sabotage. We may all have tendencies.
We may eat too much. We sleep too much. We get angry too much.
Whatever it is. So, when we are observing ourselves. We want to observe.
With curiosity. Not. With.
Not trying to justify. Nor trying to judge. First.
Curiosity. So, for example. Why did I get angry? Oh, I have a short tempered person.
That's not a very helpful explanation. Okay. So, generally.
If we understand that. Each one of us. Is a part of Krishna.
It means I am also a part of Krishna. If I am a part of Krishna. Then.
If I respect and love Krishna. I need to respect and love. This part of Krishna also.
So, rather than labelling and condemning myself. I am such a foolish person. I am such an attached person.
I am such a. I am such a short tempered person. I have no will power. It is that.
All these negative labels. We are applying on a part. And.
That is not healthy. So, we want self understanding. So, rather than asking the question.
Why did I do this? That's one question you can ask. But instead. Ask.
What does this. Do for me? That. When.
When I do this. It is. Serving some need for me.
Maybe in an unhealthy way. When I yell at someone. What does that yelling do for me? Maybe at that time.
I feel powerless. I feel taken for granted. I feel exploited.
And. This is my way of asserting myself. Of.
Showing people that. You cannot take me for granted. So, there is some need within me.
Which is being addressed. So, when I overate. When I spent too much time watching TV.
Doing chit-chatting. Gossiping. What does it do for me? Okay.
I am feeling bored. And it relieves my boredom. Then we can find out.
Okay. Is there a healthier way to relieve my boredom? The Gita says. That.
We have to get a higher taste. But. Before we can get a higher taste.
We need to know. What is that taste. Fulfilling.
What is the need that is fulfilling within me. So. I can find out that way.
That is. One more thing. We can join.
Ask in a. Non-judgmental objective way. That. Look at ourselves.
Like we are looking at a third person. And try to. What does this do for me? And then what need does it serve? And then as we understand that need.
And maybe we can find some other way to serve it. We can observe and find that. Now I mentioned.
That these are three algebraic. Broad journey principles. I will talk about a few.
Based on what we discussed in this session. Or not in this. In this course basically.
So we talked about the difference between. Goals. And results.
So we can observe. How can setting goals. Help me.
And be attached to results. Harm me. How does it help? How does this harm? So which are the areas.
Where I can set goals. How can I avoid being attached to results? When I am setting goals. What does it actually mean to differentiate.
Between the two of them? So for example. We may say that. Sometimes.
We have a particular project deadline. The submission deadline. Or something.
And that goal is in our mind. When we get into it. We start getting into like a flow zone.
We get absorbed. So it is not that we are constantly thinking about the deadline. But we are so immersed in what we are doing.
That we just forget everything else. We can go for half an hour. One hour.
We can go for hours. We forget eating. Forget sleeping.
Immersion comes in over there. So that. We set a goal.
We got immersed in it. And the experience I got. Of that immersion.
The experience I got of my capacities. That I can do this. That experience can be very uplifting for me.
So. This could be one. This is based on chapter 2. Now.
Based on chapter 7. Now I am just giving some broad examples. It is not that. Later on.
Whichever teaching of the Gita you want to apply. You can internalize that. Based on the spiritual journey.
We can start off with it as a shock absorber. And. We can also look at it as a. Cold transformer.
So. We can ask ourselves. When.
I practice my spirituality. What am I looking at for tonight? Am I looking for some shock absorption? That is not a bad thing. Let us say.
Sometimes something goes wrong in my life. And I want to calm myself down. So when I practice my spirituality seriously.
Is it primarily because. I have shocks and I want to absorb them. There is distress and I want to take shelter of Krishna.
Or. Is it that. For me.
Krishna in what areas. Has my spirituality transformed my goal? So. Maybe for us.
Certain things were very important in the past. But those dualities do not matter so much for us now. So in what areas.
Has spirituality. Become like a gold transformer for us? It has become a bigger goal. Than what my goal is at present.
Or what my goal was previously. And then. Based on chapter 10.
We will talk about. The attractive things in the world. Now which are the attractive things.
That are competitors for my attention. Now how can I. Make them into pointers. Let me say.
I am attracted to reading these books. I am attracted to this. Maybe I am attracted to trekking on mountains.
Maybe I am attracted to this. I have this hobby. I have that thing.
So that is already inside my consciousness. So how can I bring. What is in my consciousness Krishna? What are the ways.
In which. The things that I am attracted to. Can I bring them toward Krishna? So.
I will repeat these six things. I will summarize them. And then you can see which ones.
You feel inspired to do. And we will have about 10 minutes. For you to.
You can use your notes. You can use your phone. You can write things down.
And then depending on. How comfortable you feel. You can share.
Your journal entry with us. If you don't feel. What you gathered.
What you didn't gather out of it. So basically. The idea is.
That writing. Is a very powerful way for. Internalizing.
Because. When we are writing. What are we doing? There are some points we have heard.
And we are using words. Coming from inside us. To link with those points.
To articulate it. My theme in writing. Is that in words.
In words. We can go in words. In words.
By. By whatever we have learned. Whatever we feel is important.
When we try to put it in our own words. It will go inside. Not only will that wisdom go inside.
But we will be able to go deeper inside. And understand ourselves better. So I will summarize these six things once again.
First is. Look back. At 24 hours.
And what are the best thing I did. What was the worst thing I did. And why.
So by that we try to gain. A better understanding of. Where my higher self acts.
And where my lower self acts. The second was. Gratitude.
Gratitude is. What again and why. We count our blessings.
And we make our blessings count. The idea is negativity will come in our life. But can we have a. Stockpile of.
Positivity. Available for us to access. Then the third was about.
Self sabotage. That rather than. Why do I do this.
Rather than asking that and labeling ourselves. What do we do. What does this do.
For me. What need does this serve for me. And in that way.
We can actually go deeper. Within us. Then we talk about difference between goals.
And results. You know how can I set. Some goal in my life.
Or do I have an experience. When I set a goal. And that setting that goal.
Enabled me to become absorbed. And then what result came out. Didn't matter so much for me.
The fifth was. Why. Spiritual practice.
When I am practicing spirituality. What inspires me. What motivates me.
Is it as a shock absorber. Okay then which shock am I trying to absorb. In what way is it helping me.
Is it a goal transformer. So which is the goal. Higher goal that has come in my life.
And how inspired do I feel for it. So we may say. Oh I want to develop love for God.
Or offer it like a utopian idealistic concept. What does that mean for me. And the sixth was.
That attractive things. Whatever things attract me. But right now they will be distracting me from Krishna.
How can I. See some Krishna connection within them. And in that way. How can they become a pointer.
Towards Krishna. Okay. So we will have about.
Is the exercise clear. Now what we are trying to do. Third one.
Third one is. No. So.
Say. If I have a tendency to over eat. Or over sleep.
Now if I over sleep. I can just say I am lazy. Or if I over eat I am a glutton.
Some people say. Whatever. It is very easy to label people.
When I over eat. What are the thoughts in my mind. Is it that I. I feel uncomfortable.
And I. You know I want some comfort. And food gives me that comfort. Is it that.
What is. What is this doing for me. Is it relieving my boredom.
Is it relieving my loneliness. Is it just. You may say it provides me pleasure.
Okay. There are so many different ways in which you can get pleasure. Why is this pleasure.
So. Why is this urge for this pleasure so strong for me. Why do I want this.
In a way that it may even endanger other things in my life. So. In the subsequent form of journaling seem difficult.
You can just focus on the first one. Look at yourself. And see.
What are the best thing that you did. In the last 24 hours. Why do you think that is the best thing.
And if not. What are the worst thing. And why do you think it is the worst thing.
Any other questions. Is it clear overall. Now we are not talking about how to help and write.
We are not talking about writing skills. We are talking about writing as a means. For deeper self-understanding.
So. When we are writing in this way. You don't have to worry about grammar.
You don't have to worry about punctuation. The focus is more on. How we can.
Like inwards inwards. So we want to go inside us. And understand ourselves better.
So. Your time starts now. You can have about 10 minutes.