Bhagavad Gita in the Light of Sri Ramakrishna (ongoing)
The Bhagavad Gītā, a scripture beloved by Hindus, has been interpreted in various ways by traditional commentators ranging from Śaṅkara and Rāmānuja to Abhinavagupta and Viśvanātha Cakravartin, and by modern commentators like Mahatma Gandhi, B.G. Tilak, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, R.C. Zaehner, and Robert Minor. In this course, we will explore a new way of reading and interpreting the Bhagavad Gītā. Instead of relying on any of the traditional commentators such as Śaṅkara or Rāmānuja, we will strive to read the Gītā in the light of the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, who harmonized many apparently conflicting sects, religions, and spiritual paths. To this end, we will use as our main textbook Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita (1916–1920). Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950), a great Bengali mystic and philosopher, was strongly influenced by both Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda and strove to reinterpret the Upaniṣads and Gītā in the light of their life and teachings. Our overarching aim is to decipher the original meaning of the verses in the Gītā with the help of Sri Aurobindo’s commentary as well as the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda.
The Course Syllabus, which includes the livestream link for the upcoming class, PDFs of assigned texts, and handouts, is available here
Main textbook: Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita
Supplementary texts can be found here
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Class 1: Introduction
Introduction to the class.
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Class 2: Traditional Schools of Vedānta
Discussion of Swami Medhananda’s Introduction to the traditional schools of Vedānta
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Class 3: Traditional Schools of Vedānta
In this class (Class 3), we continue discussing Swami Medhananda's article, "Introduction: The Past, Present, and Future of Scholarship on Vedānta"
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Class 4: Sri Ramakrishna's Vijñāna Vedānta
In this class (Class 4), we discuss Swami Medhananda's article, "Sri Ramakrishna's Harmonizing Philosophy of Vijñāna Vedānta"
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Class 5: Sri Ramakrishna's Vijñāna Vedānta
In this class (Class 5), we continue discussing Swami Medhananda’s article, “Sri Ramakrishna’s Harmonizing Philosophy of Vijñāna Vedānta”
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Class 6: Sri Aurobindo's Hermeneutics of the Bhagavad Gītā
In this class (Class 6), we discuss pp. 1209-1220 of Swami Medhananda’s article, “Toward a New Hermeneutics of the Bhagavad Gītā: Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and the Secret of Vijñāna”
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Class 7: Sri Aurobindo's Hermeneutics of the Bhagavad Gītā
In this class (Class 7), we discuss pp. 1220-1233 of Swami Medhananda’s article, “Toward a New Hermeneutics of the Bhagavad Gītā: Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and the Secret of Vijñāna”
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Class 8: Essays on the Gita, Ch. 1 - 2
In this class (Class 8), we discuss chapters 1 and 2 of Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita (abbreviated EG) (pp. 1-19)
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Class 9: EG, Ch. 3
In this class (Class 9 on Dec. 3rd), we discuss chapter 3 of Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita, entitled “The Human Disciple” (pp. 20-28), as well as chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita itself.
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Class 10: EG, Ch. 4
In this class (Class 10), we discuss chapter 4 of Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita, entitled “The Core of the Teaching” (pp. 29-38).
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Class 11: EG, Ch. 5 - 6
In the next class (Class 11), we will discuss chapter 5, "Kurukshetra," and chapter 6, "Man and the Battle of Life" (pp. 39-56).
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Class 12: EG, Ch. 7
In this class (Class 12 ), we will discuss chapter 7, "The Creed of the Aryan Fighter" (pp. 57–67), of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita. This chapter discusses verses 1–38 of chapter 2 of the Gita, so please read those verses from the Gita BEFORE reading chapter 7 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita.
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Class 13: Gita 2.10-16
In this class (Class 13), we discuss verses 10–16 of chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 14: Gita 2.16
In this class (Class 14), we will continue to discuss Gita 2.16, comparing the commentaries of Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Sri Aurobindo, and Swami Tapasyananda.
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Class 15: Gita 2.16
In this class (Class 15), we finish discussing verse 2.16 of the Gita, focusing on Rāmānuja’s, Sri Aurobindo’s, and Swami Tapasyanandaji’s interpretations.
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Class 16: Gita 2.17-27
In this class (Class 16), we discuss verses 2.17 to 2.27 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 17: Gita 2.26-31
In this class (Class 17), we discuss verses 2.26 to 2.31 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 18: EG Ch. 8
In this class (Class 18), we discuss Chapter 8, entitled "Samkhya and Yoga" (pp. 68-80), of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita.
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Class 19: Gita 2.40-44, EG Ch. 9
In this class (Class 19), we discuss verses 2.40 to 2.44 of the Bhagavad Gita and Chapter 9 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled “Samkhya, Yoga & Vedanta” (pp. 81-93).
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Class 20: Gita 2.45-49, EG Ch. 10
In this class (Class 20 on Sunday, May 26 at 9:30 am PST), we will discuss Chapter 10 of Sri Aurobindo’s Essays on the Gita, entitled “The Yoga of the Intelligent Will” (pp. 94–104), as well as verses 2.45–2.49 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 21: Gita 2.50–2.56
In this class (Class 21) we discuss verses 50–56 of chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 22: Gita 2.57–2.65
In this class (Class 22) we discuss verses 57–65 of chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita as well as Sri Ramanuja's commentary
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Class 23: Gita 2.66–2.72
In this class (Class 23, to be held on Sunday, June 23rd at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 2.66-2.72 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 24: Gita 3.1–3.7, EG Ch. 11
In this class (Class 24, Sunday, July 7th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.1-3.7 of the Bhagavad Gita and chapter 11 ("Works and Sacrifice") of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita (pp. 105-113).
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Class 25: Gita 3.8–3.15, EG Ch. 12
In this class (Class 25, to be held on Sunday, July 21st at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.8-3.15 of the Bhagavad Gita and the first few pages of chapter 12 ("The Significance of Sacrifice") of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita (pp. 114-119).
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Class 26: Gita 3.16-3.20, 4.23-4.27
In this class (Class 26, on Sunday, August 4th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.16-3.20 and 4.23-4.27 of the Bhagavad Gita and discuss the remainder of chapter 12 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Significance of Sacrifice" (pp. 119–123).
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Class 27: Gita 4.28-4.35
In this class (Class 27, on Sunday, August 11th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 4.28-4.35 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 28: Gita 4.33-4.35
In this class (Class 28, on Sunday, August 18th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 4.33-4.35 of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Class 29: EG Ch 13
In this class (Class 29, on Sunday, September 1st at 9:30 am PST), we discuss chapter 13 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Lord of the Sacrifice" (pp. 124–133).
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Class 30: Gita 3.20–26, EG Ch 14
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).
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Class 31: Gita 3.27–29, EG Ch 21
In this class (Class 31, on Sunday, October 6th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.27-3.29 of the Gita, chapter 21 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Determinism of Nature" (pp. 212–223), and pp. 24-32 of Swami Medhananda's article, "Hard Theological Determinism and the Illusion of Free Will: Sri Ramakrishna Meets Lord Kames, Saul Smilansky, and Derk Pereboom."
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Class 32: Gita 3.30–34, EG Ch 22
In this class (Class 32, on Sunday, October 27th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.30–3.34 of the Gita and chapter 22 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "Beyond the Modes of Nature" (pp. 224–233).
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Class 33: Gita 3.35-3.43
In this class (Class 33, on Sunday, November 10th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 3.35–3.43 of the Gita.
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Class 34: Gita 4.1-8, EG Ch 15
In this class (Class 34, on Sunday, November 17th at 9:30 am PST), we discuss verses 4.1–4.8 of the Gita and chapter 15 of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita, entitled "The Possibility and Purpose of Avatarhood" (pp. 145–157).
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Class 35: Gita 4.9-13, EG Ch 16-17
In this class (Class 35 on Sunday, Dec. 15th at 8:45 am PST), we discuss verses 4.9–4.13 of the Gita and chapters 16 ("The Process of Avatarhood," pp. 158–167) and 17 ("The Divine Birth and Divine Works," pp. 168–176) of Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita.