-4th chapter: verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on April 24, 2020.
-Lord Krishna says that he first taught Yoga to Surya, who taught it to Manu, who then taught it to Ikshavaku. It has been handed down through the “Guru-shishya parampara”, an unbroken succession of teachers-disciples.
-In course of time, this Yoga was lost - because those who were expected to preserve this spiritual tradition, failed to practice it properly. Whatever they practiced came to be mistakenly known as Yoga. They did not live as Rajarshis.
-Rajarshi is a person who has the dual qualities of a king (Rajatvam) and a saint (Rishitvam). As a king, he has great prosperity, dynamism and efficiency. As a saint, he has a calm attitude, can see far into things, and understands the limitations and impermanence of his wealth and powers.
-People should always remember that tradition does not begin with them – rather they inherit it, and it is their duty to preserve it. They should not disown the past. Great cultures and civilizations have survived through parampara.
-Parampara can lead to fanaticism or tyranny of hierarchy. In such situations, to make adjustments, great teachers emerge. Such men are called Avatara.
-Avatara is Lord descending to human level to preserve values and readjust spiritual equilibrium in the world. Avatara is sublime aspects of human and divine rolled into one.
-Avatara can be understood with the concept of parampara. People should understand that civilizations did not begin with them – rather, parampara drives continuity of civilization, resting on the shoulders of great epoch makers.
-If anyone claims to manufacture new truth, disregarding what is already stated in the scriptures, we should not believe such a person. Truth is handed down through parampara.
-3rd verse: “Today, I have taught you this Yoga, the supreme secret, because you are my devotee and friend, and fit for this instruction”
-Among the five Pandava brothers, Arjuna was chosen for the instruction. Even though he was confused and had internal conflicts, he had the ethical courage to implement what he was being taught.
-4th verse: Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to reconcile how he could have taught to Surya, when Surya was born many years ago, and Lord Krishna’s birth was much later.
-Arjuna’s confusion arises because he looked upon Lord Krishna only as a highly refined human being, not as an Avatara - born as Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Shankaracharya and Sri Ramakrishna.
-Avatara signifies descent of the Atman to human form. The Atman takes human form from time to time to protect and sustain the spiritual equilibrium of cosmic existence.
-When we do spiritual practices, we ascend from human towards divine. Avatara represents descent from divine to human.
-5th verse: “Both of us have had many births in the past. I know that, but you don’t. I know that I have a spiritual dimension, but you don’t know that”
-Atman is present in all of us. Avatara understands that a normal human being doesn’t understand this truth. Normal being identifies with body, mind and intellect, and forgets his own spiritual identity.
-With ascent through spiritual practices, a normal being realizes the divine truth. Avataras are aware of this when they are born. They may still do spiritual practices as a way to teach others.
-Avatara is like a mighty ship that can carry thousands of people across the ocean of samsara, and can go back and forth. Ordinary seekers are like a boat by comparison.
-Avatara’s life seems as if everything is pre-meditated. This is seen in the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Shankaracharya, Jesus Christ and Buddha.
-Avatara, by his very nature, knows that He is eternally pure, immortal, omniscient, free from bondages and free from delusion.
-6th verse: “Though I am unborn, and beyond all changes – yet, without being subject to the regulation of prakriti, keeping prakriti under control, I incarnate.”
-“I” does not refer to Lord Krishna as a limited human being. Rather it refers to the eternal dimension of His personality as Atman.
-Ordinary beings are subject to interplays of time, space and causation. Avatara is not limited by time, space and causation. Avatara is beyond the six changes: birth, existence, growth, evolution, degeneration and death.
-Avatara only appears to become a human being – He does not become a human being. As described in Vivarta-vada (विवर्तवाद), it is a momentary change that can go back to its original state. Parinama-vada (परिणामवाद) refers to changes that are irreversible, such as an oil seed becoming oil.
-In Avatara’s everyday life, activities, and teachings, there is always a visible transcendental connection.