The thirty-second in a series of talks by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) on the Bhagavad Gita, India's most famous scripture: the unforgettable dialog between Sri Krishna and Arjuna about the essence of spiritual life.

In this talk, starting with Chapter 6:16, Swamiji discusses details Krishna mentions about spiritual life, including eating, sleeping, and moderation in all things. He shares a story of Sister Durga, Paramhansa Yogananda's advanced disciple, and controlling the mind, plus other aspects of Krishna'a teachings in the Gita.

Here's a summary of the main points from Swami Nirmalananda Giri's talk on "The Yoga Life":

• Yoga as a Way of Life: Yoga should be a constant state of joy and reflection in one's daily life, influencing how one lives.
• Moderation in Eating: Yoga isn't about excessive eating or extreme fasting. There's a critique of practices that lead to an unhealthy obsession with food, which can arise from misguided yogic practices.
• Sleep and Wakefulness: The Yogi should avoid the extremes of too much or too little sleep. An anecdote about the macrobiotic diet illustrates how an imbalanced approach can lead to health issues and excessive sleep.
• Moderation in Action: Yoga advocates for sensibility and discipline in actions, avoiding extremes of overdoing or underdoing, which can stem from self-loathing or delusion.
• Control of the Mind: Through yoga, particularly through practices like japa (mantra repetition), one achieves control over the mind, leading to a state where the mind becomes still, like a lamp in a windless place.
• Self-Realization and Meditation: The goal is to behold the self by the self, without external mediators or tricks. Real yoga leads to natural contentment and joy in the self, not through forced or artificial means.
• Endless Joy (Ananda): The joy experienced in yoga is not an external or fleeting emotion but an inherent, endless aspect of one's true nature, which one realizes through meditation.
• Beyond Sensory Perception: True joy and understanding come from beyond the physical senses, through the intellect and subtle senses, leading to a state of steadfastness in truth.
• Judgment and Self-Reflection: There's a call for self-awareness and practical wisdom over blind devotion or foolishness, emphasizing the need for intelligence in spiritual practice.
• Criticism of False Practices: The talk critiques practices and teachings that lead to physical or mental harm or promote an imbalanced lifestyle under the guise of yoga.

This talk conveys that the essence of yoga is about living a balanced, sensible life, where spiritual practice naturally leads to inner peace, control over one's desires, and joy, without the need for extreme measures or false spiritual experiences.