Swami Kriyananda, reflecting on Bhagavad Gita stanza 34, explains that Arjuna’s hesitation to fight symbolizes our reluctance to confront inner faults because we wrongly identify them as part of ourselves. Krishna urges him—and us—not to retreat from the inner battle, warning that giving up leads not to honor but to self-reproach and stagnation. Dishonor, Kriyananda says, is worse than death because it erodes self-respect and spiritual momentum. Even if one slips, the key is to rise, correct course, and continue, as God never abandons sincere effort. He illustrates how a guru, like a skilled fisherman, may sometimes let a disciple “swim away” or even push them from the path to protect the deeper spiritual bond. Worldly comfort—what Yogananda called “familial warmth”—can lull us into complacency, but true peace comes only from victory over lower tendencies. Spiritual community helps sustain this fight by offering encouragement and shared purpose on the journey toward liberation.

With Swami Kriyananda

Swami Kriyananda explains Krishna’s teaching from the Bhagavad Gita (verse 45) that the universe is composed of three gunas—sattva (uplifting), rajas (activating), and tamas (darkening). Using Yogananda’s ocean-wave analogy, he describes how every vibration has all three aspects: the base (sattva), the middle (rajas), and the crest (tamas). Tamas leads to dullness and spiritual darkness; rajas has two directions—downward toward materialism (as in the merchant or vaishya type) and upward toward selfless service (as in the warrior or kshatriya type); sattva is close to God but still contains ego.

The caste system originally reflected these qualities, with spiritual progress coming through association with higher consciousness. Ultimately, all three gunas bind the soul to maya. True liberation (nirbikalpa samadhi) comes only when one transcends all three and merges with God. While the Vedas address worldly desires through rituals, Krishna’s higher counsel urges complete freedom from the gunas and dualities, aiming solely for union with the Divine.

With Swami Kriyananda

This talk continues reflections on the Bhagavad Gita, where Arjuna hesitates to fight against relatives, symbolizing the struggle between spiritual aspiration and worldly ties. The speaker explains that loved ones often resist when one seeks God, making indifference a tempting defense. However, true indifference is ego-based, not soul-based, and lacks love. Instead, spiritual seekers must cultivate compassion, loving others for their divine potential rather than their delusions. Renunciation is not gradual detachment but a wholehearted turning to God, as illustrated by stories of saints who left everything behind instantly. Families or society may reject, criticize, or resist spiritual efforts, but seekers should avoid anger or harshness, sharing truth wisely and without force. Resistance from others often increases when one radiates joy, yet ultimate freedom comes when one surrenders fully to God. Even suffering or persecution loses power, for martyrs are sustained by divine joy.

Swami Kriyananda, citing Krishna’s assurance that “even a little practice of this yoga will free you from dire fears and colossal sufferings,” explains that yoga frees us from karmic bondage by transcending the body’s reactive process to life’s opposites. Pleasure, pain, gain, and loss keep the worldly person outwardly absorbed, unable to grasp the inward path.

Through Yogananda’s story of the lake frog visiting the small-pond frogs, Kriyananda illustrates how spiritual truth is often rejected, attacked, and reduced to fit limited understanding—just as great masters’ expansive teachings are diminished after their passing. He critiques the dogma of eternal damnation, pointing out the injustice of infinite punishment for finite mistakes, and the exclusivity of certain religious institutions that claim sole access to salvation.

Kriyananda emphasizes that Jesus and other saints spoke of true union with God—merging like water into wine—not eternal ego existence in heaven. Most people, he notes, seek worldly gain, while only rare souls pursue and realize the Infinite.

Swami Kriyananda, drawing from the Bhagavad Gita’s teaching to be even-minded amid pleasure and pain, explains that yoga links emotional reactions to physical and energetic responses—especially the breath. Pleasure and gain tend to strengthen inhalation, while pain and loss intensify exhalation. By balancing these, one can neutralize the pull of life’s dualities.

He emphasizes that Lahiri Mahasaya reintroduced yoga in the modern era to show that its foundation is energy, particularly its direction in the spine. Breath originates in the spine, and reactions—positive or negative—correspond to upward or downward energy flows. Equalizing these currents is central to Kriya Yoga, which magnetizes the spine and draws energy inward, freeing one from outer attachments.

Kriyananda explains the role of the medulla oblongata (seat of ego) as the point from which awareness perceives, and how concentration should rise from there to the spiritual eye. Living in the spine and focusing at this higher center leads to divine freedom and inner detachment.

With Swami Kriyananda

Chapter 2, Stanza 40

These films go back 20 years. 4 minutes