Ravi Ranganathan Podcast

Episode 86 - Chapter 18 Part 9 - Bhagavan's Final Teaching - Abandon All Dharmas

In Episode 86, this podcast has reached the final concluding teaching. This covers the final advice for peace. BhagavAn who was all along talking in first person suddenly switches to third person. Why so? This is a very subtle and...

Episode 85 - Chapter 18 Part 8 - Jeevan Mukta, Devotion, Surrender and Grace

In the final summary chapter, after completing His summary about the three guNAs and varna division, and attaining the state of perfection, Bhagavan reaches the final stretch. In this episode He talks about a Jeevan mukta, devotion, surrender and grace...

Episode 84 - Chapter 18 Part 7 - Attaining The State Of Perfection - The Actionless State

After covering all aspects of the three guNAs, Bhagavan now moves on to wrap up His teachings. In chapter three He mentioned about the naishkarmyam state, the actionlessness state. In this summary chapter next he brings that topic about attaining...

Episode 83 - Chapter 18 Part 6 - Varna Division And Varna Duties

Episode 83 covers the final summary of varna division and varna duties and its purpose.

Episode 82 - Chapter 18 Part 5 - Three Types of Intellect, Fortitude And Happiness

Episode 81 - Chapter 18 Part 4 - Three Types of Knowledge, Action And Doer

Episode 80 - Chapter 18 Part 3 - Five Factors For An Action And The Three Impulses To Act

Episode 79 - Chapter 18 Part 2 - Three Types of ThyAgam And Who Is a ThyAgi.

Episode 78 - Chapter 18 Part 1 - Introduction and Sannyasam vs Thyagam

Episode 78 of podcast "BG - yah pashyati sa pashyati"With Episode 78 this podcast has reached the final chapter of BG. The final eighteenth chapter is the longest chapter in BG and it covers all the major topics that has...

Episode 77 - Chapter 17 Part 4 - What is Om Tat Sat and Chapter Appreciation

Episode 77 covers the final part of chapter 17. In the first three parts we have seen the influence of the three guNAs, sattva, rajas and tamas on faith we have, food we consume, sacrifices we perform, austerities at the...

Episode 76 - Chapter 17 Part 3 - Three Types of Austerities and Charities

Episode 75 - Chapter 17 Part 2 - Three Types of Faith, Food and Sacrifices

Episode 74 - Chapter 17 Part 1 - The Glories Of The Threefold Faith

Episode 74 starts chapter 17. This chapter is titled as shraddhAtrayabhAga yogo, The glories of three fold faith. You can see this chapter as an extension of chapter fourteen. If Chapter fourteen is theory about the three gunAs, chapter...

Episode 73 - Chapter 16 Part 3 - Chapter Conclusion and Chapter Appreciation.

Chapter 16 is a unique chapter in the sense that the entire chapter 16 has a battlefield context. As part of the chapter appreciation, episode 73 will cover the battlefield context of the divine and demonic values taught in...

Episode 72 - Chapter 16 Part 2 - Philosophy and Life of Demoniac People.

Episode 71 covered twenty six divine and six demoniac values. Episode 72 cover the philosophy and life style of demoniac people.

Episode 71 - Chapter 16 Part 1 - Divine and Demonic Values

Episode 71 covers twenty six divine values and six demonic values.

Episode 70 - Chapter 15 Part 5 - Chapter Conclusion and Chapter Appreciation - Consciousness

Episode 70 covers the final verses of chapter 15 where Bhagavan stresses the importance of sAstrAs. The episode also includes chapter appreciation, where Consciousness in some of the Indian darsans including vedanta and science are examined.

Episode 69 - Chapter 15 Part 4 - Who Digests our Food and Who is Purushottama.

The previous episode 68 covered who is the nourisher of the body and how nourishment is created for beings to have a life. Episode 69 covers who digests the food we eat and who is purushottama, the best person in...

Episode 68 - Chapter 15 Part 3 - Nourisher and Nourishment.

What is the difference between a jeevAtma and paramAtmA? What does jeevAtmA move from one body to another mean? After death, what does jeevAtmA take along with it and how does it do it? Where is nourishment for our body...

Episode 67 - Chapter 15 Part 2 - The Goal of Human Life

Episode 67 continues the metaphor of an Upside Down Tree from the previous episode. This upside down tree represents samsArA. Even though the samsArA itself is eternal, individual samsArA can be cut down. Bhagavan explains what tool should be used...

Episode 66 - Chapter 15 Part 1 - Introduction to an Upside Down Tree

Chapter 65 - Chapter 14 Part 3 - Crossing the Three Gunas & Chapter Conclusion

This episode covers, how to identify a person who has crossed the three guNAs. BhagavAn gives 12 qualities of the person who has crossed the three guNAs. This is like a short summary of the teachings in earlier chapters....

Episode 64 - Chapter 14 Part 2 - Crossing the Three Gunas

Episode 64 focusses on how to identify a person who has crossed the three guNAs, a guṇātītaḥ, Bhagavan lists twelve qualities of the person who has crossed over the three guNAs. In this epsiode we will also see...

Episode 63 - Chapter 14 Part 1 - Intro To The Chapter On Three Gunas

Episode 63 of podcast "BG - Yah pashyati sa pashyati" - One who sees that person sees.With BhagavAn's blessings, having finished thirteen chapters, Episode 63 starts chapter fourteen. Bhagavan has been talking about three guNAs from the very beginning of...

Episode 62 - Chapter 13 Part 6 - Chapter Appreciation Part 2

Episode 62 continues the chapter 13 appreciations. This episode covers the interesting story of creation as per kashmir shaivism, aadi sankara's imaginary dialogue to make his point that samsarA is a superimposition, the idea of consciousness in ...

Episode 61 - Chapter 13 Part 5 - Chapter Conclusion and Chapter Appreciation Part 1

This episode covers the final few verses of chapter 13 which talks about brahman, the ultimate reality. This is followed by chapter appreciation. The creation aspect discussed in chapter thirteen is seen in different angles by different Indian darsans. Therefore...

Episode 60 - Chapter 13 Part 4 - Purusha and Prakriti Part 2

Episode 59 - Chapter 13 Part 3 - Purusha and Prakriti Part 1

Episode 59 has the first part of what is purusha and prakriti.

Episode 58 - Chapter 13 Part 2 - Knowledge And What Is To Be Known - jnAnam and jNeyam

Episode 58 discusses about jnAnam and jNeyam - The knolwedge and what is to be known. What is to be known is kshetrajna covered in the previous episode. It is knowing who we really are.As part of knowledge, twenty...

Episode 57 - Chapter 13 Part 1 - Introduction, kshetra (The Field) and kshetrajna (The Knower of the Field).

Episode 57 starts chapter 13. In this episode we have introduction to the chapter and what is kshetra and kshetrajna.

Episode 56 - Recap of Chapters Ten through Twelve

This episode gives a recap of chapters ten through twelve.

Episode 55 - Recap of Chapters Seven Through Nine

Episode 54 - Chapter 12 Part 3 - Qualifications of a Devotee to be Dear to Bhagavan & Chapter Appreciation

Episode 53 - Chapter 12 Part 2 - Qualifications of a Devotee Who is Dear to God

Episode 52 gave an intro to the chapter on bhakti (devotion) and explained two out of five levels of devotion. In episode 53 Bhagavan keeps coming down to our levels step by step and gives three more levels of devotion....

Episode 52 - Chapter 12 Part 1 - Bhakti Yoga - Chapter on Devotion

Through out the year, the hindu calendar is full of religious activities. Especially during Navarathri community engages in a lot of activities - golu and pujas in homes and temples, festivals and concerts, garba dances, visiting each other's home and...

Episode 51 - Chapter 11 Part 2 - Seeing the Cosmic Form Conclusion and Chapter Appreciation

Arjuna continues to describe the Cosmic Form he is seeing. With fear overcoming him, arjuna begs Bhagavan to get back to his original form. Bhagavan restores Himself to his original form and consoles Arjuna. With that description of the...

Episode 50 - Chapter 11 Part 1 - Seeing the Cosmic Form

This podcast "BG -yah pashyati sa pashyati" reaches a milestone. In Episode 50 Bhagavan is giving His Cosmic Form to Arjuna.

Episode 49 - Chapter 10 Part 4 - Glories of Bhagavan - Chapter Conclusion and Appreciation

Episode 49 continues the vibhuties, glories of Bhagavan. This cover the eighth and ninth aspects of Bhagavan's glory and chapter conclusion and appreciation.

Episode 48 - Chapter 10 Part 3 - Glories of Bhagavan (Continuation)

Episode 48 continues to explain the glories of Bhagavan. Who He Is and how to see him in this world.

Episode 47 - Chapter 10 Part 2 - 76 Glories of Bhagavan

In this episode 47, Bhagavan starts a detailed list of 76 of His glories. This covers 21 verses and the list in verse order will sound completely random. Going through these verses in order will make a listener completely lose...

Episode 46 - Chapter 10 Part 1 - Introduction to Vibhuti Yoga - Chapter on Glories

Episode 46 gives introduction to chapter 10 titled Vibhuti yoga. Vibhuti is glories or manifestations or expressions. Bhagavan gives 20 inner expressions and at the request of arjuna gives a detailed list of 76 manifestations.

Episode 45 - Chapter 9 Part 5 - Are Women, VaisyAs and Sudras the worst sinners?

Episode 44 started covering verse thirty two that has created a lot of controversy. In this verse Bhagavan talks about sinners, women, vaisyas (business people) and sudras (workers). Some commentaries have even skipped this verse. The last episode explained...

Episode 44 - Chapter 9 Part 4 - What Is Needed To Show Devotion To God?

In Episode 44, what is needed to show devotion to God is continued from the previous episode. In addition to that another major topic is discussed.In chapter four Bhagavan said that he is the creator of the four fold varna...

Episode 43 - Chapter 9 Part 3 - Five Aspects of God (Continuation) and Three Types of devotees

The five aspects of God started in episode 42 continues. Following this Bhagavan describes three types of His devotees - (1) devotees without desires, (2) direct devotees with desires and (3) indirect devotees with desires.

Episode 42 - Chapter 9 Part 2 - Three Types of People and Five Aspects of God (Part 1)

This episode covers three types of people - fools, mahatmas who are knowers of saguna brahman and finally the knowers of nirguna brahman. This episode also starts the five aspects of god and covers the two functions of the first...

Episode 41 - Chapter 9 Part 1 - Introduction to Chapter and Nature of God

Episode 41 has the introduction to chapter 9 and describes the nature of God.

Episode 40 - Chat with Smt. Jayasri Sundara Raghavan

Episode 40 is a chat with my dear friend Smt. Jayasri Sundara Ragavan. She gives her perspective on BG and this podcast and her questions helps to revise and understand about sthitha prajna, our core duty and dealing with extreme...

Episode 39 - Chapter 8 Part 3 - The Two Paths After Death and Chapter Appreciation

This episode describes the two paths after death - the path of light and the path of darkness. This also has the chapter appreciation.

Episode 38 - Chapter 8 Part 2 - Abode of Akshara Brahman Vs. Brahmaloka

In this episode Bhagavan compares two places - The abode of imperishable brahman with brahma-loka, the place where the creator, four headed brahma, resides.After explaining the difference, Bhagavan says choose the place you want to go but remember my place...

Episode 37 - Chapter 8 Part 1 - Introduction to akshara brahman, Imperishable God.

Episode 37 starts chapter eight titled akshara brahman, the imperishable God. This is an interesting chapter. One may wonder what is going on here. BG encompasses many Indian thoughts including karma, bhakti, jnAna, yoga etc. They are all practical...