The Teacher and the Journey – Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita Teachings

I am krsnadaasa, a servant of Krishna, and I welcome you all to this wonderful spiritual journey. I am not a Saint or a Swami. I am just a humble, practical-minded devotee who has spent over 20 years studying, analyzing and applying the principles taught in the Bhagavad Gita.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say: “A salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. The moment it entered the water, it dissolved. How then could it report the ocean’s depth?” Similarly, when we truly enter the ocean of Gita’s wisdom, our small ego dissolves into something infinitely greater. My role is simply to share how this dissolution can transform the lives of every sincere seeker.

In 2017, I published a book about the actionable items extracted from the Bhagavad Gita. It was well received, and many wanted me to dive deeper into the Gita and explain the practical aspects in simpler terms. That is how I started teaching the Bhagavad Gita and created the website https://pragmaticgita.com.

The Eternal Call

Five thousand years ago, when a great warrior found himself paralyzed by doubt on the eve of the biggest battle of his life, when all seemed lost and every choice felt wrong, humanity received an extraordinary gift. In that moment of absolute crisis, the deepest truths of existence were revealed by Lord Shri Krishna. Not as abstract philosophy, but as practical wisdom for navigating life’s most difficult challenges.

Today, we are starting our journey to receive and internalize those profound teachings. Perhaps you’re facing your own crossroads. Perhaps life feels overwhelming, or maybe you’re searching for deeper meaning to life. These same eternal truths that transformed Arjuna’s despair into clarity are here for all of us now. They’ve been waiting, preserved perfectly for thousands of years, for this exact moment when you would be ready to receive them.

The word ‘bhagavad’ refers to God and ‘gita’ refers to song. So, in essence, the Bhagavad Gita is the Song of God, but more profoundly, it is the song of our own highest Self. The Bhagavad Gita is part of the epic Mahabharata, which occurred approximately 5000 years ago when God incarnated as Lord Krishna on earth.

The Lord participated in this war to set an example that we should always stand up against injustice (adharma) and not rest until we have established justice (dharma). Yet the battlefield of Kurukshetra is not just a historical location – it exists within each of us, as confirmed in the Dhammapada: “All things arise in the mind, are sustained by the mind, and dissolve in the mind.”

What makes the Bhagavad Gita extraordinary is that it speaks to every person from every generation as if written just for them. The questions Arjuna asked are the questions that haunt everyone’s minds. Arjuna’s fears are our fears. His journey from confusion to clarity is the same journey that awaits all of us. These teachings don’t just inform; they transform. They don’t just explain life; they reveal how to live it fully.

Who am I?
Why do I suffer?
What is the purpose of my existence? 

These questions have haunted every human heart forever. And today? We live in a strange paradox. Our phones connect us to billions of people, yet we’ve never felt more alone. We have access to infinite information, yet we’re drowning in anxiety and confusion. We’ve conquered outer space, but our inner space remains a mystery.

We don’t need more theories or philosophies. We need practical wisdom that transforms, wisdom that actually works when life gets hard. This is exactly what Swami Vivekananda understood when he proclaimed that the Bhagavad Gita belongs not to any one religion but to all humanity. It speaks to anyone who has ever wondered why they’re here, anyone who has ever felt lost, anyone who has ever yearned for something real and true.

So today, we begin this journey together. Not as students sitting in a classroom studying ancient history, but as living souls seeking living answers. We are all like Arjuna seeking answers. Like him, we are all confused perhaps, struggling definitely, but ready to discover the truth that has always been waiting for us and within us. 

Creating Sacred Space: Gita Dhyana Shlokas

Before we dive into these teachings, let’s do something important. For thousands of years, seekers have begun their study of the Bhagavad Gita with special prayers called the Gita Dhyana Shlokas. Think of them as nine verses that tune and prepare us, like tuning an instrument before playing sacred music. They help us move from the noise of everyday life into a space where wisdom can actually reach us. Traditionally, seekers and students have recited at least the first shloka before starting their study of the Bhagavad Gita.

This isn’t an empty ritual or meaningless tradition. When we recite these opening verses, we’re joining an unbroken chain of seekers stretching back five thousand years. We’re saying, “Yes, I’m ready. Yes, I’m open. Yes, I want to receive what transformed Arjuna and countless souls after him.” It’s like lighting a lamp before entering a temple, except the temple we’re entering is within ourselves.

First, we recite the traditional Guru Invocation:

ॐ अज्ञानतिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जनशालाकया
चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-shalakaya
chakshur unmilitam yena tasmai shri gurave namah

I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.

And then, we can recite the first Gita Dhyana Shloka.

All the 9 verses of the Gita Dhyana Shloka for reference

ॐ श्री परमात्मने नमः
om shri paramatmane namah

Salutations to the Supreme Consciousness

ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं
व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् ।
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं
अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥१॥

om parthaya pratibodhitam bhagavata narayanena svayam
vyasena grathitam puranamuninaa madhye mahabharatam
advaitamritavarshinim bhagavatimashtadashadhyayinim
amba tvamanusandadhami bhagavadgite bhadveshinim ||1||

O Mother Bhagavad Gita, I meditate upon you, taught by Lord Narayana Himself to Arjuna, compiled by the ancient sage Vyasa in the middle of the Mahabharata, consisting of eighteen chapters, showering the nectar of non-dualism, destroyer of worldly bondage.

नमोऽस्तु ते व्यास विशालबुद्धे फुल्लारविन्दायतपत्रनेत्र ।
येन त्वया भारततैलपूर्णः प्रज्वालितो ज्ञानमयः प्रदीपः ॥२॥

namo’stu te vyasa vishalabuddhe phullaravindayatapatranetra
yena tvaya bharatatailapurnah prajvalito jnanamayah pradipah ||2||

Salutations to you, O Vyasa of vast intellect, with eyes like fully bloomed lotus petals. By you, the lamp of knowledge was lit, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata.

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये ।
ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥३॥

prapannaparijataya totravetraikapanaye
jnanamudraaya krishnaya gitamritaduhe namah ||3||

Salutations to Krishna, the wish-fulfilling tree for those who surrender, holding the whip in one hand, showing the jnana-mudra (gesture of knowledge), the milker of the nectar of the Gita.

सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः ।
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥४॥

sarvopanishado gaavo dogdha gopalanandanah
partho vatsah sudhirbhokta dugdham gitamritam mahat ||4||

All the Upanishads are cows, the milker is Krishna the cowherd boy, Arjuna is the calf, the wise are the drinkers, and the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥५॥

vasudevasutam devam kamsachanuramardanam
devakiparamanandam krishnam vande jagadgurum ||5||

I bow to Krishna, son of Vasudeva, destroyer of Kamsa and Chanura, supreme joy of Devaki, the world teacher.

भीष्मद्रोणतटा जयद्रथजला गान्धारनीलोत्पला
शल्यग्राहवती कृपेण वहनी कर्णेन वेलाकुला ।
अश्वत्थामविकर्णघोरमकरा दुर्योधनावर्तिनी
सोत्तीर्णा खलु पाण्डवै रणनदी कैवर्तकः केशवः ॥६॥

bhishmadronatata jayadrathajala gandharanilotpala
shalyagrahavati kripena vahani karnena velakula
ashvatthamavikarnaghormakara duryodhanavartini
sottirna khalu pandavai ranandi kaivartakah keshavah ||6||

The river of battle, with Bhishma and Drona as its banks, Jayadratha as its water, Gandhara as blue lotuses, Shalya as crocodiles, flowing by Kripa’s force, agitated by Karna’s waves, with Ashvatthama and Vikarna as terrible sharks, whirlpooling around Duryodhana, was crossed by the Pandavas with Krishna as their boatman.

पाराशर्यवचः सरोजममलं गीतार्थगन्धोत्कटं
नानाख्यानककेसरं हरिकथासम्बोधनाबोधितम् ।
लोके सज्जनषट्पदैरहरहः पेपीयमानं मुदा
भूयाद्भारतपङ्कजं कलिमलप्रध्वंसिनः श्रेयसे ॥७॥

parasharyavachah sarojamamalam gitarthagandhotkotam
nanakhyanakakesaram harikathsambodhanabodhitam
loke sajjanashatpadairaharahah pepiyamanam muda
bhuyadbharatapankajam kalimalpradhvamsinah shreyase ||7||

May the lotus of the Mahabharata, grown from the water of Vyasa’s words, pure, fragrant with the meaning of the Gita, with many stories as stamens, bloomed by the sun of Krishna’s tales, drunk joyfully by the bees of good people daily – bring welfare by destroying the impurities of Kali Yuga.

मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिम् ।
यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्दमाधवम् ॥८॥

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim
yatkripa tamaham vande paramanandam adhavam ||8||

I bow to that Madhava of supreme bliss, whose grace makes the dumb eloquent and the lame cross mountains.

यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रमरुतः स्तुन्वन्ति दिव्यैः स्तवैः
वेदैः साङ्गपदक्रमोपनिषदैर्गायन्ति यं सामगाः ।
ध्यानावस्थिततद्गतेन मनसा पश्यन्ति यं योगिनो
यस्यान्तं न विदुः सुरासुरगणा देवाय तस्मै नमः ॥९॥

yam brahma varunendrarudramarutah stunvanti divyaih stavaih
vedaih sangapadakramopanishadairgayanti yam samagah
dhyanavasthitatadgatena manasa pashyanti yam yogino
yasyantam na viduh surasuragana devaya tasmai namah ||9||

Salutations to that Divine One whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns, whom the chanters of Sama Veda sing through the Vedas with all their branches and the Upanishads, whom the yogis see with minds absorbed in meditation, whose limit neither gods nor demons know.

The Universal Human Battlefield

The world is one huge battlefield, and the real Kurukshetra is within us. Each of us faces daily the battle between dharma and adharma, between our higher nature and lower impulses. The external war at Kurukshetra reflects the eternal war within each of us, the conflict between wisdom and ignorance, between the temporary and the eternal.

As Swami Sarvapriyananda beautifully explains, “The Gita offers not escapism but engagement. It teaches us to find the eternal amidst the ephemeral, peace in the midst of chaos, and purpose in apparent meaninglessness.“

Krishna: The Universal Teacher

Krishna speaks not as a distant deity but as the most intimate friend, addressing our deepest fears and highest aspirations with infinite compassion. As He Himself declares in Chapter 10, Verse 20:

अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः
“I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all creatures.”

Before the start of the war, Arjuna voiced all the practical questions that arise in every human heart regarding Dharma, Adharma, Karma, and the Soul. This divine orchestration allowed Sri Krishna to provide answers not just for Arjuna, but for all humanity across all ages.

The Systematic Teaching Method

Shri Krishna’s genius lies not in giving quick answers but in transforming our consciousness itself. As Swami Chinmayananda observed, “The Gita is a psychological treatise, taking the human mind from the lowest valleys of sorrow to the highest peaks of bliss.“

Shri Krishna addresses the root of human suffering, which is our misidentification with the temporary rather than the eternal. Through eighteen chapters, we undergo a systematic transformation that has awakened countless souls over thousands of years.

The Bhagavad Gita contains the essence of all the Upanishads and the truths taught by the Brahma Sutras. As Adi Shankaracharya states, “All the Upanishads are like cows, Krishna is the milker, Arjuna is the calf, and the Gita is the milk drawn for the benefit of those with purified intellect.”

This is beautifully expressed in the fourth Dhyana Shloka:

सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत्

The Bhagavad Gita provides the practical science for applying Vedantic philosophy to solve human problems. For this reason, it is called yoga shastra, and each chapter of Bhagavad Gita is called as some yoga, thus, the Bhagavad Gita is a scripture of practice, not mere theory.

Multiple Paths, One Goal

The Gita demonstrates the Rig Vedic truth: “Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti“ , meaning “That which exists is One; sages call it by various names.” 

Whether we are naturally inclined toward action (Karma Yoga), devotion (Bhakti Yoga), knowledge (Jnana Yoga), or meditation and other practices (Physical Yoga / Raja Yoga), the Bhagavad Gita provides a path suited to our unique spiritual constitution and more importantly, it teaches us how to integrate the various approaches to reach the goal effectively.

The Power of Satsanga: Learning Together

The importance of satsanga cannot be overstated. As Lord Shri Ram teaches in the Ramcharitmanas about Navadha Bhakti:

प्रथम भगति संतन कर संगा
दूसरि रति मम कथा प्रसंगा

“The first form of devotion is the association with saints; the second is love for My divine stories.”

How Satsanga Enhances and Accelerates Spiritual Growth:

1. Collective Consciousness: As stated in the Rig Veda 10.191.2: संगच्छध्वं संवदध्वं सं वो मनांसि जानताम् “Sangacchadhwam samvadadhwam” – “Move together, speak together, let your minds be in harmony.” When we study together, our collective consciousness creates a powerful field of transformation.

2. Mirror of Understanding: The questions and doubts from each one of us helps illuminate the blind spots of everyone else, and the insights gained from the answers deepen our collective wisdom. As iron sharpens iron, seekers sharpen each other’s understanding.

3. Divine Presence: The Mahabharata states: “Where there is dharma, there is Krishna.” When we gather with pure intention to study His words, His presence is guaranteed.

4. Protection from Maya: Alone, we may fall prey to doubt or laziness. Together, we support each other through spiritual challenges.

Even modern quantum science is beginning to document the effects of such collective consciousness. The renowned Princeton University’s Global Consciousness Project demonstrates that when human consciousness becomes coherent, when millions feel and focus together, for example, when millions of people are focusing on some common events like natural disasters, even random quantum systems respond with subtle but measurable order. Their network of 70+ random number generators worldwide shows statistically significant patterns (one in a trillion odds against chance) during moments of global emotional synchronization. https://noosphere.princeton.edu/

Transformative Benefits of Gita Study

Through our journey together, here are some of the truths you will realize:

1. Equanimity in Duality: Freedom from the pairs of opposites – sukham and dukham (pleasure and pain). As Krishna states (2.48): “Samatvam yoga ucyate” – “Equanimity is called Yoga.”

2. Liberation from Past: Like the lotus unaffected by water, contemplation on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita frees us from past conditioning.

3. Transformation of Guilt: The Bhagavad Gita removes guilt and guides us toward right action, as promised in 18.66: “I shall deliver you from all sins; do not grieve.”

4. Divine Protection: The Bhagavad Gita serves as Jnana Kavacham (armor of knowledge). The Gita Mahatmya from the Varaha Purana states: “Help comes quickly where the Gita is recited and, O Earth, I ever dwell where it is read, heard, taught and contemplated upon!“ (https://www.sivanandaonline.org/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=611)

5. Unlimited Joy: Moving from limited sensory pleasures to unlimited, eternal bliss – from preya (pleasant) to shreya (good).

6. Direct Experience: Each verse is a doorway to direct realization. As Swami Ranganathananda taught, “The Gita is not philosophy to be understood but truth to be realized.“

The Practical Approach: From Knowledge to Transformation

As mentioned earlier, each chapter is titled as some ‘yoga’, a practical discipline. The Bhagavad Gita was revealed on a battlefield to signify that spiritual wisdom must be applied in the battlefield of daily life. The Bhagavad Gita shows how every small action becomes great when performed with the right understanding.

I am deeply grateful to everyone in this Satsanga for your association. Each soul here is both teacher and student. Your struggles will deepen our collective wisdom, and together we will discover that the highest teaching and learning happens in the association of sincere seekers.

Let us attend these sessions together with the understanding that:

• We are not just studying ancient wisdom but undergoing living transformation
• Every doubt shared and clarified strengthens the group’s understanding
• Each insight gained must be practiced and shared
• Together, we create a field of collective consciousness that accelerates everyone’s progress

The Promise of Divine Grace

While we approach with effort and intellect, remember that realization comes through grace. As Krishna promises (10.10):

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम्।
ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते||10.10||

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

Beginning Our Sacred Journey

With this foundation of reverence, understanding, and practical commitment, let us begin our journey through the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita in our next session. We approach the teachings by assuming the role of Arjuna, ready to question with humility, to introspect, and ultimately to surrender to the highest truth within us.

This is not a course about ancient philosophy but rather a call to inner revolution that transforms not just how we think, but how we live, love, and serve.

May this study awaken in each of us the same transformation that occurred in Arjuna – from confusion to clarity, from fear to fearlessness, from limitation to recognition of our infinite divine nature.

Let us now spend a moment reflecting on the opening shloka of the Krishnashtakam (Krishna Ashtakam), a devotional prayer to Shri Krishna composed by Adi Shankaracharya. 

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम्
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम्

vasudeva-sutaṃ devaṃ kaṃsa-cāṇūra-mardanam
devakī-paramānandaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagad-gurum

I worship Lord Krishna, the divine son of Vasudeva, who killed the demons Kamsa and Chanura, who is the source of ultimate joy for His mother Devaki, and who serves as the supreme spiritual teacher for the entire universe.

With these sacred intentions and the blessings of the guru parampara, let us embark on this transformative journey together.

You can find the next session, Chapter 1, here:

Hare Krishna!
kṛṣṇadaasa
(Servant of Krishna)