It's Just the Beginning

Om Tat Satiti, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Supanishadsu, Brahma Vinayam, Yogashastre, Sri Krishna Juna Samadhi, Sankhya Yoganam, Chitya Chaya, Hariyam Tat Sat. So this is what has become the traditional closing for the second chapter. And so in the Gita, nobody's actually sure, as far as I'm aware, who or when these chapter endings and chapter divisions were inserted. As far as I know, in the oldest extant versions of the Gita text, it's not there. But when some of the canonical commentators wrote their commentaries, they were already there.

But nobody's quite sure who put them in. But what the chapter endings basically remind us is Om Tat Satiti. So that was, what was it, Srimad Bhagavad Gitaasu, Upanishadsu, in the Upanishad of the Bhagavad Gita, Brahma Vinayam, which is a teaching that helps us come towards Brahma Vinayam, the knowledge or the deep understanding of totality, Yogashastre, in the Shastra of yoga. So Shastra means, Shastra is to instruct, and Shastra is basically a codified body of teaching or knowledge. When you make something a Shastra, you lay it out in such a way that it's so robust and so clearly defined, that it will withstand counterpositions, it's kind of well established.

So in the science of yoga, you might say, or in the Shastra of yoga, this teaching of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, which is itself considered an Upanishad, a teaching that can help us come close to that state of Brahma Vinayam, of true knowledge and understanding of totality, Shri Krishna Arjuna Samvade, in the Samvada, which means the dialogue, the conversation between Shri Krishna and Arjuna, Sankha Yoga Namadviti Yodhyaya. This was the Tviti Yodhyaya, the second chapter, which goes by the name of Sankha Yoga, because it kind of lays down the basic framework, and that's it, that's what it says. So a couple of interesting things here, the dialogue, it's a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. So at the end of the chapter, we're reminded this is a conversation, this is an ongoing thing and so one thing I like about this ending is it reminds us that the text, the teaching is something alive, like conversation. When you engage, you can learn from it.

So we might study the text at one point in our life and we learn a lot from it, but when we come back to it, it's like we're restarting the conversation, we're re-engaging and it can show us perhaps even more. So the teaching, this is not really the end, it's just the beginning. Like sometimes people say, oh I already studied the Gita, well all the more reason to study it again. It's that every time you look into this miracle, mirror text, it can show you more. So I hope that you've enjoyed this exploration of chapter two and that if you keep looking into it, it'll keep showing you more and more.

So we'll close now with a peace mantra asking that all parts of ourselves and everything around knows auspiciousness, peacefulness, a sense of fullness, love and support. And as we go along our path, we'll meet with opportunities that are conducive for our growth and that return to fullness. So we'll start with Aum. We'll do the mantra call and response and then we'll close with Aum, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. Sarvesham, Shanti Pavattu, Shanti Pavattu, Sarvesham, Sarvesham, Purnam Pavattu, Purnam Pavattu, Sarvesham, Sarvesham, Mangalam Pavattu, Mangalam Pavattu, Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Aum