May 2024 Newsletter from Srivats Ramaswami- From the Gita
Srivatsa Ramaswami
In April 2024, I taught an in person program after a lapse of 5 years. I taught a few sequences in vinyasakrama yoga and also a few topics on yoga. It as hosted by Om Yoga shala in New Delhi
I also taught a four day eight hour online program on ” Yoga for Internal Organs”. It was hosted by my friend Ryan from Canada.
I am now teaching an in person cum online program. It is a 100 hour Teacher Training program on Vinyasakram Yoga. It has 50 hr segment on Asanas, vinyasas and pranayama following the vinyasakrama methodology. There is 50 hr segment, a lecture series on “Bhagavatgita for Yoga Students”May 2024 news. This is sponsored by Atmayogashala in Chennai, India
Here a few observations from the Gita
The Lord divides activities (karma) into sukrita dushkrita or good and bad or dharmic and adharmic. Good activities bind the karmi to favorable future births and experiences and bad activities lead to unhappy experiences. The Lord says that wise ones or buddhi yuktas renounce both. But then what would they do or just do nothing? They become yogis. Because yogic karma is non binding. So He would say that Arjuna should become a yogi as yoga is the best of all activities, dharmic, adharmic or yogic. A similar concept can be found in Patanjali’s Yoga sutras. He would divide activities or karma into four categories. White karma or punya karma similar to the Lord’s sukrita karma is one. It would lead to favourable future experience.Then there are the black or krishna karmas or adharmic activities similar to the dudhkrits of Gita which binds the individual with unhappy future experiences. Then there are the more common misra karmas or mixed activities, partly good and partly bad like most human activities. This naturally leads to mixed future results. The fourth is the yogic activity or karma. This according to Patanjali is neither white nor black, so would not lead to any future life or experiences.