Class One: What is a Path of Karma? **1) The core question of the entire Bhagavad Gita is: What is right action, or karma? Explain briefly what’s happening in the story here; the difference between karma and a path of karma; and how this relates to our real life.** Arjuna is having a serious personal meltdown in the middle of a battlefield, as he tries to decide what is the right thing to do. He is seeking advice from Krishna, a childhood friend who is driving his battle chariot. “Karma” is of course anything that we do or say, or even just think. A “path of karma” is a course of action taken with full premeditation, intention, and acknowledgement after the fact. It is infinitely more powerful than just a simple karma. If we are able to understand a path of karma fully, then we can follow such a path directly to achieving whatever primary goal we might have in our own life—whether it be financial independence, good health, a wonderful relationship, or an entire world of happiness and peace. This then is the purpose of our third and final course in the Indian classic, the Bhagavad Gita. **2) Arjuna tells Lord Krishna: “I cannot understand.” What would be an example of an everyday action which was done without understanding?** A classic example of an action taken without understanding is in the case where someone, say for example our partner, has gotten angry and yelled at us. If we fail to understand where they are coming from in the first place, then we will naturally want to yell back at them. This then plants seeds in our mind that will create yet another yelling from our partner in the future. **3) Lord Krishna says that if we understand the “highest secret” in the universe, then we have done all that we ever need to do. Explain, giving the Sanskrit root for “understand” here, and some well-known words derived from it.** Let’s go back to the example of our partner yelling at us. If we understand the “highest secret” in the universe, then we understand that in reality they are coming from us, from seeds within our own mind. These seeds were planted when we yelled at someone else, in the past. If we understand this secret, then the last thing we’d want to do would be to yell back at our partner, since this would plant *another* seed to have someone yell at us. We no longer have to stress about deciding what to do about a partner who yells at us. We no longer have to decide whether we should yell back or remain in resentful silence, hoping that things will somehow get better later on. Rather, we simply take care to avoid planting such seeds in the future: we are very careful not to yell in the way that we’re being yelled at. This is all we ever need to do, because it will change the very reality of our partner—they will stop all their yelling. We don’t need to do anything else. The Sanskrit root for “understand” here is √*budh.* We see it in the words *Buddha, bodhisattva,* and *bodhichitta.* Here in our verse (XV.20) it is translated as *enlightened.* **4) Describe what Lord Krishna calls the “highest form of self,” with regard to the question of whether a pen is itself.** A human sees a pen and thinks of it as a “pen.” A dog in the room sees the same object as something different: as a chew toy. Which one is right? Both of them: the object can work equally well for both of them as what they see it as. Now leave the same object on a table in the room, and ask all the people and all the dogs in the room to step outside. *At this time* the cylinder is neither a pen nor a chew toy: it is simply “blank,” like a blank white movie screen—or we can call it “empty.” If we walk in and see a pen then lying on the table, this pen must somehow be coming from our own mind. If the pen were coming from the pen’s side, and not from our side, then the dog would also be seeing the cylinder as a pen. But they don’t, which proves that what we see is coming from us: the pen is coming from us. We can say then that the pen is not a pen in and of itself. Considered from its own side, the pen is not a pen\! It is not it*self.* The fact that everything we ever perceive is the same—it is coming from us—means that nothing is itself. This “real” nature of all things is their *true* self, or what Lord Krishna here calls the “highest form of self.” That is, it is true of all objects and people that they are coming from us, and not from their own side. **5) Briefly describe the important Sanskrit words prakirti and purusha, giving an example of each.** The distinction between *prakirti* and *purusha* is a famous one in the ancient sacred literature of India, and it has frequently been made too complicated since then. *Prakirti* literally means “nature” or “the way things really are,” and refers to the true nature of the things and events around us. As we have seen, this nature is that none of these things or events is coming from their own side. Rather, they are coming from us, from seeds in our mind. *Purusha* means “person” and refers to the true nature of ourselves. That is, even how we see our physical appearance, and the thoughts we hear within our own minds, is also coming from us, from seeds we have planted during our interaction with other people. If we have been kind to others, then the weather will be good (a reflection of *prakirti*), and we will be surrounded by nice people. If we have been kind, then we will hear happy thoughts in our own head, rather than depressed ones (a reflection of *purusha*). Things like our financial situation, our partner, and the degree of peace in the world around us might be considered a reflection of *prakirti,* the real nature of the outer world*.* Our own personal health and happiness might be considered a reflection of *purusha,* the real nature of ourselves. The point of learning about these two is that—if we really understand them—then we can make radical changes in the people and events around us, as well as in our own level of happiness and understanding. These are a very real method of achieving everything we ever wanted in life, and we would be foolish not to use them as such, as soon as we learn about them. *Coffeeshop assignment:* Please meet with at least one other member of the class (preferably someone that you didn’t know before the course started) to talk a bit about this class, before the next one. *Meditation assignment:* 15 minutes per day before the next class, review your life—all of the goals and challenges you have in your life—and decide what is the one thing that you want the most. Try to express this to yourself, in your mind, in a single brief sentence. When you come out of meditation, write this sentence down on a piece of paper and bring it to the next class. *Meditation times and dates* (homework without this section completed will not be accepted):