Jai Gurudev!
Welcome to this introductory course on the Bhagavad Gītā. The Bhagavad Gītā is the most important scripture in Bhakti Marga and Hinduism at large. It consists of 700 verses and spans 18 chapters. This makes it a relatively concise text that is nonetheless filled to the brim with incredible wisdom. The focus of this course is to simply introduce the Gītā and to correctly contextualise and position it within Paramahamsa Vishwananda’s movement. There will be no focus on memorising verses, comparing various philosophical interpretations, storytelling or even too much commentary.
Instead, we will journey together through the core themes of each chapter in the Gītā, such as the nature of the Self, karma, yoga, bhakti, God and plenty more, defining them as precisely and concisely as possible. Our intention for this course is twofold. Firstly, this course will serve as the perfect foundation and preparation in order for you to eventually further your studies into our more advanced courses on the Gītā. Secondly, this course was also designed to help you acquire a greater appreciation for the many experiences and insights often shared by devotees and Paramahamsa Vishwananda. Stories that sometimes don’t fully make sense to us or at least seem unrelatable become instantly clearer and potentially transformative for us when heard through the lens of the Gītā‘s teachings.
Accompanying every lesson will be quizzes designed to test your knowledge and sharpen your understanding as you move from chapter to chapter.We look forward to your participation in this course!