Hari om everyone,
We began the class with meditation and chanting Geeta ch. 5.
Quirky Question (QQ) of the Day: "I shrink smaller every time I take a bath, yet I'm squeaky clean. What am I?"
The answer we were looking for — A bar of soap.
In a way, the ego is like the bar of soap. The more you "bathe" in selfless action—following the teachings of Chapter 5—the more the ego dissolves, leaving behind purity. It's paradoxical: we need the ego to dissolve the ego. Just as soap shrinks with every use but leaves us clean, the ego gradually melts away when we act without attachment, purifying the soul. Each action, like each lather, cleanses us from within until the false sense of self vanishes, leaving only truth.
Just like the soap cleanses itself, we need the ego to dissolve the ego!
This week in class, we explored these profound insights from the Bhagavad Gita—lessons that help us live with greater clarity and depth.
We began by diving into Arjuna's dilemma: should he renounce the world or continue to act? Krishna doesn't offer a black-and-white answer. He says that both renunciation and selfless action can lead to liberation—it all depends on the spirit in which we live. It's not about running away from responsibilities but engaging with them wisely, without attachment or pride.
Krishna gives us three powerful tools to walk this path. First, be nirdvandva—free from the sway of opposites. Whether it's praise or blame, success or failure, don't get carried away. Be like a thermostat, not a thermometer—respond with wisdom, not reactivity.
Second, he offers the image of the lotus. Though it grows in muddy waters, it stays untouched. Similarly, we too must remain inwardly free even while immersed in life's complexities. Live fully, love deeply, but let go lightly.
And finally, we returned to the bar of soap—the ego. Whatever roles we play, we must remember not to over-identify with them. The sense organs that we identify ourselves with are trouble! When we have control over our sense pleasures and serve selflessly, with awareness, the ego naturally diminishes. The more we lather, the cleaner we become.
One student asked, "Why couldn't Krishna just give the right answer?"
Well, there's no one-size-fits-all solution to life's challenges. If Krishna had simply told everyone to take the path of Sannyasa (renunciation), it wouldn't work for everyone—imagine parents abandoning their children to live in the Himalayas! People are different, with various preferences, responsibilities, and situations. What Krishna emphasizes, however, is the need to dissolve the ego, no matter which path we take.
We saw how practical this is: could our parents have taken sannyasa while raising us? Of course not. Their duty came first. True renunciation, Krishna explains, is not an external act—it's an inner state. Doing what needs to be done, sincerely and without ego, is the highest form of spiritual living.
We saw how Krishna never gives a direct answer to Arjuna, leaving him to choose his own path. Taking responsibility for our own actions is key. We cannot blame the Lord for our choices. As we grow older, we must learn to own our decisions and their consequences, just as Arjuna must take ownership of his decision to fight in the war.
And, in true Gita fashion, Krishna ends with a smile and freedom: "I've explained it all—now you decide." The choice is always ours—to live reactively or to act with wisdom, freedom, and trust.
We finished up with some fun banter and Unique Statement Review. We were chatting so much that parents came looking for their children at the end of class.
So this week, remember: shrink the ego, walk like the lotus, and let each action be a quiet cleansing toward truth.
Let's look inwards -
Regards,
Rashmi.
Rashmi.
