Bearded Mystic Reacts | Gaur Gopal Das: Monk Explains Bhagawad Gita In 7 Minutes | Beerbiceps | The Ranveer ShowUntitled Episode

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Hello, and welcome to an episode of the bearded mystic reacts. Today. We will be reacting to the Ranveer Show or Beer biceps as he's known by. And what we will be doing is looking at his specific video. That he interviews Gaur Gopal Dasji. Who's a monk who will explain the Bhagavad Gita in seven minutes. So let's get started. Have you read the Bhagavad Gita? Yes. Okay. Well, I was expecting him to say yes, if he said anything else, I would be rather surprised, so glad that he said yes to that rather silly question. The reason why I think it's a silly question and, and kind of is ignorant in a way is because Gaur Gopal Das ji's well known to be a monk of ISKCON and ISKCON monks are definitely well-versed in the Gita. Philosophically, they differ with the way we view things on the podcast, but respect to all the monks. They do know the Gita that Srila Prabhupada kind of translated and interpreted. So, yeah, let's continue. Like what's in that book? Why do people say that? You open any page of it and you'll get your answer. Why do people say things like that. Well, We all know why people would say things like that. But it's a good question a lot of people say you will get all the answers to your questions. sure. I think the first thing to know is let's, let's remove the religion aspect from the Bhagavad-gita. Totally. Bhagavad Gita is not a religious book. I I don't know how I feel about that. The Bhagavad Gita is a religious book. It is a spiritual text. It has specific religious and spiritual terms that you should know. The fact that he says this, you ignore the whole factor of. Sri Krishna talking about the tattvadarshi. Why would he mention stuff like this? This is not for a materialist point of view or for a secular point of view. The issue that I have with a lot of you know, I think Gaur Gopal Das ji's one of those where them mainly motivational speakers. And they've kind of interpreted the Bhagavad Gita to suit their needs. It's not there to suit my needs or your needs is there to support us in our spiritual growth. The Bhagavad Gita is a spiritual text is a religious book and most of all, it's there for our liberation to be free from the clutches of our body and mind from Maya, from the wrong identification that we have. And it's about allowing us to understand that we are this Brahman this Vast, Ultimate Reality, Pure Consciousness, Pure Awareness. Hmm. It is a book which, uh, gives you the way to live. Hmm. I agree with that. Hmm. And the setting for the Bhagavad Gita is the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The Mahabharat, where Arjun is confused and Krishna becomes his mentor. Mm. And gives him guidance. Mm. In a way that. he can now start doing what is meant to do. Right. So every young man,or lady is going to have confusions. Every young person is going to have those dilemmas at to do or not to do. To be or not to be. That's exactly how the Gita begins. Mm-Hmm. It begins with confusion. It begins with dilemmas. It begins with, Um, a lack of meaning. Mm-Hmm. Right. The only thing I will say Sri Krishna's not a mentor. Sri Krishna is Arjuna's guru. We know this because Arjuna does ask Sri Krishna to be his guru. So the fact that he says mentor is not the right word for what Sri Krishna is. It's rather limiting Krishna in a huge way. And I don't know how ISKCON would allow such an interpretation. But I guess with his words. The positive is that it does reach to a wider audience and I can see the purpose of that. Yeah, there's positives and negatives to it. Arjuna is confused, is in a dilemma, and this is something we can relate to. The reason why I think Arjuna is really special, and hasn't got given his due is because even though yes, he asked questions. But those questions for brilliant. And those confusions and dilemmas, he had the audacity to present them to his guru. The amount of people. I mean, personally, would I want my Guru to think I have all these doubts and dilemmas and confusions. Probably not. And I'll be honest about it. I think a lot of us would prefer not to voice them. So I say, Arjuna's very courageous. And despite having that confusion, he's also courageous, but yeah, absolutely. Right. Th the only thing I disagree with was the mentor aspect of it. Yeah. And then, uh, Krishna kind of guides Arjuna through and empowers Arjuna to make his own choices. Krishna only acts as a facilitator. Mm. Right, and empowers Arjuna to understand that he's way too more powerful than the people is going to face in the battle. That's really nice way of looking at it. Sri Krishna is empowering Arjuna. Not a facilitator. Uh, so much again, that's a lot of corporate speak. But, what to Sri Krishna's really doing is actually not even presenting choices, he's not giving Arjuna the choice. If you've read the Gita, you know, Arjuna's not given the choice. He's told that he has to fight in the battle so that the choice really isn't there. It's all determined about what's going to happen. So Arjuna has to go with whatever has been presented to him as an apparent choice. Every young man and lady needs to understand that they're way more powerful than what they're going through at the moment. Their confusions are smaller than that. Their challenges are smaller than them. Their problems are smaller than them. Their heart breaks as painful as they are, but are still smaller than them, and they have the capacity to overcome them, those pains that they're going through. So I think That's precisely where books like the Gita help a lot because they build in you that sense of confidence. Books like the Gita. Again, I just find it a bit corporate-y I think that's what I don't like about this so far although I like some elements of it, but. The other thing he's does say is I agree. Our problems aren't as big as the Awareness that you have. That awareness should engulf our problems. And that's the awareness that Sri Krishna talks about in the Gita, the sakshin. The Purusha. Uh, we are not prakriti. That's not our true roop. That is not a true form. Gaur Gopal Das ji I've not really read his stuff or listen to him. I'm not, yeah. I see him a lot on social media, but I'm personally not interested in things that he says. Uh, but. In this, I feel like he's not presenting his knowledge, maybe as much. But is understanding the audience more.. That's where I am kind of cool with this and not so irritated as I would normally be. And strength and strength fortitude. That I have the power as a spiritual being to overcome everything that's going on going on in my life, and I have the power to be able to make the difference and that impact because I'm a spiritual being. Can you, can you reference like three big lessons from the Bhagavad Gita that stayed with you specifically? Yes. Uh, one of the lessons that stayed with me from the Gita is a particular text from the second chapter of the Gita. Which talks about, uh, the summer and the winter season. Right. And this particular text is that the summer and the winter season keeps coming and going every year. Mm-Hmm. Seasons change. Mm-Hmm. And just because the seasons change. We never stop performing our duties. Let's say for example, it's Chicago and the temperatures are minus 27 degrees Celsius, people don't stop their work still. Let's say it's Delhi, it's 43 degrees Celsius. People are still on and going on with their regular life with a few adjustments here and there obviously. So this text of the Gita chapter two. Tells us that we have to learn to tolerate the ups and downs and not be distracted from what our main purpose is. Like when we talk about tolerating, uh, failures and pains, we can understand, but we also have to learn to tolerate our success. Mm-Hmm. And the good times. Mm-Hmm. Because both distract us. You know, usually we only look at the negatives as distractions, but even the positives distract us from what we are meant to be doing. But that's something that. Uh, really kind of, uh, stayed with me the second. Very interesting. You know, I kind of like what he said about we need to tolerate success as well as failure, the positives, as well as negative, having that sameness of vision that Sri Krishna talks about, especially in the chapter two. But what's missing. There is how Sri Krishna gets us to that understanding. What Sri Krishna tells us is that we need to be able to remain in awareness. And understand that we are the atman, we are not the body and mind. And therefore, when we understand who we are, we then understand how we can deal with the changing phenomenon, because we are changeless. We actually changeless beings. Oh, we are that One Changeless Being that has come into to this limited structure. And in that limited structure, we are too perform our duties in life. So Sri Krishna talks about that and, um, What Gaur Gopal Das ji gives is the, the result of that, um, which is true. We have that forbearance, that strength. That fortitude, that attitude to deal with life in a more positive sense, with more more strength and more courage and more empowerment. And the biggest thing we find in life is that we can't tolerate anything outside of our comfort zone. Especially in today's day and age. For example, we can't tolerate extreme heat. We can't tolerate extreme cold. The things that would make a strong. We don't put ourselves through. So he's absolutely right. I mean, living in our comfort zones will not help us in spirituality is not by being in a comfort zone. Spirituality doesn't let you. Uh, it doesn't allow you to be settled. And like in the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna disturbs arjuna and likewise, our Guru also disturbs us in a sense, so we can get out of our comfort zone, not disturbance in the bad way where the Guru takes advantage of us. Not in that sense, in a sense of Sri Krishna where it's to empower us to go beyond that comfort zone to go beyond what we would normally do. Second thing that I, uh, really kind of resonate with, with in the Gita is the verse from the sixth chapter, which talks about the mind. Being a friend or an enemy to you? It depends on how you deal with the mind. Okay? Right. If you befriend your mind, the mind will become you, become your friend and will empower you to do what you want to do. But if you don't deal with it rightly, then the mind will become your enemy. And will lead to your downfall. Mm-Hmm. Uh, I'll give you an example. Uh, you want to get up early in the morning to go for a jog or for a workout because you know you wanna be fit. You know, your days are busy and you decide this is going to be my, uh, plan for the year 2020. mm-Hmm. Correct. You set up the alarm clock to wake up early in the morning, like five, six, whatever. And when the alarm goes, what's the mind saying? The first thing you slept last late last night. Take it easy. Or maybe this is not the right thing for you to do. Mind's constantly playing games, right? Mm-hmm. Now, if you have a mind, which is constantly giving these kind of reasons, mm-hmm. You're not gonna wake up, right? On the other hand, if you learn to train your mind. Using the proper intellectual process, right? Proper spiritual process. Your mind can be your greatest asset in your friend, which is meditation. Good books. Meditation books, right? Correct friends, correct friends, the right kind of company. All of these are inputs so that your mind kind of becomes a friend. I would live if he gave to specific verses, but that's a minor point, but what I really love what he says is that yeah, your mind should be a friend and we don't have to meet the mind an enemy. Our thoughts can help us. How can we transform our thoughts, but reading the books, being in the right satsang, being the right company. That means, you know, Taking the company of those people that will inspire us to be greatest spiritual beings. To have greatest spiritual understanding. That connects to me a lot is. How do we start looking at the presence of Divinity everywhere, in every aspect. We don't have to necessarily go to a place of worship. Mm. To look at the presence of Divinity. Mm. You can look at the presence of Divinity in nature. You can look at the presence of Divinity in other people. You can start looking at the splendour of the creator or the creation. Mm-Hmm. You can start looking at the splendour of the creator in the creation. Mm-Hmm. You know? Which is precisely why, this is something that I usually tell people is when you look at somebody who's better than you, you know, and specially if they're in the same field, usually there is insecurity. Mm. There's insecurity that he's, this guy's doing better than me in what I am doing. Or there is envy, jealousy. Sometimes it goes to the extent of sabotaging that other person's work as well. Mm-hmm. And it has happens. When you start looking at divinity in creation, you start looking at how divinity has empowered somebody to do something in a special way. That person has been gifted by higher powers, Right. And to sabotage that person's work or to be envious about the person or to be feel insecure means actually insulting somebody who's given that gift to him. You know? But if I look at that person. And derive inspiration from that person, I can seek that inspiration to follow my aspiration. Mm-Hmm. You know, that that aspect of the Gita also kind of really resonates with me. That you start looking at divinity everywhere, uh, and in every place around you, including people who are doing better because it's not them. You can see straight away. Very often I see people who do remarkable stuff and. They usually, when they speak, they say it's they doing it, and of course they're doing it, no doubt that there's a part of part that they're doing. But you can tell that they are, there's something beyond them that's kinda making them do it, whether it's acting, speaking, singing, something that, an element which is not necessarily effort. Mm, not their effort. You know, X factor, X factor. And when you start appreciating that X factor as divinity, oh, that's something that really kind of connects to me as well. Interesting way to end it. I thought they would conclude it a little bit. They didn't.. The third point also very interesting. I don't know., who would be envious of people that were successful. I guess either Ranveer or BeerBiceps is a fan of LeBron James. It's pretty obvious. But seeing divinity in everywhere in every place is good. Uh, well, I would say is there was only divinity. Therefore it doesn't matter what is everywhere and everything. It's just divinity. And therefore, when you see with that, you have the sameness of vision, the oneness of vision. So, I wouldn't say it explains the Bhagavad Gita in seven minutes. I kind of think that's a misleading title. But it definitely gives a good understanding. An interesting understanding for somebody who would come across the Gita for the first time, maybe. For someone who is kind of progressed a little, read the Gita a few times has a good understanding atleast a decent understanding. I don't think this video does justice to the Gita at all. But for someone as introduction, it's quite good. Appreciating people's talents. It's important. If I had to quickly sum up what the Bhagavad Gita is to me. It's a text that starts with assessing what our mind really is. The mind is confused. Wrongly identified with the body and the senses. It does not understand how limited it is. It's created in identification from the relationships that has with the world. And then comes along a guru. Who tells you. That in this battlefield of life, everything around you. Is subject to death and decay to change. But the true aspect of you. Is beyond change. And therefore you need to realize what that Changeless One is, become aware of that Changeless One. And remain in the awareness of that Changeless One. I understand that this body has to go through what nature intends. Free to do. However you are that changeless that can observe everything. And remain in the observer. With that you can find your own path towards that divinity. And utilize many different paths. The four that are mentioned is obviously. Gyana Yoga understanding intellectually what Brahman is and what you are truly. Then having bhakti yoga, having devotion towards that higher. Power. within you. That that highest Sense of Self that's there present within you and discovering that and being devoted to it. But. If we find that difficult, then having someone, an isht-devta or a guru or God as someone that we can worship until we see that same divinity within us. And then Raja Yoga having that focus and that attention to have that one pointed focus towards something. And in my opinion, that should be our own inner changeless aspect. And then karma yoga, in whatever action we do in life, that one is done with the vision that it will help many people. And two it's a path of least harm. And three, we are serving the Divine that is manifest in this world. And that divinity that's manifest in the world, that's manifest in us, is just one. And what the Bhagavad Gita does, what Sri Krishna does is takes us from a being that is limited to the limitless. That has a form to the formless. That is subject to the senses to the awareness of all that is. So, yeah, I don't know how many minutes that took. Let me know what you thought of mine. If you have any videos that you want me to react to please write it down in the comments or contact me. And send me a link to that video. Do like this video, do comment on what you think about this video, what you thought about the video that we reacted to. And please do subscribe if you haven't. And see you next time. Thank you. Bye.