The Modern Yogi Podcast

How do you conquer the mind and find lasting happiness? That is one of the biggest questions and one that takes many lifetimes to figure out. But Krishna explains how one who has the right knowledge can view anything whether it be gold or pebbles, hot or cold weather, or friends and enemies -- all with equal vision.

BIG QUESTION: What defines the quality of our lives? Answer: It's the quality of our thoughts. Krishna explains how our mind can be a source of misery and be our greatest enemy or it can be a source of great happiness and be our best friend -- depending on how you train it!

We made it to Chapter 6! Here we begin with the importance of renunciation. What is renunciation? It means to give something up. Uh-uh. What do we have to give up? It's the need for gratifying our senses. This episode discusses what that is and how we can work on this very important practice in bhakti yoga.

As we close out chapter 5, Krishna talks about happiness. What two things keep us from happiness in this world? It's desire and anger. So how do we combat these two and try to find our happiness inwardly instead of outwardly? Krishna drops some knowledge bombs in this episode and even teaches us how to meditate!

Treat everyone equally. Easier said than done, right? As humans, we have the tendency to make snap judgements when we first meet people! In these verses, Krishna explains how important it is to see everyone equally and to not be disturbed in good and bad times.

In this episode, Krishna explains the 4 critical ingredients needed for liberation and how knowledge help us advance and grow spiritually.

How does one be happy in this material body of ours? And does God control all of our actions and results? This episode answers these two very important life questions!

What if we just gave up all possessions and ran away to the forest? Would that makes us happy? Krishna says, “nope!” He didn’t exactly say ‘nope’ but he did start to clarify what a person with divine consciousness is like and how they behave and what we can all learn from them.

Welcome to Chapter 5: Karma Yoga - Action in Krishna Consciousness! Right off the bat, Arjuna is trying to clarifying some things to truly understand what he needs to do now. A little clarification never hurt anyone, right? Then Krishna breaks it all down for Arjuna…and for the reader!

We're almost at the end of Chapter 4! In these final verses, Krishna is emphasizing the importance of transcendental knowledge and how powerful it truly is to understand it. Krishna is telling Arjuna that his excuses and doubts should now "be slashed by the weapon of knowledge" and he should now stand and fight. Dun dun dun!

Ever wondered about finding a spiritual teacher who could guide you? In this episode, the three ladies of the podcast dive deeper into their personal stories of how they all found their spiritual teacher or "guru".

The definition of sacrifice is "To give up one thing for another thing considered to be of greater value." Ever heard of those mystics in India that know how to control their bodies and breath to achieve supernatural powers? It's a type of sacrifice! In these verses, Krishna explains the various sacrifices that can be performed.

There are so many different kinds of people in the world -- all offering different types of sacrifices to different people, places, things, and demigods. But the lucky souls who are on the path of bhakti yoga, they know that the ultimate sacrifice is for Krishna.

If you ever asked yourself, 'how do I be more spiritual?', these verses can help guide you. During these important verses in Chapter 4, Krishna essentially provides a checklist for life to his dear friend Arjuna.

Krishna is starting to explain he is God and the creator of everything. These verses also start to get into the concept of karma or action -- which, even Krishna says, is very complicated. Krishna begins to explain what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is and how all three affect our lives.

If Krishna first spoke the Gita to the Sun God, and the Sun God is a lot older than Krishna, how did that work? Krishna is now starting to let us in on some details about Him and *spoiler alert*...he's no ordinary man.

Welcome to chapter 4 where we dive deeper into Transcendental Knowledge! In the beginning of this chapter, Krishna gives a little history lesson on the knowledge of the Gita and when and where it has come from.

As we close out chapter 3, things get a little lusty! Krishna talks about how dangerous and powerful lust is -- otherwise known as desire. If we can conquer the senses, mind, and intelligence then only we can conquer the enemy of lust.

What is attachment and sense gratification? These concepts come up many times in the Gita because these are the things that bind us to the rat race that is this material world. But what happens when we surrender all our work to Krishna? Is that when we find the ultimate cheat code to life?

Why do we follow the influencers that we follow? Are they good leaders? In these verses, Krishna talks about divine leadership. He encourages Arjuna to be a good role model, for if he does, common men will follow in his footsteps.

Why is sacrifice (yajna) so important? Krishna dives deeper into this concept of sacrifice and why it's critical in our lives. Truth be told, we are all sacrificing in different ways for various people already -- so why not make our sacrifices 'spiritual-ized'?

We can't just sit around Netflix and Chilling all day! Thus, Krishna explains in these verses that we all need to do something in this life, and the best thing to do is work in the consciousness of God. The notion of demigods is also brought up in these verses!

Arjuna is really good student so he’d like to know *exactly* what to do now! Thus, welcome to the wonderful chapter 3 where Krishna introduces the idea of karma-yoga. What is that? And how can it be used to better your life? We’ll answer this question and many more during the first few verses of this new chapter!

How do we have peace and happiness in our lives? Krishna answers this million dollar question now. If we can remain steady during good days and bad days, we are practicing true yoga. However, our senses are so strong and they pull us in so many directions, making us agitated and stressed out! So what can we do?! The summary of the major points of the Gita are laid out here!

What is devotion? What is service? Why is devotional service to Krishna the purpose of our lives? Arjuna begins to ask these questions as well as the big one: how do I become a better and more spiritual person?

Bhagavad Gita > Vedas. But wait, what are the Vedas? The Vedas are a HUGE body of spiritual texts originating in ancient India. Krishna is saying that understanding the main purpose of the Bhagavad Gita trumps everything written in the Vedas. Also, huge lesson in this chapter: Do your duty, but don’t be attached to the rewards that may come with it.

What do we take with us when we die? Our cars? Our iPhones? Our family? Nope, none of it. But we do take the amount of spiritual progress we make in this lifetime. Those who are trying to figure out the true goal of life are the wisest people in town.

Krishna now begins to poke at Arjuna. He is basically saying: If we are all immortal souls, why are you so sad, Arjuna? Now that you know how the whole reincarnation thing works, don’t lose your reputation as a powerful soldier. Go do your duty, protect the citizens, and fight for justice!

So the soul is like Wolverine, no one can kill it! Which means, if we are the soul and not this body, we must be immortal, right? Right. During these verses, Krishna explains how powerful and indestructible the soul truly is.

What is the soul? Do we have one? Do hamsters have souls? During these verses we dive deeper into the nature and characteristics of the soul.

Ever heard of reincarnation? This is where it starts to get interesting! Krishna begins to explain what happens to our body and soul at the moment of death.

Arjuna thinks that this war is a lose/lose situation. He has grown tired of arguing and has now told Krishna the famous words, “Govinda, I shall not fight.” This is where we see the transformation of Arjuna finally becoming Krishna’s disciple and student.

Arjuna is NOT ready to kill his family members on the battlefield. He’s throwing arguments at Krishna left, right and center! But Krishna has some good points up His sleeve as well. In this episode we’ll see Arjuna transform from a fearful solider to eager to learn disciple.

Ooh! Things are getting heated here towards the second half of Chapter 1! Everyone is getting ready for battle but Arjuna asks Krishna to pull the chariot toward the middle of the battlefield so he can see his enemies better. Plot twist -- his enemies are his family members! His cousins, uncles, and even his grandfather are all fighting on the side of evil. What will Arjuna do next?

Chapter one is perhaps one of the hardest chapters in the Bhagavad Gita to understand. The first time you read it, you'll have questions like: Who is this person? Who is that person? Why is everyone blowing a conch shell? What's this guy's name again? And how is he related to this guy? And why does everyone's conch shell have a name?! We'll help break down the first part of Chapter 1 so all of this makes a little more sense!

What mood should one read the Gita in? What are the main themes? What do I need to know before I dive into this sacred book head first? In this episode we will take you through the main points of the official introduction. The version of the Gita that we will be discussing is 'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' by His Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Hope you follow along and join us on this wild ride!

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered and sacred books in the world. This ancient text is as relevant and helpful now as it was when it was spoken 5000 years ago on a battlefield in India. BUT WHY IS EVERYONE ON A BATTLEFIELD? Join the ladies of the Modern Yogi podcast as they set the scene for you!

Ever wondered about the meaning of life? Ever wondered about your purpose? Are you interested in Eastern spirituality? If you answered yes to any of those questions, the Modern Yogi podcast is for you! Join your book club buddies (Shyamali, Priyadarshani, and Syama Sangita) as they take you verse by verse through ancient scriptures starting with the world famous Bhagavad Gita!