Dr Simon Reads...

  Closing Thoughts   Welcome to the epilogue of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Closing Thoughts   That was an interesting document. Compared to the Bible and the Qur’an it was mercifully short, but of course what I’m essentially doing here is taking the edited highlights out of a much longer document, kind of like reading the Gospel of Mark and taking it to be the Bible as a whole.   That said, it sums up its philosophy in a nicely succinct fashion. It’s interesting that in this particular representation of Hinduism that the morality of actions is determined by cosmic forces, or is inherent to the performer of those actions. Even Kris

  Chapter Eighteen: Yog through the Perfection of Renunciation and Surrender (Mokṣha Sanyās Yog) All The Best Ways To Be.   Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Mokṣha Sanyās Yog “The Supreme Divine Personality said: Giving up of actions motivated by desire is what the wise understand as sanyās . Relinquishing the fruits of all actions is what the learned declare to be tyāg .”   This is a long chapter, and something of a summary of what has gone before. It’s also broken up into several topics, all ultimately related to the way of thinking and acting that will both lead to a virtuous life (in the sattva mod

Chapter Seventeen: Yog through Discerning the Three Divisions of Faith (Śhraddhā Traya Vibhāg Yog) Om, Tat, Sat, On The Mat. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/ And now: Śhraddhā Traya Vibhāg Yog “The faith of all humans conforms to the nature of their mind. All people possess faith, and whatever the nature of their faith, that is verily what they are.” Krishna explains that humans are born in one of three modes (it was two last time), that of sattva (goodness), rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance). These are the three gunas from before, and Krishna goes on to explain how these natures express themselves in how pe

  Chapter Sixteen: Yog through Discerning the Divine and the Demoniac Natures (Daivāsura Sampad Vibhāg Yog) The Path To The Dark Side   Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Daivāsura Sampad Vibhāg Yog “There are two kinds of beings in this world—those endowed with a divine nature and those possessing a demoniac nature. I have described the divine qualities in detail, O Arjun. Now hear from me about the demoniac nature.”   We now learn that people are born with one of two natures – saintly or demonic. Arjun is reassured by Krishna that he has a saintly nature, but later on we are warned that “ These crue

  Dr. Simon Reads Appendix N Part Nine: August Derleth   This is a sporadic feature, in which I explore classic fantasy and science fiction works. You will either know what I mean by “Appendix N”, or you will have no clue. If the former, skip the next paragraph. Otherwise, read on.   In the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide, Gary Gygax provided a large number of appendices, from random smells to reputed magical properties of herbs and gemstones. Appendix N was a bibliography of works that inspired him. Back in 1982 when I first got hold of this book, there were only a couple of items on there that I’d read, and only a few other authors that I’d even heard of. Many years later, after much reading, I returned to Appendix N expecting to have added greatly to the works on there that I’d read; but actually, there were still very few. Many of the authors were obscure or out of print authors of, for want of a better expression, golden age pulp; the kind that fea

  Chapter Fifteen: Yog of the Supreme Divine Personality ( Puruṣhottam Yog) Weird Trees and Moon Life Juice   Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Puruṣhottam Yog “The Supreme Divine Personality said: They speak of an eternal aśhvatth tree with its roots above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedic hymns, and one who knows the secret of this tree is the knower of the Vedas.”   We now get a bit of symbolic cosmology, where the material world is likened to a very odd kind of (fig) tree, with roots at the top (which nevertheless hang down to bring the “ flow of karma ” to humans). The leaves are the h

  Chapter Fourteen: Yog Through Understanding The Three Modes of Material Nature (Guṇa Traya Vibhāg Yog) Plato, Aristotle, and Mindfulness.   Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Guṇa Traya Vibhāg Yog “O mighty-armed Arjun, the material energy consists of three  guṇas  (modes)— sattva  (goodness),  rajas  (passion), and  tamas  (ignorance). These modes bind the eternal soul to the perishable body.”   Remember the gunas from before? These are the three “ modes ” through which “ material energy ” is expressed. The term prakriti is used here, which as you will recall from last chapter is an individual expr

  Chapter Thirteen: Yog Through Distinguishing The Field And The Knower Of The Field (Kṣhetra Kṣhetrajña Vibhāg Yog) Not Your Standard Dualism.   Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Kṣhetra Kṣhetrajña Vibhāg Yog “Arjun said, “O Keshav, I wish to understand what are  prakṛiti  and  puruṣh , and what are  kṣhetra  and  kṣhetrajña ? I also wish to know what is true knowledge, and what is the goal of this knowledge?”   The commentary points out that the Bhagavad Gita is divided into three sections of six chapters, that roughly correspond to the three different paths; chapters one through six deal with the pa

  Chapter Twelve: The Yog of Devotion (Bhakti Yog) Ride The Rapids With Krishna   Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bhagavad Gita). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Bhagavad Gita, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.   For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2XAch2A For the online Bhagavad Gita that I use, see here https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/   And now:   Bhakti Yog “Arjun inquired: Between those who are steadfastly devoted to Your personal form and those who worship the formless  Brahman , who do You consider to be more perfect in Yog?”   Arjun asks Krishna who is better – those that worship Krishna directly or those that revere Brahman, the unmanifest aspect of godhood. Perhaps not surprisingly, Krishna thinks that “ Those who fix their minds on Me and always engage in My devotion with steadfast faith, I consider them to be the best yogi