Dr Simon Reads...

  Chapter Five:  The Yog of Renunciation (Karm Sanyās Yog) Two Paths Are One Path. AKA Having A Poo As An Act Of Devotion.   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:   Karm Sanyās Yog   “ Arjun said: O Shree Krishna, You praised  karm sanyās  (the path of renunciation of actions), and You also advised to do  karm yog  (work with devotion). Please tell me decisively which of the two is more beneficial?”   I’m glad Arjun asked, because it was something that I was wondering about in the last chapter, where Krishna was talking about a meditative path, and also one where work is a sacred action. Last time I wasn’t e

  Chapter Four:  The Yog of Knowledge and the Disciplines of Action (Jñāna Karm Sanyās Yog) A Taoist, a Buddhist and a Christian walk into a bar… only to find that the Hindu had got there first.   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:   “The Supreme Lord Shree Krishna said: I taught this eternal science of Yog to the Sun-god, Vivasvan, who passed it on to Manu; and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.”   Arjun questions Krishna about how he can have taught Vivasan (the sun-god), if Krishna came after the sun god. Krishna explains how he transcends time through living many lives (as has Arjun, he says, the d

  Chapter Three:  The Yog of Action (Karm Yog) A Little Bit Freud, A Little Bit Aristotle.   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:   “Arjun said: O Janardan, if you consider knowledge superior to action, then why do you ask me to wage this terrible war? My intellect is bewildered by your ambiguous advice. Please tell me decisively the one path by which I may attain the highest good.”   I’m glad Arjun thought Krishna’ advice in the last chapter was contradictory as well, makes me feel less stupid. I looked up “ Janardan ”, and this seems to be a poor transliteration for what ought to be “ Janardana ”, meaning s