Uddhava Gita Explained

by Michael Beloved

Overview

This translation and commentary is a deep-read in-depth study of the instructions given to Uddhava who questioned Sri Krishna about the perplexities of material existence. Many readers of the Bhagavad Gita wondered if that discourse was the complete idea of Sri Krishna. After a fair reading of these instructions to Uddhava, anyone would conclude that the instructions to Arjuna were only part of the course. This is verified in the Bhagavad Gita itself where Sri Krishna said that initially He taught two yogas and then He said He would teach Arjuna the karma yoga path, leaving aside and discouraging Arjuna from taking the jnana yoga approach.

Interestingly, in the teaching to Uddhava, Krishna stated that He taught three yogas, namely karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga. In the discussion with Arjuna, He admitted teaching only the first two of these three, with stress on karma Yoga which was recommended for Arjuna. The complete teachings of Sri Krishna are given in the Uddhava Gita.

Incidentally, the title, Uddhava Gita, was not assigned in the original text which is part of the Srimad Bhagavatam, just as the title Bhagavad Gita was not listed in the Mahabharata from which it was extracted. Uddhava Gita may be called the Completed Bhagavad Gita or Bhagavad Gita Purna. All unanswered questions which Sri Krishna either avoided or answered partially are fully dealt with in the Uddhava Gita. For that matter instead of advocating karma yoga which is detachment with worldly life, Sri Krishna insisted on jnana yoga, which is detachment and full abandonment of worldly life.

Karma yoga means that a person leaves aside the result of his or her activities, both the good and bad reactions, while jnana yoga means that a person refuses both the results and the opportunities for activity. And that was the path which Krishna recommended to Uddhava.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781942887430
Publisher:	Michael Beloved
Publication date:	06/07/2021
Pages:	750
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.56(d)

About the Author

Michael Beloved (Madhvāchārya dās) took his current body in 1951 in Guyana. In 1965, while living in Trinidad, he instinctively began doing yoga postures and trying to make sense of the supernatural side of life. Later on, in 1970, in the Philippines, he approached a Martial Arts Master named Mr. Arthur Beverford, explaining to the teacher that he was seeking a yoga instructor; Mr. Beverford identified himself as an advanced disciple of Śrī Rishi Singh Gherwal, an astanga yoga master. Mr. Beverford taught the traditional Astanga Yoga with stress on postures, attentive breathing and brow chakra centering meditation. In 1972, Madhvāchārya entered the Denver Colorado Ashram of Kundalini Yoga Master Śrī Harbhajan Singh. There he took instruction in Bhastrika Prāņāyāma and its application to yoga postures. He was supervised mostly by Yogi Bhajan's disciple named Prem Kaur. In 1979 Madhvāchārya formally entered the disciplic succession of the Brahmā-Madhava Gaudiya Sampradāya through Swāmī Kirtanananda, who was a prominent sannyāsi disciple of the Great Vaishnava Authority Śrī Swāmī Bhaktivedānta Prabhupāda, the exponent of devotion to Śrī Krishna. After carefully studying and practicing the devotional process introduced by Śrī Swāmī Bhaktivedānta Prabhupāda, Madhvacharya was inspired to do a translation and three commentaries to the Bhagavad Gītā. This led to his completion of this translation of the instructions to Uddhava, advisories which complete the course given to Arjuna. An easy-read English translation is published as Uddhava Gītā Explained.