The eighteen chapters of the Gītā can be grouped into three sets of six chapters each. The first set focuses predominantly on karma-yoga, the second set on bhakti-yoga, and the third on jñāna-yoga. But to some extent all three topics can be found throughout all the chapters. The first chapter is introductory and doesn’t outline any specific yoga. It is titled “The Path through Despondency” (Viṣāda-yoga) because it describes Arjuna’s dejected mental-emotional state after he surveys the armies on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. It can be considered as a yoga, or transformational means, only in the sense that dejection itself, when it leads to self-inquiry, becomes the basis of authentic practice. In the state of dejection, one’s ordinary absorption in materialistic pursuits is slackened, and thus deliberation on God becomes a distinct possibility.
I pay my heartfelt respects to Jiva Gosvami on this day. He has given us something special that will make you happy under all circumstances. If you read what Jiva Gosvami says, and you really understand it, then it is impossible that you will not change… If you want to perform an action then it depends on your thought. If your understanding is very clear, then your action will get the desired result. But if your understanding is hazy, then you will not get the desired result.
