[book] The Bhagavad Gita By Eknath Easwaran (9/10)

[Frode]

Here are my favorite ideas from "The Bhagavad Gita," introduced and translated by Eknath Easwaran. It's a classic of Indian spirituality, and the best known work in Hinduism. 

The theme is self-mastery. I hope you enjoy!

 

[Morten]

I watched some of your older book reviews and you are definetely moving forward and doing better and better!

I like it how now you have a table with all 5 points clearly visible during entire video, so it is a great help for people like me who tend to forget things quickly unless repeated several times.

Also I like the fact that you constantly state ideas that you found in other books that resemble ideas from the book you cover in video. That shows deeper understanding on your side and it is rare in comparison to other videos

However I find your presentation still to mechanical, not natural enough. It seems to me you are struggling, that is something you should work on. Since many book review clips are animated you will have to have much better presentation in order to compete with them. There was an awesome opportunity for a humor when you forgot what you meant to say. perhaps you should watch some stand up comedians on how to be more relaxed and how to trun your "missteps" into laughing moments. Hope this makes sense.

In the end wish to say keep up the good work!

[Frode]

Hi, Morten, and thank you very much for your kind feedback. I appreciate that you took the time to be so specific.

I agree; I actually feel mechanical while doing it, much because Norwegian is my first language (← not an excuse!), but also because I need to loosen up and "speak from my belly." 

And it makes a LOT of sense turning missteps into laughing moments; I'll get to work on that! (You wouldn't perhaps have any links to videos where people recover from such mistakes?) 

Again, thanks for the love, it was really helpful! 

[Morten]

You are welcome!

You can check stand up shows from Louis C.K, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chapelle, Ricky Gervais, etc. YouTube is filled with them

[Frode]

@Morten Do you know any particular stand-ups where one of those people make quite a few mistakes? (So I can know where to look)  

[Morten]

Can't really point it out to any specific video. You will have to do your own research

[Frode]

@Morten Alrighty then! In any case, thanks for the tip, Morten.  

[The Motorcyclist]

@Frode Now that you've stumbled upon the generic version (with all due respect to Eknath Easwaran), I'll recommend you to read The Path to the Guru: The Science of Self-Realization according to the Bhagavad Gita  by Scott Teitsworth (https://www.amazon.com/Path-Guru-Self-Realization-according-Bhagavad/dp/162055321X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491044079&sr=8-1&keywords=path+to+the+guru). 

It's a very underrated and unexplored piece of work. Scott, as he learnt from his gurus, has a very different take on the events of the Gita. As the Gita is very open to interpretation most folks tend to skirt around the verses and give out high level teachings (sometimes superficial). Not Scott. In the book, he dives very deep in chapters 1 & 2 of the Gita (chapter 2 talks about self-actualisation and making effective decisions) and analyses each verse and the music within. 

It's by far the most seminal piece of work on Gita I've come across. I've seen many coloured versions of Gita where authors tend to push their own agenda (not Eknath Easwaran, but others) via the verses, Scott teitsworth's work is refreshing. 

It should be in your library. You won't regret it. 

- PS, The 'G' of Gita is not pronounced as 'G' as in group. It's 'G' as in geese. It's pronounced as 'Geeta'

Secondly, on feeling mechanical. English is my second language as well. Which, I think, I've gained proficiency (at least, spoken English) over the years. It's perfectly natural. After 6-12 months of work, it won't be even noticeable. 

Edited April 1, 2017 by The Motorcyclist
Adding few notes.

[ctro]

@Frode I'm sure you are aware of this, but you should check out RSDTyler's public speaking, he is amazing.

It is hard to get on this kind of level as a young guy though. You dont yet have the life experience to really internalize these lessons which makes it hard being a teacher.

What kind of future vision do you have for yourself, if you dont mind me asking?

[Frode]

@The Motorcyclist Hey, Motorcyclist, I appreciate you for taking the time to write such a detailed description of another version of the Gita (As in Geese! : ), and I've promptly added it to my list in Amazon. (I'll make sure to give it a fine spot in my library when I get to it.)

And thanks for sharing your experience of becoming fluent at English as your second language; I'm about 6 months in now, so I'm looking forward to the time when I've put in enough effort to also become fluent like you.

 

[Frode]

@ctro Hey, ctro! 

I watched one of his videos, and he seemed like a really cool guy. It'd be *awesome* to get to his effort (after years of practice!).

And my future wisdom is quite simple: I'm committed to creating the largest collection of wisdom I possibly can through studying, embodying and teaching Big Ideas like those in my videos. (It's a hard process to master, though, *really* embodying the ideas moment-to-moment, so I understand if you're skeptical regarding my limited life experience!) 

If there's anything else you're wondering about, just ask.

[ctro]

I don't know you, so this might completely wrong, but.

Someone like Tyler has this public speaking ability not just because of practice, but also because of years/decades working really hard at something. 

It might be dangerous to try to teach people these big ideas without having spent time (years) wrestling with them and applying them in your own journey. You dont want to become a PD-teacher whose only feat in life is being a good PD-teacher.

That said, please dont let me discourage you. You are definitely learning and growing fast on your current journey.

 

 

[Frode]

@ctro Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, I appreciate your support and insight into how I can also become a better speaker (decades of hard work, which I'm ALL about. : ) 

And, you do a great job weaving in your wisdom non-confrontationally so I can be even more committed to being a lifelong and humble student as I wrestle with all of these great ideas.

The fun is just beginning.  

[ctro]

Thanks man. The fun is just beginning indeed, life belongs to the young guys.

[Frode]

@ctro Hehe, that's true (at least counted in years), and we are VERY grateful for the wisdom we have access to from the older guys!