Successful Life Journey – Insights based on Bhagavad Gita (SLJ)
Course Syllabi
Specific information about the course
Course Benefits
Provide structured learning opportunities
Instructors & Admins
Educators responsible for teaching and facilitating learning
Goal
Understand and Apply Bhagavad Gita in all spheres of life to be complacent and positive in life journey
Duration
Trimester
(Twelve 90 minute sessions & optional interactive sessions)
Eligibility
10+2 (Science) with Distinction & Interest in Vedanta/Philosophy
Equivalent Credits
01 International Credit
Course Description
Successful Life Journey is often defined in terms of markers such as abundant access to basic needs (food, clothing and shelter), monetary benefits, good mental and physical health, contentment based engagement in personal, professional and social spheres of life. While all this is well said but done, detriments in terms of uncertainties, suffering, miseries do come in due course of life’s journey. They do make a person to realize that the success markers need to as well include the philosophical and spiritual dimension of life. Henceforth, a broader definition for success is required that involves contentment and peace from all perspectives. A balanced lifestyle involving the together realization of physical, philosophical and spiritual markers are required so as to propel optimality and positivism in life’s journey. This requires one to understand life, matter and their interactions and to understand fundamentally what is life and consciousness and its meaning and purpose.
Among various repositories available as training manuals for appropriate psychological tuning of success markers, Bhagavad Gita remains the oldest and best knowledge repository. Conventional courses on Bhagavad Gita present the wisdom of Bhagavad Gita but not their applications. Considering this, the online certificate course on Successful Life Journey – Insights based on Bhagavad Gita (SLJ) aims to balance spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita with customized applications for personal, professional, social and spiritual excellence and thereby pave the way for the distinction of human life. Given the most sublime knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita being applicable in all walks of life’s journey including education, management, research, academics, administration etc., its application needs to be explored in a customized or domain specific framework. Henceforth, this course devotes towards the cultivation of both fundamental and applied spiritual science and technology of Bhagavad Gita for human excellence and inner peace. Delegates after completing this course will have both theoretical and practical knowledge of the reality as being elucidated in Bhagavad Gita. Thereby, with the wisdom of the Gita, successful engagements through the confluence of scientific, philosophical and spiritual subject matters can be realized for their ultimate benefit to the humankind.
Course Benefits
- Mature understanding and realization of the Reality as being elucidated in Bhagavad Gita.
- Scientific and Philosophical explorations of the Reality that crystallize one’s faith in the subject matter of Bhagavad Gita.
- Top-Down Approach: Practical application of Bhagavad Gita in all walks of life.
- Bottom-up Approach: Analyze worldly engagements in the light of the Absolute knowledge and appropriately modify and customize Life’s Journey.
- Theistic resolutions for personal, professional, social and spiritual excellence through a balanced approach that integrates scientific, philosophical and spiritual dimensions of the life.
- Solutions to most complex issues in Life’s Journey including aging, end of life and death.
- Realize the potential of detachment and transcendence in the effective handling of adversaries in life’s journey.
- Realize the wonders of theistic spirituality and Vedanta in harmonizing life’s journey.
Course Pedagogy
- Understanding Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga
- Conceptualizing the subject of Yoga being elucidated in every chapter of Bhagavad Gita
- Understanding the role of God (Supreme Consciousness) in every Yoga
- Realizing Bhakti (devotion to God) as the finest sublime activity of a human being
- Supplementing modern scientific and philosophical analysis to enhance faith in Bhagavad Gita
- Application of various Yogas for personal, professional social and spiritual excellence by integrating the same with scientific and philosophical aspects of life’s journey.
- Case study and interactive discussion (if any) based realization of the successful pedagogy of life’s journey through the principles and application of Bhagavad Gita.
Who can Register?
- Massive Online Open Course (MOOCs) Trainees in Value Education based on Bhagavad Gita based philosophical and spiritual foundations of life
- Students enrolled in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) discipline desiring academic training into the application of philosophy and spirituality advocated in Bhagavad Gita
- Enthusiastic Science and Technology Graduates desiring all round human competence and excellence for a contentment enriched life’s journey.
- College and School Teachers in Science or Arts or Humanities that wish to advocate on Bhagavad Gita based Holistic Education
- Life Coach/Counsellors Desiring Holistic Approaches for Success markers prompting Human Excellence and Distinction
Eligibility
- Graduate students and Professionals in any discipline such as science, arts, management, technology etc.,
- Orientation towards Psychological Tuning for a Successful Life Journey
- Orientation towards Philosophical Worldview and Foundations of Spirituality
Course Syllabi
Course Overview and Orientation
- Overview of Life’s journey
- Adversities and uncertain factors in life
- Philosophical analysis
- Hall marks for successful life journey
- Bhagvad Gita as ultimate manual for a successful life journey
Foundations of Spirituality – Karma Yoga (Chapters 1 – 6)
- Reasons for Arjuna upon not fighting the war
- Surrenderence of Arjuna for real knowledge
- Soul knowledge
- Yoga vis-à-vis Karma Kanda; Buddhi Yoga
- Sthitha Prajna
- Kama Kanda evolution to Karma Kanda through Yajna
- Karma Yoga as surrendering works to the supreme
- Prescribed duties
- Spiritual strength to control lust and anger
- Elevating Karma to Jnana through transcendental knowledge
- Elements of transcendental knowledge
- Mind-set of advanced Karma Yoga
- Supersoul meditated consciousness
- Astanga Yoga for Supersoul meditation and its Benefits
- Supersoul meditation evolution to Bhakti
- Relative status of Karmi, Jnani, Yogi
- Status of Bhakti Yoga in conjunction with Karma and Jnana Yogas
- Tips for a successful life journey
Foundations of Spirituality – Bhakti Yoga (Chapters 7 – 12)
- Knowledge of the absolute (God) to beyond spirit and matter
- Worshipping God in personal, impersonal modes and Demigod worship
- God’s absolute status
- Meditation on ‘Om’ and Krsna and their ultimate effect
- Devotee being transcendental to both auspicious and inauspicious times
- God (Krsna) pervading impersonal Brahmajyoti, as creator and maintainer of the cosmos, as originator of material nature, as prime object and subject
- Vedas and its objectives in conjunction with Lord Krsna’s worship
- Catur sloki Bhagvad Gita
- Chief opulences of God (Krsna) including Supersoul
- Universal form of God
- Mission and purpose of God in the world
- Secrets of two and four handed forms of Krsna
- Realizing Krsna through pure devotional service
- Status of Bhakti with respect to impersonal worship
- Spiritual evolution to pure devotional service and hierarchy
- Qualities of pure devotees
- Benefits of pure devotion
- Tips for a successful life journey
Foundations of Spirituality – Jnana Yoga (Chapters 13 – 18)
- Kshetra, Kshetrajna, Jnana, Jneyam, Purusha, Prakriti and their interactions
- Paramatma beyond Soul and Prakriti
- Krsna as seed-giving father
- Soul-material nature interactions and consequences
- Pure devotional service transcending material nature
- Imperishable banyan tree and surrender to Krsna
- Spiritual transmigratory laws and Krsna’s role
- Krsna as maintainer of all living beings
- Tri-sloki Bhagavad Gita
- Divine qualities and their end effect
- Mindset, activities and consequences of a demoniac person
- Controlling lust, greed and anger
- Worship, foods, sacrifices, austerities, charity in three modes of material nature
- Elevation to Yoga from three modes
- Yajna, Dana and Tapa for Sannyasa and Tyaga
- Supersoul’s critical role in the outcome of action
- Knowledge, action, happiness in three modes
- Elevation to pure devotional service through the hierarchy of Niskama Karma, Brahman realization, Supersoul surrenderence and surrendering to krsna; qualifications and benefits of Bhakti
- Arjuna and Sanjaya’s realization of pure devotion
- Bhakti Yoga as end effect of Karma and Jnana Yoga
- Tips for a successful Life Journey
Scientific and Philosophical Exploration of Bhagavad Gita
- Origins of Universe and Matter
- Origin and Evolution of Life
- Consciousness studies
- Scientific basis of reincarnation
- CPR study confirming outer body experience and conscious awareness during trauma
- Fine tuned universe
- Sudden revelation inferencing on a transcendental reality and Paramatma
- Mysticism in science confirming to a non-physical but transcendental reality
- Time dilation
- Philosophical explorations – founding fathers of philosophy (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) and their status as per Bhagavad Gita
- Other philosophical variations affirming Yoga to be the same but not emphasizing on differential status of other Yogas in comparison with Bhakti Yoga.
Personal Excellence
- Personal excellence indices
- Cultivating indices through the knowledge of the Gita
- Happiness, Peace, Simple Living, Physical and Mental health, Saintly qualities, Overcoming Sin, Eco-spirituality, Spironomics, Values and Ethics, Conflict resolution, memory, attention, self-control and Deaddiction, Effective learning, Holistic life skills, recommendations for personal excellence
Professional Excellence
- Professional excellence indices
- Cultivating indices through the knowledge of the Gita
- Positive thinking, Career success and growth, self-management, time management, resource management, communication skills, stress management, research and creativity, awareness, interpersonal skills, interview skills and leadership skills
Social excellence
- Human perception of religion
- Synthesis of world religions through the integrity of Yogas being elucidated in Bhagavad Gita
- Cohesive and divergent views of various groups as prime cause of social conflicts
- Search for common threads of understanding
- Bhakti integrating all isms
- God centric approach facilitating social harmony through transcendental consciousness invocation
Spiritual excellence
- Evolution from Multi-theism to mono-theism
- Non-impersonal status of God
- Personal worship of Krsna greater than impersonal worship
- Bhakti as the means and the end
- Manav seva or Jiva seva not equal to Krsna (Madhava) seva
- Engaging in karma but with mundane detachment is not Karma yoga
- Karma is not karma yoga
- Jnana must involve Bhakti
- Jnana Yoga must involve Supersoul knowledge, realization and meditated consciousness
Credit Equivalence
| S. No. | Module Name | Lecture Hours | Assignment hours | Equivalent International Credits |
| 1. | Foundations of Spirituality – Karma Yoga (Chapters 1 – 6): | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| 2. | Foundations of Spirituality – Bhakti Yoga (Chapters 7 – 12) | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| 3. | Foundations of Spirituality – Jnana Yoga (Chapters 13 – 18) | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| 4. | Scientific and Philosophical Explorations of Bhagavad Gita | 2 | 2 | 0.15 |
| 5. | Personal Excellence | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| 6. | Professional Excellence | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| 7. | Social Excellence | 2 | 2 | 0.15 |
| 8. | Spiritual Excellence | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| Total | 16 | 16 | 1.5 | |
Course Instructors and Administrators
Prof. Ramagopal Uppaluri
Honorary Director
Responsibilities
● Foundations of Spirituality – Jnana Yoga
● Spiritual Excellence
Segar Millindar
Deputy Director
Responsibilities
● Foundations of Spirituality – Bhakti Yoga
● Professional Excellence
● Social Excellence
Prof. Ramjee Repaka
Honorary Faculty
Responsibilities
● Foundations of Spirituality – Karma Yoga
● Personal Excellence
Ajaya Kumar Sahoo
Honorary Faculty
Responsibilities
● Assignment Release and Grading
● Clarification of Doubts
Sravan Kumar Velisela
Dean (Outreach)
Responsibilities
● Registration & Enrollment
● Learning Support
● Assignment
Release and Grading
● Issue of Certificates