My name is Anusha, and I am 17 years old. I have been attending the eYogi Gurukul classes ever since January of 2020. I’ve learned many new things so far, most of the knowledge being applicable to real life situations. I’ve been growing up without a true understanding on Hinduism, but now that we’re all being taught about these things properly, I have a new-found interest in this topic.
My favourite aspect of this class is that we are taught about useful advice given from the Bhagavad Gita. Some may see these teachings as common sense, but they’re all still useful all the same! For example, we are taught that everything happens for a reason so there’s no point in getting upset, or that we should focus on working on the present without worrying about the future too much.
As a college student, stress is a very common word to me as well as many other people. However, all these teachings were made clearer to us through the use of analogies. For example, the teacher put a small dot on a whiteboard using a marker. He asked us what we see, and the majority of students answered with “a small dot”. He then proposed the question: Why did everyone only notice the small dot when it only takes up less than 1% of the board? What about the other 99%? This got me thinking. He explained that the board is like our mind. The white part being the good things, the black dot being a small bad thing that may have occurred in the day. We were taught that just like on the board, just because the bad thoughts (black dot) stand out compared to the good thoughts (white board), that doesn’t mean we should waste all of our energy and focus on the black dot when it only takes up such a small amount of space! He described these bad thoughts as rubbish, and your mind as your home. So, don’t keep the rubbish in your home! This useful information can really help with day to day problems as well as long lasting ones and I find myself recalling the eYogi class sometimes during a dilemma too!
When you see the word “yoga”, what comes to mind? Doing glorified stretches with calming music in the background, perhaps? If I’m going to be honest, that used to be the exact image that came to my head before the most recent class. The Bhagavad Gita teaches yoga properly, and we were taught in class about these in enough detail for it to be useful to us. There are actually 4 paths of yoga rather than just 1:
1. Karma Yoga
2. Bhakti Yoga
3. Dhyana Yoga and
4. Gyana/ Jnana Yoga.
“Karma” is a very common word used by many people today everywhere around the world. A phrase that summarises it well is “What goes around, comes around”. Karma Yoga is just that! To practice Karma Yoga, all you must do is perform an action without thinking of the income. If you do a good thing, another good thing will return to you. It is important to always do the right thing without worrying about the outcome.
Bhakti Yoga is practiced by connecting with “The Devine” through love and devotion. “Bhakti” literally means “Devotion”, which basically summarises everything. This can be achieved through singing and chanting.
Would the words “Dhyana Yoga” sound familiar to you? What about the word “Meditation”? Dhyana Yoga is all about focusing your mind on what you cannot even see; it’s about controlling your mind and senses. Meditation is already quite a common act in which many people participate in, but many of those people are unaware of its true name.
Lastly, Gyana means “Knowledge” or “Wisdom”. In Gyana/ Jnana Yoga, the main aim is to become enlightened through the means of philosophy. In this, you must be able to differentiate between what is true and what is false, all through study. In my opinion, this form of Yoga sounds the most challenging, but the most fulfilling.
These teachings which I have described are only a small part of the eYogi Gurukul classes, particularly my favourites. We have learned so much more, and much more is yet to come. I’ll always be grateful to these useful teachings, as they will really help me in life, especially as I grow older.