By Ananda Vrndavanesvari Devi Dasi
Just as a very good sweet will have something hidden inside of it, or a company will have the inner group of key people, the Gita has a core made up of four verses. These are called the Catur Sloki (catur = four, and sloki = verses), and they summarize the entire Gita. The eighteen chapters of the Gita are themselves divided into 3 parts. The middle six chapters focus on bhakti and are “protected” on either side by teachings on karma-yoga (the first six chapters) and jnana yoga (the focus of the last six chapters). It’s considered that the Bhakti chapters are the heart of the Gita and the catur-sloki are located in that heart. In the catur-sloki you find the essence of the teachings of the 700 verses of the Gita. They establish the scope of the Lord’s opulence (verse 8), the result of truly knowing those opulences (verse 8), how pure devotees worship Him (verse 9), and how He reciprocates with their devotion (verses 10 and 11).
Read More...