Bhagavad Gita by Sri Paramahansa Yogananda – Notes

1. 3 bodies – physical, astral and causal

Causal Consists of 35 ideas or thought-forces or thoughtrons

Astral 19 elements –
4 - Buddhi (intelligence), Ahamkara, Chitta (feeling or memory), Manas (mind, sense
consciousness)
5 - subtle counterparts of the senses of knowledge(sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch)
5 - subtle counterparts of the motor senses (talk, walk, exercise manual skill,
procreate, excrete )
5 - instruments of prana – crystallizing, assimilating, eliminating, metabolizing and
circulatory functions of the physical body

These 19 powers are what build, maintain and enliven the gross physical body
The centers from which these powers function is the 1000 petaled lotus in the brain
or sahasrara + those in the astral cerebrospinal axis.
This axis consists of 6 chakras namely the medulla oblongata and the 5 chakras in the
spinal cord.

Cervical, opposite the throat

Dorsal, opposite the heart
Lumbar, opposite the navel
Sacral, opposite the generative organs
Cocygeal, at the base of the spine
Physical 16 elements
SuperConsciousness – medulla oblongata
Christ or Krishna Consciousness – the point between the eyebrows
Universal Consciousness – top of the cerebrum in the 1000 petaled lotus
Cosmic Nature has 3 gunas – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The bodily field of activity and
consciousness is divided into these gunas.
3 Divisions of 1st Portion - Sensory and Motor senses – jnanendriyas and karmendriyas
the body Rajas and Tamas are the gunas here. Called Kurukshetra

2nd Portion – cerebrospinal axis – 6 centers of life and consciousness

Medulla + 5 chakras in the spinal cord
Two magnetic poles – manas and buddhi – mind and intelligence

3rd Portion – point between eyebrows + 1000 petaled lotus in the cerebrum + medulla
oblongata ie. the region that spans between these points from front to back in the
brain + their astral counterparts. Called Dharmakshetra.

Life and consciousness flow down from Dharmakshetra to Kurukshetra.