What are the teachings?
It is often assumed that the final goal of Indian spirituality is nirvana – the extinguishing of individual existence and the simultaneous absorption into an amorphous Absolute. Bhagavad-Gita reveals that this is only the preliminary stage of self-realisation. Beyond this is the awakening of the soul’s eternal consciousness of Krishna, the personal form of the Absolute Truth. In brief, the Gita explains as follows: • We are not our bodies, but eternal spirit souls (atma), parts and parcels of God (Krishna). Although we are essentially spiritual (brahman), we have temporarily forgotten our true identity. • Having lost touch with our original, pure consciousness we are trying to achieve permanent happiness within a temporary world. Our attempts produce karmic reactions which cause us to remain within this world for repeated lifetimes (samsara). • By sincerely learning and following a genuine spiritual science (dharma) under the guidance of a self-realised teacher, we can be free from anx
