- LIVE ONLINE PROGRAM
October 8 – January 14, 2026
Self-Surrender and Self-Knowledge Cultivating Equanimity and Non-Attachment
Swami Brahmananda
12 WEEKLY SESSIONS, Wednesdays, 6:00-7:45 pm ET
Course Description:
Join this 12-week course with Swami Brahmananda to learn what makes our spiritual life fulfilling and fully integrated with our everyday activities. Throughout this course you will learn how to overcome emotional disturbances and attachments and gain tools to cultivate mental equanimity and inner strength based on the teachings of Yoga and Vedanta as taught in the Bhagavad Gita. The teachings and practices are meant for new and experienced students alike.
The Bhagavad Gita is acclaimed as the teaching that guides us how to put in practice and apply directly in our life the sublime teachings of Yoga and Vedanta. Throughout the Bhagavad Gita the attitude of surrendering oneself to the Divine and accepting life’s dualities and challenges as God’s grace is given as a means for attaining peace and equanimity. When the mind is thus purified from binding attachments and emotions one can attain Self-knowledge and abide in one’s true nature as the all-pervading, limitless Self.
What You'll Learn:
The course is an in-depth study of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, containing some of the most important and illuminating teachings of the Gita, on inaction in action and action in inaction, and the wisdom sacrifice by which one beholds Brahman in all actions. Knowing Brahman is becoming Brahman.
Some of the topics included are:- What makes our spiritual life fulfilling and fully integrated with our everyday activities
- How to cultivate mental equanimity and overcome emotional disturbances and attachments.
- How to attain Self-knowledge and inner freedom while engaging with the world.
- The law of the Avatara (Divine Descent): Lord Krishna declares that He is born from age to age, in order to raise man and take him to the Supreme. Whenever there is a prevalence of unrighteousness and the world is ruled by the forces of darkness, the Lord manifests Himself to destroy these adverse forces and to establish peace, order and harmony. Hence we see the appearance of the great saviours of the world.
- What is the secret of Yogic action? This the Lord proceeds to explain to Arjuna. Even though one is not engaged in action, but if the mind is active with the idea of doership and egoism, then it is action in inaction. On the other hand, though engaged physically in intense action, if the idea of agency is absent, if one feels that Prakriti does everything, it is inaction in action. The liberated man is free from attachment and is always calm and serene though engaged in ceaseless action. He is unaffected by the pairs of opposites like joy and grief, success and failure.
- The Wisdom Sacrifice or Jnana Yajna, by which one beholds Brahman in all actions and thus becomes Brahman. This is the famous verse recited before taking meals, to contemplate the act of eating as the worship of the Supreme.
- The liberated aspirant directly beholds the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self. He cognises through internal experience or intuition that all beings, from the Creator down to a blade of grass, exist in his own Self and also in God.
- Arjuna is given the most heartening assurance that divine wisdom liberates even the most sinful. When knowledge of the Self dawns, all actions with their results are burnt by the fire of that knowledge, just as fuel is burnt by fire. When there is no idea of egoism, when there is no desire for the fruits of one’s actions, actions are no actions. They lose their potency.
- In order to attain divine wisdom one must have supreme faith and devotion. Faith is therefore the most important qualification for a spiritual aspirant. The doubting mind is always led astray from the right path. Faith ultimately confers divine knowledge, which removes ignorance once and for all.
- Mere intellectual knowledge does not lead to liberation. It cannot grant one supreme peace and freedom. When one has achieved complete self-mastery and self-control, when one has intense faith and devotion, then true knowledge dawns within and one attains liberation and freedom from all weaknesses and sins.
"When Swami Brahmananda teaches, he frequently uses inspiring stories, anecdotes and brilliant analogies which make the teachings easier to understand, to remember, and then to apply in daily life. A magnificent and powerful creative force emanates from him. Throughout this course, you will get an understanding on how the mind works and you will gain significant tools to gradually master it to ultimately Self-surrender to God."
Additional Information:
Offered as 12 weekly sessions on Wednesdays, Oct 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov 12, 19, 26, Dec 3, 10, 17, 2025, Jan 7, & 14, 2026 from 6:00-7:45 pm ET.
This program is offered live through Zoom webinar with the availability for students to interact through Q&A with the presenter.
For enrolled students, a video recording will be available after each class in the event you miss a class or would like to review the content.
It is possible to register and take the course at any time. You can catch up on any classes you miss with the recordings.
Requirements and Recommendations:
- No experience necessary. This program is open to beginners as well as advanced practitioners.
- Viewing Device: Desktop or laptop computer will provide the best experience, although you can also connect via a tablet or smartphone.
- Internet connection: High-speed broadband wired or wireless is best.
- Video: Download Zoom to your computer, or install the Zoom app to your device. For interactive group sessions, a webcam or integrated camera will allow others to feel more connected with you.
- Audio: Headphone speakers are recommended. If you wish to participate vocally, a headset with a microphone will be ideal.
Course Includes:
- 24 hours of on-demand video
- 12 live sessions of 2 hours of study from the Bhagavad Gita and guided practices. Each class includes teachings, practice time and dedicated time for questions and answers
- Feedback and personal guidance on student’s home practices
- Availability to ask questions about the studies and practices between classes
- Course Manual
Swami Brahmananda is a monk and senior teacher of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and is the current Manager of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in the Bahamas. Swami Brahmananda joined the Sivananda organization in 1999 and was initiated into Sannyasa (monasticism) in 2006.
A long-time practitioner of yoga, meditation and philosophical studies, he regularly teaches meditation and yoga philosophy for the Sivananda Yoga Teachers’ Training Courses as well as the Advanced Yoga Teachers’ Training Courses. He also teaches online courses on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Vedanta. Swami Brahmananda is a much-loved, inspiring, and knowledgeable teacher.