This issue came about when I wanted to add a directory to my path but I added it to the wrong file. With a Bash shell you often have two files in your home directory .bash_profile and .bashrc which is fine. Now the nice thing with CentOS is that .bash_profile calls .bashrc for you, by default. So, if you want to add something to your path that is available in every terminal session then update .bashrc and with CentOS everything is good.
This script is executed every time you start a Bash shell, whether via a new Terminal Session from GNOME, remotely or by typing bash to launch a new session.
This script is executed when you login to a desktop session or you start a new session remotely. However it executes just that once, unlike .bashrc which is more of an everytime script.