4 September 2015, Session 1/3: Summary of commentary by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita.
At the end of the 6th chapter Lord Krishna says, greater than the one who does tapas (spiritual practices) is the one who is a yogi. Even among the Yogis, the one who keeps me in his mind is the greatest. He says, "Arjuna, become a yogi."
Now, there is knowledge and special knowledge. After hearing so much you may have some doubts - to remove those doubts, I will tell you this knowledge.
In the seventh chapter, Lord Krishna says: sribhagavan uvaca |
mayy aasaktamanah partha yogam yunjan madasrayah |
asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu ||7-1||
jnanm te 'ham savijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah |
yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate ||7-2||
There are three levels of knowledge:
1. The knowledge that you attain from the five senses. We see through our eyes, we smell through the nose, we hear through our ears, and knowledge attained from skin through touch.
2. Higher than this is the knowledge that you attain from the intellect.
Now, you can see the Sun is setting and rising. But, from our intellect we know that the Sun neither rises nor sets. When you place a spoon inside a glass of water, the spoon appears to be bent. But through our intellect we know that the spoon has not bent. The knowledge attained from the intellect is higher than the knowledge attained from the senses.
3. Another type of knowledge is that which is beyond the intellect. We all have had a glimpse of this.
The intellect tells us something, but we know from deep inside that this will happen. This is not related to logic. This is also called gut feeling. This is beyond intellect and logic.
All these three levels of knowledge brings fulfilment in life. It keeps the mind calm, sharpens and calms the intellect, sprouts joy from within. Knowledge is required
Keeping you away from sorrow is a sign of knowledge.
Shri Krishna has said, 'na hi jnanena sadrsam pavitram iha vidyate.' There is nothing that purifies like knowledge.
But, there is something beyond all this. What is that?
That I am.
jnanm te 'ham savijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah
I leave not leave anything out. Because you are very dear to me, I will tell you everything. Often a teacher does not teach everything to the student? Why?
Depending on the capability of a student, depending on how much the student can learn, only that much a teacher teaches.
You might be a professor, but if you tell a secondary school child all the knowledge, the child will get deluded.
Here, Shri Krishna says, 'You have the capability, Arjuna. That is why I will share all the knowledge with you. I will not leave anything out.'
This knowledge is secret. However, I will reveal this secret to you. Why? Because you are very dear to me.
manusyanam sahasresu kas cid yatati siddhaye | yatatam api siddhanam kas cin mam vetti tattvatah ||7-3||
The mind races to know something more. What lies ahead? It flows towards that. As long as the mind is racing, it does not remain in the present moment.
When you say that there is nothing beyond this, then the mind becomes still.
There is a type of knowledge that you can attain when the mind is racing. that is knowledge of science.
The knowledge that you attain when your mind is still is spiritual knowledge.
After you have both types of knowledge, science and spirituality, nothing else remains to be known. I will share this knowledge with you now. So, Arjuna's consciousness becomes still.
Often, a teacher speaks but the students' attention is elsewhere.
A good teacher checks if he has the complete attention of the children. Whatever I am sharing is that going waste? Are the children grasping everything I say? This is important to note (for a teacher).
Krishna is a clever teacher, the best teacher. There never was and never will be a Guru like Krishna. And all those who are, are Krishna himself.
Later, Lord Krishna says that there is no difference between me and the one who is established in knowledge (gyaani). A gyaani is extremely dear to me. I am in them and they in me. Always.
A gyaani would note if each student's mind is with what they are saying. For example, a horse trainer knows how to manage and ride the horse.
The mind is like a running horse. When to make it run and when to make it stop that Shri Krishna knows.
At one time, Lord Krishna makes Arjuna's mind race by saying 'What will people think about you? Come on, be a Karma yogi.' And another time he makes Arjuna's mind settle down by saying, 'There is nothing more. Leave everything and become still. Whatever you need to know, I am giving you all that (knowledge) right here, right now.' In this manner, he is making the mind still. When the mind becomes still, the intellect is awakened.
Among thousands, millions, only a few walk on this path.
Everyone does not attain knowledge. Just like everyone get a PhD. Among millions, a few walk this path and even among those, very few will know my true nature. Very rare are the those who really come to know my true nature.
Now, am I among those rare people or not. Arjuna has to become still and think about this.
From centuries, there have been millions of seekers, among them a few move ahead, and rarely does some one know me completely.
bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca |
ahamkara itiyam me bhinna prakrtir astadha ||7-4||
apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param |
jivabhutam mahabaho yayedam dharyate jagat ||7-5||
Prakruti (nature) is eight-fold: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Mind, Intellect, and Ego.
The path from 'this' to 'I'.
What is 'this' - is science. Who am 'I' - is the knowledge of the spirit.
What is this? What is this body? What is this world? What is this mind, intellect? This is all Prakruti.
The whole world is made up of the five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether. This we know. But, then he says mind, intellect, and ego is also considered as part of Prakruti.
Why? Because mind, intellect, and ego is also of three types: sattva, rajas, and tamas guna.
There are four modes of the consciousness: mind, intellect, ego, and memory. He has considered mind, intellect, and ego. But, then he leaves memory (chitta).
Why? There is a secret here. When chitta (memory) is established in the Self, then you experience the supreme consciousness (chaitanya). When chitta (memory) is established with the gross, it becomes ego, intellect, and mind.
In yog nidra, we take the consciousness through each part of the body. Why do we take the consiousness through the different parts of the body? The body is gross and our aim is to attain the supreme. But we are doing the opposite: why are we taking our attention to the legs, shoulders?
The path is from ‘this’ to ‘I’. Here, when you focus on something, you become free from that. Then the realize dawns that I am not the body. I am the supreme consiousness. This eight-fold nature forms the 'Apara' Prakruti. Whatever is beyond this is called - ‘Para’ Prakriti.
Because of which everything is sustained, which holds everything that is my Para Prakruti. This whole world is made up of Para and Apara. Consciousness, which cannot be seen but holds all that which can be seen that I am. That is my Para Prakruti.
Scientists say that the Sun is spherical only because there is so much force around the Sun. Just like a bubble appears spherical in water because of the pressure of water. Similarly, all the planets are spherical because of the invisible energy around the planet which is many times more powerful than the Sun. Scientists are discovering this now. And Shri Krishna said the same thing thousands of years ago. That which sustains the entire Creation is my Para Prakruti. I am that.
Prakruti (the manifest nature) is also mine. I am its source. I am that. But, very few people know my Para Prakriti.
etadyonini bhutani sarvanity upadharaya |
aham krtsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha ||7-6||
That which you can see is Prakriti and that which is unseen is Shakti (Energy). There is nothing beyond this. Just like you cannot see electricity but you can see light (streaming from a bulb), fans moving.
Everything in this Creation is moving, why? Because of this Shakti. You cannot see it, but it is present. Just like you cannot see air, but it is present.
Know that which is visible (understand the knowledge that you attain through senses), believe the knowledge that is attained through intellect, and catch on to that which is beyond the intellect. This is the summary.
How will you catch on to that? I will tell you that.
You have to know something and believe some other things as you cannot know everything.
Arjuna, asks you were born just a few years ago and you said that you have given knowledge to Manu, who was born thousands of years ago. Shri Krishna says that every thing is rising in me and dissolving in me. See, dreams rise in us and dissolve within us. Similarly, this world is rising within you and will dissolve within you.
An ant was drowning and she started screaming, 'The world is drowning.'
Where is the world drowning? You are drowning. The ant said that I am my world.
The world drowned, but I do not drown. This knowledge is attained from beyond the intellect, which today is called Quantum Mechanics.
Wave function in Quantum Mechanics states that the whole world is made up of vibrations. I am that vibration. I am the vibrationless vibration. To understand this is knowledge.
To understand that I am vibration, you have to be vibrationless. When the restless of the mind stops, you become peaceful, then in that peaceful the realization dawns that I am vibration. I have always been a vibration, when have I ever been still. When the restlessness outside subsides, then the realization dawns that I am vibration.
This is what Krishna says, one who sees action in inaction and inaction in action is intelligent.
There is a lot of action happening around, in that action realize the peaceful and steady non-dual consciousnees. The one who realizes this is intelligent.
When you sit in meditation and your mind is still, from that silence recognize that everything is happening here. The realization dawns that I am the source of all that activity in the world.
Otherwise, we become one-sided. You meditate and become calm and peaceful, but if there is some disturbance outside, you get disturbed. Why? There is lack of knowledge.
Vibration is Apara Prakruti. Vibrationless is Para Prakruti. This is one perspective.
The second perspective is: vibration is Para Prakruti and Apara Prakruti is vibrationless. There are the two perspectives. One perspective is when you see outside from within the house and the other perspective is when you see outside from within the house. Krishna shows many perspectives. Students can only one dimension. However, the Guru can see many dimensions because life has many dimensions. Life does not have only one dimension. A Guru has to teach from different angles. This is the job of a Guru. Shri Krishna shows the truth from different angles.
Many people have can teach from just a single angle. But, Shri Krishna's speciality is bringing together many viewpoints.
That is why there are so many contradictions in the Gita.
Shri Krishna says that I am the origin of all that is there and the place where it all dissolves.
I was neither born nor can I be destroyed. I am the container in which everything is happening.
Children ask, Dad, what is there beyond the sky?
There is nothing beyond. It is just space.
Just know that everything is happening in me. Good, bad, truth, false is all happening in me. Yet, I am beyond all this. I am untouched, unstained by all this.
mattah parataram nanyat kim cid asti dhanamjaya |
mayi sarvam idam protam sutre manigana iva ||7-7||
You can see the pearls, but you cannot see the thread. Similarly, you can see the Creation, but you cannot see the Creator. What you can see is Aapara Prakruti. Para Prakruti is that which you cannot see.
In those days, may be people could not understand Quantum Mechanics. The easy way to explain was through the example of a garland. In between two pearls, you can see a bit of thread.
Between two objects, there is the space element.
Similarly, between two thoughts, two states, you can observe the strength of consciousness. When you are just about to sleep, you can catch the Para Prakruti. The state between waking and dreaming states, you get a glimpse of Turya, the fourth state of consciousness. Just like you can see a bit of thread between two pearls, you can see your Self (the strength of consiousness) between objects, persons, and situtations.
In the waking state also, it is there. But the mind cannot experience it as long as it is stuck in the limited.
Just like all the pearls are contained in a string. All this is contained in me.
raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi sasisuryayoh |
pranavah sarvavedesu sabdah khe paurusam nrsu ||7-8||
He describes in more detail. I am the sweetness in sugar, the fluidity in water, the saltiness in salt, the light in the Sun and the Moon.
Wherever you see any quality, that quality is me. Matter and energy. For example, Sugar is the matter and it is sweet, that you can say is the energy. If you take sweetness out from the sugar, it will not be called sugar. The world of name and form is made up of matter and energy. The combination of matter and energy is such that one cannot exist without the other. They are two sides of the same coin.
This pearl that you see in the string. The pearlness of the pearl is me. Now, is anything that is left? He also says that I am thread.
Our mind goes towards the best and Shri Krishna says that is only me.
Would you call Sun as Sun if it did not have the light of the Sun? Whatever energy you see, I am that.
Similarly, without Omkar knowledge of Vedas would not exist.
Shri Krishna says the essence of all Vedas and the seed of all Vedas is Omkar.
The four Vedas are merely an extension of Omkar.
OM is not just a word. It is existence. And I am that existence.
Don't think of Om as a word. Om means every thing.
When you say OM, then everything is included in that.
Veda is the seed of this entire Creation, the existence.
There was one OM, then from there came the four vedas. Then the Creation arose from the four vedas. The vedas are the formula, and from that came the Creation. And I am that Om.
The quality of space is sound. I am that Sound.
punyo gandhah prthivyam ca tejas casmi vibhavasau |
jivanam sarvabhutesu tapas casmi tapasvisu ||7-9||
The five elements have five qualities.
Earth -> Smell
Air -> Touch
Space -> Word (Sound)
Fire -> Light
Water -> Taste
The quality of Earth is smell. And I am that.
The light in fire, I am.
The life force in all the living beings, I am.
The energy of penance in a Tapasvi (one who does penance), I am. That energy is given by Krishna.
Wherever the mind can get attracted, Krishna stands there and pulls Arjuna back towards him.
Where can your mind get attracted?
Your mind can attracted to beautiful sights, smell, to someone who is very beautiful, to someone who is very intelligent.
The mind that runs outside, that mind Krishna turns it towards Himself by saying that all this is me only. This is a unique art. So, the scattered mind comes together.
If you are attracted to a person who is intelligent, know that person is intelligent because of me. My shadow has fallen on him, so he appears intelligent. I am that intelligence. It does not belong to that person.
In this manner to make the mind of the student one-pointed, which is necessary to bring out the talents in the student.
bijam mam sarvabhutanam viddhi partha sanatanam |
buddhir buddhimatam asmi tejas tejasvina m aham ||7-10||
balam balavatam caham kamaragavivarjitam |
dharmaviruddho bhutesu kÀmo 'smi bharatarÍabha ||7-11||
From time immemorial, all the living beings have been existing. There is no calculation about when it started.
Every species has been there since time immemorial.
Even if one species becomes extinct, it brings a big change in the world.
Every butterfly is important.
Fields went dry because bees died.
In USA, the got containers of bees to help the crops grow.
Even Earthworms becomes extinct, many plants will also disappear.
Everything has its place. And its seed has been there since time immemorial.
If you see how honey bees are, you will be shocked. Their behavior is a pattern and it has been going on since time immemorial. NO one has taught them to behave like this.
A snail makes a shell and how it moves. Every thing follows a law since time immemorial.
Birds make their nests. Who is the architect? Who provides the material?
All of them build their nests the same way.
The way you have houses in Chandigarh.
You have numbered sectors there.
Every bird has its own style of making nests.
There is a seed in the bird due to which they make the nests in a certain way, feed their young ones. That pattern with which their life is moving, I am.
Shri Krishna shows himself here. Here, he gives Vishwa Roopa Darshan.
If Arjuna, has understood everything in the second chapter, Bhagavad Gita would have ended there.
If you see brightness on someone's face or intelligence in someone, you should remember me only.
Naxals, terrorists, Duryodhana have strength. Am I that? No.
There are two types of strength: natural and the one that you get by taking steroids.
In sports if someone dopes, they are not allowed to participate.
I am not the strength that comes from doping.
Craving and aversion also causes strength, but that is not natural strength.
Animals experience neither show craving nor aversion.
Animals follow the pattern of nature. They do not go against their nature.
I am desire. The desire in the mind is me. But the desire which is not against Dharma.
That which takes you towards destruction is adharma.
We say, if God desires, I will go to satsang.
But if someone wants to abuse someone, they do not say, God willing, I will abuse them.
I am not such desires.
Desires to hurt someone can also come up. This distortion is prevalent abroad.
The way we have matrimony column here in India, abroad they have ads for grooms who will hit me with chain.
It is not hard to find such people. What is the need to give an Ad?
These are distorted desires.
People enjoy this. Remaining in pain and giving pain to others. Such a desire, I am not.
Don't say this desire also belongs to God. Someone is disturbing someone else, don't say that is also Krishna.
I am desire which is not against Dharma.
This is enough for today?
Let's meditate for 10 minutes.
After the meditation...
Whatever you have heard, you have to think on that.
When we think about Krishna we think about him standing with a flute.
All that is there in the Universe, all the qualities I am.
This is knowledge and special knowledge.
If some question arises in you naturally, you can write it down and send it.
5 September 2015, Session 2/3: Summary of commentary by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita.
Everybody’s life is Gita. But, we stop at the first chapter, Vishad Yoga (the chapter of sorrow). Arjuna was in doubt when Lord Krishna started sharing the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita. Life is a struggle because of ignorance and when knowledge dawns life becomes a celebration.
Arjuna thought he was very learned, but when Guru comes in life then the first thing that happens is that there is awakening. He warns you. He says, “What are you crying for? You talk a lot, but look at your face. There is no strength, no radiance. Where are you stuck? Wake up!” If Arjuna had woken up in the second chapter, there would have been no reason for the rest of the Gita.
But, Arjuna was a slow learner. And that was good.
Like Janaka, if Arjuna had said, 'Yes Krishna, I remember. You have awakened me! I am the soul. I am eternal and indestructible. I don't want anyhting. I will fight. What you are, I am and I am what you are. You have reminded me!"
Arjuna says at the end of 18th chapter, “Now, I remember. I will do what you tell me”. If he had said this in the second chapter, there would have been no necessity for the remaining chapters of Bhagavad Gita.
But, Arjuna was not such an intelligent student. Why? Arjuna learnt slowly so that the world could benefit for generations to come. This world contains limitless varieties and the people are also of different types. So each type of person should get something to learn. Wherever they are presently, then should be able to progress from there.
It was designed like this by Shri Krishna.
Then, after describing Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action), Dhayan Yoga (Yoga of Meditation), and Gyan YOga (Yoga of knowledge), he now comes to Gyan-Vignan Yoga. He says very rare are those who know my true self. So many people study science and give exams, but not everyone gets a PhD.
This field is also like that. There are very few who know my Apara Prakruti (the eight-fold nature). Those who strive to know are rare and those who attain this realization are even more rare. Among thousands, only one attempts to walk on this path.
Who am I?
Shri Krishna explains beautifully. I have two types of Prakriti (nature): I am Para and Apara. Like, there is body and consciousness. You can see the body, but cannot see the consiousness. There are signs to indicate that there is consciousness in the body. Similarly, the Apara Prakruti can be seen, which is made up of fire, earth, water, air, mind, intellect, ego. But you cannot see that which is holding the entire Creation together. You cannot see the Para Prakruti. This is also mine. I am this also. This was also shared by Shri Krishna.
Then, wherever the mind of the student goes, Shri Krishna appears there. He says, "I am the goodness in the good, the strength in the strong. If you see beauty somewhere, even by mistake don't think that the beauty belongs to that person. The beauty is there because of me. Whenever you see beauty, strength it should remind you about me then you are on the right track. If you see beauty in flowers, the beauty does not belong to the flowers. That beauty in the flowers is mine. I am that. I am beauty. I am strength. I am penance. I am the light. I am fragrance.
Moving from the knowledge that you get from senses to the knowledge that you get from the intellect, and then the knowledge that is beyond the intellect. This is what Shri Krishna is talking about (the knowledge that is beyond the intellect.) This is science. You can see something with your eyes. But your intellect tells you that it is not as you see; there is something beyond.
I am the light in the Sun and the Moon. I am the basis of the whole existence.
Then, he says that there are three gunas in Prakruti: Sattva, Tamas, and Rajas. In the whole world, there has been a debate on the presence of devil since centuries. If God is omnipresent, then where does the devil reside?
If Satan exists outside God, then that means that God is not present in Satan. If Satan and evil exist, then where can it exist? Either God will lose his omnipresence if you say that God is present everywhere except in Satan.
Who picks a fight with you? One who is as strong as you. Will an ant pick a fight with you?
Omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscience these three are the basic qualities of God which will vanish if you believe in the existence of Satan.
If God is present in every particle, then where will you keep Satan? There is no place to keep Satan.
They have said something beautiful here.
How is Satan? It appears to be but it is not. How? Just like a mirage. When you are driving on a tar road and you see some water on road. The water only appears to be but it is not there. It is a mirage. Similarly, Satan does not have any existence of its own but is just the absence of light. When there is light, darkness disappears. You can see shadows only when you are not facing the light.
Is there any existence for shadow? Just like the shadow, you see the shadow but shadow is not in existence. Similarly, the Satan does not exist.
This debate which was going on all over the world. This has been dealt with here in Vedanta and the knowledge of Gita. We say God is omnipresent and then there is Devil who is troublesome. Where to keep this Devil?
Krishna says, it appears so but it is not actually so. When you are not facing the light, you see evil because of your position. Just turn around and face the evil, then where do you see the evil. YOu cannot see a shadow when you face the light. Similarly this world is made up of three gunas: sattva, rajas, tamas.
Understand that the shadow is also because of me. If there is no Sun, then how will there be a shadow? If there is no light, then how will there be a shadow? It is not impossible. The shadow is also because of me. But the shadow does not have light, but the cause of the shadow is light. What is the cause of Shadow? Light. But shadow does not have light.
Similarly, Tamo guna has also come out of me, but I am not in it.
All the three gunas exist because of me, but I am not in it and they are not in me. Is there any shadow within the Sun? Is there a shadow within the candle?
No, but the shadow exists because of the candle. Similarly, these three gunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas) exist because of me but I am not in them. He has shared such beautiful knowledge.
These three qualities are divine qualities. You need sleep also. The three states of consciousness: waking, sleeping, and dreaming.
Sleeping state is Tamo Guna.
Dreaming state is a combination of Rajas and Tamas.
Waking state is Rajo Guna and Sattva Guna.
Yesterday, we discussed that the Sun appears spherical because of the pressure of the vast amount of energy all around the Sun. The energy of the unseen is thousand times more than the energy of the Sun. This is what today's scientists are saying which Shri Krishna had shared thousands of years ago: The Para Prakriti is much bigger than the Apara Prakriti, the eight-fold nature.
It cannot be seen but it holds everything and it is much bigger and powerful.
If you are carrying a hand bag, you have to be bigger than the hand bag to carry it. The one which holds everything has to be bigger than what is being held. So, my Para Prakruti is bigger than the eight-fold nature of mine: earth, fire, wind, water, space, mind, intellect, and ego.
Hey Arjuna, you hold on to that! And I am giving you the entire knowledge, because you are very dear to me. I will not anything out.
A good teacher always knows how much dose to give to a student. Just like a mother knows how much a child can digest and accordingly feeds the child. Similarly, a good teacher knows how much knowledge the student can digest and accordinly gives the knowledge.
There can be indigestion of knowledge also. People ask that there is a lot of knowledge in India even then why is it lagging behing. Because there is indigestion of knowledge.
Here everyone talks about Vedanta, everything is being run by God. People talk about deep knowledge of Vedanta, without even knowing about themselves.
Krishna takes you step by step. Even before Arjuna has completely placed his foot on one step, Shri Krishna takes him to the next step, "Come on, jump to the next step."
You have to make knowledge a part of life. Knowledge actually is in our nature. It starts opening up layer by layer by layet when you are in your nature.
Then you feel, Ah! It is like that!
tribhir gunamayair bhavair ebhih sarvam idam jagat |
mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam ||7-13||
There are three gunas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. The one who is deluded by the three gunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas) does not recognize me, who is beyond the gunas.
You are busy the whole day and then you sleep at night. In this daily routine, you no time to think about: what is life, who am I, what I want? The whole life passes without the thought that ‘I have come here for a few days and I will leave this place one day. I am not this’. This is called Moha.
What is Moha? Moha (delusion) means fog that covers the intellect, then you cannot see anything. When there is fog, you cannot see beyond 10 feet. We spend our entire life in the fog. This is called Moha.
mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam
This I, I, I for which we do everything, this 'I' is indestructible this thought has never arisen. Why? Because you are surrounded by the fog of Moha. The fog of Moha is made of the three gunas: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic.
There are 3 types of Maya (delusion)- Moh Maya, Maha Maya, and Yog Maya. Some people are involved in doing their work and others are involved in reading the scriptures or doing good work.
Either you are involved in:
1. Sattvic work. Doing good work. By doing such work they remain in bliss.
2. Rajasic work. Doing work that involves craving and aversions. By doing such work you become both happy and sad.
3. Tamasic work. Destructive work that harms you and others.
When a person is immersed in these three types of delusions, then they cannot realize that I am avyaya (imperishable).
daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya |
mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te ||7-14||
Here, Shri Krishna has established a psychological principle. He says, I am not in these three gunas. This is fog. But I am the source for this fog. Respect this fog.
Devi Haisha Gun Mayi
This is my Maya.
If you see a shadow, you can see that shadow only beacause of me. It is my shadow. How can you fight with it? How can you fight with your own shadow? You can keep fighting for centuries to come (if you want to).
He has granted respect to the shadow as well as the shadow is also his.
He says the fog appears because when you the Sun rises in the morning. He says that the three gunas are divine, and I am their source.
You can go beyond this fog only with my grace.
Facing the light, shadow disappears. And because of the light only the shadow has come.
If you talk to a nuclear scientist, they say that if something has to go on forever, it needs to have three forces. A professor showed us this with a nice little model of three balls. He said if you just spin this, it will keep going on and on for eternity. Three balls tied together with equi-distance, like a triangle, can go on forever. This also explains the model of the windmill. This model explains the entire creation. The world is stable because it has three forces and it will go on for ever.
I told that Shri Krishna said the same thing thousands of years ago. Three forces (satvic, rajasic, and tamasic) are going on and they are divine gunas. It is difficult to cross these forces. It is not impossible to cross. You can cross this only by my grace.
na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah |
mayayapahrtajnana asuram bhavam asritah ||7-15||
What is Asuri bhaav (nature)? Unconsiousness, narrow mindedness, tamo guni tendency is Asuri nature.
When the asuri nature overtakes someone, then there is no clarity in their life. They cannot see anything clearly. You might have experienced that in your home someone forms a negative idea and they do not listen to anybody. Everything appears to be wrong. The psychological term is Paranoia. If they see anyone, they feel that person that has come to hurt them. They can only see everyone as enemies, theives, wrong doers. Such people, who are under the influence of Asuri nature, whatever you tell such people, they will not listen. How many people have has this experience?
When people get into a negative mindset, then however well you try to explain, they do not understand. They do not listen at all.
A third person, who is not not in that situation, can see what is right and what is wrong. The person who is stuck in that situation can only see negativity.
Turn back and look at your own life, how many situations have arisen in your life where you thought something but it turned out to be something else? (Many people raise their hands.) This is ignorance. This is lack of knowledge. This is Asuri nature. The one gets stuck in Asuri nature does not listen to anyone else. They cannot think clearly. They do not remember me.
The one who is seeing the shadow, if they turn around and look at me, then the shadow disappears. Instead if the person sees the shadow and takes that as the truth, then they start fighting with it and they cannot see me.
Whom do we call ignorant, the ones who lack intelligence? The ones who do not wake up and see that life is destructible. The one who does not know that this life is made of Para and Apara Prakruti is ignorant. Just like the body has its own form, time, but the consiousness neither has time nor form. There is some such thing in me.
Often when people see a dead person, they say, "Oh! Poor guy. He died." They don't even remember that they are going die. They live with this idea that they am going to be here forever. This is true also in a way. Because there is no death for us. But it is not clear, it is not evident, it is not visible clearly that this is Para. This is different. (Indestructible consiousness is different from the physical body.) They do not see the difference between Para and Apara. The ignorant is one who does not worship me, who does not know his own vastness, magnanimity, and the truth of his existence. One who does not believe in Divine power is ignorant.
Today, we had a meeting with the Chartered Accountant. They said, 'You should make meditation compulsory.' I said, "No. You should not never make it compulsory. You should say meditation is exclusively only for intelligent people."
To become a devotee, you need some intelligence. An ignorant person can never become a devotee. You do not need to read a lot of scriptures, you just need to wake up. The one who is awakened has (devotional) love. Krishna is a unique combination of love and knowledge. There is both love and knowdledge. Both Radha and Arjun are there. And they part of Krishna only. Later, Krishna says I am Arjuna among the Pandavas. The thirst for knowlegde. Krishna has said several times that there is no difference between me and the wise man. A wise person sees me everywhere and in everything in me. I am never away from them. That is why the wise ones are the best.
How to recognise a ignorant person? The ignorant person is one who runs away from devotion, meditation, and knowledge. The ignorant person is in the fog of Asuri nature.
tesam jnani nityayukta ekabhaktir visisyate |
priyo hi jnanino 'tyartham aham sa ca mama priyah ||7-17||
There are four kinds of people who remember me.
1. Aarthi. People who are miserable. When all others doors close, when they see no hope, then they come running. They run to Gurus when lawyers give up, when doctors have given up.
2. Arthaarthi. Those who come to the Guru to seek something. They are not miserable but they seek fulfilment of some desire, such as a promotion, or a child's wedding, lottery. With this wish they come. Often people bring flowers and along with that there is a letter. There is a list in that. Sometimes, the list is long. Guruji, give me a suitable match. They have 20 to 25 criterias. I don't know if such a person exists, but they have such demands.
3. Jigyasu. People who are inquisitive. What is this? What is life? There must be something beyond this. What is truth? Who am I? This kind of inquisitive people also reach.
4. Gyaani. The wise ones; they know me. They remember (bhaj) me. ‘Bhaj’ means to share. It means to become one with the Divine. It is a process of advaita (non-dual) knowledge. First you become one, then you know that you are one. Only when you are two, you can talk about becoming one. And when the duality disappears, then knowledge dawns.
All the four are best. He is not saying that the one who is miserable (aarthi) is useless. He has recognized even sorrow as a means to progress in life. There is a purpose to misery. Misery brings depth and brings stillness. Happiness can make you greedy, it can make you weak, but misery makes you recognize strength.
The people who are miserable (aarthi) if they turn and look towards God then they can cross (the ocean of misery).
Kunti, the mother of Pandavas, asked Shri Krishna to grant her a wish at the end of war, "You give me misery." Krishna was surprised with her wish. Kunti said, "Whenver there was misery, you were with me. When you are with me, other things do not matter." This is a sign of a devotee.
Then he says, I like the wise ones a little more because they look at me with one-pointed devotion. They are devotees whose devotion is conditional; their devotion remains only as long as their wishes are fulfilled.
A miserable person, if their work is not done, there is a chance that they may go off the path. But the devotion of a wise one remains the same. He knows that happiness and sorrow will come and go, ups and downs are part of life, but God is my dear one. This feeling remains in all situations in the wise one. The wise one is dear to me. Although everyone is dear to me, I like the wise ones a little more.
If children don’t come to parents then where else will they go with their wishes? If we don’t go to God with our wishes can we go? Shri Krishna says, ask for whatever you want. You become aarthi, jigyasu. Which whichever reason you come towards me, you are the best. For example, many people start practicing yoga and meditation because of health issues. Doctor said that blood pressure is high, do pranayam. But they do not stop there. They proceed on the path. Many people who come on the path due to curiosity or some friend might have pushed them.
For whatever reason you have come on this path, you are the best. Why? Because you have already started walking on this path. Even those who are Artharthi (who have desires) they are also good as they have come onto this path. There are millions on this planet and only a few are curious. And very rare are the wise ones. I like the wise ones one-degree more as they are with me whether their work gets done or not. They remain in my devotion. They love me and I love them. It is rare to see unconditional love.
People start fighting with their parents because of property matters. I heard that 60 to 70% cases in the courts are related to property. Children declare in the court that my mother is menatlly unwell. Then, where is this unconditional love?
Krishna says that only the wise one's devotion is unwavering. The wise ones know that everything is happening under the influence of the three gunas. When Tamo guna is prevalent, you cannot think clearly. When Rajas is ruling, there are ups and downs in life. When Sattva guna is ruling, everything becomes clear, feels light, there is hope in life.
Gurus would tell the students who would graduate: move ahead in life with hope, firmness, and strength because a weak person does not attain the Self. Gain strength along with being centered. There are many people who have strength but they are not centered. At the drop of a hat, they get angry. This is lack of firmness. How are the wise one? They move with hope, strength, and firmness.
This is the specialty of the wise. Their devotion does not waver whether their work happens or not.
People take their desires with hope from one God to another. They do have the firm belief that wherever I am, my Lord will take care of me. If He fulfils my wish, it is good. If He does not fulfil my wish that is also good. If I am not get something that I desire, then it is for my own good.
There was a person from a higher caste who could not get a job therefore he started his own small business. Now, he is employing thousands. So, in the end, not getting the job turned out to be good for so many people!
But, this is not without effort. We are not talking about lazy people. The devotion of a lazy person has no value. Put in all your effort, and then offer it to God. Often what you are not able to attain with effort, you can attain it through prayer.
That is why there is importance of 'bhaj'. They are all virtuous; they have all done good deeds; they have put effort. I am with them.
udarah sarva evaite jnani tv atmaiva me matam |
asthitah sa hi yuktatma mam evanuttamam gatim ||7-18||
bahunam janmanam ante jnavan mam prapadyate |
vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah ||7-19||
These are all good people. They are all generous. It is good if there is distraction. Amidst distractions, if the mind stays on one point. The Gyani has this speciality that he is me and I am in him. He expresses me fully. My opinion is that the wise has my own nature. There is no difference between me and him.
At the end of many births, the wise ones attain me. The one who thinks that everything is Vasudev is very rare.
There are people who appear to be wise for some time when they sit on the teacher’s seat and they talk a lot, but the knowledge has not seeped into their life. Such people are not bad, but they are still learning. If you pour water into a vesel which is not properly baked, then neither the water nor the vessel with remain.
There are so many stories of fraud saints these days. I say, learn from everyone. Some teach you what to do. Some teach you what not to do. Both are teachers for you.
Understand that you have to become a wise person who has integrated knowledge in life not a wise person who just talks about knowledge. Take this Sankalpa and move on. Why are you bothered about the fraudsters? The one who is doing wrong deeds will suffer the consequences of their action.
They say that people are playing with the devotion of others. It is good in one way, so that their devotion moves from there and goes in the right direction.
Shri Krishna says here everything is Vasudev. The thief and the police. The miserable person and the one who is causing the misery, they all have the same consciousness. If you see from the point of view of the director, the villain and hero are the same. When you move your focus to the director, then all roles appear correct. Moving your attention from the characters to the director is reaching a higher level. Reaching a higher level and then watching from there, moving the attention away from the charecter and the story and focusing the attention on the director.
Very rare are the ones who congratulate the directors. 50 years ago when we were kids, we used to hear that if the hero is getting beaten up by the villain then the audience would tear the screen in the theater. There was chaos. O Foolish Person! Wake up and see the one who has made this movie so well is the Director. When the attention moves to the Director, they you realize that everything is just a play of the Director. The ones who can see this are very rare.
When can you see this? After many life times, after getting beaten up several times, and then at the end of many lives they shine like gold and recognize me.
If you have questions, bring them tomorrow. We will discuss questions.
6 September 2015, Session 3/3: Summary of commentary by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita.
The one who knows I am everything, such rare souls are difficult to find. After saying this, Shri Krishna says:
kamais tais tair hrtajnanah prapadyante 'nyadevatah |
tam tam niyamam asthaya prakrtya niyatah svaya ||7-20||
When a desire takes over the mind, you can’t think of anything else.
Consider a small thought that gets stuck in the mind, then the whole night you think the same thought.
Observe that whenever somebody insults you, then your consciousness dies because that one word disturbs your consciousness.
The mind is in such turbulence if you have a loss and your work does not get done. The mind is in such turbulence when the desire is not fulfilled.
To fulfill your desires, you go to astrologers. You are not satisfied with what one astrologer says, so you go to another astrologer. There is no bigger fuel in the world, other than desire.
Behind every job there is a lot of effort involved. If there is no desire, then you would not put any effort. Strong desires cloud the consciousness.
How do so many fraudsters arise? Because of people’s desires.
A person who wants to fulfill his desires in some way or the other is fooled. He goes all out to fulfill them. Getting rid of desires is also a desire. Wanting to attain liberation is also a desire.
Then, Krishna says, a person who worships even a stone with faith, he will get something. Kabir says if you can attain God by worshiping a stone, then I will worship a mountain!
The surrender behind the worship causes the results to arise. People have such a small mind, they cannot recognize me. They get results based on their faith. They get the results because of me. They are not bad people, just small-minded.
yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah sraddhayarcitum icchati |
tasya tasyacalam sraddham tam eva vidadhamy aham ||7-21||
There is one God but there are different forms. The one God expresses himself in different forms. Krishna says that I am the one who gives the faith. I am the one who gives the result.
Often people say, I have so much faith on you as if you are doing God a big favor! Don’t get into the doer-ship of having faith. Often people fight with God! You are given faith. People have such pride of their faith and then they start indulging in self-pity. You had faith because of your desires.
Sri Krishna says that the faith and fulfillment of desires comes from me. Wherever there is attraction, Shri Krishna stands there to make the student one-pointed.
sa taya sraddhaya yuktas tasya radhanam ihate |
labhate ca tatah kaman mayaiva vihitan hi tan ||7-22|
There is one Sun but there are 7 colors in it. When one ray of Sunlight passes through a prism it gives rise to 7 colors which have their own use. Devas are similar to this.
We utilize different colors for different work. We make different dishes (with different purposes) from the same flour. For example, samosa is made for snacks, parantha (flattened bread) is made for lunch, noodles for kids.
Similarly, God loves diversity. God alone has created the all devi and devtas. He has created them and given them different duties. Krishna says they all have faith in me and I make all the things work.
Aakaashaat Pateetam Toyam Yatha Gacchati Saagaram
The way water drops from the sky as rain, then flows into rivers, and the rivers run towards the ocean. Similarly, if you worship any God, that worship reaches me. This is a law.
At the beginning of war, Krishna tells Arjuna remember Lord Shiva and take a certain weapon from him. The reason is that for different desires you have to worship different Gods and accordingly fulfill their desires.
When one desire gets fulfilled, another one starts. The second one gets fulfilled and when you are just about to experience contentment, the third desire starts.
There is no end to the cycle of desires. How long will you go on? You will not get liberation. You will have to rise above the desires. How to do that? You have to come to me!
antavat tu phalam tesam tad bhavaty alpamedhasam |
devan devayajo yanti madbhakta yanti mam api ||7-23||
Kabir says if I can attain God by worshipping a stone, then I will worship a mountain! One who worships a stone while seeing godliness in even a stone, he will be able to see godliness in everything.
There was a saint in south India named Kannappa. He was a tribesman and a bird hunter. He never used to worship or perform pooja. Once he saw a shiv linga and he thought that the eye on the Shiv linga was bleeding.
He takes out his own eye and places it where the eye was bleeding. He says, 'O Lord! You are seeing everything since time immemorial. Your eye is more important than my eye.' Then the other eye starts bleeding. He does not hesitate to take out his second eye. But he wonders, how he will place his second eye on the linga when he will not be able to see. Kannappa places his foot on the eye so that it will help him place his second eye on the idol. It is said that Shiva appeared at that time in front of him and knowledge dawned in Kannappa.
Where are the devtas? there is a saying that for humans, love is God. Wherever there is love, there is God. For the wise ones, knowledge is God, Wherever they see divine qualities.
One who is in knowledge sees God in his own Soul. One cell in the body expresses itself in many ways. It becomes eye, hair, tongue. The texture of the tongue is different and the structure of eye is different. There is one cell but it expresses itself in different ways.
If a doctor is treating your eye, he is treating you only. After all, the eye is a part of you. There are specialist doctors and general doctors. Similarly, each God has their own specialty. People take work from the God. Krishna says that I am the complete. The Devas are my own form, aspects of me alone. Even if you worship a stone, that worship reaches me only.
If you worship the Kailash mountain, the one who is residing in every particle of Kailash mountain, your worship goes to that one god only. People cannot see this.
When you worship one Devta, you take the names of all the other Devas as well.
Like when you are worshiping Ganesha, you chant Atharva Shirsham. In the chants you say: Tvam Bhramaa tvam Vishnu stvam Rudra stvam Indra stvam Agni stvam Vaayu.
"Ganesha you are Shiva, you are Devi, you are in front, behind, in air, in water. You are everything. You are the giver and the taker. You are formless and you are one. If you really understand that chant, you attain the ultimate knowledge.
You are looking at Ganesha and saying you were never born. From the form you are moving to the formless. See all the Gods in one.
The one who goes for any specialization will know or get only that much. For example, an eye specialist will be able to treat only your eyes they cannot treat your stomach.
Krishna says that I am the like the general physician and the specialist. I am both. I can set you right from head to toe!
avyakta mvyaktim apannam manyante mam abuddhayah |
param bhavam ajananto mamavyayam anuttamam ||7-24||
In a wedding, you sing praises of the person who is getting married. Everything is about him. If you read Devi Purana, everything is about Devi. In that Purana, Shiva and Krishna worship Devi. If you read Shiv Purana, Shiva is everything. This is something that can confuse people. A person can think: What is all this? It appears like this at one level, but it has a secret.
Swami ji used to say, “In a wedding, you sing praises of the person who is getting married.” manatha sri jagannatha madguru shree jagadguru
My Lord is the lord of the world. There is nothing beyond. My Guru is the world’s Guru. To become one pointed it is said. When you worship one God don’t think about the others. See all the other Gods in that. This is unity in diversity.
One is Quantum Physics and the other is Classical Chemistry.
In classical chemistry - Copper is not Gold, Gold is not Silver. If you go into Quantum Physics, it will tell you all this is just a wave function. Both are true. Guru Nanak and Shri Krishna have said the same thing.
Guru Nanank said - Ek Onkar satnam - That Omkar I am. That omkar is the three Gods. All the three energies are there in the Omkar. Kartikeya is called as Omkar. All the Gods are included in Omkar. To make a student one-pointedness, they say you don’t see here and there. All the messengers of God have said the same.
But some ignorant people have held on to this and turned to terrorism.
In Vedas also it is said, this is the only way to know. There are many ways but they say this is the only way. In the present, this is the only way. When your mind becomes centered, your memory gets established in the Self. Even though there are different paths, there is only one goal.
People who are worshipping different Gods, they stop there. One who worships me, attains me.
I am inexpressible. They do not see the energy behind my personality. They are not able to recognize my indestructible consciousness.
naham prakasah sarvasya yogamayasamavrtah |
mudho 'yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam ||7-25||
Before reaching me, there is a veil of yoga maya.
Maha maya is complete darkness. They cannot see beyond eating, sleeping, They have no love.
Then there is Moha Maya. You are awake but you have attachments, such as my kids, mine, me. They cannot see beyond this.
And they are troubled by this only the whole day and night.
To come over this, there is no need to leave the house to gain knowledge. It is very easy to go into an Ashram. It is difficult to stay at home and remain detached. The result is also more. In Ashram also there are cravings and aversions. People take their world with them wherever they go. Sometimes people ask why you keep such troublesome people with you? I say to save the world from them. There will be some impact on them (when they stay in the ashram).
Once a husband and wife left their kid in the ashram. He had changed five schools. No one wanted to take him in their school.
Now, I only have said, accept people as they are, now I cannot go back on my word! Sometimes I wonder why did I start The Art of Living.
Wherever this child would go he would fight with people in those departments. There was such rebelliousness in the boy.
This boy is now married has children. He is a businessman and employs 200 people. If we think we can correct somebody by telling them, it is wrong. People know what is wrong still they cannot leave it. Knowing something is right, people still do not do it. Then what is the point of convincing. Move with conviction. How much sincerity is there in you, others catch on to that.
The same is shared by Krishna, he says the ignorant people, they don’t know me.
Why? Because of Yoga Maya. When you walk on the path of yoga, you will get many powers (siddhis). Whatever you say, it started coming true. If someone gets caught in this, then he falls. The mind gets deluded. And because of all this they cannot see me. When you come under the influence of this, you cannot go beyond.
Some people love to teach and then their ego increases. They think that there is no one like me. They keep thinking mine,mine, mine. So, from Yoga maya, to Moha Maya, and then to Maha Maya. They start sliding down. The ignorant people do not know the indestructible consciousness that I am.
vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna |
bhavisyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kas cana ||7-26||
The dualities of life, craving and aversion deludes all the creatures.
When you are established in yourself, you get a glimpse of what is about to happen in the future. If you go in the depth, you will get glimpses of this also. When you go to different countries, nothing seems new.
Why can’t everybody know me? Just a small particle present in the eye prevents you from seeing the sky. A small desire will make you start forgetting the vastness of your consciousness.
One is craving the other is aversion. Lord Buddha used to say only if you get rid of aversion, you can meditate.
Because of cravings and aversions all the creatures are deluded and they are not able to see me.
Often people stand up and ask a question. But I have already answered their question while answering another question. They still ask that question. Why? Because they are holding on to their question. Whatever occupies the mind, it clouds the Self. It cannot destroy the Self as Self cannot be destroyed.
Until the merit rises within people, they cannot worship me. This happens naturally. Yesterday we said: hope, firmness, and strength. Curiosity to know. There is nothing that gives you firmness like knowledge does. Devotion provides strength.
jaramaranamoksaya mam asritya yatanti ye |
te brahma tad viduh krtsnam adhyatmam karma cakhilam ||7-29||
sadhibhutadhidaivam mam sadhiyajnam ca ye viduh |
prayanakale 'pi ca mam te vidur yuktacetasah ||7-30||
Here effort and surrender, both are present.
Desire makes you run. Shri Krishna was 90-years-old when he gave this knowledge. There is no old age for a Yogi. Old age means there is no enthusiasm, you are tired. I don’t want to do anything difficult. You want to do easy things.
Youth want to do challenging things. They want to cycle from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. I asked, why? There are planes and trains for to travel. We wonder why they want to take on difficult tasks. Youth is excited to take on difficult tasks.
If you are tired from the mind, intellect, and body then old age has already come.
One who is a devotee, their consciousness is always alive. There is belonging-ness with everyone. These are the signs. The one who wants freedom from old age and death.
When Shivaji Maharaj was losing all his battles, he goes to his Guru and says I will be your servant but I cannot take the responsibility of the kingdom, I cannot fight anymore. Saying this Shivaji Maharaj places his sword and his crown at the Guru's feet.
Guru accepts what the student says, and only then he puts his point across to his student. The Guru asks Shiva ji to fight for him (for his Guru). After Shiva ji Maharaj surrendered to the Guru he did not lose a single battle because he had given up the doer-ship. It is ego which defeats you. It defeats the brightest.
Krishna says - You surrender to me. You take my help and then put effort, then you will definitely attain the ultimate. There is no progress without the Guru.
All the karmas (Actions) are included in that.
One who is the cause for all life, all existence, the base of this whole existence, you can attain that easily. If you know me, you will learn my divine powers (qualities). At the end of life, they dissolve in me. I reside in their consciousness. The impression that has formed in your lifetime, that same impression appears during the last moments of your life.
It is said that the elephant’s footprint can contain the footprint of all the other animals. Shri Krishna is such a Guru that he is excellent. This impression of excellence if it forms in the consciousness, nothing else can erase it.
Just like a silkworm forms a cocoon and stays in it before it can become a butterfly and fly. Similarly, students have to come into the cocoon of a Guru before they can fly.
To know that you are beyond the five koshas, you have to come into the shell of knowledge. The Gurus of the previous generation would say there are so many things that can tie you. You ask for the result of the seva you become sad. I volunteered but no one let me come in! You will get the result but it will take its own time. Like you plant a seed and after 2 hours you come back and to check if a plant has not come out of it and you become sad. You have to have patience. Lord Krishna says that those who do good deeds they will never get bad results. The result may be delayed. If you get stuck with wanting results, then you will not remember me. So, do good deeds and then surrender it.
Be happy. Keep your mind happy. This is the summary of (this chapter) gyan-vigyan yoga. (Here comes the preface for the next chapter of Bhagavad Gita.) Know my true nature which also includes adiyagya, adidaiva, and adhyatma.
Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
