Transcript - Day 1
15 August 2015, 11 AM (IST): Summary of the commentaries on chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. This a 3-day event and today is the first day.
Sri Sri: Let's meditate for 20 minutes, and then we will start.
arjuna uvacha |
kim tad brahma kim adhyatmam kim karma purusottama |
adhibhutam ca kim proktam adhidaivam kim ucyate ||8-1||
adhiyajnah katham ko 'tra dehe' smin madhusudana |
prayanakale ca katham jneyo 'si niyatatmabhih ||8-2||
Sri Sri: In the 7th chapter, Lord Krishna said:
jnanam te 'ham savijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah |
yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate ||7-2||
I want to tell you all about what is knowledge and special knowledge.
After knowing this, there is nothing else to know.
idam vaksyamy asesatah: I am not going to hold anything back. I am going to explain everything, to you, because you are very dear to me.
A great teacher wants his student to ask him something. So they leave out a bit in the end to test whether the student was awake while listening and was able to accept it or if he was sleeping.
Krishna says this is called Brahma. This is called adhyatma (spirituality). He says, I am the supreme diety of the yagya. I am that which people want to know at their last moment. I am that into which people merge.
The moment he said this, curiosity arises in Arjuna and he wants to know more.
Arjuna asks, "What is Bramha? What is spirituality?"
We have heard all these words: bramha, adhyatma, devtas, purush, karma. What are these?
They say that there is one Bramha, and then they say there are many types of devtas (gods). Then they say things will materialize based on your karma. The world is there to delude you, but spiritual knowledge can also delude you.
Why? Because both have depth: world and spirituality.
Where worldly knowledge ends, that's where spirituality begins.
To ask a question related to spirituality and knowledge, we have to rise above petty worldly issues. As long as we are stuck in small things, such as my health is not fine, my daughter's marriage, my son's job, you not do not seek any spiritual knowledge. And as long as you do not develop an interest towards spirituality, towards life, towards the eternal, you will not be able to leave these worldly matters.
There are a few botherations that you cannot resolve without the presence of a Master and the thirst of the student.
The matter can proceed only when there is a capable Master and a thirsty student.
In front of a capable Master, a thirsty student asks: You have spoken about Bramh. What is Brahm? This is my curiosity. What is adibhoot, karma, adhyatma, devtas?
We say Shantih, Shatih, Shantih three times. Why? This is for peace at the physical, astral, and causal levels. There are three types of tapas or difficulties that come in a person's life.
Tapas is when you go through the troubles and issues, and come out shining. There are three types of tapas: adidaivic (astral), adhyatic (spiritual), and adibhautic (physical). Please explain what are these.
Among these three (adidaivic, adhyatic, adibhautic), which is adhiyagya? Who supervises over all this in the body?
You said that in the last moments of life, I should know. How can I know that?
In the battlefield, you think about the last moments.
Death will consume me, this fear rises.
When the perishability of life is evident, then this question arises spontaneously.
The end can come any time: today, tomorrow. It is not that only sick people die. Healthy people also die. Patients also die, doctors also die. We all die.
But we do not know when and where we will die.
Before dying, where should we establish ourselves? How to attain the eternal? How to know that we are immortal? I have heard that I am immortal and Krishna has also said "You are immortal."
This doubt is there in Arjuna still has a doubt about what will happen in the last moments.
If Arjuna did not have this doubt, Gita would have ended at chapter 6. It is good that Arjuna has this doubt.
There are diff erent kinds of people in this world and every person should get something, that is why the doubt remained. There is nothing that goes waste. If he has spoken more and has continued the conversation, it has only one purpose to provide some knowledge to people at all levels till the end of time.
But he takes him till the end. At the end of 18th Chapter, he says, "Sarva dharama parityajya," which means leave everything (all dharmas) and take refuge only in me. Only when you hold on to something, can you leave it. So Lord Krishna first says hold on to Dharma, and then he talks about dropping it later. What is Karma? This curiosity arises in Arjuna.
And then Lord Krishna says...
sribhagavan uvaca |
aksaram brahma paramam svabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyate |
bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitah ||8-3||
adhibhutam ksaro bhavah purusas cadhidaivatam |
adhiyajno 'ham evatra dehe dehabhrtam vara ||8-4||
antakale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram |
yah prayati sa madbhavam yati nasty atra samsayah ||8-5||
Sri Sri: What is Bramha? That which is the supreme, the ultimate. Beyond which there is nothing. That which cannot be destroyed. That which never ends. It is always there. Out of which everything has come and into which everything will go. That tattva (principle) is Bramha. What is Bramha, a student asks? The Rishis answer: 'Kum Kum Bramha.' Akash (space) is Bramha. And whenever you experience deep joy, that is Bramha. Satchitananda Bramha. Bramh is expressed in the form of joy. It is never be destroyed. Ok, Bramha is omnipresent.
What is spirituality?
It is your own nature.
Your nature is to move towards joy.
Ask anyone, whatever you are doing why are you doing?
They will say, it is to joy.
It is right to move in the direction of joy. Moving towards spirituality and Bramh is our nature.
That is everyone's nature. Sometimes people ask if someone is a seeker or not. I say, "There is a seeker in every person. Seeking is in our nature."
There is no one who does not spiritual knowledge. Knowledge is there in everybody. But it is lying dormant in some people. They have not become aware of their nature. The moment you come back to your nature, you realize that you have only one goal: which is towards Bramh, towards the eternal.
Just like the nature of a river is to flow towards the ocean, similarly our souls move towards the eternal. This nature is spirituality.
Many obstacles can arise on the path of spirituality.
Many stones can be present in the path of a river. However, a river crosses all the obstacles and brushes the stones and makes them smooth.
Lord Krishna has said earlier that even if you fulfil your dharma a bit, fear will be rooted out.
Spirituality frees you from fear. Fear means we are not in our nature. As soon as you are in your nature, there is no fear.
For example, when we start doing things that is not in your nature, then you are afraid.
If you have never cooked before and you are making rice for the first time, then you will check 20 times if the rice is getting cooked properly.
But those who know how to cook rice, they will not be afraid. They will keep rice on the gas and know that it will get cooked.
It is spontaneous to move towards your nature. That is why it is spontaneous to move towards spirituality.
People do all sorts of things in the name of spirituality. Leave all that aside. Being established in your nature is spirituality.
Many feelings rise in us. There are many creatures in the world and feelings arise in all of them. Feelings are also karma and so are the actions caused by the feelings.
For example, a feeling arises in you to create something. An architect feels like creating a building. That feeling is also karma. With that feeling, the work has started. This is subtle karma.
Then there is gross karma. Then bringing stones and placing them correctly is also karma.
Actions in the five bhootas (elements) is also karma. Feelings, which are beyond the five elements, are also karma.
Whatever creates an impression on the mind, creates karma.
You have often heard, do your actions without attachment. That means, do your actions (karma) but don't get stuck to it. None of us can stay without doing actions.
We all have to do actions, but carrying that action in the mind that is a different type of karma.
There are two types of karma: that which creates an impression on the mind and the action we do using the five bhootas (five elements: air, water, fire, earth, space).
Until you get a thought to create a house, how will the house get created?
So the thought that arises is karma and the action that follows is also karma.
We will have to keep doig actions.
Adhibhoot is that which is perishable, which is there today and not there tomorrow.
The vegetables that you buy from the market has a shelf-life.
All that is there in this world has a shelf-life. It will perish.
Adhibhoota is that which is within the boundaries of time and which will perish. This is Adhibhoota.
What are devtas or angels?
There is humidity in the air, which means there is water element in the air. You see water element in the form of snow and ice, in the form of clouds in the sky. When water rises up in the form of vapour to form clouds, you cannot see it.
Atmosphere cannot exist without water element. Atmosphere has a percentage of water, but when water condenses it can be seen in the form of clouds.
Similarly the consciousness is present everywhere. Special characteristics, form, and qualities of the consciousness are called devatas or angels.
Such special forces, which you may call devtas, angels, they are like Purush. And this principle is alive in everyone.
What is adhidaiva?
Bramh is also consciousness, but is omnipresent. In consciousness, that form which you can see is called Purusha. For example,
Ice is Prakruti (nature).
Water is Purusha.
Water-vapor is Bramh. Space is Bramh. Water is present in space. This is advaita.
Even though it is one, it appears in three different forms. For example, ice, water vapour, and water are three different things, but they are all the same element. Water cannot do the work of water vapour.
With the same electricity flowing through different systems, such as microphone, lights, you can hear sound and see light. How is that happening? Because the systems have some special characteristics. Whatever you can see based on that special charecteristic is called adidaiva, adibhautic, and adhyamic (spiritual).
So a delusion can arise. You said everything is one and there is nothing else. Then what is Purusha, Devta, adidaivic, karma. That is also true, and this is also true.
There is one electricity which flowing through different systems which gives light, air from fans, and sound from microphone. Each system has its own place.
So are the physical, spiritual, and causal.
The seer, the witness, the one who experiences in this body is me. The one who experiences all this is Adiyagya. Adiyagya means the one who connects everything, experiences, sees, and understands.
When all the three combine, that I The principle (tattva) that arises when all the three come together, that principle I am.
That is why Lord Krishna says, all Lords are there in me. In consciousnees, both Purusha and Prakruti are in me.
From this perspective, I alone join everything. This is all a play created by me.
I am the ball, the player, the play ground, umpire, and the spectator.
This is yagya. Yagya is honoring the divine force, sangatikaran (nature to take everybody along), and donation (daan). Only one who has can give.
The Self wants nothing, it has only come here only to give. If you know this you can be one with Krishna.
Krishna is a giver (datta), he does not take.
That yagya, I am.
When we are connected within, we are connected with everybody. We have created the world in our mind. So, if your mind is sweet, then the world is sweet. This is a saying.
You can play as much as you want. But in your last moment, remember me.
There is no doubt in this. When you will remember me, you will become one with me.
But the fact is whatever you have been doing all through your life, that is what you will remember at the end of your life.
Then after saying all this, he says remember me every moment. Krishna is clever. Wherever you go, Krishna will come and catch you, surround you. There is no one way. He works like that.
Know this that this whole world is perishable. The forces that run this world are adhidaiva. Adhidaivas are not somewhere in the sky. They are within you. They are in the Purusha tattva (principle). Purusha works in the form of different devis (godesses) and devtas (gods).
There is life force within you. The same life force has materialized as ears, eyes, tongue. A single cell in you has become eye somewhere, nail somewhere, and hair somewhere else. How did they become different?
The forces that bring this difference are the devtas. This is what is called adidaiva. There are troubles that you come across in life, which are adidaivic.
Adhyatmic (spiritual) is reposing in your nature. Adhiyagya is one who brings or joins all this together. I am that.
yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram | tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tadbhavabhavitah ||8-6||
tasmat sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca |
mayy arpitamanobuddhir mam evaisyasy asamsayah ||8-7||
Sri Sri: This is a great truth.
Whatever we think at the time of death, we become that.
You can try this out.
Catch the last thought before you go to sleep and see what is the first thought when you wake up. They are the same.
The impression with which a person dies, you attain the new body with the same impression.
That is why it is said that you came crying into this world, but when you leave go smiling.
The feelings with which we leave the body, we attain the same impressions in the next body.
You don't know when the last moment is, so remember me constantly.
Yudh (battle) is that in which you have given your 100%, when you have put yourself on the line.
Establish your feeling and intellect in me.
Some people think, but they are not able to connect by feeling.
Being connected by thought, means being a scientist.
Being connected by feeling, means being a artist.
It does not mean that you become an artist, but that feeling must arise.
Dry knowledge is of no use.
A combination of feeling and intellect is me. In meditation, there is intellect and feeling.
Adopt me at both levels.
When you do this, you will attain me.
You will awaken in the Self. It is not like I am sitting somewhere and you will catch me.
There will be no duality. You and I will be one. You will reach such a state.
abhyasayogayuktena cetasa nanyagamina | paramam purusam divyam yati parthanucintayan ||8-8||
kavim puranam anusasitaram; anor aniyamsam anusmared yah |
sarvasya dhataram acintyarupam; adityavarnam tamasah parastat ||8-9||
prayanakale manasacalena; bhaktya yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvor madhye pranam avesya samyak; sa tam param purusam upaiti divyam ||8-10||
Sri Sri: How will this happen?
By practice.
The nature of the mind is to run in all four directions.
But with practice of not letting the mind run anywhere, you will attain divinity.
Whether it is an athlete or scientist, when they start practicing and get established in the Self, they there is contentment. Divinity is contentment, happiness. For these divine qualities to appear in you, practice.
That which you want to attain is not dry.
It is not boring.
It is the very source of joy.
Remember the divinity and all the joys will come into your life.
This consciousness, an artist, who has created such a beautiful world, will be an epitome of beauty.
Purana means old in Hindi and in Sanskrit it means ultra-modern.
Mind runs towards that which is new. What is the latest fashion?
Heart runs towards to the old. You feel proud of your old friends.
Scientists are always running towards new discoveries. This is the nature of the mind.
Life is a combination of both.
Purush is both.
What is God? It is the principle by which you see and the seer is God. Not the scenery, the seer.
It is smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. It is the one who gives everything to everyone.
There are so many birds and who feeds them?
The mother bird fetches food for her children. Is there no love in the space?
Recently, I met bee experts and they shared how the bees do service to the queen bee.
Human beings need to move towards nature. We have moved away from nature and through practice we come back to it.
That which gives energy to all these things, you cannot describe. It is beyond understanding.
It is beyond darkness.
Aditi is a word, completely filled with all the divine and complete with light.
It is that. All the divine qualities are there in it. It is the source of all divine qualities.
It is beyond darkness, tamo guna. True light.
This is paramatma, the supreme soul.
Wherever you are, it is there. And what you are, it is in you.
It is not somewhere else.
Practice this.
Krishna says, if it is difficult for you, then remember me.
Remembering the Guru takes you to God.
The distinction will vanish: that God, Guru, and Self are not three different.
That is why he says put your intellect and feelings in me.
That is enough for today. We will continue tomorrow.
Transcript - Day 2
16 August 2015, 11 AM (IST): Day 2 of commentaries on chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. This talk is in Hindi language. Here is a summary of the key points. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar spoke about the Art of Dying.
prayanakale manasacalena; bhaktya yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvor madhye pranam avesya samyak; sa tam param purusam upaiti divyam ||8-10||
yad aksaram vedavido vadanti; visanti yad yatayo vitaragah | yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti; tat te padam samgrahena pravaksye ||8-11||
Sri Sri: How does death happen? When does it happen? There is a great description about this in this chapter. What can we do? A child can come into this planet in different ways: by natural birth or by cesarean birth. Caesarean births were called as Naabhi janya (born through navel). This has been known since olden days; it is not new. At the time of death, if you keep your attention between your eyebrows and assimilate your prana over there, and if the soul leaves through that door, then the soul attains a higher state. Often at the time of death, body wastes are excreted from the anus. If the prana (life force energy) leaves through the anus, the first chakra, they go to the lower realms. Those who leave with a lot of pain or desires, their life force leaves through the base of the spine. In our country, since olden days there is a process called Kapaal Kriya, in which they break the skull to let the prana out from the head. That is of no use.
They do this process after a person has died. While life is still in the body, when you practice taking the prana higher, then Bramharandra opens (the place in the crown of the head where the soul is said to escape at the time of death).
When Bramhmadrandra opens while a person is still alive, that life is liberated. A devotee and a yogi, his prana will not go from the base of the spine. It will go from the higher realms. The more you purify your energy channels in the body through the strength of yoga, the more you can attain higher realms. If the mind is stable, focused at one point, at the time when the prana is leaving the body, then the soul gets strength to attain the highest realm. And a devotee always has a firm mind. Where there is no devotion, there is greed. Wherever there is greed, there is no devotion. A devotee is ready to sacrifice. He does not have a mindset of I, I.
A devotee's mindset is to give. A mind which is always in the ‘I’ is unstable, and one who can say ‘I am there for you’ that mind is stable. See a mother’s mind which is focused on her children. It is stable because she always thinks about her children. A yogi or a devotee, in whose heart love has appeared or those who has progressed on the path of yoga, they become one with the vast Purusha by remembering the divine at the time of death. This is a process. They become one with the God. How to become one with God even after leaving the body? At the time of death, if the attention is between the eyebrows, their eyeballs go up. That indicates that the prana is going out from the higher channels. Everybody’s eyeballs does not go upwards. The one whom all the scriptures in the world describe, the one whom we call paramatma, the one to whom Brahmacharyas long to attain, the one from whom people leave all their worldly desires, I will explain that supreme state briefly.
sarvadvarani samyamya mano hrdi nirudhya ca |
murdhny adhayatmanah pranam asthito yogadharanam ||8-12||
om ity ekaksaram brahma vyaharan mam anusmaran |
yah prayati tyajan deham sa yati paramam gatim ||8-13||
Sri Sri: That is the process. Now, let’s meditate on this. Keeping all the doors of the body under control. How many doors are there in the body? The two lower doors through which the bodily waste goes out are: anus and genitals. Through the upper doors, such as mouth: food goes in and words come out. 2 nostrils : Breath moves in and out. Through the nose we smell as well. 2 ears: Sound only goes in. 2 eyes: We see the scenery and we also express our feelings. These are the nine doors. When all these doors are in our control, we can be happy. Then we can say that we are intelligent. When we cannot control, then there is instability in life, restlessness, sorrow, there is no progress on the path of yoga. Even if you cannot control them all the time, keep them under your control at the time of doing yoga. How should this be done? Keep your mind in your heart and prana at the top of your head. This is called yoga dharana. There are two dharanas. One Krishna has explained. Dharana means keeping your mind at one place as per Rishi Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Lord Krishna, shares two places. He says keep your mind in your heart. And then, he says keep your mind and prana at the top of head. Krishna does not explain things clearly, his nature is also to add doubts. Here he describes what is yoga dharana.
The Bramha, infinite consciousness, in which the world is, out of which the world has been created. Words cannot describe it. If there is any word that is close to it, it is the word ‘OM’. Chanting OM and remembering me. See, again, Krishna says here: chant om and remember me. Like this one who remembers Krishna while leaving the body, that person attains the highest. When Krishna says remember me, he does mean remember his form. He is asking us to remember his consciousness in the form of light, which is formless, flawless, without gunas. Remember, but without any effort. Where there is love, you do not need to put an effort to remember. Krishna has made it easy for Arjuna. Arjuna loves Krishna. So, when he remembers OM, he remembers only Krishna. It is easier for Arjuna to remember Krishna. When Krishna says remember the formless, how can you remember something that you have never seen? The person you have seen and conversed with, you can remember that person.
Now, we have to combine memory also with the mind. There are four: mind, intellect, memory, ego. How will you combine memory with the mind? Mind is memory, they are not different. In the end, Arjuna says yes, I remember. As soon as you remember, knowledge appears. Whatever you remember, that nature starts manifesting in you. In Patanjali Yoga Sutras, they say, ‘vitaraga vishayam va chitam.’ If you are not able to meditate, remember a yogi who meditates, who is free from craving and aversions, you will be able to meditate as soon as you think about them. This is another way to meditate. The same is said by Shri Krishna here. He says, chant Om and at the same time remember my infinite consciousness. The one who leaves the body like this attains the highest state.
ananyacetah satatam yo mam smarati nityasah |
tasyaham sulabhah partha nityayuktasya yoginah ||8-14||
mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam |
napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah ||8-15||
a brahmabhuvanal lokah punar avartino 'rjuna | mam upetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||8-16||
Sri Sri: ananyacetah satatam: One who remembers me, always. In whose consciousness nothing else is there, this is very easy for such as yogi. The yogi who is only attached to me it is very easy. For those who do not have interest in any other thing, except me, for such yogis this is a play. It is easy for them. For others, in whose mind a many different things are going on, it will take a lot of effort. The one who is focused and is very clear about what they want. I have seen everything and I have everything. There is no dearth of anything. When you feel lack of something in life, your mind runs towards that. Whatever you experience through the five senses, there is no end to it. If you move in that greed, there is no end to it. Whatever you get, you keep asking for more. Only when the mind is contented, it is focused. Only a contended mind can be in love. In this manner, the one who remembers the infinite consciousness, for such a yogi it is very easy to attain me. What will happen to such a yogi? This yogi will not have to return to a life of misery.
Such as yogi will not need to take a rebirth. We have to come back, be reborn, to fulfill our unfulfilled desires, to overcome our cravings and aversions. Then we also have to go through a lot of trouble. Nothing is easily attained. But the one who has attained, he will not have to take rebirth compulsorily. He can take rebirth if he wants to, but there is no compulsion. But he will not be a forced to take a rebirth. There are many worlds (lokas). This is not the only world. Scientists have recently discovered another planet like Earth recently, many light years away. The yogis knew this earlier. Bramha loka is one loka. There are many lokas from here to the Bramha loka, where rebirths happen. We die here, in this loka, and we are reborn in another loka. A person is there at five different places at the same time. You are sitting here. Your body is also there at other places. Nature is full of wonder and it is infinite. We keep coming back again and again. In all these lokas (worlds or realms), there is rebirth. But the one who becomes one with the light, he will not be forced to be born again.
sahasra yugaparyantam ahar yad brahmano viduh |
ratrim yuga-sahasrantam te 'horatravido janah ||8-17||
avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah prabhavanty aharagame |
ratryagame praliyante tatraivavyakta-samjnake ||8-18||
Sri Sri: Now, he talks about time. One chatur yuga (ages) consists of four yugas: Sat Yuga, Treyata Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, Kali yuga. Kali yuga contains more than 4 lakh years. The four yugas together stretch over millions of year. Similarly, 1000 chatur yugas = 1 day in Brahm. Similarly, many such thousands chatur yugas constitute one night. If someone goes to Jupiter, they will find that 12 years on planet Earth is one year on Jupiter. 30 years on this planet is equivalent 1 year on Saturn. That means, if we are 60 years-old, then on Saturn we are just two-years-old. You will have to light only two candles. Whatever we weigh on Earth, our weight on the moon will be 1/6th. For example, a person weighing 100 kg on Earth would weigh around 16 kg on moon. Similarly, Shri Krishna describes the time in Bramha loka, which we call the Universe, the infinite space and the lokas that are present in it. Scientists say that our brain is a frequency analyzer. Just like when you tune into a radio station and you receive only that channel. For example, if you tune into BBC, you will listen to BBC radio. If you tune into All India Radio, you will hear All India Radio. The station changes based on your tuning and you hear something else. Similarly, our brain is a frequency analyzer, wherever we tune our brain, we will know about that world. Scientists say that our brain is a frequency analyzer. Wherever your needle in the radio, your channel changes and you hear something else. Similarly, where we tune our brain, we will know about that world. This loka where we are in Bhu loka. Then are the lokas: Bhuvar, Swarga, Mahar, Janah, Tapah, Satyam.
Beyond this is the Bramh Loka. There is also Deva loka and Pitru Loka. There was a person alive and moving around, after death where does his soul go? The soul has not gone anywhere. It has left the body and gone to another loka. But the loka is not anywhere else. When the soul leaves the body, it is confined to a dimension and that dimension is called Pitru loka. That dimension is not somewhere else; it is right here. For example, you have tuned out of All India Radio and tuned into BBC. The frequency for both channels is present right here, only it has appeared now (based on your tuning). Similarly, the person who dies, his soul is right here but it appears in the other loka and it stops appearing in this loka. When we tune our mind, it is possible to establish a connection with other worlds (lokas). He describes the different worlds that are there. The Brahma loka is so vast that it is beyond our imagination. It is beyond the reach of the mind. One day there is millions of years on Earth. When it is day there, everything in this creation is manifested. When it is night there, everything dissolves.
bhutagramah sa evayam bhutva bhutva praliyate |
ratryagame 'vasah partha prabhavaty aharagame ||8-19||
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah |
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu nasyatsu na vinasyati ||8-20||
avyakto 'ksara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim |
yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama ||8-21||
Sri Sri: Even though day and night on Bramh (loka) has been described, and creation and dissolution has been described, there is a loka, in the form of light, which is inexpressible, indestructible, eternal. The one who attains that does not have to return. They attain the supreme. After attaining that, there is no requirement to be born again. That which cannot be expressed, which cannot be destroyed, cannot be seen with the eyes. That consciousness filled with light, that I am. The one who attains that state is not forced to take rebirth and return.
purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya |
yasyantahsthani bhutani yena sarvam idam tatam ||8-22||
yatra kale tv anavrttim avrttim caiva yoginah |
prayata yanti tam kalam vaksyami bharatarsabha ||8-23||
Sri Sri: Shri Krishna addresses Purush or Brahma in three ways: Purusha, Paramatma, Ishwar. Then, he says I am that Purusha, and then he says you are also that. Your nature is also that. That Purusha, which has been here throughout since eternity, you can attain that very easily through one-pointed devotion. You cannot achieve it through divided attention. The one in which all creatures exist and the one who exists within all the creatures, that is all there is. See that one in everybody and see everybody in that one. That Purusha principle, in which everything exists and that which exists within everyone, it is easily attained through one-pointed devotion. Now, I am going to tell you another secret. What are the actions that make us return? When should be leave the body to ensure that we do not return? I am going to tell you a secret about this. Shall we will stop it here, today?
agnir jyotir ahah suklah san masa uttarayanam |
tatra prayata gacchanti brahma brahmavido janah ||8-24||
dhumo ratris tatha krshnah san-masa daksinayanam |
tatra candramasam jyotir yogi prapya nivartate ||8-25||
sukla-krsne gati hy ete jagatah sasvate mate |
ekaya yaty anavrttim anyayavartate punah ||8-26||
Sri Sri: This is a great secret in these last three verses. There are two eternal paths in this world. Through one you go to Pitru loka (world of ancestors), through the other you go to the Deva loka (world of angels). Where are these lokas? They are in our nostrils: right and left. The swar (movement of breath) in the right nostril is Surya swar (Sun) and the movement of breath in left is Moon (chandra) swar. At the time of departure if the left nostril is active (Chandra naadi), the person travels a long distance and comes back for sure. At the time of departure if the right nostril is active (Surya naadi), he will not travel very far. Even if he does travel far, he will have to take breaks in between. For example, you will have to stop the car and get down. If you have to go to a shop nearby, your Surya naadi will be active. If you have to travel far, like from Bangalore to Delhi, your Chandra naadi will be active. Whether you believe it or not, this is how it is. When you go to the airport or temple, both nostrils (sushumna naadi) work for a short time. At any place where your soul is uplifted or your body is uplifted, sushumna naadi works. Like when you enter through the Ashram gates, if you check, you will observe that both your nostrils are working. Whether you pay attention to this or not, this happens. One who leaves on a long journey while the Surya naadi is active at the time of departure, he does not return. At least, not to the same place. These are the two paths which are eternal. Similarly, if Surya (Sun) naadi is active at the time of death, the prana flows from the Surya naadi through the point between the eyebrows, and then leaves from the Bramharandra, that soul never returns. That soul gets liberation. When the Surya naadi is active, there is awareness. When the Chandra naadi is active, there is cloudiness. Most people die with the Chandra naadi active. Rarely do people die while their Surya naadi is active. At the moment of death, very few people see light. Most people see darkness. There is no need to worry. There is a light like the moon which will provide you comfort. A consciousness, which is cool like the moon, will embrace you and take you forward. One is like the fire. You have become one with the fire. The other brings you the coolness of the moon. An American doctor has written a book, The Proof of Heaven. He has shared his near-death experience in that book which is similar to what is said in the Gita. He has never read the Gita. A beautiful and sweet presence came never him and guided him. Uttarayanam and Dakshinayan, this is subtle knowledge. Don’t think that someone who dies in January will attain liberation. And if someone dies in September, they will go to hell. This is misinterpreted. Uttarayan and Dakshinayan are within us. This is about the subtle world. It describes the subtle naadis and their effects at the time of death. When the surya naadi is active, there is fire element in the body, and the body is warm. When a few people die, their body is not cold even after death. And some other bodies become cold even when they are alive. You must have heard about Yogi Paramahansa ji, when he died, the body continued to remain warm for some days even after his death. When the prana leaves the body while the Surya naadi is active, the body continues to stay warm for a while and a light is seen. The one who leaves the body in this manner, is a yogi, and does not have to take rebirth immediately. The one who leaves when the Chandra naadi is active, goes to the Pitru Loka. They can return after a while. It is not that one path is better than the other. Both are good. One path leads to the Pitru Loka. When the soul leaves the body and goes to the Pitru Loka, a devta (angel) accompanies the soul. This devta is called Visve Deva. That is why, when shraadh (a ritual for the departed) is performed, the Visve Deva is invoked: “Visve deva, this is my address. Please bring these pitrus.” In the shraadh ritual, two people sit. One is the Visve deva and the other is the Pitru. There are three grades of pitrus: Vasu, Aditya and Rudra. Father is sitting at the post of Vasu. Grandfather is sitting at the post of Aditya. Grandfather’s father is sitting at the post of Rudra. It is the name of a place, post, position. These are the three grades. To bring the ancestors from Pitru Loka to this Loka, we invoke Vishwe Deva. This is the method. The souls reach the Pitru Loka and stay there along with their desires. When does the soul gets a suitable body? Wherever intercourse is happening, based on the matching karma, energy, and vibrations, the soul enters that womb, and then takes birth. The more you go deep in this knowledge, the more you will be wonderstruck. Those who go to Pitru loka, they return back to this loka. In naadis too, if you look at it deeply, there are five principles. Wherever there is spiritual knowledge, both naadis work. When both naadis are working, it is time to meditate. Let’s do naadi shodhan pranayam (alternate nostril breathing).
After the meditation... Sri Sri: How was it? Are there any questions? Q: What happens to the soul if a heart gets transplanted to another body? Is it right to donate? We have been debating over this question for a long time in Italy and Germany. Sri Sri: It is OK to donate.
Q: So, the soul is not affected? (Linked to the previous question.) Sri Sri: Not at all by any means. The body is like a garment for the soul. When you switch off the TV and donate the TV box, it does not affect the frequency. You can plug in another TV, the same channels will appear in that also. The connection between the soul and body is like the connection between the signal and the TV. So, it is absolutely fine to donate the different parts of the body. Many people think fear that if they donate their eyes, they will be born blind in the next life. People start spreading these rumors. It is not so. We have also heard Rishi ‘Dadichi’ gave his back bone to make a weapon and so he donated his back bone. In the mythology, the dramatize everything but there is substance when you look deep into it. There is a big misconception about Uttarayan and Dakshinayan. In olden days, ‘Uttaranayan’ meant the place where there was light and warmth. People could do their work properly. They would have to sit in the cold. In North India, Uttarayan had a lot of importance at the time of Mahabharata. Nowadays, you can make a place warm or cold as per your wish. This Uttarayan and Dakshinayan (described here) is not about the outside. It is about the path of the prana. It is subtle science. In each swar (Surya swar, Chandra swar) all the five elements flow. For example, the Chandra swar is of five types. If it is cold, then the water element is predominant. If it is hot, the fire element is predominant. Like this, even here there is knowledge about the elements. As you progress on the path of meditation, you can understand these subtleties. There is a gyan (knowledge) naadi in the body. Only when the gyan naadi opens, you can speak knowledge and understand knowledge. Otherwise, it is not possible. There are several naadis (subtle energy channels) in the body. There is light within you. As each naadi opens, the mood changes. You feel light inside. There is a naadi of doubt (brmh naadi). When that naadi opens, the person is troubled by doubts about everything and there the mind is clouded. There is also a naadi of fear. We say naadhi shodhan, purifying the naadis. When you are with the wrong company, that affects your naadis. If you even shake hands with someone whose krodh (anger) naadi is open, you feel angry and get agitated. The science of naadi is very deep. There are 1,23,000 naadis in the body. All these things are shared here. He has also shared the Art of Dying, not just the Art of Living. How to die? If you feel that the prana is leaving, sit straight, meditate, take your attention between your eyebrows, and then chant OM. And that’s it. This is what he has shared. See, death when and how it comes. Yogis are said to be able to die at their own will, whenever they want to they can leave the body. And if you have progressed, you can decide the date when you want to leave the body. You can choose the date and time or you can say that I am going to leave this body at this date and time. There is no point in saying this, but you can know this. This whole chapter is about death and it teaches us about the Art of Dying. If you plan to come back, you can die like this. If you don’t plan to come back for a long time, die like this. There are about 1000 commentaries on Bhagavad Gita. I have not read a single one. This is a subtle matter. I don’t know if people understood these subtleties when they wrote the commentaries. Often people say Uttarayan, meaning those who die between Jan 15 and July 15, (they attain higher realms). Dakshinayam is from July 15 to January 15th and one should not die in that duration. They do not have the right understanding. This matter is not so gross. It is a very subtle matter. In this a hint has been given. He has given a hint and left it. Bhishma Pitamaha waited for Uttaranayan to die. His understanding was different from Lord Krishna’s. Many great souls have left their bodies in Dakshninayam also. Death is a phenomenon. If you observe this phenomenon, it will open your eyes to a new dimension. Death opens up a different dimension. Then you know about the immortality of life. Life is not temporary, it is eternal. Death shows you that.
Q: How is it possible to attain Moksha (Enlightenment) for the departed souls? In the Garuda Purana many ways are mentioned for this.
Sri Sri: Whatever is written in Garuda Purana is symbolic. Gau means knowledge. When you hold on to knowledge, you can cross the most difficult rivers. Gau daan is not just donating cows. It also means donating knowledge. At the time of death, you read Bhagavad Gita for 7 days. That is to make you realize that you are immortal. You are such a vibration, no one can do anything to you. In our place, it has been distorted a lot. There are a lot of rituals in our culture that we perform. The priests also don’t know what they are doing. The ones performing them also don’t know the meaning behind them. For example the Shraadh (honoring the ancestors) comes from Shraddha (faith). We don’t know what is there, but with honor we sit to know the unknown and then we get to know the unknown.
Q: What is the cause of Suicide?
Sri Sri: The cause for suicide is when the subtle body starts shrinking and becomes less than the physical body, then the thought comes on 'how I can end this body?'. If you do pranayama and expand the subtle body, then there is no problem. For example if you wear a shirt that is a size smaller than your body, you would be constantly uncomfortable and you would just want to get rid of it. People who are enthusiastic, their subtle body is larger than their physical body. People whose subtle body shrinks, they do not have any faith in the goodness of people and Gods. And even family members are not helping them. There is no company of any Guru. People have lost faith in the good qualities. So, all the good people should come forward and give assurance to such people. If we make yoga and sadhana compulsory and people learn this, then there will be no suicides. People do not know how to increase their prana. If someone takes the support of knowledge, they will not have to commit suicide.
Q: How do we experience adhiyagya? Sri Sri: ‘Adhiyagya’ is the one which joins the Guru, God, and Self. If it happens within you, that is Adhiyagya.
Q: How was the ‘Bhagirath’ able to bring back his ancestors? Sri Sri: Bhagirath did not bring back the ancestors. He gave them liberation. He also brought down Ganga on earth. Ganga does not mean just the river. It also means knowledge. He brought the knowledge to his ancestors, which they did not have access to earlier. Otherwise can liberation come by water? Q: My father has died and he died a terrible death. What can I do to get him liberation? Sri Sri: Whatever he has to do, he will do in his subtle body. If he feels, he wants to give some messages, he will. When you meditate, those vibrations reach him. When you meditate, your ancestors get the benefit of it.
Q: In my book it is written that no one gives happiness and sadness. It is your own self. Then why do we feel happy when we see you? Sri Sri: That is there in the school book and this is in the Ashram. Suppose someone dies in an accident, don’t worry. They have taken a sankalpa (intention) to finish the karma through a disease or accident. Ramana Maharishi died of cancer, though he was such a knowledgeable one. We feel it is a problem, that soul knows how to exit. When we go from a old house to a new house, you don’t take everything along. You leave some things behind, some things you burn. Some people finish their karma right there. I also know only a little; I don’t much. Don’t ask me too many things. I don’t have a habit of lying. (The audience laughs.) ---------Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya----
Transcript - Day 3
17 August 2015, 11 AM (IST): Welcome to the live webcast of commentaries on chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. This a 3-day event and today is the last day. This talk is in Hindi language. Here is a summary of the key points.
Sri Sri: We will go through the whole chapter.
arjuna uvaca |
kim tad brahma kim adhyatmam kim karma purusottama |
adhibhutam ca kim proktam adhidaivam kim ucyate ||8-1||
adhiyajnah katham ko 'tra dehe' smin madhusudana |
prayanakale ca katham jneyo 'si niyatatmabhih ||8-2||
sribhagavan uvaca |
aksaram brahma paramam svabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyate | bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitah ||8-3||
adhibhutam ksaro bhavah purusas cadhidaivatam |
adhiyajno 'ham evatra dehe dehabhrtam vara ||8-4||
antakale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram |
yah prayati sa madbhavam yati nasty atra samsayah ||8-5||
yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram |
tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tadbhavabhavitah ||8-6||
tasmat sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca |
mayy arpitamanobuddhir mam evaisyasy asamsayah ||8-7||
abhyasayogayuktena cetasa nanyagamina |
paramam purusam divyam yati parthanucintayan ||8-8||
kavim puranam anusasitaram; anor aniyamsam anusmared yah |
sarvasya dhataram acintyarupam; adityavarnam tamasah parastat ||8-9||
prayanakale manasacalena; bhaktya yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvor madhye pranam avesya samyak; sa tam param purusam upaiti divyam ||8-10||
yad aksaram vedavido vadanti; visanti yad yatayo vitaragah |
yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti; tat te padam samgrahena pravaksye ||8-11||
sarvadvarani samyamya mano hrdi nirudhya ca |
murdhny adhayatmanah pranam asthito yogadharanam ||8-12||
om ity ekaksaram brahma vyaharan mam anusmaran |
yah prayati tyajan deham sa yati paramam gatim ||8-13||
ananyacetah satatam yo mam smarati nityasah |
tasyaham sulabhah partha nityayuktasya yoginah ||8-14||
mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam |
napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah ||8-15||
a brahmabhuvanal lokah punar avartino 'rjuna |
mam upetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||8-16||
sahasra yugaparyantam ahar yad brahmano viduh |
ratrim yuga-sahasrantam te 'horatravido janah ||8-17||
avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah prabhavanty aharagame |
ratryagame praliyante tatraivavyakta-samjnake ||8-18||
bhutagramah sa evayam bhutva bhutva praliyate |
ratryagame 'vasah partha prabhavaty aharagame ||8-19||
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah |
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu nasyatsu na vinasyati ||8-20||
avyakto 'ksara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim |
yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama ||8-21||
purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya |
yasyantahsthani bhutani yena sarvam idam tatam ||8-22||
yatra kale tv anavrttim avrttim caiva yoginah |
prayata yanti tam kalam vaksyami bharatarsabha ||8-23||
agnir jyotir ahah suklah san masa uttarayanam |
tatra prayata gacchanti brahma brahmavido janah ||8-24||
dhumo ratris tatha krshnah san-masa daksinayanam |
tatra candramasam jyotir yogi prapya nivartate ||8-25||
sukla-krsne gati hy ete jagatah sasvate mate |
ekaya yaty anavrttim anyayavartate punah ||8-26||
naite srti partha janan yogi muhyati kascana |
tasmat sarvesu kalesu yogayukto bhavarjuna ||8-27||
vedesu yajnesu tapahsu caiva; danesu yat punya-phalam pradistam |
atyeti tat sarvam idam viditva; yoga param sthanam upaiti cadyam || 8-28||
Sri Sri: For how many right nostril is active? For how many left nostril is active?
There are two paths to move ahead. Understand both and keep the mind in equanimity. Remain a yogi always.
Through vedas, tapas, sacrifice you can get fruits. But more fruitful than all of these is being a yogi.
Meaning one who sinks into meditation, whatever prayana you read, the more fruitful is if you do meditation, if you become a yogi.
Such a yogi attains the highest state. All of these gives some results: tapas, yagya, donation.
But more fruitful is to become a yogi.
What are these two paths? Understand these, when Surya naadi is active, you should work. If Chandra naadi is active, if you try to read something nothing will go in.
When daughter-in-law enters the home for the first time, she keeps her right foot inside the home first. This is a tradition.
When she enters the house, she spills a pot full of rice. Why do we do it? They consider the daughter-in-law as the Goddess Laxmi (Goddess of Wealth) as she enters the house, she brings abundance. If she enters the house, she would not leave if she enters when the Surya swar is active. She will be stable in the house, she will not leave. This is the secret.
So, in the dimension of prana there are so many secrets. A small part of that Shri Krishna has revealed.
When you fight, Arjuna, you should not remain unaware of any knowledge. Fight with steadfastness. He has still kept the key.
Krishna first says, go to the Guru and only then you can get knowledge. By doing seva (service), get the knowledge.
He describes the nine doors in the body through which the prana (life force energy) can leave the body.
Prana can leave the body in un-awareness. Prana can leave body with awareness also.Some people burp and they make a noise and the prana leaves.Prana can leave through the ears too but you cannot see it.
A yogi’s prana leaves from the ‘Bramha-Randra’, top of the head.
In Kotla, Delhi, a saint used to live there. He was a soldier and he got shot once in Jammu and Kashmir.
He was unconscious for 7-days and when he woke up, all his Naadis had opened up. He then got up started the search for a Guru.
He was of a lower caste, so no one wanted to teach him. He said that he got knowledge because he got hit by a bullet. This does not happen to everyone!
He used to call me ‘Yogi Raja’ and give me a lot of respect. Everyday people would come to him and say, “Yogi Raja, see he has come again.”
One person whose wife has left him, he still followed her. He said, if he had followed God like he had followed his wife, he would have attained the divine.
So how you will attain this, no one can tell. Suddenly, you will feel that I am so happy now. Knowledge dawns like a bolt of lightning and sometimes it is like the sunrise, coming in slowly.
Whatever you do in life, maintain equanimity in life.
If fight is happening and Surya naadi is working, you know this, so keep the equanimity in mind.
If the love dawns within, you observe that Chandra naadi is working.
All this is happening in the subtle world and we experience a shadow of that in the gross world.Like when you are talking to someone and susushmna naadi works, you know that this person is lying. But this will take some time. You will have to observe some silence. That does not mean you should be silent from tomorrow at home! All these ‘siddhis’ you acquire spontaneously, you do not have to put effort.
He says, you also have naadis and everything. And then he explains each thing. For example an ENT specialist will look only at the Eyes, Nose Special knowledge and general knowledge, both are described here. You can get stuck in one of these and think this is all there is. So it is upto you, whether you look at the general knowledge or special knowledge.
There are many religions in the world. All religions are general knowledge, such as there is one God.
Shri Krishna also says that.
But, he also gives special knowledge.
A particular cell has a special characteristic which is why it became pancreas rather than spleen. From one cell, the whole body has arisen. There is distinction is there too. You will get this special knowledge in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism. Unity and diversity, both have been described.
See whether the right or the left nostril is active, observe what happens and what to do when one nostril is active. So, this is special knowledge. Even a cardiac specialist needs general knowledge. Like there is knowledge of life, there is knowledge of death. Further there is secrets of ‘raja rahasya’ or the Royal Secret.
If you have any questions, you can ask.
Q: My grandparents died 20 years ago, but I see them in my dreams every month or every 15 days. I used to like a boy Sri Sri: If you analyze dreams in the dreams that is better!Fears and desires come to you as dreams.
Second is what is about to happen that comes to you as a dream.Third is what you have experienced earlier appears as a dream.Fourth is not related to you, it’s related to the place you are at. But the vibrations of that place come to you as a dream.
If you go to Kashmir, you will see those faces. It is not related to you, but the place where you are.
Fifth - This is a mixture of all the above. Most of the dreams are of this type.
Q: If at the time of death, if we remember any fulfilled desire, would the years of ‘Sadhana’ go to waste?Sri Sri: No, your sadhana does not go waste. This question was also asked by Arjuna to Krishna. He had replied that - They will be born again in a good family of yogis and start again at wherever they left.
Q: How to activate gyan naadi?Sri Sri: Keep yourself healthy, it will happen automatically.
Q: Bhagavad Gita was shared in the Dwapar yuga, how is this knowledge relevant in Kali Yuga? Was he sure that the world is not going to change?
Sri Sri: You are asking question about the next chapter. I think you are stuck in the 2nd chapter- ‘Vishad Yog’ , where Arjuna was also like you. Whether the world improves or not, you improve. It is for your improvement that so much knowledge has been shared.
You think all this knowledge you have received, is it of no use? Even if you understand 10%, there is some progress. Whether you move at the pace of a tortoise or hare, you are progressing. Everyone will progress.
This knowledge is for everybody, for all countries, for all time.
You cannot bind knowledge in the boundaries of time.
Q: Why did Shri Krishna choose Arjuna? Why did he not choose Karna or Eklavya? Is God also partial?
Sri Sri: How do you know that Lord Krishna did not give knowledge to others? Krishna lived for 125 years and he gave the knowledge at the age of 90 years.
All the leelas that are described was before he was 14 years old. The last Gita which Shri Krishna gave was to Uddhav.
Arjuna asks later when the War got over, ‘there was too much noise, can you share that knowledge again now?’ Krishna says - ‘Even i cannot say that Gita now, as there was some energy and the knowledge appeared at that time for everybody.’
Arjuna was an instrument. Why should we make a distinction?
A scientist discovers something, that discovery is applicable to everyone in the world.
Q: In ancient times, sages like Savitri were able to bring back their dead husbands from the lord of death. How is it possible? Is it possible to do that now also?
Sri Sri: These days doctors do that! They revive dying people. There is a joke. Doctor is the brother of the Yamraj, Lord of death. Yamraj only takes life, but the doctor takes both life and money.There was no dearth of humour in the shlokas in the olden days.
Q: How should we remember Krishna? The form of him holding a flute and wearing yellow clothes?
Sri Sri: Not the form, but the formless. How long will Shri Krishna hold the flute! He will also get tired! Krishna means the soul, the Self, the principle.
Q: Normally people believe that what they have is due to karma? How do we gain things?
Sri Sri: Work with detachment or equanimity.
Q: A friend of mine died in a tragic accident and this has happened in their family to others too. Is it due to Karma or something else?
Sri Sri: It is due to karma.
Q: Are ghosts real?
Sri Sri: Those who die with too many unfulfilled desires.
Water vapor rises up and forms clouds. But some stay back and stuck to the Earth. That is fog. But how long does the fog stay?
Some souls become earth-bound, and then after sometime they attain liberation.
People who die in a certain constellation, they will be earth-bound for sometime. Maximum, six months. That is why when people die during that time, for six months, they close the door. The soul does not get transition easily. But it is not forever.
Very rare, it is for ghosts to be on trees. There are a few trees that attract ghosts. In those trees, ghosts reside.
But the ghosts are very weak. You are much stronger than them. If a knowledgeable person goes there, they get liberation.
You meditate, you have a Guru with you, you have reached much higher state than them. Know that there will be no effect of black magic and ghosts on you.
This superstition spreads a lot. Buri Nazar means bad vibration. If someone does not like you, if you come in front of them, what happens? You don’t feel good sensations in the body. This is called Buri Nazar.
If someone gives you a jealous gaze, you just do bhastrika.
Q: If last rites of some person have not been done properly, then what happens?
Sri Sri: Leave what has already happened in the past.
Now, whatever you want to do for the departed you can do now with faith. Krishna says, do yoga, do seva and if you can’t do any of these, he says just remember me!
Q: Why could the god not create a perfect individual? Why do we have to make so much effort to attain the god that created us?
Sri Sri: When the water from the Ocean rises up and becomes cloud, then it falls on the hill and gets back to the ocean. Now, if you ask me why does the water have to fall and then come back to the ocean?
Q: In my house, elders say you should do the Tarpanam along with Samacharan, only then it is fruitful. is that true?
Sri Sri: They do this only to invoke this feeling that I am Narayana. Narayana is within me. It is not necessary to place a tattoo of a conch or symbols of Narayana. Sam acharan means you behave with everyone as if you are God. Everyone belongs to me. Seva also means acting like him. He is giving you everything. He is not expecting anything from you. When you work like this, without any expectations that is seva.
Seva and Samacharan means the same.
Q: Those who go to Pitru loka, do they sleep peacefully or do they also experience happiness and sorrow?
Sri Sri: It depends on their karma. They sometimes stay restless also. One day in Pitru loka is 1 year in this loka.
Q: When I see snakes, dogs, I feel lucky to be born as a human. I have read that it is rare to get a human body. Do animals also have souls?
Sri Sri: Yes. Don’t they have souls? They also become men and women.
Q: Will we become animals after we die?
Sri Sri: It is not easy to go back (from human birth).It is not normal. But if someone dies thinking chicken, chicken, they may be born in a poultry farm!
Q: There are so many activities that go on - like sudarshan kriya, ‘Vishnu sahsatranam’ in temple and so on? What should i prioritize?
Sri Sri: Meditate. Do kriya and then rest. Sometimes, you listen to Vishnu Sahasranam. So Hum contains everything.
Q: Avataars take different births as per their will. Can I also become an avataar?
Sri Sri: There is a lot of vacancy. Yes, you can come as avataar in your next lifetime.
Q: We had shown the horoscope of my daughter to someone, and they have said that she will experience a lot of trouble in next 6 months. What should I do?
Sri Sri: Chant Om Namah Shivaya. The controlling vibration, stronger than the vibration of the planets in Om Namah Shivaya.
Q: What is the difference between Kaivalya and Moksha?
Sri Sri: Moksha means freedom. Kaivalya is a step ahead, where there is only joy.
Q: You shared the Art of Dying yesterday. What about our karmas? The next birth- does it depend on the way we die or karma?
Sri Sri: Both. Feelings also become Karma.
Q: What happens if someone dies in the month of Shravan?
Sri Sri: It will be okay. What will you do now? Those who had to go, they have gone.
15 August 2015, 11 AM (IST): Summary of the commentaries on chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. This a 3-day event and today is the first day.
Sri Sri: Let's meditate for 20 minutes, and then we will start.
arjuna uvacha |
kim tad brahma kim adhyatmam kim karma purusottama |
adhibhutam ca kim proktam adhidaivam kim ucyate ||8-1||
adhiyajnah katham ko 'tra dehe' smin madhusudana |
prayanakale ca katham jneyo 'si niyatatmabhih ||8-2||
Sri Sri: In the 7th chapter, Lord Krishna said:
jnanam te 'ham savijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah |
yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate ||7-2||
I want to tell you all about what is knowledge and special knowledge.
After knowing this, there is nothing else to know.
idam vaksyamy asesatah: I am not going to hold anything back. I am going to explain everything, to you, because you are very dear to me.
A great teacher wants his student to ask him something. So they leave out a bit in the end to test whether the student was awake while listening and was able to accept it or if he was sleeping.
Krishna says this is called Brahma. This is called adhyatma (spirituality). He says, I am the supreme diety of the yagya. I am that which people want to know at their last moment. I am that into which people merge.
The moment he said this, curiosity arises in Arjuna and he wants to know more.
Arjuna asks, "What is Bramha? What is spirituality?"
We have heard all these words: bramha, adhyatma, devtas, purush, karma. What are these?
They say that there is one Bramha, and then they say there are many types of devtas (gods). Then they say things will materialize based on your karma. The world is there to delude you, but spiritual knowledge can also delude you.
Why? Because both have depth: world and spirituality.
Where worldly knowledge ends, that's where spirituality begins.
To ask a question related to spirituality and knowledge, we have to rise above petty worldly issues. As long as we are stuck in small things, such as my health is not fine, my daughter's marriage, my son's job, you not do not seek any spiritual knowledge. And as long as you do not develop an interest towards spirituality, towards life, towards the eternal, you will not be able to leave these worldly matters.
There are a few botherations that you cannot resolve without the presence of a Master and the thirst of the student.
The matter can proceed only when there is a capable Master and a thirsty student.
In front of a capable Master, a thirsty student asks: You have spoken about Bramh. What is Brahm? This is my curiosity. What is adibhoot, karma, adhyatma, devtas?
We say Shantih, Shatih, Shantih three times. Why? This is for peace at the physical, astral, and causal levels. There are three types of tapas or difficulties that come in a person's life.
Tapas is when you go through the troubles and issues, and come out shining. There are three types of tapas: adidaivic (astral), adhyatic (spiritual), and adibhautic (physical). Please explain what are these.
Among these three (adidaivic, adhyatic, adibhautic), which is adhiyagya? Who supervises over all this in the body?
You said that in the last moments of life, I should know. How can I know that?
In the battlefield, you think about the last moments.
Death will consume me, this fear rises.
When the perishability of life is evident, then this question arises spontaneously.
The end can come any time: today, tomorrow. It is not that only sick people die. Healthy people also die. Patients also die, doctors also die. We all die.
But we do not know when and where we will die.
Before dying, where should we establish ourselves? How to attain the eternal? How to know that we are immortal? I have heard that I am immortal and Krishna has also said "You are immortal."
This doubt is there in Arjuna still has a doubt about what will happen in the last moments.
If Arjuna did not have this doubt, Gita would have ended at chapter 6. It is good that Arjuna has this doubt.
There are diff erent kinds of people in this world and every person should get something, that is why the doubt remained. There is nothing that goes waste. If he has spoken more and has continued the conversation, it has only one purpose to provide some knowledge to people at all levels till the end of time.
But he takes him till the end. At the end of 18th Chapter, he says, "Sarva dharama parityajya," which means leave everything (all dharmas) and take refuge only in me. Only when you hold on to something, can you leave it. So Lord Krishna first says hold on to Dharma, and then he talks about dropping it later. What is Karma? This curiosity arises in Arjuna.
And then Lord Krishna says...
sribhagavan uvaca |
aksaram brahma paramam svabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyate |
bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitah ||8-3||
adhibhutam ksaro bhavah purusas cadhidaivatam |
adhiyajno 'ham evatra dehe dehabhrtam vara ||8-4||
antakale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram |
yah prayati sa madbhavam yati nasty atra samsayah ||8-5||
Sri Sri: What is Bramha? That which is the supreme, the ultimate. Beyond which there is nothing. That which cannot be destroyed. That which never ends. It is always there. Out of which everything has come and into which everything will go. That tattva (principle) is Bramha. What is Bramha, a student asks? The Rishis answer: 'Kum Kum Bramha.' Akash (space) is Bramha. And whenever you experience deep joy, that is Bramha. Satchitananda Bramha. Bramh is expressed in the form of joy. It is never be destroyed. Ok, Bramha is omnipresent.
What is spirituality?
It is your own nature.
Your nature is to move towards joy.
Ask anyone, whatever you are doing why are you doing?
They will say, it is to joy.
It is right to move in the direction of joy. Moving towards spirituality and Bramh is our nature.
That is everyone's nature. Sometimes people ask if someone is a seeker or not. I say, "There is a seeker in every person. Seeking is in our nature."
There is no one who does not spiritual knowledge. Knowledge is there in everybody. But it is lying dormant in some people. They have not become aware of their nature. The moment you come back to your nature, you realize that you have only one goal: which is towards Bramh, towards the eternal.
Just like the nature of a river is to flow towards the ocean, similarly our souls move towards the eternal. This nature is spirituality.
Many obstacles can arise on the path of spirituality.
Many stones can be present in the path of a river. However, a river crosses all the obstacles and brushes the stones and makes them smooth.
Lord Krishna has said earlier that even if you fulfil your dharma a bit, fear will be rooted out.
Spirituality frees you from fear. Fear means we are not in our nature. As soon as you are in your nature, there is no fear.
For example, when we start doing things that is not in your nature, then you are afraid.
If you have never cooked before and you are making rice for the first time, then you will check 20 times if the rice is getting cooked properly.
But those who know how to cook rice, they will not be afraid. They will keep rice on the gas and know that it will get cooked.
It is spontaneous to move towards your nature. That is why it is spontaneous to move towards spirituality.
People do all sorts of things in the name of spirituality. Leave all that aside. Being established in your nature is spirituality.
Many feelings rise in us. There are many creatures in the world and feelings arise in all of them. Feelings are also karma and so are the actions caused by the feelings.
For example, a feeling arises in you to create something. An architect feels like creating a building. That feeling is also karma. With that feeling, the work has started. This is subtle karma.
Then there is gross karma. Then bringing stones and placing them correctly is also karma.
Actions in the five bhootas (elements) is also karma. Feelings, which are beyond the five elements, are also karma.
Whatever creates an impression on the mind, creates karma.
You have often heard, do your actions without attachment. That means, do your actions (karma) but don't get stuck to it. None of us can stay without doing actions.
We all have to do actions, but carrying that action in the mind that is a different type of karma.
There are two types of karma: that which creates an impression on the mind and the action we do using the five bhootas (five elements: air, water, fire, earth, space).
Until you get a thought to create a house, how will the house get created?
So the thought that arises is karma and the action that follows is also karma.
We will have to keep doig actions.
Adhibhoot is that which is perishable, which is there today and not there tomorrow.
The vegetables that you buy from the market has a shelf-life.
All that is there in this world has a shelf-life. It will perish.
Adhibhoota is that which is within the boundaries of time and which will perish. This is Adhibhoota.
What are devtas or angels?
There is humidity in the air, which means there is water element in the air. You see water element in the form of snow and ice, in the form of clouds in the sky. When water rises up in the form of vapour to form clouds, you cannot see it.
Atmosphere cannot exist without water element. Atmosphere has a percentage of water, but when water condenses it can be seen in the form of clouds.
Similarly the consciousness is present everywhere. Special characteristics, form, and qualities of the consciousness are called devatas or angels.
Such special forces, which you may call devtas, angels, they are like Purush. And this principle is alive in everyone.
What is adhidaiva?
Bramh is also consciousness, but is omnipresent. In consciousness, that form which you can see is called Purusha. For example,
Ice is Prakruti (nature).
Water is Purusha.
Water-vapor is Bramh. Space is Bramh. Water is present in space. This is advaita.
Even though it is one, it appears in three different forms. For example, ice, water vapour, and water are three different things, but they are all the same element. Water cannot do the work of water vapour.
With the same electricity flowing through different systems, such as microphone, lights, you can hear sound and see light. How is that happening? Because the systems have some special characteristics. Whatever you can see based on that special charecteristic is called adidaiva, adibhautic, and adhyamic (spiritual).
So a delusion can arise. You said everything is one and there is nothing else. Then what is Purusha, Devta, adidaivic, karma. That is also true, and this is also true.
There is one electricity which flowing through different systems which gives light, air from fans, and sound from microphone. Each system has its own place.
So are the physical, spiritual, and causal.
The seer, the witness, the one who experiences in this body is me. The one who experiences all this is Adiyagya. Adiyagya means the one who connects everything, experiences, sees, and understands.
When all the three combine, that I The principle (tattva) that arises when all the three come together, that principle I am.
That is why Lord Krishna says, all Lords are there in me. In consciousnees, both Purusha and Prakruti are in me.
From this perspective, I alone join everything. This is all a play created by me.
I am the ball, the player, the play ground, umpire, and the spectator.
This is yagya. Yagya is honoring the divine force, sangatikaran (nature to take everybody along), and donation (daan). Only one who has can give.
The Self wants nothing, it has only come here only to give. If you know this you can be one with Krishna.
Krishna is a giver (datta), he does not take.
That yagya, I am.
When we are connected within, we are connected with everybody. We have created the world in our mind. So, if your mind is sweet, then the world is sweet. This is a saying.
You can play as much as you want. But in your last moment, remember me.
There is no doubt in this. When you will remember me, you will become one with me.
But the fact is whatever you have been doing all through your life, that is what you will remember at the end of your life.
Then after saying all this, he says remember me every moment. Krishna is clever. Wherever you go, Krishna will come and catch you, surround you. There is no one way. He works like that.
Know this that this whole world is perishable. The forces that run this world are adhidaiva. Adhidaivas are not somewhere in the sky. They are within you. They are in the Purusha tattva (principle). Purusha works in the form of different devis (godesses) and devtas (gods).
There is life force within you. The same life force has materialized as ears, eyes, tongue. A single cell in you has become eye somewhere, nail somewhere, and hair somewhere else. How did they become different?
The forces that bring this difference are the devtas. This is what is called adidaiva. There are troubles that you come across in life, which are adidaivic.
Adhyatmic (spiritual) is reposing in your nature. Adhiyagya is one who brings or joins all this together. I am that.
yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram | tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tadbhavabhavitah ||8-6||
tasmat sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca |
mayy arpitamanobuddhir mam evaisyasy asamsayah ||8-7||
Sri Sri: This is a great truth.
Whatever we think at the time of death, we become that.
You can try this out.
Catch the last thought before you go to sleep and see what is the first thought when you wake up. They are the same.
The impression with which a person dies, you attain the new body with the same impression.
That is why it is said that you came crying into this world, but when you leave go smiling.
The feelings with which we leave the body, we attain the same impressions in the next body.
You don't know when the last moment is, so remember me constantly.
Yudh (battle) is that in which you have given your 100%, when you have put yourself on the line.
Establish your feeling and intellect in me.
Some people think, but they are not able to connect by feeling.
Being connected by thought, means being a scientist.
Being connected by feeling, means being a artist.
It does not mean that you become an artist, but that feeling must arise.
Dry knowledge is of no use.
A combination of feeling and intellect is me. In meditation, there is intellect and feeling.
Adopt me at both levels.
When you do this, you will attain me.
You will awaken in the Self. It is not like I am sitting somewhere and you will catch me.
There will be no duality. You and I will be one. You will reach such a state.
abhyasayogayuktena cetasa nanyagamina | paramam purusam divyam yati parthanucintayan ||8-8||
kavim puranam anusasitaram; anor aniyamsam anusmared yah |
sarvasya dhataram acintyarupam; adityavarnam tamasah parastat ||8-9||
prayanakale manasacalena; bhaktya yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvor madhye pranam avesya samyak; sa tam param purusam upaiti divyam ||8-10||
Sri Sri: How will this happen?
By practice.
The nature of the mind is to run in all four directions.
But with practice of not letting the mind run anywhere, you will attain divinity.
Whether it is an athlete or scientist, when they start practicing and get established in the Self, they there is contentment. Divinity is contentment, happiness. For these divine qualities to appear in you, practice.
That which you want to attain is not dry.
It is not boring.
It is the very source of joy.
Remember the divinity and all the joys will come into your life.
This consciousness, an artist, who has created such a beautiful world, will be an epitome of beauty.
Purana means old in Hindi and in Sanskrit it means ultra-modern.
Mind runs towards that which is new. What is the latest fashion?
Heart runs towards to the old. You feel proud of your old friends.
Scientists are always running towards new discoveries. This is the nature of the mind.
Life is a combination of both.
Purush is both.
What is God? It is the principle by which you see and the seer is God. Not the scenery, the seer.
It is smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. It is the one who gives everything to everyone.
There are so many birds and who feeds them?
The mother bird fetches food for her children. Is there no love in the space?
Recently, I met bee experts and they shared how the bees do service to the queen bee.
Human beings need to move towards nature. We have moved away from nature and through practice we come back to it.
That which gives energy to all these things, you cannot describe. It is beyond understanding.
It is beyond darkness.
Aditi is a word, completely filled with all the divine and complete with light.
It is that. All the divine qualities are there in it. It is the source of all divine qualities.
It is beyond darkness, tamo guna. True light.
This is paramatma, the supreme soul.
Wherever you are, it is there. And what you are, it is in you.
It is not somewhere else.
Practice this.
Krishna says, if it is difficult for you, then remember me.
Remembering the Guru takes you to God.
The distinction will vanish: that God, Guru, and Self are not three different.
That is why he says put your intellect and feelings in me.
That is enough for today. We will continue tomorrow.
Transcript - Day 2
16 August 2015, 11 AM (IST): Day 2 of commentaries on chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. This talk is in Hindi language. Here is a summary of the key points. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar spoke about the Art of Dying.
prayanakale manasacalena; bhaktya yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvor madhye pranam avesya samyak; sa tam param purusam upaiti divyam ||8-10||
yad aksaram vedavido vadanti; visanti yad yatayo vitaragah | yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti; tat te padam samgrahena pravaksye ||8-11||
Sri Sri: How does death happen? When does it happen? There is a great description about this in this chapter. What can we do? A child can come into this planet in different ways: by natural birth or by cesarean birth. Caesarean births were called as Naabhi janya (born through navel). This has been known since olden days; it is not new. At the time of death, if you keep your attention between your eyebrows and assimilate your prana over there, and if the soul leaves through that door, then the soul attains a higher state. Often at the time of death, body wastes are excreted from the anus. If the prana (life force energy) leaves through the anus, the first chakra, they go to the lower realms. Those who leave with a lot of pain or desires, their life force leaves through the base of the spine. In our country, since olden days there is a process called Kapaal Kriya, in which they break the skull to let the prana out from the head. That is of no use.
They do this process after a person has died. While life is still in the body, when you practice taking the prana higher, then Bramharandra opens (the place in the crown of the head where the soul is said to escape at the time of death).
When Bramhmadrandra opens while a person is still alive, that life is liberated. A devotee and a yogi, his prana will not go from the base of the spine. It will go from the higher realms. The more you purify your energy channels in the body through the strength of yoga, the more you can attain higher realms. If the mind is stable, focused at one point, at the time when the prana is leaving the body, then the soul gets strength to attain the highest realm. And a devotee always has a firm mind. Where there is no devotion, there is greed. Wherever there is greed, there is no devotion. A devotee is ready to sacrifice. He does not have a mindset of I, I.
A devotee's mindset is to give. A mind which is always in the ‘I’ is unstable, and one who can say ‘I am there for you’ that mind is stable. See a mother’s mind which is focused on her children. It is stable because she always thinks about her children. A yogi or a devotee, in whose heart love has appeared or those who has progressed on the path of yoga, they become one with the vast Purusha by remembering the divine at the time of death. This is a process. They become one with the God. How to become one with God even after leaving the body? At the time of death, if the attention is between the eyebrows, their eyeballs go up. That indicates that the prana is going out from the higher channels. Everybody’s eyeballs does not go upwards. The one whom all the scriptures in the world describe, the one whom we call paramatma, the one to whom Brahmacharyas long to attain, the one from whom people leave all their worldly desires, I will explain that supreme state briefly.
sarvadvarani samyamya mano hrdi nirudhya ca |
murdhny adhayatmanah pranam asthito yogadharanam ||8-12||
om ity ekaksaram brahma vyaharan mam anusmaran |
yah prayati tyajan deham sa yati paramam gatim ||8-13||
Sri Sri: That is the process. Now, let’s meditate on this. Keeping all the doors of the body under control. How many doors are there in the body? The two lower doors through which the bodily waste goes out are: anus and genitals. Through the upper doors, such as mouth: food goes in and words come out. 2 nostrils : Breath moves in and out. Through the nose we smell as well. 2 ears: Sound only goes in. 2 eyes: We see the scenery and we also express our feelings. These are the nine doors. When all these doors are in our control, we can be happy. Then we can say that we are intelligent. When we cannot control, then there is instability in life, restlessness, sorrow, there is no progress on the path of yoga. Even if you cannot control them all the time, keep them under your control at the time of doing yoga. How should this be done? Keep your mind in your heart and prana at the top of your head. This is called yoga dharana. There are two dharanas. One Krishna has explained. Dharana means keeping your mind at one place as per Rishi Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Lord Krishna, shares two places. He says keep your mind in your heart. And then, he says keep your mind and prana at the top of head. Krishna does not explain things clearly, his nature is also to add doubts. Here he describes what is yoga dharana.
The Bramha, infinite consciousness, in which the world is, out of which the world has been created. Words cannot describe it. If there is any word that is close to it, it is the word ‘OM’. Chanting OM and remembering me. See, again, Krishna says here: chant om and remember me. Like this one who remembers Krishna while leaving the body, that person attains the highest. When Krishna says remember me, he does mean remember his form. He is asking us to remember his consciousness in the form of light, which is formless, flawless, without gunas. Remember, but without any effort. Where there is love, you do not need to put an effort to remember. Krishna has made it easy for Arjuna. Arjuna loves Krishna. So, when he remembers OM, he remembers only Krishna. It is easier for Arjuna to remember Krishna. When Krishna says remember the formless, how can you remember something that you have never seen? The person you have seen and conversed with, you can remember that person.
Now, we have to combine memory also with the mind. There are four: mind, intellect, memory, ego. How will you combine memory with the mind? Mind is memory, they are not different. In the end, Arjuna says yes, I remember. As soon as you remember, knowledge appears. Whatever you remember, that nature starts manifesting in you. In Patanjali Yoga Sutras, they say, ‘vitaraga vishayam va chitam.’ If you are not able to meditate, remember a yogi who meditates, who is free from craving and aversions, you will be able to meditate as soon as you think about them. This is another way to meditate. The same is said by Shri Krishna here. He says, chant Om and at the same time remember my infinite consciousness. The one who leaves the body like this attains the highest state.
ananyacetah satatam yo mam smarati nityasah |
tasyaham sulabhah partha nityayuktasya yoginah ||8-14||
mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam |
napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah ||8-15||
a brahmabhuvanal lokah punar avartino 'rjuna | mam upetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||8-16||
Sri Sri: ananyacetah satatam: One who remembers me, always. In whose consciousness nothing else is there, this is very easy for such as yogi. The yogi who is only attached to me it is very easy. For those who do not have interest in any other thing, except me, for such yogis this is a play. It is easy for them. For others, in whose mind a many different things are going on, it will take a lot of effort. The one who is focused and is very clear about what they want. I have seen everything and I have everything. There is no dearth of anything. When you feel lack of something in life, your mind runs towards that. Whatever you experience through the five senses, there is no end to it. If you move in that greed, there is no end to it. Whatever you get, you keep asking for more. Only when the mind is contented, it is focused. Only a contended mind can be in love. In this manner, the one who remembers the infinite consciousness, for such a yogi it is very easy to attain me. What will happen to such a yogi? This yogi will not have to return to a life of misery.
Such as yogi will not need to take a rebirth. We have to come back, be reborn, to fulfill our unfulfilled desires, to overcome our cravings and aversions. Then we also have to go through a lot of trouble. Nothing is easily attained. But the one who has attained, he will not have to take rebirth compulsorily. He can take rebirth if he wants to, but there is no compulsion. But he will not be a forced to take a rebirth. There are many worlds (lokas). This is not the only world. Scientists have recently discovered another planet like Earth recently, many light years away. The yogis knew this earlier. Bramha loka is one loka. There are many lokas from here to the Bramha loka, where rebirths happen. We die here, in this loka, and we are reborn in another loka. A person is there at five different places at the same time. You are sitting here. Your body is also there at other places. Nature is full of wonder and it is infinite. We keep coming back again and again. In all these lokas (worlds or realms), there is rebirth. But the one who becomes one with the light, he will not be forced to be born again.
sahasra yugaparyantam ahar yad brahmano viduh |
ratrim yuga-sahasrantam te 'horatravido janah ||8-17||
avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah prabhavanty aharagame |
ratryagame praliyante tatraivavyakta-samjnake ||8-18||
Sri Sri: Now, he talks about time. One chatur yuga (ages) consists of four yugas: Sat Yuga, Treyata Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, Kali yuga. Kali yuga contains more than 4 lakh years. The four yugas together stretch over millions of year. Similarly, 1000 chatur yugas = 1 day in Brahm. Similarly, many such thousands chatur yugas constitute one night. If someone goes to Jupiter, they will find that 12 years on planet Earth is one year on Jupiter. 30 years on this planet is equivalent 1 year on Saturn. That means, if we are 60 years-old, then on Saturn we are just two-years-old. You will have to light only two candles. Whatever we weigh on Earth, our weight on the moon will be 1/6th. For example, a person weighing 100 kg on Earth would weigh around 16 kg on moon. Similarly, Shri Krishna describes the time in Bramha loka, which we call the Universe, the infinite space and the lokas that are present in it. Scientists say that our brain is a frequency analyzer. Just like when you tune into a radio station and you receive only that channel. For example, if you tune into BBC, you will listen to BBC radio. If you tune into All India Radio, you will hear All India Radio. The station changes based on your tuning and you hear something else. Similarly, our brain is a frequency analyzer, wherever we tune our brain, we will know about that world. Scientists say that our brain is a frequency analyzer. Wherever your needle in the radio, your channel changes and you hear something else. Similarly, where we tune our brain, we will know about that world. This loka where we are in Bhu loka. Then are the lokas: Bhuvar, Swarga, Mahar, Janah, Tapah, Satyam.
Beyond this is the Bramh Loka. There is also Deva loka and Pitru Loka. There was a person alive and moving around, after death where does his soul go? The soul has not gone anywhere. It has left the body and gone to another loka. But the loka is not anywhere else. When the soul leaves the body, it is confined to a dimension and that dimension is called Pitru loka. That dimension is not somewhere else; it is right here. For example, you have tuned out of All India Radio and tuned into BBC. The frequency for both channels is present right here, only it has appeared now (based on your tuning). Similarly, the person who dies, his soul is right here but it appears in the other loka and it stops appearing in this loka. When we tune our mind, it is possible to establish a connection with other worlds (lokas). He describes the different worlds that are there. The Brahma loka is so vast that it is beyond our imagination. It is beyond the reach of the mind. One day there is millions of years on Earth. When it is day there, everything in this creation is manifested. When it is night there, everything dissolves.
bhutagramah sa evayam bhutva bhutva praliyate |
ratryagame 'vasah partha prabhavaty aharagame ||8-19||
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah |
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu nasyatsu na vinasyati ||8-20||
avyakto 'ksara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim |
yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama ||8-21||
Sri Sri: Even though day and night on Bramh (loka) has been described, and creation and dissolution has been described, there is a loka, in the form of light, which is inexpressible, indestructible, eternal. The one who attains that does not have to return. They attain the supreme. After attaining that, there is no requirement to be born again. That which cannot be expressed, which cannot be destroyed, cannot be seen with the eyes. That consciousness filled with light, that I am. The one who attains that state is not forced to take rebirth and return.
purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya |
yasyantahsthani bhutani yena sarvam idam tatam ||8-22||
yatra kale tv anavrttim avrttim caiva yoginah |
prayata yanti tam kalam vaksyami bharatarsabha ||8-23||
Sri Sri: Shri Krishna addresses Purush or Brahma in three ways: Purusha, Paramatma, Ishwar. Then, he says I am that Purusha, and then he says you are also that. Your nature is also that. That Purusha, which has been here throughout since eternity, you can attain that very easily through one-pointed devotion. You cannot achieve it through divided attention. The one in which all creatures exist and the one who exists within all the creatures, that is all there is. See that one in everybody and see everybody in that one. That Purusha principle, in which everything exists and that which exists within everyone, it is easily attained through one-pointed devotion. Now, I am going to tell you another secret. What are the actions that make us return? When should be leave the body to ensure that we do not return? I am going to tell you a secret about this. Shall we will stop it here, today?
agnir jyotir ahah suklah san masa uttarayanam |
tatra prayata gacchanti brahma brahmavido janah ||8-24||
dhumo ratris tatha krshnah san-masa daksinayanam |
tatra candramasam jyotir yogi prapya nivartate ||8-25||
sukla-krsne gati hy ete jagatah sasvate mate |
ekaya yaty anavrttim anyayavartate punah ||8-26||
Sri Sri: This is a great secret in these last three verses. There are two eternal paths in this world. Through one you go to Pitru loka (world of ancestors), through the other you go to the Deva loka (world of angels). Where are these lokas? They are in our nostrils: right and left. The swar (movement of breath) in the right nostril is Surya swar (Sun) and the movement of breath in left is Moon (chandra) swar. At the time of departure if the left nostril is active (Chandra naadi), the person travels a long distance and comes back for sure. At the time of departure if the right nostril is active (Surya naadi), he will not travel very far. Even if he does travel far, he will have to take breaks in between. For example, you will have to stop the car and get down. If you have to go to a shop nearby, your Surya naadi will be active. If you have to travel far, like from Bangalore to Delhi, your Chandra naadi will be active. Whether you believe it or not, this is how it is. When you go to the airport or temple, both nostrils (sushumna naadi) work for a short time. At any place where your soul is uplifted or your body is uplifted, sushumna naadi works. Like when you enter through the Ashram gates, if you check, you will observe that both your nostrils are working. Whether you pay attention to this or not, this happens. One who leaves on a long journey while the Surya naadi is active at the time of departure, he does not return. At least, not to the same place. These are the two paths which are eternal. Similarly, if Surya (Sun) naadi is active at the time of death, the prana flows from the Surya naadi through the point between the eyebrows, and then leaves from the Bramharandra, that soul never returns. That soul gets liberation. When the Surya naadi is active, there is awareness. When the Chandra naadi is active, there is cloudiness. Most people die with the Chandra naadi active. Rarely do people die while their Surya naadi is active. At the moment of death, very few people see light. Most people see darkness. There is no need to worry. There is a light like the moon which will provide you comfort. A consciousness, which is cool like the moon, will embrace you and take you forward. One is like the fire. You have become one with the fire. The other brings you the coolness of the moon. An American doctor has written a book, The Proof of Heaven. He has shared his near-death experience in that book which is similar to what is said in the Gita. He has never read the Gita. A beautiful and sweet presence came never him and guided him. Uttarayanam and Dakshinayan, this is subtle knowledge. Don’t think that someone who dies in January will attain liberation. And if someone dies in September, they will go to hell. This is misinterpreted. Uttarayan and Dakshinayan are within us. This is about the subtle world. It describes the subtle naadis and their effects at the time of death. When the surya naadi is active, there is fire element in the body, and the body is warm. When a few people die, their body is not cold even after death. And some other bodies become cold even when they are alive. You must have heard about Yogi Paramahansa ji, when he died, the body continued to remain warm for some days even after his death. When the prana leaves the body while the Surya naadi is active, the body continues to stay warm for a while and a light is seen. The one who leaves the body in this manner, is a yogi, and does not have to take rebirth immediately. The one who leaves when the Chandra naadi is active, goes to the Pitru Loka. They can return after a while. It is not that one path is better than the other. Both are good. One path leads to the Pitru Loka. When the soul leaves the body and goes to the Pitru Loka, a devta (angel) accompanies the soul. This devta is called Visve Deva. That is why, when shraadh (a ritual for the departed) is performed, the Visve Deva is invoked: “Visve deva, this is my address. Please bring these pitrus.” In the shraadh ritual, two people sit. One is the Visve deva and the other is the Pitru. There are three grades of pitrus: Vasu, Aditya and Rudra. Father is sitting at the post of Vasu. Grandfather is sitting at the post of Aditya. Grandfather’s father is sitting at the post of Rudra. It is the name of a place, post, position. These are the three grades. To bring the ancestors from Pitru Loka to this Loka, we invoke Vishwe Deva. This is the method. The souls reach the Pitru Loka and stay there along with their desires. When does the soul gets a suitable body? Wherever intercourse is happening, based on the matching karma, energy, and vibrations, the soul enters that womb, and then takes birth. The more you go deep in this knowledge, the more you will be wonderstruck. Those who go to Pitru loka, they return back to this loka. In naadis too, if you look at it deeply, there are five principles. Wherever there is spiritual knowledge, both naadis work. When both naadis are working, it is time to meditate. Let’s do naadi shodhan pranayam (alternate nostril breathing).
After the meditation... Sri Sri: How was it? Are there any questions? Q: What happens to the soul if a heart gets transplanted to another body? Is it right to donate? We have been debating over this question for a long time in Italy and Germany. Sri Sri: It is OK to donate.
Q: So, the soul is not affected? (Linked to the previous question.) Sri Sri: Not at all by any means. The body is like a garment for the soul. When you switch off the TV and donate the TV box, it does not affect the frequency. You can plug in another TV, the same channels will appear in that also. The connection between the soul and body is like the connection between the signal and the TV. So, it is absolutely fine to donate the different parts of the body. Many people think fear that if they donate their eyes, they will be born blind in the next life. People start spreading these rumors. It is not so. We have also heard Rishi ‘Dadichi’ gave his back bone to make a weapon and so he donated his back bone. In the mythology, the dramatize everything but there is substance when you look deep into it. There is a big misconception about Uttarayan and Dakshinayan. In olden days, ‘Uttaranayan’ meant the place where there was light and warmth. People could do their work properly. They would have to sit in the cold. In North India, Uttarayan had a lot of importance at the time of Mahabharata. Nowadays, you can make a place warm or cold as per your wish. This Uttarayan and Dakshinayan (described here) is not about the outside. It is about the path of the prana. It is subtle science. In each swar (Surya swar, Chandra swar) all the five elements flow. For example, the Chandra swar is of five types. If it is cold, then the water element is predominant. If it is hot, the fire element is predominant. Like this, even here there is knowledge about the elements. As you progress on the path of meditation, you can understand these subtleties. There is a gyan (knowledge) naadi in the body. Only when the gyan naadi opens, you can speak knowledge and understand knowledge. Otherwise, it is not possible. There are several naadis (subtle energy channels) in the body. There is light within you. As each naadi opens, the mood changes. You feel light inside. There is a naadi of doubt (brmh naadi). When that naadi opens, the person is troubled by doubts about everything and there the mind is clouded. There is also a naadi of fear. We say naadhi shodhan, purifying the naadis. When you are with the wrong company, that affects your naadis. If you even shake hands with someone whose krodh (anger) naadi is open, you feel angry and get agitated. The science of naadi is very deep. There are 1,23,000 naadis in the body. All these things are shared here. He has also shared the Art of Dying, not just the Art of Living. How to die? If you feel that the prana is leaving, sit straight, meditate, take your attention between your eyebrows, and then chant OM. And that’s it. This is what he has shared. See, death when and how it comes. Yogis are said to be able to die at their own will, whenever they want to they can leave the body. And if you have progressed, you can decide the date when you want to leave the body. You can choose the date and time or you can say that I am going to leave this body at this date and time. There is no point in saying this, but you can know this. This whole chapter is about death and it teaches us about the Art of Dying. If you plan to come back, you can die like this. If you don’t plan to come back for a long time, die like this. There are about 1000 commentaries on Bhagavad Gita. I have not read a single one. This is a subtle matter. I don’t know if people understood these subtleties when they wrote the commentaries. Often people say Uttarayan, meaning those who die between Jan 15 and July 15, (they attain higher realms). Dakshinayam is from July 15 to January 15th and one should not die in that duration. They do not have the right understanding. This matter is not so gross. It is a very subtle matter. In this a hint has been given. He has given a hint and left it. Bhishma Pitamaha waited for Uttaranayan to die. His understanding was different from Lord Krishna’s. Many great souls have left their bodies in Dakshninayam also. Death is a phenomenon. If you observe this phenomenon, it will open your eyes to a new dimension. Death opens up a different dimension. Then you know about the immortality of life. Life is not temporary, it is eternal. Death shows you that.
Q: How is it possible to attain Moksha (Enlightenment) for the departed souls? In the Garuda Purana many ways are mentioned for this.
Sri Sri: Whatever is written in Garuda Purana is symbolic. Gau means knowledge. When you hold on to knowledge, you can cross the most difficult rivers. Gau daan is not just donating cows. It also means donating knowledge. At the time of death, you read Bhagavad Gita for 7 days. That is to make you realize that you are immortal. You are such a vibration, no one can do anything to you. In our place, it has been distorted a lot. There are a lot of rituals in our culture that we perform. The priests also don’t know what they are doing. The ones performing them also don’t know the meaning behind them. For example the Shraadh (honoring the ancestors) comes from Shraddha (faith). We don’t know what is there, but with honor we sit to know the unknown and then we get to know the unknown.
Q: What is the cause of Suicide?
Sri Sri: The cause for suicide is when the subtle body starts shrinking and becomes less than the physical body, then the thought comes on 'how I can end this body?'. If you do pranayama and expand the subtle body, then there is no problem. For example if you wear a shirt that is a size smaller than your body, you would be constantly uncomfortable and you would just want to get rid of it. People who are enthusiastic, their subtle body is larger than their physical body. People whose subtle body shrinks, they do not have any faith in the goodness of people and Gods. And even family members are not helping them. There is no company of any Guru. People have lost faith in the good qualities. So, all the good people should come forward and give assurance to such people. If we make yoga and sadhana compulsory and people learn this, then there will be no suicides. People do not know how to increase their prana. If someone takes the support of knowledge, they will not have to commit suicide.
Q: How do we experience adhiyagya? Sri Sri: ‘Adhiyagya’ is the one which joins the Guru, God, and Self. If it happens within you, that is Adhiyagya.
Q: How was the ‘Bhagirath’ able to bring back his ancestors? Sri Sri: Bhagirath did not bring back the ancestors. He gave them liberation. He also brought down Ganga on earth. Ganga does not mean just the river. It also means knowledge. He brought the knowledge to his ancestors, which they did not have access to earlier. Otherwise can liberation come by water? Q: My father has died and he died a terrible death. What can I do to get him liberation? Sri Sri: Whatever he has to do, he will do in his subtle body. If he feels, he wants to give some messages, he will. When you meditate, those vibrations reach him. When you meditate, your ancestors get the benefit of it.
Q: In my book it is written that no one gives happiness and sadness. It is your own self. Then why do we feel happy when we see you? Sri Sri: That is there in the school book and this is in the Ashram. Suppose someone dies in an accident, don’t worry. They have taken a sankalpa (intention) to finish the karma through a disease or accident. Ramana Maharishi died of cancer, though he was such a knowledgeable one. We feel it is a problem, that soul knows how to exit. When we go from a old house to a new house, you don’t take everything along. You leave some things behind, some things you burn. Some people finish their karma right there. I also know only a little; I don’t much. Don’t ask me too many things. I don’t have a habit of lying. (The audience laughs.) ---------Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya----
Transcript - Day 3
17 August 2015, 11 AM (IST): Welcome to the live webcast of commentaries on chapter 8 of Bhagavad Gita by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. This a 3-day event and today is the last day. This talk is in Hindi language. Here is a summary of the key points.
Sri Sri: We will go through the whole chapter.
arjuna uvaca |
kim tad brahma kim adhyatmam kim karma purusottama |
adhibhutam ca kim proktam adhidaivam kim ucyate ||8-1||
adhiyajnah katham ko 'tra dehe' smin madhusudana |
prayanakale ca katham jneyo 'si niyatatmabhih ||8-2||
sribhagavan uvaca |
aksaram brahma paramam svabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyate | bhutabhavodbhavakaro visargah karmasamjnitah ||8-3||
adhibhutam ksaro bhavah purusas cadhidaivatam |
adhiyajno 'ham evatra dehe dehabhrtam vara ||8-4||
antakale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram |
yah prayati sa madbhavam yati nasty atra samsayah ||8-5||
yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram |
tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tadbhavabhavitah ||8-6||
tasmat sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca |
mayy arpitamanobuddhir mam evaisyasy asamsayah ||8-7||
abhyasayogayuktena cetasa nanyagamina |
paramam purusam divyam yati parthanucintayan ||8-8||
kavim puranam anusasitaram; anor aniyamsam anusmared yah |
sarvasya dhataram acintyarupam; adityavarnam tamasah parastat ||8-9||
prayanakale manasacalena; bhaktya yukto yogabalena caiva |
bhruvor madhye pranam avesya samyak; sa tam param purusam upaiti divyam ||8-10||
yad aksaram vedavido vadanti; visanti yad yatayo vitaragah |
yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti; tat te padam samgrahena pravaksye ||8-11||
sarvadvarani samyamya mano hrdi nirudhya ca |
murdhny adhayatmanah pranam asthito yogadharanam ||8-12||
om ity ekaksaram brahma vyaharan mam anusmaran |
yah prayati tyajan deham sa yati paramam gatim ||8-13||
ananyacetah satatam yo mam smarati nityasah |
tasyaham sulabhah partha nityayuktasya yoginah ||8-14||
mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam |
napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah ||8-15||
a brahmabhuvanal lokah punar avartino 'rjuna |
mam upetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ||8-16||
sahasra yugaparyantam ahar yad brahmano viduh |
ratrim yuga-sahasrantam te 'horatravido janah ||8-17||
avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah prabhavanty aharagame |
ratryagame praliyante tatraivavyakta-samjnake ||8-18||
bhutagramah sa evayam bhutva bhutva praliyate |
ratryagame 'vasah partha prabhavaty aharagame ||8-19||
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah |
yah sa sarvesu bhutesu nasyatsu na vinasyati ||8-20||
avyakto 'ksara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim |
yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama ||8-21||
purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya |
yasyantahsthani bhutani yena sarvam idam tatam ||8-22||
yatra kale tv anavrttim avrttim caiva yoginah |
prayata yanti tam kalam vaksyami bharatarsabha ||8-23||
agnir jyotir ahah suklah san masa uttarayanam |
tatra prayata gacchanti brahma brahmavido janah ||8-24||
dhumo ratris tatha krshnah san-masa daksinayanam |
tatra candramasam jyotir yogi prapya nivartate ||8-25||
sukla-krsne gati hy ete jagatah sasvate mate |
ekaya yaty anavrttim anyayavartate punah ||8-26||
naite srti partha janan yogi muhyati kascana |
tasmat sarvesu kalesu yogayukto bhavarjuna ||8-27||
vedesu yajnesu tapahsu caiva; danesu yat punya-phalam pradistam |
atyeti tat sarvam idam viditva; yoga param sthanam upaiti cadyam || 8-28||
Sri Sri: For how many right nostril is active? For how many left nostril is active?
There are two paths to move ahead. Understand both and keep the mind in equanimity. Remain a yogi always.
Through vedas, tapas, sacrifice you can get fruits. But more fruitful than all of these is being a yogi.
Meaning one who sinks into meditation, whatever prayana you read, the more fruitful is if you do meditation, if you become a yogi.
Such a yogi attains the highest state. All of these gives some results: tapas, yagya, donation.
But more fruitful is to become a yogi.
What are these two paths? Understand these, when Surya naadi is active, you should work. If Chandra naadi is active, if you try to read something nothing will go in.
When daughter-in-law enters the home for the first time, she keeps her right foot inside the home first. This is a tradition.
When she enters the house, she spills a pot full of rice. Why do we do it? They consider the daughter-in-law as the Goddess Laxmi (Goddess of Wealth) as she enters the house, she brings abundance. If she enters the house, she would not leave if she enters when the Surya swar is active. She will be stable in the house, she will not leave. This is the secret.
So, in the dimension of prana there are so many secrets. A small part of that Shri Krishna has revealed.
When you fight, Arjuna, you should not remain unaware of any knowledge. Fight with steadfastness. He has still kept the key.
Krishna first says, go to the Guru and only then you can get knowledge. By doing seva (service), get the knowledge.
He describes the nine doors in the body through which the prana (life force energy) can leave the body.
Prana can leave the body in un-awareness. Prana can leave body with awareness also.Some people burp and they make a noise and the prana leaves.Prana can leave through the ears too but you cannot see it.
A yogi’s prana leaves from the ‘Bramha-Randra’, top of the head.
In Kotla, Delhi, a saint used to live there. He was a soldier and he got shot once in Jammu and Kashmir.
He was unconscious for 7-days and when he woke up, all his Naadis had opened up. He then got up started the search for a Guru.
He was of a lower caste, so no one wanted to teach him. He said that he got knowledge because he got hit by a bullet. This does not happen to everyone!
He used to call me ‘Yogi Raja’ and give me a lot of respect. Everyday people would come to him and say, “Yogi Raja, see he has come again.”
One person whose wife has left him, he still followed her. He said, if he had followed God like he had followed his wife, he would have attained the divine.
So how you will attain this, no one can tell. Suddenly, you will feel that I am so happy now. Knowledge dawns like a bolt of lightning and sometimes it is like the sunrise, coming in slowly.
Whatever you do in life, maintain equanimity in life.
If fight is happening and Surya naadi is working, you know this, so keep the equanimity in mind.
If the love dawns within, you observe that Chandra naadi is working.
All this is happening in the subtle world and we experience a shadow of that in the gross world.Like when you are talking to someone and susushmna naadi works, you know that this person is lying. But this will take some time. You will have to observe some silence. That does not mean you should be silent from tomorrow at home! All these ‘siddhis’ you acquire spontaneously, you do not have to put effort.
He says, you also have naadis and everything. And then he explains each thing. For example an ENT specialist will look only at the Eyes, Nose Special knowledge and general knowledge, both are described here. You can get stuck in one of these and think this is all there is. So it is upto you, whether you look at the general knowledge or special knowledge.
There are many religions in the world. All religions are general knowledge, such as there is one God.
Shri Krishna also says that.
But, he also gives special knowledge.
A particular cell has a special characteristic which is why it became pancreas rather than spleen. From one cell, the whole body has arisen. There is distinction is there too. You will get this special knowledge in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism. Unity and diversity, both have been described.
See whether the right or the left nostril is active, observe what happens and what to do when one nostril is active. So, this is special knowledge. Even a cardiac specialist needs general knowledge. Like there is knowledge of life, there is knowledge of death. Further there is secrets of ‘raja rahasya’ or the Royal Secret.
If you have any questions, you can ask.
Q: My grandparents died 20 years ago, but I see them in my dreams every month or every 15 days. I used to like a boy Sri Sri: If you analyze dreams in the dreams that is better!Fears and desires come to you as dreams.
Second is what is about to happen that comes to you as a dream.Third is what you have experienced earlier appears as a dream.Fourth is not related to you, it’s related to the place you are at. But the vibrations of that place come to you as a dream.
If you go to Kashmir, you will see those faces. It is not related to you, but the place where you are.
Fifth - This is a mixture of all the above. Most of the dreams are of this type.
Q: If at the time of death, if we remember any fulfilled desire, would the years of ‘Sadhana’ go to waste?Sri Sri: No, your sadhana does not go waste. This question was also asked by Arjuna to Krishna. He had replied that - They will be born again in a good family of yogis and start again at wherever they left.
Q: How to activate gyan naadi?Sri Sri: Keep yourself healthy, it will happen automatically.
Q: Bhagavad Gita was shared in the Dwapar yuga, how is this knowledge relevant in Kali Yuga? Was he sure that the world is not going to change?
Sri Sri: You are asking question about the next chapter. I think you are stuck in the 2nd chapter- ‘Vishad Yog’ , where Arjuna was also like you. Whether the world improves or not, you improve. It is for your improvement that so much knowledge has been shared.
You think all this knowledge you have received, is it of no use? Even if you understand 10%, there is some progress. Whether you move at the pace of a tortoise or hare, you are progressing. Everyone will progress.
This knowledge is for everybody, for all countries, for all time.
You cannot bind knowledge in the boundaries of time.
Q: Why did Shri Krishna choose Arjuna? Why did he not choose Karna or Eklavya? Is God also partial?
Sri Sri: How do you know that Lord Krishna did not give knowledge to others? Krishna lived for 125 years and he gave the knowledge at the age of 90 years.
All the leelas that are described was before he was 14 years old. The last Gita which Shri Krishna gave was to Uddhav.
Arjuna asks later when the War got over, ‘there was too much noise, can you share that knowledge again now?’ Krishna says - ‘Even i cannot say that Gita now, as there was some energy and the knowledge appeared at that time for everybody.’
Arjuna was an instrument. Why should we make a distinction?
A scientist discovers something, that discovery is applicable to everyone in the world.
Q: In ancient times, sages like Savitri were able to bring back their dead husbands from the lord of death. How is it possible? Is it possible to do that now also?
Sri Sri: These days doctors do that! They revive dying people. There is a joke. Doctor is the brother of the Yamraj, Lord of death. Yamraj only takes life, but the doctor takes both life and money.There was no dearth of humour in the shlokas in the olden days.
Q: How should we remember Krishna? The form of him holding a flute and wearing yellow clothes?
Sri Sri: Not the form, but the formless. How long will Shri Krishna hold the flute! He will also get tired! Krishna means the soul, the Self, the principle.
Q: Normally people believe that what they have is due to karma? How do we gain things?
Sri Sri: Work with detachment or equanimity.
Q: A friend of mine died in a tragic accident and this has happened in their family to others too. Is it due to Karma or something else?
Sri Sri: It is due to karma.
Q: Are ghosts real?
Sri Sri: Those who die with too many unfulfilled desires.
Water vapor rises up and forms clouds. But some stay back and stuck to the Earth. That is fog. But how long does the fog stay?
Some souls become earth-bound, and then after sometime they attain liberation.
People who die in a certain constellation, they will be earth-bound for sometime. Maximum, six months. That is why when people die during that time, for six months, they close the door. The soul does not get transition easily. But it is not forever.
Very rare, it is for ghosts to be on trees. There are a few trees that attract ghosts. In those trees, ghosts reside.
But the ghosts are very weak. You are much stronger than them. If a knowledgeable person goes there, they get liberation.
You meditate, you have a Guru with you, you have reached much higher state than them. Know that there will be no effect of black magic and ghosts on you.
This superstition spreads a lot. Buri Nazar means bad vibration. If someone does not like you, if you come in front of them, what happens? You don’t feel good sensations in the body. This is called Buri Nazar.
If someone gives you a jealous gaze, you just do bhastrika.
Q: If last rites of some person have not been done properly, then what happens?
Sri Sri: Leave what has already happened in the past.
Now, whatever you want to do for the departed you can do now with faith. Krishna says, do yoga, do seva and if you can’t do any of these, he says just remember me!
Q: Why could the god not create a perfect individual? Why do we have to make so much effort to attain the god that created us?
Sri Sri: When the water from the Ocean rises up and becomes cloud, then it falls on the hill and gets back to the ocean. Now, if you ask me why does the water have to fall and then come back to the ocean?
Q: In my house, elders say you should do the Tarpanam along with Samacharan, only then it is fruitful. is that true?
Sri Sri: They do this only to invoke this feeling that I am Narayana. Narayana is within me. It is not necessary to place a tattoo of a conch or symbols of Narayana. Sam acharan means you behave with everyone as if you are God. Everyone belongs to me. Seva also means acting like him. He is giving you everything. He is not expecting anything from you. When you work like this, without any expectations that is seva.
Seva and Samacharan means the same.
Q: Those who go to Pitru loka, do they sleep peacefully or do they also experience happiness and sorrow?
Sri Sri: It depends on their karma. They sometimes stay restless also. One day in Pitru loka is 1 year in this loka.
Q: When I see snakes, dogs, I feel lucky to be born as a human. I have read that it is rare to get a human body. Do animals also have souls?
Sri Sri: Yes. Don’t they have souls? They also become men and women.
Q: Will we become animals after we die?
Sri Sri: It is not easy to go back (from human birth).It is not normal. But if someone dies thinking chicken, chicken, they may be born in a poultry farm!
Q: There are so many activities that go on - like sudarshan kriya, ‘Vishnu sahsatranam’ in temple and so on? What should i prioritize?
Sri Sri: Meditate. Do kriya and then rest. Sometimes, you listen to Vishnu Sahasranam. So Hum contains everything.
Q: Avataars take different births as per their will. Can I also become an avataar?
Sri Sri: There is a lot of vacancy. Yes, you can come as avataar in your next lifetime.
Q: We had shown the horoscope of my daughter to someone, and they have said that she will experience a lot of trouble in next 6 months. What should I do?
Sri Sri: Chant Om Namah Shivaya. The controlling vibration, stronger than the vibration of the planets in Om Namah Shivaya.
Q: What is the difference between Kaivalya and Moksha?
Sri Sri: Moksha means freedom. Kaivalya is a step ahead, where there is only joy.
Q: You shared the Art of Dying yesterday. What about our karmas? The next birth- does it depend on the way we die or karma?
Sri Sri: Both. Feelings also become Karma.
Q: What happens if someone dies in the month of Shravan?
Sri Sri: It will be okay. What will you do now? Those who had to go, they have gone.
