Geeta Dhara – Gurukul

Today, Yog has been linked with so many expressions & types that the true meaning of Yog is passed in oblivion. People believe that art of sorcery & the mesmerism are the Yog. Campaigners & practitioners of these arts by magical means use to have special inclination for the practices like Maran: Killing, Uchhatan: Willfully perturbing somebody’s mind, Vashikaran: Overpowering. Some so-called Yogi have begun to claim the aversion of destiny through mysterious methods and through the Yantra, Mantra, Tabiz: Amulets, Kavach: Lucky charm.

But the real Yogi used to engross into meditation so deeply that they gave up the concerns of the body itself. . Their hair used to get matted altogether; body was happened to be covered with dust & dirt. And now a days people artificially mat their hair. The path of God is such a path which demands love, contemplation and bereavement for God.

But observing the worldwide propagation of only ‘Asan’: Sitting Postures’ in the name of Yog and prevalence of ‘Kundalini-Awakening’, Meditation Camps, Courses on Pranayam, it appears that the world at present is moving apart from the True Philosophy of the Yog-as described by the Great Sage Patanjali in his ‘Philosophy of Yog’.

It is depicted in the ‘Amarakosh-a famous Sankrit Dictionary’ that Yog is the consistency in meditation, is a method of meditation and is to strive for the meditation. The process of concentrating the mind through meditation is the Yog.

Yog is the union of two objects. Common men believe that Yog is something which on its practice delivers some supernatural power. By which the feats of such a nature may be performed which appear to be beyond the competency of human.

The first verse of the eighty first maxim of the fifth section of the Rig Ved, states:

“Vipra i.e. men of wisdom attune their mind in God who is the root of wisdom and intelligence and also attune the intellect towards Him. Only He is the only God, knower of everything, possessor of glories. It’s great to offer prayers to Him.”

In this way, as per Vedic conceptions, definition of the Yog is to concentrate the mind in God.

Yog is an eternal knowledge. In the beginning of the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishn says: ‘imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavānahamavyayam’ – I taught this eternal knowledge of the Yog to Sun. ‘sa evā’yam mayā te’dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ’ – ‘I have described to you the same ancient knowledge of the Yog’.

Thus the Bhagavad Gita is a scripture of Yog, in which Lord has used the the term ‘Yog’ only this much with its entirety instead of using the terms like RajYog, HathYog, SuratiYog and the LayYog.

The Gita distinguishes Lord Krishn in Chapter 18, Verse 78: – yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanurdharaḥ – That He is a ‘Mahayogeshvar’- Lord (or Master) of the Yog.

Lord Krishn says in Chapter Six, Verse 47 of the Gita : yogināmapi sarvesām madgatenāntarātmanā – ‘Arjun! Among all yogi I think that one the best who is dedicated to me and who, abiding in the Self, always adores me.’ It means Yog is the worshiping God by mind, word and deed.

Lord Krishn sings in Chapter Nine, Verse 22 of the Bhagavad Gita –

ananyāścintayanto mām ye janāh paryupāsate
tesām nityābhiyuktānām yogaksemam vahāmyaham

“I myself protect the yog of men
who abide in me with steady and undeviating faith
and who worship me selflessly,
constantly remembering me as God.”

‘Ananya’ means not somebody else i.e. who does not worship the others (gods) except Me i.e. worships Me only, I myself take care of protection and preservation of the Yog of such a devotee who is integrally & continuously associated with Me.

It means that worshiping God with unswerving devotion is the Yog.

Now what is the method of Yog?

The Bhagavad Gita answers in Chapter Eight, Verse 12:

sarvadvārāni sanyamya mano hrdi nirudhya ca
mūrdhnyādhāyātmanah prānamāsthito yogadhāranām

“Shutting the doors of all the senses,
that is, restraining them from desire for their objects,
confining his intellect within the Self,
fixing his life-breath within his mind,
and absorbed in Yog,…”

The necessity of renunciation of desire by a perfect control of the senses is repeatedly stressed. The mind has to be confined within the Self because contemplation and worship are accomplished within the Self, not outside. With the mind so regulating the breath that it is centered between the two eyebrows and, of course, engaged in the practice of Yog, for this is an essential prerequisite.

Having closed the doors of the senses thus restraining them from the sensual pleasures, and holding the mind in the inner realm of spiritual heart, fixing the mental contemplation therein:

omityekāksaram brahma vyāharanmāmanusmaran
yah prayāti tyajandeham sa yāti paramām gatim

“He who departs from the body intoning OM,
which is God in word, and remembering me,
attains to salvation.” (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter Eight, Verse 13)

The one who chanting the ‘Om‘, only this much – which denotes that almighty God and ‘māmanusmaran’ meditating upon my ‘Metaphysical Form’ comes to uplift from the bodily existence, attains the salvation.

It means unification with God is the Yog.

When does it take place?

Lord Krishn sings in Chapter Eight, Verse 14 of Bhagavad Gita:

ananyacetāh satatam yo mām smarati nityaśash
tasyāham sulabhah pārtha nityayuktasya yoginah

“The yogi who is firmly devoted to me,
and who constantly remembers me
and is absorbed in me,
realizes me with ease.”

With ‘ananaya bhav’ i.e. with unswerving devotion, not worshiping any other ‘gods or goddesses’, who continuously worships Me only, for that Yogi who is ever absorbed in Me, I am easily attainable.

It means that the accomplishment of the Yog imparts realization of God rather demonstration of supernatural powers.

What the Yog is?

Lord Krishn sings in Chapter Six, Verse 23 of Bhagavad Gita:

tam vidyād duḥkhasanyoga
viyogam yogasanjñitam,
sa niścayena yoktavyo
yogo’nirviṇṇacetasā

“It is a duty to practice this yog,
untouched by miseries of the world,
with vigour and determination,
and without a sense of ennui.”

That which is equally free from worldly attraction and repulsion is named yog. Yog is experiencing the final beatitude. Attainment of the ultimate essence, that is God, is yog. Engaging in this yog without a sense of monotony or boredom (ennui) and with resolution, is a sacred obligation.

He who is patiently engaged in selfless action is the one who succeeds in achieving yog. The state which is devoid of the association and the disassociation with the world is the Yog. The inmost supreme beatitude which is also called as the ultimate reality-God, unification with that God is the Yog.

After the death of Brihdrath the last empire of the Maurya dynasty, his commander Pushyamitra Shung’s regime came into existence who refuted the principles and the teachings of the Lord Buddha and established the social-system based on four Varn (classes). Nurturing this new system, the Smrtis were institutionalized as the scripture, at that period.

Great Sage Patanjali is said to be contemporary to Pushyamitra Shung. Apprehending the growth of so many new systems for the sake of Dharm, he represented the propitious knowledge of the Yog through short formulas in order to avoid extinction of ancient knowledge of the India. Although, he had represented principles of the Yog in the form of formulas, however the words he used are enough intelligible, it appears that he had remarkable command over the grammatical aspects of the instructions in the use of words.

The Great Sage Patanjali did not write anything new about the Yog moreover he formulated whatever was in the Bhagvad Gita. ‘Restraining of the thought-waves’ is depicted in following verse of the Gita – yatro’paramate cittam niruddham yogasevayā. (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter Six, Verse 20)
The concept of ‘Aparigrah: possessionlessness’ – which is one of the constituent of the Yam, had been picked from the verse : ekaki yatacittatma nirāśīr aparigrakaḥ (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter Six, Verse 10).

‘sthirsukhamÀsanam (Yog Darshan 6/20)’ is just a repetition of Gita’s verse : sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ ( Chapter Six, Verse 11). Sage Patanjali and the Gita, both of them give their consensus regarding restraining of the mind by the ‘Practice: Sadhana’ and ‘Dispassion or Sacrifice of desires’.

Chanting of OM, meditation upon the form of the enlightened Sadguru and awakening of the Sadhana through him, attainment of the Self Form…all these teachings of Sage Patanjali are the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings in a different form.

In the present time, two types of Yog are into practices which are of the importance. One of them is based upon the Yogic-formulas of Sage Patanjali and other one is the well-known ‘Hathyog’. The Yog taught by Sage Patanjali is ‘chittanushashnam’ i.e. based upon the controlling of thought-waves while the Hathyog is related with controlling of the functionalities of the body, aspects of its health and freedom from the ailments.

Sage Patanjali had acknowledged the stabilization and peacefully sitting down of the mind as the ‘asan: the Posture’ while books on Hathyog describe a long series of ‘asan: postures, from eighty four to may more of different sitting postures.’

The Hathyog includes methods like Neti, Dhauti, Vasti, Nauli, Tratak, Kapal Bhanti, Mahamudra, Khechari, Jalandhar, Uddiyan, Mul bandh Bajroli, Amaroli and Sahajoli, whereas Yog Darshan of Sage Patanjali is silent about all these methods. In the system of Hathyog, the Kundalini is required to be awakened and to be risen upwardly…through a subtle canal situated in the spinal cord and finally to merge it in Brahmarandhra: center of the occipital bone.

In this system only six integrants of the Yog are discussed instead of all eights. Yam and Niyam these two have been ignored. In Hathyog system while performing the Pranayam one needs to pay attention over the process of inhalation, retention and exhalation of the breath which is achieved through practice of so many processes like Ujjayi, Bhastrika, Suryabhedi, Bhramari, Shitali and so on.

In the opinion of Sage Patanjali acquisition of supernatural powers is an obstacle in the way to attain the supreme goal. While Hathayogis take it as a signification achievement of the Yog and keep on exhibiting these powers.

There is no doubt in concluding that development of various improper practices in the name of Yog is caused due to intermixing of the practices of these two types of Yog. Or it would be much concordant that these improper practices have been stimulated due to identification of the physical exercises as the Yog.

The method of Yog which delivers supreme prosperity had ever been the same, and had been traditionally unabated in the Ved and in the Bhagavad Gita, which Sage Patanjali of King Shung’s era again represented in the form formulas of the Yog. Sage Patanjali, kept the concern of the whole mankind and created the Yog Darshan, which comprises the guidance for attainment of the salvation after eradication of the sorrows in the hearts of human beings.

The Yog Sutra: philosophy of Yog by Sage Patanjali, is quite tough to grasp and it does not represent the complete explanation of the various practical stages of the Yog. It depicts in brief as if instructing someone to seek shelter of some enlightened Sadguru.

The body is cured by medicines, but worship is the remedy for the Soul. The beginning of worship is the beginning of Self-cure. This act of devotion and meditation is also the creation of an accomplished sage.

To the primitive man lying unconscious in the night of ignorance, who has not given a thought to yog, is brought to the perfection of yog when he meets with a sage-just by looking at the great man, by listening to his voice, by rendering albeit an inadequate service to him, and by associating with him.

Goswami Tulsidas has also said this:

“Ultimate bliss is granted to the man
who has perceived God as well as to the man
who has been noticed by God.”

Lord Krishn says that at the beginning he taught Yog to the Sun. If a realized sage just casts a glance at a devotee, the refinement of Yog is transmitted into the life-breath of the lucky Soul. All beings that live are animated by the sun-by God who is subject to himself alone. Since light is life or breath, it is ordained that the Supreme Spirit can be attained only by the regulation of life-breath.

Transmission of pious instincts into early man is the imparting of knowledge of Yog to the Sun, after which in due time the seed of this perfection sprouts in the mind.

~ Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans ~
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~ mrityunjayanand ~

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Lord Krishn’s pronouncement is that men should do selfless action. Equipoise of mind is what is called Yog. The mind in which there is no unevenness is full of equanimity. Greed destroys its evenness, attachments make it unequal, and desire for the fruits of action destroy its serenity. That is why there should be no hankering after the fruits of action. At the same time, however, there should also be no diminishing of faith in the performance of action.

Lord Krishn sings in Chapter Two of Bhagavad Gita:

yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi sangam tyaktvā dhananjaya,
siddhyasiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvam yoga ucyate

“The equipoise of mind that arises from profound absorption
in the performance of action after renouncing attachment
and being even-minded in respect of success and failure is,
O Dhananjay (Arjun), given the name of Yog.”

Resting in yog, renouncing infatuation for worldly ties, and looking at success and failure with an equal mind, Arjun should undertake action.

Renouncing attachment to all things, seen as well as unseen, and giving up all concern about achievement and non-achievement, we should only keep our eyes fixed on yog, the discipline that joins the individual Soul with the Supreme Spirit, and lead a life of strenuous action.

Yog is thus the state of culmination. But it is also the initial stage. At the outset our eyes should be fixed on the goal. It is for this reason that we should act keeping our eyes on yog.

Equanimity of mind is also named yog. When the mind cannot be shaken by failure and success, and nothing can destroy its evenness, it is said to be in the state of yog. It cannot then be moved by passion. Such a state of mind enables the Soul to identify himself with God.

This is another reason why this state is called Samattwa Yog, the discipline that makes the mind filled with equanimity. Since there is, in such a state of mind, complete renunciation of desire, it is also called the Way of Selfless Action (Nishkam Karm Yog). Since it requires us to perform action, it is also known as the Way of Action (Karm Yog) .Since it unites the Self with the Supreme Spirit, it is called yog.

It is necessary to keep in mind that both success and failure should be viewed with equanimity, that there should be no sense of attachment, and that there is no desire for the rewards of action. It is thus that the Way of Selfless Action and the Way of Knowledge are the same.

Lord Krishn adds:

“Take refuge in the way of equanimity (yog), Dhananjay,
because action with desire for the fruits thereof is far inferior
to the path of discrimination,
and they are indeed paupers
who are motivated by lust for rewards.”

Covetous action is distant from and inferior to the Path of Discrimination. Those who yearn after praise are wretched men, vile and devoid of judgement. Arjun is, therefore, urged to find shelter in the even-minded Way of Knowledge. Even if the Soul is rewarded with what he desires, he will have to assume a body in order to enjoy it.

So long as the process of coming and going, of birth and death, lasts, how can there be ultimate redemption?

A seeker should not desire even absolution, for absolution is total freedom from passions. Thinking over the acquisition of rewards if he gets any, his worship is interrupted. Why should he now continue any further with the task of meditation on God? He goes astray. So yog should be observed with a perfectly even mind.

Lord Krishn describes the Way of Knowledge (Gyan-Karm-Sanyas Yog) as also the Buddhi-or Sankhya Yog. He suggests to Arjun that he has attempted to enlighten him on the nature of “discrimination” in its relation to the Way of Knowledge. In truth, the only difference between the two is that of attitude. In the one, one has to proceed only after making a proper examination of the constructive and negative aspects of the undertaking, while in the other, too, equanimity has to be preserved. So it is also called the Way of Equanimity and Discrimination (Samattwa-Buddhi Yog). Because of this and because men possessed of desire for rewards are reduced to miserable wretchedness, Arjun is advised to find shelter in the Way of Knowledge.

Lord Krishn further sings:

“As the Soul endowed with a mind of equanimity
renounces both meritorious and evil deeds in this world itself
and the art of acting with equipoise is yog,
the endeavour to master the way of equanimity
of discrimination is Samattwa Yog.”

Stoic minds give up both the sacred and the sinful in this life itself. They adopt an attitude of detachment to both. So Arjun should strive for the equanimity of mind that is derived from the Way of Knowledge.

“yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam”….Yog is the skill of acting with equipoise.

Two attitudes towards action prevail in the world. If people do a work, they also wish for its fruits. If there are no rewards, they may not even like to work.

But Yogeshwar Krishn regards such action as bondage and states that worship of the one God is the only worthwhile action. The skill of acting in freedom from worldly customs is that we should perform action and do it with dedication, but at the same time with voluntary renunciation of any right to its fruits. However, it is but natural to be curious about what will become of these fruits.

But, of course, there is no doubt that selfless action is the right way of action. The whole energy of the desireless worshiper is then directed to his action. The human body is meant for worship of God. At the same time, though, one would like to know whether one has just always to go on acting or whether the performed action will also produce some result.

Lord Krishn adds:

“Renouncing all desire for the fruits of their action and
thus freed from the bondage of birth,
wise men who are skilled in
the way of equanimity and discrimination
achieve the pure, immortal state.”

Wise men endowed with the yog of discrimination renounce the fruits arising from their action and are liberated from the bondage of birth and death. They achieve the pure, immortal state of oneness with God.

Application of intellect is categorized here into three kinds. Firstly by the way of descrimination. This yields two results : Divine riches and ultimate bliss. Secondly by the way of selfless Action which produces only one consequence-liberation from dire terror of repeated birth and death by attaining immaculate indestructible oneness with god. These are the only two ways described for the yog.

The third type of application of intellect is done by the ignorants who are engaged in other endless modes of actions and who fall into the cycles of repeated birth and death according to their deeds.

Arjun’s vision is limited only to acquisition of sovereignty over the three worlds and even over gods. But even for the sake of these he is not inclined to war. At this point, Sri Krishn reveals to him the truth that a man can attain to the immortal state through selfless action. The Way of Selfless Action also provides access to the state of being which death cannot break into.

At what point, though, will a man be inclined to the performance of such action?

Lord Krishn adds:

“At the time when your mind has successfully made its way
across the swamp of attachment,
you will be capable of the renunciation
which is worth hearing of and which you have heard.”

The very moment Arjun’s mind, indeed the mind of any worshiper, has steered safely across the marsh of attachment, and when it is completely free from yearning for either children or riches or honour, all its worldly ties are broken. It will then be receptive, not only to what is proper for hearing, but also to the idea of renunciation, making it an integral part of its action according to what it has learnt.

At the present moment, however, Arjun is unprepared to listen to what is proper for hearing; and so the question of its influencing his conduct, of course, simply does not arise.

Lord Krishn concludes:

“When your mind, now shaken by the conflicting precepts of the Ved,
achieves a changeless and constant existence
within the being of Supreme Spirit,
you will then attain to immortal state
through profound meditation.”

When Arjun’s mind, at present riven through and through by the contradictory teachings of the Ved, achieves the state of steady contemplation of God, it will become changeless and constant, and then he will master the skill of even minded discrimination. He will then achieve the perfect equilibrium which is the ultimate state of immortality.

This is the crowning point of Yog.

The Ved undoubtedly instruct us; but as Lord Krishn points out, the contradictory injunctions of the Shruti confuse the mind. Precepts there are many, but it is unfortunate that people usually keep away from the knowledge that is fit for learning.

Arjun is told that he will reach the stage of immortality, the culmination of yog, when his agitated mind achieves constancy by meditation.

To know about this, we must know the nature of sages who exist in an exalted state of perfect spiritual bliss, and whose minds are immovable and at peace in the state of abstract meditation.

~ Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans ~
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~ mrityunjayanand ~

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In the performance of action without coveting the fruits there of, the initial impulse or the seed is not destroyed. It also does not give rise to any evil. So selfless action, even though done in small measures, frees us from the great fear represented by birth and death. That necessitates reflecting over the nature of such action and walking at least a few steps along its path.

Worshipers who have renounced the vanity of earthly possessions have trodden this path, but so can those who lead the life of householders.

Sri Krishn tells Arjun to just sow the seed, for the seed is never destroyed. There is no power in nature, no weapon, which can destroy it.

The material world can only cover it up momentarily and hide it for a while, but it cannot wipe out the initial inspiration, the seed, of the act of spiritual accomplishment.

According to Lord Krishn, even the gravest of sinners can doubtlessly cross over by the ark of knowledge. He means exactly this when he says that if the seed of selfless action is just planted, it is imperishable. It does not even have any adverse outcome in so much as it does not abandon us midway after showing us how we can progress towards spiritual attainment. Even if we give it up, it works doggedly on for our final liberation.

This is why selfless action, even in a small measure, provides freedom from the great dread of birth and death. Once planted, even after repeated birth, the seed of such action takes us to the realization of God and to emancipation alike from pleasure and from pain.

The question is what we have to do if we choose the Way of Selfless Action.

Lord Krishn sings:

“On this auspicious path,
O Kurunandan (Arjun),
the resolute mind is one,
but the minds of the ignorant are divided and many.”

The mind which is earnestly and firmly oriented to selfless action is unified. Selfless action is only one and its outcome is also one. Spiritual accomplishment is the only true achievement. The gradual realization of this attainment by fighting against forces of the material world is an enterprise. This enterprise and resolute action, with a single goal are also one and the same.

Then what about those who propagate more than one mode of action?

In Sri Krishn’s view they are not true worshipers. The minds of such men are endlessly divided and that is why they conjure up endless ways.

Lord Krishn adds further:

“Desire-ridden men, O Parth,
who are given only to listening
to Vedic promises of rewards for action,
who believe that the attainment of heaven is the highest goal
of temporal birth and its activities,
and who speak pretentious words to describe the many rites
and ceremonies that they regard as conducive
to the achievement of
worldly pleasure and power,
are ignorant and bereft of discernment.”

The minds of such men are riddled with endless dissensions.

Covetous and attached to the tempting promises made by Vedic verses, they regard heaven as the most sublime goal and they believe in nothing beyond this. Such ignorant men not only devise numerous rites and ceremonies, the performance of which is expected to bring such rewards as the next birth, sensual enjoyment, and worldly dominion, but also flaunt them in flowery and affected language.

To put it differently, the minds of men without discrimination have infinite divisions. They are addicted to precepts which promise fruits of action and accept the pledges of the Ved as final and authoritative. They regard heaven as the highest goal. Because their minds are split by many differences, they invent numerous modes of worship. They do speak of God, but behind the cover of his name they build up a whole multitude of ritual ceremonies.

Now, are these activities not a form of action?

Sri Krishn denies that these activities are true action. Lord Krishn states that ignorant minds are divided minds, because of which they formulate an unlimited number of rites and ceremonies that are not real action. They not only expound them but also give utterance to them in figurative language.

Lord Krishn sings:

“Delighted by ornamental words and attached
to worldly pleasures and dominance,
men without discrimination have irresolute minds.”

Minds which are affected by the tempting words of such people are also corrupted and they also fail to accomplish what is worthwhile. The people whose minds are enamoured of such words, and who are attached to sensual enjoyment and temporal power, are deprived of their capacity for action; they are bereft of resolve for the true action that is a prerequisite of contemplation of the worshiped God.

But who are the people that lend their ears to these unwise men?

Of course, rather than being knowers of the Self within and the Supreme Spirit without, they are the ones who are addicted to sensual pleasure and temporal power. The minds of such men are lacking in will for the action that is needed for the ultimate union of the Self with the Supreme Spirit.

What exactly is the meaning of the assertion that they, too, are mistaken who are blindly devoted to Vedic pronouncements?

Sri Krishn speaks about this in next verse:

“Since all the Ved, O Arjun, only illumine the three properties,
you should rise above them, be free from
the contradictions of happiness and sorrow,
rest on that which is constant,
and be unconcerned with getting what you do not have as well as
with protecting what you have,
in order to dedicate yourself to the Self within.”

The Ved only illumine the three properties of nature. So Arjun should go beyond the sphere of action laid down by the Ved.

How to do this?

Sri Krishn advises Arjun to liberate himself from the conflicts of joy and sorrow, concentrate on the one changeless reality, and desire neither the unobtained nor the obtained; so that he may devote himself single-mindedly to the indwelling Self. This is how he can rise above the Ved.

But is there any precedence of anyone going beyond them?

Sri Krishn says that as a man transcends the Ved, even so he comes face to face with the Supreme Spirit, and that the man who is aware of him is a true Vipr, a Brahmin.

Lord Krishn concludes:

“After the final absolution a man does not need the Ved,
just as we do not need a pond
when there is the all-stretching ocean around.”

When a man is surrounded by the ocean on all sides, he has no use for a pond. Just so a Brahmin who has gained knowledge of the Supreme Spirit has no use for the Ved. That means that the one who knows God transcends the Ved, and that man is a Brahmin.

So Sri Krishn counsels Arjun to rise above the Ved and be a Brahmin.

Arjun is a Kshatriy and Sri Krishn is exhorting him to be a Brahmin. Brahmin and Kshatriy are, among others, names of qualities that are inherent in the dispositions of different varn (or what are now more commonly known as castes).

But the varn-tradition is originally, as we have already seen, action-oriented rather than a social provision determined by birth.

What use has he for a petty pond who has availed himself of the crystal current of the Ganga?

Some use a pond for ablution, while others wash their cattle in it.

A sage who has known God by direct perception has the same kind of use for the Ved.

They are undoubtedly useful. The Ved exists for stragglers who lag behind.

~ Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans ~
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Humble Wishes.
~ mrityunjayanand ~

~ Our Facebook Page – World Eternal Peace Mission Through Metaphysical Vision Of Bhagavad Gita ~

The Self, the God within soul, is neither at any time born nor does he at any time die, for what he undergoes in the name of death is a mere change of apparel. He cannot also be anything other than Self, because he is birthless, permanent, eternal, and primeval.

Sings Lord Krishn:

“They are both ignorant,
he who believes that the Self slays
and he who thinks that he is slain,
for he neither slays nor is he slain.’’

He who regards the Self as the slayer and he who regards him as the slain are both unaware of his real nature, for he neither kills nor can he be killed.

HE adds:

“Neither ever born nor dying,
neither at any time coming into being nor ceasing to be,
the Self is birthless, perpetual, unchanging, and timeless,
and he is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.”

Disintegration, death, of the body does not annihilate the self. The Self alone is real, timeless, unchanging, and eternal.

Who are you? A follower of the eternal Dharm? What is for ever? The Self. So you are a follower, a disciple, of the Self. The Self and Brahm (God) are synonymous.

And who are you ? A worshiper of the eternal Dharm. What is immutable? The Self, of course. That is to say that you and I all are adorers of the Self?

But if we are not familiar with the spiritual path to the eternal truth, the way of following the dictates of the Self until he is one with the Supreme Spirit, we have nothing that is worthy of being described as changeless and everlasting. We are on trial for the final absolution and in close proximity to God if we pine for him, but we cannot be deemed as having been admitted as long as we are credulous enough to accept blindly one wrong convention or the other masquerading as Sanatan Dharm.

So, if anywhere on the earth there is a man who is aware of the true nature of Self and his ultimate goal, and who is eager to take to the way which will eventually lead his Self to the Supreme Spirit, he undoubtedly also belongs to the fold of Sanatan Dharm-the changeless and eternal.

Lord Krishn sings:

“How can he, O Parth,
who is conscious of the Soul within as imperishable,
permanent, birthless, and immutable,
kill or move another to kill?”

Arjun is addressed as Parth, for he has made a chariot of the earth-made body and is preparing to take a perfect aim at the Supreme Spirit. The man who knows that the embodied Soul is indestructible, permanent, beyond birth, and unmanifest-how can he make others slay or be a slayer himself?

Destruction of what is indestructible is impossible. And, being beyond birth, the Self is also never born. So why grieve for the body?

This idea will further be elaborated in the next verse:

“Like a man who puts on new garments
after discarding his worn out clothes,
the embodied Self, also, casts off tattered bodies
and transmigrates into other bodies that are new.”

The Soul rejects bodies that have been ravaged by old age or some other disease and dresses himself in new apparel just as a man throws away old, torn clothes and puts on new clothes. But if new clothing is needed only when the fabric of old clothes is weakened, why do young children die?

These “garments” have yet to grow and evolve. It was said a little earlier that the body rests on sanskar, the impressions from action attained in the course of a previous existence. When the store of sanskar is depleted, the Self discards the body. If the sanskar is of two days’ duration only, the body will be on the brink of death on the second day itself. Beyond sanskar there is not even a single breath of life; sanskar is the body and the Self assumes a new body according to his sanskar.

According to the Chandogya Upanishad, “A man is primarily his will. As is his will in this life, so does he become when he departs from it.” It is the firmness of his will in one life that determines what a man will be in the next. Man is thus born in bodies that are shaped by his own will. So death is a mere physical change: the Self does not die.

Lord Krishn sings:

” This Self is neither pierced by weapons,
nor burnt by fire, nor made damp by water,
nor dried up by wind.”

Weapons cannot cleave the Self. Fire cannot singe him. He cannot also be drenched by water, nor withered by wind.

HE adds:

“The Self, which cannot be pierced or burnt
or made wet or faded, is uninterrupted, all-pervasive,
constant, immovable, and eternal.”

The Self cannot be cut or pierced through; he cannot be burnt; and he cannot be soaked. Even the whole firmament cannot contain him within its expanse. The Self is beyond doubt, ever-fresh, omnipresent, immovable, constant, and everlasting.

Arjun has pronounced family traditions to be eternal. So, according to him, the war will destroy Sanatan Dharm itself. But Lord Krishn finds it an example of ignorance and points out that the Self alone is eternal.

If we do not know the means by which we can realize our Self and his goal, we have no inkling of Sanatan Dharm.

That which is eternal is so strong and impregnable that arms cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it, and water cannot wet it. Nothing that belongs to the material world can touch it, let alone food and drink.

If we do not know the way to this embodied God, we are yet uninitiated into the spirit of Sanatan Dharm.

Knowing that this immutable, eternal Self pervades all, what should we look for?

Lord Krishn sings:

“Knowing that the Self is unmanifest,
a non-object to the senses, incomprehensible
because he is a non-object to the mind, and changeless,
O Arjun, it does not befit you to grieve over him.”

The Soul is unmanifest and not an object of the senses. He cannot be grasped by the senses. He is present even when there is the association of senses with their objects, but he cannot be comprehended. He is beyond thought. He is eternal and he is present even when the mind and its volitions persist, but he is beyond perception, enjoyment, and access. So the mind has to be restrained.

Lord Krishn has told Arjun that the unreal has no existence and neither is the real ever nonexistent. The Self is that reality. It is the Self that is changeless, constant, eternal, and unmanifest. They who know essence have found the Self adorned with these traits. Not linguists nor the affluent, but only seers have known the unique character of the Self.

The Supreme Spirit alone is real. By restraining the mind, the worshiper sees him and becomes one with him. At the moment of attainment he realizes God and, the very next moment after this, he finds his own soul adorned with Godlike traits. He sees then that this Self is true, eternal, and perfect. This Self is beyond the reach of thought. Free from any deviation, it is called immutable.

Lord Krishn then uses simple logic to demonstrate contradictions between Arjun’s thoughts.

“You ought not to grieve,
O the mighty-armed, even if you think of him (the Self)
as ever-born and ever-dying.”

Arjun ought not to mourn even if he regards the Self as constantly born and constantly dying.

“Since this also proves the certain death of what is born
and the certain birth of what dies,
you ought not to grieve over the inevitable.”

Even the assumption that the Self is ever-born and ever-dying only goes to establish that the born must die and the dead must be born. So Arjun ought not to grieve over what must be, for sorrowing over something which is inevitable is inviting yet another sorrow.

Lord Krishn adds:

“Why grieve over the matter, O Bharat (Arjun),
when all beings, disembodied before birth and disembodied after death,
appear to possess a body only between the two events?”

All beings are body-less before birth and also body-less after death. They can be seen neither before birth nor after death. It is only between birth and death that they assume the form of a body. So why grieve uselessly over this change? But who can see this Self?

Lord Krishn answers the question in next verse:

“Only a seer views the Soul as a marvel,
another one describes him as a marvel,
and yet another one hears him as marvel.
While there are some who hear him and yet know him not.”

Sri Krishn has said before that only enlightened, realized, sages have viewed the Self. Now he elaborates the rareness of this vision. Only a rare sage sees the Self-views him directly rather than just hear of him. Similarly, another rare sage speaks of his substance. Only he who has seen the Self can describe him. Yet another rare seeker hears him as a wonder, for even hearing the voice of the Self is not possible for all because it is meant only for men of high spiritual attainment.

There are people who hear the Self and yet know him not, because they are incapable of treading the spiritual path. A man may listen to, countless words of wisdom, split hairs, and be eager to acquire the highest wisdom. But his attachments are possessed of irresistible might and after only a short while he finds himself reversed to worldly business.

Lord Krishn sings:

“Since the Self dwelling in all bodies is unslayable,
O Bharat, it does not befit you to grieve for living beings.”

Arjun ought not to mourn for living beings because the Self, in whatever body he is, can be neither slain nor pierced through. Duly expounded and treated with authority, the point at issue that “the Self is eternal” is concluded here.

~ Reverd Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans ~
©

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With his heart enfeebled by pity and his mind clouded with infatuation in regard to dharm, Arjun begs Sri Krishn to tell him the means that will definitely be the most conducive to what is supremely propitious for him.

Arjun begs:

“With my mind swamped with feeble pity
and confusion regarding duty,
I entreat you to guide me as to what is definitely conducive
to my glory, for I am your disciple
and have taken refuge in you.”

But why should Sri Krishn do this?

According to Arjun, it is Sri Krishn’s duty to show him the right path because he (Arjun) is a disciple who has found shelter under him.

Furthermore, he needs not only instruction but also support when he stumbles. He is like the man requesting a helper to place the load on his back, help him in securing it there, and also to come along with him, for who will put back the load in place again if it slips down. Such is Arjun’s abject submission to Lord Krishn. At this point Arjun’s surrender is complete.

Until now he had thought himself an equal of Lord Krishn in merit and, in fact, even superior to him in certain skills. But now he really puts himself at the mercy of his charioteer. An accomplished teacher dwells in his disciple’s heart and is always by his side until the goal is reached. If he is not there by his side, the pupil may falter in his quest. Like the guardians of a maiden who protect her till her marriage, an accomplished teacher acts as a charioteer who skilfully manoeuvres his disciple’s Soul safely across the perilous valleys of nature.

Arjun adds:

“I do not see that obtaining an undisputed
and profitable dominion over the whole earth or,
for that matter even lordship over the gods,
can cure the grief that is wearing out my senses.”

Arjun cannot believe that even a secure and lucrative realm extending across the whole earth or even an Indr-like lordship over the gods of heaven can help him get rid of the sorrow that is withering his senses.

If his grief is unabated, what shall he do with all these acquisitions?

He begs to be excused from fighting in the war if these are to be his only rewards in return. He is utterly disheartened and he does not know what to say after this.

Lord Krishn, knower of secrets of the innermost heart (Hrishikesh),
speaks smilingly to the grieving Arjun.

“Although sorrowing over those who ought not to be grieved for,
you yet speak wise words;
but the discriminating mourn over
neither the living
nor those who are dead.”

Sri Krishn tells Arjun that while he grieves for those who are unworthy of such grief, he also speaks words of wisdom, but men of discernment mourn neither for those whose souls have departed nor for the ones who are living. They do not grieve for the living because they shall also die. That means that Arjun only talks like a wise man; he does not know the reality.

Lord Krishn adds:

“It is not that either you or I,
or all these kings, did not exist in the past,
nor is it that our being will come
to an end in the future.”

It is not, Lord Krishn explains, that he, the accomplished teacher, or Arjun-the devoted pupil, or all these kings with the vanity that is characteristic of rulers of men, did not exist at any time in the ages to come. The accomplished teacher is for ever, and so are affectionate disciples as well as rulers who symbolize the perversions of passion and moral blindness. Here, besides throwing light on the permanence of Yog in general, Yogeshwar Krishn has particularly stressed its existence in the future.

Explaining why the dead should not be mourned over, he says:

“Since the embodied Spirit passes through infancy,
youth, and old age in the body,
and then transmigrates into another body,
men with steadfast minds do not grieve
over his passing away.”

As the embodied soul waxes from childhood to youth, then wanes to old age, and assumes one new body after another, wise men are not prey to infatuation. At some time a man is a boy and then he grows into a young man. But does he die by this? Then he grows old.

The Self is ever the same; only the condition of the physical body in which he resides goes on changing. There is no crack in him when he changes over to a new body. This change from one physical body to another will continue until the Soul is united with the Supreme Spirit who alone is beyond all change.

Lord Krishn sings:

“There are sensations of heat and cold,
and of pain and pleasure, O son of Kunti,
as senses meet their objects.
Bear them patiently,
O Bharat, because they have a beginning and an end,
and are transient.”

The contact of senses and their objects, which generates pleasure and pain, and feelings of cold and warmth, is occasional and momentary. Arjun should, therefore, abandon them. But instead of that, he is shaken by the mere thought of pleasures that are derived from the union of senses and their objects. The family for the sake of whom we yearn for pleasures and the teacher, whom we revere, both represent the attachment of senses.

But the causes of this attachment are momentary, false and perishable. Neither shall our senses always meet with objects they enjoy, nor shall they always be capable of enjoyment. So Arjun is counselled to give up sensual pleasures and learn to withstand the demands of his senses.

But why is Arjun counselled thus?
Is it a Himalayan war in which he has to endure cold?
Or is it a desert war in which he has to suffer heat?

As knowledgeable people say, the actual “Kurukshetr” has a moderate climate. During the mere eighteen days that is the total duration of the Mahabharat war, is it possible that seasons will change: that winter and summer will come and go?

The truth is that endurance of cold and heat, of happiness and sorrow, of honour and dishonour, depends upon the seeker’s spiritual endeavour.

The Bhagavad Gita is, as we have seen more than once, an externalization of the inner conflict that rages within the mind. This war is the war between the gross physical body and the Self which is aware of his identity with God.

It is a conflict in which ultimately even the forces of divinity grow inert after they have subdued unrighteous impulses and enabled the Self to become one with God. When there remains no impiety, what else is there for pious impulses to fight?

The Bhagavad Gita is thus a picturization of inner conflict that rages within the mind.

What advantages, however, will the recommended sacrifice of senses and their pleasures bring? What is gained by this?

Sri Krishn speaks of this in next verse:

“So, O the noblest of men (Arjun),
one who is possessed of equanimity in pain and pleasure,
and firm, and untormented by these
(feelings produced by the meeting of senses with their objects),
deserves to taste the nectar of immortality.”

The steadfast man, who regards sorrow and happiness with equipoise and is not troubled by his senses and their association with objects, is worthy of the state of immortality that realization of the Supreme Spirit brings.

Here Lord Krishn refers to an attainment, namely amrit, literally the drink of immortality. Arjun had thought that in return for the war he would be rewarded with either a heavenly abode or the authority to rule over the earth. But now Lord Krishn tells him that his prize will be amrit rather than the pleasures of heaven or earthly power.

What is this amrit?

Lord Krishn sings:

“The unreal has no being and the real has no non-being;
and the truth about both has also been seen
by men who know the reality.”

The unreal has no existence; it has no being and so bringing it to an end is out of the question. On the other hand, there is no absence of the real in all time-past, present or future.

Arjun then asks Lord Krishn whether he is saying this as an incarnation of God. Lord Krishn’s reply to this is that the distinction between the real and the unreal has also been revealed to sages who have realized the true nature of the human Soul as identical with the Supreme Spirit pervading the universe. That is to say that Lord Krishn of the Gita is a seer who has gained an insight into reality.

What, after all, are true and false, real and unreal?

Lord Krishn adds:

“Know that since the Spirit
which pervades the universe is imperishable and immutable,
no one can effect his destruction.”

That which spreads through and is present in every atom of the universe is indestructible. No one is capable of destroying the imperishable principle.

But what is the name of this deathless amrit? Who is he?

Lord Krishn concludes:

“Fight, O Bharat (Arjun),
because while the bodies which clothe the Soul are said
to come to an end,
the embodied Spirit itself is for ever,
indestructible, and boundless.”

Arjun is exhorted to get up and fight because all these physical bodies that embody the indwelling, boundless, and eternal Spirit are said to be ephemeral.

This Spirit, the Self, is imperishable, and it cannot be destroyed at any time. The Self is real, whereas the physical body is subject to death, and so unreal and nonexistent at all times.

Lord Krishn’s injunction to Arjun is, “Fight because the body is mortal.” But it is not evident from the exhortation whether Arjun is required to kill only the Kaurav.

Aren’t the men on the side of Pandav, too, “bodies”? Are the Pandav immortal? If physical bodies are mortal, who is Sri Krishn there to defend? Is Arjun not a body, too? Is Lord Krishn there to defend that body which is unreal, without being, and unceasing?

If it is so, may it not be assumed that he too is ignorant and lacking in discrimination, the power that distinguishes between the visible world and the invisible Spirit.

Doesn’t he himself say later that the man who thinks of and toils only for the physical body (Chapter three, Verse 13) is ignorant and wanting in discernment?

Such a wretched man lives in vain. There is also another problem.
Who really is this Arjun?

As it was said in Chapter one, Arjun is an embodiment of affectionate devotion. Like a faithful charioteer, the revered God is always with his devotee. Like a friend, he guides him and shows him the right way.

We are not a physical body. The body is a mere garment, a dwelling for the Soul to live in. The one who lives in it is the affectionate Self. The physical body was sometime back called “unceasing.” When one body is forsaken, the Soul just assumes another body. It is with reference to this that Lord Krishn has said that there is change from one body to another just as a man grows from childhood to youth, and then to old age.

The real base of the body is constituted by sanskar, the merits-the influences and impressions-earned during a previous existence. And sanskar rests upon the mind. Perfect subjugation of the mind, so that it can be changeless, firm, and constant, and the dissolution of the last sanskar, are all different aspects of the same process.

The disintegration of the last crust of this sanskar marks the end of physical existence. To bring about this dissolution we have to undertake aradhana, worship and adoration, of the desired God.

Lord Krishn has named it action (karm) or the Way of Selfless Action (Nishkam Karm Yog). In the Bhagavad Gita, he has from time to time urged Arjun to wage war, but in the entire poem there is not one verse that supports the idea that its war is a physical war or in any way related to the idea of actual bloodshed.

Evidently this war is the war between the opposed impulses of righteousness and unrighteousness, the forces of piety and those of impiety, that is fought within man’s Soul-the seat of all thought and feeling.

~ Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans ~
©

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~ mrityunjayanand ~

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Having known that after a man is liberated from the three properties
(sattwa, rajas, and tamas),
his Soul tastes the nectar of immortality,
Arjun asks three questions from Lord Krishn
in
Chapter 14
of
Bhagavad Gita.

Arjun said:

“Tell me, O Lord,
the attributes of the man
who has risen above the three properties,
his manner of life,
and
the way by which
he transcends the three properties.”

And Lord Krishn sings in reply:

“The man, O Pandav,
who neither abhors radiance,
inclination to action,
and
attachment that are generated respectively
by
the operations of sattwa, rajas, and tamas
when he is involved in them,
nor
aspires for them when he is liberated;…”

.“And who, like a dispassionate onlooker,
is
unmoved by the properties
and is steady and unshaken by dint of his realization
that
these properties of nature but abide in themselves;..

“And who, ever dwelling in his Self,
views joy, sorrow, earth,
stone, and gold as equal,
is
patient, and evenly regards
the pleasant and the unpleasant,
slander and praise;…”

“And who puts up with honour and dishonour,
as
also with friend and foe,
with equanimity,
and
who gives up the undertaking of action
is
said to have transcended all the properties.”

Verses mentioned above disclose the attributes of the man
who has risen above the three properties
so that he
is
unagitated, unswayed by the properties,
and
steady.

What follows now is clarification of the means
by which
one is liberated from these properties.

Lord Krishn adds:

“And the man who serves me with the yog
of
unswerving devotion
overcomes the three properties
and
secures the state of oneness with God.”

One who worships Lord Krishn with unwavering dedication,
that is,
with only the adored goal in his mind
and
oblivious of all other worldly memories, constantly serves him
by
performing the ordained action,
goes well across the three properties
and is worthy of being one
with the Supreme Spirit.

This union with God is the true kalp or cure.
No one can go beyond these properties
without undertaking the prescribed task with perfect intentness.

So the Yogeshwar at last gives his judgement.

“For I am the one in which the eternal God,
immortal life, the imperishable dharm,
and
the ultimate bliss all abide.’’

Lord Krishn is the dwelling of immortal God
(through a single-minded access to whom
the seeker is cured of all worldly maladies),
of
everlasting life,
of
eternal Dharm,
and
of
the unblemished pure joy of attaining to the Supreme goal.

In other words, a God-oriented saint is the abode of all this bliss.

So if we are seeking for the ineffable,
indestructible God,
the eternal dharm,
and
the pure, ultimate bliss,
we have to take refuge in some great Soul that dwells
in
the incommunicable essence.
Only such a sage can enable a devotee
to
achieve what he is questing for.

~Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans~
©

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Humble Wishes.