Hari Aum.
Towards the end of the sixth chapter of the Gita, Arjuna is very worried. He accepts what Krishna has said so far, i.e. there is a soul that is immortal, blissful and full of knowledge, and that he needs to meditate to realise that this blissful soul is his true nature (not the perishable body and temporary mind which experience suffering).
But there is a serious problem, he feels. He cannot meditate, he cannot control his mind! He says the mind is a terrible uncontrollable thing. What to do? He feels doomed! He worries he will lose out both materially and spiritually by trying to walk the spiritual path.
In this chapter, Krishna lays to rest all of Arjuna's worries related to this matter of mind-control. He tells Arjuna the secret of what to do to guarantee success on the spiritual path.
What is the secret? What is the solution to the dire problem of the mind's delusion by Maya (illusory power of God)?
Here is the answer in Krishna's words.
He says:
"Daivi hyesha guna-mayi, mama Maya duratyaya,
Mameva ye prapadyante, Maya-metam taranti te"
Translation (by my Guru Sivananda):
"Verily, this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the three qualities (of Nature) is difficult to cross over; those who take refuge in Me alone, cross over this illusion."
{The three qualities of Nature that Krishna refers to are sattva (purity, goodness), rajas (activity, desires) and tamas (ignorance)--everything in the material world is said to be a combination of these three principles. In good people, sattva dominates. In wicked people, rajas and tamas dominate}
So there we have it. The secret is to take refuge in God. If we try to walk alone on the spiritual path, doing pranayama/some breathing exercise or something similar as our main practice, we are liable to fail. Krishna Himself says elsewhere that people who walk alone without seeking the help of God are at risk of developing a fall in the spiritual path (often due to spiritual pride in their practice which destroys all prospects of success).
The yogi or spiritual seeker must be humble, truly humble. One can only be humble before God. The thought of the almighty, all-powerful, compassionate, wise God creates feeling of awe, wonder and humility in us. Therefore, Krishna says, take refuge in Me, in God (we can call God by any name from any spiritual tradition).
He then gives another importance assurance by saying that He Himself strengthens the faith of the devotee so that he/she can achieve whatever goal they desire, whether material or spiritual. He says that people on Earth worship higher and lower deities (to ask them for all sorts of things--money, fame, spouse, children and so on). Some perform elaborate Vedic yajnas to lower deities to acquire these things. Krishna says that it is He who gives human beings the strength to perform sadhana to achieve all their material as well as spiritual goals.
He says:
"Yo yo yam yam tanu bhakta, shraddhaya-architum icchati,
tasya tasyachalam shraddha, tameva vidadhamy-aham"
Meaning (as per Sivananda):
"Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith--that (same) faith of his, I make firm and unflinching."
He then says:
"Sa taya shraddhaya yuktas-tasya-aradhanam-ihatey,
labhate cha tatah kaman-ma-yaiva vihitan hi tan"
Meaning:
"Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that (form), and from it, he obtains his desire, these being verily ordained by Me (alone).
Firm faith is needed to have success in sadhana. Because firm faith in the deity and the spiritual practice motivates one to actually do the spiritual practice with consistency, regularity and determination. This then grants one the goal one desires, whether material or spiritual.
So He basically says, that as God, He is the true giver of everything-- the faith needed to do a spiritual practice and the result of that spiritual practice (whether material or spiritual).
Also, as God, He is the source of all beings including the lower deities. It is He who gives gifts through the lower deities (such as Indra, Agni etc). However, He gives only that which we ask for. If we ask for material things, that is what we will get. If we ask for spiritual treasures, that is what He will ensure we get.
He also states that people go in the afterlife, to the deity that they worship during their lifetime on Earth. He says that the devotees of lower deities go to them, while His devotees go to Him. This is an important point. So one should carefully choose what one asks for (what one desires) and be equally careful in selecting the being that one approaches to acquire this. Sivananda and other gurus advise us to seek the spiritual goal and to approach only God (not any lower deities) as He alone can grant us true peace, wisdom and bliss.
Krishna also makes the following statements in this chapter:
1) This world consists of two aspects of His nature-- the material and the spiritual. The material aspect consists of eight principles-- the five great elements (broadly described as earth, water, fire, air and space), the mind, intellect and egoism (sense of individual self).
The spiritual aspect is what upholds all the worlds including the material aspect. He is the source of both the material and the spiritual aspects of the universe and it is He who causes them to dissolve back into Him eventually.
2) He says: "There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Arjuna. All this is strung on Me, as clusters of gems on a string". This is a very beautiful and poetic description of the world in relation to God.
3) He then describes Himself a little--although He is everything, He tries to describe a small portion of His manifestation here so that Arjuna (and we) can try to understand this.
He says that He is the:
1. "sapidity in water"
2. "light in the moon and the sun"
3. "syllable Om in the Vedas"
4. "sound in ether"
5. "virility in men"
6. "sweet fragrance in the earth"
7. "brilliance in fire"
8. "life in all beings"
9. "austerity of ascetics"
10. "eternal seed (cause) of all beings"
11. "intelligence of the intelligent"
12. "splendour of the splendid"
13. "strength devoid of desire and attachment"
14. "desire unopposed to dharma (goodness/righteousness)"
4) He states that good people worship Him, and that His devotees belong to four groups as follows:
i) the suffering who want relief from their suffering
ii) those who want material things
iii) those who want the spiritual goal, and
iv) those who have already attained the spiritual goal
All four groups He says are "noble" but the fourth category, the spiritually wise, He says are His "very Self". He declares that He is very dear to the fourth group and they are also very dear to Him.
5) He says that only after many births and deaths, do people's minds turn to Him. After a long time in samsara, people worship Him and attain Him.
6) Those who have a negative character do not worship Him. Such people's wisdom is destroyed by the power of illusion and they perform wrong actions on Earth.
7) The world mistakes Him for a mere mortal though He is the Unmanifest Supreme.
8) He knows the beings of the past, present and the future, but no-one knows Him. Due to cravings and aversions of the mind, beings are deluded at birth and cannot see Him, the true reality behind all things.
9) At the end of many births and virtuous deeds, the wise attain Him and experience the truth that "Vasudeva sarvam iti" (God is everything).
"Bahunam janmanam-ante jnanavan-mam prapadyante,
Vasudeva sarvam iti, sa mahatma sudurlabha"
"At the end of many births, the wise man comes to Me, realising that all this is Vasudeva (the innermost Self); such a great soul (Mahatma) is very hard to find".
This chapter concludes with Him once again assuring Arjuna that:
"Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realise in full that Brahman (God), the whole knowledge of the Self and all action".
So the overall message of this chapter is that one who takes refuge in God need not fear samsara. Such a person will easily cross samsara with the grace and help of God Himself-- as He says, He strengthens the faith of spiritual aspirants thus helping them to attain the spiritual goal. Indeed, He says that He Himself is the tapas (spiritual practice) of those who walk the spiritual path.
With this encouraging message, let us carry on with our spiritual practices.
To be continued....
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
Towards the end of the sixth chapter of the Gita, Arjuna is very worried. He accepts what Krishna has said so far, i.e. there is a soul that is immortal, blissful and full of knowledge, and that he needs to meditate to realise that this blissful soul is his true nature (not the perishable body and temporary mind which experience suffering).
But there is a serious problem, he feels. He cannot meditate, he cannot control his mind! He says the mind is a terrible uncontrollable thing. What to do? He feels doomed! He worries he will lose out both materially and spiritually by trying to walk the spiritual path.
In this chapter, Krishna lays to rest all of Arjuna's worries related to this matter of mind-control. He tells Arjuna the secret of what to do to guarantee success on the spiritual path.
What is the secret? What is the solution to the dire problem of the mind's delusion by Maya (illusory power of God)?
Here is the answer in Krishna's words.
He says:
"Daivi hyesha guna-mayi, mama Maya duratyaya,
Mameva ye prapadyante, Maya-metam taranti te"
Translation (by my Guru Sivananda):
"Verily, this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the three qualities (of Nature) is difficult to cross over; those who take refuge in Me alone, cross over this illusion."
{The three qualities of Nature that Krishna refers to are sattva (purity, goodness), rajas (activity, desires) and tamas (ignorance)--everything in the material world is said to be a combination of these three principles. In good people, sattva dominates. In wicked people, rajas and tamas dominate}
So there we have it. The secret is to take refuge in God. If we try to walk alone on the spiritual path, doing pranayama/some breathing exercise or something similar as our main practice, we are liable to fail. Krishna Himself says elsewhere that people who walk alone without seeking the help of God are at risk of developing a fall in the spiritual path (often due to spiritual pride in their practice which destroys all prospects of success).
The yogi or spiritual seeker must be humble, truly humble. One can only be humble before God. The thought of the almighty, all-powerful, compassionate, wise God creates feeling of awe, wonder and humility in us. Therefore, Krishna says, take refuge in Me, in God (we can call God by any name from any spiritual tradition).
He then gives another importance assurance by saying that He Himself strengthens the faith of the devotee so that he/she can achieve whatever goal they desire, whether material or spiritual. He says that people on Earth worship higher and lower deities (to ask them for all sorts of things--money, fame, spouse, children and so on). Some perform elaborate Vedic yajnas to lower deities to acquire these things. Krishna says that it is He who gives human beings the strength to perform sadhana to achieve all their material as well as spiritual goals.
He says:
"Yo yo yam yam tanu bhakta, shraddhaya-architum icchati,
tasya tasyachalam shraddha, tameva vidadhamy-aham"
Meaning (as per Sivananda):
"Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith--that (same) faith of his, I make firm and unflinching."
He then says:
"Sa taya shraddhaya yuktas-tasya-aradhanam-ihatey,
labhate cha tatah kaman-ma-yaiva vihitan hi tan"
Meaning:
"Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that (form), and from it, he obtains his desire, these being verily ordained by Me (alone).
Firm faith is needed to have success in sadhana. Because firm faith in the deity and the spiritual practice motivates one to actually do the spiritual practice with consistency, regularity and determination. This then grants one the goal one desires, whether material or spiritual.
So He basically says, that as God, He is the true giver of everything-- the faith needed to do a spiritual practice and the result of that spiritual practice (whether material or spiritual).
Also, as God, He is the source of all beings including the lower deities. It is He who gives gifts through the lower deities (such as Indra, Agni etc). However, He gives only that which we ask for. If we ask for material things, that is what we will get. If we ask for spiritual treasures, that is what He will ensure we get.
He also states that people go in the afterlife, to the deity that they worship during their lifetime on Earth. He says that the devotees of lower deities go to them, while His devotees go to Him. This is an important point. So one should carefully choose what one asks for (what one desires) and be equally careful in selecting the being that one approaches to acquire this. Sivananda and other gurus advise us to seek the spiritual goal and to approach only God (not any lower deities) as He alone can grant us true peace, wisdom and bliss.
Krishna also makes the following statements in this chapter:
1) This world consists of two aspects of His nature-- the material and the spiritual. The material aspect consists of eight principles-- the five great elements (broadly described as earth, water, fire, air and space), the mind, intellect and egoism (sense of individual self).
The spiritual aspect is what upholds all the worlds including the material aspect. He is the source of both the material and the spiritual aspects of the universe and it is He who causes them to dissolve back into Him eventually.
2) He says: "There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Arjuna. All this is strung on Me, as clusters of gems on a string". This is a very beautiful and poetic description of the world in relation to God.
3) He then describes Himself a little--although He is everything, He tries to describe a small portion of His manifestation here so that Arjuna (and we) can try to understand this.
He says that He is the:
1. "sapidity in water"
2. "light in the moon and the sun"
3. "syllable Om in the Vedas"
4. "sound in ether"
5. "virility in men"
6. "sweet fragrance in the earth"
7. "brilliance in fire"
8. "life in all beings"
9. "austerity of ascetics"
10. "eternal seed (cause) of all beings"
11. "intelligence of the intelligent"
12. "splendour of the splendid"
13. "strength devoid of desire and attachment"
14. "desire unopposed to dharma (goodness/righteousness)"
4) He states that good people worship Him, and that His devotees belong to four groups as follows:
i) the suffering who want relief from their suffering
ii) those who want material things
iii) those who want the spiritual goal, and
iv) those who have already attained the spiritual goal
All four groups He says are "noble" but the fourth category, the spiritually wise, He says are His "very Self". He declares that He is very dear to the fourth group and they are also very dear to Him.
5) He says that only after many births and deaths, do people's minds turn to Him. After a long time in samsara, people worship Him and attain Him.
6) Those who have a negative character do not worship Him. Such people's wisdom is destroyed by the power of illusion and they perform wrong actions on Earth.
7) The world mistakes Him for a mere mortal though He is the Unmanifest Supreme.
8) He knows the beings of the past, present and the future, but no-one knows Him. Due to cravings and aversions of the mind, beings are deluded at birth and cannot see Him, the true reality behind all things.
9) At the end of many births and virtuous deeds, the wise attain Him and experience the truth that "Vasudeva sarvam iti" (God is everything).
"Bahunam janmanam-ante jnanavan-mam prapadyante,
Vasudeva sarvam iti, sa mahatma sudurlabha"
"At the end of many births, the wise man comes to Me, realising that all this is Vasudeva (the innermost Self); such a great soul (Mahatma) is very hard to find".
This chapter concludes with Him once again assuring Arjuna that:
"Those who strive for liberation from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realise in full that Brahman (God), the whole knowledge of the Self and all action".
So the overall message of this chapter is that one who takes refuge in God need not fear samsara. Such a person will easily cross samsara with the grace and help of God Himself-- as He says, He strengthens the faith of spiritual aspirants thus helping them to attain the spiritual goal. Indeed, He says that He Himself is the tapas (spiritual practice) of those who walk the spiritual path.
With this encouraging message, let us carry on with our spiritual practices.
To be continued....
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
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