Essence of the Gita – Identity, Activity, Destiny
I am grateful to be here.
Am I audible to you behind? So I was told all of you are going over the Bhagavad Gita verse by verse. Is that right? Yes. And you are on the ninth chapter, isn't it? So, okay.
So I will talk broadly speaking about the Bhagavad Gita in three parts. I will talk about what the Bhagavad Gita is about and what the Bhagavad Gita's central message is and how that central message is relevant in our lives. The ninth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita which in many ways gives the heart of the Gita.
It talks about the process of Bhakti Yoga. The Bhagavad Gita is spoken at a time of crisis. Generally, we turn towards spiritual wisdom amidst crisis.
We all have a life that is busy with operational questions. Operational questions means that, okay, where do I get food? Which is a comfortable place to stay? Where can I earn more money? These are operational questions. And these questions are important in their own way.
But there are times in our life when the way of functioning at operational level gets blocked. Somehow things don't seem to be working. And that's the time when we start asking existential questions.
What am I living for? What is the purpose of life? For operational purposes, say for example, money is a very important resource. We all need money. Money is something that we live with.
But for many people, money becomes what they live for. And thus, that which is a means becomes an end. So the operational aspect of life is important.
But the existential aspect is what really matters in life. What is it that I am living for? And in the Bhagavad Gita, the student Arjun faces this question because he is caught in an existential crisis. His crisis is that he has to fight a war.
And he has to fight a war against people from his own family. In fact, elders whom he respected. So we all have different roles in our lives.
And these different roles sometimes pull us in different directions. Say if you are working in an office and then you have a family. Now sometimes you have an important… say child's birthday or say wedding anniversary or some important occasion at home.
At that time the boss tells you, we need to complete this project. You need to work overtime. Now you need to go home.
But you also need to work in the office. So what do you do at that time? So this is an example of me being pulled into different directions. So similarly, Arjun was pulled into different directions.
And one side was, these are my relatives. How can I fight against them? So another side was that if I don't fight against them, they are fighting against me. They are going to kill me.
And they are going to kill not just me. They are going to kill my brothers, my family. And even if they don't kill me, we will be left homeless.
So therefore, there has to be some balance. So what do I do in this situation? And the defining question of the Bhagavad Gita is Dharma. Dharma, the word Dharma has many different meanings.
Prachamitvam dharma samudha cetah In 2.7 of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjun asks Krishna, What am I to do? What is the right thing for me to do in this situation? And when he has this question, this is not just a casual enquiry. It's just a curious enquiry about a concept. At that time, he is in tears.
tam tatha krupalya avishtham ashurupurna kulekshanam vishidantamidam vaakyam vachamadhusudana He is crying and tears are flowing from his eyes. Normally, people don't exhibit their emotions in public. Normally, if somebody is in tears, they will go alone and they will cry alone.
And especially, men who consider themselves to be very tough, they don't want to show emotions like crying, tears and emotions which may signify weakness in public. And not to speak of somebody that not just wants to appear tough. Somebody is a battle-hardened warrior.
In war, if any soldier shows the slightest sign of weakness, then he will attack. So Arjun is, the Bhagavad Gita is spoken right in the middle of the battle field. That means Arjun is at the point of maximum visibility.
Everybody in the battle field can see him. And at that point, he is crying. We can understand by that, what kind of torment he must feel.
Otherwise, why would he be overwhelmed with such emotions that he just can't control his emotions. We all experience different emotions. But we have a threshold.
We can control some emotions. And some emotions, when they become too strong, there we are unable to control. So it's like if we have a dam and there is water flowing.
Normally, the water flows, the dam blocks it. The water level becomes more, still the dam blocks it. The water level becomes even more, still the dam blocks it.
If the water level goes beyond a particular point, then the dam can no longer hold it. And either the dam has to be opened or the water will break the dam and move out. So for Arjun, it is a situation that the agitation of the emotions that is happening has become so much that he is breaking down in public in view of everyone.
That itself is indicative of the emotional trauma that he is going through. And it's not just trauma, it's also drama. Why drama? Because Arjun is at the verge of a vital fight.
In fact, as a warrior, he is meant to be a martial guardian of society. He has to protect society against wrongdoers. And he has trained his life, throughout his life, for a war like this.
Say, to give a rough parallel, if there is a World Cup cricket match. In America, maybe baseball is more familiar. But suppose there are two champions.
Say, in cricket we have India and Pakistan. Are there two arch rivals in baseball? So, any two rivals. Say, the two teams are meeting and there are thousands of people who are in the audience watching.
And there are millions who are on television watching. And then just then, the toss has been done, the ballers are about to bowl, the batsman is batting, and there is a non-striker who is another player there. And then at that time, everybody is prying for action.
At that time, the batsman comes and calls the other batsman and both of them start talking. And still they go on talking. Now, everybody will become restless.
Sometimes, if the game is going unfavourably, sometimes some players try to slow down the tempo of the game. So that the momentum of the opponents will be checked. And that's considered unsportsmanly, that's considered not good.
But if we know these two players are not like that, they play in the true spirit of sports, then if those two players are talking at that time, for such a long time, we will understand that what they are talking must be really important. That's why they are all talking like this. So, the Bhagavad Gita is like this.
The war is about to take place, the conches have been blown, the weapons have been drawn, the order to charge towards each other's army is about to be given. And at that time, Krishna and Arjun come in the middle of the two armies and they start talking. So, the context helps us to understand the significance of the content.
The content is what it is. But the context, I talk about two senses of context, first is Arjun is crying in public, and the second is, it's a conversation that's happening right in the middle of the battlefield. Where just before the war is about to take place.
So, what could be so important that everybody stops for discussing? That Krishna and Arjun want to discuss it then and there. Sometimes we feel that philosophy is for the go-getters. People feel that I am a go-getter, I don't need philosophy.
I just want to achieve things. Yes, it's good. But even a go-getter needs to know where to go and what to get.
Even a go-getter needs to know where to go and what to get. And thus, at this point, when Arjun is, what am I meant to do? Vachashaknam yavasthatam brahmati vachame manah nimittani chapashyami viparitanike shiva He says, whatever I do, I see only a lose-lose proposition. If I fight, I'll lose my loved ones.
If I don't fight and flee from the battlefield, I'll lose my honour as honourable warrior. I'll be labelled as a coward. If I don't fight and stay on the battlefield, I will lose my life.
And even if I say I don't mind losing my life, there are so many soldiers who are fighting on my side. My brothers, there are my children, the sons are also there on the battlefield. They will all be losing their lives.
So, whichever option he sees, it's lose-lose. And sometimes we come in our life also to situations like this. Whatever we seem to do, it just doesn't lead to any results.
Nothing seems to be working. And it's at that time, when either we can give up or we can grow up. Either we can give up, nothing is working, I just quit.
Or we can grow up. Grow up means get a higher conception of life. What is life? What am I meant to do in my life? So, there is broadly three things.
Identity, activity and destiny. Who am I? What am I meant to do? And what am I meant to achieve? So, we all have these three at a subconscious level. And we go along with that.
But there are sometimes when we are consciously forced to confront. Who am I? What am I meant to do? And what am I meant to achieve ultimately in life? So, these are the three questions which the Bhagavad Gita answers when it talks about dharma. So, that is the whole overall context in which the Gita is spoken.
So, any questions or comments at this point? Yes, ma'am. Who am I? What am I meant to do? And what am I meant to achieve ultimately? Identity, activity and destiny. Identity, activity and destiny.
Any other comments or questions? So, moving forward from here, the Bhagavad Gita has 18 chapters. 700 texts, 700 verses within it. And these flow as the Gita flows.
That means, it's not exactly a structured class. So, right now, I have come and I have a particular plan of what kind of talk I am going to do. But sometimes, there is just a question-answer gathering.
You can ask whatever question you want. So then, when there is a structured class, there will be a natural flow. This question, this point, this point, this point, this point.
The Bhagavad Gita is more a question-answer session than a structured class. However, it is not a random question-answer session. Say, there is an audience of 20, 30, 50 people, 100 people, whatever.
And then, there is a question-answer session. One person asks a question from here. Then a second person asks another question which may or may not be connected with the first question.
Third person asks an entirely different question. So, like that, there can be very random question-answers. But the Bhagavad Gita is a question-answer session.
But with all the questions being asked by one person. So, in that sense, the next question is related to the previous question. However, there are some sections of the Gita which focus primarily on developing the concepts.
So, initially, when the Gita starts, Krishna speaks primarily to clarify concepts for Arjuna. And then, in a sense, in the second chapter, Krishna gives the whole message of the Gita. But Arjuna is confused.
What should I do? What should I not do? He is still confused. Broadly, Arjuna thinks that I have two options in front of me. These are called as the option of karma and the option of jnana.
Karma is action. Jnana is contemplation, knowledge. But in the context of the Gita, contemplation leads to renunciation.
To inaction and renunciation. The fundamental teaching of the Gita is that reality is not as we think it to be. That the way we see things, that is not how they are.
And this begins not just with how things are externally, but who we are internally. Now, we may say, who are we? If somebody asks us, we will give our name. We will give our nationality, especially if we are immigrating from one country to another.
Now, all these are parts of who we are. The Gita differentiates between our functional identity and our fundamental identity. Functional identity means we all have various functions in our life.
And for that purpose, we have a particular identity. Say, if you work in a particular job as an engineer, then your identity is engineer. But tomorrow, you might get a raise, you might get a new job.
And in a new job, you may be more of a consultant or you might be a manager. Or somebody may change their career and decide to become an artist. So, there is a functional identity.
I was an engineer, now I am an artist. So, we have functional identities. But below the functional identity, is there something more? Generally, when we look at people, we see first their physical appearance.
And say, in relational or romantic contexts, people are attracted to each other's appearance. And especially people are attracted to each other's skin. Now, if a person is attracted to their beloved, and they want to hug them, and they want to touch their skin, and they feel a lot of sense of excitement over there.
And they say, oh, I will love you for whole life. Or even lifetime after lifetime. Now, actually, biologically speaking, our skin changes every 15 days.
Depending on what layer of the skin we are talking about. You can say it's 15 days, it's 30 days. It's not much more than that.
So, now, that means, if somebody is very attracted to the complexion, the appearance of someone, that has changed. It's gone. It's not the same.
There is a Greek philosopher who said that, we never step into the same river twice. Because for us, the river appears the same. But, the water in the river is constantly changing.
So, our skin and our body entirely is like that. It's constantly changing. The skin appears to be the same for us, but cells are getting born, cells are getting old, cells are dying, and they are being replaced.
And not just the cells at the surface, but cells inside the body also. So, now, who is it that is unchanging? We implicitly understand that there is someone who is unchanging. So, the Gita begins by asking this question.
Arjuna's question was, what should I do? What is the right thing for me to do? But, the question of activity is very much related to the question of identity. Who am I? Say, we are just put into a company. We can work here.
What work should I do? If you go and ask someone, what work should I do? He will say, okay, what is your designation? What is your identity here? That will determine your activity. So, before Arjuna can answer the question, what am I meant to do? It's a more fundamental question, who am I? So, the Gita says that we identify ourselves either with our functional role or with our physical appearance. But neither of these are who we essentially are.
These are parts of who we are. But these are not the essence. The essence is something deeper.
And that deeper, what could it be? We could say, okay, it's my conception. So, conception means that I am an Indian, I am an American, I am a Russian. But this is not necessarily related to the physical body.
It could be. But it's also a conception. But even the conceptions can change.
That means, if somebody can change their nationality legally, or somebody may not change their nationality legally, but somebody might be an Indian staying in America. And then after a few years, they start thinking like an American. They start identifying themselves as an American.
Conversely, it could be any country to any other country. So, our conceptions can also change. Our attitudes can also change.
Some person might be very negative and grumbling and complaining. And then they can change to become positive. They become more tolerant, more understanding, more optimistic.
So, even our attitudes can change. That means, the essence of who we are goes deeper than our physical appearance and goes deeper below even our conceptions. So, we have, the Bhagavata says that our existence is three levels.
There is the body, there is the mind and there is the soul. So, we could compare this with a computer system in which there is the hardware, the software and the user. So, the body is like the hardware, the mind is like the software and we, the consciousness, the soul is the user.
And it is going to the foundation of who we are that is vital for us to move forwards in understanding what we are meant to do in life. So, the first message of the Gita is that we are consciousness. We are conscious beings separate from our body and separate from our mind.
And when our body is troubled, say now it may feel very cold right now or somebody might get a physical injury. That is not actually happening to us. That is happening, that is like our computer's hardware getting damaged.
It matters to us because if we want to use the computer for functioning, the hardware getting damaged is a problem. But it is not a problem for us directly. It is a problem to something related with us.
Similarly, we may be emotionally wounded. Somebody hurts us, somebody rejects us, somebody betrays us. That is also happening not to us.
It is happening to our mind. It is like the software is getting corrupted. The software is getting damaged.
So, we exist beyond our situations and we exist beyond our emotions. This is the point of identity. That we are souls and we exist above our situations and above our emotions as the observer of those situations and as the experiencer of those emotions.
But we are different from both of them. So, any questions or comments on this point? Sir, soul is unaffected by our emotions? Ok. Is the soul unaffected by our emotions? The soul is affected to the extent there is identification attachment.
Purusha prakriti stho hi bhoomte prakriti jan gunan karanam guna sangosya sad asadyon janmasu This is 13.22 in the Gita. Krishna says that the soul is spiritual. But the soul's consciousness gets caught in matter, prakriti stho hi because of the desire to enjoy matter.
So, a simple example could be say, if you have a child at home and say your child is watching a horror movie. Now, you are sitting and you are doing your work at home and suddenly you notice a child. He is crying, he is shrieking, he is trembling, he is screaming.
Now, actually nothing is happening to the child. But the child's emotions are not fake. The emotions that the child is feeling are real.
But the emotions are not arising from a real threat. So, similarly the soul is spiritual existing at a different level of reality. But the soul's consciousness is currently projected into the physical world and that's why anything that happens in the physical world causes emotions to rise.
We feel emotionally affected by it. And the magnitude of the effect depends on the magnitude of the attachment. Say, if you are driving your car and suddenly somebody hits your car bumper, backside.
And you flare and you get angry. Now, say you have sold that car. Say, the accident has not happened, you just sold the car.
You got a new car, you are driving a new car. And suddenly you see somebody is driving your old car next to you. And then somebody hits that car.
Now, will you be affected by that? The event is the same. But the experience is different. You will still be concerned at a human level.
Oh, is this person injured? But you won't be as emotionally affected. So, the event is real. In terms of physically, one car has hit another car.
But our experience of the event depends not just on the event but also on our conception of that event. The conception is shaped by our attachment. So, the soul is unaffected in the sense that the soul is not personally threatened.
But to the extent the soul is attached to something or the soul is dependent on something, to that extent the soul is emotionally affected. Soul experiences those emotions. Okay? Yes? Sir, so, when we die, the impressions that are in our mind, like will they stay and will they go to the next body? So, it's not unlikely.
Oh, yeah. That's true. When we go from one body to another body, the impressions go with the soul.
Because impressions are stored in the mind which is software. And normally when we die, the physical body, that is what is left behind. The soul along with the mind goes to the next body.
And that's why we will see that different children have different psychologies. I was in UK last year. And I was giving a class on this topic of reincarnation.
I have a book on demystifying reincarnation. So, I was talking about twins. There are two kinds of twins.
There is monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins. You can call them identical twins and non-identical twins. Identical twins are when one sperm unites with one egg.
And then that egg splits into two. And then twins are formed by that. Otherwise the twins are two sperms united with two eggs.
So, in the first case, the children that are born are not similar, they are identical. Genetically, from a genetic perspective, they are 100% identical. And yet, their personalities are different.
So, I was making this point in the class. At that time, one person raised his hand. And he said, actually, I have an identical twin.
And he said, till now, we are so different. He says, I love music, he doesn't like music. I am more introvert, he is very extrovert.
So, there are so many differences between us. And I couldn't understand why these differences are there. So, genetically, they are identical.
And sometimes we say their upbringing might have been different. But their parents are the same children. They have grown up together.
Their upbringing was not different. So, from the material point of view, there is no reason for any difference in their personality. What to speak of such a drastic difference in their personality.
So, that comes from the impressions that are stored in the mind. So, the impressions stored in the mind come up as propositions. What we have done in the past, that will really prompt it to do the same thing.
Somebody has trained in music in a previous life. In this life, they will have some innate attraction towards music. They may pick up music quickly.
Sometimes some kids are say, maths geniuses. Just get maths so quickly. Nobody needs to teach them, they just get it.
So, it could be that they are carrying it from previous life. It is not just positive skills. It could be also other emotional drives.
Some children, they are just gentle and nice and sweet. Some children, when they cry, they bring the house down. Everybody has to stop whatever they are doing and pay attention to the child.
So, some children, even when the baby is lying on their back, they are thinking, when are they going to take over the house? So, these are impressions they carry over from previous lives. So, our mind goes with us. In the sense that, the impressions which are stored in the mind, this shape are who we are in our next life.
Yes, please. How do you describe the difference between the mind and the soul? Okay, good question. How do we understand the difference between the mind and the soul? The soul is the root of consciousness.
The mind is the route of consciousness. The channel. So, for example, right now you are looking at me.
I am looking at you. So, if while we are talking with each other, suddenly say you remember. When I came here, did I lock my house? Did I lock my house? Somebody may steal, somebody may rob.
I never left anything precious outside. Suddenly these thoughts may start. And while you are looking at me also, still you may not hear what I am speaking.
So, what has happened in this case? That our perception doesn't just happen based on our eyes seeing something. So, the consciousness of the soul is here. The senses are here.
So, the eyes are here. In between is the mind. So, the mind is the integrator of perceptions coming from the outer world.
In 15.9 Krishna Siddha Bhagavad Gita that the five senses, you could compare them broadly with the five fingers of a palm. They are all centred on the mind. So, the inputs from the five senses come to the mind.
And then the mind presents, integrates and presents those inputs to the soul. The soul observes them. And the soul responds.
So, we could compare this say, if you may have seen in some high security buildings, there might be a main security centre, where in that security centre there is a computer, which has inputs coming in from all the doors to that building. So, say there are five windows over there. And from all the doors, the inputs are coming in.
And the security in charge observes them. And as soon as they see anything suspicious, they click on it. As soon as they click on it, then that window zooms out.
And that becomes the focus. Say right now, all of you are here in this class, you are talking. Suddenly, if you start getting a very attractive fragrance, maybe of a gulab jamun, of some delicious sweet.
And then you will eat. What is this food? Is this going to be served to us after this programme? Oh, when will this programme end? When can I eat it? So, if you start thinking like that, then what will happen? That particular window zooms out. And when that window zooms out, then what is the other windows? Through the eyes, you are still looking at this, in this class of the speaker.
You are still hearing with the ears. But that doesn't register. So, basically, the soul is the inner seer, and the mind is the inner screen.
So, whatever happens in the outer world, gets impressed on the inner screen. It is presented on the inner screen, and the soul responds to that. So, basically, the mind is the channel through which events from outside are integrated and presented to the soul.
And the soul responds accordingly. Did I answer your question? Thank you. Yes? The soul carries the impression.
Sometimes people say, like, he is behaving like his uncle or grandpa. This is dicto like his mom or dad. So, will you carry that also to the next level? How do you understand that? So, if we say the child is behaving like his grandparents or parents, yeah, there are multiple factors that shape our behaviour.
That means that our past karma, the impressions that are formed in our mind because of that, there is one factor shaping our behaviour. But along with that, our this life birth also matters. Because, as I said, the soul has a mind and the soul has a body.
So, now the mind has come from a previous life. But the body has come from this life. So, naturally, the body will have some, because of genetics, some resemblances either with the parents or the grandparents.
And the body is a machine. So, the body will also come with certain behavioural characteristics. So, yes, parents may, the child may behave like the parents.
So, broadly speaking, our behaviour, say, right now, why we do what we do is a big question in psychology. You know, what makes us do the things that we do. So, we can divide that, why we do what we do.
There are five factors in that. One is our past life impressions. Second is our this life upbringing.
Third is our association, present association. Fourth is our free will. And the fifth is God's grace.
So, how we act, some people just get very angry. But they may be angry because of the impressions, they might have this angry discussion from previous life. Or that is the way they have seen their parents or their elders respond to any problem.
Just yell and shout and attack. That is upbringing. Or they might be right now around people who are very short-tempered.
People who are very provocative. So, now, all these three, past life impressions, upbringing and association. All these three push us to act in particular ways.
But none of them force us. They will push, but we can't counter-push. And when you practise Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Yoga does two things actually.
First is, it increases our capacity to push back. It makes our free will stronger. And secondly, Bhakti Yoga decreases the negative push of the past forces.
The past life karma, the upbringing, the association, whatever push may come from them, the negative push from them decreases. And that's how we can learn, we can change our behaviour. We can shape our character positively.
Okay? Thank you. Any other questions? So, till now we have talked about identity. Now, let's move on to activity.
When we talk about activity, the thrust has to be that, as Arjun has this question, what am I, what should I do in this situation? What is the right thing for me to do? So, you talk about Dharma. So, he says, Krishna tells that, we, as I said, there is a functional identity and there is a fundamental identity. Functional identity is, Arjun, you are a warrior.
You are a member of a particular dynasty. But beyond or below all these, you are a spiritual being. And that spiritual being is a part of the whole.
So, as a part of the whole, you know, this topic is philosophical. Do the kids need to sit in the front row? I mean, I don't expect them to be attentive, but you do need to sit in the front row. You can have them sit comfortably behind and you don't have to attend the class.
You can have fun if you want to. But it's a little distracting if you have that right in the front. Thank you.
So, we all have certain roles to play in our life. But underlying these roles is who we are. So, the Bhagavad Gita says, our activity should be determined not by our roles, but by our soul.
What is the difference? The soul will play different roles at different times. Now, as I said, Arjun is a warrior. And as a warrior, he has to fight.
But Arjun is a member of a particular dynasty. He has to protect other members of the dynasty. So, he has these two roles.
He doesn't know which role I am going to play. So, we all define ourselves often in terms of our roles. So, we may define ourselves as, say, the son of someone or the daughter of someone.
And then, if, say, we had parents who were very difficult to please. And our whole life may be driven by the craving to get the approval of a parent. And if we don't get that approval, we consider ourselves free.
Or we may have a relationship with someone, say, a spousal relationship. Or we may want to have that kind of relationship with someone. And then, if somehow, we experience rejection in that.
Then, if we have defined ourselves, if someone defines oneself as the husband of someone or the wife of someone, and then they experience some turbulence in that, some disruption in that, then people feel, who am I? This was my identity. And I have lost this identity. So, if we understand that all these are roles we are playing, conversely, we might go further.
Somebody may become a parent. And then, as a parent, they may want their children to behave in a particular way, to grow up in a particular way. And the children start going off in a direction that they consider wrong.
Then the parents may feel that I am a failure. And they may take it too personally. What is the value of my life if I can't guide my child properly? So, we all have certain roles.
And if you identify too much with that role, then, when there is some problem which occurs in that role, you get overwhelmed. Especially in romantic relationships. Sometimes, if there is a particularly painful separation, people may go into depression, people may even become suicidal.
That's not just because of the separation. It is because they have identified themselves too strongly with that role. So, our activity is to be shaped, the Bhagavad Gita says, not so much by our roles in this world.
We have two kinds of relationships. This is where the Bhagavad Gita's teachings moves forwards. So, I will talk about the conception of the Bhagavad Gita.
I said identity, activity and destiny. So, for identity, the Bhagavad Gita takes our vision from the body to the soul. And for activity, the Bhagavad Gita takes the vision from the soul to the supreme soul.
To the infinite being. So, the Bhagavad Gita explains the infinite in a very subtle and multilayer way as a three-level being which I cannot go into. There is a personal aspect, there is an impersonal aspect and there is a transitional aspect.
So, the concept of God is a very sophisticated subject in the Gita. But we will focus on our point of activity. So, the Gita says we have horizontal relationships with people in the world and we have a vertical relationship with the divine.
And the vertical relationship is what is eternal. The horizontal relationships are temporary. Temporary doesn't mean they are unimportant.
Temporary just means that they are not as important as the vertical relationship. And our primary identity has to come from our vertical relationship that I am a soul who is a part of the whole. ममई वान्शो जीव लोग के जीव भूर्ता के सिनातन In the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, 7th verse Krishna says All living beings are my parts.
So, this vertical aspect that I am a soul who is a part of God. As a part of God, I am meant to be in loving harmony with people. So, we express our love through service.
Now, all my roles as a son or daughter of someone, as a spouse of someone, as a parent of someone, all these roles are ways in which I serve the divine. So, when parents take care of the children, they are not just taking care of their child. This is not just my child, this is a soul who is a part of God.
And he or she has been interested in my care. So, I take care in a mood of service. So, when this is done, what happens? There is a well-known metaphor which is often talked about in the in the broad Indian text.
It's of a river going towards an ocean. The river flows towards the ocean. So, for all of us, the Bhagavad Gita explains that the various roles that we play.
So, these are like channels along which the water of our consciousness flows. And ultimately, it is meant to flow towards the ocean. And that ocean is Krishna.
The absolute truth is known by different names in different traditions. The Bhagavad Gita knows that absolute truth by the name Krishna. By the absolute truth, I refer to the infinite with whom we have an eternal relationship.
And that infinite being is the ultimate goal of our life. In the 9th chapter, 17th, 18th, 19th verses, Krishna talks about this conception of the revices. Gatil is the ultimate exchange.
Bharta, that absolute truth is the maintainer. Prabhu is our lord and master. Sakshi is present inside us.
He is observing everything that happens in our lives. Nivasaha is the supreme shelter. Sharanam, he is the person with whom we can surrender and get relief.
Suhrat is our greatest revelation. Prabhavapralayasthanam, he is the beginning of everything, he is the end of everything. Nidhanam bijam avyayam and he is the, it's a beautiful metaphor, he is the imperishable seed.
Normally when a seed gives rise to a tree, the seed disappears. The seed changes into a tree, you could say. But Krishna is the imperishable seed.
So the point here is that in terms of our activity, the Gita explains that all our roles are like channels by which our consciousness can move towards Krishna. So we have a job, we have a career, that's important. But its importance is not just that we want to make it big in our life, but also that we want to serve and connect with Krishna in a mood of service and contribution.
So now if a river is moving towards an ocean and there are multiple channels, if one channel gets blocked, it's a problem. But it's not a life ending problem. The river still is alive and the river still can flow.
Okay, this channel gets blocked, let me flow through this channel. This channel gets blocked, let me flow through this channel. Similarly for us, if we will all face, if and when we face difficulties, which we will sooner or later, if we identify with a particular role, if somebody identifies themselves as a software engineer and then they lose their job.
I just don't get any other job as a software engineer. Who am I? What is my standing? If somebody identifies themselves simply with how much money they are earning, then their self-worth becomes equated with their net worth. And if again that is blocked, suppose they lose their job and they are not earning anything, then who am I? Just I don't know.
So we will all face pain in our life. We may have to live with pain, but we don't have to live in pain. We may have to live with pain, but we don't have to live in pain.
The difference is that if our life is only one track, if we identify ourselves with only one role in life, that there is only one channel for our consciousness, and if there is a blockage in that channel, then what can we do? We feel our whole life is pointless. Then we are living in pain. Pain becomes like a container of our consciousness.
We can't experience anything except pain. Just like there is a relationship breakdown, and people have identified themselves solely as I am the husband of this person, I am the wife of this person. Or somebody has identified themselves in a particular role.
I am an engineer, I am this. And they lose that and they live in pain. Now when something terrible happens, it is a problem.
But if they understand that I am bigger than my roles, that I am a being who has many roles to play, ultimately my defining connection is my connection with the Divine, with Krishna. Then, because one channel is blocked, there is pain. But we can live with pain, not in pain.
With means, pain is a part of our experience of life. It is a component in our consciousness. It is not the container of our consciousness.
So Krishna tells Arjuna that whatever you do, you do it not specifically, not only considering that you are this role and you are doing this. See that you are bigger than that role. And this is the role you have to play and do that in a mood of service.
So the idea is, you are a warrior, your duty is to fight. You are a member of a particular dynasty, you have to protect the members of the dynasty. But right now, how best can you serve the Divine? How best can you serve Krishna? How best can you connect with Krishna? Go back to the basics and then re-envision your activity.
So if we have that mood in every situation, how can I best serve? What is my service in this situation? How can I contribute in this situation? Not that I want this to happen this way, why is it not happening that way? How can I contribute in this situation? If you have that mood, you will find that a channel will come up. This channel is not moving forward. This channel I can take.
This channel I can take. And I can move on. I can move on.
So the Gita explains, Krishna is always present with us in our thoughts. And sometimes when we experience too much strain in various relationships, every time we experience a strain in a relationship, we feel unloved. And if we experience too many strains in too many relationships, then we feel not just unloved, we feel unloveable.
There is something wrong with me because of which no one will love me. No one loves me. To feel unloved is depressing.
But to feel unloveable is devastating. But the Bhagavad Gita explains, that no matter what we experience in our horizontal relationships, the vertical relationship always awaits us. Krishna is always there with us in our hearts.
And Krishna always loves us. He is an all-loving divinity. And His love for us doesn't depend on who we are.
His love for us is based not on who we are, it is based on who He is. He is the all-loving Lord of everyone. Just like the sun, sun gives light to everyone.
The sun's light does not depend on whether somebody is an African or an American or an Indian. The sun's light comes to everyone. Now similarly, Krishna's love comes for everyone.
Krishna is present in every single living being's heart. Even if a person loves us very much, and that person holds us in a tight embrace, that person can't ever come as close to us as Krishna always is in our hearts. And this Krishna, now as I said, Krishna's love for us is based not on who we are, but on who He is.
However, our experience of His love is based on who we are. The sun may give light to everyone, but if my eyes are closed, then I can't perceive the sun's light. Similarly, we may sometimes close our eyes, that means we get so attached, so obsessed with some particular thing, that we can't perceive the bigger thing in our life.
The very fact that we are alive is a blessing. There are so many things right in our life. This is Thanksgiving weekend going on.
So, the fact that we are alive, that is a blessing. The fact that we have reasonably good health, that's a blessing. There are so many blessings in our life.
But sometimes we get so attached to one particular thing, that this thing is not working, for nothing is right in our life. But if we open our eyes, we'll see that God's grace is still there in our lives. So, the Gita's answer about activity is, how do we act? Just act in a mood of love.
Act in a mood of service. In this situation, how can I best express my love through service? So, Krishna tells Arjuna, going back to the setting of the Bhagavad Gita, that you are thinking, if you don't fight, you can save the opponents. But if you don't fight, you yourself will be killed.
That's your dilemma. But you are thinking only in terms of your actions. You are a part of something bigger than yourself.
And there's a bigger plan and action in it. Because the opponent, we can't go into the history of the Mahabharata over here, the bigger picture of why that war was happening. But Krishna says, on the opposite side, are wrongdoers.
And they need to be punished. And if you don't punish them, by their karma, they will be punished in some other way. But if you don't act, then you will be irresponsible.
You will not be doing their duty. It's like somebody has been tried and found convicted in the court. And they have done such terrible crimes that they have to be executed now.
And then if at the last moment, the executor develops cold feet. How can I kill a person? I can't kill him. Well, the sentence is already passed.
The person has already done the wrong and the person has already been found guilty. If this executor doesn't kill, that doesn't mean the government is going to let them go. The government will find some other executor and by the laws of the government, that person will be killed.
So Krishna says, that Arjun, by not doing your duty, only you will end up guilty. You will not save them. But this does not mean that they have no hope.
Krishna says that, actually they are also souls and they are also on their spiritual journey. They did some wrong, when they get the reaction for the wrong, they become free from that old bondage and they can move forward. So you will help yourself and you will help them.
If you act in a mood of loving service. So service is what? In this particular service, we have a very difficult service. The service of fighting.
Most of us don't have that kind of service. But the idea is, with respect to activity, the Gita says, act in a mood of loving service. Rather than letting our actions be defined by our horizontal relationships and horizontal roles, we go back and define ourselves in terms of our vertical identity.
I am a soul, a part of the divine, and how can I act in a mood of loving service in this situation? And then we can look at our particular roles and relationships and consider how to act in that situation. So this is the Gita's mood of acting in a mood of loving service. Any questions about this? Yes, please.
Some others may also be impressed by this question. Krishna advises Arjuna more than once in his life, but two times, that it's better to perform your own duty, your own dharma, than another's dharma. Even if you perform that other person's dharma perfectly, it's dangerous and not favourable.
It's better to even do your dharma imperfectly. Can you speak to that? Okay, good question. Thank you.
So when Krishna says to Arjuna that it's better to do your own dharma imperfectly than to do another's duty perfectly. So he says twice, 3.35 and 18.46. śreyāṁ sva-dharmo-vigunaḥ para-dharmāt sunuṣṭhināt śuddharme nidanaṁ śreya para-dharmo bhayavaḥ And next time he says, śreyāṁ sva-dharmo-vigunaḥ para-dharmāt sunuṣṭhināt śubhāvarītaṁ karmaṁ kurvannāpnoti-kilvishyam So essentially what he is telling Arjuna, let's look at it first in the context and later we will look in a broader, in what applies to us. There are, we could say, the administrators of society.
There are the warriors and the justice implementers. So they have to punish when necessary. They have to discipline when necessary.
And Arjuna belongs to that Kshatriya caste, Kshatriya group. He is not so much a caste as a human type. So he belongs to that group.
And then Arjuna, apart from that there are intellectuals, priests, scholars. They, in general, are told to forgive. If somebody does something bad to you, just tolerate it, forgive it and move on with your life.
So forgiveness is a virtue at an individual level. Somebody has done something wrong to us, we can forgive. But if there is a state administration, the justice administration, then they have to punish when wrong happened.
So Krishna is telling Arjuna, Arjuna is thinking, let me forgive all of them and things will be alright. So he is acting like a Brahmin. The Brahmins, those who are intellectuals, sages, priests, this is forgiven.
But Krishna is telling Arjuna that you are right now, your role in society is as a warrior. So you have to do your duty. And the perfectly and imperfectly there refers not so much to the mode of how it is done.
If you see, So, Viguna refers not so much to the, guna is quality. Viguna is bad quality. So what Krishna is telling Arjuna is that sometimes our own duty may seem to be faulty.
It's not so much the execution of the duty, but the content of the duty itself. So fighting and killing, it seems to be so brutal, I don't want to do this. However, as compared to that, that duty is so nice.
There you can just teach, you can worship, you can counsel, no need to do any kind of violence. So Arjuna is thinking that instead of acting like a warrior, let me act like a sage. So Krishna is saying this will not work for you.
Because each of us has our own psychology. And Krishna tells Arjuna, now you think, you'll act like a sage. And you say, okay, I'll become a renunciate, I'll live simply in the forest, on forest fair, I'll beg alms and I'll leave.
But that is not your temperament. If you artificially choose the mode of living of a Brahmin, and then, if you ask for alms, and somebody refuses alms, your anger will come, you'll take out your sword, to attack. So the difference is, the Kshatriyas take taxes.
They take taxes from above. The Brahmins take alms from below. Alms are what is voluntarily given.
Taxes are what have to be given. So what Kshatriyas do is take taxes. Kshatriyas don't take alms.
So Krishna is telling Arjuna, that if you think you will act like a Brahmin, forgive them right now. Right now, in the rush of sentiment, you think you can do it. But in future, when there is a provocation, when somebody refuses something to you, at that time, your Kshatriya nature will resurface.
And then you will act violently. And at that time, because you adopted the mood of a Kshatriya, if you act violently, that will be Adharma. So, you will not be able to execute that duty.
So that's why Krishna is saying here, just act according to your nature. This is before 3.35 in the previous verses. All living beings act according to their nature.
Even those who are in knowledge act according to their nature. Therefore, what can repression accomplish? You have the nature of a warrior. Repressing that nature will not work.
So, going back to the previous point, we have an identity in our vertical relationship. And then for our activity in the world, we all have a particular body, a particular mind. And based on that particular body and mind, we act in particular ways.
So, the way we have been gifted our body and mind, that is the way we need to act. Does that answer your question? Yes, please. How do we apply this knowledge in terms of… Yes, good question.
How do we apply this knowledge in terms of… How do we understand our nature? The word nature can seem very abstract and vague. We could divide nature down into qualities. And we could say, what is it that we are good at? I will tell a story.
In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas are the heroes. And they are living incognito. And there is a king who wants to identify.
So, they are acting at that time like priests. Just to live incognito, they are acting as brahmanas. Temporary.
And in order to identify, this king invites them to his palace for a feast. And when they come for a feast, he asks them to sit. And he says, I will just come back in a few minutes.
And there is a table arranged on the opposite side of the big hall. And on the table on one side, there are some scriptural books of wisdom kept. There are some weapons and arms kept.
There are some ploughing equipments kept. And there are some artisans equipments kept. So, art and craft which the labourers may use.
Artisans may use. So now, tools basically. Now, as soon as the Pandavas enter the room, they look around.
And they see this table. And all of them go straight to the weapons. And they pick up the weapons.
This bow is strong. This sword is not that good. That is much better.
And within moment, they are deep in discussion. And the king is observing from a slit in the window. And he is smiling.
He says, these are not brahmanas. These are kshatriyas. So, basically, whenever we, in the normal course of our life, we all notice some things automatically.
Some people, as soon as they come to a room, they look at the aesthetics of this. This curtain matches over here. This thing doesn't match over here.
They could just change the aesthetics and it is so much better. Some people come into the room, they immediately notice the language. So, I write.
Writing is one of my services. So, my linguistic attention is very high. Whenever I come into any room, I look at the notices.
And I do a spell check automatically. So, I become like a self-appointed proofreader. So, we all notice certain things automatically.
So, if we note consciously, what we notice subconsciously, that is one way to indicate what we are good at. We note consciously what we notice subconsciously, what we notice automatically. Broadly speaking, we can look at, when Krishna says, according to quality and according to activity, what he means is, you could translate this into English as, comfort and competence.
So, while we are doing various activities in our life, we can look at what it is that we are comfortable doing. And what it is that we are competent at. If these two things we see, I like to do this and I do it well also.
Then we could understand that that is indicative of where we can focus our energies. So, it's not so important that we have to categorise ourselves according to any particular designation. The important thing is, we have to identify our qualities and act accordingly.
The purpose of the Gita, even the purpose of the traditional social division, was not so much segregation of people. It was primarily engagement of people in a way that is harmonious with their given talents. So, by noticing, by noting consciously what we notice subconsciously, and by looking at what we feel comfortable doing and what we are competent at.
Broadly, you can understand how we can be best engaged. Did I answer your question? Yes. Hi.
Is there a relationship between a soul's impression and karma? Because I feel like there is. Oh, yeah. Because of your past soul impression, it kind of makes up what you do in this life, but karma-wise too, from your past life, maybe something can catch up to you because of what you did in the past.
Something like that. What do you mean by the word karma in this context? What we did in the past? Yeah, yeah. And your soul impression.
Because you said there was a child that, in this recent life, this child is attracted to music. And it was because in the past life he was a conductor. Right? For example.
Now, is there a relationship? It sounds like karma too, right? Oh, yeah. So, the question is, is there a relationship between karma and impressions? Yes. Because it is karma that forms the impressions.
Whatever actions that we do, they form the impressions. A simple example could be, say, India has a very well-known movie industry called Bollywood. So now, if somebody has visited a particular website, say bollywood.com repeatedly.
And then, say, now they come for a spiritual programme and they hear about Bhagavad Gita. And they want to know what is Bhagavad Gita. And they go on their device and then they want to type Bhagavad Gita.
And they type B. And as soon as they type B, what happens? What happens? Bollywood comes up. Now, why has that come up? As we had selected in the past. So, whatever we have selected in the past, our past selections will come as present preferences.
We don't have to visit bollywood.com. We can go to bhagavadgita.com. But Bollywood is what will come as a default option. So, similarly, whatever actions we have done in the past, they come as default propositions in this life. We can change.
So, the karma was, say, you could say, visiting bollywood.com. The impression is bollywood.com being stored as a preference. And then it comes as a proposition. Okay? Thank you.
Yes? If the soul is picking up impressions in every life, why do you say that the soul is not changing? Okay, good question. The soul is picking up impressions in each life. Why do we say the soul is not changing? Actually, the soul itself is not picking up the impressions.
It is the mind that is the reservoir of the impressions. So, the soul remains unchanging. But the impressions of the soul change.
And that's why the bhagavadgita talks about consciousness in two different senses. First, it talks about consciousness as a stream coming from the soul. It's like, say, light is coming from that bulb.
So, like that, consciousness is stream of awareness coming from the soul. avinanchita tad viddhi yena sarvamitam tatam Krishna says, that which pervades the body, that is indestructible. So, that is one understanding of consciousness.
But another understanding is, Krishna says in 13th chapter, later in the Bhagavad Gita in text 6 and 7, that consciousness is a result of the transformations of matter. iccha dvesha sukham dukkham sanghatas cetanagati etat cetram samasenas avikaram udaharitam There he says that consciousness, the way we experience it, is a result of the transformations of material nature. That means, say, take the same example, the light is coming from that bulb.
But, if around that we put a red film, the light that will come will be red. If we put around a green film, the light that will come will be green. So, similarly, the soul is the same.
The light of awareness coming from the soul is the same. But when that light of awareness comes through the mind outward, through the mind, through the body, that changes. How it is expressed changes.
So, that's why the soul is unchanging, but the tool through which the soul's consciousness is coming out, that keeps changing. So, let's move on to the last part now. Any other questions at this stage? So, I talked about identity, activity, and last part was, you remember? So, the Bhagavad Gita says that we all belong to an eternal level of life.
And at one level, this can seem to be just like some fantasy of some people who are afraid of death. They thought of that anyway. It's some eternal life.
But, we can look at it another way. You see, all of us long to live forever, and we all long to love forever. Most of the movies and novels are about romance.
And most romance, people hope at least, that it will end in H-E-A, happily ever after. Now, if we look at the real life, nobody lives forever. So, the desire to live forever, the desire to not die, it is so strong within us.
It is almost a fundamentally defining drive in life. And yet, there is nothing around us that lives forever. So, if we were simply products of matter, and matter doesn't last forever, then where would the desire to live forever come from? They say there is a remote Native American tribe which is unconnected with the rest of the world.
And they have no internet, they have no phone, they are completely remote. And suddenly, a child over there goes to his mother and says, Mom, Mom, I want a pizza. What do you think the mother would ask? What's a pizza? Even if she knows what's a pizza, she will ask, who told you about a pizza? There is nothing in the child's environment to create an awareness of pizza.
Naturally, the question will come, where does the desire come from? So, similarly, there is nothing around us that lasts forever. The huge mountains don't last forever. If nothing lasts forever, then where does our desire to live forever come from? If there is nothing in our environment, then it must indicate that this desire must be coming from something inside us.
And that inside us, the Gita says, is the soul. The soul is eternal. But because the soul's consciousness is projected outwards right now, to the body, so we are seeking eternality at the physical level.
So, destiny, the Bhagavad Gita says, we are all meant for eternal life. But that eternal life is attained not by trying to eternalise our body. That is what many people try to do.
They try to get our body to get prolonged. We may laugh at Egyptians who preserved the bodies of their pharaohs as mummies. But, actually, scientists have even now preserved the brain of Einstein.
And they hope that one day, if we learn, then we can get Einstein back. How to use the brain to revive the body. So, we all have this desire, but that desire cannot be fulfilled at the physical level.
Because the body keeps changing. But if we raise our consciousness to the spiritual level, then we can attain eternal life. The Gita says that we belong to an eternal level of reality beyond this physical level of reality.
And that eternal level of reality is what we are meant to be. And in fact, if you look at pre-modern times, before the age of technology across the world, whether it is Indian civilisation, American civilisation, European civilisation, every civilisation almost in the world understood that there is another world. And attaining that world is life's ultimate goal.
And this world is like a place of journey. Jesus said that this world is like a bridge. Cross over it.
Don't build your house on it. And the same message is there across all traditions. But with the advent of science and especially the advent of technology, people started thinking that we don't need any other paradise because through technology we can create paradise in this world itself.
So, there is a lot of exaggerated hyperbolic propaganda that we can eternalise life. But at the physical level it's impossible. So, Gita says our destiny is that we are eternal and we are meant for an eternal life.
So, if we raise our consciousness to the spiritual level, if we understand that we are souls who are parts of Krishna, then beyond this world is another world. And if we in this life connect with Krishna in a mood of loving service, if we practise Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Yoga is the process by which we can connect with Krishna. And if we connect with Krishna, develop our devotion to him, if by the time of our death, if our love for God has become greater than our love for the world, then God will take us out of this world.
If our love for the world is still strong, then that means this is what we want to enjoy. This is what we think will make us happy. Then we will come back again to try to enjoy things in life.
But enjoy material things. But Bhagavad Gita tells us our destiny is that, not that we try to enjoy temporary things in better ways, but rather that we enjoy eternal life. And for that we need to love the eternal.
So, if we practise the process of Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Yoga doesn't deny our emotions, it doesn't deny our affection, it doesn't deny our relationships. It places them in context. These are horizontal relationships, they are important, but see these horizontal relationships in a mood of service in the vertical relationship.
And by the practise of Bhakti Yoga, by chanting the holy names of Krishna, by studying the Bhagavad Gita, by worshipping Krishna, as our love for Krishna increases, then we move closer and closer to Krishna. And that happily ever after, which people long for, that is fulfilled if we understand that happily ever after is not between one physical body and another physical body. It is between the soul and the Supreme Soul.
When we are reunited with Krishna, then that is life's supreme success. And we are actually souls on a journey of spiritual evolution that extends over many lifetimes. And in this lifetime, we have an opportunity to evolve upwards.
Especially if we have got spiritual association, then that itself is a huge opportunity for us. The door to eternity has opened for us. And if we just practise the verses of Bhakti, then we will attain eternal life.
And that is life's supreme success. That is what we are meant to attain. We are all destined for immortality, provided we direct our love towards the immortal.
Is Bhakti Yoga the only yoga path? Certainly not. There are many different yoga paths. And all of them can help us to rise upwards.
So, going back to the example of that horror movie. So, if you consider, there are four breath yogic paths. There is Gyan Yoga, there is Ashtang Yoga, there is Karma Yoga, and there is Bhakti Yoga.
So, you could classify these into two categories. One is those which require us to reject the world. And those which ask us to engage in the world with a different consciousness.
So, the idea is, this virtual reality is all an illusion. Just stop playing it. So, in the path of Gyan or Ashtang, in the world-rejecting spiritual paths, in the world-rejecting yoga paths, the idea is, by analysis, we detach ourselves from everything.
So, if we feel love for someone, we say, what is this love? This is simply some chemicals rising in my body. We find somebody attractive, we say, what is this attractive about this? And this body is just a set of cells. And there are all kinds of unattractive substances in the body, but they are just an attractive package.
So, this is the vision by which we try to reject the world. That is one way of practise. So, Ashtanga and Dhyana Yogas, they focus on rejecting the world.
But Krishna is talking about connecting chapters. Yeah, I am coming to that. I am coming to that.
That is a separate question. Are all the yogas equal? I say, all the yogas have the same purpose. Every yogic path can provide us with helpful, valuable insights.
But which yoga is most practical for us? We have to find it. If by analysis, we can deconstruct the world and see the world as an illusion and pursue something beyond the world. That is good.
We could say that Karma, Dhyana, Dhyana, I am using one word as a way for Dhyana and Dhyana, the world rejected. So, the path of Karma romanticises the world. You just make some better arrangements, then you can become happy in life.
The path of Karma romanticises the world. The path of Dhyana demonises the world. This world is simply illusion, it is deception, it is treachery.
Don't get entangled. But the path of Bhakti utilises the world. We see beauty in the world, we don't deny that things are beautiful.
But we understand that this beauty is temporal. And this beauty reflects a spark of Krishna's supreme beauty. So, if this beauty attracts me so much, how much will the beauty of Krishna attract? The love that we experience from others or towards others, we don't deny it as false.
We see that this is a drop of love. And Krishna is an ocean of love. If this love can attract my heart so much, how much will Krishna's love attract me? So, in that sense, all the yogas can help us raise our consciousness.
Bhakti yoga offers us a way by which we can channel our emotions and channel our existing situations in a mode of service to Krishna. So, in that sense, we can choose whichever yoga we find most practical. Bhagavad Gita is an inclusive book which gives each yoga its due.
At the same time, if you want to know what the Bhagavad Gita itself recommends, we can look at its conclusion. And the conclusion is very categorical and unambiguous. Krishna says, give up all varieties of religion and just surrender to me.
This is all dharma. Whatever conceptions of right and wrong you have, just put them aside and surrender to me. So, Krishna is actually recommending bhakti.
Did you answer the question? No. Bhakti is not just about emotional intelligence. Bhakti is about using our entire being.
Bhakti is not just emotion. Bhakti is about connecting the soul with the supreme soul. So, we could broadly say karma is about the hands.
Jnana is about the head. Bhakti is about the heart. But it's not like that.
Bhakti is about the heart. Karma is about the hands. Jnana is about the head.
Bhakti is about the heart, head and hands all combined together. Because wherever we feel committed to, wherever we are dedicated to, we will use all those faculties. So, bhakti is not just about emotions.
If it were simply about emotions, then why would we be discussing philosophy right now? There are bhakti saints who have also written great philosophical treatises. And that is because bhakti is not just emotion. Bhakti is love.
And love means, if we love someone, we offer our entire being to the beloved. So, if we have intelligence, we offer that intelligence, use that intelligence in the mood of service to our beloved. If we have physical ability, we use that physical ability in the mood of service to our beloved.
That's why there are devoted workers who have built magnificent temples. And not just sentiment. Oh, I want a temple.
They have worked very hard. There are bhakti saints who have composed exquisite musical songs. So, it's not just that, Oh, I am emotional.
They learn the language. They learn the poetry. And then they use that in the mood of service to Krishna.
So, bhakti is inclusive in the sense that our entire being is going to be offered to Krishna. And within our entire being, whatever is our particular strength, we use that specifically to offer it to Krishna. Okay.
Thank you. Yes. Okay.
It's slightly off topic. So, forgive me. I was wondering, so many years ago, even though we face it daily, I'm just wondering, was there a historical imperative that forced Krishna to extreme violence to be a conscientious objector? Okay.
Good question. So, was it that, was there some historical imperative that forced Krishna to ask Arjun to fight rather than be a conscientious objector? Yeah. If you look at the broad context of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata.
The Mahabharata is a book that describes the history. So, the Pandavas, among whom Arjun is one of them, the Pandavas have been persecuted since their childhood. When Arjun's brother was just a teenager, Duryodhana, the opponent, tried to feed him poisoned food and kill him.
When the Pandavas were just youths, Duryodhana tried to burn them alive by sending them to a palace. And later on, he publicly tried to disrobe and dishonour Arjun's wife. The Pandavas' wife.
And he was not in the least remorseful about it. Then, in a fraudulent gambling match, in a rigged gambling match, he defrauded the Pandavas of all their wealth and sent them to the forest for 13 years. Even after 13 years when the Pandavas came back, the agreement was that they will give half the kingdom back to the Pandavas.
But he absolutely refused to do that. And not only did he refuse, Krishna himself came as a peasant envoy. And he said that, he offered the peasants the most accommodating terms.
He said, okay, the Pandavas, the Kshatriyas, they need to rule. That's their nature. If you can't give them half the kingdom, just give them five villages.
And Duryodhana's reply was, I will not give them enough land even to put the tip of a needle through. So, this is rejection at its fullest. Suppose we invite someone for a programme.
And they say, actually, I am busy. I have to go here. I already made this commitment.
So, I can't come for the programme. So, this is a refusal of the request. They are refusing our request.
But if somebody says, we invite them for a programme and they say, even if I die, my corpse will never come to your throne. That is not just a refusal of the request, that is a banging the door on the face. So, Duryodhana did like that.
His insolence of such that, he said, I will not give him tip of the land. So, he was not interested in any peaceful solution at all. Not only that, Duryodhana tried to arrest Krishna.
This is… So, it was a historical family conflict? No, it was a historical family conflict. And we could say that there were… Yes, but there is clearly, there is one side, which is repeatedly doing wrong. And the person was not ready to seek any peaceful reconciliation.
So, trying to arrest Krishna is like say, imagine if there is a conflict between India and Pakistan. And Indian Prime Minister goes to Pakistan to seek peace. And then Pakistan tries to arrest the Indian Prime Minister.
It would be outrageous. War would break out. Big, big incident.
That is what they tried to do with Krishna. And then Krishna and the Pandavas discussed. See, Arjuna was… Duryodhana was so insolent, that he had tried to disrobe and dishonour Draupadi in public in the royal assembly.
It's like nowadays there is so much concern about violence against women. So, now if there is, if somebody tries to violate a woman, he may do it in private. That's bad.
But somebody does it in public, it's worse. But if somebody is so brazen that they try to violate a woman in a police station, in the presence of the enforcers of law, that's so outrageous. And such a person who has attempted to do something like this, and that person is not in the least bit remorseful about it, not in the least bit even fearful about what he has done, such a person is given full freedom.
If there is no opposition, then what kind of atrocity that person will do, you can't even imagine. So, because of that, the Pandavas did not choose war. They tried everything humanly possible, and we could say everything divinely possible.
Krishna himself went as a warrior. But there is just no way that they could have peace at that time. That's why Krishna had to tell Arjuna to fight back.
If you have any questions, I can discuss personally later. Thank you.