Appreciating the Bhagavad Gita from Sanjaya’s perspective (Gita 18.74-78): GREAT acronym
Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.
Appreciating the Bhagavad Gita from Sanjay's perspective. So, another way of titling this, what's so great about the Bhagavad Gita? So, I'll use an acronym GREAT, G R E A T, which will describe the five verses spoken by Sanjay. So, the Bhagavad Gita itself has 700 verses and is primarily a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna.
Arjuna asks, over the course of his 18 chapters, Arjuna asks 17 different questions and Krishna answers those questions. And the Krishna-Arjuna conversation ends by 18.73. 1872 is the last verse that Krishna speaks and 1873 is the last verse that Arjuna speaks. And Arjuna says, Krishna asks, have you heard clearly? Have you understood? Krishna says, I have understood.
I have become calm. I have become confident. And that's where the Gita could have ended.
But the Gita contains five more verses which are what are spoken by Sanjay. So, we look at each of these five verses and we try to focus on one theme from each of these verses which will help us appreciate the speciality of the Bhagavad Gita. So, let's look at these verses one by one.
Let's try to recite it. So, I'll tell the meaning first and then we'll recite it and then we'll discuss the words. And after discussing the words, we'll try to recite it once again.
And like that, I'll try to do about seven minutes each verse and we'll complete in the 35-40 minutes and we can have another questions at the end. So, here Sanjay is speaking. In this way, I have Vasudevasya.
Partha such a Mahatmana. So, these two souls Vasudeva, that's Krishna and Partha is Arjuna. In this way, between these two souls, Vasudeva and Partha.
And what about them? Mahatmana. They are both great souls. Mahatma is singular.
Mahatmana is plural. In between these two great souls, Samvadam, this conversation, this dialogue. In this way, I have heard this conversation between these two great souls.
And Adbhutam Romaharsham. He is describing what is the nature of this conversation. First he says, it was between two great souls.
But it is also Adbhutam. It is wonderful. And Romaharsham.
How wonderful? The wonderful is often a very overused adjective. Prasad is wonderful. Kirtan is wonderful.
Devotees are wonderful. Temple is wonderful. Life is wonderful.
Okay, just sometimes the word becomes meaningless to the overuse. It is so wonderful. Adbhutam Romaharsham.
Romah refers to hair. But hairs are standing up in ecstasy. So, it is extremely thrilling.
So, he starts by appreciating the Bhagavad Gita in this way. So, let us try to recite it. We will recite it only once.
So, I will focus on one word. Mahatmanah. It is understood that Krishna is Mahatma.
Atma means soul. Maha means great. So, Mahatma is a great soul.
Now literally, Krishna as God is the greatest being. So, he is Mahatma. But all the Bhagavad Gita has described and the Upanishads also echo that the soul is extremely tiny.
It is so small that it is immeasurable. So, why would such a tiny soul be referred to as Mahatma? It is that Krishna has also used this word Mahatma earlier. In the 7th chapter 19th verse he uses it.
And in 9th chapter 14th verse he uses it. For example, So, the idea is physically or metaphysically. The soul is not physical.
So, you can say the soul is very small. So, how can a small soul become a great soul? So, here it is saying it is a conversation between Mahatmas. That means Sanjay is considering it is not only Krishna who is Mahatma.
It is Arjuna is also Mahatma. So, what makes a soul a big soul? It is actually their vision of life. It is their understanding of the meaning and purpose of life.
What do they see their life as meant for? That can make a person's life very small. The person's conception of life is what? Okay, I just want to enjoy. I eat, I drink and be merry.
Well, okay, at the end of your life, what is the biggest achievement? For 75 years you digested food every day. What else did you do with your life? So, what happens is, what makes a soul great is their understanding of the purpose of life. So, Arjuna at the start of the Gita had a small conception.
He says, oh, I am on this side of the Pandavas, they are on the side of the Kauravas and I have to fight against them. And should I fight against them? My fighting will gain a kingdom, but in gaining the kingdom, I will lose my relatives. So, should I fight or not fight? Is losing one's relatives worth gaining a kingdom? Maybe it is not.
He is confused. But Krishna expanded Arjuna's vision. He says, this war is not just about saving your relatives or gaining a kingdom for yourself.
This war is meant to establish the rule of virtue in the world, to establish a social order that will conduce you for spiritual well-being. So, Krishna expanded Arjuna's vision to understand that his life, his choices, his activities were meant for something far bigger than himself. And that is what the Bhagavad Gita can do for all of us.
That the Bhagavad Gita's message helps us all to expand our understanding of life, our understanding of what my life is meant for. Within the materialistic conception, life is ultimately meaningless. We are just some bags of protoplasm who somehow come alive.
We flap around for some time and we will be hit by a bang or we will be bit by a bug and we collapse. It's over. It's over.
So, is life then meaningless? Is life not meant for something more? So, life is meant for survival of the fittest. Now, Prabhupada said, okay, we talk about survival of the fittest, but even the fittest don't survive. Nobody survives ultimately.
The fittest will survive slightly longer than others. But ultimately, nobody survives. So, life is meant for something bigger.
What is that something bigger? That is revealed in the Bhagavad Gita. So, how does the small soul become a great soul? That is by linking with the great soul. By linking with the great soul.
That when we see that we are parts of God and we have a part to play in God's plan for the world. Each one of us has been given certain abilities, certain interests and we are meant to use all of them in a mood of service, in a mood of contribution. And when we do that, that is when our life gets enduring.
The Bhagavad Gita says that, you know, we work, everybody has to work for living. That is just natural. But the Gita's message is work with values.
Don't just work selfishly. Don't just work a grin. Work with values.
That is probably suffer good in living. And then we all have abilities. Work with values to create something of value.
Whatever we are job, whatever we are family, role in society, work with values to create something of value. And to realize what is of ultimate value. By working in the world in a mood of service, we may initially work, I want to earn money, I want to become famous.
But if you maintain that attitude of service, slowly we start realizing that there is something more than money in life. Making money is important. But what we are making with money is even more important.
What we are making with money. So work with values to create things of value. But as we do this in a mood of service, we start realizing slowly that, yeah, fame in this world is temporary.
Well, okay, then what's more important? And gradually we realize that it is the Supreme Lord who is of ultimate value. And thus our vision will become directed towards Him. So the great, the small soul becomes a great soul by understanding the greater purpose of life.
And that is what the Gita provides. So Mahatma Nahaan, the Gita wants everyone of us to become a great soul. To see that, to realize that our life is not just a chance incident.
It's meant for meaning and purpose. So what we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
What we are, it's God's gift to us. We have certain talents and interests. But what we do with those talents, with those interests, what we become is our gift to God.
In this way, in this world, we can act in a way that our life can have enduring meaning. And that is what has happened to Arjuna. The previous verse describes how Arjuna aligned with the divine will.
Karishe vachinam tava. I will do your will. Arjuna told Krishna.
What does it mean? Arjuna realized, I'm not just fighting to win one war. I'm fighting to help make the world a better place. In harmony with the plan of the one being who knows what is best for everyone.
Who wants the best for everyone. This is how the Gita infuses great meaning into the lives of each one of us. You may think, I'm doing small things.
Oh, I have this particular home and I have this particular job and nobody even knows whether I exist or not. Does anyone care? Well, yes, God cares. And everything that we do, it can have enduring significance.
If we do it in a mood of sadness. So that is this realization that Mahatmana, Arjuna has also become a great soul because he has aligned with the divine will. And if we do that, then our life can also gain greater significance.
So I'm discussing the acronym GREAT. So G is greatness. What's great about the Bhagavad Gita? This verse describes the path to greatness.
It is not just achieving something wonderful in the world. That's good if you can. But it is aligning with the great soul.
The greatest soul. So let's recite this verse. His verses further describe that what has his experience been.
He says, I've heard Krishna and Arjuna discuss the Bhagavad Gita, but now he says his own experience. So he says, let me explain the meaning and then we recite the verse. Vyasa Prasadat.
He said, Vyasadeva was a spiritual master and Vyasadeva gave him such a blessing by which he could see the events in the Kurukshetra battlefield, although he was in Hastinapur. So Vyasa Prasadat Shuddh Mahaan. So it's interesting what he had been given was mystical vision.
It is not just vision. He's not focusing on the vision. In the Bhagavad Gita, yes, sorry, after the Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata war happened and that's dramatic in terms of visuals.
But the Bhagavad Gita is not very dramatic visual. Just two people having a discussion. The 11th chapter is dramatic where Krishna reveals the universal form.
But what is dramatic is the hearing, the message. So Vyasa Prasadat, he's not saying Drishtva, Shuddhva. By the mercy of Vyasadeva, I heard this message, Shuddhva.
And then what is special about it? It is extremely, supremely confidential knowledge. Why is it called confidential? In one sense, the Bhagavad Gita is meant for everyone. Krishna and Arjuna discussed it publicly on the battlefield.
In that sense, it's for everyone. But in another sense, when Krishna and Arjuna were discussing, they're just having a normal conversation between two people. So nobody on the battlefield could hear what they were discussing.
They're just waiting what is happening. So some people ask, what were all the warriors doing when Krishna and Arjuna were having this discussion? Well, actually, at least initially, as long as Bhishma was the commander, the Kauravas fought with philosophers. So when Bhishma saw that Krishna and Arjuna were talking something, he raised his hand, stopped.
And the warriors on his side stopped. And anyway, the warriors on Pandava's side had stopped. That's how they had a discussion.
But nobody could hear what they were discussing. But he said, I could hear. So Guhiya Mahaparam.
And they said, Yogam Yogeshwara Krishnath. This is the knowledge of yoga. Yoga is connection, harmony.
The knowledge of connection with the divine. Yogeshwara Krishnath. That lord, the lord of all mysticism, Yogeshwara Krishnath.
He himself spoke this. So in the previous verse, the focus was on this is a conversation which is thrilling. But what is thrilling about the conversation is that the main conversant or discussant, the interlocutor, the person who is discussing, he is not an ordinary person.
It is Bhagavan. It is Krishna. He himself spoke these words.
So Sa Akshad, directly. Akshad is eyes. Sa Akshad is before my eyes.
So it's like sense perception. I perceive it personally. I perceive Krishna speaking this conversation.
So we'll discuss the theme of the acronym. Great. We'll talk about realization in this theme.
So let's recite the verse now. Yogeshwara Krishnath. Sa Akshad Kathayata Svayam.
So here he is saying that, Prabhupada writes in these purports over here, that when we practice bhakti, the practice is done under the guidance of the spiritual master. Just like Vyasa Prasada. He got it by the mercy of Vyasa Dev, who is like his guru.
But Prabhupada also says, although bhakti is practiced through the medium of the spiritual master, the experience is direct. What that means is that each one of us has the capacity to experience God. Ultimately, we are all looking for experiences.
Sometimes we think that we are all looking for pleasure. Well, yes and not exactly. If we were all looking only for pleasure, then why would horror movies be so popular? Literally, the very name itself is going to horrify you.
And horror and pleasure are not the same thing by any stretch of the mind. They are the opposite, you could say. So why would somebody want to pay good money or bad money, whatever you want to say, pay money to go and watch a horror movie? So the point is that yes, we seek pleasure.
But more than pleasure, we want experiences. We want a rich variety of experiences. A rich variety of experiences that ultimately we want them to be pleasing.
But we don't just want pleasure. We want a deep, rich variety of experiences. And the deepest and the richest experience is the experience of God.
Why? Because he is the deepest and the richest reality. Bhagavad Gita describes that everything attractive in the world manifests a spark of Krishna's attractiveness. Whatever it is you find attractive, some person is very beautiful, somebody is very smart, somebody is very skilled, somebody is a brilliant athlete, different people may have different attractiveness.
All of their attractiveness is like a drop. And that drop is coming from an ocean. And that ocean is Krishna.
So whatever is attractive in this world and whatever experience we get by connecting with Krishna, we can get all that and much, much more if we experience Krishna. I am saying that hearing Krishna speak, I have personally experienced God. This is the word of God.
The Bible can also be said the word of God. But most of the Bible is not spoken by God. It is spoken about God.
But this is the word of God literally. Krishna himself has spoken it. So when we recite the verses of the Gita, we can try to visualize this same Krishna who is holding a flute to his lips.
From those lips the words came out. man-manā bhava mad-bhakto madhyājī māṁ namaskuru māṁ viveṣhi satyakte prati jāne priya harsime Become my devotee. Devote yourself to me.
Offer your homage and obeisances to me. In this way, if you do this, I assure you, I declare, truly you will come to me. So these are words spoken by Krishna.
And the words spoken by God have the potency to give us the experience of God. So we all seek some kind of experience. And the highest experience is the experience of God.
And what happens when we experience God, that will be described in the next verses. But here the idea is, it is not just some wise discussion. It is not just some informational discussion.
It's a transformational discussion. And what is the transformation? The transformation is not just that, okay, I was doing something foolish and now I'll do something less foolish or I'll do something intelligent. That's good.
It's a good transformation. And the Bhagavad Gita can bring about that transformation. But the Bhagavad Gita can do much more.
It can actually change the locus of our experience. We experience many things in this world and they give us some pleasure, some pain. But the Bhagavad Gita can give us experience of God.
Realization of God. So sākṣāvad. Just reciting the Gita can give us experience of God.
That's the realization she's talking about. And in general bhakti is a process that gives us realization, that gives us experience of God. And this experience is the greatest basis of one's faith.
Like some people may say, I don't believe God exists. Okay. You know, atheists may not believe in God.
And God doesn't believe in atheists. What does that mean? God understands that their atheism is just a superficial covering on them. That they are ultimately his parts.
And God is working for everyone's redemption. But ultimately, He wants to give us experience of himself. It's not just a matter of belief.
It's not just a matter of argument. He wants us to give an experience of himself. And that experience is what is done through bhakti.
So when we do kirtans, when we come and command, we hold the deities of the Lord, when we chant the holy names, and when we recite the Bhagavad Gita. If we do this with devotion, we can experience Krishna. So that's the second part.
Realization of God can come through the Gita. Let's recite the verse So now in the next two verses, he is giving us a glimpse of what the experience of God is like. So that realization of God, what is it like? Now he is saying, he is Rajan.
He is speaking in Uttarashtra. Rajan. Samsmita, Samsmita.
He says, I am remembering again and again. So the commentator described that here it's out of ecstasy. And sometimes a person repeats the words.
So Samsmita, Samsmita. In fact, this is the only verse, these are the only verses in the Gita where the same word is repeated twice. There are some words that are repeated.
Like manna is repeated nine times in the Bhagavad Gita. But here there are two words that are repeated. First is, I am remembering, remembering.
Oh Rajan, Samsmita, Samsmita. What am I remembering? Samvatam imam adhutam. This wondrous conversation.
Keshavarjunayo punyam. This conversation itself is sacred. But what is it? What is the result of remembering this conversation? Hrishamichamoham.
I am feeling thrilled. And not just once, again and again. I am filled with a thrilling sensation.
A sensation of thrill that endures. So that is the result of the realization. So let's recite the words.
Rajan, Samsmita, Samsmita. Samvatam imam adhutam. Keshavarjunayo punyam.
Hrishamichamoham. Hrishamichamoham. So in the acronym, great, he is ecstasy.
He is experiencing ecstasy. Now this is, what is he, what is happening over here? He is saying just remembering the message of the Gita is filling me with ecstasy. This meditating on the words of Krishna is giving me a thrill.
And there are many books. Some books we read and we start thinking, why did I start reading this book also? They are so boring. They are so contentless.
I just feel tired reading those books. Some books are good and I read them. I am happy I read them all.
Some books you want to read again and again. But some books, they don't just remain books, they become guidebooks for life. The message stays in our heart.
And Bhagavad Gita is a book like that. But it is much more than a guidebook. A guidebook is like if I have a map.
Okay, a map is meant to guide me. When I am driving, I use a map. But nobody falls in love with a map.
A map is a guidebook and you use it and you value it. But very few people, unless somebody is an autographer, they don't fall in love with maps. Even cartographers also, if they fall in love, it's a question.
But to consider the Gita to be a guidebook alone is to undervalue the Gita. It is definitely a guidebook, but it is much, much more than that. It is not just, okay, do this, do this, don't do this, hold your life accordingly.
That's what the Gita's message is. But through it, what is happening is, the words of the Gita are non-different from Krishna. In fact, especially in the Sri Vaishnava tradition, there we see that reciting the Gita is considered to be similar to reciting the names of God.
It's that potent because you get an experience of God. So remembering the verses of the Bhagavad Gita is itself so uplifting that it is becoming ecstatic. And we are often told as devotees, we should remember Krishna.
Prabhupada started this whole international society called Krishna Consciousness. Now why Krishna Consciousness? Because of two reasons. One is that when we love Krishna, we naturally think about him.
That's the nature of love. If we love someone, we always think about them. But there is a speciality about Krishna that by thinking about him, we develop love for him.
So it's not necessary that most of the time we put in the work, we think about them and we develop love for them. We think about them and just get tired thinking about them. But there's one comedian, he had just gone through a breakup.
And he said people pray to God for different things. Some people pray for a Ferrari, some people pray for a mansion, some people pray for this. I just pray for a mental off-button.
Now our mind is just thinking about this and that and that and that. And quite often what we think about causes us anxiety, causes dissatisfaction, causes irritation. So now we can't have a mental off-button.
But what we need is that we need a satisfying object on that. And many objects in this world, they promise us satisfaction. But eventually they leave us with dissatisfaction.
But Krishna is the supremely satisfying object of God. Even if we have not yet realized Krishna, even if we have not yet attained Krishna, just thinking about him can bring satisfaction. So thinking about Krishna, that's the point.
In Bhakti tradition, people think about Krishna. Why? Because Krishna thoughts are satisfying. Even without much from the world, we can still be satisfied.
But how do we think about Krishna? Now you may say, I think about Krishna by visualizing Krishna's form. That's nice if we can. But the words of Krishna, they are like a template for remembering Krishna.
If we memorize the words, we can memorize the Sanskrit, wonderful. But even if we memorize the meaning, then say if we are disturbed about something, we are traveling in a crowded place, there's so much noise all around, we are feeling annoyed, tired. Just meditate, just speak out the words of the Gita.
Speak out the English, speak out the Sanskrit. And that gives us a ready-made template for thinking about Krishna. A ready-made resource is there.
So what has happened to Sanjay can also happen to us. If we meditate on Krishna, by meditating on his words, we find ourselves uplifted about our situations. We find ourselves filled with a sense of joy, fulfillment, thrill.
That is one manifestation of realization of Krishna. Let's recite this verse. Now, after describing this, as he is meditating on Krishna's words, what happens is, his thoughts are naturally going to Krishna the person, the form of Krishna.
So from the words, the form is manifesting. It's like if we love someone, if we think about something they have said, then naturally, we don't think about those words in a depersonalized context, the words floating in vacuum. No, we think about, oh, this person spoke this.
So that's personalism. That personalism is, we think about what somebody has spoken, but we also think about who has spoken it. So there's a natural elevation of thoughts from the words to the source of those words.
And that is what is described in this verse. So touch that. Samsmukhya, Samsmukhya.
I'm remembering again and again. What am I remembering? I am remembering the atyadbhutam. Earlier is the word wonderful, adbhutam.
But now atyadbhutam. He's running out of superlatives. Very wonderful.
Atyadbhutam Hari. The very wonderful form of Hari. And what is he saying? Vishmayo me maha nirajan.
And I am stunned by it. Vishmit. I am, you could say that I'm, what is the word? I am downstruck.
Vishmayo. I'm stunned and astounded. Vishmayo me maha nirajan.
Greatly astounded. And then again. I'm thrilled again and again.
So again, the two points of it. Samsmukhya, Samsmukhya. And earlier it was muhuhuhu.
Now it is punah, punah. That's his ecstasy coming out. So now I'm meditating on the form of the Lord and that is filling me with ecstasy.
So let's recite the verse. Pachcha Samsmukhya Samsmukhya. Pachcha Samsmukhya Samsmukhya.
Roopam Atyadbhutam Hare. Roopam Atyadbhutam Hare. Vishmayo me maha nirajan.
Vishmayo me maha nirajan. Dushyami cha punah punah. Dushyami cha punah punah.
So here, the Gita commentators are somewhat divided. That which form is being recited and which form is not being recited. Roopam Atyadbhutam Hare.
I am remembering that extraordinary form of the Lord. I am remembering that extraordinary form of the Lord. So what most Gita commentators say that this is referring to the Vishwa Roopam.
So what most Gita commentators say that this is referring to the Viswa Roopam. That in the 11th chapter, Arjuna had asked for and Krishna had shown this majestic all-universe pervading form. It was astonishing.
See we come to a temple and we offer obeisance and see the Deities is brought over here. But imagine you come to temple and in all directions there are Deities. Where do we offer obeisances? So that's what happens to Arjuna.
He says, he wants to offer obeisances. He says, He says, I offer you obeisances from the front, from the back, from all directions. He says, I offer you hundreds of obeisances.
So that form was wondrous. So that's the general understanding of the Acharyas. But the Gaudiya commentators, if you could say a deeper understanding, they say that yes, the wondrous universal form that Krishna had shown was amazing.
But actually, that form came from Krishna's two-handed form. It was through Krishna's two-handed form that that wondrous form was revealed. So how much more wonderful is Krishna's two-handed form? So Sanjay is not just meditating on the universal form, he is meditating on the personal two-handed form of Krishna.
Prabhupada says that universal form is great to meditate on. It's great to appreciate God's greatness. But how do you love the two-handed, the universal form? It's like the sky is great, but how do I love the sky? What do I do? So we need God to manifest in a form that is human-like.
And it's not that God is manifesting, that is God's original form. So the atyadbhutam, the atyadbhutarupa is the Vishvarupa. But the atyadbhutarupa, the extremely wonderful form, that is the Krishnarupa.
And the test for that is, Krishna had shown Arjuna the universal form, Arjuna said, thank you, but please show me your two-handed form. So he preferred the two-handed form. So this is, what happens is, the meditation rises more and more.
So here, they take a chronic grade, so E was ecstasy, A is absorption. He is becoming absorbed in the Gita. Absorbed in Krishna, not just the Gita.
So the Gita and Krishna have a natural link. And here also, there is one more important point. That, see, through this, actually the Gita is demonstrating its own teachings.
We can learn how Sanjay is appreciating the Gita, and that is good. Say, we hear there is a wonderful class somewhere, but we couldn't attend the class. Now we were deciding, should I hear the recording or not? But then, somebody is attending the class, they say, the class was amazing, there were so many insights, such brilliant question answers.
When they praise the class, then we feel inspired, maybe I should hear the class. So it's like, Sanjay's praise of the Bhagavad Gita class is meant to inspire us to hear the Gita. So it's like that, the last five verses.
But along with that, actually Sanjay is also demonstrating the Gita. Now how is that? See, one of the teachings of the Gita is that be detached from the groups of your work. When you work, whether you get success or failure, be detached.
So, what happens is, Krishna speaks the Gita to Arjuna and Krishna's speaking is successful. In the sense that, Arjuna becomes enlightened. Arjuna's heart is transformed.
Now Sanjay speaks the same message to Dhritarashtra. But is Dhritarashtra's heart transformed? What do you think? No. He still remains attached.
So was Sanjay speaking the Gita in vain? We could say. Sometimes we talk with somebody, maybe somebody is an atheist and we try to talk with them about Krishna and God. And they say, thanks, but no thanks.
We say, I failed. I couldn't succeed in changing this person's mind or not. So Sanjay could have been despondent like that.
But Sanjay is not despondent. So Sanjay in one sense is demonstrating detachment. He did his duty.
His duty was to transmit the event that would happen on the battlefield. And he did that. And although the words that he has spoken are not transformed Dhritarashtra, Sanjay has not become dejected by that.
So Sanjay is in that sense demonstrating the Gita's lesson of detachment. Stay equipoised. However, Sanjay is demonstrating something more.
Because detachment is one level of the lesson of the Gita. That is the lesson at the level of Karma Yoga. But the Gita's teachings evolved from Karma Yoga to Bhakti Yoga.
And we could say, in Bhakti Yoga, the emphasis is not on detachment. Krishna says, be detached from the fruits of your work so that you can become attached to something far bigger than the fruits of your work. Be detached from the fruits of your work so that you can become attached to something far bigger than the fruits of your work.
What is that something bigger? That is Krishna. Say suppose there is a super wealthy father. A billionaire, trillionaire, trillionaire, whatever is there.
And now that father wants to test his son. How responsible is my son? I have a supermarket. You take a job in the supermarket.
And you work in the supermarket. And, ok. Now when he is working in the supermarket, he will naturally want to try to make some sales.
The entire chain of supermarkets across the world is in need. He is trying to make a sale. And he will try his best to make a sale.
But suppose the customer is very disabled. And sometimes some customers, they ask for a hundred products and they don't buy even one. And then the person who is showing it all, they have to fix it all up and keep it all back.
They get annoyed. Now, here, this particular person, who is now the billionaire, trillionaire's son, he is also trying to make a sale. And he will be happy if he makes a sale.
But his purpose is not just to make a sale. His purpose is to please his father. If he makes a sale, he might get some commission.
He might get a salary. But if he pleases his father, he will get the entire inheritance. But if he becomes too attached to making the sale itself, and a customer doesn't take it, and he gets angry and yells at the customer, then what will happen is, the father will think, you are not mature enough.
You can't handle one customer. How will you handle a business with millions of customers? If he becomes too attached to that major result, he will lose the bigger result. So what has happened over here, what is being demonstrated is that Sanjay is not just detached.
He spoke the Gita, but that Gita did not transform Jatrashtra's heart. However, just speaking the Gita transformed Sanjay's heart. Sanjay's heart has become enriched with remembrance of the Gita and remembrance of Krishna.
And thus he has become absorbed. So in both ways, through attachment from immediate results and attachment to the ultimate reality. Both are being demonstrated here in the Gita.
That is, Sanjay becomes enriched, absorbed in Krishna. He is so absorbed that the fact that his message to Jatrashtra didn't work, doesn't matter. Similarly, when we try to share bhakti with others, we try to give votes, we try to share some wisdom.
Sometimes others may accept, others may not accept. But if we try to do it in the mood of service, our connection with Krishna becomes stronger and we will become devotionally enriched. Let's recite this verse.
TACCHA SAMSMITYA SAMSMITYA TACCHA SAMSMITYA SAMSMITYA RUPAM ATYATMUTAM HARE RUPAM ATYATMUTAM HARE VISMAYO ME MAHAMANDRAJAN VISMAYO ME MAHAMANDRAJAN DRUSHYAMICHA PUNAPUNA DRUSHYAMICHA PUNAPUNA Last verse. So now here, this is the conclusion. He is saying YATRA Now Yatra can mean where or it can also mean wherever.
YATRA YOGESHWARA KRISHNA YATRA YOGESHWARA KRISHNA Let me explain that in a second. Wherever there is that mystical lord Krishna YATRA PARTHO DHANUDHARA Wherever there is Arjuna who is the wielder of the bow. TATRA SHRIR VIJAYO BHUTIR.
There SHRIR is opulence. VICTORY BHUTIR There will be great power. DRUVA NITIR MATIR MAMA.
And certainly there will be morality over that. This is my thing. MATIR MAMA So here, Sanjay in one sense is completing the cycle of the Gita which began with the start first verse.
First verse was Dhritarashtra asked Sanjay what happened in the Kurukshetra battle? Dharmakshetra, Kurukshetra, Samavetayam MAMAKA FANDA VARCHAYO KIMA KURVATA SANJAYA So, this is what happened in the battle. That's the question. Many times when people ask there is a spoken question and there is an unspoken question.
Somebody comes to our home and says Have you had your lunch? That is the spoken question. The unspoken question is Can I have some lunch? Not always. But sometimes.
So, when he is asking what happened suppose there is a sports match maybe a baseball match or some elections are there. So you ask what happened? What is the news? Now we are asking for the news but ultimately we are asking who won? Who lost? So that is the question which Dhritarashtra asked Sanjay. And that he is indirectly answering.
He is saying wherever there is Krishna, wherever there is Arjuna, there will be victory. He says your sons are not going to be victorious. He is not telling him directly that.
Indirectly. So an indirect question marries an indirect answer. So, that is the beautiful cyclicity of the Bhagavad Gita.
But along with that, this last verse raises a question. The question is that in one sense we can say wherever there is Krishna, there will be victory. Isn't it? Krishna is the supreme lord.
He is the lord of the goddess of fortune. So wherever he is, there will be fortune. There will be victory.
So, why does this verse have to mention Arjuna? He could just have said wherever there is Krishna, there will be victory. So why does this verse mention Arjuna over here? And that is the key significance. That the purpose of the Gita is not just to proclaim God's position.
God is great. Wherever God is, there will be victory. The purpose of the Gita is to transform man's disposition.
Man's human disposition. So, Krishna could have won the war by himself. He did not need Arjuna.
But he wanted Arjuna to be a part. And this verse contains the word Dhanur Dharaha. Dhanur Dharaha means Arjuna has picked up his bow in readiness to fight.
So, earlier at the start of the Gita Arjuna had put his bow down in rejection, in confusion. And now he has picked up his bow. So, the purpose of the Gita is to demonstrate how by hearing the Gita the human will is aligned with the divine will.
And the human who aligns with the divine will be victorious. That is the point of the Gita. So, the Gita is meant to transform human disposition.
To inspire the human will to align with the divine will. And that is the last part of the great acronym T is Transformation. The transformation of the human will.
We all may be discouraged in life. We may be confused. We may be angry, frustrated, resentful.
Whatever emotions might come in our life. But, if we hear the Gita we all can be transformed. So, what happens is that Arjuna's Gandiva bow can be said to represent our enthusiasm.
Our determination. Sometimes life's challenges, life's troubles we just dishearten us. I can't do it.
But if we hear the Gita, we all will be inspired to pick up our Gandiva bow. We will all be filled with enthusiasm and determination. Yes, there are many problems in the world.
But, in spite of whatever problems are there God's will is still working. God's plan is still operational. No matter how big problems are God is still bigger.
Bhagavad Gita Krishna does not promise a stormless sea. But, He does provide an unsinkable ship. He does not promise a stormless sea.
Storms are in Arjuna's life. But, if we understand that if we align with Krishna's will no matter how many difficulties come ultimately our life's mission will be successful. Not just life's mission, our multi-life journey will be triumphant.
That is the assurance that the Gita gives and that is the conviction that comes in the heart of one who studies the Gita. That is the ultimate transformation that we all can have. We can be enthused, we can be energized, we can become determined and we can all fulfill our God-given potentials in this world and beyond.
Let's recite this verse. Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna Yatra Yogeshwara Krishna Yatra Partha Dal Dharam Yatra Partha Dal Dharam Tatra Sri Vijayobhuti Tatra Sri Vijayobhuti Dhruvani Thirma Thirma Ma Dhruvani Thirma Thirma Ma So, I have summarized, I spoke on the topic of what is so great about the Gita based on the acronym GREAT appreciating Sanjay's Gita from Sanjay's perspective. What was G? Greatness.
The small soul can become a great soul, Mahatma and that small soul aligns with the great soul. Our life is not meaningless, it has great meaning if we see our existence as a part of the Lord's plan. What we are is God's gift to us, what we become is our gift to God.
That was the first verse, 1874. Then 1875, R was Realization. Now, the Gita doesn't just tell us that God has a higher plan.
The Gita's message, the Gita's words have the potency to give us experience of God. And that experience is so fulfilling. We all see different experiences but this experience is so fulfilling that all other attractive experiences, they become like drops in front of the ocean of experience that is God.
Then, that was 1875, then E is Ecstasy. So, by meditating on the words of Sanjay, just by speaking the Gita, what happens is, Sanjay becomes thrilled in remembering the Gita. Prashyamch, Mohan Mohan, Punah Punah Samskriti, Samskriti, those words come out.
So, we all can become filled with ecstasy just by remembering the words of the Gita. So, the words of the Gita are like a template, a readymade template for remembering Krishna. Then the next was 17, Absorption.
So, not just that ecstasy in remembering the words of the Gita but from the words of the Gita, the form of Krishna manifests. And remembering that form is extremely enriching and absorbing. And lastly was Transformation.
The purpose of the Gita is to transform human disposition, to fill us with the inspiration that no matter how difficult, how many storms come on the sea that we are in, we have an unsinkable ship. That unsinkable ship is our readiness to serve God, our willingness to take up our boat and enthusiastically, diligently try to serve God in whatever situation we are in. In that way, our life's mission will be ultimately supremely successful.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Do we have time for one question? We have a question.
Did you come across I was asked by one of the congregation members Sanjay Did you come across the question Who was this Sanjay? Okay. Who was Sanjay in his previous life? In general, the Bhagavad Gita's focus is not so much on who was who in previous life. I haven't heard anything about Sanjay's previous life.
So, Okay. Thank you so much for that class. I was really inspired to think about the Gita and I was thinking how Sanjay's last five verses are like testimonial.
We all like reviews. We like book reviews and things that will inspire us to want to read a book. And so when we get to the end and we read that, we're like, oh, now I'm going to start again.
But it's kind of a nice highlight. Thank you. Hare Krishna.
Hi Krishna. So, Prabhu, we talked about alignment with the love and art. So how do we make these choices in our life we have to face day in day out? I mean in the overall answer, I mean, we always get that, you know, what is conducive to our Krishna consciousness, our choices should be for that.
Sometimes it's not that easy to understand what is, you know, conducive even. So where is that checkpoint and what should we do? That's a big question. I was expecting that.
How do we align with the will of the Lord? Well, I would say three parts to the answer. I'll try to keep it brief. The first is that where the will of God is known for us, we try to do that.
Let me say, for example, we do know that we should practice bhakti. We should do our sadhana, study scriptures, come in the association of devotees. That is clear.
And there are also certain activities which we know are anti-devotional, immoral, we should try to avoid. Now, it's possible that we may not have the willpower at present to do all those things. But at least what we know is God's will and what we can do we should do.
Because ultimately Krishna is in our heart. And if he sees that we want to do his will, he will reveal his will more and more to us. And so I start with what we know we should be doing.
So one definition of intelligence is to know what to do when we don't know what to do. So I don't know what to do in this situation. So what do I do? I turn and pray.
This is what I mean. It's not necessary that suddenly some flash of lightning will come and we know. But we are at least in that area doing the right thing.
So the second part is that in general, God's will is not like one line. It's an overall direction. It's not that Krishna wants us to be like robots.
This is what you do, otherwise you condemn. No. It is he who has given us our individuality.
And he wants us to use our individuality. So our intelligence, our individuality, we use it. In the spiritual world, when the gopis cook for Krishna, at one level, sometimes, isn't it that Krishna reveals from within their hearts what I want to eat today? So the gopis decide, I want to cook this for Krishna.
And they cook at one level. Krishna likes it. So there is a reciprocation of love.
So it's not that if I don't do this, then my life is doomed because I didn't do Krishna's will. Krishna's will is a direction. And sometimes even if we go off direction, as long as we try to realize Krishna, we'll come back.
So we shouldn't lament too much if we don't know Krishna's will or if we do something else. It's like if we are using a GPS and the GPS says, turn right. And then we somehow turn, we don't hear or we don't understand, we turn left.
What does the GPS do? You didn't obey me? Get lost. GPS doesn't do that. Immediately reroutes.
Reroutes again shows the right. So even if we go off track sometimes, it's not like one line, if we don't go on, we are doomed forever. No.
Krishna will guide us from wherever we are going. And the third part is that we can say God's will is what is best for us. What we do God will, that's what is best for us.
But also we can say God's will is in what is best for us. That means we use our God will intelligence and we try to understand what is the good thing to do in this situation. So in the Mahabharata when Abhimanyu is killed, Arjuna is shattered.
And Arjuna lashes out in anger at his own brothers. Couldn't you protect my son? Are all your weapons just ornaments? At that time Krishna approaches Arjuna and he hugs him from the side and he says, Oh Arjuna, in this world, adversities will fall on everybody. The good people and the bad people.
The wise people and the unwise people. But what differentiates the two is that the wise people act in ways that decrease the suffering. Whereas the unwise people act in ways that increases the suffering.
So, Oh Arjuna, look around you. Your brothers are suffering just the way you are suffering. They also love Abhimanyu.
Pray, Oh Arjuna, don't speak words that will increase their pain. So ultimately, Krishna is the well-wisher of everyone. Krishna wants everything to be better.
So whatever situation we are in, we think, what can I do to make things better in this situation? So if we say, I don't know what to make things better. Two choices are there for me. One step forward.
Can I do something which will make things better? If we are having a tough relationship and a harsh altercation in that relationship. I don't know what will make things better. If the other person is yelling, I yell back.
That's not going to make things better. So let me try to come up. So just think, in that sense, service attitude doesn't have to mean something mystical or otherworldly, like you said.
It's what is favorable for our Krishna consciousness. But ultimately, if our material life is better organized, more stable, that is favorable for our Krishna consciousness. So just ask yourself, what can I do to make things better? And don't think sometimes in too much long term, because we can't think.
In the next one hour, if I were to act my best self, what would my best self do? There are a dozen problems, a dozen things to do and I don't know how to deal with them. But if I were my best self, in the next one hour, what would my best self do? Okay, maybe I'll just note down things. One, two, three and I'll do these things.
I'll put other things aside. So just normal things that we do like that. That is also actually God's way.
Because whatever resources God has given us, he wants us to use them. So imagine if some millionaire father gives their child a very expensive computer on which they can do graphic design or something like that. And then their child is asking the parents, what can I do to please you? I gave you a gift, use it.
That will please me. So God has given us some ability, some interest, some talents. Using them will please him.
Using them constructively will please him. So in this way, three things. First is, where we know God's will, do it.
Then we know what is the right thing to do. Second is, don't lament too much if you don't know God's will. Because God's will is not a line, it's a direction.
Even if we go off track, he'll bring us back. And just ask the question, what can I do to make things better? And take what can I do to make things better? And take small steps accordingly. Thank you very much.
Just a quick announcement. Much of what I spoke today is from my book, Relishing Bhagavad Gita. I wrote two books recently on the Bhagavad Gita, Relishing Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavad Gita Insights.
Both those books are available. And also a calendar with around 365 quotes is also available. If any of you would like to have that, we have a few copies still remaining.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.