Bhakti Shastri (094) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 08 Text 08 to 13

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thank you very much namo kathre pakārāya dasmā kṛṣṇa kuhne namah Hare Krishna welcome back to our Vaidya Bhakti Shastra course we are in the eighth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita we completed till 8.7 which is the second section of the eighth chapter, so let’s have a look at the overview of the second chapter before we move ahead so in verses 1 and 2 Arjuna asks 7 questions out of which 6 questions are answered in the next two verses itself, then verses 5 to 8 answer Arjuna’s 7th question, that is how to remember Krishna at the time of death and then the remaining chapter talks about remembrance of Krishna through various means so remembrance by Yoga Mishra Bhakti is talked about from 9 to 13 then 14 to 15 talks about remembrance by Shuddha Bhakti then 16 to 22 talks about remembrance by comparing natures of material and spiritual worlds and lastly 23 to 28 explains how remembrance by Bhakti Yoga is easier than remembrance by Ashtanga Yoga so overall this chapter focusses on the topic of remembrance of Krishna and especially remembrance of Krishna at the time of death so when we are considering remembrance of Krishna so the focus is now on remembrance of Krishna but the method is under discussion so the method can be either Bhakti Yoga which was introduced by Krishna in the 7th chapter in a systematic way there were pointers towards Bhakti Yoga earlier but not so much directly 2.61 or in 3.30 like that there are verses in 4.20 in 5.39 6.30 6.47 so there were pointers towards Bhakti Yoga that Krishna is the ultimate object of meditation and devotion and action so that was talked about but the systematic process of Bhakti Yoga was talked about in the 7th chapter and then after that we had 7.14 the concept of surrender was talked for the first time in the Bhagavad Gita surrender to Krishna was talked for the first time in 7.14 and then after that again how different people surrender that has developed from 16 to 19 and then finally again in 7.13 how Krishna is the ultimate reality and to know him at the time of death is the ultimate perfection of life that was talked about so the 7th chapter brings the focus on Bhakti Yoga not in a detailed way but by focussing on Krishna in a more direct way than has happened till now and saying that it is Krishna who can liberate it is Krishna to whom we have to surrender so prior to this in the 6th chapter Krishna has talked about Ashtang Yoga so the whole process of Ashtang Yoga culminated in the point of becoming attached to Krishna that among all yogis the topmost is the one who thinks about me and then Krishna gave an alternative trajectory to that summit that was how to become Ashtamanah so then Krishna outlines Bhakti Yoga so 6th chapter has talked about Ashtang Yoga as a means and the perfection is to fix the mind on Krishna and then Krishna has talked about Bhakti Yoga as a means by which we can get the mind fixed on Krishna so 7th chapter was like a cycle you know it was said that 7.1 was that fix the mind on me and 7.30 the last verse of the 7th chapter was actually that Krishna is the ultimate reality so naturally when we understand he is the ultimate reality then the mind will be fixed on him so 7th chapter talked about fixing the mind on Krishna through Bhakti Yoga now 8th chapter introduces some additional terms but they are not elaborated then it focusses on the theme of remembering Krishna at the time of death and then it explores the two parts explores and compares the two parts that were given in the 6th and the 7th chapter so 6th chapter gave the path of Ashtang Yoga 7th chapter gave the path of Bhakti Yoga so 8th chapter will contrast these two chapters and will explain how Bhakti Yoga is the easier way to fix the mind on Krishna both at the time of death as well as during one’s lifetime so right now we are in the section of fixing the mind on Krishna so let’s look at this now 8.8 so abhyasa yoga yuktena chetasana anyagamina paramam purusham divyam yatiparthanu chintayan so abhyasa yoga yuktena by engaging in the practise of yoga now all these three words abhyasa yoga yuktena they are non specific you know abhyasa can be in bhakti yoga, it can be in ashtang yoga, it can be in gyan yoga abhyasa can be in various parts and then chetasana anyagamina, the essential point of this abhyasa is let the chetasana, the consciousness na anyagamina, let it not go anywhere else if one can do this then what will happen paramam purusham divyam one will attain the supreme purusha, who is divine who is transcendental yatiparthanu chintayan so o partha one will attain that, one will achieve that supreme person because of anuchintayan because of steady contemplation so chintayan itself is contemplation, anuchintayan is steady contemplation so here Krishna is reassuring that by contemplation on the absolute truth, by contemplation on the supreme person one will attain the supreme person, by keeping the consciousness focused concentrated one will attain the supreme person now the most striking feature of this verse is that Krishna is referring to the paramam purusham in the third person that he is saying that paramam purusham divyam, he is referring not to himself he is saying third person now why does Krishna do this there are different places where Krishna will do this repeatedly in the Bhagavad Gita and we have to look at the context to understand this when Krishna describes a particular path, he describes it from the perspective of the seeker on several occasions so when he is describing the path of ashtang yogi from the perspective of the ashtang yogi seeker, then at that time the ashtang yogi does not know that Krishna is the absolute truth, the ashtang yogi is starting the meditation and is turning inwards shutting out the external world and then trying to discover the inner reality so at that time the yogi may discover that the ultimate inner reality is personal so paramam purusham but may not yet discover the identity of that ultimate reality see by introspection and by meditation one can progressively move forward towards the ultimate reality but it is only by revelation that we can specifically understand the ultimate reality by introspection means by our own thought by meditation, by systematic contemplation what will happen is one can understand I am not the body and the soul one can understand that there is God one may even be able to understand that that ultimate truth is a person but that the absolute truth is a blueish black complexion cowherd boy who wears a peacock feather and plays a flute and stands in a threefold bending form this cannot be revealed merely it cannot be understood, known just by introspection or by meditation, for that actually there has to be revelation that has to come through by our own analysis we can understand the existence of God we can even understand the personality of God that means not the specific personality but the concept that God is a person but beyond that point that God is a person who exactly God is, what his identity is that requires revelation so when Krishna is talking here from the point of view of the seeker who doesn’t at this stage know who is the absolute truth so he focusses on talking about paramam purusham devyam so by the practise of abhyasa yoga one will attain the paramam purusham now Krishna, if we put two and two together here this eighth verse is there in 8.4 Krishna has said that one who remembers me will attain me and then in 8.6 again he has said that actually one who fixes the mind on me will come back to me therefore you should fix your mind on me constantly Krishna has said so when Krishna has said this essentially the point is that Krishna made it clear from the flow of the Gita that the paramam purusham is he and that will become clear in this section also but from the point of view of ashtang yogi, ashtang yogi doesn’t know that the absolute truth is Krishna ashtang yogi is focussing on paramam purusham attain the paramam purusham and then Prabhupada says that at this stage the devotee can constantly think of the object of worship the supreme lord in any of his features Narayan, Ram, Krishna etc by chanting Hare Krishna now it’s interesting what Prabhupada says over here is chant Hare Krishna and think of Ram think of Narayan how is this possible? if we chant Hare Krishna how can we think of Krishna and Radharani? how can we by chanting Hare Krishna we think of some other form of the lord? actually we have to understand that there is the universal and the confidential aspect of bhakti the universal aspect of bhakti is the purification that it brings about that it helps us to become free from our material attachments, from our material desires from our material identity and that is something which is universal for everyone and then after that we discussed earlier there is a y axis there is a negative side and there is a positive side the negative side involves material desires, material relationships, material activities from there one comes to the zero point and from there one goes to the positive side so when one is moving along the up from the negative towards the positive the universal aspect is that everybody has to go along this journey, everybody has to become free from material conceptions and material fascinations, so once one has done that then in the positive y axis there can be slightly different trajectories, one day one can go to Vaikuntha, one can go to Ayodhya, one can go to Goloka Vrindavan Goloka Vrindavan also one can go to Dwarka, another can go to Vrindavan, that can be different so there are slight differences in the trajectory in the y axis but still the point is there is a common aspect so by chanting Hare Krishna even if our eventual Swarupa is different, still we can become purified and we can move onwards sometimes devotees think that maybe I am attracted to Lord Rama should I chant Hare Krishna, maybe I should join ISKCON, maybe I should find out some institution that teaches Rama Bhakti actually speaking first we shouldn’t prematurely imagine what is my Swarupa in the spiritual world first of all we have to give up our attachment to our Pararupa, Pararupa is others outer, so we have got our material body and we identify with that very strongly right now so right now we have to give up our material identification with that particular material form that we have and we may have some attraction to Lord Rama, we may have some attraction to Narasimha if we have been brought up in a culture where we had attraction to specific forms where we may have heard Narasimha Stotras or we may have heard Rama songs and because of that we may have become attracted to them from childhood, so now our attraction may be more cultural than spiritual cultural means because of the culture that we were brought up in we have that attraction, it may not be so spiritual because it’s not necessarily at the level of the soul the soul is attracted to Krishna so of course we are fortunate that we were brought up in a place where we were hearing songs about Ram and not maybe songs about Michael Jackson or whatever, so anyway we are attracted to Krishna, that is good and we can utilise that to increase our contemplation on the Lord so anyway we can do that, increase contemplation on the Lord that is very good, but beyond that once we have done that once we have contemplated on the Lord, then we will become purified gradually and after we go beyond the negative axis, become the positive then eventually our attraction to the specific form that we are in that is our eternal Swarupa, we will naturally become attracted to that so there may be a devotee who practises Krishna Consciousness within his scorn but eventually feels that a greater attraction to Lord Ram and then that person may decide that, now I want to hear more pastimes of Lord Ram, chant and focus on Lord Ram’s worship go to the holy places of Lord Ram so if one feels like that, one can surely do that there is nothing wrong in that but we shouldn’t mistake the cultural to be spiritual, so at our stage we focus on chanting Hare Krishna, we focus on practising the process of Krishna Consciousness as is given to us by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu because even if our Swarupa is in say in Ayodhya still right now we are in Kali Yuga and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Mahavadanya Yuga avatar for this Kali Yuga and the Brahma Tarak Nam, the holy name that will liberate us in this Kali Yuga is the Hare Krishna Mahamantra therefore we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and eventually we will go to the level where we will become purified of everything material and then that is naturally spiritual, will start getting activated so eventually when we are purified of our material designations and material conceptions then the spiritual attraction to the particular form of the Lord with whom we are related in our Swarupa will become manifest so that’s why at our stage by chanting Hare Krishna we can develop attraction to whichever form we want, whichever form we may eventually be attracted to, so we don’t have to bother about that right now, that’s why chant Hare Krishna, so paramam purusham yati, we will attain the paramam purusham and now after this the second section starts where Krishna talks about attain, the third section of this chapter rather it talks about attaining, remembering Krishna at time of death, remembrance by the purpose of Yoga Vishwara Bhakti so now there can be different kinds of Bhakti so there is Kevala Bhakti Kevala Bhakti means pure emotional service, Kevala means only there is nothing but Bhakti in that that is Kevala Bhakti so here you can have a look at it so this is based on Vishwanath Chakravarthy’s commentary in the Bhagavad Gita so what is the destination of different people he is talking about, so first let’s focus right now not on the destination but on the types of Bhakti, so look at the titles here there is Kevala Bhaktas then there is Pradhani Bhut Bhaktas and then there are Guni Bhut Bhaktas so Kevala Bhaktas are those who have pure devotion to the Supreme Lord they have nothing but devotion, Kevala only devotion, then Pradhani Bhut so Pradhani Bhut, Pradhan means principle Pradhani Bhut Bhaktas means they have some other other things also in their Bhakti there may be Yoga, there may be Gyana but primarily it is Bhakti, so Bhakti is more than 50% that is called as Pradhani Bhut Bhaktas and then there is Guni Bhut Bhaktas Guni Bhut Bhaktas are those who are actually having Bhakti but the Bhakti is less than 50% so the Gunas actually the other processes, Gyana Yoga, Karma they are influenced by the modes whereas Bhakti is essentially transcendental so when we use when we do Gyana, we are using the intellect and the intellect is material when we do Yoga we are concentrating the mind, the mind is material when we do Karma, we are using the body, the body is material Bhakti may also involve the intellect, the body and the mind but Bhakti, its centre is the heart and the heart essentially is the seat of emotions that is the soul, the soul is spiritual so Bhakti alone is transcendental, of course we as Sadhakas may not be transcendental and the Bhakti that we may be performing right now may be within the modes may be goodness, passion, ignorance but the Bhakti in principle is transcendental, so Guni Bhut Bhakti means that Bhakti which is mixed with material with something material so in the Guni Bhut Bhakti and Pradhani Bhut Bhakti there will be some Mishra both are Mishra Bhakti but there is a movement upwards from Guni Bhut Bhakti is less than 50% Pradhani Bhut Bhakti is more than 50% Kevala Bhakti means Bhakti is 100% so there is an upward movement gradually so while one is having this upward movement the progression will involve purification Gyanakarmadi Anavratam as Rupa Goswami says in Bhakti Rasamudra Siddhu, Gyanakarma one removes it, the Avarana one removes it then they become purely directed they are not impurely directed because of self-centred materialistic conceptions Anavratam, Avarana removed, that’s what the word is used in the definition of Bhakti by Rupa Goswami Anyabhilashita Shunyam Gyanakarmadi Anavratam Anukulyena Krishnan Sheelanam Bhaktiruttama so this is Uttama Bhakti so this one moves to Uttama Bhakti the same as Kevala Bhakti, so one moves to Uttama or Kevala Bhakti gradually from downwards to upwards so here Krishna is talking about Mishra Bhakti so both Guni Bhut and Pradhani Bhut they are Mishra Bhaktis Mishra Bhaktas, so when there is Mishra Bhakti at that time what is the nature of Mishra Bhakti that there is some contamination of Yoga or there is some contamination of Jnana or there can be Karma also so the other parts of transcendence when one has some inclination towards them and some residue of that is there in the process of Bhakti then that will be Pradhani Bhut now on the other hand if that is alone that is largely there then that will be Guni Bhut, so now Vishwanath Chaturthi also explains what will be the destinations that different people will attain, different transcendentalists will attain so let’s look at it once again now look at the other part of it so he explains Kevala Bhaktas what will be their destination, they will attain Goloka Vrindavan, GV can be Gaudiya Vaishnavism, it can be Goloka Vrindavan also so here is Goloka Vrindavan so they attain, they develop Prema pure love for Krishna and they attain Goloka Vrindavan those who are Pradhani Bhut they will attain Vaikuntha in Shahantarati, now we are talking about not a transition even at the end of their journey at the end of their spiritual journey they do not become Kevala Bhaktas they stay Pradhani Bhut Bhaktas only that means they continue their attachment to Yoga or Karma or Yoga or Jnana then because of the presence of these other things they will go to Vaikuntha and then he says Guni Bhut Bhaktas they will go to Brahma Jyoti that means if the other paths are disproportionately high then the personal conception is not what they are focussing on and that’s why they will attain the impersonal conception now on the other hand if there are just people who are not practising the other paths, not practising Bhakti at all, actually it’s just Jnana Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, Karma Yoga that’s what they are practising then even through these paths they can eventually attain perfection but that perfection will be Brahma Jyoti but when will they get the Brahma Jyoti? when they add Bhakti in their sadhana without Bhakti, no other process can give its result Bhakti is essential but the proportion of Bhakti will vary among different seekers and depending on the proportion of Bhakti, the destination will also vary so here we are talking about Yoga Mishra Bhaktas so those who are practising Bhakti sorry, those who are practising the process of Ashtanga Yoga primarily, but they are also incorporating the Bhakti element in it so Krishna has talked about incorporating the Bhakti element even in the 6th chapter he has talked about it in 6.14 when he says that the Yogi should fix the mind on me prashantatmavigatabhir brahmacharivitesthita manasanyamya machitto yuktasita matparaha so Krishna has told about how the Yogi should go to the jungle, secluded place and then sit erect samamkaya shirokriyam all the head and the whole body should be in one line and nasikakram swam look at the tip of the nose, but after that what? once one has become peaceful like that then manasanyamya machitto bring the mind under control fix it consciously yuktasita matparaha in this way become devoted to me, so Krishna will talk about the same conception elaborate on this, on that point of how the Yogis may fix the mind on Krishna now we have to understand here one important point though the Yogis may fix the mind on Krishna Krishna may be the object of their meditation but Krishna may not be the objective of their meditation now what is the difference between object and objective object means what they are thinking about objective means what they wish to achieve so Krishna should not just be the object, but the objective of our meditation also so when Krishna is both, then we will attain the ultimate perfection so the Yogis in the other paths, the Yogis or the seekers in the other paths for them, they may also fix their mind on Krishna, but their objective may be something else, Krishna is a tool for meditation after that we have to go, we have to ultimately meditate on the Supreme Lord we ultimately attain the impersonal Brahman so those who think like this they are mistaken they will not, they deprive themselves of the ultimate result so here Krishna will talk about those who are having Krishna as the object right now, so if they get the association of devotees if they are fortunate, then they will understand Krishna is not just the object, but the objective also, they may, they don’t think that okay, Krishna is something I meditate on so that ultimately I can attain the Brahman so now, is this offensive? not necessarily if they deride the form of Krishna if they minimise and blaspheme the form of Krishna and they criticise the process of devotional service then that becomes offensive if they do not, they consider this is my path and I want to go here that is fine, but if they consider this is the best path, this is the supreme path and not only that they say those who meditate on Krishna are less intelligent and Krishna’s form is transitional and ultimately Krishna’s form is Maya and one has to go beyond Maya then there is an illusion, that is an illusion and that can lead to that can lead to unfortunate result, that Krishna will talk about in 9.11 and 12 Moghasha Mogh Karmano whatever they try to achieve, they will fail miserably in that so let’s look at the verses now so we start now here, the yogis are meditating on the supreme lord by contemplating his attributes so these attributes can be contemplated on by devotees also and by yogis also so let’s look at these attributes Kavim Puranam Anusha Sitaram Anoraniyamsa Manusmaredyaha Sarvasya Dhataram Achintya Roopam Adityavarnam Tamasa Parastad so Kavim Puranam Kavi Kavi means one who knows everything, so Krishna has already talked about this in 7.26 when he has said that Vedaham Samatitani Vartamanani Chah Arjuna so here, when Krishna is describing from the point of view of the yogi he is not saying I am all this he is saying this is how the yogis meditate on the absolute truth now of course a few verses are literal, he will reveal how actually what they are meditating on Krishna is me only but here he is not revealing that so Kavim Puranam Anusha Sitaram so Puranam Puranam is, so this person is Kavi Krishna knows everything when the yogi turns inwards and meditates Krishna knows everything past, present and future actually that makes us humble that makes us see first we cannot parade that I am a great person Krishna knows all our faults, but Krishna is there to protect us so that can make us safe also Puranam, he is the oldest person in this world also we see that wisdom is associated with age somebody says oh this doctor has 30 years of experience he is a very experienced doctor Puranam, so he is wise because he is experienced, now of course in this world it may happen that a doctor may have 30 years of experience, we will be happy with that but if some doctor says I have 90 years of experience how old are you? you must be 120, you are too old to be you may be imbecile now you will not be able to do things properly so what happens is when a person becomes too old, then things may not work out, but Krishna says they may lose control over their faculties Krishna says I am Puranam but still I am Anusha Sitaram of course he is not referring to Krishna over here that absolute truth is Anusha Sitaram still very much in control, he is the controller of everything everything is under his shasana Anusha Sitaram Kavim Puranam Anusha Sitaram so he is the wisest, he is the oldest and he is the strongest so Anusha Sitaram actually everything is under control of Krishna now sometimes we say that nothing moves not a blade of grass moves without the will of the law, we have to understand it is not the will, it is a sanction it is not that Krishna wants bad things to happen it is not that Krishna wants terrorists to blow up buildings and kill innocent people they want to do it and Krishna allows them to do it so Anusha Sitaram, but ultimately he is in control and paradoxically, normally speaking if we think that somebody is in control then we will think that that person must be giant huge body person to be able to control everything but he is Anuranyamsa Anuranyamsa, he is smaller than the smallest he is so small, so tiny Anuranyamsa, actually Krishna is present in our heart now we may wonder he is in the heart so what about those living beings which do not have a heart we may say that there are microbes their bodies are not so well divided they have a system for they have organs specifically which can be called like a heart so then where is Krishna situated actually we have to understand that the heart is in one sense talked about as the centre of cognition and emotion and that is where Krishna is present so in an appropriate place in that metabolical structure Krishna will be present the point of talking that Krishna is in the heart is that Krishna is the intimate partner, the constant companion, the unfailing friend of the soul and wherever that soul goes, Krishna goes with that soul so when the soul is in a microscopic body Krishna will be in an appropriate position and in an appropriate size over there so not only is Krishna present in the microbes body as a super soul, he is also present as a super soul in a nature andantarastaparamanuchayantarastam so in this way Krishna is greater than the greatest and he is smaller than the smallest mahato mahiyan anoranyan how is that possible actually Krishna is greater than the greatest as Mahavishnu, the whole universe has come out of him, he is greater than the greatest at the same time he is smaller than the smallest as the shirodakshayavishnu, as the paramatma he is present even within the atoms so anusmaredyaha so when one contemplates on that absolute truth, anusmaredyaha so here we see the contemplation is interesting, it’s not just on oh Krishna is playing with Yashodamaya and Yashodamaya is running after Krishna Krishna is saying I didn’t steal butter, don’t catch me yogis are not focussing on Krishna’s past tense that is what bhaktas will do but even bhaktas need to understand Krishna tattvataha as Krishna told in 4.9, so therefore for sattvataha understanding it is important even for devotees to contemplate on these qualities anusmared, so it’s not just smared, not just random arbitrary kind of remembrance, anusmared understand the position of Krishna properly then sarvasya dhataram achintya roopam so sarvasya dhataram so dhata is the maintainer, sarvasya dhata Krishna Krishna is the maintainer of everyone how is he the maintainer of everyone, we may say that I am maintaining myself, it is my job that is maintaining me and maybe it is my bank balance that is maintaining me, I am maintaining my family this is true at one level, but it is not the ultimate level we with our work and with our money, we can’t maintain either our family or ourselves if Krishna doesn’t provide the background arrangement if there is no grains then what will the currency nodes do actually the grains have to come by the arrangement of Krishna through nature and even after the grains come, we have to be able to digest the food, we may have all the money in the world, but if we lose our digestive faculty, then how will we be able to maintain ourselves, we may have to be given some intravenous food or something like that so in the worst, wealthy people in the world will eventually have to die therefore, actually it is not our efforts alone that maintain, it is Krishna who ultimately maintains sarvasya dhataram and how can somebody who can be smaller than the smallest, he is the supreme controller and is the maintainer of everyone also how is that possible, actually this is achi nitya achi nitya roopam so it is significant that even while talking about how the yogi is meditating on the supreme lord on the ultimate truth, the point is used roopam roopam means form achi nitya roopam but actually, it is the form that is talked about, this indicates that the yogis also should meditate on the absolute truth as a person, as one with form, achi nitya roopam the third kind of shimad bhagavatam generally generally sankhya and yoga are connected in the six systems of philosophy that are there they are groups mamamsa and vedanta there is yoga there is jnaya and vaiseshika and sankhya yoga so sankhya and yoga, their continuum is that one analyses the material elements, one sees ok, the material elements are temporary, then after that one goes beyond the matter to spirit, so this is this progression from sankhya to yoga is talked about in third canto of shimad bhagavatam where Kapildev describes how the yogi meditates on, after analysing the properties of material nature, the yogi meditates on that which lies beyond material nature and that is the supreme lord, and there are many beautiful verses in the third canto, in that section of Kapila’s teachings from the 24th to 31st chapters, where he talks about the beautiful form of the lord and how the yogi meditates on each limb of the form of the lord, so achintya rupam, so anusmareda how should one remember, one should remember that this form of the lord is achintya so it’s interesting again, if it is an achintya, how can we do anusmareda we do anusmareda based on scripture, we cannot understand the form of the lord completely, but we can understand partially, that’s what Prabhupada says in the purport over here, that so achintya means that which is beyond the material world that which is beyond the material world, that which our argument, logic and philosophical speculation cannot touch, that which is inconceivable, so Prabhupada makes the previous point that he pervades the material world and yet is beyond it he is within and he is without also we cannot comprehend even when the material world is insignificant compared to the spiritual world, so how can we comprehend what is beyond therefore, intelligent persons avoiding useless argument and speculation should accept what is stated in the scriptures and follow the principle they set down, so first, accept what scriptures say and then follow and then this will lead one to understanding so when we talk about the inconceivable confirmation comes by conformation, confirmation means understanding what the scriptures are saying is it actually true that confirmation will come by conformation conformation means when we conform according to the, conform to the scriptural standards that are given, the scriptures give us certain teachings and then they give us certain practises this is how we should act, this is how we should live when we do that then gradually by that we become purified and thereby we come to the level where we understand seriously, deeply and we realise for ourselves so the inconceivable, just because the absolute to the inconceivable doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to understand it, we have to understand that I cannot understand by my own efforts but then after that we have to move forward and then we understand based on scripture we follow scripture and by that a higher spiritual perception awakens and through that spiritual perception we understand the ultimate reality, so now after describing these various let’s look at the last point Aditya Varanam Tamasah Parastad so this Aditya Varanam Tamasah Parastad is a line which comes several times within the Upanishads also so Aditya Varanam so it is luminous like Aditya’s sun, luminous like the sun and Tamasah Parastad is beyond darkness so beyond material existence Tamasah refers in general to material existence, Tamasoma Jyotirgama is a famous Upanishadic verse so go beyond darkness to light Aditya Varanam Tamasah Parastad therefore go beyond matter to spirit that’s the point which is being talked about over here now the yogi should meditate, ok I am meditating on the form, I am meditating on the attributes all this is Tamasah Parastad this is not like meditation on you know the qualities of a mundane person people may think about a sports star or a movie star, it is not like that this person is Aditya Varanam Tamasah Parastad is effulgent like the sun and is completely beyond the darkness of material existence when the yogi meditates like this, what happens eventually? that’s described in the next verse how the process of yoga takes one forward so at the time of death Manasa Ajala one keeps the mind Ajala mind is Krishna has talked about earlier and Arjuna has also said the mind is Chanchala Chanchala Chanchalam Himanakrishna Arjuna has talked about this twice in 6.33 and 34 so here he says, yes by Prayana Kali Manasa Jalena make the mind Ajala, how is that possible? so with Bhakti and by the Bala of Yoga actually by the Yoga Bala is required because one cannot make the mind Ajala easily one has to actually practise one has to systematically, determinately practise Yoga Bala so when we have lifelong practise by Yoga Bala then the mind will become Ajala, the mind is going to be Chanchala, it will go here, it will go there but then we have to ultimately make the mind Ajala and how that will happen by Yoga Bala so you know many times people think of meditation as a break from hard work they think, oh I did a lot of hard work now I got my job, I got my family, I got all these responsibilities, complications obligations, agitations and what I want from meditation is for relaxation I think I just take a break but then you come to a temple and see devotees Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama are you relaxing? you seem disturbed to me, what is the relaxation over here? and we may feel what is happening, people come and ask you seem to be relaxing to me actually and even when we are practising we may feel that they really give me relaxation so we have to understand that Bhakti will give us relaxation but that relaxation comes after purification and pacification pacification means the mind becomes peaceful, how the mind becomes peaceful? when it becomes purified see what agitates the mind is lust, anger, greed envy, pride and illusion so when these go away then the mind will become peaceful it will become steady, so achala, so the mind becomes chanchala because of kama, krodha, loba all these things and by the practise of chanting Hare Krishna what we are doing is we are making the mind purified then it will become peaceful we cannot expect peacefulness we cannot expect the mind to become pacified without becoming purified, that sort of pacification will not last for long so for steady pacification we need to apply ourselves to purification so we shouldn’t approach our chanting with the attitude that this is a break from hard work actually controlling the mind and purifying the mind is hard work, so the more we expect meditation to be a break from hard work, the more meditation will become hard work why? because our expectation will be frustrated we will think I want to meditate and to relax but then I’m not able to relax, with a relaxed attitude I go, then I don’t endeavour to fix the mind on Krishna, when I don’t endeavour to fix the mind on Krishna, then I don’t experience anything sublime my meditation doesn’t lead to any spiritual experience I can’t contact Krishna, when I can’t contact Krishna then what happens? I can’t really relish Krishna consciousness so meditation actually rejuvenates us, it rebuilds us internally it strengthens us spiritually, it cleanses us emotionally, but all that happens when we experience Krishna, but when we are not concentrating the mind, we can’t experience Krishna and when we can’t experience Krishna then meditation starts feeling like a burden, it starts feeling like a burden why am I chanting, nothing is happening, I’m just muttering the song, so then we have to do it as a core, it becomes a difficult demanding core, it becomes even more hard work so the more we expect meditation to be a break from hard work the more meditation becomes hard work instead if we approach meditation as a rewarding challenge, not as a break, mere break but we approach it as a rewarding challenge yes, it’s a challenge, it’s going to involve hard work but the result is going to be wonderful my mind will become pure, my mind will become truly, deeply peaceful, that’s what I want so let me apply myself, so yoga bhale na chaiva, Prabhupada writes in the parport that one will not be able to fix the mind of Krishna, just by chance we have to practise yoga valla, now different yogis can use different methods of yoga for controlling the mind but there has to be the practise of some kind of yoga, and a few years later Krishna will tell that bhakti yoga is the best, so here he is saying yoga valla, by the practise of yoga, and then bhakti yoga so Krishna is telling, Krishna is here talking about the ashtang yogi, who is trying to attain perfection who is trying to cultivate remembrance of Krishna, so we have to see the connection see, Krishna told in 8.7 so always remember me and do your prescribed duty now how can one always remember Krishna, Krishna has given two pathways one is the pathway of ashtang yoga, of yogamishra bhakti and the other is the path of shuddha bhakti, kevala bhakti so here he is telling that even the ashtang yogi when the yogi is doing practise of yoga eventually one has to use bhakti yes, I have to fix the mind there is that absolute truth, that absolute truth’s mercy I need, as we discussed earlier one of the limbs of ashtang yoga, in the yama and niyamas, sub-limbs is eshwara pranidhana eshwara pranidhana is surrender to the eshwara that’s a bhakti ayukto so one needs bhakti as he is talking and then bhruvor madhye pranam aveshya samyak samyak, one gets the prana situated in the bhruvor bhruvor madhye, bhruvor madhye means in the eyebrows, in the space between the eyebrows bhruvor madhye pranam aveshya samyak so one gets the prana to rise and one gets the prana within the bhruv and such a person, again Krishna is referring to himself in the third person, this yogi satam param purusham upaiti divyam that person will attain the divya param purusha so Krishna is using the same word paramam purusham divyam was used earlier and Krishna is using practically the same words over here param purusham divyam upaiti that person will attain that supreme person the yogi will attain the ultimate destination that supreme person, so now what is this point of pranam aveshya bhruvor madhye get the prana to be situated in the bhruv, in between the eyebrows so here we will discuss a little bit about the technicalities of ashtanga yoga we won’t go too much into that direction because it’s a whole universe of understanding in itself so let’s look at this here there are various chakras in the body so this will seem to be a complicated picture focus on one point at this point you will see here these places where you see lotus like flowers as they move upwards so actually these what do they represent they represent the location of the chakra so here when the chakra now what is the chakra exactly actually the prana vayu is situated at a particular place in the body now the prana vayu it has a particular centre as we discussed there are these five there is prana prana, prana, prana, prana and the five different hairs they do different functions within the body and their centre is at a particular point in the body that is called the location of the prana so that location of the prana can be elevated the prana may be at the lower part of the body so in the way of analysing the path of yoga the lower the location of the prana it is considered lower the consciousness the lesser is the spiritual evolution of the Yogi.
And as the prana moves upwards, upwards, upwards, by the process of practise of Ashtanga Yoga, then the Yogi is considered to become elevated. So, in the Upanishads also it is said that, actually when the prana is in the lower parts of the body, then the soul, when the soul, when the person dies, the soul wants to exit. So, whichever is the hole that is closer, the soul will go out of that.
So, if the soul goes out of the lower holes, then it is said that the soul will go to a, it indicates that the soul is going to a lower destination. That means one of the lower species or lower planets. And the soul comes out of the higher holes.
If the prana is upwards, then that provides a facility for the soul to come out of one of the higher, upper holes. And the exact relationship between soul and prana location is subtle here. We will not go into the technicalities of that.
Actually, the essential point is that the soul and the subtle body are very attached to each other. And the prana is intimately connected with the subtle body. I discussed this earlier how our emotions get affected by our breathing.
So, if we are angry, we will start breathing fast. If we start deliberately breathing slowly, our emotions will become calmer. This is just a simple indication.
But so, there are this, the soul is connected to subtle body. So, if this is the gross body, this is the soul. And the subtle body is the link between the soul and the gross body.
Now, the link between the subtle body and the gross body is formed of many things. One of them is the prana. So, when the person dies, at that time, the gross body falls.
And then the subtle body along with the soul goes to the next body. Now, in Vedanta Sutra, it is described that the prana also goes, the Upanishad described, Vedanta Sutra confirms this, prana also goes with the subtle body to the next body. So, when this happens, so at that time, the location of the prana is important.
Now, Krishna will tell at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, as devotees even starts wondering, where is my prana? You know, is it upwards or downwards? Krishna says, He will say at the end of this chapter that one who is practising bhakti yoga doesn’t have to bother about these things. But we are now talking about the path of Ashtang Yoga. So, the chakra refers to, so these are the locations within the body.
These are called the centres of power, centres of energy, energy fields, chakra. So, these are different chakras which are there in the body. And the prana is located in one of the chakras.
So, the whole process of Ashtang Yoga, it is also called as Kundalini Yoga, the purpose of that process is to lift up the prana so that the soul moves from one of the lower chakras towards the upper chakras. So, here we will see that there is the Muladhara Chakra. Then above that, there is the Swadhishthana Chakra.
Then after that, there is the Manipura Chakra here. Then here you will see is the Anahata Chakra. Then there is the Vishuddha Chakra.
Then there is the Ajna Chakra. You will see these bands also over here, green, blue, you know, different colours like that. Then there is the Sahasra Chakra.
So, actually the idea is the prana should be moved upwards like this, upward, upward, it will ultimately to the head. So, Krishna is telling over here in this verse, the Ashtang Yoga is elevated, what should we do? So, in between the eyebrows, that means in the Ajna Chakra. So, when one attains, when one gets the prana in the Ajna Chakra, then one becomes very situated for getting perfection.
So, in fact, the most serious yogis, most advanced yogis, they do not wait for the soul to leave the body through one of the holes and then try to get it out of one of the upper holes. Actually, what they do is, by the power of their yoga, they can put the hole at the soul, they can put the prana, not the soul, the prana, at the top of the head and then when they want to leave the body, by the power of yoga, when the soul emerges, actually the skull breaks apart. Not many yogis can do that now.
The skull breaks apart and soul when it goes out like that, the soul goes directly to the upper destination, that is, the soul attains liberation. That is the understanding in the path of yoga. So, Krishna is telling that by yoga bala, by bhaktya yukto, what should be done? The prana should be gradually brought upward and should be put on the Ajna Chakra, that is, in between the bhru or madhi.
When that is done, then one will attain a corresponding destination. What will be the corresponding destination? That one attains paramam purusham divyam. So, after one also does remembrance of Krishna.
But one has bhakti and one makes the mind a chalav. So, now here, let us look at the remaining part of the figure over here. Here you will see two names over here.
This Muladhara Chakra is there and also Bhu Mandal is mentioned. Swadhishtana Chakra, Bhuvar Loka Antara Liksha are mentioned. So, what is this referring to actually? This refers to that if the prana is at this particular level, then the person will attain this particular destination.
So, one who has the prana over here, that person will attain Tapaloka. One who goes out from here, that person will attain Satyaloka. Satyaloka is the abode of Brahma.
So, actually, it is not necessary that this will be the destination because the yogi’s prana may not stay at this level. It may be at this level, but from here it may be moving upwards also. So, basically, there is a correspondence between our inner level of consciousness and the outer level in the cosmic hierarchy.
There is a correspondence between the two and that correspondence is what is pointed about over here. So, Krishna is telling over here what we should do, what the yogi should do. Pranam Avesha Samyak.
So, fix the mind on, get the prana in the centre of the eyebrows. Then, Krishna says, now I will explain this process to you. So, in brief, I will explain Krishna is telling.
Sangraha is brief or in summary, pravaksha I will explain. So, what will I explain? That in aksharam ved vidho vadanti, akshara refers to Brahma. So, one utters the Brahma, the akshara refers to, not Brahma, it refers here to Oma, the letter Om.
So, one chants Om and then ved vidho vadanti. So, vadanti, that person chants akshara, chants the Om and ved vidho, that person is actually knowing the Vedas, not ignorant. And then vishanti, that person enters into, where does that person enter? One will attain that ultimate destination.
The great sages, they are free from attachment and to vishanti, to attain that destination, what they do? Desiring it, one practises brahmacharya. So, in this way, what Krishna is telling over here is that one should practise brahmacharya and one should chant the syllable Om, one should know the Vedas, one should be renounced free from attachment. When one has these preliminary qualifications, then one can practise the process of yoga and attain perfection and that process I will explain briefly.
Krishna will explain that in the next two verses briefly. But we will see that the demands of the process are quite a bit. We are free from attachment, practise brahmacharya, know the Vedas, be renounced and then chant the Om mantra.
So, Krishna has told in the previous verse that if one can do it at prayana kaal, then one will attain the parvam purusha. So, how can one be able to do it at prayana kaal? By yoga bala. How will that yoga bala come? By the strength of yoga practise come? That is described in this and the next verses now.
Prabhupada says that it is best for us to chant Hare Krishna. That is the recommended process for this yoga. So, let us look at the recommended process here.
So, now Krishna will talk about where he says briefly I will explain. So, he explains it over here. sarva-dvara-ni-sanyamya manorudhi-nirudhya-cha murdhya-adhyatmana-pranam asthito-yoga-dharanam So, sarva-dvara-ni-sanyamya.
So, dvara here refers to the senses. The senses are like the doors for the soul, for its consciousness to go out and for the external objects to come in and affect the consciousness. So, sarva-dvara-ni-sanyamya.
One brings the dvaras under control. And after one does that, manorudhi-nirudhya-cha, one gets the mind to fix on the heart. Now, we have discussed earlier what is the difference between the mind and the heart.
The heart does not refer to the biological organ that pumps blood. Heart refers to the seat of emotion and the seat of emotion is the soul. So, fix the mind on the heart means concentrate on atma-tattva.
So, that fix the mind. Our mind is here considered to be the object that directs our thoughts. So, wherever our mind is, that is where our thoughts are.
So, fix the mind on the heart. That means fix the mind on that which is in our most reality, that is the atma. murdhya-adhyatmana-pranam.
So, and then we get the prana-adhyatmanah. Murdhya means in the head. Then what will happen? Asthatva, when situated like this, yoga-dharanam will attain.
This is the yogic situation. So, Krishna is talking here about the practise of yoga and he is saying that, he is talking first about the practise of pratyahara, sarva-dvara-ni-sanyamya. We remember among the 10 ages, the yama, niyama, asana, prana and the fifth is pratyahara.
So, sarva-dvara-ni-sanyamya refers to pratyahara. And then after that there is dharana-dhyana-samadhi. There is a progress in stages as we move forward.
So, Krishna is talking about dharanam, yoga-dharanam. So, one will prepare for that ultimate attainment of samadhi by doing pratyahara and then turning inwards. So, first shut out the senses.
So, Krishna is talking about the external, physical what? sarva-dvara-ni-sanyamya. And then inwards he talks about manurudhi-nirudhicha, fix the mind on the heart, on the atma-tattva and then raise the prana, prana to the adhyatma, to the murdha, that means the head area and yasthito-yoga-dharana. One becomes situated in yoga in this way.
And after that what happens? Krishna tells in the next verse. So, omiti-ekaksharam-brahma-vyaharan-mamanusmaran-ya-prayatita-jan-deham-prayati-paramangatim. So, omiti-ekaksharam-brahma.
So, om is considered to be ekakshara, the one syllable. One chants that. And then vyaharan.
Vyaharan means vibrating that. And then along with that mamanusmaran. So, what has to be done? Krishna has earlier talked about bhaktya-yukto.
Bhakti is to be there. So, bhakti is for whom? That is for the Supreme Lord. So, one can chant the name Om, chant the sound Oma, but along with that one has to remember the personal absolute.
This is very clearly indicating how the process of bhakti has to be there along with the process of yoga, along the process of yoga. And bhakti essentially means fixing the mind on Bhagavan. So, mamanusmaran.
So, Krishna has talked about remembering Him in the fifth verse when He talked about antakaal-echa-mameva. So, that was the goal, to fix the mind on Him. And what is the way? Okay, one can practise this whole process of yoga, do yogadharana, come to yogadharana, give the prana over here, do all this.
But ultimately at the end what one has to do? Mamanusmaran. One can utter Om, one can practise brahmacharya, all these are fine. But mamanusmaran, one has to fix the mind, one has to remember Krishna.
And then yaha prayatitya jandeham. So, when one leaves the body in this way, sayati paramam gathem, that person will attain the supreme destination. Paramam gathem, the ultimate destination.
What is that ultimate destination? That actually Krishna has mentioned earlier, paramam purusham divyam, and attain the supreme person. So, that is of course the ultimate goal. So, here the point is what will the yoga mishra bhakta attain? The person will attain whatever will depend on, as we discussed, what is the conception.
If the bhakti is the predominant element, one will attain Vaikuntha. If bhakti is not a predominant element, then what a person will attain? Brahmajyoti. But either way, for attaining success, one needs to have contemplation on the Lord.
That is mamanusmaran. One should remember the Lord. Only then one will be able to attain this destination.
So, now Krishna has talked one way how one can attain, one can remember Him at the time of death through the process of yoga mishra bhakti. Now, after this, Krishna 8.14, 8.15, Krishna will talk briefly about how one can come to think about Him in an alternative way through the process of devotional service. That we will discuss in our next class.
Thank you very.