Gita 02.64 – Material regulation is the launching pad for spiritual liberation

So here Krishna is now beginning to answer Arjuna's fourth question that is vrajetakya. So vrajeta means to move about. So the question was how does a self-realized person control the senses in this world and act in this world or how does he control and how does he keep the senses under control was the third question.

Now how does he move about in this world? One cannot just stay inactive in this world. So while moving around, how does one engage one's senses in a harmonious way and not a disruptive way? So that is answered from 64 onwards till 72. So raga, dvesha, vimukta, isthu, vimukta, being freed from, putting aside, raga and dvesha, attachment and aversion, vishayan, indriyesh, charan, vishayan, the sense objects toward indriyesh, the senses, charan, the movement, the movement of the senses toward the sense object, atma, vishayan, bringing it under control of the self, vidhe, atma, vidhe, vidhi refers to scripture rules and regulations and follow the scripture rules and regulations, prasadam adhigachyate, prasad, adhigachyate is to get, a person gets prasad.

Now the word prasad, we often use in terms of the edible remnants of offering to the Lord, that is a specific application of the word prasad, prasad essentially means mercy and prasad also means purity, that person attains mercy and attains purity by that mercy. So in the bhakti context, it will clearly mean mercy and the bhakti context is valid because Krishna has already talked about mat paraha, fix the mind on me, but in general, the sequence is that by following higher guidance or higher instruction, we get higher benediction. So the higher benediction instruction is given in vidhe atma, vidhi scripture, when we do that, when we follow Krishna's instructions, we get Krishna's benediction, that benediction is in the form of purification, attraction to him, his mercy comes.

So here the word is charan, charan means moving. So when we move around in this world, we may be going in a particular direction, but our eye, our senses are moving towards the sense objects, vishayan indriya is charan, they are moving towards the sense objects and then what happens in that, we can get entangled, we can get sidetracked and blindsided if you are not careful. So what is the solution? Raga dvesha vimukta isto, raga and dvesha, one keeps aside.

So now we all have certain things which we like and certain things which we don't like. Now, we can't entirely wish away our attachments and aversions, but at the same time, we don't have to let them blow us away. That means we don't have to let them control us completely.

We need to have a balanced perspective where we let our principles make our decisions, not our moods and emotions. Raga and dvesha are moods and emotions and you will see that the same thing that we like today, we may not like tomorrow and the same thing that we dislike today, we may like tomorrow. So this is all fleeting.

The mind is restless and the mind's reactions to things are also flickering and because of that, we can't be sure about how we should live, how we should deal with situations. That is the challenge. Raga dvesha vimukta isto, we need to be vimukta, we need to be free from that.

And when we are free from that, then vishayan indriya ishtya, vishayan refers to sense objects, senses. So we don't let the senses go towards the sense objects just based on our default attachments and aversions. Basically, we are moving around in the world, but we don't let the senses and sense objects go just the way they want.

Going back to the chariot metaphor, we don't let the horses go wherever they want. We maintain control. And by that control, we are able to protect ourselves.

So further it is described, atmavashyay, atmavashyay. So rather than going into the vasha of our raga and dvesha, we let our self, that means our value, our purposes, be in control. Vidhey atma, vidhey atma, one who follows scripture.

Now, an important principle to understand is that regulation, material regulation is the launching pad for spiritual liberation. Material regulation is the launching pad for spiritual liberation. Often when we talk about scriptural rules and regulations, if you do this, you should not do that.

And you may think, oh, this is going to constrict my life. It is going to actually going to let me, it's going to choke me. There's so many enjoyable things that I'm told, don't do this, don't do that, don't do this, don't do that.

So how do we deal with this? Actually speaking, the problem is that we are only thinking of life from one perspective. And that perspective is that what I have been told to give up. But when we talk about material regulation, do this, don't do this, vidhey atma, the purpose is not just a restriction or deprivation, but the purpose is elevation and liberation.

Just like a person who keeps moving around at the foothills of a mountain, at the foot of a hill or a mountain, looking for some fruit here, looking for some sight there, a person can never climb up. So instead the person said, okay, this is the circumference, you're not meant to go out of here. Then the purpose is not just to restrict the movement.

The purpose is to get the person to climb up the mountain. And when you climb up the mountain, there may be much more beautiful fruits and flowers and many more desirable things at the top of the mountain. So like that, the purpose of scriptural rules and regulations, which ask us to keep our material activities, our material intelligence in check is not to deprive us, but to get us to focus on our energy and elevating our consciousness.

And when we elevate our consciousness, then actually we experience so much happiness. So rather than focusing on what we have to do, to give up, we focus on what we can do, on what we have the opportunity to do. Okay, I'm not going to get involved in illicit sexual activities.

I'm not going to get involved in sinful activities. Then once we close that mental option, then our mind becomes, okay, what can I do? Why am I saying no to all these things? Because I want to say yes to something higher. What is that higher thing which I'm saying yes to? That is ultimately Krishna.

So then let me purify myself. Let me fix my mind in Krishna. And by that fixing the mind on him, let me elevate myself upwards so that I can eventually attain him.

And in this way, our consciousness gets the opportunity to rise upwards. So, you know, whenever a satellite is to be launched in space, then there is a launching pad, the satellite won't just fly off, there has to be a machine, a huge contraption which will propel it into the sky. So like that, when we have material regulation, then the power of our desire, we cannot suppress or eliminate our desire or the power of our desire.

The power of our desire, which is normally dissipated at the material level, when we bring about material regulation and the power of our desire becomes concentrated on elevating our consciousness. And in that way, we get propelled upwards. Krishna had talked about this in 2.41. So the power of our desire, I want to attain Krishna and I don't care about this or that or those things.

I just want to attain Krishna. With that mood, when we fix our consciousness, then we start charging onwards towards Krishna. And in this way, we are rising upwards by Krishna's mercy.

So the whole purpose of of not coming to attachment and aversion, of regulating the movement of the senses towards objects, of keep following such rules and regulations, is to raise our consciousness, to direct the power of our desire, not horizontally towards matter, but vertically upwards towards Krishna. And the closer we go towards Krishna, Krishna is supremely pure. And by his mercy, we also become pure.

So by his mercy, we get purity. So here, Krishna is saying that, yes, we need to act in this world, we need to use our senses, but keep the senses under regulation and keep the actual senses purposeful. Purposeful in the sense of focused on serving Krishna.

When we have that purpose in mind, then we keep moving upwards towards Krishna till we ultimately attain him. And that the result of prasada will be discussed.