Gita 02.66 – We need Krishna-connection to keep our intelligence and mind on track

Without it, you cannot enjoy the fiction.

So, yukta means connected through yoga. Namasthi buddhi yukta sya. It says that a yukta, one who is not spiritually connected, a person, cannot have a stable intelligence, a pure intelligence.

This is strong intelligence. A person can also not have a peaceful mind. Bhava refers to nature.

Bhavana refers to, it can sometimes refer to emotion. In this context, it refers to the state of the mind. So, once one is one cannot have a peaceful state of mind.

One cannot basically have a steady state of mind. And without a steady state of mind, there cannot be peace. The mind is oscillating constantly.

Wanting this sometimes, wanting that sometimes. Going from here to there. And there cannot be shanti.

Ashantasya buddhah sukham. Ashantasya. For those who are Ashanta, who are not peaceful, how can there be buddhah sukham? How can there be happiness? So this verse is saying that internally, a disconnectedness with spiritual reality is ultimately Krishna.

Krishna has mentioned connection with him. He has stated in 2.61 Ram Saravan saying, युत्तासी तत्मत्परः वशेवियस्ते द्रियावनि वशिव्रव्याप्रतिष्ठिताम् This is controlling all the senses. युत्तासी तत्मत्परः The person should be connected.

युत्तासी तत्मत्परः Should fix the consciousness on me. Be devoted to me. वशेवियस्ते द्रियावनि In this way, one will be able to bring the senses under control.

वशिव्रव्याप्रतिष्ठिताम् Which a person is well situated. So Krishna has talked about being of युत्ता and युत्ता means मत्परः Here he is saying, the consequences will be disconnected from him. What all a person will cannot have a steady mind, intelligence of mind and therefore cannot have ease of habits.

This section from 2.55 to 2.72 is Response to Arjuna's questions which were asked in 2.54 So the questions are What are the characteristics of a self realised person? How does the person speak? How does the person respond to the ups and downs of life? And how does the person control the senses? And how does the person engage the senses? So here Krishna has said in this section the answer to the question How does one engage the senses? And he is saying that while engaging the senses one needs to be connected internally with Krishna. If a person is not connected internally then that person will not be able to have a steady intelligence of mind and therefore that person cannot be peaceful or happy. Let's look at how Krishna is saying that there will be serious consequences of a person not being Krishna conscious.

A person disconnected from Krishna from the spiritual reality cannot have Buddhi Krishna. Now at one level Buddhi, intelligence is a part of a subtle body and everyone has Buddhi. So to say someone does not have Buddhi does it mean that their subtle body lacks a particular component? No, not at all.

What it essentially means is not that the subtle body lacks anything but that the Buddhi in terms of the function of Buddhi is not serving well. It's like a person may say that I don't have a computer now. That could mean that person has stolen the computer.

But it can also mean that the person's computer is not functioning. So a person has a computer in the sense that the physical device called the computer is there but the capacity to function with the computer is not there. If that computer is not functioning then it's as if this person does not have a computer at all.

So similarly if the Buddhi is not doing the work that the Buddhi is supposed to do that is if the Buddhi is not discriminating between good and bad, between right and wrong, between short term and long term, between spiritual material then the Buddhi is not serving its function. So Krishna will talk later in the 18th chapter about Buddhi in the three modes. And there he mentions that how intelligence and ignorance does the opposite of what intelligence is supposed to do.

Intelligence is meant to help us understand what is Dharma and what is Adharma. But intelligence and ignorance far from enabling us to understand such a thing. Intelligence and ignorance are actually mistakes.

So that intelligence which considers Adharma to be Dharma Adharmam Dharmamidhya Manyate Tapasam Taha So there is a person who is covered by ignorance. Sarvartha Viparitamsya And we all know that it is just doing the opposite doing the opposite of what it is supposed to do. That is Buddhi Tapasam And similarly he also says in the preceding verse 18.32 18.31 is that that intelligence which cannot properly understand what is Dharma and what is Adharma and in this way it does not understand what will cause bondage, what will cause liberation and where one does not understand things as they are.

So in 18.33 Krishna says that that intelligence which can clearly differentiate between Dharma and Adharma So that intelligence which clearly understands what is to be done and what is not to be done what is healthy and what is unhealthy what is what is to be feared and what is not to be feared and what will cause bondage and what will bring about liberation that intelligence which understands these differences that intelligence is in the mode of goodness Krishna states quite unambiguously so basically Krishna is stating that the intelligence that understands differences between binding actions and non-binding or liberating actions that is the intelligence in the mode of goodness and of course there is Transcendental intelligence which sees everything connected with Krishna So here Krishna is saying that the person lacks intelligence he is basically saying that the person is not like the person is lacking the subtle body the body is a component but rather that component is no longer functioning properly it is not discerning accurately and that is why it is as if the person does not have the intelligence and why is this happening? because when we are going on a road which we are not familiar with then we need some kind of map if we don't have a map then naturally we will be lost there are no two options about it either we know the road ourselves in the past from our past travels along the road or we are connected with someone who can tell us the way that connection can be by phone or by some other means of connection social media through messaging or whatever or we will be connected to someone who we don't know personally but someone who has made a map and who has provided that map now even if we use an online system for tracking our location and knowing the path to our destination still that although we may not see a person there directly but there are two persons who are connected in the sense that they have made the maps and even if there is technology which is scanning the specific locations but beyond that technology there are people who have made the technology and who oversee it and who ensure that the technology works properly and they are connected but the technology does some errors so essentially if we are travelling without being connected to someone who knows the way then we will soon be lost with life living life is like going on a journey and everyday is like adventure now to some extent you may think I know what happens in this life journey ok I have to wake up in the morning I have to refresh myself then I rest and I take breakfast and then go for a job go and travel through the traffic and I work from morning till evening and then in the evening I may pull out for some time hang out with some friends especially if one does not have a family all of one's family will come back and spend some time with them watching TV surfing the net or whatever and then one goes to sleep so essentially now we will say that oh I know what I am going to do in my life but this is in terms of only the specific activities that a person might be doing but we are talking here about the larger issues in terms of deciding what is to be done and what is not to be done and the problem is not that a person is driving and that person does not know what to do because a person may say that I know what I just have to keep driving but then when we keep driving there are going to be crossroads and that crossroad which one to take that one will not be so at a simple level we may say that I just have to go through life yes that is true I have to daily go through the routine which was just described but beyond that life frequently presents us with crossroads and we have to make decisions and if we don't have scripture which can act as our map scripture broadly is the principles based on which we can make decisions in our life if we don't have scripture then we are like a person without intelligence we decide things what to do and what not to do based on our mood or we feel like doing at a particular time so okay I have a vacation now should I go to Dhanyavidya or should I go to Simla or should I go to Alibaug or should I go to Manavala I don't know these are small decisions book says these are decisions like this there are so many decisions that we take in our life and without a scriptural foundation for our life without integration understanding applying, internalising and integrating the principles given in scripture in our life without that we will be mapless in the life journey so what we do based on our moods rarely if ever delivers the satisfaction that we had dreamt about when we started doing that thing similarly the same applies about many other things in our life also or whatever decisions we make now specifically Krishna is talking here about the intelligence that enables one to choose regulation instead of gratification to choose purification instead of indulgence Krishna has pointed to this principle in 2.64 Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Purity Come on You must be When we are pure, then misery goes away. How can misery go away? First of all, often misery is caused by our own wrong choices. So, for example, if a person drinks and drinks and drinks and then gets a hangover the next morning, then now that is a self-created misery.

And the person indulges in that misery because the person did not know what to do. Did not understand the difference between right and wrong. Did not have the provisions to discern properly.

And that is why it is a self-created misery. And certainly when we practise Bhakti, we gain proper intelligence. And especially when we find the practise of Bhakti, then we don't do actions by which we bring misery upon ourselves.

So we don't indulge in unrighteousness and zealotification. Which is what we call misery, especially self-created misery. Now when I say beyond self-created misery, there are other kinds of misery also.

So I would say there is Adi-Bhaktik, Adi-Jayatek, Adi-Bhakti-Kleshas, which often come without our doing anything to induce them. That's true. And what Krishna said over here is that, or not here exactly, Krishna said that later in the 18 points of the 18th chapter of the 58th verse, If you become conscious of the all obstacles, such a person will be able to go beyond all obstacles.

By becoming conscious of me and by receiving my mercy. By requiring my prasada, that person will be able to float over, that means rise and move onwards towards, over those miseries, those obstacles. So essentially when we are pure, even when problems come, we know how to choose the right response.

That does not necessarily mean that we immediately know the perfect solution to every problem that comes. In terms of the practical way of dealing with that problem. No, we may have to think and reason and consult and pray.

And then we may get some idea of how to deal with the problem. But what we are talking about here is, the first response, when people face frustration, quite often the first response is very unhealthy. Often the first response is to, when they face a frustrating situation, they seek some quick pleasure for relief.

They may drink, they may gamble. They may try to forget the whole problem and the problematic situation by trying to lose themselves in their favourite indulgence. And such a thing doesn't really solve the problem.

It only delays the problem. Because they are not dealing with it, they are thinking that I am happy watching movies or going into my own world by drinking. But actually the problem is not just delayed, but during the delay it is aggravated.

Aggravated because maybe the problem itself is so urgent and it needed something to be done urgently for correction. And that was not done because of that person seeking relief and gratification. The problem is worsened.

And often, further, the person seeking relief and that pleasure may also worsen the situation. Because that person may become, after drinking the person cannot have a clear mind, cannot have a sound head. And that person cannot deal with the problem properly.

But when we have purity, prasad, then we are able to recognise what is what. And we seek shelter in Krishna instead of worldly things. So, because of the absorption of Krishna, because of taking shelter of Krishna, because of taking Krishna, who offers great solace and satisfaction in our body, we don't feel the misery, at least not in the same quantity as we would have felt if we did not have the shelter of Krishna.

So, here, prasad, food, the first two, firstly, the miseries that come by wrong choices, those don't happen for a devotee. For one who has developed purity, by the mercy of the Lord. And secondly, the problems that come anyway, the person is able to tolerate and transcend those problems by absorption in Krishna.

So, it is said that pain may be inevitable, but misery is there. But suffering is there. That means at a bodily level, if we get diseased, if we meet with an accident, we will feel pain.

But, if we just develop the pain, the pain will seem much much bigger and intolerable, more intolerable than what it is. But if we turn our mind to something else, we will not feel that much pain, we will not suffer. So, that's how the purity, the mercy, the power of purity protects us from misery.

Prasad, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, And then, Krishna also said that Brahma, Rupa, Prasad, Jnanatma, 18.54, Krishna says, even a person who is situated in the Brahman platform is happy. There is a lot to speak of. A person who is situated in realisation and absorption, where in the Parabrahma, that is Krishna, there is immense happiness.

As Krishna also talks about the state of his devotees, Krishna teacher and teacher, they absorb Krishna's glory in such a way, there is great delight in it, in the glories. So, Buddhi Paryavatis, today, Krishna says here, at that level, when one has actually experienced both, the relief from misery that comes from living purely, and the higher happiness that comes from living purely, then that person's intelligence becomes strong. Buddhi Paryavatis.

Why is that? Because then that intelligence is formed with a very strong conviction based on personal realisation. Just like a person's faith in a medicine that is actually cured, that has actually removed the disease and restored health, that person got tremendous medicine. Tremendous faith in that medicine.

Similarly, in the Buddhi Paryavatis today's case, a person who has actually experienced how living purely according to scripture provides relief from misery and provides higher satisfaction, that person will naturally have a very strong intelligence because that person will know, will have experienced the reality of what is told in scripture. Thus, Buddhi Paryavatis today, Buddhi becomes strongly situated. So, we have been discussing till now, 2.66, that Namastey Buddhir Ayukthasya, and we discussed the background about how Buddhi is established by living Yukta, by living in a way connected with the highest virtual reality, with Krishna ultimately, by living according to the guidance given in scripture.

And naturally when one does not live according to scripture, then it is almost like that person doesn't have Buddhi. And then further it says, Nachaya, Krishna says, Nachaya Yuktasya Bhavana, the person doesn't have Bhavana. Bhavana means steady mental disposition.

So that person, especially when they are affected by the modes of passion or ignorance, then there is very little if anything steady about our mental disposition. The only steadying thing is unsteadiness. That means the mind constantly keeps jumping from this to that, to that, to that, to that.

In many places, the consciousness is ripped in many directions by the by the various desires that come in. And Mohajal Samavata, which a person is totally covered by illusion. Now, Nachaya Yuktasya Bhavana, so the person who is not connected with Krishna cannot have a steady mental disposition.

A steady mental disposition means that we understand ourselves. As Socrates said, know thyself. It's a saying that has gone beyond a particular person who might have said it.

It's become a part of humanity's timeless wisdom. And this can refer of course at one level to knowing who we are as souls different from the body. But it also refers to knowing what is the psychophysical nature that we have presently.

What is the nature of our body? So, Varnashram offers us the broad division in terms of Brahmanical Kshatriya, Vaishyan, Shudra typologies. These are not Kaukavas, but these are human types. And the Varnashram offers us this broad diagram.

And along with that, there can also be the because even among the Brahmanas, there are subdivisions. There was Varna and there was Jati. And Jati usually refers to further divisions.

Just like the earth can be divided into continents and continents are divided into countries. So, the point is that we all have different natures. And we can live peacefully, we can live productively when our life is harmonised with our nature.

Here by nature, we don't refer to Asana in terms of the desire for lust, anger, greed, envy, pride, illusion. But we refer to Vritti or Sabhava in terms of what is our basic disposition. So, for instance, passion or ignorance is so influenced by the outer world that a person simply wants to do whatever is glamorised by the outer world.

And that is why we see in today's world many times people choose certain professions that are glamorised by the culture even when they don't themselves have an inclination for those professions. So, in India, for example, most people choose to become engineers or doctors. they may have far better capacity to perform if they acted according to their inclinations and became artists or authors or musicians or whatever.

So, the point is that that one does not have a steady mental disposition because one is not able to understand oneself and both of them are not able to act according to one's nature because of being driven by both worldly pressures and the flickering tendencies of one's own mind. So, if one does not have a steady mental disposition now the steady disposition requires first a strong intelligence. Even with a firm intelligence we cannot really for a long time act against our nature.

Even a person who is very intelligent that person has Brahminical inclination, that person cannot really work well as a Vaishya and cannot be peaceful working as a Vaishya one will have a constant feeling of dissatisfaction. So, Shanti comes at one level by connection with Krishna and that is actually the deepest and the most important way in which we can get Shanti. But Shanti also comes when we are, when our work is harmonised with our nature and when neither is there when we are not guided by scripture, so we don't connect with Krishna and we don't strive to live according to our subhav also.

Then we have no happiness, sorry, we have no peace and Krishna concludes by declaring that for those who are not peaceful what happiness can they have? it's like a person if a person is a dancer and that person wants to dance but there has to be a foundation of, in terms of at least some level of decent floor for dancing. If the floor is littered with water or worsted with oil then no matter how skilled the dancer that person cannot dance at least can't dance expertly. So, this as an action requires some foundation for it to be performed.

Similarly, happiness requires the foundation of peace. If one does not have peace, then how can one pursue happiness? So, Krishna said to Arjuna, here, for Arjuna, if you act disconnected from me, if you act in defiance of what I am asking you to do, then you will have neither peace nor happiness. In this way, he is very strongly emphasising to Arjuna that act according to scripture and since the source of scripture, Krishna himself is present here, the rejection means, act according to Krishna's directions.