Gita 09.33 – Go beyond incompatible material existence to compatible spiritual existence

Side. Thank you Bhakta Rajarishi Vastatha and the second part is referred to the devotees and the Rajarishi or the devoted Rajarishi whichever way and then he concludes this line of thought therefore having been born in this temporary material world one should just best go ahead and become devoted to him this is more or less a repetition or a reiteration of which is a more well known verse from the Gita that is 8.15 this is 9.33 now moving onwards the key point that Krishna is making here is that we as souls are bound to suffer and bound to die in material existence these things are simply unavoidable when we know this when we know this unavoidability of our destiny why should we resent it and get ourselves into trouble unnecessarily instead if we just focus on striving to move closer and closer to Krishna then we can by the practice of bhakti transcend the misery of this material world so the basic point that Krishna makes here is that we are having choices and we should make an intelligent choice when a person is sick at that time the person is ready to take a treatment no matter how difficult the treatment may be because the alternative is to stay miserable but if there is a treatment that can enable one to actually become cured and the treatment is much more practical is highly probable, highly feasible and the treatment has worked in other cases in the cases where people have been sicker then that's all the more reason for taking the treatment so similarly the point of the verse is that the previous verse has stated that even the low born can be elevated and why should the high born not be elevated why should the Arjuna is a Rajya Rishi saintly king and he certainly can be elevated so Rajya Rishi here Krishna is speaking and he is telling that the essential point of the verse the essential point of this ninth chapter of the Gita is a consistent and unequivocal glorification of the path of Bhakti as compared to various other paths primarily in this chapter of course the comparison of Bhakti has been with the Karmakand with the worship of the Devatas but indirectly there has also been a comparison with impersonalism which has been talked about in 9.11 and 12 and here Krishna speaks that अनित्यम् असुखम् लोकम् इमं प्रापे भजस्वमाम् so now its interesting that सत्चितानन्द is the characteristic of the soul the defining characteristics of the soul सत्चितानन्द and अनित्य is actually the opposite of सत् and असुख is the opposite of आनन्द thus we could say that the nature of material existence is opposite to the nature of the soul to the extent we recognize this difference in nature to the extent we address this difference in nature by recognizing the incompatibility of material existence with our spiritual nature to that extent we have hope of moving towards lasting happiness if we don't recognize this incompatibility if a person has fallen in water the person tries to find stability and peace in the water that is not going to work the water is going to be unstable and restless the waves are going to come sometimes there will be lesser waves but often there may be huge waves also so the essential incompatibility of human life with water has to be recognized and thereby human being has to be situated on somewhere other than the water similarly the essential incompatibility of the soul with Krishna sorry with the material world needs to be recognized just as wanting to be steady and wanting to be on a firm ground in water is impossible similarly wanting to have a lasting and joyful life in the middle existence is impossible this of course does not mean that we expect problems and we borrow problems and we bury ourselves in problems certainly by our negative attitude and by our inconsiderate choices we can make life more miserable than it needs to be so that of course the scripture guides us to avoid that and accepting as guidance is also an important part of living intelligently and productively in this material existence but in the final analysis just as if a person in a ocean is indiscreet that person may well end up in the water far more in stormy areas in the ocean in the water body and getting far more buffeted and troubled than what is necessary and that person has some nautical sense some sense of how to find peaceful relatively peaceful water or at least to avoid stormy water then that person can be more peaceful even in the ocean so similarly we can in this material world also be peaceful by living according to the principles of dharma by acting according to our nature and by avoiding unnecessary passions that create turbulence in our life but all said and done just as peace can be found not in the water but outside the water on land similarly as souls who are at our core spiritual we can find peace and stability at the spiritual level of reality and that is what we should strive for that is what Krishna is urging us to do in this verse by telling us that that okay that if you are understanding this basic point that actually you are at your core spiritual that and not only that Arjuna you are high born so you have a greater chance to do this you have a greater chance at success and therefore just practice bhakti and attain success.