Hindi – Chapter 17 – Bhagavad Gita And Decision Making || Chaitanya Charan

Transcript

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Swamishla Prabhupada Ki Jai Nanda Koti Vaishnavarind Ki Jai Shreemad Bhagavad Gita Ki Jai Gauravani Pracharine Nirvishesh Shunyavadi Pashchatya Deshatarine Vancha Kalpataru Vyascha Kripa Sindhubhyavecha Patitanam Pavanhebhyo Vaishnavebhyo Namo Namaha Jai Shri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nithyananda Shri Advaita Gadadhara Shri Vasadhi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna So today we will see the 17th chapter of Bhagavad Gita. And this evening we will see the 16th chapter. And tomorrow morning we will see the last part of the 18th chapter.
So in the 17th chapter, in the 16th chapter which I have told you, after that a question is coming to Arjuna’s mind. This question is that, He is asking, you have told us about the divine and the demonic nature, but the people who are in the middle, some people belong to the divine nature, and some belong to the demonic nature. But do all people fit into these categories? And especially, we can say that there are only two types of nature, the divine and the demonic nature.
But especially their characteristics, one is what is called nature, and the second is, when God describes nature, how does he do it? He does it in the form of qualities. Here the word qualities does not mean modes. Here the word qualities means qualities.
He says that, those who belong to the divine nature, they have good qualities. Those who belong to the demonic nature, they have bad qualities. So now, we can say that some qualities, if this is the divine nature, and this is the demonic nature, so now some qualities, the qualities of the divine nature, we see in some people.
So now suppose this is the qualities of the divine nature, and the qualities of the demonic nature, we see in some people. But there are some people, in whom the qualities are, some can be said like this, some have divine qualities, some have demonic qualities. And there are many people like this.
So now, where do they come in between? So, at the end, God said that, those who follow the scriptures with faith, now he has told about their qualities, but at the end what did he say? the people of the divine nature, they have two characteristics, that they follow the scriptures, and they have faith in them. And, this scriptural method, sorry, he says, So, keep faith and follow the scriptures. But what is here? They, the people of the demonic nature, what do they do? They do not follow the scriptures.
What do they do in their life? No scriptures. And what is there? So, they work for work. Work means here, they work for their selfish desires.
So, what is there in them? It means that, if there is no scripture, there is no faith either. If a doctor tells you, that you eat such and such things, don’t eat such and such things. So, if a person says, no, no, I am going to eat this.
So, what is there? He clearly does not have faith in the doctor. If the doctor says, eating this will cause problems, he will say, no, no, the doctor just wants to take away happiness from my life. That is why he is saying this.
So, if he does not follow, he is eating only according to his desires. So, what is there? Is there no faith in it or is it less? So, now there are two extremes. So, Arjun, this is the description of chapter 16.
But the people who come in between, that is chapter 17. So, the question is, the people who have faith, but this faith, but not in the scripture. So, what is told in the scripture, according to that, they are not working.
They have faith in something else. So, what is the level of such people? Nowadays, people say, you know, according to your God’s will, you worship. Some people worship nature.
Nowadays, many people are environmentalists and naturalists. So, they say, our earth is God. But they are not seeing it as the mother earth.
So, people can have faith in different things. So, what is the level of such people? This is Arjun’s question in chapter 17. So, So, Utsrujya means not following.
And this is what God has said in chapter 16, verse 23. So, that is what is told. But, there, this Utsrujya in the scripture, and what is here? They are working with faith.
But, there is no faith in the scripture. There is faith in any other scripture. So, how will we tell their faith? How will we analyse it? So, What is this in chapter 17? Right now, God himself, in chapter 14, has analysed these three qualities.
So, Arjun is now asking the question. So, he is asking from the same point of view that how can we tell their faith? So, what is there now? The faith that is there, a person cannot live without faith. No one can live.
Right now, all of us are sitting here. So, what is there? We have faith that the construction of the temple is so good that it will not fall on our heads and crush us. It will not kill us.
This is faith. We drive a car, we drive a car, we drive a bike, we even walk on the road. So, we have faith that this car, this bike, it is going to run well.
Its brake will not fail suddenly. Its petrol tank will not explode suddenly. So, without faith we cannot do any work.
So, this is what God first of all emphasises on faith. He says that there are three types of faith. And the shloka here about faith is a very important and interesting shloka.
So, three aspects of faith are told in this. Sattva, Anu, Rupa, Sarvasya So, sometimes there is confusion in the language because there are many meanings of one word. So, in India we say that I meet someone from our college and we ask him in which batch did you pass out? So, now in India pass out means we say graduate.
I went to Australia for the first time and there it was written that I passed out in 1998. So, in our country pass out means becomes unconscious. Why did you become unconscious in 1998? So, what happens is there are different meanings of words.
So, sattva is a word. One meaning of sattva is sattva guna. But another meaning of sattva is what is existence.
Astitva. Satchitanand has sattva and sattva means existence. So, here the meaning of sattva is sattvan rupa sarvasya.
So, the type of existence you have the way you are living Shraddha bhavati bharata He is telling that the way a person will be in existence according to that he will have shraddha. And not only that existence means as you live so will be your belief. The way you are living you will have shraddha.
This is one thing he is telling. The second thing he is telling is Shraddha mayo yam purusho The person in reality is made up of his shraddha. For example, in Upanishads it is said that we are made up of chitna.
It means we are made up of chitna. Or we are made up of ananda. We want ananda.
So, here it is said Shraddha maya So, we are made up of shraddha. And the third thing that God is telling is yo yath shraddha sa evasah So, the way you have shraddha the way you will be. So, here God is telling a very interesting thing about shraddha.
If we say this is someone’s shraddha someone’s faith Now, I will explain how faith is appropriate to what extent and not appropriate to what extent we will see that too. But now let’s talk about faith. So, what God is saying is the way our existence will be the way our sattva is sattvanrupa sarvasya the way our existence is the way our existence is the way our faith will be.
sattvanrupa sarvasya This is the first thing God is telling. And the second thing that God is telling is that right now, in reality we can say there is a person here the way he is living that is his faith. And the third thing that God is telling is that if in future your existence is going to change then our future existence will be according to our faith.
So, shraddha mayoyaj shraddha sa evasa the way his faith is the way he will become a person. So, we can say this is my future me. How will I be in future? I will be the way my faith is.
So, right now this is my present me. But God is telling that in reality the way we are here the way our faith is the way our existence is the way our faith is. And in reality we are made of our faith.
So, what God is telling is that our faith makes us. Our existence makes our faith then our faith makes our existence. So, our existence makes our faith.
Our faith makes our existence. But here what God is telling is there are three things our existence makes our faith. Our faith makes our existence.
But here God is telling the second thing our faith if I am here Me. So, our faith makes us. Hindu, some are Vaishnav, some are Shaivite, some are Muslim, some are Christian.
So, it is their faith. We can say this in a way. But, we see that in reality, are all people of the same religion equal? No.
Now, some people go to Vrindavan, thousands, crores of people went to Kumbh. Were all people equal? No. So, how is it? Traditionally, faith is associated with religion.
So, in English, the word religion has a negative connotation. Many times people say, I am not religious, I am spiritual. So, usually, faith is associated with religion.
Which faith do you belong to? Or, what is your religion? What is your religion? So, see, sometimes words have a lot of complications. Now, we associate faith with religion. But, in Hindi, we say religion as dharma.
Now, in Bhagavad Gita, the meaning of dharma, and the meaning of our dharma, are also different. So, now, the meaning of faith and dharma, are different. Hare Krishna, Prabhu.
My obeisances. Nice to see you. So, now, I am going to discuss about faith.
So, we will try to understand what the meaning of faith is and what it is not. So, now, we can associate faith with religion. But, in reality, this is true to some extent.
But, in reality, what is being told in the Gita, faith, is a person’s value system. That, what is someone’s identity, if we want to know. So, we can see someone’s values, but what is the meaning of value system? That, everyone can have values, but that values also have a hierarchy.
That, values in hierarchy. Hierarchy means, now, everyone needs money. No one can live without money.
But, how important is money? Will you lie to get money? Will you believe someone to get money? Or, will you kill someone to get money? What will you do? So, what is it? Everyone needs money, but the meaning of money is important. But, what is the value of money in someone’s life? That, in our values, there is a value system. So, what happens is, all this can be meaning, but, there is some ultimate meaning in it.
So, generally, ultimate meaning means, we call God. Or, spirituality says, this is our ultimate meaning. Some people, leave the world, and go to the ultimate meaning.
Leave the meaning, and go to the ultimate meaning. So, generally, the meaning of ultimate meaning is, normally, we connect it with God, or with spirituality. But, if we look at the word meaning, what is the meaning of ultimate meaning? Which we consider to be the ultimate meaning.
Which we consider to be the most important meaning. So, now, Ravana, who, what, what does he represent? lust. lust.
So, now, for Ravana, the fulfilment of his lust, that was his ultimate meaning. Means, for the fulfilment of his lust, he was ready to put his kingdom in danger. He was ready to put his family in danger.
He was ready to put his own life in danger. Because, what was there for him? He knew that, I am not safe from humans, from my husband. So, when we have a meaning, there can be many meanings.
But, if there is a simple meaning, if it becomes someone’s ultimate meaning, suppose, money becomes the ultimate meaning, then what happens to it? It leads to disaster. So, if the meaning becomes the ultimate meaning, then it leads to disaster. Now, the attraction of a man and a woman, is a natural attraction in this world.
And, to move forward in this world, this attraction is necessary, in a way. But, if that same attraction, of a person, of all the decisions of his life, becomes the supreme basis, then what happens? That person, becomes a victim of lust, and becomes a victim of lust. He becomes both.
So, that becomes disaster. So, now, the way God is telling us about faith, He is saying, what is our value system? So, if we want to know about a person, if we want to do business with someone, if we want to do a project with someone, then we want to know, what is their value system? In reality, every person has desires. But, which desire is more important? What is their driving desire? So, now, we can say, that we have desires, and there are many desires.
Right now, some person, may be an ordinary person, but if he goes to a very rich person’s house, and there, some jewellery, some jewellery, may be lying outside, maybe he has a desire, I will steal it, no one will know. There is no camera here. Maybe a desire may come.
But, does he work on that desire? So, desires can come in many ways. We have desires, but, usually, our values are greater than desires. So, many desires come and go.
So, in a way, a person is called a discipline, a person is called a culture, a person has a culture. What does that mean? That a person’s values, are more important than his desires. Many types of desires will come, but according to our values, we control our desires.
So, Shraddha means, right now, God is telling us about a person’s defining characteristics. Shraddha mayo yam purusho. That is the identity of a person.
So, what does that mean? That is his value system. So, God tells us, the way we are living our life, according to that, we have a value system. And, as soon as we have a value system, according to that, our life is made.
And, in reality, apart from our value system, we are nothing else. So, suppose, someone is in his childhood. So, our Shraddha, in reality, in a way, is our Shraddha fixed, or is it changing? What do you think? Is Shraddha fixed, or does it change? It changes.
And, to some extent, it should change. But, that change, should happen consciously. It should happen after thinking.
So, suppose, someone is raised in a house, where alcohol is not allowed. Parents say, alcohol should not be drunk. And, he does not drink.
But, he goes abroad, somewhere far away. And, there, in the office, everywhere, people drink alcohol. So, what happens? He says, you also drink.
Drink once. What difference does it make? So, he drinks once. Then, he drinks a second time.
Then, he drinks a third time. So, now, his life is changing. His existence is changing.
So, his value system will change. So, at first, he will say, alcohol should not be drunk. Hey, what is the big deal It is not a big deal.
But, what will happen with that? Gradually, it will not happen that every person who drinks alcohol becomes a drunkard. So, what is his other value system? That is important. Some people do not have any other value system.
So, alcohol becomes their topmost value. They become alcoholics. But, some people drink alcohol.
They may not become a drunkard so soon. But, gradually, that value system changes. So, God is telling us that, our life, with that, the way our existence is, the way we are living, with that, our faith develops.
And, with that faith, our life also develops. So, this is a mutual, symbiotic cycle. One destroys The other nourishes the first thing.
So, this is the feeling of faith. What is faith? It is our value system. And, many people, in one religion, there will be who have different values.
many different value systems. Some people are a little broad-minded. You are thinking this way, she is thinking that way.
So, such people work with different feelings. But, some people are very fanatic. What does fanatic mean? That, my own thinking is right.
There are two types of people in fanatics. One is exclusivists. What does exclusivists mean? That, in our religion, or in our sect, exclusive truth has been revealed.
That, only here, truth is found. And, nowhere else. For example, if a cricket tournament is going on, exclusively broadcast on ESPN, exclusively on Star TV.
It is here, and nowhere else. So, they are exclusivists. So, exclusivists in their thoughts, that, only we have truth.
So, exclusivists, there are extremists. They are extremists in their thoughts, and in their actions. So, what are extremists? They are more compassionate than Exclusivists say that, you will not survive.
the extremists say that, if you are going to go to why should you delay? We will send you So, they are extremists. So, in some religion, in the name of faith, some people become fanatics. Some fanatics.
So, faith, if we call it religion, it is a narrow, small understanding. A person who says that, I am in this religion, how much has his value system changed How much has it affected? How much has it not affected? Some people join in religious groups and they say that, in their religion, you They are not in religion. They are just there to earn their money.
That is why the faith that we are talking about is a value system. Does our value system come from the scriptures? It does come from the scriptures. But it also comes from our upbringing.
It comes from the kind of society we live in. It comes from a lot of things. So, there was a traditional society.
In that, the upbringing of children, the culture of the society, was based on the scriptures. But now, the question that Arjun has, most people in today’s society are in the middle. Their faith does not come directly from the scriptures.
There are different kinds of faith. So, some people worship demigods. So, those who worship demigods, those who worship deities, that is their faith based on the scriptures.
But some people worship demigods. What does demigod mean? Say me God. So, I am God.
So, what kind of faith is this? This is a faith based on the scriptures. If you worship a saint or a guru, if you worship that, that faith, is not mentioned in the scriptures. Now, maybe that faith, sometimes it can happen, that someone worships a saint, and because of that, he stops eating meat, and because of that, he starts giving charity.
So, maybe that can have a positive impact on their character. So, now, it is good that there has been a positive change. But it is not based on the scriptures.
So, now God says, that if a person’s faith is his value system, then how can we understand his value system? So, someone can say, if we meet a sadhant, how can we directly ask, what is your value system? We keep asking this question. What do we ask? What is your name? What do you do? Where do you live? So, with that, we can do a little research. How educated are you? Where do you live? In which locality do you live? How do you talk? So, with that, we can know something about that person.
So, we don’t directly ask about someone’s value system. And even if we ask, most people won’t tell us. So, how can we understand someone’s value system? So, God says, look at their existence.
How are they living? And our existence, our existence, is that, with which we, like Arjun Krishna has said, he has said, with existence, Satvanrupa Sarvasya Shraddha Bhavati Bharat. So, with existence, we have faith, and with faith, we also have existence. So, to see them, God says four things, look.
He says, look at your diet. What is someone’s diet? What do they eat? Then, after that, he says three things, that what type of yajna does that person do? What type of donation does he give? And what type of penance does he do? So, yajna, donation, penance, these are the things he describes. And in this way, he says, what is a person’s faith? What is his value system? We can understand this.
Now, someone will say, I don’t do any yajna. Many people don’t give any donation. So, doesn’t he have any value system? It is not that simple.
We will discuss this in a while. So, the diet, God says, Arjuna had asked, how will we understand someone’s faith? It is in Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. So, what God says, all three can be in Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.
Similarly, yajna can be in Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Donation can be in Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Penance can also be in Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.
So, God says, where is someone’s faith? So, his diet, yajna, donation, and penance, you can see this. So, now, a person eats. So, God describes some characteristics of food.
We can discuss that. But, we will try to see the principle behind it. So, now, the shlokas that come here, we will see only one shloka from each.
So, what he is saying here is, if we look at food, So, now, there can be many reasons for eating food. Some people eat food just to taste it. Some people eat food just to see the price.
Some people have a very low budget, so, they eat the cheapest food. Now, in America, the unhealthy food is very cheap. And healthy food is very expensive.
And unhealthy does not mean that it does not nourish. It is such a food that increases a person’s calories. That is why America is it is among the most obese countries in the world.
It is among the most obese countries in the world. Those who do not have a job, those who are very poor, they weigh the most. Because, in America, such people do not stay hungry.
So, they call it a food coupon. What does a food coupon mean? If you do not have money to eat, if your income level is below this level, then the government gives you a food coupon. Food coupon means, you take a food coupon, to a soup kitchen or somewhere, and you get free food there.
So, the food you get there, in America, there is a big industry, the welfare work is also a big industry there. So, in that, the free food that you get, it is such a food that it is not good for your health. It increases your weight a lot.
So, it leads to obesity. So, now, they are proposing, that we should not get such food. We should get healthy food.
But, there is so much opposition to it. They say, we have made the whole system. They will break the system.
So many people will starve to death. When are they going to make a new system? So, they simply say, we should get natural, healthy food. But, the food that comes in their food system, the food that comes in the welfare system, it is highly processed.
So, they say in English, eat food made of plants, not food made in plants. Plants means factories. Eat food that is made from plants, that is vegetarian.
But, the food that is made in plants, the food that is made in factories, do not eat that. So, now, the food that we are eating, what is its purpose? Here, God is telling us, the food, the food, He is telling us two things. He is telling us its purpose, and His purposes, and His features.
So, Aayu Sattva Bala Aarogya So, Aayu should increase from this. So, what is Ayurveda? What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is the knowledge, through which our age increases. So, Aayu should increase, Sattva should also increase.
Sattva means, our existence should be good. Bala, Bala means, Aarogya. And, does it mean, to increase a person, there is a lot of penance, penance like, the food that looks good, one should not eat that.
No, He does not say like that. He says, that you should get happiness in that food, and, love should also be there. But, this is, this is the last characteristic, He is not telling the first.
What is it? The food should be such, that, in Ayurveda, it is told, that, what is actually good for our body, that, our tongue also likes it. But, what happens? It is told, that, the sound that comes from inside us, sometimes it is the sound of the body, and sometimes it is the sound of the mind. And, the sound of the mind, is much more than the sound of the body.
So, that is why, there are many such things, there are some such things, which we actually like, that is also good for our body. But, there are many such things, which our mind likes, and we eat that, but, that is not good for our body. So, the arrangement of nature, is not such, that, in the name of health, we have to eat that food, which we don’t like at all.
It is not like that. So, God says, that, taste is also important, but, what is there in it? Happiness and love, happiness means, it comes in the food. Love means, we look forward to eating it.
It is told, that, if someone is going to eat food, then, if his digestive system is activated, saliva has come in his tongue, then, what will happen? The one who will eat, his digestive system will be good. So, happiness and love are also important. But, what is there? When, that becomes the biggest criteria, then, that problem comes.
So, what are the features told? Those features, which are, rasya snigdha, sthira ridhya. So, everything has changed. What does rasya mean? It should be a little juicy.
The food, from which, the whole juice has been extracted, has become very dry, there, it becomes very difficult for digestion. Like, if there is a dry chapati, then, it becomes very difficult to eat. So, what is there? So, what does Bhagwan say? He says some features of it.
But, this is a satvik food. On the other hand, the rajasic, tamasic food, Bhagwan also says some features of it. But, what is there in it? The aim, that becomes opposite.
The happiness and love, that comes first. And then, it becomes very spicy, very sweet, very oily. Similarly, that happens with rajasic and tamasic.
So, now, from this, how is the value system of a person seen? Is the value system seen from food? Yes, it is seen, because, what that person is eating, from that, if, if he is eating something, which is not good for his health, then, what is his value system? The taste is more important than health. What is this? This is also a feature of value system. So, first, Bhagwan says, you see someone’s diet.
And then, now, interestingly, the difference between humans and animals, is also seen. That, the humans, the animals, they eat what they get in nature. There is no difference in that.
So, if a cow, gets fodder, if a cow gets fodder, it will eat only that. It will eat only that. But, the humans, many times, our diet, the diet of animals, that, is only according to nature.
What does nature mean? It is the rules of nature. But, the diet of humans, that, can be in three ways. I am going to discuss this in the evening class.
It can be according to nature. Sometimes, it depends on nature, that is called culture. It can be according to culture.
Or, it can be according to distortion. So, nature, culture, or distortion. So, that is why, humans can fast.
This is a feature of culture. Animals, they never fast. If there is a cat, it will look at the mouse, and say, I am fasting today.
No. It never feels that way. So, there is no culture in that.
And, there is no distortion either. If there is a lion, it will kill a deer, or a deer. It will eat as much as it wants.
If it is full, it will say, I am not going to eat anymore. So, jackals, what do you call them? Not jackals. that is fox.
Jackals, are foxes, I think. They are wolves. Okay.
Whatever it is. So, they are like wolves. What happens is, they eat what is left by the lion.
So, why doesn’t the lion eat it all? Because, it will eat as much as it is hungry from nature. So, humans, if there is a distortion, they can eat more than necessary. So, humans, we don’t live according to nature.
We can become better than nature. We can also become worse than nature. Both can happen.
So, this is the diet. After that, comes the Yajna, Dana, and Tapa. So, the description of Yajna, Dana, and Tapa, comes in many places.
So, we will see the importance of these things The Upanishads tell us, that every human being, is situated in three circles. What are these three circles? First of all, we are in our body. After that, we are in our society.
And then, we are in our nature. So, we are in our body. So, we can have a clash with these three.
So, the clash with the body, is called the Atmic clash. The clash with the society, is called the Atmic clash. And, the clash with nature, is called the Atmic clash.
So, we are taking something from these three things. So, what do we do with the body? With the body, it is a tool for us. It is like our car, it is like our clothes, it is like our house.
So, we are taking something from it. So, nature, it is a sign of the Brahmins, that whatever we are taking from, we should give something to it. So, whatever we are taking from, we should give something to it.
So, what do we take from the body? Many times, we enjoy it in a different way. So, for the body, we need to do penance. We take many things from the society.
For the society, we need to do charity. And, whatever we take from nature, for that, we need to do yajna. So, yajna, charity, penance, whatever we are living in this world, these three things, are important for harmony.
So, what does penance mean? when a person is a little sick, we tell him to stay on a diet. So, when we fast on Ekadashi, we eat food daily, our body is like a machine. So, sometimes, the machine needs downtime.
If the machine keeps working for 24 hours, then the machine will stop working soon. When we fast, we give it some downtime. The penance, when someone exercises, that is also a penance.
So, we are taking something from the body, we need to do something for the body, that is penance. So, we are living in harmony with the body, that is penance. Similarly, we take a lot from the society.
That is why, even today, in corporate culture, it is called giving back to society. What do we have? CSR says, corporate social responsibility, that we have taken something, we should be giving back. So, we take from the society, so, we need to give to the society.
And that is charity. And, in normal Vedic culture, when people used to do Yagya, so, so, what was their feeling? That, we, in nature, we have Gods and Goddesses, and from Gods and Goddesses, from Indra, we get rain, we get rain, so, for Indra, we should do Yagya. So, Brajwasi was also doing Indra Puja.
What was that? Indra Puja was a Yagya. So, that Yagya, charity, penance, from these three, we live in harmony. Wherever we are living, with that, we can live in harmony.
So, this Yagya, charity, that, we can do in Satvaguna, Rajoguna, and Tamoguna. And, according to that, what is decided? That, how is the faith of the person. So, now, from these, we will see only one thing.
Now, when someone does this Yagya, Yagya, charity, penance, some people see, slowly, that, first, they tell about food. So, Yagya, which is told, is in Satva, Rajas, and Tamas. In Satva, God says, that, if someone does Yagya, but, Abhisandhaya Tufalam.
So, Abhisandhaya, means, that, why is he doing this? He is doing this, because, he can get a lot, as a result. Dambhartham Apichayivayat Dambha, means, he is doing this, to show off. If someone does not have any quality, now, that, Amanitvam, Adambhitvam, is told in Bhagavad Gita, in Chapter 13, and, Dambho, Darpo, Abhimanasya.
So, if there is pride, there is a little difference between Abhiman and Dambha. So, now, what happens is, if someone has any quality, someone has money, and, he shows off his money, then, he is Abhiman. But, someone who does not have money, but, still, he shows off his money.
So, now, in America, if you buy something from Amazon, then, their policy is that, you can keep it for 30 days, and return it, if you do not like it. So, in India, they had started it earlier, but, in a month, they stopped it. So, what happens is, many times, it happens that, someone has to go to a social function, someone has to go to a wedding, or, to a party, so, they buy clothes from Amazon, they wear it for the party, and, return it later.
So, they will wear very expensive clothes. They will show off that, they are very rich. So, what is that? Dambho.
He does not have money, but, he shows off his money. Similarly, if someone does not have knowledge, some people have knowledge, and, some people have pride of knowledge. But, some people do not have knowledge, but, still, they have pride of knowledge.
What does it mean? He does not have knowledge, but, suppose, he does not know English, but, he says some big words in English, and, everyone thinks that, his English is very good. But, what he is saying, he does not understand, and, no one else understands it. And, many times, it happens that, it is a characteristic of Kalyug, that, if someone says something, which he does not understand, then, he thinks that, he is very intelligent.
So, the word, which is used, is considered to be a characteristic of intelligence, sometimes. So, now, the yajna is, dambhārthaṁ pichaivajat. ijyate bharata śreṣhta tam yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam So, now, if someone is doing yajna, but, in that yajna, that spiritual, or religious, or divine, there is no consciousness at all.
So, what is his consciousness? That, I have to do this, for display. So, what is the display? Now, in Mahabharata, it is said that, when Duryodhana, got the kingdom, earlier, the Pandavas, did the Rajasuya yajna, in that, he became very jealous. So, he said that, now, I also have to do the Rajasuya yajna.
So, the Brahmins said that, now, the last person, who has done the Rajasuya yajna, as long as he is alive, only then, you cannot do it. So, the first thought of Duryodhana, is that, he will not be alive. But, then, he said that, he cannot do it.
Dhritarashtra will not allow it. And, if something happens to Yudhishtira, then Bhima and Arjuna, will destroy him. So, he cannot do it.
So, he said that, something should be done. So, he said that, the second yajna, that, he considers it, like the Rajasuya yajna. And, that is also very difficult to do.
What he does, that also becomes great. So, what is that? Vaishnav yajna. Now, Duryodhana, had no interest in Vishnu.
He had no faith in Vishnu. He had no desire for the happiness of Vishnu. So, he said that, that yajna was to be done, to show the world, that, how powerful I am.
So, dambhārtham apichayivayat. So, nowadays, in India, money has come to some extent. So, in software, in different businesses, a lot of money has come.
So, now, the people, who get married, get married, so, they spend so much money. Now, there are destination weddings. So, money, it is shown as if it is water.
So, they waste it. And, so, that marriage is a yajna. But, that yajna, his role is that, finish it quickly.
Nobody is interested in that. In that marriage, there are so many other things. That, one has to show one’s self, that, how much I have done.
So, that marriage, that yajna, is to show the world, in a way. So, the yajna, which is done in this way, that yajna, is called Rajasic. With that, the consciousness of the person is not moving forward.
Similarly, there is Tamasic yajna, which is not any rule at all. Vidhi Inam Asishtanam They do nothing, just to show off. Here, they will do it to show off, but, they will do it in the right way.
Duryodhana called the Brahmins, but, he did not call the Brahmins with respect. When the Brahmins will come, people will say, oh, he has done a very good yajna. So, that will be his praise.
So, they do not follow anything at all. So, that is Vidhi Inam Asishtanam So, one devotee was telling, he had become an atheist for some time. Then, later, he came to bhakti.
He was telling, how did he become an atheist? So, he lived in North India, in a place called Varanasi. A very religious place. There, he saw a priest who was doing yajna.
And, he was doing yajna. He was reciting mantras. And, later, from his pocket, he took out a cigarette.
And, with the fire of yajna, he started lighting the cigarette. And, he started drinking. So, he said, this is a complete hypocrisy.
I do not want to get involved in this. So, he said, I will never come in dharma. But, later, when he read the books of the priest, he read four rules.
He said, this is a bit too much. This is like he is giving up something Otherwise, this is not right. So, this is about yajna, in a way.
So, later, what does God do? Now, let us talk about But, what is penance? It can be at three levels. It can be with our body. It can be with our soul.
And, with our mind. Now, penance with our body means that, in reality, what are we doing with our senses? So, here, how do we tell God? This is penance with our body. We say many things, but, So, what is it? In the last place, God said that, Kama and anger, these are usually present in humans.
So, God, in the fifth chapter, says, Kama, anger, which is word that is word which which is a word that is used in the Vedas, which is a word a gun to a person who is with the government. Because if the government becomes a criminal, then the citizens should have the power to destroy the government. So that’s why they feel that everyone should have a gun.
Every person should have a gun. It’s a fundamental right to have a gun. But if someone has a gun and accidentally shoots someone, or shoots someone in a fit of anger, or if someone has a gun and accidentally shoots someone in a fit of anger, then it becomes very dangerous.
So in reality, in the rest of the world, very few places have the right to have a gun. But the thing is, our soul is also like a gun. And our soul is a permanently loaded gun.
We can fire it at any time. So if someone is using a gun, then we should learn to control it. Similarly, the way we speak to our soul, it’s important to control it.
If a person’s body breaks because of a gun, then the bullet that comes out of the gun, can break people’s hearts. So many relationships break because of that. So that’s why the penance of the soul also comes under the penance of the body.
And then the third thing that Bhagavan says about this is, Anudvigakaram Vakya, that’s what Bhagavan says. After that, he says that the penance of the mind is Manah Prasad Samyatvam. That we have to keep our mind content.
So Bhagavan says here that satisfaction is not just an emotion. That I am feeling content, I am feeling content, I am not feeling content. Bhagavan says that this is a decision.
That this is an emotion, but more important than that, this is a decision. What kind of a decision is this? That if we see again and again what we don’t have, then we become dissatisfied. If we see what we have, then we remain content.
That’s why to think about what satisfies us, to see it, to contemplate it, this is a penance of the mind. So if someone has insulted us, then we keep thinking again and again, what did he say, how did he say it? Then he gets a revenge fantasy, that I will take revenge like this. And whether he takes revenge or not, what happens to him? In reality, our own mind remains very disturbed.
It means that person is living in our own mind forever without paying rent. So that’s why, if I am getting disturbed by him, then I will not think about him. Because he makes me dissatisfied.
So this is a penance of the mind. So this is a penance, Bhagavan says. A person can also do penance in Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
And the penance that one does in Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, that emotion is that you are doing penance, but for whom are you doing penance? If someone like Bhasmasur did penance, but what was the purpose of penance? There is a principle in a Shastra, that one who does penance, penance gives strength. Doing penance gives power. But why are you doing that strength? What was Bhasmasur doing? He was doing penance so that he could destroy the world.
Now if there is a scientist, like the Manhattan Project, where for the first time weapons of mass destruction, atom bomb was made. So there he kept all the scientists in one place. And he did not want to go out from there, he wanted to stay here.
He did a lot of penance. And what was he doing by doing penance? He made such weapons so that he could destroy. So penance, we will say is good.
But if someone is trying to destroy with penance, he gets such strength so that he can destroy. So that penance is tamasic. So penance is for inner power.
To gain more control over oneself, that is sattvic. Penance which is for outer power, outer power for controlling others, that is for rajas. But outer power we need for destroying others.
So that is tamasic. So penance, if someone is doing penance, we can say it is good. But it is not necessary that penance is good.
Why we are doing penance, that shows the quality of penance, that is sattva-rajas-tamas. Then in the end, God says, that which we donate, that donation can also be sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. So it is good to donate.
But is it always good to donate? There is a drunkard, he is drinking alcohol. And there is a person outside the bar, he says, I drank alcohol last time, and I met with an accident. And he is not allowed to drink alcohol.
Sometimes there is no permission to go outside the bar. So he says, I don’t have money, and I don’t have permission to go outside the bar. So give me a little alcohol.
He says, what will you remember? So he goes inside and gives him alcohol. And he drinks alcohol, and then he drives, and then he meets with an accident. So if someone is donating to help someone’s passions, then that donation, we can say it is good, but that donation can be tamasic.
So now in America, whenever the government has changed, the previous government was very liberal. So they were doing different projects all over the world. So they were giving millions and millions of dollars for the projects.
So now, in Africa, to spread homosexual awareness, 10 million dollars. In Ireland, to do transgender drama, 3 million dollars. Transgender drama means, a man has become a woman, a woman has become a man.
So, there, people consider it bad. So in reality, these people are not only good, they are better than other people. To show this, do those dramas.
Or, there are many such things, like, in the third world, to get abortion free, you, what do you do? You, in America, donate to them. So now, they are giving charity, but that charity is for left-wing causes, and those are tamasic causes. So they are donating, but for what purpose are they donating? For what purpose are they donating? That is important.
So, in today’s society, one thing has gone wrong, that, normally, the Brahmins donate, Kshatriyas don’t donate, Kshatriyas, they do it, they take taxes. But nowadays, politicians also, do canvassing for funds. And, what happens with that is, they raise their funds, and then, they do their political campaigning.
So, what happens with that is, they are taking donations, so, the people who are donating, and the people who are taking donations, that donation is a kind of business, it is not a donation. That, I am a businessman, if he gets elected, now, for his political campaign, I will give him money, after that, he will give me permission, he will extend my contracts. So, when, when donation, becomes a different form of business, then that donation is rajasic.
When we give a donation, without any expectation, this is a good deed, this is a good deed to do, I have got it, so I should give it. So, that donation, that is, we give it as a form of service, that is sattvic. If we give it for God, that is even better.
But, that is a kind of delayed, or concealed business. It is a concealed deal. So, that becomes rajasic.
And, the donation, is for some destructive cause. It is for some destruction. So, that donation, becomes tamasic.
It is in tamas. So, in this way, donation can also be done in different ways. And, later on, God says, the last one, it is a bit technical, but I will just quickly mention it, that, Om Tat Sat, this shloka, in the last section, and there, he says, that, the person, who, this Om Tat Sat, these three words, he does not just say these three words, but, he understands its meaning.
So, what happens is, that, that person, who, does yajna, charity, penance, that, in reality, is truly meaningful. So, now, Om Tat Sat, it has many meanings, but, its one simple meaning, in this context, we will conclude, Om, is a way, to invoke, the ultimate reality. Like, Om Namo, Narayanaya.
We say, Om Namo Bhagvate, Vasudevaya. So, Om, in a way, is invoking, invocation, of ultimate reality. And, Tat, has a simple meaning, that, and, that, has a simple meaning, not, me.
Meaning, in Om Tat Sat, there is a feeling, that, I am not, that ultimate reality. That, our ultimate reality is related, but, I am not that ultimate reality. Like, I was in America, there, on a person’s T-shirt, there was a slogan.
So, I am very, word conscious. Anywhere, I always see words. If there is a big billboard, first, I will see its caption, then, if the caption is interesting, I will see its picture.
But, how many people are there, they wear that T-shirt, what is written on that T-shirt, they don’t even remember, themselves. So, this person came, he came to the yoga programme, on that, it was written on the T-shirt, that, I was an atheist, till I discovered, I was God. Till then, I was an atheist, till then, I did not see, that, I am God.
So, what happens now, Tat, means, that ultimate reality, is not me. And, Sat, means, So, in reality, Om, Tat, Sat, it has a simple meaning, that, that truth, which is beyond me, that truth, whose existence, is my existence, I am remembering that. So, in a way, we say, always remember God.
So, Om, Tat, Sat, is also, in a way, remembering God. It is a little indirect. But, that ultimate thing, whose existence, is my existence, and because of that existence, my existence is there.
So, at any time, if someone is eating food, or is doing Yajna, or is doing penance, at that time, if he remembers this, then, with that consciousness, if he works, then, the meaning of Shastra, is not that, you should remember this Shloka, or you should remember that Shloka. The aim of Shastra, in the fifteenth chapter, God has said, Aham, eva, ved, yo. So, if, we remember that ultimate truth, and, while being in the consciousness, of that ultimate truth, if we do penance, then, that, will be, very successful.
And, if we do not do that, then, that ultimate success, is not going to be achieved. To what extent, will it be beneficial? That, is being done, in Sattva, Rajas, Tamas. According to that, its, will be decided.
So, in conclusion, in the seventeenth chapter, we have seen, the divisions of Shraddha. The Shraddha, which, division, Shraddhatra, division, yoga. So, we have seen four things in this.
First of all, we have seen, how, what is the meaning of Shraddha? The meaning of Shraddha, is not only, faith, but, in reality, it is a value system. That, a person’s, values, what are those? Not only, what are the values, but, what is the hierarchy of those values? If, there is any meaning, that becomes, the ultimate meaning. If, money becomes, the most important thing for someone, then what happens? From that, Anartha.
So, Bhagwan, tells us, that, like, our, existence, then, from our existence, what happens? Our, faith comes. Faith comes from, Sattva. And, from faith, our, existence is formed.
So, faith, is not, a small thing. It is, how, we have to understand, someone’s faith. So, we will see, his existence.
So, if we have to see his existence, if we have to see his existence, to understand faith, then, in relation to existence, we have seen, four things. That is, see a person’s diet, and, how we have seen, his diet. What is his purpose, of eating? What are his purposes? What are his features? Then, according to that, Sattva, Rajas, Tamas comes.
Then, what is it? Yajna, donation, and, penance. And, each one of these, can come in Sattva, Rajas, Tamas. And, what is the importance of, Yajna, donation, penance? That, we are, living in, the body, society, and, nature.
So, while living in these three, from all these, we take something, and give something. So, what we give to them, is, what is it? What we give to the body, is what? We give penance to the body. What do we do to the society? We give donation.
And, the nature, for the nature, we do Yajna. So, we, our harmony, is maintained. So, now, here, there are four difficult points here, I don’t know, the third point was, that, the work we are doing, Yajna, donation, or penance, so, the action is important, but, the motivation is more important.
Why are we doing that action? That, in reality, if someone is doing penance, if someone is doing Yajna, I have seen, that, are we doing Yajna, for higher connection, that, to satisfy the Gods, to satisfy the Gods, or, for show, for prestige. So, that, determines its quality. And, the last thing, I have seen, that, the memory of the ultimate truth, by saying, Om Tat Sat, so, from that, the Yajna, donation, penance, the success, the prestige, the person gets.
So, in this way, God is saying, that, if, your faith, may be, sattvic, or tamasic, your nature, which is, divine nature, which is, demonic nature, the people, how to understand them, this was the purpose, of chapter 17. And, for that, we see, God says, see their food, Yajna, donation, penance, and, see, in which quality, with that, you will understand, their faith. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna. Any quick comments, Shri Shashank Prabhu? Okay. Any one question? It’s okay.
Like, Prabhuji, you have told here, that, Yajna, donation, and penance, in these, action, and motivation, are important. So, whether it is, Yajna, or donation, so, how can we, divide the action, into a quality, whereas, the one, who divides it, the quality, according to that, his motivation, will be there. So, then, all these things, within the qualities, what can be the need, If the doer, is in Rajogun, then, definitely, because, the doer, is in Rajogun, because, it is possible, suppose, someone, eats meat, but, he also, And, just for show.
In reality, he donates, to the poor, because, he feels good, in that. So, the doer, the person, his quality, is very difficult, Sometimes, there are people, who don’t eat meat, but, they are very judgemental, and hard, that, they see, small faults, So, they don’t eat animals, that, in reality, they don’t feel compassion, So, not eating meat, what is the purpose of that? That, we should have, a little compassion. But, they don’t eat meat, but, there is no compassion, in their life, they are very strict, very judgemental, very, very, if someone makes a small mistake, then, they are very, they get into a case, they are very cruel, so, they are not eating meat, but, what does that mean? They are in Satyaguna.
It is not necessary. On the contrary, if someone is eating meat, regularly, but, in reality, his behaviour, is very calm, he is, he is, he is, he is sensitive, he is gentle, like this, like this, it happens. So, we say, the behaviour of a person, is influenced by food, his behaviour, his consciousness, is influenced by food, but, to what extent, that influence will be there, that, is dependent on his past, past karma, dependent on his past life, dependent on his past life, so, that is why, that, one, karma, due to one karma, the whole, the quality of that doer, that, or, the doer is in this quality, this is not right, So, Jarasandha, who was, he was jealous of Krishna, he used to be jealous of it.
But still, he used to follow Vedic culture a lot. He used to donate to Brahmins. And it is not said that he was donating to Brahmins just to show off.
In reality, he used to take good care of Brahmins. So what is the reason? People are complex. And when we become reductionistic, when we look at someone with a single quality, or we look at someone with a single quality, his work is like this, that is why he is Tamasic.
His work is like this, that is why he is Sattvic. So what is that? It becomes over-simplification. We are looking at it very superficially.
If we want to look at it deeply, that is why we look at the work, we look at the mentality behind the work. But that mentality, how much defining characteristic does that person have? That is also important to look at. Thank you very much.
Shreemad Bhagwat Gita Ki Shreela Prabhupada Ki Gaur Bhakta Vrindaki Tai Gaur Premanandi Shreeman Jai Dhanicharan Prabhu Ki