Krishna’s moods in the Bhagavad-gita 3 – Chp 13-18

[Seminar in Melbourne, Australia]

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna So welcome back to this third session on the Gita’s devotional exchanges between Krishna and Arjuna, Krishna’s moods in the Bhagavad Gita So I talked about the first two sessions, first nine chapters and then 10th, 12th chapter we went in detail to get a more intimate glimpse of how Krishna’s personality and love comes out along with a description of his glories.
The 12th chapter ends with description that anybody who is practising bhakti is extremely dear to Krishna. Bhaktas te teevam e priyaha. Now in the 13th chapter onwards, what is the last six chapters of the Bhagavad Gita about? Gyana Yoga.
More precisely it is about how gyana leads to bhakti. The first six chapters were how karma leads to bhakti. So now the questions which Arjun is asking are not usual, are not exactly related to what came previously.
Sometimes scripture is actually, you could say broadly three different ways. One is the whole of scripture, the question answer itself. So like we have just a QA session.
That is all question answers. The other is that there is a main narrative going on. So if you consider the Bhagavatam, there are question answers going on.
But then as from the third, from the second canto, middle half onwards, it’s one main narrative starts. And there are some questions which come in related to that narrative. But sometimes it is that.
So there are three possibilities. One is that it’s a it’s a class followed by a question answer. Second, it’s fully a question answer session.
And third is a class followed by a QA session in sequence. That is question A leads to question B, question B leads to question C, question C leads to question D. But another could be that if you have a class and different people ask different questions. So question A and question B may not have anything related with each other.
And that same could apply also. Even it’s one person asking questions. If, say, we know somebody is a scholar of the Chaitanya Charita Amrita and we have a lot of questions.
And then there is such a devotee comes and gives class. And all the questions we have had, we ask them. So even if it’s the same speaker asking questions, the questions are not necessarily related to the previous question.
Sometimes question B might be related with question A, but question C might be something which the speaker has, which the, which the hearer, questioner has heard about, but wants to clarify. So the Bhagavad Gita’s questions are more in this third category, where the previous question is not always related. The next question is not always related to the previous section or the previous question.
Now, one thing is that you can always draw links between one section and another section. So you could say that a question, chapter 12, chapter 13, it has a link that when Krishna has talked about how personal devotion is far greater than impersonal devotion. Then or impersonal, impersonal or worshipping the impersonal.
Then Arjun has questions related with various terms that come in the Sankhya school of thought. So there are six systems of philosophy in India and all the six culminate in Vedanta as described in Vedanta Sutra. So in 13th chapter, when Arjun is asking question, his questions are more general.
So he asks about six terms. What is Kshetra? What is Kshetrajna? What is Purusha? What is Prakriti? What is Jnana? And what is Jnana? So now, if you try to look back, there is nothing about these six terms in the 12th chapter. That’s why you can draw a link, but with respect to the specific terms or the specific concepts, technically concepts, there is no link.
It’s like a question which is broadly related to the topic. So what Krishna has done is he has shown how all of existence is permeated with his presence. That was Vibhuti Yoga.
One above the many manifests as one among the many. So now when Krishna has given this devotional, theistic world view, where God permeates all of existence, then there are different strands of philosophy. So how is the absolute truth related with this different philosophical strands also? So how do these philosophical terms relate with Krishna? So that’s what is the basis of his question.
So these are six terms and Arjun asks these six terms and Krishna gives very terse definitions. Kshetra refers to the body. Kshetrajna is one who is the knower of the body.
And Krishna uses the Sankhya terminology to say that if one who understands, He says the eyes of knowledge means to see that the Kshetra and Kshetrajna, the body and the knower of the body, they are two different things. And one who understands both of them, that person is in knowledge. The 13th chapter is among the most, not among, is the most technical chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.
And the Bhagavad Gita is sometimes called as a Gita Upanishad. So it is also considered to be an Upanishad. See, any kind of classification that we do, it is never black and white.
Classification is basically a construct of the human mind. The reality is what is this? Say we draw a map. Now in the map of Australia, you say, OK, New South Wales ends over here.
Queensland ends over there. Now, is it that along the whole border there is a neat boundary? Not necessarily. Sometimes between countries there can be disputed territory also.
So any system of classification, when you translate it into reality, there are always shades of grey that come up. So similarly, when here Krishna is talking with Arjuna and they are talking about the concepts from Sankhya. So the idea is in Sankhya there is Kshetra and there is Kshetrajna.
There is the body and there is the knower of the body. And Krishna says one who is the knower of the body, one who knows both of this, that person is in knowledge. And then the Upanishads give this knowledge.
They use various terms, but they use the terms in a way that will appeal to intellectually minded people. See, different people need different kinds of presentations. Say if you are speaking to small five year old children will present, even if you are presenting Bhagavad Gita, it’s in one way.
If you are presenting to adults, it will be in a different way. If you are presenting to scholars, it will be a different way. So, for example, we might say, oh Radha Krishna, the divine couple.
And those who are devotional minded, yes, they are the divine couple. So now if you have to present it to somebody who is very scholarly or academic, Radha and Krishna embody the primordial, masculine and feminine cosmological principles. So now essentially it means the same thing.
So the Upanishads use technical language which titillates the minds of the jnanis. Some of those who are very intellectual people, if they feel something is very simple, how can reality be so simple? We just can’t accept it. So how can things be so simple? So they want things to be explained in a complicated way.
So the Upanishads takes actually at one level, we could say reality can be explained in simple ways. It can also be explained in complex ways. So for the jnanis, the Upanishads present everything in great complexity.
And one way of complexity is called paradox. Paradox means that there is a statement which appears to be contradictory, but it has a deeper meaning. So if somebody, if a teacher says the least corrected papers are the most correct, the least corrected papers are the most correct.
How can least correct be most correct? It seems to be odd, but it is true. The teacher has to at least correct it, that means the student is also doing it correctly. That’s an example of paradox.
So the Isha Upanishad we know is full of paradox. That absolute truth walks and does not walk. It’s far away and close by.
So similarly, Krishna uses paradoxes in the 13th chapter repeatedly. So when he describes that absolute truth, he says that he actually says that that absolute truth. Where is Sarvendriya Guna Abhasam? Sarvendriya Vivarjitam? So first he says Sarvata Pani Padam Sarvato Akshishiro Mukham Sarvata Shruti Malloke Sarvam Aarutya Tishthati.
He says about that absolute truth, everywhere are his hands, everywhere are his eyes, everywhere are his ears. He pervades everything. So first he says his sensory faculties are everywhere.
But then next verse only says, this is 13.14, 13.15 is Sarvendriya Guna Abhasam Sarvendriya Vivarjitam. This absolute truth is the source of all senses, but is without any senses. Sarvendriya Vivarjitam Asaktam Sarvabhrukshaiva.
Asaktam is completely detached. But Sarvabhrukshaiva is the maintainer of everyone. Normally we strive to maintain someone because we are attached to them.
But Krishna is Asaktam Sarvabhrukshaiva Nirgunam Guna Bhaktrucha. Person is completely beyond the modes, but he is the master of the modes. So this contradictory physiology is used to point to the inconceivable nature of the absolute truth.
So the 13th chapter is full of that. Among our Acharyas, there are different commentaries. So this verse can refer to the Atma and the Paramatma.
This verse can refer only to the Atma. This refers to the Paramatma. But while talking about this also, Krishna makes sure that he brings in bhakti over there.
Madh Bhakta E Tad Vijnaya Madh Bhavayop Padyate Krishna says, how can you understand me? Madh Bhakta E Tad Vijnaya Those who are devoted to me, they can understand me. So even in this section full of Jnana, intellectual analysis, Krishna is saying the way to understand all this is not through Jnana. Madh Bhakta E Tad Vijnaya By devotion to me you can know.
So Krishna, there are diverse subjects which are touched in the Bhagavad Gita. But at the same time, there is a thread of consistency that is also maintained. And essentially, Arjun had this question, what is Dharma? What is Dharma? What am I meant to do? What is our duty? What is our purpose in life? And in one sense, the different paths answer this question in different ways.
The Karma path, Karma Yoga path says that okay, work with detachment, then you will not get entangled. Like the different paths give different answers. Krishna is integrating all these answers within one framework.
And the framework basically has two things that whenever we want to do Dharma, whenever we want to do any duty, basically there are two things over there. What is the sadhana and what is the sadhya? What is it that we want to achieve and how are we going to achieve it? So in the chatur shloki itself, Krishna has made it clear what is the sadhya and what is the sadhana. Aham sarvasya prabho mattah sarvam pravartah.
I am the source of everything. Iti matva bhajante mam mudhah bhava samanvidah. That it is those who understand it become devoted to me.
And then Krishna makes three verses. So actually the first verse makes it clear what is the sadhya. The goal is Krishna himself.
And the sadhana is bhakti. All the remaining three verses talk about the process of mercy by which bhakti can be got. So if we keep this framework in mind, Krishna is using different frames of analysis.
So the Bhagavad Gita’s flow is like a spiral. Spiral means if you are having a spiral, it touches different points, but it’s moving towards one point. So it’s like a spiralling tunnel or a spiralling pathway where different things are being touched, but it’s moving towards the one point.
That one point is the conclusion that sadhana is bhakti, sadhya is Bhagavan Krishna. So here it says, madh bhakta etad vijnaya. It’s a very significant point.
And there’s one important thing over here. Krishna doesn’t always speak in the mood that he is the absolute truth revealing reality. Like I said in the fourth chapter of the first time he talked about how that I am God and I descend again and again.
But his stress wasn’t karma yoga. So that’s why he immediately comes back to karma yoga. In the middle six chapters, the mom comes very frequently because he’s directly talking about bhakti.
So whenever Krishna is speaking about a particular path, more often than not, he speaks from the perspective of seekers of that path. So what does that mean? Those who are on the jnana path, those who are bhaktas, they will immediately accept Krishna as the absolute. But the jnanis, they will not accept Krishna as absolute.
So Krishna will reveal how he is the absolute. But Krishna does it gradually. And that’s why there are many places when he’s talking about the absolute truth as it is revealed to the seeker, he will refer to himself in the third person.
So the first person is I, second person is you, third person is they. So Krishna will refer to the absolute truth in the third person. So he says, actually in this body, first he said the soul is there and the soul is entangled in the body.
But apart from that, there is another being and that is the supreme being. That supreme being is the overseer and permitter. Now why doesn’t Krishna say I am that? Because the jnanis will not accept this.
So what Krishna does is, Krishna speaks from their perspective. OK, don’t trust himself over there. Gradual evolution and understanding.
Yes, there is a body, there is a soul. And along with the soul, there is some supreme soul also. So when Krishna is speaking about the evolution of thought or evolution of realisation from the perspective of the seekers, he refers to himself in the third person.
He doesn’t necessarily tell that I am that third person. It’s like I gave earlier the example of a doctor. Sometimes there may be a top surgeon of a hospital, but that person might be like overall some simple dress and the patient who has come there, the client may not understand this is the top surgeon.
So then he just has to describe the process. OK, you will go and then you will be tested by the technicians and then the surgeon will consult and the surgeon will decide we’ll do the surgery. So that time the surgeon might be himself.
But a surgeon will refer to himself in the third person. So Krishna does something like that over there. And 13th chapter ends with a very interesting analysis of what is called section of Jnana Chakshu, where he says that actually one who sees beyond matter to spirit, that person is in knowledge.
And then he says Bhuta prakriti moksham cha ye vidur yantite param. So moksha is liberation. We all should be liberated.
So Jnanis are not interested in devotion. So speak in terms of speak in terms of their language. Initially Prabhupada started the Bhaktivedanta Institute.
He said you want to present Krishna consciousness as a science, but present it in their language. So each time we present something according to their conception, people can connect with it. So bhakti and prema and bhava, Jnanis are not interested in this.
So Krishna uses terms like moksha. And then now the 13th chapter is the seed from which the remaining all chapters come about. So 13.22 is like the bijya vakya.
The bijya vakya is the seed or not bijya vakya, you could say the bijya basically. It is the seed from which the remaining chapters are coming. 13.22 is purushya prakriti sthohi, bhungte prakriti jan gunan, karanam guna sanghose, sada sadyoni janmasu.
So he says purushya prakriti sthohi, the soul is caught in the body. Why? Bhungte, because of the desire to enjoy. And now what happens because of the desire to enjoy? How the soul gets entangled? Krishna describes that in the 14th chapter.
So bhungte prakriti jan gunan. So prakriti jan gunan means that there are three modes of material nature. The three modes is a common concept which has come from sankhya and it is used by almost all Indian schools of thought.
The Bhagavad Gita draws upon it extensively. Now, there are many terms which we all know, but in our own language, we can think there are many terms which we use. But if somebody asks you, define it, how do you define it? Recently, just talking with one devotee.
So I said, where was I? There is a yoga over there. So we are trying to fix something is not working. And he said, let’s do some jugada.
So we did jugada. There was an Australian devotee over there. He says, what is jugada? So both of us started laughing.
We all know what is jugada. How do you define jugada? We may not be able to get the definition immediately. So like that, there are some terms.
Jugada is some work around, some work, some way we make arrangements to keep things moving. So like that, everybody at that time knows the concept of the modes. But there are some times when you want to explain it technically.
So the 14th chapter is where, because Jnana section is about analysis, Krishna explains the modes analytically. He has already talked about the modes many times throughout the Gita. But in the Jnana, the whole idea is analysis.
So explain terms systematically. One of my friends is a dictionary writer. So he said that there are always new words which keep coming up.
And then many of these, he works at the Webster’s Dictionary in America. So he said that when they have to decide whether we have to take one word, a new word and admit it in the dictionary or not, they have like a panel of 100 experts who consult and they all give their opinions. Should this word be included or not? And after they finalise, then after that, they have another poll to decide how do you define the word.
And he showed me that issue you shared with me that there they had a shared word document. So it’s like a 15 word meaning of the word. And on that word document, they had like 5000 edits of that word.
OK, we can put two or this, this, this, this. So when you have to define words, it is a very technical work. So definition is not very easy.
So Krishna is defining the three modes over here. And that’s why this 14th chapter is although it leads from 13th and it’s not that technical, but still it is somewhat technical. Now, what are these three modes exactly? As I said, the idea of bhakti is by bhakti, we will all get purified.
So just like somebody goes to a doctor and doctor gives the medicine, you take the medicine and get cured. But some people are very inquisitive. Doctor, tell me, how will this medicine work? OK, you take this, this will go inside your belly.
And from there, say, if you’ve got stomach, if you’ve got stomach upset, I said this belly will act as antacid. And that’s OK. Now, if somebody has some surgeries to be done, if you have to explain that, it will take much more explanation.
So if if somebody doesn’t understand the philosophical analysis, 13, 14 chapters, especially they just practise bhakti, that is good enough. They take the medicine, it will work. But if you understand how the medicine works, that may increase our conviction to take the medicine.
So the 14th chapter gives an analysis of the three modes. And after analysing the three modes, what do they do? Then after Krishna says it’s elaborate analysis, which again I will not go much into, but there are a few interesting points that first Krishna says that there are three modes which bind all of us. And he gives a broad characteristic of the three modes in an analytical sense.
Then he talks about how there is a tug of war between the three modes. And then we feel pulled. Sometimes you want to do this.
Sometimes you want to do that. Sometimes we feel, oh, I should just sit down peacefully and study. Now, our mind is such that if we are having a lot of services to do, we are not getting any time to study Shastra.
You don’t study Shastra, how will you grow spiritually? And then you have a lot of time to study Shastra. Mind says, actually Bhakti is about Seva, you know. What are you doing with Shastra? Do some Seva.
So you may ask. And when we do either, the mind says, OK, study Shastra, do some Seva. Actually, I’m tired and I want to sleep.
So what the mind does is, what do you want to do? The mind, whatever we do, the mind will keep us dissatisfied. Even if we go to paradise, the mind will say, yes, but. So we have to consciously just focus on what we need to do at that time.
So these three modes, they create different kinds of thought patterns within us. Sometimes we feel like being reflective, thoughtful. Sometimes we feel like doing hyperactivity.
And sometimes we just feel like, I want to, I want to go into power saving mode. It’s going to power saving mode, don’t do anything. So that’s how these three modes keep affecting us.
And our emotions keep changing. And after talking about this, Krishna says, learn to become an observer of your modes. Udasinavad asinam.
Udasinavad, it’s a very interesting word. Udasin is detached, but Udasinavad is as if detached. Sometimes we feel very energised, sometimes we feel lethargic, sometimes we feel very reflective.
These will come, these will go, Krishna says, just observe them as if detached. So Udasinavad, our Acharya has given many commentaries on this. It is not exactly detached, but like detached.
Be seated as if detached. So to understand this, we can say there are two words in English. There are, there is disinterested and there is uninterested.
Does anyone know what is the difference between these two words? Or you are not interested? Disinterested and uninterested. Can anyone guess? OK, yes, second meaning is correct. Uninterested is I have no interest, I have no care for it.
Disinterested, it refers to I have no vested interests. We use the word interest in that sense. Disinterested means impartial.
So uninterested is just uncurious, uncaring, but disinterested is impartial. So say a cricket match is going on and then the bowler bowls the ball and the ball goes and hits the, hits the foot of the batsman and the player appeals. So all the fielders appeal.
So now the umpire, should he be disinterested or uninterested? Disinterested. So all the players appeal and the umpire says actually I was not watching the match. Then why are you here? You cannot be not watching the match.
So the umpire has to be disinterested, not necessarily favouring. It is not that every appeal has to be accepted and then it is like the umpire is partial to the fielding team. If the umpire rejects every appeal, that is also not fair.
That is like being partial to the batting team. So the umpire has to evaluate each appeal on merit. So this udasena vad means we need to be disinterested, not uninterested.
Various thoughts, desires, emotions will come up within us. And then when they come up, we cannot neglect all of them, but we cannot accept all of them also. So sometimes we just feel too hot, sometimes we feel it is too cold.
So now sometimes the heat might be manageable. So I am feeling hot. Okay, I can tolerate it.
I am feeling too hot. Okay, maybe I will move under the fan. Maybe I will ask someone to increase the fan.
So we evaluate on merit. So now for practical actions we often do it, but Krishna says do this for your desires also. So I feel like eating more.
Should I eat more? Should I not eat more? So evaluate on merit. Yeah, actually I am quite hungry. Let me take something more.
I have eaten enough. I don’t think I should eat more. So evaluate on merit.
So udasena vadasena. This is the way Krishna says that you should learn to observe and then you will not be affected by the moods. And then the jnani is like a person who is very analytical, intellectual.
If you just give them the prescription that, okay, take this medicine, you’ll get cured. They’ll not be satisfied with that. Tell me the process.
Okay, this is a disease. Now this is the infection. Just come over here.
If you can get the antibiotic over here, then it will cure you. And there are three ways to get the antibiotic. We can take a pill.
We can give you a dose. Or we can give a saline. And there are advantages and disadvantages.
And now when the doctor already knows which is the best treatment for that patient. Now for that patient in that condition, because this may be an acute infection, so maybe they need a saline. But the doctor will take the saline.
Oh no, but why not this? Why not this? So the doctor will explain all of them in an objective way. And the patient will say, I think saline is the best, isn’t it? Yes, saline is the best. So what Krishna is doing is Krishna in this jnana section is not giving prescription.
He will do it at the end. But throughout he is giving description. Description of how the process works.
And then at the end, when he gives prescription, it makes sense. So there is one way to transcend the bodhisattva, just become an observer. Look at all your emotions, evaluate the merit.
But after giving this process, which the jnanis will like, then Krishna says, mam chayo vyabhicarena bhakti yogena sevate sagunan samatit yaitan brahma bhuyaya kalpate. He says, you practise my bhakti. Just become focused in serving me.
Serve me in an unflinching way. If you do this, then you can transcend the modes. That means a devotee doesn’t focus.
OK, this emotion is good. This emotion is bad. A devotee focusses more on how best can I serve Krishna.
If this emotion, this desire is unfavourable to my service to Krishna, OK, let me put it aside. So in a sense, devotional thinking is not negative thinking. It is not positive thinking.
It is purposeful thinking. We think purposefully how best can I serve Krishna. And sometimes you have to think negative.
If we think this world is a very enjoyable place. No, this world is, there’s a lot of distress in this world. So it’s temporary.
Think negative. Oh, this is Kali Yuga. There’s so much impurities over here.
No, but the Lord is very merciful. The holy name is very powerful. We think positive.
So a devotee is not attached to the negative thinking or positive thinking. A devotee is attached to purposeful thinking. How best can I serve Krishna? Now, many times people ask, don’t see the glass.
Is this glass about half full or half empty? Now, this has become such a common question. I was at a presentation. I was in America.
If somebody asked this question, the one person said, if somebody asked this question, is the glass half full or half empty? I only feel like looking how much water is there. Can I pour it in their face? It has become like a trope, an old fashioned thinking. So a devotee is not so much concerned.
Why bother whether the glass is half empty or half full? If you can drink from either. The point is to drink the water. So for a devotee, the important thing is to serve Krishna.
So sometimes our emotions will be favourable. I will feel like serving Krishna a lot. Sometimes the emotions will not be very favourable.
I won’t feel like serving Krishna. But the important thing is, Krishna says, just focus on my service. If you feel like it, wonderful.
If you don’t feel like it, still keep persevering. When we do that, gradually we’ll transcend the feelings. So a devotee doesn’t focus so much on evaluating the feelings.
Devotee focusses more on engaging in Krishna’s service. And interestingly, here Krishna doesn’t say that by my devotional service, you will attain me. He says, you will attain Brahman.
Brahma bhuvaya kalpate. Why? Because Krishna is speaking from the perspective of the Jnanis. The Jnanis are not ready to accept that Krishna is the absolute.
So their goal is to attain Brahman. OK, Krishna says you will attain Brahman. Now it’s like, OK, you attain Brahman, but there is something beyond Brahman also.
Krishna will come to that later. But at this stage, many times we have to give people what they think they need before we can give them what they need. We have to give people what they think they need before we can give them what they need.
So Jnanis are only interested in Brahman. Oh, by bhakti you can attain Brahman. OK, then I can do bhakti also.
So Krishna talks about Brahman over here. But then in the next verse, he gives a rough, he says, Brahmano hi pratishthaam. Amrutasya ve yasya cha.
So Krishna says, I am not just the path. I’m not just or I’m not just a means to spiritual realisation. I am the end of spiritual realisation.
So somebody might worship Krishna because by bhakti I can transcend the mode. That’s good. So Krishna accepts that way in 14.26. But in 14.27 he says, but actually that Brahman which you are attaining, that is sustained in me.
Brahmano hi pratishthaam. I am the foundation of that. And from there, then this is a Purushottam yoga.
So in the Jnana section, this 15 chapter is the chapter where devotion is stressed the most among all the chapters. Of course, 18 chapter is rich with devotion. We’ll come to that eventually.
But now in the 15th chapter, it is the smallest chapter in the Bhagavad Gita. The 12th and the 15th are the smallest. Both of them are just 20 verses.
I remember that because in my school days I had to memorise Bhagavad Gita. And actually, like everyone else, I was also lazy. So I found out which is the shortest chapter to memorise.
So 15th and 12th were there. So 15th chapter was the easiest to memorise. So anyway, so the 15th chapter starts with Krishna talks about, suddenly he introduces a different concept.
You see that what is happening in the 14th chapter. After the 10th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, it’s more like a general clarification of various concepts in philosophy. So it’s not necessarily a specific discussion.
Till the 10th chapter, by the 10th chapter the Bhagavad Gita is over. So it’s like the class, organised class is over. And then after that, there are discussions going on.
And some questions are raised and sometimes a speaker may answer one question briefly, another question elaborately. And answering a question might introduce some other concept also, if they feel the audience needs to know that. So Krishna, what he is doing is, he is given a devotional world view and various concepts that are there, known in the broad spiritual landscape, Krishna is explaining them.
So in the Upanishads, there is this concept of upside down tree. And Krishna takes that conception and explains it in a devotional context, just like he did for the modes, just like he did for the Kshetra, Kshetra, Gyan, all that. So he is explaining that in a devotional context.
So this is the verse which states that actually there is upside down tree. And its roots are upwards, its seeds are downwards, its shoots are downwards. And this, the Acharyas explain, the 13.22, just like every seed, every tree grows from a seed.
So this tree of material existence goes from the 13.22 seed. Seed is bhoktvitve. Because we have the desire to enjoy, so the whole tree of material existence expands from that.
And then Krishna says, how do we become, we are entangled in the tree. So there are some trees which are carnivorous. You might have heard about African forest, they are there.
You go near the tree, the tree’s branch will come out, it will come out and consume you. So now the tree of material existence is also something like that. It consumes us.
It doesn’t consume the soul, but it consumes us, entangles us, catches us. So we get caught in this tree of material existence. And how do we get out? Asangashastrenadrudhenachitva, Krishna says, with the acts of detachment.
This is the opposite, purushya prakriti sthogi, bhunkte prakriti janmanam karanam gunasangavasya sadasadyon janmasu. So because of gunasanga, we have become bound. Now by asanga, we can become unbound.
So this is a tree in which we are bound. Now after telling that, you can detach yourself in this way. But now Krishna is taking things forward and he says, OK, after you detach yourself, what happens? Asangashastrenadrudhenachitva tatah padam tatparimargitavyam yasminkatananivartantibhuyam tamevachadyam purusham prapadye yata pravrtti prasvata purani.
He says, after you become liberated, surrender, go to that, go to that absolute who is the source of everything and surrender to that absolute. Now that absolute is Krishna himself. But at this point, Krishna doesn’t mention it.
Then in the next verse he says, OK, that eternal reality, what is that? You surrender to it. Then you will attain it. Then Krishna shifts because now he has come to that absolute truth from the perspective of the jnanis who want to analytically disentangle themselves.
Then he shifts the camera, you could say, and speaks from the perspective of that I am that absolute truth. So he says, nathadbhasyate suryo nashashankona pavakaha yathgatvananivartante taddhamaparamamama. So that same absolute truth is actually one.
Now this whole thing that you cannot, it is not illuminated by the sun, the moon or fire. What this means is this is actually repeating in a different way. Common Upanishadic theme.
The Upanishadic theme is that the absolute truth cannot be seen with the eyes. The absolute truth cannot be conceived with the mind. The absolute truth cannot be described by the words.
And Krishna is saying the same thing. Nathadbhasyate suryo, the sun shows us what is there. Nathadnashashanko, the mind is often associated with the moon.
People who have mental instability often either caught in the moon phases. Sometimes mental instability changes. And pavakaha, fire is associated with speech.
Some people’s speech is very fiery. So Krishna is dropping those Upanishadic motifs over here. I think that absolute truth, that eternal realm of reality, that is actually my abode.
And from here onwards is the most devotional section starts. Mamayivamsho jeevaloke, that all living beings are of my parts. But they are bound in mental existence because they are dragged by the senses in the mind.
Manashashtani, Indriyani, Prakriti sthanika rishiti. So I’m working on a sutralik translation of all the Bhagavata verses. It takes a long process.
But anyway, I got one of these verses. Be a part. Be not a part.
So be a part. We are a part of Krishna. Mamayivamsho jeevaloke, jeevabhoothaha sanatanaha.
Eternally we are a part of Krishna. So be a part. But manashashtani, indriyani, prakriti sthanika rishiti.
Because the senses in the mind, we think that actually I have my own interest. This is what will make me happy. We become, be a part.
Be a part, be not a part. So we want to be a part from Krishna and want to pursue our own ideas because of our mind and senses. And then because of the pulling of the mind and senses, how the soul becomes entangled in this world.
How the soul gets completely consumed by materialism. Krishna describes that. And then how the soul can start perceiving spiritual reality.
He starts describing that. So how the soul goes through reincarnation. And then after going through reincarnation, after many lifetimes, the soul starts thinking, there must be something higher in life.
Jnana chakshu. Krishna says, OK, I’m being pulled here, there and everywhere. Normally we think we are moving around in our lives.
OK, I’m going to this place. I’m going to that place. But sometimes suddenly such turns happen in our life.
We have one plan, but we end up somewhere else entirely. So there are times when we very clearly realise that we are not in control. And at that time we start thinking, OK, what is going on? What is in control? Is there something higher in life? So Krishna says at that time you can start perceiving a higher reality.
And then initially you may think things are going wrong in my life. Is it that higher being is malevolent? Is that higher being against me? He says no. Look at the foundation of existence.
Our very existence depends on things outside of us. We can’t even breathe without somebody providing us oxygen. So Krishna talks about for the cosmological, terrestrial and the physiological.
Cosmologically he says, actually it is the sun which gives light. And that sun’s light comes from me. यदारित्तेगतं देजो जगद्भासयते अखिलं यच्छंद्रमसी यच्छाग्नो तत्तेजो विद्धिमामखाम् The sun, the moon, the fire, their light comes from me.
Now these are vital for our existence. Now it’s interesting, these three are the same what Krishna has talked about in 15.6. नतद्भासयते सूर्यो नशशांको नपावकः So those, the sun, moon and fire are not required to illumine the spiritual world. Because it is self luminous.
But they are required in this world. And Krishna says, it is I who provide them. Then he says, actually you need food to eat.
It is I who digest, who actually produce the food. I who provide the atmospheric environment by which the food can be produced. And not only that, Krishna says, I digest the food.
Now what does it mean I digest the food? We digest, actually we simply eat. We don’t know how the food digests. The only time we think of the digestion is when it doesn’t work.
Isn’t it? So Krishna says, actually I am digesting the food. अहम्बैश्वानरोभूत्वा And then Krishna says, not only that, even for our operation in the world, we need knowledge, we need to remember some things and we need to forget some things. So that capacity, somebody has spoken very harshly to us.
We need to forget that and move on in life. Some important facts we have to study and memorise. We need to remember that.
So whatever is required for our operation, Krishna says, I provide you that. And Krishna says, how he is maintaining us. And then again, so now the starting of the chapter was the Upanishadic motive that is going from the upside down tree to the ultimate goal of existence.
And then Krishna says, the same thing is taught in Vedanta. There is the Atma and there is the Paramatma. And Krishna says, I am the source of the Paramatma also.
So some Acharyas call this 15.16 to 18 as a 3 shloki Bhagavad Gita. So there is 4 shloki, 3 shloki, 3 verses, which describe the nature of Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagwan. Or Atma, Paramatma and Bhagwan.
And then Krishna says, one who understands me as the ultimate reality, yo mam eva sambhur ho janati purushottamam sa sarvavid bhajatimam sarvabhavena bharata which a person wholeheartedly devotes themselves to me. So this is the 15th chapter, which talks about, uses Upanishadic terminology, but now comes directly to Krishna. Now the 16th chapter goes into another detail.
What is the detail over here? There is the upside down tree. Now there is this tree and the extremes of the tree are the extreme kind of living beings. There are two kinds of people in this world.
Some people are wise and some are otherwise. So Krishna says, there are the daivi and the asuri, the divine and the demonic natures. And then he describes the psychology, especially their mentality, elaborately of the demonic people.
And then he talks about how even the demonic people can be regulated, can be saved. There are many places in the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna uses non-literal language. So, for example, Krishna says, Nasha means destruction.
One of the first characters of the Atma is Avinashi. So the Atma is Avinashi. How can the Atma’s Nashati be? So here Nash is not talking about literal sense.
It is in the non-literal sense. The spiritual inclination, the spirituality of the soul is destroyed. The spiritual inclination is completely lost.
But how does one protect oneself, Krishna says, by following Shastra. Follow Shastra and then you can become elevated. Now this is a very important verse because Shastra is not uniform.
Shastra is not even multi-form. Shastra is omni-form. Uniform means having one form.
Multi-form means having many forms. Omni-form means having almost unlimited forms. So what does unlimited forms mean? That Shastra has different injunctions for different people.
Because not everybody is at the same level. So at whatever level people are, they need to be elevated from that level to one step forward. So that’s why Shastra may also have some sections which talk about meat eating.
If you want to eat meat, then you do this, this, then you eat meat. Do this ritual, do this puja, do this something like that, then you eat meat. The idea is if somebody wants to eat meat and they can’t give up eating meat, then do it in a regulated way under scripture.
But the scripture also says that meat eating is actually a pillar of sinful life and better give it up. So we have to understand this is for people at this level, this is for people at that level. Say like a parent has two children and one of them just barely passes and gets 40% marks.
The other always does very well, gets very high marks, 80% marks. And now today both of them have come with their results. And both of them have got 60%.
Now say the father, the 40% kid, shabash, well done. And the other, badmash, what have you done? Now both of us got same marks. Why are you praising him and criticising me? That’s because your level is different.
So for a person that’s 40%, 60% is praiseworthy, higher up. For a person that’s 80%, 60% is downwards. Better avoid that.
It should not be done. So similarly, Shastra gives injunctions for daivi prakriti and for asuri prakriti. So for those who are demons, they cannot follow the same strict rules which are there for the devoted.
They also have their own codes and by following those they will get elevated. So Shastra is omnipotent. And that’s why we can’t just look at Shastra and say this is daivi shastra, that is daivi shastra, that is daivi shastra.
We also need the living tradition. We need the teachers who can tell us which part of Shastra is relevant for whom. So then, it’s like there are many medicines, the doctor is required to tell us which medicine is best for us.
Shastra is a pramana. But we cannot just read Shastra ourselves. We need to understand it from a guru.
So this 16th chapter says Shastra is a regulator and elevator for the ungodly as well as the godly. Now again the 17th chapter is also a discussion of broad concepts. In the Vedic context, there are three activities which are considered very important for a pious life.
So the 16th chapter talked about the godly and ungodly, the divine and demoniac. Krishna said if you follow Shastra, then you get elevated. But Krishna says, now Arjuna asks, what if somebody doesn’t follow Shastra but has some kind of shantha? How do we understand those who, they are not following Shastra but they are not godly.
They are not godless, materialistic, atheistic. So Krishna says then look at the framework of the three modes. Try to see them from the three modes and look at where they fall.
And then we can apply the three modes on many different things. But broadly he says, yajna, dana, tapa. These are three broad activities which are meant to harmonise us with our nature or with the world we live in.
See broadly speaking, we live in three circles. The soul is in one circle, is the circle of the body and mind. That is the Adi-Atmic circle.
Then we live in a particular society. That is the Adi-Bhautic circle. And then there is the circle of nature, of the environment.
That is the Adi-Daivic circle. And we can get actually klesha from all these three. We can get Adi-Bhautic, Adi-Atmic, Adi-Bhautic, Adi-Daivic klesha.
And in many earlier ceremonies they concluded at the end with, Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. It is three times Shanti. Why? Because of these three kleshas.
Om Adi-Atmic klesha, Shanti. Om Adi-Bhautic klesha, Shanti. Om Adi-Daivic klesha, Shanti.
Let there be peace. Let there be peace. So Krishna, these three activities, yajna, dana, tapa, are meant to harmonise us with our three circles.
We live within the body. So the body we regulate by austerity, by doing tapa. So fasting and various kinds of austerities are there for the body.
They harmonise us with the body, physical and psychophysical environment that we are in. The dana is what we do to harmonise with the social circle. There are give and take interactions with the social circle.
We do something for people, people do something for us. That is just operational. So with the body also, we take food, and then we give the body food and we do work with it.
But sometimes just don’t, just sacrifice. Sacrifice is fast. Similarly, there are normal functional business interactions, but sometimes without any gain for yourself, sacrifice something.
That is how we repay our debt to the social circle, dana. And then yajna is to the cosmic circle. Through yajna, there are, nature is filled with devatas, and we need to satisfy those devatas.
So Krishna says that look at the yajna, dana, tapa, what kind of yajna, dana, tapa people are doing, and based on that, you can understand. Look at their overall lifestyle, what kind of food they eat, what kind of lifestyle they have, what kind of charity they give. Based on that, you can understand what level of consciousness they are in.
And then Krishna talks about this Upanishadic concept of Om Tat Sat. And he explains that again in a devotional context. So after this, the 18th chapter is like a summary of the whole Gita.
The Gita’s first and last chapters spoken by Krishna. The first chapter when Krishna speaks is the second chapter primarily. The first and the last chapters are the longest.
The first chapter is 72 verses, and the last is 78 verses. So now in this last chapter, Arjuna asks once again in a summary sense, okay, what is sannyasa and what is tyaga? So here the idea is, Arjuna wants to very clearly, analytically understand the difference which Krishna has made earlier. There is, as I said, originally Arjuna’s idea was, there is work which will entangle, there is renunciation which will save from entanglement.
But Krishna’s response was, work with renunciation. So Arjuna wants this to be differentiated, this difference to be established in terms of the jnani analysis. So the jnani analysis in terms of three modes.
So Krishna asks, Arjuna asks Krishna, what is tyaga and what is sannyasa? So sannyasa at one level can refer to the ashram. There is a particular order in which people are announced. Tyaga is more of a mood, of a disposition.
So in answering this, Krishna talks about again the three modes and action within the three modes. And interestingly, he talks about how renunciation can also be in the mode of ignorance or the mode of passion. Normally we think renunciation is a good thing.
And it will be spiritually conducive, it will be spiritually elevating. So yes, it can be, but a lot depends on the motivation. If somebody is renouncing out of frustration, out of the inability to get something, then that renunciation is not exactly an enlightened renunciation.
I was in Pune once for many years. There was a boy who came to our temple. And he would just come once in a few months to the temple.
One day he suddenly came and said, how can I become a brahmachari in the temple? I said, you are not even coming to the temple, what happened? He said, I want to know the process. He said, I have almost decided to become a brahmachari. He said, I will be deciding by Sunday.
It was Friday, I said, what will happen on Sunday? He said, actually I have proposed to my girlfriend. If she says no, I will become a brahmachari. Now, rejection in some material relationship is not a qualification for renunciation.
There has to be positive attraction to Krishna, positive dedication to Krishna. So if somebody runs away from material life because it is too troublesome, that Krishna says is not renunciation, that is conducive. This will not lead to any positive fruit.
So Krishna doesn’t just look at external actions. From the external action point of view, Arjuna might feel fighting in a war is so bad, I am killing people. Sitting in a jungle, meditating on the absolute, or just doing some higher meditation, that will be more spiritual.
Krishna says, just don’t look at externals. Look at what is the inner intentions. And based on that, you understand.
So, in the 18th chapter, Krishna uses the Sankhya frame of analysis, which he has developed in the previous chapters. And he applies it to an analysis of how action entangles and how it can liberate. So he goes into various components of action.
He talks about, Krishna differentiates very interestingly between jnana and buddhi. Jnana refers to, you could say, we have taken information from the outer world. What is the way in which we perceive the world? That is jnana.
And buddhi is how we act in the world. So buddhi is referred to functional intelligence. We have karma endriya and we have jnana endriya.
So Krishna talks about how we use the jnana endriya to take in information. That he talks about is jnana. And how we regulate our senses to act in the world, within the light of knowledge, that is buddhi.
And then he talks about, So he says that I talk about jnana, karma and karta. Then he talks about buddhi, dhruti and sukha. And that with sukha, we are all looking for happiness.
Krishna talks about happiness and goodness, passion and ignorance. And there is a beautiful phrase over there. He is talking about He says abhyasa.
Abhyasa is practise. By practise, By practise, you will start delighting in that happiness, which will lead to There are different kinds of happiness. Some happiness is actually the way to distress.
Some people indulge in some pleasures, but they lead to trouble. But there is a higher happiness, which will not lead to trouble, but will lead to the end of all trouble. But that happiness, you have to develop a taste for it.
And that comes with practise. Krishna is talking about spiritual happiness over there. And then after that, Krishna talks about varanashram.
In terms of, now why varanashram? Because again, Krishna is talking about the world in the three modes. So there are different varanas in different modes. And gradually the karma yogi will do the karma and then move towards bhakti.
So now there also he talks about karma in the mood of bhakti. So He says work in a mood of worship or worship him through your work. That’s the technical example.
Now some people translate this as work is worship. Now if work is worship, then that is good as an ethical principle. That everybody, whatever work they are doing, there should be dignity of labour.
People should be respected for whatever work they do. That is fine. But work is worship is an ethical principle, not a philosophical principle.
If work is worship were a philosophical principle, then the donkey would become the greatest worshipper. So Krishna is not saying work is worship. Krishna is saying work in a mood of worship.
Work as worship. You have to infuse your work with a worshipful consciousness. It’s not automatically that work is worship.
And so here he talks about karma yoga. Then he goes to jnana yoga. And then from jnana yoga he comes to bhakti yoga.
So now this is a long journey in the 18th chapter. The same path, the gradual analytical step by step forward. It starts from 18.1 and goes to 18.55. 18.55 is That by bhakti you can know me and you can attain.
So it’s like. So now Krishna describes an elaborate process. Sometimes you want to go up a big building.
And there is a long pathway of the building. And you take the long pathway up. Maybe it is stairs.
Maybe it is steps. Long winding. After a long path you go up.
And then after we get to that point it is very attractive. I want to go there. But it is such a long pathway.
Then they say actually from here there is also a shortcut. There is an elevator. Just get in the elevator and go up.
So Krishna is saying you have to go through all this path of analysis, karma, jnana. Then come to bhakti. Bhakti will attain me.
By bhakti you will attain me. But then he says you can practise bhakti from wherever you are. So now from 18.56 to 18.72 is like the home run of the Bhagavad Gita.
You know. It is somebody’s marathon. It is the last round that has come.
The home run means everybody is there cheering. Now just run fast and get to the destination. Get the medal.
So this is the whole Bhagavad Gita has gone a magnificent tour. So last section is unabashedly focused on bhakti. So unabashedly.
So Krishna says He says whatever work you are doing you take shelter of me. And by doing this you will attain me. And then Krishna says the whole process of how just by being conscious of me you will become elevated.
He says I am always with you. I am there in your hearts as all living beings. And if you surrender to me you will attain me.
But here Krishna is still not given a rhetorical instruction. Or rather not given a categorical instruction. Do this.
Then 18.63 concludes and he says He says now that I have spoken all this now you deliberate and decide what you want to do. So now It’s like a sudden class is going on. And Suddenly the class ends and he says Now what do you want to do? Do you want to become devotees or not? This is too big a decision.
I can’t take it. Let me think. So suddenly the whole order shifts.
And Arjun becomes lost in deep thought. Krishna has said this is the third chapter. That is the end of the fifth chapter.
Of course at that time the Bhagavata is not divided into chapters. It’s a normal flowing discussion. Krishna said that over there.
Krishna said that over there. Krishna said that over there. And as Arjun becomes deeply lost in thought.
Krishna’s heart overflows with compassion. And it’s like a doctor has given an elaborate analysis. Different treatments.
This treatment will lead to this. This treatment will lead to this. He says okay now what treatment do you want to take? I have to decide that.
That’s a big thing. So then as the patient gets lost. Doctor says okay I will suggest to you.
So like that Krishna’s heart overflows. And he says okay I will tell you the most confidential knowledge. The most confidential knowledge I will speak to you.
Because you are most dear to me. And I want to speak for your benefit. And then he speaks.
Words almost identical to the 9.34. Till that point is same. You fix your mind on me. Become my devotee.
Worship me. Offer your homage to me. By this what will happen is.
You will come to me. So the idea here is. Offer your heart.
Offer your mind. Offer your body. So if you do all this.
You will come to me. That is the common part. But in 9.34 it says.
In this way if you offer your whole being to me. You will come to me. Here Krishna says.
Truly certainly you will come to me. Because I declare that you are very dear to me. So what is the difference? The difference is in stress.
Sometimes you can make the same statement. But just by changing the stress. You can actually completely change the meaning.
Say suppose somebody is to be recommended for initiation. And say if we want to recommend him. He had problems.
But he is stable now. Now if you don’t want to recommend. He is stable now.
But he had problems. Both the point. Both the essential.
You could say content of the sentence is the same. But the stress becomes entirely opposite. Isn’t it? So in small ways.
If you just shift. This is the whole idea. Magic of language actually.
So similarly. We will see what is the difference in stress. Between 9.34 and 18.65. Say if some deal is to be formed.
Say if there is a house seller. And the seller wants to sell the house. And there is a buyer.
And the seller says. If you do this. Do this.
Do this. Then you will sell this house to me. So now.
If the seller wants to make sure. That the buyer. Fulfil all the legal requirements.
Transfer the money. Do everything clearly. If you do this.
Do this. Do this. Then we will transfer the deed to you.
But if the buyer. So in that case. The onus is on the buyer.
You have to fulfil all the obligations. But sometimes. Some sellers.
They have found that the property is staying with them. And not going away. So then they become anxious to sell.
So then what happens? If you do this. Do this. I will surely do this.
Immediately. So what has happened? There. Their anxiety comes out.
So. In 9.34. Krishna is stressing. What the Atma has to do.
Do this. Do this. Do this.
In this way. If you offer your whole being to me. He will come to me.
So Krishna. At that point is telling. The requirements.
But here. By the end of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna’s heart is full of compassion.
So he tells the requirements. But it is an end. It is an emphasising on the requirements.
If you do this. I will surely do my part. He says.
I will surely. I assure you. You will come to me.
This is my declaration. So Krishna’s anxiety. That will be delivered.
Is revealed over there. Krishna is so eager. I will do my part.
You just do your part. And then. After that is.
The Charam Shloka of the Bhagavad Gita. Sarva Dharman Paritejya. Mamey Kam Sharanam Vraja.
Aham Tvam Sarva Papebhyo. Moksha Isha Mimashucha. So I was once at.
Invited at the Gita Jayanti. To a Hindu programme. And they were reciting some important verses.
From the Bhagavad Gita. So they came to this. As one of the last verses.
And they recited it. Sarva Adharman Paritejya. Mamey Kam Sharanam Vraja.
So. Then. Afterwards I asked them.
Actually this verse is Sarva Dharman. Why did you make it. Why was it recited Sarva Adharman.
So they quoted some. Some Gita. He said.
Actually. Krishna has come to establish Dharma. So how can he tell you to give Dharma.
He says. Long ago. When somebody was.
Rewriting the Bhagavad Gita. They forgot to put an O. So now. We are.
We are putting back the O. Now there are. We have Shankaracharya’s commentary also. There is no O. Over there also.
It is almost. 14, 13, 14 years old. So now.
If you look at the context. See Arjuna. Was never interested in Adharma.
Arjuna’s question was. If you remember the start of the Bhagavad Gita. He had Kula Dharma.
And Kshatriya Dharma. Which Dharma to follow. Should I follow the Kshatriya duty.
And fight against the enemy. Or should I follow my Kula Dharma. And decide I won’t fight against my relatives.
So this was his confusion. And Krishna tells Arjuna. You have these various roles.
But go beyond the role. To your essential identity. Your essential identity is.
You are my servant. And when Krishna says. Sarva Dharmaan Parityaj.
Prabhupada says in a lecture. Actually the hippies had also done. Sarva Dharmaan Parityaj.
They had given up their. They had given up their job. Their career.
Their families. Even their hygiene. What he says.
Prabhupada says. I came and taught them. Maa Mekham Sharanam Rajya.
So the important thing is. Krishna is not telling Arjuna. Give up Dharma.
And become Adharmic. When there is confusion. About different roles.
This Dharma or this Dharma. He says. Don’t get caught in the confusion.
First go back to the foundation. Foundation is. You are my soul.
You are my servant. You surrender to me. How can you serve me? So Maa Mekham Sharanam Rajya.
And what does. In that particular context. For Arjuna to surrender to Krishna is.
He does it. By doing his Kshatriya Dharma. But Arjuna does not fight.
As a Kshatriya. Rather Arjuna fights. As a devotee.
That’s why at the end. He will say. He will not say.
I will fight. He says. I will do your well.
So Arjuna’s consciousness. You remember I said that. A devotee may fight with someone.
But devotee is not against anyone. Fight against someone. But devotee is not against anyone.
So Arjuna’s stress is not. I am going to fight. He says.
I am going to do your well. So Maa Mekham Sharanam Rajya. And here Krishna assures.
I will free you from all sinful reactions. Now in the 7th chapter. Towards the end.
In 728. Krishna has said. That I should practise Bhakti.
Like those. Who come free from sinful reactions. perform piety, they can practise my bhakti.
Now, Krishna is saying something different over here. Even if there is some sin, just come to me. So, it’s like, say, a mother is training a child, say, in basic hygiene.
So, the mother is giving potty training to the child. And the child again soils the clothes. Unless you clean yourself, don’t come to me.
So, Krishna is like that. Purify yourself, then come to me. But, the child says, I’m helpless, I don’t know how to clean myself.
Mother says, come, I’ll clean you. So, Krishna is like that. No matter you’re pure or impure, just come to me, I will purify you.
And then, this is the conclusion. And after that starts the phalashruti. So, Krishna says, first thing, he says, don’t share this knowledge with those who are not austere, those who are not having the service attitude, those who don’t have faith, and most especially, don’t share it with those who are envious.
Now, why is that? It is not that Krishna wants to hide that knowledge. Say, if a parent has a huge amount of wealth, which is meant for their children, but if the child is carelessly squandering even the small pocket money that they have, then the father may not even tell that I have got this big treasure. Why? Because they will squander that also.
The treasure is meant for the child only. But, the treasure is given when the child is mature and grown up. So, those who are envious of Krishna, if they hear about Krishna’s glories, they hear about the glory of bhakti, they will only become more envious.
So, Krishna says, don’t tell it right now to them. So, we can tell basic spiritual knowledge. Basic spiritual knowledge, but not this confidential knowledge about pure love for Krishna.
And then he gives the phalashruti. You remember I talked about that ladder of love in the twelfth chapter. You can’t do this, do this.
Similarly, there is another ladder of love over here. Krishna says, if you preach my message, you will become most dear to me. And you will come to me guaranteed, he says.
Krishna doesn’t say that. Earlier he said, fix your mind on me, become my devotee, worship me, then you will come to me. Krishna says, you just share my knowledge with others, you will come to me.
How is that? Because if you try to share the knowledge, it’s like say, somebody is working in the airlines. Normally, when we have to go somewhere, we have to go and buy the ticket, give the money. Then we get into the airlines and then we get to the destination.
But if somebody works in the airlines, without paying, they will get to the destination. Without having to pay anything, they will get to the destination. So those who share Krishna’s message are like that.
If you try to fly others to the destination, you will automatically get to the destination yourself. This is the first thing Krishna says. You preach.
And somebody will say, actually preaching is very difficult. I can’t do that. So Krishna says, OK, if you can’t do that, you study.
So it’s like somebody has fallen in a well and somebody from outside throws a rope. If you catch the rope, I’ll pull you out. You know, actually I can’t catch the rope.
My hands are very paining a lot. It’s very difficult to hold on to the rope. OK, then the person, what he does is takes the rope out, makes a rope into a lasso, ties a rope.
Just put it around your waist. You don’t have to strain. I’ll pull you out.
So Krishna says, preach your message. If you can’t preach the message, it’s one more level lower. You just study the message.
He says, by that also you will attain me. You are worshipping me with your intelligence. So we should not think of studying as astra, as simply an intellectual activity.
Krishna says, studying is a devotional activity. It’s like we might do aarti with a diya. Similarly, we can do aarti with our intelligence.
So when we are studying scripture, we have a devotional mood. I’m serving Krishna by studying. And somebody will say, actually, I can’t study also.
Krishna says, if you can’t study, then you just hear. Just by hearing you will become purified, elevated and ultimately liberated. Like somebody says, if I tie this rope around my waist, my waist will pain so much when you’re pulling me up.
So then the person outside takes the rope out and ties that rope to a nice big tub and sends the tub down. You sit inside the tub, I’ll pull you out. So Krishna is saying like that, you just hear and you’ll become liberated.
But unfortunately, we get into the tub and while we are being pulled out, we turn the tub upside down and fall down. So Krishna makes things easy for us, but still somehow we make it difficult for ourselves. So then after concluding this phalashruti, Krishna asks Arjuna, Arjuna, have you understood? He says, kachid etashrutam partha to ekagre na chetasah kachid gyanasamoham pranashtas te dhananjaya So ekagre na chetasah.
The word ekagra, I gave a whole class on this particular verse, very pregnant verse, but it has good points. Ekagra can simply mean concentration. Have you heard of the tension? But ekagrata is also a state of consciousness in the hierarchy in yoga.
There is vikshipta, there is shipta, mudha, ekagrata and nirodha. So nirodha is the state of samadhi, ekagrata is just the pre-final state of samadhi. So what Krishna is saying is, just by hearing the Gita, we can attain the state of ekagrata.
To attain samadhi, to attain liberation, we have to apply the Gita. But just if you recite the Gita and hear the Gita, you can come to the state of ekagrata. Have you heard attentively and has your illusion been dispelled? So Krishna is very concerned.
Krishna is not like a teacher who is given a class and goes away. And the student has some questions, says come to my private tuition classes, then I’ll explain to you. No, not like that.
Krishna, Chakravartipada explains over there that Krishna is saying, if you have not understood anything, I am ready to repeat whatever you have not understood. If you want, I can repeat the whole Gita. So Krishna is very anxious that Arjuna understands.
And the last word that Krishna speaks is very significant. It is dhananjaya. Kachid agyan samoha pranashtaste dhananjaya.
Dhananjaya means the winner of wealth. The ultimate wealth is the wealth of wisdom. We need wealth to live in the world.
And that’s important. But ultimately, what is the purpose of living? What are we living for? We need to know that. Say, if we are lost somewhere in the wilderness and somebody gives us a car, that’s very valuable.
The car can help us get out of the wilderness. So the car is one kind of wealth. But along with that wealth, that car, we need a map.
Without the map, we’ll just be riding around in the car, round and round and round. So like that, material wealth is like the material resources, like the car. But spiritual wealth is the map to use the car.
So Krishna is saying, Arjuna, have you become enriched with the wealth of knowledge? That’s the meaning of the word dhananjaya. So the Bhagavad Gita can provide all of us this enrichment with wisdom. And then Arjuna replies, naśhto mohasmute labdhā Yes, my illusion is dispelled, my memory is restored.
And how did it happen? tvad prasādānmayācitta It’s by your mercy, oh Achyuta. It’s interesting that the first word, the first name that Arjuna uses to address Krishna is also senayorubhayor madhye thamsthāpayame achyuta The first name that Arjuna uses for Krishna is also the last name he uses for Krishna. Achyuta.
So Krishna was infallible when Arjuna told Krishna, do this. And Krishna did that. But Arjuna got into trouble by his own misdeeds.
So he made a mistake. Why does he have to see at that time, he has to fight. But he relied on his senses and he got into illusion.
So as I mentioned earlier, the eyes are the way to illusion. But the ears are the way to liberation, the way to freedom from illusion. So now when some soul wants to go into illusion, Krishna allows them to do that.
That is also, Krishna is infallible. If that’s your desire, I won’t stop you from doing it. Because Krishna respects our freedom.
So even when we do wrong, it is not that Krishna is doing wrong. Krishna is still infallible because he is letting us exercise our freedom. But when we want to turn towards him, no matter how wrong we have gone, Krishna has a map for us to come back.
And that sense, he is always infallible. When we do wrong, he remains infallible. When we do right, he remains infallible.
His infallibility is not in ensuring that we never do wrong. But his infallibility is that no matter how many wrongs we do, we never go so far away from him that we can’t come back. And then after this, the last five verses is Sanjay speaking.
But one point is, karishe vachanam tava, I will do your will. So the fruit, the essence of association is the transfer of desire. When we associate with someone, what is the purpose of that? Actually, if you are associating with someone, their desire should become our desire.
If you are associating with devotees, devotees are in love with Krishna. They want to serve Krishna, glorify Krishna, worship Krishna. By associating with them, that desire should come within us.
Now Krishna does not, Arjun does not conclude the Bhagavad Gita by saying, Nice lecture Krishna. He doesn’t see that. He says, karishe vachanam tava.
So if the desire of the speaker becomes the desire of the hearer, then that is the real fruit of association. When we associate with devotees, at one level you want to get knowledge, no doubt. But more important than getting knowledge is getting, more important than spiritual knowledge is spiritual desire.
Because spiritual knowledge will show us the way to liberation. Spiritual desire will propel us along the way to liberation. Both are needed, but more important is, we have a map, but the car doesn’t have any fuel.
With the map, what will we do? So our spiritual knowledge is not meant to make us intellectually fat. It is meant to make us devotionally fit. Sometimes we eat so much that we become fat.
Sometimes we eat and then we become fit. So to become intellectually fat means, that we become very proud of our knowledge. See what we know is not as important as what we want to know.
Sometimes we give a class for what purpose? To show others how much we know. And then we want to know, do you understand how much I know? So we are not interested in Krishna, we are interested in whether people know how much we know about Krishna. So that is intellectual fatness.
But devotional fitness means that I am ready to serve you Krishna. So this is the fruit of the Bhagavad Gita, that Arjuna became devotionally fit. The desire came to him.
Then in the Bhagavad Gita is a conversation of multiple levels. First is the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. Then there is also a conversation between Dhritarashtra and Sanjay.
At the level of the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna, it is successful. Arjuna is confused, but Arjuna becomes enlightened. At the level of Dhritarashtra and Sanjay, you could say at one level it is unsuccessful.
Because Dhritarashtra’s heart is not transformed. But still, what happens to Sanjay? There are five beautiful verses. First, Sanjay says he is amazed.
He is thrilled that I was able to hear such a wonderful conversation. And immediately a devotee’s heart goes to not just, Oh, I am enjoying this so much. Who helped me enjoy this so much? Oh, that is my Gurudev.
Vyasa gave me the best blessing. So Vyasa Prasada Shritvan. So first he appreciates the gift.
That is, I got to hear. Then he appreciates the giver of the gift. Then in the next two verses, 76 and 77, he appreciates the result of the gift.
What is the result of the gift? After hearing the Bhagavad Gita, we should remember the Bhagavad Gita and we should remember the Lord of the Bhagavad Gita. The person who is the object of the Gita. So 76 describes how he is remembering Krishna and his words.
And he says, As I am remembering this conversation, I am thrilled again and again and again. So the third level of conversation actually is between the soul and the Supersoul. The body is like a chariot.
And our intelligence, you know, in the chariot body analogy, the intelligence is like the charioteer. So when we hear the Bhagavad Gita, we make the Bhagavad Gita’s intelligence, Bhagavad Gita’s wisdom as our intelligence, as our charioteer. Just like for Arjun Krishna was a charioteer, we make Krishna our charioteer when we let him guide us in our life journey.
So this is the inner level. And he is saying, now I am remembering Krishna’s words and I am feeling thrilled. And not just remembering Krishna’s words.
Krishna’s words are about Krishna the person. So next verse says that I am remembering Krishna. I am astounded by remembering the form of Krishna.
I am thrilled. And then is the last verse. So he appreciates the gift.
He appreciates the giver of the gift. He appreciates the fruits of the gift, remembrance of the message and remembrance of the object of that message. And last he says, So this verse has multiple meanings.
One is a contextual meaning and one is an eternal meaning. The contextual meaning is that, Dhritarashtra’s question was, what happened on the battlefield? What happened was that, he ultimately wants to know, like say if a cricket match is going on. What happened in the cricket match? Ultimately he wants to know who won, who lost.
So he is giving a prophecy. He is not telling directly our sons will lose. But where there is Krishna, where there is Arjuna, there will be victory over there.
Now he doesn’t use to say that, okay on their side. He is making a specific statement but also a universal statement. Wherever, yatra can mean where, yatra can also mean wherever.
Wherever there is Krishna, wherever there is Arjuna, there will be victory. That means, if we say that Krishna is always in our hearts, and Arjuna, we are all like Arjuna, in the chariot of this body. So if we become Dhanur Dharah, if we become determined to serve Krishna, then what will happen? There will be victory, there will be success, there will be fulfilment.
The Bhagavad Gita, Sanjay’s message, Sanjay’s consciousness reveals that even if sometimes there is no external success, so when we serve Krishna, when we speak about Krishna to someone, sometimes the people are persuaded, sometimes they are not persuaded. Now even if they are not persuaded, we will become purified, we will become absorbed, we will become enriched and satisfied. That’s what Sanjay shows.
And similarly Krishna is telling, he is prophesying that wherever there is Krishna, wherever there is Arjuna, there will be victory. Sometimes there will be outer victory also, but there will always be inner victory. Now it’s interesting that, I conclude with this point that, we could say that Krishna is the goddess of fortune, sorry Krishna is the lord of the goddess of fortune, so wherever there is Krishna, there is victory.
Isn’t it? So why does the Bhagavad Gita have to say wherever there is Krishna and Arjuna, there is victory? Wherever there is Krishna, there is victory. Now that’s obviously true, but the purpose of the Gita is not to proclaim God’s position. The purpose of the Gita is to transform man’s disposition.
It is not, the purpose is not God is great and wherever there is God, there is victory. That’s true, that’s the truth, but that is not the purpose of the Gita. The purpose of the Gita is to transform our disposition.
We understand God’s position and by understanding God’s position, we feel inspired to transform our disposition. That, oh, I want to serve Krishna. There are some people who put this Gita Saar in their homes.
One of the statements there is, Jo hua, wo achcha hua. Jo ho raha hai, wo achcha ho raha hai. Jo hone wala hai, wo bhi achcha hi hoga.
Whatever happened is good, whatever is happening is good, whatever will happen will be good. Now this is a very nice sounding message, but I have read the Bhagavad Gita dozens of times, many many times, I have recited the Bhagavad Gita hundreds of times. There is no verse like this in the Gita.
There is no verse like this in the Gita. Now, is it that whatever happens is good? Well, it’s an oversimplified statement. Bad things do happen.
You know, when Draupadi was just broke, nobody said to her, Jo hua, achcha hua. Isn’t it? Terrible things happen in life. So, a more refined statement would be, not that everything that happens is good, which is rather that everything that happens is for good.
For good. It’s for a good purpose. Bad things happen.
We misuse our free will, people misuse their free will. Say, somebody becomes alcoholic, then becoming alcoholic is not good. But, good can emerge from it.
So, but the point I am making is, I am not going to do that differentiation between everything that happens is good or for good. Stress is that, the Bhagavad Gita’s message is not about what is happening, it is about what we are doing. That, are we doing our part properly? And that’s why, karishye vachanam tavo, I will do your will.
And again, yatra partho dhanur dharah. That same Arjuna, who has put aside his bow, saying, I will not fight. That Arjuna, picks up his bow in readiness to fight.
Similarly, in our lives, many discouragements will come, many troubles will come. And sometimes we just lose heart. I can’t do it.
I quit. I just give up. So, when we become disheartened, discouraged like this, what do we do at that time? Sometimes we look ahead.
We feel there are so many problems. We look around. I am so lonely.
Nobody understands me. Nobody helps me. We look back.
So many bad things have happened in my life. So, at that time, what do we do? We look up. Instead of looking ahead or back or around, we look up.
So, that’s what Krishna is doing for Arjuna. Look up. At the bodily level, at the material level, things may be wrong.
But Krishna’s eyes are… Krishna lifts up his eyes to show that actually, beyond whatever problems might be there in the world, whatever problems might be there in our lives, still Krishna’s plan is operational. Still Krishna loves us. Krishna cares for us.
And Krishna is working for our ultimate benefit. So, when things start looking down, we need to start looking up. And when we start looking up, then things will also start looking up gradually.
So, if we look up, look towards Krishna, not just look towards the world and its problems. So, sometimes the mind keeps… Oh, this problem, that problem, that problem. And the mind keeps complaining about the problems.
What happens? That complaining becomes a bigger problem. So, what do we do? Yes. When the mind starts telling us how big the problems are, instead of just submissively listening to the mind, Yeah, very big problem.
Yeah, very big problem. Very big problem. So many problems.
Sometimes what happens? Two people are very troubled. They come together. And people nowadays, there is a very popular idea called there is a victimhood.
Oh, you know, life is so unfair. I am a victim. This person did this to me.
That person did that to me. That person did that to me. So, this person feels I am a victim.
Another person feels also I am a victim. Both of them feel sorry for themselves. And they come together and have a pity party.
Just feeling sorry for each other. Now, at that time, it just makes things worse. So, when the mind starts saying, Oh, there are so many problems.
See just how big the problem is. Instead of just letting the mind speak, and we hear, we speak to the mind. When the mind says how big the problem is, we tell the mind how big Krishna is.
And if we tell the mind how big Krishna is, we recite the Bhagavad Gita, we hear the Bhagavad Gita, we speak the Bhagavad Gita, then gradually, the mind’s complaining will start decreasing. There will be problems. But the mind’s complaining makes the problems worse.
So, we lose heart when we keep hearing the mind submissively. But instead if we hear Krishna submissively, then we will gain heart. Arjuna picked up the Bhagavad Gita, picked up the bow, ready to fight.
Similarly, we will also regain our determination, ready to do whatever is required in service of Krishna. The world is filled with problems. But we don’t have to be one of them.
We don’t have to be one of the problems. We can be a part of the solution. So, the Bhagavad Gita is ultimately a call to Arjuna to take responsibility.
Take responsibility for his consciousness and take responsibility for his situation, for his actions. We are not the masters of our destiny. But we are the makers of our destiny.
We are not the masters means we don’t ultimately control what happens to us. But we make our future. Specifically, what action will lead to what reaction, that’s not in our control.
Sometimes we may do good and we may get bad. Sometimes we may do bad and we may get good also. So, in that sense, what action will lead to what reaction, that is not in our control.
So, in that sense, we are not the masters of our destiny. But we are the makers of our destiny. If we do good actions, we are creating future credits, good credits, and they will lead to good results.
So, the Bhagavad Gita’s message is ultimately a message of hope and empowerment. That hope that if we keep serving Krishna faithfully, Krishna will help us. And He will elevate us.
He will liberate us. Just as Arjuna became fully enthused by hearing the Bhagavad Gita, similarly, by understanding the Bhagavad Gita, understanding Krishna’s unfailing love for us, we can also become enthused. We can become energised.
And we can pick up our bow. Krishna, I want to serve you. I want to serve you.
How can I serve you? And as soon as you take up this responsibility, even if I can’t change anything, let me change my consciousness. Instead of complaining, let me just try to focus on Krishna. Let me try to pray to Krishna.
Let me try to serve Krishna. We can change our consciousness at any and every moment by connecting with Krishna. As we change our consciousness for the better, gradually we will get the calmness and the clarity by which we can change things also for the better.
So, Arjuna’s future journey after hearing the Bhagavad Gita was not problem-free. But it was purposeful. He had to understand that there is a divine purpose.
I am a part of the divine purpose. And by Krishna’s grace, I will be successful. So, if you look for a problem-free life, you will never be successful.
You will never be a problem-free life. But instead, if you look for a purposeful life, that I want to serve Krishna, that I make that as the purpose of my life, whatever difficulties come, that purpose will help us to move forward. Say, if we are going on a small bicycle and a log falls on the ground and the road in front of us, we will have to stop.
But if we are going in a powerful big truck and the log falls, the truck will have such momentum it can knock the log aside and move aside and move on. So, similarly for us, if we are all alone thinking that I have to fight against this big bad world, like we are going along a cycle and a big log falls, we will stop. But if you understand that I am a part of Krishna and I am serving Krishna and Krishna is with me and I am with Krishna.
Then, our momentum by that will become like a truck. Problems will come, but we will find a way ahead to the problems. And ultimately, we will be victorious by Krishna’s grace.
That is the promise of the Bhagavad Gita. So, the Bhagavad Gita calls us to become energised, to become empowered, to take responsibility for our consciousness. To become Krishna conscious and thus change our life and lives of those around us for the better.
So, I will summarise. I spoke today on the last 6 chapters, 13 to 18. So, 13-14 were quite analytical.
I talked about Upanishadic terminology Krishna using to convey devotional message. So, Krishna has given a devotional worldview and then he shows how all related terms within that can be explained in a devotional way. The Bhagavad Gita is like a class which gets over in the 10th chapter.
And after that, there are question answers related about various different themes which are not necessarily immediately connected with the previous theme. So, one question is about what is this Purusha Prakriti which Krishna answers. Then, Krishna himself expounds on the concept of the modes.
And in each of these chapters, Krishna gives Bhakti. Krishna sometimes refers to himself as the third person because he speaks language that the particular seeker of that path can connect with. He doesn’t directly use the devotional language because that may alienate some people.
And then after that, in the 15th chapter is the most explicit mention of devotion. He talks about this upside down tree and then he talks about how he is the ultimate goal. He is the ultimate goal and he is the person who is sustaining us along that goal also.
He maintains the cosmos. He maintains the earth. He maintains our body.
And he maintains our intelligence by which we function in the world. So, he is our be all and end all. And then knowing him as such is true knowledge.
16th chapter talks about when the upside down tree is there, the upper extreme, the lower extreme. And he talks about how people at the lower extreme can get degraded and lost but if they also follow Shastra, they can become elevated. So, Shastra is not just uniform or multiform, it is omniform.
So, we have to find out what level in Shastra is best for us to become elevated, act accordingly. Then 70th chapter talks about those who are not explicitly following Shastra but have some faith. How do we understand their level? So, we look at their actions.
I talk about the three circles in which we are, the bodily, the social and the environmental. And Tapa, Dana and Yajna are meant to harmonise us with these three circles. And the will we bring about this harmonisation indicates our modes.
And then the 18th chapter, Krishna uses the conceptual analysis of the three modes which he has done in the preceding chapters to reiterate his message about how one can go between the extremes of work and enunciation to work with enunciation. So, how? By working in Sattva Guna, understanding Karma, Karta, Jnana, Jnana, Buddhi, Dhruti and Sukha, one can ultimately act in a way that one can work with detachment and gain liberation. So, Krishna talks about Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.
But then, he turns around to take a slow incremental path and a quick accelerational path. Bhakti is what is required for ultimate perfection. But Bhakti can be practised by anyone from any level.
And then Krishna leaves the decision to Arjuna. But when Arjuna is confused, then he takes a doctor who after explaining the analytical way of how medicine works, he goes and gives their own opinion, their recommendation. Krishna has two shlokas.
Man Manabhav, the difference between 9.34 and 18.65 is Krishna is so eager to cleave the way. So, Krishna is not stressing what Arjuna has to do. He is stressing what I will do.
In 18.66, he says that you just avoid confusion because of various roles focused on your fundamental identity. And he says, even if you are sinful, just come to me, I will purify you. And then he gives the Phalashruti that it’s like a person throwing a rope down and throwing a rope with a knot around it, throwing a rope with a tub around it.
So, you just preach and come to me. If you can’t, study. If you can’t study, just hear.
And ultimately, Krishna is so eager that Arjuna understands that he asks, if you are not understood, I am ready to repeat. So, he wants to enrich Arjuna with the wisdom of what life is meant for. That’s the last word he speaks.
And Krishna replies by saying that, not that I will fight the war, but I will do your will. So, the essence of the Gita is that the soul harmonises with Krishna. And then we talked about Sanjay’s words, which are also very profound in themselves.
Sanjay appreciates the gift of the opportunity to hear the Gita. He appreciates the giver of that gift, Vyasadev, by whose mercy you could hear. Then, he relishes the content of that gift.
That is, he remembers the message and is filled with joy. And he remembers the Lord, who is the essence of the message and is again filled with joy. The Bhagavad Gita concludes by giving a contextual prophecy that Krishna, Arjuna’s side is going to be victorious and also an eternal prophecy.
That we as souls, when we become determined to serve Krishna, then, no matter what obstacles might be there, Krishna will help us to overcome them. So, there are many problems which may dishearten us, but if we instead of look, when things look down, we look up towards Krishna. And that will help us.
Focussing on Krishna’s plan and Krishna’s love for us, we will get the energy to pick up our bow and fight again. The Bhagavad Gita is a call for hope and empowerment. It gives us hope that Krishna is there to help us.
It empowers us with the energy, with the confidence to take responsibility for our consciousness. If we, if we focus on connecting our consciousness with Krishna, we can become a part of the solution. We can help ourselves and we can help others by Krishna’s grace.
Such is the sweet, reassuring message that Krishna concludes the Gita with. And that Lord is always there with us in our hearts. The Gita was a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna.
It was a conversation between Sanjay and Dhritarashtra. It was also a conversation between us and the Lord in our hearts. So whenever we feel disheartened, confused, deluded, if we remember the Gita, then those same words which guided Arjuna can guide us and enrich us and empower us.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. That’s why we need a regular alternating cycle of exclusive devotion, inclusive devotion.
Exclusive devotion, inclusive devotion. And that way we can be situated at the Bhakti elevator going towards Krishna. Any other questions? Yes.
Upside down. Okay, yes. Good question.
So, does the tree exist for each individual soul or does it, or is it like one universal tree? See, first of all, the whole tree, it’s a metaphor. So, we cannot apply literal logic to that which is metaphoric. That doesn’t mean there’s no logic.
It’s just that literal logic may not always apply to metaphorical things. So, what does that mean? That sometimes while using, sometimes some non-literal things become so commonly used that we start using them in literal sense without even remembering the non-literal aspect of it. Now, I was in UK.
I gave a class in London and there is a very good question and answer session we had. And then the devotee, a lot of questions people asked and answered. And the devotee who organised the programme was very happy.
Just came after the class with a big smile. And he said, you killed it. I said, what did I kill? Now, you killed it is a non-literal usage which comes from hunting.
Now, somebody is hunting and you killed it. So, now, you killed it in this way of appreciating. You did very nicely.
But he was taking the non-literal meaning and I was taking the literal meaning. So, we can’t apply literal logic. It can lead to a lot of misunderstandings.
Having said that, the idea is that this tree is a metaphor for explaining how we are entangled. And one of the words that Krishna uses, It’s an imperishable tree. So, when by detachment we cut it, what we do is actually the material world will continue to exist.
But we can cut our entanglement on the material world. So, we could say, it’s not that there is one tree for everyone. There is not one tree for each person.
But the tree is the tree of material existence. And we are all entangled within it. So, it’s like this.
I gave the example of a carnivorous tree. Which is just grabbing people. So, that somebody is grabbed by that.
If they get a knife, they can cut off. And they can escape. So, like that, each one of us can escape from that.
Thank you. Yes. Come again.
Okay. Are there any questions related with this thing? Because we can talk it personally afterwards. Is there anything related with what we spoke today? Just one or two questions and we will finish.
Yes. Is there any time to do Krishna Bhakti? Actually, there is Whenever we can do it, we can do it. There is no particular time.
The principle is that wherever we are best connected with Krishna. So, generally the early morning is the time when our mind is not very distracted. So, then we can focus on Krishna more.
So, if we can do it in the morning, that is the best. But if we can’t, anytime is good. Because connecting with Krishna is always better than not connecting with him.
Thank you. Yes. Okay, good question.
So, Krishna was guiding Arjun constantly. But what about us? Well, it’s not that Krishna was guiding Arjun constantly. Eventually, even Arjun had to act without the guidance of Krishna.
We know that when Krishna disappeared from the world, it was the biggest crisis for him. And at that time, he had to act based on his own intelligence. And he was so overcome with agony till he heard, till he remembered the message of the Gita.
That’s what the Bhagavatam describes. And then he gained peace. So, even for Arjun, Krishna was not always there.
But Krishna’s words were there with him. So, for all of us, even if we don’t have hour by hour guidance, or moment to moment guidance, what we can do is, broadly, that if we consider, there are certain things which are very clear. There is something which we should do, something which we should not do.
And in between, there are many things, should I do this or should I do this? I am not so clear. So, to the extent, we do the things which we know Krishna wants us to do. And we avoid the things which we know Krishna wants us to avoid.
By that, we are showing Krishna that we want to be guided. So, and when we show Krishna that we want to be guided, Krishna will guide us more and more. So, in the intermediate level, okay, should I do this service or that service? Should I take a job here or there? Should I do this or should I do that? So many questions like that keep coming.
So, now, we can’t always know Krishna’s will. But if we are doing Krishna’s will where we know it, then we will be guided to Krishna’s will where we don’t know it also. Means we use our best intelligence, we pray to Krishna, it’s a very important decision, consult some senior devotees and then use our best intelligence to move forward.
And we don’t have to think of Krishna’s plan or doing Krishna’s will like one line. If I am doing this, it’s Krishna’s will. And if I am not doing this, I am off Krishna’s will.
Krishna’s will is more like not just one path, but a network of paths. So, even if we go off track, we can always come back on track. Life never comes with a guarantee of the right decisions.
So, sometimes we make the right decisions. And sometimes we make the decisions right. We make the decisions right.
I make a decision. Okay, this was not the best decision. But what can I do now? We do course correction from there and we move onwards.
Okay. So, thank you very much. So, tomorrow, if any of you have general philosophical questions, which of course, questions about this theme are also welcome.
But any kind of questions you have, you can write them down and bring them or you can ask them orally. We will have question and answer session tomorrow. Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna.