Understanding Krishna first-person and third-person references in the Gita – part 1

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, thank you very much. So, today I will discuss about the interplay between the first person’s reference and the third person’s reference of Krishna.
That means, there are some places where Krishna refers to himself by the first person. That is not. And there are some places where Krishna refers to himself in third person.
So, why does he do that and what does the context teach us? So, we will start in the first chapter of the Paturi Gita and look at all the references to Krishna in the Gita where Krishna refers to himself either in the first or the third person. And like that we will go from the first chapter to the 18th chapter. We will not be able to cover all the verses today.
But let us see whatever we can cover. And we will see what are the points that can be inferred from this analysis. So, the point or purpose of this analysis is to see how the Bhagavad Gita establishes the supremacy of Krishna in a very unambiguous way as far as conclusions are concerned.
That Bhagavan is higher than any other aspects of God. That’s what the Bhagavad Gita very clearly establishes. So, let’s start with.
We will look at some of the verses. We may or may not recite those verses depending on whether the verses are familiar or not. So, the first reference by Krishna to himself as something extraordinary.
See, the Bhagavad Gita starts. I will write some of the points to make these points clear over here. I use the PPT as a substitute for a whiteboard.
Instead the Bhagavad Gita is that Krishna is the teacher. That’s how it starts actually, Bhagavan onwards. So, that starts from 2.8 onwards.
2.9 onwards actually. 2.7, 2.8 Krishna asks Arjuna, ask Krishna, please instruct me. And then 2.9, 2.8 is the introduction that Sanchaya described.
Then 2.10 onwards, Krishna starts, Arjuna starts, Krishna says So, that is one position of Krishna. But while he is instructing, is Krishna anything special? That is first time mentioned in 2.61 where he says, Krishna is not just the teacher of sense control, but he is the object of the control senses. So, this is the first time that Krishna refers to himself in a way that is different from just being a teacher.
This verse is So, till now, before that Krishna has talked about how a person should be attached, how you are not the body, you are the soul. And one should control the senses. But here there are many people who can teach sense control.
And there are many sages who have taught it. But no sage has said that you should fix your mind on me after you control this. So, here is the first introduction by Krishna that he is something more than just a teacher of sense control or teacher of spirituality.
He is the goal of the control senses and this should be fixed on him. Now, after this reference, the whole section is like, because the chapter is talking about basically, it is talking about Sita Prajna. And after that, the next reference of Krishna to himself comes in 3.30. So, here Krishna says that he is the object of detached karma yoga.
So, actually from 3.30 onwards, Krishna teaches something higher. So, he mentions for the first time, he is the object to whom the fruits of work should be offered. So, till now, he has taught that yes, work has to be performed and work should be performed with attachment.
But it is the first time where he says that, okay, the work should be offered to me. So, what is happening over here, the Bhagavad Gita is slowly taking the conception higher. Now, after that, in the next two verses, Krishna talks for the first time in the Gita about faith.
And he says, you should have faith in my words. Why is he talking about this? 3.31, 32. Krishna instructs by contrast.
The instructs by contrast means, he says, if you do this, this will happen. If you do that, that will happen. You have faith in me, you will be elevated.
If you do not have faith, you will get lost. So, the effects of faith and faithlessness. So, why does Krishna have to talk about faith here? Actually, faith is required throughout.
But in the context of the Gita, Krishna has made a very significant statement here. You know, I am the object of the detached work. This is, Krishna has not talked something about this till now.
If you see in this chapter earlier, Krishna has referred to himself while talking about setting an example. But there, he is not talking about himself as God. There he is indicating that he is God indirectly by saying that there is no duty for him.
That reference is there. But still, that doesn’t clearly indicate his divine position. So, prior to 3.30, from 3.22 to 24, Krishna indicates that I don’t have any duty.
Yet, I act. So, what is he doing by this? He is indicate, giving some hint of his transcendental position. But he is not really clearly telling what is this position.
So, he is saying that namah karmah nismati nameh karmah bhale suha. I want to understand my position. So, he talks about this verse where he is basically saying that you have to understand that I am beyond.
I don’t have any duty, but you should. But still, I act. Therefore, you should also act.
So, what is happening over here is, Krishna is hinting towards the supreme position. But he is not directly stating it. Now, in the whole first section of the Gita, the first section is the first six chapters, the only place where Krishna directly refers to his divinity is in the fourth chapter.
In the fourth chapter, actually Krishna is having his own flow of thought. But Arjuna’s question causes him to sort of go off track. Krishna, in the first six chapters, is focusing on the atma.
He is giving atma gyan. He is not giving bhagavad gyan primarily in the first six chapters. But because Arjuna asks the question, the third chapter ends by saying that by this knowledge, you can conquer lust.
And then Krishna says that I gave this knowledge in the past time. So, he asks how did you give this knowledge. So, as a response to that, Arjuna’s question, Krishna tells that actually I am the transcendental supreme lord.
This is the only reference in the Bhagavad Gita to Krishna’s divine position. So, that is from approximately 4.5 to 4.15. Here, Krishna’s divinity, Krishna’s supremacy is clearly stated. So, again what is the purpose? It is primarily to answer Arjuna’s question.
And if you see onwards, it is almost 4.15. But if you look at the Bhagavad Gita, 4.16 is a continuation from 3.35 in content. Because what happens, 3.36 Arjuna asks one question, and then 4.3 Arjuna asks another question. 3.36 he asks the question, what causes a person to be sinful activities? And Krishna answers that question and Krishna says I have given this knowledge since a long time.
Then Arjuna asks the question, how did you give this knowledge? So, in response to that, Krishna tells about his own supreme position. But basic topic is Atma Gyan through Karma Yoga. So, 3.35 Arjuna and Krishna are talking about Karma Yoga.
And from 4.16 onwards, Krishna keeps talking about Karma Yoga. And that is why again, his reference to himself is not much. His reference to himself in the 4th chapter comes only once, after this in 4.35, where he will say, 4.34 is the famous verse, that is about going to a Guru.
And even in this, Krishna is not necessarily saying that the Guru has to be my devotee. Because the Guru can be for various spiritual paths. You can have a Guru for Karma Yoga, Gyan Yoga, Dhyan Yoga.
But he says, rather than giving the characteristic of the Guru, Krishna gives the characteristic of the results of the knowledge that one acquires from the Guru. When we become enlightened, what is the result? Krishna describes in 4.35. There, there is again a reference to himself. And this is the first time Krishna describes in the Bhagavad Gita, the relationship between himself and the traditions and the sages.
Till now, that relationship has not been described. He said, okay, she fits the mind of me. I descend to take care of, I descend to deliver all the readings.
So, what is the relationship? That is the first time over here. So, 4.35 is the first reference to Krishna’s relationship with the living entities. This relationship has not been mentioned anywhere before.
So, now it has been hinted at when Krishna says, ajo ki sanyam yaatma bhoota naam ishwaro ki sanyam. This is 4.6, I am the Ishwara. I am the controller.
But in general, no, it was a specific relationship, aatmanya ho mayi, that they are in me and they are mine. This is actually the very important one. In the Bhagavad Gita, somebody asks, where is the relationship of the soul and the Lord talked about? It is talked about in 4.35 and later on it is talked about in more clearly 15.7. Amay mam shyo jeeva loke, jeeva bhoota sanyam naam.
That is the most explicit. So, now, after this, the fourth chapter does not talk anything more about Krishna directly. In the fifth chapter, third chapter, the questions are same.
So, that it is, should I act or should I renounce? And in the fifth chapter, Krishna again does not refer to himself much because he is going deeper into Karma Yoga. And even if you see the famous verse, we draw 5.18. 5.18, what is the verse? Vidya Vinaya Sampanya. Now, he says that there should be equal vision, but he does not really tell what is the nature of that equal vision.
You know, should we see everybody equally in terms of everybody has Atma or everybody has Paramatma or everybody has a relationship with the Paramatma? What is that equal vision? Krishna does not explicitly say that. Why? Because at that level of realization which this chapter is talking about, all that is not clear. What is clear is, everybody is spiritual and therefore one should see beyond matter to the spiritual equality effect.
So, the focus here is not on spiritual identity. That is why in this verse, there is no reference to mom or the connection with mom. So, in the Bhagavad Gita, in the fifth chapter, the only place where Krishna refers to himself is in the most significant place in this chapter.
That is in the last verse. In the last verse when Krishna refers to himself, it is a very unambiguous reference. So, here he is describing very clearly that he is the goal of all processes.
Now, Acharya sort of unraveled this verse and explained that bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarvalokamahesvaram. So, actually normally in yajna, there are yajnic ceremonies and then there are bhokta of the yajna ceremonies. So, that is referring to Karmakant.
Krishna says, I am the goal of Karmakant. And sarvalokamahesvaram, I am the lord of all living beings. And surudham sarva-bhoktamanam.
So, the yogis try to meditate the heart on the indwelling super-soul. Krishna is saying, I am indwelling in the heart. I am surudham.
So, here actually Krishna explains that I am the goal of all paths. And when you understand this, then you will become purified. Then you will become actually attain true Shanti.
So, now actually at this point, in the whole five chapters of the Gita, Krishna has not explicitly referred to bhakti at all. In fact, in the entire Bhagavad Gita, the compound phrase bhakti-yoga comes only once. That comes in 14.26. So, the word bhakti-yoga as a compound phrase comes only once in the Bhagavad Gita.
But the conception of bhakti comes repeatedly. But till now, Krishna has not directly referred to bhakti. Now, the sixth chapter, this chapter is the chapter of Dhyan-yoga.
Now, in this, although it is right into Dhyan-yoga, but there are so many references to Krishna’s supremacy, Krishna’s position, that it is remarkable. So, sixth chapter is so significant. We will look at it separately over here.
So, sixth chapter, we will… Now, what I am taking today, I once took in a Sunday class on the Bhagavad Gita in a Sunday piece, but there I did not go into so much technicality. It is more of a devotional analysis. Here, I am taking more in terms of philosophy.
So, here, Krishna talks about himself for the first time in the sixth chapter in 6.15. He says, in the two verses, we should talk about prashantatma because the Bhagavad Gita says… So, there are two references, machitto and matparaha. And it is 14 or 15? 14, fine. Actually, 15 also has a reference to it.
It says, matsamstham, what is that? Matsamstham adhikarchati. Matsamstham adhikarchati, yes. So, 6.14 and 15, both have references, very clear references to Ma.
So, what is Krishna is the object of meditation for the yogi. So, what does this mean? That means the yogi, like Prabhupada would often emphasize that the yogi is not meant to meditate on something impersonal, but he is supposed to meditate on Vishnu. That’s what Krishna is making very clear.
Now, of course, this verse doesn’t make it so clear that the object of meditation is not the same as the goal of meditation. There is a difference between them. The object of meditation is not necessarily the same as the goal of meditation.
Because there can be gyan, there can be yogi, there can be bhaktas and there can be yogis who are using bhakti as a guru. So, those yogis then meditate on the saguna brahma, so that they can attain the nirguna brahma. So, Krishna doesn’t say over here that he is the goal directly, at least in his objects.
That means, even in the path of yoga, one has to meditate on the supreme lord. But what is the conception, that may not be clear over. What is the conception, but still they have to meditate.
So, Napshita Prabhupada is supposed to be very clear that one should meditate on him as the ultimate guru. So, even if that is not accepted, still the point that bhakti and meditation on the supreme lord is an integral part of all processes, that can’t be denied. Now, is the personal conception higher or the impersonal conception higher? That can be a matter of ambiguity.
But in this 6th chapter itself, Krishna makes it very clear. And you know that most, sometimes people ask, where is this conception of brahman, paramasma, bhagwan and shiva? Is it there? Now, we know there is one verse which is 1.2.11 in the Bhagavad Gita. But that doesn’t very clearly tell us what brahman refers to, what paramasma refers to.
So, is there any place in the scripture where these 3 aspects of the absolute truth are mentioned in a progressive stages of realization? That comes in the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. So, actually 6.28, we will recite this verse also, refers to the brahman aspect. 6.29 refers to the paramasma aspect.
And 30 to 32 refer to the bhagwan aspect. Let’s look at these verses. So, let us see how this happens.
So, actually this is one of the most important sections of the Bhagavad Gita. And here, acharyas have given very deep commentaries. So, what Krishna is telling over here is that the yogi who keeps practicing like this, that yogi will attain the highest happiness.
He will become vigatakalmusha. He will become free from all impurity. And when he becomes free from impurity, then sukhetam brahma samsparsham, by contact with brahma.
Now, this word samsparsha is very significant. Krishna has used the word samsparsha elsewhere in the Bhagavad Gita in a very well-known verse. Yahi samsparsha jahoga.
So, that samsparsha is dukkha yonayagate. But this samsparsha, sukhena brahma samsparsha, it is achyantam sukhamashyate. It is the source of great happiness.
So, here Krishna is saying by the progressive practice of yoga, one will contact brahman. The word samsparsha means contact. So, this verse is referring to brahman realization.
But at this stage, what exactly is the nature of that brahman is not very clear. What is clear is that there is some spiritual contact. There is a contact with spiritual reality.
And by that, there is the experience of great happiness. But as this contact becomes more clear, Vaishya Prabhupada gives the example of how when we see a mountain from a distance, first we see a blurred outline. Then when we go forward, then we see the greenery and multifarious vegetation.
And then when we go deeper into it, then we see, okay, there are so many people and they all have their individualities and they all have their activities. So, like that, a close-up vision of the mountain. Like that, there is a close-up vision of the absolute truth.
So, here, the first experience of the absolute truth is in terms of the happiness. We may not clearly understand. For example, when people, even in the path of happi also, people may not even understand what they are doing.
But they come and chant and dance and they feel happy. So, the first contact with the absolute truth for most seekers is in terms of the experience of some higher happiness. And that is there, that happens more and more when there is jigadakalmastha.
But at this stage, the conception of the absolute truth is not clear. But in the next verse, as Ayurveda advances further, the conception becomes clear. So, here it is describing, okay, there is not just an abstract contact with the spiritual reality.
But one understands that the spiritual reality is all-pervading within the hearts of all beings. So, actually this is talking about two things. Sarva-bhutastham-atmanam means all living beings are situated in that reality.
And then, sarva-bhutanichatmanam. And that reality is situated in the hearts of everyone. So, our Acharya used to address this refers to two things.
One is, the second part here refers to the Paramatma. The Paramatma is situated in the heart of all living beings. But sarva-bhutastham-atmanam means that actually all living beings are situated in the universe which has come from the body of Maharishi.
So, in that sense, everybody is situated within the Lord, within that Brahman reality. So, all living beings are situated within the Lord and the Lord is situated in all living beings. This is clearly referring to the Paramatma itself.
So, here the Lord is situated in all living beings. Now, here again, there is a reference by Krishna to himself in the third person. Now, why is there a reference to third person? Because there is a progressive spiritual evolution.
And at this stage, the identity of that being, that all-pervading being, that is situated in the heart of all living beings, that is not clear. And as the yogi advances further, in the next verse, the identity of that being is taken care of. So, earlier it was sarva-bhutastham-atmanam, sarva-bhutanichy-atmanam.
You see, that was unclear. But here it is, yo mamampasya. One who sees me everywhere and one who sees everything in me.
So, essentially, if you look at the content of these two verses, what is being said is the same in 29 and 30. But that abstract conception is replaced by mam. So, we see a very clear progressive evolution.
Now, and Krishna says, now some people may say actually this is not a higher reality, that is a higher reality after that. But Krishna makes it very clear that one who sees like this, he is never lost to me, nor am I ever lost to him. That means this is the highest reality.
That once this is attained, there is nothing more to be attained, there is nothing to be lost once this is attained. This is the highest reality. And in case there is some still ambiguity, Krishna makes explicit the correlation between 29 and 30 in the next verse.
So, in the previous verse, what was said? That, okay, he sees that absolute truth in all living beings. And he says, now you see me in all living beings. So, next verse he says, one who sees me and that reality in all living beings should be the same.
That person is always situated in me. So, it is very clear in the next verse. So, here Krishna is telling that this is referring to, so 31A is referring to 29.
This is referring to sarva-bhutasthitam yo mam. So, sarva-bhutasthitam yo mam. That living being is sarva-bhutasthitam and me, one who understands that they are one.
He understands them to be one. So, although the word ekathvam is like a feast for Mayawadis, in this context, it is not a feast. You know, it is unpalatable for me.
Because what Krishna is telling over here is that ekathvam is between them and that absolute truth which is all living beings. And one who understands ekathvam, sarvadha-vartamanu, in all situations. So, yogi, again, mayi-vartate.
Somebody says, okay, when you understand that Brahman and that Bhagwan is one, then you will attain that Brahman. No, Krishna is smashing that hope by saying, you will attain me. That mam is coming twice.
It comes in A and it comes in D also. And that presence in D makes the point very clear that living in Krishna is the highest reality. There is no reality beyond Krishna.
One who understands, the Mayawadi idea is that, okay, you can worship some form, but then when you become advanced, you will go beyond the form to the formless reality. Then you will understand the form and the formless are one, but the formless is not. Krishna is telling, yes, the form and the formless, it’s another use of form and formless, the all-pervading and me.
The all-pervading and me are one. But when you understand that, you will live in me. It’s not that you will live in the all-pervading reality.
So, that means, Krishna is telling that mayi-vartate, that actually I am that highest reality. So, even in this chapter on yoga, Krishna makes it very clear that he is the highest reality. That is the perfection of yoga.
And of course, this becomes very clear again in the last verse of this chapter, 6.47, where he says, you all know this verse, you can recite it, yoginamati sarvesha madhya, together, yoginamati sarvesha madhyate antaratmana shraddhavan bhajate yo ma samayukta tamo mataha. So, this verse also has lot of significance because it comes at the end of this chapter, first of all. And then, there are many superlatives in this verse.
The superlative is good, better, best. So, when there are superlatives, then that indicates that it is talking about a highest state. So, first is Krishna is saying sarvesha, among all yogis.
So, it is a very important point. Because there is somebody Bhakta is advanced, but there is somebody more advanced. Yoginamati sarvesha.
And then not only that, it says yukta tamo mataha, they are most intimately united. So, you have the yukta, yukta tara and yukta tamo. So, both this, among all yogis, those who meditate on me are the most intimate.
So, this makes it very clear that this is referring to Bhakta. And bhakti is the culmination of other ones. So, now after describing this, the sixth chapter ends.
See, the names of the chapters in the Bhagavad Gita and the divisions that say this refers to karma, this refers to gyan, this refers to bhakti, that is a conceptual tool used by the acharyas to explain the medium of life. Now, when Krishna was speaking the Bhagavad Gita, he did not yatha, tritiyo, adhyaya, ataha, saptamo, adhyaya. No, it is a natural conversation.
In Ashutosh Swami, in his Abhadhu commentary raises the question that are the scriptures the literal reports of the conversations that took place? For example, say Ram is talking with Sita. So, say is it that this is exactly the word that Ram spoke and is exactly the word that Sita spoke? He says that there are, he raises this issue and there are several problems with the idea that scriptures are literal reproductions. Because if you see generally the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, they are in poetic format.
And it is not that everybody all the time talks in some other poetry. And that too rhyming poetry, isn’t it? Another problem is, he raises, the issue is raised that actually, okay, you can say that the Ram, Sita, Lakshman, they were cultured people. And they could speak in poetry.
But you know, what about Shabari or Jatayu or Sugriva or Angada, do they all speak Sanskrit? And do they all speak poetic Sanskrit? All the time? So, he explains that actually the scriptural conversations are poetic renditions of the original conversations. They are poetic renditions of the original conversations. And he explains further that it is not that all the characters in the scriptures necessarily speak in Sanskrit.
They may speak according to the vernacular languages also. Then the question arises, then why do we consider the words of the scriptures to be so significant? For example, there is some word of Vyajastuti. You know, if you say, Indira is saying Pandita, Panditamanina, Alisha.
So, if it is all like that, then he is saying that, Shakarathipala explained that actually this word is, he is intending to say this, but it means this. So, he explained that the significance of the word in the scriptures is because the renditions of the Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva is the literal incarnation of the Lord and he is given the benediction of omniscience by which he can not only report what has happened, but he can also understand the import of those words and phrase them in the precise language that is required to convey it.
So, the scriptures are not the literal reports of the conversation that they could play, but nothing is lost in the transition because the renditioner is Vyasadeva. However, he makes the point that the Bhagavad Gita is not a report. Bhagavad Gita is a literal rendition.
It was actually a poetic conversation. So, both Krishna and Arjuna, it was common in the Vedic context at that time for people to know poetry also. So, they may not always speak in poetic format, but as far as the Gita is concerned, it is a literal rendition of the conversations.
So, Arjuna spoke exactly the same word and Krishna spoke exactly the same word that was given to him. And how do we know that? That is because the Mahabharata itself refers to it as a Gita. It refers to the Mahabharata Gita as a song.
That means this was a song and it was presented as a song. It was spoken as a song between the two conversationists. So, now the point which we are discussing over here is, I was saying that the division of the Gita into various sections, it is not there originally in the Gita.
It is not, okay, this chapter ends, this chapter starts. It is a living conversation that is going on. But to help us understand that conversation properly, there is this conceptual division that is done.
So, we know that the first six chapters are talking about karma. The next six chapters are talking about bhakti. The last six chapters are talking about jnana.
So, now what is the basis of this division? Actually, it is based on the content itself. Although this division may not be intrinsic, it is organic to the Gita. Intrinsic means, actually, it is directly there in the note.
This chapter ends, this chapter starts. It is not intrinsic. But this division is organic because if you look at the content of the Gita, then we will see that actually the kind of points that are mentioned, they vary significantly based on the chapter that is going on.
So, chapter-wise, section-wise, division of the Gita may not be intrinsic, but it is organic. Now, let us understand how it is organic. So, now if you see the first chapter, first verse of the seventh chapter, it starts off on a different note entirely.
Now, Krishna is, for the first time in the Gita, talking about attachment to people. So, let us recite that for everyone. So, yes.
Okay, 6.32, I did not expect a good point. 6.32 does not exactly talk about Bhagwan. What it talks about is Atma Upamaya Sarvasana Sampashyati Yogya Sukhamva Yajivaduttam Suryogi Paramahamsa.
That talks about compassion, where one sees all living beings equally and one wants to make everyone similarly happy and understand that, okay, I am unhappy because I am disconnected from Krishna. Similarly, others are unhappy because they are disconnected from Krishna. I became happy by connecting with Krishna.
Therefore, others will also become happy by connecting with Krishna. So, the point of the connection of that verse is that actually one does not see absolute oneness and versatile oneness. One sees all living beings and wants to do good to all living beings.
So, in that sense, the perfect yogi that Krishna talks about is not the yogi who simply merges in a dhyana. It is a yogi who works out of compassion. So, in that sense, that verse also emphasizes the duality.
We and God are different and all living beings are different. And the Mayavadis always have this difficulty. If all of us are one, if you become liberated, why do not I become liberated? If all of us are one, you know, they say that we are one but still you are not I. All of us have become individually realized, they added.
But there is no concept of individuality because there is one this. But here it says that, okay, when one is liberated, one has others to become liberated. Clear? So, now, here for the first time, the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna is talking about himself.
And you know, earlier, actually here there are, earlier I saw in 6.30, there are two references to Yoma Pashyat. There were actually three references to Ma, Me and Mahadev. Here also there are three references, but these three references are very important.
First is fix the mind on me. And not just fix the mind on me, make the mind attach to me. There is a difference between the two.
So, earlier, the idea was that the Krishna can be the object of yoga, meditation, but Krishna can be the object of attachment. So, till now, the previous six chapters are talking about become detached, become detached, become detached. And even fixing the mind on Krishna was talked about as a tool for attachment.
That the whole mood in the Skita Prajna section of the Gita in 2.61 is, you have to control the senses and you won’t be able to control the senses unless you fix yourself on some higher reality. Therefore, fix the mind on me. But the focus is not fixing the mind on me, the focus is on controlling the senses.
And fixing the mind on Krishna was a means to controlling the senses. Whereas here, this subject changes. Krishna says, make yourself attach to me.
And then, not only that, he says, you will gain knowledge of me. So, actually, here Krishna is talking about innocence. Krishna talks about we will discuss that when it comes to it.
So, Krishna says, fix the mind on me, gain knowledge about me and take shelter of me. So, here he is talking about the mind, the intelligence and the heart, all three. The mind, mayya sattva manah, samshaya samagram mam jnastati, that is the intelligence.
And madhashaya, take shelter of me, that is the heart. So, Krishna is talking about a complete positive connection with me. And this has not been talked about.
And actually, this verse is what ultimately the whole six chapters lead to. The remaining six chapters will culminate in this point, how one can become mayya sattva manah. And this, there is a cyclic sense to the six chapters.
And this cyclic sense comes back in 12.8. When Krishna says, mayy eva manah tat tvam mayy bhajjam ne vaishaya, divadisyasi mayy eva ata urdham na samshaya. So, what he has said here, that mayya sattva manah, the same thing is here, mayy eva manah, that is work. So, how this can be done, this will be described in the next six chapters.
So, but here the point is, from the 7th chapter onwards, Krishna talks about himself in a very direct, from the 7th chapter onwards, very direct and emphatic way. So, now let us look at the 7th chapter, there are so many references of Krishna to himself, that we won’t be able to go through all of them. In fact, the whole 7th chapter is fixed with, is filled with references to himself.
Because Krishna will talk about how mattah parasaram nanyam in 7.7. And along with that, he will talk about how material spiritual world is comprised of my energies. But let us focus on the most important verses in the 7th chapter, especially we are trying to understand what is Krishna’s position at the beginning. So, in the 7th chapter, there is no ambiguity, there are no first person and third person references, there are directly first person references throughout.
Throughout there are mattah parasaram nanyam is a very direct, very direct evolution. In the commentary to 7.7, ask this question. And you may know this question will go in the Vashi commentary also.
He says, Krishna is telling there is no higher reality than me. He says, I will have the idea that there is the saguna brahma and there is nirguna brahma. There is the formless absolute and there is the form, the absolute to be formed.
And they have the idea that the nirguna brahma is higher than saguna brahma. So, there is a question, when Krishna is speaking to Arjuna and he is saying maam, now he is saying maam, is this the saguna brahma speaking or is this nirguna brahma speaking? If it is the nirguna brahma speaking, then there should be no form there. Isn’t it? So, it is obviously saguna brahma speaking.
If the saguna brahma is speaking, the absolute form is speaking, then he is saying there is no truth higher than me. What does it mean? So, after that Baldevji gives a very surprising conclusion. He says this whole conception of saguna and nirguna brahma is a concoction.
Because he says, brahma is always nirguna. It may seem that he is talking about biologic terminology. He says, brahma is always nirguna, brahma is never saguna.
What does it mean? He says, actually, the word guna has two meanings. We will discuss this in another lecture. One is qualities and the other is modes.
So, he says nirguna refers to beyond modes, not beyond qualities. Why? Why beyond modes and not beyond qualities? Because the very idea that, okay, brahman is sat-chit-ananda. So, ananda is also a quality.
Chit is also a quality. Sat is also a quality. If brahman were entirely beyond qualities, then we would not be able to speak about brahman.
Because brahman would be entirely beyond speech. But the Vedas do speak about brahman. The Upanishads do speak about brahman.
So, therefore, 7.7, what it does is, it establishes Krishna’s supreme position. There is nothing higher than him. What it does is, it says that, there is nothing higher than him.
And the whole 7th chapter goes on in this way. And it talks about how Krishna is the goal of everything. And we have to surrender to Krishna.
It is 7.14, it talks about how you have to surrender to me to come to me. But then after that, the most critical verses for our context is 7.24. 7.24, let us recite it. It is a very important verse.
Most of you know it. So, So, this is, again the Mayavadis have the idea that the brahman is a higher reality. And they say, okay, the brahman is temporarily become Bhagwan, become a bad, a vile form.
But one who thinks like this is a Upanishad. He is having no intelligence. And they do not know, So, actually, the 7th chapter is very, very clear.
And after this also, in case, the Mayavadis try to misinterpret this verse. But the next verse means, He is not saying, I am not known to everyone. And then, as if this is not clear, Next verse is that, I know everything.
And we know and know. So, this verse, 24 to 26, again emphasizes the same point. That there is no reality higher than Krishna.
So, now, after this, there is a progression in the thought of the Gita. I will not take the remaining 7 chapters. What we will do is, we will try to go to the 8th chapter today.
And then we will stop. In future classes, 8 chapters. But in the progression of the Gita, you remember, in the 6th chapter, Krishna has not made it very clear that he is the goal of yoga practice.
He is the object of meditation of yoga practice. But in the 8th chapter, Krishna makes that clear. So, actually, in the 6th chapter, Arjuna asks the question that, you know, this yoga practice is very difficult.
So, what is the alternative? Krishna does not tell. Krishna says, you keep practicing. It is difficult when you practice it.
The alternative, he will tell in the 8th chapter. So, let us look at the important verses from the 8th chapter now. So, now, in the 8th chapter, what is the 8th chapter called as? Attaining the Supreme.
Yes. So, there, Krishna talks about meditating on him by which you return to him. Now, Krishna drops a surprise at the end of the 7th chapter by using several terms which are not very easily comprehensible.
But the significance of all those terms is that those terms are centered on Krishna. So, maan is very prominent throughout the 7th chapter. So, I am not emphasizing that.
But those lead to the start of the 8th chapter. And when the 8th chapter starts, there also again Krishna says, remember me. And then you will come to me.
But then now our focus is to try to understand is Krishna the goal of meditation in the path of yoga. So, that becomes very clear in several verses. There is only one verse in the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna says, the process is easy to practice.
And that is 8.14. So, let us recite 8.14. I think most of you know it. So, Krishna is telling, the only place where he says it is easy, sulabha, easily obtained. He says, I will be easily obtained by the practice of yoga.
The one who remembers me, he will attain me very easily. Now, why is he telling this over here? Actually, if you look back, you see, like most of us know the 12th chapter comparison, where Krishna compares worship of impersonal Brahma and worship of himself. And then worship of impersonal Brahma and himself, they show big transformation.
Whereas, if you worship me, I will take you automatically. Krishna talks about it. Comparison 12.5, 6 and 7. There is a similar comparison which is going on in this section.
So, this that you will attain me very easily, this is actually in contrast with the path of yoga. So, let us look at what Krishna is talking about with respect to the path of yoga. So, he describes the path of yoga in the previous verses.
And then he describes it very large, sarva-dharan, dhanyamya and he practiced brahmacharya, do pratyahara, do pranayama, all this he describes in the previous verses. And then also, so what is happening over here is, we do not know about all the verses, but let us look at the previous verse, which says, omitne kaksharam brahma, ya harinma manusmaram, ya prayatika jandevam, sayati paramangatim. So, here Krishna is still going ahead with the idea of the yogi, meditating on him as a tool for spiritual realization.
So, it is the yogi is omitne kaksharam brahma, he is uttering om, but along with that, what is he doing, mam anusmaram, he is remembering him. So, in the process of yoga-mishra bhakti, what is happening is, Krishna is not necessarily the goal of meditation, but he is the object of meditation. So, mam anusmaram, but then what will happen by that, he is not telling that, okay, you will attain me, he is going along with the yoga, sayati paramangatim, you will attain the supreme destination.
What is that supreme destination, not clear over here, but what is clear is that, one has to remember Krishna. Only when one remembers Krishna, one will attain the supreme destination, whatever that is. But then in the next verse, Krishna gives an alternative way.
So, if you look at the verses prior to this, it will say that it is a long and cumbersome process. But Krishna says, even by following a cumbersome process, you have to remember me. And only when you remember me, you will come to me.
But then in this verse, he makes it clear that, in the next verse, actually, you do not have to do all that, you just fix your mind on it. Instead of doing om, instead of doing brahmacharya, instead of doing pranayama, instead of doing bhaktiya, just anand chetah jatam yo mam smaranam, that is the next verse. So, what happens in 8.13 and 8.14 is that, so we are chapter 8. So, 8.10 to 8.13 states that yoga mishra bhakti is difficult, whereas 8.14 says that ananya bhakti is easy.
So, in this way, essentially what Krishna is doing is, telling that you do not have to go through that whole progressive ladder, you can just start and practice the process of bhakti directly. And in this way, he establishes the supremacy of bhakti in the 8th chapter. And of course, this goes on further in the 8th chapter, where he will talk about mahamudra, kshatriya, nirjanda, dukkha, abhijatra in the next two verses.
There is no other destination is as good as attaining maya. So, you see, this is just a small significant point which I will conclude now. See, 8.13 refers to paramgati.
But there, what that paramgati is not very clear. But in 8.15 and 8.16, that becomes very clear. So, he says, by worshipping me, you will go beyond the cycle of birth and death.
You will attain my abode. So, 8.15 says that paramgatim is my abode. So, in this way, Krishna takes the progression higher and higher and establishes the supremacy of his abode, supremacy of devotion to him and a supremacy of his manifestation at the personal absolute.
So, we will continue this discussion with you in the future class. Any questions about this till now? Yes. So, this Yogamishwara Makti, Dhruv Maharaj comes in this category? Does Dhruv Maharaj come in the category of Yogamishwara Makti? Not exactly.
Because if you see what he did, because he first went to a guru who was a bhakta, then even while practicing yoga, he would actually, he fashioned a deity, did deity worship, he was uttering mantras which were highly personalistic. So, in that sense, what he was doing was not Yogamishwara Makti, it was bhakti using yoga as a means. It is just like, now in Kali Yuga, bhakti is practiced through Harinath.
That is the primary concrete in yoga, computed. Now, when we say, it is not that there, it is said that in Satyuga, yoga was the means for spiritual realization. Actually, always bhakti is the means to spiritual realization.
Always it is bhakti. But bhakti is practiced by different means as the primary focus. In Kali Yuga, bhakti is practiced primarily through chanting the holy names.
In earlier ages, say, now deity worship is done. Deity worship is itself not one of the yogas. There is no deity worship yoga.
There is dhyan yoga, kadam yoga, jnan yoga. There is no deity worship yoga. And what is happening over there, it is actually practice of bhakti yoga only.
But bhakti yoga is practiced primarily through deity worship. Similarly, yajna is not a separate process of self-realization. Yajna is not a separate process of self-realization.
It is basically a means for practicing bhakti. And similarly, yoga, as it is talked about in the Bhagavatam, in this context, see, yuga dharma is always bhakti. Yuga dharma, it is not that in a previous age, jnan yoga was yuga dharma, or karma yoga was yuga dharma, or dhyan yoga was yuga dharma.
Yuga dharma is always bhakti. But bhakti is practiced in different ways according to the particular yuga level. So, even when Dhruv Maharaj is practicing, he is practicing bhakti, but he is using yoga as a means to practice bhakti.
In Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s book, Prema Pradeep, there is a discussion between, there is a yogidat baba, there are many babajis, they are conversing between them. So, there is this bhakta, there is a Vaishnava who practices yoga as a means for sense control. And then there is another Vaishnava who is this guru.
Then his guru tells him that yoga can be a means for sense control, but yoga, the practice of ashtam yoga can also lead to an increased over dependence on one’s own ability, rather than dependence on Krishna. And that’s why yoga practice may be favorable for sense control, but it is not favorable for the development of bhakti. So, he used to think that a person who practices yoga is higher than a person who does not practice yoga.
But what that conversation illuminates is that actually, for the practice of bhakti, yoga can be a tool. But it’s not always favorable. So, thank you very much.
No, the mantras are all Vishnu-centric. Vishnu-centric. And no sacrifice is performed completely without the offering of oblations to Vishnu.
So, see the rituals that are involved in ashtam yoga, the rituals may not seem to be directly devotional. But the purpose is very clearly devotional. Vishnu is the most important ritual to be worshipped even in the yajnas.
Without worship of Vishnu, the worship will not be there. No, if they are not aware, then that is not a process of self-realization. That is just a karma kandika operation.
See, yoga practice, it will become a means for spiritual realization, for especially God. It will be a yoga dharma only when there is awareness of Vishnu. Well, they will get some benefit, but that will be a jna-sukrti, that will be purification.
But eventually, one has to come to know that Krishna is the Supreme Lord, isn’t it? Again, well, it depends. It’s not necessary that a person will get necessarily liberated, because it’s smaran, it’s not just kirtan. Krishna also says, jnana-taksada tad-bhava-bhavitah.
See, one practice is adequate for getting liberation. But that practice should lead to a transformative understanding. If you see all the examples of people who have attained perfection by one touch, one nipal, if you look at their understanding, they have a clear understanding of the Absolute Truth.
So, you know, if I just practice mechanistically, and I don’t really gain an understanding, and whether I’ll get liberated, and especially when I go out to Bhagawan, surely any practice of bhakti, any linga bhakti, with any understanding, it’s helpful. No doubt about it. But what level of elevation it will lead to doesn’t depend on understanding, personally.
If one doesn’t make, like here we see that the yogis may meditate on Krishna, but if they are meditating on him as a tool, then they will not necessarily go to the Bhagawan. So, just what we are doing is not all-important. Why we are doing it is also important.
Prabhupada also says, Maharaja also quotes in that, Krishna is not concerned with what we offer as much as the intention with which we offer, the sincerity with which we offer. So, that will not just affect only to the school that we are offering, but that also applies to sadhanas that we are practicing. I am remembering Krishna, but for what purpose? Previous Kali Yuga? Yeah, but it’s not in Hare Krishna.
No, that time there is, see, that Shukla, that four colors are there, as described in the Garga Muni’s prediction. So, in every Kali Yuga, incarnation comes who is golden complexion. But that is not Lord Chaitanya.
That is actually called as Gaura Narayana. So, it’s Lord Narayana in a Gaura complexion. And he teaches the Yuga Dharma of Kalavata Dharikirtana is always there for all Kali Yugas.
But he does not reveal Madhurya Bhakti. What he doesn’t teach? He doesn’t teach Hare Krishna Mahamantra. He teaches chanting of the Bhagavad Gita when Krishna had come.
So, what is the difference then? This Krishna is original Krishna. But he didn’t say anything. No, no, no, no, no.
Krishna comes every day. See, the difference between Lord Chaitanya and Lord Krishna, Lord Krishna is not the Yuga Avatar. He is the Leela Avatar.
See, the Yuga Avatar is coming. Yuga Avatar has to come to teach you Yuga Dharma. And Yuga Dharma has to be taught at the start of the Yuga, not at the end of the Yuga.
Krishna is coming at the end of the Yuga. At the end of the Yuga. At the end of the Yuga.
He is coming with Bapad Gita. There is no point in him teaching you the yuga dharma at the end of the yuga. So Krishna is not a yuga avatar for Kapali Yuga.
In the 6 avatars, there is a yuga avatar and a lila avatar. Both are there, right? Yeah, they are different. There is a different avatar.
It is mentioned in the 11th canto. There is Amrita and there is Gyan. And there is… In the 11th canto, there is a scripture.
What is the name? I will just look in the 11th canto. Lila avatar comes in every yuga avatar. Lila avatar can come according to when they want to perform yuga.
They may have a plan when they come. Not necessarily every yuga they have to come. No, no.
Krishna is not… See, when I say Krishna is not a yuga avatar, it means that he has not come to teach you yuga dharma. When you use Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavad Gita is giving eternal principles according to the context. But Bhagavad Gita is… So, where does Krishna teach deity worship in the Bhagavad Gita? Where does Krishna teach deity worship as a yuga dharma practitioner? He doesn’t.
So, every yuga has a yuga avatar and that is different. And that is not Krishna. Ram comes in Tirtha yuga.
But Ram is not the yuga avatar for Tirtha yuga. He is the lila avatar. He comes in every yuga.
No, no. Lila avatar doesn’t have to come in every yuga. That is why it is mentioned on the 20th.
Correct. So, I am told that all of you have been studying the Bhagavad Gita