Tag: Ayurveda Initiative Global

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 37

 

yathaidhāṁsi samiddho’gnih 

bhasmasāt kurute’rjuna 

jñānāgniḥ sarva karmāṇi 

bhasmasāt kurute yathā

 

As a kindled fire turns its fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge turns all karma to ashes.

 

When fuel is put into a fire, the fuel is burned and disappears. In a similar way, when one has the knowledge of the Self, the ignorance which makes people identify themselves with the body is burned and also disappears. All doubt is removed and all the karma from this life and the past lives is burnt.

 

“O Arjuna, the fire of knowledge.” – when one really wants to surrender to God and attain Him, whatever one does, is only for Him. Every meditation that one does, is only on Him. Every action that one does in the world, is only to serve Him. Like that, one will become like Him. And as He is not bound by any karma, one will also become free of karma through the knowledge of the Self. All His qualities and His tendencies will awaken inside of oneself.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 36

 

api ced-asi pāpebhyaḥ 

sarvebhyaḥ pāpa-kṛtamaḥ 

sarvaṁ jñāna plavenaiva 

vṛjinaṁ santariṣyasi

 

Even if you are the greatest doer of sin beyond all sinners, you shall cross over all the crookedness of evil in the ship of knowledge.

 

The lives of Angulimala, Valmiki and St. Paul the Apostle reflect very much what is mentioned here. Krishna says that those who have surrendered to God, to the Master’s Feet, even if they are great sinners, who don’t have any knowledge of the Self, they will succeed in attaining this knowledge. They will automatically and immediately be redeemed of their sins. Through the Grace of the Master, the divine virtues will awaken in them. They will renounce all sinful acts and they’ll be free. When people take shelter at the Lotus Feet of the Master, even if they are sinful, the Master’s Grace will redeem them. It’s like the Master takes them from the boat which is taking them to Hell, pulls them up and puts them in the boat which will take them to Heaven.

 

The story of Angulimala is very beautiful. He was a terrible criminal who used to cut off the little fingers of everybody who was going into the forest and he would steal everything from them. Everybody was scared of going into the forest. One day when Buddha was passing by, Angulimala went to attack him. Buddha offered him his finger to cut off and he was taken aback thinking, “Why is this one giving me his own finger to be cut off? I have never met somebody like this!” At that moment, through the Grace, he asked, “Why are you not scared of me?” Buddha said, “Well, why should I be scared? Who will you kill? I’m not scared of dying, you can’t kill me. Do you want this little finger? Take it! Do you want to kill me? Take my life! But will you be free? No, you will not be free!” At that moment, Angulimala realised that whatever he had done in his life for happiness hadn’t led him anywhere. He surrendered at the Feet of Buddha, and through the knowledge of the Self, he was freed.

 

It was the same for Valmiki. He was also a terrible criminal, a thief, who had killed many people. Yet he got the Grace of his Master, Narada, and by surrendering to Him, he received the Grace to write the Ramayana. St. Paul, the Apostle, who was killing all the Christians, got enlightened by surrendering to Christ.

 

“… you shall cross over all the crookedness of evil in the ship of knowledge.” Krishna says that the one who is surrendered, even if one has a lot of sins, a lot of arrogance, and a lot of bad karma, through the act of surrendering to the Feet of the Master, by the Grace of God, through the Master, through the Guru, one is freed. Because the Master gives the knowledge of the Self. He gives you the sadhana to do, and when you start focusing on your sadhana, all the past karma will be erased. Furthermore, if one has the knowledge of the Self, Brahma Jyaan, by focusing on the Divine and seeing Lord Narayana Himself inside oneself, one will stop creating any more karma. All the karma gets burned and one is freed.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 35

 

yaj-jñātvā na punar-moham 

evam yāsyasi pāṇḍava 

yena bhūtāny-aśeṣeṇa 

drakṣyasy-a‌tman-yatho mayi

 

Possessing that knowledge, you shall not fall again into the mind‘s ignorance, O Pandava; for by this, you shall see all existences without exception in the Self, then in Me.

 

“Possessing that knowledge, you shall not fall again into the mind’s ignorance.” By surrendering humbly to the Master, and through the Grace of the Master, the Truth is revealed and one doesn’t fall back into ignorance. One perceives the vision of the Divine within oneself, and through that vision of the Divine within, all new karma that is created, is burned off straight away. When one sees unity everywhere, one overcomes grief and delusion.

 

Here Krishna addresses Arjuna as ‘Pandava’. Krishna says to him, “You shall see all existences without exception in the Self, then in Me.” First you perceive the Self, God, inside of you. Then, you perceive the depth of that Truth: “Everything is in My cosmic Body, there’s nothing outside of Me. It’s all in Me.” When one has the knowledge of the Self, when one has realised the Truth about God, one will not fall back into delusion. One perceives and recognises the Self as all-pervading and infinite, and treats all as one treats one’s Self. That’s what Christ says in the Bible: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbour as yourself.” When one perceives this Love of God inside, one will automatically love everyone.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 34

 

tad viddhi praṇipātena 

paripraśnena sevayā 

upadekṣayanti te jñānaṁ 

jñāninas-tattva-darśinaḥ

 

Learn that by worshipping the Feet of the Teacher, by questioning and by service; the men of knowledge who have seen the true principles of things, will instruct you in knowledge.

 

Here He says that if you approach an enlightened soul, a Guru, and prostrate yourself at the Feet of the Guru, render service, and with a humble heart, show that you are interested in being enlightened by the Guru, and in letting your heart be guided by the Guru, He will instruct you in this divine knowledge, the knowledge of the Self. There is no other way. The Master will guide you, the Master will carry you.

 

When one always tries one’s best to listen, to live in accordance with the word of the Guru and to surrender to the Will of the Master, one will know the Truth about God and will attain God-Realisation. Here, Krishna says, “Go to a Teacher, go to a Guru who has already attained that state of oneness with the Divine.” Not every guru has attained this state. 

So even Lord Krishna says how important it is to find one’s Satguru in life, and taking shelter at His Feet. Only by surrendering to the Satguru, only by the Grace of the Satguru, will one know the Truth and be free from the bondage of karma; one will be free from the cycle of birth and death and one will attain God-Realisation.

 

Grace is what leads one out of darkness, what frees one from the ignorance of this big ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. Without the help of the Guru, this kind of knowledge is very difficult to attain. Therefore, ask Him the Truth about God. Learn the Truth about God. And have this great urge to know who you are. Do your sadhana! Put in practice what the Teacher is teaching you. If you ask and have humility in your heart, then the Teacher, the Master, the Guru, will guide you.

 

There are many people who say, “Oh, we don’t need a Teacher. We don’t need a Guru.” They will never realise this knowledge. They will never realise that there is something greater than what they see in life.

Most of the people who live in the outside world, don’t know what they have inside of themselves. Sometimes they even forget that they are living beings. They roam the world like robots, forgetting that they have an Atma, a soul inside of them. When you talk to them, they say, “Ah, when we die, we die, it’s finished!” They are not interested in knowing more about life, so they come back again and again. They are bound by the wheel of time.

 

Krishna says, “Learn by serving.” He didn’t say, “Go just sit by the Guru’s Feet and that’s it! Laze yourself around.” Here Krishna says that you will attain good punya, you will attain good merit in life, by faithfully serving the Guru. Be devoted! Always try your best to please Him in every way, by acting in accordance with His wish. It’s through faith, reverence, and by accepting the Master’s guidance with humility, with an open heart, that one attains this knowledge from the Master. Only then will one master this knowledge and get to know about God-Realisation. When a deep longing to achieve something greater than just this mundane life awakens inside the heart, and when one is fully ready with humility, the Master will give the Brahma Jyaan, the knowledge of the Self, to the disciple and guide him.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 32

 

evaṁ bahu vidhā yajña 

vitatā brahmaṇo mukhe 

karmajān viddhi tān sarvān 

evaṁ jñātvā vimokṣyase

 

Therefore, many forms of sacrifice have been extended from the mouth of Brahman. Know that all these are born of work: knowing that, you shall be free.

 

“Therefore many forms of sacrifice have been extended from the mouth of Brahman.” What does this mean? 

 

Knowing the truth about sacrifice, one will be free from the effects of attachment to action; one will be free from karma. Offer everything to the Lord! Let all karma be erased by your sadhana, by your spiritual practice! Bear in mind that all comes from Him, and that He’s the doer of all.

“Know that all these are born of work: knowing that, you shall be free.” Don’t let pride and ego corrupt you. Don’t think that it is you doing the work. Bear in mind that it is Him doing the action. Even if your mind says that you are doing it, surrender also that thought to Him! Offer everything as a sacrifice, from the depth of your heart, to Him! Like that, you will attain Him and be free. You will attain your spiritual body, and in such a state you will eternally enjoy His companionship in Vaikunta, serving Him, loving Him!

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verses 29-30

 

apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ 

prāṇe’pānaṁ tathā’pare 

prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā 

prāṇāyāma parāyaṇāḥ

 

apare niyatāhārāḥ 

prāṇān prāṇeṣu juhvati 

sarve’pyete yajñā-vido 

yajñā kṣapita kalmaṣāḥ

 

Others again who are devoted to controlling the breath, having restrained the prana (the incoming breath) and apana (the outgoing breath), pour as sacrifice prana into apana and apana into prana.

 Others, with regulated diet, are devoted to the practice of breath-control (pranayama). All these yogis know the meaning of sacrifices and through sacrifices are absolved of their transgressions.

 

Here you see that Bhagavan is also talking about Kriya. The aim of Atma Kriya Yoga practice is to attain God-Realisation, to attain the Divine. Here He says that pranayama itself becomes a sacrifice for the sadhak. By controlling the prana, the inhaling and exhaling, your breathing itself becomes a yagna, an inner yagna. So if one remembers the Divine in each breath and is aware that Lord Krishna, Narayana Himself is present, this process is sanctified, and automatically leads one to Self-Realisation.

 

“Others, with regulated diet, are devoted to the practice of breath-control (pranayama).” Here He says that all the yogis who practice various techniques of breathing, pranayama, know that they should regulate their diet. You can’t do pranayama with a heavy stomach! How much you are eating and what you are eating is important!

 

“All these yogis know the true meaning of sacrifice.” When you practice pranayama or Japa Kriya, you should be aware of your breathing. In Atma Kriya Yoga, you learn how to chant Om Namo Narayanaya while breathing in and out. But you should not just do it mechanically! If done properly, this practice becomes a yagna, a sacrifice to the Lord! And you become a yogi. However, while you are chanting the mantra in this way, the aim is also very important. The aim should not be Self-Realisation, but to attain God. If you do it only for Self-Realisation, it will not lead you anywhere. Whereas if you do it with the aim of attaining God Himself, then, automatically, you will become Self-realised.

 

Here Lord Krishna was speaking about Karma Yoga and Jyaana Yoga. All these kinds of sacrifices which I have mentioned, fall into Karma Yoga and Jyaana Yoga. If the aim is to attain God, it doesn’t matter where you are, or what you are doing, however it’s very important how you are doing your duty, how you are doing the offering, with what aim, and with what attitude you are doing it. If it is with pride, it doesn’t reach Him, and one doesn’t get Self-realised. But He says here, that in all these ways, it is very possible to get Self-Realisation! There is not only one way, but the aim is one! The aim is only God! And if everybody understands this aim, one will be free: it doesn’t matter where one is. That’s why at the beginning, Lord Krishna Himself says to Arjuna that each one has been placed in the right place to do their duty. And if one does one’s duty properly, with the attitude of surrendering to the Divine, the Divine will free that person. That’s why He says, “Arjuna accept your duty! And be free.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 28

 

dravya yajñās-tapo yajñā 

yoga yajñās-tathā’pare 

svādhyāya-jñāna yajñāśca 

yatayaḥ saṁśita vratāḥ

 

Others again offer material objects, tapas and yoga as sacrifice, while others, being self-restrained and of rigid vows, offer their scriptural study and knowledge as sacrifice.

 

In this verse, you see that everything can be offered as a sacrifice. “Others again offer material objects.” If those who have material possessions offer whatever God has given them in the form of material things, with an attitude of serving the Divine, it becomes a yagna and becomes sanctified. This will free oneself, even if one is doing Karma Yoga in the outside world. Here Krishna is talking to everybody, including the householders who live and work in outside world, not only to people who run away to the forests or live in ashrams. In ancient times, people had the notion of giving, of participating in the ashram life, by supporting the saints. They would give donations. It’s important that the householders do charity. If they offer it happily, with an open heart to Krishna saying, “Krishna Arpan,” it is considered an act of sacrifice; by having a spirit of serving, one will attain God Consciousness, one will attain God-Realisation.

 

The word ‘tapas’ here means difficult sadhana; activities which involve hardship and endurance, like the yogis who meditate standing on one foot. Krishna says that if one does rigorous penance and yoga, by controlling the breathing, the inhaling and exhaling, one will also attain God-Realisation. But for this ‘tapas’ to be accepted by the Lord as sacrifice, the yogi shouldn’t be focused on self-gain, and they shouldn’t have any sense of possession, attachment or desire. Very often, when people do this austere and strict sadhana, it’s with the motive of personal gain. When we go to Tarapith and visit the cemetery, we see many people practising their sadhana there. This cemetery is considered to be a siddha peeth, so people go there with a personal aim, to gain siddhis. If people do their sadhana with a selfish motive, aiming to just please their own ego, it’s of no use. However, if one is performing rigorous sadhana, with an attitude of surrendering it to the Divine, aiming to attain God alone, one will attain God-Realisation. So, whatever tapasya or charity you do, you must surrender it to God and aim only for Him.

 

“…being self-restrained and of rigid vows, they offer their scriptural study and knowledge as sacrifice.” Here Krishna was talking about the Jyaana yogi, saying that whatever knowledge one gets from the scriptures, one should be aware of the Truth of God. The scriptures describe the glory of the Divine and how to surrender to Him. One should be aware of that and not become proud about one’s knowledge. Like that, one will be free and will attain Him. However, if pride arises out of knowledge, one will not get any benefit; it will not lead one anywhere. One should always use the knowledge for the benefit of society with the right attitude – to help others and be detached from it.

 

Here again, Krishna was speaking about all the phases of life, in the world itself, to help people understand that they should not stop doing their duty. Everywhere there is action, but how the action is done and the attitude with which the action is done, is very important. Remember God in everything you do. And whatever the result, offer it to the Divine.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 27

 

sarvāṇ-īndriya karmāṇi 

prāṇa karmāṇi cāpare 

ātma-saṁyama yogāgnau 

juhvati jñāna-dīpite

 

Some offer the functions of the senses and the activity of the vital energy (prana) as oblation into the fire of the yoga of the controlled mind, kindled by knowledge.

 

Some yogis control the mind and the body through pranayama. By controlling the flow of the vital energy, one becomes detached from the expectations of the outside world and gets the knowledge of the Self; one attains the Supreme Brahman, where the sound OM is perceived. This is called God-Realisation. 

Here the Lord reminds Arjuna that there are many ways to attain God-Realisation. If you practice your pranayama, if you practice your spiritual sadhana, being detached from the result, you will reach God-Realisation. On the other hand, the people who are living in the outside world and practice a dharma which includes also the service – the seva they do, helping others, helping the temple, helping the society, not for the sake of their own self-gratification, but out of love for serving God, when they offer this service as an oblation, as a sacrifice, this also becomes yoga, the yoga of serving. In such a state of sacrifice, one is free.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 26

 

śrotrādīn-indriyāṇy-anye 

saṁyamāgniṣu juhvati 

śabdādīn-viṣayān-anya 

indriyāgniṣu juhvati

 

Some offer hearing and the other senses into the fires of control. Others offer sound and the other objects of sense into the fires of their senses.

By continuous practice of meditation, one’s mind is fixed on the object and as one gets deeper and deeper into this meditation, eventually the mind will get fully absorbed into the Divine, into Brahman and one enters the state of Samadhi. In Samadhi, one reaches the mindless state, loses one’s self into the Absolute and perceives the oneness. In this state, the mind stops working and the senses automatically stop their functions of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste; so there is no creation of any karma. When the mind is fully merged into Him, into the Absolute, one merges into God Consciousness. And that’s what is called Samadhi Yoga.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 25

 

daivam-evāpare yajñāṁ 

yoginaḥ paryupāsate 

brahmāgnāv-apare yajñāṁ 

yajñenaivopa-juhvati

 

Some yogis resort only to sacrificing to the gods. Others offer sacrifice into the fire of Brahman solely by means of sacrifice.

 

“Others offer sacrifice into the fire of Brahman solely by means of sacrifice.” The sacrifice itself is Brahman. If one has the knowledge that one’s duty is to free oneself from attachments and desires for the fruit of action, and that one’s only aim is God-Realisation, is to receive a vision of the Lord, then one will attain the supreme state.

 

“Some yogis resort only to sacrificing to the gods.” Here again, Lord Krishna is referring not to God, but to the demigods, the devas, the entities of nature. He says that some people always pray to gain material things. They are constantly doing rituals, and offering sacrifices, but their minds, due to ignorance, are focused on personal gratification. They are far from Realisation because their minds dwell so much on the outside world, they will never find God within. They think that it would be a sin to consider that God is sitting in their hearts. They don’t realise the omnipresence of God. These people, these yogis, these priests, even if they are doing the sacrifices wholeheartedly, their aim is wrong and due to that, they are in ignorance. But the ones who do sacrifices, practice bhakti and serve the Lord, contemplating the Truth, their soul attains the Supersoul, Narayana Himself, and they will never be born again. The ones whose minds are focused on Narayana will never be born again in this world of duality. They will perceive even the formless God, the absolute divine aspect, the true bliss. They will perceive that they are not separate from this Reality and that everything is interconnected together, in the One, in the Supreme cosmic Being.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 24

 

brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma-havir 

brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam 

brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ 

brahma karma samādhinā

 

Brahman is the instrument, Brahman is the oblation; by Brahman is the oblation offered into the fire of Brahman; Brahman alone is to be reached by one who meditates on Brahman in one‘s works.

 

This verse is the food prayer. For the bhakta, everything is an act of sacrifice to the Lord: there is no difference between the bhakta and what he’s doing, and there is no difference between the bhakta and God. He sees Brahman, the Divine, inside of him.  

He sees that it is the Divine who is doing everything.

 

“Brahman is the instrument.” Brahman is the act of sacrifice. Brahman is the goal, “Brahman alone is to be reached by one who meditates on Brahman.” So He says, “Go and reach that state!” That’s the only thing one has to practice to reach God-Realisation, nothing else. Such a state is Self-Realisation or God-Realisation. Place God first in everything that you do. Realise that this body is the instrument which God has given you for the soul to attain Him; realise that the mind, the oblation which is offered into the fire of Brahman, the mind which is offered into the intellect, through Bhakti, is Him. Realise that in the deepest core, through this knowledge of the Self, only Brahman abides.

 

“Brahman alone is to be reached by one who meditates on Brahman in one’s works.” Krishna says that the aim of meditation is to perceive the Lord everywhere, at all times – not only when you sit for meditation, or when you sit for japa saying, “I’m doing japa now. I’m with God now and after that, God is off.” No.

There is a joke which says, “God is always with people, whether people want it or not. But people are not always with God.” However, someone who is realised has already attained the state of realising that everything, wherever one goes, whatever one does, is only Him. Whatever one is doing, it is Him doing it: every step, every thought, everything. If one doesn’t self-judge oneself, one will see that it is only the Lord Himself taking every step, doing every action. It is only He who is meditating on Himself. When you look at Lord Shiva, what is He doing? He is in a state of meditation. 

 

In the story I told you before when Narayana is meditating, He is energising all of creation within Himself. (Ch. 1, v. 28-30) This is the true state, when one realises that everything is the Lord Himself, inside this physical body; the action that one does, and what one will attain from that action, are all Narayana Himself. There is nothing which is not Narayana. When we see with the mind, we see the duality, we see the difference, we have judgement. But when we see with the eyes of knowledge in the heart, when we train our mind to look from the inside out, to see like the Great Observer sees, we will perceive that there’s only one reality. In everything around us, everywhere, there’s only One Reality – Narayana. And this should be the object of our meditation – to perceive the Divine everywhere.

 

When you start training yourself to see that, of course, at the beginning it will be difficult, and the mind will rebel. But if you practice this and it becomes your aim, your focus, you will be full of energy, because that’s the Self Itself.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 23

 

gata-saṅgasya muktasya 

jñānāvasthita cetasaḥ 

yajñāyā-carataḥ karma 

samagraṁ pravilīyate

 

When a man who is liberated, free from attachment, with his mind, heart and spirit firmly founded in the knowledge of the Self, does works as sacrifice, all his work is dissolved.

 

When an action doesn’t create any attachment, it loses its capacity to cause any harm. That’s why Krishna says that the action is ‘dissolved’. Such is the state of a karma yogi. When one is fully dedicated to the Divine, one is liberated. At the moment this knowledge of the Self appears, it embraces all, and reduces to ashes all the effects of karma. In this state, action is burned in the fire of knowledge: when one doesn’t have attachments, sense of possession or any desire for the fruits of the action, even the past karma is burnt away.

 

When one is practising Atma Kriya Yoga, all the karma is burned. The moment it appears, it immediately disappears, so it doesn’t give ways to delude the mind, it doesn’t give ways for the sadhak to deviate from his path of surrendering.

 

“… all his work is dissolved.” When one is not attached to any other aim than God, all that one does is for the sake of serving God. In that state of serving the Lord, one doesn’t create any new karma. And when there’s no new karma created, the karma from the past also starts to burn and one is released from past samskaras.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 22

 

yadṛcchālābha santuṣṭo 

dvandvātito vimatsaraḥ 

samaḥ siddhāvasiddhau ca 

kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate

 

He who is satisfied with whatever gain comes to him, who has passed beyond the dualities, is jealous of none, and is equal in failure and success, is not bound even when he acts.

 

In every action, the one who is free doesn’t create any karma. He’s “beyond the dualities”, he doesn’t have any jealousy. Jealousy is something terrible. It’s through the evil of jealousy that one criticises, one aims to harm others, one starts to compare oneself with others, one goes into deep judgement and becomes miserable. But the evil of jealousy doesn’t affect the one who is beyond the duality. In that state, there’s no jealousy and one becomes “equal in failure and success.” A wise one, a yogi, doesn’t give way to this entertainment of the mind. Whereas other people, even if they think that they have known the scriptures and understood them, if they are still attached to the objects of the senses, jealousy stays hidden in them and their knowledge is corrupted.

 

For those who have not yet risen above the duality, whatever they know about the scriptures is useless, because in everything that they do, there is always comparison with others. That’s why Krishna says that a wise one, someone who is on the spiritual path, should not judge or criticise others; one should not even compare one’s own spiritual practice with others. Be free from that! Because in the state of jealousy, one may appear to love, one may appear to respect, but it will just be out of cunningness. For example, very often friends love each other, no? But there is also jealousy in it. If one of them gets something, the other one automatically, feels a small dislike inside and thinks, “Ah, why him and not me?”

 

Jealousy is considered to be a vice. The karma yogi who is doing his duty and has gone beyond duality, has overcome jealousy; “he is not bound even when he acts.” Lord Krishna says that even in one’s action, when one is free from this bondage of jealousy and is surrendered to the Supreme in every action, in whatever one does, there will be no comparison and one is free from karma.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 21

 

nirāśīr yatacitt-ātmā  

tyakta sarva parigrahaḥ 

śarīraṁ kevalaṁ karma 

kurvan-nāpnoti kilbiṣam

 

He has no personal hopes; does not seize on things as his personal possessions; his mind and body are under perfect control; performing action by the body alone, he does not commit sin.

 

When the body, the mind and the heart are in complete control and completely surrendered into the divine rhythm, whatever action one does is a service, a prayer to the Lord. When you practice yoga in such a state, without expecting a result, you can be a householder or a recluse. You can be anywhere in the world, and you will not create any karma. You can do whatever you want, and you are free! You can dance naked, people can beat you up, it doesn’t matter. You are not bound by anything. That’s what you see, for example, in the lives of the fools for Christ. They have renounced everything; they don’t care about anything. It doesn’t matter what they eat or what they drink.

 

One day, Adi Shankaracharya was walking from one village to the other. He would eat whatever people would give him. He arrived in one village that was poor. It was a fishermen’s village, and they only had fish to offer him. Adi Shankaracharya didn’t care what he was eating, because he had full control over the taste. He was above all this. He was completely renounced. They placed the fish in front of him and, of course, his devotees were very happy, because they used to eat fish and were happy that on that day they could also eat fish. Some of them had a great desire for fish because they had not yet fully renounced everything and they were at the beginning of their path. 

 

Adi Shankaracharya called them saying, “Come here, my dears. Prepare this fish for me.” It was prepared and Adi Shankaracharya was eating it, and saying, “Ah, very good!” But then he said to his devotees, “You all are not allowed to eat this.” They became angry and asked, “Why not? You are a renunciate, you should not even eat meat or fish, you can’t take life like that! How dare you! Why can you eat it and we can’t?” Adi Shankaracharya knew what is in their minds. The devotees, very angrily and reluctantly, ate only the few vegetables that were there. They were cursing Adi Shankaracharya throughout their meal, saying all kinds of words and being very moody. After they all left the village, the devotees were still cursing their Master saying, “How dare he do that!” Behind his back, they were even plotting to kill him!

 

Adi Shankaracharya had no desire or craving for anything. He was not attached to any of the five senses, whereas the devotees were fully attached to their senses. When Adi Shankaracharya took food in his mouth, it became Amrit, but they didn’t know that it became Amrit in His mouth. Their minds were full of much delusion and they only saw what was outside; they only saw the outside action that the Master was doing. They criticised him, saying, “this is good” and “that is bad.” They could only see with their minds and they thought that they knew best.

 

Adi Shankaracharya and his devotees went to the next village. He went to a blacksmith. When they were all at the blacksmith’s shop, Adi Shankaracharya asked, “Mr. Blacksmith, please, will you give me a bowl of molten iron? I want to drink it.” The blacksmith gave it to him and Adi Shankaracharya drank it as if it was water. This was molten iron, which was boiling hot, and red in colour. If you drank it, it would burn so much that only your bones would be left. But because of his state of mind, his state of consciousness, and his complete surrender to the Will of God, he had no ignorance, nothing. There was no ego, nothing. For him, everything was equal, so he drank it. 

After he drank it, he turned to the devotees and said, “Do the same.” At that moment the devotees realised their foolishness of judging the Master, the foolishness of thinking that what the Master is doing is right or wrong.

The Masters, even if it appears like something is wrong on the outside, they’re fully aware of what they are doing. And Adi Shankaracharya said, “Here, take it, I have drunk this, you can drink it also.” 

 

That’s why I said, for me, everything is equal. I am in the state of this equality. I don’t expect anything. There is no ignorance, there is no ego, there is no expectation. But the devotees cannot be like this, because they are full of pride, judgement, and so on.  

That’s why I say, “Don’t look at what the Master is doing on the outside, because you will never comprehend how or why the Master is doing things.” The Master is always in accordance with the Will of God. The great souls are always in surrender. They still continue doing their duty in the body, but their minds are completely absorbed in the Divine Self. They are absorbed in Narayana within themselves.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 20

 

tyaktvā karma phalā-saṅgaṁ 

nitya tṛpto nirāśrayaḥ 

karmaṇy-abhi-pravṛtto’pi 

naiva kiñcit karoti saḥ

 

Having abandoned all attachment to the fruits of his works, ever satisfied without any kind of dependence, he does nothing, though (through his nature) he engages in action.

 

After renouncing attachment to the actions and their fruits, the bhakta should give up the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, “I am doing this” and “I am doing that”, because this ‘I’ and this ‘mine’ always refer to the mind and the body. When one surrenders, all this ‘I’ and ‘mine’ have to be removed from the mind. If one has fully surrendered the body, mind and intellect, one should stop thinking that one needs this or that. One should trust and not depend on the world. Having reached this state, having realised this supreme bliss, one doesn’t long for anything from this world. Whatever one needs will be automatically provided. You don’t need to bother about it. You don’t even need to long for Realisation – Realisation will be offered to you on a golden plate! He will say, “Take!” You don’t really need to do much. That’s how sweet it is! That’s what the Bible says. Christ gave His life for the sake of mankind – to give liberation, to give salvation to the people who surrender to Him. He became a doorway to salvation for whoever surrenders to Him and takes His Word. The ones who are completely surrendered to God don’t need to worry about anything, because everything will be taken care of. Doesn’t it happen in your daily life that in the morning you think of something and then during the day, you get it? 

 

This power of attraction has fulfilled it. Isn’t it true? God, seated inside of you, is taking care of every need. He says, “Here, take this, my child! You don’t need to worry about anything. The only thing that you need to do, is to give yourself completely to the Divine. Realise your Self.” That’s what the Bible also says, “Give to Caesar, what belongs to Caesar.” This means give what belongs to this world, back to this world. And give what belongs to God, back to God, with full love and surrender.

When you have achieved this state of complete surrender, He takes care of you. The hermits sitting in the desert or the sages sitting in caves are not scared about whether they will eat tomorrow or not: the Divine takes care of them. The story of St. Paul, the First Hermit, is very beautiful. St Paul was always sitting in a cave in the desert  

of Egypt. He didn’t bother about what he would eat or what he would drink. He was always absorbed in the Divine Consciousness. He was always absorbed in the Love of God inside of him. Every day, a bird would drop a half loaf of bread to him. So the Father in Heaven looks after everything. For the one who is surrendered, there should not be any worry about anything. 

Have you ever heard about Rabia, the Sufi saint and poet? She was so surrendered that whatever she thought about, ‘Ping!’ – it would happen. She did not say, “Oh I want this,” or “I want that.” No. She would say, “It would be nice if…” But she was not attached to any result. Like that, the merciful God takes care of everything when one  

surrenders.

 

For the yogis, it is like this. They perform all actions, but they are not bound by karma. They are ever free. They don’t need anything for themselves. And as God is not bound by the scriptures, the true yogi is also not bound by any Yam or Niyam, any dos or don’ts, mentioned in the scriptures.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 19

 

yasya sarve samārambhāḥ 

kāma saṅkalpa varjitāḥ 

jñānāgni dagdha karmāṇāṁ 

tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṁ budhāḥ

 

Whose undertakings are free from desire, whose works are burned up by the fire of knowledge, him the wise have called a sage.

 

Here Krishna says that a truly wise one has the true knowledge of God, which brings him perfection and discipline.

 

“… whose works are burned up by the fire of knowledge.” As fire reduces everything to ashes, the fire of wisdom reduces all desires to ashes. When one has this wisdom, one is “called a sage”, a saint, by the wise ones. If you take a pan and roast some seeds in it, you can try to plant them afterwards, but they will not grow. A yogi is like this – he has roasted all the seeds of desire, so that they won’t grow. They lose all the capacity to sprout and can’t bear any fruit. How then, can the fruit of action – karma – be created? It can’t be. This is what Krishna means when He says, “…whose works are burned up by the fire of knowledge”, the fire of wisdom.

 

The sage perceives the Truth; he has attained perfection through Karma Yoga. His mind is completely absorbed in the Divine, he is completely surrendered, fulfilling what God wants; he renounces all sense of doership, possession, and attachment. He doesn’t have any expectation about gaining something or not gaining something. So it takes patience, courage, and wisdom to become a sage. It takes time. Nevertheless, everyone can become a sage: when one is completely surrendered, the Divine will shine through one, all the divine qualities will emanate from within one. This will automatically bring one to the state where one is not attached to action, inaction, or anything.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 18

 

karmaṇya karma yaḥ paśyed 

akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ 

sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu 

sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna karma-kṛt

 

He who sees inaction in action and also action in inaction is wise among people. He is fit for liberation and has concluded all actions.

 

Here Krishna says that the secret of liberation is to see inaction in action. The wise person performs his allocated duties, renouncing attachment to the fruit of the action or any sense of possession. If one’s mind is hanging onto the result, one is not free. Whereas, if one performs every action without expectations, renouncing all its fruits, one is not bound by the karma. Such a person is wise among men; he has realised God. He is a yogi because he is doing all his actions with the aim of attaining God.

 

Here, Krishna is also referring to people who have done great sadhana in the past. They had the aim of liberation in their minds, without knowing what liberation actually was, so they were bound to take birth again. Even if they did their sadhana in a state of inaction, they did it with an aim, which made the sadhana become like an action. People on the spiritual path often sing the glory of their renunciation, “I have renounced this. I have renounced that.” They are very proud that they have renounced something, “I feel good! Ah, I have renounced this.” But in reality they have not renounced action: their pride shows that they are still attached to it. Due to that attachment, people take birth again, they come back again.

 

Everybody usually does something to get something. Krishna previously says that when people pray to the devas, they do it with a certain aim; once they get what they have asked for, the connection with the devas is finished. (Ch. 4, v. 12)

 

Here He says that if one has not seen inaction in action, and action in inaction, how can one be free from action? It’s very difficult to understand. Only when one fully surrenders to the Will of the Master and follows His advice, one “is fit for liberation.” When one has let go of all expectations, including the expectation of liberation, one becomes a yogi. But as long as there’s an expectation, even if it is an expectation for liberation, there will be suffering. The mind doesn’t know what liberation is. Focus the mind on God. 

 

People ask, “How will we know God?” Like Krishna Himself says earlier, God is not bound by any form. All these forms that He has created are only Him. Therefore, focus on your aim of attaining only Him. Then, you’re fit for liberation! But if you long for liberation and think that liberation is just freedom, be aware that liberation is not this. These who think like this are considered to be unwise. Whereas when Divine Love awakens, even if you want to understand it, the mind can’t grasp it. Isn’t it true? That’s what happens when one has this deep longing for God. Here Krishna says, “Surrender yourself at the Feet of the Master.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 17

 

karmaṇo hyapi boddhavyaṁ 

boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ 

akarmaṇaśca boddhavyaṁ 

gahanā karmaṇo-gatiḥ

 

For verily one must understand the nature of action (karma), and the nature of prohibited action (vikarma) as also the nature of inaction (akarma) — profound indeed is the way of action.

 

Here Krishna says that one must know the truth about action. It’s only when one surrenders to the Guru’s Feet and takes the advice of the Guru, takes the words of the Guru, that one can know the true nature of duty, “the nature of action.”

 

“… profound indeed is the way of action.” People generally think that action is only outside action: they consider action to be the work people do. Inaction is usually understood as when you suspend all activities and sit for meditation, not doing anything; or you stop talking and calm your body through Hatha Yoga. However, this  

is not real yoga.

 

Here Krishna referred to ‘inaction’ as ‘akarma’. But if you perform ‘inaction’, without the direction and supervision of a Master, you will not achieve anything. You can sit for meditation, you can control your speech, you can control the body, but this is not true calmness, because there is a motive behind it. Even if the mind, speech and body are controlled, if the motive is egoistic, if there is an expectation, it will not lead you anywhere.

The realised ones, the enlightened souls have the true knowledge: they know which action to perform, and with which motive to do it, so it will lead them to complete renunciation, and not only superficially. So that’s why those who are seeking to liberate themselves should surrender to a Guru, who will lead them out of this game of action, inaction, and prohibited action. Prohibited action means action done with deceit, hypocrisy, violence, greed, pride. On the other hand, when people do work with devotion, they are humble. When one is surrendered to the Guru, automatically one is humble; one is ready to accept what the Guru says, which means one has to remove one’s own will and ways of seeing and embrace what the Guru is giving.

 

Of course, the Guru has to have certain qualities, otherwise he can’t help you progress. In the world nowadays, there are so many gurus, so many teachers. There are many gurus who teach yoga, true? But if these gurus don’t teach you to attain the perfection of the soul, and if they just focus on the perfection of the body or the mind, it’s not enough. That’s why I said that it’s very important to know the Guru who can  

help you advance and attain the ultimate reality. There are many learned people in the world who know all the scriptures. Their head is full of book knowledge, but this doesn’t give them liberation, it doesn’t free them. These people fail to determine what their true nature is. That’s why it is necessary to approach a true Guru and surrender to Him.

 

Nowadays, there are many schools of yoga; each one claims that their yoga is better than the others. But when one is realised, one sees that all ways are right, because God puts people where they have to be. So if there is true Realisation, there is no judgement. If one has divine knowledge, one should not have any judgement towards anyone; one should not have any enmity or aggressiveness towards anyone.

 

If people are doing their sadhana, either for their own benefit or to gain something from the world, this can be considered prohibited action and they won’t gain anything from it. Whereas a true Guru teaches one to love God beyond everything and to surrender to God. Then one is free. Otherwise one gets confused. That’s why Krishna says, “Profound indeed is the way of action.” It’s not just by doing a certain yoga that you will attain God, otherwise many people would already be realised. How many asanas are there? Thousands of asanas. But these asanas focus on the physical aspect,

which helps the mental aspect. This is very important, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that it is wrong, but there should also be bhakti in it; bhakti must awaken inside the heart so that you advance towards God-Realisation.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 16

 

kiṁ karma kim akarmeti 

kavayo’py-atra mohitāḥ 

tatte karma pravakṣyāmi 

yaj-jñātvā mokṣyase’śubhāt

 

What is action and what is inaction, as to this, even the sages are perplexed and deluded. I will declare to you that kind of action by the knowledge of which you shall be released from all suffering.

 

Here Krishna says to Arjuna, “A true yogi is beyond action and inaction. They have the true knowledge that there is no action or inaction which is not done by the Will of God.”

 

“As to this, even the sages are perplexed…” If one doesn’t completely surrender to the Divine, even if one is a sage, one will get deluded and not realise the Divine.

 

If we take the lives of sages in ancient times as examples, in the ashram, they would do their daily routine, but they would not think, “I am doing it,” or, “How will I do it?” If the sages would start to think like this, the whole ashram would not function.

 

Krishna says, “I will give you the supreme knowledge. This is not just knowledge for you to know only intellectually. I am revealing it to you so you can get freed from the bondage of karma.” Many know it in the mind and many want to understand it in the mind, yet it’s very difficult to understand.

“What is action and what is inaction?” Whenever you look at things, there is always the game of action and inaction. If you look around, you perceive that there is always judgement of action and inaction. However, Krishna says that if you are wise, you look at everything as if God is doing it. If you are not wise, you will judge whatever happens in the world. Or you will judge what is happening physically in yourself and then you will start having pain and sorrow. Through that judgement knowledge is gone. Life is always like this. When something bad happens, one will not see that oneself is responsible for it. One will say, “Why has God allowed this to happen?” But when something good happens, you don’t say, “O God, why have You given me good things? Why are these good things happening to me?” You say, “I did it! I did it!” Exactly. We blame God for the bad things. No. It’s not God that should be blamed. It’s your mind.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 15

 

evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma 

pūrvair-api mumukṣubhiḥ 

kuru karmaiva tasmāt tvaṁ 

pūrvaiḥ pūrvataraṁ kṛtam

 

Having known this, the ancient seekers for liberation also performed action. Therefore, you also should engage in action alone, as the ancients did in days gone past.

 

Earlier Krishna says, “I am free from everything, yet I do My duty.” He was reminding Arjuna of this again and again. Until the mind is completely subdued, it’s good to remind people continuously.

“The ancient seekers for liberation” were doing their duty, but they were engaged “in action alone” and were not attached to the fruit of their actions. They knew that by mere renunciation of action, one would not be free. They were truly, sincerely detached from the fruits of their actions, so they were truly free. They had realised God seated inside their hearts, so they knew that every activity that they performed as their duty, was done by Him. They were not attached to doership. They lived this knowledge. They would go through the stages of life, performing every duty with a quiet mind, in a calm state, renouncing the sense of possession, renouncing the ‘I’. They would not say, “I am doing this” or “I am doing that.” They were not bound by this ‘I’, or by the desire to gain more. Krishna says, “Arjuna, follow in their footsteps! These great sages attained perfection and liberation. They never thought of running away from their duty saying, “Oh my goodness! I will not do this duty, because this will attach me to the result.” They did their duty, but they were not attached to the result of it.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 14

 

na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti 

na me karma phale spṛhā 

iti māṁ yo’bhijānāti 

karmabhir-na sa badhyate

 

Actions do not taint Me, nor have I desire for the fruits of action; he who thus knows Me is not bound by karma.

Krishna says, “I don’t have any attachment, any sense of possession, or desire for the fruit of My actions”. If one has the sense of possession or desire for the fruit of one’s actions, one will be automatically bound by the law of karma. But the Lord says, “I am not bound by karma.”

 

“He who thus knows Me is not bound by karma.” He says that the ones who are completely surrendered like the saints, who have come to know God’s Reality, by becoming pure and detached, they become like Him and are not bound by any karma. Whoever becomes a yogi, does their daily duty, surrendering it to the Divine. They still do their duties, but are not attached to them and don’t desire the fruit of their actions. They don’t say, ‘I’, ‘I’, “I am doing this!” They don’t let this big ‘I’, the ego, take over. They surrender all their actions, all the punya, everything to the Divine and say, “Krishna Arpanam: I offer all to Krishna.” Like I said in the previous chapter, at night you just need to close your eyes and offer everything to Him saying, “God, if I have done anything good in this day, I am offering it to you.” By offering this good punya, one becomes like Him. That’s why He says, “Whoever is surrendered to Me and attained My Reality; who has seen Me inside the heart, I live in them, and they live in Me. These wise people know Me; for them there is no karma at all. One rises above this limitation and is free.”

 

Maya doesn’t have any effect on the one who gets to know Him, to love Him, to surrender to Him – because He is the Lord of Maya. It is He who wills Maya to be manifested: only then Maya manifests. As the Lord Himself is living in the heart of the devotee, and the devotee has realised that the Lord is present in each action, what power does Maya have over the devotee? Maya doesn’t have any power.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 13

 

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ 

guṇa karma vibhāgaśaḥ 

tasya kartāram api māṁ 

viddhy-akartāram avyayam

 

The system of four castes was generated by Me according to the division of gunas and karma. Though I am the generator, know Me as a non-agent and immutable.

 

Here, Sri Krishna reveals to Arjuna that the system of the four castes is based on the gunas and karma. He places everyone where one has to be, according to the gunas and one’s karma. He determines the birth according to these qualities, so that those who have sattvic qualities are born as very high sages, saints. That’s why I said that a saint is born a saint, because the saints have good qualities, good punya, from past lives. Saint Francis refused to be born inside the house, because he wanted to be born in a stable like Jesus. Saint Francis was born already realised, even though he had to go through a worldly life like a normal person until it was time for his awakening. God was making him ready.

 

Here Krishna says that those who have good karma are born in the Brahmin caste. They have this Grace to be on the spiritual path, to know about God, to be on the path towards God-Realisation. Here Krishna was actually talking about everybody who longs for God. The quality of a Brahmin is to guide others towards God-Realisation, towards loving God. However, nowadays, the so-called brahmins are not doing it. The true Brahmin has the qualities of the Divine and respects all, knowing that God Himself is the One who creates everything and places each one where he should be.

 

Krishna also says that the ones who have rajasic qualities are born as warriors, in the Kshatriya caste. These people have a certain good punya from past lives, but they still have to purify themselves. Due to their good punya, they are born in this world and God allows them to find their way in life.

 

People with a mixture of rajasic and tamasic qualities are born in the Vaishya caste. They are born in this world, they are also on the path, but they are not as far along as the Kshatriyas or the Brahmins. It’s like they are in kindergarten, waiting to move to the next grade.

Then, there are people with tamasic qualities, who are born in the Shudra caste and are far away from the Divine, far away from God Consciousness, from God-Realisation. Even if you talk to them about God, the animalistic qualities are too strong inside of them, for them to listen: they can’t perceive anything and they don’t want to change.

 

Krishna says, “It is I who have created and placed each one in these categories. I am the generator, I am the One who controls these four orders and keeps the natural balance of this system. O high souls, O Brahmins, you should control your minds and senses! You should focus on attaining Me. Kshatriyas, you should fight all the negative qualities inside of you! Vaishyas, you should do your work, accepting it as if God had given it to you. And, O Shudras, you should accept the physical tests of the outside, the difficulties of the outside.” These are the four orders in the society. If one accepts one’s duty and changes oneself, one moves towards God-Realisation.

 

“Know Me as a non-agent and immutable. Man doesn’t have any power over all this; it is only Me who is doing it; I am the Author of creation, but I’m not doing it through pride or any sense of doership. It is happening, yet I am not attached to it.” Krishna remains totally indifferent and unattached to action, whereas when people do something, automatically a certain attachment arises. Krishna says that due to His Maya, His Yogmaya, everything is in accordance with His Will. He is not controlled by the cycles of creation. Whereas creation, which is in Maya, has certain limitations. It’s through Prakriti that His Will is manifested, but He’s ever-free from it. Everything and everybody is under His influence and supervision. Wherever He has placed each one and however He is guiding each one, is perfect. And one has to learn to accept this.

When one learns to accept it, one moves through the stages that I spoke of earlier: Shudra, Vaishya, Kshatriya, and Brahmin. Later on, the Lord Himself will explain that these four castes represent His own Body, His cosmic Self: His Feet are represented by the Shudra caste, His thighs by the Vaishya caste, His arms by the Kshatriya caste and His head by the Brahmin caste. However, this doesn’t affect or touch Him in any way, because He has full supervision over everything. Everything happens through His Will and He manifests Himself through His own Will.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 12

 

kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ 

yajanta iha devatāḥ 

kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke 

siddhir-bhavati karmajā

 

They who desire the fulfilment of their works on Earth, sacrifice to the gods, because the fulfilment that is born of works is very swift and easy in the human world.

 

“They who desire the fulfilment of their works on Earth, sacrifice to the gods…” Here Krishna says that people who are attached to worldly desires, who seek to attain worldly possessions due to the greediness of the mind, can’t long for God. Their worship is only to the demigods, to the devas like Indra, in order to fulfil their desires. The devas are pleased by these sacrifices that people offer them. But once the ritual is done, and the devas have given them what was asked for, finished! The duty of the devas is to give what one has asked for. However, they can only help one on the material level. They can’t bring one to a higher state of Realisation.

 

Here Krishna tells Arjuna, “Don’t pray to these gods! Pray to God and surrender to God.” This is similar to what is taught in the Bible, “Worship your God with all your faith, love, strength.” Krishna says, “These devas are the different qualities of God, but they are not the Ultimate. Don’t focus on the qualities. I am the Ultimate! Forget everything else!”

 

When Krishna was a child, He said to His father, Nanda, “Why are you worshipping Indra and the devas? They are bound by their duty. They have to do their duty. You are praying to Indra for rain, but his dharma is to give rain, whether you pray for rain or not.” Pray to the Ultimate! Pray to Narayana! Pray to God, because He can fulfil you completely, not just a little bit. Because in Him lies everything. And He cares for your advancement, whereas the devas don’t. The moment they give you the boon, the blessing that you asked for, they forget about you. Of course, at that moment you are happy, but you are damning yourself! You are digging your hole even deeper. They don’t care about you, whereas God cares for you. He longs for you! He pines for you! And He wants to save you! He wants you to rise and realise yourself and attain Him! So Krishna says “Don’t waste time with these devas. They are not interested in you at all. Their interest is only to receive your ritual and then it’s finished!” In this way, one traps oneself in this world and doesn’t awaken this real Love for God, this real faith in God. That’s why it’s very difficult for people who are in the material world to have devotion; their minds always revolve around how they can do business with God. Their mind is on business and they want quick results.

 

There is a joke where a business man went to visit a Guru. He arrived in his big car. The Guru was sitting outside a cave. The man approached the Guru and said, “Teach me the meaning of life, but quickly! I have an important appointment in half an hour.” In the same way, people worshipping the demigods want quick results to fulfil only their selfish desires. Focus your mind, your thoughts on God, on the Supreme aspect of the Divine! Then He will look after you. He will take care of you!

 

In the previous chapter, you saw that when the mind surrenders and is completely focused on God, He takes care of you. He carries you! He looks after you. As He takes care of birds, He will feed you in due time. The birds don’t worry. Jesus says this in the Bible, no? Bhagavan says, “Let go of these forms of worship. Don’t give oblations to these devas, but worship Me, the Ultimate! And if you worship Me, I will reciprocate this love, so that you can fulfil your dharma, your life purpose. The devas can’t help you do this.” That’s why I ask you all to chant the mantra Om Namo Narayanaya, so that you can attain Narayana. He’s the ultimate reality. There is nothing higher than Him. He is God Himself. There was no time when God incarnated saying, “Only I am God.” No. God has taken many different aspects. Nevertheless, it’s the same supreme  

reality, Narayana.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 11

 

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante 

tāṁs-tathaiva bhajāmy-aham 

mama vartmānuvartante 

manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

 

As men approach Me or seek Me, so I accept them to My love; men follow in every way My path, O Arjuna.

 

“As men approach Me…” Here Krishna says that whatever Names one calls Him, in whatever forms one worships Him or prays to Him, He will appear and reveal Himself before the devotee, in that form. Before a devotee of Maha Vishnu, He will appear and reveal Himself in the form of Maha Vishnu. Before a devotee of Sri Rama, He will come in the form of Rama. To the devotee of Krishna, He will appear as Krishna. To the devotee of Shiva, He will appear as Shiva. To the devotee of Devi, He will appear as Devi. To the devotee of Jesus, He will appear as Jesus. To those who pray to Him in His formless state, He will also reveal Himself to them accordingly. Because His formless state, which is all-pervading, is also an aspect of Him. He has appeared many times in the forms of different Avatars – Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, and others – to redeem the devotees from desire, from negativity.

 

“… so I accept them to My love…” tāṁs-tathaiva bhajāmy-aham. He reciprocates the feeling of the ones who approach Him. He thinks of the ones who think of Him. He longs for those who pine for Him, who long for Him. Like the Bible also says, God longs for His creation. He longs for everyone to attain salvation. So whoever has this longing, know that it is He who is also longing for you. It happens both ways, but He loves you more than you can love Him. As the devotee who longs for God can’t bear being separate from Him, He also can’t live separate from His devotee. If you can’t live without Him, He also can’t live without you. In such a state of Love, He offers Himself fully to His bhakta.

 

When the Lord manifested Himself in the form of Krishna, the gopas treated Him as a friend and He also treated them as friends. Nanda and Yashoda loved Him as their child. They had Vatsalya Bhav. Even if they were not His biological parents, because they longed for Him as a child, He chose to manifest to them as a child. For Rukmini, Satyabhama, and all His wives, He was the perfect husband. The gopis also loved Him as a lover, so He was the perfect Lover. Hanuman loved Him as a servant, as a dasya, and He looked upon Sri Rama as His Master. This kind of love is called Dasya Bhav. The Lord accepted it and for Hanuman, He manifested Himself as the Master. Like this, when God sees love for Him in the bhakta, He takes different forms to reciprocate this love for Him. This shows that there is no limit to God’s Love. If you develop a certain way of loving Him, He will take any form or any aspect to come to you.

 

“…men follow in every way My path.” Krishna says that it doesn’t matter which path one takes, since all paths lead only to Him.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 10

 

vīta rāga-bhaya-krodhā 

man mayā mām upāśritāḥ 

bahavo jñāna tapasā 

pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

 

Freed from desire, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the austerity of knowledge, many have attained My state.

 

The bhaktas who renounce all desires, fear and anger, the three modifications of the mind, and who focus through dhyaan, through meditation, on seeing the Lord within themselves, they take refuge in Him and serve Him in all their actions.

 

“… purified by the austerity of knowledge…” When one has this knowledge of the Self and merges into it, then Love awakens, then God’s Love is revealed. In this state, people don’t attach themselves to anything except God.

 

Whoever realises this Truth about Krishna, automatically sees and feels Him everywhere. One finds God in every being, in every object, in the whole creation and one becomes ever-free. Like He says in the former verse, whoever has realised the Divine character of the Lord, His birth and activities, is freed forever from all ordinary human imperfections and weaknesses.

 

Due to their exclusive love for God, man mayā mām, the devotees of God, the  

ones who surrender, see and perceive Him everywhere. They realise that Narayana Krishna is inside of them, so they see the world completely differently. When they interact with people, they don’t look at people from the point of view of the mind which judges. People in the world are bound by judgement. Wherever you go, you see, “This is like this, like this, like this….” People are always judging, criticising and pointing their fingers at others.

Bhagavan says, “Many will attain Me.” If one sees the Lord everywhere, there’s not a chance that one will not attain him. That’s why it is important that whatever action one does, one does it with devotion and having God always present in the mind. One has to always try one’s best to not let the ego take over, and when one does that, God Himself will reveal His omnipresence.

 

If Krishna says, ‘many have attained My state’ it means that it is not impossible! Realisation is very much possible, now in this very lifetime! If you have this love for God, know that God also loves you. When two people love each other, each person knows it; you spontaneously have the feeling that the other person also loves you, and there is a connection. But when this intense Prem, this Divine Love of God awakens inside you, then you can’t live without Him! And this drives you crazy: wherever you go, you see Him! In this state of craziness, you are fully liberated! Such a state is Realisation. Ramakrishna said, “If you long for God, like a fish out of water longs for water; or a man who is dying, gasps for air, you will be liberated.” You will become God-realised, you will attain the state of perfection; you will never lose sight of God, because God will always be dancing in front of you. When Meerabai was singing the glory of Krishna, Krishna was always dancing in front of her. A bhakta who is completely surrendered to the Lord through devotion, who sees that every action is just the play of the Lord, the activity of God, also sees that, within himself, it is only Narayana doing everything and acting in every step.

 

“…purified by the austerity of knowledge…” Through the penance of knowledge, one develops deep love for God; in this deep love for God, all the sins and afflictions of the devotee are completely wiped out. This means that when one surrenders and this Love, this Prem awakens, when one attains the Love of God, then all the past karmas, all the ‘old you’ is removed and the ‘new you’ awakens. The mind is freed from imperfections and vices. One starts to reflect the divine qualities, because the Lord Narayana, who a God-realised soul sees within, reflects on the outside. All the divine qualities of Narayana, all the Narayana Tattva, start to manifest through the devotee. When pure Love awakens, when unconditional Love awakens, many attain Him, and then it is Him alone who is living within each person.

The ignorance which makes one feel that one is separate from God or that one has to attain God, disappears, because you have gained Him, and His revelation. Then one never loses sight of Him, one perceives the Divine everywhere, in everything. This is when one becomes Divine, because it is only Him who lives through one. It is only Him who lives through all which is living and non-living. Here I’m using the word ‘non-living’, because He is everywhere, not only in the living. Whenever we make a deity, it is a non-living statue made from a stone. But our faith makes the stone come alive: it becomes Narayana, which means that He is also there, in the stone.

 

When Lord Nrsingadev came out of the pillar of stone, He showed the omnipresence of God, even in inanimate things. A true yogi, like Prahlad, whose mind was always on Narayana, could see Narayana in the pillar because Narayana was also there! Even before Hiranyakashipu broke the pillar, and before Narayana came out as Nrsingadev, He was already there! He was eternally present in the pillar. But Hiranyakashipu could not see Him. One whose mind is blind like Hiranyakashipu, who is full of demonic thoughts, who is turned towards demonic acts, doesn’t see Him. But one whose mind is “purified by the austerity of knowledge”, knows that God is everywhere. This is true knowledge, Brahma Jyaan.

 

When we take a stone, carve it and make a Shiva Lingam, do you think that Shiva was not there before? He was there! When we take a stone, carve it and make a statue of Narayana, was He not there before? He was eternally present there! The murti carver just does his duty, carves the stone, and brings Him out. This reminds me of the words of Michelangelo. When he was asked, “Did you carve this wonderful Pietà?” He replied, “I didn’t do anything. It was already there. I just brought it out of the stone!” In the mind of the great artist, it’s already there. The artist just needs to bring it out. For the bhakta, it is awakened through love.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 9

 

janma karma ca me divyam 

evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ 

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar-janma 

naiti māmeti so’rjuna

 

Whosoever thus knows in truth My divine birth and deeds O Arjuna, is not reborn again, and after leaving the body comes to Me.

 

Here, Krishna told Arjuna that full Realisation will not be attained through one’s own effort. One can try one’s best, one can do one’s sadhana and train oneself to see God in whatever one does, in everything. But only when one is fully absorbed in serving God, will one attain liberation, will one reach Him, will one attain His Grace by His Will. Whoever realises this, is not separate from Him at any moment; after leaving this body, one goes directly to Him. This means that even in this lifetime itself, one can attain the state of a Jivan Mukta, a realised being who walks in this world and is non-attached to the action. Whatever one does, is out of Love for God. Because of one’s great reverence and exclusive love for Him, one will attain Him.

 

When one aims only for the Lord – not for His creation, not for liberation, not for Moksha – one is free. One will attain Him fully. But if you long for liberation, He will only give you liberation. Liberation doesn’t mean you attain Him. He will put you in one of the heavens, in one of the lokas, such as Brahma Loka. When the brahmins who concentrate on the formless God die, they go to the Brahma Loka, where they are bound by the life cycle of Brahma. When the lifetime of one Brahma is finished and another Brahma is born, they are also born with Him. They are bound by this cycle of time.

 

The Lord says, “If you come to Me, if you attain Me, you will be eternally present with Me.” There will be no chance of you coming back again into this world. Those who do their work with an attitude of surrender, knowing that only God is the doer, will attain Him. Whoever surrenders, sees that whatever Lord Krishna does, is for the good of this world. Every activity of His, is for the upliftment of humanity. He has also given the Gita for this. Whoever surrenders to the Word of the Gita and practices its teaching wholeheartedly, with love in their hearts, is free, and attains Him.

 

“… after leaving the body comes to Me.” In that state, you will never take birth again. That’s why I was saying, “Great is the Vaishnava who is completely surrendered to the Lord.” The quality of a Vaishnava is to surrender to the Lord and attain Him. But the action of a Vaishnava is also very important. It’s not just about saying, “I love God! I love God! I love God!” You also have to serve Him. You have to have this deep knowledge through meditation that He is the core of the Self in each person: you have to train the mind to see Him in everybody and in everything. Therefore, one is not waiting to die to attain Him, to realise Him. No. Now, in this moment, do everything to see Him, do everything to feel His Love. Whether you attain Him now or not, don’t be concerned about it. Let Him give you whatever is needed. Learn to accept it. It’s not only after you leave the body that you will attain God. No. First you attain Him now in every moment of your life. Then, after death, there is no rebirth: you are out of the wheel of birth and death, you are not anymore in this drama, in this game. You are in the Lord, in His cosmic Body. There’s no way that you will incarnate here again, because you are completely free from karma.

 

The song Vaishnava jana to, written by Narsinh Mehta, describes the qualities of a Vaishnava, and is very much related to this chapter. The translation in English says, “One who is a true devotee of God, who is a Vaishnava, feels the pain of others. They help those who are in misery, but never let ego or pride enter their minds. A Vaishnava respects the whole world. They do not censure anyone. They keep their words, actions, and thoughts pure. The mother of such a soul is blessed. A Vaishnava sees all equally renounces greed and avarice, views others as members of one family.

Their tongue might get tired, but they will never speak falsehood. Their hands will never touch the property of another. A Vaishnava does not succumb to worldly attachments; they are detached from worldly pleasures. They are enticed by the name of Sri Rama. The holy sites of pilgrimage are embodied within them. A Vaishnava has no deceit and has renounced all types of lust and anger. The author of this poem, Narsinh Mehta, would be grateful to meet such a soul, whose virtue liberates their entire lineage.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 8

 

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ 

vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām 

dharma saṁsthāpan-ārthāya 

saṁbhavāmi yuge yuge

 

For the deliverance of the good, for the destruction of the evil-doers, for the enthroning of the right, I am born from age to age.

 

“The sādhūnāṁ, the ones who observe non-violence, and truth; the ones who have their thoughts on Me; the ones who perform sacrifice, charity, austerity; the ones who practice yoga; the ones who do good to others; the ones who are friends of God, devotees of God, to them I give full protection. I come to save them so that they don’t fall into illusion, so that they don’t delude themselves. I come to deliver them from wicked, evil-minded people, and demons. I come to purify and pacify them.” Here Krishna is calling everybody who is on the spiritual path sādhūnāṁ: they’re like the sadhus who long for the Divine. This longing for the Divine is the first step on the path to God-Realisation. He says, “If you have this longing for the Divine, I will send all kinds of help to deliver you, to support you. I will guide you on your spiritual path.”

 

“For the destruction of the evil-doers,” for the destruction of the evil qualities in good people, and “for the enthroning of the right, I am born from age to age.” Some people may say, “Oh my goodness! This is a terrible, punishing God.” No, He’s not punishing anyone. The ‘evil-doers’ are the evil qualities which are present in you as samskaras. Nonetheless, through many lives, you have also accumulated a lot of good merit. Due to your good merits, He comes in the form of the Guru, in the form of the Master, to destroy all these inner ‘evil-doers’, these wicked qualities, to remove them and free you. God is compassionate. He doesn’t punish anyone. He loves everyone equally. And due to that Love, He knows your soul, He knows where to put you. So, when the Lord manifests Himself in different aspects, to release one from one’s negativity, one has to learn how to surrender.

 

When one goes on the spiritual path, sometimes the Guru has to be strict with the disciples to destroy these ‘evil-doers’. The Guru wants the disciples to reach a certain level. They know that they have a certain mission, a certain goal, and a certain dharma to fulfil and to achieve; and if they are not doing it, the Master has to be strict. This strictness doesn’t mean that the Master doesn’t love the disciple. He does. It’s like when an abscess grows on the leg of a child. First the parents use the medicine to cure the child, but if it’s not getting cured, the parents will not hesitate to cut the limb of the child to save the child’s life. If it’s even necessary to cut off the leg of the child, they will do it. How difficult this would be! But the parents care for their children. In the same way, the Guru is sometimes strict so that all the ‘evil-doers’ will be destroyed, so that you can grow and rise spiritually.

 

“I am born from age to age.” Here Krishna says, yuge yuge. This means that throughout the yugas, He has manifested Himself many, many times – even more times than are mentioned in the shastras and the Vedas. In one yuga, the Lord can manifest Himself fully, several times, “for the deliverance of the good”. When Maha Vishnu Himself, Vishnu Tattva, manifested in the form of the Son of God, Jesus, He came to show that Love is the most important thing, and if one wants to enter into the Kingdom of God, if one wants to attain God Consciousness, one has to let go. That’s why when He called Peter, He says, “Come, Peter! Let go of the drama of your old life. Renounce that life! I will make you a fisher of men. I will teach you to enlighten people. I will make you a Light for others, so that when others see you, they will follow  

your example.”

 

In the Chapter 3, Krishna says that everybody tries to copy an eminent person, like everybody tries to copy the hair styles of celebrities. When Messi kicks the ball, everybody is jumping and cheering. But when Messi is crying, nobody is crying.

Everybody is angry with him – because he is angry with himself. If he had the right knowledge, he would know that it is just a game. Like that, when the mind is upset, one doesn’t know that life is just a game. One doesn’t see. One doesn’t see that the Guru is doing everything for the benefit of the disciple’s progress – even if He has to sacrifice Himself, as did Christ. The Guru is always sacrificing Himself for the sake of His disciples and devotees.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 7

 

yadā yadā hi dharmasya 

glānir-bhavati bhārata 

abhyutthānam-adharmasya 

tadā’tmānaṁ sṛjāmy-aham

 

Whenever there is the fading of the dharma, like nowadays, and the uprising of unrighteousness, then I bring Myself forth into birth.

 

As I said earlier, there is no fixed time or period for God to manifest Himself. It can’t be positively asserted that He will manifest in a certain yuga or place, or in a certain month or year. There is no rule about how many times or in how many forms the Lord will manifest in a certain yuga. Yadā yadā: He can manifest Himself whenever He wants. He can take any form He wants. He can manifest in any place He wants.

 

“Whenever there is the fading of the dharma and the uprising of unrighteousness.” He alone knows when the world is in danger of destruction, when there is the decline of dharma, and virtue, and the rise of vice. Then by His own Will, He manifests Himself to save the righteous, to protect dharma. When we look at all the previous incarnations of Narayana, we see that He incarnated whenever there was a demon terrorising the Earth. In all the yugas, He manifested Himself to kill the demons, like Hiranyakashipu and Ravana who represented immorality, vice, and adharma. When they were in power, people were forced to stop doing their spiritual practices. When we look at the story of Hiranyakashipu, when he started terrorising the people, what did he do? First, he did everything to make people stop praying to God, stop loving, stop doing japa, stop all their austerities, so that he could control them. When one is too attached to the objects of the senses, when one’s mind runs only towards the outside world, when one is going to doom oneself, out of His mercy and Love for humanity, God always sends help. He always sends a reminder. He sends the Guru. He sends people with divine qualities to remind you.

 

That’s why He says, yadā yadā hi dharmasya. Whenever there is even a small state of adharma, He, who is the Soul of souls, always comes to remind people of dharma. There was not a time when He hasn’t manifested Himself. That’s why He says that He is not bound by any form. He can manifest Himself in any form He wills. No human being has the knowledge of how He will come. You see this in the life of saints. Take the life of St. Martin of Tours. He had the virtue, he had the goodness, but he was not aware of it; his mind was blind. So, Christ took the appearance of a beggar to remind him of the good that he had inside of him. He appeared disguised as a beggar, but afterwards St. Martin had a vision which revealed who this beggar was in reality. Similar incidents have happened in the lives of many saints, not only in the West, but also in the East.

Bhagavan Himself came in the form of Jesus to show the way, when humans were attached to traditions and rituals in an extremely rigid and strict way. He came to remind people that one has to let go of this, because the Love which one has inside is much more important than these traditions. He came to remind people, “Don’t be attached to all this tradition. Free yourself! You are beyond this tradition.” People had forgotten what the aim of this tradition and of these customs were. Similarly, He was saying to Arjuna, “Wake up!”

 

When people in India had forgotten about God and were only focusing on the formless God, the impersonal God without form, He manifested Himself in the form of Sri Adi Shankaracharya to remove this ignorance. Then later on, He manifested Himself again to give Bhakti. Throughout the ages, He has manifested Himself in many forms that no one knows about: not even the scriptures know about it. It’s beyond the scriptures because the scriptures have a limitation. It’s beyond the Vedas, because the Vedas have a limitation. How can limitation talk about the Unlimited One, who doesn’t have a beginning or an end?

In this verse, Krishna is showing that He’s the all-knowing. He knows best when to manifest, how to manifest, where to manifest. He says, “’I bring Myself forth into birth. By My own Will I manifest Myself. Everything has been created and manifested through My own Will. Throughout time I have spoken to the prophets.”

 

Some people may ask, “How can God have a form?” God does have a form. When He talked to Moses on the mountain, He first manifested Himself in the form of a Light, which was so bright that Moses could not even look at it. Moses was a great sage, a great yogi, but even he could not look at the Light of God. Even if the Light appeared to be burning like a burning bush, it was not really burning! The nature of fire is to burn, no? But here He showed that He can create a fire which doesn’t burn. He has full power over everything. Moses could not even look at this Light, until the Lord allowed him to bear its brilliance. If he couldn’t look at God’s Light, how could he look at God’s Body? How could he look at His face?

 

When Christ transfigured Himself, John, Peter and James could not look at Him. They threw themselves on the ground saying, “So much light! Too much light!” These people were great yogis, but they could not look at God’s Light and they had to cover their faces. A realised soul shouldn’t have the illusion that he knows God. You can’t even handle your own light! How could you handle the Light of God? You can’t. Surrender!

 

Moses went to the mountain wearing his shoes. And God says to Moses, “Take off your shoes! This place is holy!” Understand this. This is what Krishna is saying to Arjuna. “Remove your shoes! Remove your ignorance! Purify yourself! Don’t hang onto the desires. Don’t hang onto your mind! Be free!”

The feet have all the senses in them. All the organs of the body are represented in the feet. In reflexology, it is shown that the feet represent the whole being. That’s why wherever we go, we touch the Feet of the Master; we are focused on the Feet of the Master; we surrender to the Feet of the Master. In this verse, the Lord says to Arjuna, “I can manifest Myself in any form: the scriptures don’t know where or when I will manifest Myself. But I always do it when there is a threat that the whole world will perish. And when there is a threat that one will perish, I manifest Myself in the form of the Guru, to help free one from ignorance.”

 

When God manifested Himself in the form of the Light to Moses, He tells him, “Moses, after you have cleansed yourself, after you have removed your shoes, come to Me, your God!” After you have attained Self-Realisation, don’t think that this is the Ultimate Realisation! This realisation is only one step towards God-Realisation.” He says, “Moses, come to Me with an open heart, free from desires which are the enemy of mankind. Sit, let’s talk! Let me reveal Myself to you! Come, realise Me inside of you!” God says, “Moses, turn your face! I will pass in front of you. Don’t look at Me! Because you will not be able to bear Me. If you can’t handle My Light, how could you handle Me? So I will pass My back in front of you.” This means that God has a back! It is held that the Bible says that God doesn’t have a form. If this is true, how can He have a back? People say, “Oh, you should not create any image of God. You should not do this and that.” But in the Bible Itself, it is written that God says to Moses, “Cover your face! I will pass My back in front of you. There’s no man who has been face to face with Me and has stayed alive.” That’s what He says to Moses, isn’t it? In that manifestation, He says to Moses, “Cover your face! You have not yet done your dharma. You still have a lot to do before you fully attain Me and become part of Me! Turn your face away so I can pass in front of you with My back.” If God has a back, He has a front! And He has a form. And this is Narayana Himself.

Here Krishna reminds Arjuna, “I am not bound by the scriptures.” Some people may ask, “Why are you praying to this Guru or to these saints? They are not in the scriptures!” Very often you find people who say, “We accept only what is written in the scriptures, and nothing else!” But here Bhagavan says, “I am beyond the scriptures! How can somebody who is attached to the knowledge of scriptures, perceive Me? It’s impossible! When one purifies the heart, when one’s mind is fully absorbed in devotion to God, then one can perceive only a glimpse of my true Nature; not all, just a glimpse, just a fraction, no more than that.” Even that fraction is sometimes very difficult to perceive because people still doubt. Here Arjuna symbolises the doubting people. People doubt and complicate themselves, they complicate their lives, instead of taking full advantage of the opportunities given by God.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 6

 

ajo’pi sann-avyayātmā 

bhūtānām īśvaro’pi san 

prakṛtiṁ svām-adhiṣṭhāya 

saṁbhavāmy-ātma māyayā

 

Though I am the unborn, though I am imperishable in My Self-Existence, though I am the Lord of all existences, yet I stand upon My own Nature and I come into birth by My Self-Maya.

 

Here Krishna reveals Himself to Arjuna as birthless and deathless. He tells him that He has never taken birth or died as an ordinary human being, even if it appears so. Though the Supreme Lord, the Ultimate, creates everything, He also manifests Himself on Earth and appears as ordinary as all humans. But He’s not born, He manifests Himself. People think that whenever the Lord incarnated as Matsya Avatar, Kurma Avatar, or Varaha Avatar, He disappeared at the end of His incarnation and it was finished! No. There is no beginning or end to Him: all Avatars are just manifestations of Him.

 

“… yet I stand upon my own Nature and I come into birth by my Self-Maya.” Here He says, “By My Self Will, I manifest Myself. By My own Maya, I veil Myself willingly. I allow My Maya, My Yogmaya, My Maha Maya, to veil Me, so that even yogis who have transcended one Maya, will not see who I am.” People can’t understand the Ultimate, God Himself, the Lord of all creation, the One who is ever-pure, who is awakened and ever-free, who is doing every role in His creation. It is too difficult for the mind to understand. Even if one tries to understand it, it’s far beyond the mind. He says, “Even if you become a great yogi, even if you are centred in the Self, you will realise only one step of Realisation. My True Nature, the Self of the Self, can’t even be realised by yogis. That’s why He says, “I am veiled. I came into birth by My Maya: when I will it, I manifest. I’m ever-free to take any form, at any time. I am not bound by time or by space. I am not bound by anything, not even by the scriptures.”

 

God is ever-free, He can do whatever He wants. Some people would ask, “How can this be possible? This is just a human being, how can He be God?” Arjuna is asking the same question: “How can He be God?” Here you see the doubting human mind. But God is beyond that. Even if He appears to be very human, He is not human. The saints and sages can only have a glimpse of that Reality. What He shows to the sages is only a little aspect of Himself. This raises them to a very high degree of spirituality, but not to the Ultimate Himself.

 

When the devas want to speak to Narayana, even they can’t enter Vaikunta. It is sealed off from them. Even they can’t enter that ultimate state, they can’t reach Vaikunta. They go to the Milky Ocean and there, the Lord manifests Himself in whatever form is most appropriate for them.

 

In this verse, Krishna is reminding Arjuna that whatever form of the Divine you call, He will take that aspect and come to you. He’s not bound by Nature or by what people may think they know about Him. When you hear people talking about God, they say, “God is like this” or “God is like that”. They attribute so many qualities to Him. But He’s beyond these qualities. He is beyond Satchitananda Itself. All this is just His play. These qualities are just His manifestation, His ‘sport.’

 

“I come into birth by my Self-Maya.” Krishna says, “I manifest Myself from time to time, taking various forms, appearing in different places. Sometimes I remain unknown to the world, incognito. Yet whatever I do, I do it for the sake of uplifting mankind.”

 

The Lord manifests Himself through His Yogmaya. He utilises His own Will power, His Will-Shakti. This Will-Shakti brings the world into being, brings creation into being. The Will-Shakti of God is part of Him, yet it is separate from Him. He has power over His Will-Shakti. This Will-Shakti of God, this Divine potency and transcendental power of God, makes everything manifest. However, whenever the Lord manifests Himself, the Supreme who has created everything, remains omnipresent. Even if He incarnated in the form of Krishna, He remained also ever-present in Vaikunta.

There was never a time when He left Vaikunta to incarnate on Earth. As He is there, He is also here.

 

When we look at the life of Krishna, we see that He didn’t go through the normal birth process as an ordinary human being. This was just a manifestation of Him. A light appeared inside the womb of Devaki and, miraculously, her stomach grew bigger. She didn’t need to give birth to Krishna as an ordinary mother gives birth to her baby. In the Shreemad Bhagavatam, it is described very clearly, “Devaki saw a light and she perceived the Chaturbhuja, the four-armed Maha Vishnu standing in front of her. She addressed Maha Vishnu saying, “Lord, I desire you to be like a child.” At that moment, Chaturbhuja, the four-armed Maha Vishnu, appeared before her as a baby. Here I am not using the word ‘Narayana’, because it was ‘Maha Vishnu’, the Tattva of Narayana that was manifested.

 

God manifests Himself of His own accord from time to time, keeping Prakriti, Nature, under His control. He comes and does His various works. He’s not bound by any karma, in fact, nothing binds Him; ordinary people are bound by karma. He reveals to Arjuna, “You were saying that you know me as Vasudeva Krishna, who was born a few years ago. No. Don’t be mistaken about that! This is just one manifestation of who I am! And even that manifestation is just a play. I am here doing My duty, but I am beyond that duty. I am eternal. I existed even before creation. And creation happened through My own Will, through My own Maya.”

 

Humans are blinded by one Maya which we call illusion. You are blinded by this Maya until you are ready. When you make yourself ready through sadhana, the veil of Maya is removed. Through your sadhana, when you’re surrendered to your sadhana, you are moving away from external desires and the objects of senses which hold you back, drag you down, and root you here to this world.

 

By doing your dharma and by doing your sadhana with the aim of attaining the Lord, the Lord allows this first veil of Maya to be removed from your eyes. Then you see differently, and you perceive the glory of the Lord everywhere. However, you are not perceiving Him everywhere because by His own Will, He veils Himself by another Maya, Yogmaya, so people won’t recognise Him and realise who He is. This is due to God’s humility. He says, “I veil Myself with another Maya, Yogmaya, so that even if you do your sadhana, even if you try your best to see who I am, until I will it, you will never see Me. You can try as much as you want, you can be the greatest yogi, but you will not know Me until I will it.”

 

Here He reveals that this Yogmaya is different from the Maya that covers mankind. Yogmaya is Maha Shakti, the power of the Will of God. That’s why Parvati who is Maha Shakti, Maha Devi, is represented as the sister of Narayana. Other names of Maha Shakti are Devi Bhagavati and Durga. When Lord Krishna incarnated, He asked Maha Shakti, “Go and incarnate in the house of Yashoda and Nanda.” By that He meant, “First I will cast this Maha Maya, this great Maya into the world, so that no one will see who I am. I will come and play my drama, I will play my Leela, yet they will not recognise Me. If they recognise Me, they will not be able to do what they have to do.” In this way, He veiled Himself. He allowed His own Maya to cover Him; by His own Will, He took a cover and covered Himself. Here you see how humble He is. Even being the Lord of the whole universe, He humbles Himself for the sake of humanity, so that He can uplift humanity. This is wonderful. He willingly chooses to veil Himself. He chooses to put a limitation to Himself in order to incarnate, but He is not bound by any limitation. He appears to be limited, but He is not. 

In the Bible, you see that when He manifested Himself as Jesus, He chose to be the Son of God. In that incarnation, Maha Vishnu reveals Himself saying, “I am the Son of God.” However, He also says, “I and My Father are one.” In that passage He is revealing that He was from the beginning One with the Father.

There was no difference between Him and the Father. But the one who is blind can’t see. Even His own disciples knew that He was the Master, but they saw Him only as a messenger. Even when He says, “I and my Father are one,” this didn’t make any sense to them, because they didn’t see that Jesus was God Himself incarnated. The human mind can’t comprehend God’s manifestation in a human body. Krishna says, “I am beyond this. Even if I act in this world, in a very normal way, I am just showing you what I want you to see. But in my true state, I am Narayana Himself, the Ultimate. I am not ruled by the laws of man. I am not even ruled by the laws of Nature. I am beyond Nature. Nature dances to My Will. Everybody perishes, everybody goes through changes, but even if it appears that I go through changes externally, I stay ever in my true Self.  

Nature doesn’t bind Me, it doesn’t have any effect on Me.” In the Mahabharat, it is mentioned that Krishna had grandchildren, yet He stayed ever youthful. He didn’t allow Nature to make Him look old, whereas all the others did look old. That’s why I said earlier that there are three major stages of Krishna’s life: the Bala Krishna, where you see Krishna growing up; the Dwarka Krishna, where you see Krishna doing His kingly duty; and here, where you see Krishna giving the Gita, revealing that He’s the Ultimate Krishna. All are only Him.

 

Krishna says, “I have come to Earth, but I am not bound by anything. Nothing can control Me.” Normal people are compelled by their own karma, so they take birth and die. Sometimes people come and say, “Swamiji, in your next life, will you also be with us?” You will incarnate, but Me, I will incarnate whenever I want. I have said this many times. That’s why one has to take advantage of the opportunity to surrender to the spiritual path. When one meets the Satguru, one has to make the most of it! Because this opportunity doesn’t come in many lifetimes. This Grace of being near the Satguru, doesn’t happen in every life. You will go through many lives, until one day, we will meet again. But you can attain this state completely of being with Narayana, by fully surrendering yourself in this life itself.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 5

 

śrī bhagavān uvāca 

bahūni me vyatītāni 

janmāni tava cārjuna 

tānyahaṁ veda sarvāṇi 

na tvaṁ vettha parantapa

 

The Lord says: Many are My lives that are past, and yours also, O Arjuna; all  

of them I know, but you know them not, O scourge of your foes.

 

Krishna says to Arjuna, “Don’t think that our existence is only since we were born here. We existed before that. We are both without beginning or end. We are eternal. All these lives we have been together, we have incarnated together many times, it’s not just now that we are together.” 

 

Although Krishna’s eternal aspect is Narayana Swarupa, He has manifested in this world in many forms, as all the Avatars: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashuram, and Rama. In this incarnation, He is the son of Vasudeva, so He is named Vasudeva Krishna. “These are all My aspects, and the one that you see in front of you now is a recent one.” He gives this spiritual teaching on his previous manifestations to Arjuna, reminding him that whenever He manifests Himself, it is always for the benefit of humanity, to uplift mankind.

 

He says, “I gave this knowledge to Surya dev, Surya Narayana. In My supreme aspect, as Narayana, I revealed it to the Sun-god so that he could pass this knowledge on to his future generations.” Christ also says, “Before Abraham, I existed. Before this creation, I existed. There is no beginning to Me or end. Even when I manifest Myself, there is no beginning to Me. And even if I appear to die, there is no death.”  

When Bhagavan Krishna says to Arjuna, “I remember all our past lives, but you don’t remember”, He is reminding him of His omniscience, of this infinite knowledge of the Paramatma; He is showing Arjuna that He knows all, whereas humans don’t have this knowledge. He says, “Arjuna you don’t remember your previous incarnations, where you had to do a certain dharma, because you now identify so much with the outside world, with the body, the mind and the intellect.” Like I said earlier, when desires arise, this supreme knowledge disappears. Then one becomes like an animal. One loses one’s true nature, one’s ‘original nature’, as it is called in Christianity. Krishna says, “Arjuna, I will reveal to you that we were always together.”

 

It is not a coincidence that you are sitting here listening to the Shreemad Bhagavad Gita. It’s not a coincidence that God called you on the spiritual path; I’m not referring only to the people who are sitting here, but to all the people who long for the Divine around the world. This longing is not something that suddenly happens in one lifetime. You can’t say, “Oh, I’m born! I’m here! Now I’m longing for God!” No. You have had this longing for God through many lifetimes. Now you are receiving the good punya from the ‘good’ you did in your past lives. That’s why you have been born here as a human being, having the Grace to advance spiritually, advance towards God Consciousness.  

This punya has brought you here and has given you this opportunity. You all come from different countries, and different places: South Africa, United States, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Serbia, etc.; and most of you don’t have any physical connection to each other! But spiritually you are all connected! You are all one family. It is this spiritual connection that you have all had for many lives that has brought you together. Not only in this life: this life is just a continuation and a reminder for you to awaken. Mahavatar Babaji always sees you all as you used to be, in your original, pure state. That’s why He gave you the Atma Kriya Yoga. He said, “Here, take this! I’m giving you this. Use this!” That’s why I’m also talking with you about the Gita. Krishna is saying the same thing to Arjuna, “Awake, my dear! Know that what is happening now is just a continuation of what we were doing previously. And if you don’t reach the Ultimate in this life, we will surely meet again later on.

But try to do it in this life! It is possible to do it in one life. You don’t need ten lifetimes.” 

In His Narayana Swarupa, Lord Krishna Himself, in the first aspect of His Divine manifestation, gave this knowledge to the Sun-god, who gave this Enlightenment to the first man, Manu. At the beginning of creation, everything was perfect! It was the Golden Age, when there was no delusion, when everyone was centred in the Divine Consciousness. Arjuna has lost the memory of his past lives and also of all the previous manifestations of the Lord. However, since the Lord incarnates by His own Will, nothing is hidden from Him. The Lord always knows all His lives; for Him there is no past, present or future. He knows all the Jivatmas and whatever is related to them. In this particular verse, the Lord is reminding Arjuna of their last incarnation together as Nara and Narayana. He says, “What we are doing right now on this battlefield, is a continuation of what happened when we incarnated as Nara and Narayana.”

Nara and Narayana were Arjuna and Krishna, respectively, in a previous life. Here Krishna reminds Arjuna why they have reincarnated and why this war is going to happen, “It is due to things that we did not finish in our previous life! I will remind you of that.” Nara and Narayana were manifestations of Lord Nrsingadev (also known as Narasimha). At that time, when Lord Nrsingadev manifested Himself, He killed the demon Hiranyakashipu. Once He had killed the demon Hiranyakashipu, it was the end of that incarnation of Lord Narayana. 

However, also at that time, there was another demon, by the name of Sahasrakavacha. He had done great penance to Surya Narayana, the Sun-god. As the story goes, all the demons have always asked for immortality. But someone who is darkened in the mind can’t attain immortality. Only when one is free like Arjuna, will one attain immortality. This demon asked, “Give me the boon of immortality.” But he knew that whoever had asked for this boon, had not gotten it. Even his last friend, Hiranyakashipu, had been killed by Lord Nrsingadev. So, he thought, “Okay. I can do better than Hiranyakashipu. I will ask for the blessing that I will have a thousand kavachas, a thousand armours on me. And whoever tries to kill me and break one of these kavachas, will die. Furthermore, to be able to break one of these armours, one has to fight with me for a thousand years and do a thousand years of penance. 

Of course, the Lord knew about this. So the two sages, Narayana and Nara, were manifested from the head and body of Lord Nrsingadev, respectively. Narayana is the Supreme Lord Himself and Nara represents mankind. When the time came for them to kill the demon, Sahasrakavacha, Nara tried to kill him, but was defeated and died. Narayana, through His yogic power, brought Nara back to life. He said, “How will we kill him? It seems impossible. Whoever tries to kill him will die, due to the blessing that Surya Narayana gave him.” So they alternated with each other. One would fight to break one kavacha for one thousand years, then would go into a deep meditation for a thousand years. Then, for the next thousand years, they did it the other way around: one time it would be Nara fighting the demon, and the other time it would be Narayana. This continued for several million years. Here we are talking about divine years. In human years, this appears to be very long; but in God’s time, it happens very quickly. So don’t be confused by these thousands, or millions of years. 

After millions of years, there was only one kavacha, one armour left. When Sahasrakavacha saw that he was going to die, he appealed to Surya Narayana. He asked the Sun-god, “Please protect me!” At that time the great deluge, the pralaya, came and he ran away to hide. Lord Narayana ended that incarnation and said, “We will come back again to finish this!” Then later on, Sahasrakavacha was born as Karna, Nara was born as Arjuna, and Narayana was manifested as Krishna.

I would not say that He was ‘born’ as Krishna, but that He manifested as Krishna, incarnated as Krishna. That’s why Krishna says, “Arjuna, our relationship dates from a long time ago, and what we are going to do now, is just finish what we started! And it is a must for you to do this! That’s why I am telling you that you have to do this! There’s no other way.” 

When you are in tune with the Divine, the Divine reveals to you your true dharma of life, why you have incarnated on Earth. Then all the illusion, all the other dharma which you have thought about, disappears! Only then, you have true knowledge of how to serve the Lord. Only then, can the Lord reveal Himself to you. Therefore, Arjuna should not entertain any doubt about the Truth of the Lord when He says, “I gave this knowledge to the Sun-god. I existed before everything was created or manifested.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 4

 

arjuna uvāca 

aparaṁ bhavato janma 

paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ 

katham etad vijānīyāṁ 

tvam ādau proktavān iti

 

Arjuna says: The Sun-god was one of the first-born beings (the ancestor of  

the Solar dynasty) and You are only now born into the world; how am I to  

comprehend that You declared it to him in the beginning of time?

 

Arjuna knows that Krishna is not just a normal human being, that He is not an ordinary person. He knows that Krishna is God Himself, the Supreme Brahman, the Ultimate, the beginning of all, from which everything came. Arjuna is not stupid. He knows this. But he wants the Lord Himself to reveal it to him. He wants to hear it directly from God’s own lips. He already knows about the glory of Vasudeva Krishna, and about all the demons Krishna killed in his childhood. Also, before the war, there was a Rajasuya Yagna to crown Yudhishtir King. Shishupala offended Krishna during the ceremony, and Krishna liberated him by cutting off his head. Why did I use the word ‘liberated’? Because if one is killed by the Lord, one fully attains Him: when the Avatar Himself comes and completely kills one’s ignorance, one merges into Him. 

Here Krishna is telling Arjuna, “I existed before the Sun-god.” Arjuna is expressing his eagerness to understand and he wonders, “Ah, really? How can this be? You are the son of Vasudeva. Everybody here knows You; so how can it be that You have given this knowledge to the Sun-god who was the first-born, the first being who was manifested from God? This means that You are Narayana Himself!” When Krishna says, “I gave this supreme knowledge to the Sun-god,” it is as if He has said, “I am Narayana Himself. I am not this Vasudeva Krishna who you see here in front of you. This Vasudeva Krishna is just an image which has been veiled by My own Prakriti, by My own Maya.”

During the Rajasuya Yagna, when Yudhishtir became the King and Shishupala was killed, Bhishma revealed the secret of Vasudeva Krishna to Arjuna – who He was in reality. Bhishma said, “Don’t take this friend of yours, Krishna, to be just a normal human being. This Vasudeva Krishna is Narayana Himself incarnated. Even if He acts very human, going from one place to another, eating, drinking, singing, chanting, and doing everything with you, don’t take Him to be a human, because He’s not a human being. He’s God Himself incarnated. Don’t be blinded by the senses. Don’t be blinded by the mind that makes you see Him as a mere human.” Even Shakuni knew about Krishna’s true identity. But because the Kauravas were so attached to the outside reality, they didn’t want to accept it. They only saw Krishna as an opponent, due to the ignorance of their minds.

 

Arjuna has seen Krishna in all His glory, but he wants to hear it from Krishna Himself. It’s like when you have the feeling inside of you that someone is your Guru. You know it in your mind, and it’s clear! But it is only confirmed the moment the Guru Himself reveals it. That’s why one should ask the Guru, because one’s feeling can be deluded and bring one into confusion. Sometimes, at the beginning, people have a strong feeling and say, “Oh, this is my path! I feel it, I feel it, I feel it!” But then, in the middle of the path, they let go. They go downhill or they go elsewhere, like shoppers. They jump from one place to the other, because they are not ready. But if one commits to one Guru, and the Guru has confirmed it and given further  

instructions, then surrender! That’s the only thing that one can do. 

 

Here it is the same thing. Arjuna says, “I have heard about the greatness of Lord Krishna. I have seen it, but I want to hear the shabda. I want to hear it from His own mouth. Let me act as if I am stupid. I choose to play this role. Let me pretend that there is a doubt in my mind.” It appears that in his mind, there is a general doubt: like everybody has doubts in life – especially at the beginning when one meets one’s Master.

One may have this deep feeling inside of oneself, “Yes I am surrendering.” But then after that, one becomes so accustomed to the Master, that the way one sees the Master changes and one thinks, “The Master is my friend, I can do whatever I want.” No. The Master always stays the Master. The disciple always stays the disciple.

 

Here Arjuna is playing this role for the benefit of everybody. Later on, Krishna will reveal to him, “I made you do this.” So Arjuna asks this question: “It is well-known that you were born only a few years ago, as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. How then is it possible that you have given this knowledge to Surya Narayana?” He is showing that even if the Guru tells something to the disciple, if the disciple is not fully surrendered, he will not accept it, he will have doubts. And in the state of doubt, how can one advance? Arjuna is not asking arrogantly, but with humility, “There is a doubt inside of me. Please remove it. Because I can’t understand just with my mind when you say that you have given the knowledge to the Sun-god. Clarify this for me.”

When Krishna says, “I gave it to the Sun-god,” He means, “I existed even before creation: this whole creation is due to My own Will.” He is talking about His divine state, His true aspect which is Narayana Himself. In the Bible, when Jesus is asked, “Who are you?” He answers, “I existed before Abraham himself.” He means, “It was Me who was talking to Abraham.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 36

 

arjuna uvāca 

atha kena prayukto’yaṁ 

pāpaṁ carati pūruṣaḥ 

anicchann-api vārṣṇeya 

balādiva niyojitaḥ

 

Arjuna says: But if there is no fault in following our nature, what is this in us that drives a man to sin, as if by force, even against his own struggling will, O Krishna?

 

This is a question that people ask in their daily life. We have seen in Chapter 2, verse 60, that Lord Krishna says, “Even the mind of the wise man who labours for perfection, is carried away by the vehement insistence of the senses.” Even an intelligent man who has got common sense, who sees what is a ‘good’ action and what is a ‘not good’ action, will realise that something is wrong, yet he still does it. You see that it is like this in daily life. You have a feeling about something in your life. You know that what you are going to do is ‘not good’. Yet you do it! Or you have this deep feeling that you must do something, but you always do the opposite! So here Arjuna asks, “What is this force in Nature which is driving man to act in a very sinful way? Is it God Himself? Or is it man’s own creation – the power of man’s mind? Who is responsible for this state of mind, O Krishna?”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 37

 

śrī bhagavān uvāca 

kāma eṣa krodha eṣa 

rajoguṇa samudbhavaḥ 

mahāśano mahā-pāpmā 

viddhyenam-iha vairiṇam

 

The Lord says: It is desire, it is anger, born of the guna of rajas, all devouring, and impeller to sin. Know this to be the foe here.

The attraction and repulsion to objects of senses are the two thieves which constantly rob man of his spiritual wealth. The force which is behind this is an automatic reaction of the mind. When the mind is not in accordance with the Divine Will, it automatically becomes a rebel. It starts to rebel against the force of Nature itself. When you have a certain desire which is not fulfilled, you get angry, no? Where does this desire come from? It doesn’t come from the Atma, it comes from the mind.  

The mind is responsible for such a state! 

Bhagavan Krishna says, “If the desire is removed at the beginning itself, it will not give way to anger. But if the desire is starting to speak loudly, then one becomes one’s own enemy.” If one is not strongly enough into practicing his sadhana, one has not this inner spiritual power. If one doesn’t have the knowledge of the Self, if one doesn’t put God first, then one will always be drawn to these qualities. 

In the previous verse Arjuna asks, “What is the enemy of man?” And here Krishna answers, “This desire.” But to overcome desire, Krishna says, “You must have knowledge! Without knowledge, this desire will not be controlled. Without knowledge, this desire will make you always sinful. But with the knowledge of the Self, you’ll learn to control desire.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 38

 

dhūmenāvriyate vahniḥ 

yathādarśo malena ca 

yatholbenāvṛto garbhaḥ 

tathā tenedam-āvṛtam

 

As a fire is covered over by smoke, as a mirror by dust, as an embryo is wrapped by the amnion, so is this world enveloped by desire.

 

Desire is everywhere, in many kinds and in many forms. All the actions of people are due to these desires. Desires are like dust which accumulates on the surface of a mirror; then the mirror can no longer reflect any object. Even so, the mind gets soiled by impurities in the form of sin. It is no longer able to reveal the true nature of things or its own, true duty. That’s why someone with an impure and sinful mind cannot correctly judge things. They don’t know what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’. In this deep ignorance, the Light of truth is covered. Knowledge gets covered by ignorance…It is desire alone which makes the mind restless. It is through desire that one becomes evil and does sinful acts, “So, arise, Arjuna! Control this desire. Be wise!”

Bhagavad Gita 

Karma Yoga

Chapter 3, Verse 39

 

āvṛtaṁ jñānam etena 

jñānino nitya vairiṇā 

kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya 

duṣpūreṇānalena ca

 

Wisdom is obscured by this constant enemy of the wise, O Arjuna, which is as insatiable as fire

.

 

Here Krishna says, “The fire of desire is insatiable; it grows more and more.” As long as man continues enjoying the objects of this world, his appetite for enjoyment also grows like fire. It becomes greedy! It will never be satisfied! Even after passing a long life of intense enjoyment, desire is never satisfied. Desire is like ghee. If you pour ghee into a fire, the fire burns more and more. Such is the state of a mind which is full of desire. The enemy, in the form of desire, will never allow discrimination, dispassion, or true Love to awaken. When one doesn’t have discrimination, one gets attached to the objects of the senses and can’t know the real Truth. If the mind is rooted in negative qualities, it is very difficult. A sadhak, a devotee, should focus the mind on the Divine, focus on their spiritual progress.

 

The “enemy of the wise”; a wise person, one who has knowledge, one who has bhakti, should avoid having desires. Desire is the enemy of all beings and drags everyone into degradation.

 

 Kāma-rūpeṇa means the enjoyments of the world, the desires of the outside. Whoever looks upon vices and so on, is knocking at the door to Hell. But the blessed one desires God, longs for God. Here Krishna says that there are two forms of desire. The desire of the mind drags one completely to the outside. The other desire, the longing of the heart, is the gateway to Heaven. When you train yourself to transform the desires of the mind through meditation, and perform your duty, and accept the Will of God, then these desires, which can’t be killed, are transformed from rajasic to sattvic in nature. Don’t go into the game of desires. Let’s say you feel anger: in place of acting on that anger, in place of putting fuel into that fire, try to control yourself. The anger will leave you and transform itself. 

These desires can’t be killed, because it is you who create them; the mind is the cause of them. But they can be transformed. If one is on the spiritual path, through spiritual practices, through sadhana, these desires can be transformed for one’s spiritual progress. When you dwell in the world, you have desires for many things, for many pleasures of the outside world. You want to become rich, you want to have a beautiful car, you want to have a beautiful house, you want to have many things which, in reality, are dragging you down! But when you become spiritual, God becomes the Ultimate desire. All the other enjoyments are transformed. This doesn’t mean that you should not have a house; you’ll have it! But you are not a slave to it. You’ll not have this impulse, this deep attachment to hold onto it.

 

Krishna says, “Oh Arjuna, be aware, avoid this, don’t feed this thought!” In daily life, a certain thought might arise in your mind: you know that this thought is not right, but you go into it and you make yourself miserable! You say, “I can’t practice my sadhana. Atma Kriya Yoga is too much! I can’t meditate. I can’t do my japa!” You put up this big barrier, this big wall that you can’t do it. Then you go into that weakness and believe that you can’t change. When you have a certain thing in your mind that you don’t like and you go into it, it affects you: because you are spiritual, it will make you feel bad! How many times have you had a certain feeling inside of you – you don’t want this feeling, but you entertain it in your mind, and it is dancing left and right? “Swaha! Swaha!” You are doing a yagna (fire ritual)! You are pouring ghee onto the fire of the yagna, onto the fire of these desires. Then, you feel miserable, you feel pain. You feel angry, not towards the outside, but you feel angry towards yourself, because you know that this desire came from you.

Here Krishna says, “Do not entertain that, you have to be watchful!” You have to be careful – at the beginning itself – not to go into it. Because once you go into it, it will make you dance left and right. As it is dancing in your mind, it will also dance on the outside.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 40

 

indriyāṇi mano buddhiḥ 

asyādhiṣṭhānam-ucyate 

etair-vimohayaty-eṣa 

jñānam-āvṛtya dehinam

 

The senses, mind and intellect are the seats of desires. Desires veil knowledge and bewilder the embodied soul.

 

The seats of the desires are the senses, the mind and the intellect. All these desires which emerge from the senses, the mind and the intellect, veil knowledge and this “bewilders the embodied soul.” It creates an illusion which veils the truth. 

Krishna says, “If the mind, the intellect and the senses are not under control, they take over.” It’s like when you say, ‘swaha’ and you fuel the fire of the yagna with your desire. Then you can’t control it, and you sit and cry. Krishna says, “It is difficult, but you have to control this!” The one who is on the spiritual path, the spiritual seeker, the bhakta, should not waste time in entertaining these desires. One should be aware of desire at the beginning itself and remove it. Don’t feed it! Because if you let it grow inside, if you entertain it, you will ruin yourself. You will lose the power of thinking and you will not have the knowledge of the Self. It will be very difficult for you to sit in sadhana! It will be very difficult for you to do your japa! It will be very difficult for you to continue on your spiritual path. But if, at the beginning itself, you don’t entertain this intention, you remove it. You’ll be free!

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 41

 

tasmāt-tvam-indriyāṇyādau 

niyamya bharatarṣabha 

pāpmānaṁ prajahi hyenaṁ 

jñāna vijñāna nāśanam

 

Therefore, O Arjuna, controlling the senses first, slay desire, this deluding thing that destroys both knowledge and discrimination.

 

Lord Krishna says, “First control the senses: they are easier to control, because they are outside. Control too much sleep. Control what you are eating. Control what you are doing in your actions. Control the mind. Don’t let the mind dwell on the attraction of worldly perishable things, which will bring you sorrow.” Use all the senses, transforming them by serving God, by hearing His glory, by chanting and by concentrating on the Divine Names, on the different Names of God. Use the hands, the touch, to serve God through the action. Like that, you don’t go into the game of worldly enjoyments. Keep yourself busy with the right things. If you start running after these desires, if you entertain them in the mind, it will destroy knowledge and discrimination. It will destroy everything good inside of you. People without discrimination really can’t think. Even if you tell them something good, it doesn’t have any effect on them.

 

Jñāna vijñāna nāśanam. Desire destroys the power of discrimination. It destroys the greater knowledge inside, the knowledge of the Divine. It is through this knowledge that the Divine acts inside people. If this knowledge is veiled, then life will be very difficult, because one will not be guided by knowledge and discrimination. One will always feel self-pity and sadness. Krishna says to Arjuna, “Be knowledgeable about the Self! Have the power to discriminate! Because, if you have knowledge and the power to discriminate, desire has no power.” You can uproot desire itself and transform it. Ignorance will be eradicated in the presence of knowledge and discrimination. When there is knowledge and discrimination, then one has a pacified mind, a calm mind, which is focused on the Divine.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 42

 

indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ 

indriyebhyah‌ paraṁ manaḥ 

manas-astu parā buddhiḥ 

yo buddheḥ paratas-tu saḥ

 

It is said that the senses are supreme, but the mind is superior to the senses, the intellect is superior to the mind, and greater than the intellect is the Self.

 

“It is said that the senses are supreme.” It is said that the senses are greater than the body. Greater than the senses is the mind. Greater than the mind is the intellect. Greater than the intellect is the Self. Greater than the Self is Parabrahma, the Eternal Soul, God. In this verse, Lord Krishna says that the intellect is greater than the mind and that the mind is greater than the senses. The mind controls the senses and the senses control the body. There is something greater than these games of the intellect, the mind, the senses, and the body. This is the game of the Self. When this order is reversed, one attains the true perfection of the Self. When one controls the senses, then one controls the mind and the intellect: when all three are conquered, they all are transformed. And when they are under control, they are your best friend. But if they are not under your control, they are your worst enemy.

 

Krishna says, “Don’t be into the games of the senses, the mind, the intellect. You are beyond this. You are the Self, the Supreme Soul.” True Love awakens when there is full control of the senses, when the mind is focused on God. Then there is no desire for anything, only for God. And when the intellect shows its power, knowledge will help.

 

“…greater than the intellect is the Self.” Greater than the intellect is this cosmic Intelligence, this wisdom of the Self. And if you have this wisdom of the Self, the Lord will reveal Himself.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 43

 

evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā 

saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā 

jahi śatruṁ mahā-bāho 

kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam

 

Thus, knowing that which is greater than the intellect and fixing the mind with the help of the intellect in Karma Yoga, O Arjuna, slay this enemy in the form of desire, which is difficult to overcome.

Krishna says, “Remove desire! Slay it! Cut it out!” Something which is apart from you, is not you. If it is fully under control, you can get rid of it, you can eradicate it completely from yourself. Make your mind become single-pointed towards God through meditation. 

 

Realise that you have the Supreme Divine Narayana inside of you. Then the desire for the outside will be removed and transformed. Realise that the soul is far greater than these things. The Truth about the soul is deeply mysterious because it cannot be known by the mind. It is only a few who have a controlled mind, who are centred in the Lord, who are fully dedicated to the spiritual path, who receive the Grace of Realisation. Krishna says that everybody is called, but only a few are chosen. Many people practice meditation, but only a few really attain Realisation. And who are these few? The ones who are completely surrendered.

 

In Karma Yoga, if you do everything in this world with an attitude of surrender, you will attain Him. Krishna says to Arjuna, “Without controlling the senses, it will not be possible. If you give in, you will bring about your own damnation. But with control, you will free yourself. It is in your hands!” God will help you when you start helping yourself. Once you take your first step, He will give you courage; He will give you support; He will bring you to where you have to be.

 

In the last part of this chapter, Krishna sees that Arjuna is very capable of destroying these desires: “There can be no doubt that one can vanquish and kill desire. However difficult it may appear, desires can be transformed.”

 

Chapters 1 to 7 of the Gita are about the Self and how to transform. Krishna will teach Arjuna gradually, in different phases, in different steps – He will remind Arjuna, “Awake! Don’t sleep!” Be wise! Don’t go into your weakness. You always have a choice: be weak or be wise! You have a human body, and in this human body, God has given you the power to find Him! This means that He has great hope for you! He has great hope that you can do it! He is waiting for you. If you let yourself be weak, He can’t help you. But if you make yourself strong, He will carry you.

 

Here ends the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita on the power of action.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action  

Chapter 4, Verse 1

 

śrī bhagavān uvāca 

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ 

proktavān aham avyayam 

vivasvān manave prāha 

manur-ikṣvākave’bravīt

 

The Lord says: This imperishable yoga I gave to Vivasvan (the Sun-god); Vivasvan gave it to Manu (the father of men); Manu gave it to Ikshvaku (the  

founder of the Solar dynasty.)

 

“This imperishable yoga.” Here Bhagavan Krishna says that this yoga, which He is giving to Arjuna, don’t have a beginning or an end: it is eternal.

 

“This imperishable yoga I gave to Vivasvan (the Sun-god); Vivasvan gave it to Manu (the father of men)” the keeper of dharma; “Manu gave it to Ikshvaku, the founder of the Solar dynasty.” Later on, the Lord Himself incarnates as Rama in the Solar dynasty.

 

Lord Krishna has prepared Arjuna to understand this knowledge which He is giving here, by controlling the mind, the senses, the intellect, and by eradicating all desires. In the last chapter, Lord Krishna says that desires are the worst enemy! It is through desires that one gets trapped in this world. It’s important to note that the desire for God, is not a common desire: it is a longing for God who is Supreme! Krishna says that when all worldly desires have been removed from the mind, one is ready for yoga, for unification with the Divine. Arjuna has been asked to kill all the worldly desires inside him, the inner enemies, in order to let the inner Sun shine  

through him.

 

Krishna says, “I gave this knowledge to the Sun-god, Vivasvan, Vivasvan gave it to Manu (the father of men), Manu gave it to Ikshvaku.” These were karma yogis, and householders. They were doing their duties as the heads of their families. Manu gave the law and showed humanity how to live in the world doing the dharma. In Christianity, Manu is represented by Adam, the first man.

 

When the Lord says, “I gave this knowledge to the Sun-god,” this meant that He is greater than the Sun, which represents the creation. Bhagavan Krishna is reminding Arjuna that He is the Lord of Lords; without beginning or end, the beginning of everything; the origin of this universe and the origin of this supreme knowledge. So this knowledge is not new, it’s very old. Many great scholars have tried to calculate its age, but nobody knows exactly how old it is. This knowledge is imperishable, eternal. Once Enlightenment arises in you, you will realise that you always had all this knowledge inside of you. Once this Reality is revealed within, you will start to radiate the inner Light. You will see that this knowledge, which you are listening to here, has existed since the beginning itself, when the world was created; when God manifested Himself through you to act in this world. That’s how old this knowledge is which is inside of you. But due to the effect of desires in the mind, one starts to run after the ephemeral beauty of the outside world and forgets about this knowledge of the Self.

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action

 

Chapter 4, Verse 2

 

evaṁ paramparā prāptam 

imaṁ rāja-rṣayo viduḥ 

sa kāleneha mahatā 

yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

 

And so it came down from royal sage to royal sage till it was lost in the great lapse of time, O Parantapa.

 

“O Parantapa.” Here the Lord again addresses Arjuna as ‘Parantapa’ saying, “You strike fear into your enemy! You have victory over your enemy!” By referring to Arjuna as ‘Parantapa’, Krishna is telling him, “You have already defeated these enemies.” 

In this verse, Krishna says that, in the beginning, all knew about this knowledge: all had realised it, since they were spiritually advanced souls. You were manifested with this knowledge and had incarnated in several lifetimes with this knowledge. When this knowledge was active, when the mind knew about this supreme knowledge, you were like sages, rishis and kings. Through this knowledge, the kings knew how to rule their kingdoms. If a king ruled the kingdom with pride, then he would not be able to manage his kingdom properly. At that time, a king would never consider his kingdom as something separate from himself. The knowledge of the Self is a must for one to be able to help people, to be able to work with people. Without the knowledge of the Self, one can’t help others. That’s why nowadays, the governments usually last five years. At that time, the duties and responsibilities of the kings were handed down to their descendants. There was a chain of that knowledge, of that wisdom; they had the knowledge of how to practise Karma Yoga with spiritual awareness, so that they could do their duties properly.

 

But due to desires, people started running after the objects of the senses, after the mind. They gradually developed an attachment to the outside world and this supreme knowledge disappeared: it was not lost, it just became dormant. As is mentioned in the Ramacharitamanas, Vashishta gave this true knowledge to Sri Rama. He was well aware of the importance of this knowledge. Vashishta requested Rama to, “Give this knowledge to the people!” Sri Rama answered, “No. It is not yet the time to again reveal this true knowledge. Peoples’ minds are too attached to the outside. Why should I give this knowledge? They are not ready! Let them first be ready! When they’re ready, I’ll give it. Let this knowledge be dormant for now. In My next incarnation, I will give this knowledge for the benefit of humanity, but not in this incarnation.”

 

The Book of Genesis in the Bible says that, in the beginning, mankind had the knowledge of the Self, they had Realisation. They were peaceful, the animals were peaceful, everything was in perfect harmony. But when Adam ate the fruit of desire, which was not meant to be eaten, he lost this awareness, this purity. He lost the supreme knowledge of the Self. That’s why Adam and Eve started to hide themselves, because they had become aware of their body consciousness. Due to their ‘sin’, their inner Consciousness had changed, and the supreme knowledge was forgotten. They had moved from the inner awareness to the outer awareness. They started to feel hungry and thirsty and they became attached to the objects of the senses.

 

Nevertheless, since time immemorial, this knowledge had been kept secret and was given through Diksha. The Guru would only give it to the disciple who was ready. The control of the senses is portrayed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita in the analogy of the chariot, “Lord, this body is the chariot, my senses run like horses, but you are the charioteer. Please hold my senses tightly. Guide me!”

 

“…it was lost in the great lapse of time…” How many people are searching for spirituality, longing to realise themselves? This world has seven billion people. But of these seven billion people, how many long for God-Realisation? How many long to attain God Consciousness? How many long for God Himself? Even within the spiritual field, there are many people who practice numerous kinds of yoga, but they don’t have this knowledge of the Self, because it is only through bhakti that one can have this

knowledge of God Consciousness. Just to do yoga postures or to sit down and meditate is not enough. Even in those moments, your mind is not there; your mind is roaming around or is still hanging onto what you have been doing. It doesn’t help much. So can you imagine how many people, out of seven billion, have this bhakti inside and long for God? Very few.

 

In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, showed that when the mind runs only towards the outside, towards sense pleasures, and is devoid of the knowledge of God, people become like animals. They drag themselves down and down. That’s why Krishna calls Arjuna, ‘Parantapa’, meaning, ‘victory over the enemy!’ He means, “Victory over all these things which are keeping this knowledge veiled! Due to this victory, you are hearing me talk right now, because you have conquered all these desires. Know that the knowledge of the Self is eternal. Even if it has not been visible, it has never disappeared.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Yog of Knowledge and Action

Chapter 4, Verse 3

 

sa evāyaṁ mayā te’dya 

yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ 

bhakto’si me sakhā ceti 

rahasyaṁ hyetad-uttamam

 

This same ancient and original Yoga has today been declared to you by Me, for you are My devotee and My friend; this is the highest secret.

 

“This same ancient and original Yoga has today been declared to you by Me.” Krishna says, “It is the same yoga which I gave to the Sun-god, billions of years ago. It is the same yoga, which, right now, without any change, I am revealing to you. This yoga, which has been handed down from generation to generation and which had disappeared for some time, I am revealing to you this day, here on this battlefield, Arjuna, ‘for you are My devotee and My friend.’” This is so beautiful. Krishna addresses Arjuna saying, “You are My devotee.” This shows that Arjuna had all the qualities of a devotee. He is surrendered to the Lord. He is well-qualified as a devotee to receive the true knowledge, to receive this supreme blessing, this Grace: if Arjuna was not qualified, Krishna would not call him His devotee. He would not call him a disciple. He is referring to this high quality inside of Arjuna saying, “You are fully surrendered. You have this sincerity, this truth.” Here Krishna also reveals that He has never before given this supreme knowledge directly to a human being. Of course, Arjuna is sitting there, looking at the Lord thinking, “Oh my goodness!” He is getting anxious to know more of what Lord Krishna is going to say.

 

Lord Krishna praises Arjuna saying, “In the heart, you have this truth. You are now qualified! Never before were you qualified. You are ready, so I can reveal to you this deep secret, the supreme, the highest secret.” This secret was only given to people by their Gurus when they were ready. If you give this Brahma Jyaan to people who are not ready to grasp it with their hearts, they will not know what to do with it; if their minds are too focused on the outside world, it will not make any sense to them; to them, it will just be, “Blah blah blah blah.”

 

Krishna sees this quality of a bhakta inside of Arjuna, this longing! That’s what the Guru, the Teacher, the Master looks for in the devotees, in the disciples. He checks to see if the ‘soil’ is ready, if all the wild grass has been removed and if the disciples are ready to do their dharma or not. If people are in a state of confusion, if they are given such knowledge and such blessing, they will fall into deeper confusion. But if one is wholeheartedly surrendered to the Guru, one doesn’t need to worry about anything. Everything will be taken care of. Like this story of Dukhi Krishna that shows how the Grace of the Guru takes care of the one who is surrendered.

The story is told of Dukhi Krishna:

 

Dukhi Krishna was a young boy who was longing to find his Guru. When he finally met his Guru, he fully surrendered to him. The Guru gave him a task saying, “You will water the plants in the ashram. You will have to carry this heavy water pot on your head, while walking back and forth to the river. You just have to look after the plants.” Dukhi Krishna didn’t ask the Guru why he had given him this task, or why he had to carry this heavy pot on his head. He was just very, very happy to serve his Guru. He carried this water pot on his head, day after day, year after year. He was so dedicated, so surrendered, that he didn’t realise that by carrying this heavy water pot, he got a bump on his head, which became inflamed. It was pretty nasty; there were even worms in it! But he didn’t realise it, he didn’t feel any pain, he felt nothing, because he was completely focused on his teacher. One day when he was carrying the pot and chanting his Guru’s Name, the Guru passed by, looked at him and said, “You wounded your head! Let me see!” Dukhi Krishna didn’t realise that his head was wounded until then. The Guru healed his head and gave him Diksha saying, “Listen! Your service here is finished! Go to Vrindavan and you will find your service there.”

Dukhi Krishna went to Vrindavan, where he was sweeping the road that leads to Nidhivan, and chanting the glory of God and Guru. He was just happy doing what he was doing, not asking why his Guru had sent him to Vrindavan to sweep the road. One day he found a very beautiful anklet on the road. He looked at it and saw that it was an anklet that might belong to a queen, to someone royal. He thought, “Here in Vrindavan, there is only one Queen and that’s Srimati Radharani.” He took the anklet, kept it and continued sweeping the road. In the other dimension, Radharani missed Her anklet and realised that She had lost it while dancing at night with Krishna. She sent Lalita to Vrindavan, in this earthly dimension, to look for Her anklet. Lalita came disguised as a simple, village girl and started looking everywhere for the anklet. She saw Dukhi Krishna chanting the glory of God and Guru, and he seemed to be carrying something sparkling. She approached him and said, “If you have found a beautiful anklet, please give it to me, because it belongs to my Mistress.” Since Dukhi Krishna was so devoted to the Lord and to his Guru, he was able to realise that this village girl was not just a normal girl. He said, “Tell your Mistress, that if she wants her anklet, she has to come and get it herself!” Lalita tried to persuade him to give her the anklet, but he said, “No way! Tell your Mistress to come here!” So Lalita went back and told Radharani, “This crazy man sweeping the road there has your anklet. I saw it, but he refused to give it to me. He asked for you to go there and get it directly from him.” Radharani went to Vrindavan, also in disguise, not in her full glory, and asked Dukhi Krishna to give her anklet back saying, “Listen, you asked for the Mistress, so here I am! Please give me my anklet.” Dukhi Krishna said, “I’ll give you your anklet if you show me your true form!” Radharani was a bit hesitant, but when She saw the love that Dukhi Krishna had for the Lord, and the surrender that he had for Her, She had no other choice than to reveal Her true form. Even more, She allowed Dukhi Krishna to put the anklet on Her ankle. With the anklet on Her Foot, Radharani touched his third eye. He got a mark on his forehead which stayed there his entire life. (Due to that incident, this mark became the dot that we put in the asana of the tilak, which represents the Guru.) 

Dukhi Krishna hadn’t asked his Guru why he had to carry the water pot or why he had to go to Vrindavan to sweep the streets. But in the end, due to the Grace of the Guru, he received the Darshan of Srimati Radharani in Her full glory.

…

This is how Dukhi Krishna surrendered to the Will of the Master, knowing that inside the Master was Krishna Himself. Here Krishna says to Arjuna, “My devotee, My dearest one, now these outside things don’t bother you. Now you don’t see the war that you are going to fight as something painful.” In that moment, the mind of Arjuna is in a state of complete surrender to the Lord. He doesn’t look at the outside world, at what he is losing or not losing. He only wants to grasp and understand with his heart what Krishna is telling him. 

“My devotee and My friend…” There are different kinds of relationships that one can have with God. Some people love God as a devotee. Some people love God as a friend. Some devotees, like Hanuman, love God as a servant. For Meerabai and many others, like Tukaram and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, God is loved as their lover. The gopas loved the Lord as their friend, so they could play with Krishna, they could beat Krishna up, and of course Krishna allowed them to do it. In this relationship, they knew deep in the core of themselves, that He was the Supreme Lord Himself, God incarnated; yet because He was their friend, they could embrace Him, hold Him, carry Him, beat Him up, tell Him whatever they wanted.

Bhagavad Gita 

Karma Yoga

Chapter 3, Verse 35

 

śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ 

para-dharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt 

sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ 

para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ

 

Better is one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well-done. Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another is fraught with danger.

 

“Better is one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well-done.” So here Krishna says, “Do your dharma! Don’t try to do other things which are not your duty.” Don’t put your nose into other people’s business! Putting your nose into other people’s business will devoid you of good merit. Even if you think that you are doing something good, if it doesn’t concern you, it will not bring any good to you. It’s better if you don’t do it! Then you won’t bring negative punya to you. When you do your own duty you gain at least good punya. 

 

Krishna says, “Focus on what has been given to you as a duty!” The duty of a doctor is to be a doctor. A doctor can’t be a lawyer. The duty of a lawyer is to protect his client. You can’t put a doctor there! Otherwise it will be chaos. The duty of a banker is to look after the finances of the bank, no? Imagine that you put a sweeper there? You can be sure that the bank will be ruined. Do your duty properly! Even if you don’t see any merit in the outside, you should do your dharma.

 

“Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another is fraught with danger.” Krishna says, “If you die performing your dharma, you will get good merit!” Very often people come and say, “Swamiji, what is my dharma?” I say, “Well, look, what do you do?” “I work in an office.” I say, “Okay, that’s your dharma. Accept it!” But they don’t want to hear that. Do you know what they want to hear? “Your dharma is to be spiritual.” But they don’t know that spirituality is also in their duty of daily life – what God has given them to do! They think, “Let me come and live in the ashram.” But it is not meant for everybody to live like this. Each one has their own duty to do outside, otherwise you will kill yourself here! Krishna Himself says, “It is fraught with danger.” He says to Arjuna, “Please, My dear, if one doesn’t do one’s duty in life, it will bring lots of pain and sorrow. It will bring lots of damage and this is very dangerous.” 

 

Imagine that I ask Swamini Vishwamohini to do Sabarish’s work; Sabarish looks after all the electricity in the ashram, the cables, everything. If I told Swamini Vishwamohini to do this, we can be sure that I would be sitting here electrocuted right now! In spite of all the precautions she would take, it could be very dangerous!

Bhagavan says, “Accept your duty in daily life.” If your duty is your family, accept that duty! If your duty is at the South Pole, do your duty there! Come to the ashram from time to time, but then go there! Don’t try to go in a roundabout way and say, “Okay first, I will rent a room in the village and then, step by step I will dig my way into the ashram!” People think they are clever. But I am here and I am more clever. So, don’t try your clever way! The tunnel will collapse on you! Many have done this. But in the long-term, if you don’t accept the outside, what God has given, you will never be able to handle a greater duty when it will be given to you. God will not even give you a greater duty to do! That’s why He has placed each one in the world differently. Each one has his own right place and if one sees this perfection of the Lord, one will do one’s dharma at that place, at that time.

 

For some, it is meant to live completely for God! But for some, no. They are still on the way. They are still in preparation; they are still in kindergarten. Very often, you will see this in children: when they look at grown-ups, they also wish to be grown-up. They don’t know what it is to be grown-up. Because they see it only from the outside and say, “Oh, it’s a party! When will we grow up?” They are so eager to grow up. But then one doesn’t let time carry oneself.

One doesn’t learn to trust in the Will of the Divine, that God has put everyone where they have to be. Look at me, I was born in Mauritius and look where He put me! People often ask me, “Why Germany?” But it doesn’t matter, you know? I know the reason. Look! If I would not be here, all these lovely people would not be here listening to the Lord’s words. Just to let you know, each one is right where one has to be. Learn to accept this! If you start to fight it, of course, your mind will say, “Oh, how wonderful it would be if I move there.” But if you do not go to the right place, this will create a complete imbalance inside of you. And when this confusion starts happening inside of you, you go backwards. Stay wherever you are and accept the Will of God, accept that He has put you there, and let yourself flow with it, until He clearly calls you to go elsewhere. If it is meant to be, He will call you, and when you develop this trust, then you are free! 

Krishna says to Arjuna, “Be centred in your duty! Even if it is without any merit, don’t try to run away. This would be the reaction of a cowardly person. Better is death in your own duty!” When God calls you to your true dharma, to do what you have come to this world to do – if you die in that, it is your salvation! That’s why it is said of a soldier who is dying on the battlefield, whether he is killing or being killed, he doesn’t create any karma. A doctor while operating, if the doctor has given full attention and care to the patient, and yet the patient passes away, there is no karma. The same is true for a jeweller. Sometimes you have deities which are made of gold or silver and are broken. When you take them to the jeweller’s, they melt it. To melt the deity, even if it is a pendant, is a very sinful act to do. They are aware of this. But because of their commitment to their duty, they don’t have any karma from this. Krishna says that even if one dies while doing one’s duty, one is free! One attains salvation! One is liberated or one incarnates in a very high state. But to do one’s duty, you have to have this love! You have to love what you are doing! And that’s true wisdom!

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 34

 

indriyasyendriyasyārthe 

rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau 

tayor-na vaśam āgacchet 

tau hyasya paripanthinau

 

Attachment and aversion for sense objects abide in the sense-organs; let none come under their sway for they are the obstacles of the soul in its path.

 

Krishna tells Arjuna, “Don’t go into the game of the senses! Don’t let yourself be attracted or repulsed by anything.” Whatever one comes into contact with, there is always a certain attraction to it or a certain repulsion from it. These are all games of the sense objects. If one gives way to this game, one gets trapped! If you let go of attraction and repulsion and have them under control, if you see the oneness in all, you will attain the supreme bliss. 

 

“Let none come under their sway, for they are the obstacles of the soul in its path.” When you go into the game of judgement, it becomes a big obstacle to Self-Realisation. When you start judging others, you think you are judging others, but in reality you are judging yourself! Christ says that the fault that you see in others, is indeed inside of you. This means that the fault which you see in other people, the judgement which you project onto the outside, is actually a judgement of yourself. This is a big obstacle on the path to your Self. This will make you suffer. 

 

These two impulses of attraction and repulsion sometimes appear in a very friendly way, especially on the spiritual path. When one goes into this game, it quietly enters the mind and the mind starts judging. Who judges the most? Spiritual people judge a lot! They think that they are better. They think that they know best. They are proud of their knowledge, proud of their way. They consider everybody else as sinners and themselves as the best. But this is already the corruption of the mind. Here Krishna says, “Don’t go into this game! Be alert and be vigilant! Don’t let yourself go into the game of judging, because by doing that, you are tempted. Be aware that there is no judgement in whatever you do.”

 

Here Krishna emphasises that the evil which is described in the scriptures comes from attraction and aversion. On the other hand, normal deeds, inspired by faith and devotion, make one strong, make one renounce all evil deeds, make one free. Letting go of vices, which are cherished in the heart, one should devote oneself to God, devote oneself to devotional practices, by keeping the mind focused on the Divine. If one does such an action, it will only bear good deeds. Even if someone is in the world outside and can’t let go of the world, but the mind, from time to time, runs to the Divine – for even five minutes a day – just by doing that, one will be free!

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 33

 

sadṛśaṁ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ 

prakṛter-jñānavān api 

prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni 

nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati

 

Even an enlightened person acts in conformity to his own nature; beings follow their nature; what will restraint accomplish?

 

Krishna says, “What is the use of external restraint? Let it go! No one can be inactive for a moment.” Each person is driven by his own nature to act. “You, enlightened beings, through renunciation of your duties, you will not free yourself from bondage. Continue to perform your actions with the feeling of surrender.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verses 31-32

 

ye me matam idaṁ nityam 

anu-tiṣṭhanti mānavāḥ 

śraddhāvanto’nasūyanto 

mucyante te’pi karmabhiḥ

 

ye tvetad abhyasūyanto 

nānutiṣṭhanti me matam 

sarva jñāna vimūḍhāṁstān 

viddhi naṣṭān acetasaḥ

 

Those who, having faith and not trusting to the critical intelligence, constantly follow this teaching of Mine, they too are released from the bondage of works. But those who find fault with My teaching and act not upon them, are of an unripe mind, bewildered in all knowledge and fated to be destroyed.

 

“Those who, having faith and not trusting to the critical intelligence, constantly follow this teaching of Mine, they too are released from the bondage of works.” Here Krishna says that all people are qualified to pursue what He is teaching. He is talking not only to Arjuna. He is talking to the whole world. He says, “Everybody has the capacity to do this! Those who, having faith and not trusting to the critical mind, people who are away from the doubting mind which is always in the duality, these people who try to follow this teaching of Mine, they too are released from the bondage of works.”

 

This is so nice here. Lord Krishna says that you just need to have faith and trust in Him and try to follow what He says. He is not imposing. He just says, “Try it!” He is talking to whoever believes in His word. Whoever trusts and tries to put into practice in their life what He is teaching, whoever tries to awaken this Love inside themselves and love as He loves the world, they will be released from the bondage, from the effect of the three gunas. They will be free from the cycle of birth and death. He is giving His assurance to everybody, to the people of all nationalities, creeds, colours, and castes. He is giving His assurance saying, “If you try to follow what I say, you will be free! You’ll attain supreme bliss! If you surrender all your actions to Me, it doesn’t matter what you do, you’ll be transformed. And I assure you that if this is done, if you are practising your sadhana or if you are not practising your sadhana, you’ll attain salvation!” If you surrender every action to Him.

 

“But those who find fault with My teaching and act not upon them, are of an unripe mind, bewildered in all knowledge and fated to be destroyed.” Here Krishna says, “These people are not destroyed, they are lost! People who are deluded by the outside, who think that what I am teaching you is not possible to attain and make fun of it, they are completely lost.” The Bible says that if you criticise God, you’ll be forgiven. If you criticise the Son, you’ll be forgiven! But if you criticise the Spirit, you will not be forgiven. Here Krishna was saying a similar thing: “If you start criticising what I am giving you, you will call a curse upon yourself, because this teaching is coming out from the deep Spirit of God Himself. The unwise, without any respect, without love, will damn themselves. They will be completely lost. They will be born in a lower species. They will even go to Hell for a certain time.” Krishna says that if you don’t understand something, you don’t have the right to criticise it. 

Everybody is criticising and judging each other in the world nowadays. Each one claims that he is the best, and says, “There is no one better than me!” They are trying to fight each other. These are very animalistic qualities. When Krishna says, “My teaching,” he doesn’t only mean what He was teaching in the Bhagavad Gita. He is talking about the teaching of the Self which is present everywhere in the world. He says, “If you don’t understand something, don’t criticise it! By criticising it, you are bringing a curse upon yourself and you are lost.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 30

 

mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi 

sanyasyādhyātma-cetasā 

nirāśīr-nir-mamo bhūtvā 

yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ

 

Dedicating all your actions to Me with a mind centred in the Self, free from desire and selfishness, free from hotheadedness, do you engage in battle.

Krishna says, “Fight! Arjuna, fight!” He doesn’t stop reminding him, “You have to fight! Otherwise you’ll be crushed.” Life is like that! If you don’t make an effort, if you don’t go into your power, if you don’t fight all this negativity inside and outside of you, you will never move forward in life. He says, “Perform all your actions! Dedicate them to Me with a mind centred in the Self, free from desire and selfishness.” 

 

The Self is free from desire: it is the mind which has lots of desires and selfishness. But the Self doesn’t have these qualities. The Self is free. Here, Krishna is showing that He is the Self of the Self.“Dedicating all your actions to Me with a mind centred in the Self”; the mind is centred in the Self, the mind is under the control of the Atma, the Self. Like that, you are free. Even if you do it in a state of mind filled with turmoil and disturbance, He says, “Don’t worry! Surrender this mind to Me. With a clear mind, with sincerity, close your eyes and say, ‘Krishna Arpanam, I offer this to you, my Lord.’ 

 

Even if you are weak; even if you have not yet achieved that state where the mind is completely focused on the Divine; even if you have not reached that state where there is complete dedication, you don’t need to worry, My dear, there is one way!” Even if you are doing your duty outside and you don’t think about Him, there is one way. Krishna says, “Surrender all these actions to Me. Remember why you are doing the action. You are doing the action for God-Realisation! Whatever you have done during the day, close your eyes and put it at My Feet! Offer it on My altar! And with such an offering, I will make you free!” So engage yourself, keep trying! Don’t let yourself down! If you have not succeeded in doing this today, do it tomorrow. Keep doing it every day! By constantly doing, it becomes your strength! That is your power!

 

When a child falls down, does it stop getting up? No! The child will get up and walk again; it will try to walk again and will fall again. When you learn to ride a bicycle, you fall down, but you get up and go back on the bicycle and do it again. You don’t just sit and cry about your failure. You get up! 

 

Krishna says, “Rise, My dear! I have given you the knowledge of the Self. Even if you have not yet achieved that state, it doesn’t matter, just offer all the good punya to Me, I will look after you! I will carry you!” But you have to put your hand into the hand of the Lord for Him to carry you. He will not force you. He is asking you: offer your hand into the hand of the Guru! Let the Guru guide you.

 

The Lord says to Arjuna, “Transform all your responsibility for your actions. Even if you go and kill in this battle, offer it to Me!” Before Bhishma was dying, he was very proud of himself. In his pride, he was thinking that he was doing right, until Krishna reminded him that he was actually doing wrong. Here Krishna says to Arjuna, “If you can’t do it, it doesn’t matter; but transfer the responsibility of all your actions to Me! You should remove all the terrible feelings you have of hatred and grief; you should remove all the joy, love, and possessions; but you should carry on doing your duties. Offer them to Me! I will transform them.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 29

 

prakṛter-guṇa saṁmūḍhāḥ 

sajjante guṇa-karmasu 

tān-akṛtsna vido mandān 

kṛtsnavinna vicālayet

 

Those who are deluded by the gunas of Prakriti are attached to the functions of the gunas, but one of perfect knowledge should not unsettle the ignorant who do not know the whole truth.

 

Here again Lord Krishna reminds Arjuna, “The one who is arrogant and proud, the one whose mind is trapped in worldliness, remains attached to the gunas and  

their actions. These people don’t have any knowledge!” Even though they may talk  

about many things, in reality they don’t have any knowledge. Their knowledge is only  

based on outside, material things. Such people are ignorant. Their happiness, their  

enjoyments, lie only in the world. They are attached to the enjoyment which is the  

product of the three gunas, and they are bound by it.

 

Krishna says, “Because of this ignorance, because of this ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’, don’t talk to  

them about the Truth.” He doesn’t say that you should not remind them about the  

Self, but He says, “Don’t give them the whole knowledge of the Self. You can give  

them this knowledge of the Self when they are ready. If they are not ready, it will not  

make any difference for them; it will not make any impact on them. In that context  

He says, “There is salvation for all!” Even if there is a very, egoistic person, there is  

salvation for him. There is also salvation for people who are into the mind. Nobody is  

completely lost. But He says, “Go slowly! Let them first see the changes inside of you.  

Be the example. They will change. Be patient! They will learn to be patient. Be loving!  

They will learn to love. Be strong! Don’t go into your weakness. Don’t give way to  

ignorance, but centre yourself in the Truth.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 28

 

tattva-vittu mahābāho 

guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ 

guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta 

iti matvā na sajjate

 

But one, O mighty-armed, who knows the true principles of the divisions of the gunas and of works, realises that it is the gunas which are acting and reacting on each other and is not caught in them by attachment.

 

One who has the truth inside through meditation, observe the interplay of the gunas, but doesn’t get attached to them. One who knows that these qualities are not the Self, becomes a true yogi. One becomes the Observer. Through your sadhana, when you introspect, you observe and you see that all these qualities are separate from you. All this action is just a play of the gunas, and the gunas are a play of Maya Prakriti. This Great Observer, the Atma, your true Self doesn’t get attached to it, and just observes it. What gets attached to it, is the mind! 

 

Let’s say, for example, that something bad happened in your day today, and it touched and saddened you deeply. Then, when you sit in the evening to meditate, of course, your heart will feel it, and when you close your eyes in your sadhana, you will see it. But does your soul sit and cry about it? It doesn’t! When you are looking at the inside, in whatever situation, the soul doesn’t sit and cry, because it is not affected by that. What are affected by that, are the body and mind, due to one’s attachment to the gunas. Here again Krishna reminds Arjuna, “Be centred in the Self! The Self is not attached, it just observes. It observes the play of the gunas, but it doesn’t take part in it. The Self knows that it is separate.” 

 

When you sit for meditation, you see it; in whatever situation you observe in your life, you will see that the Self is just observing. The Atma is just observing. The Atma is the Great Observer inside of you, is God inside of you. The Atma is not touched as your heart and your mind are touched.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 27

 

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni 

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ 

ahaṅkāra vimūḍhātmā 

kartā’ham-iti manyate

 

While all actions are being entirely done by the gunas of Prakriti, he whose self is bewildered by egoism thinks that it is his ‘I’ which is acting.

 

Here Krishna says that the one who is bound by the three gunas – rajas, tamas and sattva – is bound by the qualities of these gunas. These gunas are born from Prakriti, Nature, so such a person is attached to the fruit of Prakriti. The mind, intellect and ego, are very active in him.

 

“He whose self is bewildered by egoism thinks that ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’ am acting.” When the mind is blinded by the senses, by the glamour of the outside, by always wanting more and more and more; one is always chanting one’s own glorification. This kind of person who does action in the world is bound by the gunas. He is not free. Krishna says, “He whose self is bewildered,” – ahaṅkāra vimūḍhātmā – this person is doing everything out of ego. He is identifying himself so much with the body and with the 23 elements which are associated with the body. He claims that he is the doer, that it is he who reflects, hears, sees, eats, drinks, sleeps, walks and so on. He always identifies himself with ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. 

 

As long as one hangs onto this ‘I’, one binds oneself and brings the cause of sadness. This pride and egoism bring the cause of taking birth and death, birth, and birth and birth many times. Krishna says, “Don’t go into this egoism. Don’t go into this game when pride overtakes you and blinds you Know that I am the One who is doing everything, not you! O Arjuna, don’t hang onto this pride, and think that it is you who is doing something. I am the Great Soul. I am the Soul of souls. It is Me who is doing it.” Here Krishna was saying, “I am doing it.” But there are two different ‘I’s: the ‘I’ which is full of pride and the ‘I’ of the Self, which is full with humility. 

 

Krishna is reminding Arjuna, “I am the cosmic Soul Myself. I do everything. But I am not sitting and waiting for people to glorify Me and sing My glory.” Of course, we all sing the glory of the Lord because of the example He has given! But He is not attached to that glorification. What He is attached to is this Love that we express to Him. That’s what God longs for – this Love. And in the presence of egoism, one doesn’t see Him, even if He is near.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 26

 

na buddhi-bhedaṁ janayed 

ajñānāṁ karma-saṅginām 

joṣayet sarva karmāṇi 

vidvān yuktaḥ samācaran

 

The wise should not confuse the minds of the ignorant who are attached to work; rather himself performing work with devotion, he should inspire others to do likewise.

 

“The wise should not confuse the minds of the ignorant who are attached to work…” Here Krishna reminds Arjuna, “First be wise. Be strong! Be centred in the Divine Self. Be centred into God Consciousness. Don’t confuse the people! They are already confused. They are already in their own pride and ego, and are blind. If you go to them with knowledge and talk about God, they are not interested.” You look at the world nowadays – how many people really are interested in knowing who they are? How many people are interested in serving God? How many people just say, “We are happy in our small world which we have created.” Go outside and you’ll see many people like this. 

 

Sometimes you’ll go and talk to them, and they will not be interested. They will go to the church once a week or they will go to the temple once a week, just for the sake of going there. Not because they desire the Divine, not because they desire to rise in spirituality. No. The interest has not been born inside of them. It is still dormant inside of them. If you go and start talking to them about God, they will feel fear! They will run away. They will start talking badly about you. They will start saying many things, like, “You have gone crazy!”, because there is a lack of understanding. That’s why Christ said that you don’t give pearls to pigs! They will trample over them. So don’t give this knowledge to them yet! Be centred into yourself.

  

Krishna says, “…rather himself performing work with devotion, he should inspire others.” Just by being strong in yourself, by being rooted and radiating this love and devotion, you will automatically be an inspiration to others. Very often, people come here to the ashram and say, “People are really happy here!” But what makes them perceive this happiness? Outside there are also people who are happy, but here you have a smile that comes from the heart. On the other hand, does a fake smile inspire you? It doesn’t! When you have sincerity inside of you, you don’t need to talk to people to inspire them. It will radiate through you! It will emanate from your being. You’ll become an inspiration for them! And then they will also see this inspiration. They will see this transformation, this change and they will start to inquire. They will start looking at their own life, and ask, “Do I have a beautiful smile or not? Am I sincere with myself or not?” Then they start searching. They start to look deeper until they find their path. Inspire them! Don’t frighten them! But give them a nice smile from the heart!

 

If this is clear inside of you, even the ones who have never understood the true importance of life will start wondering. You’ll become an example. The wise one, through his example, will change people! Take Mother Teresa, and Gandhi. They are dead now, but they are still inspiring people! Why are they still inspiring people? It was what they were radiating, what they were giving. It was through prayers, through service, and through selfless, unconditional love that they had for humanity that they inspired people. They had forgotten about themselves and their own pleasure. They had placed the others first. Even though they have passed on, people are still inspired by their lives. When you read about the saints, you see what makes them special. They were inspired by the message of Love that Christ taught. The saints, Christ, and Krishna inspired people not only when they were here, but their inspiration continues on.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 25

 

karmaṇy-avidvāṁso 

yathā kurvanti bhārata 

kuryād-vidvāṁs-tathāsaktāḥ 

cikīrṣu loka-saṅgraham

  

Just as the ignorant act with attachment to their work, O Arjuna, so should the wise act without any attachment, and only for the welfare of the world.

 

Here again Krishna reminds Arjuna, “The ignorant one is attached to the action.” The ignorant one means people who seek gratification of the ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. They are attached so much to what they are doing. And when they do something, they sing their own glory, ’I have done this. I have done that. I am the greatest one. There is no one better than me.’ Krishna says, “Oh wise Arjuna, if these tamasic-minded people can do like this, you can do the opposite. Be wise! The wise ones don’t sing the glorification of themselves. Rather they sing the glorification of the Lord, who is deeply rooted within the Self. There is no pride in such knowledge. There is no arrogance in it! There is no personal motive behind it, because you are thinking of the world. You are doing it for humanity, not for yourself. “

 

Christ also says that blessed is a true friend, who can give even his life for the sake of a friend. That’s a true friend! That’s what friendship means: you forget about yourself and think of others! That’s true seva! But the one who is ignorant, who has a tamasic motive – his goal is always personal. His mind is filled with pride. And his mind makes him sing his own glory.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verses 23-24

 

yadi hyahaṁ na varteyaṁ  

jātu karmaṇyatandritaḥ 

mama vartmānuvartante 

manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

 

utsīdeyur-ime lokā 

na kuryaṁ karma ced aham 

saṅkarasya ca kartā syām 

upahanyām-imāḥ prajāḥ

 

For if I did not continue to engage Myself in action, unwearied, O Arjuna, humankind would follow My example. These worlds would perish if I did not perform action; I would be the author of confusion and the cause of destruction of these beings.

 

The Lord descends to Earth to establish the rules of righteousness in the society. It will never be possible for Him who is the Lord Himself, to neglect His duty at any time. He never ceases to perform His duty with vigilance and care. Again Krishna reminds Arjuna, “If I don’t perform My action at any time, great harm will come to this world! I am the Creator, the Protector and the Destroyer of this universe. I, God, I am doing My action. If I stop doing My action of creation, protection and destruction, the whole universe will come to a stop, to a standstill.”

 

Krishna says that the Lord is the ideal person. He never neglects His duty, because He knows that if He does, others will take Him as an example. They will say, “If He, who is the ideal, has let go of His duty, we should follow His example.” Thus, this will bring great imbalance into the world. But, “These worlds would perish if I did not perform action.” If the Lord Himself ceases to act, what will happen to the people?Krishna says that if He ceases to act, “I would be the author of confusion and the cause of destruction of these beings.” If He renounces His action, other people will also do the same. They will laze themselves around. They will become bored and waste time and energy. So they will hang onto the dualities of love and hate, joy and sadness.

 

When a man fails to do his own duty, there will be confusion; this confusion will spread everywhere in society. It’s like when one person is depressed and that person starts talking about his depression to another person who is not strong. What will happen? The other person will take part in that depression and also become too weak to do his duty.

 

Krishna was well aware of what He is saying, reminding Arjuna, “You are a great warrior! Now, you are running away. How will all the future warriors look at you? They will say you are coward!”

 

Krishna says that if God has given you a certain duty to do in life, if He has given you a family to look after, if your duty is the family, do your duty properly! If you are a mother, be a good mother! If you are a father, be a good father; if you are a husband or a wife, do your duty accordingly. 

 

In the same way, when you do your duty properly in the world, it can be a blessing to others. Your children watch you. Your children learn first from you. When they look at you, they imprint your example into their lives. And they will pass on this imprint to their children later on. If you are depressed, if you are weak, that’s what you will give to your children, to humanity, to the world. Krishna says, “I am the Lord of all this; take Me as an example. Perform your duty!”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 22

 

na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ 

triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana 

nānavāptam-avāptavyaṁ 

varta eva ca karmaṇi

 

For Me, O Arjuna, there is nothing in all the three worlds which ought to be done, nor is there anything lacking that ought to be acquired – yet I continually engage in action.

 

Here Lord Krishna says, “Look at Me!” Even if deep inside of his heart Arjuna knows that Krishna is the Lord of the universe, God Himself, Krishna is reminding him, “Look at Me, My dear Arjuna. I am free from these three worlds, from this Maya, from this illusion! I am free! I don’t need to do anything because I have created everything! Everything is going how it has to go. I don’t have anything to gain. But I am still doing My duty here. I have manifested Myself here for a reason. My duty here is to help mankind.”

Krishna’s purpose is to elevate the mind and the soul, and remind people why they have come here: that one has to realise oneself in this life. One has not to only focus on outside dharma; one has not to only focus on achieving material success or enjoyment, or even Moksha, liberation. He is reminding Arjuna that one has to attain an even higher reality than Moksha: one has to attain Narayana Himself. He is reminding Arjuna, “I am not a mortal like others: I am the Supreme God Himself. If I, as God, the Supreme, Narayana Himself, am doing My duty, you also must do your duty! I am not bound to do it or not to do it, but I choose to do it. This creation is My Nature, My Prakriti. I am not attached to it. I am free from it. I am also a part of it and it is part of Me.”

 

Krishna reminds Arjuna that when God manifests here, even if He is not bound by anything, He still does His duty. One can do one’s duty without attachment. One doesn’t require anything for oneself! One has not to long for the fruit of one’s actions. Krishna says, “I don’t need to do all this for Me. I am doing it, not for My personal interest, but for the welfare of the world. This is for humanity.” Here you can see the Love that God has for humanity, for His creation. And He longs for everybody to rise to this Realisation! He wants everybody to come to Him. That is why I say, “Go! Talk about your path! Spread the Love of God! And don’t be scared. This is your duty, as it is the duty of God who is inside of you.”

Bhagavad Gita 

Karma Yoga

Chapter 3, Verse 21

 

yadyad-ācarati śreṣṭhah 

tat-tad-evetaro janaḥ 

sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute 

lokas-tad-anuvartate

 

Whatever an eminent person does, other people also do; whatever standard he sets, the world follows it.

Whatever an eminent person does, other people also do – this is fashion! If somebody cuts their hair in a certain style, next week everybody will have the same hairstyle. That’s why Krishna says, “Whatever an eminent person does, other people also do.” Everybody looks at that person and takes the example of that person. Humanity has evolved in that way, by looking at the examples of great personages. If somebody does a certain duty in life, normal people look at them and try to follow their example.

 

“Whatever standard he sets, the world follows.” Whenever a realised soul gives to the world, people look up to that person. If he is enlightened, if this saint, this man of knowledge is surrendered to the Divine, people will look at him, and try to become Divine like him. In the Bible, Christ says, “Be holy as your Father in Heaven is holy.” Take His example. He is reminding you that, “You are holy.” 

 

Here Krishna says to Arjuna, “Awaken this feeling and make a positive impression on the world! Not for your sake, but for the sake of others. If everybody sees you depressed like you are, right now, what example can they take from that? How can another warrior look at you and say, ‘I am proud that I am going to fight in the war like Arjuna!’ Looking at you right now, he will say, ‘Oh my goodness! If I go to war and just sit and cry like this, it will not help. People look at you and at other people when they do their duty.’ If you do a good job in life, does it matter or not? It matters more for other people than for yourself! Because when you do something good, people take it as an example and also try to do it in their lives. This will inspire people. And when people get inspired, they also reach that level.”

 

Krishna says, “Be a great and noble man. You are a man of knowledge. You are a man who has great control. Act, therefore not for your own benefit: act for the benefit of the world. Remind yourself that before you, there were many great ones. We are still talking about them today. We are still singing their glory. Now My dear Arjuna, you are a person of such an elevated state, you know? You are a realised soul. You are far better than these people that I have mentioned. Set an example, My dear Arjuna! People will follow that example and people will also be strong. Be strong in your faith! Be strong in your path so that you can also help others to find their way in life.”

 

 When you are following your spiritual path and when you can share what you have, you are a blessing to other people. Because this spiritual path was not given to you just for your own gratification or for your own practice. It has also been given to you so that you can share it with others and inspire others to change their lives!  

Krishna says here to Arjuna, “Don’t be afraid about how people see you!” Krishna is not only talking to Arjuna. He is telling each of us, “Don’t have fear to talk about your path. Be strong! Know that you are doing something for humanity.”

“Whatever standard he sets, the world follows it.” Whatever you do out of joy and love for God, will be an example for others. You will inspire others also to reach God Consciousness, to rise above the duality, and attain God-Realisation. 

 

Don’t be afraid to speak about your spiritual path, even with people who agree with you or don’t agree with you! People love you or they don’t love you! Be neutral to all. Love all! People talk badly about you? Ignore it. People talk good about you? Don’t rejoice in it! Today they will flatter you, tomorrow they will dagger you. This is the natural state of people.

That’s why Krishna says to Arjuna, “Be neutral.” How many people, when you were entertaining them, when you were showing them the beauty of the world, when you were sitting, eating and drinking with them, said to you, “How much we love you! We will never leave you, we love you so much!” Then all of a sudden, you become spiritual and they don’t want to know you anymore. At the beginning they will say, “Let’s try to convert him by poisoning his mind.” But while  

they are trying to convert you, you should also convert them! Then you can say, “Yes, I have done something good!”

 

 Don’t be afraid to talk about God, because He is the only Reality. And if you can share the joy of your life with people and help them to rise, it will be a great blessing and you will receive a lot of good punya in this life and in future lives. This verse is about being strong, not only for yourself, but caring also for the advancement of others.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 20

 

karmaṇaiva hi saṁsiddhim 

āsthitā janakādayaḥ 

loka saṅgraham-evāpi 

saṁpaśyan kartum arhasi

 

Verily, by Karma Yoga alone did Janaka and others reach perfection. Indeed, you should act, bearing in mind the welfare of the world.

 

Krishna says, “There were great souls, great personalities in this world who did their duty without being attached to it. Take for example King Janaka, the father of Sita. He was doing his kingly duty, but he was not attached to his actions and aims. He didn’t have any personal goals. Take Prahlad Maharaj! He was always doing his duty in remembrance of the Lord Himself. Awake, My dear! You must continue performing your duty, like all these great personages. These great heroes, and great saints, reached perfection during their lifetimes. You don’t need ten lifetimes to do that. You only need one lifetime. You just need complete surrender. The willingness to surrender has to be there! If these people achieved this state of perfection in one lifetime, it is possible for you to also achieve it!”

 

“Indeed, you should act, bearing in mind the welfare of the world.” Krishna says to Arjuna, “Know that what you are doing, by following in the footsteps of these realised souls, will be a great blessing to the world. Whatever you are doing now, know that a man of knowledge has no goal of his own. Whatever he does, he does it for the maintenance of the world.” He who is established in the Divine Consciousness works to create balance in the world. He doesn’t receive any personal gain from it. He is free from selfishness. Krishna tells Arjuna, “Don’t seek any personal gratification. Take up your arms and do your action! Do your dharma, but be without attachment.”.

 

Krishna is saying this to the devotee, to the bhakta, to each person who is on the spiritual path. This is a reminder that you are on the spiritual path for a reason. God has made you spiritual! God has brought you to the spiritual path saying, “Awake and realise your Self!” Mahavatar Babaji has given Atma Kriya Yoga to humanity for Self-Realisation and for you to move from the state of just being human to the Divine state.

 

Krishna is bearing in mind the welfare of the world. He says, “Arjuna, you are still looking at the difference between you and the Divine. You are still seeing that God is separate from you. I don’t want you to see that God is separate from you! I want you to realise, not just to see, but to realise, that in every action of yours, it is Me doing it. It’s Narayana, Krishna Himself who is doing this action! Bear this in mind! Make your mind see it! Remind your mind!” This is your sadhana: remind yourself continuously that God is doing everything through you. Until your mind has transformed itself, until your mind has completely changed, keep reminding yourself of this! Make the mind focus on the Divine, continuously, by doing your japa, so that each breath that you take – you breathe 21,600 times a day – each breath is a reminder of the gift of God. Remember that He is the purpose of life. Remind yourself of this, every moment of your existence. Remind yourself of this as long as you still have an ego identity. Remind your mind of this continuously.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 19

 

tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ 

kāryaṁ karma samācara 

asakto hyācaran karma 

param-āpnoti pūruṣaḥ

 

Therefore, without attachment, perform ever the work that is to be done, for it is by doing work without attachment that man attains to the highest.

 

This doesn’t mean that God-realised souls don’t act in the world. They do! But they are not bound by their actions. They help to maintain the balance in the world, but they have no attachment to what they do or to what they don’t do. They go with their intuition. It’s not them – they are guided. Everything happens, everything is taken care of automatically. Such a state – this is the highest good for humanity. Not only for them, also for the people around. They are centred in the Supreme. In this state there is no creation of karma. Such a person renounces all, even the punya! Everything is dissolved. Here Krishna says to Arjuna, “Do this kind of work, where you are not attached to your duty. Know that it is not you doing it, but the Supreme inside of you. That’s your dharma.” Again and again, Krishna reminds Arjuna to do his dharma, saying, “Go and fight now! Because your dharma is to fight. Just do it! Don’t think about it!”

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 18

 

naiva tasya kṛtenārtho 

nākṛteneha kaścana 

na cāsya sarva-bhūteṣu 

kaścid artha vyapāśrayaḥ

 

He has no object here to be gained by action done and none to be gained by action undone; he has no dependence on all these existences for any object to be gained.

 

The realised one doesn’t look for any personal gratification. There is no obligation for him to do something or not do something! In the scriptures there are many rules about what one has to do, and what one has not to do. The Vedas are full of these rules. But here, Lord Krishna says that the one who is completely surrendered and realises that it is only God, Lord Narayana Himself, who is doing everything, is not bound by what he has or has not to do. He is not bound by his activities. He is not controlled by the senses. Nor is he controlled by the scriptures. The scriptures don’t compel him to do or not to do anything. He doesn’t have anything to abandon nor can he fail by not doing something. Why? Because he is guided. All his actions are guided by the Lord Himself. He is not bound by his own mind. 

 

Here Krishna says to Arjuna, “This is another level now! This is a level where only God exists, where there is no ‘I’. If the mind is focused, one knows that all is God. And it is not just the knowing, it is the Realisation of it.” There is not the thought, “Ah! I am seeing God.” No. God is. This is a neutral state. In that state, there is no creation of anything, there is no karma, there is no ‘good’, there is no ‘bad’! One is liberated, one is a Jivan Mukta. One is not centred in any identity of the mind or the senses. One is in full Love. One is in eternal bliss. One is the embodiment of that bliss. In such a state, the outside doesn’t matter and the inside doesn’t matter.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 17

 

yastvātma-ratir-eva syād 

ātma tṛptaśca mānavaḥ 

ātmanyeva ca santuṣṭaḥ 

tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate

 

But the man whose delight is in the Self and who is satisfied with the enjoyment of the Self and is content in the Self, for him there exists no work that needs to be done.

 

“But the man whose delight is in the Self”, the one who, through yoga has self-discipline, the one who has a single-pointed mind, the one who is dedicated to one’s path, the God-realised soul “who is satisfied with the enjoyment of the Self and is content in the Self, for him there exists no work that needs to be done.” Very nice, right? Here Lord Krishna says that for a realised soul, the duty is to serve the Lord; and the Lord is the One who is doing everything. If one has reached that state, there is no need to do anything because there is no ‘I’. There is no separation. There is no duality. If one has attained the Ultimate, Narayana Himself, and one has perceived the Supreme in everything that one is doing, one is awake. One is removed from the dreaming state, the state of ignorance; one is fully established in the true identity, which is Narayana Tattva, Vishnu Tattva inside of oneself. One’s identity is God alone, Narayana alone. Tukaram was always chanting, “Who is Tuka? Tuka doesn’t exist. Only you, Lord Vitthala, exist, nothing else.”

 

For the one who is fully surrendered in body, mind and spirit, who sees God inside himself, who sees that it is only Him who is doing everything, there is no effect of karma. There is nothing that he has to do. This realised soul is continuously absorbed in the Divine Self. This doesn’t mean that he has to sit around not doing anything. But the attitude of – ‘I must not do’ or ‘I must do’ – will not be there. There is no pressure like ‘how am I doing’ or ‘what am I doing’! The realised soul is free from that.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 16

evaṁ pravartitaṁ cakraṁ

nānu vartayatīha yaḥ

aghāyur-indriyā rāmo

moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati

One who does not follow this cycle thus set in motion, lives in error, revelling in the senses, he lives in vain O Arjuna.

Here Lord Krishna uses the word cakraṁ: ‘this cycle’ of dharma and sacrifice which has been going on since the time of creation. There is a certain dharma in life. The yogis, the sages, and the rishis do their duties, renouncing attachments and selfish desires. They are not trapped in the circle of birth and death. The yogis know that the true Self is Narayana Himself. They know that it is only Narayana who is doing their work through them; they know it is only Narayana who makes them think and act; that it is only Narayana who is the object of their sacrifices. Narayana dances in every part of them. They do their duty with such determination. But if one doesn’t do one’s duty, one is trapped in the wheel of sensual pleasure. When they forget about their own true duties, and they attach themselves to the objects of the senses, they get trapped

in Maya, in worldly enjoyments. Abandoning their duties, life is lived in vain. If one doesn’t do one’s duty, this creates confusion, not only in oneself, but also in the world, because all are connected.

If one doesn’t use what God has given one for the sake of helping others, for the sake of serving others, Krishna says that this will bring “great sin to the life of that person.” Then, due to this bad karma, it will take much, much more time for one to realise God. Therefore, take every opportunity that God has given you in life to do your sadhana, to help others, to chant the Name of God, to think of God. Don’t become lazy! If you become lazy, you will lose yourself. If you lose time, this time will never come back again! When it is gone, it is gone. So awake now!

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verses 14-15

 

annād-bhavanti būtāni 

parjanyād-anna-saṁbhavaḥ 

yajñād-bhavati parjanyo 

yajñāḥ karma samud-bhavaḥ

 

karma brahmod-bhavaṁ viddhi 

brahmākṣara samudbhavam 

tasmāt sarva-gataṁ brahma 

nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam

 

From food arise all beings; from rain, food is produced; from sacrifice comes rain; and sacrifice is achieved through activity. Know that activity springs from Brahman and Brahman arises from the imperishable Self; therefore, the all-pervading ‘Brahman’ is ever-established in sacrifice.

 

“From food arise all beings”. Here Krishna refers to the body of the human being. ‘Food’ refers to all kinds of food, including the food which the eyes have seen and the nose has smelled. “From food arise all beings” refers to procreation. What people eat, what people consume in the form of the subtle energy, accumulates in the bodies of both men and women. This subtle energy transforms itself into the reproductive power – the sperm in the man and the ovule in the women. The food of all the senses will determine the quality of the body of the mother and will attract certain souls who also have this kind of quality. Krishna says that the soul incarnates into a certain kind of body. If a person is pure in the mind and in the heart, they will always attract a very high level of soul. But if they are corrupt, they can’t expect their children to not be corrupt. The same kind of soul will incarnate with them. They will attract it.

 “… from rain, food is produced;” there are different kinds of food. Also here He says, “from sacrifice comes rain; and sacrifice is achieved through activity.” When one is offering oblations into the sacred fire, this kind of sacrifice has a great impact on the atmosphere. When one is doing this kind of sacrifice outside, rain will come. Doing sacrifice outside also means doing activities like charity, helping others, and performing austerities. When the body, speech and mind are used for the welfare of other beings, the rain caused by this kind of sacrifice will nourish all people and bring one to a higher state.

 

“Know that activity springs from Brahman and Brahman arises from the imperishable Self; therefore the all-pervading ‘Brahman’ is ever established in sacrifice.” Here Bhagavan Krishna says that one who is aware of the Self, knows that in whatever one does, it is the soul, the Atma, Brahman, it is Narayana Krishna Himself who is doing these activities.

He says, “Brahman arises from the imperishable Self”. Who is this ‘imperishable Self’? It is Narayana. Whatever one is doing in this state of mind, one knows that it is not him doing it: Narayana is doing it.

Brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma-havir brahm-āgnau brahmaṇā hutam brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma karma samādhinā (Ch. 4, v. 24 ) – everything is Him. Each activity, each sacrifice is Him. When one realises oneself, one sees that everything emerges from Him.

 

Krishna says that Narayana is the support and the sustainer of all, the one who sustains all and looks after everything. He is the all-pervading God who is present in the form of every sacrifice. So whatever duty you do in life, in a state of surrender to the Divine, know that it is also He Himself in the form of that duty. He rules over all the sacrifices and is the soul of all sacrifices. He is the all-pervading God: the sacrifice that He is offering is only Him. He is the One who is offering; He is that which is being offered; He is also the One who is accepting the offering. A realised soul perceives Narayana, the Supreme Self in everything: the food, the rain of Grace, the sacrifice that one is doing. One will not hang onto this ego, the ‘I’, and say, “I am doing this. I am doing that.” No. One will say, “He is doing this through me. It is only Him.” “Therefore, the all-pervading ‘Brahman’ is ever-established in sacrifice”. The Almighty Lord is Himself the sacrifice.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 13

 

yajñā-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo 

mucyante sarva kilbiṣaiḥ 

bhuñjate te tvaghaṁ pāpā 

ye pacantyātma kāraṇāt

 

The good who eat what is left from the sacrifice, are released from all sin;  

but evil are they who cook the food for their own sake.

 

If your life revolves around serving others, and you offer all the ‘good’ that is in your life to the welfare of others, you will have the divine blessing. Here Krishna is talking about doing Karma Yoga. You will become free because you are serving Narayana. That’s why it is said, ‘Manava Seva is Madhava Seva’. This means, ‘Service to humanity is service to Narayana’. The service that you render to others with a selfless heart, with a pure heart is ‘Narayana Seva’ and releases you. Service is also sadhana. Service is also prayer. And if one does such service without expecting any results, one will be free. One will attain salvation.

 

“But evil are they who cook the food for their own sake.” This is not about the food we eat. In this context, ‘food’ represents the sense organs and sense enjoyments. Those who are evil when they cook, enjoy everything only for their own sake. They don’t want to share with others. They don’t want to do anything for the welfare of others. They commit sin, they get lots of bad karma when they seek self-gratification. It is only about themselves. In such a state, they can never be free.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 12

 

iṣṭān-bhogān-iha vo devā 

dāsyante yajñā-bhāvitāḥ 

tair-dattān apradāyaibhyo 

yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ

 

The gods, pleased by sacrifice, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire. One who enjoys the bounty of the gods without offering them anything in return, is verily a thief.

 

“The gods, pleased by sacrifice, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire.” Krishna says, “When you are doing your service with an attitude of selflessness, God will look after you. He will send His devas. He will care for you, without you even asking. He will nourish you like He nourishes the animals, the birds. In the Bible, Christ also says to surrender to God and don’t worry about life. He who looks after the birds, feeds the birds on time. He who looks after the animals, gives the food to the animals. Aren’t humans more important in His eyes? So one should not worry. In the state of sacrifice, in the state of doing one’s duty without worry, without doubt, God will look after one; He will take care of the existence of His bhakta. For one who is surrendered, there is no need to worry about the outer needs. This is like parents: whatever they do for a child when the child is small, they don’t expect to get something equal in return and say, “Okay, when you were a baby, we spent 100,000 Euros on you so, I expect you to return it to me!” No, that doesn’t happen! In such a state of mind, one is free.  

The verse also says, “One who enjoys the bounty of the gods without offering them anything in return,” – (as is one’s duty) – “is verily a thief”. Here ‘thief’ doesn’t mean somebody who is stealing. There is a balance in the universe. This balance is about giving and taking, not just about taking, taking, taking! Otherwise you become greedy like Jara. And when there is an imbalance in just giving or in just taking, one has to re-balance it. This is where misery starts. The one who is always taking becomes very greedy. One is like a thief who just steals, steals and steals and in that state, attachment, greed and so on, awaken and one loses oneself. Then one doesn’t have any good merit. One can’t free oneself.

Bhagavad Gita 

Chapter 3, Verse 11

 

devān bhāvayetānena 

te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ 

parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ 

śreyaḥ paramavāpsyatha

 

By this, may you nurture the gods, and the gods will nurture you in return. Thus, nurturing one another, you will obtain the highest good.

 

In this verse, Krishna doesn’t refer to the One God, but to the demigods. He says, “By offering this nourishment to the demigods, you will receive punya, much merit in return for what you offer to them. They will also take care of your needs.”

 

Here sacrifice also means the service that you offer to humanity, because each person is a manifestation of the Divine. Through the service which you render, selflessly, with a pure heart to humanity, you will receive a blessing which is ten times greater. When you do your service to God, when you help people, when you do service to the sages, to the saints, to the animals, to the birds, to all the species which God has created, then you show that you have realised that the soul which is inside of you is the same soul which is in all. This service is a sacrifice. Lord Krishna says, “The gods will nurture you in return.” The Divine will give you ten times more than what you give to others. If you give pain to others, you will receive ten times more pain. If you do good, the merit, the punya that you receive will be much more. If you cause harm to somebody, the deva, the god, which is inside the person, will react. Automatically your karma will be ten times more than what you have done.

 

“The gods will nurture you in return.” So this is the service. Whenever you do something in the spirit of serving God, God will send His servants, His messengers, in every way to bless you. He will send you good deeds and help you to advance towards God-Realisation.

 

“Thus, nurturing one another, you will obtain the highest good.” Here Krishna says that the humans and the devas work in accordance with each another. When you start working in unity with each other, with respect for each other, when you each start doing your own duty, you will be prosperous materially and spiritually, and even attain salvation. 

 

In such sacrifice, in such service, the devas help man to grow spiritually. And what is the nourishment of the devas? The nourishment of the devas is Amrit, the ‘divine nectar of immortality’. Krishna says here that when you start serving with an attitude of surrender to the Divine, your life will be transformed and filled with this divine nectar. But this service should not be done to obtain personal aim. The service must be done out of surrender.

Bhagavad Gita