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11/06/2003
BG Chapter Nine: Yoga of Sovereign Knowledge and Sovereign Secret
9.1:
Sri Bhagavan said:
I
shall declare to you, who are not jealous of Me, the most supreme secret of Jnāna
and Vijnāna, by knowing which you will gain moksa (liberation) from the
miseries.
Jnāna
is “Self” knowledge; vijnāna is realized knowledge. Vijnāna does
not lend itself to elucidation by the faculty of reason and intellect. Self or
Brahman is beyond the grasp of human reason, intelligence, understanding and
analysis. The yogi, going into kaivalya and samādhi, gets glimpses
initially and later gets a better vision of the Self. Scientific inquiries and
discoveries fall within the ambit of prior knowledge, reason, intellect,
elucidation, characterization, and reproducibility. In Vijnāna, leave the
reason behind and take a leap of faith forward. Reason and intellect are
products of prakriti; therefore, with prakriti, it is not possible to understand
Purusa, Brahman, or “Self.” Prakriti is blind, while Purusa is lame.
Another way of putting it is that Purusa has spiritual vision and Prakriti has
physical strength. This sovereign wisdom or vision is direct and revealed and
the revelation is selective and depends on the depth and sincerity of pursuit in
yoga, bhakti, prapatti, and saranāgati. The Truth is there; the Light is
there; but avidya and māyā veil them. Once the veil lifts, It is there
for direct experience. (For details on samādhi, read the commentary on
verse 53, Chapter 2)
Jnāna
and Vijnāna: “knowledge of
the Self and realized knowledge.” Jnāna is Sabda-Brahman and Vijnāna
is Param-Brahman. Another way of putting is to say that Jnāna is the narrow
and straight path to God without any detours or diversions, and Vijnāna is
the destination itself. Here jnāna is an acquired knowledge of the self
from all sources, but vijnāna is direct experience of God. Jnāna is to
come under the magnetic influence of God and Vijnāna is to succumb to the
magnetism of God. Jnāna is to know that God exists by one's inner
experience; Vijnāna is to communicate and relate to God as a slave, a
servant, a child, a friend, a spouse, or a devotee. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and
Ramana Maha Rishi are among the few who arrived at Vijnāna status.
9.2:
This is the royal knowledge, the royal secret, the purest, and the
supreme, known by direct experience. It is in conformity with dharma,
comfortable (easy) to practice, and imperishable.
Tantras are big on direct perception. Bees, birds and animals insist on direct vision or perception in their behavior, before they act. Tantras also insist on Pratyaksa (direct perception) as evidentiary proof of existence of God. Brahman is the ultimate realization, knowledge and end of the journey. It (Parabrahman) is covered by Maya as a seed (here two cotyledons) is covered by a sheath. (In another instance, Siva and Sakti were compared to the two halves of the grain of gram covered by sheath.) It is also Siva and Sakti, Krishna and Kali, Mahabrahma, Mahavishnu, and Maharudra. It is One and goes by many names. If anyone regards the many forms of IT as many different entities, it is difficult for him to attain salvation. A sadhaka pursuing Sadhana attains siddhi, direct perception of Brahman. Tantra recommends not only worship of Siva and Sakti, but also Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesa, Surya (sun), and Siva
9.3:
Men, who do not have faith in this Dharma as said earlier, O Parantapa,
do not attain Me but exist (languish) in the mortal world of Samsāra.
Samsāra
is the long transmigratory journey the soul takes in this phenomenal world by
repeated births, deaths, and rebirths, before the soul attains Lord Krishna:
This Samsāra is a closed loop; it has to be broken to obtain a release. Have faith, will attain Brahman. Faith
nourishes the soul.
9.4:
This entire universe is pervaded with My unmanifest form (Avyakta-mūrtina).
All beings abide in Me and I do not abide in them. (All beings are dependent on
Me and I do not depend on them)
“All
beings are dependent on me and I do not depend on them” so says the
all-pervasive (Vibhu), the unmanifest and the omnipresent Brahman. This is
Sesi-Sesa, Master-slave relationship. All living entities and the universe are
like the leaves on a living tree; the leaves need the tree -- in this case the Brahman
--for its sustenance; a fallen leaf is a dead leaf. The jivatmas --the individual souls --are comparable to the seeds in the pomegranate fruit, and with the universe,
connect to Brahman, Krishna, or Narāyana like the baby in the womb connects
to the womb of the mother by its umbilical cord.
9.5:
And yet not all beings exist in Me. Look at My (yogam aisvaram) yogic
power. I am the source and the sustainer of all beings, but I do not remain in
them.
Yogam
aisvaram is the yogic power, mystery of Lord Krishna who creates, sustains, and
dissolves this universe, and yet the universe and beings do not affect Him. Is
He distancing Himself from His creation? Is this lack of concern? He is
concerned, connected, and immersed; yet He is not in them. Let me give you an
example: It is like the
relationship between a healer and the healed. The healer is concerned and does
everything to keep the patient alive and well; and yet he is not emotionally
involved with the patient. It is not lack of concern, but a question of
professional distance and emotional detachment in order that the patient is served
well and his needs are met. This seeming divine dissociation in this organic
connection of the souls to the Lord is healthy for the progress the soul makes
towards attainment of Brahman. There is also a relationship between purusa and prakriti; Purusa is spirit and therefore changeless; Prakriti is nature and
therefore subject to change; since prakriti is matter, it is unconscious and an
unconscious entity cannot comprehend, discriminate or intellectualize. Prakriti
and its unconscious products, such as ahankāra and buddhi cannot act by
themselves. Buddhi is like the hard drive in your computer; the hard drive
contains knowledge but is not knowledgeable. Buddhi receives light from Purusa
and that is how buddhi appears conscious, for buddhi minus purusa’s light is
like a disconnected hard drive. The subtle body or the empirical self consists
of prakriti and self to form a unit: Purusa-Prakriti (enlightened buddhi).
Because of the nearness of purusa (Self) to prakriti (buddhi) in this unit, the
purusa fools itself into believing that it experiences objects. It is like you
(Purusa) watching a boxing match. You are not the pugilist, but the real
pugilist gets you so wrapped up in the fight that you experience every blow and
you do all the counterpuching.
Therefore, Purusa is a witness or spectator. Purusa has good eyesight but lame;
and Prakriti has brawn and no vision. For that reason, Purusa rides on the
shoulders of Prakriti with only one goal: realization.
9.6:
As the mighty wind, always remaining in Akāsa, moves everywhere, know thou
that all beings abide in Me in the like manner.
The
wind moves in the ethereal space: Akāsa.
9.7:
All beings, O son of Kunti, enter into My nature at the end of a cosmic
cycle (kalpa). Again, I create them in the beginning of the cosmic cycle.
One
Kalpa is one day (similar to day as opposed to night) in the life of Brahma.
Another kalpa is the night in the life of Brahma. Two kalpas make a day and a
night of Brahma, and one ahoratra. 360 ahoratras make one year in the life of
Brahma. 360 X 100 years = 36,000 ahoratras, which is equal to 100 Brahma years
or 311.04 trillion human years. Brahma is now in His middle age. Brahma, the
creator of our age will die and dissolve in Avyakta and a new Brahma will be
created. Do not confuse Brahma with Brahman, who is Absolute. Brahma is the
creator; Brahmin or Brahmana is a human being belonging to the priestly class.
There is no one above Lord Krishna.
9.8:
Using Prakriti of My own Self, I send forth again and again the entire
multitude of beings, which are helpless under the control of Prakriti.
When
Prakriti comes under the light of the Greater Self, the creative cascade runs
its course, resulting in gods, men, animals and matter; this light or energy is
Avidya māyā in the embodiment of the human soul. The individual
soul or self is all wrapped up in sheaths known as kosas: Gunas (Sattva, Rajas,
and Tamas); food sheath; breath sheath; mind sheath; vijnāna sheath; and
bliss sheath. The poor soul tightly wrapped up in these kosas and jostled by the
gunas especially Rajas and Tamas pines for the day it can merge with the
Brahman; and for that to happen the jivātman has to shed all the kosas, the
karmas and the gunas.
9.9:
Not all these actions ever bind Me O Dhanajaya, because through all these
activities I remain unattached, unconcerned, or indifferent.
Dhananjaya
is another name for Arjuna and means conqueror of wealth, material riches. The
eternal laws of the universe governing prakriti, forming the basis of Dharma and
established by Krishna are collectively called Rta; the sentient and the
insentient are under the control of the respective applicable laws, which work
in regularity and precision ¾
like clockwork, with karma affecting only the sentient. Under these
circumstances, Krishna remains unattached and exercises His hands-off policy.
This is a big cosmic operation and He has to make sure that all these are
automated and error-proof. He is the Law; and by the way, He is above the Law
that He formulated. All this sounds that this is all mechanized and there is no
loving tenderness; but it is not so: He has an eye out for His devotees, whom He
holds dear. This is Vatsalya that is the parent-child or child-parent
relationship one has with his God.
9.10:
Under My supervision, Prakriti gives rise to both moving and unmoving. By this,
O son of Kunti, the world turns or revolves.
Avidya-māyā
is the driving force behind the projection of this universe and is the creation
of Mayin, the Lord, while Yogamāyā and atmamāyā are divine
processes by which He self-creates Himself to be born in this world. In the
latter two instances, karma and avidya are not in force, because He is Brahman
and Supreme; and He is above avidya and karma.
This
universe according to Sankara is a projection from Brahman and is like the waves
on the ocean surface. The waves are a projection or superimpositions, come and
go, rise and fall, and are the stuff of Prakriti. For the duration of the wave,
it has a name, a form, and a “life.” This transience and appearance
(projection and superimposition) are because of a phenomenon called avidya-māyā.
The wave comes up and goes down in a wink; that is māyā or illusion;
it is real for the duration of its existence; but the wave itself is not Real.
The Real is the ocean or Brahman and to say the wave is Real is avidya or
ignorance. If you remove the prakriti or the wave, you remove māyā and
avidya. Now you receive the direct vision of Brahman and in this allegory, you
see the ocean under the waves. The Rope and the Snake explain Avidya-māyā,
ignorance and illusion. In the dark, you see the rope and mistake it for a
snake; and this is superimposition: the snake is superimposed on a rope. One
should remove the superimposition or false impression of the snake from the
rope. What is the basis of the avidya-māyā? That is Time, Space, and
Causation that play havoc on our perception and comes between the Real and the
real.
9.11:
The fools ignore Me appearing in a human body, not knowing My Supreme
nature as the Maha Isvara of all beings.
Maha
Isvara means Great Controller and is the Supreme Lord and Controller of all
beings.
9.12:
Senseless men resorting to the (Mohini Prakriti) confusing nature of
Raksasas and Asuras, entertain vain aspirations, perform useless actions, and
possess useless knowledge.
Mōga:
vain, useless, unprofitable. Mōga-rasā, -karmāna, -jnāna:
vain aspirations, useless actions, and useless knowledge.
The
origin of the words, Sura and A-Sura:
When
the milk ocean was churned by the Suras and Asuras, a goddess by name Sura (Wine
goddess) rose up; the gods accepted her as their own, while the teetotaling
Asuras spurned her, vowing they would never touch the stuff, stay sober and
behave magnanimously towards their enemies. Suras worried about the harsh
discipline of Asuras. Suras also
enjoyed imbibing Soma drink, purportedly a hallucinogenic agent. Creation belief
is that Suras and Asuras are cousins; by extension man is part Sura and part
Asura.
Raksasas,
Asuras, and Suras mean devils, demons, and devas (gods). Brahma creates them
all; asura is one who is not a sura; sura is god. The asura sometimes lives in
Naraka, the hell; Nara stands for man, so Naraka is the abode of a fallen man.
Gods and asuras are the two sides of the coin and two ends of the spectrum
representing Sattva, and Tamas, with Rajas in-between. Suras are sattvic, asuras
are Rajasic, and Raksasas are Tamasic. The asuras and raksasas are of demonic
nature (Mohini Prakriti), which is dominant in Rajas and Tamas, but deficient in
Sattva. If man takes a fall, he goes to the abode of asuras; when he rises, he
goes to the abode of gods. Man is ontologically placed between gods and asuras
and it is up to him to ascend or descend. A senseless man, not knowing the
higher nature of self or Brahman drowns in thoughts, speech, and deeds of asuras
and raksasas. Devas and asuras are the two ends of the spectrum, the former
holding on to Truth and the latter holding on to untruth. Hitler was a Raksasa
and his thoughts, speech, and deeds were of Tamasic and Rajasic nature.
Sankaracharya defines Asuras as men and gods who do not have the knowledge of the Supreme Self. Others add more negative qualities to asura: greed, loss of memory of Self, ignorance of self, negligence of atman (self or soul). The lesser gods are exalted human beings and can fall into the ocean of Samsara, when their merits are spent.
9.13:
O Partha, but the great souls (Mahā-Ātma), who are of divine
nature (Daiva Prakriti), worship me with the mind fixed only on Me, know Me as
the cause of creation, and imperishable.
Mahātma
means great soul as in Mahatma Gandhi. In verse12, Krishna mentions Mohini
Prakriti and here He talks about Daiva prakriti. These are opposite qualities in
sura and asura (god and demon). Daiva Prakriti is of divine nature and Mohini Prakriti is of demonic nature. Divine nature is Sattva-dominant with
Rajas and Tamas filtered out by Chitta (buddhi, ahankāra and manas or
intelligence, egoism, and mind). Chitta is the modulator of our gunas; what
comes out after modulation is the way we behave. Sattva is knowledge, intellect,
light and balanced emotion; dominance of Rajas naturally means revved-up
emotions; Tamas is darkness, passivity, or negativity. Let me point out a small,
but significant detail: Gods, men, matter, and asuras all have all three
qualities, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. What is dominant is what matters. One
cannot exist without the other two, but gods are mostly Sattvic, while asuras and raksasas are mostly Tamasic and Rajasic respectively.
Know Me as the cause of creation: Creation is the result of Rajas. When all three gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) are in equilibrium and there is no movement, there is no manifestation. The three gunas are compared to a three-tired vehicle; the front tire is Rajas, the rear tires are Sattava and Tamas. When the Rajas tire moves straight, the result is creation; When it moves on the side of Sattva, it is maintenance; when it moves on the side of Tamas, it is dissolution. These three tires are controlled by the Big Wheel of Brahman --Svetasvatara Upanishad (1.4).
9.14:
Always singing My glories, striving, steadfast in vows, and offering
homage to Me with devotion, they are ever steadfast in worshipping Me.
Devotion has five stages: Nishtha (intent), Bhakti (devotion), Bhava (Becoming, feeling, existence), Mahabhava (Great feeling to or Love of God), and Prema (Intense Love).
This
reminds me of Alvars. They wrote and sang poems in glory of Narāyana. To an
Alvar, God is everything: God is water for his thirst, food for his hunger, and
pan for his pleasure. Pan is an after-dinner chewing delight consisting of an
aromatic mix of betel leaf, betel nut, lime and other ingredients to tickle the
taste buds. The urge to merge with God reads, “I am in You and You are in
me.” It is a one-track mind, always focused on Narāyana. My eyes see not
anything but You; My ears hear not anything but Your name;
You are on top of my mind; You are my Love; you are my everything. Here
this love is special to someone who is above him and who is God. That is
ParaBhakti (Supreme Bhakti). Then there is the yearning to see God in His
physical form. He begs, he pleads, he meditates, and his wish comes true. He
sees God shortly for a moment and it was only a glimpse. He wants more; he wants
it longer: That is ParamaBhakti, when he is in constant communion with God. In
relation to God, Alvars assume the role of the consort, foster-mother, bride
(Andal), father, and lass. This is spiritual love and not the ordinary, mundane,
or carnal love. This spiritual love depicts the intensity, as we know and
experience in the physical world but far exceeds it. There is nobody other than
God worthy of the intensity seen in these roles. Alvars in their love for God,
use creative devices to plead with God. They send love messages to God by the
clouds, the ocean, the wind, the birds, and the bees. An Alvar sends a parrot to
Tirumal (Lord Venakateswara or Narāyana or Krishna with a chiding message
saying that what wrong she did to deserve this lack of His mercy. Another Alvar
sends a heron to the Lord with the message that he may be a sinner, but deserves
not to be thrown out. He sends a buzzing bee, making loops and hoops to tell the
Lord that He should one day fly over on his Vahana Garuda (Celestial bird as his
air transport) before he dies, so he could catch a glimpse of Him. He sends a
gentle swan to tell the Lord that he, being a sinner, has gone insane from not
seeing Him. He sends a stork with fine plumes with a message: How long he, being
a sinner, should languish in this present forlorn condition considering that He
is the only refuge? When no response comes forth from God, and the Alvars are
down and out in depression, they seek help from friends, relatives, and
companions and send them out as messengers. Still there is no response from the
Lord. The Alvars are depressed. What can they do? They see unhappiness and grief
in anything and everything they see. It is the chill in the cold wind; it is the
darkness in the clouds; it is the grief in the roaring sea; it is the depression
of the waning moon; it is the darkness in the moonless night; it is the cry of
pain in the bird; it is the tears in the rain; it is the fever in the flame at
the separation from the Lord. The Alvar takes on the role of a witness and a
mother whose daughter went berserk. O my God, she is berserk; she is dejected;
she rambles; she babbles; she is wasting like a melting wax; she is throwing her
hands up; she is looking for God all over the place; she is mumbling the names
of Gods; and she mutters, splutters and explodes with bursts of glory of God.
Now the mother pleads with God: “She knows not sunrise from sunset. O Lord, you hold the
discus (of time) in your hands. What do you propose to do with this young
woman?” In another instance, the mother pleads with the Lord for her daughter:
“This young woman knows not sleep. She is in tears. She mutters O Discus, O
Conch, O Lotus eyes. What do you propose to do?” The Lord at last responds and
the Alvar gets vision of God. The Alvar says: “Your eyes glow like red lotus
flowers; Your body is brilliant like gold; Your teeth are sparkling white; You
wear your shining crown, garland, discus, conch, sacred thread, necklace, bow,
sword, and mace; You stand in me, your humble servant; your feet are golden.”
Nammalvar went into a six-month trance, because he could not bear the thought
that Krishna, the Lord of the universe, was tied down to a mortar by His
foster-mother Yasoda for stealing butter. Nammalvar could not reconcile with the
fact the Lord of the universe let Himself tied down to a mortar by a human or
jivātman. In another instance, the sages were so enchanted with Rama (one
of the Avatars of Vishnu) that they were born as milkmaids or gopikas in
relation to Lord Krishna. These milkmaids are reborn sages wanting to be around
Krishna. Krishna represents the Greater Soul and the gopikas are the lesser
souls or jivatmas; the jivatmas want to merge with Paramatma, the Supreme soul,
and the original source.
9.15:
Others, offering sacrifice of knowledge, worship Me as One (without a
second), while others worship Me as a distinct entity, or Visvatah-mukham in the
Universal form.
The
Lord says that He is One without a second, that He is the Lord, distinct from
other beings, and that He has a face on every side, looking in all directions.
Visvatahmukham means one of two: The
One having a face on every side, looking in all directions or the Universal
Being with multiple forms. A separate and distinct entity means the Lord is
separate from all other entities, and the verse depicts the two entities: The
greater Self and the individual self. This verse celebrates three kinds of
devotees; and when it comes to the Lord and the Universe, the verse is subject
to three interpretations: The Lord and the Universe is One; the Lord and the
Universe are two; the Lord and the body of the Lord of the universe of multiple
forms are one. This verse has significance for all sects; that is another Māyā
of the Lord: Monism for monists, dualism for dualists and visistadvaita
(“qualified nonduality, the doctrine the spirits of men have a qualified
identity with one Spirit,” according to the Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Sir
Monier-Williams) for visistadvaitists.
9.16:
I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the oblation, I am the
medicinal herb, I am the mantra, I am certainly the melted butter, I am the
fire, and I am the offering.
Tantrik Sastras claim with justification that Brahma and Sarasvati, Vishnu and Laksmi, Mahesara, Rama and Sita, Krishna and Rukmini, Ganga and others were initiated into Tantrik mantras.
Guru
Gautama sent
his student, Satyakāma to tend the cows; on his way back, none
other than God’s nature and creatures (Acit and Cit, Prakara), taught him
certain important facts about Brahman. The bull, the fire, the hamsa (swan) and
the diver bird in turn told Satyakāma that Brahman is the cardinal
directions, the earth, the ocean, the sky, the heavens, the fire, the sun, the
moon, the lightning, the breath, the eye, the ear, and the mind.
The
Lord assigns deities to take charge of directions, ten in all: East, Southeast,
South, Southwest, West, Northwest, North, Northeast, Upward and Downward. The
deities are called Dikpalas (guardians of directions). Starting from the East,
the Dikpalas are Indra for East, Agni for Southeast, Yama
for South, Nirrti for Southwest, Varuna for West, Vāyu for Northwest,
Kubera for North, Isa for Northeast, Brahmā for up direction and Ananta,
down direction.
9.17:
I am the father of this world, the mother, the supporter, and the
grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, and the purifier. I am Omkara (the
syllable AUM or OM), Rg, Sama, and Yajur Veda.
Lord
Krishna says that He is Omkara, the syllable OM. When Prajapati created gods,
men, asuras, animals and plants, there was AUM, which is monosyllabic and
primal. A quote from Chandogya Upanishad goes like this: “As the leaves are
held together by its stalk, so is the speech held together by AUM.” OM is
Brahman.
Sūta
addresses the Lord as Yajna Purusa (the Supreme Deity of Sacrifices). He is the
Sacrifice and Veda Incarnate and Vedas are his breath.
9.18:
I am the goal, the sustainer, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the
refuge, the selfless friend, the creation, the dissolution, the resting place,
the repository, and the imperishable seed.
Nidhānam:
a place of cessation or rest, depository, repository, storage area, a
place for the preservation of the souls in a subtle state.
The
Goal is God's abode and is reacheable by bhakti, prapatti and saranāgati
(devotion, resignation, refuge and self-surrender). The Supreme is all
pervasive, omnipresent, and sustaining. He is the witness in the sense He stays
as the Self in the spiritual heart of every living being. The parable of two
birds explains the role of Self as the ever-present witness: One is eating sweet
and sour fruits and the other remains unmoved in its majesty and
self-effulgence; the latter is the Self and the Witness, and as a friend is
nonjudgmental and offers a helping hand. All beings and matter originate from
Him and dissolve in Him. The Lord’s body is the abode of the universe and
beings; the Lord is the Repository (Nidhānam) where the entire universe of
the sentient and insentient remains in a potential and most elementary state
after dissolution.
9.19:
I give heat; I withhold and send forth rain. I am immortality and
certainly death. I am Sat (Being) and Asat (Nonbeing), O Arjuna.
At
the very beginning, there was Asat, Nonbeing: Asat is a state in which
names and forms do not exist (avyākrta-nāma-rūpam) but It is
potential existence, a state before existence. Sat in combination with fire,
water and earth produces all the manifestations of the world; fire is red, water
is white and earth is dark. Sankhya system borrowed these elements and their
colors and called them three gunas, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas (white, red and
dark). Sat, as Being, is the creator Vishnu, who only can SEE; Sat is light and
Asat is darkness; Sat is Real and One, and Asat is unreal and many. Sat is
Absolute; Asat is relative; Sat is Real; and Asat is illusion. “Many” comes
out of One and dissolves in One; Sat and Asat are complementary and antinomic.
In the dark depths of the ocean of ignorance, there is a (sightless) creature by
name Asat with avidya (ignorance), and unused eyes. If that creature sees an
object illuminated by the light of Sat, it is so blind that it cannot see the
field or the object under the spotlight. If you eliminate avidya or darkness,
how do you know light from darkness? Darkness is a necessary complement and
component of light. He is both Sat and Asat. The desire to see the light beyond
is a reason for the existence of Asat.
9.20:
The knowers of the three Vedas, who drink the soma juice and are cleansed of
their sins by sacrifices and worship, pray for reaching heaven (Indra’s abode)
and enjoying the divine pleasures.
These pious, reaching Indra's world, enjoy the celestial pleasures of
gods in heaven.
Indra,
worship of Indra, Indra’s anger towards Krishna, lifting of Govardhan hills.
Vridhavan
was a place of bounty because Nanda and the Gopas offered sacrifice to Indra, in
return for Dharma, Artha, and Kāma (right conduct, possessions, and worldly
pleasures). Krishna asked His father Nanda the meaning of
offering sacrifice to Indra, when Indra simply could not alter or expunge
people’s karma. Krishna advised the gopas to feed all animals and Brahmins and
make offerings to the Govardhana hill. Krishna assumed a gigantic form and said
that He was the consumer of their offerings; Indra, the Lord of clouds,
lightning, thunder, and rain, became mad and sent down torrential rains and
thunders for seven days. There was water everywhere; people and animals were in
fear of the floods. Krishna held up the Govardhana hill; and people, animals,
and cows took shelter under the hill; the gopas were wonder-struck seeing the
seven-year old Krishna holding up the hill. Indra, having realized his mistake
and self-conceit, came down from heaven and asked for forgiveness from Krishna,
who accepted his apologies and said to him that He did him a favor by taking
away his power and teaching him humility. Krishna protects all those who take
refuge in, and surrender to Him. As an aside, Indra was born from the crown of
Brahma. The message is that Krishna’s abode is higher than heaven, that his
devotees get protection from him, and that He is the only one who has the power
to offer release from karmic shackles.
Child Krishna holding up the hill
9.21:
Having enjoyed the wide world of heaven and exhausted the merit of their
pious deeds, they return to the world of mortals. Thus conforming to doctrine of
the three Vedas and desiring sense pleasures, they go and come (Gatāagatam,
Go and Come = death and rebirth).
The
gods of heaven are the creation of Vishnu, and Krishna is an avatār of Lord
Vishnu. All the sacrifices to lesser gods reach Vishnu Himself and the lesser
gods do not have the power to grant jivan mukti or liberation. Once the term
expires in the heaven of the lesser gods, the resident human beings return to
the revolving door of samsāra. Who wants it? The people, who bounce between
samsāra and the heaven of lesser gods, do not have the desire to see the
Light, Supreme Brahman. They want fulfillment of desires of the phenomenal
world, and what they seek is what
they get. Krishna says there is something higher than the god’s heaven and
that higher heaven offers eternal Bliss.
Knowledge
of Vedas by itself does not confer salvation. Knowing the Ultimate Reality is
different from study of Vedas; it is like a spoon that does not know the taste
of food. The flowers adorn the locks of hair on the head; only the nose knows
its fragrance. People recite Vedas; only a few understand them. Brahman is in
your heart; he seeks him in sastras. The
goat is in the barn; the shepherd looks for it in the well. Once you draw the
essence of Vedas, leave it aside. Once you take the corn, leave the husk aside.
Once you know nectar, all other foods are of no use. Knowledge of sastras does
not guarantee moksa; inner experience does. A guru’s word can bring release,
while the study of millions of scriptures is in vain. There are two words, which
mean bondage and release. The word ‘Mine’ keeps you in bondage; the word
‘Not Mine’ offers release or moksa (Garuda Purana, II.49.verses).
9.22:
To those people, who think of Me excluding all else, worshipping Me
always and devoted to Me, I bring yogam and ksemam (success and security).
9.23:
Those, who are devotees of other gods showing full faith, worship Me
only, O son of Kunti. However, they worship against the prescribed rules (Avidhi-pūravakam).
9.24:
I am the enjoyer of all sacrifices and the Lord. But they do not know My
true nature and therefore they fall (into samsāra of birth and rebirth).
9.25:
Worshippers of gods go to the gods; worshippers of ancestors go to the
ancestors; those who make offering to spirits go to the spirits; those who
sacrifice to Me come to Me.
What
you seek is what you get. Know
thou what thou seekest. Let me give you a modern-day example. The great
contributors (worshipers and sacrificers) to an elected official are rewarded
with plum posts in the administration, which is a heaven during the tenure of
the officeholder. They avail themselves of the abundant opportunity to make a
name, gain fame, and use closeness for personal benefit, if they so desire. Once
the tenure of the elected official is over, the contributors (the worshippers
and sacrificers) go back to where they were before the election.
There are thousands of gods in the Hindu pantheon, belonging to one of the many sects such as Vaishnava, Saiva and Sakta sects. Vaishnavas worship Lord Vishnu; Saivas worship Siva and Saktas worship Mother Goddess who may be Mahalakshmi or Devi (Spouse of Siva). There is one God; sectarians call him by different names: Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Mahalakshmi, Devi. Once a god becomes the object of worship by a sectarian, He or She assumes all the roles of creation, preservation, and destruction. It is a commonly held view that Krishna becomes the sectarian God with different names, gender, and attributes. Mahalakshmi is the sakti of Vishnu or Krishna; Devi is the Sakti of Siva; Sarasvati is the Sakti of Brahma; under these conditions they bear the name of Vishnumayi, Sivamayi and Brahmamayi, who individually in her sectarian role is Isvari (Master-controller). Gods of all sects do not rival with one another especially in the eyes of the devotee for all sectarian gods declare that if a devotee does not respect the other gods or goddesses, that person is not his or her devotee either. It is very common to note in Puranas and Tantric literature that they eulogize one another; but there are instances esp. in Tantric texts where Devi reins supreme over Siva, who is regarded as Sava (dead) without the power (Sakti) of Devi.
9.26:
Whoever offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water with devotion,
piety and purity, (is My devotee). I accept them.
Nothing
is too small or too unimportant when the devotee makes the offer in the spirit
of devotion, piety, and purity. Every one of us, even the poorest of the poor,
can afford to make offerings of a few drops of water to the Lord, who does not
expect much from His devotees.
Kuchela
and a gift of a fistful of paltry parched rice
The
story of Kuchela is in order here. It is not what you give that matters, but the
devotion and the spirit behind the offer. Kuchela a poor Brahmin and Krishna
were students at the academy, Gurukulam and after their Gurukulam days, they
went their separate ways. Kuchela was rag-poor; Krishna was God Himself. Kuchela,
his wife and their twenty-seven children went hungry on many occasions. The topic of Krishna
came about, and on the suggestion of his wife, Kuchela went to see Krishna for
help with a fistful of rice flakes as gift. Kuchela was received, dined, and
doted by Krishna and Rukmini; they talked about their old days at the Gurukulam.
Kuchela did not offer his gift, and yet Krishna knew that Kuchela brought a
gift, pried it out of Kuchela, and ate the sweat-laden flakes with great relish. Kuchela
left Krishna, and on his way back home, remembered that he forgot to ask Krishna
for His help. When he returned home, Kuchela noticed a palace in the place of
his hut and his children all well-dressed and his wife smiling. This story goes
to tell that Lord Krishna will accept trifle as an offering from his pious
devotee.
9.27:
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever offerings you make, whatever
you give away, and whatever austerities you perform, O son of Kunti, do that
offering unto Me.
9.28:
You will be freed from the bondage of karma bearing good and bad fruits.
With your mind steady in yoga of renunciation, and thus liberated, you will come
to Me.
Karma,
avidya, ahankāra are productive of bondage; avidya is ignorance and ahankāra
is mine-ness. Karmic inflows into the subtle body guarantee cycle of birth and
rebirth; good karmas bring wholesome effects and bad karmas bring bad results.
Null karma is the perfect entity, guaranteeing no samsāra, the journey in
this phenomenal world. An act will not carry a karmic load either meritorious or
unmeritorious, if that act carries the spirit of renunciation with no
expectation of reward. Yoga of renunciation neutralizes karma. Meritorious karma
brings good accruements to life, but that material existence is not comparable
to jivanmukti, emancipation during life. Jivanmukti is Satchitananda (Being,
awareness, and Bliss).
Samsāra
is the oil-lamp, where Karma is the oil, mind is the container, body is the
wick, and Spirit is the fire or flame. Oil-lamp
(Samsara) gives light (life) as long as the fire (spirit) is in contact with the
wick (body) soaked in oil (Karma) coming from the mind (container). Karma is the
fuel, and when you withhold the fuel, there is no karmic inflow into the subtle
body and moksa (liberation) is a reality.
9.29:
I am the same to all living beings. No one is despicable or dear to Me.
They, who worship Me with devotion, are in Me, and I am certainly in them.
9.30:
Even the one, who commits the most sinful acts, worships with exclusive
devotion to Me, must be (thought of as) a sadhu, because he has rightly
resolved.
The
worst sinner, when he repents, changes his ways, becomes a devotee of Lord
Krishna and worships Him in all sincerity and honesty, will reach His feet;
thus, such a transformed soul is none other than a sadhu.
Here
is an instance of how a real-life chieftain turned bandit (born 776AD) became a
devotee of Lord Narāyana Himself. This chieftain, by name Tirumangai Alvar,
married Kumudavalli, the adopted daughter of a local doctor. The bride extracted
a promise that the chieftain would feed 1008 Vaishnavas daily for one year. He
decided to fulfill his promise by highway robbery. One day during his routine
robbery, he tried to remove the rings off the toes of a bride, but could not.
The bandit realized that he was stealing from Mahalakshmi Herself, the consort
of Lord Narāyana. Narāyana revealed to him spiritual knowledge and
turned a bandit into a saint. The saint traveled all over India singing Narāyana’s
glories.
9.31:
Soon he becomes a righteous soul (Dharmātma) and attains to lasting
peace. O son of Kunti, let it be known that My devotee never perishes.
9.32:
O son of
Partha, they, who take refuge in Me, though they are women, Vaisyas, Sudras and
Chandalas (those born of women with wombs of sin), attain the Supreme Goal.
Vaisyas
are merchants and Sudras (the workers) are the fourth class in varnasrama
dharma. Here Krishna is talking about the Varna system, as it existed that day.
As said below, Krishna has clearly told the Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas, and
Sudras are separated by their gunas and NOT by their birth Varna. A Brahmin by
birth and not by guna is a pseudobrahmin or a Brahmana bandhu. When it comes to
devotion to Lord Krishna, a devoted chandala (a person below and outside the
Varna system, born of a Brahmin mother and Sudra father) is dear to the Lord. A
womb of sin refers to the Brahmin mother’s womb carrying a Sudra’s child.
Devotion or bhakti is the key requirement to attain the Supreme. The whole
humanity can be divided into classes of people according to their gunas. Those
with Sattvic qualities and devoted to God of their choice and of any religion
will attain the Lord. God is One and names are many.
Bhagavata
purana (Book 11.18.18) states that a Vanaprasthya (Hermit) can go for alms to
the houses of Brahmin-Brahmanas, before he seeks alms (begs for food) from
Brahmin-Ksatriyas, Brahmin-Vaishyas, and Brahmin-Sudras. This division of
Brahmins has come into existence in kali age, when the Brahmanas took up other
professions. Thus, Brahmana’s profession and Varna is according to his
profession, Vrttibheda.
Gita
C18V41
The Brahmanas, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras, O
Parantapa, are separated by the gunas (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) born of their
own nature.
9.33:
How much more (difficult) would that be for pious Brahmins, devotees, and
devout royal sages (to attain Me)? Having come into this impermanent world of
miseries or unhappiness, (you) should worship Me.
If a competent person does not bow down to Cakrapani (the Lord with the
discus), he simply destroys the grass, meaning that he is a grass-grazing beast
(Garuda Purana, 1.228.4).
A single, sincere bow done with faith to Krishna who
is dark and handsome like the cloud sanctifies even a Chandala, who cooks (and
eats) dog’s flesh (GP, 1.228.5).
A single Namaskara (worship by prostration with palms
together) to Visnu by falling down like a stick on the ground attains a goal
(liberation) that exceeds that of a hundred sacrifices (GP, 1.228.7).
Take refuge in the Mantra ‘Namo Narayana’
(obeisance to Narayana), while sitting down, laying down or standing up, whether
here, there or anywhere (GP, 1.228.8).
9.34:
Always think of Me, become My devotee and worshipper, and offer Namaskar
(homage) to Me. Having your atma (self or soul) fully engaged in Me, you would
come to the Supreme Me.
End
BG Chapter Nine: Yoga of Sovereign Knowledge and Sovereign Secret