11/11/2003
BG Chapter 12 Bhakti
12.1: Arjuna said:
Those devotees who are absorbed in You, and those who worship You as
the Aksaram (Imperishable) and the Avyaktam (Unmanifested): who among these
have the most knowledge of yoga?
Aksaram: Imperishable, Avyaktam:
Unmanifested. The devotees worship the Supreme in three modes: The
Imperishable, the Unmanifest, and the Personal God. The Imperishable Aksaram
consists of three parts: the Lower, the Higher, and the Higher than the Higher.
The lifeless Prakrti is the lower Aksara. The Vishnu-dependent Aksara is Higher
Prakrti or Aksara. This Higher Prakrti or Aksara is associated with Sri. Hari
or Vishnu Himself is Higher than Higher and therefore perfect in all
excellences or attributes. This Higher than the Higher Aksara or the
Imperishable is the same as Brahman. All other gods who do not meet the highest
standards of excellences and attributes are Non-Brahman. Therefore, Brahman is
One, only ONE, second to none, or One without a second. No (more) excellences
can be appended to Brahman. This Imperishable can neither be sought nor
avoided, because it is everywhere. According to Sankara, Brahman is space and
the transmigrating selves are like the jars. It is false knowledge to say that
the jar spaces are different from the unlimited space outside the jars. The
Unmanifest or Avyakta springs from the Imperishable; Hiranyagarbha, the
primordial golden egg comes from the Unmanifest or Avyakta; and the whole world
projects from Hiranyagarbha.
In Vedanta, Ākāsa (ether), Aksaram, and māyā are
used interchangeably. Pluripotential Ākāsa is undeveloped and
imperishable principle from which all beings and the variegated universe
project. Ākāsa is the basic material and stem substance of the
sentient and the insentient. We are made of stardust; that stardust originates
from Ākāsa. Prāna is the power that breathes life into beings or
acts as the immutable laws of nature (Rta), such as magnetism, gravity, and other
natural phenomena. This prāna is not mere breath. The beings and the
universe project from and involute in Ākāsa on dissolution.
How could that be possible that
Ākāsa is the pluripotential stem substance of this sentient and insentient
universe? The following example supports the idea: There is a pluripotential
stem cell in the bone marrow and the umbilical cord blood; this stem cell has
the ability of transforming itself into any cell in the universe of human
body. According to Sruti, Akāsa contains the earth and the heaven;
Brahman contains Akāsa; Ākāsa is behind the names and forms,
meaning that it is the cause or origin or the stem substance.
Ākāsa is the matter
and Prāna is the power; both are under the control of Isvara.
Prāna is energy: Prāna
energizes transformation of Ākāsa from a primordial pluripotential
stem element to a substance in this world of evolution; Prāna encompasses
all energies discovered and yet undiscovered. It is thought, it is motion, it
is gravity, it is lightning, it is energy in the atom, it is the motion in the
atoms, and it is the juice in everything. Any discovered or undiscovered energy
in our body or universe is prāna; call it by any name―respiration,
nerve conduction, thought, gravity, magnetism and other natural phenomena.
What has
bliss anything to do with sleep? What is absorption of the self into Self?
For Sustenance, every
Jivātman or the lower self needs communion with the Higher Self. Without
that daily dose of sustenance, we are as bad as dead. Deep sleep facilitates
sustenance by this union. It is as if the lesser self goes to the Higher Self
for its daily dose of sustenance or recharging and boosting of its batteries.
It is like being plugged into the grid every night. In deep sleep, as it were,
we do not exist in physical terms; our body does not exist, as it were. We (our
souls) know our identity. We are not the body, the mind and the senses, but the
self. The lower self and the Higher Self commune in the spiritual heart and the
former basks in the Bliss of the Higher Self: Yes, we are all yogis during deep
sleep because we are pure, stainless, sinless, and free from dualities.
According to Paingala Upanishad, we (our souls) enter our own nature (during
deep sleep). According to Chāndogya Upanishad, we enter the Brahma world
(Brahman) during deep sleep. In deep sleep, all of us enjoy union with the
Brahman of the Spiritual Heart. After all, we are each a fragment of the Higher
Self (Brahman) and go Home to our Maker; this nightly bliss is for the ordinary
beings for their sustenance. If one becomes a perfected yogi, that yogi can
enjoy that Bliss any time, any place. That is Turiya, Eternal Bliss, or wakeful sleep.
Prasna Upanishad states the following: As the birds need a tree for rest, they
all (we) find rest in the Supreme Self. In deep sleep, the soul becomes one
with Brahman. We do not seem to know it.
The Highest Self is Brahman; this lower self has four quarters. The
lower self takes us from the outer world to the inner world (from the waking
state via dream sleep to deep sleep, and then to Turiya) so we meet the greater
Self for attaining Bliss. This journey of the self is similar to the
ontological journey of Brahman from the Unmanifest to the manifest through
various stages. It appears in this scheme that the lower self at the end of its
journey meets the Greater Self at “Point Bliss.”
Since we are embodied souls, we are endowed with three states of consciousness; the Higher Consciousness, Turiya, is a state realizable only by Yogis . These three states attests to the dualistic world, while Turiya attests to monistic world. The soul sprang from a monistic source and took its birth in a bodily form in the dualistic world. Turiya restores that monism that we sprang from.
New eponyms from Brahman: A parallel is drawn with X and Y chromosomes.
Macrobrahman, Mayabrahman, and Avidyabrahman or microbrahman: Transcendent Brahman without attributes is Pure Consciousness and therefore is Macrobrahman. Isvara is Mayabrahman or Macrobrahman with Maya. Human beings with a load of Avidya (ignorance) are microbrahmans or Avidyabrahmans. These eponyms are coined by me for easy identification of three levels of Brahman. Macrobrahman is Parabrahman or Supreme Brahman. Aparabrahman (Sabdabrahman) is Siva and Sakti ensconced in a sheath of Maya. Aparabrahman state is Parang-Bindu (complementary halves of seed, two halves or cotyledons wrapped in a tight skin or sheath). Polarization of Siva and Sakti takes place within the sheath; this is like the polarization of the X and the Y chromosome in Meiosis with the resultant X and Y gametes. This polarization of Siva and Sakti is Parasaktimaya; Sakti (Unmuki) turns toward Siva for a longing glance from Siva. When the Maya sheath explodes with the sound of Ham and Sa ( Hamsa Mantra), Sakti undergoes reduction division: Bindu, Bija and Nada. Bindu and Nada are the progenitors of universe. Bija is the mystic syllable of Mantra.
Brahman has four states upon becoming Isvara, and man has the first three states of
consciousness with the fourth state achievable only by meditation and
realization.
(1) Visva is
the waking state and entails cognition of external objects and duality of
experience. Consciousness is outward moving. It is the perceptual self and
entails actions, reactions, and dualities. The empirical world is its
playground. The sound A of AUM corresponds to the waking state, which is
Vaisvānara meaning “relating to all men.” (See below, compared to level
four.) The presiding deity is
Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna and the Grandson of Lord Krishna; He is one of
the four emanations (Vyūhas) of Purushottama. In Garuda Purana, nine forms
of Visnu are listed: Sudarsana, Hari, Acyuta,
Trivikrama, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Samskarsana, Aniruddha, and Ananta
If an aspirant meditates on Brahman in the Visva state, he returns to earth as human being and enjoys the objective world.
(2) Taijasa
is the dream state, in which we enjoy subtle objects. We experience duality
such as pain and pleasure; consciousness is inward moving; the self is
imaginative and the dreams are woven from the experiences of the waking state.
The self is released temporarily from the empirical world. Mind is active and the senses are inactive
and disengaged from the sense objects. The sound U of AUM corresponds to this state.
(See below, compared to level three.) The presiding deity is Pradyumna, the son
of Lord Krishna and Rukmini; He is one of the four emanations of Purushottama.
If an aspirant meditates on Brahman in Taijasa state, he reaches the subjective world of Soma Loka (Sphere of Moon) after his death. After his sojourn there, he comes back to earth to live among human beings.
(3) Prajna is
deep sleep. No desire is known or expressed. This third quarter of the self is
prajna (a state of knowledge), full of received bliss, and enjoys bliss.
Consciousness enjoys peace and there is no awareness of external or internal
objects. It is a temporary state during deep sleep; it is a conceptual self in
that the concepts are incubated without awareness until they are hatched. This
state of union with Brahman confers a temporary relief lasting for the length
of deep sleep. It is Prajna consciousness because it does not have
heterogeneous experience of the empirical world and it knows only one
homogeneous mass of Bliss. It is not Bliss itself, but enjoys Bliss. The Higher
Self is all Bliss; Brahman is all Bliss. Objective consciousness is absent, but
its seed is present. The sound M of AUM corresponds to this state. (See Below,
compared to level two.) Samkarshana is the presiding deity, one of the four
emanations of Purushottama; He is Balarāma who originated from embryo
transfer from Devaki’s womb to Rohini’s under the direction of Yoga Maya power
of the Lord. The embryo transfer was necessary because maternal uncle Kamsa
killed six male children of Devaki before, on hearing a voice from the sky tell
him that the eighth male child of Devaki would kill him (Kamsa). Samkarshana
means extraction of anything and in this instance, it stands to mean the actual
process of extraction and transfer of embryo from one womb to another womb; He
is the second of the four forms of Purushottama.
If an aspirant meditates on Brahman as a whole (all three parts or AUM), he goes after death to the sphere of the Sun from where he goes to Satya Loka, where he becomes one with the Absolute. He becomes homogenized with all other souls (with no distinction) that joined the Absolute.
(4) Turiya is Spiritual Transcendental consciousness. Visva, Taijasa, and Prajna merge and fuse sequentially. Turiya is without any attributes. It is santam, sivam, and advaitam (peace, goodness, and nondual), for didactic purposes. It or He is the Self. Objective consciousness is absent and its seed is absent. Ramana Maharishi calls this “Wakeful Sleep.” Turiya is present and functional in the perfected ones, even when they are awake. In Turiya, there is an irreversible union with Brahman: There is Oneness with Brahman. There is a permanent Metaphysical Unity. There are four progressive Turiya states, one deeper and subtler than the earlier one. The silence that follows the Sound AUM corresponds to this state. (See Below, compared to level one.) The presiding deity is the Supreme Vāsudeva Himself; He is Vāsu and Deva, meaning an indwelling God.
If an aspirant meditates on Brahman in all his four parts (AUM-Silence) he becomes non-dual with Brahman.
It is obvious from
this that each of the four states of consciousness is presided by one of four
emanations (Vyūhas) of the Lord: Aniruddha, Pradhyumna, Samkarshana, and
Vāsudeva. (Note: The fifth entity is Prakrti (the Bhutas) which is not an
emanation of Vāsudeva as the other three are. This fifth entity is a
material complement to the spiritual side.
Vasudeva is the first and the most important
presiding Lord over Citta (reason); next comes Sankarsana, the serpent (Ananta)
manifestation of the Lord, who presides over ego and destroys the universe at
the time of dissolution. Pradyumna, the son of Krishna, is the third Vyuha
presiding over knowledge of the universe, intellect and comprehension, and
creation. Aniruddha is the fourth Vyuha presiding over the mind and the senses
and sustenance of the universe of beings.
The primary Vyuhas are arranged from your left
to right without regard to order in the lineage but with centrality of
importance given to Krishna (Vasudeva) and His brother, Sankarsana (Baladeva):
Pradyumna-Sankarsana-Vasudeva-Aniruddha, (Krishna’s emanations or
manifestations). Pradyumna is the creator; Aniruddha is the protector; Sankarsana
is the destroyer; and Vasudeva is the supervising and the controlling
authority.
|
Pradyumna |
Samkarshana |
Vasudeva |
Aniruddha |
|
Son of Lord Krishna and Rukmini |
Brother of Lord Krishna, aka
Baladeva |
Lord Krishna Himself, son of Vasudeva
and Devaki |
Grandson of Lord Krishna and
Son of Pradyumna |
|
Dream sleep |
Deep Sleep |
Turiya |
Wakefulness |
|
Mahat |
Jivan |
Paramatman |
Ahamkara |
|
Creator |
Destroyer |
All qualities |
Sustenance (Protector) |
|
Knowledge and Intellect |
Ego |
Citta |
Mind and senses |
|
Presiding deity: Brahma |
Presiding deity: Rudra |
Presiding deity: The Soul |
The presiding deity: Moon |
|
Vyuha |
Pradyumna |
Sankarsana |
Vasudeva |
Aniruddha |
|
Attributes |
|
|
Jnāna (Wisdom) |
|
|
|
|
Aisvarya (Auspiciousness) |
Aisvarya (Auspiciousness) |
|
|
|
Sakti |
|
Sakti (Energy/Power) |
|
|
|
Bala |
|
Bala (Strength) |
|
|
|
|
|
Virya (Valor) |
Virya |
|
|
|
|
Tejas (Splendor) |
Tejas |
|
Color |
The Rays of the Sun |
Red |
White |
Dark |
|
Color of Raiment |
Red |
Blue |
Yellow |
White |
|
Weapons in four hands |
Bow, Arrows, Conch, and abhaya
mudra |
Plough, Pestle, Conch, and Abhaya
mudra |
Discus and Mace, Conch, and
Abhaya mudra |
Sword, club, Conch, and Abhaya
mudra |
|
Special weapons |
Bow and arrows |
Plough and pestle |
Discus and mace |
Sword and club |
|
Alternate configuration |
Right upper: M Right lower:C Left upper:L Left lower:D |
Right upper: L Right lower: C Left upper: D Left lower: M |
Right upper: D Right lower: C Left upper: L Left lower: M |
Right upper: D Right lower: L Left upper: M Left lower: C |
|
Banner, Emblem |
Makara (crocodile) |
Tala (palm tree) |
Garuda (Eagle) |
Mrga (deer) |
M=Mace,
C=Conch, L=Lotus, and D=Discus.
All
manifestations show abhaya mudra: freedom from fear, depicted by the open palm of
the right hand raised to the level of the chest and facing forward.
(4A) Jiva
Turiya: Jiva (individual self) realizes its pristine spiritual nature and its organic
relationship with God or Self. Duality still exists: self and Self
(4B) Para
Turiya: Jiva realizes Brahman; and union, absorption, or merger takes place;
they are still “NOT” united in essence. Duality is still apparent between
object and subject, Jiva and Brahman. It is worthwhile to remember that
Brahman, the all-knowing subject, can never become an object.
(4C) Brahman
Turiya: Jiva unites with Brahman, and is fully absorbed and integrated into One
Being.
(4D) Beyond Turiya: Jiva and Brahman become ONE as butter is poured into butter, and water is mixed with water. It is an undifferentiated and homogeneous state of subject-object fusion.
(Saiva Siddhanta: Siddhantists say that this Turiya state is experiencing of Suddha Vidya of Suddha Tattvas through Samadhi yoga. Turiyatita [the fifth state] is experiencing higher states of Consciousness as follows.)
Saiva Siddhanta points to another state beyond Turiya called Turiyatita, [which is consolidation of Turiya], which has two phases: Un-mesham Consciousness, the opening of the eyes (Isvara Tattva is attained) and Nimesha Consciousness, the closing of the eyelids (Sadasiva Tattva is attained). Un-mesham is opening of the eyes; Nimesha is closing of the eyes. Sadasiva Tattva (Nimesha) experience and Consciousness are deeper and purer than the Isvara Tattva (Un-mesham) Consciousness, and the yogi enjoys equality with Siva, when Siva reveals his Grace to the Yogi. For more information on Suddha Tattvas, refer to TATTVAS-36.htm
Yogi
ascends the Tattvas from the Muladhara plane to Sahasrara plane where the Yogi
enters Turiyatitta for onward journey to the source of SuperConsciousness or
Pure Consciousness; it is a retrograde involutional process (as opposed to
evolutional descent of Consciousness from Superconsciousness to mere human
consciousness to sub-consciousness and instinct in animals), which is Jiva's
homecoming to the source where creative cascade starts. As the Yogi ascends the
Suddha Tattvas from Vidya Tattva through Isvara, Sadasiva, Sakti to Siva Tattva,
the Consciousness becomes purer and purer, when it is the Purest at Siva Tattva.
The following
tells us the distinction between the Absolute and God; Brahman and Isvara;
Turiya and Prajna.
Level
One: The Absolute, Brahman, Turiya, and
the Silence after AUM have a horizontal relationship with one another. All are
Imperishable Brahman. It is all thought, all Bliss, no dream, no activity, no
name, no form, all light and all absolute repose.
Level
Two: God, Isvara, Prajna, and AUM belong
to the category of the Unmanifest becoming the manifest universe of beings and
matter. he is the Sutratman (Thread-Soul) running
through all the souls of the universe. These are derivatives of the imperishable immeasurable Brahman. Brahman
BECOMES ISVARA OR PERSONAL GOD with pure wisdom or Prajna. Brahman does not
diminish or cease to be, by becoming Isvara. Isvara is the Principle behind the
Mula-Prakrti or the unmanifested, the inner guide (controller) of all souls.
This is compared to deep sleep.
Level
Three: Isvara is the immediate cause of Hiranyagarbha, which is the embryo
of the world. When this embryo (an internalized state compared to the dream state, ideas, and possibilities) projects into
space and time, we get Virāt or manifestations. Ramanuja says that Isvara
is the inner controller of Cit and Acit (Beings and universe, sentient and
insentient).
Level
Four: When the embryo stage matures and is exteriorized, the manifest world is
like the waking state.
Turiyatitia, Turiya, Suspti, Svapna, Jagrat have concordance with Avyakta, Brahman, Isvara, Hiranyagarbha, and Virat.
The Triads:
| Three states of consciousness | Jagrat | Svapna | Susupti |
| 3 individual Jiva | Visva | Taijasa | Pajna |
| 3 collective Jiva | Vaisvnara | Hiranyagarbha | Sutratman |
| three functions of the Lord | creation | maintenance | destruction |
Coming back to sleep, science is still trying to explain why we have and need dream (REM sleep) and deep sleep NREM sleep). NREM = Non-rapid eye movement sleep. The newborn spends many hours in REM sleep. REM and sleep are two entities; REM can occur without dream in injuries of frontal lobe and perceptive brain. Dolphins sleep while swimming with half brain at work and half brain in REM mode. Humans spend two hours dreaming in REM sleep. Deprivation of deep sleep kills rats a few weeks faster than deprivation of REM sleep. Medications can alter sleep states.
Premature babies and Immature animals spend longer periods in REM sleep. It appears, younger the brain, more REM sleep is needed. It is reasonable to think that the newborns are laying down new neural pathways and building new neurons during REM sleep; the human baby's brain grows three times its size during the first year. REM sleep is dream sleep. Do the newborns have dreams during REM sleep? It is anybody's guess. During REM sleep mind is active, and transmitter brain chemical, pontine acetylcholine sets the stage, while noradrenaline and serotonin the chemicals next in the cascade series activate the frontal brain to have the dream run; dream lets you drive your car in dream sleep, but does not get you out of the bed to go to your car and drive it, because REM sleep is associated with muscle paralysis. REM dream sleep is paradoxical paralytic sleep, paradoxical because the brain acts as if it is awake, though the muscles are paralyzed. REM is a cholinergic state and a dream-trigger while dream itself is a dopaminergic state. The drama of dream needs an intact of frontal and perceptual cortex (Occipito-temporo-parietal junction) and dream-paralysis of motor cortex. Frontal cortex is the site of dream, but the interpretation of images, colors, smells, texture and sound takes place as usual in visual and auditory cortex. The images and perceptions are not fed from an outside world, but are internally generated and so the frontal cortex does not exercise judgment but plays the role of out-of-body spectator. REM sleep is necessary for mental health and NREM is necessary for physical health.
Some people with somnambulism might do complex activities in total absence of awareness of what they are doing. Waking mentation and consciousness, and normal inhibitions and volitions are absent, automatism takes over control of acts, of which they may not have a memory. It is dissociative motor arousal (mind-body dichotomy) without volition or inhibition; it takes place during stages 3 and 4 of deep Sleep. Automatism is seen in psychomotor epilepsy and other conditions. This is not the place for discussion of criminal automatism.
When retrograde involution takes place, the Cit,
the Acit, Hiranyagarbha, and Isvara go into Brahman. AUM straddles all levels
and is imperishable. A is for the waking state, U is for the dream state, and M
is for the Deep Sleep. The silence that follows AUM is the Turiya State. AUM is
worshipped as Isvara and Brahman.
Devotion is of several kinds,
thus bringing different results; the object of devotion or worship can range
over a wide array: nature, lesser gods, personal God, holy places, holy
objects, Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman. The Self is the same in all these
entities. The fruits of this worship or devotion are according to the object of
worship, and can range from acquisition of earthly goods to success in certain
endeavors: graduated liberation, samādhi, jivanmukti, or moksa. The choice
of worship depends on the mental make-up and the aptitude of the devotee; not
everyone can become a Jnāna Yogi. They may have to be satisfied with karma
yoga, bakhti yoga, or Prapatti and Sarnāgati. The self is the same in the
snake worshipper and the yogi practicing Jnāna yoga, but at both ends of
the spectrum and in-between it is conditioned by the excellence of the mind,
though all have the potential for eventual moksa. The Yogi sees God in the
Higher Self without attributes (he is beyond attributes) or Nirguna Brahman and
does not see any problem with worship of idols, icons and images, which become
a repository of sacred vibrations received at consecration.
Jung says, "A symbol, then, is a living gestalt or form-- the sum total of a highly complex set of facts which our intellect cannot master conceptually, and which therefore cannot be expressed in any way other than by the use of an image." The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga, Page 61.
This brings into question the views of some (which we respect) that images, icons, and idols should not be used to represent God.
12.2: Sri Bhagavan said:
They, who fix their mind on Me,
always engage in worship with supreme faith and are considered by Me as perfect
among yogis.
12.3-4: Those, who worship the Aksaram, the indefinable, the Avyaktam,
the Omnipresent, the Acintyam, the Unchanging, the Immovable and the Eternal,
control all the senses, remain levelheaded (even-minded) under all
circumstances, and dedicate themselves to the welfare of all creatures, attain
Me.
Aksaram:
Imperishable. Avyaktam: Unmanifested. Acintyam: Inconceivable:
12.5: Greater is the difficulty for those whose thoughts are attached
to the Unmanifest (Avyakta), for the progress towards attaining the Unmanifest
by the embodied is difficult
It is
difficult to concentrate one's mind on a formless, nameless, unmanifest, imperishable,
blissful, undifferentiated, indestructible, immutable, and impersonal Nirguna
Brahman or Param-Brahman; it is easier to concentrate on Isvara or personal
God. Jnāna yogis and transcendalists can meditate on Param Brahman or
Nirguna Brahman; but Isvara, Narāyana or Krishna is for a bhakta or a
devotee for each one of them has a name, a form and attributes. Each one of us
is endowed with a body: Jivātman (individual soul) is wrapped in kosas or
sheaths, which are easily identifiable, because kosas create a mental image;
and the self or jivātman stays unseen in the spiritual heart. We are used
to and can easily relate to names, forms, and zip codes. An abstract concept
with no name or form is not a problem for a perfected yogi, but does not lend
itself easily for a mental grasp and hold in most of the embodied jivatmas.
12.6: For them, who renounce all their activities to Me, and fix on Me
without any distraction, showing their devotion to Me, worshipping and
meditating on Me,
(Continued)
12. 7: I soon become their deliverer from the death-dealing ocean of
Samsāra (birth and rebirth) O son of Partha (Arjuna), because they have
their thoughts fixed on Me.
Those, who
perform all their activities as a sacrifice to Me, whose devotion is directed
only towards me, who worship and meditate on Me, and whose thoughts are always
fixed on Me, are saved by Me from the ocean of death-dealing Samsāra.
I am the savior of My true, earnest, pure,
selfless, and sacrificing devotees, who take refuge in, and surrender to Me,
rescue them from the sea of samsāra and let them attain moksa (liberation).
12.8: Fix your mind on Me, let your intelligence (Buddhim) come to
dwell on Me. You will live in Me after that. Of which, there is no doubt.
Buddhi is a
derivative of Prakrti; Mahat, the great Principle, is the cosmic counterpart of
Buddhi. Buddhi by itself is not intelligence, because it is derived from
matter. How do you breathe some life, some prāna, or some power into it?
How do you make it functional? A hard drive sitting on your desk is not
functional or knowing. This is where the Greater Self or Purusa comes in.
Purusa breathes or imparts prāna into Buddhi and thus animates matter.
Purusa is Light and has vision, while matter is blind, dark, and muscular, and
has a strong shoulder, back and brawn. Therefore, you have to let Purusa take a
ride on the back of Prakrti, if you want to go somewhere. Anther name for
Purusa is Greater or Higher Self, which is Krishna Himself. If you can get your
buddhi close to Krishna, you are home free:
That means that you rest your mind and thoughts on Krishna; this mind
and thoughts come under the command and control of Purusa (enlightened Buddhi).
If you keep the command and control Center in good order, it means that you are
in communion with the Higher Self.
Manas, ego,
and gunas (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) modulate buddhi; “Manas” is the lower
instinctive mind, the veritable seat of desires and Indriyas, the sensory and
motor organs; buddhi should bring the indriyas under tight control. If buddhi
is in its “right mind,” it will filter out Rajas and Tamas, and Sattva will be
the dominant mode of buddhi. Ego, falsely, inflates self-importance; when you
come before God, you should know your God. If your ego is hyperinflated and
makes you feel invincible, you are not ready to enter the temple of God. You
have to leave your companion Mr.Ego (Ye Go) at the doorstep and then enter the
House of God. Breaking a coconut into halves in the temple is symbolic of
breaking one’s ego. The message of Alvars and Ramanuja is to go with humility,
seek His refuge, and surrender to Him.
12.9: If you are not able to set your mind firmly on Me, then practice
repetition (of My name), and thus develop the desire to attain Me, O Dhananjaya.
Mind is a
monkey; it jumps around. By constant practice and concentration, one can get
his mind to dwell firmly on the Lord. This concentration coupled with the
desire to attain God will ensure that our thoughts dwell in the Divine all the
time and that the Divine takes over our being.
12.10: If you are unable (even) to practice repetition, come to do My
Supreme Work (matkarma paramah). You can attain perfection (Siddhim) by
performing actions for My sake.
For those
devotees of Lord Krishna, who are unable to concentrate or repeat his name,
there are other avenues of worship. Any work performed for the sake of Lord
Krishna, however trifling it is, will guarantee perfection and a place at the
feet of Lord Krishna. Matkaram paramah means “My work Supreme.” It includes
personal service to the Lord by tending the flowerbeds and gardens around the
temple, keeping the temple clean, collecting flowers for worship, chanting His
glories, performing pujas, reading Holy Scriptures, serving the devotees and
other simple chores in the temple. No work done in the service of the Lord,
however small and insignificant it may appear, goes unnoticed by the Lord.
12.11: If you are unable to perform (even this devotional service), take
refuge in My yogam (Mat yogam Asritah), and renounce the fruits of all action
with subdued self.
The Lord is a
repository of many Yogams. They are His intrinsic attributes and glories, and
some, he bequeaths to His devotees.
1) Mat yogam:
“My wonderful power, My divine prodigious endowment.”
It is part of
His nature. If the devotee does his work with his heart, mind, and soul in the
spirit of selfless service and without expectation of a reward, the devotee
will be suffused with “Mat Yogam” of Lord Krishna. That is Bliss.
2)
Buddhiyogam: Buddhi yoked to the Self is a gift from God to the devotee for him
to see the Brahman in all and all in Brahman. The Self is the Light behind
Buddhi. Buddhi powered by Self here gives the devotee discriminating knowledge
and bliss.
3) Yogam
Aisvaram is a Divine Yogic Power that physical eyes cannot see. The Lord gave
Arjuna the Divine eyes to see the Universal Imperishable Form.
4) AtmaYogam:
This is the Divine Power of the Lord, by which he manifests His Universal form.
Yogamāyā and atmamāyā are divine
processes by which He self-creates Himself to take birth in this world. In
these two instances, karma and avidya are not operative, because He is Brahman
and Supreme and He is above avidya and karma.
12.12: Better than practice is knowledge (of the self); better than
knowledge is meditation; better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits
of work. Because of such renunciation, peace comes.
KarmaphalaTyāga
is renunciation of fruits of action.
12.13: He who has no hatred of all living beings, friendly,
compassionate, free from I-ness and free from ego; is same in pleasure and
pain, and patient; (continued)
12.14: Yogi who is ever self-content, self-controlled, determined in his
faith in Me, with his mind and intelligence dwelling upon Me (he is My
devotee), is dear to Me.
He, who has
malice towards none, and is friendly, compassionate, free from I-ness and ego,
equal in pleasure and pain, content, self-controlled, determined in his faith
in Me, with mind and intelligence fixed on me, is my devotee and dear to Me.
12.15: He, by whom the world is not shuddered, who is not shuddered by
the world, and who is free from delight, displeasure, fear, agitation, is also
dear to Me.
12.16: He, who has no regard (or longing for anything), is pure,
talented, disinterested, not prone to anxiety, and who has renounced all
initiatives (in work) and is devoted to Me, is dear to Me.
Udāsīnah:
indifferent, disinterested, neutral, neither friendly nor hostile
Lord Krishna
holds man dear for his qualities:
1) Krishna’s devotee does not expect
any reward for any act he does.
2) He is of external and internal purity
in body, mind, and soul; thought, speech, deed and permitted food intake.
3) He is knowledgeable in the purpose and goal
in life.
4) He is neither friendly nor hostile to any
living being.
5) He is free from anxiety.
6) In whatever he does, he does not project his
ego and declare that he is the doer.
12.17: He, who neither rejoices
nor hates; who neither grieves, nor desires; and who has renounced both the
good and the evil, is a devotee dear to Me.
12.18: He who is same to a foe
and a friend, also to honor and dishonor, in cold and heat, in pleasure and
pain, who is free from attachment,
Sama: same, even, equable, alike
12.19: equal in defamation and
praise, silent, content with anything, having no home, with firm mind-that man
is a devotee and dear to Me.
Here “Having no home” refers to a
Sannyāsin. Sannyāsa stage is the fourth stage in the life. According
to scriptures, only a Brahmin or a king can go to stage four if he chooses to
do so. Having lived a life though preceding three stages, a sannyāsi’s
focus is now on gaining final liberation. The fourth stage in life is the
result of a natural progression after proper fulfillment of the first three
stages. The aspiring ascetic or Sannyāsi performs Isti or sacrifice to
Prajapati, the lord of all beings before he steps into the next stage. The
sannyāsi gives up all his property including his house, and leaves. He
renounces kāma, artha, dharma of earlier stages. He wanders in silence
without any companion. When he talks, he talks only God. He goes to a village
for food, indifferent to any creature comforts; he desires neither to live nor
to die. His mind’s focus is on Brahman, firm in conviction; he lives alone by
himself; he practices yogic postures, ahimsa, detachment from senses and
dualities, and recital of Vedas. By these ascetic practices, all his sins are
washed off and the karmic seeds are fried, guaranteeing moksa. A real-life
Sannyāsi is Sankara (9th Century) who went from Brahmacharya to Sannyāsa,
skipping Grihasthya and Vanaprasthya. Sankara was a product of his times in the
rigid rules of varnasrama dharma. He felt that Sudras had no right to study
Vedas or perform Vedic rituals and sacrifices. Sankara applied this strict and
uncompromising rule on Sudras. Consider the egalitarian principles of Tantric
doctrines which came from the mouth of Siva, where there is no discrimination
based on one's birth status. Sankara was an ardent devotee of Siva, though he
was Vaidik in his inclination. Moreover, he took as his students only dedicated
and promising Brahmins who wanted to study at his mutt or religious school and
was responsible for stemming the spread of Buddhism in India. He was a purist
and a strict Vedic constructionist of his times. His monistic theory and
commentaries brought him respect and admiration from all over the world. But
Ramanuja was of a different mold: His preceptor was a Sudra, by
name Kanchīpūrna.
Some added notes: Sannyāsa is the
fourth stage in the life of the twice-born. Brahmacharya (Student), Grihasthya
(householder), and vanaprathya (Hermit) are the preceding stages. The fourth
stage is Sannyāsa (the renouncer) which is giving up of all the duties of
the preceding stages and the dharma (duty) that goes with them; the aim is to
attain moksa or liberation. The Ksatriyas and Vaisyas can go up to the third
stage, that of hermit; the Sudra has to stop at second stage, that of a
householder. The Grihastya stage is the most important stage of all, because it
supports all other stages. In Vanaprasthya the practitioner gives up artha,
Kāma and dharma (accumulation of wealth, raising a family and performing
his family duties). His sole aim is moksa or liberation of soul.
12.20: They, who follow this
nectar of duty (Dharma Amrtam) as taught (above), worshipping Me with faith,
and holding Me as the Supreme, are My dear devotees.
Hindu scriptures
(Puranas) mention that a person can attain Sayujya (union) with the Lord, if he
is obsessed with God one way or another: love, hate, fear, friendship, or
bhakti. What matters here is the strength of conviction and feeling towards
God, whether it is love, hate or fear. If you think of God constantly in
hatred, you will attain salvation—that is the message. It sounds incongruous
but it is true. Gopis attained Sayujya by love, Kamsa by fear, Sisupala by
hatred, Pandavas by friendship, and Munis and Sages by bhakti. The ones, who
have none of the above and not even want to revile him, are like moths flying
into a flame. Feelings towards God, good or bad, are like having a breath, good
or bad.
End BG Chapter Twelve:
Bhakti