UB: ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति। समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम्।।18.54।।

18.54 Attaining ब्रह्म (ब्रह्मभूतः) with a cheerful mind (प्रसन्नात्मा), one neither grieves (न शोचति) nor seeks anything (न काङ्क्षति). Being the same towards all beings (समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु), he obtains (लभते) the ultimate (पराम्) भक्ति to Me (मद् भक्तिं).

भक्त्या मामभिजानाति यावान्यश्चास्मि तत्त्वतः। ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा विशते तदनन्तरम्।।18.55।।

18.55 By भक्ति (भक्त्या), one knows Me (माम् अभिजानाति), who I am (य: अस्मि) in extent (यावान्) and in Reality (तत्त्वतः च); then (ततो) having known Me in truth (मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा), immediately after that, (तद् अनन्तरम्), enters (विशते) into (the Supreme)

UB: 18:54/55 (1) – The point about भक्ति as not being a parallel path but in fact an attainment once कर्मयोग & ज्ञानयोग are mastered is evident here. Till now, mastery of कर्मयोग & ज्ञानयोग has led a seeker to reach the state called ब्रह्मभूयाय. Post this, the साधक attains state of पराभक्ति which is a state where the साधक is firmly wedded to the idea of Oneness. And once one attains this state, one is in the zone of सत्-चित्-आनन्द which is where भगवान् Himself resides. Is there a way to understand journey towards Oneness via an example? Take the role of a mother that used to be glorified in the Indian movies in 50s & 60s (hugely exaggerated of course 😊). She used to prepare what kids love to eat, she keeps ready everything for her husband before asking, she used to treat her in-laws as देवता’s and husband’s younger brother as her son. And all this time, she does not forget to water Tulasi early in the morning, feed the cow in the backyard, feeds ants too inside the kitchen and always is the first point of call when neighbours seek help. Have I left out anything? 😊😊. Or we were shown a भीष्म-type elder brother who shoulders multiple duties for his big family .

UB: 18:54/55 (2) – What is happening here to these people? This woman has the keys to manage everything in the house. So how does she use this power? From her own family perspective, she is universal. She knows the mind of all, she knows exactly what is liked by people as well as what upsets them. She spends all her time catering to the needs of all. But what about her own needs? The needs of her family are her needs. And what does she get as a result of expanding her mind into the mind of all? She has expanded and she derives joy in this state of expansion. She cries when someone else is in pain and very happy when others are happy. Now imagine a भक्त – for him, the whole universe is his family. He does not see anyone as the “other” – so even when he is helping others, he does not feel he is “helping” but is merely taking care of his own self.

UB: 18:54/55 (3) – अध्यात्म ज्ञान is nothing else but a journey towards expanding oneself. Reading books, doing intellectual talk, quoting fancy वेदान्त terms, etc does not take one towards अध्यात्म but only expansion of oneself takes us there. And anyone can achieve this whatever vocation one is doing; be it a housewife, business person, garbage collector, cremation specialist, Beedi maker, etc. No need to be a ब्राह्मण only to attain सिद्धि. If expansion happens – first within family, next village.. town.. country.. universe…. If this is happening, one is gaining भक्ति but if one is going in a reverse direction, one is just any other कामी, that is all. Entire Gita is essentially a text of भक्ति योग only. This भक्ति योग has two parts – कर्मयोग as first phase during which the idea of भक्ति is gained and ज्ञानयोग as second phase where the idea of भक्ति deepens with rise of ज्ञान and eventually culminates in a state of परा भक्ति.

UB: 18:54/55 (4) – It may seem odd to listen to words that only after ज्ञान, one is able to connect with the idea of भक्ति but that is what भगवान् is stating here – भक्ति without ज्ञान is mere emotionalism or infactuation (मोह), भक्ति with limited ज्ञान makes one do उपासना (meaning अध्यात्म practices like पूजा, यज्ञ, etc) while the highest ज्ञानी is a परमभक्त since he is wedded to Oneness completely. कर्मयोग may be seen as a small channel for gaining basic level भक्ति where कर्म has priority which then joins the tributary of ज्ञानयोग where ज्ञान takes priority (while the कर्मयोग lifestyle continues) and eventually one reaches the गंगा of भक्ति from where one indulges in भक्तियोग (where the previous two योग’s continue to be pursued) till one reaches his goal of मोक्ष or freedom. And once the goal arrives, all forms of योग drop away as there is nothing else to be done once the goal is reached.

UB: 18:54/55 (5) – One गुरु refers to three stages of भक्ति – वैदी भक्ति or मंद भक्ति where one is enthusiastically wedded to doing कर्म like नित्यपूजा, नित्य स्तोत्र पारायण, नित्य अभ्यास of शास्त्र, regular नामजप, etc. Here, the person has this idea that there is an ईश्वर who governs the world and while he may be unsure of the purpose of नित्यकर्म, he still does these while pursuing his usual survival कर्म. Next level is काम्य भक्ति or मध्यम भक्ति where he adores the idea of भगवान् and works hard to live life with the idea that wherever he turns his eye, he sees भगवान् only. But while his भक्ति is not for material gains and not has any trace of selfishness, his pursuit of भक्ति is to attain happiness for himself (at say, वैकुण्ठ or मणिद्वीप, etc) – the “I” idea does not go away. Highest level is परा भक्ति or उत्तम भक्ति where one has become one with ALL and ALL has become part of his own self – here, one does not have to say that I love ALL in the Universe or I love भगवान् since there is no idea of separation in his mind as he is the ALL alreadg. Self-love need not be expressed separately since this is a natural expression for everyone. So the natural expression of भक्ति at this state is “अहम् ब्रह्म अस्मि”.

HB: You have missed ek chutki sindoor and pooja 😊

PA: Wonderful !! Nicely explains the different stages of breaking done the veil of separation. So in the first stage one may practice all daily duties including  daily pooja.  One does not dwell his thoughts in God consciousness all the time perhaps only during pooja. Concept of I is strong at this stage. For example I have to work o have to do this that etc etc …constant meditation on the I. Next stage the person makes a effort to be dwelled in the thought of God consciousness all the time. How? Being in awe of the Lord’s creation. Having faith in all the happenings around him to him as His Will and cheerfully accepting it. Start seeing all human behaviors actions (good or bad) in some way related to the Guna mix and try to not judge it and see the divine system behind it. Slowly accepting reality as it is helps the mind to stay calm and tranquil.  Concept of I is shaken up as one is in the state of service to others, staying away from judgement of others (strengthens the ego more as somewhere consciously one thinks one is better than the other) helps in the process of cleaning up the mind and keeping the ego in check.  Somewhere down this journey perhaps this concept of I vanishes away and is replaced by We or Thy and the stage is set for the next evolution where there is only Thy and all is One

UB: 😊😊. Very well expressed PA. Though these aspects are still abstract, these do convey a certain order that is appealing.

PK: And we forgot” Saat janam ka rishta with patidev “.., I love my DH to bits.., know that this would not fly for either of us ( every once in a while is wonderful but that’s all 😃😃😃) thank the Lord for small and large  mercies 😂… live and let live

VN: Ten Things a Hindu Can Do While Using English Language: – written by Francois Gautier (check his Facebook page. He knows more Hinduism than many of us)

1. Please stop using the word “God fearing” – Hindus never ever fear God. For us, God is everywhere and we are also integral part of God. God is not a separate entity to fear.
2. Please do not use the meaningless term “RIP” when someone dies. Use “Om Shanti”, “Sadgati” or “I wish this atma attains moksha/sadgati /uttama lokas”. Hinduism neither has the concept of “soul” nor its “resting”. The terms “Atma” and “Jeeva” are, in a way, antonyms for the word “soul” (to be understood in detail)
3. Please don’t use the word “Mythology” for our historic epics (Itihas) Ramayana and Mahabharata. Rama and Krishna are historical heroes, not just mythical characters.
4. Please don’t be apologetic about idol worship and say “Oh, that’s just symbolic”. All religions have idolatry in kinds or forms – cross, words, letters (calligraphy) or direction. Also let’s stop using the words the words ‘idols’, ‘statues’ or ‘images’ when we refer to the sculptures of our Gods. Use the terms ‘Moorthi’ or ‘Vigraha’. If words like Karma, Yoga, Guru and Mantra can be in the mainstream, why not Moorthi or Vigraha?
5. Please don’t refer to Ganesh and Hanuman as “Elephant god” and “Monkey god” respectively. You can simply write Shree Ganesh and Shree Hanuman.
6. Please don’t refer to our temples as prayer halls. Temples are “devalaya” (abode of god) and not “prathanalaya” (Prayer halls).
7. Please don’t wish your children “black birthday” by letting them to blow off the candles that kept at the top of the birth day cake. Don’t throw spit on the divine fire (Agni Deva). Instead, ask them to pray: “Oh divine fire, lead me from darkness to light” (Thamasoma Jyotirgamaya) by lighting a lamp. These are all strong images that go to deep psyche.
8. Please avoid using the words “spirituality” and “materialistic”. For a Hindu, everything is divine. The words spirituality and materialism came to India through evangelists and Europeans who had a concept of Church vs State. Or Science vs Religion. On the contrary, in India, Sages were scientists and the foundation stone of Sanatan Dharma was Science.
9. Please don’t use the word “Sin” instead of “Paapa”. We only have Dharma (duty, righteousness, responsibility and privilege) and Adharma (when dharma is not followed). Dharma has nothing to do with social or religious morality. ‘Papa’ derives from Adharma.
10. Please don’t use loose translation like meditation for “dhyana” and ‘breathing exercise’ for “Pranayama”. It conveys wrong meanings. Use the original words.

Remember, the world respects only those who respect themselves! Please circulate so that people can understand about their Hindu Dharma….

UB: सर्वकर्माण्यपि सदा कुर्वाणो मद्व्यपाश्रयः। मत्प्रसादादवाप्नोति शाश्वतं पदमव्ययम्।।18.56।।

18.56 The one who, though always (अपि सदा) performing (कुर्वाणो) all कर्म (सर्व-कर्माणि), has Me as the basis (मद्व्यपाश्रयः), attains (अवाप्नोति) by My grace (मत्-प्रसादात्) the end (पदम्), which is ever the same (शाश्वतं) and imperishable (अव्ययम्).

चेतसा सर्वकर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्परः। बुद्धियोगमुपाश्रित्य मच्चित्तः सततं भव।।18.57।।

18.57 By mind (चेतसा) renouncing (संन्यस्य) all कर्म (सर्वकर्माणि) in Me (मयि), having Me as the ultimate (मत्परः), and taking to (उपाश्रित्य) बुद्धि योग, may you always be one (सततं भव) whose mind is centered on Me (मत् चित्तः).

मच्चित्तः सर्वदुर्गाणि मत्प्रसादात्तरिष्यसि। अथ चेत्त्वमहङ्कारान्न श्रोष्यसि विनङ्क्ष्यसि।।18.58।।

18.58 Be centered on Me (मत् चित्तः), by My grace (मत् प्रसादात्), you will cross over (तरिष्यसि) all difficulties (सर्वदुर्गाणि). Now (अथ) if (यद्), out of exaggerated self-opinion (अहङ्कारात्), you (त्वम्)do not listen (न श्रोष्यसि), you shall perish (विनङ्क्ष्यसि).

UB: 18:56/58 (1) – What one thinks, one becomes. So if you want to become Universal, think of Oneness all the time. Worship Oneness with flowers in the form of performance of धर्म and in return obtain प्रसाद in the form of affection for ज्ञान. And with this affection for ज्ञान, his भक्ति for it flourishes and he becomes blessed with merger with the Highest owing to this भक्ति. Just as salt drops its separate essence as it integrates itself with water or the wind blows but finally rests in the sky, this man abides in Him with his शरीर, वाक् & मन. Even were he on a rare occasion do a prohibited act, such acts, whether pure or impure, would be invested with a uniform quality on account of realization on his part of ज्ञान in regard to Him just as water in a dirty pool or big river assume the same sanctity when they merge with गंगा.

UB: 18:56/58 (2) – The distinction between Sandalwood and other wood remains so long as they are not devoured by fire, in such a way, distinction between pure and impure acts is felt as long as they do not secure His all-pervading light just as idea of night and day remains till one reaches the region of the Sun. Anything that remains in time and space experiences growth and decay; anything that has a form will lose its form. But once one is out of the grasp of time, space and form, how can such a one be bound by कर्म since he has become formless and his कर्म has attained the state of नैश्कर्म्य सिद्धि. How can one which has no form ever perish? It has become eternal and one with all or has become the all.

UB: 18:56/58 (3) – Thus, while doing work in this world, we should dedicate all our work to Him. So first give up निषिद्ध कर्म & काम्य कर्म and stick to only नित्य/नैमित्तिक कर्म. Next, dedicate even the नित्य/नैमित्तिक कर्म to Him only engaging your mind only on your real state of Oneness. If one continues in this state, one will see oneself in Her all the time and not mix themselves up with the various प्रकृति कर्म they are doing. Just as shadow is not the same as body while there is no shadow without body, similarly, the प्रकृति कर्म happen owing to our आत्मा -so connect with the आत्मा and do not take your shadow as your real आत्मा.

UB: 18:56/58 (4) – 18:58 brings this idea of My grace (मत् प्रसादात्). So one may do कर्मयोग & ज्ञानयोग and one will gain भक्ति. Is this not enough? Where does this “grace” come from? Is there an external God who needs to still shower grace on us at this state? I guess on this point, अद्वैत, विशिष्ट अद्वैत and द्वैत differ. As per अद्वैत, one is merely becoming oneself in this journey and grace thus means fading away of distinction completely as a natural consequence. So a जीव may be seen as a fractured hand which is not used in this state but once the hand mends itself, the person becomes comfortable using it – reintegration of the fractured hand with the rest of the body is akin to grace of भगवान्. And भगवान् is telling अर्जुन here that He will certainly reintegrate His भक्त with Himself once the जीव attains परमभक्ति. But the one who keeps away from His home owing to pride and presence of “I-ness” will perish (even though he is of the imperishable nature) because one who conceives himself of existing in time, space and having a form will certainly experience perishing again and again.

PA: Sorry for the question but what does this Nishid karma and kamya karma mean ?

UB: No problem – निषिद्ध कर्म refers to acts forbidden by the शास्त्र and काम्य कर्म refers to pursuing कर्म that are chasing काम viz desires. Restrict oneself only to one’s daily duties that are mandatory to perform and leave out unnecessary activities – that is the idea here.

UB: Extract of commentary given earlier in this chapter

UB: 18:7/9 (1) – Five types of कर्म are done by all – विहित or नित्य कर्म (daily set of acts like brushing teeth, eating food, going for work, daily पूजा, etc), नैमितेतिक कर्म (work done on special occassions like festivals, admission to college, etc), काम्य कर्म (desire fulfilment act), प्रायश्चित्त कर्म (acts of repentence on account of a wrong doing done) & निषिद्ध कर्म (acts that are to be avoided). Now the शास्त्र have clearly defined an elaborate list of कर्म under each category that one must do if he or he takes up to an अध्यात्म orientation to life. But even if one does not follow or not aware of शास्त्र, he or she will still have a list of  कर्म under each of the categories specified above. So while नित्य & नैमित्तिक कर्म cannot be avoided by anyone including an enlightened person, the other three are optional for an अध्यात्मी. And whenever one takes up any कर्म, one is simultaneously giving up (त्याग) of some other कर्म. So what to take-up and what to “give-up” is a real question for all.

HB: 👌

UB: यदहङ्कारमाश्रित्य न योत्स्य इति मन्यसे। मिथ्यैष व्यवसायस्ते प्रकृतिस्त्वां नियोक्ष्यति।।18.59।।

18.59 If (यद्), relying on (आश्रित्य) your exaggerated self-opinion (अहङ्कारम्), you think (इति मन्यसे): “I will not fight” (न योत्स्ये), this (एष:) resolution of yours (ते व्यवसाय:) (will be) मिथ्या; your natural disposition (प्रकृति: त्वां) will impel you (नियोक्ष्यति).

स्वभावजेन कौन्तेय निबद्धः स्वेन कर्मणा। कर्तुं नेच्छसि यन्मोहात्करिष्यस्यवशोऽपि तत्।।18.60।।

18.60 O कौन्तेय, out of delusion (मोहात्) (in this case, in the form of an impulsive action and misplaced sympathy), what (यद्) you don’t wish (न इच्छसि) to do (कर्तुं), you will do (just) (करिष्यसि) that (तद्) – even despite (your) will (अवश: अपि) – (as you are) bound (निबद्धः) by your (स्वेन) कर्म (कर्मणा) born of your own disposition (स्वभावजेन).

UB: 18:59/60 (1) – Just when you think you are getting a grip on the ideas being conveyed here, भगवान् throws a googly. भगवान् tells अर्जुन that everyone is compelled by their own स्वभाव to do कर्म as per it. It is difficult if not impossible to change one’s स्वभाव. So even if अर्जुन wants to take up a संयासी lifestyle, he will be unable to do so. So he may go to ऋषीकेश, join an आश्रम there but will contest the अखाडा परिषद् elections over there or fight with other inmates in the आश्रम on aspects that he considers as justified at such a place. Change of place merely changes an external ecosystem but one’s own स्वभाव runs the same way wherever it goes. So the question that comes up is – if स्वभाव cannot be changed, why did भगवान् provide multiple templates as per त्रिगुण and make us feel miserable about ourselves 😊? If a तामसी will remain a तामसी, a criminal will quote भगवान् stating that since स्वभाव is never going to change, he will remain a criminal. So should an attempt to change our (or others’ स्वभाव) not be done at all?

UB: 18:59/60 (2) – One needs to be careful here. A तामसी is very sure of himself that what he sees with his eyes and experiences with his senses is true. Given this, he has no need for the Gita and there is no need to thrust Gita onto him. A राजसी does काम्य कर्म and is happy and revelling in it. So why should Gita be thrust upon him? A सात्विक is by nature detached and doing all actions for the परा and why should Gita be thrust on someone who is already a कर्मयोगी? So who needs the Gita? And this brings us to a more important question – who are we? Are we a सात्विक्, are we a राजसी or are we a तामसी?

UB: 18:59/60 (3) – All of us are hopelessly mixed up; at times, we are सात्विक्, at times a राजसी and at times a तामसी. Maybe over a period of time, we show a preference for one गुण over the other two but while one कर्म on a certain morning takes a सात्विक् shape, another कर्म in the very next second takes a तामसी shape. And in this state where everyone is mixed up, it is not possible to determine which गुण is predominant in us. So what does one do in this case? For those who are perfectly set in their lifestyle and entertain no self-doubt at all, no Gita is required for such sure-footed people. But those of us who are not so sure-footed and thus entertain self-doubts as to the validity of the thousands of कर्म that we do, Gita then becomes handy for one in this state.  And more intense the extent of self-doubt, the more handy does this text become since listening to the same message again and again helps us be on track.

UB: 18:59/60 (4) – Now imagine three kids holding a balloon filled with hydrogen standing in a balcony of a multi-storied building (represented as three different persons each with a त्रिगुण orientation) – one on ground floor, one on 10th and one on 20th. Now each of them may release the balloons at the same time but all the balloons will take to the sky – there is no height advantage as long as one is holding the right balloon. From a sky दृष्टी, the relative distance between floors is insignificant; similarly from a पुरुषोत्तम दृष्टी, the differences between गुण are irrelevant since only such a one reaches Him who goes beyond the गुण.

UB: 18:59/60 (5) – So what holds the balloon down? It is weight in the form of अहङ्कार and फल कामना that is attached to our स्वभाव. स्वभाव need not be changed but the weight of अहङ्कार and फल कामना needs to be moderated to lighten ourselves up. So do कर्म that is natural to you – whether this कर्म is guided by your family or otherwise. No matter what कर्म one does (whatever vocation one picks up), pursue it in an अहङ्कार-रहित and फल-रहित mode. Is भगवान् goading अर्जुन to do war? अर्जुन, as per his स्वभाव has been rooting for war and came to कुरुक्षेत्र on his own accord. But he developed a sudden वैराग्य that is not as per his स्वभाव. And भगवान् was there at the right time around him and cleared his doubt. So when अर्जुन came to war, he took on to अहङ्कार and left his गांडीव and post the Gita, he will shed his अहङ्कार and pick up his गांडीव again only to fight the war as a धर्मयुद्ध. Gaining अध्यात्म सिद्धि is not possible for one who does not shed his अहङ्कार and फल कामना, no matter how much सत्वगुण संपन्न he may be.

PA: Thanks for your answer 👍

UB: No श्लोक will be sent tomorrow. Drawing upon the idea conveyed today, I will pick up a controversial श्लोक of मनूस्मृति and discuss its intent.

UB: 1) A controversial corollary will be picked up today. Certain धर्म texts like मनुस्मृति have lines which state that a शूद्र must not be made to hear the वेद. In fact, it states further that hot lead must be poured in the ears of a शूद्र who happens to have heard the वेद. Now, how can we accept lines like these next to glorious verses giving highest ज्ञान? So we often hear this text being burnt by protestors and the word मनुवादी (as a गाली) is affixed to one defending this text. Some like Arya Samajis have brought out studies to suggest that such lines are later day interpolations and not written by मनु and have proposed removing such verses from the text – their concern being that the brilliant Shlokas of this text are being ignored owing to intense emotions generated by a few verses. Such people are tagged as “apologists” by the opposers. So is there a way to reconcile these odd verses with others?

UB: 2) It is obvious that we must reject a literal interpretation of such lines and anyone doing such a दुष्कर्म quoting this text must be severely punished. शास्त्र are indeed meant for all mankind – in fact, there is a line in विष्णु पुराण that व्यासाचार्य jumped with joy after composing this पुराण since the benefit of this पुराण could be obtained by women and शूद्र too apart from others. And besides, how is anyone to know who is a गुण ब्राह्मण & गुण शूद्र? While the nature of कर्म done by people may be tagged as ब्राह्मण कर्म, वैश्य कर्म, etc., this does not make such people a गुण ब्राह्मण & गुण शूद्र, as we have discussed earlier. Therefore, all texts are indeed meant for all and not kept away from anyone. And living in a tradition where a significant majority of Bhakti Saints like Alwars and Nayannars are not ब्राह्मण but persons from the so-called lower जाति should leave us with no doubt that the message of the भगवान् can never be kept away from anyone. But a good question to ask is – whether all people want to hear the वेद? 😊

UB: 3) Dharampal in his book “Beautiful Tree” has noted in his research on the 17th century schooling across the length and breadth of the country that not only were people who were classified as शूद्र जाति going to schools, even some teachers were from the शूद्र जाति in these schools. So what have been taught in our history that all so-called lower जाति people have been kept away from schooling may not be fully true (though it is true too at some times). In any case, the literacy or skill based education must be made available to all and there is no reason to believe that this was kept away from anyone in the past too. But caution was exercised in conveying the message of the वेद to all. Why so?

UB: 4) We have noted earlier that a गुण शूद्र is one who has a predominantly तामस गुण. So one must be conscious of the fact that a तामसी reading the text is liable to misinterpret the words of the texts and draw opposite meanings which can be dangerous to themselves and the society. So the idea is not to keep certain people away from the message the वेद, it is essentially to guard people from taking on to तमोगुण in their प्रवृत्ति since they will not take on to the meaning of the text properly. And such people will use the शास्त्र as a justification to do दुश्कर्म (which indeed is done time and again) which will bring disrepute to the वेद itself. So knowing the योग्यता of the person is critical before one conveys the ideas of the वेद to anyone just like योग्यता is checked before admitting anyone to a medical college.

UB: 5) Lastly, note the irony that while in the ancient times, the message of the वेद was probably kept away from a certain section of the population wrongly, in our emancipated modern times of “Equality for all”, the message of the वेद is lost EQUALLY to the entire population as such ज्ञान is not part of education curriculum 😊 or design of Law or study of Economics or… . Now you may call me a confirmed apologist 😊😊.

UB: ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति। भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया।।18.61।।

18.61 O अर्जुन, the भगवान् (ईश्वरः) causing all beings (सर्वभूतानां) to spin around (भ्रामयन्), (as if) mounted (आरूढानि) on a machine (यन्त्र) by माया (मायया), remains (तिष्ठति) in the seat of intellect (ह्रृद्-देशे) of all beings (सर्वभूतानि).

तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत। तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम्।।18.62।।

18.62 With all (your) being (सर्वभावेन), surrender (शरणं गच्छ) to that alone (तम् एव) (who is the centre of your being and is in the form of your natural disposition moving you through life), O भारत. By that (भगवान्’s) grace (तत प्रसादात्), you will attain (प्राप्स्यसि) ultimate peace (परां शान्तिं), the timeless (शाश्वतम्) abode (स्थानं).

UB: 18:61/62 (1) – In Ch 11, भगवान् had instructed अर्जुन as “निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन्”  viz “Be My instrument”.This verse too says that lives of all beings are to be viewed as those who are mounted on a machine; as the machine energizes, their lives also move. Does it mean that all of us are mere puppets and भगवान् is running the whole show including crime, wars, innovations and devastations? If that is the case, why should we do anything at all? To this, the usual analogy given is that of petrol in the sense that petrol indeed energises the car, petrol does not determine the direction and speed of the car. Similarly, भगवान् merely energizes all beings by imparting चित् शक्ता to all but all of us have the free will to live lives as per our own will.

UB: 18:61/62 (2) – As per कर्म of our past lives, we ended up acquiring a certain kind of स्वभाव. And भगवान् ensures that this स्वभाव is allowed to play out just like petrol does not intervene the mind of the driver. However, if a driver drives rashly, petrol is depleted faster and thus every expression of स्वभाव has its own consequences. And while भगवान् allows each स्वभाव to play out as it is, we need to also recognize this truth that our स्वभाव is nothing else but our own habituated behaviour over eons of lives and such deeply entrenched habits are difficult to change. So how do we continue to live our स्वभाव while seeking freedom?

UB: 18:61/62 (3) – The resting place of भगवान् is the हृदय of all. In the नित्यपूजा क्रिया, we do a प्राण प्रथिष्ठान of the देवता into the मूर्ति in front of us, chant the necessary मंत्र but at the end, we chant “अस्मात् बिम्बात् आवाहितम् श्रीकष्णदेवम् (or श्रीराम, श्रीललिता, etc) यथास्थानं प्रतिष्ठापयामि” meaning that after the पूजा is over, we bring back the देवता back into our हृदय which is the सनातन location of भगवान्. And unlike petrol which is जड, the भगवान् within us is चित् स्वरूप and thus as a कर्मयोगी, we perform all our कर्म knowing well that while the परा may seem far away from us, it is actually very near to us. Hard work on its own is कर्म but this कर्म becomes a कर्मयोग when the कर्म is performed not for our देह but on behalf of the देही within our हृदय. And over time, we will gain a state of ease of mind as our anxieties involved in conduct of कर्म abates. When we see ourselves in a state of समत्वम् despite being intensely busy outside, we know that भगवान् has given this state as a प्रसाद for cultivating a कर्मयोग lifestyle adequately.

UB: 18:61/62 (4) – “Why cannot my life be adventurous? Why should I bind myself within my “perceived” स्वभाव? Why cannot I yearn for a satisfactory material life while working for मोक्ष at the same time? ” These are good प्रश्न but these are akin to an athlete asking – “Why cannot I get up late? Why do I need to practice everyday? Why cannot I eat tasty food that may lack adequate protien content?” The intensity with which we seek the outcome determines the lifestyle we adopt. If we are non-serious about a certain outcome, we will ask tons of प्रश्न but the day we get serious about outcome, our प्रश्न will change from “Why? ” to “What?”.

UB: Today’s verse can remind us of the famous dialogue in the movie आनन्द viz “हम सब रंगमंच की कठपुतलियाँ हैं जिनका डोर ऊपरवाले की हाथों मे है|” 😊

UB: इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं मया। विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु।।18.63।।

18.63 Thus (इति) I (मया) have told (आख्यातं) to you (ते) the knowledge (ज्ञानम्) that is more secret (गुह्यतरं) than a secret (गुह्याद्). Think (विमृश्य) this (एतद्) it over completely (अशेषेण), (then) do (तथा कुरु) as you wish (यथा इच्छसि).

UB: 18:63 (1) – “Do as you wish”. As much as a गुरु may want to command, even though he may be tempted to do so, he must merely give advice – the शिष्य must think on the advice and take the decision. On अध्यात्म ज्ञान, even if the instructor is भगवान् Himself, He needs to only provide decision templates and relevant rationale but the end decision must clearly be that of the शिष्य. This is why भगवान् says – यथा इच्छसि तथा कुरु. Do as you please.

UB: 18:63 (2) – But to one who has fully surrendered to you and is shaken and thus unable to think, why should someone who is in a sane frame of mind not make a decision? Especially if this is for a person who is very dear to you, why should we not make the decision for them instructing them to merely execute? True empowerment requires that we empower the person to make the decision himself . And the job of an instructor must be to provide thought templates articulating the outcomes clearly to enable the decision taker to think on his own. And whether it is a small matter like buying a dress or war between nations, the decision must be made by the party to the decision. But the length of the response or the depth of the thought-template probably depends on the size of the issue at hand and the intellectual merit of the recipient.

UB: 18:63 (3) – And भगवान् is telling अर्जुन that He has communicated ज्ञान that is गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं. And what is गुह्यम् of गुह्यतरं is गुह्यतमम्. And in 15:20, we have discussed about three types of ज्ञान – गुह्यम्, गुह्यतरं & गुह्यतमम् and अध्यात्म विद्या is a गुह्यतमम् विद्या meaning the most subtle ज्ञान that requires a sharp बुद्धि to make the most use of it. So if one listens to this casually, one will not catch it but only if we are able to develop our faculties through intense कर्मयोग, we will acquire the necessary सूक्ष्मता to imbibe this विद्या in its true spirit for making our journey towards freedom.

UB: सर्वगुह्यतमं भूयः श्रृणु मे परमं वचः। इष्टोऽसि मे दृढमिति ततो वक्ष्यामि ते हितम्।।18.64।।

18.64 Listen (श्रृणु) once more (भूयः) to My (मे) paramount declaration (परमं वचः), the most secret of all (सर्वगुह्यतमं). You are (असि इति) definitely (दृढम्) dear (इष्ट:) to Me (मे), so (तत:) I will tell (वक्ष्यामि) you (ते) what is good (हितम्).

मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु। मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे।।18.65।।

18.65 Become one whose mind is on Me (मन्मना भव), who is devoted to Me (मद्भक्त:), and who is disposed to worship of Me (मद् याजी), do नमस्कार to Me (मां नमस्कुरु),  you will reach (एष्यसि) Me alone (माम् एव); truly (सत्यं) I promise (प्रतिजाने) you (ते), (as) you are (असि) dear (प्रिय:) to Me (मे).

UB: 18:64/65 (1) – Here one can sense that भगवान् is probably wondering as to what decision अर्जुन may make. Even though He told अर्जुन to make his own decision, भगवान् probably saw अर्जुन continuing to remain silent. So He repeats the message again. And since अर्जुन is very dear to भगवान् and wanting to be sure that अर्जुन makes the right decision, He again reiterates the essence of the Gita. And if anyone is asked to give a summary of the Gita, one may mug-up and quote 18:65 and 18:66 as a response. As an interesting aside, भगवान् is conveying the गुह्यतमम् message to अर्जुन since he is very dear to Him; so if our kids or friends are dear to us, we too must speak about this ज्ञान with them or else we must conclude that maybe they are not dear to us 😊.

UB: 18:64/65 (2) – वेद has four parts – the संहिता and ब्राह्मण are together called as कर्मकांड or the ritualistic aspect and the idea is to undertake the rituals of day to day living keeping the देवता in mind. The अरण्यक and उपनिषद् are the latter parts of the वेद called as ज्ञानकांड focussed on ज्ञान behind the rituals. On the same lines, the summary of the Gita is also expressed by 18:65 representing कर्मयोग and 18:66 as ज्ञानयोग. And pursuing both these streams, one moves from a low-level भक्त to the state of परमभक्त as conveyed in Ch 12.

UB: 18:64/65 (3) – 18:65 is a repeat of 9:34 as reiterated below; it has a minor variation in the last few words.

मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु। मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानंमत्परायणः।।9.34।।

May you be one whose mind (remains) in Me (मन्मना भव), devoted to Me (मद् भक्त:) and who performs all actions to me (मद् याजी). Do नमस्कार to Me (मां नमस्कुरु). Engaging your mind (आत्मानं युक्त्वा) in this manner (एवम्), having Me (मत्) as the supreme goal (पर-अयण:), you will attain (एष्यसि) Me alone (माम् एव).

UB: 18:64/65 (4) – A कर्मयोगी performs all कर्म as an agent. He does not work for himself but for the Highest Reality. So the first message is – Fix your mind on Her. You may not know what or who She is but at least work and engage in life recognizing Her presence everywhere. Next, be Her भक्त meaning live life with a view that whatever one does, eventually the goal is to merge into Her. This may happen in this life or after many lives – but do live with the view that eventually you will merge into Her.

UB: 18:64/65 (5) – So when we are a kid, we do what our mother tells us. We guide our life as per her words only. When more grown up, we live life as per the words of an inspiring teacher (if we are lucky to get one) and before any action, we may say – “What would my teacher have done in this situation? OK – I will do the same कर्म as my teacher would have done.” This teacher may be our mother or our father or someone from our college or the author of an autobiography. Thus, we see that most successful lives seem to have an inspiration and most do not claim originality of their own. A कर्मयोगी similarly works or does all his कर्म under inspiration of भगवान् and replaces his individuality with that of भगवान्.

UB: 18:64/65 (6) – Next, worship Her with full enthusiasm. To begin with, one may worship Her for a few minutes but over a period of time, offer every act that you do, every experience that you experience, every statement you utter, for Her only. Last, do नमस्कार to Her. Whatever you obtain in life, accept these with humility that it is for Her that you have received life’s gifts. Offer these to Her first and then use from this a little that you need for survival after seeking Her permission. And भगवान् is assuring अर्जुन, and through him to us, that He promises that if we adopt a भगवान्-inspired lifestyle, there is absolutely no doubt that we will reach Him. Very high standard, right? 😊

UB: https://youtu.be/1Bm4fLpDIos. A very interesting discussion on distinction between इतिहास & History in a Q & A form addressed by Balu, a professor from Ghent University in Belgium. Trust you all find this audio interesting.

UB: 18:66 सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज। अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः।।18.66।।

18.66 Giving up all धर्म (or अधर्म) (सर्वधर्मान्-परित्यज्य) , surrender (शरणं व्रज) to Me alone (मामेकं). I (अहं) will completely free (मोक्षयिष्यामि) you (त्वा) from all पाप’s (सर्व-पापेभ्य:). Do not grieve (मा शुचः).

UB: 18:66 (1) – A superficial reading seems to suggest – “Do not bother about धर्म. Just dedicate yourself to Me alone. If you do that, your पाप will get obliterated and I will certainly give you freedom.” Where is ज्ञान in this line? For such an ordinary religious meaning, Gita need not waste its time. First, how can one not bother about धर्म when throughout the Gita, भगवान् has been extolling us to live as per धर्म. Second, when one is asked to dedicate oneself to भगवान् alone, who is this भगवान्? Is it श्रीकृष्ण or राम or शिव or..? There are some people who quote this line selectively and claim that this verse is proof that भगवान् means श्रीकृष्ण only and none else. If after Ch 9, 10, 11 & 15, we ascribe श्रीकृष्ण alone as भगवान्, it means we are a तमोगुणी. And what do we mean by taking शरण of भगवान्? Do we run away to ऋषीकेश leaving family? And last, why should भगवान् give us freedom if we leave everything? Clearly, there is a lot more to this श्लोक than a superficial pop reading.

UB: 18:66 (2) – This श्लोक is called as the चरम श्लोक meaning the final advice in the Gita and may also be seen as His Highest advice. So the first advice is – सर्वधर्मान् परित्यज्य meaning give up धर्म. And धर्म here includes both धर्म and अधर्म कर्म. And since all of us do some कर्म or another, how can we give up all types of कर्म since the activity of giving up is also a कर्म? And here, Ch 13 is handy which says clearly that the doer is प्रकृति while पुरुष is a witness. So giving up कर्म means giving up doership. You are doing a कर्म because a situation demanded it. And if any other sensible person would have done the same thing in such a situation, how can such a कर्म be MY कर्म? It is merely a धर्म. So do such a कर्म and even though your body does such a कर्म, it does not become your कर्म since as a कर्मयोगी, you are anyway in the zone of नैष्कर्म्य सिद्धि meaning your actions are actionless. Says ज्ञानेश्वर – Just as hope gives birth to pain or slander to sin or misfortune to poverty; it is अज्ञान that makes us do you धर्म or अधर्म which in turn lead to स्वर्ग or नरक. But once one cultivates ज्ञान, अज्ञान falls away and we will have relinquished all notions of good and evil and कर्म are done within the lap of Oneness.

UB: 18:66 (3) – Next words are माम् एकम् शरणम् व्रज – “Take शरण of Me alone”. Now what does शरण mean? Fall at the feet of someone? Yes but that is a लौकिक meaning and there is a deeper meaning. What is our idea about ourself? We may say – I am a man or woman. I am a father. I am a son. I am an Indian citizen, etc. And are these untrue? While at a प्रकृति level, these are true but at a  पुरुष level, these are not. We are just a प्राणी who have taken a certain provisional reality – and the nature of प्राण is same in an ant as is within us. But the weight of प्रकृति is so heavy on us that our prism of thought is through these provisional realities. So I think like a male when I see the world and talk about history based on an Indian historical experiential template. These templates kill our objectivity and even though we recognize this, to shake off these prisms is difficult. So effectively, our idea of ourselves has taken शरण of our provisional reality. So taking शरण in Him means taking शरण in the idea that we are the परा. Our identity is the same as ब्रह्म and if we keep this ज्ञान as the basis of every thought and action, we have taken शरण of Him. Thus, there is no falling at anyone’s feet but living with the ज्ञान that we are the same तत्व  of सत्-चित्-आनन्द as Her is akin to taking शरण of Her. But if we read the महाभारत or other texts from a क्षत्रिय lens or a woman lens or a political lens, it means that our prism is burdened under the weight of प्रकृति. And if these “forms” burden our thoughts, how can we ever conceive of the Formless?

UB: 18:66 (4) –  Who is this एकम्? At the lower level, it may be an इष्ट with an एकरूप with whom we can connect easily and all our कर्म connects with such a भगवान्. And we revolve our life around his इष्ट. Next we move to an idea of भगवान् who is अनेकरूप whereby wherever we turn to, in all aspects as wonderfully dealt with in Ch 10, we see भगवान् only. Thus, our vision has broadened from first stage. But there is one more level of भगवान् viz अरूप where we see भगवान् not as a form but as Formless, Location-less and Attributeless Reality. Now, we cannot conceive of the Highest as Formless until we get rid of our own selves as having form. But the day we realize that we are also Formless living within a form, we can immediately take शरण of the एकम्, the One.

UB: 18:66 (5) – “I will free you from all पाप कर्म”. If we take शरण of the Formless One, we will be freed from all the पाप that we do. Does पाप कर्म mean only the negative selfish actions that we do? Not really. All कर्म done with doership, whether पाप or पुण्य bind us or create कर्मबन्धन. And while पाप कर्म will give us lower bodies and पुण्य कर्म give us access to higher abodes, there is no अध्यात्म growth that will happen for us as long as we are in the zone of कर्म. Thus, when भगवान् is promising us that He will give us freedom from all कर्म, He means both पाप or पुण्य कर्म (viz कर्म done with doership) and वेद sees both कर्म as पाप only. Now if you read again this verse, its meaning will read as – Do away with doership whatever कर्म you do and let the basis of all कर्म be rooted to the अरूप तत्व of Mine. If you can do so, all your कर्म attains the state of नैश्कर्म्य सिद्धि and you will then regain My state of सत्-चित्-आनन्द. So do not grieve”. And like the wave merges into the ocean or rivers into the sea, you will come into Me and rest in Me, that is My promise.

MK: 👍👍👏👏👏Very well explained !!! Thanks very much UB!!

8/6/17, 16:07 PA: Wonderful!  Being focused with the idea of this oneness that permeates everything; acting constantly as a agent and not as a proprietor; remembering allways that God is not only the Creator but also the Doer; As the creation is constantly being created moment to moment by the God consciousness that permeates everything.  Surrendering to this Primal Force which has existed always and will exists allways and is cause of Causes. This 24 x 7 constant remembrance keeps us in a constant state of awe and humility and keeps our ego in check. This false Idea of I am a doer or I am this or that start falling apart.  Any bliss experienced by us on a individual level while creating something new is what God experiences through us so why say I did this or I created that? Any sorrow experiences when hit by life’s blows makes us bow down again to the primal force accepting the Divine Will remembering that it’s all for the higher good and must be fitting a larger plan which we do not know now and need not now the Creator knows the cause and it acts in perfection.

VN: 👍🏻👍🏻

PK: I am still mulling over the petrol analogy🙏… the critical line between our responsibility as humans vs abdicating all to the Lord as well as the extent of this mindset 🙏🙏…  I am still torn very often between material pleasures vs mystic matters. More easy shlokas that’s all vs these past few shlokas which pack a lot of punch 😃😃

UB: Valid point – these verses are challenging. There is also a contradiction that I see in these verses which I will bring out tomorrow. So 66 continues tomorrow.

UB: Finally we need to get an answer to a basic question – how can these verses convince anyone to fight a war. If this answer is not clear, then all our learning would have been wasted. Tomorrow is an attempt to get an answer to this basic question

MK: Hope it answers the basic question my daughter asked me today…what happens when there is no ‘right side’ like in WW1…particularly to the ground soldier who takes orders and gets beaten up either way…..she was like ‘mom, there’s never right or wrong; it’s always grey’…what is the right karma as per Dharma then for a ‘foot soldier ‘…good thing about the conversation was she’s keen to read the Geeta!! 👍👍

UB: There are no direct answers to this one. And all explanations seem unsatisfactory. Young people dying in war is as bad as those dying in accidents or on account of illness. What situations we find ourselves in seem to be beyond our control though what you कर्म we may do in such a situation is in our hands. You can tell your girl to read stories of Yoga Vashista from Google – in particular, Story of Lila and Story of Shukra. These will take her question to another level.

MK: Thanks UB!!!

UB: 18:66 (6) – What does connection with the Formless mean? If I am a Formless being of सत्-चित्-आनन्द mode, why should I play the role of my उपाधि लक्षण which may be that of a man or woman or an Indian citizen? These are temporal roles and why should I bother about these? If I am an Indian citizen, should I support the idea of “world with no borders” or secession of states from India with a logic – “What difference does it make? How do I discharge my duty as a supporter of the house, parent of my kids, husband of my wife, etc when I know that these relationships are unreal? Any urging to do धर्म will in fact push me to adopt “Form” more seriously than turn to “Formless” – is it not? Why should I be “more-man” to realize that I am neither man nor woman? 😊

UB: 18:66 (7) The above contradiction is the most confusing element of अध्यात्म. If we can crack this puzzle, we can crack the riddle of अध्यात्म urgings. Answer could be given as follows – if we take a scientist, he is indifferent to outcome of the experiment but he is attached to the trait of being objective. An actor does each role he takes on by immersing himself into the role and while he is not attached to the role he plays, he is attached to the idea of doing the role well. When one is attached to a higher ideal, the lower just drops away and this is best exemplified by 2:59 which is reproduced below:

विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः ।रसवर्जं रसोप्यस्य परं दृष्ट्वा निवर्तते ॥२.५९॥

For one who does not feed the senses (निराहारस्य देहिनः), the senses (विषयाः) come back (विनिवर्तन्ते) to oneself leaving the longing behind (रसवर्जम्). Having seen (दृष्ट्वा) परा (परम्) even (अपि) the longing (अस्य रसः) goes away (निवर्तते).

UB: 18:66 (8) – Let us take an easier example – a person may have trained for 3 years and finally climbed to reach the Everest Base Camp. Now, he develops a sudden वैराग्य to reach the summit. This वैराग्य may be taken as तमस् if the trigger for this is fear when he hears accounts of many people to have died during this कर्म or he may have been told that 150000 have already scaled the summit and he feels that his achievement will not be a big deal since many have already done it. This वैराग्य may be taken as रजस् if the trigger for this is a wisdom that scaling K2 is a bigger achievement than Everest owing to its difficult terrain. Note that the स्वभाव of wanting to scale the peak has not got eliminated with this क्षणिक् वैराग्य. Worse is in this  वैराग्य mode, he attempts to cultivate a new स्वभाव of starting a new hotel or selling mountain equipments at the Base camp and waste lot of time is taking on to hundreds of new कर्म instead of sticking to existing स्वभाव and doing योग. So what should he do at the Base Camp?

UB: 18:66 (9) – Since his स्वभाव is to scale a peak and he has already reached the Base Camp, he should continue with this कर्म instead of getting distracted by frivolous talk. And if the vision of the परा appeals to him, he should watch himself as to whether he will experience exhilaration if he succeeds and experiences disappointment if he fails. If he is aligned with परा, he will remain in the सत्-चित्-आनन्द state irrespective of outcome but if he goes through emotions, he can gauge that he has to work more. Thus, he will resort to more deeper practice of कर्मयोग to encounter more situations where he can test himself and deepen ज्ञानयोग too to get a better grip on the idea of परा. So he works more harder. Hence, अर्जुन is also being asked to undertake war as a कर्मयोगी instead of fighting the war with enmity or anger or leaving the war owing to his emotional confusion or मोह for his brothers, uncles, गुरु’s, etc.

UB: 18:66 (10) – But is there a need to still kill anyone? Who has given us the gall to decide that we are righteous and therefore have a claim to kill another? These are sensible questions though filled more with emotion than rooted in reality. When we use furniture, we kill trees for our use. When we eat food, we kill plants and animals for our stomach. Since भगवान् permeates everything, who gave us a तमस् view that killing plants and animals is fine but humans is not? Key point is note is to see whether war is inevitable and whether we have made adequate efforts to prevent it from happening. Similarly, we need to question whether our consumption patterns are need based rooted in minimalism or are based on greed. If we stick to minimalism, rule out all options for engaging in war but this becomes inevitable, we engage in war not to kill the enemy in hatred but to discharge our धर्म and remain open to both consequences. And just as we have to surgically remove our leg that has accumulated gangrene even though we love it, we fight with forces of अधर्म not to damn them to hell but to give them another chance to live their lives and get on onto the route of expansion.

8/8/17, 02:23 PA: Beautiful! How does one determine whether one is attached to higher ideal instead of running after satisfying the lower ideal or the senses? On the most lowest any action done with just me myself and my gain inn mind is perhaps the lowest ideal to live by; the more we move away from this ideal towards the unifying idea of benefit for all and as a result benefit for myself then lower sense gratification should start retracing back. It’s not the last thoughts on this …

UB: इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन। न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति।।18.67।।

18.67 Never should this be told by you to one who is not austere, who is not a devotee, nor to one who has no wish to listen, nor certainly to him who is cynical of Me.

UB: 18:67 (1) – भगवान् disqualifies four kinds of people to listen to the message of the Gita. To me, this is important. अध्यात्म is not meant for being forced down into everyone. The first exclusion is a person who is generally of an undisciplined type. Even on लौकिक matters, a person who is casual and not disciplined will struggle to achieve success. On matters of Gita, because he does not value discipline himself, the urging of Gita about ideas of सात्विक् तप will irritate himself and he will dismiss this either as utopian or unnecessary. And since he has no interest in changing his lifestyle, he will be abhorred by the extent of तप that Gita actually is pushing one to adopt and will wonder whether all this तप is worth the reward. Worse still, he may make fun of this obsession for तप and even distort the Gita message to suit his तमस् attitude. So avoid teaching Gita to such a person.

UB: 18:67 (2) – Now even if a person is disciplined, if he is devoid of devotion to his गुरू, such a person is not eligible for the Gita. Note the distinction between आचार्य and गुरू where the former may teach us लौकिक ज्ञान while the latter is the one who gives us अध्यात्म विद्या. But even if one is learning, one credits himself for his बुद्धि शक्ति to pick up ज्ञान and does not have reverence for the गुरू, such a one is ineligible. Next, even if one is disciplined and has reverence for a गुरु at a personal level but he is not really keen to hear the Gita, avoid teaching अध्यात्म to such a person too.

UB: 18:67 (3) – Howsoever precious a pearl may be, unless it has an aperture, one cannot thread it to make a jewel. An ocean may be deep but rain over it will waste the water. Why waste food on one whose stomach is full. So do not be casual in conveying अध्यात्म to someone just because he is disciplined and respects the teachers unless this person really wants to listen to the Gita. An eye can appreciate beauty but can it detect fragrance; a thing thus becomes worthy only where it is appreciated. And lastly, even if a person has all these three qualities but he has no reverence for the idea of Oneness and single reality, take care to avoid such a person too.

UB: 18:67 (4) – There has to be a tilt towards Oneness within a person. Such a person must be one who wants to spread happiness and include others too in his quest for joy. When a person is oriented in such a direction, Gita can aid one in expansion of such a person. If this is not the case, even though this person may be brilliant, he may be eager to read the Gita to argue against Oneness – such a बुद्धि is असुर बुद्धि that seeks joy in dividing rather than uniting. What is the use of a wonderful body decked with ornaments but no life in it? What is the use of a beautiful house made of gold and jewels; yet one cannot enter it owing to a cobra at its entrance? What is the use of best cooked food mixed with poison? Do not therefore allow one who is devoid of these qualities to touch अध्यात्म even as a joke.

UB: य इमं परमं गुह्यं मद्भक्तेष्वभिधास्यति। भक्तिं मयि परां कृत्वा मामेवैष्यत्यसंशयः।।18.68।।

18.68 The one who (य:) will teach (अभिधास्यति) this paramount (इमं परमं) secret (गुह्यं) to My devotees (मद् भक्तेषु), offering (कृत्वा) the highest (परां) devotion (भक्तिं) unto Me (मयि) – that one will reach (एष्यति) Me alone (माम् एव). There is no doubt (असंशयः).

न च तस्मान्मनुष्येषु कश्चिन्मे प्रियकृत्तमः। भविता न च मे तस्मादन्यः प्रियतरो भुवि।।18.69।।

18.69 Among people (मनुष्येषु च), there is no one (न कश्चिद्) more dear (प्रिय-कृत्तमः) to Me (मे) than that (तस्मात्), and there will not be (न भविता) another (अन्य:) more dear (प्रियतर:) to Me (मे) on earth (भुवि) than that.

अध्येष्यते च य इमं धर्म्यं संवादमावयोः। ज्ञानयज्ञेन तेनाहमिष्टः स्यामिति मे मतिः।।18.70।।

18.70 And the one who (य: च) studies (अध्येष्यते) this (इमम्) dialogue (संवादम्) of ours (आवयो:), which is in keeping with धर्म (धर्म्यं) – by that (तेन) ritual, in the form of knowledge (ज्ञान-यज्ञेन), I (अहम्) would be (स्याम्) worshipped (इष्ट:). This is (इति) My vision (मे मति:).

UB: 18:68/70 (1) – One who is devoted to Me will reach Me – this is the line here. How pompous, one may say. भगवान् is obsessed with Himself 😊. This may be a तमोगुणी expression. Let us talk about self-love. All of us have it. It does not have to be taught and since we are born, we love ourselves. Why? Even someone who may say ‘I hate my nose’ does not mean he hates himself but he loves his self-image very much and is unhappy because the nose does not appeal to his self-image. Where did we get this self-love from? भगवान् is the only organism who exists. There is no other. And he is in a state of सत्-चित्-आनन्द. He is very happy with Himself. And what are we? We are nothing else but Him only. After all, there is no other. So our love for ourselves is actually His quality that has passed on to us. But something has gone wrong.

UB: 18:68/70 (2) – While we have taken on self-love from भगवान्, as a जीव, our self-definition became stunted and instead of the Universal I, I took on self-love for a limited I. And hence I suffer. Now, भगवान् adores one who speaks about Him since this person is speaking of the Universal I instead of the limited I. And since भगवान् loves Himself, he loves the one who speaks about Him since the speaker in reality and the speech in reality is Him only. Therefore, one who always speaks about Him is the dearest of भगवान् and closest in His heart. By singing the glories of भगवान्, a भक्त is doing a कर्म that is the most favorite expression of भगवान् which is the expression of self-love.

UB: 18:68/70 (3) – There are two important धर्म of one who wants to be a भक्त of Oneness. He must do अध्ययन and he must do अध्यापन. The former means study and the latter means to teach. And वेद considers teaching as a form of worship. And भगवान therefore says that he loves the teacher of the वेद since such a person is actually worshipping Him through the act of teaching. How so? Such an act of teaching is called as ज्ञान यज्ञ since in pursuing ज्ञान, we have kindled the blazing अग्नि of ज्ञान and poured into this अग्नि an आहुती of our अज्ञान and offered to the देवता viz the परमात्मा.  Thus both the acts of study and teaching, if done as one’s धर्म and not to enhance our ego, becomes transformed as an act of ज्ञान यज्ञ and भगवान् loves such persons who undertake ज्ञान यज्ञ since their minds, while doing this कर्म, are always within Him.

PA: Being devoted to the unchanging inside us and holding on to the idea that everything which we see, feel in terms of thoughts are actually changing. Everything that we think as I, me myself and as mine dies at a different interval of times.  This veil of falsehood has to be broken and we live not in one veil but several that unknowing we have built around us. Strong identities and associating the real I with these identities.

UB: Indeed 👍

PA: The challenge is keeping this mindset and frame of mind and still discharging all the duties keeping a constant check on our mind and thoughts .. now getting carried away not getting attached to our beliefs in our heads our self image in our head our opinions our hatred our joy our likes our dislikes our friends our enemies;

Do exactly what is expected out of us .. The only thing worthwhile to get being attached to is to be non attached 😊

PK: Very well said.., the challenge for me is that dissociating from certain identities / beliefs seems like giving in to the system/ cop out / taking the easy way out without a fight…and while it may be erroneous the thought persists( and seems to me that it equally  silly / counterproductive to forcefully suppress the thought ) – seems like something that needs to be worked on shanai shanai … it’s gonna be a lot of work and a long time for me to come to this frame of mind espoused here 🙏.., I do not wish to frame this from a feminism lens but this is sometimes when I wish for a perspective from a wise female teacher 🙏🙏… but one soldiers on I guess- two steps forward and one step back 😃

UB: Got this list of women Saints from Google 😀

Sri Sarada Devi (West Bengal)

Rani Rasmani (West Bengal)

Saint Alphonsa (Kerala)

Akka Mahadevi (Karnataka)

Lallayogeshwari (Kashmir)

Mirabai (Rajasthan/Madhya Pradesh)

Muktabai and Janabai (Maharashtra)

Avvaiyar (Tamil Nadu)

Andal (Tamil Nadu)

Karaikkal Ammaiyar (Tamil Nadu)

Ananda Moyi Maa (West Bengal)

Aghormani Devi, popularly known as Gopaler Ma (Disciple of Sri Ramakrishna – West Bengal)

Golap Sundari Devi, known as Golap-Ma (Disciple of Sri Ramakrishna – West Bengal)

Yogindra Mohini Mitra, or “Yogin-Ma” (Disciple of Sri Ramakrishna – West Bengal)

Giri Bala (West Bengal) and

Shankari Ma ji (Uttar Pradesh)

8/10/17, 00:24 PA: 🙏🙏

8/10/17, 00:36 PK: 🙏🙏🙏

UB: 18:71

श्रद्धावाननसूयश्च श्रृणुयादपि यो नरः। सोऽपि मुक्तः शुभाँल्लोकान्प्राप्नुयात्पुण्यकर्मणाम्।।18.71।।

18.71 Even (अपि) the person (नर:) who (य:), having trust (श्रद्धावान्) and not being cynical (अन्-असूय: च), would listen (श्रृणुयात्) (to this teaching), that one also (स: अपि) is freed (मुक्त:) (from much पाप) and would attain (प्राप्नुयात्) the auspicious (शुभान्) worlds (लोकान्) of those who do beneficial actions (पुण्य-कर्मणाम्).

UB: 18:71 (1) – It is common for most, if not all, Indian अध्यात्म texts to indugle in a bit of glorification of the text 😊. भगवान् is saying that whosoever even listens to talks on अध्यात्म, he will also benefit. He of course needs to undertake listening with two ingredients – he has to have श्रद्धा and he must listen to the message without a cynical attitude. As भगवान् said earlier – श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानम् means ज्ञान will come to one who has श्रद्धा. We undertake any act only if we have श्रद्धा in it. We go for a movie with a श्रद्धा that the movie will entertain us. We go for fishing with the idea that we will be able to catch fish. Similarly, one listening to Gita must do so with an attitude that such listening will expand him. If there is no such belief, either he may not come to listen to the Gita and if he comes owing to peer pressure or because it is fashionable to do so, he will come but will be unable to assimilate what he is hearing.

UB: 18:71 (2) – Even a cynical hearer will not benefit from hearing the Gita. One should listen to Gita because one should have love for such ज्ञान. This is so even for education in school/ college in that if a student does not believe the subjects will add value to him but he still attends the school just to pass exams, he will be unable to assimilate ज्ञान. If the attitude is that “I am full, I do not need anymore”, such a cynical attitude will certainly not benefit the hearer.

UB: 18:71 (3) – Now, भगवान् is saying here that even a listener will benefit from just listening to the Gita. One may not be able to assimilate complex stuff and one may still not be refined enough to imbibe the message fully. But because he has the right attitude and is not cynical, he will attain righteous worlds. This means that even if such a person dies, he will move into an ecosystem where he can continue from where he has left off. So listening to the Gita too is beneficial.

UB: कच्चिदेतच्छ्रुतं पार्थ त्वयैकाग्रेण चेतसा। कच्चिदज्ञानसंमोहः प्रनष्टस्ते धनञ्जय।।18.72।।

18.72 O धनञ्जय! have you (कच्-चिद् त्वया) heard (श्रुतम्) this (एतद्) with a one-pointed mind (एकाग्रेण चेतसा)? Has (कच्-चिद्) your (ते) delusion caused by ignorance (अज्ञान-संमोहः) been completely destroyed (प्रनष्ट:)?

अर्जुन उवाच

नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत। स्थितोऽस्मि गतसन्देहः करिष्ये वचनं तव।।18.73।।

18.73 अर्जुन said: Gone (नष्ट:) is the delusion (मोह:). I (मया) have gained (लब्धा) recognition (स्मृति:) (without error) (of myself) by Your grace (त्वत्-प्रसादात्), O अच्युत (Changeless). I am (अस्मि) firm (स्थित:) and with doubts gone (गतसन्देहः). I will do (करिष्ये) what You have said (तव वचनं) or कर्म-योग.

UB: 18:72/73 (1) – अध्यात्म calls for developing our faculties to the highest to be able to imbibe its message. So भगवान् asks – “Have you been able to focus on my talk?” And the ability to be able to concentrate is seen as most essential for success in this sphere. Are we able to listen fully when talking to others? Are we able to focus fully on work when engaged in any कर्म? Are we able to immerse ourselves fully in the game while playing? If we are unable to focus even while performing ordinary कर्म, we will be unable to imbibe the message of अध्यात्म. And where does this inability to concentrate come from? It is मोह (infatuations) meaning that our mind has too many cravings and these distract us from being able to focus on anything for a long time.

UB: 18:72/73 (2) – And unlike the अर्जुन who was unsettled in Ch 1, we now have one who has become calm as the enormity of the message of life sunk into him. So he says – “My मोह has been destroyed”. The mirror has been cleared of dust and one is able to see himself clearly. And the expression used by अर्जुन is fascinating – he does not say – “You have taught me something new. You have taught me about प्रकृति & पुरुष, terms like नैश्कर्म्य सिद्धि, ज्ञानयोग, कर्मयोग, त्रिगुण, etc”. All these terms are just props to learn something higher and not an end in themselves. So his takeaway was – “I have become स्थितः” meaning that he has become stable and he has found himself. We are drawn to Ch 2 again where the term स्थितप्रज्ञ was used which means one whose बुद्धि is stable. It is stable in what? It is stable within itself.

UB: 18:72/73 (3) –  And अर्जुन also says another interesting line – “I have regained स्मृति”. We may take this in two ways. Simpler meaning will be that he regained his clarity of mind. He was clear that he had to fight his cousins. He was clear that he was on the side of धर्म. He was clear that पांडव were reasonable and tried their best to avoid the war. He was clear that the war is inevitable. But as he faced his cousins on the युद्धभूमि, he got distracted. And now with confusion gone, he has regained his earlier clarity of mind. The second could be that he has regained his original state of Oneness with the परा as one endowed with सत्-चित्-आनन्द. And in this state, he is no longer distinct from श्रीकृष्ण. And he will therefore follow words of श्रीकृष्ण which is akin to following himself since there is no duality between जीव & परमात्मा. Both are One. And all this clarity came as a result of त्वत् प्रसादात् meaning “By Your Grace” – “This did not come out of my effort alone but Your grace also came towards me and made me one with You”.

PA: 👏🏻👏🏻👍👍. So what’s stopping us to be like Arjuna ; the concepts are so clear and theoretical understanding is there. How to break this veil of falsehood that we have built which gives us only anxiety and pain and fleeting happiness.. keeps us trapped in the quagmire of the ever changing prakriti .. Mind – the restless monkey! Running  behind a thought which leads to another and another before there is a whole world created and you are swimming in it unknowingly – it’s such a futile thing but happens so commonly. This pattern is a hint that we have breaker from the Oneness and created the duality using the mind or the ego associating again with the changing instead of the changeless. A constant trust that you are being taken care of by the universe. Actually there is no you and I when there is only One.

MK: 👏👍🙏🙏…a ‘constant trust’…so important

UB: You are right. I guess taking आश्रय in the One Reality is primary. Next, the point that you are yearning is good enough since this very Reality will give an answer to this yearning at the right time. So it is good to be in the mode of constant yearning.

PK: I guess I have a long way to evolve – is this life only filled with pain ? There is so much joy and beauty and kindness as well . Can one not strive  to be detached from the pain and yet appreciate the majesty of the Lords creation ? Is such happiness less important just cos it’s fleeting ? I am still bemused by this need to be in a state of constant yearning to get out  of this cycle of life …much more lessons required for me – I am in KG of this compared to some of you – my mantra still is “do your duty : discharge your responsibilities to the best of your ability, go with the flow of life rather than straining constantly against it yet change to the extent you can what little is in your hands to change for the better, be grateful for the love ( in its myriad forms ) that surrounds us all – that is the Lords grace and so keep an attitude of gratitude and joy while enjoying HIS world including a glass of wine with friends and family 😃😃😃… when the time is to leave , leave in peace and without regrets – we have more blessings than we deserve “. The other stuff is still theoretical to me

PK: Do not mean to be contrary at all – I have truly learnt a lot here

UB: I guess for one who is yearning, one cannot say why they are yearning needlessly. And for those who are not yearning, one cannot say why they are not. 😀

UB: To each his own

PK: I agree – I am still trying to understand that world view and as yet the knowledge eludes – may be more time and much more mental maturity is required 🙏

UB: Or maybe you have reached an evolved state. So no more doubt is left. 👍😀

PK: High hopes UB – the only good thing I can claim is lack of that height of conceit 😂

PA: Waoo PK must say you summarized it well. All the points that you mentioned in the quotes are what it is all about. The things that we call ‘pain’ are actually also the blessings of the universe. It’s just that our mind is used to tell us that life should be this way or that way and hence we experience pain. Acceptance of whatever it is as it is and the biggest blessing is to wake up and start experiencing life moment by moment without any comparison with the past and expectation in the future. Just ask the self – what’s expected of or from me at this moment and Do that. Listen to the guiding master that  is sitting in your heart

PK: Very well said yourself as well 🙏🙏🙏

UB: सञ्जय उवाच

इत्यहं वासुदेवस्य पार्थस्य च महात्मनः। संवादमिममश्रौषमद्भुतं रोमहर्षणम्।।18.74।।

18.74 सञ्जय said! Thus (इति) I (अहं) have heard (अश्रौषम्) this (इमम्) extra-ordinary (अद्भुतं) thrilling (रोमहर्षणम्) dialogue (संवादम्) between the great minded (महात्मनः) कृष्ण (वासुदेवस्य) and the अर्जुन (पार्थस्य च)

व्यासप्रसादाच्छ्रुतवानेतद्गुह्यमहं परम्। योगं योगेश्वरात्कृष्णात्साक्षात्कथयतः स्वयम्।।18.75।।

18.75 I (अहं) have heard (श्रुतवान्), by the grace of व्यास (व्यास-प्रसादात्), this paramount (एतद् परं) , secret (गुह्यम्) योग (योगं) from कृष्ण (कृष्णात्), the Lord of योग (योग ईश्वरात्), Himself (स्वयं) directly (साक्षात्) teaching (it) (कथयतः).

UB: 18:74/75 (1) – Whenever people recited stories from Periya Puranam to भगवान् रमण महऋषि, tears used to flow ceaselessly from him. If we therefore think that a highest ज्ञानी must not cry, here is an example of One who used to experience unending thrill in listening to the events in the lives of भक्त’s of शिव. And even if we are unable to fathom the depth of bliss experienced by one living in a state of सत्-चित्-आनन्द, have we experienced bliss even by hearing the Gita? सञ्जय is a परमज्ञानी himself and he was very happy that he heard the message directly from भगवान् Himself. How much more lucky can one get?

UB: 18:74/75 (2) – And it must be seen that most, if not all, भक्त never seem to forget their गुरु in all good times or bad times. When श्रीआंजनेय was about to fly towards श्रीलंका, the first name he took while doing his prayer was that of His गुरु viz सूर्य. And whether it is Rumi whose relationship with his गुरु viz Shams or कबीर about रामानन्द or many others, whether they are going through good to bad times, they always remember their गुरु. No wonder सञ्जय too credited his good luck not to his own बुद्धि or his own तपस्या in his past lives (which may also have been true). His remembers व्यास and thanks him for showering His grace. Getting such a गुरु must be a big achievement I guess though one is reminded that if this has not happened to us thus far, our own पात्रता will have to be worked upon much more intensely. And once this is developed, a गुरु will come on Her own without we having to move out of our house just like तोतापुरी came on His own to train रामकृष्ण परमहंस.

PK: I agree with you UB – when the student is ready , the teacher will appear; I also believe it need not be always be one guru ; in today’s world more likely that one may meet many teachers and in various forms/ formats  too ! For us , one of them is definitely you ,giving us the unique opportunity to read both the shlokas and your explanations of the GITA virtually across the oceans 🙏🙏. Not to mention the unusual opportunity you gave me to try a hand at chapter 12 🙏🙏🙏🙏

UB: You are right – it need not be one Guru only. The 24 Gurus of Sri Dattatreya is an illustration of one having multiple Gurus. As for me doing the role of a Guru, I have no comments 😀. Actually, you guys have given me a great opportunity to learn and I loved all the questions that came my way as these made me think while responding.

HB: There is story about an Rishi who is probably at highest level in these matters and a simple housewife, who is just following her dharma of bring s righteous and good wife. In fact she keeps the Rishi waiting to serve her husband first. The wrath of the Rishi cannot even touch her.  I think this simple story tells a lot. So u are on the right track. 👏👏 enjoy

PA: Yes that’s a nice story I remember 👍. One see the old people in the old age home and thinks that that’s where life will end one day. What would one be thinking at that stage. There is not much to look forward to and definitely time to think back. Would one have thoughts of regret or a deep satisfaction of living the life well…??? The life as a precious gift needs to be really judiciously lived balancing the worldly ambitions and responsibilities with time for solace and retreat.  Personally I have difficulties with finding the right balance.

I guess that’s why wise people arrange their lifes with possessions and material duties to a limit so that it does not interfere with their personal space and peace of mind.

Driven by a drive for just incessant working hard earning spending and consuming leaves no time for contemplation; the challenge allways is when sorrounded by a group having this mentality. The challenge is enormous and complex …The only option is to just pray to God that He/she takes care of all these arrangements  and the only thing to ask perhaps is that come what may but don’t ever make me forget YOU and allways make me stay close to the lotus feet of the LORD

UB: PA – Question that comes up is how do we assess our own life of 46 years? But to make such an assessment, what मापदंड must we adopt? My sense is that this मापदंड cannot be time dependent meaning it does not matter if one has lived for 30 years or 70 years, the मापदंड must be the same. Thus, whether one is a man or a woman, whether one has worked or not worked, whether one is a cherished businessman or a desk clerk in a Municipal office, the basis for evaluation must ignore such भौतिक aspects. If we crack this problem, we should be able to then assess lives properly. Agree?

PA: Well UB unfortunately the measuring scale seems to change with different stages of life as different stages demanded different aspects of completion.

However interestingly the world will never end and itvnever has and its different situations  will force you to measure Up to it  by different scales. So external changing world by nature will demand differnt scales. The key i suppose lies in changing the measurement scale to a internal scale. Am i more at peace with myself? Am I ok internally inside irrespective of the outside roller coaster of life. Am I more joyfull and in bliss? Am i watchful of what i think about everything and see of my thoughts are of more dividing or unifying nature .. and so on

PK: I have heard of this story 🙏🙏🙏. Interesting analogy as I am not sure I will rarely ever be held as a stellar example of Desi wifely standards ; but I do get what you mean Hemangi ! Thank you 🙏

PK: Very true – I think about your dilemma of old age too .., old age is definitely no picnic… to be a gracious old person in a phase of life when one is increasingly dependent on the benevolence of those around of you is truly difficult.., managing regrets is another story itself .., that’s partly why I also feel if there are any ( mostly reasonable 😃) desires/ ichhaiyan it is probably better to try / experience vs not ; I see that one. I have observed that one usually regress’s a path  not taken more often than something done but of course this is not always true 😃

PK: Very true – but the mapdund/ principles are so elusive – do you have any ifeas? I can think of doing one’s duty / responsibilities ) student studies, family person settles kids , teacher educates etc) to the best of one’s ability but beyond that it is do complicated by each individual situation na?

PA: Yes UB doing everything to the best of ones abilities that’s the only way I know . Also the ‘best of my abilities’ keep changing depending upon the personal situation. All that you mentioned as playing each and every role to the best of ability.

It is quite complicated as you say.🙏🙏

PA: This i agree better to fulfill reasonable desires which one has now instead of waiting to do them later; for example if one wants to travel and see a place better now when one is young because later ka koi Bharosa Nahin ;

UB: To me, goal has to be something that is timeless wherein we must work to extract success from every moment of living. So you are right – giving our best with full enthusiasm towards our sphere of activity every moment of our life together with being in a state of calm in all situations is certainly a key measure of success – this is कर्मयोग. And only if we crack this now, we will feel good in our old age for having lived this life. Simultaneously, there is this yearning to crack this puzzle of life and while achieving divinity seems an impossibility, to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Divine at least once is certainly another goal viz ज्ञानयोग. Nothing else matters really.

PA: Bravo 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻nothing else matters really

UB: राजन्संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य संवादमिममद्भुतम्। केशवार्जुनयोः पुण्यं हृष्यामि च मुहुर्मुहुः।।18.76।।

18.76 O राजन्, remembering again and again (संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य) this wondrous (अद्भुतम्) and auspicious (पुण्यं) dialogue (संवादम्) between श्रीकृष्ण and अर्जुन (केशवार्जुनयोः), I rejoice (हृष्यामि च) again and again (मुहु-र्मुहुः).

तच्च संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य रूपमत्यद्भुतं हरेः। विस्मयो मे महान् राजन् हृष्यामि च पुनः पुनः।।18.77।।

18.77 And O राजन्! remembering again and (च) again (संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य) that wonderful (तत् अत्यद्भुतं) form (रूपं) of हरी (हरे), my amazement (मे विस्मय:) is great (महान्). Again and again (पुनः पुनः च), I rejoice (हृष्यामि).

UB: 18:76/77 (1) – As children, our first exposure to अमर चित्र कथा had given us a lot of joy and gives sweet memories even today when we see our kids reading these. Some got luckier to get exposed to academicians who have done thorough research on our texts and while being non-practitioners, their intense research helped us see interconnections between texts and made us expand (e.g, Karen Armstrong). Some more lucky derived greater joy reading the biographies of saints like परमहंस, रमण, गुरु नानक, आदि शंकर, etc by eminent writers like महीपति and others.  Some more luckier of us derived much greater joy reading the ग्रंथ like रामायण or the उपनिषद् either in original (or even indirectly through the eyes of other practicing authors like Rajaji or Kamala Subramanium). Few of us got more luckier to listen to the message of these texts from practicing Gurus who add their experience of intense साधना and when this aspect is added to the texts, we are filled with tears of joy when the intent of each श्लोक sinks into our minds with far more depth and meaning.

UB: 18:76/77 (2) – Now, we cannot imagine what सञ्जय must be experiencing. Given that this message, while being given to अर्जुन alone, is meant for whole of humanity, सज्जय is truly lucky to be the first one of humanity to receive this message directly. And there is a good reason to believe that सञ्जय must have acquired a very special पात्रता to be the first one to have access to the tone, the demeanor, the expression, the sound level, etc of भगवान् Himself – he must have truly felt that such an अनुभव is a rare one which very few may have had access to. No wonder he is unable to contain his joy and ends up repeating certain words – संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य uttered twice, मुहु-र्मुहुः and पुन-पुन: and also uses the word अद्भुतम्.  And just as we experience joy when we remember a special event that may have happened 20-30 years back, सज्जय is experiencing joy again and again remembering the पवित्र संवादम्. It is said that सञ्जय narrates the गीता and the initial events of the war after ten days on the death of भीष्म to धृतराष्ट्र.

UB: यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः। तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम।।18.78।।

18.78 Wherever (यत्र) is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga (योगेश्वरः कृष्ण:); wherever (यत्र) is bow-bearing Arjuna (पार्थो धनुर्धरः); there (तत्र), in my opinion (मम मति:) is श्री, विजय, prosperity (भूति) and certain justice (ध्रुवा नीति:).

UB: 18:78 (1) – Last श्लोक is also one of the most quoted श्लोक of the श्रीमद्भगवगद्गीता. Interestingly, the first word used in this entire text is धर्म and the last word is मम. Combining these together, we get the words मम धर्म making this text a text that conveys my धर्म. Thus, all who want to follow धर्म may follow this text. Now, a simple reading of these verses may suggest that सञ्जय is stating that whereever there is the presence of ‘physical’ श्रीकृष्ण and ‘physical’ पार्थ, victory, prosperity, etc will certainly follow. But such a भौतिक अर्थ cannot give joy to us 😊. So the next time we see a श्रीकृष्णार्जुन picture, its भौतिक सौंदर्य alone should not give us joy but its अध्यात्म सौंदर्य should send us into raptures. And what is the अध्यात्म सौंदर्य of this picture that even got Indonesia to place a massive sculpture of this image outside their own parliament?

UB: 18:78 (2) – श्रीकृष्ण represents ज्ञान and पार्थ represents कर्म and thus wherever there is the presence of ज्ञानयोग and कर्मयोग within oneself, success is guaranteed. Or श्रीकृष्ण may be seen as representing the Divine Grace while अर्जुन with his गांडीव representing human प्रयत्न – both have to come together for success. Or these may be seen as the duo of ध्यान & कर्म viz meditation and action. कर्म without ध्यान is wasted as is ध्यान with no कर्म. At the macro-level too, a society must be governed both by a धर्मग्रंथ (a set of guiding principles) as well as people who are living adherents to the धर्मग्रंथ. There is a line in the बृहद्अरण्यक उपनिषद् which says that in the presence of धर्म, the weak becomes equal to a strong one. Thus, even if we have an strong oppressor in a society, if धर्म is present there, the weak can take the help of government machinery in the form of Police and Courts and challenge the oppressor. In today’s time, a strong Constitution fulfills the role of a धर्मग्रंथ to ensure presence of धर्म.

UB: 18:78 (3) – We often talk about the clash between the mind and the heart. And the usual wisdom that is given is – follow your heart. श्रीकृष्ण may thus be seen as this heart, the centre of our being situated within our हृदय. Our mind, as we discussed earlier, is a part of प्रकृति. And an ideal life is where both the पुरुष तत्व and  प्रकृति present within us are fully integrated. And in such an integrated personality, there is no clash, there is no confusion and instead is present a state of decisive calm, a समत्वम्. And in this state, whatever action one does, it will certainly yield श्री (wealth), विजय (victory), भूति (prosperity) and ध्रुवा नीति: (constant justice). And श्री does not mean material wealth alone but presence of श्रीमहालक्ष्मी within us in the form of complete confidence in oneself – and not the lower self but the Universal Self. And whosoever has this within himself, विजय, etc will follow as a natural outcome. And with these wonderful words bestowing noble blessings on all of us, we end our गीता यज्ञ. ॐ तत् सत्

UB: || ॐ तत् सत् इति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताषु उननिषद्सु ब्रह्मविद्यायाम् योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुन संवादे मोक्ष-संयासयोगो नाम अष्टादशोऽध्यायः ||

CREDITS

The commentary shared by me is credited to lectures on the Gita by Sri Shanmukha Samadeva Sarma (in Telugu) and Swami Paramarthananda – both of these are available on the Internet. In addition, from time to time, I have referred to works on the Gita by Sant Gyaneshwar, Abhinavagupta, Swami Ranganathananda, Swami Chinmayananda and Swami Krishnananda