Bhagwad Gita - Post 77

Verse 30

Yo maam pashyati sarvatra sarvam

cha mayi pashyati;

Tasyaaham na pranashyaami

sa cha me na pranashyati.

He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, he does not become separated from Me nor do I become separated from him.

Verse 31

Sarvabhootasthitam yo maam

bhajatyekatwamaasthitah;

Sarvathaa vartamaano’pi 

sa yogee mayi vartate.

He who, being established in unity, worships Me who dwells in all beings,—that Yogi abides in Me, whatever may be his mode of living.

Verse 32

Aatmaupamyena sarvatra samam

pashyati yo’rjuna;

Sukham vaa yadi vaa duhkham sa 

yogee paramo matah.

He who, through the likeness of the Self, O Arjuna, sees equality everywhere, be it pleasure or pain, he is regarded as the highest Yogi!

Verse 30

Yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra: “He who beholds Me everywhere”; sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati: “and beholds all things in Myself.” Therefore, “He who beholds Me in all things sees My presence in everything, and also sees all things located in Me.” 

I shall not lose him, and he shall not lose Me.” God will not desert us. We will never be disconnected from God. All things shall be provided to us by this Great Being, provided that we are able to convince ourselves in the heart of our hearts that all things are located in the Absolute and the Absolute is located in all things. 

We are dear to God and God is dear to us in such an intensive manner that we are perpetually inseparable. That state of life is the attainment of great godliness .

In the blog post as well as in a talk several years before in Sai centre, the author has dealt with Loving God outside , Loving God within and then Loving all ( which has to culminate into serve all)

The essence of that talk is given below, which echoes the same essence as this verse.

Once and Only when we have  realized God within the cave of our heart, then seeing the same essence in all, in everything happens on its own. We cannot possibly see each and every one as a form of God, whichever form it may be. 

Either we realize God as LOVE in the path of Bhakti or as SELF in the path of wisdom. It is only then, that we verily exist as LOVE/ SELF and each being, each object, everything outside us come, touch us and take the essence of LOVE/ SELF that we are, with them and return happily.

Verse 31

Sarvabhūtasthitaṁ yo māṁ bhajatyekatvam āsthitaḥ: “One who adores Me as residing in all things, as the Atman, or the Self, or the essence of all things; one who worships Me in this way—locating Me everywhere, worshipping Me in all things, beholding Me in every little form and name—whoever does this is able to achieve this great unity with Me.” 

Ekatvam āsthitaḥ means he who has attained to a unity of perception in the midst of the diversity of things. Whatever be the mode of that person’s life, that person is one with God.

Sarvathā vartamānopi sa yogī mayi vartate: Such a person, irrespective of his occupations, location and circumstances, is rooted in God because of the great concentration that he has practiced on the deepest Self in him as the Self of all beings.

This again is echoed in the easence of the talk, quoted in the  earlier verse. 

Continued...

Love

Bhagwad Gita - Post 76

Dear All,

From verse 10 onwards, few verses go on to prescribe the posture, the method, the seating etc.,  for meditation. Readers are advised to go through the verses with the literal translation for these verses.

And then, Sri Krishna goes on to describe the state of the one who has succeeded in the process of meditation in these verses.

Verse 19

Yathaa deepo nivaatastho 

Nengate sopamaa smritaa;

Yogino yatachittasya 

Yunjato yogamaatmanah.

As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker—to such is compared the Yogi of controlled mind, practising Yoga in the Self (or absorbed in the Yoga of the Self).

Verse 20

Yatroparamate chittam 

Niruddham yogasevayaa;

Yatra chaivaatmanaa’tmaanam 

Pashyannaatmani tushyati.

When the mind, restrained by the practice of Yoga, attains to quietude, and when, seeing the Self by the Self, he is satisfied in his own Self.

Verse 21

Sukhamaatyantikam yattad

Buddhi graahyamateendriyam;

Vetti yatra na chaivaayam

Sthitashchalati tattwatah.

When he (the Yogi) feels that infinite bliss which can be grasped by the (pure) intellect and which transcends the senses, and, established wherein he never moves from the Reality,

Verse 22

Yam labdhwaa chaaparam

Laabham manyate naadhikam tatah;

Yasmin sthito na duhkhena

Gurunaapi vichaalyate.

Which, having obtained, he thinks there is no other gain superior to it; wherein established, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow.

These are some illustrations of the condition of intense concentration of the mind. It flickers not. The mind is not any more distracted, because the steadiness of the Atman is reflected here in this highly concentrated mind. Joy manifests itself from within. The mind ceases. 

We will contemplate on the above verses together in today’s post.

Verse 19

As a flame, say a candle flame, flickers not when it is burning in a windless place, so will be the mind concentrating, as it were, at the height of absorption in the Atman. Yathā dīpo nivātasthaḥ: That which is located in a windless place. Neṅgate: Does not flicker. Sopamā smṛtā: That is the illustration that is used here. Yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ: The Atman reflects itself as an immense steadiness in the mind that is concentrating. The fickleness of the mind, which is otherwise a form of distraction, ceases on account of the entire Atman reflecting itself in this condition of intense concentration.

Verse 20

Uparamate cittaṁ: It melts into the Self, as it were. Niruddhaṁ yogasevayā: Because of the restraint continually exercised on the mind, it melts into the Atman itself. Yatra caivātmanātmānaṁ paśyannātmani tuṣyati: Where beholding the Self in the self, one delights within oneself. There is no delight that is equal to this delight.

Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad: This happiness is absolute happiness. It is not a relative happiness that we gain by the contact of the mind with the objects of desire, because when the object of desire vanishes there is no happiness and, therefore, it is not actual happiness. It is a relatively tantalizing form of joy.

Buddhigrāhyam: This happiness can be experienced only by the higher purified reason, and not by the sense organs. The higher purified reason can reflect the highest reality within itself in the same way as it can infer the existence of God Almighty, though usually such a perception is not possible through the sense organs. 

We will not be able to arrive at God by an inductive logic of collecting particulars to arrive at generals. Any extent  of particulars that we collect in this world will not make God. Therefore, inductive logic does not help us here. The ancient masters took resort to an intuitive perception by which they started with the Universal first, and not with the particular first.

The existence of the Universal Reality is established by pure logic, and once this is established as the consequence of the work of the higher reason, everything follows. All creation can be explained in terms of this Universal Reality. It is infinite happiness. All other happiness in this world is relative. 

Verse 21

Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhigrāhyam atīndriyam, vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ sthitaś calati tattvataḥ: In that state, we will never be shaken even by the winds of the world. 

Verse 22

Yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate: Even the heaviest sorrow cannot shake us from that happiness. Even if the earth cracks and the sun does fall  on our head, even if such a thing can be imagined, we will not be shaken at that time, because of our entry into the very substance of all things.

A monk writes, 

“In the material realm, no extent of attainment satiates a person totally. A poor person strives hard to become rich and feels satisfied if he or she is able to become a millionaire. 

But when that same millionaire looks at a billionaire, discontentment sets in again.

The billionaire is also discontented by looking at an even richer person. No matter what happiness we get, when we perceive a higher state of happiness, the feeling of non-fulfillment lingers.

But happiness achieved from the state of Yoga is the infinite bliss of God. Since there is nothing higher than that, on experiencing that infinite bliss, the soul naturally perceives that it has reached its goal.

God’s divine bliss is also eternal, and it can never be snatched away from the yogi who has attained it once. Such a God-realized soul, though residing in the material body, remains in the state of divine consciousness. 

Sometimes, externally, it seems that the Saint is facing tribulations in the form of illness, antagonistic people, and oppressive environment, but internally the Saint retains divine consciousness and continues to relish the bliss of God. 

Thus, even the biggest difficulty cannot shake such a Saint. Established in union with God, the Saint rises above bodily consciousness and is thus not affected by bodily harm.”

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 75

Verse 10

Yogee yunjeeta satatam

Aatmaanam rahasi sthitah;

Ekaakee yatachittaatmaa

Niraasheeraparigrahah.

Let the Yogi try constantly to keep the mind steady,  remaining in solitude, alone, with the mind and the body controlled, and free from hope and greed.

  

A yogi is a person who is attempting to practice yoga, and a yogi is one who is established in yoga. 

Aloneness being our friend — living in a secluded place and not in a place of disturbance or noise — we try to collect ourselves into ourselves. 

We collect our energies, muster the forces of the mind and the senses, and try to be more and more in ourselves instead of being more and more in the objects of sense. This is the meaning of this half-verse: yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ. 

Ekāki: We should sit alone in a secluded place for meditation, unbefriended, unknown. 

The analogy of milk and water can help elucidate this point. If milk is poured into water, it cannot retain its undiluted identity, for water naturally mixes with it. 

However, if the milk is kept separate from water and converted into yogurt, and then the yogurt is churned to extract butter, the butter becomes immiscible.

Our mind is like the milk and the world is like water. In contact with the world, the mind gets affected by it and becomes worldly. 

However, an environment of seclusion, which offers minimal contact with the objects of the senses, becomes conducive for elevating the mind and focusing it upon God. 

Once sufficient attachment for God has been achieved, one can challenge the world, “I will live amidst all the dualities of Maya but remain untouched by them.”

Yatacittātmā: Bringing about a union of the mind and the intellect and the Self, so that there is no disparity among the thoughts of the mind or the understandings of the intellect or the yearnings of the soul. 

They must be in a state of balance. Such a state of attaining balance is yatacittātmā. Ekākī yatacittātmā: Being alone to oneself and united in mind, intellect and spirit. 

Nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ: Expecting nothing from the world outside, having no desires for anything in the world is nirāśīḥ; and aparigrahaḥ means expecting no gifts from anybody. 

When we have abandoned things, we may not expect gifts to come from different sources — and actually gifts will come, as that is the law of action and reaction. 

The more we renounce things; the more are things abundantly poured on us. 

The more we try to renounce the world, the more it will try to pursue us and become our friend and be with us. 

Therefore, it is said that when we are desire less, we should not expect any recompense or remuneration for our desire less-ness. 

Expecting to obtain something as a result of being desire less is another kind of desire and, therefore, the desire to receive something because of our desire less-ness has also to be given up. 

Love.