Bhagwad Gita - Post 249

Dear All,

It comes from within to get more deeper into the verse already concluded in previous post.

Verse 73

Arjuna said:

Destroyed is my delusion as I have gained my memory (knowledge) through Thy Grace, O Krishna! I am firm; my doubts are gone. I will act according to Thy word.

This one verse reveals the entire travel of a sadhaka from Moha (Delusion) to Smriti ( Knowledge ) through the teachings imparted by Guru / God and then the final whisper which comes from the inner heart of the sadhaka, now turned seer (Seer is the one who has known / experienced the mergence of Knower and Known, mergence of the creator, himself and the creation).

A whole book can be written based on this single verse.

Moha / Delusion is the strongest weapon of Maya to take the Jivas in Her clutch. It is born of ignorance. It is the cause of the whole evil of Samsara. 

The whole aim of Sadhana or spiritual practice and the study of scriptures is the annihilation of delusion and the attainment of the knowledge of the Self. 

When one gets it, the three knots or ties of ignorance viz. ignorance, delusion (desire) and action (Avidya, Kama, Karma) are destroyed, all the doubts are cleared,  and all the Karmas are destroyed.

The words tvat prasadan means by your grace. By the Grace of Lord Krishna all illusion was dispelled. The word tvat is derived from tvatvam meaning eternal spiritual verities. 

The word smriti means wisdom, enlightenment concerning the absolute nature of tvatvam. By the Supreme Lord's Grace this was bestowed. 

Smriti consists in knowing that the atma or immortal soul is distinct from matter, that the atma is different in nature from matter, that the SELF is cognizant and existing equally in all jivas, SELF is an infinitesimal, eternal part of the Supreme Lord Krishna, is dependent upon Him, under His direction and always in allegiance to Him. 

In knowing that the ultimate reality of Lord Krishna (as much as all incarnation) is He that is described so gloriously as the goal of the Vedic scriptures and in knowing that He is knowable by the Vedic scriptures. 

Let us live the three stages in spiritual sadhana through few glimpses from treatise.

  

Stage 1 - The state of a jiva, blinded by delusion

The disciple said: O Merciful Master! I bow to thee. I have fallen into the dreadful ocean of birth and death. I am afflicted with the three kinds of Taapas. Save me, O Lord. Teach me, how I should cross this ocean of Samsara.

(Moksha Gita by Swami Sivananda)

The disciple approaches the Guru. This is the starting-point of Brahmavidya. The aspirant after equipping himself with the Sadhana-Chatushtaya, i.e., the ethical discipline necessary for the purification of the heart before entering into the field of Brahmavidya proper or the Science of the Ultimate Reality, goes to the Spiritual Teacher for higher Knowledge.

Humbler than a blade of grass, filled with the fire of renunciation born of discriminatory understanding, the seeker bows down to the Guru who glories in the majesty of Brahmic Splendour. 

Not as the present-day student of the school or the college, but as an earnest votary of Life's Grand Destination, roused up by the consciousness of suffering in pluralistic existence on earth, fully aware of the affliction of mortal living, cheated by chance, tormented by thought, defeated by the forces of nature, oppressed by the massive weight of worldly duty, shocked by the horror of death, dreaded by the consciousness of future lives where the tragedy of existence will be repeated, finding no way of escape from the prison of terrestrialness, the aspirant opens his eyes and looks up towards his Great Duty, the duty of Self-realization.

Stage 2 – How Guru removes delusion and gives Knowledge

Paramahamsa Yogananda writes,

"A guru, ordained by God to help individuals in response to their deep prayers, is not an ordinary teacher; but is a human vehicle whose body, speech, mind, and spirituality God uses as a channel to attract and guide lost souls back to His home of immortality. 

A guru is a living embodiment of scriptural truth and an agent of salvation appointed by God in response to a devotee’s incessant petitions for release from the bondage of matter.

Delusion is destroyed by good company, by the company of saints, and by devotion to the messengers of God. 

My Master said to me: “I will be your friend from now through eternity, no matter whether you are on the lowest mental plane or on the highest plane of wisdom. I will be your friend even if you should err, for then you will need my friendship more than at any other time.”

When I accepted my Master’s unconditional friendship, he said: “Will you give me the same unconditional love?” He gazed at me with childlike trust.

“I will love you eternally, Gurudeva!”

It was only after we had made this spiritual pact that I began to understand fully the significance of a guru to a disciple. I never found complete satisfaction, comfort, and God contact until I attuned myself with unconditional loyalty and devotion to the divine consciousness of my Guru.

To the world God speaks only through His enlightened devotees. Therefore, the wisest of all actions is to tune in with the will of the guru who is sent to you by the Lord as a response to your soul’s desire. He is not a guru who is self-proclaimed as such; he is a guru who is asked by God to bring others back to Him. When there is a little spiritual desire, the Lord sends books and teachers to further inspire you; and when your desire is stronger, he sends a real guru....”

Stage 3 - Gratitude of sadhaka turned seer, towards his Guru who removed all his delusion

Salutations unto Thee, O Venerable Guru! Thou hast saved me from the wheel of birth and death. Through Thy grace I have attained Immortality and eternal Bliss. 

All my doubts, delusion and ignorance have vanished. Crores of prostrations unto Thee, O Merciful Lord.

(Moksha Gita - Swami Sivananda)

O Guru! Without Thy infinite compassion, no Self-realization is possible. Thy grace comes in the form of self-effort and meditation and Thy grace alone removes my ignorance. Sadhana is possible only with Thy blessing. If thou turnest away from me, Truth will turn away from me. Thou hast illumined me, O Lord! Prostrations to Thy Lotus-Feet!

(How grateful, how infinitely grateful is the author to his Sadguru, his divine Guide, his Lord, Lord of Lords, Bhagawan Sri  Sathya Sai Baba who took the role of  Guru as explained in this post and took him through Delusion to Deliverance )!!!!!!!

There are teachers who expect their followers to be always at their beck and call, ready to obey instantly; and if they don’t, the teacher becomes angry. But a spiritual teacher who knows God and is truly a guru never thinks of himself as a teacher at all. 

He beholds God’s presence in everyone, and feels no resentment if some students disregard his wishes. The Hindu scriptures say that those who tune in with the wisdom of a true guru make it possible for the guru to help them. “Comprehending that (the wisdom from a guru), thou, O Arjuna! wilt not again fall into delusion.”

Arjuna's words in this verse- 'I am firm', reminds us of the state of the Sthitaprajna (sage of firm wisdom) mentioned at the end of the second chapter. 

Hari Aum Tatsat

Love.