Bhagwad Gita - Post 80

Verse 40

Sri Bhagawan Uvaacha:

Paartha naiveha  naamutra

Vinaashas tasya vidyate;

Nahi kalyaanakrit kashchid

Durgatim taata gacchati.

The Blessed Lord said:

O Arjuna, neither in this world, nor in the next world is there destruction for him; none, verily, who does good, O My dear one, ever comes to grief.

Sri Chinmaya’s words of pure wisdom comes handy to explain this verse.

“At the very opening of this section, Krishna assures, with all emphasis at His command - "Neither here nor in the hereafter, is there any destruction for him, who performs right action."

The present is the product of the past, and thought by thought, action by action, knowledge by knowledge, we are creating for ourselves in the present the blue-print of our future.

Therefore, the Hindus believe in previous lives as well as in future births for all embodied souls; this is otherwise called the theory of re-incarnation. Based upon this principle, Krishna insists that no seeker is ever lost, although he may slip and fall, or even end his present manifestation; tomorrow is but today modified, but directly continued.

In addressing Arjuna as "O MY SON," Krishna has here not only followed the traditional practice of the Upanishads, but there is also a deeper significance.

However deceitful, cunning and cruel a brute one might be to everyone else in the world, one cannot ever come to advise a false philosophy to his own son. With fatherly love, Krishna is assuring Arjuna that one who is striving in the direction of evolution shall never come to suffer any real  fall. On the ladder of cultural growth, each step that is placed forward is an ascent towards the Absolute Perfection.”

Dear All,

We have to carefully parse the meaning of Shri Krishna’s words. He is in no way implying that the meditator will somehow attain material success due to his meditation. The common standard for attaining success in our world is wealth, power and fame, none of which is guaranteed as a result of meditation. 

Sri Krishna wants us to understand is that one who takes up meditation sincerely will automatically develop dispassion towards wealth, power and fame. He will not care whether he attains material success or not. So therefore, a lack of material success will not cause him distress.

 

But that does not mean that the meditator obtains a pitiable state either. In fact, by sincerely practicing mediation, the seeker will be in tune and in harmony with the world. 

Remember Sai's words of assurance - "If your thoughts / intentions are pure and noble, then Anugraha will pour in from all Navagrahas".

In essence, yoga of meditation is aligned with the good karmas done with Shraddha by the aspirant, in this verse.

Thus, though, in the present birth, he may not attain liberation, still, his faith and his sadhana , his quietened / equipoised / tranquil / steady mind  is sure to make him engaged in  good karmas  in the present birth and the result of such good karmas may not  lead him to distress in the future birth(s) as well.

And, still, due to accumulation of some past karmas, even  if some misery strikes such a sincere aspirant, as mentioned above, "He will not care whether he attains material success or not. So therefore, a lack of material success or at worst, even utter failures in life (to clear the prarabdha of past lives)  will not cause him distress."

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 79

Verse 37

Arjuna Uvaacha:

Ayatih shraddhayopeto

Yogaacchalitamaanasah;

Apraapya yogasamsiddhim

Kaam gatim krishna gacchati.

Arjuna said:

He who is unable to control himself though he has the faith, and whose mind wanders away from Yoga, what end does he meet, having failed to attain perfection in Yoga, O Krishna?

The journey toward God-realization begins with Shraddha (faith). Many sincere souls develop faith in the divine knowledge of the scriptures by virtue of the sanskara of their past lives, or the association of saints, or reversals in the world, etc. 

There can be many reasons that create the Shraddha required to begin the journey. However, if these aspirants do not put in the necessary effort and become ayatiḥ (lax), then the mind remains chalita (restless). 

Such aspirants are unable to complete the journey in this life. Arjuna enquires into the fate of such sadhakas.

Verse 38

Kacchinnobhayavibhrashtash

Cchinnaabhramiva nashyati;

Apratishtho mahaabaaho

Vimoodho brahmanah pathi.

Fallen from both, does he not perish like a rent cloud, support less, O mighty-armed (Krishna), deluded on the path of Brahman?

  

 Chinmaya writes, 

"In summer, mushroom-shaped floating castles of clouds arise from behind the mountains to peep into the valleys below. At the touch of some strong current of wind the mass takes to flight, leaving along its trail, small bits of fleecy cloudlets. Those little ones, torn away from the parental bulk, get knocked about and are at the mercy of every puff of breeze. 

Such summer cloudlets, aimlessly kicked about according to the whims and fancies of the winds, can never fulfil the expectations of the farmers, or the clamor of the thirsty. Unfulfilling themselves, they get tossed hither and thither without any haven for themselves. "LIKE THE RENT CLOUD," Arjuna asks, "will not the aspiring self in the seeker be forced to roam about and ultimately get lost in the vast theatre of the Universe?"

Dear All, 

Firstly, an aspirant having exclusively offered all activities unto the Supreme Lord without having performed any activities for attaining the heavenly spheres does not arrive there. 

Secondly failing to obtain success in yoga or the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness by dhyana or meditation one does not attain moksha or liberation from the material existence either. 

Thus, not qualified for both and deluded on the path leading to the Brahman or the spiritual substratum pervading all existence and atma tattva or realization of the soul. 

Arjuna here represents the world of Spiritual aspirants in all times, past and present, when he asks this question to Sri Krishna, 

Does such a one perish or does such a one escape death? 

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 78

Verse 32

Ᾱtmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ

Paśyati yo’rjuna,

Sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ

Sa yogī paramo mataḥ:

“Hey Arjuna!

He who beholds all things as he beholds himself…”

We love all things as we love ourselves. Even the trees and the stones will respond to our call. There are no non-living or dead elements in this world. The various levels of creation such as matter, vegetable, plant, animal, human, etc., are only various stages of the expression of consciousness, but no level is totally without consciousness.

It is present even in a stone. If that were not the case, there would be no possibility of evolution. In as much as we are able to locate our Self as the deepest reality of all things, we will be able to locate the same reality even in a stone. 

Everything in the world will shine like the light of the sun, and sparks of flame, as it were, will be seen jetting forth from every atom in the cosmos. If we see solar light emerging from every atom and every electron, only then does it become possible for us to consider outside things as beloved, as valuable as our own self.

Sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ

Sa yogī paramo mataḥ:

“Whether he is in a happy state or in an unhappy state, that great yogi is lodged in Me.”

This is a great promise, as it were, that the Lord has bequeathed to us in these four verses which tell us how great God is, how compassionate God can be, how near God is to us, and how easy it is to contact Him. All these aspects of our relationship with God are brought out in these four verses, which we should recite. They can be recited in any language.

A doubt arises in the mind. “Well, all this is very well. I practice yoga, and I am struggling to achieve perfection in this life itself. But suppose, in spite of my ardent struggle and striving, I do not attain the goal before the discarding of this body? 

Then all the effort in the direction of God-realization by way of yoga will also be destroyed. Years of practice will become futile. 

To this, a great consoling reply comes from the great Lord. There is no perishing of effort. The body may be discarded, but the force that is generated by our concentration, by our practice of yoga, will come with us because in death the body perishes but the mind / the effect of our actions/ sadhana,  does not perish. 

Since all effort in yoga is a mental effort, a conscious operation, our yoga practice will not be futile or a waste because the mind will take with it all its assets in the form of the great work that it has done in meditation. The power of meditation which is impregnated into the very structure of the mind will be carried with it even if we take another birth. So, we should not be afraid that if we die in the midst of the practice of yoga there will be a loss of effort. No such thing will take place. 

Because of the power of our practice, we may be born in a highly conducive atmosphere in which there is no kind of disturbance to us. Now we have a lot of disturbances—political disturbance, social disturbance, personal disturbance, communal disturbance, and all kinds of things. Due to difficulties of this kind, we cannot easily practice yoga in this world. No such difficulty will be there afterwards. 

All factors will be conducive to our practice. We will be born into such a noble family, into a royal family, as it were, due to the great practice that we have carried on in this present life. Or we may even become the son or daughter of a great yogi such as Vasishtha or Vyasa. Then what else would we require? Such blessedness is difficult to attain, but it is possible to attain it. 

Love.