Bhagwad Gita - Post 166

Verse 13

Jneyam yattat pravakshyaami

Yajjnaatwaa’mritamashnute;

Anaadimatparam brahma

Na sattannaasaduchyate.

I will declare that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to immortality, the beginning less supreme Brahman, called neither being nor non-being.

Lord says, “I shall now tell you what Truth is. That Supreme Brahman is the Ultimate Truth, after knowing which there is attainment of immortality.” 

Anādimat paraṁ brahma: It has no beginning and no end. It cannot be designated as either existing or as not existing. 

A beginning can be conceived and calculated only with reference to what is the substratum of all, which substratum must be existent even before Time.

Thus, the Supreme is always considered as "beginning less". From the Supreme even Time is born. The Supreme Consciousness, which is the "illuminator" of all experiences and which exists, transcending all realms of experiences, cannot be caught within the web of our perceptions --- It being the very Perceiving-Principle in all equipment.

It cannot be called existing because whenever we think of any existing thing, we want to see it with our eyes or consider it as some object of some sense organ. 

As it is not the object of any sense organ, we do not consider it to be existing; but neither is it non-existing—because, ultimately, it is the only existence. 

Verse 14

Sarvatah paanipaadam tat

Sarvato’kshishiromukham;

Sarvatah shrutimalloke

Sarvamaavritya tishthati.

With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds, enveloping all.

Sarvatah paanipaadam: It is spreading itself everywhere. Everywhere we can find the hands of that Being and feet of that Being. 

Sarvato’kṣiśiromukham: Everywhere are the eyes of that Being, everywhere are the heads of that Being, and everywhere are the faces of that Being. 

Sarvataḥśrutimal loke: Everywhere are the ears of that Being. 

Sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati: It envelops all things.

Chandhogya Upanishad III.XIV.I states:  “Everything is nothing but the Brahman” 

The creation  manifests through the inconceivable potency and incomprehensible power of the Supreme Lord as confirmed in the Svetavastara Upanishad VI.VIII which states: 

“The Supreme Lords transcendental power is unlimited and manifold and His knowledge, strength and action are inherent within Himself. 

The Supreme Lord who manifesting in all jivas or embodied beings has head, faces, eyes, ears, hands and feet everywhere is pervading everything in creation and is the basis of all activity as these selfsame organs of perception and locomotion belong to all beings.”

Dear All,

For an intellectual  thinker (real evolvement begins when one keeps aside his intellect and contemplates on the essence of vedanta, as it is given in the Srutis, as it is explained by his Guru), a doubt may arise.

“If Brahman envelops the entire creation, then there are 2 entities, one is Brahman and another is this creation. This duality goes against the non-dual philosophy of Advaita Vedanta”!!!

Answer to clear this doubt

“Brahman and creation are not 2 separate entities. At absolute state and stand point, only Brahman exists and there is no creation.

However, when maya is added to the absolute state, then, the creation apparently exists but it is only all maya, like the famous example of Rope and snake or Post and Ghost.

Once a jiva transcends his ignorance and experiences and realizes Brahman at absolute state, then, for that jiva turned Jivanmukhta, there is no relevance of this creation, through he walks, moves and exists in the creation.

Till one is over indulgent in creation and its objects, then creation seems to be  real and existing. 

When one merges with God, then even in the apparent creation, he experiences only God. So, for him, there is no separate  Brahman pervading and enveloping a separate creation. 

ALL IS ONLY THAT (BRAHMAN).

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 165

Verse 10

Asaktiranabhishwangah

Putradaaragrihaadishu;

Nityam cha samachittatwam

Ishtaanishtopapattishu.

Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable.

Asaktiḥ: Therefore, we should be detached from things, and live an individual life. We should be alone to ourselves and not mix socially, as these people are not necessary for us. 

Anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ: We should not seek contact with anybody. We should not look for people to chat with. There should be no contact. We do not need friends. 

Let us be very clear on one thing.  Extrovertness and attachment do not go along with spiritual evolvement. 

One can either be an extrovert /a person attached to people/objects or he can be a sincere spiritual aspirant. One cannot be both at the same time.

Putradāragṛhādiṣu: Also, we should not be attached to our family members—such as son or daughter, husband or wife, property or house. 

If we are householders, we have some duty to perform as a trustee of an institution, not attaching ourselves to anything, but doing our duty very meticulously. 

We may live at home, but we should detach ourselves, knowing well that one day or the other we will leave, and also knowing that one day or the other they will leave us. Hence, attachment is unfounded and unwarranted. 

Again, this also needs to be understood very clearly. 

Till the time one enters the spiritual path seriously and sincerely, he/she thought they loved their family very much. 

But this love was never 100% pure, as it was mixed with attachment and more than that, it was colored with some or the other expectation from their family members in return. 

We can all appreciate this point as we close our eyes now and think.

Whereas, when one takes up the spiritual path, he still loves and can continue to love his family, but with a change. It is now pure love, not withstanding how they are, not withstanding whether he /she gets back the same pure love in return.

So, it is now LOVE WITHOUT ATTACHMENT. 

Love without appointment (expectations) and hence no scope for disappointment either. 

nityaṁ ca samacittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu: 

Whether pleasant things or unpleasant things come — whether good news comes that makes us feel happy, or there is something which makes us very unhappy—we should keep our mind in a state of balance, and not be tilted either to this side or that side.

Verse 11

Mayi chaananyayogena

Bhaktiravyabhichaarinee;

Viviktadesha sevitwam

Aratir janasamsadi.

Unswerving devotion unto Me by the Yoga of non-separation, resort to solitary places, distaste for the society of men.

Mayi cānanyayogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī: 

Finally, we should resort to God only. 

All mystics emphatically declare that to invite God into our hearts, we must get rid of the pride of the self.

Avyabhicharini bhakti is ekabhakti, which means wanting only one, and not wanting anything else. If we want another thing simultaneously, it is vyabhicharini bhakti. 

Here is avyabhicharini bhakti, where we do not want anything else except that one thing. “May that devotion be fixed on Me.” And what kind of fixing is it? 

Ananyogena: “With an undivided assiduity of concentration, may you be devoted to Me with a devotion that has no second.” 

It is worthwhile reading the commentary on a sutra from Narada Bhakti Sutra covered in the blog post under the theme Narada Bhakti Sutra.

viviktadeśasevitvam: We should always try to live ekantam—alone—and not in a thoroughfare or a city, where there is a lot of noise and dust. 

As far as possible, we should try to live in ekantavas, have ekantavas, and be satisfied in ourselves and not require anybody else with us. 

Viviktadeśasevitvam aratir janasaṁsadi is dislike for crowds of people. If there is a crowd of people, we should leave that place and go somewhere else—sit under a tree. 

We should not have any kind of taste for organizations, crowds, and the noise of human society. We should be alone to ourselves. 

This aloneness sets in automatically, this cannot be deliberated and achieved.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita - Post 164

Verse 8

Amaanitwam adambhitwam

Ahimsaa kshaantiraarjavam;

Aachaaryopaasanam shaucham

Sthairyamaatmavinigrahah.

Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service/reverence to  the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control.

Amānitvam

If grass is trampled on, it simply bends; it does not resist. We should be humbler than a blade of grass. If we chop off the branches of a tree, it does not curse us.

Even if we cut off a large part of the tree, it again shoots up tendrils and leaves. It is very tolerant. Thus, the devotee / Sadhaka should be as tolerant as a tree and as humble as a blade of grass, giving respect to everybody and wanting respect from nobody.

Adambhitvam

There is no show on the part of a spiritual seeker. He never demonstrates himself as a seeker of God, a lover of God, a spiritual seeker.

It is said the sadhana that we perform, the mantra that we chant, and the Guru whom we worship should not be revealed to anyone.

Ahimsa

Non-violence is something well known to us. All beings should feel fearlessness towards us.

Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (10.8): “May all be fearless towards me” is the pratijna, or the vow, that we take. “Let nothing, let no one, be afraid of me.”

Kṣāntiḥ

If somebody does something wrong to us, we should not do the same to them.

Here is a short poem: “There is so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that it ill-behoves any of us to find fault with the rest of us.” So, be forgiving.

Ᾱrjava:

We should be honest and straightforward, and not hide anything. We should not think one thing, say another thing, and do something else.

We have learnt through the hymn  “Kāyena vācā manasa…” about the purity and alignment of thoughts/words/ actions emerging through/ from our Body/ Mind/ Speech/ Senses/ our Tendencies!!!

There should be harmony; otherwise, there will be non-alignment of personality.

Ᾱcāryopāsanaṁ

We should always be humble and worshipful before our teacher, who imparts knowledge to us.

We should not show our greatness or our ego before the teacher, or the Guru.

Let him be worshipped as the veritable manifestation of God Himself.

Swami Sivananda writes in His priceless book "Guru Bhakti Yoga", on  "Service to Guru", the following points

Service to Guru 

¥               Goal of life is Service to Guru.

¥             Every unpleasant incident in life is a test of  your trust in Guru.

¥        Disciple considers the actions; Guru weighs the intentions and motives.

¥                 Doubt in the Guru’s action is the greatest sin.

¥               Never try to appear before your Guru what you are not.

¥               Obedience is the law of life for a disciple.

¥               Don’t miss any opportunity to serve your Divine Teacher.

¥              Be sincere and earnest when you serve your Divine Preceptor.

¥               To love Guru is to serve Guru.

¥               To live is to serve the Divine Master.

¥             Obedience to Guru is better than reverence.

¥             Obedience to preceptor is better than sacrifice.

¥           Adapt, adjust, accommodate with your Guru under all circumstances.

¥               Don’t talk much before your preceptor.

¥               Pure love to Guru is true obedience to Guru.

¥               Give the best things to your teacher first.

Śaucaṁ means physical purity, both inwardly as well as outwardly.

Sthairyam is the decision that we have taken to achieve God-realisation in this birth, and not in a future birth.

Ᾱtmavinigrahaḥ is self-restraint, the control of the senses and the mind.


Love.