Swami Ishwarananada Gita Talks-Sessions1-7

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The Essence of Gita by Swami Ishwarananda - February 10 to 16, 2008
Gita Jnana Yajna by Swami

Ishwaranandaji
Feb. 10-16, 2008
Chinmaya Mission, San Diego.
SELF-DISCOVERY – A PATH TO PERFECTION

Talks on his Compilation of The Essence of Gita, Chp. 8 -
18,
by Swami Ishwarananda, Chinmaya Mission, Tustin.
(transcription of MP3 Audio)
SESSION #1
Swamiji:
OM
OM
(chorus joining in the chanting of the Invocation)
saha naavavatu | saha nau bhunaktu |
saha veeryam karavavahai |
tejaisvinaavadeetamastu maa vidvishaavahai |
om shantih | shantih | shantih |
(chorus chanting of Salutations to Sadguru Chinmaya)

samastha-jana-kalyani
niratham karunaamayam |
namaami chinmayam devam
satgurum brahmavidvaram ||
(chorus chanting of ‘Gita Dhyanam’)

om parthaya prathibothitham bhagavata
narayanena swayam
vyasena grathitam puranamunina
madhyemahabharatam.
advaitamrtavarsinim bhagavatim
astadasadhyayinim
amba tvam-anusandadhami
bhagavadgita bhavadvesinim.
yam brahma varunendra-rudra-marutah

stunvanti divyaih stavaih
vedaissangapadakramopaisadaih
gayanti yam samagah.
dhyanavasthitatadgatena manasa
pasyanti yam yoginah
yasyantam na viduh surasuraganah
devaaya tasmai namah.
devaaya tasmai namah.
Talks – Introduction to Gita
I am delighted to be here. Um, we are continuing with what we have left last year.
It is a too long a time since we have left it. It might have got rusted also. Hope you all
remember we completed – upto 24, I was told. Is that right? Bhagavad Gita should be
studied and not to be read. Many people just read Bhagavad Gita like any story book. But
there is a between reading Gita and studying Gita.
When you read a subject or any book, you don’t really take that into your life –
you just admire, appreciate the story or the content. And that does not become something
that would change your way of life. I used to give this example – like that of a painting
and a sculpture.
A painting is something which is a beautiful picture captured or photographed by

the artist who reproduces that on a canvas and expressing his skill and his imagination
and it is a two-dimensional picture, if you can see; whereas if you look at a sculpture, it is
not a two-dimensional captured frozen picture. But it has the depth, which is multi-
dimensional.
From every angle of view, it should be real. And at the same time, while the artist
is working on it, he cannot make a mistake. And one mistake means, the entire thing will
become useless. He has choose the correct kind of stone and he has to chisel it properly
with all his attention and at the same time make it as close to the reality.
In the same way, a scripture is like a sculpture. It is not just a portrayal of

something which probably you would admire, appreciate. But it is something which
should be closer to reality – something which is practical, something which is applicable
that which can transform your way of thinking. And as like sculpture one cannot change
anymore, in the same way a scripture is a word or spoken truth, which is true for all times
to come provided you are able to see it in that way.
So Bhagavad Gita is such a scripture – there are many scriptures in the world but
this is one of them, I would say which is most prominently practiced and most translated
I was told, among all the scriptures. And we are studying not the entire Gita but (I have)
chosen certain verses and in the first twenty-four verses we have almost covered, out of
eighteen chapters we have covered almost seven or eight chapters.
In these chapters Bhagavan Krishna has very clearly indicated the need for a
qualified mind to understand and realize the highest truth. Without the basic preparations
of our mind, it is impossible to recognize the inner beauty. If it is an external beauty
which we have to see, we have to go some place or go to the place where the beauty is or
to procure it, buy it, produce it. Where as to see the inner beauty which is already there,
all that we have to do is find adjustments.
Out in the sky when in the night, in a dark night, you go out and look at the sky,
there are so many stars, so many planets – hidden. If you have the right telescope, then by
adjusting it you can see what the bare eyes cannot. In the same way, let us understand the
scripture Bhagavad Gita, it is like an instrument available to you, adjusting your mind,
you will be able to see the inner beauty which is already hidden in us.
Talks – Gita, the first Six Chatpers and Chapter 7

So in the first six chapters of Gita, Bhagavan Krishna has given various methods
by which we can adjust ourselves, we can fine tune ourselves. So starting with He gave
the first and foremost idea that, ‘Arjuna, you are deathless’, all of us are. Considering
yourself as a limited individual self – soul, you only constantly suffer. Every day see you
on ups and downs, joy and sorrow would persecute you constantly. And you can never
escape from that. At one level you can tolerate that. But that is not the um, way of life.
Tolerating the various dualities of life is a relief that the beginning stages of your
maturity. I often would say that a tolerance that people practice, or what is known in
English as, I mean in Samskrit as thithiksha, is only a beginning of maturity. Hm…
Bhagavan Krishna also says that ,
taantithiksha swabharata, maatra sparshaastu kaunteya –
sheeda ushna sukha dukha daahaa,
aagama payino anityahaa tantithiksha swabha...
So tolerate.
Your own worldly life you may may have some problems, either physically or
your, in relationships or at the workplace or in the weather. In all these there will be
certain things which you may not be, it is not according to your liking. What you should
do? Tolerate. So tithiksha : tolerance. Tolerance is a temporary patience – uh? –
temporary patience. But if continuously that same thing comes again and again, you
would say, ‘I am – it is intolerable’.
So one man was asked, uh, he was celebrating thirty-second wedding anniversary.
So he was asked this question – how did you manage to be with same person for thirty-
two years. He said, it is very simple – first when we got married, long time back we went
for a honeymoon. It was in Darjeeling. I was in the military and my wife was also a
daughter of a military man.
And we went and then we, we were going, in the honeymoon, we went for a horse
ride. And then we both went in different horses. And the horse that she was riding was
very wild. And it – she fell down. I was very near, so I was, I mean, I was helping her but
she was telling that horse, ‘you know you are new, you don’t know me. I tolerate you’.
(She) told the horse.
So after some time again the horse threw her out – second time. So she told the
horse, this is the second warning to you. The third time also she fell down. So she took
the gun and shot it. I was feeling so bad – you know, this is a mute animal, poor thing,
and it doesn’t know. Why are you doing this? And you shot him to death. That is not
right.
So she looked at me and said, ‘this is the first time for you’(laughter). Afterwards
he said, never I asked any questions to her. Thirty-two years, it was gone by (laughter).
So that it is thithiksha : tolerating. The second level is known as patience.
Patience is where you understand that it cannot be changed. Day comes and after
day night comes. Winter is there, after that summer comes. Joy followed by sorrow.
Success followed by failure. Uh? dehnaya vinyam saayam pradha sushida vasandho
punaraaya : everything comes and goes. Gurudev used to say, even this will pass away.
So that maturity of knowing that this cannot be changed, that is patience. That is
more permanent. What you cannot change, tolerate. What cannot be cured, endure. So
when you are able to recognize that something which is there and it will change. It will
change - for a moment only it is there. Afterwards it will go.
Change continuum is what is happening here. That is where you start growing up
– patience, kshamaa. But that is not the end of it. The third level is what is known as
compassion – where you not only bear the changes, like in the case of a doctor… can he
ever complain, ‘my God, everyday I have to see sick people’. What else? (laughing
amused)
You have taken to that profession where you cannot help but see the sick people
all the time. Can you complain? Uh, either you cure the sickness or get rid of the person
itself, finally. Some way or the other you have to see that patient – that is why they are
called patient (laughter). You have to. If you become impatient, you become – ‘I am
patient’ now.
You have to be patient to all that. Now this third level is where, that very patience
becomes compassion. That requires a higher spiritual level of thinking. That even this
changes that are taking place, they are all relative – they are not only relative, they are not
real. In the second level you understand the relativity of them – one is there and the other
is waiting to happen. But in the spiritual perception you understand that they are not real.
You give reality to them and therefore you have to suffer them. But that is the
nature of the Lord, compassionate one who doesn’t give reality to this, which we do and
suffer. So this is called the higher spiritual maturity.
Bhagavan Krishna therefore in the first six chapters elevates the student, Arjuna
from one level of – making him, asking him to tolerate to the level of patience and then
He gives the understanding of the spiritual knowledge. udhared atmana atmanam : lift
yourself by yourself; na atmanamavasadhayet : don’t lower down yourself.
In this path of spirituality or your own inner enlightenment, no one can help you,
except your own self. Gurudev used to say, I am not a donkey to carry you people. You
have to go on your own. chal akhela, chal akhela. Go alone, alone. Somebody asked me,
Swamiji, do you take banana Swamiji? I said, ‘I’m akhela’(laughter) – don’t give me. Go
alone.
So you have to walk the path all by yourself. That is why it is said, atmaiva
atmana banduhuh : your own mind is your friend, if you know how to take care of it;
atmaiva ripuratmanah : your own mind is your enemy. So in this path to maturity, inner
maturity, that is why we call it as ‘Path to Perfection’, you are given enough guidelines
by the Lord and one has to take one’s own steps towards that.
So in the sixth chapter He spoke about the nature of self to be taken care by
oneself. And meditation we have seen – how to withdraw the mind slowly and steadily.
And in the seventh chapter, it is about understanding the nature of things in much more
clarity.
The nature of discernment happens – understanding it very clearly. That (is) –
Bhagavan says other than Me there is nothing else in the world. That vision is the vision
of the realized person.
mattah parataram nanyat kinchidasti dhananjaya, mayi sarvamitam protam sutre

manigana iva (7:7) : everything is connected to Me; I am present in all of them equally;
all happens in My presence only. Knowing which four kinds of devotees come to me.
artho jigjnasur artharthi jnani cha bharadharshaba (7:16).
artha means those who have arthritis(laughter). artha means those who have
physical application. Uh, those who have some pain, some sickness in the body, they
want to get rid of it. artharthi : those who seek wealth; I mean, and then jigjnasu : those
who need wisdom or knowledge; and then jnani.
Among these, all the other three seeking something else other than Me, jnani is
seeking Me, therefore I love the most – I love him the most. Because he doesn’t want
anything ‘from’ Me, anything which I own. He wants Me. So therefore, jnani tho atmaiv
mevamatam : Me and the jnani, one and the same.
Therefore, sarveshu kaaleshu maamanusmara : remember Me all the time;

maamanusmara yudhyacha : go and fight in the world, meaning do your work;
maiyarpidam mano budhihi, maamevaishyasi asamshaya : you will remain in Me only,
do not have any doubt about this. Now up to this point we have come to discuss.
Talks – Gita from Chapter 8

( 24. Om is our true home )
(ref. compiled notes)
Now we will take up the twenty-fourth to start with. We will read the verse
number twenty-four…
omity-ekaksharam brahma
(repeat group chanting)
vyaharan-maam-anusmaran|
yah prayati tyajan-deham

sa yati paramaam gatim| (8:13)

(REPEATS CHANTING OF THE VERSE)
omity-ekaksharam brahma
vyaharan-maam-anusmaran|
yah prayati tyajan-deham

sa yati paramaam gatim| (8:13)

ekaksharam om : one syllable which indicates Brahman. Omity-ekaksharam : you

know in present world for meditation people use that as merely a sound vibration. To that
people have accepted OM. Huh – you might have seen this advertisement. I don’t know
whether you saw that. So two cows were walking, you have seen, in TV I think. Two
cows were walking, in you know a big field. They are chanting O……M. You have seen
that? (chuckles). You have seen that? So one duck or something which is standing there.
‘You are not supposed to say OM, you say MOO….’ They look at each other – ok,
‘MOO….’
And they were saying MOO and the duck was saying, O…M. So he said – they
tell each other, ‘I don’t think he listens to what we are saying, we’re saying MOO and he
is saying OM now.’ HA, HA, HA, they laugh – “California cheese” (laughter). Ha, Ha,
Ha, “Happy cows”. Ha, Ha… So anyway, OM – it is just not sound vibration. It
represents Brahman.
Why because these three letters that constitute that one single syllable OM, they
represent the three states of experiences, you might have read that, making dream and
deep sleep. AAA representing waking, UUU representing dream and MMM representing
dream, I mean sorry, deep sleep.
So waking, dream and deep sleep, AAA, UUU and MMM together constitute OM,
which represent all our individual experiences. But it is said that beyond that is the fourth
state, chatur – that is what is referred in Mandukya as ‘turiya avastaan’. That is in the
Silence which follows that OM, where the stillness of mind is achieved after chanting
that OM. So here, omity-ekaksharam brahma vyaharan : at uttering(OM); maam-
anusmaram : remembering Me.
In the yoga techniques which um, we come across, this point – that the thoughts
in your mind, when you are able to bring down to one single thought for a long period of
time, that is what is referred as one-pointed ness – ekakgratha.
That one pointed attention upon one particular object is itself is a difficult(y) to
obtain by a common man because the mind is so variegated, disturbed and constantly full
of contradictory, opposite thoughts. So to bring the thoughts into a cohesive thinking first
of all, and to coming to think about it only one, about only one subject, for which only all
the upasanas are prescribed, like worship of the Lord – when you remember or look at
the form of the lord and then offer various flowers and other things, various upacharas –
that is to keep your mind on one single object.
Upaasanaya – upasana is meant for ekakratha chintanam. That is the phala of

upasana. So therefore when the mind has become one-pointedly remembering only one
thing, the next step is that understanding that as one self. The object of your meditation
should become you yourself. To achieve this point one has to remember that particular
form not as an external object, (instead) as one’s own self. Meaning you have to lose
yourself in that.
In this context, in the Upanishad what we find, no particular form is prescribed.

Instead the syllable, OM is prescribed. For that syllable, OM does not have any physical
form. When it comes to physical form you always feel that there is a difference between
you and them. The OM is therefore uttered thereafter as a sound and in that sound one
loses one’s own physical awareness.
So that is why He says, maam-anusmaran : Me the Self, Atma has to be

remembered and that OM representing Me, Myself – maam-anusmaran | omity –
ekaksaram brahma vyaharan | yah prayaati : he who leaves this physical body, deham
tyajan : leaving this physical body one who moves; sa yaati paramaam gatim : he obtains
the highest abode, that is My own abode.
So it is said that if a person practices this as a daily practice everyday, then at the
end of your life when you are to leave this physical body, it is not a struggle anymore.
But if you say, ‘Ok, dhekenge – that time let us see, now let us be busy with what
we are doing’. So, nobody can assure you that you will remember to chant OM. Because
that is the reason why when a person is about to die we all crowd upon (and) start
chanting Gita to him. Because in the whole life he has not done that. So now atleast
remember the Lord.
And do you think by you chanting he will remember? He will remember all the
thing that he had gone through in his life. And his mind is not with you – even if you are
chanting loudly the chapter eight of Gita and chapter two of Gita. For that person has
never attempted in his life to ever think about God.
And last moment – kantaa varau dara virau smaranam kudasthe : where the
throat is choking, air is trying to get out and the whole system is collapsing, chaotic
condition, at that time where do you remember the Lord? So therefore, on a daily basis
when a person spends time remembering that Supreme Lord and chanting the syllable
OM , while he disidentifying, removing his awareness about his physical body and
concentrating wholly upon that nature of the Supreme as he utters OM, with this practice
when finally when he has to leave this physical body, tyajan-deham sa yaati paramaam
gatim : such a person will surely reach the Supreme state only. Why? Because that is
your true abode. That is your true home. OM is your true home. That is why our Gurudev
used to say – Hari OM. Go home first. So Hari OM.
So this OM – in our Upanishads it is said, is the greatest support. Omity-

ekaksaram brahma. Omity etadaalam banam sreshtam : mind cannot travel without a
support. So for the mind to hold on to something, than holding on to something
temporary, let it hold on to something which is transcendental. Which is very temporary
it will lose its you know, interest.
Like you know, we used to buy so many things in our life, you know for our own
pleasure and joy – how long it stays with us. How long you have joy with us? Go and
open your door of your children’s room – sooo… many toys and things are there. How
long they really played with that? First few days it is so exciting, both for the parents and
for the children. After some time, slowly, slowly, slowly, gone.
We also have new, new gadgets – new cell phone, new i-phone, that phone, this
phone. You know phone in Sanskrit means, know, you know what in Sanskrit means –
dooravaani. And cell phone is called, jangama-dooravaani. You know, jangama means
mobile. I-phone means mama-jangama-dooravaani (laughter). All sort of gadgets we go
on buying, how long they really stay giving pleasure to you. First few days it is very
interesting, afterwards…
So mind loses interest – the moment mind loses interest it does no more a support
for it. That is the reason the Lord always stays hidden. He never comes to reveal Himself.
Because when He reveal means you will lose interest. He will always stay hidden – and
show and come out, and show and disappear. He always plays hide and seek with us,
because if we become familiar, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ – I know lot; let us do
something else. You know there is a beautiful poem by Rabindaranath Tagore –
very interesting.
The gist of it is – I woke up in the middle of the night. The Lord was calling me
and strangely the Lord’s call coming from the first floor of a house. I climbed up the
stairs in the night. Dark night it was and I heard the sound coming from behind the door. I
knocked the door. It didn’t open and I learnt that, that the door is not locked. I was about
to open it, I stopped. No. If I see him I will have no more interest, came back. That’s all,
nothing more. Don’t expect anything else. So if I have seen Him the whole anxiety, the
whole thrill, whole joy of waiting for Him, to look forward to see Him, the whole journey
will come to an end. Uh… better not to see Him. So this is the peculiarity of such and
such great masters, whose poetry is very peculiar. So the Lord always remains unknown.
In Kenopanishad also we have seen – if you think you know, you don’t know.
edimanyasesu vededi noena vededi : you don’t know. agasyathvam mimamsameva,
edimanya vihitam : if you think you know, it is better you think about it again. So the
Lord always keeps Himself unknown to you – not unknowable. There is a difference
between unknown and the unknowable. (He) is knowable alright but He will remain
making you look for Him. So here, the Lord has not, should not become familiar, you
should not be familiar with the Lord.
Greatest Masters also have said (that) ‘I still look for Him’ or Her, Her, Her, in
the case of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. ‘I look for the Mother all the time. Even as I have
seen Him probably – or seen Her – still I don’t know – (the Lord) remains always
mystical, mysterious’. So OM is a symbol, is a support, that support takes you to the
heights of meditation, where you will have the glimpses of that Lord’s Presence but never
to become familiar. The Lord therefore, here, tyajan-deham tyajan yah prayati sa yaati
paramaam gatim : one reaches the Highest State.
Talks – Gita from Chapter 9

So then one would obviously ask, if the Lord is there and He is knowable, in what
way He is knowable, in what way we can seek to see Him. Is He hidden in a temple, in
the form in the Murthy, in a idol or in a stone? Where is He hidden for us to seek, where
should we start seeking Him – where should we start looking for Him? Can He prescribe
a particular place for that?
Here, Bhagavan says, in the next verse – we read,
(Lakshmiji chanting)
mayaa tatamidam sarvam
mayaa tatamidam sarvam
jagad –avyakta-murtinaa |
jagad–avyakta–murtinaa
matsthaani sarva-bhutaani
matsthaani sarva-bhutaani
na caaham tesvavasthitah |
na caaham tesvavasthitah | (9:4)
He says, O MY DEAR, YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ME – WHERE? YOU ARE

LOOKING FOR ME IN ANY PARTICULAR PLACE AND YOU ARE THINKING
THAT I AM HERE MEANS I AM NOT SOMEHWERE ELSE. If you say, the Lord is
present in the temple and not anywhere else, your understanding of God is so narrow. But
at the same time atleast you are looking for Him somewhere.
Swami Vivekanandar beautifully has said, begin understanding of the Lord in a
particular form. Begin the journey there but don’t end it there. Know the Lord in a
particular form, but later on you should you should see Him in every form – uniform. At
least start somewhere.
Some people don’t even start anywhere. Because they don’t believe – I am an
atheist. Atheist, when they start an organization, what kind of an organization it would
be, you know? Non-profit organization. Non-profit, (that is) Non-Prophet (laughter).
Because they do not believe, then don’t start the journey itself. Here Bhagavan says, yes
you must look for me in a temple or in a form. But best is you understand that mayaa
tatam idam sarvam : I have spread Myself everywhere. jagad-avyakta-murtinaa :
avyakta murtina mayaa, Me in the avyakta form, unmanifest form is spread everywhere.
Like for example, if I ask – where is space? Can you point out, here is space? A
particular place has space? No. See among the five elements… earth, you can point out;
water, you can point out; fire, yes you can point out. Air, is little difficult. But ‘space’
when it comes, you cannot point out a particular place as space. Because there are places
where vacuum, where there is no air at all also. You can say, there, there is no air, and
here is air. But space? The very word, akaasha means avakaasham tataadi iti akaasha :
that which accommodates everything. So therefore, a-kaasha means sarvatra prakaasha
iti vaan : that which shines everywhere, kashyadi iti kashyan : that which shines.
So that space is something which cannot be said to be in one place and not
another place. If space itself is all-pervading, the One who is the very cause and the
source of space. Bhagavan is therefore saying, avyakta-murtina maya : in my unmanifest
form, sarvamidam tatam jagad: the whole world is Me. The world is not an object. The
world is not a particular thing. The world when you say, everything that you can
experience.
Space is the subtle most. That being so, sarvaani-bhutaani matsthaani :

everything is in Me only. That means where are you? You are ‘in’ the Lord. You are
already being present within the Lord only. Hm? We in our misunderstanding, think, that
me, there is a consciousness is something which is living inside me – in a portion of my
body there is something called life, sitting.
Life has two aspects – one is called expression and another is called Existence.
Expression of life you can experience only in a particular form. Like for example, if there
is a plant, a living plant there, is it a living plant or a dead one? (laughter) A living plant
– how do you know that it is alive? Because it, I mean after sometime there are new
leaves coming, or new flowers coming, so you know it is alive.
So you can see the expression of the existence of Life through the flower that
comes out or the growth that takes place, so expression. But that expression is a
demonstration of the Existence – the Life. But that Life has no particular place to exist.
That’s why avyakta-murtina mayaa sarvamitam tatam – AS PURE EXISTENCE I AM
PRESENT IN ALL. But expressions are different.
The plant doesn’t express the same way a bird will express. The bird will not
express the same way, an animal would express. Animal would not express the way, the
human will express. The expressions are variety, where Existence is the same.
natvevaham jaadunaasam natvam nemeh janadi paha sarr : He says, NOT THAT YOU
WERE ABSENT ANYTIME, O ARJUNA! NOT I WAS ABSENT, NOT YOU WILL
BE ABSENT. NOT I WILL BE ABSENT. WE ARE PRESENCE – na chaiva na
bhavishya maha sarve mayi matam para.
So this understanding of Lord as your existence, that is the beauty of the abstract
Vedantic philosophy. It is abstract in the sense that we cannot organize it through limited
equipments. Like for example, if I say this watch ‘exists’, you can only understand it in
terms of the physical expression of it. But the existence is not confined to this watch
alone. Table also exists. This block also exists. I also exist, you also exist. What is the
color of existence? What is the form of existence? What is the shape of existence? What
is the quality of existence?
No color, no shape, no form, no quality is attributed to it. That is why it becomes

abstract. But the Lord says, IN ME ALONE EVERYTHING EXIST. matsthaani : in Me,
sarva-bhutaani : all living beings. But the beauty is like this watch is there, and this cloth
is there, the table is there, the stage is there, the carpet is there. In the absence of one, the
other does not become absent. Is it not? If the watch is taken away, the table will not
disappear. Table is taken away, the stage would not disappear.
Stage is taken away, the carpet would not disappear. Carpet is taken away, the
hall doesn’t disappear. Hall is taken away, San Diego doesn’t disappear (laughter). San
Diego is taken away, and the California doesn’t disappear. Even California is taken away
– let’s say flood came and went – other part of the world doesn’t disappear. The whole
world goes away, what you call, cosmic, eh, what you call, space doesn’t disappear. So
because of some one’s absence, does not become (such that) Existence become absent.
Similarly, your body disappears, you don’t – that is the point He arrives at.
DON’T THINK OF YOURSELF AS MERE EXPRESSION. YOU ARE PURE
EXISTENCE. The physical body is an expression. The absence of this physical body
does not mean the end of you. THIS EXISTENCE, therefore, He says, THIS
EXISTENCE WHICH I AM, CANNOT BE CONFINED TO A PARTICULAR FORM.
Therefore He says, na caaham tesuavasthitah : I am not confined in that form.

DO NOT NARROW IT TO A PARTICULAR FORM OR AN EXPRESSION. I AM
NOT. This realization gives great freedom to us. For we realize that, anything I hold
myself as ‘this is me’, is only a temporary identification – eh, it is a temporary
identification. You know, once, long time back I was looking at the old pictures of mine,
when I was young you know, maybe in the school or something like that.
So one particular occasion there were many friends and I was, there, picture
shows I was laughing. And something and somebody had taken a picture. What was I
doing when I was laughing? Why I was laughing in that particular, you know, the
photograph? I was trying to, you know, squeeze my head to understand – why was this,
what was, why was I laughing.
Suddenly I realized that, at that occasion I laughed no doubt and the picture was
taken. And that has come and gone. Does it matter right now? ‘What was I doing at that
time?’, ‘Why I was laughing?’ – doesn’t matter. Why, because that was an occasion and a
frozen moment in my life which was just taken as a picture. That is dead and gone some
twenty years back. So is the present moment too.
In another few hours this moment has no meaning. Is it not? And we give so
much importance to our immediate presence, I mean immediate pleasures and pain, we
forget our Eternal Existence. And we are caught in out temporary pains and pleasures, we
forget the essence. So therefore He says to Arjuna, ‘DO NOT THEREFORE GET
CAUGHT INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT OF PAINS AND PLEASURES.
UNDERSTAND YOUR ETERNAL NATURE’. ‘AT THAT WAY’ He says, ‘I AM
NOT CONFINED TO ANY PARTICULAR THING.’ matsthaani sarva-bhutani na
caaham tesuvavasthitah : ‘I am not caught in them’. This is what is called Self-
Realization.
Otherwise you know, we only worship a particular form and confine to it and
become narrow and then (become) fanatic and then we become violent. Philosophy tries
to release you, whereas narrow-minded religion is trying to confine you (laughs). That is
the nature. One person, went to a temple and he told that priest there, “you know my dog
died, can you do a pooja for him?” You know that last rites pooja – prayer, etc.
He said, “how dare you ask that question? We don’t do pooja for this God and all
those things, I mean sorry, Dog”. You know, prayer and all for the dog? “There is another
temple no, ‘New Wave’ temple they have opened, go there, they will do it”. So that man
said, “oh, oh, it is ok – because eh, I kept some five-thousand dollars for this programme,
so…”. (laughter) “Huh? You didn’t tell me that a dog is a Vaishnavaite. Definitely we
do” (laughter)
Religion confines itself to certain beliefs – and (there are) those who believe and
those who don’t believe. And there is a big clash and enemity and you know, so much of
violence that goes on in the name of the Lord. Bhagavan Krishna therefore says, ‘ALL
THESE KIND OF NARROW-MINDEDNESS IS THE CAUSE FOR MAN’S
DOWNFALL’, really speaking in the name of Religion.
‘NO PARTICULAR FORM CAN CONFINE ME’. ‘NO DOUBT ALL THINGS
RESIDE IN ME’. sarvaani-bhutaani matsthani : all remain in Me, but I am not in any
particular form – na ca matsthani bhutani. So, na caaham tesuvavasthitahah, na ca
matsthani bhutani : if you understand that Existence is not any particular form, particular
nature, then you understand, He is everywhere, in every form, in every thing. Which one
He is not? This is what even Prahalad said to Kamsa, is it not – ‘which one He is not, O
my dear father? – He is in you, He is in me, He is in everything, He in this pillar’. In
everything He is present.
So then, na caham tesuavasthitah, na ca matsthani bhutani: when you understand

this, parshamae yoga mayeshawara : this is my Supreme nature. bhuta brinna ca
bhutasthaha, bhutatma bhuta vahanaha : I am appearing yourself as you, Me, and other,
various other things but that is not Me. Like your child’s picture you have taken, when he
is small child, putting his … sitting there and you have taken a picture, and that a boy,
then a teenager, and then as a hero sitting there – all different pictures you have taken.
Now I ask which one is your son? What do you say? ‘Everything is my son’.
When he was small child, then he became acute (laughter). All those things which you
see – from the very young child, to become such an arrogant egoistic fellow now – all
these are all my child only. They may appear to be different – you know, different you
know, shape or color of the hair, now a days. So and then that style, hair style, hair and
there is no hair with the hair, all sort of style.
So these different forms you see, but he is the same person only. In the same way,
the Lord may appear to be in different forms in different, various animals and birds, and
the plants and everything. But please do not confine Him to be anything “IN” particular.
Therefore He says, sarvam jagad itam maya tadam : everything is pervaded by Me. So
this openness, this, what is called the catholicity of that the approach, the openness of that
approach – not confining to any particular narrow-minded belief frees us, otherwise it
will freeze you (laughter).
People do not get free, they become, freeze, they become frozen. And then once
you are frozen, very hard you become. Now the Lord says, those who therefore recognize
me as a constant Eternal presence, they can continuously think of the Me as their own
self. And such people who can remember Me as their own self, they are the highest
among all the devotees. (singing) veda bavanaat sohamityasou, bhavanaabhita
aavaneemataa – or Bhaktirutama. Than the idea that the God is different from me,
vedabhavana, than that sa aham iti : He is me, I am He. This abhitabhavana, this
divisionless devotion is the Highest.
Such a person can worship any form and every form as Himself, his own Self, he
doesn’t confine himself to anything particular. So such a devotee is the Highest as He
says in the next verse we read…
anayaas-cintyanto maam
(group repeats chanting)
anayaas-cintyayanto maam
ye janaan pary-upaasate
ye janaam pary-upaasate |
tesaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam
yoga-khsemam vahaamy-aham
yoga-khsemam vahaamy-aham | (9:22)
Swamiji:
ananyaas-cintayanto – cinta-ya-yanto it is written (indicating correction in the

talk handout print) there. ananyaas-cintayanto maam – maam : me. cintayantaha :
thinking. anaanyaaha iti – anayaas chintayanto maam : those who understand Me. na
anyam iti cintayantah – anyam means ‘another’ – not thinking of Me as somebody else,
(or as) something else other than Oneself.
So thinking of Me as their own Self. ye janaah : those people, maam pary-

upaasate : those who worship Me in that way, tesaam : to them, nityaabhiyuktaanaam :
ever engaged in such kind of a devotional practice, aham yoga-khsemam vahaamy – I
take care of their welfare in the form of what they seek and what they need to protect,
yoga and khsema.
vah means to carry – vahana – as I told you, maybe before. A person eternally
carrying another person (is) called vivahaa (laughter). Don’t we say that – not I said. But
don’t we say that, marriage and – so I’ll take, we, you know what do you say, ‘until death
we don’t depart each other’ – I don’t even think you remember also that (laughter). So I
‘carry’.
viseshayena vahati vivaaha – like a flow of river, prabaaha you know, continuous
flow. So, vaaha – vah is ‘to carry’. So He says, yoga-khsemam vahaamy – I WILL TAKE
CARE OF THEIR NEEDS – WHATEVER THEY NEED IN THEIR LIFE. That is
called Yoga, and – here in this context. And because we seek certain things for our own
convenience, for our own comforts of life and that is called ‘Yoga’ because you engage in
that, to gain that. And whatever we have got we try to protect that – that is called
‘Kshema’.
‘Life Insurance Corportation’ – ‘yoga-kshemam vahaamy-aham’, this is taken

from the Lord – Bhagavad Gita’s statement. ‘We can take care of your wife and children,
you die (laughter). You pay money to us, we will take care of them, you don’t bother of
them. We don’t take care of you. You children will take care.’ But there only when you
pay you will taken care, otherwise who cares. Bhagavan says, “you don’t need to pay,
you just pay attention. What do you need, you don’t need to pay money, just pay
attention”.
Where (do) you have pay attention? ananya chintanam, na anyam bhgavan iti
chintanam : Lord is ‘not’ different somewhere in the Himalayan cave or somewhere in
the temple – He is there constantly with Me. Remember that footstep story, you know? I
think it as come from in this kind of idea only. One man, you know looks at the footsteps
on a sand. There are two pairs always.
So at one point he saw only one pair of footstep there. So he understand those are
the times, difficult times of his life, so he was very dejected – O Lord, during those
difficult times of my life, you deserted me, I was walking alone. Lord said, no, that is the
time I was carrying you. So the Lord is present both in the good and bad times. But that
we don’t believe. During those are the times only, we start disbelieving the Lord.
’Bhagavan ayi-hai nahin’. (“Bhagavan is not here”) ‘See He has given me trouble’.
Infact, He gives troubles so that you remember Him. Sometimes children also, they make
such a, you know, crying and then what do you call, ‘throw tantrums’. You know for
what? So that you will pay attention to him.
Body also – cough and other things – you know why? Because body says, ‘I am
here, please pay attention to me, otherwise you don’t take care of me properly.’ So the
Lord has to be remembered, ananya chintanam – anna anyam iti. Because anything else,
any other thing you have to remember, it is an occupation or an effort from the mind. An
effortful attention of the mind is required to think about something other than your Self.
But your own Self, once you recognize the Lord as your own Self, there is an
effortlessness in that understanding, in that attention.
Like when you started driving in the beginning stages how much of attention –
‘oh, I have to do this, I have to do that’, you know? Once I was there recently in Delhi,
and we were going you know in car, and the auto-drivers you know – that was the ‘auto’,
nobody actually drives that (laughter), it actually goes by itself (laughter). Because
once… I was wondering, ‘what is this?’ And our car-driver was much more efficient.
Because in Delhi you have to be, you know, because narrow streets and you have to go.
So I was so admiring this driver, I asked him, ‘you, you have great skill’. “No, our
policy is very simple Swamiji”. (I asked) ‘what is it’? “Where there is a wheel there is
way.” (laughter) He did not say, ‘will’. So (he said), if there is a ‘wheel’, there is a way.
So when you have become skillful in driving, then you don’t have to bother about that.
You can go into the narrow street with no, not even scratch, one scratch will be there on
that.
In the same way, when one is able to recognize the Lord’s presence in the joy and
sorrow, in all conditions, (thereafter) to remember the Lord or to pay attention to His
Presence becomes an effortless one. aprayatna : without any prayarthnam. But
THEREFORE– the Lord says – ananyaas cintayanto maam : THOSE WHO
REMEMBER ME AS NOT OTHER THAN THEMSELVES, ye janaah pary-upaasate :
THEY WORSHIP ME IN EVERY WAY. IN ANYTHING THEY DO – sarvam
Krishna-rpana-mastu, Eshwara-rpana-mastu, Brahma-rpana-mastu : ability to offer
everything. That is why in Yogah-Shastra it is called ‘Eshwara-pranidhaan’ : total
Surrender to the Lord’s Will.
That ability to dedicate everything, success or failure, gain or loss, to the Lord’s
Will – Your Wish, ‘Thy Will be done’. Such people, for them they don’t need to put any
more effort to gain what they want in their life. yoga-kshemam vahaamy-aham : I will
take care of that.
We presently allocating ourself to be the doer of everything, we struggle

constantly. And in the process we become more and more, we suffer only, zindigai (that
is, life) becomes a suffer only. Don’t we say – (singing) ‘zindagi ek safar’. Whole
zindagi (life) becomes a suffer. Why, it is, I was just telling while coming… arthasya,
arjanae dukham, rakshanae dukham, gayae dukham, artham kim sukam : earning money
is such an effort, protecting money (requires) much more effort, spending? O my God
what a sorrow it was.
Especially a miser you know, who is a miser, (he) lives with great sorrow and dies
with greater sorrow. Why? While living he doesn’t want to spend. While dying, in his
name everybody spends. (This is a) greatest sorrow for him. See like, when you earn and
you are so much struggling to earn and then you are trying to…And when your son when
he starts spending, how much of sorrow you get. My God – “why do you want to spend
on this”? (In reply:)”You spend! You don’t spend. (so)I will spend”. Simple. “You, you,
you earn, I will spend”. That is the simple policy we have in our life. Because (for) this
second generation, they are very simple policy – ‘my dad will earn, I will spend.’
Why suffer so much – so, if for us to earn money is a great sorrow? Nobody says
early in the morning, ‘ah… I have to go to work’. ‘O my God, I have to go to work
again… tomorrow (is) Monday…’ How many of you say, ‘WORK, I love it. Go, for
work.’ Nobody tells. So while working, one has suffering. Protecting, what you have
earned, that is also suffering. And spending, nobody enjoys. Only enjoyment is looking at
the figure in that bank account – ‘I have this much’. Only the number there, money is not
there, only the number is there (laughter) – why not add more zeros and be happy more.
yoga-khsemam vahaamy-aham : does not mean whatever you ‘want’, but

whatever you NEED. We just do not know what is the thin line between ‘need’ and a
‘greed’. We always have a confusion about that. There is a thin line between ‘need’ and a
‘greed’. Our line between ‘need’ and ‘greed’ keeps moving towards the greed more and
more (laughter). Really what you need is very simple in our life. But just because ‘she’
has it, I should have it. ‘He’ has it, I should (have it). This is where the ‘need’, turns out
to become ‘greed’ – we don’t even know that.
Those who have become alert about what they need, and anything extra is
optional, such people live with great contentment. But those who cannot clearly define
this point, and their definition of what they need becomes decided by ‘others’, they
cannot stop worrying and they cannot stop struggling in their life. For that matter, for
your body’s sustenance, you just need a ‘basic’ food – that is all you need. Any masala
(spice) you add, anything you add, it is all unnecessary, you know, demands of your own
tongue. If only you realize that you can live with a very simple lifestyle. But we don’t.
We become so complex. Look at your face, you’ll understand – how complex we
have become (laughter). If somebody smiles at you, (then you wonder,) ‘why is he
smiling at me?’ (laughter) We become so complex, so narrow and so negative and
never... Our innocence, long time gone – (we have become) speculative, manipulative.
Our food, our lifestyle, our relationship, our need – everything has become so complex.
Bhagavan says, “I DO NOT GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ‘WANT’, OR WHAT

YOU ‘WISH’“. That is what ‘yoga-khsema’ means, what you ‘need’ in your life, “I
WOULD TAKE CARE OF THAT”. Provided, ananya chintanam : you take care of
remembering ME constantly. He is not a politician (who says), you take care of me, I will
take care of you (laughing). It is not like that.
WHEN YOU REMEMBER ME YOU REALIZE HOW SIMPLE LIVING IN

THE HIGH THINKING, IS THE BEAUTY OF LIFE. Not ‘simply living’ and ‘highly
thinking’. Simple life – go back to simplicity. Don’t simply sit. So here, anaya
chintanam : remembrance of the Lord as one’s own Self. That is called ‘anaya
chintanam’. ye janaa pary-upaasate |
yoga-khsemam vahaamy-aham.
Bhagavan says, “MY SIMPLICITY I WILL EVEN EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW

SIMPLE I AM”. So in the next verse He says,
patram pushpam phalam toyam
(chorus repeat)
yo me bhaktyaa prayacchati
yo me bhaktyaa prayacchati |
tad-aham bhakty-upahrtam
ashnaami prayataatmanah
ashnaami prayataatmanah | (9:26)
Swamiji:
I NEED ONLY A SIMPLE WAY OF WORSHIPPING ME – patram : one leaf,

pushpam : one flower, phalam : one fruit, toyam : one spoon of water. AS AN
EXPRESSION OF YOUR LOVE – patram pushpam phalam toyam – yo : those people,
me bhaktyaa prayacchati : with devotion when they offer, tad-aham bhakty-upahrtam :
that alone which is endowed with devotion, ashnaami : I take it. prayata-atmanah : one
who is striving to remember Me with great love.
You know the story of you know, Sathyabhama, who is, who was very arrogant
saying, ‘Krishna loves me and me alone, nobody else, as much as He loves’. So one day,
“narayana”, “narayana” – Narada came there. He knew. See, he has two work – create a
problem, and solve yet another problem; not the same one which he created (laughter),
something else he will solve. He came there, “narayana”.
So, he went to Satyabhama and says,

‘God must be, I mean Krishna must be loving you the MOST, is it not? ’
(Satyabhama:) ‘Oh, He loves “me” like anything’
(Narada:) ‘You know, you think that He loves you the most?’
(S:)‘Yes’
(N:) ‘But how do you actually know, whether He loves you or not?’
(S:) ‘That I don’t know’
(N:) ‘narayana, narayana’ (laughs)
That’s all. Created a problem no, now he can go.
(N:) ‘You think, He knows you, but is it really true? Find out’.
So she went to Bhagavan, (she asks Him:) ‘You love me?’

(Bhagavan:) ‘Yes’
(S:) ‘How much?’
(B:) ‘What is it? How can you quantify any love?’
(S:) ‘Tell me how much You love me’
So Bhagavan looked at her and said, ‘How much you love Me, you tell Me that, then I
will tell you how much it is’.
(S:) ‘Everything is yours, Bhagavan, everything is yours.’
(B:) ‘What do you mean by everything is Mine.’
(S:) ‘Whatever I have is all yours only.
That is what is called, vineya – hold, me, everything is yours.’
(B:) ‘Ok, do one thing – you show your love, the way you want.’ Because He knew, she
values so much about her jewels and other things.
So He, I mean He sat on a tula – a, what do you call, a balance. Sat there. ‘You
put whatever you want on another side.’ So with you know, she put all the jewels and this
and all that, all the jeweleries that she had. And tula didn’t even raise an inch on the other
side – the Lord where He was sitting it didn’t raise at all, because it is supposed to
balance.
She went on putting all the things – all the sarees and this, the shares, bond,
everything, everything that she feels valuable, all the valuables she put. Not an inch (did
the tula move). Bhagavan is smiling – ‘so finished?’
She started crying. ‘Bhagavan, what is this? All things are Yours, but still,
nothing equals’, so on. (B:) ‘Ok. Now, would you mind me demonstrating what real love
is?’ (S:) ‘No. I don’t mind. Please tell me’. (B:) ‘Remove all this’. So she removed
everything. (B:) ‘Call’. (S:) ‘Huh? Who?’ (B:)‘Rukmini, call her.’ So she came there.
He asked, ‘how do you express your love, to Me’. (Rukmini responds,)
‘Bhagavan, how do I know? How do I express? I don’t have anything. All that I have is
my heart for You’. Remembering that heart, she puts one tulasi leaf there. ‘zhink’, (tula)
became straight. So Sathyabhama collapsed (laughs). He says, ONE SINGLE LEAF,
ekam patram – ONE SINGLE LEAF IS SUFFICIENT, TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE.
THERE IS NO NEED TO SHOW OFF YOUR WEALTH, TO SHOW WHAT, HOW
MUCH LOVE YOU HAVE – so ekam. That is the story of it.
patram – ONE LEAF IS SUFFICIENT; which means that, ‘I DO NOT WANT

ANY AADAMBARAM, ANY KIND OF OSTENTATION. THE LOVE, IT REQUIRES
NO DEMONSTRATION HERE – IT ALL THAT REQUIRES YOUR COMPLETE
AVAILABILITY OF YOUR MIND’.
Swami Tejomayanandaji used to say, “it is not whether you are capable or
incapable that is important. Are you available? Are you available? You are not available,
whatever you give”… We try to tell, to pamper our children with SO many things. But all
that they need is your just company, your availability. So they cherish that much more
than what you give them in terms of all the material things.
The Lord also says, “JUST MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE TO ME, THEN I
WILL WORK WONDERS”. So, patram – ONE LEAF IS WILL BE SUFFICIENT. The
Lord doesn’t demand anything else. bhakty-upahrtam, bhaktyaa prayacchati – so we will
see more of that in the next session.
Tomorrow it will be at 7 O’clock, not 6, as today is a special Sunday timing –

tomorrow, since you will be going to work. I don’t have any other work. You go to work.
Come. I am unemployed and unemployable (laughter). I will be there promptly at 7
O’clock or before that also.
(chanting the closing prayers)

sarve bhavantu sukhinah
sarve santu niraamayaah
sarve bhadraani pashyantu
maakaschit duhkha bhaag bhavet
| harih om shri gurubyoh namah harih om |
The morning sessions are on Maneesha Panchakam, the beautiful verse composed
by Sankaracharya on – who is my Guru, who really is my Teacher. That session is from
6.30 to 7.45(am) – one hour, fifteen minutes. That is at the Residence of Lakshmi
(Sukumar) – the address, you might have seen in the flyer.
So those verses are very beautiful composition of Sankaracharya, um, there is a

story connected to that. And the mahaavaakyaas – Great Statements of the Upansihads –
are embedded in those five verses. They are four mahaavaakyaas – Upanishads’ four
declarations. That will be uh, included in these five verses. So when you learn these five
verses you understand the Great Statements of the Upanishads also.
So you are welcome to attend that also. That will start tomorrow morning.
End of Session #1
SESSION #2
Swamiji:
OM
O…U…M
OM
saha naavavatu | saha nau bhunaktu |

We have done the Gita Dhyanam. patram pushpam, there we will start…
(group repeat chant)
yo me bhaktyaa prayacchati
yo me bhaktyaa prayacchati |

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU GIVE – let me also switch off the phone
(laughs) – WHETHER IT IS ONE SINGLE LEAF OR A FLOWER OR ONE FRUIT
OR ONE EVEN A LITTLE WATER. ‘HOW’ YOU IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN
WHAT YOU GIVE. As we saw yesterday, one single tulsi leaf given by Rukmini
expressed great love than many amount of or large quantities of jewelery and other things
provided by, or given by Satyabhama.
Similarly it is said, when the King of all elephants there, who is known as Gaja
Raj, who is that? – Gajendra. When he was playing along with his fellow or other
elephants in a lake, when suddenly a crocodile pulled a leg of this elephant into the water
and all other elephants which were there, his own friends and family member – none of
them could help that elephant to come out of it, because inside the water the crocodile is
more powerful than the elephant. It pulled him inside and could not get out. He called out
help of many, many people.
No one can help, no could help that time. At that time he could only do only one
thing – call out for the Lord. And a flower that was there in the lake, he picked it up and
raised to the heavens and said, ‘O Lord this is the only offering I can give it you because
no one can help – in that case, You alone can do it’. So it is the Lord appeared there and
took care of the situation – killed that crocodile and released the elephant from its grip.
One pushpam – one single flower!
Similarly you know, the Shabari, she expressed the great Love not by any other
elaborate ritual or worship or upasana – none of those things. She just gave a tasted fruit.
She already ate it and gave it to Him, saying that, ‘I have already tasted it, now You take
it.’ Many times when we go to some places for bhiksha, sometime it is not edible at all.
They say that, ‘Swamiji, when we are offering to you, how can we eat?’ I said, it is better
(to) do that – be Shabari vamsi, do like what Shabari did. Don’t give it to me what you
don’t know how to taste (laughter) – we don’t mind.
So she tasted it – found it to be good and then only she passed it on to the Lord.
And the Lord also so amazed, (said), “HOW DO KNOW THAT I AM COMING
HERE?”. She said, ‘anybody who came to my door step is Rama’. Bhagavan, when He
was explaining the Navavida Bhakti said, “THIS IS THE HIGHEST ONE”, where she
was not expecting anybody ‘new’ to appear, because anybody who came to her door was
Shri Rama. That was the Highest one – she did not discriminate anybody. And she said,
‘today it happened to be You, so what to do’. So, patram – one leaf, one flower, one
fruit!
Our Gurudev used to say, patram need not mean only the ‘leaf’, it can be ‘cheque
leaf’ also (laughter) – patram, pushpam, phalam. And it is said in “Bhagavata” also,
there is a story of a king, who was fasting and he had food to break his fast. But there is
some, the some of the people who are there – it is said the Lord(s) Himself came,
Bhagavan Vishnu, Bhagavan Shiva and Bhagavan Brahma, All of Them came One by
One, took away whatever he had, even the last few things that he had. He had only little
water and even ‘that’ he has to forgo and he was ready to die, because even that water
was not available. He was given a great abode of the Lord – and therefore one, little
water (of offering).
We in our own ignorance, we think that the Lord requires all sort of aadambaraa
and all sort of things. Today also I was talking to one lady, she was from Tirunelvelli and
there is a Halwa they make you know, very tasty. And they say in Tirunelveli there is a
temple of Bhagavati, one Goddess and She likes Tirunelvelli Halwa only. I said, see, I’ll
tell you – we want to eat that and we say the Lord wants, Ganesha wants modak, and
then… we keep creating something according to our taste. Bhagavan says very clearly, I
DON’T WANT ANY ONE OF THESE THINGS. One leaf, one flower, one fruit or little
water – Bhagavan Shiva is so happy if you keep on pouring water only to Him. Huh?
Nothing else He needs. All that He looks for is ‘how are you giving’. That’s what He
says, bhaktya prayahcati : He gives with great love, great devotion. abhedabhavanaayaa
– with no bheda bhavana. That is called real bhakti. Huh? bhakti jo hein, jisne vibhakti
nahin hain - there is no division. And therefore he says, devotion is complete only when
you do not see any more division. You see the world, the way Lord sees it. Just like a
painter who paints a beautiful thing – and how does he look at his own creation, with
great love and admiration. His own creation is something He cannot dislike it, He cannot
hate it, in whatever way the picture is, like a mother looks at the child with great love, a
painter looks at His creation with great love. In the same way, the Lord He looks at His
creation with so much of love. With that vision, when we look at this world, there is none
to hate, none to own, none to disown – everyone one is the same – all… Just like your
physical body also – which part of the body you like, which part of the body you don’t
like. Any part of the body when it is paining, you give full attention to that, is it not? Oh,
it is only leg, I don’t care about it – no, it is not like that. Every part of the body you
pervade and every part of the body you like and you pay attention. In the same way, the
Lord looks at the entire creation as His own limb, as His own body. As He says, mayaa
tatamidam sarvam jagat avyakta murtina matsaani sarva bhutani nachaaham tesu
avasthithaha nacha mastaani bhutaani pashyamae yogameshwaram | bhuta bhrit na
bhutastaha bhutaatmaa bhutabhavanah. I AM THAT – IN THERE, IN EVERY ATOM
PARTICLE OF THIS UNIVERSE, BECAUSE IT IS MY CREATION, IT IS CREATED
OUT OF ME MYSELF. Therefore He looks at His world with great love. Do we? That is
the question. Do we look at this world, with the same love as the Lord does? If we do so,
we are Saints. We create, vasudeva sarvamiti sa mahatma. Bhagavan says, IF ONE CAN
SEE THE ONE SELF IN ALL LIVING BEINGS AND EVERYTHING, SUCH IS THE
NATURE OF A MAHATMA. And He says, IT IS RARE TO FIND SUCH A PERSON.
Do we love everything in the world in the same way? Do we have no hatred at all in our
mind – for anything, for anybody – for any object or a person or a place? Then, we are –
we can claim ourselves to be the devotee of the Lord.
Then even if a small leaf can potentially be a greatest symbol huh, of love for the
Lord. One flower! And what we do? Huh? We – Ramakrishna Parahamsa said, very
clearly, Bhagavan does not want you to give flower. He already has it. In the tree or the
plant, it is, it is already with the Lord only. Huh? Why do you have to pluck it and give it
to Him? Why should you? If at all you are taking the flower from the garden, from the
tree or the plant, and giving it to Him, what you are giving is not the flower, for He
already has it – you are giving your love. If I come to your home, and go to your garden,
take a flower from that garden and come to your house – so you innocently ask, ‘so this
flower you got it from your house’? ‘No, in your house only (laughter) – from outside
your house I picked up and gave it to you’. ‘Why should you give it to me?’ It is mine
already. Huh? So I give that flower, not because you don’t own that flower. I give that
flower to express my love, express my regard – for you.
Valentine Day – is it not? Are you creating anything? You are picking it from the
shop and giving it to that person. That is all. Sometimes that person also, when she
already has that, she’ll go back and return that also (laughs). So that when you giving
gift, along with that bill you should give – so that she can return. So it is not the ‘object’
that you give – that is already owned by the Lord. What you are giving is – you are
expressing your love for that person, for the Lord. So that is why He says, tad-aham
bhakty-upahrtam : that, the love which is already endowned in that flower, or the fruit or
the leaf, tad ashnaami : that is what I take. Thank God, the Lord doesn’t take what you
give. Imagine that condition – you put a prasaad in front of Him and close your eyes,
‘Bhagavan, tere tujuko arpan’ – open, nothing is there (laughs)’. Next time you keep
little far away from the Lord (laughter) – at least two feet away. He cannot reach it.
You know the story of uh, that, uh, very divine lady in the tradition of Tamilnadu,
especially the Vaishnava tradition, who was that – Andaal. She, you know you might
have heard that story. She used to make the garland and put it on herself, before giving to
the Lord. And her father did not know that. So she used wear and look at herself (of) how
beautiful (she looked) and then take it to the Lord and then, her father who was the, you
know, priest, not poojari – poojari means poojayaam hari iti poojari. One who is totally
against pooja is called poojari (laughs). Those who make it commercial the pooja, is
called poojari, poojayaam hari. Now so, eh, he was a priest, he was a bhakta. So he took
that everyday and then offered to the Lord and he, it was going on. One day when he was
offering to the Lord, he saw a strand of hair. How can that be? It was well, almost very
well the part of that flower, garland. So while making the garland if the hair falls, it won’t
be part of that, it will be, you know it will not be twisted inside. So therefore, next day,
before he took it from her, from his daughter, he was watching – how, what is she doing.
And, he, to his utter shock he saw, that she was preparing the garland and putting on
herself. Immediately he came there and said, “how dare you do this? How can you offer it
to yourself and then give it to the Lord? That is totally you know, unacceptable –
sacrilege, irreligious. Tomorrow onwards you are not going to make it. I will make it
myself.” And then he threw that garland away, which was already owned by her, and he
made himself – it was a very bad one, I know (laughs). And then, he went to the Lord and
put it. As even he put it, it never stayed on the neck of the, fell on, fell down again and
again. She did not know, maybe I did wrong, meaning I did not put it properly. That day
night when he was sleeping, in the dream the Lord appeared and said, ‘I want the garland
prepared and owned by your daughter only – I like it. She is my devotee, she had great
love for me, therefore she first of all put it on herself and saw that whether it was good
and not before she gave it to me, why do you think that is a wrong thing?’. Totally
shocked by such a dream, he woke up. And then, he went and pleaded to his daughter, ‘I
am very sorry. The Lord himself came in my mind or in my dream and said that He wants
the one which you prepare.’ Ultimately when the time (came) for that daughter to get
married, he asked, ‘whom do you want to marry’. She said, ‘I want to marry the Lord
only’. She was so firm on that. So, this (was) unheard of – how can you marry to the Lord
who is just a vigraha, a form, stone form? But however on her appointed day, she was
taken with all these decorations and celebration, to the Lord, to get him, get her married
to Him. And finally it is said, at the time when the muhurta, the auspicious time arrived,
when she exchanged the garland with the Lord, she disappeared into Him itself. So this is
the story of Andaal – to show that it is a devotee’s heart is that which does not see any
more difference.
The story of another great mahatma, it is said that, that he used to lie down
putting his leg on shiva linga. And one, I think, what was his name? (…)
No, no, no, that… I think the brother of, eh, what is this, in Maharashtra – Muktabai’s,
brother… (Nivriti) – Nivriti, or one of them. He was, you know, he got angry looking at
this mahatma – putting his leg on shiva linga? So therefore he went to him and said that,
‘what kind of a sadhu you are, you are insulting the Lord that you are putting your leg on
that Lord?’
He said, ‘oh, is there a shiva linga? I didn’t notice.’
‘How can you not notice this?’
‘ok, I am very old, put my leg somewhere else outside the shiva linga’.
And he took the leg and put outside, there also one shiva linga appeared. Where ever he
put the leg, one shiva linga appeared. Then this person said, ‘oh, mahatma I understood.
The Lord wants to bear your feet, now what can I do?’ (laughs)
So also in the case of another devotee, who is totally unlettered, uncultured,

known as Kannappa. He was there, it is said then in Kalahasthi – it is in Andhra Pradesh.
So there, that, he was not a devotee, I mean he was not a great scholar or any great pandit
or anything. And he did not even know what the Lord means. So he was living in the
tribal area and once he was going up the hill and he found a beautiful temple of Lord
Shiva. And (he) went inside, he saw the Lord was beautifully decorated with flowers and
other things, all the various poojaas and saamagiris were kept. And he looked at It and
worshipped.
And next day when he went, he saw a priest performing the pooja. And he was
watching him. The priest removed all the various alankaaraas and he was offering water
to the shiva linga. And after that he wiped that shiva lingam and then offered the food,
according to the rituals prescribed and finally offer the flowers also and the food, etc and
then slowly came out of the shrine and went away. Everyday he used to do that.
So this Kannappa also, he saw that. He said, he somehow a great love came over
him for the Lord. Even though he did not know how to do the rituals, but what he saw
attracted him – ‘oh, this is the way to worship the Lord?’. And he did not any mantra or
any other procedure. So next day, when he was going to the same hill, he picked up –
because after all he was a forest dweller – and he had picked some meat of some of the
animals and he did not have any other vessel or anything, he did not have any vessel or
anything, so he took the water in the mouth.
So he went there with the, one hand full of flower and another hand full of meat,
he went there. And, he remembered how that ritual was done – and he did not have any
vessel – so he just spat the water on the shiva linga (laughs), offered the flowers, then
offered the meat also. And, that is all he could do. Prostrated to the Lord and he went
away.
Almost everyday he was doing. And the next day, when the priest used to come,
he used to get utter shock of what he would see – meat there, wild flowers, and so much
of dirt all over. He thought, who is doing this, who is doing this wrong thing to the Lord.
But everyday he would see the same thing. And it is said one day as this Kannappa was
doing this, suddenly he saw, blood coming out of one side of the Lord’s eyes. Because
that shiva linga had some form of the eyes also, face. shiva linga, he saw blood coming
out of that, one side of eye, one of the eyes. He was shocked, ‘O Lord, what happened to
You? Somebody hurt You? How can somebody hurt You this way? And your eyes are
full of blood?’ And he thought that he got injured and He is not able to see anymore, the
Lord cannot see anymore. So what he did was, he took his arrow and took away his own
eyes and put it in that place where that blood was. And the blood stopped. He was so
happy. Now, Lord can see. After all, one eye is there for me, and so it doesn’t matter, the
Lord can see now with another eye. And he was so happy with the solution. Suddenly he
saw the another eye also started giving blood. ‘This is… what will I do now?’ (so he
thinks). So he decided to take another eye also. But then if he takes the another eye, uh…
how do you know, how would he know where to place it? So what he did, he took his leg
and kept it on the other eye of the Lord and make it as a mark. And then, picked up his
the other eye. The priest was watching all these thing. He was totally shocked. What kind
of a devotion is this? You know, he was ready to give up both his eyes for the sake of the
Lord, whom he does not know he is just a stone there? But for him in his mind, it is no
more a stone. The Lord Himself is there responding to his prayers. And he was about to
remove the other eye also, it is said (at that time) the Lord Himself appeared there. And,
blessed him and said that, ‘No one ever had given, shown this much of love. You
consider me as alive here? Others come there, and worship me and go away.’ As we also
do, mmm… (imitates praying as mumbling) – go. We have no conservation for the Lord
(amused) – whether He is there or not. We just do it just as such a ritual. And if we get
time, we talk about international politics in the temple also. Bhagavan is there, sit there
and even remember Him for a while in quiet mind.
So then when Bhagavan appeared, He said that this much of love, even the priest
who has all the knowledge and the ritual, he just, he does not have this much of devotion.
You, a unlettered, uneducated person who has the innocent mind, such a devotion is what
Bhagavan asks. ashnaami prayataatmanah, bhakty-upahrtam tada : whatever is given
with great love, I take it with great joy. So it is not necessary for us that we have to chant
elaborately and do all the rituals, even if one leaf, one flower, one fruit, and one little
water we offer with great love, that is what is Lord is receiving constantly.
So devotion therefore, is not in terms of material things. Devotion is divisionless
perception of the Lord. The Lord whose creation this world is, everything that is there in
this world is none other than Lord’s own presence. raso ahamapsu kaunteya : I am the
taste in the water, brightness in the sun, heat in the fire – ALL THESE THINGS THAT
WE EXPERIENCE CONSTANTLY, THAT IS ME. SO WHEN YOU ARE DRINKING
WATER, THE TASTE THAT IS THERE, REMEMBER MY PRESENCE THERE.
WHEN YOU SMELL A FLOWER, THE FRAGRANCE THAT IS THERE,
REMEMBER MY PRESENCE THERE. WHEN YOU GO NEAR THE FIRE, THE
HEAT THAT YOU EXPERIENCE, THAT IS MY PRESENCE. ALL THESE ARE
ALL MY OWN CREATION, IN VARIOUS WAYS I AM TRYING TO REACH YOU.
If only we become conscious of that, we can never forget His presence.
In our preoccupied mind, we always are so busy in this competitive world and we
say, ‘I have no time for any of these things’. You don’t need to spend separately for any
time for this. Become conscious of all that you experience around, in the form of your
own friends, or enemies. Your own relatives, your own known and unknown people. The
world around you. The things that you deal with, in everything, in every way, the Lord is
trying to reach us. If only we become aware of that, that itself is great devotion. So that is
why He says, MATTER DOES NOT MATTER BUT THAT SPIRIT MATTERS. Spirit
with which you do a ritual is called spiritual. Otherwise it becomes a mechanical ritual
only.
And in the tenth chapter beginning, having understood the glory of the Lord
which is spoken in the ninth chapter, Arjuna asks this question, ‘if you are there in
everything in this world, because it’s your own creation, keshu keshu jabaaveshu
chintyosi bhagavan maya. maya : by me. keshu keshu bhaveshu : in what, what ways,
maya chintyosi : by me You can be thought of. In what way I can really think of you
continuously. That is what he is asking. Because my mind constantly is identifying with
my own individual personality, forgets Your Presence.
That is why when you are filling up an application form, name, address, sex all
those things you write and then (for) occupation you should write, (that is) profession you
should write as ‘preoccupied’. (laughter) Because mind is so preoccupied, your
profession is apart, but your mind is always preoccupied – something which has
happened in the past, as Gurudev used to say, or about the future, never in the present.
Even if it is in the present, it is not about the Presence. You are excited about what is
happening and are not aware of the Presence of the Lord. Huh?
Suddenly I ask, ‘are you all present here?’ Very few only answer yes, others (will
say), ‘huh, what, what, what did you ask?’ (laughs) Because your mind is not present.
Our mind is preoccupied. Therefore here, Arjuna ask, in what way I can continuously
remember Your Presence? Is there any short cut by which I can never forget you? Is there
any way I can constantly remember you? Bhagavan smiles and says, ‘yes, in fact one
simple thing you have to do by which you can never forget My Presence…’ Uh? Let us
see if there is a pain in your body, will you ever forget it? Any time you walk, anything
you do, there is a constant pain, nagging pain is there. Or your stomach has a problem,
constantly making you remember it. So in what way, not negatively but positively I can
constantly remember you? As an answer to that, Bhagavan Krishna here gives an answer,
in next verse, verse number 28.
(Lakshmi-ji chanting)
aham-aatmaa gudaakesha
(chorus repeat)
aham-aatmaa gudaakesha
sarva bhutaasaya-sthitah
sarva bhutaasaya-sthitah
aham-aadisca madhyam ca
aham-aadisca madhyam ca
bhutaanaam-anta eva ca
bhutaanaam-anta eva ca
ey guda kesha ha. gudaka means nidraa. nidraayam eshaha guda keshaha : meaning He
calls Arjuna as the one who has won deep sleep. That does
not mean he doesn’t sleep. One who has won the sleep, meaning he knows exactly when
to stop sleeping. One meaning is that. Another meaning is,
guda kesha : one who has heavy thick hair. Hm, hm, I don’t think He is calling him like
that. So he who has won, conquered his tamas, that is what it means.
gudaka means nidra. The one who has conquered nidra means what – all laziness,
lethargy, sleepiness, one who has conquered, which means you have conquered the
tamas. etad : one who has conquered tamas – YES, YOU HAVE ASKED THIS
QUESTION HOW CAN YOU REMEMBER, HOW CAN I REMEMBER
CONTINUOUSLY THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD. I’LL TELL YOU ONE THING
– WHAT YOU CAN NEVER FORGET, THAT IS WHAT I AM. What you can never
forget? What you can never forget, tell me – you can forget your husband, or wife or the
children or your various things you are occupied with, various relationships that you
have, some time or the other you will forget them. Hm? When you are engrossed in a
Harry Potter book or you are watching a movie, you will forget everything. But what you
can never forget, tell me that. What you can never forget? Your own Presence, can you
ever forget? If I ask, are you there, ‘you said, wait, I forgot’ (laughs) Can you ever forget
your own Presence? Anytime?
One may say, ‘in sleep’ ‘in sleep I forget my presence’ In sleep you do not have a
thought about yourself. But uh, otherwise how will you wake up and say, ‘I slept well’?
You say that I slept well, that means you are aware that you slept well, while sleeping
also you are aware. But there is no thought relevant to that was present while sleeping,
only on waking up you say ‘I was sleeping well’, ‘I slept well’. So continuously, there is
the awareness of your own presence, is it not? Presently we are not fully aware of our
own presence, we have only qualified awareness. Uh? Let us say, I am looking at an
object like this, a pointer, I am aware of this object. This awareness is qualified to this –
‘I am aware of this pointer’ when you say, the awareness is conditioned by the object
called this pointer. ‘I am aware of my anger’ when you say, the thought or the emotion
called anger is what you are aware of. So these are all object-full awareness. Aware of
my anger, aware of a flower, aware of a book, aware of you, aware of this all, these are
all awareness qualified. And that is how we deal with everything in this world – aware,
qualified awareness.
But at no point of time we have the experience of awareness without any object.
That is what is the attempt in meditation. In meditation an individual trying to attempt to
have the experience of awareness with no object, in particular. In an abstract sense, in the
Zen Buddhism, etc they ask you to think of something which does not have any particular
form or a name or quality. But that is very difficult for the mind to deal there. To go and
say, I will ask you, ‘go out and look at space’. You look at the sky – uh, with that stars,
etc or some blue color or the clouds. Can you look at the space, as is? You cannot,
because it is not having any particular form or quality or a particular distance, nothing.
So when our awareness we are experiencing, it is in some form a quality or a

function, nama rupa guna kriyaa. Only one of these we are aware, aware of all of these.
But that which is nama rupa guna kriyaa rahita vastu, it is not possible for us to
experience. Uh? But here in the abstract concept of knowing the self or awareness in its
own essence, it is difficult. So Bhagavan Krishna says, that awareness in you I am which
does not have any qualification : aham atma. And this atma, the Self, the awareness is
behind every experience of yours, so long as your experience is qualified with object, that
is called ‘objective awareness’. When your mind has become subtle enough to understand
awareness without any particular object, that objectless awareness is what is called pure
awareness – shudda chaitanyam atma.
Those, so He says, ‘I am that Self’ : aham atma hey guda kesha. Where are you?
sarva bhutaasaya-sthitah : in ALL living beings I am there. Same – same, uniform in all
living beings. What you see is name, form, color, shape, everything – that is not Me. Hm?
Like if a there is a plant here, again I am asking, is it a real one or unreal one? (laughter)
So this plant there and I am here, what is the common between me and that plant? I am
not looking like a plant, thank God! And plant is not looking like me. But there is one
thing common in us, is I am alive and that is also alive. Yesterday also I explained that, ‘I
exist, that also exist’. Uh? That has life, I have life. But the life in that is different from
the life in me, in its expression. But that life is same as mine. When I recognize that, I
have an admiration for its existence. When I see only the name, form, color, function,
quality, I look at it as neecha, I mean it is lower in terms of its existence. That is the
reason why, ‘it exists or not, how does it matter to me?’ There are animals we kill saying
that, they are unnecessarily are there. Unless we kill, then they will become too many.
They also say the same thing (laughs) – these human beings are too many, let us kill
them. But they don’t do us – they have better maturity than us.
So this plant there is expressing the same life as I express in my own way. When I
recognize that plant and me are one and the same, then I realize atma sarva bhutaasaya-
sthitah : the Self is present in all living beings in the same way. Hey Arjuna therefore,
recognize Me as your own Self, which you can never forget. aham atma guda kesha
sarva bhutaasaya-sthitah. aham aadihi : I am the beginning of the Universe, meaning
origin of life started from me. aham aadischa madhyam cha : while you are existing it is
because of Me. bhutaanaam anta evacha : I am the end of all living beings, meaning
everything completes in Me only. Like if there is a table here, the table originated from
the tree, in the form of a wood and the tree originated from earth. And Upanishad says,
the earth originated from water. Water originated from – air – air – fire. Fire originated
from air, air originated from space, space originated from the Self.
So the pralaya or dissolution of Universe is the reverse of Creation. It is said that

the dissolution of this Universe will take place, where the earth will merge in the water,
water will be exhausted by fire, fire will be extinguished by air, air will merge into the
space and space will merge into the Self. And finally that Supreme Self remains in its
own nature. Why go that far? How, when you see a person died, dying or dead, what
happens to him? Uh? One lady, one man was, got a call, he got a call in his office, ‘your
mother-in-law died, and you please tell me whether we should bury her or cremate her’.
He said, ‘do both, don’t take chances’ (laughter). (laughs) So whether you are burying or
cremating, what happens is the external form disappears.
For example, when you bury the, when you uh, burn the body the physical earth
element first of all loses its water content. The water gets exhausted in that fire and fire is
extinguished after sometime into the air and air merges in the space and then there is
nothing there afterwards. Same happens when you bury the body into the earth, same
thing it slowly it happens. What remains finally then? So what is it then finally is that you
see as individual there? Nobody. So the Self – the unqualified presence, not known in the
form of name, form, shape, or color or function, that is Me in all living being. So
therefore He says, aham aadi : I am the beginning, aham madhyam : I am the middle, and
I am bhutaanaam anta eva ca : I am the end of everything.
So if you realize that I have come from that same Lord, I remain in His presence
only and I go back to Him only. So when is the time, I am not with you. When is the
time, He is not with me. All the time, in all experiences, in every moment, that presence
of the Lord is there, because of whom alone I exist. This awareness is what is known as
‘the glory of the Lord’. That is why in the tenth chapter it is what – vibhuti : glory of the
Lord. And Bhagavan says : if it is very difficult for you to recognize this, then worship
Me in another form. First and foremost is recognize Me as your own self. I know it is
difficult. It is not easy for a gross mind to recognize this.
Like our own growth in our, from the early childhood till what we are right today,
our growth in terms of maturity takes place in the method or ability to think differently.
For example, if a few months old child, for that child, the concept of love, anger,
jealousy, that concept it doesn’t understand, right? Anything you give to the child, one
thing it will do – put it in the mouth, ‘is it eatable or not?’ That is all. The whole
discrimination of the life is what? Is it eatable or not? If it is not eatable, throw it away.
Even if you give that precious jewel, into the hands of the four month old, what does it
do? Only test – only test is a taste. Because that is how it lived in the mother’s womb,
that all that it was doing is eating and sleeping. Not tasting, sorry. It may be the millions
of dollar thing, it doesn’t matter to it (laughs).
So at that stage of the child’s growth, the whole discrimination is what? Edible or
not edible, right? The child grows up to be a young girl or young boy, one or two or three
year old, what is the discrimination? Any object you give, is it worthy to be played or not
played? Uh? Something which I can play or not? Play with. If I can play, cannot play
with that, it is of no use. So that much is the discrimination.
The child grown up to become a teenager, what is the discrimination? Does it give
me pleasure and company or not? (laughs) Can I have fun with this or not? No fun, no
‘munn’ – no mind, never mind, I don’t care about it.
So at every stage of life, our discrimination based upon the maturity and how we
look at things? For the child which is only two, three years old, good and bad, right and
wrong, appropriate, inappropriate these concepts are not there. We have to teach him, this
is right and this is wrong; this is good, this is not good, this is bad, this is good. So this
way, the child develops not only the physical discrimination of eatable or not eatable, to
the next level called emotion, of love and hatred and jealousy, etc and then further level
called the intellect, in the form of right and wrong, appropriate, inappropriate, good and
bad. But we as human beings, we are stuck only up to that point.
That fourth level, from the physical, emotional, intellectual, the fourth level of
discrimination called aatma anaatma is not there in majority of the people. That level of
thinking is what is called the spiritual level of maturity, where we discriminate the world
clearly as temporary or permanent, self and not self, atma and anaatma. This atma
anaatma viveka is where you qualified, you are qualified into the spiritual level maturity.
So Bhagavan Krishna says, ayam atma : I am the Self. aham na anaatma : I am

not the non-self. But many of them can’t even understand this – what is this atma? Is it
‘aadmi’? (laughs) The very word itself is not available, the meaning itself is not
available. aham atma : I am the Self, hey guda kesha. sarva bhutaasaya-sthitah : I am the
same one which is present in all living beings. Therefore, ayam-aadisca madhyam ca
bhutaanaam-anta eva ca : Arjuna says, that is very difficult. If that is the case, anything
in this world that you see, wherever there is greatness, wherever there is excellence,
wherever there is supremacy, beauty, that is Me. As He says in the next verse, verse
number twenty-nine (refers compilation notes) here:
yad yad vibhutimat-sattvam
(group repeats)
yad yad vibhutimat-sattvam
srimad urjitameva va |
srimad urjitameva va |
tattad evavagaccha tvam
tattad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo-‘msa-sambhavam ||
mama tejo-‘msa-sambhavam || (10:41)
yad yad : whatever it is, vibhutimat : which is, vibhutimat means full of glory.
Even in this world, so called celebrities are those who have excelled in their profession,
or in their whatever activity they have engaged, whether its a sports or in the movies or in
business or in their own skills, whoever has excelled, to come to certain heights of
excellence, people glorify them. But unfortunately such celebrities do not have any kind
of inner purity.
Few years back, what is that called? Michael Jackson, correct? How much he was
you know, praised and how much money and so many people, now where is he?
Anybody knows where is he? Where is he, huh? Anybody even care (laughs) to know
about where is that person? Why? Because that is only a particular lopsided uh, growth
and excellence, and the other side of the personality is so much of, uh, you know
negativity there.
Even when you know, basketball players and football players and baseball players
and all other Bollywood, Hollywood and all, they have excelled in one particular you
know, area and people, you know, have celebrity, go and take picture of them and then
using their hat and using their, whatever, you know they become so much of what do you
call, hungaama about this celebrity. And your own child also, you know, basketball
player, he has kept the picture of that favorite one on the ceiling. I have seen in one
house. Ceiling they have kept the huge picture of that basketball player. So I asked that
boy, ‘why’? ‘I want to wake up in the morning looking at him’ (-laughter). That much of
that hero-worship is there. Same as the politicians.
Therefore Bhagavan says, vibhutimat, next immediate what is (it) – sattvam. It is

not that mere excellence and celebrity and in a particular field, that is not what I am
talking about as my glory. My glory is not in a person achieving excellence, but ‘how’?
What is his background? sattvam - it is out of purity, nobility and dedication and
egolessness. Wherever there is such a glory where it is not because of any rajasic
performance or due to some chants (laughs)
Like for example, you see, in some two hundred, three hundred years back
nobody knew what was use of oil, gasoline. And when in the Arabian deserts, when this
oil were, oil was coming out, they were considering it as a dirt. They abandoned those
places. It was useless, because it is not used for cultivation – ‘what is there, some kind of
a sticky thing?’ Now, the same place, every square inch of that place is millions of dollars
worth. Why?
Anybody who became successful or glorious and because of owning a particular,
do you consider him as a hard-worker? That is called tamasic glory (laughs). So by
chance you became successful. No, no, hard work on your part, huh? No hard work on
your part.
One fellow, one lady she said to her husband, ‘I am ashamed’. Because her
husband was not working at all, ‘I am ashamed – our daily food comes from my father,
car and its expenses are given by my mother and my dress and all other expenses are
being met by my sisters, I am ashamed indeed.’ So the man turned around and said, ‘so
you are ashamed that your brothers are not giving you anything to you?’ (laughter)
So one who is not doing anything and it so happened he owned something and
then that became you know, very famous or whatever it is, that doesn’t mean that is your
success. (It) is tamasic glory. Where rajasic glory is where person worked hard, put his
sweat and toil and achieved that success but he was so arrogant and proud, hauty and in-
incorrigle, egocentric and such a glory, that is not My glory.
He says, yad yad vibhutimat : full of glory, sattvam : which is born out of
selflessness, that glory and it also has srimad urjitameva va : know all to be born of
reckoned of My power wherever you see something endowed with extraordinary glory,
attractiveness and ‘vigor’. srimad – that is, famous and then full of prosperity, urjitam : it
is full of great vigor. Meaning it inspires and strengthens you, not weakens you. So
anywhere there is a glory born out of nobility, which has prosperity and inspiration, that
is Me.
tattad evavagaccha tvam : O Arjuna, come to know that avagaccha : come to

know, that mama teja amsa-sambhava : it is a part of My own being. My own presence is
there in that.
So if you are not able to recognize My presence as your self, then look out in this
world. Where ever there is glory – see, that is the reason why in the Hindu tradition, any
peak of a mountain, uh, which is considered as the, you know one or something which
you have to look up to, there they immediately build a temple. Anywhere there is a
natural beauty, there will be a Lord’s presence there.
Our Gurudev used to say, any, any river that takes unnecessary turn, there will be
a temple there (laughs). It is actually in Uttarakasi if you go there, the Ganges is flowing
from the north towards the south east, it is going towards Bay of Bengal. But in that
particular place, in because of the uh, kind of landscape there, because of the mountains
there, the Ganges to take her way towards the, towards the ocean, she has to go in such a
way, she has to go turn, take a about turn and go north again. Because the mountains are
such a way, you cannot go further anywhere else. So coming from the north takes a
complete u-turn, and goes to the north and then takes a deviation goes to the south east.
So it appears as though Ganges decided to go back, and that place is Uttarakashi.

Why? Because such a phenomenon you don’t see. Suddenly it is taking the u-turn,
completely? Temple you see. Where ever the two rivers meet, two or more rivers temple
there. Where there is a mountain meeting the ocean, river, I mean there is a (temple). The
top of the mountain, there is a temple. Every tree, under that there is a temple. Why?
sarvam bhagavad vibhuti eva : everything is, bhagavataha vibhuti : the glory of the
Lord.
So therefore you see, where ever there is glory endowed with purity, prosperity
along with vigor and inspiration, that is mama teja amsham : My part of My own being.
So if you are unable to recognize My continuous presence in your own self O Arjuna, do
not therefore despair. Look at in this world, anywhere there is glory, beauty and purity,
there you will see My presence.
He gives a whole list of things in that – among the rishis I am the brihu, among
the birds I am the garuda, among the rudraas, among the ganas I am the rudraa. He
continuously goes, among the mountains, I am the Everest. Everest? (audience respond,
‘Himalaya’) Himalaya – among the mountains, I am the Himalaya. ‘Everest’, He doesn’t
say (laughs). Among the Pandavas, I am you – making sure that he also makes, you know
gratifies him. I am that best among all – mama teja amsha-sambhavaha. mama amsha is
there, My part is there.
So this in the tenth chapter, He talks about His own glory. See, if somebody talks
one’s own glory, how long you can take it? ‘I am best you know, I am the most admirable
thing, I am the most wanted one’. Arjuna looks at him, I will not go on listening to this
(laughs). (Arjuna says:) Bhagavan you are talking too much about yourself (laughter).
(Bhagavan says:) Then what do you what me to do? (Arjuna replies:) Show me, that you
are great (laughs). I want to really see, what you have spoken as your greatness, I would
like it to be demonstrated.
So it is often happens in our own mind also. There (are) so many scriptures and
other things talk about the glory of the Lord but we would like to have a glimpse of it. So
here Arjuna asks, ‘can I see it?’ Lord says, ‘you cannot. It is not possible. With these eyes
of yours it is not possible. So therefore I have to give you a divine eye, divyam chakshu
and I will give you divya chakshu tataa mitten : I shall give you a separate divine eyes.
With that you can surely see My beautiful presence which is not dissected by past,
present or future. All things as one you will see Me.’
And it is said in the eleventh chapter which is called the, what is it called? vishwa
rupa darshanam : vishwa meva mama rupam idi darshanam. My presence is the entire
world. Because the very word vishwa, let us look at that particular word because that is
the first name given to Lord Vishnu in Vishnu Sahasranama.
(chants verses from the ‘Vishunu Sahasranama’)

vishvam vishnur-vashatkaro bhuta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuh
bhutakrud bhutabhrud bhavo bhutatma bhuta-bhavanah ..1
butat maparamatma cha muktanam paramagatih

avyayah purusha sakshi kshetrajno~kshara eva cha ..2
yogo…
It, it goes like that. Bhagavan Shankaracharya, when he decided to write the
bhashyaa for Upanishads and Gita, he went to his teacher, hm, that is
Govindabhagavadpaada. So Govindabhagavadpaada knew that young boy here Shankara,
is capable of doing that. But at the same time, you cannot suddenly give him ok, go ahead
and do it. May he realize that what he is writing is nothing but Bhagavan’s glory. Let him
not arrogate himself that ‘I’ am the writer. Let him understand that in everything that is
achieved god’s presence is there.
Therefore he said, before you uh, entertain the writing of bhaashya of all the
Upanishads and everything else, may you attempt to write the bhaashya on the thousand
names of the Lord. To write a bhaashya, a commentary on the thousand names of the
Lord, you must have very good knowledge about the puranas. So Shankaracharya went
back and sat down, and started writing. And you will see in his bhaashya, the word
vishvam itself runs into pages. Because that first letter, first word, first name of the Lord
is so significant because vishvam, the very word meaning vivida pratyegamyam, he writes
that. vishvam vivida pratyegamyam : because every word in Sanskrit has got a definition.
Every letter has got a definition also.
So vividam, vivida pratyegamyam – I mean vishvam, the very word means, literal
meaning is universal. That is how he understand the word, vishvam. But the real, hidden
meaning philosophically is that, that which is in the form of variety of thoughts in your
mind. vivida : various, pratya : thought modification, gamyam : it is a product of, various
modifications of your mind. Who, what is this world? World is nothing but varieties of
thoughts in the mind, which is a very interesting philosophical point, there.
Like, for example, the world, let us say this table is there. Uh? This table is in
front of me, because it was a thought in somebody’s mind. Right or wrong? How the
table would have been made without somebody thought about this? Uh? Say ‘yes’ or
‘no’, I want to know whether you are listening or not. (laughter) Can the table be in front
of me without somebody thought of doing this? It suddenly appeared one day? Look at
everything in this world. Anything you look at it. If it is man made definitely some
thought would have gone into that – the chair that you are sitting, the carpet on which you
are sitting. Why go all that further? Your body (laughs) – uh? Your parents thought, the
thought of your parent is this is what you are making, this is what.
The in that way, you look at it everything that is there is a thought modification
took place. If you look at the tree, and the mountains and the plants, it is the divine
creation, meaning the divine thought has come into this. Our own creation with which we
are creating so much of cares in this world, everything is product of thought. So the very
word vishvam is itself is exhaustively analyzed – first name of the Lord. And if the Lord
has to show himself, in what way he will show, vishva rupa. All possible thought
modification he has to show and how is it? Is it possible for anybody, any human being to
think of all possible thought modifications in the huge, in the universe? Is it possible?
Our mind is so limited and how much it can think? And Bhagavan is going to show all
possible modifications of the mind. Anger, lust, passion, greed, jealousy, love, hatred or
forgiveness, compassion, all possible emotional modifications – all possibilities he has to
show. That is why he said, I cannot. O Arjuna, you cannot think about it. You cannot.
Not possible. With this your mind, you cannot do this. Therefore I have to give you
something different. With that alone you can do it. Like in three dimensional movie
(laughs). With this eyes you can’t see anything there. It will all blurred. And what you
have to put? Extra – 3-d, is it not? 3-d uh, glass or 3-d, you know that? How do you put
on that? 3-d glass? Then you can see that beauty of that three dimensional picture. The
same way, the Lord has to give him divya chakshu : the divine eyes. With that you can
see this.
So when the Lord just appears in front of him, not that Lord has changed Himself.
Please understand Krishna is the same. Krishna is the same, was the same before also the
same. But when the divine eye was provided to Arjuna, the same Krishna now appeared
as the universal presence. He didn’t change. He only made Arjuna look at him with a
different faculty, ability. What did he see there? It is said in the next verse, as we read the
verse number thirty here:
divi surya-sahasrasya
(Swamiji repeats with group)
bhaved-yugapad-utthitaa
yadi bhah sadrsi sa syad

bhasas tasya mahatmanah

(Swamiji repeats with group) (11.12)
Vyasa who is attempting to explain this, he is lost without words. But how can
you explain this? And during those time, they did not have any video camera (laughing)
to take a picture of that and show it to anybody. Just like when you go to places like
Niagara falls or the, what is that? Uh… other, uh, other, various other what do you call?
Audience respond : Grand Canyon.
Swamiji continues : Grand Canyon. You know, if you did not have any camera or
you did not have any video other, how do you explain to your friend? How is that they
said it is one of the wonders of the world, what is it, how much you can? You say,
‘dee….eee….eep’. How deep? Very deep. (laughs) How much ever you try to explain, it
has limitations. You better show the picture, this is what it is. Just see it. Even the picture
is only two dimensional, you cannot really enjoy that. Three dimensional is when you
have take a movie picture. Movie, when you show it, then he can understand the depth.
So how do you explain the glorious presence of the Lord, in what way? So he
shows a similie, en-upama. What he says? divi surya sahas, divi means in the space,
surya-sahasrasya : thousands of suns, uchitaa-yugabad-uchita-bhavet : when thousands
of suns appear at the same time in space. yaa bhah sadrsi : what amount of brightness
that would be there, tasya bhasaha mahatmanah : of that Lord, that much of brightness
and glory. Can you imagine, one sun itself we are not able to see? Can you ever seen the
bright mid-day sun? Straight with your eyes? Thousands of them rising at the same time,
what would be the condition, uh?
See it is strange, many people who have experienced the near-death experience
etc. – you might have heard about that – they all have the same kind of an experience.
They say, ‘we are dragged into the flood of light’. But of course they came back,
otherwise they would not be knowing (laughs). They all say the similar thing, ‘we are
taken to a flood of light. We were attracted (to) somebody as though they are inviting
us’. So why is it so? Their recognition of the Lord or presence of the Lord is always
experienced in the form of huge, bright presence of light.
So here Vyasa says, when thousands of suns rise up in the sky, how bright it
would be, so would be the brightness of the Lord who appeared there. For the normal
eyes if one sees he would have been blinded long time back. That is why he said, divya
chakshu : special eye, that is called special-i-zation (laughter). Is it not true, in any
particular field, when a person goes deeper into, that is called specialization – because he
has a special eye for that.
Now-a-days specialization is so that you know, you go to a(n) Ophthalmologist,

and there one fellow went, ‘I have a problem with my left eye’. He said, ‘I am a right eye
specialist, don’t come here’ (laughter). Everything is so specialized (laughs). So you
have, ‘specialization’ means you have a correct eye for looking at it.
So the Lord gave him a special eye. With that he could see the divine presence
which is, as though thousands of suns have appeared at the same time; and the whole of
eleventh chapter is about what are the ways the Lord has expressed himself. He shows the
day and the night at the same time, birth and the death at the same time, creation and
destruction at the same time, good and the evil people at the same time, raakshasaas and
dhaanavaas at the same time.
Past and the present and the future – yugapad – which only our Gurudev used to
say, where the space and time conditions have totally destroyed. There is no, because our,
in our own perception space has, as though has a beginning and an end. Because we are
looking at the space only from this platform of earth. The moment you go outside the
earth, where does it begin, where does it end? The concept of beginning and end of space
goes away.
Similarly our idea of time in terms of beginning and end is with respect to our
birth and our death. Where these concepts of time and space having limitations are
destroyed, past, present and future everything becomes one single state. Birth and death,
creation and destruction, everything becomes one single, linear – not even linear actually
it is.
So the mind of Arjuna got totally bewildered. He was not able to recognize or
even understand and he was totally shocked and finally he submits to Lord and says,
‘please come back to the original form. I just can’t stand this. My whole body is shaking’
and looking at his own death taking place there.
The description is that the Lord shows how all raakshasaas and all the evil people
are being swallowed by Him, while they do not want to die and therefore when they are
struggling but they cannot help but go back to the mouth of the Lord and getting caught
in between the teeth and then head outside and body inside and blood coming out.
Whereas the rishis and munis who have understood that they are going back to the
Lord alone, they are so happily looking in front of Him, in front of the Lord and then
going with great salutation, uh? So He shows that, how raakshasaas unwantingly
whether they like it or not they are getting devoured by the Lord and whereas the
bhaktaas and rishis and munis how great with great love, with joy they are going back to
merge in the Lord. And the evils that are there trying to destroy the universe while the
divine one which are trying to protect the universe, all are shown in one single form.
Arjuna was you know, he could not, he is not able to believe his own eyes and ears.
Standing there shocked.
So that is where the beautiful portion of vibhuti of the Lord, I mean vishwa rupa
darshan, more of it we will see tomorrow yet again.

End of Session #2
SESSION #3
Swamiji:
OM
O…U…M
O…M
om saha naavavatu | saha nau bhunaktu |

Talks
(chants Gita verse)
matkarma-krn-matparamah
(group repeats)
matkarma-krn-matparamah
mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah |
mad-bhaktah sanga-varjitah |
nirvairah sarvabhutesu
nirvairah sarvabhutesu
yah sa mam eti pandava ||

yah sa mam eti pandava || (11:55)
Having shown the universal form of Himself, Bhagavan has shown that everything
is in me. Everything is accommodated
in me. In all of them I do pervade. ‘O Arjuna, did you see all in me?’ ‘Yes’. This is God-
realization – seeing all in one. But then, then would the Bhagavad darshan is over,
Eshwara darshan is over, what else? Arjuna is given one more instruction. Seeing all in
God, is God-realization, uh? But seeing, I mean seeing all in God is God-realization,
seeing God in all, that is self-realization.
So many people who are worshippers of the Lord, having Bhagavad bhakthi,
having the Lord as their beloved, worshipping, going to the temple, going to different
places, this is how a religion makes an individual God oriented. Let the mind be
constantly think about the Lord. Let one always remember the presence of the Lord in
everything. This is one level of spiritual progress. But greater than that is to realize the
Lord’s infinite presence in oneself at all times. And that is seeing God in all, one in all.
All in one is God-realization, one is all is self-realization.
If you look at carefully, these scriptures like Bhagavatam, Ramayanam, these

puraanaas and ithihaasas talk about the glory of the Lord, greatness of the Lord, leelaas
of the Lord, exploits of the Lord, His power, His prowess, His presence in all different
things, but then a person who is interested in experiencing that God within himself,
oneself has to naturally quieten the mind and be ready to get into this great adventure of
looking within. Uh? Therefore Bhagavan Krishna says, you have seen all in me, now you
take the great adventure of seeing me in all, starting from yourself. And how do you do
that? There are five basic disciplines that are taught by Bhagavan Krishna.
First thing is matkarma-krt bhavah : do My work, uh? He is like any other

politician then – do My work. He explains it later on in twelfth chapter about that – My
work means all actions that you do is for Me. yat karoshi yad-ashnaasi yaj-juhoshi
dadaasi yat | yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat-kurushva mad-arpanam || (ch 9, vs 27). yat
karoshi : whatever you do, yad-ashnaasi : whatever you eat, yaj-juhoshi : whatever you
offer, yat tapasyasi, yat dadaasi : whatever austerity you conduct or whatever you offer
charity, tat sarvam mad-arpanam kurushva : may you do it for Myself, that is called
matkarma-krt, bhava hey pandava. All actions dedicated to the Lord, this is the first and
foremost thing.
Second one He says, matparamo bhava : consider Me as your goal, consider Me

as your final end. mad-bhaktah bhava : may you become My devotee. sanga-varjito
bhava : become detached. nirvairah sarvabhutesu bhava : do not hate a single soul in this
world. If you do that then, such a person yaha saha mameva eti, hey pandava : he reaches
Me only. Simple five steps. It is not very difficult. It appears not difficult until we start
(laughs). Uh, it is so easy.
You know, when you see something, you know when you (see) ‘Kitchennet’ TV
programme and the way they cut the vegetable (imitates cutting of vegetable), so simple.
Then they sell that knife, ‘this knife you know, it can do wonders to you (imitates cutting
of vegetable)’. You also buy that knife, go home, (imitates sound cutting of vegetable) –
blood comes out (laughs). You cut your hand very well, in your fingers. Because when
they show it, it looks very simple. Exercise machine also (imitates relaxed working); you
do it (imitates exercise working hard), nothing happens (laughs). Because they are
already of those who are going to the gym only they show it. Nothing happens. That is
why they put two pictures – ‘Before’, ‘After’ (laughs). Face also, ‘Before’, ‘After’. So
you think it will happen to you also. That is how they market it.
Bhagavan is not just marketing some idea here. It is very simple. Five things only
you have to do, then you reach Me. Do actions, all actions only for My sake. matkarma-
krt : do actions, all actions sarvam krishnaarpana mastu; somebody scolds you also,
krishnaarpana mastu. If your wife did not put salt in your food, krishnaarpana mastu –
she will wonder, ‘what happened to you?’ Uh? So one man telling joke to his wife and
she never laughed. He got really wild – ‘can’t you take a joke?’ She said, ‘I took you’
(laughter).
Anyway, so it is very simple, do all actions dedicated to God. Is it difficult? It is

difficult till we start. But once you start using this simple adjustment, making use of this
suggestion, make simple adjustment in your mind, not only in actions but all interactions,
hm, sarvam krishnaarpana mastu.
Try, all that you have to do is decide, from morning eight to ten, whatever
happens in me, in my life, hm, tomorrow onwards, whatever happens, I hope you could
get up before eight, right? So before, after, then you say, anything happens before at 4
O’clock in the morning, its all God’s, you won’t even get up, what is the point of doing
that? Between eight and ten in the morning, or some other time, whatever, where you are
interacting with people, not you are just alone in some place – whatever happens,
Bhagavan you take care of it. Whether somebody scolds you or ridicules you, disrespects
you, criticizes you or somebody is praising you, somebody is putting you up in a
pedestal, glorifying you, krishnaarpana mastu, krishnaarpana mastu. Don’t postpone it,
‘let it get 10 O’clock, afterwards I will do’ (laughter). That is not allowed. At that very
instant itself, ‘I am not going to react to the situation, krishnaarpana mastu’.
Try. And I am telling you, it is true that during that the two hours or so, when you
have decided to do all that dedicated to God and not reacting to this world, you will get
the ability to extend that in the next one hour or two. And then further and from then
further and then that will become your nature. Any habit for that matter did not start all of
a sudden. It started creeping into your personality very little, little, little by little, like that
of the camel getting into the tent (laughs). Is it not? Only my nose I will put inside, and
then the whole face, and then the back and then finally you are out. You know that story.
So in the same way, any habit has come into us, in a very small measure, small
degree and slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly it became very, very important element
– without that we cannot live. ‘Without that morning coffee Swamiji, impossible for me
to do anything, headache comes’. If that kind of wrong habits can overpower you, make
you do it, the good or positive traits and values also can also become a part of your
personality, provided you consciously do it. Negative things come to you unconsciously,
they are called habits. And the difference between habit and a practice is when you do a
thing consciously, it becomes a practice.
So therefore, try – sarvam krishnaarpana mastu, eight to ten. Before that and after
that, let us not worry about that, to start with – matkarma-krt. The second one He says,
matparamah. Only when you start considering Lord’s presence in your life as important as
anybody else, then only you will know to reach Him, to be with the Lord, to remain in the
thought absorbed in His presence will become a joyful, blissful occupation of life. Like in
the earlier days, women most of them after certain age of their life, they start engaging in
the worship of the Lord, and singing the stotrams or bhajans or singing and that became
their part of their life and afterwards most of the time that is what they were doing. Now-a-
days you know, TV and this and that and all those things. In the TV also you have Aastha
channel and then Shaastha channel and all those things. Between, Aastha channel and
MTV, uh, next to each other (laughs). When you are bored you can change to the
entertainment.
But during those days, they didn’t have any kind of such distractions. They were
dedicating their time in remembering the Lord, singing the glories of the Lord, reading the
stories, stotrams, etc. So what was earlier as a part of your daily routine, later on becomes
your full fledged occupation. And that is the reason why such people who have dedicated
their minds to God, in their ripe age did not have the feeling of loneliness. Today’s world,
after fifty, sixty, people are feeling so lonely, go into such you know, depression or you
know, such kind of you know, go into a, unless they take the sleeping pill or such as they
cannot survive and then they are upset and all these, all these asylums are full, all the
psychiatrists are busy. Why? Because at some point of time in your life, nobody else
notices you, you become so depressed. Don’t we see it around us? Why that loneliness?
Why that depression at certain point of your time, uh, life? Because you don’t have a
company of anybody. Why do you need a company of any person if you can find a
company of the Lord?
So now itself you start preparing your mind, so when you reach that stage, you are
not alone, you are not lonely. You will find great joy in being with the Lord. I have seen
such people who are eighty, ninety and all, happily living. No Alzheimers, somezheimers
and all, all those things are not there. Now, if you forget everything is called Alzheimers,
forget little called somezheimer (laughter). None of those things are there. They are
happily living, remembering the Lord, doing their work. Because Bhagavan
Shankaracharya also said in Bhaja Govindam itself, when your ability to obtain wealth and
when it goes away, what happens? vaartaam koapi na prichchhati gehe : hm? Nobody will
ask in your world, in your own home, whether you are alive or dead. You will be
remaining like a furniture piece.
So then at the ripe age you may suffer that. I am saying that you should suffer
(laughs). You may suffer so before that make your mind ready to keep the Lord as your
goal. matparamah bhava : keep Me as the Supreme. So matkarma-krt : may engage in
actions dedicated to Me. Doesn’t matter whatever you do. The yat karoshi : whatever you
do, yat karoshu, yat karoshi yad-ashnaasi yaj-juhoshi dadaasi yatu | yat tapasyasi
kaunteya tat-kurushva mad-arpanam || (ch 9, vs 27) Not ‘mad’ arpanam. In English
when you write (laughs), it becomes ‘mad’ arpanam. This is not ‘mad’ arpanam. mad-
arpanam : for My sake.
mat paramo bhavah. mad-bhaktah bhavah : may You get devoted to Me.
Recently when California that you know, preliminaries were taking place, one
person came to me - with a stick, ‘I am, I voted. Swamiji, did you?’ ‘No’, I said, ‘I’m
devoted’ (laughter). He didn’t first understand, ‘you didn’t vote?’ ‘No, I’m devoted’
(laughs). So a devotee of the Lord, the first and foremost qualification of a devotee of the
Lord is, Bhagavan Krishna also says, He has nobody in this world to hate, uh? adveshata
sarva bhutaanaam – that is the first qualification He gives. If you have hatred for a single
person in this world, you are not My devotee, uh?
So look at it in your own heart. Do you hate anyone in this world? Even those
who are doing something wrong to you, if you are able to forgive them, then only you are
a devotee. Neither the people who have done bad in the life in your past, whom you hate,
that person must have been dead and gone, even that or somebody who is giving trouble
to you at this moment, in this life, at this situation of your life, none you should hate. That
is the first and foremost qualification for being a devotee. mad-bhaktah bhavah : be My
devotee. Because we have seen people who may be devotee, they literally themselves
devotees of the Lord, all puja and everything they do, but the moment they come of the
altar of puja, you should see them rudrathaandava. Why?
(murmur of puja) all those things, rudraaksha, this and that. All these things we do, all
the external thing, but inside the heart, there is so much of raakshasaas sitting there,
some kind of asura janma it is – full of hatred and anger, frustration. Why?
You know, once it is said, that a Lord appeared to one person. The two brothers
were there. So both were meditating upon the Lord. So He appeared for one brother,
‘what do you want?’ He said, um, uh, ‘I know my brother is also meditating’. ‘Yes, ok’.
He said, um, ‘I know that he will ask, whatever I ask he will ask twice of that. Uh? Will
you be giving that?’ ‘Of course, I will give it’. ‘Then take away one of my eyes’ (laughs)
Then what kind of a devotion is that? While you have so much of hatred sitting in your
heart. So that if I take, you take away two of my eyes and you will take away two, I mean
if you take one of my eyes and he will take two of his eyes. That kind of a devotion.
Devotion should be that where there is not a trace of hatred on anything.
So mad-bhaktah bhavah, meaning be devoted to me completely. sanga-varjito

bhavah : yes, in this world we all have come to become relatives to each other, close
relative or distant relative or in the form of friends, in the form known person, whatever it
is. Somewhere I was told, one man, he was a elderly person and his son, young son was
just pressing his feet. At that time the father said, to him – he was, uh, may be around
sixty or so – father said to the son, ‘my dear son, I have only one thing I ask you’. Young
boy, he said, ‘what you are asking me?’ He asked, ‘what?’ ‘When I die, don’t cry’. So the
boy was young boy, you know, he just didn’t understand.
And this boy, who was twelve at that time, he is now sixty. He told me this story.
My dad, father told me not to cry – ‘when I pass away’. So at that time I didn’t
understand. So I asked him, ‘how can I do that, daddy, father, how can I do that? Because
you are so close to me and if you pass away and I will definitely cry’. He said, ‘you see,
let us say, I have come to, your friend came to you and gave you some’, at that time, uh,
‘fifty rupees’. That was a, at that time it was quite a money. ‘Fifty rupees I gave you. He
gives to you and says, keep it for a while, one week and after one week I will take it from
you. Then after a week or so, he comes and says, please give me those, that fifty rupees.
Will you have any, uh, pain or sadness in giving back that money to him?’
So that boy said, ‘no, because it belongs to him. So why should I be bothered
because even while I am holding a money of his, it is only, I am only a security for it.
Because he cannot keep it anyway, so he has given to me and then when he comes back, I
will give it back. I will not feel sad for it, after all it belongs to him’. ‘Exactly’. He said,
‘I am given to you, you are given to me. We are security for each other, that is all it is.
And the Lord has given you to me, and me to you. And when he wants to take it, why
should you feel sad about it’? That boy said, ‘at that time I didn’t understand. Now today
after some almost fifty years back, I realize that what he said was so profound’.
So in our life, yes we do come across people who are closer to us, who have
helped us, or we have helped them. They have made our life better, they have made our
life beautiful, alright. But the greatest, what you call maturity of an individual is, that
understanding that all of them have come together for a purpose and (when) that purpose
is complete, they all depart from each other.
In Ramayana also, there is a anecdote or story, it comes like this. There are two
log of woods flowing through a river. They have come from different rivers and they
come to meet at some point of time, flowing together, at some other point of time the
river takes different courses and the both the log of woods depart and move away. So are
the relationships in this world. We all come together at some point of time, enjoy each
other’s company, help each other. And at some point of time we depart and turn away.
Nobody came with somebody, and nobody will go with anybody. Each one of us move
on our own course of life.
So here He says, sanga-varjitah. So therefore in this, matkarma-krit : do actions

to Me. Uh? matparamah : keep Me as your goal. The third one He says is mad-bhaktoh
bhavah : may you be devoted to me by not having a single trace of hatred on anyone –
sanga-varjitah. nirvairah sarvabhutesu : sarvabhutesu, in all living beings, nirvairah :
you know the word, vairah, uh is the cause, I mean the root word for the English word,
‘virus’. So vairithvam is within us, uh? Enmity is outside but vairithvam is inside. dushta
or hatred, dvesha, maybe because of an external thing. But vairathvam… that is why
Bhagavan Krishna says, jnaani no nithya vairinaa. jnaani nah means men of wisdom
know that nithya vairii the eternal enemy is sitting inside.
kama yesha, krodha yeshah, uh, rajoguna samudhbhavah; maha shano maha
paapma vidi yenam iha - vairinam : it is within you, that kama krodha. But whereas
enemy outside is considered as uh, ribuhu, or considered as a dushta atma, drohi or all
those terms are there. But vaira when it is said, like in a computer also, virus sitting
inside. And those who are virus, what do you call, antivirus people, they create anti-virus
embedded with that is the possible future virus. So they will remove the present virus and
already install another virus, slowly it will start. Then after sometime it will slowly come
out. Then again they sell another anti-virus for you, which includes future virus. Just like
pharmaceutical companies, it is the same thing. They eliminate one disease only to cause
another side-affect. Then for that you have to go to another medicine. Then that medicine
you buy, another one will be there. This is business, sir (laughter). They always put a bug
inside; go on bugging you.
So this vairithvam which is within, nirvaira sarva bhuteshu or Guruji used to say
the greatest vairi that you have is your ego and this virus is a cancerous virus. Because
see, headache where did you get? On your leg? Heart attack in the liver? Heart attack is
in the heart, liver failure is in the liver. But cancer need not be have a particular place.
Any part of the body it can be. Ego is like that. Ego can be on anything. It need not be on
your name and the form or the position, it can be on useless thing also you may have ego
about it. So ego or a pride can be in any aspect of your personality. It can be physical, it
can be emotional, it can be intellectual, sometimes spiritual ego also comes to people. ‘I
chant better than anybody else’, ‘I do better than anybody else’, ‘I help others better than
you’. So even in seva that people can also have ego. So ego need not be on any particular
thing. (It) can be anywhere. Similarly, the vaira, vairithvam, it can be anywhere. So He
says, sarva bhuteshu nirvairaha – may you remove the hatred from all things. If you take
care of five things, such a person maamedi pandava : such a person reaches Me only.
Hm?
So Arjuna you have seen everything in Me, now start seeing Me in everything.
And in that context only, the bhakti yoga begins. The teaching of devotion. Arjuna
having understood, having seen the vishvarupa form of the Lord had a doubt. He asked
this question in the beginning of twelfth chapter, ‘Lord, there are two varieties of people
among your devotees, those who worship you in this beautiful vishvarupa form, some
people may have devotion to you in your unmanifest form, abstract avyakta rupa. Among
these two who is better? Who is best among the devotees in these two those who worship
you with universal form? Is that person, those people better or those who worship You in
an abstract form, who is better?’ What do you think Bhagavan will say? He is a
Diplomat. You know, Bhagavan Krishna is a greatest diplomat. You will see how it is.
Who is a diplomat do you know, I have told you this. Uh, I have not told you? If
He says ‘yes’, he means ‘no’. No, no, if He says ‘yes’, it means ‘perhaps’. If He says
‘perhaps’ it means ‘no’. If He says ‘no’, He is not diplomat (laughs). So Bhagavan will
never say, black and white He will never give an answer. So when it is asked, who is the
best among your devotees, those who worship You with the form or those who worship
You without the form. Most people have this problem, you know. They ask this question,
‘are you a Vedantin?’ ‘Yes’. ‘Then you don’t go to the temple?’ Because many people
think that when you study Vedanta you lose devotion to God. Or those who are devoted
to God in a particular form, cannot understand philosophy. They think that they are two,
so contradictory. In the, they call in the name of jnaanaa and bhakti – those who are
thinking and analyzing and logical, rationalizing, those people have no devotion at all. Or
those people have devotion, kuch nai jathe, andar nai kuch nai jathahain (laughter).
Huh, huh, huh, cry, cry, cry.
So they have this funny idea that devotion is detached from knowledge, divorced
from knowledge. And people who think and analyze, they have no heart at all. Some
person, one person came to me. This jnaanam and all, don’t talk. I will just read
Bhagavad Gita, I mean Bhagavatam, I will just read Bhagavatam. I said that is also
reading. So even Bhagavatam you have to read no? That is also a grantha only, a
scripture. As much as Bhagavad Gita or Upanishad is a scripture, this is also a scripture.
No, no, no, that is different. Bhagavan Shankaracharya very clearly says, swaswarupa
anusandhaanam bhakti nitya vidiyate. swaswarupa anusandhaanam : you know devoted
to one’s own Self is the greatest devotion. So Arjuna’s question is what here?
Worshipping You as the universal form is one category of people; another category,
worshipping You, remembering You in the unmanifest form – which one is better?
See, the people who belong to arya samaj, they just do not stand worshipping the
Lord in any form. I might have narrated the story about Swami Vivekananda earlier.
Once he was traveling in India and he happened to go down South, in India. And there
was a king who was following the tenets of Arya Samaj, those who don’t believe in form
of Gods. They only worship, or meditate upon Om, in the Upanishadic way of meditating
and worshipping to the Supreme. But Vivekananda as you know, initiated by
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa he was a worshipper of Kali. So then when he visited this
king, the king wanted to you know, had a, have an argument with Vivekananda and he
asked him, ‘what you people worshipping Kali and this and no. That is not said in the
Upanishads. These are all for people you do not you know, have that intelligence to
worship in the abstract form, these are there for baccha, you know?’ Swami
Vivekananda did not say anything; kept quiet.
After sometime next day, there was a huge portrait of a king, in the palace. So
then, he asked, ‘whose picture is this?’\
‘Oh, this is my grandfather, a great king, Chakravarthy.’
‘Very nice’. He took his shoe, you know, Vivekananda took his slipper and
touched that picture.
‘Uh… what are you doing?’
‘What, what am I doing?’
‘You are insulting. This is the picture of my grandfather who is well revered and
respected and you are insulting with touching , uh, with your shoes?’
He said, ‘it is after all a picture, it is a not a person. And it is nothing but a
painting made of canvas, that is also canvas, this is also canvas, what is the big deal?’
‘You are insulting me, I am king, and you are showing disrespect to my own
grandfather’.
‘I am not showing any disrespect. I am lovingly touching him with my shoes.’
‘That is not acceptable.’
(He said) ‘my dear king, calm down. As much as you have great respect and
reverence for the grandfather of yours, whose mere picture itself, looking at it you create
in yourself a great joy and admiration, and anybody else insulting him is disturbing you,
uh, if for the grandfather of yours who is as, who has lived for a while and died, for him
you have admiration and reverence, the people who have love for the Lord, why not they
worship Him in a form, what is your problem? As much as you worship this, they
worship God. As much as you respect Him, they respect and as much as you have put
garland, and looking, making it look beautiful, they are also doing the same thing with
the Lord. What is wrong?’
That king really realized now. So it is a personal choice.
So Arjuna’s question is, among these two who is better? Bhagavan Krishna says,
who is the yukta tamaha you asked, who is the best among these two. shraddaya
upedaha : those who have shradda, those who have faith, in whichever part, whichever
way they worship Me, shraddadana paramaha : those who have great shradda in
whichever way you are doing deme yukta tamaha : I consider them as yukta tamaha, best
among those who are devotees in Me. But then you ask this question, that who is a person
of worshipping the Lord in an abstract form, person worshipping in the form-full.
I would say worshipping the Lord in the form is comparatively easier than
worshipping the Lord in an unmanifest, abstract form because in essence as individual we
are, we are so identified with our body. Ramakrishna Paramhamsa would say, people
who ask such a question, they forget one point – if you have the body, you think you are
the body, the Lord has to have the body. You cannot think of the Lord, without the form
if you consider yourself having a form. If you can recognize yourself formless, nameless,
attributeless, qualitiless, absolute truth then you are eligible to uh, meditate upon the Lord
without a form. Do you? Uh?
Therefore here He says, in the verse number thirty two we read,
kleso 'dhikataras tesam
(group repeats chanting)
kleso 'dhikataras tesam
avyaktasakta-cetasam |
avyaktasakta-cetasam |
avyakta hi gatir duhkham

avyakta hi gatir duhkham
dehavadbhir avapyate || (12:5)

dehavadbhir avapyate || (12:5)
tesam kleshaha adhikataraha. avyaktasakta-cetasam avyakta hi gatir duhkham

dehavadbhih avapyate. dehavadbhih : dehavadbhih means identified with deha. deha, the
very word means, dahanaadh deha. Because the body is subject to dahanam, subject to
be burnt, subject to disappear. This deha when I identified as myself, and I will consider
myself as dehi, not dahi (Hindi for yogurt), dehi. dehi means one who consider oneself as
only as the body – sharirin. dehavadbhih : by those people who are considering
themselves only as the physical body, avyakta gatih : walking the path towards God as
worshipping Him as an unmanifest abstract dukam avapyate : very difficult indeed.
People who think identify themselves as physical body, if they try to walk the
path of worshipping or meditating upon the Lord as unmanifest, it will be extremely
difficult. And tesam adhikataraha kleshaha : their impediments, obstacles will be great
indeed. Who? For those avyaktaa sakta chetasaam : those who are meditating upon the
Lord in an un-manifest form. For I have said earlier also this time, that the mind needs a
support – for anything. Without the support the mind cannot travel. Even when you want
to sing a song, is it not that you need a ‘tamboora’ beat or some pitch? When a singer, he
needs a, some instrument before he picks up the tune. (Tune sound) ting, ting, tune – it
starts. So he will tune himself. Oh, sometime they tune for half an hour before (starting) –
uh, uhuhk… hm, mm, uhuhk… mmm, uhuhk. Then another one, uhh… uhuhk. It goes on
and on and on. Why? They are not able to get the pitch, where they have to start.
So without a basic support your travel will be very difficult. Uh? Just like a child,
before walking it needs a support. After it walk, then you don’t need a support. Then you
should say, ‘sit down, running all the time’. Before the child started walking, ‘come on,
walk, walk’. Afterward, ‘shut up, keep quiet’. So in the beginning stages of anything you
need an external support. So our mind cannot take off into that, directly into that abstract,
un-manifest nature of the Brahman. So you need the support of something. And if you
directly take off to that abstract thinking, the obstacles are very many. So here also, those
people who have identified with the physical body, for them thinking about the un-
manifest form of the Lord is very difficult. Infact lot of obstacles are for them. By this He
indirectly supports, for the beginner the formful worship is advised. But that does not
mean He looks down upon people who are capable of worshipping the abstract.
What He means is, in whatever be the course of your worship, there should be a
unquestionable feat. shaddhadhaana matparamah; sharaddhaya upedaha : those people
who are endowed with shraddha, for them whichever form they take, it will be easy. As I
quoted Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, for those people who have uh, body identification the
Lord has to be worshipped, they have to worship the Lord only in the physical body. If
you have the body, why not the Lord (laughs)? So that is the reason why if you go to our
ancient temples, to keep the mind’s attention in one place, they do not have the Lord’s
sanctorum with full of flood light. No, no, no, they don’t have. Mostly it is dark only.
And then during the time when they want to show the Lord, they take the small lamp and
then they start showing the Lord’s form from the feet onwards all the way up. Uh?
paadaadi keshanta varnanam uh? Shiva paadaadi keshanta varnanam, Vishnu paadaadi
keshanti varnanam – Bhagavan Shankaracharya has composed, how the description of
the Lord, starting from the feet up to the head. So while does they show the Lord’s form
through with this small light, this particular keerthana will be sung, Vishnu paadaadi
keshanti varnanam – the description of that form. Every part of the body is described.
So when the prohit or the priest with bell ringing, he will show the part, every part
of the body with the simple light the entire attention of the mind is only on that. Why?
Because that is your aalamaram. That is the support. And when you close in your own
seat of meditation, when you close your eyes and sit down, what you should retain is the
beautiful form of the Lord, in your own mind.
In the yoga marga also it is prescribed that, as you breathe in and out you should
retain the Lord’s form in such a way that you are, with your breathing you are, you are
supporting the form. As you breathe in slowly, let the form of the Lord appear in full
form, and as you breathe out keep that form of the Lord as He is in your mind. As you
breathe in and breathe out, let the form remain in the same nature or same form,
continuously without any change. And later on they say, this is called dhaaranam. Hm?
yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahar, dharanam. dharanam is the sixth limb of
yoga marga or yoga practice.
So after having withdrawn, that is pratyahar, then dharana – that is

concentration. In that concentration basically you are holding a particular object in your
mind, while you are supporting that mind, the form, which you keep in your mind while
you are breathing in and out and infusing that breathing into that form, giving life to that
form. And it is said, when a person is able to maintain this one pointed concentration
upon the form, his breathing will slowly come to that point where he will breathe in and
he will not breathe out for a while, retaining that form. And then he will slowly breathe
out, after breathing out he will not take the air because the object becomes of so much
importance in his mind, after sometime even breathing and breathing out also will stop.
Then it comes dhyana. So that is the method prescribed in the yoga shaastra.
So in the bhakti marga, the individual who is identified with the physical body, I
am with the hands, and legs, and the head, etc so the Lord also of the same nature, same
form. In that way one meditates upon the form continuously and that He says is easier,
than thinking of the Lord, in an abstract form. So here, He says, kleso 'dhikataraha :
great. tesam : to those, avyaktasakta-cetasam : for those who are trying to meditate upon
the Lord in their unmanifest form. dehavadbhir : for those identified with the body,
avyakta gatir : the path towards the Lord in the unmanifest way, duhkham avapyate :
very difficult indeed.
So in this context of bhakti He says, Arjuna keep your mind and intellect upon
Me. mayeva mana aadatsva : your emotional nature of your personality should be
attributed, given to Me; emotionally think of Me. mayi buddhim niveshaya : in your
understanding Me as the absolute Truth, in your intellect also keep Me as the center,
nivasisyashi mai yeva : you will thereafter stay in Me only, ata urdhwam nivasishyasi
mayeva : thereafter you will stay in Me only, na samshaya : no doubt about this. Put your
mind, meaning feeling and emotions in Me, and understanding is also in Me.
See in our human relationship, with husband, with the wife, and the children, and
the brother, and the sister, and the parent, etc., what we have is a emotional relationship.
Uh? Whereas with respect to your teacher, your guru, etc., there is respectful, intellectual
relationship. You respect, admire and uh, show all your you know, respect etc., to a
person who is a man of learning, a man who commands certain virtues and values, so to
that person you have value, meaning you have intellectual respect for that person.
But Bhagavan says, you must have both for Me. You must not only respect Me
for who I am, admire Me, worship Me for who I am, but do not therefore, lose your
emotional mind away from Me. Some people who have emotional relationship with our
Lord, but no respect or no reverence. Therefore it is said, in Tamil and other place, bhaya
and bhakti. You must have bhaya in the sense respect, bhakti is mind, that is love. Some
people will have admiration for the Lord, but no love. Some people have love for the
Lord but no respect. Says, both. Because very often what happens? The person whom we
love, we take it for granted (laughs).
Even Arjuna himself says that, ‘O Lord, I took You for granted, how many times I
kicked You and then I made fun of You and all’. You know in the eleventh chapter he
says that, ‘how much I took You for granted?’ So but you know, Yudhistra on the other
hand had a great respect, but he doesn’t have that affinity of a friend like Arjuna had. So
both the love or emotion, feeling for the Lord, and at the same time, respect, reverence,
admiration for Him. mayeva mana adhatswa mayi buddhim niveshaya; nivashishyasi
mayeva ata urdhwam na samshayah (12:8). So then Arjuna would say, ‘you know, it is
not that easy – to have love for You and respect for You’. Because where there is love,
we usually take other person for granted; where there is respect there is a distance. Uh?
People whom we respect we keep a distance – let me not go (laughs) anywhere near that
person. Maybe because you do not want to show your real self in front of that person.
You know, sometime we have a respect for that person, we respect in such a way that
we’ll never get close to that person. Bhagavan says, you must have respect and affinity,
closeness.
So here He says, ‘I never said it is easy. Did I tell you that it is easy?’
So therefore, if you are not able to put your mind, mind in Me – you all remember
twelfth chapter you know, don’t you? mayeva mana adhatswa mayi buddhim niveshaya |
nivashishyasi mayeva ata urdhwam na samshayah (12:8) atha chittam samaadhaatum na
shaknoshi mayi sthiram | abhyaasayogena tatah maamichaaptum dhananjaya (12:9) If
you are not able to keep your mind in Me or intellect in Me, then what you should do?
abhyaas : practice. ‘I can’t do it, so therefore I will get away from them’. No, no, no, do
abhyaas. That is why I said, practice is a conscious attempt; whereas a habit is an
unconscious engagement. Most of our habits are unconscious engagements.
Some people have the habit of you know, shaking their leg. You tell them you
know, then they become quiet. Like children you know, they put the – what is that they
put? – the thumb, into the mouth? Until that point, when you put all that you know,
unwanted – what do you call, bitter things and then, and then slowly they will give up.
So when unconsciously when we do it, it is habit for me. When like, for example
if somebody says, I am, I go for dance habit, do I say dance habit? You say dance
practice, (laughs). Why it is a practice? A practice you do it, consciously. What do you
mean by consciously doing a thing? Meaning, you continuously aware of the progress
that you are making everytime. In a practice you must be aware of the progress that you
make. That is why doctors practice medicine on us (laughter). Lawyers practice law on
us. Don’t they say, we are practicing law, practicing medicine? On us. Who else?
(laughs). So a practice is a conscious engagement, whereas a habit is an unconscious
engagement – of the mind.
So here, abhyaaasena, if you practice abhyaasa – meaning practice keeping your

mind, keeping your intellect in Me. abhyaasae byasamarthosi : then what you should do,
if you not able to even practice this? mat karma paramoh bhavah : then do actions only
for Me. Meaning, take up actions which can dedicate it to Me. madartha mabi karmaani
kuruvam siddhi mavaapsyasi : if you do actions consciously for Me only, you will
definitely achieve great heights. ata etadavi na shagnosi karthvam madyoga maashritaha
: if even that also you cannot do, uh? Then what you should do? atetadapya shaknosi
kartvam matyoga maashritaha. sarva karma phala thyaagam tadakuru yataad mamaha :
if you can’t do that also, then do anything but don’t take the results.
See how many things He has given. So, because Lord knows how we are. We, we want
choices. Now-a-days you know, no direct answer will come. If I don’t get it then what do
I do? Ok, another choice. If that is also not available? Another choice. You are trying,
you are flying in a flight let us say.
Coffee sir?
Yes.
With cream, without cream?
With the cream.
Sugar or no sugar?
So many choices are given, is it not to you?
Want to drink or not? (laughs) Finally.
I just want to keep it there?
So, you want coffee? Coffee with the cream or without the cream? Sugar or sugar
without the sugar, or sugar or what is that another one?
(audience response) ‘Splenda’.
Uh?
‘Splenda’ or sugar?
One spoon or two spoons?
One cup or two cup?
So many choices. And we in our life what we consider? Freedom is more choices.
Is it not, democracy means what? More and more choices. So in here, Bhagavan is very
democratic. Please, pay attention – put your mind and intellect in Me. You can’t?
Practice. You can’t practice? Then do My actions to Me. You can’t do actions to Me?
Ok, atleast do any action give up the results.
sreyo hi jnaanam abhyaasaj
jnanaad dhyaanam visisyate |
dhyanaat karma-phala-tyagah
tyagaa chaantir anantaram || (12:12)
Than mere abhyaasa, jnaanam is better; than knowledge, dyaanam is better; than
dhyaanam karmaphalatyaaga is better. By tyaaga alone you obtain greatest peace.
So here, Bhagavan has given so much of information about devotion. So devotion

is not just going and sitting in front of the Lord and throwing some flowers and arati and
then, where your mind is atleast hundred miles away – that is not devotion. Where
applying your mind and intellect with due respect and reverence and admiration, while
the mind is full of love and affection for the Lord, and not only at the altar where you are
worshipping Him, but in every action considering Him as the very karthaa of every
action, with that understanding sarvam krishnaarpana mastu : not taking the result on for
oneself; and when you are able to practice that, that is true devotion.
Such a person when he lives in this world, when he does performs in this world,
he is a servant of everyone. Therefore he says, in the next verse we read, verse number
thirty three (refers to his compilation):
(Lakshmi-ji chants)
yasmaan nodvijate lokah
(group repeats chant)
yasmaan nodvijate lokah
lokaan nodvijate ca yah |

lokaan nodvijate ca yah |
harshaamarsha-bhayodvegaih
harshaamarsha-bhayodvegaih
mukto yah sa ca me priyah || (12:15)

mukto yah sa ca me priyah || (12:15)
From whom lokah na udvijate – na udvijate : the world does not have any disturbance
because of him. He doesn’t disturb the world, at all. Nor does he get ever disturbed by the
world. yasmaan na udvijate lokah, lokaagna udvijate ca yah : the world doesn’t disturb
him, he doesn’t disturb the world. That does not mean he will stay in some remote corner
of the world and nobody even know that his existence. He is that way. If that is the case,
Lord would not have said all these things, you know. You go and stay in a remote cave
in, in Himalayas and no, don’t bother about the world. World doesn’t bother you, you
don’t bother the world. That is why when you go to sleep, sound sleep – sound for others,
sleep for you; go sound sleep. Nobody, of course if you have a sound then everybody is
disturbed by that – when you into deep sleep you are not disturbed by the world, the
world is not disturbed by you. parama bhakta you are (laughs). Is it that way? While
being in the world, keep your mind undisturbed by what happens. Hm?
See, these are all to make ourselves perfect not in isolation, not in a solitude but in
the midst of the marketplace. Gurudev often would say, it is easy to be peaceful when
nobody is there but it is difficult to get one wink, one even little smile in your face when
you are meeting the world problems, problems of the world. Why? Because we are
continuously being tormented by the situations that happen in our life. In that kind of
situation if you can keep your mind undisturbed, yasmaan nodvijate lokah lokaan
nodvijate ca yah : why, how is he obtaining that, how he gained that? harsha amarsha
bhaya udvegaih
muktah : what are things that can cause disturbance to us? Somebody’s praise – harsha or
somebody is totally ridiculing us – amarsha and bhaya : fear, udvegah : excitement.
These either you contribute to the world or world contributes to you.
If you are giving value to those you are not a muktah, you are not free and if you
are not free you are caught by the world and the world constantly thereafter… because as
somebody has said, the moment we introduce ourselves to another person, we give a
remote control to that person. Thereafter that person (says), ‘jump’, ‘get angry’. The
closer the person more buttons (laughs) – remote control. A remote person means one or
two buttons only – smile or not smile, only that two. As that person or the relationship
becomes closer and closer, anger, lust, passion, greed, jealousy, jumping and not
jumping, crying and all those buttons are there – ‘cry’ now (taps like switching on
button), ‘jump’ (taps like switching on button) (laughs).
So we are controlled by people around us. They press buttons and we jump. We
have become such a slave to this world. And that is the reason why we never find
ourselves peaceful, undisturbed at any time. If at all we want ourselves to be undisturbed
we have to go somewhere else. You know I will tell you, to avoid a problem uh, to get
not disturbed by a situation you can adopt three methods. Method number one is if you
are let us say, for example you are invited for a program. And you know in that program
somebody whom you don’t like is going to be there and you will be disturbed. What do
you do?
Option number one is, don’t go to the program. This is what most people do –
avoid the situation. Don’t we don’t that? That fellow you are, he is you are inviting us.
‘No, I am not coming. Because when I see him I just, Swamiji I tell you I am afraid I just
cannot control’. So who, you are afraid of whom? Your own self. So best way of, you
know meeting that situation is, to avoid. Don’t go to that party or program. This is what
most people do, immature people do that. The problem of this kind of a choice is how
long you run away from this world like this? If in this today’s world, in this person;
tomorrow in another person. By the time you are fifty (laughs), you just can’t do
anything. Anywhere you turn there will be enough sources for your anger and frustration.
The second choice that you have is alter the situation. Make sure that nobody
invites him (laughs), little more intelligent there. Uh? Make sure that the program itself
doesn’t happen. Or, make sure that that person is not invited to that program. So
therefore, you are not avoiding situation, you are keeping the situation but making sure
that what you don’t like doesn’t happen there. Uh? This is the second way of dealing with
confrontation. But the third one is the most mature one, where you change. How can
somebody else, become a cause of my disturbance? Gurudev used to say, don’t put the
key to your happiness in somebody else’s pocket. So one way is avoid a situation, second
is alter a situation, third is change yourself.
Bhagavan Krishna here says, so long as you try to run away from the world or try
to change things around the world you are still a slave to the world. You become immune
to those external influences.
In another place He says, a person running away from the attractive objects may
find himself at peace for a while but that very core of your personality which seeks those
things (is) still there. Until that is removed, you are still a slave.
vishayaa vinivartante
niraahaarasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso 'py asya
param drstvaa nivartate || (2:59)
When you run away from the objects that disturb you, you may find yourself peaceful.
But not the very cause is removed. It is there. Another situation, it will come out.
So don’t alter the situation, don’t avoid a situation but change yourself. Such a
person who has become firm in his devotion to God, he is not affected by the world. Nor
the world is ever affected by him. He is not going to disturb the world at any way, any
way. Even great masters, you know who lived such a saintly life also, there are enough
people in the world they have killed them, like Jesus Christ and some other people. What,
what did they do wrong? But people consider them as wrong – kill, uh? It has happened
even to Krishna. What, what did He do wrong, for Him to get killed? What did He do?
For somebody’s problem He became a victim, is it not?
So even great people who are living in this world also can be hated by others but
they are not the cause. yasmaat na udvijate lokah lokaag na udvijate ca yah – why?
harsha : meaning by mere their other sprees, amarsha : by anger, bhaya : fear, udvegaih :
by excitement, etc. muktah : such a person is sa ca me priyah : he is most dear to Me.
So who is dear to You, O Lord? Who he is immune to the disturbances of the

world, either he causes nor he is disturbed by anyone.
So this, twelfth chapter of Bhakti Yoga, on Devotion Bhagavan has given clear
instructions to us. Keep your mind with full of love on Me, at the same time have due
respect and reverence to Me. If you can’t do that, practice. If you can’t practice, do
actions to Me. If you can’t do actions to the Me, do phala tyaaga : do actions and
renounce the results. This way, you will slowly come to Me. The devotion is very easy,
provided you continuously practice it.
Next chapter, which is thirteenth is the most beautiful one. Abstract no doubt,
very uh, strong ideas are going to be given. That is known as Kshetra Kshetragna
Vibhaagha Yoga. Here is where He really starts the third section of ‘Bhagavad Gita’. The
first section is about the Individual, the second section about the Truth. The third section
is about connection between the individual and the Truth. Uh?
Let us say we are talking to a person, to a group of people. First of all what you
should do is, talk to the audience about them, themselves. First of all make them familiar
with you and you make them familiar with them – first thing. Second thing is introduce
the subject. Uh? And third is you should show the relevance between the subject you are
talking and the audience. You go to the first grade of the school… ‘the concept of maya
in Advaita philosophy’ (laughter). (continues laughing) What is the, what is the
relevance of that to that first grader? First of all recognize who is the subject, who is the
audience. Meaning…
In the same way here Bhagavan started with talking about Arjuna, ‘hey, who are
you?’ – understand yourself first. Second what you should know about the absolute
Truth. The third section is about what is the relationship between, the one that is the
absolute Truth and you, the one who is trying to realize that. How do you do that?
So in the thirteenth chapter He starts on this point of kshetra and kshetragna,

meaning ‘matter’ and ‘spirit’. Hm? He puts two terminologies for that,
two set of terminologies. The matter is refered as kshetram and the spirit is referred as he
or that which knows the matter called kshetragna. Another term, set of terms He uses for
them is purusha is the spirit and prakriti is the matter. So these two sets of terminologies
are used by the Lord to introduce us to subject that how to distinguish ‘matter’ from the
‘spirit’, how to distinguish purusha from prakriti, how to distinguish spirit – exclusively
the soul, Self independent of the matter vistures which is in this uh, body, mind, intellect
and vaasanaas. How to understand them as kshetra and understanding that as distinct
from them as kshetragna?
So in the beginning of thirteenth chapter He says, we read the verse here, verse
number thirty-four (refers to his compilation):
(Lakshmi-ji chants)
kshetra-jnam caapi maam viddhi
sarva-kshetresu bhaarata |
kshetra-kshetrajnayor jnaanam
yat taj jnaanam matam mama || (13:2)(13:3 checked for correction in “The Holy
Geeta : Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda”)
Remember the first verse of ‘Bhagavad Gita’ began with dharma-kshetrae : the abode of
dharma is where the battle is taking place. The same ‘kshetra’ word is used in the
thirteenth chapter to show idam sariram kaunteya, kshetram ity abhidhiyate (13:2) : this
body is a kshetram; in this body is the battle going on.
The battle which is started, which has started this ‘Gita’, where which we started,
that battle is not taking place out there in a Kurukshetra. Real battle is taking place within
us, between the good and bad values of our personality. In this battlefield, the one who
clearly recognizes who, what is the ‘matter’ and what is the ‘spirit’, he is considered to be
a jnaani. kshetram is the body, physical body. idam sariram kaunteya kshetram ity
abhidhiyate | etad yo vetti tam prahuh kshetra-jna iti tad-vidah || (13:2) He who knows
the body is referred as kshetra-jna. kshetram janaadi – when you add jna, it becomes
janaadi. Hm? Computer-jna, you say software-jna, add -jna there – so he who knows,
has the knowledge of.
So the sariragjnaha : this body he who knows is not the body. Hm? So sariram is
kshetram : an abode. Why it is called kshetra? Because a place is where you do a work, is
it not? You say ‘office’. Uh? Where this train stops, what is it that place is called? ‘Train
station’. Where the bus stops, where does it called? ‘Bus station’. Where the work stops,
what is it called? (laughter) It is called ‘workstation’. It becomes stationary there, lot of
stationeries.
So uh, he who knows, because this body is a place you work. What work we do?
You know, please understand this body is where your karma is working. Uh? All that you
have done in the past, the result of which is taking place there, where? Here, in this body
– in the body, through the body. This is karma phala. This is a result of your actions, uh?
This physical body is given to you as a product of your action and in this body the karma
is taking place.
In the fourth chapter Bhagavan Krishna very clearly says, that karmany akarma
yah pasyed akarmani ca karma yah | sa buddhiman manusyesu
sa yuktah krtsna-karma-krt || (4:18) He who understands the atma, the Self is akarta –
non-doer – is only a witness while the body, mind, intellect, all of them are working.
Body works, mind is thinking, intellect is conceptualizing creating opinions, ideas. These
actions are taking place in body, mind, intellect, atma is a witness, akarta : not the doer.
karmany akarma : in the action of body, mind, intellect he sees the nature of the Self as
action-less, inactive. But when you sit quietly for meditation, when you stop your
physical activity, to certain extent activities of the senses and the mind when you quiet-en
down it is still action is going on. What action is there? Your karma (laughs) – which is
maintaining your body.
When you go to sleep, who is, who is breathing there? Who is digesting the food?
Who is maintaining your body’s temperature – uh? You know what it is? It is called
prakriti. Your karma which you have done is maintaining your body whether you like it
or not. Until the karma is over this physical body cannot be gotten rid of. That is the one
which is going on. karmany akarma yah pasyed a-karmani ca karma yah : when one does
not do anything, physically, mentally, still the karma is working there.
So this place is in abode of action. This is what is called dharmakshetra. It is

where your actions are getting fructified. ‘So this abode, O Arjuna’ He says, ‘is called
khetram’. And he who knows that is called kshetra-jnaha. Understood? Because you
know that your body is functioning, senses are functioning, mind is thinking, intellect is
doing this work. You know it.
And Bhagavan makes the statement here in this verse, in all the bodies the one
who is knower of the body is Me. kshetra-jnam ca api maam viddhi : I am the one who is
the kshetra-jna here, sarva-kshetreshu : in all the bodies, the presence that is there as the
knower of the kshetra is Me Myself. The difference between body - the mere matter,
mind - a subtle matter, intellect - subtle matter or causal matter, this entire complex of
thing which is called kshetra - one thing; and the one who is independent of that, because
of whom this is able to be alive and doing and kicking, the difference between this he
who knows or the difference of these two, that is called jnanam. kshetra-kshetrajnayoh
jnanam, yat tat jnanam : that is called knowledge. This is My opinion.
matam mama : this is My opinion. He doesn’t say, that you should know – that is
what it is. No. That is My opinion (laughs). You may have some other definition of
jnanam but this is my opinion – kshetra-kshetrajnayor jnaanam yat taj jnaanam matam
mama.
Now He will explain, what is this kshetra and what is this propensity and what is
that kshetra-jnaha, that spirit and what its its nature. And this is clearly seen as black and
white, then you know who you really you are. That we will see tomorrow.

End of Session #3
SESSION #4
Swamiji:
OM
(chorus joining in the chanting of the OM)
O…M
O…M
(chorus joining in the chanting of Salutations to Sadguru Chinmaya)

Talks
(chants Gita verse)

There has always been the debate between the Science and the Philosophy about
understanding the nature of ‘spirit’ and the nature of ‘matter’. ‘Matter’ is that which can
be uh, evaluated, observed, analyzed in a laboratory but whereas the ‘spirit’ is something
which is so invisible and incomprehensible, un-understandable. But just because it is un-
understandable or invisible, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. So therefore it is always a
question in the mind of a rational thinker – how do we know that there is this presence of
‘spirit’ independent of ‘matter’?
In the morning also while I was discussing on one of the subject, I mentioned that
Shankaracharya approaches any subject in two or three ways. One is he will explain
things given as per given in the scripture, with authority. Second he will use logic. Third
he will explain through experience. It is called shruti, yukti and anubhooti. shruti is what
is said in the scriptures; and yukti is logic; and anubhooti is personal, practical
experience.
So certain things, maybe our experience but there is no logic at all. For example,
if I have an emotion of love on some object or a person. What is the logic behind that?
What is the logical reason why you are having a loving emotion with that person or with
that object? Why the mother has to have love for the child? It is so – logic? No logic. So
when it comes to emotion or feeling, you cannot apply logic there. Is there anywhere in
the scripture it is said that you should love (laughs) your children? Is there anywhere it is
said? ‘Thou shall love your children, otherwise you die’. Is there anything like that? No.
So, why?
So when it comes to that, there is no real particular reason nor it is stated

somewhere that ‘shall you’, ‘thou shalt’ – not like that. So when it comes to such
experiences, it has only one thing - it is my personal experience. That is all it is.
So when it comes to faith, in anything we always ask for authority or logic. A

person who has faith needs no logic. A logical would hardly have any faith (laughs).
Because for him or for that person faith is a mere make-belief. Whereas a person who has
faith, he doesn’t need any logic for that. Just like the emotion of love doesn’t need any
particular logic. You say, ‘I like this’. Why? ‘I just like it’. Give me a reason. ‘There is
no reason’. Most emotions are apparently not grounded on logic. But yet, we experience
them. Uh? So, one should understand the uniqueness of logic, uniqueness of scripture and
uniqueness of personal experience.
So when Bhagavan says here, that idam shariram : this body, is kshetram : an
abode – a place, where you as an individual is experiencing all the various karmas and
karma phalas. Now how do I prove this? Number one is where it is said in the scriptures,
that we are subject to birth and death and this physical body is therefore a place where we
experience this world and after this, jaatasya hi dhruvo mrityuh druvam janma mritasya
cha… (2:27) : physical body dies but you don’t because you are subject to birth again. So
this is first of all an authority that is given in the scriptures.
Secondly let us look at, the logic. It is seen that people in this world also today,
that there are those who have born with certain abilities and yet other set of people do not
have those abilities, what could be the logic? If you apply the logic that everybody should
have the same kind of faculties and abilities, if some of them have and some of them do
not have, then what could be the reason? Is the Lord create some people intelligent, some
people foolish? Why? Is he playing a dias game with all of us? Ok, some people, let them
be good and some people, let them be foolish. Then He is no better than our local senator
or a counselor, politician – uh, playing according to some bias.
So you cannot say, ‘ok, it is by accident’. Then everything in this world will be
only accident only. Why one is successful? Accident. Another person? Uh, that is also an
accident. It cannot be. So then everything will become unpredictable. Then you cannot
plan anything in your life. Uh? So the logic is that this individual who have certain
abilities have brought those abilities with him or her, from the previous experiences,
previous karmas, previous birth and therefore he is now having an extension of this
earlier experiences and abilities in this life also. This is a logic. Uh? Now it is our own
personal experience also. Therefore, if I have come ‘into’ this physical body, then I am
not this physical body.
The logic applies to that that I have come ‘into’ this physical body to experience.
So the abilities and skills and memories and knowledge, I have brought along with me.
vasanaas, what we call it as here – in this chapter. vasanaas, are not originated in this
physical body, mind, intellect only. This is physical, causal body. This causes my
experiences of this world. Therefore the logic is I am not this physical entity for I have
come with this vasanaas. Therefore, I am not the body. Clear?
Now our own personal experience is that at the end of the day when we quit this
world we quit the body. This body we do not identify. If I am the physical body then I
can never get rid of that identification here. Who is that that identifies with this physical
body and not identifies with this physical body at the time of sleep? Whatever be the
condition of this body at that time, I don’t even care. Just like the children you ask here,
‘do you want this?’ ‘I don’t care’ (laughs). So you don’t care what happens to this
physical body at the time when we are not identifying with this. Hm?
So therefore, our own personal experience proves to us and we have seen this
physical body when it was so young, how it was and as it grew to change – every
moment it is changing – and we will still see and witness our own death of this physical
body. Because our identification that is very strong, we are afraid that we will have to
witness that also. But you will. So therefore, if you are the witness of what is happening
to your body, you are not that. Uh?
yah thrashta na drishya vastu bavati : at the one seer is not the seen, that object that is
been seen.
So therefore, by experience we know that I am the witness of the changes in this

physical body and therefore, physical body I am not. So shruti, yukti and anubooti.
So Bhagavan says therefore, the one who is the witness of this physical body,
mind, etc. is called kshetra-jnaha. That logic is clear? So the ‘spirit’, the witness of this
physical body is independent of the body and the mind, etc. and that is referred as
kshetra-jnah – this is the first step, alright.
Second He says that kshetra-jna – the witness of your, this matter called ‘spirit’ –
is one and that is Me in all living beings. And this is another one uh, how do you prove
this? Again we can, see this way if I start then there is no end to it because it will go on
explaining everywhere, shruti, yukti, anubhooti. That is how we teach the students, so
that there (is) no doubt in their mind.
So shruti also declares that that ekam sat : the one truth alone is there, sarvam
kaluidam brahma : that one Brahman alone has become the many. tasmaatva etasmaat
akaasha sambooda nityaadi (called ‘sruti vaakya’), uh? ekameva antaraatma : one alone
is the self. aham atma gudaakesha sarva-bhutaasaya-sthitah (10:20). Earlier also he has
said in tenth chapter, I am the Self who is sitting in the heart of everybody.
So there are many places where either Sri Krishna has said or the, I mean,
Upanishads have declared. What is that? There is only one self. And in the eleventh
chapter He Himself showed that the entire world is in Me only. So shruti – He proves
that.
Now the logic is that this Atma which is referred as ‘one’, does not at all get
influenced by any of the changes that are taking place here and this body, mind, etc., are
influenced by the time and space, it has naama, rupa, guna, kriyaa, ketu : name, form,
quality, function and cause. All of them have, this body has a gross form and it is
referred as body : or sharira – name, form. Then quality is subject to constant change
because it is born out of elements. That is, its quality. Function is to, uh, to grow as to be
born, grow and then change and decay and die. So those things are there. That is the
function, that is of the function that are taking place. And the cause of this physical body
is matter, gross matter - the mind. Mind is also having a particular form called thought
form, uh or the feelings, and the emotion. The quality is so what do you call, fickle, that
is the quality. Function is to create experiences of feelings. And the cause of this is subtle
matter. So is the case of the intellect also.
So naama, rupa, guna, kriyaa, ketu : anything that has naama, rupa, guna,
kriyaa, ketu is constantly subject to change and subject to disappearance. But this Atman
that is there present, is not having any particular name or a form, or a quality or a
function or a cause. And that which does not have any of these things, cannot be different
from one another. It is one alone, because it has no name and form, and how do you
distinguish them? There is no quality, there is no function, there is no ketu, it is causeless.
Therefore that Atman should be only one for no distinctive features are available, to
distinguish one from another. Like a space is one but uh, room and the hall, and etc these
are all not going to change the space. Space being once homogeneous presence, so is the
consciousness which does not have nama, rupa, guna, kriya, ketu, cannot be one different
from another. Therefore by logic we say, it is one and the same in all of them.
What is the experience? We don’t have the experience (laughs). So it cannot be…
unless you get to the experience only you will know it is right. So faith is : shradda is
where you have proved yourself or you have understood that, convinced that it has a uh,
shruti : authority and it is by logic also it is correct, then your attempt is making that your
experience. That is where the faith works. If you have got shruti vaakya, as well as by
logic also it is to some extent it is proved, the next attempt should be of yours should be
make it your experience. And that is where the faith takes you, shraddha-vaan labathe
jnanam : so faith alone takes you to the next level.
If you do not, ‘oh, shruti said, so what? I don’t believe in what they say.’ ‘Logic –
I think I can find the ploy in that logic also’. Then you will not
move. samshayaatma vinashyati (ch 4, vs 40) : a doubtful person perishes only. na asmin
loke sugamasthi thasya : in this world also he doesn’t enjoy, na parae sugam : in other
world also you will have no experience of joy.
So Bhagavan says, kshetra-jnam caapi maam viddhi : in all kshetras there is only
one kshetra-jna and that is Me. Here ‘Me’ does not mean Krishna, uh? Not a particular
individual. Again don’t attribute that kshetra-jna to any particular name or form or
quality or function. When He says maam, He refers to not vasudeva putra, not devaki
putra. He is referring to Himself as the paramaatma, the Self. That paramaatma I am and
that is what is one in all, kshetra-jnam caapi maam viddhi, sarva-kshetreshu : in all living
being.
This understanding of the difference between kshetra-kshetrajnayoh jnaanam :

the difference between this or the knowledge about the ‘spirit’ and the ‘matter’ is the real
knowledge. That is why in the Upanishad also, dvevidvededivyae : two kinds of
knowledge that are there in this world. paraacha aparaacha, the para and apara, uh? So
aparaa vidya is all those you know, rig veda, yajur veda, saama veda, atharva veda, all
the Vedas, then ashta aangas : hm? various limbs which are there. That are chandas,
nirugdam, jyotisham and then all those things that are constituting or making you
understand the Vedas – phonetics, grammar, logic and grammar, I mean what do you call,
astrology, rituals, chandas – these are all for you to understand Vedas properly. All these
are all considered as lower knowledge. Then what is a higher knowledge? That
knowledge about the Self, that is referred as higher knowledge.
So in that, Upanishad also aatma vidya paraa vidya : knowledge about the Self
alone is called highest knowledge. Here Bhagavan refers that as yat tad jnaanam : that is
called jnaanam; matam mama : that is My understanding.
Now having said that, in this particular chapter He clearly clarifies having said
what is jnaanam, He explains what is agjnaanam also. What is ignorance? He says, any
way any kind of obstacle that come on your way which would not allow you to
experience this aatman is agjnaanam. Any obstacle that comes on your way, wherein you
are not able to experience the Self is agjnaanam. What are the things that will, that are
the obstacle and we overcome that? Obstacles in general are non-co-operation of your
mind (laughs). That is the greatest obstacle.
Therefore, there are certain psychological adjustments that have to be done.

aamaanitvam adambhitvam ahimsaa kshantir-aarjavam. aacharyopasanam shaucham
sthairyam-aatmavinigrahah, indriyaartheshu vairagyam, anahamkaarya vacha : in this
way, He gives twenty different adjustments to be done. They are what, they known as
values of life. Absence of pride, absence of pretension, non-violence, forgiveness,
straight-forwardness, worship of the teacher, purity, steadiness, control of the sense-
organs, understanding clearly what is real and what is unreal, detachment – He goes on
listing twenty values. These values when they are absent, your mind will turn against
you. So those values help you to realize the Self. If you don’t have them, the absence of
them will really create road-blocks on your way. etad jnaanam idi proktam agjnaanam
tata tonyataa – these are called the values that lead you to knowledge. And if you don’t
have them, other than that what you have, like for example, absence of pride – this is a
value. If you don’t have that, that means what? Pride. Absence of pretension; if you don’t
have that, what will you have? Tension (laughs). Non-violence – absence of that is mind
becomes extremely violent and revengeful. So this way, opposite of that will show you,
will put roadblocks on your way.
Having said this, He says that the same terminologies, kshetra and kshetra-jna
also are referred as prakriti and purusha.
In this chapter He says, these two – prakriti and purusha – are co-existing all the
time. They co-exist and they actually have no origin really speaking. prakritim purusham
chaiva vidhi anaadi ubhav abhi – they both are anaadhi. And like, for example, if you
are going in a railway track. Two trails are there, uh? Two rails are there. Have you ever
seen the beginning of the two rails in one point? Uh? Then if you are taking that, what do
you call, your train, then if both of them merge in one place what will happen to that train
(laughs).
So also our human life or any living being has two aspects – prakriti and purusha.
prakriti is called the karthaa and the purusha is the bokthaa. kaarya karana karthrithvae.
kaarya karana karthrithvae : for kaarya or any affect and karana : instrument that brings
about an affect are kaarana. etu prakritir uchchate : the cause for anything to happen or
anything is happening in this world, in you and outside – that is called prakriti.
prakarshena kridatvaat. prtamakaaranam iti. pra-kriti know? The word, pra-kriti means
pratamakaaranam : the ultimate cause for everything.
So who is worshipped as the Mother, prakriti in the Hindu religion. The feminine
aspect of this whole universe is called the prakriti. Not to look down upon at any cost.
Because without that no creation is possible, no variety is possible, no existence of this
whole universe is possible. purusha sukadukataanaam bokhtrutvaeh ruchyate : on the
other hand purusha is that which is the experiencer of it. For example, you know if I am
seeing a flower, the flower is the object and seeing takes places through my eyes.
Without the eyes I cannot see. So for the flower to experience, there is a cause, there is a
kaarana.
What is the kaarnam for that? There are three kaaranaas are there. Number one
kaaranam is, the flower has to exist - for me to experience. Second, the light on the
flower has to be there. Flower may be there, there is no light – then I cannot experience
the flower. Third – my eyes, which is open. So if one of the three is absent, the
experience will be incomplete. Flower is there, light is not there, eyes cannot see. Light is
there, flower is not there – then also I cannot see. Flower and light is there, my eyes are
not there; then I cannot see. So all the three have to co-exist, correct. Then only the
experience of flower is complete. Alright.
As explained in the one of the morning classes, that eyes are there but eyes are
opened sometimes but you don’t see anything. Why? Your attention is somewhere else,
thought is somewhere else. Some people keep their eyes open but never see anything.
Like you keep ears open, I mean yeah, you don’t see, hear anything.
One, one Swami was giving a lecture, not me uh, somebody else (laughter). And
one man, suddenly from the front seat he just started walking and went out. You know, it
is very insulting for the speaker something when it happens. So at the end of the talk, the
wife you know, his wife came to this Swami, just (saying) ‘Guruji, very sorry you know.
So, I know that you got very insulted when suddenly this, my husband walking away.’ So
Guru-ji said, ‘yes, I also felt like that’. ‘No, he has the habit of walking in sleep, you see’
(laughter). This is more insulting it is (laughs).
So eyes are open, our ears are. You may not be listening anything. You may not
be hearing anything. Why? Eyes are alone are not sufficient. That is not the karan, it is no
doubt a karanam for the experience, an instrument for the experience but not the
kaaranam. Beyond this eyes there is this thought. Without the thought or presence of the
mind, experience of the flower will not be possible. Uh? So what is instrument of your
experience for you now? Eyes? No. The thought.
So therefore I need the flower, I need the light, I need my eyes, I need my
thought. Uh? Thought is also necessary. So for thought to exist, you must be alive. Uh?
You must be aware. You must be a living entity. Otherwise thought won’t be arising
there. So finally who is the experiencer of, the entire thing? I, the awareness experience
the object as a thought with the equipment called the eyes because of the light that is
falling on to the object, which I am experiencing. So how many things are necessary here
– awareness, thought, eyes, flower, light. Other than the awareness all others are prakriti.
The ultimate experience is there is only one – awareness. He is referred as purusha.
purushah prakriti stohi mungte : purusha is, the awareness is prakriti staha – staying in
the midst of all this prakriti : matter, prakriti staha purushaha mungte, experiences.
prakriti jaan gunaan : all the qualities of the prakriti. kaaranam : reason is, guna
sanghah : qualities of the prakriti is experiencing.
So therefore purusha is the experiencing individual or being, and prakriti is the,

what is being experienced. And what is the cause of that experience. So prakriti is the
kartha and purusha is the boktha. And that purusha is the same in all of us. But not
knowing this reality, truth that the purusha is the same, identified with our own little
prakriti, ‘I think I am’ – that idea comes, ‘I am this’. Uh? So one father asked his
children, you know, so; he said, ‘in our home that person is nice who listens to the
mother’. So the boy said, ‘I know that it is you (laughs), why are you asking us this
question (laughs)’. (Refers to audience not laughing…) anyway those understand,
understand (audience laughter).
So Bhagavan says, that purusha is Me. purusha prakriti stohi mungte prakriti
jaan gunaan | kaaranam guna sanghosya. Because he identifies with this prakriti, for
experiencing, and identifying with this, he becomes ignorant of the fact that I am same in
all, and identified with this prakriti he thinks, I am only this, this is me. And therefore
one is caught in the whirlpool of samsara, there only. Whatever changes that are
happening to the prakriti, to the body, to the mind and intellect, affects him. And
thereafter he is bound by that very experiences and he thinks I am only this.
Bhagavan Krishna says, coming out of this misunderstanding is the journey which
you have to take it up. As here, in the next verse He says that, recognizing this aatman,
the Self as independent of this prakriti, independent of this matter, is the highest
enlightenment. That enlightenment… why it is called enlightenment? You mean to say
that fellow will have lot of tube lights and then other lights on his body (laughs)?
Enlightenment really means that pure sattva thereafter becomes continuous experience of
that person. Nature of sattva is light. Nature of tamas is darkness. Nature of rajas is
agitation. prakaasham cha pravrttim cha moham eva cha paandava (14:22) – this is how
He explains in fourteenth chapter. prakaasham, jnaanam; jyoti : light – see these are all
similar to each other, you know. prakaash, light or jyoti, jnaanam – because knowledge
is also ‘the light of knowledge’ we say. Why knowledge is always referred as light?
Because it removes the darkness called ignorance. So prakaasham. pravriti : activity, that
is the nature of rajas. moha : delusion, ignorance is nature of tamas.
So when the pure sattva takes place, that is called being, having the light of
knowledge, hm, that is why ‘enlightenment’. Not only you are gaining the light, but you
will also become light. Uh? Why angels fly? Because they take themselves very lightly.
That is what it is (laughs). Take yourself lightly you can fly. So the enlightened
individual, is taking everything very lightly. Not pyjama personality, ‘chaltha hai sub’ –
not like that. Nothing weighs heavy in his heart. Nothing can co him down. Nothing can
burden him, him or her whatever. So the ability to, because that that light is also there –
not only the light of knowledge but lightness of the heart. Transparency in his life.
Nothing to hide, nothing to be selfish about, nothing to be complex about, nothing to
pretend, nothing to be superficial, artificial. That ability to remain so simple without any
complex, without any prejudices or pretensions, without nothing weighing down in his
heart and that is that enlightenment.
So this is next verse is to show that understanding or knowledge is the Supreme

light. We read the verse number thirty-five (refers to his compilation) :
(Lakshmi-ji chants)
jyotisam api taj jyotis
(group repeats)
jyotisam api taj jyotis
tamasah param ucyate
tamasah param ucyate
jnanam jneyam jnana-gamyam

jnanam jneyam jnana-gamyam
hrdi sarvashya vishthitam (13:17) (13:18 checked for correction in “The Holy
hrdi sarvashya vishthitam (13:17) (13:18 checked for correction in “The Holy
He says this light, enlightenment is already hidden in all of us. Lord Buddha has
said, ‘be thy own light’, uh, ‘find your own way’. Meaning, be the light of your own life,
meaning you alone can carry your head light. Don’t carry head weight, uh? Head light.
Head should become weightless, then it become head light – light-headed. So the light on
the head, you alone can illumine your path. However much the teacher or another
external person tries to help you, he is helping you to discover that inner light. tasya
bhaasaa sarvam idam vibhaathi – as we chant – na tatra sooryo bhaathi na chandra
(taarakam) (Mundaka Upanishad) saantam.
yad aditya-gatam tejaha jagad bhasayate 'khilam | yac candramasi yac cagnau
tat tejo viddhi mamakam || (15:12). That light which is now shining in the sun and the
moon, yad aditya-gatam tejaha. yac candramasi yac cagnau : it is there in the fire. That
light which is there present in the sun or the moon or the fire, that light is my light,
Bhagavan Krishna claims. yad aditya-gatam tejaha… yac candramasi yac cagnau tat
tejo viddhi maamakam.
So here He says that knowledge, that enlightenment is jyotisam api tat jyotih : it is
among all lights it is the highest one. tamasah param ucyate : it is beyond darkness. This
light which illumines here is not beyond darkness. Uh? Because when the light is here,
darkness is somewhere still there. This light cannot illumine everything. It can illumine
only a limited portion there. Whereas awareness or the enlightenment is that where even
the darkness called ignorance is also illumined. Like, with these eyes can you see the
light? Yes. With these eyes can you see the darkness? Yes. Can you not see the darkness
with the same eyes? Yes. So that because of which you can see the light as well as
darkness, it is beyond light and darkness.
Similarly this enlightened person is one who is aware of both knowledge and
ignorance. Uh? Ignorance is what I don’t know. It is not that an enlightened person,
enlightened person has nothing that he does not know. But what he is supposed to know
he knows. If you go and ask an enlightened person tell me the terminology which the
astronomers use to, you know to you know refer to certain (thing). He will not know. Or
you ask this strange language that is being spoken in American jungle. He may not know
that. So you, you are an enlightened person, you are supposed to know everything – that
is foolishness. Enlightenment does not mean such a person will thereafter know
everything in this world. It is not like that. What he is supposed to know, he will know.
In our case, we know everything else except what we are supposed to know
(laughs). That is why Bhagavan says, jneyam : what is, what is that you are supposed to
know, that you will know. jnaanam : knowledge, jneyam : what is to be known. We
learnt everything else, except what we are supposed to know. What we do not know? We
do not know who you are and everything else you know. I know this, I know that, I know
this, this, everything, so many things that you say, these are all – ‘I know it’. But who are
you? ‘That’ I don’t know. Uh?
You know, once a person was taking a, a motorcycle full of big bundles of things
on his back, know big huge two sacks and he crossed the border and went into Mexico.
At the border, the police, the checking you know office, they stopped. ‘What are you
carrying?’ He said, ‘cotton’. ‘Cotton?’ - because he was doubtful. ‘Open it. Yu have
papers?’ ‘Yes’ Checked the papers and opened that cotton, that sack, checked everything
because he thought some kind of, some narcotic and this and that maybe he is carrying.
Actually he was coming from Mexico to U.S. Because there it is only available, see? So
some drug he must be carrying. So they opened the whole thing, checked everything. No.
So doubt finished, ‘ok, go’ – went.
Next day he came, with two sacks of things. ‘What are you carrying?’ ‘Cotton.’
‘Open.’ Everything was perfect, only cotton. Took it. Third day again he came. Everyday
they checked up for one full month. Everyday he was carrying cotton. So they checked
up all the papers, everything is pukka and no, no this thing at all. Two, one months, two
months, three months, almost hundred days, everyday he was carrying this. So one day,
that fellow in checking, you know in the border, he got really vexed up over this. He
stopped him, ‘tell me exactly what you are doing. I mean, I find all the papers fine you
know. Why are you carrying cotton all the way from Mexico to the U.S.?’ He said, ‘I will
tell you but you should not you know, catch me. Assure?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘I am carrying new
motorcycle everyday’(laughter). ‘Your attention is on that paper, on this cotton, you
forgot about this motorcycle’ (laughs).
See in our life we are so serious about certain things, we forget the essentials. We
are so busy doing that only. Uh and that customs officer should find out what is he
carrying, then that he is his focus is only on that. Forget what about that the very simple
thing – he is smuggling, everyday. Nobody is paying attention. Uh? paramae gubramani
kobina saktaha – Shankaracharya also (says), nobody interested in this only. Everything
else they are so interested.
So He says, jneyam : whatever is to be known, that you forgot. So jyotisam api taj
jyotis tamasah param ucyate : this is the light of all lights which is beyond darkness.
Meaning darkness is present in His presence. Uh? You know, even an unenlightened
person is potentially possible to enlighten him because he is also awareness. In him
ignorance is present even though awareness is there. For in that person awareness is there
but ignorance is equally present, it is, it is not against him. Whereas in the case of an
enlightened person he is aware that knowledge, neither knowledge nor ignorance can
affect me. Uh? That is the beauty of this awareness beyond darkness.
So here, jyotisam api taj jyotis tamasah param ucyate. There is a Ekasloki, I
might have quoted this before – Shankaracharya wrote the whole thing in a simple form.
kim jyothis tava bhanumaan ahani me. ratrau pradeepadikam.
syaad evam ravi deepa darshana vidhau kim jyothiraakhyahi me.
chakshuh tasya nimeelanaadi samayae kim dheeh dheeyo darshanae…
Now this beautiful verse He says, very simple, that student is asked by the
teacher, ‘what is light for you?’ He said, ‘sun during the night, I mean during the day
time and uh, lamps during the night time’. Ok. kim jyothis tava bhanumaan ahani me.
ratrau pradeepadikam : during the day time it is sun and during the night it is lamps.
syaad evam ravi deepa darshana vidhau kim jyothiraakhyahi me. For seeing the sun or
seeing the lamp, what is the light?
chakshuh : my eyes. Oh. tasya nimeelanaadi samayae ? : when you are closing your eyes,
how do you know that you have closed your eyes? dheeh : buddhi. dheeyo darshanae ? :
for knowing the that thought is there? Then he says, I, me, I the awareness.
So then the teacher says, that that I the awareness is param jyoti : that is the
Supreme Light. In the light of which alone all other things are possible. That is why it is
called, jyotisam api taj jyotis. So that light of awareness is what is referred as,
na tatra sooryo bhaathi na chandra taarakam.
na ima vidhyothi bhaanthi kuto ayam agnih
tameva bhaantam anubhaathi sarvam
tasya bhaasa sarvam idam vibhaathi (Katha Upanishad (II.2.25)).
So in this thirteenth chapter Bhagavan Krishna very clearly says, the only way
you can connect your individual awareness with the total awareness is to know that
awareness that you experience as ‘I’, is none other than the universal consciousness. So
long as you identify yourself only with this limited prakriti, you will never realize that.
So clearly understand the matter and its nature, and know the spirit and its nature – that
immaculate, eternal nature of the spirit and the limited and changing nature of this matter.
And identify constantly with that universal nature of this awareness and constantly see
the perishing nature of this prakriti. This knowledge is called, kshetra-kshaetrajna-
vibhaaga-yoga jnaanam. And clear understanding between the distinction between the
spirit and the matter.
So here in the next verse He says, even though that particular self, that spirit is
living in this physical body but not of the body. As He says here, the verse number thirty-
six (refers to his compilation) :
(Lakshmi-ji chants)
yathaa sarva-gatam saukshmyaad
(group repeats)
yathaa sarva-gatam saukshmyaad
aakaasham nopalipyate
aakaasham nopalipyate
sarvatraavasthito dehe
sarvatraavasthito dehe
tathaatma nopalipyate (13:32) (13:33 checked for correction in “The Holy Geeta :
Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda”)
tathaatma nopalipyate (13:32) (13:33 checked for correction in “The Holy Geeta :
Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda”)
yatha : just as, sarva-gatam : all present – always present, saukshmyaat : being
subtle, akaasham : the space, na upalipyate : is never, tainted, affected by anything that
exist in it.
We try to pollute the space as much as possible. You cannot pollute space, you
can only pollute the air. Hm? Space remains always untouched. What we call it as ozone
layer, etc. ozone layer that is all, another subtle form of the, only the ether. But space,
saukshmyaat. Being subtle, it can never be affected by any one of them – na upalipyate.
In the same way – tatha, atma : the self, sarvatra avasthito dehe : atma is there,
sarvatra : everywhere, dehe avasthitah : in the body itself it exists, but never affected by
that.
So in this physical body itself is the spirit, living spirit yet it is unaffected by what
happens to it, what happens to the body.
sharira stopi kaunteya na karoti nalipyate : another place He says. sharira staha :
staying in this sharira, staying in this physical body. Not affected by what happens to this
body. So our attention in the meditation or in the spiritual practice is to at least in the
beginning stages, with your own mind assert that this me is not this body. Me, when I
refer I mean the self and not that which is now recognized by me as thoughts, ideas,
opinions or physical experiences, senses, sense experiences, that is not me. Begin
everyday with this self-assertion.
You know, in today’s world of psychology they say, begin the way, day with the
self-talk. You’ve heard about that? We also do a self-talk – ‘I don’t know why I have to
go to work today. Such a horrible thing.’ So that kind of a self-talk only we start with,
which brings only a negative I mean, experience to you everyday. Everyday you start, ‘I
don’t why, how long I have to work. Nobody listens to me – at home or at work, nobody
listens to me. I, my existence itself such a miserable existence. Even my body doesn’t
accept me, even body doesn’t listen to me. If I want to get up, it doesn’t get up. Back is
paining, (leg) is paining, head is paining’, and you start with the self-talk in a negative
way.
Please understand the subconscious mind of yours is constantly listening to
whatever you are thinking. Subconscious mind which is a subtle aspect of your
personality, it is not only listening to what others say, it is more, specifically listens to
what you say.
That is why small children, you know they constantly observe others. In their
presence don’t say wrong things. They immediately get it. That is why even a small child,
four year old, five year old child says, ‘I am stressed’. (laughter). How, where, he doesn’t
even know the spelling of ‘stress’. How does he know? It is because he listened from
mother or father or from the teacher. So the, in the small children subconscious mind is
highly active, because their conscious mind is quiet. You know, they don’t have any
disturbances much. Their alertness of the subconscious mind is very high and therefore
they absorb things very, very (fast). That is why, when you ‘Gita Chanting’ and all, even
the most difficult set of people, to even to judge is this four year old, five year old – very
difficult – because they won’t make mistakes. If at all they make mistakes, it is the
teacher. And if the teacher had taught them wrong, all of them will make the same
mistake; because they cannot, because they don’t think. They don’t add new words there
– why? Because, they don’t even have the concept of the even spelling there, or words.
As they listen, that will come out.
So in the subconscious level of the mind, the children are the most, best example
for that. Whatever they observe, they absorb. That is what they reproduce.
So in your personality, in all of us also, our subconscious mind is constantly

listening to more than what others do and say, it is watching what you do and what you
say. So when you are saying negative things about another person, your mind is listening
to it, the subconscious mind is listening; not that you are referring to somebody else, it
thinks that you are referring to yourself. ‘That fellow is the most useless fellow, uh? Most
angry and most dislikeable, everybody should hate him.’ It is actually thinking about
yourself.
So people who talk negative about others, are actually becoming negative about
themselves. Why? The subconscious mind will thereafter interpret that as you. Because
the subconscious mind does not know the difference between you and others. If you are
making fun of others, actually it is thinking that you are making fun of yourself. So such
that aspect of your mind is very actively listening at the early day, early time, of early
periods of your daytime. Because the night when you have gone to sleep, your conscious
mind has already become quiet. Hm? It is not active, it is not thinking about anything or
feeling or agitated about planning about anything.
When you wake up, your subconscious mind wakes up first and it is ready to
listen. That is the reason our Masters have said, morning prayers, morning meditation.
Beginning of the day, begin with such positive statements. Don’t wake up with an alarm,
cursing everybody (laughs). Then the whole day the subconscious mind will be
influenced by that curse. So then when you wake up in the morning, self-talk you should
do. ‘I am the Self, I am the paramaatma, the Self eternally present, deathless, changeless,
ever-present, blissful, joyful nature I am’. (sings) aanandoham aanandoham; that is why
the verses like,
(sings Adi Shankaracharya’s ‘Brahma Jnaanavalee’)
asangoham asangoham asangoham punah punah
sacchidaanandaroopoham… -1
Or,
(sings Adi Shankaracharya’s ‘Aatmashatakam’)
manobudhhi ahankar chittaa ninaaham
nacha shotra jive nacha ghraana
netre nacha vyoma bhoomir na tejo na vaayuh
chidaananda rupah shivoham shivoham -1
This is actually you are telling your own subconscious mind, ‘I am Shivah. I am not the
body or mind or the senses or the any other thing’.
So try to test this for, as I said any practice should at least three weeks you should
do. Try to begin the day with such statements, on your own; not necessarily you should –
sometimes you read a Sanskrit, you don’t even know the meaning. Then that doesn’t help
really speaking. ‘No, subconscious knows Sanskrit’. Don’t have that kind, fantastic
conclusions. Read something which you know, which you understand. Uh?
See, you might have seen in your own life, whatever you have learnt by heart
during the early childhood – for example, I have learnt when I was very small, the
‘Vishnu Sahasranama’ when I was only six or seven or eight years old. Even today, I can
easily repeat them because the subconscious mind has retained those ideas. You will
never forget that – why? Because that is like a, you know a blotting paper, held it. This
subconscious mind is what you invoke through the chanting, etc the ‘Medha Sutkam’
especially says that – retention power – (sings) medha devi jushhamaa naa … duruktaan
brahad vadema vidathe suviiraaha … tvayaa jushhta schitram vindate (‘Medha
Suktam’). All those verses are to tell you that this medha shakti : retention power, which
is potentially there in everyone of us – we don’t invoke it.
So anyway coming back to this point, the early morning talk to yourself in terms
asserting your nature as pure consciousness and none other than that. This constant self-
assertion is not a mere self-hypnotization. ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and such other scriptures are
giving logic behind this, explaining why it is so. Not merely go, therefore you should
think about like this. It is not like that.
So when your intellect has also got the conviction it is true, then when you take it
up as your daily assertion in the beginning of the day, your subconscious mind will retain
that information. Just like when you are studying for an exam, etc. you are inputting that
information and when you write for, when you go and sit for an examination, where does
it come from? You might have studied some months back. Not previous day, like today’s
children you know – we also did that – previous day night, go on, rrrrrr – rato-ing. Then
what will come out is what you have learnt in the previous day. But real learning is where
you have been taught some months back about that particular thing but when you sit for
the exam, when you’re that question is asked that information is retrieved, right? That is
called ‘Random Access Memory’ – RAM, RAM, RAM, RAM (laughter). When you say
RAM, RAM, RAM actually ‘Random Access Memory’ works there. So that information
is gathered immediately.
Similarly when you have done the self-talk, of self-assertion in a situation where
you are, you are influenced by your changes that are happening at this level, where you
negatively due to your habits re-act at that time, because of the self-conscious mind or
subconscious mind being present with the correct information, will put a stop to that –
your negative reaction will suddenly take a halt. Why? Because you know, that this what
is happening is only at the level of the prakriti but I am the Self.
If you have not asserted that in your mind - clearly, that’s what we lack. Most of
us read very many things but there is no assertion here. Conviction is there but not
retained. Even that assurance to this one self, its not there. So we read and forget. As our
Gurudev would say, so many lectures you hear – all cross-ventilation. Goes here and gets
over here (laughs). Nothing remains. In-between there is a vacuum there.
So when you have this everyday self-assertion in beginning of the day, that
subconscious mind retains it and when an occasion when you negatively react habitually
to a situation, this information will come and stop it – that, ‘stop it now. This is not you’.
This is what is called real spiritual practice.
So Bhagavan Krishna says here, even though sarvatraavasthito dehe : even

though present in all self, all bodies, tathaatma nopalipyate : atma is not influenced by it.
Just like the space in which all things are, yet space is unaffected by that.
So this self-assertion is effective only when sattva is predominant in your

personality. When rajas and tamas have already taken over, at that time retaining
knowledge is not possible. This is in the fourteenth (seventeenth) chapter of ‘Bhagavad
Gita’ – shraddaatray-vibhaaga-yoga : three qualities which are there in our personality or
in the world outside also (fourteenth chapter is gunatraya-vibhaaga-yoga and seventeenth
chapter is shraddaatray-vibhaaga-yoga). They have specific qualities, specific functions,
specific nature. The nature of sattva is prakaash : knowledge and sukam : joy. The nature
of rajas is activity and the result of that activity is achievement, no doubt – things that
you have achieved. The nature of tamas is agjnaanam, result is dukham.
So He says, when sattva is predominant alone, you really can knowledge. As He

says in the next verse, verse number thirty-seven (refers to his compilation):
(Lakshmi-ji chants)
sattvat sanjayate jnanam
sattvat sanjayate jnanam
rajaso lobha eva ca |
pramada-mohau tamaso
pramada-mohau tamaso
bhavato 'jnanam eva ca || (14:17)

bhavato 'jnanam eva ca || (14:17)
sattvaat jnaanam sanjaayate : when the quality of sattva is predominant,

knowledge takes place; and when the rajas is predominant greediness – lobha – takes
place. pramaada-mohau tamasah – pramaada means erroneousness, inadvertence and
moha : delusion is caused by, they are caused by tamas; and also, agjnaanam : ignorance.
So pramaada, moha, agjnaanam these are the products of tamas. lobha :

greediness due to pravriti : extrovertedness is the nature of rajas. jnaanam and sukam is
the nature of sattva. Hm? So now you see, as I said sattva is decided by the quality of
thoughts and quantity of it. The quality of thoughts are pure and quantity of thoughts are
relatively less then knowledge is easy to gain. Is it not that even when you want to learn
something of the world also you must pay attention? So in the worldly knowledge what
you, what is expected of you is, pay attention. When the teaching is going on, when you
are learning a skill or professional knowledge, what they want you to have is
concentration, attention – all those things.
But in the Vedanta, knowledge is not just gained by attention but purity. If the
purity is absent attention is there, it will become intellectual; and we will learn Vedanta
knowledge also like any other knowledge. So I know science, I know this, I know this, I
don’t know, I know Vedanta also (laughs). It becomes one among the various other
things you know. But Vedanta jnaanam is not just a knowledge of the intellect, as
Shankaracharya very beautifully puts in ‘Dhanyaashhttakamm’ :
tajgyaanam prashamakaram yadindriyaanaam tajgyeyam yadupanishhatsu

nishchitaartham |
te dhanyaa bhuvi paramaarthanishchitehaah sheshhaastu bhramanilaye
paribhramantah || (..1)
That is knowledge which quiet-ens your senses. If knowledge of the Vedanta you
have got yet the senses are not quiet, your
knowledge is empty. So sattva when it is predominant, how do you know when your
sattva is prominent, predominant? saattvic
quality is high – how do you know? Senses are quiet. How do you know, rajas is high?
Senses are extremely agitated, seeking an
experience – eyes, ears, nose, tongue and all the karmayendriyaas are extrovertedly
running outside and it is said in
‘Vivekachoodaamani’ also, I might have quoted this :
sabdhaathibhi panchapireva pancha panchathvamaabu: swagunena baththaah
kuranga – maathanga – pathanga – meena – brungaa: nara: panchapiranjitha kim
In ‘Vivekachoodaamani’ he says that in the case of animals one sense organs

they experience – intensely - that itself brings about death. Uh? kuranga : a deer
attracted by sound – because of that he gets caught by a hunter. maathanga : elephant,
touch is its weakness – because it is wanting to experience the touch of the female
elephant it runs, brrr..k… it falls into the pit (laughs)… caught. pathanga : the sense of
light, a, what do you call? Firefly. Not firefly, what is it called? (audience respond,
‘moth’) Moth. (Hindi) iska mouth vahanpahae. So moth, goes to the light looking for the
experience of the light… gone, dead. meena : fish – tongue, taste, there it finds a death.
Then, brungaa : a bee – smell. It goes towards the flower, flower closes… dies inside.
kuranga – maathanga – pathanga – meena – brungaa : so these five little

examples Bhagavan Shankaracharya gives.
panchatvamaahupuhu sagunena baddaha – sagunena : by their own qualities or
attractions, baddaha : bound, panchatvam : death, aapuhu : they reach, reach their death
because bound by their own attractions.
Each one of them attracted by only one. Shankaracharya says, naraha panchabi
anchita kim : this human being is attracted by all the five, his death is in every corner.
What to talk of it?
So rajas is pravritti. Sense organs are extremely active and to a larger extent your
food determines that (laughs). Anyway that is a separate topic he takes it up, about how
your food can cause certain qualities; or when you have certain qualities what kind of
food that you like. Separately he deals with that. tamas on the other hand, indriyaas are
tired. Not tired out of uh, you know, not wanting; it wants to experience it, but it has to
come on their own way; I am not going to go for it.
See in the case of the sattvic person, sense organs are quiet, not tired; mind is
quiet, not tired. Uh? He is extremely alert, but not agitated. Whereas in the case of
tamasic person, tired. Mind is tired and many people think that when the mind is tired, ‘I
am sattvic’, (laughs) because they look alike you know – a quietly meditating yogi and a
person who is tired of the world, because of which he is quiet. A sleeping person and
meditating person, they may look as alike. But there is vast difference between these two
people. The sense organs are quiet, not tired in the case of sattvic person. In the case of
tamasic, that person is tired; therefore no knowledge can take place there.
Whereas in the case of rajas, we may think ‘oh rajasic person, everything active,
so he must be full of uh, life’. Life alright but for what purpose? (laughs) For fleeting
experiences and because they are fleeting and transparent, he gets agitated also. He gets
success but it goes away. He gets money the house goes away. The power, that also goes
away. So he is constantly striving to retain what cannot be retained. What cannot be
permanent, he seeks permanence in that.
So here Bhagavan Krishna says, sattvaat sanjaayate jnaanam : by sattva
knowledge is gained. Because he maintains not only the concentration due to quality
change, qualitative change in his mind, thoughts but quantitative change also in his mind.
The number of thoughts are reduced and the thoughts that are there also are of good
quality. Whereas in the case of rajasic person quantity is also high, quality is polluted
and therefore, extroverted-ness.
In the case of tamasic person, quantity of thoughts are low, tired. But quality, it is
not changed, (laughs) quality is impure only. Even little thoughts he has, it is all so
vulgar (laughs) Or tired, loathsome – laziness. Uh? ‘What to say? Let us go to home.
Swamiji, you are able to talk because whole day you took rest (laughter). But we have
worked whole day – tired’. tamas. Night has come, the darkness has come the body also
becomes tired.
See we think, ‘because it is night, I have to be, I must be tired’. This is our own
software mechanism, is it not? ‘Oh it is night, I must be tired’. (laughs) Really speaking,
the night time need not really make you tired. It is not so. We program it ourselves
constantly that way. Our own individual programming is like that. Therefore, many times
when we sleep it is because we think we are tired. ‘I am tired’. Who says? ‘Because I
worked hard’. Doesn’t matter (laughs). That doesn’t matter; because you say, ‘I am, I
worked whole day, therefore I am tired.’
Our Gurudev used to say, that if you go to village you see, this, these, these
farmers, etc – those who cultivate the land, work whole day in the, in the hot sun – when
they work the whole day, at the end of the day they go home, take a fresh bath, etc., and
then come out, enjoy and then celebrate in the evening. How is that that those people who
work so hard in their, during the day, yet in the evening they are so live? And you? Uh?
Morning you wake up with the bed coffee. Sometime you don’t even take bath.
Then get into the car – never walk. Outside the car, immediately lift – go up. After the lift
you sit in the chair. Only limb that moves is your hand (laughs) - in the paper, for the
food, etc. Then again get out, sit in the car. ‘Tired.’ What did you do to become tired? It
is mostly the tiredness that comes out of unwanted thinking – unnecessary thoughts that
are going on in your mind. If only you can avoid that, the number of hours one has to
really take rest physically is much reduced. Added to that is the food and our habits.
Bhagavan Krishna says, sattva can be invoked by intelligent living. That is the
chapter all about, fourteenth, fourteenth chapter. Take certain, make certain adjustments
in your daily life where you don’t, first of all don’t tell yourself, ‘I am tired.’ Don’t start
the day, ‘I am tired, I should not, I don’t know why I should go to work.’ Uh? About that
we will see tomorrow. Already time. I am not that I am tired (laughter).

End of Session #4
SESSION #5
Swamiji:
OM
O…M…
O…M…

(Swamiji chants)
sattvat sanjaayate jnaanam
sattvat sanjaayate jnaanam

pramaada-mohau tamasah
pramaada-mohau tamasah
bhavato 'jnaanam eva ca || (Gita 14:17)

bhavato 'jnaanam eva ca || (Gita 14:17)
Talks
The four qualities which are there … four or three? (reponse ‘three’, laughter).
The three qualities of our personalities, they are sattva, rajas and tamas; and sattva is,
when predominant gives us knowledge – sattvaat sanjaayate jnaanam. rajaso lobha eva
ca : rajas gives us lobha : greed; and tamas gives pramaada : erroneousness, moha :
delusion and agjnaanam : ignorance. Because tamas is giving more things, shall we go
for that? sattva gives only one result, rajas gives also one result but tamas gives THREE
results. That does not mean one should go for tamas.
As I said yesterday, sattva and tamas they look alike. Extemes look alike, is it
not? Most foolish person and most intelligent person they look alike. Uh? Both, one will
look eccentric, another will look totally gone mad. So here, sattva is of the nature of
guru, nature of purity and therefore a person who has complete sattva – purna sattva – is
calm and quiet. But in the case of a person who is total tamas also, he also look calm and
quiet. Just like a person who is meditating is also doing nothing, simply sitting, uh, and a
person who is lazy-bum, good-for-nothing is also doing nothing. Can we consider then
both of them as same?
It is said that in one particular place, one small village, a thief uh, he was in a, in
the day time he was doing some dacoit-ing. He was looting away things from
somebody’s house, jumped out and the people saw this person. So they started chasing.
He ran and ran, ran into the forest nearby. And he, the people were very forcefully they
were coming, very fast. So he ran and ran, but he found out that he cannot run anymore,
he will be caught. And as he ran suddenly he found a small hut there. So he went and
went inside. And he saw there was a, a dress of a saadhu, you know the kaavi in this kind
of colored dress and other things you know which swamin or sannyansi uses. So
immediately what he did, he put on that. And took some ashes and put it on his forehead
and rudraaksha maala. And then he sat on that you know, a beautiful tiger skin was
there, he sat on that, closed his eyes. And took his japa maala, he didn’t know what to
say but something he was doing.
So the people were chasing, they came running looking for… then they opened
the hut. And saw this one person sitting there, in a dim light, uh. So immediately they
prostrated to him and said, ‘hey Maharaj we are searching for a thief who was running in
this direction. Did you see him?’ So that person now opened his eyes, ‘what, don’t ask
me’. So then they prostrated to him and they went away.
So after sometime, others also who came, everyday they used to come, they came,
offered the fruits, flowers and all those things, so he was sitting there, saying, ‘See, I do
not know what to do now. Definitely the other fellow will definitely come, he might have
gone for taking a bath or something’ (laughs), ‘I will be caught’. But his mind suddenly
changed. You know, I have just put on the form of a saadhu, that itself has become so
reverable, respectable. How would it be if I become a saadhu, become a saint only? That
transformation took place just by wearing the dress and making himself appear like a
saadhu. I am not the one uh, don’t think like that (laughter).
So, that changed his mind. Even though by nature he was rajasic or tamasic,
when he came into the environment where the saattvic qualities are there, such a mind
underwent a great transformation. Eventually he became a saadhu or whatever, we do not
know.
So sattva may appear to be actionless, but it brings about great transformation

within you. Whereas tamas is that, which is also actionless but that does not lead you to
anything. It makes you more and more indulging, lazy, erroneous, delusive, ignorant –
you know. So it says sattvaat sanjaayate jnaanam : by association with sattva – good
qualities, divine qualities, one surely gains the higher knowledge. So the purity is the
nature of sattva, whereas laziness and erroneousness, delusion and ignorance is the nature
of tamas. And in our life, we go through in everyday life, we go through these three
stages constantly.
As I said yesterday, at the beginning of the day, your mind is calm and quiet and
it is said that beginning of the day is where the sattva is predominantly there. So this
beginning of the day when you wake up, when the mind is quiet you must engage in
learning and meditating, reflecting.
And during the other part of the day, when all people are active, everybody woken
up, the world has already started actively doing things, and birds are out there searching
for their prey, and all the animals are there working their things, and human beings are
engaging very activities, the entire atmosphere becomes vibrant and action-orientied. So
at that to even to keep your mind quiet will be difficult. Not only your rajas has already
increased but also the external world has started that vibration.
Towards the end of the day, not only your physical body and mind are tired, the
entire world calms down into laziness, then tamas. So sattva, rajas and tamas, these
qualities are there in our personality. And a person consciously able to retain his sattva is
able to retain his knowledge too. Else what you study or what you understand or what
you reflect upon in the early morning will not stay long for you in the same day. And it
will disappear because your rajasic nature of your personality will take over them. And
activity and then external agitations, restlessness, everything starts and whatever you
have thought of in the early morning and reflected will slowly fade away. So the attempt
is to retain the sattva in us as long as possible.
sattvaat sanjaayate jnaanam rajaso lobha eva ca : rajas on the other hand is
constantly pushing us to work, to achieve, to accomplish – nothing wrong. But that has
the danger of making you totally extrovert, seeking only external joy and happiness. Not
allowing you to find already the existing inner contentment and bliss. tamas on the other
hand will make you go into wrong ways to enjoy that experience, making you even
become more violent and criminal. So that is why in all religions and all cultures we see,
the negative things are always shown in the dark – negative, black, evil and all those
things. Dark wader, is it not? Dark forces – why do we then we say that kind? It is
because they are, tend to be ignorant – so that is why it is.
So now handling our own mind, in various situations… Lot of stuffiness here.
Can you open some of windows probably?
Feel stuffy. If you open that, some people are making noise there… So what we see is in
our life, even when we are, when we start observing our own mind, we do see that there
are so many interruptions that comes in our own mind. For example, we are uh,
constantly interrupted by certain worries, certain insecurities, certain anxieties in our
daily life. Those are all the intrusions of rajas. Even as you are sitting and studying or
doing some work, there will be a parallel-y certain things going on in your mind. Just like
when you are writing in your computer or working on your computer, some pop ups will
come – ‘dtidting… New video, do you want to see?’, ‘dtidting… virus update, do you
want to update now or later?’, ‘dtidting… Latest news, shooting in Illinois Campus’ –
something or the other keeps popping up in your computer screen, is it not? In the same
way, in our mind also there are constant interruptions. And when such an interruption
comes, when we do not know how to handle it we immediately what we will, we are
doing we just stop that and we start thinking about that.
Does it not happen when you are doing something suddenly the phone call
comes? Somebody calls you. So then you take the phone, and then gone, what you are
working is gone. Then chatting will start, go on chatting, chatting, chatting. One girl used
to constantly chat and her father used to get very annoyed. And he used to tell her, ‘what
are you talking hours together? Next time I see you talking so much and I will be a
different person’.
So when they were eating dinner, suddenly the phone ran and she picked up, ‘I
told you’. But anyway, ‘no, no, this is very important. I have to take it’. And she came
back within half hour. So he was very happy, now at least she is listening. ‘So, now it is
good you stopped talking’. ‘Yes, that was wrong number’ (laughter). Wrong number also
she is capable of speaking for half an hour.
So if we are doing something, our mind will pop up some unwanted thoughts.
Uh? These kind of preoccupations, most of the time it is worry about something which
we are concerned, something which you are not able to do. Worry is what is known as
directionless thinking. Direction-ful thinking is called planning or contemplation.
Directionless thinking is called worry. So when we thus get some kind of such thoughts,
how do we handle it – what would a saattvic person would do, what a rajasic person
would do and what a tamasic person would do? You know, this way we can analyze
every situation in life in three different ways. That is the chapter called, shradaa…
shradaatraya vibhaaga yoga or gunatraya-vibhaaga yoga – sorry – gunatraya-vibhaaga
yoga. That is the three qualities, how do you distinctly see their propensities in your
personality.
For example this one, when a unnecessary thought of worry comes into your
mind, how do a saattvic person will handle it, how a rajasic person will handle that and a
tamasic person will handle that. Let us take the tamasic one first, because that is what we
are familiar with. A tamasic person will sit and start… stop everything else. And he will
not productively think how to solve that problem instead he will start cursing himself –
‘all problems come to me only. Why everything comes to me and not to my neighbor?’
And he will definitely will become depressed, dejected and will not look for a solution,
instead will start looking down upon himself, he will have a some, what do you call…
inferiority complex and look for a, only a medicine or a drug for that help to get him out
of it. That is why we see people who have such psychological problems will easily get
into certain drugs and liquor and this and all other external ingredients to stop oneself
worrying about it and becomes addicted to that. That is a tamasic route, which I caution
you, don’t take that route at all.
The second category is the rajasic person. rajasic person will not probably would
go into such kind of a you know, addiction or such kind of thing. But will start becoming
more stressed because you know, he doesn’t find any help uh, for solving that problem.
So he will become on the other hand, very agitated and angry about himself as well as he
will become upset and angry about everybody else around. Because he can’t solve the
problem, so he becomes irritated and he starts becoming stressed and he will start
shouting at others, and such is what we find in most people – when they can’t solve the
problem, others are victimized.
How does a saattvic person handle the situation? This is a very interesting thing,
you must all try. Whenever you get any such thoughts or worry, just like you have coffee
break, lunch break, breakfast break you should have is called ‘worry break’. Worry break
– that is, at the end of everyday you must keep half hour only for worrying. Hm? So let
us say after you come back from your work, or anything that you do then you must have
your uh, relax, take a shower, etc. and then spend half an hour just exclusively worrying.
I am not joking. So if anybody comes and talks to you don’t… ‘don’t disturb me. I am
worrying’. So I am telling you it will work.
So whenever during the day anything comes to your mind as worry you should
postpone that for that particular time. If you want, keep a diary on, with you and say,
6.15… ‘I should worry about my holiday plan’. 6.35, ‘my son who is not studying
properly’. Worry about that. 6.45, ‘my stomach ache’ – it is time to worry about. I am
telling you I am not joking.
When you, the first any thing that happens when you allot a time to worry, that
coming, the thought that comes up in while you are working is given a ventilation – a
place to worry about, a time to worry about. If not, you will stop doing what you are
doing because that will come up. That will take away your attention. And what you are
doing will lose its momentum and you will stop that also.
So second thing that happens is, certain things you may not even know that you
have to worry about, uh, that you will remember – ‘I have to worry about that’. Certain
things which are so temporary if you postpone they will disappear. ‘Why they are making
unnecessary noise there?’ So there that that comes, it doesn’t matter; let us do what we
are doing. So when you say that, ok that I will take it later… so small, little worries,
which need not have to be given too much attention you will not give attention because
then that is not necessary. Do you understand?
So if you are given separate time to worry, so after 6.30 will you worry about that
sound that is coming right now? You will not. So some temporary things that you
unnecessarily spend time and worry about, you would just reject them and certain things
which you should worry about, which you will have not pay attention, you will come to
realize that these are there which I have to take care. So you will spend separate time for
that. And third important thing is you will not be disturbed about what you are doing
right now. Hm?
So this how a saattvic person will handle this worry. Is it easy? Or difficult? Try.
Don’t just nod your head but you should try. I told about two many other, two other
things also. Between 8 in the morning, 8 to 10 what you should do? Between 8 and 10?
(audience respond: krishnaarpana mastu). Ok, sarvam krishnaarpana mastu. Don’t tell
your husband or wife, because that is the time they will definitely irritate you. Because
they want to test, whether you are saying krishnaarpana mastu or not. So anything that
happens between 8 and 10 in the morning, you are not going to react. To the Lord I
submit – hm?
Then another thing which I told you yesterday, which is about self-talk, self-
suggestion or self-assertion, beginning of the day you should assert your divine nature.
Begin the day with that kind of a, self-assertion and see how the day unfolds itself. And
today I have given you this important thing, worry breaks. If you don’t give worry break
you will break up because of the worry. Separate time you keep – only for that –
whichever time is convenient. Again I am feeling very stuffy. It doesn’t matter, so that
worry is gone (laughs). After sometime it will come back again.
So, when a person is capable of keeping his mind calm because of such self-
management, clear simple management such a mind is available for knowledge to take
place. That is why He says, sattvaat sanjaayate jnaanam : if the mind is not pure and not
available, no knowledge will take place.
Secondly, unlike action which has results later, knowledge has results
immediately. Knowledge gives immediate results whereas action gives result only after
the completion of that action. Whereas knowledge as even as you grow in that
understanding, simultaneously your growth takes place.
Just like in your yard or garden, when you start watering the plant and expose it to
the sunlight, the growth is taking place so gradually you will not even notice it but it is
growing. Is it not? You may not even notice but it is continuously, slowly, very minute
measurement it is growing slowly. In the same way knowledge, is that which grows…
even before you notice it, it has already taken root in your personality. That is the
greatness of this knowledge.
So saattvic person is a constantly growing individual. Whereas rajasic individual,

he is more into pravritti. And therefore his aim of life or his occupation of life is only
into action. So he want to achieve things by doing something. Whereas tamas, neither
knowledge nor action. Such a person wants everything to happen to him without he
putting any effort. So these are the nature of sattva, rajas and tamas.
In the context of workplace what we see that a saattvic person is one who takes
the opportunities to not only grows himself, oneself but also he allows others to grow
along with him. A rajasic person on the other hand makes sure that he alone grows,
others are pushed down. Whereas a tamasic person never even looks at the opportunities.
So this way in all aspect of our personality, we can clearly see the impact of a saattvic
person or saattvic quality, rajasic quality and tamasic qualities. Once we understand the
propensities of our gunaas – qualities – we can accordingly choose.
This choice is what is referred as true knowledge. A person of knowledge has

more choices and person of ignorance has no choices. So he will have to act and behave
like animal instinctively, reacting to situation. Whereas a person who thinks carefully, he
looks at the choices and he chooses his responses. Hm? That is why it is said, if you want
to be a winner you should become a ‘star’. Is it not? You should become a winner, want
to become a winner? Then you should be a ‘star’. What is ‘star’? Stop, Think And
Respond. It is called ‘star’ – S-T-A-R. Stop, Think And don’t react, Respond. So that is
why sattva, it is to be jnaanam.
So the fourteenth chapter if you read carefully, there are so many such
suggestions are given for us to implement in our life. Now following that the detailed
account of the fourteenth chapter, on various qualities Lord says in the thirty-eight verse
(refers to his compilation), we read here:
(Lakshmi-ji chants)
mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
(group repeats)
mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate |
bhakti-yogena sevate |
sa gunaan samatityaitaan
sa gunaan samatityaitaan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate || (Gita 14:26)

brahma-bhuyaya kalpate || (Gita 14:26)
In every profession you see there are trainees, there are professionals and there are
uh, the higher category of people, who are on a experts. Is it not? You start to begin your
journey in any profession as a trainee. You are learning the skills and later on you are
implementing the skills, to the best of your ability. And third level is you master it. You
cannot go wrong at all.
So we often see that in any professional world, the people who are in their, under
training they uh, they are only looking at the theory aspect of it to start with. If you are
studying Engineering or Medicine or uh, Law, for the first few years it is only theory. Go
on remembering so many theories, so many concepts, so many sections and so many
things. Then comes the state where you are, start implementing it. And trying to find out
yourself, is it true or wrong, true or false, right or wrong. So that is a stage of becoming a
real professional, where you gain from your own personal experience. Then comes a
stage of being a master.
In the Vedanta also, in the philosophy also we see most of us are under training
only still. We are trying to understand the concepts and theories clearly before we even
try to implement them. And what you implement is what is called saadhanaa where you
are testing your knowledge, testing how much you have understood. And this saadhanaa
takes a long period of time because you are doing certain things, it is not coming alright
and again do it and change the certain parameters and again implement it. And so many
different ways you try to prove it to yourself.
But here – Lord Krishna says – finally a person who achieves mastery over his
own mind is such a person, in the case of this spiritual path as we are discussing in the
fourteenth chapter that these three qualities that are there – satvaa, rajas and tamas – how
they work in us, what are their propensities, what are their characteristics, how to
overcome this tamasic quality, laziness with action and rajas, and rajas with satvaa,
these three constantly one tries to overcome, I mean to understand… an increase of
satvaa, etc. But one who has become a master, he is not at all affected by any of these
three qualities.
At the present moment, yeah, we are under training and we trying to understand
each one of these qualities. But as He says, he who has become a master, he is unaffected
by the qualities of the mind. So at this present moment don’t try that. It is only shown this
is the nature of the master; his mind is never being a, never is an obstacle to him. For
example, we are presently so much identified with thoughts that happens in our mind, if
there is a good thought we enjoy it, if it is a bad thought we suffer it, if it is a happy
thought we have pleasure about it, if it is an angry or upset or dis-pleasurable, unhappy
thought then we are so down. Hm?
Our personality is therefore constantly influenced by the thought. Now Vedanta

says, so long as you think the thoughts are true, you cannot help but go by the, dance
according to the quality of your thoughts, right? Now the master is one who knows
thoughts are unclear. Then will you be affected by that at all? But to, to come to that
stage, of knowing that thoughts are not real, it is not just a theory. It is not that today,
tomorrow onwards from eight to ten, I am not going to give reality to my thoughts. That
is also not possible because it is not a practice that you do for an hour or two. It should
become a transformation. It should become the way you start looking at things. Hm?
So that means it is not that for one hour I give reality to thoughts and the next two
hours I won’t give reality to that. It is not going to be that way. It is once for all you grow
out of it. That is called mastery. That is why here he says, sa gunaan samatitya itaan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate, samyak adeetya : he crosses over the qualities of mind.
samatitaan… samatitya itaan gunaan : having crossed over all these qualities, brahma-
bhuyaya kalpate : he becomes ready to become a enlightened one. How does he do that?
yah avyabhicarena bhakti-yogena mam sevate : once he starts recognizing the Lord’s
presence in him, as here it is indicated as om, the Lord’s presence in me is unaffected by
the thoughts that are going on in my mind or other experiences which I have in my body
and intellect. All these things are not at all going to influence that presence of the Lord in
me and I am that only. I am unaffected by what happens here.
In what we discussed so far – sattva, rajas and tamas – we are doing some
internal adjustments. Trying to overcome tamas with rajas, trying to overcome rajas with
sattva, these are all internal adjustments we are trying to do to make our self efficient and
happy. But a master is one who has recognized that all qualities, all thoughts that are
there in my mind, all qualities and functions that are happening in my body, all these are
all not true. To recognize the unreal nature of the thoughts and all other implications, one
has to grow up. This growing up is what is referred as true devotion to God.
So maam ca avyabhicarena bhaktya sevate. maam : me, avyabhicarena bhaktya :

unsullied, uncontaminated, with devotion he who worships such a person, etaan gunaan
sameettya : crossing over these qualities, brahma-bhuyaya kalpate : he becomes fit for
realization. Hm?
Like when a person is, let us say a cook – hm? When a cook – ‘Ratatouille’? You
have seen that movie. Anybody can cook, right? So when you go and start your you
know, training as a cook you may probably able to taste one dish or two dish and you can
make one dish or two dish very well. But an excellent cook is one who can taste all the
thing and know exactly what is wrong with each one of them. He can taste something
which is spicy, he can taste something which is salty, he can taste something which is
sweet, he can taste something which is um, which is some other flavor. Why? Because
his mastery is not on specific dishes, his mastery on the taste itself. He can understand
what is wrong with each one of them. Is it not, in the movie also you might have seen
that.
So a person who has become a master is not an expert on in one or two things. He
is master of all of them. Similarly a person who has become a master of his mind, in all
the conditions – whether the saattvic thoughts that are happening in his mind, which is in
the form of quietude, meditation, prayer, etc. Or he is in the rajasic nature where he is
engaging in this world, actively or in the tamasic nature of relaxing and resting, in all
these conditions his mind is, or his attention is constantly on this. Therefore in all these
activities he is able to maintain his equilibrium. In all different qualities of the people also
he is able to remain aloof. He is neither only a saattvic individual nor the rajasic.
See otherwise you see great masters, great saints you don’t think that they lived
only with the, in the surrounding of a good people. Do you think so? We can see in the
case of Krishna or Christ or so many other Masters, we always see them they are
surrounded by crooks. But yet they are not influenced. If you and I go there and live in
the midst of the crooks we are easily would be influenced by them. Is it not? How is that
they in the midst of such people, instead of they, he being influenced by them he gives a
positive influence to them? How is that? That means he doesn’t give reality to the wrong
or good thoughts that happens in his mind. He remains aloof, indifferent. Therefore the
external influences that happens to him, he will not be affected by that.
Whereas you and I who are under training or trying to implement this, if we are
surrounded by people who have negative influence upon us, we become totally
victimized by them. Because not only their thoughts will influence us, our own thoughts
also become an enemy to us.
So there are stages of growth, that’s on the beginning stages we understand the
concepts and theories, the second stage where we are trying to adopt those ideas in our
life, and the third level is one can become a master – where he is unaffected by the
qualities of the mind. That is why He says, itaan gunaan samatitya brahma-bhuyaya
kalpate yah avyabhicharena bhaktya maam sevate : he who serves Me with great
devotion.
So in the fifteenth chapter, next chapter Lord Krishna says people are looking for
Me all over the place except the place where I am. It is often seen that the Lord, who is
sitting in our own heart instead of looking at him there, we go to mass and churches and
temples and gurudwars and so many other places. Except where He is we are searching
for Him everywhere. And He only laughs. That is why when we go to temple, He is
laughing – why have you come here, I am already there in your heart; why are you not
looking at there?
So we constantly look for him everywhere and we fail to see Him in our own life.
So in this verse we see, in the next verse – verse number thirty-nine (refers to his
compilation) :
(Lakshmiji chants)
sarvasya caaham hrdi sannivistah
(group repeats)
sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah
mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca

mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah
vedaanta-krd veda-vid eva caham (Gita 15:15)

vedaanta-krd veda-vid eva caham (Gita 15:15)
It is often seen that in our own life when we love someone – today is Valentine’s
day (laughter) – the symbol is heart, is it not? Is it not symbol is heart? What is heart got
to do with love? It is a symbol. ‘Oh, you are in my heart’ – heart – I don’t know which
side it is. (audience respond : yeah, this side). This side only, uh? Some people are born
with this side. So if you say ‘heart’, the heart is a place we feel love and heart is a place
we feel hurt also.
In Sanskrit the word, hridayam has a specific meaning. hrid means ‘truth’, ayam
means ‘this’. hrid-ayam becomes hridayam. This ‘truth’, which is here referred as OM,
that Lord is the Truth, the Absolute and where is it? ayam : here. It is the experience of
all Masters that finally one will realize the presence of the Lord only in the heart with
one’s own self. No Master worth the name has ever said the Lord is in his tomb. Uh?
Even Ramakrishna Paramahams’, a great master who was worshipping Kali as in

a particular form in Dakshineshwar temple for a long period of time he was so attached to
that particular form of God, who is you know, none other than the Kali and he used to
worship as ‘mother, mother, mother’ – he used to cry and growl and you know, he used
to weep for her Divine Vision. But once he said, he said ‘if you don’t appear in front of
me, I will cut myself into pieces’. And he took the sword in his hand, and stood there in
front of that form of Kali, ‘I am going to cut myself’ and he raised his uh, this what do
you call kaluvaar – the sword. And as he was about to cut he became unconscious. For
long period of time, he never woke up. And when he woke up he became a totally
transformed person.
What he saw as a vision – it is later he recounts – that I saw the Goddess whom I
wanted to show the vision is already seen in my own heart. Thereafter he understood that
the form in front of me is only a representation of what is already in my heart.
Great masters have realized that even though an external form is used for worship,
it is only a symbolic representation of what is already there. sarvasya caaham hrdi
sannivistah : in all hearts – sarvasya, hridi sannivishtah : I am present in the heart of
everyone. So in the Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi’s statement, hristhale manas svastatha
kriya bhakti yoga bodaaschanischitam. hristhale : in the heart space, manas svastatha :
putting your mind there is the object of bhakti, yoga, bodha, kriya. Devotion – bhakti,
bodha : that is knowledge, kriya : the action and dhyaanam : meditation. All these, bhakti
yoga bodaaschanischitah – dhyaana, bhakti, yoga, kriya – so all these are all meant for
making your mind go to its original space called thought.
And in later portion Bhagavan Krishna Himself says, eshwara sarva bhutaanaam
hrityeshaya Arjuna thrishtathi : the Lord is sitting in the heart of all living beings.
hridaya kamala madhye kevalam brahma maatram ahamiham iti saakshaat atmaa
rupena vaati : again Ramana Maharishi says in ‘Satdarshan, ‘Lord is sitting in the heart
of everyone in the form of I, I, I, I awareness’. So Masters have proved that it is… when
you are referring to yourself how do I, how do you say? ‘Who are you?’, when I ask you.
‘Me?’ Where are you touching? ‘Me? You are asking me?’ You don’t refer to yourself as
me, or me or something. ‘Me?’ So you are referring to yourself as the heart. So the heart
is not the physical pumping heart. That is what many people think. It is not. If the
physical pumping heart is the place where the Lord stays, sits, then all the heart surgeons
would have realized God (laughter). Open the heart, ‘Oh my God! See who is sitting
here, inside’. (laughs) He is sitting there, the Lord is sitting inside the heart waiting for
everybody. It is not the pumping heart. But the spiritual heart is the core of your being.
The heart which is referred is not a particular physical space. Don’t you say, ‘oh in that
business I don’t have a heart in that business.’ ‘Oh, did you kept the heart there?’
I read a beautiful statement today, Lord has given two eyes and one vision.
Correct? He has given two ears but one sound only you hear. He has given two nostrils
and one smell only you, you get – in this one spice and this one is something else. Do you
like that one? But why he didn’t give two hearts? The reason is He has given you one
heart and the other heart He has kept it in somebody else’s place. You have to search for
it. Once you search that then the Lord will be seen. So the Lord if you are, it may be ‘oh,
my beloved my girlfriend’. That also is possible. But you can find the Lord Himself as
the other heart and bringing him here, bringing and putting Him back in His original
space. So heart is not the physical heart, the heart is the spiritual heart – the core of your
being. What is the core of my being? Where all thoughts merge into that.
Now you all know, that during the day when, during the time when I am awake
and then transacting in the world, talking to people, doing things, my mind is active, my
mind is engaged, my mind is full of thoughts. But as I go to sleep, during the time when I
am traveling towards my own sleep, the mind slowly loses its you know, active nature
and slowly, slowly, slowly stops thinking and then, I go to sleep. It is said in the ‘Yoga
Saashtra’ that the mind actually travels, literally travels from the brain to the physical
heart. It is said that for the awareness, the consciousness, the self your brain is the office
and heart is the home.
Some people stay in the office only – never come home. But usually the self,
awareness is functioning through the brain and taking rest in the heart. So when you are
sleeping it (is) coming back home. And once it comes back home the heart will rest.
Early morning again goes to office. Start vouchering through the pain. Uh? When these
forcefully asked to go back home, that is called alcoholic influence. He doesn’t want to
go home but you are forcing him to quit the office – ‘get out of the office; office is shut
down for you’. So what does he do? He doesn’t want to go home. But at the same time he
is not allowed to work in the train. So what will he do? He will be in-between. That is
why he gets confused. It is called braanti – in Sanskrit? In English – called ‘brandy’
(laughter). braanti – meaning, neither here nor there.
So such a person, neither he is aware of this world nor he is restfully sleeping – in
between. That is why he is totally confused – (sings in Hindi) ‘chal mere bhai’; he goes
and hugs the roadside lamppost, ‘my brother, how are you?’ (laughs). Why? His brain is
not functioning, he is not functioning through the brain. Nor he is restfully sitting at heart
– in between.
So when a person is sleeping, he is, he started off from his brain, he moves, that
mind moves, travels, awareness moves from the brain to the heart. And when it comes to
the heart he sleeps. Since by the time the it comes to the heart, this journey is complete
and he relaxes. Now in the ‘Yoga Shaastra’ what we find is that when a person goes into
practice of meditation he is doing the act of withdrawing from his mind and going to the
heart space, consciously. In the state of sleep we are unconsciously traveling towards our
heart. It is like let us say your child is active and then jumping around this and that and
you have taken the child for a bhiksha also. And the child is playing with all other kids,
etc and then had his dinner also, by the time that you are ready to go that fellow is already
sleeping. So but you carry him, you know small boy and put him in the car. And then
bring back home and put him in the bed. Does he know that he traveled? Uh?
Our Gurudev used to say, one example he used to give. In India in during some
festivals they give a drink called bhaang. You know what is that? Have you drunk?
bhaang. So the bhaang is a particular drink, which you know its like a buttermilk it is. I
have not that I have drunk or anything (laughter). But I was told. So when you are
drinking whatever you say, you keep repeating that only. So it so happened one young
boy, he was not even aware of this drink but his friends were all wanting to make fun of
him. So one day they all gathered up and then they were all having a festival and they
were drinking something. They mixed this bhaang to him. He did not know. It was very
late; he said, ‘I want to go home, I want to go home’. So when he was saying, ‘I want to
go home, I want to go home’, they gave this drink. So he drank that; ‘I want to go home, I
want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want’. He was started repeating
that constantly while he was slowly losing his consciousness. ‘I want to go home, I want
to go home, I…want…to…go home, I want to go home, I want to…’ He goes on like
that.
So he was continuously saying that; you know some people when they drink they
laugh and keep laughing and all – constantly, isn’t it that? Some kind of a, a you know
drug is there, continuously you do the same thing. ‘I want to go home’, he was constantly
saying that. So suddenly they all got very affect(ed) – this fellow is shouting, ‘I want to
go home, I want to go home’. You cannot stop him.
By that time his father came in that place. He realized this fellow took a bhaang.
So then uh, he shouted at his friends, ‘what have you done to my son’ and really he you
know, scolded at all of them. And took him in a taxi and put him inside the taxi, took him
home. He was continuously, ‘I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home, I
want to go home’. And soon as he reached home, he took some hot water in his hand and
then sprinkled on his face. He got up, ‘I want to go home, I want to go home’. ‘You are at
home’.
So that during that time when the, the what do you call, the influence of that
bhaang was there even though he traveled all the way from the place where he was
having fun to the home, he was not even aware. In the same way, during the time when
we sleep, even though we are traveling from the brain to the heart space we are not even
aware and that is the reason why when you sleep you are in the heart space only but you
don’t know that.
It is said by great masters that when you are sleeping you are at the lap of the
Lord, but you do not know that.
When a person is meditating on the other hand, he is consciously withdrawing his

mind from the brain activity and taking it towards the original abode of awareness – the
heart. That is why in sixth chapter He says – Bhagavan says, sanaih sanair uparamed
buddhya dhrti-grhitaya | atma-samstham manah krtva na kincid api cintayet || (6:25) :
slowly, slowly, slowly withdraw your attention from all other activities, consciously take
your mind away from the brain activities of thinking, to the state of awareness and do not
thereafter think about anything else.
So there are three ways of going to the heart, getting withdrawn from that brain.
Number one through sleep, which everyday we do, sometimes some people are already
there – on the way to heart. But you don’t even know. Second is forceful quitting, by
taking some drug or some other substance by which you are cutting off your brain
activities but you are not easily going into the heart but you are in between somewhere
and after sometime out of utter tiredness you may go into the state of sleep. And that is
why at the end of the sleep, ‘ah, so peaceful sleep’.
Third is where you consciously withdraw the mind, I mean the, the attention from
the brain activities in the form of thoughts and slowly withdraw yourself from the
activities at the level of body, mind, intellect towards the original abode of the awareness
– the heart. That is why Bhagavan Shankara, I mean Ramana Maharishi says, hridaya
guhramadhye kevalam brahma maadram. In what way it is? aham, aham, aham idi
saakshaad aatma rupena. Earlier also, it is He says aham atma gudaakesha sarva
bhutayastitaha : I am in the heart of all living beings in the form of atman. So here He
says, sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah : I am in the heart of all living beings.
Next statement He makes is, from Me alone you have memory – smriti, that is
memory. jnaanam : knowledge, apohanam : absence of memory or removal of that
understanding, I mean memory. mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca, uh?
Now in the, again coming back to the yoga, scriptures what we see is there are
two aspects of our mental activity. One is called wishing, another is called uh, thinking –
desire and thought, these two are there. These two are positive activities of our mind. The
third one is called memory or retention. I am not going to the technical details of it
because it is a different subject altogether. The thinking and desiring is called pratyaya.
And retaining information or the latent impressions that are there in the brain, here
referred as vaasanaas – we – that is the third function of the mind, because of which
alone the thinking and desiring get influenced.
So here, Bhagavan Krishna casually quotes that – smrtir jnanam apohanam.

smriti is the retention, the, all the vaasanaas. vaasanaas usually are of two kinds – those
who are positive and they are negative. Positive ones are referred, in general as
samskaaraas and negative ones are usually referred as vaasanaas. So certain, certain
impressions in our mind which are helpful for our growth, they are called samskaaraas.
Where they are not helpful, on the other hand they are impediments, obtacles to our
growth they are called vaasanaas.
samskaaraas usually reduce your thought, vaasanaas on the other hand increase
your thoughts. samskaaraas reduce your agitations in the mind and change the quality of
the thoughts. Whereas the vaasanaas increase the activity of the mind as well as they
pollute in the negative way. So in the ‘Yoga Shaastra’ they deal separately on this, on
how to take care of pratyaas and how to take care of smritis. smriti means memory.
So here Bhagavan says both of them are my own expressions. mattah smrtir :
from Me alone, smrtir jnanam apohanam ca : as He say, from Me alone remembering,
knowing and spiritual verity arise from Me alone. And He says, vedais ca sarvaih aham
eva vedyah : through all your studies what you should know is Me. If the subject, Me is
not known all your studies are waste, all your knowledge is waste, all your learning is a
waste.
See many people ask, ‘Swamiji, when you give Vedanta lectures, etc’… uh and
our Swami Tejomayanandaji, Guruji was once asked this question, ‘so when they have
some Bollywood actor, etc. thousands of people go there. When it comes to Vedanta
lecture only few people come. Why is that?’ So Guruji said, ‘even those few people why
they come, I don’t mind’ (laughter). ‘That itself is a surprise to me’.
So many people in the name of spiritual activity, they go for only entertainment.
Most people know, they when go for pooja is going on, some ritual is going on, then
temple festival is going on, or this and that, it is like going to a football game or the
basketball game. You pay the money, go there, spend money, spend time, one and half
hour or two, three hours. At the end of it, what is that ‘you’ have gained? What is that
you have gained? Two hours of free entertainment – not free, you paid money also. And,
but you were not changed. You anger is not gone, your lust is not gone, your passion is
not gone, your quality of thinking is not gone, your meditation has not improved. Uh? So
a spiritual activity is that where the inner transformation should take place. Then, that is
real saadhanaa.
Many people who go to any place, temple or church or mosque or this and that,
and visiting a guru and saying ‘hi’ to Him, these activities by itself doesn’t change your
inner personality. If on the other hand, you go and engage in an activity with an
intentingly, with an intention to recognize your higher nature… Bhagavan that is why He
says, vedais ca sarvaih : all your studies or scriptures, aham eva vedyah : you should
know Me. vedaanta-krd veda-vid ca evaham : I am the very core of all teachings.
If that is not understood, so many studies you may, so books you study, so many
scriptures you study, so many lectures you attend, not an inch of improvement. So where
you should see, look for Him? In your own heart – sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah : I
am sitting in your, my own, in your heart. I am the origin of all your thoughts, knowing,
memory, desires. If all the studies you do, you don’t Me it is futile.
So, if that is the case, in the next verse He says…
yasmaat ksharam-atito’ham
aksharaad-api chottamah |
ato’smi loke vede cha

prathitah purushotamah || (Gita 15:18)

So one will ask this question – yes, I am ready to look for or discover the Lord
within me. But can you describe it? Because I should know what I am looking for. Am I
looking for a black cat in a dark room where it is not there? Uh? First of all it is black cat
and I am looking for it in a dark room, where it is not there. It is like a person was seen,
uh, looking for something under a street lamp. See this… So another person came by and
said, ‘what are you looking?’ He said, ‘I, I was walking in this road, suddenly my, you
know my ring, fell down from my finger and rolled down. I am looking for it.’ ‘Ok’, so
the other fellow also started looking, seriously. And for half hour both of them looked
nothing happened there. So the second person seriously asked, ‘ok tell me where exactly
you lost’.
‘Oh there’. That was totally dark.
‘There you lost it?’
‘Yes’.
‘Then why are you looking for it here?’
‘Simple. Here is where light is.’ (laughter) Foolishness. You should look for
where it is lost, not where there is light. In the same way, our self-forgetfulness is the
cause of all mental miseries, unhappiness, our own self ignorance is the cause of all
trouble and looking for it somewhere else, joy for something else is what is the same
thing that fellow was doing. Where you have lost it, you are not searching there and you
are searching the place where it is all illumined there. Uh? Is that going to help?
Now therefore if Lord has to be looked for or to be discovered the question is,
describe him. How do I know that this is what is this presence of the Lord? How do I
know? Is he having any physical description? If there is a physical description of the
Lord, then I can see whether this fellow – ‘this is the picture, is he looking like Him?’
And I might have told you this about this story. Not story, it happened to me once. That
when I was – long time back when I was working sometime – I was asked to go and
welcome a particular person from the airport, to bring him from there. I have not seen
him before; he has not seen me before.
So I asked the people, ‘how does he look? Give me some description. Then only I
will know who, who that person is’. ‘No, no, I have talked to him and he told me that he
will be wearing a black coat and a white tie.’ ‘And so many people will come in black
and white, what will I do?’ ‘No, no, no, he will, and also he is a person you can
distinctively just see him in a black coat and white tie’. ‘Fine – black coat and white – but
what is the shirt inside?’ ‘Oh, that is a blue shirt you have to wear’. ‘Blue shirt, black
coat, white tie, fine’. Kept it in my mind and the airport. And the Delhi flight, where he
was coming from.
So Delhi flight came, looked for anybody with black coat, white tie… black coat,
white tie… black coat, white tie… nobody was there. And, ok this fellow did not come.
So what do I do? And, and you know the peculiar thing in the airport, they don’t tell you
the list who are the people who have come and who... they don’t give that. We cannot ask
also this person has come or not. So I called my office and said, ‘I don’t think he came’.
‘Oh, probably he is delayed and will be coming in the next flight maybe’. Wait. Another
two hours later, black coat, white tie… black coat, white tie... nobody was there.
Strangely I was watching one person with brown coat and a uh, yellow tie sitting there.
And he was waiting for some one. So I also sat down.
Then after that I looked at him and said, ‘so you are waiting for someone?’ I
asked him. ‘Yes, somebody was supposed to pick me up and that fellow didn’t come’.
‘I am also waiting for someone who is supposed to me, he has not come’.
‘By any chance you are supposed to wear a black coat and white tie?’ (laughs)
‘Sorry, yes supposed to be that’.
‘Oh, you are the person?’
‘Yes’.
‘He was looking for, I was looking for you. But, why? I said, you are not wearing black
coat and white tie, therefore I didn’t know that it is of the same person’.
‘Oh, last minute the laundry did not ready you know, deliver that and what do I do.
Whatever was there I was wearing that.’
‘So you made a mistake of not wearing the description that I had. You cannot scold me
because I was waiting for the right person.’
In the same way our idea of God is so ingrained in us with the physical form
unless the Lord appears, shangu chakara gadha paani we just reject Him (laughter).
chakarai is not there, get out (laughter). See our idea of God is a particular physical
description. Without that we don’t accept. Bhagavan says, you know I am not the way
you think I am. This way you think that I have to appear in this particular form, I don’t
appear. Hm? So then what is your description? aham purushotamah : He says that I am
purusheshu uttamah – I am the Supreme person; there is no physical description of Mine
is available. Because as I said earlier also, naama, rupa, guna, kriya, ketu rahitatvaa – He
does not have a name, form, quality, function and a cause.
That being so, you cannot have a physical description of the Lord and look for
Him. Then in what way I know you? Who are you in essence where I will know? Simple
thing is, for example this plant – I don’t know if it is still alive or not – this plant was
born at some time in a small sprout. And presently it is growing, ok? Let us say it is alive
plant, for example. It is, right? After some days or few months later or maybe a few days,
it will perish. Right? It won’t be in this condition. That which is subject to growth, decay
and death is called ksharam. Hm? ksharam means… ksharam means what? That subjects
to perishing. This is called ksharam.
Now, if you see, this plant is not only a living plant presently but it is expressing a
law of growth. Meaning, if I take a seed and put it in the earth, it will sprout, it becomes a
plant and it becomes a bigger plant and then a tree. And it grows to become a huge tree
and gives the leaves and flowers and fruits, etc. and slowly wither away and then lose its
vitality and then grows through the decay and die. What we usually see is the seed
becoming a sprout, and sprout becoming a plant, and plant becoming a tree, and etc. That
is called ksharam. ksharam means the growth and decay, death, etc. taking place. But
behind the whole process there is a law that is working – prakriti. When you put a mango
seed mango plant only will come, nothing else will come. Just like when I throw a stone
above the stone comes back down, that is a law working – Newton’s law. Not that
Newton created that law. Newton discovered or understood that law. So just like a stone
thrown above will come down because of the aakarna shakti or called Gravitational
force, that force is a law, is a law like magnetic law or this what you call that? Law of
Attraction, (audience respond, ‘Gravitational law’) Gravitational’s law, all those things.
See the same way, the seed that is put into the earth, comes to grow as a plant, etc. That is
also a law. This law is not visible. And this law doesn’t change or doesn’t perish. This
law is referred as akshara. Hm? Imperishable. So what is perishable is this plant. But not
what that which is not perishable is the law. Because this plant go away, another plant
will come. This tree will destroy, another tree will come. So this prakriti or the law that
makes it possible is what is referred as akshara. So one is called kshara-purushah,
another is called akshara-purushah. Hm? The law of growth and the law of nature. The
law of life, which is now here and the law of existence. The law of life is in the form of
ksharam and law of existence, it is in the form of aksharam. Is that clear?
Yes. Therefore, Lord Krishna says, I am neither the ksharam nor the aksharam, I
am beyond these two – yasmaat ksharam-atito’ham aksharaad-api chottamah (Gita
15:18) Hm? ksarah sarvani bhutani kuta-stho 'ksaramucyate (Gita 15:16) uttamah
purusas tv anyah paramatmety udahrtah (Gita 15:17). It is a very interesting observation.
ksharam or perishable, aksharam – the law that makes everything perishable. But the
purushottamah is that which makes both the law of nature and law of expression of that
nature possible. So the Lord is therefore the one who makes the law function. Like a
Magnetic law or Gravitational law and law of this Growth; the law that makes the entire
universe alive. The earth is spinning on its own axis. A single fraction of a second it
stops, you had it. One simple fraction of second – just a jerk – everything will go cared.
In Powai you will have two feet of snow there. Once that small change takes place – and
earth is spinning all this while, one day let me take rest. One day just stop – neither in its
on its own axis nor it is going around. Will it happen? In Sanskrit it is called ‘rhythm’.
hridhu as you know, season. Uh? You know that, hridu – Bhishma-ritu, Greeshma Ritu.
Bhishma-ritu and then… (laughter), Greeshma-ritu, ksharadritu, vasanta-ritu : meaning,
‘season’.
So this is ritu is ‘rhythm’, an order, a divine order. And the divine order doesn’t
change if that is the law we are talking about. And because of the change of season, so
many change of things happen. The sun will come out and the plants grow and the
flowers come out in the time of spring, etc. These are all expressions of that very law.
Both the law and its expression are governed by that which is beyond the law and its
expression. Therefore He says, kshara and akshara. And both the expression of the law
called ksharam and the very law itself called aksharam, adeetha aham : I am beyond this;
I am not governed by these two.
So Lord, description of the Lord is what? He is the one presence behind all laws
and all expression of laws. In our own physical personality, these are all ksharam, subject
to change. And the law of very life, existence is expressing through all of them – is the
akshara purushah. Lord is beyond this ksharam and aksharam. So therefore He says,
yasmaat ksharam-atito’ham aksharaad-api chottamah | atoh : therefore, asmi loke vede
cha : in the world as well in the scriptures, I am referred as purusha uttamah : the best
among all. purushaanaam uttamah, purusheshu uttamah. That’s the beauty of this
particular chapter, fifteenth chapter – He explains, the nature of the Lord, indescribable.
And where is that Lord sitting? In your own heart. Don’t look for him anywhere else. But
of course, it, that does not mean don’t, not to admire Him everywhere. You look at the
tree and the plant, and the beautiful flowers, in that flower, in that very, the beauty of that
flower and that leaves His expression is going on. In the sun, rising sun you can see his
expression. In the beautiful moon, you can see his expression. In the beautiful wind that
you express, experience, you can see His expression. In the birds, in the plants, in the
animals, in all beauty of the nature, you can see his hidden expression. Because of Whom
alone the law of nature works, because the law of nature alone this creation is such a
beauty.
So Lord hidden behind all of them, expressing Himself outside and making that
experience possible from within. So He is the one who making externally the expressions
possible and internally experience that thing also. He is playing act of both – the seer and
the seen, both. That is the play of the Lord. We call it as the play of the leela.
Alright tomorrow we will see, if you don’t enjoy the beauty of the Lord, what
Bhagavan says is you will go to hell (laughs). In the next verse He will say, you will go
to hell. So what kind of hell is that? Not that you know, the torturing hell. The hell you
create of your own. We will see that tomorrow.

om sarve bhavantu sukhinah
End of Session #5
SESSION #6
Swamiji:
(chorus joining in the chanting of the OM)

O…M
O…M
O…M

Talks
Forty. Fortieth verse (refers to his compilation) –
(Swami-ji chanting)


This particular chapter, fifteenth chapter is usually chanted by Chinmaya Mission

members just before food. Sometimes when we chant we become hungry also. It is said,
one person was Chinmaya Mission member. He was dreaming. In the dream it so
happened he suddenly found himself in a forest being chased by a tiger. And tiger noticed
it and thereafter the tiger started chasing him. He ran for his life. And hours many, many
hours, uh, many, many minutes later he found himself very exhausted. Fell down. And
the tiger just bounced upon him. And then he became unconscious. When he woke up, he
thought that he would have been dead by that time. When he woke up, he saw this tiger
sitting next to him chanting, ‘brahmarpanam brahmahavih’ (laughter).
So why do we chant this entire fifteenth chapter? Our Gurudev used to say, this
chapter includes or concludes with the great statement of the Lord that, beyond all the
perishable, beyond all the laws of nature it is My presence – uttamah purushah. ksharam
and aksharam atitah : that is what He says, yasmaat ksharam-atito’ham aksharaad-api
uttamah – uttamah purushah. So the Supreme person which is beyond the matter and
beyond the laws of matter. As I told you yesterday, a plant still it is ahead; the plant it is
alive and that is, ksharam because it is going to perish. But the law of nature which
makes this plant alive doesn’t change. Even that so called changeless law of nature like
the gravitational force which is there now presently we experience it. But it was there in
the time of this creation itself. Not that your grandfather did not have this kind of law. It
was there even at that time. When he also threw the stone above it came down only – it
didn’t go up.
So this law of nature is comparatively imperishable. That is why aksharam.

ksharam, that which is subject to death and decay. aksharam is that which is not subject
to death and decay, not subject to change – which is the prakriti’s nature, law. And He
says I am neither this kshara nor this mere law, I am beyond that also. ksharah sarvaani
bhutani kuta-stho ’kshara ucyate (Gita 15:16), uttamah purusas tv anyah (Gita 15:17).
So in the fifteenth chapter we clearly see the description of that Supreme Lord,
not in any particular name or form, which is what we worship in the temple or church or
anywhere else. But in the Vedanta it is said, that law which is beyond all the laws,
beyond all the perishable thing is the Purushottamah.
Having said that, now Bhagavan opens up a new topic. That is, now take care of
yourself. In the last three chapters, He comes very clearly onto this point – now your
daily activity is very important. In the first six chapters He talks about karma yoga and all
these concepts. And later on He picks up the idea of all about what is the nature of the
Supreme Truth, etc. And then thirteenth chapter onwards he stored as the connection
between the individual and the Supreme Self. Now the last three chapters are about
saadhana – sixteen, seventeen and eighteen.
In the sixteenth chapter, which is known as daivasurasampad or

Daivasurasampadvibhaga-Yoga. dhaivi sampath and aasuri sampath – sampath means
wealth, or value. So while, while, what you value is the wealth. Simple, is it not? What is
your wealth? What you value. Uh? If it is a small little child, you give him a golden
chain, it doesn’t value that. Whereas it is for you, it is of great value. So a currency note,
for you it is valuable. Uh? For again, a child which does not even know how to you
know, look at the paper or doesn’t have any work for money, it is not valuable.
So now I, I remember, when I was growing up in my hometown, and my father

used to have good collection of books, varieties of books – fiction, nonfiction, science
fiction all sort of things. And as a teenager, as a youngster I used to read all those books,
you know – all sort of books. Fiction, mostly. And one particular rack, I never touched it
– full of dust. And nobody touched it. So I never cared about that. And years later, when I
went to ‘Saandeepany’ and then studied this Vedanta, etc. and then came back home, and
again going through the cupboard or bookshelf, I found that the last row of books in the
shelf below, dust collecting. I was curious, ‘what it is?’
And I opened those books, there were rare collections of Vedantic gems – very,
very rare books on Vedanta. I opened those books, they were so beautiful, so nice…
meaning that the content. Because of the books were very dilapidated.
Then I asked my father, ‘you never told me such great books are there. When did
you have it? When did you collect it?’ He said it was there even before your birth. ‘But
how did I not notice it?’ He said simply, ‘you didn’t value them’. You know, at that time
also it was there but I never even had any interest in that. So once when our priorities
change, when our outlook and perspective of life change, then things which were not
valuable to you earlier, that becomes so much of value. And what you were valuing
before, becomes useless.
So then therefore, what is your wealth, sampath? What you value is your wealth.
If you value your health, that is also wealth. If you value your friendship, that is also
wealth. If you value the you know, devotion to God, that is also wealth. If you value
knowledge, value education then they are called wealth. And more than all other wealths
what we find – knowledge and good conduct and character – these things cannot be taken
away from you by anybody. All other things which you own as your values, valuables,
they can be taken away by somebody. It is said in one hotel, they have written a board,
put a board, uh? ‘Leave your values here’. Instead of ‘valuables’, ‘leave your values here
– at the desk’… ‘we are not responsible for your values’. So, instead of ‘valuables’.
Values or character, conduct and knowledge, education cannot be taken away from you
by anybody. That is your own possession.
So while talking about this, Bhagavan Krishna says there are two of them which
are most important. In all human beings, there are two kinds of people – dhaivi and
aasuri. Those who have divine qualities are one category and those who have demonic
categories are, demonic values are another category – dhaivi sampath and aasuri
sampath. In that context He says, so those people who are worshippers of deva, guru and
dvija these people who are worshipping the men of good, noble virtues, gods and gurus
they naturally get the qualities of divine nature. Others who value only the money, power,
possession, name, fame, authority, control all those things, they will only become aasuri
sampath.
Now He says very clearly, that how do you know that you have aasuri sampath or
raakshasik qualities? And how do you know that you have divine qualities? The word,
asuraa you might have come across, right? asuraa. In the very meaning of that word, it is
not n’asura. It is not so. Because sura means Gods. n’asura means ‘not Gods’. It is not
like that. It is really speaking asushu ramante iti aurah. That is the definition of asuraa.
asuhu ramante. asushu means in liquor and all those you know, things that can delude
your mind, whatever that which delude your mind, if you find delight in them they are
called asurah. You become very spiritual! Especially in the, December 31st, how do you
welcome the New Year? (laughter) Saturday, Sunday – highly spiritual. So you become
ausraa that time. Uh?
One fellow was fully drunk. And he was walking you know, towards, I mean in
the road. And he went and knocked one apartment door. So the police was a little you
know, very cautiously walking behind him. Stopped him. ‘Where are you going?’ He
looked at him and said, ‘going for a lecture’. ‘Lecture?’ ‘Yes, my wife’s’. (laughter)
Because once he opens the door, there will be a lecture starting. Very clear about that.
So here, He says – Bhagavan Krishna says – how do you know that you are
having aasuri sampath. He says, there are three qualities that are there. Three qualities
uh, what do you call, uh, habits that you have in your, your personality, which surely will
take you to hell. Because they are all of the nature of aasuri sampath. What are those?
We read – the next verse :
(Swami-ji chanting)
trividham naraksyedam
trividham naraksyedam
dvaram naashanam-aatmanah |
dvaram naashanam-aatmanah |
kaamah krodhas-tatah lobah

kaamah krodhas-tatah lobah
tasmaad-etat trayam tyajet || (Gita 16:21)

tasmaad-etat trayam tyajet || (Gita 16:21)
There are three doors to hell. Uh? There are three doors to hell. They are
trividham naraksya edam dvaram. dvaram in Sanskrit means, dvaar, dvaara, means door.
Door, dvaar – see how close those English and Sanskrit words are. dvaaram – you know,
‘Haridwar’ you know? ‘Haridwar’ means what? ‘Haridwar’ means, (audience respond:
the doorway to) the doorway to (audience respond: Hari) Hari, the Lord Vishnu. But
originally it was, ‘Haradwar’. Do you know about that? I might have told you. Earlier,
that particular city was, some people, referred by some people as ‘Haradwar’. Because
that is a doorway to Kaila… I mean what is that, hm, uh, Kedaranath. Because from there
only you have to go; and that is the same route to Badrinath also. So the Shaivites and
Vaishnavites you know, they started fighting.
Some people say it is Haradwar, officially. Some people say, no it is Haridwar –

went on fighting. They constantly fight you know, very often they do that. In Vaishnava
houses you will not find the curtains running this way at all (laughter). You know that
blinds? (laughter) It won’t be like this. Because it represents this. And in this martha’s
house it will never be like this (laughter). You know, the vertical blinds will never be
there. That much fanatics they are.
So the fight was going on. It happened even in the elephant somewhere. So one
elephant was there. In Vaishnava tradition I think there is perhaps two ways of putting
that naama, ‘U’ and ‘Y’. You know that? ‘U’ also a naama and they put like this also.
That comes like… so they had a fight. Which one should be put on the elephant?
Elephant was not bothered about that (laughter). They had a fight. So finally they – in
Srirangam or one of those places – so finally the court said the three days you put ‘U’,
three days put ‘U’, put ‘Y’ and one day you please leave him alone (laughter).
So anyway, ‘Haridwar’ or ‘Haradwar’. There was a big fight. It was historical.

And finally the court decided, ‘ok, it is neither ‘haridwar’ nor ‘haradwar’. Then it is
what? ‘hardwar’ – subka dvaar hai (laughter). Why you are to have fight in a ‘haradwar’
or ‘haridwar’, subka dvaar hai. Know, in English they write this, ‘hardware’ (laughter).
Say … (laughter)… (inaudible) … ‘hard war’ (an audience repeat, ‘hard war’). It is very
hard war anyway.
So dvaara means ‘door’. trividham naraksya edam dvaram. aatmanah
naashitam : it destroys your own self. What is hell? It is not a place. That which destroys
your own self. aatmanah naashitam : destroyer of your own inner self. It is not a place. It
is said that Bill Gates finally went to, finally died (audience react, ‘what?’)... and then…
not now, you know, it’s not, no… It was when he dies, you know (laughter). Know,
don’t, don’t get shock of you know, stock market, ‘I got stock… y’o’ Microsoft
(laughter)… my… shares will go down…’. No, nothing happened like that. When it
happened… going to, happens.
So he went there. There was a, two arrows – hell, heaven. So he knew that, he is
going to heaven anyway for sure. Because he has been donating lot of money. So he said,
let me go to hell and see what is happening there. So he went there, big party was going
on. Pizza is being served and everybody is jumping, beautiful light and dancing and all
those… nice music – that’s fine. That’s nice. So he was wondering, what would be hell,
heaven then? This is nice. So he went to the heaven, everybody is sitting and meditating –
‘o…m’. Smoke was coming..., you know, you might have seen in movies, smoke was
coming (laughter).
So, he told St.Peter you know, ‘I think this is very boring. Let me go to that
place’. ‘What, it is boring? This is heaven’. ‘I know but it had interesting you know, no
excitement, no entertainment there. I want to go to that only.’ ‘But that is hell’. ‘I know
it. Once you go, you cannot come out also.’ ‘I know that.’ ‘Ok, it is up to you. Your
choice. Your call. Send it.’ As soon as he went there, it was so dark and people were
rolling on the ground and then nails are being taken out by one by one. Hair is being
pulled out by others and hot, it was humid. And, torture, fire, everybody is crying. ‘Hey,
hey, hey, this is not the place I saw. There is something else’. ‘What did you see?’ ‘Ah,
there is a, people were dancing and entertainment was going on’. ‘Oh, that is the screen
scaper, screen saver’ (laughter)… you are paid back you know.
So hell is usually described as full of torture, is it not? kumbi paaga is kept there.
You know that, you know. There is a big oil, vessel full of oil. And you will be, as soon
as you come you will be thrown into that. Like a pakoda – you will be fried there. And if
you are a ‘Keralite’, it will be on coconut oil (laughter). Fried, and then yes, if you
become unconscious they will take it out, sprinkle some water. And when you wake up,
again, shzu….
So we have kumbhi paaga and all other things which are described as the, hell.
But really speaking here, aatmanah naashitam – Bhagavan Krishna does not, does not
say that it is a place where you go and you get fried, etc. aatmanah naashitam. And He
says, there are three doors to this hell and our Gurudev often has said that this uh, hell, is
not experienced somewhere but here itself, in your own mind.
It is said that once, Mahatma Gandhi was approached by a person, and uh, Gandhi
was talking about the compassionate Guru, I mean compassion of the Lord – how Lord is
full of compassion, etc. So this fellow got up and said, I have read in the puranaas and
other things, Lord will send everybody to hell. And there, I mean those who are
committing mistakes and sins, they are going to be tortured, they will be, you know,
given all sort of punishment, eternally. This is what I have seen, I have heard.
So, Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘how do you think Lord will punish you, when he
himself has created you?’ ‘But that is what I have heard and then I am afraid that such a
hell will be there. And for that reason, I hate the Lord. I hate Him. For all of them are
here to only to punish us. Constantly watching us wherever we are making mistake. And
when we make a mistake they are ready to punish us’. So Gandhiji just kept quiet – how
many. After that he said, ‘I know why you are so angry.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Your son is not
listening to you, right?’ ‘How do you know?’ ‘No, I am asking you. Is he a person who is
into drugs and other things and even drinking, etc.?’ ‘Yes, that is one of my third son is
like that, what to do? You know, he is a hell in my life.’
‘You do one thing. Next week during the weekend you take him to nearest
mountain for a trekking. Ok? And then when taking him for a trekking, you take him to
the top of the mountain but arrange for two people to suddenly bounce upon you both and
take away your child, blindfold him and throw him from that top of the hill. Your
problems will be solved.’
(with shocking expression) ‘What are you talking? My own son, how do you I
arrange him to be killed? Are you mad or what?’
He said, ‘I am not mad. You are mad.’
‘What I am mad? You are also saying the same thing. You cannot even think of,
create or, or making, I mean, giving some injury or instigating some wrong thing to your
son, is it not? Put him into punishment or torture, you can’t think of that?’
‘No’.
‘Or how do you think that God is there only to punish you or why do you think
like that? If the Lord has created you, will He ever think of punishing you like this? The
Lord is a very abode of compassion. What creates hell is our own mind. You understand
that. He doesn’t create any of those things. You create your own. That is aatmanah
naashitam. That is what is called hell – doorways to hell, three of them. What are these?
kaama, krodha and lobha. Give up these three and you will find yourself in Heaven. He
says, (chants) kaamah krodhas-tatah lobah tasmaad : therefore, etat trayam : these three,
tyajet : give up these three and you will find yourself in Heaven. And have these three,
you find yourself constantly in hell.
One warrior, you know in this chapter is that warrior, what is they are called?
(audience respond: ‘samurai’) Samurai – uh? Samurai, right? Warrior went to a Buddhist
monk. And he said, ‘sir, I have a question to ask. Please answer.’ So that Buddhist looked
at him and said, ‘if you are fit for an answer, I will answer.’
So he was a king. So he said, ‘no, I order you to answer me this question – what is
heaven and what is hell?’
So that Buddhist monk looked at him and said, ‘you don’t deserve that answer’.
‘Uh?’
‘You don’t deserve any answer from me.’
‘How dare you say that?’ And he removed that sword from his uh, sheath... ‘I
threaten you. I need an answer from you, otherwise I will kill you’.
‘I will not accept. You kill me. Because you don’t deserve this. You don’t qualify
to be a student first of all. Why to an unqualified person, I don’t need to answer.’
So he was so angry and upset but you know, by tradition he cannot touch the
monk. Feeling so upset, agitated, he put the sword back into his sheath and sat down.
Now, he cannot do anything.
And slowly his agitation stopped and became quiet.
He said - he understood that in this way he will not give the answer - ‘Ok, I salute
you humbly sir. I would like an answer to my question.’
He said, ‘the answer is very evident’.
‘What?’
‘When he took the sword and stood in front of me, that was called hell – for you
(laughter). When you now you are sitting down and humbly asking that question, that is
the state of mind where you are in heaven.’
So in all traditions we find, even though puranaas and other place they give a
very dark picture of hell, that is only to scare the people not to go in that direction.
Here also He says, kaamah : desire, krodha : anger or rage, and lobah : greed,
these three are the hell, the door ways to hell. As far as the kaamah and krodha are
concerned, Bhagavan very… beginning itself, He clears in third chapter itself, kama esa
krodha esah rajo-guna-samudbhavah | mahashano maha-papma viddhy enam iha
vairinam || (Gita ch 3, vs 37) : this kaama, the desire when not fulfilled shows the
negative side. Anger does not have its own origin. It is originated from desire. Can you
be angry about someone whom you don’t even care about? Can you be angry about
something on which you have no concern? Do you? Whenever there is an anger, there is
some amount of attachment there – on the person or an object or a place or a situation.
When you are totally unconcerned about that, when you are not interested in that
happening or interested in that very situation, you don’t get any anger.
If you are watching a baseball game, or a basketball, and your school team versus
some other team, you obviously would like your’s team to win. And whenever they make
a mistake, (claps hand) ‘ahbadabadabada, this fellow was you know, why are doing
this?’ Why? Because you have an attachment, you have an expectation. You have an,
desire for your team to win.
On the other hand, other fellow who is from the other school… he will be angry
whenever their people make a mistake or your students will score a… what do you call?
Basket… what is it called? What do you call? Score what? Score point (audience laugh).
It is very interesting to watch.
You, let us say you neither belong to that school nor you belong to this school,
watch… You will see how the beautiful drama was going on. One fellow gets very upset
and angry when the, the student, I mean their team doesn’t win; another fellow is getting
very happy about that. This play is because of one is angry, another is happy. Is it really
that situation creates the anger or happiness? Not. It depends upon where you are
attached to. So is in our life, in all situations when you are angry there is some amount of
kaama there, desire there, attachment is there, identification is there.
So now we say, this is theory, logic, concept – I understand. Desire causes anger.
Now how do we overcome this? How do we take care of it? Best way to take care of it, as
soon as you detect there is an anger, what you should do? Go and, and stand under a
shower? (audience laugh) That is what people do. Or count hundred – one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. But after hundred, there is nobody
says what else to do?
I saw in one place, one, one clinic, they are talking. Uh, board was ‘anger
management’. So there, so I was very curious. Uh know, what is it they do here as a
counseling. Opened the door, there was only one small notice was there. And then, it
says, ‘stand in front of this board’. This is the, board there – ‘stand in this front of this
board’. I stood there. There was a one hand symbol this side, one hand symbol that side.
‘Keep your right hand on this place.’ Kept. ‘Keep your left hand on this place’. ‘Raise
your head.’ And ‘HIT’ (laughs). Till you get, become unconscious, fall down
unconscious. Managed (laughter). Is that a management of anger? Uh?
Most often we see, we become aware of our anger only after it is over, when the
damage is already done. Between anger and danger, there is only one letter difference.
Uh? And mahaan Buddha very clearly said, when you are angry and shouting at
someone, understand one thing – it is like throwing a hand full of, what do you call that?
Coal, fuel – burning coal – and throwing it to another person. Before you throw, you get
burnt first.
Second important thing is, when a person is angry, his ears are closed. If a person
is angry, he is not ready to listen to him.
Another thing we notice in anger is that, when you are angry, even if the person is
very closely sitting next to you, you’ll shout. Why? Because you are not listening
(laughter). You have seen people who you know, don’t listen. I mean don’t have, when
they are deaf – let us say. Or not listening to (you). They start shouting very you know,
they speak very loudly, why? Not that because of that I am shouting and they are loudly
against it. So why do the people who do not hear shout, shout and speak, why? Because
they don’t hear. So when angry person, he will shout – why? Because he is not hearing
himself – or herself, why ‘himself’?
Second thing is that the person is on whom that person is angry, even if the person
is physically close, but mentally he has become far. You know, if a person is in the other
room, ‘hey, come here’. You know? Because that person has to hear. When a person is
very close to you, would you shout that way? ‘Ahy, why are you shouting?’ If a person is
close, you won’t shout. He will shout even if the person is close, if you are angry. That
means, mentally you have put that person far. You have seen lovers you know (imitates
whispers…). They talk so close to each other (laughs) – want to stay alone, nobody
should see us, nobody should disturb us. Why? Closeness.
So when you are in love with someone, the closeness is there and even if the
person is far away, you will speak very soft. When you are angry, even if the person is
close, you will shout. Why? Mentally you have put that person far away.
So these are seen as the nature of this growth, anger. Now how do we overcome
this, this is the question.
The simple thing is there are three methods by which you can come, overcome
this anger. Number one is, for example, if you sitting on the chair (you want some water?
– responding to audience coughing). If you are sitting on the chair, the chair decides your
position, right? Your comfort, your position, your uh, the way you will sit, everything is
decided by the chair. The moment you stand away from the chair, you become free of
that, all that condition. In the same way, when you entertain this similar which lead to
that anger, you will surely be guided to become more and more angry only.
So that is the reason why our Masters have said, often you should take the name
of the Lord so that you will have the ability to change the kind of thoughts at any time
you want. When our mind is continuously thinking about one thing, as it is said in the
ladder of hall also, dhyayato visayan pumsah sangas tesupajayate | sangat sanjayate
kamah kamat krodho 'bhijayate || (Gita 2:62) When similar thoughts are there, you get
attached – to that object of your thought. Then when you get attached, the desire comes.
The desire is there, then obviously as we saw, the desirable object is not given to you,
you become angry.
So whenever there is a narrowness, on your thinking bring the name of the Lord
in-between. Think of the name of the Lord or form of the Lord. So bring an interruption
to that thought. So when you are angry about something… (chants imitating in angry
tone) “om namo narayanaya, om namo narayanaya”, remember the Lord’s form. So that
interruption comes, what psychologically or the logically what happens is the flow is
affected. When there is a disturbance in the flow, then the intensity is gone. When
intensity is gone, then that object of your anger will be seen from a different perspective.
Uh? But in uh, the psychology, then western psychology would say, do go away
from that place, do something else. Uh? Or, move away from that situation. Drink coffee.
But in Vedanta we say, don’t do all those things. Remember the Lord. Take your
attention from that object of your anger. That should become your practice. So this is a
simple abhyaas : practice. Alright?
Second method is, let us say you are driving a car, hm? You are driving a car -
especially in San Diego, full of ups and downs you know? Going in the fourth gear, you
are going now. Suddenly there is an up. So what do you at that time? Uh? You are all
learning driving know? What do you do at that time? (an audience respond, ‘change the
gear’). Change your gear – to what? Whichever the, whatever be the amount of power
required for that up. So what do you do? You, from fourth, you come to probably one.
And then see how, and then slowly as they pick up is there, then slowly you go up and if
it is required, you change the two. And then up to the turning bend you go up, you may
have to give more power to your vehicle. Then only you it will go up. For giving more
power to the vehicle, you have to shift your gear.
In the same way, when you are angry you are weak. You are becoming a victim to
that situation. Maybe a person, or a situation, or a place or some happening is trying to
weaken your spirit, weaken your strength, weaken your ability to hold yourself. So that
particular situation or a place or whatever it is, is trying to weaken you. And what you
should at that time? You have to increase your strength. And for increasing your strength,
just like in the car you shift the gear, in this managing the anger, you shift your identity.
What is that shift your identity means? That when you are angry and upset about
something, at that moment you should recognize that I am not this physical being, I am
not this individual self, aham paramatma : I am the Self. Shift your identification, from
the gear in which you are going, ‘I am the body, mind, individual, individuality’
(audience coughs)... I think this is picking up or what? (laughs) – one by one.
So, from the identity that ‘I am the body, etc’, change your identity to ‘I am the
Self’. Like when your son is angry, when your colleague is angry when your subordinate
– what do you call? – subordinate, when he is angry, you will also shout, he will also
shout. When the same anger, when you come home, and when your son is doing
something, you get upset and angry, at that time you realize, ‘I am the father and I have
to guide him the way he has to behave. And if I behave like this, and he will also just
imitate me’. So when you shift the identity, suddenly your responsibility becomes
different. When you shift your identity you become more strong. So this shift of identity
is the second method. The first method is, interrupt the thought. Second method is change
your identity, shift the gear.
The third method is, which is little more difficult, is where, question – question
the validity of that anger itself. You know? The object on, on which I am angry about, am
I attached to it? How important that this anger to me, after some ten days from today? In
that context only I used to give the example, that once something happened when I was
working in one place and for a thing which I did not do, I was being scolded. So, I was
very upset because I didn’t do that and people were scolding me for that, my boss. I
wanted to throw the towel on his face and walk away and I was looking for a towel
(laughter).
So, so when I was very upset, one person came to me and said, ‘you are upset?’
‘Yes’. ‘You want to shout at him and walk away?’ ‘Yes’. ‘You can do that. But I will tell
you one thing, today the raaghu kaalam is not correct – time is not right. What do you do
is, tomorrow at the same time you do this – go and shout at him and throw the towel on
his face, tomorrow at the same time, 10 O’clock in the morning’. So I said, ‘no, I am
going to do right now.’ He said, ‘now it is not the correct, auspicious time’ (laughter). So
for good things you always look for auspicious time, you know? Is it not? ‘When do I
start the pooja?’ ‘Wait, wait, wait, raaghu kaalam has not yet come. pooja has to be done
at that time only…’. When auspicious things you have to go for raghu kaalam and other
things, why not for this also you look for the correct time? So he told me, ‘this is not the
correct time. This raaghu kaalam is over, and this auspicious time is also over. So you
have to do, tomorrow only.’
And I was grinding my teeth, ‘for your sake I am stopping now. Tomorrow I will
do it.’ By the same day evening, that angry thoughts have disappeared. Next day
morning, that boss himself came and said, ‘I am very sorry. I did not know you that were
not responsible for it. I took you to be the person. Sorry.’ Four things he spelled out. This
is where you give time and look at the very authentic, or the necessity for that particular
thought to occur or particular act to be done. What would be the condition of my mind,
ten minutes from now? Will it have the same thought? No. So another exercise – every
day I am giving you exercise, right? So now, another exercise I give you – write down
the thought that appears in your mind at some point of time. Maybe some middle of the
day, you write the most important thought that comes to your mind. Five hours later you
look at it, it is no more important. And next day you look at it, it is of no more
importance. Why it is so? Because at that moment, what brings, what makes you feel that
is so important, few minutes later, few hours later, it will disappear. So therefore, observe
and question whether it is important to get angry at this situation? Can I wait for some
more time and see what happens? And you will find your anger doesn’t have the
sustenance. It just loses its own power.
So please understand, managing anger is not escaping from it. But make it lose its
strength, diffuse it, remove the strength of that anger. Same is the case with kaama and
lobha also. If you do not do that, these three will become the doorways to hell. In another
place Bhagavan Krishna says, saknoti haiva yah sodhum praak sarira-vimoksanaat |
kaama-krodhodbhavam vegam sa yuktah sa sukhi narah || (Gita 5:23) : He who is able to
withstand the force of desire and anger - saknoti haiva : here itself. yah sodhum saknoti.
kaama-krodhodbhavam vegam : the force of desire and anger. Such a person, sa yuktah
sa sukhi narah : he is the really happy person in this world. You want to be happy? Take
care of these three doorways to hell. Greatest saadhana, I am telling you. kaama, krodha,
lobha – greatest saadhana. If one can overcome these three, he is the happiest person in
this world. Heaven is on the earth itself only.
One disciple, who was studying under a teacher. The teacher said, ‘one should
become desireless and desirelessness is not a state. It is a continuous journey. Nobody
can ever claim to be desireless in this world’. So this disciple asked his teacher, ‘have you
become desireless?’ You know, because the first thing, the disciple is testing the
knowledge is on the teacher itself (laughter) – ‘have you become desireless?’
He looked at him and said, ‘I will give you the answer at the end of the course.’
So for few years he studied, at the end of the course, promptly he came, ‘sir, I have a
question to ask’.
‘Yes’.
‘Have you become desireless?’
‘You come after two years. And I’ll answer. Go into your field and do your
work.’
So he went and he created his own ashram, and he was doing activities. Two
years exactly, on that day of graduation after two years, he came – ‘Namaskaaram. Have
you become desireless? (laughter)’. He said, ‘I will give you a call. At that time you
come and I will give you that answer. And, send you a communication.’ Disappointed his
disciple went back.
Few years later he got a communication from his teacher you know, ‘come, I have
to tell you something’. And the disciple immediately started traveling towards his
teacher’s abode. And as he reached his ashram, he found lot of people standing there, etc
-‘what happened?’ He rushed to the, the room of his Guru and the Guru was lying on his
bed, almost leaving his body. He looked at the disciple and said, ‘yes. Desireless’
(laughter).
The teaching is that, no one ever in this world, ever claim to have become
desireless until either death of the body or on enlightenment. Because as Gurudev would
say, the moment you say that you have become desireless, the desire starts happening.
The moment you say you have become egoless that itself becomes a ego – ‘I am a very
egoless person, do you know that?’ It is like one person said, ‘I have given up anger.
Completely I have given up anger.’ So his friend said, ‘you? Giving up anger? You are
the embodiment of anger.’ (laughter)
‘Who told you?’
‘I am telling you. I have been dealing with you for so many years, don’t I know
that? You have become anger(less)… Go, go and tell anybody, any other fool.’
‘How dare you call?’ (laughter)
‘See?’
Our Gurudev used to carry these rudraaksha maala all the time and never he
would leave that. Whenever he is traveling or he was not doing anything in particular, he
will, ‘krishnaarpanamastu, krishaarpanamastu, krishnaarpanamastu’.
People asked him this question, ‘Swamiji, why you have to do this?’ He said,
‘why not?’ ‘Never take your mind for granted. Today it may be calm. Tomorrow the
moment, next moment it can be agitated. Tomorrow you can… today you may feel that
you are peaceful and joyful and restful and loving and compassionate. Next moment it
may change. Never take your mind for granted.
So, no one can really overcome these three gateways to hell. But constant
guarding, constantly guarding these three nature of our mind, is very important – kaamah,
krodha, lobha. tasmaat etad trayam tyajayet (Upanishad)
So now, in the verse, in the chapter sixteenth, as I said, as I told you, these two
important things we have talked about – dhaivi sampath and aasuri sampath. And aasuri
sampath is in the form of kaamah, krodha, lobha : desire, anger, lust. You know, I would,
I was talking about this earlier also to you – that there are three kinds of you know,
governments in this world. What are those? Capitalist, communist and… what is the third
one? Did I not tell you? I didn’t tell you? (…inaudible) Capitalists are those who uh,
work hard and (en)joy. Communists are those, others work hard, I enjoy. The third
category of government is called “more-ist” – more, I want more, I want more, I want
more (laughter). Everybody is looking for more and more things. It is called more-ist
government. That is called lobha – I want more, I want more. We do not know really how
to put a line in between, what we need and what we become greedy about. The line
should be shifting. So when you clearly define, this is what I need, beyond that is only an
option, a choice, then such a person will live a very simple life. So lobha is also of a great
danger.
It is said Alexander, the Great when he died, uh, he kept his hand outside, open.
So it is only to show to the world that, even a great person like that who achieved so
much, didn’t carry anything at the end of his life. His hands were empty. But some other
person commented on that, ‘no, no, even at the time of death he said – give me more
(laughter)’ ‘That is why his hands were empty – give me more.’ And as I said that, these,
those who are miserly, those people who living also they suffer, while leaving also they
suffer. Because when they are leaving, others are going to enjoy their money. (laughs)
They are going to suffer that also.
I’ll you one thing – one person was a great ‘kanjus’ in his life. ‘kanjus’ means you
know, miserly. And uh, he heard that his, his neighboring village, there is another greater
miser was there. So he wanted to have a discussions with him (laughter) – to learn from
him how to be a miser. So he said, he told his wife, ‘I am going to meet him’. Village you
know, so he started walking and carrying his slipper in his hand. His wife asked, ‘why
don’t you wear it?’ ‘Why should I wear?’ ‘You know but the very idea of that is, so that
if there are thorns, or sharp uh, stones are there your leg will be protected’. ‘Oh, when
that comes I will wear it’ (laughter). That much of a miserly fellow.
He went there, to the next village. The other guy was there and he welcomed him,
‘I know, I heard that you are coming.’ And uh, they sat down because he was not even
offering any water. This fellow doesn’t expect also because equally they are (laughter).
So they both sat down on the verandah of that house, portico of the house. And uh, it was
late evening. So the fellow, the host, he switched off the light. So the first fellow asked
you know, ‘why did you switch off?’ ‘No, I have seen your face, you have seen my face’
(laughter), ‘what is the need for a light? We are only going to talk, is it not?’
So they were talking about how to you know, really improve upon their
performance (laughter). So after an hour or so, so the fellow said, the visiting fellow said,
‘no, let me you know, proceed to my village’. And you know, I don’t know where I had,
‘ok, let me put on the light’. So that fellow, the host fellow was about to turn on the light.
Visiting fellow said, ‘wait, let me wear my dhoti’ (laughter)… ‘wearing dress – when
you switched off the light, why should I wear the dress’. So that much is the nature of a
lobhi – greedy to the core. We may not be like that bad but we want more and more and
more. And we are dissatisfied with what we have and we are unhappy with what we don’t
have. When is that you are going to be happy then? Neither happy with what I have. Nor
I am happy about what I don’t have. I don’t have, therefore I am unhappy. And I am not
finding happiness in what I have. This is the nature of lobhi. Therefore he lives constantly
in hell. Hell means, unhappiness, misery. Therefore a man of desire lives in unhappiness
because he is not happy about what he has. He wants more something. An angry person
also is so unhappy. A lobhi is also continuously unhappy. That this, what is the state of
hell. So kaamah, krodha, lobah. So He says, etasmaad-etat trayam tyajet.
Now in the following verse, verse number forty-two, continuing on this same
topic, Bhagavan Krishna says that, in your life your actions surely decide your state of
mind. And on the other hand, your state of mind also decide the kind of action that you
perform. But then, at the stage of our life, where we cannot decide the state of mind that
is the, our actions should be conducive in such a way the mind become restful and quiet.
So long as you perform those actions prescribed by the scriptures, you are assured of your
mental quietude because dharma, the righteous action, the first thing that it does is you
become in your mind peaceful, you are not afraid of the results. Therefore to know what
is right thing to do and what are the things you should not do, one should properly study
the scriptures.
So that is what He says, in the next verse, verse number forty-two:
tasmac chastram pramanam te
tasmac chastram pramanam te
karyakarya-vyavasthitau |
karyakarya-vyavasthitau |
jnatva sastra-vidhanoktam
jnatva sastra-vidhanoktam
karma kartum iharhasi || (Gita 16:24)

karma kartum iharhasi || (Gita 16:24)
Even when you buy a electronic gadget, or even a simple watch, it comes with a
manual. Even a small watch now-a-days, there will be a small manual, ‘how to open the
battery’. That area, and open it, and what kind of a battery you should put, all those
details, even now-a-days pen also has got a small you know… if you buy a standard,
what do you call, what do you call? Not standard pen (audience respond, ‘fountain pen’),
fountain pen. You found something along with the pen, you will find something else.
There is a small manual, how to put the ink, what kind of ink you should put. So even for
a small little gadget that you want to use to your daily life, if you find that if you need,
you need a document or a manual, to be a human, to live a human life, to take care of
your life situations, we think that we know. Uh? There is no need for any manual?
Our mind, see like for example, when you get married and to become a wife or a
husband, do you know what to be a wife, and what to be an husband? Is there any pre-
marital some course going on there? Now-a-days they have – pre-marital counseling. But
you go through any special course for that? How do you know, as a wife what you should
do, as husband what you should do, as a parent what you should do? Who teaches you?
You learn on the way, (laughter) that is why we make continuous mistakes. In this world,
what is to be done, what should not be done, who is teaching you? Universities and
others, they don’t teach what you should do, what you should not do. They only teach
about how to make money – how to make a living. Not how to live a life. You learn
about all professional things, etc. But that is only to make a living, but how to live a life?
That is not taught you anywhere.
Therefore – tasmaat, shaastram pramaanam : these scriptures are the authority on

this. In what? karya akarya-vyavasthitau : to decide upon what to do and what not to do.
Even for learning a vehicle – car, don’t you think that that fellow – trainer, what does he
do? Hey, do these, these, these things and Don’t do these, these, these things.
Recently I was in ‘Chinmaya Vibhooti’, our ashram in Pune. We, I had a camp,
for two and half days, three days camp. And its a large complex and they did not allow
any vehicle, beyond a certain point and they were using golf cart. So one day, I was just
going around and then I used to go in the cart, somebody used to drive, one driver used to
be there. So I said, one day, let me try to drive this car. Hm? So that is when I saw the
kali is sitting on the head (laughs). So uh, so the driver sat next to me, and, thank God
there are – I didn’t know – uh, no passenger. And it is a circular thing. Went to the car
and went. You know in that golf cart, you have the, only the accelerator and a small little
pedal for, stop – break. But I was pressing the accelerator slowly and then we went on.
And when it came to the place where I had to stop – and the driver thought that I
know driving – so, ‘stop, Swamiji stop. Stop, better to stop’. And instead of pressing the
break (laughs), I pressed the accelerator little more… D…A…H – went and hit, one wall
was there, broke into pieces. This some twenty days back. And somebody was very
eagerly taking a video also (laughter). ‘Swamiji is’, commentary was there – ‘Swamiji is
now driving a car. Swamiji is going around, and around the garden, he is coming, he is
coming, HE IS COMING’ (laughter continues). I hope to put it in the youtube or
something. Watch for it, I will send you.
So you know how to put an accelerator. But should know where the break also.
Whenever you are learning about something, you should know what to do and surely you
should know what not to do. No doubt fire is very important in our life because by which
we cook, etc. But you should know what not to do with that fire. You know? One lady it
is said that she came to visit his son, her son from a village. And she had never lived in a
very you know, town at all, city at all. They had even no electricity in that place. She
came to visit his son, visit her son. And, when her son went for work, she was you know,
restless, (to) do something. And she was cleaning the entire house. You know because as
bachelor he was not doing anything. As you know, dirty room it was. You know
dormitory? If you write in, jumble the letters it will become ‘dirty room’ (laughter).
‘Dormitory’ (audience mumble, clarifying) – jumble the letters, it will become, ‘dirty
room’. Just like ‘mother-in-law’. You jumble the word, you know what it will become?
Jumble the word? ‘woman hitler’ (laughter). So she was… go home and try it.
She was cleaning (laughter continues), she was cleaning. And, that, that plug
point… she was cleaning and was curious and she put her hand. And when the boy came
back home she was dazed (laughter) and sitting in one place.
‘What happened?’
‘You should not live in this place’ (laughter).
‘No, what happened?’
‘There are ghosts’ (laughter). Ghosts are living in this place’.
‘Where ghosts? It is a apartment building’.
‘You don’t know, they are hidden. You know, I am new and therefore they talk to
me directly (laughter). You may not know it’.
‘Where did you find them?’
‘Don’t shout too much, they will come out.’
‘Where?’
‘I will show you, come. Please sit inside.’
So to that lady, that is a, something devil and is sitting there. So you know what it
is. So in everything that we utilize in this world, if you mis-utilize or don’t utilize it
properly, it becomes a danger to you – like a power or fire, or water even. Everything you
know, you should know, how to use or when to use and not to use. karyakarya-
vyavasthitau tasmac chastram pramanam : in the same way in this world, let us not go
keep on doing things whatever we feel like doing. And the result of which is, the
consequences are if you do not know what is right thing to do, it can become very
dangerous to you. Hm? It is not necessary that you have to smoke all through your life
and come to know, ‘yes! smoking is causing cancer and right’. What lesson you have
got? It is written there very clearly. ‘I don’t believe in that. I want to smoke and find out’.
You need to do all those things? Learn from others’ mistakes. Shastra is a set of
instructions no doubt, telling you these are the things if you do, if you will be alright, you
will get the right results and, these, these you should not do. pradishidham : should not be
done. You don’t need to do them and then find out that it should not be done. A
intelligent man is one who learns from others’ mistakes. You don’t need to commit
mistakes for that.
Therefore He says, jnatva sastra-vidhanoktam karma kartum iharhasi : hey

Arjuna, you thereof, thereafter you should engage in this world according to what is said
in the shastras. You, you qualify to do action only then. Even in the worldly life we find,
if one has to apply for a job don’t you ask for qualification? Uh? So in this world, when
you are living in this world, you must find out what are the qualification I should have, to
do certain things properly and learn what I should not do. We have thrown away the
shastras. We, what it is said, ‘oh, I don’t believe in shastra. What is written in some old,
you know, ancient, you know, how is it applicable today?’ You read everyday trash like
news, newspaper. How do you know that they are true? Somebody has written. ‘It is said
in the Paper.’ Why do say it is true? Why do you say what is said in the TV is true? You
believe right? You believe that foolish fellow whatever he is talking right there, and
whatever is written in that newspaper. But our Masters who sat and experienced,
meditated and understood, when they say, ‘I don’t believe that’.
So here. shastra is not trying to control you, they are trying to make you perfect.
So that you don’t need to suffer your life, doing wrong things. Given the life for twenty-
four hours a day, or three hundred and sixty five days in a year and given span of life,
usefully live and how you can utilize your time properly so that you can live happily in
this world, that is what is said there. And also consequences of wrong actions – to caution
you that this is what will happen. So therefore, tasmac chastram pramanam.
Now what are the pramanas, what are the instructions that are given? In the next
chapter – seventeenth chapter – Bhagavan Krishna says that, you will follow only on
which you have faith. sattvanurupa sarvasya sraddha bhavati bharata | sraddha-mayo
'yam puruso yo yac-chraddhah sa eva sah || (Gita 17:3) : in our intellect or mind, mind
and intellect they act, they are the antakaranas, the inner instruments that we have. Like I
have the hand and I can use the hand for various purposes. I can take this, and I can hold
something, I can use it for writing, I can use it for eating the food. So a same hand is used
for various purposes – I can comb my hair, I can slap somebody else, so many things
(laughs) I can do. But this hand I have the freedom to use the way I want. So, so is the
case with my mind – I can use it, I can misuse it; I can, I don’t use at all, uh?
One boy was very, very foolish and his father said, ‘hey, use your mind. Think
carefully’. The boy was very practical person. ‘Daddy, I have at least sixty more, seventy
more years to go. If I use everything now itself, I will be like you’ (laughs).
So this, in of your antakaranas – that is called sattva in this context –
sattvanurupa sarvasya sraddha bhavati : as per your belief, so will be your faith. What
you believe in, so will be your further contact in that direction. sraddha-mayah ayam
purusah : a man is what he believes in. yo yac-chraddhah sa eva sah : whatever is your
faith, so is your personality.
So therefore, sraddha, sraddha vibadha : you might have called that, various
divisions of shraddha is given.
So now in the seventeenth chapter, He says that, there are, the question raised by
Arjuna is, if a person is not following the shastra, but he has a great shraddha on the
Lord, is that ok? He doesn’t read any scripture, but he has great shraddha on the Lord –
on the Lord – and he believes in devotion, etc. So in that context only … (addressing an
audience member) hey sit down. Another ten minutes only, I will not trouble you any
more. (continues) So, so, what would be the nature of a person, according to his gunas?
So Bhagavan Krishna says, these three gunas, they give you, the accordingly the
shraddha, faith – a sattvic person what shraddha he will have faith, and what things he
will have faith; a rajasic person what faith he will have and in the tamasic person what
faith he will have. shraddhatraya vibhada – there is a whole list of things, including food.
The food He says, a man of sattva will eat those food, with that gives him long life. Not
merely tasty. What makes his physical body healthy and have long sustaining uh – what
do you call – energy as well as long life. A rajasic person on the other hand would like
that food, which is instantaneously gratifying, gives him physical excitement and causing
ultimately agitations in the mind… spicy, salty, barbecue, shh, ahh… (laughter), water
start, so hot… crying. That is rajas.
Tamasic person he wants very spiritual – old, uh, what do you call, stale, at least
five days rotting in that, outside; inside already it is one month old (laughter), outside.
Some people cook for the family one whole month. Into the day term, take it and put it in
the uh, what is it called, microprocessor – zzzzz – and eat it. Stale, totally it is going,
outside it has become so rotten, inside also it continues to rot. Gurudev used to say that
people who eat this rotten food, or especially this meat, etc., they are the mobile burial
grounds. Mobile burial grounds – food is already is dead, you eat that and carry it around
(laughter). When I travel sometimes I find you know, in especially three-seater thing?
And the person next to me if it happened to be a person who has eaten all sort of useless
things – dog and dog food and all those things and all – and that is ok, let them eat. But
the worse thing is when they open their mouth and sleep – ah, ah… and the air flows
through his mouth to me (laughs). That is real hell for me.
So people who eat rotten food, stale, filthy, they are tamasic – they love it.
So three types of food – that which gives you long life, energy and not exciting
the senses, that is sattvic. Those which excite the senses, mere temporary pleasures and in
fact persecution of that your senses, etc., that is rajas. Stale, filthy, not eatable in, kept for
a long time in, for to rot and that you eat, it is tamasic. And accordingly your mind will
function. See it is said that the food that you eat, the gross portion gets out of your
system. The subtle portion makes this physical body, I mean the middle portion. The
subtle most portion of the body, food, makes your mind. The food is divided into three –
the gross goes away in the body, I mean goes away in the state, physical matter. The
middle one stays to make your body, and the subtle one makes your mind.
In the same way, water, the gross one goes as the urine. The middle one stays as
the blood, and the subtle one makes your prana. So the food is not just for the physical
body. So it is necessarily influencing your mind. So the food that you eat is going to
decide the kind of thoughts that you will have. Or the kind of thoughts will decide what
kind of food that you will like. So the food also (are) of three types. In that context only
He says, the sattvic person takes care of all aspects of his personality, not just reading the
book and then knowing about the terms used in the Upanishads and Vedas, etc. – not only
that. But in his speech, in his conduct. As for example here we will read that forty-third
verse.
anudvega-karam vakyam
anudvega-karam vakyam
satyam priya-hitam ca yat |

satyam priya-hitam ca yat |
svadhyayabhyasanam caiva
svadhyayabhyasanam caiva
van-mayam tapa ucyate || (Gita 17:15)

van-mayam tapa ucyate || (Gita 17:15)
Speech has to be spoken in such a way that it doesn’t hurt anybody. anudvega-
karam vakyam : it doesn’t hurt anybody, it doesn’t excite anybody. That kind of a words
be spoken. And even as you speak words that doesn’t hurt anyone, it should be true –
satyam : it should be true, not what you imagine yourself. Even as you speak the truth,
you should not be harsh while speaking – priya-hitam : you should say lovingly. If you
want to say somebody is very ugly… (uses loving tone) ‘how ugly you are’ (laughter).
You know one boy, he, you know very boldly speaking. One aunt came, and
during some house party or something, one aunt came. ‘You are so ugly’, he said. So, his
mother took him aside, ‘you know, people don’t go, say such things. You should not say
such things. Say, go and say sorry to that aunt’. So that boy came, ‘I am very sorry that
you are ugly’ (laughter).
So, anudvega-karam vakyam : words should not excite people. satyam : yes, it is
true that she is ugly. But you do not need to tell that. priya-hitam : you should speak very,
very, you know, sweetly. And this can happen only when svadhyaya abhyasanam : see,
when we read the life of great people, we come to realize that, how they carried their life
so beautifully. svadhyaya is self study. When you read the scriptures or the stories or the
life of the great people, you will understand they also lived life like any one of us but
they made it so beautiful. svadhyaya abhyasanam : the self study and practice, that will
make your speech, anudvega-karam, satyam priya-hitam. This is called vaan-maya
tapas : the austerity of speech. Because Bhagavan Shankaracharya says, yogasya
prathamadvaaram (Vivekachudaamani : 367) : the first door to yoga. As we say there are
three doors to hell, here Bhagavan Shankaracharya gives another door, the door to real,
joyful living – yoga – is vaak nirodhah : control of speech. You should know what to
speak, when to speak, how to speak, where to speak, how much and how much not to.
Before the people expect you to stop, you stop.

om sarve bhavantu sukhinah
End of Session #6
SESSION #7
Swamiji:
O…M


Talks
We are in the last section of this collection of verses. The last two, three chapters
are about the saadhana, that is the required adjustments to be done in our personality to
ultimately realize the higher self. And as I said yesterday, Bhagavan Krishna has given
already various concepts and ideas, to impress upon and as well as convince us that, ‘yes,
I need to have this as my purpose. If not that I would achieve today or tomorrow or in this
lifetime, I would get prepared atleast’. Hm? bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam
prapadyate | vasudevahsarvamiti samahatma sudurlabhah || (Gita 7:19) : after many,
many lives, an individual who has been striving finally gets to know what that supreme
truth is. And he realizes that the Lord is everything. Unless we start sometime, we will
never proceed further. If you keep on postponing it, hm, lives after lives one will be only
living in the darkness and will never see the light.
So here, Bhagavan Krishna says, make certain adjustments in your personality. As

we saw yesterday, anudvega-karam vaakyam satyam priya-hitam ca yat | svaadhyaaya
abhyasanam caiva vaan-mayam tapa ucyate || (Gita verse 17.15). vaan-mayas tapah,
anudvega-karam vaakyam : in, it is said in the life of Socrates also, once his friend came
to him, Socrates’s friend. And he said, ‘you know, I have something to tell you about uh,
someone’. Like you know, when few people meet, ‘you know? About him, about her?’
That is called gossip. Especially if the other person is not there, it becomes more
interesting. So in the same way this man came to him and said, ‘you know, I have to tell
you about that fellow’. Socrates being a very wise person, unlike us – immediately we
say, ‘what is it? what is it?’ All ears. He said, ‘ok, before you tell me about someone, I
want to ask you three questions. Answer this.’ This I talked to young children in one the
camps, very interesting. So they were very eager to know, what are the three things?
First one is, ‘is it true? What you are going to tell me about my friend, is it true?’
That fellow thought, ‘actually, uh… I am not sure. I heard somewhere. So I am not sure
whether it is true or not.’ ‘If you are not sure whether it is true or not, but you heard that
you want to tell me also.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Alright, you do not know whether it is true or false.
Alright, I accept’.
Second is, ‘is it good about that person?’ ‘If it is good about the person, why I
should say secretly to you?’ (laughs) ‘It is not good about that person. Something bad
about that person’.
‘So you do not know whether it is true, and it is not good. Uh? Alright. Even that
is accepted’.
The third one is, ‘is it useful to me?’ ‘Actually… it is not useful or not useful… it
is nothing like that. But just like that. So you do not know whether it is true or not. It is
not good about that person, and it is not at all useful to me. Why should you tell me
then?’
So that is the men of wisdom. They do not entertain anything that is mere gossip.
It is useless talk.
So when I was teaching this to the children, and after my session was over, so
they came for announcements – you know, the organizers. So that fellow was doing
something outside, and then when he heard that my session is getting over he came
inside. ‘And children, I have to tell you some announcements’. They all said, ‘IS IT
TRUE?’ (laughs) He didn’t understand, ‘what, what is it? Yeah, it is an announcement’.
‘IS IT GOOD?’ (laughs) ‘IS IT USEFUL?’
He was utterly shocked about that.
So here also, Bhagavan Krishna gives four pointers. anudvega-karam : not

exciting. satyam : truthful. priya-hitam : that which is spoken with great love. And He
says, svaadhyaaya abhyasanam caiva : study of scriptures, and understanding how to
speak, how to deliver, how to communicate. Now-a-days the children you know, when
you speak, you don’t even understand because there is no grammar at all, anyway first of
all. Even when they write, in the email also you will see all the spellings are wrong. Only
thing is they are interested in, whether it is conveyed or not. Is it not? Most of them,
when you make mistake, the computer corrects itself. ‘I go, you go, we go?’ ‘I go, you
go, we go?’ That is a song! (laughs). And the rap song. The best rap song was written by
Shankaracharya only.
(sings) ayi girinandini nanditamedini (laughter) vishvavinodini

(‘Mahishhaasuramardini Stotram’ by Adi Shankaracharya) – that is a best uh, best song,
rap song. nalini jalagatha dalmithi taralam – tat vat jeevitham adhisaya chapalam
(‘Bhaja Govindam’ by Adi Shankaracharya) – can anybody beat this? (laughter).
So the songs are also like that – I go, you go, we go. No grammar, nothing.
Anyway.
So anudvega-karam – udvega-karam means that which excites others – a-

nudvega-karam. satyam : that should be tested by four things. Even in Rotary Club that
they have, the same. Is it not? I attended one Rotary International camp. Then I spoke on
this, that ‘how’ we speak has to be decided by not their, the speech. It is about any action,
any project that you undertake. Can it benefit the maximum number of people? Is it
useful to the people? Uh? Does it help everybody? Is it useful to everyone? Uh? Is it done
with an intention of serving?
So, in the same way, anudvega-karam : not hurting others or exciting others.
satyam : it should be truthful. yatha drishtam, yatha drishtam, yatha sh-r-tam, yatha
anumidam – that is what is considered to be correct. What is seen – proper; what is heard
and what is understood, as it is you speak. That is called satyam; satyam. priyahitam : it
should be spoken with great love. Even if you are telling the truth, what you should say?
(says lovingly) ‘How ugly you are?’ You should tell with great love (laughs). Yesterday
also I told you about that. So, priyahitam. Then one should understand the way to speak
by sva-adhyaaya abhyasanam caiva. vaan-mayam tapa ucyate : that is called, austerity of
speech.
Then He says, next is the mind as we read the next verse, forty-four (refers to his
compilation) –
manah prasadah saumyatvam
manah-prasadah saumyatvam
maunam atma-vinigrahah |
maunam atma-vinigrahah |
bhava-samsuddhir ity etat

bhava-samsuddhir ity etat
tapo manasam ucyate || (Gita 17,16)

tapo manasam ucyate || (Gita 17,16)
Again four pointers for mind’s austerity, austerity of the mind. First is, manah
prasaadh. prakrshyena seedadi idi prasaadah. In Sanskrit, seedadhi is to sit. Uh? seedh –
sadh is the original root. sadh is to sit. prasaadah means to place your mind comfortably.
Just like when you are physically sitting in a chair or somewhere, comfort, comfortably
you would like to sit, so that you can sit for a long period of time. Similarly the mind has
to sit in one place. So the practice of that – keeping your mind steadily in one thing – that
is called manah prasaadh. It is not concentration. It is steadiness. Concentration is, there
is a focus, there is a, an attention. Here it is, just keeping your mind restfully, in one
place.
So that itself is very difficult. Our mind is so restless, and more cookies you eat,
more restless it become (laughs). More sugar you add to your food, the more restless it
would become(s). Because the rajas is increased. The activity is increased. The nature of
rajas is prakriti. So more sugar, more things you put into the body, then the mind also get
agitated. As I told you, the subtle most portion of your food, constitute your mind, gross
portion of your food goes out and the middle portion is making the body. So the mind is
surely decided by the food that you eat and therefore, manah prasaadh : those food or
those actions, those habits that can make your mind calm.
saumyatvam – sauymat means calmness, or not only calmness, gentleness.

saumya, uh? That is gentleness – not harsh, not arrogant, in the mind one should have…
That is why specially they say, ‘Gentlemen, Womens’, what do you call? ‘Ladies and
gentlemen’. Because women are in general gentle only (laughs). For men you have
specifically say, ‘Gentlemen!’ So basically the mind has to become gentle – not to be
very harsh and arrogant and other things. manah-prasadah saumyatvam, then maunam :
an ability to withdraw from the activity of speech, atleast one hour a day. Try.
‘Swamiji! Eight hours I don’t speak in a day’. That is the time when that mind,
the world is also peaceful and you don’t speak! (laughs) Of course those seven, eight
hours, when you have a sound sleep – sleep for you and sound for others… but that sound
also should be stopped. So not that eight hours of sleep. But first austerity you should
have is, morning before you finish your physical cleanli(ness), cleaning the body and
taking a shower, etc., uptill the time you enter the Lord’s abode or worship room, don’t
speak to anyone. Because the moment you start speaking, the mind starts getting agitated
– planning and other thing – everything starts. So till you reach the altar of the Lord and
sit with Him, first switch should be to invoke the Lord. Start the day with OM. In front of
the Lord. Don’t say, ‘OM again’. So soon as you wake up (chuckles), ‘OM! Ok, now I
am ready’. That’s not right.
First few hours, or if possible at least first one hour of the day should be in
silence. And that silent mind only can enjoy the nature, the beauty of the early morning’s
calmness as well as your mind becoming calm, and invoking the Lord in that calm mind,
till you invoke the Lord in your mind, don’t speak to anybody. Hm? Don’t start the day
with the trash in the newspaper – ‘five people killed in the University of Illinois’. Don’t
start the day with such killing and violence. Or share – ‘Swamiji, share market, you
know? No, I won’t speak but I just watch’ (chuckles). ‘Hong Kong share is opened.’
None of those. Start the day with prayer. And start the day with silence. So
saumyat, maunam. atma-vinigrahah : ability to withdraw the mind at ease, effortlessly. In
the conducive environment maybe your mind is quiet and calm but in the midst of all
activities, it is even believed that… I mean one Japanese surgeon had reportedly, recently
or sometime back I have read that, maybe (a) year back. He said that when he used to go
for a(n) intensive surgery, he used to call all his you know, colleagues and others –
subordinates and fellow doctors, who are going to part of the surgery – they stand in front
of the table, where they are going to do and maintain a minute or two silence, praying for
the you know, for the patient as well as invoking the presence of higher energy before
they engage into that very surgery. And he said the ability to perform increased and also
the concentration upon what they are doing becomes better.
You can even apply before you, if you are having a meeting, a important meeting
in your own workplace, begin that with certain amount of silence. Because sometimes
when we read, when we are start, talking to someone, when we are angry about, upset
(with) something, and rush into this meeting room, that same state of mind continues.
And then whatever decision you take would not be effective. So it is better to start any
meeting or any important discussion with certain amount of silence. That is why we start
our, any of our program with this invocation, etc. Why, because mind has to become
calm and quiet.
So withdrawal of the mind for a while before you engage. Just like you are aiming
and uh, what do you call, shooting an arrow, what you should first do is to pull it inside.
And then only release. Even when you are using a gun, you pull it inside. And then only
you release. Is it not? Then only it is powerful! Similarly the mind withdrawn and then
engaged is more powerful than you know, doing it without that withdrawal. The power is
more when you pull it inside. So therefore efficiency increases if you able to withdraw
the mind and then engage it. So here, atma-vinigrahah : withdrawal of the mind.
One more pointer He says, bhava-samsuddhih : an, a noble attitude in whatever

you do. bhava is attitude, samsuddhih : purity, purity in attitude. So five pointers He says
– manah prasadah : that is quietude of the mind, saumyatvam : gentle, maunam : silence,
atma-vinigrahah : withdrawal of the mind before engaging in it, and bhava-samsuddhi :
the correct or the appropriate, pure attitude on any activity. ity etat, tapo maanasam
ucyate.
See, tapas by word that very meaning is austerity. Anybody who performs a
tapas will get a result. Uh? But who is doing the tapas is very important. For example,
you have all read Ramayana, right? Three brothers were there and three of them engaged
in tapas. Who are the three brothers? Ravan, Shatrugna, (laughter) who else? And
Kamsa, correct? (laughter) Ravan, who else? (audience continue, answering) (Swamiji
continues) Vibhishan, Kumbakarna. So Ravana also engaged in tapas, Kumbakarna also
engaged in tapas and Vibhishina also engaged in tapas. For all the three the Lord Brahma
appeared in front of them. Because anybody who does the tapas, the Lord is, Lord comes
there. Ok, He came.
Now what they asked depends upon what their background was. For Vibhishan,
thus background was sattva. And therefore when he was asked, ‘what you want’? He
said, ‘I want love for the Lord – give me that devotion’. rajasic – Ravana, when he was
asked ‘what do you want?’ He said, ‘I want to be unconquerable. Nobody can conquer
me’. When our wonderful Kumbakarna… you know once when I was teaching my
students, one fellow who did not know how to pronounce, uh, purna kumbha (laughter).
So he, I said, I said, ‘one Swamiji is coming, so we have to prepare ourself.’
‘I will do the kumbakarna’ (laughter).
‘What?’ (laughs)
‘I will do kumbarkarna.’
I said, ‘you don’t do kumbakarna’ (laughs). ‘You are a Kumbakarna’ (laughter).
So, ‘purna kumbha’ become ‘kumbakarna’.
(laughs) So he being tamasic by nature, ‘what do you want?’

‘Oh, I have been doing austerity for so long, let me sleep for six months.’
tataastu. Six months you sleep and six months you eat. Because he was doing
austerity, and he was constantly thinking, ‘I cannot sleep, I cannot eat, I cannot sleep, I
cannot eat’. Like many of us during our upas and all – when you don’t eat, etc., what
goes on in your mind is, ‘when do I eat, when do I eat, when do I eat’ (laughs).
A simple policy if you practicing any of this upasana is, when you don’t eat, give
the food to somebody else. Uh? Double benefit you get. One is not eating, that is
reducing your food, I mean your size. Then another one is, at least give the food to
somebody else.
So tapas who does is very important. tapas by itself will give a result. But what is
your intention. bhava-samsuddhi – that is what it is saying there. bhava-samsuddhir ity
etat tapo manasam ucyate. So the Ravana who is rajasic he got the rajasic power;
tamasic power went to Kumbakarna; and sattvic result was for Vibhishan. That is the
word also, ‘Vibhishan’ – no bha(ya), no fear. Uh? Ravana means, he who makes
everybody cry. That is what ‘Ravana’. So if you that kind of a person, better get that
name also – so Ravan.
So here, manah-prasadah saumyatvam maunam atma-vinigrahah, and then,

bhava-samsuddhir ity etat tapo maanasam ucyate.
Next one is, because these three things which are said to be very important, yajna-
dana-tapah-karma na tyajyam karyam eva tat (Gita 18,5). So in that tapas is already
spoken, now dhaanam : how to give charity. That is given here in the next verse (verse
forty-five in Swamiji’s compilation). Yes-
datavyam iti yad danam
datavyam iti yad danam
diyate 'nupakarine |
diyate 'nupakarine |
dese kale ca patre ca

dese kale ca patre ca
tad danam sattvikam smrtam || (Gita 17,20)

tad danam sattvikam smrtam || (Gita 17,20)
In the case of a satvic, saattvic person, daanam : charity, he does. When he gives
charity or gives any help to anyone, it is done with an idea that this is something which I
would like to do. datavyam : to be given. This is my duty, responsibility and this is
joyfully, cheerfully, happily one should share whatever one wants to share – daatavyam.
iti yad danam. diyate : he gives, anupakarine : without expecting anything in return. Uh?
Giving should be such that there should not be any expectation of anything in return.
But while giving, one should keep three things in mind. To whom are you giving,
when are you giving, and where are you giving. dese : place, kale : time, patre : to the
person, to whom you are giving. ca, tad danam sattvikam smrtam. Sometimes when,
somebody asks the help, we don’t give at that time. And later on when you give it, there’s
no use at all. So that is called kala – what time you have to give.
dese means at what place you have to give. You know. Place is also very
important. When you are really appreciating and recognizing somebody, it should be
done in the presence of all others. Appreciation should not be done in privacy… call, ‘I
really appreciate’… why didn’t you do when everybody was present? So when that
assembly of people, there only you should really appreciate a person. But it is said that
when you want to criticize one, you should do when nobody is there.
We do just the opposite. When you want to criticize, when everybody is there we
try to ridicule a person. When you want to appreciate someone when nobody is there…
dese, kale ca. And you should know whom should we appreciate, appreciated for what
purpose. Or who should be helped, at what purpose. patre ca – patre means the
appropriateness of that individual or the receptable, the receiver should be very well
qualified for this. dese kale ca patre ca, tad danam sattvikam smrtam. And that also is
done, anupakarinae : without expecting anything in return.
Whereas in the case of a person who is rajasic, he will give only expecting
something in return, keeping that in mind, an agenda is already prepared. And even write
a note, the very dhaanam itself, ‘remember’(laughs), ‘that I am giving you this money
and… I just want you to remember’. So that when next time when he needs the help, he
can refer to that. Many of us you know, ‘uh, he didn’t call me for the birthday, why
should I go there?’ So we always have this ego and arrogance, ‘when we are not invited
and why should I invite him or her’. So we always do only the reciprocations.
It is said that one of the names of Sri Ram is purva bhashi : he doesn’t wait for
somebody to talk, he is one who would go forward and help others, talk to others and
appreciate others, not expecting anything in return – anupakarinae. Whereas a rajasic
person always think of getting something in return, without that he will not even engage
in it. Whereas a tamasic person is one, who gives, a dese kale patre ca : he gives in a
place where it is most inappropriate, for most unqualified person, in a most inappropriate
place, he will give it. That is taamasic.
So, one who is giving charity also must know to whom, for what and when and
where, one should give. So dhaanam is considered to be as very important, and the best
dhaanam is jnaana dhaanam. Next to jnaana dhaanam only anna dhaanam comes.
Because, as Swami Vivekananda has beautifully put, that if a person is hungry, feed him.
Better than that is to give him a work by which he will earn his own money. Better than
that is, make him, get him educated therefore, he will find his own work.
The best is to make him know who he is, the most beneficial one.
Giving food will solve the problem at that moment. Giving him a work may solve
the problem for a longer period of time. Giving him knowledge will make him have more
choices. But giving him the highest spiritual wisdom will free him from everything else.
So jnaana dhaanam, is the most important thing.
But then when, that is why appropriately – you cannot, a person is hungry,
coming and ‘bavati bikshandhi’. ‘Wait, I’ll tell you what is Brahman’. (laughs) That is,
dese kale ca patre ca : you should understand, for what he is qualified there. So, the atad
danam sattvikam smrtam : these are the things one should keep in mind.
Now, in the, following that’s the last chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks this
question, ‘so far You spoke about renunciation. Also You spoke about tyaaga or
sacrifice. Hm? I would like to know, what exactly is the difference? Is renunciation or
giving up, and complete sacrifice, are the one and the same, or two different things?’ So
here, in the next verse that is coming we will see, verse number forty-six (refers to his
compilation) –
na hi deha-bhrta sakyam
na hi deha-bhrta sakyam
tyaktum karmany asesatah |

tyaktum karmany asesatah |
yas tu karma-phala-tyagi
yas tu karma-phala-tyagi
sa tyagity abhidhiyate || (Gita 18,11)

sa tyagity abhidhiyate || (Gita 18,11)
Arjuna, no doubt, for the highest realization of the Truth, is possible only when
one completely renounces everything. Renunciation – tyageneka amritatva manasuh, it is
said. Na karmana na prajaya na danena tyagene eka amritatva manasuh : that supreme
joy only comes out of total renunciation.
But – He says – a person who is identified with his individual personality, deha-
bhrta : deha-bhrt means one who holds himself as only the body. na sakyam, karmany
tyagam kartum na sakyam, tyaktum na sakyam : it is not possible for a person who
believes that one is only the physical body, for him to give up completely all actions, is
not possible. For only the people who have evolved to such an extent that they don’t see
themselves anymore as the body, for them alone real, total renunciation is possible.
So, majority of the people, 99.9% of the people are not eligible for true sanyasa.
Even when Gurudev gave us this monastic renunciation, he said, there are two types of
people renunciation is there.
One is called, vidvat sanyasa and second is called vividhisha sanyasa. vidvat
sanyasa means after having realized the Truth, one takes to renunciation like in the case
of Tapovan-ji Maharaj or in the case of Ramana Maharishi and such other people, who
have taken up to renunciation after having reached to certain high, high level of maturity
where they had no more desire to do anything. They are called vidvat sanyasi.
Whereas most people who take to renunciation are called, vividhisha sanyasa.
Meaning, wanting to pursue the path of knowledge, therefore they have decided not to do
anything else. Hm?
So here, this is the difference He makes. People who are identified with the
physical body as ‘me’, for them to not to act, is very difficult. Its not possible. Because so
long as you see yourself as the body, this body has to be taken care. For body to be taken
care, one has to go for the food and other thing. For acquiring food, then one has to work,
one has to serve, one has to be part of the society, world. So for such a person to
renounce, is not that easy.
That is why I have often tell you, you know, that people come to me and said,
‘Swamiji you are life is maja, maja’ (laughter). ‘You know, biksha everyday, you don’t
need to do anything and varieties of things are being given to you. Sweet O sweet
everyday… what life! maja maja only’. So one may think that you know to, you know, ‘I
think I have the best profession, Swamiji. Nice’. So one may think it is very attractive.
One lady came to me and said, ‘my second son is so useless. Why don’t you make
him a sanyasi?’ (laughter) It is very insulting you know? (laughter). Most useless people
become sanyasi (laughter continues). One boy came to me and said, ‘what was your
name when you were normal?’ (laughter). So these are all insulting, such questions we
get.
So one may think that it is you know, just maja karo, no, no, don’t worry
anything.
So here, Bhagavan Krishna says, so long as one is attached to the physical body,
one cannot completely give up all actions. Our Gurudev used to tell us that, if you have
not served the world or if you have not given a lecture a day, you are not fit to eat on that
day. You don’t deserve to keep that body when it is not ready to serve.
So he always cautioned us, don’t become a burden, don’t become a parasite in the
society. There are enough such sadhus available in this world. I don’t want you to be one
of them. Uh? jatilo mundi lunchitha kesaha--khaashaayaambara bahukrutha veshaha…
hiudaranimitam (‘Bhaja Govindam’ of Adi Shankara, Verse 14:) : uh, for the sake of
filling the belly… and you see, most sanyasi have a big belly also (laughs). Why?
Because they are not doing anything for the world. They are only filling themselves.
Gurudev used to say, such sanyasin once, three times a day they open their mouth
(laughs). Fill everything and close, that’s all they have. So that kind of a life… life is a
parasite life. Don’t be a parasite. Serve, without serving, no food.
So, what he instructed us is, the second one, karma phala tyagi. That is what is
called tyaga. yas tu karma-phala-tyagi sa tyagity abhidhiyate : he is called a tyagi. That
is why it is said, ‘Gita’ also, when you continuously chant ‘gita, gita’, what it becomes?
Keep chanting, ‘gita’. ‘gita, gita, gityagitya, gitya, gita’. It become, ‘tyagi, tyagi, tyagi’.
So ‘Gita’ teaches us to be a tyagi, meaning do your work, renounce your results.

karma-phala-tyagi, karma-phala-tyagi, tyagity abhidhiyate : so it is not easy to give up
actions. Because to give up action, you must give up your individuality. Are we ready? If
somebody criticizes, what you have done, how much of anger, and how much of, how
much upset you become? As even you offer the food to someone, you put your food onto
your table, to your husband. And if he doesn’t say anything, how much you, ‘say
something, is it good or bad?’ So you want appreciation for even little, little things.
‘Eating like… nonga, nonga, nonga. Say something.’
So we want appreciation, we want recognition, we want something in return, for

everything that we do. Uh? So even a little action we are not ready to do without
expecting a result. So long as I have strong identity with, ‘I am this’, ‘I want me, myself
to be appreciated’. Even a small child want to be appreciated, to be you know,
recognized, to be encouraged. Uh?
So it is therefore, very difficult for a person who holds himself as an individual to

give up all actions. So Bhagavan, Bhagavan Krishna here prescribes to us, therefore,
engage in action, renounce the results. karma-phala-tyagi, tyagity abhidhiyate : so, He
says, never give up your work, until the work goes away from you.
Like your own child when she was very small, she was very fond of that teddy
bear and other instrument, I mean what do you call, other, other playful things. But when
exactly you think she gave up all those things? Is it a particular day you mark, ‘this day
onwards she never started using this teddy bear’, ‘this day onward she stopped playing
with the, toys’. No. It is a, the process was very, very slow giving up.
The child grew out of that need, especially if that child has another sister or a
brother, it is so difficult for the child to share that toy or the thing, with another person.
But yet at some point of time, she grew out of it and gave her things to the, others – to
sister or brother or somebody.
So this is that growing up. So therefore real renunciation is not giving up. It is
growing up. Have you grown up? Or still you are stuck to your own old habits?
Everyday process should be a process of growing up. Have you given up your old
habits or you are going back to it again and again?
That growing up is what Bhagavan prescribes here as the way to success. As we
see in the next verse, verse number forty-seven (refers to his compilation) –
yatah pravrttir bhutanam
yatah pravrttir bhutanam
yena sarvam idam tatam |

yena sarvam idam tatam |
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya

sva-karmana tam abhyarcya
siddhim vindati manavah || (Gita 18,46)

siddhim vindati manavah || (Gita 18,46)
yatah means yasmaat. pravrttih bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam : here, if one
person wants to really achieve great success, yatah – yasmaat – from whom, from which,
bhutanam pravrittih : the creation has to, has come about, yena : by whom alone idam
sarvam tatam – everything is spread, everything is pervaded. From whom everything has
come, by whom alone everything is pervaded. tam : Him, sva-karmana abhyarcya : by
worshipping Him through one’s own action, manavah siddhim vindati : a person really
achieves the greatness.
So in all religion it is spoken that from the Lord alone everything has come, by
the Lord alone everything is pervaded, into Him alone everything goes back. Uh? God is
omniscient, it is said. In the ‘Upanishad’ also it is said, tasmatva etasmat akasha
sambooda nityadi… yatova imaani bhuttaani jaayante, yena jaataani jeevanti, yat
prayanty abhisham vishanti – tad vijignasasvad – tad brahma – e iti : where everything
has come, where everything is staying, to Him alone everything goes back.
This table which I have in front of me is made of wood. Right? From where it
came? From wood. What it is? Wood. To where it will go back? It will become pieces of
wood after sometime. So in the same way, the world has come from one source, it is
pervaded by that alone and it will go back to that alone. That is what is referred as the
Lord.
Lord is not what you worship merely in the temple or church or the mosque. He
is the one who is pervading in, through everything. For our own convenience we keep a
particular form. Uh? But that is not He. Like your child has gone to university and
therefore you keep a picture of your child, uh, for you to just remind yourself. When the
child himself is in front of you, instead of looking at the child, ‘wait, I am looking at your
picture’ (laughs). How insulting it will be? ‘I think in the picture you look good, than
this’.
Bhagavan is there in everything but since we do not have that perception,
therefore we need a(n) icon. For a Mahatma who has thus seen Him as ‘chinmayam vyapi
yat sarvam trilokyam sa characharam’ : He is spread everywhere. For Him there is no
particular icon or a symbol or a form required. For, from Him alone everything has come.
By Him alone everything is pervaded. Into Him alone everything goes back.
To that Person, to that Being, to that Supreme, if one offers all his actions, ‘sva-
karmana tam abhyarcya’ : that is why, work is a worship, hm? Work will become a
worship only when you do the action for the Lord. When you worship, what happens is
your worries are shipped (laughs). When you for work only yourself, then it is a lot of
worry comes in. ‘To the Lord, to Him, unto Him, I do. Unto Him are my actions. All that
I do are for the Lord’.
With that as I told you, at what time? Morning eight to ten right?
‘kishnarpanamastu’, ‘krishnarpanamastu’… salt is not there, ‘krishnarpanamastu’. For
you the ‘krishnarpanamastu’, for me you put the salt (laughs). Even that angry words of
your husband, ‘krishnarpanamastu’. Do not consider him as your husband. Consider him
as Krishna – Krishna is in this form, testing me. And your son, teenager son who never
listens to you, in that way He is testing me. And the dog comes and licks me – then
Krishna – in that way He is tasting me. (laughs).
So in every form you understand the Lord is testing or tasting –

‘krishnarpanamastu’, ‘krishnarpanamastu’. sva-karmana tam abhyarcya, siddhim
vindati manavah : by one’s own action; you don’t need to do specifically anything else,
do to the puja or prayer or anything else. sva-karmana : whatever is your action you
perform, tam abhyarcya : worshipping Him, siddhim vindati manavah : when or a person
will achieve the greatest, greatest… what do you call… success in his life.
See as you know, success in life without happiness is no success. You will be
successfully unhappy. ‘You want success or happiness?’ If anybody asks you, what do
you, what is your answer? ‘I want both’, you say… ‘I want to be successful AND happy’.
But I don’t give you a choice. You tell me one of these two.
It is like one you know, one management institute, they conducted an interview
and then. So final interview, they asked the student. Few of them were selected and one
of the student, when he came. ‘I can give you ten questions, easy questions or one tough
question. Which one you would like to have?’
‘One tough question.’
‘Ok’.
‘Which came first, day or night?’
The boy thought for a while, ‘day’.
‘How?’
‘Only one question you said’.
(laughs). That is smartness.
Another place somebody asked me. ‘Which came first? Swamiji, you are talking
about the creation and all those things. I, simple question I ask you. Which comes first?
Egg or a chicken?’
‘Egg or? Egg or chicken, right?’
So I simply told him, ‘whichever you order first, that will come’ (laughter).
So! So success you want, happiness you want. Choose between these two. Tell
me, which one you want? Success or happiness? How many of you say, ‘I want
happiness’? Raise your hand. How many of you say, ‘it doesn’t matter whether I am
happy or not. I want success’. Only one person raises his hand (laughs).
So no success guarantees happiness. There are enough people in this world who
are successful, totally unhappy. Because they are afraid of their own success, because
everybody else is trying to pull him down. Uh? That is why it is said, in the ladder to go
up, please don’t push others. Because when you come down, you have to meet them.
So in success therefore, if there is no happiness, it is not worthy of that pursuing

that. But if you are, that happiness is not temporary only which I am talking about. In the
pursuit of happiness, one may feel that one is not successful in the eyes of others. That is
why those who have taken to the spiritual path, for them the success is not what the world
considers it to be.
People ask me this question, ‘are you successful Swami?’ I said, ‘I don’t know’.
Because I don’t know what is want me to be successful. We are not working for success
here.
So in the pursuit of spiritual happiness, there is no definition of success according

to the world. And it is unfortunate people, who seek success, compromise happiness.
When you have got all the money, but nobody is there to share with you. Then what is the
point is there? Uh? So we must clearly understand, ‘what is my priority?’
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya, ‘siddhim’ means success. vindati manavah : real joy
is when you do it for the Lord with full cheerfulness and happiness.
So in the next verse (number forty eight, refer to Swamiji’s compilation),

Bhagavan Krishna says,
tam eva saranam gaccha
tam eva saranam gaccha
sarva-bhavena bharata |
sarva-bhavena bharata |
tat-prasadat param santim

tat-prasadat param santim
sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam || (Gita 18,62)

sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam || (Gita 18,62)
He says, if you are able to perform your actions as a dedication to the Lord, He
will make sure that you gain peace. tam eva : to Him alone, saranam gaccha : surrender.
sarva-bhavena : in all your, with all your mind, in all aspects of your personality, hey
bharata! tat-prasadat : by His grace, param santim : supreme peace, sthanam : supreme
abode of peace, prapsyasi : you will get. And what kind of abode is this? sasvatam
sthanam : eternal peace, this verse. Uh?
So we know, when somebody dies also, you may see in the obituary column,
right? ‘My grandfather attained eternal peace’. I saw one place, one joke only. So one,
one obituary column was there on one day, so ‘my grandfather obtained eternal peace, on
Thursday’. So next day, errata – came, ‘he is not reached there yet’ (laughs). That sure
(laughs)… the eternal peace no, just dying. Then everybody who is dying should be in
eternal peace. No, it is not so.
tam eva saranam gaccha : completely identify and totally surrender to Him only.
sarva-bhavena : in all aspects of your personality. tat-prasadat : by His Grace alone.
param santim, thanam prapsyasi sasvatam : you will attain that.
See, peace nobody can give you. Please understand one thing. Just like our Swami
Tejomayanandaji beautifully wrote in one place, nobody will give you rest. You should
take it. Is it not true? If you want to take rest, will somebody give you? What do you say?
‘Don’t disturb me, I am taking rest.’ From whom? Don’t you say, ‘I’m taking rest?’
Some people go to that toilet and stay there only. That is called ‘restroom’ there. That is
the only place, nobody is going to disturb you. Place, ‘restroom’.
One fellow was traveling one, from one city to another. Just takes two hours to
reach the other city. But it took five hours for him. So his wife was frantic and called,
‘what happened? You started in time and then you got so late?’ ‘What to do, on the road
when I was coming many places where the board was saying, “clean restroom”, “clean
restroom”. So I have to clean all the restrooms on the way.’ (laughter)
Anyway, some people didn’t understand, what to do! (laughter).
So, rest nobody can give you. You should take it. So is the case of peace also.
Nobody will give peace. In your own relationship you tell your wife, ‘please give me
some peace’. She will feel very insulted, ‘who am I to give peace to you?’
‘I am taking rest’, from whom? Are you taking from somebody else? Can
somebody give you, ‘ok, take some rest’?
You are to become one with yourself, you have to take it yourself. So, the similar
to that, peace nobody can give you. That, you have to find it on your own. And the
simplest way to find that peace, which really gives eternal happiness is tam eva saranam
gaccha sarva-bhavena bharata : surrender your actions, everything to the Lord.
At this present moment, where you are seeking so much of worldly success and so
much of comforts and conveniences and money and position, etc., it is difficult to change
your perception to that level. It is difficult. No doubt about that. We are aggressively
working in this world, trying to you know, achieve things which you would like to
achieve and desire.
But a part of your mind should start working in this way. Let me do one act in my
day which is not meant for my achievement – for my success, for my benefit – it is meant
for the Lord; one act. So many things you do. One simple act if you can do, not for
yourself; exclusively for the sake of the Lord.
It can be as simple as taking a flower from your garden and offering at the feet of
the Lord. Or you may go out and help someone who is not, from whom you are not
getting any return or reciprocation. Or even take the phone and say some loving words to
somebody who is in bereavement. It can, that is your choice. But do that act for the Lord.
Uh? You will find that is the most uh, the most happiest thing you will start looking
forward to do everyday.
Only when you start doing it you will realize the importance of such an act in
your life. Then thereafter you will try to emulate the same attitude in more, more things
that you do. And that is how you grow.
tam eva saranam gaccha sarva-bhavena bharata | tat-prasadat : what you gain in
return is His prasad, grace – the Lord’s grace. That is why we chant in our pledge also, is
it not? ‘May thy grace and blessings flow through us to the world around us.’ The grace
of the Lord has to flow through you. The joy and peace that you will start receiving from
the Lord, you will start giving it to others too. If you don’t receive you cannot give. If
you don’t gain, you cannot spend.
So no one can really give you peace, only he who has the peace can give you.
And he who has got the peace has gained it by his own efforts. Hm?
Gurudev used to say, don’t be a beggar of love. Splash everybody whoever comes
in front of you with a hose pipe of love. If they don’t want, they will go away. But you
don’t stop.
So that is why He says, in the next verse He clearly says, leave everything and
take surrender. As He says, this is a famous verse we all know (number forty nine, refer
to Swamiji’s compilation),
(Swami-ji chanting, group joins chanting)

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja |
aham tvam sarva-papebhyah
moksayisyami ma sucah || (Gita 18,66)
Bhagavan began his teachings in the eleventh chapter… I mean sorry, second
chapter, eleventh verse (Gita 2,11) –
asocyan anvasocas tvam prajna-vadams ca bhasase : you are worried about something
which you should not worry about, you are sorrowful about something you are not
supposed to be sorrowful about. The last statement of the Lord is, ma sucah : don’t
worry.
sogam jahyaat : give up that sorrow.
So in the beginning itself He said, ‘don’t worry’. At the end He says, don’t worry.
So what does the whole ‘Bhagavad Gita’ is about? How not to worry. Uh? Because what
is said in the beginning should be the end. You said something in the beginning and
totally different at the end… you go to a place and say, ‘ok, I am giving a talk on the
importance of Communism in the human society’. At the end of the talk, ‘therefore
Communism should be destroyed’ (laughs). Where did you begin and where did you
end? It should be… so, that is why it is said that, upakarma upasamhar : your beginning
and end should be the same. Uh? Otherwise, people get confused – why you started
something and ended in something else? Here we can clearly see, asocyan anvasocas
tvam prajna-vadams ca bhasase : you are worried about something you should not worry
about. At the end He says, ‘ma sucah’ : don’t worry.
How can I not worry? sarva-dharman parityajya : giving up all your worldly
responsibilities, mam ekam saranam vraja : surrender to me one pointedly. aham tvam
sarva-papebhyah. aham : I, tva sarva-papebhyah : your all sins, moksayisyami : I will
make you get released from all those things. ma sucah : don’t worry.
As I said earlier, if He had said this before itself there is no discussion then. Why
so many verses before He finally says, give up everything?
The maturity of the student has to be judged before giving him instructions. He
said that I do not know what dharma I have to follow, please teach me. What is the last
statement of the Lord? ‘Give up everything’! Why didn’t you say, say first itself?
(laughs) You will not be able to give up, unless you know the value of giving up. Hm?
To give up a thing is very easy – walk out of it. But the value of giving up is coming out
of your maturity. You are growing. As I said you grow up. Without growing up giving up
will become very painful.
Some people say, ‘Swamiji, I have decided to give up. I just saw you eating, you
are not eating any of this rice, etc. I am planning to give up eating rice. ‘How long’, I
asked. First two days, till the memory of the Swami is there. Afterwards, ‘I am not
feeling full at all. dedo… rice.’ That is joy! It is very difficult to really give up something
unless you grow up. It will be painful.
So this growing up is what Bhagavan Krishna is elaborating all through; and then
finally He says, ‘now, you can now get rid of it’. sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam
saranam vraja : giving up all your dharma. All dharma means your dharma of in terms of
a raja-dharma or the family and other responsibilities. All these various duties that you
have, you finally can give up only when you have decided to become surrendered to Me
– the Lord. Otherwise, giving up and then do what?
sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja : reach Me in surrender.

sarvam render iti surrender. sur-under iti surrender (laughs). Should (pauses) put your
head under the feet of the Lord. So surrender and then I take care of your sins. aham tva
sarva-papebhyah moksayisyami. ma sucah : don’t worry. We give up and worry. I give
up to the Lord, I don’t know what He is going to do (laughs). Just like the, you know a
monkey carrying the… what do you call… it’s… what do you call monkey’s child?
chotta monkey? So it is always holding on to the mother’s body when it jumps from one
tree to another.
But if you have seen a kitten, it never cares. The mother has to pick it up and
move from place to place. The kitten is unconcerned about that, totally given up.
Whereas a monkey would not do that. It has to hold on to the mother’s body. Most of us
are of that monkey category. Even you say, ‘O Lord is there’. ‘But I have to also do
something about it’ (laughs). Where as the kitten is so unconcerned – ‘Lord will take
care. Why should I bother about that?’ But that kind of surrender is very difficult.
The last verse in this is not the statement by Arjuna or Krishna. So long we saw
only these two people talking. The last statement is by Sanjaya. Because Sanjaya only
began the whole conversation, now Sanjaya ends it. And what he is saying? That
wherever the Lord is there and wherever a disciple like Arjuna is there, there cannot but
be success. As he says here:
yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah |

yatra partho dhanur-dharah |
tatra srir vijayo bhutir

tatra srir vijayo bhutir
dhruva nitir matir mama || (Gita 18,78)

dhruva nitir matir mama || (Gita 18,78)
He says, yatra : where, yogesvarah krsnah : the Lord of all wealth or all skills –
yoga ishwarah – and yatra partho : where the Partha also, dhanur-dharah : who is
wielding his bow. Which means… in this context Bhagavan Krishna says, I mean the…
Sanjaya says, where you are doing your best in whatever you are doing, as a dhanur-
dharah : Arjuna, not afraid of anything, ready to face the challenges but not with the
arrogance and ‘I am doing it’, with him is the Lord.
yatra yogesvarah krsno, yatra partho dhanur-dharah : where there is a your own
endeavor, your own self effort is there, plus the blessings or grace of the Lord
because of your devotion to Him is also there, there – tatra – srih, vijayah, bhutih,
dhruva nitih. Four things – srih is prosperity, vijayah : success, bhutih is wealth, dhruva
nitih means firm abidance in truth or policy. In fact in any business organization these
four are very important. A organization, a company should have sound policies; sound
policies means not making policy very, very sound, voluminous. No, no; sound policy
means a firm policy – principles. So the policy is very important.
Second is, see the policy should be guiding that company for success. Prosperity
is goodwill. Then bhutih – wealth will come. Uh? So goodwill, success, wealth – sound
policy. It should be other way round first. The order is other way around. Sound policy
for the success with creating correct goodwill will give you the correct profit.
He says, yatra yogesvarah krshnah : where the Lord is present, where to Whom
you have dedicated your work; and you are doing your best – dhanur-dharah parthah. So
even for children, you know. When you are studying for exam or working for your
professional course, first thing is you must to be confident about yourself. And not only
that confidence should lead you to arrogance, ‘I am do it’, ‘I will be able to do it’. No! ‘I
will do my best, let the Lord’s blessings be.’ Even as you are studying for your exam, you
may study well. But at the time of exam, you may not remember anything. That is
possible, right? ‘Swamiji, I studies soo… much. Nothing came to my mind.’ Grace of the
Lord is not there.
So that is why, before when we go to the exam what do we do? The coconut we
take. So we go to Ganesh, ‘Lord, let my mind open like, tada…’ Uh? ‘Let my mind open
like this, the coconut.’ Uh? That is the whole idea – ‘O Lord, make me sure that I will be
able to express myself.’ Added to that, you take your both the hand(s) and you hit – that
is why the muscles there, the nerves there get activated, to remember everything. That is
why He said, ‘vigna kartha, vigna hartha’. If you don’t go to Him, He will create the
trouble. If you go to Him, He will remove the trouble. How will He create the trouble?
You will forget (laughs).
So, sukha kartha, dukha hartha – right? So the Lord is meant for you to, I mean
He will bless you in such a way that even what you have studied, you will start
remembering it. You don’t go to the temple and say, ‘I studied nothing’. ‘O Lord, bless
me.’ What, how will He bless? No exam at all, because you cannot write a single a,
single, one single statement you cannot write because you didn’t studied anything. So on
your part you should put your effort - dhanur-dharah. Then the Lord will do His own.
yatra partho dhanur-dharah, yatra krsno yogesvarah | tatra srir vijayo bhutir dhruva
nitir matir mama.
So this entire Bhagavad Gita is for one’s own success and self-perfection. It is not
a text merely to be read. It has to be studied. Study, as I said in the beginning itself, is
where you are working like a sculpture. Not like a painting. You are working on yourself
– in all around development. A three dimensional development takes place. Fourth
dimension being your own inner self. That kind of a work is what essence of Gita does.
So never therefore underestimate the power of the words of the Lord even though it was
given some six thousand years back. But even today it is applicable to all of us. When we
realize that, and then even take one of few verses, one or two verses and reflect upon
them, you will see that your life goes through fundamental changes.
I wish you all the best. I hope these thoughts were useful to you. As much as I
enjoyed, I hope you enjoyed listening to it.
We’ll read the first verse, together :
(group joins chant Swamiji)

dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre
samaveta yuyutsavah |
mamakah pandavas caiva
kim akurvata sanjaya || (Gita 1,1)
Thank you for patiently coming to my sessions, both last year and this year. And
without the audience, the speaker has no role to play. So thank you all for coming and I,
there are so many organizers involved. But I specially thank my hosts, who took care of
my needs and was patiently… they were patiently bearing my idiosyncracies. My food
requirements and all those things. I thank Lakshmi and Sukumar and Asha for hosting me
very well. And also Maya, now last year she was there when I was staying there it. And
all others who have directly, indirectly helped in making this programme a success, from
my perspective. So I do not know what you have to tell. So thank you all and we will
meet soon sometime in the next programme.
So now we will invoke Gurudev’s blessings also by doing the arati. And then
please come as a family and then offer your Guru dakshana there, at the feet of the Lord,
I mean Gurudev and then collect your gurudakshana…I mean, take your prasaad.
*** End of Gita Talks ***

*1 DhanyaashhTakaM - Text of knowledge and worship of Shiva and Shakti

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Gita Jnana Yajna by Swami

SELF-DISCOVERY – A PATH TO PERFECTION

(transcription of MP3 Audio)

(chorus chanting of Salutations to Sadguru Chinmaya)

(chorus chanting of ‘Gita Dhyanam’)

yam brahma varunendra-rudra-marutah

Talks – Introduction to Gita

A painting is something which is a beautiful picture captured or photographed by

In the same way, a scripture is like a sculpture. It is not just a portrayal of

Talks – Gita, the first Six Chatpers and Chapter 7

mattah parataram nanyat kinchidasti dhananjaya, mayi sarvamitam protam sutre

Therefore, sarveshu kaaleshu maamanusmara : remember Me all the time;

Talks – Gita from Chapter 8

yah prayati tyajan-deham

sa yati paramaam gatim| (8:13)

yah prayati tyajan-deham

sa yati paramaam gatim| (8:13)

ekaksharam om : one syllable which indicates Brahman. Omity-ekaksharam : you

Upaasanaya – upasana is meant for ekakratha chintanam. That is the phala of

In this context, in the Upanishad what we find, no particular form is prescribed.

So that is why He says, maam-anusmaran : Me the Self, Atma has to be

So this OM – in our Upanishads it is said, is the greatest support. Omity-

Talks – Gita from Chapter 9

Here, Bhagavan says, in the next verse – we read,

He says, O MY DEAR, YOU ARE LOOKING FOR ME – WHERE? YOU ARE

Space is the subtle most. That being so, sarvaani-bhutaani matsthaani :

No color, no shape, no form, no quality is attributed to it. That is why it becomes

Therefore He says, na caaham tesuavasthitah : I am not confined in that form.

So then, na caham tesuavasthitah, na ca matsthani bhutani: when you understand

ananyaas-cintayanto – cinta-ya-yanto it is written (indicating correction in the

So thinking of Me as their own Self. ye janaah : those people, maam pary-

‘Life Insurance Corportation’ – ‘yoga-kshemam vahaamy-aham’, this is taken

We presently allocating ourself to be the doer of everything, we struggle

yoga-khsemam vahaamy-aham : does not mean whatever you ‘want’, but

Bhagavan says, “I DO NOT GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ‘WANT’, OR WHAT

WHEN YOU REMEMBER ME YOU REALIZE HOW SIMPLE LIVING IN

Bhagavan says, “MY SIMPLICITY I WILL EVEN EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW

I NEED ONLY A SIMPLE WAY OF WORSHIPPING ME – patram : one leaf,

So, he went to Satyabhama and says,

So she went to Bhagavan, (she asks Him:) ‘You love me?’

patram – ONE LEAF IS SUFFICIENT; which means that, ‘I DO NOT WANT

Tomorrow it will be at 7 O’clock, not 6, as today is a special Sunday timing –

(chanting the closing prayers)

So those verses are very beautiful composition of Sankaracharya, um, there is a

(chorus chanting of Salutations to Sadguru Chinmaya)

ashnaami prayataatmanah | (9:26)

So also in the case of another devotee, who is totally unlettered, uncultured,

So when our awareness we are experiencing, it is in some form a quality or a

So the pralaya or dissolution of Universe is the reverse of Creation. It is said that

So Bhagavan Krishna says, ayam atma : I am the Self. aham na anaatma : I am

Therefore Bhagavan says, vibhutimat, next immediate what is (it) – sattvam. It is

tattad evavagaccha tvam : O Arjuna, come to know that avagaccha : come to

So it appears as though Ganges decided to go back, and that place is Uttarakashi.

(chants verses from the ‘Vishunu Sahasranama’)

butat maparamatma cha muktanam paramagatih

yadi bhah sadrsi sa syad

bhasas tasya mahatmanah

Audience respond : Grand Canyon.

Now-a-days specialization is so that you know, you go to a(n) Ophthalmologist,

(chanting the closing prayers)

(chorus chanting of Salutations to Sadguru Chinmaya)

yah sa mam eti pandava ||