Yog through the Realization of Divine Knowledge
Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna:
“O Arjuna, the one who is under the protection of my umbrella and absorbed in me, practices yoga; he undoubtedly realizes me.” (VII:1)
“I will reveal to you the complete knowledge, knowing which there will be nothing further to know.” (VII:2)
“In the multitudes of beings, there is hardly one who aspires to know me, and from those who succeed, barely one realizes me truly.” (VII:3)
“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and ego are the eight aspects of my nature (prakriti). This is my gross nature. Apart from it, know my subtle nature, which is the soul that sustains this universe.” (VII:4-5)
“O Arjuna! Know that all beings are born from these natures. I am the cause of the entire universe and also its dissolution. Apart from me, there is no other cause. This entire universe is strung in me like gems are strung on a thread.” (VII:6-7)
“O Arjuna! I am the flavor in water, the effulgence of the sun and the moon, the word Aum in the Vedas, the sound in ether, and the essence of manhood in males. I am the pure fragrance in the earth, the radiance in fire, the life force in all beings, and penance in ascetics.” (VII:8-9)
“O Arjuna! Know I am the primordial seed of all creation. I am the intelligence of the intellect, and the brilliance of the brilliant. I am the strength that is devoid of attachment and desire in the strong. I am the pure desire that is not juxtaposed with dharma.” (VII:10-11)
“The three modes of nature: sattvaguna, rajoguna, and tamoguna emanate from me. I am in them, but they are not in me. Not understanding this, the whole world is deluded by these three modes.” (VII:12-13)
“It is difficult to break through the illusion caused by these three modes. However, the devotee who is absorbed in me crosses this sea of illusion. Those whose discretion is eclipsed by their illusion—such evil, low, and demonic people—do not abide in me.” (VII:14-15)
“O Arjuna! Those who perform good deeds are seekers in grief, seekers of knowledge, seekers of profit, and the man of wisdom. These are the four kinds who worship me.” (VII:16)
Lord Krishna said this thousands of years ago. Much water has flowed since. Today, people who suffer do not necessarily turn to God—they take to drugs, alcohol, sex, or other escape routes. People have become rather devious, whereas Lord Krishna spoke to genuine seekers.
“Amongst these, the man of wisdom whose devotion is unconditional and intense is the best. He loves me above everything, and I too love him dearly. Undoubtedly, they are all good, but a realized soul attuned to me reflects me best.” (VII:17-18)
When we hold a mirror, there is the one who sees the reflection, and there is also the act of seeing. But supposing the person himself becomes the mirror—then he can see the reflection of the Supreme Being in his inner being.
After many lives, a realized soul can recognize that everything is within the Supreme Being. Such a person is indeed rare. (VII:19)
“Those whose discretion is eclipsed due to desires worship other deities and propitiate them with various rites and rituals.” (VII:20)
Deities are aspects of the Divine. Some businessmen, in the guise of seekers, worship the deity of wealth, Lakshmi, and importune her for favors.
A street-smart businessman once made a wager with God that if his land sold for a million, he would donate half to charity. No sooner than the deal was clinched, his stance changed. He stipulated the price of the land at a hundred dollars on the condition that the customer should buy his dog for a million. Thus, he succeeded in circumventing his promise of a million to charity.
But what if one gains the whole world and loses his Spirit?
“To whichever deity a devotee worships with faith, I nurture his faith. Endowed with such faith, he worships that deity and obtains his desires. In fact, they are granted by none but myself.” (VII:21-22)
God acts like a mirror which reflects the object before it.
Thus, as we pray, so He responds. It goes to show that as his faith is, so does the seeker find comfort. Our Lord Jesus Christ said something similar:
“Blessed are those who have not seen Him and still believe.”
But faith is one ingredient that cannot be engendered—it has to flow from the heart.
Some seekers inflict suffering upon themselves, mistaking it for a purifying agent. But suffering does not transform. Another category of pseudo-grievers imagines their grief and indulges in melancholy devotional songs.
Children are taught that by prayers and rituals, the deity would help them in school examinations. Instead of preparing for the examination, they spend their time in prayers. Pilgrims travel long distances for the fulfillment of their prayers, forgetting that pilgrimage is a place inside.
Those who claim that God speaks to them as a result of their worship or sacrifices live under an illusion because they have no connection with Him. Without unison, whatever one offers to God only goes into the pockets of the priest and their accomplices. Likewise, their prayers only reach the ears of the self-appointed representatives of God.
Educated people throng roadside temples for alms, not knowing God forever gives alms, but they don’t know how to beg. But why beg for broken pieces of glass when the real diamond is at hand?
With blind faith, we cannot recognize the real diamond. In fact, people with blind faith are more bound than atheists. One has to keep an open mind and seek a method that allows the attention to go within. For instance, in the light of the Kundalini, we can see the dirt in the lamp and thus clean it.
Hence, there is no use dictating to people to give up blind faith—it is better they see its clutter in their inbox and delete it.
Lord Krishna:
“Temporary is the solace gained by men of petty minds. The worshippers of the deities attain the deities, but my devotees attain me.” (VII:23)
“Not knowing my true nature as being the Absolute and indestructible, the ignorant mistake the unmanifest as having manifested.” (VII:24)
It is indeed amusing to watch little girls cuddle dolls as they talk, scold, and feed them. They name them, adorn them with beautiful clothes, and marry them off!
The child continues to live inside the head of an adult and uses a crutch to draw hope, inspiration, or lean in the hour of crisis. The crutch could be an image, symbol, talisman, or idol. The adult becomes addicted to the new edifice of the mind through prayer and rituals. While a crutch is initially productive in engaging the attention, it later becomes counterproductive for graduating to the next level.
For instance, if a devotee becomes addicted to an idol, he starts play-acting, “My God is greater than yours.” It is no different from religious warfare where both opponents believe that God is on their side and even claim their God is greater than the enemy’s!
The Prophet Mohammad prohibited idol worship. But the mind cannot understand the abstract God without a crutch, and hence, it curates something that works as a reference point.
Some extreme cases will clarify the picture. For example, the Greeks humanized their gods to such an extent that they colored them with all the human weaknesses—lust, greed, anger, ambition, attachment, and jealousy. Lost in their imagery, they were unable to see the reality—that was the Greek tragedy!
Imagery is born of thoughts, and thoughts are dead, whereas God is a living process. How can one know something living through the dead?
“Veiled by my yogamaya, I am not revealed to all. Through this illusion of my maya, the ignorant do not know me as the unborn, indestructible, and the Absolute.” (VII:25)
The horizon appears like an expanse of water to an eye that rivets into the distant desert. The mirage shows that things are not what they appear to be or what we perceive them to be.
This Maya plays out not because of the way we look at it, but because we do not look at it the way it ought to be looked at. For instance, our use-and-throw utility culture caps the elderly like medicine bottles whose date has expired.
But Maya does not allow us to see that we too will be capped the same way. We see people being buried every day, but Maya does not allow us to see that we too will be reduced to a handful of earth, and our possessions will be left behind.
Maya makes us believe that by having great wealth, people will respect us. But on the contrary, it fuels their jealousy.
Not only do we get lost in our own Maya but also fall in the Maya of entrepreneurs, politicians, media gurus, and marketing czars. They wave their magic wand to shape our consciousness, define our choices, spice our vocabulary, and create icons for us to idolize.
For instance, an advertisement offering one shirt for free for the purchase of two shirts does not reveal that the price of two shirts is hidden in one!
Thus, Maya stimulates our blood pressure, adrenaline, taste buds, and brain cells. We can’t resist their utility because we do not see their face. For the Maya to work, it has to hide its face.
But when we get the utility of the Absolute, everything else becomes relative. Though illusory appearances remain, they no longer lead us astray. On the contrary, we relax and enjoy the utilities of life because we know the One who is behind it!
“I know the beings that have been in the past, present, and will be in the future, but I remain unknown to them.” (VII:26)
“O Arjuna! All beings are deluded by duality arising from desire and aversion.” (VII:27)
Newton’s third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It shows that every like has a polarity—dislike. Our likes and dislikes polarize us into pairs of opposites.
Thus, reaction of any kind is not the solution. The solution is simply to surrender the ego. Lord Krishna reveals the nature of that surrender and also how to test it. It is a test that applies to each individual in any situation. However, the responsibility of maintaining absolute and uncompromising honesty rests upon the seeker himself.
“But those who perform good deeds without self-interest, whose sins are purified, break through the duality of desire and hate. Attuned to the self, they worship me.” (VII:28)
“Those who surrender to me and seek liberation from old age and death; they envisage the All-Pervading Power of the Divine and its nature. Thus, they fathom the nature of action.” (VII:29)
“Those who know me as the one who presides over all material and divine dimensions, and as the essence of all offerings, they, with their minds attuned, sustain that knowledge of me even at the time of death, and thus attain me.” (VII:30)