Sānkhya Yog : The Yog of Analytical Knowledge
Sanjaya reports: Shri Krishna addressed Prince Arjuna who was thus depressed and filled with remorse, ‘In this hour of crisis whereof is this attachment born? It is disgraceful, and does not behoove a person of a noble mind, nor leads to heaven. Therefore get rid of this feebleness and stand up and fight. (1-3)
Arjuna responded, ‘O Krishna! How can I take up arms against Bhisma and Drona who I hold in the highest esteem? I would rather live in this world by begging than killing them. Whereas, by slaying them how will I find pleasure in the spoils stained with their blood?’ (4-5)
Arjuna contemplates that a victory gained from killing his beloved ones would be futile. Hence, he prefers to give up the life of a warrior than live a life haunted by guilt. I am not convinced which is the better of the two paths – to fight or not to fight? Or who will be victorious? If we kill the sons of Dhritarashtra’s sons confronting us, we will not desire to survive them.(6)
O Krishna, my being is stricken with pain. My mind is confused in regard to duty. You are my teacher. I seek refuge in you, advise me, and guide me.(7)
The road of the inward journey is torturous and sharper than a sword. Hence, a traveler without a guide is bound to lose his way. Arjuna is indeed fortunate to have found a guide like Lord Krishna. Such a guide comes after many lives of seeking. But if Arjuna’s cup is already full how can Lord Krishna fill it. Arjuna’s relations and friends are tied up inside his head. They rule his attention, and dissuade him from killing them. Lord Krishna endeavors to free his attention from their shackles, but Arjuna sees only one side of life through his narrow perspective. If we only see one side of life and draw conclusions about reality, it does not mean it is reality. We cannot trust our emotional response to someone or something. Shifting to a rational view of the situation may save us from being taken for a ride. It is far too serious a matter for us to take lightly and accept someone as a guru. A person who has greed and lust, and who is incapable of making us our own guru cannot be a genuine teacher.
Of course, pseudo intellectuals may not be that sensitive and may fall prey to the false ones. Fortunately, in the ancient Indian tradition, people seeking salvation knew the signs of a real guru. Arjuna had heard of the powers of Lord Krishna as a child, and also had personal experiences of his powers. It is with such verified faith (shradha) and not blind faith that Arjuna takes refuge in him. In fact, if Arjuna did not grab Lord Krishna’s hand, he would’ve surely missed the bus. Arjuna’s implicit faith in his guru places a huge responsibility on Lord Krishna’s shoulders.
The guru- disciple relationship is a sum of many parts, and unless the disciple listens to his guru with intensity and pure intelligence he cannot become his own guru. In Arjuna’s case the heart and the head is at odds. Lord Krishna as his guru can only take him to the water but cannot make him drink.
Even if I gain all the riches and kingdoms on earth or sovereignty over the gods, nothing can remove the sorrow besieging my senses. I will not fight! (8-9)
Shri Krishna beckons Arjuna, You mourn for those who are not worthy of your grief. The wise grieve neither the dead nor the living. For when was the time when I was not or you were not, or these kings were not, or in the future they will not be? (10-12)
Lord Krishna opens a window, but Arjuna is not prepared to look out – he closes his eyes like a child. Interestingly, Lord Krishna does not pressurize him to open his eyes but engages him in a friendly dialogue where he raises his awareness to a level where he can open them of his own free will. Thus, layer by layer, Lord Krishna endeavors to remove the blinkers from Arjuna’s eyes. He comforts him saying he should not grieve because of his attachment to the outward shell of the body.
He reveals that those who die only pass from one body to the other, and hence, there is nothing to mourn. Just as the body passes through childhood, old age, likewise, the Atma leaves this body and passes on to another. The wise are not deluded by this. (13)
Arjuna lives alone in his mind. But nobody makes it alone. Hence, Lord Krishna reminds him of the old friend he had long forgotten – Atma. Atma is the self or the soul. It is spoken in different ways according to the plane from which it is contemplated. For instance, the Romans spoke of it as Anima and the Greeks as Pneuma. In the Bible it is the Spirit, Ruah in Hebrew and Ruh in Arabic. These labels changed with time but basically Atma and Spirit are the two names of one truth – the self that gravitates towards its creator. To avoid confusion we will henceforth refer to it as the Spirit.
Arjuna’s Spirit loves him more than he loves himself. Her compassion is so powerful, discreet, understanding and forbearing that if Arjuna befriends her, he would no more be deluded by childhood, old age and death.
Birth and death are not apart from each other – every birth brings death and every death brings new life. Just as a seed manifests itself into a tree and then the tree ends up being a seed again, likewise, the Spirit leaves the body and passes on to another body. The experience of cold and heat, pleasure and pain arise from sensory contact. But these are transitory and do not endure. Therefore, O Arjun! Bear with them. (14)
Whatever we perceive through the senses is transitory because the senses cannot perceive the absolute truth. If what we perceive through the senses was the truth then there would be nothing further to seek. The one who remains the same in happiness and sorrow, and is not deluded by the senses, such a wise person is worthy of salvation. (15)
That which is illusionary has no existence, and that which has existence never ceases to be. Both these aspects have been known to the wise seers. (16)
That by which this whole universe is pervaded is indestructible. No one can destroy this immutable Being. But the body of the indestructible, immutable being perishes. Hence, O Arjun, fight! (17-18)
The one who thinks that it slays or can be slain; both are mistaken because it neither slays nor is slain. (19)
The Atma is neither born nor does it die, or being manifested it does not cease to manifest. It does not take birth; it is eternal, innate and primordial. The one who knows this, how can he kill anyone or be killed?”(20-21)
Like a person discards worn out clothes for new ones, similarly, the Atma gives up the worn out body for a new one. (22)
The Spirit resides as a guest in the mansion of the body. When the mansion perishes, it migrates to the next one. For instance, after the bird becomes an egg it leaves its shell behind. Likewise, once we are reborn as the Spirit we leave the mind behind. Thus, stitching the attention to the Spirit is the way forward for enrichment, transformation, enlightenment and freedom. The Atma cannot be cut by weapons, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. Because it is eternal, unchanging, perennial, all-pervading and immovable like a tree. It is unmanifest, unchanging and beyond the intellect. Thus perceive its true nature and do not grieve. (23-25)
The Spirit cannot be cut, burnt made wet or dried. It is in comfort with itself. It does not seek satisfaction outside as it is itself the source of contentment. The Upanishads adopts an analytical process of progressively negating all names and forms in order to arrive at its true nature – “It is neither the mind, intelligence, ego, attention, prana, the elements, the organs, senses nor pleasure and pain, vice and virtue. It is a combination of pure consciousness and eternal bliss.” If one can perceive the subtle Spirit behind the body, then such a person will not grieve when the body perishes. Such a person knows that the body, which eats, breathes, moves and does physical action is bound to the outside and dependent on material support. The Spirit is satisfied in itself and fulfilled by itself.
The one who knows the Spirit as the true self cannot be lured by the temptations and upheavals of the body and mind. Even if you believe that the spirit is born and dies, you should not grieve because what is born must die, and it is inevitable that what dies must be reborn. Hence you should not grieve for what is inevitable. (26-27)
In the beginning, before birth all creatures were unmanifest. In the middle, after birth they manifest. In the end, after death they again become unmanifest. Hence, what is there to grieve? (28)
Some perceive the spirit in wonderment. Some speak about it as a marvel. Others listen about it in amazement, and yet even after hearing about it none realize it. (29)
The Spirit is the perfect reflection of the divine. Those who knows it becomes speechless, And those who do not know spins yarns about it. Kabira refers to the Spirit as the beloved: “My beloved fled the body. But I did not resist. This body has ten doors. I don’t know which window was open. Kamali, Kabir’s daughter laments; I was much better off unwed, Than being wed to this body.”
O Arjuna! The spirit residing in the body of every being is eternal and indestructible. Therefore you should not grieve for any being. (30)
Lord Krishna tutors Arjuna on the eternal nature of the Spirit. Its inherent nature is indestructible. The vehicle of the body grows old and fades but death cannot surmount the Spirit because it is the attention of God within us. As the Spirit is eternal, it migrates to the next body uninterrupted, and hence, there is nothing to grieve. Moreover, mindful of your dharma, you should not waiver. There is no higher duty for a Kshatriya (warrior cast) than to fight for his Dharma (laws of human sustenance). (31)
The human race is heading towards evolution. However, it cannot evolve without the light of Dharma. The advent of Lord Krishna was a pioneering breakthrough – for the first time an incarnation gave a decisive interpretation of Dharma. However, in modern Kurukshetra Dharma means different things to different people.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, the founder of Sahaja Yoga gives a clear understanding of Dharma: “Dharma is the sustenance of all things that are born or created. It is super nature that gives valencies to atoms in an element. For instance, Carbon has four valences. Gold has the property that it is not tarnishable. Similarly, human beings have ten valences whose property is dharma. In the case of chemical combinations if one valence is missing it becomes negative and then combines with another chemical. Thus, there are negative and positive valencies, but dharma is the point where the gravity of sin does not act.”
Thus, it is clear that Dharma was inbuilt in us since we became carbon. That is, Dharma is not relative to one’s perception. For instance, it is known that alcohol diminishes consciousness. Anything anti-consciousness is absolutely negative – it cannot be argued about. Likewise, whatever hampers our evolutionary spiral is adharmic, negative and evil, and what accelerates it is Dharmic, positive and good. Thus, it is evident that positive and negative are absolute opposites – there is nothing in between. The compassion of the Spirit stands on the positive pole, whereas, falsehood stands on the negative pole – there is nothing in between. We may not be aware of it, but there is a great war going on inside us, and that war is the war of these polarities.
Unless the Spirit shakes off the falsehood covering it, she cannot rest in peace. So, whether we like it or not, the Spirit has to defend her power of compassion. Only talking sweetly is not her idea of compassion. For instance, if a mother scolds her child it does not mean she doesn’t love him. In fact, she cannot exist without love. Her love is such that it does not allow her to rest till her child is corrected. Her innate Dharma impels her to destroy the negativity in order for the positivity to come out in her child. Likewise, Arjuna cannot be at peace with himself till he defends his Dharma. He has to comb out the withering weeds and then the flowers can come out.
But Arjuna’s attention is elsewhere. He is torn between the two voices inside his head – one says, ‘yes’ the other says, ‘no’. One says, ‘do it’, the other says, ‘don’t do it’. But he does not know which voice is the truest guide. However, he has no choice but to take sides. Those like him, who pride themselves in remaining neutral think that they can escape the fire raging next door. But there is no place for complacency. If we do not rise on the cusp of evolution, we will fall in the mire of involution. The battle of Kurukshetra illustrates the struggle of the evolutionary process. There are two players in the field – the Spirit and the ego. If one player slackens, the other accelerates.
Lord Krishna plays a proactive role in accelerating the Spirit. But there is no aggression in the Spirit – she is accelerated by her compassion to liberate herself from the tyranny of the ego. Lord Krishna endeavors to mobilize Arjuna’s attention towards his evolutionary track. But to mobilize his attention Arjuna can no more remain insensitive to the valency of his Dharma as a warrior. His Dharma is to fight for righteousness. Admittedly, Dharma can be used by hypocrites. In modern times Dharma, which was set to prevent human beings from diverging from the evolutionary track, is being used by fanatics to work out their satanic plans of destroying world peace. But they should not be allowed to do so. Arjuna’s argument is fueled by his attachment to his kith and kin.
Though most of his relatives were evil, and some were supporting the evil doers, yet he is attached to them. But good is good and evil is evil. Evil cannot be good – they are absolute opposites. Hence, those who support evil are in the same boat as the evil doers. Leonardo da Vinci said something similar, “He who does not punish evil commands it to be done.”
However, Lord Krishna does not suggest that Arjuna should kill everyone, but that he must fight evil, aggressive and depraved people, despite his attachment to them. For the benevolence (Kshema) of their subjects as well as of the Kuruvas, he must stand by the Pandavas and defend Dharma. Here one starts wondering how to know who is right and who is wrong. However, if we watch the compass of Dharma the needle points towards the gravity of compassion. Hence, a religion that does not point towards compassion in thoughts, actions and deeds is a blind alley. For instance, a person may be religious but that does not stop him from committing sin. However, when the innate Dharma is awakened within, a person cannot do anything illicit. The innate Dharma is compassion itself, and as it starts flowing Arjuna cannot commit any violence even if he kills, because the doer is someone else!
We have to bear in mind that religion is not a brand, cult or a group of people who believe in something because they are born in it. Neither is it a belief in some sort of a brand. This kind of brand satisfaction is pointless, absurd and mostly dangerous. After all, whatever our forefathers have been doing and claiming did not transform them anyway! What is the use of doing the same thing again and again like a slave or a copycat! On the contrary, these slavish bindings take people to absurd limits. That is how people who follow various religions have grown up to be enemies of each other. Either they are on an ego trip of destroying others or on a super-ego nonsense of destroying themselves. Either they become violent or docile cabbages. The so called religions stagnate at emotional or mental levels and this explains the decline of religion.
Gradually, as ignorance is being dispelled fewer people are sticking to theological precepts. However, the beauty of the Gita is that it reveals the essence of Dharma out of ugly norms that settle around it. Lord Krishna flouted all such dated and rigid ideas to make way for our inner compass of Dharma to navigate our boat ashore.
Indeed, for a Kshatriya it is fortunate that such an opportunity opens the door of heaven. If now you do not stand for your dharma and fight, then you will fall from your dharma and incur sin. (32- 33)
In the time of a crisis there is no sin greater than non- adherence to one’s Dharma. This argument of Lord Krishna should not be mistaken for Jihad. The real Jihad is the fight within. We should bear in mind that Lord Krishna is no war monger – he did not initiate the battle of Kurukshetra for territory, power, revenge, religion, random killing or conversion – he initiated it out of compassion for the protection of the chastity of womanhood. In a deeper sense the chastity of womanhood is no different from the chastity of the Spirit. The Spirit sustains Dharma.
In the epic of Mahabharata when the Kuru prince publicly defiled the chastity of the Pandava princess Draupadi, it challenged her Spirit. When the Spirit is attacked, the foundation of dharma is imperiled, and Lord Krishna intervenes to protect it. Cancer spreads not from the outside but from the malignancy within a society. Likewise, in modern times the destruction of our society is not triggered by nuclear weapons but by the chastity of women and children being defiled.
On this point the society cannot remain neutral, and on this is based the philosophy of Lord Krishna. He reminds Arjuna of his duty as a warrior to defend Dharma. If his Dharma necessitates the taking up of arms, then he should not desist. Should he desist, the Judas hiding behind the mask of his kith and kin will not spare him.
Dante warns; “The darkest place in hell is reserved for those who maintain neutrality in times of moral crisis.”
Conversely, it makes no difference if a warrior who dies defending his Dharma gains a password to heaven. Nor does it matter if he succeeds or fails – what matters is that he abides by his Dharma. This message of Lord Krishna also provides inspiration for terminally ill patients and the handicapped that give up hope and contemplate suicide. The greatest mistake is to give up hope. Dharma cannot be revealed in clearer words than in the philosophy of Lord Krishna, and it is precisely this that makes it both the highest work of philosophy and the greatest scientific treatise. His message has been beautifully expounded by Zen.
The Gita lay buried under the weight of the priesthood. Zen picked up its fallen leaves and brought them back to life. It has remained faithful to the spirit of the Gita, allowing neither compromise nor illusion in the quest for truth. The direct and the absolute recognition that the mind is inadequate to face reality, and that it must be overcome, was carried from India to China and then to Japan, where it gave birth to the tradition of Zen.
In Zen, the direct confrontation with the mind is carried to its logical conclusion, i.e. the proposition that all the thoughts and imagination of the mind are meaningless and reality can only be experienced in thoughtless awareness. However, in modern times, those who believe that they are fighting in the name of God are really working out their ego or their own desires. This is the reason why fanatics cannot see their own aggression on others. Even those who say they are surrendered to Lord Krishna are very much under an illusion because they try to handle him instead of him handling them. So how are we to judge? It is not possible to judge with the mind. Without being connected to the Divine how can they surrender to him?
When a person is connected he starts talking in third person, knowing that a greater power works through him – he does no effort, because he becomes a non- doer (Akarmi). At the very outset one has to know that Lord Krishna was not an incarnation of a king like Lord Rama but an incarnation of Divine diplomacy. The Gita is one of the examples of his divine diplomacy.
After self realization one can read between the lines and understand that surrender to the Lord is not possible without the connection with the all- pervading power of Divine love.
“Moreover, if you desist from fighting posterity will recount your disgrace, and for an esteemed persona like you, disgrace is worse than death. They will recount that out of cowardice you fled the battlefield, and even those who hold you in high esteem will belittle you. Furthermore, your enemies will defame you. What can be worse than this?” (34-36)
Reminding Arjuna of his duty as a warrior, Lord Krishna warns him of the ill fame that would follow him if he abstains from battle. He tackles his male pride, and chides him for unmanliness and faintheartedness. All the arguments of Arjuna were to justify his decision not to fight. One might say that he was filled with cowardice (karpanya) and he tried to escape the war. Or perhaps those who shy away from facing themselves escape into the subconscious. No doubt Arjuna was a great warrior but from the window of his mind war appeared to be futile and pointless.
Either you will die in the battle and attain heaven or you will be victorious and rule the earth. Therefore rise and fight, O Arjuna. (37)
Do not react to happiness or unhappiness, gain or loss, victory or defeat but prepare to fight. When you battle in the state of detachment you will incur no sin. (38)
O Arjuna! I have revealed to you the wisdom of Sankhya. Now hear the wisdom of yoga, and if it penetrates your intelligence then you will be redeemed from the bondage. (39)
Here Sankhya should not be confused with the Sankhya philosophy that was propounded much later. Lord Krishna refers to it as the path of wisdom and insight. Likewise, yoga should not be mistaken for Hatha Yoga (Patanjali Yoga); Lord Krishna refers to Karma Yoga. No system of yoga can work till it connects to the mains. That is just to say we have to be connected to the all pervading power of divine love. If the Yoga is performed in the right spirit it redeems us from bondage.
In the path of yoga, no effort is ever lost; all obstacles are overcome. Even a little Dharma saves from fear. (40)
Even a little Dharma leaves an imprint or ‘samskara’ in the mind. The samskars sown in childhood help nourish a child’s interests. Often one’s preferences in food are determined by the flavors that the taste buds acquire in infancy. Thus, different people have different likes and dislikes. However, there could be good (su) samskaras which make the quality of the person and help in his evolution, while there could be bad (ku) samskaras which pull the person down to the baser level. Thus, not all conditionings are to be discarded or accepted. All human beings do not have the same samskaras, but as they grow they might acquire the conditioning of the society they live in. Some people could have such powerful samskaras that despite the surrounding negativity, they mature in the glory of their virtues. The residue of such samskaras gradually develops the sensitivity of the inner being. The stamp of childhood samskaras is never erased.
If childhood foundations are strong, even with a little effort the person can go into life like a warrior. Nothing can stop him from achieving his goal. For instance, Buddha walked into the jaws of death, but even death could not match the power of his seeking. Likewise, the one who stands on dharma and strives can never be defeated unless he turns away from the battle.
The understanding of one who is decisive is single, but the thoughts of the irresolute are multiple and endless. (41)
As we see our reflection in the pond and start admiring it, we get lost in the process. Similarly, when we think of someone, we get lost in judging him. At a given moment we are besieged by a volley of thoughts, and if we don’t control them, they control us. As thoughts take charge of the mind, their fluctuations make the mind restless. It goes to show that the mind is not absolute but relative. How can the relative measure the absolute?
To measure the absolute we have to seek an instrument beyond the mind. It begs the question: what is that instrument? Is it Mr. Ego? But the ego is a blind spot that cannot see itself. It actually acts against the good conditioning, and seldom against the bad ones. The negative conditionings cushions and pampers one’s ego, creating a mirage of happiness that’s as fleeting as a bubble. Not only that, it justifies everything – why should I not be selfish?’ We should bear in mind that it is the ego that gets angry, and it is the ego that hates. Hence, we cannot rely on such a flawed instrument.
So what is the perfect instrument? The perfect instrument is built within us since our creation – the Spirit.
Those who expound the letter of the scriptures (Vedas) with heaven as the selfish goal create various rites and rituals for the selfish attainment of pleasures and powers, the reward for which is rebirth. (42-43)
We should bear in mind that none of the scriptures were written by any of the incarnations. Buddha did not write any book. The Bible was not written by Lord Jesus Christ. The holy Koran was written several years after the death of the Prophet Mohammad. The Vedas were recited from generation to generation till they were inked. Hence, there could be plenty of space for alterations as can be seen in the case of Gita. Moreover, by reading the scriptures we do not taste the ambrosia. The tedious rituals are merely clever devices of the priesthood to perpetuate their tentacles.
For instance, when a man dies his son must perform arduous ceremonies and feed the priest’s pocket to ensure the peace of the departed soul. If peace cannot be bought for the living, how can it be bought for the dead? Buddha saw people talk of God, and use it for their own purpose; hence, he decided not to talk of him. But it did not stop his followers from using his name for their own purpose. Nothing can stop the devil from quoting scriptures. Nothing could stop the crusaders from holding the Bible in one hand and the sword in the other, or the terrorist from holding the holy Koran in one hand and arms in the other.
The façade of religion is the most respectable and hence, the least suspected place for the devil to hide. Hence, it not surprising that Marx pointed, ‘religion is the opium of the masses.’ The ‘opium thugs’ don’t need a course at Harvard to pontificate. They peddle religion for everything under the sun – money, sex, power and terrorism. These opportunists distorted the teachings of the prophets, and ruined their dream in to a nightmare and pecuniary adventurism. It does not penetrate the intelligence of those whose attention is eclipsed by pleasure and power.
The three- fold gunas propounded by the Vedas bound us to cause and effect. Break through this duality through detachment, purity and self-realization. (44-45)
As is the use of a pond in a place overflowing with water, such is the use of all the Vedas (scriptures) to the enlightened being. (46)
Knowledge of the scriptures does not purify the mind. In science a hypothesis is propounded and then experimented upon before being accepted. Likewise, a seeker should treat the scriptures as a hypothesis, and not accept till he experiences them. Nonetheless, the intellect that is curious to accumulate the knowledge of the scriptures gets confused if it bites more than it can chew.
Scriptures may be a prescription that a seeker crams, but they are worthless to the enlightened one.
What is their knowledge to the one who has tasted the ambrosia? In fact, what he knows cannot be expressed in any scripture. Scriptures talk of the drop of water, whereas the enlightened one knows the ocean. Socrates who was considered to be the most knowledgeable person said, “Yes, I am most knowledgeable, because I know that I know nothing whereas you do not know that.”
Saint Kabir, was an illiterate weaver. He had never read any scripture, but was one of the greatest masters of the 16th century.
You have the right to action alone but not to its fruits. Hence do not be motivated by reward of the fruits nor be attached to inaction. (47)
If we are to perform action without seeking its fruit we have to change the track inside our head. This may be rather hard for the modern brain. However, we may learn something from rural Indian women who have the gift of balancing pitchers of water atop their head. Despite all the clutter, their attention is eternalized, and that is what grounds them. Likewise, it is possible to eternalize our attention while performing action if we are detached to its fruit.
Lao Tse says it all: “Without going out of the door one can know the whole world. Without peeping out of the window One can see the Tao of heaven. Therefore the sage knows everything without traveling. He accomplishes everything without doing it.” (Tao Te Ching 47)
Do your work in yoga, with a detached attitude, even-minded in success and failure. Equanimity of mind is called yoga. (48)
There is a radical difference between fantasy about the future and the reality. According to Neuroscientists the past and future only exist as ideas in the mind. It goes to show that time and space are not the basic properties of the universe; rather they are products of our own mind. But Neuro-scientists forgot to answer the question what is the mind? It is generally accepted that the mind controls the mind, we are made of the mind, and that it begets who we are. But it is also argued that it is a grey area that means different things to different people.
Nonetheless, the discovery of Neuroscientist clarifies that consciousness is not mind, awareness is not mind, and nor is attention the mind. When the Sufi saint Bulleh Shah roamed the countryside in search of a master, his attention was caught by a gardener sowing fresh saplings. He enquired, “What is the mind?” The gardener laughed, “Ha! Bother the mind – it is just a bubble! Much like these saplings, you detach the mind from here and attach it there.”
In a flash of light it dawned upon on Bulleh Shah that men were not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own mind. His perception of life changed, and he sought to burst the bubble of the mind. Lord Krishna reveals that the bubble can be burst by detachment. The mind can be neutralized if we maintain equanimity in failure as in celebrating success. Those who seek fruit of actions are deluded. The one who has logged his attention in the divine transcends both good and evil.
Therefore aspire for yoga. Yoga is wisdom in action. The one who has logged his attention thus, and is detached from the fruits of action is liberated from the bondage of birth and evolves to the highest state. (49-51)
Both human beings and animals have intelligence. Among animals, the fox is considered the most cunning, but not wise. On the other hand, though, an Elephant is considered wise, he is not cunning. Cunning and wisdom are two different things. An elephant’s wisdom comes from his innocence. Innocence is a childlike quality as pointed by Lao Tse, “The true person is detached and humble, and to the world appears confusing. The people all strain their eyes and ears, yet the true person remains childlike.”
Yoga is wisdom in action. But the one who seeks the fruit of action is bound by desire. For instance, we take birth to satisfy our unfulfilled desires of the previous life. In the absence of the ego there is no doer. In the absence of the doer there is no desire. In the absence of desire there is no magnetic pull towards rebirth. Hence, no birth arises from an action that does not fuel the ego.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib describes how a little boy is flying a kite and at the same time talking, and laughing with his friends, but his attention is fixed on the kite. Likewise, a seeker goes on performing his worldly duties but his attention remains fixed on God.
When your intellect crosses the sea of illusion, then you will be unconcerned by what has been said in the past, or what will be said in the future. (52)
Your intellect is confused by listening to various texts. When it harmonizes in divine union then you will attain Yoga. (53)
There are two kinds of people who seek God. Firstly, a seeker with a high intelligence quotient (IQ). Secondly, a seeker with a high emotional quotient (EQ). Generally, a high IQ does not imply that a person is necessarily balanced. He may have an unstable mind with similar qualities associated with narcissism – full of himself, sensitive to criticism imposes his opinions on others and of course arbitrary. Thus, he may use force and torture to enforce his ideas as in the case of Hitler and Stalin. He may use his genius to rob a bank or invent gas chambers or as in the case of a Jihadi, think he has a right to kill. Though, IQ is an important tool, however, our decisions are never completely rationale – they are also influenced by our emotional quotient or EQ. By having an excess of one quotient one may have too little of the other. For instance, a seeker with high EQ but low IQ goes for blind faith, and turns into a fanatic, or an emotional Guru may mess the psyche of his disciple.
Conversely, a very intelligent seeker may lack compassion. He tries to control the mind by austere practices but does not achieve the ultimate. To reach the ultimate a spiritual quotient (SQ) is required.
As human awareness transforms into spiritual awareness we develop an inner compass called intuition. Intuition knows how to be sensitive to others, how to resolve a situation, and how to bring out the best in any situation in the collective interest.
Says Lao Tse: Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.
Arjuna: How is the enlightened one recognized? How does he speak, how does he sit, how does he walk? (54)
If God comes to us in person how will we recognize Him? They could not recognize the Krishna because he grazed cows in Vrindavan. Nor could they recognize Christ because he was a carpenter’s son. Did they know whom they crucified? Does Arjuna know who is Lord Krishna? One may ask how to sort the goodly apples from the rotten ones in a super market of charismatic gurus? There is no outward manifestation of a genuine guru; he does not appear like the laughing Buddha. The Buddha went from village to village begging for alms, whereas Lord Krishna lived in pomp and splendor.
Namdev was a tailor, Gora Kumar was a potter and Kabira was a weaver. An enlightened person feels the world more than he sees it. He cannot rest till he shares his joy. But he does not wear a halo around his head. However, as we know the best wine by its taste, we can know a realized soul by his vibrations. When an enlightened person enters a room the vibrations become cool. According to the scriptures these cool vibrations are emitted by a residual consciousness in the sacrum bone at the base of the spine called kundalini.
Lord Krishna replies: When the mind becomes free of its content of desires, and the spirit is content in itself then such a one is said to be stable in intellect. (55)
It is generally accepted that the mind is inert matter, and hence, lacks the capacity of awareness. Nonetheless, it is capable of receiving consciousness. It works in the same way a programmer who acts independently of the computer. The programmer directs the program but is not involved in it. Likewise, in the light of the spirit we can befriend our mind, and harnesses it in the right direction. A person cannot enjoy anything unless he has satisfaction. Not only is the Spirit satisfied in itself, but also brings satisfaction to others.
The one who remains the same in sorrow, and does not hanker after pleasures; who has overcome resentment, fear and anger; such a saint is said to have enlightened intellect. (56)
The mind lives in the cusp of action and reaction. The reaction becomes more intense according to the intensity of the action. For instance, when things do not work our way we get frustrated. Frustration vents in anger. And anger wants to hurt others. But a balanced person finds ways to deal with anger without hurting himself or others. He channels his positive energy to ground himself. Conversely, a person who is hot tempered has fear because he sees himself in others. He thinks that the other person must be having the same kind of temper and will attack him. So he is always defensive.
The one who is bereft of attachment to any side, who does not hate or delight in what is auspicious and inauspicious, such a one is of enlightened wisdom. (57).
Hate is nothing more than a negative culture nourished in a solution of negative thoughts. It is the worst kind of attachment. It is the ego that hates. But if one transcends the ego, the attachment goes. A great way of transcending it is to give the person another chance. If the person could be helped, the Spirit would work it out otherwise it would not bother. Moreover, an enlightened person does not get attached to either auspicious or inauspicious deeds.
Detachment allows the Spirit’s waves of love to flow freely. For instance, detachment allows the sap of a tree to nurture all its part but if the sap gets attached to one part then the rest of the tree dries up. It is truer to say that the feeling of love is often confused with possessiveness. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder but if we are possessive, we cannot enjoy it. If we look at a tree with love, we find the tree itself is giving us the joy of its creation because we become thoughtless, and the creator who has made that beautiful tree manifests all that joy stored into it. A human being is the flower of creation. Though the sap of the tree goes to everyone according to its need, the flower is the most important. The flower is in the bud, but it has not yet blossomed. Its flowering is the completion of its evolution.
When the senses withdraw from the object of the sense as a tortoise withdraws within its shell, then such a one is truly attained enlightened wisdom. (58)
As human attention gravitates towards the object of the senses it deviates from its inner track. To get back on track we need to withdraw our attention from the desires of the senses. For instance, the sun does not run after the sunlight. After having lavished its light upon the world it withdraws its rays in order to illuminate itself. Likewise, a wise person does not run after the desires of the senses but withdraws his attention inside his Spirit. Much like the sun, the Spirit illuminates his attention, and brings him the joy far greater than the excitement of the senses.
The impressions of the previous indulgences of the senses remain, even when the Self is withdrawn from the object. However, even these imprints fall away on enlightenment. (59)
Our inbox is cluttered with attachments, indulgences, pleasures, pains, disappointments, frustrations and desires. Of course, we could ignore their screams but that does not mean they do not exist. As we get enslaved in the passion of the senses, it kicks in the adrenaline. But no sooner than its magic fades we hunger for the next thing. For instance, the post-modern robotic life has had it all – sex, money, travel, drugs yet they are restless for the next thing. It caused a mutation in their consciousness that has a voracious appetite, but does not have the recipe to satisfy it. They want to zoom into a high that leaves them breathless, but they end up as sitting ducks for the adventures offered by terrorist groups. They may not necessarily subscribe to the ideology of the terrorist groups, but are smitten by the mutation inside their heads. The mutation is none other than the spasm mail in our inbox.
That which is a reality like thirst, can be quenched with water. The hunger of the stomach can be satisfied with food, but it is impossible to satiate mental urges like drinking. We may put the urge of drinking to a sleep mode but its residue remains imprinted in the subconscious. To get rid of the residue one need not break the wine bottles. In the light of the spirit all the residues hiding in the dark recesses of the subconscious get weeded out anyway. Thereafter, even the choicest of wines do not arouse a reaction because its taste gets deleted from our inbox.
O Arjuna, despite man’s earnest endeavor, the impulse of the senses sways his mind. Therefore, taming his senses, the seeker should keep his attention absorbed on me and meditate. He whose senses are thus under his control, his intelligence is illuminated by the light of wisdom. (60-61)
Despite all the mental effort, our mind is in a transient state. But who witnesses the mind? Einstein answered the question for us, and showed space and time have no meaning unless there is a conscious observer. All the myriad forms we see are brought forth by the conscious observer. But if the conscious observer gets attached to these myriad forms, he steps out of the fluidity of life. He divides the perceived world into separate objects that it sees as permanent, and clings to them, forgetting that in reality they are transient.
Lord Krishna: Indulgence in the object of senses produces attachment to them, from attachment arises desire, and from desire arises anger. (62)
From anger arises confusion, thereby loss of memory occurs; with the loss of memory the intelligence is destroyed; the destruction of intelligence leads man to destruction. (63)
Though the disciplined one moves in the world of senses remaining established within, neither attached nor despising, he attains purity of Spirit. (64)
Attachment of the senses leads to self indulgence. Unless we decide to face ourselves and do something about these black holes, they suck us. Discipline is the way to plug these black holes. An essential part of discipline is determination put into action – and that’s where change starts. It leaves no room for weakness. Keeping to our limits is the firestone that fuels self-discipline. It leaves no room for weakness to draw us into a place of no return. That is not to say that we hide from the world, and become lazy or idle.
On the contrary, a realized person brims with love, and navigates through the chaos of the world in a relaxed and a playful manner. However, it is not uncommon to adopt a mental approach to discipline the mind. The mental approach is wired to the ego. The ego uses discipline as a license for becoming harsh to others. On the other hand, when the mind is swayed by desires, the disciplines are blown away. So what should we do? The Koran holds discipline ‘adab’ as an essential human quality. It maintains that the one who lacks self-control is deprived of the Lord’s Grace. The undisciplined not only pollutes his own tank but like a dirty fish pollutes the whole tank. Hence, discipline is a keeper – keep it and we’ll be happier watching our inner strength grow like fragrant flowers on a spring tree.
All his sorrows dissolve in the joy of the spirit, and the attention of such a person recedes from the external objects, and gets absorbed in the self. (65)
The attention is a storehouse of energy. As we put attention to an object, our energy invests in it. By investing energy into an object, we get identified with it. We get upset if the object breaks. It begs the question, how to withdraw the attention from the objects? Our Spirit shows us how to withdraw our attachment and not our attention because she despises none and bears no malice. Nor does she judge because she only knows how to love. The reflection of the spirit is so splendid that we marvel at the beauty that is hidden within. The outside magnets no more distract our attention because the magnetic field of the Spirit is far more powerful. Our attention settles in the abode of the Spirit called the thousand petal lotus or the Sahasrara chakra.
Says Kabira, “Do not go to the garden of flowers, O friend! Go not there: in your body if the garden of flowers. Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus, and thus gaze on the infinite beauty.”
For the undisciplined there is no wisdom or the power of concentration. Without concentration there cannot be peace. How can there be joy if there is no peace? (66)
A person is not at peace with his brethren till he is at peace with himself. Without peace there is no balance. Without balance one cannot ascend. Without ascent there is no joy. When the mind gets enslaved by the wandering senses then their passion carries away man’s wisdom as a wind carries away a boat on the waters. (67)
If a horse leads the rider instead of the rider leading the horse, then the rider gets lost. So what is the trick for riding the horse? Well, we have to hold the reins of the horse in our hands. That is, we have to hold the reins of the wandering senses.
Therefore O Arjuna! The one who has tamed his senses, his intelligence gets enlightened. (68)
Human awareness is in the transition state. Zen calls it the world of the wavering mind. Two monks watching a flag blowing in the wind wondered whether it was the flag or the wind that was moving. The abbot revealed, “Not the wind, not the flag, but the mind is moving”. The mind is permanently deluded. It cannot see the absolute because at that point one has to dissolve.
Says the Sufi poet Amir Khusro: “It is the ocean of love. But its waves flow in reverse direction. The one who rises with their crest drowns. The one who drowns, goes across.”
What appears as night for all beings, is the time for waking up for an enlightened being and vice versa (69)
Those who look outwards sleep, and those who look inwards awaken. Those who look outward live in the future. But as the future does not exist, they daydream in the imaginary world of the ego. Conversely, the ego’s nightmare could be a day of celebration for the Spirit!
Like rivers dissolve into the ocean without causing any upheaval, similarly, all desires dissolve in the enlightened being without causing any ripples. (70)
The Sufi saint Bulleh Shah did not found any school, and had no disciples. Of him it is said, ‘when he entered the forest not a blade of grass stirred. When he entered water not a ripple formed. He did not encumber the earth.’ A consciousness that is no more imprisoned by desires becomes free like a bird. It flies from tree to tree without burdening it with desires.
The one who overcomes all his desires, and acts without hankering, identification or ego, he attains inner peace. (71)
Did we really need a bigger TV? Probably not, but everyone else seemed to be getting one, so shouldn’t we be following the trend? Ah, we forgot; the console would need to be changed to accommodate a larger TV. One want is bound to create a domino effect. “Wants in general are not satiable,” is what they say in Economics. A want leads to another and then another – the black hole of our desire never tires of consuming. What we buy today becomes old the next time. So either we keep consuming, or decide to put a stop somewhere. If the new won’t stay new for long, maybe it’s time we realize that true satisfaction doesn’t depend on the latest gadgets we acquire – but from desires we forfeit. As we do this soon, we may really be onto something – the taste of joy without material dependence.
As Kahlil Gibran says, “To be able to look back upon one’s life in satisfaction is to live twice.”
O Arjuna! This is the highest (Brahmisthiti) state. Having attained it, one does not fall in to illusion. Remaining steady in it till the end, he attains God realization. (72)
Both science and philosophy have helped us understand the living process rationally. The discovery of modern science points to the existence of an underlying intelligence in the universe. Of course, it is just another way of looking at God. Greek philosophers were not far behind in uncovering the truth, but they did not uncover the complete truth.
Plato pointed, “All we see are shadows of reality on the wall of the cave while remaining unaware of both the actual figures and the light that shines on them from behind.”
However, he did not see that the light that shines from behind comes from God. Hence unaware of it, the rational mind thinks God does not exist. Fortunately, thousands of years pre-dating the Greek philosophers, Lord Krishna answered all the questions of philosophy. He revealed the purpose of life was none other than to raise human attention to unite with God. This state enables us to become aware of the divine power that gives light to everything from behind. Thus, we are no more deceived by the shadows of reality on the walls of Plato’s cave.