01 Sep 2005
[Krishnashtami Day 7] Four types of devotees approach the Lord. The first one approaches due to the pressure of some emergency or difficulty (Arta). The Lord will definitely respond to him once or twice, expecting him to rise above this level. If he does not rise, God’s response disappears slowly. For this type of response from God, there is no need of a human incarnation. The power of the Lord that pervades all over the world is sufficient to respond to such prayers in an emergency. Even this response of God is based on the re-adjustment of the person’s own results. The Lord will rearrange his results temporarily and do him a favour, but this rearrangement is not a true solution. The postponed bad result will appear in another form immediately, or with interest, later on. Therefore after such response, one should become a Jijnasu [one who is interested in knowing] and should learn the whole divine knowledge from a divine preacher. Instead of this, if he continues his prayers to the Lord for solving every problem that he faces, he is called as an Artharthi [a person who prays for material benefit]. If he approaches the divine preacher and gets all the knowledge, he is called as a Jnani [one who knows]. All these four types of people are not bad people because none of them is an atheist (Udarassarva—Gita).
A student is better than an illiterate person but among students, there are grades. Similarly, the Jnani is the best among these four. He never approaches the Lord for any problem. He always serves the Lord in human form from whom he has received the knowledge. He becomes Atman (Jnanitvatnaiva), which means that he has completed Yoga and has attained the Self by self-analysis. If the word Atman here is taken in the sense of the Lord, the question comes whether here ‘Jnani’ is knower of the Self or the knower of the Lord. The Gita says that except the Lord Himself, nobody knows the Lord. In another context too, the word Jnani is used only in the sense of the self or soul (Jnanibhyopi). The word Jnani thus means he who has attained the self because one can attain the self by the knowledge of self-analysis. Shankara said the same “Jnanadevatu Kaivalyam” which means that by knowledge, one attains his own self or Atman.
Self-Attainment
This attainment of the Self is called Yoga and such a person is called as a Sthitaprajna. The word Sthitaprajna means he who exists in the state of Prajna or Buddhi (intelligence). Through intelligence alone can one do the discrimination [between Self and non-Self] and attain the Self, which is nearest to the intelligence (Yo Buddheh Paratah). Since he always keeps himself in the Self (Atmanyeva Atmana), his characteristics change according to the level of Atman. Before this, he behaved like the gross body [since he thought that he is the gross body]. Arjuna was like such an ignorant person who thought that the gross body was himself. All the relatives, related by blood, are linked only to the gross body. Therefore Arjuna was worried about his relatives in the war. Human beings are doing all types of sins because of the bonds with the family members, who are related only to the gross body. All the problems of injustice in this world are only due to the link to the gross body.
The Lord wanted to introduce the two inner bodies, which are the subtle body (Jiva) and causal body (Atman). The second chapter of the Gita, which is the beginning of the Lord’s message in the Gita, starts with the explanation of these two bodies, which are put together and called as Jivatma or roughly as Atman or Jiva. Jiva is made of qualities. The qualities are made of pure awareness, which is called as Atman. The Jiva in which Atman is inherently present, leaves the gross body in death. Atman is the pure awareness, which in a disturbed state [qualities superimposed on pure awareness] is called as the subtle body or Jiva. Jiva is like a bundle of water waves and Atman is like the standstill water without waves. These waves are the qualities or the feelings. They are called as samskaras or vaasanas. When these waves cease, Atman, the waveless water, results. To think that Atman is one’s Self, is Yoga. This is the state of the Sthitaprajna. He is always aware of His pure awareness. Then, blood relations and the emotion in the bonds disappear. In this state Arjuna can fight even with his relatives. When he kills them, he will feel as if he is only destroying their external clothes (Vasamsi—Gita).
Even if you cannot make these waves subside, let them exist like the external gross body. Making these waves subside is very difficult because they have been with you for several births. Therefore, the easiest way is to fix yourself in the causal body without bothering about the gross body and the subtle body. As Atman, one can be a spectator of all the functions of the gross body and all the dances of the qualities of the subtle body. In that case, you are not at all bothered by any activities of the gross body and the internal qualities (subtle body), which govern those activities (Iti Mattva Nasajjate). Lord Krishna preached this Atma Yoga to Arjuna to remove his powerful attachments, which cause misery. Lord Krishna gave this Atma Yoga as the first emergency medicine. Shankara stressed on this Atma Yoga. This Atman, being the greatest item of creation is also called as Brahman by the Gita as well as Shankara. According to the verbal meaning, it is justified to call Atman as Brahman. Therefore when you have attained Atman, you have become Brahman. Shankara called Jiva as Brahman because in the water-waves (qualities), water (pure awareness) alone is present. Therefore Jiva and Atman are not distinguished in the second chapter. Thus Jivatma (causal body along with subtle body) is often called as simply Jiva or simply Atman (soul). It is called as Jiva because Atman is not isolated [but is always associated with the qualities]. It is also called as Atman because the water-waves are water after all. Of course in the case of realised souls, it should be called as Atman. Thus when the word Jiva is used, it refers to ordinary human beings. When the word Atman is used, realised souls are indicated. Thus by using these two words [together as Jivatma], all human beings are embraced under one category. Jivatma is eternal with reference to the destructible gross body. The words ‘eternal’ and ‘Brahman’ misled all the scholars into thinking that the soul in the body is eternal and is Brahman. The scholars mistook the word Brahman for Parabrahman, which is the ultimate Lord. Therefore by fixing yourself to the Atman you have definitely reached a higher state but not the highest state.
Jnana, Bhakti and Karma Yoga
The attainment of the self, which is the higher state, was sufficient to remove the misery of Arjuna, which was due to the lack of self-knowledge. He had superimposed himself onto the gross body [mistaken himself to be the gross body] and was suffering. If this superimposition is removed and if one fixes himself to his Self, all the misery disappears. In fact it happened so. To remove his misery, his self need not become the Superself or the Lord, which is very difficult and, which can never be achieved. At the maximum the Self [soul] can enter into the inner circle of the Lord and that too by devotion (Bhakti Yoga) and subsequent service (karma yoga). Of course the knowledge (Jnana Yoga) immediately gives you the attainment of the Self as an initial incentive. This is called as Atma Yoga. For Pravritti or establishment of Dharma, this much is sufficient because self-attainment weakens the family bonds. Due to that, Arjuna could leave all his tensions in fighting with his family members. But if one wants to enter Nivritti, additional knowledge (Jnana Yoga) is required to identify the Lord in human form, serve Him, please Him, enter His permanent abode and become one of His innermost circle of devotees. Therefore when the Jnana Yoga is limited just to self-analysis, Pravritti or Dharma is achieved and this also pleases the Lord. It temporarily gives the soul enjoyment in heaven. The treatment of Arjuna was over by the second chapter itself. But his questions made the Lord teach the path of Nivritti also.
In Nivritti, the Jnana Yoga is complete and one develops only one bond with the Lord while all the other bonds with the world are cut (Teshaam Jnani—Gita). Only due to Nivritti, could Arjuna kill his beloved grandfather under the direction of Lord Krishna. By attaining the Self in Pravritti, Arjuna could become neutral towards his grandfather. This is not sufficient to kill his grandfather. Therefore Nivritti was preached in which Arjuna realised Lord Krishna as God and obeyed His instruction to kill his grandfather. Arjuna was in the minus state [negative] due to his blind love towards his grandfather. Krishna brought him to the zero state in which Arjuna attained his Self by self-analysis as preached in the second chapter of the Gita. Later on Nivritti was elaborated so that Arjuna came to the plus stage [positive] in which He recognised Krishna as the Lord. As per the order from the Lord, he killed his grandfather because he had already become neutral towards him in the previous state. Thus the self-analysis helps one to easily enter the state of Nivritti.
The treatment of Arjuna was done in two stages. The illness was the blind attraction of his family bonds by which he was deeply pained. In the first stage the attraction in the family bonds was reduced. In this initial treatment the medicine given by the doctor, Krishna, was the achievement of the Self by self-analysis. By this, the severity of the illness was reduced. This is called as the treatment of Pravritti. In the next stage, the treatment of Nivritti started. The first injection in Nivritti was to introduce the human incarnation. After recognizing the human incarnation, which was Lord Krishna Himself and which was clearly declared by Lord Krishna, Arjuna received the Jnana Yoga of Nivritti by which Arjuna recognized Krishna as the Lord and loved the Lord by devotion. Thereby the love for his family bonds disappeared and finally he served the Lord as His servant.
The war was the Lord’s mission in which Arjuna participated as a servant to establish Dharma and condemn Adharma. Thus in Nivritti you find the additional Jnana Yoga which leads you to Bhakti Yoga and finally ends in karma yoga, which is service. Thus in the treatment of Pravritti, there is no Bhakti Yoga and karma yoga. But in the treatment of Nivritti, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and karma yoga follow in that order. Pravritti concentrated on the Atman of Arjuna whereas Nivritti concentrated on the Paramatman who is Lord Krishna Himself.
Shankara enlightened the Jnana Yoga in both Pravritti and Nivritti. People have misunderstood Shankara and have limited His Jnana Yoga only to Pravritti. They thought that the whole knowledge is only based on self-analysis and the attainment of self. This is a complete misunderstanding of Shankara’s knowledge. Shankara Himself was an incarnation of Lord Shiva. The Veda says that Shiva and Narayana are one and the same. Krishna was the human incarnation of Narayana. It means Krishna and Shankara are one and the same. The path of Shankara must be a true reflection of the Gita of Krishna. Shankara Himself declared that He alone is the incarnation of Shiva (Sivah Kevaloham). He swallowed molten lead and asked His disciples to do so. [They were unable to do so even though they were established in the Self. This proved that Shankara was greater than them. He was Lord Shiva Himself while they were just self-realized souls]. People have limited Shankara to the Jnana Yoga of Pravritti alone and have even forgotten the existence of the Lord. Then there is no need of Bhakti Yoga (devotion) and karma yoga (service). The Nivritti part of Shankara was completely drowned in ignorance. Ramanuja came and brought out the Bhakti Yoga, Madhva came and brought out the karma yoga. The Jnana Yoga in Pravritti deals with the Self and its attainment. The Jnana Yoga of Nivritti deals with the attainment of the Lord in human form and pleasing Him with devotion and service.
Need for Self-Attainment
There is a link between self-attainment and Nivritti. Unless one is pure in his mind by becoming Atman or Brahman (Brahma bhutam akalmasham—Gita), one cannot succeed in the service of the human incarnation. Thus one has to be purified by self-analysis to become a Yogi. He cannot approach the Yogeshwara, who is the human incarnation without it. Therefore the Jnana Yoga of Pravritti to attain the Self is the preliminary course for getting admission into Nivritti. If one approaches the Sadguru who is the Lord in human form directly, he will also preach the preliminary course to achieve the eligibility into Nivritti. This is the whole plan of the Gita. The whole Gita can be treated as a single scripture of Nivritti alone because the knowledge about attainment of the Self is also included as the zero hour or as the first step in Nivritti. The soul, the path and the final goal constitute the whole spiritual journey. The soul must be made eligible for the journey. Thus there are the following four steps in the path of Nivritti:
Thus the Gita starts with the preliminary stage of self-analysis in the second chapter and goes on to deal with all the above stages in the subsequent chapters. The Gita is treated as a book dealing only with Nivritti and can be called as Moksha Shastra [science of total liberation]. The word Yoga means attainment and thus the word Yoga is used in several stages whenever those stages are attained. E.g. Jnana Yoga is attaining Jnana or knowledge, Bhakti Yoga is attaining devotion. In the context of Atma Yoga or the attainment of the Self in the preliminary stage, the word Yoga means attainment of equality or equal-mindedness (Samatvam Yoga—Gita) in every corner of the world, which is the main characteristic of self-attainment. But this definition of Yoga is limited to that context only. In all other places, the word Yoga simply means attainment. Therefore, if you limit the Gita to only the second chapter, it can be called as Yoga Shastra. But the word Yoga means attaining the Lord and attaining success in pleasing Lord. Then even Moksha Shastra becomes Yoga Shastra.
Goal of Nivritti
The Advaita scholars think that the self-attainment mentioned in the second chapter of the Gita is the final goal of Nivritti too. The preliminary course, which gives eligibility to join the main course, itself is treated as the main course. By self-attainment, Arjuna became normal and peaceful so that he was eligible to divert himself to Krishna. By self-analysis all the bonds with his blood relations became weak and it was a favourable atmosphere for the formation of the bond with the Lord. If self-analysis were the ultimate, the Gita would have been over by the second chapter. Arjuna had already lost the intensity of his blind attractions and could have fought with his family members [at the end of the second chapter]. There was no need for Krishna to tell Arjuna that Arjuna should develop devotion towards Krishna even after the attainment of the self. But Krishna told Arjuna that Arjuna was ignorant (Natvam vettha—Gita). The Lord introduced two items in the fifteenth chapter. One is Kshara, which means the external gross body that is destructible. The other is Akshara, which is eternal and which indicates the Atman. The Atman is eternal with respect to the gross body. The eternal nature of Atman is relative but not absolute. The Lord said that He is beyond both these items. He did not say that He is some third item. The reason is that the first two items are visible or imaginable items of creation. Therefore those two items can be numbered as one and two under the category of items of creation. But the third item is beyond the entire creation and is not under the category of items of creation. This third item is called as Purushottama. But the word means that He is the greatest human being. This means that a third item exists in human beings called Krishna, and therefore Krishna is Purushottama. In the human body of Krishna too, both Kshara and Akshara are present.
When the Lord introduced His human body by the word “Idam Shariram”, He mentioned both Kshetram (Kshara) and Kshetrajna (Akshara). [Kshetra means field. Kshetrajna means the knower of the Kshetra] Then, He introduced Himself as a third item who is also a Kshetrajna. Thus the human form of Lord Krishna stands as Purushottama. The word Purushottama means the superman or the human incarnation, who comes in every human generation. Therefore He is famous in the world (Atosmi Loke—Gita). The Lord says that the human incarnation is famous even in the Veda (Aparokshat Brahma, Pratyagatmanamaishat—Veda). The Lord said that the soul in every human being is Kshetrajna, because the soul is made of pure awareness, which is aware of itself and aware of the world. The word Kshetram means the world. Now the Lord says that He is also aware of Himself and is aware of the world i.e., Kshetrajna. What does this mean? This means that the soul is aware of itself and the world because it is awareness. The soul is understood by logical analysis. But the Lord can never be understood by any logical analysis. Therefore you cannot say that the Lord is awareness just because He is also aware of Himself and the world like a soul. Here two words ‘cha’ and ‘api’ are used which mean that even though the Lord is not awareness, He still knows everything.
The Lord is not present in inert matter or inert energy, which constitute the world (Nacha Bhutastah—Gita). This means that He is neither in the world and nor is He the world. This eliminates the gross body of ordinary human being—the Lord is neither in the gross body and nor is He the gross body itself. The gross body is made of Pancha bhutas (the five elements). Therefore the word Bhuta in the above verse of the Gita concludes that He is neither the five elements nor is He in the five elements. The second possibility is that the Lord may be the qualities or may be present in the qualities. The Lord says that the three qualities are generated from Him but He is not in the qualities (Nachaham Teshu—Gita). This means that He is neither the subtle body and nor is He in the subtle body made of the qualities. The last possibility is that He may the pure awareness (causal body or Atman). This awareness is present in the qualities like water existing in the waves. If He is water, He cannot say that He is not present in the water waves. Thus if He were Atman or the causal body, He would be present in the subtle body of every human being. In that case He would not have said that He is not in the qualities. Water is in the waves and the waves are also in the water. If that were the case, the Lord should have told that the qualities are in Him and that He is also in the qualities. But He told Arjuna in the Gita that He is not present in the qualities even though the qualities are present in Him. Therefore He is not the pure awareness, which dissolves in the deep sleep.
He also told that the five elements are in Him but He is not the five elements (Matsthani—Gita). This statement is not possible if you say that the cause is available in the effect, like the gold existing in the golden ornament. If that were the case, the Lord should have told that He is present in the five elements or the three qualities or the pure awareness of the universe. The gold is the ornament and the ornament is in the gold. Therefore that example is not valid. [In order to properly explain this concept,] We would have to give an example in such a way, that we can say that the ornament is in the gold but the gold is not in the ornament.
Model to Explain God and Creation
For this concept, the proper example is that of the daydreamer. The daydreamer is the cause and the dream is the effect. The dream is in him but he is not in the dream. You have imagined Mumbai city. The imagined Mumbai is in you but you are not in that imagined city. This is possible because you are not modified into Mumbai and only your mind is modified. Therefore Parabrahman is not directly modified into the world. His power called Maya is modified into the world. The Maya and its modification (world) exist in the Parabrahman. But Parabrahman does not exist in Maya or the world. When you want to enter into your imaginary city, you can never enter with your original form. Similarly, Parabrahman never enters the world directly. You will create your duplicate imaginary form and you will identify yourself with that imaginary form. Now, that imaginary form enters the imaginary world. Since you have identified with that imaginary form, that imaginary form is as good as yourself. Whatever you wish, that will be the wish of that imaginary form. If somebody insults that imaginary form, you feel that you are insulted. If somebody loves that imaginary form, you feel that you are loved. When that imaginary form disappears, it means that you have come out of that dream. Similarly Parabrahman enters this world through one human form called Krishna. Therefore Parabrahman is identified with Krishna. Whatever Parabrahman wishes and speaks, is the wish and speech of Krishna.
The dream-city is pervaded everywhere by the mind of the dreamer. Similarly, the world is pervaded all over by Maya. Therefore, Maya entered the world and the world is in Maya like gold pervading the golden ornament. Maya is the direct cause of the world as the mind is the cause of the dream-city. Parabrahman is the indirect cause of the world as the dreamer is the indirect cause of the dream-city. The world is the effect like a dream. The dreamer is not touched by the dream. Even if the dream-city is burning, the dreamer does not get heated even slightly. When a hot rod is dipped in water, the water gets heated. Similarly if the world were in Parabrahman, the modifications of the world would touch the Parabrahman. To remove the possibility of this misunderstanding, the Parabrahman [Krishna] said that the world is not in Him (Nacha matsthani). Now the contradiction between the two statements is solved because He said that the world is in Him (Matsthani) and also said that the world is not in Him (Nachamat).
The disappearance of the imaginary form in the imaginary world is the death of the human form of the Lord. Krishna also died. It is impossible that any human form in the imaginary world can directly touch the dreamer. Touching the imaginary human form, with which the dreamer has identified himself, is also the direct touch with the dreamer because the experience is transferred directly from the Parabrahman to the devotee and vice-versa. Touching the Parabrahman directly is not possible as we touch a person directly. You can touch God’s shirt [human body of His incarnation] and you can experience Him indirectly since He is in the shirt. You can experience Parabrahman by touching the human body in which the Parabrahman exists, which is the human incarnation like Lord Krishna. You cannot achieve this experience of Parabrahman from any human being just as you cannot experience a person by touching a vacant shirt without the person. In the case of an ordinary human being, you can touch the coat [gross body], touch the inner shirt [subtle body] and touch the innermost vest [Atman or Awareness] but the innermost person [God] is absent. The human being is like a dress hanging from a hanger.
The cause, base and the destroyer is Maya alone, which can be called as Prakriti in its modified form. Maya can be also called directly as Prakriti because the word Prakriti means the direct cause. The world, which is the modification of Maya, is also called as Prakriti because the word Prakriti can also mean the effect. Therefore Prakriti can mean Maya, which is the cause and can also mean the world, which is the effect. Therefore when you say that Brahman is present everywhere, the word Brahman stands for the pure awareness which is Maya. Maya is only the power of Parabrahman and is generated and controlled by Parabrahman. Therefore whatever Maya does, it appears as if Maya is doing it independently. Maya is the most faithful dog of God. Maya is visible and appears as the doer but Maya does it only on the instruction of the invisible Parabrahman. Maya appears as the independent God but if you realize the Parabrahman, you will also realize that Maya is just a dog.
Accepting the Human Incarnation
The entire problem lies only in accepting the human form such as Krishna, as God. You may say that there are several devotees of Krishna at present but that is not the point. The point is, when Krishna was alive, how many people were His devotees? One has to cross egoism and jealousy to recognize the living human form—present right before the eyes. Several devotees accept the human forms of the Lord that have passed away and are not present before their eyes. The reason for the repulsion between two human bodies is the repulsion between likes. By self-analysis, if one fixes himself to be the Atman, which is the pure awareness, he becomes different from the human form. Then you may love another human form [especially the human incarnation of God]. This is one of the spiritual reasons of self-analysis. Even in that case, you may start hating human beings because they are also in the same state of Atman (Sarvabhutatmabhutatmaa). Therefore being in the state of Atman, you can love other human forms. You can also be in the state of human form and love other human forms. Whatever it may be, you must be able to love other human forms. The final result is that you should love the human form of the Lord and that alone can be your love for Parabrahman. Whatever you do to that human form of the Lord, is done to Parabrahman Himself.
Lord Krishna never told anyone that He is God except to Arjuna. Since Arjuna surrendered to Krishna with full faith and devotion, He revealed Himself as the Lord and taught him the path of Nivritti. There was no need to preach Nivritti to the Gopikas because they had achieved the goal of Nivritti. These Gopikas were sages in the previous births and the Lord had preached to them in the form of Dattatreya for a long time. There was no need to preach Nivritti to Duryodhana, who was a demon and could not even come upto the level of Pravritti. He was blind with his family bonds. Therefore the Lord only taught him Pravritti but even that was of no use. As a last resort, the Lord even showed him the Vishwarupam. Yet Duryodhana did not care. That means that he believed in God but did not care for Him. He was a demon in the previous birth. Demons try to use the power of God, but they themselves want to become God. Duryodhana wanted the help of Krishna in the war and got the vast army from Him. Demons like the power of God but not God. They are better than an atheist because the atheist neither likes God nor His power.
Krishna did not show Vishwarupam to the Gopikas because they believed in Him as the Lord. The Vishwarupam was the proof of the human form of Krishna being the Lord. Such proof was not necessary for the Gopikas. The Gopikas were sages in the previous births and had complete divine knowledge from the Lord in human form, who was called as Dattatreya. He had showed this vision to them several times. Therefore, there was no need of knowledge or any such proof for the Gopikas. Jesus said, “Those who believe in Me without proof are more blessed than those who believe in Me with proof”. But the other extreme end was Duryodhana who could not understand even the preliminary knowledge of Pravritti and did not believe even after seeing the Vishwarupam.
If you take the case of Arjuna, he represents the human being who is a hill of doubts and who raised questions. He is in the middle stage; neither a demon like Duryodhana, nor a sage like the Gopikas. He is eligible for Pravritti and Nivritti. The Vishwarupam strengthened his belief. Therefore, Arjuna represents the present human being. But Arjuna neglected Krishna on the eighteenth day when Krishna asked Arjuna to step down from the chariot first. Even during the war, when Abhimanyu died, Arjuna said that he would stop the war. Actually, the essence of the Bhagvad Gita was that Arjuna should fight against injustice as a servant of the Lord and not for any personal purpose. This spirit was lost when Arjuna refused to fight, grieving for Abhimanyu’s death. Therefore, Arjuna represents this human psychology.
If you take the case of the sage Udanka, he did not believe in human forms of God. He was a believer in God and believed in the energetic forms of God like Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He had done a lot of penance and had got superpowers from the Lord. He had dedicated all his life to God. The only defect in him was that he did not believe in the human form of God. Therefore he was prepared to give a curse to Krishna. Lord Krishna showed Udanka His Vishwarupam as a proof that Krishna was the human form of the Lord. [Sage Udanka then believed in Krishna]
Thus, there was no use of the Vishwarupa vision, in the case of Duryodhana. There was a little use of it in the case of Arjuna. The highest use of the vision was in the case of Sage Udanka. There was no need of it in the case of the Gopikas. The Lord showed the Vishwarupam to Arjuna and Udanka so since it was useful in both the cases. He showed the same vision to Duryodhana to tell us that there will be no use of divine visions in such cases.
The Vishwarupam is the vision of the entire cosmic energy, which cannot be seen by these human eyes. The Lord gave a very highly energetic pair of eyes to see this concentrated energetic vision (Divyam Dadami). The energetic eye is like a powerful microscope or a powerful telescope. Through the microscope, the subtle structure is seen and through the telescope, the infinite cosmos is seen. The energetic eye given by the Lord is a combination of a supernatural divine microscope and a divine telescope. Arjuna first saw infinite energy (Divisurya—Gita). This is the function of the divine microscope, which shows matter as energy. Then Arjuna saw the infinite cosmos and energy. This is the function of the telescope.
When one destroys his egoism and jealousy and identifies, loves and serves the Lord as a servant, he enters (Vishate cha) the inner circle of the Lord. Such liberated souls live in the Lord. For example: Shri Maha Lakshmi lives in the heart of Narayana. Saraswati lives in the mouth of Brahma and Parvati has penetrated half into the body of Shiva. But what is the inner meaning (Nivasishyasi) of this ‘entry’ into the Lord? When somebody says that you are in his heart, it does not mean that you have physically entered his heart. All this is a symbolic language. It means that whatever Lakshmi feels, that is the feeling of Narayana because the heart is the abode of feelings. It means that there is no opposition in the thoughts. Similarly when there is no opposition in the words, it is the meaning of Saraswati being in Brahma’s mouth. The body represents action. Parvati and Shiva being joined together in body means that Shiva and Parvati always act together. These three represent Trikarnas—mind, words and the body. When all the Trikarnas are completely surrendered to the Lord, it is the state of monism, which is possible for devotees.
Now God can also enter the devotee. Hanuman was a devotee but was also an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Balarama is considered to be one of the ten incarnations of the Lord; he was equated with the Lord, but he was actually the incarnation of Adisesha who is a servant of the Lord. This means that the Lord becomes devotee and the devotee becomes the Lord. Thus there is no difference between God and the liberated soul who has entered His innermost circle (Mayite Teshu chapyaham). Even Narada says that devotees are filled with the Lord.
The Advaita scholars want to reach this state directly in the preliminary stage itself, without any patience. They want to end the Gita with the second chapter by attaining the self through self-analysis. This stage is also given by the same Lord. The house owner called a beggar and asked him to stay in the front porch of the house. The beggar carefully measured the area of the front porch and claimed that he is the house owner. This is the state of the Advaita philosopher. But what about Adisesha and Hanuman? They were also given place in the front porch. But they never claimed to be the house owner. The Lord then called them inside the house, which is Bhakti Yoga and karma yoga. They still said that they were beggars and not at all the owners of the house. Finally the Lord declared them as the owners of the house. Still they said that they are not the owners. Balarama was given an equal place [with God] in the ten incarnations. He was treated as the Lord but at the end, He turned back to Adisesha and became the bed of the Lord [in the upper world, Adishesha appears as a thousand-hooded cobra swimming on the Milk Ocean. The Lord rests on the bed of the coil of this cobra]. Even though Hanuman was made the future creator, He remained as the servant of the Lord. The Advaita scholar is not even one-millionth of Hanuman or Adisesha. Ramanuja was Adisesha and Madhva was the brother of Anjaneya [Hanuman].
Shankara was Lord Shiva Himself who claimed to be the Lord in human form (Shivo’ham). But others also started saying that they are also the Lord in human form. For their sake, Lord Shiva took the form of Hanuman and showed them how a human being should always be a servant of the Lord. The same Lord Shiva represented a human incarnation as Adi Shankara by saying “Shivo’ham” and the same Lord Shiva came as a devotee in the form of Hanuman. The same Lord Narayana came as Rama to represent a human being and as Krishna, to represent the human incarnation. Shiva came first as a servant and only then as a human incarnation. Similarly, Narayana first came as a human being and only then as a human incarnation.
The last verse of the Gita says that devotees should surrender to Him alone (Mamekam Sharanam). Therefore, the final goal of the human being is to recognize the human incarnation and completely surrender to Him. The first word of the Gita is Dharmakshetre, which means the field of Pravritti or Dharma. The last verse of the Gita says Sarva Dharman Parityajya, which is the field of Nivritti. The first person that comes in the Gita is the blind king Dhritarashtra. The last person is the enlightened Arjuna. In Pravritti, one has to vote for Dharma and against Adharma. But in Nivritti, one has to vote for the Lord in human form even if it means voting against Dharma.
The Incarnation and the Three Qualitites
Lord Krishna represents both Pravritti and Nivritti. In the Mahabharatha, He stands for Pravritti by destroying injustice and supporting justice. Krishna was like Rama in Pravritti; standing as an embodiment of only Sattvam or good qualities. Any form of God stands only with Sattvam. Every human being likes Sattvam, which gives boons, removes all problems and gives happiness (Sattvam Sukhe—Gita). It is like loving your son who has all the good qualities, who does not give you any problem. He always keeps you happy. Your love for your son is great. All human beings are in this first stage called Pravritti. All the forms of God except Krishna and Datta are full of Sattvam alone and Rajas and Tamas are in a suppressed state. Rajas and Tamas are not expressed but are present in equal quantities in them. In this stage love or Prema exists for God.
In the second stage, along with Pravritti, Nivritti also enters. In the Bhagavatam, Krishna showed Nivritti to the Gopikas. In the Mahabharatam, He showed Pravritti to the Pandavas. In the case of the Gopikas, Krishna showed Tamas by stealing butter and dancing with them. He showed also Rajas in killing Kauravas and a lot of people in the Kurukshetra war. Thus, Krishna was a mixture of Pravritti and Nivritti. In preaching the Bhagavad Gita and in supporting justice He showed Sattvam. Thus, He exhibited both good and bad qualities, which include the three qualities. Thus, He was the real incarnation of Datta. This is second stage in which you love your son who has both good and bad qualities. Your son gives you happiness as well as troubles. But you do not mind the troubles and always support him. In this stage you have greater love for your son, which is called as Moha.
In the third stage you will reach Datta, who exhibits only bad qualities (Rajas and Tamas). In this third stage your love for your son is the greatest and is called as Vyamoha. You tolerate all his torture and still support and love him. This is like the blind love of Dhritarashtra for Duryodhana. This is the climax and is the greatest love. Thus, Krishna stands as a bridge or a transition stage between Rama and Datta. When all the worldly bonds exist, you are in the first stage. When most of the worldly bonds are cut you are in the second stage. When all the worldly bonds are cut and the bond with God alone remains you are in the third stage. In the third stage you have to cross your ‘I’ and cut your ‘my’. Thus, Krishna leads you from Pravritti to Nivritti. He gave heaven to Pandavas from which they have to return to the earth. But He gave the highest Goloka, the fifteenth topmost world to the Gopikas from which they never returned.
Essence of the Gita
[Shri Swami sang the following song extempore, which gives the essence of the Gita]
How should I tell you, O Partha, how should I tell you? (Main Chorus)
If I say that I am not the Lord, you will say that I am the Lord,
If I say that I am the Lord, you will say that I am not the Lord,
If I don’t love, I am a stone for you, if I love you, you tell Me to go,
If you like to be with Me always, you have to cut all the bonds.
Impossible! O Partha, this is impossible! (Side chorus)
(Main chorus)
I came to uplift the justice, I sing this Gita to teach you,
Love with service, is the only way! Be with Me with lovely service,
To love and serve the human form is the best, Narayana came down as Krishna,
Only the human form can preach, knowing the human form is divine knowledge.
Divine knowledge! O Partha, this is divine knowledge! (Side chorus)
(Main Chorus)
Two obstacle-walls oppose you here; egoism and jealousy are the walls,
Human body repels human body; therefore you reject My human form,
Realize, you are not the human body; you are the soul that is the pure awareness,
Why do you hate the human body, when you are not the human body?
Love Me! O Partha, love My human form! (Side chorus)
(Main Chorus)
I am Vaasudeva, the son of Vasudeva; serve Me in this human form only,
Soul need not hate the human body; at least love all human beings,
In any way love the human beings, so that you love Me in human form,
Before you love and serve Me finally, love and serve humanity.
Practice! O Partha, it is practice! (Side chorus)
(Main Chorus)
Divine knowledge means detecting Me, loving Me and then serving Me always,
Entire creation is My will only; the human body is also My will,
God pervaded My human body; God Himself is teaching you,
Don’t claim that you are the Lord, just by becoming the self.
Demonism! O Partha, this is demonism! (Side chorus)
(Main Chorus)
Sacrifice of work and fruit of work, both are service, like the plate of meals,
Oral singing and love with the mind; to be given like the drinking water,
Don’t give only water to Lord, and charge Him for giving the water
But meals must be with drinking water; don’t aspire for payment from Lord
He will bless you! O Partha, He will always bless you! (Side chorus)
(Main Chorus)
You think of Me as a human body since you are also the human body
I am the hot water, water with heat; you are the cold water, water without heat,
Don’t propagate that I am the Lord; others may not digest that truth,
They will mock you and drag you down, to their level to be equal with you,
Human tendency! O Partha, this is human tendency! (Side chorus)
(Main Chorus)
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