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Sharing Teachings from Scriptures of Sanātanaḥ Dharmaḥ and Self Realised Masters. Owner - @Vasudevom #spiritual #sanatandharma #hinduism
But the self-controlled person free from attraction and repulsion, with his senses under restraint, though moving among objects, attains peace.
~ Gita 2.64
The person who can restrain the senses and control the mind attains peace. He may be using the senses and sense objects to sustain his life, but such work does not pollute the purity and peace of his mind. When the poisonous fangs are pulled out, the serpent is harmless. Similarly, when attraction and repulsion (Raga and Dwesha) are eliminated from the mind, the senses lose their evil power, and then they are only instruments in the hands of man to do what he wants them to do or to remain quiet in their places.
Such a person can move freely in the world and no harm comes to him. When the horses are well under control, the charioteer feels free and happy because they take him easily to the destination without trouble and danger. So the senses help and not hinder the person who has obtained control over the mind.
Self-restrained, self-controlled: Self-control is the necessary condition for Self-realisation. Without it, spiritual life is not possible. The mind and the senses should be under one’s control, and not under their control.
Everyone should regain their mastery over themselves. Without self-mastery, nobody can attain peace and happiness. He may have all the wealth and power in the world, he may have all the desires fulfilled, but the peace he cannot have because peace is the reward of self-mastery. It cannot be purchased with wealth and power.
The Lord points out the way to peace. Control of the senses, and purification of the mind – these two conditions should be fulfilled first before the person can experience the bliss of Atma.
Question: Who can attain peace?
Answer: He whose mind is free from attachment, whose senses are restrained, and whose mind is controlled attains peace.
I surrender to Sri Rama who is pure, supreme, whose form is Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss, who is the foundation for all gunas, is independent, revered, all-pervading, who shines in the heart of all beings untouched by gunas, and is Self- effulgent and ultimate bliss.
~ Sri Rama Bhujanga Stotram - verse 1 by Adi Shankaracharya.
Shubh Sri Rama Navami to all. May Sri Rama bless you all to adhere to dharma, and bestow peace and bliss upon you all.
O Arjuna! The turbulent senses carry away the mind even of the learned man though he is striving to control them
~ Gita 2.60
Even the learned person, well versed in the Shastras and Vedic lore, is merely a plaything under the power of the mind and the senses. The mind does not easily turn inwards. It is pushed out, as it were, and through the senses attaches itself to the objective world. If this is so in the case of a learned person who has understood the truth intellectually at least, what about the others?
Similarly, the turbulent senses defeat and perplex the person who is trying his best to control them.
The senses draw the mind and drive it in different directions. He is restless and distracted. He becomes utterly the slave of the uncontrollable senses. He who should have been the master is turned a slave! That is the unfortunate position in which many live and die.
The wise always keep vigilance over the mind. The mind can never be fully trusted. It can mislead even a wise striving person. One has to be very alert and closely witness the wanderings of the mind.
It is the very nature of the mind to go to lower objects of enjoyment, just as it is the nature of water to flow downwards.
The human mind is ever ready to deceive and play tricks. Therefore, discipline, constant vigilance, and sincere spiritual practice are needed. The mind is like an unruly horse that needs to be broken in. Never let the mind roam unwatched into the realm of sensuality. The path of spiritual life is very slippery and has to be trodden very carefully to avoid falls. It is not a joyous ferryboat ride, but a very difficult path to tread like the sharp edge of a sword.
Many obstacles, distractions, and failures come on the path to help the devotee become stronger and more advanced on the path, just like iron is turned into steel by alternate heating, cooling, and hammering. One should not get discouraged by failures, but carry on with steadfast determination.
When the yogi, like the tortoise drawing back its limbs into its own shell, withdraws all the senses from the sense objects, his wisdom is firmly fixed.
~ Gita 2.58
For self-realisation (Moksha) control of the senses is essential. When the senses are drawn back from contact with the sense objects like form, sound,, etc., then the intellect is rooted in Atma.
The same truth is stated by Patanjali in the sutras Yogaschittavrittinirodhah, tadadrashtuh svarupe Avasthanum.
It means that the senses, which by their nature run after worldly objects should be drawn back, and the mind should be centered in Atma. When this is done firmly, and when there is no deviation from the Self, one’s knowledge becomes perfect.
This idea is very clearly brought out by means of an illustration. The tortoise withdraws all its limbs into its own shell at the slightest apprehension of danger from outside. Even if the shell is hacked to pieces it would not extend its limbs. The yogi, like the tortoise, should drawback his senses from the objective world, and settle himself in the Self.
The yogi should withdraw all the senses from all the worldly objects. Even if all the doors are closed except one, through that one door dacoits may enter the house. Even if one window is kept open, a gust of wind from it may extinguish the lamp. So it is absolutely necessary that all the senses should be turned back, and there should be no contact with the external world.
It is the sense-organs that make the person aware of the outside world. When they are drawn back there is no external world. In deep sleep, there is no external world because the senses are not functioning. Similarly, the yogi should stop the operation of the senses in his fully conscious state, and then the mind sees the Self within.
@guruvaakya
He whose mind is not troubled in sorrow, who does not hanker after pleasures and is free from attachment fear and hatred, is called the sage of steady wisdom.
~ Gita 2.56
The characteristics of sthita-prajna are further elaborated here.
Mind not troubled in sorrow: The mind of the sthita-prajna is not troubled by the sorrows. disasters and calamities of life. The sun who is far above the storm clouds is not affected by thunder, lightning, and rain.
In the same way, pain and pleasure are the natural reactions of the mind to external phenomenon, and Atma being above the mind (i.e.) transcending the mind, is not affected by its modifications. It remains as the witness of the mind, in the same way, as the Sun is just the witness of what is happening in the lower region of the earth.
Pain and pleasure are just two different waves of the mind. One wave is called pleasure and another is called pain. Both are caused by the contact of the mind with external objects. If the object is pleasing, there is a wave of pleasure. If the object is not pleasing, there is a wave of pain.
The sthita-prajna whose mind is firmly established in Atma is not moved one way or the other when pleasant and unpleasant things occur.
The Jivanmukta has found himself one with the ocean of bliss, and as such how can he think of attaching himself to any kind of material pleasure? He knows that these little pleasures are only ripples on the surface of the ocean of bliss and that they are shadowy reflections of his own Self.
Free from attachment, fear, and hatred: Sthita-prajna is free from attachment, fear, and hatred. To the person of knowledge, everything appears as Atma, in the same way as everything appears as material objects to the ignorant person. What then can he desire? Whom can he fear or hate?
For the wise person who knows that everything is that one Atma, there can be no delusion and no sorrow. He has realised that all that exists is only the Supreme Self and nothing else. Fear and hatred arise only when there is a second thing. When all this is one indivisible Satchidananda Absolute, where is fear and where is hate? He is himself everything. Can he hate himself? Can he fear himself? No. That is the state of the Jivanmukta, the Sthita-prajna – supreme and transcendental.
@guruvaakya
śhruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niśhchalā
samādhāv-achalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi
When your intellect which is perplexed by hearing the various sastras becomes steady and immovable in ecstatic concentration, then you shall attain union with the Supreme Brahman.
~ Gita 2.53
The mind is distracted by the impulse of the mind, by the outgoing power of the senses in contact with physical objects. Such distraction is a great obstacle to Self-realisation.
Through the practice of discrimination and nishkama – karma, these distractions gradually disappear. The mind is then calm and collected because it has then overcome the tendency to run after material things. It is gradually fixed in the Self-state and the person experiences the bliss of Self-realisation. That is yoga.
Yoga means the union of the individual self with the Supreme Being.
The Ego which keeps up the delusion of being a separate entity is merged in its source (i.e.) Self, and then there remains only one Atma, and not two distinct entities as imagined by the deluded mind.
Like a bit of salt being dissolved in the ocean, the Ego dissolves itself in the ocean of Sat-Chit-Anand. Then there is supreme peace of blessedness. Till that consummation the mind is troubled.
When yoga takes place, no mind or Ego is existing separately from the Supreme Being. The mind becomes still and immovable because it has become one with That. Then it is all one indivisible ocean of bliss and blessedness.
So long as the mind is unsteady, yoga (union with the Self) cannot happen.
Therefore the seeker should hear of Atma and endeavor to think and meditate on That. He should listen for a brief while and spend more time in concentration and meditation. That is the way.
Moreover, rejecting the objective world as an illusion he should look inside into the fathomless Atma pure, calm, serene, and immovable. The more one practices this inward look, the nearer he moves towards Atma and furthers away from the superficial distractions of the material world. Thus a moment arrives when the mind gets itself completely dissolved in Atma in samadhi.
When the mind becomes perfectly still and motionless and is turned inwards, samadhi is reached, and immediately the person attains liberation by the knowledge of his real Self.
@guruvaakya
karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣhiṇaḥ
janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ padaṁ gachchhanty-anāmayam
Wise person endowed with equanimity, having abandoned the fruits of action, go to the abode beyond all sorrow and evil.
~ Gita 2.51
Manisha means knowledge. He who possesses discrimination and true knowledge has no concern or use for the fruits of work. It follows that discrimination is necessary to understand the principle of right action.
The person who has properly understood the bondage arising from work done with desire and attachment, and the great good arising from doing work without attachment and desire, is alone fit to ascend to the abode of peace and blessedness beyond all evil and sorrow. And through discrimination alone can a person work without attachment.
When the mind is purified by nishkama karma, knowledge of Atma dawns, by which man is permanently released from the cycle of birth and death, caused by Karma. So we understand how Karma Yoga leads to final liberation.
Go to the abode free from sorrow: People speak of many positions in the world. They say that an emperor holds a high position. They say that Indra is the Lord of Heaven. Though they are in very high positions still the occupants are caught in the wheel of samsara. They have birth and death, joy and sorrow pleasure and pain.
There is only one state, one position, where there is not the least touch of pain or sorrow, where it is all an ocean of supreme bliss, and that position is the Atma State, the domain of Brahma Jnana. How to attain it? The Lord shows the path here. Do your duty without attachment and desire for the fruits thereof. That is the secret of Karma Yoga and its consummation is Brahmajnana.
@guruvaakya
dūreṇa hy-avaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya
buddhau śharaṇam anvichchha kṛipaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
O Arjuna! Work with attachment is far inferior to Nishkama karma. Therefore seek refuge in desireless action with equanimity of mind. Those who work for fruits and rewards are wrecked.
~ Gita 2.49
The Lord exhorts Arjuna not to be content with worldly wealth and dominion which are perishable stuff but seek and strive for spiritual treasure which is eternal.
Desireless work is the open gateway to knowledge and liberation. The two types of work -work with desire for enjoyment and work without desire – are at the opposite poles.
Two persons may be engaged in the same work. One does it for personal enjoyment and fame, and he misses the true end. Another does it without any personal thought or feeling. He achieves his true aim and becomes free.
@guruvaakya
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
You have the right to work only, and not to the fruits of work. Let not the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
~ Gita 2.47
The doctrine of Karma Yoga is declared in this verse. A person has a right to work, and not to the fruits of his work. It means that work should be done in the spirit of surrendering the fruits to the Lord. At all times, and under all circumstances, everyone should keep the mind free from the desire for the fruits of work. Otherwise, the mind cannot be brought to a condition of peace and restfulness, and one-pointed concentration becomes impossible.
As a person thinks of the results of work, anxieties and fears rush into the mind.
Demons of failure haunt the mind. Difficulties and dangers born of imagination, bar the way to work. The emotions are disturbed by the shame of failure and the frustration of defeat.
Mental energy is thus wasted on painful passions, and man’s personality is wrecked on the rocks of anger and hatred. Life becomes miserable. This is the practical experience of every individual in the world.
Thus, we see that work prompted by desire is a disturbing and not a purifying factor in spiritual sadhana. Unless the mind is purified, man cannot get a glimpse of the Self. Therefore nishkama karma is essential for spiritual realization.
The essence of KarmaYoga is to go to work just to please the creator; mentally renounce the fruits of all action; and let God take care of the results. Do your duty in life—to the best of your ability.
Question: What is the person qualified to do?
Answer: a person has a right to work, but not to seek for the fruits of work.
Question: What should be given up?
Answer: The fruits of work, and the negation of work, both should be given up.
Question: What then is the law?
Answer: To work without desire for the fruits of work is the law.
@guruvaakya
swa-dharmam api chāvekṣhya na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyāddhi yuddhāch chhreyo ’nyat kṣhatriyasya na vidyate
yadṛichchhayā chopapannaṁ swarga-dvāram apāvṛitam
sukhinaḥ kṣhatriyāḥ pārtha labhante yuddham īdṛiśham
And moreover, considering your own duty, you should not waver, for, there is nothing higher for a Kshatriya than a righteous war.
Happy indeed are the Kshatriyas, O Pārtha, to whom comes such a war, offering itself unsought, opening the gate to heaven.
~ Gita 2.31-32
We understand from this verse how much the Lord loves the performance of one’s own Dharma. One should not waver in discharging his duty. This is the Lord’s command. So long as the body lasts, every being has to do some work or other. This is the inescapable law of our nature.
Action being inevitable in the material world, it is necessary for person to do some selfless work, according to his duty, which leads to great good on the physical plane and elsewhere. More so, selfless work purifies the mind and leads ultimately to liberation.
War against external enemies is the duty prescribed for the Kshatriya. But the internal conflict with bad instincts and impulses, like lust, greed, and hate, is taking place in the heart of every human being. The Kshatriya who fights a righteous war gains a kingdom or Heaven. The man who defeats the external enemies attains Moksha, liberation.
The true warrior is always eager to undertake a righteous war.
The spiritual seeker is always ready and alert to fight ignorance in whatever form it may raise its head.
@guruvaakya
āśhcharya-vat paśhyati kaśhchid enan
āśhcharya-vad vadati tathaiva chānyaḥ
āśhcharya-vach chainam anyaḥ śhṛiṇoti
śhrutvāpyenaṁ veda na chaiva kaśhchit
Some look on the Self as a wonder; some speak of It as a wonder; some hear of It as a wonder; still others, though hearing, do not understand It at all.
~ Gita 2.29
Spiritual science does not end with mere theory. It is a practical experience. Only by experience does a person know the Self and understand what it is and how it functions in the practical world.
But, for such direct experience, much good should have accumulated in the past, the mind should have been purified and freed from all bad tendencies.
Therefore only the man who has long practiced the control of the senses, (` Sama’ and Dama’), and who has gone through many forms of spiritual discipline, is qualified to enter the domain of the Self. Others, though they enquire after the truth, are far away from understanding and realizing it.
When the mirror is clear, the image is reflected clearly in it. The seed sown in a watered ground soon sprouts into a plant.
Even so, when the mind is pure, the Self is reflected in it clearly. But such people of pure mind are rare. So spiritual experience is a rare achievement for any human being. The same idea is expressed in the Katha Upanishad.
The person of heroic courage and determination desiring immortality turns the out-going senses and mind inwards and sees the supreme Self.
The Self is not an object to be seen or spoken or heard of. It is beyond the senses and mind. It is the subtlest of the subtle. It is hidden in the inmost recesses of the heart. By selfless action, devotion, dispassion, mediation, and such other methods, the heart should first be purified, and the inquiry for the Self should be continued for a long time before the Self is directly perceived. The Lord does not say that no one knows Him. He means only that such people are rare.
@guruvaakya
I worship Lord shiva who is the pure, changeless, all-pervading, the bestower of eternal bliss and immortality, the protector of all beings, destroyer of sins, the Lord of the gods, birthless, deathless, decayless, one without a second, who is self-effulgent, self-existent.
Who is the lord of brahma, vishnu and maheswara, Lord of universe, the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the whole universe, and lord of all creatures, and cause of all the cause.
I adore Him who is the embodiment of consciousness, whose form is of ether and the directions, who wears the necklace of stars and planets, who is pure and spotless, who is the preceptor of all the worlds, who is the Supreme Witness of the whole universe, who is the Supreme Secret of all Vedas, who transcends all philosophy, who bestows boons upon all His devotees and who showers mercy upon the poor and ignorant.
Wishing you all a happy Mahashivratri. May Shiva bless you all with dharma and knowledge.
@guruvaakya
atha chainaṁ nitya-jātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛitam
tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho naivaṁ śhochitum arhasi
O mighty-armed Arjuna! Even if you think that Self is constantly born and dies, you should not grieve in this way.
~ Gita 2.26
In the previous verses, Krishna asked us not to worry about the indestructible Atman. A question may arise: Should one lament the death of (the destructible body of) our near and dear ones at all?
Mighty-armed: The Lord addresses Arjuna as ‘mighty-armed. Arjuna was endowed with great physical strength and energy. But it was of no avail to him in that perplexity situation. His physical strength could not help him in his mental confusion and sorrow. So the Lord suggests that he should acquire spiritual light and knowledge, besides physical strength and energy.
The Lord argues out the point from the lower level of ordinary human understanding, in order to comfort Arjuna and lift him up to the higher level of spiritual insight.
Even if the Self of man is, constantly born and constantly dies, there is no cause for grief; for, whatever dies takes a fresh birth again. The ordinary man whose insight does not go deep enough to comprehend the eternal Atma, sees that the body dies. When it dies, it should have again a birth. It is the process of endless repetition. So, why grieve when the bodies are destroyed? The Lord knows that mere theoretical affirmation of the immortality of Atma may not be immediately understood by his disciple. So he gives a practical reason which the common man can easily understand.
@guruvaakya
achchhedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śhoṣhya eva cha
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur achalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ
The Atma cannot be cut, cannot be burnt, cannot be wetted, and also cannot be dried up. It is eternal, all-pervading, firm, immovable, and ancient.
~ Gita 2.24
The five elements can only affect the body because it is composed of the five elements. The Self is not a composition. If it is a composition, it should naturally decompose like the body and die. But the Self is deathless. It is One.
Eternal, all-pervading:- By these two epithets, Atma is declared to be beyond time and place. ‘Nityah’ mean eternal (i.e.) having existence in the past, present and future. ‘Sarvagatah’ means all-pervading i.e. pervading the whole universe entirely. Having entered time and space, the Self remains still above and beyond them. Every object in time is subject to time. There is no object which is not finally destroyed by time. Worlds, stars, constellations, all things seen and known are swallowed up by time. And what is most wonderful is that the Self swallows up time and remains as Self. It is known as antakantaka’. It is eternal. It is eminence. It shines in all as existence, knowledge, and bliss.
Such being the truth, how can anyone commit sin against another. The noble ideal of universal love is the logical corollary from this truth that the Self alone exists everywhere, and in all beings. The seeker has thus to eliminate all sin and uncharitable thoughts and feelings against others by the contemplation of the supreme Self as the Lord of the Universe.
Because Atma is all-pervading and universal, there is no question of its moving from one place to another. And so, it is the immoveable ( sthanu’). It is also the ancient (sanatanah). So Sanatana dharma’ would really mean Atma-dharma’. Those who have reached the state of Atma are liberated men, `Jivanmuktahs’ the living-free.
Question: What is the nature of Atma?
Answer: It cannot be cut or burnt or wetted, or dried up. It is eternal, all-pervading, immovable, and ancient.
@guruvaakya
vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛihṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śharīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇānya
nyāni sanyāti navāni dehī
Just as a person casts off his worn-out clothes and puts on new ones so also the Self throws away its worn-out bodies and takes other fresh bodies.
~ Gita 2.22
The Lord adopts the method of explaining his ideas by means of vivid similes. Such comparisons help to make the idea clear to the common man.
We have here a familiar simile to explain a very high vedantic doctrine that the body is just like a garment worn by man and just as these garments are changed from time to time, even so, the Jiva (individual soul) goes on changing the physical body birth after birth. No one grieves when he casts off dirty and torn clothes and puts on other fresh garments.
No one grieves when the autumn-withered leaves fall off from the branches. There is always the knowledge that fresh leaves come up with the arrival of spring. The whole of Nature presents such alternate pictures of bareness and beauty according to the changes of seasons.
The Lord points out that death is no more than the rejection of the old and decayed body. The Jiva drops off the decayed body by death and adopts a fresh one. So there is absolutely no cause for grief. But of course, to destroy the past karma by supreme jnana, and escape from the cycle of birth and death is the reward of the highest realisation
Worn out:- We have to interpret this word as bodies whose karmic force is exhausted. We see that people die in child and youth. When the physical body is not supposed to be old or worn out. In such cases, the karmic force for that particular body is exhausted and it falls off accordingly.
The Vedantic doctrine is that the Self remains deathless, passing from one body to another, according to the force of Karma done with the body. These bodies(upadhis) continue to change but the real nature of a person, Atma, remains unaffected and changeless.
@guruvaakya
As a person thinks of sense objects, attachment for them arises, from attachment, desire for them will be born, from desire arises anger, from anger comes delusion, from delusion, comes loss of memory, and from loss of memory, comes destruction of discrimination, and from destruction of discrimination he perishes.
~ Gita 2.62-63
These two verses are of great importance for the spiritual people.
The thinking of sense worldly objects is the first step in the downward process.
At first, the person may not have any particular attachment to anything, but gradually the senses prompted by past samskaras settle on a particular object and the mind begins to think about it. So a kind of contact is established between the mind and that object, the senses being the connecting link.
Every person is constantly thinking about something. Some think wealth, others the pleasure of wine, others the pleasures of sex, others the dignity of position, name, and fame.
That attachment becomes stronger and stronger, and a deeply felt desire arises to possess and enjoy that object. This is Kama. It is the worst enemy of the person. Mahapapam (all sinful) – such is the Lord’s description of Kama. When Kama enters the mind, it is like a reptile moving about in the house. The occupants of that house live in horrible dread and there is every danger of their being stung and killed. Such indeed is the destructive power of Kama when it enters the human mind.
It is better to stop it before it enters the mind. Otherwise, the Kama in its wake will bring his associates, friends, and other destructive forces like Krodha (anger) and throw down the unfortunate person into destruction. Let the people know who his enemies are, how they work, how they tempt, how they subdue, and how they, finally destroy them.
When Kama (desire) enters the mind, just behind him comes Krodha (anger). These two are eternal associates of evil. One cannot be without the other. Such is the closeness of their intimacy. The frustration or unfulfilled desire causes anger and hatred.
The deluded person, fired with anger, forgets the people with whom he is dealing. Anger poison fills the whole personality. He trembles and shivers all over his body, his eyes become bloodshot, ‘his speech becomes incoherent, abuse and violence are indulged in, and the person is transformed into a wild animal.
When anger overpowers him. That moment the memory is lost, the person becomes a beast.
From the loss of memory, discrimination of right and wrong is lost. By the destruction of the grinding intellect, a person perishes.
@guruvaakya
They are established in perfect knowledge, who subdue their senses and keep their minds ever absorbed in Me.
~ Gita 2.61
All the senses should be controlled not merely one or two. A pot with a single small hole cannot retain water. So sense-pleasures of any kind will lead to a downright fall from the spiritual aim.
In this verse, two practices are mentioned :
1- Control of the senses from running out and attaching themselves to sense objects.
2- directing the mind towards the Supreme Lord (merging in Atma).
With mind absorbed in Me: Lord Krishna is God Himself. So, when He speaks of Me, the Supreme Self is suggested. The Dualists contemplate the sublime and beautiful form of Lord Krishna and are entranced by it. They sing His name in a thousand ways, they find delight in his glory and the wonderful attributes of divinity in Him. Blessed are those devotees who have renounced the world and live in the Lord in an ecstasy of joy.
The Advaitin makes no difference between the Lord and the Supreme Self. They are the same. This is the finest fruit of Vedanta, that there is only one indivisible existence - consciousness- bliss Absolute.
In that state, God and the devotee become one. The Gita is the scripture both for the Bhaktas and the Jnanis.
In this verse, the first line points out the practice, and the second line is the result of the practice. The first line says that the person should control the senses and establish himself or be absorbed in lord Krishna or Atma.
Question: What are the means of Self-realisation?
Answer: Restraining the senses and fixing the mind in Atma is the way of Self-realisation.
Question: What knowledge is firm?
Answer: The knowledge of the person who has controlled all the senses remains firm.
When a person rejects the sense objects by withdrawing the senses, he becomes free from the sense world only. The longing or taste for them still remains in the mind. Even this longing is removed when the self is perceived.
~ Gita 2.59
Restraining the senses is not alone enough. Direct perception of the Supreme is necessary. No doubt by restraining the senses, the objective world is repelled. But the taste for them remains in the form of subtle tendencies (vasanas) and unless these vasanas are removed direct perception of supreme Brahman is not possible.
Hence the Lord declares that only when the Supreme Brahman is perceived, these vasanas are finally destroyed. The destruction of the vasanas, the destruction of the mind, and the direct experience of the Atma take place simultaneously.
Destruction of the vasanas is not an easy task. But is the only path to Moksha. If one achieves it, everything is achieved. The innumerable experiences of the past births have taken root in the mind in the form of powerful tendencies, attitudes, and desires. They work through the senses, and the senses function by contact with the world.
So the attempt at first is to withdraw the senses from the sense objects and next to destroy the taste for them concealed in seed-form in the mind. When the vasanas are destroyed, the person attains freedom.
One must understand clearly the reality of Atma and the illusory nature of the world. One must hear of Atma often and often. He should think of Atma and contemplate on it frequently and intensely. He should know for certain that the world before his eyes is a painful illusion, that it is full of sorrow and suffering, that there is no permanent bliss and peace anywhere else except in Atma, and that Atma alone is the all-pervading substratum of the entire universe. As one thinks and acts on these fundamental truths, his attachment and craving for sense-pleasures become less and less and as they become weaker and weaker, the bliss of Atma is experienced more and more.
@guruvaakya
He who has no attachment to anything anywhere, who does not rejoice and hate when good and bad things happen, his wisdom is fixed and steady.
~ Gita 2.57
Without attachment in all things: One should be detached from and indifferent to everything in the world. Of course, no one is attached to unpleasant things. A similar attitude is to be cultivated towards pleasant things also. Things pleasant and unpleasant are both in the domain of Maya, and the Self is beyond Maya, and so these lower modifications do not in any way affect the Self.
The sthita-prajna having reached the Self-state is not at all concerned with them. The man of wisdom does not seek anything. And yet, nature brings many things to him, both pleasant and unpleasant in the course of his life. But he neither rejoices nor laments when these things happen of their own accord. He remains immovable like a mountain in a state of perfect equanimity. This is the mark of sthitaprajna.
It should be understood that the Lord is not advocating a cowardly spirit desisting from the battlefield of life with all its duties, obligations, and responsibilities. Detachment is not neglect of duty. In fact, Arjuna was confused at first when he thought that he could attain peace by running away from the battlefield and taking up the life of a mendicant.
The whole of the Gita is intended to emphasize that the challenge of life should be met with courage, equanimity, and knowledge of the real Self.
The sthitaprajna knows how to live life under all circumstances with mental equipoise and the joy of wisdom.
True spiritualists have a peaceful and happy look on their faces under all circumstances.
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Arjuna said: O Krishna! What are the characteristics of a man of steady wisdom? How does the man merged in the super-conscious state, sit and move?
The Blessed Lord said: When a man renounces completely all the desires of the mind, and when he is fully satisfied with his mind fixed in Atma, then he is declared to be a man of steady wisdom.
~ Gita 2.54-55
When you have acquired faith in the eternal Self, and when you carry out the precepts of spiritual discipline when the mind is brought to a state of equanimity, and when it is fixed steadily in Atma, that very moment man is liberated and he becomes a jivanmukta.
Now, what is that practice which leads to Moksha? Desires should be given up. The Lord uses a strong term Prajahati instead of jahati, implying thereby that all desires should be given up, without leaving the least residue in the innermost core of the mind.
Desires are of very ancient origin, as the darkness in an undiscovered cave is there from time immemorial. They have taken root in the subtle body (mind) through innumerable births. They are mental impressions (vasanas). Having established themselves firmly by spreading their roots deep into the subtle body, they cause samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death for the person. They should be pulled out along with the roots.
When all the desires are given up, the mind remains quiet in Atma – the very source of all bliss. Fullness of bliss– where is it to be found? It is in the Self. Bliss is not outside in the external objective world.
One may go on searching for it in earth and sky, in the 14 worlds up and down inch by inch, he cannot find it, because it is not there. Of what use is it to search for a thing in a place where it is not? And yet, such is the power of maya that man seeks for it, in spite of repeated failures and disappointments – disasters and calamities, in the objective world.
The search is carried and birth after birth, till man tired and exhausted by his pursuit of the hare’s horn, may be out of sheer despair, turns inwards into his own Self, and Lo ! the miracle happens, he finds that permanent bliss and peace in his own self; that bliss and Self are one. The mind is purified, and in the purified mind, the natural and spontaneous bliss of Atma is reflected in a flash.
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yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣhyati
tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śhrotavyasya śhrutasya cha
When your mind has crossed the mire of delusion, you will achieve indifference regarding things already heard and things yet to be heard.
~ Gita 2.52
The human individual aims to cross the mire of delusion, the darkness of ignorance. This ignorance and delusion are called in philosophical terminology Maya or nature. Beyond darkness is Atma – the abode of light.
To reach that realm of light, one has to cross the ocean of darkness and go beyond sorrow and delusion (soka and moha).
Through nishkama-karma, through hearing the truth, through concentration and meditation on the truth, one should realize the light of Atma. When he arrives at this state, he is filled with the infinite bliss of Atma and has no further need to hear or think of the sastras. He becomes indifferent to them.
One should understand that this is spoken of about person of Self-realisation.
The rest of the people should continue to hear the Truth enshrined in the Vedas and the Sastras till he attains a higher state of direct perception of Reality.
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buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛita-duṣhkṛite
tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśhalam
The person of equanimity born of wisdom releases himself both from good and bad even in this life. Therefore strive for nishkama karma with an equal mind. Yoga is a skill in action.
~ Gita 2.50
One who possesses equanimity born of wisdom:- It means a person who is endowed with the discrimination and determining intellect, and who therefore is capable of acting with an equal mind. Such a person is not tainted by good or bad, merit or demerit.
Only the bound people attached to the world are subject to the effect of their actions, good or bad. The wise person rises above these pairs of opposites.
The person should first stop evil and take to good works. Then he should learn to do good work without the desire to enjoy the fruits of his good work.
Thus he would release himself from the bondage of Karma. It is in this sense that the Lord says that the person of a great mind is free from the effects of good and evil.
Peace, composure, and freedom from Karmic bondage await those who work for a noble cause with a spirit of detachment and do not seek any personal reward or recognition. Such persons enjoy the joy of selfless service that ultimately leads them to the bliss of salvation. KarmaYoga purifies the mind and is a very powerful and easy spiritual discipline that one can practice while living and working in society
Question: What is yoga?
Answer: Skill in action is yoga (i.e.) the capacity to act without attachment and with perfect equanimity.
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yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate
O Arjuna! Steadfast in Yoga, giving up all attachments, unmindful of success or failure, do your work. Such equanimity of mind is called Yoga.
~ Gita 2.48
The Lord commands that a person should work, having established himself in Yoga.
What is Yoga? Equanimity of mind in success and failure is Yoga.
The definition of Yoga should be carefully noted.
How can one acquire such perfect mental equilibrium? Such a state can be had only when one transcends the mind and enters the Atmic state. That is the yogic position. The merging of the mind in Atma is Yoga.
As this state alone can bring about perfect equanimity, the word Yoga is here applied to samatvam (i.e.) equal-mindedness under all circumstances. Free from any kind of desire, realizing one’s unity with Atma, a person should work.
Question: What is yoga?
Answer: Equanimity of mind is yoga.
Question: What is the method of work?
Answer: Steadfast in yoga, free from attachment, and equal-minded in success and failure, a person should work.
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sukha-duḥkhe same kṛitvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi
Having an equal mind in pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory and defeat, engage in battle and thereby you will not incur sin.
~ Gita 2.38
This is the starting verse of Karma Yoga, the main theme of the Gita. In this verse, the Lord teaches the secret of Karma Yoga. Though engaged in various types of activity, a man can live without any taint of sin. That secret lies in the balance of mind, equanimity, and detachment. Everyone should work without losing their equanimity in the vicissitudes of natural change.
The Gita propounds equanimity, as the only cure for these mental waves carrying the person from one extreme to another. And these mental disturbances are caused by attachment to the enjoyments of life. The seeker should know that he has nothing to gain or lose by victory or defeat in his endeavors.
Thus he would be free from the disturbing emotions of pride, egotism, and elation in success, self-pity in sorrow, and despair in failure. When the mind is kept in a state of equanimity, Atma is reflected clearly. How can such a person incur sin?
Some people think that the yoga of work is a lower path and that work binds person to the wheel of birth and death.
The Lord denies it. It is not the work that binds, but the attachment to the fruits of work that binds. If a person attaches himself to the fruits of work, then he is bound and he has to take a number of births to enjoy or suffer the effect of his works.
On the other hand, if the person knows that he has nothing to seek for in the universe, that he is Atma, then he is indifferent to the results of his work. He is equal-minded. This is the secret of Karma Yoga.
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dehī nityam avadhyo ’yaṁ dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi
O Arjuna! The Self existing in the body of all beings is never slain. So it is not right for you to grieve for any creature.
~ Gita 2.30
Though the body is slain, the indwelling Atma is not slain. This is true in the case of all creatures. It follows that Atma dwells in the body, as a witness, unaffected by the modifications of the body.
Always :- The immortality of Atma applies to all time, past, present and future.
The body may belong to any person, beast, or plant or any thing in the universe. The indwelling Atma is the same everywhere.
When the body suffers and dies, the ignorant person thinks that he is suffering and dying, and so weeps and wails for the destruction of the body.
The Lord here states categorically that the real person is no other than Atma, and so whatever might happen to the body, he is not at all affected by it, even as the sky is not affected by the passage of clouds over it. So where is the cause for sorrow ?
Sorrow comes only by the false identification of the Self with the body. To think that you are the body is the very source, the very cause of all sorrow and suffering. It is immediately removed when you come to know that you are Atma.
So the seeker should constantly contemplate and realise his oneness with the immortal and ever-blessed Self.
Bharata: Arjuna is addressed as `Bharata’ (i.e.) ‘Lover of Light.’ It is in the light of the Self that all things shine, all things are seen and known. Whatever light is in the world, all that belongs to Atma, and not to insentient matter. He who loves this light is ‘Bharata’.
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avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanānyeva tatra kā paridevanā
All beings are unmanifest in their beginning, O Bhārata, manifest in their middle state, and unmanifest again in their end. Why, then, lament for them.
~ Gita 2.28
This is a true estimate of all beings in the universe. Their state before their birth is not known. They appear to exist for a period after they are born. And again, they disappear after death. One does not see them before birth and after death. Why do people feel so much when they pass away?
People have no connection with the body before it is born. And they cease all contact with the body after death. Only for a brief interval in the middle period, there is a kind of link.
In this manner, the Lord argues out the issue, and the succession of thoughts so far may be summarised thus.
1. Atma is eternal. All living beings, the so-called relations and friends are different manifestations of the same indestructible Atma, and so Arjuna should not grieve for them.
2. Atma is unchanging; one wears and throws away different bodies, as old clothes are discarded and new garments are worn.
3. Even if it is accepted for the sake of argument, that Atma itself is born and dies, again and again, Arjuna should not grieve for the dead, because they should take birth again.
4. These bodies did not exist before birth, and so do not exist after death. They appear in between for a brief interval of time only.
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jātasya hi dhruvo mṛityur dhruvaṁ janma mṛitasya cha
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe na tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi
For to that which is born, death is certain, and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore you should not grieve over the unavoidable.
~ Gita 2.27
The Lord continues the argument. For that which is born, there is death, and for that which dies there is birth. This is the unalterable law for the body and all material things. The Self (Atma) as declared above, is not the body and is not the composition of material elements, and so it has neither birth nor death.
So long as a person remains in a state of ignorance and identifies with the body, he inevitably passes through the cycle of birth and death.
The same person, when he realises his identity with the Self, the continuation of birth and death stops for him.
The Lord here speaks of the common man who has not understood the secret of his real nature.
The purpose of the Lord is to rouse Arjuna from the slough of despondency into which he sank in that hour of test and trial.
So He employs every argument both of spiritual Truth and common understanding with equal force and conviction.
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avyakto ’yam achintyo ’yam avikāryo ’yam uchyate
tasmādevaṁ viditvainaṁ nānuśhochitum arhasi
This atma is unknowable by the senses, unthinkable by the mind, and is not subject to any kind of change. Knowing this, you should not grieve.
~ Gita 2.25
An object made up of gross elements can be seen by the eye. Atma is not such an object. So the eye cannot see it. Since Atma is beyond thought, the mind is powerless to know it, Atma is the eternal substratum that exists after the mind vanishes.
When the mind is purified, it merges in the Atma and disappears, and when the mind disappears the whole of the objective world disappears, and only Atma remains in its own state. How then can the mind understand Atma?
Moreover, every object in the world goes through six processes of change -birth, growth, etc. Atma is not born, is not subject to death, is changeless and eternal. It is the eternal subject, the seer, It is the eternal witness of the universe.
It is the very essence of Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. It is the final cause of the Universe. Ultimately the Universe dissolves into Atma and it alone remains without a second.
You should not grieve: The root cause of all sorrow is man’s ignorance of his real nature, and his identification with the body and mind. Thus sorrow takes possession of the embodied being. Sorrow (Soka’) is the direct consequence of ignorance (Moha’). But when, by the study of the Sastras’ and by the grace of God and ‘Guru’, man comes to know that he is not the body but the Self (Atma), all sorrow leaves at once. This is the solution to the whole spiritual problem.
Individual should know and establish himself firmly in the Self. All spiritual practices are intended to pave the way for this blissful consummation.
So long as there is the slightest separation between Atma and the individual being, there is scope for fear and sorrow to enter one way or the other. But when the union is complete, then is only bliss and blessedness all around. Lord Krishna exhorts Arjuna to know the Truth and transcend all sorrow and delusion.
From this, we understand that the realisation of the Self is the only way to become free from the twin evils of ignorance and sorrow (Moha and Soka’). Knowledge alone is the pure light to dispel the darkness of samsara.
Question: What further is the nature of Atma?
Answer: It cannot be seen by the senses, cannot be understood by the mind, is not subject to any kind of change.
Question: What is the way to transcend sorrow?
Answer: To know that he is Atma and not the body and mind, is the way to transcend sorrow.
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nainaṁ chhindanti śhastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na chainaṁ kledayantyāpo na śhoṣhayati mārutaḥ
Weapons cannot cut, fire cannot burn, water cannot wet, wind cannot dry up this Atma.
~ Gita 2.23
The Jiva (individual) is the combination of three factors, body, mind, and Atma.
One is subtler than the other. The five material elements can affect the body only because the body is composed of the five elements. They cannot affect the mind, the subtle body, because the subtle body is finer than the gross body. We see that gross matter can break up. or destroy only a gross object. The sword can cut through a plant or human body, but it cannot cut the air or the space.
Finer and finer objects are not touched or affected by gross things, Atma, being the subtlest element nothing can touch or affect it in any way.
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vedāvināśhinaṁ nityaṁ ya enam ajam avyayam
kathaṁ sa puruṣhaḥ pārtha kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam
O Arjuna! He who knows that Atma is birthless, deathless, real, and imperishable, whom can he slay or cause to be slain?
~ Gita 2.21
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