Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 - Lesson 7 of 8

Character Sketch

Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.
Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.
Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.

Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world.

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities and all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic, conflict-free way.

Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate Till now everyone blames Bhagavan Sri Krishna for this Kurukshetra war but that's the greatest sacrifice Bhagavan Sri Krishna did to save the planet Earth. If Kurukshetra was not conducted at that time under the controlled conditions and direct supervision of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, planet Earth would not have survived more than three years.

Character Sketch act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities a nd all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and The wide spread availability of the Astra shastras without Shastra, without the knowledge and vision, was posing a huge threat to the whole of humanity and planet Earth, and for life itself. The greatest achievement of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is destroying all the weapons in one controlled condition and saving planet earth, eliminating the nuclear weapons and the knowledge of these nuclear weapons to save humanity from total annihilation.

conflict-free way.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

Bhagavad Gītā appears in the heart of Mahābhārat in Bhīṣma Parva, the sixth chapter of its eighteen chapters. Veda Vyāsa, the narrator, in glorifying the Gītā sings, 'the one who drinks the water of Ganges (the sacred river for Hindus) attains liberation, what to speak of the one who drinks the nectar of Gītā?

Gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārat, bhāratamṛta sarvasvam as it is directly spoken by Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān kṛṣṇa Himself.'

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukṣetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle out of total powerlessness unbecoming an invincible warrior among warriors.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra out of His utmost concern and love for him and humanity is the content of Bhagavad Gītā. Of its seven hundred and forty-five (745) verses, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa sings the Gītā in six hundred and twenty (620) verses responding to Arjuna's fifty-seven (57) enquiries.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa persuades Arjuna to give-up his powerlessness unfitting an Ārya—the spiritually evolved one who understands human life and urges him to raise himself again as Parantapa—the conqueror of enemy, and take up arms and vanquish his enemies. They are already dead,' says Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your responsibility. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca vedaiśca sarvairahameva vedyo vedānta-kṛd vedavid eva cāham

I am seated in everyone's heart and from Me came memory, knowledge and their loss. I am known by the Vedas; indeed, I am the Creator of Vedānta and I am the knower of the Vedas

We are one with the Divine, and Kṛṣṇa is seated in our hearts.

dvāvimau puruṣau loke kṣaraścākṣara eva ca kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭasthokṣara ucyate

There are two things, the perishable and the imperishable, in this world. There are the living beings who are perishable while there is the unchangeable, the imperishable

The puruṣa that is kūṭastha is the imperishable aspect of this energy. It is the energy of the spirit that is indestructible, akṣara.

Kṛṣṇa says that He is seated in everyone's heart. He is memory, He is knowledge, He is forgetfulness. What does this mean? How does our mind work? How does it invent beliefs? We don't even know where our mind is. If I ask you where your mind is, you will point to your head. That's not your mind. Every cell in our body has inbuilt intelligence. These cells constantly regenerate themselves. These cells present everywhere make up our body-mind system. Therefore, there is no one place where our mind is definitely located; certainly it is not in our head!

This unconscious area or the root where the mind is born is powerful enough to make you feel powerless or powerful. It can be used in three ways: at the instinct level, intellect level or intuition level.

As long as the unconscious is overloaded with negative memories and restlessness, it works at the instinct level. We decide instinctively, unconsciously, just like an animal does

Next is the intellect level. Here, we are conscious; we make decisions logically, but we don't have extra enthusiasm or energy. We are not creative or innovative; we don't take big steps; we don't grow.

We don't experience the space of possibility and expansion. We make decisions in a logical and conscious way, that's all. When we are at the intellect level, we are not tired; yet we are not energetic either.

We are in a break-even state. At this level, we do not use our potential to the maximum.

Constant completion without root thought patterns, and bringing integrity in our words, authenticity in our actions melts the intellect layer. The level where we can actualize our entire potential with power of thinking, power of words, power of feeling and power of living is the intuition level. This is the space of completion and creation. If we can infuse deep silence and completion into the unconscious zone and replace root thought patterns, then we are at the intuition level.

If you come to a decision after multiple thoughts, it is ignorance. If you come to a decision after one clear flow of thoughts, it is called intelligence. If you come to a decision without any thought, it is called intuition.

Completion is equivalent to inner cleansing. All your muscle-memories come to peace and rest in peace.

The greatest wealth lies within, not outside. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. In the outside world, every experience of joy is followed by sorrow. Joy creates expectations and when expectations are not fulfilled, they lead to sorrow. When the search begins inside, expectations drop, attachments drop and a new joy of completion happens. That joy is eternal, never ending.

It is Ānanda, Nityānanda, eternal bliss. Because we are unaware of this, we search outside for happiness, because that is the only way we know.

Perishable and Imperishable PuruṢa Kṛṣṇa takes Arjuna into a deeper understanding. Kṛṣṇa talks about puruṣa, the principle of energy that underlies our existence. Sāṅkhya philosophy talks about puruṣa and prakṛti. Puruṣa, in one sense is energy, and prakṛti is matter. Puruṣa is the unmoving, passive energy principle, whereas prakṛti is the active material principle. Puruṣa is the male principle; prakṛti is the female principle. Puruṣa is Śiva and prakṛti is Śakti. Kṛṣṇa goes beyond that philosophy. He says Puruṣa is twofold, one imperishable and the other perishable. He says all living beings are the perishable puruṣa and they are situated in the imperishable energy. In earlier chapters, Kṛṣṇa has covered in depth, these aspects of prakṛti, which operate through the mind, senses and the attributes, the three types of guṇa. Here, He expands upon puruṣa.

Puruṣa is the Ultimate Energy from which all emanates. When Einstein read this verse from the Upaniṣads, written possibly tens of thousands of years ago, he said,

'I felt proud that I had discovered that matter is energy. Many thousand years ago, these Sages knew this, and also knew that matter arises from energy. The last step in science is the first step in spirituality.'

More and more, scientists are beginning to sound like the Eastern Mystics. They no longer have the attitude of scientists of a hundred years ago who felt that they were rewriting the laws of Nature. Our Vedic scriptures said this over thousands of years ago. Śaṅkara has said again and again that the Seer influences what is seen. That was over a thousand years ago. The primal energy principle, puruṣa is like potential energy. It is energy, but passive. It is the operating principle behind the entire Universe. Without this energy, nothing will exist. Nothing will live.

Kṛṣṇa says that there are two kinds of puruṣa: one is eternal, akṣara and one perishes, kṣara. The puruṣa that perishes is the body-mind energy embedded in all beings, including humans. This energy has a definite, limited lifetime. It is always changing. There is nothing permanent about it. It is programmed for deterioration and destruction. The puruṣa that is kūṭastha is the imperishable aspect of this energy. It is the energy of the spirit that is indestructible, akṣara. It is the Soul that is forever, that which cannot be destroyed. Kṛṣṇa points out that primal energy manifests in different ways, as perishable and imperishable. Both are aspects of primal energy. One is destroyed and the other lives. One who realizes this difference and understands the true nature of puruṣa is liberated.

Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa beautifully narrates:

An arrogant scholar was very proud of his learning. He was a great Advaitic (non-dualitistic) scholar and did not believe in the various forms of God. Then, God came to him one day. The mother goddess appeared before him in all Her splendor. She came as the primal energy, Parāśakti. The scholar was in a swoon for a long time. When he woke up, he shouted, 'Ka, Ka, Ka.' He could not fully pronounce 'Kāli,' the name of the goddess whom he had seen. Words cannot describe the Divine! Scholars argue endlessly about the nature of puruṣa, the various aspects of puruṣa, the difference between prakṛti and puruṣa. It strengthens their ego. When the Divine presents itself before them, they cannot recognize or cognize what they see.

Impress upon the students that Krishna is Puruṣa, the ultimate energy from which all emanates. This primal energy manifests in different ways, as perishable and imperishable. Understanding that all of creation is Krishna liberates us.

1. What is the difference between instinct, intellect and intuition?
2. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. True or False?
3. Explain the attributes of primal energy, according to Krishna?
4. What is the Sāṅkhya philosophy on purusha?
5. What are the two aspects of primal energy?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Clay deeyas Acrylic paint Paint brush

PROCEDURE:

We must light the lamp of knowledge in our hearts and come to the self realization that we are one with the Divine, and that Kṛṣṇa is seated in our hearts.

Materials needed

Notebook
Pen

Procedure

Think back into your life and remember incidents when your expectations were not fulfilled, and it leads you to sorrow.
Share your experience with the Group. The group moderator will help the group contemplate on the distinct pattern that can be seen in all incidents and experiences.
We will observe that in the outside world, every experience of joy is followed by sorrow. Joy creates expectations and when expectations are not fulfilled, they lead to sorrow.

The greatest wealth lies within, not outside. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. When the search begins inside, expectations drop, attachments drop and a new joy of completion happens. That joy is eternal, never ending. It is Nityānanda, eternal bliss.

1. Albert Einstein, famously said "The last step in science is the first step in spirituality". Do you agree and why?

Modern science is based on logic. Scholars argue endlessly about the nature of energy, the various aspects of energy, the difference between matter and energy. It strengthens their ego. However, the ego becomes an obstacle in their path to realize the ultimate truth that God is the ultimate energy from which all emanates.