Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16

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 act of compassion that one can offer to the world. 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.'

dambho darpo'bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadamāsurīm

Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness or cruelty, and ignorance — these qualities belong to those born with demonic nature, O Pārtha (Arjuna)

The instinct to survive is what is called 'I', and the instinct to possess is what is referred to as 'mine'. The person who understands that both are illusions is a complete person.

daivī sampadvimokṣāya nibandhayāsuri matā mā śucāḥ sampadaṁ daivīm abhijātosi pāṇḍava

The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demonic qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, Pāṇḍava (Arjuna), you are born with Divine qualities

A person who is ready to look into his mind, to contemplate whether he is living rightly or wrongly, always lives rightly.

dvau bhūtasargau loke'smin daiva āsura eva ca daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu Pārtha

(Arjuna), in this world there are two kinds of created beings, one is divine and the other, demonic. I have explained at length to you the Divine qualities, now understand the demonic qualities also, so that you will understand and live your life blissfully and happily

When one drops the cognition of 'me', one experiences peace and completion; when one starts working based on the cognition of 'You', one experiences tremendous bliss.

pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidurāsurāḥ na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate

Persons with demonic nature do not know what is bondage and what is liberation; not what is cleanliness; truthful behavior is not in them

Everybody is born ready for divinity

All actions done out of arrogance, out of pride, out of ego, for name and fame, and for power, are demonic in nature. Such actions are performed out of ignorance, and ultimately lead to their own downfall. The instinct to survive is what is called 'I', and the instinct to possess is what is referred to as 'mine'. The person who understands that both are illusions is a complete person. Such a person realizes that the instinct to survive does not help, and no matter what one may have, one still cannot survive forever. The instinct to survive is pure illusion. Suffering is from arrogance, never from sensitivity. A person who is sensitive never suffers. We suffer from words when we stop them, when we resist them, when we make our own meaning out of them. When we do not make meanings out of words, we do not suffer.

Only when we face the instinct to survive and the instinct to possess and experience completion, will we enter the space of fearlessness.

Try this simple experiment: Try living for others' sake out of gratitude for just one week. Try to live with the new root-cognition of 'You'. We live all our life with this 'āsuri sampat,' what Kṛṣṇa calls demonic nature, the inauthentic attitude of 'me, me, me'. When you don't give attention to 'me', you will never be 'in tension'. When you replace your root cognition of 'me' with 'You', a deep inner healing, a deep completion happens in you. Whenever you become a hollow bamboo, you are a flute in the hands of the Divine. Whatever happens through you will be divine; you will imbibe the divine nature.

the root cognition happens in us keeping the 'I' as the center; He gives a simple technique to replace the 'I' with 'You' so that the cognitive shift happens. This same system will be used for the Divine nature. Enrich others with the space of 'You' which will naturally make you express these divine qualities in life. Enriching will be just your lifestyle. You will understand that enriching the 'You' enriches the 'I' back. Enriching others enriches you back. Experientially you will understand that 'you' is one with others, others are one with you. Automatically you will become blissful, free from anger and full of dhārmic (righteous) qualities. Above all, you will feel tremendous fulfillment, what I call the space of completion. Anything you do with the space of 'you' will make you radiate these beautiful, divine qualities.

There are four muktis or levels of liberation: sālokya mukti, sārūpya mukti, sāmīpya mukti and sāyujya mukti. Sālokya means 'same place'; it means we will be allowed to stay in Vaikunṭa, Viṣṇu's abode. We will have a residence in heaven. Sārūpya means we will have the same form as the Lord. For example, we can see Jaya-Vijaya, the gatekeepers of heaven; they have the same ṣankh (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace), padma (lotus)—all the accessories of Viṣṇu in the same svarūpa (form). Sāmīpya (being near) is being in the inner circle; the cakra that Viṣṇu is carrying has achieved sāmīpya mukti! Becoming enlightened oneself is sāyujya mukti. Sāmīpya mukti is the best Enlightenment because we can enjoy Him forever! It is like an ant forever enjoying the sugar candy. Sāyujya mukti is like becoming the sugar candy. This is for all the ṛṣis. For devotees, the ultimate state is sāmīpya mukti. Even if they run after the Divine, people with the root cognition of 'I' can never reach the Divine, because the Divine runs away from them.

How we are centered and where our inner space is focused is what makes our life demonic or divine. The person who is ready to look into his mind, the person who is afraid about whether he is living rightly or wrongly, always lives rightly. Only the person who is arrogant is demonic. The person who is demonic never considers whether he does right or wrong. He thinks that he is always right. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains that living with transcendental qualities, that is the right space of 'you', one achieves liberation or Enlightenment nivṛitti. By living with the space of 'I' we create more bondage. The demonic qualities make for bondage, meaning pravṛitti. A person who is divine tries to chisel or correct himself, whereas a person who is demonic tries to correct others. Please understand that when we live with the root cognition of 'You, You, You', we completely forget ourselves; we disappear into Existence. We are in bliss. If you throw away the 'me', that alone liberates you, and if you start working on 'You', you experience tremendous bliss.

When you drop 'me', you experience peace and completion; when you start working with 'You', you experience peace and bliss. This is the straight path to peace and bliss. People of this nature are so deeply immersed in their attachment and aversion that they no longer feel themselves separated from these qualities. They are so much in bondage to their senses that they can no longer know they are in bondage. The problem with most people however, is that their caring is a business transaction. They care when there is something in it for them. Whether the transaction is with mother, father, spouse, son, daughter, relative or friend, there is a 'What's in it for me?' attitude.

When the focus is on 'you,' as in caring for enriching someone with no expectation, with no conditions, we slip into a state of bliss. This state of bliss is our natural state.

When we are in a blissful moment, when we feel blessed by Existence, let us be enriched that moment. That is when we are closest to God. Let that moment be of gratitude, prayer, and meditation. In that moment, remember God existentially, not verbally. Let your whole being feel the vibration and become overwhelmed with the beyond. Don't lose that moment. It is precious. Everybody is born ready for divinity. If we miss it, it is totally our responsibility. We miss it because we never look within.

Encourage the students to look within and try to feel the divine vibrations within. Students must internalize the understanding that when we focus on the well-being of others without expectations and conditions, we relax and our tensions disappear, and we slip into a state of bliss.

❑ What kind of actions result from the instinct to survive called 'I'?
❑ What kind of actions result from the instinct to possess called 'mine'?
❑ Why are the instincts of "I" and "mine" referred to as illusions?
❑ Why are you hurt by small and well-meaning criticisms from others?
❑ What are the four muktis or levels of liberation?
❑ What is sālokya (same place) mukti?
❑ What is sārūpya (same form) mukti?
❑ What is sāmīpya (being near) mukti?
❑ Why is it most preferred by devotees?
❑ What is sāyujya (to merge) mukti?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Cylindrical wood pieces of 7-8 inch length Decorative ribbons, colourful clothes Sewing needle, thread Paint, brush Beads, cotton/fillers, strong cotton thread

PROCEDURE:

The teacher gets help from a carpenter/ handyman for sawing the wood blocks into the figurine shape, and to carve eyes,nose and mouth. First, get the student to draw facial features on the wooden head with a pencil. Then paint the face and let it dry.

Meanwhile cut and stitch colourful clothes to make arms, shoes, headgear, blouse and long skirts (called Ghagra-choli) for female puppets or Top and dhoti (called Dhoti-kurta) for male puppets. Fill the clothes with cotton/fillers so that the puppet body looks puffed up. Embellish and jewel the puppet.

Finally attach strong strings to the neck, shoulders, hands, legs and head of the puppet. The strings are either looped with different fingers of the puppeteer or tied to a stick (equal distances apart) which the puppeteer holds to operate the puppets. Your beautiful puppets are now ready to perform.

The art of puppetry helps us create a space in us where we think and act as somebody else. Forgetting the "I" and "mine" gives rise to a new consciousness in you.

Procedure

Let me tell you a lovely history about a great Kṛṣṇa devotee named Taraṅgiṇi. The history goes that within twelve hours of Kṛṣṇa's birth, He was handed over to Yaśodā. He took birth at midnight, and before sunrise, He was brought to Yaśodā. This was because of a prophecy that Kamsa, His uncle, would come to kill Him at sunrise. Yaśodā brought Him up until He left his home, Vriṇdāvan. Despite her bringing Him up, when Yaśodā asked Him to sing or play the flute, He would not Play. However, when Taraṅgiṇi, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa from a lower caste asked Kṛṣṇa to play, He would play for her. She would stand in a corner and would not come in front of Him. She would quietly enjoy His presence and music from a distance.