Introduction
We are now at the halfway mark of the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna started in total confusion and dilemma. His questions were varied and repetitive. It was as if he did not listen to what Krsna told him. As I said, questions arise from inner violence. They arise from the ego to prove one's correctness.
These questions gradually morph into doubts. Doubts are essential for any seeker. Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. Without doubt, we cannot develop faith. Blind faith is based upon social conditioning and will collapse under pressure. Real faith develops in the seeker when he sincerely questions spiritual truths. Raising sincere doubts before an enlightened master actually does a lot to integrate a person and strengthen his faith.
Krsna sees the change happening within Arjuna. He feels Arjuna'sinner violence and conflict is clearing up and that his individual consciousness is opening. The master is ready to change gears now and take the dialogue to the next level that is needed to address this change in Attitude. Now Krsna reveals to Arjuna the greatest of all secrets, the secret about Himself.
Here Krsna says, 'Because you are never jealous, never envious of My status and Me, I give you the ultimate secret of this state.' And I tell you,this is the ultimate secret. And He says, 'Knowing which, you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.
'What are the miseries of material existence? Whether we have something or not, it is misery. If we don't have, then the misery is, 'I don't have.' If we have, then we have the misery, 'I must protect it.'
Yoga means achieving. Ksema means protecting or preserving. Both are miseries. Whether we have or not, it is misery. Krsna says that the miseries of having wealth and not having wealth, both disappear by knowing this secret. This is the ultimate secret that needs to be understood. Knowledge of this secret liberates you.
He says, 'This knowledge is the king of all knowledge. The greatest secret of all secrets, it is the purest knowledge and because it gives direct perception of the Self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting and it is joyfully performed.'
See, religion or a spiritual path should have three characteristics. First,it should clearly describe the goal of life. Next, it should clearly give you the path to achieve the goal. Third, it should make you happy to travel in that path. The path itself should be joyful.
In this chapter Krsna says, 'I am something more than God. Whatever you think of as God rests in Me. All created beings rest in Me.' But He is not crucified, because He declares this truth to a person who understands and accepts it. We need to see whether a person is mature enough to receive the truth before we share it.
Here, Krsna says it is a secret, because it can be delivered only to a person qualified to receive it. However, these chapters are intimate secrets delivered only from the master to a qualified disciple who really wants the knowledge.
Here Krsna gives the qualification of people who can attain Him. When I say 'Him' , it is the universal energy I am referring to. In the first two verses Krsna says, 'It is a great truth that I am going to tell and it is a secret that I am revealing to you.' Now He lets Arjuna know what kind of people can know the secret.
He says people who do not have faith in His teachings go back to the path of rebirth without attaining Him. He says the qualification required is to have faith in His teachings. Only those people can come out of the vicious cycle of birth and death. Faith is one of the most important things, especially in the spiritual path. Whenever an enlightened master speaks, every word he utters is the Absolute Truth.
Here, Krsna talks about faith in dharma, His teachings. When Krsna says dharma, He means anything that leads us to a higher level of consciousness. Man without consciousness is an animal, a danava. In Hindu epics there are two types of people: manava and danava, humans and non-humans. The first category has faith in dharma and a higher level of consciousness. Danava are animals. They do not have faith in any dharma, so their level of consciousness is low.
The only difference between man and an animal is the seed of consciousness implanted in us. We must water this seed and allow it to germinate. We must nurture this sapling to flower into a fully-grown tree. We need faith in dharma for this tree of consciousness to happen in us. Krsna clearly says that we must allow consciousness to flower in us, and in order to do that we must have faith in dharma.