Bhagavad Gita Ch16 part 02 on 21 August 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM VASUDEVASUTAM DEVAM KAMSACHANURA MARDANAM DEVAKI PARAMANANDAM KRISHNAM VANDE JAGADGURAM SARVO PANISHADO GAVO DHOKDHA GOPALANANDANA PARTHO VATSHA SUDHIR BHOKTA DUGDHAM GETA AMRITAM MAHAT MOOKAM KAROTI VACHALAM PANGUM LANGAYATE KIRIM YAD KRIPA TAMAHAM VANDE PARAMANANDA MADHAVAM We have started the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita which is called the DAIVA AHASURA SAMPAT VIBHAGA YOGA A division between the characteristics, qualities of those who are born with a spiritual nature as well as with a worldly nature Shankaracharya, the master that he was brings out in his SAMBANDHA VASHYA SAMBANDHA means introduction, what is the relation between past chapters, especially the previous chapter but sometimes he also brings out what has been mentioned very briefly in the past chapters in this 16th chapter, in his introductory VASHYA commentary he brings the 9th chapter where people have been divided into 3 categories so now and then I will be inserting Shankaracharya's VASHYA which not only lends wonderful spice to our understanding but very deeply meaningful and also inspiring so here goes Shankaracharya is telling DAIVI AHASURI RAKSHASHI ITI PRANINAM PRAKRUTAYAHA NAVAME ADHYAYA ADHYAYE SUCHITAHA The divine, the findish and the demonical natures of creatures were referred to in the 9th chapter very interesting here when we look at the title of the chapter DAIVA and ASURA divine as well as demonic but Shankaracharya divides the demonic people into 2 categories simply put who are they one is called ASURI another is called RAKSHASHI ASURI people is a very interesting derivation in Sanskrit who is an ASURA ASU means prana prana means sense organs he who is completely devoted only to the enjoyment of bodily happiness and a bit of mental happiness these people they are called demonic because they are not spiritual but they are not harmful also they are people who are selfish who do not wish to harm other people excepting a little bit of mild cheating etc they are highly aware this is a society where we have to live and let live but they are not interested in higher ideals at all these are devoted good people but worldly and very sensual type of people material people but the other one RAKSHASHI that RAKSHASA the very derivation is from whom one wants to get protected such a person is called a RAKSHASA he is worse than this ASURA because they go to any length to harm, to criticize people that's what Shankara is telling DAIVI, ASURI, RAKSHASI these are the three categories PRANINAM PRAKRUTIHA the natures of Jeevas even among animals also you will see some dogs extremely faithful and good some dogs they only if they are frightened if they come to know that someone is harming then they will attack but there are some mad dogs they will be attacking everybody and anybody without any reason maybe rabid dogs we don't know so among human beings even today you can see that there are people who not only are completely gone to dogs as we call but they will not allow others also to be at peace they want to rule and they want to impose what they think is to think and even among the Rakshasi people I make another category this is a second type of Rakshasi what is it? they do everything in the name of religion they kill in the name of religion they oppress, suppress and you open your eyes you will see everywhere this kind of people are there not only in the east but in the west also so this is what Shankaracharya's beautiful introduction we have to what is the purpose? so we will have to know am I a second type of Rakshasa? am I first type of Rakshasa? am I having this demonic nature? selfish, sense bound but not at all paying attention to higher things or am I born with that quality where I am in a way in the world but what I am seeking is nothing less than God, spiritual life etc so Shankaracharya says says in order to present them elaborately this chapter opening with fearlessness purity of the mind etc is begun why is this chapter started? among them the divine nature leads to liberation from worldly existence so whoever wants spiritual progress and ultimate liberation from all sorts of limitations remember body means limitation mind also means limitation but those who are Asuri and Rakshasi Nivandhaya they are according to their natures bound completely bound very much bound what does it mean? it means for the first category it takes quite some time for the second category it takes a long long time but for the third category not only it takes a very long time but they also suffer as a result of their actions so hence the divine nature is being presented so that it may be accepted and the other two slowly are overcome so in our last class I have charted these three verses verses 1 2 and 3 in three verses a lord catalogues all the spiritual qualities that a spiritual aspirant must possess without which he will not be able to make any progress in spiritual life if we want to know any make any progress in any field of life first we must be very clear about our goal about our path third we must walk the path and that is why in the 12th 13th and 14th chapters 12th chapter is called Bhakti Yoga 13th chapter is called Prakruti Purusha Vibhaga Yoga Kshetra Kshetra Vibhaga Yoga 14th chapter is called Gunatrayi Vibhaga Yoga all this theoretical knowledge is given to us explaining elaborating the goal we have to reach but theoretical knowledge about our goal is fine knowing about the path is fine but now walking the path is very much necessary and that is going to be elaborated in the 16th 17th and a little beginning of the 18th 18th chapter usually is called the summarization of all the 17 chapters why do I call 17 chapters? because the real teaching of Bhagavad Gita starts only with the 11th verse of the 2nd chapter so some people like Madhusudana Saraswati go to the extent of saying the real Gita is over with the 15th chapter it is as it were the 15 15 chapters Bhagavad Gita's teaching is complete 16th and 17th are the roof to contain and 18th chapter is the very pinnacle it is a poetical way of describing but let us not forget every chapter contains the essence of every other chapter practically some chapters some points are highlighted in other chapters other points are highlighted so let me repeat the first one Sri Bhagavan Vacha a lord is commencing to teach Arjuna which means all of us abhayam sattva samshuddhi jnana yoga vyavasthiti dhanam bhakti yajnasya swadhyaya tapa arjavam so here fearlessness etc certain qualities are going to be elaborated all the three verses together about 26 verses are there in this first verse we have got I think around 9 qualities are there so I will first read the translation and then one by one we will discuss it as I mentioned earlier I have written some editorials and this book is available Be Divine here and 9 here and now and that book is nothing but a little bit elaboration of these 26 qualities so those who are interested they can I think download it from srisharada.com website so abhayam what are the 9 qualities abhayam fearlessness sattva samshuddhi purity of heart jnana yoga vyavasthiti knowledge theory philosophy along with practice dhanam charity caring and sharing dhamaha control of the senses organs body and dealing with the world appropriately yajnaha converting the whole life into sacrifice that is equivalent of surrendering oneself to god that is I belong to you my ego also belongs to you everything I possess belongs only to you swadhyaya study of the scriptures appropriate I will elaborate it that is the first meaning study of the scriptures but second meaning is study of oneself one's mind whether I am doing what I profess to do tapah some amount of austerity is very necessary then arjavam these qualities we will discuss a little bit in detail not too much detail and you you can meditate upon each of these qualities so that you will understand what is the most important thing and how you can put them also into practice the lord said fearlessness purity of self-control and sacrifice study of the scriptures austerity and upright yesness so let us take up one by one abhayam fearlessness bhaya means fear abhaya means fearlessness fearlessness is one of the very first qualities Sri Krishna advises every spiritual aspirant to cultivate real root cause of fear fear is really stems from ignorance fear is the result of selfishness and the cause of selfishness is ignorance about the real nature of man always fear comes from selfishness what is selfishness everything must belong to me i only must become possessed here also only i want to be selfish but let others also be selfish in their own way live and let live but the other one only i want to possess nobody else has the right authority to become selfish everybody must become selfless and they all must be selfish so fear we are all living a life of fear from birth to death it is fear when a baby is born cries out of fear and when the same baby becomes old baby and when it is about to die again it But mentally, oh, I am going to lose everything. I don't know what is going to be my fate. Why this fear comes? Selfishness. And of all the manifestations of selfishness, the greatest, strongest, intensest selfishness is fear of death. All of us are subject to various types of fear. Fear of old age, fear of disease, fear of death, and not to speak of the changing circumstances, fear of cold, fear of heat, fear of losing, fear of gaining. You may be surprised. Do people fear if they are supposed to gain something? Yes, change of place. People fear. What am I going to encounter there? Will I be happier or not? That's why many people say a known devil is better than unknown devil. Then fear of so many things, future, fear of past, regret is nothing but another form of fear. Why did I do it? I was a stupid fellow. I should not have done that. That's another expression of fear. Whole life is nothing but fear. And most importantly, please note it, fear of fear. I will give you an example. Here is a person, for some reason, two, three days he cannot sleep and whenever he tries to fall asleep, some nightmare, some very, what you call, an object of, terrible object of some event, some memory, something comes like that. So that is very, what, after two, three days, for two, three days, he has some cause. Here is fear and so it is disrupting the sleep. But after two, three days, that first fear may be reduced. But the fear may be like yesterday, like day before yesterday, I may not be able to fall asleep. This is called fear of fear. And so many people, all of us practically, are victims of the fear of the fear. One such expression is fear of death. It is very interesting if you analyze properly. In this life, this applies to every life, I am not dead but I don't know where am I going to do. So when I have not experienced something, why should I fear? Only fear or happiness can come only when I have experienced something. But why should I have fear of what I never experienced? So fear of future, fear of death, fear of strange people, fear of strange places, fear of changing a job and so many fears are there. Somehow or other, these will turn into what modern psychologists call phobias. So fear of fear, that's why man suffers doubly. That's what Ramana Maharshi told. Once somebody asked, what is the difference between human beings suffering and animals suffering? He explained beautifully, said animals suffer, only suffer. What they are? Subjected to either pain or hunger or whatever. But human beings, imagination of fear of fear, they suffer doubly. Fear of suffering, of suffering, fear of suffering. Suffering experience is one but fear of suffering, that is added mentally and that's what makes human beings even more miserable. So there are all sorts of, not only rational fears, there are rational fears are there. Somebody has threatened to kill me and somebody has issued a fatwa. This is a rational fear but nobody has issued a fatwa but unknown fears are there and the catalogue of these fears is immense. Even fear of dry leaves, fear of earthworms, fear of snakes, fear of strangers, fear of heights, fear of closed places, fear of darkness, these are known, well-known as phobias, many subject. But the greatest of all fears is the loss of individuality. If I don't know who my parents are, which is my country, to which religion I belong, what job am I doing, who are my family members, all these things are aids to our personality. Our CV if you say, I completed such and such studies, I am born of such and such parents, I practice such and such religion and I have done this kind of job, these are the things which add up to go to our personality. But when what is called amnesia sets in, then we don't know where, we cannot recognize our children, our parents, anybody. If that deadly, very ferocious disease called amnesia comes, sometimes this amnesia comes strangely, even to me when I am about to express something, a particular word, it doesn't come, nicely it comes after the situation is over. Like some students, they know everything before entering into exams hall, etc. So of all the fears, fear of losing individuality, not to speak of death, this is the most terrible fear. But fear is an existential condition. If fear were not there, no creature could survive for long. Fear is not only, we are talking about negative impacts, but there is a positive, it is fear which keeps us alive, it is fear which makes us moral, it is fear which makes us intellectually, aesthetically, spiritually curious, etc. So if a person doesn't have this fear, there is no hope for his redemption. A fear which helps one to survive and lead a righteous life is a good fear. But a fear which makes life a living hell is to be gotten rid of as soon as possible. The opposite of fear is courage. The greatest of all courage is the courage to be. Paul Tillich, a great philosopher, I think Jewish philosopher, he has written a marvellous book called The Courage to Be. Courage to be means what? Whatever be the circumstances, human being has the opportunity, the unique opportunity which nobody else has got. What is it? The courage to be. I may be poor, I may be illiterate, I may be helpless, I may be a prisoner, I may be hanged tomorrow, but I accept everything. The courage to be is to accept. The emphasis by Zen Buddhism is to accept everything, accept summer, accept winter, accept life, accept happiness, accept dukkha. Suffering and accept also death because what is inevitable, what is existential cannot be avoided. So how do we cultivate this courage? Through reliance on God and a philosophical outlook on life. Accept the inevitable with equanimity and poise. There is a beautiful poem, Lord give me the strength to change what I can change. It is not the exact words but just paraphrasing. But give me the strength to accept what cannot be changed. Every spiritual aspirant knows that whatever happens is for his good and through every event God is slowly leading him forward. Hindus especially think what I get is the result of what I did. No one is to be blamed. Squarely the blame should fall upon me. Dosh karo nai goma amishvakatha shalile dube mori shama Oh mother, no one should be blamed. I am responsible today for what I am going through. With my own hands I have dug a well which is filled with virulent poison and I am drowning with the well dug with my own hands. No one is to be blamed. Oh mother. So this faith that I am the architect of my own condition, not only that but there is someone, I have a mother and she is not an ordinary mother, she is a divine mother. She can help me and definitely I can overcome it or at least I can put up with it. That faith makes a person live with courage, face life with courage and strength and happiness. Prayer and a righteous life can equip us all with the strength and the courage to be. So about this fear there was a great Indian poet called Bhattruhari and he has written three books each comprising of one about a hundred shlokas called Shringara Shataka that is describing amorous play between man and woman, Neethi Shataka on morals, beautiful book and Vairagya Shataka, a hundred plus verses on Vairagya, his passion, his life was also marvellous. In this Vairagya Shataka, hundred verses comprising on this passion, here he says in this world if anybody expects fearlessness then he is a fool. Is there absolutely no condition, no state called fearlessness? Yes, there is only one but how does the verse go? Vairagya Shatakam Shloka number 31. This is the gist. In enjoyment there is fear of disease. If one is having family reputation there is fear of deviating, falling. In wealth there is fear of kings as well as thieves, robbers and in brackets I should say relatives. In prestige there is fear of humiliation. In power there is fear of enemy or adversary. In beauty there is fear of old age. In scriptural erudition there is fear of learned opponents. In virtue there is fear of wicked vilifying person. In body there is always fear of death. For human beings everything in this world is coupled with fear. Vairagya, dispossessiveness, dispersion, not clinging to anything in this world alone bestows fearlessness. What a beautiful thing. I have given sufficient commentary on this fearlessness. I will cite a few examples. Sairam Krishna, even when he was an adolescent, small boy actually, 9 to 10 years old, he used to roam fearlessly all the crematoriums and superhuman things used to happen there. Sometimes he would not return home even until late at night. So his brother used to come there, and ask, Gadhai, where are you? Elder brother, do not come anywhere near. There are spirits here who will harm you. But Ramakrishna used to see the spirits. Sometimes when he offered a pot of rice, mid-day the pot will disappear as if somebody had taken it and made it disappear. He was absolutely fearless. Even when he came to Dakshineshwari, Panchavati was a very fearful place. Even a person like Hriday dared not go anywhere near it. Even daytime, some Shardaanda says, people fear to enter into it. But Sairam Krishna used to go after night, and remember there were no electric lights, there were no other lights. In pitch darkness, he would go deep into the jungle, lest anybody should disturb him, and fearlessly he used to sit and meditate there practically whole night. There was a curious incident. Once his guru, Totapuri came there, and he spread his seat under the Panchavati, under the banyan tree. Only if it is raining, he will go and sleep under shelter. But otherwise day and night, he used to sit there lighting up fire. God alone knows how many mosquitoes, how many scorpions, how many insects would have harmed him, I don't know. Anyway, one night he was meditating. He used to get up at midnight and make the fire bright, and then sit for meditation until people start coming for whatever purpose. One day, he had a strange experience. Next morning, when Sairam Krishna came to visit him, he narrated it. Yesterday night, I saw a Bhairava. Bhairava means a demigod employed by Shiva and Divine Mother. And what happened? Suddenly this demigod, pure white shadowy figure, a tall white figure, descended from the topmost branch of the banyan tree and descended right where this Totapuri was meditating. And Totapuri looked at him and asked him, Who the hell are you? Sorry, that word is invented by me. Who are you? And the Bhairava smiled and said, I am Bhairava. The Divine Mother had kept me here to protect this place. And then Totapuri looked at him and said, You are also Brahman. I am also Brahman. Sit and meditate. As soon as this word meditation came, immediately the Bhairava disappeared. Even demigods also fear meditation. They speak of people like us. So, Sri Ramakrishna was absolutely fearless. What about Swami Vivekananda? There was a beautiful incident. We all know about it. I am just going to remind. Once Swami Vivekananda came to Varanasi. He visited the Durga temple. And in those days, few people used to visit. And one day, after paying his pranams to the Divine Mother, he was returning back and it was a lonely place. Suddenly, huge brutes of monkeys started chasing him. And Swamiji was frightened and he was running. Then an old sannyasi appeared to him, going towards the temple and said, Face the brute. And Swamiji liked that. He used to quote later on. And then he faced the brutes. And as soon as the brutes understood that this man is fearless, they all ran away. And this became a famous dictum of Swamiji. Be fearless. Anyway, there is a beautiful incident in one of the greatest Upanishads, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, where Yagnivalika taught Janaka about the knowledge of Brahman and Janaka grasped it, realized it and Yagnivalika gives a title, a certificate. O Janaka, you have attained fearlessness. Why? Because the philosophical background is Fear always stands from second. It may be an enemy. It may be another person. It may be an animal. It may be an insect. It may be wealth. It may be house. Where there is a second object, second, then only fear comes. It might do harm. I might lose it. Whatever way. But where there is one, there cannot be any source because there is no source. One doesn't fear one's own self. So that is why even Brahma, the creator, was supposed to have become fearful. He said, I am alone. And he became afraid. What is the way? Then I must create. Then I will be in the company of the many. Then he realized, Why am I fearing? I am only one. Where is the cause? There is no source, cause of fear. When Yagnivalika understood, Janaka realized, I am the one. Even the description one is our invention. That state cannot be described. And Yagnivalika understood because he was also a realized soul. He said, O Janaka, thou hast attained to fearlessness. Means not freedom from a negative quality but absolute ananda, bliss. You have become one with bliss. Fearlessness means bliss. So a spiritual aspirant becomes completely fearless. That means completely blissful. Everything contributes to his happiness. And we will have to slowly cultivate it. Whatever be the circumstances, people, etc. That is the very first quality. Then what is the next quality? Sattva samshuddhi. Sattva means heart, mind, thoughts. Samshuddhi means purity. So purity of mind. Again Shankaracharya says, Sattva samshuddhi sattvasya antahkaranasya samshuddhi. What is the meaning of sattva samshuddhi? Purity of the antahkarana. Antahkarana means what? The mind. So what does it really mean? Sattvam vyavahareshu para para vanchana maya anrutadi parivarjanam shuddha sattva bhavena vyavahara ityadha That is thoughts and behavior. Mentally avoiding fraud, trickery, falsehood, etc. in dealings with the whole world. That is honest behavior. So this is called sattva samshuddhi. Purity. Jesus Christ's greatest teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. What is the very first thing? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Ramakrishna also said, A pure mind and the pure Atman is exactly one and the same. And this was what Patanjali was referring to. Yogaha chitta vritti nirodaha Yoga is purity of the mind. What does purity mean? Divide off any unreal thoughts. Like a clean mirror, when we stand, anyone stands in front of it, if it is a clean mirror, freed from dirt, etc., it reflects exactly what is in front of him. So here, what is it that obscures our true nature? All thoughts. Even good thoughts. Even brahmakara vritti, thought of God, is an obscuration. So we have to get rid of it. All the thoughts. When the mind is free from all thoughts, tada drashtu svarupe avasthanam. Man understands. Looks at his reflection in the mirror of his heart. Oh, I am Brahman. I am Purusha. I am Atman. I have nothing to do with this body, mind, nature. That is what is called prakriti. And that is what is called purity. Purity is an essential condition of spiritual life. Purity is the very bedrock of spirituality. Without it, none can advance in the spiritual path. It's impurity which alone obstructs our vision of God. And impurity arises from ignorance. Ignorance gives rise to egotism. Egotism gives rise to attachment and likes and dislikes, raga and dvesha, and third, it is the ignorance which leads us to intense clinging to life. That is why Patanjali has defined them avidya, asmita, raga, dvesha and abhinivesha. So, what is the first thing? Avidya. That is the mother. That is the root cause. What does it give rise to? Asmita. Egotism. What is egotism? I am not you. I am not anything else. I am this limited body and mind. And then this body and mind complex, what does it lead to? Raga and dvesha. Certain things, certain experiences I like because they contribute what I call my happiness, what I think my happiness. And certain things, even though they are good, but I do not like them. I develop a kind of dislike to them. Dvesha even. Hatred. Intense hatred. So, life is nothing but raga dvesha. And this raga and dvesha, what is it? We are running after what we think are conducive to our happiness. We are trying to run away from what we consider to be the opposite, that is, which contributes to our intense unhappiness. I need not insert the word intense. Even the slightest unhappiness we cannot bear. And the slightest happiness attracts us because there are degrees of happiness broadly divided into five categories. That is, the sense in happiness we derive from sense objects, from ideas, intellectual understanding, intellectual knowledge, aesthetic sense, then moral knowledge, moral behavior, and ultimately spiritual realization. There are infinite varieties, almost infinite varieties within each one of these categories again. So, impurity arises from ignorance. Ignorance gives rise to egotism. Egotism gives rise to likes and dislikes. Abhinivesha, intense attachment to body because whatever experiences we derive, they stem only through the instrumentality of the body. First comes body, then comes mind. What happens? We forget our real nature and identify ourselves with non-self, body and mind, and then go on being born again and again. We fall into this so seemingly endless wheel of transmigration. So, this is what happens. What is purity? That which dispels delusion and reveals our real nature to us is purity. Purity must manifest in thought, speech, and deeds. As we go on practicing spiritual disciplines, our mind becomes pure, sattvic, another word, and like a clean mirror starts reflecting the divine, which is our own true nature. This reflection of the divine further intensifies our longing for God-realization. As the mind becomes purer, it makes us aware of impure thoughts, desires, motives, etc., and also shows us the way out. That's why Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Sri Ramakrishna had a disciple called Niranjan, and I think tomorrow is his birthday. This Swami Niranjananandaji, the very word, his name, Anjana means stain, a dirty spot. Niranjana means one who is completely free. Sri Ramakrishna loved him very much because he immediately perceived, and he used to say, My Niranjan is without any Anjana. My Niranjana doesn't have even the smallest spot of stain or impurity in him. That is what Christ said, Blessed are the pure in heart. Then we come to the third spiritual quality of the 26, Jnana Yoga Vyavasthiti. That is complete abidance in knowledge and practice. So Vyavasthiti means abidance. That means a person, a spiritual aspirant, must be about only trying to understand what is true knowledge, what is spiritual life, what qualities a spiritual person must acquire, without which he will never be able to progress in spiritual life, and what are the qualities which he should avoid. Both are necessary. These are demonic qualities and these are divine qualities. One must be aware of both of them. Discrimination is not possible. If we have knowledge of only one side of things, if for example you have seen only one type of sweet, and from one shop, you will never know whether it is a good sweet or bad sweet. But if there are ten shops, sweetmeat shops, and there are ten different varieties of sweets, then you have knowledge by tasting. Then you develop, oh that sweet is most marvelous sweet. First class, second class, third class. That means what? First preference, second preference, last preference, etc. So Gnana, knowledge. Knowledge about God, knowledge about myself, knowledge about what my mind really wants, knowledge about what I want to achieve, knowledge about what is the right path. This was what in philosophy, Tattvam, Purushartha and Hitha. One must be very clear about it. My Gurudev often used to say, there should be no cobwebs in the mind as per what is my goal and where I am and what is the way to move forward. This is what he was talking about, Tattva, Purushartha and Hitha. So here Gnana. And then Gnana is knowledge. Knowledge is fine. But if somebody doesn't do anything about it, it's completely useless, not only useless, it may even breed egotism, pride, arrogance, etc. is possible. So here again Shankaracharya says, so what is this steadfastness, that is abiding in right knowledge and in the practice of what the knowledge really indicates. What does Shankaracharya say? Gnanam Shastrataha Acharyathascha Atmadi Padarthanam Avagamaha Avagamaha means right understanding of what? Gnana means acquiring knowledge of such subjects as what is the Self and how do we know this about the Self, about God, about afterlife, about after worlds, other worlds, etc. must be learned only from scriptures and right teachers. So that is called right knowledge because this knowledge beyond our sensory knowledge is not available through any book on science or art, etc. It is available only through what we call scriptures, Vedas. Vedas of Christians is Bible, Veda of Muslims, Islam is Koran, the Bible of Buddhists is called Tripitaka, etc. So these are the expressions of the realized souls. They know what they are talking about and that's why it is absolute truth. Since we do not know, we cannot even intellectually deduct what they are talking about. We will have to have faith. But faith in what? Faith in the scriptures comes only by seeing a person who is practicing it with thought, word and deed. The moment we see such a person, we call him an authentic person and when this person exhibits characters like so much of joy, so much of love, so much of unselfishness and so much of self-sacrifice, we know that all that he has been practicing is yielding results. If he can reach that state of happiness, anybody who follows his footsteps can also reach. So our faith directly doesn't come from the scriptures, but it is dependent upon the persons about whom we know. For example, we have faith in our gurus. Our gurus had faith in their gurus. Their gurus had seen Sri Ramakrishna and they witnessed, they themselves experienced. So what they say initially, we have to have faith, but faith according to Hinduism should never be kept as faith, but it must be translated into fact. Realization must be converted into realization. That is very important. So here, what does Shankaracharya say? First he says, acquire knowledge. How? From the scriptures. But to understand the scriptures, we need the right type of interpreters who are called Sadgurus. And then, avagatanam indriyadi upasamharena ekagrataya svatma samvedyata apadanam yogaha What is yoga? Yoga is making those things that have been learned as matters of one's own personal experience by practicing concentration and by means of withdrawal of the organs, etc. And this is called yoga. What is yoga? Practical expression of what we know to be true through faith, through the understanding that comes to us from the gurus and the gurus teach nothing but the scriptures and yielded by their own experience. Persistence, steadfastness, absolutely abiding in both these, the right knowledge and the practice of the right knowledge, never deviating from it. In those two, we know what we have to do and we do it. Through doing it, our faith becomes even more strong and through doing, that's called yoga, we get certain experiences and we know that if we have one such experience, that everything that has been taught to us by our teachers is absolute truth and this is called jnana yoga vyavasthiti. Never again such a person, he doesn't deviate from it. And Swami Vekananda used to put it in a funny way, in a jokular way and used to say to his brother disciples often, which helped the brother disciples many times because many people can get a little bit what we call disturbed because result is not coming even after practicing for a long time etc. So Swami Vekananda used to say, if I don't get shyama, should I go on devoting my time to bhama? That means what? If I don't have spiritual experience, does it mean I have to devote myself to worldly objects? No. Once I have diverted my mind, decided I will practice spiritual disciplines, I am not going to give them up. This steadfastness, even if I do not get any result, not only in this life but in many lives, I am not going to give it up. I am going to give you two examples. One is a parable of Ramakrishna. Another is what is popularly known as what Buddha said, you know, Lord Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama was his name and he has been trying for six years. The most severe austerities that very few human beings could do, he has gone through. But he had not attained that illumination. So his willpower reached the penultimate state. He said, I am not going to give it up. I am going to sit and I am not going to move from this seat until illumination comes or the body falls away. SANSKRIT So his body, let it die. Let the flesh dry up. Let the bones become powdery. Without attaining that illumination, which is so very difficult to attain even in so many thousands of years' yugas, this body, I am not going to allow this body to move even a millimetre from this seat. And it is said that very night Buddha had that illumination. SANSKRIT According to Shankaracharya, he concludes the commentary on this particular quality called Jnana Yoga Vyavasthiti. And both these combined is the third one. First is fearlessness. Then second is the purity of the heart, is Sattva Guna and development of Sattva Guna. And the third is Jnana Yoga Vyavasthiti. This is Esha, this third quality. Pradhana is the most important. SANSKRIT Among the divine treasures, this takes Agrasthana, the first place. This is the principal divine characteristic, which is Sattvika, born of the Sattva quality. SANSKRIT That nature, which may occur in persons competent in their respective spheres, that is said to be their Sattvika attribute. Whatever be the path a spiritual aspirant follows, according to their varied natures, but this non-deviation from what the person understands and from the practice, even if it takes billions of lives, then that person is not going to deviate from it. This is called Jnana Yoga Vyavasthiti. So what was the parable? We all know Ramakrishna narrated the parable of two yogis. They were sitting under two trees and meditating. And one day Narada happened to pass by. And these two yogis had not attained illumination. So they asked Narada, Where are you going? I am going to God. Ask him when he is going to bestow his grace and his vision upon us. He said yes. He went. After some days he came back. And the first yogi who was meditating, he asked, What did God answer? Narada replied, You will have to be reborn once more. Then God will appear before you. And the yogi became despondent and depressed. Oh my God, I spent so many years and one more birth. I will not be able to do it. That is the meaning. That means I am not happy in thinking of God. Spiritual life is a burden, something. Somehow I have put up. I thought I will get something. I will not be able to do it any longer. Narada said, Bye. And then went to the second yogi. And the answer given was, You see a tree that is called a tamarind tree. The leaves of the tamarind tree are very few. So Narada said, As many leaves are there on this tree under which you are meditating, so many times if you are born, then at the end of it, God may bestow his vision upon you. Hearing this, the yogi got up and started dancing. What? So quickly God is going to appear to me. How gracious he is. What is the meaning? For this second yogi, spiritual practice is a joy from one step to the other step. And therefore he could say, When I am very happy, very joyful, time will disappear. Space will disappear. Causation will disappear. I don't mind whether it will take a few billion lives, hundred, hundred trillion lives, because in joy you don't count time. And God is so gracious. Full of hope. Full of hope. He is never going to give up. That is called Jnana Yoga Yavasthiti. These are beautiful ideas and some more points are there to be clarified about this Jnanam, what Sri Ramakrishna says, etc. We will talk about it tomorrow. May Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.