Bhagavad Gita Ch18 part 48 on 29 May 2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananem Sharadam Devem Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Adapatmetayo Shritva Pranamami Mohor Moho Om Vasudevasutam Devam Kamsachanuramardhanam Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum Sarvopanishadho Gavo Dogdha Gopalanandanah Partho Vatsah Sudhir Bhokta Dogdham Gita Amritam Mahat Mukam Karoti Vachalam Pangum Langayate Girim Yat Kripatamaham Vande Paramanandam Adavam Today, according to Sri Ramakrishna's calendar, is a very sacred day. This is called Halaharini Kali Puja. Usually, Kali Puja is done on two occasions. One is that which comes practically in the month of May, but the more important one usually is that which comes after Durga Puja. And today happens to be the first one, that which occurs in the month of May. This is called Halaharini Kali Puja. Many of our devotees do not know the meaning of the word. Halah means results. Results of whatever a person has done in all the past lives until now, and our bodies, our minds, our present happiness and unhappiness is the result of all that we did in the past. And if we worship the Divine Mother today specially, then she will eat up. Harini means one who destroys, one who eats up, and when there are no results of karma phalas, this whole samsara, transmigration will not be there. In other words, today, out of her infinite grace, the Divine Mother will eat up all our samskaras, all our karma phalas and grants us complete liberation. This is the first sacredness of this day. Second, on this particular day, Sri Ramakrishna had worshipped the Holy Mother as a 16 year old virgin and offered everything that he obtained until that time and made her the trustee of all that he had offered to her. Henceforward, you will be the Divine Mother and you will be distributing to your children according to your discretion, which really means no discretion, which really means she will look upon all her children equally. She will not judge like any other mother whether my child is good or bad. If only the children choose to call her with love, with sincerity, you are my mother, I am your child, and she will use the powers entrusted to her by Sri Ramakrishna and advance in spiritual life. Finally, she has the power to grant liberation if we wish. And that is the second significance of today's day. On this sacred day, may the Divine Mother bless us all with bhakti and with knowledge and may we continue our spiritual journey in the form of especially these discussions. That is the context. Now, by the grace of Bhagavan Krishna, Bhagavan Ramakrishna and especially Holy Mother, who is the embodiment of Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, we have been able to successfully complete 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita. In our last class yesterday, we had explored the meaning of the 18th chapter. The 18th chapter is really the very essence of the entire Bhagavad Gita. Just to recollect that all of us are possessed of or we have been controlled by three gunas. The purpose, goal in life is to move from the lower guna, which is Tamo guna, to Rajo guna, to Sattva guna. And Sattva guna, when it is dominant, it will decide clear understanding, clear goal, a strong will power and all the favorable things that can advance our spiritual progress. And the final step in that spiritual progress is complete surrender to the Divine. Why? Because these three gunas are the very constituent elements of Mahamaya and the power of Mahamaya belongs to the Divine Lord. It is the power of the Lord. In another way, it is the Divine Lord, manifestation of the Divine Lord. And unless we surrender to God, surrendering to Mahamaya, surrendering to Vidyamaya is equivalent to surrendering to the Divine Mother and Bhagawan, Creator, Ishwara, Parabrahman, whatever name we choose to call it. And only through that way, by His grace, the Maya consisting of three gunas is completely withdrawn and once the three gunas go away from us, we become free. Samsara, Prakruti, Worldliness, everything is nothing but synonymous names. So when three gunas are gone, Maya is gone. Just as when we wake up completely, all the dream world will vanish like magic. So also this Samsara will disappear. But this Mahamaya can be overcome only by the grace of God and the grace of God comes in the form of right understanding, right determination, right speech, right thinking, and right actions. And then as Bhagawan Buddha puts it, right Samadhi. And that is the essence of the 18th chapter. O man, God and His grace. God is the goal, His grace, to receive His grace through our effort. And where we are ready to receive the grace and God's grace is always there. Not that at some point, some place, for some reason it manifests. It is always there. Like the cool breeze, we have to open, unfurl the sails as Ramakrishna says. And that is the goal of life and we become free. This is the essence of the 18th chapter and this is the essence of the entire Bhagavad Gita. But in a formal way, we have to recollect. It is a kind of recollection. And this analogy comes to me that there is a Sutra literature, literature of aphorisms. An aphorism is nothing but the teaching of the teacher. After an elaborate explanation, he compresses the whole teaching into a meaningful small sentence consisting of as less words as possible. And this works like a mnemonic, reminder that which arouses our memory. And there it is, Brahma Sutras, Dharma Sutras, Yoga Sutras, Bhakti Sutras, they are all elaborate explanations given, but in the end given to the student as pegs, as files. The moment file name is remembered, the entire file can be pulled out. The content becomes extremely clear. And that is what this 18th chapter is like. So we have journeyed through this Bhagavad Gita and especially I have tried to interpret it in the light of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda. And why also it will become clear in today itself when we hear the words of Swami Vivekananda. So all these few years of so much, so much of explanation of 700 shlokas must be recollected. It may not be possible to recollect every single shloka, but if we recollect the essential points, that's very, very useful for us because there are three steps. First is listening. Second is deeply pondering, cogitating, thinking until all the doubts are clear, the essence becomes very clear and then we have to make it our own by deep meditation upon them. And it is this third step that really is capable of transforming our lives and making it blessed. That means we will slowly progress in spiritual life and one day we are sure to attain to God and nobody will be left over. I do not know how many classes it will take, but I can definitely tell not more than two or three classes. So with this purpose in mind, let us go through the essence. Bhagavad Gita occurs in the Brihishma Parva of Mahabharata. Mahabharata is called an epic, Itihasa, but it is really not an Itihasa, not a historical fact, presented in the form of a beautiful explanation, easily understandable through the stories of good and evil people and in between pearls of wisdom have been given. This Bhagavad Gita occurs in the Brihishma Parva. A few more details, I will come a little bit later on because I would like to first bring to our notice that what the great ones have really said about Gita because even to understand the greatness, the glory, the Mahima, Gita Mahima, we are not capable. We can only rely upon the words of these great people so that we can have faith and through the eye of the faith, Shraddha Chikshu, we can view this entire Bhagavad Gita, then Shraddha will slowly percolate. It is only a person with Shraddha, intense faith, who will be able to understand and transform the life. This Mahabharata is called Panchama Veda, the fifth Veda. And what does it mean? In Hindu lore, in Vedanta philosophy, we have four Vedas which are the primary scriptures. They are not human-made, man-made, but it is God directly manifesting in the form of these four books. They are not books. They are knowledge itself. And these Vedas contain two parts. The first part is called Karmakanda. The second part is called Gnanakanda. And many people misinterpret. Only few people really understand. Vedas, scriptures, never teach anything which is useless, which is redundant, what is called Arthavada, mere eulogy. No. Only that which is true and only that which is really beneficial for the good of humanity. That is only presented in the Vedas. The first part is meant as a preparation. The second part is called experimentation. Only these two parts, Karmakanda and Gnanakanda, which I prefer to call Dharmakanda and Brahmakanda. So the purpose of the Mahabharata is to present the teachings of the Upanishads in the form of stories, illustrations, etc. It is a marvelous encyclopedia of human life in every aspect. Enlightening man externally, intellectually, aesthetically, morally, and spiritually. And this particular scripture that is taught by the Lord is called Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad means Bhagwan, God. Gita means song. Whatever comes out from the mouth of a mother who is addressing her child is the sweetest thing in the world. So this is the sweetest song. And whatever comes from the mother's mouth is nothing but that which is for the welfare of the child, for the good of the child, for the happiness of the child, for the health of the child. This Bhagavad Gita is compared to the Supreme Mother whose only purpose is to bring about the welfare of the entire humanity. Whoever is devoted, have faith, and then read it, listen to it, study it, talk about it, of which we discussed at the end of the 18th chapter. So Bhagavad Gita means the song of the Lord, the song of the Divine Mother. It's a direct teaching of Krishna to Arjuna. It's a dialogue between God and the soul. Every soul is longing to be with God. That is the real purpose. So who is Krishna? Krishna is Truth. Krishna is God. Krishna is Knowledge. Every sincere sadhaka is Arjuna. Now what do these great people, like say Ramakrishna, especially because we are followers, most of us are followers of Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda, and direct disciples. What are these great people? What do they say about it? Bhagavad Gita is the very essence of Vedanta. Vedanta is another name for Upanishads. That's why we chant every day, every time, Sarva Upanishad Gavaha. All the Upanishads are compared to cows. Krishna is the milker of the cows. And the essence is this Bhagavad Gita, compared to the milk of a cow. And the drinkers, enjoyers, are those sincere sadhakas who would like to advance in life. This Bhagavad Gita is a Moksha Shastra primarily, that which tells us who we are, and that which helps us get rid of this limitation, bondage, transmigration, samsara, rebirth. It is also a Dharma Shastra. What is a Dharma Shastra? If life is compared to a game, and every game has its own peculiar, specific rules and regulations. If life is a game, and there are specific rules and regulations, and we must be aware of those rules and regulations, and when we play the life, the game called life, according to the rules and regulations, life becomes a greatest blessing. And Dharma is that. I gave three different meanings earlier. Dharma means immediate duty. Dharma means expansion of self, by identifying oneself with everything else, called morality. And finally, to know who we really are, and become totally free. So, it is a scripture of liberation. It is a scripture how to be very happy, even in this world, and at the same time, progress towards the real goal of life. And it is depth practical psychology. All these roles, rolled into one grand symphony. This is called Bhagavad Gita. In the latest psychological terminology, it is the greatest CBT book. CBT means what? Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This is a marvellous development in practical psychology, that we cannot change the world. We cannot change the situations. For example, the present situation. Study the present situation with the eye of wisdom. Take the example of the war that is going on, Yuric Crimea. First of all, many people tried. Probably Russians also tried. Probably Putin also tried. But nobody can stop it. Why? Because the world is not run by Putin, or Ukraine, or America, or Britain, or India. It is run solely by the will of God. It has to happen. And whatever happens in this world, has a meaning. It is our goal to find out the meaning. Because nothing happens without the will of God. And whatever happens by the will of God has a deep meaning. And whatever happens by the will of God is for the good of everybody, which we do not seem to realise immediately. But look back. And then we say, well, now I understand. That was very good. Had it not happened, we would have been in a worse situation now. So it is this kind of wisdom with which we have to look at Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is a book which knows every problem of life and has the right solutions for all of them. And all problems, according to Vedanta, is comprised of three sections, classified into three sections. Adhyatmika, Adhibhautika, and Adhidaivika. Simply put together, it means physical problems, mental problems, and spiritual problems. And nobody can escape them. Everyone has to face them, either in the past, or now, or in future. There is no escape. Because that is what is life. And that is what Sri Ramakrishna's wisdom comes to our understanding. His world is like the curly tail of a dog. It is not going to change. But it need not change. In fact, if it changes, it won't be a world. On the other hand, this is the greatest blessing. Whatever the power of God, Mahamaya does, it's for good. And that simple fact, most people do not seem to understand. Why does God create a world which is full of suffering? People do not understand that suffering is the ultimate severe. Misery is the gift of God. Suffering is the grace of God. Only suffering can remove all the negativity from us and see life as it is and help us go to God, progress to God. Nobody had become a great person by eating sweetmeats. So, Bhagavad Gita is a book which knows every problem of life and has right solutions for all of them. It has solutions for the external physical problems. It has solutions for psychological problems. It has solutions for, of course, spiritual problems. Now, Sri Ram Krishna and Swami Vivekananda had the very highest regard for it. Swami Vivekananda used to carry a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and Imitation of Christ among the few books that he used to carry. And here is what Sri Ram Krishna says, You see, there is no need to read too many of the scriptures. If you read too much, you will be inclined to reason and argue. It is not necessary even to read the whole of the Gita. The purpose of reading the book, Gita, is served if one practices renunciation. Then he goes on to explain it. Ram Krishna says, What is the significance of the Gita Nangtha, that is Sri Ram Krishna's Advaita Guru, Totapuri, whom he used to address as Nangtha, means the naked one. He used to be naked. He used to teach me thus. What you get by repeating the word Gita ten times fast is the essence of the book. If we repeat Gita, Gita, Gita, Gita, Gita, it is then reversed into Thagi, which means a person who has renounced everything for God. The essence of the Gita is a man renounces everything and practices spiritual disciplines and realizes God. Whether a man is a monk or a householder, he has to shake off all attachments from his mind. He alone has understood the secret of the Gita, who has renounced his attachment to lust and gold and has directed his entire love to God. Sri Ram Krishna teaches every man to become a Thagi, Tyagi, Tyaga, means renunciation. What does it mean? It means giving up our false notions about ourselves and realize our real nature that we are the children of the immortal Amrutasya Putraaha. Now what has Swami Vivekananda got to say? Here are a few words. Then the Gita, no matter commentary on the Vedas has been written or can be written. Final statement. Essence of the Shrutis or the Upanishads is harder to be understood. Saying that there are so many commentators, each one trying to interpret in his own way. Then the Lord Himself comes, He who is the author of the Shrutis to show us the meaning of them as the preacher of the Gita. And today India wants nothing better, the world wants nothing better than that method of interpretation. What do you find in the Gita? And what do you find in the commentators? What do you find? Book torturing. But you find in the Gita there is no attempt at torturing any of them. They are all right, says the Lord. For slowly and gradually the human soul rises up and up step after step from the gross to the fine, from the fine to the finer until it reaches the absolute, the goal. Then what is in the Gita? This is what is said. Even the Karmakanda is taken up which so many commentators, especially Shankaracharya criticizes mercilessly and ever since his time post Shankarites go on criticizing without understanding that Veda is an integral whole. It has no divisions. Here is what Swami Vivekananda says. Even the Karmakanda is taken up and it is shown that that is also equally valid. Images are valid indirectly. Ceremonies, forms, everything is valid only with one condition. They help us acquire purity of the heart. For worship is valid and leads to the goal if the heart is pure and the heart is sincere. And all these various modes of worship are necessary. Else, why should they be there? Religions and sects are not the work of hypocrites and wicked people who invented all these to get a little money as some of our modern men suggest to think, to believe. However reasonable that explanation may seem, it is not true and they were not invented at all. They are the outcome of the necessity of the human soul. They are all here. What are all here? Ceremonies, rituals, mantras, repetitions, yajnas, pujas, pilgrimages, etc. They are all here to satisfy the hankering and thirst of different classes of human minds and you need not preach against them. The day when that necessity will cease, they will vanish along with the cessation of that necessity. But so long as that necessity remains, they must be there in spite of your preaching, in spite of your criticism. You may bring the sword or the gun into play. You may use the world with human blood but so long as there is a necessity for idols, they must remain. These forms and all the various steps in religion will remain and we understand from the Lord Sri Krishna why they should. Just a little commentary of my own on this. Islam doesn't accept any other religion. It is fanatical about saying salvation comes only through our religion. And especially Hinduism is pure idolatry. This is why Swami Vivekananda was forced to say you may bring the sword and try to convert people. You may bring the gun as Christians have done whether they are in China, or in India, or in Africa. You may use the whole world with human blood and that's what has happened and that what is happening and that what will happen if sufficient power is given unto these fanatics. But so long as there is a necessity, so long as man has not outgrown the need for these aids, helps, symbols, they will have to remain and they will come in one form or the other. We continue from Swami Vivekananda's quotation. This great poem, the Bhagavad Gita is called to be the crown jewel of all Indian literature. It is a commentary on the Vedas. It shows us that our battle for spirituality must be fought out in this life. So we must not flee from it, flee from life, but rather compel it to give us all that it holds. As the Gita typifies a struggle for higher things, it is highly poetical to lay the skin in a battlefield. Krishna in the guise of a charioteer to Arjuna leader of one of the opposing armies urges him not to be sorrowful, not to fear death, since he knows he is immortal, that nothing which changes can be in the real nature of man. Through chapter after chapter, Krishna teaches the highest truths of philosophy and religion to Arjuna. Practically, the whole of the Vedanta philosophy is included in the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. And then he summarizes knowledge of the Atman is the highest aim of the Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is the best commentary we have on the Vedanta philosophy. This is the secret of work to attain which is the goal of the Vedanta. He who in the midst of the greatest activity finds the sweetest peace and in the midst of the greatest calmness is most active, he has known the secret of life. Krishna shows us the way how to do this by being non-attached. Do everything, but do not get identified with anything. You are the soul, the pure, the free all the time. You are the witness. This is the central idea of the Gita to be calm and steadfast in all circumstances with one's body, mind and soul, centered at his hallowed feet. Wherein lies the originality of the Gita which distinguishes it from all preceding scriptures? This was the question put by Swamiji himself. It is this. Though before its advent Yoga, Jnana, Bhakti each had its strong adherents. They all quarreled among themselves, each claiming superiority for his own chosen path. No one ever tried to seek for reconciliation among these differing paths. It was the author of the Gita who for the first time tried to harmonize them. He took the best from what all these sects then existing had to offer and threaded them into the Gita. On 4th January 1900 Vivekananda told in a lecture at Los Angeles, California One of the greatest lessons I have learnt in my life is to pay as much attention to the means of work as to its end. And he was a great man from whom I learnt it. And his own life was a practical demonstration of this great principle. I have been always learning great lessons from that one principle and it appears to me that all the secret of success is there to pay as much attention to the means as to the end. My commentary. In fact, Swami Vivekananda goes to say Once you have fixed your goal, the end, forget it. Now pay all attention to the means. And the person from whom Swami Vivekananda learnt this great lesson was not Sri Ramakrishna. It was Pabahari Baba of Ghajipur. Now I will give a small quotation from Mahatma Gandhiji. This is what he has to say. When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of light on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad Gita and find a verse to comfort me, and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of external tragedies and if they have not left any visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. This was what Mahatma Gandhi had to say. I just now recollected an incident from the life of Swamiji. Sometime in 1897 or 98, I do not recollect, there was a terrible economic downturn. The whole world was suffering actually. That was one of the greatest economical disasters that happened. Thousands of people had literally committed suicide, unable to live a life. One day, one of such people who was thinking of committing suicide in a highly depressed state came to know that there was a Hindu Swami who was to lecture nearby in a hall. He did not know much about but anyway he went. He came out and then he turned to his wife. I do not know who that wife was. He said, it is absolutely fine. After all, these things happen in life. Let us continue with life. How did this transformation for a man who was thinking of suicide come about? Because Swami Vivekananda had taught the essence of Gita. What did Swami Vivekananda preach throughout his life? He said Upanishads. I have preached nothing but Upanishads. Of these only two ideas, fearlessness and the immortality of the soul. And that was what he said. In what words he said, we do not know. But that transformed the man's life and said if that is the truth and nobody can say after hearing Swamiji that may be the truth. It is the truth. Because truth was speaking and the man's life was transformed. And that is what transforms. Even today, the imitation of Christ, the new, what is called, the Gospel of Christ, New Testament, or the teachings of Buddha, the Bhagavad Gita, have that tremendous, unimaginable power which transforms the lives of human beings and it will continue so long as the present Yuga continues. But same thing will happen, will be repeated, as Bhagavan Krishna said, the same truth I have taught to Manu who was last Yuga, last creation. So as I said, these are the three important people. There are hundreds, thousands of people who have nothing but praise for Bhagavad Gita. But it is enough for us to understand. If such great people, whom we revere as incarnations, greatest people on earth, if that is their understanding of the Gita, we have to humbly bend our heads, accept their words and say, I may not understand, but O Lord, grant me the capacity to understand. Dhiyo yonah prajodayat. Now a little bit I will talk about Bhagavad Gita. This is only an outline, what they call a bird's eye view. Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata in a particular chapter called Bhishma Parva. Parva means a chapter and there are 18 chapters, like 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita and chapters 23 to 40 of the book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva, just when the Kurukshetra battle was about to take place. This Bhagavad Gita contains around 700 shlokas, slight variation is there, but more or less 700 shlokas and is divided into 18 chapters and the speciality of this is every chapter is titled as Yoga. For example, Arjuna Vishada Yoga is the title of the first chapter. Sankhya Yoga is the title of the second. Karma Yoga is the title of the third, etc., etc., etc. Why? Because every chapter contains the essence of the entire Bhagavad Gita, of course, but it pays special attention to certain particular points of either Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga or Jnana Yoga. That is why the title of the chapter is derived like that and every chapter is titled as Yoga. But here is something very special note we have to observe. At the end of each chapter, whenever anybody chants, he ends up chanting Iti, Shreemad Bhagavad Gitas, Upanishads, Brahma Vidyayam, Yoga Shastra, Sri Krishna Arjuna Samvade, such and such a chapter, etc. Arjuna Samvade Yoga Nama, Prathamo Adhyayaha, Sankhya Yoga Nama, Riti Adhyayaha, Karma Yoga Nama, Kriti Adhyayaha, etc. This is most important for us to understand. Iti. Thus, Shreemad. Shreemad means that which bestows. Shree. Shree means prosperity. Shree means success. Shree means happiness. Just let me insert. In India, Lakshmi is very aptly called Shree. Unfortunately, we don't say Saraswati is Shree. Actually, Saraswati, Lakshmi, they are all one and the same. Saraswati means knowledge, wisdom. Both intellectual knowledge as well as practical knowledge. If it is informational knowledge, it is called intellectual knowledge. If it is put to use and made practical, that is called wisdom. So, how many people, just writing small applications, have become multi-millionaires today? We can see that one. But here, Shree means prosperity, not money. Very often, many dull people, dull-witted people, identify Lakshmi with money. What will you do with money? If you are sick, what will you do with money? If you are stranded in a desert, what will you do with money? If you can't digest even boiled water, what will you do with money? If you are in prison, what will you do with money? If everybody hates you, what will you do with money? If you are totally depressed, people don't want money. People don't want objects. That is why it is very important to understand what is it man wants. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. I will come to that in a little bit detailed way. But here is just a hint. If you ask a person, what will make you happy? He says, if I get more money, I will have security, I will have health, I will have happiness. No. If you ask, I will give you a billion dollars. Will you be happy? Yes. So, will he be going on eating some notes for breakfast, some notes for lunch, some notes for dinner? No. But what does he do? He wants to buy food materials, houses, cars, etc., objects. So, is he going to eat, let us say, food material? Yes, of course he will eat. But is that what he wants? No. The food, first of all, is meant to live. Second, it is meant to give him happiness. It is for happiness. Man does not want to live. If a man has provided everything, but with meaning, without meaning, then nobody wants to live in this world, however rich he is. That is why people commit suicide when they find no meaning in their life. So, what is the meaning? I want to be happy. I want safety, security. I want wisdom. I want Sat. I want Chit. I want Ananda. Beautifully expressed in three mantras. Every Hindu child is supposed to be that may I never terminate my life. Asato Ma Sadgamaya Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya Mrutyor Ma Mrutangamaya And is there any way we can have all these three? Yes, that is what Bhagavad Gita, that is what Srimat, that which bestows upon us, that wisdom, that prosperity, that Satchitananda. And it is everything that came out of the mouth of Krishna. That is why it is called Bhagavat, directly from the mouth of God, like the Sermon on the Mount, from the mouth of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest Vedantic work. Bhagavad Gita's songs, every line of the song is useful to somebody or other. And what is this Bhagavad Gita? The essence of the Upanishads. So Upanishads. What is the Upanishad? That which Siddhilekarana loosens the bondage, that which destroys the bondage or ignorance, and that which bestows self-knowledge, that is called Upanishad. And this Bhagavad Gita is called Upanishads. Every chapter is a Upanishad. Every sentence is a Upanishad, directly or indirectly. And what do these Upanishads do? Brahma Vidyayam. They bestow upon us, lead us to knowledge of Brahman, which is self-knowledge. Atma Jnanam. Who am I? I am Brahman. And then how to attain to that? Yogashastra. Yogashastra means practical Vedanta. Every chapter, it applies only very little time for the enumeration of the principle, but gives the greatest time and space how to execute them from different points of view for different people of different natures, how they can all be held wherever a person is. And that is why it is called Yogashastra here means not only it is Yoga. Yoga means that which brings about a union between our Jivatma and Paramatma, between individual soul and the God. So this Gita is the essence of all scriptures, all Vedas, all Upanishads, all essence of all the Upanishads. That is called Bhagavad Gita. And life is a battlefield. The very beginning of this Bhagavad Gita occurs with the question of Dhritarashtra in this field of action, in this field of righteous action. Dharmakshetre, Urukshetre. My children and the children of Pandu, ignorance has already started separating my children, your children. What did they do? Gathered together, fighting, hoping against hope and knowing unconsciously all the time that he is going to be completely thrown into the greatest sea of depression. After how long a time? Just wait for less than 3 weeks, 18 days, that's all. So life is a battlefield but it is a righteous battlefield means it takes note of, life takes note of every action that we do mentally, vocally or physically and it gives its result and nobody can cheat life. We think that we can cheat. A clever thief thinks, a clever murderer thinks I can do such an action that police will not know, public will not know, stupid person doesn't know that within him, the Divine Lord, all the 24 hours, even while the person is asleep, he is watching, keeping a watch, note like a CCTV and noting down everything and then awarding the results of every action sooner or later and appropriate result, nothing exaggerated, nothing underlined. So Bhagavad Gita, first of all is both a Prayasastra as well as a Shrayasastra that is a beautiful guideline, guidebook both for worldly happiness as well as spiritual happiness, for lower happiness as well as higher happiness. Bhagavad Gita is a true guide which if followed faithfully can give us both first worldly happiness, second spiritual happiness and how can we get worldly happiness? So this is where the four Purusharthas, desirable human goals, not desired human goals but desirable human goals. If a person is wise, he will desire. They are the famous four Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These four values of human life, goals of human life are subdivided into two. The first is called Prayas for worldly happiness. The second is called Shrayas, the permanent, eternal, infinite happiness. That is I am Brahman and thereafter there will be no Samsara. So here the first step, always we have to climb through the first step, second step, third step. Then only we come to the fourth step. There is no dichotomy here. There is no conflict here. There is no opposition here. So there is no conflict between worldly happiness and spiritual happiness. But we see this conflict. We see so many so-called spiritual teachers teaching this world is Mithya. This world is, worldly happiness is only temporary. Yes, it is true. Whatever you say is true. But how many people are able to understand you? You must show every person taking, understanding where he is standing and show him not the hundredth step from him but the second step from where he is standing. So this conflict comes only if the rules of the game of life are not played rightly. That means if Dharma is neglected, Dharma means what? Playing, observing the rules of the game of life correctly. And if we neglect, some happiness will come. A load of unhappiness accompanies it and that is what creates this conflict. So ultimately, there is no conflict. As I said, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Vedas, one integral whole. There is no dichotomy there, division there, opposition there. They are not enemies. It is like first step, second step, etc. Now, every scripture must teach three things. Any scripture, whether it is Christian scripture, Islamic scripture, Buddhistic scripture, Hindu scripture, Jain scripture, Sikh scripture, any scripture by worth its name must teach three things. This is beautifully outlined by Bhagavan Ramanuja. Tattva, Purushartha and Hita. Tattva means what is the truth? What is the reality? What is the truth? Each soul is what Swami Vivekananda at the beginning of his book Raja Yoga has put it so beautifully and nobody can condense the teachings of Upanishads like Swami Vivekananda. Whatever he preached as I said is first of all from the Upanishads. Secondly, he showed that there is no conflict between the different so called apparently conflicting views of different Upanishads, different Rishis, different teachers. There is no Thirdly, there is a harmonious whole leading from the lower step ultimately leading to the highest step. Only when we look at things from the highest and try to judge, then only every step below that highest step seems to be contradiction. There seems to be conflict. Gita completely harmonizes all Yogas, both householder's life, student's life, semi-retired life and complete dedicated life to God. There is no. Between Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, between worldly happiness and spiritual happiness, between all religions, between all sects, even if a person doesn't belong to any religion. I am a prophet. I do not believe in God. But Swami Vivekananda says, you do not need to believe in God. But you believe in yourself. Believe that you are the Supreme. You are the immortal soul. Have that faith in yourself. And that is true religion. And that is what Bhagavad Gita does. So first, the truth has to be told, which is, everything is God. There is nothing other than God. And you are that God. Second, if that truth is truth, then what should be the goal of life? This is called teleological urge. If we are God, and we do not know that we are God, but our inner nature does not allow us to keep quiet and behave like a worldly person, maybe for a short time, but we are all seekers. Nobody is without seeking. We may seek for a long time in darkness in the wrong way, but ultimately what we are seeking is only God. God means infinity and eternity. And that is the highest goal. Consciously, we have to formulate it, find out a path, and work towards it. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature external and internal. That is called Urushartha. That is what is the goal of human life. But there must be a way how we can put it into practice and realize it in our day-to-day life. That is called Hita. Sanskrit term. Don't bother too much. So is there a path? The Vedantic answer, Upanishadic answer, Bhagavad Gita's answer is, and I will put it in the words of Sri Ramakrishna, Jyotamot Tatopad. Infinite paths are there to the realization of the infinite. Not one. A child has his own path. A adult has his own path. Man has his own path. Woman has his own path. A old man has old man and woman have their own paths. A sanyasi has his own path. A householder has his own path. A Christian, a Hindu, a Jaina, a Buddhist, a Sikh, a Muslim, they all have so-called different paths but they are not really different. But take up one path, work hard, sincerely and by the grace of God each one will realize. This is what Swami Vivekananda summarized. Do this. Manifest this divinity within which is the goal of life either by work or worship or psychic control or philosophy by one or more or all of this and be F-R-E-E. This is the whole of religion, doctrines, dogmas, ceremonies, books, temples, churches are all but secondary details. We will talk about it in our next class. Om Vasudevasutam Devam Kamsachanuram Arthanam Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Andhe Jagat Kurum May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with Bhakti. Jai Ramakrishna.