Bhagavad Gita Ch18 part 05 on 01 January 2022: Difference between revisions
Vamsimarri (talk | contribs) (Bot: Automated import of articles) |
Vamsimarri (talk | contribs) m (category) |
||
Line 1,473: | Line 1,473: | ||
in the right way, and progress | in the right way, and progress | ||
in spiritual life. Jai Ramakrishna | in spiritual life. Jai Ramakrishna | ||
[[Category:Bhagavad Gita]] |
Latest revision as of 04:33, 26 August 2024
Full Transcript(Not Corrected)
Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Moho Om Vasudevasudham Devam Kamsachanuram Ardhanam Devaki Paramanandham Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum Sarvopanishadogavo Dogdha Gopalanandana Partho Vatsah Sudhir Bogdha Dugdham Geetam Ritam Mahat Mukham Karoti Vachalam Pangum Langhayate Kirim Yath Kripathamaham Vande Paramanandhamahadham We have been studying the 7th verse shloka of the 18th chapter, the last chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This chapter, just to remind ourselves, has started with a question by Arjuna. What is the difference between the two words, Tyaga and Sanyasa, pronunciation? And Bhagavan Krishna, crystal clearly had stated, absolutely there is no difference. The conventional, traditional meaning of the word Sanyasa, as understood in India especially. It is a monk's life, it is a nun's life, formally giving up all prescribed duties, responsibilities, etc. But that is not the true meaning. As I explained earlier, following Bhagavan's own teaching, Tyaga, Sanyasa, there is no difference. It is renunciation, it is detachment, it is sincere longing to obtain Bhagavan, to see God, to enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. All these are synonymous terms. So Bhagavan's answer started, some people tell this, some people tell that. But what is my own opinion? In the fifth shloka, The goal of life is to gradually give up those activities which deepen our bondage, strengthen our bondage and not allow us to move forward. Such actions should be completely given up. But there are certain actions which are called Nitya, Naimithika, etc. which purify a human being. What is purification? We always use the word, the example of a mirror. The dirtier the mirror, the more distorted is the reflection. So here the mind is comparable to the mirror. It is all because of our mind. We think, we mistake reality as what we experience. All this according to the scripture is unreal. God alone is real. So as if God and the world are completely opposite to each other. And that is true from our viewpoint. But in the ultimate union, God is the world, world is the God. There is no distinction between these two. God with form and God without form. Saguna Brahma, Nirguna Brahma. Of course we are not so much advanced. So it says whether we like it or not, certain actions, certain activities are our bound and duty. We should never give them up. And of course we cannot give them up also. What are they? Vigna, various types of worships, Dana, various methods of caring and sharing, and Tapa Karma, various austerities we have to perform. Anything, any ideal, any higher stage worth its salt, as they say, cannot be achieved without undergoing great difficulty. And do you know what is the secret of the difficulty? It is not that we have to stop breathing or eat only worms or live in crematoriums, etc. This is the idea of some people's idea of Tapasya, austerity. No. What is it? We are accustomed, we are attached to certain types of styles of life, certain types of activities. In other words, that which is keeping us in bondage. And to give them up is extremely difficult because we have been cultivating it so lovingly for how many millions of lives God alone knows. We have become them and they have become us. So, body and mind, the whole gist of what I am is nothing but body-mind. When I am in the bound state, my whole attention is how can I make my body, my mind comfortable. So, when we awaken a little bit, try to give them up because of the teachings of the wise people, superior people. And as a result of worshipping, we clearly understand that there are higher goals, higher states of being, higher states of consciousness. But our problem is we face this adamantine walls of past habits, samskaras. And what is Tapasya, austerity? To give them up. So, that is why it appears to be so tough. But we have to give them up. There is no other way. But certain activities are very helpful in that. So, as just Bhagawan is telling, He particularly selected three types of activities. Yagna, Dhaana, Tapaha. These three never should be given up. And they must be assiduously practiced. Why? Because these purify the minds of aspirants. And a purified mind is like a well-cleaned mirror. And who is standing in front of that mirror? The Ahankara. Previously, the Ahankara starts to think that I am the body-mind complex with all its good and bad habits accumulated through countless lives. But then now, this clean mirror shows you are separate. All this body-mind is like your dress. Something alien with which you are associated, no doubt. But it is not you. It belongs to you. It is of you. But it is not you. And that is called purity. What does purity tell me? That everything in this world is impure because whatever is changing is impure. How wonderfully Bhagawan has taught us. Ramakrishna also tells us here is a first-class rice pudding worth offering to gods. Just keep it for a day or two, it becomes. Not even a dog can be given such type of food. This is called impurity. What is impurity? Anything that changes. And everything changes for the worse only in the beginning. Therefore, it is impure. The only pure is that which never becomes impure. It is eternally pure. And that is what never undergoes any change. And that is Atman, Brahman, my soul, myself, God, Ishwara, whatever name anybody can call it with. Therefore, these activities should not be given up. They must be assiduously practiced as if my whole life depends upon them. This is the essence of the 5th shloka. Then the Lord is foretelling. Oh yes, you will have to perform these things. But how? Even these activities Even these activities. What activities? Don't get attached. Oh, this boat has taken me to other shore. It has saved my life. It has quickened my journey. I love this boat so much. I don't want to get down from the boat. That would be defeating the very purpose of using that boat or a car or a bicycle, anything that you want. And you know, if you reach the destination in an aeroplane and if you refuse to get down, then the staff there will assist you in getting out. The whole nature, its only purpose is to get us out of nature. This most marvelous truth has been so beautifully enumerated in Sankhya, school of philosophy. You know, every school of philosophy has its own scripture which clearly puts forward what is the goal, what is life, what is its opinion. And the Sankhya is most marvelous. Then it says that this Prakruti is the root cause of this world including our body, mind. And then the Jeeva gets caught and instead of using it like a boat, he becomes attached to it. But the Prakruti, like a loving mother who wants the welfare of her child, so gently or if necessary, roughly, it pulls our ears and gradually takes us to the other side of the court where Bhagawan is there and says, Oh my son, I am your neighbor, don't get attached to me and accidentally strayed into my turf but I treated you nicely because you are a child but if you refuse to go to your own home, to your own mother, I am going to assist you and if you do not extend a helping hand, I will pull you roughly to the other side. That is what nature is doing 24 hours a day and death is one such thing. So that is the ultimate change that happens but fortunately we have to go through this process so many times. Therefore, what is the way out? That's where in the sixth shloka Bhagawan is telling. First He said that you should never give up auspicious characteristics, spiritual characteristics which will help you purify your mind. There are three. Yajna, Dhana and Tapasya. But even these also should be done with two conditions, three conditions He said. First condition is Sangantyaktva, give up attachment. That is to say, Oh, I have been doing this Yajna, Dhana, Tapas and I enjoy it. So I want to continue. No, no, no, no. It has served its purpose. Now you have to give them up. So from the very beginning, cultivate non-attachment. Just because something helps me doesn't mean I have to get attached to it. Be grateful. Be thankful. Do repay in gratitude but do not get attached because if you do not get out voluntarily that itself, these three things themselves will violently kick us out. So it is like a person being kicked out. So Sangantyaktva, Phalanicha, results. What are the results? We were discussing earlier that every good action, even bad action, any action gives us appropriate result. These are, of course, excellent punya karmas called meritorious activities. Therefore, they will give merit. What merit? That means you will have higher enjoyment where depending upon what you want. If you want to go to heavens, to Brahma Loka, these very things will help you to reach there. But just as the activity is limited, their results are also limited. After some time, just as a hotel management kicks a customer out, as soon as he overstays that place, they will throw their bag and baggage and everything out. So also, heavens, Brahma Loka, any Loka will kick us out. This Loka kicks us out. That is called death. Kicks us out of our job. That is called retirement. Kicks us out of our youth. That is called retired age. So all the time it is doing it. So when a child is there, the nature kicks the child out, makes him adolescent, kicks him out, makes him youth, kicks him out, makes him middle-aged man, then old age. Then, of course, death. This process, whether we are aware of it or not, is continuously carrying on. Therefore, what is the second condition? What is the first condition? Attachment. What is the second condition? Then do not expect these temporary results. Rather, aspire, aim for that which can lead you to a permanent state where you need not go anywhere else afterwards. So permanent pension. Not only in this world, in every world, in the future births also. No future births at all. What is that? Phala Anicha. Phala means results. Do not expect the results. But, of course, nobody can do any activity without expecting a result. But what result? I don't want temporary results. I don't want binding results. I want liberating result. I want love of God, knowledge of the Self, etc. So for that the heart, the mind has to be purified, be filled with spiritual ideals. So that is the aim. That is the result which we must actively say. That's what Sri Ramakrishna teaches us. Oh mother, here is your Dharma. Here is your Adharma. Good, evil, all those things, Punya, Bapa. I don't want. I want pure devotion and that is the result of Chitta Shuddhi or purification of the heart. Then third condition. Kartaviya Neeti. Kartaviya means must be done. So it is the duty of a soldier to fight. It is the duty of a watchman to watch. It is the duty of a cook to cook. They cannot say I will be a cook, a watchman, a soldier but I refuse to do something. This duty is pertaining to me but I will do something what I like. No, that is not allowed. So the first warning will be given. Second warning will be given. Third and last warning will be given and that is the end. I remember a beautiful story. Once a man had died and entered into hell. He was suffering terribly and one day of course you know as Christians depict it they have to tend fires but then the peculiar thing in the hell is the same person is the tenderer of the fire he is also the same being who is being barbecued. So he is self-barbecuing. So he was suffering like this. Suddenly the king of the hell happened to pass by and he stopped near man and he made clucking noises like that oh man if only you had heard received my message read them properly understood them properly and acted and reacted properly today you would not have been suffering so much. This man, the rational man he flared up said you are a liar you are a cheat what are you talking about? You say you have sent notices to me when did you send? And the king said king of the hell oh have you forgotten I have sent you three emails when did you send? The first one was that when you see any person terribly sick and doctor says there is no hope you should have been receiving that message and this body, this life is subject to disease so I should be taking care not to suffer but anyway so long as the body is there this is inevitable only when we attain to disembodied state not a ghost spirit state but truly liberated state then only I can escape so long as I say so long as there is a head there will be bound to be sometime or other so also so long there are teeth the toothache is bound to be sometime or other what is the permanent solution? is to get rid of the head get rid of the teeth and that is when as I make fun that people become teethless and then they turn well God alone is real this world is unreal excepting me I don't want this kind of world this is not real dispassion this is like the jackal saying grapes are sour ok then what is the second message, email you sent have you never seen any old person? yes and I also know many old people then why did you not sit down and take notice and say one day I am going to be old what then? what is my duty? alright, what is the last message you sent? have you never seen any dead man? yes I have seen, in my own family I have seen dead, my grandparents even perhaps parents then don't you think that you are also subjected to the same condition this is the story so these are the things which evoke the spiritual consciousness of Siddhartha Gautama, he saw an old man, a diseased man and a dead man, of course he had also seen an enlightened sanyasi and then he got the clue and that very night he renounced the world so these events, if not one night, slowly they should make us thoughtful understand the real value of life and move forward therefore what is it telling these are the activities which can lead me to that state I have to do them for my own good so that I can slowly progress further and rise up higher and one day become free this is my final advice to you I know I am telling the truth it may take time for you, but that is the truth that was what we discussed in the sixth verse, in our last class I have been taking the seventh then he says earlier shlokas he was telling these three activities which purify a man should never be given up and they should be performed without attachment, without wanting temporary results but only one permanent result which is God realization or self-knowledge and they also should be done what Bhagavan Krishna calls they have to be done what does it mean? means if I don't do it in this life in the next life after 500 births after a million births there is no way because we are all standing on the escalator called evolution a time will come, if I don't give up, nature itself will catch my throat and make me give up, these are the words of Swami Vivekananda, if you do not give up, nature will press smother your neck your throat and whatever is inside, you will be forced to throw it out so this is what nature is going to do why not do it willingly and that will help us really so he says whatever is a duty has been an obligation it is not something, an option Sanyasa means this way of performing these activities, especially three activities Ignatana, Karma, Tapaha without attachment, without with wanting only, God realization as the result and because they have to be done, so it is not right to give them up, but what do people what do we see, there are three types of people, how they perform a Tamasika person a Rajasika person and a Satvika person how do they perform these activities, whether they do them, with what attitude they do and in what manner they do that is being described in the three verses, describing Tamasika renunciation, Rajasika renunciation and Satvika renunciation that is where we entered into the seventh Niyatasyatu Karmanaha Sanyasaha the renunciation of obligatory actions is not proper, its abandonment from delusion is declared to be of the nature of Tamas, so there are Tamasika people, when the same teaching is given to them they misunderstand it, they become deluded, what is the delusion delusion means improper understanding, well it could take many forms one form is what is this scripture blabbering about I have sufficient time, I am a human being and I am strong and I can do whatever I like we have seen in the 16th chapter how a demon thinks what is his attitude there is no one equal to me etc, etc, so this is called Mohath, means delusion what is delusion, complete misunderstanding is called delusion right understanding belongs to Satraguna mixed understanding is the result of Prajoguna and complete opposite understanding is called Tamoguna, Mohath because of the delusion remember this whole Bhagavad Gita started Arjuna Vishada Yoga Vishada means intense grief and grief is always the result of delusion, what does delusion do, it makes us understand wrongly it makes us do things wrongly and as a result of that wrong understanding and wrong doing the inevitable result of grief and which can never be by any means removed excepting get out of the delusion is going to be the lot of people everywhere and surprising thing is billions of us are suffering from it and yet we are not awaking, let us not talk about what happened thousands of years back when this Gita was taught let us open our eyes right now we are like Kalidasas turning towards the trunk and cutting down the branch on which we are all sitting we are making our environmental pollution we are poisoning, light poisoning sound noise poisoning, environmental poisoning, water poisoning, every type of pollution we can think of what about mental pollution how much of mental pollution this world alone is real today alone is real this moment alone is real everything is unreal that is what these people constantly think and they think they are right anybody who dares to think differently from them are called abnormal people, we are all normal people and if there is one abnormal person thinking he is normal like eleven fools playing and eleven thousand fools watching, this was the remark of Bernard Shaw about cricket match, English cricket match he himself was an Englishman so we are following blindly and most of these people they are ending up in mental hospitals and the others also not understanding if this person whom I am imitating, whose footsteps I am following is entering into the mental hospitals then reason should tell me that that will be my fate also, but no, this is the mahamayas prabhava mohat tasya parityagah parityagah means giving up, giving up what these three activities with those three conditions, that is yajna, dana, tapah without attachment without without desiring only lower fruit but the one highest fruit and because they have to be done that means what if I neglect it now, I will be forced to do it, I have to do my homework, either today or tomorrow or after hundred years there is no remiss at all from this but because of delusion these people postpone I am using that word postponing because just now we have used that explanation, kartavyani they have to be done if something has to be done if that is the nature's rule then we will be forced to follow it today, tomorrow next life, next life, etc so temporarily I can give up because of this delusion, such a kind of not performing what should be performed with those particular conditions so these two points we have to keep in mind the first condition is that they have to be done there is no option second is they have to be done without attachment to these actions and without attachment to the fruits and without what is called with the idea that let me finish today itself today's duty so this is the condition of a tamasic person, he doesn't do these things or he gives up, what does he give up, he doesn't give up attachment, he doesn't give up a request a thirst for lower fruits and he thinks these are optional, I can do or I need not do and if I have to do, I will do when I want, however much I want and in whatever manner I want but nature will force him through dukkha that is vishada grief, suffering unhappiness, it is going to do but giving up the performance of these three purifying activities na upapadyate it is not right why does a man do mohath because of delusion giving up the performance of these three activities with those three conditions that is well known as the tamasic way of renunciation so nitya karmas are those enjoined to be done by the vedas so because they are purifying now we move into the eighth shloka this is called rajasicat yaga what does this man do the renunciation of a man who abondons his duties duties of what man has only three duties let us keep this point in mind crystal clearly and forget it man's duty is only three yagna, dana and tapah only these three so who abandons the duty from fear of physical suffering because it is painful is of the nature of rajas it doesn't bring him the fruit of renunciation so yat karma eva dukkham this karma that means performance of this austerity worship as well as this dana caring and sharing this is dukkham so painful for the body also it is kaya klesha bhayat tejet kaya means this physical body, klesha oh it has to undergo pain it has to undergo so much of suffering it has to undergo so much of hardship of this bhayat, fear he who tries to give up these three activities rajasam tyagam krithva eva tyaga phalam nala ved he will not obtain the result of this renunciation what does it mean? so he does it not that he completely gives up unlike the tamasic person neither he does it with 100% wholeheartedly nor does he do it as per the prescription which we have seen in the 17th chapter when a person does yagna dana, tapas and dana, three types of, in greater details we have studied so this person will be doing but because he wants name and fame, he wants certain results, he wants to be honoured he wants to be considered as a great spiritual person etc. even though he does it because of his attitude and not doing wholeheartedly and doesn't do anything when it is to be done naiva tyaga, complete result of this kind of renunciation this rajasika person will not get such a person who performs his bounden duties in this manner this is called a rajasa person, rajasa spirit but the fact is such people do exist, tamasika people exist, rajasika people exist, of course sattvika people also exist now curious question, if we have to understand what is the percentage of these things, then we have to understand the persons who fall under tamo guna or may be 97% the people who fall under rajo guna and they may be 2% and the person persons who fall under the sattva guna may be 1% but one thing we have to remember in this world nobody will be left out, Ramakrishna used to say, everybody will get food, some will get at the right time because they are up and doing some people will get late in the day time and the people who get immediately are sattvika people, the people who get late they are rajasika people and the people who get at midnight just before they go to sleep they are called tamasika people, according to Vedanta there is no eternal hell, everybody because potentially divine, their own potential divinity kicks in, kicks the person up and makes him do it but if we do it consciously and with joy, with dedication with concentration, with full awareness then the journey will be much more pleasant, that is what we need to understand, so in tamasika tyaga giving up karma itself is involved but here in this rajasika tyaga the person does it but haphazardly, haphazardly partially because due to fear of doing action so one should why should one give up the prescribed duties according to this rajasika person that is described in verse 8 because it is painful, getting up early in the morning especially in winter daily to do oh so boring, early morning or I will just put a blanket round me and sit there in padmasana in 5 minutes he is snoring, waking up the whole household with his thunderous snoring and if there are 2 such people there will be a chorus and if there are more than 2 people that will be an orchestra so this is the rajasika people's condition even doctors advise people that you have to jog everyday you have to run, jog, walk and then you will see early morning people, they are highly conscientious so they get up put on some warm clothing and start jogging, I have seen people even at 4.30 in the early morning, even in winter season, both men and women because they are highly conscious but then they are doing it, not as sattvika people this will give us very good health and very good health helps us to enjoy worldly objects much better than otherwise so a person will be like that there is a funny story Ramakrishna very often quoted it Shiva and Parvati have 2 children and one is Karthikeya and other is Ganesha so one day mother challenged them, I have a most valuable pearl necklace whoever can go around the world in the shortest possible time and then he will get this necklace, invaluable necklace, immediately Karthikeya who had peacock as his vahana vehicle jumped and started and he was smirking because he knows my brother is lazy and he is ponderous he is slothful like a sloth and then I am sure to get it and Vinayaka was a great devotee but I am making fun of it, so Vinayaka thought I can never win my elder brother but because he was a tamasika person, how can I get the necklace, immediately he used his buddhi and then with great devotion he caught hold of his 2 ears with his opposite hands like south Indian people do and went round his parents mother and father saying that the whole world is nothing but Parvati Parameshwaro, the whole world is nothing but the manifestation of my father and mother, of course he meant it so immediately Parvati Devi was presented it indicates tremendous amount of wisdom that God is everything Ganesha was able to see but for making fun, being lazy this is what happens, I heard a joke there was a military camps and then they were given very difficult tasks, they used to be given difficult tasks and then the general, army general found out one particular camp because they subdivided these units into several units one particular unit whatever work is given however difficult, they do it instantaneously, almost then he called and said what is the secret and the captain of that particular team said sir on promise that you will not reveal to anybody I am going to tell you the secret, how we are the first to complete the task in my camp there are 2 laziest fellows in this world the moment whatever work you give me, I call these 2 fellows and I say you better do this and being lazy, immediately they make their brains work how quickly can we get this work done and then go back to our laziness, so fantastically their minds immediately are 100% 50,000 volts electricity is used and within minutes they come to a solution they devise something where the same thing can be done extremely intelligently perfectly within the shortest possible time and then I call the other fellows tell them this is what we are going to do and the whole camp will get the result so this is how Vinayaka being lazy, he thought that I don't want to take all the trouble, but how to get that necklace, this is the way this is making fun enjoy the fun so most people they are Vinayakas no doubt about it, but they don't have the buddhi, the intelligence of that Vinayaka they think they are clever but they know to their great regret when they have to suffer then they understand what is this one so this is the nature of Rajasika people for the fear of inflicting pain, they don't want to get up in time they don't want to face any hardships either cold or heat or etc. that is why they do, but they do haphazardly and piecemeal and never completely never with a right attitude of those three conditions without attachment, without desiring lower results and because it has to be done so this is the, such a person such a mentality is called Rajasika renunciation now we are going to talk about here is a Satvika person, what does he do he says, first of all he says Niyatam Karma, it has to be done so the sooner it is done, the better it is for me because I cannot escape not only that, I have the understanding that this is for my own good the duty is laid upon me by Bhagawan in the form of the scriptures or in the form of the Guru's commandments Guru's teaching not for their benefit but for my benefit God is like my grandmother and she loves me she wants me to be very happy and if I do this she knows I will be the happiest person so she tells me nicely my son, better you do it in this particular way so this, what is that Niyatam Karma, whatever is imposed by the scriptures not by the society because society tells this fashion is good this drink is good this food is good this kind of behavior is good this is a rotten thing and that's why people have to enter into mental hospitals but the scriptural oriented activities and it includes both not only spiritual but secular not only vaidikam but laukikam and those for karmas to be endowed with sattva guna they must be done with a certain attitude what is the attitude? Karyam, they have to be done and then it is done giving up attachment sangam tyaktva and then instead of telling I don't want the ordinary fruits I am intelligent this person is a medhavi chinna samshayaha which we will read very shortly so this is to be done by me and if a bhakta does it, he calls it sharanagati and the same thing, if a jnani does also, that means follower of jnana marga, he will do it shravana manana nidhidhyasana and for him guru replaces god whatever guru tells, that is the scripture for him, so he will do exactly as the scripture is wanting us to do, so Shankaracharya makes a beautiful note here, so he is telling that the daily obligatory duties whether they have any result this is not part of this particular verse but it is very interesting because these Hindus have a belief, the Vedas tell us, we have to do daily obligatory duties, if I do, do they give me result? No, and if I don't do, will I also not have any result? No, if you don't do, you will get sin, so they will not give any positive result by doing, but by not doing, definitely a result will come, which is sin, which means suffering and so they have to be done it, so Shankaracharya says, is it right to say, you do a karma an active action and it doesn't give any result, Shankaracharya says absolute bankam any action will do it will give its own appropriate result, evil action gives evil result, which is suffering and dharmic action gives its own result, which is called punyam and which is ends in higher happiness so nitya karmas do give, what is it, first of all they give punyam, punyam means merit but through this merit you have a choice, do you want to go to higher worlds or to be a rich man, a powerful man and a person to whom all enjoyments are absolutely available or do you want to go to God, where permanently you can be eternally infinitely happy, so a sattvika person does it, nitya karma because he wants to get out of this world that is why so beautifully expressed here, mama sattva samastha durita kshaya dhwara sri parameshwara pritiartham whatever action I do I am doing it for getting rid of all my sins accumulated in the past and all the past samskaras must get out and I want most, utmost importance, the grace of Ishwara parameshwara pritiartham he should be pleased with me and this is called karma yoga so now we are going to enter this, we have depicted three verses which talk about, so these ignatana and tapah with three conditions without attachment, without desiring worldly or lower result, temporary result but because they have to be done they can be done by three different mentalities in three different ways naturally the result also will be appropriate so the more desires we have, the less we have of progressing in spiritual life so this is what a sattvika person is going to do, this is the 9th verse karyamityeva yathkarma niyatam kriyate arjuna sangantyaktva phalam chaiva satyagaha sattviko mataha, what is the sattvika mentality's way of performing ignatana tapah with those three conditions when a man performs an obligatory action because it ought to be done and renounces all attachment to the actions and also to the lower fruit, his renunciation o arjuna is characterized by sattva guna so arjuna, hey arjuna o arjuna, remember Gita is a teaching to arjuna o arjuna, karyamityeva they must be done, what must be done niyatam yath niyatam karma, whatever is imposed upon me by whom, not by Tom, Dick and Harry, not by the government, but we have to remember, government also wants us to pay the taxes, to observe rules and regulate certain rules and regulations in every way and now we see that people are rebelling we don't want any masks we are free, we want freedom, we can do whatever we like, we can kill people we can infect people that is our birth privilege how much lower a human being can go, so niyatam karma whatever is prescribed by the scripture and confirmed by the teacher and exemplified by so many people that have been following and obtaining grand results and these activities also sangam cha phalam tyaktva all the three conditions which Bhagawan had imposed earlier, that is they have to be done, there should be no attachment to the actions themselves and they must desire only one result which is purification of the mind or even better, the pleasure of the Divine Lord if God is pleased anything can be, everything can be attained, with these three conditions, sangam cha phalam cha tyaktva giving up sanga attachment to the actions, giving up lower fruits but my only goal is to obtain the grace of God to make Him pleased, let Him be pleased with me, tyaktva kriyate, he who performs regularly, is not afraid of the pain of the body etc. sattvika tyagaha that tyaga, that type of acting igna dhana karma etc. is called tyagaha sattvika tyagaha sattvika way of performing or living a spiritual life itime mataha, we have to add mataha means this is my firm opinion, a sattvika person, why does he do that? because he is one who knows that I am not yet liberated, I am suffering, I am bound, that is the first awakening, then he says that I am not prepared for a higher perception, higher consciousness, therefore I have to prepare, all these activities they will make me, take me to the higher level I should very clearly know where I am standing now because every scripture is talking several methodologies, various sadhanas for students for a tamasika person this is the way, for the rajasika person, this is the way for a sattvika person, this is the sadhana, for students of various, so I have to be a medhavi I have to be a very intelligent person why should I be intelligent? because I understand, I should understand, I want moksha, liberation moksha requires self-knowledge, self-knowledge is obtained only when the purity of mind is obtained, and purity of mind requires all these karmas which purify me, and they have to be done with that particular attitude etc, so this clarity of understanding a person has got, and such a person can get this clarity only because he is a sattvika person, so that person doesn't suffer from the problem of delusion, misunderstanding or partial understanding, so naturally he can understand, a fool in the spiritual sense, never going to attain anything, not to speak of moksha, as earlier he said, a man who is devoid of spirituality, not only he cannot enjoy afterlife, he cannot even have enjoyment in this life itself so, there is a beautiful story Swami Vivekananda has created he is a most marvelous storyteller, he wrote also some stories, and the apt title for that is food for the brain, there was a village, there was a temple and there was a fat pujari because puja means sit in the morning, sit in the afternoon sit in the end, and then eat the first class ghee prepared preparations naturally pujaris are seen with big bellies walking in front of them and then the pujaris follow their bellies, so such a pujari was there, and in the village, hardly anybody goes excepting on very special occasions, because they are afraid of giving anything to the temple, one known this priest is called Chaubeji by Swami Vivekananda, after finishing puja, after eating the prasada and there is a nice wall so he leaned against the wall and trying to sleep, and then suddenly a villager, who thought he was a singer, entered there sat in front of the door, which of course is closed, and started bellowing like a bull, and then Chaubeji whose sleep normally cannot be disturbed even by a thunderbolt, suddenly jumped up with a start and then said, what are you doing? stop it, and this fellow he looked at him and said, look I am not singing to please you, I am singing to please the divine lord and then Chaubeji looked at him and said, you foolish fellow that I am not a music lover, I don't understand music, but even I, a idiot in musicology I am getting so much disturbed by your music, do you think the good lord is even more idiotic than me that he will appreciate your donkey's music so think over it, this is called food for the brain so the idea is, we should slowly try to give up tamasika way of performance of these bounded duties rajasika way of performing these bounded duties and adopt the methodology of the sattvika person, which will slowly purify our mind and we understand god alone is the truth everything is unreal and that will, after that our journey becomes very, so we will discuss these topics tomorrow evening may Ramakrishna, holy mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti today happened to be not only the 1st of January New Year's day, but also happened to be Kalpataru day, when on January 1st, 1886 Ramakrishna had awakened the spiritual consciousness of many of his devotees who were present at that time, and we believe he is still ready to awaken us provided it is a new spiritual year for all of us I pray to the divine lord, may he also help us awaken our spiritual consciousness, so that we can enjoy our Bhagavad Gita talks, do sadhana in the right way, and progress in spiritual life. Jai Ramakrishna