Bhagavad Gita Ch17 part 14 on 12 December 2021

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

OM JANANIM SHARADAM DEVIM RAMAKRISHNAM JAGADGURUM PADAPADMETAYO SRIDHVA PRANAMAMI MOHURMOHU OM VASUDEVASUDAM DEVAM KAMSACHANURA MARDANAM DEVAKI PARAMANANDAM KRISHNAM VANDE JAGADGURUM SARBU PANISHADU GAVO DOGDHA GOPALANANDANAH PARTHO VAKSHA SUDHIR BHOKTA DOGDHAM GEETAM RITAM MAHAT MOOKAM KARUDI VACHALAM PAMGUM LANGAYATI GIRIM YATKRIPA TAMAHAM VANDE PARAMANANDA MADHAVAM We are studying the 17th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita called Shuddha Treya Vibhaga Yoga. The Lord Krishna has clearly indicated and teaching us in the most practical terms how to progress from Tamas to Rajas to Sattva and go beyond Sattva. With this regard, we have seen how human life, whether it was in the past, present or at any time in the future, consists of only four important departments. Ahara, food, Yagna, type of worship, admiration, high ideals. Third, every situation in life requires us to practice some amount, big or small, of austerity, Tapas. And lastly, whatever we have gained, the law of life is we have to give, then only we can take. So this constant giving and taking is called Dana. Exhaustively, Bhagavan Krishna had dealt with them how through Sattvika-filled mind, Rajasika-filled mind, Tamasika-filled mind, these very four activities of human life are conducted. The purpose is so that we can understand what is Tama activity and Raja activity and try to avoid them and develop Sattvika activities. And then the Lord is telling, it is very normal for human beings to err. Therefore, how to rectify, how to make our activities complete because mistakes are bound to happen. For that, the Lord said that there is a divine remedy. The highest reality can be addressed with three names, Om, Tat and Sat. And we know about Om, but not that much with Tat. But as I pointed out, this Tat is the most important mantra when we want to attain God-realization. Tat, that Brahman is none other than you. Tat tvam asi. Then Sat, everything that we see in this world is Sat. And all the people, anybody who has some amount of intelligence at the beginning and at the end and as much as possible in the middle by remembering these three divine names, the most powerful names can rectify all activities. Means whether it is Tamasic way of doing, Rajasic way of doing, they gradually rectify these remedies and convert it slowly, gradually into Sattvika type of activity through which alone we can finally take off like a rocket taking off. So from its base, tremendous amount of push is created through the tremendous amount of fire and that will separate the rocket and it will be shooting out, reaching the outer regions. In our case, in a spiritual case, Sattva is that firing mechanism and we take off and we reach God, become one with God, become liberated, become Mukta. And in the 26th, which we have dealt adequately, elaborately in our yesterday's class, so it goes like this. Let us recollect again to connect to what we have discussed. SADBHAVE SADUBHAVE CHA SADITYE TAT PRAYUCHYATE PRASHASTE KARMANI TATHA SAT SHAPTHAHA PARTHA YUJYATE The word SAT is used to denote first existence or reality and goodness and likewise OPARTHA. This word SAT is also used for pointing out any type of auspicious activity. The word SAT is employed in so many ways. First meaning is nobility, goodness, good conduct, good behavior called SATBHAVA or DHARMIKABHAVA. That is why all over India, especially in North India, when we come across such a person who always does good activities, we call him SADHU, he is called SADHU or SANT also. SANTATUKARAM, SANTATULASHRIDAS, SANTMERABHAI. So one meaning is good conduct, means Dharmic conduct, means the conduct that is, that doesn't deviate from the instructions of the scriptures. It means one does with greatest shraddha what one should do and completely avoid what is prohibited, what should not be done, VIDHI and NISHEDHA. That is the first meaning. And in the Upanishads, we have got the second meaning, pure existence is called SAT. Especially in the Chandogya Upanishad, in the 6th chapter, TADEVA SAVMYA IDAM AGRE ASID EKAIVA ASID. Here it means, O friend, at the beginning, there was only pure, eternal, infinite, undistinguished and indivisible SAT, existence. Creation means this pure existence trying to appear, trying to manifest with various names, forms, qualities and utilities. That is what we call the PRAPANCHA. So the second meaning of SAT is pure existence. BRAHMAN is pure existence. And then the third meaning is AY PRASASTE KARMANI. Any type of activity, any good activity, karma is also called SAT. That is why SAT KARMA. PRASASTE KARMANI means the best activity. So what is the difference now? SADHU and PRASASTA. So SADHU BHAVA refers to noble behavior, conduct, character. It is in the context of good character, pure character, dharmic character. But here it means, PRASASTE means any type of activity which promotes or which helps us to move from TAMAS to RAJAS to SATVA GUNA is called PRASASTA KARMA. The measurement is, is this karma, is this thought, is this speech, is this activity helping me to move from a lower state to a higher state? That's what we discussed. Now Bhagavan Krishna gives two more meanings for this word SAT. Very wonderful meanings. YIGNE 27 verse 27 YIGNE TAPASI DAANEECHA STHITIHI SAT ITICHA PUCCHATI KARMACHA EVA TADARTHIYAM SAT ITI EVA AVIDHIYATI So steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and gifts etc. is also called SAT. Important word is steadfastness. And so too is any action connected either with the YIGNE, TAPAS, DAANA, FOOD. These are the four important things. So the fourth meaning of the word SAT means perseverance. A commitment, a tremendous willpower. That is called STHITI. STHITI means commitment. Like Bhagavan Buddha who said this body is not going to move until I attain the illumination which is so difficult to attain even after many thousands of years, many lakhs of years. YIHASANE SUSHYATUME SHARIRAM TWAGASTI MAMSAM PRALAYANCHAYATU APRAAPYA BODHIM BAHUKALPA DURLABHAM NAIVA AASANATH KAAYAH ATAH CHALISHYATHE That tremendous steadfastness. Like Sai Ramakrishna, he showed the figure of Kalabhairava, a small figure that is etched on the top of the what is called hall where all meetings used to take place, kirtans used to take place. Oh mind, you should never move until you complete your meditation. Like that stone image of Bhairava. And he said with that SANKALPA, before any Hindu does anything, he takes a vow to God. SANKALPA means a vow that I will not deviate, I will not give up until I complete this action. That vow is called SANKALPA. Before doing puja or anything, we have to do that SANKALPA. That steadfastness, that SANKALPA, not to be distracted, not to give up what we decided to do in these four areas. I will eat Sattvika food, I will worship Sattvika way, I will perform austerities in a Sattvika way and I will do also Dhanam, charity in a Sattvika way and fulfil human life's meaning and get full meaning out of it. I will not deviate from this effort even if the death intervenes, even if any obstacle comes, I am not going to give up. That SANKALPA is called STITHI. So this is the fourth meaning, perseverance, commitment, etc. The last, fifth meaning the Lord himself gives and KARMACHAIVATADARTHIYAM, any other activity, any other activity which will promote my travel towards Sattva guna or worship of gods or austerity or charity, which helps me to become a Sattvika person, which will help me to get out of this SAMSARA, of this bondage and that is also by proxy is called SAT. This is the fifth meaning. Simple example is a Buddhist, either an extreme Buddhist, he goes to a crematorium and he stays there by the side of a rotting corpse in order to reinforce the idea, my body also, even though it is alive now, one day it will have to pass away and this would be the condition, there is no difference between the body of a dog and the body of me or anybody else for that, a king, a philosopher, a poor man, a good person, an evil person, the condition of the body is absolutely the same. Body makes no difference. Atman makes no difference. It is only the mind, the Antahkarana, where good, evil, small, big, literate, illiterate, knowledgeable and ignorant, all these differences will come. There is a story. Once a Greek king went to the church and besides the church, there was a huge crematorium and to his great shock, he found his own philosophy teacher searching furiously for something and the king asked, sir, what are you searching for? And the philosopher smiled and perhaps he wanted to teach a lesson to the king. He said, oh king, I am trying to find out what is the difference between the body of a dead dog and the body of a dead king like you. That means once the body attains, it is the same flesh, same blood, same everything, subjected to same disease, etc. All the sixfold changes. So any activity which helps us to develop discrimination, dispassion, control over body, mind, pure sattva guna, it means and move, helps us move towards God. And this is the meaning Shankaracharya also gives. With this 27, the 17th chapter is practically over. But in the next shloka, the Lord wants to point out something very important. What is it? The whole chapter is called Shraddha Tre Vibhaga Yoga. That is to say Shraddha. A man is none other than what his faith consists of, what he truly, really believes in. And if we examine also, there is no exaggeration in the statement of the Lord. Even we may be touting, mouthing, big philosophical ideas. But observe, let us observe the small activities, even the minutest, how we eat, how we sit, how we sleep, how we meditate, how we talk, everything. Then that reveals our real quality. And why are we like this? Because of our Shraddha. That means we are exactly our activities, our thoughts, our speech, everything follows our faith. And if we can develop this faith slowly, according to the directions given by the Divine Lord, then we will progress from Tamoguna, that means lower state of consciousness, to Rajoguna, a much higher state of consciousness, and to Satvaguna, the highest state anybody can achieve in this ephemeral world. And a time will come and that Satvaguna will act as a springboard for us so that we dive deep into the ocean of Satchitananda. So the Lord wants to emphasize in this last shloka, beware, beware, beware. If you do anything, even the best type of food, best type of worship, best type of austerity, and best type of dana, philanthropy, serving others, if you are not endowed with Shraddha, you are doing all these things without Shraddha, without faith, carelessly, then everything is, as we say, like ghee poured into fire. It only becomes ashes and nothing is going to help us. Everything turns into ashes. There is a beautiful English saying, when we do something wrong, everything with the whole taste becomes bitter and the whole mouth tastes only ashes. So Tatra, this is what Shankaracharya, he has a beautiful formulation, Tatracha, in all our activities, as we have discussed earlier, Sarvatra, in every field of life, Shraddha Pradhanataya, because Shraddha is the most important point we have to develop, Sarvam Sampadhyati, everything, including God Realization, can be achieved if a person has got Shraddha, Asmath, so because of this reason, Asmath, therefore, so never neglect to develop Shraddha. So this caution is there. As regards those activities, sacrifice, etc., since in all cases, everything is performed with the predominance of faith, therefore, if anybody does anything without faith, everything is futile. That's being summed up in this 28th verse, which we will read now. Whatever sacrifice or gifts are made, whatever austerity is practiced, whatever ceremony, religious, spiritual ceremony is observed, it is all Asath, that means completely fruitless, non-existent. How? If these are done without Shraddha, as I mentioned earlier, the word faith is a very weak word, English word, but that is the best that we can use in English language. Without faith if it is done, as if it has not been done. Non-existence means as if they have never been done. It is of no account, neither here while we are living on this earth, nor hereafter, after the body dies. This is the most marvelous thing. The Hindu philosophy has to be accepted. This here or hereafter, by implication they said here, everybody accepts here, but some people may not accept hereafter. But the Lord is telling that there is no such thing called complete non-existence with the death of this body. That is only a change of dress. So there is a hereafter. If anybody by mistake thinks, I can do whatever I like, I can harm anybody I like, I can torture, I can kill, I can impose any amount of suffering on other people. After all when I die, nothing is going to happen to me because this is the end. My friend, whether you know it or not, your karmaphala is awaiting you. So when the allied forces came to Germany, to Berlin, and this coward Hitler, he could not, he did not have the courage even to kill himself. He had to employ his servant. You shoot me. And both he and his lover, both of them have been shot dead. He gave instructions and they were carried out. Pour petrol over our bodies so the allied forces will not get even the ashes and remove the ashes. And that's what had happened. But this person doesn't know that you are going to suffer. You are going to be born because you are also a child of immortality. You are not an offspring of Saturn. You are created by God. God is manifesting as you. And for what purpose? I am inserting it again and again. Take care. Take note of it. Hitler and Genghis Khan, these people are created by God, by the Divine Mother. These are called Asuras about whom we have learnt a lot in our last chapter. They are created by the Divine Mother. What for? For the exhaustion of evil people like us who did some evil deeds, who did some good deeds. God only knows what is the percentage. And so we think just because we do not remember, like a person in sleep goes and murders somebody and comes back and he doesn't even remember. We are also like that. If I am suffering, I have done something definitely wrong in my past, either in this life, most often in the past birth. So these people, they are not doing it for the sake of Muffat, as a gift to us. They are only doing the work of the Lord. The Lord makes them His instruments to make us, to rectify us, to purify us if, my child, you do not come to me through pleasure, I will make you come through pain, through suffering. To this, with this meaning, there is some English poem which I do not exactly remember. If you do not turn your face towards me, with all these facilities I gave you, at last, through suffering, you will come into my bosom and then I will liberate you. Then one question automatically comes. If these people, should they be called evil? They can be called evil if they think they are doing it out of their own individual will. But if they think that I am an instrument and I am inflicting all this as an instrument because I have no likes or dislikes, I don't determine I will do this or I will not do that. Whatever situation the Lord puts me in and I will fulfil that and that, such a person, not only he will not incur any sin, he is not an evil person, he is the most spiritual person. That is why in the Bhagavad Gita it says, Oh Arjuna, you become a yogi and then yudhaya yujasva you get ready to do yudha, battle, war, participate in the war. What is the main activity in the war? Killing each other. Either you kill or you be killed. Either you inflict suffering or others will inflict suffering. So, this is pure activity which illustrates what the Lord has said but if you act as an instrument of the Lord, not only you will not incur sin, but on the other hand, you will become a Satvika person and that is called Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga always doesn't mean only evil activity, good activity. Sometimes it also what people call wrong activity, evil activity such as a soldier killing the enemy soldiers etc. But it must be Dharma Yudha. That is to say, an evil person, under him a soldier works. Because he is a soldier, he doesn't get the sin but the leader will get the sin. So, this person if he does Karma Yoga, whether right party, wrong party, all of them are performing Karma Yoga and that is how they progress in life. This is a side point. A side point. So, just keep it in mind. So, the Lord is telling Ashradhaya, completely devoid of Shraddha, whatever you do, what activities, Kotham, whatever Yajnas, whatever offerings you have done, Dattam, whatever philanthropy, whatever charity you have done, Tapaha, Taptam, whatever austerity you willingly performed, whatever you have, Taptam, Kritancha, these three and it includes also that fourth department, Ahara. So, if it is done without any what is called Shraddha, Tat, that everything Upartha, Asat, Iti, Uchchate, as if it is nothing. Nothing means not that it doesn't yield any result. It yields in evil result only. That is what we have to say. It doesn't do much good. The idea is not to emphasize negativity but the idea is to emphasize better to have Shraddha, Shraddha in the scripture, Shraddha in God, Shraddha in one's teacher, Shraddha in the elderly, wise people and then this is how life becomes meaningful. Victor says in what is called Man is a meaning-seeking animal. Victor Frankl's philosophy. It is the most wonderful philosophy and if anybody does even the greatest things, Nachatat, Pretya, Naya, everything also it doesn't yield any good result and after death of course it doesn't yield any good result. Here one question inevitably can come. Here is a person he may not be having any Shraddha but he is doing good things. Will it not have any effect? Of course according to theory of Karma, Karma Siddhanta, every activity even a smallest activity done with devotion, with discrimination or without it is going to yield but the idea is it is better to have tremendous faith otherwise the result will be very small, very temporary, very worldly. It perhaps it may go to enforce, to strengthen the bondage more than to loosen the shackles to aiding us in getting more liberation. That is the meaning of it but as I mentioned earlier that if these activities are done with Shraddha and if there are any defects which are bound to be just simply say Om Tat Sat or you can say Hari Om Tat Sat or you can say say Ram Krishna Om Tat Sat and then in the end also Hari Om Tat Sat and in the middle also remember Oh Lord Oh Mother I am doing all these things and I am doing whatever best I can do with my small capacity but you are there and you take pity upon me and you save me. This is the prayer one has to do it. So Ram Krishna used to say something very wonderful. Supposing there is a person he is behaving exactly in the eyes of the world so everything he is eating good food Satvika food he is dressing Satvika he does everything Satvika but if he doesn't have devotion to God he is completely worthless but even a Chandala even if he is eating forbidden food for Hindus beef and pork are supposed to eat but even a low caste person eating these things but he is having devotion to God he is a blessed person Ram Krishna is exactly reinforcing because Ram Krishna is none other than Bhagwan Krishna Bhagwan Rama Jesus Buddha every austerity is practiced whatever ceremony is observed it is all asat non-existent if it is done without faith it is of no account here or hereafter the meaning is try to develop Shraddha then everything becomes absolutely fine and along with that utter the most powerful three names of God Om becomes absolutely wonderful that is what Shankaracharya also is and then he adds a little bit I will just remind ourselves that is even if some activity is involving great effort it is of no consequence neither here nor after death for producing the desired result nor even for any result because such a type of activity without Shraddha is condemned by the wise people and with this by God's grace we have been able to complete the 17th chapter called Shraddha Trayvibhaga Yoga now I will try to summarize the 17th chapter so the teachings of this chapter may be summed up thus there are devotees who are ignorant of the scriptural injunctions and yet endowed with Shraddha or faith and the faith of these devotees according to its nature may be characterized as three as belonging to either Sattva Rajas or Tamas these devotees must cultivate pure Sattva by avoiding what is called undesirable food and through the departments of right worship right gift right austerity and of these that are of the nature of Rajas and Tamas that means Tamasika food Tamasika worship Tamasika austerity Tamasika dana philanthropy should be avoided similarly Rajasika food Rajasika worship Rajasika austerity and Rajasika gift must be avoided but here is a but we have to take note of it it is far better to do these things even with endowed with Tamasika Shraddha than not doing at all but far better is to do it with a Rajasika attitude still much better is if these four can be done with a Sattvika attitude and that is how it influences whether we want it or not so everybody should be devoted to Sattva and to develop Sattvaguna is the only goal of life then everything becomes meaningful and Sattvaguna fulfills every activity purifies every activity gives us the highest result and ultimately like the firing mechanism it catapults us towards into the ocean of the Satchitananda Sagara and we become one with it so along with that if we can also remember constantly these powerful mantras Om Tat Sat and that will help us enormously thus all these mantras purify the minds of the devotees now at the end of this 16th chapter Krishna made a statement that is scriptures scriptural guidance alone should be taken up by everybody if they want to progress swiftly with that the 16th chapter ends naturally a question arose in the mind of Arjuna with which this chapter begins Arjuna's one question was suppose there are people for whatever reason they may be illiterate or they may be busy with otherwise and they don't have anybody to guide them but they are trying their level best to do these four activities food austerity worship food worship without scripture scriptural guidance but with Shraddha so is that acceptable is it fine and the last verse answers the question he says if a person is endowed with Shraddha whatever he does it will gradually purify the devotee if he is non-Tamasic it will make him Tamasic a Tamasic Shraddha makes him become Rajasic and it again lifts him from a Rajasic state makes him become Satvika and from Satvika state it will take him directly towards God realization so this was the question and the whole chapter until the last shloka is the answer of Arjuna so we will divide this whole chapter into three parts first part is from shloka to shloka 6 where Krishna answers Arjuna's question regarding faith and in the first topic we will divide it into only three categories Tamasika Rajasika and Satvika and remember everybody has to start with Tamasika because the evolution is from the what is called inorganic monkeys etc. and the first life of every human being will be Tamasika only it is a very natural thing like a small child ignorant child's life so that person if he is but endowed with amount of importance food and worship and austerity and caring and sharing Dana this is what we have to say so through these activities that we can progress from lower state to a higher state of consciousness and to become one with God the highest state of pure consciousness so first the divine lord divides every human being as either endowed with Tamoguna Rajoguna or as the divine lord of all beings so the divine lord of all beings is only the divine lord of all beings so we have to understand the divine on the escalator called evolution. There is no help for it, we can't jump off from it, but if we do it consciously, with self-effort, with concentration, with Shraddha, the progress will be faster, that is all. So, whole of life is divided into four categories, food, worship and austerity, and caring and sharing. And these four departments are also subdivided according to the Tattva Masika four activities, Rajasika four activities, Sattvika four activities. Why? Because by controlling these things, by paying attention to these things, that is how we progress from a lower state to a higher state. That is to say, God has endowed us with this body-mind instrument. This is the only instrument. In the Katha Upanishad, this body-mind complex instrument is called a Ratha. Ratha means a chariot. Chariot means a vehicle. A vehicle is meant to take us from one point to another point, but in this analogy, from a lower point to a higher point. This is how beautifully expressed in the Katha Upanishad, and let us not forget, Bhagavad Gita is the essence of all the Upanishads, and especially Katha Upanishad, the Lord has rephrased many of the mantras into this Bhagavad Gita. We get them in the second chapter, and in the sixth chapter, and also in other chapters. So, here it goes, in the Katha Upanishad, third canto, first part, third canto, mantras three and four. The purpose of the Katha Upanishad is to tell, just as if we want our journey to be pleasant, we have to look after our vehicle, make it ready, equip it with everything that we need on the way, and we should constantly become alert, so that the journey, that is the horses, that is our direction, must not deviate, and must not fall into worldliness. We must constantly be alert. If we can do that, very soon such a person will realize the Atman. So, our true Atman is the chariot here. This body is the chariot and our intellect, our understanding is the driver and the mind through which we control the senses both of knowledge as well as activity, both inside and outside, that mind is called the steering wheel, or the ropes with which we control the horses, and what are the horses? All the sense organs are the horses, and what are the pathways? The world, consisting of all the objects of enjoyment, and when a person's mind is completely fixed upon Atma, and then all his sense organs are fixed upon reaching the goal called Atman, such a person is called a Manishi, a wise person, and he will reach the goal and he will rejoice forever. So, before starting our spiritual journey, each one of us have to ask, I am aspiring to spiritual perfection, fine, but is my personality spiritually travel worthy? If not, let us make ourselves fit. So, this is the topic, so the third topic that is the topic of the second part of the 17th chapter, and the third topic is naturally whatever human beings do, defects are supposed to arise so the Lord has given a sovereign remedy, that is Brahman is named as three names, and the names of God are called mantras, these three mantras are most powerful, and if we can utter those mantras with complete Shraddha, even without Shraddha, every defect will be corrected, and they all take us ultimately to God, and this is the topic third topic from verse 23rd to 27 which deals with the significance of the famous mantra Om Tat Sat, and this is the third and final topic in the 28th, of course it is a warning, never do anything without Shraddha, because the result will be very small result, not that result will not be there but the Lord is also indicating through this no progress for earlier spiritual can be made without God's grace, but self-effort, prayatna must always be done according to our ability so how to progress? I will take the help of Ramakrishna, five commandments and this is the one way to progress, how can we progress from tamas to rajas to sattva and to go beyond sattva guna, so first of all, the very first thing, do I really desire to progress, do I want spiritual life, do I want to progress in spiritual life, do I really believe in God, do I believe that by reaching God all my problems will be solved, after all I am seeking deathlessness and seeking true knowledge, I am seeking complete happiness and God represents these three called sat, chit and ananda and can I get it, even if God exists, do I really believe in myself and do I have faith in myself and I can reach this goal, maybe others have reached but maybe I may not be able to reach, no so take a sankalpa, firm vow that I will not whether I get the result or not I will not cease to make the best effort that I can, that's why before performing any puja we all have to take sankalpa, take some water some tila seeds, see some seeds and then we have to pray to the Divine Lord, O Lord make everything favourable so that I will fulfil this your commandment, I will reach my goal, there is a beautiful soktam called shraddha soktam and if anybody is lacking shraddha, he should be able to get this shraddha by God's grace, by daily chanting of this shraddha soktam, even you start without shraddha but through the grace of the Bhagawan in the form, shraddha will come, faith will come, understanding will come, dadami buddhi yogam enate mam upayantite, the Lord himself had promised, we have seen, if a person prays to me with or without faith, I will bestow my grace, I will grant him right understanding and through that he is going to reach me here it goes, I am just giving you a sample of this one, how marvellous it is, if somebody says I do not have shraddha, here is the way to obtain shraddha faith, you can say prayer for faith this comes in the Rig Veda, 10th mandala 150 month section, mantras 1 and 5 so what is it, this shraddha, what does it do, shraddha makes the fire burn splendidly, the oblation offered with shraddha is accepted by the God, shraddha is the best among all kinds of wealth, this is most marvellous precious diamond of a teaching, if anybody is endowed with shraddha shraddha also can be defined as self confidence nowadays so many companies are helping people to attain self confidence, for that there are courses are there through speeches etc. but here it says the greatest of the wealth is shraddha and if somebody is endowed with shraddha, what is it that he will not attain, you want worldly happiness, you will get, you want any kind of worldly happiness you will get, you want spiritual happiness, you will get there is nothing which is barred from the person who is endowed with shraddha, but one must be endowed with shraddha and for that a person must pray for the shraddha that's why shraddha is the best among all kinds of wealth and with that wealth we can obtain every type of wealth therefore it says when should we have shraddha, all the time so it says we invite the goddess shraddha in the morning, we invite goddess shraddha at noon and at sunset, oh goddess shraddha please bless us that we may have shraddha in this life, at this time and in this place, oh shraddha please help us so this is where Ramakrishna's prayer comes let us recollect, Ramakrishna says, mother has revealed everything to me, I wept before the mother and prayed, oh mother please tell me, please reveal to me what the yogis have realized through yoga and the jnanis through jnana and the mother has revealed everything to me she reveals everything, if but the devotee cries to her with a yearning heart, she has shown me everything that is in the Vedas, in the Vedanta, in the Puranas in the Tantra, in the Bible, in the Quran in the Tripitaka, the divine mother revealed to me in the Kali temple that it was she who had become everything, she showed me that everything was full of consciousness, the image was consciousness the water was consciousness, the altar was consciousness the water vessels were consciousness, the door seal was consciousness, the marble floor was consciousness everything was consciousness, to my divine mother I prayed only for pure love, I offered flowers at her lotus feet and prayed to her, just as in the Bible Jesus taught the most wonderful prayer to Christians, all Christians, all devotees Sri Ram Krishna is teaching us this prayer mother, here is thy virtue, here is thy voice take them both together and grant me only pure love for thee, here is thy knowledge, here is thy ignorance take them both and grant me only pure love for thee here is thy purity, here is thy impurity take them both mother and grant me only pure love for thee here is thy dharma, here is thy adharma, take them both mother and grant me only pure love for thee this is how we pray to the Lord to give us Shraddha, first is Sankalpa, firm determination, second is prayer for Shraddha to be endowed with faith, if we pray, whether you remember Sanskrit Shraddha, Shukta or not, but wholehearted prayer will be heard by the Divine Lord I remember a beautiful story from a Russian Lord, there was a cobbler, he was a great devotee of Jesus Christ God, and he was illiterate, how he could hardly, a little bit he learnt how to read the prayer, Christian prayer, father in heavens etc, so one day in a hurry he forgot to bring his prayer book, so he could not read out the prayer, he doesn't remember, then he turned, he lifted up his head towards the heaven and he prayed, Lord you know I am illiterate, I don't remember anything, but here is what we will do, I will slowly utter the alphabet A, B, C, D etc, you make them into the proper words of prayer and that is how I am able to with your help pray and he started A, B, C, D and the Lord who hears even the footfalls of an ant as Ramakrishna says, turned towards Archangel Gabriel and said this is the greatest prayer I heard and that is the greatest, prayer is more than enough, so then what is the third way, cultivate Satsanga, Bhakti Yoga, this is the second commandment of Ramakrishna, cultivate Satsanga, what is the first commandment, God realization is the only goal and try for that through four yogas, combination of four yogas cultivate holy company, that is represents Bhakti Yoga, then fourth, now and then go into solitude and without being distracted by any worldly thought, concentrate your mind and pray longingly to the Divine Lord this prayer in solitude is most wonderfully emphasized by every saint and sage that is why Christian saints have taken refuge in the desert they are called desert fathers, the most spiritually advanced people on earth, so go into solitude, solitude also means that I and only God exist, nothing else exists, that feeling is called solitude, that is why I think it was Whitehead who said, spirituality what is spirituality, it is the flight of the alone to the alone, that is what Saint John of the Cross says, the dark night of the soul, when the whole world becomes subsided, the soul and the Divine Lord guides it slowly towards himself, this is the solitude, fifth, practice viveka, always discriminate and as I put it so nicely, anything can happen to anybody at any time, at any place in any way, if we can practice this nothing can surprise us and that will gradually intensify our spiritual life, sixth now and then going into solitude is called Raja Yoga, represents Raja Yoga, practicing discrimination represents Jnana Yoga and live like a maid servant in a rich man's house, this represents Karma Yoga, do what best you can with the idea I am doing it for pleasing the Divine Lord, Ishwara arpana buddhi and whatever result comes now or in future accept it gladly, just as we accept prasada gladly, Ishwara prasada buddhi and then the last step is complete sharanagathi, completely surrender yourself, remember the six conditions of sharanagathi that is to say, I take a vow, I will do what pleases the Lord, I will never do what displeases the Lord, only the Lord can save me I choose the Lord and no other object in this world to look after me, to take my responsibility and to save me and I transfer all my responsibilities to the Divine Lord, on to the shoulders of the Divine Lord thereafter, O Lord, this sharanagathi surrender, I have been able to do only because of Thy grace, this is called sharanagathi so, first sankalpa, firm determination second is prayer, so that we may be endowed with faith, third is cultivate holy company fourth, cultivate solitude, fifth, practice discrimination, sixth, live a detached life, whatever we do and finally complete sharanagathi why did I mention this one? because at the end, in the next chapter, the Lord sums up 18th chapter, it is summing up of the entire Bhagavad Gita and this entire Bhagavad Gita is summed up in words giving up, reliance upon self effort, upon every other yoga completely surrender yourself to me and I will give you liberation, I will give you, make you my own self this is the very essence, with this, by the God's grace we have been able to complete the 17th chapter and as I said, from next class onwards we will begin the 18th chapter, which is a summation of the entire 16 chapters that we have discussed before and we will do it from next class onwards janameem sharadam devihim, ramakrishnam jagadgurum padapadme tayo sridhva, pranamaham imuhurmuhu may Sai Ramakrishna holy mother and Swami Vivekananda bless us all with bhakti, Jai Ramakrishna