Bhagavad Gita Ch18 part 26 on 13 March 2022

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagadgurum Pada Padme Tayo Shritva Pranamami Mohur Moho Om Vasudevasudham Devam Kamsachanuram Arthanam Devaki Paramanandam Krishnam Andhe Jagadgurum Sarvopanishadokavo Dogdha Gopalanandana Partho Vatsa Sudhir Bhokta Dugdham Keetha Amritam Mahat Mookam Karothi Vachalam Pangum Langhayate Girim Yath Kripathamaham Vande Paramanandamadham In our last class yesterday we had been discussing how that every activity is having a defect. Activity means defect. Why is it called defect? Because activity means translating a desire into action. And why do we wish to translate? Because we have desire. And why do we have desire? Because we feel that we have not enough that knowledge. I am everything. I am infinite. I am the Atma. I do not lack anything. I do not need anything. That knowledge hasn't come. And so I am a limited being with this body and mind. That is called avidya or ignorance. And from avidya the desire to become full naturally arises. That is called kama. Kama when it translated into action becomes karma. Karma can be dharmic or adharmic, righteous or unrighteous. And punya and bhapa are produced and therefore in the end they produce happiness and unhappiness. And our whole life is to run towards happiness and to run away from unhappiness. That is how every activity is full of defect means it keeps us in bondage. But the same activities done in the form of karma yoga completely removes those defects. That means purifies our heart, slowly turns our attention towards God or our true self. And that is how it helps us in removing a defect. And then one day when we know who we are, that is full knowledge, self-knowledge, atma-jnanam. A knowledge of who I am really. And that is the end of it. So the Lord is advising that even though every activity has got a defect, naturally there is no point in trying to do other's activities. Taking up other people's karma because first of all it is not suitable. Secondly, it is also defective. Thirdly, nobody knows how long the other person's duty appears to be very pleasant. And just to give an example, we change our house because one house is not giving happiness. We change our marriage because our marriage is not giving happiness. Everything we want to change, hoping against hope, this change will produce a permanent effect. But no, everything is changeable, therefore even a good thing changes, doesn't last long. So it is temporary and the same problem we are left to face with, to overcome. What is the remedy? Remedy is to become totally independent of all dependencies. And then how do we do that? When I know I do not need everything because I am totally independent. I do not depend, everything depends upon me. I am everything, I have everything, therefore I do not need anything at all. So this I have everything proportionately increases as we go on growing in spiritual life until the knowledge I am everything becomes completely confirmed. So that is what we need to accept it. Therefore, One should never abandon, oh Arjuna, the duty to which one is born, which is most suitable, most natural, much less conflicting. Though it may be faulty, for every undertaking is enveloped by evil, as fire is enveloped by smoke. What is that evil? Defect. What is that defect? Every karma binds us. What is the good thing? The Lord gives a beautiful analogy. Fire is always accompanied by smoke, but we can have fire without smoke because the smoke can be puffed away, it can be driven away. So every dosha can be driven away. How can we drive it away? Through the practice of complete surrender to God, which is called Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is another name for Sharanagati. Oh Lord, everything belongs to you, body belongs to you, mind belongs to you, desires belong to you, actions belong to you, results of the actions also belong to you. Nothing belongs to me. Then what am I left with? Only you. And that is the goal of life. And therefore, one has to attain to that state of Karma Yoga and that perfect state of Karma Yoga is called Sannyasa. And to attain to that Sannyasa, one has to develop certain qualities which the Lord is going to outline in the 49th verse. Asakta buddhi sarvatra jitatma vigatas prahaha naishkarmya siddhim paramam sannyasena adhigacchati He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued himself, from whom every desire has disappeared, he, such a sadhaka, through renunciation attains the supreme state of freedom from action. This verse tells us what is called Naishkarmya Siddhi. There is a very beautiful, elaborate book dealing exclusively on this particular word called Naishkarmya Siddhi. Siddhi means attainment. What is attainment? Naishkarmya. Perfect actionlessness. That means becoming identified with Atman. I am the Atman. I am actionless. Why am I actionless? Because I do not have any desires. And why do not I have any desires? Because I know that I am everything. I am the subject. I am the object. Because I am Satchitananda. I have a desire to survive. Because I am temporary. I have a desire to grow in knowledge. Because I am very little-knowing. And I want to be always happy. Why? Because I am only happy very little time. These are the characteristics of a bound soul called Jivatma. But when the same Jivatma removes his Jivahood, retains his Atmanhood, then there is no difference between the individual soul and the universal soul. Jivatma and Paramatma. Jiva and Parama are Upadhis. Both are Upadhis. Jiva, the moment we become capable of removing Jiva, we become capable of also removing Paramatma. We give an example. Our ancient teachers give an example. Example is, here is a small pool of water. A small tank, let us say. And there is ocean. What is an ocean? A body of water. What is a pool? A body of water. Water is water. What is the difference? One is having very small quantity. Why small quantity? Because the enclosures are small. Another is having huge quantity. Why is it having huge quantity? Because the enclosure is vast. That's why we call sometimes shoreless. A meaningless word. It is not shoreless. But its shores are huge, unimaginably huge. Hundreds of miles. That is why to cross Atlantic, to cross the Pacific, takes hours and hours together. Thousands of miles. But that is also bound. This is also bound. Bigger bound, ocean. Smaller bound, pool. Remove the small. Remove the big. There is no ocean, there is no pool. Water and water. That is the goal which our scriptures outline to us and how to attain it through Karma Yoga. What is Karma Yoga? Performing whatever duties are natural, allotted to us, according to our caste, according to our stage in life, Varna Dharma, Ashrama Dharma, performing them purely as an offering, hearty worship to the Divine Lord, Ishwara, not desiring anything back. Let Him decide if He wants, when He wants, where He wants, how much He wants, in what way He wants. Let Him give. I will be like a small baby. I will be satisfied. In fact, the most beautiful analogy, a baby never thinks, where from my next food is going to come, where from or who is going to protect me, take care of me. All these are worries for moustached babies. A real baby eats, drinks, sleeps, and if it is in pain, it just knows how to cry, and wherever mother is, mother comes and then takes care of it. This is the state we have to attain, and that is complete self-surrender, is called Karma Yoga, and perfect Karma Yoga is called Naish Karmya Siddhi. No activity at all, but it has to be obtained through SUDS spiritual practice. In this 49th, the Lord is recounting, recollecting, and He is reminding us what we had already discussed not once, twice, but plenty of times. What is He telling? Asakta Buddhi Sarvatra. This is one of the spiritual characteristics. Sarvatra, everywhere, at all times. What is Asakta Buddhi? Complete detachment. No attachment. It is some happy event. Fine. I enjoy it, but I will not be allowing my mind to have blood pleasure, some unhappy event, suffering. I have to go through, but I will not allow my mind. Ramakrishna used to say, O mind, O body, so you take care of each other. Let us, O buddhi, think only about God. So Asakta Buddhi Sarvatra. Not one time. After hearing Gita, after reading Gita, after hearing some wise teaching from a teacher, temporarily we may be inspired, but we want to do, practice this all the time. Whether there is teacher, no teacher. Whether anybody is watching, not watching. The Divine Lord is watching from everywhere. So every time, every place, every event, whether it is waking, dream or dreamless, we have to practice Asakta Buddhi. And what is it? Sleeping time practice on Asakta Buddhi, you may have the doubt. And once Turiyanandaji replied, a Jivanmukta, realized soul, living free, he is watching his own deep sleep because these three belong to the body-mind complex. Therefore, I am separate. I am pure Atman. So practice slowly, little by little, and it will become a practice in course of time. It may take many, many, many births. It doesn't matter. And just because I think it takes a long time, doesn't make it any, doesn't cut the time short. Let me start right now. There was a beautiful incident. There was an American who became a very famous physician later on. At the age of 30, he had a desire to become a doctor. Then he became discouraged. I am already 30. By the time I finish my course and start my practice, 5 years, that means I will be 35. So he became discouraged thinking in this way. And his friend who came to know about it gave a sage advice, marvelous advice. He said, even if you don't study for the medicine, in 5 years' time, you will be 35 years old. That means time will not stop. So if you want, just go on doing it. And that is what the best advice for us. We should not postpone. This life, I am not having enough equipment, qualification. I will start practicing it when I retire. I will start practicing it in my next birth. These are all completely counterproductive thoughts. Therefore, start practicing right now. And who knows when the Divine Grace will come. So, practice. What is it? Keeping the mind not getting attached either to Raga or Dvesha, likes or dislikes. This is the most important. Whether it is cold or heat, happiness or unhappiness, whatever the final thing is, if it is what we think is a happy event, many times it is not necessarily a happy event. And what we think unhappy event may turn out to be the best event in life, whatever be the situation. Let me practice little by little. Let us not presume that we become masters in a very short time. But whatever little we practice keeps on adding. And we get more and more strength. Like a small bit of snow as it goes on rolling, it becomes snowballing effect and ultimately it may even turn out to be a terrible what is called landslide. Jitatma. That means the person's body and mind are perfectly under control. And therefore when he achieves this, Vigata Spruhaha, he becomes free from many desires. Spruhaha means desire. Vigata means from whose heart, the desires, the power of the desire, the strength of the desire, the intensity of the desire gradually becomes less and less, becomes thinner and thinner. Why does it become? Because when the mind is conquered, there is no happiness equivalent to a peaceful mind. There is no happiness which is equivalent to a non-attached mind. Therefore, as we start experiencing inner happiness, the dependence upon outer objects expressed in the form of desires. What is a desire? I cannot be happy until I have that object. Not knowing, acquiring an object only intensifies the desire, intensifies the dependence, intensifies the slavery. So, Vigata Spruhaha becomes gradually. That is a very important word. It may take thousands of births. Doesn't matter if we think that I will start after 100 births. That is the counterproductive. The sooner we start, the better for it. Then what happens? This person, in the end, attains what is called Naish Karmya Siddhi. Siddhi means attainment, obtainment. What is it? Karma Siddhi. What karma? We are all Karma Siddhas now. We are, what is called, being roasted in the fire of karma. We are boiling in our own desires. But he will attain. Naish Karmya means no desires, so no actions. Always desires and actions go together. Desires are thoughts and actions are expressions of these thoughts. So, Paramaham Naish Karmya Siddhi means what? When this person attains to the state of that oneness with the Divine, I am infinite. Nothing can make me become bigger by adding. Nothing can be taken away from me. That is an important point. Nothing can be added. Nothing can be taken. I don't lose. I don't gain. Because I am infinite. And this is called true Karma Sanyasa. Sanyasena Adhigachyate. What is Sanyasa? Complete identity with the Divine Lord is called Sanyasa. You know, Hindus have got these four ashramas. Every ashrama is a lower step. So, a student starts with lower step called Brahmachari ashrama where he learns from the scriptures called Vedas. Another name for Veda is Brahma. That is why he who wants to master the true teachings of Veda is called Brahmachari. Not observing what we call sexual continence but is completely devoted to the Vedas. He sits at the feet of a competent teacher, goes on hearing to the explanation, absorbs it, becomes a master and such a person is called Brahmachari because his mind has developed certain ideals after listening to all those teachings and until and unless these teachings become ideals, not remain merely ideas in the brain, he cannot be called a Brahmachari. Naturally, the scripture teaches that you are Brahman but at this stage you are at this step and to move to the next step, this is what you have to do. And then he moves to the next step which is called experimental step. That is what I call the Artha-Kama. First Dharma, the four human goals, Artha and Kama. Let me enjoy in a legitimate way, in a dharmic way and that is the main mission of the Grihastha Ashrama. What is it? Not acquiring things, not enjoying things but overcome the desires by legitimately acquiring and propitiously experiencing them and if we do that, the mind becomes pure. The purer the mind, the greater will be the wisdom, the greater will be the reflection of Brahman, the greater will be the understanding and then he says, I don't need this. I wanted this, I had experienced this and now I know what it is and I am getting more happiness from within myself. I don't need this Grihastha Ashrama. I don't need another human being's help. I only need God's help. Moving from the world to God is called Vanaprastha Ashrama, third stage and slowly prayer, self-surrender, meditation, contemplation and deep thinking and rationally thinking, slowly the man develops further until a day will come. He says, I have completely surrendered myself to God which is called Sannyasa Ashrama irrespective of whether a Hindu or non-Hindu. Everybody has to go through all these four classifications. Vanna Dharma and four stages of life called Ashrama Dharma. These are the universal laws. There is no way to evade them, to escape them or to... nothing called overdoing them. That is today, tomorrow, after a billion years everybody has to do and that is called Sannyasa Ashrama and this Sannyasa must come naturally, not by assuming, not putting on some type of dress or uniform but the whole mind should become content because it has merged itself in God. This is called Sannyasa and when a person practices some of these qualities that we discussed, what are them? Detachment and control of the body and mind and slowly getting rid of the desires through discrimination a person will attain to the state of Sannyasa and through that completely what we call actionless state. The Atman is actionless because it is Paripoorna, completely perfect. That is why remember Poorna Madaha. Bhagawan is full, perfect, infinite. Poornamidham. This world, this universe, this creation which came from God is also full because there are no two things called God and this world. Therefore, since we are also perfect but we are unfortunately not aware that we are perfect so therefore we long for perfection and every desire is a longing for perfection and when we practice these guidelines that have been outlined to us by the scriptures and scriptures are the expressions of the divine sages then slowly, slowly I attain to that state. The more nearer, Sri Ramakrishna says a person moves towards the seashore the more cooler bridge he experiences meaning the nearer we move to God the lesser will be the desires lesser will be the actions lesser will be the unhappiness and dependency and that is how we attain. Asakta Buddhe Sarvatra Sarva Deshana Jita Atma He who conquered Jita Atma Here Atma means mind-body complex. He who is a master of his body and mind Vigata Spruhaha That means gradually the desires move away from him or they coalesce and turn towards God only one desire I want God I want to surrender to God I want to become one with God I want to know I am God This is called Jignasa and gradually this Naishkarmya Siddhi then the nearer to God the lesser the desire lesser the action until I become perfect and there is absolutely no action This marvelous state is called Naishkarmya Siddhi and Shankaracharya says Naishkarmya is another word for Moksha Liberation One is what we call the Sadhana spiritual practice crystal clearly keeping the goal in mind that I am Brahman and that is what the scripture tells me My Guru told me I have complete faith in it and I am moving towards that and slowly I am going to go towards it So this is the natural process Nobody can escape So a person doesn't allow What is it that binds? Karmas What do karmas produce? Bondage What is bondage? Likes and dislikes Therefore the more a person is bound the more he will be restless his mind the more activities the less is the attachment that such a person he proportionate to his detachment to his lessening of desire gets more and more happiness from within himself So many examples are there Jagadeesh Chandra Bose used to sit hours together perfectly happy and we know Thomas Alva Edison when he was working sometimes he will work 20 hours a day but he instructed people Bring my food Do not disturb me Leave it on my table Many times these gatoras came and saw that the food was not even touched Then they asked Why did you not eat? He became startled and said What? Am I supposed to eat? What is the time now? How could he do that? Because eating is not only done by us for the sake of eating living but for the sake of more for the sake of happiness that's why we overeat whereas this man is so much absorbed that means he is getting so much happiness from within himself more absorption more happiness that means less dependence on the external things if such a scientist if he could get so much happiness just remember how much happiness an artist can get how much happiness a moral person can get how much happiness a spiritual aspirant can get how much happiness a person who has realized God can get so the change has to come within our mind so Shankaracharya also says Sanyasa means a crystal clear vision of God is called Sanyasa what a marvelous examples are there now there are statements in the Gita itself Sarvakarmani Sarva means all Karmani means activities Manasa Sanyasya so giving up mentally that means whatever duties we have to do we have to do we should never give up we cannot do without with giving up we have to do them but having that perfect knowledge I am not the doer so it is the Prakruti it is the nature it is the three Gunas it is the Divine Lord in the form of the nature which is doing which is also bringing what is called both bondage and liberation and everything if a person can attain to that perfect detachment attachmentlessness then all happiness will come and the fact is sooner or later we all have to be there if we do not practice nature will teach us but through very great suffering we will learn how much attachment we develop to people and then they betray us or they die and then they disappear and how much mental agony we have to go through because we have not practiced detachment we have not accepted the wisdom of the nature everything is changing so people change objects change my body changes my mind changes so there will be inevitable separation however much happiness something might have given me in the past but a spiritual sadhaka has to deliberately with full awareness develop these qualities and to illustrate this Shri Ramakrishna has given a beautiful example this is taken based upon the story in the Bhagavatam you know Bhagavan Krishna used to sport with gopis so keep that in mind in order to enjoy this beautiful two versions of the stories I am going to narrate now one is from Shri Ramakrishna another is from a senior swami now one day the gopis they were milkmaids that means they tend cows and then the milk turn them into curds butter, buttermilk and these products they will sell in nearby villages that is how they earn their livelihood and then they come home so it is the duty of the males to look after the cows, cattle etc and agriculture it is the duty of the women to make out this butter buttermilk, curds etc and take them and sell to people who do not have that and that is how it used to go on one day the gopis they have what is called returning in the evening to their village and that day they could not sell many of the products everybody, every merchant hopes, we all know there are people carrying bundles of cloths on their heads move from village to village hardly they are able to sell even one or two pieces so the condition of the gopis was like that and then when they came to their consternation, they found that the entire Yamuna river was in full speed and then suddenly they saw Vedavyasa also was there, Vedavyasa is the what is called encyclopedia of Indian Vedanta learning, not only learning he was the author of Mahabharata Bhagavatam he collected and divided the Vedas and he had created 36 Puranas, Mahapurana and Upapurana and so many other things go in his name but it doesn't matter but such a great he was a great sage, he was an enlightened soul and this whole Bhagavad Gita which is a part of the Mahabharata is his job his work, product so he was there and he was also wanting to cross the river now the gopis had no option, they had to return their children are waiting, husbands are waiting they have to reach home and then milk the cows and then prepare cooking etc, feed their family members so they were a bit anxious the sun was setting and then they requested, oh great sage you are such a great person you have powers find out a way so that we can cross this river in safety, perfect safety and Vyasa smiled and said, now look here whole day I didn't have food and you feed me something and everybody was very glad after all they could not sell the products there were no refrigerators the products will be spoiled by tomorrow next day so they all gave and really in those days people could eat no doubt about it so this person he had eaten full big stomach probably even bigger than Ganesha's stomach and he emptied their vessels and then he turned towards the Yamuna river and then he said oh Yamuna if I had not eaten anything, please give us a way to cross you, like the Red Sea prayer of the Jews so that the whole sea parted allowed the slavish Jews to escape from the enslavement through the intervention of Moses, we know that story and many people think it is cock and bull story, anyway so this is also many people can consider as cock and bull story the Gopis were completely puzzled, what is this man saying, just now we have emptied all our pots, he has eaten more than 10 people's food and he is telling if I had not eaten anything to their shock the entire river opened up and they all walked back safely this was the story narrated by Ramakrishna, but a senior Swami had a wonderful masala, one day all the Gopis had met Sri Krishna probably most of you had never heard this story one night all the Gopis came to Sri Krishna and you know Sri Krishna is reputed to have married 16108 women so naturally these women, these Gopis they asked him because remember these Gopis were all already married people to somebody else that's a grand philosophy which I will not go into now, these Gopis they started making fun, they said Krishna so how is it that you have married so many wives and you must be having some favourites must be having some people whom you don't like, so how are you able, because we see everybody very happy and nobody is dissatisfied all of them are perfectly happy but you are really a mystery, a puzzle for us then Sri Krishna said that you do one thing what do you want to do now he says we have to return back and this event happened also on the other side of the Yamuna where they also have to cross the Yamuna and go there so a Gopis said I will give you the answer and you will understand it you go to the river and then you say O Yamuna if Sri Krishna is an absolute brahmachari never married a single person as completely unmarried naishtika brahmachari if that is a fact part of the ways allow us to cross you and naturally they did not believe their eyes because they know what they are seeing day and night, anyway they wanted to make fun of Krishna they went to the river and they said O Yamuna if Krishna is a perfect brahmachari, completely unmarried person then part the ways and they were shocked immediately Yamuna river subsided and parted the ways only dry sand was there they crossed to the other side now Sri Krishna also told the Gopis when you cross this river reach to the other side there is one sanyasi sitting there and you put this question to him also so these Gopis they went there and exactly as predicted by Sri Krishna they found the Swami and now you substitute whether we answer to the Swami these people said what is your question about Krishna will you answer me he said perfectly I will do that now what is your question they said Sri Krishna married so many people he must be having so much of partiality so how is he really behaving like this then the Swami said like Vyasa I am very hungry first feed me then I will tell you then they fed him and then they asked then the Swami explained that Krishna identifies with the body marriages and all these things take place because of the body and mind he thinks even for a billy second I am the body I am the mind he says absolutely that I am the Atman never remaining in that knowledge that I am the Paramatma and the Gopis could not understand really but they accepted that what Krishna also they saw the miracle the whole river subsided as soon as they said if Krishna is a Brahmachari now after some time the Gopis took leave of the Swami and again they have to cross the river and again it is in flood and they asked the Swami who is sitting there we want to cross to the other side do you have any plan and the Swami like Vyasa said you go and tell oh Yamuna if the Swami had not eaten anything then part the ways and they were equally puzzled equally non-believing they went to the shore and shouted and instantaneously the Yamuna river had parted the ways so what is it Krishna knows I am Paramatman the Sanyasi knows Aham Brahmasmi and they never think I am a man I have wife, I have children I am a father, I am this I am that all these things never existed in his mind at all so this is the great lesson that every teacher is teaching this is what when Jesus Christ asked by some people so he asked you come and follow me and then some of them said just now some members of our family are dead we have to perform certain traditional rituals and immediately Christ said let the dead bury their dead you just take up my cross and follow me what a marvelous stories and this is not a story this is a fact of life we see it crystal clearly where in every advanced spiritual sadhaka we see it perfectly well not in one there is no exception to it a person cannot advance in spiritual life unless he practices these things then only to the extent he practices what practice that keeping the mind perfectly under control complete non attachment feeling that I am not the body mind complex I have no desires because I am perfect I am full I am infinite I am I don't have any desires that comes gradually but surely it may take time and an advanced sadhaka is one in whom this idea is becoming more and more firm by the day therefore the Lord is telling that you practice O Arjuna means you want to be completely free from the thralldom of the samsara avidya actions then you have to be free from desires and if you want to be free from desires you have to produce your own happiness you have to be happy with your own happiness then only you will become free and the way for that is the practice of karma yoga the way for that is wherever we are whatever is the duty at that particular moment in that particular situation I have to discharge it with the idea this is my worship of the Divine Lord please accept this and sometimes I have mentioned a beautiful story of Tolstoy I will not recount the whole thing two people from a Muslim village started going on a pilgrimage to Mecca one of them was poor another was very rich the rich man wanted a companion and the poor man he required he can serve the rich man old man so both of them started after a few days the rich man could not find his assistant so he left alone reached Mecca after great difficulty and then the crowd was huge but the rich man was astounded that this poor man whom he thought had never returned back home or is lost because he never saw then every time he looked he saw next to the Kaaba this poor man was enjoying the presence of the Allah nearest to the Kaaba stone three days this man was seeing this man rich man could not get anywhere near because of the huge crowds so from a distance he had to satisfy himself he returned home and after a few days this poor man also made his appearance in the village and he went and to thank his what is called sponsor and then the rich man asked how astonishing I thought you never reached even that last boat on which I travelled I looked for you you are not a passenger how did you cross the sea how did you reach Mecca how you obtained in earnest the poor man confessed see sir that day after few days I went out to take a stroll in the village I found in a abandoned hut an old lady was crying with pain there was nobody to take care of her and I felt pity she was like my mother so I stayed with her I took care of her and then after few days when she died I don't remember the story exactly perhaps she died then I performed the absequies etc. and then I know by this time it is too late I just served her and I came back so what was this man doing he was worshipping Allah in the form of the service that is exactly the thing that every Karma Yogi has to do in fact every spiritual aspirant has to do nobody can escape everybody is a Karma Yogi everybody is a Bhakti Yogi everybody is a Raj Yogi and everybody is a Gnana Yogi nobody can do without any of the faculties but we have to judiciously harmonize all the four faculties so that is what the Divine Lord is telling and then we move on to the 50th verse 50th then having said learn from me that how a person is talking about every spiritual aspirant until a person reaches the goal everybody is a traveler whether he is at the beginning stage in the middle stage and in the last stage until we become one with God we are all pilgrims we are all travelers so the Lord is telling that means some amount of slowly a person develops wisdom wisdom dawns in him that happiness is not outside happiness is inside therefore he becomes a master of his body and mind then he becomes his desires become less as the Lord explained the more one gets happiness without getting happiness it is impossible to get rid of actions and desires from outside proportionately as as happiness seeps in from within because of spiritual practice proportionately external desires and hence the external activities become less and less and less so having attained some spiritual progress how a person is going to attain perfection that is what oh Arjuna I am going to outline to you how samasena I am not going again to go into deep details I have already gone into details this is just a recollection reminder of what we had discussed earlier so he says a spiritual aspirant who has attained some perfection through his spiritual practice reaches Brahman, becomes one with Brahman that process in brief do you learn from me oh Kaunteya that supreme state of knowledge hey Kaunteya a person who had attained some purification antah karan shuddhi and therefore he has become detached from many things his desires become less his activities become less his concentration on God increases his happiness proportionately increases but he has somewhere to go from that state how this spiritual aspirant who progressed so far Brahma apnoti how he is going to attain complete oneness with the Brahman going to attain Brahman tatha and same thing I will put in other words ya gnanasya para nishtha that which is the highest abidance, the highest knowledge ya para gnanasya nishtha para means supreme the ultimate means the end the goal the supreme knowledge, what is that knowledge I am Paramatma I am Brahman, I am Divine and nishtha permanent unmoving, unchanging abidance in that state that I am Brahman how a person who progressed a little what further practices he has to do to reinforce his sadhana to progress quickly towards his goal and becomes one with Brahman attains that knowledge, I am none other than Brahman which is the ultimate result of all knowledge all yogas that I am going to teach you you learn from me samasena means very briefly why briefly, how can I understand if you tell in very few words because 17 chapters I have been telling all these things, I am going to tell you so here, siddhi means preparedness, as I explained earlier, somewhat this person has progressed in life he has that crystal clear understanding God alone God realization alone is the goal and for that I have to surrender myself to him and surrender means not merely saying some words but practicing certain things in my life acquiring certain qualities and that person becomes eligible by the grace of the God, what the Lord says by my grace gradually your understanding deepens, your slavery lessens your desires lessen your activities will lessen your meditation will increase and that is how ultimately by my grace you are going to attain me, important point is the grace of God so what is the game Brahman, brahma prapti brahman knowledge brahma eva, brahma jnanam brahma with brahma eva bhavati brahman becomes brahman because there is no difference between brahman and the knowledge, that is what we need to understand. Sri Ram Krishna is reflecting only these words, he says to know many is avidya ignorance, that means to know anything many things in this world is ignorance, to know the one is vidya, to know means to become one so here Shankaracharya can beautifully answer that what is the nature of the atma that is whose atma, there are no two atmas, God's atma, my atma your atma, her atma his atma, its atma, no, there is only one atma, what is that satyam jnanam anantam brahma and what is the way, you listen to me, I am going to outline it perfectly and that is going to be outlined in the next three verses but I will prepare the way for that so Bhagawan says in these three verses there are twelve qualities not that these are new qualities what we have discussed in the second chapter, sixth chapter, then ninth chapter, then twelfth chapter, thirteenth chapter then sixteenth chapter seventeenth chapter also eighteenth chapter, he is only going to remind us that these twelve qualities once more I am going to tell, so twelve qualities slowly slowly one has to develop so that we progress and obtain the knowledge that I am Brahma so the question is what is the way to that Brahma, O Lord just now you have mentioned ya jnanasya paranishtha and how should an aspirant act, the answer I will just outline in today's class and we will take the details up in the next class first, he should purify the understanding second, sadhaka he means a sadhaka, spiritual he should firmly control the mind third, he should abandon all sense objects which draw the mind out into the material world four, he should give up all attraction and hatred raga and vesha five, he should dwell in solitude, six he should control his food and be moderate in his food intake, seven he should keep his speech, body and mind under his control eight, he should practice meditation continuously nine, he should possess intense dispassion ten, he should abandon egoism, violence arrogance, desire hatred and countlessness eleven, he should give up the sense of I and mine, twelve he should possess peace of mind, when all these twelve qualities are being slowly but gradually developed through spiritual practice a person in the end attains that brahman which we will discuss in our next class Om Jananim Sharadam Devim Ramakrishnam Jagat Gurum Pada Padmetayo Sritva Pranama Ami Muhurmuhuhu May Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vekananda bless us all with bhakti Jai Ramakrishna