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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 9
Chanting only of Chapter 1 by Pujya Swami Dayananda ji
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Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 2 - Saankhya Yoga 46
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Jnana-Karmasannyasa Yoga 30
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 Sannyasa Yoga 20
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 Dhyaana Yoga 15
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 Jnana-Vijnana Yoga 16
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 Akshara Brahman Yoga 17
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9 Rajavidya Rajaguhya Yoga 20
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 Vibhuti Yoga 22
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 Vishvarupa Darshana Yoga 10
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Bhakti Yoga 16
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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Kshetra-Kshetrajna vibhagah yoga 23
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So continuing with the seventh chapter of the श्रीमद् भगवद्-गीता, the topic here is ज्ञान-विज्ञान | ज्ञानम् here is indirect knowledge, in other words ईश्वर: अस्ति i.e. ईश्वर is there, is there like any other object of my knowledge. विज्ञानम् is direct knowledge i.e. ईश्वर: अस्मि | अस्मि is a very nice verb form. अस्मि means I am. So that ईश्वर is no longer an object of my understanding, or even an object of my devotion, that ईश्वर is me. So the journey is from अस्ति (it is, is there) to अस्मि (that ईश्वर I am).
Here the unfolding of ईश्वर begins from the seventh chapter onwards in the श्रीमद् भगवद्-गीता | And so we saw that भगवान् श्री कृष्ण says I’m going to teach you about this ज्ञानम्-विज्ञानम् completely. And He starts off by saying that there is what is referred to as अपरा प्रकृति
and परा प्रकृति | प्रकृति, understand it to be eight-fold, which we have seen in verse number 7.4. And He continues saying in verse number 7.6, that all beings, and all पञ्चमहाभूत-s have their cause in this two-fold प्रकृति ~ it is परा or अपरा प्रकृति |
And all forms have come from me, He says, and all will resolve into me.
Now, you all have not asked the question, but the question is asked~ if you are saying
that all the forms that we see around us is भगवान् that means is भगवान् in the form, or
did He manifest as the form and now there is no भगवान् ?
How do I say that? We see this in day to day life, e.g. if you’re setting curd/yogurt, especially in
families in Southern India. So now milk has transformed into curd or yogurt, and if you know a little bit of Ayurveda, then you know that the properties of that curd or yogurt are very different from that of milk, so there’s no way that that milk is going to be available to you, now it is yogurt/ curd, that’s it over. परिणाम has taken place, a change, a chemical effect has taken place.
Now that being so, did भगवान् transform Himself/Herself into all these forms and disappear? Possible, right? So modified into everything and then okay, that’s it. So then what will you say about that? I thought earlier you have said~ भगवान्/ईश्वर is अव्यय, नित्यम्, so on and so forth, unchanging. Here milk is turning into curd, so if indeed you are saying this world is a manifestation of भगवान्, that means He manifested, now all of this is there, and He disappeared. Right? Very logical, but that’s not the truth.
Because we also see all the different processes, laws of nature being sustained. So somebody is required to sustain all of this. Fine.
Now the material for this जगत्, we have said that the building blocks are the पञ्चमहाभूत-s,
so He has also said- भूमि, आप:, वायु, अग्नि, खं, so these are the building blocks.
People say~ but I don’t think that’s ईश्वर | What do you mean that space is ईश्वर?
i.e. the material. And whenever we respond in that way~ no no space is not ईश्वर, air is not
ईश्वर, suppose I say that. What does it mean about my understanding?
That I have an idea of भगवान्, whatever that idea is, and that doesn’t fit in what I observe of the पञ्चमहाभूत | Or I say how I see all this suffering, how can God really exist if there is suffering? Again I have concluded that ईश्वर is someone who is so kind that He will not allow suffering to continue. Right? So we have lots of these notions buried very deep within, which we now have to little bit excavate and detox actually before we look at chapter seven.
But in the process of ईश्वर himself introducing himself, all of that gets taken care of.
So now this material cause. The word for it in Sanskrit is उपादानकारणम् | कारणम् means cause, उपादानम् – material. Material cause, what is भगवान् श्री कृष्ण saying? That it is this प्रकृति, this is my प्रकृति | This is my शक्ति that’s it, and it is in this form.
So now, if indeed it is His प्रकृति, is the world a part of ईश्वर? Or has ईश्वर become the world? Or is there any other possibility?
Okay, if I say ईश्वर has become the world, then ईश्वर has disappeared, not to be found. Okay, lost and found. Have you seen? Cannot find. Just transformed okay. So that doesn’t apply.
So we have a very unique term called विवर्त उपादानकारणम् |
One material cause is परिणाम | परिणाम means effect, like milk turning into curd. So that effect is परिणाम, it’s not reversible. विवर्त उपादानकारणम् means it is a material cause, but that material cause is in and through all the forms, which means it does not undergo change.
So the technical/specialized definition is स्वस्वरूप (one’s own nature) अपरित्यागेन (not giving up) रूप: अंतर आपत्तिः, appears like something.
So we are so caught up with the names and forms, that that’s all we are focused on. But we miss what is in and through all the forms, which is not an object of perception.
When Swaminiji uses the word ‘is’ness, there is no object called is-ness. It can’t even be called a quality of an object. That which always is, consciousness. That which always is, is not inert, it is consciousness, it is you.
But our attention is on the name and form, not on the is-ness that is in and through the name and form.
So then, just like I have a dream. In my dream there are lots of things that are happening. And,
have I undergone a change? As the dreamer, so much drama is happening in my
dream. Just two minutes dream- people are fighting, people are making up, then some other gossip is happening, and then some party is happening. Everything, just so rapidly everything happened. And then the post-mortem. Like really what happens as a family if you go for some function/get-together then on your way back you’re saying~ oh, did you see this one. Oh, that one said this. Oh really? etc. So all that you see in your dream.
Now, so much change, so many names and forms in the dream, but स्वस्वरूप अपरित्यागेन |
I did not change my nature to have this dream I continue being who I am, the dreamer in this case, and then all this happens in my world. This is exactly what we mean when we say the world is a manifestation of भगवान् and that everything is sacred.
So everything is sacred means ईश्वर is present everywhere. Then immediately doubt comes~ how you can say ईश्वर is present everywhere? I don’t see.
Ah, exactly the point. Because you have an idea of how ईश्वर should be, then it doesn’t match your weird idea, and therefore you are quick to dismiss.
So this material cause. See intelligent cause is a given, we don’t even need to spend too much time understanding or even recognizing that ईश्वर is the intelligent cause. All this intelligence, you see how things are put together very beautifully.
The material cause is what has to be accounted for. And so that’s how we look at it.
There is nothing that is ever destroyed. We have learnt this in school, in science. Matter converts into energy, energy converts into matter. There’s no destruction anyway taking place.
Then what else does He say about this परा प्रकृति & अपरा प्रकृति –
मत्त: परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय ।
मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७॥
Other than me,
न अन्यत् किञ्चित् अस्ति, मत्त: ~ compared to Me there is no other cause,
that is greater than Me.
Or rather I am the cause for which there is no cause,
or rather I am the boss, and I don’t have a boss.
ईश्वर doesn’t have a boss. There’s no cause; He is the cause.
And He says there is no other cause superior to Me.
And,
सर्वं इदम् – all this.
सर्वं इदं जगत्~ so these words are always there, very beautiful.
That this ~ इदम्, सर्वं इदम् – all this.
All this means all these names and forms, so everything.
प्रोतम् – means it’s woven in Me,
just like the beads in a string.
So, in any necklace, let’s say it is a नवरत्न (nine gems), recommended as one astrological remedy especially if your planets are all over the place. So, nine gems/stones, all looking different, all colored differently, and they are all threaded in one string. So that one string is in and through all the beads or the stones, although the stones are all different colors and different forms and so on.
So all the people in your life, all very very different from each other, then what is it that is in and through the string, in and through all of them? It is ईश्वर – common, one in and through.
And here this परतरम्, that this स्वरूप/ nature of ईश्वर,
or rather consciousness that is in and through everyone.
You will often wonder in the same family, how we are in the same family, we’re so different from each other. So everyone wonders like this, but at least one person in the family you will always wonder. Then you will say maybe I was adopted or something, just doesn’t fit in.
The point is that the temperament might be different, the hobbies may be different, रागद्वेष may be different, but what is common in everyone is this सूत्र | सूत्र means thread.
But this thread is this is-ness or the स्वरूप of ईश्वर |
He’s going to talk more about the स्वरूप, so if you don’t understand don’t worry about it.
Now, He will speak a little more about different forms that we engage with on a day-to-day basis to indicate that each of these forms is not separate from me ईश्वर |
That I am in and through all of this.
Why does He only say these forms, not others? He’s just a sampling otherwise भगवद्-गीता would have not ended only. It would be still continuing. So just a sampling.
What is that sampling?
रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययो: ।
प्रणव: सर्ववेदेषु शब्द: खे पौरुषं नृषु ॥ ८॥
In अप्सु | अप्सु means in water. I am रस: ~ I am the basic taste of water.
So He’s indicating~ I am the essence in this, I’m in that, etc.
And we all recognize what a blessing water is. You can have any drink in the world, the most exotic drink, but nothing can beat water. That’s how we are geared. Just the joy, and the quenching of thirst, and the contentment that water brings, nothing can beat it. The costliest
of drinks, nothing at all.
And even in water there are different tastes. If you have moved a little bit in India, anywhere actually in the world, you get different tastes. E.g. Swaminiji loves the water of Mumbai, although there may be a little more chlorine as compared to others. You go to other parts of India, it’s a little hard water, taste is different. And then when Swaminiji travels abroad Swaminiji doesn’t particularly like the taste of water there. Maybe it’s gone through too much filtration.
So, it’s just a subjective choice. Water is water. You may say~ still water, sparkling water. We enjoy it.
So something as basic, or rather life giving as water.
When you go on fasts/उपवास, then after some time you need water. You can manage without food for a few days, some people manage without for months also. But water you cannot, because it’s so integral to the composition of the body as well, about almost 70 percent.
So I am that. So every time you drink water~ ah भगवान् कृष्ण | I am रस: अहं अप्सु – I am the essence of water.
Then what else? In शशि and सूर्य,
शशि is the moon, सूर्य is the Sun.
So the light that the Earth is blessed by, without the sun there would have been no life as we know it. And just look at the perfect distance from the Sun. Little closer to the Sun, there is no
life. Little further away, Mars and so on, no life or at least we have not discovered it yet.
But just the right distance for so much life to thrive, all kinds of beings~ above the ground, under the ground, in the water, in the sky, so all kinds of beings.
The light which bathes the earth, I am that light. Beautiful.
प्रभा अस्मि~ I am the light in both the Sun and the Moon.
Traditional farming practices recognize the role that moonlight plays in the timing of the sowing of seeds, harvesting and so on. Traditional farmers will know this and then they plan their farming schedule around moonlight.
Then what else?
In all the वेदस्,
सर्ववेदेषु, I am प्रणव: | प्रणव: is another word for ॐ |
So ॐ is a sound for ईश्वर | And in fact most मन्त्र-s begin with ॐ | It’s a very auspicious and sacred sound. ॐ stands for ईश्वर, stands for ब्रह्मन् | So both सगुण & निर्गुण ब्रह्मन् | So I am that ॐ that is present in all the वेदस् |
Then how does sound travel?
Imagine if you are in a spaceship, you can’t talk to each other, you need equipment, because there’s a vacuum, and you need a medium for sound to travel. So people might be moving their mouths, but they cannot hear each other. But of course they have equipment and all that.
So this space, allows air, and sound travels in the medium of air.
So He says in खे (seventh case), शब्द: | That all sound, all languages, all dialects, all words that are spoken, sounds that are made, I am all of them. That the sound that anybody can produce, of course human beings are a little more sophisticated in the sense of the voice box being so advanced and language and so on, but whatever sounds (animals, birds etc.), all sounds, I am that sound.
And in human beings, नृषु, I am पौरुषम्, I am the strength that is there. All kinds of strength, not necessarily physical, also mental, emotional whatever strength you may consider.
So I am all of this. So just a sampling, highlighting that anything that has a form, it could be as subtle as sound, it could be something related to the वेदस्, ॐ, or it is light, or the strength in human beings, or water. So, like a wide range. I am all of this, and none of these forms are different from me. That’s the refrain. That is what is being emphasized.
Then,
पुण्यो गन्ध: पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ ।
जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥ ९॥
The fragrance of the earth, पृथिवी has a unique fragrance, and a lot of us look forward to the first
rain, maybe in a tropical country, maybe in other places also. But the fragrance of पृथिवी that time is just wonderful, cannot be described. So that गन्ध:, and sweet गन्ध: | So here पुण्य is not पुण्य as we understand, but पुण्य गन्ध: i.e. sweet fragrance, that is there in the earth.
So He’s trying to cover the पञ्चमहाभूत-s, He’s already covered light and water, here He is covering पृथिवी, the Earth.
Then in तेज: च अस्मि विभावसौ, so in अग्नि, that तेजस्/brilliance in the form of light/heat, I am that.
So referring to what? The building block that He spoke about, प्रकृति | That I am that प्रकृति | This प्रकृति is divided into eightfold form, and the essence of all of this, I-भगवान् am all of this.
Then, the very life that is present in all beings, सर्वभूतेषु | So in sharks and whales and crocodiles and cheetahs and lions and dogs and human beings, all insects, all beings. I am the life in all of them. That life of course is sustained by food and then water and so on. प्राण ~ so I am that.
And amongst the people who do तपस्, so this is not eating Spanish tapas- no. This is तपस्, तप:, तपस्य | What is that? So तपस्य is a very integral part of being a Hindu. That you go on तीर्थयात्रा/pilgrimage, or you fast, or you do lot of other things e.g. you take on certain disciplines- I’m going to chant an X number over this period of time, or I’m going to complete a particular chant like let’s say Devi Mahatmyam etc. It’s not easy to take these on. Why? There will be enough distractions, and there will be a lot of other things that will guzzle your time, and there will be moments that you don’t feel like doing it, and then you have to wrestle with it, and that’s exactly the purpose of तपस्य |
It’s not about having a feel-good discipline. It is that irrespective of how I feel, I do it. So any kind of तपस्य is related to keeping your रागद्वेष aside, and also pushing your boundaries.
So the day you fast is when you will feel the most hungry, if you’re doing it initially, if you’re used to it, it’s different. And then you say~ oh I will do some जप, then your mind will be most active at that time, you will think of all kinds of things. Again initially, okay. Again and again you come back to it, but we are very quick to judge, and we say~ oh I don’t think I’m doing it correctly. I will do it when I learn properly. When will that happen? We don’t know.
So I am not doing it correctly is an unnecessary self-evaluation. How would you know whether you are doing it correctly or not? No, I don’t feel like it. I think my mind is going all over. Ah, that’s exactly the nature of the mind, of course it’ll go all over. That’s fine. That’s not opposed to your तपस् | Just come back to it, come back on track. Nah, I should feel good about it.
That’s it, over. The disease of feeling good has taken over, now nothing can argue against it. This is our epidemic~ always have to feel good.
Anyway so all different kinds of तपस्य | तपस्य always is related to ईश्वर | See you may go through any kind of discipline, but it may just be that okay I’m maximizing my potential, that sort of
thing, which is fine, which is great. But if you are doing it as an offering, as worship, only that makes it तपस्य | Otherwise you can be fasting, intermittent fasting and all that, that may not be तपस्य, it is a tough discipline~ 18 hours, 24 hours etc. but let’s not call it तपस्य because there is no ईश्वर in it, in the way in which you are approaching it.
So all तपस्य, I am that~ भगवान् says. And even the result that people get. Because understand that any तपस्य is कर्म, law of कर्म | So that’s why Ravana also did तपस्य, a lot of असुर-s did तपस्य, all these austerities and they got lots of boons. How can they do it? Because the law of कर्म is impartial. They are blessed, that’s it.
You do something, you get some results. So those results, also I am that.
Here He is highlighting that even the means to reaching भगवान्, reaching as in understanding that भगवान् is Me,
and the end/the result of that तपस् is also Me.
The means and the end, साधन and साध्य, both are Me-भगवान् |