Hidden truths unfolded
After telling Arjuna that he should decide on his own in choosing whatever course he wished to adopt (yathecchasi tathā kuru), before Arjuna responded, Krishna felt like making a pratijñā (sworn declaration) himself, describing it as the most paramount secret of spiritual life, seeking and attainment.
Normally such eulogistic descriptions are intended to generate added interest in the listener as also to make the proposition extremely covetable, so that what is being said is absorbed with adequate interest and attention. Human psychology has great susceptibility and inclination towards such secret propositions.
Listen, once again, to my supreme word of utmost secrecy, which I shall divulge to you, who are unflinchingly dear to me.
The message becomes the most profound secret (sarva-guhyatamam), because of the depth and the zenith of spiritual wisdom it represents. Generally in any pursuit, some mark, visible discipline or physical restraint, will be there. Here Krishna dispenses with all such notes. He centres the entire pursuit on the mind itself, focusing on the renunciational majesty.
It is for all people to understand the special relevance of the message and imbibe its essence, as Arjuna did. A Teacher will disclose the hidden truths to the student or disciple, only when persuaded by two important factors. One is the intensity of devotion the seeker has to the Teacher; devotional proximity ranks supreme in spiritual seeking. The other is the delicate note of intimacy the Teacher naturally feels towards the disciple. Arjuna was already a relative and friend of Krishna. He further assigned Krishna the role of the spiritual Teacher in Kurukṣetra, when he got into a quagmire, and found no other source of deliverance.
From the few words that Krishna uttered on listening to Arjuna’s confession, Arjuna felt clearly that such words could come only from an enlightened person. So he felt sure that Krishna, his brother-in-law, was truly a spiritual Teacher. He immediately declared his complete refuge in all pious fervour (2.7).
But if Krishna’s description about Arjuna as “sakhā ceti – you are a friend” (4.3) is considered in a larger context, it implies that in the good student is also the budding Teacher. Thus there should be a deep spiritual harmony between the accomplished Teacher and the devout disciple. In that case, as between friends, the Teacher feels confident to reveal the most hidden truths, finding that the student will unhesitatingly imbibe the message and be faithful to apply it wholeheartedly. It is the dedicated student that always ripens into a Teacher.
A sacred declaration
Generally, friendship prevails between like-minded and like-merited people. Such friendship, intimate and wholesome, makes it facile to exchange ideas without reservation. A true friend will not say anything harmful. Krishna underscores that it is such an attitude of fondness and oneness that guides the Teacher in enlightening the seeker, disclosing the best of wisdom in the spiritual field. This leads to his divulging even the most paramount secrets to the disciple.
Be engrossed in Me; be devoted to Me; worship Me and prostrate before Me. (By this,) you shall indeed attain Me – I promise this, because you are so dear to Me.
As against Krishna asking Arjuna earlier, to swear on his behalf that his devotee will not perish (9.31), here now Krishna himself does the pratijñā, swearing. From this, the sublimity and importance of what Krishna says can be gauged. The concern is how and when a devotee easily and comfortably attains the Supreme, without undergoing a variety of ordeals and vicissitudes. In other words, Krishna reveals that which takes a seeker to the supreme goal in this world, while he is still enmeshed in the day-to-day life.
Becoming a devotee of the Supreme (mad-bhaktaḥ)
Normally Vedic rituals have specific, detailed prescriptions. For instance, they lay down how a ceremonial altar has to be prepared, what all incantations have to be made, what specific materials have to be collected and offered to the fire or how many priests and assistants have to be employed for the purpose. All these generate a feeling that the rituals are unique, great and sacrosanct.
But in reality they are hollow, because the emphasis is on factors other than oneself. What needs enrichment is the inner personality of the performer. In other words, the mind of the performer should be touched and embellished every time. How far does a ritual serve this purpose is indeed debatable.
Krishna restricts the application to the mind exclusively. During the sāṅkhya exposition, the words he used were “Know this Imperishable – veda avināśinam” (2.21), “therefore, knowing this … tasmād evam viditvā enam” (2.25). It is clear that the sāṅkhya pursuit is addressed to and centred on intelligence. The entire sāṅkhya gospel is about the Imperishable nature of the Soul, with a call to realize It (2.11-30).
The pursuit involves a very deep and subtle introspection, an effort solely for the intelligence to take up and complete. The seeker has to pursue his reflection upon the Imperishable Self, until at last he realizes it as the only Real existence and all the rest to be sheer illusion. When rightly done, sāṅkhya leads the seeker to full-fold clarity, enlightenment and freedom. Intelligence is the subtle, inner constituent of the human personality. When enlightened, the effects it can bring about are unique.
Earlier, when Krishna took up the karma-yoga, he said that the resoluteness of the intelligence is the supreme determining factor: “vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ ekeha “ (2.41). In the bhakti-yoga, his call was to “place the mind on the Supreme, and fix the intelligence also on the Supreme – mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhim niveśaya” (12.8).
But now, the tone and content of words of Krishna mark a distinct difference. He explains succinctly how effective is wholesome surrender, unflinching attunement to the supreme Reality, and what reward or outcome it will bring. There is no call to perform anything hard or painful. On the other hand, it is a very simple procedure that anyone can adopt and pursue with zeal and fervour. Krishna rules out all specific references to materials, idol or altar. He only points to the mind as the sole factor for this secret pursuit. The words used are quite simple, and their import also is quite clear.
The whole pursuit rests upon the mind. It is an attitudinal, behavioural and interactional culture or attunement. The question is merely whether the seeker has the necessary keenness and astuteness to take to it wholeheartedly. Or, will he still prefer to think of the supreme Reality as something distant, hidden from the ordinary, to be reached only by rare and mysterious ceremonies? Can he have the readiness to think of the Supreme as all-pervading and hence immanent in himself? This basic reflection is necessary, and following that, attitudinal transformation also must be effected.
In fact, this secret pursuit, sādhanā, begins when the seeker listens to the words of Krishna or other Knowers attentively, and then growing with them he gets enriched and enlightened enough to bring about the necessary correction and improvement in his perception. The whole process rests upon the seeker’s reflective skill and willingness.
Let the seeker be anywhere and let him be given to any kind of activity and involvement. What he has to do is to give his mind completely to the Supreme (man-manā bhava). As is the body resting upon the visible earth, so should his mind rest fully and firmly upon the Supreme.
Feel constantly that you are a devotee of the Supreme (mad-bhaktaḥ), belonging to It, born of It and sustained by It. The natural effect or result of such a feeling is that whatever is done, wherever and for whatever purpose, will irresistibly become a simple, direct offering to the Supreme (mad-yājee). Our body has its source perhaps in the mother’s womb. But the mind and thoughts are clearly different from the body, and they have only one source, the Supreme.
Harmony between the disciple and the Teacher
What was Arjuna’s plight? Unable to resolve the constrictions (kārpaṇya doṣa) and the resultant delusion about dharma (the right course of action), he surrendered himself unreservedly to Krishna, admitting himself to be a disciple, regarding Krishna as his Teacher. It was in response to this confession and the new bond, that Krishna began his instruction, displaying all authority, concern and responsibility. In such a context, it is for the Teacher to instruct the disciple, giving all necessary guidance without any reservation. For a Teacher too, it is a self-effacing role – coupled with a note of patronization.
In respecting the Teacher, fostering allegiance to him and expressing these evidently, who else than the Teacher can guide the disciple? A disciple becomes full and complete only in the hands of the Teacher. Krishna responds to this intrinsic Guru-śishya bond and discloses the most paramount spiritual secret.
Thus, Krishna’s instruction ‘mām namaskuru’ strikes a unique depth, revealing our holy land’s age-old culture. To prostrate is an unparalleled note of spiritual sublimity. It carries with it a very special, deep note of wholesome surrender, acceptance and attunement a seeker feels to his Teacher. It displays a characteristic note of piety and sublimity.
The one who prostrates lies motionless, with his forehead touching the ground and the eyes closed. He sees nothing above, below or sideways. The one being prostrated to has all the freedom to do whatever he likes with the one lying at his feet. Thus prostration is a unique, defenceless, egoless expression that enriches and blesses the devotee with the mercy and grace of the one to whom he is prostrating.
Equally significant is the ineffable trust and openness the Teacher reveals. With the prostrating disciple in front, the Teacher gets the natural impulsion to share even the most hidden truths with reliance and hope.
For a Teacher to say “prostrate before me”, calls for utter impersonality. A true Teacher’s role is to redress the plight of the seeker, and bestow fulfillment to his heart. In doing so, he finds delight and fulfillment. He has no expectation from the seeker other than that the seeker should absorb what is imparted. In asking Arjuna to prostrate before him, Krishna expresses his unconditional acceptance of Arjuna as a fit disciple or recipient. Thus, regarding the Teacher as well as the disciple, the words “mām namaskuru” carry the rare profundity and openness of the spiritual Guru-śishya relationship worth reflecting upon.
Earlier too, Krishna told Arjuna (4.34): “Go to the Knowers, prostrate before them, express your doubts and enquiries, and also please them by service. They will impart to you the necessary enlightenment.”
A true disciple always prostrates before his Teacher, no matter whether he is still a seeker or has known the Truth. Only then the disciple-teacher bond will be preserved with all integrity. Śaṅkara says:
In the level of understanding and outlook, advaita (nonduality) should always be practised; but never while in action. In all three worlds, advaita should be seen; but not with the Sadguru.
The verse indicates how sacred, powerful and cohesive is the bond between the Teacher and the disciple and how it has to be preserved by the disciple at any cost. The disciple may even be more intelligent than the Teacher. Even then, his bond of humility and belongingness stands. Such a relationship may appear to be supra-worldly, but in this great holy land, this cultural value excels even today.
When the seeker registers his humility and submission as well as fondness to the Supreme, he will attain the Supreme. Krishna swears that this is so.
Taking refuge in the Supreme is the supreme dharma
Krishna is not sure that Arjuna (and other seekers too) will faithfully take to this all-fold devotional attunement. Why? Doubt and fear assail the mind and intelligence frequently, thereby disallowing stability in the spiritual pursuit. Sensing this, he comes up with a very specific assurance so that these doubts or oscillations are set at rest forever. Appearing in the concluding chapter, it has great importance and is often quoted by devotees and seekers, instilling confidence in themselves and others:
Abandoning all dual notions of dharma (and adharma), take refuge in Me alone. I shall redeem you from all sins. Grieve not.
“You or any seeker for that matter,” says Krishna, “may rest assured that this path of mind-based devotional attunement is quite safe, complete and fulfilling in every way. There need not be the least feeling to the contrary.”
Krishna prefixes his assurance with the words “abandoning all dharmas”. This is a very significant exhortation. Normally dharma is something to be adhered to throughout one’s life. Such being the case, how can one understand and relate oneself to this call for abandoning all dharmas?
Dharma generally denotes code of morality and ethics, which humans should absorb and assimilate. Without dharma, human life will degenerate to abysmal levels. In fact, human life has its meaning and purpose only when reinforced and enriched by the benefits dharma showers.
What is dharma? It implies the principle and practice of righteousness in doing anything whatsoever. Dharma should have its right place in one’s thoughts, words and actions. Unless the mind and intelligence become dharma-oriented, none will become virtuous or honourable.
The sole purpose of dharma is to sustain life in all its facets. In times of fortune, it must be able to safeguard the mind and intelligence from undue delusion. Likewise, when misfortune befalls, it must provide sufficient strength and endurance, generating abundant hope and confidence to undergo the plight with forbearance.
But the concept and pursuit of dharma become more and more abstruse when you think about it in greater detail and subtlety. Certain aspects of dharma change from individual to individual, and from stage to stage. What is good for the child is not so when he grows into an adult. What is prescribed for the celibate is wrong for the householder, although the individual may be the same. What is true of the householder is impermissible for the ascetic.
Any probe about the all-fold and ultimate dharma becomes inconclusive. The thought of dharma can sometimes lead one to a quagmire, an impasse, as it happened with Arjuna on the battlefield, where he had come to fight after thirteen years of deliberation.
Eternal aspect of the Teacher’s assurance
It is to address this plight that Krishna makes the pronouncement: “Abandon all such thoughts of dharma. Instead, foster the vision of the one supreme Reality. Then I shall redeem you from all sins.”
How could Krishna make such a statement? What was his authority? Could he or can anyone liberate another steeped in sins (pāpas)? Are sins like ropes or chains tied around the body, and can be untied by another?
Sin is a psychological knot. It is in the form of an assessment or apprehension surging forth in the mind. To free oneself from this is an inner process. Nothing from outside can enter the mind to bind it. By ignorance and delusion, the mind binds itself. Then what is the meaning of “I shall liberate you”?
Krishna, who gave this assurance, left the earth long ago. All that we have is his words, inscribed by Vyasadeva. Obviously, Krishna’s statement is not valid for its literal meaning. But, it does have its unquestionable, eternal worth and relevance. What can that be? Seekers should wonder and probe into this matter. Every statement of the scriptures has its intrinsic worth and relevance!
Remember what Krishna said earlier. The right perception consists in viewing non-action in all actions, karmaṇy-akarma yaḥ paśyet (4.18). And this is what conduces to right performance of all activities, kṛtsnakarma-kṛt. It is in the same sequence that Krishna presents his ultimate tenet of abandoning all dharmas.
Any consideration of dharma leads to plurality or multiplicity. Only when there are two or more, the question of one being right and the other wrong arises. If the whole plurality is itself a play of the mind – an illusion – how can the dharma-adharma division be authentic at all? Thus a probe into the mind and its witchcraft will reveal the fallacy and inadequacy of all dhārmic considerations. To an enlightened person, all these have no relevance at all. They are fallacious creations of the mind and intelligence.
The truth is that there is but one existence, undivided and indivisible. Remember what Krishna explained earlier: “By Me, the unmanifest Supreme, is pervaded the entire universe – mayā tatam-idam sarvam jagadavyakta-mūrtinā” (9.4). If the entire world is permeated by the supreme Reality, and all have their abidance only in that, how can divisions like good and bad, virtue and vice, right and wrong prevail at all?
In oneness, all divisions along with their source dissolve completely. Rivers are many, but upon merging with the sea, their very source, all of them lose their separate identity. It is our senses that make the world manifold. This perception gives rise to thoughts of virtue and vice, good and bad, right and wrong. But, in reality, all these are ideas of the mind – its assessments and classifications. There is no real ground for them, before spiritual reason and enquiry.
Krishna says: “Leave all these, and take refuge under the One, oneness”. To make things easy, he identifies that One with himself, as any enlightened Teacher will do.
What, then, is the essence of the proclamation? The mind clings to plural notions and thereby becomes a victim to preference and prejudice, virtue and sin, and a host of other such dvandvas, that verily constitute the world. This quagmire has to be overcome. For that, the only way will be to make the mind hold on to the ultimate truth of oneness and rest there.
By so doing, the freedom and salvation which religion, philosophy and spirituality seek will dawn irresistibly. It is not that Krishna or anyone else is necessary to lift the seeker. Nor is it feasible. The truth of Krishna’s promise lies in his very statement, which implies abidance in the supreme Reality.
Transcending dharmas and dualities
The process consists of the transcending note. Dharma has its relevance when contrasted with adharma. Both thus go together, making a pair of opposites (dvandvas). Krishna has been emphasizing throughout, the need for rising above dvandvas (2.45, 4.22, 5.3, 7.28, 15.5).
To pursue dharma is verily to denounce adharma. But this division, by its very nature, is contrary to the supreme spiritual Truth of Oneness. Dharma is but a transitory means to help the seeker. As the dhārmic votary has to keep away from adharma, the spiritual seeker has inevitably to rise above dharma too. Only then he can reign in the domain of the Impersonal, Indivisible Soul. Thus, in asking Arjuna and other seekers to abandon all dharmas, Krishna is in fact lifting them from all delusional constraints, and installing them safely in the supreme Oneness that penetrates and surrounds them.
Here echoes the quest and assertion Nachiketas made before Yama, the God of Death (Kaṭhopaniṣad 1.2.14):
Nachiketas specifies that he is not interested in any kind of dvandvas at all. He wants to be instructed about the supreme Truth that gives no room for any kind of mental or intellectual divisions.
In Bṛhadāraṇyakopanishad (2.4.14), Yājñavalkya tells Maitreyi, his wife:
“Where ‘two or many’ are seemingly there, one sees, or knows the other. But when for one, all become verily the Self, then who will see what, who will know whom, as different from or other than himself? Who will know that by which everything becomes known? Who, my dear, will know the Knower?”
The entire plurality, manifoldness, dissolves completely into the one full-fold oneness, homogeneity. Krishna reveals that very truth here, attired in a beautiful declaration, which is so pleasing and relieving to the seeker.
“Do not grieve - mā śucaḥ” – the message of the Gospel
The last words “mā śucaḥ” of the verse carry a great relevance. “Do not grieve”, meaning: “You do not have to grieve on any account at all, if you follow what I have just said”. How consoling, reassuring are these words!
Remember how sweeping was the grief that overpowered Arjuna right in the beginning! He sought instant relief from Krishna. In our life, whether it is from interactions with the world at the sensory level, or from the mind’s own multifarious thoughts and imaginations, or due to intellect’s varied doubts and deliberations – the final unpleasant resultant is mostly grief. In redressing grief, virtually all problems of human life get resolved.
Disbelief, resentment, fear and other such adverse notes too generate grief at the end. Krishna remembers Arjuna’s plight very well. Though he spoke enlighteningly from various angles, he is conscious of the grief that assailed Arjuna. It is this plight that Krishna wants to redress. He, therefore, began his instruction with the words “aśocyān anvaśocaḥ – you are grieving over those about whom you should not grieve at all” (2.11). Clinging to the same trend, he now concludes with the words “mā śucaḥ – grieve not!”
“Be free of all kinds of doubt, speculation, craving and anxiety. Simply take refuge in the way I have outlined. In doing so, you shall be relieved from all sin and the deadly consequences. Have thus a settled, peaceful mind. Grieve not, dear Arjuna. Be consoled and confident.”
Thus we find a straight line from the beginning of Krishna’s Gospel (“aśocyān anvaśocaḥ”) to the end (“mā śucaḥ”) – indicating the very nature and fulfillment of the purpose of the dialogue. Spiritual science has the aim of terminating sorrow and bringing joy to the mind. It also equally provides enlightenment to the intelligence.
To put Krishna’s concluding statements in sequence:
1. First is the message to undertake all actions always, but anchor and depend upon the Supreme. Let the sense of doership be there, but underscoring that should be the constant feeling of ‘resting on the Supreme’. That divinizes the mind and in that, doership also gets divinized. One has the seeming ownership and claim about actions, but in reality that is overwhelmed by the inward subtle divinization (18.56).
2. Go a step further. Renounce to the Supreme the very idea of doership. For this, ascribe all actions to their very source, the Supreme. No ownership, claim or fear about what is done or to be done and the consequences it would bring ever arises in this. The mind gets deeply interested in the Supreme. This works as buddhiyoga, in the level of the intelligence (18.57).
One, with such a divinized mind, gets fused into the Supreme. The resulting enrichment and blessings are such as to derive the power to assimilate and overcome all torments, tussles and enigmas. No further security or support is necessary for such a one (18.58).
3. Locate the Supreme as present in all, and hence in your own heart too. Thus the attention should be focused on the Indwelling Supreme. Then direct all sentiments, emotions and attitudes, like placing flowers on the altar, to that Indwelling Presence. That will lead to interminable peace and permanence (18.62).
4. Next comes Krishna’s paramount secret. In this pursuit, there is no practice, effort or endeavour. It is but a transformation. Make the mind godly, once for all. Be a devotee, meaning not just a human. Feel you are of God and for Him. Let everything you do be an extension of your offering to the Supreme. No selection, denial, preference or prejudice should assail the mind. As a devotee, whatever you do is but devotional. At best prostrate before the Supreme, whenever you feel like and wherever.
Thereafter, do not be deterred by any consideration, even the ones based on morality or ethics. Instead, get fused into the wholesome oneness, which gives no room for any divisional views. What thus results is instant freedom from all dependences, doubts and fears (18.65-66). The seeker then attains that infallible abode.
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(From Essential Concepts in Bhagavad Gita - Volume 6)