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Harih Om Tat Sat. Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.
I have been discussing Bhagavad Gita during the satsang for many months now. We have come to the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita especially after the Viśvarūpa darśana. The Viśvarūpa was shown by Krishna and Arjuna also saw it. Whatever Arjuna felt, that he expressed. But the summary point is that he was afraid to see that form and he wanted Krishna to withdraw it and show the human form which is always appealing. Then what was the necessity to ask Krishna for showing the Viśvarūpa? He already said that “My delusion is already gone”. After the delusion is gone, why should he seek to see the Viśvarūpa? He should have seen the viśva as the rūpa of God if at all and not to see a Viśvarūpa in Krishna. So that contradiction and foolishness is there. Then after seeing it, he says “Withdraw it”.
This is a great lesson for all of us. Even now, the Viśvarūpa darśana is given so much of importance in Bhagavad Gita. I shall be happy provided the importance is for all of us to understand that Arjuna did not do it wisely nor was he benefited by it. He only got afraid. Then what is required? Krishna emphasizes it saying that what is required is ananya-bhakti - exclusive devotion.
And what is this exclusive devotion? He is explaining in the next chapter, twelfth chapter. So it is called Bhakti Yoga. The word ‘bhakti’ literally means devotion. Devotion to whom? Devotion to God. What is this God or who is this God? Not someone or somebody we know. But somebody or someone we assume and we have posited, our words are authored by us. Every idea is given expression to in the form of words or syllables. The syllables and words are produced by us, evolved by us. Ideas are evolved by the mind. In that area, mind and intelligence are the only agencies at work. Mind and intelligence constitute our inner personality which is the one that activate, animate and employ the body and bodily organs for different kinds of activities.
If Bhakti is devotion to God, it is for us to explain who is God and what is devotion. That is how Krishna explains it. Srimad Bhagavatam elaborates it. In Srimad Bhagavata, there are eighteen thousand Sanskrit verses. Atleast more than one lakh of words are used there. Srimad Bhagavata does not consist of either the word ‘devotion’ or ‘God’ or both together. A number of words, propositions, presentations, ideas, discussions, dialogues, elaborations, explanations, commentaries, recitations, all these are there in Srimad Bhagavatam. If all these were not necessary and only the words ‘Bhakti’ and ‘God’ were, then Srimad Bhagavata would have contained only two words.
Srimad Bhagavata itself says that the entire Bhagavata consists of three fundamental propositions - Devotion to God, dispassion to the transitory world and experience of God. These three are the bounties of Srimad Bhagavatam. Now, you tell me, all these are relevant to what? Relevant to the human mind and intelligence. The mind needs contentment. In equal measure, the intelligence needs knowledge. So unless Bhakti is related to the emotional mind and the rational intelligence, it will not give you the right meaning and fulfillment.
Any pursuit worthy of itself for the human will have to have its relationship with the emotional mind and the rational intelligence. I always say any value has its relevance to man’s emotion and man’s reason. Value does not relate to the body. It always relates to the mind and relates to the intelligence. When it is explained properly, automatically it will evoke an emotional persuasion and a rational intellectual compulsion. It is all a question of our explaining it properly.
So it is not sufficient if the Bhakti generates joy and contentment. Understand that we also have an intelligence which calls for knowledge. Srimad Bhagavata clubs the two. The twelfth chapter also clubs the two. Krishna speaks about the practice. He says, have an all-fold attitude towards God. Through every moment and every activity of yours, through all moments and all activities, you should be approaching God, so that all-foldness should be there. This very expression is a knowledge expression; it is not an emotional expression. It is conveying a certain knowledge and direction. It is relevant to the intelligence; intelligence has to capture it.
As it is all fold, it has also to be incessant, unbroken, continuous. How to make our devotion unbroken? This is a question before the intelligence. So the mind may be happy, okay. You are happy and you keep quiet. But you will find invariably all the devotees after some time start speaking the language of knowledge. The great Tyāga Brahmam, Tyāgarāja who composed a number of Carnatic songs, what did he do? He was emotionally very satisfied. But gradually that emotion gave rise to knowledge and he has composed a number of immortal songs. In all of them, what is conveyed is knowledge. Even devotion is a knowledge word. It is a word and as a word it conveys a certain idea. And idea forms a unit or a measure of knowledge.
Sri Krishna explains devotion and the different stages of it. Finally he says devotion makes a person a devotee and as a devotee, he becomes or he should become a model human. A devotee is exemplary. Everybody should vie each other to copy him to become like him. Therefore, he has written a few verses to cap the twelfth chapter in which he says, “Such a devotee is dear to me”, “This kind of a devotee is dear to me”. And you will find in all those verses, different directions given, restraints laid down, disciplines underlined.
These are the qualities that he first lists about the devotee. Adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ - He should be a non-hater of all beings. The devotee should not hate anybody. I don’t hate anybody. But it is not sufficient, I have to be friendly towards all - maitraḥ. No it is not sufficient, karuṇa eva ca - I have to be sympathetic towards all. One is eliminating hatred from the mind. Then becoming friendly, friendly means expressive, try to be helping him, enquiring about his welfare, trying to be of use, speak to him courteously, make him happy, then sacrifice for his sake, maybe your comforts, your possessions, your wealth. So it should be love, sympathy and sacrifice. And in doing so, you cannot be very possessive or high handed. You should not have any possessiveness or any ego that ‘I am doing’. Understand that you are a zero in the matter of ownership and possession.
Sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī. Sukha and duḥkha are alternate responses the mind produces towards all interactional impacts. In these, neither have preference to sukha nor prejudice to duḥkha. It is duḥkha that enables sukha to be felt and sukha drives you to duḥkha. So how can you dislike duḥkha or like specially sukha because it brings duḥkha and duḥkha puts you to sukha. So our attitude is totally different and be patient and tolerant.
Santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ - You should be always happy, delightful, contented. So search your devotion in this manner. As a devotee, are you happy, contented? If you are not contented, you are not happy. When will you become always contented? What I want to emphasis is this. You are an individual. As an individual, like the body you also have an emotional mind and the enquiring intelligence.
Devotion should be a way of life, a pursuit which has to be related to mind and intelligence alike. When you make sure that it relates to both, automatically it also becomes a knowledge pursuit, reforming knowledge, refining knowledge. So the knowledge part cannot be avoided in the devotional pursuit is the conclusion that I would like all of you to have. If you couple knowledge to your devotional life you will find it transforms you in full measure. Instead of spending time on pūja and this, that and all, don’t think that I am a hater of pūja or I don’t want you to do pūja. Instead of spending time on these externals, you will spend time on your internal mind and try to make it pure, pure, pure, delightful, friendly, amiable. Will you grasp this message?
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.