My Wanderings - 96 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understand it to rediscover my Late Father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals Part- 6

My Wanderings - 96       

                                           ShrimadBhagwathgita as I understand it to rediscover my Late Father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals    

                                  Part- 6

            Krishna says, The vedas describe this world as a Peepal tree. The tree is indestructible with its roots upwards and branches downwards. The roots of the tree are upwards,  because the source of creation for all beings is Bramha , who is residing above. The branches of  world tree are downwards , because it ends with those living on  the earth , like human beings animals and trees etc. This tree of world can not be destroyed easily because it is in the nature of a continuous stream of creation , the cycle of repeated births and deaths , till the soul attains liberation.

                     The world tree grows i.e people grow with the help of rituals , as prescribed in the Vedas for achieving desired fruits . So vedas are called leaves of the tree, since tree grows with the help of leaves. He who knows this world tree , knows the Vedas.  The Vedas describe the method of cutting off this tree of world. Knowledge about the nature of tree is useful to know  the method of cutting the tree. 

               The branches of the tree spread below , first  in the shape of Devas and then  humans, animals, birds and trees and so on as per their  past karmas . These branches are nourished and grow because of the activities of three Gunas Sattava, Rajas and Tamas. The sense objects like scenes and  music are like the tender leaves of the tree, pleasing to look at. 

              The above form of the world tree is not understood properly by ordinary human beings in world , devoid of proper knowledge. Similarly , ordinary persons do not understand that non attachment to pleasurable things results in the end of world tree. It is not also understood that attachment to the three Gunas and the pleasure objects causes the origin and beginning of this world tree.    Ignorance , mistaking body for the soul forms support for this world tree. Because of such ignorance people do all actions by which they are repeatedly born and thus nourishing this world tree. 

                         For destroying ignorance , delusion and attachment one should take refuge in Me , the lord who is the beginning of all things. This soul is an eternal part of myself but it remains in this world because of past karmas for which soul takes on  the bodies of Devas, men and other beings.

                  Thus I am well established in the hearts of all beings . I exercise complete control over everything,  by my will. The memory of all beings, comes from me only, since I am the inner soul of all. Similarly , knowledge of all beings arises from Me. Knowledge is understanding something truly. I am also responsible for the loss of knowledge and loss of memory in beings. I alone am to be known from all the vedas . I am the ruler and inner soul of Agni, moon, air, sun, Indra and other Devas . 

                    The following qualities will be found in godly persons ,who are born to carry the commands of lord.

1. Fearless ness 

2. Purity of mind when Sattva guna is present free from Rajas and Tamas.

3.Firmly established in the knowledge of Soul , as different from Prakrati and body. 

4. Giving honestly earned wealth , as gift to deserving people. 

5. Controlling the mind from wandering towards sense objects. 

6. Performing actions without desire for fruits. 

7. Studying the Vedas 

8. Straightforwardness i.e oneness of thought , word and deed in dealing with others. Not like praising some body outwardly and hating him inwardly . 

9. Ahamsa i.e not injuring others . 

10. Freedom from anger, i.e not hurting others. 

11. Giving up possession of things.

12.controlling senses from attachment to the sense  objects. 

13. Compassion towards all other beings .

14. Sense of shame in doing wrong things.

15. Not having pride about one's birth, learning or wealth. 

16. Not desiring enjoyments of pleasure objects.

17.Fitness for company of good people , being of gentle manners. 

18. Great mental power , not being overcome by wicked people.

19. Forgiving others , even while undergoing suffering caused by them. 

20. Not preventing others from doing their normal work. 

                                 Actually there are two types of people, who perform good and bad deeds, the godly people and the devilish people.

                  Desire , anger and greed are the three bad qualities which lead a person to devilish nature . They ruin the soul i.e make a person unfit to realise his soul. Therefore,  one must give up these three bad qualities to avoid getting into devilish nature which can be  like hell. 

One who has escaped from these three i.e desire, anger and greed , which are the ways to darkness and produce perverse knowledge about myself, such a person works for the good of his soul. Having gained knowledge about myself , he makes efforts to worship me and reaches finally the Supreme goal,  which is Myself. 

So Arjuna, you should understand the truth , explained in the shastras , as mentioned above. You should not have any doubt or confusion about this. You should do here only such things , which are prescribed in the Shastras. 

              My late Father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul was also bestowed ,in  abundance,   with the  qualities of   godly people , as discussed above by Shrikrishna. I beleive that he might  have achieved such qualities due to  the constant attachment with knowlege and practice of Shrimad Bhagwathgita for decades together. 

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To be concluded

My Wanderings - 95 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it to rediscover my father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals Part -5

My Wanderings - 95 

  

  Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it to rediscover my Late  father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals        Part -5

           Then Krishna tells further to Arjuna , The body is called a field or khetra,  because the various actions  good or bad are done by this body directed by the soul. The fruits of such actions  in the form of good things and bad things etc.are also experienced by this body . The soul experiences the fruits by means of body. So the soul , which experiences, is different from the body, which is the field or place of experience. The wise people call him , who knows the above fact, as the knower of field or Khetrjana . Thus the soul is called khetrjana. The soul which knows the body as this is my leg etc. Is the knower . The body is the object known by soul. Just as a person who knows an object is different from that object, the soul is different from body. 

                 Know me as the inner soul of the jivatma (khetrajna) residing in all the bodies, like those of Devas and men . Similarly, the khetras or bodies of all beings and men have also  'Me' as their inner soul . The lord is therefore, the inner soul of all chetans and achetans . The body can not exist without soul. When the soul leaves the body , the body dies. Similarly the body and the soul cannot exist independently of their inner soul i.e Me, the lord. 

            The khetra i.e body forms the base or place for the soul to experience desire, hatred,  pleasure or pain . 

The following good qualities are helpful in attaining real knowledge about the soul.

1.Freedom from arrogance 2.Having a calm mind even towards people who cause injury to him .3. Not desiring the pleasure objects that are enjoyed by the senses. 4. Freedom from attachment to material objects 5. Absence of intense affection for son, wife , house and such things 6. Single minded firm devotion to Me, without desiring any material fruits and without worshipping any body else. 

               The vedas declare that Supreme Brahman is without hands and feet . But everywhere he does all the work which is done by hands and feet. With out eyes,  he sees . With out ears, he hears. The jivatmas after liberation attains highest similarity with the lord I.e it can go everywhere, it can see everything , it can hear everything and so on.The soul as already said is atomic in nature but after liberation , its knowledge becomes infinite , like that of lord.   It pervades everything in universe. The liberated jivatma , out of it's own free will, remains with out a body or can assume one body or many other bodies at the same time. 

The Prakrati , having evolved into the form of a body , in association with the soul, becomes the cause of world , because of desire , hatred and such other bad qualities . The same prakrati , with good qualities like freedom from arrogance etc. becomes the cause of salvation. 

The soul, in its essential nature, enjoys itself and gets extreme happiness . But the soul , in association with Prakriti i.e after assuming  body experiences pleasure and pain , which are the effects of the qualities sativa, rajas and tamas. These qualities also evolve from Prakrati. The soul in association with the bodies of deva man etc.gets attached to three Gunas. If sattva predominates it does good deeds resulting in punya and if rajas and tamas predominates , it does bad deeds resulting in papa. Then for the purpose of experiencing the results of punya and papa , the soul is 'born' again in good and evil  bodies . There again , it does good or bad activities and is born again to experience the fruits of these activities. This endless cycle of births and deaths goes on , till the soul gets liberated by adopting suitable means , like Bhakti Yoga. So the soul taking on  good or evil bodies is due to  its attachment to the three Gunas sattva, rajas and tamas due to which it performs good or bad deeds

.

            Then Krishna tells Arjuna about the Prakrati, which is like a womb from which the whole universe comes out. In this womb of prakriti , I , the lord , put the seed , consisting of infinite number of souls. In other words I unite souls with Prakriti . From that union comes the birth of all beings  from Bramah to blade of grass. I unite the souls with various types of bodies , depending upon their past karmas. 

Sattava, Rajas and Tamas are Gunas or qualities , which belong to Prakrati and arise from Prakrati. By its essential nature the soul, is not associated with these Gunas, but because the soul resides in the bodies of Devas,  men etc. , the gunas which belong to the bodies , bind the soul also. 

         The sattva guna is free from impurity. It produces true knowledge about everything . It produces sound health free from disease. So such person does good activities and consequently ,he is born again, in superior bodies to enjoy the fruits for him. Thus the sattva guns causes repeated births in superior bodies and binds himself in this world. The Rajas guna causes desire for sense objects and thereby rajasguna binds soul by desire to do activities for attaining happiness, rather than on the goal of happi ess itself.             A person in rajas thus does activities , resulting in punya and Papa.  In this way he is involved in endless cycle of births and deaths. Tamas is caused by ignorance I.e wrong knowledge about a thing which causes a person doing evil deeds. Besides it leads to  dullness of mind, lethargy and laziness. This again results in  Papa and leads to repeated births and deaths. The three Gunas Sattvik, Rajas and Tamas are in the prakriti , which evolves into the body.

        A person , who transcends these three Gunas,  who sees soul is different from the Gunas and is of the sole full of knowledge , he is freed from the sorrows of birth,death and old age. He enjoys immortal soul. He who has transcended the three Gunas is indifferent to all things, other than realization of the soul.He realises that the Gunas function in their normal sphere in producing their knowledge , activity and delusion and remains silent. He does not exert himself in such things which are the effects of the Gunas.  He remains engaged only in realisation of his soul. Because his sole love in  atma, he does not get joy from the birth of sons or sorrow due to death of his sons etc. He treats mud , stone and gold as the same and worthless. He treats equally both  pleasant  and unpleasant things. He is indifferent towards honour or dishonour , respect or disrespect shown by others realizing that they do not affect the soul in any way. He treats his friend and enemy in the same manner. He has given up all efforts to attain all desirable objects , other than his soul. The person who worships me with single minded devotion and intense love , who does not worship any other deva, who does not desire any other fruits and who adopts Bhakti yoga transcends these three Gunas.  I see to this because my will is true, I am extremely compassionate and I am an ocean of affection towards those , who seek refuge in me.

                Now referring to my  Late father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul  ,  I consider that his personality was predominated by sattvic Guna only ,  but after visualizing his  close resemblance with the character of persons who have transcended the three Gunas as described by Shrikrishna ,I can perceive that he had also transcended the three Gunas i.e Sattvic, Rajas and Tamas to a large extent.

Om tat sat bramho.

To be Concluded ..........

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My Wanderings - 94 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as understood by me to rediscover my Late Father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals. Part 4

My Wanderings - 94                                                   Shrimad Bhagwathgita as understood by me to rediscover my late Father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals .                                  Part - 4

Krishna says further  to Arjuna, you love me and you are very happy on hearing my greatness . Listen carefully to my extremely valuable words, which I shall speak to you , for the sake of your welfare. 

I am different from achetans , because I do not keep on changing like achetans .

I am different from chetans in world because chetans are born with a new body and die to leave the body . But I am not subject to such births and deaths.

I am also different from chetans , which are liberated I.e which have attained Kaivalya or Moksha. But I was never born in this world , like these chetans.

So I am completely different from all groups of chetans and achetans . I do not have any birth at any time.

                    From beginningless times I am never born. I am the great Lord of all Lords of the world. Even Bramha , the creator , belongs to the category of beings in world. Due to past extreme punya , he has become Bramha . The seven great Rishis , viz. Brighu and others were born from the mind of Bramha for creation of beings in the universe. These human beings are all therefore descendants of the Rishis. These Rishis are all under my control and obey my will.

               Such people who desire to be in constant union with me and who worship me . I with love and affection give them intellect leading to bhakti, so they attain me with out delay.

             I am the soul or atma seated in the hearts of all beings, who constitute my body . The soul supports the body , controls the body . So I , as the soul of all beings support all beings , control all beings, I am the cause of their origin, maintenance and dissolution. 

                        Then Shrikrishna , who is the Supreme Bhrahman , Narayana , showed to Arjuna ,his Supreme sovereign form, which is the controller of the universe , and on which the entire universe depends. It was the Virat  sarupa. The Lord was having many mouths and eyes, many wonderful aspects, many divine ornaments and divine weapons held erect. He was having divine garlands and dress with divine perfumes , full of all wonders shining infinite ( limit less both in space and time) and with faces in all directions . There Arjuna saw the whole universe consisting of all chetans and achetans remaining in one portion of his body. The chetans were divided into Brahma, other Devas, animals, men, immovable objects and the like. Arjuna also saw in the Lord's body earth, heaven and other similar worlds. Again all the objects of enjoyments were also there. Then Arjuna bowed his head before the Lord and said, I see in your body all the Devas Bramha , Siva , who is in Bramha ( Siva who acts as per wishes of Bramha) rishis and shining stars like Vasuki and Takshaka. You are the indestructible supreme Brahman , as pointed out in Upnishdas . You support this universe . You are unchangeable and not liable to decline. You protect the vedic dharma, by taking avatars like this i.e Krishna . I now realise , krishna, by direct perception, that you are of this Supreme nature. All the fourteen worlds, the space between earth and heaven and all the directions are pervaded by you alone. Seeing you pervading everything, infinite in magnitude and extremely wonderful and terrible, my limbs have become weak and my senses are shaken up. All these sons of Dhritrashtra with all the kings on their side , Bhishma , Dhrona and Karna along with some important warriors from our side also enter with speed into your mouths and getting destroyed.  

         Then Shrkrishna replies to Arjuna, I showed you this terrible form only to impress upon you that I myself have decided to destroy the kings in the Kaurva army . So you are only an instrument in killing them, by fighting this war. All these people on the opposite side , who have committed wrong , have already been killed by me. You need not to feel sorry to fight the war , out of the love for relatives or out of pity. Therefore,  fight without any doubt. You will conquer the enemies in the war. There is absolutely nothing wrong in killing them.

              Then Arjuna  asks Shrikrishna that some people desire to be united with you , holding you alone as the supreme object of attainment. There are some others , who meditate on the soul, which is indestructible and can't be seen with naked eye. Of these two types of people , who reach sooner their goal. 

Then Krishna replies to Arjuna  , Those who fix their minds always on me , because of My being exceedingly dear to them, who worship me with supreme faith and who are eager to have eternal union with me , such people, attain me , the Supreme goal, easily and very soon. So, they are the best among those who try to realise their goal. I lift such people from the deadly ocean of world of  births and deaths , with out delay.

                 A person who controls well his senses or Indriyas , who sees all souls as equal because they are solely of the form of knowledge , whether they are in the bodies of Devas or other beings . Who is interested in the welfare of all beings and he who  becomes unhappy if other beings suffer. such a person who mediates on the soul in this manner , also realises the soul. The soul in its liberated state , has the same auspicious qualities as Myself, like being free from births and deaths. 

             As a first step give up the fruits of your actions . Only when all the sins have been destroyed , a person develops the mind which holds me exceedingly dear , and which sees me , as the only object of attainment. Perform all works without attachment to fruits , as a form of my worship and for the sake of my pleasure . Then you will be able to successfully meditate on the soul after controlling the mind. By such a meditation all ignorance and delusions like mistaking the body for the soul, will be destroyed. After that, you will see that the individual soul is solely dependent on me. By this knowledge, you will then get supreme devotion to me .

             The person  who does bhakti yoga to attain Me , is far superior to one who meditates on the Soul, because Bhakti yoga is more pleasant to do and fruit also( i.e Myself ) is the highest. 

                 Then Arjuna asks  Shrikrishna to define the characteristics of person who has equanimity of mind and  is dear to you . To  this Shrikrishna replies , one who is not envious but is kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego , who is equal in both happiness and distress,  who is tolerant , always satisfied , self controlled and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on me, such a devotee of of mine is very dear to me.

( In the last paragraph of this write up I can match the characteristics of my Late father Dr. Sham Lal Koul, as described by Shrikrishan of the people  having equanimity of mind and dear to him and that is the reason why I entitled this 'SHRIMAD BHAGHWATGITA as  understood by me  to rediscover my father.'

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to be concluded......

My Wanderings - 93 Shrimad Bhaghwatgita as I understood it Part -3

My Waderings - 93

Shrimad Bhagwatgita as I understood it 

to rediscover my Father Late  Dr.Sham Lal Kaul who was an  ardent lover of it.

Part -3 

              Shrikrishna taught earlier about the vision of the true nature of the soul . This can be achieved by doing karma yoga, after having the true knowledge about soul . This realization of true knowledge of the soul is necessary to adopt Bhakti yoga , which is the means for attaining the supreme goal, Narayana , who is the sole cause of the universe , who is omniscient , who is eternal  controller of everything and who has everything for his body .

 

             Then Shrikrishna tells Arjuna about himself and also about his distinctive form and how he is different from all living and nonliving things. The matter or Prakriti is divided into eight principles as Earth, Water, Fire , Air, ether (Akasha ), Mind , Intellect and Ego . You must know that all these eight principles and also other things like Tan matras which constitute sense of  taste , smell, sight, sound and   touch etc. , Gyan indeiyas and karma indriyas belong to me only. 

                The nonliving(Achetana) prakrati is actually inferior to the living one like (Chetana )or soul , but both belong to me . It is the soul that sustains and supports the body . The nonliving things are objects of enjoyment and living things enjoy them.

                All beings , starting from Bramha downwards to grass are born out of the combination of chetana and achetana . The chetna I.e soul takes the body of deva, man , animal etc. In accordance with their past karma . Both chetans and achetans belong to me and thus everything is mine.

There is nothing greater or higher than me . I am the highest,  being the cause of both chetans and achetans . They all merge in me in a very subtle form during  Maha pralaya  and evolve out of me after the  Mahapralaya. So I am the cause of everything. I am the Supreme person , possessing knowledge ,Power, strength and such other qualities . So, there is no one, who is superior to Me. Since everything forms my body , and I am the inner soul of all beings, I alone exist. 

             I am the special taste in water. I am the brightness in the moon and sun. I am the pranava , the OM in all the vedas. I am the sound in ether or Akasa. I am the potent force in men . I am pleasant smell in the earth and the heat in the fire. All the things that exist in this world is dependent on me but I am not dependent on them.

                       Some people worship me  for obtaing wealth and luxuries I.eAaishwarya .  some others worship me  to realise  the pure and real nature of soul. This state is called Kaivalya . A few wise men who know me and my greatness desire to attain Me only , as the highest object of attainment . 

The wise man who wants me only is the highest form of devotee because other two categories of people consider me means to achieve their goals  and they remain attached to me only till attainment of their desires.    I am extremely dear to such a man, who wants me only,  and he is also extremely dear to me. 

                      I take my human form during avatars out of my own free will and kindness,  so that people may take refuge in me . But the foolish people get deluded by my outer form . They think that I am also just like any one of them. Hence such people don't know I am the Supreme person. 

         The three types of people as already explained who want 1. Luxuries ie Ashwarya 

2. Realization of soul I.e Kaivalya

 3. Who desire to attain me , the  Lord only .

People who want Aishwarya should know Adhibhuta and Adhideva . 

The people who want vision of pure soul separated from Prakrati I.e Kaivalya should know three things 1. Brahman 2. Adhiyatma 3.karma .

All the categories of people mentioned above should know Adhiyajna and also remember me, the Lord at the time of death. 

        Then Arjuna asks Shrikrishna to explain him regarding the terms Brahman, Adhyatma , Karma , Adhibuta , Adhidaiva and Adhiyajna . 

Then Krishna replies that Brahman is the soul in its state of purity, free from Prakrati . As soul is eternal and indestructible , it is called a Brahman , as a matter of courtesy . The real Brahman is myself , the Supreme Lord .

One's own nature , dwelling with the soul is called Adhyatma. The five elements or panch bhutas like air,fire, water,earth and akasa in their subtle form remain with the soul even after death when  it goes to swarga and so on . These subtle elements leave the soul only when he attains Moksha. So this Adhyatma consists of subtle elements and subtle impressions Vasna ,which are carried from previous births. They remain attached to the soul. A person who seeks Kaivalya I.e vision of his pure soul , should know both this brahman i.e Soul and the Adhyatma. The Brahman has to be attained and the Adhyatma has to be given up. 

The discharge of the creative fluid by man from the Male organ in to the body of female beings is called Karma. So this Karma should be regarded by the seeker of Kaivalya as hate worthy , mean and should be avoided. The Adhibuta means panch bhutas or five elements along with subtle elements Tan mantras viz.sound, touch ,sight ,taste and smell attached to them . These are all changeable and perishable . So persons who seek wealth i.e Ashwarya should understand and attain them, which will give them superior but temporary pleasure. 

The Pursha is the individual Soul or Jivatma . He is called Adhidevta  because he becomes superior to all the Devas like Indra and Prajapati. He also enjoys and gets superior pleasures than indira and Prajapati because of worshiping me the Supreme  Lord. So the seeker after wealth, the Ashwarya should understand and mediate on Adhidevta. 

Adhiyajna means one, who  is the object of worship through yajnas. 

So I , the lord , am known as Adhiyajna . Indra and other Devas constitute my body and I am their inner soul. So I am the person who is actually worshiped by Yajnas. 

Summing up , 

1. The seeker of Aishwarya should know Adhibhuta , Adhidaivita and Adhiyajna.

2. The seeker of Kaivalya should know Brahman, Adhyatma , karma and Adhiyajna.

3. The seeker of Lord should know Adhiyajna .

 A person who at the time of death , thinks of Me alone and gives up the body and departs from this world, he attains my state i.e my Nature. 

          Then Shrikrishna tells Arjuna, the main secret of attaining the Supreme Lord through Bhakti yoga. Th Supreme Lord i.e Shrikrishna can be even directly perceived , when worshipped with extreme devotion. Bhakti means worshipping the lord with devotion. So, Bhakti itself,  being in the nature of always thinking about the lord, brings bliss and happiness.People who do not have faith and eagerness to practise this Bhakti , although they are fit to do so, do not attain me.It is the means for attaining me. By not doing this Bhakti yoga , such people do not attain me.

               Besides worshipping me they also take efforts in doing works connected with me , like construction of my temples, flower gardens and so on. With loving devotion they prostrate before me in the temples etc.They thus prostrate on the earth like stick with out caring for the dust, mud ,stones etc. on the ground. Thus knowing me as the inner soul of all chetans and achetans , the great people worship me. Those who worship me, attain me. I am without beginning and end . I am omniscient . I am an ocean of innumerable auspicious  qualities . My bliss and happiness are unbounded . After attaining me and such endless bliss , such people do not return to world. Om tat sat Bramha.

To be concluded

My Wanderings - 92 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it . Part - 2

My Wanderings -92

Shrimad Baghwat Gita as I understood it

Part - 2

                Then Srikrishna says  further to Arjuna, " A person does various activities . He also knows the true nature of soul , as an agent of these activities, done by the will of lord.  So he has this knowledge while doing Karma . In other words he sees knowledge in karma .Similarly, a person who meditates on his soul , also does the prescribed actions . So he sees and does karma in knowledge I.e while meditating on the soul. So , a person who sees knowledge in karma and who sees karma in knowledge is really the wise person , who is also fit to attain Moksha. 

                     A person should not have any desire for fruits . He should have his mind and intellect firmly under control . He should give up the feeling of possession and ownership , in regard to the material objects which he possesses. Such a person does not incur any sin . He does not get involved in world, by doing work , necessary for maintaining the body and the like. He sees the soul by karma yoga of this kind , with out the aid of Gyana yoga. 

             He should not have hatred towards others. He should realise that whatever unpleasant thing has happened to him is due to his own past karmas and others are not responsible for the same.

        A person should  be clear in mind that soul is not the cause of his own actions . It is the body only , which is the cause of his actions. His mind should  also realise  that soul is not the doer and we do work only because of association with the body, as a result of past karmas . Thus realizing the soul is it's own master and is at peace. It neither does any actions nor does it get the actions done through the body .

              The people performing the yoga , give up attachment to swarga and such other temporary fruits.They do such work which can be done by the body, the mind , the intellect and the senses to attain the purification of soul I.e for destroying the bondage of past karmas. It is this past karmas which stand in realization of the true nature of soul. 

              Then ShriKrishna describes the true nature of the liberated soul , which is not bound by karmas I.e which is liberated from the bondage of samsara ; is such that it does not make efforts to do a thing. It does not do works . It does not also get attached to the fruits of its actions. 

People who have a steady desire , to realise the soul , who regularly practice for the realization of soul , who regard this realization as their highest goal in life, such people get their previous sins washed away by such a knowledge and finally attain the soul, from where there is no return. The soul is called Brahman here, out of respect and courtesy,  because, in it's pure liberated state , the soul attains all the auspicious qualities of Supreme  Lord.

           A person who understands the true nature of soul sees no difference in mud , stone and gold. He also does not see any difference in  Friends and enemies .In the developed stage of yoga , the person realizes his similarity with me I.e Lord  on account of his soul also being of uncontracted knowledge , when liberated like mine. He worships me firmly as existing in all beings .   A person by constantly fixing his mind on me , the supreme Brahman as the auspicious object of meditation with his mind well controlled and purified by thinking about me only, attains everlasting peace and bless as  is established in me . At this stage , a person knowing the similarity between all the souls , sees happiness or  sorrow as the same everywhere. He is as happy to see happiness of others as his own and  in the same way sorrow of others as his own . 

              A person who worships me , the supreme Brahman with intense love , will and devotion ,whose mind is directed towards me and is totally absorbed in me , who is unable to bear the pangs of separation from me , even for a moment,  because of my being very dear to him . He is considered by me worthiest among yogis  of all kinds. 

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To be concluded ...

My Wanderings - 91 Shrimad Bhagwat Gita as I understood it Part - 1

My Wanderings - 91

Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, as I understood it. Part- 1

In the battle of Mahabarta , SriKrishna had become charioteer of Arujuna out of love and affection  for him . Arjuna tells  Shrikrishna to bring the chariot in the middle of two armies so that he can have the glimpse of warriors  who want to fight against him . While  reaching there he found Drona , Bhishma and kaurvas ready with all their weapons to fight with him . He gets nervous  with compassion and tells Shrikrishna that he does not want to  fight with Bishma and Drona who are respectable for him . Moreover even if kaurvas are   wicked  but still they are his cousins.  He does not want to win and enjoy the luxuries of kingdom after smearing his hands with their blood. He tells krishna that it is better to  resort to begging rather than killing his teachers and relatives.

On listening to these words of Arjuna , Shrikrishna smiles and replies to Arjuna 

Oh Arjuna ! "why are you so grieved over those  things which don't deserve your grief"? " As you don't have the knowledge of difference between soul and body that is why you are grieving over such filmsy grounds".To tell you the fact SOUL and BODY are two different entities . Body is made from prakrati which is composed of panch Bhutas i.e Soil, water, air, fire and sky. The body is  also perishable.  The body has various parts like head ,arms legs etc. which can be cut into pieces and destroyed by any out side agency .while as Soul is atomic in nature . It does not have parts like body and hence can not be cut into pieces  . It is eternal and can not be effected  by out side agencies like fire air or water . Neither  fire can burn it nor Water can wet it or air can dry it .The soul is thus indestructible.  The eternal soul is endowed with body to enjoy the fruits of past karmas I.e to  undergo pains and pleasures as the result of past karmas . When the body which is perishable in nature  gets destroyed , the soul attains new body sometimes inferior and  sometimes superior as per the past karmas of person . 

              As our bodies change in shape  constantly from child hood to youth and  to old age thereafter , in the same way after perishing of one body soul takes another body,  which is called death by foolish persons. But wise persons don't grieve over it. As a person changes his clothes so soul changes different bodies and that should not be reason of regret for wise persons  .  It is inevitable to mention  here  that  all the souls of living beings belong to me  and have no difference but bodies where they dewel may be different like those of Devas , Human beings , animals birds insects and plants etc.  The bodies are attained by the soul as per  their past karmas. If the past karmas are good , a soul can attain superior bodies of Devas or human beings . Here in this battle i.e Dharmudha you are not going to kill your opponents but only separating their souls from their bodies . By doing this action you may even  be doing favour  to them as they have now chances of attaining superior bodies after leaving their old bodies .

                   Moreover, as per your caste I.e khatriya it is your duty to fight against your opponents with out thinking whether you win or lose this battle  . Both the ways you have a  win a win position  . If you lose this battle  you will get swarga or even better place  i.e Moksha from this birth and death cycle  and if you win this battle you  will enjoy all the luxuries of kingdom . Now out of compassion if you don't fight this war , the present and future generations will consider you coward, who ran away from the battle field . 

        The knowledge about body and soul is known as Gyana yoga in vedanta .Then Arjuna asks Krishna when  Gyan yoga is sufficient to realise salvation,   then why do you involve me in these criminal  actions where I have to kill my kiths and kins . Then Shrikrisha replies to Arjuna that  it is very difficult to realise Gyana  yoga  and needs lot of meditation , practice and  blessings of almighty I.e me. While practising this yoga we need to have complete control over our  senses I.e Gyan indriyas  which are five in number I.e smell by nose , sight by eyes , touch by hands or body, taste by tongue  and listening through ears  . Our object of realizing soul should not get diverted by these senses. 

                   A person who desires liberation from this bondage of samsara I.e a person who desires Moksha should practise  the Karma Yoga with determination after knowing the true nature of soul in detail. The  karma yoga is little easier than Gyana yoga and with out obstacles  , which leads  us  automatically   to Gyan yoga with constant practice in due course of time .Moreover, karma yoga is superior to Gyan yoga . Even if a person is fit for doing Gyana yoga . Karma yoga is better for him also.  A person should practise Karma yoga and thereby earn the Lords pleasure . Then his past sins are destroyed. He is able to bring his gunas under control.   He becomes pure in mind and senses . Then he becomes fit to Gyana yoga . 

              Further knowledge of true nature of soul is included in karma yoga itself  . The soul has to be meditated upon , as not the doer of actions but controlled by the lord. Actually gyan yoga and karma yoga are interrelated but a person practising gyan yoga only can not do away with karma yoga .   Soul and body together  constitute an  individual  who  by nature has to do some action to satisfy his basic needs which he performs by his Karam indriyas I.e arms, legs, mouth ,excretion and reproductive parts . He can not even sustain his body if he does not do any action .  I am the lord myself , I have achieved everything .There is nothing which remains unacheived  by me. But still I work to keep myself busy and for setting an example for other people to follow. According to shastaras there are three types of karmas which an individual has to do .They are Niti karma , Nimiti karmas and Kamya karmas.

        Niti karma constitute  early morning sandya vandana , Nimiti karma are jal Tarpan to pitras and devas especially during eclipse period.  Lastly the Kamya karma are done for earning money and luxuries in life and then swarga after death . The first two karmas are mandatory  but the third karma is optional,  but has to be done because with out that karma first two karmas that are mandatory remain incomplete because we need money  for performing yajnas and nourishing of our bodies with the remnants of those yajnas .

                 But we should not get attached to those karmas which provide us wealth and luxuries .We should attribute those karmas to the almighty as if we are doing all our karmas for the sake of lord.  That is a sort of Mukhti from karam bandhan as well as doing Nishkam karma . So all these Karmas should be performed by you , as a form of worshipping Me, the lord . You should do them for the pleasure of the Lord. You will then aatain salvation in due course. 

            Attainment of Swarga should not be ultimate aim of an individual because if a person attains  even Swarga  ,  he has to leave it  after some time and undergo  birth and death cycle again and again.His aim should be to attain Moksha from birth and death cycle  and his ultimate aim should be to attain paramatma the lord I.e me .  As per adaivta philosophy the soul dwelling  in every person belongs to lord and  has an contract form of the lord almighty embedded therein which a person has to realise  and get merged with  me, the almighty  . 

           Then Arjuna asks Shrikrishna if the ultimate aim of an individual is to get emerged with almighty that is you,through Bakhti yoga ,  then why there are various options given in vedas  how to achieve wealth , luxuries and Swarga  , which in my opinion are  lower forms of meditations . Srikrishan replies to Arjuna that vedas are sea of knowledge.  They cater to the needs of every person according to their temperaments.  There are actually three types of temperaments in an individual which are called Gunas . They are Satogun, Rajogun and Tamogun . The sattogun characteristic is free from impurity and promotes health and happiness , Rajogun produces desire for worldly pleasures and attachment to friends and relatives . The Tamogun causes delusion and makes the person dull and drowsy .  These Gunas are embedded in every individual in different proportions . Some have dominance of Satogan and others have dominance of Rajogun or Tamogun .but you  should remain free from the mixture of three Gunas and you should have sattvaguna predominantly present in you .   By this you will also be free from the pairs of opposites like pain and pleasure , victory and defeat and so on i.e you should not get affected by them. 

                    Before creation , all souls  and prakrati were merged in the lord , in a subtle form. Then they did not have names and forms . So in that dormant state , with out bodies the  souls  were not able to perform any work, to achieve the desirable fruits like Moksha . So out of compassion , the lord took up creation . He bestowed bodies to the souls , so that they can study vedas and perform works. 

So Arjuna , have a clear knowledge about the essential nature of the soul . Whatever actions you do , you surrender them to me . In other words you give up the thought that you are the doer , and realise that I , the supreme lord , am the cause of everything .

To be concluded .........

My Wanderings - 90. Superstitions

Superstitions have taken a toll of our society to such a large extent that a rationale person is labeled as an atheist.But a rationale person can  also be a staunch believer . Our society is embedded with the menance of superstitions since its inception. There will not be a single person without an iota of superstition in his psyche because the same has been imbibed in our mindset right from our birth.
A person with weak will, particularly  womenfolk of our society fall prey to the evil designs of so called godmen, Charleston's and fortune tellers. They flung their bait and we are succumbed to their gameplans. They give us gems, charms etc. to ward off evil on us and empty our pockets.
I have seen many celebrities going to these godmen or Astrologers to know their future as they are unsecured and do not want to fall down from the heights they have achieved. But ordinary people like us who do not have higher stakes also fall prey to them.
Though Astrology is a great subject which formed the base of moden  Astronomy, but what relation there can be possibly between human destiny and stars , which are thousands and thousands of miles away from us. Sometimes we wait for auspicious dates to perform some functions. I have seen a person waiting for auspicious day to join his new job. The job was declined to him as he joined late.
There are usually discussions on existence of ghosts, haunted houses etc.
Some even say that they have seen the ghost with their own eyes. It was a form of tall person draped in long white gown etc. But in my opinion it is all due to hallucinations that we see the ghostly figures in the same shape that we have visualised in our own mind. A man with strong will should never be haunted by such ghosts.
Some godmen perform miracles.They stop their pulse, produce holy ash from the palm of their hands or generate wrist watches, particularly for their affaulent desiples. But watches are usually Swiss made and not made in heaven. It was Dr.Kavoor Srilankan rationalist and writer of book entitled Be Gone Godmen, Who challenged them ...if they can perform such miracles in his presence. he will pay them Rs one Lack, which was a huge amount those days.No godman accepted his challenge as Dr Kavoor was aquainted with all these tricks himself.
It is really my dream to see rationality in my society someday.