sovereign wisdom and secret

Free of Cavil

Krishna says, “To you who doesn’t cavil I shall reveal the sublime mystery- knowledge and wisdom. Once this is known, you shall be free from evil (9.1). The royal knowledge, the royal secret the supreme purifier is this, directly realisable, righteous, very easy to practice, imperishable (9.2). Men devoid of shraddha in this dharma, without attaining Me, tread the death darkened path of sansar (mortal world)” (9.3).

Krishna sets forth two conditions to be eligible for receiving this royal knowledge. The first is having shraddha (trust). In the absence of shraddha, even royal knowledge becomes a mere arrangement of words.

The second is being free of cavil, which essentially means avoiding finding faults. In a contemporary context, this phenomenon is described as ‘we see the world as we are but not as it is’. When people cavil at the same thing or situation in different ways, differences are inevitable leading to the bitterness we see around. When cavilling is dropped, everything is actively accepted as a blessing of the Almighty.

Incidentally, fulfilment of both conditions is essential for one to be a bhakt or a devotee which is beyond performing the ritualistic practices imposed by the belief systems.

Krishna starts revealing this as Arjuna shows himself to be ready for this knowledge like a bhakt. Krishna assures that once this is truly known, we are freed from the evils of sansar. Such knowing cannot remain at the level of words; it must be realised at the level of being. Knowing at the level of words would invariably lead to the enhancement of ahankaar as one feels that they know more than others. But when it is at the level of ‘being’, one attains ultimate freedom or moksha. It is like being truthful in every moment of living apart from knowing the truth.

 

 Bound by Attachment

The quantum fields are an invisible energy fields that permeates the entirety of space. One such field is called Higgs field and interaction with this field gives mass to the subatomic particles. The combination of these sub atomic particles is nothing but the matter we see around us today. While subatomic particles need the Higgs field to have mass, the Higgs field doesn’t need them for its existence. 

This current scientific paradigm will help us understand when Krishna says, “All the world is pervaded by Me in the unmanifested form; all beings dwell in Me and I do not dwell in them (9.4). Nor do beings dwell in Me; behold My divine yoga! Bringing forth and supporting beings, Myself does not dwell in them” (9.5).

To make things simple for Arjuna, Krishna gives an example and says, “As the wind moving everywhere always rests in space, know that all beings rest in Me” (9.6). However mighty or destructive the wind or cyclone might be, it is still bound to be in space.

He further says, “At the end of a time cycle (kalpa) all beings enter My prakriti (nature); at the beginning of a kalpa I bring them forth again (9.7). By revivifying My own prakriti (nature), I bring forth, again and again, all this multitude of beings, all subject to the laws of Nature” (9.8). This is the harmonious creation of the manifested from the unmanifested through the force of Nature. 

Krishna says, “Nor these acts bind Me, for I remain above them, unconcerned and unattached” (9.9). The key is non-attachment. While we tend to get attached to things or achievements, Paramatma is not attached to his mighty creations. When we take ourselves to be a karta (doer), we are bound by our karmas to karma bandhan (bondage of action) while the Paramatma is like a sakshi (witness) who is not bound (4.14).

 

 Learning from King Vali

As per the epic Ramayana, king Vali (Bali) was invincible, as he had the ability to take away half of his enemy’s strength in any encounter. Even Lord Rama had to kill him from behind a tree. One way to look at this phenomenon is that Vali was a quick learner, he grasped the skills and knowledge from people and situations as he saw the possibility of Paramatma in them but not enmity.

Krishna earlier said that all the world is pervaded by Him (9.4) which indicates that each person or situation is nothing but a facet of Paramatma. However, our ignorance about this basic fact prevents us from being a ‘Vali’. Krishna in this regard says, “The ignorant, oblivious of my transcendental nature as the maker of all creatures, discount also my presence within the human form” (9.11). It’s not just about being ritualistic or heaping praise upon the Lord, but a deep realisation that He pervades every human around us whether we like them or not.

Certainly, it is a long journey requiring regular practice with determination (6.23). Ignorance is the low point about which Krishna says, “Of vain hopes, of vain actions, of vain knowledge, senseless, they verily are possessed of the delusive prakriti (nature) of rakshasas (fiends) and asuras (demons)” (9.12).

The pinnacle of this journey is that of a Mahatma (great souls) and Krishna says, “They, possessed of my divine nature, worship Me with an unwavering mind, having known Me to be the imperishable source of beings (9.13). Always glorifying Me, striving, firm in vows, prostrating before Me with devotion, ever steadfast, they worship Me (9.14). They worship Me as a manifold facing all directions” (9.15).

It’s about getting the best out of the situation by dropping hatred while performing karmas (actions) at hand (5.3). The key is complete surrender to the all-pervading Paramatma, regardless of the name or form.

 

Facets of Paramatma

Krishna says, “I am the Vedic ritual; sacrifice; oblation offered to the ancestors. I am the medicinal herb; the mantra (chant); ajya (clarified butter); agni (fire) and the act of offering (9.16). Of this universe, I am the father; I am also the mother, the sustainer, and the grandfather. I am the purifier, the goal of knowledge, the sacred syllable Om. I am the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, and the Yajur Veda” (9.17).

“I am the ultimate goal, the upholder, Lord, Witness, Abode, Shelter, and Friend. I am Origin, Pralay (cosmic end), and the Foundation, Treasure house, and Eternal Seed (9.18). I radiate heat and give or withhold the rain. I am Amrit (immortality) as well as Mrityu (death). I am the ‘Sat’ (real or being) as well as ‘Asat’ (unreal or illusion)” (9.19).

If the all-inclusive existence had to describe itself for our understanding, it would sound like this. The context and words used are of the times when the Gita was delivered to Arjuna.

Krishna earlier told Arjuna to understand ‘sat’ and ‘asat’ (2.16) like the proverbial rope and illusory snake which is the approach of sankhya yoga. Now Krishna says that He is both ‘sat’ as well as ‘asat’ which is bhakti yoga. One path to Paramatma is to attain the ability to separate ‘sat’ and ‘asat’ and another is to realise that He is both.

These facets help us ascertain that we are firmly on the path towards realizing Paramatma as long as we remember Him whenever we get a glimpse of any one of these examples. It is as simple as remembering Paramatma when we see rain; remembering Him when we see birth as well as death; when we see fire. Essentially, it is developing an attitude to see Him in everything around us.

 

Breaking the Begging Bowl

Krishna says that through Vedic rituals one fulfils the desire of entry to heaven and enjoys the subtle pleasures (9.20). After the expiry of their punya (good karma), they come back and keep travelling in this cycle (9.21).

The general interpretation is that the punya, attained through Vedic rituals, takes us to the heaven afterlife and we come back once they are exhausted. Another interpretation is possible if attaining contentment by fulfilling desires is taken as a means of entry to heaven. Out of ignorance, one depends on Vedic rituals to fulfil desires and attain contentment from ‘outside’ like people and material possessions. On this path, one returns to misery as one can never get eternal contentment through these ever-changing situations as true contentment can only come from the unchanging self.

Further, duality (dwandwa) is the law of nature where everything exists along with its polar opposite. If heaven is taken as a feeling of pleasure polarity, one will enter into pain polarity in due course of time. This is nothing but the return from heaven.

Krishna immediately gives a path as well as assurance and says, “To those who worship Me thinking of nothing else, ever United to Me by incessant worship, I grant them yoga (union) and kshema (wellbeing or bliss)” (9.22). This is an oft quoted verse of the Gita as Krishna grants kshema (wellbeing) as well as yoga (ultimate union) with Him (Yoga Kshemam Vahamyaham) to the devotees who are on the desireless path towards Him.

This is the path of contentment with self which was termed as sthita-prajna (stoic) (2.55) in sankhya (awareness) yoga where one casts off all desires by breaking their begging bowl. From a bhakti yoga point of view, this is the desireless surrender of devotees where the Lord protects them and takes care of everything.

 

 Leaf, Flower, Fruit or Water

The general fear regarding dropping the desires is, who will take care of us, our families and our organisations if we drop the desire to grow and protect. This looks natural and logical. To dispel this fear, Krishna assured His devotees of both kshema (welfare) and yoga (union with Him) - 'Yoga-kshemam vahāmyaham' (9.22). This union is the ultimate goal and the assurance of welfare is from the all-powerful existence.

He gives a couple of simple ways to be a bhakt (devotee). Firstly, he says that even if one worships any other form with shraddha, they also worship Him alone (9.23) as He is the enjoyer and Lord of all worship (9.24). This is the crystal-clear indication that we should possess shraddha and that the rest is secondary.

Secondly, Krishna says, “The reverent offering to Me of a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, given with pure devotion, is a devotional offering I accept” (9.26). We can offer simple and easily available things like leaves, flowers, fruits or even water without looking for any exotic things to impress Paramatma to fulfill our desires.

Krishna clarifies that while His devotees attain Him; devotees of astral deities go to them; ancestor worshippers go to the ancestors; to the nature spirits those who seek them (9.25). To fulfill desires, one resorts to rituals for various deities, but the one who has dropped desires reaches Him and his well-being is ensured.

The essence of the Gita is shraddha, which is commitment and sincerity in relationships; dedication and responsibility at work; equanimity towards outcomes, things and people; courage in tough times; devotion towards any form of God. While books, gurus or even ChatGPT can provide knowledge or interpretations about the Gita, shraddha which is pure inner transformation (being) is one’s own journey.

 

Offering Ahankaar to Paramatma

The grudges and hatred we carry are a major source of our misery which we develop when others harm us through their words and/or deeds or when others don’t acknowledge our help or favours. The root cause of hatred is our assumption that we as well as others are karta (doer) which leads to ahankaar (aham-karta or I am doer) whereas our gunas (characters) are in fact, the real karta. This leads to karma bandhan (bondage of action) of grudges and hatred as we are bound to ‘others’ for life. To overcome this, Krishna earlier advised us to drop dwesh (hatred) while performing karmas at hand (5.3).

Krishna further says, “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, do them as an offering to Me” (9.27). Earlier Krishna said that one should be aware of the polarities of pain and pleasure generated during the interaction of senses and sense objects; and learn to ignore them as they are transient (sankhya yoga) (2.14). When we maintain a balance during these times, we are eligible for the amrit (moksha). Using eating as an example, Krishna now says to offer that interaction of senses and sense objects to Him (bhakti yoga). Both paths are to transcend polarities and become dwandwa-atheeth (beyond dualities).

Secondly, Krishna says whatever we do, we should do it as an offering to Him. This is nothing but offering our sense of doership to Him while performing the karmas and in other words offering ahankaar to Him. Krishna assures that through this offering; we will be free of karma bandhan (9.28) where nothing in this world can affect us as we attain ultimate freedom (moksha).

Measuring our progress in the spiritual journey of joy is difficult as neither our own nor others’ outward behaviour is an indicator. The degree of karma bandhan in terms of grudges and hatred generated in us by the events of the external world is an indicator of our progress.

 

156. Paramatma is Impartial

Krishna says, “I am equally disposed to all living beings. To Me none is dweshya (hateful), none is priya (dear). But those who worship me with devotion are in Me and I am also in them” (9.29). We find some people are fortunate in terms of health, wealth, power and fame whereas others are not, giving the impression of partiality. Secondly, while Krishna is referring to the unconditional love of Paramatma, love for us flows when some conditions are met. These issues make understanding this verse tough. 

Rain is the best example to understand the intricacies of this verse. During rainfall, if we keep a bowl, it gathers water. The bigger the bowl, the more water. But if it is kept upside down, then it is impossible to collect water. If we take rain as the blessings of Paramatma, it is impartial and available to everyone. Devotion is keeping the bowl upright to collect blessings.

The unconditional love of Paramatma is also equanimous which can be understood from the following verses. Krishna says, “All those who take refuge in Me, whatever their birth, race, gender, or caste; kings and sages with meritorious deeds will attain the supreme destination (9.32 and 9.33). Even if the sinners worship Me, they are to be considered righteous because they have made the proper resolve (9.30). Quickly they become virtuous, and attain lasting peace. No devotee of Mine is ever lost” (9.31).

Whatever may be the starting point - even being a sinner, with resolve (energy) one can reach Him with devotion (right direction). In this regard, Krishna says, “Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Having dedicated your mind and body to Me, you will certainly come to Me” (9.34). This is an assurance from the Almighty for ultimate freedom (moksha) here and now.