Verse 17.7🔗

Listen to the difference between these three. Kṛṣṇa now speaks about food. Three different types of people enjoy three different types of food. Before we discuss these verses, let me explain the three different types of śraddha based on what we are. āhāras tv api sarvasya tri-vidho bhavati priyaḥ I yajñas tapas tathā dānaṁ teśāṁ bhedam imaṁ sṛṇu II 17.7 Please understand that one group of people is completely negative. They lack integrity, the space of positivity. They only doubt, doubt and doubt. They doubt themselves and others. They have decided not to believe in anything. They have decided not to raise themselves in their lives. They remain dumb in self-doubt.

We can’t do anything with them. This is the first group. The second group consists of people who positively believe, who are integrated, but do not practice authenticity, the space of possibility. They build the pattern of impossibility. They continuously resist expansion. Understand, while on the surface they believe that they are confronted by patterns and limitations imposed by their patterns, deep down inside them, they actually resist expansion. Just see, look around the society. Everything is nothing but the resistance to expansion. The third group of people believes and practices authenticity, the space of possibility with responsibility. They know that nothing is impossible. For them, life is all about making the impossible into I-M-Possible.

There are three groups. One group is in self-doubt. Even the word doubt is too good to describe it. They are in self-denial. They are prejudiced. This group is in tamas. The next group is the believers. They are in rajas. The third group is authentic. This group is in satva. Kṛṣṇa beautifully explains the differences between the prejudiced group in self-denial, the believers with positivity and the authentic group with possibility. He then talks about their ways of life, character and how we can achieve the authenticity of satva and imbibe the truths explained in the Gītā. He gives a beautiful step-by-step explanation and the teachings on how to raise ourselves from the prejudiced level to the believing level, and from the believing level to the authenticity level.

All those here are already at the believing level. If you are prejudiced, you will not sit here everyday. You would merely stand there, listen to two or three words and go away. Many people come just to check out what is going on. They stand here for two or three minutes and look at their watch. And even in those few minutes, their feet will shuffle ten times this way and that, and they will say, ‘Alright, enough. I think he is just a young Swami. What can he say that I do not already know?’ They just walk out in self-denial. If you are not at least at the level of belief, you will not sit here.

Coming regularly and sitting through these satsangs shows that you are at least at the level of belief. You are integrated, living in the space of positivity. Now, all you need to do is jump into the level of authenticity, the space of possibility. The moment we jump into the level of authenticity, śraddha, we experience the truth. We become Kṛṣṇa. We experience Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Technology to Experience Authenticity Now, we will enter into the technology of experiencing the authenticity, the technology of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation1205 You see, there is an important choice that you must make. Either you should be completely sincere and trust what I say as the truth, or be very clear that whatever I am saying is just lies.

If you can’t practice what I am saying, whatever I am saying is a lie. If you are unable to practice, what is the use of this truth? Whether I am saying the truth or not, you will decide. Only you can decide that. No one else can decide for you. I cannot decide for you. If you can execute what I tell you with authenticity in your thinking and actions, if you are able to commit to live the great principle of authenticity, I am speaking the truth. If you are unable to do it, what is the use of the whole thing? Nothing, there’s no use. For eighteen days, it’s a waste of your time and my time, that’s all.

If you don’t have the cognitive shift, if it does not transform your life to its highest possibility, then it is only wastage of time; and whatever has happened here is not the truth. Please listen. The result of my words on your consciousness decides whether what I spoke is the truth or a lie. Understand, you don’t need to do it completely or perfectly. Having the courage of authenticity to experiment with a clear decision that you will expand your possibility is enough. After my talking all these days, if you consciously say, ‘Why not test for two or three days?’, if you have that much courage, that is enough.

Practicing integrity creates the space of positivity in you, and practicing authenticity creates the space of possibility in you. The clear decision that you will continuously expand your possibility for you and you will not be satisfied with what you are now, is more than enough! You do not need any other separate practice. That is the good news I have for you! A conscious decision is enough! The cognitive shift itself will make you live the principles. It is unfortunate that we do not understand the importance of cognitive shift. We think that some form of practice is required. I do promote spiritual practices like kriya, yoga and praṅāyāma, for the purpose of purifying your bio-memory, purifying your body and to cure some diseases.

But I tell you, that is not the first priority in spiritual life. It may be like a pickle, but it is not the main meal! The main meal is cognitive shift! Shift in your cognition, shift in your perception, shift in your decision! You need to know the power of your authenticity. Even if it looks like inauthenticity in the initial level, stand by it. It will rise and rise to the next-next levels of authenticity. When you are authentic towards your inauthenticity, it will lead to authenticity. Like, any number, any equation multiplied with zero, becomes zero. In the same way, however much your inauthenticity may be, if you are authentic towards your inauthenticity, you will become authentic.

Please understand, the gap between your desire and your responsibility is your inauthenticity. Bring more and more authenticity. Take more and more responsibility. So, when you take responsibility, sit by creating the space and be ready to sacrifice. The world will simply move based on your word! The world will move as you want! Please understand, our meeting will become just one more meeting, if you don’t have the courage to consciously decide to live the truth learned here. If you don’t practice integrity and authenticity with responsibility, if you don’t allow Kṛṣṇa’s words to work on you, this meeting will be another polite meeting. Let these words penetrate you.

May you consciously decide to experiment with the truths of Bhagavad Gītā. If you don’t experiment, at least it will be mentally clear to you that this is not the truth. You might think, ‘Swamiji was simply saying what he has read somewhere.’ But if you believe this is the truth, you will be here. If you think this is not the truth, you will not be here. You will not come everyday and sit for three hours, even if you do not have any other work to do. You could have sat in front of the television at home. There are many other places to go to, yet you chose to be here.

You chose to listen. This shows that you think there is truth behind these words. So, when you think there is some truth, never allow inauthenticity in you, never wait to experiment living the truth. ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation 1207 Courageously Decide to Expand Your Possibility Have the courage of authenticity and experiment with the space of possibility. Life starts with the space of possibility! I tell you, bliss or Ānanda means ‘the space of possibility, where life oozes out of you’. Everything should create a space of possibility in you. Take one single idea. You don’t need to experiment with the whole Gītā. Take one single principle and intranalyze that to the core.

Let your whole being vibrate with that single thought. Swami Vivekananda says, ‘When you commit to a single idea, your blood should boil with that single idea. Even your hair should stand in that direction. Your bones, your thoughts, your body and your mind should all stand for it. Your whole being should be directed towards that concept. Only then success is certain.’ Please understand, take one life principle and work with it to the peak of your possibility. The peak of possibility should be realized in every human being so that you become empty. You are nothing but a NO. When the NO’s disappear, you disappear and the truths, satya start living through you.

Your personality is made of NO’s and your identity is made of YES. Let your personality be dropped and identity be awakened. Your personality is given by society but identity is natural. If you fail, there is nothing wrong. But have courage to work with it. If you succeed, you will know it is the truth and you will be liberated. You will be in the space of completion. You will have bliss. If it fails, you will know that it is not the truth and you will be clear. You can continue your search elsewhere. So be very clear about it. The basic truth Kṛṣṇa is telling you is about integrity and authenticity.

Three Groups of People Please listen. There are three groups of people—tāmasic group, rājasic group, and satva group. The tāmasic group is prejudiced, meaning negative and lacks integrity. Understand, it is due to the fear of your possibilities you get into the space of impossibility. Your patterns, fears, everything is directed only in one line—fear of your possibilities. Lack of integrity is nothing but fear of confrontation. See, the moment I present the truth of integrity, everyone thinks, ‘Oh! I can do this may be for two days or four days.’ But no one, no one thinks or understands, realizes, why you are afraid of integrity. You strongly believe that the manipulativeness of your mind has saved you, helped you in many situations.

I tell you, a lion not realizing it is the lion and thinking it is a sheep, is also not that big crime. But the lion thinking it may need the help of a fox in its life and keeping the fox as a friend and companion, is the biggest crime. Please understand, deciding not to declare integrity in your whole life, itself is nothing but the lion believing strongly it may need the help of a fox and keeping it with himself continuously and pampering it, ‘No, no! Please don’t go away. There may be some time when I may need your help.’ Slap the wolf. If needed slap yourself once.

Realize you are the lion who does not need the help of the wolves and foxes. Realize you are the being who does not need the help of the manipulative mind. So, integrity is your strength. Lion’s roar is enough. No animal will even stand in that area. Your integrity is enough. No problems can even stand in your breathing space. Next, the rājasic group believes intellectually but lacks authenticity in action, which is the space of possibility. They carry self-doubt and the space of impossible. Understand, why do you feel you can’t commit to live the great principle of authenticity? It is because you have an innate fear, innate pattern, self-doubt about your laziness; self-doubt that your laziness may overpower your consciousness.

That’s the biggest enemy for authenticity, śraddha. You have to complete with the pattern of laziness and with the greed for vacation. You have to complete with the desire for being in non-doing physically, but lot of doing mentally. Please understand, non-doing physically. See, if you love non-doing mentally, that is great. That is all I ŚraddhatrayaVibhāgaYogaḥ Authenticity:StraightwayTo Liberation1209 wanted. But you love non-doing physically, but lot of doing mentally. A lot of doing happens mentally. I tell you, authenticity brings life in you. Authenticity is Life! Life is the possibility of expansion. Please understand. Even your ignorance is nothing but fear of expansion. Many times you continue to be in ignorance, because of your fear of failure.

Listen! Expansion is possible when we are ready to become responsible to have it. Why do we feel the fear of responsibility? Because it brings more and more of our possibilities to our light. This means that we can’t continue to be asleep, we have to wake up. Wealth wakes us up to more responsibility. Health wakes us up to more responsibility. Happy relationships wake us up to more responsibility. Everything we love wakes us up to more responsibility which we don’t like that. Listen! You love many things in your life, but you don’t like the path to achieve them. See the conflict. Complete with the laziness, the tiredness, the boredom pattern continuously.

I tell you, then starts life; then starts something in your life. I call that as Life. The third group, the satva group has the power of authenticity. They not only believe, but they have the courage to create the space of possibility and play with the words and ideas as well. They don’t settle with the patterns of ‘impossible’. They go on expanding their possibilities. There is nothing impossible! Listen! Actually what separates you from the Cosmos? The skin and the identity that you are only up to your skin! What separates your mind from the Cosmic mind? It is just the borders you made that separates your mind from the Cosmic mind.

Just as the wall separates the ocean from the boat jetty, your ‘Impossible’ separates your individual mind from the Cosmic mind! Break that wall! After that, for anything that happens in your individual mind, the Cosmic mind will say ‘tathāstu—so be it!’ Go on making impossibilities into possibilities. What is Life? Continuously making impossibilities into possibilities is Life. When you accept that impossibility as impossibility in your life, you are dead! After that, where is life? Life is life as long as you are making all ‘Impossible’ into ‘I-M Possible,’ all ‘Impossible’ into ‘I Am Possible’! Please do not miss authenticity, the fragrance of courage. Let these words penetrate you.

The work that a disciple enters into is with the unknown, the uncharted, and the unmapped territory; so fear of expansion will be there. That is the only barrier. In spite of it, we should go on expanding. Let fear be there. It will hang around for a while. When we do not listen to it, it will leave us. It is a great day when fear of the unknown leaves us. From then on growth becomes simple, easy and spontaneous. This committed journey leads to bliss, eternal bliss, Nityānanda. We Are What We Eat