Verses 9.29–9.34🔗

An Enlightened Master wants nothing from this world. After realizing the supreme knowledge, he is beyond material pursuits, what can he want from anybody? He is here out of his compassion to awaken mankind into this reality. A true Master is never envious of anybody. Envy enters us when we think that somebody else has something we do not have and something that we want. There is nothing wrong with desiring something because we need it. See, each one of us is born with a certain set of desires and we bring with us the energy to fulfill them also. Ramaṇa Mahaṛṣi says beautifully, ‘The Universe has enough to satisfy each man’s needs; however it does not have enoughto satisfy a single man’s wants.’

Our needs become wants when we look at others and accumulate their desires into our own list. If you notice in life, most of our actions are governed by comparing our lives with others. Buddha says, ‘Nothing exists but in relationship.’ See, all adjectives of good, bad, tall, thin, ugly or beautiful, come when you compare with others, right? Something is good because something else is bad in comparison to that. So, our lives are run by constant comparison with those around us. When we have a clear context about what we really want, then we will spend all our energies in fulfilling those needs, without worrying about what others want or think.

In this verse, Kṛṣṇa says that he does not dislike anybody. He also says that He is not partial to anyone. Normally, in our lives we are partial to those who are helpful to us. From childhood, we are taught to love those who are potentially useful in our lives, based on what we get back in return. Everything has been reduced to a business transaction. If someone is nice to us, we are nice to them. If someone says something that hurts us, they become our enemies. We are vulnerable to the outside world, to what others say and do. As long as we are beggars, we differentiate a rich man from a poor man.

A beggar is constantly seeking, begging. A beggar is on the road begging money; we are in temples begging God for something or the other. There is no real difference! This is what we do all the time, with or without our knowledge. My Devotee Never Perishes An Enlightened Master wants nothing. He gives constantly. He radiates love because that is his true nature. He does not care who receives it; he simply gives. A river flows happily from one region to the other all the way from the hills to the ocean. It meets various kinds of stones and grass along the way. All kinds of people bathe in it; even buffaloes bathe in it.

Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ Secret Of All Secrets 709 Doestheriverdifferentiate?Doestheriversay,‘No,Iwillgivewateronlyto such and such a person?’ No! A river flows continuously, happily without bothering about who comes in contact with it. The same is the case with an Enlightened Master. Now Kṛṣṇa says, ‘If one is engaged in devotional service, then even if he commits the most abominable actions, he is considered saintly. He quickly becomes eternal and attains Eternal consciousness. O Kaunteya (son of Kuntī), declare it boldly, that My devotee never perishes.’ He goes on to say that His devotee never perishes. He says, ‘Not only I am declaring to you, you declare to the whole world, My devotee never perishes.’

He says in the verse: kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati I kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati II 9.31 ‘He who quickly becomes righteous and understands this truth, enters into eternal bliss, eternal consciousness, O Kaunteya; declare it boldly, pratijānīhi means ‘declare it boldly’, that my devotee never perishes, na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati.’ Understand that Existence is intelligence. You will never perish, you will never die because you will be in Existence somewhere in some form. This body may move; however you will be there forever. When we understand the whole Cosmic energy is intelligence, our whole life will be blessed with what we want. Whatever we lack will be supplied and whatever we have will be preserved.

And I tell you a practical thing. Consciously decide, ‘From today I will live in the space of completion and bliss, in a blissful mood, in a blissful way, in utterly relaxed consciousness.’ I promise you will attract Lakṣmī (goddess of wealth). You will attract wealth. You will create much more than a goldsmith. When we really, intensely understand this truth—the whole Universe is energy, the whole Existence is energy—please listen, yoga (success) and kṣema (protection) happen in our life. Let me tell you from my personal experience. I can quote so many great devotees’ lives, where the Divine came down and served them, where the Divine took care of them.

When Mirābāi was poisoned, Sri Kṛṣṇa came and protected her. So many millions of stories I can narrate! But let me tell you about my own life. Since I left home, when I was seventeen, I have lived without touching money. With one water pot, with this two-piece robe, walking the length and breadth of India, living under trees, begging and eating, I have lived. I tell you, whether you want it or not, accept it or not, believe it or not, the Divine always protects. This is the solid truth. When we understand this truth, not only in this world, wherever we go, we are protected. We relax into the consciousness that Existence continuously protects us, takes care of us.

When we think that the Whole is our enemy, we will be continuously antagonizing it. When we understand that the Whole is our friend, we will relax and enjoy the whole of Existence. Making our life into hell or heaven is dependent upon understanding this single verse, understanding Existence and trusting it. Understanding Rituals The whole chapter reveals this single secret, that is—the Cosmic energy, the whole Universe is intelligence. It responds to our thoughts, again and again. It answers our dreams, our thoughts and our very consciousness. Again and again Kṛṣṇa talks about the correct understanding and context of rituals and sacrifices to God. We see many people going to the temple.

They take one hundred and one coconuts and break them in front of the deity. In the Tirupati temple of Lord Venkaṭeśvara (incarnation of Śrī Viṣṇu), people offer their hair as a sacrifice. If we offer hair and pray Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ Secret Of All Secrets 711 and come back home, nothing is going to happen. When we offer something, it represents the surrender of our ego. When we sacrifice our hair in Tirupati, we surrender our ego to Lord Venkaṭeśvara. When we break a coconut, the shell of the ego is broken into pieces. But what generally happens? When we do some sacrifice, we think we did something great.

All the sacrifices that we make are only to boost our ego. Listen, if a sacrifice is made with complete gratitude and surrender, it is an enriching sacrifice. Sacrificing in temples has become a two-way business. People who act out of ego make a business deal with God, ‘I will donate so much money for the temple; leave one spot for me in heaven.’ Another class of people sit outside the temple and make money from sacrifices. People ask me, ‘Are sacrifices wrong? Is worship and sacrifice for a particular deity wrong?’ No, it is not wrong; but understand that we are not worshipping or sacrificing to that one particular deity.

We must go beyond that. When we make a sacrifice from our being, we merge with the Existential energy. Every deity will then appear the same. Everything is Kṛṣṇa or Rama, Śiva or Buddha. This is what Kṛṣṇa says here. He is the only enjoyer of all sacrifices. When we understand His transcendental nature in everything around us, any small thing that we give from our whole being to even a rock becomes a sacrifice. That rock need not be carved into a statue of Kṛṣṇa or Śiva. We need not name it because we see the energy behind that rock. These two verses must be carefully understood. If not, they can be conveniently used as a justification to do whatever one wants.

See, Kṛṣṇa does not give a license to do whatever we want here. If we are classifying an action as good, bad, saintly or sinful based on guidelines laid down by society or someone else, then be very clear we operate at the conscience level. No action is good or bad in itself. The entire situation, the whole context should be considered. The act may remain the same; however, the situation and the context might have completely changed. A small story: There was a snake that lived in a village. It bit the villagers even if they didn’t disturb it. Nobody dared to go close to it. The entire area where it used to stay was feared.

Nobody entered that area. One day a monk passed by that village and saw that the villagers did not approach that area. On enquiring, he understood the situation. He asked the snake, ‘Why do you bite everyone? What do you gain from being so violent? Everyone fears you!’ On listening to the monk’s words, the snake promised he would mend his ways from that day onwards. Days passed by. Slowly, there was a change in the scene in the village. The snake stopped bothering everyone. It lay quietly in one place. People started to test it by poking it with a stick to confirm that the snake had really softened up.

The snake never reacted. They now started torturing the snake. Kids from the nearby village threw stones at it. They ill-treated the snake and played with it. The snake quietly allowed all of this without uttering a word. Soon, the snake was reduced to almost a pulp and lost all life and vigor. After a few months, the monk once again passed by that village. He was shocked to see the condition of the snake. He enquired what happened and the snake told him all that had happened. The monk asked, ‘I told you only not to bite; did I tell you not to hiss?’ You see, this is what happens when we operate from our conscience, from the wrong context.

Because somebody said something, if we apply it blindly without considering the present situation and context. We invite trouble for ourselves. In this case, the monk’s advice was taken literally Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ Secret Of All Secrets 713 and the snake ended up suffering. There is a deeper layer of operation called Consciousness. In Consciousness, we become spontaneous. When consciousness flowers, we know what is the context, what needs to be done at that point in time. When this happens, whatever is done is for the good of everyone. Even if an action seems to violate the norms of society, it is always for the good of humanity. Kṛṣṇa killing demons may appear like the act of a criminal.

Yet He established truthfulness and justice by doing it. Please listen. When devotion matures, consciousness flowers. Devotion may seem different from knowledge when it is not ripe. Kṛṣṇa says that His devotee never perishes. Devotion is not simply offering worship daily to Kṛṣṇa’s photo, lighting camphor, lamps and offering garlands. When one is a true devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he becomes Kṛṣṇa. He experiences Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The ultimate consciousness is where no good, bad, evil or virtue exists. Devotion, knowledge and wisdom appear to be different when they are not ripe. When they mature, they become the same. One experiences true wisdom at the peak of devotion or peak of knowledge.

Let me tell you about Triveni Sangam, what is called Prayag in India. It is a confluence of three sacred rivers—Gaṇgā, Yamunā and Sarasvatī, near the city of Allahabad. While Gaṇgā and Yamunā are visible, the third, Sarasvatī flows underground and becomes visible only at the point of merging. Gaṇgā is the river of Lord Śiva and stands for knowledge or jñāna. All Śiva temples are on the banks of river Gaṇgā. Yamunā is the river of Lord Kṛṣṇa and stands for devotion or bhakti. All Kṛṣṇa temples are on the banks of river Yamunā. When Gaṇgā and Yamuna merge, when knowledge and devotion merge, Sarasvatī or wisdom automatically happens!

Unless this merging happens, we cannot see or experience wisdom. That is why Sarasvatī remains hidden until the point of merging! The last two verses can be misunderstood if misinterpreted. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Anyone can reach Me through devotion, whether they are women, traders or workers, or even sinners.’ He makes a point that there is no pre-qualification. Even in the age of Kṛṣṇa, there was a distinction between various trades as well as between men and women. Kṛṣṇa is pragmatic in acknowledging this fact and is not trying to justify the distinction. Someone asked Ramaṇa Mahaṛṣi whether he was qualified to enter a spiritual path. Ramaṇa asked him, ‘Are you still breathing?’

Taken aback the man said, ‘Yes.’ Ramaṇa said that was qualification enough; if he was alive, he was qualified. Kṛṣṇa’s message is the same. All one needs is devotion to attain Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Nothing else is needed. In the Vedic system, the caste system was a scientific practice to enable each one’s potential to radiate. The varṇa or caste system practiced by Hindus from time immemorial had its roots in the gurukul education. Actually varṇa meant vocation, which was determined by the Master for each child. It was not based upon birth as birthright, rather it was based upon aptitude. Unfortunately, over time this practice became a birthright. This corruption of such a scientific practice has led to many social inequalities and injustices.

The son of a brāhmaṇa has no right to call himself a brāhmaṇa, unless he has the aptitude. In our ashram, we have brahmacāri priests, who are of faiths other than Hindu. In no way are these young priests inferior to any brāhmaṇa. The point Kṛṣṇa makes here is that irrespective of caste, a person who has faith and devotion to Him can attain Him. Even if a person does not lead the life of a brāhmaṇa, he can reach and experience the ultimate consciousness. A person may follow any profession; however, if his inner space is cleansed, he can attain and experience Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Now, a brāhmaṇa is exposed to the scriptures and is trained to attain the knowledge of the ultimate Truth.

He is exposed to the atmosphere that is conducive for meditation and other spiritual practices in the ashram. How much easier it is for a brāhmaṇa! See, if Kṛṣṇa is so accessible for anybody, then imagine how much more accessible He is for a person constantly engaged in His thoughts! Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ Secret Of All Secrets 715 All practices, like meditation and rituals, cleanse the inner space and allow the space of completion to flower. When this space is cleansed, transformation automatically happens. Many times people tell me, ‘Swamiji, I have been meditating for twenty five years.’ They tell me this proudly. I tell them, ‘What a shame, if even after twenty five years of meditation, this remains your state!’

Always Think Of Me In the last verse of this chapter Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Engage your mind, always thinking of Me.’ Please understand that the whole Universe, the whole Cosmos is intelligence and it responds to our thoughts, it responds to our consciousness, to our very being. man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru I mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ II 9.34 Let me narrate an incident from my life: Some time after Enlightenment, I was sitting in a forest in Tamil Nadu. There was a big snake lying just next to me. I had my eyes open but was resting in the universal consciousness, in a meditative mood of restful awareness.

Several hours must have passed before I came out of my meditative state and the first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Oh, it is a snake.’ As long as I was in the meditative state, I did not think of the snake. You will be surprised that as soon as the thought of the snake came to my mind, the snake began to realize that I was a man! It looked up, put down its hood and moved away. The fear in me triggered the fear in the snake. The entire Universe responds to each and every thought that we have. It is pure intelligence. So we must be careful and integrated to what we think.

When you start listening to you, integrity happens in you. We are careful when we talk to others to make sure nobody is hurt. However when it comes to ourselves, we treat our inside worse than a garbage can. Almost all the time, you use very loose words inside you and outside you. A continuous stream of random thoughts, worries, fantasy, etc. goes on all the time. It is like a continuous television going on inside and we have misplaced the remote control to stop it! Please listen! Integrity does not mean only fulfilling the word you utter in front of people. Integrity is honoring the words and thoughts that happen inside you, even when you are in your bedroom or bathroom.

For example, suppose you utter a word, ‘I commit with me that I will do morning yoga properly.’ Then, you should give your life to fulfill it. Listen, the commitment you make to others is word, the commitment you make to yourself is thought. Whenever some people come and tell me, ‘I surrender to you,’ I laugh at them. We use loose words; we speak so casually. Each word you utter and honor integrates you, strengthens you. Each time you don’t respect or honor your word, you are weakened. Understand, each time you honor the words you give to others, their confidence in you grows. Each time you honor the word you give to yourself, your confidence in you grows.

Success is nothing but you having confidence in you and others having confidence in you. That is all. Life is complete. See, our inner space reflects the outer incidents. The entire Universe responds beautifully to each and every thought. That is why it is so important to keep our inner space cleansed and complete. The thought patterns that happen inside can be cleansed with integrity and kept in the space of positivity. When the thought patterns are positive, only positive incidents are attracted. Listen! Take the words you utter in your inner space very seriously. The most powerful being in your life is telling you, ‘tathāstu! tathāstu (so be it)!’ to whatever words you utter.

Who is that being? YOU! He is sitting inside you as the antaryāmi (inner being) and saying ‘tathāstu! tathāstu! tathāstu!’ to whatever you utter. If you utter the words, ‘I am the most healthiest person, I am going to live until Swamiji lives in the body,’ the inner most being says, ‘tathāstu! Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ Secret Of All Secrets 717 tathāstu!’ If you think, ‘I am sick, I have back pain. I cannot do this, I cannot do that. I am broke. I am really having tiredness. And if I can do the work, they will exploit me.’ Then, your being inside says, ‘tathāstu! tathāstu!’ See, it is like this.

If we are constantly worried and fear that we will fall ill, we attract incidents that make us fall ill again and again. Similarly, if we are constantly happy and blissful, we attract blissful events and happy people in our lives. When Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Engage your mind in always thinking of Me,’ He speaks about cleansing the inner space. When our mind is engaged in thinking of the Divine, we become Divine. The moment we understand this, we relax into eternal bliss. The moment we relax into eternal bliss, the Divine takes care of us. Whatever we lack is brought to us and whatever we have is preserved for us.

Naturally, we will experience, enjoy and enrich both the inner space and the outer space. This is the ultimate secret that Kṛṣṇa reveals to Arjuna. Let us pray to the Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, the Divine consciousness, the Cosmic intelligence to make us understand this secret of all secrets and experience the outer space and the inner space with eternal bliss, Nityānanda. Thank you! Thus ends the ninth chapter named Rājavidyā Rājaguhya Yogaḥ, ‘The Yoga of Supreme Knowledge and Supreme Secret,’ of the Bhagavad Gītā Upaniṣad, Brahmavidyā Yogaśāstra, the scripture of yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṃvād, dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.

You Are The Ultimate I am the Creator, the Created and the Creation. I Am the beginning, the middle and the end. All else is illusion. He who knows this glory and power of mine, is fully united in Me. Know Me and be liberated. c h a p t e r Vibhūti Yogaḥ This chapter, the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, is called Vibhūti Yogaḥ, the yoga of Divine manifestations. In this chapter, Kṛṣṇa explains His glories. In the last chapter, Kṛṣṇa gave the technique or the understanding of feeling deeply connected with the Whole, with Existence. He told Arjuna that He is revealing the greatest of all secrets to him because Arjuna is His dear friend.

Now He explains the next step. He goes on at length and in great detail explaining how He is the ultimate and how He expresses Himself. People often see me observing and appreciating my own photographs. They see me listening to songs in my praise and enjoying them. They see me dressed in finery at times and think I am admiring myself. To me, this body, ‘I,’ is not reality. My skin is foreign to me, leave alone what I wear on top of my skin. An enlightened being has no identity. His only identity is the merged identity with the Universe. When Kṛṣṇa, the ultimate Master, talks about Himself in this chapter, He talks from the perspective of Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, the cosmic Kṛṣṇa and not Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa, son of Vāsudeva, the embodied Kṛṣṇa.

The entire Gītā is delivered from Kṛṣṇa’s Cosmic consciousness. In this chapter especially, He is at the peak of His Cosmic consciousness, before He reveals Himself as that consciousness to Arjuna in the next chapter. Every word that the great Jagadguru, the universal Master utters here, is a gift to Arjuna and to humanity. The verses in this chapter are the authority on which the Bhagavad Gītā rests. It is these verses that make the Gītā, a sacred scripture. You Are The Ultimate Because You Are My Dear Friend