“Love is your very life.”

Love is your very life. It’s beautiful after the Visvarupa Dharshana, showing the cosmic form, giving the experience of cosmic consciousness; Krishna speaks about bhakthi, love. Usually people think, after bhakti (love, devotion), comes spiritual experience. But I tell you the truth, after spiritual experience comes bhakthi. Never, a real bhakthi can happen to you before spiritual experience. East always believes, first spiritual experience, then social service. But western religions believe social service will lead to spiritual experience. No, never.

Only a person, who has the experience of every being as part of cosmic consciousness, can really radiate love. Only he will know what love is. Nobody else can know what love is. Others can think they love, or act as if they love; be very clear, there are so many people who act as if they love. Sometimes by and by acting, acting they start thinking they are loving. Never you can love by acting.

Love is supposed to flow from your very being. It happens only when you experience cosmic consciousness, spiritual experience. It is so nice; Krishna puts the whole thing step by step.

Really, after the spiritual experience, the gratitude, so much of gratitude flows from your being. So much of love overflows from your being, you start radiating it; and you start, radiating. No one can show or experience love, unless they have the Spiritual experience. People come and ask me, ‘you tell all your devotees, to meditate, meditate, and meditate. What is the use? Why don’t you tell them to do service’.

There are so many spiritual organizations; I can’t say spiritual organizations, so called, spiritual organizations, caught in social service; just for the name and fame and social prestige. There are so many organizations; organized charities. I always tell people organized charity is a beautiful way of cheating yourself and others. Charity can never be organized, it just flows; it can never be organized. The moment you organize, the whole thing has got different quality, different color, different purpose: different quality, different color, and different purpose. Only when it flows after the experience, it is a solid expression of love.

There’s a beautiful saying in Zen Buddhism: whatever Buddha does, even if he kills somebody, it’ll do only good to him. But an unenlightened man whatever he does, even if he does great service, it’ll do only bad for him and the society. Good or bad is not decided by doing, it’s decided by being. When an enlightened man does, even small things lead to great good things or good results in the world. When an unenlightened person does, even great truths lead to misery and destruction.

See, simple words uttered by Buddha, watch your breath, or observe, witness your inhaling and exhaling, simple truth, discovered by Buddha, thousands of people have became enlightened, through this vipasana meditation. Through this simple one technique, Vipasana, thousands of people have become enlightened.

When Buddha utters even ordinary truth, even ordinary simple truth, it leads thousands of people into higher consciousness. If an un-enlightened person discovers, even the great truth leads to destruction. See the atomic bomb, it is great truth; theory of relativity, great truth; but when it comes out from unenlightened mind, it always leads to destruction.

Important thing: I was just reading a statistics report in a magazine. They say, all the governments, all the countries in the world, have got enough of atomic weapons, which can burn planet earth 700 times. Not once or twice, once burning the planet earth is enough, but the atomic weapons they have stored, they have piled, can destroy planet earth 700 times.

Any single person, with sadistic attitude, if he goes and sits in the seat, or if he gets the power, the whole humanity is in danger. We have everything ready; just someone has to come and press the button. He should be mad enough, he should be sadistic enough to press the button; the global suicide will happen. So much of atomic weapons have been piled. See it’s a great truth; such a great truth, but expressed from unenlightened mind. So naturally it leads to destruction. Deed or word, by themselves don’t do good or bad; it does good or bad based on the consciousness from which it emits; based on the consciousness, from which its expresses. Only after the experience you feel the gratitude. It‘s your solid experience that every living being is god. You start radiating love; your very being becomes love.

Krishna starts the Bhakthi yoga, after visvaroopa dharshana yoga. After the experience, he starts bakthi yoga.

Arjuna uvacha:(Arjuna said)

evamsatata-yukta ye bhaktas tvam paryupasate ye capy aksaram avyaktam tesam ke yoga-vittamah

See the whole trend in which Arjuna speaks is totally different now. The very trend, the very way is different. He says, which are considered to be more perfect: those who are always properly engaged in your bhakthi, or those who merge in the Brahman, the unmanifested. Please be clear, here he is not asking for himself. From here the trend starts like a simple discussion. It’s more like trying to record the truth, tying to put the whole truth in record for future generation. The questions from here is neither doubts nor enquiries; just he tries to put the whole thing, in the form of writing, so that it will be useful for the next generation, a simple understanding.

He asks, who is established in you totally, whether a person who is devotee or person who is enlightened? Two things: the religious people or so-called religious people always confuse the sloka, giving the meaning of Arjuna asking, whether worshipping the form or formless which is right one? But I tell you that’s not the way Arjuna is asking. If you see the answers of Krishna, you’ll understand. Arjuna is asking: is it good to be established in the same consciousness, or is it good to express the love and gratitude, which is created by the conscious experience, to the whole world, to every living being?

See when you get the spiritual experience, some people stay in the same experience inside, with closed eyes, that’s all. With closed eyes only, they can see God. He is asking that type of person is great, or a person who opens his eyes and sees god in every being, is he great? Please understand, he is not asking whether worshiping the form is great or worshipping the formless is great- no, but the so called religious people have always given this meaning, and created problem between Shankara and Ramanuja.

It goes on an on and on. But, if you see the answers, it is very clear Arjuna is not asking this; he is asking, should I be established in that same experience or should I express the gratitude which is happening to me? Expressing the gratitude, which happens because of the experience, is bhakthi. Having that experience and rejoicing, staying in that experience is gnana (knowledge), that’s all.

But Krishna’s answer is both are one and the same; both are, one and the same. And both are not two different things. How, the first one leads to the second one, and the second one leads again back to first one. You see, you must have heard about the vicious circle; first one leads to second one and second one leads to the first one. Now I want to introduce a new word, virtuous circle. Vicious circle leads to low energy or to a lower level of consciousness; virtuous circle leads to high-energy, higher level of consciousness. Bliss and devotion, bliss and gratitude, gratitude and bliss, these two are virtuous Circle, which leads you to the higher consciousness.

Bliss means the experience, which leads you to the expression, gratitude, and service. Again the expression, the gratitude of service leads you to bliss. One leads to other, the other leads to first; so it is called virtuous circle. Usually, we are caught in the vicious circle; Fear leads to greed, greed leads to fear. Fear leads to more greed, more fear leads to more greed and more greed leads to more fear. More fear leads to more and more greed and more and more greed leads to more and more fear. This is vicious circle, and here, Krishna introduces virtuous circle. Virtuous circle is what he calls Dharma. Dharma means virtuous circle, which leads you to higher and higher consciousness, which leads you to higher and higher levels of experiences.

## Sri bhagavan uvacha:

mayy [āveśya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/avesya) [mano](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mano) [ye](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/ye) [māḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mam) [nitya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/nitya)-[yuktā](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yukta) [upāsate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/u/upasate) [śraddhayā](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sraddhaya) parayopetās te me yuktatamā [matāḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/matah)

mayy [āveśya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/avesya) [mano](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mano) [ye](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/ye) [māḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mam) [nitya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/nitya)-[yuktā](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yukta) [upāsate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/u/upasate) śraddhayā parayopetās [te](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/te) me yuktatamā [matāḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/matah)

Bhagavan says those who fix, those who are established, in the consciousness, which expresses the gratitude, bhakthi, are always engaged in me; and the transcendental faith, means, the experience that they undergo at the time of cosmic experience, both are ultimate. Of course there are so many people who translate these texts; now I have to tell an important thing. Sanskrit is such a beautiful language. You can make any meaning out of any word. That is why so many thousands of commentaries on Gita are possible, but still Gita is new.

No other book is commented by so many masters like Gita. But still Gita is new. Each one tries to give their own meaning. Again and again, I insist; a person who is not experienced, if he starts speaking, naturally he will be in trouble and he will be creating trouble for others. How blind leading blind, leads both of them to trouble, same way, a person without experience, when he translates or talks, he automatically does something called text torturing.

Understand a small example; here I’m putting some diagram and explaining to you. After few days, you are presenting only audio CD to one of your friends who has not attended the lecture. How much can he grasp? He cannot. Because so many things are there in the diagram. I’m explaining through a picture. If you are here seeing, and listening, you’ll be able to - even then it is very difficult to grasp the truth, to understand it. And if you are just giving the audio CD to some friend, who has not attended the program, how much will he be able to understand? Same way, and if he tries to understand and he wants to give lecture on this subject to somebody else, how much will it be original?

Same way, person who has not seen, just got the audio recording, only the book cannot understand. Bhagavad-Gita is just audio recording, transcription of audio recording. It is not even audio recording; if you just listen to audio recording, at least you can understand few more things by the voice modulation. Here even the voice modulation is not there. It is a transcription of audio recording. How much can you translate or interpret?

That’s the reason Vivekananda again and again emphasizes, don’t read, or don’t listen to anything that is expressed by a person, who has not personally experienced. First thing, he says, don’t bother about what he is speaking, first bother about who is speaking. He emphasizes, on the personal experience.

Here Bhagavan says:

mayy [āveśya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/avesya) [mano](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mano) [ye](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/ye) [māḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mam) [nitya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/nitya)-[yuktā](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yukta) [upāsate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/u/upasate) śraddhayā parayopetās [te](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/te) me yuktatamā [matāḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/matah)

Those who express their experience as devotion, see the word upasate, upasana, the word upasana can be translated in many ways. When you see divine in everybody, whatever you do is upasana. When you see divine in everybody, whatever you do is upasana. Please be very clear, when you don’t see the divine in everybody, you can’t see divine in any statue, or in any master. First be very clear, if you don’t see divine in living beings, you can’t see divine in a God or in a guru.

Somebody goes to Ramanuja – Ramanuja is a great master. But for Ramanuja, south Bharat would have lost the whole spirituality. Shankara went and settled in north. And settled in the north. Even though he was born and brought up in south, he spent most of his time in north. It is because of Ramanuja the devotion and spirituality thrived in south Bharat. Till the end Ramanuja stayed in south Bharat. Not only that, Shankara lived only thirty-two years. But Ramanuja lived for a long time – he lived on the planet earth for a long time and he inspired thousands of people. Ramanuja inspired thousands of people, in the path of spirituality and meditation.

One young man goes to Ramanuja and asks, ‘Bhagavan, please tell me how to achieve Bhakthi, how to achieve God, how to achieve devotion’? Ramanuja says, ‘have you loved anybody in your life’? This man was shaken. He said ‘I’m a pure brahmachari(celibate); how can you ask me this question? I came to you to learn about God. But you are asking this question’. Ramanuja says’ ‘first go and love somebody; See how you feel when you love somebody. Then come back, I’ll teach you about God. I’ll teach you about bhakthi’. Understand, the man was of course naturally taken aback. He was not able to understand what Ramanuja said. Unless you love the person whom you are seeing, how you’ll be able to love the person whom you have never seen?

If you can’t love human beings, whom you are seeing everyday, how can you love the form of God whom you’ve never seen? What he says is true, what he says is, true. We also should understand, unless you start radiating love, in the space where you are staying, you can’t love the whole world.

Again and again I tell people, loving the whole world is very easy; loving your wife is very difficult. Loving the whole world is very easy because, you don’t have to do anything, just say I love whole world, I love whole world. But when you love your wife you have to change your attitude, you have to change your mind, you have to change your words, you have to do something. You have to, do something. Being established in that consciousness, or expressing it toward the universe both are one and the same and, one more thing.

When a person is merged, when a person is established, automatically he will radiate. Automatically, he will radiate. Please be very clear, if the love is not happening, if the expression is not happening, be very clear, the person has not experienced. When the real experience happens, it automatically expresses. Experience is not something you can posses and keep it in your cupboard. No, experience will possess you and it will sink through you.

Somebody asked a Zen master, ‘will an enlightened master speak’? Master says,’ no enlightened person will never speak, only a person who doesn’t know will speak’. Then he asks ‘will an enlightened master keep quiet’? Master says, ‘no, an enlightened master will never keep quiet. If he keeps quiet be very clear he is not enlightened.’ Disciple was puzzled. ‘You say he will neither speak nor keep quiet, what will he do’? Master replies, ‘he will sing, his very being will sing. He will neither speak, nor keep quiet his very being will sing.’

Because you can’t possess experience, experiences will posses you. When experience possesses you, whatever you do will be a song; any word that comes out of you will be a song. Your very walking will be a dance; your very body language will radiate grace. All your expressions will be a service, great service to the humanity. He says beautifully, enlightened man, will never keep quiet or he never talks, he just sings. That is why Gita is given in the form of song; Gita is not prose, it is song. The great truths can never be expressed in logic; it can be expressed only through poem. He says, Krishna says, a person who is established in the consciousness is great, but the person who expresses, who shares, who automatically radiates will be much greater than who is established. But the truth is, if a man is established, he will radiate; he will, radiate.

Let me tell you a small story from a great devotee, bhaktha, who lived in Varanasi. He was a great bhaktha of Krishna. He had a small Bhagavad-Gita book. Everyday morning he will take bath in Ganga (river ganges), recite Krishna’s message, Bhagavad-Gita with all his devotion. Whole day he will be sitting and meditating on Krishna. He is continuously in the ecstasy of Krishna. He is just radiating Krishna Bhakthi. Of course, you can see these types of souls only in Bharat. People, who can just sit, sit, sit and be in ecstasy; society will never disturb them, society will take care of them. In any other country you will be called homeless, put in a shelter, disrespected.

That culture is so beautiful, and even if you sit, if you are in ecstasy, you are respected, you are worshipped. And this person he is in ecstasy, always singing Krishna’s name, in the Krishna dhyana (meditation), in the leela (transcendental activities performed by the Lord) dhyana, in the Krishna smarana (devotional remembrance), he is lost.

One day a beggar comes to him and asks, oh swami, please give me something, for the last three days I’ve not taken food. Now big difficulty, because he himself is a beggar and he has got only one property with him, gita book; nothing else is his property. He has nothing, and he is always in ecstasy.

If somebody gives, he eats; otherwise he is singing Krishna’s name. His only property is the book, the Gita book. And this guy comes and asks, I’ve not taken food for the last three days, Please give me something. He feels very bad, and he looks this side and that side, nothing is there. Only one thing is there and its Bhagvad Gita, which he has preserved or worshiped for last so many years . That’s the only property that’s almost like god for him, which is everything for him. Nothing else is his property. Suddenly, he gathers courage and takes the book, tells the beggar, see, ‘ I have nothing; to tell you honestly I have only this book. But I can tell you one thing. If you go inside the city and tell this book is my property and auction it surely people will buy. There are so many people who respect me. They respect me; someway they feel devoted to me. So Krishna’s blessing is there. So just go to the market and auction this book. Say that this book is my book. Surely people will buy and give money and take that money and eat and fulfill yourself and be happy’.

Beggar just takes that book and goes away. Next day morning, when he is supposed to chant the gita, he says, ‘oh Krishna, I‘ve given away your words to keep your words. I’ve given away your words to keep your words. What’s your word; your word is to radiate bhakthi, radiate devotion, and radiate service. I just gave away your word to keep your word’ Keeping his word is much more important than keeping his book. Actually, if you really keep the book, if you honestly keep the book and use it and have the experience you will radiate his words. You will radiate his words. Only when you miss keeping his book you will miss keeping his words also.

Bhagavan starts:

[ye](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/ye) tv [akṣaram](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/aksaram) [anirdeśyam](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/anirdesyam) [avyaktaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/avyaktam) [paryupāsate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/p/paryupasate) sarvatra-[gam](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/g/gam) [acintyaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/acintyam) [ca](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/c/ca) [kūṭa](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/kuta)-[stham](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/stham) acalaḿ [dhruvam](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhruvam)

sanniyamyendriya-[grāmaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/g/gramam) [sarvatra](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sarvatra) [sama](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sama)-[buddhayaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/buddhayah) [te](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/te) [prāpnuvanti](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/p/prapnuvanti) [mām](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mam) [eva](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/e/eva) sarva-[bhūta](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/bhuta)-[hite](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/h/hite) [ratāḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/r/ratah)

## But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of senses, the all pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, the non-moving and permanent - the achala, druva, by restraining the multitude of senses, worship me; they are working for the benefit of man kind attain me.

## See here, Krishna is not making two groups; Arjuna is making two groups: who are established and who are radiating. Here Krishna says both are one and the same. He is not making two groups: who are established and who are radiating. He says, a person who is established will always radiate, the person who radiates will always be established. As I was telling you, it’s virtuous circle. It’s a, virtuous circle.

## Radha, she starts saying, Gopikas, I don’t know what happened. I’m seeing Krishna in everybody; I feel every body is Krishna. I don’t know what is happening to me. Then one Gopika says, you have the bhakthi; bhakthi as anjana in your eyes. It’s like, if you wear the black cooling glass you will see the whole thing as dark. If you wear green cooling glass, green glass you will see the whole thing in green shade. Same way when you have the bhakthi anjana in your eyes, if you have the bhakthi in your eyes whomsoever you see, you will see as Krishna, You see as divine. Here Krishna says, a person who is established in super consciousness, and the person who radiates devotion are both one and the same.

## There are no two different groups.

mayy [eva](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/e/eva) [mana](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mana) [ādhatsva](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/adhatsva) [mayi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mayi) [buddhiḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/buddhim) [niveśaya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/nivesaya) [nivasiṣyasi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/nivasisyasi) mayy [eva](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/e/eva) [ata](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/ata) [ūrdhvaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/u/urdhvam) [na](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/na) [saḿśayaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/samsayah) Just fix your mind upon me, the supreme personality of divine and engage all your intelligence in me and will thus live in me always, without a doubt, [na](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/na) saḿśayaḥ (never doubt).

Now he comes to the technique. At one point the virtuous circle has to be started. First he explains the virtuous circle, now he comes to the technique. Please understand, love is not a mood. It is your very existence. As long as it’s your mood, it’ll come and go. There are two kinds of love, horizontal love and vertical love. Let me explain: horizontal love and vertical love, horizontal love is just like horizontal line, flat; it is related to time, it’ll start and end. Please be very clear, anything which starts, has to end. If it takes little more time to end, don’t think it is permanent. Don’t think, it is permanent. Anything that starts has to end, it may take a few years or few months, but it ends; this is Horizontal love.

Horizontal love is related to time and vertical love is related to consciousness. It neither starts nor ends, it does not discriminate; it is your very quality. If you discriminate and love, please be very clear, it cannot be called as love; it is just infatuation. As long as the other person fits in your frame, all your love will grow; the moment the other person doesn’t fit in your frame, your love will disappear.

In our meditation camp, the first session, the first practice which I make people do is, to tell me honestly or make a list honestly of how many of them really love at least one or two persons in their lives. And usually in the beginning, people come up with a big list. Husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister; one by one, one by one, one by one, when I start talking, people will start to cross. No then it’s not love, no then it’s not love; but people always get stuck when they come to their sons or daughters.

I say, all your love is for some reason, three reasons either economical benefit, or psychological support, that you have somebody as your family, as your community, as your group; at the time of risk they may support you. When it is needed they may be behind you, psychological support. Third thing, good certificate; sometime we do share love, we do show love. We may not have any economical benefit or the psychological support but expecting a good certificate, attention, some need will be there. People tell me, ‘no, no, no. I don’t love my son or daughter with any of these three things. I ask them, all right, if suddenly your son starts doing things on his own, he starts deciding on his own, if he does not fit your frame, if he doesn’t follow your words, if he does not live according to you, will the love be the same? Enquire honestly. Naturally people start saying no, it will not be, it’ll come down.

Means what? We love our next generation, as long as they are extension of our life. We fulfill our desires through them; we fulfill our lives through them. Whatever we can’t, we try to fulfill through them. As long as they act, they live, as an extension of your life, relationship is really beautiful. But the moment they start deciding on their own, the moment they feel you are suffocating them and they stand up and say no, whole thing takes a different turn. But kids feel they are man or woman only when they say no to parents; it’s a basic instinct. Only when you say no, you feel you are an individual. They don’t bother about what you say. All they know is flat one word, no; flat one word, no. They do not know anything else. They feel strong when they say no.

That is why all over the world, the youngsters always rebel. Whether it is developed country, or eastern country. All countries, all over the world, in all culture, the youth say no. Because, when they say no, they feel that they are very strong. No gives certain kind of strength to them.

But your love is dependant only on yes; as long as you receive yes, your love also is yes; when you get a no, you start saying the same no. It is horizontal love, that’s why it ends with some reason. Vertical love never ends, because it never starts. Suddenly at some point you realize, just like how you live inside this body, same way you are living inside every body. Inside, every body.

There’s a beautiful example given in Upanishad. A master asks a disciple, ‘do you enjoy all your five senses’? Disciple says yes. ‘Suppose if one sense is missing, will you have the same amount of joy’? He said, ‘ no, twenty percent less. If two senses are missing, forty percent less.’ Master says, suddenly, you have five more senses’; Disciple says, ‘naturally hundred percent extra: if I am given one more body, naturally I will enjoy twice. Or if I am given five bodies, naturally I will enjoy five times more.’

If you experience you are living in all the bodies, what will be the joy or ecstasy? Immeasurable, eternal and ultimate. That is the same thing, which enlightened people experience; they experience the same thing. When they experience they are filled in the whole universe, or they are in every body, they experience tremendous ecstasy, tremendous pleasure or bliss. That is why, they don’t need anything from the outer world. They don’t need anything from the, outer world. One elderly person came to our program. After that, he came near me and asked me with lot of sympathy, he expressed, in such a young age, you became a swami… with lot of sympathy, that I missed life, with lot of compassion, he was expressing his compassion, with a feeling that I missed. I told him don’t be sympathetic towards me; actually I should be sympathetic towards you. Even after sixty years, you are not able to liberate yourself. Even after sixty years you are suffering in the samsara (the cycle of repeated birth and death in the material world). Don’t be sympathetic towards me; I should be sympathetic towards you.

When you experience the ecstasy and bliss inside you, you don’t feel you are missing anything from the outside. You don’t feel you need something. Real renunciation is not you renouncing the world; it is the world renouncing you. When you have that joy and ecstasy, bliss in you, automatically you will radiate that within you and you will never feel you are missing something, you’ve lost something. I always tell people never renounce unless you have the ecstasy inside. Never, never renounce; work only for the ecstasy. When that happens, automatically the renunciation will happen to you. You don’t have to renounce. Automatically it will happen.

Be very clear, if you renounce the outer world without having the inner world you will fall into depression. I’ve seen so many sanyasis (people in the renounced order), who’ve have taken this life, who’ve not achieved the inner experience, who are caught in the social service fall in depression. Around the age of forty to forty-five, simply they fall in depression. They give counseling for the whole world, but they will be in depression. So many monks, they fall in depression; never renounce unless you have a solid experience inside.

When you have the experience, you don’t have to renounce; automatically renunciation will happen. All these things will drop you. Instead of you dropping them, they will drop you. You dropping will always have the problem; they dropping you is the right thing. When you have that joy in you, when you start experiencing the joy in you, nothing needs to be renounced, automatically things happen.

Here Krishna gives techniques, to start the virtuous circle. Fix your mind on me; establish your intelligence in me. In this way, after acquiring the boundary-less consciousness, you will live in me always. How to establish our intelligence on him? Continuously try to put all these thoughts and ideas inside you.

Ramakrishna says, what you eat, same way only you belch; Same smell only will come out when you belch. If you eat some kind of vegetable or fruit same smell only will come out when you belch. Same way, if you add these ideas continuously into your mind, into your consciousness, naturally you will start radiating; it will start shining through your being. Let your intelligence be established in his being means, when you are in some trouble, automatically the solution should come from you, based on these ideas.

As of now you run and refer to the books, which means you are having guru only in the outer world. If you again and again digest all these ideas, even when you don’t have trouble, try to put these ideas inside you; only then they will go and sit. When you have trouble they will start guiding you. When you have trouble, if you read then, you will not be able to digest them. Because, already your mind is in confusion: how can you receive them, how can you digest them? It can never happen. When your mind is in normal state, let receiving these ideas in your mind become a regular habit. Let it became just a normal life style. How you eat everyday, how you take bath everyday, same way, put these ideas in you.

Beautifully Shankara writes commentary on this sutra, Aagara sudhi: Aagara sudhayo smruddi sudhi. When your agara (food) is purified, your memory is purified. Please be very clear, aagara does not mean just the food that you intake. It means whatever you take through all these five senses. The T.V program, which you are watching, is aagara; music, which you are listening, is aagara; food, which you eat, is aagara. Smell, which you smell, is aagara; the touch, which you are enjoying, is aagara. Means all these five should be pure; only then you can radiate the purity, you can radiate bliss, you can radiate ecstasy, you can radiate divine intelligence.

Understand, unless you purify aagara, which goes through other senses also, you cannot expect the purification of memories. Especially these T.V shows, I really feel blessed that I was born and brought up in a village, where there was no T.V in those days. People ask me, ‘how do you pick up things easily? Of course I somehow pick up things very easily, very quickly. One small fact, its truth. Only two years ago I started speaking English; I studied little bit, which also in mother tongue. I started speaking English when I started coming to America, which was two years ago, 2003 August. They asked me, how do you pick up? I continuously read. They ask, how do you read so many pages, so many books?

It is just because I never used to watch T.V; T.V straight away destroys your consciousness. Please understand, not only your eyes, straightaway it destroys your consciousness also. Let me tell you an important thing: understand this example, you are traveling in a vehicle. If you are going forty miles per hour you can see whatever is there in the road, hoarding, or a signboard whatever is there in the road you can see very clearly. If you are going 100 miles per hour can you see? You can’t, you can’t see them clearly. The reason is more number of frames per second is coming in front of your eyes. That’s why you can’t see; you can’t understand what it is.

Normally your eyes can receive, analyze, process and file as long as the information is given to you six frames per second. Six frames per second if it changes in front of your eyes, your eyes can take that message, analyze it, categorize it and put it in your consciousness, put it in your memory. But if it is more than six frames per second your logic will lose its balance. T.V is at least sixteen frames per second. Straight away the information is forced on you.

Please be very clear. You have security, watchman outside your house. Thief comes and pushes the watchman aside and kills him. Straight away he walks in to your bedroom. Same thing is happening when you watch movie, when you watch T.V and movies. Logic is your watchman; he is standing. Logic stands; whatever information comes to you, it analyses and it says this is truth, this is lie, this is a toy, this is a real man, this is just fake, and this is doll. The information is analyzed and recorded. When you watch movie, when 16 frames per second is flowing, when the information is forced on you, infused on you, your logic loses its ability to analyze, and straightaway the information reaches your unconsciousness. Straight away your unconscious is exploited. Straight away the information penetrates you.

It’s like a robber straight away walking into your bedroom, killing the watchman. One more thing, because the information reaches you straight away, you lose the logical analyzing capacity and emotional balance. That is why, even when you know for sure the actor is still alive, You know for sure the actress is also alive, but when you see the actor is killed in the movie, the actor is murdered, automatically you start weeping; tears are rolling. You know for sure that it is not happening really, that it is not true. But when they laugh you laugh, when they cry you cry.

According to the scenes your mood also changes. If you see a depressing scene you fall in depression, why? You are an educated person; you know it is drama, you know the person is alive, you might have seen the actor just few days ago in person, but when you see the movie you experience it, Why? Because the logic that analyses it as truth and lie is put to rest or pushed aside and information is straight way flooded into your system. Straight away it goes into you unconsciousness.

So be very clear, never watch any program, which creates depression or misery in you: depression or, misery in you. Of course, if you watch some program that gives you joy, which you makes you laugh, that does not hurt your consciousness directly, you may at the most, waste little time or eat little bit at the time of watching movie. Only little bit of obesity problem is there. Otherwise there’s no other problem.

Survey says most, 80% of the people eat when they watch T.V and face the weight problem. You may have only little bit weight problem, nothing much. But never watch anything, which creates depression or low mood in you. Please be very clear, let me answer one important Question: is there anything called spirit or devil, is the question I face.

Let me tell you very clearly, that there is no such thing as devil, no such thing as demon, no such thing as spirit. Be very clear, you may have one thousand references. I know your minds are all collecting references, what all movies you saw, what all the books you read; your mind is collecting references. Please be very clear, once your unconscious starts believing there is spirit, you project it and see. Whatever your unconscious believes, you project that and see.

Now, especially after a lot of research is done on hypnotism, they are coming up with the great truths. If a person is hypnotized and if fire is given in his hands and the hypnotist gives instruction, you are holding a flower in your hand, you are holding rose flower in your hand, not only the hand never gets burnt, after the flower is removed the hand smells like rose. Hands smell like a rose. Hypnotism has so much of power, means your unconscious has so much power. You are unconsciously hypnotized and thought something like ghost exists. And you project and see. When you have some experience, then it becomes a solid faith.

Just watch some horror movie continuously for three days; you will see ghost. Even a screen moving will look like a ghost, even if your wife walks in the room, for that you don’t have to see a horror movie; anyhow you will always feel disturbed, and you will always be in that consciousness. Whatever happens around you, you will connect with it. And exactly after seeing a horror movie only, you will feel like having lit bit of water. You’ll walk up to the kitchen; suddenly there will be a cat jumping exactly on you. And now, the whole scene is completed. Now you know for sure the ghost exists.

Be very clear, it is purely your unconsciousness; because you start believing it, you start projecting it; once you start projecting it your faith is strengthened. It’s a vicious circle in which you are caught. One more thing, ghosts as such don’t have physical body. See, you have three level bodies; Physical, subtle and causal. Even if they exist, they don’t have physical body.

First of all, they don’t exist. But for argument’s sake if I collect all your arguments, and if I have to argue, if I accept they do exist, they exist only in the subtle body and causal body. They don’t have physical body. No ghost comes to you with physical body except your spouse; no ghost comes to you with a physical body. It means they have only 66% of capacity, which you have; you have three bodies, 100%; they have only maximum two bodies, only 66%. It means they are less powerful than you; they are less powerful than you. Even if they exist, you don’t have to be afraid of them. Understand logically even if they exist you don’t have to be afraid of them. They are lower level jeevas, they are lower level entities.

First thing they don’t exist; even for argument’s sake, if I have to argue, they are lower level entities, you don’t have to be afraid of them. So be very clear, all these talking to the ghost, medium, talking to your relatives who are dead all these things are pure stories. One story is built on the other story; next story is built on the Third story, pure story; nothing but pure story.

Small story: one lady goes to a medium to talk to her husband, who recently passed away. Slowly that man waits, starts mumbling few words, and then starts talking; Oh honey, I’m here, ask whatever you want. Then she asks, ‘please tell me who all have to give money for us, where all you put your money, please tell me’. He tells ‘the milkman has to give thirty five thousand rupees to us, and I have deposited two lakh (two hundred thousand) money in this bank; please take it. And opposite house person he has to give one and a half lakhs to us’.

All these account goes on, and Suddenly the husband says, ‘honey, I have to tell one more thing; I have to give 10 lakh rupees to such and such a friend, please return that’. Suddenly she says’ it doesn’t seem like my husband’s voice. It does not sound like my husband’s voice. Is there anybody else?’. Please be very clear, only as long as it supports you, all these ideas are o.k. So don’t believe in these entire medium and all these things and don’t waste your time talking to people who are dead. We don’t have time to talk to the people who are alive, why waste the time in talking to people who are dead. Let us first talk to people who are directly related to our business, to our lives; let us talk to them first; let us work with them first. Why to waste our time with other things?

Never allow any of these horrible things or things which cause suffering into your consciousness. If you don’t allow all these things into your consciousness, automatically your intelligence will be established in divine. Thoughts that you take inside are going to play a major role and this one concept of what Krishna says, establishing your intelligence on me; please understand whatever you intake, your aagara, you will establish you mind only on that. So let your aagara be purified, let aagara-suddhi happen to you; automatically your consciousness will be established on the divine.

Again and again and again, try to put these ideas inside you. These ideas let them penetrate you instead of the ideas, which depress you, which make you feel low energy, which puts you into depression. For example, last eleven days you’ve been listening to these ideas. By now, you know when the problem comes; automatically you’ll remember master said this, I heard this idea; I think this is what I have to understand now. Automatically this will start coming up from your being. If it starts coming up, you have heard; otherwise, you are a silent listener.

Silent listener is a person, who is sitting and seriously thinking of something else; who is sitting and seriously thinking of, something else. If, you are a silent listener, or if you really heard, can be decided by, how much these words repeat in you. I always tell people, when the words come from enlightened consciousness, they simply penetrate you and automatically they come in your mind, whenever you need the help.

People ask me, ‘how to remember all these ideas and practice’. I tell them, never bother about remembering; just hear that’s enough, just listen that’s enough. These words are from my experience. So naturally they will penetrate your being. Whenever it is necessary, you don’t have to remember these words, the words will remember you. You don’t have to remember them, the words will remember you.

Automatically they will come up; automatically they will erupt in your consciousness like a popup. Same way as the pop-ups come in the computers, they will automatically come up in your consciousness and they will guide you. You don’t need to do anything; all you need to do is listen, means put them into your being. Again and again try to listen to these words. Naturally, your consciousness will be established in divine.

[atha](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/atha) [cittaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/c/cittam) [samādhātuḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/samadhatum) [na](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/na) [śaknoṣi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/saknosi) [mayi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mayi) [sthiram](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sthiram) [abhyāsa](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/abhyasa)-[yogena](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yogena) tato [mām](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mam) icchāptuḿ [dhanañjaya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhananjaya)

Here he says about Abhyasa-yoga (practice of devotional service). Why he speaks about abhyasa- yoga? Because yesterday in visavarupa- dharsana yoga, Krishna gave, one glimpse of universal consciousness experience to Arjuna. But Arjuna is not able to stay there permanently. Out of fear or out of the old engrams, samskaras, he came out; he slipped from that consciousness. Now he speaks about abyasa yoga, how to establish yourself in that same consciousness. That’s why he speaks about abhyasa.

Oh Arjuna, if you cannot fix your mind upon me, without deviation, then follow the regulatory principles of bhakthi. In this way, through this abhyasa you’ll be established in me. Here, he gives a solid path or a solid solution to solve your whole life, to establish yourself in that consciousness. Continuously, again and again, with the regular life receiving these ideas, and digesting these ideas in your consciousness, let your inner space be filled with these ideas. Let you not waste even few moments; let your whole inner space be filled with these great thoughts. That is the way to establish yourself in that consciousness. Krishna gives some more tips for establishing yourself in that consciousness and radiating bhakthi.

I’ll speak about those tips after a small break. You may have a small break. Then we’ll enter into Krishna’s tips for establishing ourselves into the bliss and radiating devotion.

Krishna starts strange kind of instructions; continuously in the next four slokas, he gives various options, step-by-step by, step-by-step, and step-by-step. He says if you can’t do this, do that; if you can’t do this, do this; if you can’t do this, do this. Krishna is giving various options, he is giving various instructions and he says first thing:

[atha](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/atha) [cittaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/c/cittam) [samādhātuḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/samadhatum) [na](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/na) [śaknoṣi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/saknosi) [mayi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mayi) [sthiram](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sthiram) abhyāsa-[yogena](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yogena) tato [mām](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mam) icchāptuḿ [dhanañjaya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhananjaya)

Oh dhananjaya, fix your mind upon me; with constant practice and try to attain me; if you are not able to practice, then perform actions for me, then;

abhyāse 'py asamartho 'si [mat](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mat)-[karma](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karma)-paramo [bhava](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/bhava) mad-[artham](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/artham) [api](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/api) [karmāṇi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karmani) [kurvan](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/kurvan) [siddhim](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/siddhim) [avāpsyasi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/avapsyasi)

If you can’t practice the regulations of bakthi-yoga then, just try to work for me; because working for me will help you.

athaitad apy aśakto 'si [kartuḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/kartum) mad-[yogam](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yogam) [āśritaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/asritah) sarva-[karma](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karma)-[phala](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/p/phala)-[tyāgaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/tyagam) [tataḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/tatah) [kuru](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/kuru) yatātmavān

If you are not able to work even in that mood, consciousness, give up all the results to me. He is giving various options to Arjuna. These four slokas continuously gives options to Arjuna:

śreyo [hi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/h/hi) [jñānam](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/j/jnanam) abhyāsāj jñānād [dhyānaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhyanam) [viśiṣyate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/v/visisyate) [dhyānāt](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhyanat) [karma](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karma)-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir [anantaram](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/anantaram)

So many instructions he is giving; step-by-step he is giving the option. Actually, this is not even for Arjuna, it’s for all kinds of mind. Let me tell you a small story from Ramana Maharshi’s life: Somebody goes to Bhagvan and asks, ‘Bhagvan what spiritual practice I should do? He says do atma-vichara, Self-inquiry. Start searching who am I’? After few days he comes back and says, it is very difficult, can I do meditation’? Bhagavan says ‘all right, do it’. After a week, he comes back and says, ‘meditation is also very difficult. Can I do some japa and stotra’ (chanting of God’s name and hymns). Bhagavan says, ‘all right do’.

After few days he comes back, ‘japa is also very difficult. Can I do some puja’ (ritual of devotion, offering food and prayers to a deity) Bhagavan says ‘all right do’. After few days he comes back, ‘puja also very difficult; can I start going only to the temple’? Bhagavan says ‘all right, do what you want’.

They do not want to close the doors for anybody. Please understand, they are giving options for everybody. Here in these four slokas also, they are giving options for everybody. You need to have tremendous spontaneity to understand this. Only with spontaneity, you’ll be able to handle these four instructions. For example, when you are in the mood of not meditating, if you don’t feel like meditating, you are in a very low mood, then don’t try to sit in a room with closed doors and try to fight with yourself. Just come out, Come to the temple; Spend some time freely walking, moving around; it’ll relax you, then you can enter into meditation. And if you are not able to do that also, take something else. Do something, which keeps you in a relaxed mood, which makes you feel relaxed; then you can enter. Here he tries to give you step-by-step instructions to the ultimate, last step. Last step is just being in the consciousness, bliss. But because you can’t do that, don’t stop altogether; at least do something. I‘ve seen people; they‘ll speak about meditation, speak about atma- sadhana (self-enquiry) and all these things. But when it comes to practice, thinking of doing meditation, they will stop all the puja, rituals everything. In the end they will not do meditation also. Because I don’t have enough time; my mind won’t concentrate; I’m not able to sit quietly. First they stop all these things, in the name of meditation; then they will drop meditation also, because of some reason. Then neither this nor that. Krishna doesn’t want that to happen to us. You need spontaneity to decide what to do at that moment.

Whenever I utter the word spontaneity, I always remember this one story that really happened. It’s not just a story, it really happened in my native place. It was a small village, now it’s become a little district head quarters, town. In those days it was a small village. They used to recite Mahabharatha, every year, in the corner of that village; in Bharat every traditional village will have the recitation of Mahabharatha once a year. They trust, they believe, if they recite Mahabharatha rain will come. So because of that, they have the habit of reciting Mahabharatha.

In north Bharat, they recite Bhagavatha; in south Bharat recitation of Mahabharatha or Ramayana takes place (scriptures). In my village, they used to recite Mahabhatratha, once in a year, for sixty days. In daytime they will tell a story, they will recite the story and nighttime a small drama, Village drama, not organized, trained, arranged people. Four people from that village itself will take the roll and they will play the drama. More than the drama, the mistakes they do will be funny.

So people will all sit and gather. People will all sit and gather and watch. Not for the drama’s sake. The mistakes they do will be really funny. Because, what comes as veena for Saraswathi, same thing will come as gadha for Arjuna, or hanuman. Hanuman will bring the same for gadhayudham; next day Saraswathi will bring the same thing as veena. It’ll be really funny and four or five people only will play all the roles. And Krishna will be an eighty-five year old man, with one stick in his hand and he will not even be able to walk. With the help of somebody he will come, and say, ‘oh Arjuna, stand up.

By the time he says, ‘Arjuna stand up’ he will fall. And it’ll be really funny to watch the whole drama; all the mistakes they do. I used to go and attend the drama every night, and only males can participate; it is done as a ritual also. The people who participate, they have to wear the sacred threads in the hand, and it is done as a ritual. They have to recite those entire poems completely and only males participate in the rituals.

That day the scene is supposed to be the vastrabharana; Dhraupathi vastrabharana - the removing of saree (outer garment worn primarily by Bharatn women, consisting of several yards of light material that is draped around the body) from Dhraupathi, trying to pull the saree from Draupathi, that’s the scene. And this guy had all the make-up and wore seven thin sarees. According to the scene, Dhuchadhana was supposed to pull six sarees, and by the time he pulls the sixth saree, he has to act as if he has become tired, and he is falling and he has to do some drama, and fall. Then Krishna will appear. And actually, the moment Dhuchadhana is about to fall, Draupathi will shout, Krishna, Krishna; then Krishna will appear. I’m remembering the whole scene; then Krishna will appear. Suddenly what happened was, when the scene started Dhuchadhana forgot the count; he forgot the, count. He is supposes to pull seven sarees totally; by the sixth saree, he is supposed to fall. Once he falls, Dhraupadhi will call out for Krishna and then Krishna will jump on to the stage; this is the scene.

This guy, he somehow forgot the number, counting. And he started to pull the seventh saree also. He started pulling the seventh saree also. And Dhraupathi, she is trying to show through her eyes, ‘hey seventh saree, seventh saree’. This guy does not understand; he thought that Dhraupathi was acting nicely, so he kept pulling. Then suddenly Draupathi started beating Dhuchadhana directly, shouting, ‘hey leave my saree, hey leave my saree. It’s my saree, it’s my saree’. Straight away Draupathi attacks Duchadhana. And we are all surprised. Morning, the story says something and evening drama says something different. And straight away he is attacking.

Actually by the sixth saree Dhuchadhana is supposed to fall and Draupathi should cry Krishna, Krishna and, Krishna should jump onto the stage. But Krishna is waiting behind the screen with beedi (Bharatn cigarette) he is waiting with his beedi, for the call, to jump onto the stage. He is standing behind the stage, Waiting for Draupathi to call. And Draupathi is shouting, ‘hey Duchadhana, leave my saree’. So Krishna is thinking that the scene is still going on, still the scene is, going on; still the sixth saree is not over. He is thinking standing there, smoking the beedi! This fellow Dhuchadhana, without understanding, finally, and moreover Draupathi kicked him also, so he got so angry, he just pulled the saree completely. Suddenly he saw on the stage, with half female outfit with a pair of shorts this guy is standing. Below male, above female; all female makeup. With the long hair and the facial makeup, like a female, wearing female clothes. Above female outfit and below male outfit. This guy is standing on the stage.

Somehow, this guy is a little spontaneous; suddenly he turned and said, ‘Krishna, just because you can’t come, you made me a male and saved my life. You converted me into male and saved my prestige’. This guy is a spontaneous guy; he managed the whole situation. Because he had to manage the mistake done by Duchadhana, and the mistake done by Krishna, because Krishna had not appeared on the stage as he was supposed to appear, but he was still waiting for the call with the beedi, waiting for Draupathi to call Krishna, Krishna. When you have spontaneity, really you can manage any thing. Whenever I remember the word spontaneity, I remember this story.

One more small incident, that’s also again about spontaneity. Actually, spontaneity is one of the spiritual qualities. Only a man who is not caught in his past, who is able to slip from his past can be spontaneous. If you have vested interest in your past decisions, in your past life, when I say past life, I don’t mean previous births, I mean in this birth. If you don’t have vested interest in your past decisions, which means if you are really open to understand, what all mistakes you have made in the past, and ready to update yourself, only then you can be spontaneous. If you have vested interest in the past, ‘no, no, no, all these years I’ve lived believing this idea, and understanding in this way. Today just because something is said to me I will not change; I cannot, I because something is said to me I will not change; I cannot, I am not going to change. Because, throughout my fifty years of life I have lived my life based on this concept, I cannot change. Then you can never be spontaneous, and you will miss life, miss miserably.

Please be very clear; the very quality of life updates itself. It can be called as intelligence, only as long as it updates itself. When it stops updating itself it is called intellect. It can no more be called as intelligence. Intelligence is living energy. In Sanskrit we have a word called dhee means, which is alive. In Sanskrit the word for intelligence is dhee. Dhee is an energy, which is alive; which continuously updates itself. Only if you don’t have a vested interest in your past, the decisions of your pasts, or the way in which your past is lived, the way in which you lived your past life, only then you will be able to be spontaneous. Spontaneity is one of the great spiritual qualities. One time, I was speaking on Isavasya Upanishad; I was giving a discourse. One elderly person, by seeing you can say well-read, scholar, elderly scholar. Straight away he walked into the hall. I was giving discourse, he did not even have the basic courtesy to put any question after the discourse; Straight away he walked into the hall and said, ‘all these fools who have not read, you can make them listen to you. Can you make me listen to you’? I just said ‘please come; I am not able to hear what you said? He came near; I said ‘please come this side, what do you want to say?’ He came this side. And I said ‘I think there’s some table, please come this side. I turned this side, he naturally came near. Then I said, already you’ve listened to me three times. Now sit and listen to what I say. Already you’ve obeyed me three times. Now sit and listen to what I say. You seem to be very good person. You sit and listen. You can never escape from spontaneity. Later on I was surprised I read the same story with a Zen master. After this incident happened sometime I was reading some book, I read the same story in a Zen master’s life. I was surprised how history repeats itself. Anyhow the guy was shocked, shocked about what happened. Actually when you have spontaneity, nothing can stop you. Spontaneity is one of the great spiritual qualities.

Here Krishna gives four different instructions. Either you can establish yourself in bhakthi- yoga, or live a regular life of spiritual routine or sacrifice all the fruits of actions to God or live in the consciousness and do the action. Whatever you want you can do. He says at least if not this do this, if not this do this, if not this do this. Now all we need to understand is don’t stop in the low level; try to always go to the higher level. When you can’t go to the higher level, at least stay at the lower level; don’t renounce completely. Somebody asked me, ‘why do we have so many gods in Bharat or in the eastern religions. All the eastern religions have many Gods. Whether Hinduism, Buddhism or Jainism. They all have so many Gods, so many saints, so many gurus and all the western religions have got only one God. Why?’

See, Vivekananda says beautifully in one place, in one discourse, freedom is the basic condition for any growth, in any field, if growth has to happen freedom is basic condition.

In the east always they have had inner freedom. Nobody will disturb your religion; spiritual practice is an option. That’s why we have the concept Ishtadevatha; Ishtadevatha means whatever form suits your mind you can worship that form. In scriptures they say thirty-three crore devathas, means three hundred thirty million Gods; actually I think at that time, that was the population; so they wanted each one to have customized God-let you have customized God. That is why they say three hundred thirty million. If the scriptures were written now they would say they would say six billion Gods. Each one has the freedom to choose his path; each one has got freedom to choose their God. They have inner freedom, which is why the east has grown so much in spirituality. In the west you can’t have your own God. It’s all clearly teaspoon feeding. It’d ready, straight away eat. In the east anybody can declare himself a saint overnight. All you need is ten rupees to print a poster or somebody to sponsor the ten rupees. Nothing more is necessary. You can declare yourself as a saint, no problem. But in the west you can’t. After your death the institution will declare you. The institution will declare he was a saint.

The attitudes are totally different. Of course both have got good and bad; in that freedom, there are so many good things. Tremendous research work happened in the inner world because of that freedom. So much of research is done in the inner world; and so much of truths related to the inner world are brought to the light, brought to the humanity, because so many people entered into that. There will always be few fake. Please be very clear when so many millions of people enter into the path, and so many millions of things expressed there will always be one or two superstitious things.

You think superstitious things are only in spirituality. In science lot more superstitions exist. In science lot more, superstitious things exist. At least in spirituality they have no vested interest of saying something; whatever masters say that is not going to add anything in their personal life. They are going to eat only that much and they are going to wear only those few pieces of clothes. Nothing is going to add in their life. But in scientists, whatever they declare is going to add name and fame, money, comfort to their lives; so naturally they have vested interest. With spiritual people the more they renounce, less they enjoy the comforts of the outer world, more they are respected. So naturally, whatever truths they declare, whatever research they do are not going to add any thing to their personal lives. Because the respect they are given is only based on their lives, not on their words. With scientists, it is based on their words.

So in science, there is more possibility for superstitious things than in spirituality. And when more and more people enter into this life, there will always be one or two superstitious things. Just because of that, we can’t say, that religious freedom itself is wrong, spiritual freedom itself, is wrong. It has lot of good things also. In the west they have social freedom. You can marry as many times as you want. You can change your house in the way you want. You can change your profession in the way you want. Nobody will bother, nobody will mind; you can dress as you want. Even now, I know in Bharat, people who obey family traditions, who have not gone out of their family homes, they don’t even shift their houses. They don’t change professions, they don’t change lifestyles. In east, they don’t have social freedom but they have spiritual freedom. In the west, they have social freedom but not spiritual freedom. Any growth to happen freedom is basic condition.

Here Krishna is expressing the spiritual freedom in these four slokas, he gives the spiritual freedom to all of us. He says, there are so many paths, choose something, which suits your mentality, and practice it. But do at least something. Why do you think, in the west people never go to religious places? Other day I was reading a statistical survey; only two percent go to church. In Bharat, at least seventy percent go to temple; Seventy percent of the people go to some temple or the other. Somewhere or other they go to temple. May be near, there is a temple in their street or which is in their house. But someway, seventy percent have the habit of visiting a spiritual place. Why? Why it has not happened in the west? Because west has forgotten one important thing; it did not give choice, it has got only one system. If you are able to accept the system, accept or you are irreligious, that’s all.

With the eastern tradition they gave many choices. If you are intellectual type Shiva suits you, continuously sit and meditate; if you are bhakthi type, Vishnu is here, Sing and dance like Chaitanya, Meera (great devotees of Krishna), Sing the glory like the Alwars (12 great devotees of Krishna) relate with Vishnu; If you are type of being, devi is here; if you are yoga type, if you are type of yogi, then Devi is here. Meditate on her, do the puja, do the tantra sadhanas; So many different kinds of techniques, the options are many. So again and again, you are given so many options. You have the customized way, customized path for your personal growth. So naturally wherever you are, you can grow and reach the level you are supposed to reach. They have all sizes of ladder, all kinds of steps. Wherever you are staying from there to the goal, there to the end. Continuously you are given choices; you are given options .So naturally, you tend to take up something or the other.

The east has explored so much, it has explored so many things, and it has done such a big research in the inner space because of spiritual freedom. West has achieved so much in the social level because of social freedom. Of course Bharat struggled little bit because of lack of social freedom, but it has got a lot because of spiritual freedom. Here, Krishna is explaining, giving all the choices of spiritual freedom: do this or, do this, or do this. You cannot expect any other master, except the eastern masters to be so compassionate; to be so compassionate and so concerned and so caring, and giving so many options. In the west, the law system is very compassionate; it gives you lot of options. In the east the spiritual system is very compassionate, it gives you lot of options.

In the west there are few nice beautiful things, when it comes to areas like customer care and other such things; in all these areas you are respected, every individual is respected. So many options are given in social life: if you are not able to live with your spouse you can say goodbye, socially you are not bound; you have freedom.

But in Bharat, spiritual freedom is given more importance. These four slokas, explains the spiritual freedom given to the society. Here, Krishna is giving spiritual freedom to Arjuna to choose. Of course not only to Arjuna, through Arjuna, to all of us.

[abhyāse](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/abhyase) 'py asamartho 'si [mat](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mat)-[karma](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karma)-paramo [bhava](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/bhava) mad-[artham](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/artham) [api](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/api) [karmāṇi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karmani) [kurvan](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/kurvan) [siddhim](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/siddhim) [avāpsyasi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/avapsyasi)

If you cannot practice the regulations of bakthi yoga, then just try to work, for me. Because by working for me, you will come to the perfect stage, siddhim avapsyasi (the perfection you achieve). Then he says one by one, by giving all options; finally he says,

śreyo [hi](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/h/hi) [jñānam](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/j/jnanam) abhyāsāj jñānād [dhyānaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhyanam) [viśiṣyate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/v/visisyate) [dhyānāt](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/dhyanat) [karma](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karma)-[phala](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/p/phala)-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir [anantaram](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/anantaram)

If you can’t take all these practices, then engage yourself in cultivation of knowledge. He says at least, collect all these life solutions. Cultivation of knowledge means collecting the life solutions: how to avoid depression, how to be more courageous, how to be strong, how to avoid when desires and emotions take you over. These are all the knowledge that you can collect, life solutions, which can help you, protect you.

See we speak about earth quake kit, we speak about hurricane kit; they say that water bottle and so many things all these things should be made as a kit and kept in all the cars in L.A, in California. In the fire department website, there is big list of what all you have to do to prepare yourself for earthquake; they call it earthquake kit. Here, in the west they speak and prepare all these things; but they don’t prepare to face the earthquake that happens inside.

The emotional imbalance, which happens inside, just like preparing for earthquake, you need to have the inner earthquake kit. The inner earthquake kit is what I call, the life solutions, knowledge. Collect all these things itself, so when you face depression – be very clear all of us are going to face some inner earthquake in our life, at some time, at some point or the other. If you are dead, then no problem; if you are dead then no earthquake. As long as you are alive, then naturally at some point, some of your friend will die, some of your relatives will die, some near and dear one will fall sick or they may die; all these things are inevitable.

Inevitability of the moment to moment has to be understood. Understanding the inevitability of life and collecting the tools to support yourself at those moments, collecting the ideas to balance yourself at those moments is what I call gnana, knowledge. We need to prepare earthquake kit for our life; otherwise, we will not be able to recover.

See, the aftermath will be terrible. Now the aftermath is so terrible, because they never brainstormed, they never expected the category five hurricane. They never expected category five hurricane; that is why the aftermath is such a big struggle; they are struggling; it is so difficult.

Same way, if you never expect, if you don’t expect, if you don’t brainstorm now itself, the inner earthquakes which may happen in your lives, or the inner hurricanes which may happen in your lives, inner storms which may happen in your lives, the aftermath will be very difficult. Please prepare now itself for the aftermath. In the eastern system they prepare continuously for the inner hurricanes, inner tornadoes, inner earthquakes; the gnana is the earthquake kit, knowledge is the earthquake kit for the inner space.

Now, human beings are developed; you don’t have to choose between inner and outer. Have your outer earthquake kit in your car; have the inner earthquake kit in your heart. You don’t have to choose; now you have both. Because of communication, we have both.

Someone asked me, ‘Buddha made ten thousand people enlightened. What is your aim?’ I said, without newspaper, without flights, without telegrams, without websites, if Buddha can make ten thousand people enlightened, with all these things we should make at least one million people enlightened. Only then it is worth having all these things.

Today we have flights, Internet, media, newspaper, radio, TV, everything. We have all kinds of communication systems. When we have the whole thing, at least one million. Only then it is worth having. Now you have everything, inner world and the outer world. Have your earthquake kit in your car; same way have your inner earthquake kit in your heart, inner space and never take inner earthquake lightly. If you take it lightly - of course taking inner earthquake lightly itself, is ignorance; it means you are inviting big trouble without preparing for the aftermath.

Be very clear, when it comes in the outer world, you can always blame somebody, you can always blame; officers, officials, directors, politicians, you can blame somebody. You can always blame somebody and get rid. You can put the responsibility on somebody. When it comes to the inner world, you can’t blame anybody. You can’t blame anybody. It is you, who is going to take the responsibility; it is you who is going to face it.

As Krishna says:

uttare atma natmanam atmanam ava sadhaye admam yeva bhanduhu aram tribuh pratmai vaha

It is who is supposed to lift yourself by yourself; if you can lift yourself by yourself, you are the great friend for you. Otherwise, you are the great enemy for you. He gives options, between these things: practicing, cultivation of knowledge, and meditation or renunciation of the fruits of actions – karma phala thyaga.

In all these things, one is better than the other. First thing he says, cultivate knowledge; better than knowledge, dhyana- meditation. Better than that is, offering everything at the feet of God. And he says, by renunciation of all the karma phala, all the fruits of actions, immediately you achieve peace. As long as you think everything is mine, you have to suffer. The moment you surrender, the moment you hand over the whole thing to the divine, something called inner healing happens to you. Your inner space experiences the healing breeze of divine.

Santhi ranandaram: he says the eternal peace immediately happens to the person who renounces the fruits of action.

adveṣṭā [sarva](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sarva)-[bhūtānāḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/bhutanam) maitraḥ [karuṇa](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/karuna) [eva](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/e/eva) [ca](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/c/ca) nirmamo nirahańkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-[sukhaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sukhah) [kṣamī](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/ksami)

santuṣṭaḥ satataḿ [yogī](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yogi) yatātmā [dṛḍha](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/drdha)-[niścayaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/niscayah) mayy [arpita](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/arpita)-[mano](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mano)-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ [sa](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sa) me priyaḥ

In all these slokas, Krishna was telling Arjuna do this, do that, or do this or do that. Now he is not saying, do this or do that. He says who does all these things, are very dear to me. If you don’t do also its o.k, but if you do, you will be very dear to me.

Emotional black mail, not directly, but indirectly; but for good purpose, so nothing wrong. One who is not envious, but is a kind of friend, kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor, and who 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, intelligence fixed on me, such a devotee of mine is very dear to me. Such a devotee of mine is, very dear to me.

Understand, here he says, who is not envious and a kind friend to every living entity. It is a very important quality. Before that let us analyze our mind. If we honestly analyze, at any time, if somebody comes to you and says he loves you, you never believe that. First thing, you calculate what he wants, what he wants from you.

First thing you don’t believe you are worthy of loving; next thing, you don’t believe somebody can honesty love, because you don’t love anybody honestly. Because you always calculate, you expect the other person also calculates.

All our love is just only skin deep; you know the depth of the skin- is only skin deep. Here he says, a person who is a friend of everyone, kind friend of everyone, who honestly serves, feels the friendliness in everybody and who is free from false ego.

Now we have to understand this word false ego. Ego means not only showing what you have, also hiding what you have. There are two types of ego: active ego and passive ego. Active ego is showing what you have and passive ego is - oh, what can I do, I am a simple person, I cannot achieve anything, I cannot do anything; hiding yourself in passive ego; inferiority complex is also ego.

Please be very clear, one thing, at least with superiority complex, wherever you go, you get nice beatings. Society will nicely give you beatings. You will understand you have superiority. With inferiority, society will not beat you; it is a cunning way of hiding yourself from life. You will not even know that you have a problem. Person hiding in the inferior ego will suffer in the same way, I think much more deeply, than the person who hides himself in the superiority ego. Small story: a Person who asks for name and a person who does not want name, both are egoistic. If you ask for name you are egoistic. And if you don’t, again it shows passive ego. Person who lets things happen, person who allows things to flow as it is, only he lives in reality. And then, Bhagvan makes a comment, after all who is going to know who you are, who is going to know who are you? Why do you think you are a big person and your name is so great and you think as if everybody knows your name? That is why you don’t want your name. Nobody knows your name, relax. Bhagvan says very clearly, nobody knows your name, relax. Nobody knows our name.

Please be very clear; asking for name and saying that I don’t want name both are different kinds of ego, different varieties of ego. The inferior ego is also ego; that is why he says false ego. You are not only supposed to be free from ego, you are supposed to be free from false ego also. You can’t hide yourself in inferiority complex.

Small story: a master asks a disciple, please press my feet, do little pada seva. Disciple says, ‘Oh, I am a sinner, how can I touch your feet?’ He just does not want to do; laziness. So he says, ‘I am a great sinner and how can I touch your feet, how can I do that? It’s such a big thing.’

Then, some devotee brought some fruits and prasad; the master put little in his mouth and put it aside. Next day, he saw nothing was there. He asks disciple, ‘what happened?’ Devotee says ‘guru prasad, how can I leave it? I finished the whole thing. Because it is guru prasada, I finished the whole thing’. See the mind, in a nice way it handles. All the concepts, Where ever we want we insert; When we don’t want to do work, we say no, no how can I touch your feet, I am not qualified that much. I am not such a pure soul. When he wants food, it’s guru prasad and he finishes it.

Many times, we collect all these concepts, to support our ideology. That is why they say devil quotes the bible. Please be very clear, only the devil quotes the bible. When you quote only the specific things, you become devil. Understand the whole gist of the bible, you will become God; you don’t need to quote, then people will quote your words. When you have digested bible, you don’t have to quote bible, people will quote your words. When you have not digested the bible, whenever you quote without digesting, you will be devil. Always, only devil quotes the bible, never a person who understands.

If you understand and digest, people will quote your words, and you don’t have to quote any other thing. To a Person who is established in forgivingness, who maintains equanimity of mind, and who is satisfied, united with yoga, see, all these qualities will come.

The moment you understand the futility of your goal and wealth, nothing is going to be with you forever, when that is understood, all these qualities will start radiating through your being. Actually when you are blissful inside, you radiate all these qualities. A man who is totally blissful inside, will radiate pleasantness; for no reason he will be radiating pleasantness.

If you are irritated inside- the other day I was telling in the lecture, in the discourse, continuously we carry a sense of slight irritation in our being; we are just waiting to jump on people. The moment we get a small chance we just scream, shout, jump, throw tantrums and don’t know what we are doing. We just jump and bite people; we are waiting for chances. Because we carry that irritation, irritative mood in us, we continuously vomit the suffering and misery on others. Once we understand the futility of irritation, however we are irritated, whatever we create by that irritation or tension, is not going to stay with us. Only how we live, how consciously we live with what consciousness we live, that only is going to be with us.

When you understand the importance of your state of being, automatically you start radiating pleasantness, you start radiating joy. I always tell people a very simple meditation technique; to really experience bhakthi yoga, do this simple technique of radiating pleasantness.

How to do? From morning till night whenever you remember, you inhale, inhale, and inhale only the pleasant qualities of bliss. Visualize you are inhaling bliss and exhaling bliss; your whole being is filled with joy. In the beginning it’ll be just like visualization, imagination. But in few days you will understand it is your quality. One more thing you should know, imagination and visualization are two different things. Imagination means kalpana in Sanskrit, visualization means bhavana.

Bhavana is different from kalpana. Kalpana means imagining things, which is not there. For example, if you imagine an elephant with ten trunks, it is imagination, kalpana, which is not there. But bhavana means, visualizing which is there: in the daytime if you sit and visualize stars in the sky, it is not imagination, it is visualization. Because, stars are there; you are not able to see, that’s all. So visualizing stars is imagination; visualizing what is, what you are not able to see at this moment, is visualization. Imagining what is not there is, imagination.

Be very clear, meditating on Gods and Goddesses is not imagination, it is visualization. That’s all, they are there; you are supposed to fall in tune with them, that’s all, like tuning your T.V. If you tune your TV, immediately you start seeing the program, just like that. Same way, tuning yourself is what is visualization.

Just visualize, continuously you are inhaling bliss, exhaling bliss and prana (breath seen as life giving energy), which goes inside and comes outside. Prana is, energy and it is bliss. Understand, prana is not air; prana is energy, which goes through air. For example, a lorry comes into your house, unloads a luggage and goes out. The lorry is air, the luggage is prana; lorry is air and luggage is prana; prana is not air. Through air, prana comes; subtle part of air is prana- shakthi. So prana-shakthi is bliss energy, ananda–shakthi.

So visualize, whenever you inhale and exhale you are inhaling bliss; when you exhale, visualize you are exhaling bliss. Inhale the light, exhale the light; Feel your whole body is a beanbag filled with light. You’ve seen beanbag, same way; imagine your body is a beanbag, filled with bliss and light . Continuously, automatically you will start radiating bliss, instead of irritation. Instead of vomiting poisons of anger and jealously on others, you will radiate love and bliss on others. Krishna says, such a devotee of mine is very dear to me. He says if somebody lives like that, he is close to me, that’s all. He does not say do or don’t do. He does not want to make any more rules. He is tired of making all rules. At one point, if you do, do it; otherwise all right, what can be done? He comes to a relaxed mood.

I think it always happens to all masters. All masters come to this position. After some time they say, all right do whatever you want, what can be done? All right do whatever you want, what can be done? To a certain extent only, we can guide or show. Otherwise people start thinking that the masters have got a vested interest in making you enlightened. I really feel sometimes they start suspecting. As though, if I make ten more people enlightened, I will have a special place in heaven. Or my salary will be increased. Nothing, nothing, just out of joy and bliss it is shared.

Small story: One blind man, in Himalayas he was walking. Suddenly he felt through his hands a snake, which is frozen. Because of the cold, the frozen snake like a stick is lying there in the snow. And he touched and felt it. He thought ‘oh, a good walking stick’. He took that and started walking. Because it was frozen, like a wooden log it was lying, and he started walking with that.

One sanyasi saw that, one enlightened person saw that, and he shouted ‘oh blind man drop that, it’s not stick as you think, it’s a snake. In two hours the sun will come, the snake will come back to life and it’ll bite you. It’ll kill you’. Then the blind man says ‘no, no, I know everything, keep quiet, you do your work’. Enlightened man says ‘hey understand, it’s a snake, it’ll bite you, you’ll die’. The blind man started telling the sanyasi, ‘I think you don’t have a stick, you are asking me to drop, so you can pick up this stick. I am not going to drop this stick, I know about you’. Then master says, ‘fool, understand, it is not going to help you, it’s your life’. He tries to snatch the stick. The blind man tries to beat the master with the same stick. That’s the same thing that happens in life. When the master says, drop the ‘I and mine’, people are afraid that he may pick it up, he may take it. He may take away, what to do? I think he does not have, that is why he is asking us to drop. When we drop, he may take it. He is asking us to drop, so he can take it; People are always suspecting. That’s the reason sometimes masters say, all right this is the way, do as you want. Here Krishna has come to the same mood and he says such a devotee of mine is dear to me, that’s all; then more than that, everything is up to them. Then he beautifully ends this chapter, it’s a small chapter, that’s why we are able to see almost the whole chapter, almost.

samaḥ [śatrau](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/satrau) [ca](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/c/ca) [mitre](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mitre) [ca](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/c/ca) [tathā](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/tatha) mānāpamānayoḥ śītoṣṇa-[sukha](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sukha)-[duḥkheṣu](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/d/duhkhesu) [samaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/samah) [sańga](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sanga)-[vivarjitaḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/v/vivarjitah)

[tulya](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/tulya)-[nindā](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/ninda)-stutir [maunī](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mauni) santuṣṭo [yena](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/yena) [kenacit](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/kenacit) aniketaḥ [sthira](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/s/sthira)-matir [bhaktimān](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/b/bhaktiman) me priyo [naraḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/n/narah)

Again he says such a man of full devotion is dear to me. Again, he is not ready to put any rule - means he is almost ending the instruction. He is almost saying, enough; this is the way, if somebody is like that, I love him, that’s all. I am not interested in anything more.

He says, one who is neutral towards friends and enemies, who is same in honor and dishonor heat and cold, joy and pain, free from attachment for fruits of action, those who remain same in criticism and praise, who does it and thoughtful, who is contented with whatever he gets, who does not care for any house and resolute in mind, such a man, full of devotion is very dear to me.

Here is a beautiful word, who does not care for any house, who doesn’t bother to build any house for himself, who doesn’t bother to build a house for himself.

Let me tell this story: Ravana’s age is one kalpa (one of the Brahmanic eons, a period of 4,320,000,000 years). Vyasa’s age is four kalpa. Ravana was building a huge Lankapuri-he brought Lankapuri as a gift from Shiva and he was developing it. Vyasa comes to the city, and then Ravana asks, ‘oh Vyasa, did you see my palace, and did you see my country? How grand it looks’. Vyasa said, ‘yes, I saw’. Ravana took him around and showed with all pride and asked ‘why don’t you also have a house for you’? Then Vyasa just smiles and says, ‘my life is just four kalpa, I have no time to waste in building house and all; and why to waste time building houses and all? After all, I am going to live here only four kalpas, why to waste time in building houses?’

Ravana’s life is only one kalpa. For that, he is making such a big house. Vyasa who is going to live four kalpa says, why to waste life unnecessarily in building house and all, I’m quiet happy with this. So, a man, who is not bothered about house, he is the person who is full of devotion, and he is near to me, dear to me.

Actually I‘ll tell you one thing: when I go to devotees’ houses they ask me, they say, ‘this is a new place for you; did you sleep well?’ I tell them, only when you have attachment to one house, other houses are new place; you’ll have struggle. When you don’t have that one house idea, wherever you go is your house. You will feel. Last two years, our ashram record says I have visited 1,200 houses totally. Of course in Bharat, per day we visit 40 houses, sometimes the pada puja and all those things when people do, per day 40 houses, I just go visiting and blessing people.

Hundreds of houses I stay around the world, but I never feel anything is new; and I feel totally at home. People ask me next day, ‘did you sleep well, are you comfortable?’ I say, what is there? You stretch your hand food; you stretch your leg sleep, that’s all.

That’s the life, nothing else to be done. If you don’t feel attached to one home, you will feel at home with the whole world; with the whole world you will feel at home, you will be totally relaxed. People ask me sometime, ‘how can you continuously travel, travel, travel more? Especially people who are in the travel business, people who are in the business which needs traveling, they ask me, ‘if we go to one or two places and come back, it takes one week for us to settle down again, for us to get back to our routine, our life, to feel comfortable, to feel ourselves. How can u continuously travel?’

Because I stay in any place maximum one week; now because we started the ashram, I am staying here more than a week; otherwise maximum one week only. The secret, the thing is, not feeling connected to one house; then you will feel connected to the whole world. You will have such a deep at home feeling with the whole world. Wherever you go, you will have a deep, relaxed bliss and ecstasy.

And here Krishna says, who does not care for any house, such a man full of devotion, is very dear to me.

[ye](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/y/ye) [tu](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/tu) dharmāmṛtam dharmāmṛtam [idaḿ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/i/idam) yathoktaḿ [paryupāsate](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/p/paryupasate) śraddadhānā [mat](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/m/mat)-paramā bhaktās [te](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/t/te) 'tīva me [priyāḥ](http://www.bhagavadgitaasitis.com/p/priyah)

Those who follow these imperishable path of eternal consciousness, and who completely engage themselves in this path, with shradha, with sincerity, making me as their life, purpose and meaning of their life are very dear to me. Tiva me priyah: Krishna says the people who are following this path are his own, his very being, his very life.

Here we have accumulated questions of so many chapters, I’ll try to answer few of the questions, and then we’ll end the session.

You mentioned there is no divorce word in Sanskrit, but in the west it is reality. Is spiritual divorce possible?

Be very clear. If you are spiritual, there is no need for divorce. If you need, there is something seriously wrong. Understand, real spirituality will make you better husband, better wife. Don’t complain, no, no, no he is not spiritual; he is not falling in tune with me. All these things are just because of your expectations. Let me tell you honestly, you project and see. It may hurt your ego. It may hurt you. Look little inside, you will understand, for every problem, you also contribute. Nobody can hurt you without your permission. Nobody can disturb you without your permission. Nobody can possess you without your permission. You must be having some vested interest, that is the reason you must be allowing this type of persons in your life. Allowing, attracting this type of persons itself, attracting persons who are not in tune with you itself is not spiritual. That means there’s something wrong in your being. Search, work on it, heal that, everything will be clear.

I have read and known some people who had near death experiences, out of body experiences. All of them described as very beautiful experience. Then why does Gita describe it as painful, thousand scorpions biting? Please understand, that day when I was speaking about death experience, I was talking about normal man’s death experience. Here you say I heard and know some people who had the death experience. The moment you say I read means, you read their experience. You heard from them means, they are some way or other, meditators, spiritual people. That’s why they had the experience and came back. What I was explaining was once for all leaving. What you are speaking is having and coming back. Having and coming back means it is a spiritual experience, not death experience. That day what I was explaining was actual, physical death, not conscious, transformation. What Ramana Maharshi experienced was conscious experience of death; but what that day I was describing was the actual, death of a normal human being. Physical death of a normal human being. Understand the difference.

Krishna says my devotee never perishes. But if everything is God, what perishes really? Krishna makes it sound like his devotee does not perish and others do. Please explain and remove my doubt.

Understand, the moment you understand that you do not perish, you become devotee of Krishna. There is no such category, only Krishna’s devotees will not perish, others will perish. Whoever understands that they will not perish, they become Krishna’s devotee, automatically. The moment you understand this concept, you become his bhaktha. So, be very clear if you understand everything is God, then nothing perishes. When he says, my devotee never perishes, name bhaktha pranashakthi: He says my devotee never perishes, means this statement is made in a relative level. If you understand everything is God, nothing perishes. When you understand that level, if you reach that level, this statement does not make sense for you. This statement is for a normal person who is in the path, who is still trying to under. If you have experienced, everything is God, you don’t have to bother about this statement-first thing.

Next thing, the moment you understand nothing perishes, you become Krishna-bhaktha (devotee). So, Krishna is not making any partial statements. He’s not making any favoritism, only my devotees will not perish, and others’ devotees will perish. No, he does not mean it that way. Whoever understands this philosophy will not perish; whoever will understand this science will not perish. If you understand the science, even if you are not devoted to the flute and the peacock feather, you will not perish. So don’t bother, if you think Krishna means the flute and peacock feather, only then this question raises. If you understand Krishna is beyond peacock feather and flute, you will not have this doubt. My devotee never perishes; when he understands this, he never perishes, that is what Krishna means.

Please explain how to drop completely your samskaras, engraved memories, a deep explanation please. Also, how to drop everything and surrender?

You are asking how to drop your samskaras, how to drop everything and surrender; come tomorrow and day after tomorrow’s lecture, I’ll tell you. Because next two days, it is all about engrams, engraved memories. We are going to work in a very deep way on every engram. The desire engram, the guilt engram and the pain engram, we work on every engram separately. Not only it’ll be a discourse, it’ll be like an interaction, working. We will work together on engrams for the next three, four days, especially the guna thraya yoga and all these chapters are on engrams only, and we will work on them.

For meditation, is Savasana (yoga pose of total relaxation) o.k? Or, we should sit to do meditation?

If you lie down you will only sleep. Even if you sit you will sleep. And if you lie down, naturally you will sleep. Please don’t lie down and meditate. You see, when you sleep you can meditate but don’t sleep when you meditate. When you sleep, if you meditate nothing wrong. But if you sleep when you meditate, then there is something seriously wrong. Don’t do Savasana and meditate. But meditate when you do savasana.

If one dies on Mahasivarathri or any auspicious day, does soul have direct entry into heaven?

I think I answered this question. Dhakshinayana, Rutrayana all these things are psychological, not chronological. When I say utharayana, when Krishna says Utharayana, when your energy moves upwards, that is what is Utharayana. When you are totally at ease with yourself, is what is Utharayana. So be very clear, it is psychological; and there is no such thing. In places like Disney world, on the weekdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, they have a discount, because not much crowd comes. So some days, they have special offer and discount. There is no special offer or discount in heaven. It is only up to your quality of your life. So be very clear, there is no special offer.

If one should have no goal, is achieving bliss not goal by itself? Please help me to understand.

Don’t make achieving bliss one more goal. You will miss it and mess it. Drop all your goals, bliss will happen. You cannot make a lotus to flower. You can create all the possibilities and wait. Then automatically the lotus will bloom by itself, on its own accord. You cannot do anything. If you open the petals, it’ll be a dead lotus; it’ll not be a living flower. So don’t make dead bliss, plastered smile. Let smile be from your being, let it overflow as an expression of joy.

If someone thinks of money all his life, what kind of life will he get next time? Rich man’s life or poor man’s life?

That depends upon your intelligence to take responsibility. If you are intelligent enough to take responsibility don’t bother about next life, in this life itself you will have rich man’s life. If you are not intelligent enough to take the responsibility, and work for it, not only in this life at any life you can’t have rich man’s life.

If you are ready to add all the ingredients which are needed for rich man’s life, see, for example to cook certain dishes, you need to put all the ingredients. Then it will happen; sometimes it happens in different way also. Wife was cooking; husband came and asked, ‘what are you doing? What are you cooking?’ She said, ‘I’ve not fixed the name yet. Once it comes out only, after that I can give the name; now I don’t know the name. What is the outcome, what is the product? After seeing the product only I can name it’.

So sometimes even if you put the ingredients, things don’t come out, that’s different. See, for any dish to be made, you have to add certain ingredients. Same way for a rich man’s life, rich life, you need to add certain ingredients. Responsibility and ability to take decisions, courage to face the life, if you take all these things, if you have all the ingredients you can make your life rich today; you don’t have to wait till next life.

I worship formless form of God. Can I still follow you and become your disciple?

Understand, I already answered this question, only if you are worshipping formless in form, you can understand me easily. You can relate with me easily, and as I have told you, I have a clear instruction: my disciples cannot meditate on my form. They should not meditate on my form. They have to go only into the conscious experience. I do not want them to be caught up in my form; not only my form, never get caught in any other master’s form.

Why do we hear of rebirth? Self-realized saints, what does it means?

Out of compassion, to help the world, Parashkthi sends few enlightened masters to the earth. She decides to activate few enlightened bodies to help the planet earth. It is her decision; we can’t decide anything about it, and we don’t even know the secrets based on which she is deciding. We can only put application; you don’t know how it’ll come, why it’ll come, why it’ll not come. it’s like American visa, you have to just submit the application, that’s all and wait. When it’ll come and why it’ll come, and why it’ll not come, nothing will be known. Nothing will be known; simply you’ll have the result, that’s all. Whether it comes or not will be informed to you. Nothing else can be done. same way it’s just Parashakthi’s decision, nothing can be known about that. You may be thinking you’re given everything, but nothing works.

Respected master, each day I come and learn beautiful knowledge. I am so happy, and then I go and feel little confused, even depressed. Please what is going on?

Right thing is going on. Don’t worry; whatever is going on is the right thing. In the initial level this is the way it‘ll happen. Don’t count the moments of depression, count the moments of blessing. See just by its own light moon shows the problems of black patches, which exist inside. By its own light it shows the black patches. Same way, by your own intelligence you understand how you fall depressed and confused. If you understand you are confused and depressed that itself shows you are intelligent. That itself shows you are growing in intelligence; the light has started radiating.

Respected master, I have a question, would you be conducting a retreat on mediation in Los Angeles in the near future, during your current visit?

I think I’ll be doing one meditation camp, after the gita gnana yagna, called Arogya Spurana. It is on health, directing your body and mind and spirit, towards the holistic health; healing your body, mind and spirit. According to me, health and spirituality is one and the same. When you become really spiritual, you will radiate a special kind of health, which is beyond body.

Body itself is disease; not disease catches the body. Body itself is a disease. So according to me, when you feel the boundary less freedom, only then you are healthy. This two-day camp is directed toward the boundary less consciousness, towards the boundary less freedom. And of course naturally it heals your body also.

And there will be life bliss program by acharyas. In the ashram itself, by the acharyas (teachers). I may come to one or two sessions in that day program. I may come and sit or do one or two sessions of that day’s program. But Arogya spurana, I myself will be conducting completely, fully. And I am not doing any N.S.P in America; I am doing one in Vancouver. So I will not be doing N.S.P now. Because I will be intensely conducting classes for our ashramites (ashram residents). All our ashramites are having regular classes. Any healer can come and participate. If you are already an initiated healer you can come and participate in the classes. In the night also I conduct classes, and after the gita gnana Yagna everyday evening I will be conducting classes. Morning class all can come, but the evening class, only healers can attend, if you are already an initiated healer. Because the meditation, which you will be doing, will be a higher level, deeper level technique. Because I am spending time with the ashramites, I am not doing any other program, except this one Arogya spurana. Only one program I am doing.

During the great war of mahabharatha everybody was following unlawful - (master says, I don’t understand the hand-writing. But you came to me and asked me the question; so I know what it is. I’ll answer.)

In the beginning of mahabharatha war, everybody was following dharma (religious principles). But after a few days, you start seeing adharma (against dharma); night times going and killing, and all the five sons of pandavas were killed when they were sleeping. Arjuna attacked karna, when he was not having any weapon. Karna was attacked and killed when he was not having any weapon; when he did not have any weapon. Abhimanyu was killed by a group of warriors. He was a single guy without a weapon, he was standing on the ground, his grand father, his own relatives, his uncle, all these fellows were standing there, and he was killed; hardly a eighteen year old boy. Eighteen-year-old boy abhimanyu, they killed him, without any morality. The question you are asking is right. See, what happened exactly, when they started, it was all started for dharma and everything. Slowly on Gaurava’s side, they went one step further. Then Pandava’s side said no, we have to defend; Let us also go one-step beyond dharma. They put one step. Then Gauravas, oh, you are coming two steps, let me come and attack three steps. Let us break dharma, three rules let us break. Then Pandavas go, oh, three rules you are breaking then let us break four rules and defend ourselves. After tenth day all the rules are broken and it has become brutal war. After tenth day, it cannot be called Dharmakshetra. That is why it was called Dharmakshetra as long as Bhishma was alive. The moment Bhishma- of course he did not die, he was made to move away from the war, battlefield. The moment Bhishma moved away from battlefield, from that day, it cannot be called dharmakshetra. It was just a brutal field, not a battlefield.

Swamiji, if every waking and sleeping is as birth and death, and at the time of birth, we create a earthly life, is each awakening an opportunity for a new life in your current form?

Yes, every day is an opportunity to transform your body and mind. Let me tell you clearly, you can even transform your body. Not only mine, even your body. Because your body is created by your mind. So be very clear, everyday is an opportunity given to us to transform our lives. Every sleep is death, every waking up is birth: it is janana and marana. Be very clear, everyday is an opportunity for us to transform our lives.

Let us pray to the ultimate energy Para-Brahma Krishna, to make us all experience the truths of bakthi yoga, love our very life. Let us pray to him, to give us all the conscious experience of bhakthi, love and make us experience, and radiate eternal bliss, Nithyananda.

Thank You.

### Vasudeva Sutam Devam

Kamsa Chãñura Mardanam

Devaki Paramãnandam

Krishñam Vande Jagadgurum