GUNA THRAYA VIBHAGA YOGA---Classification of the Three Basic Qualities.

After describing the various ways of reaching God in the previous chapter, Lord Krishna elaborates on the classification of the three basic qualities in every human being. Hence this chapter is called  " Guna Thraya Vibhaga Yoga." The Lord continues," Arjuna! I shall tell you about that with which the great sages attained liberation or Moksha. The Jnanis reach me and transcend the cycle of birth and death. There should be the male and female element for creation! The world is no exception. I am the FATHER! Prakriti or Maya is the MOTHER! In other words, there is union between matter and spirit!
     "Maya is of three kinds namely SATWA, RAJAS and Thamo Guna or qualities. These three qualities are the stumbling blocks that do not allow the person to go up. Greed and lust are the manifestations of  RAJO guna. THAMO guna is the quality of those who do not think of the Soul or the Absolute Soul! Therefore, Arjuna! Unless man transcends all these qualities he cannot get Moksha!" What are the qualities of a person who has transcended these three gunas? 1. He is perfectly indifferent to all the worldly things. He does not take sides. 2. He treats both happiness and sorrow on an equal footing. 3. He treats gold, a lump of clay and a stone as the same!
     According to Sri Ramakrishna, the Jiva or the individual Soul is traveling with the treasure of Jnana in the forest of samsara or family life! The three gunas are the thieves who want to way lay him! Thamo guna is like the thief who wants to kill. Rajo guna wants to imprison, not kill him.  Sathwa guna takes the person to the boundary and leaves him there! Like a doll made of sugar that loses its individuality and merges into water, Sathwa guna merges into God!  Similar to a doll made of cloth which becomes heavy by absorbing water,  Rajo guna makes one get Jnana  slowly and steadily. The stone doll does not absorb even a drop of water! This is the quality of Thamo guna. It is impossible for a person to get mokaha without the special clemency of God!
     Maya has two important ramifications. The first is " Avidya Maya."or the deluding power  Like the cloud that covers the Sun, Maya hides God. It is this “ avidya Maya” that obstructs your vision of the Divine! The second type of Maya is called “ Vidya Maya. It reveals as the liberating power! It leads Man towards God while “ avidya Maya” leads him astray. Vidya Maya consists of knowledge, wisdom, devotion, dispassion and compassion. It is Maya that makes it possible to realize the Brahman! Vidya Maya never kills the devotee. The cat catches the kitten with its teeth but they are not hurt while when the mouse is caught it dies!!

MISUNDERSTOOD PHILOSOPHY IS DANGEROUS

The Vedas, the Upanishads and the BhagavadGita have offered profound Truths for our understanding and practice.We are aware of some such statements like, Ekameva Advtiyam Brahma, Aham Brahmasmi,  ayamatma Brahma, Tatwamasi, Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya, Atmavat Sarva Bhutani" and many others. These profound truths are expected to be understood and realized by all of us! They are very fine to read but are very difficult to practise in our daily life. In spite of all these profound Truths, we look down upon our fellow creatures, think we are different, fail to show love to others, glorify our egos and suffer and make others also suffer. Unless we realize the truth of the profound statements we cannot say that we follow them! we have to understand the Spirit of the statements but not take them literally and try to put them into pactice. Advaita or Monism is the most difficult system of philosophy to follow. Off and on, we come across yogis, sages, and Siddhas who meticulously follow Advaita. In recent times Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Seshadri Swamigal of Tiruvannamalai are good examples for following advaitic principles.
      Misunderstood philosophy is dangerous to the layman.A king was taught by his mentor that the whole universe is Brahman. Much impressed by this doctrine, he considered every thing as equal  One day he told the queen that he did not find any difference between the Queen and her Maid! He wanted to make her Maid as his queen! The queen was alarmed and sought the advise of her Guru. He asked her to place a plate of cow dung at the dinner and ask the king to eat it as it is the same thing as food! Growing wild at this, the King, asked the Guru to eat as it was he who gave the advice. The Guru, immediately changed himself into a swine and ate it up and regained his original form immdiately. The king understood his foolishness in considering all things equal and never indulged in such talk later!
        The story of the serpent is another illustration of misundersood philosophy! A sage advised it  to not bite and injure people. Literally following his advice it became very docile, gentle and nonviolent. Children , then, began playing with it, tossing it up, and pelting stones at it! it was battered and became almost dead. The Sage, on his way back  was aghast at the pitiable condition of the snake. He felt sorry for the foolishness of the Snake in not making its natural hissing noise to frighten people  from coming near! Some times following the advice literally will result in situations like this!

        A Teacher told his student that every thing in the world is the manifestation of God!  On a particular day an elephant was coming along the road. The mahout was shouting that people on the road should move away. But the student did not move away from its path. He thought that every thing is God and that God will not hurt or harm himself! The elephant took him by its trunk and threw him away! He was badly hurt!The teacher blamed the student and said that God in the form of the mahout has warned him to move away!  But he did not obey the words of God! so he had to suffer! Such are the misadventures of people who misunderstand the principles of philosophy! Understanding the Spirit is more important than literally following them!

KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA PART TWO

 

 

 

  Lord Krishna now enumerates the important qualities of character that constitute Kshetra Kshetrajna Jnana! (1)  Amanitwam This is arrogance born out of scholarship, riches, children, authority and race. This is false prestige. One should not have conceit and vanity. (2) Haughtyheadedness should be avoided by a jnani. (3) Non violence in thought, word and deed. (4) Forgiveness and tolerance. Doing good  even to an inveterate enemy. (5) Humility which is a sign og greatness like a blade of grass and the trees that offer free air, fruits and shelter even to those who fell them. (6) Arjavam or Frankness. Harmony between thought, word and deed as in the case of great men. (7) Soucham or Cleanliness There should be inner cleanliness bereft of  lust, desire, anger, greediness, arrogance and hatred. (8) Steadfastness of purpose. Determination to carry on in spite of impediments. (9) Atma nigraha-control over the sensory organs as well as the Mind, (10) Absence of arrogance Man is only a tool in the hands of God. Give all the credit to him (11) Remember the details of Birth and how one was delivered on to earth. (12) Old age and senility
        Krishna continues and describes other qualities: (13) Too much of attachment towards home, family and children should be avoided. (14)  meditation and worship of God in a solitary plaxe is essential. Ideal places are river banks, near temples,mountains, caves etc At least a puja room at home is good. (15) Keeping good company and avoiding the company of  the worldly minded (16) Study and realization of the relationship between the atma and paramatma (17) Jneya-the only knowledge to get eternal salvation is ' atma jnana' --knowledge of the Self.
          " Man liveth not by bread alone but by word of God says the Bible!  Nachiketas requests the God of Death Yama to instruct him on the nature of atma! According to Sri Ramanuja Jneya is the pure Jeeva without any association of jada prakriti. According to the Bible, " The son of Man has not a stone which he can call his own!" Paramatma is far away as well as very near. There is no point in searching for God elsewhere forgetting that He is in the inner recess of our heart!
              How can the Jiva reach the Absolute? Many are the ways available to reach the Almighty!
(1) Dhyana Yoga or Raja Yoga intended for those with meditation and concentration. (2) Raja Yog for persons  of psychic temperment .( 3 )  Jnana Yoga for intellectuals. (4) Karma Yoga for persons with physical strength. (5) Bhakti Marga for persons of emotional temperment and. (6)  Sravanam by listening to the glories of God!
Any one of these paths shall enable one to reach the lotus feet of the Lord! Krishna concluded.

 

 

 

KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA PART ONE

Arjuna is assailed by many more doubts because of his spiritual orientation! He wants to know the meaning of a few terms that the Lord has used in His discourse. " Oh, Lord!, you have used the following six words-- Prakriti,Purusha, jnana, Jneya, Kshetra and Kshetrajna! I desire to learn from you what these things are. Kindly define and explain in detail." said Arjuna. The Lord replied, " This Body is called the 'Kshetra' or the field. The wise refer to Him who knows as 'Kshetrajna'

       The Body, the outer coat, formed of the Fiuve Elements is called Kshetra. Another Body, the inner one is ' Sukshma Sareera' and has 19 tatwas. This lives as long as the individual Soul lives! These two Bodies, the physical and Sukshma sareeras are called Kshetra. The Individual Soul requires a protective cover.and cannot exist without the physical Body. It is like an armour for the Individual Soul. One who realizes that the physical body is the Kshetra is called kshetrajna. He is otherwise called 'PURUSHA'--one who knows whatever happens in the Kshetra, the body composed of the five elements Lord Krishna continued, " Oh, Prtha! I am the omnipresent entity and I know every thing about them. A Knowledge of the two can be called as the True Knowledge. Every Body has two Knowers, the Individual soul or the Jiva and Paramatma the Absolute Soul of prime importance. All our bodies and souls are His Kshetras. Hence he is called " Sarva Sareeeri!"
          Lord Krishna now tells Arjuna what matter is ,its origin, its composition, why it changes, what Self is and its powers! Many sages and even the Vedas have explained these authoritatively. The Lord now explains the tatwas of Kshetra:. 1 Pancha bhuthas, the five elements,earth, water, fire,air and ether or akasa form the physical body. 2 Sukshma Sareere or the inner subtle body is composed  of ego or ahankara, budddhi or  determinative faculty. It includes primordial matter or moola prakriti.3 Indriyas or organs:-- Jnanendriyas like the eyes,nose,ears,tongue and skin and Karmendriyas like the mouth,the hand, foot and others. Manas is the overseer of all these entities! Thus there are 24 tatwas 4 Antahkarana consists of love, hatred, courage and cleverness etc. Out of the 24 Tatwas, 5 are found in the physical body and 19 are in the Suksh

ma sareera Above all these is the Atma.

 

 

 

SCIENCE VERSUS SPIRITUALITY

Science is a cooperative endeavor! It is not the work of a single person. It is the combination of the magnificent efforts of several men of genius.. It has made life of man enjoyable, pleasant, and highly comfortable. Still it is progressing and there is no end to its development  and  research. Man has conquered the Moon and is trying to settle in Mars, the Red Planet! Space stations are being set up. Unmanned drones have come to play and every ying appears to be very fine and happy and cheerful on the surface! Man has discovered almost every thing about Nature. He has examined the sky, the water, wind, light, and earth with all his intense scientific temper and inquisitiveness. But unfortunately he is unable to conquer himself! He is unable to  master  the art of living which is the crown and culmination of earthly existence!
    All his researches and discoveries have to be implemented lest it is all in vain. According to a famous scientist, the Nuclear pile up among the Big Powers is capable of destroying the entire world more than TEN times! the entire universe is living dangerously. Man has not learnt how to live and let  others too live! peacefully on earth! While there is a tremendous advancement in science and technology,  there is an equal or more degeneration of SENSES and VALUES in humanity! The fabulous money and material used in the manufacture of Atomic  and Hydrogen bombs could have been utilized for the welfare of humanity! The most important asset of Brotherhood of Man is significantly absent! Early development of science  with faith in God made the world prosperous and happy!
     While Man has mastered all knowledge of almost all created objectes, he has failed to recognize the CREATOR responsible for all creation! In doing so he has failed to develop the quality of LOVE! GOD IS LOVE and  LOVE IS GOD we say but there is no sincerity  about this statement! Modern discoveries are mostly misused to a large extent though they are very beneficial! Telivision is a very powerful medium for knowledge and entertainment. But several hours are being wasted by watching unwanted things for hours together! The defect is not in science or TV but  in the way we use. Science can be of immense use to humanity  only when it joins hands with SPIRITUALITY. It can, then, result in much good and elevation of humanity!
         Former Scientific Advisor to the Government of India has told the Tata Institute of Science that there is some thing beyond all this objective world, some mystery which becomes deeper and more mysterious with every scientific discovery. While one door is opened, ten closed doors reveal themselves to the surprise of the scientist! So, it is only in the real depth of the Spirit, in a disciplined mind and faith, in unity in diversity real Peace can be found! Peace has to be found from within not from without!
        &nbs p; Following the Supreme Spirit is the real need of the hour! The Supreme is the subtlest and the Vastest principle in every object! Matter is the physical object while energy within it is the Supreme Principle! The vision of science is outward and it examines the objective world of matter. The saint examines the Soul  and develops the INTERNAL VISION! The scientist is more concerned with " Yantras"--machines while the Saint relies on " Mantras"--Sacred formula.The need of the hoour and aim of Science is to promote LOVE! It should help Man to become selfless. It is the duty of the scientist to foster an integral  approach to Nature, Man and Spirit. Then only he can feel the latent Divinity that unites the Man and the Universe!

 

 

 

BHAKTI YOGA PATH OF DEVOTION

Continuing his discourse on Bhakthi or devotion Krishna says, " Arjuna! offer devotion according to the dictates of scriptures. Don't be the slave of your mind. Follow the mandates of the Vedas and  'Varnasrama Dharma'  Adi Sankara has defined Bhakti as merging of the mind with Lord Siva. It is similar to the seeds of the ' udugu' tree attaching themselves to the tree itself; Like a magnet drawing the iron filings; like a chaste woman ( pativrata) following her husband; like the rivers that flow into the sea the Devotee merges  himself into the Lord!
     Bhakthi or devotion is of three kinds. The worst type is that which prays for one's own happiness in this and the other world. The second is devotion aspiring for personal salvation or moksha. The third and the best is devotion  for the sake of devotion! Sri Kulasekhara Azwar in his " Mukunda Mala" prays not for the four 'purusharthas' but for the perennial  devotion unto His lotus feet irrespective of the number of births he may have!
      Bhakthi can be classified into NINE KInds:
       1 Sravanam--Hearing the name of the Lord.
        2 Keethanam--Singing His praise
        3 Smaranam--Repeating the name of the Lord
        4 Pada sevanam--Serving at the feet of the Lord
         5 Archanam--Worship of the Lord
         6 Vandanam--Offering obbaisance
         7 Dasyam--Serving the Lord
         8 Sakhyam--Friendship with the Lord
         9 Atma Nivedanam--Total surender to the lord.
        In Krutha yuga DHYANA was needed  for moksha or salvation. In Treta Yuga yagnas and other karmas  were performed for moksha. But in Kali Yuga it is enough if we sing the praise of the Lord! All the accumulated sins of many Births are destroyed by the repetition of the name of the Lord says NARADA, one of the greatest devotees of the Lord! Lord Vishnu tells Narada, " I do not reside in my abode Vaikunta or in the hearts of Yogis; I reside in places where my bhaktas sing in my praise!" In the Bhagavatha purana, a brahmin, Ajamila, was given to evil and immoral ways. But in his last moments he called his son NARAYANA to come to his side. Uttering the Name of the Lord in his terminal stage gave him moksha or salvation! A chief of robbers addressed his band on how to execute their job. He directed, " Vane charamo, vasucha haramo,nadistharamo, nabhayam smaramaha"---Go to the forest, plunder wealth, cross the river, don't be afraid. It is said that the robber chief attained mukti as he repeated the name "RAMA" four times though unwittingly!
            Sankara says that the "RA" sound expels all our sins and "MA" sound slaps the door against all sins! God's name is the magnet that attracts God himself! Jayadeva, a great Bengali devotee used to worship God till He, in

the picture before him nodded His head! Saint Thyagaraja sang with extreme devotion and had the vision of his Lord Sri Rama! Lord Krishna  is believed to have appeared before Purandara Dasa to enjoy his Kirtanas! Swami Vivekananda saw Rama by repeating His name as per the directions of his mentor, sri Ramakrishna! God's name has intrinsic value and transforms Man into a  great bhakta in the long run!

       

BHAKTHI YOGA THE PATH OF DEVOTION PART ONE

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New doubts crop up in Arjuna's heart! He is in a dilemma whether to worship the nameless and formless God or the one with name and form. Krishna says that both forms of worship are valid----the SAGUNA and NIRGUNA for the devotee who controls his senses and strives for public good and maintains serene mind..Worship of the Formless is difficult and hazardous for ordinary man. But single minded devotion shall save such a person from the cycle of births and death! The Absolute Brahman has two sides.--NIRGUNA, the formless and SAGUNA  with Name and Form. The former is static It is like a coiled snake that includes creation, protection and destruction. When the formless NIRGUNA reflects in Maya He is endowed with name and form. In other words He becomes SAGUNA!. Combination with ' rajoguna' makes him the creator Brahma, with 'satwa guna the protector Vishnu and ' thamo guna' the destroyer Siva. Parabrahman is the same but called by different names in performing different duties!

     Sagunopasana is the best as worshiping the Formless is extremely difficult. Any worship requires an object with name and form and a person who worships. Sankara, in spite of being an Advaiti, composed many sthothras on Siva, Vishnu, Devi and other forms. According to Swami Vivekananda Saguna Brahman is like a priest officiating at a marriage with Paramatma as the Bridegroom and Jivatma as the Bride. He brings about a marriage or alliance between the two. According to Sri Ramanuja worship of Lord Narayana is easier than that of pure Jiva or Brahman. Nirgunopasana, according to him is more labour and less result! It requires stringent and strict control of inward and outer senses. According to the Dwaita School of Thought Maya or Prakriti is Goddess Lakshmi. It requires a greater control of Mind and senses. It is like walking on a sharp razor's edge! A little disturbance in the mind shall ruin the person! From the beginning one should develop maternal feelings towards the deity. Sri Ramakrishne worshiped mother Kali and Sankara worshiped Devi as his mother!
       Krishna says, " Arjuna, if you cannot calm your mind, practise meditation. If that too is difficult, do selfless service to mankind! That will eventually lead you to Me! If that is also impossible surrender to me , in devotion, accepting victory and defeat as granted by me."  The lord expounds the positive qualities of a true devotee. Compassion and ways and means of eradicating the sorrows of others is the most important quality of a Bhaktha. He should maintain equanimity or balance of mind in both joy and sorrow! Lord Krishna has detailed the steps for becoming a great devotee:.
       1 A Bhaktha must believe that every thing is a blessing in disguise.
        2 A real devotee's real home is God himself.
        3 He should have stability of purpose.
        4 He should see God in friends and enemies.
        5 He does not hate any one.
        6 He is not afraid of any thing and none is afraid of him.
      Bhakthi has magnetic influence and attracts all beings. The more one identifies himself with the mortal coil the greater is the fear. The greater the detachment the lesser the fear. It is said that in the presence of great Bhaktas even the animals lose their enmity and live together!     ( continued)                                                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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