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3. Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 2 Verses 11-12 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Oh Vasu deeper Suton daivam come search our new Rama tanum devaki param anand krishna monday jagadguru second chapter please repeat the verses after me verses 9 and 10 I'll chant and please chant up to me Sanjay watch Sanjay watch Ava Mokpo education Namaqua education good acacia parantapa good acacia parantapa nazia 80 go Windham now yoshiya it eagle Windham OOP Tottenham Babu Tottenham Babu Tom vulture - acacia Tom vulture Rishikesh ahh bra hasan eva bharata raha Soneva bharata senayor ubhayor madhye saying ayo ayo Maddy Vichy done Tommy damn what she done Tommy damn watch ah ha so last time we had studied it up to the tenth verse of the second chapter where Arjuna the ninth verse says Sanjay is reporting all of this to the blind king dhritirashtra who wants to know what happened in the battlefield so he says the Prince Arjuna said I will not fight this war and he put and he sat down silently he said he says to Krishna Arjuna says to Krishna I will not fight this war and he sits down silently and then the tenth verse says to him that means to Arjuna who was the sorrowing sorrowful and what a dramatic setting you know in the middle of two armies in the between the two armies were about to engage in terrible battle - that one - - the one who was sitting down sorrowing in this manner krishna spoke these words as if smiling he that not at all moved by the difficulty of the situation that the terrible anxiety that arjuna is suffering from krishna is not moved by it nor by Arjuna's arguments as if smiling praha Suniva means as if smiling faint smile and Edom vichara he spoke Krishna spoke these words which words the words which are going to follow not so from this onwards from the eleventh verse onwards of the second chapter 11 verse of the second chapter the teaching actually begins so far is the setting the car texts now the teaching begins from the eleventh verse these words Krishna spoke these words means though all the words it means literally the work words you find in the eleventh verse but actually it means all the work verses starting from the eleventh verse till the end of the Bhagavad Gita eighteenth chapter I think the last verse that Krishna spoke was 66th words probably the teaching end since the in the 66th verse and a few more things Krishna said after that so 18 chapter up to that continues the teaching Arjuna's friend guide playmate you know a childhood friend Krishna he now becomes the teacher the spiritual master and later on he will reveal himself as an incarnation of God so that will happen later so here starts the teaching eleventh verse please repeat after me Shri bhagavata a show gern Anwar show just one ha-cha-cha Anwar show just one Prague jihad on sahaja see Praja bug on Shabbos a guitar soon a guitar songs charm guitar soon a guitar soon sha na new show Chanti pandita non so Chanti pandita so the Blessed blessed Lord said you have been sorrowing for those who should not be grieved for and yet you are talking learn it words you speak like a pundit they learn aid grieve neither for the dead nor for the living okay so what does this mean start with the end of the verse often here's a secret in Sanskrit texts the language is such that often it is meaningful to start with the the last part of the verse you know that gives you the key to the entire teaching the last part of the verse is the pundits do not grieve Nana Shan G&T pandita who is a pundit it's a Sanskrit word actually and can you hear me at the back okay so it's a Sanskrit word but it's actually part of English now what does it mean in modern journalist pundit means like a an expert in something corrected it's not so far from the truth and not so far from the original meaning the original Sanskrit meaning was a scholar so the religious scholars in India were called pundits but the deeper meaning is literally upon details one who has panda now what is the word panda if you ask most Indians those who have heard the word immediately will relate it to a a Priya priest a temple priest but that's not the original meaning of the word panda Shankaracharya in his commentary in the Gita later on he will define the meaning of meaning of Panda he will explain panda the one who has panda is a pundit but what is panda it's not another temple priest panda the word means enlightenment about the self knowledge about the self what am I Who am I the one who knows this for sure this knowledge this enlightenment is called panda and the one who has got it is called a pundit atma-vichara pragya is panda Shankar Acharya defines then the knowledge realization about oneself is panda so not that all the pundits have are enlightened I guess the extended meaning is somebody who's enlightened who is an expert on some particular subject is called a pundit but the original meaning of pundit is not an expert on the wall street or on the results of the game or our politics not even one who is a religious scholar it actually means an enlightened person the one who knows Who am I or what am I and this points to the core of the entire teaching the central teaching of the whole bhagavad-gita which Krishna is going to give a Juna here and through Arjuna to all of us across the millennia across the centuries in millennia the central teaching is this know thyself you have to know who or what you are that is the solution to all human problems why is knowing who am I the solution to all human problems because way dont't races the root cause of human suffering too ignorant about our real nature we do not know what we are I'm not even saying who we are we do not know what actually we are not knowing this we make a mistake we think we are these bodies and minds it's a natural mistake to make the first thing we experience about ourselves is this body is this person we don't even question it I am this person what do you mean I experienced this person I am this person no you're not we will see that slowly and from that one fatal mistake tragic mistake the entire drama the panorama of samsara of human existence trials and tribulations of life lifetimes proceeded from that that is the analysis of Vedanta not only Vedanta in fact all the traditional systems of Indian philosophy Vedanta jnana they all say ignorance is the root cause of our problem of samsara and knowledge is the solution a guiana literally ignorance is the problem and Jana literally knowledge is the solution yes so Sony aya philosophy says that the why Shekar philosophy says that Sankyo philosophy certainly says that yoga philosophy says that Vedanta says that almost almost all I'm using the words carefully almost all the traditional schools of Indian philosophy including the the so called heterodox schools the Buddhist schools the giant schools they all say either ignorant is is a central problem or at least very cool close to the central problem yes this much with a qualifier ignorant about what and depending on that knowledge about what will set you free that differs from system to system that differs from system to system in Vedanta which Krishna is going to teach here the problem is ignorant about what I am and therefore the solution will be knowledge and therefore the one who has that knowledge the knowledge is called panda knowledge about who I am knowledge about what I am that knowledge is technically called panda and the one who has got it is a true pundit not just in name that's what we are called trying to be now so we are trying to be bandits then not just in name the whole rationale for spiritual life why is their religion or spirituality it lies here the Sankhya philosophy one of the most ancient systems of Indian philosophy it starts the first verse in the oldest available text of Sankhya philosophy the samkhya karika it says why should we undertakes the spiritual quest at all any kind of spiritual quest why should we undertake it it says that afflicted by the threefold sorrow one looks for a spiritual solution to these sorrows why a spiritual solution because no temporal solution no earthly solution is permanent or entirely satisfactory do cut trial is a sanskrit original it's a very ancient text there is how we know it's very ancient is a Chinese translation of this text has been dated back to 2 500 AD which means 1500 years ago this text was being translated into Chinese and it goes much further back so do cut TRAI we got out afflicted by the threefold sorrow Todd up of heart okay hey to drish toss our power touch it nah I can't attend table how about okay it goes like this what does it mean I flicked it by the three folds or who is afflicted all of us are no no I don't have 3/4 all of love like that never I didn't complain sorrow relating to one's own body and mind physical pain and suffering mental agony and suffering that is called one kind of sorrow Ardeth nickim personal related to the self then sorrow related to other beings ah Dida you become a devotee come solo related to other beings so the examples given in the original scriptures are quaint all the other beings for example they will say lions and tigers now in Manhattan you don't have so much problem from lions and tigers rats maybe yes somebody said there are more rats in Manhattan than there are human beings and they I don't know how they calculated but so other beings it could be other human beings also your pestilential neighbor also could be a part of the problem but sir blueprint the suffering which comes from other beings second type of suffering third type of suffering are the day become natural causes heat and cold and tsunamis hurricanes yes Florence so all of this these kinds of sufferings from the self from other people from other living beings and from nature so these three kinds of suffering of course you will notice that ultimately all suffering has to be mediated through the self it must ultimately come to the physical the body and the mind specially ultimately it must come to the mind then only we feel it as suffering but anyhow these are the three categories of suffering by the way that's also why we say ohm shanthi shanthi shanthi three times you know all the chantings and Pujols in all rituals you will see in Hinduism you they always have ohm Shanti Shanti Shanti Om peace peace peace why three because for that we are praying for the cessation of three kinds of suffering so these three kinds of suffering Congress is telling you this one little boy once asked me in a school in back in India why do we say or Shanti peace three times I explained because of three three kinds of suffering and that's why we need to overcome these three kinds of suffering and he said no in today we need a fourth shanti fourth shanti why he said mobile shanti and you need to tell people to switch up their mobile heads because so for this we take up a spiritual quest now the question will come why a spiritual quest for all of these problems there are material remedies and the ancient commentators are but they're very entertaining you know says if you are sick go to the doctor of course with the qualifier depending upon your health care so when your insurance provider what kind you have got then if you are if there is a if you are being you know the trouble from other people go to the law enforcement if there is a problem from nature take shelter so why do you need spirituality and the answer is so profound if you look at it it makes a case for spirituality attenti a cantor of Hamid there are two problems with any kind of worldly remedy to our suffering one is none of them are permanent none of them are permanent and second is none of them are certain none of them are certain permanent that is true you solve one problem another problem comes you cure one disease is guaranteed another disease is going to come you solved one problem another problem comes not only that that no solution to any particular problem is final and said the second problem is there is no certain solution to anything people I have read about it I remember reading about the son of a one of the India's richest families he got a particularly virulent kind of malaria and died in one of India's best hospitals now a rich person young person healthy person the best of medical care dies and there are we know so many poor people in the slums in there just outside that Hospital who might have got that malaria and recovers there really is no certainty doctors really know that so because of these two reasons we look for a certain permanent cure to the sufferings of the world that was the Buddha's quest there is suffering dukkha is there an escape a transcendence of suffering and he found that there is we called it Nirvana but that is the solution that is the quest how can we attain bliss true happiness how can we truly transcend suffering that is the spiritual quest and that is related in Vedanta so that the same quest is related in Vedanta to knowledge you must know know what know who or what you really are knowing does it mean reading the Gita then I'll be enlightened not necessarily if you know the words and you don't feel it you don't you cannot honestly say to yourself that I am the Atman not the body and my night I clearly see it now I realize it now until one can say that if I just know it if I just read the book and know the words it will not work look at the words used by Krishna he says I'm gonna show just one predominance Chaves sa he says to Arjuna you speak wise words and yet you suffer wise words means your knowledge you know and your speaking words of knowledge and here - yet what is happening your suffering your obviously you are you're crying here you are you're in your anxiety you are you don't know what is to be done you are deeply depressed and you yet you're arguing you know he's giving a lot of arguments why I should not is giving religious arguments why I should not fight this war and so and so forth so just knowing the words some kind of knowledge which I have and yet it's not it is not enlightenment or realization what that what is the difference between just knowing the words and enlightenment we will see as we go along so that's not enough [Music] once you we realize what we truly are then the result of knowledge is transcendence of suffering nanako-chan type and data the enlightened ones the ones who know what who or what they are they are do not they they transcend suffering what do they do what what are they not sorrowful about guitar soon a guitar songs sure they do not sorrow about those that have gone they do not sorrow about those that are they do not grieve for those that are living that might sound a little heartless but what he is saying here is not that you will not love people you will not be concerned before people that you will not do things for people he's not saying that you will take action whatever needs to be done for those who are living and those who have passed away what prayers need to be said for them what rituals need to be done for them that also you will you will do but this anxiety this this knowing tension I've seen people that people have come you know that I'm not good enough that I'm so unhappy people who I there is you know tension about the job about the family about kids and and they might think it's natural to have this this anxiety and tension it's not it's not it comes out of a wrong idea about what we are and what they are that's what Krishna is going to say look at Arjuna's anxiety about the relatives and those who are present here the result of that anxiety result of that concern for others is not action which will tell which will do good to anybody it's the results in paralysis he doesn't know what to do he is he's paralyzed into inactivity so he says Krishna says here for those who have gone and those who are here you need not sorrow for them though you will do something for them you'll serve them but one does not the enlightened person does not sorrow for them knowledge so therefore the one take away from this a central theme has been introduced here which will go on throughout the bhagavad-gita and in fact all of a tanta that knowledge about the self is what we are looking for which is a big thing which is a really important point after all he could have said it's not really knowledge about the self rather it's belief in God you don't have belief in God that's why you're suffering if you have belief in God you will not suffer he didn't say that or he could have said you you are not doing the right religious rituals that's why all these problems are there let me tell you about what to do and some kind of religious ritual and that will clear up all your problems here not so much in India and they even the footpath you will see some guy will be sitting where set sails to set up shop its term a streetside astrologer so you go you go to don't go to him but if you do go to him he will he will you did tell him your sorrows and your woes and he will say the planets all out of conjunction always they are somehow and always it costs a fair bit of money to set the planets right and so he will say put on this kind of amulet and do this ritual and then everything will be set right your sorrows will be will be over they never are they never are but people think Krishna doesn't say you have to do this then your sorrows will be over - no he doesn't say you have to believe this then your sorrows will be over no it doesn't even say you have to meditate like this mere sorrows will be over no he says knowledge pundit aha those who have realized who they are they go beyond sorrow so he points towards knowledge Vedanta is a system of self knowledge knowledge about oneself having said that remember all the other practices meditation devotion morals and as even religious rituals all of them have their place all of them have their importance and Shri Krishna will introduce them as time goes on as the chapters as we go ahead here he is starting with the core teaching that's what one of the beauties of the way vedantic texts they go straight to the point if you say Baba I am in suffering please teach me that straightaway tell you that - Amma see that thou art and they look at you carefully did it work no okay now starts 18 chapters it'll start so the code teaching will be given here he starts from the 11th words till the 25th verse he has 25th verse from the eleventh verse from 2nd chapter to the 25th verse what am i that's what he's going to talk about think about it this way also in life we have a series of problems time to time problems come up we do not do not know what to do do decision-making problems in the family problems in the job problems in the community health problems physical health issues mental health issues so many problems keep coming up from time to time and Arjuna also has a specific problem now in this particular battle remember he's a warrior he has perfect other battles quite happily earlier but right now he has a problem so this he has a specific problem now but overall there is a general problem of life this is called the problem of samsara shoka sorrow suffering unhappiness lack of fulfillment in life that is the general problem the general problem that overall problems problem of samsara is something that is common to all of us we don't have to fight as though battle at and in the battlefield of kuruksetra that's not our problem that's Arjuna specific problem now what Krishna will do he will go to the root of the whole thing why is there at all a problem and the solution is at Magana knowledge about the self know the truth the truth shall set the free so the truth about you Krishna will say it solves the problem at the root then the application he will show oh now you want to know once that is clear now what shall I do in this particular context in this battle it will become clear to you that he will clarify later he will solve Arjuna's specific problem also but the root problem of samsara that's what we are interested in because we also have the same problem we also have the same problem I mean somebody said no I am fairly okay I don't really have a problem really you are not thinking about life in that case look upon our own lives somebody is 20 years old somebody 40 year we have 60 70 days somebody here 95 years old and after all these years in our life we have been engaged in one project over whelming project how to make this one happy how to make this one fulfilled how well we think by getting these things you know degrees and relationships and money and enjoyments and experiences so many things we keep on adding to this one in the hope of making it happen now right now after 20 years of doing this after 95 years of doing this which one among us can claim I have done it it's over I'm finally totally completely fulfilled nothing more remains to be done nobody nobody so that is the root problem of samsara lack of fulfillment the unhappiness in life is there a solution at all yes there is there is that's what this book is about proof there is a category of people who will say yes to this question there always has been a category of such people all throughout human history in every civilization who and say with confidence yes I have solved the problem of life and these are the only one such category of people and they are what we call the enlightened ones the saints and sages of different civilizations in different periods of time different spiritual traditions they truly say they are the ones who genuinely have no complaint from life they genuinely fulfilled and happy and wise truly wise not just an a genetically given happy disposition some people are born happy so generally happy not that that happiness can be overcome nature knows how to overcome that happiness also not that so here is the verse 3 Bach ivanovitch of the Blessed Lord said the enlightened ones the truly enlightened ones do not sorrow they are beyond sorrow and you you speak words of wisdom and yet you are full of sorrow the enlightened ones do not sorrow for those who are here not for those who are gone why do they not sorrow why are they not unhappy next comes the teaching about the Atman the self 12th verse not Riva Hangzhou - Nasim not leave Anja - Nasim not oniy me Jana Deepa not Omni me Jana Deepa not a Ivana bhavish Yamaha not a Ivana Ravi Sharma survived Iometer forum survey via Matta param such a simple verse but here is the essence of all spirituality all religion stands and falls with this verse what what does he say he says to the Prince Arjuna it is not that I not that there was a time when I was not it's not that there was a time when you were not nor even was ever there a time when these assembled kings and warriors were not there now baba Shama naturally whenever with Shama that means and there will not be a time when I will not be or you will not be all these Kings who have assembled here will not be negatives you see hereafter they will never be a time when we will not exist he could have said that we all are I always exist or you always exist no he uses a negative term to strengthen it because our fear is not that I existed at some time or I may be allexists in some kind of world our fear is completely being wiped out and he says that never was the case never will be the case you are immortal yes you are playing at being immortal I love that saying we think we are human beings in search of spirituality the truth is we are spiritual beings having a human experience we think that we are human beings in search of spiritual experience the truth is we are spiritual beings having a human experience this is what krishna is saying central truth of all religion if there is something which survives death then only is religion spirituality possible if everything is wiped out at the dead death of this physical body then what's the point what's the point a little bit of meditation might give you some peace of mind right now but we know we are going to die why get peace of mind for the mind mind which is going to die which is going to go into pieces very soon now all of this the truth claim in all religions of the world you will notice all religions of the world they have this one truth that you are immortal you're immortal krishna says nothing can destroy you he says here that he's an incarnation of God he saw his hears he has not mentioned yet that he's an incarnation he just says that before I became an avatar I descended as an avatar it's not that I was not there before I came in this Krishna form it is not that I did not exist but I did and there will be the time when this Krishna form will go away see even avataras the body of the Avatar dies Buddha's body is gone Christ's body is gone krishna's body's gone Rama's body's gone Ramakrishna's body's gone so a time will come even the body of an avatar also it disappears from human view but it does not mean I will not be there I will be there so there was never a time when I was not there and they will never be a time when I will not be there I am eternal well yeah you're God but not what about me you too there never was a time or prints when you are not there even before the birth of this body and the name you are called by Arjuna today this young prince today even before you were born you were there and one day this body shall fall whether in this battle or afterwards it shall die and not that you will be gone you will be there okay and all of these people all of them he says all these kings there was never a time when they did not exist but not in this body not with these names and they will never be a time then they will not exist they will they'll never be a time when they will cease to exist which means they will continue to exist yes bodies will pass away their passing of each moment continuously changing just one thing at this language which Krishna is used there's never a time when I did not exist there never will be a time when there were never the time then you did not exist the same language he uses a few chapters later in a different context fourth chapter fifth verse he will say oh prince you and i and all these kings we have had many births before this and many times have we taught in this cycle of life and death we have had many births but you remember none of them I know all of them mine too and all of yours dare Krishna is revealing himself as God here he's just saying there is an in there is an eternal reality which you are and I am and all of them are that Atman or Brahman which we are calling it and that exists that always was existing is existing will continue to exist in that sense we are immortal all the time that's that's the only thing that Krishna is revealing there's a central truth but slowly Krishna will introduce other subjects he will introduce the question of God he will introduce himself as an incarnation of God and there he says we have had many births the same language but I know them all there's a different begin makes a difference here is making no difference between himself and Arjuna I have existed always and I shall continue to exist so will you and so will all of them but in that chapter he makes a distinction between himself between man and God clearly you do not remember your past births nor do you know what will happen to you in the future I know all of them all that has happened to you in the past and all that is going to happen to you in the future this is a thrilling small but thrilling incident in the gospel of sri ramakrishna when M the author of the gospel suddenly it comes upon you without any warning Sri Ramakrishna turns to M and says tell me all your past I know and all your future do I know is it not so suddenly it comes like that and what comes over m at that time the author you know he bows down with his hands folded and says yes Lord you know that is the difference between man so here Srikrishna points that out but here he says in a in a purely vedantic sense that means here basically he's saying vr admin vr that existence consciousness bliss here he is revealing for the first time the nature of the admin for his lineage of the admin the first thing it is immortal it is eternal it is unchanging it is not born with the birth of the body it does not age with the aging of the body it does not die with the death of the body he does not say you he does not say it he says you are not born with the birth of the body you do not age with the aging of the body you do not die with the death of the body many times bodies have come and gone many lives you have lived many names you have had but you continue so the Atman the first thing about the Atman is that it is immortal teaching about central teaching about Vedanta shriek sri ramakrishna when he told Swami Vivekanand where he told swami vivekananda that he who was rama he who was krishna is in this body ramakrishna but not in your Vedantic sense he told swami vivekananda what is the vedantic sense the veyron thing says is this one in the vedantic sense we are all brahman whether whether it is Shri Rama Krishna or Krishna or Rama or Christ or Buddha or you or him or her or or RI all of us are that one existence consciousness bliss that's what Krishna is telling Arjuna here that's the vedantic sense what's not divided antic since what's a special sense that's what krishna will say in the fourth chapter fifth verse that I know them all you do not that's what sri ramakrishna mentioned to swami to not internal to vacant anda not in your barren thick sense means actually you and I there is a difference difference at that at the temporal level at the relative level that he the Lord and you are a sentient being what is a sentient being what is the Sanskrit word for that is Jeeva Krishna says we are Atman then what is Arjuna what are you or I right now what why are we like this this is called Jeeva what is Jeeva Jeeva is a special mixture of Atma and an Atma an Optima means not self the self and not self a mixture what has happened is that same Brahman such Adan and the existence consciousness bliss because of Maya not knowing its own nature experiences a mind thoughts emotions feelings a personality and through the mind experiences a body and through the body and mind experiences a world disc that same infinite Atman limited through channelized through particular bodies and minds our particular jiva's the whom we see ourselves as these G was us we go through life after life we undertake birth with the birth of the body we experience the aging of these bodies we experience the destruction of bodies we experience the getting of new bodies we experience the person inside the mind the subtle body which goes from life to life this physical body will die a few days later a few weeks few months few years later it will die but the subtle body with all the impressions of past births and this birth it goes on to other lives in a veil antek sense there is a certain thing as a sukshma sharir a subtle body if you there are other versions of this a Buddhist will say there is no such thing as a subtle body but it's a process like a wave one after another rising and falling that continues but the Atman is neither the physical body not the subtle body not to lash Adira not sukshma sharir the Atman is eternal unchanging subtle body also changes continuously changes and evolves it will go on until enlightenment when physical body also drops away the subtle body also drops away and that enlightened jiva finally attains its infinite nature as Atman so that is going to be the story if you think this sound all this sounds suspiciously like a parochial booty the non-dualistic text which we are doing earlier yes the beginning at first sometime it will go on like that Krishna will sound very much like a staunch non duelist teacher which he is of course but afterwards he is going to introduce so many things devotion the love of God what is God in the whole scheme of things the avatar of the incarnation of God he will introduce meditation down to the details from the highest philosophy existence consciousness bliss down to the details how to sit how to breathe how to concentrate what to eat exercise and sleep all of that will come morals morality and immorality all that will come yes yes yes there's a question here the question is about infinite how do they define infinite it's not and you don't mean infinite space or infinite time good question one of my favorite subjects but I will not take too much time but I'll let me just tell you a little bit about it it's a very good question because it is fashionable in such talks especially New Age stuff and spiritual talks to throw around words like all-pervading infinite beyond suffering but it's not rhetorical Vedanta in Vedanta we precisely mean what we say and everything but that we say has a precise meaning so for example when you say infinite let me just say a few things about it when we invade an Teresa infinite the word for infinite in Vedanta is Ananda Anantha means limitless literally limitless now in English word infinite has many meanings mathematicians talk about the infinite Cantor was a great mathematician and he is well known for his work on the infinite there's not one infinite in mathematics there are many infinity we have learned this in school there are different orders of infinity the set of natural numbers is infinite there is no limit you can always have plus 1 n plus 1 set of whole numbers is infinite the set of the fractions real numbers between 1 & 2 is the infinite number of fractions you can have so there are many many infinite in mathematics that is not the infinite Behrendt is talking about poetically you can talk about the infinitude of space on the Eternity of time that's not where pedant is talking about what is valent the talking about when it means infinite there's a very precise definition of the infinite what is that it infinite in Vedanta means on and no limit what do you mean no limit there are three kinds of limits in Vedanta when we talk about limits the three kinds of limits limitation in space limitation in time and limitation by object what do I mean by that'll explain limitation in space means that something is in one located in a particular space and is not in other places something very simple you are here in this hall means very clearly you are not in the subway or you are not at home so you are located here you are limited to this hall but you are not in other places that is called limitation in space in Sanskrit - a per each ada limitation in space but it sure literally means cutting off your cut off in space here this much and no more than that now infinite would mean - a parrot a darshan aha not limited in space not limited in space follow this carefully it's all mathematics mathematical derivation not limited in space would mean what omnipresent there is no space where it is not there is no space where it is not that's one the second kind of limitation is limitation in time in sanskrit karlip ära chera what is limitation in time something is an entity is from this period of time to this period of time but death created destroyed it could be a mosquito born and this period even the few days it's dead it could be a human being living for 100 years it could be a star living for billions of years but still they have all got limitation in time time of creation time of the Buddha put it very beautifully he said and starkly all compounded things decay that which has been put together will fall apart that which has begun will end all meetings end in separation they put that what a bed blanket so limitation in time in fact yesterday I was at the Rubin Museum and they asked me to speak about impermanence what is impermanence the limitation in time beginning and end now suppose we are now talking about the infinite infinite means not limited if something is not limited in time then what will happen to that something eternal correct somebody said eternal it there is never a period of time when it is not do you notice what Krishna just did he just said that you are not limited by time did you notice that in if you put it in technical language what did he just say there was never a time when I was not or you were not all these kings were not they will never be a time when we will not be there never was a time when we did not exist there never will be a time when we will not exist which means to put it in philosophical language we are not that that entity which is not limited by time that means there's never a period of time when that entity does not exist that is called unlimited in time infinite in time then the third one is very interesting not limited by object remember we are talking about infinite infinite no limits limit one kind of limit is limit by object what do you mean by limit by object is a peculiar conception in sanskrit it is called was to per each era was temperature the means limited by object it simply means this a thing is itself and not anything else so a book is a book it's not a dog or or it's not a star or it's not a human being it's a book and this book is only this book and nothing else it's the law of identity is a and therefore it is different from all not a so you are you if you are you if you are identical to yourself it automatically means you are different from the trillions of other entities in this universe true what you understand this what it means simple logical fact limitation by object means if a thing is a particular object and we all a particular object right now these bodies are in that case if it is particular object it cannot be anything else so it's different from everything else it has a moment you have an identity apart from others you mean that you are this and not anything else all the other billions of entities are now separate from you this is called limitation by object and every object has this limitation it has to have think about it now what do our our social security numbers - why aren't social security numbers you know common interchangeable same no they have to be unique because it has to set you apart from everybody else so suppose now let me ask you this question suppose something does not have this limitation if something does not have a space limitation it is only present everywhere if something does not have a time limitation it is eternal beginningless endless if something does not have an object limitation what will happen to it if something is an object limitation it is different from everything else if something does not have an object limitation what will happen to it only one not many correct all pervading permanent already we have got it because not limited in time ah yes all right let's put all of that together all pervading what does it mean if it is not limited by object if its limited by object every other object in the universe is different from it if it is not limited by object no object in the universe is different from it there is no object in the universe different from this entity this infinite entity no object different from the infinite entity implies no second apart from it there is only one not - somebody said that that implies non-duality ad right um now put it all together limitations are of three kinds space limitation time limitation object limitation it holds true of everything in the universe but suppose there is something which is has no limitation in time no limitation in space no limitation in by object it will become all pervasive it will become eternal it will become non dual ad white um non dual the only reality of the universe one without a second so this is the meaning of infinite in Advaita in in Vedanta it immediately follows in mathematics you have multiple infinite many many infinite infinite infinite so I think and there are orderings of infinite in Vedanta how many infinite scan there be one only no second you cannot have two infinite you cannot have in fact any other thing apart from that infinite because if you have a second thing apart from the infinite then it's not truly infinite the real infinite there can be only one non dual infinite and nothing in the universe can be apart from it if it is then this thing is not infinite neither are infinite them and say Oh fine this sounds like great philosophy theoretical any practical implication oh yes such a thing exists such an entity an infinite entity which is all-pervading it a pervasive eternal and which in fact is non dual nothing in this universe is different from it such an entity exists what is it where is it Krishna says here what he has said in effect is you are that that thou art thought - Amma see if you would know yourself you would realize that you are this infinite is it possible to know oneself like that I actually have a talk where I just taken out one component from the talk and given it to you it's called defining God go up ago and look it up it's on YouTube it's from the tide teary open assured the definition of Brahman what is that ultimate reality Satyam yharnam an anthem Brahma tied teary open assured the second chapter the Brahman is infinite existence consciousness each word has to be analyzed and unpacked there so the word infinite is unpacked and the inward infinite is unpacked there and how is it unpacked what I just told you little more detail I've explained there then this unpacked word infinite is now applied to the terms existence and consciousness and then the result will be you will realize that this such a thing is there infinite existence infinite awareness and that I am right now right here always have been all these will be naturally follows from that and can we know it yes that that talk itself points out how you will know it but Krishna will take 18 chapters to point that out so we will go on with Krishna I think I've run out of time but anyway it's good that you asked this question it's a very important verse it is not that in any period of time I did not exist look he is denying the limitation in time here it's not that in any period of time you did not exist all these kings did not exist and it's not that there will be any period of time in the future when you or I or these kings will not exist he's saying that you are eternal all of us are there are many Eternals you can ask immediately it follows so each of us is an eternal millions of eternal souls but now what to put together what we just read we we just discussed the infinite can only be one in that case there is only two one truly eternal entity that is also non dual and all pervasive it's good that you asked this question it draws out all these implications and you are that eternal all pervasive non dual entity in fact the only reality of this universe that you are it means also not one thing in this universe is different from you there is no separation between you and the universe the real you and the universe and the even more startling claim is we can you can actually see this have an insight into this actually see it as a living reality that is called enlightenment and that will easily effortlessly take you beyond all sorrows forever I remember I ran with this standing in front of our main monestry in balloon mutt about 15 years ago talking about this with a young monk a very wonderful young monk he was a novice at that time with urn I still remember it's so thrilling to hear that I can still remember is the earnestness in his voice he says Swami if one just reads this and begins to understand what has been said here after this what complaint what sorrow what unhappiness how can you complain about anything after this even just one just if you intellectually assent to it and understand it realization of course but even before that most of the at least theoretical problems of life are solved but it's not enough to solve the theoretical problems [Music] suffering is very important if this particular verse just this one fact I always was and I always will be this is one more thing here Krishna or I'll mention it next time just let me just give you the hint normally the way I introduced it self and not self Atma are not myself and not self but Krishna does not do that exactly he says body and the one embodied in the body they heard a he that's a more natural way of approaching it why the moment you speak about things like self not self already sounds philosophical what exactly is a self but who nobody will ask what exactly is the body body and the one in the body that's exactly what Krishna is saying and that's so easy to identify and feel with he says the bodies are perishable the one in the body you you are imperishable you are infinite you are eternal and this is what he's going to demonstrate and help us to realize that in the language of devotion one Swami so this same thing remember knowledge devotion all of them they take you to the same realization in the language of devotion bodies belong to the earth you in the body you belong to God bodies are earthly you are heavenly remember bodies will come and go they are continuously changing that was the discussion yesterday in the Rubin Museum impermanence the Buddha said an idiom manikyam serve ammonium transient transient all is transient it's not just transient if it's transient it's alright we say that let the cookie be empowerment who wants a permanent eternal cookie anyway it just has to last long enough for me to put it on my mouth and in my mouth and enjoy the taste and that should be enough but that also hey I know that I am Tim I am transiently I'm not eternal but if I live for a hundred hundred twenty years I'm good enough for me but that also goodness says next step Shani come Shani comes sarvam Shani come momentary momentary all is momentary not even lasting for one year two years or one minute or two minute he says momentary moment to moment things are arising and perishing there's a lot of philosophy behind this in Buddhism and these doesn't stop there we like selling stop stop that's already bad enough he says and what follows from that third step deeper you go deeper Shenyang Shenyang serve ammonium mt mt all is empty void void all is void and therefore putting them all together all is transient all is momentary all is empty put them together the result is do come to come serve them to come suffering suffering indeed all is suffering so that is the first noble truth of the Buddha it's a pessimistic I said no vet wet blanket no Heinrich Zimmer in fact is a well known intelligence he points out beautiful he says the philosophies of India this are Buddhism or whatever they are not actually pessimistic they are all optimistic what is pessimism a dark picture and that's the only reality no dark picture there's darkness here there is the veritable sun shining there is the possibility of release of liberation salvation Nirvana whatever you call it enlightenment eternity that is possible so that is the goal I often start with a chant you know not today but in other lectures I saw Thomas at Gamera Thomas oh ma jyotir gamaya Richard Wrangham written Kamiya from the unreal to the real from darkness unto light from death to him mortality that's the whole purpose of Vedanta unreal to real unreal this body real the Atman from darkness and to light darkness the ignorance thinking that we are this body mind this is who we are light and the infinite Atman from death to immortality follows immediately this body death is guaranteed Jaya Tasya he drove on with you bhagavad-gita will say certain indeed is death for those who are born but for the Atman am rhythm in mortality absolutely so that is the journey which we have to undertake om Shanti Shanti Shanti hurry he owned cats at Sri Ramakrishna Aparna Musto