Video 95

95. Bhagavad Gita I Chapter 7 Verses 17 -19 I Swami Sarvapriyananda

[Music] all right we are studying the seventh chapter of the bhagavad-gita and we were on verse number the very beautiful verse 16th verse which we had done i think today we have to do the 17th verse uh right 16th i'm going to do 17th right 16th verse if you remember who worships god those who have got lot of good karma it's so that means it's as a result of past good karma that one has devotion to god but who are these people for what reason do they worship god why do they have devotion to god some want relief from distress artha some come to god because they want something more in the world and then some come for spiritual knowledge jigyasu then those who are already enlightened and perfected they have the highest devotion to god so there are those who are devoted to god for worldly things nothing wrong in it but they want they are suffering in samsara they want relief from the suffering or they are not suffering but they want something more in some sorrow you see in fact a great deal of the pujas which go on in temples or i've seen prayers in christian churches it is all for something more in life it may not be anything particular but we generally pray that things may go well in my job in my health in my family nothing wrong in that but still it's a prayer for something in this world higher than that is the prayer for spiritual knowledge jigyasu which is what we all are to some degree or the other we are all here because we are inquirers we are spiritual seekers we are sadhakas you know one sadhu pointed out what is the southerner literally translates into a practitioner sadhana means spiritual practice sadhaka means who does sadhana the one who does spiritual one who does spiritual practice is a spiritual practitioner why because there's something called sad dear thing to be attained goal to be attained we clearly have a goal to get it's not that we're just doing it casually because there's nothing better to do no we feel that the highest goal in life has to be attained we are really convinced that god realization is possible enlightenment is possible therefore we are doing sadhana so sadhaka spiritual practitioner sadhana spiritual practice sadhya goal of spiritual practice the goal of the attainment guard realization now who is a sadaqa how is that person distinguished from other um bhaktas so the sadhaka is the one who whose goal is god realization not some worldly goal the goal is not the world the goal is god but that's not enough it's not enough to say my goal is god realization one must systematically practice a path of sadhana meditation japa karma yoga vedanta vichara systematically not casually that sadhu said once in a month or once in two months some everybody visits a temple that does not make you a sadhaka sadhaka or sadiq is the one who regularly practices spiritual practices and the goal is whether you say to anybody else or not internally you know god is my god enlightenment is my goal and so we are like that here so um is a sadaqa one who is inquiring and then those who have attained the goal they don't want anything more they don't want anything in the world they don't even want god realization because they've already attained they can sing like shankaracharya i'm not pursuing wealth i'm not pursuing worldly pleasure i am not even pursuing heaven after death i am not even pursuing moksha because already i realize my real nature is moksha that is the perfected one so that perspective one need not worship god worship is god for two two reasons one is worldly reason relief from distress or attainment of something unattained second one is spiritual reason i will get the vision of god or i will become a brahmagyani for that reason i am praying to god but both are already not the enlightened one does not want the enlightened one does not want both then why should the enlightened one worship god but here krishna says the enlightened one the gyani is the real devotee for for the gyani god is actually become real and one with god so the enlightened ones gyani's bhakti for god is the true unselfish bhakti it it has it is love for the sake of love does not want anything from god just god is lovable so the gyani loves god that is the real bhakti the highest bhakti where the bhakta does not want anything not even moksha from god so these are the four categories of course if you remember last time i gave you a more esoteric a more uh inner meaning of that from the perspective of the gopis the four uh stages which means distress in the in the absence of god then jigyasu the gopis are seeking krishna everywhere in brindavan then arthartic they settle down they are meditating on krishna krishna becomes all they are completely focused on krishna then gyani would be they actually attain krishna they find krishna and then they're full of joy so that is also another way of interpreting but a more deeper way of interpreting now next verse seventeen tests of these the man of knowledge who is constantly in communion and single-minded in devotion excels to the man of knowledge i am very dear indeed and he is dear to me so among these four which for artha jigaso attati gyani among these four who is the best the best remember best what the best bhakta most devoted and krishna says how paradoxical you think that these two are separate devotee and gyani bhakta and gyani are separate the one in the path of knowledge the one the path of devotion they seem to be separate krishna is saying the best devotee is the man of knowledge why why is that person the best devotee he says first nithya yukta means constantly aware of me constantly connected to me constantly in communion with me with god others may have little variation in their communion with god sometimes bhakti is more sometimes bhakti is less devotion is there sometimes there is emotion sometimes there is not sometimes it may seem dry and mechanical sometimes even even for sadhakas and sometimes they may even doubt does god exist what am i doing is it some kind of make believe so bhakti for others before enlightenment before god realization bhakti for others goes up and down it flickers sometimes it can be more it can be less a person may be connected with god or may move away for a time being if he is a person is a real bhakta will not permanently move away but for time being may actually it may become fade to the background it may become mechanical but not so for the gyani for the gyani it is always fresh always intense and always fresh and intense and always real and effortless for others they have to do practices for the gyani the bhakti is effortless why so this is nithya yukta ever connected how is the ghani ever connected you have to understand this way from advaithic perspective it can be easily understood our own inner self i this awareness i'm a sentient being all of us our own existence is always clear to us not that we are always thinking about it not that i'm always thinking i am i am i'm not thinking that but if i ever want it's present it is more powerful than memory we cannot depend on memory because sometimes memory we have a you know like tip up the tongue i know what it is but i can't tell you just now it's or forgotten or i know i remember it but i can't recall it now so memory is even though it is all within us it's still not reliable understanding intellect buddhi still not reliable i may understand something i got it after a few months i had got it at that time now i've forgotten it now i don't understand become confused again emotions are not reliable same thing you may love same thing next moment you may hate or the love may go down intellect is not dependable memory is not dependable but one thing is dependable consciousness whatever it is loving not loving you are aware remembering and forgetting you're aware understanding not understanding you're aware awareness consciousness the sense of my own existence is always there and it's there effortlessly to use memory you need a little bit of effort to intellect more effort to use emotions all of those require effort but your own awareness your own existence sense of existence is always present effortlessly present actually none of this is very controversial i mean if you look one looks within one will always find i am there not only that you don't even need to look we are so confident of our own existence we don't even worry about it let me check once in a while whether i exist or not we don't worry all other things one may worry about one never checks one's own existence so we are so confident of it now the only problem is this constant ever available effortlessly available existence is a very limited existence because we mix it up with the body mind it is existence with body subject to birth i'm not very sure that i existed before the birth of the body it's subject to aging i exist but existence is becoming more and more difficult and miserable the body is becoming more and more difficult and miserable and death of the body i do exist you're right but i have a little doubt whether after the death of the body will i exist you see this sense of existence it is not really connected to the body but we have mixed it up notice one simple subtle thing when you check i exist do you first check the body no in your dream also you can check whether i exist the actual physical body is lying asleep and you are not aware of it still you will get the sense of your own existence so that internal sense of existence doesn't depend on the body and yet we mix it up with the qualities of the body with the age of the body health of the body existence non-existence of the body birth and death of the body seems to be my creation my destruction then mind yes i exist i am aware but a miserable awareness unhappiness depression dissatisfaction sense of lack of fulfillment so many many problems color our existence a certain existence indisputable existence effortless existence which is what is that of my own awareness but that is colored and by lots of unpleasant things so because of our coloring of mind body this uncertain ever there effortless existence doesn't seem to be a particularly much use but what happens to the enlightened one when one when you become enlightened and otherwise take sense you realize the limitlessness of this certain always there effortless existence limitlessness means you realize oh this existence this awareness which i am is not subject to birth it's not subject to death it is immortal i'm ever there i am permanently safe nothing can disturb this existence it is eternal it is it is infinite in time time means it is not born or destroyed it is not cut off in time it is also not one little existence among many existences there is an ocean of existence which i am everything in this universe which seems to exist exists in me not in this body in the existence itself so this realization comes the existence my own in little apparently individual existence and the cosmic existence of god krsna vasudeva they become one and the same they become one and the same which two become one and the same my effortless ever present indubitable existence and the cosmic existence of krishna or vasudeva so then i become this individual effortless ever-present but infinite existence this is advaitic realization but then the consequence of this is that i and god are one existence and god is never separate from me in what sense just as i am never separate i am totally confident i am always there that level of confidence will be there with god that god is always there one with my innermost self imagine the tremendous closeness you feel you are brahmana but as jiva also you are always one with god because the same thing which is jiva this little being is also vasudeva krishna ishwar bhagavan so bhagavan and you become one and that one cannot be separated you have already realized and it's always available to you therefore krsna says nitya yukta always connected to me always in tune with me effortlessly not only that this person this enlightened one the gyani has only one pointed devotion because shankaracharya explains because this person realizes there is nothing else to be worshipped nothing else to be loved god is the only reality that is all those hundred other things which distracted me tempted me in this world they don't exist they're all appearances [Music] what exists is this unlimited unbroken undivided existence consciousness which i am which god is so i'm ever tuned with god and ever disconnected from this world of appearances eka bhakti i have only one point of devotion naturally because there's nothing else to be devoted to what will i be devoted to what what will i be attracted to in this world world of mirages and appearances and ghosts and shadows nothing so this gyani for whom this is a clear fact an effortless fact already accomplished ever accomplished fact this gyani is the best of bhaktas mr ghana is the greatest of lovers of god krsna says i am most dear to the gyani most dear because i am the very atma of the gyan the very existence of the one sadhu commenting on it put it nicely makes a play on the word normally means most you know how is it translated in this book means i am very dear indeed very dear most in the sense of exceeding everything else but this um one commentator in hindi he makes this nice play on the word means object anything in the world means transcending all objective barriers so what separates us body separates us the physical body subtle body causal body these separate each of us yes we are one existence and one consciousness but it doesn't feel like that at all because we are very aware of what separates us we are aware of bodies and minds and personalities it's very different from each other because our attention is there but this gyani jumps over these differences between this gyani and ishwara between this gyani and krishna no annamaya separate them there is no separation of physical body subtle body causal body they are so close they are one because they are he is my own atma he says most dear to me transcending jumping over all possible blocks or barriers such a mama priya and he is also very dear to me i am most dear to him because there is no boundary between his self and me and he is also most dear to me because he is my own very self and shankaracharya says it is well known the most dear thing in the world is atma atma is the most dear thing in the world um why let me give you one little uh argument given in pancha dashi the first chapter by vidyaryana swami he says so can you prove it we keep saying atma is the most dear thing in the world he said yes we can prove it how do you know what is dear and what is not there that which is dear to me i seek to get it and hold on to it what what is dear to me the one which gives me happiness pleasure that which gives happiness to me is dear to me that which is dear to me i seek to hold on to it that which is not does not give me happiness is not dear to me and if it's not dear to me i do not seek to hold on i can seek to get rid of it it could be things it could be persons it could be gadgets it could be food anything yeah so now what what do we have if something gives me happiness it is dear to me eat it or he she plays food anything is dear to me and if it's dear to me i seek to keep it now reverse it if there is something that i always seek to keep then it must be dear to me and it must be giving me happiness so what is the one thing that we always seek to keep we are never seek to get rid of it is my own self everything else i may seek to get or get rid of but the self will never seek to get rid of i always want to preserve it i want to live immediately somebody will say what about suicide but notice even in the case of suicides it's always something external my own existence is not my problem then one would be always be suicidal all the time no suppose i have great debt i cannot pay it off then i the great sorrow i want to kill myself or there is some problem in relationship or health problem i cannot bear it anymore i want to kill myself but then isn't he trying to destroy the self is it then the self not dear no such a person if you solve the problem they'll be happy to live i have a debt i cannot repay i must kill myself so don't kill yourself let us repay your debt debt is now repaid good what about your program to kill yourself no that is cancelled now once the debt is repaid i have no more problem that means it is not a problem of the self external problems may force person to think about committing suicide but i myself have never a problem to me i in fact i'm always a source of happiness to myself so atma is always dear to oneself that is the argument and shankaracharya just says because the atma is always dear to myself gyani is my atma god says the ghani is very dear to me then actually you can say nitya um consciousness what is our innermost experience awareness that is our innermost experience non-different from that we're not different non-different from that is god what is is one and non-different from the our innermost consciousness this is our awareness therefore and there's only one thing that the gyani will love that is god and god alone because everything else is an appearance the world is an appearance this is another way of saying brahma satyam jagat mithya jiva brahma basically is another way of saying that then so the gyani is most dear to you others immediately they feel left out this is not just they feel it's unfair so you don't love us if you're complaining to god the other three types of devotees you love only the gyani god says no no of course not i love everybody then in number 18 that god has no favorites [Music] all of these are indeed noble but the man of realization i regard as my very self for with his mind fixed on me he has taken refuge in me alone as the highest goal ulaara what a nice word to you sudhara means liberal so all a liberal not in the political sense it means in the sense of being uh good people open people they are not small they are not petty they are not mean all are good all those who are devoted to god even if they're devoted for money even if they're devoted for some worldly purpose let my disease be cured but you see they have that faith in the existence of god therefore in crisis in serious problem they're going to god or in lot of desire i want i'm so greedy for money or success they're going to god often that is a sign of real belief because when they are in pressure in a corner in a tight spot whom do they turn to to god it may not be so in so many so called devotees who say i don't want anything in the world i want only god moment they are in a tight spot they catch hold of everybody except god which means this is something that reminds me of what iron marge was saying that intellectual ascent kind of belief and a real belief the french existentialists they got it right they used to say that that don't listen to what a man says watch what he does so in pressure under trouble whom do i run to do i run to a powerful person do i run to my wealth do i run to my power or do i run to god for worldly purposes so they are great people anybody who has devotion to god is a great person so look at how liberal krishna himself is he is not saying that oh you want me only for your worldly purposes then you are not able to know but anything that you would approach me and you would love me for that uh i i i um i love you and i will protect you and i will fulfill your desires also udara all of them are delivered just by the fact that they are devotees that makes them all great people but the gyani is he repeats again yani and i are one ghani to atmeiwa and he's so humble here krishna says may makham this is just an opinion this is what i'm saying ramakrishna used to do that when he would give some very high teaching others did not agree he was giving it to maybe some close disciples then he would look at the people who did not agree and he would say oh that was just something between us you take as much as you like and some it's just my opinion krishna is saying here he's not giving up his point that gyani and i are one reality why this one realizing that he is one with me remains completely focused on me as long as he lives and will attain to me what is moksha full realization and liberation from samsara the matchless goal the final goal of spiritual life this one will surely attain others so what about others they too will attain this but it might take it might take time this one has the desire for success that one has the desire for um you know learning or or popularity so god will say good devoted i'll make sure that they get what they want in the next life the next life this one will become um you know great success in in life and whatever he or she does will will be successful that one wants to be popular that one will have maximum number of facebook followers like this god will make sure that you get your popularity your success whatever it is and then to higher spiritual goal god realization so all will attain to god but that might take a much longer time for others this one will surely attain in this birth there is no doubt about it will attain to god realization and liberation what a beautiful word matchless without parallel highest goal which nothing that's something that cannot be exceeded now we come to 19th verse so this is the verse which which i wanted to talk about actually today there is a line here which is one of the most important lines in the whole bhagavad-gita naman [Music] [Music] at the end of innumerable births the man of realization takes refuge in me knowing that all this is vasudeva such a saint is exceedingly rare this line what the line i'm referring to is the second one vasudeva sarvamiti this is the highest realization the greatest realization this is the goal of advaita vedanta this has been stated straight away here this is the final goal to be attained at the end of many many lives the lord alone is everything servant brahma brahman alone is everything swami saradananda once uh sudama krishna asked him what do you want others he was giving them whatever realization they wanted different visions close devotees this was before the kalpataru day and sharath said that i want to see brahman in all beings and sriram krishna smiled and said oh but that's the last thing that's the final thing that god is everything or in all beings then said nevertheless i want that only and sudama krishna said you will have it and he did later on in life he he admitted that he has this vision of vasudeva that all is god or god is present everywhere now the first line let's put it aside quickly it might be sound ominous after many many lives you come to this realization you get enlightened knowledge and realization many many lives includes many many animal births many many human births after many many lives one gets a human birth and the human birth for the first time enlightenment becomes possible unfortunately we do not take advantage of it we are still trapped by raag advaisha pursuing likes and dislikes in this world swayed by our senses swayed by our attachments it's difficult so by our attachment difficult to overcome all those but because of that we are still remains trapped in samsara usually unless one does some very heinous act usually once one gets a human birth one will keep getting human births but it may take a long time before one becomes one does what is human but meant for for god realization krishna says in one place is a human being a mere thing a small thing a human being can realize god manuscript a human being is not a small thing so this human birth but it must be turned towards god realization now what is the final state that is what is stated here vasudeva vasudeva literally means krishna but a deeper meaning vasu means that in which all exists and deva is the shining one consciousness so vasu would be existence sat because everything is coming from existence is in existence and will disappear back into existence set the sat being or existence itself manifests as all and is the source of all and then the ultimate goal also the end of everything there just like all waves come up in water and then they play around in water and they go back into water they always wear water so as the cause of vasu that in which everything is what is the nature of that cause the the shining one consciousness so this is a deeper meaning of the word vasudeva so vasudeva the son of vasudeva is krishna of course that's why vasudevan sarvamiti now what does this mean how is god everything in two ways let me talk about it one is the advaitic way a simple thing we realize all people living sentient beings all beings they are living their living bodies they are born they come into existence they grow and change and age and die they go out of existence they come into existence they go out of existence all thoughts also thoughts our internal life thoughts feelings emotions much faster than popping into existence and then going out of existence actions whatever we do worldly actions spiritual actions good actions evil actions they come into existence and they go out of existence and places from our house to the entire planet all of these they come into being they stay for some time then they go out of existence one thing common to everything is existence itself my own inner sense of being all of these i experience but my own inner sense of being is always constant at no time is it possible to experience oneself as not being the very possibility of experience is there only when you are your own existence is it's illogical not to exist for you you are your own inner being this is a strange kind of logic but it's actually true this constant inner being everything appears and disappears in it the logic here that if there is such a thing as being existence itself then naturally everything that exists has come from that is in that will disappear back into that because nothing can be there without existence anything is means it exists so in sat or in being everything is there so that if sat alone was there before this creation came and then sat alone remains at the end of the creation of the universe and the universe disappears is just destroyed then in the middle when we are seeing all of this it must be that sat alone that being alone what was um god puts it another way negatively what was not there earlier what will not be there later is also not there right now what was not there earlier everything we are not as this living limited beings we were not there earlier before our but we did not exist as these beings and we will not be there very soon after our own deaths we will not be there not as these beings our thoughts feelings emotions they are even more fleeting they are not there a moment ago and they will not be there we know for sure moment later or at least when we fall asleep then if those were not there early and will not be there later then godhapath is saying right now also when we are experiencing it all they don't exist but then something does exist otherwise this would be impossible there's something going on here that something is being itself itself that is vasudeva meeting in the middle between creation and destruction whatever is there is nothing but vasudeva that sat that being this is the logic from the advaithic perspective from the dweta perspective or devotional perspective there they don't argue that if it was not there before it will not be there later it's not there now so the only thing that exists is existence itself pure being pure existence no no no no there vasudeva sarvamiti has a very beautiful and sweet meaning this is a simple direct meaning is that my lord is everything to me my krishna is everything to me it is my father and my mother and my relatives and my friends is my wealth my power my happiness everything is my lord everything that is i have nothing but my lord in that sense vasudeva was servamity in a sense in which the gopis loved krishna for for them krishna was everything um i want to read out to you a song of the gopis it illustrates the devotion of the gopis from the gospel of sridham krishna natasha lord you are every you are everything to me or all that i have is you and a nice translation by john muffet this is in the gospel of sri ramakrishna where actually the topic was the devotion of the love of the gopis for krishna and there this song ramlal who had a very good singing voice he sings this song for sri ramakrishna in the gospel of sri ramakrishna in this book is page 207 the date is there are many many songs in this state so many songs were sung so the date is april 8 1883 8 april 8 1883 there this song is sung this song why am i reading it out because it perfectly illustrates the second meaning the devotional meaning of vasudeva sarvamiti remember this is in the seventh chapter already the topic of devotion has started it will not do only only to give a straightforward advaithic interpretation everything is vasudeva in advaithic sense is pretty easy to uh explain but here is a different explanation here is the song the conversation page 207 the conversation turned to the spiritual zeal of devotees as illustrated in the earnestness of the gopis of vrindavan ram ramallah sang thou art my all in all o lord the life of my life the essence of essence in the three worlds i have none else but thee to call my own thou art my peace my joy my hope thou art my support my wealth my glory thou art my thou are my wisdom and my strength thou art my home my place of rest my dearest friend my next of kin my present and my future thou my heaven and my salvation thou art my scriptures my commandments thou art my ever gracious guru thou the spring of my boundless bliss thou art the way and thou the goal thou the adorable one o lord thou art the mother tenderhearted thou the chastising father thou the creator and protector thou the hensmen who dust steer my craft across the sea of life master to the devotees ah what a wonderful what a beautiful psalm thou art my all in all so this is the second meaning of vasudeva god is my all in all and um there's a beautiful story that swami ram suggests generates so the gopis have gone in brindavan to draw water from a well and they hear these monks discussing vedanta brahman jiva jagat you know the sentient being and infinite consciousness and the material order of the universe and one gopi asks the others and the other gopi who are this brahman jeevan jagat never heard of them and the other gopis says they must be relatives of our krishna of our darling krishna because these are monks they will not speak of anything other than krishna isn't it so they must be related to krishna somehow now this this has a deep meaning whatever is experienced in the world and beyond this world also three words the devotee will immediately relate it to um to god to the beloved they are all related to our krishna surely what else is there to talk about so vasudeva servam in that sense see i've i often mentioned that in vedanta in sanatana in hinduism there are two paths either you know it you realize it or you take it on faith believe it so these are the two interpretations which are going on here you can take both of these one is both ram suggest he has written more than 30 to 40 big pages 40 pages on this one verse so he has dwelt on it for a long time he says there this is apparently talking about the enlightened one whom krishna is praising so much as the best of bhaktas but it is actually an instruction to us to spiritual seekers how there are two two kinds of sadhakas the one on the path of knowledge the one on the path of devotion the way he explains it both seem to be highly on the path of knowledge actually you see how he explains one is one path is the path of viveka the other path is the path of bhara the path of viveka is the path of not this not this one unchanging unlimited awareness i am everything else is an appearance jagat mithya and then ram suggestion adds this is specially useful if raga dwesha is still there in the mind if the world troubles you it's good to see it as false it shouldn't trouble you you see what happens is you say look and see god in everybody one question will be that person behaves nastily with me this person or the health is not good how can i see the divine unlimited in that nasty person or in this failing body now the name and form are so vivid there the personality of that nasty person is so vivid there it obscures it doesn't enable me to think of that person as god what is going on raga does still strong in the mind likes and dislikes conditioning is still strong in the mind and then ram suggests ramsay suggests if that is the case then go straight to the highest vedanta why this suggestion is quite paradoxical normally we think it's only in the mind which is highly purified that you can go to the highest vedanta otherwise take to the path of bhakti here he reverses it this is the ultimate teaching so therefore he says here if you are having trouble with the world see the world as false it's very easy to actually at least understand how the world can be false from the perspective of pure being a pure awareness which i am everything is dream like shadow like without essence this is the path of viveka and you realize one brahman alone in that sense everything vasudeva servam is not there all is not there brahman alone is there vasudeva alone is there this is the sense in which vivekananda told mary hale when mary hale said in that poem i have understood what you have taught she wrote this poem to swami vivekananda i've understood what you have taught you have taught everything is god vasudeva so everything is god and vivekananda replied that i have never taught such strange doctrine he actually said there's such queer doctrine but it's not politically correct anymore so such strange doctrine as i've never taught such strange doctrine as all is god then what have you taught because you are you always say that that all is god says i have taught that all is not god only is all is not god only is this is one path this one way of understanding all is god that all is not god only is in the dream whatever you see whoever you see and whatever happened is not only thing that's real there is the dreaming mind that is one thing then ram suggestion says there is another way of understanding this one the path of the the devotee the one who loves god now this person because of love bhakti the ragadvashes are purified and connected with god no longer bothered by the world so in everything in the world this person can imagine and come to feel the presence of god yes it is imagination immediately the gyani will raise the topic will raise the objection this is not knowing this is believing yes it's believing but it's believing something that's true so it will work you're believing something that's true and in all people in all activities in all places and in all food in all consumption in all suffering you see the lord you don't deny the suffering or the enjoyment you don't deny the persons or the places or the activities things which are going on yes all is there and my lord alone is is what is appearing as or not even appearing the word appearing will they make it advaita has become all this i said if god has become suffering then what kind of god is it god has not really become suffering god remains as suffering as the remains is god and is i am experiencing it as suffering given by the lord the more important thing is it is god like that sadhu vivekananda would mention with great approval when the cobra came and bit it and said it's a messenger from the beloved messenger from the beloved now the cobra and the bite are terrible but the vividity of the presence of the beloved of the lord is so much that all these things are minor and all the problems are minor even the pleasures also of the world are minus what is one constant is the presence of god so this is based on power now you can take up either you can take up the path of gyana discernment or the path of devotion power and a spiritual devotional spiritual attitude yeah bhava is a devotional spiritual attitude first one is jano know it second one is mano believe it accept it in faith and this faith and ram sukdashi quickly points out very important point he says this path of knowledge and this path of devotion are both knowledge you would the objection from the advaithin would be yes yes all that's fine but one is bhakti and one is knowledge and one is about reality other one is about believing stuff ram suggests he said no no no from a spiritual perspective what you are saying is correct from a technical philosophical perspective but from a spiritual perspective both of these are knowledge and anything other than this is ignorance to see god only and the world does not exist god alone exists as existence consciousness that is knowledge and knowledge power excellence all the world exists but everything is pervaded by my krishna all is nothing but my krishna yes that is a bhava but that's also knowledge what is not knowledge according to uh brahms what is not knowledge is to see the world as we are seeing it now that a separate independent existence some of which is nice and worth chasing some of which is terrifying and whatever and supposed to be avoided and god is sort of something theoretical and not cool or something like that that he says is ignorance that is real ignorance um i remember swami vignan he goes to sri ramakrishna and once he asked as a young student sir have you read kant and hegel and sudama krishna said oh my goodness all that is ignorance why are you reading all that now what does it mean unless one has actually realized god whatever you do whether it is religion science art is still in the realm of ignorance in the munda kopanisha the rishi says [Music] there are two kinds of knowledge to be learned the transcendent higher and the empirical lower and then he goes on to say what is the lower knowledge and what is the higher knowledge lower knowledge is everything that you can think of in those days what is the lower kind of knowledge all the vedas including the upanishads all your vedanta everything and grammar and poetry and uh astrology whatever they had knowledge in those days whatever the syllabus was in the university in those days all of it without remainder without exception is lower knowledge then uh question you mentioned you have not left anything over what is this higher knowledge you are talking about the higher knowledge is that by which the the akshar akshara means the the changeless the decay-less the absolute is realized that means not even the texts not even the without the studies it's the enlightenment itself the realization that i am brahman that only counts as the higher knowledge and everything else is the lower knowledge some of it will take you to the higher knowledge but it's still lower knowledge and shankaracharya goes further and he says about all the lower knowledge he says the lower knowledge is no knowledge it's ignorance you don't deny the practical utility of science and medicine and you know art and culture that's always there but as long as you don't realize god you're still in the realm of uh maya in the realm of darkness so um ram sugdesti is right whether in devotion or in knowledge you say you approach that realization vasudeva the lord alone is everything you are in the realm of knowledge anything else you see things as different from god or god as non-existing or then you are in the realm of ignorance then this is and the way he puts it is very close to advaita vedanta in fact even the devotional part of it he says the only difference between god alone is and nothing else is or god is everything is like he says golden ornament you see all the ornament and the gyani says it is gold gold gold and devotee says what a dry rascal don't you see the beautiful necklace and the beautiful ring and the beautiful tiara and the bracelet and i know all of it is gold the stress is my lord alone is all of these these are all there my lord alone is all of these and for the gyani all of these is cancelled out business is there awareness isness awareness is there um he puts it very well the commentators ram sugdesti he says by this realization what happens by he says he calls it the realization of reality by this which what reality was lord alone is everything what happens first by the knowledge of reality samsara has no longer any independent existence and brahman is realized this is the approach of the gyani samsara is not a not an independent existence anymore it's a manifestation of brahman and when you apply tattoo ghana to brahman to the absolute reality what will happen to the gyani absolute reality will be experienced as i am that amram aspie what does it mean what is that absolute experience absolute existence it is my own existence and what is that a knowledge of reality i begin to see my own existence as it is it is direct experience of brahman that i am robert so this is the gyani's path in the devotees path what does this tattoo again or the experience of reality do again samsara will be it doesn't have an independent existence all of these are there but my lord alone has become everything and then what about god in and through samsara god will be experienced in every experience you will feel the presence of god so these are the two approaches gyani's approach by this vasudeva sarvamiti the samsara will be reduced to an appearance and vasudeva brahman will be realized as i am brahman for the devotee by this knowledge of um reality vasudeva samsara will be reduced not to an appearance but let's call it the glory of god the play of god the leela of god or whatever but real and what will happen to god god will be now experienceable in and through every experience in samsara with all people in all uh actions everything will reveal to me vasudeva one shall they put it beautifully you're searching for god swami ashok ramji he said where can i find god foolish question where can you not find god this is the devotee's realization vasudeva then he says such an enlightened one is rare this is the final enlightenment such an enlightened one so sardar and he got this enlightenment this realization vasudeva such an enlightened one is rare and then um as a note ram sugdastia said these enlightened ones they may these teachers mahatma this mahatma gives a note on the mahatmas these mahatmas may come in five varieties he says six but i'm conflated into five varieties so what are these five varieties one vasudeva the lord alone is everything and this one remains immersed in that so from our perspective that person will remain like in samadhi or a deeply mystical not really interacting with the rest of us i mean i'm reminded of someone like swami brahman was who didn't seem to have as dynamic a life as cevi vekananda and yet why is very kind of saying there is a dynamic of spirituality he said to sharath chandra swami vivekananda that raja that means swami brahmananda raja has more spirituality than i have so he called him a spiritual dynamo why because such a one is the highest of the mahatma's who remains in constant communion with god through mystical experience through the remaining centered in the realization ahmra mahasami in whichever way so this an example is brahmananda rama namashi was something like that he would remain in advaithic sense constantly inwardly focused there the second level little lower actually lower would be the one who interacts with the world and through the leela the activities of this mahatma many people learn they're inspired they see the sadhana being performed by this mahatma see the complete altruism and selflessness of this mahatma they see the complete fearlessness of this math they really learn spirituality is directly transmitted by seeing and living with such a person to the extent that little bit we have got we have seen some such people and we have come into contact with them it is transmitted spirituality can actually be like a physical thing being transmitted like a fire lighting another fire like a flower being given from one hand to another it can be given the second level of the mahatma who interact and who give by their life in the third level one step lower again so this mahatma teaches the second one can teach also but their teaching will be quite different uh they will be maybe very simple things a parable uh or a few simple instructions but a solid teaching no so the mahatma starts teaching starts teaching vedanta and bhakti and so on that's the third step already another step lower and sriram krishna needs to use this language i have i have to come down several steps to say om so third level lower the next lower level is teaching the even lower level the fourth one is he says the one does not even give teachings is one gives do's and don'ts and gives commandments this has to be done straight away that you do this and the fifth one the lowest even lower than that one gives the mahatma it gives boons and curses so he may help people by granting their desires or punish people said rectify them by cursing them now these five levels these are not levels of the mahatma this has to be realized these are the these are the levels that the mahatmas operate on to help different levels of devotees there are some devotees who can just by seeing and being in the presence of the completely absorbed will become highly inspired other devotees have to see him in action the another devotee with a slightly lower mind will have to be taught actually given lessons even lower lessons will not work seeing will not work clearly has to be told right and wrong and threatened with heaven with hell or promised heaven or given commandments do this i say so do it it helps the people who are clearly helped by that that level of teaching and finally they're not interested in teaching they're not going to listen to you but they are very much eager to have their desires fulfilled and they will do go to no end to please you so that you can fulfill their desires or they're scared of punishment so they are taught they're brought to the spiritual life by reward and punishment by boons and curses the five levels they're on the model of bhagavan of the lord sagunabraman ishwara god god operates on these five levels one level is the absolute reality god remains absorbed in his her its glory second level god comes down as avatar and does leela and we all see and learn and are inspired religions start on that basis third level god comes as the teacher as the guru as someone the acharya like shankara and others who actually give a body of teachings teachings are primary then then then god also what does god do god gives commandments not just a body of knowledge but actual commandments do this do not do this and finally god famously blesses and curses gives boons and curses all of these are the same god does not degrade the quality of god it is for the different levels of seekers some things work for some seekers okay this is the five levels uh what why is he said here mahatma this is the mahatma very rare indeed right let us now look at the comments so the take away from this verse is just that phrase vasudeva this is the final realization my lord alone is everything christian says how do devotional schools interpret the word gyani in this context as the highest bhakta i'll give an example how they deal with it the vishishta dwaita school will say the gyani now becomes the highest bhakta so who is the ghani who realizes i am not body and mind i am a spark of consciousness paramatma is infinite consciousness jivatma is individual consciousness i am a part of the paramatma now what will be my relation to the paramatma to narayan or vishnu it will be devotion and surrender so that is the real ghani who will now next take the step of devotion or prapati surrender to the supreme consciousness that is a devotional school bill nigeria says intensity for self knowledge can waver on the path of gyana yogas oh yeses intensity can favor but what i'm what it says here is the one who has realized i am brahmana already for that person there will be no wavering because just as our own consciousness of our own existence it never wavers you don't have to be a philosopher everybody every sentient being not even human being every sentient being is aware that he she it exists unwavering now if that can be connected to god if one can see god is in non-different from that then your sense of god also will become non-wavering and and effortless bill the bhakta who realizes god isn't that person also the fourth category the wise one referred to in 17 um yes of course the last one patrick would most gyanis experience call to samadhi for those that don't why wouldn't they most candies would experience every cup of samadhi but some do not um sometimes sriram krishna would say darshan haven't been organ the person will not have mystical experiences but will get enlightenment is it possible at all to get full enlightenment without nervikalpa samadhi yes technically yes um even someone like swami brahman we are reading he's saying that the ways to get enlightenment sadhanas he says japa and dhana he says are he says discrimination so clearly the vedanta vichaara enquiry he says that is also that's the part of enlightenment then he says that when with samadhi this thing becomes very clear with discrimination viveka the path we talked about with viveka one may get a glimpse of it he says so in for most cases when the minds are not purified enough they probably need powerful experiences like samadhi to make it clear enough if it is clear enough to you already then you don't need it what will samadhi do it will just confirm what you already know um that i am that what is his name our nisargarita maharaja when one place he was asked about various kinds of samadhis and asked that do you have them and he says no and he says if i want i could get them and he said they are also very valuable he agrees that if you can get them if you want and the samadhi are very valuable but what i have already got is highest it's the final thing i don't i don't see why i have to put my mind in that particular he didn't explain so much but he just said yes one can have it yes they are valuable i don't see the need for it after getting what i have got abhijit says the line from verse 7.17 gyani one principle as the name hold it steadfastly in the heart yes very beautifully put krishna motivation says the great saying tamil mystical poem which translates as only the ignorant thing that love and the ultimate truth are two different things yes so your traditional why i gave you this ram suggestion is actually his school is vishishta dwight so he will definitely in these places bring in the knowledge aspect and the devotional aspect i have studied this from a traditional advaitha teacher also the same verse that second interpretation they will not bring in fact they will say it's wrong and what is being mentioned here is gani realizes me in that sense world is an appearance vasudeva god alone exists existence consciousness that's what is meant that's a little reductive and we forgot forgetting that this is the bhakti section going on so there must be a bhakti interpretation for this sangeetha says why then do we commonly see this in human nature when that which was once held dear but when clearly seen it no longer gives happiness in fact pain why then does it still continue to feel dear to the mind does it if you're clear that it gives pain if you actually feel that it gives pain not just i've read about it now i understand it it gives pain um all philosophical books have told me now inwardly if i feel it's unpleasant you're making my life hell it's painful and it will no longer remain dear karak says this reminded me of you talking about difference between all is god and only god is reference one with underscore objects are appearance when we see objects of appearance like movie objects on screen then we see that only awareness exists so reality is that ultimately on only krishna exists naruto 22 states love of gopi cannot be said to lack recognition of divine glory of krishna so can we assume that gopis had correct understanding of reality but we are acting due to divine maya krishna no not even divine maya krishna they had correct understanding of reality and their approach was the devotional approach so that is what is a more comprehensive way if you take a classical advaith away and say well they were devoted and they have to get the most realization otherwise they are stuck to the personal god krishna or david or krishna but no if you see the bhagavatam it's not like that the gopis were fully enlightened beings also but their approach was vedantas the conclusions of vedanta the final conclusions of vedanta it's dancing see friend it's how it dances what is dancing krishna is dancing krishna is the final conclusion of the vedanta vedanta then rama says this reminds me of you talking about two reasons why the word word with start first reason for vairagyan second to see the same reality everywhere yes it's an important thing to learn one sadhu put it nicely falsity of the world why what is the purpose of it why is it stressed one he says people think it's for vairagya dispassion so notice how ramsabdasi said that the first path can be taken by people who have some attraction and repulsion for the world if the world still troubles you tempts you and scares you terrorizes you then you take the path of um the world is false this is the preliminary reason as rama has pointed out here this is the first reason why falsity of the world is taught in order to have a dispassion in order to solve the problem of ra graduation it's false it doesn't matter it can't scare me nor can it tempt me but this is only the preliminary reason for falsity of the world the real reason why quality of the world is helpful in our spiritual life is it points out where the reality is all right world is false then what is the reality brahman is real where is brahman all i know is the world if world is false and brahman is real then this itself must be brahman if the snake is false and the rope is real where you are seeing the snake there the rope must be that which you think is the snake that must be the rope so the reality is being pointed out when i say rope is real snake is false you are seeing a snake now if i ask where is the rope you have to say there itself i'm thinking it will snake but it is actually the rope here itself this world this body this mine this experience of the world is nothing other than brahman brahman plus name and form this is the meaning of deeper meaning of falsity of the word jaishri says what does ishta devata mean um does it mean praying only to one form sabuna brahman like krishna or divine mother yes ashri rama etc yes can easter devata be more than one form of sargon of brahman no it is one more than one form you know that all forms are nothing but your ishta but it's a great thing to focus the mind each ishta comes with a mantra a whole you know there are quranic stories there are rituals there are methods of worship there is an iconography there are images there are pictures so much is connected with each ishta whether it is shiva or kali or ganesha or the avatar as rama or krishna so such vast literature is there so many practices so many rituals so many songs so many lives of saints all of that comes with each easter those are the extras toppings which come with the easter egg that is enough for a person to have the ishta and ishta devata and you can practice but you know it's also more than that because you know all the forms all the other ishtas and the absolute reality guna brahman are the same thing i think anurag has raised her hand can you unmute yourself yes no you're still muted okay okay thank you um you are you're bringing bhagavatam into bhagavad-gita explanation now bhagavatam is it under upanishad it's not is it no it's not counted as an open i mean it's not part of an open initial part of the vedas as such which is counted as an upanishad because it is uh so important especially in the dweta schools of the vedanta dualistics bhakti schools of iran in fact if you see the schools like dwight more than the upanishads you will see the emphasis is on bhagavatam in fact if you see the iskan assinite of hyderabad yeah the central text they give importance to the upanishads but central text is bhagavatam which is regarded as greater than and at the end of every chapter of gita bhagavad-gita is saying upanishad su just like the gita is treated as an upanishad even the gita is not an upanishad remember gita is no it's methi because it is part of mahabharata anything other than the shruti in that sense although technically mahabharata would be an itihasa but yeah in general it is a smithy and gita will be a smitty and in that sense bhagavatam also is pretty but because of its great importance and the message it contains gita is treated as an upanishad bhagavatam is treated as an upanishad as great as that however not greater so yes thank you um be