Bhagavad Gita- 108 Talks by Swami Sandeep Chaithanya

30. Likes and dislikes are a seeker’s enemies

A seeker should never succumb to ‘likes and dislikes’. His duty is to submit everything to the Lord to get the full freedom in his actions.

Senses have a tendency to reach out to the subject matter of their nature. The liking we develop due to this is ‘ragam’. Whereas when we don’t like the sensory experience, that creates ‘dwesham’. We should not be swayed under the conflicts of ‘bad and good’ perceived by the sense organs.

Once we realize that this world and everything in it is the energy and aura of the Lord, all worries due to senses that are extroverts will cease to exist. Then our mind will fly freely like a kite in the open sky. The thread that controls the kite must be the constant awareness that “Isaavasam idam sarvam” – that, ‘all that is’, is the Lord and nothing but the Lord. Because of this knowledge ‘likes and dislikes’ brought about by the senses will not have any place in our mind.

All actions must be submitted unto the Lord and in order to do that we must extinguish the “I”, the ego. When the ego dies, self awareness dawns. The freedom one gets thus is indeed the liberation- “moksham” itself. When a monk takes ‘samnyaasa’ (renounciation), he does a ritual commemorating his own death, symbolically annihilating the ego. What is left is the intellect that is capable of self inquiry.
Jealousy is a hindrance in annihilating ego. The best way to overcome jealousy is to develop respect towards the very cause that made you jealous.

29. Our action must be a model to others

When we take an action, others must be able to consider it as a model to follow. The people around us are anxiously waiting to imitate us and our children are growing up by imitating us. We should be able to point and show them a few role models and we should also be able to set ourselves as examples.

Our actions must not create confusion in people’s mind. These days, there is a tendency for many to create confusion in the name of devotion and spirituality. Because of this, inappropriate rituals and blind faiths are getting popular in life.

An imprudent man does his work, but with the lust to achieve something where as the wise man does it with out the lust and such works will be instrumental in enhancing public prosperity.

King Janaka acted in the world for the betterment of his subjects. No amounts of power or wealth were enough to distract him from his karma yoga. The King doesn’t get involved when Sri. Rama sends Sita to the forest, even though she was his daughter. King Janaka had the knowledge and discrimination with regard to the appropriate action to be taken - that is why he didn’t interfere with Sri Rama’s action at that time.

We should not take pride in our actions and realize that it is the supreme self at work here and not 'me', the limited self. Instead of pride, we should cultivate self-awareness.

28. Commercial mind cannot see Yagya

A mind immersed in commercial aspects of everything will not be able to attain the yagya spirit. We see everything with the eye of a seller, even flowers. Just think about us before the birth. Water, earth, air, sun and the moon did so many things for us to be born. It was through their unselfish submission that we came in to this world.

'This' is not mine, even this entity ‘me’ is not mine. Universe created me and I belong to the universe. This indeed is yagya. Just saying ‘swaaha!’ after spreading bricks will not constitute yagya. Karma precedes yagya and from yagya comes the rain. Rain is the cause for food (annam). It is from annam everything has been formed. Annam indeed is the mind. Words are formed with the energy of annam.

Karma is born out of Brahman and the Brahman is born out of the imperishable supreme self (param atma). Thus Brahman is founded on yagya.

Life of a person is futile if he doesn’t follow this cycle of karma (karma charka). By knowing this, there isn’t 'anything' to be done to gain 'something' or there isn’t 'anything' to be missed by not doing 'something'. He is the karma and the result of karma (karma phala). There is no commercial mind here to give and take.

Do not reject whatever the universe has given us, at the same time, do not covet something that the other person has been gifted by the nature. So, if we continue with our work with diligence, without attachment, we will sure get liberation. ‘How’ we do something is more important than ‘what’ we do. Make your work a worship.

The Lord is not in the matter, nor is the matter in the Lord. EVERYTHING IS LORD. Whatever remains after removing the names and forms is the Lord, because names and forms conceal the Truth. Except in the supreme self, everything is different and unreal.

27. Enjoy life through sacrifices

We should live happily by working in the world by sharing and with an attitude of sacrifice. When we try to keep anything for ourselves selfishly, there will be conflicts. Delight is in giving – look at the nature, she has created us in the spirit of cooperative sacrifice (yagya). Yagya is the cow that will provide us generously with what we need in life. It is with this yagya attitude that we prosper. Yagya is a cooperative endeavor undertaken by people having a common goal.

In order to keep ‘me’ as ‘me’, a large number of components in nature work incessantly in unison. So our activities also must be conducive to enriching our surroundings. Gita says that if we make the gods happy through sacrifices, they will also make us happy. This doesn’t mean spending huge amounts of money in temple rituals and oblations. Making some one happy means that we don’t disturb the person and allow him to remain as himself. Who are gods? They are the water of the rivers, the air we breathe and the land we stand on, etc.. If we don’t pollute our rivers with poison, they will make us happy. With this cooperative approach we can attain the ultimate in prosperity. Those who enjoy the fruits of nature without returning anything are indeed thieves. That’s why people of old generations planted trees without fail. Philosophically this can also be interpreted that it is our duty to gift our senses (that provide us with the experience of the world) the experience of the ultimate divinity (Brahman).

Noble people, who enjoy the fruits of cooperative sacrifices by serving the nature without wishing for the results will definitely be liberated from all sins. But cooking food for one’s own consumption and enjoying it alone is indeed sinful.

26. Mind is at work, not the senses

One who acts in the world without attachment by controlling his senses with his mental determination is indeed a great person. Even while his senses are immersed in the working world, he is not entangled by the worldly attachments. When we see the beauty queen of the universe, we should also see the universal hands that created the beauty in her to complete the vision. As soon as we desire to ‘own’ what we see, notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ will over power our vision and they create division, separation, sorrow and even war.

There is no point in dividing duties (Karmas) in to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ actions. Work is worship. One must have the same attitude in cleaning a bathroom or a prayer room. What we get from the temple is holy water, not mere water. We have temples in order to give us this vision. A temple is the ultimate in this vision. If one ‘knows’ that a piece of stone is God, is there anything that is not God?

If we cannot see holiness in the waters outside the temples, we must question whether it is worth allowing the existence of temples at all. We must be able to consider whatever we eat as a sacred gift from God (prasadam), not just mere food items obtained from the temple. Food is the result of a great cooperative endeavor undertaken by the society. Our works are to be performed as a Yagna because whatever we do without this attitude will end up in attachment to worldly objects. In order to attain liberation, we must act diligently in the world without wishing for results. Every one of us has our own duties to perform although nowadays people seem to be paying more attention to other person’s duties. This will not help anyone. Yagna is to renounce the imperfect to attain perfection and if we realize the truth that no one can ‘own’ anything permanently, we will have the attitude of renunciation (sanyasa bhavam).

In the second chapter, Lord Krishna expounded the ultimate truth. In the next chapter, the Lord explains how this can be practically applied in life.

25. Inquire within about the seeker himself

Just as the sea is unperturbed by the waters from several rivers gathering in it, a wise man is un-wavered by any amount of desires. Inquiry must be done within the seeker himself. Truth will not be realized by searching for it in the temples, gurudwaras, monasteries or churches. You will not find it in all the books of the world. It is present within us.

A pilgrimage is a journey seeking our own origin. One should visit forests, oceans and mountains – not just temples. Don’t waste a life time after booking for a pooja (special worship that are booked years in advance) at a temple – see and enjoy the worship of the nature by the various movables and immovables present in nature. Now we have placed God in stones, photographs and in the space below the staircase in our home. Go down to nature and see God there.

Whenever man tried to teach about God through temples, all those were futile attempts. When the scriptures were evolved, temples were not there. It is a pity that a man who does not worry when a river gets polluted would lead a procession in protest if they hear that some one threw a stone at a temple.

A devotee of Lord will never even disturb the nature and the environment in any way. Worshipping a river doesn’t mean that we should disperse many things in to it, in the name of a pooja. Worship means to know the entity well and to be harmless to it in any way. Through the lifting of Mount Govardhana and by killing the poisonous snake Kalia (Kaliya mardhana), Sri Krishna demonstrated to us how worship is to be done.

Gita says that when one acts in the world selflessly, with no attachment and desires, he will attain peace by getting in sync with the nature. Christ also tried to teach people to achieve this internal evolution. External changes are futile and don’t call people with negative names to inculcate change in them. Just by calling some one a ‘sinner’, all the possibilities in a man can potentially be crushed. No one has the right to call any one like that. Gita calls every one as Oh! Immaculate one! (anagha, meaning sinless one). Gita advises that running away from duty is ignoble. Even the smallest particle – an atom- in the universe is continuously acting (or vibrating). He who gives up his worldly duties in the name of renunciation, but enjoys the thoughts of sensory pleasures is indeed a fraud.

24. Contemplation is the source of virtues and vices

All our actions originate from contemplation and we get what we contemplate upon. We will end up doing our deeds in the same field where our mind wanders.

Nothing in life can be considered an accident. Typically, one would contemplate and decide ahead of time as to how to respond to a particular situation. The thought process that leads to such conclusions is Dhyana (contemplation or meditation). There are two types of Dhyanaas –demonic and godly (divine). In demonic contemplation, one would extol materialistic enjoyment (bhoga) as “hiraNyaaya namaH” – salutations to gold. In divine contemplation, one extols the sacrifice (thyaga) that is Lord NarayaNa.

Being constantly thinking about sense objects, we get attached to them. Lust (feeling that I must have ‘it’- a thing or being) is due to attachment, and when the lust is not fulfilled, our mind becomes furious. In anger, man looses his power of discrimination. In rage, all the values learned hitherto will be forgotten and intellect ceases to function properly. That is the beginning of complete destruction. One cannot predict what will happen after that and the person becomes crazy. Culture of the people of a generation takes form through their thoughts and contemplation.

One can say that he is educated only when the knowledge (sasthra) comes to his mind even in adverse circumstances. One can win over anger if he is reminded of the appropriate knowledge. How can some one get pleasure without peace of mind? Self control is essential and our mind should not flow hither-thither like a canoe in the windy water. Senses are capable of taking the uncontrolled mind through various paths. It is not that one should keep fighting the senses rather it is better to transcend the senses.

When it is day time, for a Yogi who has controlled his senses, it will be night time and vice versa. When others are attentive to sense objects, he will not have any interest in them. He will be fully awake in the spiritual realms when others have no interest in them.

23. Learn Renunciation from Sri Krishna

We must learn renunciation from Sri Krishna, not from Buddha. Krishna’s renunciation is not by rejecting anything, but by accepting everything. There is complete acceptance where ‘I’ and ‘me’ are not present. Buddha abandoned his wife and son to embark on spiritual enquiry.

In the journey within, there should be no difficulty. We should withdraw the senses from their objects of attraction in such a way that even we should not notice it. It must be effortless like opening of a flower bud. For those who have controlled their senses, their intellect is firm in their resolves.

Sense organs, under the spell of anger, steal the mind of even a hardworking scholar. Sense organs go to their respective sense objects without us even knowing about it. Even if we sit down in contemplation inside a cave, there will be sense objects (vishaya) dancing in front of us with their finest glory and beauty to disturb our penance. Here, there is no point in being too stubborn as that can cause nerve diseases. It is an art to transcend vishayas- it cannot be achieved by fighting them. Most of the austerities can torture our body and mind, when we undertake them wishing to get something in return. Usually those attempts are in vain. Those who are fasting by forcefully controlling the urge may be thinking about food all the time. Whatever we want to renunciate that way, our lust for the same will be ten-fold.

A yogi’s renunciation is not like that of a diabetes patient rejecting sugar in his diet. There are desires present in the man who has taken up hunger strike. A jnaani (wise man) doesn’t run behind sensory pleasure, because he is convinced that they are trivial. As the ultimate Truth is known to him, a man with his intellect transcended will not have any desires at all.

Gita advises us to withdraw our senses from the objects like a tortoise withdrawing its head and limbs. While the tortoise may be doing it out of fear, the wise man does it out of wisdom. Men with a steadfast intellect direct their senses inward and withdraw them from the objects.

Comments from Sri. C.V. Kartha:

Hari Om! I had the good fortune of listening to Br. Sandeep Chaitanya's talks on Bhagavad Gita on many days in Ernakulam (Cochin) during December 2005 -February '06. Swamiji spoke in excellent Malayalam, the language of the locale. The talk progressed at a steady pace, without haste, covering 7 or 8 Sanskrit slokas per day. The interpretation of the Gita was true to the slokas, filled with humourous modern-day anecdotes to bring Bhagavan Krishna's original message to the listeners' level and deep into the heart. The talks were very entertaining and there was plenty of laughter and liveliness emanating from the audience in contrast to the seriousness and heavy pondering which sometimes accompany such religious talks. On most days, the main auditorium of the TDM Hall (where the event was held) was overflowing with attendees at least 10 minutes before the start of the one-and-half-hour talk and the lower level auditorium had to be opened up for accommodating additional attendees with viewing/hearing facilities via a large television(s). The talks were, thus, regularly attended by more than fifteen hundred enthusiastic listeners from all walks of life. People used to pass on written questions arising from Swamiji’s talk within a day and he, with cheerfulness, responded to the questions at the beginning of the succeeding day's talk. It is appropriate that I thank SukumarCanada for the excellent English translation of the daily-talks (22 already completed out of 108) and hope that he would continue his efforts to complete the entire series. I would also recommend these talks to anyone interested in Bhagavad Gita and wanting to learn how Bhagavan’s message can be applied to modern-day living. Please check Swamiji's program before you plan your next trip to India and plan to attend the forthcoming series of talks, if you are interested. Om Namo Bhagavate Vaasudevaaya.
C.V. (Bijou) Kartha
Canada

22. Accept others in full

We must accept others in full and we must not have any enemies. If I realize that the universe itself is ‘me’, why should I compete or quarrel with ‘others’? We have to treat an individual as a person who is beyond all criticisms, although his actions may be criticized.

A sage (Muni) is the one who is devoid of anger, fear and desire. When desires disappear, man becomes silent (mouni). ‘Muni’ is the one who is silent, the one who contemplates and the one does not fall prey to futile desires. One should be able to see everything in the nature as different forms present in a single canvas with all the various shapes, different people, myriad of names and costumes, etc. A man of steadfast intellect (sthitha prajna) sees himself as one among them.

Bhagavan Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, who can be considered a muni. The one who is unperturbed in sorrows and undesirable experiences is a muni. He is not interested in pleasure and he does not entertain pleasure in memory either. When one is fully devoid of all desires and mental wanderings and when he revels in himself, he is a sthitha prajna.

When the mind revels in outside objects (vishaya), the person is known as “vishayaa-raman”. When his mind revels in himself, he becomes “athmaa-raman”. Self-enquiry begins when one realizes that happiness is achieved within oneself, by knowing the self. For a person with self-knowledge, the presence or absence of a thing doesn’t have any effect on him. His intellect is steadfast. Sri Krishna advises Arjuna that he will become a yogi when his intellect is steadfast. This is achieved by the intellect elevating itself from the misapprehension of reality through contemplation. All should become yogis, stable as a lamp that doesn’t flicker in wind. We should be able to overcome desires. Self-enquiry is possible through karma and the liberation (Moksha) is not a posthumous honor. One can be liberated living in this world by doing his duties without attachment to results. Men of wisdom realize the ultimate by doing actions with no wishes for results and they do their work whole heartedly and happily. Such works would become an inspiration to do more of the same. When the mind accepts equanimity as the guiding principle, the work is bound to be pleasant.

21. Act with complete understanding

A person doing anything must be fully knowledgeable of the action he is performing. For such a person, is ignoble to do an action accompanied by a wish for its result. Lord Krishna advises Arjuna that he must surrender to the intellect and not to the mind in deciding on a course of action. When the mind and intellect are working in unison, one becomes a “samadarshi” (the one who has equanimity in his vision).

All action must be done with full sincerity, in a mood of contemplation and prayer. Our hands and feet must work with the complete awareness of the action performed. Thoughts of inaction must not enter our mind as an option, because negative thoughts can never initiate ultimate changes in a man’s life. Human minds have become numb by hearing too many “don’ts” from everywhere.

For those who perform their actions with equanimity, there are no 'good' or 'bad' karmas. He doesn’t belong to the group of sinners or that of virtues. One must strive for the ‘karma-yoga’ that transcends both. Yoga in karma is essentially the auspiciousness and attentiveness in the action performed.

Those who are keenly intelligent reject the fruits of action and stay free from the birth-death bondages. They attain a sorrow-less state where there are no obstacles. In the hymn -santhi mantra- we pray not for a sorrow-free life, but to attain a mental state that surpass life’s sorrows.

The path to complete freedom is achieved by getting rid of attachment to everything like a yogi, identifying himself with nothing. It is the state where you are equally at peace in gain or lose. Attachment is the glue that binds us with various things and most of our relations are born out of selfishness. For example, attachment to son is our wish that he should become ‘this or that’. He should achieve something which we couldn’t in our life- and we should reap the benefit by achieving that. Many a times, we disguise our selfishness with better sounding words such as ‘duty’, ‘love’ and ‘responsibility’, etc.