Passage 1

¹“Bāvā, Dhanañjaya! The one who has true vision of karma and akarma is the real paṇḍita. A person does not become wise merely by memorising what is in books and storing it in the head. The true paṇḍita possesses the buddhi capable of samyag-darśana—right seeing. In the fire of Jñāna, the binding force of actions is consumed. Some say that even a jñānī must experience prārabdha-karma; from the outer standpoint it may appear so, but in the jñānī’s own vision there is no such bondage. One who depends on no worldly object, seeks no sensory pleasure, and has relinquished every vāsanā and kāma is untouched by the sway of sound and the other sense-objects. Such a one is the true sannyāsī, free from grasping and possession, the jñānī who rests content in the Self. He sees akarma in karma and karma in akarma. Though outwardly engaged in action, he is not inwardly bound by it. He has no hunger for its fruits, for he is nitya-tṛpta—ever content—nirāśrita, dependent on nothing. Without the sense of doership, he remains free of rāga and dveṣa toward whatever favourable or unfavourable experience comes through circumstances. Such a person is called yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭa, content with what comes of itself. Knowing that whatever happens unfolds by Bhagavān’s will, he remains serene, clear-hearted, steady, and inwardly dancing in Ananda. Contentment belongs to Jñāna; restless dissatisfaction belongs to ajñāna,” Paramātma taught. ²It would be a mistake to call a person who has abandoned puruṣārtha altogether—becoming lazy, inert, and purposeless—“content with whatever comes.” True contentment belongs to the jñānī. The ignorant remain dissatisfied, falling into pits of unrest, piling desire upon desire and “plan upon plan,” tormenting themselves and heating the heart with ceaseless agitation. ³“Bāvā! The pairs of opposites—pleasure and pain, victory and defeat, gain and loss—do not rule over the jñānī. He is dvandvātīta, beyond the sway of dualities, and keeps jealousy far from his heart. Ātma itself is asaṅga, unattached; it has no alliance with what is not Ātma. Birth and death, grief and delusion do not belong to it; hunger and thirst belong to prāṇa. Therefore give these no throne within yourself. Know yourself as Ātma and become free of delusion and attachment. There is nothing more beautiful. Live in saṁsāra like a lotus leaf upon water: though you are in the world, do not allow the world to soak into the heart. Do not become like blotting paper that absorbs every mark it touches. Instead, let the streams of Citta-vṛttis become an abhiṣeka offered upon the Ātma-liṅga.” ⁴“When Citta runs one way and the senses another, a person loses both inner and outer balance. Keep away from the fault of attachment. Then Citta will become firmly established in Jñāna. Whatever you do can become yajña; whatever you speak can become a divine mantra; wherever you place your foot can become a sacred kṣetra. Listen calmly as I tell you of the many forms of yajña. Some perform dravya-yajña, others tapo-yajña, yoga-yajña, svādhyāya-yajña, or jñāna-yajña. Every sacred and beneficial act made possible through material resources belongs to dravya-yajña. Wealth has three possible movements: dāna, enjoyment, and destruction. If wealth is neither shared nor rightly used, does it not eventually pass into waste? Think of a well being dug: where there is a deep pit, there is also a mound of the earth removed from it. When riches pile high in one place, deprivation tends to appear elsewhere.” ⁵Dāna is therefore a way of preventing such painful imbalance. To use what is in one’s hands for good is śāstra-approved dravya-yajña. Gifts that sustain life and welfare—such as support of cattle, land, education, healing, labour, and food—may all be understood under this principle of offering material resources for the good. ⁶When body, speech, and mind are disciplined and employed for the practice of Dharma, that is tapo-yajña. Merely going hungry because food is unavailable is not tapas. Restraining the movements of Citta is Yoga; acting without becoming caught in the bonds of action is Yoga; fixing Manas upon Bhagavān is the Sādhana of Yoga. Svādhyāya means studying the śāstras of Mokṣa with Bhakti and Śraddhā, humility, reverence, and trust. Through such study the debt to the Ṛṣis is honoured; Puṇya grows and pāpa is diminished. ⁷Then there is jñāna-yajña. This is not yet aparokṣa-jñāna, direct realisation, but parokṣa-jñāna used as Sādhana. One listens to and studies the relevant śāstras with Śraddhā, then reflects upon them carefully through yukti and reason. This is not the accomplished state itself; this disciplined approach is called jñāna-yajña. Through the elders and realised teachers one undertakes Ātma-vicāra, nurturing the longing to know Ātma-tattva. One must also perform the duties that are rightly enjoined. You may wonder, Arjuna, whether this sacred Jñāna is available to all, or by what means it may be obtained. Listen. Those who truly seek this Tattva should approach great knowers of Truth, win their gracious disposition through sincerity and right conduct, understand the proper time, and ask their questions with a peaceful mind. Doubt should not be hurled out whenever it arises merely to satisfy one’s restlessness. Nor does one become a jñānī by loading the mind with cartloads of books, delivering speeches by the hour, repeating words like a parrot, donning ochre as a disguise, or staring upward and nodding the head. Such things are not the marks of Jñāna. ⁸“Jñāna does not arise from these externals. It must be awakened through the presence and guidance of great ones who know by experience. Take refuge in such people. Doubts are not finally removed merely by reading śāstras and books; indeed, reading without lived guidance may multiply doubts. Books can tell; they cannot themselves make one see. Those who can make one see are Tattva-vettas, knowers of Reality; this sacred Jñāna therefore requires association with them, even if only for a time. Drinking sea-water does not quench thirst; it only makes the tongue suffer. Likewise, direct contact with words alone does not remove the deepest doubt. The seeker must possess Bhakti, Śraddhā, simplicity, patience, and receptivity. Do not weary the Guru through impatient demand. Remain, practise what is given without transgressing it, and bring it into daily experience. One who keeps changing Sādhana from day to day, tasting each new thing in haste because he wants quickly to become a jñānī, only deepens confusion. Great care is needed here.” ⁹When one comes to the Guru, one should serve according to what is needed, putting aside self-centred preoccupations, honouring the Guru’s direction without egoistic resistance, and allowing the work of the Guru to take precedence over other mental distractions. For one who surrenders in this spirit, Jñāna ripens quickly. But if a disciple approaches with disobedience, possessiveness, pride, carelessness, and distrust—trying to test the Guru rather than transform himself—he cannot expect the grace of Tattva-jñāna. ¹⁰“Just as a cow lets down its milk when it sees its calf, let the disciple become so humble and receptive that the Guru’s grace flows naturally toward him. As a magnet draws clean iron, the Guru draws a sincere disciple. Do you think I am speaking only of the disciple’s qualifications? No. The disciple too must discern the qualifications of the Guru. There are thousands who bear the name ‘Guru’; what is needed is a bodha-guru, one capable of true illumination, not a source of further burden. Listen to the qualifications. Along with śāstric Jñāna, the Guru should possess anubhava-jñāna, lived realisation; he should be a knower of Tattva and established in Brahman. Book-learning alone may support livelihood, but it cannot grant Mukti. There are also some who have little formal śāstric learning yet have attained Tattva through direct experience and are themselves liberated. Such a person may be free, but may not always possess the capacity to instruct and carry another across. Therefore the fullest qualification for Jñāna-upadeśa is both śāstra-jñāna and anubhava-jñāna. A robe, intoxicants, public speaking, or writing books do not make a Guru. Mere verbal cleverness is of no use. What is said and done must accord with śāstra and be grounded in realisation.” ¹¹A person who merely memorises a book and repeats it before crowds, as though bringing back up food already eaten, is not thereby a Guru. Such people may be “heroes” on the lecture platform and “zeroes” in Sādhana and Guruship. They may serve as teachers of information, but they cannot bestow Bhakti and Mukti. A book may contain many subjects; that alone does not make it a realised guide, and a disciple who mistakes verbal display for realisation receives only the same limitation. Many seekers are drawn by this kind of verbal “magic” and word-play and lose their way. Scholarship, reputation, and eloquence do not by themselves confer the power to give Jñāna. That belongs to Bhagavad-avatāra-mūrtis, beings born with divine radiance, and Tattva-vettas established in experience. A little experience is not enough for the work of guiding another to the end; one should seek those whose realisation is complete. ¹²The Guru should look primarily to the disciple’s qualities, not to wealth, authority, or social standing. The true Guru can recognise the capacity of the vessel that is the disciple’s heart. To one asleep in the slumber of ajñāna, such a Guru should be like an alarm clock. If the Guru is greedy and the disciple lazy, both are headed toward ruin. Thus Kṛṣṇa taught Arjuna with care about the qualifications of Guru and disciple, their conduct, their śāstric grounding, their lived experience, their character, faith, and way of life. ¹³These sacred words are not meant for Arjuna alone. They are amṛta-upadeśa for the whole world, and especially for all who would truly enter the relationship of Guru and disciple. ¹⁴Now look at the qualifications often found among Gurus and disciples in the present age. They reflect their times. Formerly, Gurus who lived according to these disciplines were few, while thousands of aspirants searched forests and distant places seeking such a teacher. Gurus were scarce and disciples many. Today the names of Gurus seem to appear everywhere. One cause is the abandonment of proper discipline; another is that disciples themselves no longer follow it. Guru and disciple often become matched in their weaknesses. At times the Guru must please and support the disciple rather than guide him. Supporting a sincere disciple is no fault, but when the Guru must fear the disciple and bend to his preferences, the relationship has been reversed. People may speak proudly of belonging to an āśrama or a spiritual group while lacking the gratitude, discipline, and character those words imply. The mouth says “Kṛṣṇārpaṇam”; the conduct becomes “dehārpaṇam,” an offering to bodily comfort. New demands arise: the disciple wants to dictate the rules; the Guru must never obstruct worldly pleasures and indulgences; Sādhana should require no bodily effort, no discipline, no expense, and Mokṣa should simply drop into the lap. If the Guru prescribes anything difficult or asks the disciple to live by a rule, the disciple is ready to abandon the Guru. Such inversion cannot lead to true Jñāna.