Mama Dharma – The Message of the Gita

2 August 1984, Bhagavad Gita Series, Bhajan Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam, AP

Published English.

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It is said () . There are several branches of knowledge in this world. Music, literature, dance, painting and sculpture are some of these. Besides, there are several secular and scientific disciplines as well. But, more than all these, (The knowledge of the self) is the supreme. Man cannot acquire peace and happiness by the pursuit of mere worldly knowledge. It is only by that man can acquire peace and happiness. That is why said (This grammatical principle Dukrun Karane cannot protect you). Worldly knowledge can give you only momentary happiness. alone can give you lasting peace and happiness.

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Spiritual Knowledge Is The True Knowledge The concepts “, and ” mean the same. alone establishes the principles of unity in diversity and immortality in mortality. The spiritual knowledge deals with the sacred creation and sustenance of the universe and the divine path to attain the Lotus Feet of the Lord. What is the basis for this knowledge? “” (A pure Heart) and “” (purity of conscience). It is necessary to perform sacred for developing purity of conscience. These flow from pure life, good behaviour, good qualities and good company. Not only these, the study of sacred texts like the , the , the , the , , , etc., is also a sacred . Actions of charity, performing sacrificial rites, etc., can also be considered as sacred. A person who has mastered various branches of worldly knowledge may be considered a scholar, a genius, an educated person, etc., but, he cannot be termed as (omniscient). is only that which teaches us the method by which we can remove sorrow.

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Everyone Is Entitled To Acquire “” – so goes the saying. It means that it is only by that one can cross the ocean of , which is full of sorrow. It is not possible to remove sorrow by any other method. That which removes sorrow and gives us happiness is . That is spiritual education. Therefore, we have to enquire who is competent to receive this . Is it children, old people, ladies, gents, or who else? If we thus go on enquiring, we get the answer that every individual is competent to light the lamp of . You can earn name and fame, honour and prestige by pursuing secular education. But, by pursuing only, you can earn the grace of God and attain the divine . Secular education or wealth or gold or material possessions cannot help us to secure this supreme knowledge, i.e., .

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To which clan does belong? In which village was born? How much wealth did acquire? What education did have? Of what age was on this earth? How knowledgeable is ?

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If you go on enquiring thus, it will be proved that nationality, religion, caste, wealth, material possessions, etc., have absolutely no bearing on divinity. , the consort of , on one occasion, while weighing the Lord on the scale, put a basil leaf and said, "If it is true that you give yourself up to a True Devotee, may your weight become equal to this basil leaf." And Lo! on one side and the basil leaf on the other side, the weighing scale was in perfect balance! Thus, (devotion) acquired a special place in (humanness). said, “” – it is only the one who worships me with full devotion, that is dear to me. It does not mean that we should neglect secular education. It is only when you have self-confidence and faith in yourself and God that human nature acquires greatness. That is why said, “Faith in yourself, and faith in God; that is the secret of greatness.” In the first instance, man must develop total faith in Divinity.

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, The Ultimate Goal Of Life Today’s education is secular. Even then, it is said ”, which means secular education for this world and spiritual education for the other world. This is for making a living; that is the ultimate goal of life. If man cannot make a comfortable living by acquiring secular education, he will not be able to cultivate a taste for the goal of life and the method of reaching that goal. Therefore, you should not neglect secular education. But, what is more important is that education and culture must go hand in hand. The great of yore like and acquired education with culture. That is why they were able to contribute great literature like the and the to the world and thus become true friends of the world (). If Maharishi could compose 18 and demarcate the knowledge into four divisions, it is only because he had had respect for secular education as well. The whole universe and everything contained therein is embedded in Divinity. There is nothing we can offer to God except pure love. God also does not expect anything from us. That is why a great poet once sang thus:

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God has no names and forms. But it is only the human being who ascribes names and forms to God out of delusion, to express his love and happiness towards Him. (God lives in every living being); (The whole universe is pervaded by God); (All that we see around us is Vasudeva, God). It is only out of our love for God that we ascribe several names and forms to him, who in fact is all-pervading. When we thus worship the all-pervading God with a heart full of love, we are sure to get everything we desire.

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did not pursue any secular education. Day in and day out, he was engrossed in the worship of . During those ecstatic moments, he used to even lose the body consciousness. He was not interested in any type of education. While he thus dedicated his life to the worship of and left all family responsibility, his father used to get a paltry sum of five rupees as his monthly pension. But, he used to lead a happy life with this meagre amount. In fact, he could not even pronounce the word pension properly. He used to say, “I will get a ‘pensal’ of rupees five” Such an illiterate was he! Sri Ramakrishna came from such a poor family. Though he lacked secular education, Sri Ramakrishna was able to spread his spiritual power all over the world.

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Similarly, a highway robber, , transforming himself into the great Rishi, , is also due to the worship of God’s name and form. , the son of the demon king , became world-famous due to his love for God and earned everlasting name and fame. , though belonged to the monkey species, led a purposeful and worthy life by constant chanting of . In fact, he set an example in the worship of God. , belonging to the species of birds, by constant contemplation on and worshipping with pure love, could have the good fortune of getting his last rites performed by .

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There is no distinction between a human being, a demon, an animal or a bird, so far as devotion is concerned. All living beings have a right to attain divinity by virtue of their love for God. The (the path of devotion) has been acclaimed as the most important one, in the twelfth chapter of the . Devotion does not mean simply doing , meditation, , etc., or making pilgrimages to holy places or having , and of Godmen. Pure and unsullied love towards God is devotion. This is selfless, flawless and unshakable. We must cultivate such a divine love in our worldly relationships.

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Consciousness – Its Nature In the objective world, we must first try to analyse the nature of “I.” Who is this “I”? Am I the body? If so, why should I say “my body”? When we say “my body,” my is different, and body is different. Suppose we consider our heart as God, then we say “my heart.” Here also, “my” is separate and “heart” is separate. In our initial stage of , all of us begin with the proposition “my mind, my , my , my , my ,” etc. Therefore, each one of us must begin our enquiry with the question “Who am I”? This “my” is a separate entity which resides in everything as a "" (witness). This is also called as “consciousness” (). This is present everywhere. Another name for this is “.” This principle, manifesting as , is everywhere in you, with you, above you, below you. If you begin to search for this consciousness in the external world, it is not possible. You can only recognise it by turning your vision inward. Then only this pure consciousness is available. That is why in , to recognise this pure consciousness, the great began the enquiry with the principle of negation: “not this, not this, not this” (, , ). Starting with the assumption “mind is not I,” " is not I,” “ is not I,” the ultimate stage of “I am I” will be reached.

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In order to acquire the good fortune of discovering the nature of one’s own self ( or “I am I”), one has to do . , or the devotional path, is that . No separate path is necessary to search for God. The Omnipresent God can be found anywhere and everywhere. However, to recognise the formless and attributeless Divinity, it is necessary to start with the name and form to some extent. In the beginning, it is absolutely necessary to worship the Divine form. Gradually, we may develop an inward vision and try to contemplate on the formless, attributeless Divinity. It is said (God is everywhere firmly installed inside, outside and in the whole of the universe). When God is thus omnipresent, there is no necessity for ourselves to confine our contemplation to one place. But, until we develop such a firm belief and faith and the capacity to recognise the omnipresent, formless, attributeless, we have to depend upon a name and form for our worship. By entering thus into (devotional path), we can later on develop a feeling of unity with Divinity and finally install ourselves in -. Without a flower, there cannot be a raw fruit; without a raw fruit, there cannot be a ripe fruit. Therefore, the unity of all these - the flower, the raw fruit and the ripe fruit - is the true nature of , i.e., Divinity. The flower is the path of action (). This gradually transforms itself into the raw fruit of the path of devotion (). When this raw fruit is nourished and nurtured, it ripens itself into a fruit of . Once the fruit is ready, there enters the sweetness, finally leading to (detachment). The (action), (worship/ devotion) and (wisdom) fructify ultimately into (detachment). Therefore, we should first enter into the (the path of action). Whatever actions we perform, they must be done with a spirit of offering to God.

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As long as we are in this world, it is necessary for us to pursue secular education. Whatever education we have acquired, must be put into practice. The power of thinking and the power of action, both are important for man. They are like the positive and negative. That is why it is said (Thought, word and deed are the same for great people). Whatever we do, it must be done wholeheartedly. There must be total accord between our thought, word and deed. Such a type of will lead to surrendering the fruit of our actions to God.

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Divinity Is One – Goal Is One It is, of course, natural to have a desire for the fruits of our actions in the beginning. But, gradually we must rise to the stage of performing actions without desire (). It is not possible in the beginning to perform desireless actions. Hence, these desires must gradually be transformed as 'work for worship'. Whatever we do, must be done to please God and as an offering to Him. Divinity is one. But several names and forms are given to it. (God is one; the wise call Him by different names). Here is a small example with which all of you are familiar. As soon as an infant is born, he is referred to as a child. After 10 years, we call him a boy. The same boy after 30 years is referred to as a man. The same man at 75 years of age is called a grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. But this child, boy, man and grandfather are one and the same individual. Similarly, in the beginning, one starts as an (one who develops an intense yearning for God). Then he becomes an (one who seeks wealth from God); then a (a seeker of spiritual knowledge) and finally a (a realised soul). The stages at which these four types of people are operating may be different, but their goal, namely, Divinity, is the same. It is a process for gradual evolution from one stage to the other. For this evolution, is required. It is said, (by constant practice, things can be achieved in this world).

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From tomorrow onwards, every day in the evening at 4.30, I will teach one of the in detail. Today, being the first day, I will give you some outlines, certain ideals. Only then will you be able to understand the full import of the . First, you try to imprint the nature of the in your hearts. What is the essence of ? Some people will say Jnanam (wisdom); some say (devotion); some say (action); yet some others say . All these may be true in their respective stages. If you want to establish the true identity of a particular individual, it will be possible only when you observe him from his head to toe. You cannot identify him by seeing his feet only. You have to see his face also. The first in reads thus:

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Samaveta yuyutsavah Mamakah Pandavaschaiva Kimakurvata Sanjaya The first word in this is . The last in the reads as follows: Yatra Yogeswrah Krishno yatra ParthoDhanurdharah Tatra Sree Vijayo Bhootir Neetir Matir

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The last word in this last is . There it is , and here . When you combine these two words, it becomes (my duty). This is what is taught in the Gita. Thus, the essence of is (exhorting us to perform our assigned duty). Students have to perform the student’s duty; (celibates) have to perform the brahmachari’s duty; (householders) have to perform the grihastha’s duty. have to perform the recluse’s duty and the renunciant’s duty, etc. The Gita exhorts us to perform our respective duties in accordance and in keeping with our positions. Not knowing this simple teaching, today’s man is confused about his role in society. Ultimately, he gets disheartened and despaired. was a and a grihastha. His duty was to fight on the battlefield. But, just at the moment of the start of the war between the and the , dropped his bow and arrows out of despondency and delusion and sat down in the chariot. In that situation, Sri Krishna taught the and initiated him into his duty as a warrior in the battlefield. Finally, Sri Krishna enquired from “Are you free from delusion and ego now?.”

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(He who is free from delusion and ego will attain peace). replied, (I am totally free from delusion now). As long as there is (delusion), there is attachment (). It is said, . That is, to become free from (delusion) is moksham (liberation). is not an exclusive privilege of sitting in an air-conditioned room. Every man should perform his duty and lead an ideal life.

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It is not enough if you simply get by heart the in the and chant them mechanically. Even if one is put into practice, you will become a blessed soul. Several devotees are wasting their time. Time is everything; do not waste time. Time waste is life waste. Time is the most important and precious thing. God is (the embodiment of time). Spend such sacred time in getting by-heart atleast one in the Gita a day and contemplating on it. Even mere getting by-heart is not helpful. You should be able to chant and explain its meaning when asked for. On any day, I may suddenly put a question to you. Then you should be able to answer. The essential meaning of the in must be grasped and taken to heart. Then only our will be removed. Grasp their meaning and put that into practice – this triple will make human life fruitful. Therefore, from tomorrow onwards, take notes of my discourses on the carefully in a notebook and try to identify yourselves with the teachings of Gita in your daily life.