Bhagavad Gita | The Yoga Way of Life

Gita is the most celebrated spiritual text of Hinduism and Vedanta. Shankaracharya immortalized Gita with his commentary.Many of Buddha's teachings were taken from Gita. The 26th chapter of Dhammapada is repetition of the characteristics of a “stitha-prajna” (wise man) described in the 2nd chapter of Gita. The concept of moderation discussed in the 17th verse of the 6th chapter of Gita was also adopted by Buddha.73rd verse: Arjuna says: “Now, I have listened to you carefully. I have overcome my doubts. I have regained my wisdom. I shall act according to your instructions.”Gita begins with Arjuna's dilemma. It was taught to an ordinary man of action, because it has a realistic approach to life, interpreting spirituality as common sense. In essence, it says that when we face a crisis in life, we should not know that it is transient. We should also know that happiness and unhappiness are two sides of the same coin, and we have to transcend both to find peace and happiness.Arjuna thought of himself as a physical body. Once he learnt the spiritual truth of his own true nature and a common-sense approach to life in this world, his delusions were gone.Gita is not just a book of action. According to Shankaracharya, the central theme of Gita is not action alone but the importance of spiritual knowledge.There is an epilogue to Gita called Uttara Gita. There Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to explain his teachings again, as he forgot the teachings. At that point, Lord Krishna scolds him. The implication of this story in modern times is that when we listen to something, we may emotionally connect with it, but we may not be able to implement the spiritual wisdom. We have to struggle hard to translate our intellectual understanding to our emotional system.After the 73rd verse, the scene shifts in Gita. In the next several verses, Sanjaya, who was blessed with divine vision by Vyasa says: “I still recall again and again in my mind the dialog between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. It fills my heart with joy.”Sanjaya was able to listen, enjoy and recall this great dialog because his mind was ready for it. We do not remember what we are not interested in. Sanjaya was a spiritual seeker and had the right spiritual attitude.Gita ends with the 78th verse: “Wherever there is a blending of Yogeshwara (man of spiritual wisdom) and Dhanurdhara (man of action), there will be fortune, prosperity, victory, welfare, righteousness and justice.”

63rd verse: “You have listened to the great spiritual truth and My instructions. Now, you do whatever you want. Act according to your own conviction and understanding.”There is no compulsion from the teacher, Lord Krishna. He encourages the student to use his own intellect and conviction. This is because everyone in the world is at a different level of spiritual evolution. The goal is to experience the truth, not blindly believe.Swami Vivekananda expounded in the parliament of religions that spiritual life is like climbing the top of a hill. Once we are at the top, we see many trails leading to the top. When we are on the trail, we may think that is the only path. Similarly, when someone is early in their spiritual life, at the level of belief and rituals, they think only their path is right.66th verse: “When you feel that all your efforts are in vain, you should very sincerely and mentally give the entire responsibility to God. Then you do not have to worry about anything.”There are two interpretations of this verse. Ramanuja interprets it as sincerely taking refuge in God and becoming a tool in God's hands. Shankaracharya's interpretation is that all problems have a solution at the spiritual level. Psychological problems can only have a permanent solution at a higher, spiritual level. Shankaracharya says that the real reason behind Arjuna's delusion and inactivity is his wrong perception of his true nature – lack of atma-jnanam. Once Arjuna understood his true nature, his delusions vanished, as he states in the 73rd verse.67th verse: “I have taught you this spiritual truth. You should not teach this to a person who does not have the following qualities: (1) a sense of devotion, sanctity and sacredness (2) willing to practice it with spiritual humility, service and discipline (3) has great respect and appreciation for the teacher.”St. Matthew has a similar statement. The effectiveness of spiritual teachings depends on the readiness of the listener's mind. A sense of sanctity and sacredness from the disciple towards the teacher and heritage (Parampara) is important.There is a story of Durvasa rishi and Indra. Indra came on an elephant and had a spiritual conversation with the sage. Pleased, the sage gave him a sacred flower garland. Indra was on the elephant and without paying attention, put the garland on the elephant's neck, who dropped it and crushed it under his feet. Since Indra did not show respect towards the sacred garland, the sage cursed him.68th verse: “Those who teach this to people who are ready to listen and understand its true meaning with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, they will attain supreme liberation.”69th verse: “Anyone who tries to preach this spiritual truth, he is dear to Me and he will be spiritually elevated.”Teaching these spiritual truths itself is a spiritual practice and becomes a road for spiritual progress – even if it does not lead to spiritual growth of the listener.Our mind constantly accumulates ideas. Instead of getting toxic food, even mechanical listening to spiritual ideas has benefits. For complete effectiveness, the mind should be ready.

The 59th and 60th verses take us back to the original narrative of Gita, where Arjuna was facing conflicts as he did not want to do an unpleasant duty. Lord Krishna says: “If instead of practicing karma yoga, you think you can run away from your duty, that is your fantasy. Your own swabhava will compel you to do the duty.”Swabhava is our inherent nature that determines our outlook to life and our actions. It is shaped by tendencies that we gather over many life cycles.Each jiva is a solitary traveler. He meets his parents and relatives as travelers meet in a train and then separate at the end of each life.Bhagavata Purana has the story of a king who crowned his young son as the heir apparent. Unfortunately, the son died and everyone was in grief. Narada and some sages visit him to console him. brings the son back to life, but the son was not able to recognize his parents. He said that he had many parents over many life cycles. This helped the king understand the wisdom of the sages.The story of Jada Bharata explains that life is not just one chance. We are not tools in the hands of destiny. We have enough freedom to build our destiny. King Bharata retired to a hermitage for spiritual practices but developed strong attachment towards a baby deer and forgot his spiritual practices. He was born as a deer in his next life, but under the effect of his samskaras, he stayed near a hermitage. In his next life, he was born as a great saint - Jada Bharata - always established in his identity with Atman. He did not lose his spiritual wealth, but his realization was delayed.We are imprisoned by our samskaras. At the same time, we can use our mind, our five senses of perception and five senses of action to accumulate good samskaras and control our destiny.61st verse: “God is present as the divine spark in everything and everyone. Sitting within everyone as the in-dweller, he regulates and operates this world just like an engineer operates a machine.”Vedanta does not emphasize a creator God. Rather it emphasizes the idea of God as the divinity within. We can manifest this divinity through spiritual practices and by being a good human being. Buddha is a good example of this, as he did not believe in a creator God.When we do noble actions for the good of others or as an offering to God, with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, we become spiritually elevated and the divinity within us begins to manifest.Swami Vivekananda said: “Live life in such a way that Good will accept you even if you do not accept Him.” Swami Vivekananda also said: “Religion is the manifestation of divinity already in man.” Spirituality transcends religion but does not reject religion.62nd verse: “Take refuge in the ultimate divine reality for your own spiritual good.”63rd verse: “You have listened to the great spiritual truth and My instructions. Now, you do whatever you want. Act according to your own conviction and understanding.”There is no compulsion from the teacher, Lord Krishna. He encourages the student to use his own intellect and conviction.64th verse: “I have taught you this great spiritual truth because I consider you as My dear disciple.”65th verse: “If you try to follow this path and be a steadfast devotee, you will attain the highest spiritual enlightenment.”66th verse: “When you feel that all your efforts are in vain, you should very sincerely and mentally give the entire responsibility to God. Then you do not have to worry about anything.”This verse describes the concept of Prapati or Sharanagati. According to Ramanuja, Prapati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapati means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Strong faith that God is the only protector. (5) A feeling of total helplessness and dependence on God (6) Total self-surrender (atmanikshepa). When the first five characteristics are fulfilled, atmanikshepa is the result. He then becomes an instrument in the hands of God and God operates through him.When we link ourselves to a higher ideal, we can develop the ability to remain unaffected from the outcome of our actions. For example, if we did something good to others but they are still ungrateful, we will not be affected.

Title: Buddhi Yoga: Art of Working Intelligently18th Chapter: verses 57, 58, 59, 60, 6157th verse: “Mentally offer all actions to Me. Buddhi Yoga is the tool with which you should live and work in this world.”Buddhi Yoga refers to purified intellect. It is the higher faculty of the human mind that enables us to perform our actions without obsessive attachment to the outcome. Our actions sometimes yield favorable results and sometimes unfavorable results. When the mind reacts to unfavorable results, we become anxious. Buddhi Yoga enables us to remain calm even if results are not favorable.The 1st and 2nd verses of the 4th chapter refer to Rajarshi. Rajarshi is a person who has the dual qualities of a king (Rajatvam) and a saint (Rishitvam). As a king, he has great prosperity, dynamism and efficiency. As a saint, he has a calm attitude, can see far into things, and understands the limitations and impermanence of his wealth and powers. Buddhi Yoga means working with the refined intelligence of a Rajarshi.From an advaitic sense, Buddhi Yoga means living and working in this world with the understanding of the transient  nature of the empirical world.The 25th verse of the 3rd chapter contrasts two types of people. (1) Those who work hard with motive and are ignorant of the higher philosophy of Karma-Yoga. For them, every small problem becomes a big headache (2) Those who work equally hard, but who are grounded in Karma-Yoga, and see their work as Swadharma. They are not worried and are called Vidwan.58th verse: “Anyone who practices karma yoga or buddhi yoga can cross the barrier of samsara (transmigratory cycle).”The 59th and 60th verses take us back to the original narrative of Gita, where Arjuna was facing conflicts as he did not want to do an unpleasant duty. Lord Krishna says: “If instead of practicing karma yoga, you think you can run away from your duty, that is your fantasy. Your own swabhava will compel you to do the duty.”Swabhava is our inherent nature that determines our outlook to life and our actions. Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. Samskaras express through our determination to act in a certain manner, called Sankalpa. Sankalpa leads to further actions. This wheel continues, and it shapes our Swabhava.We can change our swabhava by consciously doing good actions and increasing the storehouse of positive samskaras.In the 61st verse, Lord Krishna puts forward a new idea. He compared God to an engineer and says: “He is running this huge machinery of creation. He is present in everyone as one immanent reality. He regulates and activates every being just like an engineer regulates and activates a machine.”God is omnipresent through immanence. Creator is present in creation. Neither is outside of the other.Spiritually, the entire existence is one. one who is truly spiritual cannot hurt any being. There is no otherness for him.Happiness is only the temporary absence of unhappiness. When we reach a state of mind, where we have santosha (contentment), we stop looking for happiness. We go beyond the happiness and unhappiness equation. That is true happiness.

Title: Universal Approach of Gita18th Chapter: verses 56, 57, 58, 59Gita offers four paths for spiritual realization: Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Dhyana Yoga.56th verse: “Surrender all your actions and results to Me. Then My grace will take you to the highest spiritual destination.”57th verse: “Mentally offer all actions to Me. Your life will be spiritualized through this philosophy of dedication and internal detachment.”58th verse: “If your fix your mind on Me, you will overcome difficulties through My grace.”Gita encourages us to live life in such a way that we become good human beings. Everything we do should become a path of worship and leads to highest enlightenment.Mahatma Gandhi was inspired by Gita. He said: “Gita has become an infallible guide of my conduct. It has become the dictionary of my daily reference, the dictionary of my conduct. It has the ready solution for all my troubles and trials.”The 57th verse refers to Buddhi Yoga. It is the wisdom and spiritual common sense with which we live in the world. We keep in mind that everything in the world is impermanent – money, power, health are all impermanent. Buddhi Yoga is also mentioned in the 39th verse of the 2nd chapter ofGita – it says that we should do all our actions with a degree of detachment.Buddhi Yoga helps us conserve energy. Our energy gets dissipated when we get anxious and worried due to obsessive attachment to results.These two verses have references to both karma yoga and bhakti yoga. Bhakti is spontaneous, natural flow of love towards God. The 26th verse of the 9th chapter says: “If you offer with bhakti (devotion) even a leaf or flower or fruit or water – I accept it as the devout gift of the pure hearted devotee.”Bhakti and purity of heart is what is important – it is what compels the Lord to accept the offering. A big ritual is in no way superior to a leaf offered with a pure heart. What we are offering is not a leaf or flower – we are offering ourselves and our own heart, which is what the Lord cares about.Bhagavata Purana and Gita both define the highest devotee of God. Bhagavata Purana defines it as: “The one who sees the presence of God in all beings, and who sees the presence of all beings in God.“  Gita defines the highest devotee as one whose “every thought becomes a meditation, every word becomes a mantra, every action becomes an act of worship, every travel becomes a pilgrimage, every movement becomes a circumambulation around the deity, whose whole life becomes spiritualized and an offering to God.”When we can do all our secular activities in a spiritual manner, our karmic blocks are dismantled. A beginner's mind may not cooperate when he starts spiritual practices. This is due to accumulated samskaras which make him act in a certain manner. He may want to read a spiritual book, but the mind presents stumbling blocks – it is accustomed to things that are not conducive to spiritual life. Such a mind should be given healthy food first, such as reading good books, listening to higher ideas and holy association.How can we judge whether our mind is healthy? The answer is in an ancient ayurvedic verse from Sushruta Samhita: “sama dosha sama agnischa sama dhatu mala kriyaaha| Prasanna atma indriya manaha swastha iti abhidheeyate”. It says that the mind is healthy when it is contented, enjoys inner serenity. This happens when we do start doing our actions endowed with Buddhi Yoga.Spirituality goes beyond religion. One who is truly spiritual (1) feels inner contentment, and (2) interacts with others in a positive manner. He feels inner serenity and at the same time is a blessing for others.Gita takes a universal approach towards spirituality. It is not confined to the walls of a place of worship. A spiritual person treats the entire creation as one spiritual family, not limited to human beings. He does not violate the existing harmony of nature. He is not afraid of anyone nor is anyone afraid of him.Gita is a dialog between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in a battlefield. The battlefield is the human mind. Arjuna wanted to shy away from a duty that was unpleasant to him. So, Lord Krishna tells him in the 59th verse: “Everyone should perform their duty with dedication and without attachment top results. If you think that running away from duty will solve your problems, you are mistaken. Your own nature will compel you to do your duty (fight).”Action is inescapable. How we face our action is what matters. No one can remain mentally inactive even for a split moment. The attitude with which we perform our actions determines whether the action is secular or spiritual. 

Title: Bhakti and Self-Surrender18th Chapter: verses 54, 55, 5654th verse: “The one who does his work with sanctity and sacredness, he ultimately become a Prasanna-atma. He becomes identified with Brahman. He has no desires and no reason to worry. He sees everyone as the same. Such a person attains the highest devotion.”A true devotee of God has equanimity of mind and serenity. He is not shattered by what happens outside. He experiences identity with Brahman and is established in a state of perfect contentment.Great spiritual personalities, such as Jesus Christ, were able to withstand obstacles because of the serenity within.The 13th verse of the 12th chapter lists the characteristics of a devotee. He is contented and derives joy from the fact that he is a devotee of God. He has strong determination to pursue his spiritual goals.God is not mentioned in the 54th verse. Spirituality is about being a good human being, which should express in our thoughts, words and actions. Swami Vivekananda said: “Live life in such a way that Good will accept you even if you do not accept Him.”What is the idea of God in the Gita? It is the God of everyone, present as the divine principle within everyone. He is the God of even those who do not believe in Him.55th verse: “Such a person understands Me through Bhakti (devotion). His devotion is mixed with the understanding that God is present everywhere and within everyone. With such devotion that is combined with the understanding of the spiritual unity of creation, he understands God or the supreme reality in a comprehensive manner.”There are two levels of Bhakti: Sadhana bhakti and sadhya bhakti. Sadhana bhakti is the means and sadhya bhakti is the goal. Bhakti is the means towards Advaitic realization, when we see God as the transcendental principle that is immanent and present everywhere.During the early stages of Sadhana Bhakti, one should have strong determination. All great spiritual men and women has strong determination. With this determination, they promoted their ego to a spiritual ego. The ego: “I am a devotee” ultimately takes us out of ego. Sri Ramakrishna said: “You cannot root out ego. Therefore, you should give the ego a good job to do.”56th verse: “Surrender all your actions and results to Me. Then My grace will take you to the highest spiritual destination.”When we hit a dead wall with our own self-effort, we should surrender ourselves and give him the entire responsibility to a higher power. Then we become a tool in the hands of the higher power. All doubts vanish and karmic blocks are dismantled.A beginner's mind may not cooperate when he starts spiritual practices. This is due to accumulated samskaras which make him act in a certain manner. He may want to read a spiritual book, but the mind presents karmic blocks. At that time, he should surrender to a higher power.According to Ramanuja, Prapati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapati means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Strong faith that God is the only protector. (5) A feeling of total helplessness and dependence on God (6) Total self-surrender (atmanikshepa). When the first five characteristics are fulfilled, atmanikshepa is the result. He then becomes an instrument in the hands of God and God operates through him.In the 66th verse of 18th chapter, Lord Krishna describes the spiritual psychology of self-surrender. He says to Arjuna: “Give up all duties and take refuge in Me. Then you don't have to worry about anything.”Actions done expectation of results bind us. If we do the same actions without selfish desires, then the actions do not bind us. Every action can be done in a spiritual manner.Gita has a lot of repetitions because it is a dialog between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, and Arjuna did not fully understand Lord Krishna's teachings in earlier chapters.According to Patanjali Yoga Sutras, a spiritual seeker should practice friendliness (Maitri) towards fellow spiritual seekers, practice compassion (Karuna) towards those who are less evolved, practice happiness (Mudita) towards those who are more evolved and practice a filtering attitude (Upeksha) towards those who may shake his faith.

18th Chapter: verse 45, 54, 55. 12th chapter: verse 8, 9, 10, 11. 13th chapter: verse 1045th verse: “By engaging in one's own swadharma, man attains perfection and the highest inner fulfillment.”If we dedicate our resources to our appointed duty, and if we do it with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, and with total unselfishness, then that attitude becomes our instrument for our own spiritual enlightenment. It means that we can practice spirituality in whatever activity we are engaged in.This discussion continues until the 53rd verse.54th verse: “The one who does his work with sanctity and sacredness, he ultimately become a Prasanna-atma. He becomes identified with Brahman. He has no desires and no reason to worry. He sees everyone as the same. Such a person attains the highest devotion.”Prasanna-atma means he is in very good terms with our mind and he feels serenity within. He has zero conflict within and with others. His mind is free from all negativities. Prasanna means serene, at peace, with inner contentment and without desires for anything.Even-mindedness is a natural state of a Prasanna-atma. He resonates spiritual blessedness within and with everyone.God is not mentioned in the 45th or 54th verse. Spirituality is about being a good human being, which should express in our thoughts, words and actions.Human beings create God in their own image. They attribute their own likes, dislikes and prejudices on their idea of God.What is the idea of God in the Gita? It is the God of everyone, present as the divine principle within everyone. He is the God of even those who do not believe in Him.Swami Vivekananda said: “Live life in such a way that Good will accept you even if you do not accept Him.”55th verse: “Such a person understands Me through Bhakti (devotion). His devotion is mixed with the understanding that God is present everywhere and within everyone. With such devotion that is combined with the understanding of the spiritual unity of creation, he understands God or the supreme reality in a comprehensive manner.”Our scriptures give a roadmap of how to reach the level of devotion described in the 55th verse. In the 8th through 11th verses of the 12th chapter of Gita, Lord Krishna gives four options for devotion, in descending order of evolution.8th verse: “You fix your mind and intellect on Me. There upon, you will always live in Me.” This is the highest state of a devotee that is also described in the 55th verse of the 18th chapter, where he keeps his mind and intellect fixed on God. He then lives in God and God lives in him.For seekers who have not reached this highest state, Lord Krishna provides alternative options in the 9th-11th verses.9th verse: “If you cannot fix your mind and intellect on Me, then you can reach the higher goal through Abhyasa-Yoga (uniting with God through repeated spiritual practices).”Abhyasa-Yoga is described by Prahlada in the Bhagavata Purana. It is called Navadha Bhakti - Sravanam (Hearing about God), Kirtanam (Chanting His Name and Glory), Vishnu smaranam (Remembering Him), Pada sevanam (Serving His Lotus Feet), Archanam (Worshipping Him), Vandanam (Prostrating before Him), Dasyam (Being His Servant), Sakhyam (Befriending Him), and Atma Nivedanam (Surrendering to Him).10th verse: “If you are incapable of doing Abhyasa-Yoga, then do all your work as My work.” Every such work connects the mind with God and helps the devotee evolve.11th verse: “If you are unable to do your work as My work, then offer the fruits of all your actions to Me (sarva-karma-phala-tyāgam)”.These represent the four levels of spiritual evolution. Through Bhakti, we reach the highest state where Prapati or self-surrender (describes at the ninth discipline in Navadha Bhakti) becomes natural.According to Ramanuja, Prapati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapati means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Strong faith that God is the only protector. (5) A feeling of total helplessness and dependence on God (6) Total self-surrender (atmanikshepa).When the first five characteristics are fulfilled, atmanikshepa is the result. He then becomes an instrument in the hands of God and God operates through him.The devotee needs to blend his own effort with God's grace. Self-effort helps him reach a level of spiritual fitness to become graceworthy and recognize God's grace as God's grace, not an accident.The 10th verse of the 13th chapter expounds the idea that the highest devotion, unwavering dedication to one spiritual ideal, is the same as highest knowledge, where we realize the infinite oneness of existence, when we realize that the same truth is all-pervading, transcendent, and immanent in all beings. The devotee realizes that the God he worships in the temple is in the hearts of everyone.There are a few billion people in the world, each at a different level of evolution. Their understanding of God depends on their own evolution. Hinduism gives the flexibility to use a symbol that pleases the devotee based on his level of evolution.All deities worshipped by Hindus are different symbols of the same divine reality. The purpose of the image is to help the devotee in his meditation. The devotee withdraws his mind from external objects, he conceives of the presence of the divine principle in that image, he then worships and meditates on the divine principle in that image chanting his mantra, and ultimately, he meditates on the divine principle present within him and everywhere.Every religion has a symbol. A book is a symbol. A building is a symbol. When someone prays in a direction, that direction is a symbol. 

Title: Intellect With Spiritual Wisdom18th Chapter: verse 45, 47, 51, 52, 5345th verse: “By engaging in one's own swadharma, man attains perfection and the highest inner fulfillment.”Swadharma, is work that naturally comes to us “unasked” due to our samskaras and natural traits. It is work that we are supposed to do, that we are qualified to do and that the society expects us to do.We can listen to our inner voice to determine whether we are doing our swadharma. When we do our swadharma, we feel inner contentment. When we do not do our swadharma, we face inner conflict.Swakarma refers to one's actions. Swadharma is swakarma combined with one's chosen ideal, something that gives him contentment. For example, when a soldier fights a war for a higher ideal such as removal of a greater injustice, he follows his swadharma.According to Gita, our spiritual progress should reflect in our actions.We can convert our everyday activities as a tool for spiritual development. Whatever we do, if we do with total dedication and with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, we get a sense of fulfillment and inner conflicts are resolved. If we cannot do our duty as an offering to God, we can do it for the good of others. Swadharma is a conflict free way of doing our everyday duty.47th verse: “Even if doing one's own swadharma is filled with difficulties or imperfection, one should stick to that. One should avoid the temptation to do other people's duty.”Society expects us to do our role even if it is imperfect. When we do our swadharma, it loosens our karmic blocks. A beginner's mind may not cooperate when he starts spiritual practices. This is due to karmic blocks which creates conflict between the mind and the intellect. When we do our swadharma, it generates spiritual energy and loosens the karmic blocks.When we do our Swadharma, we feel inner contentment. We feel: “I have done what I ought to have done” and “I have attained what I ought to have attained.”51st verse: “One becomes fit to attain the highest spiritual truth when he has (1) a pure intellect (2) the ability to restrain his senses (3) the ability to control his mind and emotional forces with a strong determination to practice his ideal and (4) attained freedom from raga (obsessive attachment) and dwesha (obsessive aversion).”Intellect that acts just as intellect is not necessarily pure. Intellect that acts as wisdom, which has the higher faculty of wisdom to use the intellectual resources for good, higher purpose is a pure intellect.A Rajarshi has the ability to use his intellectual resources for higher purpose. He attains Rajatvam (kingly qualities) with his intellectual resources. He attains Rishitvam (saintly qualities) with his wisdom. As a king, he has great prosperity, dynamism and efficiency. As a saint, he has a calm attitude, can see far into things, and understands the limitations and impermanence of his wealth and powers.Knowledge without wisdom becomes a liability. Knowledge with wisdom becomes a creative force. Betrand Russell said: “Unless we develop wisdom as much as intellect, the development of the intellect will only lead to downfall.”Vedic literature talks of a deity called Medha. Medha has two meanings: (1) The ability to retain higher ideas in the mind (2) Higher faculty to make proper use of what we know and avoid the temptation to use it for a bad purpose.In the 51st verse, Yukta means self-restrained, one who is the master of the senses. Kathopanishad compares human life to a journey on a chariot. Atman is the traveler on the chariot, body is the chariot, intellect is the driver, mind is the reins, senses are the horses, and the sense objects represent the path. Just as horses should not dictate terms to the rider, so also, sense organs should not dictate the terms to the mind.Shankaracharya uses examples from the animal kingdom to explain how one reaches destruction when guided by the senses - Deer (sense of hearing), Elephant (sense of touch). Moth (sense of seeing), Fish (sense of taste), Bee (sense of smell). Each of these creatures reaches death as they are guided by one of their senses. What to speak of humans who have five senses active all the time.If the intellect is pure, then we become free from raga (obsessive attachment) and dwesha (obsessive aversion). A pure intellect enables us to perform our actions as Swadharma – with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and with a sense of detachment. This, in turn, gives us mental equilibrium, and frees us from raga and dwesha.52nd verse: “Such people with higher faculties like to spend their time in solitude. They practice moderation in food and exercise of the senses. Their words, activity and thought are properly restrained. They practice meditation. They develop a sense of detachment from extreme likes and dislikes. They develop mental equilibrium.”Solitude is a spiritual quality and different from loneliness. Solitude is not just the physical absence of anyone else. It is the mental and emotional state of being with oneself. When the mind and intellect start functioning with inner peace, the person wants to spend time in solitude. Such a person can practice solitude even within a crowd.As we grow in spiritual life, our eating habits, thoughts and senses are naturally disciplined.53rd verse: ”In such people, egoism, thirst for power, inner pride, lust, tendency to possess material things, selfishness – they slowly disappear. They naturally become calm and quiet. This leads them to the highest spiritual wisdom.”In Gita, there is an evolution of Arjuna's mind. In the first chapter, he wants to run away from an unpleasant duty. By the 18th chapter, all his doubts are gone.

18th Chapter: verse 45, 46, 47, 48, 4945th verse: “By engaging in one's own swadharma, man attains perfection and the highest inner fulfillment.”Swadharma, is work that naturally comes to us “unasked”, by virtue of our samskaras and natural traits. We feel such work is our calling/duty. When we do our Swadharma, we find contentment and a sense of fulfillment.Sometimes the work that we are trained for is the same as our swadharma. But sometimes it is not. It is important to engage our mind in some activity that gives us a sense of fulfillment – by doing so, we engage in our swadharma, which helps cultivate a friendly mind.Mind is our friend when it instinctively guides us on the spiritual path and gives us warning signals when undesirable thoughts emerge. The mind which has moved us away from our natural tendency to do what is good for us, and which creates stumbling blocks when we want to implement a change for the good – such a mind is our enemy.Whatever we do, if we do with total dedication and with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, we get a sense of fulfillment. This way we can spiritualize all secular activities.A verse in Mahabharata says: “Our body, mind, intellect – all can be used to attain something immortal. These are non-eternal, but they can be used as resources to attain spiritually everlasting fulfillment.”The 46th verse refers to the highest concept of Truth and how we can attain that highest Truth by doing our Swadharma. This highest concept is a spiritual reality that is all-pervading, immanent and transcendental.As we evolve in spiritual life, our idea of God evolves. In the beginning, we think of a creator God, confined to a place of worship and a book. At the highest level, we see it as the spiritual reality that is all-pervading, immanent and transcendental.In the beginning, there is a line of demarcation between the secular and spiritual. At the highest level, every secular activity is given a spiritual orientation – the line of demarcation between secular and spiritual disappears. We look upon every act as an act of worship. We look upon every living being and the whole phenomenal world as an expression of the divine. Such a person attains the highest inner fulfillment.47th verse: “There are certain types of work that are determined by our samskaras, that we want to do and that gives us contentment. That alone is our chosen role (swadharma). Even if doing one's own chosen role is filled with difficulties or imperfection, one should stick to that. One should avoid the temptation to do other people's duty.”Vedanta believes in the law of karma and the doctrine of reincarnation. Every action that we do is determined by our swabhava and samskaras.Swabhava is our inherent nature that determines our outlook to life and our actions. Swabhava is based on our samskaras.  Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. Samskaras express through our determination to act in a certain manner, called Sankalpa. Sankalpa leads to further actions. This wheel continues, and it shapes our Swabhava.In spiritual life, we are all individual travelers gathering samskaras in each life and shaping our Swabhava. Our journey comes to an end when we experience and realize our true identity as the Atman.48th verse: “Fire is invariably mixed with smoke. Similarly, every kind of work is invariably mixed with some imperfection and inconvenience. Sometimes the results of the activity are favorable and sometimes not. Therefore, one should never give up one's swadharma despite the challenges.”Rajarshi is a person who has the dual qualities of a king (Rajatvam) and a saint (Rishitvam). As a king, he has great prosperity, dynamism and efficiency. As a saint, he has a calm attitude, can see far into things, and understands the limitations and impermanence of his wealth and powers.In a rajarshi, the philosophical aspect comes from sattva guna and the kingly aspect comes from rajo guna. His rajo guna is dominated and regulated by sattva guna. One has to understand where he stands and start climbing the ladder from tamo guna to rajo guna to sattva guna.49th verse: “One should do his actions without obsessive attachment to material things. One should practice self-restraint through control of the mind and the five senses. One should keep in mind the impermanence of the empirical world. Once this impermanence is kept in mind, it helps us develop a unique spiritual common sense which is the most important characteristic of a Rajarshi. This spiritual common sense ultimately helps us get freedom from desires for undesirable things.”Advaita is not an intellectual concept – it is a matter of experience. One has to travel a long distance from concept to experience. We evolve from life to life. When we do our work without attachment, our mind becomes pure, and advaitic experience will ultimately be the result. Anyone can start the journey at any moment by beginning to do their secular activities with a spiritual attitude.

18th Chapter: verse 40, 41, 42, 43, 4440th verse: “Everyone in this world is dictated by these three gunas.”Lord Krishna divides human traits in three areas – sattvic, rajasik and tamasik.A sattvic person is calm and serene even in difficult situations. A rajasik person is swayed by his circumstances. A tamasik person is lazy, confused and deluded.The sattvic person has emotional equanimity. He is not elated in success and he is not devastated in failure. The rajasic person is swayed by success and failure.Lord Krishna discusses these traits because he wants us to combine action with mental equilibrium. Understanding that everything in this world is transient – success, failure, heath and so on – we should develop an attitude that helps us remain in perfect equanimity of mind even in difficult situations.The 41st verse onwards, Lord Krishna discusses four groups of people based on people's innate spiritual qualities (gunas). These four groups are: (1) Brahmana (2) Kshatriya (3) Vaishya (4) Sudra.In Hindu tradition, there were also four stages of human life and four values which guide human life.The four stages of human life are Brahmacharya (student), Grhastha (householder), Vanaprastha (forest hermitage) and Sannyasa (renunciate). Manu Smriti says that when one sees the face of his grandchild, when his face begins to wrinkle and when his hair begins to turn grey, he should retire to a life of hermitage.The four values that guide human life are dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Kama represents our desires, what we want to achieve. Artha represents the means to achieve those goals. Dharma represents a set of moral disciplines that guide and regulate our pursuit of artha and kama. Moksha represents the highest value in human existence and means liberation from the bondage of samsara.42nd verse: “Who is a brahmana? Lord Krishna lists the following qualities: Shama (control of mind), dama (control of the senses), Tapah (austerities for a higher purpose), saucha (mental and physical purity), kshantih (forbearance), uprightness, jnanam (natural inclination for knowledge), vijnanam (realization), astikyam (belief in the law of karma and doctrine of reincarnation).43rd verse: “Who is a Kshatriya? Lord Krishna lists the following qualities: ambition for power, boldness, fortitude, dexterity, not running away from battle, generosity, assertion of freedom.”44th verse: “Who is a Vaishya? Lord Krishna lists the following duties: agriculture, cattle rearing and trade – an inclination to do business and acquire wealth.” In the midst of earning wealth, the Vaishya may engage in higher duties such as charity. These duties are based on the social circumstances that prevailed when Gita was written.44th verse: “Who is a Sudra? Lord Krishna lists the following duties: not interested in higher values, want to do simple service.”Lord Krishna lists these four groups to represent four levels of human evolution. We can always climb up the ladder, acquire sattvic qualities, and become a Brahmana.Shankaracharya defines Brahmana as one who has a dominance of Sattva-guna and in whom Rajo guna is secondary.Shankaracharya defines Kshatriya as one who has a dominance of Rajo-guna, and in whom sattva-guna is secondary.Shankaracharya defines Vaishya as one who has a dominance of Rajo-guna, and in whom tamo-guna is secondary.Shankaracharya defines Sudra as one who has a dominance of Tamo-guna, and in whom Rajo-guna is secondary.Highest spiritual evolution happens when we transcend the three gunas. Such a person is called Guṇātita. One has to be fully established in sattva guna to transcend the three gunas.In spiritual life, we are all individual travelers. Just like someone traveling in a train meets other travelers – similarly, it is an accidental meeting with our near and dear ones in this life. Our journey comes to an end when we experience and realize our true identity as the Atman.

Title: The Three Traits of Karta18th Chapter: verse 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27Gita is a condensation of the entire vedic literature. The 18th chapter is a condensation of entire Gita.Lord Krishna divides human traits in three areas – sattvic, rajasik and tamasik.Jnanam (knowledge), karta (doer), karma (action) and buddhi (intellect) – all can be divided into these three traits. Jnanam refers to our perception of life, how we interpret life. Karma is any kind of activity that we engage in. Karta is how we act and define ourselves in terms of what we do. Buddhi refers to the workings of our emotional system. If we understand our traits in all of these four areas, we can transform and improve ourselves.We can infer which trait is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament. A sattvik person is calm and serene even in difficult situations. A rajasik person is swayed by his circumstances. A tamasik person is dull and non-responsive., not understanding what is happening around him.These traits can also be applied to food. Sattvik food keeps us serene. Rajasik food creates excitement. Tamasik food makes us sleepy, confused and deluded.The 20th, 21st and 22nd verses discuss the three levels of refinement of knowledge - sattvik, rajasik and tamasik. They discuss how people with these three gunas comprehend different situations.The 20th verse describes the sattvik nature of knowledge. “That knowledge by which one sees the one supreme reality which is immanent, which is all-pervading, which remains the same without division, which is the indweller in every being, is Sattvik knowledge.” Even when perceiving the differences in the world, he keeps in mind the presence of the divine as the unifying factor everywhere.21st verse: “That knowledge by which one sees everything as different from everything else, by which one sees certain people as eternally good and certain people as eternally bad, is rajasik knowledge.”22nd verse: “There are people who may have a small, petty idea, which may be irrational, but still, they think that their perception alone is correct. Everything else is false. The knowledge of such people is tamasik.”The 23rd, 24th and 25th verses discuss the three levels of refinement of actions - sattvik, rajasik and tamasik. The way we act and perform our responsibilities is also a sign of spiritual growth.23rd verse: “When we do our actions considering it as our sacred duty, without extreme attachment, without aversion to anyone, without any selfish expectations of benefits – such action is sattvik.”24th verse: “Actions that are done with selfish desire, and which are done with strain to the mental system, are rajasik.”Actions done without selfish motives and attachment keeps the mind tranquil. Actions done with selfish motives and attachment unsettles our mind and emotional system.25th verse: “People who are reckless and ruthless, who do not worry about consequences, who are slaves of their impulses, who do not worry about loss of money or resources, who do not worry about whether their actions bring harm to others, who want to finish the action at any cost – their actions are tamasik.”Lord Krishna describes Karma Yoga as a method by which we can make ourselves sattvik. At a mental level, we do not have control over what thought comes next. At a physical level, we have more freedom. By doing noble activities without selfish motives, in the midst of our normal professional duties, we generate spiritual energy and deposit more sattvik properties in the mental system.The 26th, 27th and 28th verses discuss the three levels of refinement of karta (doer) - sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.26th verse: “Who is a sattvik karta? He is totally devoid of any attachment. He does a lot of good things but does not identify himself as the doer.”If we engage in a lot of work without sense of doer ship, we are not fatigued. The body may take a toll, but the mind stays fresh.Shankaracharya says: “The kindergarten of spiritual life is to engage in some good noble activity.” That approach is described in the 26th verse. It turns the mind sattvik.At the age of seven,  Shankaracharya  became a monk. By the age of eight, he had read the scriptures. By the age of sixteen, he had mastered the scriptures and written philosophical discourses. We read the Gita today because of his commentaries. He walked the Indian subcontinent four times and left by the age of thirty-two. Sister Nivedita says on Shankaracharya's greatness: “This is greatness that we can only appreciate from a distance but can never understand.”27th verse: “Who is rajasik karta? His mind moves from one polar opposite to another, from extreme joy to depression. When he gets expected results, he is overjoyed (harsha). When he does not get expected results, he is depressed (shoka). Obsessed by what he is doing, he is mentally fatigued.”The secret to happiness is to stop looking for happiness all the time.The way to get rid of obsessive attachment is to feed the mind with great spiritual ideas, give it good mental food.

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.Gunas are not visible and cannot be physically verified. We can infer which guna is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament. A sattvic person is calm and serene even in difficult situations. A rajasic person is swayed by his circumstances. A tamasic person is dull and non-responsive., not understanding what is happening around him.The 20th, 21st and 22nd verses discuss the three levels of refinement of knowledge - sattvik, rajasik and tamasic. They discuss how people with these three gunas comprehend different situations.The 20th verse describes the Sattvik nature of knowledge. “That knowledge by which one sees the one supreme reality which is immanent, which is all-pervading, which remains the same without division, which is the indweller in every being, is Sattvik knowledge.”The person endowed with sattvik knowledge sees unity and oneness behind diversity. He sees humanity as one spiritual family. Even when perceiving the differences in the world, he keeps in mind the presence of the divine as the unifying factor everywhere.This was the central theme of Swami Vivekananda's talk in Chicago in 1983 at the Parliament of Religions. He emphasized the spiritual unity and oneness of creation.21st verse: “That knowledge by which one sees everything as different from everything else, by which one sees certain people as eternally good and certain people as eternally bad, is Rajasik knowledge.”The sattvik person also sees the differences, but he understands that the differences are not eternal. They are due to different temperaments driven by the three gunas. Behind them, he sees the unifying divine reality. The rajasik person sees the differences as eternal.Sri Ramakrishna and Jesus Christ were born in two different cultures, spoke different languages, wore different types of dresses and used different parables. But behind these differences, there was unity at the spiritual level. The rajasic person overlooks the unifying principle and focuses on the differences. The sattvik person focuses on the unity. It is a matter of our spiritual evolution.,22nd verse: “There are people who may have a small, petty idea, which may be irrational, but still they believe in that idea as being very great and are attached to it, and they think everyone should accept that idea, even though the idea is tribalistic and not humanistic – the knowledge of such people is Tamasik.”The 23rd, 24th and 25th verses discuss the three levels of refinement of actions - sattvik, rajasik and tamasic. The way we act and perform our responsibilities is also a sign of spiritual growth.Shankaracharya says in his commentaries: “The same divine principle is present in all living beings. It is called Atman. The way the Atman functions could be different from person to person, but the same Atman is present in all, as it is all-pervading. The differences in human emotions and feelings reflects in the way we deal with others.”For example, in the 20th verse of the 17th chapter, Lord Krishna describes the sattvik level of charity. “Charity done with the attitude “It is my duty to help this person”, done in the right manner without any expectation of return, given to someone who is in need of it, who will use it for constructive purpose, and done at the right place and time – such charity is Sattvik.”In the 22nd verse of the 17th chapter, Lord Krishna says: “Charity done at the wrong place, at the wrong time, or to unworthy person or without regard for rules and etiquette – such charity is Tamasik.”23rd verse of 18th chapter: “When we do our actions considering it as our sacred duty, without extreme attachment, without aversion to anyone, without any selfish expectations of benefits – such action is Sattvik.”Actions done without selfish motives and attachment keeps the mind tranquil and become a steppingstone and great help in our spiritual life. Actions done with selfish motives and attachment unsettles our mind and emotional system and take us backward in spiritual life.24th verse: “Actions that are done with selfish desire, and which are done with strain to the mental system, are Rajasik.”Such actions may give us empirical success, but they are accompanied by agony and anxiety. Workaholics are an example as they perform their actions with lot of calculations and expectations.25th verse: “People who are reckless and ruthless, who do not worry about consequences, who are slaves of their impulses, who do not worry about loss of money or resources, who do not worry about whether their actions bring harm to others, who want to finish the action at any cost – their actions are tamasik.” 

Title: The Three Levels of Intellect and Happiness18th Chapter: verse 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 37, 38, 39Lord Krishna divides human traits in three areas – sattvic, rajasik and tamasik.Jnanam (knowledge), karta (doer), karma (action), buddhi (intellect) and sukham (happiness) – all can be divided into these three traits.We can infer which trait is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament. A sattvik person is calm and serene even in difficult situations. A rajasik person is swayed by his circumstances. A tamasik person is dull and non-responsive., not understanding what is happening around him.The 26th, 27th and 28th verses discuss the three levels of refinement of karta (doer) - sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.26th verse: “Who is a sattvik karta? He is totally devoid of any attachment. He does a lot of good things but does not identify himself as the doer.”If we engage in a lot of work without sense of doer ship, we are not fatigued. The body may take a toll, but the mind stays fresh.27th verse: “Who is rajasik karta? His mind moves from one polar opposite to another, from extreme joy to depression. When he gets expected results, he is overjoyed (harsha). When he does not get expected results, he is depressed (shoka). Obsessed by what he is doing, he is mentally fatigued.”28th verse: “Who is tamasik karta? He is totally disturbed, crude, without politeness, dishonest, malicious, indolent, never in a happy mood, arrogant and perpetually procrastinating.”The tamasik karta is always unhappy seeing the whole world as his enemy and seeing the whole world as doing injustice to him.The 30th, 31st and 32nd verses discuss the three levels of refinement of buddhi (intellect) - sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.30th verse: “What is an example of sattvik, most refined intellect? That intellect by which one knows what ought to be done, how it ought to be done, what ought not to be done, how to begin and retire from work, and how to combine action and contemplation, how to avoid actions that create bondage, is sattvik.”Work can bring desires and ambitions that are not helpful. One should do his duty properly but have the ability to say “NO” to his own mind.According to Patanjali Yoga Sutras, a spiritual seeker should practice friendliness (Maitri) towards fellow spiritual seekers, practice compassion (Karuna) towards those who are less evolved, practice happiness (Mudita) towards those who are more evolved and practice a filtering attitude (Upeksha) towards those who may shake his faith.31st verse: “What is an example of rajasik intellect? That intellect by which one mixes up dharma (righteousness) and adharma (unrighteousness),  by which one does not have the discerning wisdom to choose what is to be done and what is to be avoided, is rajasik.”32nd verse: “What is an example of tamasik intellect? That intellect which enveloped in ignorance and delusion covers the truth and sees everything in an inverted way, which considers dharma as adharma and adharma as dharma, which deliberately thinks that doing something wrong is the best thing for the world, is tamasik.”In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana says: “I know what the right thing is to do, but I cannot do that. I know what the wrong thing is to do, but I cannot resist from doing it.”People with tamasik intellect have an obsession to do something which eventually brings their own downfall.How do we know that we are following the path of dharma? We feel inner tranquility and contentment. We feel – “I have done what I ought to have done and I have attained what I ought to have attained.”The 37th, 38th and 39th verses discuss the three levels of refinement of sukham (happiness) - sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.37th verse: “What is the nature of sattvik happiness? Certain activities appear in the beginning to be like poison (difficult and painful), but eventually is like nectar (brings greatness, joy and contentment) – such happiness is sattvik.38th verse: “What is the nature of rajasik happiness? Certain activities which are like nectar in the beginning (which appear to be very pleasant because they are the result of senses and mind coming in contact with objects of enjoyment), but which are like poison in the end (which inevitably lead to unpleasant outcomes) – such happiness is rajasik.39th verse: “What is the nature of tamasik happiness? The happiness which is delusive and unpleasant both in the beginning and in the end, which is the result of laziness, delusion, ignorance, which is the result of understanding dharma as adharma, is tamasik.”To develop bhakti, one should have a strong desire to get out of the cycle of happiness and unhappiness. Second, one should pray to God or engage in karma yoga. Third, one should read about the life and teachings of great spiritual personalities.While the condition of the mind affects our actions, our actions also affect the mind. Good. Noble actions done without a selfish motive generate spiritual energy and create more sattvik qualities in the mind.We always function at the emotional level, not intellectual level. Through spiritual practices, what we know intellectually, we should strive to become our emotional state. 

The 13th, 14th and 15th verses discuss the five factors involved in any kind of activity.14th verse: “In any activity, there are five factors involved. (1) adhiṣhṭhānam – The body-mind-complex, which is the basis of all actions. (2) kartā – the agent of action, which is the jivatma. (3) karaṇam – Different instruments of action, such as the senses of perception and action. (4) pṛithak cheṣhṭāḥ - Different gestures and body movement. (5) daivam – the unknown factor in all activity, which is beyond human grasp.In laboratory science experiments, we can predict the result. But life is beyond human calculations. In life, there is Daivam - an unknown, unpredictable factor that makes life beautiful and worth living.Take the example of aa very successful entrepreneur. In the beginning itself, if he is aware of all the difficulties he has to face in the journey, he may never embark on the journey. The unknown factor and the optimism that the next step may be easier keeps him going.The basis of Daivam is in the law of karma and the doctrine of reincarnation. Daivam is constituted by our own karmas over many life cycles.Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. These Samskaras form our character and determine further actions and influence Daivam (the unknown factor).Positive daivam can be generated by doing unselfish, noble activities, reading of scriptures and through holy associations.15th verse: “Whatever action we perform with our body, speech and mind – whether it be a right or wrong action, these five factors are involved in those action.”An action is good if it produces positive daivam. Its opposite is bad action. The 42nd verse of the 18th chapter describe the characteristics of a person who is inclined to do the right action – withdrawing the mind from temptations, sense control, focused on noble causes, internal and external purity, straightforwardness, learn what is worth learning form the empirical world, strong belief that wrong actions do not help in the future.16th verse: “Those who are with an unrefined intellect and mind identify with the body and have a strong sense of doer ship. They think: “My atma is my body. I should give as much pleasure to this body. They do not understand the daivam aspect.”This verse is a reference to Charvakas, the school of Indian materialism. They taught: “Might is right. We should not believe what we cannot see with our own eyes. Live in the present - don't think of yesterday or tomorrow. Don't think of anything other than giving pleasure to this body.”The true interpretation of “Living in the present” is grounded in the fundamental impermanence of the empirical world. Due to this impermanence, we should focus on the right actions in the present but with a sense of detachment.17th verse: “Those whose mind, body, thoughts are refined by listening to spiritual instructions, they are free from the sense of doer ship. They think: “I am not this body. There is a divine element within me.”18th verse: “Knowledge, the known and the knower – these are the three factors that prompt action. The instrument of action, the action itself and the doer – these are the three constituents of action.”Any activity is prompted by three factors – the knower, what is to be known and the act of knowing. For example, when one meditates, there are three factors: (1) Dhyata – the one who meditates (2) Dhyeya – the object of meditation and (3) Dhyanam – the act of meditation.In the 19th verse, Lord Krishna states that knowledge, action and doer have three levels of refinement – sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.The 20th verse describes the Sattvik nature of knowledge. “That knowledge by which one sees the one supreme reality which is immanent, which is all-pervading, which remains the same without division, which is the indweller in every being, is Sattvik knowledge.”Whatever divides is inferior. Whatever harmonizes is superior. In spiritual path, one progresses from many to one, from plurality to oneness.Vedanta accepts plurality. Behind everything, there is one reality. Diversity is the penultimate stage.Beyond that, at the experience level, there is oneness and unity.Bhakti is a preparatory stage towards the highest advaitic experience.

5th verse: “The three virtues of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up. These three virtues become natural to the enlightened and become the means to those aspiring to be enlightened.”6th verse: “Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed giving up our attachment to the results and our selfish desire to enjoy the results of the work.”Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose.The panchamahayajna should be performed by everyone. These five yajnas are:Brahma Yajna – We perform this yajna when we discuss great ideas and spread the noble idea of spiritual universalism. This is the way we pay back to ancient sages.Pitri Yajna – We perform this yajna when we do rituals to preserve the sacred memory of our ancestors. When we are grateful to our ancestors, we will be able to transmit their values to the next generation. This is the way we pay back to our ancestors.Deva yajna – We perform this yajna when we preserve the memory of divine beings (devas).Bhuta yajna – We perform this yajna when we take care of other living beings (such as animals), nature and earth. We should look upon ourselves as guests of earth, not masters of earth. We should be kind and compassionate to other beings.Nara Yajna - We perform this yajna when we show hospitality to fellow human beings.The panchamahayajna should be practiced by everyone. They are natural to the enlightened. For others, it is a means to get enlightenment.The 4th, 7th, 8th, and 9th verses describe the three forms of tyagas. Of these three, only one is ideal (verse 9) – the other two are not desirable.4th verse: “Relinquishment is of three types – sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.”The 8th verse describes the worst form of tyaga, which is rajasik. “There are a set of people who find work difficult or painful. They provide false justifications for not taking up the tasks that they are expected to do. Then they boast in front of others that they have relinquished.”The 7th verse explains tamasik tyaga. “Those who give up because they are under the wrong notion, who imagine that they can live in peace and meditative mood by running away from their duties and obligations, their relinquishment is tamasik.”The 9th verse describes the ideal way of tyaga. “Those who do not give up work, who perform the actions enjoined by the scriptures, but who mentally renounce the fruits of the work, their tyaga is sattvik.”Our focus should not be on karma-tyaga. Instead, it should be on karma-phala-tyaga. We do not give up work; we transcend work.Giving up work is easy – a lazy person can do it. It is more difficult to do all our duties with full efficiency but without any selfish desire and attachment to the results. Selfish attachment is the most difficult to renounce. Mystics and great spiritual men were always active but had no selfish attachment to results.We can never run away from our core duties and responsibilities. They will follow us. Even if we are physically lazy, the mind will not stay inactive. In fact, people may feel more tired sitting quiet. The best way is to change our perspective towards work, as a sattvik person does. Then work won't bother us.There is an earlier verse in the Gita which compares two brothers. Both work with equal efficiency and are successful. However, one is not attached to success while the other is attached. The former practices the ideal of renunciation and is contented. The other sways between happiness and unhappiness.When we carry a heavy weight on our head, we feel it. However, if a one-millimeter gap is created between the head and the weight, we do not feel it at all. When we are detached from results of actions, it is like creating the one-millimeter gap.10th verse: “A spiritual person endowed with sattva guna is even minded in all forms of action as he has renounced selfish attachment to results. He is free from doubts. He does not blame or praise any form of work, irrespective of whether it leads to temporary happiness or not.”If we do not practice detachment, we may get temporary happiness but not contentment or everlasting happiness. The happiness that we normally experience is only a temporary absence of unhappiness. They are two sides of the same coin. To get to contentment, we have to stop the pursuit of temporary happiness and detach ourselves from the results of action.11th verse: “It is impossible for anyone with body consciousness to remain in total inaction at mental and physical level. One should renounce the fruits of action. He should transcend action by being active at the physical and mental level but identifying with the Atman, knowing that the body and senses are in the hands of a higher power.”In spiritual life, there is a gradual ascent towards transcending action. If someone is lazy, the first stage is to become active with selfish desires. In the next stage, the person can mentally offer the results to God or for the welfare of humanity. This has a healing effect on his mind.The 18th verse of the 4th chapter says: “One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is a Yogi.” He is (1) Buddhiman – wise person, who understands Swadharma (2) Yuktaha – a Yogi (3) Krtsna-Karmakrt – does everything with a smile, unattached.If one identifies himself with Atman, he can remain as if he is inactive, seeing inaction in action. He identifies himself beyond action and inaction.What does action in inaction mean? Inaction in Gita implies withdrawal from action. There is no action for Atman, so there is nothing to withdraw from. One cannot withdraw from action, unless there is action.12th verse: “For those who have not renounced the results of action, they experience results that are threefold: sometimes agreeable, sometimes disagreeable, and sometimes mixed. Those who have renounced the fruits of action, experience no effect on their mental system from their actions.”Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. These Samskaras form our character and determine further actions. The existing storehouse of negative samskaras can be nullified with a new storehouse of positive samskaras. Positive samskaras are generated by doing unselfish, noble activities, reading of scriptures and through holy associations.When we practice attachment towards a higher goal, it helps us practice non-attachment towards the results of our day-to-day actions.

Title: Yajna, Dana and Tapah Should Not be Given Up18th Chapter: verse 3, 4, 5, 6, 73rd verse: “According to Samkhya philosophy, all actions should be given up. According to Mimamsa philosophy, performance of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up.”According to Kapila and Samkhya philosophy, every action is mixed with some imperfection and, therefore, it should be given up. Mimamsa philosophy upholds the views of the vedas and says that Yajna, dana and tapah – activities which serve the good of others – should not be given up.Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose.The 4th verse is a response from Lord Krishna to a request that Arjuna makes in the 7th verse of the 2nd chapter. There Arjuna expresses his helplessness and asks Lord Krishna to tell him what he should do. He surrenders himself to the will of the Lord (prapannam).If a glass is half full of water and we pour milk in it, it will only have 50% milk. However, if we empty the glass and then pour milk, it will have 100% milk. Similarly, when we empty our mind and surrender to God, the mind can then be filled with the pure milk of God's grace.Those who have completely surrendered to God or who have reached the highest spiritual enlightenment, they live in constant communion with God and do not have to worry about dos and don'ts. It is impossible for them to do anything wrong. They are like a pencil which does not assert its independence and only operates as a tool in the master's hands.Those who have not reached the highest level have to be reminded of moral values such as truthfulness, non-stealing, practicing unselfishness, and so on. According to Shankaracharya, whenever scriptures describe characteristics of an enlightened person, these characteristics constitute the road by which we should travel to reach the goal that the enlightened person has reached.5th verse: “The three virtues of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up. These three virtues become natural to the enlightened and become the means to those aspiring to be enlightened.”The panchamahayajna should be performed by everyone. These five yajnas are:Brahma Yajna – We perform this yajna when we discuss great ideas and spread the noble idea of spiritual universalism. This is the way we pay back to ancient sages.Pitri Yajna – We perform this yajna when we do rituals to preserve the sacred memory of our ancestors. When we are grateful to our ancestors, we will be able to transmit their values to the next generation. This is the way we pay back to our ancestors.Deva yajna – We perform this yajna when we preserve the memory of divine beings (devas).Bhuta yajna – We perform this yajna when we take care of other living beings (such as animals), nature and earth. We should look upon ourselves as guests of earth, not masters of earth. We should be kind and compassionate to other beings.Nara Yajna - We perform this yajna when we show hospitality to fellow human beings.The panchamahayajna should be practiced by everyone. They are natural to the enlightened. For others, it is a means to get enlightenment.In the Vishnu Purana, there is a verse, which says: “Those who give up their own Swakarma and Swadharma, who do not take care of their parents and elders, who are cruel to other beings, who treat ancient tradition with a sense of indifference, who break the principles of panchamahayajna, such people are fools as their prayers won't be taken seriously by God.”6th verse: “Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed giving up our attachment to the results and our selfish desire to enjoy the results of the work.”Those who cannot practice total detachment, they should start by performing these activities with attachment. Slowly, they will evolve to naturally be good human beings and will be able to perform these activities without selfish motives.4th and 7th verse: “4th verse: Relinquishment is of three types – sattvik, rajasik and tamasik.” The 7th verse explains tamasik relinquishment. “Those who imagine that they can live in peace and meditative mood by running away from their duties and obligations, they are deluded. Their relinquishment is tamasik.”We can never run away from our core duties and responsibilities. They will follow us. Even if we are physically lazy, the mind will not stay inactive. In fact, people may feel more tired sitting quiet. The best way is to change our perspective towards work, as a sattvik person does. Then work won't bother us.

The 18th chapter is the longest and is about moksha-sannyasa-yoga. It is also considered as a condensation of the previous 17 chapters.Moksha represents the highest value in human existence and means liberation from the bondage of samsara. Sannyasa means giving up the feeling up doer-ship and the renouncement of ego.According to Hindu tradition, four values guide human life – dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Kama represents our desires, what we want to achieve. Artha represents the means to achieve those goals. Dharma represents a set of moral disciplines that guide and regulate our pursuit of artha and kama.When we do not violate the path of dharma, then we can focus on something higher than artha and kama. That gives a new meaning to life. Life becomes more livable and enjoyable.The realization of the imperfections of worldly enjoyments brings about the pursuit of something higher and transcendental. This divine discontent is called Parinama Dukha, and it is the springboard of spiritual wisdom.These are two stages in our pursuit of the transcendental. First stage is one where we use the higher transcendental value to guide our daily life. At a higher stage, we attain the higher transcendental value and become a mendicant.It is important to understand that in Gita, the principles of dharma, artha, kama, and moksha are primarily meant to be applied at an individual level (not at a macro, society level), for one's own spiritual development in everyday life.In Hindu tradition, there is a method of understanding the central theme of a book, which is comprised of six elements: Upakrama-Upasamhara (commencement, conclusion), Abhyasa (practice or reiteration), Apurvata (novelty), Phalam (practical utility), Arthavada (glorifying statement) and Upapatti (logical analysis).Upakrama-Upasamhara – Normally, the beginning and conclusion should be the same. Gita does not begin with a focus on action It starts with Arjuna's dilemma, which was due to ignorance. When this ignorance was removed through knowledge, he became a man of action. Arjuna's last statement in the Gita is: “I am now free of all doubts. I shall act according to your instructions.”Abhyasa – Gita repeatedly talks about efficiency, detachment, bhakti, and karma yoga. It emphasizes that jnanam is necessary to be active in an intelligent manner.Apurvata – If something is stated in Gita but is not stated elsewhere, then it must be the central theme of Gita.Arthavada - Gita ends with the glorifying verse: “Wherever the ideals of action and contemplation are present, there will be victory, prosperity, justice and stability of life.” This verse is a condensation of the 18th chapter.Upapatti – Gita gives a logical analysis to drive the idea: “Live in this world, work for prosperity, but know that this alone will not bring lasting peace and happiness.”The central theme of Gita combines the four values of dharma, artha, kama and moksha.Based on dharma, we should live in this world. Over time, we realize the true status we should give to worldly life and start thinking of higher transcendental values.3rd verse: “According to scholars and sages, performance of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up.”Sannyasa does not mean being physically inactive. Lord Krishna states in the 3rd chapter: “A person who thinks who is active without the idea of yajna, that person gets bound to this world.” Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish activity done for the good of others and as an offering to God – activities done as yajna don't lead to bondage. In the same chapter, Lord Krishna gives a warning: “A person who deliberately gives up his duties and imagines that he is going towards moksha, he is a hypocrite.” All great spiritual men of the word, such as Shankaracharya, were active.The status of householder is supreme in Hindu tradition. It should be understood before we discuss sannyasa. Jainism and Buddhism are oriented towards sannyasa. Hinduism is not a negation of life. Rather it is a balanced approach towards life. Hinduism emphasizes that we should follow the four values: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.Hinduism gives a very high stature to mother and wife. One of Panini's verses says: “If a husband performs a vedic ritual without his wife, it is considered incomplete.” Another verse says: “A house without a mother and wife is like a forest.”There are two levels of Sannyasa. The primary is Mukhya sannyasa, where one takes to sannyasa because of one's natural evolution. Buddha's renunciation and Yajnavalkya's renunciation in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad are examples of such sannyasa. The secondary is Gauna sannyasa, where one is ordained into sannyasa by an institution.Sannyasa does not mean physically giving up wealth and resources. One must give up one's selfish sense of ownership. Without the ideal of renunciation, one won't be able to use his resources for the good of others. The richest man can be a man of renunciation – King Janaka was one such example. On the other hand, the poorest man can be a man of tremendous attachment.Besides Bhagavad Gita, there are other gems in the Mahabharata. One example is Vyadha Gita. Vyadha became a jivan mukta through his spiritual practices. Upon attaining the highest realization, he did not give up his profession as a butcher. He continued his secular activities, fully established in his true spiritual identity. His dialogue with another saint constitutes Vyadha Gita.In the 11th chapter, Arjuna experiences the vision of the universal form of the divine. Lord Krishna shows that all the different creatures, animals, suns, moons, stars, galaxies, human beings, celestial beings – they all originate, exist, dissolve and re-emerge within that cosmic divine form. When Arjuna gets this vision, he is freed from all doubts. He understood that he is not just a body-mind complex with one life.

The 18th chapter is the longest and is about moksha-sannyasa-yoga. It is also considered as a summary of the previous 17 chapters.Moksha means liberation from the bondage of samsara. In modern times, it can be interpreted as liberation from utilitarian values, ultimately reaching a state where we stop searching for continuous happiness, and where we don't suffer from the ups and downs of life.Sannyasa means giving up the feeling up doer-ship and the renouncement of ego.The chapter starts in the first verse with a question from Arjuna. He asks: “What is the nature of Sannyasa and Tyaga? I want to know the distinction between the two.”In previous four chapters, Lord Krishna taught Arjuna that one should give up activities that are rajasic or tamasic in nature and evolve towards sattvic activities. Lord Krishna also says in the 8th verse of the 3rd chapter: “No one can escape the need for action. It is impossible to be in a state of inaction.” So, one the one hand, Lord Krishna says that action is inescapable. On the other hand, he says that one should perform sattvic activities only without desire for results, and one should give up other activities. Arjuna's question is rooted in his confusion as to what actions should be performed.In Hindu tradition, two underlying principles guide human life.The first principle is that every person has to go through four stages of life: Brahmacharya (student), Grhastha (householder), Vanaprastha (forest hermitage) and Sannyasa (renunciate). Manu Smriti says that Grhastha ashrama supports all the other three stages of human life. There is also another verse which says that when one sees the face of his grandchild, when his face begins to wrinkle and when his hair begins to turn grey, he should retire to a life of hermitage. It may take several life cycles for one to reach the stage of sannyasa.The second principle is the division of society based on people's innate spiritual qualities (gunas) and their actions (karmas). The four groups for conduct of duties are: (1) Brahmana (2) Kshatriya (3) Vaishya (4) Sudra. The groups should not be seen as higher or lower. Rather, it is a system to analyze people based on natural temperaments.Those who take to Sannyasa give up all activities related to worldly desire. They only undertake activities that are for the good of others and that have no selfish motive.According to Yamunacharya, who wrote Gitartha Sangraha, the central teaching of the 18th chapter is: “Whatever we do according to the principles laid down by ancient spiritual teachers is appropriate. Whatever we do that is against these principles is inappropriate.” The essence of this statement is to progress in spiritual life by practicing our everyday activities with a sattvic attitude and giving up our sense of doer-ship – “God is acting, I am not acting.”1st verse: Arjuna asks: “I want to know the meaning of Sannyasa and Tyaga.”2nd verse: Lord Krishna answers: Tyaga means giving up the desire for results. Sannyasa means giving up all activities motivated by selfish desire.”There are two levels of Sannyasa. The primary is Mukhya sannyasa, where one takes to sannyasa because of one's natural evolution. The secondary is Gauna sannyasa, where one is ordained into sannyasa by an institution.There is a statement in one of the Upanishads: “When a person wants to become a monk, at that very moment, he should become a monk.” It may happen at an early age, as was the case with Shankaracharya, or it may happen at old age. The split second that one develops an intense conviction that the world is transient, at that moment he should quit the world. This is the ideal concept of sannyasa and is called Mukhya sannyasa. Buddha's case is an example of Mukhya sannyasa.If a person has studied scriptures and takes sannyasa as part of an institution without full spiritual evolution and without full conviction that the world is impermanent, that sannyasa is secondary and is called Gauna Sannyasa.3rd verse: “According to Samkhya philosophy, all actions should be given up. According to Mimamsa philosophy, performance of Yajna, dana and tapah should not be given up.”According to Shankaracharya, one can ascend to higher stage of sannyasa from any stage in life. He says that a monk should not give up laukika karma – everyday duties and responsibilities. Instead, he should give up all ritualistic activities meant for material prosperity. He should do his duties with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, without any selfish motive. This way his activities turn into a worship towards God, his mind becomes pure, and he becomes fir for the highest spiritual evolution.

Title: Performing Actions with Sattvic Shraddha17th Chapter: verses 26, 27, 28; recapitulation of 17th chapterIt is difficult for normal human beings to perform their spiritual practices with perfection. With the utterance of “Om Tat Sat”, when we perform any act - Yajna, dana and tapah – they become purified. When we offer our activity to the all-pervading reality that is present in everyone and everything, the activity is purified. They become auspicious and spiritually meritorious.26th verse: “Sat indicates the Absolute Reality which is all-pervading, immortal, good for humanity and which sustains us. Sat means sat-bhāve “with the intention of essential goodness and nobility”, sādhu-bhāve “with auspicious intention” and praśhaste karmaṇi “Inspired by the an inner call and the Atman within”.27th verse: “With great steadiness, when we perform Yajna, dana and tapah, it is called Sat. Any activity done for the sake of Tat, which is the all-pervading divine reality, is also Sat.”Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose with a sense of sanctity and sacredness.When we perform anything thinking of the all-pervading divine reality, then it becomes worship in the form of action, and it brings an element of steadiness to the activity. Steadiness comes from the Absolute Reality which is eternal and unchanging.28th verse: “Performing Yajna, dana and tapah with a sattvic attitude and a sense of dedication to the divine is Sat. Its opposite is called Asat. Performing hutam (sacrifice), dattam (charity), tapaḥ (austerity) or kṛitam (any other activity), without sattvic shraddha is Asat.”Shraddha cannot be properly translated in English. Shraddha refers to a sense of sanctity and sacredness that helps us preserve higher values. It can also mean faith in scriptures, God, teacher, and a sense of integrity. The shraddha of human beings is three-fold – Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed with sattvic shraddha.When we perform charity there is a possibility that we may get the opposite of gratitude from the recipient. That can hurt us unless we are guided by a higher spiritual ideal in the act of charity. Sattvic shraddha turns any activity into a spiritual activity.The following is a recapitulation of the 17th chapter:The 17th chapter starts with a question from Arjuna: “Those who have a high degree of shraddha but do not know how to follow shastram, what happens to them?”Shraddha is of three types - Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Sattvika is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. If a person is very active and makes a show of his wealth and power, his attitude is Rajasika. Tamasika attitude manifests itself as laziness and delusion.In a rajarshi (philosopher king) – the philosophical aspect comes from sattva guna and the kingly aspect comes from rajo guna. His rajo guna is dominated and regulated by sattva guna.Shraddha is based on our inherent natural tendencies, which is based on our samskaras. Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara.In Patanajali Yoga Sutra, Vyasa says: “The river of the human mind flows in two directions. One is of a positive nature and takes us towards higher spiritual fulfillment. The other is of a negative nature and takes us away from our cherished aspirations.” The mind may not act as our friend when it is not ready. For example, when we want to meditate (positive flow of the river), the mind may procrastinate (negative flow of the river).Vyasa also says that we can turn the mind into a friend with a refining process. The refining process starts with doing some noble, unselfish deeds. Such deeds increase the store house of positive samskaras and negate the negative samskaras. The mind then begins to evolve. When we perform our activities with sattvic shraddha, we improve the proportion of positive flow in the river of mind.The following discussions took place in the question-answer section of the class:The translation of Sanskrit words, such as Samskara, are limited in scope in the dictionary meaning. They can only be explained by giving examples. An example of past samskaras is a child prodigy in music, whose family has no background in music.We should put our ego to good work. When we perform an activity as Swadharma and as an offering to the divine, the ego is sublimated to a sattvic level.Creation moves in cycles – from creation to sustenance to dissolution to re-emergence.

Title: Purifying Spiritual Practices with Om Tat Sat17th Chapter: verses 23, 24, 25, 26, 2723rd verse: “In the Vedic literature, specifically the Upanishads, it is stated that “Om Tat Sat” constitutes the essence of all vedic literature. It represents the triple designation of Brahman. These three words are behind the origin and creation of the Brahmanas, Vedas and Yajnas.”Om represents the vedas. The entire vedic literature can be condensed into Om. All the vedas are an attempt to describe Brahman which can only be experienced. At the empirical level, Brahman is denoted with Om. Om represents the highest spiritual awareness, the highest wisdom, the highest existence, the highest consciousness and the highest blissfulness.Sri Ramakrishna said that the highest level of experience cannot be explained. It is a deeply felt experience whose language is silence. Below silence is Om, which is the first audible, verbal symbol of the divine. When we elaborate Om, we get Gayatri. When we elaborate Gayatri, we get Upanishads. Below the Upanishads, there are many mythological books. All these books are meant to take us beyond books. The highest experience is beyond all these books.Dharmaśāstra says: “All Vedas are founded on Pranava (Om). It takes you away from the transmigratory cycle of Samsara. It is the essence and totality of all verbal presentations. Any mantra without Om becomes meaningless.”Every mantra is preceded by Om. It is because the mantra becomes sacred when associated with Om.Omkara is not a letter symbol. It is a sound symbol comprised of three sounds A-U-M. It is pronounced with an elongated vowel sound. “A” represents the totality of waking state experiences. “U” represents the totality of dream state experiences. “M” represents the totality of deep sleep experiences. Together, they represent all our experiences, as we cannot have any experience outside of these three states.“A” is pronounced with an open mouth. “U” is pronounced with the mouth half open. “M” is pronounced with the mouth closed. We cannot pronounce anything which does not belong to these three categories. And, since everything in the world has a verbal counterpart, A-U-M represents everything in this world.“Tat” stands for the totality of existence. It also indicates Brahman. In the mayavakya “Tat-tvam-asi” -which means “The spiritual truth that you are seeking is non-different from yourself - “Tat” indicates Brahman.“Sat” is explained in the 26th verse. It is used to denote the Absolute Reality. It also represents goodness, auspiciousness and steadiness in dana, tapah and yajna.Why is the utterance of “Om Tat Sat” important? It is difficult for normal human beings to perform their spiritual practices with perfection. With the utterance of “Om Tat Sat”, when we perform any act - Yajna, dana and tapah – they become purified. They become auspicious and spiritually meritorious.For full effect, “Om Tat Sat” should be uttered with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and with full awareness. Mantras gather potency because they have been recited by spiritual seekers and sages for thousands of years. They help us realize the spiritual truth when we recite them with full concentration on the meaning of the mantra.24th verse: “Therefore, one should practice dana, tapah and yajna by uttering Om. When you do so, the activity becomes purified.”Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose.25th verse: “When we perform dana, tapah and yajna with the utterance of Tat, it means we are performing that duty without expecting any fruits in return. We offer the activity and its fruits to the all-pervading divine reality.”“Tat” means Brahman, the all-pervading divine reality. When we perform dana, tapah and yajna with a sattvic attitude, and offer our activity and its fruits to Brahman, the activity is purified.When we offer our activity to the all-pervading reality that is present in everyone and everything, the activity is purified. In fact, this is the essence of the Brahma-Yajna-Mantra in the 24th verse of the 4th chapter. With the imagery of a Vedic ritual (Yajna), this verse says: “the process of offering, what we offer, the one who offers, into what it is offered, the act of performing the ritual, the goal to be reached – everything is Brahman.”There is nothing in this world, but Brahman. The Brahma-Yajna-Mantra brings the spiritual unity of existence to every thought, word and deed, including eating food. There should be no line of demarcation between our secular and spiritual life. Every secular act should be spiritualized.We should live life like the mantra in Rigveda which means: “Let every thought become a meditation, let every word become a mantra, let every action become an act of worship, let every travel become a pilgrimage, let every movement become a circumambulation around the deity, and let the whole life become an offering to God.”26th verse: “Sat indicates the Absolute Reality which is all-pervading, immortal, good for humanity and which sustains us. Sat means sat-bhāve “with the intention of essential goodness and nobility”, sādhu-bhāve “with auspicious intention” and praśhaste karmaṇi “Inspired by the an inner call and the Atman within”.Divinity is present in all of us. However, in some people it does not manifest because of the effect of past samskaras. At some point, people feel an inner call to do something good for humanity. This call is inspired by the Atman within. When we do something inspired by this inner call, we feel inner joy and contentment.We can be a good human being without affirming our faith in God. Swami Vivekananda said: “Live life in a way that even if you do not accept God, God will accept you.”27th verse: “When we think of the Absolute Reality through the utterance of Sat, it brings an element of steadiness to the activity and becomes a blessing to humanity. Steadiness comes from the Absolute Reality which is eternal and unchanging.”Tapah should be done with a sattvic attitude where the mans and the goals are in harmony. Success becomes a liability if tapah is done with improper means.

Title: Meaning of Om Tat Sat17th Chapter: verses 20, 21, 22, 23Yajna, Dana, and Tapah – these spiritual principles have the triple dimensions of Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika.Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and as an offering to God. Our everyday activities can be spiritualized when we perform them as yajna. Then there is no difference between the shrine and the workplace. Any activity not done as yajna becomes a bondage – it is an invisible chain that binds us to the world.Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others.Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with total dedication and with a sense of going beyond the body-mind complex.20th verse: “Charity done with the attitude “It is my duty to help this person”, done in the right manner without any expectation of return, given to someone who is in need of it, who will use it for constructive purpose, and done at the right place and time – such charity is Sattvik.”21st verse: “When charity is practiced with the expectation of getting something back in return or done with a mind that is not happy as it is struggling with its own greed, ort done with a desire to be known as a charitable person – such charity is Rajasik.”22nd verse: “Charity done at the wrong place, at the wrong time, or to unworthy person or without regard for rules and etiquette – such charity is Tamasik.”Suppose a person is sitting in a dirty, filthy place and we give him restaurant food. It is an example of wrong place. Suppose that person has already had his meal and we give him food. It is an example of wrong time. Suppose we give money to a person who uses it for terrible things. It is an example of charity to an unworthy person.The 23rd and 24th verses are very important and explain how we can purify our spiritual activities such as yajna, dana and tapah.23rd verse: “In the Vedic literature, specifically the Upanishads, it is stated that “Om Tat Sat” constitutes the essence of all vedic literature. These three words are behind the origin and creation of the Brahmanas, Vedas and Yajnas.”There are four vedas. Each veda has four parts – Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. Samhita contains hymns to deities. Brahmana contain description of rituals. Aranyaka contain philosophical discussions and spiritual disciplines. Upanishads contain the highest and most sublime portion of the vedas.It is difficult for normal human beings to perform their spiritual practices with perfection. For example, a prayer is effective when the mind, the act of prayer, the thoughts and emotions are all focused on the prayer. It is difficult for normal human beings to do so – there is an inherent incompleteness and imperfection in their prayer. The same applies to rituals. The spiritual practice – a prayer or an offering or a ritual – can be purified by uttering “Om” or “Om Tat Sat.”The utterance of “Om Tat Sat” can have two levels. The utterance has more effect when we understand its meaning. It has less effect if it is uttered without understanding its meaning.Om is a word symbol that represents the totality of existence and divinity. Whatever we experience in waking state, dream state or deep sleep state – they are all represented by Om.Om is comprised of A-U-M. “A” represents the totality of waking state experiences. “U” represents the totality of dream state experiences. “M” represents the totality of deep sleep experiences. Together, they represent all our experiences, as we cannot have any experience outside of these three states.Om contains the essence of all vedas. All the vedas are an attempt to describe the Absolute Reality which can only be experienced. At the empirical level, the Absolute Reality is denoted with Om.Om comes from two Sanskrit roots which mean “something that is all-pervading that sustains us, protects us from problems of the empirical world, and leads us to the highest spiritual realization.”Sri Ramakrishna used simple language to describe Om. In ascending order, he said: “Puaranas are the lowest. Higher than Puranas are Upanishads. Upanishads are condensed in Gayatri. Gayatri is condensed in Om. Beyond Om is total silence.”The highest level of experience cannot be explained. It is a deeply felt experience whose language is silence. Below silence is Om, which is the first audible, verbal symbol of the divine. When we elaborate Om, we get Gayatri. When we elaborate Gayatri, we get Upanishads. Below the Upanishads, there are many mythological books. All these books are meant to take us beyond books. The highest experience is beyond all these books.Tat means “I am offering it to the all-pervading, divine reality.” It is used to purify all forms of yajna, dana and tapah. These spiritual practices may have inherent imperfections which are rectified by utterance of Tat.When we offer our activity to the all-pervading reality that is present in everyone and everything, the activity is purified. In fact, this is the essence of the Brahma-Yajna-Mantra in the 24th verse of the 4th chapter. With the imagery of a Vedic ritual (Yajna), this verse says: “the process of offering, what we offer, the one who offers, into what it is offered, the act of performing the ritual, the goal to be reached – everything is Brahman.”There is nothing in this world, but Brahman. With this strong conviction, when we utter this mantra before eating food, then whatever we eat becomes purified.Sat means strong, steady faith. Yajna, dana and tapah, when done with a sense of sanctity, sacredness, sincerity, honesty and integrity – they get purified.Sometimes devotees chant “Hari Om Tat Sat”. Hari is the name of Vishnu and means the Lord.

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.The three gunas reflect in different areas of human conduct such as the way we practice rituals, austerities and charity.The 14th, 15th and 16th verses discuss tapah (austerity) - physical austerity, austerity of speech and mental austerity. Austerity is about directing our mind and senses towards higher ideas.14th verse: “Those who practice reverence towards gods/goddesses, ancient sages, wise men and tradition, who do so with mental and physical purity, who do so with chastity and non-violence, whose body, mind and intellect operate in harmony and in one direction – their austerity is of the physical type.”The 14th verse refers to the “twice born”. This refers to people who had a biological birth and later a spiritual birth through initiation. The verse says that we should respect such good people in society. Then we develop their good qualities in ourselves. What we appreciate in others, that we develop in ourselves.15th verse: “Speech that does not cause vexation or anguish or disturbance in the minds of the listener, which is truthful, which is agreeable to the listener, which is beneficial to the listener, as well as recitation of the vedas, are austerities of speech.”16th verse: “Serenity of mind, sympathy, kindliness, silence, self-control, sincerity and honesty in dealings – these are austerities of the mind.”17th verse: “When the three-fold austerities described in the 14th, 15th and 16th verses are done with no desire for material rewards, with the mind, word, thoughts and deed in harmony with each other, with no pretention, with a serene expression – such austerity is considered Sattvik.”18th verse: “When the three-fold austerities are done with the objective of getting respect or acceptance or done with ostentation and pretention – such austerity is considered Rajasik. Such austerity is shaky and transitory in nature.”A smile that is done with pretention or for diplomacy does not last long – it is transitory in nature. Unnatural expressions create problems for the mind.19th verse: “Due to misconception, without following principles of moderation, if someone practices austerities that involve self-torture or harm others – such austerity is considered Tamasik and doomed for disaster.”If a spiritual seeker is very evolved, such as Buddha, and is able to withstand extreme austerity with joy because he is connected with the transcendental, then such austerity is Sattvik. It is a royal highway to enlightenment.Bhasmasura practiced austerity to gain powers to harm others. He ended up destroying himself.The 20th verse describes charity of the sattvic type.20th verse: “Charity done with the attitude “It is my duty to help this person”, done in the right manner without any expectation of return, given to someone who is in need of it, who will use it for constructive purpose, and done at the right place and time – such charity is Sattvik.”In commentaries on this verse, Kurukshetra is cited as an example of an auspicious place for charity and Sankranti is cited as an auspicious time for charity. Such charity is helpful to both the giver and receiver.Every act of charity loosens our karmic blocks. A beginner's mind may not cooperate when he starts spiritual practices. This is due to karmic blocks or accumulated samskaras which make him act in a certain manner. Noble, unselfish deeds, such as charity, generate spiritual energy and loosen the karmic blocks.With spiritual practices, such as the three yogas, there is a gradual evolution of the human consciousness from the lowest level of Muladhara to the highest level of Sahasrara. This ascent reflects the loosening of karmic blocks and their eventual disappearance. One should start with karma yoga, in the form of noble, unselfish activities.

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.These three temperaments are based on our samskaras. Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. Samskaras express through our determination to act in a certain manner, called Sankalpa. Sankalpa leads to further actions. This wheel continues, and it shapes our temperament.The food that we eat is linked to the three gunas. The way we practice rituals, austerity and charity is also linked to the three gunas.Food has both a gross and subtle dimension. At a gross level, the food needs to be hygienically pure. At a subtle level, it means food that is prepared and served by people withgood temperament and with affection.10th verse: “The food that was cooked several hours earlier and whose original taste is gone, food that has foul smell, food that has been partly eaten by someone else, and food that is not conducive to the development of higher qualities in the mind and intellect, is liked by those endowed with tamo guna.”Gita as a text belongs to 3,300 BC when there was no refrigerator. The staleness of food implied in the 10th verse should be interpreted in the context of modern times.If a person eats food that was partly eaten by someone else, the emotional state of the other person can be transferred to him.The next few verses describe the three levels of yajna – sattvika, rajasika and tamasika. In Gita, yajna means any unselfish, noble activity. However, in the next three verses it means rituals.11th verse: “Yajna that is performed with great reverence, with no showmanship, with great concentration, with a sense of sanctity, sacredness and self-restraint, with no selfish motive, with the sense that it is a sacred act and duty – such yajna is sattvika.”12th verse: “Yajna that is performed with a desire for material benefit or with a desire for fame or with great pomp and show – such yajna is Rajasika.”When the yajna is performed with showmanship, it is less spiritually beneficial. However, it is better to do yajna with publicity than to not do it at all.13th verse: “Yajna that is performed in an unconventional manner, without a sense of sanctity and sacredness, without the proper utterance of mantras, without giving dakshina to the priests – such yajna is tamasika.”If a priest performs rituals on our behalf and we do not give them dakshina, then the benefit of the ritual only goes to the priest. If we donate to the construction of a shelter, then some spiritual benefit from the construction of that shelter comes to us. In whatever charity we do, we should consider the fitness of the recipient.The 14th, 15th and 16th verses discuss tapah (austerity) - physical austerity, austerity of speech and mental austerity.When we fast, or after a pilgrimage we give up eating a certain food, it is an example of physical austerity. When we speak with good words, it is an example of austerity in speech. When we think good thoughts, it is an example of mental austerity.Upavasa is normally interpreted as fasting. However, its true meaning is “staying near God.” If someone fasts and at the same time fights with neighbors, that is not upavasa. Upavasa also does not mean self-torture. If someone does not fast but decides to read scriptures instead, he is closer to the real intent of upavasa.Austerity is about directing our mind and senses towards higher ideas. Great artists, musicians and scientists gave up worldly enjoyments to direct their mind exclusively on their activity. That is a symbol of austerity. Tyagaraja was a great Indian musician who denied treasures offered by kings – he wanted to compose music only for God.14th verse: “Those who practice reverence towards gods/goddesses, ancient sages, wise men and tradition, who do so with mental and physical purity, who do so with chastity and non-violence, whose body, mind and intellect operate in harmony and in one direction – their austerity is of the physical type.”Brahmacharya is mentioned in this verse. It is important for householders also. After having children, householders should practice chastity and contemplate on higher values. Many ancient sages were retired householders. To reach the experience of oneness with Brahman, one has to go through long spiritual practices which include Brahmacharya. To reach the highest state, one has to transcend tamo and rajo guna, be established in sattva guna and ultimately transcend all three gunas.15th verse: “Speech that does not cause vexation or anguish or disturbance in the minds of the listener, which is truthful, which is agreeable to the listener, which is beneficial to the listener, as well as recitation of the vedas, are austerities of speech.”When Hanuman meets Rama for the first time as Sugriva's messenger, Rama was charmed by Hanuman's art of speaking and his austerity in speech. Rama says to Lakshmana: “See how excellently Hanuman has spoken. He did not utter a single word without relevance. Nor did he omit an appropriate word. Such a voice promotes general welfare and remains forever in the hearts and minds of generations to come. His expression is not too elaborate, not confusing, not dragging, and not very fast. The language he spoke is richly endowed with grammatical purity. It is wonderful and auspicious. It is neither too fast nor too slow. It is captivating the heart. Whose mind will not be pleased by such words. He is a knower of all the vedas.”There is a verse in Mahabharata which says: “There are people who are ready to talk to you about what you want to hear. There are very few people who tell you what you need to hear and what is eventually beneficial to you.”Some people say that they are straightforward and say things as-is. However, if such speech causes anxiety to the listener, it is not sattvik. It should be beneficial to the listener.16th verse: “Serenity of mind, sympathy, kindliness, silence, self-control, sincerity and honesty in dealings – these are austerities of the mind.”Silence is sometimes more powerful than verbosity. Silence is also a language which is inaudible, where mind is involved, and where the sense of hearing is not involved.

Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.7th verse: “The food that we eat is linked to the three gunas. The way we practice rituals, austerity and charity is also linked to the three gunas.”The Chandogya Upanishad contains the first important discussion on the effect of what we eat and the true meaning of food. Shankaracharya has also written commentaries on the broader meaning of food. Food is not just hat we eat with mouth – our mind also eats food. It is all the ideas and associations that we imbibe and that impact our emotions and feelings. The five senses of perception and the sense objects – they all bring food to the mind.The verse in Chandogya Upanishad is:आहार शुद्धौ सत्त्व शुद्धिः सत्त्व शुद्धौ स्मृतिः ध्रुवा स्मृति लम्भे सर्व ग्रन्थीनां विप्र मोक्षः || [7.26.2] It means: “From purity of food comes purity of mind. From purity of mind comes constant remembrance of higher spiritual ideas. From constant remembrance of higher spiritual ideas comes liberation from bondage.”We remember what we are interested in. What are we are interested in depends on the structure of the mind. Whatever the mind has in its system, it wants more of it. If the mind is pure, it remembers and imbibes higher spiritual ideas.In a broader sense, mind refers to Antahkarana, which is made up of four compartments (mind, intellect, memory system, ego sense). In darkness, we may speculate whether something is a pillar or a human – this comes from mind, which is the speculative faculty. When we conclusively determine that it is a pillar, it comes from the intellect which is the determining faculty. We may remember that we had seen a similar pillar elsewhere – that comes from chittam, which is the memory system. And then we may think “I am the one who saw it” – that comes from ahamkara, which is the ego sense.8th verse: “Foods that enrich vitality, energy, strength, health, cheerfulness, mental equilibrium, appetite, contentment, and which are nourishing and agreeable, are liked by those endowed with Sattva guna.”Bhagavata Purana emphasizes that we should only eat what we need for our health and sustenance. It says: “One should only eat what the system permits to eat. Those who eat more, fall sick and become a liability to themselves.” In a broader sense it also means: “Those who are greedy and keep things which they do not need and which belong to others, such people are thieves.”There is an ancient ayurvedic verse from Sushruta Samhita, which defines health in a universal sense.“sama dosha sama agnischa sama dhatu mala kriyaaha| Prasanna atma indriya manaha swastha iti abhidheeyate”It means that a man is in perfect health when he is physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally healthy. In particular, this verse emphasizes that physical health needs to be complemented with a pleasantly disposed and contented mind, senses and spirit. They should not remind us of their existence.Manu Smriti defines what is the wrong type of food. It says:ANAROGYAM ANAYUSYAM ASVARGYAM CA ATIBHOJANAM APUNYAM LOKA VID VISTAM TASMAT TAT PARIVARJAYET (MANU SMRITI 2/57)It means: “One should avoid the following: (1) Food that is not good for health (2) Food that reduces the duration of life (3) Food does not guarantee good health in next life (4) Eating too much (5) Food that makes us do sinful deeds (6) Food that causes people to ridicule you.”Food has both a gross and subtle dimension. At a gross level, the food needs to be hygienically pure. At a subtle level, it means food that is prepared and served by people with good temperament and with affection.The 24th verse of the 4th chapter of Gita is the Brahma-Yajna-Mantra. It is uttered with a deep sense of reverence before people eat food, so the food is purified. With the imagery of a Vedic ritual (Yajna), this verse says: “the process of offering, what we offer, the one who offers, into what it is offered, the act of performing the ritual, the goal to be reached – everything is Brahman.”There is nothing in this world, but Brahman. With this strong conviction, when we utter this mantra before eating food, then whatever we eat becomes purified. Whatever we eat, we should eat with a prayerful attitude.We should be moderate when it comes to eating food. Our body should not complain after we eat food. Extreme fanatical fasting and extreme gluttony are both non-spiritual.9th verse: “Foods that are bitter, sour, saline, hot, pungent, dry and burning are liked by those endowed with Rajo guna.”Food that creates temporary emotional excitement, violent tendencies, and disturb the balance of the mind are of the rajasika type.Gita has no reference to vegetarianism. There is no indication that ancient vedic culture was a vegetarian culture. The discussion of sattvik, rajasik and tamasik food goes beyond the concepts of vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Lord Krishna is addressing food in the context of the entire humanity.

Shraddha cannot be properly translated in English. Shraddha refers to a sense of sanctity and sacredness that helps us preserve higher values. It can also mean faith in scriptures, God, teacher, and a sense of integrity. One of the verses says: “A man is only as much as the shraddha he has.”2nd verse: “The shraddha of human beings is three-fold – Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. It is born out of their own swabhava – their own natural tendencies. “Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo gunamanifests itself as laziness and delusion.Gunas are not visible and cannot be physically verified. We can infer which guna is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament.If a person has wealth and power, but he is humble, has self-control and does not make a show of it – he is endowed with sattva guna. Sattva guna indicates higher transcendental wisdom in a person. If a person is very active and makes a show of his wealth and power, he is endowed with rajo guna. If a person is lazy, ignorant, confused and does not want to earn higher qualities, he is endowed with tamo guna.Shraddha is based on our inherent natural tendencies, our swabhava, which is based on our samskaras. Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara. Samskaras express through our determination to act in a certain manner, called Sankalpa. Sankalpa leads to further actions. This wheel continues, and it shapes our Swabhava.In Patanajali Yoga Sutra, Vyasa says: “The river of the human mind flows in two directions. One takes us towards higher spiritual fulfillment. The other is of a negative nature and takes us away from our cherished aspirations.” The mind may not act as our friend when it is not ready. For example, when we want to meditate (positive flow of the river), the mind may procrastinate (negative flow of the river).Vyasa also says: “We can never refine samskaras and turn the mind into a friend without a refining process. The refining process starts with doing some noble, unselfish deeds. Such deeds increase the store house of positive samskaras and negate the negative samskaras.The mind then begins to evolve.”The 1st sutra of sadhana pada in Patanjali Yoga Sutra says: “tap ah-svadhyaya-isvara-pranidhanani kriya-yoga” Kriya yoga refers to any kind of noble, unselfish activity. Such actions help us climb the ladder of three types of shraddhas – from tamasika, to rajasika to sattvika.One of the commentators on this verse says: “This shraddha is inherent but not inflexible. If inflexible, everything will degenerate into blind fatalism. We have the freedom to ascend to higher levels of shraddha by applying our own resources. This will strengthen the river of mind and help it flow in the positive direction.”3rd verse: “The shraddha of every individual is according to his/her natural disposition. Every individual and his level of shraddha are identified as one.”Brahma Sutras discuss the dynamics of leaving the world and the dynamics of returning to the world. We are born with the baggage of past samskaras (tendencies) – we cannot disown them. We collect these tendencies in our Antahkarana (mind, intellect, memory system, ego sense) through actions involving the senses and the mind. When the body is cremated, the physical senses are gone, but the Antahkarana is retained. It accompanies the soul when it takes a new body.These samskaras in the Antahkarana decide what level of shraddha each person possesses.In the next few verses, Lord Krishna describes how we can infer the level of shraddha by analyzing a person's actions and behaviors, such as whom he worships and what kind of food he eats.4th verse: “Those endowed with sattvika shraddha worship divine, angelic deities. Those with rajasika shraddha worship a god idea that gives them material comforts such as wealth and power. Those with tamasika shraddha worship supernatural and black magic concepts of god.”The God idea that we worship is dependent on our level of spiritual evolution. As we evolve, our idea of God also evolves.In spiritual life, we are never late and nothing is lost. Every moment can be used as the beginning of a new journey.

21st verse: “There are three gates to a hellish life – hellish conditions created from our own actions. These three gates are lust, anger and greed (kamah, krodhah, lobhah). These three should be abandoned.”Every wrong action has desire or lust as its source. Once we have a desire, we direct our senses and energy to fulfill that desire. Not all desires are fulfilled. When the desire remains unfulfilled, we become angry. And then there is endless greed.22nd verse: “The genuine spiritual seeker, who has gone beyond these three gates, who is free from lust, anger and greed, he does things that are good for himself and others. He does not see distinction between himself and others. What is good for him will naturally be good for others.”23rd verse: “Those who act under the impulse of desire and ignore the fundamental principle – to act in accordance with shastram – they will not attain perfection, they will not attain happiness, and they will not reach their spiritual destination.”The literal, dictionary meaning of shastram may be science and theological scriptures. The true spiritual meaning of shastram is that which helps us conduct our life without desire, greed and anger. Shastram is that which helps us conduct our life in such a way that it becomes a blessing for ourselves and others.24th verse: “Therefore this shastram should be your pramanam (authority) in ascertaining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done.”Shastram also means spiritual heritage, accumulated spiritual wisdom, and teachings of great men and women who helped humanity preserve its values. Shastram is the totality of the best elements of human civilization.Civilization was able to preserve those best elements, that sanctity, that tradition because the exponents of these values had no selfish desire, no anger, and no greed.Bhagavata Purana has the following verse: “When honey bees go from one flower to another, whether it is a tiny or big flower, they only collect and imbibe its essence, the honey. They ignore everything else. Similarly, we should only imbibe the highest and most universal spiritual teachings. A wise person should only collect the essence and practice it in his own life – only then it becomes effective.”To emphasize the importance of spiritual practice and realization, Sri Ramakrishna used to give the example of almanac. The almanac has forecasts on rain, but if one takes the almanac and squeezes it, there won't be a drop of rain. It is true that many teachings are recorded in the scriptures. But they are useless without the effort to practice and imbibe these teachings and realize God.Shraddha refers to a sense of sanctity and sacredness that helps us preserve higher values. It can also mean faith in scriptures, oneself, God, teacher, and inner consciousness. Shraddha can also mean concentration.Arjuna had shraddha but did not understand shastram. The 17th chapter starts with this doubt in Arjuna. He asks the question: “Those who have a high degree of shraddha but do not know how to follow shastram, what happens to them?” The 17th chapter deals with three levels of shraddha.The essence of Arjuna's question is: “Do spirituals directly talk to us?” For a true spiritual seeker, if his mind is pure and sincere, the whole nature becomes an open book, an open university, an open education institution – he learns from everything.Bhagavata Purana has the legend of Avadhuta who learns spiritual lessons from birds, honey bees, elephants, fish and others from nature. His own mind helps him become a good student and learn from everything in nature. If the mind is pure, it captures the essence of spirituality from everything in this world. Otherwise, there is no end to doubts.Spiritual questions go through a process of self-destruction. They cease to be questions as we spiritually evolve. There are no shortcuts in spiritual evolution – it is a gradual process of evolution.Dogmatic approach does not allow one to evolve to a level of spiritual fitness to make use of what one learns – a dogmatic approach expects the student to just accept it. This is the opposite of shraddha. In Vedanta lineage, the teacher first elevates the student to a higher level where the student is naturally fit to accept the higher truth. For example, Sri Ramakrishna taught Advaita to Swami Vivekananda because he was spiritually ready. Other disciples wanted to learn Advaita, but Sri Ramakrishna did not teach them.In the 63rd verse of the 18th chapter, Lord Krishna says: “I have taught you this great spiritual truth. You analyze what I have taught you, use your own reasoning and do what you want.” This verse emphasizes the importance of spiritual freedom and encourages one to think for oneself. It also indicates that we can only learn from a book or teacher what we deserve to learn, what our mind is ready to learn.Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.One has to understand where he stands and start climbing the ladder from tamo guna to rajo guna to sattva guna. Highest spiritual evolution happens when we transcend the three gunas. Such a person is called Guṇātita – he is active but remains serene and detached. Swami Trigunatitananda demonstrated this in his life's work.

17th verse: “Extremely conceited, haughty, filled with pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform all sacrifices with great ostentation disregarding all ordinances.” This is the literal translation. The meaning of the verse is that such people do things in an improper manner without any consideration for propriety.Kama refers to desire – the mind wants to go after worldly desire all the time. Dambha refers to religious or spiritual pride and superiority. Māna means they think they deserve more honor than others. Mada means delusion, an over estimation of one's abilities. These are characteristics of people who become conceited and indulge in showmanship.Sri Ramakrishna refers to three types of devotees – Sattvic, who are serene and contemplative. Rajasic who are externally expressive. And Tamasic who worship in a careless manner.18th verse: “Filled with egotism, power, insolence, lust and anger, such people hate Me. They do not recognize the presence of the divine spark in themselves and in others.”There are two types of strengths. In the first type, one has wealth, power, status but he is self-restraint. He does not have aversion towards anyone. In the second type, the power is accompanied by extreme likes and dislikes.It is important to combine any kind of power with humility and self-restraint. If a wealthy or powerful person is humble, it is a blessing to society.Ramanuja says in his commentary on the 18th verse: “The very idea of Viveka (discrimination) and Vairagya (renunciation) never comes to them because they have no genuine devotion to God. Their mind remains impure, and they always criticize. They think of someone who exercises self-restraint as weak. They think of knowledge without showmanship as ignorance.”19th verse: The literal meaning is: “These people – who are proud, malicious, cruel and born of evil qualities – I hurl them perpetually in the wombs of the demons.” The interpretation is: “Those who deliberately do sinful deeds, they fall into perpetual demonic state.”There is no eternal damnation in Hinduism. Only Madhvacharya talked about it. The majority do not accept this view. God is not the arbitrator.Gita says that we should build our own spiritual destiny. We reap according to the types of seeds we sow. According to our own actions, we create heaven or hell like conditions in our life.If we take refuge in God's grace, our destiny will change. But we have to make ourselves graceworthy with our own self effort. Such refuge requires complete self-surrender. If we do so, it will be difficult for us to do anything wrong.Prapati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapati means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Total self-surrender.One of the Brahma Sutras says: “God is taking care of everything. Everything happens according to our previous deeds.”Though everything comes from God, God is not responsible for what we do. We act according to our own samskaras. Just professing a belief in God will not change our life. Prapati or complete self-surrender will have an immediate effect.20th verse: “Those who hate others and reinforce their own evil character, they continue to rotate in this cycle of samsara.”21st verse: “There are three gates to a hellish life – hellish conditions created from our own actions. These three gates are lust, anger and greed (kamah, krodhah, lobhah). These three should be abandoned.”Every wrong action has desire or lust as its source. Once we have a desire, we direct our senses and energy to fulfill that desire. Not all desires are fulfilled. When the desire remains unfulfilled, we become angry. And then there is endless greed.Patanjali prescribes five yamas (important) and five niyamas (auxiliary) in Yoga Sutras. When we practice yamas and niyamas, these three gates are closed.The five yamas are: ahimsa (non-violence, satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (right use of energy) and aparigraha (non-hoarding). The five niyamas are: saucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (study of scriptures) and Isvara Pranidhana (surrender to God).In terms of inquiry, there are two types of seekers. (1) Those who are humble, straightforward and inquisitive. Once they are convinced of the truth, they become champions of that truth. Swami Vivekananda was such as seeker. (2) Those who ask questions without any seriousness. They pretend to be convinced, but they keep asking the same questions again.A spiritual seeker should practice friendliness (Maitri) towards fellow spiritual seekers, practice compassion (Karuna) towards those who are less evolved, practice happiness (Mudita) towards those who are more evolved, and practice a filtering attitude (Upeksha) towards those who may shake his faith.

The 16th chapter is an analytic study on the basic elements of human personality. Its purpose is to help people understand fundamental values that have enriched human civilization. It reminds us that we should not forget those values in our pursuit of wealth, power and comfort.11th verse: “There is continuous thought in the mind – no control, no restraint – with a desire to acquire something. Gratification of objects of enjoyment is the dominant theme of such people's existence.”Mind always wants to possess something, not necessarily because we need it. Desires are not always linked to need.12th verse: “Driven by aspirations and desires, they go on to secure those objects of enjoyment by whatever means.”13th verse: “Today, I have got so much wealth and prestige. That is not enough. I have many other desires. I must continue my effort to go after these desires. These objects of enjoyment are mine and will remain mine in the future.”The 13th verse is interpreted in light of the 4th verse, which list six undesirable characteristics of those endowed with Asuri Sampat: Hypocrisy, arrogance, self-conceit, anger, rudeness, and ignorance.The 14th verse should be understood in the context of when Gita was written when warfare was common. It says: “I have killed this enemy. I am the master. I am going to enjoy. I am successful, powerful and happy.”While the 14th verse is written from the perspective of warfare, it applies to modern times where people compete with each other from the standpoint of the companies they work for.15th verse: “I am coming from a high position. There is no one as great as me. I shall perform big rituals. I shall enjoy and I shall acquire great things.”Shankaracharya, in his commentary on the 15th verse, says that such people are in self-delusion. They find out they are deluded when they get a blow from nature such as losing their job or money. The continuous thought current of acquiring material comforts imprisons them.The ancient text Bhagavata Purana (12th skandha, 2nd chapter, 2nd verse onwards) projects what life would be like in the future in Kaliyuga. It says: “Money will be the single most decisive factor in judging the value of people. With what values one lives his life, will be immaterial. Might will be right. Justice and social order will be built on the foundation of wealth. Some people will be enormously rich. Others will suffer from starvation. There will be epidemics spreading all over the world.”The 16th chapter is only concerned about the nature of human beings, not society as a whole. It warns us that if we forget the fundamental human values, society will collapse.16th verse: “They fall into the hellish life of constantly thinking of material comforts. Their mind becomes sick.”We can never achieve everything that we want to achieve. There is no end to desires. All these desires create a cloud of confusion and self-deception. The unfulfilled desires make the mind sick with anxiety and worries.We cannot meet all desires and everything in this world - such as health, money, status - is essentially impermanent. We may intellectually know this, but that intellectual knowledge has not become our emotional state, our common sense. The purpose of the 16rth chapter is to translate this intellectual knowledge into spiritual common sense.17th verse: “Extremely conceited, haughty, filled with pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform all sacrifices with great ostentation disregarding all ordinances.” This is the literal translation. The meaning of the verse is that such people do things in an improper manner without any consideration for propriety.For example, when we read a scripture, we should read it with shraddha, contemplate on it and imbibe what we read. Instead, in modern times, if we just click our way through different kinds of content, it would be considered improper.18th verse: “Filled with egotism, power, insolence, lust and anger, such people hate Me. They do not recognize the presence of the divine spark in themselves and in others.”Egotism is an important trait when directed towards creative channels. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the ego should be given a good job to do. The ego should be our servant, not vice versa.The three gunas operate at the level of the antahkarana, which has four compartments: mind, intellect, memory system and ego. The difference between beings is not at the physical level; rather, it is at the level of antahkarana.Consciousness is one. Antahkarana is different among beings and it reflects consciousness differently. Swami Vivekananda said that the difference between an amoeba and a Buddha is only of degrees, not of kind. Buddha is like the clean mirror, in whom the presence of the lord manifests in His full effulgence.

The 16th chapter does not just give a list of dos and don'ts. It makes us understand the subtle differences between the characteristics. For example, one of the Asuri traits that is described is Dambhah, big show of one's status. In relation to it, it describes Darpah as another Asuri trait. Someone who may be humble and calm, may assure himself of his superiority and feel that he does not need to display that. That is a kind of arrogance, which is included in the meaning of Darpah. When we deny the possibility of a positive trait in others, that trait in us becomes a negative trait.6th verse: “There were two types of beings at the beginning of creation. O' Arjuna, I have described the divine ones. Now let me describe the other.”From the 7th verse onwards, Lord Krishna describes the external manifestations of those endowed with Asuri Sampat.In the 7th verse he says: “They do not know what do and what not to do, they have no sense of purity or impurity, they do not have a sense of propriety or impropriety, and they do not have a sense of truth or untruth. They have a natural disposition towards doing the wrong things.”Samsara refers to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth – our actions leave a residual effect on our mental system, which then become strong attitudes that prompt us to do further actions (karma-vritti-samskara-chakra). We carry these mental tendencies with us from life to life.Every individual should evolve further by acquiring Daivi Sampat. Asuri Sampat brings one down in evolution. Daivi Sampat helps us get out of Samsara and eventually attain liberation.When we live in this world, we should be guided by dharma, a self-regulating mechanism and a sense of self-restraint. This self-restraint helps us enjoy the world without harming the mind with worries and anxieties. It also helps in our spiritual evolution.8th and 9th verse: Those endowed with Asuri Sampat say: “There is no such thing as Truth or morality. The idea of spirituality is without any meaning. All human beings are the result of biological union and the underlying basis is lust.” The 9th verse says that such misdirected people arise as enemies of the world and threaten its destruction.Charvaka was the school of Indian materialism. They taught: “Might is right. We should not believe what we cannot see with our own eyes. Don't think of yesterday or tomorrow. Don't think of anything other than giving pleasure to this body.” The 8th and 9th verses provide a picture of this crude materialism and the commentators discuss the dangers of following such a path.The Bārhaspatya sūtras (derived from the name of the author Brhaspati) is a text on the Charvaka school of materialist philosophy. It was written to help people avoid falling into the trap of materialism.The Charvakas used wonderful words on superficial ideas of comforts without deeper meaning of life. They were speaking what we want to hear not what we need to hear. According to them: “One should enjoy life as long as one lives. It is okay to even steal money as long one can avoid punishment. This is because life is only one chance and this body will not come back.”There is great danger in this philosophy. If society follows such a philosophy, there won't be any self-restraint. In such a society, people's body may be healthy but the mind will fall sick. In such a society, people have no interest in higher transcendental value.Shankaracharya says that it is okay to enjoy things in this world if the conduct is not opposed to dharma. It is also important to stay connected with a higher transcendental ideal. Without such as an ideal, one cannot say no to the wrong temptations.10th verse: “Filled with insatiable desires, hypocrisy, pride, arrogance and evil ideas – such people work with impure resolve to accomplish their evil ideas and goals.”Ambitions and goals are good. Our attempt to achieve these goals should not violate the universal principles of morality and ethics.All good qualities and hard work should be accompanied by Daivi Sampat. Otherwise, there is a risk that they can make human civilization more evil. Ramayana and Mahabharata have examples of mythological figures such as Ravana and Hiranyakashipu. They lived in forests and meditated to become more evil.In the last few verses, Gita gives us a list of problems that we face in modern life and warns us of the danger of falling into the trap of materialism. Vallabhacharya said: “If people think that they don't see anything good or permanent in this world, then their only destination is darkness.”Some chapters and verses of Gita are chanted with great spiritual significance. The 12th chapter and the 2nd chapter are some examples. The 24th verse of the 4th chapter is chanted before taking food. Some verses of the 2nd chapter that deal with the eternal nature of the Atman and the perishable nature of the body are chanted at the time of death.

16th Chapter: Verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Gita's conclusion is that the essence of spirituality is about becoming a good human being. This is emphasized in the 9th chapter, in the 12th chapter and in the 16th chapter. The qualities described in these chapters should be imbibed and should express themselves in our everyday interaction with fellow beings.In the 13th verse of the 9th chapter, Lord Krishna says that the one who is dedicated to God should have these divine qualities and should be broad minded.The commentators of the 16th chapter divide human types into three categories. The first group is endowed with Daivi Sampat – those who have divine spiritual characteristics and are naturally inclined to do good. At the other extreme is the third group, those endowed with Raakshasi Sampat – they are evil and cannot do any good by their very nature. In between is the second group – those endowed with Asuri Sampat – they are neither evil, not divine; they have temptations, and are still striving to be spiritual. There is a long list of such people in the world, and such people should be watchful of what they feed to their mind – by doing noble deeds, they can evolve spiritually.A long list of undesirable characteristics is given in the 4th verse as a red flag to help humans to avoid following the path of Asuri Sampat or Raakshasi Sampat.The 2nd verse says that a spiritually evolved person practices ahimsa (non-violence) in thoughts, words and deeds. According to Gita, Ahimsa means avoiding any conscious or deliberate thought/word/deed that can directly or indirectly cause harm to others.The 3rd verse lists the following characteristics of a person endowed with Daivi Sampat: Boldness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, and absence of provide.A devotee of God is in a state of perfect inner contentment. He has the strength of mind, the will power, the determination to withstand the problems of life and not be shaken by them. Strength without goodness is dangerous – it can create problems for others. Goodness without strength is useless and unproductive.The 4th verse lists six undesirable characteristics of those endowed with Asuri Sampat: Hypocrisy, arrogance, self-conceit, anger, rudeness, and ignorance.Hypocrisy does great harm to the mind. When we are straightforward, there is only one layer in the mind. When we think something else, say something else, and do something else, we create many artificial layers, which create conflict and harm the mind. Being upright and sincere to ourselves is necessary for our mental health.5th verse: “Of the three types - Daivi Sampat, Asuri Sampat or Raakshasi Sampat - Daivi Sampat leads to liberation. The other two lead to bondage. Arjuna – you do not have to worry as you are born with Daivi Sampat.” Samsara refers to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth – our actions leave a residual effect on our mental system, which then become strong attitudes that prompt us to do further actions (karma-vritti-samskara-chakra). We carry these mental tendencies with us from life to life. Daivi Sampat helps us get out of Samsara and eventually attain liberation. The other two keep us rotating along the wheel of Samsara.Lord Krishna anticipates that Arjuna has a doubt about where his character stands. Anticipating this doubt, he clarifies that Arjuna is born with Daivi Sampat.The easiest way to acquire Daivi Sampat is to start practicing spiritual disciplines – prayers, reading scriptures or doing noble deeds. The spiritual energy from these disciplines enriches the mental system.When we undertake spiritual practices, the mind develops the ability to react to life's situations in a matured manner. Just writing down answers on how to respond to specific life's situations will not help, because our mind has to be made ready to cooperate.6th verse: “There were two types of beings at the beginning of creation. I have described the divine ones. Now let me describe the other.”From the 7th verse onwards, Lord Krishna describes the external manifestations of those endowed with Asuri Sampat.In the 7th and 8th verse he says: “They do not know what do and what not to do, they have no sense of purity or impurity, they do not have a sense of propriety or impropriety, and they do not have a sense of truth or untruth. They have a natural disposition towards doing the wrong things.”Vedanta discusses two types of temperaments in individuals. (1) Pravritti – those who live in the world as normal human beings enjoying comforts of the world. (2) Nivritti – those who choose to live a life of renunciation.Even when we follow the path of Pravritti, we should be guided by dharma, in our pursuit of artha and kama. Kama means desire. Artha refers to the means to acquire material comforts and fulfil desires. Both artha and kama are regulated by dharma, a self-regulating mechanism and a sense of self-restraint. This self-restraint helps us enjoy the world without harming the mind with worries and anxieties.Mahatma Gandhi considered Gita as a commentary on the first two verses of the Isha Upanishad, which says: “The whole world is pervaded by the Divine. Therefore, enjoy the world through renunciation.” We can enjoy the world by having the awareness that everything in this world is, by its very nature, impermanent. This intellectual knowledge needs to become spiritual common sense.Practicing vegetarianism is helpful in the beginning stages of spirituality but it is not a definition of spirituality. During early stages, it can help bring down negative biological drives, emotions and feelings.

The 16th chapter discusses human characteristics by dividing them into two groups. The first group is called Daivi Sampat – those who have divine spiritual characteristics and are naturally inclined to do good. The second group is called Asuri Sampat – those who have a natural instinct for the opposite qualities.For example, there are some who live in the world, do their normal jobs, but follow the principle of modesty, honesty and self-restraint. They acquire these good qualities through good actions in their previous life. They follow the path of dharma, in their pursuit of artha and kama. Such people are endowed with daivi sampat.Kama means desire. Artha refers to the means to acquire material comforts and fulfill desires. Both artha and kama are regulated by dharma, a self-regulating mechanism and a sense of self-restraint.Those endowed with asuri sampat, follow the path of material comforts without self-restraint.In this chapter, Lord Krishna talks about 26 characteristics of those endowed with daivi sampat and 6 characteristics of those endowed with asuri sampat.Shankaracharya says in the second chapter that the qualities of a spiritually enlightened person are listed as they show the path to us to become spiritually enlightened. All these characteristics have two stages. In the first stage, one reads and practices. In the second stage, the person is naturally established in the higher quality.The 1st verse lists the following characteristics of a person endowed with daivi sampat:He is fearless. He is not afraid of anyone and no one is afraid of him.He has purity of mind. His mind, thoughts, words and actions agree on the same thing. His mind is devoid of unspiritual tendencies.He is established in Jnanam. He understands the impermanent nature of the world and that only the divine reality is permanent. He follows the teachings of ancient masters who recorded their spiritual experience.He has a natural, instinct desire to engage in charitable activities (danam).He has self-control (dama). The mind has a natural tendency to go towards sense objects. Such a person is able to divert his mind away from objects of enjoyment.He performs yajna – spiritual rituals. Rituals, when performed with a sense of sanctity, create shraddha, and help elevate our mind to a higher level.He listens to scriptures, practices austerities and is straightforward in his interaction.The 2nd verse lists the following characteristics of a person endowed with daivi sampat:He practices ahimsa (non-violence) in thoughts, words and deeds. Gita says that any conscious or deliberate thought/word/deed to cause harm to others should be avoided.He is truthful.There is an absence of anger in him. The difference between the anger of a spiritually evolved person and an ordinary person is this: The anger of a spiritually evolved person is for a higher cause and does not affect his mind. For example, the anger of a mother and teacher would be of this kind. An ordinary person gets identified with his anger, which comes from a desire to do harm to others - it inflicts pain on his mind.He is established in Tyaga (a sense of renunciation). There is an absence of tendency in him to possess material things.Per Sri Ramakrishna, householders do not need to have external renunciation. They should do their duties with an inner sense of renunciation, without an extreme sense of possessiveness.He has Shanti (a sense of inner peace).He has no crookedness.He is compassionate towards all beings, including human beings, animals, and nature. It is an instinctive quality in him with a total incapacity to be cruel towards others.He has an attitude of non-covetousness. He is gentle. He is modest.There is an absence of fickleness in his mind. A strong, stable mind is needed to preserve and take care of one's goodness.Holy association is important, especially for a beginner. They help develop these qualities and reinforce them.The doctrine of rebirth and karma is not pre-determinism. Per these doctrines, we can build our own future. We can begin a new life at any moment by beginning to do noble deeds, which increase the balance of good samskaras.We need role models from history to demonstrate these good qualities, so that they can go deep into the human psyche. Otherwise, they are just ideas like floating clouds. Imagine what mindfulness would be without Buddha's example from history.

15th Chapter: Verses 8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20The 15th chapter discusses the idea of immanence, transcendence and omnipresence of the Absolute Reality. The Absolute Reality is beyond verbalization and description – it can only be experienced.15th verse: “This divine principle is present as the indweller in every living being in this world. It manifests as memory, knowledge, ignorance, and forgetfulness. It is the one that is described and explored in all scriptures. It is the one to be known.”16th verse: “There are two kinds of beings in this world: First, is ksharah, which is the perishable. Second, is aksharah, which is imperishable. Ksharah is this phenomenal world, which comes and goes. Aksharah is the jivatma, present as the indweller in all beings, and is imperishable.”The anvil is installed on the ground and does not move. On top of it, metal pieces are hammered and shaped. Metal pieces undergo change – the anvil doesn't. The jivatma is like the anvil and does not change – it assumes new bodies from birth to birth.The 8th verse of the 15th chapter discusses transmigration of the soul. It says: “When this body is destroyed, the soul within is not destroyed. It leaves the body behind and acquires a new body taking with it the senses and the mind, just like the wind carries the scent away with it.”We are born with the baggage of past samskaras (tendencies) – we cannot disown them. We collect these tendencies in our Antahkarana through actions involving the senses and the mind. When the body is cremated, the physical senses are gone, but the Antahkarana is retained. It accompanies the jivatma when it takes a new body.We come out of the wheel of samsara – birth, old age, death, rebirth – when we dehypnotize ourselves into knowing that we are not this body, and we realize our true identity as Atman.17th verse: “Purushottama is the supreme divine truth that is immanent, omnipresent and transcendental. It is distinct and different from both the phenomenal world and the jivatma.”The jivatma is the supreme Atman manifesting through this body, in combination with the Antahkarana and past samskaras. When we remove the samskaras and the antahkarana from the jivatma, what remains is Purushottama – the supreme divine truth. To get back into our true identity is to realize that we are Purushottama.In the Ashtavakra Samhita, there is a verse: “In the ocean, there are so many waves. Without any effort, by the characteristics of the ocean, waves come and go. They emerge by their own nature and then they disappear. The ocean is not distinct from the waves. The waves cannot exist without the ocean. But the ocean can exist without the waves.”Similarly, in this Purushottama, the entire phenomenon of creation, dissolution and re-emergence of the world happens. Purushottama is like the ocean, and the phenomenal world is like the waves.Purushottama is all pervading and is immanent in everything. It is present in all three states of consciousness – waking, dream sleep and deep sleep states. At the same time, it is transcendental.The 17th verse emphasizes the spiritual oneness of existence. The whole creation is one spiritual family. We should maintain the harmony of nature and not deviate from the principles of Satyam, Ritm and Dharma.Satyam means truth. A person will not deviate from the path of harmony if he practices truthfulness and feels content.Ritm is the central principle of inherent harmony that exists in nature.Dharma refers to the ethical and moral principles through which one practices Satyam. For example, it is immoral to pollute the earth and therefore against Dharma.18th verse: “I am the Absolute Reality, the Purushottama, which is present everywhere.”19th verse: “A person who is free from delusion, who has understood this supreme divine truth through spiritual practices, he becomes the knower of everything - he knows the essence of all knowledge.”Shankaracharya explains this verse by reminding us of the inverted Ashvattha tree from the first verse. Roots represent the origin or the source. If the branches declare their independence from the root, the tree collapses. Similarly, a person who thinks that he is the body-mind-complex and forgets his connection to the Atman, he is deluded. The one who is not deluded, maintains his connection to the root – he understands that whatever he does, is powered by the Atman. Every action is an act of worship for him. For him, the line of demarcation between secular and spiritual disappears.To him, his entire life is a divine act. He lives his life like the mantra in Rigveda which means: “Let every thought become a meditation, let every word become a mantra, let every action become an act of worship, let every travel become a pilgrimage, let every movement become a circumambulation around the deity, and let the whole life become an offering to God.”20th verse: “I have now talked to you about this secret knowledge, which requires higher intuitive power to grasp.”To summarize, the purpose of the 15th chapter is to understand the true nature of Purushottama, and the impermanence of this material world.

Title: Expressions of the Divine15th Chapter: Verses 12, 13, 14, 1512th12th verse: “There is one all-pervading, immanent, omnipresent, and supreme divine reality which is the Atman. This Atman is the divine light that is present in every being. The light that is in the sun, in the moon and in the fire – that light is nothing but the light of the Atman.”Our creativity and our ability to think and work are all expressions of this divine principle. Just as electricity manifests in different ways depending on the gadget it powers, similarly, our skills are like outer shells that manifest this divine principle.In whatever profession one may be, if that person reaches a level of human excellence – that perfection is a spark of the divinity within him.Wherever we find a super abundance of serenity, spiritual wisdom, intuitive power and human qualities such as sacrifice – all these are expressions of the divine.We can manifest this divinity through spiritual practices such as Yama and Niyama in Vedanta or Ashtanga Yoga in Buddhism. Then our mind becomes pure and reflects this divinity in more effulgence like a pure mirror.Lord Krishna says: “This light comes from Me.” “Me” here does not refer to Lord Krishna as a human being. It refers to Atman.13th verse: “This divine principle, which enters the earth, enlivens everything. When we look around in nature, we see trees, mountains, valleys, water, plants, food grains – these are all expressions of the divine.”Nature is not meant for our exploitation. We are all visitors on this mother earth. Vedic mantras emphasize harmony and balance of nature. Let the earth, clouds, skies, plants, trees and the entire cosmos remain pure, undisturbed, and in perpetual peace and harmony.Satyam means truth. A person will not deviate from the path of harmony if he practices truthfulness and feels content.Ritm is the central principle of inherent harmony that exists in nature.Dharma refers to the ethical and moral principles through which one practices Satyam. For example, it is immoral to pollute the earth and therefore against Dharma.14th verse: “It is this divine principle that resides in every being, eats and digests the food, and nourishes the body.”There are four types of food referred to in this verse – food that we chew, that we drink, that we swallow and foods such as ice-cream that belong to the first three categories. The divine principle manifests as the digestive faculty in the human body.Even the act of preparing and eating food is divine. Every secular activity can be given a spiritual orientation – as we evolve spiritually, the line of demarcation between secular and spiritual disappears.We can think of our entire life as a divine act. There is a mantra in Rigveda which means: “Let every thought become a meditation, let every word become a mantra, let every action become an act of worship, let every travel become a pilgrimage, let every movement become a circumambulation around the deity, and let the whole life become an offering to God.”15th verse: “This divine principle is present as the indweller in every living being in this world. It manifests as memory, knowledge, ignorance and forgetfulness.”The ability to forget and to be blissfully unaware in ignorance is also a gift from God. Without the ability to forget no one can live in this world.The highest advaitic experience cannot be explained. It can only be experienced. The mahavakya “Aham Brahmasmi” – as an expression is not non-dualistic; it represents only the penultimate state; in its experience dimension it is non-dualistic.The language of duality is verbosity; the language of the infinite non-dual experience is silence. The role of the scriptures is to remove the wrong notions that are in our mind.

Title: Atman – The Light of all Lights15th Chapter: Verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 1510th verse: “In this body, there are physical senses. There is a perceiver who uses these senses to perceive sense objects. Those who are deluded equate that perceiver to the body-mind complex. Those who are enlightened see him as separate and as the real perceiver.”Those who identify with the physical body continue with the transmigratory cycle of birth, old age, death and rebirth. The 10th verse should be understood in the context of the law of karma and the law of incarnation. According to the law of karma, our actions produce two types of results – one that is visible and immediate, another that is invisible. For example, if we help a person, the other person benefits (visible result). But we ourselves feel “I did something sensible” – this is the invisible result, which is stored in our Antahkarana as samskara. We collect these tendencies in our Antahkarana through actions involving the senses and the mind. We are born with the baggage of past samskaras (tendencies) – we cannot disown them.There are two ways of looking upon our experiences. The first is a worldly view where we think: “I (body-mind-complex) is doing this.” Second, a spiritually evolved view, where we think: “There is something within me for whom this body-mind-complex is an instrument.” The soul continues its transmigratory cycle until the wrong notion is gone.Those who are enlightened understand that the soul (the primary and the owner) has a body. Those who are not enlightened, their understanding is that the body (the primary and the owner) has a soul.11th verse: “Those who are not endowed with the power of discerning wisdom identify with the physical body and empirical experiences. They enjoy and suffer. They deceive themselves by wanting a continuing succession of happy experiences. Those endowed with spiritual wisdom look upon happiness and unhappiness with the same equanimity of mind.”We cannot have continuous happiness. For example, when our profits go down, we compare to the previous profit level and become unhappy – so decreasing happiness can make us unhappy. The way to be happy is to stop the pursuit of happiness all the time.12th verse: “There is one all-pervading, immanent, omnipresent and supreme reality which is the Atman. This Atman is the divine light that is present in every being. The light that is in the sun, in the moon and in the fire – that light is nothing but the light of the Atman.”Everything - living beings and non-living things such as stones - are all pervaded by this light. Living beings have an antahkarana which acts as the reflecting medium for this light to manifest. Non-living things do not have an antahkarana.By doing good actions, we can manifest this light. The degree of manifestation of this eternal reality depends on the purity of the person's mind. Swami Vivekananda said that the difference between an amoeba and a Buddha is only of degrees, not of kind. Buddha is like the clean mirror, in whom the presence of the lord manifests in His full effulgence.The 12th verse compares this divine presence to light. The idea of light comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where King Janaka asked Sage Yajnavalkya: “Endowed with what light does a person live in this world”. The first answer was sunlight. As each option provided in previous answers was eliminated, subsequent answers were moonlight, agni, and sound. When all four of these options were eliminated, the final answer was Atma-Jyoti, which is in all of us and that is self-revealing. It is the light of all lights - that enables all other lights, such as sunlight, moonlight, agni to function.Lord Krishna says: “This light comes from Me.” “Me” here does not refer to Lord Krishna as a human being. It refers to Atman. A person becomes spiritually enlightened when this light manifests in its full effulgence. This is what happened to Buddha. In his journey, 543 previous life cycles were replayed – he de-identified with all life cycles. He realized his real essence is the Atman.13th verse: “This light, which enters the earth, enlivens everything.”When we sow a seed in fertile soil, it sprouts, then becomes a plant and then a tree. It is the gradual evolution of this light which is already present in the seed.14th verse: “It is this light that resides in every being, eats and digests the food, and nourishes the body.”15th verse: “This light is present as the indweller in every living being in this world. It manifests as memory, knowledge, ignorance and forgetfulness.”Everything in this world – good, bad, indifference – all come from the same source, this divine light. Just as electricity manifests in different ways depending on the gadget it powers, similarly, everything in this world is a different manifestation of the same divine light.The human body should be cared for – it acts as an instrument to undertake spiritual practices, manifest this light, and take us beyond the body.

15th Chapter: Verses 8, 9, 10In the 15th chapter, the whole world is compared to the Ashvattha tree – the tree of life. Its roots are above and the branches are below. Roots represent the origin or the source which is the Atman. From this Atman, the empirical world, which is represented by the branches and leaves, evolves and moves downward. Only the Atman is eternal – the empirical world is non-eternal.The branches and leaves represent the continuous flow of samsara (empirical world) through human desires, actions and results. One can get out of the entanglement of samsara with the strong weapon of non-attachment.The Atman, as the source, is the root. Without it, the tree collapses. So, in the midst of our daily activities, we should remember the Atman, the source of everything.The purpose of this metaphor is to emphasize that the phenomenal world is unreal in the absolute sense. It is real only in the relative sense. Vedanta defines something as real if (1) it remains without change in the past, present and future (2) It is beyond time, space and causation and (3) it remains without change in waking, dream and deep sleep states.In an ocean, waves come and go, but the ocean remains the same. The waves are not unreal, but they are not permanent. They go back to the ocean and they are non-different from the ocean. Atman is like the ocean (permanent) and the phenomenal world is like the wave (impermanent and non-different from Atman).The idea that everything in the empirical world is impermanent translates into a matured outlook and level-headedness. We don't have to get anxious when bad news comes our way because we won't assign permanence to that impermanent event. The 15th chapter attempts to translate what we intellectually know into spiritual common sense.Gita ends with the verse: “Wherever the ideals of action and contemplation are present, there will be victory, prosperity, success and stability of life.” It emphasizes that we should do our actions with the efficiency of a king but combine it with the calmness and far-sightedness of a sage.In Gita, there is an evolution of the karma ideal from the 1st to the 18th chapter. Gita starts with Arjuna's predicament towards a duty that he is expected to do, but that is unpleasant to him. Such conflict is only faced by an evolved soul. Conflict doesn't exist for people in two categories: (1) Who become like Buddha (2) Who are spiritually no different than an animal. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he is in self-delusion. If he runs away from his duties, his duties will chase him. In strong language, he calls him a hypocrite. He says that a person who is not willing to do his duty and takes refuge in higher philosophy as a pretext for not doing his duty - he's a hypocrite.Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the ladder of evolution in Karma-Yoga. The first instruction is: do your work, whatever may be that work. It is better to do the work with a selfish motive than to remain inactive. At the next level, we begin to do the duty with spiritual values such as unselfishness, looking beyond tangible rewards. At the highest level, it becomes natural for us to do the duty with unselfishness. In the highest state, whatever we do, we do as an offering to God or for the good of others, with a sense of sanctity and sacredness – we are then able to combine action and contemplation in our life.When we do our work this way, we can put our whole mind to the work and our energy and concentration is not dissipated worrying about results.Karma theory is not fatalism. It is the opposite of fatalism. It says that we can modify our future by doing good actions. The divine is present in all of us. By doing good actions, we can manifest this divinity.The degree of manifestation of this eternal reality depends on the purity of the person's mind. Swami Vivekananda said that the difference between an amoeba and a Buddha is only of degrees, not of kind. Buddha is like the clean mirror, in whom the presence of the lord manifests in His full effulgence.The central thesis of Swami Vivekananda's teaching is: “For the good of the world and for one's own spiritual enlightenment.” We should learn Sri Ramakrishna teachings through Swami Vivekananda. Whatever Swami Vivekananda taught came from Sri Ramakrishna.The 8th verse discusses transmigration of the soul. It says: “When this body is destroyed, the soul within is not destroyed. It leaves the body behind and acquires a new body taking with it the senses and the mind, just like the wind carries the scent away with it.”We are born with the baggage of past samskaras (tendencies) – we cannot disown them. We collect these tendencies in our Antahkarana through actions involving the senses and the mind. When the body is cremated, the physical senses are gone, but the Antahkarana is retained. It accompanies the soul when it takes a new body.The 9th and 10th verses say: “In this body, there are physical senses. There is a perceiver who uses these senses to perceive sense objects. Those who are deluded equate that perceiver to the body-mind complex. Those who are enlightened see him as separate and as the real perceiver.”

Title: The Weapon of Non-Attachment15th Chapter: Verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8In the first verse, the whole world is compared to the Ashvattha tree – the tree of life. Its roots are above and the branches are below. Roots represent the origin or the source which is the Atman. From this Atman, the empirical world, which is represented by the branches and leaves, evolves and moves downward. Only the Atman is eternal – the empirical world is non-eternal.The branches and leaves represent the continuous flow of samsara (empirical world) through human desires, actions and results. The Atman, as the source, is the root. Without it, the tree collapses. So, in the midst of our daily activities, we should remember the Atman, the source of everything.The 3rd verse states that no one knows the true nature of this tree. It has no beginning and no end. One can get out of the entanglement of samsara with the strong weapon of non-attachment (asaṅga-śhastreṇa).When we do our actions without being attached, then our life becomes enjoyable. We are no longer imprisoned by the results of our actions. Mahatma Gandhi practiced Anasakti-Yoga. He led a life of action, but he was not attached to results.The 4th verse says that those who are spiritually evolved develop an inquiry into something higher – they go in the search for the transcendental. It gives them a higher purpose in life. The moment we develop this higher goal, we begin our journey to get out of the wheel of samsara. Upon reaching the goal, the transmigratory cycle comes to an end – we become one with the divine. This should be understood in the context of the law of karma and the law of incarnation.The realization of the imperfections of worldly enjoyments brings about the pursuit of something higher and transcendental. This divine discontent is called Parinama Dukha, and it is the springboard of spiritual wisdom.The ultimate purpose of human life is to transcend the empirical world and realize our true identity as the Atman. Kathopanishad explains the evolution of this quest for the transcendental with Nachiketa's story. Nachiketa asks Yama for three boons: (1) Let my father not scold me when I return (2) Teach me rituals to get to heaven and (3) Teach me the reality beyond death. Yama then teaches Nachiketa how to transcend our physical identity and realize our true nature as the Atman.The 5th verse explains the weapon of non-attachment. Essentially it says that we should do our duty with full focus but not be enslaved by desires. “Those who are detached, who are free from entanglement of worldly objects, who have a higher ideal in life, who are free from desires – they are liberated and dwell in the awareness that they are not the physical body.”To understand the 5th, 6th and 7th verse, it is important to understand the 8th verse. It says: “When this body is destroyed, the soul within is not destroyed. It leaves the body behind and acquires a new body taking with it the senses and the mind, just like the wind carries the scent away with it.”We are born with the baggage of past samskaras (tendencies) – we cannot disown them. We collect these tendencies in our Antahkarana through actions involving the senses and the mind. When the body is cremated, the physical senses are gone, but the Antahkarana is retained. It accompanies the soul when it takes a new body. In spiritual life, we are all individual travelers. Just like someone traveling in a train meets other travelers – similarly, it is an accidental meeting with our near and dear ones in this life. Our journey comes to an end when we experience and realize our true identity as the Atman.6th verse: “This Atman is neither understood nor perceived as we perceive empirical objects. It is not illuminated by the sun, the moon or the fire. It is to be realized as our own true self by turning our inquiry inward. Then we realize that we are not the physical body which comes and goes.”7th verse: “A portion of the eternal reality lives in every living being, from the amoeba to the Buddha.” The spiritual oneness of existence is emphasized in this verse.The degree of manifestation of this eternal reality depends on the purity of the person's mind. Swami Vivekananda said that the difference between an amoeba and a Buddha is only of degrees, not of kind. Buddha is like the clean mirror, in whom the presence of the lord manifests in His full effulgence.

Title: The Nature of the Empirical World15th Chapter: Verses 1, 2In previous chapters of Gita, various methods of spiritual practices are discussed, such as the path of bhakti, the path of karma yoga, the path of dhyana yoga, the path of jnanam, and the path of transcending the three gunas. One essential characteristic in all these paths is that the seeker should develop detachment towards worldly enjoyments. For that, it is important to understand what constitutes the world.Matter, energy, mind and time constitute the empirical world. This empirical world is explained by imagery in the 1st verse.In the first verse, the whole world is compared to the Ashvattha tree – the tree of life. Its roots are above and the branches are below. Roots represent the origin or the source which is the Atman. From this Atman, the empirical world, which is represented by the branches and leaves, evolves and moves downward. Only the Atman is eternal – the empirical world is non-eternal.The verse says that the leaves are the ritualistic portion of the vedas, where one performs rituals with the purpose of some empirical gain. Leaves represent the continuous flow of samsara (empirical world) through human desires, actions and results.Vedanta defines something as real if (1) it remains without change in the past, present and future (2) It is beyond time, space and causation and (3) it remains without change in waking, dream and deep sleep states.According to the commentary on the 3rd verse, this world is non-eternal – it is something that you see now, and which is gone the next moment (drashta-nashta). What we see in a dream seems real in the dream – we realize it is not real when we come out of the dream. Similarly, worldly enjoyments seem real at the empirical plane, but are unreal from the view of absolute reality in Vedanta.Various examples are cited in Vedanta to illustrate the mithya nature of this world. In a desert, from a distance, we see a pool of water. We realize later, that in reality, it is a continuous expansion of sand. The water was only an imagination. Small children may imagine a city in the celestial regions or a flower garden in the sky. Their father tells them that it is not real. Similarly, from the absolute point of view, this world is not real.Maya really does not exist. The wrong notion, that Maya exists, disappears when we realize that Atman is the absolute reality. In the rope snake analogy, the snake exists only as an idea, and it goes away when light is brought to the room.If we keep in mind that everything that we seek in this world, including human relations, are not eternal – it gives us transcendental wisdom and level headedness.The whole Gita is about how to live in this world without being worldly minded. Gita starts with Arjuna's predicament towards a duty that he is expected to do, but that is unpleasant to him. The same Arjuna says in the 73rd verse of the 18th chapter: “By your grace, all my doubts are gone. I shall act according to your instructions.”2nd verse: “The branches, leaves and fruits are below the root in this imagery of the tree. They are nurtured by the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna – which constitute our worldly life. They drive human emotional drives and activities.”The Atman, as the source, is the root. Without it, the tree collapses. So, in the midst of our daily activities, we should remember the Atman, the source of everything. This can be done with spiritual practices such as yamas and niyamas. When we undertake these practices, we can detach from our desires and remember the root (Atman).Every action which is done other than as yajna binds us to this world. The practical message of Gita is about doing our duty as swadharma, as yajna. Then our actions do not bind us, they liberate us.When we carry a heavy weight on our head, we feel it. However, if a one-millimeter gap is created between the head and the weight, we do not feel it at all. When we perform actions as yajna, it is like creating the one-millimeter gap, where we are detached from the results of the actions. We do the actions with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and for the good of others. Mahatma Gandhi led a life of action, but he was not attached to results.

Title: Characteristics of a Guṇātita14th Chapter: Verses 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.Highest spiritual evolution happens when we transcend the three gunas. Such a person is called Guṇātita. This is a state similar to Nirvana in Buddhism and that of Stitha-prajna in the 2nd chapter of the Gita.Being established in sattva guna is not enough as there is a risk of descending down to rajo guna by the force of circumstances. Guṇātita is a state where there is no birth, no old age or sickness, and no death. He realizes his true identity as the Atman.In the 21st verse, Arjuna asks: “What are the characteristics and signs of this Guṇātita, the one who has transcended the three gunas? How does such a person act and behave? How does one understand that he has gone beyond the three gunas?In the 22nd to 25th verses, Lord Krishna gives a list of the essential characteristics of a Guṇātita. He lives in the world, is active and does all his duties, but remains serene and detached. He does not identify himself as involved in the action. He is established in the state of witness to his own actions. He remains in a state of perfect equanimity – not overjoyed when things are going well and not disturbed in unpleasant situations. He remains the same when talking to a friend or enemy and whether is honored or dishonored. He transcends the pairs of opposites.Shankaracharya says that in spiritual literature, whenever a list of characteristics of a spiritually enlightened person is provided, there is only one purpose. These characteristics constitute the road by which we should travel to reach the goal that the enlightened person has reached. Any spiritual practice that we undertake to travel this road is never lost as described in the 6th chapter.In the 6th chapter, Arjuna asks: “Suppose a person is making an earnest effort in spiritual practices but fails to attain perfection. What happens to such a person?” In answer to Arjuna's questions, Lord Krishna says that the spiritual effort is never lost. It is like a seed that has been sowed and will sprout in a future life cycle. The person will be born again with the positive samskaras and these samskaras will force him to continue his spiritual journey in next life.26th verse: “Those who practice this devotion to God with concentration, they transcend the three gunas and become one with Brahman.”Spiritual progress requires both human effort and God's grace. The latter is of no value until one is ready. The soil should be fertile for the seed to sprout. When we do noble activities or try to practice the characteristics of a spiritually enlightened person, we are making ourselves ready for God's grace. We should first read about great ideas and contemplate on them (jnanam). Then we should imbibe them and make them part of our lives (vijnanam).27th verse: “Those who with full one-pointed concentration attain the Atman, which is eternal and immortal, they attain eternal happiness and bliss. They become established in śhāśhvatasya dharmasya, eternal spiritual values.”śhāśhvatasya dharmasya is a set of great spiritual qualities as described in the characteristics of a bhakta in the 12th chapter and as described in daivi-sampat in the 16th chapter. In Gita, there are various references to the characteristics of the person who has reached the highest state of spiritual evolution, such as Yogi, Guṇātita, Bhakta, Jnani. These characteristics are of the same personality, who has reached the highest level evolving through different channels. In the 12th chapter, Lord Krishna describes eleven characteristics of an ideal devotee who is dear to him: (1) He does not have animosity or ill-feeling towards anyone (2) He is a friend of everyone (3) He is sympathetic towards everyone (4) He is free from ideas of possession (5) He looks upon happiness and unhappiness with equanimity of mind (6) He is forgiving (7) He is contented (8) He is always connected with the divine (9) He is self-controlled (10) He is strong-willed in pursuing his ideal (11) His mind and intellect are fixed on God. These are examples of śhāśhvatasya dharmasya – eternal spiritual values.On friendliness, there is a discussion in one of the scriptures on who is one's best friend. Two options are given: (1) One who is compassionate and helpful in need (2) Second, who is happy when you are happy and when you don't need his help. The scripture says that the second is a truer friend. There is a possibility that the first one may not be happy in your happiness as he may begin to enjoy your dependence on him.In the 16th chapter, Lord Krishna provides 26 characteristics of people endowed with divine wealth (daivi-sampat). Examples of such characteristics are fearlessness, purity, steadfastness, control of senses, interest in scriptures, practice of non-violence, compassion, modesty and absence of pride. These are examples of śhāśhvatasya dharmasya – eternal spiritual values.In the Bhagavata Purana, there is a dialog between King Nimi and the Nava Yogis. In answer to the King's question: “Who is an ideal devotee of God?”, one of the sages gives the following answer: “The one who sees the presence of God in all beings, and who sees the presence of all beings in God. “

14th Chapter: Verses 20, 21, 22Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.20th verse: “Highest spiritual evolution happens when we transcend the three gunas. Such a person is called Guṇātita. He reaches a state where there is no birth, no old age or sickness, and no death. He realizes his true identity as the Atman, which is never born, which never dies, which is not subjected to changes and which is all-pervading. He attains immortality (amṛitam).”Those who are endowed with sattva guna, they will be able to realize that human beings are not just a body-mind complex. There is something beyond that. Our real identity is as Atman. When we realize this true identity, we can transcend the three gunas. Then the gunas will be tools in our hands, not vice versa.Gita asks us to strive to transcend all the three gunas. Being established in sattva guna is not enough as there is a risk of descending down to rajo guna by the force of circumstances. To transcend the three gunas, we have to get established in sattva guna which promotes physical and emotional well-being and helps us make proper use of rajo guna.The difference between a Guṇātita and the one established in sattva guna is this. The one with sattva guna has the risk of descending down to a level where rajo guna becomes predominant. The Guṇātita may come down to the level of sattva guna, but never to the level to rajo guna or tamo guna.We attain immortality, not in the physical sense, but by realizing our true nature. One cannot transcend death at the physical level. When we realize our true nature and its immortal dimension, we transcend death. We realize that the body is just a cage or instrument for the Atman to manifest. We realize that everything at the empirical level is non-eternal, there is something beyond that is eternal. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has a profound dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi on the topic of immortality.In the 21st verse, Arjuna asks: “What are the characteristics and signs of this Guṇātita, the one who has transcended the three gunas? How does such a person act and behave? How does one understand that he has gone beyond the three gunas?”Gunas are not visible and cannot be physically verified. We can infer which guna is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament. For example, if a person is active but with a sense of serenity and wisdom, we can infer that he is endowed with sattva guna.We can transform our own personality. We have to understand where we stand and start climbing the ladder from tamo guna to rajo guna to sattva guna. If we are lazy, we should first become active to develop rajo guna. If we are active, we should listen to higher ideas or do noble actions which generate sattva guna.In Gita, there are various references to the characteristics of the person who has reached the highest state of spiritual evolution, such as Yogi, Guṇātita, Bhakta, Jnani. These characteristics are of the same personality, who has reached the highest level evolving through different channels. Guṇātita has a number of faculties, he is very efficient, but he is absolutely calm. A bhakta thinks that whatever he does is God's will, so he remains calm. A Yogi does all his actions as duty without any selfish ambitions, so he remains calm.In the 22nd verse, Lord Krishna says that the person who has transcended the three gunas (Guṇātita), he may be active but remains serene and detached. Even when active he thinks, “My body and senses are involved in the activity. As Atman, which is my true self, I am detached from the activity.”Mahatma Gandhi led a life of action, but he was not attached to results. He considered Gita as his mother.If our true nature is that of a mukta, why be in the pursuit of being a jivan-mukta? Yes, it is true that our true nature is that we are mukta. Due to Maya, we superimpose the body mind complex on our true nature. However, just by reading a statement such as Tat-tvam-asi we do not become Jivan mukta. We have to start the journey from where we stand and undertake spiritual practices to become liberated.In Vedantic philosophy, there are two approaches that explain how this liberation actually takes place. According to one school, if one is spiritually fit, and his mind is fully ready to realize the identity with Brahman, a simple statement such as Tat-tvam-asi from the teacher is enough. Upon hearing this expression, immediately he will realize its true meaning and his identity with Brahman (Shabda-aparoksha-vada). Others will take more time for such realization and will have to pursue spiritual practices.Vedanta prescribes four-fold spiritual disciplines called sadhana chatusthaya to become fit for spiritual enquiry. The four disciplines are: (1) a proper understanding of what is real and what isn't real (2) a sincere renunciation of worldly desires (3) self-restraint and control of the senses and mind (4) a strong urge for spiritual liberation. Nitya anitya vastu viveka Ihāmutra phala bhoga virāga Śamādi ṣatka sampatti Mumukṣutvam. And after one becomes desirous of spiritual pursuit, there are three additional disciplines he should pursue. He should listen to spiritual instructions, focus on their meaning and finally he should meditate and realize their meaning. It is called Sravana, Manana, Nididhyāsana.Maya manifests in two ways. Vidya-Maya, which creates the desire to do good deeds and liberates us. Avidya-Maya, which creates the desire for selfish deeds and binds us.

14th Chapter: Verses 18, 19, 20Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.Gunas are not visible and cannot be physically verified. We can infer which guna is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament.Of these three gunas, Sattva guna is the most refined. If a person has dynamism combined with a sense of serenity and wisdom, he is endowed with sattva guna. He can concentrate, and direct his time and skills in one direction. Sattva guna manifests as strength combined with humility, richness combined with generosity and so on.A person endowed with sattva guna does his work as swadharma, as a way to properly stay active. Swadharma is our natural way of work that we feel perfect harmony with. When we do our work as Swadharma, we derive inner contentment and do not feel tired from the work.A person endowed with sattva guna is active, but for the good of others and with no attachment. He is not opposed to rajo guna, but he is not bound by rajo guna. Spiritual giants such as Shankaracharya, St. Teresa of Avila, Buddha and Christ were endowed with sattva guna and were always active. They worked only for the good of others.One drawback of sattva guna is that it can lead to spiritual pride. There is also the risk of descending down to a level where rajo guna becomes predominant. This can be remedied by staying detached and doing the work as swadharma.Greed, craving, hyper activism, and restlessness prevail in a person predominated by rajo guna. A person endowed with rajo guna always has a new desire and he directs his actions towards realization of that desire. Such desires have no end. Such a person can also have delusions of grandeur – a consequence of the person having a high opinion of himself.The predominance of rajo guna in humans and civilizations can lead to great creativity and commerce. However, it can also lead to bad outcomes such as colonization.Rajo guna is necessary, but it should be guided and restrained by sattva guna, as was done by Rajarshis (philosopher kings). Human civilization will not survive if there was only rajo guna without sattva guna.In a rajarshi (philosopher king) – the philosopher/sage aspect comes sattva guna and the kingly aspect comes from rajo guna. As a king, he has power, wealth and status. As a sage, he can see far into things - he understands both the merits and limitations of power, wealth and status.Ignorance, laziness, negligence and delusion prevail in a person predominated by tamo guna. Such a person is deluded and interprets the right as wrong and wrong as right. Political anarchism prevailed in some countries due to such inversion of ideas.Gita asks us to strive to transcend all the three gunas. Being established in sattva guna is not enough as there is a risk of descending down to rajo guna by the force of circumstances. To transcend the three gunas, we have to get established in sattva guna which promotes physical and emotional well-being and helps us make proper use of rajo guna.18th verse: “Those with sattva guna evolve upwards – they go to the realm of angels and devas. Those with rajo guna remain in the same state. Those with tamo guna descend to lower levels. “19th and 20th verse: “Those who are endowed with sattva guna, they will be able to realize that human being is not a just a body mind complex. There is something beyond that. The three gunas are linked to all our actions and thoughts. Our real identity is as Atman. When we realize this true identity, we can transcend the three gunas. Then the gunas will be tools in our hands, not vice versa.”We will then be able to attain immortality, not in the physical sense, but by realizing our true nature. One cannot transcend death at the physical level. When we realize our true nature and its immortal dimension, we transcend death. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has a profound dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi on the topic of immortality.In the 20th verse, Lord Krishna says that when we transcend the three gunas, we reach a state where there is no birth, no old age or sickness, and no death. We realize that we are the Atman, which is never born, which never dies, which is not subjected to changes and which is all-pervading. This is what is meant by attaining immortality.The concept of the three gunas can also be applied to food. Food that agitates the mind is rajasic. Food that gives us serenity is sattvic. And food that makes us sleep and creates confusion is tamasic.

Title: Effects of the Three Gunas14th Chapter: Verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; 6th chapter verses 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.Gunas are not visible and cannot be physically verified. We can infer which guna is predominant in a person by observing his external temperament.Of these three gunas, Sattva guna is the most refined, healthy and good. However, even Sattva guna binds, as the person endowed with sattva guna feels attached to sukha – he has a natural tendency to seek inner serenity and poise.10th verse: “In a person who is serene, detached and contented, sattva guna dominates. Rajo guna and tamo guna are almost non-functional. In such a person, laziness and confusion, which are manifestations of tamo guna, disappear. Similarly, hyperactive nature, manifestation of rajo guna, disappears.”The 11th verse refers to the five senses of perception, five senses of action, mind and intellect as the doors of the body, or the instruments through which one acts. A person endowed with sattva guna is able to restrain all these instruments of action – in him, these doors are illumined by light which represents serenity, wisdom and insight. He has a sense of inner fulfillment and contentment.12th and 13th verses: “Greed, craving, hyper activism, and restlessness prevail in a person predominated by rajo guna. Ignorance, laziness, negligence and delusion prevail in a person predominated by tamo guna.”Vyasa in Patanjali Yoga Sutras classifies the human mind into five categories: (1) Kshipta (scattered) (2) Mudha (dull) (3) Vikshipta (partially focused) (4) Ekagra (one-pointed) (5) Niruddha (fully focused). The first two are manifestations of tamo guna, viskhipta is manifestation of rajo guna, and ekagra is manifestation of sattva guna. In niruddha state, one transcends all the three gunas.The characteristics describes in the 12th and the 13th verses have parallels to the nine antarayas describes in Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Antaraya means obstacles to spiritual growth. Patanjali refers to the following obstacles, which cause the mind to wander - Disease, mental laziness, doubt, lack of interest, sloth, clinging to sense pleasures, false perception, lack of concentration, and unsteadiness in concentration.14th verse: “If a person dies when sattva guna is predominant, he goes to higher regions and stays with higher beings. Later, he is born in a surrounding where he can continue his spiritual journey.”15th verse: “If a person dies when rajo guna is predominant, he is born among people who are hyper-active. If a person does when tamo guna is predominant, he is born among the lower species.”At death, even though our senses of perception and action are gone, the tendencies that they created are stored in the Antahkarana (mind, intellect, memory and ego). These stored tendencies in the Antahkarana are never lost and are born again.In the 6th chapter, in the 37th, 38th and 39th verse, Arjuna asks: “Suppose a person is endowed with shraddha and is making an earnest effort to control his mind. Yet, he fails to attain perfection. What happens to such a person? “In answer to Arjuna's questions, Lord Krishna says that the one who is desirous of entering the path of Yoga, will be born in a pure and prosperous family, where his parents are spiritually oriented, and where his unfulfilled desires can be fulfilled. The one who is advanced and has entered the path of spiritual life, will be born in a family that has a tradition of producing great spiritual aspirants.Bhagavata Purana is the story of King Parikshit who has seven days left to live because of a curse. The entire Purana is a response to his question to Sage Suka – “What should a dying man do? How should he live the rest of his life?” Suka says: “One should be able to live life in such a way that he can leave the body with a smile on his face and with holy thought in his mind.” One is able to depart in such a manner only if sattva guna predominates in him.

Title: The Bondage of the Three Gunas 14th Chapter: Verses 6, 7, 8, 9Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.The 6th verse of the 14th chapter says: “Of these three gunas, Sattva guna is luminous, healthy and good. However, even Sattva guna binds you. Ultimate supreme goal is to go beyond all three gunas.”Those endowed with sattva guna have a natural tendency to know things. They enjoy the quest for knowledge. A person endowed with sattva guna is active, but for the good of others. He is not opposed to rajo guna, but he is not bound by rajo guna. Along with action, he displays wisdom and level-headedness.In a rajarshi (philosopher king) – the philosophical aspect comes sattva guna and the kingly aspect comes from rajo guna.There is a degree of imperfection even in sattva guna, as it can lead to invisible bondage when one can feel attached to manifestations of this guna such as the quest for knowledge.7th verse: “Rajo guna is of the nature of extreme likes and dislikes, extreme attachment and aversion. It leads to bondage by attachment to action.”Trishna in Buddhism refers to thirst or desire. It is not ordinary desire. When one is thirsty, he may go to any extremes to get water. This attitude is natural for those endowed with rajo guna.While rajo guna is superior to tamo guna, it is not of the highest type. A man endowed with rajo guna will not be able to find fulfillment in his life, as his mind is divided into two extreme thought currents.8th verse: “Tamo guna is caused by ignorance and delusion. It binds one through laziness.” Ignorance here does not mean absence of information. It means ignorance of higher values and our true nature. Along with that comes delusion.Vyasa in Patanjali Yoga Sutras classifies the human mind into five categories: (1) Kshipta (scattered) (2) Mudha (dull) (3) Vikshipta (partially focused) (4) Ekagra (one-pointed) (5) Niruddha (fully focused).Most beginners are in the third stage, where the mind sways like a pendulum. There are two portions of the mind at play. One portion is friendly and may say: “Let me start meditation or reading a good book with higher ideas.” The other portion is unfriendly and wants to procrastinate. A person with such a mind is endowed with lot of rajo guna. He has some sattva guna as well – that's why he feels like meditation of learning about higher ideas. When he starts the activity, tamo guna comes into play and procrastinates.In Ekagra state, rajo guna decreases and sattva guna increases. In Niruddha state, one transcends all the three gunas.Spiritual life is about coming face to face with our own mind. When we try to turn the mind away from the pulls of nature, the mind revolts.We should slowly withdraw the mind from conflicting thought currents by directing it towards positive channels, by feeding it good food. We should start by doing some noble, unselfish deeds. Such actions generate spiritual energy that helps the mind evolve and become friendly. The existing storehouse of negative samskaras has to be nullified with a new storehouse of positive samskaras. Then the mind starts becoming friendly. Spiritual growth is achieved by constant practice and by one's own self effort.9th verse: “A person endowed with sattva guna is bound to higher ideas and happiness. A person endowed with rajo guna is bound to action and ambition. A person endowed with tamo guna is bound to delusion and inaction.”The ultimate goal is to go beyond all three gunas, as they all cause bondage Then we will be guided by sattva guna and we will use rajo guna for the good of others.One has to understand where he stands and start climbing the ladder from tamo guna to rajo guna to sattva guna. If one is lazy, he should first become active with a purpose, even if that purpose is selfish. He would then have boarded the bus that will take him to his destination. The moving bus is rajo guna. Slowly, his selfishness will decrease and he attains sattva guna.