1. isbn 979-8-88572-068-7

Chapter Number: 9

Content: BhagavadGita

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Secret of Secrets

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Chapter 9

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Logic can never lead you to Self-realization. Dissolution of logic will. Devotion and trust are the keys to this dissolution.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88572-068-7

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Copyright 2008

Content: Swamiji, you talked about the difference between questions and doubts and how Arjuna's questions change into doubts. Can you elaborate on this, please?

Content: How can we create trust in Swamiji? How can we drop doubts about doing what we want to do with our hearts when our heads keep asking questions?

Content: When you tell us to ignore the material world and focus on the energy behind matter, it is difficult. Whatever we see is matter; we do not have the sensitivity to see the energy. How to go beyond material manifestation?

Content: What does Krishna mean when He says, 'Follow Me, I am the supreme Godhead?'

Content: You said that we should move from the form to the formless in worship. However, some religions totally oppose this and consider form worship barbaric. Can you please explain this?

Content: Why are there so many rituals? Why do people do rituals in the first place? Are they in any way related to spirituality?

Content: I am unclear even after you explained, the purpose of rituals. We see so many things happening in a temple. So many pujas and prayer rituals are done in a temple. Even in the home, people do puja. What is the need to do so many things? I can pray to Existence directly. Why are we doing so many things? What is the concept of puja?

Content: How can we differentiate our desires from what we have borrowed from others?

Content: We are now at the halfway mark of the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna started in total confusion and dilemma. His questions were varied and repetitive. It was as if he did not listen to what Krishna told him. As I said, questions arise from inner violence. They arise from the ego to prove one's correctness.

Content: These questions gradually morph into doubts. Doubts are essential for any seeker. Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. Without doubt, we cannot develop faith. Blind faith will not help the seeker. It is just based upon social conditioning and will collapse under pressure. Real faith develops in the seeker when he sincerely questions spiritual truths. Raising sincere doubts before an enlightened master actually does a lot to integrate a person and strengthen his faith.

Content: Krishna sees the change that is happening within Arjuna. He feels Arjuna's inner violence and conflict is clearing up and that his individual consciousness is opening. The master is ready to change gears now and take the dialogue to the next level that is needed to address this change in attitude.

Content: In previous chapters Krishna explains to Arjuna how to act without attachment by renouncing the outcome of his actions to Existence. In the last chapter He provides Arjuna an understanding of the process of death and liberation. Now Krishna reveals to Arjuna the greatest of all secrets, the secret about Himself.

Content: Q: Swamiji, you talked about the difference between questions and doubts and how Arjuna's questions change into doubts. Can you elaborate on this, please?

Content: 175

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: When we are young, we question. Children continuously ask, 'Why is the sky so high or why is that cloud like a bird?' A child must be full of questions. That is the way intelligence flowers. Adults do not have answers to these questions most of the time, or if they do, they give foolish answers.

Content: A child's questions are beyond logic. At least, we can attempt a rational, scientific answer if a child asks, 'Why is the sky blue?' However, if the child asks, 'Why is the sky so high?', what can we answer with our limited, logical mind? Since we cannot answer, we become upset and tell the child to keep quiet.

Content: If we look at the question with the curiosity of a child, we go beyond our limited mind. This is how great scientists discover great truths. This is how Newton formulated the gravitational law. This is why Archimedes ran out of his bath naked.

Content: A child questions in innocence. A child questions in curiosity. Often, it does not seek an answer. It expresses wonderment about what nature is. It is a blissful expression.

Content: As the child grows up physically, he becomes conditioned by the people around him. He is constantly being told what to do and why and how. The conditioned child becomes a greedy and fearful adult.

Content: A child has not created an identity around itself yet. Our identities are defined by our desires and the result of our desires. What we possess, what is 'mine' and what is 'ours', determines the opinion we have about ourselves. We are therefore poor or rich, powerful or inconsequential, and we behave appropriately to maintain that status.

Content: As we grow up, we borrow and absorb the desires of others out of greed. We acquire and become fearful of losing what we have acquired. Our lives are driven by greed and fear. This mindset determines the identity of what we think we are and what we think we should be. We develop our egos and live in constant fear of losing that ego or identity.

Content: This fear creates inner violence when our ego is threatened. Anything that threatens our status, our possessions, our desires and therefore, whatever threatens our identity, provokes inner violence. At the very least, this inner violence expresses itself as questions.

Content: This is the basic difference between the questioning attitude of a child and the questioning attitude of an adult. The child comes from the position of curiosity and happiness. The adult reacts from his ego and inner violence.

Content: 176

Content: Sit back and reflect upon what happens when someone questions our knowledge. Our knowledge is not a tangible possession. We think so highly of it and we are so dependent on it. When there is a challenge to it, we immediately become violent.

Content: All knowledge is borrowed. What knowledge arises from the senses, through sensory inputs, seeing and hearing and so on, is from someone else. It is from somewhere else. It is borrowed. It is not ours to claim. So why should we become agitated when this borrowed knowledge is questioned?

Content: But we assume responsibility for that knowledge because it has become another possession of ours. It forms part of our identity that we carefully build and nurture.

Content: It takes wisdom and awareness to realize that this knowledge is like a castle built of cards. It requires inner awareness to know that it can crumble like a pack of cards that are stacked one on top of another. This wisdom is never borrowed. This wisdom comes from within. This wisdom arises through inner contemplation and meditation.

Content: Once inner awareness blossoms, inner violence shrinks. We realize that there is no solid basis upon which our identity is built up. Life is ever-changing. Life is unpredictable, impermanent and uncontrollable. There is no identity that can be rigidly retained throughout one's life. As this awareness blooms, our questions turn to doubts.

Content: Doubts are a reflection of our uncertainty about our identities. They reflect greater understanding of the reality of life. They arise not from inner violence but from growing awareness.

Content: Sometimes disciples tell me how upset they are to have self-doubts about the spiritual path they have embarked upon. I tell them that it is a reflection of their growing faith. Faith and doubt are two sides of the same coin. We cannot have one without the other. We need to peel the layer of doubt to reveal the next layer of faith that in turn exposes another doubt. This process goes on until we discover that there is nothing at the core.

Content: We reach where we belong: eternal bliss, nityānanda.

Content: At the core, it is not faith born out of intellectual understanding or a greater emotional acceptance. Such faith, as I said, carries doubts with it. When our understanding becomes internalized and when it becomes a deeply experienced truth within us, then something deeper and stronger develops in our relationship with the master. We develop trust.

Content: When both questions and doubts disappear, we are in a state of surrender. This is not a surrender arising from weakness. This is not a surrender that happens because we do not know which way to turn and where to go. Such surrender is foolish. That is the kind of surrender one has towards some authority or to religious and political power because one feels powerless and does not know what else to do. That is a surrender based on fear.

Content: Surrender to the master is a surrender born out of courage. It arises out of deep conviction of knowing what to do and where to go. It is surrender with awareness.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Eternal And Easy

Content: 9.1 Krishna said: Arjuna, you trust Me and you are not envious of Me; I shall therefore impart to you this profound and secret wisdom and experience; This will free you of all miseries of material existence.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Eternal And Easy

Content: 9.2 This knowledge is king of all knowledge and the greatest secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, sacred and gives direct perception of Self-realization. It is eternal and easy to practice.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Eternal And Easy

Content: 9.3 Those who have no faith in this knowledge cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes; They will return to birth and death in this material world.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Eternal And Easy

Content: Krishna assures Arjuna with these verses. He says, 'My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which, you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.'

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Eternal And Easy

Content: Beautiful lines! He says, 'Because you are never envious of Me.' Depending on the context, this verse can be taken to mean 'Because you are not envious of Me' or 'Because you have trust in Me.'

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Eternal And Easy

Content: We may wonder how Arjuna could be envious of Krishna. Please be very clear, you don't know the ways in which the human mind works. We really don't know the ways in which human minds work, especially since in our generation, we always think of Arjuna as being human and Krishna as divine. We accept Krishna

Content: as God. However, when Krishna was alive, when He was in the body, people did not always accept that He is divine. In addition, Arjuna and Krishna were friends. They were close friends, so Arjuna treated Krishna as a human and related to Him with human emotions.

Content: Krishna says,

Content: 'My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which, you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.'

Content: We should first understand the atmosphere, the background. Only then will we intensely understand this whole chapter as it is expressed.

Content: We may be surprised at Krishna's statement. The very idea that Arjuna might be envious of Krishna may make us surprised.

Content: To tell you honestly, whenever the masters were in the body, people never respected them. This problem always existed. Only after they left the body did people accept and worship them. Actually, it is easy to worship a photograph. There is no sacrifice or transformation required. However, it is never easy to worship a living being. The living person will always be questioned and envied.

Content: There is a beautiful one-liner:

Content: During his life, the grandfather is forced to live in the family outhouse. After his death, he is brought into the house and respected as a photograph!

Content: As long as he is alive, he lives outside the house; he lives in the outhouse. Especially in India, every village home has a front porch. As long as he is alive there, or in the verandah in city houses. When he is dead, his photo is kept inside the prayer room. When he is alive, he has no place inside the house! However, once he dies, his photograph has a respected place inside the home.

Content: It is the same way with the enlightened master. When a master is alive he is never understood. He is never respected and he is never received. When he has left the body, when he is no more in physical form, it is easy to worship him.

Content: A beautiful incident:

Content: A group of devotees from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's (an enlightened master from India) birthplace, Mayapur, came to Ramakrishna. They told him, 'Oh master, we missed Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We could not see him. If we had

Content: that fortune, we would have become enlightened. We would have experienced devotion to Krishna.'

Content: Ramakrishna laughed and said, 'When Chaitanya was alive, many people went to him and complained, 'Oh Chaitanya! We missed Krishna. We could not see Krishna. If we had seen Krishna, we could have enjoyed the devotion, the energy!'

Content: Ramakrishna says, 'Open your eyes and see. Chaitanya is here. Just as people went to Chaitanya and talked about Krishna, you come here to talk about Chaitanya. You come here and complain that you have missed Chaitanya.'

Content: Whenever masters are alive, it is difficult for people to accept their divinity. However, once they leave the body, people say, 'We missed Ramakrishna,' 'We missed Ramana Marshi,' 'We missed Chaitanya,' or 'We missed Mirabai.' We complain about what we missed. We never realize what we have.

Content: Here Krishna says, 'Because you are never envious of Me, I will give you the ultimate secret.'

Content: Here, please understand, Krishna is giving the ultimate secret. Once we know this secret, then there is no difference between the Divine and us. Here He gives us the straight, ultimate secret.

Content: In the business world, the leader usually never gives secrets to anyone, whatever they may do, however close they may be. Corporate people maintain secrets. Here Krishna says, 'I am not going to maintain any secrets. I am going to open the whole thing.' He says that knowledge is free. It is up to us to use it.

Content: Now, modern day IT companies declare that knowledge is free. Yet five thousand years ago, Krishna declared that knowledge is free. He says, 'I am opening all the secrets.' He decides, 'I am giving you this secret because you are never envious of Me.'

Content: There is an important thing that people who go near the master should know, especially people who live around the master. By and by, these disciples, instead of trying to achieve the state of the master, they try to achieve the status of the master. State is different from status. The enlightened state of the master should be achieved, not the status that his enlightenment confers. When we work for status, we are in trouble.

Content: Once I went to a college for a public lecture. It was a meditation program in Tamilnadu. You know how the college kids behave. One young boy questioned me, 'Why should you be respected so much? After all, you are my age.' Of course, it is

Content: true. I am barely a few years older than him. He asked, 'Why do they shower so many roses at your feet when you come?' In India, spiritual masters are usually received with flowers wherever they go.

Content: I had tried my best to advise the organizer of the program, 'Don't do these things. Don't offer flowers, especially since it is a college. Naturally I will face such questions.' Yet the organizer, a devotee, wanted to somehow show his devotion. He took care of the arrangements and ensured there were flowers. In the question and answer session, the boy directly asked, 'Why should so many flowers be showered at your feet? Why should you be respected so much?' Of course, naturally, it is jealousy, nothing else.

Content: The first thing I told him was this: 'I tried my best to avoid these arrangements. However, they have done it out of devotion. Next thing, from another angle, you only see the flowers that are showered now. You don't know how many thorns these feet have crossed. You don't know how many austerities this body has endured. You don't know how many thorns these feet had to cross to come to these flowers. So don't be envious for the status. Be envious of the state. Try to achieve the same state in which I live. Then, not only will you be showered with flowers, you will be showered with everything. Achieve the state, not the status.'

Content: When you see the status, you will always be caught in jealousy. If you see the state in which I live, I will become a source of inspiration for you. If you see the state in which I live, I will be an inspirational source for you to achieve the same state. I will be a role model. You will think, 'When he can achieve this, why not me?' I become an inspirational source for you!

Content: I tell people that the only difference, the one and only difference between an ordinary person and an enlightened being is that an ordinary man is sleeping while an enlightened person is awakened; that's all. The consciousness is the same.

Content: Again and again I repeat, 'Whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, realize it or not, you are God. You are divine. You have two choices. You can either sleep as long as you want without experiencing this truth, or you can make the conscious choice to experience your enlightenment. But the truth is, 'You are That.'

Content: Here, Krishna says, 'Because you never try to achieve my status, I am trying to give you my state.' The person who never tries to achieve the status of the master achieves the state of the master. First, state comes. Then, status follows. If we try to create the status, the state will never be achieved.

Content: Ramakrishna says, 'First God, then the world.' The world is like a shadow. Status is like a shadow. If we run after it, we can never grab it no matter how much we chase it. However, if we walk on the path, it simply follows.

Content: The outer world is like a shadow. If we run after it, try to catch it, we will never be able to grab and hold onto it. Try your best to run after the shadow. Can you catch it? No. However, if we walk on our path, it follows us.

Content: Go towards the state, status will follow you. If we run after the status, we will never grab it. Here Krishna says, 'Because you are never jealous, never envious of My status and Me, I give you the ultimate secret of this state.'

Content: And I tell you, this is the ultimate secret. Really, this is the ultimate secret. And He says, 'Knowing which, you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.'

Content: What are the miseries of material existence? Whether we have something or not, it is misery. If we don't have, then the misery is, 'I don't have.' If we have, then we have the misery, 'I must protect it.'

Content: Yoga means achieving. Kṣema means preserving. Yoga means achieving; kṣema means preserving. Both are miseries. Whether we have or not, it is misery.

Content: Krishna says that the miseries of having wealth and not having wealth, both miseries that are caused by material existence disappear by knowing this secret. And I tell you honestly this is the ultimate secret that needs to be understood. Knowledge of this secret liberates you.

Content: He says, 'This knowledge is the king of all knowledge. The greatest secret of all secrets, it is the purest knowledge and because it gives direct perception of the Self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting and it is joyfully performed.'

Content: See, religion or a spiritual path should have three characteristics. First, it should clearly describe the goal of life. Next, it should clearly give you the path to achieve the goal. Third, it should make you happy to travel in that path. The path itself should be joyful.

Content: A small story:

Content: Some herbal doctors advertised with billboards claiming they can cure anything. One doctor's billboard said he could cure all diseases that we know the names of, as well as all diseases that we don't know the names of. He put up a billboard with all these claims. One person came with a disease.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: The doctor asked, 'What is your disease?'

Content: This person said, 'I don't know the name. Please diagnose it yourself.'

Content: The doctor tried his best to diagnose. However, he was unable to determine the disease. But he had put up the big advertisement, so he had to cure. There was no other way. So he gave some medicine. The medicine was: 'Swallow a crowbar without it touching your teeth and drink three liters of water. You will be cured!'

Content: What kind of medicine is this? The medicine clearly shows that the person will not be cured!

Content: In the same way, our solution or path should not be impractical. The path that we are shown should not be impractical. If it is impractical, naturally, we cannot practice.

Content: There was once a yogi in the Himalayas. When disciples came to him, he gave a technique: 'Hold your nose for two hours and sit.' Can anybody sit like that? He said, 'If you do that, you will become enlightened.' Who can travel that path? Nobody can travel it. The path must not be complicated. It must be simple.

Content: So here, Krishna says, 'It is eternal,' meaning that the result that we achieve is everlasting. He uses all the advertising terms! And it is joyfully performed. It is easy. We don't need to struggle for it. We don't need to suffer. It is the deepest secret. All we need to do is to realize the secret. Understand the secret.

Content: Why is it a secret? If it is going to help so much then why is it a secret? If it is going to be such an important thing, why should it be kept a secret? Why not let the whole world use it? It is important for us to understand this point.

Content: Please be very clear that the ultimate secret, the ultimate knowledge is not for the masses. Masses always get stuck with small things and shallow entertainment. That is why, if we run a cinema theatre, you can see how such a big crowd gathers! Or if we run a public show, how many people attend it. The crowd will be ten times more!

Content: Only a few hundred people are here today because we built only a temple. Temples are for the chosen few, not for all. We need intelligence to come to a temple. We need intelligence to enter spirituality. It is not for everyone.

Content: Yesterday I received a question. One lady asked, 'Swamiji, my husband does not accept or understand the path I am traveling, the path of yoga. Coming to this

Content: program is important to me and I want to attend it. However, it is difficult for my husband to come to terms with it. Do you have a suggestion to help bridge this gap?'

Content: How to make the husband or wife spiritual? How to convert them to spirituality? When people ask me this question, I laugh and ask them, 'If I knew this secret, do you think I would have become a sanyāsi and renounced the material world!'

Content: Honestly, the answer is that it cannot be done. It only has to happen. It has to happen on its own from within the person.

Content: I can say one thing: All you can do is give him some intelligence about life. You cannot directly give spirituality. Please don't ask him to meditate. Don't ask him to come to the temple. Talk to him again and again about life. Ask him, 'What kind of a life are we leading? What are we doing? Why don't we think about life? Again and again, we are caught in the same rut.' All we can do is to give intelligence about life in this fashion. That's all. Nothing else can be done.

Content: Only by intelligence can a man come to spirituality. That is why this is preserved as a secret. If this spiritual intelligence is given to all, without bothering about the qualifications of the receiver, the person who receives will harm himself and others also.

Content: First, he harms himself if he has not completely understood it. For example, what will a criminal do if he is told, 'You are God?' He will think, 'I am God. So let me do whatever I want. I don't have to bother.' He misuses the knowledge. He does not use it. He abuses it. That is why I say he harms himself.

Content: A person who experiences God radiates compassion. He radiates simplicity. He radiates innocence. Divine qualities express through him. He never hurts anybody. We see a beautiful innocent shine in him and such simplicity. He never hurts anybody. He never harms anybody.

Content: If we are relaxed, blissful, in a good mood, and our employee or co-worker makes a mistake, do we shout at him? No. We will say, 'Alright, leave it. What can be done?' However, if we are in a bad mood, an irritable mood, nobody needs to make any mistake. We shout at everyone for no reason. We are waiting to rant and rave. We are waiting to shout.

Content: Our mood decides our action. If we are blissful, we never do anything wrong. If we are in a hellish mood, we always make mistakes.

Content: Please don't think people go to hell after making mistakes. No! We make mistakes because we are in hell. We do the right action because we are blissful. Someone who experiences that he is God never makes a mistake and never harms anybody.

Content: If this knowledge is given to all, including those who don't have the maturity, naturally they harm themselves and they harm others. They hurt others. They say, 'I am God. Come here. I will do whatever I want.' That is why this knowledge is kept as a secret.

Content: It is like terrorists having the secret of the atom bomb. Of course, it is dangerous for them and the world. In the same way, this is the secret of the spiritual world, the inner world. If the person who is not qualified knows this secret, it is dangerous for him.

Content: That is why He says, 'this king of secrets is the king of knowledge.' Krishna reveals the secret only to qualified people.

Content: Look at the story of Christ. He declared, 'I am the Son of God.' It is true, what Jesus declared is from His experience. He experienced enlightenment. He experienced the kingdom of God. He experienced heaven. That is why He clearly expresses, 'I am the Son of God. I am the Son of the Divine.' But there was only one thing there: He spoke about the inner kingdom. However, the people thought that He was trying to snatch the outer kingdom from the rulers.

Content: Jesus spoke about a totally different truth; people understood it in a totally different way. Just a communication gap and so he had to die at such a young age. He had to be killed, crucified. The whole thing is nothing but a simple misunderstanding!

Content: When Jesus says, 'I am the Son of God. I am the owner of the divine kingdom,' He means the inner space, the inner secrets. He expresses His experience. However, He expressed it to people who were envious of Him. The people who killed Him were envious of His inner liberation and were afraid of Him.

Content: In this chapter Krishna says, 'I am not even God; I am something more than God. Whatever you think of as God rests in Me. All created beings rest in Me.' He declares, 'I am God.'

Content: But He is not crucified because He declares this truth to a person who understands, to a person who accepts it and not to a person who is unable to

Content: realize it. We need to see whether a person is mature enough or not to receive the truth before we share it.

Content: Here, Krishna says it is a secret, because it can be delivered only to a person qualified to receive it.

Content: You see, in the first two to three chapters, He speaks about śāstra, intellectual knowledge that can be given to anybody. However, these chapters are intimate secrets, delivered only from a master to a disciple, only to a disciple who is qualified, who is really interested to receive the knowledge and who really wants the knowledge.

Content: One person asked me, 'Swamiji, please teach me about God. Give me enlightenment.' I told him, 'See, it is time for prasād (food offered to God and eaten by devotees with His blessings). Please go and eat in the ashram. They will give you prasād.'

Content: If we go to any Indian ashram or temple, food that has been offered to the deity or Existence is then shared by all. That is the tradition. Hindus believe 'atithi devo bhava,' meaning 'the guest is God'. We give them food. Whatever we eat, we share with them.

Content: Anyway, I told this person, 'Please eat and come back. I will talk to you in the evening session.' He immediately said, 'No Swamiji! I must leave by the next bus. I have half an hour left. In this half an hour please tell me about God.'

Content: In half an hour what can I tell him? What can a person understand in half an hour? Naturally, God cannot be given out like instant coffee! Coffee can be instant; Coca-cola can be given, but not God! We cannot have God instantly. We need to realize; we need a little patience.

Content: The more we hurry, the more we will delay. Please understand that speed is not the technique of the inner world. In the inner world, the more we hurry, the more we delay. The hurrying, the tension, the stress, postpones the process, postpones the experience. It will not let us relax.

Content: That is why Krishna says that these secrets can be told only to a person who is really interested, who is really intimate, and who really desires to know.

Content: Beautiful words! All our scriptures are called Upaniṣad. Even Gita is called Upaniṣad. 'Gatos'upanisatsu brahmavidyāyam yogaśāstre 'ri Kṛṣṇa 'rjuna saṃvāde' is the verse at the end of every chapter. 'This is Upanishad of Bhagavad Gita, scripture of Yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute.'

Content: The word Upaniṣad literally means 'sitting down near someone'. It refers to the teaching style of a traditional vedic school or gurukul of ancient India where students sat by their master to learn. This is how knowledge was imparted. Knowledge was transmitted in close groups in a trusted environment. It was knowledge not merely through intellect as verbal communication. It was a communion of beings wherein the experience of one was experienced by the other.

Content: See, in our home we keep everything prepared for our outwardly life. Whatever we need is there: a bed for sleeping, the kitchen for cooking, a dining table for sitting and eating. We collect all the materials one by one, and then we also collect luxurious things like jewelry. Our jewelry changes according to the color of our sari (traditional clothes of Indian women). Sometimes, the shoes also change! We have everything to match each other. Whatever we need for the outwardly life and comforts, we collect and store.

Content: However, we forget an important fact. In the same way that we collect things for outward existence, for the outer space, we need to collect knowledge for our inner space: life solutions, solutions for our inner space. If we feel depressed or low, if we face some adverse situation, how are we to react? How are we to handle it? We need this knowledge to handle it, in our inner space.

Content: Like collecting things for the outwardly life, we need to collect life solutions for a happy, blissful life. Collecting life solutions is what Krishna calls jñāna yajña. What is nitya (eternal) and what is anitya (temporary)? What is satya (truth) and what is asatya (falsehood)? Acquiring all this understanding is jñāna yajña.

Content: If I literally translate this word jñāna, it refers to higher knowledge or wisdom and yajña refers to the purification process that leads to this higher knowledge. What Krishna means through jñāna yajña is the spiritual path that leads one to Self-realization. It is the path that creates awareness in us about our divinity. This realization of the deepest truths about oneself happens in many cases through a combination of two things: understanding about similar spiritual experiences by observing others and our own efforts to contemplate upon these experiences so that they are reproduced within.

Content: Let me tell you one important thing. Please focus on the life solutions offered by great masters while gathering knowledge. I request that people read books that give life solutions as experienced by enlightened beings at least for half an hour every day: books of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, books of great masters. Numerous books provide deep insights into how we should lead life. We have the book 'Guaranteed Solutions' based on my teachings in the Life Bliss Programs. Many

Content: spiritual books give life solutions. Spend at least half an hour every day reading books based on the life and teachings of enlightened masters.

Content: If we can't spend half an hour reading, then listen to audio CDs in the car. In this country (USA), we spend at least one hour a day driving, on an average. The average is one hour. Whatever profession we are in or even if we don't have a profession, we drive just for the joy, for some reason. Even to shop for basic groceries, we drive at least one hour. Don't waste that hour. Always have some audio CDs that give life solutions in the car.

Content: It is not that it must be my lectures. Read, watch or listen to anything that adds value and gives insight into leading a better life. It can be something you like that comes from an enlightened source and gives solutions for your life. Let that hour become your jñāna yajña, your spiritual journey. Add more and more life solutions into your inner space.

Content: I tell you one thing: A life solution may suddenly come up at the time of need and can reduce the depth of depression you experience. The moment a life solution erupts from our inner consciousness, from our inner space, the depth of depression can be immediately reduced. The low curve is straightened out and we move up in spirit. That is why I am telling you to make driving your jñāna yajña. Let that time be used for collecting life solutions. Let it be a truly productive time in your life instead of it filling your inner space with all nonsense from the radio and what not. Whether you understand everything or not, listen. Let that become your habit. Automatically, life solutions, those words, stay in your inner space. You will be surprised how they will come to your aid when you need them!

Content: If we don't do that, when we drive we will think about our worries. If we don't spend time finding life solutions, we spend time finding problems. We create problems. Even if we don't have problems, we will create problems!

Content: If we have problems, we bother about them. If we don't have a problem and everything goes smoothly, what do we think? We think, 'Today everything is going well. I don't know what will happen tomorrow! Swamiji, if things go well one day, the next day I always get some problem.' We strongly believe that if we have no problems today, we will have problems tomorrow. It becomes a strong faith in us.

Content: Whether we have problems or not, we worry. Better not to allow the mind to worry. Listen to something that gives life solutions. Let that hour become jñāna yajña in our lives.

Content: Krishna says that doing jñāna yajña is one step. Understanding that the whole cosmos is energy is one step. If we understand that whatever exists is energy, automatically, fear will be taken away from our being.

Content: The next question is, 'How can we say that whatever exists is energy, Swamiji? How can we say whatever exists is God? That is impossible. All these things are good to listen to, but are not practical to practice!' Our mind never accepts that these things can be practiced and experienced. So Krishna continues; He goes on and comes out with the basic secrets. Here Krishna gives the qualification of people who can attain Him. He clearly describes the people who can reach Him. When I say 'Him', it is not the form named Krishna that I speak about. When I say Nithyananda, I do not mean this six-foot Nithyananda. I mean the universal energy, the cosmic energy called nityānanda - eternal bliss. In the first two verses He says, 'It is a great truth that I am going to tell and it is a secret that I am revealing to you.' Now He lets Arjuna know what kind of people can know the secret. He says people who do not have faith in dharma or His teachings go back to the path of rebirth without enlightenment, without attaining Him. He says the qualification required is to have faith in His teachings. Only those people can come out of the vicious cycle of birth and death. You see, having faith is one of the most important things, especially in the spiritual path. Whenever an enlightened master speaks, every word he utters is the truth. That is why I always add the words, 'Whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, understand it or not', whenever I talk about some controversial truth. Actually, there is nothing called a 'controversial truth'. Truth is truth. A fact can be controversial. When I say controversial truth, I mean a truth that the normal human mind cannot accept with the limited knowledge it has. People who said that the earth was round were put to death because the human mind could not accept it at that time. It was a controversial truth, yet it is the truth. When I say we are part of the same consciousness, when I say that we are all one, your mind cannot accept it because it tries to find a logical solution, an intellectual answer to everything. So you must have faith in me to understand what I speak. One more thing is that there are three possible levels in which you can put faith in what a master says. With the first level or group, you can have doubt. That is obvious. You doubt what I say, what a master says, because you can't comprehend what I say.

Content: See, you can have doubts. In fact, you should have doubts, only then you question what I say. However, you should find out if those doubts are genuine. If they arise out of ego, then it is your mind playing a game. Your mind creates a wall between you and me. As long as your doubts are genuine, as long as you question to know the truth out of curiosity, it is fine.

Content: In my discourses, I encourage people to ask questions and to raise doubts. Only then can you fully internalize.

Content: The second group or level is when you believe whatever I say. That is the second category. This is dangerous. Believing whatever I say without understanding and experiencing it for yourself is dangerous. This creates a weak foundation. When I say that you are God, if you just straightaway believe me it is dangerous, because you have not experienced it. If someone questions you on your belief, you will be unable to stand by it. You will stammer and stumble and do yourself harm.

Content: I know lots of people who come to me, call themselves my devotees. When I ask whether they meditate, they stammer, 'No Swamiji. There is so much work. There is no time.' Then they say, 'But I pray to you everyday, Swamiji. I offer fresh flowers and incense sticks.' They talk as if they do me a big favor.

Content: They are believers. Their foundation is weak. Only when they meditate will they experience what I speak about. Otherwise, they are just believers.

Content: The third approach is trust. When you trust me, you accept what I say. You still have doubts. However, you are willing to break that wall and try to see and experience what I am saying. You build your foundation and you make it strong because you trust me. This is the way faith should develop. This is the way it should be. Faith should arise from a strong foundation. First you trust me, then you try exploring the truths I share and when you have a glimpse of the truth, you believe me with a stronger foundation. Now nobody can shake you because you have developed a strong base. You have done the work yourself.

Content: Here, Krishna talks about faith in dharma, His teaching. We should understand this word very deeply. Only then we can understand Krishna's teaching. Buddha also says:

Content: buddha½ sara a½ gacchœmi dhamma½ sara a½ gacchœmi sa-ga½ sara a½ gacchœmi

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: Buddha talks about surrendering to Him - Buddham, to His teaching - dhammam and to His group - sangam. Buddha says surrender to My teaching. He means have faith in My teachings. Trust them, try them and have faith in them.

Content: You see, we are different from animals because we can have faith in dharma - meaning the higher levels of consciousness. Without dharma, we are the same as any animal. When an animal feels like eating, it eats. When it feels like sleeping, it sleeps. It is completely controlled by instincts. It does not make a decision consciously, based on right or wrong. However, a human being has one extra power. He has free will to follow dharma. He has free will to do or not do, to accept or not accept.

Content: When Krishna says dharma, He means anything that leads us to a higher level of consciousness. Man without consciousness is an animal, a dənava. In Hindu epics there are two types of people - mənava and dənava, humans and non-humans. The first category has faith in dharma and a higher level of consciousness. Dənava are nothing but animals. They do not have faith in any dharma, so their level of consciousness is low.

Content: The only difference between man and an animal is the seed of consciousness implanted in us. We must water this seed and allow it to germinate. We must nurture this sapling to flower into a fully-grown tree. We need faith in dharma for this tree of consciousness to happen in us.

Content: Krishna clearly says that if we do not have faith in dharma, we go back to the cycle of birth and death. He gives it straight. He says we must to flower in us, and in order to do that we must have faith in dharma.

Content: When our faith is complete, when we have internalized His dharma in everything that we do, our consciousness automatically blossoms. When we reach that state of consciousness, we merge with universal consciousness and then we are free from the cycle of birth and death.

Content: So Krishna gives a technique. He says, 'Have faith in dharma and it will lead you to the Ultimate.'

Content: 192

Content: Q: How can we create trust in Swamiji? How can we drop doubts about doing what we want to do with our hearts when our heads keep asking questions?

Content: This is a wonderful question and very honest. Your problem is shared by many people.

Content: First of all, you cannot create trust. Trust has to happen. Trust is not the same as faith. It is a higher level of understanding. Faith and belief are our conditioning. It is the stuff we are fed from childhood. Children are suggestible. We know now that until adolescence the brain wave patterns of children are in the alpha state and they can be easily influenced by the opinion and guidance of older people. We are taught from a young age whom we should believe and whom we should distrust.

Content: The trust we are talking about is different from conditioned faith and trust come from our head, logic and so-called knowledge inputs. Yet, deep within us, from our being, there is a constant nagging of dissatisfaction with our conditioning. Many ignore this nagging and occupy themselves with the outer world.

Content: However, some find it impossible to ignore this inner call. They listen and move in a direction that is in tune with this voice. They turn to religion, to scriptures and finally they turn to masters when they find themselves deeply dissatisfied with whatever they have experienced in the outer world.

Content: The doubts that we have of the outer world carry over into our search of the inner world too. For every answer we receive, we have a dozen new questions. That is natural and as it should be. Then there comes a point where logic is exhausted. It may happen through a sudden revelation, by reading something, witnessing something, listening to someone, or for no reason at all. It is as if all questions have been answered and all doubts have been cleared. I term this experience a 'click'. This click initiates a churning inside us. It starts a psychological revolution in our system.

Content: This is when trust begins, true trust, trust that leads us to surrendering our logic to a higher state of intelligence.

Content: Many followers remember the exact point when this happened to them. They invariably share it as moments when they were listening to these discourses, or read the books. A sudden chemical reaction within them says, 'Wake up! Your time is up; no more questions.' The brain issues a command that overrides logic.

Content: We cannot force this. This happens by itself when we are ready.

Content: People ask, 'How do we remember you once we leave your presence?' I say, 'If

Content: I am your master and you accept me as your master, the problem will be trying to

Content: forget me not remembering me! Your master will occupy your entire inner space -

Content: head, heart and being.'

Content: Let your head and logic exhaust themselves with questions. They will eventually

Content: get tired, because logic has an end and spirituality is endless.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.4 The entire universe is pervaded by Me in My formless form.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: All beings are based in Me, but I am not in them.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.5 Look at My mystic powers!

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I create and sustain all living entities but do not depend on them, nor do they depend on Me.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.6 As the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, always rests in eternal space,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: All beings rest in Me.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.7 O son of Kunti, at the end of every age all beings merge into Me,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: At the beginning of every new Age I create them again.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.8 My material nature creates the beings again and again.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: They are controlled by My material nature.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: It is time to reveal the secrets.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Krishna starts:

Chapter Number: 9

Content: mayā tatam idaṃ sarvā1⁄4 jagadvyaktaṃ tūrtic

Chapter Number: 9

Content: matsthāni sarva-bhū̄tāni na cāhaṃ teṣvavasthitaḥa

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 'By Me, in my formless form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me but I am not in them.'

Chapter Number: 9

Content: This should be understood. Before entering further into this verse, the meaning of the verse should be understood.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: I want to tell you about my meeting with Charles Townes, a Nobel Laureate. He is a great scientist. He discovered something related to LASER and MASER. He discovered some secrets and some truths.

Content: I asked him, 'How did you discover? How did this truth happen in your being?'

Content: He answered in a beautiful way, 'Swamiji, to tell you honestly, I was relaxing in a park in Washington. It was early morning about six a.m. I was supposed to give a lecture on this subject to a group that day at nine a.m. I tried my best to recollect everything. I was completely frustrated because I could not achieve much. Suddenly like a revelation, as an intuition, the conclusion was revealed to me! The whole truth came into my consciousness. I discovered it! I immediately penned down what I got.'

Content: And he says, 'I then realized I had a difficulty: I knew the conclusion. I knew the truth, however, not the steps! I didn't know the logical steps to arrive at that conclusion! I would not be able to present it unless I knew the steps. So after that, I needed to think and develop the logical steps. Only then could I present it to others. Like an intuition, suddenly, it happened. It had been revealed to me.'

Content: Not only Charles Townes, even Albert Einstein said, 'The theory of relativity was revealed in deep meditation. It was like sitting on the edge of a light particle and traveling in space. It came as an intuition.'

Content: Actually, even this experience is not a big thing. The truth, the important thing is this: I asked Charles Townes, 'How did you feel when it happened to you, when the revelation happened to you?' Because what he experienced was intuition just as our sages experienced.

Content: Ṛṣi, a sage, is someone who experienced the truth as a mantra, a sacred and mystic syllable of knowledge and who has seen the mantra - mantra tṛṣyate iti ṛṣi. The person who sees the mantra, who visualizes and experiences the mantra, is a Ṛṣi. The ultimate Truth is suddenly revealed in the Ṛṣi's consciousness. They experience an inner vision; they then express the experience in words as a mantra.

Content: In the same way, this scientist is also a Ṛṣi. Charles Townes is a Ṛṣi. He had a revelation about the secrets of the outer world. His intuition revealed the truth to him. I asked him, 'How did you feel when that intuition happened to you? What was your feeling?'

Content: He said, 'Swamiji, I don't know how to exactly express those things; however one thing is certain: from that moment onwards, I know for sure that the whole universe is intelligence!'

Content: 196

Content: This is the truth! The whole universe is pure intelligence. The whole universe is not dead matter. It is not an accident. The universe is not an accident. It is pure intelligence. It can respond to our thoughts. Please understand, the whole universe, planet earth, air, oceans, rivers, earth, fire, or the space, sun, moon, this whole universe, is intelligence. It can reciprocate. It can respond. It can react to our thoughts.

Content: This is an important and basic understanding. The moment we understand that we are this energy that is intelligence, the moment we are aware that we are inside the energy that is intelligence, at that moment, we immediately settle into a deep relaxation.

Content: The moment we experience, we understand: we are under the guidance of an intelligent energy. We are taken care of by an intelligent energy, we are part of the cosmic intelligence and we don't need to struggle. We don't need to stress ourselves. We don't need to create tension. We don't need to torture ourselves with insecurity problems and with unnecessary worries.

Content: Actually, all our problems, tensions and stresses arise because we think we do everything. We think we are responsible for everything that happens around us. We think the universe runs because of us! We should understand that the universe is intelligent and it responds to our thoughts. If we trust the universe, we experience how light we are. We can unload all our troubles including the extra responsibility of thinking that we do everything.

Content: This does not mean that we just sit and relax and say, 'Okay, the universe is intelligence. It will take care of everything.' This is laziness and escapism. We still must do what we need to do. We should still work; however we can enjoy the process. You see, we think of the result all the time. Our thoughts arise out of fear or greed: fear of whether we will get the results or greed of wanting more and more.

Content: However, we never enjoy the process of doing that work. When we enjoy the process and trust the universal intelligence, thoughts arising out of fear and greed will disappear. We will enjoy the process of doing and we will let the universe take care of the results. Krishna says elsewhere, 'You do what you have to. Do it, but surrender the results to Me.' When He says 'Me', He refers to the universal consciousness or intelligence.

Content: This is what Krishna means in the next verse when He says that the beings do not depend on Him, nor does He depend on them. Of course, it is clear that the

Content: universe does not depend upon us; yet how can He say that we, the beings created and sustained by the universe, do not depend upon it? What He means is this: it is not a passive and lazy dependence of letting everything happen while we sit idle. It is an active understanding. One does what one must do as part of his life process but without attachment and ownership.

Content: One way or the other, we are in this universe. Because the universe is intelligence, it responds to our thoughts. It makes things happen. Since we are part of this universe, just flow with the energy of the universe. Do not resist it. If this understanding penetrates our life, it is enough!

Content: If we know the universe is intelligence, we never question how life unfolds. We don't say, 'I am moral. But I see people who don't live morally living luxuriously, happily. Yet I always suffer!' We never have these questions or frustrations because we know the cosmic intelligence will take care ultimately. Whoever is immoral or whoever goes around and disturbs others will naturally face the consequences, because 'intelligence takes care. In the same way, if we are honest, integrated, and living a spiritual life, we will live a beautiful life. We are rewarded because the whole universe is run by an intelligence that responds to this.

Content: Don't think the cosmos is just matter. If we think the cosmos is matter, we are materialistic. If we understand that the cosmos is intelligence, we are spiritual, that's all.

Content: The only difference between the materialistic and spiritual person is that the materialist thinks the whole thing is material: 'Let me acquire more and more land. Let me acquire more and more material things.' He thinks the whole thing is material.

Content: The spiritual person understands that the whole thing is spirit, energy. If we understand that the whole thing is spirit, energy, intelligence, then a tremendous relaxation and bliss consciousness happens to us.

Content: Please understand that bliss is not just a mood. It is our very consciousness. If it comes and goes as a mood, we are only having one or two experiences. One devotee asked, 'Bliss comes and goes, what to do?'

Content: I explained, 'You are having initial glimpses of bliss. Through your mind, you are trying to touch the bliss. Nothing needs to be done; just relax, that's all.'

Content: However, once we understand this secret, a deep relaxation happens to us. In such a deep relaxation, we straightaway experience bliss consciousness. Once we

Content: experience bliss consciousness, it is everlasting. The bliss mood comes and stays. Bliss consciousness is everlasting.

Content: Krishna says, 'By My formless form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me.' He speaks of cosmic intelligence.

Content: Be very clear, such a big universe is moving and happening. All the planets move around the sun. Each planet has its own moons. Now the latest discovery is a planet called Sedna in our solar system, further away from Pluto. They have also discovered a neighboring solar system called Cygnus that has three suns. Not one sun, but three suns, around one planet, in this universe.

Content: So now we cannot say nava graha, (nine major heavenly bodies as defined in Hindu mythology) we must say dasa graha (ten major heavenly bodies)!

Content: There are so many suns, so many moons and so many planets. However, each one travels in its route properly. Each one goes properly in its route. No traffic police! Accidents are rare. Unless intelligence runs the whole thing, do you think things can happen so beautifully?

Content: And even on this planet Earth, see how the whole thing is beautiful! The whole thing happens in a clear way. Everything is in order. Only wherever human beings live, there is chaos! Except human beings, nobody creates chaos. Even in chaos, the Divine creates order. Humans bring in the chaos.

Content: We need to understand that the whole universe is intelligence and it operates out of intelligence. This intelligence responds to our thoughts and we can relate with this intelligence. When we imbibe this, then we naturally experience a deep peace. Rest, a real, ultimate rest and confidence to live, happens within us.

Content: As long as we think the world is matter or material, there is no use living. Nothing matters. Even if we become the president of one country, other countries will not be under our control. We can never become the president of the whole world. So naturally, we can never achieve the whole matter.

Content: As long as we believe the world is material, we create more and more violence because we live materially. Materially means that we must snatch from others. One way or another; violence will exist. Only a person who experiences, who understands that the whole thing is energy, intelligence, only he can relax.

Content: Let me repeat the next verse.

Content: yathckcasthito nitya1/4 vc'yus sarvatro mahcn tathc sarvc' i bh¢t¢ni matsthcn'tyupadh¢raya

Content: He says, 'Understand that as the mighty wind blowing everywhere rests in the sky, all created beings rest in Me.' Please understand this concept:

Content: He says, 'Just as the wind rests in the sky energy.' Please understand how the earth is energy. We know earth is energy. Take a stone. If a stone is thrown at us or if we throw a stone, we know the energy behind that stone. Next, consider water. We know the energy of water. Whoever knows about the waters that devastated New Orleans knows the energy of water! Or, if it floods, we know what water does; water is energy, we can understand that. Next is agni, fire. All of us know the power of fire. Next, air: storms, hurricanes, tornados. We know the power of air.

Content: In the same way, ākāsa (space or ether) is also energy. We do not know the power of ākāsa because it does not directly create impacts and effects in our lives. jīva is disturbed by our collective negative thoughts. The collective energy of the universe is ākāsa. jīva is also related to collective negativity, collective poison.

Content: When the earth element is disturbed or poisoned, only one person suffers. For example, if our food is poisoned, we alone suffer, that's all. If water is poisoned, the whole region suffers. Whoever uses the water supply, suffer. If whatever creates fire in us is corrupted, a big group suffers. We can use medicines as an example for fire because medicines keep the fire inside us alive. To keep us healthy, physically fit, we need medicines. If medicines are corrupted, people who take the medicines suffer. If chemicals pollute the air, the whole country suffers. If air is corrupted, if the air is polluted, the whole society suffers. But if space, ākāsa, is polluted, the whole world suffers.

Content: Corruption at higher levels of energy creates suffering for more and more people. More and more people suffer when higher levels of energy become polluted. The higher the level of energy that is corrupted, the number of people suffering is more. Our thoughts corrupt space. Space is energy.

Content: Because ether or space is so subtle, and so sensitive, we cannot feel the happenings in the space of ether. We feel the happenings in the other four spaces: earth, water, fire and air, so because of that we can understand the happenings in them. However, we fail to understand that space, ether, is also energy, a power. It is more subtle and more powerful because the subtler it becomes, the more powerful and energetic it becomes.

Content: One more thing to know is that there are three levels of space. The first level is when we are limited to what is inside this skin. This is ghāṭākāsa, what is

Content: contained within our body. We limit our whole understanding of everything around us to this body. We think this is the only thing that is the ultimate. We become conscious of how this body should look, how it should be maintained. We think we are only this body and nothing else. This is the lowest level.

Content: The next level is cidākāsá. This space refers to what our mind perceives as the world. Let's say we are sitting here but our mind is in Los Angeles. Then that becomes our cidākāsá, the space perceived by our mind. The next moment our mind shifts to Bangalore. Then that becomes our cidākāsá. The space that our mind operates in is cidākāsá.

Content: The third and final level is mahākāsá. The whole cosmos, the universe, everything that is outside and that is inside forms mahākāsá. This is the level where everything that we see as different becomes one.

Content: Please clearly understand these three spaces. Our body, everything that is inside this skin is ghāckāsa. Next, the space governed by our mind, by our thoughts, is cidākāsá. Finally, the whole universe, the whole cosmos, forms mahākāsá.

Content: Now, if something happens inside our body, we immediately feel it. If we are hurt, we clearly see it. We see blood flow. We see a rash. We clearly see and feel any disturbance or event in ghāckāsa. This event in ghāckāsa happens at a gross level.

Content: When we go to the next level, cidākāsá, events that disturb or change this space are subtle. Our thoughts affect cidākāsá. Please be very clear, whether we believe it or not, our thoughts have a huge effect on the external world. Whatever thought comes, don't think that it simply comes and goes. Every thought is energy. It manifests as something in the external world. The problem is that we are unaware of the effect. The effect is subtle so our mind cannot see that what happens is because of those thoughts we entertained.

Content: Our mind thinks something. It affects this space. These changes are projected into the external world, yet our mind is unable to recognize them. It is unable to see and understand that all it sees is because of itself.

Content: So, as we advance one level higher, the changes become more subtle but the effect is more powerful. We see in ghāckāsa, the effect is limited to our body. In cidākāsá, our thoughts affect the space around us. The effect is seen in a bigger space. The effect is more widespread.

Content: Now the highest level, mahākāsá, this level is subtler than cidākāsá. Any change here affects the whole universe. When something happens in this space, the whole

Content: universe responds. When we enter this space, we realize the ultimate Truth. We merge with everything, with the whole cosmos.

Content: The fifth element, ether, is like mahâkâsa. Actually they are the same. Ether is everywhere. The problem is we don’t know it. Mahâkâsa pervades everything. We are just not aware of it. This space takes any shape and any form. Even in vacuum, it is there.

Content: Understand this example: If water is compressed by a compressor, it becomes energy. If air is compressed by a compressor, it can even move a train; it becomes energy. In the same way, if ether is compressed in a particular space, in a particular shape, again that becomes energy.

Content: An iron piece; if it is a square piece, it is different. If it is an ‘I’ shape, it is totally different and can be used for a different purpose. The same iron, one kilogram of iron, if it is a rectangular bar, the effect or power is totally different. If it becomes an ‘I’ bar, it is totally different.

Content: Do you understand? It is a subtle concept. It is a subtle concept, but if we understand, we realize the great gift and understand the great research that our masters accomplished. They did a great sacrifice by doing all this research and creating all this wisdom and giving it to us.

Content: Like earth, ether can be handled. It can be used in different forms and shapes. Certain techniques allow us to use the ether energy at its best, to its maximum level. When ether is put in one particular size - inside that room or inside that space - whoever lives there will be controlled by that ether and the ether is in turn controlled by them. Their thoughts affect the ether and the ether affects their thoughts.

Content: This concept of using the energy of space or ether is the basis of vastu śastra, an ancient vedic science related to the science of architecture. We can live in harmony with the universal energy by constructing dwellings and structures in a manner that fits in with the spatial energy of the universe. Vastu śastra lays down details for where various activity spaces should be located in a dwelling, as well as the direction. It tells where the kitchen should be located in a house, where fire resides, in which part of the house business deals should be conducted and in which part of the house we can rest well and so on. Vastu śastra is the ancient vedic science of space.

Content: Krishna says, ‘How the wind rests in the space, in the same way the universe rests in Me.’

Content: 202

Content: Don't think space is emptiness. Space is not just emptiness. It is energy. Just because we are not able to see, we can't say it is emptiness. It is energy. Just as the air rests in the space, our being, the whole universe including our being, we all rest in the Divine. Krishna says, 'All beings rest in Me.'

Content: Can you see why Krishna calls all that He is speaking of a secret? He is being very careful as to whom He is telling this secret or confidential knowledge. He wants to tell all this to a qualified person. Arjuna, also called Kaunteya, son of Kunti, is both a friend and a disciple. He knows now that Arjuna is ready to take in this secret.

Content: Actually till this point Krishna has slowly prepared Arjuna. Now He knows Arjuna is ready to take in some truths, some secrets of this universe. If Krishna had told these strong truths in the beginning of the Gita, Arjuna would not have understood. Arjuna had so many doubts at the start.

Content: If we see the first chapter of the Gita, only Arjuna speaks and Krishna listens. Then Krishna speaks from Chapter 2 onwards. Arjuna's questions get answered one by one. After a while, Arjuna turns silent. He does not ask. He absorbs the ultimate knowledge delivered by Krishna.

Content: In these two verses, Krishna talks about the creation and destruction of the universe. He makes bold statements. Only an enlightened master can make such bold statements because he speaks from experience. Some people do not agree with what I say. They think their own understandings are correct. When they tell me, 'Swamiji, how can you say that? In so-and-so book, it is written like this,' I laugh and let it pass.

Content: First of all, they did not understand what exactly was written in those scriptures and then they tell me I am wrong. What can be done? Even if I argue, they won't listen. All the old people are dangerous! Whenever I go for a discourse, I see if there are old people. They think they have seen everything and do not want to listen to what I say.

Content: Here Krishna makes bold statements and truths and He knows Arjuna is ready to take in those truths. He talks about the creation of the universe. According to Hindu mythology, the universe is created each time Brahma, the creator, blinks. In the first verse Krishna says, 'The whole material manifestation enters into Him when the universe is destroyed and He projects it again to create the universe.'

Content: Understand that when Krishna says, 'The universe enters Me,' He refers to the cosmic Krishna, the cosmic consciousness, and not the Krishna we see in human form. Let us try to understand this very deeply.

Content: For a long time, the Big Bang theory was used to explain the creation of the universe. It said that there was a big ball of fire and an explosion. After the explosion some smaller parts cooled down to become planets, meteors and asteroids. Bigger parts stayed on as stars and suns. In the theory of evolution on planet earth, Darwin talks about how life originated.

Content: However, modern science disproves these theories. Modern scientific findings go towards what ancient Indian scriptures, the Upanishads said thousands of years ago.

Content: According to the Taitreya Upanishad, first there was ether. From ether, came air. From air came fire. Then water appeared and finally earth appeared. From earth, other living beings appeared.

Content: Actually, this order has a deeper meaning. It shows the process of evolution from a subtle form of energy that is ether, to a gross form that is earth. We feel gross forms through the senses; however as it goes to subtler forms of energy, we must experience it. Can we hold water like we can hold earth in our hands? Can we feel fire the way we feel water? Can we see air like we see fire? No. As the energy goes from gross to subtle, the way we experience it changes. Earth is tangible matter; ether is intangible energy. The subtlest form of energy is ether and we can only experience this through meditation.

Content: Krishna says at the end of each age, called a kalpa in Sanskrit, the materially manifested universe with all its creations merges back into Him. If we analyze the Big Bang theory, the first question we ask is, 'Where did the ball of fire come from?' The Big Bang theory does not answer this fundamental question. You see, the so-called scientists have no answer to this question yet.

Content: However Krishna, the inner scientist, answers this question in these verses. Science has now proven that the vacuum has something in it. The subtlest form of energy, ether, is present in the vacuum. Science has proven it. See how science is tending towards spirituality.

Content: This whole universe was created from ether and it goes back into ether again. All that we see outside as the material world is the manifestation of this subtle form of energy. The material world is the gross form of energy that we can see. We can only see the gross form. We can only feel the gross form because of our level of consciousness.

Content: When Krishna says, 'All material manifestation enters Me,' He means, it enters the universal consciousness. We should understand that the gross form or material world that we see is a manifestation of subtle energy. Everything we see and feel using our senses is part of the universal consciousness. The problem is that we see it only as matter.

Content: If we see things as matter, we are caught up in that level only. As long as we think that they are matter, as long as we are in the gross level, we run after them. Our mind starts operating and says, 'These things will make you happy; go and get them.' You see, how our mind works just by a simple misunderstanding. When we get this thought, the rat race starts, and our suffering starts.

Content: When we understand that whatever we see and feel and whatever we run after are only material manifestations of the subtle energy, we operate in a different plane. We see the futility of the race we are running. We see everything in a different way. We realize that they are a projection of our own inner self.

Content: Please be very clear: All material things that we see are a manifestation of our inner self. Our desires and thoughts are projected as the materials that we see. However, in actual fact, there is no such thing as material, separate and independent things. Everything is one; everything is energy.

Content: Krishna says that only He can create and destroy this universe at His will. This whole universe is a manifestation or a projection of our own self. Someone said, 'We make our own world.' This sentence has a deep meaning. All that we see as the world or universe is what we create. All relationships are projections of either our insecurities or our desires. We call someone father or mother because we need someone to take care of us in childhood. After we grow up, we need a wife or life-partner to take care of us. After we grow old, we need our children to take care of us.

Content: We create our world through our needs or desires. Only an enlightened being sees the real truth, as it is. Once we understand everything is a mirror image of our own self, we become enlightened. Once we realize that we, along with everything else around us, are part of the same energy or consciousness, we become enlightened.

Content: In these two verses, Krishna says this truth clearly. Every material manifestation is created by Him and goes back into Him. Everything is part of the same energy system or the universal consciousness. He says only He can create and destroy it at

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: His will, which means the world that we see, the universe that we perceive, is a projection of our own Self.

Content: Q: Swamiji, when you tell us to ignore the material world and focus on the energy behind matter, it is difficult. Whatever we see is matter; we do not have the sensitivity to see the energy. How to go beyond material manifestation?

Content: At the level where you are, use your intellect, intelligence, and your logic to understand that everything that you see around you is perishable and impermanent. All you have to work with as of now is your intellect, so use it; however use it to understand this truth instead of ignoring it.

Content: You know from your own experience, as well as that of others, that every single material manifestation that you see in the world comes with an expiry date. It may be possible that some things may outlive you but not for long. Even mountains crumble, rivers dry up, and oceans recede or rise. Nothing stays the way it is.

Content: You also know from experience that what you perceive as enjoyment from contact with material objects is a time-barred experience. Nothing lasts forever, be it food, be it sex, or be it an event or experience that you love. You have ups and downs in the way you experience pleasures and pains. Nothing is permanent.

Content: Māyā, illusion, does not mean that the life you lead is not reality. It means that it is not permanent. It means there is something beyond it that is permanent.

Content: The suffering that you undergo in your life and life experiences is because of this confusion. We expect things to remain the same. We expect our loved ones to live forever and happily. Neither will happen, nor can happen.

Content: First, you need to drill this into your logic system, because this is logical and your intellect cannot argue with this. Once your logic accepts the impermanence of material things and the transience of material experiences, it starts to wonder whether there is anything permanent out there, anything that comes without an expiry date.

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Content: If your resolve is strong enough, this understanding too will happen. It happens because it is a truth that is built within you. It is not something that you need to make an effort to understand. You only need to uncover a few layers of ignorance to see the truth.

Content: What comes without an expiry date is the energy that surrounds us and is within us. The awareness that these are the same is enlightenment. Once that awareness happens, you do not need logic to remind you that matter is perishable. You know that it is and all that is permanent is energy, whatever name you give it: God, Buddha, Krishna consciousness, Christ, Allah or Nithyananda.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.9 O Dhananjaya, all this work does not bind Me.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I am ever unattached and indifferent.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.10 The material nature of prakṛti works under My direction, O Son of Kunti, and

Chapter Number: 9

Content: creates all moving and unmoving beings through My energy of māyā.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.11 Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that is.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.12 Those who are thus deluded are demonic and atheistic.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: In their deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their result-oriented actions and their culture of knowledge become false and useless.

Content: Being attached or bound to what we do or what we have is a major hurdle in realizing our Self. Krishna says, He is not bound to this universe. This is the reason, He says, that keeps Him unaffected when the universe is created and when it is destroyed.

Content: Krishna says He is not at all affected when such a big thing is happening. The whole universe is being born out of Him and it is getting destroyed. Even then He is not affected because He is not bound to the universe. It is because He is a mere spectator.

Content: Let us understand this in the context of daily life. When we start to internalize these great truths in small things that we do, a great change happens in us. Krishna speaks of a divine play. He talks in terms of the universe being created and destroyed from universal consciousness. If we understand His words, we can apply them to day-to-day activities. That is why Bhagavad Gita is a beautiful scripture. It is a technique applicable for any age or generation and which can be easily internalized.

Content: When we understand this truth, we feel a great sense of liberation. You see, we become attached or bound to what we have. We think that all we have is ours. When we create that attachment, we create a strong bond. Be very clear, now the problem has started.

Content: A small story:

Content: A man who was born blind goes to a doctor for a cure. After examining his eyes, the doctor says the blindness can be cured. He tells the blind man a small operation needs to be done and his eyesight can be brought back and then he won't need his walking stick any more. The blind man is surprised.

Content: He asks, 'Doctor, I understand that you will operate on me, and my eyesight can be restored and I will be able to see everything. But I do not understand why I won't need my walking stick.'

Content: You see the attachment the blind man has to the walking stick? He understood that he would be able to see; yet he could not let go of his walking stick. In the same way, we hold onto a walking stick though we have eyes to see. We are not blind; however we are bound to material possessions, relationships and emotions.

Content: Let us discuss in detail how these different kinds of attachments bind us. Our material possessions create greed and fear in us. We are either in fear of losing them or we want to get more and more of them. We run after them. We attach so much importance to them that getting more and more of them becomes our only goal. Naturally when we have so much, we create a fear of losing them.

Content: The problem is we associate ourselves with material possessions. This is what we understand as life. Again and again, we run after them and forget who we are. So many people are in the rat race. They spend their lives accumulating money, bungalows and cars. And at the end of their life, they regret; they wonder what they have done in their lives.

Content: This is what attachment to material possessions does. It creates greed and fear. We create goals to get more and more material wealth. Even if we have enough, we are not satisfied. We want more and more. We run and run till we drop dead. Now when we have so much of it, we fear losing it. We hold onto it as if it were our property. We are in a state of continuous fear.

Content: This is one kind of attachment. There is another kind of attachment. We are attached to people. We create strong bonds in relationships. These are also attachments. We start possessing people. The possessiveness grows so strong that we suffer when someone dies. We become so dependent on persons that our whole life seems to lose meaning when they die.

Content: Actually, what happens in this kind of bondage is that we define ourselves based on the opinions of other people. We know ourselves only by the certificates of others. In other words, we energize ourselves based on others. So we constantly hold on to that relationship because it gives us energy; that relationship helps us define ourselves.

Content: So when a person dies, we feel depressed because whatever we were holding to very tightly was the source of energy for us. That was defining us till now and now it is no longer there. It has disappeared. So our whole system is shaken.

Content: Now there is the third kind of bondage or attachment. It is related to our thoughts and emotions. Whenever something happens, we start linking it with our past and start fantasizing about the future. Be very clear, a thought arises because our mind jumps from the past to the future. When a thought arises, we link up that thought with other thoughts.

Content: Let us say, you see a dog. As soon as you see it, you go to the past when you were bitten by a dog. Then your mind goes somewhere, probably a hospital. Then your mind goes to the doctor who gave you medical care. The doctor has nothing to do with a dog on the road, but this is how your mind associates and takes you with it! You create a chain between two thoughts. You link different thoughts.

Content: Do a simple exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down all your thoughts. Do not edit anything. Note down everything that comes into your mind. Do this for five minutes. Just for five minutes. Then look through that list of thoughts. You will see what a mess is going on inside the head! You will see that none of the thoughts are linked to each other. They are random, unrelated, illogical thoughts.

Content: None of the thoughts are linked to each other; however, we start to link them. We create a shaft binding all these thoughts. Each thought is like a bubble in a fish

Content: tank. If you see bubbles rising in a fish tank, they are unrelated, unconnected and disjointed. However we create a shaft and link them up. We attach ourselves with that shaft and start experiencing them. We start participating in the thoughts. We let the thoughts control us.

Content: In the same way, we deal with our emotions also. We create a shaft of all our pains and all our joys. If we see that our pain shaft is longer than the joy shaft, we conclude that we had a painful life; we had a miserable life. Otherwise, we say we have a happy life. Yet if we look deeply, each of the pains is completely unconnected and disjointed.

Content: For example, the headache that you experience today is not related to the headache that you had one week ago. The headache that you had one week ago is not related to the headache that you felt one month ago. But what do we do? We connect all these and say we have always had headaches or migraines. We become migraine sufferers. We fail to see that all the events were independent events. We create a shaft through all these pains and come to a conclusion.

Content: In the same way, if we have a joyful experience, we want to experience that joy again. We look for that source of joy and continuously run after it. This again leads us into the rat race.

Content: Here Krishna says He is neutral. How do we get ourselves unconnected from these attachments? Please understand that being unconnected from material possessions does not mean you leave everything and go away. Being unconnected from relationships does not mean breaking your relationships, forgetting your children, parents and others.

Content: Please understand this very deeply. Being neutral or unconnected has a deep meaning. Being neutral means being a spectator. It is like this: When you watch a movie, you watch something on the screen. Do you become an actor in that movie? No. You watch it and let it go.

Content: In the same way, we need to watch attachments. When we watch them as a spectator, we get detached from them. What do I mean by that? When we watch our materialistic wealth, we will not run after it. We do our job because we love it, not because we want to accumulate wealth. A scientist should do research because he likes to do it, not because he wants something out of it. When that is the attitude, the universe starts showering. The results happen of their own accord. The materialistic wealth comes on its own.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: In relationships also, we must be a spectator. When we stop seeing someone as a possession and when we become a spectator to the relationship, our dependency on that person and expectations from that person drop. When dependencies and expectations drop, there is no give and take in the relationship. There is only giving. The relationship becomes stronger.

Content: When we become a spectator to our thoughts and emotions, we feel a great sense of liberation. All we have to do is break the shaft that we create between different unconnected thoughts and emotions. We have to 'unclutch'. When we see thoughts like passing clouds in the sky, we stop associating ourselves with them. We are no longer controlled by them.

Content: Be very clear, being a spectator to thoughts does not mean that we suppress or destroy thoughts. We are not Brahma, the Creator, or Vishnu, the Sustainer, or Shiva, the Rejuvenator. When we become a spectator, we go beyond these three states. We transcend the trinity.

Content: By being a spectator, we remain unaffected and unattached to what happens in and around us. This is the truth. If we can internalize this completely, we will be enlightened this very minute!

Content: Krishna says that although He is a mere spectator, everything happens under His supervision. Here He shows His authority. He says the material world is created and annihilated according to His will through the power of prak"ti, Nature and the energy of mcyā, Illusion. Actually Krishna is repeating what He said in the previous verse. He thinks that this concept is important for Arjuna to understand. So He repeats it again and again.

Content: Krishna wants to clearly get this idea across to Arjuna. The whole material manifestation is a projection of the energy of universal consciousness. This is what is reflected within us in our individual consciousness. We create what we see and what we wish to see. We project as reality what we wish to believe. It is like this. You stand in front of a mirror and see yourself. Now all that you see outside you is a projection of what you have inside you.

Content: He says, 'I am the supreme power.' Everything happens under His supervision. What He says is simple. Whatever happens is a drama of creation and annihilation through Nature and Illusion. Krishna, the director and producer of this cosmic drama, stands unmoved as a spectator.

Content: This truth is reflected within us, too. We create and destroy ourselves. Everything, our happiness, our pains, our fantasies, our sorrows, our relationships

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Content: are created by us. If we see from a higher level, we influence the whole universe. Krishna shows how powerful we are, how powerful our inner Self is. Whether we believe it or not, it is the truth. We create everything that we see, feel and hear. That is the power of our inner Self. Yet we do not stay detached the way Krishna does.

Content: Our thoughts and inner chatter have a tremendous impact. The cosmic consciousness responds to our thoughts. All the enlightened masters have talked about it. What we think and how we think affects what happens around us.

Content: You have seen people who always shout and yell at others. Some people keep shaking their legs. All this happens because of inner restlessness. If something goes wrong, we blame others. We become irritated by small things. All this is because there is so much restlessnessness inside us. However instead of looking inside, what do we do? We blame others.

Content: We see negativity around us because there are negativities inside us. Because of such thoughts inside us, we project them outside by becoming frustrated and irritated at small things. You see, this is how we create our own world. Because of our thoughts and inner chatter, we create a world full of negativities outside.

Content: When we observe children, they are always blissful. Have you ever seen a child becoming frustrated or irritated? No. You may have seen children build castles with playing cards by stacking them one on top of the other and arranging them in a particular order. They are completely immersed in it. Even if some cards fall, they do not become frustrated or irritated. They once again try to stack them.

Content: In children there is no inner chatter, no conditionings. The world they project or manifest outside is blissful. They create a beautiful world because they do not have negativities inside them. Understand the power of thoughts. A person is blissful not because of what happens outside him; it is because of what is inside him.

Content: One more important thing: There is a difference between being happy and being blissful. Happiness happens inside because of external factors. If we feel joy inside because of something happening outside us, that joy is happiness. The problem with happiness is the source. If suddenly the external source disappears, our happiness also disappears. So our internal state is affected by an external source. The outer world is affecting our inner world.

Content: However, bliss is not like that. Being blissful does not depend on external sources. If we are at peace internally, we express that bliss. No external event or happening affects this state. Bliss is eternal; however happiness is temporary. When we are blissful inside, we project the same bliss outside. When we are in that state,

Content: we enjoy everything that happens outside us. We enjoy the external material manifestation because we are blissful inside.

Content: Please understand that as long as we enjoy the external material manifestation of our inner bliss as a spectator, it is fine. However, when we participate in it, when we try to possess that bliss, when we try to hold onto that bliss, that bliss is gone. It disappears because our mind has come in. Be very clear, when we think from our mind, when we enjoy something from our mind, it is not bliss.

Content: So in this verse Krishna tells us clearly that we create our own world. The material manifestation is solely because of our inner Self and nothing external is responsible for it.

Content: In the next verse He says, 'Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My ultimate nature, eternal nature, as the supreme Lord of all that is.'

Content: Here Krishna uses a strong word: 'Fools'. Enlightened masters don't edit their words. They don't edit. They speak the truth as it is. Usually, normal people edit because they fear others' opinions.

Content: See, normally in all your minds, three processes happen: first, words are created, then edited and then finally presented. Creating, editing and presenting. In masters, these three processes don't happen. Straightaway what is created is presented.

Content: One American university professor who attended many of our discourses said, 'Swamiji, you are speaking continuously for hours.' Of course, if you see our website, everyday somewhere in the world there is a discourse. For the last two and a half years, there is not a single day that has gone by without a program. Not a single day! Always somewhere or the other, there is some program happening. Some program, some lecture, something is going on.

Content: He asked me, 'How are you able to continuously speak without notes?' Please be very clear, here also in front of me, only the verses are there. Only the book of verses is here. There are no other notes. I see these verses in front of me so that the original pronunciation is not lost. And the original form should be maintained. We respect the verses. We don't alter the verses. I can say that the Vedas is the purest and most unadulterated scripture. No alteration is allowed, even the tune can't be changed. Even the tune in which they are chanted can't be changed. The chhandas (meter) cannot be changed. The same tune is preserved. It is not learnt by heart by reading. It is heard, śruti; it is heard. By hearing, they know by heart.

Content: That is why the tune cannot be changed. The words cannot be changed and the tune cannot be changed. Just to preserve the purity, I read the verse from the original. I don't have notes.

Content: He asked, 'How are you able to speak continuously without notes, Swamiji?' This is the first lecture where I am keeping something in front of me. If you have attended earlier discourses, whether it is a four-day program or five-day program, I never keep notes. This is the first time I am keeping something in front of me. This is the first time I am commenting on Sanskrit literature. So I keep the Sanskrit verses in front of me.

Content: He asked me, 'How are you able to continuously speak?' I told him, 'Because the process is easy in me. I don't edit. I don't have the three mechanisms: creating words, editing and presenting. Usually, for all people, these three mechanisms have to happen.'

Content: Then he put one more question, 'Swamiji, speaking for hours is different. For me, I must prepare three hours even for a one-hour lecture. If I must speak one hour on the ideas or the concepts I am supposed to present, I must prepare for three hours. I know for sure that you don't have time to prepare for so many discourses.'

Content: In our meditation camps, sometimes the program is eighteen hours long per day. For eighteen hours people listen to the talks and meditate. In India the same program is for four days, about forty hours or more. He said, 'How can you prepare for such long discourses? How do you speak without preparation?'

Content: I told him, 'You prepare because it has not become your experience.' Then I asked him, 'If somebody asks your name, do you prepare? Do you look at your notes and tell them your name?' Your name has become your experience, your being. So you immediately respond. Similarly, whatever I speak is from my experience. So I don't need to prepare. I don't need any rehearsal. Because it is my experience, I spontaneously express it. Nothing needs to be prepared. Preparation is unnecessary.

Content: One more thing, why do people fear public speaking? Why do they again and again prepare and rehearse? They fear that they may speak what they really think! They do not want to express what is going on inside them. They want to express polished words, decent words and clear words. They fear they may express by mistake what is going on inside! They may utter words that they are thinking. That is why they again and again prepare.

Content: Only for a person whose inner chattering has become pure, not only his words, his thinking has also become pure. That person can talk in a relaxed way for hours in public. To speak in public, that too in a relaxed and casual way, we need our inner being to be in a pure way. Only then can we talk whatever comes. We can be in such a relaxed mood. Otherwise, continuously we must edit.

Content: If we edit and speak, within half an hour or one hour, we are tired. We feel drained. We do not radiate the same energy. Speaking is a big job for people who edit and speak. They cannot be relaxed. They cannot be joyful.

Content: Masters don't edit; they express whatever they think. Because their thinking has become so pure, they don't need to edit. Even if they use sharp words, they are spoken to awaken you.

Content: Here Krishna uses the word, 'mūḍhā', meaning 'fool'. 'Fools deride Me.' He gives a jolt to the ego. He gives a jolt. 'Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My eternal nature as the supreme Lord of all that is.' He says, 'When I land in the world in the human form as a master, people, fools, deride me. They don't understand.'

Content: He again and again tells this to Arjuna, 'Don't think that just because I am in the body, I am your friend. Don't think that I am the person who was sitting in Brindavan (the place where Krishna spent his infant years), who is your own friend. Don't think I am that person. I am the energy that takes care of the whole world. I have come down in this form to liberate all of you. So only fools deride Me, fools miss Me. Don't miss, Arjuna, understand the ultimate nature of Me and liberate yourself.'

Content: In these verses, Krishna tells some interesting truths. These were true during His time and they are true today. When an enlightened master is in his body, people do not accept him. When the master lives in his body, people ignore him. In fact, people do not even want to accept that he can be an enlightened master.

Content: People stay away from the master when he is living. However, when the master is no longer in the body, people visit his final resting place, offer flowers, and do all kinds of things. This has happened to all enlightened masters. Jesus was crucified. Ramakrishna was considered a mad priest. When Ramakrishna entered into an ecstatic mood, people said that he was acting.

Content: However now, if you go to Kolkata, thousands of people visit Dakshineshwar, the place where Ramakrishna spent most of His life. Now people from all around the world go to Ramakrishna mission centers. Dakshineshwar has become a

Content: pilgrimage center. People worship Ramakrishna; they keep his photo in their home, in their wallets.

Content: You see, over time nothing has changed. In fact, it has become worse. The level of consciousness in people is affected by television and movies. When Ramakrishna was alive in the 19th century, these things were not there. Then he was called a madman. People made fun of him. However now after one hundred years, when we are constantly bombarded with unnecessary things, thousands of people go to Dakshineshwar. They worship him. They call him an incarnation. They call him God.

Content: When I am in the ashram in Bidadi, many people come with speculation. They have questions about what I say, what I wear and everything I do. They say, 'You are so young. How can you be enlightened?' Some say, 'If you are enlightened, why do you wear a golden rudrākṣa necklace? Why do you charge money for courses?' They have questions and questions.

Content: These same people will come to my final resting place after one hundred years and offer flowers on it. They will accept me as their guru when I am not sitting in the ashram in human form.

Content: Krishna says, 'Fools lose Me when I come in human form.' He calls them fools. This is the truth. When an enlightened master is in human form, we do not accept him as a master. Only after the master leaves the body do we pay our respects to the master. What is the reason? Why do people again and again do this?

Content: You see, when the master is in his body, when he is still in human form, our mind sees him as another human being. We see him like anybody else, another person. Then our ego comes between him and us. It reasons, 'He is another human like me. Why should I listen to him? Why do people pray to him? Why is he preaching to me?' All these questions come. That is it. We decide we don't have to follow another human being and go back.

Content: Please be very clear, a simple act of ego makes us miss a living enlightened master. Our mind cannot accept it. It always boosts our ego and keeps us away from an enlightened master. Our being wants it; however our mind and ego create a strong wall of questions between the master and us. We reason out everything that the master says. If there is a continuous inner chatter in us when we approach a master, our mind and ego take over our being. We miss the opportunity.

Content: And one more thing, some people know that a person is a master. They know what he says is good for them; however they escape. They run away or make

Content: excuses not to meet him. This is because they know that the enlightened master can see through them. They do not want anybody to know what a mess they have created in themselves. They fear that the enlightened master will read what goes on inside them. They want to escape that transformation.

Content: We should understand why an enlightened master comes to earth. If we know this, we will not be fools. We will not miss or run away. We should understand what an enlightened master is. If we understand, then we can break the wall between the master and us and let our being experience the master's energy.

Content: A small story from Ramakrishna:

Content: Three men walk near a village. They see an orchard. One of them jumps into the orchard to see what is happening. When he goes into the orchard, he sees a big party going on inside. He sees so much joy and bliss inside the orchard. Everyone enjoys, dances in ecstasy. They blissfully enjoy every moment. This man also starts enjoying. He forgets about the two men outside the orchard.

Content: After some time, the two men who stand outside get impatient. The second man says, 'Let me go and see what happened.' He enters the orchard. He sees people dancing, singing, enjoying. However, before he joins the party, this man thinks he should tell the third man standing outside the orchard about what he has seen. He has concern for the third man. So he tells the third man what is going on inside the orchard and runs back into the orchard and joins the party.

Content: Now this third man goes in. He sees the bliss everyone is in. He thinks, 'I should tell everyone in the village about this; everyone should enjoy; everyone should dance in ecstasy.' So he goes out and tells everyone in the village and brings them into the orchard.

Content: Enlightened masters are like the third man. They have experienced the truth, the bliss. They are the embodiments of compassion. They want everyone to know the truth. They are on a mission. Be very clear, the only aim of an enlightened master is to get everyone enlightened. There is no ulterior motive of the master.

Content: People ask me lots of questions. Why this? Why that? People look at me with suspicion. They think by telling them something, I make some profit. If I suggest to them to attend some course, they think I will make money. They run away thinking I want to convert them to a sanyāsi. They do not understand that an enlightened master is beyond all that. They miss the opportunity of being with a master because of their own ignorance.

Content: A small story:

Content: In a cold and snowy place, a snake lay on the ground frozen like a wooden stick. A passing blind man stumbled upon it and picked it up. Feeling it, the blind man was happy and thought, 'I have a good walking stick.'

Content: An enlightened master, passing that way, saw what he was doing and warned, 'Oh sir, that is not a walking stick; it is a snake and soon there will be sunlight. Once the sun comes out, the snake will be free and become normal and will harm you.' The blind man rejected the master's advice. He thought the master was trying to take away his walking stick. He continued to hold the stick. When the sun came out, the snake bit him and he realized the truth as he was dying.

Content: In the same way, whenever enlightened masters try to save mankind, people make their life hell, due to their ignorance and doubts. We must understand that an enlightened master does not have desires. So he does not have ulterior motives. All he wants is everyone should experience the bliss that he has experienced.

Content: In the case of a normal man, when he takes birth, he carries over desires from his previous birth. These are called vāsanas. However, an enlightened master does not have desires or vāsanas; he is in a no-mind state. His spirit can merge directly into the universal energy. Whenever there is a need on planet earth, the energy of the enlightened master is sent down to earth with a mission to fulfill.

Content: Be very clear, nobody can help when we create a wall of doubt between the master and us. The master can help only if we break the wall, only if we allow the master to take charge. As long as we hold onto our ego, we remain a fool. If we meet an enlightened master, that is the best thing that can happen to us. Now it is up to us to take advantage of it or miss it. Krishna tells everyone: if you miss an enlightened master, you are a fool. If we think out of ego that an enlightened master is like any other human, we lose the chance of knowing the truth; we lose the chance for enlightenment.

Content: Q: Swamiji, what does Krishna mean when He says, 'Follow Me, I am the supreme Godhead?'

Content: If you don't follow the master, you will follow your saṃskāras; you will follow your ego. Be very clear, when I say follow me or follow Krishna, it does not mean

Content: that I am asking you to follow the six-foot Nithyananda or the dark-complexioned Krishna. It means, follow the universal Krishna, or the nityānanda which means eternal bliss, or the universal consciousness.

Content: A group of Krishna devotees visited our ashram in India. During my discourse, they asked questions, 'In the Gita, Krishna says He is the supreme personality. How can you say that you are on the same plane as Krishna?' These people call themselves Krishna devotees and claim to have read the Gita many times; however the whole essence of Krishna's words is lost in their understanding. They are stuck in the physical form of Krishna. They are stuck in the names and words. I tell people, when Krishna and Jesus meet, they will hug each other; however the cows of Krishna and the sheep of Jesus will fight with each other!

Content: Anyhow, people who miss the living enlightened masters are fools according to Krishna. If they let their ego decide, they will miss a wonderful opportunity. They will fall back into the cycle of birth and death.

Content: One more thing, if someone chants 'Rama, Rama, Rama' a million times, it does not mean he will be liberated. So many people chant some mantras. They feel proud that they do it. They read Vishnu Sahasranama that contains 1008 names of Vishnu. They tell people, 'I read this; I read that.' However, when someone gossips beside them, one ear listens to the gossip while chanting! They chant the mantra, yet the ears listen to the gossip. Their mind and body are totally disconnected. Some people stop between chants and add their valuable suggestions to the gossip as well!

Content: If someone follows Krishna or Rama in that way, there is no point. If there is no awareness of our actions, there is no point in doing those rituals. I tell people that only when we add spirit to a ritual, it becomes spiritual.

Content: One more important thing, if we do prayers and rituals with ego, we fall back into the cycle of life and death. The villain of Ramayana (the Indian epic), Ravana, was a great king. He was devout and prayed to Shiva. He was devoted to Shiva; however he had ideas about Sita, the wife of Rama. He was a great ruler. Lanka had castles of gold. It was a prosperous country. People were happy with the king but what is the use? Ravana prayed to Shiva with the ego that he is doing all that. He was deluded by his illusion, by his ego. He did not know who Rama was. He did not see the enlightenment in Rama. Soon he was killed by Rama.

Content: This is what Krishna says in these verses. You see, even if we do all kinds of puja or prayer, as long as our ego comes in the way, all our activities towards God are useless. Please be very clear, we may pray ten times a day, we may think of God one hundred times a day. However we must analyze how we approach God. It should be out of gratitude rather than ego. When we take God's name to show off to people, we do nothing but waste time.

Content: People think they can reach heaven by donating thousands of rupees to temples. They build temples with selfish ideas. Be very clear, nobody waits at the gates of heaven keeping notes of our activities. Nobody is going to take us to God because we donated money to God. We can build temples and we can donate money to temples. When we do that, do it with devotion; do it with gratitude. We should not do it to get our names engraved on the temple walls. Do not let ego take over.

Content: Krishna does not ask us to follow His form. He asks us to follow His energy. He wants us to imbibe Him, internalize Him and follow Him.

Content: When Buddha said, 'Buddham sharanam gacchami,' it was not in reference to the physical form of Buddha; it was about the enlightened energy of Buddha. This energy can only be followed by adhering to His teachings, the dhamma, and working on His mission, the sangha.

Content: Follow Krishna by understanding Krishna consciousness, not by following what you imagine to be your understanding of the form of Krishna. Krishna consciousness is the same as Shiva consciousness or Buddha consciousness or Christ consciousness or Nithyananda consciousness. There is no difference.

Content: That is why Krishna says, 'These fools mock at Me when I come in human form. Don't mock the form, follow the consciousness. You will no longer be a fool. You will be in eternal bliss!'

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.13 O son of Pritha, the great souls who are not deluded know me as unchangeable.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: They are devoted to Me as they know I am the cause of all creation.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.14 Those with firm resolve perpetually worship Me with devotion.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: They sing My glories, striving with determination, prostrating to Me,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.15 Some worship Me by acquiring and spreading wisdom of the Self.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Others worship Me in my non-dual form, or dual form or universal form.

Content: Krishna speaks about bhakti or devotion in these verses.

Content: You see, devotion can be one of the most powerful ways to reach God. Many saints showed the world the path of devotion. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was devoted to Krishna. He sang songs in Krishna's glory. He danced in ecstasy while singing about Krishna. Meera was another devotee of Krishna who was in love with Him. Meera's devotional songs, Meera bhajans, are sung even today to show her devotion towards Krishna.

Content: Be very clear, devotion is one of the most powerful ways to reach God; however it depends on how we express devotion. Many people go to temples. Some people have a habit of going to a particular temple every week. If somebody asks, they say, 'Oh, every Saturday I pray to Lord Venkateshwara. Every Tuesday I go to the Hanuman temple.' Going to temples becomes a fashion statement.

Content: Making mechanical visits to the temple is not devotion. It is just a sort of ego. We mostly go to temples to ask for something. Our devotion to Lord Venkateshwara is dependent on how much He answers our prayers. If we ask for

Content: something and He gives it, then Venkateshwara is great; otherwise we switch gods! We go to the god who we think will grant our wishes.

Content: A small story:

Content: Three village men set off to the city to earn money. Before leaving, they went to their village temple. They prayed, 'O God, we are going to the city to earn money. Please help us become rich. If we become rich, after one year, whatever money we earn, we will donate fifty percent of it to you. We will put that money in the collection box. Please help us.' They made a business deal with God, a profit-sharing deal.

Content: In the city, they started a business and after one year, they made a million rupees. They remembered their promise to God. So they went back to their village. On their way, they started thinking. Each of them calculated how much they will get. One million rupees is a lot of money? If they give fifty percent to God, how much will they have for themselves?

Content: Once they reached their village, before going to the temple, one of them said, 'Why does God need so much money? He is rich anyway. Let us think of another way to show our devotion and gratitude to God.'

Content: The other two immediately agreed. Just see how the human mind works! When they had nothing, they wanted to give God; now when they have, they don't want to let go of it.

Content: Anyhow, they came up with a plan. They told God, 'We will make a circle on the ground. We will throw all the money up in the air. Whatever falls in the circle is for us and whatever falls outside, we will donate to you.'

Content: Then they thought, 'When we throw the money up, more money will fall outside the circle.' Now once again their greed started. They thought, 'No, this is not a good idea.' So they revised the plan. They decided to create a bigger circle and throw the money upwards. Whatever money fell in, they decided to give God. But now they felt that more money would fall inside the circle.

Content: As they were discussing, one of them looked up and said, 'Oh God, you are sitting up there. You know how much money you want. So we will throw all the money up. However much money you want, keep and we will take the rest!'

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: This is our devotion! We make business deals. We pray to God, but not with devotion. As long as God gives what we want, he is our God; otherwise He is no longer God. Prayer should express our devotion, gratitude, and love to God. All great devotees of Krishna and Rama showed complete gratitude and love. When devotion reaches that state, they reach the ultimate consciousness.

Content: One more thing, prayers are powerful; however, we should not get stuck at prayers. Prayers are powerful in the initial stages when we pray as we go towards God. Let the prayers express devotion rather than asking for boons. We should go beyond words. When we pray, we are stuck in words. We should go beyond words. Our devotion should help us see the ultimate energy behind the idol of Krishna or Rama.

Content: Actually, complete devotion puts us in a completely different plane. When we show our devotion to someone, we surrender ourselves to him or her. Have you heard the story of Prahlad?

Content: He was a young boy less than ten years old. His father Hiranyakashipu was a great devotee of Brahma, the creator. Hiranyakashipu does intense penance and asks Brahma for a boon. He asks to be made immortal; however Brahma says that is impossible. Hiranyakashipu then comes up with lots of conditions such as: he should be killed by an animal, a bird, a human, or anything living or non-living, either during the day or the night. Brahma grants him that boon.

Content: Hiranyakashipu thinks his boon covers all the ways in which he might be killed. So he declares himself to be God. He asks all the people in his kingdom to worship him as God. So people worship his idol. All the chants include his name. However Hiranyakashipu's son, Prahlad, turns out to be a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. He is a little boy, yet his devotion to Vishnu is strong.

Content: Obviously his father is not happy about this. He tries to persuade Prahlad; however it is of no use. The more Hiranyakashipu talks to his son, the more intense Prahlad's devotion becomes. Hiranyakashipu then tries to get Prahlad killed through various ways. Prahlad worships Vishnu with such great devotion that Vishnu saves Prahlad every time. Prahlad prays to Vishnu every second, with every breath. His devotion is deep. Even when he is about to be executed, he prays to Vishnu with gratitude and love. His devotion is that of surrender rather than a prayer asking Vishnu to save his life. This is the story of Narasimha avatār, the incarnation of Vishnu in which He is half-lion and half-human.

Content: Krishna continues to explain to Arjuna the ways in which people worship Him. Here he talks about the path of jñāna, knowledge: Those following the path of knowledge try to worship Me by acquiring and propagating knowledge.

Content: A small story:

Content: A philosopher who had only a single pair of shoes went to a cobbler and asked him to repair his shoes.

Content: The cobbler told him, 'I am sorry, but I closed my shop just now. Please come again tomorrow.'

Content: The philosopher said, 'But I only have this pair of shoes and I cannot walk without shoes.'

Content: The cobbler answered, 'Okay, I will lend you a pair of shoes then.'

Content: The philosopher was shocked. He shouted, 'What? You want me to wear other people's shoes? Who do you think I am?'

Content: The cobbler replied, 'Why do you refuse to wear other people's shoes when you can carry people's ideas and thoughts in your head?'

Content: Understand that mere accumulation of knowledge only increases ego. Please be very clear: mere accumulation of spiritual knowledge does not give enlightenment. Internalize the knowledge and relate it to experiential wisdom. Then the breeze of joy will flow into your life.

Content: How can we internalize knowledge? How can we embed that knowledge inside? Do meditation. When you are alone, think and contemplate upon great truths. Deeply immersing ourselves in contemplation is a meditation. Question those truths and try to find answers within yourself.

Content: Swami Vivekananda beautifully says, 'Even if we sit day in and day out, and memorize all the books in all the libraries, nothing happens, except that our head becomes a little big, that is all! Just know one single dimension of the truth and imbibe that completely, that is more than enough. It can do wonders. Take any one teaching and internalise it fully.'

Content: Meditation helps us internalize our experience and process it into wisdom. It is an alchemy that happens internally, an alchemy that transforms our lives. Meditation helps us experience the truths.

Content: Please understand, acquiring knowledge can be done in another way. Many people read many books and scriptures. They have shelves filled with books. They will show off their library of books to whoever visits their home. These people take great pride in showing off their knowledge.

Content: Many people discuss spirituality. They have debates over this subject. Debates are not wrong; however the motive with which they discuss should be correct. If they discuss to show others how much they know, then they are debating purely out of ego. Please be very clear, if we show off our knowledge to show how much we know, there is no use of that knowledge.

Content: The only way knowledge in the scriptures helps us is through experience. Instead of debating, instead of having discussions and showing off knowledge, apply it in day-to-day activities. See the results on yourself first. Experience it. Only when we experience it, we have the right to speak about it to others. Till then, they are mere words. They are nothing more than words.

Content: Meditation helps us here, especially in the path of jñāna or knowledge. You see, the path of knowledge is not an easy path. In the path of devotion, all we have to do is pray to some form: either Krishna or Rama or someone, show complete devotion to that chosen God. We must completely surrender. Actually that is difficult. Really, total surrender is difficult; however, in the path of devotion, at least we have someone to talk to. We have someone to whom we can pray and look up to.

Content: However in the path of knowledge, that is not there. There is no reference point. No one is in front of us. In this path, there is nothing called you and He. In the path of devotion, there is a clear separation between Krishna and us. In the path of knowledge, Krishna says that everything is Krishna. There is no duality. Everything is one.

Content: When we meditate, we experience the great truths. Through meditation we connect to our inner space. All the knowledge in the scriptures, the Upaniṣad, talks about microcosm and macrocosm. They speak about how they are one and the same. If we talk about this knowledge without experience, all our knowledge is words. It is bookish knowledge, nothing else. We are like another library of books. The difference happens when we experience that truth. During meditation, we merge with the cosmic energy. Meditation helps us enter that space where our inner space merges with the outer space: microcosm merges with macrocosm.

Content: Actually, all paths are one and the same. Even if we meditate on the form, after a point we will see that there is nothing like a form. Everything is the same. So even in the path of devotion, we experience the same thing as in the path of knowledge. Be very clear, nothing is better than the other. Everything is the same. The greatest enlightened master Shankara who spoke the greatest truths on non-duality wrote poems on devotion also. Swami Vivekananda was an intellectual being, yet he saluted the devotion of Ramakrishna's disciple, Gopale Ma, a devotee of Krishna.

Content: This is what Krishna says in this verse. There are numerous paths. In the previous verse, He talked about the path of devotion. Here He talks about the path of knowledge. He says, 'Some worship the form, some worship the formless. There are many ways to worship Me.'

Content: There are many different ways people worship the Divine; the options are many. So, we are repeatedly given many options. We have customized ways, customized paths for our personal growth. So naturally wherever one is, one can grow and reach the level we are supposed to reach. There are all sizes of ladders, all kinds of steps. We are continuously given choices, options. So, naturally one tends to take up something or the other.

Content: He gives options among the different paths; worshipping through singing the glories of the Lord or cultivation of knowledge and offering everything at the feet of God.

Content: Q: Swamiji, there are many stories like those of Prahlad and Meera. Can we believe them? Did they really happen?

Content: You see, these stories should not be analyzed on the basis of whether they happened or not. It does not mean that if it did not occur in reality, we should not go deep into the message. Let us not get diverted by all that. Let us not analyze from the intellect. Let us appreciate the message of the story. Then it will not matter whether they happened or not.

Content: Be very clear, all such things should be absorbed. The message should be absorbed. By analyzing when it happened, how it happened, whether it happened, we miss the ruth. Whether they happened in 'fact' is a question historians must answer. You should be aware of the message, the truth.

Content: Truth is different from fact. Whenever we say something, it is a fact. If someone asks the time, you say 10:30. When you say that, you do not say the truth. It is a fact. It is 10:30 here; however it is 12:30 somewhere else in the world. These are facts.

Content: So when we listen to stories, look for the truth, not for factual details. In the story of Prahlad, let us absorb the truth of devotion. See the depth of devotion. We should internalize with what feeling Prahlad prayed to Vishnu. What were the underlying emotions behind his devotion? Complete surrender, complete trust and complete gratitude.

Content: All great masters have expressed their experiences through stories and parables. Jesus and Buddha and many great masters have parables incorporated as part of their religion's scriptures. As experiences of these great masters, these stories are absolutely true. There is no doubt about it.

Content: The Indian Purānas, the great epics, are not merely historical facts. They are a combination of historical events and shifts in human consciousness. Their relevance is greater as shifts in consciousness; they serve as guideposts for us to learn and follow.

Content: As I explained in the introduction, Mahabharata is not about the fight between two warring related clans. That is a mere historical occurrence. What is important is its metaphorical significance as the fight between one's good and bad sāskāras. What is relevant is the understanding that comes about as a result of studying and understanding this epic in terms of what sāskāras are and how they can be eliminated.

Content: Similarly in the stories of Prahlad, Meera and countless others, there are great truths embedded metaphorically. Once we understand these truths and apply them to our lives, we can make a significant difference in the way we live.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.16, 17, 18, 19

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I am the ritual, I am the sacrifice, I am the offering, I am the herb, I am the mantra, I am the clarified butter, I am the fire, and I am the oblation.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I am the supporter of the universe, the father, the mother, and the grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, the sacred syllable "OM", and also the Rig, the Yajur, and the Sama Vedas.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the substratum, and the immutable seed. I give heat. I send, as well as withhold the rain.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I am immortality as well as death. I am also both the Eternal and the temporal, O Arjuna.

Content: Krishna says in specific terms what He is. He is the creation of the act, the actor and the action. He is the fire to which the sacrifices are made, He is also the offering and He is the sacrifice as well. He is the seer, the seen and the seeing, all in one.

Content: He tells Arjuna, everything that we do, everything that we see, everything that we feel, anything and everything that we know is because of Him. He says everything has come from Him. He is the seed of everything. Everything that we see is Parāsakti or universal energy. This is Krishna's message here.

Content: Great masters lived in this realization. Ramana, Ramakrishna, Sadashiva Brahmendra, Raghavendra and many masters lived in this consciousness of being one with the universal consciousness. Many people could not relate to the experience of these masters or to the expression of their experience; so they considered these masters mad.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: A small story:

Content: A disciple returns to his ashram. From a distance he sees a huge crowd.

Content: Getting curious, he pushes his way through the crowd and he is shocked. A

Content: dog is trying to eat food kept in his master's vessel and his master is sitting on

Content: the dog!

Content: The disciple does not understand. 'What nonsense is going on here? Oh

Content: master, what are you doing?' he asked, utterly confused. The master calmly

Content: replied, 'Don't you see? Some Brahman has kept some Brahman on a Brahman .

Content: One four legged Brahman tries to eat it. Another Brahman rides on it. Many

Content: Brahmans stand and watch this event. That's all.'

Content: On hearing this, the crowd disperses saying, 'What is this madness?'

Content: However the disciple feels that nothing his master utters can be untrue.

Content: He sits under the nearby tree and contemplates. The potent words 'plate,

Content: food, dog, master, people are all Brahman rings again and again in his ears. As

Content: the power of his master's words sinks in, the disciple realizes that all things

Content: surrounding him are the same Existence, Brahman.

Content: He realizes and understands that divine energy blissfully moves about in

Content: each and every thing. In a moment everything changes for the disciple. The

Content: thought of 'I' drops; instead, the feeling of 'Self' dawns. The fulfilling feeling of

Content: 'All is Brahman, everywhere is Brahman, Brahman is within me too' is born. He

Content: has the first experience of enlightenment.

Content: We are all Brahman; we are all divine. God is everywhere. Divine energy fills

Content: and overflows in all the places. This is what Krishna says in these verses.

Content: This is the basic truth. Whether we believe it or not, accept it or not,

Content: understand it or not, this is the truth. We can call It God, Krishna, Rama, Jesus,

Content: universal energy, cosmic energy, Parcakti or Brahman. Whatever we may call It,

Content: whatever name we may give It, It is present everywhere.

Content: Please be very clear when we worship some idol or form, we actually worship

Content: the formless energy behind that idol. People ask me, 'Why do we keep your photo

Content: in front of us and pray to it? Why can't we meditate on the formless?'

Content: I tell them, 'First start meditating on the form, then you can go to the formless.'

Content: Our mind is like a drunken monkey. Have you seen a monkey? It keeps jumping

Content: 230

Content: from here to there. Now imagine a drunken monkey. Imagine how much it will jump! Now, added to this, imagine how it will jump if it is bitten by a scorpion!

Content: Our mind is also like that. It is continuously jumping everywhere. In such a state, we first need a form to bring our mind to the present. A form is necessary in the initial stages for the mind to calm down. Once we master this, meditating on the formless becomes easier.

Content: Praying or meditating on the form should actually be only a starting point. Be very clear even when we meditate on the form, we should only see the idol or form in front of us, nothing else. And we should understand that we are worshipping through that idol and not the idol itself.

Content: One more thing, the basic truth in spirituality is that God is in the form of energy and He is formless. God cannot be an individual. He must be energy. Religions give shapes and forms to this divine energy. It is a good beginning, but not the end. You can start with idol worship and move into worshipping the formless energy.

Content: Thousands of years ago, our sages clearly said in the Upaniṣad that everything is energy and everything arose from energy. However, only recently has science understood this truth. When Einstein proposed the theory of relativity and the mass-energy relationship, everyone in the world looked at his theory with suspicion; they could not understand it. Actually, even now only a few people understand it clearly. But at least now people have accepted his theory.

Content: However, our sages proposed this theory thousands of years ago. When Einstein read the Upaniṣad, he said, 'The end of science is the beginning of spirituality.' Einstein became very spiritual towards the end of his life.

Content: The formless God is nothing but space, ether, or energy. Now it has been proven scientificaly that there is ether even in vacuum. This energy is all-pervading. It is there everywhere. We now know with the help of powerful tools that 99.99% of an atom is empty space. Continuous vibrations go on in that empty space. Only these vibrations exhibit themselves as energy. Each and every body is filled with energy. Today science says, 'Everything is filled with energy.'

Content: Our enlightened masters expressed it this way, 'God is energy and He fills all space and is omnipresent.' Krishna says this clearly in these verses.

Content: This energy cannot be destroyed. It can only change form. You see, when we switch on a light, electrical energy is converted into light energy. Electrical energy is not being destroyed. It has only changed form.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: In the same way, universal energy is everywhere. It is in everything around us and I tell you, it is within us also. Once we realize this great truth, we see that everything around us is the same as us. Only the form in which everything exists is different. Krishna tries to explain this great truth through these verses.

Content: When I say everything, I mean everything is Krishna, everything is Brahman.

Content: Q: Swamiji, You said that we should move from the form to the formless in worship. However, some religions totally oppose this and consider form worship barbaric. Can you please explain this?

Content: There is no doubt that all that pervades us is energy. It is absolutely true that all material objects came from that energy. This is the first statement of the first Upaniṣad called Isa Vasya Upanishad that says: asāv vāsya¹⁄₄ ida¹⁄₄ sarva¹⁄₄: from this energy all matter was created.

Content: Yet, the same enlightened masters who told this, taught us how to worship the form through rituals and other techniques. Krishna, the greatest master of them all, identifies Himself with these techniques in these verses. Why?

Content: From a cosmic standpoint, everything is energy. From a material standpoint, what we see and identify with is matter. Can we have sex and reproduce as energy? For argument's sake, we can talk about immaculate conception. As long as we are in the body, we need the physiological action to reproduce. If our mental state at the time of sex is such that both partners transcend the physical act and relate to one another as pure energy, immaculate conception results. That is all. Such a conception produces an enlightened being.

Content: Anyone in the physical form, anyone in an embodied form, cannot relate with energy as such unless enlightened. We are accustomed to matter, not energy. We see matter, we feel matter and even if we have intellectual understanding that it is all energy, what we experience is matter.

Content: To experience that all matter is energy and this energy is the same in all matter takes time to understand and accept. We need maturity for this experience. If we are forced to focus on an intangible energy form before this maturity dawns, we may accept it as a discipline or a compulsion, but not out of true understanding.

Content: 232

Content: This happens in religions that deny the form as pagan, uncivilized or something else. They have an inadequate understanding of the whole concept of matter and energy, both from a scientific and spiritual point of view. Energy and matter are convertible; they can exist in both attributes in time and space. All this would have been scientifically unacceptable a century ago; but thanks to advances in quantum physics we are reaching a convergence of science and spirituality. Newtonian physics is giving way to Einsteinian physics. Material science is becoming energy science.

Content: Hindu sages understood these truths tens of thousands of years ago. Not all religions understood or accepted this. They have been forced to accept some of these truths over time as scientific discoveries became irrefutable. Form and formless are two sides of the same experience; matter and energy are two expressions of the same reality.

Content: The danger with religions that deny form, as if form is inferior to formless, is that they deny their own reality. If you believe that only the formless is divine, what are you then? Are you matter with no energy?

Content: Such religions breed a deep-rooted depression within us. Simultaneously they breed hatred against those who think otherwise, whom they consider enemies. Ironically this focus on the formless instills an obsession with material things as well.

Content: That is why such cultures and religions cannot accept rebirth and reincarnation. After all, the concept of reincarnation is based on energy and that energy is indestructible. Why then assume that we are mere matter that needs to be disposed of on the expiry date? It means that these cultures do not believe in their own energy base, in their own divinity. They see themselves as different from Nature, from Existence.

Content: This differentiation breeds violence and terrorism. A deep-rooted inferiority complex and built-in suspicions about one's own nature instills the need to prove themselves violently against those who are centered in themselves. This is why most of the authentic religions never felt a need to propagate beliefs or proselytize. They never attempted to convert others to their religions through fear and greed.

Content: Only those who are afraid try to convince others about how good they are. More people have been killed in the name of religion in the history of mankind than for any other reason.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: Let me tell you this: There is no way that we can worship the formless directly without starting with the form. Those who believe they can, only pretend. They use gimmicks to replace the form: they use symbols; they use direction; they use pilgrimage points; they use rituals; they use all this and then believe they worship the formless. For them, the Hindu idol is a stone and is pagan worship; however if they worship another form in another name that is acceptable.

Content: Vedic scriptural recommendations prescribe a graduated evolution. One starts with temples and rituals. One chooses one or more forms that one feels comfortable with. From physical rituals, one progresses to inner worship through sacred chants and words; then to a specific deity form; from there to meditation on the form; and finally to meditation on the formless.

Content: The Ultimate cannot be reached in one step. We need preparation. Otherwise the dangers of being misled are real. We need to understand that when we worship the form, we worship the energy of that form through that form. Gradually we can drop that form and identify with the energy that pervades all forms.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.20 Those who practice the vedic rituals and drink the soma juice worship Me indirectly seeking the heavenly pleasures.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: They go to heaven and enjoy sensual delights.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.21 Once they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasures, they are reborn on this planet again.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: By practicing vedic rituals as result-oriented actions, they are bound by the cycle of birth and death.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.22 When you reside in My consciousness, whatever you lack I give

Chapter Number: 9

Content: And whatever you have, I preserve

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.23 Even those who worship other deities, they too worship Me,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: O son of Kunti, but without true understanding.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.24 I am the only enjoyer and the only object of sacrifice.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature are born again and again.

Content: Krishna says that people who read scriptures, the Vedas, and who perform pious ritualistic activities based on scriptural injunctions with the aim of acquiring merits, enjoy heavenly pleasures; however they fall back into the cycle of life and death after they finish enjoying these pleasures.

Content: You see, many people do lots of rituals. They rea d scriptures. Krishna says this surely helps elevate them to a higher plane of consciousness; however they are still

Content: caught in the cycle of sa1/4sra, birth and death. He says we should go beyond momentary pleasures that we get by reading and practicing vedic injunctions.

Content: Understand these verses. By reading scriptures and performing different rituals, we will enjoy the pleasures of Indra loka, the heavenly pleasures; yet when the rituals are performed with that objective, we will again enter the vicious circle of birth and death.

Content: Krishna speaks about the attitude with which we read Vedas and Upani3ads or how we perform rituals. Scriptures have immense knowledge. Rituals have immense power. They are meditations; however they are useless if done with fear and greed.

Content: So many people do all this in fear. They fear that if they do not perform certain rituals, they will go to hell. If they do not perform certain rites, they will not be given a place in heaven. In India, after a person dies, certain rituals are performed. People perform these rituals fearing that without these rituals the dead person will not gain a place in heaven and the living will not live in peace.

Content: Another class of people operates with greed. They donate large sums of money thinking that the gates of heaven will be eternally open for them. Their names get carved on temple walls. They donate electric bulbs to light up temples; however half the bulb will have their name written on it. What is the use?

Content: Please understand that when we do pious activities with fear or greed, though we see improvement, though we see some transformation, we will go back to where we started. That is what Krishna means by Indra loka, the momentary transformation or elevation of our state.

Content: When we perform certain rituals, when we do p1/2j¢ or prayer or we read scriptures, it should become a meditation. Our ego, our fear and our greed should not come in the way. It is like this: When we perform rituals, think that this is the last time we will perform them. Do them with intensity.

Content: The next verse is the main core that reveals the secret. Krishna tells Arjuna and all of us:

Content: ananyacscintayanto m¢m ye janc¢ paryup¢sate

Content: te3k¢ nityabhiyukt¢n¢1/4 yogak3emam1/4 vah¢myaha1/4

Content: 'Those who always worship Me, those who always reside in Me, those who have ananyacscinta - means non-dual mood, means people who have become Me,

Content: people who have experienced eternal consciousness, ananyacintayanto mām ye jan$c$ā paryupāsate, people who have become Me, people who reside in eternal consciousness - to them, I carry what they lack and I preserve what they have. I personally take care of them.

Content: Please be very clear, no other incarnation has revealed this truth so clearly. He says, 'If you reside in eternal consciousness, divine energy, bliss consciousness, I take care of you in all ways.'

Content: Yoga and k$ema: I give them whatever they want spiritually and materially and I take care that it stays with them. I take care that nobody takes it away from them. This is a beautiful statement and assurance.

Content: Please understand it is not only an assurance; it is a promise. Assurance is different; promise is different. This is a promise. Krishna gives a promise, 'If you reside in My consciousness, if you reside in eternal consciousness, whatever you lack will be given and whatever you have will be preserved.'

Content: The strange thing is that He says we will have everything and nothing will be lost. It is difficult to believe! At least for people trained in so-called present day education, it is difficult to believe! 'How can I have what I want by meditating?' This will be the immediate question.

Content: Please be very clear, now in the modern day, especially after the breakthrough with the principles of quantum physics, science clearly proves our thoughts create the universe. Our thoughts create the whole universe.

Content: If we reside in eternal consciousness, we create our own universe. Not only that, the universe responds to our thoughts.

Content: A small but important experiment that I read in a magazine:

Content: A professor did an experiment using three rose bushes. They were the same height, same kind. He kept them in three different rooms.

Content: He entered the first room and used beautiful words, 'You are beautiful. You are nice. You are great. Don't worry, I'll protect you. Why do you need thorns?' He gave assuring and caring words. He created a loving mood.

Content: Next he went to the room that had the second plant. He did not do much; he looked and came back: neither negative nor positive.

Content: To the third plant, he cursed, 'What nonsense are you doing? You are ugly.' He created negative energy with his words.

Content: He continued this experiment for twenty-one days. He studied how plants respond to thoughts as a research.

Content: The report, the end result, is shocking. The first plant that received positive words doubled in size and had no thorns! I saw photographs of that plant. There were no thorns on that rose plant just because he gave the assurance, 'I'll protect you. Why should you protect yourself? Don't bother. There is no need for thorns.' Can you imagine a rose plant without thorns!

Content: The second was a normal rose plant. It experienced normal growth, that's all. The plant to which he spoke neither positive nor negative words grew just as a rose plant normally would.

Content: The third plant, to which he spoke negative words, died. Not once, but several times he repeated the same experiment in different places and in different ways. The third plant, that received negative thoughts, died all the times. He says, all the times, the plant died.

Content: Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, an Indian Nobel Laureate, proved that plants are alive with 'feelings'. They are capable of responding to our thoughts and emotions. This experiment proves that Existence, the outer world, responds to our thoughts.

Content: Not only that, one more research was done. They invented a machine, like our ECG, electrocardiogram, to read the vibrations of trees, to read the vibrations of plants.

Content: They hooked that machine up to twenty trees and observed the vibrations or pulse created by the trees. For experimental purposes, a woodcutter came inside that garden with the thought of cutting down a particular tree.

Content: You will be surprised, he did not even go near that particular tree, yet the moment he entered the garden, that tree's graph started oscillating, started jumping. The tree panicked. The tree started suffering. The tree felt fear.

Content: The next day, the woodcutter came into the garden with the thought of cutting down a different tree. Exactly, according to his thought, if he intended to cut tree 'x', the graph of 'x' was jumping. If he came into the garden intending to cut tree 'y', the graph of 'y' jumped.

Content: Please be very clear: Existence responds to our thoughts.

Content: Each of us is not an island. We are not isolated. Don't think we can think whatever we want in our inner space and that our outer life will be different. Our outer life and inner life are deeply connected.

Content: If we live a spiritual life, we automatically attract only spiritual friends. Our outer world also becomes spiritual. All other relationships drop by themselves. We do not even feel like relating.

Content: Many devotees tell me, 'Swamiji, nowadays I am unable to go to a party. Even if I go, I have nothing to talk about. I am unable to talk about anything. What is there to talk about at a party? Same stock market or who ran away with whom, who is going with whom, who is staying with whom. Same thing. Nothing useful. Same information.'

Content: And everybody feels that they know some secrets. They call somebody and say, 'Don't tell anybody. This is only for you. Do you know, a week ago, this is what happened...?'

Content: Not only that, just telling her will not do; we must extract a promise, 'This is a secret, it should not be told to anybody, it is only for you.' Then after ten minutes, even the dog on the street will bark with the news!

Content: In America of course, people don't meet each other often; they are almost isolated and immersed in their work. In India, they cannot relax if they have information, private information about someone else. Unless it is delivered to a few hundred people, they cannot relax!

Content: Anyhow, understand, Existence responds to our thoughts. It does not need this network. People who enter spiritual life can't indulge in the same old talk about who is with whom, and what happened, and who ran away with whom. For all those things, they will not have time; they will not have the mood.

Content: Only based on our thoughts, we create relationships, friends, society, our circle and naturally, our whole world.

Content: Again and again, Vedānta says, dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi, we create what we see. We create the universe from the angle of our vision. When our dṛṣṭi (vision) changes, the sṛṣṭi (world around us) changes too. By changing our vision, we change the world around us. They say, we project our world and see. It is the truth.

Content: See, whatever we place in front of a projector, whatever slide we position there, that will appear on the screen. If we place the slide of God, the picture of God appears on screen. If we place an actress, that actress appears on the screen. Whatever we use as a slide appears on the screen. The screen represents the physical planet earth. Whatever we keep in front of our consciousness, we project that in our life, our world and our experience.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: The slide determines the scene on the screen. Our mentality decides the way we perceive the world, the way we experience the world. A small change in our mind changes our whole world. The screen remains the same; the backdrop screen is same; however the scene changes.

Content: Similarly, if the thoughts in our inner space change, the whole universe changes. The whole universe responds, the whole of Existence responds to our inner space.

Content: Don't think that each of us is a separate island. We are part of this whole Existence. We are not alone here. If we think we are alone, we will continuously fight with Existence, with the whole universe. We will see the rest of the universe as an enemy. The part can never see the whole as enemy. We are a part. This is the Whole. If we see this as an enemy, we can never rest. Only a person who understands that the Whole is his own being, that he is part of the Whole, realizes tremendous relaxation and bliss.

Content: Krishna says:

Content: 'When you reside in My consciousness, whatever you lack, I give and whatever you have, I preserve.'

Content: You may think, 'Yes Swamiji, we understand when you say the universe responds to our thoughts. However, how can we get what we want?'

Content: Please understand that the moment we change our thoughts, the moment our inner space changes, automatically we attract good things. Please be very clear, if we tune our television to BBC, we see the BBC channel. If we tune it to ABC, we see the ABC channel. If we tune it to CNN, we see the CNN channel. Similarly, if we tune our consciousness to bliss, continuously even material wealth will shower on us.

Content: We may think, 'How can this be possible? How can this happen? What kind of words is Swamiji giving?' But I tell you, it may look difficult now. We may feel it is difficult to understand. But start experimenting. I honestly tell you, I declare from my own authority, this verse is the solid truth.

Content: I can say this with authority because I experienced this truth for nine years. I tell you, this is a promise by the Divine. Nine years I lived in utter insecurity. I know Krishna still proves His words. His words are guaranteed. yogakṣemaṃ vahāmy aham, He does!

Content: I can quote thousands of incidents from devotees' lives, thousands of incidents! From so many devotees' lives, Tukaram, Tulsidas and so many masters' lives I can

Content: 240

Content: quote to support these words. I can quote numerous incidents from my own life, from the life of people I have met.

Content: Let me tell you a small incident that happened in my own life during my days of spiritual wandering before the incident of enlightenment.

Content: I was staying in Hardwar at a place called Kankhal. I was doing spiritual practice. Every day morning, He went for alms to places where they feed monks. In so many ashrams, they give alms to monks. I used to get my food, eat two or three rotis (Indian bread) and then start meditating.

Content: Suddenly, one day, I fell sick. I had a high temperature and diarrhea. I could not walk. I thought, 'What can be done? Alright! Let it be.'

Content: Suddenly, a young sanyāsi came from nowhere and gave me food. Not only for one day but continuously for three to four days, he came; he brought food for me. Not only food, he brought medicine also. I asked him, 'Who are you? Where have you come from?' He said, 'Oh, my name is Shankar. They call me Shankar Maharaj. I stay at an ashram called Sadhana Sadan. This ashram is nearby.' He pointed towards a distant place and said that is where he stayed.

Content: Everyday he brought me food and medicine till I recovered. He came for at least four days. Because he came everyday, I talked with him. We became acquainted.

Content: I saw that he wore a beautiful pen with a diamond in it. It was a beautiful pen! I was surprised at how a monk got a diamond pen. I asked, 'What is this, Swami?'

Content: He said, 'This is a diamond pen. Some devotee gave it to me. It looks nice, so I wear it.' Anyhow, I did not bother about it.

Content: After several days, when I returned to normal, he stopped coming. By then, I was okay. Then I thought, 'I must go and see him. Now I can walk and move, so I should go and see him.' I felt a little connected to him because he served me. I felt I must thank him. After a week, when I became completely alright, I started walking.

Content: I went to this ashram and asked an elderly person sitting there, 'Swamiji, I want to see Shankar Maharaj.' The swami said, 'Shankar? Who are you talking about?' I said, 'I want to see Shankar, a young swami. I met him two to three days ago. He came everyday and brought me food. Is this Sadhana Sadan?'

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: This swami replied, 'Yes, this is Sadhana Sadan. In our ashram, there is only one Shankar. Go to the temple and see. He is the only Shankar Maharaj we have!' He pointed towards their temple.

Content: I tell you, what I am telling is the truth. When I entered the temple, I saw a Shiva deity as a white marble statue with a cloth draped on His upper body, and wearing the same diamond pen on Him!

Content: Of course, tears rolled down from my eyes. So much gratitude overflowed. Later, I asked the temple priest, 'How did this pen come to Shiva? Who put a pen on Shiva's statue?' He said, 'One week ago, a devotee came and offered the pen. It looked nice and he said it was a diamond pen. We just wanted to decorate Shiva with diamond jewelry. So we put the pen on Him.' It was the same pen! The very same diamond pen!

Content: I asked, 'Who gave a pen to Shiva?' Other jewelry, we can understand, but a pen?

Content: He replied, 'I don't know. A devotee came and offered this pen. I asked, Why should a sanyāsi have a diamond pen? I will give it to God instead. So I put it on Shiva. I just inserted it into Shiva's clothes.'

Content: He then continued, 'For the last few days all the food offering, prasād that we place in front of Him, disappears. I suspect that rats have been eating the food. So now I am careful. I sit for a while after placing the food for Shankar Maharaj.'

Content: I did not want to tell him that I was the rat who ate Shankar Maharaj's food!

Content: During the 2006 Himalayan trip I searched for this ashram and Shankar Maharaj's temple with my devotees. After many years, it was still the same, the same temple and the same Shankar Maharaj; but no diamond pen now!

Content: Of course, I do not ask you to believe the whole thing because of this one incident. But you can experiment in your life. You may say, 'This is your experience. How can this be truth for us, Swamiji?' An ordinary mind doubts.

Content: Let me tell you that your consciousness, your inner space has the quality to create miracles in your lives. Miracles can happen in your life. What you need, you will receive. Continuously, miracles are happening.

Content: Let me try to show you how miracles might have happened in your lives. You might have noticed, when the telephone rings, you suddenly remember a friend's name. When you pick up the phone, that same friend is on the line. Or at times, somebody knocks on the door. You remember some person and open the door and that very same person stands there. This is what I call the power of coincidence! These are miracles in their own way.

Content: In each one of us, the power of coincidence, the power to create, exists. In each one of us, the power to create miracles exists. All we need to do is open that. Understand that we have the power to create the coincidence.

Content: Trust that your consciousness is connected to the universe. Continuously, the universe cares for you. The Divine waits for you. It responds to your thoughts.

Content: We create what we want. Just as we create the whole world in our dream, we have the power to create the world when we are conscious, when we are in the waking state. When we can create a world in the dream state, can't we create that in the waking state? We can do it.

Content: Even now, we create our world. Next question, 'If we are creating our world, why do we create so many miseries, Swamiji?'

Content: The answer is simple. We do so because we have vested interests in our sufferings.

Content: Please be very clear. We have vested interests in our sufferings. Somewhere we feel comfortable when we suffer. So we create the whole thing.

Content: When our inner consciousness changes, when we reside in eternal consciousness, we automatically attract the power of coincidence. We attract the power of coincidence.

Content: The moment we understand, that the whole universe is pervaded by the Existential energy of Vishnu, we attract Lakshmi, Vishnu's Consort who represents wealth! When we understand that the whole universe is divine, when we experience Vishnu, meaning when we experience eternal bliss, we attract Lakshmi, wealth!

Content: There is a beautiful mantra in Tantra shaastras: 'çnanda kümpraçnaha' that means 'bliss attracts fortune'. When we create a blissful inner space, automatically we attract external wealth.

Content: Tell me, what creates wealth? We need three things: clear thinking, a creative mind and the ability to make spontaneous decisions. The ability to respond

Content: spontaneously is responsibility. The ability to respond spontaneously to any situation is responsibility. If we are able to respond spontaneously to any situation, we take that responsibility. We need clarity of thinking, creativity and the power to take responsibility. Only these three create wealth and preserve wealth.

Content: If we enter the bliss space, if we keep our inner space blissful, if we enter into bliss consciousness, all three automatically happen to us. Automatically, these three happen to us. Then wealth will be created around us and it will stay with us.

Content: It is not that we should be showered only by a lottery. Wealth can come simply by creating a blissful inner space and such wealth stays with us.

Content: Please be very clear, whomsoever wins through a lottery never preserves it! I have not seen a single person who sustains the lottery money. Without knowing the value of it, they simply blow it away.

Content: Be very clear, it is not that wealth should come only by lottery. It comes by intelligence. When it comes by intelligence, it stays with you. When we take care of our inner space, automatically, the outer space showers on us. We becoming a blessing for planet Earth and it showers on us.

Content: Existence responds to our inner bliss and blesses us. Never think that Existence is not alive. Never think that the universe is mere matter. It is live intelligence.

Content: People ask me, 'Swamiji, I am searching for a guru. I feel inspired to do spiritual practice. But I need a guru.'

Content: I tell them, 'Please be very clear, if your search is intense, God sends you the guru. He never misses His responsibility. If you do not have the right guru, if you do not have the right master, it means, please be very clear, something is seriously wrong with your seeking.'

Content: If our seeking is proper, straightaway the master happens in our life. He never delays. He has a much faster system than UPS or any other overnight delivery service. He can deliver in seconds. He never delays. The Divine never delays. Jesus never fails.

Content: Please be very clear, all we need to do is change our inner space. The first thing is to understand this secret. Whether we believe it or not, it is the truth: a basic secret. Once we enter spiritual life, once we decide we want to lead a spiritual life, all our worldly things are taken care of by the Divine.

Content: It responds to whatever we need and it takes care of whatever we have. We may ask funny questions, 'Swamiji, from today onwards if I stop working, will I have everything?'

Content: Be very clear, if we enter the spiritual mood, if we enter spiritual life, meditative life, we will never think of dropping our work. Why would we think of dropping our work? We will only drop our worries about work. Then we will work in a much better way. Automatically we will work in a better way. We will have tremendous confidence, 'The whole of Existence protects me. The whole of Existence is my friend. I am not an enemy of this Whole. I am a friend of this Whole.'

Content: Be very clear, when we understand that we are a friend of the whole of Existence, even after death we will not disappear because we know we will be there in the universe in some form; that there is nothing to worry about.

Content: Plato, a disciple of Socrates, recorded the conversations of Socrates. All of you must read the conversations between Plato and Socrates. They asked Socrates, 'Are you not afraid of death?'

Content: Socrates says, 'Only two things can happen. The first thing: I will be alive after I leave the body in some form, in some way, somewhere. In that case, why should I be afraid? I will be alive anyway. The second thing: I may not exist. I may completely disappear. Then there will anyway be no one left to feel fear! Either way I will exist or I will not exist. If I exist, why should I fear? I am going to exist after all, exist in some other form, in some other name, somewhere. If I am not going to exist, then who is there to suffer? Either way there is no need for fear.'

Content: Of course, this answer is logical. But I tell you this from experience: It is practical. From experience I tell you, we never perish. We continue to exist, in some form, somewhere. Even if we become enlightened, we became a pure conscious energy. We will be there, everywhere. We never die when we understand that Existence is intelligence.

Content: Q: Swamiji, why are there so many rituals? Why do people do rituals in the first place? Are they in any way related to spirituality?

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: Let me tell you something. Do not think people who do rituals are not following a spiritual path. Please be very clear, people who read vedic scriptures or who do rituals are also on the spiritual path. However, they must be very clear about what they are doing. They should know what that particular ritual is, why that ritual? They should clearly understand them.

Content: In ancient times, masters used meditation techniques to feel the connection with the Divine within. In the course of time, the meaning of these meditation techniques was lost. When the meditation method, the physical action, without the idea or philosophy behind the meditation technique was transmitted, those meditation techniques became rituals. When a ritual is conducted with full understanding and consciousness, that ritual becomes a meditation technique. There is no difference between a meditation technique and a ritual when done with full understanding and consciousness. Both techniques directly put you in tune with the ultimate energy.

Content: We are made of five elements - ether, air, fire, water and earth. Sages created different meditation techniques that help us connect to these five elements. When we pray to an idol with full awareness, we are supposed to connect to the earth element. All solid things that we see are the earth element. We connect to the earth element through idol worship. When we bathe in the holy rivers, we connect with the water element. When we do fire rituals, we connect with the fire element. When we chant sacred verses, we connect to the air element, and when we meditate, we connect to ether element.

Content: But what has happened today? They have become mere rituals. They were supposed to be meditation techniques for the Self to connect with Existence. Now they are done blindly. The intellectual mind sees them as religious. People call them superstitious.

Content: People ask me, 'Why do you worship idols? Why do you conduct so many fire rituals?' We question this way because we do not have a clear understanding of these meditation techniques. That is why we call them rituals.

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Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.25 Those who worship the deities will take birth among the deities; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Those who worship Me will live with Me.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.26 Whoever offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: I will accept and consume what is offered by the pure-hearted.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.27 O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: Give them as an offering to Me.

Chapter Number: 9

Content: 9.28 You will be freed from all reactions to good and evil deeds by this renunciation,

Chapter Number: 9

Content: You will be liberated and come to Me.

Content: We should study and understand these verses very deeply. Krishna talks about the life that we lead now. He talks about the birth that we will take next. Please understand that our present life is a result of our previous life. Whether we believe it or not, accept it or not, this is the truth. There is life after death as long as we are not enlightened.

Content: Once we are enlightened, we merge into universal consciousness. Until then we take birth and go through the process of life and death.

Content: Krishna talks about the kind of life that we lead now. The last thought that we have at the time of death determines our next birth, next life. Please understand,

Content: our next life is completely dependent upon our last thought at the time of our death. If we think of money, we will be reborn as a rich man or as a dissatisfied man who always thinks about money. If we think of food, we will be reborn as a glutton or a pig. If we think of lazily relaxing, we will be reborn as a buffalo.

Content: This is the truth. Our last thought determines our first thought in our next life. Actually we need not go to the extent of life and death. We see this in daily life itself. Our last thought affects our first thought. Every night we die and every morning we take birth. During the day, when we are in the waking state, we use our gross physical body or sthūla śarīra to carry on with our activities. When we sleep, if we have dreams, we use the subtle body or sūkṣma śarīra to travel to the places that we see in our dreams. When we are in deep sleep, when we have no dreams, then we are in our causal body or kāraṇa śarīra.

Content: When we sleep at night, we actually change bodies. We are not aware that this happens. When we dream, we see ourselves doing various things in the dream. We run, talk, eat, and do everything in the dream. In our dream, we have created a world in which we live. If our body is on the bed, then who is this body in the dream? Our gross body is on the bed, while our subtle body is active in the dream. In the same way, the causal body is active during the deep sleep state.

Content: Now, when we sleep, we actually die and are reborn in the gross body in the morning. We see that our last thought before sleeping affects our first thought upon waking. If we come back from the office with a frustrated mood about our boss, we wake up with the same mood in the morning. If we sleep with a blissful smile on our face, we will be happy the next morning.

Content: This is the reason we are asked to pray before we sleep at night. When we pray with full awareness, we enter a meditative state. In the meditative state, we can only be blissful. When we sleep in a blissful state, we wake up in the same state.

Content: One more thing you need to know is that whatever feeling we wake up with in the morning, that same feeling stays with us throughout the day. Be very clear, the first thought we have in the morning stays with us throughout the day. How many have felt this? If you wake up dull in the morning, you will be dull throughout the day. If you wake up energized, you will be active and energetic throughout the day.

Content: I tell people, 'When you wake up, dance your way to the bathroom! Feel the toothpaste on your teeth, feel the water on your body when you bathe. Bring in full awareness to every action. Start the day with a blissful thought. For that we must sleep also in a blissful mood.

Content: Exactly what happens everyday during sleep is exactly the same thing that happens during the time of death. Ramakrishna says beautifully: When we die and take the next birth, the soul just changes clothes. During death, the soul sheds the cloth and in the next birth, it puts on a new cloth.

Content: Be very clear, the process of sleep and the process of death are not different. During the process of death, the soul passes through seven energy layers. The next body it enters depends on the vasana, or the carried-over desires that it comes with from the previous life. It takes up a body that can help shed that vasana in the next life.

Content: Please understand this very clearly. The body that we take now is dependent on the vasana or carried-over desires of our previous birth. Our soul always tries to merge with the colorless and formless universal consciousness. However, the vasana creates a slight tinge on the soul and it cannot completely merge with the universal consciousness. So the soul takes up another body that can help remove this tinge and help it merge.

Content: Now it is up to us how we make use of this lifetime. We can either fulfill our unfulfilled desires of the previous life or we can build new desires in this life and stay in the cycle of birth and death. The kind of life that the soul chooses in the next life depends entirely on the vasana and the last thought at the time of death.

Content: People ask me, 'Swamiji, I was not inclined towards spirituality at all. I was not into meditation; however, when I did the meditation I felt like I had been doing this for a long time. What is it? Why is it like that?'

Content: Understand that you see only this life. You may not have done any meditation in this life. But you see a deep connection with meditation because you might have meditated in your previous life. You might have been a seeker in your previous life.

Content: A small story:

Content: In a forest a person meditated very deeply in front of goddess Kali. He performed different rituals in a deep meditative state. He meditated for long hours in the dense forest.

Content: One day a passer-by observed this man performing rituals and meditating in front of Kali. Suddenly, a tiger attacked and ate the man. After the tiger disappeared into the forest, the passer-by approached the Kali idol and completed the ritual. At the end of it, to his surprise, goddess Kali appeared in front of him.

Content: This man was shocked. He asked Kali, 'Mother, the person who performed the rituals for such a long time never received Your darsan; You never appeared before him. He was even eaten by a tiger. I only came a few minutes ago and did the final waving of lit lamps, and You appeared in front of me! What is the reason?'

Content: Kali says, 'You were a strong seeker in your previous life. You meditated very deeply in your last life. That is why I appeared to you.'

Content: You see, our next life depends on our last thought in this life. That does not mean that throughout our life we can think about money and food and suddenly at the time of death, we can say, 'Rama, Krishna.' If we think about money, name and fame throughout our entire life, how can we expect to think about God when we leave our body? Naturally we will only think about money.

Content: This is what Krishna says in the first verse. When we are continuously aware of the Existential energy, when we continuously meditate on It, when our thoughts are on it all the time, whatever we may call it: Krishna, Rama, Jesus, Buddha, universe, Cosmos, Parạsakti or anything, we will have only the same thought when we leave the body also. That is enough. We will start living with this energy. And It will ensure that our next birth takes us closer to this energy and liberates us from the cycle of birth and death.

Content: He says next:

Content: patraṃ pūṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati

Content: 'If one offers Me with love and devotion, a leaf, flower, fruit or water, I will accept it,' He says, 'The Existence, the Divine is so alive that It responds to even simple things.'

Content: Please be very clear, He doesn't say, I accept only big things. He says, even simple things, I accept.

Content: patraṃ pūṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tadahaṃ bhaktyupahḥtaṃ asnāmi prayatātmanā

Content: 'If one offers Me a leaf, flower, fruit or water with love and devotion, I will accept it.' This is the greatness of the Divine. The greatness of the Lord is that He is simple. Simplicity is the greatness of the Lord. Please be very clear, simplicity is the real greatness. To be big, you don't need intelligence. Any one can show himself as big.

Content: There is a small beautiful saying in Zen:

Content: A Zen disciple was behaving very humbly, respecting everybody. The master told him, 'Don’t be so humble, you are not that great!'

Content: To be humble, you need to be great!

Content: Simplicity is the great quality of the Divine. He says, 'patra¼, pu¶pa¼, phala¼, toya¼. Just a leaf, a flower, a fruit, a little water… simple things are enough. I accept it. I am pleased. I respond to it.'

Content: He says in the fourth verse of this chapter:

Content: 'mayc tatam idam sarva¼ jagadvyaktam,'rtinc

Content: 'I am all-pervading, great, ultimate, divine.'

Content: Now He says even though He is all-pervading, even though He is big, He accepts any small thing given with love and devotion.

Content: One major problem: Even if we know somebody is big or great, we can’t relate with him unless he relates with us, unless he comes down to our level.

Content: Real greatness is not only being great. He must be able to relate with everybody. Otherwise, even if he is great, what can be done about it?

Content: Many people in India know that great masters are there. Again and again, they tell me, 'Yes I know they are there, Swamiji. But how can I relate with them? I have no use of them. I can’t do anything. I can’t relate with them. They are somewhere. They are great, no doubt. Yet I have no way to relate with them. I have no way to establish communication with them.'

Content: Here Krishna creates a way, even for ordinary people to relate with Him. On the one side, He shows His greatness. He declares with authority His greatness. On the other side, He shows us how to relate with Him. He says, 'Even if you offer a leaf, flower, fruit or water with love, I accept it. I relate with it.'

Content: That is why, from time immemorial, enlightened masters are requested to live by begging, so that people can relate with them. In India, sañyasis live by begging. Even Buddha lived by begging. See, Buddha didn’t beg because He wanted food. He can sit in His place and kings will bring food for Him! He comes down to beg so that we can relate with Him. We will feel He is a human being. When we give food, we talk to Him, we relate with Him, we feel that He is like us.

Content: patra1/4 pu1/4pa1/4 phala1/4 toya1/4yo me bhaktya prayacchati tadaha1/4 bhaktyupah1/4ta1/4 asn1/4mi prayat1/4mana2

Content: 'If you give even a simple leaf, flower, fruit or a little water with love, I accept it.'

Content: The distance between the Divine and us is zeroed down. That is the next important truth Krishna reveals.

Content: First thing Krishna reveals is: He proves that the whole cosmic energy, the whole universe is intelligence. Next, the moment we understand it is intelligence, we relax from all tension, worry, fear and insecurity. He makes us understand that He is next to us and we can relate with Him easily.

Content: See, as long as we think the world is material, matter, we feel like protecting ourselves from it. We feel that is the Whole and we are part. We fight with the Whole. That is why we feel deeply uprooted. We don't feel connected. We don't feel like relaxing. We don't feel homely because we fight with the Whole.

Content: The moment we understand we are part of the Whole, the Whole is the intelligence that responds to our thoughts, which responds to our being, which responds to our consciousness, we relax into enlightenment!

Content: I tell people, this verse is the lazy man's guide to enlightenment! If we are lazy, if we want enlightenment, this verse is the right way! The only way!

Content: Understand that the universe is intelligence. It responds to our thoughts, deeds and consciousness. When we understand this, we immediately relax and rest and enter divine consciousness, eternal consciousness.

Content: Next, He says, 'When you drop yourself into the eternal consciousness, I take care of your yoga and k1/2ema. I take care of whatever you lack. I will supply what you lack and preserve what you have.'

Content: Next He says, 'Even a simple leaf, water or a fruit or flower when you offer with love and devotion, I accept it.' Please be very clear, He is not asking because He doesn't have these things.

Content: When we bring a package of cookies to our child, when we give it to the child and he opens it, we say, 'Give one to mummy!' It is not that we don't have a cookie or we want it. But if the child opens the package and picks up a cookie and gives it to us, how happy we feel! We brought the cookies. However, when the child gives it back to us, we feel beautiful. We feel connected. And we know he wants to connect to us; he wants to relate with us.

Content: Similarly, when we offer something to the Divine, don't think that He does not have and so you are offering. He is the one who gives everything to us in the first place! But when we offer, we show to the Divine: I want to connect to you. We show the master, 'Oh Lord, I want to connect to you.' And the master feels, 'When he wants to connect to Me, let Me connect to him.' We show a green signal for the Divine to enter into our space.

Content: He is always ready. Please be very clear, the Bible says, 'Knock and the door shall open.' I say, God is knocking, just open! We don't need to knock; He is knocking. Just open. Naturally we will be ushered in.

Content: I tell people, 'Don't go to the temple empty-handed. Take at least two or three fruits or whatever you have. At least, take a few dollars. Take whatever you have. Always offer something to God. Always offer something to the Divine. Never think that the Divine doesn't have and so I am asking you to take these things. By giving to the Divine, you show a positive sign. You express a willing attitude to relate with Him. When you offer it to the Divine, He accepts it and He relates.'

Content: Again and again, out of His compassion Krishna reveals truths and techniques to Arjuna. He gives different techniques to Arjuna to liberate himself. That is the job of an enlightened master. He comes down to the earth to liberate as many as He can. There are many scriptures in which enlightened masters speak on techniques that lead mankind to enlightenment. In the Shiva Sutras, Shiva gives one hundred and twelve great truths and techniques to enlighten us. Enlightened masters are compassionate. They want everyone to become enlightened. They want everyone to become liberated.

Content: In these verses, Krishna asks Arjuna to surrender everything to Him. I tell you, surrendering to an enlightened master is the easiest way to become enlightened. Be very clear, if we can surrender completely to the universal energy or an enlightened master, we become enlightened. If we can surrender every action to the supreme Self, we experience a great sense of liberation.

Content: We constantly worry. We are always tense. Again and again we think of the future or past. Why do we do that? Why do we always have a long face?

Content: We take too much on our shoulders. We think we do everything. We boost our ego when we do things successfully. When they do not go according to our plan, our ego is hurt. We think, 'How can it be? How can I go wrong? How can my plan go wrong?'

Content: Our ego is working continuously. It is either getting excited or getting hurt. In this process, what do we do? We think, 'How can I keep the ego continuously excited or how can I stop the ego from getting hurt?' Can you understand what I am saying? We again and again think of ways to keep our ego in the excited state or look for ways to stop our ego from getting hurt.

Content: We do not understand that by letting go, by surrendering to the Existential energy, we will be free. We will be completely free. All our burdens will be gone. We do not realize this. All enlightened masters have spoken about surrender. It is the easiest way; however we make it the most difficult due to our ego.

Content: There are three levels in which we can surrender to the Existential energy. The first level, or basic level of surrender, is that of our actions. Whatever we do, whatever our actions are, surrender them to the universal energy. All our actions, whether good or bad, when we surrender, will be taken care of. This is the basic level. Krishna clearly says this in these verses, 'All your reactions to good and evil will be taken care of, if you offer all your actions, all your austerities to me.'

Content: So many people offer worship every day in the temple. If they do that with the ego that they are doing it, then all they do is chant some verses mechanically and throw some flowers on the deity, that's all. These temple priests simply vomit out whatever they have been chanting for the past ten or twenty years.

Content: When worship is done, when you chant verses, do it with full surrende to the Divine. Do it as if it were your last prayer. Do it as if the world is coming to an end and this is the last time you will do it. Feel the prayer. Put in your complete awareness and surrender it to the Divine. That should be the feeling when you do anything.

Content: Not just prayers, everything that we do should be done with that level of surrender. When we surrender, we feel light. You see, when we surrender, our efficiency goes up. This is true! When we surrender our actions, we are not bothered about what will happen in the future. We know that now the ball is in His court; He will take care of whatever is going to happen; He knows best.

Content: When we surrender our actions, we put our entire burden on His shoulders. Whatever good or bad happens, He is now responsible and we also know that He can never do anything wrong.

Content: The second level of surrender is that of intellect and mind. The first level is easier compared to this. When I say surrender our actions, we can say, 'Okay, I have done it.' But surrendering our mind is more difficult because it is not in our hands. You see, we can see our actions. We can say, 'O God, I have surrendered my actions to you.' But now will our mind keep quiet? No. It will keep saying, 'No, no, no. How can you do that? How can you not think about your future?' Our mind continuously analyzes!

Content: One more thing, when I speak great truths, your mind analyzes them. It starts to analyze using its limited intellect. It thinks, 'What is He saying? How is that possible? Maybe it is possible for Him; however it is not for me. I can't think of completely surrendering myself to the Divine.' Your mind always looks for opportunities to hold you back. It again and again logically analyzes using the intelligence it has.

Content: You see, hundreds of years ago when someone said that the earth rotates around the sun, people stoned that person. Now it is has been established scientifically itself. Two hundred years ago, if someone said you can talk to someone living on the other side of the world, people would laugh at him. Now it has become a reality.

Content: Our mind, based on its limited intellect, cannot comprehend certain things. When I say there are eleven dimensions in our system, you think, 'What are you saying, Swamiji? How is it possible?' This is what I mean by surrender of mind and intellect. When you surrender your mind and intellect to the universal energy, you experience great truths. When you do not surrender, you are stuck. Your intellect continuously stops you from moving forward. Once you surrender, you experiment and you see quantum progress. You go beyond words. You start to experience.

Content: The third and the most difficult level of surrender is that of the senses.

Content: A story from Mahabharata illustrates this:

Content: Once, Krishna and Arjuna were walking outdoors. While they walked, Krishna suddenly pointed at a crow on the tree and told Arjuna, 'Hey Arjuna, can you see that green crow?' Arjuna replied, 'Yes Krishna, I see it. I see the green crow.'

Content: After some time, Krishna pointed to another crow and said, 'Arjuna, can you see that black crow?' Arjuna immediately replied, 'Yes Krishna, I see the black crow.'

Content: Krishna asked Arjuna, 'Are you a fool? Earlier when I showed a green crow, you said you can see a green crow. Now when I showed a black crow, you say you can see a black crow. Are you a fool? How can a crow be green?'

Content: Arjuna replied, 'O Krishna, I don't know all that. When you asked me to see a green crow, I saw a green crow. Now when you asked me to see a black crow, I saw a black crow.'

Content: This is surrender of the senses! Arjuna had surrendered completely to Krishna. Even his senses, he had surrendered to Krishna. If the master says something, the disciple takes it as it is. That is the level of surrender. When we reach this level of surrender, we are one with the Divine. The Divine takes cares of us.

Content: Krishna says this clearly. Every enlightened master makes this promise. When we surrender ourselves to the master, to the Divine, to the universal energy, it takes care of us. When we offer all our actions to the universal energy, It takes care of us. The entire burden on our shoulders is offloaded. We are free from all the results of our actions. This is the promise of every enlightened master.

Content: Q: Swamiji, I am unclear even after you explained, the purpose of rituals. We see so many things happening in a temple. Even in the home, people do puja. What is the need to do so many things? I can pray to Existence directly. Why are we doing so many things? What is the concept of puja?

Content: Be very clear, there is great power in puja. Logical people call it superstition. They say it is not for modern man because they do not know what it does. Puja is receiving the guest (God) with all respect. Actually, what priests do in the temple is receiving the guest (God) with all respect. When a guest visits our home, we receive that person with respect: we offer a chair, give water to wash his feet or hands. We offer a seat.

Content: Then we ask him, 'Do you want to use the restroom?' We offer water to wash his feet. We offer flowers to the guest. After the flowers have been offered, we arrange for his bath and comfortable stay. Then naturally we ask him to eat. Then in the end, at the end of the day we send the guest to sleep. The same thing happens when we do puja. This is the reason why puja in Hindu system is called Seva (service).

Content: We need to understand the concept of serving. It is difficult for logic-centered people to understand that energy can be alive in a stone and we can continuously serve that energy day in and day out. Serving living energy inside an idol is difficult to understand. However I have seen people feel the devotional service, not only feeling but also expressing that devotional feeling towards stone deities at the time of worship.

Content: Let me tell you a story from Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's life. It is not a story. It really happened. It shows the power of worship and devotion.

Content: Ramakrishna was a priest in the Mother Kali temple at Dakshineshwar, near Kolkata, India. Devotees habitually offer conch and seashell bracelets to the Mother. Once a devotee brought four bracelets as an offering for Mother. She has four hands: on the right side, one hand represents the posture of assurance and the other hand represents boon-giving. On the left side She holds a sword which represents wisdom, in one hand and the head of a demon that represents the ego, in the other hand. The sword is removable.

Content: Ramakrishna while offering the bracelets managed to put on the bracelets in the three hands of Mother but not on the fourth hand that held the demon's head. Because the bracelet can't go on that hand, he didn't put the bracelet on.

Content: A priest jokingly asked Ramakrishna why he was unable to put the bracelet on Mother's fourth hand. Ramakrishna said that the hand holds the head. The priest said, 'You are a great devotee, can't you request Mother to open leave the head down while you can insert the bracelet?'

Content: Ramakrishna took this seriously and he asked Mother Kali to let him put the bracelet on. She dropped the head; he placed the bracelet on Her hand and he gave the head back to the Mother's hand to hold!

Content: You can see these four bangles at the Dakshineshwar temple even today. Neither the statue is broken nor is the bracelet broken. The bracelet is on Mother's hand. You will be surprised to see how it was put on!

Content: Of course, one can only believe and respect the devotion of Ramakrishna to Kali. If you go to Kolkata, don't miss seeing it. When I went to the temple, I was in their ashram, so I went as an ashramite. So I was allowed to touch the bracelet and see. Not only did I touch the bracelet, I rotated the bracelet completely to see whether it was broken at any point. I inspected it to see whether Ramakrishna had broken the bracelet and glued it!

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: I tell you, the bracelet is complete; it is not broken and the statue also is full. It is difficult to believe and it is not a 300 or 400-year-old incident. It happened only 130 years ago. In 1886, Ramakrishna passed away, so it is only 130 years. There is no logical explanation to this, yet it is true. The power of devotion can manifest itself in the physical plane in such ways.

Content: That is the power of devoted worship. When we offer worship, we offer ourselves to the energy behind the idol. We surrender ourselves to Existence. That should be the feeling with which we offer it. We should not be stuck at the idol level. We should see the energy behind the idol. All rituals should be done like a meditation. We should put complete awareness into performing them. Only then they become meditation and not just rituals.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Anyone Can Reach Me

Content: 9.29 I dislike no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. Whoever is devoted to Me is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Anyone Can Reach Me

Content: 9.30 Even if the most sinful person engages himself in devotional service, He is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Anyone Can Reach Me

Content: 9.31 He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Anyone Can Reach Me

Content: 9.32 O son of Pritha, anyone who takes shelter in Me, Women, traders, workers or even sinners can approach the supreme destination.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Anyone Can Reach Me

Content: 9.33 How much easier then it is for the learned, the righteous, the devotees and saintly kings Who in this temporary miserable world engage in loving service unto Me.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Anyone Can Reach Me

Content: 9.34 Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and bow down to Me. Thus, uniting yourself with Me by setting Me as the supreme goal and the sole refuge, you shall certainly come to Me.

Content: An enlightened master wants nothing from this world. After realizing the supreme knowledge, he is beyond material pursuits, what can he want from anybody? He is here out of his compassion to awaken mankind into this reality.

Content: As long as a devotee does not understand that there can be no vested interest in what a master says or does, he continuously creates doubts and suffering for

Content: himself. Until he understands that a master gives because that is his nature, that he overflows with that knowledge and is compassionate to share that knowledge with anyone, the devotee will always think twice before following the master.

Content: Please understand that a true master is never envious of anybody. He knows that the entire universe is His, so where is the need to envy somebody else? See, when does envy come in? It enters us when we think that somebody else has something we do not have and something that we want.

Content: There is nothing wrong with desiring something because we need it. Problems start when we want something because somebody else has it or wants it. See, each one of us is born with a certain set of desires and we bring with us the energy to fulfill them also.

Content: Ramana Maharshi says beautifully, 'The universe has enough to satisfy each man's needs; however it does not have enough to satisfy a single man's wants.' Our needs become wants when we look at others and accumulate their desires into our own list.

Content: I always say, 'The temperature in our home suddenly goes up when our neighbor gets an air-conditioner!'

Content: If you notice in life, most of our actions are governed by comparing our lives with others. Buddha says, 'Nothing exists but in relationship.' See, all adjectives of good, bad, tall, thin, ugly, beautiful, come when you compare with others, right? Imagine you are alone on an island and there are no other human beings. You are by yourself. Would these adjectives make sense or have relevance to you?

Content: Something is good because something else is bad in comparison to that. So, our lives are run by constant comparison with those around us. Naturally, when someone has something that we like and which we do not have, emotions like envy and jealousy are bound to come. They have to.

Content: When we have a clear view about what we really want, then we will spend all our energies in fulfilling those needs, without worrying about what others want or think.

Content: In this verse, Krishna says that he does not dislike anybody. He also says that He is not partial to anyone. Normally, in our lives we are partial to those who are helpful to us. From childhood, we are taught to love those who are potentially useful in our lives. We make friends based on what we get back in return.

Content: Everything has been reduced to a business transaction. If someone is nice to us, we are nice to them. If someone says something that hurts us, they become our enemies. We are vulnerable to the outside world, to what others say and do. We place people on different pedestals depending on how they behave with us.

Content: As long as we are beggars, we differentiate a rich man from a poor man. A beggar is constantly seeking, begging. So he looks up to somebody who has what he is begging for. A beggar is on the road begging money; we are in temples begging God for something or the other. There is no real difference! We constantly ask for something. When we beg, a person who gives what we are begging for goes on our good list. A person who does not is blacklisted. This is what we do all the time, with or without our knowledge.

Content: An enlightened master wants nothing. He gives constantly. So this is an entirely different ball game. He radiates love because that is his true nature. He does not care who receives it; he simply gives. A river flows happily from one region to the other all the way from the hills to the ocean. It meets various kinds of stones and grass along the way. All kinds of people bathe in it. Does the river differentiate?

Content: Does the river say, 'No, I will give water only to such and such a person?' No! A river flows continuously, happily without bothering about who comes in contact with it. The same is the case with an enlightened master.

Content: It is possible for everyone to live this way. If we understand that the universe showers on us all that we need, we do not need to beg for anything from anybody. We will constantly utter words of love and emit loving energy around us irrespective of who is with us. We become a source of positive energy wherever we go. It is giving without asking.

Content: Now Krishna says, 'If one is engaged in devotional service, then even if he commits the most abominable actions, he is considered saintly. He quickly becomes eternal and attains eternal consciousness. O Kaunteya, son of Kunti, declare it boldly, that My devotee never perishes.' He goes on to say that His devotee never perishes.

Content: He says, 'Not only I am declaring to you, you declare to the whole world, My devotee never perishes.'

Content: He says in the verse:

Content: kṛiparaḥ bhavati dharmātmā saḥ vacchantiḥ nigacchati kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: 'He who quickly becomes righteous and understands this truth, enters into eternal bliss, eternal consciousness, O son of Kunti, Kaunteya; declare it boldly, pratijñahi means 'declare it boldly', that my devotee never perishes.'

Content: Understand again and again that Existence is intelligence. Please be very clear, you will never perish, you will never die because you will be in Existence somewhere in some form. This body may move; however you will be there forever.

Content: When we understood the whole cosmos is intelligence, the whole cosmic energy is intelligence, our whole life will be blessed with what we want. Whatever we lack will be supplied and whatever we have will be preserved.

Content: And I tell you a practical thing. Decide, 'From today I will live in a blissful mood, in a blissful way, in utterly relaxed consciousness.' I promise you will attract Lakshmi (goddess of wealth). You will attract wealth. You will create much more than a goldsmith.

Content: When we really, intensely understand this truth - the whole universe is energy, the whole Existence is energy - please be very clear, yoga and kśema (success) happen in our life.

Content: Let me tell you from my personal experience. I can quote so many great devotees' lives, where the Divine came down and served them, where the Divine took care of them. When Mirabai was poisoned, Sri Krishna came and protected her. So many millions of stories I can narrate!

Content: But let me tell you about my own life. Since I left home when I was seventeen I have lived without touching money. With one water pot, with this two-piece robe, walking the length and breadth of India, living under trees, begging and eating, I have lived. I tell you, whether you want it or not, accept it or not, believe it or not, the Divine always protects. This is the solid truth.

Content: When we understand this truth, not only in this world, wherever we go, we are protected. We relax into the consciousness that Existence continuously protects us, takes care of us.

Content: When we think that the Whole is our enemy, we will be continuously antagonizing it. When we understand that the Whole is our friend, we will relax and enjoy the whole of Existence.

Content: Making our life into hell or heaven is dependent upon the understanding this single verse, understanding Existence and trusting it.

Content: 262

Content: The whole chapter reveals this single secret, that is, the cosmic energy, the whole universe is intelligence, It responds to our thoughts, and again and again, It answers our dreams, our thoughts and our very consciousness.

Content: Again and again Krishna talks about the correct understanding of rituals and sacrifices made in front of God. So many people go to the temple and make different kinds of sacrifices. We should first understand the deeper meaning of these sacrifices.

Content: We see numerous people going to the temple. They take one hundred and one coconuts and break them in front of the deity. In the Tirupati temple of Lord Venkateshwara, people offer their hair as a sacrifice. We should understand the meaning of this hair sacrifice. If we offer hair and pray and come back home, nothing is going to happen.

Content: When we offer something, when we sacrifice something, it represents the surrender of our ego. When we sacrifice our hair in Tirupati, we surrender our ego to Lord Venkateshwara. When we break a coconut, the shell of the ego is broken into pieces.

Content: However what generally happens? When we do some sacrifice, we proudly tell people that we did this and we did that. Nowadays if we come back from Tirupati with a bald, shaved head people say, 'Oh he went to Tirupati and his devotion is so much that he tonsured his head.' When people say this, our ego gets boosted. When we do such sacrifices, we think we did something great. All the sacrifices that we make are only to boost our ego.

Content: So many people donate large amounts of money to temples. They donate chairs, curtains in the sanctum sanctorum, lamps and lots of things. Whatever they donate have their names painted on it! The curtains in the sanctum sanctorum have their names stitched on them. So many temples have marble slabs with the donor's name and their donation amount engraved on them. What is the point of giving if all we look for is advertising ourselves?

Content: If a sacrifice is made with complete gratitude and surrender, it is fine. When it is made out of ego, there is no use. When it is made out of greed, it is useless. They think if their name is engraved on the temple walls, they will go to heaven.

Content: I take a group of people to the Himalayas every year. We meet priests in the temples there who say, 'If you offer a cow to Shiva, you will go to heaven.' For that offering, the priest charges lots of money. When we go the next year, we see

Content: the same cow being offered again! Understand how many times the same cow is offered to Shiva and how much money this person makes out of it.

Content: Sacrificing in temples has become a business today. It is a two-way business. People who act out of ego make a business deal with God, 'I will donate so much money for the temple; leave one spot for me in heaven.' That is the way sacrifice is done in temples. Another class of people sits outside the temple and makes money from sacrifices. They say that they will make sure that the donor will be given a red carpet welcome at the gates of heaven if he or she makes a donation.

Content: One more thing, every temple has numerous gods and demigods. People make sacrifices to a particular demigod. It is okay to do some sacrifice to that particular demigod; however we should understand that it is not just one demigod that we are praying to. We should understand the energy behind that demigod that pervades everything. We should understand that everything has the same existential energy. Once we get this understanding correct, whatever sacrifice we make, to whichever demigod we make the sacrifice, we know that we are sacrificing to the ultimate energy.

Content: People ask me, 'Are sacrifices wrong? Is worship and sacrifice for a particular deity wrong?' No, it is not wrong; however we should understand that we are not worshipping or sacrificing to that one particular deity. We must go beyond that. When we make a sacrifice from our being, we merge with the Existential energy. We do not see a difference between one deity and the other. Every deity will then appear the same.

Content: We will see that everything is Krishna or Rama or Jesus or Buddha. This is what Krishna says here. He is the only enjoyer of all sacrifices. When we understand His transcendental nature in everything around us, any small thing that we give from our whole being to even a rock becomes a sacrifice. That rock need not be carved into a statue of Krishna or Shiva. We need not name it because we see the energy behind that rock.

Content: These two verses must be carefully understood. If not, they can be conveniently used as a justification to do whatever one wants. See, Krishna does not give a license to do whatever we want here.

Content: If we are classifying an action as good, bad, saintly or sinful based on guidelines laid down by society or someone else, then be very clear we operate at the conscience level. No action is good or bad in itself. The entire situation should be

Content: considered. The act may remain the same; however, the situation might have completely changed.

Content: A small story:

Content: There was a snake that lived in a village. It bit the villagers even if they didn't disturb it. Nobody dared to go close to it. The entire area where it used to stay was feared. Nobody entered that area.

Content: One day a monk passed by that village and saw that the villagers did not approach that area. On enquiring, he understood the situation. He asked the snake, 'Why do you bite everyone? What do you gain from being so violent? Everyone fears you!'

Content: On listening to the monk's words, the snake promised he would mend his ways from that day onwards.

Content: Days passed by. Slowly, there was a change in the scene in the village. The snake stopped bothering everyone. It lay quietly in one place. People started to test it by poking it with a stick to confirm that the snake had really softened up. The snake never reacted.

Content: They now started torturing the snake. Kids from the nearby village threw stones at it. They ill-treated the snake and played with it. The snake quietly allowed all of this without uttering a word.

Content: Soon, the snake was reduced to almost a pulp and lost all life and vigor.

Content: After a few months, the monk once again passed by that village. He was shocked to see the condition of the snake. He enquired what happened and the snake told him all that had happened.

Content: The monk asked, 'I told you only not to bite; did I tell you not to hiss?'

Content: You see, this is what happens when we operate from our conscience. Because somebody said something, if we apply it blindly without considering the present situation. We invite trouble for ourselves. In this case, the monk's advice was taken literally and the snake ended up suffering.

Content: There is a deeper layer of operation called consciousness. Please understand that conscience is different from consciousness. In consciousness, we become spontaneous. When consciousness flowers, we know what needs to be done and what is right at that point in time. When this happens, whatever is done is for the good of

Content: that point in time.

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Content: everyone. Even if an action seems to violate the norms of society, it is always for the good. It may not be evident to society; however a person operating from consciousness can never do anything against the benefit of humanity. Krishna killing demons may appear like the act of a criminal. Yet He established truthfulness and justice by doing it.

Content: In fact, Jesus said the same thing: one who is in Christ consciousness, whatever he does will be fine. He will be protected. Jesus was talking about consciousness; however society interpreted it at the conscience level. That is why the Church came up with the system of confession. People interpreted it as a license to do whatever they wanted, since confession would make them free.

Content: Please understand that when devotion matures, consciousness flowers. Devotion may seem different from knowledge when it is not ripe. Krishna says that His devotee never perishes. Devotion is not simply offering worship daily to Krishna's photo, lighting camphor, lamps and offering garlands. When one is a true devotee of Krishna, he becomes Krishna. He experiences Krishna consciousness. The ultimate consciousness is where no good, bad, evil or virtue exists.

Content: Devotion, knowledge and wisdom appear to be different when they are not ripe. When they mature, they become the same. One experiences true wisdom at the peak of devotion or peak of knowledge.

Content: Let me tell you about Triveni Sangam, what is called Prayag in India. It is a confluence of three sacred rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, near the city of Allahabad. While the former two are visible, the third flows underground and becomes visible only at the point of merging. Ganga is the river of Lord Shiva and stands for knowledge or jñāna. Yamuna is the river of Lord Krishna and stands for devotion or bhakti. All Krishna temples are on the banks of river Yamuna. When Ganga and Yamuna merge, when knowledge and devotion merge, Saraswati (or wisdom) automatically happens! Unless this merging happens, we cannot see or experience wisdom. That is why Saraswati remains hidden until the point of merging!

Content: The last two verses can be misunderstood if misinterpreted. Krishna says, 'Anyone can reach Me through devotion, whether they are women, traders or workers, or even sinners.' He makes a point that there is no pre-qualification. Even in the age of Krishna, there was a distinction between various trades as well as between men and women. Krishna is pragmatic in acknowledging this fact and is not trying to justify the distinction.

Content: Someone asked Ramana Maharshi whether he was qualified to enter a spiritual path. Ramana asked him, 'Are you still breathing?' Taken aback the man said, 'Yes.' Ramana said that was qualification enough; if he was alive, he was qualified.

Content: Krishna's message is the same. All one needs is devotion to attain Krishna consciousness. Nothing else is needed.

Content: In the vedic system, the caste system was a scientific practice to enable each one's potential to radiate. The varṇa or caste system practiced by Hindus from time immemorial had its roots in the gurukul education. Actually varṇa meant vocation, which was determined by the master for each child. It was not based upon birthright, rather it was based upon aptitude.

Content: When a child was admitted into the gurukul, the master saw what his natural tendencies were. If he had brāhmaṇa tendencies, he was initiated into Veda Vidya (studying scriptures). If his personality was that of a kṣatriya (warrior), he was trained in martial arts. If he showed vaiśya tendencies (business skills), he received merchant training. If he seemed to possess śūdra qualities (like labourers), he was initiated into service. All four roles had equal value and earned equal respect.

Content: Unfortunately, over time this practice became a birthright. The son of a warrior was assumed to be a warrior, irrespective of his capabilities, aptitude or inclination. So, the four varṇa or castes, brāhmaṇa, the priest and teacher, kṣatriya, the ruler and warrior, vaiśya, the trader and businessman, and śūdra, the worker, became rigid social structures based upon birthright.

Content: This corruption of such a scientific practice has led to many social inequalities and injustices. The son of a brāhmaṇa has no right to call himself a brāhmaṇa, unless he has the aptitude and then the learning to be a teacher and a priest. In our ashram, many young men and women from different castes and religious groups are being trained in spiritual and religious rituals, which had been considered the prerogative of the brāhmaṇa caste. We now have brahmacāri priests, men and women, who are of faiths other than Hindu. In no way are these young priests inferior to any brāhmaṇa.

Content: The point Krishna makes here is that irrespective of caste, a person who has faith and devotion to Him can attain Him. Even if a person does not lead the life of a brāhmaṇa, he can reach and experience the ultimate consciousness. A person may follow any profession; however, if his inner space is cleansed, he can attain and experience Krishna consciousness.

Content: BhagavadGita

Content: Now, a brchmaa is exposed to the scriptures and is trained to attain the knowledge of the ultimate Truth. He is exposed to the atmosphere that is conducive for meditation and other spiritual practices in the ashram. How much easier it is for a brchmaa! See, if Krishna is so accessible for anybody, then imagine how much more accessible He is for a person constantly engaged in His thoughts!

Content: All practices, like meditation and rituals, cleanse the inner space. When this space is cleansed, transformation automatically happens. It is a shame if a person claims to practice meditation for many years, yet there is no transformation inside. Many times people tell me, 'Swamiji, I have been meditating for twenty five years.' They tell me this proudly. I tell them, 'What a shame, if even after twenty five years of meditation, this remains your state!'

Content: In the last verse of this chapter Krishna says, 'Engage your mind, always thinking of Me.'

Content: Please understand that the whole universe, the whole cosmos is intelligence and it responds to our thoughts, it responds to our consciousness, to our very being. Let me narrate an incident from my life:

Content: Some time after enlightenment, I was sitting in a forest in Tamil Nadu. There was a big snake lying just next to me. I had my eyes open but was resting in the universal consciousness, in a meditative mood. Several hours must have passed before I came out of my meditative state and the first thought that came to my mind was, 'Oh, it is a snake.' As long as I was in the meditative state, I did not think of the snake. You will be surprised that as soon as the thought of the snake came to my mind, the snake began to realize that I was a man! It looked up, put down its hood and moved away. The fear in me triggered the fear in the snake.

Content: The entire universe responds to each and every thought that we have. It is pure intelligence. So we must be careful about what we think. We are careful when we talk to others. We literally decorate our words and make sure nobody is hurt. However when it comes to ourselves, we treat our inside worse than a garbage can. A continuous stream of random thoughts, worries, fantasy, etc. goes on all the time. It is like a continuous television going on inside and we have misplaced the remote control to stop it!

Content: See, our inner space reflects the outer incidents. The entire universe responds beautifully to each and every thought. That is why it is so important to keep our inner space cleansed. The thought patterns that happen inside can be cleansed and

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Content: kept positive. When the thought patterns are positive, only positive incidents are attracted.

Content: See, it is like this. If we are constantly worried and fear that we will fall ill, we attract incidents that make us fall ill again and again. Similarly, if we are constantly happy and blissful, we attract blissful events and happy people in our lives. When Krishna says, 'Engage your mind in always thinking of Me', He speaks about cleansing the inner space. When our mind is engaged in thinking of the Divine, we become divine. The moment we understand this, we relax into eternal bliss.

Content: The moment we relax into eternal bliss, the Divine takes care of us. Whatever we lack is brought to us and whatever we have is preserved for us. Naturally, we will experience and enjoy both the inner space and the outer space. This is the ultimate secret that Krishna reveals to Arjuna.

Content: Let us pray to the Parabrahma Krishna, the Divine consciousness, the cosmic intelligence to make us understand this secret and experience the outer space and the inner space with eternal bliss, nityānanda. Thank you!

Content: Q: Swamiji, how can we differentiate our desires from what we have borrowed from others?

Content: It is simple. First, true desires always make you feel content and happy when they are fulfilled. On the other hand, a desire that is not yours makes you feel uncomfortable at the end of it. You feel as though you have run after something you never wanted from deep within. It usually comes with a trace of guilt or discontentment at the end of it. You also feel tired and fatigued.

Content: Please be very clear, a desire that is genuinely your own carries with it the energy to fulfill it. Once it has been fulfilled, a positive feeling of satisfaction flowers and that desire no longer bothers you. It has been fulfilled so it drops from your very being, freeing you from it. Logically speaking, when all these desires are answered, we become completely free. Till then, our desires run our lives.

Content: However, the problem is that we waste so much time and effort fulfilling somebody else's desires. Naturally, we feel drained because we are left with no energy to listen to what we want from deep within. By the time we understand that we should direct our energy to working towards fulfilling our desires, we have accumulated a lot more desires inside. And there is no more time left, we must say goodbye to the world.

Content: Then we take another body and start the whole process once again. We come with our updated baggage of desires and once again, instead of fulfilling them, we spend our energy in accumulating more desires. Please understand, if you spend your energy accumulating more dreams all the time, then when will you have the energy to fulfill any of them?

Content: That is the reason we live with a constant sense of discontentment throughout life. First we need to figure out what our wants are, then, we must work towards them. When this process is done with awareness, there is no room for envy or jealousy.

Content: In our Nithyananda Spurana Program, also called Life Bliss Program Level 2, when we work on the second energy layer of pranic energy we go deep into our desires, needs and borrowed wants. Participants compile a list of all that they think are their desires now. At the end of the meditation process related to the pranic layer, they find to their surprise that what remains in their memory is a fraction of what they had so laboriously written down. It is as if they had a tree full of leaves, and after meditation all the withered leaves had fallen off leaving a few energized leaves on the tree.

Content: This meditation brings to focus the prarabdha karma, the desires carried over from one's previous birth. These desires are our genuine desires and they carry their energy for fulfillment. Once these prarabdha karma desires are fulfilled, we are no longer in the bondage of karma. We are liberated.

Content: People say, 'It is not our fault that we have forgotten our genuine desires that we left the last body with.' Not being able to remember what those desires are may not be your doing. However, the desires with which you left your body in your last life were your doing; it was your free will. If you meditate deeply, it is possible to understand what those desires were and what the purpose of your life is this time around.

Content: If instead, you decide to follow your senses, and not only your senses, but the senses of all other people who surround you and then decide to blame Existence for not remembering anything, nothing can help you. You will continually go through the cycle of saṃsāra, life and death.

Content: Just by listening to these great truths and by going through specially designed meditation programs, you can recollect and re-experience the desires with which you were born. By focusing on these desires you can dissolve your karma and be liberated. It is possible. And that is why enlightened masters happen again and again: to make us understand that it is possible and also show us how.

Chapter Number: 9

Chapter Name: Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga

Content: Thus ends the ninth chapter named Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga, 'Supreme knowledge and secret,' of the Upaniṣad of the Bhagavad Gita, the scripture of Yoga dealing with the Science of the Absolute in the form of the dialogue between Kṛiṣhṇa and Arjuna.