Geeta Chapter 17 Stanzas 1 to 6

Arjun said,
"Forget about the scriptures. Tell me about those who know nothing about them ( scriptures) and live life in the light of the faith in their heart. Krishna, tell me, how you would describe their faith. Would you call it colored by Sattva, or by Rajas or by Tamas?

The Lord said,
"The faith of the living beings is of three kinds. It derives from their basic nature. Those who have not read the scriptures live their life under the predominance of either Sattva, Rajas or Tamas.

Each man's faith is characterized by his subconscious memories which determine the distilled essence of his personality. Every man lives in the  spirit of his faith. No man is without faith. It is inborn, not a product of following any teaching. The kind of faith he holds naturally, gives those colors to his life and personality.

Those who follow abhorrent practice of worship , such as dictated by their Tamas nature, repudiate me who dwells as witness in their heart. They certainly belong to the category of demons (asura). 

Geeta Chapter 16 Stanzas 1 to 18

The Lord said,
"There is absence of fear; there is purity of the mind, body and soul, ever vigilant pursuit of knowledge, charity, control, sacrifice, self-education, absence of deceit.

There is gentleness of spirit, abiding by truth, pacifism, readiness to renounce possessiveness (for the greater good of all), tranquility, unperturbed mind, compassion, absence of lust, tenderness of heart, modesty (Hri) and a steady mind.

There is brightness of the spirit, forgiveness, courage, cleanliness of the body and the mind, the conscience that keeps one away from betrayal of friends, absence of excessive pride, These are the attributes of the Purusha whose life is centred around the Divine Wealth.

Now, Arjun, listen to the antithesis of the Divine Wealth.
Vanity, insolence, pride, anger, hurtful speech, ignorance; these are the attributes of the Purusha whose world is centred around the Demonic Wealth.

Those who possess the Demonic Wealth do not abide by the acceptable norms of society with regard to what ought to be done and what ought not.

There is no thought given to the cleanliness of the means and the motives, nor to the conduct either. There is no concern in their minds about the truth (of the basic values of life).

They do not believe that the world is governed by a power which is above all powers. Lust and mindless desire is the base according to them of all life.

Those who hold this outlook on life, live without awareness of the inner spirit. It is dead in them. Their understanding is poor. They are prompted to do harm to the world by their beastly actions and deeds. They ultimately cause irreversible, enormous damage to the world of living beings.

There is no end to their lustful desire and that forms the basis of their arrogance, pride and intoxication.
They pay no heed to the voice of conscience and under temptation they are provoked to commit abhorrent deeds.

They are bound by hundreds of loathsome aspirations; they follow the dictates of lust and anger, and in order to find gratification of their abominable lust, they amass enormous wealth by unjust means.

This is how their mind works-- "Today I have obtained this. My aspirations are fulfilled. So be it, so will it be in the future. I will obtain it again tomorrow and again this wealth is going to belong to me.

This, my enemy, has been killed by me. Thus will I kill many others. I am God; I am the one who has the right to enjoy wealth. I am the accomplished one with magical powers. I am powerful and happy.

I am rich; I am born in a rich family ; who else is there like me? I shall perform rituals of sacrifice ; I shall perform charitable deeds; I shall be happy."
This is how their prattle goes as they live without understanding.

Their mind is deluded and wanders in different directions, caught in the mesh of temptations.. After spending the entire life  in dire obsession by lust and power, they finally end up in inauspicious hell.

They are the judge of their own worth. Rigid, unchanging, intoxicated by the wealth and power, they perform the ritual of sacrifice only as a token, with no thought for the true spirit of the sacrifice.

They are prompted by arrogance, power, greed and anger. These form the basis of their personality. They forget me who dwells alike in them as well as in those who they regard as the other. They have nothing but hatred and  jealousy for all that is divine.

   

Geeta chapter 15 Stanzas 9 to

Krishna continues_
"The mind rides on the back of ears, eyes, skin, taste, and smell and rejoices in the pleasure of the senses.
While in the body and when leaving it, while in the deep oblivion of passion, and when obeying the dictates of the Gunas and performing the duties of life with alertness, the densely ignorant do not see the seer living in the interior of the mind, vigilant and  watchful.
The yogi who makes a rigorous and disciplined effort to know the seer who lives in the body is able to see it with his mind's eye. To be able to see the seer(the Atman), you have to look  beyond the body.
The luminous light that dwells in the sun, the moon and the fire, regard them all of the same essence. All of it belongs to me.
I became the cosmic hunger and dwelt inside of every being. I am the breath coming in and going out; that breath is the power with which they digest the food.
I am there in the heart of all beings. I am the cause of memory, knowledge and oblivion. All the Vedas are created with the desire to know the essence of me. I have been at the back of the emergence of the Vedanta which is the distilled knowledge contained in the Vedas.
There are two kinds of Putrusha in the world. They are called Kshara and Akshara. All beings are Kshara and that one who is occult is called Akshara.
However, that One Purusha who is over and above Kshara and Akshara is the Paramatma : The Being who is beyond all beings. He pervades the three realms. He bears and controls them without diminishing in form and energy.
I am beyond the Kshara and Akshara. The enlightened ones know me as Purushottama that is the Supreme Purusha.
The knowledge of that ultimate Purusha is the supreme knowledge. The one who knows me in this essential ME, will know everything. He will worship me with undivided emotion.
O innocent one, I have delivered to you the most secret of all doctrines. It is that which leads man to enlightenment and fills him with a sense of fulfillment.

Aum which is the word of truth with which ends here the fifteenth chapter Purushottama yoga which is a part of the Upanishdad called Bhagavadgeeta which is contained in the dialogue between Krishna and Arjun  and forms a part of Yogashastra in Brahmavidya.

Geeta Chapter 15 Stanzas 1 to 8

The Lord said to Arjun,

Know this world to be a tree.
 Its roots  reach for the sky
and the branches penetrate the ground below.The lyrics of Vedas are its leaves. The one who understands the mystery of this will be able to understand all. He will understand the secret of Vedas.
This is the Ashvattha tree.
Its branches have grown underground, but they have spread skywards too. The three Gunas have fostered the growth of its branches. Desire shows on its branches in delicate bloom. The deep, primal desire which is the cause of the (collective) karma of humanity has many roots which are hidden below the crust of the earth.
But this (metaphor) is not sufficient to make us comprehend the full significance of this transient world. This Ashvattha tree which has attained enormous growth has neither a beginning nor an end, nor does it have a real existence. And yet its roots are strong and deep. This tree has to be cut down from the roots. You need a strong axe in the form of complete detachment. Cut down the tree at the root. Then proceed on the path followed by the enlightened ones. that path takes you to the destination from where there is no return. Seek that place where all search ends. It ends at the feet of the Purusha who has initiated this endless ancient cycle. Bow to that Purusha in the spirit of surrender, and He knows. He, the First Cause, has set in motion this cycle the origin of which is completely lost. But if you seek Him He will take you in and then you will not come back to this mortal world.
Who are those who reach Him?
They are those who have passed beyond the contradictions of  honour and dishonour. They are those who have no illusions. They are those who have moved away from worldly attachments. They have gone beyond all contradictions brought about by dualistic perception which causes disunity. They have gone beyond the battles of pleasure and pain. They proceed on the path with no illusions and doubts. They are the ones who make it to the last stop where there is no further, no beyond. It is the final resting place which is indestructible.
It is beyond the reach of the light of the sun, the moon and the fire.  That is the highest abode, my abode, reaching where there is no return.
Whatever lives in the living beings, know it to be the essence of me. It is a part of me, eternal as me. Every being is like a crystal inside which is caught a drop of light which is me. The five organs of sense are enhanced by the sixth organ which is mind, and over them all presides my essence which makes them belong to the order of Nature (Prakruti) and keeps them tethered to me.
This body lives as a compound of many elements. When the master of this body leaves it and takes on another body, the essence of me who had occupied it, also leaves along with the perishable sense organs.
Just as the wind carries from the calyx the fragrance, which is the meaning of the flower, in the same way, the soul when leaving the body, carries the essence of all the sense organs along with the mind.

Geeta Chapter 14 Stanzas 21 to 27

Arjun asked,
"What are the signs that indicate that a person has moved out of the sphere of the three Gunas? How is it reflected in his demeanor? How does he go beyond the power of the three Gunas?

The Lord said,
"In the light of wisdom when Sattva rules, in the impetus to act when the Rajas rules and in the darkness of ignorance when the Tamas rules, and in the quietude when none of these rule, the man beyond the three Gunas is neither perturbed by their absence nor does he feel disgusted by their presence.
He remains aloof, watches the play of emotions, and lets them work out their path and watches them  like a spectator. He knows how feelings and passions express themselves and allows them to work out their way,  knowing well that this is the nature of the Gunas.  But while this goes on he does not let them enter the inner sanctum where the higher self dwells unaffected and withdrawn.

This man who is intelligent and calm stays anchored to his higher self in the presence of pleasure and pain. A lump of clay and a piece of gold are the same in his eyes. The loss of the things loved and the association with the things that repulse are regarded with the same indifference. Eulogy and disparaging criticism, both leave him unaffected.

Between a friend and an adversary he is unexcited and impartial. Exaltation does not fill him with pride and devaluation does not lower his self-esteem. He does not start a chain of karma that could lead him astray He stays away from any such thoughtless acts. These are the signs of a man who is beyond the swaying power of the Gunas.

There is also another who stays out of the boundaries of Gunas by following me with unwavering devotion. He attains the qualities of the undistracted, unbounded state of Brahma wherein Gunas have no power.

You reach the ultimate truth : Brahma ; by ascension in small and measured steps. Brahma is deathless, whole. Nothing can be taken away from it. It is is eternal. I am the last destination of the journey to Brahma. Follow the Law of your true nature and you will reach there.


Aum  is the word of truth. With that ends this fourteenth chapter called the three categories of Gunas. It occurs in the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjun which is a part of the Upanishad called BhagavadGeeta in the art of Yoga which is contained in the knowledge of Brahma.

Geeta Chapter 14 Stanza 1 to 19

The Lord said,
"I shall recapitulate the essence of what I told you so far. What I told you was the highest of all that mankind ought to know. The sages who absorbed it were liberated from the bondage of earthly life and reached the acme of the knowledge of the Self and God.

This knowledge brought them into my presence and they became godlike beings.  They are not reborn when the new life-cycle begins and at the  time of of the dissolution of life-cycle they do not grieve.
The Prakruti( Nature) who bears this infinite universe is far greater than all of the universes. She conceives and sustains this stupendous expanse of life universal. I pervade and penetrate her in very pore. I place the seed of life in her vagina and therein is the birth of all beings. Prakruti is the effective cause of the species of every form of life  and I am the One who impregnates her with my seed.

The three basic attributes (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) which govern every form of life are all born out of Prakruti. Sattva, the best of the three, Rajas, the middle of the three in value and Tamas, the lowest of the three, bid the Atman to stay bound to the body, and the Atman stays subjugated by them. Though Atman is the essence of God, it loses awareness of its true character and surrenders to the volatile passions generated by the fusion of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.

Sattva is purity. Therefore the light of pure consciousness  moves through it without getting dull. The light passing through Sattva is untainted and gentle. But Sattva binds the soul to a certain kind of vanity. The predominance of Sattva produces spiritual ego. It also binds the soul to pleasure and comfort. In short, Sattva creates a clinging to pride and a longing for comfort.

The predominance of Rajas gives an inclination to pleasure and appreciation of the good things of life.
Rajas produces yearning,  longing, thirst. It motivates a person to act with a desire to obtain the fruit of karma.This is how Rajas binds the soul to desire and attachment to karma.

Tamas is the darkness of ignorance and no human is able to escape from its power. The predominance of Tamas makes a person devoid of conscience. It leads a person to misadventure, ennui, drowsiness, and thus limits and diminishes the power of the soul and the capacities of the mind. 

When all the sense organs and the gates of knowledge are fully open to the light of wisdom and are functioning efficiently, take it to be the condition of the prevalence of Sattva.
When the quality of Rajas exceeds the desired limit, there is greed, avarice, tendency towards hyperactivity, restlessness. There is propensity to thoughtless, rash actions which start a chain of reactions. It starts a process of endless karma which is not quietened easily.

Stupor, sloth, blunder, misdemeanor, thoughtless action etc. are the symptoms of the excess of Tamas.

The fruit of Sattva is peace and pure joy. Rajas produces sorrow in the long run, and Tamas produces ignorance.

The soul must see through the complex workings of the three Gunas, the basic tendencies of human nature. The soul must see how they are present in the very structure of Prakruti. The collective karma of all beings gives rise to the cycle of life and death. While the Gunas enact the drama the higher self dwells apart from it all. It is known to be the Drashta, the seer or the witness. And that is the reality of the individual soul. The one who realizes the truth of the Self is set free. He is ultimately free of the false ties and is at last  free to come to me. 

Geeta Chapter 13 Stanzas 27 to 34.

The Lord said,
"The Supreme God has eternally been here among the world of mortal beings, present everywhere in the same intensity. He who sees him thus is the only one who sees.
The one who sees God present everywhere alike, will never be self-destructive.
Prakruti is the force behind all karma. The one who realizes this does not take the agency of karma upon himself. The one who sees thus is the one who truly sees.
When one sees the unity of Brahma in all the (apparently) differentiated beings. there is the realization of oneness with Brahma.
The Supreme God has no beginning and no attributes.Even when He abides in the human body, in the most subtle form, He neither acts nor is he anointed by the karma.
The ether being most subtle, is not affected by the things in which it enters . Atman being far more subtle than ether,  remains unaffected by the elements of the body in which it abides.
A solitary sun gives light to the entire world. In the same way the khetrajnya (the knower) lights up the entire expanse of the Kshetra (Field ).
The mind which sees the complex relationship between the Kshetra and Kshetrajnya and realizes the illusory nature of Prakruti is the one who sees truly.

Aum...here ends chapter 13 of Bhagavad Geeta. 

Geeta Chapter 13 Stanzas 15 to 26

That Ultimate which you want to know, where is that? Far out, beyond the farthest imaginable edge of the world you know?
Or is it as intimate as your breath? Far, or near? Out there or within?Does it move when you move and lie still when you go to sleep? Does it go on breathing when everything sleeps, like the way you do when you lie down and fall asleep not aware of breath?
It is within every being you can imagine in the world, and yet not confined to what lives in the body. It is both, stillness and movement. Extremely subtle, you cannot see it even though it is never apart from you, so far and so near.

It takes on infinite forms , as infinite as the life there is. Appears to be divided though in essence the same. In the cosmic dawn of creation it manifests as universe, through the cosmic day it sustains the universe and in the cosmic night it devours what is created.

It is the light in the fire, the life of the moon,the eye with which the sun does see. It opens the gates to clusters of stars, the mind behind the mind we know, the breath which makes us breathe. It is the lamp that lights a lamp, not one but many.

I opened the mystery of the field of knowledge, the one who tills the field with knowledge, the object which the seeker seeks,and at the end of the spectrum of striving is the knowledge of  that which you seek.With this in his heart my follower comes to me and  merges with me.

What I referred to as Prakruti ( Nature ) so far is the same as what I metaphorically called The Kshetra (The Field )  and the Kshetrajnya (The Knower) in my recent discourse is the same as what i referred to as Purusha ( The Man ) so far. Purusha is the Primeval Man.

Know both Prakruti (Nature ) and Purusha (The Primeval man) to be without a beginning..
All that which acts and all that which is with attributes is born out of Prakruti. They are essentially co-existent at all times.

Prakruti is 'Becoming' and Purusha is 'Being'. They are together but Prakruti alone is knowable to us.
Prakruti is the locus of the impetus, the energy behind the result, and the agency for the happening. Prakruti resides in the Cause behind phenomena. Purusha resides as the reason for the experience.

Self-awareness (ego) and thought/intellect (Buddhi), along with desire or motivation are the gifts of Prakruti. Intellect and desire are motivated to act in favor of achieving a specific result. Prakruti provides the energy for that.

Purusha by himself is inert. Prakruti with her energy and the power to motivate action, is the base of life. Purusha, basically inactive, is drawn by Prakruti in her complex game and thus Purusha becomes the one who experinces.  Though Prakruti is the cause of the agitation and the mixing of the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) the result produced by this action is not experienced by Prakruti. It is experienced by the Purusha who has the necessary consciousness in him. Prakruti attracts, binds and captivates Purusha.

There are some who meditate upon the mind and know the Atman as residing in the mind. There are some who perform the karma in a spirit of detachment and understand Atman as detached from Karma. There are those who renounce life of action and relationships and live without getting in contact with the causes of provocation. There are those who are not capable of following these paths on their own. They rely on knowledge imparted to them by the sages and act accordingly. All of them cross the ocean of life peacefully and go beyond death.

Whatever gets created in the form of the life of the animate and the inanimate world is the result of this contact between the Kshetra (Prakruti) and Kshetrajnya (Purusha). (It is like the copulation of man and woman)

The Purusha is induced to expand because the Prakruti is forever engaged in expansion.  To sustain her expanded universe, Purusha must enter into the process of Becoming.

Prakruti gives rise to existence which appears to be distinct from Purusha. Prakruti is a dance; Purusha is stillness. We can see the dance; we cannot feel the stillness.    

Geeta Chapter 13 Stanzas 1 to 14

The Lord said,

" O son of Kunti, this body is a terrain known as 'Kshetra' The one who knows it is called the 'Kshetrajnya' : the knower of the terrain. This is how the learned ones have used the terms 'Kshetra' and 'Kshetrajnya'.

Understand me. I am the knower. I know the terrain-the 'Kshetra'  which is the body. The knowledge of the relationship between Kshetra and Kshetrajnya is the true knowledge according to me.

Which is the Kshetra? What is its nature? What are its volatile attributes? Where is its source?
Who is that Kshetrajnya? What is his power? I will tell you all about these things in a concise way.

Sages have composed innumerable lyrics in rhyme and meter which reflect the intuitive knowledge  of the  nature of the relationship between Kshetra and Kshetrajnya. The aphorisms about Brahma are threaded together by means of metaphors to throw light on the enigma of the relationship between Kshetra and Kshetrajnya.

The five subtle elements of nature, the awareness of existence as self ('Ahankar') , intellect, the ten organs of knowledge, the unmanifest, one mind and the ten kinds of objects which are known to the organs of knowledge, the compounded impact  of desire, aversion,joy, sorrow, consciousness, and symbiosis (Dhruti) : these are the volatile attributes of this thing called Kshetra. This is how the Kshetra is specified in essence.

Not aspiring to positions of power, absence of vanity, not causing pain to any being, not being prone to anger, offering service to your teacher, cleanliness of the mind and the body, steadiness of mind, and complete control over the mind, total withdrawal from the voluptuous aspects of the objects of senses, absence of egoism, reflecting on the pain involved in birth, death, aging, sickness, sorrow, a general lack of interest in the objects of sensual pleasure, no specific involvement for one's children and wife and home, a balance of mind, indifference to favorable and adverse conditions, merging with me completely, preference for solitary surroundings, not choosing to live too often with crowd, realization of the permanence of  of the knowledge of the Self, absorbing the essence of the knowledge gained in this way :
this in totality is what is called knowledge. Everything else is ignorance.

So far I spoke to you about what is considered to be knowledge. Now I shall tell you about what should be the object of inquiry. When you know the ultimate of all that can be known, you will be in possession of the nectar, the ultimate elixir of life. It is that Brahma which has neither beginning nor end. It neither exists nor does it not exist.

The Ultimate (Brahma) which you want to know is all pervasive. How? It has infinite number of hands spread in every imaginable quarter of the universe. Everything happens because of that all-pervasive energy. This (Brahma) has legs which support the entire edifice of the universe. It has no physical eye which we can see. Yet it can see everything. Because of the energy present in that spiritual eye, there is the potentiality of seeing. The same holds true of its spiritual attributes which function as head, ears, and mouth All that we perform in our physical body, with our bodily organs, even our thoughts, whether uttered or not uttered are stored recorded in the Universal Mind. It is that Brahma, the Universal mind-power, the spiritual energy which lives our existence and withdraws it into itself after its time on earth is over.  It is everything and it seems to be nothing to our ignorant mind.

In mathematics, we have to take help of a circle to say this is zero, nothing. Even when we conceive of zero as nothing, we have to draw a circle to convey its meaning. Shunya, or zero is not nothingness or emptiness. It is the presence of life in the utmost , measureless quantity. It is not a symbol of lack or absence. It is a symbol of existence in accentuated way, in a powerful way. It is the presence of life abundant.

Think of the spirit that dwells in the body. Think of the spirit as the object of enquiry. We feel its existence in and through the senses, the mind, the intellect and the consciousness beyond them all.
Yet the spirit is all these things and distinct from these things.
In the same way, the Universal Consciousness ( Brahma ) pervades everything in the universe and yet it is distinct from everything. It has neither an inclination to act nor does it have a conceivable form . It pulsates through everything and propels everything, but it remains aloof from everything.
Because of our extreme dependence on the body and the bodily attributes (which is the only thing we experience, we regard the body and its functional and abstract organs like the mind and the intellect to be the end of the spectrum of knowledge. We, in the first place do not know that there is something waiting to be known beyond the physical world.  

Geeta Chapter 12 Stanzas 1 to 20 Bhakti Yoga

Arjun said,
"There are those you talked about as devoted to you in your personal form, worshipping, praising, adoring you with psalms and prayers all their life, and there are those who know you in your unmanifest , indestructible essence . Who among these is closer to the state of oneness where the awareness of ME ceases completely?

The Lord said,
"Those who enter into my heart with love and live their life in my presence, dedicating everything to me with faith  are naturally united with me.
There are those who know me as the vital breath that runs through all forms of life. They behold everything as undifferentiated in essence. They discipline their body and mind. They contemplate the Brahma which is imperishable, beyond cognition, unmanifest, all-pervasive, beyond thought, occult, stable and certain. They are dedicated to the welfare of all living beings. They finally come to me alone.

But the path of the yogi who dedicates himself to the Unmanifest is fraught with difficulties. So long as you live in the body, the path of dedication to the Unmanifest leads to immense anguish.

On the other hand, I shall speak to you of those who conceive of the Unmanifest as incarnated in ME. They leave all karma to me and remain devoted to me; concentrate on me, think of me and worship me. I do not let them sink in the ocean of mortal life. They enter with their heart into my heart. So I am with them all the time as they cross this ocean.

Seek support for your mind by resorting to me. Leave your intellect under my governance. You will thus abide in me. There is not the slightest doubt about this.

If you find it difficult to steady your mind and keep it stabilized in me, then practise the art of concentration and make a strong resolve to reach me.

If you find yourself unable to follow this rigorous practice, then pursue all your activities with the sole purpose of reaching me. If you live your life by dedicating all your karmas to the objective of finding me, you will surely find me.

If you are unable to resort to this practice(of acting, living with the sole objective of reaching me), then there is another way. Be resolutely in command over your spirit and renounce all the fruits of your actions.

Who is dear to me?
He whose heart has no place for hatred, he who is a friend to all, he whose heart is full of compassion, he who knows no me and mine, he who moves not by joy or sorrow, he who can forgive, he who is cheerful at all times, He who follows the voice of his soul, and stays under its control, he whose resolve is unshakable, he who belongs to me with his mind and soul, he who follows me devotedly through all times, good or bad : he is the one who is dearest among all.

I shall tell you more about him; listen...
He never causes anguish to others nor is he anguished by them. He is calm in the storm of ecstasy, anger, fear,agitation. He too is dear to me.

There is one who lives without expectations. He is clean in and out. He is alert about the right and the wrong. He is indifferent to joy and sorrow. He is free of pain. He is unaffected by the good or bad consequences of the karma. He starts the karma without resorting to ego and therefore does not take the agency of karma to himself.  He is dear to me.

He is neither pleased nor moved to hatred. Neither is he moved by sorrow nor desire. He is beyond the good and bad. He has embraced the path of love. He is dear to me.

He makes no difference between the enemy and friend, nor does he differentiate between honour and neglect. His mind remains unaffected by the cold and warmth. He is free of all attachment. He is dear to me.

For him abuse and praise weigh the same. He keps silent through them all. He is content with whatever he has. He does not cling to a place and call it his home. He has an unwavering mind. He is dear to me.

This is what I have put into words for you. It is nectar. It follows the law of human life. Keep these words in mind and live life in accordance with this law. Those who follow this path of simple love with full faith in the heart are dear to me.

Aum that is the word of truth And with that ends this chapter twelve in the Upanishad called Bhagavadgeeta. This speaks of the path of Divine Love (Bhaktiyoga). It is a part of the knowledge of Brahma, the Ultimate Truth . The science of Yoga is a part of that and this dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjun is meant to lead you that. 

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 51 to 55

At this point Sanjay said to Dhrutarashtra,
"With these words the son of King Vasudeva (Shrikrishna)came back into his former body and thus reassured the terrified Arjun by returning to the bodily form which Arjun knew to be benign and mild."

Arjun said, "Now that I see you in your benign human form, my mind has regained assurance and my heart is at peace. "

The Lord said, "Even the godly beings yearn to see my cosmic form. What you saw of me is the dream of of a possibility for those godly beings who are ever in pursuit of seeing that divine form but it has remained out of their reach.

The way you saw me is not possible even to those who study Vedas, those who stay in sacred celibacy, those who donate or those who perform sacrifices.

Love me, and love me with devotion. Your undivided love, your faith in me gave you the exclusive right into the deepest interior of my heart and blessed you with the knowledge and the  vision of my truth and reality.. Thus were you able to enter into my essence and be one with me.

The one who lives for me, the one whose love is me, the one who has given up every other company for my sake, one in whom there is no enmity left towards any being, he comes to me O Pandava

With this ends the chapter 11   .  

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 34 to 50

Krishna continues...
"Drona, Bhishma, Jayadrath and Karna have already been slain by me. Go ahead and kill them. Do not be sad. Go ahead and fight. You will win a victory over those who stand as your enemies.

Then at this point Sanjay takes the thread of the narrative. He addresses Dhrutarashtra thus :
"Upon these words of Keshava (Krishna), Arjun, choked with deep emotion, folding his hands in reverence,trembling in awe, said to Krishna rather hesitantly.......

Arjun said, " The world delights in singing your eulogies.
The world adores and loves you too.
The demons run like water spilled
in all directions with fear in the heart
and all the assemblies of the enlightened beings
bow to you in deep respect;
everything is in order, perfectly fit .

But tell me O Lord, why do the demons not bow to you?
You are transcendent. You are the Lord of lords.
You are imperishable; you are beyond the antithesis of the truth and untruth.
You abide everywhere in the world simultaneously.

You are the Primeval God, the most archaic being,
the ultimate resort of this world.
You are the one who knows
and you are the one to be known.
You are the destination beyond the end,
and you are the spirit that dwells in all.

You who are the wind and death,
you the fire and you the rain ,
you are the moon and the protector of your subjects,
you are the creator and the predecessor,
I bow to you a thousand times.
You abide in all quarters.

  Your spirit lives in all.
You my nearest and dearest of all,
O Krishna the greatest, O the greatest of the Yadava clan,
forgive me if I committed a fault
out of love or familiarity,
out of ignorance of who you are .

While taking a stroll in happy times,
while going to bed after a day's toil,
sitting down to relax and having a meal,
when alone together or in a crowd,
I took liberties with you umpteen times.
I beg your pardon for the transgressions of the past.
There was nothing that could apprise me of your truth.

Father to all, revered by all, the master among all,
there is none who is comparable to you.
I bow to you and beseech you O God,
Bear with me and forgive me
the way a father forgives a son,
the way a friend forgives his mate,
the way a lover forgives the beloved.

That which was beyond my farthest dream
you made me see with my waking eye.
My heart is seized with fear; anxiety saddens and anguish pains.
Come as the Krishna of the olden days,
those halcyon days of camaraderie.

You who were seen with a crown on your head,
a mace in your hand, a wheel in the other,
you agile as if of four hands!
Come back to that form, O Cosmic Being!

Krishna said,
" Out of love I demonstrated to you
the cosmic form none was able to see before.
I showed you my essential form,
my aura of transcendental light,,
the infinite cosmos where I dwell.

Many have pursued me, have worked hard
to see me in my cosmic form.
In this mortal world of humanity
none could see what you saw.

Do not grieve; do not be sad.
Do not feel forsaken
on having witnessed me in a gigantic form .
Give up this fear,
be of good cheer
and see me again in my dearest form.

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 27 to 33

Arjun speaks,

"This world I can see before my eyes
vanishing in the abyss
of your mouth, among those enormous teeth
They are speedily devoured, ground, pounded
into particles and pieces,
shards remaining in the gaps.

These men now ready to fight
are all set to enter your mouth,
a conflagration all around .
Like rivers flowing down to the sea,
like fireflies fatally drawn to the flame,
with awesome speed this world of humanity
is rushing into your infinite mouths,
inexorably!

You are devouring all that is entering in,
swallowing all with your burning mouths.
O Vishnu, Your fire has encircled the world.
there is a flood, an invasion of light,
a profusion of your austere light.

O Lord of the cosmos, I bow to you in utter submission.
I have seen you in your terrible form.
I want to know who you are.
O Primeval, Prior to All,
with what propensity, what mystical intensity
you intend to proceed on your WAY.

The Lord said,
"I am Time, grown to immense magnitude,
I am ready to strike and destroy the world.
Barring you, all the warriors you see on the ground
arrayed in formidable groups
will soon be extinct without a trace.

Therefore, arise, success is yours.
Vanquish the enemy. Establish justice and a prosperous state.
Count them already dead at my hands
You are not the killer, only a trigger.

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 27 to 33

Arjun speaks,

"This world I can see before my eyes
vanishing in the abyss
of your mouth, among those enormous teeth
They are speedily devoured, ground, pounded
into particles and pieces,
shards remaining in the gaps.

These men now ready to fight
are all set to enter your mouth,
a conflagration all around .
Like rivers flowing down to the sea,
like fireflies fatally drawn to the flame,
with awesome speed this world of humanity
is rushing into your infinite mouths,
inexorably!

You are devouring all that is entering in,
swallowing all with your burning mouths.
O Vishnu, Your fire has encircled the world.
there is a flood, an invasion of light,
a profusion of your austere light.

O Lord of the cosmos, I bow to you in utter submission.
I have seen you in your terrible form.
I want to know who you are.
O Primeval, Prior to All,
with what propensity, what mystical intensity
you intend to proceed on your WAY.

The Lord said,
"I am Time, grown to immense magnitude,
I am ready to strike and destroy the world.
Barring you, all the warriors you see on the ground
arrayed in formidable groups
will soon be extinct without a trace.

Therefore, arise, success is yours.
Vanquish the enemy. Establish justice and a prosperous state.
Count them already dead at my hands
You are not the killer, only a trigger.

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 21 to 26

Arjun speaks,
"

Bless my vision , O lord of the realms, ;
what do I see , these souls of stars
who once were gods divine,
now trembling in awe, in prayer bowed,
sages and liberated souls of Siddhas stand
and pour their blessings on mankind below,
their words of psalms are floating in the air
and in profusion the notes of litany are raining on me.

Rudras, the terrible, the elementals of earth,
the divinities as Saddhyas to be pursued by men,
the Vishvedevas : the gods who infiltrate the worlds,
the twin brothers Ashwinis, the healers of the world,
the wind and his followers, the ancestors of ancient times,
the divine singers Gandharvas, Yakshas the magicians,
 Asuras the antinomy of gods, and to counter them
the assemblies of Siddhas the accomplished ones...
all are caught in this divine moment,
all are standing still.
Never before did they see you thus
all in your splendour divine.

How can I catch in my feeble words
your infinite, wondrous form,
your manifold aspects, your infinite mouths,
your eyes in thousands and yet more
than I can count,
that all encompassing abdomen,
those infinite, fierce teeth !
All the realms of life in the universe
are standing awestruck along with me!
Deeply troubled agitated they are all!

O Lord, you touch the height of the sky;
your mouths are gaping beyond infinity,
your eyes which were soothing
have opened wide into infinity.
An awe-inspiring vision
and I have neither the courage nor the capacity to hold
this torrential pouring in my arms.
After this vision where do I stand?
After such vision what courage, what valour?
My anguished heart knows no peace.
O Vishnu, be kind to me!

O lord I never knew you in this awesome form'

with carping teeth and terrible mouths!

It's the veritable hour of the end of the world!

What else would that fire signify?

I have lost the sense of all direction,

I have neither solace nor peace!

Bless me O Lord, be kind to me!

 And what is more is that I can see

that you hold at the heart
all the sons of king Dhrutarashtra,
with all the kings, the guardians of earth
and the mentors Bhishma and Drona,
and all those who are fighting on our behalf

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 10 to 20

Arjun wanted to see in this life-time the Cosmos as God and his Krishna as the Cosmos. A unique longing and a unique One who fulfilled that longing; and it was a bewildering, dazzling vision which Arjun, though a human, could withstand because it was the Divine Will.

The cosmos had infinite orifices; it was an infinite spectrum of infinite visions. It was adorned by divine ornaments. There were infinite weapons stored in its interiors and it looked as it was ever ready to act.

At the same time, it had a benign aspect. It looked as if it wore divine garlands and a divine robe. It was as if anointed by a heavenly concoction and a divine fragrance emanated from it. It was an amazing vision.

To describe its light, you had to imagine the tremendous light that would manifest if thousands of suns were to manifest in the sky simultaneously. In that eternal Time, Arjun saw the tremendously varied cosmos anchored to the body of the Lord. Arjun stood transfixed in ecstasy. He trembled in amazement.
He bowed his head in reverence and spoke to the lord with folded hands ....
" O Lord, I can see in you all the divine beings as well as all the  realms of earthly beings in their distinct groups. I can see the occult embodiment of universal energy in the forms of Brahmadeva, Shankar and all the immortal sages of the antiquity. They are all present in your cosmic body.

O Lord of the Cosmos who has incarnated before my eyes as the Cosmos, I can see you in an infinite form with infinite mouths, your immense abdomen, your infinite faces. I can see that your cosmic form has neither the middle nor the end, and again, it has no beginning either.

I can see your crown, your mace, your wheel. I can see you as a mountain of light, a lightbearer entirely.
You are not visible to the physical eye. You are lit up by the lustre of infinite fire and innumerable suns. You can neither be seen from any perspective nor can your expanse be comprehended even with a direct proof of experience.

You have to be understood as the last among the objects beyond cognition. You are the last resort of this cosmos. You are indestructible. You are eternal. You are the guardian of the occult nature. You are the ancient principle of procreation.

You are without beginning, middle and end. You have infinite vitality. You have many hands. The moon and the sun are your eyes. I can see your face as if it is a fire burning with the fuel of sacrifice. This cosmos is warmed up by your own lustre. The space between heaven and earth and all the quarters of the earth are pervaded by you alone. Perhaps the three realms of living beings saw YOU in this miraculous and terrifying aspect in this moment alongside me and methinks they too are deeply moved and bewildered and agonized.

Geeta Chapter 11 Stanzas 1 to 9

Arjun said,
"You revealed the secret of the occult knowledge of the human life and the cosmos. You showed me how the soul in the body is related with the transcendental Spirit of the cosmos. You revealed how you are the Spirit of all.  You revealed the most hidden and guarded secrets . You articulated them out of your love for me. Your words have removed all my doubts. That which is never to be articulated, has been revealed to me out of love.
I looked into your deep lotus eyes and listened to you, and I saw with my mind's eye how the worlds in cosmos come into being and dissolve. I imagined your imperishable power.
I want to see your Divine form, your essential being.
O Master, do you think I shall be able to see your cosmic divine manifestation?  If you do, please show me your cosmic form.

Krishna said, "O Partha, I appear in hundreds, thousands of forms
They are innumerable; they are divine, multicolored. You can see me.

See me as the many suns. See me as the many Vasus who are the elementals who live in the worlds and rule them. See me as the Rudras who form a formidable group to serve me. They are awesome to look at. They are anger personified.
But there are also the realms where my terror gives way to a cool healing temper. In that realm you will see the spirits of the twin Ashwini Brothers who together heal wherever there is the need to heal. A cool breeze, Maruta , will be felt to be moving gently there. See all those wondrous, miraculous worlds which you could neither see nor imagine before. You can see the infinite, moving, as well still aspects of the universe here at one point in my physical form today. Anything else that you wish to see will be manifest before your eyes here.

However, you will not be able to capture the magnitude of that vision with your physical eye. I bestow upon you the Divine Eye. Be ready to see my splendour which is adorned by all the power of Yoga. "


Then at this point Sanjay addressed the King and said, " O King, having said this, that great Yogi, the God among all Yogis, incarnated before the eyes of Partha his transcendental divine form."  

Geeta Chapter 10 Stanzas 41 and 42

Krishna continues,
"Wherever you see effulgence of my divine presence or a wealth of my divine attributes, penetrate deep into it and know it to be born of the part of my divine light.

but I ask you, what more are you going to gain by counting to know every manifestation of my divine presence? I am present in profusion here in the universe and just a particle of my being is sufficient to hold the entire world in a stable order.

Aum is the word of truth with which ends the tenth chapter called the Yoga of Vibhuti which occurs in the dialogue betwen Shri Krishna and Arjun in the discipline of Yoga in the knowledge of Brahma in the Upanishad called Geeta. 

Geeta Chapter 10 Stanzas 32 to 40

Krisna continues...
"Among the Daityas I am that good soul Pralhad. Among those who take the measurement of time I am Time itself. Among beasts I am the lion. Among birds I am the eagle. Among the invisible things that flow I am the wind. Among those who wield weapons I am Rama. Among the tail-bearers who live underwater, I am the crocodile. Among the flows of water I am the river Janhavi.

I am the beginning, the middle and the end of this cosmic saga. Among the branches of knowledge I am the knowledge of the spirit. Among those with proficiency in language, I am the art of rhetoric.Among the syllables I am the first syllable. Among words I am the conjunction. I am the still centre of Time, undiminished and whole. I have as many mouths as there are universes.

I am Death, the destroyer of all and I am also the one who brings everything back into existence after it is destroyed. I am the fame, wealth, speech, memory, genius, thought, and forgiveness among the attributes of  woman. Among the states of quiescence I am the immense quiescence. Among the metres pf poetry I am Gayatri. Among the months of the year I am Margashirsha. And among the seasons of the year I am spring. Among the games of deceit I am the gambling. Among the luminous objects I am the lustre. Among the embodiments of truth I am the essential truth. Among the descendants of the Vrushni dynasty I am Vasudeva. Among  the Pandava brothers I am Arjun.Among the sages I am Vyasa and among poets I am The star of Venus. Among the resolute I am the staff. Among those aspiring to victory I am the code of conduct. Among the guardians of the occult knowledge I am the secrecy. I am the knowledge among the learned ones. Whatever comes into being, know me among them all as the seed inside them. I am the seed of all life because life cannot come into being without me entering all forms. There is no end to the specific forms wherein I am manifest prominently. I have mentioned as much as was necessary to illustrate the scope of what you wanted to know. .        

Geeta Chapter 10 Stanzas 1 to 29

Krishna said,
" Cognition, wisdom, clarity, forgiveness, truth, restraint, gratification, joy, sorrow, existence, absence, fear, safety, non-violence,equality, contentment, passion, charity, success, failure...these states which you see manifesting in all beings, have their origin in me and they are spread over a wide spectrum of manifestation.

 "Great minds and personalities in the ancient past have been born to this earth because I willed their birth. The first of the human progeny was the seven sages who now appear as a constellation in the sky. Then came the Manu : the four progenitors of mankind for the four aeons.

I exist in all forms. Each vibration and breath is me. Everything in the form and body is me accentuated into being. ( Vibhuti).

I am the First Cause and the wheel is set in motion through my will. Those who go back to the First Cause are humble and they are filled with awe at my sublime form. They remain devoted to me in life and at the end return to me.

Their heart and mind are ever with me; their breath is ever in the presence of me. Their heart speaks to the mind about me. They live forever in joy, oblivious of life and death.

I  vibrate in symphony with their hearts and come down to occupy the interior of their heart as if it is a sacred shrine. There in the quiet niche I burn like a lamp and shine a constant light, fuelled by the awareness of the inner flame of an undying knowledge of the Divine Self.

Arjun says,
You are the Brahma which transcends all; you are the final abode; you are the most sacred of all. You are eternal, divine; you are the primeval God; you are the ageless without birth; you are the one who occupies all.

O lord, my soulmate Krishna, I believe in the truth of what you say. No godly being, no ungodly being is ever capable of realizing what you are in this human form, nor will they ever reach the presence of God who incarnated in you and spoke to me through the channel of your divine existence. O the most sublime Spirit, the Maker of all beings, the Lord of all, the God of all, the ruler of the universe, you alone can demonstrate how Atman is known only by Atman, because who is there to know you complete in every atom and form except you alone?

Your words are nectar to me ; I can never have enough of them. I want you to go on with the endless expanse of your association with every form of life. Speak and I will listen without wearing out.

Krishna said, "There is no end to my manifestations. So I shall tell you about the most prominent of them. Listen.

Among plants I am the Ashvattha. Among sages I am Narada. Among the Gandharvas (Divine musicians) I am Chitraratha. Among Siddhas I am Kapila. Among Horses I am Ucchaishrava. Among elephants I am Airavat. Among men I am the emperor. Among weapons I am the mace. Among cows I am Kamadhenu. Among progenitors I am Kama The lord of fertility, desire for sex). Among cobras I am Ananta. Among marine life I am Varuna. Among ancestors I am Aryama. Among those who rul I am the lord of Death. 

Geeta Chapter 8 : Stanzas 14 to 22

The one who remains connected to me with undivided mind and with devotion to the discipline of Yoga will find me easily.
Those great souls who finally reach me will never fall again into the cycle of rebirth. There are several realms after this life and those who reach the highest of them like the realms of truth and the realm of Brahma, have to return to earth.But those who reach me have no rebirth.
Those who have an understanding of the occult time know that the Creator's Time is in another dimension. One thousand aeons make a day for the Creator and one thousand aeons make his night.
When the Creator's day dawns the worlds that had been lying dormant become manifest. When the Creator's night falls, all the worlds that had been in manifest form, dissolve and go back to the unmanifest form.
This entire conglomeration of animate and inanimate life comes into being and when the day arises for the Creator it comes into manifest form again.
There is another unmanifest principle behind the unmanifest state to which these worlds retreat. That Unmanifest principle does not perish at the time of the dissolution of the worlds that are seen to arise and dissolve.
That principle which is ever unmanifest and indestructible is said to be the ultimate state in which I dwell. On reaching there the soul does not return to rebirth.
That I am, and I am accessible only by the path of Bhakti (Divine Love).. I am the source of all life. I am in all of life.
There are times when the yogis depart from this world there is no rebirth, and there are other times when they depart, there is rebirth. I shall tell you about both.
When there is the light of fire inside the body and there is the day outside, when it is the bright fortnight of the month and the sun is moving towards the north, the departure of the yogi leads to the ultimate state of Brahma. Any time other than this will go to rebirth.

The realization that the individual soul and Me are one leads the yogi beyond the Vedas, sacrifice, penance, and relinquishment pf possessions. He transcends all desire. He knows that his destination is far beyond these. leaving all these stages behind he goes to the highest attainment which is said to be the very source of the created beings : Brahma.
Aum that is the word of Truth and with that ends the ninth chapter called the Yoga of Imperishable Brahma  in the doctrine of Brahma wherein occurs the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjun which is a part of  the discipline of Yoga.

Lord Krishna said,

" Now I shall proceed to give you the most secret of all doctrines.
I am that which causes the rising of these multifarious universes and I am the will behind their dissolution.
All the elements are under control of Nature (Prakruti) and nature is under my control. Nature is given a Law. and Nature has freedom to run itself according to Law. But I am over and above Nature and it is in my control to create and dissolve the worlds.
These worlds are by law ephemeral and perishable. It has been going through the three stages of creation, existence and dissolution perpetually and this eternal cycle is the primordial Karma. Though I am the cause, I am indifferent to this cycle. I have no involvement in it. I am an indifferent spectator.

I am the presiding power over the entire phenomena of Nature and because of me the worlds continue to exist. and dissolve.

Even when I come to this world in a human form, the mortal humans do not know me . The trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh are the manifestions of my threefold significance. All my divine manifestations are governed by the divine principle. They do not come under the law of mortality.
Those who do not recognize me when I live among the mortals in the human form, resort to cruel ways. Their aspirations are futile. Their Karma leads to no purpose. and what they believe to be knowledge is an illusion.

but those who recognize my divine essence are not be deluded by appearances. They follow me and remain devoted to me.

Those who have faith in me stay connected to me day and night.

Others who know me by knowledge and intellect follow me by making their entire life a sacrifice offered unto me.

I become the sun and create heat. With this heat I absorb the element of water and give it back in the form of rain.

I am the elixir, the nectar of life and I come to the world of the mortals as death.

Those who understand my essence and have faith in me are protected in life. I bear the responsibility for their welfare.

In this cosmic form I receive the fire of the sacrifice of life. I preside over the cosmos. Those who do not know me in the essence are not able to reach me.

At a level lower than me are the divine beings (Devas). Below them are the ancestral deities of the human race. (Pitris) The devotees of Devas reach the realm of the Devas, Those of Pitris reach the realm of Pitris. The devotees of gods in human forms reach the realm of human gods. But those who know me and follow me reach the highest abode.

Whatever is offered to me with devotion and love, be it a leaf, a flower a fruit or just water, I receive it with love because it comes sanctified by love and humility.

O Arjun, whatever you do, whatever relish, whatever you will offer to the fire divine, whatever you will part with for the benefit of others,whatever you will pursue with austere discipline, you should finally offer them to me.

The fruits of our karma, whether good or bad, are in the true sense the bindings of karma. You will be set free of that binding of Karma. Supremely free, you will come to me.

To me, all the living beings are equal. None is dearer to me than any other and none is despised. But I am particularly attracted to those who follow me with love, I am in them and they are in me.

Those who follow me with dedication and love will finally find me.

Geeta Chapter 8 : Stanzas 1 to 13

Arjun asked :
"O Lord of all men, what is that Brahma, what is spirituality and what is Karma? How is the individual soul defined? What is said to be divinity? What is the supreme sacrifice? Who is this who dwells in the body? How does the self-realized soul know you at the time of leaving this body?"



Chapter 9 Stanzas 1 to 26

Lord Krishna said, "Brahma is indestructible. It is supreme. The same transcendental Brahma is there inside every body. It remains secure and inaccessible. This essence of Brahma caught inside the living being  has all the characteristics of  Brahma. When caught inside the individual soul (Atman) it becomes spirituality, that is special knowledge of the Spirit (Adhi+ atma).It is the presence of the Supreme Spirit caught inside the individual body.
When the life of all beings becomes manifest in the world,  that process of creation of beings and their life is called Karma.
The principle of the ephemeral is the principle of the life of beings (Adhibhuta)
The individual soul is the affirmation of the  presence of the divine in man (Adhidaivata).  It is the spark of divinity.
I am the great divine sacrifice that is constantly being performed in the life of human beings (Adhiyajnya).
As the sacrificial fire I watch and accept all that life offers.
The one who remembers me at the time of departing from the physical body attains to the spirit that is in me. He becomes one with me. There should be no doubt about this in your mind.

The memory, desire, longing, whichever overshadows the dying person's consciousness, will accompany that person in the other realm. The soul will reach the realm where those things are present in their essential form.
Arjun, you being my soulmate, stay attuned to my soul at all times. And therefore go ahead and fight. Hand over the custody of your soul to me. At the end you will certainly reach me.

With practice and discipline of yoga, the consciousness will stay anchored to the Divine Spirit. It will not wander. Thus, whoever lives in the constant contemplation of the Divine, will reach the Highet manifestation of Divine Man.

 Contemplate that ultimate poet, that archaic being, that Master who disciplines all, that One all-pervasive being who is more subtle than a subtle atom, who is the bearer of all (Life),  who is incomprehensible in form, who has the lustre of the sun and who is beyond darkness. You will surely reach Him .

At the time of departure think of me with a steady, devotional frame of mind. Focus the vitality of life between the two eyebrows and think of me. You will surely reach me.

Close all the outlets. Bring the mind no the heart-centre and hold it there. Bring the breath upward and hold it at the highest crown centre of the head with the power of the yogic practice.

The sound of the monosyllable Aum is the symbol of ME, that is Brahma. Utter that sound. The one who will follow these steps at the time of departure, will find the most auspicious path. 

Geeta Chapter 9 : Stanzas 1 to 26

Lord Krishna said,

" Now I shall proceed to give you the most secret of all doctrines.
I am that which causes the rising of these multifarious universes and I am the will behind their dissolution.
All the elements are under control of Nature (Prakruti) and nature is under my control. Nature is given a Law. and Nature has freedom to run itself according to Law. But I am over and above Nature and it is in my control to create and dissolve the worlds.
These worlds are by law ephemeral and perishable. It has been going through the three stages of creation, existence and dissolution perpetually and this eternal cycle is the primordial Karma. Though I am the cause, I am indifferent to this cycle. I have no involvement in it. I am an indifferent spectator.

I am the presiding power over the entire phenomena of Nature and because of me the worlds continue to exist. and dissolve.

Even when I come to this world in a human form, the mortal humans do not know me . The trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh are the manifestions of my threefold significance. All my divine manifestations are governed by the divine principle. They do not come under the law of mortality.
Those who do not recognize me when I live among the mortals in the human form, resort to cruel ways. Their aspirations are futile. Their Karma leads to no purpose. and what they believe to be knowledge is an illusion.

but those who recognize my divine essence are not be deluded by appearances. They follow me and remain devoted to me.

Those who have faith in me stay connected to me day and night.

Others who know me by knowledge and intellect follow me by making their entire life a sacrifice offered unto me.

I become the sun and create heat. With this heat I absorb the element of water and give it back in the form of rain.

I am the elixir, the nectar of life and I come to the world of the mortals as death.

Those who understand my essence and have faith in me are protected in life. I bear the responsibility for their welfare.

In this cosmic form I receive the fire of the sacrifice of life. I preside over the cosmos. Those who do not know me in the essence are not able to reach me.

At a level lower than me are the divine beings (Devas). Below them are the ancestral deities of the human race. (Pitris) The devotees of Devas reach the realm of the Devas, Those of Pitris reach the realm of Pitris. The devotees of gods in human forms reach the realm of human gods. But those who know me and follow me reach the highest abode.

Whatever is offered to me with devotion and love, be it a leaf, a flower a fruit or just water, I receive it with love because it comes sanctified by love and humility.

O Arjun, whatever you do, whatever relish, whatever you will offer to the fire divine, whatever you will part with for the benefit of others,whatever you will pursue with austere discipline, you should finally offer them to me.

The fruits of our karma, whether good or bad, are in the true sense the bindings of karma. You will be set free of that binding of Karma. Supremely free, you will come to me.

To me, all the living beings are equal. None is dearer to me than any other and none is despised. But I am particularly attracted to those who follow me with love, I am in them and they are in me.

Those who follow me with dedication and love will finally find me.

 

Geeta Chapter 7 : Stanzas 18 to 30

All my followers are dear to me . But the enlightened one is dearer to me than any other. He has come to me with an undivided mind and he becomes my very soul. He reaches the highest goal that is me.

After going through many incarnations, at last the enlightened one comes to me. It is rare indeed to come across such as one who realizes my presence in everything. He is indeed a great soul.

Elsewhere the other devotees are driven by selfish desires. Their attachment to the fulfillment of materialistic desires takes them to various other deities who preside over those desires.

They  seek different desires in the different deities and I reaffirm  their strong attachments to those several deities. Those deities are nothing but me seen in different forms.

These ignorant followers invest their faith in the deities who are embodiment of their desires and ideals. They worship the deities thus created by them. Their faith is strong and the strength of their faith  fetches the desired result. I fulfill their desires according to their faith and sincerity.

These are people with a limited knowledge. The fruit of their ignorant devotion and worship is however, ephemeral. They finally reach the Gods of small things. But those who follow me with a knowledge of my true spirit, they come to me.

I am unmanifest, but those with a small intelligence try to limit me to small deities whom they give a recognizably human form.

I am not comprehensible to those whose minds are covered by the veil of Maya. They cannot conceive of my essence. They cannot think of me who was never born and who has no end.

O Arjun, I know all the universes that had existed in the past. I know all those that are in existence now. I know all that are going to come into existence in future, but there was none, there is none, and there will be none among any of those worlds who has knowledge of me.

All living beings are enveloped by the polarities of aversion and affiliation right from their birth. They are born in ignorance and they end in ignorance.

But those auspicious beings who have experienced the end of the cycle of evil karma are finally free of the antithesis of all kinds and their ignorance ends in this life. They become my resolute followers.

Those who take refuge in me to find redemption from the cycle of birth and death, they attain  knowledge of Brahma. They gain complete knowledge of spirituality, and obtain the full perspective on Karma.

Those enlightened beings know me as the foundation of all that has been. They know that the divinity dwelling inside them is me. They know that the great sacrifice of their life is me. At the time of the departure also they recognize my presence. 

Aum that is the truth of life. With this ends the seventh chapter called Jnyana Vijnyana Yoga in the discipline of Yoga, which is a part of the doctrine of Brahma in the Upanishad called  Bhagavad Geeta .       

Geeta Chapter 7 Stanzas 1 to 17

Lord Shri Krishna continues :

"When you are drawn to me with a deep love and when that love is reinforced by the diligent and calm pursuit of Yoga, how will you experience my presence, O Arjun? You will see me clearly, with not a trace of doubt about my being, complete and whole!
Let me give you the knowledge of how it will be; and that will be the special awareness of me. After that knowledge nothing remains to be known.

Earth, water, light, air, ether, mind, intelligence, self-awareness : these are the eight basic elements of Nature (Prakruti ). This the manifest form of Nature which is closest to you.
 Therefore know it to be Apara. There is another unmanifest existence of Nature which you should cognize as that which is beyond what you see. Therefore know it as Para (that which is Beyond). The Para, that which is beyond , that which is unmanifest, becomes manifest when it assumes form and becomes the universe.
All these species have originated from the unmanifest Nature (the Para Prakruti) , and I am the Beginning and the End of All.
O Dhananjay, I am, I am, I am in all! There is nothing that exists apart from ME. Everything is like the beads strung by the thread that is ME. Everything is filled within ME.
The flavour in water, the aura of the moon and the sun, the arch sound, the newest sound  at the beginning of the world, reincarnated as the primeval knowledge articulated in the words of the Vedas, the sound AUM that reverberated in the sky : all of these is ME. The valour of men, the purest fragrance the earth has, the luminosity in fire : all that is ME. I am the vitality in all that is living. I am the austerity in the seekers. Know me to be the ancient, eternal seed of every form of life. I am the intelligence in the wise minds. I am the brilliance in the bright minds. I am the strength untainted by lust and agitation in the powerful ones, and I am the natural desire which motivates all created beings.
The three basic propensities of goodness, valour and ignorance (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) are contained by me but I am not ruled by them They are in me. I am not in them.
The three propensities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the veil that hide the Spirit that lives behind this animate world. The beings cannot comprehend existence beyond the three propensities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. I am beyond the feelings caused by the three Gunas. But the beings are deluded by the power of the Gunas and therefore they cannot comprehend my essence as imperishable, whole, indestructible and undiminishing.
This is my magic, the illusion created with attributes and appearances. There is no other way to describe it except to say that it is Divine. This is Maya, the ultimate magic. This Maya is formidable. It is an ocean in which you swim perpetually, but if you try to reach the shore, it is impossible . Those who follow only me, will be able to cross this ocean.
The evil-doers, the ignorant, those who have reached the lowest level of depravity, those whose knowledge is hijacked by delusion, those who have resorted to inhuman tendencies do not seek me. There are four kinds of good souls who follow me : those who are anguished, those with a desire for knowledge, those who desire wealth and those who have attained self-realization.
 It is the enlightened,  the self-realized  who is dearest to me of all. His love for me is selfless and undivided. I am his beloved and he too is beloved to me. 

Geeta Chapter 6 : Stanzas 27 to 47

The deep calm of a yogi who is thus immersed in the depth of the Atman has no comparison except with the experience of oneness with Brahma.
He is one with his Atman at all times. His soul is purified . Caressed by Brahma all around, he experiences the highest bliss ever known.
His soul merges with me, and I am the life of all beings. His soul too, expands to contain all. He sees me in all things and loves them all as he loves me.
He who sees me everywhere sees all things in me. I belong to him and I never perish. He is mine and he will never perish.
He who follows me and knows that I am the life of all, reaches me and stays with me , he being the part of me. Wherever in the world he may move, he finds his abode in me.
Know this man to be the highest of yogis who embraces all as his own being. Their happiness and sorrow are equally his own. "

Arjun said to Krishna, "You expounded well the teaching of yoga as a way of seeing every aspect of life with equanimity. But seeing the wavering, unsteady nature of the mind, I doubt if that equanimity can stay with us at all times. O Krishna, you know how fickle, stormy and stubborn this mind is! To try to subjugate the mind is as difficult as trying to stop the wind from blowing. "

Krishna said, "There is no doubt that the mind is difficult to subjugate. But it can be captured with practice and determination. In my opinion, it is difficult to grasp the philosophy of Yoga without control over one's own mind. The only remedy is to learn self-control. Relying on your own efforts, if you try hard, it is possible to acquire the discipline of Yoga.

Arjun asked, "A yogi who begins with faith but somehow strays in mind from the path because he cannot conquer his proneness to the temptations of life, where does he go at the end of life? Faltering on the path of Karma as well as of Yoga, does he fade out like a dispersed cloud? With his foundation collapsed, lost on the way of Brahma, does he get annihilated? You must eradicate this doubt from my mind, O Krishna! There is no other I can see who can remove this doubt completely.

Lord Krishna said,
"O Partha, There is no annihilation for him, either in the earthly realm or in the other realm.  My dear, why would a man who spent his life in working for the well-being of humanity meet with a downfall so devastating as that?
They go the way of the meritorious souls to the realm of the holy souls and stay there for a long time. Then one day they are born in some clean, prosperous household, or they find an ancestry of yogis with brilliant minds. Remember, a birth of this kind is not easily obtained by others in this earthly realm.
There they inherit the brilliance which they had known in their previous incarnation. Then they strive with greater devotion and with the strength that they have acquired from the previous incarnation.
His practice and study (of Yoga) naturally draws him towards the path of knowledge and yoga again. He transcends the limits of language and reaches the realm where there is no barrier of words and the language. He has an instant, intuitive understanding and a sharp, deep insight into experience.
He  breaks the code of several centuries; crosses the obstructions of several incarnations and finds what he has been seeking. He reaches that which lies beyond what several lifetimes could not find.
This is what a yogi is! He is far more than a seeker who spends life in austerity. He is thought to be higher than a learned man, and he is far more than the yogi engaged in karma in this lifetime. Therefore O Arjun, I exhort you to become  yogi.
And among yogis, the one who enters my heart with his entire spirit and follows me with devotion, is the one nearest to me of all.

Aum ..that is the word of truth with which ends here the sixth chapter of the Upanishad called  Bhagavad Geeta based on the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjun on the Yoga of Self-control which is a part of the science of Brahma in the discipline of Yoga.

Geeta Chapter 6 : Stanzas 16 to 26

Any kind of excess is undesirable in the practice of yoga. Gluttony, fasting to the extreme, constant sleep, keeping awake with effort, are the extremes which hinder the practice of yoga.
The one who lives in accordance with the principle of moderation in eating, behavior, exertion, in the hours spent in sleeping and waking, is said to be thoroughly trained in yoga. 
A person is said to be thoroughly trained in yoga when his consciousness is particularly brought under
control and led to rest in the Atman (the inner divine spirit). Then he is on a sound footing if the interior of his mind is free of expectations.
 A yogi who has reached this perfect calm will remind you of the flame of a lamp which burns steady and straight in a windless niche. That is the metaphor for the yogi whose mind remains steady in the benign presence of his Atman.
A mind thus trained is controlled and withdrawn, It enters the realm where the Atman sees Atman and is immersed in Atman.. There is contentment. The soul and the spirit know each other and merge.
It is a moment of recognition; it is a moment of ecstasy, never known before. There is no other world to be seen and known. The Atman experiences the unique joy which has no end. It is out of this world known to the physical mind.  Once you reach that realm there is no return to the mundane world, because your very soul is absorbed by the essence of happiness.
After reaching this realm there nothing more  to wish for. No sorrow will move you out of this realm of divine realization.
Yoga is the state beyond sorrow. No trace of discontent is present there. Follow yoga with a resolute and joyous mind.
Do not be driven by worldly desires. Be completely free of any such striving in the direction of worldly aims. Think of the world of sense-experiences as a town to be invaded from all sides by the army of the intellect. Conquer the lower mind by the power of the higher mind.  Gradually, remind the intellect of its forgotten prowess. Inspire it with courage. Gather the wandering mind to a center and tether it to he sobering influence of the intellect and do not allow the mind to stray away from the center. Do not let distracting thoughts enter and tempt the mind away from the Atman. Thus, stay secured within the prowess of the intellect and approach the shrine of the Atman. Once you are in there, feel the peace and stay there, steady and comfortable.
Once you enter the shrine of Atman, surrender to its superior divine voice. Gently bring the mind back from wherever it has wandered and hand it over to the command of the Atman. The Atman knows how to rule. Only surrender.    

Geeta Chapter 6 : Stanzas 10 to 15

Krishna continues...
"A Yogi should be self-reliant. He should use the hours of solitude in meditation. He should stay free of distracting desires and he should not surround himself with inessential acquisitions.
How should he proceed towards the state of meditation? He should see to it that his environment is clean and simple. His seat should not be low so as to be very near the floor nor should it be too high. It should be stable and comfortable. It should be covered. The first layer should be of dry grass. He should spread  a deer-skin mat upon it, and lastly it should be covered  with a  piece of soft cloth
The yogi should then concentrate the mind on a single point He should achieve complete control over his mind and the senses. He should stop all the activities of the mind and withdraw completely from the distractions of the senses. . Thus he should be ready to enter into meditation.
Then he should sit motionless with his body, neck and head held  aligned in a straight line . Then he should fix his attention exclusively on the tip of his nose.
His mind should settle in peace. There should be no trace of fear. He should settle in a state of celibacy of the mind and body. He should make his mind steady by contemplating my presence. He should dedicate himself to me completely.
This state of concentration and absorption should be imbibed thoroughly. The yogi who merges his mind in me without interruption, is finally able to reach my abode and finds the ultimate serenity.

Geeta Chapter 6 : Stanzas 1 to 9

Lord Krishna continued...
"The one who performs his karma without resorting to the thoughts of what may or may not happen is both, a sanyasi who has renounced the world, and he is also the yogi living  in the world and performing his karma. One cannot give up life. It is like putting out the flame in the lamp and believing that by so doing you have put out fire everywhere.
The sage who is led to the highest degree of freedom from bondage has already travelled on the path of Karma. The one whom you see established in the seat of Yoga has already mastered and silenced the storms.
On this path there is none who can help you except your own Self, your Atman. Do not let your Atman fall into despair. Do not let him sink in sorrow. He alone is your ally; he alone is your enemy too. Your mind is capable of creating demons. Why should you succumb to them and let them eclipse the light of your Atman? Do not cooperate with those demons and help them destroy your only friend : your own Atman! The demons and the fighter, they both dwell in you and fight. Do not join the demon in this fight. That way you will hasten the end of your soul, your Atman! Then a time will come when your own Atman will rebel against you and destroy you.

Watch carefully where your enemy resides. He resides in your mind; he invades your thoughts; he captures your identity; and he penetrates your deep consciousness. He thus pervades your whole being. And you aid him in this invasion of your whole being. All this happens because you invited your enemy into your home and showed him the cave where your Atman dwelt. And your enemy was none else but your own mind, thoughts and moods whom you considered to be your own, but over whom you finally had no control.

Therefore understand from where the harm comes. Once you identify your enemy the battle is won. Win the battle and be at peace with your self. Those demons caused the delusions. They caused the dichotomy of pleasure and sorrow, the cold and the heat, the exaltation and humiliation. Go beyond these polarities. Conquer the senses which delude you. Walk through life as a conqueror. Let your Atman reside in the most cryptic place. And be indifferent to gold and dust alike.

In this life you will be always surrounded by those who wish you well, those who are your friends, those who will be indifferent to you, those who will intercede on your behalf when you face enmity, those whom you must despise wholeheartedly, those with whom you have ties of blood, those who are wise advisors and those who are plainly evil.. Do not get swayed this way or that way.  Stay calm and balanced among them all.

Geeta :Chapter 5 : Stanzas 26 to 29

Krishna continues :

"The masters of the mind who are free of passion and anger, who know themselves well, live in the quietude of Brahma everywhere and at all times. What practice of meditation do they follow to realize this equanimity? Whatever is external to the body and the mind (whatever belong to the material world that exists apart from the mind and the body of the individual)is forcibly pushed aside. It is not allowed to enter the mind. The vision is focused between the two eyebrows.The two flows of the breath: Prana and Apana, that is the flow of  the incoming breath  and the outgoing breath are made to flow simultaneously, using both nostrils at a time.( Normally only one nostril operates at a time. At the break of dawn , before sunrise, there is a time when two nostrils operate simultaneously. Yogis stay awake at dawn to catch that moment for the breathing exercise. Those brief moments are called the time of Brahma).  The point in the middle of the eye-brows is the point at which the two nerves : Ida and Pingala meet. The yogi merges the breaths from the left and the right nostrils at that point. When he achieves this stage in the control of the breath, the consciousness transcends the barrier of the body. It breaks the confinement of individuality and becomes one with the universal consciousness. It is a rare transcendental experience of oneness. That is the moment when the yogi is liberated from the hold of the senses of the body and the hold of the mind, intellect, ego and the individual consciousness. He gets a glimpse of total freedom . The yogi aims at retaining this awareness and lives in it at all times. The least of all the benefits achieved by obtaining this experience is that it enables the yogi to stay free of fear, anxiety and (unreasonable) anger. "

Krishna concludes the teaching in this chapter with these words :
"The sacrifices which the humans offer unto life, the austerity which they practise for self-realization : all of these ultimately reach me. I taste them. ( I understand the motives behind them). I rule over them. I rule over all the realms of existence. Know me to be the unmotivated, selfless friend of all beings. The one who knows me as such will find the deepest peace. "


Aum that is the truth of life. With this ends the fifth chapter called Karma Sanyasa in the discipline of Yoga, which is a part of the doctrine of Brahma in the Upanishad called  Bhagavad Geeta .

Geeta Chapter 5 Stanzas 20 to 25

The one who realizes the Inner Self, is one with the Universal Self  : Brahma. His mind and the total personality undergoes a basic transformation in attitude and perspective. He is not exhilarated by happiness nor is he made despondent by sorrow. His mind remains steady. He does not get disoriented. His joy does not depend on a contact with any external object. He is delighted in himself. His soul  remains conjoined with his own Self, which is the Universe in microcosm. Therefore there is no end to his happiness. He is forever immersed in joy.

The pleasures and the joy which are dependent for their gratification on the intimate, close contact with external objects, are perishable, and finally end up in sorrow. They have a beginning and an end. Therefore, O son of Kunti, the wise ones do not get attached to them.

The one who is able to withstand the lashing of the passion and the agitation in this life has the true equipoise (of Yoga ) and he reaches the ultimate happiness The ultimate happiness is to be sought within oneself and the one who finds it is the true (self-realized ) yogi. His own inner self is the source of the ultimate happiness. It is there that he finds the light of the inner flame. He is a sage who reaches Nirvana, the ultimate freedom, in the Universal Consciousness (Brahma). There is no blemish in him. He is the complete master of his Self. He is free from the grasping power of the attachment and the obsession with the 'me and mine'  He does not draw a line between me and the 'other'. He works for the well-being of all.  

Geeta Chapter 5 Stanzas 1 to 19

Arjun  is still not clear about the concepts of renouncing Karma and performing Karma. He asks,
"You appear to hold renunciation of Karma as more worthy of acclaim than the engagement in the performance of Karma. Tell me without ambiguity what you consider as of greater relevance to my predicament, between the two.

The Lord said, " Both are the ways that lead to the liberation of the soul. But nevertheless, following the path of performance is better than the renunciation of Karma. The one who is engaged in the performance of Karma without aversion or longing, is truly a renunciate, a Sanyasi at all times. He is never caught in a dilemma and he can break away from bondage easily.

There is no real difference between the discipline of Yoga ( Karma yoga) and the austerity of the monastery. Both lead to freedom. Follow either of them with faith and devotion and you will attain freedom from the binding of karma. The path of renunciation and the path of engagement (in karma ) are the same. Whoever has the capacity to see will see it.
But the discipline of Yoga is essential on the path of sanyasa also. A recluse ascetic living in a forest needs to observe the discipline of Yoga. With the practice of the discipline of Yoga the ascetic will attain the state of oneness with Brahma in no time. The practice of the discipline gives mastery over sense-experiences, over one's Self, and purifies the soul.The one who follows this discipline becomes the spirit of all living beings. He remains unaffected by the consequences of karma.

The one who is deep into the discipline of Yoga lives his life like a lotus leaf floating on the surface of water, unaffected by the experiences of life. The feeling that says "I am the agent of action" : has dropped out of his mind completely. Every moment of his life is being witnessed by him as if he does not belong to it. When it comes to sensory experiences he knows that the senses do what they are supposed to do and nothing more. (He does not interfere with their working with excessive anxiety. He is at ease with his body.) He treats his karma as part of the larger, vaster design of the universe which, for the purpose of communication, we call Brahma. He drops all attachment to karma. He does not perceive his karma as something which is caused by him or as something that defines him.

A Yogi performs action through the body, the mind, the discriminating intellect (Buddhi) and also, exclusively, through the sense-organs. He performs karma all the time for the purification of the Self. Never for a moment does he lose connection with the Inner Spirit (Atman) which is unaffected.

The Yogi attains serenity because his role is limited to the performance of the karma, and not beyond that. But the one who is anxious about the result of his action is constantly tied up to the chain of action and reaction endlessly.

The Almighty does not create, nor is He the cause of the karma of the living beings. The human mind , out of ignorance, under the predominance of the ego, with the excessive identification with the ego, mind and heart, sees itself as the self who feels happiness or sorrow and falls into the endless cycle of attachment, aversion, longing and hatred. The Almighty is neither eager for our good deeds nor averse to our wrongs. We are wrapped in the cloak of ignorance and our awareness of the Higher Self dwelling inside us is hidden behind the mist. We are driven on and on by the impetus of our ignorance.

Those in whom the true knowledge arises, there is awareness of the Higher Self. The awareness of the Higher Self shines in them like the light of the sun.

Those self-realized Yogis place their faith in their  intellect because it is through the discriminating intellect that they finally, decisively,  find the Higher Self. They remain true to their Higher Self and obey its command. This supreme knowledge of the Higher Self purifies their life and they do not return to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The one who attains  this state of realization is filled with compassion for all beings.  Those who remain stable in this state of equanimity have already won mastery over the earthly dimension of existence, and this equanimity is Brahma. It is a pure vibration of Life, and these self-realized souls can be said to have found their abode in Brahma.   

    

Geeta Chapter 4 : Stanzas 33 to 42 (Knowledge, Karma and Sanyasa )

There are many who consider the sacrifice of wealth as a sufficient virtue in life. They never go beyond a complacent, materialistic understanding of life. Those who strive to understand the meaning of life beyond the dimension of materiality are capable of understanding the true spirit of sacrifice. They are engaged in a sacrificial rite which is superior to the sacrificial rite of donating wealth, because all acts of sacrifice ultimately end in knowledge (of the Self.)
Therefore, embrace knowledge as the ultimate aim. Approach the wise ones and regard them as your teachers. Respect them, greet them. Touch their feet with reverence. Ask them the right questions. They will impart knowledge to you. Those who have knowledge can show you the essence of life. In this way, the dross of karma will be reduced to ashes in the fire of knowledge. 
Faith is the first requisite in the way towards knowledge. Next is control over sense-experience. The attainment of knowledge soon leads to the peace that transcends all experiences.
This is the way to reach the understanding of Self. To reach there, you must renounce all attachment to the result of your action with the practice of the art of Yoga.With the attainment of knowledge, break away from doubt. One who realizes thus the true nature of the Self is not bound to the outcome of karma. The doubts that trouble you at present are caused by the ignorance which has found deep roots in your heart. Cut those knots of doubt. Closely observe the discipline of Yoga, and now stand up, O son of Bharat !

Aum...which is the Ultimate Truth, in the name of that, here ends the fourth chapter in the Upanishad called Bhagavad Geeta which is a part of the science of Yoga as taught in the doctrine of Brahma. In that, this  was the chapter called the Yoga of Knowledge, Karma and renunciation of the fruit of Karma. It was delivered through the dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjun.