Greetings All,

Shloka # 18:

कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः।
स बुद्धिमान् मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत्।।4.18।।

Whoso beholds non-work in work and work in non- work is wise among men; he is integrated; he does all works.

Continuing his teachings of Gita, Swami Paramarthananda said, by way of introducing the nature of karma, Sri Krishna is discussing the essence of the Upanishads in shloka’s 18 to 24.  Of these shlokas, 18th is considered a key shloka; wherein Sri Krishna talks about atma-anatma viveka; the difference between the higher-I in me, and the lower-I in me; the higher-I is called Atma; and the lower-I is called Ahamkaraha.

The higher-I atma has been talked about in the second chapter, where Sri Krishna pointed out that this atma is of the nature of consciousness, distinct from the body and all pervading. It is an akarta as it does not perform any action. It is only a witness. And this akarta-atma, this eka-atma; this poorna atma is my higher nature; and I have got a lower-I also called ahamkara; and this lower-I is nothing but the mind. The mind-principle is called the lower-I. Mind by itself is inert. It becomes sentient through the blessing of Atma. Citing example of a bulb, it is similar to the filament in a bulb that needs electricity to energize it.  Such a mind when blessed by Atmatvam becomes sentient and is called Ahamkara. This finite Ahamkara is my inferior “I” or ego. Ahamkara has to perform action, as it is its nature. Ahamkara, thus, accumulates Punyam and Papam. And this ahaṃkara alone takes another body and again exhausts the punya papam and in the process acquires fresh punya papam; and thus the punarapi jananam; punarapi maranam, samsara cycle continues for ahamkara. There is no way of stopping this ahamkara, because this ahamkara is motivated, activated, because of our identification. Sri Krishna says, by self-knowledge, we learn to own up to the higher-I, rather than the  lower-I.

The moment the shift to higher “I” happens, the lower “I” loses momentum and it will stop. A Gyani is not a patron of Ahamkara. This shift from lower “I” to higher “I” is called wisdom. I own up to my Akarta nature, even while Ahamkara is active. This detachment from Ahamkara is the benefit of the wisdom. The question comes up, as to who is leading the dog? Is it the owner or the dog? Right now Ahamkara is leading me. Ahamkara has a function, but I should not be enslaved by it. The word Swamy means one who is master of his own Ahamkara. The word Aswamy means the opposite of Swamy.

What drives human beings to accomplish things? What is the driving force? In human beings the driving force behind any pursuit is that without those accomplishment(s), I feel small; That is why people always say, I want to be somebody in life; because he or she feels that right now he or she is a nobody.

And therefore I have a sense of smallness. Through accomplishment, I am trying to be somebody, I am trying to become full and complete; fulfillment or poornatvam is the goal. Unfortunately such a person never gets the poornatvam as the finite ahamkara plus finite accomplishment is still equal to finite ahamkara. Previously I was a miserable BA; then a miserable MA; and now a miserable Phd. The misery continues because finite plus finite is equal to only finite and not infinite. It is the finite ahamkara struggling to become poornaha and life becomes a failure.

Gyani knows everything is finite. Ahamkara can never be poornaha. He accepts Ahamkara and lets it perform. He, however, seeks Poornatvam in the higher I. It is ever Poornaha. He enjoys poornaha at higher level, while performing action at lower level. He does not feel fulfilled in completion of projects. Thus, he is ready to quit the world at any time.

Shloka # 19:

यस्य सर्वे समारम्भाः कामसङ्कल्पवर्जिताः।
ज्ञानाग्निदग्धकर्माणं तमाहुः पण्डितं बुधाः।।4.19।।

Him the wise call a man of discrimination, all of whose undertakings are free from desire-prompted imaginations and all whose works have been consumed in the fire of knowledge.

Once a Gyani has discovered poornatvam , will he be motivated to work? Generally activities are born out of necessity or dissatisfaction. If all people are satisfied then there will be no motive to work. The general belief is that discontentment leads to action or work. This is a misconception, says Swamiji. Sri Krishna says a person can also work out of fullness. Such a person has no axe to grind. A gyani can contribute with contentment. What drives him? Compassion drives him. He has universal identification and universal compassion. It becomes his nature.

Heat can’t be separated from fire or light from the Sun.  So also, compassion is intrinsic to a Gyani. It is compassion without motives. Backed by compassion, he acts according the need of the situation. It is like a mother with a child. Compassion crystallizes into action.

His actions are not due to lacking anything or loneliness. Without performing activity too he is full. He is free from the desire to fulfill himself. He is free from future projections. Thus, we are not comfortable with ourselves. Thus, one asks: How will I look in this dress; with this girl; with this house; etc?  There is a big gulf between the small “I” and the higher “I” in such a person. This causes restlessness in him. I am not happy with the present, I am a dissatisfied “I”. That is why Swami Dayananda Saraswathi says: I have rejected myself and when I cannot accept myself, I cannot accept the world also; I find fault with every person, every job, every set up and every house. The problem is not with the world rather the self-rejection expresses itself in the form of world rejection. Conversely, self-acceptance, expresses itself in the form of world acceptance. Again Swamiji beautifully says: a Gyani is at home with himself as he is and therefore at home with the world as it is. There is no dreaming and projections. He lives in the present. I am fine as I am; and enjoy doing whatever I can do, and whatever I have to do. He does not travel from unhappiness to happiness. He is always in a state of happiness.

There is no connection between set up and poorṇatvam. Set up belongs to the lower level, egoistic level and poornatvam belongs to a higher level. To put it in Upanishadic language, the set up belongs to vyavaharika satya; poornatvam belongs to paramarthica satya; he does not mix up order of reality.  And another interesting thing happens to such a person, the Gyani. When he dwells in the lower “I”, the karmas, the actions, do not produce punyam or papam. Only when I am identified with ahamkara or when there is a sankalpa, only then punyam and papam are produced. Since Gyani does not have the crystalled-ego, it does not

produce punyam and papam. That is why in Tatva Bodha, we saw, Gyani does not generate agami karma.  All his karmas are destroyed. Citing example of a roasted seed although it looks like a normal seed it cannot germinate anymore. So too a Gyani cannot produce any more karma’s.

For roasting Ahamkara you need the Gyana Agni. By this fire Ahamkara is burned down. Such a person is called Pandita. Panda means self knowledge. Chapter 2, shloka 11, also refers to Pandita.

Shloka # 20:

त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः।
कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः।।4.20।।

Giving up attachment to the fruits of works, eternally content, independent, the man, engaged in works as he is, does nothing at all.

Sri Krishna pointed out that a Gyani is free from karma and sankalpa. He is a free person. Citing analogy of Thermometer (slave of surrounding) and thermostat (controller of surroundings), Agyani is like a thermometer while Gyani is like a thermostat. Therefore in one, he is a slave of the set up, in

the other, he is the master of the set up and what makes you a master is only Gyanam. Sri Krishna says any person of any status can obtain Gyanam. A gyani is at peace even amidst society while an Agyani is miserable even in an Ashrama. Varna, ashrama, religion, sex, profession and nationality do not matter for obtaining Gyanam. There two types of Gyani’s:

• GrihasthaGyani: A householder can also become a Gyani.  Shlokas 20,22,23 and 24 discuss Grihastha Gyani.
•  Sanyasi Gyani: Shloka # 21 talks of Sanyasi Gyani.

Shloka # 20, second line:

Grihastha Gyani:

He has to perform pancha maha yagyaha. He is also extremely active. The difference is that he does not feel fulfillment through activities. Gyani does not connect fulfillment with his pursuit. His fulfillment is in the higher “I”. Gyani’s satisfaction does not come from the set up. He is equally happy without it. If I give support, it is love. If I seek support, it is attachment.

Once he has poornatvam he does not lean on any external factor. Strength comes from knowledge. He does not have any psychological dependence although he may have physical dependence. He expects results from his actions but he is not concerned about them. In effect he does not worry about results. If expectation is not met what to do? Swami Dayananda Saraswathi used to say, “ Success in life is preparation for failure”. With such a healthy mind a Gyani performs his actions. In philosophical sense, he remembers his higher Self. In a psychological sense, he is free, as his actions do not create any anxiety in him.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Greetings All,

Shloka # 15:

एवं ज्ञात्वा कृतं कर्म पूर्वैरपि मुमुक्षुभिः।
कुरु कर्मैव तस्मात्त्वं पूर्वैः पूर्वतरं कृतम्।।4.15।।

Knowing thus was work done by ancient seekers after liberation. Therefore you too do only work, as was done by the ancients in bygone days.

Continuing his teachings of Gita, Swami Paramarthananda said, Arjuna wanted to escape his Sva-dharma that is killing his own kith and kin. It was causing him great mental distress. And also it is said in the scriptures “By actions one is bound”. Whenever we take up any action there is a strain on our personality. Will we succeed or not is a question that bothers us. This causes anxiety. Also the result of action is not fully dependent on our efforts. Result depends on other factors some of which are not in our control. So, future is uncontrollable. Also, results may not be up to our expectation.

Arjuna is experiencing all this on the battlefield. He wants to escape his Karma. Sri Krishna, however, is teaching him not to escape karma. Maximum you can do is you can change the karma from one action to another action; and often you find that when you change

the field of action, it ends up like falling from the frying pan into the fire. While you can change the action you cannot give up the action. Therefore Krishna wants to teach Arjuna how to be involved in action but not be affected by the action.

Sri Krishna says, only through Gyanam can one insulate his or her mind from the tyranny of action. Once insulated, the action will appear like a game, a leela. For a Gyani it becomes a sport while for an Agyani it is a major undertaking. This method of insulation is available to every being. The method is not a new one. Your own forefathers have used it. Why don’t you use it as well?

Shloka # 16:

किं कर्म किमकर्मेति कवयोऽप्यत्र मोहिताः।
तत्ते कर्म प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात्।।4.16।।

What is work? What is non-work? In respect of these questions the sages even are deluded. Therefore, I shall elucidate the nature of work, by knowing which you will be delivered from evil.

Sri Krishna presents Gyanam as armor. Once you say Gyanam, the question arises Gyanam about what? It is knowledge of the nature of Karma. Where does it arise? Who does it belong to? This enquiry is important, as we have taken it for granted. Once we thought everything went around the earth. Then science discovered that everything goes around the sun. Thus, when we take action we feel “I am” doing the action. Sri Krishna says “you” are not doing the action.

If you want to get out of stressful situations you need to know about the nature of Karma. It is a very subtle topic.

Even great philosophers are confused about what is action and what is inaction? He says I will deal with this topic now. It is not an academic discussion. It has practical value. By this knowledge you will be freed from all types of Ashudha’s (samsara) or negatives. Do you want to be a thermometer (one that measures a situation) or a thermostat (one that controls a situation)?

An Agyani is enslaved by situations.

A Gyani is master of situations.

Shloka # 17:

कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः।
अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः।।4.17।।

 Indeed you ought to know about work; also you ought to know about bad work; and, besides, you ought to know about non-work. Profound is the course of work.

 Sri Krishna says, not only I am going to teach about Karma, but also about its nature, also about wrong Karma (Vikarma) and also about Akarma (inaction).

I will discuss about action, inaction and wrong action. This knowledge you have to work to gain it.

This is an introduction to Gyanam as an insulating material.

Gathihi: in the shloka means, Swaroopam or nature of action.

Shloka # 18:

कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः।
स बुद्धिमान् मनुष्येषु स युक्तः कृत्स्नकर्मकृत्।।4.18।।

Whoso beholds non-work in work and work in non- work is wise among men; he is integrated; he does all works.

From # 18-24, Sri Krishna deals with knowledge or solution to all problems. This shloka is the core of chapter #4. It is a very impotent shloka in the entire Gita. It condenses the teaching of all Upanishads.  Hence Gita is also considered an Upanishad. Essence of Upanishad is Gyanam. It is discussed in chapter # 2 of Gita and now in Chapter # 4 as well. Shloka # 18 is very significant and a difficult one to understand. This shloka has language of contradictions.

The literal translation is as follows:

“Wise person sees action in in-action.

Wise person also sees in-action in action.”

The contradiction:

If you see a thing wrongly, can you be a wise person?

Shankaracharya has written a large commentary on this shloka. This shloka has also been called a knotty shloka of Gita.  In chapter 2, shloka 2.69 is also a knotty shloka. These verses are called the knotty verses because when Vyasa wanted Mahaganapathy to become the scribe; Mahaganapathy put a condition that once I start writing, I cannot stop. Therefore, you have to continuously dictate and if you stop for some reason I will leave.  Vyasa agreed to this condition of Ganapathy but he placed a condition on Ganapathy as well. He said when you take down my commentary you should know the meaning of it, as well.

Thus, Vyasa composed knotty verses intermittently, to gain some time and Ganapathy some time to grasp them. Such shlokas are called Grantha Grandhi.

As per Vedanta every individual’s personality consists of two parts:

1) Anatma: Consisting of the body, mind thought complex.

2) Atma: consisting of the Conscious principle that makes the body, mind and thought complex sentient. It can be compared to the electricity that makes the bulb illumine. This invisible principle is all pervading and independent and it continues even when the body is gone. There may be many bulbs but the electricity illumining them is one and the same. Similarly the Atma blesses the body, mind and thought complex and thus makes it sentient.

Wise person also sees in-action in action.”

We discussed Atma and Anatma in chapter 2. While there is only Atma, Anatma’s are many. Atma is all pervading while Anatma is limited in nature.

The Atma being all pervading cannot perform any action. Action involves physical or mental movement. So also it is with space, which cannot perform any action. While air, water, and fire can move, space cannot. Therefore, the all-pervading Consciousness is action- less. Hence, it need not renounce Karma. Consciousness is ever free from Karma.

The Anatma (Ahamkara) can never be free from action. It is a material entity. Matter is in eternal motion. Even a standing wall is full of atoms that are in motion.

In the book “ Tao of Physics” the author describes Nataraja’s eternal Dance. How do you know that he is eternally dancing? If you look at his jata, it is always parallel to the ground; when will the jata be parallel to the ground, it is possible only under one condition; when it is fiercely moving; that is why it is Natarāja’s picture as vishwa roopa that is in eternal motion.

Thus, the smallest of atoms and the largest of galaxies are in motion.

Anatma’s motion can never stop. Even if you see it at rest, it is still in motion in a potential form. Karma cannot be given up in Anatma.

Therefore, focusing on Atma own up to the permanent state of its rest. This inaction is called Gyana Karma Sanyasa.

A wise person sees the permanent peace of Atma even though there is action in Anatma. He discovers peace even in Anatma. So, discover peace amidst outer activity. Citing an example, even when the hand moves, the light illumining the hand is not moving. Similarly even when the body moves, the awareness does not move. Actors move but the screen does not move. Therefore, turn your attention to the screen.

“Wise person sees action in in-action.

Discussing the second part of the shloka, action in inaction, when Anatma is resting (sleep) it appears action-less although actions reside in it in potential form. Thus, in sleep, all actions are waiting in seed form. The wise person sees the potential action in the action less-ness of the body mind complex. It means it is explicitly active or potentially active. Atma is ever inactive.

When action overwhelms me we don’t know how to get out of it. We feel overwhelmed. It is like catching the tail of a tiger, after sometime you will tire while the tiger will not.  You then look for a place without action or shantam or shivam. This place is my own shanta swaroopam.  So a wise person knows how to dip into his own tranquility. Sri Krishna wants to give us a taste of this shantam. This is provided to us during sleep. At that time you don’t have a Karta personality. Deep sleep is absolute Ananda. This is Atma Swaroopam.

For Gyani, this atma ananda is available all the time. He is called a real Yogi or person of fulfillment.

Shlokas # 19-24 are commentaries on shloka # 18.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Greetings All,

Shloka # 13:

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्।।4.13।।

The fourfold class-system according to the divisions of Prakrti’s constituents and works, has been ordained by Me. Though I am its author, know Me to be the immutable non-agent.

Continuing his teachings of Gita, Swami Paramarthananda said, Sri Krishna is talking about Varna Ashrama Dharma as described by him through the Vedas. According to Vedas, society is divided into four classes. Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. These four classes can also be seen from three other perspectives. They are: Jati (parentage), Karma (profession) and Guna (character) respectively.

When a Jati Brahmana becomes an elected MP, he has become a Kshatriya by Karma. He could even become a Vaishya if he spends a lot of time chasing after money.  Thus, there are many permutations and combinations that are possible.

Are there any gradations among the three?

In Jati, all four are created equal.

In karma too all occupations are equally important for the peace and progress of society. The mantra Purushasuktham says all four are parts of God. The four parts are Face (Knowledge, Brahmana), Arm ( Soldier, Kshatriya), Thighs and Knees ( Money, Vaishya) and legs (Movement or work, Shudra).

Every organ is important. You realize this only when an organ does not function. Thus, there is no difference between professions. Swamiji says India’s caste problems exist because this equality in professions has been violated.

However, in Guna there is gradation. A Noble person is superior to others. He will not demand it but people will themselves respect him. All of us should strive to become Guna Brahmana. Guna Brahmana is superior to Guna Kshatriya, Guna Vaishya or Guna Shudra. This is because he is the one closest to knowledge. He is a Satva Guna Pradhana. Guna Kshatriya is a little away, as he still has to attain knowledge. Guna Vaishya is even further away as he is still selfish, although very active. Guna shudra is lowest. He has not even started selfish activity. He has a long way to go.

Puranic stories such as Nandanar are about a non-brahmin although he was a Guna Brahamana.

Jati: Do we have a choice regarding Jathi?

In Jati, there is no choice. We can’t change our parentage. Moksha does not require Jati as a basis for it.

Guna: Do we have a choice regarding our Guna?

Can a Guna shudra become a Guna Brahmana? Here there is choice. Character change is possible. All sadhanas are to help us in this process. We are born Tamo Guna Pradhana. It is the intrinsic nature of our body to be lazy. In Tatva Bodha we learnt that body is made from Tamas Amsha.

So, we have to move from Tamas pradhana to Rajas Pradhana. Rituals (karmakanda) can help us in this process. And then, move from Rajas to Satva Guna. One should learn to be contemplative. Upasana kandam helps with this change. Thus, after I become a Guna Brahmana, one has to go to the Nirguna state (Ishwara Aikyam) through Gyana Kanda.

Do we have a choice regarding Karma or occupation?

We do have a choice. We can choose our occupation based upon:

1. Jathi or hereditary profession
2. Guna: based upon inclination.

Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

With jathi, there is no need to choose. One is already exposed to the atmosphere. Even a child listens to its mothers singing in its womb. Preparation takes place early, including food.

Disadvantages: If he does not like the profession he choses, life can be miserable. Even today, Jathi based jobs are quite common.

Guna:

Advantages: There is no strain in person. He looks forward to Monday. Doing what I enjoy is important to a healthy life.

Disadvantages: I can never get an early training. Inclination becomes evident later in life. I may not choose correctly.

Drona and Vishwamithra are examples where Jathi was dominant.

Shastra warns us; let not money be a basis for profession. If this happens arts and crafts may die.

This is the Varna Vyavastha per Vedas and as per God.

Sri Krishna says even though I have created the four-fold class of humanity; still I am active all the time. However, these actions do not bind me.  So, Arjuna do not escape your Karma. You can, even performing your Karmas, enjoy peace. Even though I do all activity they don’t disturb me. I am not affected.

Shloka # 14:

न मां कर्माणि लिम्पन्ति न मे कर्मफले स्पृहा।
इति मां योऽभिजानाति कर्मभिर्न स बध्यते।।4.14।।

Works do not taint me; I desire not their fruits. Whoso knows Me to be such, is not bound by works.

Sri Krishna says Karma and its phalam cannot disturb me. I am not concerned about the results of action. Lord will not do any injustice to me.

As per Vedas planning for result is different from worrying about the result. Planning makes me efficient in the present, while worrying about result will make me deficient in present.

How to know if I am planning or worrying?  Planning is a deliberate action. Worrying is not deliberate rather it is only a mechanical reaction. We cannot deliberately worry. It just happens.

Once planned and implemented, don’t worry. I am not concerned about outcome of Mahabharata war. I have knowledge, which is the best remedy for all problems. My knowledge is my weapon. It is my Sudarshana chakra. You can also get this Chakra.

“ So, this is freedom in spite of responsibility. This is the greatest secret. Such a Gyani is not bound by Karma.

Shloka # 15:

एवं ज्ञात्वा कृतं कर्म पूर्वैरपि मुमुक्षुभिः।
कुरु कर्मैव तस्मात्त्वं पूर्वैः पूर्वतरं कृतम्।।4.15।।

Knowing thus was work done by ancient seekers after liberation. Therefore you too do only work, as was done by the ancients in bygone days.

Sri Krishna says your forefathers knew this secret knowledge. They did not run away from responsibility. They had inner peace despite external activity. Therefore Arjuna staying in Grihastashrama perform your Jathi based Karma just like your forefathers did.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Shloka # 12:

काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवताः।
क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा।।4.12।।

People in the world offer scarifices to gods, desiring the success of their works. For, in this human world, quick is the success born of works.

Continuing his teachings of Gita, Swami Paramarthananda said, up to shloka # 12 Sri Krishna talked about Avatara’s. He began the chapter by glorifying Vedas. Once Sri Krishna stopped, Arjuna raised a doubt. Answering him Sri Krishna explained how an Avatara happens. And thereafter Krishna said that even by this avathara gyanam one can get

Liberation although most of the people are not interested in Ishvara gyanam, they are only interested in karmas which will produce material result; He said most people are not interested in moksha; rather most are interested in karma. To obtain moksha is not Bhagawan’s decision, rather it is our decision to make. Most people are interested in material goals only. With this Avatara rahasyam is over.

Now Sri Krishna is entering Gyana-Karma-Sanyasa teaching. Arjuna is not interested in doing his duty as a Kshatriya on the battlefield. Rather, he wants to take sanyasa. Arjuna is afraid of Karma. Sri Krishna wants to take the fear of Karma from Arjuna. As long as a human is alive one has to perform Karma. We cannot live even a moment without action. The types of actions we perform may be different. You will always have one job or another. Sri Krishna says you cannot escape Karma. Only death can cease karma. Even the smallest of atoms is active as is the huge Sun. Both at micro and macrocosmic level there is constant action and it is inevitable. Now with Karma there are always side effects. Karma means responsibility, tension, and the end result may not be always the way we desired. Because of this there is also mental disturbance. Sri Krishna says we must accept Karma as a part of life but we also need to find solutions for the side effects. This is much like some of the drugs we take. I should remain in action without being disturbed. To accomplish this one method is adopting Karma Yoga. Here Sri Krishna also talks of Gyanam as another solution. With Gyanam one is not affected by action or its results. Citing example of the ooze coming out of a Jackfruit, Swamiji says this white ooze sticks to your hands. People apply oil in their hands so that the ooze does not stick. So also Gyanam is the oil that prevents Karma from sticking to us. And this is the topic of this chapter as well.

Sri Krishna says look at me and my life. I have gone through a lot including failures. In spite of my activities I remain untouched by action or results of my karma.

Sri Krishna as creator also had a lot of duties. He was a creator, sustainer and destroyer. I also designed a way of life for human beings to lead and it is in a manual called the Vedas. It teaches a life of harmony for both the individual as well as society. Such a life style is the Varna Ashrama Plan. It has Varna, the four fold division of society. This division allows social harmony and growth in individual, community, nation and cosmos.

Ashrama, describes the four stages of life of an individual that is: Brahmacharya, Grihastashrama, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa ashrama.

In this shloka Sri Krishna talks of Varna Ashrama.

Swamiji described Ashrama as follows:

Brahmacharya: This is the life of a student. In this stage he learns about the human goals. One goal is a material goal of how to earn a living. The second goal is a spiritual goal for inner growth. One goal is outward facing while other is inward facing. A balance has to be stuck between outer and inner growth.

Grihastashrama: Life as a householder. This is the implementation stage of the learning from Brahmacharya. It is a Karma Pradhana life. Activities are extrovert in nature. Hinduism also supports material growth and is not just a religion of escapism, as some would have us believe. All desires are fulfilled in a legitimate manner. Background should be spiritual. His desires will gradually be refined. It is a stage full of activity. Pancha Maha Yagna is usually practiced in this stage to purify the mind. Pancha Maha Yagna was detailed in Chapter 3.

3) Vanaprashta: is a stage of turning the mind inward. This is an Upasana Pradhana Ashrama. Inside or outside his house he will turn inwards.

4) Sanyasa Ashrama: He takes Sanyasa either in the house or leaving the house. Either way he will dissociate mentally. He will handover everybody’s responsibility to Ishwara. He is in a more detached state of mind. This is a Gyana Pradhana stage.

Through these four ashramas the individual has catered to Self and Society. This is like a tree that gives fruits for the benefit of others but also produces seeds to ensure its own propagation.

This is known as ashrama vyavastha.

Shloka # 13:

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्।।4.13।।

The fourfold class-system according to the divisions of Prakrti’s constituents and works, has been ordained by Me. Though I am its author, know Me to be the immutable non-agent.

Varna Vyavastha:

Broadly there are four varnas. They are Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. While these are the four divisions there are three perspectives on how they are based.

The first basis is Character or Guna or Svabhava. Thus there is Guna Brahmana, Kshatriya etc.

Second is based upon profession or Karma. Thus we have Karma Brahmana, Karma Kshatriya etc.

The third is based upon birth or Janma or Jathi. Thus we have Jathi Brahmana, Jathi Kshatriya etc. Swamiji clarified that Jathi is not the same as caste.

Guna Perspective:

What character makes what?

Guna Brahmana is one in whom Satva dominates, or it is Satva Pradhana. Rajas and then Tamas follow it. Satva pradhana represents tranquility and intellectual efficiency. It has been detailed in chapter # 14 of the Gita.  Rajo Guna is a state of hyper activity.  Tamo guna is a state without Satva or Rajas or during sleep. It suppresses inner and outer activity.

Swamiji classified them as follows:

SRT: Thus in Guna Brahmana it is Satva (S), followed by Rajas (R) and then Tamas (T).

RST: In Guna Kshatriya it is RST. Here one is active, but selflessly.

RTS: Rajo Guna dominant backed by Tamo Guna. He is also active but is very selfish. This is Guna Vaishya.

TRS: Tamo Guna pradhana. Most of his time is spent in sleeping. Unskilled, mechanical person. This is Guna Shudra.

Profession or Karma perspective:

1. Karma Brahmana: All intellectual work. Teaching, research, spiritual and non spiritual etc.
2. Karma Kshatriya: Maintenance of law and order, defense etc.
3. Karma Vaishya: Producing wealth, Industry, Trade and business.
4. Karma Shudra: All activities that help all three above. Unskilled work.

Thus karma Brahmana need not be a Guna Brahmana. A Karma Brahmana selling Gita books may be more a Karma Vaishya.

Jathi Perspective ( by birth):

• Jathi Brahmana. He can also become a Karma Kshatriya.
• Jathi Kshatriya
• Jathi Vaishya
• Jathi Shudra

Thus there are many permutations and combinations of these Varnas.

From Jathi (birth) perspective all four Varnas are considered equal. Thus, birth does not provide any superiority. All jathi’s should be equally respected.

From Karma Perspective as well all professions are equally important. None is superior. Purushasuktham shows the four parts of the body of God as representing the four Varnas.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 10

वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः ।
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ।।4.10।।

वीतरागभयक्रोधाः freed from attachment, fear and anger  मन्मयाः absorbed in Me  माम् Me  उपाश्रिताः taking refuge in  बहवः many  ज्ञानतपसा by the fire of knowledge  पूताः purified  मद्भावम् My Being  आगताः have attained.

Freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of knowledge, many have attained to My Being.

In Verse 10, Krishna talks about the spiritual disciplines followed by the people of the past. He talks about the various stages that one goes through.

मन्मयाः Obsessed with the thought of Me (God). Keeping Godhood as the primary goal of life. It is an obsession born out of intense yearning; the obsession is Godhood – the primary goal. From the Vedantic angle, Godhood is nothing but our own higher, superior or healthy nature. Vedanta presents God as an external goal but ultimately Godhood is my own secure, healthy, full, contended self symbolized as God. So, मन्मयाः that they are tired of their own mental sickness in the form of raga, dvesha, kama, krodha, that they want to convert that sick mind into a mind of compassion and a mind of love and security. This inner conversion is called attainment of Godhood.

This is not an easy task. No doubt your effort is a must, but it should also be backed by Ishvara anugraha. This is indicated in the words माम् उपाश्रिताः taking refuge in Me or surrendering unto Me. With determination, there is appropriate use of freewill. मन्मयाः corresponds to our freewill and माम् उपाश्रिताः corresponds to Ishvara anugraha.

Once these two are there, you are ready for the journey but what is the direction?  वीत राग भय क्रोधाः you should learn to handle these inborn weaknesses that are in the form of raga, bhayam and krodha.

According to Vedanta, the world is neither a source of joy nor a source of sorrow. I, myself, am the source of joy and sorrow. An intelligent person will understand that the problem is within them and this leads to having raga and dvesha being managed. वीतः one who handles (raga and dvesha); not a slave of likes and dislikes. The first direction is to manage raga-dvesha. Convert all desires into non-binding desires. Consequent to this is भयक्रोधाः wherever there is attachment, there is fear. KrodhaH is the result of obstructed desires. The anger is directed at the person who has thwarted the desire. Anger is also directly proportional to the attachment. Raga-dvesha-krodha-bhayam all go together. The first stage in spirituality is learning to handle them. This can be handled by the wisdom of knowing that I am a contributor not a controller of future events.

If this understanding is not there, the next method is devotion or surrendering to the Lord. Oh Lord, the future is not in my control. At least give me sufficient strength to face the inevitable. As Krishna has said in Chapter 2, Verse 27, 2^nd line: An intelligent person is prepared for the inevitable or choicelessness. Take the help of the Lord.

Either rely on yourself through wisdom or rely on God through surrender to handle intense attachment/hatred/fear/anger. The one who has mastered this is called वीतरागभयक्रोधाः |

Once the mind is purified and is no longer a slave of these four, it is only a pure mind. It is not yet a wise mind. Karma yoga can only give you purity but not wisdom. So, having handled the raga-dvesha of the mind, you have to separately work for knowledge. Krishna calls this ज्ञानतपस् because this is a type of austerity. To come regularly to Gita class, to remember, study and progress, etc. requires austerity.

By the practice of ज्ञानतपस् , पूताः got completely purified. Handling the raga-dvesha is only partial purification. Handling the kama-krodha is also only partial purification. You have to remove the basic impurity of self-ignorance for complete purification. Krishna says that by the practice of jnaana yoga, they rid themselves of the final layer of impurity. Grosser method is used to remove the grosser impurity and subtler method for removing the subtler impurity and the subtlest method to remove the subtlest impurity. It has to follow the stages in order.

The grossest impurity is raga-dvesha, the first layer called malam.

The subtler impurity is extrovertedness, the second layer called vikshepa.

The finest impurity is ajnaanam, the third layer called aavaranam

Malam is likes and dislikes.

Vikshepa is the wandering mind which is subtler.

Self-ignorance is the subtlest one.

 We have to use three processes in the appropriate order to remove the three different types of impurities.

Karma yoga removes malam.

Upaasanam removes vikshepa.

Jnaana yoga removes aavaranam.

 Therefore, बहवः ज्ञानतपसा पूताः many people have totally purified themselves by finally practicing the jnaana yoga. By removing all the impurities, they found मद्भावम् आगताः they discovered that “I minus impurities” is God. God plus impurity is I, the jeevaatma. Jeevaatma minus impurity is Paramaatma. Paramaatma plus impurity is jeevaatma.

 So, Arjuna, you also have to go through these four stages:

Spiritual goal must become top priority. The material goals need not be eliminated but they should be remembered as subservient to spiritual goals. This is setting direction in life.

Resorting or taking the help of the Lord in this grand journey because you can never travel this individually. Surrender to the Lord.

Purification of the mind by reducing the impact of raga-dvesha-bhaya-krodha.

Study the scriptures and gain self-knowledge.

 Arjuna, many have done this and you can too.

 श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 11

ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम् ।
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः ।।4.11।।

ये who यथा in whatever way माम् Me प्रपद्यन्ते approach तान् them तथा so एव even भजामि reward अहम् I मम My वर्त्म path अनुवर्तन्ते follow मनुष्याः men पार्थ O Partha सर्वशः in all ways.

In whatever way people surrender unto me, I reciprocate with them accordingly. Everyone follows my path, knowingly or unknowingly, O son of Pritha.

 Krishna gives the suggestion that spiritual goal must be the primary goal but He says that He doesn’t want to impose this goal upon you. Not everyone may be interested in spirituality or in attaining moksha. Krishna says “I suggest and recommend to you that moksha is a worthwhile goal”. Krishna’s philosophy is “As a person seeks, so I will bless him”.

 ये यथा माम् प्रपद्यन्ते let any seeker approach Me with any desire. Let a person seek anything and I will help him. The only condition is for the desires to be legitimate and the means of accomplishing them to also be legitimate. Enjoy life following the rule of dharma. In fact, enjoyment is part of life and then to finally grow out of it. Otherwise it can lead to suppression.

 तान् तथा एव भजामि अहम् I will approach them only with the object they desire. As Vivekananda has said, to a hungry person, the Lord should approach with food. Let a poor person seek money. And for a moksha seeker, Bhagavan will give moksha.

 Why do I bless them with all these goals?

Because मम वर्त्म अनुवर्तन्ते all my devotees approach me through appropriate effort (like puja, karma, japa, upasana).

मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः they have come in the proper method.

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 12

काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवताः ।

क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा ।।4.12।।

काङ्क्षन्तः those who long for कर्मणाम् of actions सिद्धिम् success यजन्ते sacrifice इह in this world देवताः gods क्षिप्रम् quickly हि because मानुषे in the human लोके (in the) world सिद्धिः success भवति is attained कर्मजा born of action.

In this world, those desiring success in material activities worship the celestial gods, since material rewards manifest quickly.

Krishna says I have presented two paths in the Vedic scriptures.

The first path is karma maarga – a life of activity; a life of effort where you go through certain processes. The second path of jnaana maarga is presented in the final part of the Veda (called Veda-anta).

Krishna presents both paths which produce the end. The difference in the result is that all the results of karma are finite in nature and it’s full of defects.

Accomplishment is a pain, preservation is a greater pain, and the final loss is the greatest pain. Any amount of accomplishment will not give satisfaction; they will become more dependent on the external factors. These are all defects of karmaphalam.

Krishna says in this sloka, कर्मणाम् सिद्धिम् काङ्क्षन्तः many people are interested only in karma phalam, the finite results or dharmaarthakaamaa. Both the finite and infinite are available for human beings but the intelligent ones choose the infinite whereas the unintelligent or mandaH chooses the finite. Krishna says मन्दः कर्मणाम् सिद्धिम् काङ्क्षन्तः they seek finite results. And once you choose karma phalam, the Vedic rituals are elaborate. It specifies that you should go to that temple, you should offer this item and on certain days; numerous conditions and if you fulfill all these conditions, you may get the result (it’s not definite).

देवताः यजन्ते they go after varieties of Deities. Why?

कर्मजा सिद्धिः क्षिप्रम् भवति because the karma phalam is quicker compared to jnaana marga. In jnaana marga, jnaana phalam is quicker – the result of knowledge is very quick (getting knowledge is very easy) but preparation for knowledge is a tough job. Like a wedding which takes place in one day but the preparation for it starts months ahead. Similarly, jnaanam only requires one statement. “I am what I am seeking”. Drop seeking and own up your true nature. This alone is Vedanta. But for this statement to work, (Swamiji recites Chapter 6, Verse 45, 2^nd line:

प्रयत्नाद्यतमानस्तु योगी संशुद्धकिल्बिष: |

अनेकजन्मसंसिद्धस्ततो याति परां गतिम् || 45||

you have to start from many janmas before.

 Krishna says कर्मजा सिद्धिः क्षिप्रम् भवति people are not interested in purification which takes a lot of time. They are interested only in the limited fruits of action.

 श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 13

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ।।4.13।।

चातुर्वर्ण्यम् the fourfold caste मया be Me सृष्टम् has been created गुणकर्मविभागशः according to the differentiation of Guna and Karma तस्य thereof कर्तारम् the author अपि also माम् Me विद्धि know अकर्तारम् nondoer अव्ययम् immutable.

The four categories of occupations were created by me according to people’s qualities and activities. Although I am the creator of this system, know me to be the non-doer and eternal.

Krishna says by following the prescribed lifestyle, a person can accomplish both material and spiritual end. Normally, spiritual and material ends are diagonally opposite but Bhagavan says the He has designed a unique lifestyle by which a person can accomplish both the spiritual end and material ends. This should be such a lifestyle that a person must be able to fulfill materialistic desires. Vedic lifestyle encourages one to fulfill their desires. While fulfilling these desires, it presents certain disciplines to be followed. If you fulfill your materialistic desires following the Vedic discipline, the beauty is that you gradually grow out of these materialistic desires without suppression. And in that place, you discover the spiritual desire as the most natural one. And you discover this desire to such an extent that the pursuit of spiritual desire will not be considered as a denial of materialistic desires. So, when you come to spirituality, you will not miss anything in life. This gradual conversion must take place. Such a life design is the Vedic life design called varnaashrama dharma.

In the beginning of Chapter 4, Lord Krishna talked about the glory of the Gita as vedasaarah and that He alone taught the Vedic wisdom in the beginning of creation and is teaching the same Vedic wisdom now, in the name of Gita.

Upon hearing this, Arjuna has a doubt due to the teacher being the same with a great gap in time. Lord Krishna introduces the topic of avatara to answer this question. He says “I am the original Vishnu who gave out the Vedic wisdom then, and that Vishnu is now in the form of Bhagavan Krishna”. Not only is the Lord teaching now but he says I am aware of the fact that I am Bhagavan. I alone have taken all the janmas as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, etc. I have now taken Krishna shariram. I know all my previous avataras, therefore I am Bhagavan Vishnu’s avatara.

Both the avatara and the jeeva-janma take a body. However, there are fundamental differences between the two in the Cause, Nature and Purpose.

The Cause: Jnaanam is the cause of Ishvara avatara. Ajnaanam is the cause of jeeva-janma.

The Nature: The Lord’s shariram is directly born out of maya. Jeeva’s body is not directly born out of maya but through the intermediary process of the five elements.

The Purpose: Jeeva arrives to exhaust his prarabhda punya-paapa. Ishvara arrives to uplift the world.

Lord Krishna points out these three differences. The third difference of purpose is in Verse 7.

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता

Chapter 4 Sloka 7

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदाऽऽत्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ।।4.7।।

यदा यदा whenever  हि surely  धर्मस्य of righteousness  ग्लानिः decline  भवति is  भारत O Bharata  अभ्युत्थानम् rise  अधर्मस्य of unrighteousness  तदा then  आत्मानम् Myself  सृजामि manifest  अहम् I.

Whenever there is decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिः भवति whenever there is a decline in dharma. Dharma, as seen in Chapter 3, means cosmic harmony or rhythm. If you take the whole universe as a body, the cosmic orderliness is called cosmic health. At the cosmic level, if there is harmony, it is called dharma. And this harmony alone protects the universe. Dharma alone is the health of the world. It alone sustains the world. Once the orderliness is disturbed, the whole cosmos will be destroyed and we will not be able to survive. And if this inbuilt system doesn’t work, Bhagavan will have to interfere.

Krishna says here, as a sthiti karta of the universe, I will come. Not very often but यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिः whenever there is a declension of dharma. And naturally, अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य when the adharma, corruption increases. Then, अहम् आत्मानम् सृजामि I myself will consciously, deliberately, voluntarily, take the body.

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता

Chapter 4 Sloka 8

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय संभवामि युगे युगे ।।4.8।।

परित्राणाय for the protection  साधूनाम् of the good  विनाशाय for the destruction  च and  दुष्कृताम् of the wicked  धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय for the establishment of righteousness  संभवामि (I) am born  युगे युगे in every age.

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.

How will the Lord protect dharma and destroy adharma? Krishna says that dharma is protected by protecting the people who follow dharma. Therefore, Krishna says, साधूनाम् परित्राणाय – I take an avatara to protect the dhaarmic people. How is adharma destroyed? Only by destroying the people that are the cause of adharma.

We should note that the adhaarmic people can be destroyed in two ways.

One method is by converting them from adharma to dharma by sama, dana, bheda. When you convert a person from adharma to dharma without doing himsa, you have destroyed the adharmic person. The second is by destroying the adharmic person itself. Bhagavan tries this first, giving them sufficient opportunity to change. Krishna goes as a messenger to Duryodhana and suggests to compromise with the Pandavas but he refuses. This means that sama, dana and bheda have failed. Therefore, Krishna said तस्माद्युध्यस्व भारत (from Chapter 2, Verse 18). Arjuna, destroy them!

Krishna says, दुष्कृताम् विनाशाय and धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय |

Bhagavan established dharma in a different way. A kshatriya and a brahmana can establish dharma, each in their own way. A kshatriya promotes the dhaarmic people and punishes the adhaarmic people. A brahmana sustains dharma by teaching which is the better form of promoting dharma. Punishment is only temporary and will not promote dharma permanently. The ultimate promotion of dharma is for a person to have value for dharma. To know the long term effects of violating dharma requires a sensitive mind. Sensitive mind is developed only by teaching not by advising. A kshatriya protects dharma by protecting the dharmic people and punishing the adhaarmic people. A brahmana protects dharma by teaching. Bhagavan’s avatara has done both. Krishna protected dhaarmic people like Dharmaputra and destroyed adhaarmic people like Duryodhana. This was Krishna’s kshatriya job. Then he taught Gita, or taught dharma. This is why he said धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय | This is the reason that among the 10 avataras, Rama avatara and Krishna avatara are considered the most important ones. Teaching dharma is involved only in these two avataras. Rama taught by living dharma and Krishna, by teaching dharma. Ramayana is Rama ayanam means the way of life led by Rama.

संभवामि I am born or take avatara. युगे युगे every yuga or every time it is required.

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता

Chapter 4 Sloka 9

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ।
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन ।।4.9।।

जन्म birth  कर्म action  च and  मे My  दिव्यम् divine  एवम् thus  यः who  वेत्ति knows  तत्त्वतः in true light  त्यक्त्वा having abandoned  देहम् the body  पुनः again  जन्म birth  नः not  एति gets  माम् to Me  एति comes  सः he  अर्जुन O Arjuna.

He who thus know, in their true light, My divine birth and action, having abandoned the body, is not born again, he comes to Me, O Arjuna.

In this verse, Krishna tells, knowing the nature of God also leads to liberation.

However, Krishna had mentioned that atmajnaanam is the means of liberation in Chapter 2, Verse 55. Which actually leads to liberation? Are there two paths? Is there a choice?

The scriptures have mentioned that there is only one means of liberation. Therefore, it must be that self-realization and God-realization are identical. Swamiji gives an example of a wave. When a wave knows its true nature, the realization is that it is water. The ocean’s true nature is also water.

Therefore, whether you talk about the true nature of the wave or the true nature of the ocean, the true nature is one alone; there is only one central truth. Similarly, whether you realize your true nature which is the self or whether you realize the true nature of God, you arrive at one “sat chit Ananda svaroopa”.

If a person says, I have realized the self but not God or vice versa; it means he knows neither God nor the self.

Krishna says in this verse, यः वेत्ति suppose a person knows or realizes, मे जन्म or understands the true nature of my avatara. The true nature is that Krishna shariram is not the real Krishna because Krishna shariram is subject to arrival and departure.

Real Krishna is, as we saw in Verse 6:

अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् |

प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया || 6||

Real Krishna is अजः (birth less), अव्ययात्मा (imperishable) real Krishna is free from birth and death; whereas Krishna shariram is subject to arrival and departure.

What is the real Krishna? Not the shariram but the Krishna Paramaatma behind the body. The one who knows this fact, and दिव्यम् कर्म the one who knows Bhagavan’s sports (the divine sport is परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् from Chapter 4, Verse 8); the one who really understands the Lord, तत्त्वतः means in His true nature….. त्यक्त्वा देहम् पुनः जन्म नः एति that person does not take a body again after death; he will attain liberation.  So, the knowledge of the real Krishna will lead to liberation. What is liberation? सः माम् एति he will become one with Me. After death, he will have ब्रह्मनिर्वाणं or ईश्वर ऐक्यम् |

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता

Chapter 4 Sloka 10

वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः ।
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ।।4.10।।

वीतरागभयक्रोधाः freed from attachment  fear and anger  मन्मयाः absorbed in Me  माम् Me  उपाश्रिताः taking refuge in  बहवः many  ज्ञानतपसा by the fire of knowledge  पूताः purified  मद्भावम् My Being  आगताः have attained.

Freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of knowledge, many have attained to My Being.

Realization of God has two stages.

First it is the realization of the Lord with a form.

The next is the realization of the Lord without a form.

This topic will be elaborated from Chapter 7 onwards.

The realization of the Lord with a form is in two stages.

One is appreciating the Lord with one form, as Rama or as Krishna or as Devi. We should all start with this for emotional health. Talk to God privately, as your confidante. The more you build this relationship, the more the Lord will become real. Then expand it further into realizing Bhagavan as One with the whole universe as his form. The final stage is the formless Ishvara. Every one has to go through these three stages, as they mature in their understanding.

The stages a seeker goes through is described in this sloka.

वीतरागभयक्रोधाः the first stage is to have realization of God in form and follow karma yoga by dedicating all your duties to the Lord and by accepting all situations as Ishvara prasada. The first stage is to surrender to Ishvara and converting the life into worship. By following a karma yoga way of life, we will purify the mind. This will result in getting rid of certain unhealthy ways of thinking. The mental impurities are of raga, bhaya and krodha. Raga is attachment. The attachment will gradually be shifted from the risky and fluid world to the permanently and secure God. The second stage is going from world dependence to God dependence. The raga or attachment to the world has shifted to attachment to Bhagavan. Then Bhagavan dependence will be converted into self-dependence. From world dependence to God dependence to self-dependence – where you discover the Bhagavan as the very self. When raga comes down, bhayam also comes down because fear is directly proportional to the attachment. Then krodha also will come down.

In Chapter 2, Krishna gave a gist of Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga.

In Chapter 3, Karma Yoga was elaborated.

In Chapters 4 and 5, Jnana Yoga is elaborated.

The 4^th Chapter is the “jnana yoga pradhana”. There is a small diversion in the first 8 verses before diving into jnaana yoga. In the first three verses, Lord Krishna glorifies this knowledge consisting of Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga. The very essence of karma and jnana has already been taught in Veda at the beginning of the creation and this was received by Surya Bhagavan. This same wisdom is revived again in the name Gita. Veda was received by Surya Bhagavan and Gita is received by Arjuna. Therefore, it is an ancient and time-tested wisdom making it a reliable and a valid one.

Arjuna has a doubt about the timeline between creation and his current time. The times are different by few millennia, students are different yet the teacher is the same!

Krishna says in Chapter 4, Sloka 1:

इमम् विवस्वते योगम् प्रोक्तवान् अहम् अव्ययम् | (अहम् प्रोक्तवान्  I taught)

And now also, Chapter 4, Sloka 3:

सः एव अयम् मया ते अद्य योगः प्रोक्तः पुरातनः | (मया प्रोक्तः taught by Me).

Arjuna asks “Your birth is recent but your initial student’s birth was too long ago. How can a recent person teach an ancient student?”

Krishna answers Arjuna from Verse 5 though Verse 8.

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 5

श्री भगवानुवाच
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन ।
तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप ।।4.5।।

बहूनि may मे My व्यतीतानि have passed away जन्मानि births तव thy च and अर्जुन O Arjuna तानि them अहम् I वद know सर्वाणि all न not

त्वम् thou वेत्थ knowest परन्तप O Parantapa.

The Blessed Lord said Many births of Mine have passed as well as of thine, O Arjuna; I know them all but thou knowest not, O Parantapa (scorcher of foes).

Lord Krishna introduces the topic of avatara in his answer to Arjuna. The Lord’s incarnation is different from a human birth. Human birth is called janma but when the Lord appears in creation, it is called avatara. Krishna wants to point the differences between janma and avatara.

Swamiji elaborates on the topic of birth and incarnation before explaining Verse 5.

The differences between manushya janma and Ishvara avatara are:

Cause, Nature and Purpose

FIRST: the cause; at the cause level there is “kaaraNa bheda”.

In the case of the birth of a jeeva, it is caused by ignorance of the jeeva.

Because of ignorance, the jeeva has the problem of ahankaara (ego).

Because of ego, there is the problem of karma.

Because of karma, there is the problem of punyam and paapam.

Because of punyam and paapam, there is the janma.

The birth of a jeeva is due to ignorance, so we can call this as a “fall of a jeeva”.

In the case of Ishvara, His birth takes place never because of. It is because of His omniscience. Because of the knowledge alone, Bhagavan chooses to appear on Earth. This is knowledge and compassion based. Avatara means coming down out of compassion. There is a difference between falling into a well (helpless phenomenon) and going down the well. kaaraNa bheda is the first difference.

SECOND: the nature; svaroopam is different; “svaroopa bheda”.

Since jeeva-janma is because of ignorance, jeeva continues to be a samsaari. He is a bound person, born with sorrow. He is helpless, not a master of himself. Janma is samsaaraH.

Since Ishvara avatara is backed by knowledge, it is nitya mukta svaroopa or asamsaari.

Jeeva is samsaari while Avatara is asamsaari.

Another technical difference that Krishna points out is that all the bodies are made up of matter whether it is manushya shariram or avatara shariram. But the scriptures say that there is a difference between the two sharirams. The jeeva shariram is not directly born out of prakrti or maya. Jeeva shariram is indirectly born out of maya. Maya or prakriti gets converted into five elements called pancha bhutani and these five elements get converted into paancha bhoutika shariram. Thus maya does not directly produce the body (jeeva shariram) but it produces through the five elements alone. Jeeva shariram is called paancha bhoutika shariram. From maya to bhutaas to the physical body.

In the case of Ishvara avatara, the maya does not go through the intermediary stage of five elements. Maya directly gets converted into Ishvara avatara shariram. Avatara shariram is called mayika shariram. From maya to the physical body.

So the second difference is in the nature of jeeva shariram and avatara shariram.

Jeeva shariram is bound or samsaari shariram; paancha bhoutika shariram.

Avatara shariram is free or asamsaari shariram; mayika shariram.

This is the svaroopa bheda.

THIRD: the purpose; “karya” or “udheshya bheda”.

When a jeeva is born, it is purely to exhaust the punyam and paapam, which have been acquired in the past, called prarabdha.  The prarabdha has to be exhausted. Prarabdha punyam is exhausted through sukham and prarabdha paapam is exhausted through dukham. To experience pleasure and pain, we require the body medium. It is the prarabdha that determines the type of the body for exhausting punya-paapa. The very design of the body is for the purpose of punya-paapa exhaustion. The purpose of jeeva-janma is for the depletion of punyam and paapam.

What is the purpose of an avatara? Avatara is not ignorant, not a samsaari, and does not suffer from the problem of ego. Since there is no ego, there is no question of punyam or paapam. Therefore, Ishvara does not need to take an avatara to exhaust punya-paapa.

Krishna tells an avatara’s purpose in Chapter 4, Verse 8:

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् |

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे || 8||

To protect the righteous, to annihilate the wicked, and to reestablish the principles of dharma I appear on this earth, age after age.

Ishvara Avatara’s purpose is for the protection of dharma and destruction of adharma by protecting the dhaarmic people and destroying the adhaarmic people. This is why the very nature of avatara shariram is designed for protecting the people and establishing dharma. The design is determined by the type of protection that is required. Before every avatara comes, there is a portion in the Puranas, where all the noble people pray to the Lord to save them from some rakshasa (Hiranyakashipu, Ravana, etc). Rama Avatara’s purpose was destruction of Ravana. The design of the body depends upon the situation.

Ravana’s peculiar boon is that he cannot be killed by anyone or anything, except he didn’t include humans, out of over-confidence. So, if Ravana had to be destroyed, Bhagavan’s avatara had to be human. Hence the design of the body is determined by the purpose of the avatara. When the atrocities were done by Hiranyakashipu, the design for the avatara had to fit the loop holes of his boon. He could not be killed by humans nor animals nor any weapons; and not during the day nor night. The avatara was Narasimha with sharp nails.

In summary: the difference between janma and avatara:

Cause: kaaraNa bheda – ajnaanam vs jnaanam

Nature: svaroopa bheda – samsaari vs asamsaari

Purpose: udheshya bheda – depletion of punya-paapa vs protection of dharma

Krishna tells in this sloka that since avatara is not restricted by ignorance, the avataras know the past, present and future. Krishna says that He knows all his previous incarnations. However, in the case of jeeva-janma, since ignorance limits the jeeva, the jeeva cannot know the past janmas.

How do you know if one is avatara or janma? We really don’t have a method of knowing. We accept one as avatara wherever there is scriptural support ie. Rama is an avatara as written in the scriptures. If it is not mentioned in the scriptures, we cannot prove is one is an avatara or janma. It then becomes our personal belief.

If you consider people with extraordinary powers to be an avatara; then rakshasas will also fall under this. Having extraordinary powers is not proof that this person is an avatara.

Limitations does not disprove avatara. Certain avataras showed limitations. For example, Rama, who is accepted as an avatara, had several natural limitations. It is one’s personal belief to accept someone as an avatara even with limitations and not accept someone with extraordinary powers as an avatara.

One consolation is that we do not need to know if one is an avatara or not for our spiritual growth. We need purity of mind! To attain purity of mind, worshipping any form of God is good enough.

The next thing required for spiritual growth is knowledge. This requires a Guru; who need not be an avatara. Even if an avatara has to bless, the blessing can be only by becoming a Guru. Krishna can never give moksha to Arjuna by any method other than by being his Guru.

Swamiji recites from Dhyana Slokas:

वसुदेव-सुतं देवं कंस-चाणूर-मर्दनम् |

देवकी-परमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ||

And

प्रपन्न पारिजाताय तोत्र वेत्रै कपाणये |

ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृत दुहे नम: ||

Therefore, for चित्त शुद्धि we don’t require an avatara. Nor for knowledge. There may or may not be an avatara right now. I may be willing to accept someone as an avatara. The important aspect is to purify, know and be free.

We all uniformly accept Krishna as an avatara. Krishna says, “Arjuna, I am an avatara, different from you. My cause of birth is knowledge, my nature is moksha, my purpose is परित्राणाय साधूनां (Chapter 4, Verse 8). This is the topic of avatara given in this portion.

With this background, let’s look at Verse 5.

Krishna says, Hey Arjuna, बहूनि जन्मानि व्यतीतानि | Many janmas have gone by तव for you. मे I have also taken many sharirams. The number of sharirams does not prove superiority. So what is the difference between you and me? अहम् तानि सर्वाणि वेद | I continue to be a free person; a सर्वज्ञः therefore I know all the past sharirams. What about you? त्वम् न वेत्थ | You do not know your past sharirams. परन्तप O Parantapa (Arjuna).

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 6

अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् ।
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय संभवाम्यात्ममायया ।।4.6।।
अजः unborn  अपि also  सन् being  अव्ययात्मा of imperishable nature  भूतानाम् of beings  ईश्वरः the Lord  अपि also  सन् being  प्रकृतिम् Nature  स्वाम् My own  अधिष्ठाय governing  संभवामि come into being  आत्ममायया by My own Maya.

Though I am unborn, of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, governing My own Nature, I am born by My own Maya.

Krishna talks about the nature of the avatara.

अहं अजः | अहं अव्ययात्मा | अहं भूतानाम् ईश्वरः |

I know that I am birth less Brahman; I know my nature. I know I am birthless reality and this shariram is a simple वेष (assumed appearance) I have put on for a certain purpose. I know I am अजः meaning न जायते इति अजः (no birth). अव्ययात्मा I am of changeless nature, not subject to decay and death; जरा मरण वर्जितः (devoid of old age and death).

अजः means जन्म वर्जितः and अव्ययात्मा means जरा मरण वर्जितः | Not only am I free from birth and death, भूतानाम् ईश्वरः | I am the master of all living beings. I am not a limited entity but I am स्वतन्त्रः – I am the master. I have not helplessly come down to this world, I have chosen to come.

How do I manage to come down? प्रकृतिम् स्वाम् अधिष्ठाय – by keeping the prakriti, the matter, the material body under my control I am born. I am surrounded by matter; just as the jeeva also is surrounded by matter. The difference, however, is that I am the master of the matter whereas the jeeva is the slave of the matter (or shariram). Both the avatara (Bhagavan) and the jeeva are surrounded by the body-mind complex (प्रकृति) but Bhagavan is in control of the body-mind complex whereas the jeeva is controlled by the body-mind complex.

अहं संभवामि I take a body. How? आत्ममायया with the help of maya tattvam; by producing मायिक शरीरम् | This means that I don’t require the five elements. Instead from maya I can directly convert into the shariram. This is why Bhagavan does not require the regular process of creation. Even गर्भवास in case of Rama avatara is not the regular process. This is why it is said that the Lord entered into the garbha. In the case of Narasimha avatara, etc., there is no question of a father or mother. From where did the body come? They appear in full-fledged form. How is this possible? It is because of direct conversion of maya, otherwise called प्रकृति | Therefore, Krishna says आत्ममायया संभवामि | And when do I take an avatara? See Sloka 7.

श्रीमदभगवद्गीता Chapter 4 Sloka 7

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदाऽऽत्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ।।4.7।।

यदा यदा whenever हि surely धर्मस्य of righteousness  ग्लानिः decline  भवति is  भारत O Bharata  अभ्युत्थानम् rise  अधर्मस्य of unrighteousness  तदा then  आत्मानम् Myself  सृजामि manifest  अहम् I.

Whenever there is decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself.

The purpose of the avatara is explained in this verse.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिः | Whenever dharma declines, values decline. धर्मस्य ग्लानिः भवति | And अधर्मस्य अभ्युत्थानम् | whenever adharma increases, unrighteousness and corruption increases. तदा आत्मानम् सृजामि | Then, I create myself. I choose whenever it is required.

From a scientific viewpoint, the world can be compared to human body, a cosmic body. Like a body or an organism, it functions in harmony. Any harmonious system, will have its own intrinsic protection device. Our body has built in self protection. Suppose something enters your nostril, you sneeze automatically. The sneeze is involuntary; it is intrinsically built into the system. A natural system has natural protection. This faculty will not be operative all the time (like sneezing). यदा यदा हि whenever the system’s harmony is disturbed, the system itself produces an appropriate remedy. The universe is a cosmic system, the Bhagavan’s shariram, and whenever there is a disturbance, the world itself will find an appropriate method of defending the dharma. It will become active whenever it is required. The avatara is like the immunity system of the universe, the cosmic immunity system. Whenever it is required, an avatara will automatically happen.

In the first chapter of Geeta, Vyasa chariyar revealed the human problem of samsara in the form of raga (emotional depedents of external factors), sogaha (grief or sorrow) and moga (delusion or conflict or indiscriminate).  When Arjuna had this problem in the battlefield, he tried to solve this problem himself and was not successful and took the action of surrendering to the Lord.  Lord Krishna accepted the role of Guru

In the second chapter, Krishna took the approach that the self-knowledge is the only solution.  No other solution can solve the problem.  And therefore, Krishna tried to give the self-knowledge to Arjuna.  Geeta talks about many topics but Gaeta’s primary teaching is atma vidhya.  In this chapter, Krishna gives the entire range of sadhanas for this knowledge.  In this chapter, Krishna taught the two sadhanas:  Karma yoga and gyana yoga. Karma yoga is prescribed as a means of mental purity.  Krishna makes it clear that karma yoga can only give preparatory knowledge.  Gyana yoga involves self-inquiry through the scriptures under the guidance of a competent guru.  The second chapter is the summary of Geeta.

The third chapter is elaboration of karma yoga.  The fourth and fifth chapters are expansion of gyana yoga.

Krishna takes a small diversion initially to discuss two topics of chapter 4.  The two topics are and glorification of Geeta and avatara ragasyam. Krishna wants to emphasize that the teachings of Geeta are vedic teachings and are beginning-less.

Verse 1

The Lord said I imparted this eternal yaga to Lord Sun.  Lord Sun taught the same to Manu.  Manu taught it to Iksvaku.

I have given the same teaching in the form of Veda.  Krishna says Geeta is the new name for Veda.  I revealed this wisdom to Surya Bagawan.  This teaching can never go out of date.  It is relevant even now in the 20^th century.

Surya Bagawan taught this teaching to Manu.  Manu taught this to the King Ikshvaku.

Verse 2

Oh Arjuna!  The royal sages knew this which was thus traditionally handed down.  Due to long passage of time that yaga is lost in this world.

All the raja rishis (kings) knew this teaching.  Gradually people started losing interest in this teaching.  Therefore, Krishna is revising this teaching in the form of Geeta.

Verse 3

That very same ancient yoga in this which has been taught by Me to you now, because you are My friend and devotee.  This indeed is the highest secret.

Veda Purva teaches karma yoga and called karma kandam.  Veda Anta teahes gyana yoga and is called gyana kandam.   This is the oldest teachings.  Krishna chose Arjuna for this teaching, because Arjuna asked for it and because Arjuna is the friend of Krishna.

Self-knowledge is the greatest secret, because what we are searching for is within ourselves.  Therefore this wisdom is called uthama ragasiyam.

Verse 4

Arjuna asked:  Your birth is later.  The birth of Lord Sun is much earlier.  How am I to understand this statement of Yours that You have taught Lord Sun in the beginning of the creation?

Vedas are called sruthi because the Rishis heard internally; all other scriptures are called smirhti.

Arjuna says that I can understand that you are teaching me Geeta, but I can’t understand how you can also teaching Surya Bagawan at the time of creation, when we both are of the same age.  What is the secret of your contrary statement?  If you have taught Surya Bagawan, you can’t teach me  If you are teaching me, you can’t teach Surya Bagawan.  As an answer to this question, Krishna will discuss Avataras.

In the second chapter Lord Krishna discussed karma yoga and gyana yoga, focusing more on gyana yoga.  Lord Krishna begins second chapter with gyana yoga and concludes the second chapter with sthira pragya.  In between the two, he discusses karma yoga and asks Arjuna to do his karma, which is to fight the Mahabaratha war.  Lord Krishna glorifies gyana yoga but asks Arjuna to do karma yoga.  Arjuna finds this unacceptable.

Introduction Verses 1 to 7

Arjuna asks should I follow Gyna Yoga or Karma Yoga.  If you consider Gyana Yoga is better, then why should I fight the war?  In answering this question, we should note the following points:

1. There is no choice between karma yoga and gyna yoga. It is apples to orange comparison.
2. Qualifications for gyana yoga can be obtained only through karma yoga. Qualifications are detachment, purity, maturity.  Many of us do not have these qualifications.
3. Moksha can be obtained only through gyana yoga.

Follow karma yoga to obtain qualifications; Use the qualification to acquire gyana yoga; Use Gyana yoga to obtain moksham.  All other yogas like japam, parayanam etc. are all part of karma yoga.  There are no other yogas other than karma yoga and gyana yoga.

Arjuna’s question was wrong; both yogas should be followed.  There is a choice regarding marga or life style; one can follow sanyasa asrama or gragasthasram; but both sanhyasi and grahastha should follow karma yoga and gyana yoga.

Which is better?  Grahasthasram or sanyasa asram?  Krishna is clear that grahasthasram is better for most people.

Karma Yoga Verses 8 to 20

In these verses, Krishna elaborately discusses Karma yoga.  Karma:  Proper action; Yoga:  Proper attitude.  So proper action with proper attitude is karma yoga.

Types of actions:

1. Satvic – Promotes the spiritual progress the most; Best action; beneficiaries are more; unselfish
2. Rajesic – Mediocre; promotes some spiritual growth; Beneficiaries are less; confined only to family; selfish actions.
3. Tamasic – Does not promote spiritual growth, but results in degradation of spiritual growth; Harmful action; worst action.  I get the benefits, but others get harmed.

Perform panca maha yagya to improve spiritual progress and become satvic.  The goal is to become samtvam by accepting all results as a eeswara prasada.

Reasons to follow Karma Yoga, in four different angles:

1. Follow karma yoga as the command of God; follow out of fear of god
2. Follow karma yoga as a sense of gratitude or yagyaha
3. Follow karma yoga as a purifier of kama and soga
4. Follow karma yoga as dharma by which cosmic harmony can be maintained.

Verse 20, second line to verse 29:  Duties of a Gyani

Gyani does not require any sadhana (karma yoga, gyana yoga etc.) because he already achieved the goal of gyanam.  But as long as he is in the society, he should follow karma yoga as a model to the society.  In this verse, Lord Krishna is indirectly advising all elderly people to be role models for rest of the society.

Verses 30 to 35:  Summarizes karma yoga; verse 30 is most important;

Krishna gives five-part process of Karma Yoga:

1. Make the Spiritual goal as the primary goal; all other goals are subservient to this goal.
2. Eeswara arpana buddhi: Dedicate all your actions to god so you don’t hate any of your duty
3. Eeswara prasadha budhhi: Be prepared for any future situations because future is not under your control.  You are not the only one responsible for your success.  Accept any result as Eeswara prasadham.
4. Nirmamaha: when success comes don’t claim total credit
5. Maintain mental poise/balance

Verses 36 to 43: Obstacles of karma yoga:

Arjuna asks Lord Krishna what are the obstacles of karma yoaga.

Lord Krishna answers Kama/krodha or raga dvesha; materialistic attractions;  Artha kama is important, but dharma moksha is also important.  But when artha kama becomes more important than dharma mokhsa, that becomes an obstacle.  There are two stages handle this obstacle:

First Stage:  handle in relative measures;

1. Dhamaha – Mastery of sense organs; don’t let anything enter your mind without control.
2. Shamaha – Discipline of mine and thought pattern. Undisciplined mind has a tendency to get attracted to anything.
3. Vivekaha – Discrimination; understanding that finite plus finite is always finite; insecurity plus insecurity is more insecurity. Understand that I am complete (poornatvam) with myself and I will not be full with any amount of acquisition.

Second Stage:  Obsolete solution is to discover fullness and security within myself.

Arjuna’s, asks in verse 32 what is the obstacle to the practice of Karma Yoga and ultimately Gyana Yoga?  Why is that many people are not able to follow karma yoga?  Lord Krishna’s answers that it is because of raga dwesha kama krodha or moha and delusion.  This is due to confusion regarding priority of life.  Artha and kama becomes more important than dharma and moksha.

Goals of humans are Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha or Wealth, Entertainment, values and spiritual freedom.  On one side, we have wealth and entertainment and the other side we have values and mokshas.  One who has clarity that moksha and dharma is more important is a viveki.  Kama is the main problem and krodha is only kama in a different form.  Struggling to complete myself with wealth, family etc. is kama.  Since obstructed kama is krodha, controlling kama is required.

Solution to Kama:

• Dhamaha:  Discipline of sense organs; filtering what enters mind through sense organs at every level
• Samaha:  Mental discipline; Discipline at mental level; unhealthy thoughts should be nipped in the bud, like how the enemies and diseases are nipped in the bud.  Unhealthy thoughts are like a terrorist or internal enemy and should be controlled.
• Vivekaha:  Discipline at intellectual level.  I, the finite thing, will remain a finite thing with the acquisition of any finite thing.  Security and fullness must be found in myself.  Mistaken I is the source of all sorrow.

Verse 42

They declare the sense organs to be superior to the sense objects.  The mind is superior to the intellect.  The intellect is indeed superior to the mind.  That which is superior to the intellect is indeed that Self.

These three-fold solutions are temporary and not a permanent solution.  Self-knowledge is the only permanent solution.  Desire is a symptom or expression of incompleteness.  It will go away only with poornatvam or the knowledge that I don’t lack anything and I don’t miss anything.

Dhayananda Saraswathi states that “converting everything around me into luxury is moksha”.  When things around me are necessities, it is samsara; when they luxury, it is moksha.

Paraha (superior) Atma signifies three:

1. Sukshma; subtle; a subtler thing is called superior.
2. Mohanthaha:  Ever pervading
3. Prathyaha:  Closer to you

A subtle thing (atma) controlling gross body etc.

• Sense organs are superior to sense object.  Because of the existence of sense objects are revealed by sense organs.
• Superior to sense organs is the mind because sense organs can function only with mind.  If the mind is not functioning properly, sense organs can’t function.
• Superior to mind is intellect.  Mind has two functions:  doubting and emotions.  Both can be controlled by knowledge or discriminating intellectual power. Gyani is the one who is not under the grip of emotion because he can control it; note that he does have emotion, but he knows how to control it.  This was very well explained in Katho Upanishad by comparing the body to a chariot, the sense organs to the horses, the mind to the charioteer.
• Atma is superior to intellect. Atma is the consciousness because of which I know the intellect. I the subject can’t be questioned, because only the subject makes the object aware.  That awareness is atma.

Verse 43

Oh Arjuna!  This knowing the Self which is beyond the intellect, and steadying the mind with the mind, conquer the elusive enemy which is in the form of desire.

The ultimate object is to know the chaithanyam or atma which is:

• Not a part or product of the body Atma
• Atma is independent of the body;
• Atma is limitless;
• Atma is eternal;
• Atma survives the fall of the body, but not available for transactions because there is no medium.

Atma is like light.  When light pervades the hand, you see the hand but not the light; but the light is there.  It is also there beyond the hand.  Similarly, atma is not only in your body but also extends beyond your body.  One should know this and own up to the fact that this formless consciousness is the real I.  The real transformation is the transcending the form, that I am the formless consciousness.  Body and mind are like the instruments I use to transact with the world.  By claiming the new identity, we should change our orientation from physical body to formless consciousness.  This new orientation if gyana nishta.  The physical body is limited, but I am not limited.

Gyana Nishta is internalizing this knowledge and ready availability of this knowledge at the time of difficulty.  This comes by dwelling on the teaching in any form – by teaching, writing, thinking, sharing etc.