0:03

The Bhagava

0:29

Gita is a book of mankind's

0:31

collected experience of and answers to

0:34

life's most basic questions. Who

0:36

I am? From where do I come?

0:38

What is my purpose and destiny? And

0:40

most practically, how do I find

0:42

happiness? These podcasts originate

0:44

in the lectures of Neil Bhatt, a

0:47

disciple of Swami Chinn Mayananda. They

0:49

are presented here in 20 to 30 minute

0:51

segments, each covering three of the Gita's 701

0:54

verses. Welcome to Gita Wisdom

0:56

for daily living. So we have

0:58

been discussing chapter 9,

1:01

Raja Vidya, Raja Guhuyayoga,

1:04

yoga of royal

1:06

knowledge and royal secret.

1:09

And we have discussed many times before

1:11

that this royal knowledge is about your

1:14

true self. That's the knowledge

1:16

which is also called Brahma Vidya. And

1:18

the royal secret is even though the

1:20

self is so close to us, my

1:23

self cannot be further away from me,

1:26

but it is very difficult to

1:28

realize. So that's the secret.

1:30

Secret is something very close to us,

1:33

but we fail to recognize it. That's

1:35

the secret. So we have been

1:37

discussing in this chapter what is the nature of

1:40

the self and how pervading

1:42

it is. That the self is

1:44

all pervading everywhere. And

1:47

it is of a nature of satchitananda as

1:49

you have learnt in Vedanta. It is

1:51

the nature of ever existing,

1:54

all-knowing and ever

1:56

blissful. But none of

1:58

these qualities I recognize. in

2:01

my own self because I consider

2:03

myself to be the limited self.

2:07

I consider myself to be confined

2:09

to this limitations of body,

2:12

mind and intellect. Limited by

2:14

my body and its

2:16

capabilities, limited by

2:18

my mind and its vagaries

2:21

and also limited by my

2:23

intellect and its knowledge. However

2:26

Bhagawan said, as the self

2:29

which is all pervading, it is

2:31

no limitations. So

2:34

all our life we had been

2:36

seeking unlimited happiness, everlasting

2:39

bliss. But

2:42

we are not achieving it. Why we are

2:44

not achieving it? Bhagawan described in last three

2:46

verses saying, because we

2:48

have set our goals so

2:51

narrow that we are only

2:53

achieving those goals. In

2:56

verse 25 we have seen that, Whoever

3:05

set whatever goal, COCH is

3:07

that goal. It

3:10

is something like all these passengers coming to the

3:12

airport. While they

3:14

are passing through this main hall and through

3:17

the security gate, they are all in the

3:19

same category. They are all passengers. Pass

3:22

through the security gate. Each

3:24

passenger will seek the

3:26

gate which is appropriate for his destination.

3:29

Some may have short flights, some may have

3:31

long flights, some are domestic

3:34

flights, some are international flights. But

3:38

that destination was determined by

3:40

that passenger before

3:42

he came to the airport, before

3:45

he passed through that security gate. He

3:48

was determined that that's the destination

3:51

he wants to go and that's

3:53

the path he pursues, that's the gate

3:55

he goes. Each one

3:57

of us has decided what the path is.

4:00

we want to achieve. And we

4:02

achieve those goals. It

4:05

is not that opportunity was

4:07

not available to us. But

4:09

once the everlasting bliss is

4:12

an equal opportunity goal, everyone

4:15

can achieve the same goal. Everyone

4:18

has the same capacity to achieve

4:20

that goal. In physical world, I can

4:23

say I only went to architecture school

4:25

because I didn't get admission in medicine.

4:28

Because of limitations. In

4:30

this limited existence,

4:33

I have limitations. But

4:35

as the self, I have no limitations.

4:38

And Bhagawan therefore said, this

4:40

opportunity is available to all.

4:44

And you don't really have to

4:46

find any particular means to achieve

4:48

that. So in the next verse,

4:50

you say, whatever is available to

4:52

you, Patram, Pustram, Phalam, Thohyam, Yomie,

4:55

Bhakta, Parachui, whatever, my

4:58

devotee. Devotee in the sense, the

5:00

one who has devoted himself to

5:02

that goal. So I am

5:05

a devotee of achieving

5:08

medical degree. Then

5:10

I'll achieve that goal. The one who

5:12

has determined his goal to

5:14

achieve this happiness and

5:17

bliss, which is

5:19

everlasting, he can achieve

5:21

that by offering

5:23

whatever is available to him. In

5:28

other words, whatever my capabilities are,

5:30

as a human being, I have

5:32

limitations. I may not be

5:34

a great yogi. I may not have the knowledge.

5:38

Bhakti, Bhagawan says, whatever

5:41

you have, Patram, Pustram, Phalam,

5:43

Thohyam, whatever you offer

5:45

to me, to your goal of

5:47

finding that everlasting bliss, once I

5:49

accept it with love. Then Bhagawan

5:51

gave us a technique,

5:54

how to achieve that

5:56

ultimate goal of eternal

5:58

bliss. continue doing what

6:00

you are doing but whatever you do, you

6:04

offer it to me.

6:06

Yat karosi, yat dasnasi, yat

6:08

jivosi, dasasi, yat, yat

6:11

tapaschese goch haiya, tat karusu

6:13

madarbana. Do not

6:16

consider that your life as

6:18

an individual is different in

6:21

the life of your pursuit of happiness. The

6:25

life is nothing but pursuit of happiness. That's

6:28

why this country's constitution says you have

6:31

the right to life, liberty

6:33

and pursuit of happiness, not

6:35

happiness. Happiness

6:37

is something you have to achieve but

6:40

you can pursue your happiness. So

6:43

once and while you are

6:45

pursuing this happiness, you

6:47

offer everything that you do to

6:50

that goal of achieving happiness,

6:53

to that ultimate goal of recognizing

6:55

your true self which

6:58

has no limits, tat

7:01

karusu madarbana. So

7:03

fix that goal and then

7:05

offer everything to me. In other words, realize

7:08

that you are enabled by

7:10

that supreme self which is

7:12

functioning through your consciousness which

7:15

is enabling you to do everything that you are doing. The

7:18

actions you are performing, things

7:21

which are receiving from the world, yat dasnasi

7:23

what you are receiving from the world and

7:26

enjoying, yat jivosi,

7:28

dasasi and then what you give back to

7:30

the world. All

7:32

that you offer to me and

7:35

not to your ego. So

7:37

typically when we do things, we feel good

7:39

about I have done it. I

7:42

perform these actions and I am getting

7:44

results. I am a self made man.

7:47

I have built this career myself.

7:50

I came to this country with eight dollars.

7:53

People who came in my age, they were

7:55

allowed only eight dollars for an exchange from

7:57

India. So we all came

8:00

with eight dollars. for an exchange. You

8:02

think that you have achieved all this and

8:05

therefore you are bound by your actions.

8:08

But if you attribute all this to

8:11

the supreme consciousness of functioning through you,

8:13

you could achieve all that because you

8:15

are alive. If you are dead,

8:17

you wouldn't have done any of this. So

8:20

ultimately it is the consciousness which

8:22

is enabling you to do everything

8:25

that you do, everything

8:27

you receive from this world, everything

8:29

you give back to this world and

8:31

why not give credit to this all-pervading

8:34

consciousness and keep

8:36

the ego out of the equation. Therefore

8:39

Bhagwan said, keep your ego out

8:41

of the equation, offer

8:44

all these actions directly

8:47

to the source which is enabling you

8:49

to perform these actions. And

8:52

the result of that would be,

8:54

Subha asubha phala ha eva mukshise

8:56

kanvaband nahi. So my real

9:00

problem in life is I am bound by

9:02

my actions. Whatever

9:04

I have performed in the past,

9:06

I can change them and

9:09

therefore I have to bear

9:11

the consequences of those actions. As

9:14

I commonly say, I went to architecture school, therefore

9:16

I am an architect. I can

9:18

change overnight and become something else. I

9:21

am bound by my actions in the past

9:25

and I will be bound by my

9:27

actions in present and future.

9:29

So Subha asubha phala ha

9:31

eva mukshise kanvaband nahi. This

9:33

result which I am receiving of

9:36

my actions which some

9:38

are auspicious, some

9:41

are conducive and

9:43

some are not so conducive. Something

9:45

I intended to do something, it

9:48

turned out to be something different. The results were

9:50

not really what I was looking

9:52

for. So that asubha phala. So

9:54

I am bound by my actions and therefore

9:56

I am bound by the results whether

9:59

they are conducive or

10:02

not conducive to me. Once

10:05

you get the ego out of

10:07

the equation, because my ego

10:10

is the one who decides whether it is

10:12

good for me or not good

10:14

for me. It

10:16

is raining outside, whether it is

10:18

good or bad, I

10:21

decide as an ego whether

10:23

that is good or not. So once

10:26

you keep this ego out of the equation and

10:30

directly attribute all actions to the

10:32

Supreme Self, then there is

10:34

no one to receive this good or bad results. He

10:37

is missing an action. Ego

10:39

is not there to get affected by

10:41

it. Therefore, it is

10:44

mokshise karmabandhanehi that will

10:47

liberate you from

10:49

this bondage of actions. Because

10:53

one which is getting bound is

10:55

the ego, that ego you

10:57

have kept out of the equation.

11:00

Sanyasi yo vijuktat maa

11:02

vimuktah mamupaisi sisi. Now

11:04

we know that ego is

11:06

part of my thinking entity. This

11:09

mind buddhi chittan ahankar,

11:11

this thinking entity chitta

11:13

has four aspects. Mind

11:17

which is constantly waffling,

11:20

buddhi which is deciding

11:23

factor, chitta which is thinking

11:28

and ahankar which is

11:30

ahaam kat, I am the dual,

11:32

every thought I have is I

11:34

in it. Once

11:37

you get that I

11:39

out of this equation,

11:41

sanyasi yo vijuktat maa, then

11:43

your mind will become

11:46

detached from all

11:48

the actions. Sanyasi

11:50

yo vijuktah atmaa, the

11:53

Self which is state

11:56

first in

11:58

renunciation. He

12:00

is doing the same thing except he is

12:02

not getting affected by the

12:04

result. So the Sanyasi

12:06

Yogi Yuktatma, Bhimuktaha

12:08

mam upasya se. This

12:11

Sanyasi we should remember what we learned

12:13

in previous chapter. Giving

12:15

of anxiety of the fruits

12:17

of actions is jagat and

12:20

giving of sense of agency that I am

12:22

the doer is Sanyasa. Once

12:25

I give the sense of agency I am

12:28

Sanyasa Yogi Yuktatma. More

12:31

and more I consciously think that I am not the

12:33

doer. That I

12:35

am only enabled by this consciousness

12:37

to do things. Then

12:39

I become more and more established

12:41

in the thought that I am

12:43

not the doer. Therefore I become

12:45

Sanyasi Yogi Yuktatma. Once

12:48

I establish in the thought of

12:50

renunciation of my own actions I

12:52

become Bhimuktam free now. Mam

12:55

upasya se. He shall

12:58

come to me. That person

13:00

becomes one with the Supreme Self.

13:02

Now my Self which is acting

13:04

and the Supreme Self

13:06

is one in the same. So

13:09

I have established that identification. That

13:11

identification which was limited to this

13:13

body mind intellect. I

13:16

have liberated my identification from that

13:18

limitation and identified

13:20

with the Supreme Self which is

13:22

all pervading. You

13:25

see what is the nature of Supreme Self? Samaha

13:27

aham sarva bhutesho. It

13:30

is not that my consciousness is

13:33

very special and other people's consciousness

13:35

is very common of a

13:37

garden variety type. Your equipment

13:39

may be different. You may have a

13:41

better radio but the radio waves are

13:43

the same everywhere. The

13:46

Self in me is the same

13:48

Self in all beings that

13:51

I see and perceive. So that

13:54

Self is similar

13:57

same to all. I

14:02

am the same consciousness in

14:04

all beings. Namaydeshya

14:07

asti na priya ha. No

14:10

one is despisable, no one

14:13

is dear to me. In other

14:15

words, consciousness doesn't make distinction that

14:18

this guy is a thief, but

14:21

I don't have a choice but to function through him.

14:24

And this guy is a saint and I

14:26

really enjoy functioning through this. None

14:28

of this is applicable to the self.

14:31

Self is ever-pervading and this

14:34

equipment are different. One

14:37

is a saint and other is a

14:39

decoy. But it does not make any

14:42

difference to the consciousness itself. So,

14:44

but once I is the supreme

14:46

consciousness, supreme self, I

14:49

am same in all beings and

14:52

none is despisable to me and none

14:54

is dear to me. I

14:58

bhajanti tumam bhaktya mahi te

15:00

tesu cha api aham. But

15:04

one who worships me

15:06

with devotion, another

15:08

one who identifies with me, one

15:12

who makes sincere effort to

15:15

attain that identification with me

15:18

and gives up identification with this

15:20

limited self, he said, I am

15:22

in him and he

15:25

is in me. So,

15:27

again this is a contradiction.

15:31

In the beginning of the chapter, Bhagavan said, they

15:33

are in me but I am not in

15:35

them and in reality they are also not

15:37

in me. I have no relationship whatsoever to

15:39

all things in being. Now

15:41

Bhagavan said, no, no. I

15:44

am in him and he is in me but

15:47

the qualification here is one

15:49

who is devoting himself to me. The

15:52

one who is identifying with me, he

15:55

now will recognize that the

15:58

supreme consciousness is in me. is functioning

16:00

for me and my

16:02

consciousness is nothing but the Supreme

16:05

Self. And therefore he says

16:07

that he is in me and I

16:10

am in him. When wave

16:12

realizes that it is not

16:14

a limited wave but the

16:16

expression of the ocean, then

16:18

the wave realizes that ocean is in

16:20

me and I am in ocean. We

16:23

are not different from each other. I

16:26

am just part of the ocean and

16:28

therefore ocean is in me. And

16:31

I have no existence of my own without

16:35

the ocean and therefore

16:37

I am in the ocean. It

16:40

is just a change of

16:42

paradigm for me. Right

16:44

now I consider myself to be unique

16:47

in individual island.

16:50

Now I am saying I am not unique. I

16:52

am just part of this same self. In

16:55

the next words Bhagavad actually clarifies

16:57

that this is an equal opportunity

17:00

endeavor. It is available to

17:02

all. Inspective whatever my

17:04

past is. So most

17:06

of us get discouraged in

17:09

pursuing any spiritual practice. I mean like all

17:11

my life I have not done anything. I

17:14

had been after money, I had been after position.

17:16

What am I going

17:18

to get even if I try so hard

17:21

now? I may get something

17:23

out of it but not really the

17:25

final destination, the final goal

17:27

which everyone talks about in

17:29

every religion. The moksha, nirmana,

17:31

jivan mukti. I cannot

17:34

achieve that. Number one thing

17:36

that is not true. Whenever

17:39

you make the resolve it

17:41

is good enough and you

17:43

achieve that qualification to

17:45

achieve that final liberation.

17:51

Bhagavan said even you are

17:53

the best among the evil

17:56

people. One

18:01

of the Dura Charis is performing

18:03

evil action. The Suhmanthi is

18:06

excellent at it, he is an excellent

18:08

thief. I used to enjoy all the

18:10

dual thief movies in my younger years.

18:12

So even we admire sometimes the people

18:14

who are really good at what they

18:16

are doing even though it's all evil.

18:20

Baba wants to say, even if that

18:22

person bhajate

18:24

mam anand nibhag, once

18:26

you decide that that's

18:29

not my goal, I

18:31

want to achieve that ultimate

18:34

bliss, I want that permanent

18:36

happiness. All my evil

18:38

doings are not helping me, I want

18:41

to achieve that permanent happiness and

18:43

no other goal. That's

18:46

the qualification. Without

18:48

pursuing anything else, one

18:50

who pursue me, sadhu

18:53

evasamantavyah, as

18:55

soon as he makes that resolve, he

18:58

should be considered a good person, not a bad

19:00

person anymore. Even

19:03

though he has not achieved anything, which

19:05

you can say that he has done good, but

19:08

he has resolved himself. That no

19:10

more the life of this evil doing, I am

19:14

now going to pursue the

19:16

ultimate goal of achieving that

19:20

infinite bliss, the happiness. From

19:22

that point onwards he should be considered a

19:25

good person, sadhu, whoever, not a

19:27

bad person. Bad person

19:29

is behind him, has

19:31

died, the new person has

19:34

emerged and he is a sadhu, he is

19:36

a righteous person. Samyak

19:39

vyavastitohi sahab, because he

19:41

has resolved rightfully, now

19:44

he knows the reality and

19:46

he has resolved himself to achieve that.

19:49

And therefore he should be considered a righteous

19:52

person. In other words, this

19:55

opportunity is available at any

19:58

time in your life. It

20:00

is available to anybody who

20:03

is willing to persuade in

20:06

spite of whatever has happened

20:08

in his life before, whatever he had to

20:11

do or he has done in part. But

20:14

once he is resolved that this is the

20:16

goal of my life, he should be considered

20:18

a righteous person. The

20:20

next verse will say how

20:23

quickly he can become that. So we'll stop

20:25

right here. If you

20:27

find this podcast helpful, please

20:30

support it by donating

20:32

any amount by going

20:34

to the episode's website

20:37

at neilbhatt.podbean.com

20:44

or at chinmayarichmond.org.

20:48

Thank you. Om

20:52

Sarve Bhavantu

20:54

Sukhinah Sarve

20:57

Santu Niramaya

21:00

Sarve Bhadrani

21:02

Pasyantu Ma

21:05

Kaschid Dukha Bhagave

21:10

Om Shanti

21:13

Shanti Shanti

21:16

Hari Om Sri

21:19

Gurubhyo Namaha

21:22

Hari Om

21:25

Shri Gurubhyo Namaha

21:28

Hari Om