See for the online version with illustrations
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_03/04APR01/home.htm=========================
GITA FOR CHILDREN
GITA FOR CHILDREN - III PART 7
GITA FOR CHILDREN - III PART 8
GITA FOR CHILDREN - IV PART 9 - Chapter 5
GITA FOR CHILDREN - IV PART 10
GITA FOR CHILDREN - PART 12 - Chapter 6
SAI BABA GITA - Part XXI - Answers for all questions
SAI BABA GITA - Part XXIX - Turn towards God and God will turn towards You
GITA FOR CHILDREN - Part 17 Chapter - 7
GITA FOR CHILDREN - PART 18 - Chapter - 7
GITA FOR CHILDREN - PART 19 - Chapter - 8
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Recently, an overseas devotee asked, "Is there any edition of the Gita suitable for use by children?" Since there did not appear to be any, it was decided to generate this manuscript for use by Sai teenagers. It will come in parts as a serial for the next few months.
This manuscript is clearly an experiment. It is meant for study by students in the age group around 9 to 15, under the guidance of an Instructor. [Indeed, even the so-called young adults could benefit, not to mention people unfamiliar with Indian scriptures.] The guidance would be effective and fruitful if the Instructor/Teacher is familiar with the material contained in:
(a) The Guidebook for Study Circles, which appeared in H2H as Getting Spiritually Better.
(b) The Workbook Companion of the Guidebook, and
(c) The book entitled Message of the Lord that deals with the Gita on the one hand and Baba's Teachings on the other.
(The first two are available from the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation while the third can be obtained from the Book Store in Prashanti Nilayam).
Before the commencement of the course, the Instructor/Teacher should expose the students to the background of the Kurukshetra war.
Many strategies can be adopted as regards taking the students through the various chapters. These days, students are very sharp and quick on the uptake. Hence, the following scheme could be tried:
1. The Instructor first gives an overview of the chapter under consideration, stressing the most important teachings.
2. A group of students is then asked to 'present' the teachings of the chapter to the rest of the class in a suitable manner. As a part of the process, there could be discussions, and also questions from the students not involved in the presentation.
3. After the presentation, the Instructor poses 'situations' and 'dilemmas' that require solutions using the teachings of the chapter. Alternately, the students could stage skits, highlighting the important teachings of the chapter.
Experience has shown that the absorption is much better with student participation. Before moving on to the next chapter, the Instructor must review all that was said, adding extra comments as required.
A few words now about the text itself. Basically, it represents a synthesis of the format of the Gita with the spirit of Swami's Gita Vahini. Thus, as in the original Gita, there are eighteen chapters, and the Message is presented as a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna. However, no attempt is made to have a one-to-one correspondence with the Slokas of the Gita original. Instead, the spirit is captured and amplified in the light of Baba's Teachings. As even a cursory reading would show, Swami's sayings have been seamlessly woven into the texture of the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue practically everywhere.
The liberties taken in the presentation, especially in the use of the current idiom, would be fully justified, if the Message gets across.
Why is the Gita so important? The answer is simple. The Gita teaches how to face the battles of life. These battles have been there ever since man appeared, and will continue as long as the human race exists. Indeed, the battles have become fiercer these days, with every new generation finding it more and more difficult to stick to the path of morality. It must be remembered that the Gita is a manual for life and has nothing whatsoever to do with any particular religion or faith. It teaches how life can be spirtualised, every minute of it in fact. Thus it is usable by people everywhere, and at all times. In passing, it is worth mentioning that Gandhi has demonstrated in a powerful manner, that the Gita is relevant even in the realm of politics.
Today, despite the tremendous progress in science and technology and the very high standard of living available (at least in some countries), life has become more difficult all round, including to the people at the top of the material totem pole. Why? Because the basics are being ignored. The Gita is a powerful reminder of those forgotten basics, and what must be done to stick to them.
The children of today understand quite clearly a lot of what is going on. Deep in their Hearts, they are sensitive and affected by Adharma. Yet, when it comes to application, they also follow the path of Adharma. There are two reasons for this.
Firstly, the type of advice that the elders give. The elders violate every rule in the book and yet tell the young, "Listen, this is bad; that is not good. You must not do these things," etc.
The response is: "Well, if you could do it, why not us?" Secondly, the media in collusion with vested interests actively promote Adharma and immorality in a thousand different ways. The two together create peer pressure and that is something that the young in particular find very difficult to resist. That is one big reason why the battle of life has become far more difficult.
Take success in business for example. For years, the media was euologising the great go-getters, the high-profile men with huge bank balances, yachts, penthouses, and their success stories. But one fine day it was discovered that many of these 'greats' were just frauds who had duped tens of thousands. All of a sudden people began to ask, "Whatever happened to old-fashioned morality they used to teach in the Business School?" Well, they stopped teaching that sort of thing a long time ago! If morality is discarded as being irrelevant, how can it suddenly surface when the going gets rough?
No, morality is not merely a matter of social convenience or just a necessity for civilized existence. It is something much more than that. Morality is the very fabric of life. It is what sustains the Universe.
That is why Gandhi always used to declare, "There is a Moral Law that governs the Universe."
We must be moral because that is the only way we can be true to our real nature. We all have come from God; how then can we afford to be immoral? As Swami asks, "How can you don the form of a human and be a cheat or inhuman?" Whether we like it or not, mankind can no longer afford to run away from morality as it appears to be doing at present. This is precisely where the Gita becomes relevant. It teaches man how to follow Dharma in life, and that is what makes the Gita so very important.
Notwithstanding all this, people who try to conduct classes of this nature do face some problems. After a while students readily agree that morality is needed in Society, but when it comes to their own lives, they are not ready to stop being selfish. They give many interesting arguments like:
• How can one person make any difference to Society? So, what is the point of my trying to be very moral?
• I need role models!
• It is too late to return to morality! Forget it!!All such answers merely show that conviction is still lacking. Thus, the acid test of the success of the Gita course would be whether it has enabled at least a few to develop deep conviction about the importance of and the necessity for Dharma.
Prolonged physical hunger leads to death by starvation. Prolonged spiritual hunger would likewise lead to the death of humanness. Spiritual hunger is worldwide, though people may not realise it. The rich suffer from it in one way and so do the poor. Thus the Message of the Gita is relevant for all. It is very important to reach out to the young in all lands. That is the only way to ensure, at least in some measure, the world would be what God wants it to be.
1. Dhritarashtra tells his friend Sanjaya, "Please tell me, O Sanjaya, what my sons and those of my brother Pandu are about to do on the battlefield in Kurukshetra?"
2. Sanjaya replies: "O King! Your eldest son Prince Duryodhana is approaching Battle Commander Dronacharya, the Guru of your sons as well as the Pandavas. I can now see Duryodhana speaking to Dronacharya. He says: 'O Master! Please take a good look at our brave army with so many renowned warriors. They have come from different places to support us and to fight for us. Please Sir, make sure that venerable Bhisma, our Commander-in-Chief, is well protected, at all cost'."
3. Sanjaya continues: "And now, all the great warriors on the two sides are blowing their respective conches, signalling their readiness to commence battle. I can also see Krishna and Arjuna blowing their conches."
4. "Arjuna is seated in a chariot with Krishna Himself acting as the charioteer. Flying from that chariot is a standard bearing the figure of Hanuman."
5. "Arjuna is now telling Krishna: 'Krishna, please drive the chariot to a spot midway between the two armies. I want to get a close look at our enemies, the evil Kauravas'."
6. "Krishna drives the chariot to the midway region as requested by Arjuna and says, 'There, Arjuna, take a good look at your adversaries'."
7. "Arjuna slowly surveys the warriors assembled on the two sides. And what does he see? Nothing but his grandfather, his teachers, his cousins and various other relatives, his friends and so on. Some are lined up on one side and the rest on the other."
8. "Arjuna is deeply troubled by what he is seeing and says: 'Krishna, as I look around me, I see nothing but kith and kin. Do I have to kill people of my own blood for the sake of a mere kingdom? No Krishna, I cannot slaughter my friends, relatives and elders. What pleasure can there be in such killing? What benefit? On the contrary, it is a sin to win a kingdom after butchering one's own people'."
9. 'Maybe the Kauravas are blinded by greed and want to wage war but I do not have to do so. I do not have to be blinded similarly by greed, jealousy and all the rest of it. I just cannot fight. It is better that my enemies strike me than I kill them.'
10. Reporting all this, Sanjaya tells Dhirtarashtra, "I can now see Arjuna dropping his bow and sinking into his chariot, filled with deep anguish."
1. Sanjaya continues and tells Dhritarashtra: "Krishna is now beginning to say something to Arjuna, who appears to be drowned in sorrow."
2. Krishna says, 'Arjuna, how come you have suddenly become so remorseful at this very last minute? You can't quit now; it is too late for that! You must cast aside your doubts and misgivings. Get up and enter into battle!'
3. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, how is that possible? Bhisma over there is my grandfather! Are You asking me to shoot arrows at my own grandfather who has showered so much love on me?'
4. 'And over there is my Guru, Dronacharya? How can one kill one's own Guru? Can there be a greater sin?'
5. ----
6. 'Frankly Krishna, I cannot see any great purpose in this war. I am very confused at present. To fight or not to fight &endash; that is my question!'
7. 'Krishna, I seek refuge in You. Totally surrendering to You, I pray to You for guidance.'
8. With a broad smile on His face, Krishna replies, 'Arjuna, you are acting like a perfect fool! You are mourning the death of your relatives etc., even before they have died!'
9. 'Do you know anything about life, death, and what happens after death? You obviously do not, for if you did, you would not be chickening out like you are trying to do now. Let Me drive some hard facts into your thick skull!'
10. 'Arjuna, your big problem is that like everyone else, you think you are the body. You are also used to seeing bodies being born and die. Since all these images have got stuck in your Mind, you are now worrying about death.'
11. 'Now listen to this carefully. Neither you nor I are the body, though we both possess them. I wear My body like a dress and so do you.'
12. 'Now who is this "I" that is wearing the body? It is the Atma Arjuna, it is the Atma! By the way, there is no such thing as My Atma, your Atma and so on. It is the same Atma that is present everywhere, wearing many dresses. There is only one Atma, period.'
-*-*-*-*-
11. 'Now who is this "I" that is wearing the body? It is the Atma Arjuna, it is the Atma! By the way, there is no such thing as My Atma, your Atma and so on. It is the same Atma that is present everywhere, wearing many dresses. There is only one Atma, period.'
12. 'Are you wondering how this is possible? Maybe an example would make things a bit clearer. Just look up in the sky during the daytime. You will see some clouds here and there and empty sky in between. There is water vapour everywhere, including in the spaces between clouds. In some places this water vapour shows itself up as clouds; elsewhere, it is not visible, but it is present all the same.'
13. 'Notice two other points. Firstly, the clouds keep on changing their shapes, and secondly, no two clouds are alike.'
14. 'The same sort of thing happens in the world. The Atma pervades the entire world, indeed the entire Universe. Here and there, it manifests via the "dresses" called bodies, not only of humans but also animals, insects, etc. Thus, all living beings are the embodiments of the one Universal Atma.'
15. 'Recall what I told you about clouds changing their shapes with time. The same sort of thing happens to a living being or the embodied Atma. The being passes through various stages such as childhood, youth, middle age, and old age.'
16. 'When the body becomes old, the Atma just casts off the body and wears a new "dress", that is it acquires another new body!'
17. 'Arjuna, I am telling you all this because you started feeling sad about death. There is no need to because death is just a change of dress, that is all!'
18. 'Your problem is that like all people you are totally focused on the body. You think you are the body. Tell me; are those clothes that you are wearing Arjuna? No, it is just your clothing. You are not the clothes but different from them.'
19. 'In the same way, neither you nor I or for that matter anyone else is the body. The Atma is our real nature. Death makes people sad because they foolishly identify themselves with the body and become upset when it is gone or about to go.'
20. 'Arjuna, just think. You are a warrior and you have fought battles before. I am sure you have on occasions slain people in those battles. But all that killing earlier does not seem to have bothered you at all. Yet today, you are feeling miserable even before you have taken the bow in your hand. Why Arjuna, why?'
21. 'Well, you wouldn't know the answer and so let Me tell you. Arjuna, you are feeling miserable today because the people likely to die in this war are yours. It is this feeling of "mine" that is really troubling and not death per se. After all, you have slain adversaries before.'
22. 'Arjuna, this feeling of "mine" comes because of body-consciousness or body attachment. And such an attitude automatically arises when a person thinks he is the body. But I remind you once again, you are NOT the perishable body but the Eternal Atma!'
23. 'This Atma is indescribably beautiful and wondrous. It is Eternal and beyond both Space and Time. It is neither born nor does it die. Do you understand that Arjuna? Drona and Bhisma are all the Atma, just like you and I are. So how can they die? It is their bodies that would get destroyed, like clothing becoming worn out. Why feel miserable about something trivial like that? One day or the other, old clothes have to be thrown away.'
24. 'Arjuna, thanks to this process of casting off bodies one after another, there is a practically endless cycle of birth and death for the body. But you must not focus on the superficial aspect. If you focused just on the body, you will see growth, decay and death. Those changes do not apply to the Atma. Those changes do not apply to you but only to your body. Focus therefore on the Atma and not on the body.'
25. 'This Atma that I am now talking about cannot be cut. Fire cannot burn it nor water wet it. It is everlasting and all-pervading.'
26. 'In a human being, the Atma shines as the Consciousness and as the Resident of your Heart. By the way, when I refer to the Heart, I mean your spiritual Heart and not the physical heart! This Divine Resident is also sometimes called the In-dweller, or simply as God. Since God is installed within you, you don't have to look for Him all over the place; just look inside, in your Heart!'
27. 'Let Me now come down from these sublime heights to something practical. You must be wondering what exactly you are since you have a body and I am here telling you that you are the Atma! The answer is simply this: you are in fact the Atma, but wearing right now clothing called the body. The Atma with a body is sometimes referred to as the JivAtma, or an embodiment of the Atma. Jiva means life or a living object; so JivAtma means Atma within a cocoon called the body. To put it differently, JivAtma is the Atma wearing the dress of the body and the Mind.'
28. 'The JivAtma is thus like an actor wearing a particular dress. All are actors in this stage called the world. And all are, without being actually aware of this fact, playing different roles in the Cosmic Drama, scripted, directed and produced by God!'
29. 'As you know Arjuna, in a play, all actors must speak their lines properly. In the drama of life, speaking proper dialogue means following one's natural Dharma.'
30. 'This thing that I have just referred to as natural Dharma is also called Swadharma or Atma Dharma. It simply means the Dharma of the Universal Self resident within or, if you prefer, the Atma within.'
31. 'In simple terms, Arjuna, you must always act in conformity with Atma Dharma &endash; that is what speaking the correct lines really means. Are you lost? Are you confused? Don't worry; I shall make it simple for you. Following Atma Dharma simply means following the Path of Righteousness, in a perfectly selfless manner.'
32. 'Consider what you are trying to do right now. A war is about to start between the forces of Dharma and Adharma, and you are supposed to be on the side of Dharma. And what are you trying to do? Drop out at the very last minute, giving all sorts of silly reasons!'
33. 'Arjuna, do not forget that Destiny has made you take birth as a warrior. That is no accident! You must therefore go through life as a warrior, doing your duty in conformity with Atma Dharma. What exactly does that mean in the present instance? As a soldier, it is your duty to fight for Dharma and against Adharma. But you want to wriggle out of that duty, giving all sorts of lame excuses. Is that correct? Consider. In a drama, can an actor suddenly say, "I don't like this part" and start playing another?'
34. 'Let us examine your problem a bit deeper. You say that Bhishma is your grandfather. That is true but don't forget that the relationship is purely one of the body. Next, even though Bhishma is your grandfather, he has lined up with the forces of evil. In fact, he is the Commander-in-Chief of the wicked Kauravas. Now tell Me; what should be your duty? Can you walk away claiming that Bhisma is your grandpa or should you stand up to the forces of evil and defeat them in battle?'
35. 'The answer is clear, is it not? Arjuna, in life duty must always be performed, without any trace whatsoever of attachment or selfishness. In practical terms, you must discharge your duty without a) being bothered about the outcome, and b) expecting a reward. That really is what Atma Dharma is all about. Only a selfish person would worry about success, rewards, etc. That attitude is not correct. Duty for duty's sake is the proper attitude.'
36. 'Arjuna, there are two words that people often use &endash; rights and responsibility. In the olden days, people always worried about responsibility and duty but these days people mostly talk about their rights. They constantly say, "I have a right to do this, I have a right to do that," and so on. Let Me make one thing very clear. Man has a right only to duty and nothing else!'
37. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, you make Atma Dharma sound so simple. If it is as simple as all that how come in this wide world there is hardly anyone who is truly following Atma Dharma?'
38. Krishna answers, 'That is because people get easily deluded by the senses and the Mind. These two in unholy collusion prevent a person from looking deep within himself and communing with the Heart.'
39. 'Once a person gets cutoff from the Indweller, his outlook and vision become purely external. The outside world is full of what is called the pair of opposites like joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, success and failure, and so on.'
40. 'A person immersed in the external world is easily overwhelmed by six terrible enemies that are deadlier than the deadliest serpents. These enemies are: Kama meaning desires, Krodha meaning anger, Lobha meaning greed, Moha meaning attachment, Mada meaning pride, and Matsarya meaning jealousy. To these you may add to more namely, Ahamkara meaning ego and Mamakara meaning the "mine" feeling.'
41. 'Arjuna, take it from Me, unless you keep out these enemies and have full control of yourself, you cannot fight your external enemies, as you have to do shortly.'
42. 'Do you want to know why these internal enemies have to be vanquished first? Simple; you would agree that when you have to deal with a crisis, you have to remain cool, wouldn't you?'
43. 'Now what exactly does remaining cool mean? It means that you should not be disturbed or be bothered by what is happening around you. It is only when you are cool that you can think clearly. And unless you can think clearly you cannot really handle a crisis properly. Agree?'
44. 'A good leader must not lose his cool. This characteristic does not come easily, unless one makes a conscious effort to practice detachment. One who is detached is automatically unaffected by success and failure, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. There is one word that describes such an attitude &endash; equanimity.'
45. 'Arjuna, equanimity is necessary not only for a so-called leader but for everyone. In a family, the father is a leader. So, equanimity is needed for the father. What about the children? They had better start copying their father and learn to get into that groove from an early age! Above all, equanimity it is that helps the seeker to rise above the world, rise above the pairs of opposites, and go towards God.'
46. 'In life, you don't see much of equanimity. Why? Because the internal enemies make sure that you are not strong enough to practice equanimity &endash; that is why! Take your own case; you want to run away from duty. Why? Because of attachment. Arjuna, the feeling of "mine" and "thine" is one of the many weaknesses that one must overcome.'
47. 'Never forget that perfection in duty is possible only when there is equanimity. And duty performed with perfection would please God very much. You too would feel very happy about having pleased God. This kind of happiness is unique, and it is called Bliss.'
48. 'Arjuna, what people normally call pleasure, joy, happiness, etc., are all connected with experiences of the sense organs and the Mind. This joy can never be re-experienced through recall. Such happiness is always transient. By contrast, the happiness that you get by pleasing God is an experience of the Heart; it goes beyond the senses and the Mind. That is why the joy of this experience can be recalled and relived any number of times. Every time you recall, you will experience Bliss in all its freshness.'
49. 'Equanimity does not come easily, and requires a lot of practice in regulating the senses and the Mind. It may not be easy but with determination, it can be achieved. Patience and perseverance alone lead to Purity!'
50. 'Arjuna, you must be brave and courageous not only in the worldly sense but also in a spiritual sense. A spiritually brave man is one who is ready to give up even his life for being true to his Conscience. He is not afraid of anything or anybody, including death. Internal enemies that I mentioned earlier shudder to come near such a man. What I mean is that you must be strong and courageous inside before starting to fight battles outside.'
51. 'If the internal enemies gain the upper hand and begin to dominate you, then there will be nothing but pure disaster. Take anger for example. Anger can blind reason. You may be the smartest man on earth, but when blind fury gets hold of you, you can become dumber than the greatest fool. Fury blunts discrimination, and when that happens, judgement falters badly; next step, total ruin. This has happened time and again, innumerable number of times. But people don't want to learn from the bitter experience of others. Don't you make that mistake.'
52. 'To put it all briefly, follow your Conscience for your Conscience is your true Master. Then you can easily face the devil, fight him, and finish him off!'
53. 'A person who is not cool will not be at Peace. Peace is inside and not outside! A person who feels Peace inside will experience Bliss. And a person in a Blissful state would radiate Peace in his neighbourhood. This is how Peace can be brought on earth. Someone must get the ball rolling. It is like lighting many candles with one candle.'
54. 'A flower is beautiful. But it also radiates fragrance. In the same way, Shanti is inside; when it spreads outside like the fragrance of the flower, it becomes Prashanti!'
55. 'Arjuna, what I am telling you now is not merely practical advice related to fighting this battle ahead of you. It has deep inner significance because it is related to fighting life's battles.'
56. 'A man who has vanquished internal enemies becomes a pure and elevated being. And when such a person finally leaves his body, he merges once and for ever with God. No more rebirths for him because he is merged in God, and is ever in a Blissful state. Remember &endash; true happiness is total and complete union with God!'
1. Arjuna says to Krishna, 'Krishna, I am totally confused. On the one hand you are asking me to act, to get up and to fight. At the same time, you are also asking me to look inside, develop discrimination and become wise. How can I do both? If I have to act, I can't be spending time looking inside. On the other hand if I start looking inside, I am sure I would get lost there! In which case, how would I be able to act? How would I be able to fight, as You are asking me to do? Therefore, please tell me clearly, which of these two paths is better an! d where exactly do they lead?'
2. Krishna smiles and replies, 'Arjuna, this is what they call a good question! Let Me, to start with, make two things very clear.
1) The two paths as you call them, are called respectively the Path of Action or Karma Yoga and the Path of Wisdom or Sankhya Yoga.
2) Both these lead to the same goal, namely Eternal Bliss and freedom from rebirth.'
3. 'You are possibly wondering how that could be possible, since these two paths seem to be so very different. That is what I shall now explain.'
4. 'Let Me start with the so-called Path of Action. When I ask you to follow the Path of Action it does not mean that I am asking you to become a workaholic, go-getter and things like that. I mean something very different.'
5. 'First and foremost, a person dedicated to the Path of Action accepts the role Destiny has carved out for him and does his best in that role. Now take your own case. You are born a soldier, a warrior. The duty of a soldier is to fight for Dharma. That is what you must do, and not run away talking like a Sannyasi, as you were in fact trying to do a short while ago.'
6. 'Next, you must plunge into action with perfect calmness. You must always be cool and unperturbed; in other words, you must be the very embodiment of equanimity.'
7. 'Further, the action that you perform must be done as a sacred duty. Action becomes sacred only when duty is performed for duty's sake and not for personal gains and ends. You should never calculate about success and failure or dream about the benefits that would come to you if you were to act in a particular way.'
8. 'If it is destined that you should "fail" in whatever it is that you are trying to do, accept that outcome calmly as the Will of God. Let us say there is a person who is very sick, and that a doctor is treating the patient. The doctor cannot say, "This fellow is going to die anyway so why bother?" He must do his VERY BEST and leave the rest to God. And whatever happens, he should calmly accept that as the Will of God. With God's Grace, the patient may even pull through. For your information, this has happened any number of times.'
9. 'By the way Arjuna, don't ever get the idea that God causes failure. Things may not exactly happen the way you want things to happen but that does not mean that the effort is a failure. You see God always knows what is best, and if He has postponed what you regard as "success", it is with good reason. In the meanwhile, do not jump to the conclusion that there has been a failure.'
10. 'Arjuna, two important points must be noted concerning action. The first is that no one can be perfectly still and stay away from action. You talked of the Wise as if they did not engage in action. This is not correct. Don't the Wise eat, walk, bathe, etc.? Are these not actions?'
11. 'The second point is that there is action everywhere in the Universe. In fact a static Universe where nothing ever happens is impossible! Up there in the heavens the Sun shines, the planets move about and so on. All this is Divinely-ordained action.'
12. 'If you examine carefully, there are generally two aspects to action, that of receiving and that of giving. In fact, in all cases except that of man, the giving is much more than the receiving. Just consider the example of the tree and examine how much it receives and how much it gives. This one example ought to convince you of the truth of My statement. The tree is really a fine example because in the end it gives its entire self up.'
13. 'Arjuna, the key principle on which the Universe functions is sacrifice. That one word says it all. That is why at the time of Creation God told man, "You can prosper only if you sacrifice".'
14. 'People imagine that sacrifice means giving up something valuable or giving away something precious, something that you would very much like to keep for yourself. This is a very limited interpretation of the word sacrifice. I use that word in a larger sense. I would in fact prefer to use the word offering in place of the word sacrifice.'
15. 'Here I should caution you about what happens when the key principle is misunderstood and followed in a mistaken fashion. For example, many people think they should give charity so that they can go to heaven. This is wrong. When charity is given this way, the giver of charity starts feeling he is superior to the one receiving. Giving should not at all be done that way. One must give as a loving offering to a brother, who also is a child of God. In other words, the spirit must be one of sharing and caring, and not of condescension, and without any expectations of any kind from anybody.'
16. 'The people who give charity and food to beggars with the idea of booking a seat in heaven are really trying to make a business deal! God is so kind that He may even reserve a seat in heaven for such people. But Arjuna, God should not be trivialised like this by asking Him for trinkets! You may be a businessman but God is not. Remember that!'
17. 'Well, how then should one relate to God? That is your unstated question, is it not? The answer is simple. Look upon God as your Father, Mother, Guru, and even Friend. Are you surprised? You should not be because God is the only true Friend you can have. All others would make themselves scarce when you need assistance and help most. God is not like that. On the contrary, it is in those dire moments that He would be closest to you. Also, do whatever you are doing for God's pleasure.'
18. 'For example, right now I am asking you to fight. When you start fighting say, "God, I offer this duty I am doing as a soldier to You. Please accept it as my loving offering to You! I want nothing in return but Your Grace and Love".'
19. 'Everyone can make an offering to God in this manner, including a cobbler. Are you wondering how the cobbler ought to pray? Simple. He should just say, "Lord, in Your Cosmic Drama You have given me this particular role. My prayer to You is that a) I do my job to the best of my ability, and b) my slippers bring comfort and satisfaction to the buyer, who is none other than You in disguise. When my customer is satisfied, it means that You are satisfied!"'
20. 'So you see how perfection combined with selflessness can readily sanctify action. Every act without exception, including the smallest, can be sanctified in this manner.'
21. 'Take food. You are able to eat on account of God's Grace and not because of your salary. But for God's Grace, you would be jobless and hungry. Having received food as Divine Grace, how do you express your gratitude to God? By sharing your food with someone else. Give some food first to a starving soul, see him happy, and then eat. That would fill you also with happiness.'
22. 'Arjuna, it is a sin to eat without first sharing your food with some other person. Suppose no one is available; no problem. Share it with some birds or even ants. In any case, you can always offer the food first to God. In fact this is a must I would say.'
23. 'When you so offer, say a simple prayer, "O God, who is in me and taking care of me all the time in a thousand different ways that I am not even aware of, I offer this food to You, my Indweller. Please accept."'
24. 'No Arjuna, this is not a gimmick. It is an attitude of Mind that reflects the virtues of the Heart. See God everywhere and try to please Him with all the actions that you perform. God does not expect anything special from you. He would be extremely happy if you transform your duty into devotion and work into worship by following My simple formula.'
25. Arjuna says, 'Krishna, all this is fine, but what has it got to do with the Path of Action and the Path of Wisdom that You were telling me about?'
26. Krishna replies, 'Arjuna, that precisely is what I am coming to now. When your Mind is full of thoughts of God and your Heart is immersed in God, you would automatically become Wise! Yad Bhavam, Tat Bhavati. As you feel, so you become. Think of God who is the Embodiment of Knowledge all the time, and you automatically become Wise yourself &endash; that's all! Thus, for the man on the Path of Action, the three steps are: Work- Worship- Wisdom.'
27. 'Let Me now tell you something about the man who is following the Path of Wisdom. Such a man is inward-looking, that is to say, for him the world is essentially inside.'
28. 'What does this man find inside? He sees God seated in his Heart. He sees the Heart as the symbol of Perfection and Absolute Purity. He sees God seething with Love. Becoming absorbed in that Love, he gets charged with it.'
29. 'So charged is he with Love, that when he starts looking out into the world, he sees only Love everywhere. To him, nothing outside is bad, though ordinary mortals might see some things as good and others as bad. This man is above all such duality.'
30. 'The inward-looking man is one of Wisdom. He might seem a strange person to ordinary people, but he is neither strange nor mad. He is his True Self and in his Natural State, the State of Bliss. If at all he is mad, he is mad about God. But then Arjuna, tell Me who in this world is not mad? Some are mad about money, some about power, some about position and so on. Compared to all these types of madness, is not being mad about God much better?'
31. 'The Wise are always in a State of Bliss. At times, they might appear to be in a trance. At times, they would be happily singing to themselves or rather the God within, and at times they would be just dancing with joy! Obviously such people are very rare, about one in a billion or so, but believe Me, they do exist.'
32. Arjuna says, 'Krishna, the way You describe, these Wise men as You call them, appear to live in their own world and have nothing whatsoever to do with the world we ordinary mortals live in. Is that true?'
33. Krishna smiles and replies, 'Well Arjuna, really speaking, the Wise do not have duties to perform in the sense you have. You have to perform duty in order to attain fulfilment. This they achieve in an entirely different way. Yet, in their own way, the Wise too act and serve in this world.'
34. 'You want to know how? Let Me explain. By their very nature, the Wise "radiate" Peace. They have a captivating aura of Supreme Calm about them. They are ever smiling. Troubled souls therefore go to such people to have their Darshan, and when they do so, they feel at peace themselves, at least for a while. Is not applying the balm of Shanti a service? How many people are there in this troubled world who can render such service? Shining with the Effulgence of Love, speaking softly, gently and soothingly, is also service, in fact extremely valuable service. Thus, the Wise act as Lighthouses in a stormy world. '
35. 'Arjuna, just look at Me. I am the Lord and Master of the Three Worlds. Verily, I have no duties to perform. And yet, donning a human form, I am engaged in service to humanity all the time. Don't you see? Right now, I am driving your chariot? Is this really My job?'
36. 'Why do I serve when I really don't have to? To set an example Arjuna, to set an example. My Life is My Message! And My policy is to Love All and Serve All!! Got it?'
37. 'Supposing I did not do what I am doing. Do you know what would happen? People would start saying, "Look, God in human Form is not bothered about action. May be that is what God wants of us too!" Imagine what would happen to the world if people start abandoning their duties. It is to prevent this disaster that I perform duties, though in reality I have none to perform.'
38. 'Inaction is bad and laziness is rust and dust. It is to teach that lesson that I always keep Myself busy doing something or the other, of course always for the benefit of others. I never do anything that would bring advantage to Me personally. Selfless Love is My Guiding Principle, every second of My life.'
39. 'So, Arjuna, I hope after all this lengthy explanation, you have understood that the Paths of Action and of Wisdom are not two disjointed options; just that they represent two different starting points for reaching the same goal. Some start from Action and then progress to Wisdom while others attain Wisdom and then go into Action, that is all. Either way, the circle is complete.'
40. 'You will notice of course that many things are common to the ideal followers of the two Paths; they both are totally free from ego. The man following the Path of Action sees God as different from himself, at least to start with. He lives entirely for God and sacrifices his ego so that he may win the Love of God. The man on the Path of Wisdom identifies himself totally with God and since ego has no place in God, he automatically becomes devoid of ego. So both types of devotees of the Lord get rid of ego, each in his own style. Once ego is got rid of, one becomes one with God. And that, if you remember is the goal to be attained.'
41. 'So you see the important thing is to get rid of ego, and as I just told you, it can be done by two different methods. Hence both Paths lead to the same goal. However, if you ask Me which of these two paths is better suited to you, I would unhesitatingly pick the Path of Action or Karma Yoga as it is called. In fact, Karma Yoga is the preferred choice for 99.99999….% of humanity!'
42. Arjuna silently digests all this and then slowly asks, 'Krishna, what You say is very clear no doubt but there is one thing I still do not understand. Why is it that people are driven to sin even though they know it is wrong? What is amazing is that sometimes people seem to commit sin even against their will! It seems there is some stronger force. What is that?'
43. Krishna replies, 'The short answer to your question is that the force you are talking about is the force exerted by the internal enemies. Take, for example, a man addicted to drinking. To start with he did not know the taste of alcohol. One fine day, the enemy called desire tempted this man saying, "Listen, you don't know what you are missing! Give this a try!!" The man falls for this evil advice and soon finds that he is hooked. Later he realises that his health is being ruined and that death would soon catch up with him but still he is not able to give up drinking. These internal enemies are very powerful and that is why they should not be given even a toehold in the first place.'
44. 'Arjuna, desire is man's mortal enemy. It is like a raging fire, a huge unstoppable conflagration. Desire sneaks in by devious means and later hides in the senses and the Mind. Once it gets in, it can smother even Wisdom; that is how even very Wise men have been dragged to ruin. You must therefore slay this evil dragon called desire, well before it gets hold of you!'
45. 'You might think that what I am asking you to do is difficult but do not worry. Just trust in Me and throw desire into the Fire of Knowledge for it to be totally destroyed. People perform all sorts of Yajna at great expense; no need for that. Just burn away your bad qualities, starting with desire &endash; that is more than enough. Do it as an act of Love for Me; if you do, then be assured that I shall help you, all the way to success. Of this you can be sure!'
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PART 7
1. Krishna continues and says 'Arjuna, do you know that what I am telling you now is no different from what was taught by Me to your ancient ancestors a long time ago?'
2. Arjuna frowns and asks, 'Krishna, how could that be? You are almost the same age as me, may be a few years older. How then could You have taught all this to my ancestors?'
3. Krishna smiles and replies, 'That precisely is the point Arjuna! You are just looking at My physical body and thinking of the age of the body. But I have already told you that I am NOT the body! Indeed, neither are you.'
4. 'You are the Atma and so am I. When I told you that I taught your ancestor I meant that I, wearing a particular body at that time, taught an embodiment of the Atma that was your physical ancestor.'
5. 'Arjuna, man has been told repeatedly that he is NOT the body but the Eternal Atma. But, like a weak student, he easily forgets the lesson taught despite many repetitions. Man seems to remember all kinds of trivial and useless information but readily forgets important truths about his real nature.'
6. 'This is the main reason why I have to incarnate again and again, to teach the same lesson! See how man's stupidity gives Me so much work? But I love man dearly and therefore I do not mind. Arjuna, man forgets Truth but I don't &endash; that is the difference between man and God.'
7. 'Now listen to this carefully. Humans take birth, die, are born again, die again and so on it goes, in a seemingly endless cycle. This repeated birth and death is related to a processing of "settling accounts" one might say.'
8. 'In a given birth, a human being accumulates some positive as well as some negative points. The positive points come from the good deeds done while the negative points come from the sins committed. It is this accumulation that causes rebirth.'
9. 'When a person is reborn, he enjoys good luck in proportion to his positive points and bad luck corresponding to the negative points. The positive and the negative are inescapable for a person with an external outlook, that is to say, when the vision is focussed mostly on the world outside.'
10. Arjuna then asks, 'Krishna, what You say is very disturbing. Is there no way to get out of this rut of repeated birth and death?'
11. Krishna replies, 'Who said there isn't any? There sure is; all you have to do surrender to Me. In fact, I have already told you how you can earn God's Grace. Once you have God's Grace, nothing can touch you, and you can get off the hook once and for all.'
12. 'Human birth is called Karma Janma; it means that birth is caused by the consequences of actions performed in earlier births. That is what I just now described in terms of settling accounts.'
13. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna what about You? Is Your birth also a Karma Janma?'
14. Krishna says in reply, 'Arjuna, what are you saying? I incarnate, and am not born like you and other ordinary mortals are. I have no accounts to settle! Do you understand that? I come at specific times of My choice for specific purposes. It is all a part of My never-ending Sport or Leela. That is why the Incarnation of God is referred to as Leela Janma.'
15. 'You want to know more? Here it is! This entire Creation is a Sport or Leela of God. The Universe is the stage and every person is an actor in God's Cosmic Drama. All the ups and downs that you see in life are a part of this extraordinary Drama.'
16. 'Now an ordinary play must have a script-writer, a director, a producer and so on. In the Cosmic Drama, all these roles are played by God Himself. He is the Author, the Director, Producer, etc., etc.'
17. 'Perhaps you have seen in the usual dramas that there is a person hiding behind the screen who whispers the dialogue in case some actor forgets his lines. He is called a prompter. In the Cosmic Drama also something similar happens. When people forget to follow Dharma [which is really the script], God prompts via the Conscience.'
18. 'However, there are times in history when such prompting alone is not sufficient. God then dons a human form and descends as an Avatar to play a direct role in His own Drama. This way, it becomes much easier for Him to correct man.'
19. 'Arjuna, whenever the situation demands, I come in human form. Such an Incarnation is called an Avatar.'
20. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna why and when does God deem it necessary to incarnate?'
21. Krishna replies, 'Ah, God incarnates whenever wickedness is on the rise and good people are tormented by evil people. The Avatar deals suitably with the wicked and protects the good.'
22. 'There are many ways in which the Avatar deals with wicked people. When the number of evil doers is relatively small, He arranges for them to be simply disposed off. This is like a surgeon removing cancerous growth.'
23. 'Do not however imagine that the every time God descends, He would do so with some sort of a weapon to slay people with. Far from it. There are times when vast sections of the population have good and evil coexisting within them. In such an event, the Avatar obviously cannot go around slaying people. Instead, He resorts to an entirely different strategy.'
24. 'When evil is widespread, the "weapon" that the Avatar uses is the most powerful of them all! The beauty of this "weapon" is that not even a single drop of blood is shed! Isn't that amazing?'
25. 'Can you guess what that "weapon" is? I am sure you cannot! It is Love Arjuna, it is Pure and Unselfish Love, Love that gives and forgives, Love gives and also forgets.'
26. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, how on earth can just Love alone get rid of the bad guys?'
27. Krishna smiles and says, 'That is the beauty about Love! You see it does not get rid of wicked people but removes the wickedness in people; got it?'
28. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, are you saying that Love transforms the bad into good?'
29. With visible enthusiasm, Krishna replies, 'Correct, you got it! Transformation is the miracle that Love alone can perform; and that is how a bloodbath is averted. Arjuna, it is a pity that man often tries to solve problems using violence, when Love would do the job far more simply and much better too.'
30. 'Right now, what is required is surgery but the day will come when the Avatar would be seen as nothing but Love. He would all the time be talking about Love and through His own life put on display the innumerable shades of Pure Love.'
31. 'Pure Love would scrub away all the contamination in the minds of seekers who come to It. The Avatar can charm and transform people in countless different ways, suited to the mental make up of the person concerned.'
32. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, can you tell me some more about the Avatar?'
33. Krishna replies, " Yes I can, but right now since time is short let Me just say that in whatever way people adore Me and relate to Me in that very same way I respond. Thus, to a child I am a child, to a woman I am a woman, to a man I am a man; but when I am alone, I am God!"
34. " People wonder: ' Why did God who is Indivisible, create diversity in the Universe?' Well, that is for the purpose of staging My Cosmic Drama. You would have noticed, Arjuna, that people are very different in their aptitudes and attitudes. Some like to paint, some like to sing, some are interested in sports, some hunger for power, some are mad about business, and so on. All this diversity is needed for making My Drama spicy! Thus it is that there are good guys as well as bad guys!"
35. " Talking about My Drama, let Me now add a couple of more remarks about when I make My appearance. You see, people normally tend to forget God, especially when there are plenty of worldly attractions. But if the Avatar happens to be around, His Divine Attraction draws millions to Him like a magnet, and this way many many people start thinking about God, at least part of the time."
36. " They come to Him with all kinds of doubts to start with, but once they see Him, they are straightaway captivated. And when He talks to them, they are instantly charmed and begin to transform. In short, the Avatar initiates God-consciousness on a large scale, which in subsequent years grows substantially.
37. " The Avatar also provides many opportunities to devotees to redeem their lives by serving Him in many ways. He gives "tasks" to many and people plunge into these tasks in order to please God in human form. Actually, God does want any of these things; but He pretends that He wants this or that done, so that people could sanctify their lives."
38. " Just to give an example, in My earlier Avatar as Rama, there was a need to build a bridge across the ocean. I could have easily created such a bridge with a mere wave of My hand. But I did not. Why? Because I wanted to give the vanaras or monkeys accompanying Me a chance to do service. In fact, you might remember that even a small squirrel came forward to help in this mighty project. What contribution can a mere squirrel make? But God does not evaluate in terms of quantity; He cares only for the spirit in which service is done, and thus it is that the squirrel became eternally famous by winning the Grace of God. Remember! One teaspoon of cow" s milk is far preferable to a barrel of donkey" s milk!"
39. " All this sort of thing happens while the Avatar is around. But after the Avatar withdraws and as the years pass by, man begins to forget again, and one more trip down becomes necessary for Me!"
40. " Arjuna, being close to the Avatar confers one priceless advantage. Proximity helps one to watch closely the Avatar in action and learn innumerable lessons from Him. This is because the Avatar's life is always His Message. As has been said, "Living with God is true education!"
41. " Let Me now revert to the business of action and inaction. Normally, these words are used in a purely worldly sense but that is not correct."
42. " Let us say there is a hyperactive businessman. He might be very busy all the time, chasing money of course. However, a Wise man will not see all this as action; rather, he would describe it as inaction! Why? Because for the Wise that alone is action, which is performed in a selfless manner and as an offering to God."
43. " Perhaps this would make clear to you that though Yogis might seem very passive and "inactive" they actually are very active in a spiritual sense. Let Me explain with an illustration."
44. " Let us say there is a Yogi who is deep in meditation. You would think this man is utterly inactive and frozen, giving a good imitation of a statue! Not correct!! You see, even while meditating, this Yogi spreads sacred vibrations all around him. People get drawn to the Yogi on account of his goodness, and when they are in his proximity, they experience badly-needed calm and inner peace, at least for some time. The Yogi is hardly conscious that he doing this; yet what he is doing is valuable service and therefore counts as action in the spiritual sense, valuable action in fact. Tell Me, how many are there who can render the important service of making people experience calm and peace?"
45. " The two important points you must note regarding actions are: firstly, they must be totally free from ego, and secondly they must be done with Love. In fact, as the saying goes, true Karma is Prema made visible! If action is performed in this spirit, then automatically there is no thought of reward; it is this sacrifice of the desire for the fruit of action or Karmaphala Tyagam as it is called, that would ensure eternal escape from rebirth."
46. " Over the ages, people have devised various methods of making offerings. Some build a sacred fire and offer material objects to that fire. This is OK for a start, but what is preferable is to sacrifice or offer or give up, call it what you will, one's undesirable traits, like bad desires, for example. Make this offering in the Fire of Knowledge."
47. " Knowledge or Wisdom is the greatest and most purifying fire that one can think of. Physical fire can burn only material objects whereas the Fire of Knowledge can burn even such subtle entities as bad qualities."
48. " There is nothing greater than Absolute Knowledge for that alone gives a glimpse of the Oneness that is God. It is Knowledge alone that will generate Constant Integrated Awareness or the capacity to see God everywhere, in everything, all the time."
49. " Once you are able to see God everywhere, even the traditional ritual involving offerings to the fire would manifest as a part of the Cosmic Loop. That is to say, you would realise that the one who is making the offering is God, the object offered is God, the fire to which the object is offered is God, and the ultimate receiver is also God. In short, everything is by God, for God and of God! That is the awareness that true Knowledge would bring to you."
50. " Arjuna, without Knowledge, you would be reduced to a bundle of doubts. Therefore, seizing the Sword of Wisdom, slay ignorance, before you embark on battle."
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PART 9
CHAPTER 5
1. Despite the patient and in-depth teaching by Krishna, Arjuna is still confused. So he asks again, 'Krishna, forgive me please but I am not still clear about the two Paths you have been telling me about. As I see it, the Path of Wisdom essentially means that one must live like recluse, in which case, how can the recluse be active in the world? There appears to be something fundamentally different about the Path of Wisdom, and I can't quite see how it can have anything in common at all with the Path of Action. Tell me once again, in simple language please, what the two paths have in common and how they also differ in some respects.'
2. Krishna smiles and says, 'Arjuna, you are confused because you are looking at things rather superficially. True, on the face of it the two paths appear to have little in common. But if you examine in depth, you will discover that the difference if any lies purely in the procedure followed rather than in either the spirit or the goal to be achieved.'
3. 'Let Me explain all this in greater detail and even as I do so, you had better pay careful attention; time is short, and I don't want this issue raised again!
4. 'I will start with Karma Yoga or the Path of Action. Action, as you know, is always performed in this world. Naturally therefore, the Karma Yogi or the one committed to the Path of Action is immersed in the world like everyone else. But there are important differences. While people are engaging mostly in action for personal advantage, profit, power, etc., etc., our friend the Karma Yogi does his work as a Duty discharged to Society and as an offering to God. He has absolutely no thoughts of reward, profit, success, and things of that kind.'
5. 'He does not even expect thanks for the service that he renders. In other words, this noble soul has totally renounced all claims to the fruit of action &endash; that is the important point.'
6. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, I am a bit puzzled. I don't quite see what is wrong with aspiring for the fruit of action. There is person who has worked very hard in his profession, business, say. What is wrong with his wanting to be successful? After all, why else would a businessman do business?'
7. Krishna smiles and replies, 'I get your point. There is nothing morally wrong in expecting a reward for what you have done. But you see, the reward that you are looking forward to is connected with this world. And once you hanker after such rewards, that desire ties you down to this world. Result? Cycle of birth and death. So, if you want to get out of this rut, and I presume you want to, then you have to get rid of the desire, that is all.'
8. 'But Krishna, what about the businessman in my example? Why on earth would he want to do business if he should ignore the rewards?'
9. 'Well, that is where spiritual philosophy enters the picture. You see, the businessman should engage in business as a profession and not for amassing wealth. Take a teacher for example. His job is to teach and NOT to make money. If he gets paid that is incidental; his primary objective should be to train students properly, be a role model to them, and mould their character. That is the service he owes to Society. The businessman should operate in the same way; he should be focussing on his work as a service activity rather than one that fetches profit, etc. If he makes money in the process, nothing wrong. However, he should make sure that the money is given away to good causes etc., after keeping some for his needs of course.'
10. 'The essential point is simply that operationally, the man on the Path of Action or the Karma Yogi, functions very much like the man on the Path of Wisdom. In other words, the Karma Yogi starts from the outer world and later journeys inwards to God. The Wise One on the other hand starts from the Inner world and then journeys outside to do service. Thus, the journey of the Karma Yogi is from Action to Wisdom, while the journey of the Sankhya Yogi is from Wisdom to Action! At the end of it all, the two types of Yogis become indistinguishable.'
11. 'The man of Wisdom may appear very strange in his behaviour, in fact even crazy! But crazy he is not; let Me give you an example.'
12. 'One day, the Gopikas of Brindavan wanted to cross the Yamuna river. However, the river was flowing full and there was no boatman in sight. So they all stood there wondering what they should do. At that time Sage Vyasa came there &endash; you know Vyasa, don't you? The Gopikas prayed to the Sage, "O Venerable one, please can you help us to go across the river?"
The Sage smiled and replied, "Certainly but before I do so, you all must give me some of the butter that you are carrying." The Gopikas immediately served fresh butter to the Sage who ate it with great relish. Wiping his hands and mouth, the Sage then went near the river and said aloud, "O Mother Yamuna, if is true that I have been fasting today, please stop the flow of water so that all of us can walk across."
And Lo and behold, water immediately stopped flowing, and the Gopikas as well as the Sage went across the river. On reaching the other bank, the Gopikas thanked the Sage profusely and then asked, "O Sage, we are not able to understand one thing. You ate so much butter and yet you said you were fasting. And Mother Yamuna seemed to accept your declaration! What is the mystery behind all this?"
With a smile the Sage replied, "You all thought I was eating the butter. No, that is not true. I just went through the physical motions but I offered all that butter to Krishna, who as you know likes fresh butter very much. It was really He who ate all that butter!"
Arjuna, now do you understand how the Wise perform actions?'
13. 'The Yogi is always inward-looking and seeks God in his Heart. By the way, when I speak of the Heart, you must understand that I am referring to the Spiritual Heart and not the physical heart! You must have heard people say, "You are a heartless person." How can anyone exist without the pump that causes the blood to circulate?'
14. 'Thus in Spirituality, Heart always means the seat of Compassion. The Heart is called Hridaya; Hridaya = Hrid + Daya; Daya means compassion. Thus the Heart is the seat of Compassion, which is a Divine quality.'
15. 'Getting back to the Yogi, he totally identifies himself with God. In fact, he believes that he is God, he is the Atma, he is the Inner-Self, he is the True Self, he is the Reality.'
16. Krishna continues: 'Sounds weird? It does not end here! The Yogi always feels that the Mind and the body are quite distinct from him. In other words, you will never catch him say, I am the body or I am the Mind. He KNOWS that he is NOT the body or the Mind!'
CHAPTER 5
17. A puzzled Arjuna asks, 'I don't quite understand what You are saying. Please can You come again?'
18. With His eternal smile, Krishna replies, 'Of course. You see Arjuna, the Yogi's body and Mind function just like yours. But there the similarity stops. His body would always perform sacred actions. His Mind is always full of Pure thoughts.'
19. Arjuna asks, 'How does that happen?"
20. Krishna replies, 'Suppose there is a well. If you throw a pebble into the water, ripples are generated which then travel to the edge of the well. The Yogi's Heart is the well, absolutely Pure of course. If the pebble of good thought is thrown into this well, it generates ripples. When the ripples reach the edge that is the body, it results in good action.'
21. 'Arjuna, for the Yogi the Atma is in the driving seat. He as the Atma commands the Mind. The Mind then gives appropriate orders to the body and the senses; the net result is that there is perfect harmony between feelings, thought, word and deed. This really is what the so-called human values are all about.'
22. 'If you ask the Yogi as to who is acting, he would simply say, "I don't act; I am the Atma, and the Atma is just a Witness; it is the Mind and the body that act. As for me, I am not the body or the Mind." Notice he does not even use words like my body, my Mind, etc.'
23. 'The Yogi is speaking the Truth, though his way of talking might appear strange to ordinary mortals like yourself. I shall come back to this point later maybe but for the moment let Me stay with what I was telling you a short while ago.'
24. 'The Yogi is not like a hibernating bear, absolutely still all the time. He may shun the pleasures of the worlds, he may be above desires, he may not want food, he may not experience hunger and thirst the way normal people do. In all such respects, the Yogi clearly belongs to a different species, if I might say so.'
25. 'Yet, such people do act in their own special way. They gather disciples around them and groom them carefully and patiently. Why? Because humanity always needs noble souls, and Yogis often take upon themselves the task of grooming such people. This is the service that they render to Society.'
26. 'You might ask, "OK, one Yogi produces ten others but of what use are they to society? They keep to themselves and apart from Society. They may be wise but where is the action?" I shall answer that.'
27. 'True the Yogis stay with their students but they keep wandering and in their travels, they pass through many villages. Every time the party enters a village, the residents welcome them, extend hospitality to them and listen to discourses delivered by these Wise men. In this way, even Yogis serve society.'
28. 'Arjuna, you must have heard the advice: Avoid Bad Company and Always seek Good Company. The wandering Yogis provide the good company that people need. These Yogis come as a breath of fresh air, sanctify the places they visit and reinforce the faith that simple people have in God.'
29. 'In short, if the Karma Yogi journeys from Action to Wisdom the Sankhya Yogi goes from Wisdom to Action.'
30. 'Suppose you want to make syrup. There are two ways of doing it. You could take a tumbler of water, add sugar and then stir. Alternately, you could first put sugar in the tumbler, next add water and stir. Either way the end product is the same. In a like manner, the two paths that I referred to earlier are completely identical as far as the final goal is concerned.'
31. 'Having said that, I should also point out that for you especially and indeed for 99.99999 % of humanity, the Path of Action is much easier to follow. It is a lot easier to go through life working for God rather than telling yourself all the time, "I am God, I am God…."!
32. Arjuna asks, ' Krishna , if it is so difficult, then how come the Wise man is able to say "I am God," and get away with it?'
33. Krishna replies, 'You must get one thing clear. The Wise man does not go about proclaiming to the world that he is God. Instead, he constantly reminds himself: "I am God in the essence. Therefore, I must do nothing that is contrary to my native Divinity. I must see only what is good, hear only what is good, speak only what is good and think only what is good! Further, I must see God in everything all the time".'
34. 'This is how the Wise man spends his life. He is immersed in Constant Integrated Awareness. In simple terms it means seeing God everywhere, in everything, all the time! In the process, he also sees the same God within himself, naturally,'
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PART 11
35. The Wise man sees God in the microcosm as well as the macrocosm. He makes no distinction between a saint and a sinner. For him, the saint and the sinner are both God in disguise. Can you go through life like that? Impossible! That is why I recommended for you the Path of Action. Got it?'
36. 'I now come to something I had put off earlier, namely about My Incarnation. I take on a human form whenever I feel that My direct presence here on earth is absolutely essential. Further, I choose the parents of the body, the place of birth and also the exact time of birth. All these factors are entirely under My control. Thus, the time chosen is sacred, the place chosen is sacred, and the parents of the body also are holy people.'
37. 'The Avatar moves about like ordinary mortals. He will talk like an ordinary peerson, He will eat, sleep, and dress like an ordinary peerson. But there the similarity ends! The Avatar is without blemish in every respect, and personifies Sathya (Truth) and Dharma (Righteousness). Ever smiling, He radiates Prema (Love) all the time. Not even an iota of selfishness and self-interest can ever be found in Him. Ever compassionate and ever full of Kshama or forbearance, He is always giving. Thus His hand is always above, and never below receiving!'
38. 'Like humans, the Lord in human form is also ever engaged in actions. However, whereas ordinary humans get bound as the result of their actions, the Lord is not so bound.'
39. Arjuna asks, 'How is that? I don't follow.'
40. Krishna explains: 'The answer is simple. Actions bind one to the world when performed with some self-interest. As I told you, I have no self-interest, not even a trace of it. I am beyond this world and come here just to play a specific role for a limited time. All My actions are based on Pure Love, and that is the reason why actions can never bind Me.'
41. Arjuna asks, 'If I perform actions with Pure Love, will I also be free from getting bound?'
42. Krishna replies, 'Of course! And that is precisely the lesson I have come to teach you! Selfless action based on Pure Love is the bottom line. You must always give and not grab. You must give and forgive. You must give and forget. Remember, it is in giving that you really receive. And what is that you receive? My Grace!'
43. Seeing a frown on Arjuna's face, Krishna now says, 'Mind you, I am not saying that actions performed with expectation of specific rewards are necessarily evil. A mother may want her son to do well so that she could be proud of him. This is a natural human instinct. Such a desire is not immoral or a sin. However, it is entirely worldly, and based on body-attachment. That is what binds one to the cycle of birth and death.'
44. 'Worldly desire, no matter how good it might seem, always leads to bondage. Worldly desires inevitably chain you to the cycle of birth and death. You may want many things and all these desires might not get fulfilled in this birth. So destiny offers you another birth but then, in that birth you also face much misery. And so on it goes: Birth again death again; in between, sojourns in so many wombs! What a fool man is! If only he would constantly think of the Lord!!'
45. 'So you see, the Avatar is not like you in terms of the purpose for which actions are performed, and that is why He remains beyond always. There is one other point that I must mention. People often lament, "O God why did you inflict this suffering on me?" But do these people think of Me in their moments of success? Hardly! Instead they give all the credit to themselves and are busy accepting congratulations. So it would seem that all I do is to spread misery! But let that pass.'
46. 'Arjuna, man alone is the master of his Destiny and not God above. God merely watches and says yes to all that man wants. If he wants to be good, God says yes. If he wants to be bad, God says, "Alright do so if that is what you want". If man wants desires to be fulfilled God says go ahead. If on the other hand man wants to be liberated, God not only says yes but helps with great enthusiasm.'
47. Arjuna asks, 'You say man alone is the master of his Destiny. But there are certain things not explained by this statement. Let us say there is a poor couple. They have a son who is badly handicapped. These people are very good and highly devoted to You. They are not doing any harm to anybody. Yet they are suffering. Why are they being punished? Don't tell me they are punishing themselves.'
48. Krishna smiles and replies, 'I am glad you asked this question because this is a common confusion that people have. You see, people accumulate positive and negative points in every birth. This account has to be settled. Often it is not settled in one lifespan and there is a carry over. In the example that you gave, both the parents and the handicapped boy are settling the account of their respective past Karma. Men do not realise that they are the masters of their own fate; the fault lies not in the stars but in themselves.'
49. 'The solution to all this, as I have already told you, is to totally surrender to God and let Him shape your life. But unfortunately, people think of God only when they are in trouble and more or less forget Him when things are going smoothly. This kind of part-time devotion will simply not work! Beware!!'
50. 'In such matters, you must draw a lesson from the Wise. They too live in this very same dual world with all its pairs of opposites. But their outlook to these is very different.'
51. 'The Wise man constantly tells himself, "It is wrong to imagine that some things in this Universe are good and other things are bad. If everything is God, how can anything ever be bad? Impossible! Things only appear to be bad even though they are good in the core. It is like in a play enacted by a drama troupe. All the members are good people really, but in the play some may act as the good guys while others may play the role of bad guys. God's Cosmic Drama is no different".'
52. 'The point that I am trying to make is simply that the Wise man is above duality that most people are in the grip of. What deludes ordinary people does not delude the Wise man.'
53. 'Creation is a clever puzzle designed by God. It fools 99.9999% of the people. Sometimes it even makes them believe that the transient is Eternal and that the Eternal does not exist! Everyone sees people dying all the time and yet, most people do not realise that they too would have to go one day. If they did, would they not give serious consideration to what they must do with their lives? Do you see anyone doing that? Hardly!'
54. 'Incidentally, this is where Karmaphala Tyagam (Renouncing the results of actions) that I taught you earlier comes in handy. When you are truly engaged in Karma Yoga, the world just flits by. You are so immersed in working for God and offering everything to Him, that you couldn't care less about duality and all that stuff! You will get wet only when you go out into the rain without an umbrella. If you stay at home, how can you get wet?'
55. 'In short, while the Sankhya Yogi truly rises above delusion, the Karma Yogi bypasses it neatly by firmly attaching himself to God. I might add that God likes the Karma Yogi very much. Do you get the hint Arjuna?'
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Chapter 6
1. Continuing His Discourse on Atma Jnana or the Knowledge of the Self, Krishna says to Arjuna, 'I am now going to tell you something about attitudes, and the regulation of the Mind. People use the word Mind Control but I prefer the term Self-regulation as the word Control worries many people, especially when the Mind is involved. Let Me start with attitudes first.'
2. 'Going back to the Karma Yogi (a spiritual seeker on the path of action), let us ask what precisely should be his mental attitude. A true Karma Yogi will never be concerned about the outcome of what he is doing nor aspire for the fruit of action. Totally focused on doing his duty, he would always have the feeling that it is the Lord's work that he is doing. On the worldly plane, he might actually have a boss who is giving the orders. He might also get a salary but for him, all those are purely incidental.'
3. Arjuna asks, 'Krishna, does that mean the Karma Yogi ignores his boss and does what he thinks is his duty?'
4. Krishna replies, 'How can that be? There is a King and he gives an order to his Minister. The Minister has to obey, as long as the order is in conformity with Dharma of course. The King plays a role in God's Drama and so does the Minister. Yet, while doing his duty to the State, the Minister quietly says, "Lord, I am doing this for Your pleasure!" There is nothing to prevent the Minister from silently offering his work to God, nor is it in conflict with his duty.'
5. 'To continue, the true Karma Yogi has no craving for neither success; nor does he become depressed when there is a failure; he accepts both success and failure with perfect equanimity. Never a castor-oil face for him! He always says, "It is all Lord's Will. In God's play, there is never any failure, and everything happens the way it is supposed to. I am merely His instrument."'
6. 'Since there is no hankering after success and all that, there is detachment and a spirit of renunciation in the Karma Yogi. So you see, you do not have to wear ochre robes to renounce! He alone is a true renunciate who has given up attachment and desires, and not the one who wears saffron-coloured robes and is called a Sannyasi.'7. 'In other words, it is not the dress but the mental attitude that is important. A Sanyasi (renunciant) who is worried where his next meal is going to come from is no Sannyasi at all. On the other hand, I would give full marks to a Karma Yogi if he follows the Principle of Karmaphala Tyagam or giving up the desire for the fruit of action.'
8. 'Arjuna, you must carefully note the spirit in which I am using the word sacrifice. You know about Yajnas (sacrifices), don't you? The sacred fire in the Yajna to which offerings are made is also called the sacrificial fire. What I am trying to drive at is that sacrifice and offering are the same thing. In the traditional Yajna, offerings are made to the physical fire, and what is offered are material objects. The sacrifice of a bad habit say, can similarly be looked upon as an offering made to the fire of Knowledge or Wisdom.'
9. 'Let Me now turn to equanimity. I have already told you that the man of Wisdom can be distinguished by his equipoise. Ever calm and gentle, he cannot be easily ruffled.'
10. 'The same is in fact true of a Karma Yogi also. That is because he accepts every happening as ordained by God. Thus, his mental attitude slowly conditions him to an attitude of equanimity in its own way. Whereas the Sankhya Yogi (a spiritual seeker on the path of wisdom) acquires equipoise through enquiry and by overcoming delusion, the Karma Yogi allows equipoise to grow over him in due course by training himself to accept everything as a gift of God.'
11. 'At the end of it all, a true Karma Yogi is hardly distinguishable from a SankhyaYogi. Now do you see that it is really not necessary to split hairs and make a big fuss about the difference? The paths may appear different but the end result is the same. Just that some may find one path easier than the other &endash; that's all.'
12. 'Yoga literally means union with God, and a Yogi is one who becomes united with God. Now why is union with God so important? Because true happiness or rather Bliss is union with God, that's why!'
13. 'May be I should digress here a bit and say something about happiness. You will agree that no one in the world would want to be miserable, even for a moment. Even a mad man would not have such a desire!'
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PART-13
14. 'No one asks a person, "Why are you happy?". On the other hand, if a person is very sad, every one would try to find out why. The reason for this is simply that happiness is in fact the natural state of a human being. To be technically correct, I should say that Bliss is the natural state of a human being.'
15. 'As a result of this, everyone everywhere is contunually trying to secure happiness in one manner or the other. But the trouble is that almost always, almost everyone is using the wrong method!'
16. Arjuna asks, "Krishna, what do you mean by the wrong method?'
17. Krishna replies, 'Patience! I am coming precisely to that. You see Arjuna, people are trying to find happiness in this world, and that is what is wrong.'
18. A puzzled Arjuna asks, 'Wrong? Why is it wrong? Where else except in the world would one seek happiness?'
19. Krishna smiles and replies, 'You are puzzled because you think that the world is all that exists, and that the world is the only place where happiness can be found; that is not correct. This world that you see around you is the external world, but there is a much larger and a better world within you; that is the INNER world. Real happiness exists in the Inner world and NOT in the outer world as people imagine.'
20. 'Arjuna, the external world is a part of Creation and therefore not permanent. As a result, the happiness that the external world can offer is also short-lived; it is transient, it is ephemeral. You may be happy for a while but after that pain would visit you for sure.'
21. 'This external world is what the Wise refer to as a dual world; it is full of "pairs of opposite" such as pleasure and pain, profit and loss, joy and misery, success and failure, and so on. These two members of a pair are like the two sides of a coin. They can never be separated. Can you ever have a coin with just one side?'
22. Arjuna asks, 'So? What exactly are You trying to convey?'
23. Krishna replies, 'Simple! You cannot have joy alone. If there is joy today, be sure you will experience sorrow tomorrow. As I often say, pleasure is an interval between two pains! Pleasure and pain form a package deal; if you pray for pleasure, it would be granted, but then, you must be ready for the pain that would come along with it as a part of the inseparable package! Now do you understand what I am trying to tell you?'
24. Arjuna says slowly, 'Am I right in saying that the happiness that a transient world can offer is also short-lived?'
25. Krishna joyously replies, 'Great! You got it!! The point Arjuna is that man is right in seeking happiness. In fact he must, since Bliss is his true nature. But he must go about it in the proper way. Bliss means eternal happiness, and eternal happiness can be found only in the Inner world and NOT in the outer world. The outer world is temporary and therefore, the happiness it can offer would also be temporary. How can the temporary offer something that is permanent? Man is not able to understand this simple fact!'
'Arjuna, true happiness is union with God. Now where do you find Me? What is My permanent address? Your Heart is My permanent residence. Look for Me in your Heart, and there you will find Me for sure. Become one with Me there and you can enjoy Bliss forever! Got it?'
27. 'In the external world, happiness comes bundled with sorrow because it is a dual world. A dual world MUST have the pairs of opposites. But My world is not a dual world. It is a single world; there are no opposites. Bliss is thus all by itself and has no opposites.'
28. 'Let Me explain the point. Suppose you eat a delicious mango. That would certainly give you great joy. Fine. Now suppose five years after that event you recall your eating this mango. You would probably tell yourself, "Well, that was a very nice mango," that is all. You will not experience the sweet taste once again and feel equally joyous as you first did. With Bliss, it is very different.'
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PART-14
Ghapter 6 - Dhyana Yoga
29. 'Suppose you invite Me to your house. I come and we spend a nice time together. Five years later you think, "Oh how nice it would be if Krishna comes again," and start recalling My earlier visit. In the process, you begin to experience the SAME joy that you did earlier. You can actually relive every second of the earlier experience and taste the SAME happiness.'
30. 'Now do you get the significance of this? Since I live in your Heart, you and I can be together for as long as you wish, and in this way you can be in Bliss as long as you want! It is so very simple; it does not cost you a penny; no need to make travel plans, reservations and all that. Yet, people don't seem to want this bargain offer!'
31. Arjuna says, 'Krishna , You are making it all appear so very simple but I don't think it is. To start with, when You come physically to my house, I know what being with You means. But how am I to be with You in the Heart? That is not clear.'
32. Krishna replies, 'Arjuna, just take a lesson from what great devotees do. They like to hear people talking about Me, and that fills them with Bliss. They imagine I am physically before them and sing for Me; that fills them with Bliss. They talk to Me all the time, and that too fills them with Bliss!'
33. 'You can think of Me or chant My Name while doing your household work, and that would fill you with Bliss. You can be doing service and singing songs about Me; that would fill you with Bliss. There are a thousand different ways open to you. And they can be followed in any place, any time, free of charge!'
34. 'Are you now clear about the difference between Bliss which is Divine happiness and worldly happiness? Let Me now get back to the Yogi about whom I was telling you earlier.'
35. 'Man will ascend to the level of a Yogi only when he practises firm Mind and sense regulation. Anyone can become a Yogi but most people don't even try. Of the small number who try, most quit very quickly; this is most unfortunate.'
36. 'Arjuna in all this the Mind plays a vital role. It can be your friend or your foe. If you turn the Mind towards God, it is your friend but if you turn it towards desires, it becomes your enemy.'
37. Let Me give you a simple example. There is a lock and a key. You insert the key in the lock. If you turn one way, the lock opens; if you turn the other way, it closes. The Heart is the lock and the Mind is the key. Got it?'
38. Arjuna asks, 'OK, I want to become a Yogi and I practise Mind and sense control or regulation, call it what You will. How do I know I have become Yogi?'
39. Krishna replies, 'That is simple; just do a self-check. Are you able to see a saint and sinner as alike? Can you regard gold and clay as being alike? If so, you have arrived.'
40. 'The Yogic state must be demonstrated with a real-life test and not simulations. People do not quite understand the point, and so let Me tell you a story.'
41. 'You know Sage Narada, don't you? He is a great devotee of Mine, and keeps wandering over all the three worlds, singing My Glory.'
42. 'One day Narada came to Me and said, "Lord, I find that I am very short-tempered, and I want to get rid of my tendency to flash easily into fits of anger." I said, "Narada, that is very good. What exactly are you going to do?" Narada replied, "I am going to withdraw into the forest and do penance in solitude for ten years." To this I said, "Is that so? Well, good luck!"'
43. 'So Narada went away and ten years later he came back beaming. Prostrating before Me he said, "Lord, you must congratulate me. I am now free from anger." I replied, "Narada, I am very glad to hear that but are you really sure you have got rid of anger?"
In a pained voice Narada said, "Lord, how can You doubt me?" I then said, "Narada, it is not like that. Great men have tried earlier to rid themselves of anger and have not quite succeeded." Narada replied, "They may have failed but I am different." Appearing to be tired I then said, "Well, that is what you say." Narada was now beginning to get impatient and show signs of anger. In a testy voice he asked, "Are You doubting my words?" I replied mischievously, "Narada, did I ever say I was doubting your words? I merely said that great men have failed."
By now Narada was furious; raising his voice he shouted, "You might not have said so but the fact is that You are doubting my words. Here I am going round the three worlds singing Your Glory all the time and You don't have any faith in me at all! If You don't believe Your devotee, whom else are You going to believe?"'
44. 'While Narada was exploding in this manner, I remained silent but was smiling all the time. After Narada had finished his outburst, I gently said, "Did you see? You became angry! My dear Narada, for ten years you were all by yourself in the forest. Where was the opportunity there to test your calmness? If you say you have conquered anger, you must prove it here in this world. You must face situations that are likely to inflame you and show that you do not get angry despite the provocation. Without a proper demonstration, how do you expect Me to accept your claims?"'
45. 'I narrated this story just to drive home the point that a true Yogi is always a picture of equanimity and perfect composure. And that can come only from strict disciplining of the senses and the Mind. One who constantly thinks of God progressively acquires this attitude, of course only over a long time.'
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PART-15
A Beautiful Exposition On Concentration, Contemplation and Meditation
46. 'I would now like to tell you something about Meditation, especially because Yogis are supposed to be lost in Meditation for long spells of time. The word Meditation is greatly misunderstood, besides being interpreted in a narrow sense.'
47. 'To begin with, I should mention that the text-book Sannyasi or Yogi, call him what you will, is one who has lived with himself and for God for years and years. He has not only practised austerities but has gone through a long and elaborate routine of self-discipline, involving many and progressive stages. It is like going up a ladder. Yogic Meditation is the top of the ladder.'
48. 'I won't go into all those details now, but I should call your attention to three stages involved. They are: Concentration, Contemplation, and Meditation.'
49. 'Concentration is something very common. Anybody who is serious about what he is doing necessarily concentrates a lot. You, for example, would totally concentrate on the target before shooting an arrow. Well, that is concentration.'
50. 'Concentration is an activity of the brain or the lower Mind. With some practice, anyone can easily learn to concentrate. In fact, concentration is a must for all students.'
51.'After concentration comes contemplation. This is a higher activity of the Mind. Let us say a teacher has taught a lesson about plants. Later when the student is revising the lesson, he could contemplate and wonder:
"How can the plant grow up without a father and mother? Or, are there an invisible father and an invisible mother? When I feel hungry I ask my mother for food. Which mother gives food and water to the plant? Why has God made the plant so different? Incidentally, why has God created plants?" That is contemplation.'
52. 'Coming now to Meditation, in simple terms it means filling the Mind with God. When you contemplate, you start thinking of higher things. Going back to the case of the plant, Meditation means thinking, "God, how beautiful are the plants and the trees! Oh Krishna, when You were young, You used to rest under trees. How I wish I was one of those! I could have had Your Darshan for long periods of time!! Krishna, why don't You become a tree and make me a creeper twining round You?"'
53. 'Another example. You go to your garden to pluck a rose for God. When you pluck the flower, you must concentrate; otherwise you would get hurt by the thorns. Once you have plucked the flower, you hold it in your hands and admire its beauty and freshness. That is contemplation. You then say, "God, this flower I am offering to You." That is Meditation.'
54. 'In simple terms, Meditation is nothing but remembrance of the Lord. You can go about your normal household work, chanting My Name all the time &endash; that also is Meditation.
People do not realise this and imagine that Meditation perforce involves sitting in a Yogic pose, closing your eyes and all that. That is only ONE way of meditating!
There are actually many ways to meditate and the bottom line in all cases is remembrance of the Lord. That really is the important point.'
55. 'Arjuna, people are made differently and have a differing attitudes and aptitudes. Take running for example. Some can run very fast but only over a short distance. Others have stamina and can run not very fast but over long distances. The long distance runner cannot do what the sprinter does and vice versa.'
56. 'You can see this in your own family. Your brother Bhima is hefty and therefore the mace is the ideal weapon for him; but for you, it is the bow and the arrow. In the same way, where Meditation is concerned, people can adopt different techniques best suited to them. It is not the procedure but the SPIRIT in which Meditation is done that is important.'
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Part XXI - Answers for all questions
The Way to Self-Realization and Liberation in this Age.
In what Way are Human Beings better than Animals?
The lion told them, "You have all heard what my brother has said to you. I want you to know that the great qualities you have, like valor and courage, humans do not really have. I myself am a direct proof of this. If you consider the courage and valor, the magnificent prowess and strength which I have, where will you find any human being who is my equal? Though I am king of the animals, I never take any wrong or unjustifiable actions. Without reason I do not kill animals. Only when I am hungry will I take a little food. I do not kill any animals for sport; I never waste any food. Consider our courage, our code of ethics, our high level of morality. Can you find such great qualities in human beings? No! They don't have them at all. Therefore, why should we be afraid of them? Why should we be thought of as inferior to humans? Today, let us resolve to wipe out this blot on our reputation." When the lion finished his address there was an uproarious cheer and the applause resounded throughout the entire forest.
When things quieted down, the elephant, who was sitting just by the side of the lion got up and said, "Humans are not even half as big as my leg. In form I am certainly mighty and magnificent. In intelligence I have attained proverbial greatness. Kings, emperors, distinguished leaders, all have developed great regard for me. If ever a coronation was to be performed and I were not there, it would have to be postponed. When I am so great, how can you say that humans are superior to me? My intelligence is extraordinary. Therefore, even if you consider just these two, my intelligence and my physical size, you must conclude that humans can never be equal to me." Again the audience cheered their agreement.
The fox got up and said, "The lion, our illustrious king, has just talked to you, and the big elephant, our distinguished minister, has also spoken his mind. Now we would like to invite a representative of the smaller animals to come and address us." At this point a dog who had strayed into the forest, and who had many experiences with human beings, was asked to speak to the gathering. It offered its humble salutations to the president, to the king, to the minister, to the secretary and to all in that great throng who had assembled there. Then it said, "Although I am very small and weak, in faith there is no one that can be compared to me. I have unswerving faith and unlimited loyalty to the person who has brought me up, and who looks after me. I will always be grateful and faithful, even if I lose my life. Even if I am hurt and harmed by my master, I will not return the harm in kind. Everyone knows that human beings do not have this sense of loyalty which a dog has. In this quality of loyalty I can never be considered inferior to human beings.
"Among themselves, humans often give trouble to the ones who most lovingly take care of them and guide them, such as their own parents or their teachers. Humans will not hesitate to do bad in return for the good which is given to them. They will criticize and concoct schemes to deceive and hurt the very ones who have looked after them so carefully. Humans do not have any gratitude at all. They do not have any loyalty. Only so long as their purposes are being served will they pretend to be obedient. The moment their own selfish interests have been taken care of, they start troubling their own teachers. When humans are like this how can we be considered inferior to mankind?" There was complete agreement in the audience. A nodding of heads and sounds of "Hear! Hear!" affirmed every point the gentle dog had made. In this way, one by one, others got up and had their say. Appropriate to their status and experience, they gave speeches, extolling the many fine qualities practiced by the animals but which were being ignored by human beings. Finally, there was the speech of the president.
Through Effort Humans can Transform their Lower Nature.
The sage addressed the gathering, "Dear animals. All that you have just spoken of is true. Whenever a spiritual teacher does something or says something to us, it is meant for our own good. It is intended to promote our inner development and also our friendship and good understanding with others. But as soon as this friendship flowers and understanding blossoms forth, human beings become suspicious and think that something bad is being done to them. To your face, they will offer salutations and use words of praise but behind your back they will criticize and revile you. Filling themselves with opposites like that and with low forms of cleverness, they waste their intelligence and their lives. All the defects that have been pointed out here are certainly true and present in humans. As for food, sleep, breathing and such things, there is absolutely no difference between humans and animals."
The sage continued, "I do want to point out, however, that there is one specialty in human beings that is unique, in which they cannot be compared with the animals. Animals may inherit a streak of cruelty. Once they have acquired that they cannot change it. A tiger, however hungry he may be, will not eat rice and curry. He only aspires to have mutton. He will not settle for just a little tea and biscuits. However much he may try to change his habits, he will not succeed. On the other hand, if sufficient efforts are made by humans, they can transform their cruel nature and any of their bad habits. The most important difference between humans and animals is that humans, with effort, can bring about a complete transformation in themselves, whereas animals will not be able to accomplish that. These special capacities and skills for transforming themselves are only available to human beings."
The fox got up and said, "Swami, we will concede that human beings have these special capacities for changing themselves, but if they do not make use of these capacities, do they deserve the high status that they now enjoy?" The president declared, "If anyone has the capacity to change himself but does not use it, then he is much worse than an animal." At this all the animals burst into an uproarious applause. The cheering went on and on until the president gaveled for order. The sage then repeated the principal point he had just made... that any human beings who had the capacity for doing good, but who did not use this quality to improve their own behavior and develop the good within themselves, were, without a doubt, worse than animals. Then the sage added, "What is the use of all the learning that human beings accumulate? Will it change their faith? As soon as bad thoughts enter their heads, their thinking becomes dull and they become like idiots. In learning and skills, humans have attained a high status. But all this learning is only for the sake of procuring some bread. They use their education only to fill their bellies and to eke out a livelihood."
At this point, the fox got up and added to what the president had just said, "In the process of eking out their livelihood, humans use all kinds of unethical means. In this respect, it is clear that we animals are much better than human beings." The fox got carried away by his own rhetoric. He continued for some time on the same theme. "We are always fair in gaining our livelihood. In all respects, when compared to humans, we are far better. Really, we are the BEST!" He got an exuberant, almost riotous ovation from the whole four footed assembly. Everyone agreed whole-heartedly with this appraisal and urged the fox on to say more. But now the enthusiasm had exceeded its limits and the president pounded the gavel and called for order. The sage arose and made a few additional remarks. He explained the second major difference that make human beings unique. He said, "Man has been able to conquer maya, he has been able to master illusion. Once he has achieved that, he is able to experience the atma, his own true divine self. Then he can reach the state of nirvana, the exalted state of eternal bliss. This is a vital difference between humans and animals.
The vital Difference between Human Beings and Animals.
"Human beings have the power and also the authority to conquer maya and totally free themselves from delusion. If man takes the trouble and makes the effort, he will be able to directly experience the atma and, thereby, know himself as the divinity that he truly is. With the help of spiritual exercises he can reach nirvana and be immersed in supreme bliss. In the interest of truth, I have to point out that you animals do not have these powers and potentialities with which human beings have been endowed." The sage added, "Dear children, in the English language, human beings have been collectively called mankind, using the generic term m-a-n. The same is given in Sanskrit as manava. The inner significance of m-a-n is that human beings can separate and remove this illusion, maya; they can get the vision of atma, and immerse themselves in wisdom and joy in the state that is called nirvana. This, then, is the meaning conveyed by these letters m-a-n, where 'm' stands for 'maya removed', 'a' stands for 'atma realized, and 'n' stands for 'nirvana attained'. Attaining nirvana means that man becomes one with joy and bliss. So, a true human being is one who has removed the ignorance of maya, who has had a vision of the atma and who has become merged in the supreme state of bliss."
When the sage had finished, all the animals bowed their heads and there was a deep reflective silence as they mulled over the words the president had spoken. They had to agree that these were three possibilities, which they, in their present forms, could never hope to achieve. But then a question was raised by one bold buck, "Have all human beings been able to attain this?" The sage responded with a resounding "No!" He said, "Only very, very few people care at all about these extraordinary treasures which are their birthright. Mo