He once told Vivekananda the secret of work. 'Let the end and the means be joined as one.' When you are doing any work, do not think of anything beyond that. Do it as worship, as the highest worship, and devote all your energy to it for that time. The right performance of duty at any point in life, without attachment to the results, leads us to the highest realization.

The worker who is attached to results is the one who grumbles about the nature of the duty. To the unattached worker, all duties are equally good. He takes responsibility and welcomes what he has to do, irrespective of the external nature of the job. He approaches every act with the same enthusiasm and liveliness and becomes completely involved in the task at hand. He is authentic to his authenticity and does the action to his peak capability.

In the great epic Mahābharat, there are actually three versions of the Gītā: *Bhagavad Gītā* and *Anugīta*, both delivered by Śrī Kṛṣṇa; the third and equally important one is called *Vyādha Gītā*, the song of a butcher.

A butcher delivered this *Vyādha Gītā*; a man who is considered as a low caste or a cāndāla delivered this great scripture.

> There lived a great yogi who had special powers but was not yet enlightened. He was a highly egoistic person. He was meditating under a tree in a forest. A bird sitting on the tree relieved itself and the droppings fell on him. He lost his temper and he opened his eyes, staring at the bird. The bird was killed by the power of his gaze. The yogi was very proud of what he had done.

He then went on his daily round of begging for alms. He came to a house and begged for food. The lady of the house called out from inside the house and asked him to wait as she was serving her husband. The yogi was upset. He thought to himself, 'Foolish woman! She is serving her husband, an ordinary man, and she is making a great yogi like me wait!'

Suddenly he heard the lady's voice again as if in answer, 'I am not like the bird in the forest to be killed so easily. Your powers may be used against birds but not against me, so relax!'

The yogi was shocked! The lady actually knew not only what he was thinking, but even what had happened in the forest! The yogi apologized to the lady when she came out to give him food.

He asked her, 'Mother, how did you know what I was thinking? And how did you know what happened in the forest? Please teach me how I can achieve this.'

She replied, 'You have attained śakti (power) but not buddhi (intelligence). Go to the butcher who is down the road and he will teach you.' Now the yogi was even more surprised. He thought, 'How can ordinary butchers teach me anything about buddhi?'

But what the lady had done was too much for him. So he quietly took the lady's counsel and went down the road to the butcher's shop.

When he reached the butcher's shop, he saw that the butcher was busy cutting up the meat of the animal he had just slaughtered. He could not imagine learning from a butcher. But he wanted intelligence, so he approached the butcher and asked, 'I was told by a lady living nearby to ask you about intelligence. Can you explain to me how to attain intelligence?'

The butcher explained how he himself had achieved intelligence, the ultimate experience. All he did to achieve it was do his job with complete awareness and total authenticity. He did his job with complete integrity and used the money that he earned to take care of his aged parents, which he did with equal devotion. Just the very doing of his responsibility had liberated him. The nature of his work, the act of slaughtering animals, was not important. The attitude, space from which he did it was what mattered. You may be doing the greatest acts of social service. But if the attitude, the energy behind the act is not out of completion, the action is just hypocritical and inauthentic.

### **Causing Responsibility Out of Completion**

In the Mahābhārat, Karṇa is a great warrior and close friend of Duryodhana; his acts of charity and generosity are much admired. He is the immaculate son of Surya, the Sun energy and the eldest son of Kuntī, the mother of Pāṇḍavas. Being born before Kuntī's marriage to King Pānḍu, the unwed Kuntī abandoned him at birth. Karṇa lived as the adopted son of the royal charioteer of the Kurus, and struggled with misfortune throughout his life.

Karṇa's famous charity was out of a deep incompletion and a feeling that he is not respected. What was Karṇa's inner image, *mamakāra*? 'I am a failure; I am not respected anywhere I go.' This is because he did not know his parents' names, his origins. So, his inner image, *mamakāra* at a young age was 'I am not respected!' So he was exploding with the outer image, *ahaṁkāra*—'I have to be respected, I am respectable!' And the best way to be respected was to do charity work. Even his charity came from incompletion. That is why his death itself was because of his charity.

See, at every level, he is destroyed by his acts of charity. First, Indra, the king of gods, comes and takes away his invincible protective shield and earrings, *kavaca* and *kunḍala* that he embodied from his birth as the son of Sun. At the end of Karṇa's life, all his accumulated good karmas out of his charity stand as a shield and protect him. So Lord Kṛṣṇa, in order to liberate Karṇa, comes in the disguise of a poor *brāhmaṇa* and asks in alms all the good effects of his charity. You see, Karṇa might have done the charity work out of incompletion, but the people who received it were complete. So their blessings were protecting him. Foolishly, knowing that Kṛṣṇa Himself is asking him for alms, Karṇa thought, 'I am giving even to Kṛṣṇa!'

Even the great acts like charity, when done out of incompletion, only lead to the wrong effect. Finally, because Karṇa no longer has the protection of his good karma, Arjuna is able to kill him. If you cause anything out of completion, what you get back will be miraculous. If you cause even a great charitable act out of incompletion, what you get back will be hell. Even the so-called moral, good deeds will only have bad effects.

### **The Natural Dharma**

Each of us is unique in our capabilities and interests. Accordingly, our responsibilities are different. If you try to imitate others, thinking their responsibility appears more attractive, you will be making the mistake of following somebody else's path. Comparison literally rules our lives. When we use our energies with authenticity for our peak growth without comparing ourselves with others, we do our responsibility according to our nature.

These verses on *karma yoga* by Kṛṣṇa have been misused by some to defend the caste or *varṇa* system in the Hindu tradition. They say what Kṛṣṇa means is that one should not swerve from one's *varṇa dharma*, the duty of one's caste. They do not understand the origin of the caste system.

In the vedic culture, a child was taken to a *Gurukul*, the ancient system of living, learning at the feet of Master, before the age of seven. The Guru taught the child based on his or her abilities. If the child had the aptitude to become a scholar he was trained in scriptures, and became a *brāhmaṇa*. If the child was aggressive and courageous, he was trained in martial arts, and became a *kṣatriya*, meaning warrior, and so on. *Varṇa* or caste classification was based on one's natural abilities, not on birth. Over time, this practice degenerated into a classification based on heredity. One needs to understand Kṛṣṇa's injunction in the vedic educational context.

Arjuna then asks Kṛṣṇa why even a centered person is led to commit sinful acts, as if forced by unknown powers. Arjuna's question is the eternal dilemma of expression or suppression.

For example, if you see a beautiful woman and you feel attracted to her, you feel this is not right according to what society has taught you and you try to suppress your feelings. Can this inauthenticity work? If you try to suppress something, it will surface with more intensity. We are always conditioned to believe that anyone with passion or lust is a lower human. There is no lower or higher person. Only a transformation of energy needs to happen. People who pretend to be moralists are either afraid or guilty of their lust. They are completely inauthentic. The moment you think you are a lower human, you start fighting that feeling. Then it becomes very difficult to get out of it and to transform. Anything you resist persists. What you need is to bring completion and allow the transformation, the ultimate reality to happen.

## **The Alchemy Of Possibility Into Reality**

These four principles of integrity, authenticity, responsibility and enriching exist in our very DNA. A seed becomes a tree or man realizes his potential only when these four principles are lived. A human has everything needed in him to become the ultimate reality, the divine reality. The DNA, the very structure with which the human consciousness is built, in Saṃskṛit we call it *dharma*—are these four principles!

As of now, man is only a possibility. Only when these four principles become reality do you experience your actuality. Then the base energy of lust can be transformed into the higher energy of love. It is an alchemic process of changing any base metal to a higher metal. Similarly, changing our base emotion, lust, to the highest emotion we are capable of, love, is alchemy.

First, the impurity, an animalistic emotion, should be removed from lust. Your lust is contaminated by all kinds of fantasies, feelings of guilt and desire we have picked up from the society and media. In earlier times, people were able to drop their lust by the age of forty. Lust simply dropped from them. In Hindu marriages, there is a beautiful verse which couples recite. The meaning of the verse is, 'In the eleventh year of marriage, let the wife become the mother, and the husband the son.' This may sound strange. What it means is, let the relationship reach ultimate completion. The ultimate completion for a woman is when she expresses the motherliness in her. The ultimate completion for the man is when he comes back to the innocence of the child. So, by the eleventh year, let the relationship mature so that both the husband and wife attain ultimate completion.

First, the impurity in lust needs to be removed so that a deep friendship at the being level and not just at the physical or mental level can be added. When you feel deeply connected to a person, there will be no need for physical proximity to that person. You will feel happy and satisfied with just the feeling connection. For the final transformation of lust into love, the relationship needs to go through the process of patience and perseverance. You need to be patient for the other person to accept your transformation. Then he or she will automatically be transformed as well.

Here Kṛṣṇa refers to lust and anger, both born out of passion. Anger is also an emotion born out of lust. When the other person rejects your lust, it turns into anger towards that person. Anger is a tremendous energy we misuse because we do not understand and respect it. Greed, anger and lust are all *rajasic* qualities that arise from passion and aggression from the blocked *mūlādhāra cakra*, the root center. These are instinctive emotions that we inherit from our animal ancestors. Indulging in these base emotions keeps one in bondage to his instinctive nature. This is the reason Kṛṣṇa classifies these as the root causes of sin.

A human being is endowed with Consciousness that rises above these instincts. The meaning of a human life is not mere survival; it is the realization of one's Superconscious nature, one's highest reality. Anything that stands in the way of Self-realization is a sin.

## Control Your Senses

3.38 *As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, So also, the living being is covered by lust.*

3.39 *The knowledge of the knower is veiled by this eternal enemy in the form of lust, Which is never satisfied and burns like fire, O Kaunteya.*

3.40 *The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the locations of this lust, which confuses the embodied being and veils the knowledge.*

3.41 *Therefore, O Bharataṛṣabha, chief amongst descendants of Bhārata, in the very beginning, control the senses and curb the symbol of sin, Which is certainly the destroyer of knowledge and consciousness.*

3.42 *It is said that the senses are superior to the body. The mind is superior to the senses. The intelligence is still higher than the mind and the consciousness is even higher than intelligence.*

3.43 *Knowing the Self to be superior to mind and intelligence, by steadying the mind by intelligence, Conquer the insatiable enemy in the form of lust, O Mahābāho (mighty-armed one).*

Just like smoke veils the fire, just as the dust on the mirror masks your reflection, and just as you cannot see the embryo when it is covered by the placenta in the womb, we are not able to see our true nature of bliss because we are caught in base emotions like lust.

Lust is linked intimately to the survival of the species. Without lust, there can be no mutual attraction between genders, no reproduction, and no continuity of the human race. This basic survival instinct is lodged in our primal root energy center, the *mūlādhāra cakra*. When this *cakra* is blocked we behave out of instinct, like animals. When this *cakra* is energized, we learn to live in intelligence as we are truly meant to.

Once a person reaches physical or sexual maturity at adolescence, it is very difficult to control the effects of lust arising out of the *mūlādhāra*. One needs to be spiritually awakened before sexual maturity so that the energy can flow upwards towards the *sahasṛāra* or the crown *cakra*. The *mūlādhāra cakra* is the seat of all fantasies, primarily sexual fantasies. These fantasies are the ones Kṛṣṇa says are like dust on the mirror, completely clouding our judgment.

We live by templates that we carve out in our mind based on these fantasies, and live towards fulfilling these fantasies.

Completion in the present moment is the key to unlocking the *mūlādhāra* and dissolving lust. It is only completion that brings you in touch with reality as it is and dissolves your fantasies.

Kṛṣṇa closes his dialogue with Arjuna in this chapter with these words, 'Be aware that you have a higher intelligence. Use that intelligence to control your senses and curb your lust, which is your most dangerous enemy on the path to completion.' Please note that Kṛṣṇa does not say, 'Arjuna, come here, I shall help you dissolve the lust in your body and mind. You can then be at peace.'

Arjuna started the dialogue saying he was confused by Kṛṣṇa's words about action and inaction. Kṛṣṇa then told him to carry out his own responsibility with authenticity and without worrying about the result of his actions. He guides Arjuna to lead a purposeless life, free from obsession with the final goal and to be detached from the result of action. 'Authentic action is our nature,' He says, 'not inaction. Act, work, but surrender the result of action to Me.'

Now, Kṛṣṇa says clearly, 'Control your senses, be aware, be complete living in the present moment and give up lust.' Lust, here, not only refers to sexual desire but also to all desires related to the outer world. It is our sense of identity, the sense of possession that drives us to acquire and enjoy. The truth, however, is that acquisition only leads to the desire for more acquisition, not to enjoyment and fulfillment.

To be blissful we need to keep our inner space clean and empty. Only then can bliss fill that space. The outer space can be filled, that is not a contradiction. As long as the outer material space is filled without attachment, the inner space remains empty.

To make this happen, the senses have to be in control, not suppressed. Anything suppressed waits for an opportunity to explode. However, creating the space of completion can transform the mind and senses. When we realize that life has no purpose, that the meaning of life is to enrich others and ourselves and to enjoy the path, we learn to give up attachment to end results. We drop expectations. We move into the present moment and live in the space of completion.

This is the whole essence of *Karma Yogaḥ*. Be complete and drop your attachment to the goal and the fruit of your actions, and live an enriching life with integrity in words, with authenticity in thinking and action, and with responsibility in feeling. Live life blissfully. You will achieve the Supreme. You will achieve the space of Enlightenment.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'You will achieve the Supreme.' You will achieve the eternal consciousness, *Nityānanda*, eternal bliss.

So let us pray to the ultimate Divine, *Parabrahma* Kṛṣṇa, to help us understand His message, to help us imbibe Him in our being. May He guide us. May He enrich us to experience the eternal consciousness, the eternal bliss, *Nityānanda*!

> *Thus ends the third chapter named Karma Yogaḥ*, '*The Yoga of Action,' of the Bhagavad Gītā Upaniṣad, Brahmavidyā Yogaśāstra*, *the scripture of yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṃvād*, *dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.*

## The Path Of Knowledge

Logic can never lead you to Self-Realization. The ultimate Truth is beyond logic. The qualification to receive the Truth is Devotion. Krsna begins revealing the mysterious supreme science of Enlightenment to His devotee and friend, Arjuna. ...

## The Path Of Knowledge

The human psyche longs for continuance. Continuation and perpetuation of one's identity is of utmost importance to us. We trace our lineage back as far as we can go in memory and records. We keep looking for something noteworthy there. We are anxious to provide for the weak ones in the family. This is a general anxiety on the account of our own lineage.

Arjuna has been driven by the same dilemma. To defend the fears he has about his own identity, he cites historical moral codes that discuss how one's ancestors and descendants are affected by one's deeds in this life. It is a simple transference of his present uncertainty to the past and future.

People ask me, 'When was this Universe created? How and why?' I tell them that the next time God calls for a conference, if I am invited, I shall ask this question and find out the answer! As far back as I can see this Universe has existed. As far into the future as I can see this Universe will continue to exist. There is no beginning and no end. It has been there forever and will be there forever.

The form and identity that we are familiar with is perishable. It is matter subject to creation, destruction and re-creation. But the Universe is formless energy. As it sees fit, it transforms into matter and again back to energy. That energy is imperishable. This is what Kṛṣṇa explains earlier to Arjuna. This energy of the Universe is the same energy that is within us.

All religions may not accept this principle of energy in man and the Universe as eternal. Views of religions change and have to change as new knowledge arises. Scientists now agree that matter and energy are inter-convertible in time and space. Advances in Quantum Physics have shown that sub-atomic particles can appear in different forms and shapes depending on when they are viewed, how they are viewed and who views them. For example, people think materialization of objects is magic or trickery. It isn't! It is simple science. It is converting matter into energy, moving the energy and converting it back to matter. We can demonstrate this scientifically with the help of modern technology such as Kirlian photography.

I showed the ashramites (*ashram* residents) how this can be done. I made them count the number of *rudrākṣa* necklaces in a cupboard. I produced one from the air as if by magic and showed it to them. Then, I sent them back to count the number of necklaces in the cupboard. They found there was one less in the cupboard! Anyone can do this. All that they need is to know how.

No matter can be produced from nowhere. It can only be produced out of energy. Fortunately this energy source is infinite in the Universe. This Universe is known to be constantly growing.

The very first verse of the first Hindu scripture, *Īśa Vāsya Upaniṣad*, says that 'out of energy arises all matter—*īśā vāsyaṁ idaṁ sarvaṁ*.' Upon reading this verse, Albert Einstein, the famous physicist said, 'It is only now that I could establish that energy arises from matter. Thousands of years ago, *Vedic* sages knew more. They knew that matter arises from energy. Science has yet to establish this. The last frontier of science is the threshold of spirituality.'

Understand that the constant factor in us as well as in the Universe is this energy that is eternal. Once we understand that there is no separation between the Universe and us, all our confusion will be at rest. There will no longer be any fear of death, and there will no longer be the greed to acquire and hoard.

After all, the energy that is who we are is forever. Once we understand, cognize and accept this, we are in eternal bliss, *Nityānandam*!

# I Taught This Science To Sun

4.  1 *Bhagavān says:*

*I taught the Sun god, Vivasvān, the imperishable science of yoga and Vivasvān taught Manu, the father of mankind and Manu in turn taught Ikṣvāku.*

*   2 *The supreme science was thus received through the chain of master-disciple succession and the saintly kings understood it in that way. In the course of time, the succession was broken and therefore the science as it was appears to have been lost*.
*   3 *That ancient science of Enlightenment, is today taught by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend. You will certainly understand the supreme mystery of this science.*

You need to understand that Kṛṣṇa is just thirty-two years old when He makes this statement! Physically His body is only thirty-two years old. But He says, 'I gave this imperishable knowledge to Sūrya, the Sun god—*imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam* (4.1).'

Of course, this is very difficult to understand! With logic, you cannot understand this statement. With ordinary logic, which you use in your daily life, you cannot make any meaning out of this statement. In the next statement He says: *The supreme science, this yoga as it was, appears to have been lost in course of time.*

These two verses should be understood clearly. The first thing is that the truth is not new. It is eternal; neither new nor old. Eternal means it is there forever. It never becomes old. It was never new. Eternal means that which is beyond time and space. When you are in completion, anything you create stands for eternity. It is immortal and eternal. Otherwise there is no reason why Hinduism should be still alive. The invaders and fanatics brutally attacked and assaulted anything in front of their eyes, killing millions of people and destroying temples of Bhārat. They invaded and ruled Bharat, not for one generation but for hundreds of years, yet how is it that Hinduism is still left alive, flourishing and expanding? Because it was created out of the eternal space of completion.

**See, for a religion or any civilization to be alive, three things are important**. First, the knowledge and the science of lifestyle, *Upaniṣad* what is birth, what is death, why life, what is the purpose of life—the answer to all questions of living and leaving. Second, the buildings architecture and arts. And third, the language. All these three are made out of the magnetic field of completion in *sanātana-dharma*. That is why these three things can never be destroyed, no matter how much anyone tries.

The architectural wonders and monuments created out of completion, and the linguistic monument and wonder, *Saṃskṛitaṁ* born out of completion—these can never be destroyed. Just like the wonders of the world, if you analyse the linguistic wonders of the world, *Saṃskṛitaṁ*, the *devabhāśā*—language of Divine, will be the first and only linguistic wonder of the world. Understand, the word *Saṃskrit* means well done, refined, perfect**.** The *vedic* tradition is such a powerful, refined system that no matter how much anyone tries to manipulate, morph or misrepresent it, it gets backfired! The system is so foolproof, so evolved to perfection; that is why we say *Saṃskṛitaṁ* means refined.

And the great science of lifestyle is the *Upaniṣads*. All three are created out of the magnetic field of completion. That is why nothing could destroy or kill it.

This *yoga* is imperishable as Kṛṣṇa declares, *avyayam*. **Anything created out of the space of completion stands forever, stands eternally. Completion is eternal,** *Nitya.* Only the things described and created based on time can be said to be new or old. Anything new will become old one day. Anything old was new at one time. Eternal means it is beyond the new and the old. It has been there from time immemorial. Here, this *yoga*, the science of Enlightenment is eternal or *Nitya*.

The science of *Karma Yogaḥ* that we learned in chapter three, the same *yoga* is going to be explained further in chapter four, *Jñana-karma-sannyāsa Yogaḥ*. I gave the first glimpse of this in the previous chapter. The first thing that needs to be understood is the first glimpse. If you allow those words to penetrate you, then straightaway those words can give you the first glimpse of Enlightenment. They can lead you to the first step of ultimate liberation.

Understanding the purposelessness of life will wash away all its incompletions, stresses, pressures and burdens from your being, whether they are physical or mental. You are liberated in that same moment. You are in the space of completion that very moment. Kṛṣṇa doesn't give you any technique that works over lengthy periods of time. Some techniques work over long periods of time, which you will have to practice forever. Your son or your daughter may get the result!

**Kṛṣṇa says, 'Now, here or nowhere!' Either have the result now and here, or nowhere.** All His techniques straightaway give you the experience. If you can allow that one idea of purposelessness, the beauty of purposelessness, into your inner space, that very moment the breeze of Enlightenment enters your heart. That very moment, the healing of your being starts. Healing of *bhāva roga*, emotional diseases and healing of *saṁsāra roga*, the disease of birth and death, start.

Five thousand years ago, Kṛṣṇa said, 'I gave this science to Sūrya, the Sun god and the Sun god instructed Manu. The Sun god is Vivasvān. Vivasvān instructed Manu, the father of mankind. Manu passed this wisdom on to Ikṣvāku.

Here, Kṛṣṇa gives the succession, the lineage through disciples, the Master-disciple lineage. 'In course of time, the science of yoga was lost, *sa kāleneha mahatāyogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa*', He says.

### **Learn Only from a Living Enlightened Master**

Understand why this yoga of completion was lost. When a disciple is not in the space of completion, if he is not completely ready to listen, naturally the technique becomes a ritual. Understand, there is only one difference between technique and ritual. When it is done with integrity and authenticity, even an ordinary ritual becomes a great meditation technique that leads you to Enlightenment. When it is done without any integrity, as a routine, then even a meditation technique becomes a ritual.

'In course of time, the science was lost.' Kṛṣṇa uses a beautiful phrase, 'the supreme science was taught by Me, *imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ* and the supreme science was received through lineage, *evam paramparā prāptam*.' You don't lose that supreme science in just one generation. In course of time, even a single unenlightened disciple is enough to destroy the whole science.

The problem is, your Master creates a big movement and you succeed him without the necessary qualifications. People who simply ascend the throne only because they are the successor are the most dangerous people. They have everything except Enlightenment. One who creates a spiritual movement, creates it only out of the energy of *Enriching with Enlightenment*, from his love and compassion. For the person who succeeds the founder, the whole movement is a gift.

When you get somebody's throne as a successor without the energy of responsibility, you will be filled with ego. You will create damage. You carry just the book and not the knowledge. Responsibility is the energy in which your life flowers and blooms. First learn to think with these four *tattvas* as reality. That is why our *Vedic* Masters always transmitted and mirrored the truths through the oral tradition of disciple succession from the enlightened Master to the disciple. The disciple sits in *Upaniṣad* at the feet of the Master.

*Upaniṣad* **means sitting with the Master.** *Upaniṣad* is nothing but—a Master who gets into a space and lets the disciples sit around and mirror his neuron activity in their brains. *Upaniṣad* is the best way to transmit the experiential expression of the great *tattvas*. This is how Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa transmits the science of *Bhagavad Gītā* to the Sun god, Vivasvān and now to Arjuna.


That is why Kṛṣṇa beautifully says, '*ātma māyayā*, because of My own energy, I take birth. With my own energy, just out of My love and compassion, I land on this planet Earth.' The next question that follows is this: How can we be liberated by knowing this truth? How will it help us?

Understand, when I say the words birth or death, I don't mean just dying at the end of life. I mean, every night's sleep is your birth and death. Every night when you go to sleep, you die! When you come back in the morning, you take birth one more time. Every day, you assume the body. Every day, you leave the body. When you go to the causal body in deep sleep, you actually die and come back. When you come back, every day you are new. As of now, every morning, how do we come back to life? How do we take this body? Just look deeply. What happens when you wake up?

Usually, the moment you become aware that you are awake, either a thought based on greed or fear hits you. Maybe you want to meet somebody or meet some deadline. Immediately you jump out of bed. If you have analyzed your waking up, how you assume this body every morning, that moment is actually your taking birth. That moment when you take the body matters. These are the basic, very subtle, mysterious secrets of altering the whole consciousness. Whichever thought you enter your body with every morning, will play a major role in your consciousness for that entire day.

**But an Incarnation, an Enlightened Master assumes the body out of love and compassion.** He comes back just to pour His compassion out, just to share Himself with the whole world. When I say He comes back, I mean His coming back every day, every morning. If you understand this once and alter your thoughts at the time of waking up, you will alter your whole consciousness; the very quality of your consciousness can be changed. It is just like how a camera works. The first moment the lens is opened, whatever scene is there in front of the camera eye, is recorded on the film. That will remain forever. In the same way, during the first moment of consciousness, the thought that you have while entering into the body, plays a major role on your consciousness for the whole day.

**When you get up, let the first thought be of love and compassion.**

**Get up only to express your life in bliss.** The moment you become aware of yourself, express, 'Oh Lord, it is so beautiful! You have given me one more day! I am blessed that You have given me one more day's extension to see Your Existence!' Please understand, you have no right to any extension. Don't think Life is your birthright. I have seen many people taking things for granted. Before they get the job, they say, 'If I get that \$10,000 per month salary, I will be really safe. I will feel blessed.' The moment they get the job, in one month, they think it is their birthright.

**Birth itself is not your right. Then how can you say something else is your birthright?** The word birthright is completely wrong. You have no right even to your own birth. It is a pure gift. You can't inhale or exhale for even one single moment unless the Divine allows you, unless the Universal Energy gives the extension. So every day is a blessing. When you get up from bed, assume the body with this gratitude to the Divine. The quality of your whole consciousness will change and you will become an Incarnation.

#### **You too can Happen as Divine**

Here I am giving you the straight technique to become Kṛṣṇa, how to enter Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how to become an Incarnation. The man who assumes the body out of love and compassion is an Incarnation. If you assume the body out of greed or fear, you are a man. If you assume the body out of love and compassion, you are an Incarnation and you are divine. Your whole life will become pure eternal bliss. Your whole life will be a happening with a different consciousness.

Here Kṛṣṇa gives us a technique to attain Him, to experience *janma karma ca me divyam*. If we are able to live in such a way as to be free from the attachments born out of anger and fear, then we can be absorbed in Him, we can attain Him. All actions create their own reactions. When we sow a seed, the action, though it may appear to be complete, is in reality not so. We have set into motion a cycle, a chain of events. The seed sprouts and becomes a plant or tree. Thus it is in the order of Existence that every action or cause has its own reaction or effect. It is therefore quite difficult to escape from the clutches of the cause-effect cycle.

Here Kṛṣṇa gives a technique to cut these kārmic bonds, to be complete and realize the reality. Actions that are complete and free from fear and anger do not create bonds, *vītā-rāga bhaya krodhā.* They lead us towards elevated consciousness. Fear and anger that arise out of greed pattern are two of the most provocative emotions, the root patterns that create incomplete action, and lead to bondage.

Attachments are our bondage to the future based on experiences of the past. We have unfulfilled desires that we hope to fulfill. We look for results. When the results happen the way we wish them to, there is temporary satisfaction. More wishes arise. More attachments are formed. When things do not happen the way we want them to, we feel sorrow, we are depressed. We strive again. Either way it is a never-ending cycle that brings sorrow in the end. When we let go of attachments and perform complete actions with no expectations, we enjoy the path of action. There is no stress regarding what must happen, since there is no attachment.

**Please listen. Completion is stopping the effect immediately and rewinding the effect towards the cause, and merging the effect into the cause! Stopping the effect immediately and rewinding it back to the cause, and the effect merging into the cause is Completion.**

**Kṛṣṇa offers a way to be in His space of completion.** He says, 'Be drowned in Me, *man-mayā mām upāśritaḥ*; you will have no anger, no fear. All actions will thus be without bondage. In this manner, you can be purified and realize Me, *pūtā mad-bhavām āgatāḥ* (4.10).' He gives the assurance that having followed this path, many people in the past have achieved Realization.

He is not saying, 'if you do this, maybe something good will happen.' He straightaway gives us positive assurance. 'Do it, you will achieve! Many people have done so and have realized Me, *bahavo jñāna tapasā* (4.10).' Completion directly liberates you from the *karmas;* completion directly leads you to experience the truth; completion directly makes you experience the reality of life!

Masters are like mirrors reflecting us. If the devotee is praying for wealth, he gets it. If he wants healing for body or mind, he is granted it. To a devotee who says, 'Oh God, I want nothing except knowledge of Your true reality,' the God grants him that. He shows him the way to the ultimate reality. If you visit our ashram, you will see that there is something for everyone. We have healing prayers, fire rituals, yoga and meditation-Nithya Dhyana Yoga, Nithya Kriyas, enriching temple etc. for people from all walks of life. For the ones who connect with worship, we have temples. For the ones who wish to attain their reality through yoga, there are various Nithya Yoga programs. For those on the path of experiential knowledge, there are meditation programs. For those who want to rewrite their future as they want and live enlightenment, we have the Inner Awakening program. Only in this manner can we raise the consciousness of society.

We cannot hope to transform society through any mass movement. It can happen only through individual transformation. When such people act together, it will have the same power as a laser beam. Each devotee and each disciple is unique. The way I treat each one is unique. What I tell one person is not applicable to another. I warn my disciples, time and again, please do not advise someone else based on the advice I have given you. It will only cause more confusion.

Here, Kṛṣṇa promises and reaffirms what He has said earlier, that— *He will take care of the need of every one of His devotee.* Only the most compassionate being who cares for all, will make this statement. Now it is left to the devotee to have some intelligence as to what to approach the Master for.

Kṛṣṇa explains here why non-attachment is so difficult. It is in our nature to look for success in whatever we do. It is impossible to embark on an activity expecting it to fail. There is nothing wrong in looking for success at the end of an activity. What creates problems is the illogical attachment to that expectation of success.

What Kṛṣṇa says here shows that our mindset, human nature, has

not changed in over five thousand years. Even then they were looking for material success. They were looking for instant results. When they prayed to God they were praying to fulfill their expectations of material success.

Kṛṣṇa is the greatest psychologist who ever lived and lives. He has measured human nature accurately. What we want is tangible and instant results. In Kṛṣṇa's days, when *saṁskāras*, root patterns were relatively fewer, people had a different concept of time. There was much less rush and much less aggression. Yet the Master uses a term '*kṣipra'*, instant. The master is talking about humanity; past, present and future. He says you normally pray to God not as an expression of gratitude, but to seek unfulfilled material desires and all that you think will bring you happiness.

All your actions, Kṛṣṇa says, are based on material success, and He says such activities bear instant results in this world, *kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke* (4.12).Whether you understand it or not, all these prayers and actions do produce instant results. This does not mean whatever you pray for is instantly granted by the God you prayed to. God, fortunately, has far more wisdom than we have. God uses His *buddhi*, wisdom, to grant what He deems appropriate. However, the result of your actions is instant. The *karmaphala* is immediate. When religions talk of *karma* (action) and *karmaphala* (the fruits or outcome of action,) they speak in terms of merits and sins, *pāpa* and *puṇya*. They tell you that you will go to hell if you accumulate sins, and you will go to heaven if you gain merits. They try to control you through fear and greed of heaven. There is no hell or heaven.

When you think good thoughts, do good deeds, you feel good, you are in heaven. When you think evil, you act evil, you feel evil and you are in hell. That is all there is to *karma*. This is the cosmic cause-effect principle. You are what your intent is; you become what your intent is. *Karma* acts instantly, here and now. Do not blame others for your actions. *Karma* is in your hands. You are a free spirit; you have the power of thought, the power of words, the power of action, and the power of living. It is not merely guaranteed by your national constitution, but by God's own constitution. What you sow, you shall certainly reap.

# Understand And Be Unaffected By Action

*4.13 Depending upon the distribution of the three attributes or guṇas and actions, I have created the four castes. Yet, I am to be known as the non-doer, the unchangeable.*

*4.14 I am not affected by any work; nor do I long for the outcome of such work. One who understands this truth about Me also does not get caught in the bondage of work.*

*4.15 All the wise and liberated souls of ancient times have acted with this understanding and thus attained liberation. Just as the ancients did, perform your duty with this understanding.*

*4.16 What is action and what is inaction, even the wise are confused. Let Me explain to you what action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all ills.*

Now we come to the controversial topic of the caste system. Kṛṣṇa says, 'I have created the four castes depending upon the distribution of the three *guṇas* or attributes.' *Guṇa* means 'attribute' or 'quality' that we are born with. It is a reflection of the *prārabdha karma*, the *vāsanā,* and the mindset with which we are born. There are three basic *guṇas*: *satva* or purity, *rajas* or activity and *tamas* or inactivity. People quote this verse whenever they want the support of religion for making the caste system more solid.

They say, 'Kṛṣṇa Himself has sanctioned it' or, 'This system has been given by the Incarnation Himself.' Listen, Kṛṣṇa uses the words, 'depending upon the distribution of the three *guṇas.*' He does not say, 'depending upon birth.'

No two persons on this planet can be the same. Every person is unique and possesses a unique ratio of the three *guṇas*. There are basically four kinds of people; based on the more dominant guṇa in them. He says, 'Based on the *guṇa* one is born with, I decide his *varṇa*, his caste.' The varṇa system was four-fold. Brāhmaṇas were the scholars and priests, intellectually inclined. Kṣatriyas were the soldiers and kings, ambitious and physically strong. Vaiṣyas were the business community with strong commercial acumen. Śudras were the workers, physically able and skillful. Based on their *guṇas*, their skill sets and not birth, the children in ancient *Gurukul* were trained into their vocations, their *varṇa* or caste.

Over time, this system was manipulated. Those who believed that they had a better varṇa, caste, decided to make it a hereditary right. Earlier, the son of a brāhmaṇa could not to be a priest, if he was unsuitable or the son of a *kṣatriya* to be a warrior if he was inadequate. Kṛṣṇa states very clearly that only the one who transcends these three *guṇas* can reach His state, can reach the higher levels of consciousness. To reach Kṛṣṇa one has to be a *triguṇa rahita*, beyond the three *guṇas*. Then, one becomes a non-doer, a no-caste, no-attribute person.

When a desire is fulfilled, it no longer creates ripples in the mind. Desires that get fulfilled are the basic needs one is born with, which are the result of the carry-over *vāsanā*, the *prārabdha karma.* We acquire all other desires by comparing ourselves with others. These are wants, not needs. Existence has no way of fulfilling such wants. When one works out of basic need, he acquires no karma. These possessions born out of our wants can never be fulfilled or enjoyed. Once acquired, we seek the next acquisition. The cycle goes on. Have you ever seen a rich man enjoying his meal in the same manner as a hard working laborer eating his simple home cooked meal? The rich man is more worried about his illnesses than the quality of the food.

Only a person who has taken a conscious birth is aware of his *prārabdha karma*. Only he can extinguish his *karma* by fulfilling this list of needs. These needs carry an energy of their own that gets them fulfilled. Once fulfilled, they leave no *karma* trace.


When we are blissful and complete within ourselves, we would never see anything disturbing outside. That is what Kṛṣṇa says here: Be involved completely in the action yet be detached, independent and satisfied within. Then you can function spontaneously, flowing in tune with Existence. Life then becomes a celebration. Every single thing you do is an act of joy and an expression of the loving energy in you. Your joy is no longer dependent on what society says or thinks about you, because you are complete in yourself.

### Equanimity In Success And Failure

*4.21 The person who acts without desire for the result; with his consciousness controlling the mind, giving up all sense of ownership over his possessions and body and only working, incurs no sin.*

*4.22 He who is satisfied with profit which comes of its own accord and who has gone beyond duality, who is free from envy, Who is in equanimity both in success and failure, such a person though doing action, is never affected.*

*4.23 The work of a liberated man who is unattached to the modes of material nature and who is fully centered in the ultimate knowledge, who works totally for the sake of sacrifice, merges entirely into the knowledge.*

*4.24 The offering, the butter offered to the Supreme in the fire of the Supreme is offered by the Supreme. Certainly, the Supreme can be reached by him who is absorbed completely in action.*

*4.25 Some yogis worship the gods by offering various sacrifices to them, While others worship by offering sacrifices in the fire of the Supreme.*

A sense of ownership over possessions or your body is the same thing. What are your possessions? You came with nothing at all. Can you claim that you were born with anything that is your own property? In the same way, you are going to leave this world empty-handed. Can you say that all your possessions will go with you when you leave this body? No!

This very prāṇa, the life breath going inside your body is not your property. It is the property of Existence. Your very life is a sheer gift to you from Existence. When you realize this, you will immediately see that all your fears and worries and greed are so baseless. You are running behind something, thinking it is yours, but of what relevance is it really? When your very life is a gift to you, how can you claim that anything else is your possession?

Please listen! Real knowledge comes with experience, not through words. The moment you internalize any single dimension of truth and internalize it authentically, truthfully, it can do wonders for you. Vivekananda says beautifully, 'Even if you memorize all the books in all the libraries of this world, it will not help you in any way other than increasing your ego. Instead of having a whole library in your head, just realize five concepts in your heart.'

I tell you, enrich yourself with only one idea and try to internalize it in your being, experience it in your life. Your life will be transformed by just a single idea. In Tamil Nadu, South Bharat, they describe beautifully the lives of 63 enlightened Masters in *Periapurānam*, a Tamil literary work. If you study the lives of these masters, you will find some masters did not really do anything. They just plucked flowers and offered them to God. Yet they achieved enlightenment! Understand, it is not what you do that is important, it is the space from which you do that matters. How integrated and authentic you are with the act is what really matters. When they performed the act of offering flowers, they were in the space of completion; integrated and authentic to the action.

You may ask, 'We also offer flowers everyday. The only thing we get is the extra expense of maintaining the garden!' The problem is that we don't take responsibility for our space and we are not in integrity and authenticity with thoughts, words, and actions. When these Masters plucked flowers to offer to God, they were thinking of Him. They were complete, totally devoted to the thought of the Lord. I have seen these people who do rituals regularly. Whenever they are doing any rituals, they will be thinking of something else, either their office or their home. There are some who regularly chant the 1000 names of the gods as in the *Viṣṇu Sahasṛanāma*. Even while chanting, they start looking at the verse count they have reached.

### **Four Great Powers of Your Space**

**Create the space of completion. Complete with your patterns! Bring integrity into every step! Nothing else is going to help you.** There is no shortcut; this is the shortest cut! Complete and create the space of integrity and authenticity; they have no replacement. Whether you live a spiritual life or a regular life, integrity and authenticity form the basis for life!

The space you carry, the attitude, the intention, and the thoughts behind the action actually decide the energy behind the action. The power of space and thought is immense. In fact, some of the latest research shows how our DNA can be influenced and reprogrammed by words and frequencies. When a group of people focus their thoughts on something similar, like chanting peaceful, healing Vedic mantras every morning, just listening to these words coming out of completion, you will suddenly see that those very words change your inner space. The collective declarations to bless the world—*lokāsamastā sukhinobhavantū*, let the whole world be prosperous, *can* change your entire inner space. That is the power of completion!

I tell you, all the so-called natural calamities are nothing but the effects of global negative thoughts born out of collective incompletions. Your space, your thoughts and energy directly affect your body, your cell structure, your decisions, your capacity to fulfill your decisions and outer world incidents, even accidents. You create a pattern that creates and attracts similar incidents to you.

If you can complete with your greed and fear patterns, which is what we have normally, and create the space of bliss or Ānanda, then your energy flow will start brimming and your thoughts will be authentic, your words will be integrated and you will be more in the space of completion. When you do this, you have every power to control outer world incidents because you and Existence have a very deep connection at the energy level. When you are blissful, when the space you carry is not one of worry, fear and greed but one that is in the present, always complete and joyful, you will automatically attract all good things to yourself.

**When you practice Integrity with integrity, Authenticity with authenticity, Responsibility with responsibility, and Enriching with enriching, you will simply have the four great powers—the power of words—***vāk siddhi***, the power of thinking—***mano siddhi***, the power of feeling—***prema siddhi,* **and the power of living—***ātma siddhi***.**

When you unlock the *power of words*, you will have the spontaneous intelligence to use the right and most effective words towards yourself and others. Next, what is Authenticity? The decision of authenticity has to come from your very soul. Your soul has to awaken. Till then, you may be practicing a little authenticity in your yoga, or in your waking hours. But that is not completely authentic. When your soul wakes up, only then do you become a completely authentic soul. When you start practicing authenticity, your soul wakes up. Your being wakes up. When you discover *the power of thinking,* you will be able to focus on your thoughts to achieve success in your job, relationships, education, finances and life itself!

See, when you are so integrated with your words, your words just move the world. When you are completely authentic, your soul can simply express anything because energy and matter both listen to your soul. Matter listens to energy.

**Authenticity is nothing but remembering that all powers are at your disposal. You can just possess and express any power you want.** With responsibility, *the power of feeling*, you will learn to express these powers. The power of feeling teaches how to launch yourself to the next level of life through empowered responsibility. And with enriching, you will truly be enjoying *the power of living* when you realize that the greatest rewards come when you live your life for others.

#### **Your Inner Space is connected to the Universe**

All our minds are not individually separated pieces of the Universe. They are all one and the same. Not only interlinked, our minds directly affect each other. This is what I call the 'collective consciousness.'

Though each one is independent in his consciousness, when one is conscious of one's true nature, one feels that one is part of the whole Universe. Each one's thoughts straightaway affect the others around. Not only are those staying around you touched by your thoughts, everyone who is living on the planet is touched by your thoughts.

**Understand, the inner space you carry is such a powerful space! It is** *hiranyagarbha***, the space where the planets get created!** Your inner space is so powerful; worlds can be created or destroyed by it. You may be an individual, but your inner space is not individual; it is well-connected with the whole Universe. So, anything you decide in your inner space becomes a reality in the Cosmos, reality in life.

The next truth: Not only at the mental level are you connected; even at the deeper conscious level you are connected to every other being. Your body is not just *one* body. Actually, there are seven layers or bodies. The first layer is the physical body.

The second is the pranic body. There are seven such energy layers or bodies. These energy layers can be represented as concentric circles, with the physical layer as the outermost circle and the seventh layer and the nirvanic body as the innermost layer.

At the physical layer, *you, God* and *I* can be represented as three different points in the outermost concentric circle. At the physical level, the distance between these three is more. At the pranic level, the distance is reduced. If you come down deeper, to the mental level, the distance between *you* and *I* is still reduced and so is the distance between *you, God* and *I.* When you go deeper and deeper, these three entities finally merge into one at the innermost nirvanic layer, the ultimate consciousness. At the deepest point of all these layers—*God, you* and *I* are one. There is no distance between the three.

Once you become aware and realize that you are a part of the collective consciousness, that you don't have an individual identity; you realize that you do not have a separate ego. You think you own your individual identity. In Existence, there is no such thing as a separate individual identity. Once you know this truth, you go beyond pain, suffering, depression and diseases. As long as you are individually conscious, you will be continuously suffering. Why do you think you are continuously resisting Nature? Whatever Nature offers, you resist.

You think you are different from Existence. I have seen *Sannyāsis* and monks living in the Himalayas, almost nude in the cold. I myself have lived in such conditions, but the body was never disturbed. I never had the feeling of separation from Nature. When you think you are different from the atmosphere, you start resisting it.

When you are in tune and become a part of the collective consciousness, Nature is your friend and it will protect you. As long as you think you are an individual consciousness different from Nature, it will protest. There's one very simple thing you can practice now. If you are feeling cold, just relax and witness the area where you are feeling cold. In that area, don't resist the atmosphere, don't resist Nature. Just say to yourself, 'I am not going to resist Nature. Let me relax and be complete.' Consciously decide this.

With this you will see the body relaxing and the idea of cold disappearing from that part. You become completely comfortable.

Wherever you want to achieve success, in a social or in an economic context, only when you feel complete with the whole group and fall in tune with the collective consciousness will you be able to achieve what you want. As long as you feel you are an individual, be very clear that you will be resisted and you will be resisting. Whether it is at home or at work, this will happen. If you disappear into the collective consciousness, you will be protected and taken care of. Not only will you attain social and economic success, but you will also experience a deep feeling of completion.

Even in the physical layer if you think you are separate, you will invite diseases. If you think you are separate in the mantal layer, you will be sowing seeds of violence. With collective consciousness you unify, but with individual consciousness you cut things into pieces. If you think you are an individual at the soul level, there is no possibility for any spiritual growth. Even at the physical level, you are not an individual. Your body and the body of the sun are directly connected. Any small change in the body of the sun can make changes in your body. Any small change in your body can change the body of the moon. Even if you are not able to relate to this logically, it is true. Even in the mental layer, you are not alone. Any thought put in anyone else's head comes and touches you and any thought created in your mind goes and touches someone else. It is like ripples created in a lake. If you are creating a strong wave, you will be creating an impression with your thought. You will be leading and inspiring others with your thought. If your thoughts are not solid enough, other waves will impress you. When you bring complete integrity into your thinking, the words you utter to yourself and to others will be experienced as your very life. That is the power of words!

Even though your child is out of your body after you deliver it, it

is not like you are disconnected from your child. His good or bad experiences continue to affect you as long as you exist. In the same way, the words that come out of you continue to have power over you, whether they are fulfilled or unfulfilled, respected or not respected, listened to or not listened to. Understanding that the word you utter continues to have power over you even years after it is uttered makes you utter the words with responsibility.

Either you live like a leader or you will be a follower. There is no in between. You always think, 'I will not be a leader, I cannot do that much; I will not be a follower either; I shall maintain my own stand.' This is simply impractical. There is no such thing as 'my own stand.' Either you lead or you follow.

At the spiritual level, the moment you understand you are deeply connected to the whole Universe, not only do you start experiencing bliss, but you also start really living in the space of oneness and opening many dimensions of your being. See, just with this body you can think so much, you can enrich and enjoy yourself and others so much. If you disappear into the collective consciousness, you will experience so many dimensions, so many possibilities, you cannot imagine it!

During the Hindu festival of Holi (festival of colors)—*Rās Pūrnima*, Radhā and the gopīs, experienced the collective consciousness of Kṛṣṇa. This is referred to as *rās līlā*, when Kṛṣṇa gave them the experience of collective consciousness. Some people have the wrong idea of this *rās līlā* and think it signifies Kṛṣṇa having relationships with women. Kṛṣṇa was just ten years old then! What actually happened is that He gave the experience of collective consciousness to the whole group of gopikās and Radhā. This collective consciousness is what I call God.

Throughout our *Inner Awakening* program, you will realize you are a part of the collective consciousness. Not only are you a part, you *are* the collective consciousness. When we go deeper layer by layer, you will realize that you are one with everything. So automatically the diseases disappear. You start feeling the well being in the mental layer, the pranic layer, and all the other layers. You think you are an individual consciousness but if you peel the individual layers, you will experience that you are nothing but the collective consciousness!

In *Inner Awakening*, that is what we do—the opening of your minds and inner space. You are taught the science of completion with yourself, with others, and with life. You are initiated into the completion process to complete with your pains, desires, guilt and pleasures. You intensely write down and relive your own incompletions to relieve them permanently. People ask me why I ask them to write and relive all this when they already know it. Listen, by writing them down, they are opening their inner space in my presence, so that I can heal their space and initiate them into creating the right space.

First of all you should understand that I do not heal; my presence heals. When the sun rises, the lotus blooms by itself. The sun need not go and open the petals of the lotus. Similarly, in the presence of the Master, healing happens. Healing is not done, it simply happens. I can heal your body while it is in my presence. In the same way, if you open your mind and inner space and expose your incompletions, it can be healed. If you open it, the sun can heal it; the energy heals all the wounds. Inner Awakening is about opening up your energy layers one by one. When they open up, you experience completion with them and you experience God. Not only do you search for God, but you experience God as well. Completion is God! A pure mind is God itself and not something separate from it.

### The Essence of Life is 'Enriching'

We are all taught from childhood that there is a purpose to life. We are guided to work towards goals in life, which are almost always material goals. We are expected to live up to the expectations of our parents, later our teachers, much later our spouses and finally our children.

There is no purpose to life, except to live in completion and to enrich others and yourself with completion. The purpose of life is to enrich life with completion. Life is for Enriching. Enriching is Life! How can we enrich and enjoy life if we get saddled with a bagful of goals that bind us down to duties and obligations? We are so deluded by incompletion and stressed out by all that is expected of us that we have no time to enrich ourselves and enjoy what we are doing we have no energy to enrich others for their expansion.

Life is not about purpose or goals. Life is not lifestyle. Life is not about impressing people with how rich, clever, beautiful or skilled you are. Life is about enjoying the journey. It is not about the stressful incompletion of looking for the destination. When the path is right, when you enjoy the path, the destination is always right; it will always enrich you and others.

Please listen from the space of listening! I am giving you the essence of all my teachings and satsangs. **Listen! Satsang means infusing the Truth again and again into you, helping you wake up and realize the decisive component of life. This is the essence of life itself!**

**Please listen: Life is all about increasing your capability to infuse the Truth in you and others. That is all is the essence of life on planet Earth.** The essence of life in the Universe is neither money nor infrastructure development, nor just some social power or relationships. The essence of human life is expanding your ability to infuse the great spiritual truths in you; the ability to enrich yourself and enrich others! Only the person who realizes the purposelessness of life can have the strength to enrich himself and others, only he can go beyond duality and surpass envy, only he can be satisfied in any action with whatever profit comes from that action of its own accord, what Kṛṣṇa calls—*yadṛcchā lābha santuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ* (4.22).

**Understand: Life has no purpose but it has a meaning. Living in completion and enriching others with completion is the meaning of life**. You need to know this truth: if you are enriching with a vested interest, you will give up on people. Don't have any vested interest. All the time, we are taught that life has a goal, a purpose, and we run behind various goals hoping to achieve satisfaction in life. But life has no goal; the very life, the very path itself is the goal. When you realize this, you relax into the space of completion, you expand in your ability to infuse the great spiritual truths, enriching yourself and others with them, and you are unaffected by success or failure, although doing actions, as Kṛṣṇa says beautifully, '*samaḥ siddhāv asiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate* (4.22).'

Kṛṣṇa says here, 'One who works for the sake of enriching sacrifice, merges into the knowledge—*yajñāyācarataḥ karma samagraṁ pravilīyate* (4.23).' Enrich just for the sake of enriching. All these parasite patterns of jealousy and envy come when you think life has a goal and somebody else has been given something more than you to reach the goal. When you understand that you are unique and Existence has equipped you with all that you need to fulfill all your desires, you will actually be able to live life in completion and work sincerely for the sake of enriching. Otherwise, you will only be running behind some goal or the other. You will envy others who you think are closer to that goal towards which you are running. You will be caught in this roller coaster of success and failure.

Understand that the goal of life is like a mirage. It does not exist in reality, but it continuously creates illusions of its existence. Live life every moment in bliss and you can see the tremendous difference it makes to the very quality of your life.

A small history:

This has happened as per the history at my native place, Tiruvannamalai, a cosmic spiritual 'nerve center' in Bharat.

The history goes that once Lord Śiva appeared as *jyotistaṁbha*, an infinite column of light to settle a conflict between Brahma, the Creator, and Viṣṇu, the Sustainer as to who was greater. As per Lord Śiva's orders, Lord Brahma had to find Lord Śiva's head and Lord Viṣṇu, the Sustainer, was asked to find Śiva's feet. Whoever found their part first would be declared the greater one. The story has a beautiful meaning. Brahma is the consort of Sarasvatī, the goddess of knowledge. Viṣṇu is the consort of Lakṣmi, the goddess of wealth.

The history says that Brahma started searching for the

head. Viṣṇu started searching for the feet. Viṣṇu came back after some time and accepted, 'I am not able to find Your feet; please forgive me. I only now realised that it is an impossible task!' Brahma also realized he would not be able to find Śiva's head. But instead of accepting the fact, he decided to cheat. He took a flower as a false witness to testify that he had touched and brought it from Śiva's head.

Understand the truth of this happening, *Purāna*—Viṣṇu is the embodiment of wealth. Brahma is the embodiment of intellect. Neither by wealth nor by intellect can you achieve enlightenment. If you travel in the line of wealth, you will get frustrated, you will understand your incompletions, you will face depression of success and you will become really humble. You will fall, you will understand and complete with yourself to rise. This is symbolized by Lord Viṣṇu surrendering first to Lord Śiva, the embodiment of completion. Mahādev is completion! But if you travel in the line of intellect, you will never accept your inauthenticity that you are defeated. This is symbolized by Brahma bringing a false witness in order to escape defeat.

If you travel in the line of external ego, *ahaṁkarā* or the path of material success in the outer world, at least at one point you will understand the futility of your pursuit and reclaim your space of completion. You will experience depression of success. But the person who travels in the line of internal ego, *mamakāra* or the line of intellect, not only does he never achieve, he will not even be able to understand that he cannot achieve. The intellect, the ego becomes so sharp, so subtle; it will bring false claims and false techniques to say that he has achieved it. Those false claims are only these false flowers, the false witnesses.

The ultimate knowledge can be reached only by surrendering to completion, to the four tattvas of integrity, authenticity, responsibility and enriching, not through intellect or wealth. The being which has surrendered to the four *tattvas* is *brahmaṇyam bahuputratām*—the favorite inheritor of the Cosmos. Then you are not caught in running behind the senses, behind the inner world or the outer world.

# Know Sacrifice And Be Purified

* 4.26 *Some sacrifice the hearing process and other senses in the fire of equanimity. And others offer as sacrifice the objects of the senses, such as sound, in the fire of the sacrifice.*
* 4.27 One who is interested in knowledge offers all the actions due to the senses, including the action of taking in the life breath into the fire of Yoga, and is engaged in the yoga of equanimity of the mind.
* 4.28 There is the sacrifice of material wealth, sacrifice through penance, sacrifice through yoga and other sacrifices, while there is sacrifice through self-study and through strict vows.
* 4.29 There are others who sacrifice the life energy in the form of incoming breath and outgoing breath, thus checking the movement of the incoming and outgoing breaths and controlling the breath.
* 4.30 There are others who sacrifice through controlled eating and offering the outgoing breath, life energy. All these people know the meaning of sacrifice and are purified of sin or karma.
* 4.31 Having tasted the nectar of the results of such sacrifices, they go to the supreme eternal consciousness. This world is not for those who have not sacrificed. How can the other be, Arjuna?
* 4.32 Thus, there are many kinds of sacrifices born of work mentioned in the Vedas. Knowing these, one will be liberated.

In all these verses, Kṛṣṇa talks about various types of sacrifices. 'Sacrifice', it is not just the *act* of giving, but the *attitude* of giving. Otherwise, you may do everything, following all rituals according to the scriptures, but you will miss out on the real intent for which the act had to be done.

A beautiful story from the Bhāgavatam, the ancient Hindu epic:

Once, Kṛṣṇa was playing with his friends. After playing, his friends were tired and they asked Kṛṣṇa for food.

Kṛṣṇa replied, 'Go to the nearby hall where the learned brāhmaṇas (priests) are performing a great ritual to attain heaven. Tell them that you have been sent by Me and request them to give you some cooked rice.'

Kṛṣṇa's friends went as directed and asked the brāhmaṇas, 'Kṛṣṇa sent us here. We are hungry and Kṛṣṇa asked us to seek food from you.'

The brāhmaṇas were all caught up in the rituals and sacrifices, not knowing the intent of the sacrifice. The very divine energy for which the sacrifice was being made was asking for an offering, but the brāhmaṇas could not realise that and did not give the boys any food. Kṛṣṇa's friends returned disappointed.

Kṛṣṇa, on hearing about the foolish brāhmaṇas, just laughed and said, 'Now, go to the innocent wives of these brāhmaṇas and ask them the same thing.'

The friends now went to the wives told them, 'O ladies, we have been sent here by Kṛṣṇa who was playing with us nearby. We are hungry and have come to you for food.' The ladies, on hearing that they had been given such a wonderful opportunity to enrich by serving, gathered all the food from their houses and rushed to feed Kṛṣṇa and his friends.

Listen. The very act of enriching, the welcoming attitude is what is important.

A beautiful verse in the Mahābharat that says, 'A guest comes with all the gods. If the guest is honored, so are the gods; if he goes away disappointed, the gods are disappointed too.' That is why in Saṃskṛit, we say, '*atithi devo bhava'*, the guest is God. '*Tithi'* means date and prefix 'a' negates it. Therefore, one who arrives unexpectedly without a prior appointment is *atithi* or guest. When somebody comes unexpectedly also, serving him is the real welcoming attitude. The word used for ritual giving in Saṃskṛit is '*dāna',* which means sharing, imparting.

The true meaning of sacrifice lies in the meaning with which it is done. Look at the trees. They live for the welfare of others, themselves facing the winds, heat and snow, all the while protecting us from them. All their parts, leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, bark, etc. are useful to enrich others.

When you give away something you cannot afford to give, it is a true enriching sacrifice. When you give away something you can afford to give, then it is not a true enriching sacrifice. A wealthy man giving away alms is not sacrificing anything. He may be doing a good deed but not more than that.


Many people do not have the courage of authenticity to see their research through. The eastern *vedic* sages did so much inner world research. Millions of them have stretched themselves fearlessly doing full-time research for thousands of years, using their bodies and minds as laboratories. Why? Just to enrich others! This knowledge of the inner world is the result of their authenticity, their space of possibility to do courageous experiments and studies just for enriching others. They were true inner scientists, true *śraddhavān* who had not only the curiosity, 'the great why' and the perseverance to know, but also the courage of authenticity to follow, live and express their findings.

Look at Patañjali, the father of yoga—He boldly declares that all that he says in the *Yoga Sutras* is completely open to experimentation and verification. He says, 'You are free to try this, and if you find anything more to be added or edited, you are free to do so.' He has presented his research report. He invites you to try out these in your life and if you learn something more from that, his work is open to editing. That is the beauty of our system; it is a living system open to being updated.

Of all religious and spiritual doctrines, it is only the scriptures of the *sanātana-dharma*, the eternal path of righteousness, as the Hindu philosophy is called, that allow themselves to be updated. The *Vedas* and the *Upaniṣads*, which we believe are the voices of Nature, are not rules and regulations. They are truths to be understood and followed only in awareness. There are no punishments if one does not follow them, nor is one condemned as a sinner if one doesn't follow them.

This is the greatness and pristine beauty of *sanātana-dharma*, the eternal path of living. We are the most powerful, most sophisticated, most intelligent, most cutting-edge presentation of the Truth left with the possibility to evolve more and more, open for the possibility of being updated! Nothing was sacred just because it was uttered. All that we follow blindly today as traditions came through societal interpretation. It is for us to sift through these truths with conscious awareness.

Once tested, proven, accepted and intranalysed, we need to have the courage of authenticity to practice these truths. Mere knowledge is insufficient. That is what *śraddha* is about. With *śraddha*, faith combined with courage of authenticity, you make the effort to constantly stretch and align yourself to the peak capability of what you feel as you, what you project as you, and what others' perceive as you. This dawns the ultimate knowledge in you.

With authenticity you conquer your senses, and direct your mind towards the truth, instead of your mind and senses leading you wherever they wish to. The state of fear can be born in you only when you are inauthentic. Only a man in authenticity, living authenticity, is a liberated one enriched with the ultimate knowledge, *śraddhāvān labhate jñānaṁ* (4.39).

#### **Completing Self-doubt in any field is Education**

In the next few verses, Kṛṣṇa says that there is no happiness for those who always have self-doubts and who have no knowledge and authenticity. He uses the word 'always.' He does not say that from the beginning itself you should not have any doubts. Having doubts is natural; as long as you have the mind, you will have doubts. But you can go beyond it by completing with your self-doubts.

Kṛṣṇa warns, 'The one without the wisdom and without authenticity, who always has doubts, is destroyed. There is no happiness for the one who doubts the self, either in this world or the next.' Self-doubt destroys you—*saṁśayātmā vinaśyati* and the one who has the self-doubt is never happy anywhere—*na sukhaṁ śaṁsayātmanaḥ* (4.40).

First, we need to understand what self-doubt is! What is the root of this self-doubt? In your life, when the first root incident happens, you make your inner image, you project the outer image, and you create the life image to protect yourself for survival reason. For example, at the age of three or four, you run around and play in the rain. Your mother sees you and strongly pulls you into the house and gives you a slap saying, 'Don't go out in the rain! You will catch a cold! Your health will be spoiled!' She screams at you. For a child, getting slapped, being pulled inside the house and locked up is too much. The child will not understand that it is only a slap. The child will literally feel he is going to die!

At that moment, the child will create the inner mage, *mamakāra*: 'I am helpless.' He will create the outer image, *ahaṁkāra:* 'I am powerful,' because he cannot survive with the idea, 'I am helpless in the society. I am helpless in life.' So, naturally, he will create a compensating outer image, 'I am powerful,' and he will create the life's image or *svānyakāra*, the image about his mother and life, that life is cruel.

So, when this root pattern is formed, you start living and you naturally project your pseudo outer image: 'I am powerful.' If you are not able to convince others with the pseudo outer image, it is good for you. But if you convince them with the pseudo outer image, when you come back to your private space like your bedroom, you will start thinking, 'Oh God! I made every one believe my outer image as the truth, but my inner image is different from my outer image!' So, this clash is self-doubt. This clash is what Kṛṣṇa calls as *saṁśayātmā.*

Please listen! I am giving you the example of a tree. If root pattern is the root of a tree, lust patterns are the parasites of the tree, every day suffering and powerlessness are the leaves of the tree, self-doubt is the fragrance of the tree.

**So, please understand, when you convince others with your strong outer image, and your inner image starts questioning you; your inner image questioning you is self-doubt. That is where the self-doubt starts. This is where your root of unhappiness grows—***na sukhaṁ śaṁsayātmanaḥ* **(4.40).**

In any field if you carry self-doubt, you will continue to be powerless. In any field if you complete with your self-doubt, you are educated. For example, look into the first time you started doubting your ability to memorize poetry or mathematics tables. Complete with that incident and pattern. Suddenly, you will awaken your ability to memorize in an unimaginable way. That component in your brain, which is now non-mechanical, will be awakened. Similarly, if you complete with self-doubt in any field, suddenly that non-mechanical part of the brain will immediately be awakened.

**Awakening all the non-mechanical parts of the brain is what I call Inner Awakening.** In any field in your life if you complete with your self-doubt, you become educated in that field. Please understand, education is nothing but completing with self-doubt. If you complete with all your self-doubts in the field of dentistry, you are a dentist now. If you complete with all your self-doubts in the field of law, you are educated as a lawyer. If you complete with all your self-doubts in the field of transformation, you are a master of transformation.

#### **Listen!**

**Education is nothing but completing with self-doubts. Education is nothing but completing with self-doubts. I can keep repeating just this one line.**

I tell you, this is the precise, concise definition I have ever given about education: Completing with your self-doubt in any field is education. In any field, whether it is self-transformation, cooking, medicine, law, or construction, in any field, complete with your self-doubt. Your kuṇḍalini energy, your innate potential energy will flow in that direction and you will excel in that field.

#### **Master-disciple Relationship**

In the *Śiva Sutra*, Devi asks, 'O Śiva, what is your reality? What is this wonder- filled universe? What constitutes the seed? Who centers the universal wheel? What is this life beyond form pervading form? How may we enter it fully, beyond space and time, names and descriptions? Let my doubts be cleared.'

Beautifully, She expresses Her whole state of mind through these few words. The last words are, 'Let my doubts be cleared. Let my doubts be complete.'

She never says, 'Please answer my questions.' If She had made that mistake by asking, 'Answer my question', She would have produced one more *Gītā* through Śiva.

 See, in the *Gītā,* Arjuna is not ready to surrender to Kṛṣṇa completely. That is why in the beginning Kṛṣṇa has to give him all the intellectual answers. Arjuna thinks he can solve his confusion through these answers; he doesn't know these are much deeper doubts that need to be cleared through the experience of the Truth.

That is why Kṛṣṇa has to give more than 700 verses to first convince Arjuna that he does not know. When Arjuna finally gives up saying '*I don't know*' then Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself! He reveals the truth and makes Arjuna experience it because that is the only way he will realize the Truth.

If you say, 'Let my questions be answered,' you want only intellectual answers. But Devi says, 'Let my doubts be cleared, whether you give words or energy or techniques, I am not bothered, but let me be free and complete from doubts.' When questions become a quest, you start speaking in this language. When the urge becomes urgent, you start speaking in this language. This shows the deep surrender of Devi.

#### **A deep passive waiting without knowing what is going to happen is passive surrender. That is what I call total surrender.**

Actually, the moment you decide 'I will wait forever,' things will simply start happening for you! As long as you are in a hurry and agitated, you stop things from happening in you. It is like trying your best to make the lotus bloom. You open out the petals by hand. Will it be a flower?

A lotus can be called a lotus only when it blossoms by itself. Give it a little space and time. The moment you decide to wait, things will simply start happening and you don't have to wait anymore. You only have to wait till you decide to wait! Just allow the Master to do the surgery and give you back your true Self, and automatically you will drop what you are not.

Here, Kṛṣṇa refers to the stages in the Master-disciple relationship. There are many levels.

> The first level is purely intellectual, doubt-based. 'Doubtbased' refers to the negative self-doubts, which are purely intellectual. It is like you are telling yourself on seeing the Master, 'What is he going to do? Let us see. How is he able to mobilize such a big crowd at such a young age? He seems hardly thirty. What is going on here?'

> The next step is intelligence; from intellect to intelligence. You tell yourself, 'Why not attend this program and see what he is really doing?' By this time, it has changed from, 'What is he doing!' to 'Oh, I think He means something. But I neither believe nor disbelieve Him. Ok, let us check it out.' The intellect is becoming intelligence. You are giving a little space for the Master.

> Then, if you continue to start looking in, first from intellect to intelligence, then from intelligence to intelligence with emotion, like 60% intelligence, 40% emotion, that is the time you will feel like a friend towards the Master. After that, it becomes 60% emotion and 40% intelligence. That is the time you will feel like the Master is like an elder, like a father or mother or lord or teacher. You feel respectful towards him. And then, the relationship becomes pure emotion. You will feel a deep connection like a mother and son.

> Then, after that, it is neither emotion nor intellect nor intelligence. It is a being-level relationship. It is the deep connection of a beloved, the *madhura bhāva*.

> And suddenly, you will see, he is not even the beloved, he is beyond the beloved. You start experiencing the *mahā bhāva,* what I call the Guru-disciple experience,

experiencing yourself as the Master. That is what I call— '*Tat Tvam Asi.' Tat Tvam Asi* means *That art thou*. It means you are the Master.

First it is just intellect, where you have self-doubts. But you have to go beyond that. If you are stuck in this level of self-doubts, naturally you will suffer with misery, with self-hatred and self-denial. Then, the next level is intelligence, then emotion, then pure emotion, then emotional and being level feeling connection, then pure being level connection, and then all these and something more. When you go beyond doubts and faith, into the realization of the formless energy that is you, then you find yourself.

So, let the divine *Parabrahma* Kṛṣṇa guide us all to the right energy, to the right path of knowledge and the right experience. Let Him shower eternal bliss.

> Let Him make us experience and radiate eternal bliss, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM. Thank you.

*Thus ends the fourth chapter named Jñānakarmasannyāsa Yogaḥ*, '*The Yoga of Action In Knowledge And Renunciation,' of the Bhagavad Gītā Upaniṣad, Brahmavidyā Yogaśāstra*, *the scripture of yoga dealing with the science of the Absolute in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṃvād*, *dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.*

## Live All Your Possibilities

Seeking more and more does not lead to happiness. It leads to depression. Then what leads to happiness that is eternal?.

# Live All Your Possibilities

I f we look closely at our lifestyle, what we accept as normal is actually chaotic and crazy. But we have been conditioned with it since childhood so we are not even aware of this. From an early age we are taught certain beliefs and habits that cut deep grooves in our mind. For the rest of our lives we follow these patterns of thinking.

In Hindu villages, even today, they grind oil seeds in a traditional expeller, powered by bullocks. These bullocks are tied in such a way that they walk in circles to crush the seeds inside the expeller. If we analyze the way we live, we are very much like these bullocks! We get caught in a root pattern and we go around driven by our senses and memories. Just as the bullocks chew the cud as they walk around, we too chew the cud of our memories and perceptions as we unconsciously follow the same routine day after day, year after year.

Even when we think we are breaking the routine and doing things creatively and rationally, it is just an illusion of our mind. We are still driven by our unconscious mind. These engraved memories or root thought patterns stored in the deep unconscious mind make decisions on our behalf, even though we are completely unaware of it. What we may think of as an intuitive decision is actually an instinctive decision that arises from our unconscious.