विवेचन सारांश

Understanding the glory & singularity of Bhagavān as a way to attain HIM

Bhagavān begins by addressing Arjuna as Mahābāho that is a person with mighty arms. It is noteworthy that HE says bhūya eva which means ‘once again’ indicating HE had already spoken about several of HIS Vibhūtis and started to impart the supreme knowledge on HIS divine manifestation. HE reiterates HIS divine words for the benefit of Arjuna for whom HE had deep love. In essence, it is the knowledge to realize the Eternal Being.

In Chapter 7, Bhagavān had explained some of these Vibhūtis, when HE said

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñchid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva                       7.7

raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣhu śhabdaḥ khe pauruṣhaṁ nṛiṣhu     7.8

puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛithivyāṁ cha tejaśh chāsmi vibhāvasau
jīvanaṁ sarva-bhūteṣhu tapaśh chāsmi tapasviṣhu              7.9

bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ viddhi pārtha sanātanam
buddhir buddhimatām asmi tejas tejasvinām aham             7.10

balaṁ balavatāṁ chāhaṁ kāma-rāga-vivarjitam
dharmāviruddho bhūteṣhu kāmo ’smi bharatarṣhabha       7.11

ye chaiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasās tāmasāśh cha ye
matta eveti tān viddhi na tvahaṁ teṣhu te mayi                    7.12

When Bhagavān says prabhāsmi śhaśhi-sūryayoḥ, HE indicates that the light of the moon and the sun is actually HIM. HE has given several other Vibhūtis in the Shlōkas. In Chapter 8, HE has referred to HIMSELF as ‘adhiyajña’. In Chapter 9 also we find Bhagavān mentioning supreme powers of the Paramātmā.

This is the reason, Śrī Krishna starts the chapter by saying that HE is reiterating HIMSELF.

In this chapter, Bhagavān proceeds to talk about many more other such glorious manifestations of HIMSELF. HE does this to motivate Arjuna to follow the right course of Karma Yoga by placing his trust unequivocally in the Supreme Power of the Parameshwara. This is also for the spiritual benefit for common people like us as we too are going to
gain from this spiritual knowledge. The Ultimate reality is the only truth worth seeking and attaining in this world. This truth is nothing but the Paramātmā himself. HE is in the spirit as well as in the object, meaning HE is both the ‘Nirguna’ (the unmanifested form) and the ‘Saguna’ (the manifested form). The paradox however is tht HE cannot be seen in either form as HE covers himself with the cloak of Maya or illusion. He bids us to penetrate this cloak of Maya to reach Him. This is only possible with the aid of Jñāna, the supreme knowledge which we get from the Bhagavadgītā.

Bhagavān wants all people to love and know HIM because that is the only path to ultimate objective which is Moksha or Liberation.

Earlier, we hankered to reach heaven but now after reading Bhagavad Gītā, our expectations have elevated. Now we don't look at heaven as our ultimate goal as we know that in heaven, we will consume our Sattvik or good Karma and will again come back to this mortal world.

Bhagavad Gītā has taught us to desire the ultimate superior being, the Paramātmā; be one with HIM and be liberated from this cycle of birth and death.  That is Moksha! Bhagavān loves all of us unconditionally, like a mother. However, unfortunately, ignorant people like us fail to see Bhagavān’s unfailing eternal love for us.

The glory of manifestation of Bhagavān that are used by human beings are like an advertisement to attract people to HIM in search of ultimate liberation. One must understand that the desire to gain knowledge is inherent in everyone and for that one should have endless love and respect towards the Guru, similar to what Arjuna had towards Bhagavān Śrī Krishna. One can open the heart only to the one who is trusted and revered.

Bhagavān opens HIS heart to Arjuna in this endeavor as he was HIS loved friend and disciple. If this mutual trust and bond of love between them was not present, Bhagavad Gītā would not have happened. It is this bonding that makes Bhagavān compassionate towards Arjuna and makes HIM reveal all the ‘sutras’ to Arjuna.

Without prem (love) and atmasamarpan (surrender), the divine words of Gītā will remain mere words without imparting any benefit. Reading Bhagavad Gītā without this mindset can only lead so some egoistic satisfaction of having read the divine book. Param Pujya Swami Govind Dev Giriji Maharaj tells us to Learn Gītā, Teach Gītā and Live Gītā. While the first two are relatively easy, the Live Gītā aspect, that is inculcating the teaching of Gītā in our daily lives, is the ultimate test of our learning. Unless one's mind is set in this manner, Gītā cannot be adopted in one’s life. Without love and surrender, the teachings of Gītā will remain mere words without imparting any benefit.

Dhritarastra too had heard the divine Bhagavadgītā through Sanjaya, but since he was devoid of love and surrender, he remained ignorant to the knowledge imparted by Bhagavān therein and thus did not change a bit.

In this Shlōka, Bhagavān has underlined the importance of unwavering love and surrender to HIM, in order to understand the true teachings of Bhagavad Gītā.

Bhagavān said that neither the Suragaṇāḥ (Demigods) nor the great Maharshis (Sages) know about HIS origin in the transcendental divine play created by HIM. This is because the Demigods and the Sages came into being after Bhagavān, who is the primordial origin, the root of the origin of the Demigods and the Sages. They came into being after the earth came into existence, which came after the creation of the 5 elements (Pancha Mahabhuta). They came into existence when the manifestation happened due to the vibrational upsurge in the mahatattva, the principal energy. It was only due to the creation of 'mahatattva', that the five natural elements came into existence, and the sentient, which is the ability to feel, perceive, sense, or be responsive to those sensations, prevailed on the earth.

Can one claim to be the witness to his father's or grandfather's birth? This is not possible as one does not exist then.

Such is the case with the Primordial Paramātmā. Just as we have not seen the existence of our ancestors, as they were not there, we also do not know the origin of the Parampita , as nobody existed at that time. The Parampita is difficult to understand and a mystery to us.

Thus, no one, including the ancient sages or Gods, can logically claim to have known about either the origin of the earth or the universe. They are all subject to the life cycle of birth and death and cannot know the creator of themselves during their lives. Knowing the Paramātmā virtually means being Paramātmā Himself.

In Chapter 15, Bhagavān says mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke - our souls in this material world are but a fragment of HIS being.

For a person in the path of self-realisation, this world is nothing but a passing play. Our ignorance attracts us to the illusion of knowing everything, which is an untruth.

Let us take an example. Do we really know the origin of the chair on which we are sitting now? The details of who made the chair, how it was made, the origin of the wood, from which tree, the age of tree, how much sunlight and water was absorbed by the tree to grow,  the cloud which gave the rain, the sky where clouds were formed, the stars and galaxies, the history goes into several steps which is completely unfathomable to our brains. We cannot possibly be aware of all this. We can claim to know the existence of the chair. Hence, we can say we see the creation but not the creator. This ignorance is Tamas, the darkness. What we know is nothing more than a tiny drop in the ocean of knowledge. We, however, happen to blow our own trumpet with this minuscule knowledge. One should thus set aside the ego of knowing all.

When we do not definitively know the origin of a simple chair, how can we claim to know the original creation? What we say we know can at best amount to theories and assumptions.

In this Shlōka, Śrī Krishna thus says, no one knows the origin of the primordial, eternal, ever-conscious ParaBrahmā.

Bhagavān says that one who knows HIM as birthless without a beginning (anādiṁ) and the loka-maheśhvaram, the Supreme Master of the universe, will not be deluded and will be liberated from all sins.

One will, of course, bear the fruits of all previous Karma, but the new karma that is being created will also have to be exhausted. The question is, when will all the Karma get exhausted, as it seems to be exhausting on one hand, to be replenished by the other?

The endless cycle of Karma can only be exhausted through accomplishing Jñāna, that is, the realisation and knowledge of non-identification of oneself with the body.

We are shrouded with the major misconception of 'I am the body and this body is mine'. However, is that really true? Let us try to find out through a quick exercise.

Let us hold the arm stretched out in front of us without blinking our eyelids and try to listen to the vivechan for 5 minutes. For how long can we maintain this posture?

Once a disciple was asked to watch his own breathing process by his Guru. The disciple complained that it was difficult to do so. The Guru then advised the disciple to stand in a pose as if he was sitting on a chair with hands outstretched and palms open. He then placed bowls of hot boiling water on the palms and some pins on the chair to prevent the disciple from sitting down. Now, he asked the disciples to try to watch his own breathing again. The disciple asked for forgiveness and said he now understood that the body did not actually belong to him as he had no control over it.

Let alone the body, does our mind belong to us? Can we predict the state of our mind or what will it be thinking in 2 hours from now?

We need to realize that 

• I am not the body and body is not mine
•  I am not the mind, and the mind is not mine
• I am not the intellect, and the intellect is not mine

This is akin to a play being enacted by the mind, body and intellect which we can only be a witness to, since we are actually none of the actors; we are neither body nor mind nor intellect.

Bhagavān says it is Jñāna or knowledge, that can liberate us from the bondage of Karma. In fact, the fruits of Karma too are not ours to claim. Whatever pleasures or pain is experienced by the body or mind is in accordance with our previous Karma and Karmaphala, the result of our deeds.  We are to witness it as with a sense of detachment,
as if it is happening to someone else's body or someone else's mind.

Bhagavad Gītā teaches us to be a such a witness of our own Karma and Karmaphalas. It helps us realize that we are not the doer. Bhagavān says we can get liberated from our sins by compensating them through Punya Karma, acts of virtue.

However, can donating one lakh rupees to a temple really nullify the sin of earning crores by corrupt practices? We need to understand that Merits cannot delete our previous demerits.

The account of our good or merit and bad or demerit run separately, independent of each other. The consequence of our Karma affects not only our body but our mind also. In fact, the way our mind and intellect thinks are most certainly influenced by our Karmas.

In fact, the path of awakening is also the fruits of the meritorious Karma. The fact that we have come to the vivechan session today instead of watching a TV serial is a result of our past good Karmas.

Our mind is our world; and the deep-rooted attachment to the’ I’ and ‘Mine’ in the ego state makes us forget the reality that we have nothing to do with the body or the mind or the intellect which is attached to the material world. The mind that has love for the divinity does not have any attachment to this material world. Love and devotion for Bhagavān, the thirst to know the truth about the Paramātmā, attending satsanga and exhibiting divinity and spirituality can be attributed to be a consequence of our previous good Karma. This is the reason why siblings may have different or contrasting inclinations toward the spirituality.

One child may be devoted to Gītā while the other vehemently opposes it. It is our past Karmas that dictate how we behave in the present time. We need to remember that the impact of our Karma is born not only by our body but also by our mind. That is why sages have cautioned and advocated that one should always carry out virtuous acts of merit. The wave of merit and demerit is indeed thick and only a Jñāni or a wise person is able to cut through it. One who has firmly surrendered to the Divine and the Guru alone has the eligibility to become a wise person.

Just by reading books one does not attain the eligibility to become a Jñāni. Let us take two examples to understand this.

• Meera Bai Ji was an ardent devotee of Bhagavān Śrī Krishna, but it was with the help of Sage Ravidas that she became a person of religious wisdom from being a devotee.
• Vidura Ji possessed vast knowledge of language, yet his deep devotion to Paramātmā was shaped by Bhagavān Śrī Krishna.
  

The relation of love and knowledge is like that between the body and the Ātma or the soul. Body is love and the soul is knowledge.

Just like a body without the soul is a dead body, knowledge without love and devotion is only an attachment. A person of spiritual wisdom can become a devotee and vice versa. The two facets complement each other and follow each other.

Bhagavān said that all the diverse qualities that are seen in living beings like refined intellect, supreme knowledge, freedom from delusion, clemency, truthfulness, restrained senses, steeled mind, pleasure and pain, birth and death, fear and fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, honor and dishonor, etc. arise from HIM. Since all these actions and emotions within us are influenced by the divine grace of Bhagavān, it is foolishness to claim credit for the achievements or the actions. Nothing happens without HIS divine grace. The Sattvik sentiment of charity, forgiveness, austerity, contentment are all a reflection of Bhagavān's grace on us.

The fact that we are listening to the vivechan session is also by the grace of Bhagavān, as this action of listening is bringing us away from the other material actions like shopping or watching TV or gossiping and so forth.

Thus, every time these benevolent positive sentiments and qualities arise within us, it is an indication that Bhagavān is manifesting in our heart.

A very deep message is being conveyed by Bhagavān through this Shlōka. One must feel happy and accept that whatever happens is due to HIM, whether it is success or honor, failure or dishonor. Bhagavān is is teaching us to live a choiceless life.

Bhagavān Śrī Krishna's life itself is an example of choiceless living. HE was neutral to admiration, appreciation or contempt. HE did not just speak, but HE walked HIS talk. HE lived the way HE has sermoned in Gītā. HE was brought up with immense love and care by Yashoda ma, but when the time came for HIM to leave, HE did so without any sense of grief or attachment. Krishna who could not see tears in the mother’s eyes left her without hesitation, regret or remorse despite her beseeching him to stay. Śrī Krishna was neither hard hearted nor lacked love and compassion. HE was like a mirror which reflects without bias all that comes in front of it irrespective of it being beautiful or ugly. Like that pristine mirror that reflects everything in an unbiased manner, we will see love if we have love in our mind and we will see hated if we have hatred in our mind. Success or failure, fame or infamy, everything is reflected without prejudice or without bias.

A true devotee is one who is choiceless, who neither craves for success and fame nor flinches from failure and infamy.  Śrī Krishna won many battles, but he chose to flee one battle because the circumstances were such that fleeing was the right thing to do at that time.

Many of us may be familiar with the song that goes as

Kuchh to log kahenge, Logon ka kaam hai kehna
Chhodo bekar ki baaton mein,  Kahin beet na jaaye raina.

We need to understand that people will keep talking many things, but we should not heed or get bothered by them.

Bhagavān Śrī Krishna in a diplomatic move shifted from Mathura to Dwaraka when demons were attacking Mathura to kill him. He was then called Ranchod Das meaning one who ran away. HE did not worry about the damaging impact such an action could cause to his image or reputation. One whose feet is grounded in success can alone withstand failures with equanimity of Bhagavān Śrī Krishna.

When the Pāṇḍavas sought Bhagavān Śrī Krishna’s blessing for the war, his only response was to just face it and accept the result, be it victory or defeat. Victory would give them the kingdom; defeat and death would lead them to heaven.

Bhagavān meant if Arjuna waged the war without craving for victory or fearing defeat, he would indeed become a wise Jñāni.  He is advising Arjuna to be indifferent to triumph or loss, to success or failure. It is important to establish this mental frame before one starts to execute his designated Karma.

Bhagavān says be it win or loss, everything is because of HIM, and one must not get attached to the worldly activities.

For example, we dream of a snake biting us. The bite is only in the mind and not on our physical body, yet we respond with fright. When we wake up, we realize it was just a dream. In the material world too, everything ends at a point of time and only ParaBrahmā remains. One who knows the truth that HE is the only one not attached to worldly matter is the Jñāni, the wise one.

Bhagavān Śrī Krishna starts revealing the Vibhūtis from this Shlōka.

Before we proceed, we need to understand that Śrī Krishna has two roles in the Bhagavad Gītā. One is that of the charioteer of Arjuna where he is present in a human form. The other one is that of the ParaBrahmā.  

In this Shlōka, HE speaks from the point of view of the ParaBrahmā when HE says that HE existed in the eternal infinite unmanifested form even before anything else happened. HE tells Arjuna to know HIM to be the causal seed of the gigantic creation of this cosmos and not through the sensibility of an individual but the microscopic, boundless, limitless, infinite, eternal, ever conscious, absolute ParaBrahmā.  

We see the Saptarishi or the seven Sages in the sky. The seven great Rishis Vashistha, Marichi, Pulastya, Pulaha, Atri, Angiras and Kratu, possessed seven qualities viz. long life, had secret formulae, glorious, divine vision, learned and who had realized righteousness. They were the originators of the Gotras, the lineage. They knew the Vedas and were the administrators who assisted Brahmā Deva in the process creation.

The Vedas also mention the four Kumars namely Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara. They were the first to be born from the mind of Brahmā Deva and were the manifestations of Bhagavān Himself. It also mentions the fourteen Manus including Svayambhuva. Bhagavān says HE existed even before their emergence of these original progenitors.

Research showed that physical appearance of the entire human population in this world can be divided into 4 forms:

• The Mongolian existing in China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan, Nepal etc.
• The Dravidian existing in Indian, Pakistan, Afghanistan Sri Lanka etc.
• The European existing in the Americas and Europe with fair skin and tall height.
• The African existing in Africa and who are tall and dark.

This type of classification based on physical characteristics was spoken by Bhagavān in the Bhagavad Gītā.

In a day of Brahmā Deva which is equivalent to 43.2 billion human years, there existed fourteen Manus. They are said to be the creators and activators of this world under Brahmā’s orders. They are mānasā jātā, that is born within the mind of Brahmā Deva and hence called sons of Brahmā. They all are devoted to the Paramātmā, and human beings owe their origin to them.

After mentioning HIS divine glories in the form of feelings and persons, Bhagavān proceeds to explain the fruits of knowledge of these divine glories.

The fruits of knowledge to be attained by devotion by one who knows HIS powers of yoga and also understands the Vibhūtis, will be the union with the ParaBrahmā. Bhagavān gave the path of Dhyana or meditation as a way to attain HIM.

Mere reading and chanting of Gītā and then indulging in gratification of the material senses will not help; one should engage in perpetual meditation and charity and invest the mind in HIM. Bhagavān says it is through Dhyana Yoga that one can attain total stillness of the mind, and then alone can the person reach the realisation of the absolute ParaBrahmā. The supreme knowledge can only be established in the mind that is in total repose of any turmoil, chaos or desires.

One should relinquish all thoughts of the result and focus on the Divine Supreme to attain liberation.

Vibhūti is Bhagavān's divine manifestations.  Yoga stands for HIS singular infinite power of Maya, Yogamaya. All HIS divine glories are born of Him through His divine yogic power.

In the fifth Shlōka of Chapter 9, we have learnt na cha mat-sthāni bhūtāni paśhya me yogam aiśhwaram - whatever we see in the universe is the power and glory of the Paramātmā.

Everything in the universe exists due to the power of Bhagavān. A seeker should behold every person, object or action as a manifestation of the Paramātmā. The persons and objects are like the kaleidoscope and perishable without singularity of their own. Whatever singularity is seen in their existence is the reflection of the eternal and imperishable Bhagavān.  Such a seeker who understands this is blessed with unfaltering devotion for Bhagavān. A worldly person thinks everything can be bought with money and hence remains attached to it. However, one who knows the reality of Bhagavān’s glories and divine powers, without a doubt, remains united with HIM.

We should, however, not get attracted to the Vibhūtis per se. We should see Bhagavān's presence in that glory. We should behold the Paramātmā and not the worldly grandeur that we see in that glory. When we start seeing his singularity and omnipresence in all the Vibhūtis, it fosters our unwavering devotion unto HIM.

Bhagavān explains that the wise person who knows that HE is the cause of the entire creation and from HIM all things originate, will worship and invest their mind singularly on HIM. They see the Creation and Creativity as the consequences of the will of Bhagavān. The knowledgeable ones appreciating the secret of this principle, direct themselves to the cause that is the Paramātmā, and not the effect, which is this world or universe.

The one who knows the essence of HIS existence knows everything that is to be known, and there remains nothing else to know.

The ignorant one will continue to remain so.  Whether it is Einstein or Shakespeare, or Shaw, the bondage of ignorance will persist despite their exceptional intelligence. They end up knowing only one aspect of the material world.

Even renowned philosophers, scientists were known to be miserable in their personal lives so much, to the point of being afflicted by mental illness and even ending up taking their own lives. When their own mind are sick, how can a psychiatrist treat the minds of others? This is the irony. The renowned and brilliant poet Ghalib’s personal life was devoid of any happiness!

People strive to know this material world and hence they explore the geographical terrain, oceans, rocks, animals, plants stars, planets and so forth. There is however no end to knowing all these. Though every day one may come to know something new about this material world, there cannot be any completeness or perfection and wholesome understanding of the world.

Bhagavān thus says that the one who knows HIM as the source and the creator of everything is wise and intelligent in understanding his own identity. One should go deeper and search within in order to become more spiritual. The more one digs into the nature of existence, the more perplexed he gets and the more he is filled with awe and amazement because what he finds is beyond science.

But do we really know our own worth and value?

There was once a man who was about to commit suicide by jumping into a river. An old man who was sitting nearby on the same bank of the river stopped the person and asked to know the reason for the suicide attempt. The man lamented about the sadness and futility of his good-for-nothing life. The old man asked him to wait for a day and die the next day stating that one day would not make a difference. He offered to take the man to a doctor who could help him. He said if the young man did not like the doctor's treatment, he could always go back to the river and take his life the next day. The man agreed and went to the doctor with the old man. There, the old man whispered something in the doctor's ears and returned to the man and told him that the doctor was willing to pay a lakh of rupees to buy his two eyes. The young man retorted saying that under no circumstances would he sell his eyes for money. The old man increased the offer to eleven lakhs to buy his ears, eyes and every part of the body. The person again refused vehemently. The old man then asked the young man as to why he was refusing to sell the body parts when just a few moments earlier, he was ready to die and thus destroy the body completely. The young man then realized the value of his body and life, and acknowledged his folly.

In Ashtavakra MahaGītā, it is stated that we cannot see what we have got. The eyes are made of a part of the skin, and it can see from that part of the skin. The ears can hear music, the birds chirping, murmur of the ocean just with its skin and bones. Our body itself is a miracle built with bone, flesh and blood. We have got everything in abundance and still lament about what we don’t have rather than be thankful of what we have. Our attitude should be to face whatever comes our way.

If the mind of the devotee is fixed on HIM and is engaged in perpetually worshipping HIM, he will be a contented person living a meaningful life by surrendering to HIM. Here, Bhagavān is speaking about the lifestyle of Jñānis, the wise one. Foremost is that their minds are always fixated on Bhagavān.  In fact, they offer their Prāṇa to HIM. They establish their Prāṇa at the midpoint between the eyebrows, equalising the incoming and outgoing breaths. The technique of meditation is fully described in Chapter 6.

The company one keeps speaks about the individual. The mindset of a person who associates with an alcoholic and the one who keeps the company of a spiritual person is entirely different.

Bhagavān says the wise keep the company of like-minded wise people. Those who are spiritually inclined keep the company of people who are equally spiritually inclined. When they meet, they talk about the greatness of Bhagavān, about ParaBrahmā. They rejoice in singing about the glories of Bhagavān and performing meditation unto HIM. 

On the other hand, where do we common people stand? When we meet, the most common sentence we ask is, “How are you?” Our inquiry, however, is about the physical well-being of the other person and his family. For the wise sage, however, it is all about how one is at the present moment. Their enquiry is not directed towards physical well-being. He knows that if someone is abiding in the present, then it reflects that he is aware.

Bhagavān Śrī Krishna says that the wise befriend the wise, and they derive great delight from their topic of conversation, which is always centred on the Paramātmā and HIS divinity.

Bhagavān explains how HE responds to the action of a true devotee. HE says that those who are constantly devoted to HIM will achieve the ultimate reality of reaching the state of oneness with HIM.

An ardent devotee is engaged in two activities: loving devotion and steadfast contemplation of the Paramātmā. Bhagavān says that HE bestows upon them the refined intelligence and helps them with the highest knowledge of equanimity and devotion. Bhagavān transcends the pair of opposites. As long as there are pairs of opposites in the form of attachments and aversions, two entities appear instead of one, either as attraction or aversion. But when the duality is wiped out, and attachments and aversions are removed from our mind, then nothing is seen beyond the Paramātmā. That means when equanimity of mind is attained, there is no aversion or attachment. Bhagavān then confers Samatā Buddhi (intellect of equality) to his devotees.

One who follows the principles of Samatā or equality is said to be a Yogi. One may wonder as to how easy it is to follow Samatā in our day-to-day life.

There is a story about two brothers during the 1962 Indo-China War. There were two brothers, Rajan and Abhishek, in Uttar Pradesh. Abishek was engaged in business and earning a lot of money. Rajan was in the Army. He was deployed to the Ladakh border. His family was obviously very worried about Rajan. Since the brothers were very attached, Abhishek was very worried.

Three months passed, and the war came to an end. Abhishek got a phone call from Rajan, who said that he would be coming home soon. Abhishek was thrilled with this news.

Rajan then added that with him would come his friend and fellow army man, who had lost one arm and a leg in the war. He also said that this friend would permanently live with them. This message was met with a stunned silence from Abhishek. After a few moments, Abhishek said that while the friend could temporarily stay with them for some time, he would, however, eventually need to find some other accommodation and move on. He argued that it was difficult to live with a severely disabled person in the house. On hearing this, Rajan hung up the phone and neither did he call back, nor did he return home.

After about six months of this incident. Abhishek got a call from the Delhi police informing him that Rajan was dead. Delhi Police suspected that he had committed suicide by jumping from a tall building and asked Abhishek to come and identify the body. Abhishek went and identified the body to be that of Rajan. He was, however, shocked to see that Rajan's body had one hand and one leg missing. In fact, it was about himself that Rajan was talking when he had called Abhishek about his return. When Abhishek replied that he was not willing to accommodate a person with disability, he decided not to return and ultimately committed suicide. It is easy to talk about equanimity and that everybody is equal. It is, however, difficult to practice the same in our lives.

When we read Gītā, we must make our mind steadfast and, come what may, we should follow the principle of equanimity in our lives by discarding our likes and dislikes. Equanimity is the trait of the Paramātmā, and as we follow the attributes of Bhagavān, we go nearer to HIM.  

We will get great satisfaction if we follow the principle of equanimity in our day-to-day life. We can decide that right from today, we will not expect any honour from anybody. If we are not expecting honour, then there is no likelihood of us getting hurt with dishonour.

Further Vibhūtis, as enumerated by Bhagavān, will be covered in the next session.

The Vivechan was offered to the lotus feet of Bhagavān Śrī Krishna and was followed by a Question-and-Answer session. It concluded with a prayer to Bhagavān and rendition of Hanuman Chalisa.

Questions and Answers

KK Prasad Ji

Q: We understand death comes to any person on completion of their Karmas. Is accidental death also due to the completion of one’s Karmas?

A: Yes, accidental death is also due to the completion of Karmas. Everything that happens in our lives is a result of our past karma. We might have caused somebody's unexpected death in our past life, due to which we faced accidental death in this life. We do not know the balance sheet of our karma from our past lives. So, it is not right to blame Bhagavān for everything bad that happens in our lives. It is the result of our past karma.

There are three types of Karmas.

• Kriyamana Karma: This is the "new" karma that we create through our thoughts, intentions, and actions in our current life. This karma can manifest in the present life (Kriyamana) or be added to the Sanchita Karma store for future lives.
• Sanchita Karma: This refers to the vast sum of all karmic actions and their effects accumulated over our past lives. It's like a vast stockpile of unresolved Karmas that is held over from one life to the next.
• Prarabdha Karma: This is the portion of the Sanchita karma that is allocated to be experienced in this specific lifetime. It represents the experiences and circumstances we are destined to go through in the current life.

We have to accept everything that comes our way without complaining as an oblation from Bhagavān.