Character Sketch

• Śakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana embodies the pattern of self-hatred, which is cunningness personified.

• Droṇa represents all the best knowledge one imbibes and the teachers one encounters, who guide us but are unable to take us through to the ultimate flowering of enlightenment. It is difficult to give them up since one feels grateful to them. This is where the Enlightened Master, the incarnation steps in and guides us.

• Duryodhana, represents one's ego or root-pattern, the most difficult to conquer as it leads one to self destruction. One needs the full help of the Master here. It is subtle work and even the Master's help may not be obvious, since at this point, sometimes the ego makes us deny and disconnect from the Master as well.

• Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion.

Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities and all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic, conflict-free way.

Karṇa is the repository of all good deeds and it is his good deeds that stand in the way of his own Enlightenment. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has to take the load of Karṇa's puṇya, his meritorious deeds, before he could be liberated. The Enlightened Master guides one to drop one's attachment to good deeds arising out of what are perceived to be charitable and compassionate intentions. He also shows us that the quest for and the experience of enlightenment is the ultimate Till now everyone blames Bhagavan Sri Krishna for this Kurukshetra war but that's the greatest sacrifice Bhagavan Sri Krishna did to save the planet Earth. If Kurukshetra was not conducted at that time under the controlled conditions and direct supervision of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, planet Earth would not have survived more than three years.

act of compassion that one can offer to the world. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa, the 8th most powerful purnāvatar of Ṃaha Viśnu, is the embodiment of pure celebration, boundless love, compassion, and completion. Bhagavan Ṣri Kṛṣṇa is the only incarnation demonstrating and expressing Ṣarva Ṃangalatva all the auspicious qualities a nd all dimensions of an avatar during His physical happening. The līla Bhagavan Ṣri Krsna is one of sheer innocence and The wide spread availability of the Astra shastras without Shastra, without the knowledge and vision, was posing a huge threat to the whole of humanity and planet Earth, and for life itself. The greatest achievement of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is destroying all the weapons in one controlled condition and saving planet earth, eliminating the nuclear weapons and the knowledge of these nuclear weapons to save humanity from total annihilation.

conflict-free way.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

Bhagavad Gītā appears in the heart of Mahābhārat in Bhīṣma Parva, the sixth chapter of its eighteen chapters. Veda Vyāsa, the narrator, in glorifying the Gītā sings, 'the one who drinks the water of Ganges (the sacred river for Hindus) attains liberation, what to speak of the one who drinks the nectar of Gītā?

Gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārat, bhāratamṛta sarvasvam as it is directly spoken by Nārāyaṇa, Bhagavān kṛṣṇa Himself.'

The armies assembled in the vast field of Kurukṣetra, now in the state of Haryana in modern day Bharat. All the kings and princes were related to one another, and were often on opposite sides. Facing the Kaurava army and his friends, relatives and teachers, Arjuna was overcome by remorse and guilt, and wanted to walk away from the battle out of total powerlessness unbecoming an invincible warrior among warriors.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dialogue with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra out of His utmost concern and love for him and humanity is the content of Bhagavad Gītā. Of its seven hundred and forty-five (745) verses, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa sings the Gītā in six hundred and twenty (620) verses responding to Arjuna's fifty-seven (57) enquiries.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa persuades Arjuna to give-up his powerlessness unfitting an Ārya—the spiritually evolved one who understands human life and urges him to raise himself again as Parantapa—the conqueror of enemy, and take up arms and vanquish his enemies. They are already dead,' says Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 'All those who are facing you have been already killed by Me. Go ahead and do what you have to do. That is your responsibility. Do not worry about the outcome. Leave that to Me.'

arjuna uvāca evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktāstvāṁ paryupāsate I ye cā'py akṣaram avyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāh

Arjuna asked: Who are considered perfect, those who are always engaged sincerely in Your worship in form, or those who worship the imperishable, the unmanifest formless You?

Through devotion and gratitude, a person has divine experiences and enjoys bliss, which in turn leads to feelings of great love and gratitude towards the whole world and every living being.

Arjuna asks, 'Which of these two types of people are considered to be better: those who are always engaged in your bhakti, devotional love towards you or those who merge in the Brahman, the unmanifest, formless, Cosmic consciousness?' Please be clear, Arjuna is not asking for himself. From here, the discourse becomes a simple discussion. It is more like trying to record the truth for future generations. The questions from here onward are neither doubts nor enquiries. Arjuna tries to put the whole thing down in the expression form, so that it will be a useful reference for future generations. A flow of Arjuna's love for humanity, an expression of his divine experience, prompts him to seek answers to these vexing questions and record the answers from the godhead Himself. Arjuna asks, 'Who will be established in You totally? Will it be a devotee or a person who is enlightened?' Religious people or so-called religious people, confuse others with this verse about Arjuna's question as to whether worshipping the form or worshipping the formless is right.

These people are so confused that they do not know right from wrong. They use their intellectual arrogance and misunderstanding to confuse others. Let me tell you, this is not what Arjuna meant by asking this question. If we look at Kṛṣṇa's answers, we will understand. Experience Or Expression? Completion Or Enriching?

Arjuna asks, 'Is it good to be established in the experience of the Divine consciousness, just to stay in it and enjoy the eternal bliss that flows from that experience? Or is it better to express that love and gratitude created by the conscious experience towards the whole world and every living being? Which is correct? Which one is preferred?'

See, when we have a spiritual experience, some people stay in that experience with closed eyes, that's all. Only with eyes closed can they see God. They do not seek to use their senses, since the bliss within is so great and beautiful that absolutely no sensory input remotely matches that bliss. However, there are others who are impelled to open their eyes, by the Universe to communicate that blissful experience through their expression to enrich others. The so-called scholars enter into endless debates on savikalpa samādhi and nirvikalpa samādhi.

Savikalpa samādhi is the state where the experience of samādhi continues. Nirvikalpa samādhi is when the expression of samādhi starts. Savikalpa samādhi is supposed to be a lower state, and one is supposed to work towards the second and higher state of nirvikalpa samādhi. But it is not an ironclad rule.

"In my case, both (Savikalpa samādhi & Nirvikalpa samādhi) happened together. I did not go through two stages. I went through just one and reached the state where the experience was allowed to be expressed." - THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

It was the will of the Divine, Parāśakti. Please understand that this is not a choice that people make. An option is not presented to those who have such experiences. Those who experience the Divine transcend that point of freewill. They are driven wholly, in each step that they take, by Parāśakti, the Universal energy; by Kṛṣṇa, the Superconscious Divine.

Arjuna understands that he and others who have had an experience of the Divine, face the choicelessness. He knows that Kṛṣṇa decides what he should do. Yet, he asks because he wants everyone to understand. Arjuna asks, 'What type of a person is greater? Is it a person who closes his eyes and sees God within himself or a person who opens his eyes and sees God in every being? Who is greater?'

He is not asking whether worshiping the form or worshiping the formless is greater. Yet so-called religious people have interpreted it that way, and created problems between the teachings of the great masters, Ādī Śaṅkarācārya and Rāmānuja. Śaṅkara followed jñāna, the path of knowledge, and Rāmānuja followed bhakti, the path of devotion. Jñāna, focuses on the formless through intellectual queries. Bhakti focuses on the form, sheer devotion, as if the Divine were alive as It indeed is! However, those who have studied Śaṅkara and Rāmānuja in depth know that there was much devotion in Śaṅkara's approach and much knowledge in Rāmānuja's approach!

Both approaches converge. One without the other never works. Expressing the gratitude that happens because of the experience is devotion. Having that experience and rejoicing, staying in that experience is knowledge; that's all. Kṛṣṇa's answer is that both paths are the same. The paths are intertwined. The first one leads to the second one and the second one leads back to the first one. We have heard the term vicious circle. First one leads to the second and the second one leads back to the first one.

Vicious circle leads to low energy or lower level of consciousness. Virtuous circle leads to high energy, a higher level of consciousness! Bliss leading to devotion and gratitude, devotion and gratitude leading to bliss: these two form the virtuous circle that lead us to higher consciousness. Bliss means the experience of completion that leads us to the expression of gratitude and enriching. Again, the expression, the gratitude of enriching, leads us to bliss, and bliss leads us to deeper completion. One leads to the other and therefore it is a virtuous circle.

Usually we are caught in the vicious circle. Fear leads to greed and greed leads to fear. More fear leads to more greed, and more greed leads to more fear. This is the vicious circle. Here Kṛṣṇa introduces the virtuous circle. Virtuous circle is what He calls dharma, righteousness, that which must be followed in the path of truth. Dharma means virtuous circle, that which leads us to live and express higher and higher levels of Consciousness. That in turn leads us to higher and higher levels of blissful experience. Consciousness and bliss lead to expression of that consciousness and bliss, which in turn lead to higher level experiences.

Impress upon the students that it is liberating to encourage feelings of devotion and gratitude towards god for our lives and to be in completion.

• ❖ What is Savikalpa samādhi ?

• ❖ What is Nirvikalpa samādhi?

• ❖ What is best: to close one's eyes and see God within or to open one's eyes and see God in every being?

• ❖ What is the difference between the jñāna, the path of knowledge and bhakti, the path of devotion as a means to seek the ultimate truth?

• ❖ What is the vicious cycle and how does it differ from the virtuous cycle?