1. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 - Lesson 6 of 10

Srīmad Bhagavad Gītā is the ultimate sacred scripture of yoga, Yogaśastra and the pristine glory of the Vedic culture, the eternal living tradition called sanātana-dharma. It belongs to the whole Universe for it is delivered to the Universe by the source and embodiment of

Universe. We salute and bow down to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who spoke the Bhagavad Gītā out of His infinite love and compassion for all beings.

Whenever unrighteousness, adharma becomes predominant and dharma, righteous living declines and the Yoga of Enlightenment is lost,

Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Consciousness appears again and again to revive this sacred yoga, to protect and to enrich the devoted beings; and destroys adharma to re-establish the pure and everlasting dharma. Song

Gītā is also called Brahmavidyā the Knowledge of Brahman, the supreme absolute truth; it is Jīvan Mukti Vijñāna the Science of Living Enlightenment.

As with all scriptures, it is the knowledge and experience that is transmitted verbally as Śri Krṣṇārjuna Saṁvād, an intimate dialogue between Master of the world, Jagadguru Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His dear devotee and disciple, Arjuna. It is called śruti in Saṃskṛit, meaning something that is heard.

Gītā, as Bhagavad Gītā is generally called, translates literally from Saṃskṛit as 'Sacred Song of God'. Unlike

the Vedas and Upaniṣads, which are stand alone expressions of Truth, the Gītā is written into the greatest Hindu epic, the Mahābhārat, called a purāṇa, an ancient historical happening. It is part of the recorded history of the greatest tradition, the paramount civilization in all its Divine grandeur and its human complexity, so to speak.

No other epic or part of an epic has the special status and space of the Gītā. No other book but the Gītā gives a scientific, systematic, applied science of living joyfully in completion, while empowering the human actionfield with authenticity to evolve into a responsible Divine play-field.

Called the royal supreme knowledge rājavidyā rājaguhyaṁ (9.2), this one sacred book conveys the essence of knowledge contained in all written and oral vedic truths to enrich the simplest to complex humans at all planes. It holds within itself the direct key to every possible human enquiry, the solution to every dilemma of emotions, and the sublime righteous path and goal of every quest of rising or falling civilizations for every age, time or geography. As a consequence of the presence of the Gītā, the Mahābhārat epic itself is considered a sacred Hindu scripture.

Gītā arose from the super consciousness of Śri Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme God, the complete Incarnation Purṇāvatār, and is therefore considered Gītāśastra—the essential scripture, knowing which, one is liberated from all incompletions, yaj jñātvā mokṣyase asubhāt (9.1) and Gītopaniṣad—the essence of all Upaniṣads, the purest and highest knowledge to be ever known and cognized because it gives the direct experience of the Self pavitram idam uttamam pratyakṣāvagaṁ dharmyaṁ (9.2).

Gītā is the ultimate practical teaching on the inner science of spirituality that expresses as outer victory and success in life now and after. It is not, as some scholars incorrectly claim, a promotion of violence. It is about the impermanence of the mind and body, and the need to go beyond the mind, ego and logic.

The answers of the Divine, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, transcend time and space. Śrī Kṛṣṇa's message is everlasting and joyfully performed, and is as valid today as it was on that fateful battlefield over five thousand years ago. The science of Gītā is the eternal technique of living in completion; the song of Gītā is the eternal life-enriching nectar, having no expiry date, time or age!

Mahābhārat, literally meaning the great Bhārata, is a grand narration about the nation and civilization, which is now known as Bharat. It was then a nation ruled by king Bhārata and his descendants.

Your whole life is nothing but the Mahābhārat War. The Mahābharāt should be read again and again to understand the intricacies of life, the complications of life, and the ability to handle life. The true story of this perfectly recorded epic is about two warring clans, Kauravas and Pānḍavas, closely related to one another. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind king of Hastināpur and father of the 100 Kaurava brothers was the brother of Pānḍu, whose children were the five Pānḍava princes.

It is a tale of strife between cousins and ultimately between dhārmic and adhārmic,

Since Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind, Pānḍu was made the king of Hastināpura. Pānḍu was cursed by a sage that he would die if he ever entered into a physical relationship with his wives.

He therefore had no children. Vyāsa says that all the five Pānḍava children were born to their mothers Kuntī and Mādri through the blessing of divine beings. Pānḍu handed over the kingdom and his children to his blind brother.

Kuntī, who is the embodiment of tapas, spiritual penance, had received a boon when she was still a young unmarried adolescent, that she could summon any divine power at will to father a child. Before she married, she tested her boon. The Sun god, Sūrya appeared before her.

Karṇa was born to her as a result. In fear of social reprisals, she cast the newborn away in a river. Yudhiṣṭra, Bhīma and Arjuna were born to Kuntī after her marriage by invocation of her powers, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Mādri, the second wife of Pānḍu. What happened during the MahabharatA?

Yudhiṣṭra was born to Kuntī as a result of her being blessed by Yama, the god of death, dharma and justice, Bhīma by Vāyu, the god of wind, and Arjuna by Indra, god of all the divine beings. Nakula and Sahadeva, the youngest Pānḍava twins, were born to Mādri, through the Divine Aśvini twins.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra had a hundred sons through his wife Gāndhārī. The eldest of these Kaurava princes was Duryodhana. Duryodhana felt no love for his five Pānḍava cousins. He made many unsuccessful attempts, along with his brother Duśśāsana, to kill the Pānḍava brothers. Kuntī's eldest son Karṇa, whom she had cast away at birth, was found and brought up by a chariot driver in the palace, and by a strange twist of fate, joined hands with Duryodhana.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra gave Yudhiṣṭra one half of the Kuru kingdom on his coming of age, since the Pānḍava prince was the rightful heir to the throne that his father Pānḍu had vacated.

Yudhiṣṭra ruled from his new capital Indraprastha, along with his brothers Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.

Arjuna won the hand of princess Draupadī, daughter of the king of Pāñcāla, in a svayaṁvara, a marital contest in which princes fought for the hand of a fair damsel.

In fulfillment of their mother Kuntī's desire that the brothers share everything equally, Draupadī became the wife of all five Pānḍava brothers. Duryodhana persuaded Yudhiṣṭra to join a gambling session, where his cunning uncle Śakunī defeated the Pānḍava king.

Yudhiṣṭra lost all that he owned—his kingdom, his brothers, his wife and himself, to Duryodhana. Duśśāsana shamed Draupadī in public by trying to disrobe her. The Pānḍava brothers and Draupadī were forced to go into exile for fourteen years, with the condition that in the last year they should live incognito or ajyāta vāsa.

At the end of the fourteen years, the Pānḍava brothers tried to reclaim their kingdom. In this effort they were helped by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the king of the Yādava clan, who is the eighth divine incarnation of Bhagavān Viṣṇu.

However, Duryodhana refused to yield even a needlepoint of land, and as a result, the Great War, the War of Mahābhārat ensued. In this war, various rulers of the entire nation that is modern Bharat aligned with one or the other of these two clans, the Kauravas or the Pānḍavas.

Kṛṣṇa offered to join with either of the two clans. He says, 'One of you may have Me unarmed. I will not take any part in the battle. The other may have my entire Yādava army.'

When the offer was first made to Duryodhana, he predictably chose the large and well-armed Yādava army, Nārāyaṇī Senā, in preference to the unarmed Kṛṣṇa.

Arjuna joyfully and gratefully chose his dearest friend, his life mentor and his Guru, Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, to be his unarmed charioteer!

This whole history is such a beautiful happening. Mahābhārat is actually your life! Every character in the Mahābhārat teaches so much! We don't need to go anywhere for our life success or fulfillment or for anything else that we may desire. We don't need to study any other book to learn the human psychology or the science of living and leaving. Whether we seek righteous living—dharma; or we want to learn business or administration, economy or abundance—artha; or we want to create the best rich lifestyle—kāma; or we want to be a leader and want the enriching life of being enlightened mokṣa, for all these purposes, we don't need anything other than the Mahābharāt!

Study each character. We will not find any more characters in our life than the characters described in the Mahābharāt!

Any character we see in our life is mapped to Mahābharāt's one character. They are either half or full representation of some character.

To know how to handle them and even handle yourself, just see how Śrī Kṛṣṇa handles them and handle them the same way. The Mahābharāt war is a representation of life as it was lived in that age.

Vyāsa, its author is an unbiased historian who recorded the whole history as it happened without trying to apply any makeup. People ask whether the Mahābharāt war happened at all!

If the Mahābharāt was a story and not history, Vyāsa should receive multiple Pulitzer prizes for his highly creative work! The Mahābharāt is the longest literary work in the whole world with hundred thousand Saṃskṛit verses—the longest poem ever written with such delicate harmony of unmatched poetic perfection. It is larger than the Greek epics. Vyāsa had no computer, no tape recorder with speech-to-text capabilities. He dictated and Bhagavān Ganeṣa wrote it down!

• Yudhiṣṭra is embodiment of Integrity the power of words, vāk śakti.
• Bhīma is embodiment of Authenticity the power of thoughts, mano śakti.

Arjuna is embodiment of Responsibility—the power of feeling, prema śakti.

• Sahadeva is embodiment of Enriching the power of living, ātma śakti.
  • Nakula is embodiment of causing reality for others.

• 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.'

deva-dvija-guru-prājña- pūjanaṁ śaucamārjavam brahmacaryamahiṁsā ca śārīraṁ tapa ucyate

The worship of deities, the priest, the guru, and the wise; purity, honesty, living in reality, and nonviolence are said to be austerity of deed

We must bring integrity in the words we utter to ourselves and to others, and bring completion to our speech.

caiva vāṅmayaṁ tapa ucyate

Speech that is non-offensive, truthful, pleasant, beneficial, and is used for the regular study of scriptures is called austerity of word

Creating a healing effect through our words is basic for a spiritual practitioner who is established in integrity.

manaḥ prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ maunamātmavinigrahaḥ bhāva-saṁśuddhir ity etat tapo mānasam ucyate

Serenity of mind, gentleness, equanimity, self-control, and purity of thought are called austerity of thought

Truth is a reflection of compassion. Truth is an expression of compassion. Truth and compassion always go together. For that reason, truth can never hurt.

Here, Kṛṣṇa uses the word Saumyatvaṁ beautifully. We have no exact English translation for this word Saumyatva; manaḥ prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ (17.16). Saumyatvaṁ refers to satisfaction and a feeling that is so comfortable. It refers to one whose presence makes you feel totally relaxed, complete and induces thoughts that calm and center the mind. Please understand saumyatva and pleasing words are basic qualities to be practiced by a spiritual person.

Bhāgavatam says that people who explain or enrich others by sharing the Truth, such as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, are Incarnations. Incarnations still landing on planet Earth to make all of you enlightened is nothing but the Universe practicing responsibility. Even after so much torture and abuse by human beings, enlightened beings and Incarnations are continuing to enrich planet Earth; this is nothing but the cosmos deciding to do whatever it takes to enrich all of you.

Here, Kṛṣṇa says the same thing. Saumyatva... Please understand, even for Incarnations, Soundaryatva and Saumyatva are necessary qualities. Now surely we should imbibe these qualities in our lives. The penance that is supposed to be done by words, is speaking the truth and speaking pleasing words—satyaṁ priyahitaṁ ca yat (17.15).

Please understand, creating a healing effect through words is important. Creating a healing effect through our words is basic for a spiritual practitioner who is established in integrity. We should not utter words that hurt others anuvega karaṁ vākyaṁ. Our presence should be healing and enriching others. Based on the words we utter, people can find out what kind of a space we are

carrying.

Always use pleasing words. Never use sharp or disturbing words. One more thing, sometimes we don't understand how our words disturb others. We do not know how our words disrespect or emotionally disturb other beings. We must bring integrity in the words we utter to ourselves and to others, and bring completion to our speech. Kṛṣṇa calls this austerity of words, vān-mayaṁ tapa ucyate (17.15).

Please be very clear, the words you utter are you. If you constantly utter the words, 'I am this, I am this' , you will become that! Constantly utter right words about you, inside you and outside you. Please listen about the power of words. Unfortunately, we don't harness the power of words. And as per the law, when we don't use any power properly and play with it without the knowledge about it, it destroys us! It is like electricity, we can use electricity for the best things in our lives. But, if we don't want to use it properly and misbehave with it, it destroys us. It kills us straightaway! That is why I am saying that learn to harness every power available to you.

Please understand, aligning yourself more and more, deeper and deeper into your completion, aligning your words, internal and external, towards the space of completion is Integrity. When you start practicing integrity, you will harness the power of words. The words you utter will have so much power that just through the words you will be able to change your life and others' life, for the better!

We should create that healing feeling in the other person. People should wait for us rather than run away from us. Usually we create a negative effect. We create an uncomfortable feeling. People just run away from us. A simple, single word if used improperly, can destroy a whole relationship.

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says a spiritual person should use pleasing words and not agitate others. When we do not agitate others, we will not be arrogant. See, this is not even a social morality. This is a spiritual practice.

The same words that we use to hurt others will hurt us as well. We will use these same words towards ourselves as well. This truth is embedded in the science of energy and vibration. So, we must be in integrity to harness the power of words. The ability to speak, the ability to utter words towards yourself, and the ability to utter words towards others—each one of us has this powerful ability. We can use it either to make our life or break our life. Right words that we utter in right time will make our life. Wrong words uttered in the wrong moment can break our life. Especially, the words we are uttering towards ourselves and towards others.

Kṛṣṇa talks about austerity in action, śarīraṁ tapa as well. He speaks about the five conditions that are also in Patañjali's Aṣtāṇga Yoga as the five disciplines of yama: satya, ahiṁsā, asteya, aparigṛha and brahmacarya. These mean truth in thoughts, words and deeds embodying nonviolence, non covetousness, simplicity and living in reality with the focus on the Supreme as the ultimate in any kind of penance. Many feel that the truth must be told even if it hurts. Please understand that if it hurts someone, it cannot be the truth. It is only our perception of the truth. It is only a reflection of our ego presented by our minds as the truth. We are not in the truth if we perceive something with our senses and we draw conclusions with our limited knowledge based upon those perceptions, and then express these as our truth and hurt someone. If we do this, be very clear, we are in aggression and ignorance. We are not in the truth. We are not in goodness.

Kṛṣṇa says to study spiritual literature regularly. By regularly studying scriptural literature, these ideas go again and again into our brain. Consequently, we acquire the courage to experiment and live the truth.Take up any truth and practice it at least a few times. For example, dont continuously function based on the idea 'me, me, me.' Instead try the idea ' you, you, you.' Try that at least ten times and see the effect in your life. If it does not work out, you throw can it away, it's up to you, but at least try it out ten times. You will get a glimpse of the truth expressed by Kṛṣṇa.

Intellectuals have two weapons: words and logic. They can be helpful teaching tools if properly used or they can be frightening weapons. It is up to us to choose how to use them: whether in the mode of ignorance, aggression or goodness. Truth is a reflection of compassion. Truth is an expression of compassion. Truth and compassion always go together. For that reason, truth can never hurt.

-Helping the students understand how to practice austerity in action in their dayto-day life. -Helping students understand the power of words.

• What does Saumyatvaṁ mean?
• As a spiritual practice, what are the qualities to be practiced?
• What happens when we start practicing integrity?
• Why does Kṛṣṇa say to study spiritual literature regularly?
• What are the weapons of intellectuals?
• Define: satya, ahiṁsā, asteya, aparigṛha and brahmacarya.
• Why can truth never hurt?

• v Paper
• v Pencil
• v Liquid glue
• v Generous amount of salt
• v Liquid Watercolours
• v Eye-dropper or paint brush

• Think of someone in your life who embodies Saumyatvaṁ so a Being whose presence makes you feel totally relaxed, complete and induces thoughts that calm and center the mind.
• Share about this Being with others and explain how they embody Saumyatvaṁ.
• •
• Draw the Being's portrait with a pencil. Make sure it is large and that it includes a lot of connected lines.
• Trace the pencil lines with the glue, starting at the top of the paper to avoid dragging arms and elbows through the glue.
• Lay the glue-y paper in a shallow tub or baking pan, and generously sprinkle salt all over the picture. The glue lines should be completely saturated with salt, giving a raised, rough appearance.

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 - Lesson 6 of 10_English_part_2.md

• Using the eye droppers and liquid watercolor and hovering approximately 1" above the paper, carefully drop one drop of paint at a time onto the salt/glue lines and watch it "travel" along the line. You can also do this with a paint brush by gently touching the brush to the glue (this technique is a lot harder to control and the brush gets covered in glue and salt). At this point, it's beneficial to discuss the definition of primary and secondary colors and encourage them to plan the colors that they want to touch each other. Where the colors touch, they will slowly blend to form the new or secondary color.
• Allow to dry flat for approximately two days and then scrape off the excess salt outside or over a garbage can.

INFERENCE:

The quality of Saumyatva brings out the pure beauty from within.

• 1. Papers,
• 2. Cardboard
• 3. Scissors
• 4. Glue or other adhesive markers
• 5. Pencils,
• 6. Erasers
• 7. Different pictures representing austerity in action śarīraṁ tapa: satya, ahiṁsā, asteya, aparigṛha and brahmacarya (ensure to have plenty for each to give children options).

Ask the students to create their own vision board representing satya, ahiṁsā, asteya, aparigṛha and brahmacarya. -At the end, ask them to share how they can practice austerity in action in their day-to-day life.

Kṛṣṇa talks about austerity in action, śarīraṁ tapa as well. He speaks about the five conditions that are also in Patañjali's Aṣtāṇga Yoga as the five disciplines of yama: satya, ahiṁsā, asteya, aparigṛha and brahmacarya. These mean truth in thoughts, words and deeds embodying nonviolence, non-covetousness, simplicity and living in reality with the focus on the Supreme as the ultimate in any kind of penance.

Truth is a reflection of compassion. Truth is an expression of compassion. Truth and compassion always go together. For that reason, truth can never hurt"

• 1. What is truth?
• 2. How can truth be an expression of compassion?
• 3. Why do people often use the expression "truth hurts"?
• 4. How is integrity directly connected to the power of words?
• 5. Are you always aware of the words that come out of your mouth?
• 6. How powerful are your words?
• 7. How can you change your own life or others' lives through your words?
• 8. What happens when we use hurtful words?
• 9. What should we experience anger and feel like telling hurtful words to others?
• 10. How can you bring more integrity to your words?

CONCLUSION:

When you start practicing integrity, you will harness the power of words. The words you utter will have so much power that just through the words you will be able to change your life and others' life, for the better!