1. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 - Lesson 15 of 19

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.'

brahmabhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu madbhaktiṁ labhate parāṁ

Absorbed in the supreme Being, the serene one neither grieves nor desires. Becoming impartial to all beings, one obtains My highest devotional love.

The entire purpose of Gītā is to enrich you to complete with your root patterns and drop the ego!

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaścāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram

By devotion one truly understands what and who I am in essence. Having known Me in essence, one immediately merges with Me.

bhakti (devotion) and jñāna (knowledge) are not separate. Where there is devotion, there is knowledge and where there is true knowledge, there is devotion.

sarvakarmāṇy api sadā kurvāṇo madvyapāśrayaḥ mat-prasādād avāpnoti śāśvataṁ padamavyayam

My devotee occupied in everyday life still reaches under My protection the imperishable ultimate abode through my mercy, through devotion to Me.

When you surrender, a space is created that allows the power of coincidence, the power of extraordinary possibilities to happen.

cetasā sarvakarmāṇi mayi sannyasya matparaḥ buddhiyogam upāśritya maccittaḥ satataṁ bhava

While being engaged in activities just depend upon Me, and being fully conscious of Me, work always under My protection.

maccittaḥ sarvadurgāṇi matprasādāt tariṣyasi atha cet tvam ahaṁkārān na śroṣyasi vinaṅkṣyasi

When your mind and inner-space become fixed on Me, you shall overcome all difficulties by My grace. But if you do not listen to Me due to ego, you shall perish.

Developing the state of nonattachment, being equally disposed to all beings, being unconcerned by success and failure, fully absorbed in Godhood, one becomes His devotee. In that state alone does one understand the essence of Kṛṣṇa. Once one understands this, one merges into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the devotee, even if he is engaged in worldly activities, is protected by the grace and compassion of Kṛṣṇa. Without any difficulty such a devotee reaches the ultimate reality.

You think that the survival instinct is essential in order to exist. You will realize the futility of the survival instinct only when you surrender. After that, you will automatically realize that you can live without the instinct to survive or the instinct to possess. You will realize that you can live in the material world without these instincts ruling you. This is what Kṛṣṇa means when He says that He will protect you. His energy takes care. When you surrender, a space is created that allows the power of coincidence, the power of extraordinary possibilities to happen. Automatically things fall into place. Automatically you are taken care of by the energy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

When you believe that you are intelligent enough to use your mind and go your own way, you are asking for trouble. Kṛṣṇa says you will perish if you follow your mind and senses instead of listening to Him.

We must understand two things. The first is about listening to one's mind and the second is about not listening to the Master. Vedic chants end with the word namaḥ. What does this mean? It means 'I surrender to You.' Each time you utter a vedic prayer, you say, 'I surrender to You, my Lord.' Is there another system of prayer that so thoroughly destroys your ego?

So, just because you do not surrender to a Master or a favorite deity, because one is human and the other is stone, do you think you are the Master, free and independent? You surrender to someone else for money, power or lust. One of these will surely happen. How much more sensible it is to follow and surrender to someone out of intelligence, because that person is more aware and complete, and can guide you on the path to completion?

Why are we reluctant to surrender to another person? It is because we have been captured by our mind and senses. We are in a jail and we are captive. We fear losing the identity that our mind and senses have created for us. We fear letting go of that identity. Our mind fights against shifting our allegiance from that ego and identity to someone else.

Realize that you are a slave to your senses and not the master of your destiny as you imagine. Be aware that your pains and sorrows arise from the mistaken belief that you are the master of your destiny. Once you realize this, you will look for an alternative.

knowledge and where there is true knowledge, there is devotion. The entire purpose of Gītā is to enrich patterns and drop the ego! All you need to do is understand one verse of Gītā, one statement of Kṛṣṇa, in entire earth. You need depth, not breadth of knowledge.

Every word of Gītā, every word of Kṛṣṇa, is energy. That is the knowledge that you need to imbibe and experience. This is what the 'knowing, tattvato jñātva' that Kṛṣṇa refers to. Once you 'know' this energy, you reach this energy. You become Kṛṣṇa. You are not only devoted to Kṛṣṇa, you become Kṛṣṇa.

There are two paths. One way is to 'know' the truth so clearly and completely that there is absolutely no doubt about your trust in the Master. There is no doubt that you are the same consciousness as the Master. Once you know this, there is no duality, there is the space of advaita, non-duality. You and the Master are the same. This is the height of devotion.

The other way is the deep surrender that happens within, the unbridled love that arises within you and through which you merge with the Master. Along with the merger, comes the knowledge that you are no different. Seemingly, knowledge comes from devotion; jñāna comes from bhakti. The truth is that both happen simultaneously.

Duality happens when you are open to that Cosmic energy but you still feel separate. You are like the ocean drop that knows it is part of the ocean but sees itself as separate. To reach this stage, you need to be open. When you are closed, you do not even accept that there is this huge ocean of which you are a part. You are ignorant. Duality or dvaita is the first step

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 - Lesson 15 of 19_English_part_2.md

Next, you become available. Not only do you know that there is this huge energy around you, but you become aware that you are part of it. You are a part of the Whole. You realize that as a drop, you are a part of the ocean. This is qualified duality, viśiṣṭādvaita. Then you suddenly realize and know that you are the ocean. There is no difference or barrier between you and the energy. You are the energy. You are God. This is non-duality, advaita. You just are. From being open, to being available, you just are.When you 'know' Kṛṣṇa, there is nothing else to know. Then, you become Kṛṣṇa..

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Helping the students experience surrendering. Helping the students experience Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

• ❖ What happens to the devotee who is in Krishna consciousness?
• ❖ What is the purpose of the Gita?
• ❖ What is the relation between bhakti (devotion) and jñāna (knowledge)?
• ❖ What does "namaḥ" mean in Vedic chants?
• ❖ When does duality happen?
• ❖ What is "qualified duality"?
• ❖ What is non-duality, advaita?

1. Paper 2. Cardboard 3. Markers 4. Glue 5. Scissors 6. Sparkles 7. Eraser, etc.

❖ Read the 2 sentences written in the inference section below and ask each student to select one verse from the Gita. ❖ Ask them to write it down beautifully and to decorate the paper. They can hang it in their room and contemplate on it continuously.

All you need to do is understand one verse of Gītā, one statement of Kṛṣṇa, in its entirety. That is enough to enlighten you.

❖ Swamiji's Murti or a Deity or any object.

Ask the students to observe what happens in their inner space as they surrender to Swamiji's Murti, to a Deity or any object they feel connected to. Then, encourage them to share their experience of surrendering. Once everyone has shared, the acharya will play the role of someone who does not want to surrender to anybody (you can use the reasons THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM told). Tell the students that you don't want to turn into a slave, etc. The students have to help you shift your cognition about surrendering.

Realize that you are a slave to your senses and not the master of your destiny as you imagine. Be aware that your pains and sorrows arise from the mistaken belief that you are the master of your destiny. Once you realize this, you will look for an alternative.

Ask the students to discuss about: "When you 'know' Kṛṣṇa, there is nothing else to know. Then, you become Kṛṣṇa". Ask them to share how they can become Kṛṣṇa.

There is no difference or barrier between you and the energy. You are the energy. You are God. This is nonduality, advaita. You just are. From being open, to being available, you just are. When you 'know' Kṛṣṇa, there is nothing else to know. Then, you become Kṛṣṇa.