1. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 - Lesson 8 of 10

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.'

śreyān-dravya-mayād yajñāj jñāna-yajñaḥ parantapa I sarvaṁ karmā'khilaṁ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate

O Parantapa (conqueror of foes), the sacrifice of wisdom is superior to the sacrifice of material wealth. After all, all activities totally end in wisdom.

The Master knows the best way in which you can grow. He creates the moulds for each of you according to your needs and abilities. Trust him, drop your solid ego and become fluid so you can fill in the spaces he creates for you.

tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā I upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninastattvadarśinaḥ

Understand these truths by approaching a spiritual Master, by asking him your questions, by offering service. The enlightened person can initiate the wisdom unto you because he has seen the truth

A Master is one who has experienced the truth and who can simply transfer his experience of truth to you.

yajjñātvā na punar moham evaṁ yāsyasi pāṇḍava I yena bhūtāny aśeṣeṇa drakṣyasy ātmanyatho mayi

O Pāṇḍava, knowing this you will never suffer from desire or illusion, you will know that all living beings are in the supreme, in Me.

When you realize the truth that you too are one with the Universe, there is nothing more to desire; nothing to be attached to.

api cedasi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ I sarvaṁ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṁ santariṣyasi

Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, you will certainly cross completely the ocean of miseries through the boat of knowledge.

When you have the true knowledge, it will propel you to do actions that are a means to reach the Ultimate.

We spoke about the history of Brahma and Viṣṇu trying to reach Śiva's crown. Viṣṇu was able to accept that he failed and completed with Śiva, whereas Brahma could not. A person of knowledge becomes arrogant and refuses to acknowledge the limitations of knowledge.

Sacrificing knowledge is far more difficult than sacrificing wealth. For a scholar to admit that he does not know is to commit suicide. He is losing his identity. Kṛṣṇa advises the seeker to sacrifice one's knowledge and one's intellect at His feet, at the feet of the Master, to experience the ultimate Truth.

Beautifully He says, 'tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (4.34).' A Master is one who has experienced the truth and who can simply transfer his experience of truth to you. He communes with you. A teacher, on the other hand, is one who imparts knowledge through communication.

It is easy to do the first step, which is to follow the Master in his physical form because Masters are so attractive by nature and they do not expect anything in return. The next level is to follow the dharma, teachings of the Master. This is slightly more difficult because you have to not only listen to his teachings but you also have to do something; you have to live his teachings, practice them.

Though it is only for your own growth, your laziness (tamas) causes you to not do this. The final level is where you infuse your life with the truth that life is for others.

When you surrender to the Master, you surrender to his mission, sanga and to his teachings, dharma as well. When you surrender at the physical level, you surrender your comforts to the Master like desires for luxury, wealth, food or sleep to imbibe and spread his teachings and mission. I cannot call it sacrifice because you will feel from your very being that this is what you really want to do. When you take up the responsibility of the mission, you will realize that what seemed to you as a load is actually a blissful experience.

How can the mission of the Master give anything other than pure bliss? The moment you surrender to the Master and his mission and you stand up taking responsibility, you will find that the divine energy simply flows through you and you just flow effortlessly and express yourself most gracefully and powerfully. All you need to do is to be stable and available, and the divine energy will make you able!

On the mental level, you surrender your intellect, your mental pursuits, your incompletions to serve the Master and the mission. You become like a liquid, flowing into the shapes and moulds created by the Master.

The Master knows the best way in which you can grow. He creates the moulds for each of you according to your needs and abilities. Trust him, drop your solid ego and become fluid so you can fill in the spaces he creates for you.

At the being level, when your very being surrenders to the Master, your being clearly recognizes the call of the Master. You become a part of the Master. You no longer carry any separate identity. This process of transformation automatically happens when you surrender to the Master, his teachings and his mission. The water is converted into formless steam. Like steam, you now explode in all directions. There are no limitations because all limitations exist only in the mind. You now transcend the mind and express your peak potential.

The Master tirelessly and compassionately pushes you in different ways so you can also experience and be in the same state of eternal bliss as he is. The only emotion that a Master knows is love. I always tell people, 'When I show compassion to you, I cheat you. When I fire you, I teach you. Either way, you grow.' The Vedas also clearly declare that a living Master is needed. You may have access to all the books, the recorded teachings of all the great masters. But, you have only the words; where is the body language?

For example, yoga as it is taught now has been reduced to just a form of physical exercise. But physical health is just one of its benefits. Yoga as taught by Patañjali is a means to enlightenment. But the body language of Patañjali no longer exists; only his words exist. You need a living Master who is in the same consciousness as Patañjali, to transmit the essence and experience of the words.

It is very difficult to relate with a living Master. You see, it is very easy to relate with dead masters. You can project all your imaginations about God on him. When Kṛṣṇa promises that He descends again and again—sambhavāmi yuge yuge what He means is the Kṛṣṇa energy will descend. People think Kṛṣṇa will come down in the same form with the yellow clothes, the flute and the two peacock feathers.

Again and again, Kṛṣṇa happens on planet Earth, but our incompletions are so cunning, they manage in making us miss Him in any form. We miss all the living Masters. It is easy to fool yourself, escaping from a living Master and just worshipping a Master who has left the body. You escape all the possibilities of transformation.

You can just say, 'Amayaṁ anahaṁkāraṁ arāgaṁ amadaṁ tathā...' 'I offer my non-attachment to you', 'I offer my ego to you.' You can say that to an idol and that idol will be just standing. But, if you tell me that, I will simply catch your neck and say,

With the living Master, he will be constantly working on you, to cut your ego and to show you your true Self. But the ego is afraid to die at the Master's hands, so you try to escape. Just being open to his energy can get rid of the biggest cancer in you, your ego.

When you realize the truth that you too are one with the Universe, there is nothing more to desire; nothing to be attached to. There is no longer any differentiation between who you are and what the Universe is.

Māyā, the illusion of that separation, disappears. That is why the Master is called Guru, one who leads you from 'gu', which is darkness, to 'ru', that is light; one who leads you from ignorance to bliss. A Master does not differentiate between good and bad. He doesn't care if what you do is considered meritorious by society or sinful.

Here, Kṛṣṇa says beautifully, 'Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners sarve-bhyaḥ pāpa-krt-tamaḥ, you will certainly completely cross the ocean of miseries with the boat of knowledge—

At the spiritual level, the concept of sin does not exist. It is a creation of manmade institutions, of societal and political organizations to control others through fear. When you have the true knowledge, the intelligence of why you are doing what you are doing, the very knowledge will make the action divine, the act will no longer be just a ritual but a means to reach the Ultimate. Automatically, you will cross the ocean of miseries because misery itself is a result of ignorance of your true self. When 'spirit' is added to a 'ritual', it becomes 'spi-rituality'.

Help the group understand that engaging with a living master is necessary for personal transformation to give up ego and attachments.

Guru takes one from darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.

• ❖ What is more difficult to give up: ego or wealth? And Why?

• ❖ What is more difficult to have: a living master or a master who has left the body?

• ❖ Why is a living master needed?

• ❖ What is the benefit of surrendering to the master: at the physical, mental and being level?

• ❖ What is the literal meaning of the word "Guru"?

• ❖ What is sin?

• ❖ What is the ultimate knowledge?

• ❖ How does true knowledge liberate from miseries?

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4

• 1. paper
• 2. glue
• 3. scissors

Draw a rectangular frame on the paper. Take a photo cut-out of you and your Guru and paste it within the rectangular frame. Colour the background to your liking.

Follow the Master in his physical form. When you surrender to the Master at the physical level, you surrender your comforts to the Master, to imbibe and spread his teachings and mission.

• 1. paper
• 2. Pen or Pencil

Write a few ideas on how a disciple can intellectually contribute to his/her Master's mission.

On the mental level, you surrender your intellect, your mental pursuits, your incompletions to serve the Master and the mission.

Today's topic of discussion is "There are no limitations on human potential, because all limitations exist only in the mind."

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM is nitya-dhyāna-ānanda, consists of Nithya, the Master in the body, dhyāna, his teaching and message of meditation and ānanda, his mission of bringing forth the fountain of bliss that is lying latent in you. The Master creates growth opportunities for each of you according to your needs and abilities. Trust him, drop your solid ego and become fluid so you can fill in the spaces he creates for you.