1. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 - Collection

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 selfdestruction. 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.

simplicity, in a peace-loving, diplomatic,

conflict-free way.

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.'

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

arjuna uvācakiṃ tadbrahma kimadhyātmaṃ kiṃ karma puruṣottama adhibhūtaṃ ca kiṃ proktam adhidaivaṃ kimucyate

Arjuna says: O my Lord, O supreme person, what is Brahman? What is the Self? What are result-based actions? What is this material manifestation? And what are the demi-gods? Please explain all this to me.

Life and death are the two siodes of the same coin.

adhiyajñaḥ kathaṃ ko'tra dehe'smin madhusūdana prayāṇakāle ca kathaṃ jñeyo'si niyatātmabhiḥ

How does this Lord of sacrifice live in the body, and in which part does He live, O Madhusūdana? How can those engaged in devotional service know You at the time of their death?

Our understanding about death impacts our understanding about life. Understanding that life is eternal gives freedom from the need to accomplish everything in one lifetime.

questions! Of course, when I translate them into English, much of the taste is lost!

No English words can convey the meaning of so many beautiful words expressed by Arjuna. A single word has many meanings in Saṃskṛit. The moment I translate, I give only one dimension, a single dimension of the verse.

Understand, the Sanskṛit language is that it is not only linguistic, but also has importance at the phonetic level. Just the vibration of the words can transform our whole inner space. The sound changes the energy of the place and the inner space of those who hear it or are chanting it. We should understand the concepts called padā and padārtha.

For example, when I say the word 'cow, ' immediately a figure appears in our mind an animal with four legs, a tail, head and two horns. The word is called padā, the figure is padārtha. What happens in our mind when we hear the word is padārtha. In all languages the distance or gap between padā and padārtha is significant.

In Saṃskṛit the connection is immediate; the result is instantaneous.That is why I tell people to listen to Saṃskṛit devotional verses for at least 10 minutes a day. It does not matter whether you understand it or not.

Just listen to any Saṃskṛit verse — whether it is Viṣṇu Sahasṛanāma, Bhagavad Gītā, Śiva Sahasṛanāma or something else. Even if you don't understand the meaning of the verses, the very energy of the vibrations will purify your body.

There is something called śabda tattva, the principle of sound. When air travels from our navel area to the throat, the śabda tattva changes the air into words. If this element is not there, only air comes out; no words come out.

In other languages the more we use śabda tattva, the more tired we become. However in Saṃskṛit, the śabda tattva strengthens us. The more we chant, the more energetic we become! It is like the generator automatically re-charging the battery and the battery running the generator. It is completely interconnected.

The Saṃskṛit language strengthens the śabda tattva that converts air into sound or words. This is why it does not matter whether or not we understand it. Listening to the sound, the very vibration, has an effect on our being. Modern day research proves that the vibrations of the verses can straightaway remove impurities. This is why masters ask us to offer different types of worship as a means to chant Saṃskṛit verses. We simply heal ourselves.

These are two different energies of Lord Viṣṇu; one manifested as Arjuna and the other as Kṛṣṇa. The whole drama happened so that the Gītā took shape to enrich humanity! Otherwise, even the disciple with the least consciousness would not have asked so many questions, again and again.

It is almost a catharsis. Here Arjuna asks so many questions. However, the main question to Kṛṣṇa is: How does a person who is engaged in practicing Your teachings know You at the time of death? Here starts the whole teaching of Kṛṣṇa. He reveals the secrets of death.

One thing I want to tell you: The West has spent all its energy to understand life. The East has spent all its energy to understand death. Nobody has gone so deeply into, or achieved such deep experiences of death, as our ṛiṣhis, sages have. These masters have done a great service by bringing the knowledge of death to the people who are living.

People ask me, 'Swamiji, why should I know about death? Knowing about life is enough; after all I am still young.' The word 'death' creates fear in people. When it comes to death, they are not ready to listen.

They think, 'Why should we know about death? If we know about life, it is enough. Please be very clear, our understanding about death impacts our understanding about life. Life and death are two sides of the same coin. Understand one thing: In the East, all religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, talk about many births or reincarnation. Most Western religions talk about a single birth.

This concept of reincarnation has influenced Hindu society so deeply that nobody bothers about time! In Bharat, people do not bother about time. They are so relaxed. Till 10 o'clock in the morning, people sit in teashops! If we ask for anything, they say, 'Not today, tomorrow; if not tomorrow, next birth!' They have eternity in front of them because somewhere they know they will come again. They are in no hurry and therefore do not run behind anything. Hindu people are utterly and completely relaxed.

In the West, whatever they desire to achieve, they must finish achieving within 75 to 80 years. They do not have time. They either live now or never because there is only one birth according to them.That is the reason why people run and run! Please be very clear: Our understanding about death influences our whole social structure.

Our whole thinking system, our whole mentality can be transformed with the right understanding about death.I gave a single example about how the idea of reincarnation influences Eastern society and how the idea of one birth influences Western society. Thousands of such examples can be given.

The idea and understanding of death is much more important than the understanding of life. Whether we understand life or not, it remains the same. But the moment we understand death, the whole quality of life changes and our consciousness changes.

The moment we realize the truth of death, if we experience even an intellectual understanding of death, it is enough to transform our whole way of thinking. That is why the moment we think of Yama Dhrama Raja, god of death, our whole life has yama, or discipline.

The Saṃskṛit word ' yama' means both 'death' and 'discipline'. Understanding of Death, Instills Discipline.

Impress upon the students that understanding death is necessary to realize that life is eternal. This understanding gives freedom from the need to accomplish everything in one lifetime. Understanding death instills discipline.

• What are the limitations of the English Language in conveying the meaning of the sanskrit shlokas?

• What is the phonetic importance of sanskrit?

• Which language has the shortest gap between pada (the word) and padartha (the imagery associated with the word?

• What is śabda tattva, the principle of sound?

• How can sanskrit chants energize the speaker?

• 1. pencil,
• 2. eraser
• 3. paper
• 4. acrylic paint
• 5. brush

Draw a still life painting depicting death.

Ask the kids to think of all the characteristics they associate with death and incorporate them into their art. Death is an inevitable reality. We can observe and contemplate on death to understand life.

Let us narrate a historic incident: Once Vyāsa, the ancient sage of Bharat attended a function. After having a feast at the function, on his way back, he came to a river, which he had to cross in order to reach his ashram, his monastery. He stood before the river and said, 'If I am sincere in my ekādasi fasting, let this river give way so that I may cross over.' Ekādasi refers to the eleventh day of the moon's cycle when normally people fast. The moment Vyāsa uttered those words, the river gave way. Vyāsa crossed it followed by his devotees and they reached the ashram.

The devotees were astonished and asked, 'What is this? You enjoyed a feast just a few hours back. Yet, when you asked the river to give way on the condition that you have been sincere in your ekādasi fast, the river gave way! How can this be?' Vyāsa replied, 'When you eat with the consciousness that you are not the body, you never feel that you are touched by food. You never feel that you are eating, digesting and living. The body ate; I do not know anything about it.'

Encourage the children to contemplate on this story

Vyasa was living in out-of-bodyconsciousness. Vyāsa says he is fasting after having eaten a feast because he does not feel connected to his body. He does not feel that his body is related to him. He is untouched. His inner space is so pure and filled with bliss, nothing touches him.

Topic of discussion is " Is Death the end of a soul's Journey ?"

Whether we understand life or not, it remains the same. But the moment we understand death, the whole quality of life changes and our consciousness changes.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

śrībhagavānuvāca akṣaraṃ brahma paramaṃ svabhāvo'dhyātmamucyate bhūtabhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karmasañjñitaḥ

Bhagavān says: The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman and his eternal nature is called the self. Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies is called karma, or result based activities.

Whatever samskaras or desires we bring, we bring enough energy to live them out and enough power of energy them also.

adhibhūtaṃ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaś cādhidaivatam adhiyajño'ham evātra dehe dehabhṛtāṃ vara

Physical nature is known to be endlessly changing. The universe is the cosmic form of the supreme Lord, and I am that Lord represented as the super soul, dwelling in the heart of every being that dwells in a body.

Everything, whether living or non-living, is an embodiment of the Supreme Soul.

antakāle ca māmeva smaranmuktvā kalevaram yaḥ prayāti sa madbhāvaṃ yāti nā'styatra saṃśayaḥ

Whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, attains My nature immediately. Of this there is no doubt.

Whatever you consider the highest ideal of your whole life, only that comes to your mind when you leave the body.

yaṃ yaṃ vāpi smaranbhāvaṃ tyajatyante kalevaram taṃ taṃ evaiti kaunteya sadā tadbhāvabhāvitaḥ

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, it is that state one will attain without fail.

Whatever you consider the highest ideal of your whole life, only that comes to your mind when you leave the body.

Before going into what happens at the time of death, let us understand how we assume the body, how we live through it and how we leave it.

Please understand that we create our whole body out of our fear, greed, guilt and our engraved memories, called the root thought patterns (saṁskāras). Whatever saṁskāras we have, we create the body to work them out, experience them and enjoy them. Once we have created the body and live our life,

When we came down to planet Earth, we came with enough energy to work out and complete our root thought patterns, saṁskāras. Listen! God never sends us empty handed. He sends us with everything. He sends us with our inner powers, but we have forgotten that we even have these great powers.

Your four inner powers are: the power of words or vāk śakti; the power of thoughts or mano śakti; the power of feeling or prema śakti; and the power of living or ātma śakti. Please listen! Karma refers to the unfulfilled desires that we create over many births, which pull us back again to take birth and fulfill them. We have three types of karma—sañcita, prārabdha and āgāmya.

Sañcita karma is our complete bank of unfulfilled karmas like our safety deposit or the files archived in our office vault. Prārabdha karma are those karmas that we have brought and come in this life, like files in filing cabinets which we access and work on regularly. Āgāmya karma are like the new files on our table that we keep creating — new karma that we create in every life.

We must exhaust all three types of karmas to experience enlightenment. Sañcita karma is all that we have accumulated over many births. Prārabdha karma is karma that we brought with us to work out in this life. Āgāmya karma is what we acquire newly in this birth.

Prārabdha karma is like our opening bank balance in this life. We have enough energy to exhaust this prārabdha karma. Then why do we feel that this life is not sufficient? Why do we feel unfulfilled? The problem is that after coming down, we forget what we came down for, the saṁskāras and desires that we brought to live out and complete.

Instead we accumulate more and more desires from family, friends and society. We accumulate desires from others in society and work out their desires in our life.

Understand that if we have lived 70 years, at the end of our life, when we leave our body, the whole scene, the whole 70 years appear before us as a flash, as a fast-forward movement. The whole thing appears in our consciousness again so that we can make the decision about our next birth.

I want to give you one more understanding: karma or saṁskāra means any desire that is not completely experienced by you. By nature you are a fulfilled complete being. But whenever you do not fulfill any action completely, with totality, you create a hangover.

You create a recorded memory of that action, a saṁskāra. A saṁskāra is not merely a dead memory stored in your unconscious mind; it has the power to make you repeat that action again and again till the desire is fulfilled. Please be very clear, saṁskāra is living energy because it has the power to make you repeat the same action again and again as a pattern.

It can make you travel the same path over and over again. that is why saṁskāras are called engraved memories, the root thought patterns. The more you travel on a path, the more it will be strengthened.

But if you have completed with that pattern by living a single saṁskāra totally, completely, that saṁskāra leaves you! It drops from your being; you are liberated from it. Completion directly liberates you from karma. Completion directly leads you to experience the Truth.

Social conditioning divides everything into pleasure and pain. Even this decision — 'What kind of life will I choose in my next birth? What kind of body will I take?' – is based upon your social conditioning. You decide to achieve whatever you think is the highest thing in life. You automatically run behind whatever is kept as an ideal in front of your eyes.

Whatever you consider the highest ideal of your whole life, only that comes to your mind when you leave the body. What you remember at Death, So you attain Kṛṣṇa says, 'Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O Kaunteya, that state he will attain without fail.'

What exactly happens at the time of leaving the body? We should understand that. When a person leaves the body, he goes through seven layers of his being.

When a person leaves the body, it creates tremendous pain in his whole system, what the Upaniṣads liken to 'thousands of scorpions stinging at a time.'

There will be tremendous pain at first. We may ask, 'Why pain?' It is because our being wants to stay in the body, but the body cannot host the being anymore.

In natural death, the body is exhausted, so we leave the body. In an accident, the body is damaged. Naturally there will be tremendous pain. But one thing: there is an automatic mechanism in our being, an automatic painkiller mechanism. What happens is, the moment the pain becomes unbearable, we fall into coma. If we fall into coma, we will not experience pain.

But the big problem is that we die in unconsciousness when we die in coma. That is the worst thing, because we remain unaware of why we took this birth, and we will not be able to make the decision about the next birth consciously.

At the time of death, the moment we leave the physical body, we go to the next level, the prāṇic body or the prāṇic layer in us. The prāṇic body refers to the layer responsible for the inhaling and exhaling of prāṇa, the life giving energy in our body. The prāṇic body is filled with all our desires.

Our prāṇa and desires are closely related. If our desires change, immediately the circulation of our praṇa changes. Similarly, if we change the circulation of prāṇa, our whole mind changes. Our mind and prāṇa are closely connected.

The next layer we cross in the process of death is the etheric body. Here, all the painful experiences that we had in life are stored. These four layers are hell.

When the energy crosses these four layers: physical body, prāṇic body, mental body and etheric body, the being undergoes hell. Understand that hell is. not situated in a place above our heads, but in these four layers, comprising all our desires, guilt and painful experiences.

We had such and such inadequate data and only that much intelligence to process the data at that time. Based on that, we made the decision. Guilt is a wedge inserted in our being. It creates uneasiness between you and your being. Be very clear, the worst sin is guilt. Guilt is the only sin; nothing else is a sin on planet Earth.

If we complete with guilt, at least our personality will be integrated and authentic. When our personality is integrated, we will naturally become pure and energetic.

During our life in the body, if we have kept these four layers clean and complete, we never enter hell. That is, if we can technically clean these layers; through meditation, through the process of completion. If we keep these layers clean with the proper meditation techniques, we will never have a problem at the time of leaving the body. We will have a clear highway. Straightaway we will travel!

That is what Kṛṣṇa says: This is the path on which a man can easily leave and liberate himself, and also the path on which he can suffer and destroy himself. Both ways are now shown by Kṛṣṇa. These are the major obstructions when we leave the body. After these first four layers, the three inner layers where all our blissful memories are stored are called heaven. Even if we are stuck there, we need to move on. Please be very clear, even our puṇya, merits, are karma. Even that will not allow us to become enlightened. We may feel good, ecstatic, for a few days. After that our mind takes that also for granted. In the case of heaven also, we will take it for granted after a few days. When you take it for granted, you have to come back to take another body, another birth.

Children to learn about four inner powers and three types of karma. To understand why we assume the body.

To understand what happens when we leave the body.

• What are root thought patterns (saṁskāras) and (unfulfilled desires) Karma?
• What are the four inner energiesvāk śakti, mano śakti, prema śakti and ātma śakti ?
• What are the three types of karma-sañcita, prārabdha and āgāmya ?
• What is the sequence of events at the time of death?

• 1. Paper, pencil & eraser
• 2. Acrylic paint and brush

Make a stylized (abstract) drawing of "Yama - the God of Death". Feel free to be innovative and make your own unique "Yama". While you make your masterpiece, let us tell you a story about Yama:

One story goes like this: There was a king who lived for a hundred years. Then Yama, the god of death comes and tells him, 'Your life is over, O King, come now, it is time, let us go.' The king says, 'What is this? You gave me such a beautiful kingdom, such a beautiful life, such wonderful wives, kids; you have given me everything. 100 years is too short to enjoy this life. Please bless me with 100 more years.'

Yama explains that no extension is possible. The king continues to plead, 'No, please bless me with another 100 years.' Yama says, 'Alright, if one of your sons gives his life, I will extend yours as an exchange offer.' Somehow one son agrees to give his life for his father and the king gets 100 more years.

After 100 years when Yama appears again, the king does not realize that his time is up and says, 'What is this? I asked for 100 years and you have come so soon.' Yama tells him that 100 years are over. The king pleads again, 'Please help me somehow; I did not realize that 100 years are gone. Please give one more extension.' Yama tells him it is too much and that a second extension is not possible. However the king begs Yama to let him live a few more years. Finally he gets one more extension.

The next time when Yama comes, again the king is in the same mood. Now Yama gives a beautiful teaching. He says, 'By pouring oil on it, you can never put out the fire. Now it is time, you must come.' The king understands and follows Yama.

By chasing our desires, we can never feel fulfilled. Only more desires will come up. By fulfilling our desires, we can never hope to have contentment. When we acquire more and more desires from the outer world, we naturally feel that life is not sufficient, that we had not been given time or resources to fulfill these desires. We must understand the nature of desire. It is like a fire that can never be satiated. Unconsciously giving into desires without restraint leads to a feeling of discontentment.

Let us contemplate upon the four inner powers we hold, namely:

• the power of words or vāk śakti;
• the power of thoughts or mano śakti;
• the power of feeling or prema śakti;
• and the power of living or ātma śakti.

Let us try to remember at least one incident from our lives, where we, intentionally or accidentally, demonstrated the power of any one or more of these shaktis and the life events of your choice simply manifested without any effort!

For example, Joyce wanted to have an earthen clay pot. But could not convince her parents to buy one. She went for a walk in the evening and to her surprise two unused clay pots were sitting on the public sidewalk. The owner had no use for it and had given them away. Joyce manifested mano sakti

Let us share our powerful stories with our friends and listen to theirs.

Four inner powers are: the power of words or vāk śakti; the power of thoughts or mano śakti; the power of feeling or prema śakti; and the power of living or ātma śakti.

When you create the right space inside you, all the events of your choice will simply flow into your life without any effort!

"What exactly happens at the time of leaving the body?" What kind of experiences surface as the soul passes through each of these seven layers of the being ?

Start the discussion from the First Layer or sthula sharira (gross body), Second Layer or prana sharira (pranic body), Third Layer or mana sharira (mind), Fourth Layer or vijnanamaya kosha (intellect), Fifth Layer or karana sharira (causal body), Sixth Layer or ananda sharira (bliss), Seventh Layer or atman (consciousness), corresponding to experience of bodily pain, desires, guilt, painful memories, unconscious state, happy memories, and consciousness awareness respectively.

what Kṛṣṇa says: This is the path on which a man can easily leave and liberate himself, and also the path on which he can suffer and destroy himself. Both ways are now shown by Kṛṣṇa.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣy asyasaṃśayam

Arjuna, think of Me in the form of Kṛṣṇa always, while continuing with your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

Always be n Krishna Consciousness even when you are doing your regular duty and activities. Let your mind and intelligence be fixed in Krishna Consciousness.

abhyāsa yoga yuktena cetasā nānyagāminā paramaṃ puruṣaṃ divyaṃ yāti pārthānucintayan

He who meditates on the supreme person, his mind con-stantly engaged in remembering Me, not deviating from the path, O Pārtha, He is sure to reach Me.

Lead a life of higher consciousness by constantly engaging the mind in remembrance of Krishna, and one will certainly attain Krishna Consciousness

kaviṃ purāṇaṃ anuśāsitāramaṇoraṇī yām sam anusmared yaḥ sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt

One should meditate on the Supreme as the one who knows everything, as He is the most ancient, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person.

If you experience even a single glimpse of this thoughtless awareness or pure consciousness when you are alive, the same thing automatically repeats when you leave the body. You leave the body in samādhi.

prayāṇakāle manasācalena bhaktyā yukto yogabalena caiva bhruvor madhye prāṇam āveśya samyak sa taṃ paraṃ puruṣam upaiti divyam

One, who at the time of death, fixes his mind and life air between the eyebrows without being distracted, by the power of yoga and in full devotion, engages himself in dwelling on Me, He will certainly attain Me.

If you achieve one glimpse of thoughtless awareness, you achieve whatever has to be achieved in life.

our whole life, the same thought will come to us in the end also. At the time of our death, automatically the totality of our whole life will come up.

The whole file will come up. Whatever we spent the maximum energy on, that file will automatically come up first. That's all.

We can't do anything at that moment. Don't think that we can forget about it now and tackle the issue of our last thought at the time we leave the body. It does not work that way! Only the thought that we lived with intensely throughout our life will come up at that moment. That is why He says, 'Even when you do your duty, may you be absorbed in Me.' This means that when we live, we should try to continuously be in thoughtless awareness, witnessing consciousness, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The next question: 'How can I be in the witnessing mode when I live my regular life?' Start in a simple way. When you drive, when you sit, when you talk, see what is happening inside and outside you. You don't need to close your eyes. At least while driving, please don't close your eyes! Just move away from your body.

See what is going on in your mind and what is going on outside your being. When you talk to someone, witness and listen to how he talks and how you respond. Even before he finishes his statement, notice how you come to conclusions and how you are ready to jump on him with your own opinions!

See and listen to how you prepare your speech before he finishes his statement. Witness, continuously try to witness. Continuously listen. You will see the influence of desires, guilt and pain on your being automatically disappear.

The moment you create a gap between you and your body-mind, immediately the suffering disappears. Suffering is due to attachment to your body and mind.

All your sufferings disappear the moment you witness, that very moment. Actually, you may fail the first few times. After you face failure, you think, 'It is difficult, I cannot do it, ' and you create an idea that it is difficult.

Somebody goes to Ramaṇa Mahaṛṣi, the enlightened saint from Bharat, and asks, 'Master, is ātma vidya (knowledge of the self) difficult?' He says, 'The word difficult is the only difficulty.' He sings beautifully in Tamil, 'Aiyye ati sulabham atma viddai, aiyye ati sulabham'— Oh! So easy! The knowledge of the Self is so easy! He sings beautifully, 'To achieve money you must work, to achieve name and fame you must work, to achieve anything else you must work. To achieve the knowledge of the Self, you need to just keep quiet. Nothing else needs to be done.' Such a simple thing; a few moments of witnessing consciousness is enough.

Even if you stay in that consciousness for five minutes, it is a big blessing. When you experience the relief that happens when you remain as the witness, even once or twice, when you experience the relief, you can see how the stress disappears from your being.

Then you will automatically stay in that same state, because now you have tasted it. Once you know the taste, you will automatically come back to the same state, the same mood again and again. If we just experience the relaxation that happens once, when we witness the body and mind, we will automatically come back for that experience, for that peace, again and again.

Part 3: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 - Collection_English_part_3.md

If we feel witnessing is difficult, witness that thought also; be aware and authentically listen to that thought also. Go into the consciousness of your being. Experience samādhi so that all hindrances disappear. You will experience the ultimate, eternal consciousness.

In the next verse Kṛṣṇa says, 'At the time of death, fix your mind between the eyebrows.' He adds, ' without being distracted and with devotion.' See, all this is not in our control at the time when the life force is about to leave the body. We cannot decide at that time, 'Ok, let me focus between the eyebrows, let me think of devotion, let me not be distracted.'

But if we have led a life in such higher consciousness, this automatically happens at that time! When Kṛṣṇa talks about the space between the eyebrows, He speaks of the higher cakra or energy center in the body, related to higher consciousness. Our mind is nothing but a bunch of conditionings.

We make a decision. Please be very clear, the whole calculation happens based on our own data, the data that we have collected. As I said, at the time of leaving the body, the whole data appears before us in a single flash: the gist of the whole data, the gist of all three files āgāmya (acquired) file, sañcita (bank balance) file and prārabdha (current) file. Based on the files, we decide, 'What am I supposed to do?

The moment we decide, we enter that kind of body. One more important thing: Because we are so attached to the body and mind, we cannot live without a body for more than three kṣaṇas. The Saṃskṛit word 'kṣaṇa' does not mean 'seconds' or 'moments'. It does not measure chronological time. It is the gap between one thought and the next thought.

For most of us, Kṣaṇa will be a few microseconds because of our endless stream of thoughts. While still in the body, if we have experienced 'thoughtlessness' at least once, (thoughtlessness means being alive without a sense of body and mind), if we have experienced thoughtless awareness, if we have been in Universal consciousness for a single moment without the body and mind, that is what I call Samādhi.

In our life, we experience two states of being and two levels of mind. For example, now, while we are awake, we have thoughts. In deep sleep, do we have thoughts? No! So the two possibilities for the mind are with thought and without thought.

In the same way, in the being, there can be 'I' consciousness and no 'I' consciousness. As of now, while we are awake and talking and moving, we have the idea of 'I' all the time, that of 'I' consciousness. In deep sleep, do we have this consciousness? No. The 'I' consciousness does not exist at that time. So the two levels of the being are: with 'I' consciousness and without 'I' consciousness. These two levels of consciousness and the two levels of mind and thought overlap each other and create four states of being in us.

The state with thoughts and with 'I' consciousness is the waking state, jāgrat, in which most of us are now (not all, some of us are in the dream state sleeping already!)

The next state is when we have thoughts, but 'I' consciousness is absent. This is the dream state—svapna. You may ask, 'How?' It is like this: In the dream state, the frequency of thoughts will be more than the frequency of 'I' consciousness. That is why we are not able to control our dreams.

When we are awake, the frequency of 'I' is more, that is why we can control our thoughts; we can suppress them, divert them, create them; we can do anything we want because the frequency of 'I' is more than the frequency of thoughts. In the dream state, the frequency of thoughts is more than the frequency of 'I'.

That is why we cannot control our dreams. If we can have the dreams of our choice, we know what kind of dreams we will have! Dreams are not in our control. We cannot influence them. We cannot have choices because the frequency of thoughts is more than the frequency of consciousness. So we have thoughts but no 'I' consciousness. The flow of thoughts happening in our being is the dream state.

In the next state, neither 'I' consciousness nor the flow of thoughts exists. This is deep sleep. This is called suṣupti. The three states are jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti conscious, subconscious, unconscious.

There is a fourth state that we have not experienced in our life, where we have no flow of thoughts yet we have 'I' consciousness, pure 'I' consciousness. This is samādhi, thoughtless awareness — turīya avastha, ātma jñāna, brahma jñāna, Selfrealization, nirvāna, ātma bhūti, state of the Divine, nityānanda consciousness, eternal bliss! All these words refer to the state where we have pure awareness but no thoughts, where we exist without body and mind. Jāgrat, svapna, suṣupti, in these three states, we live with the body and mind. In jāgrat, we live with the body that we have now — the sthūla śarīra or gross body. In svapna, we live with the sūkṣma śarīra or subtle body; please understand in the dream state also we assume a body. That is why we are able to travel in our dreams. For example, we fall asleep in Los Angeles but suddenly dream we are in Bharat! It means we travel with a body, a subtle body called sūkṣma śarīra.

In deep sleep, we assume a body called the causal body, kāraṇa śarīra. In turīya state, we experience boundarilessness, bodylessness. There we have pure 'I' consciousness, with 'I' but without thoughts.

Vivekananda says, 'If you experience even a single glimpse of this consciousness when you are alive, the same thing automatically repeats when you leave the body. You leave the body in samādhi.' All spiritual practices directly or indirectly aim at achieving this state where we exist with the awareness of 'I' , but without the consciousness of body and mind. That is why Kṛṣṇa says that if we experience at least one moment of consciousness beyond the body and mind, we can choose our next life in a relaxed way.

If we have not lived a single moment of our life without the feeling of being the body and mind, we cannot be without the body and mind once we die. So once we die, we immediately try to catch hold of another body.

Even a glimpse of consciousness, a moment of realization, a single moment of thoughtless awareness, when you live with the body and mind is enough. Actually, if you achieve one glimpse of thoughtless awareness, you achieve whatever has to be achieved in life.

Impress upon the students that if you experience even a single glimpse of this thoughtless awareness or pure consciousness when you are alive, the same thing automatically repeats when you leave the body and you do not take rebirth.

• What is āgāmya, sañcita and prārabdha Karma?
• What are the basic four states of consciousness, explain with examples?
• Why is it important to experience Samadhi or thoughtless awareness when in the body at least once?

• 1. pencil & pen,
• 2. paper,
• 3. crayons

Draw a modern art titled "Third Eye"

Encourage the kids to daily practice focusing their attention between the eyebrows, in a mood of devotion to god. God remembrance is the only way to true freedom and liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

Draw a grid showing the 4 states of being, which are experienced with the presence or absence of "I" Consciousness and Thoughts.

Topic of discussion is "What is 'Samadhi' or thoughtless awareness?"

If we have experienced this thoughtless restful awareness for even a single moment earlier during our life, we will have the required clarity in the end during death. If we have experienced that we can exist without the body and mind, we will have the patience to not take birth or consciously assume the next body, like the Masters.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

yad akṣaraṃ vedavido vadanti viśanti yadyatayo vītarāgāḥ I yad icchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti tatte padaṃ sangraheṇa pravakṣye

Persons who are learned in the Veda and who are great sages in the renounced order, enter into Brahman. Desiring such perfection, one practices brahmacarya. I shall now explain to you this process by which one may attain liberation.

Anyone who is in a path to attain Brahman is a Brahmachari

sarva-dvārāṇi saṃyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yogadhāraṇām

Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and the life air at the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga.

Powerful Cognition Yoga means the continuous process of uniting our mind, body and soul.

om ity ekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaranyaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatiṃ

Centered in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred OM, the supreme combination of letters, if one dwells in the Supreme and quits his body, he certainly achieves the supreme destination.

The people who reach Krishna are those who remain continuously on the path of yoga, continuously fixed upon the Divine without deviation throughout their life.

ananyacetāḥ satataṃ yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ tasyāhaṃ sulabhaḥ pārtha nityayuktasya yoginaḥ

I am always available to anyone who remembers Me constantly Pārtha, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.

When we think of Krishna or engage in devotional service, our inner space becomes completely free of fear and desires and instead we become filled with gratitude for existence.

Kṛṣṇa gives different ways to attain Brahman or God or Ultimate consciousness. He says that people learned in the Vedas attain Brahman. If someone is completely immersed in the scriptures, his thoughts will continuously be along those lines.

That is what Kṛṣṇa means by His words 'Immerse yourself in the scriptures'. Keep reading some scripture or the other and imbibe its truth. It will have a tremendous impact on you. Even if we do not understand the deeper meanings of these scriptures, it is ok. These scriptures are energy hubs. When we read them, the sound that is generated is enough to cleanse our inner being. That is the power of those verses. They will transform you.

If you listen to vedic chants, you will find that they are chanted in a specific tone and pitch. When they are chanted, they completely cleanse our system, our inner being. If we visit the ancient temples in Bharat, we will see that the sanctum sanctorum has a beautiful peace inside it.

When we enter that place, automatically our being becomes peaceful. Why do you think we feel a moment of bliss as soon as we enter the sanctum sanctorum? When the priest chants, that place gets energized. The sound of the chants carries tremendous energy and energizes everything in the place.

The scriptures talk about realizing the Self. They are guides to Enlightenment. So when we read them, we will get into that mood of Enlightenment! Our mind will be tuned to that frequency. It is like this: After watching a movie, our mind keeps processing the scenes of the movie, is it not? For one or two days, we experience a hangover. In the same way, when we read these scriptures, even if we don't completely cognize them, we will experience a hangover.

We will continue to think about what they say; what Enlightenment is, how to realize our Self, how enlightened Masters live... these thoughts will fill our mind again and again. This is what Kṛṣṇa wants!

When our thoughts are always directed towards Self-realization, our thoughts will be of Enlightenment at the time of death also. Kṛṣṇa says, when we read the scriptures, when we practice this lifestyle, we practice brahmacarya.

The literal meaning of brahmacarya is one who follows the path to attain the Self. 'Brahman' means the Self and 'carya' means to walk the path. Anyone who is on the path to attain Brahman is a Brahmacāri.

Suppression does not lead to transformation. It only creates depression. Suppression of desires is very dangerous; it is like a volcano ready to erupt anytime and we won't even know it. Only completion leads to transformation. Brahmacarya is not about leaving everything and becoming a celibate.

Our inner space must be cleansed with the power of integrity and authenticity. Our inner space must be the space of completion, free from fantasies and we should strive to merge with the Brahman. That is brahmacarya.

Here Kṛṣṇa talks about deep concepts of yoga. All great truths were told by different masters in different ways, yet the truths remain the same. If somebody who does not know the actual meaning of yoga reads this verse, he will be totally confused. Nowadays when people hear about yoga, they think of physical exercise, about how to become slim doing yoga! Yoga has a much deeper meaning and Kṛṣṇa talks about it.

Yoga means the continuous process of uniting our mind, body and soul. This truth is revealed by great enlightened Masters in different ways. Patañjali, the father of yoga, talks about this verse in his Aṣtāṅga Yoga, in the two limbs of yoga—pratyāhāra and dhārana. These two parts talk about what Kṛṣṇa mentions.

Let us understand this verse. How do we bring about that continuous process of uniting body, mind and soul? You see, our body-mind system reacts to different external situations. These external situations are like food, āhāra to our system and our five sense organs are the points through which we take in this food. Our mind functions because we give food to our mind through our senses.

We react to situations and our mind is continuously occupied because of this. Our mind exists because we have thousands of thoughts, constantly jumping from past to future and back to past. Our five sense organs act as gateways through which this food goes into our mind.

Pratyāhāra means getting ourselves out of the clutches of these senses. This does not mean that we physically shut down our senses. Even if we close our eyes, an internal television runs in our system, does it not? Even if our ears and mouth are closed, there is inner chatter, is it not? We don't really shut down our senses. Even if we shut them physically, our mind functions.

'Close the doors of your senses, ' means, 'Do not process the data.' Continue to hear everything going on outside, continue to smell everything around, but do not process anything. Whatever comes, just witness, that's all. That is the only way we can close the doors of our senses.

We should neither suppress thoughts nor create thoughts. We should just watch them. We cut the continuous flow of inputs from our senses when we increase our awareness. The number of thoughts slowly drops as awareness rises. As we increase awareness, our thoughts per second, TPS, drops

This is what Kṛṣṇa means by closing all the senses. When we do this, our awareness becomes more and more concentrated on the present moment.

When we shut our senses and remain in pure awareness, we focus on our divinity. We keep a single-minded focus on the divinity resonating in us.

We automatically fall into the present moment. Awareness of our breath becomes more acute. We feel life energy or prāṇa filling our system. This is called dhārana, single-minded focus. We can focus on the life force energizing our system when we increase our awareness and close all the inputs from our senses. We automatically unite mind, body and spirit. This is yoga.

Kṛṣṇa says the people who reach Him are those who remain continuously on the path of yoga, continuously fixed upon the Divine without deviation. Kṛṣṇa asks us to be in that state all the time. He asks us to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness all the time.

The problem is when an Enlightened Master says, 'Think of Me all the time, ' we question, 'What kind of an egoistic person is He? Why should we think of Him?' Actually, our ego plays the game.

We think Kṛṣṇa is exploiting us when He advises us to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Kṛṣṇa, or any Enlightened Master or Incarnation, only asks us to keep our inner space completely free of desires.

Our thoughts are generally related to greed and fear. We keep piling up desires because our root thought patterns are of greed and fear. When we die, our soul re-experiences these desires. Attachment to these desires makes our death painful. An Enlightened Master has seen this process and speaks from experience.

He is pure compassion and He wants everyone to know the secret of mastering the art of leaving.

That is why Kṛṣṇa says again and again: When we direct our thoughts to the Divine, greed and fear are completely wiped out. Our whole being is filled with gratitude to the Divine.

One more thing, many people think of God because they want to go to heaven. Some people are afraid of death so they think of God. Both are only because of greed or fear. When we think of the Divine, we should do so out of gratitude, and not out of greed or fear. Our thoughts about God, our devotion to the Divine should be out of pure gratitude to Existence.

Impress upon the students that we must engage in the study of scriptures, vedic chanting, devotional service and meditation to attain the state of thoughtless awareness. We must drop greed and fear and fill our inner space with gratitude.

• What is the meaning of brahmacharya?
• What is meditation?
• What is meant by closing the doors of the senses?
• What do enlightened masters ask us to keep our inner space?

• 1. smooth pebbles or rocks
• 2. acrylic paint and brush.

Cover your rock with two base coats of any colour of your choice. Let the base coat dry. Now paint patterns or flowers or smiles on your rock.

Complete engagement in the task at hand automatically results in increased awareness of the present moment. The number of thoughts automatically drop and increased joy is experienced. Practicing complete awareness and intense engagement with the present moment is the best life strategy.

Let us contemplate upon the present moment and on becoming a witness of the present moment. This activity will require a quiet place preferably in nature such as a garden, where the group can disperse in silence and find a spot to be with themselves at a comfortable distance from the others.

Decide not to think of anything. Just observe yourself and your immediate surroundings. Make no opinions or judgements. Simply witness all inputs from your senses without engaging in thoughts about the inputs. Simply witness your thoughts without suppressing thoughts that come or creating new thoughts.

See how intense the moment becomes. You become more aware of yourself, your breathing seems more acute and your life-force energy becomes undeniable. You also become aware that life is also happening around you/ in your vicinity with great intensity.

We can cut the continuous flow of inputs from our senses when we increase our awareness. The number of thoughts slowly drops as awareness rises. Our thoughts per Second (TPS) is inversely proportional to our awareness.

Topic of discussion is " why are external situations like food to us?"

We must tirelessly engage in the continuous process of uniting body, mind and soul by constant remembrance of the divine, increasing awareness of the present and focusing on the divinity resonating within us.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

māmupetya punarjanma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ

After attaining Me, the great souls who are devoted to Me in yoga are never reborn in this world. This world is temporary and full of miseries and they have attained the highest perfection.

After attaining Krishna the great souls who are steepted in yoga never return to this temporay world which is full of miseries becasue they have attained the highest perfection of the state of blissful thoughtlessness

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punarāvartinorjuna māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate

From the highest planet in the material world [brahmaloka] down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. One who reaches My abode, O Kaunteya, is never reborn.

If we achieve one glimpse, it's over. That one glimpse acts like a conscious torch, and guides us through these seven layers when we leave the body.

sahasrayuga-paryantam aharyad brahmaṇo viduḥ rātriṃ yugasahasrāntāṃ te'ho-rātravido janāḥ

By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma's one day. His night is just as long

One year for us is one day for the devatas, demigods. For Brahma, a thousand ages are taken as one day. Time is actually not chronological, but psychological. If we can stop the next thought from happening within our inner space, our kṣaṇas can be increased to any extent. It can extend to eternity.

Part 4: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8

avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavanty aharāgame rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyakta-saṃjñake

From the unmanifest, all living entities come into being at the beginning of Brahma's day. With the coming of Brahma's night, they dissolve into the same unmanifest.

Now He says, 'After attaining Me the great souls who are steeped in yoga never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.' The understanding of this science, the very intellectual understanding, gives the inspiration to experience truth and naturally leads us to the ultimate Truth. Here Kṛṣṇa says, 'If you achieve this state, you never come back.' He inspires us; He persuades us to enter that state, to enter thoughtless awareness.

The only job of an Enlightened Master is to make everyone realize the truth that he himself has experienced. That is the only aim. There is no ulterior motive or vested interest. People again and again look at an Enlightened Master with suspicion. They suspect foul play.

Understand one thing: A person who remains at the inner source of bliss never cares for anything external. Please understand that he does not need external sources of happiness because he has something more powerful. The inner guide is so powerful that the being is always blissful. That is the reason he does not see the world as a collection of miseries. You see, an enlightened Master may not get food for days, yet he is always blissful. Even in such situations, the only things that he experiences are gratitude and compassion.

He is neither attached to sorrow nor to happiness. He is detached from both to the same degree. He is always in a state of gratitude to the Universe. Worldly things do not affect him. Happiness and sorrow are not in his dictionary. An enlightened Master looks at misery and happiness with total gratitude and surrender to the Universe. Enlightened beings are beyond happiness as you understand it. They are not attached to anything. They are pure compassion.

One more thing, an enlightened being surrenders everything that he has and gets, to Existence. When he gets food, he surrenders that; when he is hungry for days, he surrenders that to Existence. whether he has money or is in poverty, he is rich inside because he surrenders everything. He says, 'Let Existence take care.' All his responsibilities are handed over to Existence.

There is a great relief inside when that state of surrender happens. We suddenly light up in joy. We consider something as misery because we think we are responsible for that something. We think we control it. That is why, when something does not happen according to our expectations, we see it as misery.

But an Enlightened being is not like that. He simply flows. Whatever comes, he accepts it and surrenders it to Existence.

Kṛṣṇa says here: 'From the highest planet of Brahmaloka in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death takes place. But one who attains Me, one who attains My being, one who attains My consciousness, never takes birth again.'

Please be very clear, even if we are caught in doing good deeds, we return. Our good deeds, puṇya, cannot give us enlightenment.

"I tell people, 'Even if you give money for my ashram, I cannot give you a speed pass to enlightenment!' I cannot give you any speed pass. Be very clear, unless you have the conscious glimpse, unless you achieve at least one moment of thoughtless awareness, nobody can save you from the cycle of birth and death."

• THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

If we achieve one glimpse, it's over. That one glimpse acts like a conscious torch, and guides us through these seven layers when we leave the body. We will walk beautifully; we will slide through all seven layers. The enlightened Master's initiation is the torch of consciousness that guides us through this path, through our living and leaving.

Vivekananda says, 'If you achieve even a single glimpse, you leave your body in that experience.' It is because this intense experience of Self-realization will come up at the time when we leave the body. At the time of death, our whole life is played back to us in a fastforward mode in a few seconds. And only the important scenes appear in multicolor again and again; all other scenes appear in black and white.

If we have had thoughtless awareness, the samādhi experience when we were alive, that alone will appear in multicolor; all other things will fade away in the background.

And naturally, we stay in that state and leave the body. One more thing— thoughtless awareness is the point in our life beyond that, all the karma associated with it will be erased, washed away!

Understand, this science is not only for dying but also for living! If we are stuck with guilt, we can never enjoy our desires. When we don't enjoy our desires, we create more guilt, that's all. When we are stuck in guilt, we will not leave the desires and they cannot leave us.

When we don't leave our desires, we create more guilt. This becomes a vicious circle of incomplete emotions. So not only for dying, even for living we need to learn this whole science of completion, the space of thoughtless awareness.

As of now, understand this one thing: Throughout this chapter Kṛṣṇa conveys the single message: Experience His consciousness, the thoughtless awareness or the witnessing.

For ordinary human beings, after they die, their life will be written as history. For incarnations, their life itself is a script that has already been written; they just come down and enact it, that's all! For them it is a script; for us it is history. For us, after we die, somebody may write about us if we have achieved something!

Līlā Dhyāna is a such a powerful space creator. Please understand, your pastime always leads you to incompletion. An Incarnation's pastime or līlā always leads you to completion. Your past always leads you to incompletion. An Incarnation's pastimes, always lead you to completion.

If you constantly remember what you did when you were a child, you will be in more and more incompletion. If you constantly remember what Kṛṣṇa does when He is a child, you will be more and more in the space of completion.

Understand, remembering your pastimes creates more and more incompletions. Remembering the Incarnation's pastimes creates more and more completion and the higher space.

Whether it is Kṛṣṇa or Buddha, Mahādeva or Mīnākśi, even remembering their līlās, their cosmic play creates so much of completion in you, it heals your mamakāra, your inner image.

Actually, because of this Līlā Dhyāna practice you become more complete with you. And if you observe deeply, you will find out if you have incompletion with you, that day you will feel that the Divine is angry with you!

Understand, the completion you need to do with you and with others is responsible for how you feel connected to your Guru or God, outside and inside. Kṛṣṇa conveys one thing: All we need to do is work to achieve a glimpse of thoughtless awareness, the space of completion. In the next few chapters, He speaks deeply, intensely about how to open every layer, how to progress, how to clean and complete with every layer and how to achieve the conscious glimpse or thoughtless awareness.

He says further: 'By human calculation, the thousand ages taken together form the duration of Brahma's one day and such also is the duration of his night.'

One year for us is one day for the devatas, demigods. for Brahma, a thousand ages are taken as one day. Only when we achieve the consciousness of nirvāṇa thoughtless awareness, will we not take rebirth.

At the time of death, our soul has three kṣaṇa to take another body. Three kṣaṇas can be three microseconds, three seconds or three minutes or three hundred years according to the person's frequency of thoughts. It depends on his state of mind. If we have lived a restless life, our kṣaṇas will be in microseconds. If we have lived a peaceful, blissful life and achieved at least one glimpse of thoughtless awareness, our kṣaṇa can be even two or three hundred years. If we can stop the next thought from happening within our inner space, our kṣaṇas can be increased to any extent. It can extend to eternity. So, kṣaṇas is relative and not absolute.

Time is actually not chronological, but psychological. If we sit with a friend with whom we are comfortable and joyful, after three or four hours, we suddenly notice the time and say, 'Oh! I don't know how the time has passed by so quickly!' At the same time, if we sit with somebody with whom we don't feel comfortable, we will look at the watch and think, 'Why is the watch not moving? Is there a problem with it? The time is simply dragging on.' The number of thoughts that happen in our mind decides the time consciousness. If thoughts are less, even after ten hours, we will not feel that ten hours have passed. If the number of thoughts is more, two or three minutes will seem like years.

One year of human life equals one day of the devatas, demigods, because their thoughts per second (TPS) is very less. That is why the deity Natarāja in the temple at Chidambaraṁ in South Bharat, has only six prayer offerings throughout the year. In one year, they worship the deity only six times! Normally, the worship is carried out six times a day in other temples. But this temple is supposed to be where the devatas worship the Divine, so the worship is carried out according to their time!

The six offerings of worship required for the deity are conducted in our one year because our one year is one day for the deities or devatas. Devatas refers to those whose TPS has come down, who have had a glimpse of samādhi. If our TPS is low, we too are in heaven. If our TPS is high, we are in hell. Heaven always looks brief; hell always looks eternal,

Because of the number of thoughts. When we are in the body, if we have had a single glimpse of thoughtless awareness — the experience of meditation, then automatically this consciousness comes up at the time of leaving the body and we will have two benefits.

We can choose to become enlightened and not take another birth, or we can choose the right place to express and work out our karma, to live as we want. We have both choices if we experience thoughtless awareness while living.

Impress upon the students that we need to experience thoughtless awareness or the witnessing consciousness in which Kṛṣṇa stays and plays the whole game of life, how He lives through the whole of life.

• Can donating money buy enlightenment for us?
• Why is it important to have had the Samadhi experience in our Life?
• What is the only way to get liberated from the cycle of life and death?
• What is Leela Dhyana?
• How does remembrance of Krishan's childhood stories and pastimes make us complete?
• What is "tps"?

• 1. pencil
• 2. paper
• 3. pencil colours

Draw any one object that is associated with Krishna eg. peacock feather, sudarshana chakra, flute, pot of butter, baby calf etc. Colour the picture to the best of your abilities.

Leela Dhyanan on the childhood stories and life plays of enlightened beings, brings about completion in our inner space. Remembering Krishna's līlās or cosmic heals your mamakāra, or your inner image

MATERIALS: Eye-bands

• Let us do a short meditation

• ask the students to stand up and place themselves so that they can't touch each other even with arms spread wide

• Each student to cover their eyes with an eye-band

• the person guiding the meditation to use a very soothing, calm voice, talking slowly, softly yet clearly and audible to all

• tell the students to imagine they are flying like a bird. They don't move from where they are standing, they can only use their arms like wings

• First they can flap their " wings" a lot as they take off. then they fly and glide through the sky. Encourage them to imagine they are flying effortlessly, that the air is supporting them, the sun is shining warm;y on them, and the flying and gliding fills them with joy

• Encourage them to feel they are part of a joyous flock of birds, all flying through the sky together.

• After a little while, tell the students that they are now gracefully landing from their "flight" and ask them to slowly sit down where they are. Tell them to now be very silent, very peaceful for a few moments

• If possible, play a few minutes of soothing music

• Finish the meditation by chanting: "om, shanti, shanti, shanti" or the poorna mantra

• Slowly, very slowly, they may take off their eye-bands and open their eyes

• For living we need to learn this whole science of completion, the space of thoughtless awareness.
• Kṛṣṇa conveys the single message: Experience His consciousness, the thoughtless awareness or the witnessing

Topic of discussion is "Time is relative and not absolute?" Tips: The number of thoughts that happen in our mind decides our time consciousness

The most important goal of human life is to get a single glimpse of thoughtless awareness — the experience of meditation.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṃ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate rātryāgame' vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavaty aharāgame

Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Pārtha, and they are automatically annihilated.

When we understand that at higher dimensions, all that we see is destroyed and created continuously, we realize the futility of holding onto things, even our own body.

paras tasmāttu bhāvo'nyo ' vyakto' vyaktātsanātanaḥ yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati

Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is beyond this manifest and unmanifest matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains the same.

When at a higher dimension, we realize that all that we see is destroyed and created continuously, only one thing is neither created nor destroyed and that is the Ultimate Consciousness'!

avyakto'kṣara ity uktas tamāhuḥ paramāṃ gatim yaṃ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṃ mama

That Supreme abode is said to be unmanifest and is the indestructible and is the Supreme destination. When one gains this state one never comes back. That is My supreme abode.

That Supreme abode is said to be unmanifest and indestructible and is the Supreme destination. When one gains this state one never comes back. That is My supreme abode.

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā yasyāntaḥ sthāni bhūtāni yena sarvam idaṃ tatam

O Pārtha (son of Prithā), the supreme person, who is greater than all, is attainable by undeviating devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him

The abode where one will not return to refers to the state of the being when it transcends joys and sorrow.

Kṛṣṇa explains how transient this material world is. During a single 'blink of Brahma'— the Lord of creation, so many things change. In our concept of time, we see things as permanent, but when we operate in a different zone of space and time, all this becomes temporary.

Our ignorance makes us think that all that we see is real and permanent. Once we understand that this entire life and the world around us is impermanent, we see everything from a completely different space. Why do we run behind material things? Why do we again and again want to possess things?

In our concept of time and space, we see material things as permanent. We think we can control them. We want to have ownership over everything that is available. And the problem is everyone wants the same thing! Everyone fights to take charge of the same thing. We are like cats fighting over a piece of bread.

Please listen, we fight to catch hold of this body. We want to hold onto this body for as long as we can. Even at sixty or seventy, many people go in for plastic surgery. They do things to look young. Why? They do not want to accept the truth that the body is impermanent.

When you look around, you see that the Earth is stationary. It is not moving. When you look from the moon, you see the earth moving. When you go beyond the moon, you see that the moon also moves. Once we raise ourselves to higher dimensions, we see the actual truth.

As long as we limit ourselves to this space, we think the earth is stationary. When we change our concept of space and time, when we change our reference point in space and time, we realize that all we think of as permanent, all that we think is ours is not permanent. It is continuously being created and destroyed.

This is what Kṛṣṇa says. We believe in a concept of finite time and limited space and we cling to that without realizing what is beyond this dimension.

We are greedy to accumulate more and more material pleasures because we see them as real and permanent. We think they will stay with us forever. That is one side. On the other side we fear that they will be taken away from us. We are always in a state of fear. Both these — greed and fear are the main sources of our misery.

When we live in bondage to fear and greed, we continuously build saṁskāras. We create more and more desires. First of all, we are not trying to fulfill our true desires or prārabdha karma. Then on top of that, we build a whole new set of desires. In our concept of time and space, we think things are permanent. We think we own them and we should take care of them and control them.

When we understand that at higher dimensions, all that we see is destroyed and created continuously, we realize the futility of holding onto things, even our own body. Kṛṣṇa says that in all this creation and destruction, only one thing is neither created nor destroyed and that is the 'Ultimate Consciousness'!

What we think of as an age is a fraction of a second to Brahma and everything we see as permanent is being made and destroyed every time Brahma blinks.

Do not analyze the literal meaning of this. Do not analyze how it is possible. Do not worry about how many hours, how many seconds make one day of Brahma?

Do not worry about what is Brahma's time or what is Śiva's time or Kṛṣṇa's time. Kṛṣṇa refers to the concept of time and space as it exists in the Ultimate consciousness and as an Enlightened Master experiences it.

Appreciate and intranalyze the deeper meaning. Understand that whatever we see is transient. Nothing is permanent. It is like putting our hand in a river and trying to hold the water in our hand. What happens?

The river flows past, and our hand is empty. Once we realize this truth, our whole idea about time and space will change. We will see everything around us in a different way and understand the futility of the rat race.

The seven layers that the spirit travels through at the time of death. The first four layers are related to the physical body-mind system. They store emotionally laden memories: patterns related to desires, guilt and pain experienced during that lifetime. The fifth layer is experienced during deep sleep and when leaving the body. The sixth layer is associated with happy memories and the seventh layer is beyond sorrow and happiness; it is the Ultimate consciousness.

Even attachment to happy memories brings us back into the cycle of birth and death. It is not enough if we transcend pains and sufferings alone. Understand that happy incidents are also temporary and try to move beyond them.

The abode where one will not return to refers to the state of the being when it transcends joys and sorrow. Kṛṣṇa again and again talks about focusing one's thoughts on the Divine.

The only way to think of the Divine at the time of our death is by thinking about Him all the time. At that time, we suddenly cannot think of God. In such pain and suffering, we suddenly can't think of God if we have always been thinking about money and food in our life. It is impossible. That is why Kṛṣṇa insists upon continuous devotion to the Supreme - bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā (8.22).

When we live in a state of continuous devotion, our last thought will be of the Divine. Please be very clear: Our last thought determines our next birth. There is no doubt about it. When we continuously think about God, we understand the truth that everything around us is Him.

When we are continuously in that meditation, we see Kṛṣṇa in everything around us. You see, thousands of thoughts come to us every minute. Let as many thoughts as possible be of God. We do not need to reduce the number of thoughts. Let the thoughts be of God. Let us immerse ourselves in thinking about the supreme soul. This purifies our inner space.

Throughout the day, how many times do we think of God? Maybe before a meal, or before going to bed. Otherwise, it is only when we face some problem, that we think of God! But how many times do we think of some film actress or actor? Everything in the newspapers, on television or on the internet is about something with which we are not really connected.

Out of thousands of thoughts, less than one percent is probably related to God. Everything else is related to something external. Please listen, every thought is energy and we waste more than ninety nine percent of our energy on something that is not really needed for us. If we can channel this energy to look inward, to see the source of our existence, we explore a new dimension of our Self. We are ready to do anything other than think about God or our Self. Why? We think it is a waste of time. We always make business plans.

We do something only if we feel we will get something from it. But if we analyze our thoughts carefully, we are not thinking of anything productive. Our thoughts are simply completely illogical. Most of the time, we justify ourselves when someone asks us to think of God. We say, 'Why think of God? What will we get? I have better things to think about like work and my studies.' However these are mere justifications. If we sit and write down our thoughts, we will see that we are not thinking about work or anything productive. Our thoughts are completely illogical and random.

So why not think about God? We feel thinking about God does not give us any immediate results.

But be very clear, when we are completely immersed in thoughts of God, our inner space is purified and transforms into the space of completion. Completion is God! We are preparing our Self. At the time of death, these thoughts will liberate us. Constantly thinking about God enriches us when our soul passes through the energy layers at the time of death.

Impress upon the students that completely immersing oneself in thoughts of God is the best strategy to prepare yourself to handle death.

• What is the only one thing that is neither created nor destroyed?
• What is the pitfall in having attachment to happy memories?
• What are the benefits of entertaining thought of the Divine?

Part 5: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 - Collection_English_part_5.md

• 1. match sticks
• 2. glue
• 3. scale
• 4. pencil
• 5. scissors

Make a sketch of a shiva linga on a sheet of paper. Now glue one side of the match stick and place it inside the sketch so as to completely cover the image. Be creative in placing the dark tip of the matchstick to create design patterns on your shiva linga. Or you may cut out the dark tip before pasting the stick onto the image and use the cut outs for decoration.

Encourage the kids to direct their creative potential in activities that involve visualization of the divine forms and imagery.

Make the divine part of your every expression!

Let us list out five customs of the Hindus that encourage them to remember God constantly. Example. Hindu parents name their children after Gods, Ganesha or Guru is invoked before starting any task, divine leelas are great bedtime stories, all Hindu festivals celebrate life events of divine incarnations, etc.

We must find more and more ways to make the divine part of our everyday life. The only way to think of the Divine at the time of our death is by thinking about Him all the time.

Topic of discussion is "How does belief in the concept of finite time and limited space fuel misery?

We do not need to reduce the number of thoughts. Let the thoughts be of God. This purifies our inner space.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttim caiva yoginaḥ prayātā yānti taṃ kālaṃ vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha

O best of the Bhārata, I shall now explain to you the different times when passing away from this world, one returns or does not return

if we have always lived with our attention focused towards higher consciousness, we will travel in that path and disappear into Brahman. We will become enlightened.

agnir-jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahmavido janāḥ

Those who pass away from the world during the influence of the fire god, during light, at an auspicious moment, during the fortnight of the moon ascending and the six months when the sun travels in the north, and have realized the supreme Brahman do not return.

When one passes in light, symbolic of times when our mind is totally balanced and when we are not agitated, he never comes back.

dhūmo rātristathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotir yogī prāpya nivartate

The mystic who passes away from this world during the smoke, the night, the moonless fortnight, or the six months when the sun passes to the south, have done good deeds go to the cosmic layer and again comes back.

Reclaim your freedom! Declare your freedom! Raise your inner space to the peak joy, fulfillment, and excitement.

śukla kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate ekayā yāty anāvṛttim anyayāvartate punaḥ

According to the Vedas, there are two ways of passing from this world: one in the light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not return; but when one passes in darkness, he again comes back.

When we become aware of these root thought patterns and are free from them, we leave the body and become liberated.

Those who know the supreme Divine attain that Supreme by passing away from the world during the influence of Agni, the fire-god, during light or at an auspicious moment of the day, also during the fortnight of the waxing moon or during the six months that the sun travels in the north, referred to as uttarāyaṇaṁ.

Understand, these are not chronological calendars. If it were a chronological calendar, then at uttarāyaṇaṁ time, all of us can commit suicide and be done with it, that's all! But that is not what is meant here. All these things have metaphorical meanings. When He says uttarāyaṇaṁ, Kṛṣṇa means when our mind is totally balanced and when we are not agitated.

In the Mahābhārat war it is said that Bhīśma Pitāmaḥ waits for uttarāyaṇaṁ to leave the body. Don't think he waited for January. He waited until his mind settled down from the agitations and incompletions, and he establishes himself in the space of completion.

He had fallen in battle and was lying down on a bed made of arrows. He must have felt agitated. He must have felt, 'My grandson, whom I taught everything, for whom I did everything, did this to me.' He would have been disturbed. So he waited until the agitation settled down. That is what is meant by the words, 'he was waiting for uttarāyaṇaṁ.'

Don't think these are chronological concepts. They are psychological. If it were chronological, then do you think that the millions of people who die in those six months become enlightened? Enlightenment is not an accident! It is a pure conscious choice. So be very clear, when He says agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ.

He means if we are conscious ... agnir jyotir ... means when your being is conscious ... when your being is fully alive, awakened, naturally you go up. (śuklaḥ means going above, kṛṣṇa means going down). If we live throughout life centered on the eyes, our energy leaves through the eyes. At the last moment, we open the eyes and the soul leaves. If we live throughout life centered on the tongue, eating, our mouth opens and the soul leaves through it. So if we live throughout life centered on higher consciousness, our energy leaves through the sahasrāra, the crown cakra, the energy center on the top of our head.

Kṛṣṇa says brahma brahmavido janāḥ. He means that if we have always lived with our attention focused towards higher consciousness, we will travel in that path and disappear into Brahman. We will become enlightened.

So be very clear, these conditions are not chronological. They are psychological. Bhīśma waited until his mind settled, until he felt completely peaceful, till he was able to forgive and complete with everybody and himself, and till he was able to reach conscious awareness. Then he entered enlightenment.

Next, Kṛṣṇa says that the person who passes away from this world during smoke, the night, the fortnight of the waning moon or those six months when the Sun travels in the south, referred to as Dakṣināyaṇaṁ, reaches the Moon but comes back again. Again, this is psychological. They can't say that in these six months nobody can become enlightened. They can't say, 'During the six months of dakṣināyaṇaṁ, the Enlightenment gates are locked, no entry. Only at uttarāyaṇaṁ time, the gates are open. Come at that time.' No! They can't say, 'Dakṣināyaṇaṁ time is non-working hours and only uttarāyaṇaṁ time is working hours.' There are no working hours for enlightenment. It is purely because of the conscious choice of one's being.

Kṛṣṇa says that according to the Vedas, there are two ways to pass from this world: one in light and one in darkness—śukla-kṛṣṇa gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate. When one passes in light, he does not return, but when one passes in darkness, he comes back again ekayā yāty anāvṛttim ananyāvartate punaḥ (8.26). What does Kṛṣṇa mean by light and darkness, śuklakṛṣṇa? They refer to the levels of consciousness one has reached. If a person leaves the body without knowing what drove him all along—his saṁskāras, his desires, fears, guilt, etc., which we call root thought patterns—then this ignorance is what He refers to as darkness.

If you look inside, the reason for your low inner space, powerless inner space will be some root thought pattern. Break that! Reclaim your freedom! Declare your freedom! Raise your inner space to the peak joy, fulfillment, and excitement.

Please understand, when Śwetaketu, a young seeker mentioned in Upaniṣads, was initiated by his Guru, his Guru said only nine times — 'Tat Tvam Asi! Tat Tvam Asi! Tat Tvam Asi!' (thou are that), and Śweta-ketu became enlightened. Why then, even if you listen to 'Tat Tvam Asi' ninethousand times, you don't become enlightened? Carry the right inner space! On the rock, seed can not sprout as a tree.

In the right fertile ground only, the seed can become a tree. In the right inner space only, the teachings can become reality. Right inner space means where all the root thought patterns of suffering are destroyed. Listen! All root thought patterns are destroyed where your inner space is fertile for experiencing the higher ideals and ideas.

When we become aware of these root thought patterns and are free from them, we leave the body and become liberated. This is what He means by light. He says that when this happens, the being does not return to the body.

Impress upon the students that we need to have the right inner space where all our root thought patterns of suffering are destroyed and where your inner space is fertile for experiencing the higher ideals and ideas.

• What does the word "uttarāyaṇaṁ" mean? Differentiate between the chronological concept and the psychological meaning of this word?
• What are the different ways in which life energy exits the body at death? What inclinations of the deceased person determine its port of exit?
• What is the meaning of the verse "Tat Tvam Asi!"?

• 1. Electronic device with internet
• 2. Google docs.

Request each child to Select two pictures from the internet that depict two contrasting ideas. If a child does not have internet access, let them contribute ideas to the topic:

• Each picture must represent an idea that you would consider as "Light" versus another that you would consider as "Dark". Make the contract as stark as possible.
• Here are a few examples to help you visualize the contrasting ideas you are looking for, like the blue sky versus a night sky, a new budding leaflet versus a dried up leaf falling to the ground, a smiling face versus a tear rolling down a face etc.

Paste the pictures on to your google doc and title the collage "Dark versus Light". Share with the Group by taking a printout or posting a PDF of the Google Doc to your class WhatsApp group.

The contrasting ideas of light and dark is often used in literary and artistic works to symbolically denote the levels of consciousness or life positivity expressed.

Becoming aware of one's darkness or root thought patterns is the first step towards bringing in light or becoming free from them altogether.

Write down all your root thought patterns that torment you eg. unfulfilled desires, fears, guilt, etc. in your notebook. The notebook is private to you and should not be shared with anyone. And complete with all your root thought patterns by symbolically visualizing that you are dropping them at the feet of the master and offering a prayer that you be freed of them.

If you look inside, the reason for your low inner space, powerless inner space will be some root thought pattern. Break your root thought patterns! Reclaim your freedom! Declare your freedom! Raise your inner space to the peak joy, fulfillment, and excitement.

"Tat Tvam Asi!" meaning "You are that!"

When we become aware of our root thought patterns and are free from them, we leave the body in restful awareness and become liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

What Kṛṣṇa says: This is the path on which a man can easily leave and liberate himself, and also the path on which he can suffer and destroy himself. Both ways are now shown by Kṛṣṇa.

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

naite sṛtī pārtha jānan yogī muhyati kaścana tasmātsarveṣu kāleṣu yogayukto bhavārjuna

O Pārtha (son of Prithā), the devotees who know these different paths are never bewildered. O Arjuna, be always fixed in devotion.

A person who understands the different paths a spirit can take while leaving the body will always be prepared for death. He immerses himself in devotion throughout his life so that he becomes liberated.

vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva dāneṣu yat puṇyaphalaṃ pradiṣṭam atyeti tat sarvam idaṃ viditvā yogī paraṃ sthānam upaiti cādyam

A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not denied the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austerities and sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing pious and result based activities. At the end he reaches the supreme abode.

Kṛṣṇa says, if one engages in activities with devotion, then He will be there at the time of one's death to liberate.

Introduction In the last few verses Kṛṣṇa summarizes the essence of the whole chapter. He says, 'O Pārtha, the devotees who know these different paths are never bewildered. Therefore O Arjuna, be always fixed in devotion.'

He means that a person who understands the different paths that a spirit can take while leaving the body will always be prepared for death. He immerses himself in devotion throughout his life so that he becomes liberated. Kṛṣṇa first gives Arjuna an intellectual understanding of the whole death process. He clearly tells him that the last thought while leaving the body governs the path that the spirit chooses when entering the next body.

Again and again He emphasizes that this thought cannot be divine unless we spend our entire lives in devotional service. ,

Devotion is more important than service. Never give money in charity because some priest told you that it is a good thing. Never follow these rules blindly. Its not 'Don't do charity work.' It is 'Let it just be a natural expression of yourself, not with any expectation.'

We have a head to think with and a heart to feel with. We do not need to refer to society every time to decide what to do and what not to do. Another thing, do not work in the name of 'devotional service' to please someone else or society.

If you expect something in return, then be very clear, it is not devotional service. If it springs purely out of devotion, the act itself should be the reward.

Every day for half an hour, just for half an hour, work without expecting anything in return. It could be anything. Without any calculations , immerse yourself in some work for half an hour.

You will suddenly see a new space open up inside you. When you work without expecting anything in return, just for the joy of doing it, you will see how liberating it is. Gradually, when this becomes ingrained in you, you will be enriched and enjoy whatever you do much more. You will no more bother about who thinks what about you.

Kṛṣṇa says, 'Performing austerities and sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing pious result-based activities will take a person to the Supreme abode.' While doing each of these activities, it is the attitude that matters most, not the action itself. Many people give money to temple priests out of fear and greed. They are told that if they don't give money, the gods will be angry. Or if they give money, their family will be protected. The attitude behind these actions is what counts. Kṛṣṇa says, if one engages in activities with devotion, then He will be there at the time of one's death.

Impress upon the students that it is liberating to do our work without expecting anything in return, just for the joy of doing it, without the need to please or impress anyone.

• What is the right spirit with which charity must be done?
• What is Devotional Service?
• What is the best attitude to have towards one's work?

Part 6: Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 - Collection_English_part_6.md

• 1. A statue of a Hindu God
• 2. Small pieces of cloth
• 3. Needle and thread
• 4. Any decorative items like crafting paper, beads, lace etc.

Dress up your Deity with a custom made dress. Make a dress to fit your statue. Make matching jewelry for your deity.

Let us engage with the divine as part of children's playtime and let it become a favourite pastime. It is liberating to do things just for the joy of doing.

List out five (5) devotional services you would like to offer to your personal deity. Example. sing a song, say a prayer, offer prasadam (food offering), etc.

Our last thought cannot be divine unless we spend our entire lives in devotional service.

Topic of discussion is "Why do Devotional Service?"

It is liberating to do something without expecting anything in return. When an offering springs purely out of devotion, the act itself is the reward. Kṛṣṇa says, if one engages in activities with devotion, then He will be there at the time of one's death to liberate.