Love Is Your Very Life

In the last chapter, Arjuna asks for and receives the viswarupa darshan, the vision of the Universal Form of Krishna. Krishna very patiently resolves Arjuna's doubts and answers, all his questions. Arjuna then wishes to see the true reality of Krishna, the Form behind the formless, the Imperishable, the Eternal. Krishna obliges his friend and disciple, Arjuna, the true representative of the human being, Nara.

Seeing this cosmic form of Krishna, and unable to withstand the energy, Arjuna begs Krishna to show him the benevolent four-armed form of Vishnu that he is used to worshipping with devotion. Finally, Krishna reverts to His normal human form as Arjuna's charioteer, and the King of Yadavas. After showing His cosmic form and having given the experience of cosmic consciousness to Arjuna, Krishna now speaks about bhakti, devotional love.

Krishna's universal form, as displayed to Arjuna, is His cosmic consciousness, which is our collective consciousness. Arjuna understands from Krishna that he too is a part of this cosmic consciousness, and at the same time he is aware that what he could see of Krishna is a mere fraction of His eternal cosmic Self.

Arjuna's experience of the divine form of Krishna raises further questions in his mind.

Is this form that he just witnessed the glorious reality of the cosmos? Is this the true reality that he should focus on? Or is the formless Self that Krishna had talked to him about earlier more important?

Usually people think a spiritual experience happens only after bhakti, devotional love. However, bhakti only happens after a spiritual experience. Real bhakti cannot happen to you before a spiritual experience.

Western religions believe that social service leads to spiritual experience. No, never! Without our own inner transformation we can never hope to help others. If we do that, whatever we do will be only skin deep, just superficial. We do it to boost our ego, to hear others speak of our kindness and how good we are.

Only when our ego disappears can we relate to others as part of a collective consciousness. Only in this case, do we feel we are one with everyone else, rich or poor, black or white. Then we can engage in a meaningful contribution to others.

Only when a person experiences every being as part of the cosmic consciousness can he radiate love. Only such a person knows what love is. Nobody else knows what love is. Others think that they love, or act as if they love. Be very clear, so many people act as if they love. Sometimes by acting, they think that they love. Never can we love by acting!

Love must flow from our being. Love happens when we experience cosmic consciousness, when we have a spiritual experience, when our ego disappears. Krishna lays out the whole technique for us step-by-step.

After a spiritual experience so much gratitude flows from our being, so much love overflows from our being, that we start radiating it. We need not make an effort, it just flows. We cannot stop it. No one can show or experience love, unless they have had a spiritual experience.

Unconditional love cannot be forced to happen. It flowers inside us when our mind is silenced and cleansed. What we commonly call love is conditional. We negotiate with our love, with what we perceive to be the power to provide approval to us from others. In return for that certification of approval from another person, we give the emotion that we call love.

We talk about loving other people. We are proud of loving the whole world. In practice, however, we find it difficult to love even our neighbor, especially if he is wealthier than us. There are times when one would gladly lose one's eye, so that his neighbor may lose both eyes, such is the negativity arising out of jealousy and greed. How can we love the world when we cannot love our neighbor? How can we talk about doing service to humanity when basic charity to one's kith and kin is lacking?

People ask me, 'Master, you tell your devotees to meditate, meditate, and meditate. What is the use? Isn't it a selfish practice? Why don't you tell them to do service? That will benefit a lot of people.'

There are many so-called spiritual organizations and organized charities that are caught in social service, just for name, fame and social prestige.

The people running these organizations, the people involved in these organizations, are always preoccupied and busy being photographed for newspapers and magazines. Organized charity is a beautiful way of cheating yourself and others.

Charity can never be organized. It just has to flow. It is not an external expression. It is an internal conviction. The moment we try to organize that conviction, the whole thing takes on a different quality, a different color, and a different purpose. Only when it flows after an experience, is it a solid expression of love.

Our inner transformation must happen before we help others transform. Unless we feel that we are part of the Whole, unless we feel that every other person is irretrievably linked to us, it is impossible for us to contribute with true love. We will only be hypocrites.

We are part of the cosmic ocean. Each of us is a mere drop. As long as we remain droplets and do not understand the reality of being part of the same ocean, we remain separate; our feelings will be driven by 'I' and 'mine'. As long as this separation remains, there can be no true love. There can be no expression of unconditional love.

Zen Buddhism beautifully says, 'Whatever Buddha does, whatever an enlightened being does, even if he kills someone, it will only do that person good. It will do Buddha as well as the other person good, because Buddha is driven by the cosmic consciousness. Therefore it will always be good for everyone.'

However, whatever an unenlightened man does, even if he does great service, it will do ill to him and society. Good or bad is not decided by doing. It is decided by the being!

When an enlightened man acts, even small things lead to great results in the world. When an unenlightened person acts, even great truths lead to misery and destruction.

Think about the simple words uttered by Buddha, 'Watch your breath, witness your inhaling and exhaling.' Buddha discovered this simple truth through which thousands of people have become enlightened. Through this vipassana meditation technique, the lives of thousands have been transformed. As a result, the entire universe has benefited.

When Buddha uttered an ordinary truth, a simple truth, it led and continues to lead thousands of people into a state of higher consciousness. Yet when an unenlightened person discovers even a great truth, it leads to destruction. For example, the Atomic Theory is a great truth. The Theory of Relativity is a great truth. Yet when it comes from an unenlightened mind, it leads to destruction.

Researchers are now engaged in scientific work related to cloning and stem cells and so on. Whatever results and benefits humanity may receive from this work will be more dependent upon the quality of the being of the researchers. The effect will not depend on the quality of their minds. Minds are always driven by ego. The being is driven by consciousness and awareness of universal love.

If a single person with the wrong attitude is allowed to sit in a seat of power, he can endanger the whole of humanity. Everything is ready. All we need is someone to press the button. If he is mad enough and sadistic enough to press the button, global homicide will happen. So many atomic weapons have been piled up.

See, atomic fission is a great truth. Atomic fission says that atoms can be split and thereby made to release massive amounts of energy. It is such a great truth, yet it is an expression of an unenlightened mind. It can be put to many constructive uses. This truth can change the world for the better. However, as long as it is evolved from and operated by unenlightened beings rooted in their ego, it will naturally lead to destruction.

Deeds or words by themselves don't do good or bad. They do good or bad based upon the consciousness from which they are emitted, based upon the consciousness from which they are expressed. This consciousness, this awareness, is related to the feeling one has for others. The quality of our awareness decides whether the end result benefits or destroys humanity.

Only after a spiritual experience, do we feel gratitude at the being level. If it is our solid experience that every living being is God, we radiate love and our Being becomes love. We cannot help ourselves. Bhakti and love are expressions that flow from that spiritual experience.

Krishna's discourse on bhakti yoga starts after Viswarupa Darshan Yoga. After the experience, He talks about the expression, bhakti yoga. He talks about the expression of devotional love.