1. Bhagavad Gita, Commentary by Nithyananda - Chapter 17 - Sincerity - the straight way to Liberation

In this series, a young enlightened Master, THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM comments on the Bhagavad Gita.

Many hundreds of commentaries of the Gita have been written over the years. The earliest commentaries were by the great spiritual masters such as Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva, some thousand years ago. In recent times, great masters such as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi have spoken from the Gita extensively. Many others have written volumes on this great scripture.

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is not just a literary translation and a simple explanation of that translation. He takes the reader through a world tour while talking about each verse. It is believed that each verse of the Gita has seven levels of meaning. What is commonly rendered is the first level meaning. Here, an enlightened master takes us beyond the common into the uncommon, with equal ease and simplicity.

To read THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's commentary on the Gita is to obtain an insight that is rare. It is not mere reading; it is an experience; it is a meditation.

Sankara, the great master philosopher said:

'A little reading of the Gita, a drop of Ganga water to drink, remembering Krishna once in a while, all this will ensure that you have no problems with the God of Death.'

Editors of these volumes of Bhagavad Gita have expanded upon the original discourses delivered by THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM through further discussions with Him. For ease of understanding for English speaking readers, and to cater to their academic interest, the original Sanskrit verses in their English translation have been included as an appendix in this book.

This reading is meant to help every individual in daily life as well as in the endeavour to realize the Ultimate Truth. It creates every possibility to attain *nithyananda*, eternal bliss!

In the seventeenth chapter, Krishna straightaway gives the methodology or technique to imbibe whatever He speaks in Shraddha Traya Vibhaga Yoga, the Yoga of Discerning the Three-Fold Faith. After all the words that Krishna expressed in earlier chapters, no new teaching is given here. All that Krishna has spoken and taught so far is a prelude to what He is speaking now. Here, Krishna speaks about sincerity.

Let me explain the meaning of the word shraddha. Please understand that

shraddha is not faith; always the word shraddha is translated as faith. That is not correct.

No! Shraddha means faith plus the courage to experiment with the truth. Shraddha means faith plus the courage to experiment with what we believe in. With shraddha we will never fail. Understand that there is a possibility that we may fail with faith. When we have faith without the courage to experiment with the truth, it is like going to a restaurant, reading the menu and then just leaving. We miss eating. We never taste the food. We never experience it. However, when we have shraddha with sincerity there is no chance of missing the truth. A person never misses when he has shraddha with sincerity.

Lord Krishna explains and now puts all His emphasis on shraddha. After sixteen chapters of teachings, He has nothing new to add. He has said whatever can be said. He has explained all the seven layers of energy. In the fourteenth chapter, He started with Guna Traya Vibhaga the three gunas (attributes) of sattva, rajas and tamas. Then in the Purushottama Yoga He explained the causal layer and the engrams or engraved memories. The deeper layers of the cosmic and nirvanic bodies are explained in the sixteenth chapter.

Krishna elaborates on the attributes of divine and demon, the ego or no ego, 'you' or 'me'. He clarifies whether our life should be centered on the attitude of 'me, me, me' or the attitude of 'you, you, you'. The root cause of our identity that separates us from our core, which is divine, is explained in the sixteenth chapter.

Now Krishna comes to the seventeenth chapter, Shraddha Traya Vibhaga. Nothing more needs to be added. Whatever can be said has been expressed. Now all we need is shraddha. If somebody has had a good feast, just like 'house full', his stomach is also full. All he needs is an antacid, 'Digene'. Throughout the chapters Lord Krishna has given Arjuna a beautiful spiritual feast. All Arjuna needs is 'Digene' to digest the whole thing and enjoy. This chapter is 'Digene'. The whole emphasis is on shraddha: honesty, truthfulness and straightforwardness.

We may question, 'Why would He devote one full chapter for shraddha?' Please understand that we invariably miss enlightenment because of this subject, shraddha. Let me be very clear, it is not that we don't know the truth that Lord Krishna speaks. We know whatever Lord Krishna speaks of and all that He has spoken so far. We know it all. It's not that we don't know. Yet why have we not become Krishna?

We miss one thing - shraddha. That's the only thing we need. Our problem is not that we don't know. Our problem is that we know too much and we are unable to digest it.

Swami Vivekananda says beautifully that instead of knowing the whole library, we should just know five concepts. And experiment with these five concepts with shraddha. Let the five concepts become your life. That is enough. Nothing else is necessary. Instead of having the whole library in your head, have the five concepts in your heart. Here, Krishna emphasizes the importance of shraddha: how shraddha and only shraddha can transform your whole life. Understand, whatever you believe, if you have shraddha, if you have sincerity in the concept, you will achieve the ultimate. Even if you believe in atheism, there is no problem.

Many people have achieved God and attained the truth through the path of atheism. Buddha never spoke of God. He never spoke about God. Yet not only did He become enlightened, thousands attained enlightenment because of Buddha. In modern times,

J. Krishnamurthy did not mention God in his philosophy. He was a great, enlightened Master. He radiated enlightenment. In the same way, many other Masters, such as George Gurdjieff, became enlightened with no concept or idea of God. What you believe is not important. How intense you are is important.

People use the title Mahatma to describe Mahatma Gandhi because he was intense in whatever he believed in. He was sincere to the core. Whatever he believed in, he experimented with the truth of it. The title of his autobiography, Experiments with Truth, depicts his life*.* He experimented with the truth. He allowed the truth to work on him. He worked with the truth. Working with the truth is what I call sincerity. Sincerity is not just listening, reading or believing in the truth. Sincerity is working with the truths. It is straightaway executing them, experimenting with them and having the courage to play with these truths.

Both meditation and gambling require courage. We need courage for gambling. And we also need courage for meditation. We have doubts. Meditation is the ultimate gamble. With ordinary gambling, we gamble with money. In meditation we gamble with our ego. We gamble with our whole being. But one thing is for sure in the gamble of meditation: if we lose, we win. Only losers win in this game.

In ordinary gambling, the more we get, the more we win. In the gamble of meditation, when we put the ego at stake, we win the whole game. We put our whole ego at stake. Spiritual life needs courage. That is why Swami Vivekananda calls his spiritual disciples 'dheeraha'. Dheera means someone who is courageous, who is courage personified.

We might ask, 'why do spiritual people need courage?' For spiritual life, don't we need to be silent? No! Spiritual life calls for courage. To experiment with these truths, we need courage. In the past sixteen chapters we have heard many different teachings, different understandings and so many different techniques. We have heard everything. All of this can help transform our life only if we have the courage to experiment with them. Otherwise they add more weight to our head; that's all.

Please understand that if we receive these teachings and store them in our head, we gain more head weight, nothing else. Now we think, 'I know the Gita.' However, we cannot merely read certain books, we must experiment with them. We need to experiment with Gita. We need to experience it.

For example, if we eat too much food and are unable to digest it, what happens? We vomit. We have a stomachache and vomit. Similarly, if we hear all these

things and we don't experience it, we will get a headache. We will catch people and vomit all these things on them. Please be very clear that unless we have sincerity, unless we experiment with these truths, listening to these truths is dangerous.

Now I am giving one more step. Here it says, 'If you don't practice, listening to these truths is dangerous.' We may ask, 'Why?' Because now, by and by, even after so many days of listening or reading these great truths, we will start hallucinating that we know, without knowing. That is the most dangerous game.

Never, never, never get caught in this game!

Spiritual life needs courage, sincerity, and the consciousness of dheeraha.

A small story:

The great Master, Dakshinamurthy Swamigal, lived in Tamilnadu, South Bharat, near a place called Thiruvaroor. Let me share a historical incident from his life.

A poet from the king's court met Dakshinamurthy Swamigal and was inspired by his presence. Consequently, the poet wrote one thousand songs in the bharani style in the saint's honor. Bharani is a special style of poetry involving one thousand verses. The rule is that only someone who shows courage and power and kills one thousand elephants in war is qualified to have such a song written about him. Here, this poet was so inspired by the Master's presence that he simply wrote the songs about this saint on the spot.

The king also considered himself to be bharani. I don't know if he killed one thousand elephants in war. He may have just paid a poet to write one thousand songs about him!

Suddenly, one day in court, out of ego and pride, the king announced, 'I am the only bharani in this whole country, in this whole region!' One of his poets stood up and said, 'No king, you are wrong. Dakshinamurthy Swamigal is also a bharani. One of your court poets has sung a bharani about him.'

The king's ego was hurt. He said, 'What? Who is this person deserving bharani? Bring him here.' The poet said, 'No, no, he is a beggar. He will not come.' Beggars can never be forced. We can never force homeless people. We can force anybody to do what we want, except a homeless person because he has no desire. We can't do anything about him. As long as someone has some desire, he obeys the social system. However, we can't do anything about a homeless person. He does not care for name, home, fame or security. He does not care about anything. We can do nothing. We cannot bind him. In this case, this man was a beggar and a swami. They could not bring him to the king.

The king felt deeply offended. He said, *'*What? For a beggar, bharani! What fool sang the songs? Call him to me right now.'

The poet was summoned to the court. The king

said, 'Fool, how dare you sing bharani for a beggar.' The poet replied, 'O King, please forgive me. Before you say anything, before you abuse that Master, it would be nice if you would go to see him.'

The king said, *'*What kind of advice are you giving me? Tomorrow morning your head will be cut off.'

That was the king's usual trend, straightaway violence. Only foolish people immediately express violence. When they can't behave in an intelligent way, when they don't know the truth and they don't have enough energy to convince the other person of the truth, they take to the sword.

On the other hand, throughout the history of Buddhism or Hinduism, they never converted anyone with the sword. They had intelligence. They converted through logic, analysis and convincing the other person of the truth.

For example, great Masters like Sankara and Mandana Mishra had different views on a particular subject, still they did not fight with each other. Sankara did not say, 'If you don't convert to Vedanta, I will kill you.' They sat together and analyzed what they knew. It was a loving discussion. It was a beautiful thing. Sankara and Mandana Mishra sorted out their differences with deep respect by discussing without rancor.

The person who acted as judge in the discussion was Mandana Mishra's wife. What a beautiful, loving atmosphere it must have been! Can you believe that the wife of one of the competitors was the judge? Never. And here, Sankara appointed Mandana Mishra's wife as the judge. Bharati judged the discussion between Sankara and Mandana Mishra. And finally, Bharati passed judgment in favor of Sankara. She said that Sankara won the debate. The whole thing happened out of love. There was no violence, no cutting, no killing, nothing. It was just a simple discussion.

Throughout the history of eastern religions, there was never any cutting or killing. They never converted through the sword because they did not believe in killing. They had enough intelligence to express the concept. And one more thing, the loser automatically joined the group of the person who expressed the truth more clearly.

When Sankara convinced Mandana Mishra, Mishra dropped everything and surrendered his life to Sankara. He became a disciple of Sankara and took the spiritual name Sureshwaracharya. He followed the path of Sankara's teachings. People who use the sword prove that they are idiots. Because they lack intelligence, they must attack. Many religions convert people through the sword because they do not have enough clarity or courage to share the truth. We can never achieve anything by the sword. Only destruction is possible through the sword, never construction.

The king, foolish as he was, straightaway said, 'Kill him. Tomorrow morning the poet should be killed.' The poet replied, 'I have no problem. I have experienced truth through this Master. I am ready to

die; however, if you are really intelligent, meet this Master at least once. Don't punish me until you have seen him. Then I will be ready to die.'

The king agreed, 'All right, I will see him. If he is not a real bharani, we will kill him also.'

The king set off to meet the Master with all his paraphernalia: ratha (chariots), pada (foot soldiers), gaja (elephants), sena (armies) and all his warriors. Kings always travel with their paraphernalia because they lose their identity without their paraphernalia. In contrast, Dakshinamurthy Swamigal was a paramahamsa, an enlightened Master. Masters always live by themselves. They do not need any paraphernalia. This Master was an avadhoot, which means he never wore clothes. The king found him sitting under a big banyan tree. Without any paraphernalia, this beggar was sitting under the banyan tree and the king arrived with his paraphernalia to see him.

So this was the scene: this simple beggar sat in a corner without any clothes. He was merged in bliss and peace and completely lost in Existence, in brahmajnana (knowledge of Brahman). He sat in intense silence and peace. This silence penetrated anyone in his presence. The king appeared with his warriors and entire army to confront this yogi who sat in profound silence.

The king jumped down from his chariot and advanced towards the Master. The Master did not move. There was no movement in him even after seeing the king and his army and hearing all the commotion. He opened his eyes and looked straight into the king's eyes. It was the first time someone looked straight into the king's eyes. The king had always looked at others and they had always put their heads down. For the first time somebody looked straight into the eyes of the king. After a few seconds, the king put his head down. The king clearly felt something happening inside his being. He felt like a mere beggar in the Master's presence. He did not know how to act. He did not know how to react. It was a strange situation. He was at a loss. He could not decide what to do. He felt overwhelmed.

Dakshinamurthy Swamigal signaled the king to sit down. There were no words from the Master. He simply made a sign asking the king to sit. All the ministers and the army dropped their weapons and also sat in silence. In ten minutes the whole army was sitting down. It is impossible to make an army sit. Even the leader of the army can't make the army sit. That is why they say we must continuously give a job to the devil. If we don't give any job to the devil, it will eat us. We cannot make the army keep quiet. Here the whole army sat in silence.

One hour passed. Then two hours were over; three hours; then the evening also got over; one day over. The Master, the king and the whole army sat in silence. Not a single word was exchanged. There

were no instructions, nothing. They did not even greet each other. They were merely sitting. Two days over, three days over. Now the Master thought, 'This is too much. The poor guy and his entire army have been simply sitting for three days without food and without toilet visits. These guys must return to their kingdom, to the palace. The king must take care of the country. He has been just sitting here for three days.

The Master opened his eyes and said, 'Now you can go.' The king fell flat at the Master's feet, did namaskar (obeisance) and came out of the forest.

Then the king summoned the poet and said, 'What thousand elephants? You may sing for the Master praises for the one who has killed ten thousand elephants!'

The poet made a beautiful statement, 'Killing ten thousand elephants is easy. It is not a big deal. You just need the weapons and you simply kill; however, killing one's mind is a real achievement.'

This Master had killed his mind. Not only had Dakshinamurthy Swamigal killed his own mind, he could kill anybody else's mind if they sat in his presence. Killing ten thousand elephants doesn't take courage, but killing your mind requires courage.

All we need for the real spiritual life is courage and sincerity to experiment with the truth. We typically lack that quality. We listen to everything. Wherever there are discourses and lectures, we go and listen to anyone who speaks. We read all the books. When it comes to facing the reality of putting this knowledge to test, there is no action. 'For practical purposes, Master, we must have our possessions. Otherwise how can we survive in this world?...' You just compromise.

Compromising is cowardice. Please understand that the person who compromises never experiences anything in his life. Not only the spiritual life, even in the very life. We can never experience life itself.

Sincerity to experience a single truth is enough. Nothing else is necessary. We don't need to do big, big things. Please be very clear, we can't call somebody a big person if he does something big. What he does is unimportant; how he does it is important.

As an example, the great saint Nammalvar, who lived in Tamilnadu, made garlands for Vishnu throughout his life. He did nothing else. He picked flowers from a garden, made garlands and gave it to God. All he did was make garlands. He became enlightened. So many enlightened Masters did not do big, big things. They did small things in a big way. They had a deep trust.

Another enlightened person did not even do that. He did not make garlands to offer God. Instead he threw a stone towards the Shiva lingam everyday. His name was Sakyanayanar (Sakya refers to the clan of the Buddha, and Nayanar is a name for devotees of Shiva). Somehow he became a Buddhist monk. Because he was a Buddhist monk, he could not worship the Shiva lingam in public.

Yet he had tremendous respect and devotion for Shiva.

In Buddhism, at least one son from every family is given to the monastery at a young age. They bring him up and make him a Buddhist monk. Like that, Sakyanayanar was given away to a monastery. Still, he had a deep devotion to Shiva. Everyday he went near the Shiva temple. It was not even a regular temple, just a small Shiva lingam under a tree. From a distance he took a stone, visualized it as a flower and threw the stone at the Shiva lingam. If someone observed him and asked, 'What are you doing?' he said, 'I am only throwing stones at the Shiva lingam, throwing stones towards Shiva.' He would throw these stones and then leave that place.

One day when he threw the stone, an old man suddenly appeared and asked, 'What are you doing?' The monk replied, 'I am only throwing stones at the lingam.' The old man said, 'No, the way in which you throw shows your devotion. You may be throwing stones, but the way in which you are throwing shows devotion. Tell me who are you?'

Sakyanayanar replied, 'Somehow I was born in a Buddhist family, yet I am deeply devoted to Shiva. Everyday I come and offer my being to him by throwing a stone. Immediately the old man turned around, gave darshan (vision) as Shiva and blessed him with enlightenment.

Understand that what we do is unimportant. Even if we sweep our home, even if we just clean our house, it is okay as long as we do it with complete and intense sincerity in that moment. Live in the moment.

Understand that spiritual practice does not mean you need to go into a deep forest, hold your nose ten times, and breathe this way and that way. You will only torture yourself. No. Do anything, but do it with intensity and sincerity. May you have courage to express whatever you believe. May you have courage to work and experiment with whatever you believe. Whatever your beliefs, have the courage to experiment.

Don't bother whether the truth you believe is the ultimate truth. You will never know whether it is ultimate unless you have the courage to experiment with it. Without experimenting, you cannot conclude. If you conclude without experimenting, that is prejudice. You cannot conclude without experimenting. All you need is courage to experiment with the truth that you believe.

Tamil has three words for satya (truth). One word is vaaymai, which means speaking the truth through the mouth. Another word is unmai, which is speaking the truth through your mind or heart. The third beautiful word is maimai, which means living the truth through your body.

In Tamil, 'mai' means body. Truth means living the truth through the body. All of us understand speaking the truth through the mouth and speaking the truth through the mind. However, what does 'living the truth through the body' mean? We have never heard this before.

That is where we miss the boat. We continuously think about the truth. We go on contemplating the truth from morning till night. We speak what we think is truth. Nonetheless, we forget one important thing: executing the truth in life, living the truth in life. That is where we miss. Living the truth in life is the essence.

Patanjali gives satya as the first instruction in his Ashtanga Yoga. In the set of five disciplines called yama, the first discipline is satya. This satya refers to truth in thought, word and action. It is vaaymai, unmai and maimai, all three combined.

People ask me how difficult it is to practice one by one all eight steps of Ashtanga Yoga before reaching the final point of samadhi. I explain that Patanjali did not outline these as eight steps. These were eight limbs or eight paths to samadhi, enlightenment.

When practiced sincerely, any part or even a part of a part can lead to enlightenment. In reality we cannot practice satya, unless we are enlightened. We become aware of satya, that ultimate truth, upon enlightenment, and not before.

The sincerity with which we practice leads us into enlightenment.

That is why I have said time and again that it is not necessary to have an enlightened Master as our guru to become enlightened. Any Master whom we follow sincerely can lead to enlightenment. Even if we truly believe a stone idol will deliver us into liberation, it will enlighten us.

Our approach, our conviction, our courage and our trust elevate us, not the state of our Master.

Shraddha is total conviction in what we are doing. There should be no doubt in our mind about the path that we are following and why. All great Masters had undivided focus in whatever they did. They never swerved from their chosen path no matter what challenges and problems they faced, including threats to their lives.

Shraddha will also deliver whatever else we need, including material benefits as well. Here Krishna speaks of spiritual enhancement. We can use the same technique to achieve whatever else we need. Shraddha works equally well in material pursuits. That is what I call Quantum Spirituality. Spirituality is not separate from materialism. Spiritual wellbeing is not divorced from material wellbeing. Material wellbeing is part of overall spiritual wellbeing.

Be very clear, spirituality is not about renouncing everything and going off to a forest or a mountain. If we do this without cleansing our mind, we only live our fantasies in the forest or on the mountain. We need not go anywhere to practice spirituality. We can stay where we are and enjoy whatever we have, without regrets and guilt. All we must do is give up and renounce our fantasies about what we do not have.

To accomplish this, to focus on what we have, to enjoy what we have and to renounce greed and expectation requires courage, determination, single-minded focus and discipline. It requires shraddha.

Understand that the ultimate step or the straight way to enlightenment is honesty and sincerity towards our beliefs. Whatever we believe is not the issue. We must have the courage to experiment.

17.1 Arjuna said: What is the mode of devotion of those who perform spiritual practices with sincerity, but

without following the scriptural injunctions, O Krishna? Is it in the mode of goodness, aggression or ignorance?

Arjuna asks a beautiful question.

Arjuna asks: 'Krishna, those who discard the ordinances of the scriptures and perform sacrifices, what is their position? Is it sattvic, rajasic or tamasic? What is the state of people who don't follow the instructions of the scriptures, the ancient books, and

instead worship according to their own beliefs? Is it rajas, tamas or sattva? Are they in a peaceful (sattvic) state, restless (rajasic) state or an ignorant (tamasic) state?'

Worship can occur at many levels. Arjuna's question is based upon the three attributes or gunas. Worship is also dependent on our energy levels. Many people are comfortable worshipping at the physical level, the gross level, through techniques such as puja, going to temples to worship the deities, bathing in holy rivers, etc. From an energy point of view, these are linked to earth or prithvi energy and water or apa energy.

At another level of energy, one may perform fire sacrifices such as yagna or homa. These are related to agni or fire energy. Typically the energy of the fire is transferred to water pots or tirtha kalasa that are placed around the sacrificial fireplace. This water, which is energized by the ritual, is then poured over idols, or sprinkled over people or upon the earth to energize.

The energy of air or vayu can be accessed through breathing techniques such as pranayama. In the first nine verses of Shiva Sutra, Lord Shiva explains about these types of techniques to Devi, His disciple.

It is possible to access the etheric energy or akasha through meditation, though this requires understanding and awareness.

Each form of worship or sacrifice is based upon one's aptitude and inclination. Each of these is guided by scriptural instructions as to how to perform the worship, when and where, etc.

Arjuna asks, 'How important is it to follow these instructions? What happens when one follows one's own inclinations and worships?'

This is an interesting question. A saint in Tamilnadu worshipped Shiva with such intensity that he cut out his eyes and placed them on the Shiva lingam. Other Masters placed all kinds of material at the altar including raw meat. Ramakrishna placed a thread under the nose of Kali's idol to check whether She was breathing before he offered Her the ritual food.

Many Masters have followed their inclination when worshipping their ishta devata, favorite deity. Scriptures never stood in their way of worship. However, these Masters were focused on what they were doing. They had shraddha.

Arjuna's query is in this connection.

Q: Throughout the history of mankind there has been strife based upon one's scriptural understanding and differences in understanding. You say all religions have the same fundamentals. Then why is there always this strife and violence?

Religions had the same fundamentals when they remembered the teachings of the founding Masters. They have the same fundamentals even today with a few disciples who still vibrate with the energy of the Masters' words.

All great Masters had just a few disciples. Jesus had twelve. Ramakrishna had twelve and Ramana Maharshi

had about the same. Only Buddha had many more. But these disciples sat with Him face-to-face to imbibe and internalize Him. Buddha forbade any kind of worship. He was remembered through the symbol of the Bodhi tree for 500 years following His death. Then the corruption started. They built temples for Buddha. The followers built temples for the being that denied God and temples. How can we call such people disciples, devotees or followers?

Moses met God face–to-face and received the Ten Commandments because of his own experience. Moses had the ability to transmit that experience to a few whom he contacted personally and these people believed him. Beyond that, the Ten Commandments merely became a rulebook to others. It became another set of manuals.

The Ten Commandments as well as the other rules and regulations that followed Moses were no longer the experience and understanding of people upon whom these were forced. Founding Masters never force anyone. They allowed whoever was inclined to follow them. That is why they had few followers. People who followed them lost the meaning of their compassion and merely adhered to their spoken word. Masters spoke from their loving being and followers acted from their foolish heads.

Religions are the rigid heartless structures built by unloving followers. They thrust their partially understood wisdom upon others using fear and greed as their weapons. The wisdom of the Masters must be understood in full. Either it is fully internalized or not understood at all. There is no midway point.

Love is the genesis of all teachings of these great Masters. Compassion was their sign. Unfortunately, religions lost their ability to love. They say they love. They love whoever accepts their religion. This is not love. This is bigotry.

Love is the original religion. It is the root of all spirituality. All other religions are offshoots. Love is the root; all other religions are like leaves or at the most, small branches. Even the greatest religions, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism are big branches, but they are visible.

We can see churches and the temples and we can read the scriptures. Love has no temple and love has no scripture. It is like the roots hidden underneath: it is underground, yet it is the nourishment. Without it, the whole tree dies. Love goes on creating more and more leaves, more and more foliage, more flowers, and more fruits. Love is the original religion. Compassion of the founding Masters is pure love.

We cling to the branches when we follow religions. Branches may look attractive but they are not the source. A Buddha, a Jesus, a Krishna, goes to the roots; from there, he experiences his own reality of God. And the only way to experience God is to go to the roots of life, of Existence.

Find the roots. Be more loving and you will enter the invisible temple. A root contains all the trees in this world and a dewdrop contains all the oceans because the dewdrop contains the secret of all water.

If we understand the dewdrop, we understand everything in the oceans on earth or on other planets. We understand water. Water cannot be anything else; its chemical composition will be the same no matter where it is. That composition is ingrained in the smallest particle.

Man is an atom of love. He contains God because he contains the composition. The composition of man is not physical, chemical or even psychological. Otherwise we would have understood it. The composition of man is spiritual. Nobody can tell us what it is. We must experience it on our own. All other knowledge is transferable: physical, chemical, scientific and psychological. All such knowledge is easily transferable. Only spiritual knowledge is not transferable.

The Master can give a few hints, just hints; and these too will be vague. Then we must find our way carefully, cautiously. Love is just a hint, but if we follow love slowly, very slowly we will be surprised that God becomes more and more of a reality. He is no more a thought, no more an idea, but almost something that we can touch. The deeper we go into love, the closer we come to God. The day we dissolve into love we have arrived home.

Love is the secret of all religion. In spite of this, people are lost in logic and theology. Is logic about God? Theology is as far away from religion as anything can be. There can be no logic about God, only love. God is in poetry, music and in dance, but not in logic.

God is not an idea and cannot be arrived at through logical processes. God is an interior experience, so deeply interior that we must go there alone, absolutely alone.

Bliss is possible for those who know how to love and trust. It is open to those who know how to surrender, how to be loyal and how to be obedient. Bliss is possible when our heart says 'Yes' and when 'No' completely disappears from our being. Because 'No' is darkness, whereas 'Yes' is light. 'No' is ego whereas 'Yes' is egolessness.

'No' is the way of the unconscious man. 'Yes' is the way of the awakened one. Renunciation is a discipline of saying 'Yes' totally to all that is and forgetting the language of 'No'. Then great harmony arises. All conflict disappears. All conflict is because of our saying 'No'. 'No' is fight, war. 'Yes' is love. 'Yes' is deep accord with the totality. Bliss is another name of that accord, that harmony.

One attains bliss if one deserves it, if one is worthy. The way to deserve it is to dissolve, not to be. To be is a hindrance. The ego is the root of all misery. When the ego is absent, bliss reaches us from every nook and corner of Existence, as if it were just waiting for the ego to disappear.

Ego is a closed state of consciousness: all windows and doors are closed. We then lead an insulated, encapsulated life. Ego surrounds us like a capsule. Ego is like the egg; there is not even a small window to allow anything to

enter. Ego is fearful. It closes itself due to fear and shrinks into itself. That is how we create misery.

Bliss is being in the flow with Existence, to be totally with it. Ego is like frozen ice and egolessness is liquid water. Only when we are liquid, do we become part of the ocean. Then we don't have any private goal or destination. Each moment is blissful, incredibly ecstatic. The mind cannot comprehend or conceive it. Mind is part of the ego. It knows how to close; however, it does not know how to open up.

To love means to surrender. It means to renounce. It means that our whole effort will be to open up to Existence, to the flowers, to the bees and to the stars. How do we open to this beautiful music that fills the whole of Existence? How do we open up to this celebration that goes on and on - flowers dancing in the wind and trees enjoying the wind and the stars, always in a state of bliss? Except for man, everything is in harmony.

Man falls out of harmony because he has consciousness.

Consciousness can do two things: it can create ego and it can create egolessness. If it creates ego, we live in hell. If it creates egolessness, we are in paradise. The whole world is in paradise without knowing it. When man enters paradise, he enters with full knowing. That is the grandeur and beauty of man. And that is the danger also. Because out of thousands of people, only once in a while does someone enter. Others simply keep falling into the trap of the ego.

Be egoless and all the grace of God is yours.

Bliss is by the grace of God. We have forgotten who we are. We are emperors but we dream that we are beggars. We have the whole kingdom of God within our being yet we continue to beg for rubbish, for junk. We keep collecting junk not knowing that we have infinite, inexhaustible treasures within our being. We are oceans, yet we are thirsty because we have become disconnected from our own Selves.

We have become disconnected from our Selves because of our personality. We have become personality but individuality is what we really are. We must move from personality to individuality, from the false, the pseudo, to the real and authentic. The search for the authentic is what surrender is about. And it is easily possible, because no matter how disconnected we are, no matter how we have forgotten it and no matter how long we have forgotten it, it can be remembered in a single moment and immediately we become connected. Faith is the connector.

Religion is belief, not faith. Ordinarily faith and belief are used synonymously. They are not synonyms. They are antonyms. They are opposites. The person of belief is not a person of faith. The person of faith knows nothing of belief. Belief is borrowed from others. Faith is our own experience. Belief is of the head. Faith is of the heart. Belief is close to logic. Faith is of the heart. Belief simply means that we have

repressed our doubt; we have covered a dark hole of doubt with a beautiful belief, but it is there nevertheless.

This is not the way to eliminate doubt. In fact, it is more dangerous to cover it because we become unaware of it and it spreads inside us like a hidden cancer. It is better to be aware of doubt. Then we can do something about it.

To forget it and cover it up is dangerous. It can spread all over our being. Christians, Hindus or Muslims, all of us are believers. Deep down there is doubt. Their beliefs don't make them spiritual.

Up until now this has been history. The beliefs of people have shed more blood on earth than anything else. Christians destroying Muslims, Muslims killing Hindus and so on, so forth. It seems that every religious person is at someone else's neck, ready to kill and murder. The most unspiritual people have been the so-called religious leaders. They kill in the name of God.

Beliefs never make anybody spiritual. They make Muslims and Christians; however, they do not make anybody spiritual. Beliefs simply cover up our face with beautiful slogans while we remain ugly deep down inside. Nevertheless, people who believe in our beliefs, the fellow travelers, respect us. They worship us because they are in the same paper boat that is going to sink. But they support each other.

Someone once asked George Bernard Shaw, 'When there are millions of Christians, how can Christianity be wrong?' He retorted, 'If there are so many Christians, one-third of humanity, how can they be right?' Truth has never been a quality of the crowds. Rarely has a man arisen, in spite of the crowd, against the crowd, and attained the peaks of truth.

Crowds always live in the valleys. And they help each other. They become props for each other. It helps to live with people who adhere to the same beliefs. It makes us feel protected and secure. Faith is different. There is no need to believe. Don't believe in anything written or spoken, including what I say and write. Live it, experiment with it, internalize it and experience it. When we experience it, it is no longer faith. Then it is trust. This trust alone liberates.

17.2 The Supreme Lord said: The natural faith of embodied beings is of three kinds: Goodness, aggression, and ignorance. Now hear about these from Me.

17.3 O Arjuna, the sincerity of each is in accordance with one's own natural disposition. One is known by one's sincerity. One can become whatever one wants to be.

17.4 Men in the nature of goodness worship the deities; those in the nature of aggression worship the demons and those in the nature of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

Part 2: Bhagavad Gita, Commentary by THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM - Chapter 17 - Sincerity - the straight way to Liberation

17.5, 6 Ignorant persons of demonic nature are those who practice severe austerities without following the prescription of the scriptures, who are full of hypocrisy and egotism, who are impelled by the force of desire and attachment and who senselessly torture the elements in their body and also Me who dwells within the body.

Krishna explains that how we worship depends upon our natural disposition, the guna, attributes that we are born with.

When we are born, we carry within us the vasana, the essence of the mental attitude from our past lives. These are the prarabdha karma, the samskaras, that drive our mental makeup and actions throughout our lives. These carried over vasanas determine the gunas, the attributes we are born with.

Many believe that there is an avenging angel who sits at the gates of paradise or hell, as the case may be, keeping accounts of all that we have done in our life. It is as if Saint Peter or Chitragupta waits to pounce on us and read out our balance sheet. Do we think they have no other work to do!

All these stories are creations of religious leaders, designed to control us out of fear and greed. Just as we relate fairy tales to our children to keep them quiet, these priests and scholars tell us these stories. Some fairy tales are really horror stories about witches and monsters that eat humans, especially young children. No wonder children become corrupted by fear with these stories fed to them at a susceptible age and at bedtime, a susceptible time.

Hell and heaven are merely stories. Our mind is our hell and heaven. We go through hell in this life, not after this life. The fear of what will happen, the guilt that religion imposes upon us, keeps us in hell. Once we let go of this guilt, we shift into heaven.

Our being, our undying spirit, keeps an account of every thought we have and every move that we make. There is no escape from this account keeper. When we reach the end of the road, when our body dies, the spirit plays back all that happened during the life and goes through the pains and pleasures. According to Krishna, the attitude or last thought with which we left our last life carries over to our next birth and the next body our spirit moves into.

Do not think that we can do whatever we want during our entire life, and then embrace some wonderfully good thoughts at that last breath before we die. Not so! However much we try, we cannot be moneyminded all our life and switch to chanting 'Krishna, Krishna' as we take our last breath. What we have been all our life takes hold as we leave.

If all our life we were behind money, we will only chant dollars and cents as we die. Our vasana will be about making money and that will be the attitude with which we take birth in the next body. Our spirit looks for a body in an environment that fosters the growth of the vasana with which it left the previous body.

If the vasana is to make money, it chooses a family, location, and culture in which it can be reborn in order to be wealthy. If the vasana is to serve people, it similarly chooses an appropriate family, location and culture to make this happen.

Hence we are born with a natural inclination based upon our last life and vasana. Depending on the vasana, we may have the attribute of sattva, goodness*, rajas*, aggression, or tamas, ignorance as our driving nature.

All societies, religions, faiths, castes or creeds are simply translations of these basic natures or traits and mental conditionings. They are nothing more. After taking birth on planet Earth, we adopt the nature into which we are born that is according to our past vasana. In our new birth, we settle into a religious belief dictated by that natural attribute.

However, we do not realize that we are a part of the Whole, a fragment of Existence or the Supreme Consciousness. We do not realize that our true nature transcends all material associations and conditionings. When this relationship with Existence is forgotten, we give energy to our associations in material life. We develop allegiance to some religion. Such an existence is purely materialistic and the association itself is artificial. To come out of this, we must break out of our material bonds and enter the path of Self-realization.

Shraddha here refers to the faith that comes out of good work. Yet pure goodness goes beyond all material acts. It is transcendental. Hence there is nothing like fully good, completely good in material life.

Please be very clear, only a person whose nature is pure goodness can connect with the Divine, with Existence.

An enlightened Master goes beyond the three gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas. He transcends these attributes because he burns out all his vasanas, samskaras and karmas, of which these gunas are a product. An enlightened Master has no bondages. He is not bound by desires, greed, fear or attachment. He is beyond the illusion of material existence. He dissolves into the Cosmic Energy when he chooses to leave the body and it perishes.

When the energy of an enlightened Master is reborn on this planet, when it takes human form, it is imbued with some sattva guna, since all beings in physical form must by nature have an attribute.

Such a being is an incarnation, an avatar. Upon realization of the being's enlightened state, that avatar reverts to its transcendental state of being without attributes or guna. In some cases, the avatar continues upon this planet to fulfill the mission that Parashakti has sent that energy to accomplish. In other cases, upon realization of its true nature, the energy reverts to its original cosmic state.

The classic examples of these two different events are Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. Both were enlightened Masters who reappeared upon this planet on the mission of Parashakti. Ramakrishna continued after realization of his state of enlightenment. However, Vivekananda, as predicted by his Master Ramakrishna, left his mortal body once He realized his enlightened state.

If a tamasic person becomes enlightened, he goes through the stages of rajas and sattva before the realization happens. The transition may happen quickly but it must happen. Valmiki was a robber who terrorized and killed. His nature was deep tamas with a layer of rajas. When he caught hold of Narada and demanded money, Narada offered him the name Narayana. The moment the robber uttered the name of the Lord he was transformed. He shifted to sattva and became the enlightened Master who wrote the Ramayana epic.

Krishna says our style of worship depends upon our nature. A person established in sattva worships devatas (deities, gods) who are peaceful. A person established in rajas worships yakshas (supernatural beings) and rakshasa (demons). A person established in tamas (ignorance) worships pretas (spirits of the dead) and bhootas (ghosts).

Please understand, whatever is your ideal, whatever you hold in high esteem, whoever you follow, what you worship, that is your nature and that decides your quality. I tell youngsters how to decide their quality. Observe their rooms. Do they have a Swami Vivekananda poster or an actor's poster? Based on that, we can decide their hero.

If we have Swami Vivekananda's photo on the wall, he is our hero. We continuously think of him. We want to become like him. We want to live like him. If we have an actor's photo, we want our hairstyle to be like his.

We want to look like him. We want to dress like him and we'll work out to look like him. We do everything to become that actor.

If we worship the right ideal, we are established in sattva. If we have Swami Vivekananda's poster in our room, we are in sattva. If we have an actor's photo or poster in our room, we are in rajas and tamas. Tamas is like watching a violent fighting show. Everyday the shows go on, fighting with each other, beating and kicking like monkeys. I can never understand this. Fighting is a perversion.

Please understand that this fighting is a perversion. I cannot imagine thousands of people sitting and watching them fighting. How perverted we have become. Please be very clear that if you continuously sit in front of the TV and watch fighting, you are established in tamas.

Krishna says that based upon our ideal, our guna (attributes) can be described.

In the last verse, He says please do not punish your body. You not only punish yourself, but you also punish me. I reside in you!

The scriptures do not recommend severe austerities and penances. Walking on fire and too many other things are unnecessary. When I make you do these things once in awhile, it is to make you break the pattern that you have always lived your life in. You should not subject yourself to these as daily rituals, 'Every morning when I wake up, I should walk on ten feet of fire, no!'

Krishna says there is no need for all these things. People perform them out of pride and ego, merely to show, 'I did all these things.' They are done out of pride and egoism. They are done out of lust and attachment. People who do this, for example, sit for years on a bed of nails or sit with one hand raised. All these painful contortions are foolish. These people torture their bodies and the material elements as well as the Paramatman (Supreme Consciousness) dwelling inside them. Beautifully Lord Krishna says, 'Please do not torture the Atman inside your body. Don't abuse your body because the body is the temple of God.

By torturing the temple of God, you torture the Paramatman residing inside. He says that those who torture the Paramatman inside the body are demons. Ravana did tapasya. He cut off his heads and put them into the fire. This is a demon's tapas, torturing the body and torturing the Paramatman residing in the body. There is no need to do self-torture. Krishna says, 'Don't torture yourself.' God never asked you to torture yourself. These people wanted to destroy somebody. That is why they did these violent things. The entire purpose of this penance and self-torture was to boost the ego, to seek power.

No shastra expects or teaches us how to kill others, torture others or do black magic to others. The other day I spoke about somebody yantras as a remedy. Yantra is a metal plate with diagrammatic representation of powerful mantra that is sanctified through rituals. After that lecture someone told me, 'I bought a yantra, but

when I wanted to return it to the person I bought it from, he threatened to curse me.'

You need to understand that only an enlightened man can curse. Only he has that power. But, an enlightened person will never curse. Please be very clear that only an enlightened person can make his curse effective. Others cannot. It is not that anybody can curse and it will become reality. No, only an enlightened person can curse and an enlightened person will never curse. If he curses, he is not enlightened. Nobody can curse you. If he is not enlightened, don't be concerned about it. It will never work because for a curse you need satya-sankalpa, the backing of truth.

Only the words of a person who has achieved the Ultimate Energy become reality. I will say again that only an enlightened person can curse, and an enlightened person will never curse. Because the enlightened person is in Universal Consciousness so cursing another person is the same as cursing himself!

Never be afraid of curses! Nobody can curse others. One thing is sure, if someone curses, he hurts himself more than he hurts others. Never be afraid of curses.

Spiritual relationships can never exist out of fear or greed. Never be obedient to somebody out of fear. No, simply throw things out if it is forced on you out of fear. Never be afraid of anything. Nobody can curse you. An enlightened man can curse, but he will never curse. Understand these two statements. A curse is never possible. Just be liberated from the fear of life.

Here Krishna says that there is no need for all this penance. Out of pride and ego you cheat yourself with all this penance but you never achieve anything. The person who does these things out of ego and pride is a demon, a rakshasa.

A demon is in deep tamas, in ignorance. All that drives such a person is the boost to his ego without consideration for himself and others. Such a person is a spiritual cipher.

Q: Master, you said that vasanas make the spirit choose a new body to be reborn in. Why is there a difference in attitude between siblings? One may be money-oriented, another service-oriented, a third may be power-crazy. And all three are different from their parents. Why is this?

An excellent question!

Earlier I shared the story of attempting to heal the autistic child when THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM was in the USA a few years ago. The parents were from Bharat, but not from Tamilnadu and none of them spoke Tamil. I'll mention it again since it's relevant to this question.

As soon as I touched the boy, in crude but chaste Tamil he shouted at me to take my hands off him. He did not want to be healed. I was taken aback both with the vehemence with which he said this and also that he spoke in a language that he was unfamiliar with. I asked the boy why.

He said that he made a deliberate choice to be an autistic being since he did not want to be caught in life's responsibilities. He wanted to work out his prarabdha karma without having to exert himself.

I responded by saying, 'That is fine, but you are troubling your parents who are good people. Why are you making them suffer?'

He immediately replied, 'Do you think I would enter the body in a family that would not care for me? I was born to them because they are good people and I knew they would take care of me.'

Of course, I did not attempt to heal the boy against the wishes of his being.

The reasons with which a spirit may decide on a body may not be obvious to us. Following birth, the individual also forgets why he chose his body as well as his prarabdha karmas. It would be convenient if we remembered what brought us here. Then we could work towards fulfilling those desires. Once fulfilled, our karmas would dissolve and our spirit would be free.

Please understand that the entire concept of karma, about doing good and bad, is nonsense. It is only to keep you on a tight leash. That is all. If you think that by giving money to the poor, donating to a temple fund or a preacher's hat will earn merit points toward your entry into heaven, you have been fooled.

When people come to the ashram and want to donate money, I tell them, 'Do not think that this THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM will be standing at the gate when you die to make sure you get a heavenly suite. Nothing like that is possible. There is no exchange offer between what you give now and what you get after death. Only your good attitude follows you if you give with an attitude of unconditional help. If not, even that will not follow.'

We do not remember why we came here because when we die the spirit passes through the painful and dark causal layer of energy. In that deep pain, it forgets whatever made it decide on taking the new body. The darkness of the causal layer as the body dies, the coma state, is equivalent to the dark painful passage that the body passes through as it emerges from its mother's womb. This is the point at which the spirit leaves the dying body, its previous abode, and enters the new abode.

It is possible to remember why you came here, your prarabdha karma and to have a conscious birth. It happens to enlightened beings. It is also possible for others. I am working on this process. The mother must be trained before the child is born.

In our Spurana Program, conducted by my ordained teachers, acharyas, we take you through this journey that the spirit takes as it leaves the body. You get to experience through specially designed meditations each energy layer that the spirit goes through. There are seven layers and seven meditations. When you undertake this journey, all your past samskaras, which grow from the carried over mindset, the vasanas, get burnt out. You become free. You have a glimpse of the Ultimate.

During one of these meditations, as you meditate in the second pranic layer, you understand why you came here. Your prarabdha karma stands revealed to you. From then on, if you so choose, you can focus on why you came here. You can work towards liberation.

Remember this, the character of the parents is only partly related to the vasanas and prarabdha karmas of children. Sometimes it can be supportive in a deeply negative way. Prahlad, a great devotee of Vishnu, was born to Hiranyakashipu who hated Vishnu. But Hiranyakashipu's hatred was superficial. That burning hatred kept him thinking about Vishnu all the time. His ill-treatment of his son, Prahlad resulted in his own liberation. In turn Prahlad, who himself was an evolved soul, was liberated.

Devotees come to me from all over the world, from North America, South America, Guadeloupe, France, Australia, Malaysia and so on. I tell them that they would not come had they not been born in Bharat and exposed to the Vedic culture once before. They are coming back to their roots; that is all.

The spirit tries to remember why it came into this life, but does not always succeed. When it leaves this body again, at that point it again remembers its desire. This sometimes happens many times. After many unsuccessful life journeys, cycles of samsara, the spirit decides, 'Enough is enough. Now I must seek liberation. I must find my Master and savior.' Sometimes the spirit takes on an incurable ailment that leads them to me. Many disciples originally came to me for healing, which was solely the excuse that brought them to me. Their beings demanded that they be liberated and caused the body to suffer until they reached me.

Coming back to your question, each sibling may be seemingly different, but a thread underlies their dissimilarities in bringing them into one family. It may be a constructive or a disruptive reason, but the spirit came there for a reason.

17.7 Food that we consume is of three kinds, according to the three types of material nature. These are sacrifice, austerity and charity. Hear the difference between these three.

Krishna now speaks about food. Three different kinds of people enjoy three different types of food. Before we discuss these verses, let me explain the three different kinds of shraddha based on what we are.

Please understand that one group of people is completely negative. They only doubt and doubt and doubt.

They have decided not to believe in anything. They have decided not to raise themselves in their lives. They are completely dumb. We can't do anything with them. This is the first group.

The second group consists of people who believe, but do not practice. The third group of people believes and practices sincerely.

There are three groups. One group doubts, even the word doubting is too good to describe it. They are prejudiced. This group is in tamas. The next group is the believers. They are in rajas. The third group is sincere. This group is in sattva. Krishna beautifully explains the differences between the prejudiced group, the believers and the sincere group. He then talks about their ways of life, character and how we can achieve the sincerity of sattva and imbibe the truths explained in the Gita.

He gives beautiful step-by-step explanations and teachings on how to raise us from the prejudiced level to the believing level, and from the believing level to the sincerity level. All those here are already at the believing level.

If you are prejudiced, you will not sit here everyday. You would merely stand there, listen to two or three words and go away. Many people come just to check out what is going on. They stand here for two or three minutes and look at their watch. And even in those few minutes, their feet shuffle ten times this way and that, and they'll say, 'All right. Enough, I think he is just a young swami. What can he say that we do not already know?' They just walk out.

If you are not at least at the level of belief, you will not sit here. Coming regularly and sitting through these lectures shows that you are at least at the level of belief.

Now all you need to do is jump into the level of sincerity. The moment we jump into the level of sincerity, we experience the truth. We become Krishna. We experience Krishna Consciousness. Now we will enter into the technology of experiencing the sincerity, the technology of Krishna Consciousness.

You see, there is an important choice that you must make. Either you should be completely sincere about trusting that what I say is the truth, or be very clear that whatever I am saying is just lies. If you can't practice what I am saying, whatever I am saying is a lie. If you are unable to practice, what is the use of this truth? Whether I am saying truth or not, you will decide. Only you can decide that. No one else can. I cannot decide for you. If you can execute what I tell you, if you are able to imbibe it, I am speaking the truth. If you are unable to do it, what is the use of the whole thing? Nothing, there's no use. For eighteen days, it's a waste of three hours of your time and three hours of mine. That's all. If you don't imbibe, if it does not transform your life then there is no other result except wastage of time. Whatever has happened here is not the truth.

Please be very clear that the result of my words on your consciousness decides whether what I spoke is truth or a lie. If you can experiment with those words, they are true. One more thing you must understand is that you don't need to do it completely or perfectly. Having the courage to experiment is enough. After my talking all these days, if you say, 'Why not test for two or three days?', if you have that much courage, nothing else is necessary.

If that doesn't happen, my sitting and shouting, talking, talking, talking, is just like a Hindu political meeting speaker. If you are in South Bharat, whether you want it or not, you must listen to some political speaker every year, maybe every month. They put the politician on the loudspeaker throughout the city. No one can avoid hearing him.

Let me share a real incident. One day I was traveling from Pudukottai in Tamilnadu to our Bangalore ashram. We suddenly started hearing some loudspeaker noise. That guy used slang words, not a single decent word, except two or three, 'hmmm, hmmm.' No other decent words. We couldn't escape from his slang words for ten kilometers, which means half an hour. The roads are also horrible. For half an hour, he was shouting. Unfortunately, we had to drive past the stage where he was speaking. I was surprised that only four ladies were sitting in front of the stage. There were more people on the stage than in the audience.

I asked one brahmachari traveling with me what was going on. Fortunately, I had left South Bharat at a fairly young age and wasn't exposed to all of this. I also had no interest in this political stuff.

I asked him, 'What is going on? Why is he using all these slang words?'

The brahmachari said, 'What is this, Master? He is speaking decently. Why are you blaming him?'

I asked, 'Is this decency?'

He said, 'Master, you have not heard political meetings. That is why you call this slang. It is decent.'

I asked, 'Then why are there only four ladies in the audience?'

He said, 'Because of the loudspeakers, people can listen to the speech from their homes for a radius of ten kilometers. They don't need to attend the meeting.'

In that political meeting, he told the crowd, 'O dear people who are here, like an ocean you have gathered…' Only four ladies were listening to him and he called them an ocean. I thought that the four ladies were spitting and creating an ocean! They were chewing betel nut and betel leaves and kept spitting. I thought he was talking about that ocean!

He said, 'You people are here in front of me like an ocean,' and he went on and on. At the homes of these old ladies, there must have been some arguments with their daughters-in-law. Where else could they go? There was some entertainment here.

'Let us go and sit there', they must have decided. 'Maybe at the end of the talk, they will give some clothes or gifts. If we don't get anything, we can remove a few flags and take them home. We can use them to clean the house!' This was why these ladies probably decided to come.

A small story:

At a political meeting a politician caught hold of the mike and started speaking, speaking, speaking, and speaking, went on and on and on. Slowly some people left. Then a few more left. By and by, everyone left except one old man with a shawl. The guy with the mike went on and on and on. Finally, he felt tired. He stopped and thanked everybody for attending.

The man saw this old fellow sitting in front of him and said, 'I am so happy that at least you stayed and are listening to me.'

This old man said, 'No no, I own the mike system. I am waiting to pack up the mike system and take it home.'

The politician said, 'Please forgive me, I did not bring a watch. That is why I didn't know how long I was speaking. At least you could have set a clock in front of me, so I would know when to stop.'

The old man said, 'You forgot your watch, but we put up a calendar for you. You could have at least looked at that!'

These politicians become courageous when they speak, especially when they don't have an audience sitting in front of them. They say whatever they want. When the audience sits at home, there is no danger of anyone throwing stones at them. So the politicians say whatever they want. If there is a crowd in front of them, they don't speak much. They are careful in case people throw stones or create problems. Otherwise, they go on and on and on. It never ends.

Please understand, our meeting will become one more political meeting if we don't have the courage to experiment with the truth that we learned here. If we don't practice, if Krishna's words don't work on us, if we don't work with these words, this meeting will be another political meeting, maybe a polite political meeting. Please don't make this a political meeting. Let these words penetrate you. May you experiment with the truth. If you don't experiment, at least it will be mentally clear to you that this is not the truth.

You might think, 'This swami was simply saying what he read somewhere.' But if you believe this is the truth, you will be here. If you think this is not truth, you will not be here.

You will not come everyday and sit for three hours, even if you do not have any other work to do. You have a TV at home. You could have sat in front of the TV. There are many other places to go to, yet you chose to be here. You chose to listen. This shows that you think there is truth behind these words. So when you think there is some truth, never wait to experiment with the words.

Have courage and experiment. Take one single idea. You don't need to experiment with the whole Gita. Take one single concept and imbibe that to the core. Let your whole being vibrate with that single thought.

Swami Vivekananda says, 'When you commit to a single idea, your blood should boil with that single idea. Even your hair should stand in that direction, your bones, your thoughts, your body and your mind should all stand for it. Your whole being should be directed towards that concept. Only then success is certain.'

Please understand, take one concept and work with it. If you fail, there is nothing wrong. But have courage to work with it. If you succeed, you will know it is the truth, and you will be liberated. You will have bliss. If it fails, you will know that this is not the truth and you will be clear. You can continue your search elsewhere. So be very clear, the basic truth Krishna is telling you is about sincerity.

There are three groups of people. The tamasic group is prejudiced, meaning negative. The rajasic group believes intellectually. The sattva group has sincerity. They not only believe, but they have courage to play with the words and ideas. Please do not miss the courage. Let these words penetrate you.

Q: You tell us to search for bliss. You and Krishna say that sincerity, courage and faith will take us on the path to bliss. But the path to bliss does not seem easy. There are many pitfalls. We do not even recognize bliss when we experience it. How can we cope?

Bliss is not easy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. You must struggle. That is where shraddha comes in. Buddha, Christ and Mahavira also struggled.

The word 'Christ' means to be crowned by God. But Christ had to go through a rare crowning ceremony: crucifixion was the first step. That has always been so and will always be: unless one dies, unless the ego dies, God cannot crown you.

You can be crowned only when you are not.

Meditate on that paradox. When you are, you are as far as possible from God; when you are not, you are God. You reach the crown chakra, the sahasrara. When you are absolutely empty, God fills you from everywhere, from every direction and dimension. You are flooded. That is the crowning.

Unless God crowns a man, man lives in vain. He does not live. He only exists. And to merely exist is to live in hell. On the other hand, to live is a higher state of existence. It is a conscious state of existence. A rock exists. The ordinary man believes that he lives; however, he exists like the rock. Only a Buddha or a Christ actually lives.

How should we live? How can we come to this ultimate glory? We come to it only through disappearance. Be ready to dissolve. Surrendering to the Master is dissolution. Once you are not, everything fits perfectly. A deep harmony arises. When you are not, there are no discordant notes. It is all music and poetry, all celebration.

We continue listening to the outside; hence we keep missing the inner voice. And God speaks from our innermost core. In the Master we hear the echo of our innermost being. The Master functions as a mirror: he reflects our original face. He says what God wants to say to us because we are not ready to listen to our inner self. By listening to the Master we slowly become aware of the synchronicity between the Master and our inner voice. We become aware that the Master speaks on behalf of our inner self. That is why surrendering to the Master is not surrendering to anybody; it is surrendering to our own center.

We live on the periphery. We live in the mind and the mind is so noisy that it does not allow us to hear the still, small voice within. A Master is needed as a device because we only hear the outside. The Master says from the outside what God has been trying to tell us from the inside forever.

But we don't listen to the inner voice.

By listening to the inner Master, you slowly become conscious. What is happening? The Master says things that you somehow feel to be your own, more your own than your mind and your body. That's why the East calls the Master God. The West is unable to understand this phenomenon. The East knows why the Master is called God. He represents God. He reflects God because he reflects your reality, your true being.

Being with the Master is getting ready to turn in, so that you can close your eyes and look in, so that you can hear what your intuition keeps telling you. And intuition is always right. The intellect may be right or wrong. It is always either-

or and doubt persists. It is never without doubt. But intuition is without doubt. It simply knows. The intuitive person never repents because he never does anything wrong. He simply follows God's voice within him.

It is possible to be blissful without being wise; however, that is not true blissfulness. That is what people call happiness. It comes and goes. It is momentary. And it leaves us in deep frustration and despair. The cost is too much and not worth it.

It is also possible to be wise without being blissful. That type of wisdom is pseudo and false. It is known as knowledge. It is borrowed and so it is a burden. Anything that has not arisen out of our experience is bondage. It can nourish our ego but it cannot reveal our Self. The true seeker must find bliss and wisdom together.

Meditate. On the one hand, you become blissful and on the other hand, you become wise. Both grow simultaneously in a kind of deep synchronicity. In the ultimate state, bliss becomes wisdom, and wisdom becomes bliss.

To be blissful is to be prayerful. All other prayers are formal. You can say beautiful words, but they are only on the lips. Words belong to the mind. The heart knows no words. It is wordless. It is silent. It is full of love, yet wordless. It is cheerful. It can sing, but in silence. It can dance, but in an invisible way.

The head is gross. Hence everything of the head is visible. It is matter. It is machine. The heart is the center of the invisible. It is not matter. It is Consciousness. The heart knows how to be blissful, how to be longing. Being blissful opens the doors to Divinity.

People typically go to God in despair. That is the wrong moment because when we are in despair we are closed. God is available, but His availability is of no use unless we are available to Him.

People remember God when they are in misery. That is not the right time to remember Him. These prayers are more or less complaints against the misery as well as demands and desires for things to be better. Those are not real prayers. Consequently these prayers go down the drain. They never reach God.

A real prayer has one flavor, that of gratitude. A real prayer has one fragrance, that of immense gratefulness. It knows no demand or desire. And because God has given so much and been so gracious, the heart silently bows down to the Ultimate. That is real prayer, the very essence of prayer!

Be blissful and let that be your prayer. God is not far away. He never has been. He is just around the corner. The moment the heart is ready, He immediately enters. He will not knock on the doors because that is interfering with your freedom. He will not trespass for He respects human dignity. Unless you invite Him, He will wait.

Prayer is a way of inviting Him. And the best way to invite Him is when you are in a dance, when your whole being is singing, when you are joy, when every fiber pulsates with celebration. Then He is ready to come in

immediately. There is not a single moment's gap: instantly it happens.

Fulfill the only condition: be blissful.

Bliss arises from love. Love is the only real poetry. When the heart is full of love, your whole life is transformed from prose to poetry, from noise to music and from discord to harmony.

A heart without love is a desert. The man with a heart without love remains ugly. His approach towards life is prosaic. He has no aesthetic sensibility, no sense to appreciate the beauty of Existence and no awareness to be grateful for all that God has done, for all that the Universe is. Only the poet knows how to praise, how to be grateful, how to dance and sing and how to celebrate life and its tremendous blissfulness.

It is such a sheer joy to be. Just to be is enough. It is more than is needed, yet we need to be sensitive to feel it. We need to grow feelers. Learn to grow feelers so that life is no longer a thought but becomes more a feeling. Once we have moved from thinking to feeling, there is only one more step, and that is from feeling to being; and that is very simple.

The first step is arduous: we must do a lot to move from thinking to feeling. The second step comes almost automatically: there's nothing we need to do for it. From feeling to being, the distance is none at all. It can happen any moment. The poet can become the mystic at any moment. The real problem is how to get out of our thinking and get more and more into feeling.

Love more. Feel more. Enjoy more so that you can feed your heart. Watch the sunrise, sunset, clouds, rainbows, birds, flowers, animals, rocks, and people - look into their eyes. It is such a multidimensional Existence. Look into every dimension as a poet: to praise and to feel. Be ecstatic!

Much is going to happen. So get ready! And don't be afraid when it happens. The only barrier is fear. When things start happening, we become fearful. We are moving into the unknown. And the mind wants to cling to the known because the mind is clever with the known. With the unknown, the mind has nothing to say. With the unknown, the mind is at a loss as to what to do. It loses its expertise. It is shocked into silence when it encounters the unknown.

The mind is a great expert as far as the familiar and the known are concerned because mind is memory. It can give all kinds of information about the known. It is like a computer: first we feed the information to the computer. Then the computer is ready to give the information back. It can only feed back what we have fed to it, nothing more. There may be new combinations of the old inputs but nothing is original.

Mind knows no originality. On the other hand, the mind can pretend with the known. It can feel great. It is an expert.

A child asked his mother, 'What is an expert?' The mother said, 'The expert does the same thing that women do, but when we do it, men call it nagging.'

Mind is a great expert, a great nagger. It keeps goading and nagging, 'Do this. Do that.' It opens many alternatives and constantly persuades you, seduces you and corrupts you, 'Go this way. Purchase this. Enjoy that.' It keeps you occupied with the known.

The work that a disciple enters into is with the unknown, the uncharted, and the unmapped territory; so fear will be there. That is the only barrier. In spite of it, we should go on. Let fear be there. It will hang around for awhile. When we do not listen to it, it will leave us. It is a great day when fear of the unknown leaves us. From then on growth becomes simple, easy and spontaneous.

This committed journey leads to bliss, eternal bliss, nithyananda.

17.8 The foods that promote longevity, virtue, strength, health, happiness, and joy are juicy, smooth, substantial and nutritious.

Such foods are liked by persons in the mode of goodness.

17.9 People in the mode of aggression like foods that are very bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, and burning, and cause pain, grief, and disease.

17.10 People in the mode of ignorance like foods that are stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, refuse and of impure energy.

Krishna talks about the nature of food consumed by people of sattva, rajas, and tamas temperaments.

He explains what kind of food these people like, what kind of lives these people lead and what kind of understanding these people experience in their lives. The most important thing is what kind of understanding they acquire. See, the same words can be understood in many different ways.

The other day, I related the story of a scholar who narrated the story of Harishchandra, a king who sacrificed his wife and child in order to keep his word. At the end of the story the Bhagavatham narrator asked two people, 'What did you understand from the story?'

One person said, 'Even if you die, you must speak the truth.'

The other person said, 'If it is an emergency, you can sell your wife. There is nothing wrong with that!'

From the same story, two different understandings arose. In the story of the great king Harishchandra, he gave away his kingdom, sold his wife, and allowed himself and his son to be killed in order to fulfill his promise and to uphold the truth of his commitments. We need to understand the word in the context of its spirit.

A small story:

A monk was sent to Alaska to spread God's word. Before going, the Pastor Father blessed him and said, 'Your rosary and wine will take care of you. Don't worry.' A rosary is the prayer beads and wine is given as offering at prayer symbolically representing Christ's blood and sacrifice*.* 'Rosary and wine will take care of you.'

After one year, the Pastor Father visited the monk to supervise how the mission was going. The monk received him with honor.

The Father asked, 'How is the mission?'

The monk said, 'Father, just as you said, the rosary and wine are taking care of me. If it were not for them, I would have died in the cold.'

In the course of their conversation the monk asked, 'Father, would you like a cup of wine?'

Father replied, 'Why not? Please get it.' The monk turned towards the kitchen and said, 'Rosary, bring a cup of wine!'

Words can easily be misunderstood. Please don't miss the essence of the word. It is easy to miss the spirit behind words, the truth behind words and their true meaning. Experiment with courage. And if you can't, if this is not the truth for you, forget about it. At least you will be free to search somewhere else.

If you think that it is the truth and you don't execute it or experiment with it in your life, then drop it! Otherwise it will become a habit to listen to the truth and not practice it. This becomes a mental setup. It is a most dangerous mental setup. People ask me, 'Master, should I renounce everything to become enlightened? Should I become a sanyasi, a monk?'

I tell them, 'No. There's no need. Just do one thing. Don't have the mental setup of receiving the truth and not practicing it, that's all.' That is the most dangerous thing that can happen to any being. Please be very clear, receiving the truth and understanding it intellectually without having the courage to practice it is the worst possible mental setup. That is the worst devil or demon that can catch you. So at least have the courage to decide, 'This is not for me because this is not truth.' If you believe this is the truth, then have the courage to experiment with it.

You have heard many things. Krishna does not say anything new in this chapter. He only says one thing, 'Be sincere.' Sincerity is the straight way. I tell people, 'Honesty is the basic spiritual virtue. Sincerity is the basic spiritual virtue.' First be a gentleman, and then you can be a spiritual man. Gentleman means to be honest to what you believe, truthful to the core. Never do anything without being clear about the truth, and never stop doing anything if you know it is the truth. The scientist is courageous enough to go after the truth. Wherever the research takes him, he is ready to experiment.

In the same way, you must become an inner scientist, a spiritual scientist. You must have the courage to go after the experience within the words. You must be able to play with them.

A small story:

An enlightened Zen Master and his disciple went to the river to bathe. Suddenly, the disciple fell into the river and shouted, 'Master, save me, save me.'

The Zen Master said, 'You are Ātman, save yourself. You are God, save yourself.'

The disciple shouted, 'Master, first save me, then you can teach me philosophy. Then you can teach me meditation. First, please save me.'

The Master replied, 'Stand up and save yourself.'

The disciple shouted, 'No, No, Master, save me. Then you can teach me.'

The Master shouted back, 'Fool, I am telling you to stand up.' The disciple became frightened. Just out of fear, he simply stood up, and realized that the water was up to his knees!

When you stand up, you understand the whole saṃsāra sāgara, the ocean of life. Whatever you consider the great worries of your life are not even up to knee level. They are just up to ankle level. Because you are lying down, because you never stand up, you think you are drowning. You think you are going to die.

I tell you from my personal experience, if you stand up, you will realize the water is only knee-deep. Whatever you regard as the saṃsāra sāgara is only knee deep. It is nothing. There is no way it can affect you. But you need courage to stand up.

For example, if the disciple had decided, 'No, no, I am drowning and instead of pulling me out and helping me, Master is teaching me impractical things. What kind of Master is this?' If he were blaming the Master, he would have gone with the river.

If he had the courage even for one minute, the guts to experiment with the Master's words, he would be saved. You need the guts. That is called viraha, the courage to stand up and see the truth by yourself. It is having the courage to experiment. Nothing will be lost. If something can be lost, it is better to lose it as soon as possible. May you be rid of that thing or situation. If something can be lost by practicing the truth, may it be lost as early as possible. The earlier it is lost, the better for you.

May you flood your being with truth. Whatever cannot stand, whatever can be washed away, let it be washed away. May it be lost from your being as early as possible.

Krishna explains here about the energy of various food substances. Generally, all food that is not from plants i.e., from animal origin has negative energy. Food that is hot and spicy tends to aggravate desires. Vegetarian food that is fresh and not spicy is ideal for spiritual practices.

In our Nithya Spiritual Healing system, it is essential that the Healers become vegetarians and give up substances such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc. I have nothing against alcohol or meat. I have no theories about cruelty about animals and so on. Plants also have life, just perhaps not at the same frequency level. So if one argues from the point of cruelty or himsa, eating vegetables also goes against ahimsa.

The Nithya Spiritual Healing system is based on deep meditative techniques. For the meditative energy to be effective, negative energy substances cannot be used. I have seen that these meditations do not go together with meat as well as tobacco and alcohol. If Healers eat meat, smoke or drink, they are affected physiologically and psychologically.

Many people complain that this condition is restrictive. What can I do? To satisfy especially the Western followers who wish to become Healers, I have modified the system for self-healing, which allows them to eat meat, drink or smoke. But the interesting development is that many of these Healers drop meat, cigarettes and liquor on their own. After awhile the mind-body system rejects these low energy food substances.

Any serious meditation technique requires one to be in the energy field. The word 'ahara' used by Krishna can be expanded to mean food for all senses, not merely the tongue. All sensory inputs need to be of the same description that Krishna uses here promoting 'longevity, virtue, strength, health, happiness, and joy' to aid one's progress in one's spiritual path by the sattvic route.

Q: Master, the Vedic science of medicine, Ayurveda recommends food types in line with one's constitution. Are those similar to what Krishna says?

Ayurveda, which literally means the knowledge or science of life, is the ancient Hindu system of wellness. Ayurveda is essentially about lifestyle and wellness unlike western medicine whose focus is to cure diseases.

The principle of Ayurveda is based upon our relationship with the universe. It arises from the fundamental assumption that we are the same energy as the universe. The Taittreya Upanishad explains the five elements of energy in the universe and how they are connected. First, ether or akasha arose from the universal energy. From akasha, air or vayu arose. From vayu came fire or agni. Agni gave rise to water or apa, from which earth or prithvi developed. Herbs and plants grow from earth and support humans, whose energy is the same as the universal energy.

These five elements of the cosmic energy that exist in foods of plants and herbs sustain all living beings. Ayurveda connects the source of energies, the energies, the carriers of energies and consumers of energies in a holistic way. Food is therefore an integral part of this system of wellness.

Ayurveda classifies human beings into three types or doshas. Unlike gunas that are the essential behavioral attributes in which we operate, doshas are a combination of the kinds of energies predominant in us. There are three doshas called vatha, pitta and kapha. Vatha, for instance, is a combination of ether and air in us. Ayurvedic diagnosis can tell which constitution we belong to and our physical and mental attributes.

Ayurveda recommends different foods for each constitutional type based upon the tastes such as sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, etc. These are specific recommendations as to what tastes would be healthy for which constitutions and based on this what kind of vegetables and fruits and so on. Even cooking methods are specified that can be used to provide wholesome ayurvedic food.

Krishna outlines a more general classification based upon the purity and nature of food. Krishna explains that tamasic food, putrid and stale, is forbidden for consumption by Vedic tradition. The injunction is to eat food within a few hours of cooking. After that food should be discarded.

Today we store food in freezers for months! How can we be healthy? Rarely do people eat food within a few hours of cooking. Everything is prepared in advance and then mixed and micro waved. Heaven knows what kind of genetic modification will happen to people who eat only such food.

Eat fresh food. It is not necessary that it be raw as some people claim. Fire and heat are good energy. But you should know what materials should be used as containers. Cooking in plastics can only give you diseases, not energy.

We have forgotten how to prepare food and how to eat food. Soon, children will think that food grows in supermarkets. They have no knowledge about farms and plants. Even our flowers are artificial. We touch them and the plastic cuts our fingers.

To preserve such food, we need chemicals. How can we stay healthy when we ingest chemicals instead of energy?

We eat on the run. I see people in America walking down the street holding a phone to the ear with one hand and shoving a burger into the mouth with the other hand. They call it multitasking. This is the easiest way to stress, depression and disease. The food we disrespect so much eventually abuses us. It settles in places that make us unhealthy. Eating an apple in this manner is bad enough; however, eating a horrible hamburger in this fashion is suicidal.

Eat fresh food in silence and with attention. Pay attention to each morsel of food and eat with gratitude and love. Eating does not need to be a social occasion. It should not be. Enjoy your social interactions before and after meals, not while eating. Be in the present moment while you eat.

What Krishna says makes pure sense for wellness. Natural foods contain their own flavor and goodness. You do not need to add spices and flavoring agents to corrupt their taste. He says eat food as it comes, fresh from the earth, and cooked with the energy of fire. Eat it while it is fresh. You will be in sattva. You will be in bliss.

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

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

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

17.17 The above mentioned threefold austerity (of thought, word, and deed),

practiced by yogis with supreme sincerity, without a desire for the fruit, is said to be in the mode of goodness.

17.18 Austerity that is performed for gaining respect, honor, reverence, and for the sake of show, yielding an uncertain and temporary result, is said to be in the mode of aggression.

paarthaaya pratibodhitaam bhagavataa naaraayanena svayam vyaasena grathitaam puraanamuninaa madhye mahaabhaaratam Advaitaamrutavarshineem Bhagavateem ashtaadsaadhyaayineem Amba tvaamanusandadhaami bhagavadgeete bhavadveshineem

Om paarthaaya pratibodhitaam bhagavataa naaraayanena svayam Vyaasena grathitaam puraanamuninaa madhye mahaabhaaratam Advaitaamrutavarshineem Bhagavateem ashtaadsaadhyaayineem Amba tvaamanusandadhaami bhagavadgeete bhavadveshineem

OM, I meditate upon you, Bhagavad Gita the affectionate Mother, the Divine Mother showering the nectar of non duality and destroying rebirth, (who was) incorporated into the Mahaabhaarata of eighteen chapters by sage Vyasa, the author of the Puraanaas, and imparted to Arjuna by Lord Narayana, Himself.

vasaudovasautM dovaM kmsacaaNaUrmad-nama\ dovakIprmaanandM kRYNaM vando jagad\gauruM

Vasudeva Sutam Devam Kamsa Chaanura Mardanam Devakee Paramaanandam Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum

I salute you Lord Krishna, Teacher to the world, son of Vasudeva and Supreme bliss of Devaki, Destroyer of Kamsa and Chaanura.

जेन उवाच

ये शास्त्रविधिमूत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः । तेषां निष्ठा तु का कुष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः।।१७.१।।

arjuna uvaca

ye sastra-vidhim utsrjya yajante shraddhayanvitah tesam nistha tu ka Krishna sattvam aho rajas tamah 17.1

arjunah uvaca: Arjuna said; ye: those; sastra-vidhim: the regulations

of scripture; utsrjya: giving up; yajante: worship; shraddhaya: sincerity; anvitah: possessed of; tesam: of them; nistha: faith; tu: but; ka: what is that; Krishna: O Krishna; sattvam: in goodness; aho: said; rajah: in aggression; tamah: in ignorance.

17.1 Arjuna said: What is the mode of devotion of those who perform spiritual practices with sincerity, but without following the scriptural injunctions, O Krishna? Is it in the mode of goodness, aggression or ignorance?

श्री भगवानवाच

त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा। सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां श्रुणू। ११७.२ ।

shri bhaqavan uvaca tri vidha bhavati shraddha dehinam sa svabhava-ja sattviki rajasi caiva tamasi ceti tam srnu 17.2

sri-bhagavan uvaca: Krishna said; tri-vidha: three kinds; bhavati: become; shraddha: sincerity; dehinam: of the body; sa: that; sva-bhava-ja: according to his nature; sattviki: nature of goodness; rajasi: nature of aggression; ca: also; eva: certainly; tamasi: nature of ignorance; ca: and; iti: thus; tam: that; srnu: hear from Me.

17.2 The Supreme Lord said: The natural faith of embodied beings is of three kinds: goodness, aggression, and ignorance. Now hear about these from Me.

सत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत। श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छूद्धः स व सः।।१७.३।।

satvaanurupa sarvasya shraddha bhavati bhaarata shraddha mayoyam purusho yo yachhraddhaha savamsaha

17.3

sattva-anurupa: according to the existence; sarvasya: of everyone; shraddha: sincerity; bhavati: becomes; bharata: O son of Bharata; shraddha: sincerity; mayah: full; ayam: this; purusah: living entity; yah: anyone; yat: that; shraddhah: sincerity; sah: that; eva: certainly; sah: he.

17.3 O Arjuna, the sincerity of each is in accordance with one's own natural disposition. One is known by one's sincerity. One can become whatever one wants to be.

यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः । प्रेतान्भतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः । ११७.४ ।

yajante sattvika devan yaksa raksamsi rajasah pretan bhutaganams canye yajante tamasa janah 17.4

yajante: worship; sattvikah: those who are in the mode of goodness; devan: deities; yaksa-raksamsi rajasah: those who are in the mode of aggression worship demons; pretan: dead spirits; bhuta-ganan: ghosts; ca anye: and others; yajante: worship; tamasah: in the mode of ignorance; janah: people.

17.4 Men in the nature of goodness worship the deities; those in the nature of aggression worship the demons and those in the nature of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः। दम्भाहरूकारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः । । १७.५ । ।

कर्षयन्तः शरीरस्थं भूतग्राममचेतसः । मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विदध्यासूरनिश्चयान।।१७.६।।

asastra-vihitam ghoram tapyante ye tapo janah dambhahankara-samyuktah kama-raga-balanvitah 17.5 karsayantah sarira-stham bhuta-gramam acetasah mam caivantah sarira-stham tan viddhy asura-niscayan 17.6

asastra: not mentioned in the scriptures; vihitam: directed; ghoram: harmful to others; tapyante: undergo

penances; ye: those; tapah: austerities; janah: persons; dambha: pride; ahankara: egoism; samyuktah: engaged; kama: lust; raga: attachment; bala: force; anvitah- -impelled by; karsayantah: tormenting; sarira-stham: situated within the body; bhuta-gramam: combination of material elements; acetasah: by such a misled mentality; mam: to Me; ca: also; eva: certainly; antah: within; sarira-stham: situated in the body; tan: them; viddhi: understand; asura: demons; niscayan: certainly.

17.5,6 Ignorant persons of demonic nature are those who practice severe austerities without following the prescription of the scriptures, who are full of hypocrisy and egotism, who are impelled by the force of desire and attachment and who senselessly torture the elements in their body and also Me who dwells within the body.

आहारस्त्वपि सर्वस्य त्रिविधो भवति प्रियः । यज्ञस्तपस्तथा दानं तेषां भेदमिमं श्रुणू। 17.7

aharas tv api sarvasya tri-vidho bhavati priyah yajnas tapas tatha danam tesam bhedam imam srnu

aharah: eating; tu: certainly; api: also; sarvasya: of everyone; tri-vidhah: three kinds; bhavati: there are; priyah: dear; yajnah: sacrifice; tapah: austerity; tatha: also; danam: charity; tesam: of them; bhedam: differences; imam: thus; srnu: hear.

17.7 Food that we consume is of three kinds, according to the three types of material nature. So are

the sacrifice, austerity and charity. Hear the difference between these three.

आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसूखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः । रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः साक्त्विकप्रियाः । 17.8

ayuh sattva balarogya sukha priti vivardhanah rasyah snigdhah sthira hrdya aharah sattvika-priyah

ayuh: duration of life; sattva: existence; bala: strength; arogya:health; sukha: happiness; priti: satisfaction; vivardhanah: increasing; rasyah: juicy; snigdhah: fatty; sthirah: enduring; hrdyah: pleasing to the heart; aharah: food; sattvika: goodness; priyah: palatable.

17.8 The foods that promote longevity, virtue, strength, health, happiness, and joy are juicy, smooth, substantial, and nutritious. Such foods are liked by persons in the mode of goodness.

कटवम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः । आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः 17.9

katv amla lavanaty usna tiksna ruksa vidahinah ahara rajasasyesta duhkha sokamaya pradah

katu: bitter; amla: sour; lavana: salty; ati-usna: very hot; tiksna: pungent; ruksa: dry; vidahinah: burning; aharah: food; rajasasya: in the mode of aggression; istah: palatable; dukkha: distress; soka: misery; amaya pradah: causing disease.

17.9 People in the mode of aggression like foods that are very bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, and burning, and cause pain, grief, and disease.

यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्यूषितं च यत । उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् 17.10

yata yamam gata rasam puti paryusitam ca yat ucchistam api camedhyam bhojanam tamasa-priyam

yata-yamam: food cooked three hours before being eaten; gata-rasam: tasteless; puti: bad smelling; parqusitam: decomposed; ca: also; yat: that which; ucchistam: remnants of food eaten by others; api: also; ca: and; amedhyam: untouchable; bhojanam: eating; tamasa: in the mode of darkness; priyam: dear.

17.10 People in the mode of ignorance like foods that are stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, refuse, and of impure energy.

अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते। यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स् सात्त्विकः 17.11

aphalakanksibhir yajno vidhi dristo ya ijyate yastavyam eveti manah samadhaya sa sattvikah

aphala-akanksibhih: without desire for result; yajnah: sacrifice; vidhi: accordingly; dristah: direction; yah: anyone; ijyate: performs; uastavyam: must be performed; eva: certainly; iti: thus; manah: mind; samadhaya: fixed in; sah: he; sattvikah: in the nature of goodness.

17.11 Sacrifice without expectation of results, as stipulated in the scriptures, with a firm belief and conviction that it is a duty, is in the mode of goodness

अभिसंधाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत। इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम 17.12

abhisandhaya tu phalam dambharthamapi chaiva yat ijyate bharatasreshtha tam yajnam viddhi raajasam

abhisandhaya: desiring; tu: but; phalam: the result; dambha: pride; artham: for the sake of; api: also; ca: and; eva: certainly; yat: that which; ijyate: is offered; bharatasrestha: O chief of the Bharatas; tam: that; yajnam: sacrifice; viddhi: know; rajasam: in the mode of aggression.

17.12 O Arjuna, that sacrifice that is performed with expectation of result or for show out of pride, is of the nature of aggression.

विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम । श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञां तामसं परिचक्षते 17.13

vidhihinamasrstannam mantrahinamadakshinam shraddhavirahitam yajnam tamasam parichakshate

vidhi-hinam: without scriptural direction; asrsta-annam: without distribution of prasadam; mantra-hinam: with no chanting of the Vedic hymns; adakshinam: with no remunerations to the priests; shraddha: sincerity; virahitam: without; yajnam: sacrifice; tamasam: in the mode of ignorance; paricakshate: is to be considered.

17.13 Sacrifice that is performed without following the scripture, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of mantra, sincerity, and gift, is said to be in the mode of ignorance

näù´ÉÊuùVÉMÉÖ¯û|ÉÉYÉ{ÉÚVÉxÉÆ ¶ÉÉèSɨÉÉVÉǴɨÉÂ* ¥ÉÀSɪÉǨÉ˽þºÉÉ SÉ ¶ÉÉ®úÒ®Æú iÉ{É =SªÉiÉä17.14

deva dvija guru prajna pujanam saucam arjavam brahmacaryam ahimsa ca sariram tapa ucyate

deva: deities; dvija: the priest; guru: the master; prajna: worshipable personalities; pujanam: worship; saucam: cleanliness; arjavam: simplicity; brahmacaryam: living in reality; ahimsa: nonviolence; ca: also; sariram: pertaining to the body; tapah: austerity; ucyate: is said to be.

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

+xÉÖuäùMÉEò®Æú ´ÉÉCªÉÆ ºÉiªÉÆ Ê|ɪÉʽþiÉÆ SÉ ªÉiÉÂ* º´ÉÉvªÉɪÉɦªÉºÉxÉÆ SÉè´É ´ÉÉRÂó¨ÉªÉÆ iÉ{É =SªÉiÉä17.15

anudvega karam vakyam satyam priya hitam ca yat svadhyayabhyasanam caiva van-mayam tapa ucyate

anudvega: not agitating; karam: producing; vakyam: words; satyam: truthful; priya: dear; hitam: beneficial; ca: also; yat: which; svadhyaya: Vedic study; abhyasanam: practice; ca: also; eva: certainly; van-mayam: of the voice; tapah: austerity; ucyate: is said to be.

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

मनःप्रसादः सौम्यत्वं मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः। भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते । 17.16

manah-prasadah saumyatvam maunam atma-vinigrahah bhava-samsuddhir ity etat tapo manasam ucyate

manah-prasadah: fulfillment of the mind; saumyatvam: satisfied; maunam: gravity; atma: self; vinigrahah: control; bhava: nature; samsuddhih: purification; iti: thus; etat: that is; tapah: austerity; manasam: of the mind; ucyate: is said to be.

17.16 Serenity of mind, gentleness, equanimity, selfcontrol, and purity of thought are called austerity of thought.

श्रद्धया परया तप्तं तपस्तत्त्रिविधं नरेः। अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्युक्तैः सात्त्विकं परिचक्षते 17.17

shraddhaya paraya taptam tapas tat tri-vidham naraih aphalakanksibhir yuktaih sattvikam paricaksate

shraddhaya: with sincerity; paraya: transcendental; taptam: execution; tapah: austerity; tat: that; tri-vidham: three kinds; naraih: by men; aphala-akanksibhih: without desires for fruits; yuktaih: engaged; sattvikam: in the mode of goodness; paricaksate: is called.

17.17 The above mentioned threefold austerity (of thought, word, and deed), practiced by yogis with supreme sincerity, without a desire for the fruit, is said to be in the mode of goodness.

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satkara mana pujartham tapo dambhena caiva yat kriyate tad iha proktam rajasam calam adhruvam

sat-kara: respect; mana: honor; puja-artham: for worship; tapah: austerity; dambhena: pride; ca: also; eva: certainly; yat: which is; kriyate: performed; tat: that; iha: in this world; proktam: is said; rajasam: in the mode of aggression; calam: flickering; adhruvam: temporary.

17.18 Austerity that is performed for gaining respect, honor, reverence, and for the sake of show, yielding an uncertain and temporary result, is said to be in the mode of aggression.

मढग्राहेणात्मनो यत्पीडया क्रियते तपः । परस्योत्सादनार्थं वा तत्तामसमूदाहृतम् । 17.19

mudha grahenatmano yat pidaya kriyate tapah parasyotsadanartham va tat tamasam udahrtam

mudha: foolish; grahena: with endeavor; atmanah: of one's own self;

yat: which; pidaya: by torture; kriyate: is performed; tapah: penance;

parasya: to others; utsadana-artham: causing annihilation; va: or; tat: that; tamasam: in the mode of darkness; udahrtam: is said to be.

17.19 Austerity performed with foolish stubbornness or with self-torture or for harming others, is said to be in the mode of ignorance.

दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे । देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम 17.20

datavyam iti yad danam diyate anupakarine dese kale ca patre ca tad danam sattvikam smrtam

datavyam: worth giving; iti: thus; yat: that which; danam: charity; diyate: given; anupakarine: to person who does no service in return; dese: in place; kale: in time; ca: also; patre: suitable person; ca: and; tat: that; danam: charity; sattvikam: in the mode of goodness; smrtam: consider.

17. 20 Charity that is given at the right place and time as a matter of duty to a deserving candidate who does nothing in return, is considered to be in the mode of goodness.

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yat tu pratyupakarartham phalam uddisya va punah diyate ca pariklistam tad danam rajasam smrtam

yat: that which; tu: but; prati-upakara-artham: for the sake of getting some return; phalam: result; uddisya: desiring; va: or; punah: again; diyate: is given in charity; ca: also; pariklistam: grudgingly; tat: that; danam: charity; rajasam: in the mode of aggression; smrtam: is understood to be.

17.21 Charity that is given unwillingly or to get something in return or to gain some result is in the mode of aggression.

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adesa kale yad danam apatrebhyas ca diyate asat-krtam avajnatam tat tamasam udahrtam

adesa: unpurified place; kale: unpurified time; yat: that which; danam: charity; apatrebhyah: to unworthy persons; ca: also; diyate: is given; asat-krtam: without respect; avajnatam: without proper attention; tat: that; tamasam: in the mode of darkness; udahrtam: is said to be.

17.22 Charity that is given at a wrong place and time to unworthy persons or without paying respect to the receiver or with ridicule is in the mode of ignorance.