To Know Me Is To Be Liberated

4.9 One who knows or experiences my divine appearance and activities does not take birth again in this material world after leaving the body

But attains me, O Arjuna.

4.10 Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being filled with me and by taking refuge in me,

Many beings in the past have become sanctified by the knowledge of me and have realized me.

4.11 I reward everyone, I show myself to all people, according to the manner in which they surrender unto me,

In the manner that they are devoted to me, o Partha!

4.12 Men in this world desire success from activities and therefore they worship the gods.

Men get instant results from active work in this world.

This is a very strange statement. He says, 'One who understands the nature of My appearance and activities will be liberated from this birth and death cycle.'

How can it be? He says, 'Understand my transcendental nature of birthlessness and deathlessness.' Just now He said he is birthless and deathless. Ajopi: I am birthless. Just now He says, ajopi san avyaya atma bhutanam ishwaropi san. He says, 'I am birthless and deathless.'

Now He says, 'If you understand the truth of the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities, once you leave the body, you will not take birth and death like ordinary humans do. If you understand My transcendental nature, you will also achieve the same transcendental nature.'

'If you understand that I don't take body, you will also realize and you also will not take the body. If you understand I am liberated, you will realize that you are also liberated.' How can it be?

We will start with an incident from Ramana Maharishi's life. In the presence of Ramana Maharishi, everyday they used to sing some songs. There is a song called. 'Ramana Satguru', which means 'Praising Ramana Maharishi, Ramana is the true Master.' So when the song is sung, Ramana himself used to sing along with the devotees.

Not only would he be sitting and enjoying, he would also be singing along with the devotees. Somebody asked him, 'What is this? You are an enlightened person, you yourself are singing your own name. You are also singing, Ramana satguru Ramana satguru. What do you mean by this?'

Bhagavan says, 'Fool! Why are you reducing Ramana to this six feet body? Why are you reducing me to this six feet body?'

This is a deep, very subtle thing; difficult to understand. He says, 'Just as you are all seeing this body from a distance, in the same way, I am also seeing this body. For you Ramana is somebody. For me also Ramana is somebody! I am not associating with this name and form. That is the reason why just like how you all can enjoy singing the name, I also enjoy, because I have not associated myself with this form.'

I tell you, an egoistic person, at least in public will not show that he enjoys, because, if he shows, people will see that he is egoistic. An egoistic man will make others praise him. He will never be open. Here, Ramana Maharishi is totally open. He is straight. He says, 'Just like you enjoy, I also enjoy this name, enjoy this form, because I don't feel this is me. I don't feel associated with it. The name is just getting repeated, that's all.'

Another incident: one of his disciples, Muruganathan writes 'Ramana Puranam'. It is the stotra (verses in praise) of Ramana Maharishi. He wrote a few lines and somehow he was not able to write further. So he just brings the paper and puts it at the feet of the Master and says, 'Bhagavan, I am not able to write.' Bhagavan says, 'Alright, you go, let us see tomorrow.' The next day when the disciple comes back, he sees that the poem is completed.

Bhagavan himself wrote and completed it. He wrote three hundred lines and completed the whole poem. The disciple was surprised. Bhagavan himself had written about himself; his own stotra, written by himself!

Later, when the disciple published it, when it came out as a book, the author put a small footnote: 'From this line onwards it was written by Bhagavan himself', just so that the devotees would be aware that those particular verses were Bhagavan's own words.

The first copy of the book was taken to Bhagavan. Bhagavan just saw the book, saw the footnote: 'From this line onwards it was written by Bhagavan himself.'

He turned to the disciple and asked, 'Oh! Were the other lines written by you then?'

Understand, he asks, 'Oh! Does it mean that the other lines are all written by you?'

Bhagavan said, 'When you wrote all those verses, it was I who wrote through you. You cannot think about me. You cannot write about me. What do you know about me?

Unless I express myself through you, you cannot know anything about me.'

Only a man who has disappeared into the divine consciousness can write his poem.

In the Bhagavatam (life story of Lord Krishna), Krishna himself sings, 'I am the Lord,' just like how He now says, bhutanam ishwaropi.

Here, He says beautifully, this word is such a beautiful word: bhutanam ishwaropi: I am the Lord of all living beings.

A mere boy from Brindavan, a cowherd boy from Brindavan, says this! See, you should not look at Krishna from today's perspective. You should understand the whole scene as it happened, when this happened on the battlefield at Kurukshetra.

Now, because of time, we have accepted Krishna as God. But this was said when He was alive. When He was alive, people could not accept him as God. Hardly a few people realized that He was God.

When Rama was walking on planet Earth, only the saptarishis (the energy of seven sages that controls the world) knew He was an incarnation. Nobody else knew. In the same way, when Krishna was alive, very few people recognized who He was. At least Rama lived a controlled life; he is easy for people to accept. But Krishna lived such an ecstatic and spontaneous life; it is very difficult to realize Krishna!

For a socially intellectual person, or a so-called religious person, it is very difficult to realize Krishna, very difficult to understand Krishna. But He says, bhutanam ishwaropi, I am the Lord of all living entities.

Naturally, it is difficult for them to understand. It is very difficult for people to understand. Somebody asks Ramana, 'Why are you speaking about yourself? Why are you expressing your own glory?'

Bhagavan says, 'If I don't tell about myself, you can never understand me. Unless I reveal, you can never realize. Unless I express, you can never understand. Just out of my compassion for all of you, I express the truth, I express myself.'

It is like this: you are going somewhere and you see a traffic jam on the road. You know one of your friends is traveling ahead of you on the same road. You ring up and ask him, 'How is it at that place? Is there a traffic jam? Can I come by the same road or should I take some other road?' Will he not have the simple basic courtesy to guide you? He will surely have that basic courtesy.

He will tell you, 'No, no, this route is okay, you come. In ten minutes everything will become alright. In this area there is no traffic jam.' He will give you some instructions. He will guide you.

With the same basic courtesy, Krishna is revealing his truth towards you. He is revealing his truth to all of us. He is revealing his truth to us. It is just a simple basic courtesy of help for fellow travelers.

Here, when He says, 'I am God, I am the ultimate,' He says there is a possibility - when I can achieve, why not you?' He shows the possibility, He gives us the courage, He encourages us. Here He says, 'When I can achieve, why not you?'

It is like a seed always afraid of rupturing to become a tree. It always feels, 'If I break and the tree doesn't happen, then what will happen? I will die.' But the tree tells the seed, 'Unless you open, I cannot happen.' Unless the seed opens, the tree cannot happen. The seed says, 'No, no, no, let the tree happen; then I will open.' But the tree says, 'No, no, first you have to open, only then I can happen.' The problem between the tree and the seed continues endlessly.

It is necessary for somebody to give a little courage to the seed. A tree that was a seed once and now has become tree, one such tree comes and says, 'Oh seed, don't worry, open, I was also a seed. I opened and today I have become a tree. Be courageous. Don't worry. You will never perish. Open. Just like me you will also become a tree.'

In the manner how the tree gives courage to the seed, in the same way Krishna gives courage to us. You can also become God, like me. You can also experience the truth like me.

When He says, 'I am the ultimate,' He expresses the possibility. He shows us the possibility. He again and again reminds us of our potentiality. He inspires us to enter into the same consciousness. He inspires us to experience the same bliss. He shows us the way of the truth, which we need to experience.

When Krishna reveals this truth, be very clear, Krishna is not egoistic. He is expressing His true nature out of simple basic courtesy to fellow travelers.

The senior tree encourages the junior seed to open up and become a tree. The tree assures the seed. It says, 'Don't worry, I have become a tree. You can also become like me. You don't have to feel you will disappear.' It is an assurance.

That is why again and again I tell you, when He tells us 'I am God', He means, 'You too are God.' He gives you the courage; He encourages you to enter into the same experience.

And one more thing we need to understand, as I was telling you, as Ramana says, 'Why do you reduce Ramana to this six feet body?' Ramana is far superior, far greater than his six feet body.

When enlightened Masters say 'I', they don't have any meaning behind that 'I'. Only the divinity speaks. For a normal man, take yourself for example, when you say the word 'God' it is just a word. There is no meaning behind it. At the most, you will have some imagination about God, that's all. There is no solid meaning behind that word when you use it. But when you say 'I', you attribute a solid meaning for it, you have a solid identity. You know clearly what you mean. But when you say 'God', you don't know what you mean. The emotion or the understanding is not supported well with any experience. The word is not supported by an emotional understanding or experience.

But with enlightened people, when they say 'God', it is based on solid experience and when they say 'I', it has no meaning. It is just for utility sake that they use the word 'I'. It is an empty word for them. Because they can't use any other word, they use the word 'I'. They have to use some word; there is no other way. That is the reason they use the word 'I'.

There was a great enlightened Master. His name was Nisargadatta Maharaj. He lived in Bharat. Somebody went to him and asked, 'Master, you say enlightened people don't have karma. But how can you speak? How can you do all your activities if you don't have karma?'

He said, 'I am not doing anything!' The disciple asked, 'No, you are speaking to me. How can you speak to me if you don't have karma?' Nisargadatta Maharaj said straightaway, 'I am not speaking to you.' He said, 'I am not speaking to you!'

He was saying the words and yet he said, 'I am not speaking to you.' It is very difficult to understand!

Then Maharaj says, 'Because you wanted me to speak, the speaking is happening through this body. There is nobody inside.' He was just like a hollow bamboo. When the breeze enters a hollow bamboo, it comes out as music. There is nobody inside, just empty hollow bamboo. That is why whatever goes in comes out as music.

When you become like a hollow bamboo, whatever words come out of your mouth become a mantra, a sacred syllable. Your form becomes yantra, the tool of liberation, and your whole life becomes tantra, a technique for liberation. Your words are sastra, scriptures. Your form is the center for stotra, devotional prayers. And your life is sutra, the technique. Your very life is sutra.

Here, when Krishna says, 'I', there is nobody inside. It is just the Divine that is speaking; just the emptiness that is speaking.

Then the disciple asks Nisargadatta Maharaj, 'Then how do you say I am not speaking to you?' What do you mean by the word 'I'?

Maharaj says, 'Because there is no other word, I have to use the word 'I'.' But this 'I' has got no meaning like how your 'I' has. Your 'I' is supported by experience. When you say the word 'God', it is an empty word. It is not supported by experience.'

When you say the word 'I', it is supported by solid experience. You know it. You feel it. If somebody asks, 'Are you mad?' you shout at them to prove it! When somebody asks, 'Are you a dog?' you just bark at them and prove it! You know, the 'I' in you is solid. It has got meaning.

But when you utter the word 'God', it has no meaning. It is superficial, some imagination which you created through what you read in some books; something which was taught to you in some discourse; which you heard when you were a small child from your mother. That's all.

But when enlightened people, like enlightened Masters, say the word 'I', it has no meaning. How the word 'God' is empty for you, the word 'I' is empty for them. There is no meaning. But when they say the word 'God', there is a solid experience for that word.

Here, when Krishna says 'I', there is nobody inside. It is pure emptiness. Just the Divine speaks through him. Just pure Existence speaks through him. He has become a hollow bamboo. He has become pure energy. That is why He can courageously declare in a battlefield, bhutanam ishwaropi, I am the Lord of all beings.

Sitting in a home, comfortably, where you have all the security, safety, all insurances, all the protection, and declaring 'I am God' is very easy, because there is nothing to risk. There is no risk. You don't need to take any big risk. You don't need to prove anything. Just make the statement, what is there in it? After all it is free! Say whatever you want!

But Krishna is making this statement in a place where He needs to prove it. He is making this statement in a battlefield, where all the risky things are there, where his life itself is at risk. One arrow is enough to finish his body. He will be dead. But He is making this statement in that space. In the battlefield He declares, 'I am God.'

What courage and energy has to be there behind His words! It can come only from a solid experience, a deep conscious experience.

Earlier I told you the story of Alexander threatening an enlightened Master with his sword, and the Master laughing at Alexander. 'Fool', he said, 'what will you destroy? What is in me is indestructible!'

Only an enlightened man can laugh in front of a sword. Alexander is standing with a naked sword and the Master is laughing. He is not bothered. Just imagine, on the street, if somebody is holding a gun towards you, and asking for your wallet, will you be able to laugh? Impossible!

But here, this person is able to laugh, in front of Alexander's sword. The courage that comes out of satya, truth, is the courage that comes out of solid experience. One important thing that the Vedanta scriptures can give you is courage; courage to live, courage to face life and death; courage to see the whole Existence, courage to face the whole Existence.

One of the great disciples of Vivekananda, sister Nivedita asks him, 'Swamiji, if I come with you what will you teach me? What will you give me?'

Vivekananda says, 'I will teach you how to face death.' That is the ultimate teaching. Here, Krishna is giving that ultimate teaching.

In these two verses, He says,

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata Abhyutthanam adharmasya tada atmanam srujamyaham

Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkrutam Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge

Then the next statement is very strange:

Janma karma cha me divyam evam yo vetti tattvataha Tyaktva deham punarjanma naiti mam eti so Arjuna

It means: if you understand the secret of My birth and death, you will be liberated from birth and death, Arjuna.

How? Let us see the secret of the birth and death of Krishna, how we all go through the birth and death cycle.

Now, just as how Krishna made the statement, 'I tell you this because you are my devotee and friend', now I have to make the same statement to you all again.

Here I am going to speak on something which is beyond logic. It is purely experience. Before speaking, I take an oath: whatever I speak is the truth.

Whenever the ultimate truth is uttered, whenever something beyond our logic is uttered, we never receive it completely. Please be very clear: a silent listener is a person who is thinking about something else! A silent listener is a person who is thinking about something else. Whenever something which goes beyond our logic is told, we never receive it.

If we are courageous enough, we fight, we question, we argue. If we don't have that much of courage, we don't allow that word to enter into us. To tell you honestly, we never believe anybody.

Please be very clear: we never believe anybody. It is always an argument. It is always an argument, sometimes open, and at other times, in the mind. If we can't express it openly, we continuously repeat the same words in the mind.

That is why, before entering into the truths, I tell you that what I speak is the truth. If you can, receive it. There is a possibility of transformation, because here I speak the truth that is realized only by experience, which cannot be logically true.

Let me first describe what Near Death Experience is. People who are declared clinically dead, after four or five hours, sometimes come back to life. Especially these mothers-in-law! They don't leave! And, after four or five hours, they come back! I was just joking.

The doctor who created this website went around all over the world, meeting only those types of people; only the people who came back to life after four to five hours, people who are declared medically dead by doctors. He was interested only in those who have come back to life after the doctor's declaration that the person is dead.

He traveled all over the world and met about many people. He has recorded and collected the reminiscences of many people. If you find time, try to see the website. He has collected so many different kinds of experiences from different kinds of people - experiences from Buddhists, experiences from Christians, experiences from Hindus, experiences from Muslims, and so on.

So many religions describe the death process in so many ways. Some say, if you have done punya or merits, you will reach a place called heaven, and St. Peter will be standing at the pearly gates, and only then you will be taken in; if you have committed sins, you will be taken to eternal hell. Each one has got his or her own faith.

Some say there is no hell or heaven and you directly go to Vaikunta (place where Lord Vishnu lives). Some say there will be a special pushpaka vimanam (mythological aircraft), special aircraft, sent from Kailash (place where Shiva resides), where Ramba and Menaka (celestial dancers) will be serving you and you will be directly taken to Shiva's place. There are so many different versions as to what happens after death or what happens at the time of death.

The Katopanishad says you will enter through a tunnel and see the Angushta matra purusha piranam, meaning the light that is thumb sized, which is your soul. You will see the light when the soul leaves the body.

There are so many explanations, so many different kinds of versions as to how death happens, and how your spirit enters into the next body.

This researcher has categorized and explained everything. In the end, after doing research for so many years, he makes one important statement. He says, 'I have studied so many Near Death Experiences. Now I can tell one thing: only when people live, they are Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. That is to say, they belong to different religions. When they die, all of them undergo the same experience.'

He says very clearly, all of them undergo the same experience, and this is the experience that is described in the Katopanishad.

Here, Krishna explains that beautifully. In a much deeper way He explains later in the chapter on Purushottama Yoga. We will see that subject when we come to that chapter. We will study that then. Now I just want to give you an introduction. I just want you to know the science into which we are entering.

He says people belong to different religions only when they are alive. When they are dead, they follow only one path, which is described in the Katopanishad.

Exactly what happens at the time of leaving the body? When you leave the body, the moment the physical body dies and relaxes, the moment the physical body says, 'I cannot hold the soul anymore, I am tired,' that very moment the soul leaves the body.

You decide what you think of as the highest pleasure in your life based upon how you have lived in the 70-80 years. If you think eating is the highest pleasure in your life, naturally you would have spent the whole life in eating. Then at the time of leaving the body, eating is the highest pleasure.

You will think, 'I should take a body which will continuously help me to eat, eat, and eat. Which is the best body?' You see through all the choices. Then you decide: pig body is the best body. Let me take that life!

If you have that thought that sleeping is the greatest, happiest and most joyful experience in your life, if you have lived your whole life in sleep, tamas (inactivity), then you would think, 'I think sleep is the best experience in my life. Why not take the buffalo body? I can then spend my whole life in sleeping.'

Whatever you think is the greatest experience in your life, which senses you have spent the most energy on, the maximum time and maximum part of your inner space, you decide your next birth based on that desire, based on that point.

Please be very clear, nobody else decides your birth, it is you who decides. It is simply you who chooses. It is clearly the conscious decision of your individual soul.

I am ready for any of your questions. Naturally this is a very controversial subject; very difficult to understand. But after this, any question you ask, I will surely. But you need to understand the science of birth and death, the mystery, the secret and mystery behind birth and death.

Here Krishna says beautifully, 'Here I am telling you the secret of things.' Krishna says 'rahasyam hetuduttamam'. 'I am telling you the mysterious ultimate science, Oh my dear devotee and friend: Bhaktosi me sakha cheti rahasyam hetuduttamam: I am telling you the ultimate mysterious science.'

We need to understand one thing: how we take birth. Let us analyze this concept with questions and answers. Understand, now I made few statements: 'You take birth based on your desires, based on how you live in the previous birth. 'Birth and death are your conscious decisions.' These are all the statements that I have made.

We will analyze these statements with questions and answers. Only then we will be able to internalize it. If you just hear these words and go away, they will not go inside you. I always encourage people to ask questions. Because it is only when you question that you will be able to relate with the idea.

Never think that by asking questions everyone around will look at you and you will look like a fool. If you ask a question you may look like a fool. If you don't, you will be a fool! Better to look like a fool than to be a fool.

We will analyze this whole concept - the secret of birth and death, the mysterious science that Krishna delivers, through our question and answers. Then you will be able to internalize this truth. The moment this truth is understood, you will immediately see that life is a blessing.

This life is your decision, please be very clear about it. Including poverty, everything is your decision. Don't think poverty has been forced on you. Even that is your decision. When we take birth, when we assume the body, we take birth based on our fear and greed. On one side, greed pushes us, 'Let me become the son of a king, let me become the son of rich man.' On the other side, our own fears say, 'No no, I can't take on so much of responsibility.' Please be very clear, along with money, a big responsibility of protecting it comes. Along with money, the big responsibility of protecting the money comes. That is why Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, is handed over to Lord Vishnu, the Protector! Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, is neither with the Creator, Brahma, nor with the Destroyer, Shiva. She is with the Protector, with Vishnu.

Along with Lakshmi who represents wealth, the responsibility to protect Her also comes. Most of the time we don't want to take the responsibility. We only want enjoyment. We only want the enjoyment, we don't want the responsibility. That is where the trouble starts. A person who is ready to take on the responsibility as well as the enjoyment, will never miss and will never be deprived.

If you understand this secret mystery clearly, this moment you will feel that your life is a blessing and not a curse. Usually we always blame life. 'If I am given a chance, I would make the world much better than what it is now!' We always think we can develop on the existing creation.

Be very clear, surely God is much more intelligent than us! Whether it is to do with your life or to do with the whole of Existence, He has done the maximum of what can be done. Because we don't understand the mystery of our decisions, we continuously blame life and the person who gave this life to us.

Let me narrate to you a small incident. It really happened. It happened in America. A small boy had autism. He was a small boy who was about seven or eight years old. He was brought to THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM for healing. The father and mother requested of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM, 'Master, please heal him, help him to become alright.' I put my hand on his head and started healing.

Immediately, the boy started talking to me in Tamil, my mother tongue. The family doesn't know Tamil. Even the boy doesn't know even a single word of Tamil.

The parents were shocked. They said, 'We don't know how he is speaking Tamil, because we don't know Tamil.' The boy simply started talking in Tamil with great clarity. They said that normally, even in English he does not speak that fluently. He would utter only one or two words. But that day, straight away he started speaking to me.

And he said, 'Stop healing.' Using Tamil slang, he told me very crudely, 'Stop healing.' I was shocked to first of all hear him speak in Tamil in clear words, and then in a crude rough manner, 'Stop healing!' I was shocked.

Then I asked him, 'Why are you asking me to stop healing?' I thought some evil spirit is there inside his body, maybe some other spirit. So I started asking, 'Who are you? Why are you asking me to stop?'

Then he said, 'I took this decision consciously. I don't want to take the responsibility of leading a regular life. I don't want to take the responsibility of attending school, making money and leading a regular life. That is why I took this affliction. I took this decision of autism consciously.'

The whole thing he spoke to me in Tamil, in my mother tongue. I don't know how you will be able to believe this. Because this is personal, I am not able to give his name and reference. But I tell you honestly that this really happened.

Straightaway he started addressing me: 'I don't want to take the responsibility of life. I am not interested in doing all these regular things, going to school, going through life. That is why I took this type of body. I wanted somebody to take care of me. I want to just enjoy.'

Then I asked him, 'Alright, that is okay, beautiful, but why did you take birth with such nice people?' They are such nice people, why did you take birth through them? Why did you come down as a son for them?'

Then he replied, 'I took birth in their family because they are nice people! They will take care of me. They will not abandon me. Had it been someone else, they would have abandoned me. They wouldn't have taken care of me. That is the reason I took birth in their family.'

All the while, he spoke to me in Tamil. I was shocked. And in the end, by force he removed my hand from his head. Then I said, 'Alright, I cannot interfere in the decision of any individual.' I cannot interfere in anybody's life.

The greatness of God is that He gives you the freedom to be in bondage. Even if it is the ultimate freedom He offers you, He never forces it on you. He gives you the freedom to be in bondage if that was your choice. And in the end, I did not heal him.

The whole thing, your whole birth, is based on your fear and greed. But the enlightened Master's birth is based on love and compassion. The whole secret is this. Ordinary man takes birth based on fear and greed. That is why his whole life is driven by fear and greed. His whole life runs based on fear and greed. Enlightened Masters achieve the body out of love and compassion.

That is why Krishna beautifully says: atma mayaya, because of my own energy, my own shakti, my own maya, I take birth. Sambhavyam atma mayaya prakritim svam adhishthaya sambhavami atma mayaya. 'With my own energy, just out of my love and compassion, I land on this planet Earth.'

The next question that follows is this: how can we be liberated by knowing this truth? In what way is it going to help us directly in our life?