Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12

POWERFUL COGNITION

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There is no such thing as good and evil. It is all in our mind. When we understand this truth we are in Kṛṣṇa's realm. That's His promise.

He who does not rejoice or hate or who does not grieve or desire, and who renounces both good and evil and who is full of devotion, he is dear to Me. Kṛṣṇa now goes into another level of controlling the mind. He now refers to one who does not love or hate—yo na harṣyati na dveṣṭi. He is not talking about not loving anyone. When we love the way we do, with conditionality and expectations, it works well as long as these expectations are fulfilled. When something does not work the way we wish it to, the love disappears like a dewdrop in the sun. In its place, hate appears.

Hatred and love are opposite sides of the same coin as long as love is conditional. Love can flip into hatred in a moment, the moment we feel that our expectations are threatened. In love of this type, there is external rejoicing, sharing of joy and happiness and public expression of happiness as long as the emotion remains.

Often, love or what we believe is love is related to time and space. So long as the distance is large and the time of contact is minimal we see a few defects in those we profess to love. Once we get closer and spend more time, we see the real picture. It can also convert love into hatred. To transcend love and hatred which are two different expressions of the same perceived reality, we need to drop expectations. We need to develop a sense of non-attachment. We need to be complete in our love.

We all go through several stages of
relationships in our lifetime. As
children, we are totally dependent upon
parents. Our parents influence us and
our love for our parents is conditional.
We love them only because there is no
option.

Image of a deity seated on an ornate chair

To survive, a child must depend
upon its parents. As we grow into
adolescence, we question many
things we took for granted as an
infant or a child; therefore,
teenagers rebel.
They wish to be independent.
They break rules.

In adulthood, we learn that to
survive and coexist, we need to
follow societal rules and
regulations. We develop skills to
get along with others. We learn to
work and relate with others.
Otherwise, we may become misfits
in society. The single most
important lesson that people learn
in adulthood is that it is important
to relate with people meaningfully.

As we grow and mature,
and the spirit and its
development become
important, we seek
guidance. We look for a
Master. With the Master,
the relationship is the
reverse of what we started
with as a child. We are
once again concerned
about survival, but it is the
survival of the spirit and
not the mind or body. To
help in this survival of the
spirit, the relationship that
we need with the Master is
one of absolute dependence
once again, but with a
difference. For the
relationship to work, it now
needs to be totally
unconditional and based
upon deep trust.

The only relationship that will work with the Master is total and unconditional love out of completion. It is absolute surrender. Surrender transcends love and hate. When one is in a mood of total surrender to the Master or the Divine, both being one and the same, the concept of good and evil, sin and merit disappear.

In a spiritual sense, there is
nothing that is a sin. No one is
sitting up there with a notebook
and pencil and deciding
whether we should go to hell or
heaven by measuring our sins.
There is no hell or heaven. Hell
and heaven are not
geographical. They are
psychological, within our mind.
We commit sins because we are
already in our own hell. We do
well to others when we are in
our space of heaven or bliss.

Kṛṣṇa breaks the mold. He tells
us, ‘Go beyond good and evil,
subha-aśubha parityāgī (12.17).’
He says this because there is no
such thing as good and evil. It is
all in our mind. When we
understand this truth we are in
His realm. That’s His promise.

GOALS:

Impress upon the
students that one must
love all
unconditionally
without expecting
anything in return and
with detachment.