Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13

INTRODUCTION

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The Existence that we see is not comprised of individual entities. We think that we are separate from others around us. In reality, we are all one. The same Supreme Self, Parameśvara that Kṛṣṇa speaks about is present in all of us and in everything we see around us.

In Swamiji’s Own Words: As I tell everyone, ‘I am not here to prove that I am God, I am here to prove that you are God.’

We create a barrier between God and us. We are not ready to believe that what we call God is inside us also. We happily accept someone else standing in front of us as God; however, we cannot accept that the same God is inside us.

GOD IS

EVERYWHERE

Yes, we are all Brahman. God is
everywhere. Divine energy fills and
overflows in all places. The only
problem is we do not see this. We only
see one thing at a time. We see God as
someone different and powerful. We
create a big gap between God and us.

We feel relieved because we have full faith in the Supreme Spirit, Param Īśvara. We have full confidence that the Supreme Spirit will take care of us. We believe in the supreme spirit but we do not believe that the soul that we see in us is also the supreme spirit! We are not able to internalize this truth.

EVERYTHING IS THE SUPREME SPIRIT, PARAMESVARA

The only thing that lives forever is the soul. We should understand that. Everything else must die one day. When we realize this truth, when we understand that only the soul can remain forever, our whole race to get more and more becomes worthless. We realize, ‘What is the use of running after things that we know are not going to be with us forever?

When this is realized, we see the truth.

The mind is the only obstacle on the path to reach the ultimate goal. In the previous verse, Kṛṣṇa tells us how we can see the truth. Here Kṛṣṇa talks about the hurdle that we must cross. He says that when we are not degraded or influenced by the mind, we can see the supreme spirit in everything. Only when we can do that, can we reach the final destination

The reason for the incompletions is that the mind, which should be under the control of man, has become a structure that controls man. If a servant behaves like a master, what will happen? An immature servant becoming a master is like catching a monkey and putting it on the throne. If we can keep the mind aside for a while, we see the truth as it is. Our mind cannot accept that the Supreme Soul is in everything around us. Our soul inside us knows that the Supreme Soul is everywhere. But our mind creates a strong sheath around it. Our mind takes control over us. It harbors past memories (saṃskāras) and creates an illusion that leads to wrong cognition.

We are safe as long as we can
separate the Self from the
body and watch as the body
reacts to materialistic things.
As long as we know that the
soul is supreme and the body
is a means to fulfill our
worldly desires, we are safe.
We are on the right path of
completion. However, when
we place the body over the
soul, the incompletion starts.

SOUL'S

PURPOSE

We must understand why we assume this human body form and come to planet Earth. This birth that we have taken is to fulfill the carried-over desires of our previous births. These desires are called prārabdha karma. Our soul has taken this body to fulfill our prārabdha karma. When we die, our last thought decides our next birth. Our soul chooses the body that can fulfill the desires of our last birth. This is the truth. Understand that we assume a body to fulfill the desires carried over from our previous life. However, what happens is hat we create new desires in this life as well. We use our body to experience the sense pleasures and we create more and more desires. Because of this, we fall into the cycle of birth and death. Once we realize that our soul takes this body to complete a mission that it left unfinished in our previous birth, our attitude towards our whole body will change.

THE SELF DOES NOTHING

Our body is the temple of our soul. We should respect our body. We should look at our body with gratitude, not greed. We should thank our body, prakṛti for holding our spirit, our soul, ātma. Then, we will see a different dimension of our body.

Actually our soul is always in a state of bliss. It is always ecstatic. Our body is an embodiment of bliss. Whatever material things we think we need, whatever material comforts we think we enjoy, they are needed and enjoyed only by our body. Our soul does not need any of them. Kṛṣṇa gives us a technique here. He says, when we watch our body enjoying the sense pleasures, when we watch only our body being associated with the external material comforts and not our soul, we see the truth. Just witness the body. Be aware of your body. Observe the body when it reacts to external things. You will notice a sense of separation from the body. You will see what your body is. You will see that your soul has nothing to do with the pleasures you are enjoying.

When you do this, you witness your body and mind as if you are an outsider. It is like watching a movie. When you watch a movie, you watch what happens on the screen. In the same way, when you watch your body and mind, you understand what Kṛṣṇa says. Only when you witness that the body experiences material pleasures and it is the body that does everything and the soul does not need anything, you see the truth.

Kṛṣṇa gives the great truth of advaita
in this verse. He talks about collective
consciousness. He says when we see
the Supreme Soul in all living beings,
we no longer see the separateness. We
see everything as one single entity.
We see the whole Universe as one
single body, as one entity expressing
the same truth of oneness.

We are all connected. Each and every
living entity is connected to the other.
Your thoughts affect the thoughts of
the person sitting beside you.
Whether or not you believe it, this is
the truth.

You see, your individual
consciousness is like an onion. What
do you see in an onion? There are
layers over layers of skin. When you
peel the onion layer by layer, what is
there inside? Nothing! You are just
like that onion. You think the onion
is solid. Only when you peel, you see
that there is nothing inside it. In the
same manner, if you peel all the
individual body-mind layers, you
experience that you are the collective
consciousness. Once you remove all
the layers, you see that every entity
around you has the same
consciousness. Everything is the same.

From the beginning, from your birth, society starts creating new layers on you. In the process, the innocent, childlike nature that sees the Self in everything is slowly lost in us. As a child you do lots of things through which you connect to the Self. You do not know you are different from soil or earth. That is why you play with mud. But what do parents do? They scold you. ‘Don’t do this. Don’t do that.’ They say, ‘You will get dirty. Your clothes will become dirty.’

We continuously impose societal conditions on the child. The child does not know what is dirty or what is clean. The child sees the soil just the same as the floor. He does not see any difference. He connects to the same energy when he plays on the dusty road or inside a clean house. Adults condition children to see the difference, the duality.

A young deity figure seated in a meditative pose

When we remove these conditionings
caused by our body-mind association,
we see that everything is pure
consciousness. Only then we see that
we are all the same. Only then we
experience the space of non-duality,
Advaita. That is what Kṛṣṇa says here.
When we see that the Supreme Soul
resides in each of us, we see that all
of us are connected to each other.
When we see this, we see the truth of
living Advaita. We see that the whole
Universe is the expansion of the same
consciousness—tata eva ca vistāraṁ
brahma sampadyate tadā (13.31). The
whole Universe is the expression of
the same truth.

A depiction of a Hindu deity, possibly Lord Krishna or a similar divine figure, adorned with jewelry, with a hand raised in a gesture of teaching or blessing

GOALS:

Helping the students experience

themselves as God. Encouraging

the students to contemplate on

the great truth of Advaita

ASSESSMENTS

What is the obstacle on the path of reaching the goal?

When can we reach the final destination?

In what state is our soul in?

What do we understand when we witness our body and mind?

Why do we slowly lose our childlike nature?

What happens when we remove the conditionings caused by our body-mind association?

A red pencil writing on a yellow notepad

ART OF THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY:

LOOK INSIDE!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Paper

Black sharpie

Markers

Glue

Scissors

Pictures of different Gods and Goddesses

PROCEDURE:

Trace your silhouette with a black sharpie on a big paper

Add heads, eyes and arms so that you have a total of 25 heads, 75 eyes and 50 arms like Paramashiva.

Inside your silhouette, write words and glue images that describe or represent your true nature.

Ask the children to visualize themselves as Paramashiva and ask them to share their experience about what it feels like to have so many arms, heads and eyes.

INFERENCE:

Illustration of a person playing a flute surrounded by feathers

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Pencil

Eraser

Paper

Clothes and accessories

PROCEDURE:

Ask students to write a list of all their family conditionings

Ask students to write a list of all their societal conditionings

Then, ask the students to add a layer (piece of clothing or accessory) for each of the conditionings that they have listed.

Ask them to share their experience about how it feels to be covered in so many layers.

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

INFERENCE:

• From the beginning, from your birth, society starts creating new layers on you. In the process, the innocent, childlike nature that sees the Self in everything is slowly lost in us. As a child you do lots of things through which you connect to the Self. You do not know you are different from soil or earth. That is why you play with mud. But what do parents do? They scold you. ‘Don’t do this. Don’t do that.’ They say, ‘You will get dirty. Your clothes will become dirty.

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Topic Of Discussion:

Kṛṣṇa gives the great truth of advaita in this verse. He talks about collective consciousness. He says when we see the Supreme Soul in all living beings, we no longer see the separateness. We see everything as one single entity. We see the whole Universe as one single body, as one entity expressing the same truth of oneness. You can ask students questions such as:

Why is it so hard to believe that we are God?

How do you understand Advaita?

How do we experience ourselves, the world and life when we are in Advaita? What are the effects of conditionings on us?

Is it possible to raise a child without conditioning?

How can we remove conditionings?

A portrait of a deity next to a decorated hand icon

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

CONCLUSION:

When we see that the Supreme Soul resides in each of us, we see that all of us are connected to each other. When we see this, we see the truth of living Advaita. We see that the whole Universe is the expansion of the same consciousness—tata eva ca vistāraṁ brahma sampadyate tadā (13.31). The whole Universe is the expression of the same truth.

BHAGAVAD GITA BOOK XIII, VOLUME X

The Soul Does Nothing

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

iti kṣetraṁ tathā jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ
co ’ktaṁ samāsataḥ madbhakta
etadvijñāya madbhāvāyopapadyate

Thus the field of activities, knowledge and the knowable has been summarily described by Me. It is only when we can understand the true nature of our supreme Self and the material world with which we have created false identities that we can go beyond this and attain the supreme Self itself