Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13

INTRODUCTION

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Kṛṣṇa again and again talks about the true nature of the Self. He tells Arjuna that the soul is free from all entanglements. It is eternal and transcendental. Kṛṣṇa says that though the soul has come into contact with the material body, it still is free.

Kṛṣṇa says that just as the sun illuminates our whole world, one Supreme Self— Paramātma, that is one kṣetrajña, illuminates all beings in the Universe, whether they are animate or inanimate. He says everything has the same consciousness.

Kṛṣṇa gives more and more examples. The sun sheds light on the surrounding planets. The darkness on the planets is removed by the sun's light. In the same way, the Supreme Self, kṣetrajña, lights up all beings in the Universe. The ultimate consciousness lights up the entire Universe. All beings of the Universe have this consciousness.

OUR IGNORANCE THE WALL

Kṣetri is the Self. This Self illumines all the kṣetra, all the bodies. Not just our body or kṣetra is illumined but all the kṣetra are illumined. The consciousness present in each of us is the hologram of the supreme Self. So there is no separation between the consciousness present in our body and the consciousness present in a plant or a rock. Everything is the same energy.

The sun lights up everything that is around. There is no partiality. It does not discriminate. Whatever comes its way, it removes the darkness from it. In the same way, the supreme Self present in us illumines everything in the Universe. Our ignorance separates the soul from the Supreme Soul.

THERE IS NO BOUNDARY

Actually to even use two different words—soul and Supreme Soul, ātma and parmātma—is not correct. There are no two separate entities called soul and Supreme Soul. There is only soul. There is only one. Everything in this Universe has the Supreme Soul. Our mind draws boundaries.

Our mind knows that if it opens the lid, the soul and the Supreme Soul will become one. Our mind knows that the soul in this body and the Supreme Soul are one and the same; there is no difference between the two. So our mind fears that if it opens the lid, our whole identity will be lost and we will become the same as everyone else. Our mind does not want this to happen. So we continuously hold onto our individual ego. Only when we realize that we are all connected, that everything in this universe is the same universal consciousness, will we break open the container and merge with the Supreme Soul.

Here Kṛṣṇa ends by saying, ‘If we can witness as pure consciousness, we will be liberated from the bondages of the body-mind and achieve the eternal consciousness.’ Kṛṣṇa gives a technique to realize the eternal consciousness.

WITNESS AND BE LIBERATED

Becoming the witness of the
kṣetra is the only way to keep
us away from the bondages of
the body-mind. We must
witness as the kṣetrajña,
consciousness. When we do
that we will see the separation
of the Self from the body and
mind.

When we witness these
movements happening in our
system, we separate ourselves
from the body-mind system.
When we watch them like
clouds in the sky, when we
watch them like a movie on a
screen, without getting
attached, we see the truth.

The Cosmos functions with a mutual law, dharma of —‘don’t give onto others what should not be given to you. If you don’t give to others what should not be given to you, what should not be given to you, will not be given to you by others.’ It is a cosmic law of life.

Please internalize! When you don’t have fear of thinking, thinking will not give fear to you. Both of you, you and your thinking, you and your body and mind, come to a peace agreement—‘till today, we had war. Let us stop the war. Let us come to an agreement. I will not be afraid of you and you don’t be afraid of me.’ This agreement is what I call as Integrity. You not having fear of thinking and thinking not having fear of you, this agreement is Integrity.

Witness the mind like a friend with integrity. Let whatever is inside come out with friendliness. There’s nothing wrong. Neither support nor suppress. If we support, we will go after the garbage. If we suppress, we will end up analyzing the garbage and pushing it aside. Neither approach is going to work. Just witness and be complete.

Witnessing acts like fire. All the thoughts are burned away and what remains is the pure space of completion. Understand, neither suppressing nor supporting your thoughts will work. Only witnessing with integrity works.

When we go deep into our being, into our space of completion, the witnessing consciousness automatically creates intelligence. Understand that we don't need to be in that space all twenty-four hours of each day. Even if we get a few glimpses, that is enough. That energy will guide our whole life. If we understand the silence that happens to us when we are witnessing, even for a few seconds, we will taste it and start acting on it. Only out of these few moments does the energy of great creation and achievement happen.

When we do completion, creation simply happens. Enriching will just be our lifestyle. When we are in the space of completion, we will simply create and enrich everyone. All great things are achieved from the consciousness and intuition that is beyond the body-mind. They are products of the witnessing consciousness. This is true not only in the field of science but in arts, spirituality or any field.

When we are beyond the body and
mind, we bring the maximum powers
out of our being. We start expressing
the power of words through integrity,
the power of thinking through
authenticity, and ultimately the
powers of feeling and living through
responsibility and enriching.

The ultimate expression of our being
happens when we are Whole.
Whenever we are whole, we are holy.
Understand that witnessing
consciousness or being in the space of
completion is the only path to
Wholeness or Holiness.

GOALS:

Helping the students understand

the true nature of the Soul,

always free. Guiding the students

in the Svapūrṇatva Kriya - Self-

completion Process - where they

witness all movements with

friendliness.

ASSESSMENTS

❖ .What is the true nature of the self

❖ How is the Supreme Self similar to the Sun?

❖ What attitude should we have when we witness the mind?

❖ What power manifests through integrity?

❖ What power manifests through authenticity?

❖ What powers manifest through responsibility and enriching?

ART OF THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY:

OUR SOUL IS LIKE THE LOTUS PLANT

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Watercolour paper

Watercolours

Watercolour crayons (optional)

Cup of water

Kitchen paper

Watercolour brush

Old towel (to protect the floor) Lotus flower picture (optional as student can create their own version of a lotus).

Illustration of a person sitting in a lotus position

PROCEDURE:

Tell the students to draw their own version of a lotus plant and to illustrate how the water droplets simply fall on the leaves without getting attached.

Ask the students to contemplate and share on how the soul is similar to those droplets of water. Then, you can read the “inference” to the students for deeper understanding of the true nature of the Soul.

ART OF THE DAY:

OUR SOUL IS LIKE THE LOTUS PLANT

INFERENCE:

The soul actually does nothing. It does not entangle itself in the web of greed and fear. It is the mind that continuously adds new desires to the list and keeps the body running after them. Internally, the soul is always free. It has no bondage.

It is like the lotus plant in a lake. Water droplets that fall on the lotus leaves do not get attached to the leaves. They simply roll off and merge with the water again.

In the same way, the soul that rests inside this body is completely free from worldly joys and sorrows. It is like the drops of water. The soul, Ātma can simply merge into the Supreme Soul, Paramātma. Only the body is related to the worldly happenings. The soul is not involved at all.

Illustration of a person playing a flute, flanked by two large feathers

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Mirror

PROCEDURE:

Read out the technique as explained by Swamiji:

Let me explain the technique. The technique may take at least ten minutes.

You are going to witness your body movements, breath movements and mind movements: movements of your body, movements of your breath and movements of your mind. You may ask what kind of body movements do we have?

Understand that by inhaling and exhaling, your belly will be moving continuously up and down. There will be a slight movement of your belly during your breathing. Witness that movement.

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

PROCEDURE:

Next, watch the flow of your breath during inhaling and exhaling, without any attempt to control it.

Third, watch your mind. Thoughts will be going on. Please do not judge your thoughts as right or wrong. Don't be afraid of your thinking. For a few minutes, sit comfortably next to your mind, like a close friend. You can place a mirror in front of you and cognize that the person in the mirror is your incomplete half, your mind who is your close friend. Let it tell you whatever it wants to. Let it

A portrait of Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

PROCEDURE:

Speak out loud whatever it wants. Without speaking, your thinking will not have its clarity, depth and strength. Allow your mind to talk, talk and talk and make it as part of you by befriending it.

Witness all these with no attachment. Do not stop, control or go behind anything. This is the self-completion process (svapūrṇatva kriya) with your mind.

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

INFERENCE:

We continuously fight with our body and mind. We cannot get rid of the body and mind by constantly fighting with them. We can only go beyond them through friendliness. Only if we feel deeply friendly towards them, will we be able to go beyond body and mind. If we have a negative emotion of fear or greed towards the body-mind, we will naturally abuse and only have a violent relationship with it. Be complete with the body and the mind

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Topic Of Discussion:

The ultimate expression of our being happens when we are Whole. Ask the students to express their understandings and to then write a short essay about it.

You can ask students questions such as:

What does “being whole” mean?

What makes us feel “hole/not whole”?

How can we become whole?

How can witnessing consciousness create intelligence?

What is one’s ultimate expression?

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Conclusion:

Whenever we are whole, we are holy. Understand that witnessing consciousness or being in the space of completion is the only path to Wholeness or Holiness.

A digital rendering of Nithyananda Paramashivam