Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13

INTRODUCTION

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Humility, non-violence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching the enlightened spiritual master, cleanliness, steadfastness, self-control, renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of all egos, perception of all the evils of birth and death, old age and diseases, detachment, freedom from all entanglements, even- mindedness amidst pleasant and unpleasant events, constant devotion, aspiring to live in a spiritual way, giving importance to the ultimate truth, and detachment. All these I declare to be knowledge and besides these, whatever there may be, is ignorance.

We cannot really practice these qualities. All we can do is help the consciousness to happen in us so that we start radiating these qualities. These qualities simply happen in us.

OUR MIND IS LIKE A MUDDY TANK

By way of comparison, let us say we want to remove the dirt from a muddy water tank. If we put our hands into the tank and try to take away the mud, what happens? We make it muddier, that’s all. All the dirt that is settled below will come up to the surface. Instead, if we sprinkle a handful of lime powder inside the tank, it will absorb the dirt and we can have clean water in the tank. Our mind is also like a muddy tank. If we try to suppress it and fight with it, we will create more incompletion. Instead just add a little meditation process of completion which is like the lime powder, and relax. Just put in your awareness to complete and relax.

Automatically the impurities will settle down. The moment we become aware and complete, and the witnessing consciousness starts operating, the whole thing settles down. The witnessing consciousness is the lime powder that purifies our being Rāmakṛṣṇa says that if the straight line of integrity connects your mouth and mind, you will be liberated. We cheat ourselves if we engage in an activity because it is appreciated by society and not because we feel it from within. This constant mismatch of internal and external, of what we feel deep within and what we do is inauthenticity, it creates problems.

© 2020 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved Instead of creating consciousness, we start creating the activity. Instead of working on our being, we work on our doing. Our doing is in no way going to help us. Only our being is going to help us. So work on the being and not on the doing. A person who works on his doing may continuously chisel, chisel and chisel his doing; however, his being will face the same old struggle, suppression, suffering, and fighting. Instead, if we work on our being, we will flower and automatically radiate the right energy, the right consciousness!

Illustration of a young deity figure sitting in a meditative pose

YOU ARE UNIQUE

If we practice these qualities just because Kṛṣṇa say that we should, the qualities will never really develop in us. They will remain skin deep. When true non-violence happens, our very being will radiate love, no matter what. Even if an enemy were to stand in front of us, no other emotion but love would remain in us, and that is what Kṛṣṇa really wants.

Divine love does not consider whether a person is a friend or enemy. If we are centered in our being, qualities of love and non-violence happen. All the things that Kṛṣṇa has mentioned in these five verses are an outcome of the flowering of that consciousness, and not things to be practiced. If we practice them to please somebody else, we would become slaves to the people around us.

Normally we believe others’
opinions about us. We accept
their scale as a standard for
measuring ourselves. Then we
get into trouble. This is what I
call ‘guilt’. Guilt is reviewing
our past decisions with
updated intelligence. If we use
our present intelligence to
review our past decisions, we
create guilt and suffering.
Understand, we are updated
every second. We are not the
same as what we were a few
hours ago. Our intelligence is
continuously updated. So
naturally when we look back
and analyze what happened in
the past we feel certain things
could have been avoided

The problem is that we think we run the show. We take everything upon our shoulders and allow emotions like guilt and worry to come in. If we remember that the Universe is pure Intelligence that knows how to take care of our lives, we will simply relax. Also, when we allow the cosmic intelligence to operate, we spontaneously express the beautiful qualities that Kṛṣṇa enumerates. The same cannot be achieved by doing anything.

Kṛṣṇa first talks about humility or amānitvaṃ. Humility can never be achieved by effort. If it is attempted through effort, it looks ugly. Humility happens when we feel that every being is unique. It does not come by thinking that everyone is equal. There are no equals! If we deeply understand that every being is unique, we automatically respect everyone. Every being has something that he contributes to Existence, to life.

SEEKING COMES FROM WITHIN

When we understand that every
being is a unique creation of the
Universe, that the same divinity
that is in us is in them also, we
automatically radiate humility and
the absence of pride. All these
qualities that are supposed to be
radiated by a seeker should simply
happen from within. This is what
Kṛṣṇa explains.

Another important thing: How should
we approach an Enlightened spiritual
Master or ācāryopāsana? He talks about
this in another verse also—tad viddhi
pranipātena paripraśnena sevayā (4.34).
It means that we should approach the
Master with questions and request him
to answer the questions.

Especially in Vedānta, the Vedic system,
the Master plays a major role. Why?
Unless we see someone continuously
living in the consciousness and
continuously expressing that
consciousness, our unconscious refuses
to believe it is possible.

When we see a living Enlightened Master, our emotions also automatically start experiencing it. Our unconscious, which continuously questions, becomes silent when we see a living Master. With books we learn through verbal language; with a Master we learn through his body language. He is a living example that proves the truth can become a reality for us in our life.

MEETING AN

ENLIGHTENED MASTER

Three things happen when we meet an Enlightened Master: First, we see in front of our own eyes that it is possible to live in eternal bliss or in bliss consciousness all 24 hours of the day. The assurance and inspiration to achieve that state is there. We understand the possibility. Next we ask, ‘All right, it is possible for the Master. But is it possible for me?’ That assurance is also given when we reach the Master. The Master instills the confidence in us by showing us, ‘If I can achieve, why not you?’

A portrait of a young spiritual figure with traditional marks on his forehead and wearing beads

GOALS:

To let students understand that
the consciousness needs to be
awaken to radiate the qualities of
humility, non-violence,
tolerance, simplicity,
approaching the enlightened
spiritual master, cleanliness,
steadfastness, self-control,
renunciation of the objects of
sense gratification, absence of all
egos, perception of all the evils
of birth and death, old age and
diseases, detachment, freedom
from all entanglements, even-
mindedness amidst pleasant and
unpleasant events, constant
devotion, aspiring to live in a
spiritual way, giving importance
to the ultimate truth, and
detachment.

ASSESSMENTS

❖ Why is our mind like a muddy tank?

❖ How can we cleanse our mind?

❖ What is the difference between working on the doing and working on the being?

❖ What happens when we understand that every being is a unique creation of the Universe?

❖ What are the three things that happen when we meet an Enlightened Master?

ART OF THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY:

BLOSSOM LIKE A FLOWER

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Colour Pencils

Paper

Crayons

PROCEDURE

Draw and colour a fully bloomed lotus flower in a pond.

INFERENCE

If we are able to work on our being despite our outer disturbances, we will be able to flower and radiate the right consciousness, just like the lotus flower which blooms beautifully despite growing in muddy soil and water.

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

20 green beans

A small container

Cotton wool

Water

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Put the cotton wool into the small container and pour some water to damp the cotton wool. Step 2: Place the 20 green beans on the damp cotton wool. Spread them out to avoid overcrowding. Step 3: Place it in a shady place to let it germinate. Once they have sprouted they can be planted.

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:

INFERENCE:

We must not be afraid to allow our
seed of consciousness to sprout in
order to attain Enlightenment.

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY

[Figure: Portrait of Nithyananda]

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Topic of discussion:

Humility can never be achieved by effort. Why is this so? We are unique. When we allow the cosmic intelligence to operate, we spontaneously express the beautiful qualities that Kṛṣṇa enumerates. The same cannot be achieved by doing anything.

Conclusion:

If we work on our being, we will flower and automatically radiate the right energy, the right consciousness!

BHAGAVAD GITA BOOK XIII, VOLUME IV

Consciousness Is Eternal

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

Portrait of Nithyananda in top-left corner

Illustration of young monk in circular frame

ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वामृतमश्नुते ।
अनादिमत्परं ब्रह्म न सत्तन्नासदुच्यते
॥ १३-१३ ॥

jñeyaṁ yat tat pravakṣyāmi yaj
jñātvāmṛtam aśnute anādi matparaṁ
brahma na sat tan nāsad ucyate

I shall fully give you the
understanding about the knowable
with which one can taste eternal
bliss or the being or the
consciousness that has no beginning.
A life beyond the cause and effect
and the material world