- BHAGAVAD GITA -
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BOOK XVIII, VOLUME XII
Delusion Of Senses
Authored by
THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM
18.36
सुखं त्विदानीं त्रिविधं शृणु मे भरतर्षभ ।
अभ्यासाद्रमते यत्र दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति
॥ १८-३६ ॥
sukhaṁ tvidānīṁ trividhaṁ śṛṇu me
bharatarṣabha abhyāsād ramate yatra
duḥkhāntaṁ ca nigacchati
And now hear from Me, O Arjuna,
about three kinds of pleasure. The
pleasure that one enjoys from spiritual
practice results in cessation of all
sorrows.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Always choose the ‘right thing’, not the ‘pleasant’ one.
18.37
यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम् ।
तत्सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तमात्मबुद्धिप्रसादजम् ॥ १८-३७ ॥
yat tad agre viṣaṁ iva pariṇāme
‘mṛtopamaṁ tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ
proktaṁ ātma-buddhi-prasādajam
The pleasure that appears as poison in the beginning, but is like nectar in the end, comes by the grace of Self-knowledge and is in the mode of goodness.
POWERFUL COGNITION
The biggest asset a man can acquire is the space of completion.
18.38
विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् ।
परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम्
॥१८-३८॥
viṣayendriya-saṁyogadyat tad agre
‘mṛtopamaṁ pariṇāme viṣam iva tat
sukhaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtam
Sensual pleasures that appear as nectar in the beginning, but become poison in the end, are in the mode of passion.
POWERFUL COGNITION
The wise prefers the good to the pleasant.
18.39
यदग्रे चानुबन्धे च सुखं मोहनमात्मनः ।
निद्रालस्यप्रमादोत्थं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्
॥ १८-३९ ॥
yadagre cānubandhe ca sukhaṁ
mohanamātmanaḥ
nidrālasyapramādotthaṁ tat
tāmasamudāhṛtam
Pleasure that is delusion from beginning to end and born out of sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Look for the right, not for light.
18.40
न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः ।
सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिः स्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः
॥ १८-४० ॥
na tad asti pṛthivyāṁ vā divi deveṣu vā
punaḥ sattvaṁ prakṛti-jair-muktaṁ yad
ebhiḥ syāt tribhirguṇaiḥ
No one, either here or among the
celestials in the higher planetary
systems, is free from these three states
of material nature.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Your Space of Completion is Kṛṣṇa.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE BECOMES LIVE GIVING NECTAR
Kṛṣṇa says that spiritual practice, that is the state of satva, is difficult in the beginning, and it is like poison; however, it becomes life-giving nectar in the end.
Sensual pleasures born out of rajas, on the other hand, seem like nectar in the beginning but become poisonous. In the tamasic state, Kṛṣṇa says, one is deluded as if in sleep, laziness and illusion. Every human is in one state or another.
Not merely humans, even the celestials who are supposedly more evolved are in the same mode. No one can escape the effect of the guṇas, the attributes of Nature. Please understand, the biggest asset a man can acquire is the space of completion. I am so happy I am getting that wealth for my Gurukul kids. The biggest asset for any man, the best thing a human being can have in his life is completion, the space of completion. We are behind our sensory pleasures now. When we are in the rājasic mode, only sensory pleasures of the body matter. In the tamasic mode, we don't even know we are in deep ignorance. The sensory organs are powerful. They are our windows to the external world. They are trained to run away from pain and chase pleasure.
Bodily pleasure gives mental pleasure and therefore emotional satisfaction. Once we experience the mental pleasure, we constantly rewind and replay that pleasure. Our past drives our future. Attachments and expectations drive our actions.
We try to keep on experiencing pain and pleasure alternately. Either way it is only an illusion. If you lead your life with completion, you won't get caught in the illusions of attachment and expectations driving your actions. Kaṭhopaniṣad says, 'The good and the pleasant approach man. The wise examines both and discriminates between them. The wise prefers the good to the pleasant. But the foolish man chooses the pleasant through love of bodily pleasure.
If you are given the option of
'right or pleasant', 'right thing,
good thing or very pleasant,
convenient and happy thing',
always choose the 'right thing',
not the 'pleasant' one, not the
convenient one.'
When you choose the pleasant,
your destruction is inevitable.
Your Space of Completion is
Kṛṣṇa Look for the right, not
for light. Your whole life is
nothing but Mahābhārat.
The Kauravas' birth, what is it? One child, Duryodhana is born who is unconscious, dead, aborted. So, that was broken into hundred pieces. This means what? When you are born, you are unconscious and you are broken into hundreds of root-patterns, and all hundred grow as demons. It means that all your root-patterns are growing as demons! When you are tired of being a demon, you also encourage some good qualities in you just for a change. Please understand, there is nobody who is hundred percent demon, because being hundred percent demon makes you feel bored.
Otherwise, why should Rāvaṇa do
Śiva Puja? You cannot be hundred
percent demon or hundred percent
saint till you become enlightened.
Till you become an enlightened soul,
both sides will be there because you
need choice. Life is all about just
jumping from one side to another.
Choice! Choice! Choice!
A few good patterns which you
develop in you just as a choice, as an
alternative, those few good patterns
are the Pāṇḍavas. The space of
completion which you have inside
you, which cannot be destroyed by
any root pattern is Kṛṣṇa.
Your whole life is a Mahābhārat.
Then, when your weight
becomes too much for your own
body, when Bhū Devī, the Earth
Goddess, is unable to hold the
weight, Kṛṣṇa comes and reduces
the bhūbhāra, the weight of the
Earth. It means that when your
incompletions become too much
even for yourself, Kṛṣṇa comes
and destroys all your
incompletions.
Kṛṣṇa describes the tāmasic person
with great insight. He does not use
the word poison in describing the
state of such a person. A tāmasic
person is like a drug addict, He says.
At least a rājasic person enjoys the
experience now and suffers later. A
tāmasic person has no enjoyment. He
suffers without knowing that he is
suffering. His delusion is so deep.
That is why he passes his suffering on
to others. That is how ignorant
people who rise to become leaders
act.
ASSESSMENTS
- What does Krishna tell about spiritual practice here?
- Who can escape the effect of the gunas?
- What is the greatest asset a man can have?
- What happens to us until we become enlightened?
- Who does Krishna compare the few good patterns inside of us to?
- What happens when your weight/incompletions become too heavy for your own body?
- What does Krishna compare a tamasic person to?
GOALS:
Helping students
distinguish between what
is right and what is
pleasant.
-Helping students
understand how the
demonic side comes from
unconsciousness and root-
patterns.
-Helping students
understand and recognize
the tamasic state.
ART OF THE DAY
ART OF THE DAY:
DEMONS
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Paper
- Marker
- Pencil
- Eraser
PROCEDURE
After spending a few minutes explaining about how root-patterns operate and grow, tell children to visually represent how root-patterns grow as demons. Then, ask them to bring awareness to moments in their life where they have encouraged their demonic side and moments where they have chosen the other side by giving 1 real-life example for each.
ART OF THE DAY:
DEMONS
INFERENCE
When you are born, you are unconscious and you are broken into hundreds of root-patterns, and all hundred grow as demons. It means that all your root- patterns are growing as demons! When you are tired of being a demon, you also encourage some good qualities in you just for a change. You cannot be hundred percent demon or hundred percent saint till you become enlightened. Till you become an enlightened soul, both sides will be there because you need choice. Life is all about just jumping from one side to another.
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
KRISHNA
MATERIALS NEEDED
❖ Hindu festive clothes, Peacock feathers, flutes (what Krishna would be wearing or holding)
PROCEDURE:
Today, tell the students that they will be dressing as Kṛṣṇa. Then, tell them to walk around imbibing the space of Kṛṣṇa, the space of completion. Tell them to perform every action as Kṛṣṇa would for the next 21 minutes. Every breath is Kṛṣṇa's breath, every word is Kṛṣṇa's word, every action is Kṛṣṇa's action. At the end of 21 minutes, ask the children to come back and to share about their experience of being Kṛṣṇa.
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
KRISHNA
PROCEDURE:
Did they feel the space of completion within themselves during those 21 minutes? Ask them how they can know whether they are in a space of completion or not while doing day-to-day activities.
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
KRiSHNA
INFERENCE:
The space of completion which you have
inside you, which cannot be destroyed by
any root pattern is Kṛṣṇa.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
VAAKYARTHA SADHAS RIGHT OR PLEASANT?
Ask students to engage in a
discussion about how to
discriminate between right and
pleasant. Then, ask them to write a
short essay about the following
two points:
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
VAAKYARTHA SADHAS RIGHT OR PLEASANT?
- Identify areas in their lives where they have chosen what is pleasant over what is right and vice-versa and encourage them to share about their experience in both cases.
- What kind of suffering tamasic people go through and how it makes them dangerous for others.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
VAAKYARTHA SADHAS
RIGHT OR PLEASANT?
CONCLUSION
Kṛṣṇa says that spiritual practice, that is the state of satva, is difficult in the beginning, and it is like poison; however, it becomes life-giving nectar in the end.
- BHAGAVAD GITA -
BOOK XVIII, VOLUME XII