Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Lesson 2 of 8

INTRODUCTION

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That is what Kṛṣṇa talks about here. The great Master says, I am not what you see. I am not the energy that is manifested. It is not this six-foot Kṛṣṇa with a flute and peacock feather that makes things happen. It is the formless energy beyond Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa, the being in body, son of Vāsudeva).

It is Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa (the Cosmic energy). When we see a necklace or garland, do we notice the thread, the sūtra?

If it is a pearl or diamond necklace we may get it threaded in gold, but still we rarely notice the thread. We delight over the pearls or diamonds, yet never think about the thread that holds them together, unless it snaps and all the pearls and diamonds spill on the floor. Then, we blame the thread!

Kṛṣṇa says, He is the unseen thread—sūtre maṇi gaṇā, without which no rudrākṣa can exist. He says He is the unseen essence, without which there can be no substance.

He says He is the unseen ultimate energy without which there can be no Universe. Have you ever wondered how this Universe operates? There are billions of planets like ours, millions of solar systems, thousands of galaxies and many Universes. There is nothing that anyone can see that is controlling this Universe.

We need traffic lights and policemen to control traffic on our roads. In the Milky Way there are no policemen to control the movements of planets and stars.

Yet they move unerringly!

Can you imagine the intelligence that controls multiple Universes? How is there such discipline and order in that seeming chaos that no one is in charge of? No one is responsible, or is someone? On the other hand, within this small body of ours we try to control everything. We control the food we eat, how much we exercise, how much we play, etc.

Yet we can predict nothing about it. Despite all the order that we impose, there is chaos sometimes! Control does not bring about order; it never can.

Freedom brings about order. Chaos is freedom. Chaos is choice. The ultimate chaos is the cosmic Kṛṣṇa; He is also the Ultimate order too.

Kṛṣṇa illustrates what He said
earlier with specific examples.
The beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s teaching in
the Bhagavad Gītā is the depth to
which He goes to make
everything crystal clear to Arjuna.
He makes no assumptions, takes
nothing for granted.

It is as if Arjuna is a child and He
is the parent or teacher.
For the Lord of the Universe to
take the trouble to ensure
complete understanding shows
the depth of His compassion.
I explained earlier that in the
five natural elements, the essence
of ether is sound, of air is touch,
of fire is form and heat, of water
is taste and of earth is smell.

Kṛṣṇa explains that He is the essential quality in each of these elements; also that He is the praṇava mantra—primordialsound— ‘Om’ and the radiance of the Sun and Moon. Life, any form of life in this and any other planet, cannot exist without this energy of cosmic Kṛṣṇa. But living within this energy field we lose sight of this energy.

We become energy-unconscious.We are afraid, always afraid. We have no trust in ourselves and therefore no trust in Existence.

UPANISHADS IS GIVEN TO KINGLY SAINTS

This science of Upanishads is
given to kingly saints, not to
just any saint. Only they can
preserve the science as it is.
Be very clear, only an
enlightened person who is a
king or a king who is an
enlightened person can know
the totality of spirituality. Only
a rich man who has enjoyed
material wealth can understand
the meaning and relevance of
spirituality.

If God were to come in front of us in any form other than what we recognize as Him, we would ask for His identification card!

Our intelligence is limited to visualizing Kṛṣṇa in His yellow dress with His flute and a peacock feather stuck in His hair. If Kṛṣṇa comes covered in ash, with a snake around His neck, the Kṛṣṇa follower will throw stones at Him saying, ‘That is Śiva. I do not worship Śiva.’ There are people who claim to have imbibed the Gītā, understood every word the Lord says, and yet have questioned Swamiji as to how can he worship Śiva in the āśram when he says Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate!

It is for these people that Kṛṣṇa goes into such depths to explain that He is everything and above everything. He is the Creator—Brahma, the Sustainer— Viṣṇu and the Rejuvenator—Śiva. He is not either or; He is all and above all.

Illustration of Lord Krishna playing a flute

A digital rendering of a deity, likely Lord Krishna, seated on a golden throne with a smaller face of the same deity visible above and behind to the right, and a gold emblem to the left

GOALS:

To help children understand that
like an unseen thread holds the
beads of a necklace, so Kṛṣṇa is
the unseen essence, the unseen
ultimate energy of the Universe.
To understand that Kṛṣṇa is not
limited to His yellow dress with
His flute and a peacock feather
in His hair, He is everything.

ASSESSMENTS

What is the difference between Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa and Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa?

Is there anything or anyone controlling the Universe?

What is the difference between control and order?

Does control bring about order?

What are the five natural elements and what is their essence?

Who wears a yellow dress and a peacock feather in their hair, and who covers them self in ash and has a snake around their neck?

Who is the Creator, who is the Sustainer, and who is the Rejuvenator? Who is all three?

ART OF THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY:

DRAW OM

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Sketch pens Paper - for younger children have the outline of the Sanskrit ‘Om’ drawn on the paper

PROCEDURE

Encourage the children to draw everything mentioned in this lesson placed on the paper in a way that at the end, all the drawings form the Sanskrit ‘Om’. For younger children, they draw everything inside the Om outline.

INFERENCE

Kṛṣṇa is everything and above everything. He is all and above all.

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. 5 pages each with one of the five natural element written on it (ether, air, fire, water, earth) 5 pages each with one essence of an element on it (sound, touch, form and heat, taste, smell)

PROCEDURE: The acharya or one of the children randomly holds up one of the pages, and the other children call out the matching element or essence. The pairs are ether - sound air - touch fire - form and heat water - taste earth - smell. For older children, they also need to say examples of the element or essence. For example, for water they say words like "lake" or "rain", and for touch they may say "soft" or "sharp".

INFERENCE: Kṛṣṇa explains that He is the essential quality in each of the elements

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY

WORKSHOP OF THE DAY: VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

Encourage the children to discuss how the thread of a necklace is essential to the necklace. Let them discuss the symbolism of Kṛṣṇa says being the unseen thread of the Universe.

Conclusion: Kṛṣṇa is the Ultimate chaos and freedom of the cosmos; He is also the Ultimate discipline and order of the cosmos too.