One in a Billion Reaches🔗

Me!

7.1 Krishna says,

With your mind attached to Me.

7.2 Let Me explain to you in detail this phenomenal and absolute knowledge along with its realization; By knowing which, there shall remain nothing further to be known.

7.3 Out of many thousands of men, hardly one endeavors or strives to achieve the perfection of self- realization;

Of those so endeavoring, hardly one achieves the perfection of self-realization, and of those, hardly one knows Me in truth or reaches that state of oneness with Me.

7.4 Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego

All together these eight constitute My separated external energies.

7.5 Besides these external energies, which are inferior in nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine.

This comprises all the embodied souls of all the living entities by which this material world is being utilized or exploited.

Again and again people ask me, ‘Master, why did you choose to speak on Bhagavad Gita? Why didn’t you choose books like Ashtavakra Gita, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, Brahma Sutra or the Upanishad? Why did you choose Gita?’

I tell them that Gita expresses the truth in totality. Krishna has created keys for all kinds of human beings. For every kind of person, He has given a key. Krishna fulfills every need of every human being.

He says 'Listen, Arjuna, how by practising yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, without doubt.' In this statement, Krishna uses the word 'Me' three times. Having read that, a psychologist will conclude that Krishna is egoistic. According to psychology, if we use the word 'I' or 'Me' three or more times in a statement, we are egoistic. We need treatment.

Otherwise how will psychologists make money? They need money. More than us needing treatment, they need money! Anyhow, for a normal man, it sounds egoistic. A person who hates Krishna feels Krishna is egoistic.

Again and again, He declares, 'Surrender to Me. I am everything.' We should understand here that He is expressing His glory. For a normal man, it may sound egoistic. A person who hates Krishna thinks He is egoistic and misses the truth or spirit expressed by Gita. In the same way, a person who loves Krishna gets caught up in His form and misses the juice of Gita.

A person who hates Krishna thinks He is egoistic and misses the whole juice of Gita. A person who loves Krishna is caught in the form of Krishna and misses the whole juice of Gita, the whole spirit of Gita. Please be very clear, whenever people are caught in the form, when they worship the form, they slowly start saying, ‘Gita is great. Krishna is God. He can express all these things, but surely it’s not for us. It’s not practical.’ In this way, they slowly create a distance between themselves and Krishna. They worship Gita, instead of practising it.

If we have a pot full of milk and we worship it but never drink it, will we get the benefit of the milk? Understand, unless we drink the milk, we will never get the benefit of the milk.

Unless we imbibe Krishna, we cannot get the benefit of Gita. That’s why I always tell people, Jews have avoided Christ by crucifying Him, by putting Him on the cross, and Hindus have avoided Krishna by worshipping him and putting Him on the wall. Please be very clear, hanging on the cross and hanging on the wall are one and the same. When we don’t imbibe Krishna’s teachings in our lives, when we don’t work towards experiencing Krishna, worshipping Krishna is nothing but crucifixion. It’s a cunning method of escaping.

The people who crucified Christ at least carry the guilt that they made a mistake, but these guys who hang Krishna don’t even carry that guilt. Hindus don’t even carry that guilt. In a nice, cunning way they have escaped from Krishna. Worshipping without following or worshipping without imbibing is the worst form of crucifixion.

People who hate Krishna think He is egoistic. And people who love Krishna are caught up with His form and think they should surrender to the Krishna who came down in human form. Only a person who experiences Krishna realizes Gita. Only people who have experienced Krishna can understand Gita.

The people who hate Krishna and the people who love Krishna, both of them miss Gita. If we are caught in the form of Krishna, we become fanatics. We only become fanatics! I have seen many people who get caught in the form and become fanatics.

The gist of this chapter is about how human beings approach the Divine, why they approach the Divine, and at what level they approach the Divine.

There's a beautiful saying in the Bible: 'God created man in his own mold.' But I tell you, 'Man created God in his own mold.' The truth is, man created God in his own mold. We approach the Divine in the way we want. According to our maturity, we approach the Divine.

At what level do we approach the Divine? How do we worship? What do we receive? How do we grow in maturity? Krishna gives the answers in this chapter. Here He says, 'Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and out of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.'

Beautiful! Here He says, 'out of thousands'. He should say 'out of billions'. He should change the statement. In those days, the population must have been less, which is why He makes the statement 'out of thousands'. Now we should say, ‘Out of billions, one may endeavor for perfection.’

Among millions of men, one man may endeavor for perfection, and out of those who achieve perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth. Out of millions, there are only a few; out of billions there are even fewer who enter into the path of seeking. Out of the few, only one or two achieve the ultimate experience.

There are millions of people out there, but only a few hundred are present today to listen to this Gita discourse. And out of these few hundred, only a few will listen as it is expressed. We may sit here. We may even hear, but do not think we actually listen! Never think that we listen.

I request people to never repeat what I have said to someone else. If you do repeat it, then please don’t say, ‘Master told me these things.’ Be very clear, you heard those things. Tell them, ‘I heard these things.’ Never say, ‘Master said’. Many times we miss much of what is said. Modern scientists say that we observe hardly two percent of the things that happen around us. If a hundred things happen around us, we observe only two! We imbibe only two percent.

It’s as if you have a hundred-page storybook, and somehow you lose the whole book except for two

random pages. All the other ninety-eight pages are lost. If you try to reconstruct the whole novel with only those two pages, how true will it be to the original? In the same way, you remember hardly two percent of what I say. With that two percent, if you try to reconstruct this whole discourse, naturally it will be your discourse, not mine. Please be very clear. You might sit here, however, it doesn't mean that you listen. If you want to tell people what I spoke, please always say, ‘I heard Nithyananda say this.’ Never say, ‘Nithyananda said...’

Because of your assumptions, because you jump to conclusions, and because of your inner chatter, you miss what is actually being said.

The Master is always ready to share his experiences, always ready to teach. That is his mission in life. The infinite compassion that fills an enlightened being is forever bursting to be let out to share, to teach, to guide. That’s why Krishna says that He is now ready to explain.

The question is whether or not Arjuna is ready to listen. Even if Arjuna was ready to listen and he became enlightened, are we ready to listen today, now?

Why does Krishna say that few even try, and of those who try, few succeed? Remember that He is talking about Self-realization, about understanding who we are. Why is it so difficult even to try?

We do not want to try because we are afraid. We are restless in any form of silence. If I am silent for a few minutes after I sit down before an audience, the entire audience becomes restless; they fidget.

Why do we find it difficult to meditate? After all, all we do in meditation is close our eyes and remain silent. Why is it difficult? We give appointments to everyone else every day of our lives, willingly and unwillingly. Why is it so difficult to give half an hour a day to ourselves?

Why would we rather watch television, knowing fully well that it is an idiot box and nothing of value will come out of watching it? Why would we rather read the same old newspaper again and again to avoid facing ourselves?

Why are we afraid of facing ourselves? What is it that we are afraid of? We must ask and answer these questions of ourselves.

If Self-realization means going back to where we came from, and where we came from is a state of bliss and divinity, then why are we afraid?

The truth is that we have forgotten where we came from. Nothing in the way we are brought up and ‘educated’ tells us that we come from bliss and we can regain that bliss. Society has its own self-interest in not letting us be aware of this truth. Whether in the form of religion, government or family structure, the truth of our bliss is obscured. If we realize how easy it is to be blissful and return to our original state, no one can control us. That is what liberation means. We are free. But society operates on the principle of control. Religion

operates on the principle of control. So do political and family structures.

The moment we realize who we are and we are liberated, these institutions cannot make us do what they want us to do. So they give us carrots and they wield the stick. They tell us that we will go to hell if we do wrong and we can go to heaven if we do whatever they tell us is right. They give us recipes in the form of commandments and laws.

From childhood we are conditioned to avoid looking too deeply into ourselves because if we do, we may find the truth and be liberated. Then there will be no need for our churches and temples, priests and politicians. They are afraid that there will be anarchy if they do not control us. They make us afraid that there will be anarchy if we do not obey their directives.

Why would there be anarchy if we realize the truth about ourselves? Why would there be anarchy if we realize we are God? It is because we will be filled with awareness and whatever we do in that state of awareness will be right. Such awareness will remove all fear and greed. We will no longer need external inducements to make us happy. No one and nothing can control us. We will be liberated. That is a great threat to society.

Do not for a moment imagine that anyone, I mean anyone, is concerned about you. This may sound like heresy. The truth is that no one cares. They only pretend that they do. Our governments, churches, society, friends and even our family do not care.

Shankara says beautifully in Bhaja Govindam, ka te kanta, kaste putraha... Where is your wife, where are your children when you finally depart? You leave alone. You came alone and you will leave alone. Even your wife, who loved you dearly, is afraid of you once your body becomes cold.

All love as we know it is conditional. The only true love is that of the Divine and that of the Master. Such love comes out of infinite compassion. It expects nothing in return. What can we offer God, and our Master?

We must look after ourselves. We must be selfish. We need to be selfish to enter into this path of Self-realization. However it is not a selfishness born out of the usual material nature. It is selfishness born out of the desperate need to be selfless. When we reach our center or our core, we become one with humanity. Then there are no differences between us.

That is why even our spouses will be unhappy if we realize ourselves, because they cannot possess us any more. At that point they must share us with humanity. But the love of Self-realization is so infinite that there is no reduction in sharing. There is only growth in sharing.

The path to Self-realization is the path of aloneness. It is not a lonely path; it is an alone path. When we are alone, we are not lonely. We are all in one; that is what

being alone means. From being fragmented, we become whole. From being islands, we become the universe.

This is the knowledge that Krishna offers humanity. Out of His deep compassion He says, 'Please listen to Me and realize your Self and be liberated.' One in a million may heed His words and start on this path.

He then says that only one in a million who start on this path will eventually find his own Self, and thus find Me. Is the path so difficult?

No, it is not. Why then does it seem so difficult? We find the external world so attractive that we rarely stay on course in our internal voyage of self-discovery. It is easier to wallow in self-pity and complain about other people than to accept the fact that we need to change. It is easier to eat like a pig and stuff multi-colored pills than to exercise self-control in eating and exercise.

Our mind is a like a loose cannon. Buddha compares it to a monkey, always jumping from point to point. This is where we differ from animals. Animals and plants also have intelligence and emotions. Scientific experiments have established that very well. However they do not have monkey minds, even monkeys don't!

Animals and other species work with Nature. They eat when they are hungry; they sleep when they are tired. That is why they do not need refrigerators and alarm clocks! Human beings, on the other hand, have a powerful tool with which they can either redeem themselves or destroy themselves. Invariably they choose the latter!

Throughout Gita, Krishna talks about how to control the mind. He gives specific instructions on what to do and what not to do. All we need to do is to follow the guidance of this Universal Master. Without any doubt, surely we can then become that one in a thousand or one in a million. But to follow Him, we need to understand Him.

In these verses Krishna explains who He is. Krishna explicitly separates Himself from His manifested energies in these verses.

What we perceive as manifested energies - the five natural elements (pancha bhoota) and the three inner elements of mind, intelligence and ego - are His energies no doubt, yet they are not Him.

Purusha and prakriti are considered the operative principles of the Universe in the Hindu philosophical systems of Sankhya and Vedanta. Purusha and prakriti are unmanifest energy sources, purusha being inactive and prakriti capable of being active, so to speak. Everything else arises from these two elements when they operate together.

Prakriti gives rise to the cosmic and individual intelligence and the five natural elements. The Taittreya Upanishad explains that the cosmic energy gave rise to etheric energy or the energy of space, akasha, which

pervades the Universe. This is the largest quantum of energy that pervades the Universe, and the subtlest. From etheric energy the energy of air arises. It is this energy of air, or vayu, that sustains us in our body-mind system as the carrier of pranic energy.

From the energy of air arises the energy of fire, agni. In ancient times, being the first visible form of energy, agni was celebrated as the most powerful deity. Many salutations in Rig Veda, the first of the Hindu scriptures, are addressed to agni. Almost all Vedic rituals are performed for the fire god, agni. This is also true of many ancient cultures. Fire provided light and heat, essential for our sustenance and day-to-day living.

Aapah, the energy of water, arose from the energy of fire. Prithvi, the energy of earth arose from the energy of water. The Taittreya Upanishad goes on to say that from the earth energy, plants, herbs and food were created, from which came human beings.

Within the human being is the intelligence that is a hologram of the cosmic intelligence. The energy cycle is now complete.

This energy tree, from its subtlest beginning to the grossest manifestation, is also the story of creation. Ten thousand years ago, sages of our ancient Vedic culture propounded these truths with no external devices to aid them. They intuited them, as they looked inward rather than outward.

Our Vedic rituals were full of meaning. Today they are condemned as old fashioned and meaningless activities because we lost the link to their meaning. Spirituality is nothing but spirit infused into rituals.

The fire rituals such as homa and yagna are methods to transfer the energy from akasha to earth, from the cosmos to the individual. Through the power of mantras, sound energy that activates the akasha, the etheric energy is transferred through air to the fire in the sacrificial pit. The water stored in pots around the fire pit collects this energy. The energized water is then poured onto the earth, a deity or individuals to transfer this energy to them.

Of the energies in the five natural elements, we can directly access the energies of earth, water, fire and air. We eat, drink, warm ourselves and breathe with these energies. However, we cannot directly access the etheric energy of akasha. Our ego, our mind, becomes a barrier to our absorption of this energy.

Meditation is the key to imbibe the etheric energy of the cosmos, the largest and subtlest energy source. Vedic fire rituals are mass meditation processes: meditation for dummies, if you will! We just need to be there to absorb the energy, even if we do not have the capability to meditate.

The cosmic intelligence is reflected in the human as the mind. Mind in turn uses the senses, the indriya, to access

the external world. Each of the senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch - are related to the natural elements.

Akasha or ether is linked to sound or the ears; vayu or air is linked to touch and the skin; agni or fire is linked to color and form, and so to sight and the eyes; aapah or water is linked to taste and the tongue; prithvi or earth is linked to smell or the nose.

The mind receives information through the senses of perception, and executes decisions through the senses of action. When the senses are denied access to the external world, which is their sustenance or aahara, the mind shuts down. Thoughts cease.

Ego is a creation of the mind. Ego is also an illusion. It is an illusion because it is not permanent; it is not truth. True realization of Self is achieved when the ego is shed and when the mind stops. Inner intelligence awakens to cosmic intelligence.

Here, Krishna refers to ego as ahankara. Ahankara is what we direct outwards. It is our identity that we project outwards. This is always in excess of what we think of as ourselves, as we seek to create an impression on others, as we seek attention from others. There is another side to our ego, called mamakara, which we project inwards. This mamakara is always lower than what we think ourselves to be. Internally we have a lower opinion of ourselves. This perpetual gap between ahankara and mamakara creates stress, suffering and dis-ease within us.

When we realize our Self, we realize that we are divine and nothing less. Anything that we think about ourselves that is lower than that evaluation is low self-esteem. What Krishna says is true for all of us. We are above the energies that constitute us. We too are the energy that constitutes our body-mind system.

All that we lack is the awareness of this truth. Our natural state is to know ourselves. Once we realize the truth that we are God, there is no difference between Krishna and us. We are enlightened. That is what Krishna came to prove. He has no need to prove that He is God. He is, and He couldn't care less if we know it or not. His mission was to enlighten Arjuna, and through Arjuna, the rest of humanity. His mission is to prove to us that we too are God!

Q: Master, You said that our natural state is bliss and that we have lost that state through our upbringing. How can we restore the awareness of our original state of bliss and oneness with the Divine?

While growing up, what we have lost is the innocence and curiosity of the child, and the ability to be nonjudgmental and carefree. Along with that we have lost our natural state of being in bliss.

Fortunately, we have not lost everything. Our inner divinity is not lost and cannot be lost. Hence it does not have to be found or restored.

We have only forgotten, so it is only a question of remembrance. It is in the deepest core of our being: call it truth, God, bliss, beauty. All these things indicate the same phenomenon. There is something eternal in our beings, something immortal and something divine. We know it deep inside. That is why no matter how much we seem to enjoy all the material pleasures, a gnawing feeling of emptiness, a feeling that this is not all there is to life, nags us.

All we need to do is go deep, dive deep into our being, and see. Realize and recognize. Hence the journey is not really a journey. We are not to go anywhere. We need to simply sit silently and be.

Money does not help in this journey. Power and prestige are of no help either. From the beginning, we must be aware that love is the only treasure to be sought.

We search for the home to go to. We miss something. We are not certain what it is, yet the feeling is there within everyone that something is missing. And we go on accumulating things - money, power and prestige - hoping that by gaining these things the haunting feeling will disappear. We hope that the gap will be filled, and that the emptiness will not be there anymore so that we do not hurt anymore. However, nothing from the outside fills the gap because money cannot enter our being; neither can power or prestige.

Nothing from the outside is of any help. Hence the more we have, the more the feeling becomes a constant haunting: we feel it more and more.

There seems to be a paradox. The richer a society is, the more searching there is for a home, the more searching there is for roots. It is not an accident that only affluent societies become religious. It is caused by what I call the depression of success. We have everything that we have sought and yet we are unhappy. We do not know why we sought what we sought.

Spirituality need not be divorced from materialism. It need not conflict with material possessions. The poor search through money, a good home, family, this and that. By the time they have arranged these things, they suddenly become aware that life is gone and they are where they have always been: as empty as ever, as hollow as ever. Then a great frustration sets in. They have missed life. Nothing from the outside fulfils the search. It is in the inner space that we learn to live life. It is here that we find God.

Life in all its agony and all its ecstasy - both are ours. The ecstasy cannot live or exist without death, and joy cannot exist without sadness. That's how things are. Nothing can be done about it. That’s the nature, the Tao of things. Similarly life is bliss and misery intertwined until we transcend both.

People are unaccustomed to bliss. To be blissful is strange. People are well acquainted with misery. They live in it and wallow in it. Whenever we meet someone blissful we are uncomfortable. We think that this person must have gone mad because sane people are miserable. Most people are miserable. Only once in a while do we see an insane person enjoying himself. Once in a rare while there is a Buddha, a Krishna. The rest of the world looks at them as if they are mad. Buddha was thought to be a madman in his own day for the simple reason that he was so blissful.

People understand misery since this is what they are used to. That is their language. Bliss is not their language. Most people experience temporary happiness. Their happiness is superficial. It is more or less a pretension, a deception. They deceive others and deceive themselves. Maybe it is a strategy to hide misery, to cover up their wounds.

Jesus calls the life of bliss the kingdom of God. It is within us. No army is needed; we are not expected to conquer anybody. It is a strange victory. It happens at the innermost core of our being: no army, no enemy and no arms. And suddenly one is victorious; one has conquered life because one has known life. To know is to conquer. When we know ourselves we reach our natural state that has always been within us. We experience bliss. We are in nithyananda.