Many People, Many Paths🔗

Or by metaphysical knowledge or by karma yoga.

Through the process of hearing about the supreme Self, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

13.27 Bharata, know that whatever that is movable or immovable is born,

It comes into existence by combination of kshetra and kshetragna.

In this verse, Krishna gives various techniques for the path to Self-realization. He says various methods or paths may be used to realize our true Self. People say 'as many Masters, so many paths.' Actually it should be 'As many disciples, so many paths!' Each disciple can have his own path. This is what Krishna says. We can attain the ultimate Consciousness through different paths.

Krishna says that through meditation or yoga or knowledge or contemplation or surrendering to the Divine, you can attain liberation. All the different methods lead to the same goal. Each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita gives a different technique to realize the Self. Krishna talks about jnana yoga, union through knowledge, in Chapter 4. Then He talks about bhakti yoga, union through devotion, in Chapter 12.

Whatever be the path, the ultimate goal is the same. Ramakrishna proves this truth by practicing different religions and different techniques. If you read his biography, you will see that he practiced Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Tantra. He concluded that all these paths lead to the same ultimate Consciousness. He also preached different paths to different disciples. He asked Vivekananda to read books on advaita, non-duality. He asked other disciples to be immersed in devotion to Devi. He suggested different paths depending on what kind of a person the disciple was. If someone was logical, if someone had lots of questions like Vivekananda, he asked them to read books. If someone was devoted, he suggested the path of bhakti or devotion.

After our second-level meditation program, Nithyananda Spurana Program, I give spiritual names. I give the names based on the energies of the devotees. The names depend on how they connect to the cosmic Nithyananda. If I see that individuals act at an emotional level like devotion, I give names that suit that particular energy. The second category is intellectual people. Intellectual people are those who connect at a mental level. They need logical explanations to everything. The third category is of those who connect at the being level.

When I ask for their names, I meditate on their energies and give them the spiritual names. The spiritual name gives them a path and the path is different for different people. The name has significance. The name reminds you of your path. We generally associate ourselves with our name. So whenever you speak or when somebody calls you by your spiritual name, it rings a bell in your head. It guides you to the destination.

Krishna tells Arjuna about the paths. He gives options. Krishna gives alternatives: meditation, yoga, chanting mantra, learning and acquiring knowledge and surrendering to the Cosmos.

One important thing is that you should know what path is good for you. Lots of people take up a spiritual path without knowing what it is. You should understand what your path is. Many people attend a course in the ashram. They enjoy those few days in the ashram around me and they decide to join the ashram. They don’t know what their path is or if ashram life is their path. Simply they want to join. They ask me, ‘Master, I want to join the ashram. Please tell me what I should do.’

Some people simply follow what others are doing. If the parents are followers of a particular guru, the children also follow that guru. There is nothing wrong in following someone for a start. You can have a starting point but you should find out if you are on the right path. You should not blindly follow someone because someone you know is following that guru.

A small story:

On a dark night, a man discovered that the headlights on his car had failed. He decided to follow the car in front of him; it was dark outside and he could not see anything. If the car in front took a turn, he also took that turn. He managed quite well using the light from the car in front.

After some time and many turns, the lights of the lead car switched off and came to a sudden halt. The second driver bumped into the car and shouted at the other driver, ‘Why did you stop?’

‘I’ve reached my house. What do expect me to do?’ replied the other driver.

You see, if you follow something or someone blindly, you will not reach the correct destination. You must know your own path.

There are lots of people who go to meditation programs from one guru. Then they go to another guru and attend all those courses. Then once again, they hop. Like island hopping, they do guru hopping. Actually nowadays this has become a fashion. ‘How many courses have you attended?’ You start collecting certificates from all these gurus, that’s all. You basically collect certificates, nothing else.

There are different paths to realize the truth; however, we must understand what our path is. This is where a true enlightened Master can help. He knows exactly what the path is for you. He corrects you when you are on the wrong path. He corrects your mistakes and your techniques that your path requires you to follow. In our Advanced Healers Program, disciples sit on the stage and answer the audience’s questions. When they answer the questions, I know what mistakes they are making and I correct them.

In this verse Krishna gives different techniques, like meditation, yoga, knowledge. Lots of people do these things. Some people ask, ‘Master, I am meditating daily for 21 minutes. I am still unable to feel anything. Why is it happening like that?’ I ask them, ‘Tell me truthfully, are you meditating with full intensity and full awareness? When you are meditating, is your mind with your body or are you thinking about the office, about your work?’ Naturally, they do not say anything after that.

You see, all the techniques must be done in the correct manner. If you fall asleep while meditating, even if you sit for 21 minutes for 21 days, there is no use. I will tell you something that happened in one of my meditation classes. This meditation technique is meant for the anahata or heart chakra. At the end of this meditation, we focus on the anahata or heart. One person sat straight and started the meditation very well. Then towards the end, he started feeling sleepy and started swaying from side to side. During the last 10 minutes, I called to him and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I am doing anahata meditation, Master.’

I asked him, ‘Are you doing the meditation on your anahata or on your neighbor’s anahata (on your heart or your neighbor’s heart)?’

You see, meditation must be done with awareness. Everything you do can be meditation if you do it with awareness and intensity. Lots of people chant mantras. Daily they wake up early, take a bath and sit in the puja or prayer room and chant mantras. If they chant with awareness it is fine. But what do they often do?

If the milkman shouts from outside the house during their puja, they shout back, ‘Okay, put the milk near the door. I will take it later.’ Then once again they start chanting Vishnu Sahasranama or whatever. Next, the maid comes and starts gossiping about the neighbors. While doing puja, they will be reciting the mantra but focusing on the gossip. Sometimes during puja, they even give their expert opinions on whatever they overhear!

This is not meditation. In the same way, there are lots of misconceptions about yoga. People go to yoga classes for exercises. Today yoga has become a fashion. There are so many types of yoga: power yoga, deluxe yoga and super-deluxe yoga. A yoga studio is like a fashion-shopping complex. If someone says, 'I am doing yoga,' that is like saying, 'I have a Mercedes car.' That is what yoga has become now. Yoga was meant to be much more than a body and status building exercise. Krishna gives it as a path to attain the ultimate Consciousness.

In this verse Krishna talks about sankhyena, knowledge or philosophical discussion. You should understand one thing. Gathering knowledge and philosophical discussions can be done in two ways. Many people read lots of books. They have a big library with philosophical books, religious books, spiritual books and biographies of Masters. They collect books and knowledge. When someone says something, they quote from the books and have long discussions.

All these people are intellectuals. They collect knowledge like someone else collects stamps or coins. It is simply ego. They want to show off their superiority in front of others. They want to show that they know more. That's all. They have not assimilated the knowledge. They have not internalized it.

Krishna says you can attain the goal using knowledge. We must understand that reading and collecting is not enough. We must experience in order to know. As long as we are collecting different philosophies, we are basically collecting. We are not adding value to ourselves.

We must practice and internalize the great truths. When we internalize them, transformation happens in us. If we discuss for the sake of showing our knowledge and ego, we have made no use of that knowledge. Knowledge and discussions can be a powerful tool only if we know how to use them for our growth.

At the end of the verse, Krishna gives a wonderful technique. He says karma-yogena capare. He gives the ultimate technique, the technique of surrendering. He says, ‘Surrender the outcome of your actions to Me.’ This is the most effective technique. He talks about it throughout the Gita. Just surrender the fruits of your actions to Him, the Universal Consciousness. Most often, we take responsibility for our actions. That is when our tensions and problems start. Just surrender everything to the Cosmic Energy of Krishna. Once we do, we feel liberated. We feel free. This is the easiest path to reach the truth.

Are there any prerequisites to attain the truth or to start on a spiritual path? Krishna tries to answer this question. So many people attend one meditation course and think they have become enlightened. They can feel happy about doing something like meditation, but the problem is they start preaching to others. They start looking down upon or even intimidating others who do not meditate. Krishna answers this question. A person need not have any spiritual knowledge to start on a particular path. There is no prerequisite. Even if the person is totally new to spirituality, he can follow a spiritual path.

Only a cognitive shift must happen. It is like this. A man who is blind from birth does not know what light is. He does not know what colors are. He has never seen them. He does not have any prior experience of light. If he is left to himself where there is no one else living, he will think darkness is all that there is in the world. If somehow the sight energy or chakshu is activated in him, he sees everything in front of him. He enjoys light and colors. He did not know what they were before he got his eyesight, yet immediately, he can enjoy them.

That shift must happen. That's all. So many enlightened Masters did not have any prior knowledge about spirituality. Let me tell you about the enlightened Master Valmiki from India who wrote the great epic Ramayana. Before enlightenment, he was a highway robber. He waited by the roads in the jungles. Whenever wealthy people crossed that jungle, he robbed them.

One day the sage Narada was passing through that jungle. Narada is known for his devotion to Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity. All Narada had was a small stringed instrument that he plays while constantly singing about Vishnu. When Valmiki saw him, he stopped him and said, 'Give me everything you have, otherwise I will kill you!' Narada told him, 'I don't have anything except this small instrument and God's name with me. So I can't give you anything.' Valmiki thought this guy was bluffing. He asked Narada, 'How can you not have anything?'

Narada smiled and asked, 'What do you do with all these things that you rob from others?' Valmiki told him,

'These are for my family, my children, my wife and my parents.'

Narada asked, 'You do all this for your children, wife and parents. Do you think they will stay with you forever?'

Valmiki told Narada, 'Yes, of course, they will be with me. I get them wealth. I provide them with food to survive. They will always be with me.'

Narada once again asked him, 'Are you sure they will always be there for you?'

Valmiki became irritated. He replied, 'Can't you understand? I am sure that they will always be there for me.'

Actually Narada was a cunning fellow. He was buying time. He kept Valmiki engaged in a conversation and made him look at life from a different perspective.

Finally Narada asked the atomic bomb question, 'Okay, you have lots of trust that your family will always support you; they will always be there for you. Will they be there when you die? If you ask them to die with you, will they agree?'

Valmiki confidently answered, 'I am sure at least one of them will come if I ask them. I am only robbing people to support them. They are surviving because I get them this wealth. I am sure if I ask, they will die with me.'

Narada said, 'Okay, if you think they will do that for you, then you go and ask them and come back to me. If anyone of them agrees, you can kill me. I will not go anywhere. I will stay here.’

Valmiki went home and asked his wife. His wife said, ‘Dear, it is true that I am your other half, but I don’t think it is fair to ask me to die with you. When it comes to your death, it is your death only.’

Valmiki thought his children would surely go with him, as they loved him very much. When he asked his children, they said, ‘Father, we are young. We haven’t seen the world yet. You have seen everything but we haven’t. How can we die with you?’

Valmiki became depressed. His wife and children were saying they wouldn’t be there with him when he died. He then thought his parents would surely go with him as they had taken care of him and had raised him. But to his surprise, they said, ‘Why should we die with you? We are enjoying our life with our grandchildren. Why should we die with you?’

This shocked him. He went back to Narada and told him what had happened. Narada listened and told him, ‘The only person who can be with you always is God.’

This statement changed the whole life of Valmiki. He realized the futility of what he was doing. He sat in the forest and meditated so deeply and for so long that an anthill formed on top of him. That is how he got his name Valmiki, which means anthill. When he came out of meditation, he was enlightened.

You see, Valmiki did not have any knowledge about spirituality. He was a robber. That one statement by Narada made all the difference. He started looking inward after that, and became enlightened.

One important thing to note is that just because someone has spiritual knowledge, it does not mean that they are actually a seeker. I have seen people read lots of books and they discuss spirituality even when it is not needed. They think they have great spiritual knowledge. They think they are superior.

Actually, all they have is intellectual knowledge. That is not spiritual knowledge. When they speak, they do not speak out of experience. That is the difference between an enlightened Master and a normal person. When an enlightened Master speaks about spirituality, he speaks from experience of the truth. He has experienced the truth. When a normal person speaks, ego is speaking. His so-called spiritual knowledge comes from the intellect, from the ego.

People ask me, ‘Master, do you think I should attend this course? Do you think I am capable of doing this course?’ I tell them, ‘If you are stable and available, I shall make you able and capable.’ That is the only prerequisite. If you are stable and available, you are capable of attaining the ultimate truth.

There are two requirements: be stable and be available. You must be stable first. If you are restless, if your mind continuously jumps here and there like a monkey, you will not be able to focus on the path. You will not be able to spend time with yourself. That is the first thing you must have, stability. Next you must be available. This does not mean simply being physically present when I am there. You should be present in mind, body and being. You should be available to learn. You should be open.

Plenty of people think they know everything about spirituality. When they attend my courses, they ask scores of questions. I immediately know why they ask so many questions. Their cup is already full. There is no space for anything new to enter. They are not available. Simple! Actually, the best thing that can happen to anyone is to not know anything about spirituality. Then when I say something, they immediately catch it. Really, that is the best thing. No unlearning needs to be done.

That is what Krishna says. You do not need prior knowledge about spirituality to embark on a path. Even if someone simply tells you about it and you start following a path, it is enough. But be very clear that you should know what you are doing. Don't do anything blindly. In the previous verse, we have talked about it. We should understand what our path is. That's all.

Whatever you see is a combination of matter and energy. The whole universe is seen as kshetra and kshetragna, maya and atman, prakriti and purusha, matter and energy, body-mind and Consciousness. Existence as we see it cannot be with only one of them. If we believe that what we see is simply matter, we are in an illusion or maya.

Kshetra is the body that we associate ourselves with and kshetragna is the Consciousness. What we see as a

human body is a combination of both. If there is no Consciousness, the body is useless. The matter that we call a body comes to life, comes into existence because of Consciousness. Both must be there.

Prakriti is the manifest and purusha is the unmanifest. Kshetra is like prakriti. It is the manifested, that which we can see. Along with what you see, there is something behind its existence. It is purusha or the unmanifest, the energy behind the matter, which we do not normally see.

We have seen in the previous sloka that all the millions of stars, planets and other celestial bodies exist in perfect harmony. There are so many galaxies. They are moving in space that has no bounds. How are they moving with such order? Look at our solar system. All the planets move in perfect paths. If we think they are rocks, dust or ice, if we think they are simply matter, how is such an order is maintained in the universe?

No, they are not solely matter. There is something behind the existence of that matter. There is so much chaos; still there is a beautiful order in that chaos. Order is present because of kshetragna. If it were solely matter or kshetra, there would not be any existence. There is the existence of Intelligence in that matter. That Intelligence or Consciousness creates this existence. So the combination of kshetra and kshetragna is necessary.

Modern science has shown that matter and energy are the same. They are interchangeable. The outer-world scientists proved this recently; however, the inner-world scientists proved it thousands of years ago. Matter and energy coexist to create existence.

I mentioned earlier how every cell of our body has Intelligence. Science has proven that every cell in our system has embedded Intelligence. Each cell is not made up of simply some chemicals. Each cell also has Intelligence or energy. This combination creates the mind-body system.

We should understand that kshetra and kshetragna are not separate entities when we analyze them at a deeper level. Kshetra and kshetragna are comprised of the same thing. The kshetra is the gross form of the energy that also makes up the subtle form of kshetragna. For existence to happen, the subtle and gross forms must be there.

How we look at things around us defines our lifestyle. We again and again look at things as only matter. When we see only this gross level, fear and greed creep into us. We then want to get more and more of this matter. We live a materialistic life when we think that all we see is solely matter. When we live in the kshetra level, we live in an illusion or maya. That is the problem. When we live in this illusion, we define ourselves based on all these things, which we think of only as matter. Because of this, we run after matter and want to acquire more.

We want to possess the matter. We want to get more and more and more. But when we realize that it is energy also, we think, 'How can I possess energy? Is it possible to possess it?' No. We can't hold energy in a bag. When this realization happens, we recognize the futility of running after different things that we think are only matter.

This is what Krishna says in this verse. All that exists around us is born from a combination of kshetra and kshetragna. Everything that we see is not just matter. There is Intelligence; there is energy that rules that matter. Once we internalize this at a deeper level, we see that everything is the same energy.

Q: From what you have said, it appears that acquisition of knowledge is not helpful in spiritual progress. All my life I have been advised to read one scripture or another or listen to one guru or another. In fact, I started coming to your discourses after reading your books. How can this be bad or unhelpful?

Mere acquisition of something, be it knowledge or experience or something material, is of no value unless you learn from them, imbibe and internalize them. Otherwise, they will only be a burden on you, a liability and not an asset.

Just as material things breed the greed to acquire more and more, gaining knowledge can become a competition to show that you know more than another person. You won't enjoy that knowledge; you'll just show it off.

People with deep knowledge about something rarely speak about it unless asked. We have a saying in Tamil: 'A full pitcher does not spill.' It is only when knowledge is partial and with external motivation that the desire to exhibit is powerful.

Most people who write travelogues about countries visit the country for a few days; it is never the local people who write them. If you stay one week, you can write a book. If you stay a year, you can write an article. If you live there, you feel as if you know so little that you can hardly write anything. The more you know, the more it seems there is to learn.

What matters is quality, not quantity. If you study the Bhagavad Gita deeply, this is enough. Even if you read one chapter thoroughly and internalize it, it is enough. Krishna says that some people reach Me through knowledge. They do not reach Him by merely reading. They reach Him when they go deeper and deeper into His words and those words take hold of them.

That is the purpose of reading scriptures. Read with full understanding. Read with the view to internalize what you read. Read as if the reading is an experience by itself.