Rest In Me🔗

9.4 The entire universe is pervaded by Me in My formless form.

All beings are based in Me, but I am not in them.

9.5 Look at My mystic powers!

I create and sustain all living entities but do not depend on them, nor do they depend on Me.

9.6 As the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, always rests in eternal space,

All beings rest in Me.

9.7 O son of Kunti, at the end of every age all beings merge into Me,

At the beginning of every new Age I create them again.

9.8 My material nature creates the beings again and again.

They are controlled by My material nature.

It is time to reveal the secrets.

Krishna starts:

'By Me, in my formless form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me but I am not in them.'

This should be understood. Before entering further into this verse, the meaning of the verse should be understood.

I want to tell you about my meeting with Charles Townes, a Nobel Laureate. He is a great scientist. He discovered something related to LASER and MASER. He discovered some secrets and some truths.

I asked him, ‘How did you discover? How did this truth happen in your being?’

He answered in a beautiful way, ‘Swamiji, to tell you honestly, I was relaxing in a park in Washington. It was early morning about six a.m. I was supposed to give a lecture on this subject to a group that day at nine a.m. I tried my best to recollect everything. I was completely frustrated because I could not achieve much. Suddenly like a revelation, as an intuition, the conclusion was revealed to me! The whole truth came into my consciousness. I discovered it! I immediately penned down what I got.’

And he says, ‘I then realized I had a difficulty: I knew the conclusion. I knew the truth, however, not the steps! I didn’t know the logical steps to arrive at that conclusion! I would not be able to present it unless I knew the steps. So after that, I needed to think and develop the logical steps. Only then could I present it to others. Like an intuition, suddenly, it happened. It had been revealed to me.’

Not only Charles Townes, even Albert Einstein said, ‘The theory of relativity was revealed in deep meditation. It was like sitting on the edge of a light particle and traveling in space. It came as an intuition.’

Actually, even this experience is not a big thing. The truth, the important thing is this: I asked Charles Townes, ‘How did you feel when it happened to you, when the revelation happened to you?’ Because what he experienced was intuition just as our sages experienced.

§¾i, a sage, is someone who experienced the truth as a mantra, a sacred and mystic syllable of knowledge and who has seen the mantra - mantra tr¢yate iti ¨¾ihi. The person who sees the mantra, who visualizes and experiences the mantra, is a ¨¾i. The ultimate Truth is suddenly revealed in the ¨¾i’s consciousness. They experience an inner vision; they then express the experience in words as a mantra.

In the same way, this scientist is also a ¨¾i. Charles Townes is a ¨¾i. He had a revelation about the secrets of the outer world. His intuition revealed the truth to him. I asked him, ‘How did you feel when that intuition happened to you? What was your feeling?’

He said, ‘Swamiji, I don’t know how to exactly express those things; however one thing is certain: from that moment onwards, I know for sure that the whole universe is intelligence!’

This is the truth! The whole universe is pure intelligence. The whole universe is not dead matter. It is not an accident. The universe is not an accident. It is pure intelligence. It can respond to our thoughts. Please understand, the whole universe, planet earth, air, oceans, rivers, earth, fire, or the space, sun, moon, this whole universe, is intelligence. It can reciprocate. It can respond. It can react to our thoughts.

This is an important and basic understanding. The moment we understand that we are this energy that is intelligence, the moment we are aware that we are inside the energy that is intelligence, at that moment, we immediately settle into a deep relaxation.

The moment we experience, we understand: we are under the guidance of an intelligent energy. We are taken care of by an intelligent energy, we are part of the cosmic intelligence and we don't need to struggle. We don't need to stress ourselves. We don't need to create tension. We don't need to torture ourselves with insecurity problems and with unnecessary worries.

Actually, all our problems, tensions and stresses arise because we think we do everything. We think we are responsible for everything that happens around us. We think the universe runs because of us. Understand that the universe runs in spite of us! We should understand that the universe is intelligent and it responds to our thoughts. If we trust the universe, we experience how light we are. We can unload all our troubles including the extra responsibility of thinking that we do everything.

This does not mean that we just sit and relax and say, 'Okay, the universe is intelligence. It will take care of everything.' This is laziness and escapism. We still must do what we need to do. We should still work; however we can enjoy the process. You see, we think of the result all the time. Our thoughts arise out of fear or greed: fear of whether we will get the results or greed of wanting more and more.

However, we never enjoy the process of doing that work. When we enjoy the process and trust the universal intelligence, thoughts arising out of fear and greed will disappear. We will enjoy the process of doing and we will let the universe take care of the results. Krishna says elsewhere, 'You do what you have to. Do it, but surrender the results to Me.' When He says 'Me', He refers to the universal consciousness or intelligence.

This is what Krishna means in the next verse when He says that the beings do not depend on Him, nor does He depend on them. Of course, it is clear that the

universe does not depend upon us; yet how can He say that we, the beings created and sustained by the universe, do not depend upon it? What He means is this: it is not a passive and lazy dependence of letting everything happen while we sit idle. It is an active understanding. One does what one must do as part of his life process but without attachment and ownership.

One way or the other, we are in this universe. Because the universe is intelligence, it responds to our thoughts. It makes things happen. Since we are part of this universe, just flow with the energy of the universe. Do not resist it. If this understanding penetrates our life, it is enough!

If we know the universe is intelligence, we never question how life unfolds. We don't say, 'I am moral. But I see people who don't live morally living luxuriously, happily. Yet I always suffer!' We never have these questions or frustrations because we know the cosmic intelligence will take care ultimately. Whoever is immoral or whoever goes around and disturbs others will naturally face the consequences, because intelligence takes care. In the same way, if we are honest, integrated, and living a spiritual life, we will live a beautiful life. We are rewarded because the whole universe is run by an intelligence that responds to this.

Don't think the cosmos is just matter. If we think the cosmos is matter, we are materialistic. If we understand that the cosmos is intelligence, we are spiritual, that's all.

The only difference between the materialistic and spiritual person is that the materialist thinks the whole thing is material: 'Let me acquire more and more land. Let me acquire more and more material things.' He thinks the whole thing is material.

The spiritual person understands that the whole thing is spirit, energy. If we understand that the whole thing is spirit, energy, intelligence, then a tremendous relaxation and bliss consciousness happens to us.

Please understand that bliss is not just a mood. It is our very consciousness. If it comes and goes as a mood, we are only having one or two experiences. One devotee asked, 'Bliss comes and goes, what to do?'

I explained, 'You are having initial glimpses of bliss. Through your mind, you are trying to touch the bliss. Nothing needs to be done; just relax, that's all.'

However, once we understand this secret, a deep relaxation happens to us. In such a deep relaxation, we straightaway experience bliss consciousness. Once we experience bliss consciousness, it is everlasting. The bliss mood comes and stays. Bliss consciousness is everlasting.

Krishna says, 'By My formless form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me.' He speaks of cosmic intelligence.

Be very clear, such a big universe is moving and happening. All the planets move around the sun. Each planet has its own moons. Now the latest discovery is a planet called Sedna in our solar system, further away from Pluto. They have also discovered a neighboring solar system called Cygnus that has three suns. Not one sun, but three suns, around one planet, in this universe.

So now we cannot say nava graha, (nine major heavenly bodies as defined in Hindu mythology) we must say dasa graha (ten major heavenly bodies)!

There are so many suns, so many moons and so many planets. However, each one travels in its route properly. Each one goes properly in its route. No traffic police! Accidents are rare. Unless intelligence runs the whole thing, do you think things can happen so beautifully?

And even on this planet Earth, see how the whole thing is beautiful! The whole thing happens in a clear way. Everything is in order. Only wherever human beings live, there is chaos! Except human beings, nobody creates chaos. Even in chaos, the Divine creates order. Humans bring in the chaos.

We need to understand that the whole universe is intelligence and it operates out of intelligence. This intelligence responds to our thoughts and we can relate with this intelligence. When we imbibe this, then we naturally experience a deep peace. Rest, a real, ultimate rest and confidence to live, happens within us.

As long as we think the world is matter or material, there is no use living. Nothing matters. Even if we become the president of one country, other countries will not be under our control. We can never become the president of the whole world. So naturally, we can never achieve the whole matter.

As long as we believe the world is material, we create more and more violence because we live materially. Materially means that we must snatch from others. One way or another; violence will exist. Only a person who experiences, who understands that the whole thing is energy, intelligence, only he can relax.

Let me repeat the next verse.

He says, ‘Understand that as the mighty wind blowing everywhere rests in the sky, all created beings rest in Me.’ Please understand this concept:

He says, ‘Just as the wind rests in the sky energy.’ Please understand how the earth is energy. We know earth is energy. Take a stone. If a stone is thrown at us or if we throw a stone, we know the energy behind that stone. Next, consider water. We know the energy of water. Whoever knows about the waters that devastated New Orleans knows the energy of water! Or, if it floods, we know what water does; water is energy, we can understand that. Next is agni, fire. All of us know the power of fire. Next, air: storms, hurricanes, tornados. We know the power of air.

In the same way, ākāśa (space or ether) is also energy. We do not know the power of ākāśa because it does not directly create impacts and effects in our lives. ākāśa is disturbed by our collective negative thoughts. The collective energy of the universe is ākāśa. ākāśa is also related to collective negativity, collective poison.

When the earth element is disturbed or poisoned, only one person suffers. For example, if our food is poisoned, we alone suffer, that’s all. If water is poisoned, the whole region suffers. Whoever uses the water supply, suffer. If whatever creates fire in us is corrupted, a big group suffers. We can use medicines as an example for fire because medicines keep the fire inside us alive. To keep us healthy, physically fit, we need medicines. If medicines are corrupted, people who take the medicines suffer. If chemicals pollute the air, the whole country suffers. If air is corrupted, if the air is polluted, the whole society suffers. But if space, ākāśa, is polluted, the whole world suffers.

Corruption at higher levels of energy creates suffering for more and more people. More and more people suffer when higher levels of energy become polluted. The higher the level of energy that is corrupted, the number of people suffering is more. Our thoughts corrupt space. Space is energy.

Because ether or space is so subtle, and so sensitive, we cannot feel the happenings in the space of ether. We feel the happenings in the other four spaces: earth, water, fire and air, so because of that we can understand the happenings in them. However, we fail to understand that space, ether, is also energy, a power. It is more subtle and more powerful because the subtler it becomes, the more powerful and energetic it becomes.

One more thing to know is that there are three levels of space. The first level is when we are limited to what is inside this skin. This is ghaṭākāśa, what is contained within our body. We limit our whole understanding of everything around us to this body. We think this is the only thing that is the ultimate. We become conscious of how this body should look, how it should be maintained. We think we are only this body and nothing else. This is the lowest level.

The next level is cid¢k¢sa. This space refers to what our mind perceives as the world. Let's say we are sitting here but our mind is in Los Angeles. Then that becomes our cid¢k¢sa, the space perceived by our mind. The next moment our mind shifts to Bangalore. Then that becomes our cid¢k¢sa. The space that our mind operates in is cid¢k¢sa.

The third and final level is mah¢k¢sa. The whole cosmos, the universe, everything that is outside and that is inside forms mah¢k¢sa. This is the ultimate level. This is the level where everything that we see as different becomes one.

Please clearly understand these three spaces. Our body, everything that is inside this skin is gha°ck¢sa. Next, the space governed by our mind, by our thoughts, is cid¢k¢sa. Finally, the whole universe, the whole cosmos, forms mah¢k¢sa.

Now, if something happens inside our body, we immediately feel it. If we are hurt, we clearly see it. We see blood flow. We see a rash. We see a cut. We clearly see and feel any disturbance or event in gha°ck¢sa. This event in gha°ck¢sa happens at a gross level.

When we go to the next level, cid¢k¢sa, events that disturb or change this space are subtle. Our thoughts affect cid¢k¢sa. Please be very clear, whether we believe it or not, our thoughts have a huge effect on the external world. Whatever thought comes, don't think that it simply comes and goes. Every thought is energy. It manifests as something in the external world. The problem is that we are unaware of the effect. The effect is subtle so our mind cannot see that what happens is because of those thoughts we entertained.

Our mind thinks something. It affects this space. These changes are projected into the external world, yet our mind is unable to recognize them. It is unable to see and understand that all it sees is because of itself.

So, as we advance one level higher, the changes become more subtle but the effect is more powerful. We see in gha°ck¢sa, the effect is limited to our body. In cid¢k¢sa, our thoughts affect the space around us. The effect is seen in a bigger space. The effect is more widespread.

Now the highest level, mah¢k¢sa, this level is subtler than cid¢k¢sa. Any change here affects the whole universe. When something happens in this space, the whole

universe responds. When we enter this space, we realize the ultimate Truth. We merge with everything, with the whole cosmos.

The fifth element, ether, is like mah¢k¢sa. Actually they are the same. Ether is everywhere. The problem is we don't know it. Mah¢k¢sa pervades everything. We are just not aware of it. This space takes any shape and any form. Even in vacuum, it is there.

Understand this example: If water is compressed by a compressor, it becomes energy. If air is compressed by a compressor, it can even move a train; it becomes energy. In the same way, if ether is compressed in a particular space, in a particular shape, again that becomes energy.

An iron piece; if it is a square piece, it is different. If it is an 'I' shape, it is totally different and can be used for a different purpose. The same iron, one kilogram of iron, if it is a rectangular bar, the effect or power is totally different. If it becomes an 'I' bar, it is totally different.

Do you understand? It is a subtle concept. It is a subtle concept, but if we understand, we realize the great gift and understand the great research that our masters accomplished. They did a great sacrifice by doing all this research and creating all this wisdom and giving it to us.

Like earth, ether can be handled. It can be used in different forms and shapes. Certain techniques allow us to use the ether energy at its best, to its maximum level. When ether is put in one particular size – inside that room or inside that space – whoever lives there will be controlled by that ether and the ether is in turn controlled by them. Their thoughts affect the ether and the ether affects their thoughts.

This concept of using the energy of space or ether is the basis of v¢stu º¢stra, an ancient vedic science related to the science of architecture. We can live in harmony with the universal energy by constructing dwellings and structures in a manner that fits in with the spatial energy of the universe. V¢stu º¢stra lays down details for where various activity spaces should be located in a dwelling, as well as the direction. It tells where the kitchen should be located in a house, where fire resides, in which part of the house business deals should be conducted and in which part of the house we can rest well and so on. V¢stu º¢stra is the ancient vedic science of space.

Krishna says, 'How the wind rests in the space, in the same way the universe rests in Me.'

Don’t think space is emptiness. Space is not just emptiness. It is energy. Just because we are not able to see, we can’t say it is emptiness. It is energy. Just as the air rests in the space, our being, the whole universe including our being, we all rest in the Divine. Krishna says, ‘All beings rest in Me.’

Can you see why Krishna calls all that He is speaking of a secret? He is being very careful as to whom He is telling this secret or confidential knowledge. He wants to tell all this to a qualified person. Arjuna, also called Kaunteya, son of Kunti, is both a friend and a disciple. He knows now that Arjuna is ready to take in this secret.

Actually till this point Krishna has slowly prepared Arjuna. Now He knows Arjuna is ready to take in some truths, some secrets of this universe. If Krishna had told these strong truths in the beginning of the Gita, Arjuna would not have understood. Arjuna had so many doubts at the start.

If we see the first chapter of the Gita, only Arjuna speaks and Krishna listens. Then Krishna speaks from Chapter 2 onwards. Arjuna’s questions get answered one by one. After a while, Arjuna turns silent. He does not ask. He absorbs the ultimate knowledge delivered by Krishna.

In these two verses, Krishna talks about the creation and destruction of the universe. He makes bold statements. Only an enlightened master can make such bold statements because he speaks from experience. Some people do not agree with what I say. They think their own understandings are correct. When they tell me, ‘Swamiji, how can you say that? In so-and-so book, it is written like this,’ I laugh and let it pass.

First of all, they did not understand what exactly was written in those scriptures and then they tell me I am wrong. What can be done? Even if I argue, they won’t listen. All the old people are dangerous! Whenever I go for a discourse, I see if there are old people. They think they have seen everything and do not want to listen to what I say.

Here Krishna makes bold statements and truths and He knows Arjuna is ready to take in those truths. He talks about the creation of the universe. According to Hindu mythology, the universe is created each time Brahma, the creator, blinks. In the first verse Krishna says, ‘The whole material manifestation enters into Him when the universe is destroyed and He projects it again to create the universe.’

Understand that when Krishna says, 'The universe enters Me,' He refers to the cosmic Krishna, the cosmic consciousness, and not the Krishna we see in human form. Let us try to understand this very deeply.

For a long time, the Big Bang theory was used to explain the creation of the universe. It said that there was a big ball of fire and an explosion. After the explosion some smaller parts cooled down to become planets, meteors and asteroids. Bigger parts stayed on as stars and suns. In the theory of evolution on planet earth, Darwin talks about how life originated.

However, modern science disproves these theories. Modern scientific findings go towards what ancient Indian scriptures, the Upanishads said thousands of years ago.

According to the Taittreya Upanishad, first there was ether. From ether, came air. From air came fire. Then water appeared and finally earth appeared. From earth, other living beings appeared.

Actually, this order has a deeper meaning. It shows the process of evolution from a subtle form of energy that is ether, to a gross form that is earth. We feel gross forms through the senses; however as it goes to subtler forms of energy, we must experience it. Can we hold water like we can hold earth in our hands? Can we feel fire the way we feel water? Can we see air like we see fire? No. As the energy goes from gross to subtle, the way we experience it changes. Earth is tangible matter; ether is intangible energy. The subtlest form of energy is ether and we can only experience this through meditation.

Krishna says at the end of each age, called a kalpa in Sanskrit, the materially manifested universe with all its creations merges back into Him. If we analyze the Big Bang theory, the first question we ask is, 'Where did the ball of fire come from?' The Big Bang theory does not answer this fundamental question. You see, the so-called scientists have no answer to this question yet.

However Krishna, the inner scientist, answers this question in these verses. Science has now proven that the vacuum has something in it. The subtlest form of energy, ether, is present in the vacuum. Science has proven it. See how science is tending towards spirituality.

This whole universe was created from ether and it goes back into ether again. All that we see outside as the material world is the manifestation of this subtle form of energy. The material world is the gross form of energy that we can see. We can only see the gross form. We can only feel the gross form because of our level of consciousness.

When Krishna says, ‘All material manifestation enters Me,’ He means, it enters the universal consciousness. We should understand that the gross form or material world that we see is a manifestation of subtle energy. Everything we see and feel using our senses is part of the universal consciousness. The problem is that we see it only as matter.

If we see things as matter, we are caught up in that level only. As long as we think that they are matter, as long as we are in the gross level, we run after them. Our mind starts operating and says, ‘These things will make you happy; go and get them.’ You see, how our mind works just by a simple misunderstanding. When we get this thought, the rat race starts, and our suffering starts.

When we understand that whatever we see and feel and whatever we run after are only material manifestations of the subtle energy, we operate in a different plane. We see the futility of the race we are running. We see everything in a different way. We realize that they are a projection of our own inner self.

Please be very clear: All material things that we see are a manifestation of our inner self. Our desires and thoughts are projected as the materials that we see. However, in actual fact, there is no such thing as material, separate and independent things. Everything is one; everything is energy.

Krishna says that only He can create and destroy this universe at His will. This whole universe is a manifestation or a projection of our own self. Someone said, ‘We make our own world.’ This sentence has a deep meaning. All that we see as the world or universe is what we create. All relationships are projections of either our insecurities or our desires. We call someone father or mother because we need someone to take care of us in childhood. After we grow up, we need a wife or life-partner to take care of us. After we grow old, we need our children to take care of us.

We create our world through our needs or desires. Only an enlightened being sees the real truth, as it is. Once we understand everything is a mirror image of our own self, we become enlightened. Once we realize that we, along with everything else around us, are part of the same energy or consciousness, we become enlightened.

In these two verses, Krishna says this truth clearly. Every material manifestation is created by Him and goes back into Him. Everything is part of the same energy system or the universal consciousness. He says only He can create and destroy it at

His will, which means the world that we see, the universe that we perceive, is a projection of our own Self.

Q: Swamiji, when you tell us to ignore the material world and focus on the energy behind matter, it is difficult. Whatever we see is matter; we do not have the sensitivity to see the energy. How to go beyond material manifestation?

At the level where you are, use your intellect, intelligence, and your logic to understand that everything that you see around you is perishable and impermanent. All you have to work with as of now is your intellect, so use it; however use it to understand this truth instead of ignoring it.

You know from your own experience, as well as that of others, that every single material manifestation that you see in the world comes with an expiry date. It may be possible that some things may outlive you but not for long. Even mountains crumble, rivers dry up, and oceans recede or rise. Nothing stays the way it is.

You also know from experience that what you perceive as enjoyment from contact with material objects is a time-barred experience. Nothing lasts forever, be it food, be it sex, or be it an event or experience that you love. You have ups and downs in the way you experience pleasures and pains. Nothing is permanent.

Māyā, illusion, does not mean that the life you lead is not reality. It means that it is not permanent. It means that it is not the ultimate reality. It means there is something beyond it that is permanent.

The suffering that you undergo in your life and life experiences is because of this confusion. We expect things to remain the same. We expect pleasures to continue. We expect our loved ones to live forever and happily. Neither will happen, nor can happen.

First, you need to drill this into your logic system, because this is logical and your intellect cannot argue with this. Once your logic accepts the impermanence of material things and the transience of material experiences, it starts to wonder whether there is anything permanent out there, anything that comes without an expiry date.

If your resolve is strong enough, this understanding too will happen. It happens because it is a truth that is built within you. It is not something that you need to make an effort to understand. You only need to uncover a few layers of ignorance to see the truth.

What comes without an expiry date is the energy that surrounds us and is within us. The awareness that these are the same is enlightenment. Once that awareness happens, you do not need logic to remind you that matter is perishable. You know that it is and all that is permanent is energy, whatever name you give it: God, Buddha, Krishna consciousness, Christ, Allah or Nithyananda.

# How To Be Unattached

9.9 O Dhananjaya, all this work does not bind Me.

I am ever unattached and indifferent.

9.10 The material nature of prakrti works under My direction, O Son of Kunti, and

creates all moving and unmoving beings through My energy of maya.

By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.

9.11 Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form.

They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that is.

9.12 Those who are thus deluded are demonic and atheistic.

In their deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their result-oriented actions and their culture of knowledge become false and useless.

Being attached or bound to what we do or what we have is a major hurdle in realizing our Self. Krishna says He is not bound to this universe. This is the reason, He says, that keeps Him unaffected when the universe is created and when it is destroyed.

Krishna says He is not at all affected when such a big thing is happening. The whole universe is being born out of Him and it is getting destroyed. Even then He is not affected because He is not bound to the universe. It is because He is a mere spectator.

Let us understand this in the context of daily life. When we start to internalize these great truths in small things that we do, a great change happens in us. Krishna speaks of a divine play. He talks in terms of the universe being created and destroyed from universal consciousness. If we understand His words, we can apply them to day-to-day activities. That is why Bhagavad Gita is a beautiful scripture. It is a technique applicable for any age or generation and which can be easily internalized.

When we understand this truth, we feel a great sense of liberation. You see, we become attached or bound to what we have. We think that all we have is ours. When we create that attachment, we create a strong bond. Be very clear, now the problem has started.

A small story:

A man who was born blind goes to a doctor for a cure. After examining his eyes, the doctor says the blindness can be cured. He tells the blind man a small operation needs to be done and his eyesight can be brought back and then he won't need his walking stick any more. The blind man is surprised.

He asks, 'Doctor, I understand that you will operate on me, and my eyesight can be restored and I will be able to see everything. But I do not understand why I won't need my walking stick.'

You see the attachment the blind man has to the walking stick? He understood that he would be able to see; yet he could not let go of his walking stick. In the same way, we hold onto a walking stick though we have eyes to see. We are not blind; however we are bound to material possessions, relationships and emotions.

Let us discuss in detail how these different kinds of attachments bind us. Our material possessions create greed and fear in us. We are either in fear of losing them or we want to get more and more of them. We run after them. We attach so much importance to them that getting more and more of them becomes our only goal. Naturally when we have so much, we create a fear of losing them.

The problem is we associate ourselves with material possessions. This is what we understand as life. Again and again, we run after them and forget who we are. So many people are in the rat race. They spend their lives accumulating money, bungalows and cars. And at the end of their life, they regret; they wonder what they have done in their lives.

This is what attachment to material possessions does. It creates greed and fear. We create goals to get more and more material wealth. Even if we have enough, we are not satisfied. We want more and more. We run and run till we drop dead. Now when we have so much of it, we fear losing it. We hold onto it as if it were our property. We are in a state of continuous fear.

This is one kind of attachment. There is another kind of attachment. We are attached to people. We create strong bonds in relationships. These are also attachments. We start possessing people. The possessiveness grows so strong that we suffer when someone dies. We become so dependent on persons that our whole life seems to lose meaning when they die.

Actually, what happens in this kind of bondage is that we define ourselves based on the opinions of other people. We know ourselves only by the certificates of others. In other words, we energize ourselves based on others. So we constantly hold on to that relationship because it gives us energy; that relationship helps us define ourselves.

So when a person dies, we feel depressed because whatever we were holding to very tightly was the source of energy for us. That was defining us till now and now it is no longer there. It has disappeared. So our whole system is shaken.

Now there is the third kind of bondage or attachment. It is related to our thoughts and emotions. Whenever something happens, we start linking it with our past and start fantasizing about the future. Be very clear, a thought arises because our mind jumps from the past to the future. When a thought arises, we link up that thought with other thoughts.

Let us say, you see a dog. As soon as you see it, you go to the past when you were bitten by a dog. Then your mind goes somewhere, probably a hospital. Then your mind goes to the doctor who gave you medical care. The doctor has nothing to do with a dog on the road, but this is how your mind associates and takes you with it! You create a chain between two thoughts. You link different thoughts.

Do a simple exercise. Take a piece of paper and write down all your thoughts. Do not edit anything. Note down everything that comes into your mind. Do this for five minutes. Just for five minutes. Then look through that list of thoughts. You will see what a mess is going on inside the head! You will see that none of the thoughts are linked to each other. They are random, unrelated, illogical thoughts.

None of the thoughts are linked to each other; however, we start to link them. We create a shaft binding all these thoughts. Each thought is like a bubble in a fish tank. If you see bubbles rising in a fish tank, they are unrelated, unconnected and disjointed. However we create a shaft and link them up. We attach ourselves with that shaft and start experiencing them. We start participating in the thoughts. We let the thoughts control us.

In the same way, we deal with our emotions also. We create a shaft of all our pains and all our joys. If we see that our pain shaft is longer than the joy shaft, we conclude that we had a painful life; we had a miserable life. Otherwise, we say we have a happy life. Yet if we look deeply, each of the pains is completely unconnected and disjointed.

For example, the headache that you experience today is not related to the headache that you had one week ago. The headache that you had one week ago is not related to the headache that you felt one month ago. But what do we do? We connect all these and say we have always had headaches or migraines. We become migraine sufferers. We fail to see that all the events were independent events. We create a shaft through all these pains and come to a conclusion.

In the same way, if we have a joyful experience, we want to hold onto it. We want to experience that joy again. We look for that source of joy and continuously run after it. This again leads us into the rat race.

Here Krishna says He is neutral. How do we get ourselves unconnected from these attachments? Please understand that being unconnected from material possessions does not mean you leave everything and go away. Being unconnected from relationships does not mean breaking your relationships, forgetting your children, parents and others.

Please understand this very deeply. Being neutral or unconnected has a deep meaning. Being neutral means being a spectator. It is like this: When you watch a movie, you watch something on the screen. Do you become an actor in that movie? No. You watch it and let it go.

In the same way, we need to watch attachments. When we watch them as a spectator, we get detached from them. What do I mean by that? When we watch our materialistic wealth, we will not run after it. We do our job because we love it, not because we want to accumulate wealth. A scientist should do research because he likes to do it, not because he wants something out of it. When that is the attitude, the universe starts showering. The results happen of their own accord. The materialistic wealth comes on its own.

In relationships also, we must be a spectator. When we stop seeing someone as a possession and when we become a spectator to the relationship, our dependency on that person and expectations from that person drop. When dependencies and expectations drop, there is no give and take in the relationship. There is only giving. The relationship becomes stronger.

When we become a spectator to our thoughts and emotions, we feel a great sense of liberation. All we have to do is break the shaft that we create between different unconnected thoughts and emotions. We have to 'unclutch'. When we see thoughts like passing clouds in the sky, we stop associating ourselves with them. We are no longer controlled by them.

Be very clear, being a spectator to thoughts does not mean that we suppress or destroy thoughts. We are not Brahma, the Creator, or Vishnu, the Sustainer, or Shiva, the Rejuvenator. When we become a spectator, we go beyond these three states. We transcend the trinity.

By being a spectator, we remain unaffected and unattached to what happens in and around us. This is the truth. If we can internalize this completely, we will be enlightened this very minute!

Krishna says that although He is a mere spectator, everything happens under His supervision. Here He shows His authority. He says the material world is created and annihilated according to His will through the power of prak¨ti, Nature and the energy of m¢y¢, Illusion. Actually Krishna is repeating what He said in the previous verse. He thinks that this concept is important for Arjuna to understand. So He repeats it again and again.

Krishna wants to clearly get this idea across to Arjuna. The whole material manifestation is a projection of the energy of universal consciousness. This is what is reflected within us in our individual consciousness. We create what we see and what we wish to see. We project as reality what we wish to believe. It is like this. You stand in front of a mirror and see yourself. Now all that you see outside you is a projection of what you have inside you.

He says, 'I am the supreme power.' Everything happens under His supervision. What He says is simple. Whatever happens is a drama of creation and annihilation through Nature and Illusion. Krishna, the director and producer of this cosmic drama, stands unmoved as a spectator.

This truth is reflected within us, too. We create and destroy ourselves. Everything, our happiness, our pains, our fantasies, our sorrows, our relationships are created by us. If we see from a higher level, we influence the whole universe. Krishna shows how powerful we are, how powerful our inner Self is. Whether we believe it or not, it is the truth. We create everything that we see, feel and hear. That is the power of our inner Self. Yet we do not stay detached the way Krishna does.

Our thoughts and inner chatter have a tremendous impact. The cosmic consciousness responds to our thoughts. All the enlightened masters have talked about it. What we think and how we think affects what happens around us.

You have seen people who always shout and yell at others. Some people keep shaking their legs. All this happens because of inner restlessness. If something goes wrong, we blame others. We become irritated by small things. All this is because there is so much restlessness inside us. However instead of looking inside, what do we do? We blame others.

We see negativity around us because there are negativities inside us. Because of such thoughts inside us, we project them outside by becoming frustrated and irritated at small things. You see, this is how we create our own world. Because of our thoughts and inner chatter, we create a world full of negativities outside.

When we observe children, they are always blissful. Have you ever seen a child becoming frustrated or irritated? No. You may have seen children build castles with playing cards by stacking them one on top of the other and arranging them in a particular order. They are completely immersed in it. Even if some cards fall, they do not become frustrated or irritated. They once again try to stack them.

In children there is no inner chatter, no conditionings. The world they project or manifest outside is blissful. They create a beautiful world because they do not have negativities inside them. Understand the power of thoughts. A person is blissful not because of what happens outside him; it is because of what is inside him.

One more important thing: There is a difference between being happy and being blissful. Happiness happens inside because of external factors. If we feel joy inside because of something happening outside us, that joy is happiness. The problem with happiness is the source. If suddenly the external source disappears, our happiness also disappears. So our internal state is affected by an external source. The outer world is affecting our inner world.

However, bliss is not like that. Being blissful does not depend on external sources. If we are at peace internally, we express that bliss. No external event or happening affects this state. Bliss is eternal; however happiness is temporary. When we are blissful inside, we project the same bliss outside. When we are in that state, we enjoy everything that happens outside us. We enjoy the external material manifestation because we are blissful inside.

Please understand that as long as we enjoy the external material manifestation of our inner bliss as a spectator, it is fine. However, when we participate in it, when we try to possess that bliss, when we try to hold onto that bliss, that bliss is gone. It disappears because our mind has come in. Be very clear, when we think from our mind, when we enjoy something from our mind, it is not bliss.

So in this verse Krishna tells us clearly that we create our own world. The material manifestation is solely because of our inner Self and nothing external is responsible for it.

In the next verse He says, 'Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My ultimate nature, eternal nature, as the supreme Lord of all that is.'

Here Krishna uses a strong word: 'Fools'. Enlightened masters don't edit their words. They don't edit. They speak the truth as it is. Usually, normal people edit because they fear others' opinions.

See, normally in all your minds, three processes happen: first, words are created, then edited and then finally presented. Creating, editing and presenting. In masters, these three processes don't happen. Straightaway what is created is presented.

One American university professor who attended many of our discourses said, 'Swamiji, you are speaking continuously for hours.' Of course, if you see our website, everyday somewhere in the world there is a discourse. For the last two and a half years, there is not a single day that has gone by without a program. Not a single day! Always somewhere or the other, there is some program happening. Some program, some lecture, something is going on.

He asked me, 'How are you able to continuously speak without notes?' Please be very clear, here also in front of me, only the verses are there. Only the book of verses is here. There are no other notes. I see these verses in front of me so that the original pronunciation is not lost. And the original form should be maintained. We respect the verses. We don't alter the verses. I can say that the Vedas is the purest and most unadulterated scripture. No alteration is allowed, even the tune can't be changed. Even the tune in which they are chanted can't be changed. The chhandas (meter) cannot be changed. The same tune is preserved. It is not learnt by heart by reading. It is heard, śruti; it is heard. By hearing, they know by heart.

That is why the tune cannot be changed. The words cannot be changed and the tune cannot be changed. Just to preserve the purity, I read the verse from the original. I don’t have notes.

He asked, ‘How are you able to speak continuously without notes, Swamiji?’ This is the first lecture where I am keeping something in front of me. If you have attended earlier discourses, whether it is a four-day program or five-day program, I never keep notes. This is the first time I am keeping something in front of me. This is the first time I am commenting on Sanskrit literature. So I keep the Sanskrit verses in front of me.

He asked me, ‘How are you able to continuously speak?’ I told him, ‘Because the process is easy in me. I don’t edit. I don’t have the three mechanisms: creating words, editing and presenting. Usually, for all people, these three mechanisms have to happen.’

Then he put one more question, ‘Swamiji, speaking for hours is different. For me, I must prepare three hours even for a one-hour lecture. If I must speak one hour on the ideas or the concepts I am supposed to present, I must prepare for three hours. I know for sure that you don’t have time to prepare for so many discourses.’

In our meditation camps, sometimes the program is eighteen hours long per day. For eighteen hours people listen to the talks and meditate. In India the same program is for four days, about forty hours or more. He said, ‘How can you prepare for such long discourses? How do you speak without preparation?’

I told him, ‘You prepare because it has not become your experience.’ Then I asked him, ‘If somebody asks your name, do you prepare? Do you look at your notes and tell them your name?’ Your name has become your experience, your being. So you immediately respond. Similarly, whatever I speak is from my experience. So I don’t need to prepare. I don’t need any rehearsal. Because it is my experience, I spontaneously express it. Nothing needs to be prepared. Preparation is unnecessary.

One more thing, why do people fear public speaking? Why do they again and again prepare and rehearse? They fear that they may speak what they really think! They do not want to express what is going on inside them. They want to express polished words, decent words and clear words. They fear they may express by mistake what is going on inside! They may utter words that they are thinking. That is why they again and again prepare.

Only for a person whose inner chattering has become pure, not only his words, his thinking has also become pure. That person can talk in a relaxed way for hours in public. To speak in public, that too in a relaxed and casual way, we need our inner being to be in a pure way. Only then can we talk whatever comes. We can be in such a relaxed mood. Otherwise, continuously we must edit.

If we edit and speak, within half an hour or one hour, we are tired. We feel drained. We do not radiate the same energy. Speaking is a big job for people who edit and speak. They cannot be relaxed. They cannot be joyful.

Masters don’t edit; they express whatever they think. Because their thinking has become so pure, they don’t need to edit. Even if they use sharp words, they are spoken to awaken you.

Here Krishna uses the word, ‘mūḍha’, meaning ‘fool’. ‘Fools deride Me.’ He gives a jolt to the ego. He gives a jolt. ‘Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My eternal nature as the supreme Lord of all that is.’ He says, ‘When I land in the world in the human form as a master, people, fools, deride me. They don’t understand.’

He again and again tells this to Arjuna, ‘Don’t think that just because I am in the body, I am your friend. Don’t think that I am the person who was sitting in Brindavan (the place where Krishna spent his infant years), who is your own friend. Don’t think I am that person. I am the energy that takes care of the whole world. I have come down in this form to liberate all of you. So only fools deride Me, fools miss Me. Don’t miss, Arjuna, understand the ultimate nature of Me and liberate yourself.’

In these verses, Krishna tells some interesting truths. These were true during His time and they are true today. When an enlightened master is in his body, people do not accept him. When the master lives in his body, people ignore him. In fact, people do not even want to accept that he can be an enlightened master.

People stay away from the master when he is living. However, when the master is no longer in the body, people visit his final resting place, offer flowers, and do all kinds of things. This has happened to all enlightened masters. Jesus was crucified. Ramakrishna was considered a mad priest. When Ramakrishna entered into an ecstatic mood, people said that he was acting.

However now, if you go to Kolkata, thousands of people visit Dakshineshwar, the place where Ramakrishna spent most of His life. Now people from all around the world go to Ramakrishna mission centers. Dakshineshwar has become a pilgrimage center. People worship Ramakrishna; they keep his photo in their home, in their wallets.

You see, over time nothing has changed. In fact, it has become worse. The level of consciousness in people is affected by television and movies. When Ramakrishna was alive in the 19ᵗʰ century, these things were not there. Then he was called a madman. People made fun of him. However now after one hundred years, when we are constantly bombarded with unnecessary things, thousands of people go to Dakshineshwar. They worship him. They call him an incarnation. They call him God.

When I am in the ashram in Bidadi, many people come with speculation. They have questions about what I say, what I wear and everything I do. They say, ‘You are so young. How can you be enlightened?’ Some say, ‘If you are enlightened, why do you wear a golden rudr¢k¾a necklace? Why do you charge money for courses?’ They have questions and questions and questions.

These same people will come to my final resting place after one hundred years and offer flowers on it. They will accept me as their guru when I am not sitting in the ashram in human form.

Krishna says, ‘Fools lose Me when I come in human form.’ He calls them fools. This is the truth. When an enlightened master is in human form, we do not accept him as a master. Only after the master leaves the body do we pay our respects to the master. What is the reason? Why do people again and again do this?

You see, when the master is in his body, when he is still in human form, our mind sees him as another human being. We see him like anybody else, another person. Then our ego comes between him and us. It reasons, ‘He is another human like me. Why should I listen to him? Why do people pray to him? Why is he preaching to me?’ All these questions come. That is it. We decide we don’t have to follow another human being and go back.

Please be very clear, a simple act of ego makes us miss a living enlightened master. Our mind cannot accept it. It always boosts our ego and keeps us away from an enlightened master. Our being wants it; however our mind and ego create a strong wall of questions between the master and us. We reason out everything that the master says. If there is a continuous inner chatter in us when we approach a master, our mind and ego take over our being. We miss the opportunity.

And one more thing, some people know that a person is a master. They know what he says is good for them; however they escape. They run away or make

excuses not to meet him. This is because they know that the enlightened master can see through them. They do not want anybody to know what a mess they have created in themselves. They fear that the enlightened master will read what goes on inside them. They want to escape that transformation.

We should understand why an enlightened master comes to earth. If we know this, we will not be fools. We will not miss or run away. We should understand what an enlightened master is. If we understand, then we can break the wall between the master and us and let our being experience the master's energy.

A small story from Ramakrishna:

Three men walk near a village. They see an orchard. One of them jumps into the orchard to see what is happening. When he goes into the orchard, he sees a big party going on inside. He sees so much joy and bliss inside the orchard. Everyone enjoys, dances in ecstasy. They blissfully enjoy every moment. This man also starts enjoying. He forgets about the two men outside the orchard.

After some time, the two men who stand outside get impatient. The second man says, 'Let me go and see what happened.' He enters the orchard. He sees people dancing, singing, enjoying. However, before he joins the party, this man thinks he should tell the third man standing outside the orchard about what he has seen. He has concern for the third man. So he tells the third man what is going on inside the orchard and runs back into the orchard and joins the party.

Now this third man goes in. He sees the bliss everyone is in. He thinks, 'I should tell everyone in the village about this; everyone should enjoy; everyone should dance in ecstasy.' So he goes out and tells everyone in the village and brings them into the orchard.

Enlightened masters are like the third man. They have experienced the truth, the bliss. They are the embodiments of compassion. They want everyone to know the truth. They are on a mission. Be very clear, the only aim of an enlightened master is to get everyone enlightened. There is no ulterior motive of the master.

People ask me lots of questions. Why this? Why that? People look at me with suspicion. They think by telling them something, I make some profit. If I suggest to them to attend some course, they think I will make money. They run away thinking I want to convert them to a sanyāsi. They do not understand that an enlightened master is beyond all that. They miss the opportunity of being with a master because of their own ignorance.

A small story:

In a cold and snowy place, a snake lay on the ground frozen like a wooden stick. A passing blind man stumbled upon it and picked it up. Feeling it, the blind man was happy and thought, ‘I have a good walking stick.’

An enlightened master, passing that way, saw what he was doing and warned, ‘Oh sir, that is not a walking stick; it is a snake and soon there will be sunlight. Once the sun comes out, the snake will be free and become normal and will harm you.’ The blind man rejected the master’s advice. He thought the master was trying to take away his walking stick. He continued to hold the stick. When the sun came out, the snake bit him and he realized the truth as he was dying.

In the same way, whenever enlightened masters try to save mankind, people make their life hell, due to their ignorance and doubts. We must understand that an enlightened master does not have desires. So he does not have ulterior motives. All he wants is everyone should experience the bliss that he has experienced.

In the case of a normal man, when he takes birth, he carries over desires from his previous birth. These are called v¢sanas. However, an enlightened master does not have desires or v¢sanas; he is in a no-mind state. His spirit can merge directly into the universal energy. Whenever there is a need on planet earth, the energy of the enlightened master is sent down to earth with a mission to fulfill.

Be very clear, nobody can help when we create a wall of doubt between the master and us. The master can help only if we break the wall, only if we allow the master to take charge. As long as we hold onto our ego, we remain a fool. If we meet an enlightened master, that is the best thing that can happen to us. Now it is up to us to take advantage of it or miss it. Krishna tells everyone: if you miss an enlightened master, you are a fool. If we think out of ego that an enlightened master is like any other human, we lose the chance of knowing the truth; we lose the chance for enlightenment.

Q: Swamiji, what does Krishna mean when He says, ‘Follow Me, I am the supreme Godhead?’

If you don’t follow the master, you will follow your sa¼sk¢ras; you will follow your ego. Be very clear, when I say follow me or follow Krishna, it does not mean that I am asking you to follow the six-foot Nithyananda or the dark-complexioned Krishna. It means, follow the universal Krishna, or the nityānanda which means eternal bliss, or the universal consciousness.

A group of Krishna devotees visited our ashram in India. During my discourse, they asked questions, 'In the Gita, Krishna says He is the supreme personality. How can you say that you are on the same plane as Krishna?' These people call themselves Krishna devotees and claim to have read the Gita many times; however the whole essence of Krishna's words is lost in their understanding. They are stuck in the physical form of Krishna. They are stuck in the names and words. I tell people, when Krishna and Jesus meet, they will hug each other; however the cows of Krishna and the sheep of Jesus will fight with each other!

Anyhow, people who miss the living enlightened masters are fools according to Krishna. If they let their ego decide, they will miss a wonderful opportunity. They will fall back into the cycle of birth and death.

One more thing, if someone chants 'Rama, Rama, Rama' a million times, it does not mean he will be liberated. So many people chant some mantras. They feel proud that they do it. They read Vishnu Sahasranama that contains 1008 names of Vishnu. They tell people, 'I read this; I read that.' However, when someone gossips beside them, one ear listens to the gossip while chanting! They chant the mantra, yet the ears listen to the gossip. Their mind and body are totally disconnected. Some people stop between chants and add their valuable suggestions to the gossip as well!

If someone follows Krishna or Rama in that way, there is no point. If there is no awareness of our actions, there is no point in doing those rituals. I tell people that only when we add spirit to a ritual, it becomes spiritual.

One more important thing, if we do prayers and rituals with ego, we fall back into the cycle of life and death. The villain of Ramayana (the Indian epic), Ravana, was a great king. He was devout and prayed to Shiva. He was devoted to Shiva; however he had ideas about Sita, the wife of Rama. He was a great ruler. Lanka had castles of gold. It was a prosperous country. People were happy with the king but what is the use? Ravana prayed to Shiva with the ego that he is doing all that. He was deluded by his illusion, by his ego. He did not know who Rama was. He did not see the enlightenment in Rama. Soon he was killed by Rama.

This is what Krishna says in these verses. You see, even if we do all kinds of pūjā or prayer, as long as our ego comes in the way, all our activities towards God are useless. Please be very clear, we may pray ten times a day, we may think of God one hundred times a day. However we must analyze how we approach God. It should be out of gratitude rather than ego. When we take God's name to show off to people, we do nothing but waste time.

People think they can reach heaven by donating thousands of rupees to temples. They build temples with selfish ideas. Be very clear, nobody waits at the gates of heaven keeping notes of our activities. Nobody is going to take us to God because we donated money to God. We can build temples and we can donate money to temples. When we do that, do it with devotion; do it with gratitude. We should not do it to get our names engraved on the temple walls. Do not let ego take over.

Krishna does not ask us to follow His form. He asks us to follow His energy. He wants us to imbibe Him, internalize Him and follow Him.

When Buddha said, ‘Buddham sharanam gacchāmi,’ it was not in reference to the physical form of Buddha; it was about the enlightened energy of Buddha. This energy can only be followed by adhering to His teachings, the dhamma, and working on His mission, the sangha.

Follow Krishna by understanding Krishna consciousness, not by following what you imagine to be your understanding of the form of Krishna. Krishna consciousness is the same as Shiva consciousness or Buddha consciousness or Christ consciousness or Nithyananda consciousness. There is no difference.

That is why Krishna says, ‘These fools mock at Me when I come in human form. Don’t mock the form, follow the consciousness. You will no longer be a fool. You will be in eternal bliss!’