We live in the age of Knowledge Capital. Knowledge drives success, innovation, and material progress. Yet we also need insight into the inner world, without which happiness remains elusive. Grief is born of ignorance. A doctor must first diagnose a disease before prescribing treatment. Likewise, a person in grief must first understand the root cause of pain before healing can begin.
In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna begins by saying the wise do not grieve either for the living or for the dead. All grief emanates from ignorance. Hence it is imperative that we gain knowledge of the world, we know ourselves and move to the Beyond. The cause of grief is wrong identification with our matter layers and consequent attachment to them.
A horseshoe magnet attracts iron but leaves wood untouched. Yet, when you tie the two together, the combination is affected by the magnet. The wood seems to come under the pull of the magnet. In the same way, the world influences your matter layers – body, mind, and intellect. It does not have the power to influence Spirit, your true essence. You are Spirit, untouched by the vagaries of the world. You have lost sight of your true Self and have mistaken yourself to be body, mind, and intellect. Thus, you become a helpless victim of the world and its sensory thrills, emotional passions, and intellectual delights. Strapped to life’s roller coaster, you suffer the ups and downs, caught in the endless highs and lows.
You were born to triumph, not to be tossed about by life’s shifting currents. What you need is knowledge, not comfort. This is exactly what Krishna offers in the Bhagavad Gita. He declares that you are Atman, the Spirit, not the matter layers. You were never born, nor do you ever die. The body perishes, but that is not you. Even the mind and intellect do not die. They merely move to another body, better suited to fulfil your dreams and aspirations. This cycle of birth and death continues endlessly.
Amid this ever-changing flow, your duty is simply to do what you ought to do. Follow nature. The sun rises each morning. Birds sing, flowers spread fragrance, clouds give rain. Every element of nature simply does what it was born to do.
We all have three thought qualities or gunas – sattva, pure and sublime; rajas, restless and ego-driven; and tamas, lethargic and indifferent. Your mission is to eradicate tamas, refine rajas, and anchor yourself in sattva. Krishna declares – The Vedas describe the three gunas. Rise above these gunas and the dualities of life. Establish yourself in sattva, purity. Then you will transcend the gunas and awaken to Enlightenment.
Perform your karyam karma, your bounden duty, without concern for the fruit. Your right is to action alone, never to its result. The outcome is beyond your control. But the present action is yours to master. Give it all you have. Act with your heart and soul, and the result will surpass your imagination. Thus, you will be freed from sorrow and the bondage of birth and death.
Perfection in action is yoga. Serenity is also yoga. Most people experience quietude only in inactivity. When activity begins, they lose their peace of mind. Excellence is internal peace in the midst of intense exertion. When the mind is calm, the intellect is sharp, and action brilliant. If the mind is disturbed, thinking gets fuzzy and action becomes flawed.
By performing your duties, you shed existing desires and the mind turns inward. It becomes ready for meditation. At the height of meditation, you stop the chant. In that profound silence, the last thought dissolves. You merge with God!
Jaya Row will speak on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2
at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi
18 to 21 September, daily 6.30 to 8 pm.
All are Welcome. WhatsApp 98201 38429.
