Two types of people

Krishna said in the Gita that there are two types of people, the noble ones and the ignoble ones. The noble ones are those who follow the right path, the sacred path. They seek the company of great people and practice their teachings. As a result, they experience the great spiritual truths and enjoy the inner life of the spirit. Opposed to them are those who are full of unsacred thoughts and have impure hearts, who are under the spell of ignorance and live an unrighteous life. Their evil behavior can be said to be the direct opposite of the exemplary behavior of the noble ones, just as darkness is the opposite of light. Therefore, we can describe these two categories as that of gods and demons, or beings of light and beings of darkness. Krishna said, "Arjuna, I thought up to now that you were noble, that you were a true knight, but I see that you are entering the wrong path. You are getting steeped in darkness. You are following unsacredness. It would be wrong to call you noble. You are proving yourself to be otherwise."

Krishna gave Arjuna various such admonishments in order to encourage him to make a heroic effort to manifest the qualities of true nobility. He told him, "The primary cause of your present grief is your attachment, and the basis for your attachment is ignorance. It is out of ignorance that you allow your senses to govern your actions. If you want to free yourself from attachment and sorrow then you must control your senses. You have to clearly understand the nature of the senses. In the journey of life these sense organs are important; they are like the horses of your chariot which can take you to your goal. But only when you have full control over these horses will the chariot and the person riding in it be safe. If you leave them uncontrolled it is inevitable that the chariot and its occupant will come to grief. Therefore, if you want to reach the goal safely you must take charge of these horses. In other words, you must assert absolute control over your sense organs."

When Krishna spoke of the sense organs he mentioned that they have the capacity to measure. For example, the tongue determines the taste of foods, deciding whether a thing is sweet or bitter. It does this by measuring the relative sweetness and bitterness of the food. Similarly, the ears determine whether some music is melodious or not and the eyes discern the beauty of objects seen. In this way, all the senses measure different qualities. Krishna also spoke of certain limitations of the sense organs, as ordained by God to insure their right use. For example, you can use the nose for smelling and for breathing. If you use the nose correctly, you are obeying the commands of the Lord and will surely benefit thereby. If, instead of using the nose for breathing and smelling good things, you use the nose to inhale noxious drugs, then you are not using it in the way specified by God.

As for the tongue, you have the Lord's gentle reminder, "Child, use this tongue to talk sweetly and not to hurt others' hearts. Use words which give them joy." The other function of the tongue must also be attended to. Use your tongue to take in fresh, wholesome food which is full of vitamins and proteins. On the other hand, if you use your tongue and sense of taste for smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol you will be misusing the tongue. Then you will be disobeying the commands of the Lord and you will come to harm. In this way, you should use all of the sense organs for the specific tasks which have been assigned to them by God. Then you will be fulfilling the purpose for which each instrument has been given. This kind of regulated behavior will help you to achieve your life's goal.

As a result of the functioning of the senses, you may experience joy or grief. This joy or grief that you feel does not come from the senses themselves. It is only after the senses have come into contact with the sense objects that you will experience these feelings. For instance, suppose you are on a protracted visit to a friend in a neighboring town, and while you are away something happened in your home. No matter what happened, whether good or bad, you would experience neither happiness nor grief, joy nor sorrow, as long as your ears had not heard the news. But once you get a phone call and came to know what happened at home, if the news is good you would feel joy and if the news is bad you would feel sorrow. It is only after the senses became associated with the sense objects that the joy or grief would have come to you.

Saranagati

In those days people lived much longer than they do today. At the time of the great war, Krishna and Arjuna were already quite advanced in years, by today's standards. For over 70 years, Krishna and Arjuna had been inseparably together. Although they were together for so many years, at no time during all those years did Krishna teach the Gita to Arjuna. Why was this so? During all those years Arjuna treated Krishna as his brother-in law and his close friend. Krishna did not teach the Gita to Arjuna as long as Arjuna was living with body-consciousness.

The moment Arjuna surrendered and accepted discipleship, then Krishna became his teacher and Arjuna became Krishna's student. Only after this act of surrender on the part of Arjuna did Krishna teach him the Gita. This means that if you really want to acquire spiritual knowledge from another, you have to relate to that person as disciple to spiritual teacher, before the transfer of knowledge can flow freely.

In the ancient scriptures there is a similar story of a great teacher. At that time there was no greater teacher than he. But he sent his own son to another teacher to attain spiritual knowledge. The father himself would not teach his son. He took this step because he knew that as long as the son considered him the father, the boy would not relate to him fully as the teacher, and therefore, the boy would not have been properly instructed in the highest wisdom. This was also the situation with Krishna and Arjuna. As long as the relationship of brother-in-law existed between them, Arjuna could not receive knowledge from Krishna. But once this feeling of brothers-in-law left his heart and the feeling of being in the presence of the supreme divinity entered Arjuna's heart, then Arjuna was able to learn from Krishna.

After Arjuna had surrendered completely and developed the feeling that Krishna was divine, he said to Krishna:

You are my mother,
You are my father,
You are my nearest kin,
You are my dearest friend,
You are my wisdom,
You are my treasure,
You are my everything,
You are my Lord, my loving Lord.

It was then that Krishna accepted him as a disciple. At that point Krishna said, "You do my work. Do everything for me and I shall take care of you." The most important thing that Krishna did was to free Arjuna from the feeling of body-consciousness. So long as body-consciousness persists, regardless of what path you follow, whether it is the path of selfless service or the path of devotion or the path of inner inquiry, you will not be able to practice the required disciplines that will lead you to the goal. Body-consciousness and the attachments resulting from it will constantly pollute your heart. Without emptying the heart of its dross, it is not possible to fill it up with sacred feelings. If a tumbler is full of water, how can you fill it with milk? You first have to empty the water. Krishna said, "Arjuna, you are full of body-consciousness. First you must completely rid yourself of this. Only then will I be able to fill your heart with sacred thoughts."

Krishna's teachings were aimed at freeing Arjuna of his infatuations, and the grief and sorrow which resulted from them. The two most important steps in this process are surrender and elimination of body-consciousness. Once Arjuna's body-consciousness was gone, Krishna was ready to reveal to Arjuna the highest spiritual teaching, that of self-knowledge. With that, Krishna awakened Arjuna out of his sleep of ignorance. He said, "There are a number of reasons for your sorrow but the most fundamental one is your ignorance. You have been unaware of your true nature and therefore you have become overwhelmed with grief. But now you have cried out for God. You have cried out for righteousness. You have cried out for me. When you cry for me, I will take care of you and give you everything you need."

You all cry for so many different things, but do you cry out for God? Do you shed tears when there is a decline of righteousness? When you do, the Lord will establish himself in your heart, teach you his highest wisdom, and make you an instrument in his mission. For this, you must have courage and inner strength. Krishna told Arjuna, "You should never have any kind of weak-heartedness. It is only after you remove such weakness from your heart that the divine power will enter and reside in your heart. If you do not have courage, even sheep will frighten you, not to speak of evil minded men. You must have the capacity to face all circumstances. If you run away in fear, even monkeys will attack you. But, if you have a stick and stand your ground, the monkeys will not come near you. Whatever the circumstance, face it squarely and do not show your back. Then will you be able to achieve what you set out to do."

The essence of this teaching is, "Be courageous! Be fearless!" Courage is the primary instrument for achieving any kind of success. You need to have more courage and more determination. But you should not have blind and foolish courage. Courage must be accompanied by discrimination; only then will success be assured.

oh krishna!!

My Lord!
Your lotus eyes and their depth endless,
Fill a poor girls imagination with desires relentless!
O my Krishna of charm boundless,
Bind me to You by Your mercy causeless!!
Lost in the luxury of Your kind love,
Have i forgotten the boons You have bestowed?
O my Love! Lord of my dreams!
Keep me forever at Your Lotus Feet!

Accept me at your feet.. krishna!

How cursed must this idiot be

That i must Your disappointed form see?

What did i do wrong, my Lord?

That, with Your indifference, i be so scorched?

Like two bright almonds Your beautiful eyes,

Their radiance that charms and enchants the mind:

How come today even a glance they deny?

Than be scorched by Their anger, i'd rather i die!!

My Lord! Please do forgive a slave,

Who does earnestly for Your smile crave!!

O Dearest Lover! Bestow upon me Your mercy,

And please accept me at Your feet!!

What should we thirst and crave for

What should we thirst and crave for to make our earthly existence worthwhile?

The thirst for worldly goods can never be allayed; trying to satisfy it makes it only more acute. Thirst can never be quenched by drinking salt water, which is the objective world. Human desire is illimitable, without end. It makes you pursue the mirage in the desert, it makes you build castles in the air, it breeds discontent and despair once you succumb to it. But develop thirst (thrishna) for Krishna, and you will discover the cool spring of bliss within you. The name of Krishna makes you strong and steady, it is sweet and sustaining. Whoever has the thirst, Krishna will quench it; whoever calls on Him in the agony of that thirst, Krishna, the rain-cloud, will answer that call and appear.

relationship

What is the relationship between the individual and the Lord?

If you have the ear, you can hear 'Om' in every sound announcing to you the Lord's presence. The bell in temples is intended to convey the ‘Om’ as the symbol of the Omnipresent God. When the bell sounds, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be aware of His Presence. The jeevi (individual soul) has come in with a dress (body), like a pilgrim on a visit to a holy place. The jeevi must have a guide who will show the sacred spots and help fulfil the pilgrimage. That guide is the Lord Himself and the guide books are the Vedas, Upanishads and other scriptures. The essence of the scriptures lies in this one rule: Repeat the name of the Lord, keeping His Glow always before the mind.

How should we approach Divinity?

The Lord is the Kalpatharu (the divine wish fulfilling tree) who gives whatever is asked for. But you have to go near the tree and wish for the thing you want. The atheist is the person who keeps far away from the tree. The theist is the one who has come near. The tree does not make any distinction – it grants boons to all. The Lord will not punish or take revenge if you do not recognize Him or revere Him. Earn the right to approach the Lord without fear and the right to ask for your heritage. You must become so free that praise will not emanate from you when you approach the Lord. Praise is a sign of distance and fear.

devotion Radha had for Krishna

What can we learn from the devotion Radha had for Krishna?

You can understand Radha only if you can fathom the depth of her thirst for Krishna. Radha believed that Krishna is the Aadhar (basis). She performed Araadh (worship) in a continuous Dhara (stream). In fact she is Prakrithi (nature), another form of the Lord Himself. How can those, who are full of evil tendencies and impulses grasp that relationship? The recitation of the Name of the Lord is the best method for cleansing the mind of all these evil impulses. If you have pure and steady faith in the Lord, He will provide for you, not just food, but the nectar of immortality itself. You have the potential in you to make Him grant you that boon.

inherent Divinity to shine

What is the essential step one has to undergo for the inherent Divinity to shine forth?

The poet Kalidasa once said, “I would get liberation, as soon as I go”, implying, liberation is achieved as soon as the ego disappears. For then one would shine in his native splendour, as the indestructible Atma. The ‘I’ when crossed out becomes the symbol of the cross. So what is crucified is the ego. Once this happens, the Divine nature spontaneously manifests itself unhampered. The ego is most easily destroyed by devotion, by dwelling on the magnificence of the Lord. You can call Him by any name, for all names are His. Select the Name and Form that best appeals to you. That is why Sahasranamas (thousand names of the Lord) are composed for the various forms of God; you have the freedom and the right to select any one of the thousand.

inner significance of the Avataric life

What is the inner significance of the Avataric life of Lord Krishna?

When you say that Lord Krishna was born in Gokul, grew up in Brindavan, ruled over Mathura and later Dwaraka, what does that signify? The mind is the Gokul where He was born. He is born to everyone, even today, whoever has taken to a spiritual path. The heart is the Brindavan where He grows. He grows in every heart, where Divine Love develops and expands. Your Intellect (Chitha) is where He begins His rule, and the Nirvikalpa stage (the state of absolute oneness) is the Dwaraka where He firmly establishes Himself as the reigning monarch. Make your thirst and devotion for the Lord grow through these stages, and you will be saving yourself.

Peace and Joy

What should we do to win Peace and Joy as our inseparable companions in this life?

Just as you attend to the needs of the body regularly, feeding it three times a day to keep it in good running condition, so too spend some time regularly to keep your inner consciousness in good trim. Spend one hour in the morning, another at night and the third in the early hours of the dawn (the Brahma Muhurtha) for japam (contemplation) and meditation on the Lord. You will find great peace descending upon you and new sources of strength welling up within as you progress in this spiritual practice (Sadhana). After sometime, the mind will dwell on the Name, wherever you are and whatever you are engaged in. Peace and Joy will become your inseparable companions.

sadhana an important aspect

The mind must become bhakthimaya (saturated with devotion to God). The intelligence must be transformed into Jnana (divine knowledge). The body must be a willing and efficient instrument for the practice of righteousness. Such a life is indeed the crown and glory of humanity. The rest are merely contaminated, contained and caged lives! So sadhana (spiritual endeavours) alone makes life worth while; the rest are like froth which is fake and momentary. Join the company of the good, the striving, the yearning spiritual aspirants and you will soon reach the stage of peace within and harmony without.

Emptiness in life!

Every being is Divine, take it from Me! All of you are really here on a holy mission, for a divine purpose. To consider yourself weak or sinful is itself a sin! You must earn your birthright, which is Peace (Shanthi). Restlessness (ashanthi) is an unnatural state. To recover this heritage of peace, people try many methods – accumulation of riches, maintenance of good health, mastery of knowledge, cultivation of arts, etc. All these are not fundamental. Three basic needs remain even after all these methods are exhausted - the need for Truth, Light and for Immortality. It is only when these are won that Peace will be permanently established.

Practise moderation in speech

Practise moderation in speech – it will help you in many ways. When the foot slips, the wound heals after a few months; when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life. The tongue is liable to four big errors – uttering falsehood, finding fault with others, excessive articulation and indulging in scandals. These have to be strictly avoided if there has to be peace for the individual and the society. The bond of love and brotherliness will be stronger if people would speak less and speak sweetly. Silence (mounam) has been prescribed as a spiritual practice, for this same reason. You are all spiritual aspirants at various stages of the road and so this discipline is valuable for you also.

Do your duty!

You may be prepared to offer millions of dollars to buy whatever comes your way, but no amount of money can be paid to ever get back the time that has already been spent. Youth is the most precious, the most sacred period of human life. It offers you a golden opportunity to properly utilize your time and sanctify your life. In human life, the time of youth, like the waters that flow in the river, cannot be turned back again. Today's youth should recognize this fact. Utilize your time in a proper way and you will gain fulfillment in life. Always be aware of the many aspects of the wheel of time. Realize how extremely important time is. Think ahead as to what is likely to happen in the future and keep the goal of your life constantly in view.

In the chapter on devotion in the Gita, it is said that time is the most important element in your life and you must use your time wisely. Your time should be used to reach God. The divine teacher taught in the Gita, that even if you have not reached a highly developed detachment from worldly objects, if you use your time in constant awareness of the Lord, performing all your works and duties as worship and offering everything you do to the Lord, then you will have a blessed life.

Krishna told Arjuna, "Do your duty, Arjuna! If you have to fight, then fight. But fight, thinking of me. That way you will incur no sin. If you have offered everything to me, and have me steadily in your heart, you will not suffer any of the consequences of your actions. You are not being asked to go to the forest and do penance or to give up all your relations. You need not give up your family, your house and all your properties. Whatever you see, whatever you say, whatever you hear, whatever you think, whatever you do, do it as my work, and offer it to me. Offer your mind and your intelligence fully to me. That is the proper way to sanctify your time. If you conduct your life in this way, you have my assurance, you will be saved!"