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Video Information: 18.04.2020, Month of Awakening, Greater Noida
Context:
नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया |
शक्य एवंविधो द्रष्टुं दृष्टवानसि मां यथा ||11.53||
Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts,
nor by sacrifice can I be seen as thou have seen me.
भक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्य अहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन |
ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्त्वेन प्रवेष्टुं च परन्तप ||11.54||
But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form, be known,
O Arjuna, and seen in reality, and also entered into O scorcher of foes.
मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भक्त: सङ्गवर्जित: |
निर्वैर: सर्वभूतेषु य: स मामेति पाण्डव ||11.55||
He who does work for me alone, and has Me for his goal,
is devoted to me, is freed from attachment, and bears enmity
towards no creature-he entered into me, O Pandava.
~ Why does Krishna reject spiritual practices and methods?
~ What is meant by single-minded devotion?
~ How to bear enmity?
~ Why do we enjoy Shree Krishna's Stories more than his Geeta?
~ Why does Geeta not enter in our lives?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...
Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?
Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...
Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl...
➖➖➖➖➖➖
Video Information: 18.04.2020, Month of Awakening, Greater Noida
Context:
नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया |
शक्य एवंविधो द्रष्टुं दृष्टवानसि मां यथा ||11.53||
Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts,
nor by sacrifice can I be seen as thou have seen me.
भक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्य अहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन |
ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्त्वेन प्रवेष्टुं च परन्तप ||11.54||
But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form, be known,
O Arjuna, and seen in reality, and also entered into O scorcher of foes.
मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भक्त: सङ्गवर्जित: |
निर्वैर: सर्वभूतेषु य: स मामेति पाण्डव ||11.55||
He who does work for me alone, and has Me for his goal,
is devoted to me, is freed from attachment, and bears enmity
towards no creature-he entered into me, O Pandava.
~ Why does Krishna reject spiritual practices and methods?
~ What is meant by single-minded devotion?
~ How to bear enmity?
~ Why do we enjoy Shree Krishna's Stories more than his Geeta?
~ Why does Geeta not enter in our lives?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Chapter 11, verses 53, 54 and 55 Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor
00:17by gifts, nor by sacrifice, can I be seen as thou hast seen me.
00:25But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form be known, o Arjun, and seen in reality,
00:31and also entered into, o scorcher of foes.
00:37He who does work for me alone, and has me for his goal, is devoted to me, is freed from
00:44attachment and bears enmity towards no creature.
00:48He entereth into me, o Pandava.
00:53Does the realization of truth happen only by grace, and is not in the sadhak's control,
01:00irrespective of the sadhak's efforts?
01:05Also why has Shri Krishna catechorically made distinction between single-pointed devotion
01:12to him and Vedas, austerities, gifts, sacrifices?
01:16Because to me, devotion to Krishna meant the latter only.
01:22Where is it written that the work put in by the sadhak or the seeker, the practitioner,
01:37does not matter?
01:39The verse very clearly says, But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form be known, o Arjun,
01:47and seen in reality, and also entered into.
01:51Nowhere has it been said that realization of the truth happens only by grace.
01:58What basis do we have to speculate or imagine or raise this kind of a concept?
02:09He is saying here, have single-minded devotion to me.
02:13That is the only way I can be known, o Arjun.
02:17What does it mean to have single-minded devotion to Krishna?
02:19It means to have devotion towards truth and indifference towards falseness.
02:27The application is straightaway practical.
02:31In your moment-to-moment life, be indifferent to all the falsenesses, don't be attracted
02:40and captivated by them, and be devoted to what you know to be the truth.
02:51Will you be devoted to the absolute truth?
02:54There is no guarantee.
02:57But at least be relatively devoted to truth instead of falseness.
03:05If you cannot do the ultimate, at least do your best.
03:11Do not say, but I do not know the ultimate truth, so how do I factor in the ultimate
03:16truth in my day-to-day decisions?
03:20Even if you do not know the ultimate truth, at least begin by rejecting the false.
03:25That much you can certainly do or not.
03:29That's what is being said here.
03:36Then why has Shri Krishna made a distinction between single-pointed devotion to Krishna
03:42and Vedas, austerities, gifts and sacrifices?
03:48Because chanting of mantras and performing austerities and sacrifices etc.
03:55These are all very peripheral, very external, very secondary parts of spiritual practice.
04:06They may have some benefit, some importance, but that importance is not great, not central.
04:14The central thing is having Krishna at the center of your life, full stop.
04:22Without Krishna at the center of your life, if you keep doing all these things, oh I read
04:27a lot, you know, holy books, oh I perform sacrifices, I do this, I do that, none of
04:34that matters.
04:37And that is why in my teaching, I emphasize so much on the quality of your day-to-day
04:41life, your decisions.
04:43See what you are doing, see what you are rushing towards, see what you are avoiding.
04:48That will tell you of your center.
04:50If your center is right, then a lot would be automatically set right.
04:57And if your center is wrong, then you keep doing all your spiritual or religious practice
05:02and you will get no results from it.
05:05You will just be further deluded by all your practice.
05:13Do you not see people who have been religious or spiritual since many years and yet you
05:17look at their life, you look at their personality and there is no vigor, no power, no depth.
05:26Very easily they get terrified, very easily they get shaken up.
05:31They cannot stand their ground, they just run away and then they claim, oh we are deeply
05:35spiritual.
05:36It merely means that their religious practice has been very dishonest.
05:44Without having the truth at the heart, they have been doing all kinds of peripheral things.
05:52And doing those peripheral things is quite attractive because you get in your own esteemed
06:00opinion a double benefit.
06:03What is the double benefit?
06:04One, you get to be called a spiritual man.
06:10Secondly, along with being called a spiritual man, you get to preserve your own inner personal
06:18rotten core.
06:21You say, oh what more can one ask for?
06:25Externally I am so spiritual you see.
06:30I practice, I meditate, I read books, do that, a lot of things.
06:35Internally I remain who I am.
06:38So I get the best of both worlds.
06:41It is not the best of both worlds, you are getting the worst of both worlds.
06:49But then you are deciding not to be honest enough to see your rotten state.
06:56You just want to avoid the truth.
07:11Look at the candor with which Krishna has clarified it.
07:18Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice can I be seen as
07:25you have seen me.
07:27None of these will work.
07:29You keep reading your books, won't help you.
07:34How have they helped you so far?
07:36Have they?
07:37You are just escaping away from reality.
07:45Books are a great help only to those who first of all honestly want to be helped.
07:59Tell me, you are sick and you are at the doctor's place and instead of talking to the doctor
08:13you pick up the book of medicines kept on his table and start reading it.
08:22Are you even desirous of health?
08:28But you are telling yourself, look at me, how sincere I am, I read so much.
08:34You are reading just to avoid that doctor.
08:39The doctor is there, instead of speaking to the doctor, what are you doing?
08:43You have picked up the fat medical book kept on his table and you are burying your face
08:50into it.
08:53It's not the book that you like, it's the doctor that you are afraid of.
08:58Why are you afraid of the doctor?
09:01Because you are in love with your weakness.
09:03You are in love with your sickness.
09:05You are not accidentally weak and sick, you want to remain weak and sick.
09:24Books can act both ways.
09:27When the teacher is no more available, then the books offer whatever support can be offered.
09:41But the same books become a very sinister defense against the teacher when you are clinging
09:50to the books even in presence of the teacher.
10:05That's why Shri Krishna is saying here, neither by the Vedas nor by austerity nor by gifts
10:09nor by sacrifice can I be seen as you have seen me.
10:16Think of it.
10:17Krishna is by Arjuna's side and Arjuna is reading the Vedas.
10:30You find that amusing, right?
10:32But that happens every day.
10:40Even Krishna had to loudly clarify this to Arjuna, Arjuna, I am here, keep the Vedas
10:46aside.
10:47Arjuna, I am here and if I am telling you to fight, fight.
10:55This is no time for havan and yajna.
10:57This is no time for sacrifices and austerities.
11:04This time dharma does not lie in vrat, upavas, daan, yajna or havan.
11:12At this point dharma lies in yudh.
11:16But you are afraid of fighting because you are body centered, so you just run away and
11:20you happily hide in your cave reading your book.
11:24That's what Krishna is warning against.
11:37Whenever you feel attracted towards a spiritual book, visualize this.
11:44Krishna is narrating the Gita and Arjuna has buried his face in the Vedas.
11:54Because the Vedas are harmless, you see.
11:57Krishna, he is ferocious.
11:59Look at his virat rupa.
12:02Arjuna starts trembling.
12:03Vedas are fine.
12:11I can comfortably read some things written here.
12:28So there can be no rule as such.
12:31The same Gita that was narrated to Arjuna later on turns into a book.
12:39And that book will be greatly useful to many.
12:44But that book itself will become a tool against Krishna if Gita, even the Gita is used as
12:53a substitute to Krishna.
12:56Gita is great.
12:59But when it comes to choosing between Gita and Krishna, you should know what to choose,
13:05whom to choose.
13:29Fast comes the argument.
13:30But when I have the Gita, then I already have what Krishna said.
13:38Why can't I just limit myself to the Gita?
13:40Even if I go to Krishna, what will he give me?
13:43Gita.
13:44So I can just, you know, make do with Gita.
13:50Sir, if you go to Krishna, he will give you your Gita.
13:56That's the difference.
13:57That's the benefit.
14:00The Gita that you have in your hand is the Gita that was told to Arjuna.
14:04If you go to Krishna, you will get the Gita that you need.
14:09The Gita that you need will have exactly the same essence as the Gita that was narrated
14:15to Arjuna.
14:16But the form will be very very different.
14:22The form will be suitable to you.
14:25The form will be customized to you.
14:34The Gita really does not contain anything that is not already there in the Upanishads.
14:38Why did Krishna have to narrate a fresh song, a fresh set of verses to Arjuna then?
14:50Why didn't Krishna just direct him to the existing body of spiritual literature?
14:57Because every moment is fresh and hence every moment demands a fresh Gita.
15:04Though the essence of all Gitas is bound to be the same.
15:08But the form has to be different because the moment is different, the occasion is different,
15:13the persons involved are different, their tendencies are different.
15:18The words that they will appreciate have to be different.
15:21The form has to be different.
15:22The teaching style has to be different.
15:29The examples that are being given have to be different.
15:32Already you see in this age, people find it a bit difficult to relate with the examples
15:39that are given in the Bhagavad Gita.
15:47Though the essence of Gita is absolutely timeless, but the form is becoming dated now.
16:00Especially the new generation finds it difficult to relate.
16:05They can still relate because at the core of Gita lies timeless wisdom.
16:11So it will always remain relatable.
16:14But the form, it's the form that I am talking of, the form becomes outdated.
16:20And therefore, you require a fresh Gita that can come from a living source to you.
16:31And all Gitas will have variously different forms.
16:38You cannot say that today's Gita will just be a modern edition of the ancient one.
16:49It would be very very different in form, but absolutely identical in spirit.