SAI BABA GITA – Part XII – Answers for all questions

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accomplish anything. Infatuation and Attachment lead to Sorrow Krishna told

Arjuna, "As long as you are weak-minded, even the smallest task will not get

done. You will be haunted by sorrow. Do you know what causes this sorrow? It is

your attachment. You are infatuated with a sense of my people, my kinsmen, my

friends. This possessive attitude stems from ignorance. Attachment and

infatuation will always make you faint hearted and plunge you into grief. These

are the real enemies you must battle and conquer. "As long as

you are swayed by this possessive attitude, thinking only of your self, your

family, your people, your things, you can be certain that sooner or later you

will be cast into sorrow. You must shift your focus away from your little self

and its concerns for me and mine. Align yourself with the will of the divine.

Travel from selfishness to selflessness, from bondage to liberation." More than

ever, this teaching is applicable today. For example, think of the time when the

school photographer came to take pictures of all the students in your class.

When the photos came back from the lab, more than likely you were interested in

finding your own photo; you were not as interested in the others' photos. Or

consider when your father came home from a long trip, and brought with him

presents for every child in the family. You

were probably most eager to find out what he had brought for you. These are

examples of a widespread selfishness which is prevalent everywhere. But, you

should leave this kind of narrowness behind and become broad-minded and

selfless. Then you will be a fit instrument in the hands of the divinity and

contribute to the welfare of the whole world. Infatuation will Destroy your

Courage and Will Before the great war referred to in the Gita, Arjuna had

participated in a number of battles, but never before had he been overcome by

despondency and attachment. Now, the same Arjuna was overwhelmed with grief

when he realized that the opponents he had to fight were his

own grandfather, his kinsmen and his teacher. This possessive feeling made him

feel dejected. He became a victim of infatuation; the feeling of my-ness had

crept in. As this attitude grew, its consequence, which is sorrow, also grew

along with it. Previously, when Krishna went on his peace mission to the

opposing side, Arjuna discouraged it. He urged immediate war. He tried to

convince Krishna that the mission would fail, that talk would prove futile and

only a victorious war could restore to them the kingdom which had been stolen

from Arjuna and his brothers. At that time, Arjuna told Krishna, "This struggle

for right cannot be settled by peaceful means. Our enemies will never agree to

the terms of your peace mission. Their hatred and greed is unappeasable. Why

waste your time and efforts on them? Good and evil cannot coexist; they are

incompatible; they will never join together. Your mission is bound to fail."

Then, Arjuna was full of courage and determination because he was not seeing

his grandfather, his teacher, his relatives and many of his friends facing him

on the opposing side. Before this possessive vision emerged on the eve of the

war, it seemed that Arjuna had a very broad vision. But now, standing in the

middle of the battlefield, Arjuna's vision was beclouded. His eyes became dim.

His heart was heavy and his mind confused. When he saw his close relatives and

some of his friends arrayed on the other side ready to fight him, he felt

dizzy. He said, "Krishna, I will not fight!" Remember that Arjuna was about to

fight a war to protect righteousness, a war for which he had been preparing for

many years. He was already on the battlefield and the war was about to commence.

Was that

the time to look upon his opponents as relatives? When Krishna heard Arjuna's

words he got very angry. He told Arjuna, "This is faint-heartedness. It doesn't

become you! A fearless person like you, who has always walked proudly with his

head held high like a true hero, now seems to be suffering from timidity. A

person who suffers from such faint-heartedness cannot be my disciple. The war

is about to start. The final preparations for war have been going on for the

past three months, and now the battle plans have been set. "If you had shown

this kind of hesitation in the beginning I would surely not have taken on this

task of driving your chariot. At this late stage you are hesitating, after you

have convinced friends and relatives of the rightness of your cause and have

persuaded them to join your side. Now with them all assembled here, you are

laying down

your weapons and giving up ignominiously. Is that the way for a hero to act? You

are destroying the true spirit of your royal line, whose sworn duty is to

protect honor and righteousness. If you continue in this way as a timid,

faint-hearted weakling, the coming generation will laugh at your cowardice. You

have taken the name of Arjuna but you are not living up to that name!" Ignorance

is the Cause of all Sorrow What is the meaning of Arjuna ? It means sacredness

and purity. For such a noble person as Arjuna to lay down his arms and resolve

not to fight a battle in which righteousness was at stake could only be due to

ignorance. The Lord, being fully aware of

the nature of this disease, resolved to eradicate it. At the very beginning of

the Gita, Krishna could have taught the principle of devotion and the

commitment to duty and selfless action. But Krishna chose not to do so. In

fact, he started speaking only after listening for a long time to Arjuna's

weeping and lamentations. While Arjuna was carrying on, Krishna did not

interfere at all. He patiently waited while Arjuna verbalized his confused

state. Finally Krishna asked, "Arjuna, are you done? Have you vented all your

feelings?" It was only at this point that Krishna started teaching. Just as

students become empty after writing their examinations, Arjuna also became

empty after airing all his concerns. Then Krishna told

him, "This awful defect of weak-mindedness has sprouted in you. I know how to

deal with it. I will cure it! It is ignorance which is responsible for this

infatuation. This ignorance is causing your weak-mindedness." Then Krishna

started instructing Arjuna in the highest wisdom, the knowledge which

distinguishes the true self from the false self, the eternal from the

ephemeral, the sentient from the insentient. When a person is overcome with

anguish and is suffering from ignorance, what should be done to free him from

his delusion? He is like a patient who is in great danger. The first thing the

doctor must do is to see to it that the patient gets out of danger. After that

the doctor can undertake longer-term treatments. Suppose the patient is in

immediate danger of losing his life, then any treatments the patient is given

will prove to be useless unless he

is first brought out of the emergency. Once he is out of danger, then many

therapeutic procedures can be undertaken. For example, if a person is drowning

in a river, you must first bring him out of the water, lie him down on the

bank, and give him artificial respiration. Then you can start your other

treatments to bring up his circulation and get him over the shock. You

certainly would not start those treatments while he is in the water, drowning.

The Cure for Ignorance Krishna, therefore, gave Arjuna a strong injection of

courage to save him from drowning in sorrow and dejection. His immediate

first-aid treatment was to teach Arjuna how to discriminate between the

true self and the personal self. He said, "Arjuna, as long as you are overcome

with fear and anxiety, you will not be able to accomplish anything. Be

courageous! Know that you are the atma, not this body; then you will be

fearless. I can help you to achieve great things, but only if you base your

actions on true knowledge and remain fearless." At this point Krishna was

smiling, but Arjuna was weeping. The one who is always smiling is the Lord. The

one who is weeping is man. Krishna is the true self, Arjuna is the false self.

One is the embodiment of wisdom and the other is filled with ignorance. Krishna

said, "I would like to explain some things to you which are very important.

Right now we are behaving in different ways. I am smiling while you are crying.

But we could both be alike; either I could become like you or you could become

like me. If I

should become like you, then I would become weak-minded. But that is impossible!

Weakness can never enter into me! On the other hand, if you were to become like

me, then you would have to follow me and do as I say." At this Arjuna replied,

"Swami, I will do exactly as you say. I will follow all your commands

implicitly!" Having given Arjuna sufficient encouragement and strength of

purpose, Krishna enabled Arjuna to recover his strong resolve. From that point

on, Arjuna undertook to fight, following the directions given by the Lord.

Krishna started his wisdom teachings with some important truths relating to the

body and mind. He said, "Arjuna, you think that these people are your relatives

and friends. But, what is meant by a relative or a friend? Does it refer to the

body or does it refer to the indweller? Bodies are just water bubbles; they come

and go.

These relatives and friends which you are so attached to now, have all existed

before, in any number of births. But were they your relatives and friends then?

No. You too have existed countless times before, and I as well. The body, the

mind and the intellect are all just so much apparel. They are like the clothes

you wear; you change them now and again. They are mere instruments. Why develop

a close relationship with these things, getting infatuated with them and then

having to suffer so much sorrow and grief? "Do your duty! All the honor that is

due to you as a prince will be bestowed on you. But on the battlefield there

cannot be room for any feeling of weak-mindedness and feeble-heartedness.

Fighting boldly to preserve righteousness and shrinking in weakness are

completely incompatible with each other. To have this timidity on the

battlefield is not

becoming of a great hero. Your cause is just and you have come to fight.

Therefore, fight!" With words such as these, Krishna cured Arjuna of his

despondency and helped him to find his strength and courage. When Krishna

finished his teaching on the battlefield, Arjuna regained his noble ideals and

faced the upcoming fight with renewed valor. The War between Selfishness and

Selflessness This particular field on which the war was about to be fought had

historically been a sacred place, where sacrifices and other sacred and

auspicious acts had been performed. At the same time, it was also the place

where the dynasty that sprouted the hundred wicked brothers had engaged

in its nefarious activities. Therefore, this field was both sacred and corrupted

by evil. This field is symbolic of the human body. When a body is born it is

pure and unblemished; it is not a victim of any of the six enemies of man:

desire, anger, greed, infatuation, pride and jealousy. A new-born baby is

naturally joyful. Whoever may look at it, whether that person is a thief or a

king, the baby is happy. It smiles and laughs at anyone who comes towards it,

whether that person has come to kiss it or beat it. Since a small child is

pure, its body can be described as the field of righteousness. As the body

grows, it goes on collecting bad qualities, such as jealousy, hatred,

attachment, greed, selfishness. As these evil traits accumulate, the body

becomes impure. Therefore, the body can be considered both pure and impure.

Good and bad are both encased in

your heart. The impure qualities are associated with my-ness, the possessive

tendency. The inner significance of this battle between the forces of good and

evil, with the five Pandava brothers and Krishna on one side, and the 100

wicked Kaurava brothers on the other side, is the inner war taking place in

each individual, an all-out war between good and bad, between righteousness and

immorality, between selflessness and selfishness. The Kaurava brothers represent

those people who consider things which do not belong to them as their own. They

represent the possessive nature. They consider the body as their very self. If

you observe people of the Kaurava mentality, that is, those having this

possessive attitude, you will find

that they all identify themselves with the body and the senses. The great war

between the Pandavas and the Kauravas lasted only eighteen days, but the war

between the forces of good and evil goes on throughout your life. It has no

end. This battle is fought in the field of your own body. In this way, Krishna

explained some of the deeper significance of the war to Arjuna. Foresight and

Compassion - Qualities found in a Pure Heart You might wonder why the Gita was

taught to Arjuna. Among the Pandavas, some of the other brothers, such as the

oldest one, Dharmaraja, who was the very pillar of virtue, might be considered

better qualified spiritually than Arjuna.

Why was the sacred Gita not taught to Dharmaraja who was known for his

outstanding moral strength? Or if you were to consider physical prowess, then

Bhima, who was the most powerful among the brothers, would surely have

qualified for the teachings. Krishna could have given the Gita to Bhima, but he

did not. Why not? Why did he give it only to Arjuna? You have to understand the

inner significance of this. Dharmaraja was the embodiment of righteousness, but

he did not have foresight. He did not think about the future consequences of his

actions. Only after events had already occurred, did he think about their

consequences and feel sorry for what he had done. He had hindsight but not

foresight. If you take Bhima, he, of course, had great physical strength, but

he did not have much intelligence. He was able to uproot a tree, but he was

lacking in

discrimination. Arjuna, on the other hand, had foresight. For example, Arjuna

told Krishna, "I would rather be dead than fight against these people. It will

mean so much suffering later on, even if we win the war." In contrast to

Arjuna's anguish about all the suffering that would be brought on by this war,

Dharmaraja was quite ready to get on with the battle, although later he felt

deeply depressed about all the killing when the war was over. Years earlier,

Dharmaraja had been pulled in to a royal game of dice, in which he lost

everything, including his wealth, his kingdom, and even his wife. Afterwards,

he was filled with great anguish and remorse. Whenever a person without

discrimination and foresight is called upon to make a decision while in the

midst of difficult circumstances, he invariably regrets his actions later on.

This was also the nature of

King Dasaratha, who was the father of Rama, the divine incarnation 5000 years

earlier. King Dasaratha lacked foresight and discrimination. Early in his

reign, Dasaratha had to fight a war to defend and preserve righteousness. In

this war he took his young queen, Kaikeyi, with him. Kaikeyi had been a

princess in a warrior kingdom and had been well schooled in the art of warfare.

It was Kaikeyi, in fact, who taught Rama archery and some of the methods of

waging war. When Dasaratha was fighting during the war, one of the wheels of

his chariot started coming off. Kaikeyi used her finger to keep the wheel from

separating itself from the axle. In so doing, she saved Dasaratha's life, as

well as her own. After having achieved victory,

King Dasaratha noticed that her hand was bleeding profusely. Seeing her plight,

he was so overwhelmed with infatuation and so pleased with her courage and

sacrifice that he told her, "Kaikeyi, you can ask for two boons. Ask for

anything that you wish, and I shall do all in my power to grant them to you!"

He granted the boons in gratitude for her heroic act in saving their lives. But

his infatuation with her blinded him to her weak-mindedness. He did not specify

what kind of boons she should ask for nor when they should take effect. He

blindly granted the promise of boons without thinking of any of the possible

consequences. Kaikeyi waited until the time when Dasaratha decided to hand over

the kingdom to Rama. At that point, Kaikeyi asked for Rama to be banished to the

forest, and for her son, Bharatha, to be put on the throne instead. Then

Dasaratha felt

desperately sorry for having granted the boons without any pre-conditions. But

it was too late to retract them, and the resulting grief brought on his death.

We know that Krishna had a great deal of affection for Arjuna, but is that the

reason he taught the Gita to Arjuna and not to one of the other brothers? No.

Krishna looked at all the consequences, all the implications, and found Arjuna

alone qualified to receive the Gita from him. Arjuna foresaw what was going to

happen after the war, and therefore declared that he did not want to fight,

because the consequences would be very bad. He was not feeling sorry after the

war was over, but before. That attitude of feeling sorry before taking action,

instead of afterwards, can only be found in a pure heart. Arjuna certainly had

such a pure and sacred heart and that is why Krishna was so fond of

him. The Transformation from Kinsman or Friend to Disciple 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.

0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">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." Be Courageous, Be Fearless, Be Discriminating 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. XVI.

Banish Ignorance and Sorrow will leave you Forever To gain wisdom, you need to

undertake the practice of inner inquiry. In this practice you dissociate

yourself completely from your mind and your thoughts. It is identification with

the mind and its impurities that causes bondage. In this connection, Krishna

told Arjuna, "Timidity, grief, sorrow... all these weaknesses and fears that

you are experiencing are associated with the mind. What is the reason for this

sorry state you find yourself in? It is the impurities in your mind, Arjuna.

You have identified yourself with this impure mind, and as a result you are

suffering." Embodiments of

Love, The first thing Krishna did when he started speaking was to diagnose

Arjuna's malady. Arjuna was suffering from ignorance. He was ignorant of his

own true nature and the true nature of everyone else. Because of this

ignorance, Arjuna came under the spell of delusion and duality. He had fallen

prey to the impurities in his mind. He felt the anxiety of separation. As a

result he became despondent. He was overcome with grief and sorrow. The cure

for this disease of ignorance is wisdom. Therefore, Krishna started his

teachings by expounding on the path of wisdom. Your true Nature is Eternal Joy

justify">Life may be thought of as a flow, where different energies, feelings or

states of being come together and then separate again. These are moments of

transition, when a particular ephemeral quality changes to its opposite, or

when a particular time period changes to another. For example, the junction

between night and day, between sleep and waking or between health and illness

are times of transition. The coming together of happiness and sorrow is also

such a time. At the very moment of transition, you are neither happy nor sad.

At that time when you transition from one feeling to another, your mind is in

equipoise and you are not bound by either emotion. But you do not remain there

for long. Soon you move into the opposite quality, you feel happiness or fall

into sorrow, and you come under the sway of that feeling. Of course, you aspire

only for happiness and not for sorrow, but to permanently achieve that you must

transcend

all these temporary feelings. When you become aware of the transitions you

realize that your unchanging truth is neither of the opposites which you cycle

between in life. The path of wisdom reveals to you your essence which is

eternal joy. Your true nature transcends all these temporary joys and sorrows.

When you are identified with your eternal self, you are not be affected by the

pairs of opposites. The path of wisdom teaches the way to eternal joy through

the practice of detachment and discrimination. This practice must be based on

unwavering love for the divinity, present everywhere. The Body is the Outer

Garment that you, as Pure Spirit, Wear

10pt"> In the Gita, you will find reference to the master of the sense organs,

and to the one who has acquired control over his sense organs. Krishna was the

master of the senses and Arjuna had gained control over the senses. But at the

beginning, Arjuna was steeped in body-consciousness and was not in control at

all. Arjuna began worrying after he started thinking about the future

consequences of the forthcoming battle with his relatives and friends. He was

deeply concerned with what might happen following the destruction of these

people. In other words, Arjuna was thinking only in terms of

body-consciousness. The body can be thought of as a vessel or a container or

apparel which the individual soul puts on. Just as it is natural to throw away

a dirty or a worn-out article of clothing and wear a new one, in the same way,

you also give up this body

and put on a new one. Krishna showed that death was very much like getting rid

of an old piece of cloth. When ordinary people hear that the body can be

thought of as a dress that you put on and take off, they get some doubts. After

eighty or ninety years when old age has had its effect, one can easily accept

that the body has become like a worn-out cloth. Then one would agree that these

old clothes should be left behind. But if a person dies during youth or manhood

before old age has set in, it would amount to leaving new clothes behind.

Suppose a body of twenty years is left behind, how can it be called an old

worn-out cloth? That is obviously a new cloth. Krishna answered this doubt with

an example. Suppose you had gone on a

pilgrimage one year and while there you had purchased a piece of cloth. You

brought the cloth home and kept it in a closet. Then after five or ten years,

while putting some clothes in storage, you came across this piece of cloth and

remembered that you had bought it many years earlier. You took this cloth to a

tailor and got a shirt made. One day while wearing this shirt, you bent over to

sit down and the back of the shirt tore. You thought it was a new shirt, but how

quickly it had become torn! Why did it last only for such a short time? It tore

because the piece of cloth was old; the shirt was new but the cloth came from

old stock. Wearing a body and spending only a little bit of time in it may

appear on the surface as if you are discarding a new body. But actually it is

of old stock. It has come to you from many past births. Here is another example

that

will help you to understand this. There are two individuals, a young person and

an old one. The young man who is 18 years old has been striking a stone

repeatedly, giving it twenty powerful blows with a hammer, but it does not

break. He sits down to rest. Then an elderly person comes along and with only

two strokes of the hammer breaks the stone. What is the reason for this

surprising result, where the stone did not break after 20 strokes given by the

strong, young person, but was quickly broken by a feeble individual of 80 years

of age who gave it only two strokes? The mistake in thinking is to count only

the two strokes given by the old man, believing that the stone had given way

after the impact of those two strokes. But in truth, it gave way after 22

strokes. After the 20 strokes given by the young man it was given an additional

2 strokes by the elderly person; then it broke. This Body is only One of Many

you have Worn Similarly, you may have done a number of spiritual practices and

enjoyed a variety of spiritual experiences in a previous birth, after which you

gave up your life. Now in this life, you resume your spiritual journey and even

before you attain old age you may gain spiritual fulfillment. In thinking about

this kind of thing you may be taking only the present life into account,

considering only the efforts and consequences of the actions of this birth. But

in the eyes of the Lord, all your past lives, all your past efforts and past

consequences are considered. Krishna said, "Dear child, in the end, each body

is destroyed by time. Know that you have existed in countless bodies and have

gone through countless

cycles of births and deaths for ages past, as far back as anyone can count." The

very meaning of the word for body in Sanskrit, is 'that which wears out'. It is

born as a lump of flesh. During its growth it becomes a beautiful attractive

body, but then ultimately it becomes old and loses its strength and

attractiveness. The body is an inert, insentient thing. During a lifetime it

undergoes a number of changes and then eventually gets worn out. But now you

may have a doubt. How can the body be called inert and insentient? It is

talking, it is walking, it is living, it sees, it hears, it feels, it

experiences pain, it is full of activities. This living body cannot be called

inert. But, once you wind the mechanism of a watch, it also starts working and

moving. From that moment on, the hands of the watch will be going around and

the bell will be chiming every

hour. But that is not sufficient reason to say that the watch is alive. Because

of the power it got when you wound it, this watch functions properly. In the

same way, because of the life energy given by God, your body talks and performs

various functions. Without the divine principle animating it the body cannot

function, just as the watch cannot function without being wound. But now

another question arises. A watch is working but it does not change its form and

size, whereas a body will be growing. How can you account for this? If it is

merely an inert thing how can it grow? Inert things do not grow. But if you

sweep the floor and collect the dust and put it in a dustbin, even that heap

will grow. When you go on feeding this body with all sorts of food, this body

also grows. As the food heaps up inside, the body grows. A heap of dust may

grow but you

cannot say that it has life. Similarly, just because you find your body growing

you cannot infer that it is alive. The body itself is just an inert thing. But

it is full of consciousness, because its very basis is divinity. Always

remember that basis. It is this divine consciousness that supports and

activates the living principle in all beings. Ignorance is being Unaware of

your True Nature When Krishna called Arjuna ignorant did it mean that Arjuna

had no education? No, it did not mean that at all. Arjuna had mastered a great

number of skills; he was well trained in the martial arts, in the art of

administration and many other professional skills. But in the field

of spirituality he had no knowledge. Here he exhibited real ignorance. People

use their capacities and faculties to specialize in one particular field and

develop a proficiency in it. Some people use their faculties for mastering

music, others write poetry, others develop skills in painting and sculpture.

Among scientists, one person will achieve excellence in the area of physics,

another in the area of chemistry, another in mathematics, still another in

biology. In that way they may have made extraordinary contributions, each in

his own particular area. But they do not know much about other areas of

knowledge. The only one who has complete mastery and proficiency in all areas

is God. That is why he has been described as omniscient. One who is omniscient

is also omnipotent and all-pervading. Only God has these three qualities,

omniscience, omnipotence and

omnipresence. Knowing the past, present and future, and knowing that Arjuna was

ready, Krishna undertook to teach Arjuna the great spiritual truths. He told

Arjuna, "Recognize the ephemeral nature of the body and never forget its

unchanging basis. With that divine basis as your focus, discharge your duties.

To begin with you must get rid of all your attachments. You are overwhelmed by

attachment to the body. This attachment is very dangerous. It will destroy all

your powers of discrimination." There is a small story to illustrate this. The

Danger of being Attached to the Body Once upon a time Indra, the lord of the

celestials, was cursed to be born as a pig on earth.

Being born thus, he was spending all his time living a family life in dirty,

muddy water. The sage Narada, while passing by and seeing this pig and its

family, recognized Indra reduced to that lowly form. Narada, who loved Indra

dearly, took great pity on him. Narada spoke to the pig, "Indra, look at what a

state you have degenerated into. How did this happen? How could you, a great

deity with unlimited power, the lord of all the heavenly regions, have come to

this? But never mind, don't worry, I will get you out. I will use all my

accumulated powers of penance to help you." He spoke to him very

sympathetically, lamenting that one who should be enjoying all the luxuries of

heaven had been put into such a miserable state. How very unfortunate Indra's

life had become, Narada thought. But, Indra, in the form of the pig, replied,

"Narada, why are you coming in

the way of my happiness? The joy that I am getting in this dirty water I will

not be able to get anywhere else. The wonderful life that I am enjoying here

with my wife and children in this mud hole I cannot even get in heaven. Why

have you come here to meddle with my life and get in the way of my joy? Please

go your way and leave me be." Indra, who was under the spell of the illusion of

attachment, did not realize his pitiful condition. Narada had to summon Indra's

own weapon, the celestial thunderbolt, to render that pig body asunder and free

a much-relieved Indra from his prison of attachment and body-consciousness. When

you are under the spell of attachment; you will be completely deluded. This

delusion is due to the irresistible power of Maya, which veils your truth and

keeps it hidden from you. If you want to destroy this power of illusion, you

must develop your knowledge of the true self. Therefore, Krishna took it upon

himself to start out his teachings by instructing Arjuna in self-knowledge. It

is only after you have the direct experience of your eternal self, that you can

truly do your work and discharge your duties properly. Without this knowledge

you will not understand even the mundane daily activities relating to the

world. Listening to spiritual teachings can help you only to a small extent.

When you are listening to the Gita you feel so happy and so full of joy. It all

seems so simple. But this elation you experience is just a temporary phenomenon.

When you undertake to put the teachings into practice many real problems and

difficulties arise. But you must persist in your efforts. The teachings will do

you little good unless you put them into practice. Whatever you have heard

and whatever you have read you must enter into and completely make your own.

Then you will gain something truly worthwhile. You must Live the Teachings A

great sage, while on a pilgrimage, reached a village in the south of India. In

the temple of this village a number of people had assembled. A learned teacher

was expounding the teachings of the Gita. The teacher was reading the text, the

disciples would repeat the verses and then the teacher would give the

appropriate commentaries. One particular disciple was found sitting in a corner

profusely shedding tears. All the other people were holding the Gita and were

repeating the lines, listening to the

teacher's words very attentively. Their facial expressions would constantly

change as the text was being expounded. Sometimes they would be joyful,

sometimes serious. But the disciple sitting in the corner was not having any

experience like that. His facial expression did not change at all. He was only

shedding tears. The sage observed all this. He addressed the man and asked him,

"Why are you crying? When the Gita is being expounded in such a joyous way, what

is the reason for your sadness?" The man replied, "Master, I do not know who you

are. I do not know Sanskrit. I cannot pronounce the verses. Since I do not know

Sanskrit I do not want to repeat these verses in the wrong way because I may be

committing a sin that way. Therefore, I was just picturing in my own heart

Krishna giving this Gita to Arjuna there on the battlefield. Krishna was

seated in the driver's seat, Arjuna was sitting behind him in the chariot. I was

crying because I was imagining Krishna having to turn his head back for such a

long time, trying to convince Arjuna of these great truths. Keeping his head

turned like that must have given him a great deal of pain. If only Arjuna had

been sitting in front and Krishna in the back, then it would not have caused so

much trouble to the Lord. Thinking of that hurts me very much." The sage

recognized that here was a true devotee. The man was experiencing so much love

for Krishna and had immersed himself so deeply in identifying with the Lord

giving the Gita teachings to Arjuna, that he had become a part of Krishna,

himself. The sage concluded that experiencing such feelings was far greater

than merely listening to and repeating the Gita verses. Even now, while the

Gita is being expounded, some of you are writing everything down reverently in

your notebooks while some of you are holding the Gita in your hands and

following the verses, trying to learn them. But these are all just outer

activities which will not evoke very deep feelings of devotion. If you want

your heart to become completely saturated with the essence of the teachings,

you must seek the inner experience. Do this by putting the verses into practice

in your daily life. Even if you practice only one of them it will be more than

enough. What is the use of taking down a hundred of them? If you fill your head

with all the contents of the book, your head will be just another book. What

counts is what you get imprinted on the book of your heart. Even if only one of

these teachings is imprinted in your heart that will be all that is needed. Let

your

heart become saturated with love. That is enough. Instead of filling your head

with scholarship and book knowledge it is far better to fill your heart with

love. Ignorance must be Completely Dispelled Krishna said to Arjuna, "There is

no meaning in your grieving and lamenting, basing all your feelings on these

outer bodily attachments and relationships. Go inside; let your mind become

introspective. Then you will be able to understand all the things that I am

expounding. You are grieving for people for whom there is no need to grieve.

You are making yourself miserable without reason. You should not suffer so. You

are feeling all this sorrow because your heart is full

of ignorance. Drive this ignorance completely out of your heart. It is only when

there is not even the least vestige of ignorance left in your heart that you

will be capable of understanding wisdom." Ignorance is like fire. Suppose a

fire is extinguished almost completely, except for just a few glowing embers.

If a breeze comes up, sparks from these few coals may develop into a huge

conflagration. Therefore, there should not even be a remnant of the fire left.

Ignorance is also like sickness. Suppose your disease is almost cured but there

is only a small vestige of it left. If, after coming home from the hospital, you

give up the proper diet, it may quickly develop and spread again. There should

be absolutely no remnant of disease left.

FONT-SIZE: 10pt">You can also compare ignorance to being in debt. Suppose you

have discharged all your debts; there is only one small loan of a hundred

dollars left. But if you let the interest accumulate, what will happen? The

debt will start piling up again. Therefore, you should discharge your debts

completely. In the same way, if there are any latent impressions of attachment

and desire left in your heart, your sorrow is likely to flare up and grow. That

is why Krishna admonished Arjuna, "If you retain even the smallest trace of

attachment in your heart, whatever I teach you will become useless. You must

completely destroy all your attachment which has been fed for so long by the

ignorance that is beclouding your heart. To help you do this, I am teaching you

the path of wisdom." The wisdom teaching is an extremely important part of the

Gita.

Once you understand the difference between the true self, the divine atma, and

the false self which is associated with worldly things, then all the other

teachings will become very easy to understand. You have to spend a number of

days in concentration, trying to understand from the very core of your heart

the distinction between the real and the not-real, and then detach yourself

from the not-real. That is the central teaching of the path of wisdom. Each

word of these teachings is a rare jewel. It is only when you completely

understand the nature of the wisdom path that you will be able to understand

the Gita in full and live a life free of grief and sorrow. TO BE CONTINUED

With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’ Source:

http://laluni.helloyou.ws/askbaba/saibabagita/

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