Bhagavad Gita (7)

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THE VERY NATURE OF GOD(Part 2)CHAPTER 7BOTH KNOWING AND EXPERIENCING DIVINITY(Jnana-Vijnana

Yoga)"I know every being past, present, and future,but nobody knows Me completely."1.

Krishna says, "Let Me be very clear, Arjuna. It may seem impossible to

you, but a mere human can indeed come to know God - not merely about God, but to really know

God. Listen while I explain how to do that : Through devoting your

whole mind to Divinity (Me), loving only Me, meditating on Me, and

depending wholly on Me as your only refuge, you will, without any

doubt, come to know Me in My entirety.2. "For this, you will need both knowledge of Divinity (jnana) and wisdom of Divinity (vijnana).

I will give these to you. The difference between them is this : one

learns knowledge through the senses and mind - that is through sight

and thinking; one gains wisdom through direct grasp, through insight

and intuition. Knowledge 'knows' it at an intellectual level; wisdom

'realizes' it fully and is able to apply it in daily living. Once you

combine both of these there is nothing more you need to know in this

world.3. "Only one person in many thousands seeks full

God-knowledge. And of these, only one in many thousands truly gains it.

Despite these odds, it is the intent of God that all beings are, in the

fullness of time, destined to reach this degree of perfection. The rare

ones who do attain this level of knowing become indistinguishable from

Divinity (Me), and thus achieve liberation."THE ESSENCE OF DIVINITY4-5.

"Listen closely and I will explain the essence of Divinity. First, know

that I have two aspects, a lower and a higher. My lower self is the

realm of nature (prakriti).

According to the ancient system of knowing, this is comprised of eight

basic components : earth, water, fire, air, ether (space), mind,

intellect (higher mind, buddhi),

and ego. Note that these basic components are arranged in ascending

order from gross matter (physical and chemical elements) to the more

subtle and refined : mind, intellect, and ego (which is the basic sense

of being a physical self). And note that all eight of these components,

even the very subtle ones, belong to prakriti, the cosmos, the world of nature."Beyond

this world of nature I have a second higher aspect that is distinct

from all of nature and yet interacts with it. This is My spiritual

realm (Purusha). Purusha

is the life force, the source of consciousness in all beings, and the

animator of all life. This mysterious power supports and sustains the

entire universe.6. "The commingling of these two realms, nature

(which is inert matter) and spirit (which is life consciousness), is

the womb of all beings. Life itself originates in this union of nature

and spirit. The entire universe evolves from these two aspects of Me,

and will finally dissolve into Me.7. "I am Pure Consciousness,

Arjuna, the underlying essence of all elements and beings. Nothing

whatsoever exists separate from My Divinity. There is no power in the

cosmos that does not emanate from Me and belong to Me. The entire

universe is suspended from Me as if I were the string in a necklace of

jewels. The gems may differ vastly, but the force holding them all

together, the central thread, is Me, Divinity.8. "I am the

innate nature of everything. In pure water I am the sweet taste. In the

sun and moon I am the radiance. In the very center of human beings I

live as virility and courage. I am the sacred word Om, which designates the Divine, and I am the sound of it heard throughout the universe.9.

"I am the slight, delicate scent, the sweet fragrance of the earth. I

am the brilliance in both fire and sun. I am the light of Divinity in

all beings. I am the subtle spirit in spiritual practices that gives

them their existence - I am the love in the devotee, for example, or

the austerity in the ascetic, or the sweet sense of charity in the

giver.10. "I am the primordial seed of all entities, the power of discrimination (buddhi) in those who are intelligent, the splendor within all resplendent beings and things.11.

"Of the strong, I am their might and vigor. As I am beyond all

attachments, I am the power in unselfish desire. I am the subtle force

in good actions that puts them in harmony with the welfare of humanity.

I am the innate urge to help others."MAYA AND THE GUNAS12. "Arjuna, all of nature consists of three characteristics called gunas. The first is goodness (sattva), the second is passionate activity (rajas), the third is darkness, indolence, inertia (tamas).

All these come from nature, which is My lower nature. I put on the

appearance of this natural world but am separate from it. These three

qualities of nature are contained within Me, Divinity, but I am not in them in the sense that I need to rely on them in any way. I do not rely on nature, it relies on Me.13.

"The three basic qualities of nature (goodness, passion, and darkness)

are like the three primary colors, which combine in an infinite number

of ways to create all hues in the universe. These gunas

likewise combine endlessly to create all of the variety in nature. It

all seems 'real', but as it is constantly changing, it is not Real. Due

to this maya mentality (the

illusion that the world is Real), people do not look beyond the veil of

illusion to Me, the unchanging consciousness, the Absolute Reality

beyond all the worldly; they do not see beyond to Me, the very basis of

it all.14. "This curtain of illusion (maya) is hard to see

through, Arjuna. Only those who love and depend completely on Divinity

are eventually able to see through it.15. "Those who are unable

to see beyond the veil cannot, in effect, discriminate between Real and

not-Real. Oblivious to the Reality of their own higher nature (the True

Self Within), they sink to their lower nature and do evil deeds,

committing acts that turn them away from Divinity. Not knowing the holy

from the unholy, they are of course not devoted to Me, Divinity."THE FOUR DEVOTEES16.

"Four types of people seek a connection with Me : One, the world-weary

- people who worship God for the alleviation of physical or mental

agony, or to be released from fears and adversity; two, the seekers of

happiness through worldly things - people who pray to God to obtain

wealth, family, power, prestige, and so forth; three, the seekers of

spiritual advancement - people whose motive for connecting with

Divinity is to gain knowledge and experience to aid their

self-realization; four, the wise - people who truly know the Atma (Self), who know that God alone exists, and whose only impulse is for the Divine and nothing else.17.

"Of these, the last is the highest because they know My Truth and are

devoted to Me. As I am supremely dear to them, they are very dear to

Me. The first three are attached to the worldly objects or mental

states they desire.18. "But certainly all four types are noble,

because any reason for turning Godward will in due time lead to

spiritual transformation and is therefore ultimately good. The wise

ones of the last category, however, are My very Self. They know Me as

the essence within themselves and are always with Me. Their devotion

stands foremost. As fuel thrown into the fire becomes fire, the wise,

absorbed in Me, actually become one with the Godhead, their own

Divinity, their one and only goal.19. "After many a long life

of meditation on Me, these wise ones come to Me. They see that all this

world is indeed their innermost Self, and realize that God alone puts

on the appearance of all phenomena. Such great souls are rare indeed.20.

"Others hoping to fulfill worldly desires, drift to lesser gods and

offer rituals and rites. It is quite easy for them to get to those

limited deities but the rewards are correspondingly small. Healing

disease, winning litigation, acquiring a position, and other trifling

psychic powers are alluring to worldly-caught people. True devotees of

the Supreme Godhead give no thought to worldly things. The question of

other gods does not even arise in them.21. "And yet, Arjuna,

whatever form of God people choose to worship in good faith, it is I,

the Godhead, who makes their faith steady and unwavering. I do this to

help them evolve stage by stage along their spiritual paths.22.

"Endowed with that steady faith, they get what they pray for. The

objects they receive are, in reality, dispensed by Me. The needs of all

beings are fulfilled only through Me, the Cosmic Source.23.

"The fruits they pray for, however, are ephemeral, perishable (and thus

not Real), providing only fleeting satisfaction. Worshipers of these

deities of the senses go to them; My devotees come to Me.24-25.

"People of little wisdom do not understand My supreme, immutable

existence and thus they think of Me only as a finite figure, a worldly

body. They are unable to grasp the transcendent Godhead beyond My human

form. I do not reveal Myself to them. Very few can see through this

veil of illusion called maya that I hold in front of Me.26. "Arjuna, My delusive maya

and I are always commingled. While others are deluded by the appearance

of physical 'reality', I am all-knowing. I know every being - past,

present, and future - but nobody knows Me completely. If individual

souls do not know their own Truth (Atma), how are they to know the truth of God, the Cosmic Soul?27.

Why is it that people do not know this deep truth? Because as soon as

they are born they are led to believe that the world around them is

'real'. They forget their oneness with Divinity and fall into a pattern

of likes and dislikes that gives rise to all sorts of desires,

attachments, and aversions. With their nervous systems thus

conditioned, their sense of individuality (ego) is reinforced time and

time again. It does not dawn on the impure mind preoccupied with ego to

make room for devotion to God. Without that devotion it is impossible

to see one's oneness with God.28. "But those who purify their

actions by dedicating them all to the Divine gradually grow less

influenced by their own habits and desires. One step at a time, they

overcome the lower self, worshiping Me, the One who is not separable.29.

"No matter how strongly you ascribe to the universal delusion that you

can avoid pain and only have pleasure in this life (which is utterly

impossible), sooner or later you must confront the fact of your

inevitable aging and eventual death. Some people, trying to escape the

fear of death, come to Me for refuge. Once with Me, they learn of their

True Self (Atma) and ascertain

the nature of Divinity. Therefore, because death stirs people to seek

answers to important spiritual questions, it becomes the greatest

servant of humanity, rather than its most feared enemy.30. "Finally, Arjuna, yogis know that it is I, the Godhead (Brahman), the Adhyatma, who presides over the entire cosmos, including the physical universe (adhibhuta), the deities who serve divine purposes (adhidaivas), and the spirits who handle all sacrifices or offerings (adhiyajna)."The wisdom and devotion of these yogis,

these wise souls, serves them throughout their lives - and especially

at the hour of death, the time when most people are scared and

confused. That is why spiritual wisdom is so important. These yogis truly know their own Atma

(which is Divinity itself, Me), and so they calmly accept death as a

matter of course. Their God-realization is at its zenith when they drop

their bodies. At that instant their whole consciousness becomes one

with My Cosmic Consciousness, and they are thus liberated from rebirth."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/