Transcription
[Music] [Music] Guru, we are on the sixth chapter, and we had done the first two verses. One second. In the first two verses, Sri Krishna re-emphasizes the importance of Karma Yoga. Though this chapter is on, um, Dhyana, on meditation, before starting the actual theme of this chapter, Krishna once again talks about Karma Yoga, basically how to spiritualize one's actions so that it becomes a part of one's Sadhana.
I had, I don't know if I mentioned to you, Swami, some of you may have seen him, Anubhavanandaji. He is known as, popularly known as the Laughing Swami, very humorous. So once I heard him say, um, he was giving a talk in Hindi on the Gita, and he said, "Have you noticed one thing? Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna so many things in 18 chapters of the Gita, not one of which Arjuna follows. Nothing! Arjuna does not do and practice anything. For example, what will be taught in the sixth chapter here, none of it is useful to Arjuna. That you sit in this posture, you breathe in this way, keep your eyes closed, and then focus like this." He can't do that. Arjuna will fire an arrow at him if he tries to do that. So now, none of it is possible in the middle of the battlefield. Uh, whether it is Bhakti or the, or inquiry, self-inquiry, let alone the meditation which you are going to learn in this chapter, except one thing: how to spiritualize his actions, what he is doing throughout the day.
So, the importance of Karma Yoga, especially in today's day and age. Um, we often run it down as a preliminary practice, and Krishna here also will say that it's foundational. It is, but it's a necessary condition for spiritual life. This is a way of, you know, it's a necessary condition and sufficient condition. The necessary condition is, without that, what you want will not happen. Without Karma Yoga, this God-realization, enlightenment, will not happen. But it is not a sufficient condition, at least according to Advaita Vedanta. That, so if I do my Karma Yoga properly, will I get enlightened? No, there is a little more to be done. So there is this meditation which he is going to talk about now, and also ultimately self-knowledge, Jnana.
Now, before that, he re-emphasizes the importance of Karma Yoga. And the way he does it is, in the first verse, he says, "Greater than the Sannyasi who has given up everything, who has given up the daily activities with the ritualistic worship or, um, secular, like the job, or a family, all kinds of social interactions, and become a maybe a wandering monk or a hermit, a Sannyasi who has given up. Greater than that. Then, greater than the Yogi, Yogi in this traditional sense of a person who sits and meditates, like a maybe a hermit whose main spiritual practice is meditation. Greater than a Yogi also, greater than a Sannyasi, is the Karma Yogi." He says, "How so? How is the Karma Yogi greater than a Sannyasi and greater than a Yogi?" Because the Karma Yogi is actually performing actions, and the Sannyasi has given up the actions. And Sri Krishna says, "Not greater in the sense that the real Sannyasi, the real renouncer, is the Karma Yogi. The real Yogi is the Karma Yogi." How so?
And in the second verse, which we saw last time: "Yoh sannyasa miti prahu, yogam tambidhi pandava, nahi asanya sankalpo yogi bhavati." This is how is a Karma Yogi equal to a Sannyasi? How is a Karma Yogi equal to or greater than a meditator? In this way, the Sannyasi gives up the desires for, you know, worldly pleasures, worldly pursuits, and also gives up all the activities related to that. So may not be earning money, does not have, in fact, is not earning money, and does not have worldly possessions, does not have worldly relationships. So all the activities which are pursued for getting worldly pleasure, worldly satisfaction. So the pursuit of worldly satisfaction is given up, and the activities related to that are given up. That's a Sannyasi. How is this Karma Yogi equal to a Sannyasi? Because the crucial thing about becoming a Sannyasi is, one must internally rise above the pursuit of worldly goals, the pursuit of worldly pleasures. The idea that by, um, you know, by having a lot of sense enjoyment, by making merry in the world, by being, by earning a lot of money and having a lot of property, I'm going to be happy. This, this whole all-consuming pursuit of worldliness, this Sannyasi has given up completely. This is, Sannyasi is very clear that this will not give me happiness. This is not, not the way to happiness. The way to happiness is God-realization, spirituality, self-realization, whatever you call it. And the Karma Yogi has the same thing. The Karma Yogi also realizes the pursuit of worldly pleasures, pursuit of worldly success, is not the way to happiness. Except now, the difference between the Sannyasi and the Karma Yogi is, the Sannyasi has given up the desire along with the activities. Along with the activities. But the Karma Yogi has given up the desires, but still continues to perform his or her duties as spiritual practice. So it has not actually withdrawn from the world. May still be holding a job, may still be taking care of the family and the community. But now, internally, the change has come. Internally, now the goal is that I, uh, the purpose is my own spiritual evolution. This purpose is, is God-realization. I now understand in my own heart that the only way to find happiness is by realizing God or by getting self-knowledge. This maturity has come. But instead of formally giving up everything and going away, the person continues as it is in the world. In the world, people may not see so much of a difference. Little difference, maybe. Um, earlier the person was very much involved in worldly activities. Swami Ashoka, and this used to say, in I read once in one of his talks, he's saying the 1950s in his audience in San Francisco, he is saying that once you become interested in spiritual life, your friends or your children may say, "Oh, Mom is no fun anymore." So, and your friends and your relatives may say that, "Oh, she's not interested in, um, on all the things, you know, she used to be interested in." Nashua Kanji says, "I say, good riddance. I say, good riddance."
Um, just today, I was reading about this, uh, gentleman who is one of India's leading publishers and, you know, a very creative person in advertisement and all of that. So he became very interested in spirituality, in Advaita Vedanta. He met, uh, Eckhart Tolle, "The Power of Now." So he became very influenced by that, and so on. And then, uh, one day he writes himself that, "I went to, I told Eckhart Tolle that I have, I'm losing interest in, you know, advertising and creativity, that, you know, making new and new advertisement campaigns." So, "I'm just losing interest in that." Eckhart Tolle immediately said, "Thank God. Thank God. That is a sign of progress." Yes, it should be combined with interest in spiritual life. If they say, "I'm losing interest in everything in the world, I don't like anything," but what about the Vedanta? What about meditation? What about, you know, devotion? Some kind of spiritual, "Do you like that?" "That also does not appeal to me." That's not good. That is a sign of depression and negativity. It's not a sign of spirituality. But one has seriously become interested in spiritual life in any form, and less interested, not so interested in all-consuming interest in worldly life. That's good. You know, with, with Eckhart Tolle, I understand what he says, "Thank God."
So the Karma Yogi, like the Sannyasi, has lost the whole, uh, idea that by becoming, by absorbing myself in worldly pursuits, I will somehow be happy. People have that feeling. A devotee wrote to me that many years ago, a monk told her that both of them were watching from the window, the city. I don't know, some city somewhere, and they're seeing people going out, you know, streets full of people, busy. I'm sure pre-pandemic times. And then the monk asked this lady that, "Where are they all going?" And the lady said, "I suppose everybody is going for their job, or for a walk, or something. Everybody has different reasons." And the monk said, "No, they are all going in search of happiness." See, that is true. That is true. All of them. The little kid going out to play in the park, the school children going to school, and the parents busy taking the children to school, and executives hurrying along for their job, the old and retired person going for the daily walk. All of them are going out in search of happiness. And the spiritual seeker has realized that is not the way. The way to find the same, same search. Search is the same. We all have the same search. What the drug addict is looking for, what the film actor in Hollywood is looking for, what the Wall Street trader here is looking for, what the scholar is looking for in there, in Columbia University or NYU, and what the spiritual seeker, a monk in the monastery, or maybe in the hills, mountains, looking for. Same thing. Same thing. The spiritual seeker is more mature, that's all.
So, that, that giving up has come. That both Sannyasi and Karma Yogi, they know by worldly pursuits, one cannot be happy. If the Sannyasi has not known that and still has given up external activities, is asking for serious trouble. So, Sannyasi knows that. The monk knows that worldly pursuits, one cannot attain ultimate happiness, and has given up the worldly pursuits also. The Karma Yogi also has the same attitude, has made that same internal development that by worldly pursuits, ultimately it has to be done. It is your karma to be in the midst of, um, of the household and people and all. But you have the same understanding, the same maturity has come. Ultimately, no final, uh, peace of mind and fulfillment is attainable in these ways. So, in that sense, Karma Yogi and Sannyasi are equal. Karma Yogi has given up internally, externally continues with the activities. The Sannyasi has given up. Internal, internal giving up is the sign. Is a true renunciation, not the externally. Whether you are a monk or involved in worldly activities. Worldly activities are themselves activities. So, um, you can spiritualize them. That is not so important.
How is this Karma Yogi equal to Yogi? The meditator. The Yogi's main problem, why the mind does not settle down in meditation, we shall see in detail later in this chapter itself. Arjuna will ask the question, "Why does the mind refuse to settle down in meditation?" Is worldly desires. So, ultimately, worldly desires. Later on, Arjuna will ask, "All these techniques you are teaching me, he is very blunt. They are no use. I can't meditate." Why? Who is saying this? Arjuna, who is a very, uh, you know, very accomplished person, who's supposed to, who's famous in Mahabharata for his extraordinary powers of concentration. That person is saying it, "Meditation is difficult." And why? So, Arjuna says, "The mind is restless." And Krishna says, "It is true, the mind is restless, but meditation is possible." And he says two things. We will see all that later in detail. "And regular practice." That is understandable. Regular practice is essential. But he adds one more thing: "Dispassion for the world." Without that, Vairagya for the world. Worldly activities, world will continue to bother you. Even the slightest thing. Meditation is a very delicate thing. So, the slightest disturbance from the world will create a big disturbance in meditation. So, worldly desires, you have to let go. Let go. The worldly desire means it is not important to you anymore. So, if a person, the Karma Yogi, has let go, has transcended that, then the Karma Yogi has the mind which is prepared for meditation. The Karma Yogi's meditation will be better than the unprepared Yogi who tries to meditate directly. So, that is the meaning of the second verse.
Third verse: "For the sage who desires to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means. And for him alone, when he has attained to Yoga, inaction is said to be the means." This verse is important. Why is it important? First of all, um, first of all, you have heard me again and again talk about the structure of Sadhana, the structure of spiritual practices. Karma Yoga is important. Meditation and Bhakti are important. And ultimately, by Jnana, one gets Moksha, by knowledge, one gets realization. This structure, I have mentioned that the, um, you know, three cross three matrix. I've talked about it earlier. Yes. And I'm speaking again from an Advaitic perspective, non-dual perspective. You see, from an Advaitic perspective, non-dual perspective, also all the practices are important. Um, Advaita Vedanta says, "You are Brahman." But that does not help us because until we know that we are Brahman, until we realize that it is, we are, we keep on suffering. We may be Brahman. I don't know. Maybe you're right. We can say to Vedanta, "But I don't know that." And even if you tell me, "Vedanta says, 'I've told you now, you are Brahman.'" Well, you're a good person, Mr. Vedanta. So I guess I can believe you, but I don't see it. I don't feel it. Until I don't see it, I don't understand it, I don't feel it, then it will have no effect. So realization means knowledge. I'm ignorant about my own reality. And that knowledge must come. But it does not come. So why does it not come? And Vedanta says the mind is disturbed, mind is flickering. So the mind has to be focused through meditation. And we try meditation, and the mind becomes restless. We cannot meditate. Also, why is the mind unable to meditate? Because the mind has so much impurity in it, so much preconditioning in it. So that impurities have to be cleansed. Purification of the mind, that has to be done. And there, that is called, and that can be done through Karma Yoga. So now you have three levels. At the first level, impurity of mind is the problem, and the result we want is pure mind. And the method of doing that is Karma Yoga. And that is an essential thing. What I said earlier, uh, necessary condition, not sufficient condition, according to Advaita. Necessary condition. So Karma Yoga gives you purity of mind. With a pure mind, we go to the second stage where the problem is flickering mind, unsteady mind, um, you know, restless mind. And the result we want is a focused, concentrated mind. So focused mind, how do you attain? Through Dhyana Yoga, meditation. And with a purified mind, when you sit for meditation, your meditation is quick, easy, and powerful and effective. With that pure and meditative mind, when we come to the final level where the problem is, "I do not know that I am Brahman. I don't see it. I don't feel it. I don't realize it." So that ignorance is there, the primeval ignorance, what you might call primordial ignorance. That can be removed only by knowledge. And that knowledge arises by Shravana, Manana, and Nididhyasana, which is hearing and contemplation and Vedantic meditation. It is Nididhyasana. So that is Jnana Yoga. With a purified and concentrated mind, which we have got from the earlier levels, that Jnana Yoga becomes effective, and knowledge comes, and we realize we are Brahman. We always were Brahman. And the problem is solved. And this is not done in stages. It's sort of done all together. But the emphasis is on Karma Yoga earlier, more and more on, on, um, Yoga later on, and Jnani Yoga also afterwards. But all of that should go on together. It's not that, "All right, I'm not going to come to your class anymore from next time because I've realized my level is Karma Yoga. I will do Karma Yoga." And 20 years later, I will come back to your class. That will not work. One must do it throughout one's life. All of it. Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, and Jnana Yoga.
So this structure, I have spoken about. Three cross three matrix. Problem: Ignorance. Solution: Knowledge. Method: Yoga. Second row: Problem: Restless mind. Solution: Concentrated mind. Method: Dhyana Yoga. Finally, the bottom row: Problem: Impure mind. Solution: Pure mind. Method: Karma Yoga. So this three cross three matrix, where does this come from? Where did you get it? Why do you say this is the structure? Why do you say this is the hierarchy in Advaita? So here is one of those verses which is, um, which is telling us, which is giving us a clue to this structure. It says, "For those who want to become enlightened, Yogam with Dhyani Yoga or Karma Yoga, Jnana Yogi want to become a Jnana Yogi and realize Brahman, Karma, Karna, much the method is Karma Yoga. After Yoga Rudasya, once purification of mind is attained, then he says, Shamakar, meditation becomes the method." So ultimately, knowledge is your goal. So then I should do only Yoga? I should study Vedanta? What you have taught me in the second chapter? Second chapter, only Atman was taught in Bhagavad Gita. Krishna taught only Atman. That's it. That's enough. Won't work. Won't work. First, you must fulfill the necessary conditions. What is the necessary condition? Pure mind, concentrated mind. Then only the Vedanta, which we are studying, will realize, will flash. That realization will flash. That breakthrough will come. So, um, here is the clue. You can see the, the seeds are the clue to that structure. Three cross three matrix. Which I talk about. This verse actually indicates that, um, one more point of, yes, meditation is an advanced practice. Everybody is interested in meditation, but meditation is an advanced practice. In Bhagavad Gita itself, which is meditation chapter, chapter six, not chapter two. Chapter two, the highest truth is given to you first. You are the Atman. Then importance of Karma Yoga is talked about. And chapter three, four, five, Yoga, Karma Yoga theory is nicely delineated. And after the importance of Karma Yoga has been thoroughly established, chapter six will tell you about the next step, which is meditation. But there also, we are beginning with an emphasis on, on spiritualizing our daily activities. In, in the classic manual of meditation, the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, which, which is the stage of meditation of the eight-limbed Yoga, the seventh one is meditation. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, so the seventh limb, the seventh stage, or seventh limb of the Ashtanga Yoga is the meditation. Not the first or second. The first or second are equivalent to Karma Yoga. Yama and Niyama are equivalent to what we call Karma Yoga. Yama, Niyama are the signs of a purified mind. This is what has been said in the third verse of the Bhagavad Gita, update of this chapter, that first purification of mind through Karma Yoga is necessary. In Patanjali Yoga Sutra also, he says first Yama and Niyama are necessary. The moral do's and don'ts, the moral disciplines. In religion, every religion instructs us about that. Otherwise, meditation is not possible.
I was just reading in a reminiscence by Swami Chaitanya Maharaj about his days as a Brahmacharya novice in Belur Math. The Brahmacharya training center. He was in the early days of the training center of Padi Brahmacharis. At that time, they had a legendary principal, the head of the training center, the, the head monk of the training center, Bhava Maharaj, Swami Bodhatman. So, who was a disciple of Swami, I never saw him. He passed away long before my time. But all the senior monks talk about it because they were all trained by him. He was a wonderful, like a father figure, and a wonderful teacher. In fact, he used to teach Vedanta Sara. The class which we are having, he used to teach that. So generations of monks have studied the Vedanta Sara with him. And Swami Chaitanya, who was always, I think, from the very beginning, meticulous about record keeping. He says that I took down whatever he said by in my notes. And before I left the training center, I asked him to read through my notes and correct it. And he said, "Even now, so many years later, I still treasure that little notebook where I had taken down notes from Bhava Maharaj, who taught us Vedanta Sara."
All right. So here is an anecdote which I read just today. Importance of how delicate meditation is. Meditation is an advanced thing. And how the, our worldly, our external life affects meditation. So the anecdote, anecdote goes like this. So Swami Chaitanya-ji was a young novice at that time. So this must have been in the 60s. Um, he, so they used to serve, and even now, we, I've also done it. You serve food to the monks in, in, in the monastery. So one of the duties of the novices is, you have to serve food. And that's, from you get buckets, you have buckets of rice, and buckets of dal, and buckets of vegetables, uh, and buckets of yogurt, curd. And you have big, big, you know, serving spoons, ladles. And you, and all the monks sit on the floor on mats, and you put it, and you get their portions on their plates. And so, and occasionally you receive scoldings. I have also received scoldings from senior monks. And that's part of the fun. Uh, any mistake you make, the senior monks will, will correct you immediately with a few sharp words. So, um, Swami Chaitanya-ji says that one day he was serving, and senior monk Swami Gangananda, who was senior to Swami Bodhatman, their principal, said something sharp to him, or to some other novice, critical, something scolding, and unfairly so, unfairly so. And their principal, Swami Bodhatman, and he was sitting there, who was very protective. He said, he was like a mother bird, and all the, these little, these novices were like his chicks, you know, he would protect them from, from unfair, uh, scoldings or treatment by others. So this old monk scolded the young novice in front of everybody. And that's like 200 monks sitting there. And Swami Bodhatman-ji, he roared out, "Swami, don't think that the boy is an orphan. He too has his guardians. We are there. We are the idea is that I am here. You got to answer to me if you, if you behave that way with, with my boys." So that was passed and done. And Swami, the old Swami who scolded him, kept quiet. Did not say anything.
Now, Swami Chaitanya-ji says, "The next day, I saw something amazing." Remember, Swami Gangananda was older than Bhava Maharaj, senior to him. The next day, in the morning, he says, "We saw our principal, the head of our, um, you know, training institution, going up to the monks' quarters where that old Swami used to live, and knocking gently on his doors." While we watched, the old Swami came out. And this Bhava Maharaj fell at his feet and held his feet. And he's, both of them are senior Swamis. Brahmachari is the disciple of Swami Shivananda, and the principal of the training center. Big Swami. He fell at the feet of Swami Gangananda-ji and said, "I should not have spoken so harshly to you in public yesterday. This is not befitting. It was, I, I, I beg for your forgiveness." And then, and he said, "I cannot meditate anymore." He said, "Just," he said, "I cannot meditate anymore." And Gangananda immediately, he saw. So he said, "Viewers, we were so impressed by this." Chaitanya-ji immediately pulled him up and embraced him lovingly. And he said, "Oh, what are you talking about? It's such a small thing. Forget it. Forget it. Let it be. Let it be." And then he came back. Now, but that also points out how delicate meditation is. If you're really seriously trying to meditate, if you have even the slightest anger, annoyance, guilt, uneasiness about what's going on, you know, what I have done, I've hurt other people, it won't work. It's clearly in the Bible. It is said, Jesus Christ says that the Lord says, "If you are going to offer things to the Lord, and you have got some, you know, outstanding quarrel with your brother, he said, 'Leave your offerings there. Go out and make up, make amends with your brother. Then come back and make your offering to God.' Otherwise, God won't accept it." What does that mean? God won't accept it? It means whom you have offended outside, that same divinity you're trying to meditate upon. How is that possible? It's a deep contradiction. When you say, suppose that the other person is not available, or that person is not [Music] will not listen to me, or will not, it's impossible for me to apologize. Try, or at least mentally pray to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Maybe you will not be able to go to that person and fall at his or her feet. It may not be possible. But at least mentally, try to seek forgiveness. If not from nobody, at least from God. One, one becomes aware of these things in meditation. One becomes aware of these things in meditation. I remember, where young novices in an ashram used to teach students in a school. And along with us, there were other young teachers who were not monks. They were employees. They were teachers. Teachers who were, you know, they were married people, they have with the salary and job. That was in one of our schools in the Ramakrishna School in India. One day, a senior teacher told me this story that a young teacher came up to him one day, a new young teacher, and he said, "What's the difference between us and those monks? You know, we also teach this class, and, uh, yeah, we get salaries. That's all. They don't. They don't take salaries. But they also teach, and they're like teachers, just like us." And the senior teacher told, who had been in the school for many, many decades, and the senior teacher told that new teacher, he said, "This is the difference. Bye-bye. Every day in the evening, those monks, young and old, they retreat to the, you know, the meditation hall, or to their own rooms, and they sit in meditation. And the whole day's ups and downs, good and bad, they wash off in meditation. You and I, if we have a falling out, we will remember it and, and sort of mentally grumble at each other for the next week, or month, or year. It all accumulates for us. And they wash it out. Otherwise, they can't meditate." See, that's a very, very deep insight. Um, so meditation is an advanced practice. The seventh level in Patanjali Yoga Sutras. The sixth chapter here in Bhagavad Gita. In the Vedas itself, if you look at the structure of the Vedas, [Music] we say Veda is divided into Karma Khanda and Jnana Khanda, the ritualistic portion, knowledge portion. But that's just a sort of general division. Actually, it's divided into three portions: the knowledge, the ritualistic portion, the meditation portion, and the knowledge portion. Karma, Upasana. The Upanishads, which are Vedanta, what we are studying, Vedanta, Gita is also Vedanta. That comes in the knowledge portion. Before that, there is a meditation portion. Before that, bulk of the Vedas are rituals, where the Vedic sacrifices are talked about, Yagyas. Most of them are obsolete now because we don't do that in modern Hinduism. We have replaced it with Pujas and all. But my point here is, meditation is not the first thing that the Vedas teach. The Vedic meditations are not the first thing that the Vedas teach. The Vedas first teach rituals. And then there are some things called Upasana. In Advaita Vedanta, especially the Advaitic meditation, Nididhyasana, is a pretty sophisticated thing. It sort of comes at the end of everything. You must be prepared. Mind must be purified and concentrated by preliminary meditation practices. Then there is a thorough study of Vedanta, a clarity about what Vedanta teaches. You reason it out. You've got clarity and conviction. Then only Advaitic meditation, Nididhyasana, is possible. You cannot jump straight to Nididhyasana. It's meaningless, completely meaningless. So meditation is an advanced thing. That's one point I wanted, I wanted to bring out. Um, yes. The other thing, I'm thankful to, um, Praveer Babu for sending the email. So M. Master, M. as the author of "The Gospel of Krishna." So in one place, later on in his life, I mean, there are so many people who used to go to him and listen to his discourses and just inspire so many people to spiritual life, including many, many monks, young people who became monks. So in one place, in his, the recorded, so in one place, he talks about this verse, chapter 6, verse number 3. So that reference has been sent by Prabhupada. That reference. So it goes like this. M is quoting from Tulsidas. Tulsidas said, "Without holy company, there is no talk about God. Without talk about God, there is no chance of getting rid of delusion. And without getting rid of delusion, there is no possibility of seeing God." So here, Tulsidas has given his own structure of spiritual practice. You have to remove ignorance, then only you can see God. But ignorance cannot be removed without talking about God. And talking about God is not possible unless you come to class. So then, next, during a discussion on the evening of 20th June 1931, so it's 1931, M quoted from the Gita, chapter 6, verse number 3. "For a sage who wants to attain Yoga, action is said to be the means. But when he has attained Yoga, serenity is said to be the means." He then explained the mystery of Karma to the assembled devotees. "Krishna also described the secret of work thus: 'Remember Me and fight.' This is called Karma Yoga. Unite yourself with God and unite yourself with the Lord through Karma. First, think of Him, then work. And again, think of Him and offer the fruit to Him. This is Karma Yoga." I'll repeat this. Unite. So this is Karma Yoga. Unite yourself with the Lord through Karma. First, think of Him (with a capital H, Him), then work. And again, think of Him and offer the fruit to Him. This is Karma Yoga. M continued, "Swamiji, that means, Swamiji was a hero. Look at his life. He attained Samadhi, then performed action, and again he remained in Samadhi. He had no attachment for action. He was commanded to perform his divine mission, working for the welfare of humanity. Work is not the goal, it is the means to realizing God." Yes, so that's inspiring. Um, what else did I want to say? So, yes, if you look at the verse, "the sage who who is climbing on the ladder of Yoga," remember the structure. So first Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is the means. And then Yoga Rudasya, your one who has already reached that level of purification of mind. For that person, meditation becomes the means. Means, means, becomes effective. One must do Karma Yoga. One must do meditation. And one must study Vedanta also. And of course, practice devotion along with all of it. Even in the traditional structure of life, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa, householder life, the retired life, and the, you know, literally the forest dweller, and then the monastic life. The householder life is Karma Pradhana, emphasis is on Karma, action. The Vanaprastha life is Pradhana, emphasis is on meditation. And the Sannyasa life, monastic life, is supposed to be Jnana Pradhana, the emphasis is on knowledge. Again, emphasis. All of that other things continue. I mean, you might say, "What about you all? You became monks at a young age, before entering, uh, householder life." Yes, but the moment you enter, I have noticed now, I begin to understand what happens to the novices. The first and most important thing that happens in their life is a lot of work. I remember when I joined the order in the ashram, it was a school. And the third, the third day of joining, I was called by one of the senior monks and said, "Hey, you come here. Here is this hostel. It's like a dorm. And there are kids here. They're all 10-year-olds. 40 of them. Go and look after them." I thought, "I have become a monk. I thought I would be told and taught how to meditate, how to study. I'll be taught Vedanta. And I will do the Puja of Sri Ramakrishna. And the work at the most, maybe I will go to the garden and pick flowers for the shrine temple." 40 kids. I thought, "If I had gotten married, I might have had one or two kids. Here are 40 kids." So the first thing that is done to newcomers is that they are stuffed with a lot of work. Their hold is filled up with a lot of work. Yes, it's the work of the ashram. But the idea is the same. The idea is Karma Yoga is important. For many, many years, along with that, of course, there's a daily routine of meditation, of devotional practices, and study of Vedanta. But a lot of time and energy goes in, in Karma Yoga. I remember once I was very happy doing all that, all that stuff. So one gentleman who was visiting the ashram, he was praising me to a senior monk. In my, in my prayers, I was sort of passing by. I was, you know, perked for praise, of course. Saying that, "I saw this Brahmachari from the morning. He's working in that. I saw him working in the temple in the morning. He was attending classes. Then he was teaching in the school. I saw him working in the office. I saw him serving food in the kitchen. I saw, I see him, you know, doing the Aarti in the evening. And now he's supervising the study of the kids. It's amazing. He's working all day long." And the old monk said, in Bengali, he said, "Let him do it. If he doesn't do it now, when will he do it?" So that sort of deflated me. That work is good. Now I realize it's, it's very good to be engaged. All the energies that are flowing through us, they should be engaged in, in Karma Yoga. And that one can do in the house also. That is the great insight of Krishna and of Swami Vivekananda. In this age, one can do it in the office. One can do it in the house. One can do it in the ashram. But one must do it. Karma Yoga is a necessary condition for spirituality. May not be a sufficient condition. All right.
Then the next verse, fourth verse: "Yoga has, when one habitually renounces all desires, and is no more attached either to sense subjects or to actions, then one is said to have attained to Yoga." So the question is, we're doing Karma Yoga for purification of mind. How do I know when I'm ready? When the mind is more or less purified? How do I know I'm making progress at all in Karma Yoga? So here he gives a test. Sri Krishna says, "Here is the test. When the, the engagement with the world, this whole idea that my happiness depends on positions, on money, on success, on people, on relationships, or on my youth and health and good looks, on my achievements, on the praise of other people, all of this, when as long as one thinks that one needs Karma Yoga afterwards, this is not important to you anymore. It is childish. It may be there. You may still be in a position where you may, if you eat a cookie, it'll be nice. But it's not important. It's not important that my happiness depends upon nice food. It's not important that my happiness depends upon physical comfort. It's not essential that people have to be nice to me or praise me, then only I'll be happy. If people are mean to me, then I'll be unhappy. All these things are no longer important. I have reached that level of maturity." It's not that at that level of maturity, you shun all worldly engagement. If somebody gives you a nice cookie, you throw it away? No. "I have my mind is purified now. I shall not eat a cookie." You will not say that. But you don't depend on it. See what I mean by dependence? Is if you go out here in broad, broadway, for example, this place, New York. Food and clothing and entertainment. You know, that's Broadway. You have famous eateries, all the food of the world, and all atrociously expensive. And then you have all the famous fashion lines, all, um, closed down more or less right now. And then you have, um, the famous Broadway theater and all. So arts and culture and entertainment. And, um, you know, food and fashion. You say, "What's wrong with that?" Nothing wrong with that. But that is what absorbs people. That this is, I am successful. I am happy if I have choicest food, if I wear designer clothes, if I am rich, and I have, I fill up my weekends. Whole week is spent in earning money. So if you fill up my weekends in eating out and dining out and going out with friends, attending Broadway shows, things like that, depending upon your level of refinement and culture. For everybody, there is something. Now, this is, this is the pursuit of Artha and Kama in, uh, the scale of values. Karma, the pursuit of pleasure, sense pleasures, what he calls here, Indriyartha, sense pleasures. From the crudest, I want this kind of food, to more refined, I want this kind of entertainment, Broadway show, or performance in the Juilliard School of Music, and whatever. Or, um, to get all of this, fine clothes, fine entertainment, fine food, I need a lot of money. So I'm busy working 14 hours, 16 city. That never sleeps, New York City. That slogan, "The city that never sleeps." But dreams, I don't know what daydreams or what day, what how people dream without sleeping. But what does it mean? It's so busy here in New York. From again, pre-pandemic times. So from Monday till Friday, busy earning money, and then spending that money on Saturday and Sunday. And this is, I do not question it. This is the way to be happy. That's why people are so upset. Locked down. You can't go out to eat. What does it mean? You can't go out and catch a show. You can't even meet your friends. Social distancing. That Swami I mentioned, Anubhavan, in the, uh, Sangha monk, in that talk in Hindi, he was, he's very witty. He says, "What is the meaning of social distancing? First, you wash your hands and sanitizer. You wash your hands of the world, all your activities. Then social distancing. Keep away from people and the world." And so he related every stage of the practice of meditation to the pandemic restrictions. So the activities, the Karma, that we do. Technical terms. Sadhya and Sadhana. Sadhya means goal. What is my goal? I will eat in the finest restaurants here. I will wear designer clothes. And I will go to the fa, the Broadway shows, hundreds of dollars every ticket. So this is my goal. This is Sadhya. What is it called? Kama. Desire for this. What do I need? I need plenty of money. So for that, from Monday to Friday, I will work hard. What about spirituality? Vedanta? No interest, no time, no energy left over. What does Krishna say here? Just the opposite. That's why this is unpopular. Vedanta is unpopular. He says, "You have reached spiritual cleansing, purity of mind, when this obsession, this engagement with fine food, fine clothes, fine entertainment, Indriyartha, that is not there anymore." And what you need to get all of this, that is called Sadhana. Sadhya, Sadhana. Sadhya means the goal. Goal is all this fine food, fine clothes, fine entertainment. And what is the Sadhana of the means? Karma, action. I need the most high-paying job on Wall Street. So I need to do that. But that will absorb you 14 hours a day, and there'll be nothing left over. Doesn't matter. I need lot of money. When you are, Krishna says, "Neither those things interest you." The things, the fine food, fine clothes, fine entertainment, not interested. I've had enough of that. I'm moving on now. Very good. As Eckhart Tolle told that gentleman, "Thank God." And I don't think that I need millions of dollars now. Karma, Swan. I think I have enough. Whatever I have. And the ref, the rest, as for the rest, I will depend on God. A gentleman told me, "Swami, in this country, you know, you never feel safe. So you have to keep on earning money. No, God knows how much you might need in your old age." Don't do that. Be reasonable. You are in the world. You know, what, basically, what is necessary, that much. But put a, put an end to it. Ultimately, we are protected not by money, not by medical insurance also. You're protected by God alone. Yes, it's absolutely true. I have seen monks, at least in my case, for example. What is a monk? What protection does a monk have? No money, no possessions, no people, relatives, or people around him, nobody. So what does a monk depend on? At least I am part of an order, so I have an ashram, and there are other monks, and there are devotees. So there's a whole setup. But I have seen monks living in little huts on mountain tops, in caves. Nobody, nobody to look after them. Nobody knows them also. Whom do they depend upon? They depend upon God. Either they are devotional, depend on God, or they are more dry Vedantin types. And I've asked them that, "How do you deal with it?" They depend on Karma. They say, "That's fine. Whatever happens to me, it's my bad karma. That's why I'm suffering. And when my good karma will fructify, nobody can prevent it. No support in the world can prevent bad karma from giving its results. And no opponent in the world can prevent good karma from giving its results." I, as a monk, as a follower of Vedanta, I'm interested in neither. I'm not interested in the bad karma. I will bear it. Forbear. Diksha. When bad karma comes, illness comes, people misbehave with me, you know, there's problems, pandemic comes, whatever comes, I'll forbear. I'll hold on. It is called Titiksha. And when good karma comes, things go my way, people are nice to me, I will not get attached. Always. That, that slogan, "Let it come, let it be, let it go." So that takes toughness. So some of these monks, generally the non-dualistic monks I've met in the mountains, pretty tough lot, physically, mentally, emotionally, pretty tough lot. And they have had to face with difficulties, serious difficulties. But still, I noticed their reliance is on Karma and on God, on Ishvara. Even I can share this. So we have, must have seen this. We have this place in our main monastery where old monks or very, very old or very sick, they stay for the last years of their life. So one monk I knew, I'm not even sure whether he's still, I think he's passed away. Um, so he's very simple, old Swami, and I'm very affectionate towards him from the time I joined. So I knew him closely. He had no money at all. He'd never kept any personal money. Now, one day he went to the, you know, the administrative head of the whole monastery, who are younger than him. And he was very humble. He would go and say, "Swami, can I have a word with you?" And that, that administrative head of the monastery said, "Yes. You know, I feel embarrassed to bring this up, but I have seen some of the other old monks, you know, who stay in that place, they have some money. So if they want to go somewhere in Calcutta, maybe they want to go from Belur to another ashram, so they have money to pay for the boat and the rickshaw fare, or I don't know what are the things he needed. But I have nothing. So I feel, you know, like he feels a little bit of a pressure about this, a little unhappy about it." And that monk, who was whom he was talking to, so his response was wonderful and very inspiring. I can tell his name, Swami Sudeenananda-ji, who is now the Vice President. He listened very patiently. He's very affectionate towards the senior Swami. He's very respectful also. He said, "Swami, I understand. I feel for you, what you are saying. I understand the little things, little conveniences you can't get in your old age because you don't have any money. But," he said, "there are also many other monks there who don't have any money, and they've made it a point not to keep any money. If you want, you can live like that, you know. It's, it's not bad. It's all right." And this senior Swami was immediately, I was very happy with that answer. He said, "You are right. You're right." And he went away. So, um, no positions, and the dependencies on God. And ultimately, they are right. The only secret really, security does not come from money or people. It doesn't really. It's, it's a, it gives you some sense of security. Of course, you must have common sense. Don't immediately go out and donate all your money. One must have common sense. But remember always to hold on to God. Seriously, to hold on to God. The only ultimate security is, is Ishvara, is the grace of God. That I have learned without, I mean, no doubt about it at all. The more one depends on God, the more you begin to feel that God exists. That, so this, this security, one does not seek in worldly things. One does not seek pleasure or happiness in worldly things. One does not seek it in worldly activities. One does not, is not engaged in either the goal which is Sadhya, things to be enjoyed in the world, no longer very interested. Like Eckhart Tolle said, "Thank God." And no longer very interested in the means of earning, always on the lookout, "What are the stock prices today?" Always on the lookout, "Where can I earn a few more dollars? Next job." That kind of interest. It may be good in the beginning. One may go through it. What I'm saying here is for the Gita audience. I will not say this to a group of young students. You
Know, MBA graduates, or somebody, it'll just depress them. So, it's this, what I'm saying is, for a mature audience. And the Krishna, of course, is speaking to a mature person. It's only when Arjuna asked him a spiritual question, Krishna, Krishna is telling him all this.
Once one comes to that level, one can be sure that there is a purification of the mind. Now, Krishna takes something for granted, but Sri Ramakrishna makes it explicit. He says, this, uh, lessening of interest in worldliness, combined with increased desire for God realization of spirituality, this is vairagya. This is the sign of purification of mind.
Krishna takes it for granted that we have an interest. Arjuna has an interest in spirituality, that's why he's asking this question. But it should not be, "I'm just plain depressed, that's why I don't feel like getting out of bed. I don't want to go to a Broadway show or eat out. I don't even want to go and earn money." So, have you become very spiritual? Attain purity of mind? No, I'm just depressed. No, not because of that, or just because of the pandemic? Not just because of that. There must be a positive interest in spirituality, of God realization.
Sri Ramakrishna put it very simply: Vishayi virag is ishware anurag. So, it works very nicely in Bengali and Indian languages. Vishaya viraga, a vairagya, dispassion for worldly things. Ishware anurag, a love, increased attraction, full love for God. This is a sign of purify, purification of mind, chitta.
The next some very famous verses are coming: "Lift yourself up by yourselves." So, very inspiring, positive verses. We'll see that next time. Quick look at the chat. Charles, Charles says, "Today we learn about equanimity. When the Bhagavad Gita, may I find specific tools and techniques for the sanctification of work? Perhaps these are embedded in the 18 chapters as Karma, Bhakti, and Gyani Yogas. Can you please advise how equanimity can be linked to sanctification of work? Perhaps how Swadharma can be aligned with Swabhava, then it will be the will of God, correct?" Yes.
Today we mentioned a few things. One is, like, M. Master says, "Look, this is Karma Yoga. Unite yourself with God and work. Before the work, think of God, then do the work, then offer the fruits of work to God." So, this, this is one way of doing it. Second is, um, "All of my work is a worship of God." That is the spirit of Karma Yoga.
Then one attains equanimity. When does one not attain equanimity? When is one not serene? When through the work, I have specific goals to attain. I must earn this kind of money. I must get this kind of praise from my boss or my colleagues, and that's what makes me happy. Then the opposite also will make me very unhappy. Whereas, I am doing this as a worship of my Lord, my Ishta Devata, who is in my heart and in all beings. If I am, I am worshiping my Lord in all these activities, then what exactly happens in the world? If it goes well, good. It doesn't go so well, okay. It doesn't matter. Have I done my best? Have I done a nice worship of my, of my Lord?
So, that anecdote about Bhava Maharaja, who yelled at a senior monk and then next day in the morning went and apologized to him and fell at his feet. Why did he do that? It sounds like a strange thing to do, but because his whole attention is on God, and he finds that even that very justified bit of anger, you know, he lost his equanimity and he shouted at that old monk, "Don't think that this boy is an orphan, he has guardians." When he did that, but even that sounds very justified, and yet he felt that unhappy. But his unhappiness is related to meditation and God. His unhappiness is not related to the world outside, what people think of him, what, what are the reactions of others. He doesn't care about that.
So, our pain and pleasure should be connected with God, not with the world. That's a good way of putting it. Equanimity will come. We want to have equanimity towards the world. You don't want equanimity towards God. "Whether I'll attain God realization or not, that in God realization, I'm fine with it, I'm cool with it." Then nobody, you're not going to make any spiritual progress that way. I am really serious about attaining God realization. I'm really unhappy if I've done something wrong, and that is in the eyes of the world, it may be nothing. It's not relevant.
But let me, it's very touching for me, the personal anecdote. I can share a similar anecdote. Like, um, the Swamiji then just mentioned about his time as a novice. In my time as a novice, which was, uh, in the 1998-99, around that time, I too was serving food. And the monks called me, "What is he calling me about?" I've forgotten that he even scolded me. I didn't even register. He said something sharp to me. I was making some mistake, obviously. And then I, I did, I didn't remember it at all. But after the food was over, I went out to wash my hands. That monk came up to me, and I thought, "Oh God, maybe I've done something again. I'm going to get more scolding."
But in, with great politeness, he said, "My boy, what's your name?" I said, "My name is Vishwaroop." I was Brahmachari Vishwaroop at that time. He said, "All right. You know, you have a wonderful Swami as your principal." So, my principal Swami, there is a Haranak Maharaj, is a very senior monk in our order. So, he was my principal. So, this monk told me, "After I scolded you and you walked away, your principal, your principal Swami was sitting in front of me and he said to me," and I'll tell you in Bengali what he said, and then I'll translate. He said to me, "Well, sir, you scolded him, but do you even know the name of that boy?" Meaning thereby, that do you really care about them, or you're just yelling at them for no purpose? And this Swami was so impressed by it, he came out and he waited for me and he asked me my name and he said, "You have a truly wonderful Swami as your principal."
Um, yes, which book by Chetan Ranjan is this? Cordelia asks. This is, unfortunately, I don't think there's an English translation. This is "Practicing Sadhana." Caught for one second. I'll show you the book. So, uh, two volumes are there. This is the first volume, and then the second one. So, the many, many monks whom he has met. And thankfully, Swami Chaitanya, I think from this, from his very beginning, he has the knack of keeping records. He maintained meticulous diaries. So, he wrote it all down with dates and who said what. Um, so, this book has his memories of so many monks. But I think an English translation is on the way. Swami Chaitanya Ranjan said the English translation is either done or on the way. Um, so, it's in two volumes right now. If you want one, these stories, if you go to the Vedanta Society of Saint Louis on their YouTube channel, you will find there is a list of talks by Swami Chaitanya and the stories of Vedanta monks, many, many talks. So, most of these incidents are there in those talks.
Girish says, "In explicitly mapping paths to happiness, freedom from suffering, our Hindu philosophy is fundamentally different from Western religious philosophies." Um, yes and no. Hindu philosophies are definitely, I won't just say Hindu philosophies, Indian philosophies. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, all the ancient philosophies, they are all what are called Moksha Shastras. They are all paths for, uh, spiritual liberation and freedom from suffering, attainment of fulfillment. They are not different in spirit from, um, for example, from Christian theology or, or Jewish theology.
So, when you use the term Western religious philosophies, you are compounding two things together. A Western religious thought, which would mean theology. Then the spirit of theology is the same as the spirit of the ancient Indian philosophies. But if you say Western philosophy, as distinguished from theology, as the post-Enlightenment philosophy, then yes, then yes. Post-Enlightenment philosophy, in a modern philosophy, you say modern philosophy, the Western thought of the last 300 years or so, is not explicitly say that. It does not say that whether enlightenment or anything like that is possible. Um, whether ultimately one can come out of suffering, whether one can attain any kind of lasting bliss or fulfillment. Some thinkers thought so, some thinkers did not. Um, so, it was more about thinking things through philosophically rather than finding paths to it. But there's a lot of discussion about this. There are some French philosophers who don't agree with this. They said, yes, it is the same project which spirituality had in ancient times, and religion in medieval times, and philosophy also has the same project, basically, how to overcome suffering and how to attain fulfillment. That is the project.
When the young monks were given work that they were not necessarily interested in doing at first, how did they eventually learn to be absorbed in the same work as sadhana? As a matter of time and practice of holding the Karma Yoga attitude? That is true. That is true. Um, I remember till now. I've asked a monk, a young monk, I mean, senior to me, but of course, not a very senior monk. You know, isn't it better if you're given work which we are interested in? So, I am interested, for example, I was very interested in the library, and it would have been disastrous to post me in the library because then I would have made a very bad librarian. The worst librarian is the one who, one who sits and reads the books all the time. Um, that monk, who was just a little older than me, he said, "No, you will understand soon. It does not matter whether you are interested in it or not. It is more a question of which, the attitude with which you do the work." I didn't quite understand what he meant, but over time, I slowly understood.
I, for example, I really did not think that teaching kids in the school or working in the office or typing out a letter is spiritual. I, I always felt that I was old-fashioned that way, that I, I felt that the temple is spiritual, and doing puja in the temple is spiritual, meditation is spiritual, and Vedanta, I was beginning to like it. So, Vedanta, studying Vedanta is spiritual. But all this work, you know, teaching and office work and, I mean, I've just done an MBA. So, if I'm going to type out a project report or something, how is that spiritual? I thought it was just like what I was doing earlier and just continuing that. Um, so, that's just immaturity. How I learned, I still remember one of the monks, who was whom I admired. Younger monks, the senior monks were a little scared of approaching closely, but the younger monks were friendly with, we means the novices. So, this monk, who was a few years older than me, I could see he was a wonderful meditator. He would sit like a rock statue and meditate for hours and hours. So, one day, the head Swami gave him work during meditation hours. You had to go and supervise the children at study, and that was in the evening after prayer. So, I thought this monk must be really upset. I went to him and said, "Don't you feel bad? This is your meditation time, and now you have to go and supervise those, those mischievous kids and studying." And he said, "No, he said that, no, not at all." He said, "I still remember, I was standing there in the evening. He was going towards his, I was going up for meditation, and he was going towards the school to supervise the study. He just said, 'I feel the same. I'm telling you honestly, Vishwaroop, what I feel in deep meditation, that I feel when I think that I am serving Sri Ramakrishna in all these children.'" So, at that time, I didn't know what to make of it. But then now, I think, yeah, I think it's absolutely possible. It's quite possible.
Um, yeah, somebody's raised a hand. So, is it possible? Matter of time and practice and holding the Karma Yoga attitude? I would think so. Time is very important, and consistent practice, that not once in a while, but you do this for many, many years, five, ten, fifteen, twenty. Holy company is important. I remember something that Swami Bhuteshanandaji, the president of our order at that time, he told me at the very beginning of my spiritual life. So, when I, the day I joined, I was still in jeans and a shirt, and somebody pushed me from behind and said, "Bow down to the Swami and ask for his blessings." He was the president of the order. And then somebody said to the Swami, "Swami, this boy has come to be a monk." And then one of the things that was a, very affectionately, he told me was, "Have you heard the story of the fossil?" Surrounding Krishna's to tell the story of the fossil. The fossil is an animal which, which was crushed or stayed in between layers of rocks and has become like a, like a piece of rock itself. So, he said, "Just like a, like the fossil staying with the rocks or stones has become a stone, similarly, by staying with Sadhus, you will become a Sadhu." He said to me, because the monks behind me had pushed me and whispered in my ear, "Ask him to bless you that you will be a good Sadhu." So, I was like a parrot. I said, "Swami, bless me that that I may be a good Sadhu." And the Swami said, "If you stay with Sadhus, you will become a Sadhu, like the fossil." Now, so, time, consistent practice, holy company, time, and these are very powerful. Yeah.
Kamala, who is Kamala, who's raised the hand? Yes, you have to unmute yourself. Kamala, who is Kamala? Nobody has disappeared now. All right, then let's bring it to and close today.
[Music]
Namaste.