Mystical Wonders Discussion Group

d_redant · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:25 am Post subject: The Bhagavad-Gita

The Bhagavad-Gita!
By Dr Joshua David Stone

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the holiest and most sublime books that exists on planet earth. If I were told that I had to get rid of all books and could only save one book I would save the Bhagavad Gita. It is really the book of books. Sai Baba has called it the milk or cream of the Upanishads (Wisdom teachings of the Vedas). It is the sublime story of Sri Bhagavan Krishna and His disciple Arjuna.

Krishna is the Christ of the Eastern world and in reality is the Christ of the Western world. This is true because Krishna is none other than the Lord Maitreya, our Planetary Christ. He is the teacher of teachers, for He is the president or head of the Great White Brotherhood and Spiritual Hierarchy.

Our great teacher and leader is here again as He was 7,000 years ago as Krishna and 2,000 years ago as the Being that overshadowed Jesus, and now physically incarnated in London England. He is the World Teacher that all religions have been waiting for. The Bhagavad Gita is His sublime teaching as expressed by Vyassa.

This story becomes even more interesting in that Vyassa is none other than Gautauma Buddha in a past life, who wrote the wisdom teachings down long after they occurred. Who better to write the story down because Arjuna was none other than Gautauma Buddha.

The Bhagavad Gita hence is the story of the relationship between the Lord Maitreya and Gautauma Buddha. The Lord Maitreya, according to the channelings of the Tibetan Foundation, is the highest Being to ever graduate from this planetary school. He isn’t the highest being to come here, but is the highest to graduate.

In His life as Krishna over 7,000 years ago, He attained His fifth initiation. In His life overshadowing Jesus, He took His ascension or sixth initiation. Who better to teach the wisdom of the ages than Lord Maitreya and Gautama Buddha.

Lord Maitreya is the teacher of Jesus, Kuthumi, El Morya, Saint Germain, Hilarion, Serapis Bey, and all the great masters we revere. He is the teacher of both angels and men. In the Bhagavad Gita He is humanity’s teacher.

The Bhagavad Gita is part of a larger book called the Mahabarata. It is the story of a great war. It is through this back drop of this great battle between the two armies that He teaches the Science of Liberation and God Realization. The actual meaning of the Bhagavad Gita is the "Song of God". The two opposing armies are the "divine nature" and "demonic nature" which we all have to come to terms with and master. Arjuna, as the unfolding incarnated soul is being pulled by his higher and lower nature which is crippling him spiritually and psychologically.

The story begins with Arjuna, who is the leader of the divine army, falling into despondency and depression because he doesn’t want to fight the demonic army because he, personally, knows many of them. Arjuna has been overcome by maya, illusion, glamour, and negative ego. The Bhagavad Gita is Krishna’s attempt to awaken Arjuna to the reality and perspective of his Eternal Self.

The Wisdom Teachings of Sri Bhagavan Krisha
The first lesson that Krishna teaches is that the wise person does not grieve for the living or the dead because the indweller of the body is none other than the eternal Self. The eternal self is never born and never dies. It is unborn and changeless. It cannot be killed even if the body is slain. When the physical body is worn out it puts on a new one, like a new set of clothes. Weapons cannot hurt it, nor fire burn it, nor water drown it.

The eternal Self is invulnerable, indestructible, and immortal. The true yogi lives in a state of consciousness of transcendence of duality, or transcendence of the pairs of opposites. What this means is that the true yogi lives in even-mindedness and equanimity whether he or she is experiencing pleasure or pain, profit or loss, victory or defeat, criticism or praise, cold or heat. The yogi stands detached from all greed and attachment.

As Arjuna was to later say in his incarnation as the Buddha, "All suffering comes from attachment". The yogi remains in a state of unconditional love, joy, and inner peace at all times regardless of what is going on outside of himself. This state of equilibrium is called yoga.

One of the absolute key teachings of the Bhagavad Gita that is repeated over and over again is the tremendous need to perform one’s duty and service in life without being attached to the fruits of one’s actions. In other words, taking action in life is essential, however one must not do it to achieve some kind of material or spiritual reward. It is done because it is one’s duty, mission, and worship of God, who lives in all humans, plants, and animals as the eternal self. The true yogi sees the eternal self in all beings and all forms. Action without attachment to results, is yoga.

A true knower of the Self casts away all material desire, and is only satisfied by the eternal Self. The true yogi has no desire for cravings of pleasure, and is free from passion, fear, and anger. He has total mastery of the physical body, emotions, mind, intellect, and the five senses. Intuitional awareness can not be obtained without self control.

All desire for the pursuit of pleasure, power, acquiring and hoarding of material objects becomes removed. All selfish attachment is removed. The yogi is free from lust and has mastery and control over his sexuality. The yogi is neither elated by good fortune nor depressed by bad fortune. They are totally free from attachment and aversion to people and things.

The yogi is totally free from the ego cage of "I", "me", and "mine". The path to self realization is one of renunciation. Renunciation of the above mentioned negative qualities, not renunciation from acting in life. The yogi lives in this world but not of this world. The yogi fights the holy fight, and lives as a spiritual warrior, thinking only of the eternal Self and incurs no sin.

There are two paths to self realization, the Jnana Yoga, (The contemplative path of spiritual wisdom), and the path of karma yoga (active path of selfless service). Both of these paths lead to Brahma (God). Every selfless act is born from Brahman, just as every selfish act leads away from Him. Through devotion to selfless work in service of humanity one attains the supreme goal of life. It is better for a man to perform his own dharma (path) imperfectly, than to try and perform another person’s perfectly. Each person must find their own dharma and not compare or compete with others.

Desire and anger are seen by Krishna as the all consuming, all polluting, enemy of the world. Desire is the destroyer of wisdom and discrimination. Senses are superior to the body. The mind is superior to the senses. The intelligence or intellect is superior to the mind. Superior to the intelligence is the eternal Self. The ego has one belief that "I am the doer". The reality is that there is no "separate I" other than the eternal Self. The Bhagavad Gita states, "perform all actions for My sake (Krishna, the Eternal Self), completely absorbed in the self, and without expectations, fight, - but stay free from the fever of the ego."

When a person lets themselves be run by the senses, they are conditioned to be attracted to the pleasant and to have aversion to the unpleasant. The true yogi living in the consciousness of the eternal Self, does his duty and remains the same. The yogi lives in contentment regardless of what comes. The yogi lets the Atma (Eternal Self) rule the ego and slay selfish desire.

It is through humility, self inquiry and service that the yogi is lead to those who will impart great knowledge. The true yogi is fearless, devoted, free from envy, and all self doubts. He knows himself and others as the Divine Self, and not just as a separate physical body. The yogi is free from all sense of expectation and sense of possession. Their minds are fixed on knowledge and all work is performed in the spirit of service. Brahmin is attained by those who see Brahma in every action.

The true sanyasin (renunciate) neither hates nor desires. They are free from the pairs of opposites. The Self is seen as one with all other selves. All deeds are performed as an offering to God. A man of knowledge looks with equal eye on a Brahmin priest, a cow, an elephant, dog, or outcast. The Eternal One is essentially the same in all.

The knower of the Eternal doesn’t rejoice on meeting pleasant experiences nor grieves on meeting unpleasant experiences. The person who withstands the impulses originating from lust and anger is a true yogi, and a happy person. The yogi’s only desire is desire for liberation and self realization. The true yogi is unaffected by likes and dislikes and the bondage of self will. The goal of knowledge and service are totally unified. The yogi is free from delusion and not dependent on any external support.

The true yogi is filled with wisdom and knowledge and looks at a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold as the same. All are just incarnations of God and yogi sees beyond all appearances. The yogi has an equal regard for friends, companions, enemies, neutral people, the hateful, relatives, saints and sinners.

They yogi has an iron will, that is used to abolish self will. The will or personal power is used in service only of the Eternal Self. Krishna very much preached the "middle way". In one passage He says, "He who eat too much, he who fast too much, or sleeps too much or too little, cannot perform yoga." Krishna taught the ideal of moderation in recreation, efforts, actions, sleep, and wakefulness. The yogi’s mind is calm, passions stilled, and has attained purity. He realizes that he is within all beings and all beings are within his self. The supreme yogi feels the pains and joys of all beings, as if they were his joy and pains. The yogi has trained his mind to rest only in the self.

Krishna says that among thousands of men and women, hardly one strives for perfection, and of these successful strivers, only one really knows me. The Eternal Self is the "om". Krishna has also delineated four types of virtuous people who seek God.

1. The person in distress.

2. The person seeking knowledge.

3. The person seeking wealth.

4. The person aspiring to wisdom.

All four types are seen as virtuous, however, the person seeking wisdom is the most virtuous. The person of wisdom has a steadfast mind and is focused on the Eternal Self as their supreme goal. The Eternal Self resides within all chosen forms of God and religions.

At the time of leaving the body, a person will travel to the last thought they have in their mind before they die. Therefore, at all times keep your mind on God and that is where you will go when you physically die. At the time of departure say the word "om" and you will enter the highest path.

Krishna says, the Eternal Self is easily attainable by a steadfast yogi whose mind is fixed on the Eternal Self and constantly remembers the eternal Self. This is attained by complete devotion to God. The Eternal Self is easily attained by those that are attached to nothing but the Eternal Self. There are two paths in life, one leads to liberation and the other to rebirth. Choose who ye shall serve.

The ignorant cannot see the Eternal Self when he inhabits a human form. The yogi seeing beyond form has the eyes to see and the ears to hear. The Eternal Self is embodied in His Holiness, the Lord Sai Baba, however, many are fooled by His seeming normal actions of walking around in an average looking physical body. It is through constant striving, firmness, an undivided mind, and unbroken vows, that the Self is attained. The true yogi worships the Eternal Self in all beings. The Eternal Self does not favor or find disfavor in any being. Even the greatest sinner who begins to worship is counted as righteous.

No devotee is ever rejected. Those who worship and meditate on the Eternal Self without any other thought, will have their needs provided for. Those who fail to realize the true nature of the Eternal Self must be reborn. It is through single minded devotion that one can see the Self and enter into the Self, and become the Self.

Those who worship the Self with a fixed mind, with faith, courage, and are steadfast, they are perfect yogis. They are totally devoted to the welfare of all beings. All actions are performed as if you were performing them for God. This is the path to perfection.

The true yogi never hurts any person or creature in the world, and as never hurt by the world. The true yogi is modest, sincere, harmless, forgiving, straight forward, balanced in the mind in favorable and unfavorable conditions, free from pride and deceit, gentle, upright, pure, filled with inner strength, detached from sense objects. The true yogi does not get "compulsively entangled" even in one’s home and family. They enjoy solitude and not following the crowd. Some realize the Self through the practice of meditation, some through the path of wisdom, and some through the path of service and some through all three paths practiced in integration and balance.

The Three Gunas, Qualities, and Types of People
Krishna, in Bhagavad Gita, has delineated a fantastic model for understanding one’s self and other people. He has delineated the types or qualities that make up the phenomenal world. The "sattvic, rajasic, tamasic". The sattvic has to do with law, harmony, purity, goodness. The rajasic with energy and passion. The Tamasic with inertia and ignorance. The ideal is to be sattvic although the Eternal Self, in truth, is beyond all three qualities of energy. Even the sattvic nature can become negative if we become attached to happiness and wisdom. The rajasic nature binds us through passion arising from selfish desire and attachment. The tamas nature binds us through ignorance, indolence and sleep. In essence, the sattvic person finds happiness, rajasic to action, tamasic to distorted understanding, and/or delusion. When sattvic predominates in a person’s personality the light of wisdom shines. When rajasic predominates, a person pursues selfishness and greedy purposes. When tamasic dominates, a person lives in darkness, slothfulness, confusion.

Dying in a state of sattvic nature, the yogi attains the pure worlds of the wise. Those dying in rajasic are reborn among people driven to work. Those dying in tamasic are conceived in the wombs of the ignorant. To my way of understanding, sattvic is balanced, rajasic is to yang, tamasic is to yin. Rajasic might be looked at as more the top dog or superiority complex. Tamas as the underdog or inferiority complex. This is very simplified, but might be helpful to putting Krishna’s most profound system of spiritual study into perspective.

The fruit of good deeds is sattvic. Rajasic is suffering. Tamasic is ignorance and insensitivity. Sattvic brings understanding, rajasic greed, and tamasic, confusion, infatuation, and ignorance. Sattvic goes upward, rajasic remains the same, and tamasic sinks downward.

The true yogi ultimately goes beyond the three gunas feeling no aversion when the forces are active, nor craving when these forces subside. The yogi remains impartial and undisturbed by the action of the gunas. The yogi does not vacillate. However, when dealing with form, manifests the sattvic nature. Such a one is fit for union with Brahman.

The yogi avoids qualities such as malice, lack of morals, insatiable desires, scheming, anxiety, hoarding money, hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, cruelty, harshness, self glorification, fragmented mind, obstinance, violent, demonic, evil thoughts, impure motives, stubbornness, and intoxication of wealth. According to Krishna, the gate that leads to hell is lust, anger, and greed.

Sattvic people enjoy food that is mild, tasty, substantial, agreeable, nourishing, and that promotes health, strength, cheerfulness, and longevity. Rajasic people like food that is salty, bitter, hot, sour, and spicy - that promotes pain, discomfort and disease. Tamasic people like overcooked food that has lost its taste and nutritional value.

Sattvic people perform sacrifices without thought of reward. Rajasic people perform sacrifices for the sake of show and the good will it will bring to them. The tamasic perform sacrifices ignoring both the letter and the spirit of the law.

Krishna states that the "disciplines of the body" are to offer service to the gods, to the good, to the wise, and to your spiritual teacher; purity, honest, continence, and non-violence. The "disciplines of speech" are to offer soothing words, to speak truly, kindly, and helpfully, and to study the scriptures. The "disciplines of the mind" are calmness, gentleness, silence, self restraint, and purity. When these three levels of discipline are practiced without attachment to results and in the spirit of great faith, the sages call this practice sattvic.

Giving simply because it is right to give without thought of return is sattvic. Giving with regrets or expectations of receiving something in return is rajasic. Giving at an inappropriate time, inappropriate circumstances, without affection or respect is tamasic.

Self sacrifice, giving, self discipline and taking responsibility for one’s life and world is sattvic. To avoid action from fear of difficulty or physical discomfort is rajasic. The sattvic person is not intimidated by unpleasant work, nor do they seek a job because it is pleasant. The true yogi does what God guides him (her) to do and remains even minded and not attached to the results. Those who renounce selfish desire and desire for personal reward go beyond the reach of karma.

Sattvic knowledge sees the eternal self in all beings. Rajasic knowledge sees all people and animals as separate. Tamasic knowledge sees one small part and mistakes it for the whole.

A sattvic worker is free of egotism, selfish attachment, full of enthusiasm, and fortitude in success and failure alike. A rajasic worker has strong personal desires and desires rewards for his action, and is easily swept away by good or bad fortune. The tamasic worker is undisciplined, vulgar, stubborn, deceitful, dishonest, lazy, depressed and prone to procrastination.

The "sattvic intellect" knows when to act and when to refrain from action, what brings freedom and what brings bondage. The "rajasic intellect" confused right and wrong actions. They cannot distinguish what is to be done from what should not be done. The "tamasic intellect" is clouded in darkness and has utterly reversed right and wrong.

The true yogi is ever joyful and beyond the reach of desire and sorrow. The yogi has become united with Brahman, and has equal regard for every living creature. The yogi has abandoned all outer supports and looks totally to God for protection. The yogi only shares his wisdom with those with whom it is appropriate to do so. Those who teach the supreme mystery of the Bhagavad Gita teach it to all who love God, and performs the greatest act of love.

Krishna’s Declaration to Arjuna and Arjuna’s Response
As Arjuna began to become awakened from the delusion of his ego, Krishna said to him: "Get up and give up your unmanliness and get up and fight. This self pity and self indulgence is unbecoming of the great soul that you are."

He is speaking to each one of us. Arjuna did get up and continued to listen to and absorb Krishna’s teaching. Finally at the end of Krishna’s teaching Arjuna said" "My delusion is dissolved: I have become aware of my reality, which is God."

	Mystical Wonders Discussion Group Forum Index -> General Spiritual Topics	All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1