The Bhagavad Gita: Chapters 1-13

by Ravi Shankar

described. For this, Lord Krishna says, “You must exercise control over all the doors or gateways in this body.”

If even one of these is not in our control, then there is instability and restlessness in life and one becomes miserable. In such a condition one cannot progress deeper into yoga. Even if these nine gateways are not always under your control, at least at the time of practicing yoga, one must exercise control over them and centre the mind entirely in one’s heart. If you fix all your prana and your total attention to the top of the head, then that state is called Yoga Dharana.

“Is God so poor and pitiable that you need to make an effort to remember Him?” You should not need any effort to remember God.

An individual person can exist simultaneously in five different worlds. You are sitting here, but a physical body just like yours is also present in five other worlds at the same time.

One day or one night in Brahmaloka lasts so many thousands of years; it is beyond our imagination. When there is day in Brahmaloka, then all souls manifest here; and when it is night in Brahmaloka, all the souls dissolve and disappear.

When the suryanadi is active at the time of death, there is total awareness. But if the chandranadi is active at the time of death, then one experiences fogginess or a sense of delusion and darkness. More often than not,

people die with the chandranadi active. Very rarely does anyone die with the suryanadi being active. Very few people are able to see the light at the time of death. But there is no need to fear. When you leave the body with the chandranadi active, then you experience a soothing light, a spirit in the form of light much like that of the moon, will come close to you giving you a sense of peace and relief.

You must have heard about Paramhamsa Yogananda Ji. His body did not go cold for many days after his death; it remained warm for a very long time.

There is a jnana nadi (energy channel associated with knowledge) in our body. When this channel opens up and becomes active, only then is one able to understand knowledge and also becomes able to express it. Otherwise it does not happen.

That is the reason we are told to practice nadishodhan so that the various nadis are cleansed and purified. This is why we should always keep good company. If you sit in the company of a wicked person, then you start experiencing the effects of that particular nadi too.

Lord Krishna speaks about two eternal paths, referred to as ‘gati’ here meaning mode of onward progress or of departure of the soul, from this world. One is the Suryagati and the other is the Chandragati. One is Shuklagati (the path of light or the northern path) and the other is Krishnagati (the path of darkness or the southern path). These are the two paths spoken about here. Lord Krishna says, “O Arjuna! Knowing both these paths, keep your mind steady and in equanimity. Always be a yogi.”

No matter how much chanting you do; or read the Puranas and the scriptures and perform as many yajnas as you can, but the benefits of having a centred mind and going deeper in meditation are much greater than any other method.

If one relinquishes the prana without awareness, then more often than not, the prana leaves the body through the lower doors of the body, through the rectum or the genitals, and because of this the body discharges stool and urine at the time of death.

No matter what you do, your mind will always be in a state of equanimity. How? If you observe that you are getting into a quarreland becoming angry, you will immediately be reminded that surely the Surya nadi is active, and the fire element seems to be dominating.

Everything that we see or experience outside is a reflection of what actually takes place in the subtle world.

Whatever spiritual practices were stopped abruptly in one lifetime will be completed by the person in the next life. And he will pick up those practices right from where he left off in the previous lifetime. He will be born in the family of yogis, or in a very noble and righteous household where he can resume his spiritual practices.

Seva can be broken into “Sa” and “eva”. It means to behave and work just like the Divine. The

The supreme vibration that is higher than the vibration of all the planets is Om Namaha Shivaya. When you chant this mantra regularly, all the problems and doshas will simply disappear.

In life, that which brings down your reputation, your energy or that which you are ashamed of is generally kept a secret. Normally, a secret means something that is not good or is shameful. This is one kind of secret.

There is a beautiful word called anasuya.

Asuya means one who picks on another’s mistakes.

Anasuya is one who does not dwell on someone’s negativity and does not highlight someone’s weaknesses. Weak people have the mentality of finding joy in another’s mistake. If you have that attitude you will find something bad in everyone. You will not find a single person to be praiseworthy.

Before any knowledge is given, there is a tradition of understanding the benefit of that knowledge.

So, He tells Arjuna the 3 different types of secrets - of maturity, utility, application and their usefulness.

Life is boring when there is nothing beyond the routine. Death simply means boredom, stagnation and decay. Without the higher knowledge of spirituality, life is very dry. It is like a desert. When you go on with the same routine, it causes boredom. When you’re bored what do you say? ‘I am bored to death!’ One who doesn’t lift his eyes to see what lies beyond, goes back into the cycle of death and decay. Life becomes dull and boring for them; like there’s nothing more to it.

Now comes the first part of the knowledge. All of science has been enunciated here. Lord Krishna says, “Whatever you see, all this manifest universe has come out of Me and it is all present in Me.”

One of the greatest scientists of today, Dr. Duerr said, “I studied matter for 45 years only to find that it does not exist.” This is the truth. What the quantum physicists say today, the spiritual giants of yesteryears have already known. That is why it is both spiritual knowledge and material science.

This is the glory of the spirit, of the Being.

The same is the way of the consciousness. There is something deep inside you that remains unaffected come what may. Happy moments come and pass; sad moments come and they also pass. All these emotions and upheavals keep happening in life, but there is something in you that remains unaffected by everything, and remains a witness to it all.

“That, is what I am”. ‘That’ which Lord Krishna refers to as ‘Me’ here means the Self or the Consciousness.

How is this so? If a bird is chirping, then it is not the bird’s voice. It is the Brahman, the Infinite Consciousness, the Big Mind which is making that sound through the little bird.

Everything changes, yet there is one thing that does not change; it stays the same when you are born as a baby, and has been present even before this birth. That seed remains throughout life, and is a witness to everything that happens. How do you realize that?

I tell you, latch on to that – that is Prabhu, that is the Divinity, that is the Lord. The real goal of life is to latch onto that something in you that remains unchanged.

Swarga in Sanskrit has a very deep meaning. Swa means the Self. Swarga means being in one’s own true nature, which is happiness. Swarga is a place where there is only happiness and pleasure.

This is one of the very important verses in the Gita which was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi. He used to recite some of these verses almost daily in his evening satsangs.

One who thinks of Me, one who is focused on Me and comes to Me, that person whose mind, heart and soul is soaked in goodness, I will take care of them.

“One who yearns for Me will attain Me, one who yearns for ordinary things, small things, will at some time attain them.”

“Whatever a devotee gives Me whether it is a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, when he gives Me anything steeped in love, with devotion, I take it, I honor it.”

“Arjuna, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you enjoy and whatever you give to people, or whatever penance or practices you do, offer them to Me, give them to Me. When you do something and you don’t offer it to Me, you get stuck with the doership.” Either

Offer it to Me and become free. That is real sanyasa.

Become free from all karma - good karma, bad karma, all karmas. That is liberation, sanyasa. Lord Buddha called it nirvana. Nyasa means centred, sannyasa means very well-centered, established in your centre where nothing can affect you, shake you, destroy your peace and your poise. “One who attains Me will attain that centredness in life.”

“I am equal in all beings, there is no favorite; there is no one I hate. I don’t hate the worst criminal neither is the most pious person My favorite; I am the same in everyone. One who thinks of Me like this and worships Me, I am in him and he is in Me.” If you think God favors that person or

Women or businessmen or anyone of any class whether a laborer or a wise man or a woman, when they take recourse in Me, they will attain the Highest.”

“Having attained this world which is impermanent, ephemeral, temporary and which has no pleasure, don’t get drowned in it. Lift your eyes up and look at Me and merge into Me. Don’t think that joy resides in all the wealth, fame, power, position you have. There is no joy on this planet, in this world. Joy is only in you, joy is only in Me.

Not even the greatest of sages or the demigods have truly known Me.”

person. A Guru or a yogi is one who does not see themselves as separate from God. They see divinity in themselves. For example, you can see the infinite sky through a window. Similarly, you can behold and realise the divine only through a Guru.

Then Lord Krishna also says, “Both joy and misery too have come from Me.”

Both happiness and misery come in life from time to time. Have you ever seen a mountain peak without an adjacent valley? If there is a peak, there will be a valley next to it. This is how Nature is and that is why Lord Krishna has already said

When a seeker begins his journey on the spiritual path, the first power that he acquires is to curse. When you become a spiritual seeker and come to a Guru, the first vibhuti that you acquire is the ability to curse people. Vibhuti means an extraordinary ability or majesty. As a seeker when you criticise someone or curse someone, that instantly manifests and bears fruit. The ability to bless and grant boons comes later. This is why a seeker is always cautioned to have awareness, and be careful of what he speaks, so that no bad words come out for anyone. A seeker should not have any hatred or aversion towards anyone or anything in his heart.

yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi (2.48)