karma yoga II

The Law of Action
Lord Krishna states the general rule about the nature of action and its result in the famous verse 47 of Chapter II:
“But thou, want not! Ask not! Find full reward
Of doing right in right! Let right deeds be
Thy motive, not the fruit which comes from them.”

With discriminative intellect, you can choose, plan and perform an action with a view to obtaining a desired result, but you have no choice in determining the result of the action. Innumerable factors go into determining the result and we do not have the knowledge of all of them. An archer can release an arrow at his target based on his judgment but he cannot be certain whether the arrow will definitely hit the target. Once the arrow is released, its flight is governed by the laws of nature and factors such as wind and velocity. The archer can estimate these factors but cannot control them.

Everyone can make an error of judgment and so one day or the other, everyone is likely to make a mistake. But we should understand that we have freedom or adhikara in karma alone and that whatever result comes, is in accordance with the laws governing the action. It is Ishwara who is the author of the creation and its laws. So there is no such thing as success or failure; there is merely the action and its result. This attitude of taking the result as it is, that is, maintaining equanimity of the mind both in success and failure, is called yoga.

The Prasada Buddhi
For a devotee, the entire life is based on the fact that every result comes from God. The Lord is impartial and so only the right result comes to everyone. This understanding brings about an attitude towards the result as prasada. Prasada comes from Lord and it carries His grace and therefore it will bless whoever partakes of it with reverence and gratitude. Success is prasada and I don’t jump to the ceiling. Failure is also prasada and so I don’t sink to the bottom. The result is sanctified because it comes from the Lord and so there is a happy acceptance of every result. The attitude of accepting result as prasada leads to the elimination of all sorrow.
“And out of that tranquility (Prasad) shall rise
The end and healing of his earthly pains,
Since the will governed sets the soul at peace.” II-65

With the attitude of Prasad budddhi or karma yoga with respect to the result, an action which is born of likes and dislikes becomes the means of eliminating the very likes and dislikes. The mind free from reactions to success and failure is free from the agitations of elation and depression. Such a mind is tranquil. It is a contemplative mind. It can evaluate the results and learn.

An action performed by an alert mind becomes beautiful. A tranquil, alert, fresh, attentive mind is the mind that learns. When the result of the action loses the capacity to create any reactions and agitations in the mind, all the likes and dislikes are rendered ineffective like roasted seeds which cannot sprout. One of the values that the Lord gives in the Gita is to always maintain equanimity of the mind while meeting the desirable and the undesirable.

Action is recommended for everyone who entertains desires in the mind. We do not know all the varieties of likes and dislikes hidden in the mind; action is the only way for them to express themselves. They express as action every time and get neutralized. In course of time the mind becomes relatively quiet, freed from the hold of likes and dislikes. Such a mind discovers freedom.

Renunciation of Action
An ignorant person, not knowing the Self as non-doer, gives up action due to delusion, thinking that he or she will be an accomplished person merely by becoming a karmasanyasi. But the one who has the notion of doership due to identification with the body, cannot totally give up action as Krishna says in Verse 11 of Chapter XVIII:
“For, being in the body, none may stand
Wholly aloof from the act; yet, who abstains
From profit of his acts is abstinent.”

So the contention is between Karma Yoga and Sannyasa taken by will. Should I perform actions expected of me or should I give them up and pursue the knowledge? As long as there is conflict, one should continue to work. A field of activity must be there where one can perform action and neutralize likes and dislikes.

When likes and dislikes are largely neutralized, the mind is no more troubled by the desire of acquiring happiness and security because it is itself cheerful and tranquil. At this stage one is ready to renounce action. Action should be renounced only when it is no more necessary to perform them. Sannyasa should not be taken by will, but should be a natural outcome and an indication of a mature mind that is content with itself and is not demanding or dependent upon other things or beings for its happiness. Sannyasa of action indicates that the seeker is ready to pursue the knowledge of the Self to the exclusion of all other involvements.

Author Susan Power ended her story ‘Snakes’ thus: ‘I prefer to watch the present unravel moment by moment, than to look close behind me or far ahead. Time extends for me, flowing in many directions, meeting the horizon and then beyond to follow the curve of the earth. But I will not track this course with my eyes. It is too painful. I can bear witness to only a single moment of loss at a time. Still, hope flutters in my heart; a delicate pulse. I straddle the world and to pray that somewhere ahead of me He has planted an instant of joy’. If only she knew that all instants ahead of her were planted with joy – she just has to connect with her Self!

The mind is the instrument for feeling different material experiences, and intelligence is the deliberative instrument which ponders the pros and cons of a thing and can change everything for the better. Now you must use your intelligence to fully understand what this sublime science of cosmic consciousness is. If you do so, you will find it to be strikingly wonderful.

Human beings are tied to the earth, but are not wholly of the earth. We are each of us, for the time being, poised between the soil underneath our feet and the never-ending ethereal spaces around us. The unease we occasionally feel in our earthly bodies is merely a by-product of our innate understanding of our dual natures. But the time we spend in our physical bodies will not last and should thus be cherished. For one day, when our evolution is complete, we will return to the source of life to become beings of light once more.

Even the smallest taste of success can awaken a fresh surge of desire within us because it is via the triumphs of old that we learn to believe in our ability to find fulfillment in the future. While we can cultivate feelings of capability within ourselves without ever having felt truly triumphant, the projects we tackle successfully provide us with proof that we are ready to embark upon a new phase of personal or professional growth. When we stumble along the path leading toward our larger goals, we can draw upon the satisfaction we felt in the past upon accomplishing our aims to sustain our spirits in the present. Our chances of realizing our dreams are likewise bolstered by our confidence, ensuring that we never entertain failure as a possibility.

All motive and action affects the cosmos in some way. The principle of cause and effect is the truth that allows us to change ourselves and the world around us for the better. However, this same universal law is also at work when change is not at the forefront of our minds. Our intentions flow forever outward in the form of energy, affecting both the people closest to us and billions of individuals we will likely never meet. For this reason, we should strive always to speak, think, and behave with great thoughtfulness and compassion. The virtues we choose to embody can inspire joy and integrity in the lives of countless people, whether we touch their existence directly or not.

The influence we wield is infinite. In an effort to internalize our conscious understanding of the nature of cause and effect, we can never truly know how our thoughts, emotions, words, or actions will manifest themselves on the larger universal stage because it is likely that the furthest-reaching effects will fall outside the range of our perception. We can only look to the guidance of our conscience, which will help us determine whether each of our choices is contributing to humanity’s illumination or setting the stage for unintended troubles. When we are in doubt, we need only remember that the cultivation of altruism inevitably leads to a harvest of goodwill and grace. Motivated by a sincere desire to spread goodness, we will be naturally drawn to those choices that will help us express our commitment to universal well-being.

Nothing you do, however minor or mundane, is ever exempt from the rules of cause and effect. From the moment of your birth, you have served as an agent of change, setting forces beyond your comprehension into motion across the surface of the earth and beyond. You can exert conscious control over this transformative energy simply by examining your intentions and endeavoring always to promote peace, positive energy, and passion in your ideas and actions. While you may never fully comprehend the extent of your purposefully heartfelt influence, you can rest assured that it will be universally felt.

Bhagavad Gita: Distraction

Chanchalam hi manah krsna
pramaathi balavaddrdham
tasyaaham nigraham manye
vaayoriva sudushkaram.

The heart of men is unfixed, Krishna,
rash, tumultuous,willful and strong.
It were all one, I think,
To hold the wayward wind, as tame man’s heart. Verse 34 Ch VI

The obstacles
Three obstacles which deny me what I want to be are ignorance, impurity and distraction. To remove ignorance I carry out vichara, enquiry into the nature of the self, the world and the creator of the world, with the help of scriptures. When one sees how deeply entrenched in ignorance the modern day civilization is, one can easily conclude that it would be impossible for the world to be saved from such deep, deep ignorance. But possibility or impossibility is not an issue. A God-conscious devotee removes his ignorance by hearing about the transcendental holy name of Lord Vishnu, chanting the holy name, remembering Him, offering the Lord respectful worship, offering prayers to the Lord, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words).
–Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23

A devotee is detached from the results of his activities, but he still tries his level best to bring about the enlightenment of the suffering souls of this world and leaves the results up to Krishna. This is possible only when the mind enjoys purity, for achieving which, the means is karma yoga. Now we come to the third factor, distraction or lack of steadiness of the mind.

Mind is not a problem
The mind changes quickly and completely, without leaving even a trace of the previous cognition. This allows the perception of an object as it is. So, the fact that mind changes is a blessing. Thinking is not a problem nor is inquiry nor discovery. Memory is not a problem either – in fact poor memory is a problem. Thus, a changing mind, perceptions, thoughts, memories - none of these is a problem for the human being. What causes problem is the incapacity of the mind to abide in itself when you want it to do so.

Mechanicalness is the problem
The problem arises when the mind seems to have its own ways over which the individual has no mastery. In a conversation with a friend topics change not because of your will but because the wheel of conversation turned by itself – just as in driving you steer unconsciously on different routes. This is true of all our activities in life – we allow things to happen only by accident and not by deliberate control.

A distracted mind is not efficient. Even for worldly achievements such as gaining wealth or fame or power, one needs a mind relatively free from distractions, capable of consistently working toward the chosen goal. A distracted mind is the biggest problem in meditation. Though one begins alright, the mind moves to other topics in spite of one’s will. Man does not have mastery over the ways of his mind.

The power of habit is supreme in the life of man. Most people go through life mentally making good resolutions, but without ever succeeding in following what is wholesome. We usually do not do what we wish to do but do only what we are accustomed to do. That is why materially minded persons find it difficult to be spiritually minded even when they try hard. Unwanted habits are temporary misery making grafts on the soul. They must be thrown out. It is wonderful to do what is right habitually, and thus multiply goodness and happiness.

Silence is the Nature
Silence is the innate nature of the mind which enjoys the capacity to think. You must do something to be restless, to be sad; you must think of a topic or a thing or a being that causes restlessness, and build upon it. Silence is a state of mind when you have nothing to think about. Sorrow or sadness is something one has to work upon. However agitated one is, one does become silent now and then because silence is the nature of the mind. No matter how many cords are around your feet, remember this: the minute you know in your heart that the happiness which is found in the temple of silence is most tempting, then you will be free. You must have that joy, and then you are already released. That can come only through your determination.

Distraction
It is the indisciplined ways of thinking, the mind going from one thing to another that is the problem. This is distraction. There is no distraction without being mechanical. I want to think of one thing and the mind engages in something else and I go along with the latter. The mind goes away without my consent. It is as though the mind hypnotizes me, puts me to sleep and walks away. It is only when, in the course of its own meandering paths, the mind comes back by itself to the object of meditation, that I become awake. I realize that I was lost.

When the mind goes away, I also go along with it. So a meditator is told to bring back the mind. But it is easier said than done. When the mind wanders, I am not there to catch it and bring it back. The meditation becomes a tiresome thing. So we have to take some steps to see that slowly we gain mastery over the mind.

Mechanicalness is a reaction
Any form of reaction is mechanical, not deliberate. Action is deliberate; reaction is not. If you deliberately hit someone for what the person did, it is an action, although it may not be right. But if you hit that person without deliberation, you have no control over that action and it amounts to a reaction. If you act deliberately, you can have a choice and can change the course of action if necessary.

All the actions should be blessed by reasoning or the faculty of choice. Your action can be unreasonable but then you can learn. We do not change in spite of experiences in life because we mostly react and fail to act. If I go on reacting in my life out of jealousy or anger, I become automation, a robot that is set on certain reactions. I become an unpredictable creature because there is no reason behind my impulses.

Partiality to one’s own self
No matter what the facts are, we tend to twist them to put ourselves in the right. Though we love to forgive ourselves, we find it difficult to forgive others. It is customary for most minds to magnify the fault of others, whereas they minimize or resolve to nothingness their own errors. If your feelings are hurt easily, you should not indulge in hurting the feelings of others. If you want to be justly treated, learn to treat others right. The following story from Vishnupurana illustrates that individual separateness is an illusion, and that all life is one:

After a thousand years came Ribhu
To Nidagha’s city, to impart further knowledge to him,
He saw him outside the city
Just as the king was about to enter with a great train of servants,
Standing apart and holding himself apart from the crowd
His neck wizened with fasting, returning from the wood with fuel and grass.
When Ribhu saw him, he went to him and greeted him and said:
“O Brahaman, why standest thou here alone?”

Nidagha said: “Behold the crowd pressing about the King,
Who is just entering the city? That is why stand alone.”
Ribhu said: “which of these is the King?
And who are the others?
Tell me that, for thou seemest informed.”
Nidhaga said: “He who rides upon the fiery elephant, towering like a mountain peak,
That is the King. The others are his attendants.”

Ribhu said: “These two, the King and the elephant, are pointed out by you
Without being separated by mark of distinction;
Give me the mark of distinction between them.
I would know which is the elephant and which the King.”
Nidhaga said: “The elephant is below; the King is above him,
Who does not the relationship of borne to the bearer?”
Ribhu said: “that I may know, teach me.
What is that which is indicated by the word ‘below’ and what is ‘above’?”
Straight Nidhaga sprang upon the Guru, and said to him:
“Here now, I will tell thee what thou demandest of me:
I am above, like the King. You are below, like the elephant.
For thy instruction I give thee this example.”

Ribhu said: “If you are in the position of the King, and I in that of an elephant,
So tell me this still: Which of us is you, and which is I?”
Then swiftly Nidagha, falling down before him, clasped his feet and spake:
“Truly thou art Ribhu, my Master………….
By this I know that thou, my Guru, art come.”
Ribhu said: “Yes, to give thee teaching,
Because of thy former willingness to serve me,
I Ribhu by name am come to thee.
And what I have just taught thee in short –
Heart of highest truth – that is complete non-duality.”
When he had thus spoken to Nidagha, the Guru Ribhu departed thence.
But forthwith Nidagha, taught by this symbolic teaching, turned his mind completely to non-duality.”
All beings from thenceforth he saw not distinct from himself.
And so he saw Brahman. And thus he achieved the highest salvation.

Auto-suggestion
So distraction is born out of one’s incapacity to control the happenings of the mind. Generally we react and react again over the reactions and thus create a chain of reactions. Suppose you take a vow of not being angry today – it is an auto-suggestion – it can work if you are convinced that anger is an enemy which should be avoided. Before anger shows its ugly face, you can see it coming and you are ready to receive it. You can receive anger with a smiling face. Use your creative thinking ability to gain success in every worthwhile project you undertake. Help yourself, that you may bring into proper use all your God-given powers. Make mental blueprints of little things, and keep on making them materialize until you can make your big dreams also come true. Try and remember that no matter what life places at your feet, there is absolutely no situation that cannot be resolved with time, love, and friendship.

Alertness, a Sadhana
One should become alert or conscious to avoid anger. Just as all of legs of a chair get pulled when we pull one leg, many things get tackled when you tackle one thing, because all reactions are born of mechanicalness. This process is called sadhana. Everyone is a combination of materialistic, spiritual, business and family values. Every thing is profound and in as much as every thing is mithya, unreal, it is all profane. A spiritual person is one who tries to solve the problems deliberately unlike a restless mind which does not know what is happening. If we take note of the various reactions that happen in a day, the day-to-day life becomes conscious.

It is alertness that is important and not merely observing a rule. Lord Krishna says in verse 17 Chapter 6: yuktaahara vihaarasya, yuktacheshtasya karmasu, yukta svapnaavabodhasya, yogah bhavati duhkhahaa. “The one who is conscious in eating and recreation, the one who is moderate in activity and in remaining awake, for that one the yoga removes pain.” Sadhana becomes meaningful only when alertness is maintained in all activities; neither overdoing nor not-doing would help.

Bhagavad Gita: Meditation

Introduction

The Bhagavad-gita is the highest knowledge, the highest, most direct and clear knowledge ever revealed in the vast history of eternity. If you study it carefully and seriously apply its principles, you will become one of the happiest, most spiritually perfect beings that have ever existed. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, what your gender or age is, or what your occupation is. If you take it seriously, your success is guaranteed no matter how disqualified you consider yourself to be.

The spirit-soul is present in the living body, while it is absent in the dead body. So what is actually attractive and meaningful is the spirit-soul, not the material body. Yet, inspite of this simple, easily understood point, we invest practically our entire life’s energy in catering to the demands of the material body, which is a mere covering of the actual self. And we complete ignore the needs of the eternal soul.

Such a misspent life is utter foolishness. It leads to frustration and ultimately devastation at the time of death when everything is ripped away from us. The best thing is to mentally detach ourselves now by understanding and realizing, “I am not this body.” Understanding means to grasp the philosophical concept, and realization means to fully imbibe that understanding in our every thought, word, and deed. In other words, to always think, speak and act on the platform of being a spirit-soul, rather than a material body. One way of doing it is through Meditation.

The Posture
Meditation becomes easier when the mind is relatively free from likes and dislikes as a result of a life of Karma yoga and free from distraction as a result of an alert life. The Gita indicates the seat and posture for meditation in verses 11 to 13 of Chapter VI thus:
Sequestered should he sit,
Steadfastly meditating, solitary,
His thoughts controlled, his passions laid away,
Quit of belongings. In a fair, still spot
Having his fixed abode, - not too much raised,
Not yet too low, - let him abide, his goods
A cloth, a deerskin, and the Kusa-grass.
There, setting hard his mind upon The One,
Restraining heart and senses, silent, calm,
Let him accomplish Yoga, and achieve
Pureness of soul, holding immovable
Body and neck and head, his gaze absorbed
Upon his nose-end rapt from all around,
Tranquil in spirit, free of fear, intent
Upon his Brahmacharya vow, Devout,
Musing on Me, lost in the thought of me.

Invoking the Lord and Mental Worship
After sitting for meditation, place the hands in the lap, lock the fingers, relax the body, close the eyes and turn the mind away from sense objects. The mind is withdrawn from external engagements and is available for whatever you want to do. With the quiet tranquil mind, invoke the Lord; appreciate the One from whom everything has come, by Whom everything is sustained and unto Whom everything goes back. Everything is an expression of the Lord because He is the efficient and material cause of the whole creation.

Om is one of the most chanted sound symbols in India. It has a profound effect on the body and mind of the one who chants, and also on the surroundings. Most mantras and Vedic prayers start with Om. All auspicious actions begin with Om. It is even used as a greeting – Om, Hari Om etc. It can be repeated as a mantra or meditated upon. Its form is worshipped, contemplated upon or used as an auspicious sign. The written form symbolizes Lord Ganesh. The upper curve is the head; the lower larger one, the stomach; the side one, the trunk; and the semi-circular mark with the dot, the Laddu in Lord Ganesh’s hand.

By invoking the Lord, the proud ego surrenders. What remains is a humble ego which is worshipping, prayerful, devoted. And what is an ego that is not asserting? So the pride is taken care of.

The next step is to offer mental worship. Set the mind to the chosen deity or the altar. Offer the mental worship. Create an altar of the Lord in the mind. Conduct Arti and do obeisance.

Japa, repetition of a Mantra
Now we come to Japa or repetition of a mantra. Due to distraction, the mind moves from one object to another by association. But there is a stage between any two thoughts when there is no tangible thought. Now I am thought, now silence. In order to avoid this mechanicalness, I do something special: repetition of the name of the Lord. In Japa one repeats the same mantra again and again, not mechanically but consciously. Thus you avoid the possibility of a build-up, association and development of thought patterns. By being aware of the silence between two successive chants, you avoid being mechanical and you will find that the mind abides naturally in the silence. If you own up the silence between two chants constantly, in course of time you will find that the chants become sandwiched between the silence which is the first and the last. And there is silence when I do not think. This is the natural silence and the silence continues. If a thought arises you can bring back the mantra. Japa itself becomes meditation.

Swami Shivanand used to say that Japa is the sovereign remedy for all worldly ills and the best means of God-Realization. The story of Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, reflects this. Before he became a saint he was a thief. One day he held up some holy men and demanded everything they owned. They calmly told him, ‘Our greatest wealth is the name of Rama. Please steal it from us’. Valmiki was so perplexed that he could not remember the sacred name correctly and instead repeated the name backwards and recited ‘mara.’ Still he attained and spread his realization through the amazing epic of Lord Rama.

Be Mahadev
Objectify the body. See it as a stone statue. Let us become the “Mahadev” wherever we are - always prepared to quietly and peacefully hold the poison in our throats (neither letting it harm us nor harm anyone else) for the benefit of humanity.
If one wants to advance in spiritual knowledge, he must develop the quality of forgiveness because without this quality one’s mind can never become sufficiently peaceful to be fully absorbed in chanting the holy names of the Lord. Therefore, one should excuse the offenses of others; he should not hold grudges against others within his heart.

Let the mind abide in the truth that you have discovered. You know that you are all joy,
There is no need for you to think. Simply appreciated yourself as formless, shapeless, peaceful awareness that is all silence. Immediately there is a release. When you think of silence, you cannot but be silence. This is the meditation that Krishna teaches Arjuna.

And due to the name of the Lord and the attitude of devotion and surrender associated with it, the ego is destroyed.

Some rules for Meditation
Through repeated meditation practiced regularly, the practitioner no longer feels his self and the world at large as separate from God. When Knower, Knowledge and Object of Knowledge become the same as Brahman, he becomes thoroughly accomplished. The meditator then retains that state of bliss for all times. Whether moving or seated, or engaged in performance of his duties, there is not the slightest deviation from his spiritual state. As the lord said in Verse 31 of Chapter VI
And who thus discerneth Me in all, and all in Me,
I will never let him go, nor loosen his
Hold upon Me; but dwell where he may,
Whate’er his life, in Me he dwells and lives,
Because he knows and worships Me, Who dwell
In all which lives, and cleaves to Me in all.

Awakening of this knowledge to the total exclusion of all unsteadiness of the mind means ‘absorbing of the mind in the intellect’. And when there remains consciousness of the Form of only one God, the Supreme Brahman, who is knowledge itself, the state is known as the ‘absorption of the intellect in cosmic intellect.’ And finally when one reaches the state when God alone, who is consciousness, embodiment of Existence, Knowledge and Bliss, remains – one has absorbed the cosmic intellect in God. This is Samadhi, the last state of realization.

Reflecting at God’s omnipresence, the mind should be fixed on the ascertained Divine Form. Thereafter, wherever the mind goes it sees only God. This practice quickly removes the unsteadiness of the mind.

Conclusion
By karma yoga I destroy the impurities and by worship and japa, I destroy the distraction and restlessness of the mind. My enquiry continues with the study of scriptures and so the ignorance also gets eliminated. Through continued meditation on God, the embodiment of Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss, my heart grows purer and spotless. Realizing for all time the true and infinite happiness, I become satisfied and content. All my sorrows cease. The attainment of this state is the ultimate goal of human existence.

In 1998, Dr. James Austin, a neurologist, wrote the book, Zen and the Brain: towards an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. Several mindful researchers cite his book as a reason they became interested in the field. Austin examines consciousness by intertwining his personal experiences with Zen meditation and explanations backed up by hard science. When he describes how meditation can “sculpt” the brain, he means it literally and figuratively.

People who meditate say it induces emotional balance and overall well being. In recent years, a group of neuroscientists have begun investigating the practice, dubbed “mindfulness”. In United States, they are exploring the hypothesis that meditation can actually change the way the brain works. Dr. Stephen Lindsey, head of rheumatology at Ochsner Health Systems in Baton Rouge, La. says, “When you’re meditating, you’re trying to relax your body and get rid of the tension.”

But that apart, we should cultivate the firm conviction that the supreme duty of a man’s life is only to realize God, the embodiment of Existence, Knowledge and Bliss. Renouncing wholly the transient, perishable and artificial enjoyments of the world, we should speedily devote ourselves, with energy and determination, to the practice leading to the state of realization of true happiness.

Bhagavad Gita: Maya

Hard it is
To pierce that veil divine of various shows
Which hideth Me; yet they who worship Me
Pierce it and pass beyond.
Verse 14 Ch VII

Maya and Illusion
The word Maya is generally used to denote the divine veil. But the theory of Maya forms one of the pillars of the Gita. It means it has no absolute existence. It exists only in relation to my mind, to your mind and to the mind of everyone else. With every breath, every impulse of our heart asks us to be selfish. At the same time, there is some power beyond us which says that it is unselfishness alone which is good.

Then there is the tremendous fact of death. All our progress, our vanities, our reforms, our luxuries, our wealth, our knowledge, has that one end – death. Cities come and go, empires rise and fall, and planets break into pieces and crumble into dust. Thus it has been going on from time without beginning. Saints die and sinners die. They are all going to death, and yet this tenacious clinging on to life exists. Somehow, we do not know why, we cling to life; we cannot give it up. No wonder when a voice had asked Yudhishtir: ‘Of the entire world’s wonders, which is the most wonderful?’ the celebrated reply was: ‘that no man, though he sees others dying all around him, believes that he himself will die’. This is Maya.

Since the actual self, the soul, is indestructible, why have we built an entire civilization around the temporary material body? This is called ignorance. And because we have ignorantly constructed an entire world civilization, therefore no one is happy here. Everyone is in anxiety. The rich are in anxiety. The poor are in anxiety. The middle class is in anxiety. Everyone is bewildered because they are basing their happiness on the satisfaction of the perishable material body. This is Maya.

Animals live upon plants, men upon animals and worst of all, upon one another, the strong upon weak. This is going on everywhere. This is Maya.

We who are progressing know that the more we progress, the more avenues are opened to pain as well pleasure. And this is Maya which is everywhere. It is terrible. Yet, we have to work through it.

Those who devote themselves to God alone shall cross over their subjective delusion, which has created for man the objective worlds of sorrow and imperfections. With single-pointed mind, to contemplate upon the Self is the direct path; and in order to walk this narrow-way, the mind is to be made steady and concentrated, through Karma Yoga.

Maya as shown by Krishna
A legend tells how once Narada said to Krishna, “Lord show me Maya.” After a few days Krishna asked Narada to make a trip with him towards a desert. After walking several miles Krishna asked Narada to fetch some drinking water. Narada entered a nearby village and knocked at a door which was opened by an extremely beautiful young girl. At the sight of her Narada forgot everything and began talking with the girl. That talk ripened into love; he asked the girl’s father for the daughter; they were married, lived there and had three children. After twelve years his father-in-law died and Narada inherited his property. He lived, as he seemed to think, a very happy life with his wife and children, his fields and his cattle, and so forth.

Then came a flood. One night the river rose until it overflowed its banks and flooded the whole village. Houses fell, men and animals were swept away and drowned and every thing was floating in the rush of the stream. Narada had to escape. With one hand he held his wife, and with the other two of his children; another child was on his shoulders and he was trying to ford this tremendous flood. After some time the child on his shoulders fell and was swept away by the current of the water. In trying to save that child, Narada lost his grasp of the other children who were also lost. At last his wife was also torn away from his tight clasp and Narada was thrown on the bank, weeping and wailing in bitter lamentation.

Behind him came a gentle voice, “My child, where is the water? You went to fetch a pitcher of water for me, and I have been waiting for you; you have been gone for quite half-an-hour.” Half-an-hour!” Narada exclaimed. Twelve whole years had passed through his mind; but all these scenes had happened in half-an-hour. And this is Maya.

These days many intellectuals tell us, “Don’t bother your heads about such nonsense as religion and metaphysics. Live here; this is a very bad world indeed, but make the best of it.” This idea of practicality had appeared before Buddha too when he was meditating at Bodh Gaya. When the temptation came to him to give up his search after truth, to go back to the world and live the old life of fraud, he, the giant, conquered it and said, “Death is better than a vegetating ignorant life; it is better to die on the battlefield than to live a life of defeat.” When a man takes this stand, he is on the way to find the truth; he is on the way to God. Maya shows him he is bound but some inner voice tells him that he is free.

As soon as you know the voice and understand what it is the whole scene changes. The same world which was ghastly battlefield of Maya is now changed into something good and beautiful. We no longer curse nature, the idea of soul which is superior to nature also expands until we come to what we call monotheism, which holds that there is Maya (nature), and then there is some Being who is the ruler of this Maya. And that Being is in our own hearts.

Maya Pointed Out
This finite, mortal, ever-changing world that we see around us is born out of Maya alone. Due to the non-apprehension of Reality, man recognizes the world of objects, emotions and thoughts. Through the body, mind and intellect he contacts the world and creates more and more vasanas. These vasanas make one act more and more, and in the end, man becomes cocooned in them and gains permanently for himself the sense of a separate individuality. All these are created by avidya, non-apprehension of reality. The avidya of all individuals put together is called Maya. God is the cause of it and the world the effect.

Maya is also called a delusion, and a delusion can never be explained. You suffer on account of avidya. Adi Shankaracharya said that when avidya is removed, the jiva becomes one with the Atman, the pure consciousness. By realization of the pure, non-dual Brahman, Maya can be destroyed, just as the illusion of the snake is removed by the discriminative knowledge of the rope. Its gunas are Rajas, Tamas and Sattwa, distinguished by their respective functions.

Rajogun, Tamogun and Sattwagun
Rajogun creates agitations in the mind. Due to these mental agitations, objectively we act in the world and subjectively we experience desires, passions, lust and consequently, joys and sorrows. Our association with objects and beings creates more and more attachment. We see a possibility – until it becomes an agitation. Then desires and passions arise in the mind. To satisfy them, man has to act which gives rise to various attitudes in the mind. Thus the mind gains its experiences of joys and sorrows. Rajas is therefore cause of bondage in life.

Maya, in its Tamogun nature, acts in our personality as the ‘power of veiling’ by which Reality is veiled from our cognition, and things are observed as something other than they actually are. Ignorance, laziness, dullness, sleep, inadvertence, stupidity etc are the attributes of Tamas. One tied up with these cannot comprehend anything, but remains like one asleep.

So Maya plays in two ways – through her veiling power and through her projecting power.

When there is pure Sattwa, the intellect works steadily. There is no veiling and there are no agitations. The mind then becomes steady in utter meditation. It is face to face with divinity, with Reality. The characteristics of pure sattwa are cheerfulness, the experience of one’s own Self, supreme peace, contentment, bliss and constant devotion to the Supreme Self, by which the aspirant comes to enjoy everlasting bliss.

We might think that we can figure out how to get out of illusion on our own. But some one who is in illusion cannot know the way out of illusion. This is the nature of being in illusion. We can only be guided out of illusion by someone who is free from illusion.

Freedom from Maya
As we find ourselves moved to take up creative pursuits by our joy, pain, or passion, we discover that we are in possession of a deep reservoir of imagination we can draw upon when in need of inspiration. Simultaneously, we are empowered to make constructive use of our feelings regardless of the nature of the circumstances unfolding around us. You will cease to feel bound when you acknowledge that the path you tread is yours to determine.

This is amazing information because it uproots the threefold miseries of material existence. We suffer pains of the mind and the body. Then we face anxieties caused by other living beings. And there are also the miseries caused by natural influences such as the change of the seasons and natural disasters. All this suffering can immediately be mitigated by the simple understanding that I am not this body, that I am pure spirit soul in quality one with God.

You will realize that freedom is your nature, and this Maya never bound you. Then and then alone, will all difficulties vanish, then will all the perplexities of the heart be smoothed away, all crookedness made straight, then will vanish the delusion of manifoldness and nature, and Maya, instead of being a horrible, hopeless dream, as it is now, will become beautiful, and this earth, instead of being a prison-house, will become our playground; and even dangers and difficulties, even all sufferings, will become defied and show us their real nature, will show us that behind everything, as the substance of everything, He is standing, and that He is the one real Self.

There needs to be now a system in place all over the world to simply educate everyone to the understanding that we are all eternal spirit-souls, part and parcel of God. This will bring about peace and happiness in this world. We can only pray and do our bit to spread this knowledge throughout the entire world.

Bhagavad Gita: What is God

Creator and Creation

“My nature is the womb of all creation. The birth and dissolution of the cosmos itself take place in me. There is nothing that exists separate from me, Arjuna. The entire universe is suspended from me as my necklace of jewels.” (VII: 6-7)

Who created this world? The sun, the stars, the clouds, the cycles of the tides and the seasons, the laws by which these function? Who provided for the needs of every creature? The world is a furnished house meant to be enjoyed by all. All beings are equipped for survival. How can one account for this objective creation? Who authorized this intelligent, meaningful creation?

For any creation there must be a creator who has in mind the purpose and means of creating. A potter knows what a pot is and how to make it. A bird has the knowledge and skill to make a nest, a bee to make a honeycomb. For this world, there must be a creator who has both the knowledge of the entire creation and the power to create it.

When asked, “Do you believe that there is a maker of this watch?” your reply has to be “Yes.” You did not see anyone make the watch, but you still say the watch-maker exists. Similarly, it is unnecessary to verify the existence of your great-great-grandfather though you may not have even seen his picture.

Belief is not based on knowledge so it can always be shaken. Is there any possibility that the watch can be without a creator? No. Therefore, what you have is knowledge of the existence of a watch-maker, not belief.

For anything that is created, there is not only a creator, the intelligent cause, who has the intelligence to make it, but also material with which it is created. Without clay a potter cannot make pots. But God finds the material in Himself, and from it creates the world, “just as spider spreads out and draws in the thread that it spins.”

Similarly when you dream, you are the author of the dream, you are the author of the dream creation, and you are also the material for it. The ocean, mountain, sun, moon, and streets that are so vivid in your dreams are created by you out of yourself.

When you pick up a pot, you also pick up the material of the pot, clay; when you hold a gold chain, you hold gold. The object is sustained by the material of which it is made; an effect is never separate from its material cause. If the Lord is the material and efficient cause of creation, what is the distance between the Lord and Creation? There can be no distance. The Lord is the creation.

Personality of Godhead
“I am the goal of life, the lord and support of all, the inner witness, the abode of all. I am the only refuge, the one true friend; I am the beginning, the staying and the end of creation; I am the womb and the eternal seed.” (IX: 18)

How we can know that God exists? The question is, “How could God not exist?”
Are you the complete whole, the total existence? Or are you a part of it? Because you are not the complete whole and are only a part of it, you are only conscious of the pains and pleasures in your body. The complete whole, the total existence, on the other hand, is conscious of the pains and pleasures within all living beings.

How can we deny the reality of the complete whole, the total existence, when we are living within it at every moment? That would be a most preposterous proposition. So we must first, on the basis of common sense observation, accept the reality of the complete whole, the total existence.

We have to cover everything with the Lord Himself by really seeing God in everything. Thus we have to give up the world, and when the world is given up, what remains? God. You can see God in your wife, children, in every thing. The whole world is full of the Lord. Open your eyes and see Him. This is what the Gita teaches. The world was a dream, Maya. What existed was the Lord Himself. It is He who is in the good and in the bad; He is in the sin and the sinner; He is in life and in death.

“I pervade the entire universe in my unmanifested form. All creatures find their existence in me, but I am not limited by them.” (IX: 4)

All reality has its source in Brahman. All reality has its grounding sustenance in Brahman. It is in Brahman that all reality has its ultimate repose. Hinduism, specifically, is consciously and exclusively aiming toward this reality termed Brahman.

Not that you should not have property, not that you should not have things which are necessary and things which are even luxuries. Have all that you want, and more, only know the truth and realize it. Wealth does not belong to anybody. Have no idea of proprietorship, possessorship. All belongs to the Lord because the Gita tells us to put the Lord in everything. God is in the wealth that you enjoy. He is in the desire that rises in your mind. He is in the things you buy to satisfy your desire. He is in your beautiful attire, in your beautiful ornaments. If you put God in your every movement, in your conversation, in your form, in everything, the whole scene changes, and the world, instead of appearing as one of woe and misery, will become a heaven.

A conception of God has been beautifully described thus: “He is the great poet, the ancient poet; the whole universe is his poem, coming in verses and rhymes and rhymes, written in infinite bliss.” If we perform right actions we will be able to read and enjoy this universe of God. Then everything will become deified. Nooks and corners, by-ways and shady places, which we thought dark and unholy, will all be deified. They will all reveal their true nature, we shall smile at ourselves and think that all this weeping and crying has been but child’s play, and we were all standing.

Communion with the Divine
Work, says the Gita, putting God in everything, and knowing Him to be in everything. Many people do not know what an infinite mine of bliss is in them, around them, everywhere; they have not yet discovered it. It is the thought which is the propelling force in us. Fill the mind with the highest thoughts, think them day after day, and hear them week after week. Never mind the struggles, the mistakes. The ideal of man is to see God in everything. At least see Him in one thing which you like the best, and then see Him in another and so on. Take your time and you will achieve your goal.

New York born Dr. Frank Morales says, “When we speak of Brahman, we are referring neither to the “old man in the sky” concept, nor to the idea of the Absolute as even capable of being vengeful, fearful or engaging in choosing a favorite people from among His creatures. For that matter, Brahman is not a “He” at all, but rather transcends all empirically discernable categories, limitations and dualities.”

World-renowned scientist and innovator of the nuclear bomb Robert J. Oppenhiemer, on having his first successful test of the bomb, quoted nothing but this verse of the Bhagavad-Gita: “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Conclusion
“If I were to choose one aspect, it would be the teaching that God is the only reality, which can be invoked through any name or form. All worship offered with a pure heart is valid. There can be million forms of worship, offered to any name or form that you choose. This is the universal outlook of Hinduism. Hinduism is a very profound religion, not based in simple beliefs. God is to be understood, not just believed in.” So said Swami Dayanand Saraswati of Arsha Vidya in 2007. He went on to say, ‘I consider everyone a Hindu till he denies to be one.”

“God is the creator, and the best way of offering prayer to him is to be creative. God is all loving, and the best way to serve him is to serve humanity,” Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1825-1883), Hindu reformer, had said more than a century earlier.
To know God we must cultivate love and devotion (bhakti), for this is all that God asks of us. Read the Bhagavad Gita daily. Thus you will know more joy, more peace, more fulfillment, and more bliss than any human can ever give you. You will directly experience the love of Bhagavan.

save

Nature of the Perfect Men and Women

Introduction

Only the person who is utterly detached and utterly dedicated, Mahatma Gandhi said, is free to enjoy life. Asked to sum up his life ‘in twenty-five words or less,” he replied, “I can do it in three! And quoted the Isha Upanishad: “Renounce and enjoy.” The person who is compulsively attached to the results of action cannot really enjoy what he does; he gets downcast when things do not work out and clings more desperately when they do.

When Arjun asks “What are the characteristics of those who have gone beyond the gunas” in Verse 21 of the Chapter IV, we expect a list of virtues. Instead Krishna delivers a surprise: Established within themselves, they are equal in pleasure and pain, praise and blame, kindness and unkindness. Clay, a rock, and gold are the same to them. Alike in honour and dishonour, alike to friend and foe, they have given up every selfish pursuit. Such are those who have gone beyond the gunas. IV 24 & 25

Hallmarks of a Man of Perfection
We then have to resort to Sankara’s Vivekachoodamani to understand the matchless joy experienced by a man ‘who has gone beyond gunas’. He will not have the anxiety of an ordinary mortal to acquire the necessary things of life. He will accept and use whatever he gets. A child is not at all aware of itself or its hunger or it is aware of the mother feeding it. A man of realization is much the same. Sankara indicates that the perceived world for the man of perfection is like the world seen in a dream. Such a rare one sits ever merged in the Self, extremely relaxed and completely happy established in his divine Self.

Such a one is ever changeless and free from all ego-prompted selfish activities. He strives to serve all, at all times, without any trace of selfishness. He is absorbed in Awareness and is without any urge or passion. He has no “I-ness” and “my-ness”. The body just follows him like a shadow. No one can have ego-centric identification with his own shadow. The persecutions of your shadow have no effect upon you.

His experience of the Bliss and peace within is unbroken because his mind has been transcended and, therefore, the sorrows created by the mind are not there. In that condition, the world is exactly like things forgotten and forgotten things can not disturb him. He understands the trick of the mind which gives him hallucinations, so glorious in their beauty and ugliness. His equanimity cannot be broken by any happenings around. Established in Brahman he lives in a state of continuous experience of joy. Unruffled, the man of Perfection watches the passing parade of the world.
The realized person has got out of the circle of ignorance and into a “circle of happiness.” If the question arises “What do I want?” the answer comes “I want only reality, the Self.” Then it is immediately understood that I already am that reality. In that understanding there is happiness and fulfillment. Consequently, there is no need, and no room, for any other desire.
His thoughts are without any worry. He is never persecuted by uncontrollable agitations and sorrows. He refuses to think of failures and regrets of the past; even a street dog will not eat his own disgorging. He does not worry about the future and is totally indifferent to the cares of the present. Having rid of the ideas “I” and “mine’ he lives indifferent to tragedies and comedies that visit the flesh and its mind and intellect.

Nothing is ever there which is not Brahman. Thought is the father of all your sorrows, joys and sufferings. All of them have sprung from the non-apprehensions. One who apprehends Reality ends all apprehensions. Threats, punishments, persecutions, censures and worships, commendations, adorations and praises — they all merge into his bosom and disappear. Infinite consciousness alone remains.

A realized man never courts the objects of pleasure. However, when they are thrust upon him by others, they enter and merge into him. They do not add even an iota of happiness, nor do they cause him the least sorrow. Thousands of rivers bring millions and millions if gallons of water to the ocean, day in and day out. Yet the ocean does not rise even a centimeter.

For one who has experienced the Reality, there is no samsar. Samsar is the phenomenon of going and coming of repeated births and deaths. Extrovertness is the sign of ‘ignorance’. On Realization the vasanas become like roasted seeds. Roasted seeds look like seeds, but they will not sprout even under extremely favourable conditions.
He has completely relinquished all varieties of sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction. He is contented in the Self, and by the Self. He thus remains undisturbed even amidst the so called “filth” or “impurities” of the material world. His mind is purified and enjoys the Pure Transcendental Consciousness. The mind of such fortunate person is perfectly in link with his God within.
A sadhak trying to lead a noble way of life should always mentally have the presence of his ideal or his Teacher before him so that his baser tendencies get weaker and he is always inspired to live the ideal way of life.

Thus, a Self-realized person — the knower of God — is ever unattached, free of sorrows, impartial, possesses patience and purified nature. He is enlightened, free of pride, most humble, kind, full of humility, full of spiritual bliss and peace. He acts in goodness, free from all worldly entanglements. He eats the food of Divine Knowledge, he depends only on One God and His Name, he ever remains absorbed in God’s meditation, he never suffers any doom, his mind is annihilated, he helps save other souls, his family is God, he is always awake, he is free of haughty intellect, he is free living liberated, he is worry-free and his doctrine is pure. In truth, he himself is the exalted and Formless God in human body and everything abides in his mind. He is priceless, he is the patron of the patronless, he owns the entire universe, and he is the highest of high.

A fool can not be identified as long as he does not speak. As soon as he opens his mouth, he reveals himself. Similarly, one of the most important qualities of a man in God Consciousness is his speech — the way he expresses his mind. The immediate symptom of God Conscious man is that he speaks only of God and matters related to Spirituality. This is the sum and substance of his expression or speech. To him, the speech of the Divine Name is the sweetest thing in the world. “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform — do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.”–Bhagavad-gita 9.27
The practical application of this instruction is absolutely ecstatic. Anyone who applies these teachings at every minute will feel how they are always living in the direct association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Conclusion
Of all the sciences the self-realization science is the most important. There should be a self-realization department in every university throughout the world.

After realization, you find that you don’t mind how things go, whether you do one thing or some other thing. Why do you feel such indifference? Because you know that all that activity doesn’t really have anything to do with you. It is all happening according to the prarabdha karma, that is, according to those tendencies which have already been set in motion and which must come to fruition through the body and mind. This karma is like the arrow which has already been released from the bow. It cannot be stopped or turned back in its flight. That is your external life after realization. There is nothing for you to do. Similarly, when you know everyone is yourself, you don’t crave the company of particular people. You get on perfectly well with anyone and you are inclined to treat everyone with the same respect.

Seven Steps to Divinity

A reader of Tattva wrote to me: “As part of Sanatana Dharma, our duty as human-kind entails that we become DIVINE in our metamorphosis, constitution, lifestyle, and composition. Divinity and divine spiritual thoughts bring us firstly peace, secondly love, and thirdly compassion: the three most significant qualities we need to understand our own kind and our own Atman.” One suggested strategy for attaining that metamorphosis is to set your feet on the following seven steps to divinity.

1. Relax. There is nothing to agonize about so long as you keep the objective of spiritual progress in mind.

2. Study the scriptures. Broaden your reading to include the Upanishads, world history, astronomy and philosophy. Exploring a wide variety of ideologies and beliefs creates an individual value system that is as unique as you are. Your personal ideology will begin to flow through the whole of your life, growing ever more broad and specific to your life, benefiting you in ways you never thought possible.

3. Believe in your heart. Within each of us there is a source of wisdom that is ours and ours alone. It is the inner voice we occasionally hear advising us during periods of uncertainty. Whether we label it the conscience or the heart of consciousness, this voice is usually quiet and unassuming, which means that it can easily be overshadowed by other concerns. We must listen to it carefully and attentively; the wisdom it offers will guide us toward the most rewarding alternatives.

4. Purify the personality. We all have things we keep closeted away in our minds – thoughts about who we think we are, thoughts that are so personal and embarrassing that we would never want to let anyone see them. In this step, we let these thoughts go. This brings an amazing sense of lightness and freedom.

5. Know the self. I have always found the fifth step most satisfying. Now flip the exercise around and examine your own goodness. Feel the radiance of your own heart; touch the depth of your own wisdom. This exercise helps us imbibe more divine qualities.

6. Meditate everyday for at least 15 minutes. During the meditation, experience your divinity by identifying with Lord Shiva or Mother Lakshmi or any other form of God. Start by visualizing the deity “out there” in front of you. Gradually draw the Being within yourself with each breath until it becomes who you are.

7. Trust the Sanatana Dharma. This is a science verifiable by reasoning, research, and experience. Even in this world, plagued by terrorists and wars, there is something which helps us awaken. As great saints discovered through direct experience, the Atman, or immanent eternal Self, is one with Brahman, the Absolute Principle of all existence; the goal of every human being is to discover this fact for himself, to find out who he really is.

So let us recognize and respect the sacredness of everything. If you have seriously cultivated enlightened consciousness, the next time all hell breaks loose, you will see it for what it is - a movie on the screen of material existence. And you will be able to flip the channel to another program even while expertly dealing with the calamity on hand. This is the divine nature of consciousness.

Why live an ordinary material existence which culminates in old age, disease, and death when you can instead live a life of unlimited adventure at the vanguard of existence, relishing unlimited transcendental bliss at every minute? It does not matter where you are or who you are. You can constantly taste the sweetest happiness if you will take shelter of the transcendental platform.

bahya-sparsesv asaktatma vindaty atmani yat sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham aksayam asnute
“Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.”
-Bhagavad-Gita 5.21

Bhagavad Gita and the Philosophy of Management

Mind is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is more difficult to control the mind than to control the wind.

~ Arjuna to Sri Krishna

Introduction to the Gita:

One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is Holy Gita which is considered to be one of the first revelations from God. The management lessons in this holy book were brought in to light of the world by divine Maharshi Mahesh Yogi , Sri Sri RaviShankar and Swami Bodhanandji, and the spiritual philosophy by the great Adi Sankaracharya, the greatest philosopher of India and proud son of Kerala, and Sri. Srila Prabhupada Swami and humanism by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Satya Sai Baba. Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life. It provides “all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level.” Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone. Swami Chinmayanandaji preached and educated the people and Swami Sandeep Chaitanyaji continued the mission by keeping this lantern burning always knowing the wishes of the modern generations. Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he had to fight.( Mental health has now become a major international public health concern). To motivate him, the Bhagavad Gita is preached in the battle field of Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a counseling to do his duty while multitudes of men stood by waiting. It has got all the management tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium and to overcome any crisis situation.

Lessons in the Gita:

The Bhagavad Gita is a message addressed to each and every human individual to help him or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and progressing towards a bright future. Within its eighteen chapters is revealed a human drama. This is the experience of everyone in this world, the drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter dejection, sorrow, total breakdown and hopelessness to a state of perfect understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph.

Management Theory proposed in the Gita:

In this modern world the art of Management has become a part and parcel of everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, management principles come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human effort. The Bhagavad Gita, written thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all managerial techniques leading us towards a harmonious and blissful state of affairs in place of the conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence of motivation and so on, common in most of Indian enterprises today – and probably in enterprises in many other countries.

Contrast with the Western Management Concept:

The modern (Western) management concepts of vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work meaning, decision making and planning, are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita. There is one major difference. While Western management thought too often deals with problems at material, external and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of human thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is improved, it will automatically enhance the quality of his actions and their results. The management philosophy emanating from the West is based on the lure of materialism and on a perennial thirst for profit, irrespective of the quality of the means adopted to achieve that goal. This phenomenon has its source in the abundant wealth of the West and so ‘management by materialism’ has caught the fancy of all the countries the world over, India being no exception to this trend.

My country, India, has been in the forefront in importing these ideas mainly because of its centuries old indoctrination by colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling that anything Western is good and anything Indian, is inferior. The result is that, while huge funds have been invested in building temples of modem management education, no perceptible changes are visible in the improvement of the general quality of life - although the standards of living of a few has gone up. The same old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy, criminalization of institutions, social violence, exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body politic. Western management philosophy may have created prosperity – but it has failed in the aim of ensuring betterment of individual life and social welfare. It has remained by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty for a few in the midst of poor quality of life for many. Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine prevailing management disciplines - their objectives, scope and content. Management should be redefined to underline the development of the worker as a person, as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With this changed perspective, management can become an instrument in the process of social, and indeed national, development.

Karmanye Vaa Adhikaraste, Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, by Parag Singla

A young college student is feverishly roaming around at Mumbai railway station. Reason? Simple enough—he has missed the train to his hometown in the state of Haryana. If he does not catch the next train which is in about half an hour, he will have to miss the marriage of one of his closest friends. What is the problem then? Why doesn’t he catch the next train? Before going any further, let us give him a name – Sidhartha. It turns out that Sidhartha did not start from his college campus with enough money to buy another ticket. And now there is no time to go back and get some cash. Remember, this is a time when there are not many ATM’s around! And the days of cell phones have just begun. They are not yet cheap enough for a student to afford. So what should he do? In the only ray of hope he can see, he goes to the person at the nearest ticket counter. Sidhartha does not know his name. Let us call him Sharma ji. Sidhartha explains his situation to Sharma ji. Sharma ji realizes that Sidhartha is a guy from a decent family and is in fact a student of a reputed college. He understands his situation and is kind enough. He offers him 400 rupees to buy the ticket for the next train. Sidhartha is elated. He thanks Sharma ji to the fullest and runs to get the ticket for the next train, which should be coming anytime now. Sidhartha promises to return the money when he comes back.

A few days pass by and Sidhartha comes back after attending his friend’s marriage. After getting down from the train, he goes straight to the counter where Sharma ji sits. He thanks him again and offers to pay him back the 400 rupees. But Sharma ji asks him to wait. He takes him to a close by tea stall. The tea gossip goes on for about half an hour. At the time of leaving, Sidhartha offers him the money again. But to his surprise, Sharma ji refuses to take it back. When Sidhartha insists, Sharma ji says “Son, this money does not belong to me. I had given it to you the other day and forgotten about it. If you really want to return it, do one thing. Keep this with you. When you find someone in need of this money just like you were, give it to them.” Saying this, he says goodbye to Sidhartha and goes back to work. Sidhartha is surprised and inspired!

Friends, the above story did not come out of my imagination. This is, in fact, a true story that happened to one of my close friends, Sidhartha, a few years ago. I was moved and inspired after listening to it. Are you? It reminds me of the verse from the Bhagwad Gita which says:

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोस्त्वऽकर्मणि॥

You have the right to action only and not to fruits thereof. Do not try to be instrumental in making your actions bear fruit (which will follow according to laws of nature). Neither let your attachment be to inaction.

The Bhagavad Gita Part 1: An introduction , by mahendra mathur

The Bhagavad Gita starts with the words of Lord Krishna, “O Arjun you are grieving for what should not be grieved for.” This verse contains the theme of the Gita and reveals the context of the teaching—Arjuna’s state of mind, his asking for the knowledge. This is the beginning of the Gita. The beauty of this timeless scripture is that its essential message is universal.

How did the Gita come into being? In ancient times sages went to the Himalayas where they spent lifetimes in meditation and study at the feet of their Gurus. These rishis discovered knowledge just as scientists and philosophers have made discoveries throughout the ages in their fields. That knowledge has been preserved in the form of four Vedas, namely Rig, Yajur, Saama, and Atharvana. Each Veda is divided into two sections. The first portion, known as Karma Kanda, is primarily concerned with the performance of rituals and yagnas. The second portion is on knowledge (Gyan) and is hence known as Gyan Kandas. These Gyana Kandas of the Vedas are known as Vedanta. The Bhagavad Gita embodies this Vedantic teaching and is regarded as the essence of all Vedantas.

The laws of the Gita are applicable to every human being whether he/she declares himself a Hindu or not. Just as the law of gravity is applicable to every substance in that world whether one accepts it or not, the enduring values of the Gita are indeed for all of mankind. The Bhagavad Gita reveals that every human being is a complete, adequate self. The knowledge of the self – and that knowledge alone – will eliminate the sense of inadequacy from which we all suffer. When one discovers oneself to be a full and complete being, all the conflicts and grief vanish, and happiness becomes natural and effortless; one becomes a spontaneous person; life becomes a sport. To appreciate the truth of the Gita it is necessary to possess a contemplative mind, a mind that is free from likes and dislikes which are obstacles to the knowledge of the self.

Therefore the Bhagavad Gita teaches Karma Yoga as a means of eliminating likes and dislikes. Karma Yoga is devotion to God expressed in the attitude of offering while performing an action and in the attitude of glad acceptance while receiving its results. This attitude of yoga neutralizes likes and dislikes and brings about a mind that is tranquil and open – a learning mind.Shankaracharya, who lived in the eighth century was one of the greatest commentators on the Gita. He held that right action is the way to knowledge, for it purifies the mind. It is only to a mind purified from egotism that the intuition of the divine ground can come.

Self-renunciation, according to the Gita, can be achieved by the practice of two all inclusive virtues - love and non-attachment. The effectiveness of the Gita teachings is evident from the declaration of Arjun, “My confusion is gone. I have no hesitation in doing what is to be done,” after understanding Lord Krishna’s teachings. This is what each of us should be able to say after assimilating the teachings of the Gita.

Story of the Mahabharat

The Bhagavad Gita, though it is the essence of the Vedantas, has been interpolated in one of the great ancient Indian epics—the Mahabharat. The Mahabharat is the longest poem in the world, consisting of 100,000 verses. It is the story of the descendents of King Bharat; it is the story of ancient India.After the death of King Pandu, his blind brother Dhritrashtra succeeded the throne. He educated five sons of Pandu, the Pandavas along with his 100 sons. The adharmic Duryodhana, Dhritrashtra’s eldest son, became jealous of the virtuous Pandavas and planned to murder them.During a religious festival, Duryodhana invited Pandavas to stay in a specially built inflammable palace which was burnt to ashes by Duryodhana’s servants.

Fortunately, the Pandavas and their mother Kunti escaped from the fire, though Duryodhana and the rest of the world believed them to be dead.The Pandavas lived in the forest disguised as Brahmins. Hearing of King Draupad’s proclamation to hold a Swayamvara for his daughter’s marriage, they went to his kingdom. Suitors had gathered from all over India, Duryodhana among them. Each suitor was required to bend a bow or enormous strength and hit a revolving small fish while watching only its shadow in boiling oil. One after another, all the princes failed in the test. At last Arjun, third of the Pandavas, bent the bow and hit the target with greatest ease, upon which Draupadi chose him as her husband. The Pandava brothers took Draupadi back to the forest and announced to Kunti that they had brought home a wonderful treasure. “Be sure to share it equally, my children”, Kunti answered without looking behind her to see the “treasure.” After much deliberation, it was decided that Draupadi would marry all the brothers together.

Dhritrashtra and his son now knew that Pandavas were alive and reluctantly listened to the advice of Dhritrashtra’s uncle, Bhishma, which was to send for the brothers and offer them half of the kingdom. The Pandavas got the worse half of the land, a wilderness along the Yamuna River. Nevertheless, they put great efforts into improving the land and building a fine city; Yudhishthira, the eldest brother, was crowned king.Duryodhan now hatched a new plot to ruin Pandavas. He challenged Yudhishthira to play dice with him. The loser was to forfeit his kingdom and retire to the forest for twelve years and then live anonymously for a year in the city. Yudhishthira lost and the Pandavas went back to forest. They made a virtue of their misfortune, practicing spiritual austerities and doing many heroic deeds.

At the end of the exile Yudhishthira asked for the return of his kingdom, but the selfish and greedy Duryodhana refused to give the Pandavas “land equivalent to a needle’s point.” War became inevitable. Both sides wanted Lord Krishna’s aid. “Either you have my army or me alone – though I shall take no part in fighting,” Krishna offered both the same choice. Duryodhana chose the army but Arjuna chose Krishna, and asked him to be his personal charioteer.

Arjuna’s Despondency

The battle was fought on the plane of Kurukshetra. Just before the commencement of the battle Arjuna asked Krishna to drive the chariot to a place between the two armies and commenced the conversation which is recorded as the Bhagavad Gita.Arjuna had fallen into illusion. He forgot the underlying spiritual reality behind the façade of material existence. He did not see that the material world is simply a theatrical display enacted for the rectification of those living beings who have foolishly turned their backs on the Lord. He should have realized that his only duty was to execute the instructions of the Lord. But because he had fallen into bodily consciousness, believing that he was his body and that his kinsmen were also their bodies, he was in great anxiety. If he would only hear Krishna’s words of absolute truth and fully surrender unto them, all of his anxieties would be dissipated. But he instead stubbornly held onto to his illusory conceptions, thus casting himself even deeper into the ocean of grief.

Even though Arjuna was one of the most powerful and confident warriors in world history, he declared to Krishna, “I shall not fight.” We may think that it is a very nice quality to refuse to fight. But when an enemy comes to conquer a country, it is the duty of the soldier of that country to protect his nation from the belligerent aggressors who are coming to exploit the citizens. Such defending of the nation is considered glorious and heroic. The rightful kingdom of Arjuna and his brothers had been unlawfully usurped. Lord Krishna wanted that the pious devotees of the Lord should be the rulers, not greedy, wicked-minded exploiters. All attempts were made to recover the hijacked kingdom by peaceful negotiations. But when all alternatives were exhausted there was no other option but to challenge the usurpers on the battlefield.

Krishna had made all the arrangements to rectify the injustice, but now Arjuna was foolishly refusing to cooperate with Him. Arjuna had given many arguments, which on the surface sound quite reasonable. However, when examined carefully from the spiritual platform they all fall apart. Krishna chastised him for his foolishness and taught him the truth. “While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.”

Messages of the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is the journey from despondency to devotion. Arjun began despondent and ended devoted! By teaching him the wisdom of yoga, Bhagwan Krishna showed Arjuna how not to be despondent. Each of us is like Arjuna and we also face so many problems in our lives. The battlefield of Kurukshetra is within us, every minute and every moment. Through meditation and through yoga we will understand that these undercurrents of battle are within us and we will learn how to take care of them. As soon as Arjuna realized that he was in trouble, that he was broken and despondent, he asked Bhagwan Krishna for guidance, and guidance was given. Whenever we go to God, sincerely, with devotion and an open mind and heart, we receive the answers. The problem is that today people take pills, drinks, and so many other things to take care of their inner battles rather that asking God. In the Gita, Bhagwan Krishna tells us to fight the battle. There are 700 shlokas in the Gita and every mantra tells you how to become a Yogi.“Know That to be Indestructible by which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That – the Imperishable.” To discover that “Imperishable,” in the next issue of Tattva, we will embark upon a journey to understand some verses of the Gita.

Quote 12

At this supremely dangerous moment in human history , the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family.

- Dr. Arnold J. Toynbee was a great British historian and a famous interpreter of human civilization.

Quote 11

”After a study of some forty years and more of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect , none so scientific, none so philosophical and none so spiritual that the great religion known by the name of Hinduism. If Hindus do not maintain Hinduism who shall save it?”

Annie Besant (1847-1933) was an active socialist

Quote 10

Make no mistake, without Hinduism, India has no future. Hinduism is the soil in to which India’s roots are stuck and torn out of that she will inevitably wither as a tree torn out from its place. And if Hindus do not maintain Hinduism who shall save it? If India’s own children do not cling to her faith who shall guard it.

Annie Besant (1847-1933) was a prominent Theosophist, women’s rights activist, writer and orator.

Quote 9

Religious faith in the case of the Hindus has never been allowed to run counter to scientific laws, moreover the former is never made a condition for the knowledge they teach, but there are always scrupulously careful to take into consideration the possibility that by reason both the agnostic and atheist may attain truth in their own way. Such tolerance may be surprising to religious believers in the West, but it is an integral part of Vedantic belief.

-Romain Rolland (1866-1944)

Quote 8

“Our youth must be made to feel proud of being born in the great lineage of rishis and yogis. If we have to live up to their legacy, we must live as Hindus, we must appear as Hindus and we must make ourselves felt by the whole world as Hindus.- Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906-1973).”

Popularly known as Guruji, was the second chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He was the force behind the formation of many organizations of the Sangh.

Quote 7

“The Hindus pictured the universe as periodically expanding and contracting, and gave the name kalpa to the unimaginable time span between the beginning and the end of one creation. The scale of this ancient myth is indeed staggering; it has taken the human mind more than two thousand years to come up again with a similar concept.”

Fritjof Capra (1939) is an Austrian-born famous theoretical high-energy physicist and ecologist and the author of The Tao of Physics.

Quote 6

If I was asked what is the greatest treasure which India possesses and what is her finest heritage, I would answer unhesitatingly that it is the Sanskrit language and literature and all that it contains. This is the magnificent inheritance and so long as this endures and influences the life of our people, so long will the basic genius of India continue. If our race forgot the Buddha, the Upanishads and the great Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata), India would cease to be India.

-Jawaharlal Nehru, first prime minister of Bharat post 1947

Quote 5

She has left indelible imprints on one fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim in universal history the rank that ignorance has refused her for a long time and to hold her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity.

Sylvain Levi (1863-1935) on India. She was a French scholar and Orientalist who wrote on Eastern religion, literature, and history.

Quote 4

The Hindu has an extraordinary power of combining dogma and free thought, uniformity, and variety. Utmost latitude of interpretation is allowed. It is also to point out that from the Upanishads down to the writings of Tagore in the present day literature from time to time enunciates the idea that the whole universe is the manifestation of some exuberant force giving expression to itself in joyous movement

Sir Charles Eliot (1862-1931), a famous scholar and linguist of Oxford.

Quote 3

I think when you see so many Hindu temples of the tenth century or earlier time disfigured, defaced, you know that they were not just defaced for fun: that something terrible happened. I feel that the civilization of that closed world was mortally wounded by those invasions. And I would like people, as it were, to be more reverential towards the past, to try to understand it; to preserve it; instead of living in its ruins. The Old World is destroyed. That has to be understood. The ancient Hindu India was destroyed.

-VS Naipaul, Nobel Laureate Literature 2001

Quote 2

“India was trampled over, fought over. Now are people beginning to understand that there has been a great vandalizing of India. The movement is now from below. It has to be dealt with. It is not enough to abuse these youths or use that fashionable word from Europe, ‘fascism’. There is a big, historical development going on in India. What is happening in India is a new historical awakening. Indian intellectuals, who want to be secure in their liberal beliefs, may not understand what is going on. But every other Indian knows precisely what is happening: deep down he knows that a larger response is emerging even if at times this response appears in his eyes to be threatening.”

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (1932 - ), better known as V. S. Naipaul, is a writer of Indo-Trinidadian descent. Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001 and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.

Quote of the month september

“The Hindu mind represents humanity’s oldest and most continuous stream of conscious intelligence on the planet. Hindu sages, seers, saints, yogis, and jnanis have maintained an unbroken current of awareness linking humanity with the Divine since the dawn of history, and as carried over from earlier cycles of civilization in previous humanities unknown to our present spiritually limited culture.”

–Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri), author on Hinduism, Yoga, and Ayurveda

Kautilya's Arthashastra

Arthashastra, written by Kautilya (also known as Chanakya), is an ancient treatise dealing with the governance of a country. Chanakya was a very learned scholar at the Takshashila University (an ancient Hindu university, located in present-day Pakistan) and the acharya of Chandragupta Maurya. He had mastery over political science, economics, accounting, and governance, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Maurya dynasty. Apart from Arthashastra, Kautilya wrote several other books such as Chanakya-Sutras (Rules of Science) and Chanakya-Rajanitisastra (Science of Government Policies).

The Hindu way of life describes 4 purusharthas (goals): Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Artha refers to material progress, which is necessary in order to live a balanced life. The basis of Arthashastra is that one must strive to generate wealth, resources, and money, and share it equitably to create happiness for oneself and others. Such generation of wealth must be through ethical means, which alone will lead to overall happiness.

Arthashastra takes a holistic approach to governance and explains several areas critical to the functioning of a country in depth. The main sections deal with National security and Foreign Policy, Administration of Justice, Policies related to economic development, Taxation, Labor Management, and Financial Management.

The discussion in Arthashastra is as relevant today as it was in Kautilya’s time. Kautilya was well-versed with the characteristics of bureaucrats and statesmen and laid down rules to prevent misuse of power. He emphasized the importance of accounting methods in economic enterprises to properly measure economic performance. He explained that no amount of rules and regulations or auditing can prevent unethical behavior and that character-building and action-oriented ethical values were essential.

Kautilya explains the necessity of having strong government finances and an able army. Arthashastra has detailed sections on topics such as mineralogy, mining and metals, agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine. The book describes in great detail, the characteristics of the ruler and their duties. It states that the moral duty of the king is to increase prosperity, ensure judicial fairness, and provide national security. The book also describes duties of other key positions in the government such as Police chief, Chief Justice, Treasurer, Defense minister, Commerce Minister and others. The Arthashastra predates any similar body of work from the Greek, Roman or Chinese civilizations and is the source of many modern practices such as double-entry book keeping method, audits, etc.