The Science of Religion for Mankind - Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta: Yatharth Geeta

CHAPTER 10: AN ACCOUNT OF GOD'S GLORY

7. “The one who knows the reality of my exalted magnificence and the might of my yog doubtless partakes of my nature by becoming one with me through meditation.”

The man who learns of the excellence of yog and the glories of Krishn by direct perception is united with him and abides in him. There is not even the least doubt about this. The steady, untrembling flame of a lamp where there is no wind is an apt illustration of the subdued mind of a yogi. “Avikampen” in the verse refers to such an analogy.

8. “Aware of the reality that I am the source of all creation as also the motive that stirs it to effort, and possessed of faith and devotion, wise men remember and worship only me.’’

It is at Krishn’s behest that the entire world is spurred to action. This implies that he is also the doer of whatever yogi do in keeping with his nature. All the yogi’s endeavours are thus only blessings from him. How it is so has been illuminated earlier. And now Krishn dwells upon how yogi constantly adore him.

9. ‘‘They who anchor their minds on me, sacrifice their breath to me, and are contented with speaking only of my greatness among themselves, always dwell in me.’’

Men who devote their minds to Krishn alone without thinking of anything other than him and who dedicate themselves to him heart and soul are always conscious of his ways. They are happy singing hymns of praise of his glories and always abide in him.

10. “I bestow upon the devotees, who always remember me and adore me with love, that discipline of yog by learning which they attain to none but me.’’

So the awakening of yog in worshippers is also a gift from God; it depends upon his assuming the role of a charioteer. The following verse points to the way by which a sage and noble teacher like Krishn blesses his devotee with the knowledge that initiates him into yog.

11. ‘‘To extend my grace to them, I dwell in their innermost being and dispel the gloom of ignorance by the radiance of knowledge.”

Krishn stands inseparably by the worshipper’s Self as a charioteer to destroy spiritual ignorance. Worship does not really commence until, through a sage who has known God, the Supreme Spirit himself has not come awake in the worshipper’s Soul and taken upon himself the task of guidance from one instant to another as also of restraining and disciplining him, and escorting him safely across the incongruities of nature. At this stage God begins to command from all sides. But at the beginning, it is through an accomplished sage that he speaks. If a seeker is not fortunate enough to have such a sage as a teacher, God’s voice is only faintly audible to him.

The charioteer, whether he is the worshipped deity or a teacher- preceptor, or God himself, is the same. When the charioteer has awakened in the worshipper’s Self, his dictates are received in four ways. At first there is the experience that is related to gross breath: of the infusion into it of a thought that was earlier not in it. When a worshipper sits in meditation, he is confronted with a number of questions. When is his mind going to be truly absorbed? To what extent is it already absorbed? When does his mind desire to escape from nature and when has it strayed from the path? The answers to these questions are signalled every moment by the adored God through physical reflexes. Twitching of limbs is an experience related to gross breath and it appears simultaneously at more than one point even within a moment. If the mind has deviated, these signals are transmitted minute after minute. But these signals are received only if the devotee holds on to the form of the worshipped Godlike teacher with undeviating firmness. Reflex actions such as twitching of limbs are a much too frequent experience of ordinary beings because of the clash between their contradictory impulses, but these have nothing to do whatsoever with the signs that are transmitted to worshippers who are wholly dedicated to the sublime object of their worship.