Bhagavad Gita — As I see it

The Ignorance inquired the Wisdom:
In the field of righteousness and action, assembled for the war, my group (tainted by ego) and the other (bright/pure); what did they do?
The Wisdom answered:
Having seen the sons of brightness, your first son, jealousy approached the teacher and said: “see the sons of brightness who are arrayed for the war against us. They are students of yours as well. Our side has a lot of warriors who are ready to give up life for my sake. With all the abilities let’s support our commander ‘strong willpower’ who is leading our side”
Then to bring cheer, the willpower made a loud noise with his conch shell followed by all the great warriors on both sides made a great noise using multiple instruments signifying the start of the war.
The individual-self said to his charioteer pure consciousness and supreme self: “I want to see who is opposing me in this war by supporting the wicked egoistic ones! take me to the middle of the field so that I get the view of clarity”
Having heard this, supreme-self took the individual-self to the center of the battlefield and stopped the chariot and said “as you wish, see”
Having seen his own close relatives arrayed in the battlefield on both sides to fight, the individual-self, foreseeing the devastation, refused to fight and gave a long justification for continuing the status quo.

Supreme-self said “Oh, from where did this defect enter you? This non-deliverance of one’s own duty is not good for you. By giving up this weakness, deliver your duty diligently.”
The individual self said “How can I fight with the strong will power and my own teacher taught me the techniques of war and win over them? Is it not better to worship them?”
Supreme-self said: “Why are you grieving for those forms that are temporary? The underlying genius of all these forms is eternal. All the forms will come and go and act according to their own nature. As each form takes birth, grows, sustains, diminishes, and dies; all this process the genius behind the form is not transforming. So, do not grieve for the forms and their temporary experiences generated by touching the objects of senses. Be balanced to all these transformations and actions being aware of the true unchanging basis of all of them. Whatever exists will always exist; what does not exist will never come into existence. Whatever taken birth is bound to die and whatever died is bound to take birth. It is a cyclic process. So, rise beyond worry and take up this chance to deliver your duty in this righteous war by realizing the ultimate truth. Thereby regain your own lost glory! My dear!”
Individual-self said: “O great soul! You are asking me to be balanced and act. Please enlighten me how a balanced one behaves?”
Supreme-self said: “A balanced self is not elated by pleasure and not disturbed by the pain, given up attraction, fear, anger always is calm. Such is neither praising anything nor complaining anything, withdrawing the senses away from their respective attractions, conducts carefully in own duties. Such a person has achieved all that needs achieving and attains supreme peace. That state is called the supreme state beyond all”
Individual-self asked: “You are stating that withdraw from all activity and instigating me to get into the horrible war. Is it not confusing? How is this justified?”
Supreme-self answered: “As I mentioned earlier to you, there are two approaches — one is driven by knowledge, and the other is driven by action. Either by not starting action or by leaving an action incomplete, one is not released from the bondage of action. Only by giving up attachment to the fruits of all actions one achieves perfection. No one can sit giving up all the action. One should take up the actions prescribed as duties and perform them with an attitude of non-attachment to the results thereof. Just by controlling the organs of action but indulging in the thoughts of objects what is achieved other than hypocrisy? So, perform the duties as performing a fire sacrifice, thereby all the defects of action will be removed. Indeed everything here is sustained by the non-attached actions of sacrifice alone. Only by performing action one achieves perfection and it sets an example to others as well. While doing so, don’t confuse others who are performing actions for results. Let them do so and in due course, they will realize the problem with the results. Hence, there should not be any confusion related to the actions. Take up the action according to your own nature and perform them diligently. Keep ‘ME’ in the mind always. No sin will touch you”
Individual-self asked: What makes sin being committed?
Supreme-self replied: “desire or anger both are rooted in the tendency of passion. All passionate action is defective. This passion will cloud one’s own knowledge of the supreme truth. Instigated by this defect, the senses, and their head, mind are driven into committing sin. So, you will need to conquer the enemy called ‘desire’ inflicted by passion.”

Supreme-self said: “I have explained this process called yoga to the Sun god at the beginning of creation. Due to passage of time this yoga was lost in transmission.”
Individual-self asked: “You are part of the creation itself. How come you teach this to someone who is the origin of creation?”
Supreme-self replied: There are multiple occurrences of me as well as you in this cycle of appearances. You fail to remember and I remember everything. I do not take any specific form in reality. All this objective and subjective creation arise in my own radiance. Only to protect the righteous and shun the ignorance, I repeatedly animate different forms as necessary from time to time. All my actions and origins are divine. Any individual who understands this will never return to the cycle of births and deaths! By devoutly worshiping me, giving up the attachment, fear, and anger that individual attains me — SUPREME.”
Supreme-self continued: “Those who work for results with faith, will get the results as expected by my grace alone. The faith itself results in the fruits as desired to those who work. This law is always governed by me. I have divided the results into four distinct groups based on their type of desires and their methods of action. According to the divine rule of action-result-reaction cycle, the progression of individuals is determined through this fourfold period of time. Having performed actions, enjoyed, and suffered the results individuals gradually understand the process in multiple cycles. Finally, they arrive at performing action without attachment to results, and then entering this process of yoga, they attain me the SUPREME. So, Oh! Individual-self, understand the importance of right knowledge, only through the fire of knowledge all the actions and their results will be nullified to reach the balanced self!”
Supreme-self continued: “Develop the sraddha i.e, faith through which the doubts are vanquished there by the right knowledge arises”
Individual-self questioned again: “One side you are praising the aspect of rising above the actions; another side you are instructing me to get into the action. There is still a trace of confusion remaining. Clarify me.”
Supreme-self answered: “Giving up action is surely superior; giving up the fruits is easier while engaged in the action. One who will not repel any action neither attached to any of the results thereof is the wise one. But looking at them as two different methods is childish. Both paths are essentially the same. Start with giving up the attachment to the results; having perfected such action one is already risen above the actions and hence freed from them. Is it not? So, disengage the passion towards the object of senses, continue to perform duties which will surely bring you up to the highest of bliss by removing the bondage of attachment.”
“Develop an equal view of learned and ignorant, larger and smaller, best and worst beings. Don’t get elated by success or depressed by failure, thereby the defective vision is corrected and you will attain the balanced-self by cleansing your own self. In reality, all this action and results of me, the supreme. Is it not?”
“So, uplift the self by the effort of the self alone. Nothing else can help this process. You need to achieve it by bringing all the three layers of action of limbs, the action of words, and the action of mind into line by prescribed methods of meditation on a single-pointed goal. A controlled self is alone your friend. An uncontrolled self is your biggest enemy. By performing dispassionately the concentrated contemplation by regulating the breathing process as prescribed by me you shall attain the state of balanced-self that is able to see a golden nugget and a nugget of mud with the same vision. Then you will be able to see all the beings in yourself and yourself in all the beings”
Individual-self commented: “It is like controlling the ever-moving wind to fix to one point. It looks impossible”
Supreme-self asserted: “Yes. The process is difficult; but not impossible. Slowly and slowly by the means of practice and the strong virtue of renunciation one can become successful”
Individual-self doubted: “That is alright. But what if I fail to achieve the final goal and fall from the practice in the middle or even if I lose this body-mind-intellect combination in the event of death?”
Supreme-self reassured: “Doubt not the supreme order. Anyone who takes up the path of yoga, the effort will not go waste. Even a little practice can remove great fear. Even in the event of death, a striving yogi will be given the next opportunity by taking birth in the most suitable environment for yoga and continue the path. I assure you.”

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Having assured on the aspects of yoga, supreme-self said: “Now listen carefully about my supremacy. This knowledge and distinguishing wisdom from regular sense based and inferential knowledge will help you. In millions of individuals, one tries to know the supreme reality. Out of several thousands of seekers, one actually reaches the end to realize. My lower nature consists of five elements (solid, liquid, gas mater, and static and kinetic energy) along with mind, intellect, and individualization agent egotism. Put together these eightfold division makes up my lower nature. The other higher nature of me is the self-consciousness which holds all the lower nature together in their respective positions.” Thus I alone am the source, beginning, middle, end of all beings. There is nothing other than self that exists here. In that higher nature of self is all the worlds are sustained. So, essentially there is nothing other than me here. All the power seen in any being, all the knowledge, all the best of the qualities seen anywhere is my radiance alone. The three modes of attitudes sattva, rajas & tamas are the aspects of my lower nature alone. Based on attitude predominant in the being they act and reap results.”
Hence the one who realizes the Supreme Being vAsudEva as me who is pervading all this is really close to me in the heart. The delusion of duality caused by three modes of nature, one continues to not recognize the supreme self and keep going around in cyclic orbits of birth and death transformations.
So, understand I am the physical elements, I am the sacrificial action and I am the supervising consciousness of all manifestations — know this!”
Individual-self asked: “Please explain more about elementary nature, spiritual nature & action. What is that supreme? And who is the lord? What eternal knowledge assures me of reaching you the supreme?”
Supreme-self answered: “The undiminished is eternal. Spiritual is the individual nature. Action is the differentiation that brings up the individual being. The elementary nature is the one that is diminishing and transforming. The witnessing consciousness of this process is the lord controlling it. I the supreme is the sacrificial fire existing in each being. Remembering my true nature as described above at the end, while leaving the body one attains me. That is the most powerful knowledge.”
The last conceptual form imagined by the individual self about its future is the form attained by that self by its own nature of reconfiguration throughout the current form. So, at all times, keeping this in the memory, act as per my instructions.”

Supreme-self continued: Let me give you the most secret doctrine covering lower and higher knowledge, as you have raised above jealousy. While everything encompassed in me, nothing touches me. Just as air is sustained in the space moving with all its might, it will not touch the space. I am untouched by any movement or action of all this manifestation even though I am holding everything together. The foolish fail to see me and thereby basing all their desires in ego get into the evil deeds. Anyone with devotion offers me a leaf, flower, fruit, or a little water, I accept it. So, whatever you do, do with the attitude of serving me. By so, you will be freed from the good and bad results of all actions. I am equal to all beings. Even most wicked-minded comes to me for refuge, I grant it without any doubt. So, fill your mind with me, be devoted to me, and sacrifice everything in me — by this method you will unite in me.

Let me reiterate to you again: I am the source of all your emotions like devotion, fear, anger, confidence, compassion, non-violence, balance, content, and so on… understanding this the wise ones direct all those emotions to me alone and enjoy the freedom.

Individual-self said: O Lord, I have understood you are everything here both good and bad. Please enlighten me in what aspects I shall meditate on you?

Supreme-self answered: I am the self that is situated in every being — that is the best aspect for meditation. If that is not possible, anything best in any group can be taken up as my symbol for meditation. For example, take Sun in the light giving things, in the mountains consider me as the highest peak himAlaya and so on… I can be considered as the beginning, middle, or end of everything whatever pleases you for your meditation!

Individual-self said: Oh! I have understood the greatness of you O supreme! I wish to see your universal form. Please show i.e., bring it to my vision…

(Having heard this request, supreme-self brings his most pleasing and at the same time the most terrible form into the visibility of individual-self by granting a divine vision)

Looking at the divine form of Supreme-self, the individual-self sees the past, present, and future and iterates the appearance in his own words. Finally, seeing the ferocious forms of the supreme, requests him to come back to the usual appearance and questions: What is your true nature?

Supreme-Self replies: I am of the form of time, everything is consumed by me. All those you are seeing arrayed in this battlefield are destined to merge in me in the course of few days in the future. So, take up your duty as the warrior and take the praise as the winner of this war. (Thus saying, the narrator of this episode sanjaya the embodiment of wisdom mentions it is a great thing to see the supreme lord in the universal form and how the individual-self praised the form again.) The concluding words of Supreme-self “be my devotee, perform duties as I assign, give up attachment, do not hate any being, and always keep the universal form of mine in the mind”

Individual-self raised a doubt: What is the better mode of the devotion of you? One which takes a form of you as supreme or the other which takes no form?

Supreme-self answered: Those who take me as not having the form and consider me as the basis of everything will reach me. But this form of devotion is difficult to achieve for those who have not understood me in principle. So, others who take one of the most appealing forms of me and worship through the form will achieve the needed peace and balance of mind more easily.

Focus your intellect and mind on me. If that is not possible put yourself in practice to bring the mind to focus using a method of practice. If that is also not possible then perform actions with an attitude of serving me. If that is also not possible, just renounce all the results of action in me. It is better to have knowledge than practice without knowledge, much better is meditation than knowledge, and better than meditation is renouncing all fruits of action to me.

Not hating anything, not desiring anything, with the balanced outlook, performing all the actions diligently leaving the results in me, such an individual is very dear to me. Taking the equal view of friends and foes, in the praise and criticism, contended with what is available, one who has stabilized the mind is the yogi most dear to me.

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Having understood the nature of the individual and the Supreme Self, now the individual self gets into the most complex part of the spiritual inquiry — finding the relation between these two entities.

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Individual-Self inquired: Now I want to know the details of physical and spiritual nature, of the field and the knower of the field and of the knowledge and known.

Supreme-Self answered: Oh dear! This body verily is the field. One who considers this as “I am” is the knower of that field. But the real knower of all fields is really ME. Knowing this truth is real knowledge.

The lower knowledge consists of all the lower nature which is transforming and decaying. All the transforming nature consisting of five elements, sense organs, mind, intellect, and ego is temporary. Along with this the like & dislike, pain & pleasure, a mixture of all these is the larger field known as kshetra in brief. That consciousness which is spread equally across this larger field is ONE without any differentiation created by any of the elements of lower nature. That is the real knowable, having known that one attains the supreme understanding. While everything is changing through the cycle, that which is changeless is the supreme. Seeing such beginningless, endless, undiminishing reality while being in the changing and transforming body is the real vision that gives eternal peace. Such a knower is the best knower of everything.

Supreme-Self continued: Let me explain the knowledge of differentiation as well. In primordial nature, three distinct qualities are in equilibrium. Sattva, rajas, tamas dominate each other rising that attitude by overpowering the other two. In them, sattva leads to attracting light, brightness, and pleasure. Rajas lead to activity, attachment, and desire. Tamas leads to ignorance, indolence & sleep, and delusion. By sattva an individual raises up, by rajas one holds on and by tamas one degrades downward. Thereby multiple types of beings arise with varying combinations of these three qualities.

Individual-Self enquired: What are the means to rise above the three qualities?
Supreme-Self answered: By not attaching to any of them, by not entertaining any special attitude with any of them, being equal to everything, not desiring, not hating anything taking a balanced approach is the only method to rise above them and attain the highest beyond all the bondage of these qualities.

Supreme-self continued: Rooted above and growing downwards, with leaves being the knowledge, spreading its branches up and downwards, grown by the qualities, surrounded by the objects of enjoyment, having actions as roots, the tree of life spreads in the world of people.

With the sword of detachment, one should cut away the roots of this tree to come out to the path that leads to the supreme. By rising above the duality of pairs one should walk to the supreme abode where the sunlight is no longer bright, nor do stars shine there nor do the fire. No known light capable of showing that other than the light of the self. Senses and the mind can only grasp the objective world. The power behind all of them is mine. Hence one who attains me experiences the universal reality existing everywhere, but not touched by anything. Such one knows me as supreme and released completely from all bondage.

Supreme-Self continued: Fearlessness, purity, establishing in the path of knowledge, charity, control, sacrifice, self-study, austerity, straightforwardness, nonviolence, truthfulness, non-vengeance, modesty, peace, compassion, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, non-fickleness, vigor, fortitude, forgiveness, absence of pride is the divine wealth, O descendant of bhArata! In contrast, hypocrisy, arrogance, self-conceit, wrath, harshness, and ignorance are the daemonic wealth!

The divine wealth liberates and the daemonic wealth leads to bondage. In each action and inaction, individuals acquire the tendencies of divine or daemonic natures. Due to non-discrimination, driven by passionate desires more and more daemonic tendencies acquired will lead to the fall of individual deeply into ignorance and bondage. They continue to strengthen the ego in both success and failure and fall further deep into delusion. They go into the painful cycle of birth and death again and again.

There are three doors to the regions of darkness — they are lust, anger, and greed. One who does not fall into these three trapped doors by discriminating intellect rises above to brighter regions of existence. By taking up actions as prescribed by the SAstra one rises up. So, take up the scripture as the guideline for all your actions.

Individual-self asked: Those who take up duties with faith but not following the prescription of SAstra, what happens to them?

Supreme-self explained: The faith is divided into three categories according to the predominant nature as explained above (sattvic, rajasic & tamasic). If the predominant nature is sattvic then they worship divine beings, for those who have rajasic nature they worship powerful beings, those with tamasic nature worship the dark-powers leading to trouble. As per the effort and tendency, they go to the respective regions and enjoy or suffer the results of their actions. They also get attracted to their own type of food and enjoyments predominated by their own natures. Only sattvic faith leads to divine temperament and thereby leads towards liberation. The rajasic and tamasic faith leads to more bondage.

Individual-self requested: Oh! Lord of senses, I want to know what is renunciation (sannyasa)? I want to know what constitutes giving-up of fruits (tyaga) in reality. Please explain.

Supreme-Self answered: Renunciation is putting away passionate actions. Non-attachment to all the results of all actions is called giving up fruits of action.

Sacrifice, charity, and austerity are the three purifying actions that should never be given up. No obligatory actions should be given up thinking that they are a burden. This kind of giving up is due to the nature of tamas and leads to delusion. Giving up action thinking that this gives me more pain than pleasure is the tendency of rajas. This kind of renunciation leads to mixed results. The best way of renunciation is the performance of duties with no attachment whatsoever to the results thereof. This kind of renunciation is the sattvic renunciation. Not hating any action as disagreeable and not taking up any action as acceptable is the indication of wisdom.

The results of actions are categorized into three groups: agreeable, non-agreeable, and mixed based on the tendency towards them. The field, actions, actor, instruments used, past experience — these five are the causes of all action that appears in the mind, speech, and body layers of actions either they are good or bad.

One who sees everything that is seated in a single universal self and performs any action without passionate desire as a duty to be performed is not touched by the results and liberates. Any other attitude leads to bondage.

It is best to take up actions that suit one’s own nature. It is difficult and frightening to imitate others' actions by copying. Even if it appears to be defective, one’s own actions with the right attitude of non-attachment to the results do not cause harm to the self. Non-attachment alone will lead to rising above the bonds of actions.

Giving up EGO, greed, and desire by non-attached actions one gets established in the higher path leading to eternal beyond all grief and desire.

Being balanced towards all beings, devoted to me, understanding my nature in essence, experiences me and merges in me. Even while performing all actions he gets established in my Supreme-nature.

So, resigning all the actions in me with non-attachment to them and results establish yourself in the duty; fight this righteous war. Or come under the control of ego and temporarily if you give up fighting, you will be dragged into this war by your own nature.

I am the lord of all being here moving everything here by my own potency. Take refuge in me by taking this counsel to attain everlasting peace and eternal bliss. Having understood all that I have said, do whatever you wish.

This message should not be given to anyone who has not developed sraddha i.e., faith. Anyone who hears this discussion with faith and implements its essence in the life they are assured to reach and merge in me the SUPREME.

Have you heard all this carefully? Did your delusion disappear?

Individual-self asserted: Oh great supreme-self! I have carefully heard, understood and all my doubts and delusion is removed by your grace. I shall do as per your advice.

Having narrated all this discussion between Individual-Self and Supreme-Self to ignorance, Wisdom said: This wonderful discussion between both of them on the battlefield is really enlightening. By remembering this conversation and reviewing the wonderful form shown by the supreme-self, I rejoice again and again!

So, O king! Listen to my conclusion: wherever there is the lord of yoga kRshna (the supreme-self) wherever the individual-self (arjuna) is ready with his resolve, there will be prosperity, victory, and righteousness. That is my firm opinion.

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Thus, we conclude this message covering the best spiritual discussion between the individual and supreme and reconcile the universality of immutable conscious SELF.

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