Geeta Dhara – My Path

We are not a physical body. The body is a mere garment, a dwelling for the Soul to live in. The one who lives in it is the affectionate Self. The real base of the body is constituted by Sanskar, the merits-the influences and impressions-earned during a previous existence. And Sanskar rests upon the mind.

Perfect subjugation of the mind, so that it can be changeless, firm, and constant, and the dissolution of the last Sanskar, are all different aspects of the same process. The disintegration of the last crust of this Sanskar marks the end of physical existence. To bring about this dissolution we have to undertake aradhana (meditation), worship and adoration, of the desired God.

We are often asked who we are? Some of us say that we are Soul. But Bhagavad Gita contradicts this: like the nature of their inherent disposition is their faith, and so thus is the person from initial stage till attainment of ultimate bliss through out the total cycle of life journey.

The Bhagavad Gita provides an insight into what true Yog is. Maharshi Patanjali was also a yogi and we have his yog system of philosophy. According to him yog is perfect restraint of the mind. And the use of this arduous discipline is that in this state the onlooker, the individual Soul enshrined in the human body, comes to rest firmly in his own eternal, true counterpart. Is he tainted before this union?

In Patanjali’s view the Soul is earlier the same as the predilection of the man who embodies it. And Bhagavad Gita also affirms that man is naturally endowed with the quality of faith, indeed totally immersed in it. There is some dedication in him and he is moulded by the character of his faith. A man is what his natural inclination is.

There is no way by which we may sit idly, just telling ourselves: “I am God, pure and wise. For me there is no action and no bondage. Even if I may appear as participating in evil, it is really only my senses functioning according to their nature.” There is no such hypocrisy in Lord Krishn’s words.

But Lord Krishna sings in Bhagavad Gita:

“Above senses there is the mind

and above mind there is the intellect,

and the one which lies above all of them is the Soul within,

supremely powerful and yet subtle.’’

So man is not so helpless after all. He has an armory of plentiful arms with which he can wage war with strength and confidence. He can use his mind against the senses, his intellect against the mind, and above all these there is his Soul, all powerful and yet un-manifest. That Soul is the real “us,” and so we are strong enough to subdue not only our senses, but also our mind and intellect. Yes, the Soul is the real “us” but we can claim this only after getting Self Realized.

In Chapter Six, Verse Twenty of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna sings:

“In the state in which even the Yog restrained mind is dissolved by a direct perception of God, the worshipper rests contented in his Self.’’

This state is achieved only by a constant and long practice of Yog (meditation). In the absence of such exercise, there can be no restraint of the mind. So when the intellect, the refined mind that has been curbed by yog, also ceases to be because it is absorbed in God, the worshipper perceives him through his Self and abides with contented happiness in his own Self. He apprehends God, but he dwells contented in his Soul. In the moment of attainment he sees God, face to face as it were, but the very next moment he finds his own Self overflowing with the eternal glories of that God.

God is immortal, constant, un-manifest, and vital; and now the worshipper’s soul too is imbued with these divine attributes. True, but now it is also beyond thought. So long as desire and its urges exist, we cannot possess the Self. But when the mind is restrained and then dissolved by direct perception, the very next moment after the visionary experience the embodied Soul is endowed with all the transcendental qualities of God. And it is for this reason that the worshipper now lives happily and contented in his own Self. This Self is what he really is. This is the point of crowning glory for him.

Bow down in lotus feet of revered Gurudev Swami Shree Adgadanand Jee Paramhans for such learning to me.

Humble Wishes.

~mrityunjayanand.