Shri Krishna Speaks: Abode of Almighty

Shri Krishna Speaks: Abode of Almighty

*|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||*🌷🙏*

*॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 15.6॥*

_न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः ।_

_यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम॥_

*भावार्थ :* 

उस परम-धाम को न तो सूर्य प्रकाशित करता है, न चन्द्रमा प्रकाशित करता है और न ही अग्नि प्रकाशित करती है, जहाँ पहुँचकर कोई भी मनुष्य इस संसार में वापस नहीं आता है वही मेरा परम-धाम है। (६)

*Meaning*:

That in which the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor fire, that is my supreme abode. Having attained that, there is no return.

*Explanation*:

Shri Krishna listed the qualifications of a seeker in the prior shloka, and asserted that one who takes his refuge will attain his abode. He now provides the location, the address of that abode. He says that there is no sun, no moon, no fire, in other words, no source of light in his abode. Initially we would feel a little frightened if we take the literal meaning of this shloka. Even cavemen were able to access some light source in the form of the sun, the moon, or fire from a wooden torch. Why would anyone want to go to such a place?

 

The sun, the moon and fire have symbolic interpretations which are extremely relevant here. The sun is the presiding deity of our intellect, the moon of our mind and emotions, and fire of our physiological functions. The one who has sought refuge in Ishvara automatically gives up affinity to his body, mind, intellect, ego (which resides in the intellect) and physiological functions. If this affinity, the root of all our sorrow, is given up, such a person will never again get caught in the wheel of birth of death, in the cycle of samsaara. This is liberation.

 

So then, this is the abode of Ishvara, of self realization, of liberation. Having reached there, the liberated person does not come back to the state of ignorance. He never gets deluded again. He never identifies or develops affinity with body, mind, intellect and the world. The duality, the pairs of opposites, the dvandva that was mentioned before, is nothing but the world. For such a person, neither joy nor sorrow, neither pain nor pleasure, neither friend nor enemy, nothing can destabilize him. This is liberation.

*Continuously Chant The mantra you have faith in ||*🌹

Shri Krishna Speaks: Attaining Liberation

Shri Krishna Speaks: Attaining Liberation

*|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||*🌷🙏*

*॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 14.26॥*

_मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।_

_स गुणान्समतीत्येतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते॥_

*भावार्थ :* 

जो मनुष्य हर परिस्थिति में बिना विचलित हुए अनन्य-भाव से मेरी भक्ति में स्थिर रहता है, वह भक्त प्रकृति के तीनों गुणों को अति-शीघ्र पार करके ब्रह्म-पद पर स्थित हो जाता है। (२६)

*Meaning*:

And he who worships me with the unwavering yoga of devotion, having gone beyond these gunas, becomes fit for attaining brahman.

*Explanation*:

Since this chapter is coming to an end, let us do a quick recap. We learned that this entire universe, including our mind and body, is nothing but the play of the three gunas of Prakriti - sattva, rajas and tamas. Only when we learn to stand apart from the gunas, when we separate ourselves from the gunas, can we attain liberation from the endless cycle of sorrow known as samsaara. For most of us, such a high degree of discrimination is extremely difficult. Moreover, such discrimination needs to be combined with dispassion as well as total control of the mind and the sense organs.

 

Knowing the impediments of fulfilling all these requirements, Arjuna wanted to know whether there was a straightforward way of releasing oneself from the influence of the gunas. Shri Krishna says that yes, it is possible. The answer is the yoga of unwavering devotion, which was the topic of chapters seven to twelve. In a nutshell, we detach ourselves from the gunas by attaching ourselves to something higher, which is Ishvara. It is like the child who gives up his toys because he loves poetry now that he is a teenager.

 

This yoga of devotion is not completely without effort, however. Shri Krishna adds an adjective that we need to bear in mind - avyabhichaarena or unwavering. We cannot keep Ishvara as our goal from 7 am to 8 am and then start thinking about how to demolish our competitors from 8 am to 11 am. The one and only goal should be Ishvara. If all our goals are within the scope of our svadharma, our prescribed role in this world, they very naturally are part and parcel of our devotion towards Ishvara.

 

Having made Ishvara our only goal, and having maintained such an awareness throughout our life, we become fit to attain brahman. How does that happen? The next and last shloka of this chapter addresses this topic.

*Continuously Chant The mantra you have faith in ||*🌹