177. Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 15, Verses 7-9 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Bhagavad Gita - Swami Sarvapriyananda - Vedanta Society of New York - Archives

Swami Sarvapriyananda explores Chapter 15, Verses 7–9 of the Bhagavad Gita, explaining the nature of the self, samsara, and liberation. He discusses the illusion of the material world and the path to realizing one's true, infinite nature as pure consciousness.

Key takeaways

• Our true nature is infinite consciousness, not the body or mind.
• Samsara is a cycle of suffering due to ignorance of our real self.
• Liberation comes from realizing 'I am that'—the infinite, not limited by birth or death.

Transcript preview

Oom, was Soudevas, sootam, Devam, comes a charno Ramadanam. Devakiram, dewahiram, Devakiram, Devakiramandam, Krijanao, and then, and then, Krasnam, Krasnamvahvah, gagad guru. We are studying the 15th chapter, Purushotama yoga. The sixth verse, a beautiful verse. Nata Baha Sayatei Suurio, Nashashankona, nahas, and jatwara, and tahma, paramamamam. We were discussing this last time. I don't know when the last time was, but anyway. This is the sixth verse of the 15th chapter. Very poetic verse. So this 15th chapter. if you recall, it starts by describing Samsara, world, our lives. And it describes it as a tree, as the great Banyan tree, the great tree of Samsara. And the tree is a little strange because its roots are up there. And that means they are transcendent. They are subtle. And its branches and leaves are down here. Which means our real nature, down here means this physical. world where we live, our bodies, this world we inhabit, what's going on here, other people, this physical world of matter, and there are subtler and subtler layers to our existence. And the subtlest of all, it says the roots are in the air and roots are above and the branches are below, this very strange tree. The roots means the source of all this, the origin of all this, the foundation of all this, the foundation of all this, the the reality behind all this is at man, rumen, pure consciousness, God, whatever you call it. There's a spiritual reality behind all this, and that's our real nature. But we do not know it. And then it goes on to say, what is that real nature and that we should investigate and find that out? This verse is very beautiful. He says, what is that spiritual nature? And that we should investigate and find that out. It says, Notad Vasa yout Euryo, or Shanko, napawvaca. Yad-Gatwa, and Yad-Gatwa, and Yat-Gatwa, and Yvatantet, and Dharma, Paramamamamam, mama. Very beautiful verse. It says, that reality is not illumined by the sun, nor by fire. This is a sixth verse. again into this world of some sort of some sort of some sort of so this possibility that there is a spiritual existence spiritual reality which is our goal until we attain to that we will keep coming back to this as the poet says this veil of veil of tears we'll keep coming back and we'll keep repeating these little dramas which we we're going through some sorry video Christian worldview, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, it is this one life, this is Samsara. In the Dharmic world views, in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Sikhism, it's, this is Samsara is not just one life, it's multiple lives. You exist after you are dead and you'll come back again, but that's not good news because you repeat and repeat. But the point of it is that this limited existence is the veil of tears. It is subject to sorrow, unhappiness, lack of fulfillment, even when things go well, which they really do. Even when they go well, they are not perfectly satisfying ever. This is called the existential angst, the existentialists in the 20th century. They call it the existential angst. It's perfect. It's perfect. And then I was in a perfect society, at least they think they're a perfect society just a few weeks back, couple of weeks back, in Sweden. And the Scandinavian countries, they always regularly rank way up there, you know, in the top 10, always in standards of living. And they're really wonderful societies, wonderful, really great societies. in a spirituality, at least in religion, let alone spiritual, not particularly interested. And one of the gentlemen who hosted my family, they said he was an Indian gentleman, he said he was asking one of his Swedish friends, why not? Why is it that generally people have lost interest in spirituality or religion in religion? And his friend told him who was a Swedish gentleman. He said, he said, because this society, exact words have forgotten, This is it gives me all that I seek and if one day it breaks then I'll have to look for God or something. But so far it's good. Now even in that society, even in Sweden or I was in Norway and in Sweden, in Norway or Denmark, in Switzerland, and even if all things go well, it's still you're going to go old. You're going to have aches and pains. Things will not go so well physically. People you know and love, they will die and go away. And you'll face illness, loneliness, emptiness. Even when things are going very well, you'll still face pointlessness. And those are problems there. Oh, that Swedish gentleman told this gentleman, this person who asked a question. He said, if this society breaks, then I will look forward. God. So it's a great society, but even when it's not broken, these questions are still there. What's the point of it all? Very soon. Because death is there for everybody. The question arises. And the Hindu or the Buddhist, the Indian worldview, it just says it's the same thing. It's a wash cycle, rinse and repeat again. life or many lives, it's the same thing. So we come back again and again to this veil of tears. Why? Until we attain, is there any escape from this? Yes, there is. I remember seeing a cartoon. One gentleman is speaking to an American gentleman speaking to an Indian person and the American says, I'm a born-again Christian. And the Indian says, I'm a born again and again and again Hindu. But both are in the same problem. It's still not, whether you are in India or the United States or even if you are in Sweden, it's still the veil of tears. Do you think there's no sorrow there? There is. There is sadness, emptiness, meaninglessness, even when things are well, things are going well. What's the point of it all? And is there a point? There's nothing except this that's called materialism. But all religions, all religions with one voice, it's interesting. They all declare that there is something transcendent, something that's beyond this empirical world. This is what is being said here. That reality, which is Yat-Gat-Twa, Nibat-Tante, that d'hama, paramamamamamamamamam. That is my transcendent about going to... which one does not come back into this veil of tears. Until then, why veil of tears? It's just a school which we pass through. We learned that the limited, our nation, we are not satisfied by the limited, and that's why they're tears. What will satisfy us? Only the unlimited will satisfy us. We are infinite. We are infinite. We are not satisfied by the limited. That's why they're And the non-dualistic schools say that it is in fact you. If you would truly know yourself, you are that. Taktwa Masi. So very beautifully it is said, Yat-Gatwa nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nahmah nahmahmahmah mahmahmah mahmahmahmahmahmah mahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahmahm not this mere human fire. So what does it's a reference to a mantra found in the kathoponishad in the mundakoponishad in the Shweta shwatoshwata or Upanishad so on the Upanishad. No Dr. Suriobhahati. No, Dr. Suuwahabhati. Kudha. Kutohhahad. No, nor the moon, nor the nachandrata, nor the stars, nor even lightning or this mere mortal fire. But that shining, everything else shines, by its light, everything here is lit up. You find it in the Upanishad. Kata, O'Panishad, Mundak Upanishad, Shwethashwatar Upanishad. What's he talking about? What's that light? That shining, everything else shines? It's consciousness. It is awareness. It is our real nature. You shining, everything else shines, by your light everything here is lit up. You means the real you, not the body you, not even the mind you, not even this little being you. And what's the use of that? Of knowing that? Knowing that, Yagatwa, having gone where, going there means to know that, to know that, I am that. Tatwa, you are that. When we realize that, here it says, Naniwat Tante. They do not come back into this veil of tears anymore. Why do they not come back? Because they have realized their limitless nature. I am the limitless. I am not a little mind or a little body. The bodies are born and they perish. They die. The minds do not die, but they inhabit these mortal bodies from lifetime to lifetime. So we are born again and again and again. We die again and again. The Christian said, I'm a born again Christian. And to him the Hindu replied I'm a born again and again and again. But both are in the same bucket because they're repeating the same cycle again and again. What is our real nature? This is our real nature. Very beautiful it is said. It is that light which shining everything is illumined. That shining all else shines after it. Consciousness shining, the mind is revealed. The mind is revealed. The mind is revealed. shining our bodies and this world is revealed and this we move about this world as limited sentient beings as these individuals but our real nature is not the body our real nature is not even the mind our real nature is this limitless consciousness which we are so this is what we had done this last time we had read up to this now he comes to this gee one nature the absolute pure consciousness What are we right now? Number seven, verse number seven. Tani Karshati. Takhkah Shati. Verily a part of myself having become this eternal embodied soul draws to this world of beings the senses with the mind as the sixth which rests in nature of Prakriti. Now it explains what's going on here. If I am that infinite consciousness, Brahmin, all very good. But what's all this? Why am I here? in some saara, whether it's in India or Sweden or in New York, wherever I am, why am I here? What's going on here? And this verse, he starts, there's a sequence of verses starting here, explains our human destiny, what we are right now. Why are we like this right now and where are we going? Or where should we go? How do we attain to liberation and freedom from this human condition? What is this human condition? What is this human condition? into freedom from it. It says, Mamay Wangsha, verily a part of me, an aspect of me, a part of me, in this world of sentient beings. Having become a sentient being, I roam about in this world. All right, so this is an important verse. It tells us what we are right now. It's a description of what exactly we are right now. Yes, we are infinite consciousness. Atman, Brahman, Chidan and Darup, a shiboupe, our real spiritual nature. But what explains this? What are we supposed to do here? Why are we like this? Here is a, I'm quoting from one of the commentaries on the Gita. This commentary is called Shridhar a commentary. One Shridhar swami was there. So in his commentary he introduces this verse, verse number seven as in Sanskrit he writes, I'm skipping a little bit. Sushipi Prayta, Sarvahmasi, Kona mamma samsari, Siyat. He says that you're saying that when you attain to your nature, oh Krishna you're talking about your transcendent nature, when we attain to your nature, when we lose our human nature, attain to your nature, we never come back again. That is the end that we realize you remain as this infinite being. Then he says here, he raises a question, the commentator raises a question, Sri Dharswam, he raises a question, that at the end of the Cosmos, you have to think about the cycle of creation, existence and destruction, Sri Shishtist, Triti Prayabich, the Hindus, Buddhist, and so the Indian idea of the Cosmos is created, the world exists for some time, then it's destroyed, then it's destroyed. It's a cycle of creation, existence and destruction in Sanskrit, Shristi, Stitti Praleo. The cycle goes on. When this world is finally dissolved, destroyed, then there are no more worlds, there are no more societies, no living beings, no bodies. We then will become absorbed in that one pure consciousness as a source of this entire universe. Where do we come from in that case? Why did we ever come back again here? Why did we ever come back again here? at all. And not only the end of the universe, who knows what will happen then. Every night when we fall asleep, the world is gone. We have no experience of our bodies. We do not even experience the world of dreams. So basically the physical external world is gone, the world of mind and thought and dream and imagination, that's also gone. So we are gone. Why do I ever even wake up again? Where do I come back from? He says, Kona maamam samsari siaar. Where does this samsari come from? Samsari means this person, this sentient being caught in the cycle of samsara, lifetime after lifetime. And he says, why lifetime after lifetime? Why day after day, every night I fall asleep I should be gone. Should not come back. And so the answer here. Basically the question is what's, I understand that ultimate reality existence consciousness. So I sort of get it. But what are we right now right now, this, what are right now right now, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this is right now, this, this is right now, this, this, this is right now, this is right now, this is right now, this is right now, this is right now, this, this is right now, this, this, this is right now, this, this is right sentient being. What are we right now? And then this explanation of the sentient being. Very nice, an important description. He says, Mamay Wangsho Jiva, an aspect of me, a part of me, in this world of Samsar, in the world of Jivas, I project myself forth as the Jiva. So what are we right now? What are we? And Krishna's answer is, is, you are I. You know the joke about I and me? Yeah, I do know the joke about I and me? The what? So this person, St. Peter at the gates of heaven, people are coming for entry into the gates of heaven and somebody knocks and St. Peter, and St. Peter asks, who is it? St. Peter, at the gates of heaven? And, another English teacher. Because it is I is correct. It's not it's me. It's I. We always say it's me. something tremendous. He says, Mama E. Vangsha, it is an aspect of me or it is I. It is I. Therefore, we are not this physical body in that case. We are not even this subtle body, the mind in that case. We are none other than God. We are one with God. Because God is saying that I come forth as a sentient being in the world. What you are is me. It is I, who is me. It is I who are and you're right you what you think of yourself you are wrong in your real nature it is I so our is a very important thing here our real nature is divine is one with God already a hum Brahmsme I am Brahmin that you are that is the meaning of that mamamam sure an aspect of me or part of me he says and okay in this world of beings. This world of beings I embody myself forth as you. How are we that one reality? It's because we do not know ourselves. Not knowing ourselves, we think we are this body. And more than this, this subtle body, the mind and intellect and all that. We don't know anything beyond that. If we were asked to describe ourselves, who are we? You'd say, I am, this. And but this body is born and it dies. If we think we are just this body, then we are born with the birth of the body and we die with the death of the body. But we are not just this body. Even right now, without any spirituality, we can see there is another aspect to us. There is a subtle inner existence. There is a subtle inner existence. all have an inner experience. I am thinking, I am experiencing, I am seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, I enjoy pleasure and I suffer from pain, I have memories, all these inner experiences are going on in each one of us and that's arguably more important to us than these physical bodies. Now the materialist here will say, oh that's just the body. The brain is projecting all that. If brain is generating, what you call, all this inner experience, the brain is generating it. Then you will run into what is called the hard problem of consciousness. How is the brain generate? The brain is certainly doing lots of things. If you scan the brain, what will you get? You'll get a lot of little brain-like activities. You'll get a little electrical activities in the neurons. You'll get some electrochemical activities in the brain itself. They're all physical. Can you catch a thought? Can you catch a feeling, a burst of joy? you track the fMRI scans but you are tracking minute electrical activity in the brain where is the joy where is the pain where is the memory so it's no it's that electrical activity how we are missing a question here we are missing a big step here I always remember that there's a cartoon I referred to this earlier somebody is doing a mathematical derivation step one step two step three step four step one math Step four complicated max. But step three is written a miracle. And the professor is telling the student you need to work on step three. Yes. We have step one to what is going on. The activities in the brain can be tracked and we also have we can also experience our own experience of the world. between what happens. If you say that the brain alone is generating you, the conscious being, there's a jump there. This jump is what's called the hard problem of consciousness. There's a so-called easy problems, so-called quote-unquote easy problems. This categorization is by our New York University is there, David Chalmers. So the so-called easy problems are problems of correlation. If I'm having a particular experience what kind of brain activity is going on in my brain. this color, what brain activity is going on in the visual cortex, then we'll correlate. It's a science of correlations. But the harder problem is, how is that electrical activity giving rise to first-person experience? So that's the big question. So we have a physical existence in this world. We have a mental inner existence in this world. So here he says, gee, in this world, I am appearing to you in the physical body and the subtle body. Physical body is not the end of our existence. Birth of the physical body, then the death of the physical body, we think that's what we are. But no, that's not who we are. Because we all of us have an inner experience going on. We have thoughts, we are feelings, we are memories. This inner experience is what is being called the Jiva, the sentient being, who's inhabiting a living body. There's a full description of it in Belant. What is this inner being? It's called a subtle body. So we have a physical body and a subtle body. And the subtle body is not theological, not something imagined or spoken about in religion which cannot be verified. No, it's directly a matter of our experience. Very interestingly. It's a matter of our experience. Very interestingly. We are all experiencing it right now. Who doesn't have thoughts? Who doesn't have feelings? Who doesn't have memories? And science can see the, with our tracking of brain activity, we can see the physical correlates of that. But how the brain activity is producing those inner experiences which all of us are having, what we call mind, memory, sensory experience, pain, pleasure, that we are unable to explain. This is the so-called