Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 7: Verse 16 - Verse 22)

In this episode, we discuss the 7th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, specifically verses 16 - 22. 

Translation used: The Bhagavad Gita Comes Alive: A Radical Translation by Jeffrey Armstrong

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Transcript

0:02

Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Bearded Mystic Podcast and I'm your host, Rahul N. Singh. Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode. Today we will be continuing on with my thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita. But before we do begin, there's a few announcements I would like to make. Please do give your support to the Bearded Mystic Podcast by signing up to our Patreon page where you can get ad free and bonus episodes like my thoughts on the Upanishads and other benefits depending on the tier you select. Details are in the show notes and video description below. You can also get the bonus episodes on Buzzsprout subscriptions and Apple Podcast subscriptions. The details for that are in the show notes and video description below.

Every Saturday at 11: 0:48

00 AM Eastern Standard time. There is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and Q and A, it's a very relaxed discussion. If you're interested in attending that, you can find the details in the show notes and video description, if you're interested in attending the meditation session, remember it's free and open to whether you're a beginner or an expert. If you have any questions, you can ask them in the new series, Direct and Unfiltered with the Bearded Mystic. More information is in the show notes and video description below. Please like, comment, and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube and if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast streaming app, please rate and review the podcast and do follow or subscribe to get future episodes. Today we will be continuing on with our thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita, and we're going to be looking at chapter seven, verses 16 to 22. There's a lot to unpack in today's episode, so what I would say is get ready. It's going to be a deep episode. Some of my favorite verses are in this episode itself. Verse 16. Listen Arjuna, there are four kinds of humans who are already devoted to me and act for the benefit of all beings. There's the arto which is they feel the miseries around them and ask Me for help. Jigyasu - They are curious and seek higher knowledge from Me. Artharthi which is they seek wealth from me for idealistic reasons to alleviate distress in society. And Gyani, their strongest desire is to acquire self-actualizing wisdom by which to know Me. So very interesting, we're going to break this verse up as I mentioned earlier. Listen, Arjuna, there are four kinds of humans who are already devoted to me and act for the benefit of all beings. Very simply, we, we are understanding here that Sri Krishna is talking about people who are already devoted to him. So there's, these are four types of devotees, and not only that, they are looking to benefit many or benefit all beings. So it's not that they're doing anything out of selfish reasons, they are quite selfless in the sense of they're looking out for others. It's not just for themselves. So we are going to look at how four kinds of human beings are kind of approaching the Ultimate Reality in their own way. So not necessarily through the way that we probably talk about here on the podcast, but we shouldn't discount the other three types of, or the other two types of devotees because in a way we are all interlinked and we all want to work with each other. So that's the most important thing I want to say before we go into the four types of devotees or four types of humans who are devoted to Brahman and look for the benefit of all beings. Now the Arto Bhakt, which is really, they feel the miseries around them and ask Me for help. They feel the misery for their own self. They recognize that they are not happy, they recognize that they're miserable, so they wanna do something about it. and they wanna do something about all their problems and sufferings, so they feel it. They are very intense about it. So they ask God for help. You know, a lot of people do this where they will do a prayer or ardaas and they will ask for God to give them guidance because that's their support system. That's where they get the maximum support from. So from asking God, they feel that union, they feel that closeness. Not only that, but they also feel the misery for others around them. They can see that the world is in distress. They can see suffering in the world. They can see poverty, they can see the social injustices. They wanna do something about it. So again, they will ask God for help. They will ask this Brahman for guidance, but the moment they do this, remember they're, they're making God into something of nature. That's where it becomes Saguna Brahman. Now, we obviously always talk about Nirguna Brahman. Now that you can't ask anything from Nirguna Brahman. The moment you do Nirguna becomes Saguna because for it to help you, it would have to have some attributes. Yeah. Real meditation is with Nirguna so I want that to be established as well. Now, obviously these people pray to God because they want God to interfere in these matters. The second type of human here is Jigyasu. So they're curious and seek higher knowledge From me. The interesting thing here is that these people are seekers. A lot of us are probably in this camp where we are seeking. We want to know the answers. We want to discover the answers. We want to understand what this Reality is, how can we understand it? And so we look for all types of methods, whether that's doing puja, whether that's doing paaths, whether that's doing prayers, whether that's chanting mantras, whether that's fasting, whether that's doing, you know, the karma kanda type of actions or it's seeking scriptural knowledge, listening to kathas, listening to stories about the the divine incarnations. All those type of things are what a jigyasu would do. They want to know the truth. They're very honest about it. They will do their yoga, their acts, which will cause union, and they may go in and out of union too. Those are the people who will go in and out of samadhi. Those people are jigyasus, they are, they're the true seekers. And they will go to different gurus and they will probably Guru hop too, go to one, and then the next one. But what they're doing is seeking clarity. They want clarity, they're seeking the divine. And so they read the scriptures and they are sincere and honest in their searching. A lot of people, I hope are jigyasus, they want to seek higher knowledge about Brahman. And then he says artharthi bhakt, so the artharti devotees. They seek wealth from me for idealistic reasons to alleviate distress in society. First of all, they want their desires met because they want to get rich. They want to get powerful so then they can help society. They want to get money to do charitable acts. It's noble, it's nice. They want to help society. They pay their fair share of taxes. They're looking after the, you know, as I said, the Deva of taxes. They're doing their work. They're doing their thing, but at the end of the day, it's something that's done for an idealistic reason, and they're not really doing things for their own mukti, their own liberation. Then the fourth one, which is the most important one, and I hope that the people that do listen to this podcast, that even if you're not at this stage, that you're looking to get to this point where you are the Gyani devotee, the Gyani human being, where you want to have that strong desire to acquire self-actualizing wisdom by which to know Me. So having that Brahm Gyana, that, that knowledge of Brahman. For me, this is where I want to be. That's what I want. That's what I really desire. So, on a personal note, this is exactly what I am. I won't say that I've reached there, definitely, that's what I really want. I wanna have that self-actualizing wisdom. I want that Brahm Gyana and if I, when I have that Brahm Gyan, I want to actualize it. I want to embody it. I wanna become it. I don't want anything else and if I get anything else, it's a lovely bonus. I literally see that my family, my wife, everything that I have, my job, the house, the car, everything. It's all beautiful. It's a nice add-on. It's a nice bonus and I'm so grateful for it because all those things also help me in being a Gyani because I get to truly embody and practice it and see if it works. That's the other great benefit of this. This person, they want enlightenment. Yeah, they, that's the main task. That's the main purpose of their life. They want enlightenment. They want to be jivan-mukt. They want jivanmukti . They want to be liberated by life. They don't want to be free later on during death. They wanna be free now. They want to experience freedom. Freedom from suffering and pain in this life. Obviously these people are always seeking the highest wisdom because they want to know Brahman and understand that there is only Brahman. There is only this Formless, Awareness, nothing else. That's the ultimate point. Yeah, so the context really of this whole verse is that Sri Krishna describes the four types of devotees, and we must implore which one we are. Now, I've shared with you what I am in the comments or, uh, in the WhatsApp community group. Tell me which type of devotee are you and what do you hope to achieve from it, and are you looking to evolve to a higher one? Now, let's go to verse 17. Of these four, the person who is dedicated to acquiring knowledge about Me and engages directly in my service with eka-bhakti, single-minded devotion is most affectionately linked to Me. They are extremely Priya or 'beloved' to me, and I think of them constantly. Again, a verse that I absolutely love. Now, we obviously know that the Gyani Bhakt, the Gyani devotee is the most important one, and even my own Guru would ask and does ask that we become this type of devotee and that's devotee that we should try. The minimum is to be a jigyasu bhakt, to be one that is seeking, but to know is the Ultimate. Let's break this verse up a little. Of these four, the person who is dedicated to acquiring knowledge about Me and engages directly in my service with eka-bhakti, single-minded devotion is most affectionately linked to me. So the Gyani devotee is obviously the most dear and most affectionately linked to Brahman. Brahman is more, we are more aware of Brahman in this state. Yeah, so this shows the importance of wanting to have that Gyana of Brahman, to have that Brahm Gyana, to have that knowledge of Brahman, to have that insights into Brahman. Every action that we do is devoted to acquiring and sharing this Gyana. That's what we want to do. We want to share this knowledge. We want to get this knowledge and share it because the more we share it, not only are we remembering this knowledge, but also we are helping others to realize that we are one and the same. And here, Sri Krishna talks about it is done with single minded devotion. Single-minded. That's the only thing we can think about is Formless Awareness, acquiring Formless Awareness. Getting the wisdom of Formless Awareness, getting the insights into Formless Awareness. Getting that Brahm Gyana is the most important thing for us. We are single-mindedly devoted to that. We want nothing else. Yeah. This is the most important thing. Nothing else matters. Nothing else. Even if the best car was in front of you. Even if you were told that there's the chance that you can become the richest person in the world. And then there's this Brahm Gyana, this knowledge of Brahman, which one would you go for? You know what? I would go for Brahm Gyana.. I would wouldn't go for being the richest person. If I become the richest person, what's the guarantee that in this life or the next life, I will go for Brahm Gyana or that Brahm Gyana will become an opportunity for me like this. That's why you have to be really sure that you want Brahm Gyana. It's no little matter. Literally, once you come across Brahm Gyana, there's no looking back. Really isn't. And that's why I think if you asked me this maybe years ago, maybe I would've chosen to be the richest person in the world. But now, after having that taste, after being in the perfume of this Brahm Gyana, I don't think I would choose anything else because being rich has nothing on This. It really doesn't. If I become rich now after having Brahm Gyan is a different matter, but right now the most important thing is that I have the knowledge that is the most highest, the purest of knowledge, the purest of wisdom, and I have to really understand its value and treasure it in my heart. This person, yeah they have to renounce their desires, their emotions, their thoughts, and constantly remain in the remembrance of Brahman. They just wanna be in that mode of bhakti all the time, in that mode of devotion, because there's nothing else they know. They just see Brahman, Formless Awareness. There's only Formless Awareness. These objects are like waves, bubbles on a, on a wave. Not even the wave itself, but Brahman is the water. Is a thirsty person gonna look at the wave or is a thirsty person gonna look at water? A person who is a Gyani who wants the Truth will be the one that will not look at the wave and wonder how it's going to get the water. That person will just go for the water. And they are affectionately linked, highlighting the closeness of that relationship. Where I would even say there is a complete oneness. For example, you will always be in that Formless Awareness and you will not be able to escape it. It will not leave you in any way. It will always be right here. It cannot escape you. It cannot leave you, you cannot leave it. You don't have a choice now, J Krishnamurti said it's choiceless awareness. It really is. And being in that is something else. But when you add love to it, it's next level. That's where ananda-avastha comes in. When we enter into that state of true happiness beyond our senses. Yeah, that's, that's where it is. So remember the closeness of that relationship. When Sri Krishna says, most affectionately linked to Me means oneness. That's the highest. Remember, Brahm Gyana is meant to take you to oneness. That's advaita vedanta, taking you to oneness. That's the ultimate realization, that there is only one that's it. Then Sri Krishna says in that same verse that they are extremely priya 'beloved' to Me, and I think of them constantly. How amazing is that? It's reciprocated. It's not a one way love, it's a two-way love affair. You are affectionately linked to Brahman and Brahman adores you just as much. Gather from this. The more you link with Brahman, the more Brahman links with you. Now it may appear to be two. Eventually you realize that the two lines that you previously saw, that was so apparent now starts dissolving away. Yeah, that's what happens? Yeah, that's what happens. I mean, there's no other way for me to explain it. But anyway, let me explain the verse. So they are the most beloved to Brahman or in this case, even to the Guru. Even if one really worships Sri Krishna becomes one with Sri Krishna, they will become one with Brahman too. And even if you become one with your Guru, what is your Guru - that Highest Reality? Because that's where the Guru is always pointing towards. Now say you have a Guru and you're really affectionately linked with the Guru, what I found in my life was that the closer I got to Formless Awareness the closer my Guru got to me too. Like our relationship got stronger and that's the beauty of having a teacher or a role model or a spiritual friend who really helps you because they think of you too. The Guru will constantly think of you as you want to know this Ultimate Reality. When they know that you are really after the Truth, you become the most important thing to them too. Because most people go to a Guru. You can see they, they have crowds of people, but how many people really want what the Guru is talking about? Very few. And that's why it's so important that we have that right relationship with the Guru or the deity. Anyone. It's important to establish a correct relationship, align our real desires. If you just want to Guru to feel good, the Guru make you feel good for sure, but it'd be surface level. If you want that real integrated blissfulness, then Formless Awareness is the answer. So constantly remember Brahman and watch how you dissolve into Brahman, and you'll find that even Brahman is seeking you. That's exactly what happens. You will not be able to escape that oneness then. That once you are united, you are united and you'll find that the very thing you are seeking was also seeking you. You will discover this. This is my guarantee because I can say that happened to me and the more I remember this, the more This remembers me and then the more I remember this, I remember that we are one. So it's, that's the importance of remembrance. My Guru constantly emphasizes upon remembrance in sanskrit, it is called sumiran. How much of our time is connected to remembering that Supreme One? The context of the whole verse is Sri Krishna tells us that the devotee that seeks the Gyana is the most closest and most dear to Brahman Itself. Then verse 18. All four of these noble aspirins are highly evolved, but the persons who live only for Gyana are just like my own Atman, my very own self. Indeed, the jiva atma whose yoga is unwavering forever, abides in Me and finally attains Me as their ultimate and final destination. Now, Sri Krishna is talking in our language to show us it's a journey, but if you think about it again, what you're seeking is seeking you. That's the ultimate answer. So anyway, let's break this verse up. All four of these noble aspirants are highly evolved, but the persons who live only for Gyana are just like my own Atman, my very own Self. Here, let's put it this way, there is no need to look down on anyone. All four of these noble aspirants are highly evolved. The fact that they're looking for the greater good means a lot. They are valuable. All are highly evolved beings because their devotion has a larger picture in mind. Yeah, that's why. But we must remember that the Gyani devotee is just the same as Sri Krishna, or Brahman Itself. don't see them as different. There's no difference between the Gyani and Brahman. Simple as that. They're one and remember, live only for Gyana is mentioned, so we have to ask, are we living for the Gyana only? He talks about the persons who live only for Gyana are just like my own Atman, my own Self. Now people will interpret this as saying, well, people who read the Gita will gain Sri Krishna. And Sri Krishna's like, look at the one that I'm pointing to. Right now Sri Krishna is not Sri Krishna. We've established this earlier. He's speaking as Brahman. That's another insight a Gyani gives because anyone that doesn't understand will see Krishna something separate to Brahman or will say Brahman doesn't exist, or Brahman is lower than Krishna. Those people are fools, ignorant. remember Sri, Krishna says if a Gyani is the same as Sri Krishna, or is the same as Brahman, then the matter's clear. There's only one Atman, one Brahman, one Sri Krishna. There's different names for the same nameless one. That's all. And once we understand that, this Gita becomes a lot easier to understand. Than in the next line Sri Krishna says in that verse: Indeed, the jiva atman whose yoga is unwavering forever abides in Me and finally attains me as their ultimate and final destination. Now, the Jiva who is united with Brahman forever lives in Brahman and the whole of existence, there is a complete oneness with existence with Maya and Brahman. There's no separation here. This jiva only pursuing Gyana is unwavering in their abidance, meaning they are constantly living in Brahman. They don't see anything else. The screen is Brahman, the light is Brahman. The world outside is Brahman, and everything is Brahman. They know they're living in Brahman as Brahman. And as he says, attains Me meaning attains Brahman. So due to their yoga, due to their practice, due to their sadhana, they attain what they always were, which is Nirguna Brahman, the attribute-less one. This becomes the ultimate and highest destination. This is what we look for, and it is the final destination as I mentioned before, there's no coming back. There's no way you can enter back into the world and pretend that nothing ever happened. And this is jivanmukti. This is where we want to be. Remember Sri Krishna says the jiva atman . So now the Jiva removes its ignorance from being the body and mind, being Prakriti and moves to Nirguna Brahman. So when I say goes beyond Prakriti, even beyond Saguna Brahman or Ishwara, or God as the creator, sustainer and destroyer, it goes to Nirguna. So that's the most important thing to understand in this verse too. The context of the whole verse is Sri Krishna talks of how the Gyani devotee is most supreme, even though all four types are highly evolved. That Gyani devote attains jivanmukti because there is full abidance in Nirguna Brahman. So I just want to emphasize the abidance. You're constantly living in Nirguna Brahman, you're constantly living in Formless Awareness. And although objects are still around you because of the sensory data from the Jiva, of, the body and mind. But remember, you just see them as objects, not what you are. You'll see that their existence is because of you. That's the difference. Let's go to verse 19. After many, many births in pursuit of Divine Knowledge, one finally surrenders unto me alone saying Vasudeva sarvam iti.'Vasudeva is the vast source of all and is everything'. Such a Mahatma is very rare. So I'm gonna look at the whole verse altogether. It has been a long time that we've been searching for this Divine Knowledge. We've gone through many, many births as Sri Krishna says, you know, not just as human beings, but possibly, we've been living so many lives as different insects, animals, plants, different planets, probably, different aspects of the universe. So we've had different births and we probably have had a few human births too. And we've all been constantly searching for this Divine Knowledge, this knowledge of Nirguna Brahman. Knowing what we really are and the purpose of going through those many lives is to get closer to that birth where the Gyana will be revealed to us. We'll find that we live in a family maybe that is more associated with the Truth, or at least knows people who know the Truth. There'd be circumstances in where you will approach someone, or someone will approach you. Who has that very Truth? In this life is where Brahm Gyana is available. One receives it and attains a possibility of jivan mukti. This is the only opportunity. In this life, you will get it, and you should see that in this life you must. If you listen to this, for example, if the algorithm has got you to listen to this podcast or watch this podcast, this means to me that somewhere somehow you've been searching for this, that even these algorithms cannot hide it from you. That's the beauty that we have to understand because to come across such things is very rare. Very, very rare indeed. So what we need to do next? The next stage is to surrender our ignorance to Nirguna Brahman. That's what we need to surrender to. So we finally surrender to Nirguna Brahman. That's what Sri Krishna means by 'Me' alone. Remember, what is the only thing, what's the only omni-present thing? Nirguna Brahman Here Sri Krishna uses a different name for Nirguna Brahman, but again, it's a name that will mean a lot to Arjuna. So he uses the word Vasudeva sarvam iti. That Vasudeva is the vast source of all and it is everything. So one thing is it states here how, Brahman is vastness itself. So we should understand how vast Brahman is and how it is the only thing there is. All there is, is Brahman. That's all, literally. All I know is Brahman. That's the state of the Being. And then we see Brahman as everything and the only thing, such a being that says this feels this and becomes Brahman is very rare. Sri Krishna is already saying it now, to Arjuna such a person is very rare. Now you've gotta ask this question, are you going to be one of those rare ones that will get it? Or will you be the many that will listen, but go their own way? Just remember you're all evolving to that Highest Truth anyway. The context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna guides how rare the mahatma is, yeah the mahatma, he uses the word mahatma, that great soul, that great being is that surrenders to Brahman and sees Brahman as the only thing and source of all existence. Verse 20. Conversely, those whose discernment has been stolen by their hunger for pleasure making offerings to the lesser devas of material nature seeking benefits from them, the deva they choose to adore reflects the bias of their own unique material nature. Here we see that Sri Krishna is being a bit critical and maybe critical for a reason, because I would even go far to say here that if you make Sri Krishna a deva of material nature, that he has a physical form , that he can be seen in a form, he has a physical location, then you can understand that those people are in a bias of some sort. Someone who seeks Brahman cannot be biased in any way. It's impossible. What can you be biased about, something that is Nirguna, attribute-less? You can only be biased towards something that has an attribute. And what have people made Krishna into? An attribute. Sri Krishna is Brahman and people have lowered Sri Krishna's stature. When I say people, the people like in ISKCON or people who see Krishna as the Highest, as in the physical form of Krishna, the historical form of Krishna, the spiritual Guru Krishna. Essentially what Sri Krishna here is saying and giving a warning as if looking into the future and seeing what could happen to him. He knows that we just want to meet our own desires. That's why we ask for things. That's what we desire, that's what we look for in life. So, you know, when people ask you what is the purpose of life? What, what is your goal for life? What? What's your five year plan? 10 year plan? 20 year plan? Have you ever heard someone say mukti or jivan-mukti You only are going to go for what you really desire. Someone who is jivan-mukt may still get everything of material nature because they are the ground of all existence. You see the difference here. If you can capture this very subtle thing I've just said, let me know. I need to know in the comments that you captured it. Message me. Message in the WhatsApp community group. Let me know one way or another, on Instagram DM me. I think you can now DM me on TikTok too. Email me beardedmysticpodcast@gmail.com You'll find the answer. Tell me your answer. If all we want is pleasure and not spiritual attainment, that's what we are going to get. Pleasure. If we cannot think straight, when we desire anything big or small, necessary or unnecessary, then our viveka has been stolen. Simple. We cannot discern between the Real and the unreal. We cannot discern between the changing and the Changeless. If we are still chasing after the changing, after being told about the Changeless, our discernment is extremely low. And if we don't know that we're chasing the changing and we do not even know about the Changeless. We are even in a deeper ignorance. Our viveka has been completely stolen in that sense. So what do we do? What's, what's the outcome? What steps can we do to avoid this? We then pray to the devas to help us attain those material pleasures. In one way, we are seeking some spiritual help. Or today we may follow some person, we may look up to some billionaire and made them into our idol. Some celebrity, some social media influencer. They have become our devas of material nature. So we pay them in one way. Maybe we pay for a course and all that stuff. We look to appease them, please them, help them. Give a few good words, write good testimonials. Devas can also be seen in the traditional sense like Agni, Vayu or Indra. Obviously that can be the way, but today I find we more or less will look at a social media influencer or even our workplace as a Deva or our, school institutions, educational institutions as devas. Whatever you worship and adore reflects what you are. If you are worshiping and adoring Nirguna Brahman that's exactly what you are. If you are adoring and worshiping Formless Awareness, that's exactly what you are. It's reflecting who you are. If you're chasing after money, property, power, positions, whether in spiritual institutions or worldly institutions, that's reflecting who you are, that's what you are. There's no need to deny it. Neither is Sri Krishna saying these are bad. He's just saying, that's your nature. Accept it. This is what you are. Now, a person who is a billionaire, who's just seeking more money, more power, more clout, why should they think of attaining Brahman? Why? If that's not what you want, don't do it. Don't waste your time. You won't get it because it's only if you really desire it, it has to be your everything. So what is your everything? Is it the wealth of the world or is it Brahman? The true Brahm Gyani will balance both because they know Brahman is wealth. They will understand the nature of existence. They will utilize Prakriti but will not become Prakriti. That's the difference. It's a very subtle difference, but that's what it is. So don't pretend to be really spiritual until you get all of your desires met. If you desire to have the biggest house desire that if you desire to have better cars, get that before you become spiritual. That's my advice. If you're listening to this and you're like, well, I still want material success, get material success first. When you feel satisfied from that, then you're ready for spirituality. If you know how to balance both even better, then you can listen to this and follow your passions. But what I will say, at least keep 51% for Nirguna Brahman, for Formless Awareness, for spirituality. Just even if you do that, that would be good enough. I'm letting out some secrets but. Don't share it out loud, don't share it with others. I'm joking. I'm publishing this on YouTube, on and on my podcast, so it's not, it's an open secret. Not quoting Tony Parsons or anything. So the context of the whole verse is Krishna tells us that we worship what is basically suited to our own material nature, according to our Prakriti, and what we feel is most suited to us. So basically you reflect what you worship. If you worship Formless Awareness, that's exactly where, that's exactly what your nature is. Verse 21. When a human being becomes attracted to a particular deva and sees them as worthy of their devotion, I steady their attention so they can please that deva with their offerings. So again, I'm just gonna look at the whole verse altogether. And again, they're very important. One because we have to understand that we should maximize what we are worshiping. So if you do worship a lesser deva, it's not a bad thing. Be fully involved in it, be fully immersed in it. Sri Krishna says that , the ground of existence will make that happen. Yeah. Um, so anyway, let's go into a bit more. Once any human sees the deva that they want to be devoted to Sri Krishna, whether that's your isht-devta, whether that's Saguna Brahman or Ishvara, they will make sure that you can steady your attention to please that Deva. So you will give offerings, whether that's, you know, doing some fasting, whether that's offering some wealth, any charitable act, you will do that for the deva. And even here, Sri Krishna wants to ensure that we remain devoted to something, even if it's a desire that at least we have a deva that can support us in that desire. So there's some level of spirituality still there intact, very clever, very smart. If we address our desires in this life, then maybe in the next we will want Brahman because we've exhausted those desires. By fixing their attention, they offer whatever they need to that particular deva so Sri Krishna is saying devote yourself to them. It's fine. But remember there is no subtle ego. It's best to let people be where they are unless they ask for your advice. So, you know, a lot of people will come up to me and say, Rahul, I wanna be spiritual, but I also wanna be rich. And I always say, well, go be rich then. You're better off worshiping Maa Lakshmi. You're better off worshiping Ganesh ji. If you want worldly knowledge, I wanna do well at university. Worship Maa Saraswati. But there'd be a rare few that will ask me, well, Rahul I want to have worldly success, but I have more love for truth. I have more love for getting that Brahm Gyana, that knowledge of Brahman. I wanna be able to experience, perceive, and be one with Brahman. For those people, I would say do both and let's work together on balancing that. And that's literally what I think is the best route today because we all need, worldly success, but we also need to make sure that we are setting ourselves up for success spiritually, either in this life or the next. And what I would say is if you do enter this path of spirituality, even 100%, guess what will be following you? Worldly success because remember, Maya never wants to let go. Yeah. The Unreal never wants to let go. So it will beg for your attention, but not everyone understands this. Not everyone gets it because fear comes in, but that enlightened person is fearless. They know they can do that. They only one Brahman and the next thing they know, they're still achieving success in the world and they will use that success for the right purposes too. The context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna guides how people can become attracted to a Deva that most suits their needs and then he further states that how important it is for their attention to be fixed and that Sri Krishna will guide them with that process. Verse 22. Anyone who invests their shraddha upon a lesser divine being or upon an object, whatever their desire eventually receives the result they are seeking, but that result is in fact given by Me. So remember, there is only Brahman, there is only Formless Awareness, and that's the key to understanding this verse. First of all, let's just establish one thing. Everything is given by Brahman. Everything! Brahman is the source of all existence. Remember, Brahman is Sat-Chit-Ananda So it's Sat meaning the ground of existence. Brahman is the base. People, invest their shraddha, their reverence, their devotion, their love to their deva.. So he says, lesser divine being. So what I would say if, if you can objectify a divine being, it becomes, it's not the same as Brahman in in terms of quality. Yeah. In terms of, remember when I talk about Brahman here, I'm talking about Nirguna Brahman. Yeah. The moment you give it an attribute. Once you make it into Saguna, it becomes a lesser divine being. And then obviously the more attributes you give to something, the more, it becomes more objectified. The more objectified it becomes. The ultimate is Brahman. So anything else worshiped is a lesser divine being simply put. Or if we worship an object that we desire, divine or not divine, that person gets what they want. This is Sri Krishna's guarantee that Brahman will do this. This is what the purpose is, so people will get what they're seeking for, guaranteed. Now people should thank Brahman. They should thank Nirguna Brahman, the ground of existence for making that happen. But because of their lack of discernment, they only see the object or the lesser divine being. They don't see the one that's truly operating behind the scenes. That's the difference. Remember, all objects are subject to change. All devas are subject to change. Therefore, ultimately, they are all unreal, anitya, impermanent, transient. we need to understand that very clearly and remember one thing that we can only have reverence only according to what our intellect allows. If your intellect is strong and if it's highly evolved and it's seeking the Absolute, it understands and has been able to digest between the changing and the changeless, and knowing that the changing is unreal and the changeless is real, that person's reverence towards the Truth will be higher. Seek the Absolute and you'll realize that you are the Absolute. Seek Formless Awareness and you will realize you are Formless Awareness because remember, as Sri Krishna says, whatever you desire, eventually you will receive that result and that result is given by me. Seek Brahman and the result is Brahman itself. Seek Brahman and the result is Brahman itself. Seek Formless Awareness, and the result is Formless Awareness itself. That's how simple it is. The context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna guides us on how every result is given by Brahman, but people think everything they receive is either by their own effort or by a lesser divine being. That is the end of the episode. Thank you very much for listening. Please do share this podcast with your friends and family who may enjoy this content. Do follow me on social media to keep getting updates. Join the Bearded Mystic Podcast Community Group to continue the podcast discussion. Details are in the show notes and video description below. If you would like to support the Bearded Mystic Podcast, do check out the podcast Patreon page, details in the show notes and video description below. Please do like and comment on this video and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Please follow/subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast streaming app. Thank you very much for listening. Let's end with the Soham and Shantii Mantra. Soham Soham I am That. I am That. Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti. Aum Peace Peace Peace. Namaste.