Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 7: Verse 23 - Verse 30)

In this episode, we discuss the 7th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, specifically verses 23 - 30. 

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

If you enjoyed listening to the 57th episode of the Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita and want to listen to more episodes like this on the Bhagavad Gita, or on Non-Duality, or the wisdom of the Mystics please follow/subscribe to this Podcast. New episodes are uploaded every Sunday.

Thoughts on the Upanishads, Conversations with the Bearded Mystic, Guided Meditations, and much more only on Patreon, Buzzsprout Subscriptions, Apple Podcast Subscriptions and Supercast.

Patreon: Support The Bearded Mystic Podcast and get ad-free, bonus episodes along with many more benefits:
https://www.patreon.com/thebeardedmysticpodcast

Buzzsprout Subscriptions: Support The Bearded Mystic Podcast and get ad-free, bonus episodes:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1800416/subscribe

Direct & Unfiltered with The Bearded Mystic is a great format to ask The Bearded Mystic (Rahul) whatever question you have in your mind. Submit your question by completing this survey please.

Join The Bearded Mystic Podcast Discussion Group on Whatsapp:  https://chat.whatsapp.com/GcCnyrjQwLuEPHBaVA6q9L

Be notified of my weekly virtual meditation session followed by a Q&A Discussion via zoom (Notifications only):
https://chat.whatsapp.com/DcdnuDMeRnW53E0seVp28b

If you would like a one-on-one meeting with me via Zoom, book here:
https://calendly.com/thebeardedmysticpodcast/1on1meetings

Please rate and write a review for this Podcast: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com/reviews/new/

You can follow me and contact me on social media:
Website: https://www.thebeardedmysticpodcast.com
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdk3HPJh/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeardedmysticpodcast/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBeardedMysticPodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearded_mystic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Bearded-Mystic-Podcast

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 I will be continuing on with my thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita, but before that, there's a few important announcements I would like to make. Please do give your support to the Bearded Mystic Podcast by signing up to our Patreon page for ad free and bonus episodes and other benefits depending on the tier that you select. Details on how to sign up for those are in the show notes and video description below. Other ways you can get bonus episodes is through Supercast and Buzzsprout Subscriptions, which you'll find in the details in the show notes and video description below. And if you're listening to this on the Apple Podcast app itself, you can subscribe to the bonus and ad free episodes there too.

Every Saturday at 11: 1:00

00 AM Eastern Standard Time. There is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and q and a for around one hour. Please find the details in the show notes and video description below if you would like to meditate together as a community. If you have any questions, you can ask them under the new series we have, which is Direct and Unfiltered with the Bearded Mystic. More information is in the show notes and video description below. Please do 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 also follow or subscribe to get future episodes. Today we will be continuing on with chapter 7 verses 23 to 30, and this will then conclude the seventh chapter. Verse 23. Those who hold a smaller vision of what is possible, try to please one of the Devas. As a result, after leaving their present body, they take birth in the material loka of the deva to whom they are attracted. The result is pleasurable, but temporary, whereas those who adore and serve Me come to live with Me forever. So let's look at the first part of that verse. Those who hold a smaller vision of what is possible try to please one of the Devas. As a result, after leaving their present body, they take birth on the material Loka of the Deva to whom they were attracted. So this is continuing on from the last episode when we, we looked at verses 16 to 22 and this covered an element of that and Sri Krishna is just re-emphasizing what the results of that is. So here we see if we think that happiness is only found in the worldly objects, then that is as far as we will go. We, if we do not find that there is a transcendental happiness and you know something that is called ananda or bliss, we will continuously go through the pleasures of the body and mind. Therefore, we will be chasing our desires and staying away from our fears, that type of happiness is only in worldly objects. Now worldly objects is changing all the time, therefore it's completely unreal. Now, even if we are committing to spiritual acts, like worshiping the Devas and praying to the Devas, even then, if it's just so we can attain material objects. That's the maximum we're gonna get because we're still just feeding whatever the body and mind wants. We're not actually going for that transcendental happiness, that and none that, the happiness that is beyond our senses. If we just think we will be reincarnated and never get liberated or enlightened. That again, is a smaller vision of what is possible. Here it's talking about visions as well. And if someone thinks that, well, I just want to live a good life here on this earth. I want to just serve people. I want to look after the world and I want to come back. Although that is noble and that is something that I think is great, but why not be liberated and also do it. You know, there's no reason why you as Brahman will not be able to have a positive effect on the world. Think about it. Today, we still remember so many of the mystics, whether that's Kabir ji, Guru, Nanak, Dev ji, whether that's Tukaram ji, Vemanna ji you know, so many of the mystics, so many saints, and of the past, Adi Shankara ji. We still remember them today. Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekanada ji. We remember all of them today. The most important thing is not to keep our vision limited. Hence, for most people, unfortunately, they try to please the devas to make their life more bearable in this life and the next. They want happiness in this life and the next, so whatever element they worship as a deva, they will enter that realm when they die. If somebody is worshiping, Agni, that's what they will enter the realm for that. Basically everyone will go to Svarga Loka, cuz that's where the Devas reside. That's basically what Sri Krishna is saying. But remember, the next line is what's the most important part of it and that is Sri Krishna says that the result is pleasurable, but temporary, whereas those who adore and serve me come to live with me forever. Yes, the results will give happiness, but that happiness will be temporary. It will not last long at all. It will literally be for maybe a few hundred years. That's it. That I'm not saying there will not be happiness, but it will be limited in some form. Whether that's through a span of time or even the nature of that happiness, the intensity of that happiness. So those are the things that we'll have an effect. Now, that happiness is not everlasting. And what Vedanta's all about is making sure that we can attain eternal happiness. This is where we need to start thinking. Now, Sri Krishna says, those who adore and serve me come to live with me forever. Remember, if you see existence as Brahman, then you are serving humanity.. Therefore, you know, if you want to do those good acts, those acts of sewa, of selfless service, if you want to do that and you want to make the world a better place, why not do that at the same time as being liberated and seeing everything as Brahman, because that will be a broader vision. Now, the question also that we may ask in a more direct way is, well what happens to the, that person that only wants and desires Brahman, they enter into Brahman and they remain as Brahman. That's the result. So that's what Sri Krishna says here. Those who adore and serve me come to live with me forever. He's not talking about the physical Krishna. Those who think that are deluded and are still stuck in name and form. Sri Krishna has told everybody that which is real is changeless. That Sri Krishna that was at the battlefield is no longer alive. Therefore, it has changed. So how can we say that that is the Sri Krishna we need to go to? No, that will be a Deva then that we are worshiping. But the real Sri Krishna is Brahman.. Now, for something to remain forever, like I mentioned, it has to be changeless. So that is another thing we need to remember. The clue is in the verse itself of what Sri Krishna is referring to. What we take from this is that, yes, Sri Krishna's name and form is gone. That's it. It's not coming back. But his true essence is Brahman. His true existence is Brahman. Therefore do not adore and serve Sri Krishna's idol or painting or something. Actually adore and serve Brahman and make the results everlasting. See everything as the Nirguna. The context of the whole verse is, those who love Brahman remain as Brahman. Those who keep their vision of happiness limited stay within those boundaries. The next verse. Verse 24. Those who have not yet developed the discernment of buddhi think that because I make an appearance within matter as an avatar, I too have come under matter's laws and control. They do not understand that I'm beyond the the three gunas of prakriti and exist permanently outside the control of time. Now, this is where it gets tricky, but we're gonna explore this verse a bit more. We're gonna break it up a little. So the first part is those who have not yet developed the discernment of buddhi, think that because I make an appearance within matter as an Avatar, I too have come under matter's laws and control. So people are confused and think Sri Krishna is just an avatar, a name and form only, and he's saying, do not get into that delusion. What he says of those people is that this lacks the boundless vision that Sri Krishna talks about and also shows the lack of viveka that they have, that buddhi, that discernment. The intellect is only strengthened through discernment of what is Real and unreal. Sat and Asat. Now, what's obvious here is that anyone that thinks he has an appearance within matter and that that matter of Sri Krishna, the form is real, that person is obviously, their buddhi, their intellect is not good at all. It's very low. And therefore, if that's very low, the discernment is low. What Sri Krishna understands here is that the only thing that exists is Brahman very simple. He's the eternal witness that is observing the form of what people are calling Sri Krishna. Yeah. This is important point that I made and re rewind it a little bit to listen again to what I've just said, to capture fully what I've just said. Despite Sri Krishna having a name and form as an avatar and appears in this world, yet, he doesn't come under the laws and control of matter. Now, why is that? That's because he's aware of his True Self. He knows who he really is. He knows who's not this name and form, the name and form that people are worshiping or that will worship. They've lost it. But those who understand that he's the eternal witness in all. They are the ones that truly understand. He knows that they will get what he's talking about. The Gita is made for those people. Whoever becomes aware of their true self has the exact same statement as Sri Krishna. Therefore, strengthen your buddhi through discernment. You know that actually you as awareness have not come under Matter's laws and control. Awareness is the subject. The object is the name, form sensors and everything. Even the buddhi comes under Matter's law and control. Even discernment, because it's an object. You can be aware of it. The second part of the verse is: They do not understand that I'm beyond the three gunas of prakriti and exist permanently outside the control of time. Brahman is always beyond the three gunas of prakriti, that's sattva, rajas and tamas. Brahman is beyond tamas because it is never lazy nor is it in darkness or heavy? It is always aware of those things. Same thing that Brahman is beyond rajas because it is not hyperactive, nor is it any emotion. Therefore, again, it is aware of motion and it's aware of activity or hyperactivity. And Brahman is beyond sattva because it's not the fleeting state of happiness or peacefulness. Remember, it is aware of peace, it is aware of happiness, so Brahman is beyond time, meaning Brahman is forever. Even here, Sri Krishna is giving the biggest hint that he is Brahman alone. His name and form will always exist within time, but as the Atman, he's beyond time. He is timeless. He permanently exists. There is no way he ends up belonging to time. If something is permanently existing in time or beyond time, outside the control of time then it has to be eternal. It can't be within the structure of time that we know it, where there is an a beginning and an end. This understanding is very necessary when it comes to capturing what the Bhagavad Gita is saying. Now, before I go into the context of the whole verse, this is why I say this with all my heart, that those people that turn around to you and say ahh the Bhagavad Gita gives you good management skills, makes you a better human being. It makes you a better businessman, makes you a better such and such. Those people have not understood what Sri Krishna is saying. Sri Krishna's main thing here, and I want to emphasize this. He's all about your . He's saying, I am mukt. I am free. Now you be free too. Now the question is if someone's telling you that the Bhagavad Gita's giving motivational lessons or entrepreneurial lessons, business lessons, run away from such people! Run away! If you watch them on YouTube close down that window. otherwise do not blame the Bhagavad Gita for your buddhi, your discernment being so low. You've been warned now. So the context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna asks us to really strengthen our buddhi through discernment of what is real and unreal, so we can understand what the Atman really is, and to break away from the changing name and form that we cling to. Then verse 25. I am not visible to those who are still deluded by matter and have not yet cultivated yogic discernment. My true nature is purposely hidden from them by my Yoga Maya'mystical Brahman energies that act like a veil, protecting my true identity from those who are not yet qualified to see Me.' This is a very deep verse, a very. It requires a deep understanding. I'm gonna try and put it as clear as possible in as less words as possible. It's very difficult to do so, but I'm gonna try. Let's break this up in two parts.

The first part is: 15:24

I am not visible to those who are still deluded by matter and have not yet cultivated yogic discernment. Again, that viveka is necessary. I just wanna make that very clear. This is really obvious in terms of if you've not cultivated yogic discernment, you're still going to be in delusion. How can we perceive Brahman if we still think that Sri Krishna is from the Dwarpa Yuga only? If we have just characterized Sri Krishna in that element while reading The Bhagavad Gita, we have done a misservice. Sri Krishna is not the name and form here. When he's talking like this, he's talking as Brahman, and he's making sure that anyone that gets diluted by the name and form are put on the right track. We are very fortunate that the Lord has given his blessings that we can try to understand this. Now, if we still believe in an idolized form of Sri Krishna, we are deluded by matter. This is where I would say listening to my podcast requires you to be a bit more daring with your spirituality. If you still idolize Sri Krishna. I'm not saying do not have a murti of Sri Krishna, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is go towards what Sri Krishna is pointing to. If he's saying that He is not matter. He is not the material. Do not materialize him. That's all I'm going to say. If he's Formless, let him remain as Formless. If he's awareness, then let him remain as awareness. Sri Krishna's true form is Brahman. Therefore, go to Brahman and find peace. That's the ultimate thing. Anyone that sees Sri Krishna as not being Brahman or being less than Brahman consider they have no yogic discernment. They cannot tell you what is Real nor unreal. And anyone that cannot explain that has no right to be talking about the Gita. This is, this is very important. The Bhagavad Gita is not a self-help book. It angers me when I see that. People utilizing the Bhagavad Gita for their own material desires and then mask it under the guise of the Bhagavad Gita. It's not there for self-help. The Self doesn't need help. So any book you see in self-help of the Bhagavad Gita, run away. Nobody can be be a monk, be a sannyasi, be a seeker, be a knower of Brahman, and go back to self-help. When you know there's no self, separate to the Eternal what else? What other help do you. It is a very, what I'm saying again requires guts because everyone will tell you why such and such is very good for you and now I'm saying the exact opposite. I'm saying that is not good for you. But the reason for that is those things bring you into more delusion. I found this from my own experience. I'm not speaking from somebody else's experience. This is my experience. Self-help only made me more confused and actually gave me a lack of self-worth. And while reading things like the (Bhagavad) Gita and the Upanishads, and the Ashtavakra Gita or Ramana Maharshi or any of the mystics, it actually helped me a lot more by understanding the spiritual element properly. That helped me. So let's go to the second part of the verse. My true nature is purposely hidden from them by my Yoga Maya. And what is meant by the Yog Maya is the mystical Brahman energies that act like a veil protecting my true identity from those who are not yet qualified to see Me. This is phenomenal. If this can, if we can understand this point, spirituality becomes so much easier and it really, like spirituality is easy, but we get confused by this one thing. Yoga Maya, by this actual Maya itself. And what is Maya? We'll go into it now. So this existence acts like a veil. Now when we look at Sat-Chit-Ananda. Sat means existence, Chit means Consciousness, ananda means bliss. Now what we say is that the ground of being, this maya is actually Awareness itself. Yeah, awareness and the energy of awareness it forms this Maya. It manifests this Maya. This manifestation being an object, we start associating ourselves with that object. For example, the Jiva is Brahman, you know, Jivo Brahmaiva Naparah. But because the Jiva thinks it's the body and mind, because we keep associating the 'I Am' to the body and mind, there's confusion. So we think that, Yoga Maya is what we are, but yet we are aware of the body and mind. Therefore the body and mind is not me. It's not the true 'I am'. Yeah. We are the 'I am' before the body and mind. These are the few nuggets of wisdom that can take us far. That is essentially what Brahm Gyana tells us that this Maya that you see, it's the ground of existence. It's the Shared Being of existence. It's all oneness, but it's just a veil. It's just a veil, though. Beyond that veil is Your True Nature. So you do not say, I am the universe. I am aware of the universe and that universe is powered by my awareness. And when I say universe, I mean all of existence. Now hopefully we got that. If you haven't, I would say rewind. I will put this as verse 25 B, so you can revisit it again. What to understand from here is that Maya is a servant of Brahman and therefore hides Brahman, even though it is right here in plain sight. So it appears that he hides Brigman, but it's right here in plain sight. Right now you may see a microphone, you may see me on the screen, but, but I can see right now there's only Brahman. Brahman as different objects. Now, someone will say to me that, you've actually made Brahman into an object here. No, Brahman is appearing as objects, but because I am aware of those objects, awareness is my true nature. I'll go to the primary source of what I am not the secondary. The secondary is body and mind, or forms and names. Primary is awareness. Formless Awareness and only a rare few are qualified to see Brahman. Those with a strong intellect, and we know this because those people are the Brahm Gyanis. So those that can tell the difference between Sat and Asat, Nitya and Anitya are qualified to see Brahman directly and throughout our commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, I can tell you there's been multiple times when we have discussed the Gyana of Brahman, the Gyana of the Absolute, the Knowledge of the Absolute and all that Knowledge is, is being Aware of your own Awareness. That's it. Very direct and that awareness is Formless. It has no form. It has no name. Don't name it. Don't give it a form. Stay away from doing that. And then remember that when you see name and form that has come from your Yoga Maya itself, that Unified Maya. Remember, Maya is not separate. Once you see, how can some, if there's only Brahman, how can Maya be a separate thing? When Brahman is omnipresent, the 'only thing'. Formless Awareness is the only thing. So there's only this Formless, nothing else. The context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna is telling Arjuna that only a few see his true identity as Brahman and many fall under this Yoga Maya, and they cannot see Its true nature, which is Formless Awareness. Verse 26. O' Arjuna, I know the departed beings and those who are still living as well as those who are not yet manifest. But no one knows Me entirely or grasps the full extent of My endless Being. Very smart, again, can be easily misunderstood. If you see this in duality, you will be stuck. You gotta see this from a non-dual perspective. So I'm gonna look at the whole verse together. Again, subtle point, but it's extremely deep. So the person who knows Brahman loses all their personal identity. Let me make that very clear. That person, neither does it manifest nor unmanifest. Neither. Is it still living? Neither is it departed and neither is it waiting to be manifested. So that person who knows Brahman, who is Brahman now who's entirely allowed that Gyana to settle in, that wisdom to settle in that there is only Brahman, that One will be able to grasp the full extent of Brahman because they are already Brahman. That's what Sri Krishna is talking about here. So he's saying if you think you're a person, trying to guess what this universe is, you will not be able to, I mean, we just observe 8% of the universe. So you're saying if you think you can know Brahman entirely or grasp Brahman or this Endless Being, meaning the Endless Ground of Being this Sat, this Existence. Impossible. So he said, better not try that. And what He says, I know the departed beings and I know who's still living, and I know those that are not yet manifest. Why? Because they're all emanating from My Being. They're not separated from Me. This is why it's so important to understand this from a non-dual perspective. Brahman is neither manifest nor unmanifest. It is beyond both. This verse is all about uniting and becoming one. This is what it's all about, seeing through oneness. If there is a hint that there is a you and a Sri Krishna, or you and Brahman, then you are in delusion. Then Bhagavad Gita is not gonna help. If you're not willing to break that delusion, if you're not willing to investigate that delusion, you are not gonna make use of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita for you is just a normal book that you are reading. Not a scripture, just a normal book, better to read fiction. And then if you think from it, from Brahman's perspective, from Awareness, there is no departed being, no living being, nor those that haven't been manifested yet. There is only one, as I mentioned earlier, just making it very clear, there is only one. There's only one. omni-present. There's only one. Yeah. That's all. So the context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna guides Arjuna on why union with Brahman is the only way to grasp the fullness of Brahman itself. Verse 27. O' Arjuna, just because of the moha, the overwhelming and deluding power generated by my Prakriti. All beings who are born are influenced by hatred and perverted desires to some degree. So, they're very strong words, but it's very important to understand. We're gonna look at the whole verse together because this helps us answer why we are influenced by our desires, why it's so hard for us to transcend our desires. Why we find it so challenging to look at our desires and analyze them and investigate them and see where they're arising from. Why is it so difficult to do so? Because normally when we start thinking about desire, we fall under it's trap again. And let's face it because we think we are this name and form, because we may say there's non-duality, but we feel that life is a duality. One way or another, we are influenced by hatred or any desires that take us away from the Truth, and that's a fact. Now, moha here means delusion, not attachment, but delusion. But again, delusion to what? We are Formless Awareness, that we are awareness, we are aware of desire. Desire is an object, Awareness is the subject but we are attached to that delusion. We are attached to our name and form. Therefore, desire arises. Hatred also desires. There's an other. So as long as we think we are this name and form, then we are always going to be associated with our raga and dvesha. So our attractions and repulsions always, and therefore our desires will not be fulfilling at all. Now, somewhere in our past, maybe due to karma, we hate certain things or people. And then our desires are also very limited in nature, hence Sri Krishna calls them perverted ,trying to say well there's no base for them. You desire to control things, to possess things. He, he's saying, that's a perverted idea. How can you possess anything or control anything? Why would you do this? Why would you do this? What's the purpose behind that? What, what happiness is that going to give you? That's what Sri Krishna is saying because they only see Prakriti. They only see nature. They don't see the Purusha, they don't see awareness. Once you see awareness, prakriti will no longer affect you. Prakriti will still exist. We're not saying that Prakriti would disappear, but you'll see that Prakriti is the Purusha or Purusha has allowed this Prakriti to be. The context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna tells us the impact of our delusion and how it creates desires that we are not happy or pleased about, and how it causes a suffering and hatred. Verse 28. Those who have reached the end of their long evolutionary journey through matter, who no longer generate paap and instead perform punya finally overcome the delusion and duality of matter. In that state of moksha, they serve and adore Me constantly with sacred vows that always remain steady. Let's look at the first part of that verse. Those who have reached the end of their long evolutionary journey through matter, who no longer generate paap and instead perform punya finally overcome the delusion and duality of matter. So the delusion is basically that there's duality of matter. Sri Krishna in this part of the verse is making it very clear that the absolute truth is non-dual. There is no duality. If you are to finally overcome duality of matter, that means it doesn't, there isn't duality at all. Okay? So once we have continued to evolve and move forward, we find our way to non-duality. Now, how can we do this? One? We need to do meditation. We need to meditate on Formless Awareness, on Brahman. You want to know how you attend the Saturday classes. That's what we do. That's how we roll in those sessions, and then we discuss it later how we can get more closer living as Brahman. Other ways are reading the scriptures, understanding the scriptures. Right now you are listening to the Bhagavad Gita, you can ask me questions on Direct& Unfiltered (with The Bearded Mystic) the other way is you can sign up to Patreon and listen to the Upanishad episodes. That also is a great way to help us understand this and go on this evolution. So we must do those things, spend time with the right people. Not saying that you ignore your friends, what I'm saying is you spend time, some amount of time, some good amount of time with people who understand spirituality. And then serve others. Serve your family members. Serve your friends. Sometimes pay for a meal, do little things, but that level of service will open your heart. That causes evolution. And remember to do those things as awareness because you will no longer generate Paap because you're the Witness Consciousness and you'll go beyond all results of actions. Paap and punya, even punya means good actions that cause harmony. You go beyond those two. You go beyond paap, there'll be no action, where the fruit for you will be an act of suffering, that will cause suffering. We remove the delusion completely because we no longer consider ourselves separate to Brahman. The delusion is that we are separate and that everything else is separated from each other. And Sri Krishna is saying you finally overcome that. So that means that one, you go over that delusion that you and Brahman are separate, you and the Awareness is separate. The second part is the many objects that you see is actually that one Sat, that one existence, the one Ground of Being, that is reflected from Awareness. Then the second part of the verse, which is also a nice

line: 37:04

in that state of moksha, they serve and adore Me constantly with sacred vows that always remain steady. When you enter the evolutionary road, the peak is moksha. So once you remove that duality of matter, you get rid of your delusions. That is freedom because there you understand, there is only oneness. In that state of enlightenment, of liberation, we serve and adore Brahman, our own True Nature. So we serve existence. Why? Because we see it as our True Self. Now, there's a responsibility. It's not simply, oh, I can do whatever I want to the planet. No, you then feel a sense of responsibility. You then care about it. The sacred vows is to remain in awareness and to see all as Brahman. Many people say the sacred vows is simply doing what is said in the Vedas. Do the mantras, do certain rituals or celibacy or something like that? No. The sacred vows is there is only Brahman. That's the sacred vow. That's it. Or I am Brahman. Or there is only Formless Awareness. There is only oneness. Those are the sacred vows. The sacred vow is I'm committed to that Truth. I'm committed to staying in awareness of Awareness. That's the sacred vow, and to remain steady in it. To remain this way our mind becomes steady and we enter into stillness. There will be no vritti, no movement in the mind, no movement created by our vasanas, our tendencies. So we are then composed and are beyond the pair of opposites. The context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna talks about the peak of the journey of the jiva. Once we attain the state of freedom, mukti, we always remain steady regardless of the circumstances we go through in life. Verse 29. That state of moksha protects them from the effects of old age and death, and now they completely take shelter in Me. Remembering their own Brahman nature, they now direct all their actions towards Meas Adhyatma 'the Supreme and Ultimate Atman'. Let's look at the first part of that verse. That state of Moksha protects them from the effects of old age and death, and now they completely take shelter in Me. That state of freedom, of moksha, of liberation, it breaks our attachment to the body and mind. Therefore, is there going to be old age for Awareness? No. So what death can happen to that person that neither goes through old age and no longer identifies with the body. When one understands that one's True Nature is eternal, it is beyond time, what death will happen? What old age? What effects of old age. That's not saying that the body will not go through old age or will go through the effects of that, of course, but will Awareness? No. Awareness will remain as the observer. In that state that person remains in the shelter of Brahman, remains in the shelter of Formless Awareness, and that's what we do. Then the second part of the verse is remembering their own Brahman nature, they now direct all their actions towards Me as Adhyatma 'the Supreme and Ultimate Atman'. So remembering your own True Nature, you perform all actions as a service to the Divine. Remember, you see others as the Divine. You see yourself as the Divine, and it's the Divine serving the Divine. The One serving the One. That's all. That's how, that's how simple it is. So everything you do is in that Brahman nature. Yeah. There is nothing but Brahman nature. So every act is selfless. Every act is selfless service. Every act is doing it for yourself. So that's the vision of the True Sage, of the True Being that understands this Truth, that has embodied this Truth, that has now come under the firm conviction that there is only Awareness. Then the context of the whole verse is that Sri Krishna gives the guidance of what a person in Brahman nature does, and that is to serve all with unconditional love because there is only the one True Self, which is You, Formless Awareness. Verse 30. Which is the final verse of today, and also of the seventh chapter. They also know me as Adhibhuta 'the Supreme among all beings', Adhidaiva 'the origin of all divine beings', and the Adhiyajna 'the one who ultimately receives all sacred offerings.' they know me perfectly in the steady focus of their yoga, even at the final moment when they leave their body. This is very interesting. So those devotees, remember we are still talking about that devotee who is a Gyani. So , all these verses today has more or less been indicating what that Gyani is or is not. So the first part of this verse is: They also know me as Adhibhuta 'the supreme among all beings'. So Formless Awareness is the supreme among all beings. We know this, we know that everything is manifested from the Supreme Being. It's the highest there is and that's the completion of evolution is basically the, the understanding and the complete embodiment of Oneness, of the Ground of Existence. Then He says the Adhidaiva 'the origin of all divine beings'. The origin of all divine beings, all the Devas is Brahman. Brahman is the base of all existence. So this is something we understand here too. And Adhiyajna ' the one who ultimately receives all sacred offerings'. So all sacred offerings are given to Brahman. You may offer it to the deva, but the deva is an object, and therefore the reality is that if all of existence is Brahman, it's all going to Brahman. Brahman is the only thing that exists and everyone in duality ultimately offers all to Brahman. They may know it or they may not know it, but we know that everything goes to Brahman.

Then the next part is: 44:18

they know me perfectly in the steady focus of their yoga, even at the final moment when they leave their body. So anyone with a steady focus on their spiritual practice knows Brahman. So true spirituality. Remember, spirituality is that which makes you free from duality, delusion. Freedom is when you know there is only awareness. So that is spirituality. Only they know Brahman. Not other things that people consider spirituality. This is spirituality. And when they leave their body, such beings, they know that this isn't the end because there wasn't even a beginning. They are free from all identity and they no longer associate with the body so they know what they are. That union is already there and all they do at their time of death is relax into that union. They relax into awareness. They have transcended, and therefore they remain in the remembrance of their true nature, which is Brahman. This is what we are all looking for. This is what we want. This is certainly what I want, that at the end when it comes to my final breath, that I remain in Awareness. That my awareness doesn't go towards the body, towards the mind, towards my loved ones, but to see that in awareness, they're all in me. They're all extensions of the same One, that I am an extension of. In fact, even the extension is the One. So that person relaxes. That person allows that understanding to flourish throughout their life. So at this final moment, they do not falter. They do not give way to desire. They do not give way to hatred. Even to the point, even if the body is failing, they don't hate the body. If you know you are the Atman, if you know you are Formless Awareness, then you will be just aware of what the body's going through, what the mind is going through, but it is not happening to the true 'You'! And when death happens, the world may grieve, but you know, you never left in the first place. So that is the end of the episode. I think I gave the context of the whole verse there. 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 WhatsApp 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 like and comment on this video and subscribe to this 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 Shanti mantra. Soham Soham I am That. I am That. Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti. Aum Peace Peace Peace. Namaste.