O blessed souls who, like bees, seek the lotus feet of Shri Krishna, the reservoir of divine bliss! As is customary, let us chant the divine name for a while, after which the discourse will begin. All glories to Lord Ram! Now, please pay attention. Who am I? Who is Mine? Regarding the answers to these two questions, so far you have been told that these two questions are such that none of our means or instruments such as the senses, mind and intellect, etc. can answer them. Nor can they be solved through perceptual evidence, inferential evidence and so on. Therefore, we attempted to solve them through scriptural evidence. Through the Vedas, through the Shastras, through the Puranas, and all religious scriptures, it was explained to you that there are two entities apart from the ‘I’. One is called Brahm, Paramatma, Bhagavan, etc., and one is called maya.
And you were also told that although these three entities are eternal, permanent, not all three are independent. Only one entity, Brahm, God, is independent. The other two, jiva (the soul) and maya, are dependent. They are powers of God. That is why they are under their possessor, God. Between these two, the entity known as ‘I’, the soul, is conscious. That is why it is called jiva: the soul itself is jivit (alive), and for as long as it resides somewhere, it keeps that body alive. That is why, out of ignorance, we say, “Ramesh died today.” Who is Ramesh? Is he the one who died? No, no. As long as he was alive, what did you call him? “Ramesh.” Is he dead now? “Yes.” No, no. Say, “Ramesh has left this world.” He has departed from this body. He came into this body one day, and he left it one day. This is called birth and death. Birth means to manifest, not to create something new. In Sanskrit, the word jani comes from the root word pradurbhave. It means appearance. This soul neither takes birth nor dies. No one can kill it, not even God.
The soul neither dies nor takes birth. So, Ramesh was not newly created, nor did he die. He came and he left. Say this. For example, we say in the world, don’t we, “Ramesh came from Mumbai today and he left after an hour.” So, does that mean that he died? No, no. He came from Mumbai and left after an hour. In the same way, this soul entered the body in the mother’s womb, and it left this body today and went away. So, the soul is eternal and God is also eternal; and maya, despite being insentient, is also eternal. It is unborn; aja means that which is unborn, that which is not newly created. That is called unborn. God is also unborn. “Arjun! I am unborn. However, I become the son of Nand. I become the son of Dashrath for the sake of My devotees. I am not anyone’s son. I am such a father who does not have a father. I am such a mother who does not have a mother. I am such a cause that does not have any cause. Everything is My effect. I am not the effect of anyone. I …”
So, these three entities are eternal, and they cannot destroy each other. And not all three of them are independent. Two of them are powers. This is why they are also referred to as parts. The Vedant accepts this, so does the Vedant. It is indestructible. It is a part of God. So, the soul is a power of God, a part of God. It has a relationship of difference and non-difference with God. Meaning, in some respects it is non-different from God, while in most respects it is different. The non-difference is that God is chit and so are we. Chit means conscious. We have senses, a mind, an intellect and a body; God also has them. The same as us. The Vedant state that He has two hands, and His body resembles the human body. But … But what? … He does not have a body. He Himself becomes the body. For example, this body is mine. ‘Mine’ is different from ‘I’, isn’t it? ‘Mine’ means the possessive case. It belongs to the ‘I’. This is ‘mine’. The celestial gods also possess a body. The body is theirs. The body is separate, and the personality – the atma – is separate. However, this is not so with regard to God. He is sat-chit-anand, and His body is sat-chit-anand.
So, one similarity that we have with God is that we are both conscious. And another similarity is that we are both eternal. But the Vedant says that He is our Father! Amritasya vai putrah — this is the very definition of God. All these beings, all the souls, are born from Him. Jatani. He is our Father. Yes, we accept that He is our Father. Yet He is not older than us. In the world, every father is older than his son. Yes, this is how it is in the world. But He, God, is not older than us. So, in these two aspects, if we were to compete with Him, we would not lose. However, in other aspects, we completely fail in comparison. He is all-powerful, while we possess very little power. He merely thinks and countless brahmands (vast cosmic worlds) are created. And when we think, we just keep on thinking. Nothing happens. Nothing at all is created! First we need to think, then we need to desire. Then we have to collect the material and have the knowledge too. Only then can a potter make a pot. A pot! However, He who made the clay made everything out of nothing.
Look at His miracle. Shall I tell you about His miracles? Do you see the sky? Where is it? You say that it is above. It is not above. The sky actually refers to empty space. You are sitting in space. “In space? But we are sitting on the ground.” Yes, you are also sitting on the ground, but you are sitting inside space. If there was no space, you would have suffocated and died. This is called satsang bhavan akash. We have constructed walls to make the space small. If these walls were demolished, then it would become the universal space. So, the sky means that which is nothing. Nothing. Yet air originated from this. How is this possible? The quality of touch was not in the father and now it is in the son. Now we can feel the touch of the air. The wind is cold. The wind is hot. A very strong wind is blowing. Fire originated from air. Fire from air? Air does not have the qualities of fire. Then where did the qualities of fire, heat and light come from? Does air ever give light? How amazing! And water originated from fire. Water is a liquid. And earth originated from water.
Really? Tell me one thing. When the earth was born, where did so many trees come from? Who went to the mountains to plant the trees? And if you say that trees germinate from seeds, then we kept seeds in a sack for two years, but none of them became trees – wheat, chickpea, etc. Even if we accept that trees germinate from seeds once they are sown, then what would the seeds do without rain? What would the soil do? The seeds would die. The trees would not grow. Nevertheless, when it rained, the trees grew. See the amazing way the trees grow. First one branch, then a second branch, then more branches, then leaves, flowers and fruit! Who is doing this? No one is to be seen. Can we also make something? We add and subtract from existing things to make something. We made the atom bomb. We made electricity; we made the telephone. So we made these things out of existing things. However, when there was nothing, how was anything created? Such is the omnipotent, almighty God!
These are the eight qualities of God. So, He is all-powerful and we possess very little power. He is all-knowing; we are ignorant. He is the ruler of maya; we are under maya. He is all-pervading; we reside in just one body. He is all-pervading and we are minute. There is a vast difference. So, we belong to God and God belongs to us. So why don’t we meet each other? We are under the control of maya. It is due to the dominance of this maya over us that we have forgotten God. He is secretly seated in our heart, right behind us. The Vedas say: dva suparna sayuja sakhaya. We look towards maya and say, “This is mine.” God is sitting right behind us saying, “Look at Me! I am yours.” But everyone is looking the other way. So, that ‘mine’ must be there. ‘Mine’ means my happiness. Happiness means that which is unlimited, everlasting, transcendental, divine, indescribable, infinite, the supreme bliss of God.
So, due to being under the control of maya, we are separated from Him. We should meet Him now. However, we first need to know Him. Our intellect is incapable of knowing Him. With evidence from the Vedas to the Ramayan, you were told that our senses, mind and intellect are material. God is divine! He is the inspirer. We cannot comprehend Him; we cannot perceive Him. We have seen Him countless times. However … with these material eyes, Lord Ram and Lord Krishna appeared material. He became the real son of Nand and Yashoda. Throughout their life, they considered Him only as their son. Just as we accept our worldly son to be our son and teach him every little thing; in the same way, Shri Krishna was taught to walk, to talk, everything!
So, in order to know God, the Vedas and scriptures reiterated that only those upon whom He showers His grace can know Him. This grace also has a prerequisite. There is a condition attached. We have reflected on this subject. There are three paths to know Him: karm, gyan and bhakti. Of these, we reflected on the path of karm, and through the Avadhuta Upanishad, the Kaivalya Upanishad, the Ishavasya Upanishad, the Mundaka Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, the Prashna Upanishad and the Taittiriya Upanishad; through all these, it was explained to you that the reward for ritualistic actions is the celestial abode, which is perishable. Maya also prevails there. Lust, anger, greed and infatuation also prevail there, and it is only for a limited period. This was also explained to you through the Bhagavat.
Now, if that is not enough, then listen further. It is said in the Bhagavat that these rites and rituals have six rules. Rules. Just as there are rules and regulations everywhere in our world. Do you want to become a lawyer? Yes. So, first study up to bachelor’s level in college, and only then will you gain admission to LLB (Bachelor of Laws). There are different rules for everything. Do you want to eat? Then put the food in your mouth, not in your ears. There are rules everywhere. If you violate the rules even slightly, you will be punished. Nature will punish you first; God will do so later. You ate too much. Didn’t God tell you in the Gita … eat in moderation? “But I liked the food, so I overate.” So what happened after that? “I had indigestion.” You might even die one day from overeating like this. Do not violate the rules.
So, what are the six rules? Please pay attention. This verse is from the Bhagavat, 11.21.15. The place: number one. The time: number two. The objects: number three. The performer: number four. The mantras: number five. The procedure: number six. If these six things are proper, one hundred percent, only then can you perform a yagya (fire sacrifice). What does this mean? You cannot perform a yagya just anywhere. “Oh, but our priest performs it in our own courtyard.” No, no. A yagya cannot be performed at just any time. Really? One cannot just purchase the items from the market, like barley and sesame, and perform the yagya. This is not how it is done. And if the one performing the yagya is a worldly person – lustful, angry, greedy – and the one supervising it is the same, then the yagya cannot be performed. Then there are the mantras: there are mantras in the Vedant. Offerings are put into the fire while reciting them. If there is even the slightest violation of any of these rules, the one performing the yagya is doomed. His efforts won’t just be in vain, he will be punished!
The result will be the opposite. There was a demon, Vritrasur. He organised a yagya to kill Indra. He forcibly caught hold of rishis and munis and said, “Perform the yagya or I shall kill all of you.” The poor sages came out of fear. And the mantra was: indrashatrurvirvardhasva. This means that the enemy of Indra should advance; that is, the demon Vritrasur should grow stronger. In Vedic mantras, there are high, low and accentuated tones used in reciting them. For example, the Gayatri mantra. So, the words were, “The enemy of Indra should become stronger.” The sages didn’t change the words, but they played a trick. ‘E’, the first letter which should have been recited loudly, was not recited loudly with a high intonation but instead was recited with a low intonation, and the last word was recited loudly which changed the meaning to “Indra should grow stronger.” Exactly the opposite.
The yagya was completed and God appeared. God said, “I grant you what you have asked for.” Vritrasur was very happy. He thought, “Now I will kill Indra. I will become the king of the celestial realm.” The battle took place and he lost. And when he was about to die, he said, “O Shri Krishna! I am also your child. You promised that whatever I asked for in the yagya would be granted. So why am I dying in defeat?” Then God said, “This is exactly what your mantra meant.” — “What?” — “Yes, antyodaat, that is, the lower intonation was used by the sages.” — “This was the mistake of the sages, my Lord!” — “But they were sages you yourself had called. So you are responsible. I only granted you what I heard in your mantra.” — “Oh, so everything was reversed!” In the Patanjali Mahabhashya, it is said that there was a mistake in just one accent – not even the word and not even the letter; only the accent. They should have emphasised the first letter, but instead they emphasised the last letter. That’s all! The meaning was reversed.
This is also stated in the Bhagavat: Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 6.9.11. There are great restrictions in the performance of rites and rituals – yagyas and so on. It is impossible to perform them in this present age of Kali Yug. Everything is a mess. Not just one thing. The pandits recite like this: Scriptural Verse (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 3.14). The poor fellow organising the yagya doesn’t even know what the priest is reciting. They are just like hired ponies – exactly like them. You pay them, and 50, 100, 200 or 500 pandits perform it. A thousand yagyas for Goddess Chandi. A yagya of a thousand fire pits, a hundred fire pits. And we walk around it asking for blessings, “Oh, give me a son! Give me a father!” We go there and ask for these boons. What to speak of this present age of Kali Yug, even in Sat Yug these rites and rituals will not dispel maya, nor will you attain bliss.
So then? The Bhagavat asks, What is dharm? Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 6.3.22). There is only one dharm for all human beings: Bhakti Yog. Practising devotion to Shri Krishna by chanting His names, meditating on Him and so on – this alone is dharm. 6.3.22. Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 6.3.25. These foolish people are involved in following the prescribed ritualistic dharm. The Vedant have called them pramudhah. Not just ordinary fools, but the greatest fools – those who engage in yagyas, etc., to attain the celestial abodes. The Bhagavat again states: Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.3.20). The abodes that are attained through karm are perishable. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.3.20) 11.3.20. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.25.22).
Those who perform sattvic karm will go to the celestial realm. Those who perform rajasic karm will come to this mortal world. And those who perform tamasic karm … Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.25.22) … will go to hell. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.25.22). God says, “Those who perform selfless actions only for My sake will come to Me.” Scriptural Verse Bhagavatam 4.29.46. One who has met a true Guru and who has attained spiritual knowledge does not follow worldly norms or the rites and rituals of the Vedant. What is dharm? Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 4.29.49). Karm is that which is performed to please the Lord. That is all. Memorise this definition. He is not pleased with yagyas, rituals and so on; He is pleased by love alone, by bhakti.
Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.29.34). The previous verse that I recited is 4.29.49. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.29.34). God is saying, “Only the one who renounces all ritualistic duties and surrenders to Me alone will be liberated from maya and will attain supreme bliss.” Ritualistic duties, if performed as prescribed, will take one to the celestial realm for a limited period. 11.29.34. Lord Krishna said to Uddhav: Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.12.14) Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 11.12.15) Bhagavatam 11.12.14, 11.12.15. In fact, when the narration of the Bhagavat began, at the very beginning, Sut Ji was reciting the Bhagavat. He was narrating it and Shaunak and the other paramhansas were the listeners – 88,000 of them. They were all paramhansas!
However, for the welfare of the individual souls, these paramhansas put their first question to Sut Ji. Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 1.1.9). “O Sage! We have one question.” Even God-realised Saints pretend to be ignorant and ask questions to other Saints for the spiritual welfare of humanity so that the answers could be read by others, and they would be spiritually benefited. So, they posed the question, “What is the simplest method for the spiritual welfare of mankind? And not just a temporary benefit like the celestial abodes and so on.” Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 1.1.9). “And, O Sage! There is another condition too.” — “What is that?” Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 1.1.10) Scriptural Verse (Bhagavatam 1.1.11) Bhagavatam 1.1.9, 1.1.10, 1.1.11.
“O Sage, this is Kali Yug. The people in this age will be intellectually very weak. Their memory will be very poor. They will forget things within five minutes.” I have personally experienced this throughout my life, even with hundreds of administrative officers and with thousands of D. Litts, PhDs. They forget things in five minutes. “Listen, make a phone call to him.” — “Alright, Maharaj Ji.” After 10 minutes, “Did you call him?” — “Oh no, I forgot!” “But I just told you just now.” “So, O Sage! Please suggest a path that is suitable for these people. If you suggest a difficult path, no one will be able to follow it.” And if one reads the Vedant and scriptures, he is sure to be ruined. Because … Scriptural Verse (Mahabharat) … the Vedant says one thing; Nyaya says something else. Vaisheshik says something; Sankhya says something else.
There are different views even in the Vedant. It is even more shocking in the Puranas; the philosophies contradict each other. Take for instance just the Ramayan – you will be really confused. That is why I explained to you yesterday that unless one understands through a God-realised Saint, no one can understand the scriptures of either the Saints or of God. That is why the Vedant states: Scriptural Verse (Katha Upanishad 1.3.14). “O humankind! Arise! Awake! Go to a God-realised Saint, and receive knowledge from him.” You have a very short life span. You will become nervous just seeing the massive volumes of the Vedant and Shastras. Then what to say of actually reading them? Even if you do read them, you cannot comprehend them. You will only become more confused. So, Sut Ji Maharaj gave an answer to Saunak and the other paramhansas. However, the clock says, “Not today. Tomorrow!” All glories to Shri Radha Krishna!
