The Yoga of Wisdom
Divine Life
Society Publication: - Bhagavadgita – Summary of Fourth
Discourse by Sri Swami Sivananda
Lord Krishna declares that He
is born from age to age, in order to raise man and take him to the Supreme.
Whenever there is a prevalence of unrighteousness and the world is ruled by the
forces of darkness, the Lord manifests Himself to destroy these adverse forces
and to establish peace, order and harmony. Hence we see the appearance of the
great saviors of the world.
What is the secret of Yogic
action? This, the Lord proceeds to explain to Arjuna. Even though one is not
engaged in action, but if the mind is active with the idea of doership and
egoism, then it is action in inaction. On the other hand, though engaged
physically in intense action, if the idea of agency is absent, if one feels
that Prakriti does everything, it is inaction in action. The liberated man is
free from attachment and is always calm and serene though engaged in ceaseless
action. He is unaffected by the pairs of opposites like joy and grief, success
and failure.
One who has true union with
the Lord is not subject to rebirth. He attains immortality. Such a union can
only be achieved when one is free from attachment, fear and anger, being
thoroughly purified by right knowledge. The Lord accepts the devotion of all,
whatever path they may use to approach Him.
Various kinds of sacrifices
are performed by those engaged in the path to God. Through the practice of
these sacrifices the mind is purified and led Godward. Here also there must be
the spirit of non-attachment to the fruits of actions.
Divine wisdom, according to
Sri Krishna, should be sought at the feet of a liberated Guru, one who has realized
the Truth. The aspirant should approach such a sage in a spirit of humility and
devotion. God Himself manifests in the heart of the Guru and instructs the
disciple. Having understood the Truth from the Guru by direct intuitive
experience the aspirant is no longer deluded by ignorance.
The liberated aspirant
directly beholds the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self. He cognizes
through internal experience or intuition, that all beings, from the Creator
down to a blade of grass, exist in his own Self and also in God.
Arjuna is given the most
heartening assurance that divine wisdom liberates even the most sinful. When
knowledge of the Self dawns, all actions with their results are burnt by the
fire of that knowledge, just as fuel is burnt by fire. When there is no idea of
egoism, when there is no desire for the fruits of one’s actions, actions are no
actions. They lose their potency.
In order to attain divine wisdom
one must have supreme faith and devotion. Faith is therefore the most important
qualification for a spiritual aspirant. The doubting mind is always led astray
from the right path. Faith ultimately confers divine knowledge, which removes
ignorance once and for all.
Mere intellectual knowledge
does not lead to liberation. It cannot grant one supreme peace and freedom.
When one has achieved complete self-mastery and self-control, when one has
intense faith and devotion, then true knowledge dawns within and one attains
liberation and freedom from all weaknesses and sins.
The Lord concludes by emphasizing
that the soul that doubts goes to destruction. Without faith in oneself, in the
scriptures and in the words of the preceptor, one cannot make any headway on
the spiritual path. It is doubt that prevents one from engaging in spiritual
Sadhana and realizing the highest knowledge and bliss. By following the
instructions of the Guru and through sincere service, one’s doubts are rent
asunder and divine knowledge manifests itself within. Spiritual progress then
goes on at a rapid pace.
Excerpts from:
The Yoga of Wisdom - Bhagavadgita – Summary of Fourth
Discourse by Sri Swami Sivananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?
If you would
like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact
the General Secretary at:
No comments:
Post a Comment