ये त्वक्षरमनिर्देश्यमव्यक्तं पर्युपासते ।
सर्वत्रगमचिन्त्यं च कूटस्थमचलं ध्रुवम् ॥१२-३॥
संनियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं सर्वत्र समबुद्धयः ।
ते प्राप्नुवन्ति मामेव सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥१२-४॥
Transliteration:
Lord Krishna while expounding the difference between worshipping God in Sakaar form (having a form) and Nirakaar form of God (having no form) tells Arjuna that human beings who after establishing absolute control over five senses finally succeeded in controlling power of mind. They ultimately realize that God can only be reached via Nirakaar form of God (having no form).
Truly God Almighty always was Nirakaar in form (having no form). God Almighty (termed Brahman in Hinduism) is that entity which from beginning of time was embodiment of truth but only truth, beyond perception of senses and mind, was eternal, unchanging… existing from beginning of time, could neither birth or die. To reach such an unmanifest one required yoga of highest order. Yogis for whom entire humanity becomes one large family, unable to distinguish one from another… one who all the time engaged in welfare of entire mankind finally succeeded in reaching God forever.
Believers of the fact that God Almighty was one and only one (termed Brahman in Hinduism)… such Yogis par excellence, true seekers of spirituality… believing in impartiality of God Almighty finally paved their way to abode of God (kingdom of God)… termed Vaikuntha in Hinduism! Only a true believer of God finally realizes that God was everywhere and beyond comprehension of most human beings. With limited power of senses, mind and intellect (buddhi)… one could never comprehend in totality what God Almighty was all about.
Those who believed in the fact that God Almighty was the only truth of life and manifest world was just an illusion… finally reached God in their lifetime! Bhagavad Gita chapter 12 verses 3 – 4 finally confirms that Nirakaar form of God (having no form) was the only and right way to worship God. Worshipping God in any other mode other than Nirakaar form of God (having no form) was meaningless on path of pure spirituality.
The Explanation:
Bhagavad Gita chapter 12 verses 3 – 4 finally confirm merit of worshipping God in Nirakaar form (having no form). As confirmed and put forward by Adi Shankaracharya in his doctrine of Maya (veil of illusion)… the whole cosmos was but a gaseous formation. Even human beings were no more than clusters of atoms and molecules. Only when viewed from senses point of view… things appeared solid. In reality as ordained by God Almighty… everything in cosmos was made up of basic building block of cosmos, clusters of atoms and molecules!
No matter how best one tried… the subtle truths of cosmic life could never be belied! Lord Krishna rightly says that one who established absolute control over five senses and mind finally wins over God. Establishing absolute control over five senses and mind was not that easy… prime reason why God Almighty ordained a long journey of 8.4 million manifestations before souls atmans finally reached cosmic end of life, the moment human beings gained enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha) forever.
Establishing control over five senses is a long drawn step-by-step process. Only a very ardent seeker of spirituality… one having the indomitable will exhibited by Swami Vivekananda was free to reach God in one’s lifetime. Once we realize that everything in cosmic system was gaseous formation… the subtle truth that soul atman was finally governing unfolds before us. It is a soul atman, the consciousness within that manifests human form to work out its karma… remove dross impurities within! By practicing patience, persistence and perseverance of the highest order… human beings slowly inched towards God Almighty.
In Bhagavad Gita chapter 12 verses 3 – 4 Lord Krishna also confirms that God Almighty was beyond capture of mind and intellect (buddhi in Hinduism). The intellect of a human being all the time assists us in practicing… assimilating whatever we experienced until now! Simply by using intellect (buddhi) or mind one could never reach God Almighty. As per Bhagavad Gita… mind of whole cosmos was one. No individual human being ever had an independent mind. We all had an independent brain that works like a receiving and transmitting station. All positive thoughts get invoked from reservoir of mind plus and all negative thoughts from reservoir of mind minus.
The invocation of thought… positive or negative was directly dependent on our intellect, our chosen path! If we indulged in negative karma all the time… how could we expect to reach God in present life! Those running after ephemeral affairs of life, followers of materialism always took path of religion (path of rituals)… never path of spirituality to reach God! When God Almighty can never be reached via path of religion (path of rituals)… why indulge in something that was totally meaningless on path of pure spirituality. Following path of spirituality is following path of jnana yoga (path of absolute wisdom)… that directly led to God Almighty.
As per Lord Krishna, God Almighty can only be reached by one who believed in oneness of God Almighty. Only one who believed in Advaita Vedanta theory succeeded in reaching God. God Almighty was one and only one. Apostle of truth and only truth, God Almighty always was eternal, unchanging, flawless and formless (Nirakaar), unmanifest, impersonal, impartial… One that had no beginning in time! This confirms God Almighty exists from times immemorial. Something that had no beginning in time could never be destroyed… prime reason why God Almighty is beyond capture of senses and mind. To comprehend unmanifest with limited power of manifest was just not possible!
In Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verses 3 – 4 Lord Krishna finally confirms that God exists everywhere. How? Just because Lord Krishna says so… how could we believe that God Almighty existed everywhere? As detailed in Bhagavad Gita… the present cosmos formed when God Almighty (a cluster of all souls’ atmans in cosmos in their pure form) exploded self with a big bang. This resulted in all pure souls atmans (cosmic consciousness) spreading all over cosmos at unimaginable speeds. In the melee, the hurtling souls’ atmans gathered impurities. To cleanse self of dross impurities within… started cosmic life cycle of every soul atman!
Every single soul atman is part of God Almighty. If an individual soul atman is an individual piece of puzzle… the completed puzzle God Almighty! Truly God Almighty existed within all living beings in miniscule form as our soul atman, the spirit within! Existence of life in cosmos proves existence of God Almighty all over cosmos. If souls’ atmans exist… so does God Almighty! If life exists in cosmic system… so does God Almighty! Human beings who disputed existence of God Almighty simply feigned ignorance in matters spiritual. Existence of souls’ atmans in every part of cosmos simply means God exists everywhere.
As per Lord Krishna… the entity of God could never be explained, defined by limited power of human senses. To fully comprehend God Almighty in totality one had to gain enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) in present life. The most common form of visualizing God as per Hinduism scriptures were attributes of God Almighty. The creative attribute of God Almighty was termed Lord Brahma in Hinduism (creator of cosmos). The second in line was maintainer of cosmos… termed Lord Vishnu! The most powerful attribute of God Almighty was that of a destroyer, one who maintained balance in entire cosmos… Lord Shiva (also termed Mahesh). Control over life and death was exercised by Lord Shiva.
To realize God, to reach God, Lord Krishna says human beings must work for welfare of entire mankind. Those indulging in self vested interests never reached God in their lifetime. It is our ego (Aham in Hinduism) that prompted one to indulge in activities related to self. Unless we catered for benefit of entire humanity… none could become a true Yogi, a practitioner of self perfection! One who indulged in welfare of mankind was always impartial in all deeds and activities. Such human beings were always selfless in their service towards mankind. In all circumstances of life, such human beings always saw God in all human beings. Truly… soul atman (consciousness) within every human being was of same essence.
Lord Krishna says, human beings who maintained impartial attitude towards one and all, always lived a life of equilibrium… maintaining perfection at every stage of life! One who lives life of a Yogi finally indulged in nishkama karma way of life… offering fruits of karma performed to God Almighty all the time! True seekers of God… always indulged in karma that brought them nearer to God Almighty. Why indulge in bad karma, negative karma and delay our spiritual journey! Life as ordained by God Almighty was truly meant for travelling spiritual path in every single manifestation as a human being. Pursuing material goals of life carried no meaning for a perfect Yogi. To establish absolute control over five senses and mind… total perfection at every stage of life was an absolute must. We could never leave things to chance on spiritual path.
We are the master of present manifestation… present human life! We do not know what form our soul atman, the spirit within manifests in next cycle of life. As a human being it is in our interest to follow dictates of Lord Krishna and pursue spiritual path of life! As we are a spirit, a consciousness… it is our duty to travel spiritual path in all phases of life! Sooner we reach God… the better! Reaching God is cutting across all shackles of karma by establishing absolute control over five senses and mind. The spiritual journey initially seemed difficult but never was impossible! If Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa or Maharishi Ramana could do it in their lifetime… so could we and others! Possessing bulldog determination exhibited by Swami Vivekananda is essential to reaching God in present life.
Commentary by: Vijay Kumar “Atma Jnani”… The Man who Realized God in 1993 – April 16, 2013
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