Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 9 1

अथ चित्तं समाधातुं न शक्नोषि मयि स्थिरम् ।
अभ्यासयोगेन ततो मामिच्छाप्तुं धनंजय ॥१२-९॥

Transliteration:

In Bhagavad Gita chapter 12 verse 9 Lord Krishna says to Arjuna… if you find mastering mind power difficult for you, if you find concentrating on mind not within your reach… if you cannot still your mind… then O Arjuna, whichever path of yoga suits you… indulge in that! You can worship God Almighty in any way you want other than establishing control over mind power. Control over mind power can only be realized when we established absolute control over five senses.

Whatever the means, if you were a serious seeker of spirituality… it is your determination that will decide your success. To realize the unmanifest requires patience, persistence and perseverance of the highest order! Most human beings on mother earth never had a goal in life. If you desire reaching me… you had to pursue the path accordingly! For a serious seeker of spirituality… nothing was impossible in life!

On path of pure spirituality, do not indulge in rituals! Path of religion (path of rituals) never led anywhere. Establishing control over five senses and mind was never related to path of religion. It is only by travelling path of jnana yoga (path of absolute wisdom) human beings finally succeed in establishing absolute control over five senses and mind. Truly path of yoga means, hit and trial method! As many human beings, as many different paths to God Almighty can there be!

The Explanation:

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in clear terms: if you are unable to establish absolute control over five senses and mind so you could reach stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi then follow path of yoga that suits you… something within your competence! No doubt God Almighty cannot be reached via path of karma yoga or bhakti yoga alone… still, continue path of yoga most suitable for you!

It is quite possible that after a certain stage in life you are able to establish absolute control over five senses and mind by walking path of jnana yoga (path of absolute wisdom)… that directly led to God Almighty! Two God realized souls… Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana initially started in search of God via path of bhakti yoga. But finding God could not be reached via path of bhakti yoga alone, both finally switched to path of jnana yoga (absolute wisdom) to reach God in their lifetime.

In the present materialistic age… Kali Yuga, Dark Age… travelling path of bhakti yoga was totally ruled out! Why? In the present scientific age full of glamour and ego (Aham in Hinduism)… pursuing path of bhakti yoga (path of total submission) was totally ruled out. Total submission to God Almighty is a very tedious path that requires practicing karma yoga of the highest order. Unless we dissolve our ego in totality, until we submit all our karma and fruits of karma to God Almighty… we could never travel path of bhakti yoga sincerely and diligently!

Bhakti yoga of the level of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or Mira Bai was necessitated to reach God in present times. By indulging in Satsanga (spiritual discussions with like-minded people), spiritual discourses, bhajans and kirtans… serious seekers of spirituality in stages can proceed ahead on spiritual platform step-by-step. Lord Krishna emphasizes that before reaching God, before travelling religious or spiritual path… one must have a definite goal of reaching God in present life. In absence of a goal… life was like a rudderless boat going round and round in the ocean.

Most human beings world over travelling religious or spiritual path never had a fixed goal in life. All the goals were ephemeral in nature. If one had the willpower demonstrated by Swami Vivekananda… one could easily reach God in one’s lifetime. Reaching God in present life was easy… provided we knew the right path to travel. No doubt teachings of Bhagavad Gita act as a guide… but the spiritual path is always travelled all alone! On path of pure spirituality… a true spiritual master can only act as a guide… nothing more!

Reaching God in human form was not meant to be covered in one earthly manifestation of 70 to 80 years of earthly life. God Almighty ordained a long journey of 1.1 million manifestations in human form to reach stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana)… stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi (absolute nothingness). For an enlightened one, the moment one left the mortal frame… one reached stage of salvation moksha forever. The liberated soul atman finally entered abode of God, kingdom of God (termed Vaikuntha in Hinduism)… a point of no return!

If we are truthful in life, no matter what path of yoga we follow… one day we are bound to reach God, asserts Lord Krishna to Arjuna! Remaining truthful all throughout life was the most important ingredient on path of pure spirituality. Most human beings world over underestimated power of absolute truth! It is following path of absolute truthfulness ever since six years of age… I finally reached God in wee hours of third of August 1993. Remaining truthful all throughout had its pitfalls… but that is the price one has to pay to reach God in present life!

Commentary by: Vijay Kumar “Atma Jnani”… The Man who Realized God in 1993 – April 18, 2013

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