Building upon the foundation laid in previous sessions, Class 11 of the JKYog Online Class ‘Bhagavad Gita Simplified’ focuses on how Krishna manifests His divine energies to create, sustain, and dissolve the universe. Krishna emphasises that while His material energy (Maya Shakti) is responsible for binding souls in the material world, His divine grace liberates them. Krishna explains that He pervades the entire universe, but His supreme nature remains beyond comprehension. The class further delves into the idea that those who seek divine knowledge and remain devoted to Krishna can understand His true nature and break free from material bondage.
In Class 12, Krishna continues His discourse to deepen Arjun’s bhakti (devotion). He reveals that He is the Supreme Ultimate Truth, the cause of all causes, and the source of all divine manifestations, including the various forms of Vishnu. Krishna explains that His grace is essential for knowing Him, as the intellect alone is insufficient. Those who are constantly devoted to Krishna in love receive divine wisdom through His grace, which dispels ignorance. Krishna stresses that by keeping Him at the centre of their thoughts and actions, devotees are liberated from worldly illusions and attain divine union with Him.
Class 11: Exploring the Levels of Spiritual Knowledge
In the eleventh session of the Bhagavad Gita Simplified series, we delve deeper into the different levels of spiritual knowledge and their profound significance. Through His compassionate teachings, Bhagwan Shree Krishna systematically unveils spiritual truths, guiding Arjun toward liberation from material miseries. Let’s explore the key concepts shared in this class:
Levels of Spiritual Knowledge
- Guhya (Secret Spiritual Knowledge): Shree Krishna begins by explaining the distinction between the body and the soul (ātmā), which is separate and eternal. This is referred to as guhya, meaning secret knowledge, as it forms the foundation of spiritual wisdom.
- Guhyatar (More Secret Knowledge): Krishna then reveals more secret knowledge, known as guhyatar, where He describes His divine powers and opulence. This deepens Arjun's understanding of Krishna’s cosmic role as the creator, sustainer, and destroyer.
- Guhyatam (Most Secret Knowledge): Finally, Krishna shares the ultimate secret, guhyatam, which is the knowledge of pure bhakti (devotion). This supreme spiritual insight teaches that devotion is the path to connect with the Divine, and it is reserved for those who are free from envy and receptive to spiritual truth.
The Qualification to Receive the Most Secret Knowledge
Krishna highlights the key qualification for receiving this wisdom:
इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्ष्याम्यनसूयवे |
ज्ञानं विज्ञानसहितं यज्ज्ञात्वा मोक्ष्यसेऽशुभात् || (BG 9.1)
The Supreme Lord said: O Arjun, because you are not envious of Me, I shall now impart to you this very confidential knowledge and wisdom, upon knowing which you will be released from the miseries of material existence.
Krishna’s self-praise in the Bhagavad Gita stems from compassion, not pride. While envious people may perceive this as boasting, Arjun, being devoid of envy and full of trust, is perfectly qualified to receive these divine teachings. Krishna reveals His glories to inspire devotion, helping Arjun understand Krishna’s divinity and guiding him toward surrender and enlightenment.
The Merits of the Most Secret Spiritual Knowledge
Krishna uses various terms to describe the significance of this secret knowledge, emphasising its divine importance:
- Rāja (King): This knowledge is royal because of its supreme value and authority.
- Vidyā (Science): It is referred to as a science of devotion, revealing a systematic path to divine realisation.
- Guhya (Secret): God hides Himself, giving souls the free will to either love Him or remain distant, essential for true devotion.
- Pavitram (Pure): Bhakti purifies the devotee by cleansing past sins (pāp), destroying sinful tendencies (bīja), and erasing ignorance (avidyā).
- Pratyakṣha (Direct Perception): Like science, bhakti begins with faith but leads to a direct experience of God.
- Dharmyam (Virtuous): Pure devotion, performed selflessly, is the highest virtue.
- Kartum Susukham (Easy to Practice): The simplicity of devotion lies in the fact that it requires nothing material from us—only love.
- Avyaya (Everlasting): Devotion endures beyond life and death, forming a permanent bond with the Divine.
The Importance of Faith
Despite its significance, the knowledge is ineffective if one does not engage with it. Initially, a leap of faith is required to start the process of realising God, as direct perception comes later.
Krishna stresses the necessity of faith:
Krishna stresses the necessity of faith:
अश्रद्दधाना: पुरुषा धर्मस्यास्य परन्तप |
अप्राप्य मां निवर्तन्ते मृत्युसंसारवर्त्मनि || (BG 9.3)
People who have no faith in this dharma (the path of loving devotion to God) are unable to attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. They repeatedly come back to this world in the cycle of birth and death. Faith is the initial spark that lights the way to God-realisation, eventually leading to a direct perception of the Divine. Through a story about a king and a sadhu, we learnt that just as butter is present in milk and becomes visible only after churning, so too does God’s existence become clear when we engage in spiritual practice. If we have faith and follow the process, we will eventually experience the Divine directly and become God-realised.
The Supreme Lord: The True Bestower of All Results
Those who worship celestial gods for material gains may have their desires fulfilled, but their understanding is incomplete. The celestial gods derive their powers from the Supreme Lord, so indirectly, these worshippers are
still offering devotion to God.
However, those with superior knowledge worship the Supreme Lord directly, realising that He is the source of all power. Just as watering a tree's roots nourishes the entire tree, worshipping God satisfies the entire creation, including the celestial gods.
The Temporary Nature of Heavenly Pleasures
Krishna reminds us that even the pleasures of heavenly abodes are temporary.
ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं विशालं क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति | (BG 9.21)
Once the accumulated merits (puṇya) are exhausted, souls return to the material world. True liberation comes only through devotion to the Supreme.
Devotion to the Supreme: The Path to Eternal Liberation
In verse 9.25, Krishna explains that worshipping lesser deities results in temporary gains:
यान्ति देवव्रता देवान्पितॄन्यान्ति पितृव्रता: |
भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम् || (BG 9.25)
While worshipping celestial gods brings material benefits, it cannot grant liberation. Only devotion to the Supreme Lord leads to eternal freedom from samsara and union with the Divine.
Divine Support for Devotees
Krishna provides assurance to His exclusive devotees in verse 9.22:
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जना: पर्युपासते |
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् || (BG 9.22)
There are those who always think of Me and engage in exclusive devotion to Me. To them, whose minds are always absorbed in Me, I provide what they lack and preserve what they already possess.
Divine Assurance: No Devotee Ever Perishes
Divine Assurance: No Devotee Ever Perishes
क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा शश्वच्छान्तिं निगच्छति |
कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि न मे भक्त: प्रणश्यति || (BG 9.31)
Quickly, they become virtuous and attain lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that no devotee of Mine is ever lost.
Offering All to God
Krishna encourages Arjun to offer all his actions to Him, transforming everyday acts into divine service:
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति |
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: || (BG 9.26)
He accepts even the simplest of offerings when presented with love and devotion.
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् |
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् || (BG 9.27)
Krishna calls for every action—be it eating, giving, or performing austerities—to be done as an offering to Him.
In conclusion, true knowledge is meaningful only when practised with faith and devotion. Shree Krishna, the ultimate giver, bestows all celestial rewards and oversees all outcomes. But just as watering a tree's root nourishes the whole tree, our devotion should be directed to God, the source of all. He accepts even the simplest offerings with love and ensures the well-being of His devotees, urging us to engage in direct bhakti to Him alone.
Class 12: Krishna's Infinite Glories and the Path of Divine Grace
As Krishna continues to increase Arjun’s bhakti (devotion), He begins by highlighting His infinite glories and opulence. Krishna delights in Arjun’s eagerness to hear His divine attributes, and so He declares that He will narrate more sublime aspects of His nature to further elevate Arjun’s devotion.
भूय एव महाबाहो शृणु मे परमं वच: |
यत्तेऽहं प्रीयमाणाय वक्ष्यामि हितकाम्यया || (BG 10.1)
"Listen again to My supreme teachings, O mighty-armed one. Desiring your welfare because you are My beloved friend, I shall reveal them to you."
Krishna refers to Arjun as His prīyamāṇāya—beloved confidant—and reveals knowledge beyond the reach of ordinary intellect. This marks the beginning of Krishna’s revelation of His supreme glories.
Krishna: The Source of All Causes
Krishna declares Himself as the Supreme Ultimate Truth, the source of all causes and the foundation of both the material and spiritual realms. Although He controls the universe, His true essence lies in the loving pastimes He enjoys in Golok, His divine abode.
For the creation of the material realm, Shree Krishna expands into the three forms of Vishnu:
- Maha Vishnu presides over countless universes from the causal ocean. With His breaths, innumerable universes emanate from His body and dissolve.
- Garbhodakshayi Vishnu resides in each universe's depths, and from Him, Brahma emerges, tasked with guiding the process of creation.
- Kshirodakshayi Vishnu is the form that sustains the universe. It dwells in the hearts of all beings and oversees the results of their karmas.
Brahma, often known as the creator, is only a secondary creator born from Vishnu. The Kumars—Sanak, Sanandan, Sanat, and Sanatan—emerge from Brahma’s mind, embodying wisdom and guiding others towards liberation.
Krishna: The Primordial Source
Krishna explains that all forms of the divine, including Vishnu, are His expansions, affirming His position as the Avatārī—the source of all Avatārs.
ete chāṁśha kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛiṣhṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28)
"All forms of God are expansions or expansions of expansions of Krishna, who is the primordial form of God."
Thus, Shree Krishna is the ultimate controller and the original forefather of all, including Shankar, Brahma, and Vishnu. Brahma recognises Krishna’s supreme position and prays to Him, acknowledging that infinite universes manifest from Maha Vishnu, an expansion of Shree Krishna.
Beyond Human Comprehension
Krishna states that neither celestial devas nor great sages can comprehend His origin, as He is the source from which they all arise. The Rig Veda echoes this sentiment:
"Who in the world can clearly know from where this universe was born? The devas came after creation, so who can declare where the universe arose?"
Similarly, the Īśhopaniṣhad asserts that even the devas cannot fully know God, as He existed before them. Yet, despite being beyond comprehension, Krishna grants this sacred knowledge to Arjun to nurture his devotion.
Knowing Krishna Through Grace
Krishna reveals that those who understand Him as unborn, beginningless, and the Supreme Lord of the universe are freed from illusion and all sins. Although Krishna seems to assert that no one can know Him, He clarifies that it is not a contradiction. The Vedas emphasise:
yasyā mataṁ tasya mataṁ mataṁ yasya na veda saḥ (Kenopaniṣhad 2.3)
"Those who think they can understand God with their intellect have no understanding of God."
Krishna's essence is beyond intellectual grasp. As material limitations bind our minds and intellect, divine knowledge can only be attained through Krishna’s grace. Only those blessed by His grace can truly know Him as the Supreme Lord.
How to Attract Divine Grace
Krishna highlights that those who constantly engage in bhakti (devotion) towards Him, with love and dedication, attract His divine grace:
तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम् |
ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते || (BG 10.10)
To those whose minds are always united with Me in loving devotion, I give the divine knowledge by which they can attain Me.
Krishna bestows divine knowledge and wisdom to those who dedicate their hearts to Him. Through their constant devotion, He guides them towards liberation.
What happens when someone receives God’s grace?
What happens when someone receives God’s grace?
Krishna explains the result of His grace:
तेषामेवानुकम्पार्थमहमज्ञानजं तम: |
नाशयाम्यात्मभावस्थो ज्ञानदीपेन भास्वता || (BG. 10.11)
Out of compassion for them, I, who dwell within their hearts, destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the luminous lamp of knowledge.
He says that he destroys the darkness in their heart with the lamp of wisdom.
Ignorance is often symbolised as darkness, but what is this lamp of wisdom that God talks about?
This lamp of wisdom is none other than Krishna’s divine grace. Our material senses and intellect are incapable of perceiving God. However, by Krishna’s grace, the soul receives divine senses, a divine mind, and a divine intellect, which enable it to experience God directly. The Vedānt Darśhan affirms:
viśheṣhānugrahaśh cha (3.4.38)
"Only by God’s grace does one gain divine knowledge."
Thus, Krishna’s divine grace dispels the darkness of ignorance, illuminating the soul with divine knowledge and uniting it with Him. Through this grace, Krishna draws His devotees closer, revealing His infinite glories and guiding them toward eternal bliss in His divine abode.
Summary: JKYog India Online Class- Bhagavad Gita Simplified [English]- 14th and 15th September 2024
