Thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita: (Chapter 13: Verses 13 - 16)

Rahul N Singh: 0:02

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Bearded Mystic Podcast and I'm your host Rahul N Singh. Thank you for taking out the time today to either watch or listen to this podcast episode. If you are really interested in supporting The Bearded Mystic Podcast, and you've found great benefit in listening or watching these episodes, then please do support this podcast on Patreon where you can get ad free and bonus episodes along with other benefits depending on the tier that you select. Your support means everything, and it really does help the podcast keep running efficiently and smoothly, and also widens the audience that this message can reach to. If you would like to know more about it, the details are in the show notes and video description below. On Saturdays at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time there is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and Q&A. If you're interested in meditating with us as a community, then you can find out the details in the show notes and video description below. Please do like, comment, and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube and if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast streaming app, then please do give this podcast a five star rating. It helps the podcast get up in the charts and allows the algorithm to bring this podcast to new listeners and also do review the podcast if you can and make sure you do follow or subscribe to keep getting future episodes. Today we will be continuing on with my thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita and we'll be looking at Chapter 13 verses 13 to 16. So let's get started today with chapter 13, verse 13. Sri Krishna says I will now explain to you that knowledge which by knowing you will be re established in your immortal nature. The Parabrahman is my supreme and ultimate energy which has no beginning or end, unlike the realm of prakriti where everything is temporary. So let's look at the first part of that. I will now explain to you that knowledge, which by knowing you will be reestablished in your immortal nature. So first of all, Sri Krishna is expressing that he's going to now explain to Arjuna the knowledge that's required. So in the previous verses that we've been looking at, like for example, verses 8 to 12, they are mainly talking about the qualifications to get to that knowledge or the qualities one needs to have in order to get to that knowledge where the knowledge makes sense and we can understand it directly and it's more palatable. Sri Krishna talks about how he's going to now explain that knowledge to Arjuna. And it says once you know this knowledge, once you've understood that, you're going to get re established in your immortal nature. Now, you've always, so it's not like this immortal nature goes anywhere, it's not like it disappears and then doesn't appear. It's always there, but you're going to rediscover it, you're going to find it again, and you're going to be like, this is what I am. And I've always known this, and obviously I forgot about this. And that's what happens. When we take this Brahm Gyan, when we take this knowledge, we realize, wait, we've always been this Atma, this Brahman. Why did I even entertain that I am something else, that I am this body? Why did I even do this? And it's not that that feeling is wrong, like that you are the body, that's not a wrong thing, that's not a wrong notion. It's when we ignore the immortal nature, yeah, which is Brahman. That's, that's when the problems occur. So we're going to reconnect, reestablish what we've always been. Yeah, it's, we've known it before. It's already been established, but why is it going to be reestablished? Because now our mind is going to know about it. Our body's now going to know it. That's when things change. Yeah, that's when it's being reestablished. It's already established as the Atma, as the Atma itself re established when the mind and body understands or the Manas specifically understands that it is the Atma alone. Okay, so the next part of that verse is The Parabrahman is my supreme and ultimate energy which has no beginning or end unlike the realm of where everything is temporary. This part of the verse, I don't know why But it just reminds me of Adi Shankara Ji's Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya. Yeah, this, the only truth, the only reality, the highest reality, is Brahman. And this world is neither real nor unreal. It's just temporary. Yeah. In the relative world, it feels real, when you get to the higher reality, then you see that it's temporary and unreal, it's temporary and non existent, because it's only that one Brahman. this highest Brahman, the Parabrahman, Brahman that is the highest aspect of our true self, this is the supreme and ultimate energy behind all of existence. It's what we truly are, it's what this, what Sri Krishna is, and he's saying you are this too, you're not, we're not separate here, um, and then he says, you know, which has no beginning or end, it has no beginning or end because it's not being created, nor is it manifested, it simply is, it's just a reflection of that supreme and ultimate energy, it's all arisen from that, and this material world that we see, all of that is temporary, no matter what, that's Prakriti, that's the realm of Prakriti, that's the field. Whatever is the field is temporary, and the Parabrahman is the supreme and ultimate energy which has no beginning or end, meaning it's self existent and it's changeless. Because if something has a beginning and end, it's going through changes. And we all know that anything that is related to prakriti, related to nature, never stays forever, it is going to disintegrate, disappear, dissolve away, for sure. Then verse 14. The Parabrahman is my supreme and all pervasive being whose hands and feet reach everywhere, whose face, head, and eyes see in all directions, and whose ears hear all sounds everywhere, throughout the countless lokas, it is forever standing with surrounding and pervading all that exists. This is a very powerful verse and it reminds us of the virat Roop that Sri Krishna had shown Arjuna and it's kind of describing the same thing. But what we can see this as is the one appearing as many. The Parabrahman is my supreme and all pervasive being. Whose hands and feet reach everywhere, whose face, head, and eyes see in all directions, and whose ears hear all sounds everywhere throughout the countless lokas. So obviously, first things established, Brahman is all pervading. We know this as he says all pervasive being, so it's, it's interwoven into everything, yeah? Everything that we see is it's reflection. So when it says, whose hands and feet reach everywhere, where all of this existence, all these countless objects that we perceive in this universe is its hands and feet, its face, head and eyes, not literal, just like metaphorically, yeah, it's within everything is what Sri Krishna is saying and if it's here, it's also at the farthest place in the universe. You know, it's that vast. And being pure consciousness, one is the eternal witness. So it sees in all directions. Does it get affected by anything that's happening? No. It's just, it just hears sounds. It doesn't say it gets affected by the sounds. It just hears the sounds. It just sees in all directions. It's feet reach everywhere. There's not one place in existence where this Brahman is not. So this is what. Sri Krishna is explaining, you know, there's no space where this is vacant, it's filled with this Brahman, it's filled with this ultimate reality and, you know, it's able to hear sounds that are beyond our reach in terms of the body, yeah, so it's what Sri Krishna is saying is there's more beyond the body, basically, is what he's trying to hint towards. And when, you know, when he was talking about the sounds, like you can hear sounds everywhere throughout the countless lokas, that reminds me in the Gurbani and also in some of the Vedantic texts, they talk about the Anhadnaad or the Anhad Shabad, that's what possibly he's talking about too, that there's going to be such beautiful music, celestial music, or the sound of Aum, which will captivate you. That sound is everywhere or the sound of Aum is everywhere, right? That's another way of seeing it. So here in this particular part of the verse, what it's establishing is that this Brahman is the whole of existence and we, as we express it in many times in our podcast, it's actually the Shared Being. Then it says it is forever standing with surrounding and pervading all that exists. This is quite important. So in the first part, we have it as. You know, kind of being existence, being the virat roop, being all the celestial bodies, being all the material objects. It's basically the field. Then it says, it's forever standing with, surrounding and pervading all that exists. So there is like this, like I mentioned before, this slight separation or a slight kind of feeling of, I am, there is an observer within this field that is connected yet not connected, if that makes sense, it's really hard to explain sometimes, but, uh, without being paradoxical, this truth is always paradoxical. And this chapter is about being paradoxical. So it's, so yeah, in every space, in every atom, first of all, this Brahman is present. Yeah. Now let's take it to another level, even in space that we see, it's in this space there is atoms, and in the atoms is more space, so even in an object there is space, so in reality there is nothing but the void, but that void is the energy of Brahman. Yeah, that's, um, that's the way to kind of perceive this. Brahman surrounds all of existence and envelops it, yeah, it totally contains it all, yet is kind of untouched by it. It pervades everything internally, it is the energy within everything that even appears empty. Everything that exists it is ever present in it and is not separate. So you know like I talked about that separation, that separation is just an appearance but actually there's a unity within that separation between the observer and the observed. The other thing I wanted to add to to this is that when it mentions it's forever standing, so it's eternally there. There's not a single point of time when this is not present. So, remember that it's forever standing with, surrounding and pervading all that exists. Whenever there is an object, consider... That the witness consciousness is definitely present, even if you think it's separate. And even if those objects think it's separate, and think that it has separate consciousnesses, it's still that one consciousness. Then Sri Krishna says, that Great Being is the one who shares the sensory experiences of all beings, and yet is not bound by them in any way. Completely detached and yet maintaining all beings at the same time, that all pervading Brahman being experiences all the actions within the three gunas and yet is Nirguna, entirely beyond the influence of those gunas. Let's look at the first part. That Great Being is the one who shares the sensory experiences of all beings and yet is not bound by them in any way. So this great being, meaning Brahman, this Atma. is one who shares the sensory experiences of all beings. So, through all of existence, through all the living beings, all the living creatures, humans and not, it experiences those senses. So, you know, for example, cows can see, dogs can see, ants can see, animals can hear. Animals have the same senses we have, plants have certain senses, we have senses, so even though we all may have different sensory experiences, because there's only One Being, it's all, it's all being shared by that One Being, even though it looks like there's billions or trillions or, you know, countless sensory experiences of all beings, really, it's only happening to that One Being, and yet, no matter what the senses are projecting, no matter what is occurring due to those sensory experiences, this Being is not bound by them at all. So, it doesn't get trapped by those senses. It doesn't fall under the influence of those senses. It is not bounded by them in any way. It doesn't get limited by them. It is always free and always... Limitless. Then in the next part he says completely detached and yet maintaining all beings at the same time. So first of all it's completely detached to the sensory experience itself, it's separate to the, it's detached to the field, to the body. Nothing is built from it, like fear, desire or anger, etc. None of those things occur, neither is it attracted to anything, nor does it have aversion because it's detached and yet maintains them. Yet this Atma is maintaining all beings at the same time. Despite what is happening, is able to maintain all the beings too. This shows how powerful and potent this Being, this Brahman, really is. It's the great sustainer of all, and it does all of this effortlessly. It doesn't require any effort upon its part to do this. And... It's maintaining all beings at the same time so you know like it's literally the best multitasker that's around. Literally that's what he's talking about. And last part of that verse is that all pervading Brahman Being experiences all the actions within the three gunas yet is Nirguna, entirely beyond the influence of those gunas. So first of all this Brahman experiences the hyperactivity of Rajas. It experiences the laziness in tamas. And this Brahman also experiences the purity in sattva. So within these three gunas, this Brahman experiences it all. Yeah, it's all pervading so there's not one aspect of existence that doesn't go through. any of these gunas, so we know that people and living beings will go through either rajas, tamas and sattva, will have either all three or predominantly will have one over the others. Yeah, that is there, but who is really experiencing this? Well, he says the all pervading Brahman being. The field that is Brahman is experiencing this And the witness is observing the experiences of this. Yeah, because it's Nirguna And... Whatever actions are done in the gunas like for example, sleeping, talking, running, fidgeting, incessant thinking, meditating or praying, the all pervading Brahman also experiences all of this at the same time. It's doing all of these actions, yet, again, it is beyond the influence of all those actions due to that nature of the gunas. So, it's beyond those attributes. It's beyond the influence of any of the gunas and their responses and reactions. It remains itself unmixed, unblemished and untouched by any of the experiences by the three gunas because it is Nirguna. This formless awareness is complete and it remains to be complete. It doesn't at all diminish in any way. It's really interesting because what we have here, we have the gunas that manifest itself in nature without nature without these gunas, nature cannot be, cannot sustain itself and yet we see that there is something nirguna, so the field is nature with the gunas and the knower of the field is the Nirguna which is beyond the influences of the gunas. No matter what happens with these gunas, this knower of the field remains untouched, unblemished, unmixed, unharmed by anything that's going on. It's able to detach itself completely. Then verse 16. That great Brahman Being is simultaneously inside and outside of all beings. It always appears to be moving while in fact it is not moving at all. It is so subtle that it is all pervading and yet it is incomprehensible. It is always the most near and yet at the same time it's also the farthest away. This is where... You'll see many of the Upanishads have, will have this, you know, the Isha Upanishad contains these messages, you'll have it also in the Katha Upanishad, you know, you have these statements being made and again this is Sri Krishna saying that whatever he's teaching is not different to the Upanishads, it's not separate to the Upanishads, it's one and the same. So, let's break this verse up and go deeper into it. The great Brahman being is simultaneously inside and outside of all beings. So this Brahman first of all is within all beings, within every being in existence, within all of existence itself, and yet surrounds outside this existence and yet this Brahman surrounds this existence. Yet it remains detached from this existence. It's within our own heart and yet it's out there in the farthest star at the same time, it's, you know, inside and outside of all beings. It's inside of us and also around us. It's also in the other objects that we think is animate or inanimate, living or non living. It's also in that. It's like a wave is in the ocean and the ocean is the water. So it's... You know, it's all of those things. It's that one element of water. It appears as wave and it appears as the ocean. Same thing. It appears as this body. It appears as this material existence. And yet it is beyond this material existence. And this material existence is there because of it. For example, a seed becomes a sapling and then turns into a tree. The potential of the tree is in the seed. The seed contains the tree. And that's what it means by simultaneously inside and outside of all beings. Now the seed doesn't naturally just become a tree, it takes time to grow. And neither can one see the tree in the seed, right? Or the seed is no longer present in the tree. Right, that created it. It's become something bigger than that. Likewise with Brahman, it's both the seed and the tree. So it's both this body and the knower of this body. It's both the knower, the observer, the witness consciousness, as well as the body and all material objects. It always appears to be moving while in fact, it is not moving at all. Again, this is said in the Upanishads and for example, it's faster than thought, or, you know, there's statements like this that's made, and yet, you know, it appears to be moving, all of this existence is moving, for example, this world is rotating, yet it feels still. Likewise, this Brahman is, while our body is moving, it's the eternal witness that does not move despite the body moving. Despite existence moving, it's present in existence and doesn't move. It's the eternal witness. And, for example, because it's all pervading, there's, the all pervasiveness of it is still and doesn't move at all. Yet, everything is moving within that all pervading nature. And that's how it's moving. It appears to move, but it's actually not moving at all. So amidst the chaos, it's the center that is unmoved. So for example, when you have, you know, the wheels, uh, the center in the wheels that's holding it together, that doesn't move yet the wheel moves all the time. Then Sri Krishna says that it is so subtle that it is all pervading and yet it is incomprehensible. We're going into interesting places here. First of all, nobody can comprehend this, unless they understand that they are it that's the number one thing, is unless you understand it, then you get it. If you don't understand that you're It, you're not gonna understand it. The senses cannot define it, thought cannot define it. The mind cannot remember it. The intellect cannot understand it or describe it. It's beyond human comprehension. It's an experience. It's an, you can only experience it. You cannot, you cannot talk about it. You know, even calling it Atma and Brahman is a concession. It doesn't have a name. It doesn't have a form. And so that's why it's so subtle and it's so evident too, but we don't have the instruments yet to talk about it directly that's why the whole thing of neti neti right'not this not this' when we have to negate everything to only stay with that which has not which cannot be negated any further so this knowledge of Brahman is when we go beyond the physical and the subtle so the physical elements and also the subtle elements. At this moment, it's like when we receive the gyan, we receive the knowledge, when we enter that moment of insight is when we see it clearly and we see it all pervading. It becomes so evident we cannot deny it and it's so true for us that no matter if the world tells us that it's not true, we know it's true because we're experiencing it. Yeah, we've accessed that part of us which is able to understand it yet refuses to express it because the experience of it is more important. See, if you express it, it can cause ego, arrogance. That's why when you have this experience, this subtle experience, you go silent. Yeah, you don't have to say anything. You see this truth everywhere, in every place. You don't have to, you can't avoid this Brahman, right? What happens is you just fall under this deep, resting place of silence, and you're like, you know what, no words can describe this, no feeling can ever get close to this, and that's how we feel, and then it is always the most near and yet at the same time, it is also the farthest away. We've briefly discussed this earlier, it's the most nearest to us. It's the closest thing to us. You know, I often say it's between your eyeball and your eyelid, that little space in between. It's in between that crevice. And yet, at the same time, it's at the farthest space. In a farthest star, to the end of the universe, it's there too. That's how it is. It's closer than the air that's touching our lips. It's closer than the air touching our skin. It's, it's in between. You know, the, this space here between when my fingers are touching, it's even within that. And yet it's the farthest thing away from us because it's all pervasive. It's, the furthest we can imagine of the universe to the end of the universe. It's even beyond that. Yeah. We can experience it when we actually do transcend the boundaries of the body and mind. When we transcend the field. And enter the Knower, we then see how this Knower is not just all pervading, it's beyond location. Uh, so remaining in awareness of formless awareness, it's experienced in all directions, in every direction. And we will never see the end of it either. So remember, it's the closest thing, and yet the farthest thing. So imagine how boundless you really are. As the knower, and this is what Sri Krishna is trying to invoke in all of us, to just know that you're just not this body and mind, you're much more than that. Embrace this today, embrace it. 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Do follow or subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast streaming app. Thank you very much for listening to this episode. Let's end with the Shanti mantra and the Soham mantra. Soham Soham. I am That. I am That. Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum Peace Peace Peace