Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11: Verse 47 - Verse 55)

Rahul N Singh: 0:02

Hello and welcome to 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 will be looking at chapter 11 verses 47 to 55 and then that will be concluding this 11th chapter. Let's get started with verse 47. Sri Bhagavan spoke: As a kindness to you Arjuna, I have revealed my param roop, my supreme form, manifesting it entirely through the yoga maya of my unlimited Atma. This brilliant, unborn, original and universal form of mine has never been revealed so completely to anyone before you. Let's break this verse up a little. Sri Bhagavan spoke: As a kindness to you, O Arjuna, I have revealed my param roop, supreme form, manifesting it entirely through the yoga maya of my unlimited Atma. So Sri Krishna here is reminding Arjuna that it was his kindness that allowed him to see the Param Roop, the Supreme Form. Without the kindness of Sri Krishna, this would not have happened. So Arjuna asked for it, and then at the same time appealed and asked again for Sri Krishna's kindness to stop showing him this Infinite Form. So he's saying the kindness was there before, kindness is here now. That has not changed. This is why Sri Krishna wants to remind Arjuna that you asked for this. So don't expect that it should have been something different, you know, you asked for this. And then he says, manifesting it entirely through the Yoga Maya of my unlimited Atma. Yoga Maya is basically the mystical Brahman energies that act like a veil, protecting the True Identity from those who are not yet qualified to see this Truth, to see this Reality. So that's what Maya is. When it's done with Yog, when it's done in union with Brahman, then that's what it does. It acts like a veil and it hides both gross aspects to it and also the subtle aspects to it. And it hides the good and the bad. It tells, it gives us only what we need to see or perceive just enough to function properly in life. To put it bluntly, this whole manifestation of the Infinite Being that Arjuna saw was created through this illusionary veil beyond this is the unlimited Atma, so this is another way of seeing it. So the Virat Roop is just another Yoga Maya, just another form of Maya. And beyond that is the unlimited Atma, which is changeless, which is Nirguna Brahman. It is through Nirguna, remember, that Saguna is but Saguna can never be Nirguna. This is something we must fundamentally understand here. That yes, it manifested Itself through Yoga Maya but it's of that unlimited Atma. That unlimited Atma is that Real which does not change. So it's really important for us to realise that the limitless, Formless Awareness that presents this illusory manifestation that arises is from its own energy. Therefore we do not need to see it as something separate or anything different, but remember, Nirguna is Supreme. Then he says, this brilliant, unborn, original and universal form of mine has never been revealed so completely to anyone before you. So this Shared Being, which is contained within this Formless Awareness is brilliant because there's nothing second, there's nothing like It, there's nothing that comes to a close second to It. It's unborn, it's brilliant because it can destroy things without a trace, it can create things without a trace of Itself. It's that wonderful, it's that brilliant. It's unborn, it isn't born because it is a manifestation that appears, that's what Arjuna saw and it's original because it's a source of all existence. Everything is emanating from It and this manifestation is nothing but a reflection of the unlimited Atman. It's a universal form because it's the manifestation of all existence and this Shared Being has never been revealed to anyone like this before and Sri Krishna wants Arjuna to realize this that what he's been given is a unique opportunity. So this was no small ask from Arjuna, it was a big ask and Sri Krishna delivered. Verse 48. This cosmic form of Mine cannot be seen by reciting the Vedic mantras, by offering large donations, or by performing the Agnihotra Yajna, neither is it revealed to those who perform elaborate rituals, nor to those who undertake harsh and demanding tapasya. On this human loka, Arjuna, you are the only person to whom this form has been so fully revealed. Very interesting verse. So let's look at the first part. This cosmic form of Mine cannot be seen by reciting the Vedic mantras, by offering large donations or by performing the Agnihotra Yagna. So no Vedic mantras can be chanted enough to see the true extent of this Shared Being. Most people when they chant a mantra, it's mainly towards one specific deva or element. But if one can go beyond that and go towards the Formless, towards Brahman, then they may be able to see something a lot more, but Vedic mantras mainly are to do with worldly matters. And some people think they can offer large donations, you know, but this cannot be bought. Nobody can sell this to you. It has to be given freely. It has to be shared freely because Sri Krishna did the same. He didn't ask Arjuna for anything in return. He didn't say, go and fight now because I showed you this. He hasn't said this. Yeah, he showed it because Arjuna desired to see it. So he made it happen. But he never said, Arjuna, I'll only grant your wish if you fight this war. He doesn't even say that. That's why Arjuna has referred to him as kind and merciful. A lot of people think, oh, if I offer large donations, I would get somewhere better spiritually, I can get access to the busiest mandir, I can get access to the biggest guru there is. Yes, you may get front seat, but would you be able to see what a true disciple sees? That's the question. Nor by performing the Agnihotra Yajna, which is the offering of the ghee to the sacred fire. None of these things can help you see the full Shared Being nor do they make you worthy of it too. This is what Sri Krishna is saying and remember, a lot of people do these havans, these puja paths, these so many rituals, Sri Krishna is saying rituals will not get you there. You do the biggest yajna you want to. It's not going to get you this divine vision, this cosmic form. Then he says, neither is it revealed to those who perform elaborate rituals, nor to those who undertake harsh and demanding tapasya. So some people do really elaborate and difficult rituals, even then they cannot bear witness to this Shared Being. They do all these difficult rituals with so many instructions and so many requirements but even then they cannot get a sight of the Beloved, yeah, they still cannot get there. And some undertake harsh and demanding tapasya, they go up to the Himalayas doing all sorts of austerities, they starve themselves, they do so much but this again will never be enough to have this Shared Being, this Saguna Brahman, this Ishvara, this Nirguna Brahman to be revealed to them. And then he says, on this human loka, so in this human realm, Arjuna, you are the only person to whom this form has been so fully revealed. So out of everyone on this planet, who thinks they are the name and form, it is only Arjuna who has seen this fully revealed divine vision. The full extent of the manifestation, only he has seen it. Someone may ask a question, and I would even ask this question, has only Arjuna seen this divine form? And let me remind you of Guru Nanak Dev ji, because in the Japji Sahib, he says there's worlds upon worlds. He talks about the expansion of the universe or universes. So I would say that it's only in this situation, where an avatar has shown the disciple the divine vision. Yet, anyone that goes to a guru, anyone who does sincere devotion, sincere inquiry into the Self, they will get this vision too. But this vision isn't everything. Remember, it's still Yoga Maya. What is more important? Nirguna Brahman. If you see all this existence, in all its beauty and terrifying forms, will it get you closer to mukti? Yes or no? That's the question. So that's why for us we have to understand, yes, it's the first time and the only person that's had this revealed to them by Sri Krishna is Arjuna, but we can all experience this. It's no biggie. All we need is a Guru that will show it to us. But even the Guru will say this is temporary, don't go for this vision. There is something beyond it. Then verse 49. Do not tremble or remain in a state of bewilderment because you have seen my ghora roop, ghastly universal form. Be free of all fears and feel love and joy in your heart as you now behold my original roop, my all attractive, two armed transcendental form as Sri Bhagavan. Very interesting. We know about the ask in the previous episode, which was to see the four-armed Vishnu. What does Sri Krishna do? He's answered it here. So let's look at the first part. So do not tremble or remain in a state of bewilderment because you have seen my ghora roop, my ghastly universal form. So Sri Krishna wants Arjuna to not fear this ghastly side of the Shared Being. There's no point. There's no point fearing it, there's no point being scared of it, there's no point thinking that's what Sri Krishna is. It's a ghora roop. Remember he's beyond naam and roop. So there's no need for us to get stuck in any roop of Sri Krishna. And nor should he remain in a state of confusion or bewilderment or even awe and wonder at the horrifying or beautiful vision of the Shared Being that was possessed by him. Whatever form they saw of Sri Krishna there, Arjuna needs to forget about it. He does not need to be scared of it. He does not need to fear it. He says in the next part of the verse that be free of all fears and feel love and joy in your heart as you now behold my original roop, my all attractive, two armed, transcendental form as Sri Bhagavan. Sri Krishna tells him openly to be free of all fears. He says be free of all fears. We need to have freedom from all fears. There is nothing to be scared of. This is what he is telling him, to calm him down. Then he tells him to behold the form of his friend, Sri Krishna, as he's always seen him. So remember, he's gone from, he was asked about showing the four armed Vishnu, but even then, Sri Krishna didn't grant this. He said, see me as your friend. Because the spiritual friend is a higher relationship, it's a more beautiful and intimate relationship. And this is what Sri Krishna is hinting upon. And he says, feel love and joy in your heart. Now you see me as your friend. Keep this love. Feel that love and joy. And remain in this. There's no need to deviate away from this. There's no need to think of that other form. And he says the word all attractive, because the Guru's form is always attracting for us. Because it's beyond beauty, and it allows us to feel peace in the heart. We see our Guru and we are full of devotion. We see our Guru and we are full of that intimate love that cannot be replicated in any way. Then he also says, and this is interesting, the two armed transcendental form, this shows an important aspect that this form will also have to be transcended. That is Sri Krishna. It's also going to have a demise one day. It's also Mithya. What you refer to me as Sri Bhagavan, this is my transcendental form. Another way one can say is that if it's a transcendental form, then it's transcending form itself. That's another way to see it. And that is, that it's a spiritual and divine form of Sri Bhagavan, which is Sri Krishna. That's two ways of looking at it, where one can say you can transcend form or, it's the form that has already transcended, because it is of something divine. Two ways to look at it, two ways to interpret it. Then verse 50, Then Sanjay said to Dhritarashtra: After speaking those words of reassurance to Arjuna, Sri Krishna assumed his original and true form, having returned to his saumya vapu, beautiful and all attractive body, he calmed and consoled Arjuna who was still fearful and disturbed. We now see Sanjay narrate this to the Blind King. After speaking these words of reassurance to Arjuna, Sri Krishna assumed his original and true form. We know from here that Sri Krishna's words were reassuring for Arjuna, they definitely helped him. And then he returns back to his usual form as Sri Krishna, so this is then described. Then he says, having returned to his Saumya Vapu, the beautiful and all attractive body, he calmed and consoled Arjuna, who was still fearful and disturbed. Once he returned back to his form, which is beautiful and all attractive, all the devotees are in love with this form, which is pleasing to the eyes and gives coolness to the heart. Sri Krishna, then calms Arjuna with this sight that he can behold. And then he consoles him. He gives him a hug. He embraces him because Arjuna is still fearful. He's still disturbed and he wants Arjuna to transcend this. He wants to get rid of this. And when the guru hugs you, there's no other place you want to be. Trust me, there's a certain closeness you feel with that embrace and when I read this, I reflected upon when my guru would hug me and it brought back those feelings those memories where you literally felt you know heaven is right here. It's definitely here right now but that's the feeling you get. Blissfulness is right here. This is ananda, just being embraced by the Guru. Because when the Guru embraces you, when you feel that hug, you feel that nothing can harm you. And this is what's happening for Arjuna right now, as Sri Krishna hugs him. Then verse 51. Arjuna then spoke, O cause of the many births of all beings. Seeing your gentle and pleasing human like roop once again, I've regained my true nature and my heart is full of delight. Arjuna knows now how Sri Krishna is the source of all existence. So he says, oh cause of the many birth of all beings. Then he says, you know, seeing your gentle and pleasing human like roop once again, so it's very interesting. He's calmed down, he's composed, after seeing the pleasing and gentle form of Sri Krishna, but he has said something human like. So this form appears to be human, but it's something beyond that too. This is what he's hinting upon. And remember, we all have this human like roop, which is the Atma. The Atma, when it's reflected, it's the human body. That's all. And as he says, I have regained my true nature. What's his true nature? The Atma. He realizes he's the Atma again. That's the power of the embrace of the Guru. Therefore, he's full of delight and joy. Because once you go back to your true nature, there's only joy and there's only delight. There's only relaxation, there's only happiness. And that's exactly what Arjuna feels. Then verse 52. Sri Bhagavan said: This Vishwa Roop of mine, which I have just revealed to you, is extremely difficult to see, even the devas are constantly wishing to see that form. We are going to look at the whole verse altogether, it's a very short explanation, but this infinite Shared Being with all its parts is very difficult to see and comprehend, all at once. So even the devas have wished to see it, they have been begging for this vision, but even they cannot see it. Because it's extremely difficult for anyone to take in. He has said that they continuously still want to see this form. They still ask for this form. One thing to note is that Sri Krishna is telling Arjuna that look where I have placed you. You being my friend, do not see it as a detriment. Look what I have done for you. You know this is what he's trying to hint to him. Hopefully Arjuna understands this but this is really important to understand. Then in verse 53. But it is not through dana, yajna, tapasya, or the study of vedic knowledge that I can be seen in my universal form as you have seen Me. Let's look at this verse as a whole. He says but it's not through dana. We know that it doesn't matter how much charity you do, you still cannot see this truth. Charity is a by product of understanding your true nature. It should be selfless anyway. This is selfless seva. This is the seva that's done without wanting anything in return. So no matter how much you donate to a Guru, it doesn't mean that you will get the Gyana. Some people think they can buy the Gyana, it cannot be bought. There is no value you can put on the Gyana. If you put all the wealth of the world together, that still does not equal to a miniscule of the value of this Brahm Gyana, not even a minute aspect. It's not even worth a speck of dust of that truth. That's the value of this Brahm Gyana, this knowledge of Brahman, this insight into Brahman. It's no ordinary matter. Even if someone does thousands of yajnas, they still cannot see the infinite form. They think, if I do this yajna, then the devas will be pleased, then I'll see the divine form. Many people are cunning. They think, let me put on this show of doing yajna. This will not be enough either. This is just a show of your influence, not necessarily your devotion. Then he says, nor though tapasaya do your austerities. Even then the capability is not given. I've mentioned in a previous episode how Mahatma Buddha did so much, but still he could have done all of that at home. He didn't have to starve himself. He didn't have to do all that he did to get to enlightenment. Same here. You can do all your tapasya. Do all the austerity, starve yourself, feel thirsty for many days, fast and all this. Be silent, do all of these things. It still cannot get you to the truth. They're good actions, they're good karma, but that's it. Not anything more than that. Nor by studying the Vedic knowledge will reveal this universal form, this virat roop. Why? Now this is telling because... Sri Krishna, although saying nobody has seen this form except for Arjuna, but at the same time, he isn't giving this concession that one, by seeing this form, one will become enlightened. So this is very telling, if you think about it. Before I go into why, studying the vedic knowledge will not reveal this universal form. Sri Krishna we know that he has already said that nobody has seen this form except for Arjuna, right? But he's also making this statement that it doesn't mean that if you see this universal form that you will reach enlightenment. He's not making that statement. Sometimes you have to read between the lines what is being said here. What is Sri Krishna really talking about? Remember, study of the Vedic knowledge is for Gyana. When we study Vedanta, it's so we can get liberation, so we can get freedom, so we can get mukti, this is the purpose. if you look, Arjuna saw this divine form, but did he get mukti? Did he get free? No. What happened? He became full of fear, he was trembling. So we know that seeing this divine form, this universal form is not everything. If you see Saguna Brahman in all its glory, it doesn't mean anything. All you're seeing is Yoga Maya. So even though this is amazing, it really isn't something we should wish for either. The question we must ask is what would we get from witnessing all of this? What will we achieve? What will be the end goal? If it doesn't bring us liberation, then what? Then verse 54. Only by pure and unwavering bhakti yog can I be seen, known and understood in my most essential, true and ultimate nature. O Arjuna, only in that way can you reach, attain and fully enter into the mysteries of my many divine forms. Let's look at the first part here. Only by pure and unwavering bhakti yog can I be seen, known and understood in my most essential, true and ultimate nature. First of all, one has to have pure devotion. Very important. It shouldn't be mixed with conditions and expectations. Our intentions must be very, very clear. So they need to be very, very pure. And our devotion needs to be unwavering. It cannot fluctuate. It cannot be that one day I will do so much bhakti, the next day I will do nothing. Or I keep bhakti for some weekend activity, but it's not my everyday daily life, that is wavering bhakti, that is conditional bhakti. Unconditional, unwavering bhakti is when it's constant. It's the same, we are always remembering the divine name. We are always remembering this Brahman. We are always in the awareness of this Brahman. We are absolutely in the knowledge and discernment of Aham Brahmasmi. There is only Brahman. I am only Brahman. I am only the Self. The name and form is something the Self possesses, not what I am. These very subtle nuanced points is what Bhakti Yog is. Bhakti Yog is being stable and being consistent with Gyana. That is Bhakti. Here he says we must constantly utilize our emotions in the remembrance of the Lord. If we feel love, we do that. If we feel joy, we do remembrance of the Lord. Basically, anything we feel, we do in the remembrance of the Lord. I would even go far to say, if you feel angry, do it in the remembrance of the Lord. It's okay. But the bhakti should not waver. Neither should it fluctuate. Now what is he talking about here as he says only through bhakti yog can he be seen, known and understood in my most essential, true and ultimate nature. What does Sri Krishna mean here? Because this is a statement which is interesting. First of all, only by pure and unwavering bhakti can I be seen. What is to be seen? This existence. This existence is a reflection of That which I know. What is it that has the capacity to know? What is it that witnesses everything, that sees everything, but is not touched by anything or affected by anything? What is it that knows everything, yet cannot be known in itself, because to know it will mean it's an object. And what is it that is understood without any explanation? It is Nirguna Brahman, simply. That can be seen, known and understood in my most essential, true and ultimate nature. What is the most essential nature? First of all, it would be the Virat Roop, the existence. Without existence, without maya, It's not essential, but that's if you only believe in Saguna Brahman. If you believe in Nirguna Brahman, then what's the most essential? Awareness. What is most true? Awareness. What is the ultimate nature? Awareness, Consciousness. That reality which does not change. This is why Nirguna Bhakti is Supreme Bhakti. Worship the Nirguna and you'll get everything. Saguna comes part with Nirguna. But with Saguna, Nirguna is not a part of. Because with Saguna you'll be stuck there. That's the beauty of that Yoga Maya. But, if you know the true essential ultimate nature which is Nirguna then you can know everything. This this is a very what to say this is a very difficult concept to understand but if we understand this, we are moving forward and you may need to listen to a few times. I had to study the Bhagavad Gita many times before I've come to this understanding and in years to come my understanding will deepen. So what I say today may not apply in the number of years later but or my explanation will become a lot better. One thing will not change is that I will always have a non dual understanding, that is something I can guarantee. Through bhakti, this ultimate reality, this Brahman can be seen, known and understood as awareness, simply. How can you see awareness? Awareness, the one that sees... becomes the seen, the one that knows becomes the known, and the one that understands becomes the one understood. That's what awareness does, that's what Pure Consciousness does. Then in the next part of the verse he says Oh Arjuna, only in that way can you reach, attain and fully enter into the mysteries of my many divine forms. Once one is in Formless Awareness, once one is established in Nirguna Brahman, one has already entered into the many mysteries, one has already entered into the mysteries of the many divine forms. We see this Maya is all good. There's no reason to condemn it, there's no reason to praise it, it simply is. And... We're all good with it. It is pure consciousness that is within those forms, it's not separate, it's just that one changeless underlying reality, which is awareness, Pure Consciousness. One must first reach and understand Formless Awareness, that's understood, how do we reach there? We take the aid of the Guru, the Guru then gives us the means to understand, the means to attain this Formless Awareness, this Nirguna Brahman. Then once we have attained this Formless Awareness with the help of the Guru, with the help of the teacher, the spiritual friend, we then make it our own. This is very important. We must make this truth our own. Arjuna has to make this truth his own. And then one must fully enter and abide in Formless Awareness. Only something that is Formless can entertain many forms, can comprehend it, can take it all in, can understand it, can understand the nuance and the complexities. Consciousness is the mystery that many cannot resolve. This is simple. Hence the one that has unwavering pure bhakti will be the one that sees that there is Awareness in all forms. Awareness never disappears, Consciousness never disappears. Then verse 55, which is the final verse for today's episode and of the chapter. O Arjuna One who is ecstatic bhakta lovingly dedicates all they do to Me, constantly thinking only of Me as the ultimate supreme being, and most loving friend, who has no attachments to matter, who is free of enmity with all living beings, and who is always devoted to Me, is certain to come to Me. This is a very, very important final verse. Many people quote this. But very few will understand this. We could literally do a whole episode on this. It is that powerful. But I'm going to summarize as much as I can. And maybe after August next year, when we've completed the Bhagavad Gita series, then we will look into... Maybe just doing a whole session on this one verse or aspects of this verse. Let's look at the first part of this verse. Oh Arjuna, one who is ecstatic bhakta, lovingly dedicates all they do to me, constantly thinking of me as the ultimate supreme being and most loving friend. First of all, whoever is an ecstatic devotee, yeah, forever enthusiastic, forever enraptured in that love. They dedicate everything they do to me, he says. That's the definition of an ecstatic bhakta. Everything they do is for the Lord. Everything they do is for Brahman, not for themselves. They are not selfish in any way. And everything is done through love. There is a Narad Muni, right, and in depictions you may see on TV, he is always saying Narayan, Narayan, anything he does, he does something mischievous, Narayan, Narayan, he does something really great, Narayan, Narayan, lovingly dedicates all they do to Narayan, or Sri Krishna or to Vishnu or to your isht-devta to anybody. Whoever you are fully devoted to. Yeah. You lovingly dedicate All you do, you brush your teeth, you think of your isht-devta praising your isht-devta. You are recording this podcast. Same thing. You listen to this podcast or watch this podcast. Same thing. You eat a meal, again everything you do, oh I'm feeding the Lord. You go to sleep at night, dedicate that sleep to Brahman. Everything is dedicated to Brahman. So who is the ecstatic devotee? The one who dedicates all thoughts, emotions, actions, results to this Formless Awareness, to Nirguna Brahman. Remember that is the ultimate way. And when one understands that Formless Awareness is the only ultimate supreme being, one is a true bhakta. One is an ecstatic bhakta, full of joy, full of ecstasy. And most of all, the one that makes it their most loving friend, they go to Formless Awareness, they attain Jivan Mukti. Because remember, as I've mentioned many times now, spiritual friendship is the highest relationship one can have. Once you have a spiritual friendship with anybody, even if it's your children, your spouse, your parents, your friends, your guru, everyone. Then you are living the highest relationship with all of them. Then you are in the highest relationship with all of them. Therefore, what do you do? You are constantly thinking of your Ishta Devta, your Guru, you're thinking of Brahman. This is the ultimate Supreme Being. And that's my most loving friend. When you live in that understanding and realization, then how can fear arise? How can you tremble, how can you get terrified? It's impossible. Then he says, who has no attachments to matter, who is free of enmity with all living beings, and who is always devoted to me, is certain to come to me. So first of all, one should have no attachments to any wealth, to any person, anything with a name and form, one should remain detached to. So there is no attachment to matter. Anyone that is attached to their clan, to their caste, to their wealth, to their position in society, to their status, all of those people are not living the true message of Sri Krishna. And one should be free of hatred with all living beings, because if there's hatred, there's going to be fear. Nobody likes to face their enemies, and if they face their enemies, it does create a fight or flight response. So Sri Krishna is saying, be an absolute love. If you love Sri Krishna, you love everyone. If you love Brahman, you love all of existence, you love Maya, for you Maya, is not separate, it is only Brahman, so one is always in that awareness and one functions in that awareness, in that understanding, and one must always be devoted to Formless Awareness towards Nirguna Brahman, really essential for us to understand this. And those that do this, those that are always devoted, those that are always in love with this Formless Awareness, they will go to this Formless Awareness, they will merge with this Formless Awareness, they will abide in that Formless Awareness. Formless Awareness will be the only thing, the only present, the only thing present in existence and they will remain there. This is Sri Krishna's guarantee. He's not on about himself, he's all about the true reality. This is the ultimate goal and nothing else should be expected. Let me re emphasise something because it's very important we understand this. Do not get trapped in the forms of Vishnu, nor the aspects of the Virat Roop or the Shared Being or even with Sri Bhagawan or Sri Krishna himself. Do not get stuck to the form. Sri Krishna lived many many years ago and therefore today he is nothing but a mere notion, an idea, a memory, an historical figure. How does he become a living reality? When we understand his true nature which is Nirguna Brahman. So there are two ways to see this verse. Either you make your Guru everything. Or you make Nirguna Brahman everything. And in my opinion, this is my humble opinion, you don't have to believe me, you don't have to follow what I say, you don't have to, you can even discard it. In my opinion, it is better to go for Nirguna Brahman. Make Nirguna Brahman your everything. Because this human body is made up of matter, it is perishable. It will decay, it will die, it will grow old, it will disappear. No Guru has remained alive, not even Sri Krishna, who was, as they say in the Bhagavad Purana, that he is the ultimate form. And even he did not last. We have to understand, because we have to transcend this body and mind itself, why should we worship something with the body and mind? This can be the first step, but it should not be the last step, neither should it be the second step. First step, yes, for sure, if it's easy to approach a guru and to create that love and devotion first to get to that ecstatic state of a bhakta, fine. But the second step, one must transcend the form. Therefore, ultimately... the most supreme step to take is to devote everything and anything to this Nirguna Brahman. This is the most supreme. This is the most important. Be devoted to this Nirguna and you will get everything. You will attain mukti. When he says always devoted to me, it is certain to come to me. Let's establish a few things here in this verse. First he says, constantly thinking only of me as the Ultimate Supreme Being. So constantly thinking of Nirguna Brahman and the most loving friend. So think of the relationship here. So first there's a dualistic notion, it's an idea, it's not a reality, just an idea. There's Nirguna Brahman and there's me. And you constantly think of Nirguna Brahman, constantly remember this Formless Awareness, constantly be in love with this Formless Awareness, have conversations with this Formless Awareness. First there is a dualistic nature. Then it says, who has no attachments to matter. What does that mean? You are free from the binding forces of the world. Then he says, who is free of enmity with all living beings. Because you see all as Brahman, why would there be enmity? There can only be love here. So one is free from enmity, freedom, mukti, liberated. Liberated from hate, liberated from matter, from material, from maya. Why? Because you Are constantly thinking of this One, who is always devoted to me. If you are already constantly thinking, feeling, emoting, everything is towards this Nirguna Brahman, towards Formless Awareness. What happens? You go to that Formless Awareness. You enter into Consciousness. In the Ashtavakra Gita, it is said, if you think you're liberated, then you will be liberated. If you think you're free, you will be free. Same thing here. Once you know you are pure consciousness, once you know you are Brahman, then that is certainly what you will become, and that simply is what you already are. And that concludes this episode and also the 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Thank you very much for listening. If you liked what you heard and liked what you watched, please do share this podcast with your friends and family who may enjoy this content. Do follow me on social media to keep getting updates. Join the Bearded Mystic Podcast WhatsApp community group to continue the podcast discussion, details are in the show notes and video description below. If you would like to support the Bearded Mystic Podcast as we discussed earlier, do check out the podcast Patreon page. Your support means everything, and it helps this podcast keep running. Details are in the show notes and video description below. Please do rate this podcast five stars and do give a review either on your favorite podcast, streaming app or on our website. Details are in the show notes and video description below. Please do like and comment on this video and subscribe to this YouTube channel. 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 Namaste.