Gita Acharan

257. Freedom from Grief


Listen Later

Krishna says, "Hear again My supreme instruction, the most confidential of all. I am revealing this for your benefit because you are very dear to Me (18.64). Always think of Me, be devoted to Me, worship Me, and offer obeisance to Me. Doing so, you shall come to Me. This is My promise to you, for you are very dear to Me" (18.65).

 

These verses are not stand-alone verses. Instead, they are the culmination of what was being told earlier when Krishna said, "Remember Me all times (sarveshu-kaleshu-anusmra) and fight. With mind and intellect absorbed in Me you shall without doubt come unto Me” (8.7). The riddle of 'remembering Him all times' is solved when Krishna said, "United with the self, one sees the self in all beings and all the beings in the self, he sees the same everywhere (6.29). He who perceives Me everywhere and sees all in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me" (6.30).

Krishna further says, "Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all sins, grieve not" (18.66). This is one of the most quoted verses of the Bhagavad Gita and in a sense, this is the end of the Bhagavad Gita.

Krishna earlier explained about swa-dharma (own nature) and para-dharma (others' nature). He encourages harmony and synergy with one’s swa-dharma (2.31-2.37). Subsequently, he gave the hierarchy when He said that swa-dharma is better than para-dharma (3.35) even when swa-dharma is faulty.

Now Krishna says to shun all dharmas and take refuge in Him. It is like rivers losing their individuality or swa-dharma when they become one with the ocean. It is like both the rose and lotus flowers realising that the same creativity is making them blossom.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Gita AcharanBy Siva Prasad


More shows like Gita Acharan

View all
The Stories of Mahabharata by Sudipta Bhawmik

The Stories of Mahabharata

918 Listeners