-Conclusion of 7th chapter; 8th chapter: verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 3rd chapter, verse 35
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on April 9, 2021.
-30th verse: “Those who know Me as the totality of all that exists – Adhibhutam, Adhidaivam and Adhiyajnam – they continue to know Me even at the time of death.”
-8th chapter starts with questions from Arjuna. In the 1st and 2nd verses, he asks: “What is Brahman? What is Adhyatma? What is action? What is Adhibhuta and what is Adhidaiva? Who and in what way is Adhiyajna present in the human body? How are You known at the time of death by those practicing spiritual disciplines?
-Lord Krishna answers starting with the 3rd verse.
-3rd verse: “Aksharam (Brahman) - as the imperishable, indestructible, impersonal, unmanifest reality - is the supreme truth. Its presence in every human being is called Adhyatma. The vibration of this potentiality into creative and evolutionary activities is called action (karma).
-Aksharam means indestructible. It also means something that is indescribable. Anything that can be explained, is finite and has limitations. Brahman is beyond these limitations. Scriptures only help to remove wrong notions about the supreme truth. Realization of the supreme truth is a matter of one’s own experience and cannot be explained.
-Our Antahkarana is like a mirror on which this supreme reality is reflected. When we practice spiritual disciplines with shraddha, the Antahkarana becomes pure, like a clean mirror, and the supreme reality reflects with more effulgence.
-Yajna as a Vedic ritual involves offering auspicious things in the fire as an act of renunciation, for the good of the world and to propitiate the devatas (gods). Yajna in Gita refers to any noble activity done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, without selfish motives, and as an offering to God. Both types of yajnas constitute action (karma).
-Yajnavalkya in a reply to Gargi in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad describes Aksharam (Brahman) as “At the command of that Reality, O Gargi, the sun and moon hold their courses; heaven and earth keep their positions; moments, hours, days and nights, fortnights and months, seasons and years–all follow their paths; rivers issuing from the snowy mountains flow on, some eastward, some westward, others in other directions.”
-4th verse: “What is perishable – comes into existence and later disappears – is Adhibhutam. The reflection of the supreme reality in the human body is Adhidaivam. The supreme reality itself is Adhiyajna, as the cause of evolutionary activity and sustenance of the universe.
-5th verse: “Those who at the time of death remember Me alone – when they leave the body, they attain Me. There is no doubt about it.”
-5th verse reveals the mystery of human life, death, reincarnation, and the doctrine of karma. Brahma Sutras discuss this in further detail – the dynamics of leaving the world and the dynamics of returning to the world.
-Doctrine of karma in Vedanta is the opposite of pre-determinism – it says that we can assert our future and freedom by generating good samskaras.
-6th verse: “Whatever object one thinks of at the time of death, he attains that very object, being absorbed in its thought.”
-The dominant idea at the time of death constitutes the background of next life. The dominant thought at the time of death is linked to what ideas dominated one’s life. At the time of death, one cannot just think what he wants - one’s true nature comes out.
-Isha Upanishad depicts a person pleading and praying to his mind at the time of death – “O mind, think of all the good thoughts, words and deeds from your life.”
-3rd chapter, 35th verse: “It is better to practice one’s own Swadharma, even if practiced imperfectly, than doing someone else’s work in a perfect manner.”
-Swadharma, is work that naturally comes to us “unasked”, by virtue of our qualification and fitness. When we do our Swadharma, we find contentment. When we neglect our Swadharma, we violate Ritm - the central principle of inherent harmony that exists in nature, at a cosmic level and at an inner level.