Summary:

Chapter 12, Verse 5: Direct pursuit of formless Brahman is challenging for those identified with body-mind. Attempting to jump from personal subjectivity to absolute reality without proper preparation leads to superficial understanding. Claims like “I am awareness” or “it's about being, not doing” often come from ego-identification rather than true understanding. One must first resolve worldly accounts and emotional patterns through proper understanding of forms before recognizing the formless.

Chapter 12, Verses 6-7: True worship of Ishvara means recognizing the all-pervading intelligence and aligning with dharma (universal ethics). Ishvara isn't a “total mind” containing individual minds, but the knowledge-power making everything what it is. Dharma is innate but gets clouded by childhood distortions, personal complexes, societal expectations, and past samskaras. Following dharma while seeing it as Ishvara's order leads to liberation, unlike mere ethical behavior which can lead to feelings of being uncompensated or superior.

REVISION SO FAR:

Krishna said to Arjuna, “Think about Me (as Ishvara), but don’t think Ishvara is different from Brahman”.

Without Ishvara, can’t get to Brahman because…

1. 1. Pramana is coming from Ishvara and not attributeless-Brahman. Source of knowledge has to come from all-knowledge.
   2. You can’t decide, “Today I want akhanda-akara-vrtti (thought that removes the final ignorance)”. Needs Isvara’s intervention. Meeting guru needs Ishvara’s intervention.
   3. To correct self-esteem, need to convert “world” to “Intelligently put-together world”, else complaining.

Satya-mithya Relationship with Ishvara & Brahman:

• • Even though highest goal is Brahman, it doesn’t mean Ishvara is inferior. Wherever there is form, there is Isvhara and Ishvara’s truth.
  • Therefore, no need to say, “I am final reality, and Ishvara depends on me”. Rather Ishvara’s teaching is “Tat Tvam Asi: You and Me are One”. There is no distance between satya-and-mithya. Relationship is:  Satya pervading whole of mithya, is free of mithya attributes.

NEXT VERSE: Krishna says going directly to Brahman is difficult…

VERSE 5:
Direct path of “I am Awareness” is difficult

क्लेशः अधिकतरः तेषाम् अव्यक्त-आसक्त-चेतसाम् ॥
अव्यक्ता हि गतिः दुःखम् देहवद्भिः अवाप्यते ॥ १२-५॥
kleśaḥ adhikataraḥ teṣām avyakta-āsakta-cetasām ॥
avyaktā hi gatiḥ duḥkham dehavadbhiḥ avāpyate ॥ 12-5॥

Greater is the affliction for those whose minds are committed to what cannot be objectified, for, an end which cannot be objectified is reached with difficulty by those who are identified with the body.

Personal bubble to final reality is impossible…

From subjectivity to Brahman is difficult, because one is living in a bubble disconnected from the real world. Mind is gross, unable to capture nuances.

Examples of subjectivity:

• • “I am awareness” > It’s still a person saying it. What's more, a jnani doesn’t need to say it.
  • “It’s not about doing, but being” > You’re never not being. You’re here to participate using power to know/desire/do.
  • “What am I supposed to do after knowing Brahman?”  > Question is coming from an individual identified with the doer.

Solution:

You first have to settle accounts with forms, before comfortable to recognize there's no difference between forms and formless. Otherwise unqualified mind remains busy giving stories and getting entangled in forms.

If you are angry / judgmental / bitter, 2 approaches:

• 1. Approach 1:
     • Content of every thought is Awareness.
  2. Approach 2:
     • Recognize the anger blocks you from appreciating your nature. What stories are you telling yourself?
     • Change the story. Bring in knowledge off order which makes you see why people behave the way they do. Called empathy. This way you don't feel victimized/helpless by others foolishness. See order in apparent disorder.

Which option? Depends. Sometimes need both, or just one.  Eventually emotion will resurface, but won't have power to disturb you.

NEXT VERSE: How to align your life to Ishvara? Through worship, dharma and meditation…

VERSE 6-7:
Methods to devotion to Ishvara

ये तु सर्वाणि कर्माणि मयि संन्यस्य मत्-पराः ।
अनन्येन एव योगेन माम् ध्यायन्तः उपासते ॥ १२-६॥
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi saṃnyasya mat-parāḥ ।
ananyena eva yogena mām dhyāyantaḥ upāsate ॥ 12-6॥

तेषाम् अहम् समुद्धर्ता मृत्यु-संसार-सागरात् ।
भवामि न चिरात् पार्थ मयि आवेशित-चेतसाम् ॥ १२-७॥
teṣām aham samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṃsāra-sāgarāt ।
bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha mayi āveśita-cetasām ॥ 12-7॥

However, those who worship Me, keeping me as the ultimate end, giving up all actions unto Me, meditating upon Me with a commitment in which there is indeed no other… …for them, whose minds are absorbed in Me, Pārtha (Arjuna)! before long I become the liberator from the ocean of saṁsāra that is fraught with death.

Those who worship Me:

• Possibilities living without Ishvara in one’s life:
  1. Atheist: God is just another concept people blindly follow.
  2. Agnostic: Undecided.
  3. Ishvara is away from me: The Lord is punishing/rewarding us. He is all-knowing, and has a purpose creating this world and people. He is deciding everything.  He is “total mind”.
• Correction: From above possibilities, need to move to…
  1. Iswara is knowledge-power which is everywhere and everything, and free of everything. Meaning each prior level has to come to this understanding.
  2. Ishvara is not total mind in which all our minds are contained, else your ignorance/distortions becomes God's. Knowledge-power is that which makes your mind what it is, bird's mind what it is, tree what it is. It’s in and through everything.
  3. Undoing distortions and aligning yourself to Ishvara’s laws (such as dharma), is called “Worshipping Ishvara”.

Keeping Me as Ultimate End:

I want to recognize Bhagavan as intelligence which is everywhere, for sake of ultimately knowing truth of Bhagavan and me are One.

Offering all your actions onto Me: (Your actions are going to altar of God)

Often interpreted as offering bhajans, pujas, prayers.

Actually involves keeping actions with dharma. I can’t ignore dharma while acting because it’s a non-negotiable order.

What is Dharma (samanya dharma)?

Universal ethical values. Ethics. Same across nations / culture / gender / time.

Dharma is not cultural norms:

Dharma is not to be confused with Cultural norms, because culture is different in every country. EG: Hunting animals, cannabolism, animal sacrifices, alcohol.

You become orthodox (rigid) if take dharma as cultural norms. EG: Recently in India, chanting was forbidden for woman, especially foreigners.

Dharma is inbuilt into all:

Everyone knows about dharma. Program is “I know what I want from others, and I know what others want from me.” EG: Kid won’t proudly tell father they hit someone. They’ll try to hide it.  Meaning human doesn’t get born neutral (blank on birth, then conditioned), nor adharmic.  But born with dharma, which becomes clouded.

If dharma is inbuilt, what makes us deviate from it?

1. 1. Childhood distortions: If father promised 5 candies and forgot, child feels, “Why is he not doing what he promised?”. Answer is because adult behavior is inconsistent, but child doesn’t know that, thus interprets, “Maybe this is normal behavior. Maybe something is wrong with me”.
   2. Complex developed: Eventually develops own ideas, resentment, distrust, rebelliousness. Becomes a personality complex. But can’t be outside laws for too long. One day, you’re brought back by force.
   3. Personal likes/dislikes. Extreme like for money for sake of social recognition, or dislike for poverty or hunger — causes the person to deviate from the program.
   4. Societal expectations: Each society and it's culture establishes “the perfect man/woman”. Further indoctrinated by social media. This creates pressure to become that ideal image at the expense of basic core ethics.
   5. Samskaras from past life. Impressions from past life are carried over and make up your personality. Impressions for “bad boys” will cause you to hang out with that crowd, who usually lacks basics ethics. Eventually non-ethical lifestyle becomes the norm for you.

Solution to Returning to Dharma:

Person needs to be in the world for their distortions to come out in form of situations/crises. This gives person impetus/incentive to rethink. Each time reducing pratibhasika (distortions), coming closer to vyavaharika (basic core person).

Comparing Pratibhasika / Vyavaharika:

1. 1. 1. Pratibhasika: This person is a criminal.
      2. Vyavaharika: He is good by nature, but confusion has caused deviation from natural program.

Conclusion: When act from pratibhasika, there is compensation system, whose consequences are inescapable. When follow dharma, you’re not only doing others a favour, but doing yourself a favour.

Difference between following ethics and seeing ethics as Ishvara’s order?

1. 1. Ethics:
      1. Uncompensated: Many are ethical, but feel life isn’t compensating enough for good efforts. They don’t understand infallible cause-effect relationship – every action brings corresponding reaction (most delayed).
      2. Complaining: Sinners getting away with it. Don’t understanding delay factor. EG: Duryodhana kept getting away with sin, and you never saw him pay consequences, thus conclude world is unfair.
      3. Intolerance: Person is highly dharmic, produces superiority (intolerant towards those not meeting your high dharmic standards).
   2. Dharma:
      • Unperturbed Seeing Foolishness: You’re not perturbed by adharmic foolishness. Less complaining when things don’t go your way.

— Verse 6-7 continues in next session —

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Recorded 10 Jan, 2025