Srimad Bhagavad Gita

Compiled by
Tarun Baruah
Krishna Nagar, Sarbaibandha
Jorhat, Assam-785 001
All Rights Reserved

GITA

1n 1n
(2a)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Sri Aurobindo has explained the Gita in his book Essays
on the Gita very elaborately. This compilation is based on
his explanation of the synthesis of Yoga of the Gita. Except
few slokas, the explanation of the slokas has been quoted from
Essays on the Gita with due permission from the Ashram Trust.
I hope the book will help the readers in understanding the true
meaning of the Gita and arouse aspiration in the heart for higher
life. The spiritual force contained in the words of Sri
Aurobindo is sure to awake our souls from sleep and thereby
bring about social transformation. I thank Sri Aurobindo
Ashram Trust for giving me permission to quote from their
publications.
Tarun Baruah
(3a) (4a)
How to establish a stable peace and silence in the mind ?
First you have to will, and then you have to try, and go on trying.
There are many methods. Here is one. Sit down and, instead of thinking
of fifty things, say to yourself, "Peace, peace, peace." Imagine the calmness
and silence. Donot look at the thoughts, donot listen to their noise.
Snatch opportunities again and again to sit down and create the spell
of 'Peace'. Do it as soon as you wake in the morning and when you go to
bed in the evening. It will have a good effect on your health also. Do it a
few minutes before eating. You will be surprised how much it helps you
to digest your food. If you continue long enough, peace will not have to
enter into your head; whatever you do, whatever the circumstances, it
will always be there. But it takes years.
The Mother, AIM, Dec. 74
Liberation from Karma : This sort of fatality that one sometimes
feels weighing heavy on one's life, which is called Karma, is the result
of past lives; indeed, it is something that has to be exhausted.
But because it is a Karma, you have to do something yourself.
Karma is a construction of the ego; the ego must do something, everything
cannot be done for it. The truth is this : Karma is the result of the
actions of the ego, and it is only when the ego abdicates that Karma is
dissolved. (AIM Oct 82)
Power of Imagination : The imagination is really the power of mental
formation. When this power is put at the service of the Divine, it is not only
formative but also creative. A good deal of our life embodies the products
of our imagination. Every time you indulge your imagination in an unhealthy
way, giving a form to your fears and anticipating accidents and misfortunes,
you are undermining your own future. On the other hand, the more optimistic
your imagination, the greater the chance of your realising your aim. The
power of mental formation is most useful in Yoga also. If you always dwell
in the idea and feeling that you are going to be transformed, then you will
help the process of Yoga. The Mother
All speech and action comes prepared out of the Eternal Silence.
Sri Aurobindo Ths & Aphs
DIVINE LIFE
The true aim of human life is souls progress, souls evolution and
the ultimate goal is realisation of soul and union with God. This can
be achieved only by Yoga. Yoga transforms our ordinary life into
divine life. By Yoga we can transform our mind, life and body and
raise them to higher level. God who lives in our body as our soul is
our Yoga-guru, the Teacher. Aspire for Divine Grace very sincerely.
Only by Divine Grace man can find his soul and attain divine life.
Divine Grace unites man with God in minimum time. Faith in Divine
Grace is absolutely necessary. God is with me and guiding me-such
firm faith is necessary.
HOW TO BEGIN YOGA
Practise silence of mind every day. Call down peace and silence.
Pray God to give Peace and silence. Surrender to God for guidance.
There can be no Yoga without surrender. It is only by Divine Grace
man can find his soul. Keep constant aspiration in the heart for higher
life. Aspiration is the driving force that pushes you forward. Remem-
ber the Divine as often as possible. This habit will keep you open for
working of the Divine Shakti in you that will transform your human
nature into Divine nature. Offer all you do, think and feel to the
Divine. Silence, Surrender, Aspiration, Rejection of falsehood these
are the key words of Yoga. Meditate on this thought all is in God,
God is in all, all is God, the universe is God.

~:|+ |- :: |: |-: =+- ~| ||:+ |-+ =+-+ +|-
:~ |: |+ -+; | | |-+ =+- | ~:|: |
:;=|-+ |= |-: = |: -- + |+| | ||:+
~:| =- |~| |~ ~+ ++ ~: |- + |~+ +
||+ || | + : | ||+ || |~+ + |-= | || ||+
|+ |||+: + ||+ ` |-= =|+ =|- ~:|: |- | |: ||+ ~:
=;+ + ||- = :| |-+ =+-+ = | = |: |~|| | =|
|:~ : | ` |, ||, aspiration in heart, will in mind; |+
aspiration |: : | ||++ |: |~|| |||+ ++ | :|
:: |:, | |||+ |:~ ++ || |+ ||+ | = - | |+ :|~:
|| | |: |+ ~: :|~ |+ |-+ |: :: ==- |-+ + :|:
|:~, ||:| |:~ |z ||+||- |-=+ | absolute sincerity, rejec-
tion of falsehood, surrender, constant aspiration, determination, cour-
age, perseverance, tolerance, endurance = ||- ||~ + |:
|- |:|:+ +|- | +|+ : |=- |: || +|- := ` silence |
| |+|- ||: silence || || |+: - |. |o: Peace,
Peace, Peace, Silence, Silence || : |. + | |+ || |. :- |~+
| :| :: = |. + | || ||~ |-|: ||+ :~ :~ -:|
:: =:|:+ |.| |+ |. + | ||- nerve |++ rest | ||
|||- | |:~ - || | |:|++|+| | ||+|+ |: = || `
|:|+ + offer +| , |:|+ :|| | |+: |, Lord, I offer my
thoughts." :|+ ||: |:| | :|+ |- || |:~ +|- +|+ = :| |: =
||
|~+ + + |-:= =+| The Yoga and its objects-:
||:, God himself is the Guru, you will find when knowledge comes
to you; you will see how every little circumstance within you and
without you has been subtly planned and brought about by infinite
wisdom to carry out the natural process of the Yoga, how the internal
and external movements are arranged and brought together to work
on each other, so as to work out the imperfection and work in the
perfection. An almighty love and wisdom are at work for your uplifting.
It is a tremendous work that is being done in you, the alteration of
your whole human nature into a divine nature. Your ship is the
brahmavidya, faith is your steering-wheel, self-surrender your
compass, God himself is your captain. But he has his own way of
working and his own time for everything. Watch his way and wait for
his time.
|~+ + ||+ -+ |:+:: |: ||+ || |+:+ |+:|+
| -+ |:+: | ++ ~: :|~ ||- +|:| | - |.
(5a) (6a)
|+ |||+: ++ ~: :|~ ||- ` :|+ |: |:| ||~, ardent
aspiration, sincere aspiration; +|- |+|+| ||+ | =|: `
| | || -, | |+ - |-=+ - |- || = ||+
-| psychic transformation | psychicisation |~+ = :| .+
|+ ||+ .+:|+ -| spiritualisation | universalisation
|-:|+ + | + : -|: ~:|+ =; :|~+ |+:, :|~+ |+::+ +
||+ =|- |+ |: ++ static aspect | ||+ +|: | :+,
|z :|:~ ++ dynamic aspect |+ ||+ |-: | :|~ ++
dynamic instrument +||.+ ~:| |+ | |:+|+ |:
- -|+:| |:- |+ :|:~ | |:- = = - : : =
|+| |+ +|= |:|~ +|, enjoy an opulent kingdom [1133]
= = - + ||++ |: ~| :| =|- |-:, |z = - |
` |+| -| , +|= |~ |+ :, | || ||| + |+ |+||
- :|| =+- = |+ |:~, || - |+ -||:~ |+ =| = + ||
'Remember Me and fight,' :| :: | + +| |+ +|,
[87] ~:| + - |+, |+ =|- -- |+ =|- ||+ |:+: =|:
| +||.+ |+ |||+: ||. =+- | ` :| ||::+
++ +: | |+, :| + : | +, ++ ||:+ |- |:-| -|
= =|-: ||: =|-, |+ |+ | |:|-| =+ ` |.|+ |+|
++ ~: |: |~ |: |-+ |: |-+ |:
+||.+ = : ||-: |+|+ =| || ++ +: | ||
=| ||. =+- | |++ |: |+|| ||+ :|=- +:
|+ + |+ |:-| -| = =|- +:: `+||+| |- |:~ +
|+ +, : |+ ||-+ : |:| -:+ = ||: |- | +
|+| |+ :+ |-:|: `+||+| +:: |+|| || |-| |:
:|:| |=: :| - ||+|: | | || :| ++ , ||+
=+- :+ +|+ |: | =:- |.| |:| | | |- +,
:+ ||:+ |- |:-| -| + | || |:~ |+ |- | ||
|:~ ++ ~: | |+ |:||+|+ + = + + ||+ -::
|:, ||+ |=|+ ||=|: .++ +: :+ ||- |+: |
|+ |:||+| ++ | ||+ | =|-, |+ |:|~+ |:+: |:|~
= +|- |+ :- | |+ |:~ -:+ ++ ~: | |+
|:||+|+ + ` | |+ |:~ , :||+ |: |+ .+: |
|+ |:||+| |-| =:- .++ |+| ||: || =|: ` || +
| || || =|: `: ++ |: || |-:= ||
~:|+ | :|~ |- + | + : -|: ~:|+ | :|~+ |+:,
+ |+::+ ||+ |: =|=+ |: || -|+ :| ||::+
++ +: | |+ +|: :|~ |: :| ++ +|+:| |+
|:~ , = |:| | :| |+ |-| |: :=:| =-|:| :|~+
|-=+ | | =:| | -| :| |+ ~+| |+ :| + |+ +
=|=:| :+ |:: ||, :|:|, - :|:: |
` |:~ || =| |: = `: |- , |z = -`: - || -||:~
- :|| ++ | | ` |:~ :| | ++ |:: |+|:| |||+:
|: |:|+ ++ |:: ` |+: ~:|: |~ + ` |
: (250] ++ ~: :| +|: :|~ |: :|~
++ , instrument | channel +||.+ |+ :+ + +| ||+
|+| |: :|:| |-|+ (desire) | -| || ` |-|+ o| - ++ |
|+ |+ ~:|: |-| :|~ |+ :, :|+ |+ |-| :|~ |+: ++
| ||+ |:=|- | :+ + =||:, =|- |+ | ||- :
.++ |+| : -|| || -, |, +++ = =~:- (lower triple
world) | |+: |: : + =||:, =|-, | : |+|+, =|-:|, - :|
||++:- ` ++ | ||+ .+: |-| |- ` = |- ++
||:+ |- |:-| - Matter is also Brahman. |~+|+| ||+ |||+
-:| |:` |-.+ +||.+ |+ |||+ -:+ || |- ||,
|-+ :-| | - ~ |:|- :-| |+ |-| ++ | +||.+
|+ |||+ = +||.++ =|- ~:|: -| =+| :::+ |-+=+- --
Life Divine: = | ||: ~:|: |-: :- =|-:|~, :|~ |+
|:|~+ |: || ||+ |+ ||+ |-| (liberation) | |+ |||+
:|+ =|- |-:
=+| | |~+ | -+| : :|+ -| |:|~ (integral yoga) |
|:|-:|~ (supramental yoga) :::: : |+:-+ (evolution)
=: :- = |-|: |;- ||, :|+ ||: =+=z |+ : |-
|| ::- =| |-- || ||--| ||+: |-: : :-|+ =+ |||
`, : :|+ :-| |:|- :-| (supermind | supramental
(7a) (8a)
consciousness) ` |:|- :-|+ |- |-|- |+ |+-+ |=: -
|+ |:|- :-|+ |=+ .+:| |+- (|+|- | overmind) |:
|:|-+ |+: + | |- = |-|+|+| |+: |+ |+|-
:-|: lower triple world = - =~: ;, +=, : + +- |-
|+ |: ~+|:- -+:| -|| ; |-:, : :|:| |+ +- : :|+
||- |+|- - |+ |:|-+ |=+ =~- overmental world
|-+ -+ +||.+ =| |:|- :-| |+ ||:+, |+ :+ :-|
-|+|:+ |:|~+|+| |:|- || | |+ `: |+:+ |+:|+
+: | |+ ||~ |:|- (supermind) ++ instrument, :+
| |+ ||: |:|- :-| ||+ - |~|+:| -|| |:
|~ | `: =|-:|~, :|~ |+ |:|~+ | |= |:~
| |+: :|~ - + |+::+ || |~: |:+| |+ |||+ |-
||+ |.| |+ |-| |o |: |~ ~+ |-, ++ ~: |- ||
||+ |+ ++ ~: |-+ |: ~:|: =|-, |+ |+ |:|-| |
|-: | |~: |- |- =|-+ |::+ |~|: ||~: -+
|: |+ |+ |::+ |~|: |z |:| | |+ `: =|-,
|+ |+ | ||~ :| + :| |+ ~+| + ~+|:-
=- |+| -- +| = =|- |-: God is the doer of all works =
=|- :|~: :| :: -: +|| |:~ =: | |::+ -+:|
:- | :+ -:+ :| ++ :~: | |+ |:~ +
| (offering) ||+ -: | :+ :+ |+: (|| ) |:+
| ||:+, |+ :|:|: |+: |: ||++ =|: |+| |- ||:+
|: |++ -`: +|+ |:+ +||.+ :+ - Yoga bigins with
surrender. | |+:: |~ :+, | |~+ |+:| | +| |:-
|+ |+| ` | +| ego |:- separation |+|+ +|:
|: (-, |, ++) |+ || =::~ || -: - +: |:+ |-=| =|
` | | ego |: |z |:+ ego | ||+ |:| | |:| ||
|: - |+ |-=+ |- |- :|:| |:+ ` | ego -|:|+| `
= ` - | egoless +|:| ||: |-+ | ||+ |~+
|=:| | ||+, self-realisation | ||+ `: :-| ||: |+
| ||+ |+ ||+ ||+ =: +|-+|+|, |-|, |, =|-+
--, ++ -| +, ~ = :|:|:+ ||+ |:: | :+
||+ |:+ ||+ :-| | ||+ |: `: |+ |+ ||+ |:+
|+: | -, - |+ |+ |+: ||+ ||+ |:+ :~ :~ -, -,
|:+| |: | |+:- ` |: |:- +||.+ |+:- ~:|+ ||
||+ --|+ +|+ |:+ |:+: ++ | |+ :-| |:
:+ |-= |:+ |+ |+: :+ =||: |+ |- .++ |+| :
-|| || = +|+ |+ - = =~- | |+: |+ :+ || |:+
|-= || +||: =+| : The world is as real as God. | ||-
: =~- ||, illusion | |+|+ |+ ` ::|: |-+ material
nature | Divine Nature- +||.+ +|+ ||: -|=|:- |+: =
=~:+ |+| ||- (escape) +| =| |+|- | |: =+| :
|-+ = |: |-+ |: +||.+ |+ |||+, = |-|: | |-+
|, |-+ :-| =|-- | || |+ ||+: |:|-+ |||+ ` |||-+
|| -+ ||+ |- | |+ : || | : :|: money power
| neglect |+ |
||- : -|| || = =~- | |+: = |-| (matter)
`, | || (life energy) `, |- || ` |+ |:|- :-|
(supermind) - ` = : -|| | || involution |+ |+
|o |+|:| evolution |: |+:-+ ||:+ ||+: |:|-+ |||
` |-: + ||~ =+| : |-: |~+ |+| + |:+:
| ||- =+ |:+: |:|- :-| | |+ |:|-++ |||+
|-| |+ ||:+ |:|- :-| ++ :-|, pure truth consciousness
= :-| | ||+ :+ : |= || =~- || -, ++ -:+ |.+
|+ :
++ ~: +| :|~ | ++ +: | |+ |:|
||-- |++ |: :+ | | |- =-| |:~ |:| |+ |:|:: v-|
|+ |:~ |:| ++ |: |+: |::+ |:-| | |+: |+
-||:~ (|+: ||+:|~, 1216) | |+: +|+ |~:: + |+ |:~
+| |: - -|: :|~+ :| | :+ |+: :+ |+ ||-- :+,
-:| | :+ |+ + + -| |~+ - |: :| |+ |-
:|~+ | |: |- |+ |+| ||+| :+, |+ | :
-|| |+ |+ -=-|+ |: -| - (240] 245 |: ~+|:-
= - : = -, :| ||:: |+| |+ ||; |: || |-:
(9a) (10a)
:: += |+ : :|~ |+ ; |+| |: :|+ ||: |~+ |+|
||:: ` | |+ |:~ ||:: | ;, +=, : + ::
|+| |:- |||+ |+| :|:| :-| ||: |+ ` |+ :|
++ |:: ` =|-:|~+ | -, |:|~+ -, :|~+ || |+
|| :|~ |- |- |-: |-+=+- | |+ -|+|:+
=| ||. =+- :|:+ |, ||. =+- | +|+ =|- ~:|: |:
|-: :- |+ |:~ =|- ~+|:- |-= : = - |-: ||
|= :|~ |+ |:~ ~:|+ || |- : |: |+ |- -|
| |+|:|+ escapist, | |- : | |-| :|~, (182)
|: |-| :|~ |+ -|+|:+ ::|: ++ +: | |+ |+:
||- ||
|:|~ (the Yoga of the intelligent will) =+| Essays on the
Gita-: ||: To act with right intelligence and, therefore, a right
will, fixed in the One, aware of the one self in all (:| = =
|::+) and acting out of its equal serenity, not running about in different
directions under thousand impulses of our superficial mental self, is
the Yoga of the intelligent will. = |~: ( |:|~:) | |+ || |
: ||+: =| |:, :| ; |:+ ||-- , || -+
|-| |-| | | + |+ -|+|:+ 342 | :|+: - =, -:
| =, |: || = 343 || |: = | =||-
|-= |. +| | |: ||+ |-| |: ||+ -|:|:+
| = :|:+ |~+ ||: =+| | psychicise +| |
psychicisation -| |-: Psychicisation |~+ .+ -, -, |
| || = |+| |:- ||+ |- |+| |+ ||+ |+ | |+| ||+
~: =;+ + |+| |:- | ||+, ||+ :-| |, ||| |
||+ |+ |: , |: | |:|~ |+| : - , =|+~+,
=|+|=: ; |, =|:|, -+ ||:|, -+|:-:|+| |, -+ - :|,
++ |+: ||, |::|=:: ::-:|, | |:, |, :
:|~ = :|:|+ || |:|~ | |:+ |+: || | ||
(aspiration) :| :: =|: || ||~ flame of aspiration :|
:: <| || ||~ =+| The Mother: ||: an
aspiration vigilant, constant, unceasing the minds will, the hearts
seeking, the assent of the vital being (| ;|), the will to open and
make plastic the physical consciousness and nature.
There are two powers that alone can effect in their conjunction
the great and difficult thing which is the aim of our endeavour, a fixed
and unfailing aspiration that calls from below and a supreme Grace
from above that answers. (- | |+ :|~: |- |~: |~|| ||:+
= ` ||+ | |+ |-:| ` ++ ||) But the supreme
Grace will act only in the conditions of the Light and the Truth; it will
not act in conditions laid upon it by the Falsehood and the Ignorance.
These are the conditions of the Light and Truth, the sole conditions
under which the highest Force will descend; and it is only the very
highest supramental Force descending from above and opening from
below that can victoriously handle the physical Nature and annihilate
its difficulties. (|+: : :|~ |+ :+ |: || ||~ =| |:|-
:-| : - +||.+ |+ ||:+ |:|- :-| |++ |+| -|| || |+
:: | ||: | |:|- | | | = - |+ :|~: -,
- |+ |+ +||.+ `) The surrender must be total and seize all the
parts of the being. If you open yourself on one side or in one part to
the Truth and on another side are constantly opening the gates to
hostile forces, it is vain to expect that the divine Grace will abide with
you. You must keep the temple clean if you wish to instal there the
living presence. Do not imagine that truth and falsehood, light and
darkness, surrender and selfishness can be allowed to dwell together
in the house consecrated to the Divine. Reject the false notion that the
divine power will do and is bound to do everything for you at your
demand. Make your surrender true and complete, then only will all
else be done for you. Regard your life as given you only for the divine
work and to help in the divine manifestation. Desire nothing but purity,
force, light, wideness, calm, Ananda of the divine consciousness and
its insistence to transform and perfect your mind, life and body. Let
your sincerity and surrender be genuine and entire. When you give
yourself, give completely, without demand, without condition, without
reservation so that all in you shall belong to the Divine. The more
complete your faith, sincerity and surrender, the more will grace and
(11a) (12a)
protection be with you. A little of it even will carry you through all
difficulties, obstacles and dangers. Its touch can turn difficulties into
opportunities, failure into success and weakness into unfaltering
strength.
+ (231, 335) ++ |-+ =~: |+ |-+ |+
||+ |++ || |+++ |+ |+ +- (239) |~
|+-| |- +-+ |+| :+ ++ || -`: |-: |~: -||
-|+|:+ =+| Synthesis of Yoga: ||: He who chooses
the Infinite has been chosen by the Infinite. |~ |+-|: -|=- :+
|~:: || |+ ` ++ ||: |-+ :| ||| | +-
|z - ++ || ` ||:+ =| : You know the Grace
is something that pushes you towards the goal you have to reach. It
may even be a catastrophe (- -|) but it is always what is best for the
individual. The Grace is that which makes you advance rapidly towards
realisation. (individual ||) ||+ |:+ |+: - + :|=- |:
46 ~+|:- : |-=+ |:: |+|: || |-= ||+ |+|
|||+ | +:|:+ |-+ |: |-+ +|: |||+ |+ :
~+|- :| : =|:- + ||+ -::| |: |z || :+ +||:
|= -|+|:+| 47, 8 ++ +-|: `: |+ |+ |++ |:
|+ + |-+ |:| |++ |: :~ :~ |||+ =+| :,
+ |:| +| |+ |+ |+ +| +:|++ =| | -
::|+ +|- :~ |-+ =||:+ :-|+ ||++:- +:|:+ ||+| .++
:-| -| |:- |+ |: ||+: -:- ~+ -| The crisis in which
the Avatar appears is always a crisis in the consciousness of humanity
when it has to undergo some grand modification. The outward action
of the Avatar is described in the Gita as restoration of the Dharma;
when from age to age the Dharma fades, languishes, loses force, then
the Avatar comes and raises it again to power. When unrighteousness,
injustice and oppression prevail, the Avatar descends to deliver the
good and destroy the wicked. It does not cover the spiritual sense.
Always we see in the history of the divine incarnations the double
work, and inevitably because the Avatar takes up the workings of
God in human life, the way of the divine Will and Wisdom in the world,
and that always fulfils itself externally as well as internally, by inner
progress in the soul and by outer change in life. The Avatar comes to
reveal the divine nature in man above this lower nature and to show
what are the divine works, free, unegoistic, disinterested, impersonal,
universal; full of the divine light, the divine power and the divine love.
(+:|:+ |-+ |:+: | |-+ |: | |+ |+ |-: :-
-|: |-+ |+ |:~ :|+ || |- |:)
The Avatar does not come as a thaumaturgic magician (:`|
|-+), but as the divine leader of humanity and exemplar of a divine
humanity. Even human sorrow and physical suffering he must assume
and use so as to show, first, how that suffering may be a means of
redemption (|+) as did Christ secondly, to show how, having
been assumed by the divine soul in the human nature, it can also be
overcome in the same nature, - as did Buddha. Avatar of sorrow and
suffering must come before there can be the Avatar of divine joy; the
human limitation must be assumed in order to show how it can be
overcome. Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita. (+:|+: |+|+
|-+ |++ -|| |+ - :|:|+ = , :|: -|+: +:|++
:~ |+- - :::: |-=+ -||:|+ |: |+ |- -+|
|:: |+|+ |-: ::|+ |= | |~|| ||:+)
Divine birth (To become Divine by Yoga) : The divine birth in
man, his ascent is itself a growing of the human into the divine
consciousness, and is a losing of the separate self in that. The soul
merges its individuality in an infinite and universal being or loses it in
the heights of a transcendent being : it becomes one with the Self, the
Brahman, the Divine. While it is the divine birth to which every Jiva
(=+||) arrives it is not the descent of the Godhead, not Avatarhood.
(|-+ || | =+|| |~+|+| |: |+ |||: | :+ (272,
1854) :| =+ =|-- |-+= | :+, |z | descent, +:+ |
Avatarhood |+| - 49 |: || |-+ =+ +:+) The Divine
descends by his own Prakriti and type and brings into it the divine
consciousness and the divine Power and he governs its actions in the
body as the indwelling and overdwelling Soul, adhisthaya, (4/6).
(13a) (14a)
Essays on the Gita. (~+|-+ +:|:+ |-= |:: |+|: || +:+ :+
|+ ++ -:+ | + ||:+)
429 = |: ||| +|+ - | |- |-: (1) - |
|: |: =|+ |- |:~ (2) - | ::|- + |+ |:
|: =|+ |- |:~ | :: 1, 2, 3, 4 , + |+ :: 1, 2, 3, 4 |+
=|+ |-:: 1, 2, 3, 4 || |:~ | :: =|+ |=|:|- |+ =|+
| =|:|- ` -:| +|~ |+ +||+ |: + ||+ : |=- |+||:
| - |+| |+ |: :|=-
Synthesis of Yoga : =+| =| |: = |- |-: |: |
- || | | | |+ |:~ ||:- || ||
| -| |+: ` || - ||: | v-| |+ |:~ -:| +|~
|+ +|| -: +|~ -| | v-| |+ |:~ Positive thinking = |::
| :+ Positive thinking | | v-| |~: |:+ | , ,
:~ (tension) | ~: | v-| |+ |:~
65 |- |-:= |-=+ + |+ |-:= |-=+ || : ||. |
|+ `: ||+ :-| | |+ ||~ = | || |-:= |+ ||~
|+ || ` ||+ |- |: |: +||.+ |+ ||: ` :|
:: :- |:| -+ |+: |, |+ |+: || |- |:
||+ :-| |+ |: +||.+ |+ ||~ +||.+ ++ :-| |+
||+ :-|:| - |~ |+ |:~ =|~ |+ =|~ |- :-|
|- :-|+ | : |+ |+ -| |:|+ ++ +: | |+
= :|:+ |- |: +||.++ ||: . +|- | |+: |: +||.+
- |: +||.+ +|+ || |~ ++ +: ||+ |- |:
| |+:| -| |- +||.+ |++ |: |-| |+ |:~ |+ :| ::
::- || |:~ || : (self-observation) |+ | ~ + (self-
conscration) +|-: -: | |+ +||.++ |: = -| +|- ||:
|~: |:+| +| |o- |, |z ||. |+ : = ` |||+ ++
|: || -+:: |+ ||- |: || | |-~| |:|++ |+|
|-= |+ |:~ + ||+ ||:|, |:|, +, + :| : :|
:: ||+ ~: |: :+ |+: ||: || |+ |+ |+
++ |+: || |: : : |-: ` ++ | |+ ||+
| =:~ ` ||~ :+ | |+ |- :| :: | |+
|:, | | |+ |:~ = |:| :| :: +|| |:~ ||
|-:= |-= |+ =:-: |+ ||~ ++ |- +|| |+ |:-| -| ,
++ |- - (humble) |+ |:-| -| + ||- - =|
:+ || |+ |+ ||:+ = ||: - |++ |+| |+ |+ +
|+| :+ | | |+ = ||:| .++ |:+: - |: |:| |+
` |:~ |~: =|+ -|| =|+ |- -||:~ =|+ |-: |- ` -| +:
|~ ++ -| + =|+ |- -||:~ +|-: | -`: | -||:~,
|z :+ -| + =|+ -||:~
|~ ~+ |- |: |~: || |+ |+||+ |- ||
|:+ +-+ |+| | | |+ ++ ~: :|: | +|: |-| |
| ~:|: : (128) |z =+| | ~+ |- |+: ::::
: The world is as real as God. ||+ -, -, | + ||:+ |-
=:| - |~+ |+| ||+ | | `: -`, |::+| | `
||~ |-+ |:+ |:+: |-+ :-| |+ |-+ |: |: = |-+
:-| |+ |: | ` ||~, |-: |-+ |: | |+ ||~ ~|::
|~+ :~ - | ||+ | |+ |:+ | |+ ||-:: =
|-| || |: = |-|: |;- +|: =+- ||, :|+ ||: =+=z
|+ : |- || matter-+ |:+: life, life-+ |:+: mind
|| =+| : =:-:+ mind-+ |:+: supermind |: |+
|+:-+ =: =|-- = :-| |-: | |+ |z |~+|+| = |:|-
:-| (supermind) |-: ||- =+ |:+:: | |+ `
|~: -|| ||+ ||+|+:| |:~ |+ || ||+|+:| | +| -| :
|, |-|, ++ -| ++ |+| ||+|+:| | |+ ||:+
239 |: ~+|:- = - `: =|:| :|| |~+ =|- |-
|+ |: :| +-+ |+| `| |: |:: +-+ | `: |:
|~ ~+ :|~ - |:~ ::: |~ |:- :|~ - |
||+ |+ |-+ |: |+ |: . =|-, || ||: |+ :| |~
|:: |-: |~ |+ |: :+ |: | |:|~ | ~:|: ||:
+|- |~+ +|- - |++ -+ |-.+:| (mental silence) |+ |.| |
-- :| static meditation |+ ||+:| dynamic meditation -+
|-.+:| |+ -- - :|| |:~ --: |-| |+ | - :|| |: ||+
|:+ +||.+ `+ |: || |-| |+ ||:+| | | |+ ||:+| |-+
(15a) (16a)
|+ |- |+ |-| |+ |||+ | |+ -|:|+| ` | |
|+ |||+ -:+ |, , |, -: |+ | | |- |+ |:~
||+ :~ ||+ |- | | |:|+ -|:|+| +| |:| =| |- |
| |:~ ||+ |:+: - | | || :~ :~ :| ++ +:
| |+ |:~ | -|:|+| | | |+ |:~ = | |~
(self-consecration) |: | ~ |~+ +|- | ||: |-= +||.+
|+ :-| | +|+ = :|:+ || ||+ |- |: |:
+||.+ +|+ ||: = :|:+ | | |-.++ |.| | | + | |+:
+|+ -||; :+ :+ |+ :~ :~ ++ |~| ||+ --
| -|| |: |+ +||.+ :+ = +||.+ | ~|: =+- || |:
| || ||~ | |-- | |+ =|+ |-: |: ` | |.| | |
| ||: +|+ || ` ++ +: ~ | :|~ |+ | +|
:: |-| |:|:-| =| ||: ` |||+ (1) , :||+ +: = |
||| | |+:|, (2) , |+ | |+|+| |+:| +||.+
+|, (3) +, |+ -, -, |+ |:|+ ||+ |:|+|, (4) |+ |-
|: ||+ - |, (5) | |.|:|+ -+ |+| | | | | |.|
-| | | |.| +| |: - | || |||+, (6) | |.| | ||.
||: ++ -| | =| |+ |||+ | :-| || |-| |+ |:~
| -:| |-.+ |+ |||+ = || - silence -| ||+ |: -
-|+ |:|+ -- :+, :||| |-= |+ |-| +|+ :|=- |:
|-| |-| :+ | |.|+ |:+: = |.| ` :| all is
Brahman.
, , |, ||, |, |-| ~ +| |:- = :|++ |||- -||
:-: | |:, vital being | life being-+ +||.+ |+| | | +|
|:- -+ +||.+ |+| -, |, ++ (mental being, vital being, physical
being) = |:|-| |:+ |-+ |: ~|o: |-+ | |:|+ | ;|,
Vital being: |: = |:| +||.+ +| + |o- | vital being |
||+ - ||- |||+: |-+ |: +||.+ |+ +|- |+| |:+
+||.+ +|+ =| || | ||+ |:+: | |: :|:|+ | |
++ +: | |+ ||: ||+ |- |: `, |- |: |:
+||.+ ` :-|+ ||++:- |+|:| || -+ |+ |+ |- ||. -+
||. || |~ |: |-+ destiny |- :+ |+| |: + | +|
|:- subconscious mind | | +| | +| |: | + |+| subconscious
mind +||.+ ` ::- - |+| |:+ +| |+ ::- -: -: |
+ |-+ |+ |- :+ |-+ |+ ||- |+ | |:|+
|- :+ ::- :- |+: ::- - +||.+ |+| |: :|=-
|+| |:, ||., - `: ::- - +||.+ | || |:~ |
|-| |+ |:~, ::- - ++ =||: | |+ ||+ + |
|| |:~
| |:- - (many) :+ |-= - =++|: | |+ :: =++
(|) |:+: | |+: |+ =~- +|+ |:, (75) =+ | =+|| ++
=| , spark , (157) || |:=- |- =- | (mini universe)
+ :- |- +|+ |: =:-:+ =+ | =+|| ||+ -, -,
| +|+ |: =+|| ||+ -: + | |+ |:|-|+ || :::
=- | |: | |: :|:|+ ||+ |:+: ||+: |:
| + :-|+ =|| ` inconscient, subconscient, mind, overmind,
supermind, Sat-Chit-Ananda. ||+ |:+::| = :-|+ .+:|+ |:
||+ -:| inconscient |+ || superconscient | Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Inconscient |+ superconscient | - |+ ||+ |=+ :| .+
||+ |:+: ||+: |: ||+ -+ |:+:: ~ =- |: = |:|
|| || |- || ++ | = -+ |:=|- | |+|, to manifest
God in matter, |-+||+ + ||+ +|: | |+| |+ ||+: ~+|=
||- +| + involution ||:+ : -|| || matter ` |:`
evolution | |:+ matter divine ` = :| |+ :+ |- || : =|
|-+ |+: : :+ | ||+: = =~ | |+ |:` = +|+
=~- =||: ~ +|= +||.+ |+ |-: |~+ |+| |:| :
|+ ||:+ |:+ |+:- ||:| |~ = :| Natures Yoga of slow
evolution. || |:| |~ || |-:= |+:|, |z :| : : -
: : ` it is God who is doing Yoga in us, it is God who is
praying in us. Only He exists and none else, :+ ||:+ |: |:-|
-|
-+ +||.+, transformation of matter, =| |:|- :-|: |+
||:+ = :-| =+| ||:|+: 40 + :|| +|+ =: - -|
||- 1950 -+ |:+ |: = :-| :::+ -: +:+
(17a) (18a)
:+ :|+ |~: ||+ |+|-+ (overmind) +-: || |+|-:
= - +||.+ |+ -|+|:+ 1950 -+ ||: | |+ |:|-+ (supermind)
+- |: = :-| ++ :-|, pure truth consciousness. |:
(duality, |+|+||+) |+ : (falsehood) -| :|- :| =|
transition period, =| |+ =|:| ||+ |:|:+, |+|++ |:|:+
||+: : |:| |+|: +|: |+| |- |: |z = :| |, = chaos
and disorder-+ o| : divine harmony |:| ` = |:| |-|: `
|- |-: :||~:| :+, |- |-: -: ~+|= |:| |+|:| ||:+ ||
|-=: + |~+|- | || ||:+ |, |+ |:|- :-|+ +:+: + ||+
= |+ ||: =|:| | |:: |-: | ||++ |: |~||
|||+ |- : + |:|:-| -|::+ + |+: `, :|:+ |:+: |:|-
:-| | |+
Evolutionary force= |-, =z :|:+ |+: -+:: | |+ |:
|+ |: | |+:-+ |: || |- |: |:+ |-: ++ ~|:: |+:-
|: |~+ |: |-: |-=+ |+:- : |+ ||:+ ++ +: |:
=| || | |+: :+ |~+ -||; :+ |+ :+ |: 24
| ||+ -, -, |+ |+: | |+ || ~ -|:||+|: |~
|: ||+ |+: | |+ |: ||+ =|+|+| ||~ aspiration (|:+
|: |), |-|, |, -, | |. |+ |, : :|~, |~
( |:+ -| |:|+, | |:|+, | |:|+ | ), |- |: +|- |,
++ -| +, :|~, =|-:|~, |:|~+ |, | +- |~+ |-
|-=+ |:+: ||:: |: |-=+ |:+:: guilding light |:, || +
+ + |-:- |= | |:~ +|- | |+ |+ |:~ inner guidance
|= ||~, + +|+ ||~ || | |+ :: |- |. -+
:|:| |:| |+ |~ -||| - silence ||- |= | |+
|:~ | |. ||~: 611-14 |: |: =o| : | +|: | +|- |+
: +|- | |+ |||+, |o |+ |||+, |-|: ||+ |+ |||+, |=
|:|:: |+ |||+ +|- |+ ~:|+ | -- |+ |||+
|-+ - - |, | - | |+ - - | outer mind, outer vital, outer
physical and inner mind, inner vital, inner physical. ( (inner) -|
++ ||+ -:+ + = : | ||+ ~: | |+ ||+ =: ||+ ~::
|+ |: =+-+ |=:|:|+ ( -|+:+ ~: | |+ |:
(outer) -+ :+ ||--+ ||: - |+ | ||~ | ||+
=: || --| : |=-:: ~o- |+ |z -| |||=
`: -+ :+ ||: ||~ -||, :: ( -|+ -:+ +; | :+
|-+ |+: | | |: |+ + |: +||.+ `: |-: |-+
|: | |+ +||.+ :+ |+, || | ||+ |+ :+ +: |
|+ |:~ +||.+ || |||+ ||~, |-|||+: :+ ::+ -:+ |-+
=+-: - |: , - + |:=|-: ||+ |: |+: ++
+: || +|+ ||: - : | : ++ || | ` |:~
||+ |:+: | |+ |+ |+ ` || | .++ |+| |: |+ = +|
|| :| + |+ |+ |+ ` ||+ |:| + + |:- +|+
+ : -|| || |+ +|+ ` | undivine | + ` + |+
|+| |: |+ || = +| || :| ~|:: ||+ |:+: | |+ + |
| |||+ ||+ = |- |:+ |:+: |-+ |: | |: |
|: |-+ |: |-: |~+ |: | |+ ||:+
++ | (divine will) ||+ .+: |-| +:| | : ||+ |-+
|: | |- |: |:| |-+ |: +||.+ ` :|:| |-| ++ |
+||.+ ` |+: || ||+ |+ |- ++ | | +|:| |||+
|:~ |:| ||+ |+ |- ++ | ||+ :=|- | |+ :|:|
||+ ego, | | ` | -|:|+| `, || : +||.+ `, ||
:+ ~: = | |z :|| .+: | |- |-|+ :|=- |:,
|-| ::| :|+ |+| :+ |-+ || - | ||++ || |
desire soul |+ : || | psychic |+|+ +|: |- desire soul
= ||+||: :+ |~: |~|+ :~ :~ |-+ |:+ |+: : || |
| |+ | |+: |+ : desire soul +||.+ : ||+ ~:
= |-: |-| :|~ |+ -|+|:+, |~|: |-| +||.+: :+
|~+|+| |-+ =:| =:: - =+ |+:- ` ||:+ | =:| =::
|+|+ :-|+ |+| |: |+ :-| | |+ ||:+ :+ :- +| :|:+
|= | + :-| the Divine is consciousness. God is Sat-
Chit-Ananda Existence, Consciousness-force, Bliss. ||+ -:|
++ :-|, ~| ||+ |: -:| inconscient, |;-+ :-| subconscient,
=+=z+ :-| life mind | vital mind, =z+ - -| - |- .++ |+|
|+: :
(19a) (20a)
|-|: +|-+|+|, |-|, |~, =|- |:|~+ |: =+-
||++:- |+ |+ ||. || |+: ||++:- |-:= -+ |+ =+- :
~ || +|- :+|:: -, |, ++ |. |: = |. +|
:| :: +|| |:~ -, | |. calm and quiet ||: || |
| |: -, - |+ |+ |+: |+ |.|+ |+ = :|:
+|- || ` ||. ||., ||., ||. = peace formula | |:= |:=
|| =| : ||. -|+ +|~+ =| |+ | || :| |:||
|:-| |+ -|:|+| ||. |:, |+ :| +::- -: |: -:|
||. ~| |: ||., ||., ||. || |:~ -| | ++ :-| |` |
|| |:~ | ||: + ~ |+ |:~ |+ :+ :-| ||-
=-| |:~
~:|: |++ |=: || :| |+ |=: . || |~ ` :
=| ||. =+-+ |: + :|=-, material life | + |+ | |
||~ | | | money power | ~ | =+-+ |:|+ |: | |
||+| =+| The Mother: ||: Money is the visible
sign of a universal force, and this force is indispensable to the fullness
of the outer life. All wealth belongs to the Divine and those who hold
it are trustees, not possessors. Any perturbation of mind with regard
to money is a sure index of some imperfection or bondage.
248 : ; | |~ |: 249 |:|~: (:
; |:) | |- 438 =|-+ |- || |+ =:| -|
75 ++ |: - | |+| |+ |+| |+| divine, |+| undivine
922 :+ + :| :|=- + |~|- +:+ |+ +| :+ 929
++ || :|:+ |: |- 126, 7 | ++ ~: |:
: :+ |+ |~++ |+| |+ :+ 1216 | |::+ |:-|
| -:+ : ++ | 1858 | :| :: + |.| :+ :
++ ||: :| |+| |+ ||- |: :+
=+|+ | :|~+ +|- | ` psychic development (||+ |:)
| psychic transformation of human nature into divine nature (|-+ |:
|-+ |: +||.+) = :| |~+ -:- concept, = concept | ~:|:
-| ~:|: ||+ | | |-| |+ =|-: |:, |:+ +||.++ =|- -|
|: +||.+ ` ||+ :-| | |+| :|=- ||+ |+ |: ||+
| :-| | ||- |: ||- |:|~: || -, -, | -|| |:
|+ =| : - , -, | |+ || = | = | |+ -|
psychicisation. =| : It (psychic) is in each of you the deep
inner being which you have to find in order that you may come in
contact with the Divine in you. (|| | |+ |+::+ ||+ |:+:
=+||+:| | ++ ~: :|~ ||- |+ ||:+|) It is the intermediary
between the Divine Consciousness and your external consciousness
(| | =+|| |+ -, |, +++ |=+ +:||+); it is the builder of
the inner life. If you become aware in your outer consciousness of the
psychic being within you and unite with it, you can find the pure Eternal
Consciousness (++ :-|, =+||) and live in it; instead of being
moved by the Ignorance as the human being constantly is, you grow
aware of the presence of an eternal light and knowledge within you,
and to it you surrender. For your psychic being is that part of you
which is already given to the Divine. It is its influence gradually
spreading from within towards the most outward and material
boundaries of your consciousness that will bring about the
transformation of your entire nature. Most people are unconscious of
this psychic part within them; the effort of Yoga is to make you
conscious of it, so that the process of your transformation, instead of
a slow labour extending through centuries, can be pressed into one
life or even a few years. The psychic is that which is divine in you put
to be dynamic in the play. (Conversations)
|| | =+|| =: :: + |+ +, static |+ dynamic,
immutable |+ mutable, |+ ||+:- =+| ||:
Purusha in Prakriti is the Kshara Purusha (|| +) standing back
from it is the Akshara Purusha (=+|| +). The psychic being evolves,
so it is not the immutable. It is the spark of the Divine Fire that grows
behind the mind, vital and physical as the psychic being until it is able
to transform the Prakriti of Ignorance into Prakriti of knowledge. When
the soul or spark of the Divine Fire begins to develop a psychic
individuality, that psychic individuality is called the psychic being. The
soul or spark is there before the development of an organised vital
and mind. The soul is something of the Divine that descends into the
(21a) (22a)
evolution as a divine Principle within it to support the evolution of the
individual out of the Ignorance into the Light. It develops in the course
of the evolution a psychic individual or soul individuality which grows
from life to life.
|-+ - - |, | - | |+ - - | (outer) -, |, ++ |+ (
(inner) -, |, ++ -, |, +++ |+: : :-| |+, true
mental being; | |+, true vital being; |+, true physical
being |: = |+ |:|-| : mental, vital |+ physical plane:
||+ |:|-|+ =+|| :|:+ |+: |: |+ :|: +|+ |:
-|:+ ||: =:- ` Jiva | Jivatma, soul | spark of the Divine
Fire, psychic being inner mind, inner vital, inner physical, true mental
being, true vital being, true physical being, outer mind, outer vital,
outer body. = 12 |+ ~: |+ -| |~ ` subconscious mind |+
unconscious mind.
At the very moment when everything seems to go from bad to
worse, it is then that we must make a supreme act of faith and know
that the Grace will never fail us. Mother, AIM, June, 74.
All here is God, is the Spirit or Self-existence, is Brahman,
ekamevadvitiyam, there is nothing else; Nature is and can be nothing
else than a power of the divine consciousness. The whole world is
nothing but the divine force in action. Nor does God rule the world
from some remote heaven, but by his intimate omnipresence; each
finite working of force is an act of infinite Force. Gods rule is not an
absentee, foreign and external government; he governs all because he
exceeds all, but also because he dwells within all movements and is
their absolute soul and spirit. Essays on the Gita.
A continual resort to meditation, dhyana-yoga-paro nityam, is
the firm means by which the soul of man can realise its self of Power
and its self of silence. And there must be no abandonment of the active
life for a life of pure meditation; action must always be done as a
sacrifice to the supreme spirit. Essays on the Gita.
The divine Master of the Yoga, Yogesvarah Krisnah, will himself
take up our Yoga and raise us to our utmost possible perfection, ...
vast and comprehensive. It will be a perfection developed by an all-
seeing Wisdom. All must be given as material of that transmutation.
An omniscient consciousness will take up our knowledge and our
ignorance, our truth and our error, cast away their forms of insufficiency,
sarva-dharmam parityajya, and transform all into its infinite light.
An almighty power will take up our virtue and sin, our right and wrong,
our strength and our weakness, cast away their tangled figures, sarva-
dharmam parityajya, and transform all into its transcendent purity
and universal good and infallible force. An ineffable Ananda will take
up our petty joy and sorrow, our struggling pleasure and pain and
transform all into its transcendent and universal unimaginable delight.
A constant delight, oneness and harmony of the eternal individual here
with the Divine and all that he is will be the effect of this integral liberation.
Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita, The Supreme Secret.
(|:+ + |-+ |+ | |: | |+ |-+ |+ :|~ |+ ||~)
Words of Sri Aurobindo
What do you call meditation ? Shutting the eyes and
concentrating? It is only one method for calling down the true
consciousness. Meditation is only a means or device, the true
movement is when even walking, working or speaking one is full of
sadhana, AIM, Ap.84
God is our wise and perfect Friend, because he knows when to
smite as well as when to fondle, when to slay us no less than when to
save and to succour. Ths & Aphs.
Yoga through work is the easiest and most effective way to enter
into the stream of Sadhana. AIM Ap.84
The divine Friend of all creatures conceals His friendliness in the
mask of an enemy till he has made us ready for the highest heavens.
Pain is the key that opens the gates of strength; it is the high-road
that leads to the city of beatitude. (~).
God, the world Guru, is wiser than thy mind.
If hated the devil and was sick with his temptations and tortures.
Then I discovered it was Krishna at his tricks.
(23a) (24a)
If God assigns to me my place in Hell, I do not know why I
should aspire to Heaven. He knows best what is for my welfare.
Love of God, charity towards men is the first step towards perfect
wisdom.
He who condemns failure and imperfection, is condemning God.
When I live in Krishna, then ego and self-interest vanish.
Kali is Krishna revealed as dreadful Power and wrathful Love.
If Hell were possible, it would be the shortest cut to the highest
heaven. (Ths and Aph.)
If you cant as yet remember the Divine all the time you are
working, it does not greatly matter. To remember and dedicate at the
beginning and give thanks at the end ought to be enough for the present.
Or at the most to remember too when there is a pause. Aspiration and
will of consecration calling down a greater Force to do the work is a
method which brings great results.
By constant referring of all ones will and works to the Divine, love
and adoration grow, tha psychic being comes forward (Lights on Yoga.)
If God did not take upon Himself the burden of tempting men, the
world would very soon go to perdition. Suffer yourself to be tempted
within so that you may exhaust in the struggle your downward
propensities. You may leave it to God to purify, He will exhaust the
evil subjectively [inwardly] (:+ |- tempt :+ |:: || |
=|+ |+ )
When I look back on my past life, I see that if I had not failed and
suffered, I would have lost my lifes supreme blessings; yet at the time
of the suffering and failure, I was vexed with the sense of calamity. Be
silent, ye foolish hearts ! Slay the ego, learn to see and feel vastly and
universally. Ths & Aph.
Mantra of Success
Give the Divine a full sporting chance. When he lights something
in you or is preparing a light, dont come in with a wet blanket of
despondency and throw it on the poor flame. But in these matters,
when the darkness of human mind and life and body has to be
dissipated, a candle is always a beginning a lamp can follow and
afterwards a sun. At the beginning and for a long time, the experiences
do usually come in little quanta with empty spaces between. Doubt is
the minds persistent assailant. Dont allow the assailant to become a
companion, dont give him the open door and the fireside seat.
To put it more soberly accept once and for all that this thing
(|| ||+) has to be done, that it is the only thing left for yourself or
the earth. Why should you expect so great a thing to be easy or that
there must be either a swift success or none ? The difficulties have to
be faced and the more cheerfully they are faced the sooner they will
be overcome. The one thing to do is to keep the mantra of success,
the determination of victory, the fixed resolve, Have it I must and
have it I will. Impossible ? There is no such thing as impossible ?
there are difficulties, but no impossibles. Drive out dark despair and
go bravely on with your Yoga. As the darkness disappears, the inner
doors will open. (AIM, Sept 79).
The Divine Grace and Power can do everything, but with the full
assent of the sadhak. To learn to give that full assent is the whole
meaning of sadhana.
The principal thing in the Yoga is to trust in the Divine Grace at every
step, to direct the thought continually to the Divine. AIM, Nov. 85
Desire and Will
What becomes desire in the ego is Will in the spirit... desire presents
itself to us as a craving of the life force. This desire is essential to the
ordinary man. But when we are able to look at desire from above,
we see that what supports this instrumental desire is a will of the spirit.
AIM, Jan. 82
It is quite true that, left to yourself, you can do nothing; that is why
you have to be in contact with the Force which is there to do for you
what you cannot do for yourself. The only thing you have to do is to
allow the force to act and put yourself on its side, which means to
have faith in it, to rely upon it, not to trouble and harass yourself, to
remember it quietly, to call upon it quietly, to let it act quietly. If you do
that, all else will be done for you.
(25a) (26a)
The grace and protection are always with you. When in any inner
or outer difficulty or trouble do not allow it to oppress you; take refuge
with the Divine Force that protects.
If you do that always with faith and sincerity, you will find something
opening in you which will always remain calm and peaceful in spite of
all superficial disturbances.
Immortality is the status in the infinite spiritual consciousness. It is
the possession of Sachchidananda in oneself and the expression of
him in the universe.
Purpose of our exitence
In my explanation of the universe I have put forward this cardinal
fact of a spiritual evolution as the meaning of our existence here. It is
a series of ascents from the physical being and consciousness to the
vital, the being dominated by the life-self, thence to the mental being
realised in the fully developed man and thence into the perfect
consciousness which is beyond the mental into the supramental
consciousness and supramental being, the Truth-Consciousness which
is the integral consciousness of the spiritual being. Mind cannot be our
last conscious expression because mind is fundamentally an ignorance
seeking for knowledge; it is only the supramental Truth-Consciousness
that can bring us the true and whole Self-Knowledge and world
knowledge; it is through that only that we can get to our true being
and the fulfilment of our spiritual evolution.
Devotion and a more and more complete inner consccration are
the best way to open to the psychic. AIM, Nov.85
The descent of the supramental (supermind) means that the power
will be there in the earth-consciousness as a living force.
The inner presence Be cheerful and confident. Doubt and desire
& Co. are there, no doubt, but the Divine is there also inside you.
Open your eyes and look and look till the veil is rent and you see Him
or Her.
Avatar is one who comes to open the Way for humanity to a
higher consciousness.
As for the Mother and myself, we have had to try all ways, follow
all methods, to surmount mountains of difficulties, a far heavier burden
to bear than you or anybody else in the Ashram or outside, far more
difficult conditions, battles to fight, wounds to endure, ways to cleave
through impenetrable morass and desert and forset,hostile masses to
conquer a work such as, I am certain, none else had to do before us.
(Letters on Yoga.) (=+| |+ =| ||- ||+= |+: ||-
||+= |~:: |:- +| -||)
Words of the Mother
What people think, or do or say is of little importance. The only
thing that counts is your relation with the Divine Pract. guide.
Getting angry Anger is a sign of weakness. I am not asking you
to suppress anger. I am asking you to change your nature. Left to
himself the human being has no strength, no intelligence; no power or
knowledge. He has only his stupidity, weakness and ignorance. But if
he takes refuge in the Divine, he gets all, he gets everything, he becomes
strong, intelligent and powerful. AIM, Oct 79
In the Integral Yoga, there is no distinction between the sadhana
and the outward life; it is in each and every movement of the daily life
that the Truth must be found and practised.
Give yourself entirely to the Divine and you will see the end of all
your troubles.
The mind, the life and the body must become and live what the
Soul knows and is.
The first step towards transformation
Disciple I want to transform myself, Mother.
MotherDo you think you can transform yourself ?
Desciple If You give me the means and help.
Mother Do You think I am not giving them to you ? I am so happy if
someone follows me. And I am constantly giving my help to prepare
souls so that they may be transformed.
Desciple Then, prepare me also.
Mother Only if you collaborate. One must be able to aspire constantly
(27a) (28a)
and at every minute collaborate with Divine. A constant vigilance and
aspiration to live in my Consciousness. This is the base. Then one can
go forward and start walking on the path towadrs transformation.
That is only a start.To transform oneself, that is still far away and very
hard. However, one starts and takes the first step towards
transformation. And life will have a meaning, if all transforms itself into
the Divine. That is what I am working at. If you have an unfaltering
will and an aspiration that always wants to rise towards the heights,
untiringly, always searching for the truth, then, take a leap towards the
path of transformation that I have traced with the help of Sri Aurobindo.
This is the truest of all things.
Aspiration and Desire
In aspiration there is what I might call an unselfish flame which is
not present in desire. Your aspiration is not a turning back upon self
desire is always a turning back upon oneself (|-| |:|). True
aspiration does not come from the head, it springs up like a flame
from the heart. AIM, jan. 82
Each time you receive a blow from life, tell yourself immediately,
Ah,I have to make a progress; then the blow becomes a blessing.
You say, What is it I have to learn ? I want to know. What is it I have
to change ? I want to know. This is what you should do.
One must do things with all the ardour of ones soul, with all the
strength of ones will; do at every moment the best possible. The best
things possible. What others do is not your concern.
You have been put upon earth, in a physical body, with a definite
aim, which is to make this body as conscious as possible, make it most
perfect and most conscious instrument of the Divine. He has given you
a certain amount of substance and of matter in all the domainsmental,
vital and physical in proportion to what he expects from you, and all the
circumstances around you are also in proportion to what He expects of
you. Everyone has a life appropriate to his total development, everyone
has experiences which help him in his total development, and everyone
has difficulties which help him in his total realisation. AIM, Nov.85
Illness
When the physical disorder comes, one must not be afraid, one
must not run away from it, must face it with courage, calmness,
confidence, with the certitude that illness is a falsehood and that if one
turns entirely, in full confidence, with a complete quietude to the divine
Grace, It will settle in these cells as It is established in the depths of
the being, and the cells themselves will share in the eternal Truth and
Delight. AIM, Jan.84
If one has within him faith in the divine grace, that the divine grace is
watching over him, and that no matter what happens the divine grace is
there, watching over him, this one may keep all ones life and always;
and with this one can pass through all dangers, face all difficulties and
nothing stirs, for you have the faith and the divine grace is with you. It is
an infinitely stronger, more conscious, more lasting force which does
not depend upon the conditions of your physical build, does not depend
upon anything except the divine grace alone and hence it leans on the
Truth and nothing can shake it. AIM Feb-Mar, 84
Mothers Prayer
Peace, peace upon all the earth. May all escape from the ordinary
consciousness and be delivered from the attachment for material things;
may they awake to the knowledge of Thy divine presence, unite
themselves with Thy supreme consciousness and taste the plenitude
of peace that springs from it.
O Lord, I would like to be so ardent a love that all loneliness may
be filled up by it and all sorrows soothed.
O Lord, I cry unto thee: Make me a burning brazier which
consumes all suffering and transforms it into joyous light irradiating the
hearts of all !
Grant my prayer: Transform me into a brazier of pure love and
boundless compassion.
O Lord, eternal Master, enlighten us, guide our steps, show us the
way towards the realisation of Thy law, towards the accomplishment
of Thy work.
(29a) (30a)
A deep and solemn chant rises from my heart, and I do not know
whether this chant goes from me to Thee or comes from Thee to me
or whether Thou and I and the entire universe are this marvellous
chant... Surely there is no longer any Thou or I or any separate universe.
O my sweet Master, accomplish all the work Thyself through this
individual being in its integrality. Or rather, do not let anything in this
individual being forget at any moment that it is only an instrument.
O Thou who triumphest over all obstacles, Thou wilt dispel the
darkness of ignorance and the black smoke of egoistic ill-will; Thou
wilt dissolve all wrong suggestions and strengthen in us a pure and
clear vision.
O Lord, let Thy will be done,Thy work be accomplished. Fortify
our devotion, increase our surrender, give us light upon the path.
O Lord, the earth groans and suffers; chaos has made this world
its abode.The darkness is so deep that Thou alone canst dispel it.
Come, manifest Thyself, that Thy work may be accomplished.
O Lord, Thy Presence is settled within me like an unshakable
rock; and the whole being exults in belonging to Thee without the
least reserve, with a wide and complete surrender.
O Lord, Thou hast given me thy Power that Thy Peace and Joy
may reign over the world.
Errors have become stepping-stones, the blind gropings conquests.
Thy glory transforms defeats into victories of eternity, and all the
shadows have fled before Thy radiant light.
No flight out of the world !The burden of its darkness and ugliness
must be borne to the end.
It is Thy Will that I should be a channel, always open, always
wider, through which Thy forces may pour themselves in abundance
on the world......O Lord, let Thy will be done.
Outside all manifestation, in the immutable silence of Eternity, I
am in Thee, O lord, an unmoving beatitude, I see Thee, I am Thyself,
and between these two poles my intense love aspires towards thee.
(Prayers and meditation)
To become aware of ones deficiencies is a sign of great progress
and the door opens on the road to succes in sadhana.
Go deep, very deep down in the silence of your heart, and you
will find the Lord there radiant and merciful.
If we look at troubles as the most effective way to make us
progress, then they lose their bitterness and they become easy to bear.
And when we know how to call the Lord in all circumstances to make
Him share in all the events of our life, then life becomes an Ananda.
When difficulties come it is to teach us to be peaceful and even
cheerful in spite of everything. Difficulties are the sign of possibilities.
So they must not upset us. To remain quiet and confident is the best
way to make them pass away quickly. Never forget that the greater
the difficulties the greater also are possibilities. It is only those who
have great capacities and a big future who meet with great obstacles
and hardships. The more there are difficulties the more you can be
sure that the Lord is pulling you towards Himself as quickly as you
can possibly go. There is only one way out of all difficulties, but it is
a sure one. Keep your faith intact and living like a shining flame. The
help from the Lord is proportional to the difficulties. He is always
there, close to those who suffer and feel lonely; ready to welcome
them and give them the supreme Comfort of his Love. The more we
endure the more Force and the Love of the Lord are with us and
greater is the joy of the Victory. We must be more enduring than the
opposition and all the obstacles will disapper. Everything will come in
due time; the true Power knows how to wait.
Yoga is sufficient to fill a whole life if it is done seriously. It is at
each instant of our life that the Lord saves us so wonderfully and so
simply that in our blindness we do not even know it. It is only when
we remain quietly in His arms, untouched by what comes from others
that we can see and feel his wonerful protection. The Lord
arranges our lives for the best of our souls and His wisdom is infinite
and perfect.
To realise the Divine and unite with the Divine, you must lose your
ego. If you dissociate from the ego, you will no longer feel miserable
and soon you will become aware of your soul and then you will
awlays be aware of the Divine Grace and its quiet happiness. If we
want our consecration ( ~ ) to the Divine to be total and perfect, it
(31a) (32a)
must be unconditioned and independent of all circumstances. The true
condition is to be absorbed in an all-embracing love for the Divine.
Consecration is indeed meditation in action. Never do I sit in
meditation, there is no time and necessity for it. (++ |.|: ~
|| :| | |+: :~ +|-: |+ :|=- -| ) Because it is
not through meditation that one gives oneself to the divine, it is through
consecration and surrender and it is through all activities of life that
consecration and surrender are to be made.
On friendship It is the Lord who creates the friendships. It is the
Lord who ends the friendships; it is the lord who makes us lonely to
make us ready for this everlasting Friendship; when we are ready for
it all loneliness disappears and we become constantly aware of His
soothing Presence which dismisses all loneliness.
On hostility - There is only one remedy; it is not to listen to people
when they begin to gossip and pay no attention to what they say.
Never to be affected by all this talk not to mind a bit what people
say or do not say. Never answer to what they say. Never utter a word
when you feel angry. And to be able to do that there is one way: think
of the Divine, take refuge in the Divine, surrender all, your life, your
feelings, your friends and your enemies, all and everything, to the Divine.
On health- For health the most important is an inner calm and
peace. Almost all of the physical troubles have their cause in an inner
disorder. Get the inside quiet, everything will be all right.
Keep the certitude of the final Victory constantly present in your
mind and the way will be much shorter.
India ought to be the spiritual leader of the world. It is only the
Indias soul who can unify the country. Externally the provinces of
India are very different in character, tendencies, culture, as well as in
language. But her soul is one, intense in her aspiration towards the
spiritual truth The Mother, Mother India, Jan 1969
In peace and silence the Eternal manifests; allow nothing to disturb
you and the Eternal will manifest.
=| : No flight out of the world | |+: || :|
+ |=: . || + || :|| |+ |:~ = +:|+
|+ |:|~ : ~: |+ = - :|~+ =|- |-:
++ | divine manifestation in the world, |- |- :-| |+
|- |:+ |+|+ +|, ||+: |-+ =+- |:| +| =| +
|+::+: = :| :+ |: +|- | |: |-+ |: |
|+ -|+|:+ |-+ |:+ |+:- + |:=|-: ` ||:+, |+ ||
|+ |:=|-: |-=+ -||::|+ |= ||:+| |-= |+
||+= +| |~ |+-| |-+ |:+ +||.+ + |o- |, |z ++
||: = :| :+
Past Yogas and Integral Yoga
Those who seek the Self by the old Yogas separate themselves
from mind, life and body and realise the self (=) and then they
proceed from realisation of Self (=< < , silent Akshara Brahman)
to Nirvana or some Heaven and abandon life. The Suprmental Yoga
(Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo, +c) is necessary for the trans-
formation of terrestrial (f <) life and being, not for reaching the
Self. (=<f<< +c< c c>, , + f<~<c <|<
<<) One must realise Self first, only afterwards can one realise the
supermind. (c>, , +< <| << = l > , c>, , +
f<~ < c <| < <f< f<l f< l< f <<< < =<f<>
Life Divine = ff c) The sadhaka. who stops short at the
Impersonal (=< < ) is no longer a sadhaka of integral Yoga. It is
only the Supramental (Supermind) that is all-knowledge. All below
that from Overmind to Matter is Ignorance. The old Yogas go straight
from mind to the absolute Divine, regard all dynamic existence as
Ignorance, Illusion or Lila. My aim is to realise and also to manifest
the Divine in the world, bringing down for the purpose a yet
unmanifested power, such as the Supermind. I have to bring it into
the cosmic formula and, if so, I must realise the cosmic (universal)
Divine and become conscious of the cosmic self (universal soul) and
the cosmic forces. But I have to embody it here (> =f c,
Supermind -< c> c > =f< f<1) It is the object of my Yoga
(33a) (34a)
to transform life by bringing down into it the Light, Power and Bliss of
the Divine truth and its dynamic certitude. This Yoga is not a Yoga of
world-shunning asceticism (> a < ~ > ), but of divine life.
Sri Aurobindo, Pract. guide
Everyone who is turned to the Mother is doing my Yoga (Purna
Yoga, Integral Yoga) It is a great mistake to suppose that one can
do the Purna Yoga by ones own effort. No human being can do
that. What one has to do is to put oneself in the Mothers hands and
open oneself to her by service, by bhakti, by aspiration.
Sri Aurobindo, Pract. Guide
The true essence of sacrifice is not self-immolation, it is
self-giving. Mother, Pract. Guide
Mother on faith If you believe that the Divine is far and cruel,
He will be far and cruel. He will be brotherly and close, a friend al-
ways faithful, always ready to succour for those who feel Him as the
inner guide in each movement, at every moment. And if you believe
that he can wipe away everything, he will wipe away your faults, all
your errors, and at every moment you can feel His infinite Grace. If
you expect every moment to be lifted up and pulled towards the Di-
vine, He will come to lift you and He will be there, quite close, closer,
ever closer. AIM, Feb, 78.
Relaxation If one is very tired, one must stretch out on the bed,
relax, loosen all the nerves one after another until one becomes like a
cloth in ones bed. Relax, do not concentrate on any idea or try to
solve a problem. - Mother, AIM, Dec 85
Pb #\ XR aPZ relax @\ #Wa @\U ]B B\ R]V@
UFRN flat b S\ c Ew ^R @\U ]B #\ nerve U\ L] @\
PU ]B *R @\] @X aXZ\ WN\N WB\ RbV @\ WB\
R]B]< *b #Wa SNPR @\ KEN #\ *I #N SZGRZ #Wa
b] a@] aXZN Pb, XR, SM@ ^w @\ \A, to establish peace in
mind, life and body. ^w a@ ] \B\ panacea. ab@\M ^w ^oPI
XG XG XRR @\U ]B #\ ^w #b@ U] WUU ]B a@]
@XN Uy O@< @X\ XG N *b #Wa @\U S\
He who would save the world must share its pain.
If he knows not grief, how shall he find griefs cure?
God must be born on earth and be as man
That man being human may grow even as God.
He who would save the world must be one with the world,
All suffering things contain in his hearts space
And bear the grief and joy of all lives.
Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, Book7, Canto6
{#VN\a@] XRV S@N ]Z Gl BbM @\ #\ XRV S@N PU
S@N] \Sw\ @\U] @t @\ XRb@ #P^ PAVZ)
Mother on Illness
All illness, all, whatever they may be come from a break in equi-
librium. That is, if all your organs, all the members and parts of your
body are in harmony with one another, you are in perfect health. How
to prevent illness from coming, first of all, and when the illness does
occur, how to cure it? It is usually when the body is convinced that it
has been given the conditions under which it must be all right; it takes
the resolution that it must be all right and it is cured. ( c< = ><
c< c< < f :. = c< =f<< f< c c> c<< > c >a). There
are two things you have to do when you have discovered the disor-
der, big or small the disharmony. Firstly, we said that this dishar-
mony created a kind of tremor and a lack of peace in the physical
being, in the body. So the first thing to do is to quieten oneself, bring
peace, calm relaxation, with a total confidence, in this little corner (
c>< = c>< =c f =>< <f f f< =f<< c
=< c silent <f< f< <f< <f< c) ... and through
the pressure of light and knowledge and spiritual force you re-estab-
lish the harmony, the proper functioning. In the case of special attacks
of adverse forces, the thing gets complicated. There are always germs
watching and only waiting for an occasion. Anyhow, for some reason
or other, the influence has pierced through the shell of protection ( pro-
tecting envelope around the body). Then you must add the Force of
spiritual purification which is such an absolutely perfectly constructive
force that nothing that is in the least destructive can survive there. If you
have this Force at your disposal or if you can ask for it and get it, you
(35a) (36a)
direct it on the spot ( c>< = ~ = c f f << f >
=f< <) and the adverse force usually runs away immediately, for if
it happens to be in the midst of this Force it gets dissolved, it disap-
pears, for no force of disintegration can survive within this Force, there-
fore disintegration disappears and with it that also disappears.
{ c<< c force of disintegration, =<< f< =< dis-
integration < >a1 f c< c<< > c =f<f = c< << ~<+
<<<, c< < f =< f < c> c => <<)1
Mother on Illness due to Yoga
The force that comes down into one who is doing Yoga and
helps him in his transformation, acts along many different lines and its
results vary according to the nature that receives it and the work to be
done. First of all, it hastens the transformation of all in the being that is
ready to be transformed. If he is open and receptive in his mind, the
mind, touched by the power of Yoga, begins to change and progress
swiftly. There may be the same rapidity of change in the vital con-
sciousness if that is ready, or even in the body. But in the body the
transforming power of yoga is operative only to a certain degree; for
the receptivity of the body is limited. The most material plane of the
universe is still mixed with a large amount of resistance. But rapid
progress in one part of the being which is not followed by an equiva-
lent progress in other parts produces a disharmony in the nature, a
dislocation somewhere; and wherever or whenever this dislocation
occurs, it can translate itself into an illness. One kind of disharmony
affects the mind and the disturbance it produces may lead even as far
as insanity; another kind affects the body and may show itself as fever
or prickly heat or any other greater or minor disorder.
On one side, the action of the forces of Yoga hastens the move-
ment of transformation of the being in those parts that are ready to
receive and respond to the power that is at work upon it. Yoga, in this
way saves time. The whole world is in a process of progressive trans-
formation; if you take up the discipline of Yoga, you speed up in your-
self this process. The work that would require years in the ordinary
course, can be done by yoga in a few days and even in a few hours.
The higher parts of your being readily follow the swift and concen-
trated movement of yoga and lend themselves more easily to the con-
tinuous adjustment and adaptation that it necessitates.
The body, on the other hand, is ordinarily dense, inert and apa-
thetic and if you have in this part something that is not responsive, if
there is a resistance here, the reason is that the body is incapable of
moving as quickly as the rest of the being. This divergence between
the progress in the inner being and the inertia of the body often cre-
ates a dislocation in the system, and that manifests itself as an illness.
In the ordinary life of man ... the mental and the vital beings of
man follow as best they can the movement of the universal forces, but
the body bound to the law of the most material nature, moves very
slowly. After some years, seventy or eighty, a hundred or two hun-
dred, the dislocation is so serious that the outer being ( c>) falls to
pieces ( >a). The divergence between the demand and the an-
swer, the increasing inability of the body, brings about the phenom-
enon of death. ( =< +< c< c> c c< c =<f:.< c<<
<c< c>< >a).
Mother on Destiny
By Yogic discipline one can not only foresee destiny but modify it
and change it totally. Human beings are made up of a combination of
several entities. Each of these beings belongs to a world of its own and
carries within it its own destiny, its own determinism. And it is the
combination of all these determinisms that results in the destiny of the
individual.
For example, the physical or material destiny of a being comes
from his paternal and maternal forebears. But then comes into play
the formation of his vital being. (the being of desires and passions, but
also of impulsive energy and active will) which brings with it its own
destiny. This destiny affects the physical destiny and can alter it
completely. For example, if a man born with a very good physical
(37a) (38a)
balance is driven by his vital to all kinds of excesses, bad habits and
even vices, he can in this way partly destroy his good physical destiny
and lose the harmony of health and strength. To the physical and vital
destinies, there must be added the mental destiny, the psychic destiny
and many others besides. The higher a being stands on the human
scale, the more complex is his being, the more numerous are his
destinies. Higher destinies are quite closest to the central truth of the
universe and if they are allowed to intervene, their action is necessarily
beneficent. The art of living would then consist in maintaining oneself
in ones highest state of consciousness and thus allowing ones highest
destiny to dominate. Be always at the summit of your consciousness
and the best will always happen to you. If this ideal condition turns out
to be unrealisable, the individual can at least, when confronted by a
danger or a critical situation, call upon his highest destiny by aspiration,
prayer and trustful surrender to the divine will. Then, in proportion to
the sincerity of his call, the higher destiny intervenes favourably in the
normal destiny of the being and changes the course of events.
Attitude- The same thing, identically the same, if we take it as a
gift of God, as a divine grace, helps us to become more conscious,
stronger, more true, while if we take it as a blow from fate, as a bad
force, this constricts us, weighs us down and takes away from us all
consciousness and strength and harmony.
Regarding stomach trouble It is due to restlessness and agita-
tion. Bring down peace, the Divine Peace, in your stomach and it will
be all right.
Regarding fever Remain peaceful and confident and it will soon
be over. Peace and stillness are the great remedy for disease. When
we can bring peace in our cells we are cured.
Be always Benevolent- Be benevolent and you will be free from
suffering, be always contented and happy, you will radiate your quiet
happiness.
Be always kind, come out of all bitter criticism, see no more evil
in everything, obstinately force yourself to see nothing but the kind
Presence of the Divine grace.
Nervous Envelope
The vital body surrounds the physical body with a kind of enve-
lope. It is this which protects the body from all contagion, fatigue,
exhaustion and even from accidents. Therefore if this envelope is wholly
intact, it protects you from everything, but a little too strong an emo-
tion, a little fatigue, some dissatisfaction or any shock is sufficient to
scratch it and the slightest scratch allows any kind of intrusion. If you
are in perfect vital equilibrium, you do not catch illness. If one be-
comes aware of the weak spot in ones envelope, a few minutes con-
centration, a call to the force (divine force), an inner peace is sufficient
for it to be all right.
Accidents
People are not aware of the workings of grace except when
there has been some danger, that is, when there has been the begin-
ning of an accident or the accident has taken place and they have
escaped it. Then they become aware. But never are they aware that
if, for instance, a journey or anything whatever, passes without any
accident, it is an infinitely higher grace.
Pain and suffering
When pain comes, it comes to teach us something. The quicker
we learn it, the more the need for pain diminishes, and when we know
the secret, it will no longer be possible to suffer.
The secret is to emerge from the ego, get out of its prison, unite
ourselves with the Divine, merge into Him. All moral suffering moulds
our character and leads you straight to ecstasy.
Fear of Death
Reason teaches us that it is absurd to fear something that one
cannot avoid. The only thing to do is to accept the idea of death and
quietly do the best one can from day to day, from hour to hour, with-
out worrying about what is going to happen. In the silent and tranquil
(39a) (40a)
depths of our being there is a light shining constantly, the light of the
psychic consciousness. Go in search of this light, concentrate on it; it
is within you. With a persevering will, you are sure to find it and as
soon as you enter into it, you awake to the sense of immortality.
Rest, Sleep
Proper rest is a very important thing for the sadhana.
Before going to sleep, when you lie down to sleep, begin by
relaxing yourself physically. Then offer yourself to the Divine in a com-
plete relaxation. Keep trying until you succeed. At the time of lying
down one should always begin by quieting ones thoughts. A total
relaxation, a kind of complete calm, without tension in which everthing
is stopped. But this is only the beginning. Afterwards, a self-giving as
total as possible, of all, from top to bottom, from the outside to the
inmost and you begin repeating your mantra, if you have one or any
other word which has a power over you, a word leaping from the
heart, spontaneously, like a prayer and that sums up your aspiration.
After having repeated a few times, if you are accustomed to it, you
get into trance. And from that trance you pass into sleep. Even for
those who have never been in trance, it is good to repeat a mantra, a
word, a prayer before going into sleep.
Never go to sleep when you are avery tired. I would advise you
to rest before you go to sleep. Repose your body, comfortably
stretched on a bed or in a easy chair. Then try to relax your nerves.
Consecrating food to God
With food, we take in a formidable amount of inconscience, of
tamas, heaviness. This is the origin and rational explanation of the
religious practice of consecrating ones food to God before taking it.
Physical Culture
If we cultivate the body by a clear-sighted and rational method,
at the same time we are helping the growth of the soul. ( c>< f<
<<c+ <f<c =c< f >a) Physical culture is the pro-
cess of infusing consciousness into the cells of the body. Physical cul-
ture is the Sadhana of the body... and helps to hasten the achievement
of the goal (souls growth).
Conscious Will
The movements we make almost constantly in our everyday life or
which we have to make in our work if it is a physical work, do not help
or help very little to develop the muscles and to create harmony in the
body. The same movements, if they are made consciously with a defi-
nite aim suddenly start helping you to build up your body. Walking to go
somewhere and walking as an exercise is not the same thing. It is the
conscious will which is important. Going up and down the stairs you
cannot imagine how useful that can be from the point of view of physical
culture you go up ( or come down) with the consciousness of all the
muscles which are working and of making them work harmoniously.
You will see. Just try a little. This means that you can use all the move-
ments of your life for a harmonious development of the body.
You bend down to pick something up, you open a door, you
close it, there are hundred and one things you do constantly and which
you can make use of for your physical culture.- Mother, Health and
Healing in Yoga
{ =f< f < =< f< <c< c>< < =f
ca1 c>< > c> c c < c<, c>< << =< fa+
< c:.1 c <:., ff< << =< = < c cf>< < >
c> c c <<, c> c =< c > = >a <f<< f
=f < c<< c c> < c< , < < c cf c>< f c>< c f< c< 1
> < c c> c c <<< < f =f< c> >`<
Yoga means union with the Divine, and the union is effected
through offering it is founded on the offering of yourself to the Di-
vine. You say, I am a servant of the Divine, my life is given absolutely
to the Divine; all my efforts are for the realisation of the Divine Life.
You have at every moment to remember it. You must feel at every step
that you belong to the Divine; you must have the constant experience
(41a) (42a)
that, in whatever you think or do, it is always the Divine Consciousness
that is acting through you. You have no longer anything that you can call
your own; you feel everything as coming from the Divine. Live in the
feeling that it is this presence which moves you and doing everything
you do. Offer all your movements to it, not only every mental action,
every thought and feeling but even the most ordinary and external ac-
tions such as eating. Mother, Conversations ( c =f> < =< c<<,
= << = = f c<< =< cf>< < c<< = + <f< c c>, , + =<
= < Divine Presence = = < >< =< ff c f<< = =< ><1
c> c f =>< < f f< c> =f<< c1 c> Divine Peace
f< c c< c< > c =a <f<< c< c<)
Birthdays
It is truly a special day in ones life. It is one of those days in the
year when the supreme descends into usone of those days when
our soul comes in contact with the Eternal and, if we remain a little
conscious, we can feel his Presence within us. If we make a little
effort on this day, we accomplish the work of many lives as in a light-
ning flash. My child, it is a very very special day, for it is the day of
decision, the day one unite with the supreme Consciousness. This day
is truly an opportunity in life.Mother, AIM May 78
In your desire for progress, take great care not to attempt to pull
the forces towards you. Give yourself, open yourself but never try to
pull the Force towards you. Mother, AIM May 79
c c =- , f< << << <<, Yoga means
self-giving. ~ =<< =<= c<< < c c<< {l :f:) << = + <<>
c1 K J ] A #S M, c= f c c= = +, c => c<a
=< c<< = +, => =< =f> c => =< = + <<> c1 c< c
perfection, perfection t< <a < +< - <1 Lord, I offer
my animal nature for transformation into higher nature this is self-
giving or self-consecration. Lord, transform my lower instincts this is
self-giving. It is a continuous process no break, no rest.
***
While doing physical exercise, Yogasana or any physical work,
one should call the Divine Shakti to transform the body.
How to purify oneself ? The way is Lord, Purify me.
How to become egoless? The way is Lord, make me egoless.
***
Personal and Impersonal-Saguna and Nirguna, Active
and Silent Brahman, They are inseparably one.
***
The psychic being is the soul, the Purusha in the secret heart
supporting the action of mind, life and body.
Sri Aurobindo.
MEANING OF WORK IN INTEGRAL YOGA
I donot mean by work action done in the ego and the
ignorance, for the satisfaction of the ego and in the drive of
rajasic desire. There can be no Karmayoga without the will to
get rid of ego, rajas and desire.
I mean by work action done for the Divine and more and
more in union with the Divine-for the Divine alone and nothing
else. Naturally that is not easy at the beginning. But it has to be
begun in the right spirit and attitude, with the right will in you, then
all the rest will come. Works done in this spirit are quite as effec-
tive as bhakti or contemplation. One gets by the rejection of
desire, rajas and ego a quietude and purity into which the Peace
ineffable can descend; one gets by dedication of one's will to the
Divine, by the merging of one's will in the Divine Will the death of
ego and the enlarging into the cosmic consciousness or else the
uplifting into what is above the cosmic; one experiences the sepa-
ration of Purusha from Prakriti and is liberated from the shackles
of the outer nature; one becomes aware of one's inner being and
sees the outer (-, -, |) as an instrument; one feels the universal
Force doing one's works and the Self or Purusha watching or
witness but free; one feels all one's works taken from one and done
by the universal or supreme Mother or by the Divine Power con-
(43a) (44a)
trolling and acting from behind the heart. By constant referring of all
one's will and works to the Divine, love and adoration grow, the
psychic being comes forward. By the reference to the Power above,
we can come to feel it above and its descent and the opening to an
increasing consciousness and knowledge. Finally works, bhakti and
knowledge go together and self-perfection becomes possible---what
we call the transformation of the nature. This is Karmayoga laid
down in the Gita as I have developed it for the integral spiritual life.
It does not exclude meditation and certainly does not exclude bhakti,
for the self offering to the divine, the consecration of all oneself to
the Divine which is the essence of Karmayoga are essentially a
movement of bhakti. Only it does exclude a life-fleeing exclusive
meditation or an emotional bhakti shut up in its inner dream taken
as the whole movement of the yoga. One may have hours of pure
absorbed meditation or of the inner motionless adoration and ec-
stasy, but they are not the whole of the integral yoga.
Sri Aurobindo, AIM, April, 83
All that is done by the Divine is done for the best even
when we cannot understand his action. There are constant fluc-
tuations, persistent disappointments, innumerable falls and fail-
ures. If one has the faith or in absence of faith the will to go
through, one passes on and enters into the joy and light of the
divine realisation. If one gets some habit of true surrender, then
all this is not necessary; one can enter into the sunlit way.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on yoga
Gita's Solution
The Gita's solution is to rise above our natural being and
normal mind, above our intellectual and ethical perplexities into
another consciousness with another law of being and therefore
another standpoint for our action; where personal desire and
personal emotions no longer govern it; where dualities fall away;
where the action is no longer our own and where therefore the
sense of personal virtue and personal sin is exceeded; where the
universal, the impersonal, the divine spirit works out through us
its purpose in the world; where we are ourselves by a new and
divine birth changed into being of that Being, consciousness of
that Consciousness, power of that Power, bliss of that Bliss, and
living no longer in our lower nature, have no works to do of our
own, no personal aim to pursue of our own, but if we do works
at all,--- and that is the one real problem and difficulty left---do,
do only divine works, those of which our outward nature is only
a passive instrument and no longer the cause, no longer provides
the motive; for the motive---power is above us in the will of the
Master of our works. And this is presented to us as the true
solution. We can only know this greater truth by living it, that is
to say, by passing beyond the mental into the spiritual experi-
ence, by Yoga.
This upward transference of our centre of being and the
consequent transformation of our whole existence and conscious-
ness, with a resultant change in the whole spirit and motive of
our action, the action often remaining same in all its outward
appearances, makes the gist of the Gita's Karmayoga. Change
your being, be reborn into the spirit and by that new birth pro-
ceed with the action to which the Spirit within has appointed
you, may be said to be the heart of the message. Make the
work you have to do here your means of inner spiritual rebirth,
the divine birth, and having become divine, do still divine works
as an instrument of the Divine for the leading of the peoples. The
soul in us develops itself by life and works and, not indeed so
much the action itself, but the way of our soul's inner force of
working its relations to the Spirit. This is, indeed, the justification
of Karmayoga as a practical means of the higher self-realisation
Essays on the Gita, The gist of the Karmayoga
:, =~: || | =| |: || :+, |z = ||+ ::|
-| =+| Essays on the Gita- : ||: The world for the Gita
is real, a creation of the Lord, a power of the Eternal, and even this
lower nature of the triple Maya (;, +=, : |:|-|+ +- =
=~:-) is a derivation from the supreme divine Nature. Nor can
(45a) (46a)
we take refuge altogether in this distinction that there is a double,
an inferior active and temporal and a superior calm still and eternal
reality beyond action and that our liberation is to pass from this
partiality to that greatness, from the action to the silence. (=:| :
|| -| ||+: -| || |- |-.++, ~|: |+ |,
|-|:: .++, |., |+, , , |+.- |+ = :| -
|| | | |+ : - | ||~ |+ :|~ |+ ||~)
For the Gita insists that we can and should, while we live, be
conscious in the self ( ,silent impersonal Brahman) and its silence
and yet act with power in the world of Nature. And it gives the
example of the Divine (Krishna) himself who is not bound by ne-
cessity of birth, but free, superior to the cosmos (|+ ::), and
yet abides eternally in action, varta eca-evaca karmani, (3/22).
He (Purushottama) is both Akshara and Kshara, and yet he is other
because he is more and greater than either of these opposites. "But
other than these two is the highest spirit called the supreme Self,
who enters the three worlds and upbears them, the imperishable
Lord," (15/17). This verse is the keyword of the Gita's reconcilia-
tion of these two apparently opposite aspects of our existence.
***
The being of man is composed of these elements---The
psychic behind supporting all, the inner mental, vital and physi-
cal, and the outer, quite external nature of mind, life and body
which is their instrunemt of expression. But above all is the
central being (Jivatma) which uses them all for its manifestation;
it is a portion of the Divine Self.
To call in the light of the Divine Consciousness from above,
to bring the psychic being to the front and kindle a flame of
aspiration which will awaken spirtually the outer mind and set on
fire the vital being, is the way out. (||+ |: |-|+ |=
vital being, | |+ |:|+ ||+ || :+)
Supermind is between Sachchidananda and the lower cre-
ation. The Supermind alone can transform the lower nature.
(Lights on Yoga, Sri Aurobindo)
The Mother's Force is the Divine Force which works to
remove the ignorance and change the nature into the divine
nature. AIM Sept'79
Mother's consciousness and mine are the same, the one
Divine Consciousness in two, because that is necessary for the
play.AIM Feb'74.
Divine Grace- It (Divine Grace) is not a universal Divine
Compassion acting impartially on all who approach it and acceding
to all prayers. It does not select the righteous and reject the sinner.
It is a power that is superior to any rule, even to the Cosmic Law.
A state of Grace is prepared in the individual often behind thick
veils by means not calculable by the mind and when the state of
Grace comes, then the Grace itself acts. There are three powers :
(1) Cosmic Law or Karma, (2) the Divine Compassion, (3) the
Divine Grace. If one wants the Divine quickly, absolutely, entirely,
that must be the spirit of approach, absolute, all-engrossing, making
that the one point with which nothing else must interfere. Only the
Divine himself matters. When your consciousness embraces the
Divine, then you can know what Divine is, not before.
AIM, May 74, Sri Aurobindo
What to surrender - The most important surrender is the
surrender of your character, your way of being, so that it may
change. If you donot surrender your very nature, never will this
nature change. Mother, AIM Nov'78
=| : The power of thought on the body is tremendous.
-:| +|~ |+ +||+ |: thought power | will power +|+ |+
|:~ -:| |: |`` | |:|-:- |+|| | -|+ =: ::
- || | | || |:~ =:| -+ +||.+ = :+
|:| :|=- |-:= || |:| | -- |+: ||. |:~
:|:+ :- +, | egoless +| = ~: | -- |+:
-, -, |+ |: ` |+ ||. || egoless |+| |:- divine |+|
| | -:- ||. -| |:- :|:+ -:- +|- :: ||||- --
|+: +||.+: | |+ [1] divine ` ||:+| [2] |+ -+ |:+:
|:|- :-|, |+ |:+: |: |- || |+ -: |-+ -
(47a) (48a)
|: [3] |+ -, -, | |- -, -, | +||.+ ` [4] ++
||:+ |+ |- |:-| -| , :| + |+ -:| , - , |
|+ || [5] +|++ |+| ||+ |~|| ~ |: | [6] ||.
||., =:| =|-, - |- +||.+ ` [7] +, :||+ :-|
|+ - :| :: |
Necessity of a mantra and how to get it
I have come to realise that for this sadhana of the body, the
mantra is essential. I repeat my mantra constantly when I am
awake and even when I sleep. This mantra- OM NAMO
BHAGAVATEH came to me. I saw that I needed to have a
mantra. And it was just then that it came. So if you feel the need
it will come. One day either you will hear the words or they will
spring forth from your heart.
Mother, Mother's Agenda, Vol. I, p.301 and p.197
How to solve a problem
You find yourself facing a so-called problem : "What am I
to say? What am I to do? There is nothing to do ! Nothing but
to say to the Lord, "You see, here is the situation." That is all. And
keep very still. And spontaneously, without thinking about it, ...
you do what must be done. But it is the Lord who does it.
Mother, Mother's Agenda, Vol-3. P.377
OM (AUM)
OM is the mantra, the expressive sound-symbol of the
Brahman Consciousness in its four domains from the Turiya
(consciousness of the Absolute or pure existence) to the external
or material plane. OM if rightly used (not mechanically) might very
well help the opening upwards and outwards (cosmic consciousness)
as well as its descent. Sri Aurobindo, AIM, Ap-84
OM is the symbol of the triple Brahman, the outward looking
(the waking state- the consciousness of the material universe), the
inward or subtle (the dream state- the consciousnes corresponding
to the subtler life-plane and mind plane) and the superconscient
casual Purusha (the sleep state- the consciousness corresponding to
the supramental plane). Each letter A, U, M indicates one of these
three in ascending order and the syllable as a whole brings out the
fourth state, Turiya, which rises to the Absolute.
Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita.
Casual- being the cause, A-waking soul, U-Dream Soul,
M-Sleep soul, supramental plane, Turiya- the fourth state,
Absolute.
Suicide
Sadhana has to be done in the body, it cannot be done by the
soul without the body. If one throws away the body willfully, {f
c< c c< => < c<) one suffers much in the other worlds and
when one is born again, it is worse, not in better conditions {=>
<f< c < c<f < >a) The only sensible thing is to face the
difficulties in this life and body and conquer them.
Sri Aurobindo, pract. guide
=a =< c<<< f =a subconscious mind = c<1 >
=a< < f < c subconscious mind c << cf =< f
=f>< c <f<< c1
Supermind
Supermind is between the Sachchidananda and the lower cre-
ation. Suprmind alone contains the self-determining Truth of the Di-
vine Consciousness and is necessary for truth creation. One can realise
Sachchidananda in relation to the mind, life and body also but then it
is something stable, supporting by its presence the lower Prakriti but
not transforming it.
It is the Supramental Power that transforms mind, life and body-
not the Sachchidananda consciousness which supports impartially ev-
erything. But it is by having experience of the Sachchidananda, pure
existence consciousness bliss, that the ascent to the Supramental
and the descent of the Supramental become possible. Overmind stands
at the top of the lower hemisphere. ( matter, life, mind =< overmind
(49a) (50a)
c<c lower hemisphere < lower creation =< supermind,
Sachchidananda < upper hemisphere c<< >a)1
No sadhak can reach the Supermind by his own efforts and the
effort to do it by personal tapasya has been the source of many mis-
haps. One has to go quietly stage by stage until the being is ready and
even then it is only the Grace that can bring the real Supramental change.
(Inconsistent< evolution< a c matter, life, mind =f>1
f mind < evolution < supermind =f>< =< > c< <<<
f =f< =< >`<1)
Once the Supermind has descended upon a God-seeker. All the
relations with Divine will be his: the trinity of God-knowledge, divine
works and devotion to God will open within him and move towards
an utter self-giving and surrender of his whole being and nature. He
will live in God and with God, possess God, even plunge in him for-
getting all separate personality, but not losing it in self- extinction.
Sri Aurobindo, Pract. guide
{=f c = << c << < = =< <f<<,
f< Separate personality = m f<<)
c =<t c< c c< < c< =c<t ff c1 < <<,
c silence =1 c =< <f<< f< c> silent >`<1 c =<
<f<< f< c =< =< c f< =< c = = c<
=< fa+ c <1 c peace =< silence =>< < f =f< c >
>`<1 c<a c << << + <f<< f<1 + <f< c c
>a1 < c< t<1 f ca c< < c <f<<1 a ,
+, c> ff< =< fa+ c <1 c c <<
~<+ <f< f<< c == <f<< c1 ~< c+ = << << f
<f<1 cfa << cf ca < c a c =< << < <f<<1
=<f<> < << +c< -< c<ac c>, , +
=< =< f < f<< >a1 f< < f< cf< =< <
f< af<< c> =c =< c> f<<1 c< - < f<< < faa c
<fm >a =< c> c< l< c < < evolution = < c<1
+ c < c< cf>< < f< > , < > , < =<
< < <f< < c1 << <f>< l< c< c<,
f >a inner life1 c< c c> + c f c <f<< c< c<, <<+
=c<< c< c< >a ff -f >1 > c =c <<
f=< c< f c < c<, it is God Himself who does Yoga in us. =f
a + <f<< c =< self-purification - < < c< =<< c
<f<< c1 << cf ca << =<:.> f f<<1 < c<
=<f:.< c c <f<< < c f< ff<, < < f ><1 + c
< f< c << < f<1 < = <f< c sun lit path c <1
f < t<< ca c< t< < f~ >`<, f<f<< c1
+ c =, < =< =f c< a1 <<+ ff< c
c< a c == <f< c c> + = <f<< f<1 < c < =f
= c< c< << = + <f< c< < f< - < c< < > c < ~
>< c <f<< c =< < c < c< <f< c < f < <f<<
c1 > == c << << Channel < c <| < <f<<1
c< < c < f< < f< cf < c<1 =f < f~ < f
=c 1 > f~ < f cfa < f< < f c <| < >< cfa
< =<< direct Channel - =c <| < >`<1
f <c +c <f <c =<< < > <c< =< c
< c< c< c<< f =<f< =< < = guidance a =c1
+|=:|~ + -||+| |+ -|+||+ |:|~+ + ||, ||:
- |-.+ +|, to silence the mind, - silent `: || |~ |+-|+
-:; |- soul is guide, soul is leader. |- =+- |+ |=
|| =|: +|, to awaken the soul.
(51a) (52a)

+| = - ||-|~ 146 113
|: +| ||~ 172 1450
:: +| |~ 143 5172
: +| =|-|~ 142 7394
|~ +| ||~ 129 95106
+| +|-|~ 147 107122
+| =|- |=|-|~ 130 123135
+| + |~ 128 136145
-+ +| +|=|-| +|=|~ 134 146164
- +| ||:|~ 142 165175
=|- +| |+| --|~ 155 176189
|- +| ||~ 120 190199
:|- +| =||~|~ 135 200211
:- +| ||~|~ 127 212222
|~- +| |+:||~ 120 223233
| +| -|+ |-||~|~ 124 234241
- +| =| ||~|~ 128 242253
|- +| ||~ 178 254282
(53a) (54a)
Asceticism (|) is no doubt very healing, a cave very peaceful and
the hill-tops wonderfully pleasant; nevertheless do thou act in the world as
God intended thee. Sri Aurobindo Thoughts and Aphorisms
Devotion is not utterly fulfilled till it becomes action and knowledge.
Sri Aurobindo, AIM May 80
Life is given to us to find the Divine and unite with Him. The Mother,
Sri Aurobindo circle, 83
A smile acts upon difficulties as the sun upon clouds it disperses
them. The Mother, AIM Oct. 84
Be always good and you will be happy. A good action is sweeter to
the heart than a candy to the tongue. The Mother, AIM July 78
Let the vast peace of the Divine penetrate you entirely and initiate all
your movements. The Mother, AIM May 79
In quientness you will feel that the divine force, help and protection
are always with you. The Mother, AIM May 79
It is a lesson of life that always in this world erveything fails a man
only the Divine does not fail him, if he turns entirely to the Divine. Blows
fall on all human beings because they are full of desire. To turn to the Divine
is the only truth in life. Sri Aurobindo, Aurobindo Circle, 83
Remanin young, never stop striving towards perfection. The Mother,
Mother India, Jan 68
He who would win high spiritual degrees, must pass endless tests and
examinations. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
Turn all things to honey; this is the law of divine living. Sri Aurobindo,
Ths & Aphs
All speech and action comes prepared out of the Eternal Silence. Sri
Aurobindo Ths & Aphs
Become and live the knowledge thou hast; then is thy knowledge the
living God within thee. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
To do the work that one does with all sincerity, as perfectly as one can,
is certainly one of the best ways to serve the Divine. The Mother, AIM
Nov. 81
One must have no fear, it acts like a magnet and attracts what we fear.
The Mother, Self Perfection, Part 3
If Hell were possible, it would be the shortest cut to the highest
heaven. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
See God everywhere and be not frightened by masks. Believe that all
falsehood is a truth in the making. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
When thou art able to see how necessary is suffering to final delight,
failure to utter effectiveness..., then you begin to understand something,
however faintly and dimly, of God's workings. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs.
*q~-- ~=|
<| (Chapter 1)
=+ |+|--|~
<==| =|
<rrz =rrz =r=| =+
|| |o|r |= =s++ 1
1 - +:+| `: a, |: +:: |+ ::
|+| ( ::|) |+ |+ ||+ |: | |+: (|| |||
= | :)
=s =|
- | = |o|+ - r|<+c--|+
||=~ =|=| +++ 2
2 - a: `: ||+ -:|:+ (|| -) - |||: |
-| ( - | :) +| - :|+:- + |||+ + ~ (+|| - :|+- :-|
|| |~) = | `: (- )
r=| |oz|+||| = +
| s-rz+ = |r++ <=|++ 3
3 - ||, |:||-|+ ||- | |- | | |+| -+ |:
(: +:| |: |- |: |) || |+ = || -- |
(||||| =:|- : |)
z =| r+|=| = + =| |<+
<|r+| |=| s- |=++ 4
<r= |=|+ ||=|= |++
=|= |cr|= +=~++ 5
<|+ |z|c ==r|=| |++
=|rs| s|r-| = = |=|++ 6
4, 5, 6, - |: () -+ |- |+ (| |+) |+-++
(:||) + |: (+|) +|-, |+|, |+ |-, +::, |:|-,
|- ||+|, |+|, |.:|, ||- -+:= (-+|~) +,
|| (||.) +|-, |- :`|, | |+ `|-+ |
|: =:| :| |+ ( = |+|)
-.| = ||| =|+ |+r|< |r=|=+
+|| =+= ==| =|+ | =++ 7
7 - |:=, |-|:: ||+ |: ||+ +|- -|||: |
|:, ::|+ -| |||- ||- (: | - |||
-|| :|- |-:|+), |||- ||-+ |: `:| (: =| :|- |)
|+ + =||=s+
|| |+ =|-|= =s++ 8
8 - |||- (|-) , , (||:a) |, ||, |,
|-| |+
r+ =| -r ===|=|+
+|+| - =+| =r =||=-|++ 9
9 - =:|+ ||:+ |+ |: +- |- : (:- -:
:|:|) -|-| |: : ||~: -: + |: (-|-| +| :
||+-| +|)
|q = -.| ||=|=+
|q = - =r=+| ||=|=++ 10
10 - + |+| +|: ( |+|:) ||+ -
(| : ||), |z +|+| +|: =:|+ - |:
(: - ||+|: =::| ||)
r++ =r+ ||~ |-=|+
= |=q c = = |++ 11
2 *q~-- ~=|
Even if there is much darkness and this world is full of it and the
physical nature of man also yet a ray of the true Light can prevail eventually
against a tenfold darkness. Believe that and cleave to it always.
Sri Aurobindo, AIM Mar 81
A noblest courage is to recognise one's faults. The Mother, AIM July 80
If you want peace upon earth, first establish peace in your heart. The
Mother, AIM July 78
11 - |:||-|:| :|:+ (. = |) :| -: |- |-
||~:: || (: :- ||~ |:|) +| |- (
= |+z)
== ==++ + == |=|+
|=+|- |+r-|r -<r| =||+++ 12
12 - :|: | |:|| + ||:| (:|||- + ||:|)
:+ (:, - :|+-+) -: |- | ( --) :+ |-|- |+
|: ( |-|- |-- -+:`)
== | + |+ ~||+
==| = +c = = = ++ 13
13 - :|+ ||: , +, |, |- ~| -|+ |-:|+ (::
| | |- ~| |) =::~ || |o (| = -.)
~ + + | ( ~ : )
== r= r r= |= ==r+ |-r=|+
|< |or |-r| r| -<=++ 14
14 - :|+ ||: = |+ :- ~| |+| |+: |o |-
|: (:: |+ || = : : |: :- |::` |-:`
:` -+:)
|+=+ .+rr| --= <+s+
|_ -<r| | | r|-=++ 15
+c |= =|=| crz| |<|=+
+ =r- =r|+|+r|++ 16
15, 16 - = ||~-, :- --, |o- | |+ |+| :
(| :|-+) |` -|+ |, .| +| |+|:+ -. |,
-: :| |+ :-:+ ||| -|+ |: (-+:`)
| =r+|= |o |=+
<- r| |=| =|=| =||==++ 17
sr-| s|r-| = |r=+
=|s ||; |+ -< ++ 18
17, 18 |+| (| ||::), |+- + + |+| (|+: | |),
|+ |, + - , |+|, : |:|, |-, `|-+ | (`|:- |
), ||- |+ | (||- ` ), :|:+ |- |- |:
( | | |- -+)
= |r+| <|==||+| .-||+ -|=+
+ |r+ =r| ++|-+++ 19
19 - ~ +:+|+ |+ .+: |+ | |+: ( |
+|:+||| -||- -|+) |+ || |+ ||: (- || =)
|+| |:+|- :|: (: | --|--)
|-=|+ - | <|==||+ |<=+
r= -=|r= <+ =- |o+
.+r =-| | - | r=++ 20
20 - |+| (|::), :|+ ||: ||+ :- ( ||+
||) `+ |+ | |+| -| |+ :|~ |
+|: (+|:+||- |:|- -| ||:: :) +-- -|| (+- -)
= = | `: (:-| : - | |)
= + =|
=+r|=r|r< = -| =++ 21
|r-=|+ |+=r |=||+|-=|++
| = |=|-.+ =+=-r++ 22
|=|+|+rr =r= z =|~=|+
<|==|= - r=r= ||+++ 23
21, 22 - :- `: :, - -|-+ |: |+ +- +||
(:| -:| :+ + ||) |:: |+ +|:
|+ |+ ~: |+ ||~ :| | ||:+| (| =:|- |||-
+|:|, |- +-: | | |-+:)
4 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 1 = + |+|--|~ 3
An uncompromising sincerity is the surest way to spiritual achievement.
Do not pretend be.
Do not promise act.
Do not dream realise. The Mother, AIM, Oct 78
Sense of humour ? It is the salt of existence. Without it the world would
have got utterly out of balance. Sri Aurobindo, AIM Oct. 84
23- - |+ +:+|| - :|+-+ (- : +|:+|) | | =
: (|| =:: :) |+ |: ~| | : (||-|-
|~:|) ::| | ( ::)
=s =|
=r=| .+rr| o=|rr+ |==+
=+r|=r|r< -||;| =r|=++ 24
rs|+= =r=| |=|+
=| | r=|+ =r=|+ =.|+|=++ 25
24, 25 - a: `: |+:, :- = -:+ |+|: (|::-
= ) = -|-+ |: (: :| -:| :+)
+- +|| ( + |||;|) , | |+ |- :| +|+
: = | `: ( | :| |:| : |: |)
-, :: |+| + |+| (|| =:|- ::|- +- |)
=z| |-=|+ | |=+ |=||++
|||+ |=|+ =|=+ z|+ |z|+ =c-|+
o=|+ =.-r =+r|=r|=|++ 26
26 - :- -|-:: | (|| : :| -:| || |:|-)
||:, ||:|, ||, |:, |:, |, |`, , -+ |+ - -|
||: (|)
=|+ = = |rc =|+ =+|-=|++
| =||r| |+-|-++ 27
27 - .| :- :| |:||- |- :|: ||: | -| (
`:. :|- |- +- +|:|- ) : |: (|| |+|
||) |+ :-:+ = | `: (|-- - )
= + =|
- r|+ -=+|+ + =+ =|-=|++
=-|c ~|z||+ |=o+|=++ 28
28 - :- `: , |+ ~| |+| (- |:|-)
= | -| ( |- -|- - |) |+ ++ || +|+: ( ~|||
-|.) |+ | ~: ( ||+|:)
=r= =|+ =r=+
~|o -=r= c-| ; |=-r=++ 29
29 - |+ ++ || +|+: ( +:+ | ) |+ ~|+ -| ||+
|o: (+| |::), |:+|+| ~| | ||+: (.| ~| ::)
|+ ~|+ |: ||+| |o: (; = ||+-::) =
+ r+|-|= == ++
|+|=||+ || |==||+ ++ 30
30 - , |+ || -| |+| (|: - :+||) |+
+ - +| +|+: ( - -|: ), |+ :|+ -| || : |
(||+:||- |-|||- |||) |
+ =r| +|| ;| -=+|r+
+ | r |= + + =|= =||+ ++ 31
31 - : (|:) | + |+ (- ;|) | = || |
|| -:+| (= - -|||) , | |-| -:+| (|
- | :), +| |+ :| | -||:~ (- +| ||- )
| +| =|r=+ ~||= | |r~= |r=+ |+
+|r | |= +| =|= |~| =||+ ++ 32
= r -|-=| r= |+|c-=| <+||+ +
||| |== z|c-r |=||++ 33
|=| o=| |z| || =|=+c-|+
==| q|t|| r=| | <=-+++ 34
| zr|=|== r=| |+ r=+
|+= <|==||+ + | |= =| =+|- +++ 35
32-35 - ~||, ||+ (-) +|+ | :|- (+|:- |), |~
| +-+ | :|- (|~ |::- | |), |+ |: (| :)
6 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 1 = + |+|--|~ 5
It is not what you do but the spirit in which you do it that is important
for integral Yoga. The Mother, AIM Apr. 82
I make no difference between work and yoga. Work itself is yoga if it
is done in a spirit of dedication and surrender. The Mother, AIM Apr. 82
||+ +|, |~ |+ :|- (- +| |~| ||- | |:)
+, ||:, |, ||:|, |:, -+, -||:, || |+
|, :|:|+ ( : :) | +- :|~ |+ (||- +-||- :|)
+ |: |: ||: :| (: +|:|), +-- =:|: ||
+ |+: (: ||) =:| + |+ -|+|:+| (=:|- z - ||)
~|: | | +| |:- (| - ::), |:|-:|+ +| + |:
(:|+| ::| ||), -|- -, `++ :| |+: ||+ |
` (+|:+||- |-: - | |: |)
|r|=r --.|+ r;=|+|==|| ++
=-.|| | q <|==||+ =|=|+++
-=+ | ;| =|+ =| |<++ 36
36 - |++, = |::|:|+ + |+: ||+ |||: ` (=:|-
|::||- ;| |- ||| = |=:), |: `+ |+:+ +
+| ||+ |: -` (:| +|:+||- |+|- z - |), - +
|+ || :- ` (- | ;| |- |)
31-36 (In the battle-field Arjuna came to see his relatives,
worshipped teachers, old friends and persons of the same family on
the opposite side whom he must slay. The very thought of killing his
gurus and relatives came to him like a blow which made him tremble
out of pity, kripayavistam). What after all is this fight for justice
when reduced to its practical terms, but just this, a fight for the
interests of himself, his brothers and his party, for possession and
enjoyment and rule ? But at such a cost these things are not worth
having. For they are of no value in themselves, but only as a means
to the right maintenance of social and national life and it is these very
aims that in the person of his kin and his race he is about to destroy.
And then comes the cry of emotions. These are they for whose
sake life and happiness are desired, our "own people" (-) Who
would consent to slay these for the sake of all the earth, or even for
the kingdom of the three worlds ? What pleasure can there be in life,
what happiness, what satisfaction in oneself after such a deed ? The
whole thing is a dreadful sin for now the moral sense awakens to
justify the revolt of sensation and emotions. It is a sin, there is no
right nor justice in mutual slaughter; especially are those who are to
be slain the natural objects of reverence and of love, those without
whom one would not care to live. (1)
-rr= + |c |r|=r==+
= -|+ |zrs|r |=++ 37
+ =-.|| ||--.|||==+
= -|+ |q= +|- +++ 38
37, 38 - -|- -, |- =:|: |+ |+| |: (-|| =::
|:||:::) -| |+ |:| ||| -| -| ( : -|
|:|: ||: - ||.) |z || -| -| (|| :
-| ||;) = ||| + |+| |+: || |:~ | (| ||||
|-|::) ||+ =|- | -` ( - =)
37-38- Granted that the offence, the aggression, the first sin, the
crimes of greed and selfish passion which have brought things to
such a pass [which have resulted the Kurukshetra war] came from
the other side; yet armed resistance to wrong under such circum-
stances would be itself a sin and crime worse than theirs because
they are blinded by passion and unconscious of guilt, while on this
side it would be with a clear sense of guilt that the sin would be
committed. (2)
r +|c <| =+|=+|+
<r +r -<r| |==++ 39
39 - `: -|:- + (+|:-|:) - (: -|:-|
+| |.), + -| ||: . +: | (+: -:
+ ||:)
<||| + - +|c |-+
-+ - |= |r+ =|r= +==++ 40
40 - , ++ |+ ||: (+ ||) ||:
| (| - |.), - | `: + ( - | +
|::)
8 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 1 = + |+|--|~ 7
Remember always that you too are Brahman and the divine Shakti is
working in you. Sri Aurobindo, The Yoga & its objects
Complete surrender can best come by a complete love and bhakti.
Sri Aurobindo, AIM Aug-Sep. 85
=r=| +=|r |+| = +
=|c |=r=| +| q|ro|-|z|++ 41
41 - + (+) -||+:|++ (|-|) |+ + (
) -++ |+ (-+| =) |:: (|), =| :|||- || ||+| |+:
( ||:|- ||) =:|+ ||: |+ -+: |:+ (=| ||:+
|:|.)
-|r+r=r= |+| +==|=r+
==|-rc =||=<| <| |=|++ 42
42 - -||+:|++ (|-|) = + | +| -|+ |:
(=: +|+ -|) |~:+ |+| | | -|:- ||:+ |+
+ (|:| ||:+| +| ) || || (|-:.)
==<|+| ++|+| =+|- ++
+=r |+= |r=| ==+o=++ 43
43 - -|- -, + || ||+|+ (+|| -||)
-+: |+|-- | (-+: |-: | |:) | |-:| ( |: -=)
r| = | = |==| +
- =|==r|r+ q -=+-=|++ 44
44 - |, || ||| |+ | :| (:|:, ||| :
|:|) |+ || +| + |: |:||- |- :|+ + |+ | :|
( +| |:- - z -:|)
39-43- And what for? [what for this war?] For the mainte-
nance of family morality, of the social law and the law of the
nation? These are the very standards that will be destroyed by the
civil war; the family itself will be brought to the point of annihilation,
corruption of morals and loss of the purity of race will be engen-
dered, the eternal laws of the race (-|:-| + |) and moral law
of the family will be destroyed. Ruin of the race, the collapse of its
high traditions, ethical degradation and hell for the authors of such
a crime, these are the only practical results possible of this mon-
strous civil strife. (3)
|- |=|=- -|++
<|==|| =r+ +c-r, == r++ 45
45 - `++ | | | |+: |- |+| |-|- (|- |:|+ )
|+ |-+ +|: |- | ::+ `++: + :+, :| |+ |:
|+ - ` ( | || +|:+|| +: -, : :+
:) -.: - :
=s =|
==|= + =r =r|- =||+
|== == | |=||+=++ 46
46 - a: `: = -:+ :- (= | -) ||
:-:+ (|||-) :: (:) +-+ :|~ |+ (|| +
|) ++ |+: | ||+ (+:|| |||)
45-46 - "Therefore", cries Arjuna, casting down the divine bow
"it is more for my welfare that the sons of Dhritarashtra armed
should slay me unarmed and unresisting. I will not fight" (4)
The teaching of the Gita must be regarded not merely in the
light of general principle of philosophy or ethical doctrine, but as
bearing upon a practical crisis in the application of ethics and phi-
losophy to human life. For what that crisis stands, what is the
significance of the battle of Kurukshetra and its effect on Arjuna's
inner being, we have to determine if we would grasp the central
drift of the idea of the Gita.
The teacher is God himself descended into humanity; the disci-
ple is the representative man of his age, closest friend and chosen
instrument of the Avatar.
The Gita accepts the human Avatarhood; for the Lord speaks of
the repeated, the constant manifestation of the Divine in humanity,
when He the eternal Unborn assumes by His Maya, by the power
of the infinite Consciousness to clothe itself apparently in human
forms. (The Divine Teacher)
Arjuna, the disciple who receives his initiation on the battle-field
is the type of the struggling human soul who has not yet received the
knowledge, but has grown fit to receive it. The Gita is written in plain
10 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 1 = + |+|--|~ 9
Even the greatest darkness of night is bound to disappear in front of the
Dawn. The Mother, W.R (White Roses) The grace always grants sincere prayers. The Mother, W.R.
terms and professes to solve the great ethical and spiritual difficulties
which the life of man raises. Arjuna is the representative man of a
great world-struggle and divinely-guided movement of men and na-
tions; in Gita he typifies the human soul of action. The Gita starts
from action and Arjuna is the man of action and not of knowledge,
the fighter, never the seer or the thinker.
Arjuna is a man subject to the action of the three gunas or
modes of the Nature-Force. He has lived and guided himself by the
Shastra, the moral and social code. The standard which he obeys is
The dharma, social and moral rule of conduct. Following always this
rule, conscious of virtue and right dealing he has travelled so far and
finds suddenly that it has led him to become the protagonist of a
terrific and unparallelled slaughter, a monstrous civil war involving all
the cultured Aryan nations which must lead to the complete destruc-
tion of the flower of their manhood and threatens their ordered civi-
lisation with chaos and collapse.
The character of this inner crisis is not the questioning of the
thinker; it is not recoil from the appearances of life and a turning of
the eye inward in search of the truth of things, the real meaning of
existence and a solution. It is the sensational, emotional and moral
revolt of the man hitherto satisfied with action and its current stand-
ards who finds himself cast by them into a hideous chaos where they
are in violent conflict with each other and with themselves and there
is no moral standing ground left, nothing to lay hold of and walk by,
no dharma. That for the soul of action in the mental being is the
worst possible crisis, failure and overthrow. The whole upshot is that
all-embracing inner bankruptcy which Arjuna expresses when he says
that his whole conscious being, not thought alone but heart and vital
desires and all, are utterly bewildered and can find nowhere dharma,
nowhere any valid law of action. For this alone he takes refuge as
a disciple with Krishna; give me, he asks, a true law, a clear rule of
action, a path by which I can again confidently walk.
To such a disciple the Teacher of the Gita gives his divine
teaching. He seizes him at a moment of his psychological develop-
ment by egoistic action when all the mental, moral, emotional values
of the ordinary egoistic and social life of man have collapsed in a
sudden bankruptcy, and he has to lift him up out of this lower life into
a higher consciousness (The human disciple).
The title of the first chapter of the Gita calls significantly the
Yoga of dejection of Arjuna, the dejection and discouragement felt by
the human being when he is forced to face the spectacle of the
universe as it really is. It is that aspect which is figured outwardly in
the carnage and massacre of Kurukshetra and spiritually by the vi-
sion of the Lord of all things as Time arising to devour and destroy
the creatures whom it has made. This is the vision of the Lord of all
existence as the universal Creator but also the universal Destroyer.
The outward aspect is that of world-existence and human existence
proceeding by struggle and staughter; the inward aspect is that of the
universal Being fulfilling himself in a vast creation and a vast destruc-
tion. Life a battle and a field of death, this is Kurukshetra; God the
Terrible, this is the vision that Arjuna sees on that field of massacre.
This is certain that there is no construction without destruction,
no continued existence of life except by a constant self-feeding and
devouring of other life (Kurukshetra).
War typifies and embodies physically the aspect of battle and
struggle which belongs to all life, both to our inner and our outer
living, in a world whose method is a meeting and wrestling of forces
which progress by mutual destruction towards a continually changing
adjustment expressive of a progressive harmonising and hopeful of a
perfect harmony (Man and the battle of life).
Arjuna is the divine man, the master man in the making and as
such he has been chosen by the gods. He has a work given to him,
he has God beside him in his chariot, he has the heavenly bow
Gandiva in his hand, he has the champions of unrighteousness, the
opponents of the divine leading of the world in his front. Not his is
the right to determine what he shall do or not according to his emo-
tions and his passions or to shrink from a necessary destruction. He
has to see only the work that must be done, kartavyam karma, to
hear only the divine command, to feel only for the world and the
destiny of mankind calling to him as its god-sent man to assist its
march and clear its path of the dark armies that beset it. His whole
consciousness is bewildered in its view of right and wrong and he
accepts the divine Friend as his teacher.
It is the creed of the Aryan fighter. "Know God", it says, "Know
thyself, help man; protect the Right, do without fear or weakness or
faltering thy work of battle in the world. Thou art the eternal and
12 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 1 = + |+|--|~ 11
imperishable Spirit, thy soul is here on its upward path to immortality;
life and death are nothing, sorrow and wounds and suffering are
nothing. Look not at thy own pleasure and gain and profit. Men call
to thee, their strong man; help then, fight. Destroy when by destruc-
tion the world must advance, but hate not which thou destroyest,
neither grieve for those who perish. Know everywhere the one self
know all as Brahman, know all to be immortal souls and body to be
but dust. Do thy work with a calm, strong and equal spirit; fight and
fall nobly or conquer mightily. For this is the work that God and thy
nature have given to thee to accomplish. (The creed of the Aryan
fighter).
Sri Aurobindo
Essays on the Gita
Arjuna Bisada Yoga
Quotations from Essays on The Gita
Ch. The Human Disciple- 1-4

Jiva or Jivatma- It is the Ishwara, Vasudeva who is all

things, that takes up our mind and life and body for the enjoyment
of the lower Prakriti; it is the supreme Prakriti, the original spiritual
nature of the supreme Purusha that holds together the universe and
appears in it as the Jiva, (7/5). This Jiva then is a portion of the
Purushottama's original divine spiritual being, a living power of the
living Eternal. A portion of the Transcendent, creative, he creates
his own world around him even while he retains this cosmic con-
sciousness in which are all others.
Essays on the Gita (The supreme secret)
It is only when man awakes to the knowledge of the soul and
feels a need to bring it to the front and make it the master of his life
and action that a quicker conscious method of evolution intervenes
and a psychic transformation becomes possible.
Sri Aurobindo, Life Divine (The triple transformation)
|= <| (Chapter 2)
=| -|~
=s =|
= =| ||=+|r++
|+-c|- || <=-+++ 1
1 - a: `: = -:+ (:|) -|: |: (|| ||) :|:+
| =| | () |s - |-. : (:) =
| +-:- `: ( - | +-- |)
*~-|+ =|
=-| |- |+r =|-=+
+|= -~|=== +++ 2
2 - =~+|:- `: -, = + : (| :) -| :-||:,
~ |: |+||+, |: + (-| ~ |: + ) = | :||+
`+ |+| || ( - : ;| : ||:)
|-. ~ | += ;-r=+
s .-r-| =r=||= =c++ 3
3 - ||, :| -|+ |+ | -`| ( | ~) =:- |+
:||+ || -||| (=: ;| - ||-::) |+.|, :| -+ - :|
:|~ |+ o| ( -:-` :| |)
13- Arjuna has lapsed into unheroic weakness, his eyes full
and distressed with tears, his heart overcome by depression and
discouragement, because he is invaded by pity, Kripayavistam.
Whence has come to thee this dejection, this stain and darkness of
soul in the hour of difficulty and peril? asked Krishna of Arjuna.
Gita Ch. 1 = + |+|--|~ 13
Living in Krishna, even enmity becomes a play of love and the wrestling
of brothers.
The heavens beyond are great and wondeful but greater and more
wonderful are the heavens within you. Sri Aurobindo,Ths & Aphs
|+r-|r+|=-| t|| ;| <=r=|+
r_ =|||= .| =r, |+rc- ||< | ;| ++ 7
7 - =|-+ |:+ | |: |+ || : (||:-| |: |+)
|+ ++ |: (:+ |:) |:|+: ||+: | (+::|), :||
|+: | (;| |||), |+ |+: |:| | :| :| |-|:|:+ |+| (
= | : |-|: |), :||+ | ( : |) :||+ |=
: | (;| |), | |:- |-| (| ||+)
6,7 His (Arjunas) whole consciousness is bewildered in its
view of right and wrong and he accepts the divine Friend as his
teacher.(A3)
+| || |+-| rt|rt|++|||+|+
| |=;= =|= ==|+|| ||<=++ 8
8 - ||+: (:`) |- (|;) +| ( +|) |+
-+:|+ ||+|: ||: (+| || ||+|: ||) |+ |:|:+
( |||) | | ( |) || (:|), | :-
|:|+ (|--|) :| || ||+| -| (- | |||)
8 Arjuna saysEven if I be the ruler of earth and heaven, yet
I do not know how I can get rid of the sorrow and pain that my heart
and senses will receive from the slaughter of near relatives.
=s =|
==| .+r o=|r =c+
+ |= |= ~||==| =+ ++ 9
9 - a: `: = (: ~||) --|+ (|+.|)
:- (|:) = -:+ (= |) -:+|` | (- | |:)
|-++ +` (: )
"I will not fight", saying thus Arjuna remained silent.
=| .+r =| |==+
=+r|=r|r< |+-c|- ++ 10
That is not compassion but an impotence full of a weak self-pity..
self-pity is most ignoble and un-Aryan of moods. This pity is a weakness
of mind. This way is not for the developed Aryan man. He has to see
only the work that must be done, Kartavyam Karma-(A1)
= + =|
=r s|+ <=-++
+| |=r|=|| =| ||==-+++ 4
4 - |+-- +--, : :- |- |+ | |
|-:| |+ (: ||: ` | | |::|||)
o=+;| | |+||+ =r| |= |r+
;|||q o=.|+r s |~|+ =|<= |-v|+++ 5
5 - |- + :| +|+ ||+:: (|-||- + ;| |)
:|: || |+ |+| | | ( :|: || | =), |z
+- :| |+ | | = |+: |~ |+ (: + ;| ||-
|~|- a) :|+ ++ : -| ` (+|++ |-=|- =)
4,5He (Arjuna) attempts to justify his refusal of his work and
puts forward in its support the claim of his nervous and sensational
being which shrinks from the slaughter with its sequel of blood-
stained enjoyments... appalled by the necessity of slaying his gurus,
Bhishma and Drona. (A2)
+ =- |==r| ~=r| - | =r |- | +| =r+
|r+ ;| + |==|+|rc- |-=| r <|==||++ 6
6 - || ( | :) | ::|: || :+ (|- |
- :) = - |+ |-:| (:+) ||+ |+: | (- ~+) = :|
| |+| -| (=: - |), ||| + |+ (|- = ;|) |
|| |-||:+| (- |||) `++ : +|: (: +|:+||
: +|:|) :. :, +:| + -
16 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 15
Resolution
I shall belong to no human master but to the Supreme Lord alone. The
Mother, W.R.
Let the Divine fill your thoughts with His presence. The Mother W.R.
10 - |+: (+:+|) -|+ |: (:| -:| :+)
|+ :-:+ | | (|-.) - (:) = (:) | -
|+ (- ) = | `: ( - |)
*~-|+ =|
r||+r|- =||-| |+r=+
~=|=+~=|= +|+r||c |o=|++ 11
11 - =~+|:- `: |||+ |: | |+ -||:~ (:||-) :|
::|+ |: | |+| ( |), |:` :| |||:| | |
(; =||-|- |:), |z =|-: : | |+: (||:| ~:|-
~:|- ) |:+| |: | -:+ (- -:||.)
+ ;| =|= +|= + ; +r =+||<|+
+ + |+| =r = =++ 12
12 - |~:: |:| -||:| ( |: - |), :| -||| (;
-), = +| -|| ( : -||+|| -) :| - (: - =), |+ ||:
(: |+) || :| -||| ( : - ||) :| - (-
=), ;| : =
11- The enlightened man does not mourn either for the living or
the dead, for he knows that suffering and death are merely incidents
in the history of the soul.
12- The soul, not the body, is the reality. All these kings of men
for whose approaching death he mourns, have lived before, they will
live again in the human body. (1)
-|r+| |-.+ | -r ||= |+ ==|+
=| -|c=||q<=c-z + |=++ 13
13 - || (-|-) +| -:| :- `+||, || |+
|| |: (|- -: | `|+ `- +|) ::- ||+ -|.+
|| | || -:- - (:| -|.+ ||), |: =|-
||: - (++ : - |:)
13As the soul passes physically through childhood and youth
and age, so it passes on to the changing of the body. The calm and
wise mind, the dhira, the thinker does not allow himself to be disturbed
and blinded by his sensations and emotions.(A4)
|z|-|q |rc r=|+=- -|+
|~|||r+| |+=|c-||c-|=- |==++ 14
14 - .|, |+, ~+, - = :|+ |+ -|: | (:
- -| : ||||), |: |+ | (|~ |||-), :|+ |-:
(:|- |-:|) |+:, :|+ +| (|:|:) :|.||.:|:|-|:
| + rcr= =+ =+++
=-= <= =| =;| qr=++ 15
15 - |+:= (|+), | |+ |+ |: ( ++ |+)
= :|+: (=::, |+, ~+, - :) |:+ - (- |.), - : |:
|: ( - ), : :; | |++ |: |~ ( :;|
v::), :.::|. =::, :; | +; |:- |-| | |, lib-
eration from the cycle of death and rebirth, :+ + |+| |-|:,
| ||+ +, + |+ =:- = ||+ = +|:
|| +|+ |- |:+ (|+| |:) +-+ |+| =:- ||
(free soul) - =+|+ ||: |:` |+|:| |+:| - ||+
=| : ` |-+ + |: | +|, |-:|+ || =|-:|+
+-+ |+| |++ |: | +| || : +;+ |- -:
||: |:|~ :+
14, 15 The material touches which cause heat and cold,
happiness and pain, things transient which come and go, these learn
to endure Titiksa, the will and power to endure, is the means. For
the man whom these do not trouble nor pain, the firm and wise who
is equal in pleasure and suffering, makes himself apt for immortality.
(A5)
By immortality is meant not the survival death, but the
transcendence of life and death. It means that ascension by which
18 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 17
To cleanse past karma
The past may be completely purified, cleansed, to the point of having
no effect on the future, but on condition that one does not change it again
into a perpetual present; you must not go on reproducing the same vibration
indefinitely. The Mother, AIM June 79
man ceases to live as a mind-informed body and lives at last as a
spirit (soul) and in the Spirit. Whoever is subject to grief and sorrow,
a slave to the sensations and emotions, occupied by the touches of
things transient cannot become fit for immortality.(A6)
+|=r=| |-r= |r| +||r| |-r= ==+
=r|=| - r| c-+r|c-q-||++ 16
16 - |-: + ||; -| (: | - |-::), |-: + |-| -|
(: | - |-::), :;-: |-: |+ |-: ( |+ ) =
- :||:+ (:;-|| : -:| :| ||) + +| -| || (. - ),
.,. :
|+|| = =- ||= + =|- ==+
|+|=|= + | = |=++ 17
17 - |- ~|: | | |: (- - ::), :
|-| | ||-| (: : |-|| ||) |:- = +|+ |-|
|+ -|+|:+ (| |-| : - |:)
cc r -| |+=r=|=| =|=++
+||r+| r= =-.|- <- |==++ 18
18 - -:| |-| ( : -| ..), |z -+ |:+: | ||
(+|+) |-:, |-| |+ : (|-: -||- :, |+ |.;
: |+ ||+:), |: |+:, :| +| (:| +)
=+ |= c|= r+ +r= =+
=r| =| + |=|+r=| +| |c + +r=++ 19
19 - | |: || :| :+ =- (||) .|+ | |+ |
|: || |-: (- =- : -::), - : |:- (:` :`)
-||:- || :| -:+ |+ |-: - (- ||-: - |. - -::)
+ =|r= |r= | -|| +| ;| |=| | + +
r=| |+= |r=| =|r+| + +r= +|r+ =r=++ 20
20 - || () |:| - | -:+ (-|| - |:: | -
|::) | |:` | |.; | -:+ (| ;| - |:|) ||
+|: (), |-: (-| =:), |: (eternal), |+| (-|:-, |+ --)
++ |-: `: |-: - (- -:: -|:- +:+)
-||+||+ |+= =+=+
= =+ | |=|= |c ++ 21
21 - ||, | || |-|, |-:, +|: |+ () |
|:- ( =- |-||- |-: -), |+: | |:+ |
:| +| | |-: :| |+ ( |+ |:|: |.)
|=||= =+||+ | || +||+ ~||= +r=| =||++
=| ==||+ || =+|++||+ =||= +||+ -++ 22
22 - :- |-: |+| |:||+ :|~ |+ (| -+ ||- |||
||) - -:- |:||+ (|+|| -||- ~||:) -:+ || (:| -)
++ :|~ |+ (||- ++|| ||) - -:- - :+ (-||-
-||- ||:)
++ |;=|c -||+ ++ -|= |+
+ + -c|r| + |+|= |==++ 23
23 - | (||) -||: (=- || - ||.), | :
-|:||:+ (=- || - -|:), | ||-: |:| -|+|:+ (=- || -
-|.) |+ :|: +| -|+|:+ (|+: - ||:), --- =-,
-.|:||-|. ||
rtr-| -|r| rr-| r|+ = +
|+= =~= -|+=r| =+|=+++ 24
24 - | (||) || -|+||+, ||+ -|+||+, |:| -|+||+ |+
+| -|+||+ ( :- -| :- :| = ) ||
20 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 19
He who has done even a little good to human beings, though he be the
worst of sinners, is accepted by God in the ranks of His lovers and servants.
He shall look upon the face of the Eternal. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
Open your heart to the Grace so that it may accomplish Its miracles in
you. The Mother, W.R.
God is our wise and perfect Friend, because he knows when to smite as
well as when to fondle, when to slay us no less than when to save and
succour. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs.
(), |-: (-| =:), ~: (|+||-), |+ (|-), (
calm, tranquil) |+ -|:-, |+.-, -| |: |+ ||
r=| |rc| ||r| r=+
=-.|r- ||-r;+ +|+r||= |=++ 25
25 - = || :+ -| || -|+||+ ( ), |.|:+ | ||
-|+||+ ( |.) |+ || ||+- ( ||, ||+:--) |
|+| (::), |: || =:-+| | ||- (:| =- = ||-;|)
:| | +| |: - (-:||: - |)
+ |+==|= |+= | +r= =+
=|| ; ||r| ++ ||= |=++ 26
26 - |+ |- || -+ ~:: : |+ -+ ~:: :+ | ||
( =- |-:|: | |-: : -:) :||| ||-, :| |+ |:
| +| |: - (:||| ; =- ||: - |), - =-
=|== | <r| =< =, == +
=-.|-|=|r r + ; ||= |=++ 27
27 - |: : |-|: (|: | : + ) |+ : `: | -+
|-|: ( : + ) |+: |:| ||+| ::- |: : | | |+
-||:~ (:| ||+|: : ; ||: - |), : + : +
=|-|+ =||+ =<||+ |==+
=|+<+|r+ =z | |=r-+|++ 28
28 - |+:, |- |+|+ |~:: :| + |+ |-|
|: | |:: - |: (:||- |-|-) |+ ||-:
| || (+||-) |+ |- + `: |:` |:: - |
( |-+-||- =), |: - +|+ | :|- (: | ||+:--|)
| |= |r-+|- -|= =r |++
|r++ r+||= =;|r+ - + |++ 29
29 - |:-|:+ (|) || (=-) ||+: | |: (|
||:), |:-|:+ | ||+: | -| :+ (:| = - |
-|:), |- |:-|:+ =| ||+: | :- (- =- |
:||:) |z |- (=;| ||) || |:- | -|+|:+ (=- |
= - -) |||=, |-- | =- -
- |+=r<| -r == |==+
=-.| =||+ =||+ + ; ||= |=++ 30
30 - |+:, :|:+ -: | ( -:) = || ( -)
-| + (|-: +), |: |:-| |+ |: :| | +| |:
- (:| || :||- ; ||: - |)
-<| |r + ||= |=+
<||= =|r_r| + |z= + |-r=++ 31
31 - ++ | |:-| |+ :| ||: ` -||:~ (+ ||
|: |||: - |), |+ -|~: : |+ |: = |
=:| -| (| +| | | = - - |-::), +|| +| |,
|::| | =
- t| | -~|=|=+
=|+ |z| | rc =- ++ 32
32 - ||, || ~+ - +|+ +| (||: ~|+) |:||-|
|||- ||: :| (- | ||) |~+|- |:: =:- +|+
|+| | :+ (|- || - :.)
;| < =| + |=+|=+
== -< |= |;| ||=|=++ 33
33 - |+ |- :| = ( ; ) + -+| (+ |
- |+|) :|:| :| + :|~ |+ |: + =: |||: || (::
+ |: |;| ||| ||)
|= || =||+ |+|c = |+
=||== ||==+|-|=|=r=++ 34
22 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 21
Work only for the Divine.
Think only of the Divine.
Aspire only to the Divine.
Serve only the Divine.
Want only the Divine.
Only adore the Divine. The Mother, W.R.
34 - |-||: |+| :||+ | +| (:||- || :
| |: ||.) ||-: |+ |: | :: |+
(:||: |: +| |:|+::)
|- =+|- === =rc ;| |=|+
+| ; ;r=| ;| |=|= |++ 35
35 - |+: :|| (|+| ;|) :: +|+| |+: | |
|| (| +| |+: :.) |+ |: :|| |- :+ (| ;
-: ;| ) ::|+ +: :| `| (|| |)
||-| + |-+|c =||=|+
|+=cc- =| =r=| - == + |++ 36
36 - :||+ :|:+ :||+ |+ |-| |+ (: |:| : |
|-.) -::| -`~| | ` ( - | |-|- |-|.) :|: - +
| |+ | ` ||:+ (:: - :+ - |) |-..|-. :
r=| | |=|= -~ |=;| | |r= +
=-.|- |= |rc =| =|+++ 37
37 - `:., : |+: :| ~ | |+| (: | ~ ||),
||: || |~ |+| (|;| | |:), ~|:: |++ |:
- v o| (:| | :|- |), :|- |:| |
=- r =r ;| |||r| =|=r|+
=r=| =| =- + ||=|=++ 38
38 - |+: - , ||, |+| =|- |+ (::
- : |||:` |:` : ;|) + |: |-: |-:|~ +| (|
) =:- |+: :||+ ||| - (= ||| - ||, -- =)
1638 There is no such thing as death, for it is the body that
dies and the body is not the man that which really is (eternal) cannot
go out of existence, though it may change the forms through which
it appears, just as that which is non-existent cannot come into being.
The soul is and cannot cease to be. This opposition of is (eternal) and
is not (transient), this balance of being (soul) and becoming (universe)
finds its end in the realisation of the soul as the one imperishable self
(Paramatman, Lord) by whom all this universe has been extended.
Finite bodies (transient bodies) have an end, but that (soul) which
possesses and uses the body is infinite, eternal, indestructible. It (soul)
casts away old and takes up new bodies as a man changes worn-out
raiment for new; and what is there in this to grieve at and recoil and
shrink?
This (soul) is not born, nor does it die, nor is it a thing that comes
into being once and passing away will never come into being again.
It is unborn ancient, sempiternal (everlasting); it is not slain with the
slaying of the body. Weapons cannot cleave it, nor the fire burn, nor
do the waters drench it, nor the wind dry. Eternally stable, immobile,
all-pervading, it is for ever and for ever. Not manifested like the body,
but greater than all manifestation, not to be analysed by the thought,
but greater than all mind, not capable of change and modification like
the life and its organs but beyond the changes of mind and life and
body. If the self (soul) were constantly subject to birth and death, still
the death of beings ought not to be a cause of sorrow. Its birth is an
appearing out of some state in which it is not non-existent but
unmanifest to our mortal senses, its death is a return to that unmanifest
world or condition and out of it it will again appear in the physical
manifestation. Our sorrow for the death of men is an ignorant grieving,
since they have neither gone out of existence nor suffered any painful
or terrible change of condition. The higher truth is the real truth. All
are that Self, that One, that Divine whom we look on and speak and
hear of as the wonderful beyond our comprehension no human
mind has ever known this Absolute. It is this which is here veiled by
the world, master of the body; all life is only its shadow; the coming
of the soul into physical manifestation and our passing out of it by
death is only one of its minor movements. When we have known
ourselves as this, then to speak of ourselves as slayer or slain is an
absurdity. One thing only is the truth, the Eternal manifesting itself as
the soul of man in the great cycle of its pilgrimage with birth and
death for milestones, with worlds beyond as resting places, with all
the circumstances of life happy or unhappy as the means of our
progress... and with immortality as the home to which the soul
travels.
Therefore, says the Teacher, put away this vain sorrow and
shrinking, fight, O son of Bharata. But how does it justify the action
24 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 23
demanded of Arjuna and the slaughter of Kuruksetra? The answer
is that this is the action required of Arjuna in the path of his travel;
it has come inevitably in the performance of the function demanded
of him by his savdharma, his social duty, the law of his life and the
law of his being. It is a world of mutual help and struggle; not a
serene and peaceful gliding through easy joys is the progress it
allows us, but every step has to be gained by heroic effort and
through a clash of opposing forces. Those who take up the inner
and the outer struggle even to the most physical clash of all, that
of war, are the Kshatriyas, the mighty men; war, force, nobility
courage are their nature; protection of the right is their virtue and
their duty. The champion and standard-bearer of the Right must not
shake and tremble; he must not abandon his followers or fellow-
fighters, betray his cause and leave the standard of Right and Justice.
His virtue and his duty lie in battle and not in abstention from battle
There is no greater good for the Kshatriya than righteous battle,
and when such a battle comes to them of itself like the open gate
to heaven, happy are the Kshatriyas then. If thou dost not this battle
for the right, then hast thou abandoned thy duty and virtue and thy
glory, and sin shall be thy portion. He will incur disgrace and the
reproach of fear and weakness and loss of honour. It is the loss of
his honour, his fame, his noble station among the mighty men of
courage and power; that to him is much worse than death. Slain
thou shalt win Heaven, victorious thou shalt enjoy the earth; therefore
arise, O son of Kunti, resolved upon battle. The Teacher bids him
to make grief and happiness, loss and gain, victory and defeat equal
to his soul and then turn to the battle, the real teaching of the Gita.
Put away all egoism from you, disregard joy and sorrow, disregard
gain and loss and all worldly results; look only at the cause you
must serve and the work that you must achieve by divine command,
so thou shalt not incur sin. (A7)
=+| = ||=| =|r |=r|r~ |;| ++
=| r=| | | = |=|=++ 39
39 - ||, = ||- :|| |+ |: =|- |-:| (=| : |:
| ||:|), =|:| |~+ |: -| (|:~ : | ), | =|- | |+
( | |) |~: `: ( ) : | +-+|+| `| ( + ||)
|+ |: , analysis || |+ ~:+ | : |: =|-
|-|:: |~+ | `: ::: o |~, +| |~, |~, =|- |~,
| |~, +|- |~ = :|:|+ |~+ |+ =:~ |+: | |~
| ` :|: | :|~, Integral Yoga || |z |- |- |~ `
-|+|:+ :|~ +| | |~ : :|: ++ static aspect |
|- + ||+:: | |: : :|: ++ dynamic aspect |
+ ||+: + ; |-|-: = ||+ + |+::+: ` ||:+ ++
| :| |- : + dynamic instrument +||.+ +| |~+
| |:- = +||.+ :+ - = ||+ |o- `: = :| |:
~:+ |: ||+ =:- :|~: |- +||.+ +|+ ~:: |-:|
|+ |- ||:+ ||~ |+ |:|, individualistic ~:| |
|~ + | :+|+ |- : :- +| | :, || |- | ~:|+ Remember
me and fight : :|~ To become an instrument of God is Karma
Yoga. = :| :- |+ |||+ |+ || ` |::| + | +|,
|:| |++ |: : ||- :-|+|, |+ =|= ++ |+: =|+ |- |
|+ :| |-| :|~ +| |+|+ + |: |+ motive force |-|, desire,
|z :|~+ |+ motive force ||+ +|, it is our soul that inspires
and drives us to action.
|++ |: ||: + || +-+ |+| `|
|-:|+ +|+| ||+ +- |+ |-:|++|+| - |:|+
|-| |+ |::+ +| , ::- +|+| ||+ +- |:|+
++ +|+:| +| , | : |-| |+ |, :| | -||:,
+|+| ||+ +- -
39- I have declared to you the poise of a self-liberating intelli-
gence in Sankhya, says the divine Teacher to Arjuna. I will now declare
to you another poise in Yoga. My Yoga will free you from all bondage
of the soul to its works, karmabandham prahasyasi. You are afraid
of sin, afraid of suffering, afraid of hell and punishment. But this is the
great fear which besieges humanity, its fear of sin and suffering now
and hereafter. My Yoga will deliver you from the great fear. "Abandon
all laws of conduct and take refuge in Me alone; I will deliver you from
all sin and evil; do not grieve." (18/66) (1)
26 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 25
Yoga We mean by this term a methodised effort towards self-
perfection by the expression of the potentialities latent in the being
and a union of the human individual with the universal and transcendent
Existence we see partially expressed in man and in Cosmos. But all
life, when we look behind its appearances, is a vast Yoga of Nature.
In man, she devises self-conscious means and willed arrangements of
activity by which this great purpose may be more swiftly and puissantly
attained. Yoga, as Swami Vivekananda has said, may be regarded as
a means of compressing one's evolution into a single life or a few
years or even a few months of bodily existence.
That which Nature has evolved for us and has firmly founded
is the bodily life. She has effected a certain combination and harmony
of the two inferior but most fundamentally necessary elements of our
action and progress upon earth Matter is our foundation and the
first condition of all our energies and realisations, and the Life-Energy
which is our means of existence in a material body. The body is the
instrument provided for the fulfilment of the right law of our nature.
The perfecting of the body also should be the last triumph of the spirit
and to make the bodily life also divine must be God's final seal upon
His work in the universe. The obstacle which the physical presents
to the spiritual is no argument for the rejection of the physical; for our
greatest difficulties are our best opportunities.
Equally, the vital and nervous energies in us are there for a great
utility; they too demand the divine realisation of their possibilities in
our ultimate fulfilment.
In India, for the last thousand years and more, the spiritual life
and the material have existed side by side to the exclusion of the
progressive mind. The schools of Indian Yoga lent themselves to the
compromise. Individual perfection or liberation was made the aim,
seclusion of some kind from ordinary activities the condition, the
renunciation of life the culmination. The release of the individual soul
remained the aim. The material life lost the divine impulse to growth,
the spiritual preserved by isolation its height and purity, but sacrificed
its full power and serviceableness to the world. [material life |+
spiritual life - | ||+: | |+| |+: |+|| +- +|
||+ |+| |: || |+| service ||- -|||:]
We have to recognise once more that the individual exists not in
himself alone but in collectivity and that individual perfection and
liberation are not the whole sense of God's intention in the world. The
free use of liberty includes also the liberation of others and of mankind;
the perfect utility of our perfection is, having realised in ourselves the
divine symbol, to reproduce, multiply and ultimately universalise others.
Spirit is the crown of universal existence; Matter is its basis;
Mind is the link between the two. Spirit is that which is eternal; Mind
and Matter are its workings. Spirit is that which is concealed and has
to be revealed; mind and body are the means by which it seeks to
reveal itself. All Nature is an attempt at a progressive revelation of
the concealed Truth.
But what Nature aims at for the mass in a slow evolution, Yoga
effects for the individual by a rapid revolution. It works by quickening
of all her energies, a sublimation of all her faculties. While she develops
the spiritual life with difficulty, the concentrated method of Yoga can
attain directly and carry with it the perfection of the mind and perfection
of the body. Nature seeks the Divine in her own symbols; Yoga goes
beyond Nature to the Lord of Nature, beyond universe to the
Transcendent and can return with the Transcendent light and power,
with the fiat of the Omnipotent.
In practice three conceptions are necessary before there can be
any possibility of Yoga; there must be, as it were, three consenting
parties to the effort, God, Nature and the human soul or, in more
abstract language, the Transcendental, the Universal and the Individual.
The contact of the human and individual consciousness with the
divine is the very essence of Yoga. Yoga is the union of that which has
become separated in the play of the universe with its own true self,
origin and universality. The contact may take place at any point of the
complex and intricately organised consciousness which we call our
personality. It may be effected in the physical through the body; in the
vital through our nervous being; through the mentality whether by means
of the emotional heart, the active will or the understanding mind, or
more largely by a general conversion of the mental consciousness in
all activities. It may equally be accomplished through a direct awakening
to the universal or transcendent Truth and Bliss by the conversion of
28 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 27
the central ego in the mind. And according to the point of contact that
we choose will be the type of the Yoga that we practice.
Hathayoga selects the body and the vital [Life energy, pran
shakti] functionings as its instruments of perfection and realisation.
Rajayoga selects the mental being in its different parts as its lever-
power; it concentrates on the subtle body. The triple path of Works,
of Love and of Knowledge uses some part of the mental being, will,
heart or intellect as a starting point and seeks by its conversion to
arrive at the liberating Truth, Beatitude and Infinity. Its method is a
direct commerce between the human Purusha in the individual body
and the divine Purusha.
Hathayoga aims at the conquest of the life and body. Rajayoga
takes a higher flight. It aims at the liberation and perfection not of the
bodily, but of the mental being, the control of the emtional and sensational
life, the mastery of the whole apparatus of thought and consciousness.
The preliminary movement of Rajayoga is a careful self-discipline. By
the practice of truth, by renunciation of all forms of egoistic seeking,
by purity, by constant meditation and inclination to the divine Purusha,
a pure, glad, clear state of mind and heart is established.
Afterwards, the ordinary activities of the mind and sense must
be entirely quieted in order that the soul may be free to ascend to
higher states of consciousness.
The triple Path of devotion, knowledge and works attempts the
province which Rajayoga leaves unoccupied. It differs from Rajayoga
in that it does not occupy itself with the elaborate training of the whole
mental system as the condition of perfection, but seizes on certain
central principles, the intellect, the heart, the will, and seeks to convert
their normal operations by turning them away from their ordinary and
external preoccupations and activities and concentrating them on the
Divine. It differs also in this, and here from the point of view of an
integral Yoga [Purna Yoga], that it is indifferent to mental and bodily
perfection and aims only at purity as a condition of the divine realisation.
The Path of knowledge aims at the realisation of the unique and
supreme Self. It proceeds by the method of intellectual reflection,
vicara, to right discrimination, viveka. It observes and distinguishes
the different elements of our apparent or phenomenal being [mind,
life, body] and rejecting identification with each of them arrives at
their exclusion and separation as constituents of Prakriti, of phenomenal
Nature, creations of Maya, the phenomenal consciousness. So it is
able to arrive at its right identification with the pure and unique Self
which is not mutable or perishable. From this point the path, as
ordinarily followed, leads to the rejection of the phenomenal worlds
[material world] from the consciousness as an illusion and the final
immergence without return of the individual soul in the Supreme.
But this exclusive consummation is not the sole or inevitable
result of the Path of Knowledge. For, followed more largely and with
a less individual aim, the method of knowledge may lead to an active
conquest of the cosmic existence for the Divine. The point of departure
is the realisation of the supreme Self not only in one's own being but
in all beings and, finally, the realisation of even the phenomenal aspect
of the world as a play of divine consciousness.
The Path of Devotion aims at the enjoyment of the supreme
Love and Bliss and utilises normally the conception of the supreme
Lord in His personality as the divine lover and enjoyer of the universe.
This path, too, leads away from world-existence to an absorption, of
another kind.
The Path of Works aims at the dedication of every human
activity to the supreme Will. It begins by the renunciation of all
egoistic aim for our works. By this renunciation it so purifies the mind
and the will that we become easily conscious of the great universal
Energy as the true doer of all our actions and the Lord of that Energy
as their ruler and director with the individual as an instrument or a
conscious centre of action. The object is the release of the soul from
its bondage to appearances and to the reaction of phenomenal activities.
We can see also that in the integral view of things these three
paths are one.
Synthesis
To Know, be and possess the Divine is the one thing needful and
it includes or leads up to all the rest; towards this sole good we have
to drive.
30 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 29
The synthesis [of Yoga] we propose cannot be arrived at either
by combination in mass or by successive practice. It must therefore be
effected by neglecting the forms and outsides of the Yogic disciplines
and seizing rather on some central principle common to all which will
include and utilise in the right place and proportion their particular
principles, and some central dynamic force which is the common secret
of their divergent methods. In all the lord of the Yoga is the Purusha,
the conscious Soul that knows, observes, attracts, governs. The Nature-
Soul is his executive Energy. Purusha is of the nature of Sat, conscious
self-existence pure and infinite; Shakti or Prakriti is of the nature of
Chit, it is power of the Purusha's self-conscious existence, pure and
infinite. The relation of the two exists between the poles of rest and
action. When the energy is absorbed in the bliss of conscious self-
existence, there is rest; when the Purusha pours itself out in the action
of its Energy, there is action, creation and enjoyment or Ananda of
becoming (|). If Ananda is the creator and begetter of all becoming,
its method is Tapas or force of the Purusha's consciousness dwelling
upon its own infinite potentiality and producing from it truths of conception
or real Idea, vijnana, which, proceeding from an omniscient and
omnipotent Self-existence, have the surety of their own fulfilment and
contain in themselves the nature and law of their own becoming in the
terms of mind, life and matter. The eventual omnipotence of Tapas and
the infallible fulfilment of the Idea are the very foundation of all Yoga.
In man we render these terms by Will and Faith, a will that is eventually
self-effective because it is of the substance of knowledge and a faith
that is the reflex in the lower consciousness of a Truth or real Idea yet
unrealised in manifestation. It is this self-certainty of the Idea which is
meant by the Gita when it says, Yo yacchraddhah sa eva sah, (17/
3), "Whatever is a man's faith or the sure Idea in him, that he becomes."
[In human level, divine Tapas becomes will and Idea becomes faith.
For Yoga these two are absolutely necessary. If we believe firmly that
we can become Divine, one day we will become Divine.]
The whole of life is the Yoga of Nature. The difference between
the Yogin and the natural man will be this, that the Yogin seeks to
substitute in himself for the integral action of the lower nature working
in and by ego and division the integral action of the higher Nature
working in and by God and unity.
The method we have to pursue, then, is to put our whole conscious
being into relation and contact with the Divine and to call Him in to
transform our entire being into His, so that in a sense God Himself,
the real Person in us, becomes the sadhaka of the sadhana as well
as the Master of the Yoga by whom the lower personality is used as
the centre of a divine transfiguration.
It requires a colossal faith, an absolute courage and above all an
unflinching patience. In fact, however, the divine strength, often
unobserved and behind the veil, substitutes itself for our weakness
and supports us through all our failings of faith, courage and patience.
It "makes the blind to see and the lame to stride over the hills."
Perfection includes perfection of mind and body, so that the
highest results of Raja Yoga and Hathayoga should be contained in
the widest formula of the synthesis finally to be effected by mankind.
[Introduction]
The supreme Shastra of the integral Yoga is the eternal Veda
secret in the heart of every thinking and living being. The lotus of the
eternal knowledge and the eternal perfection is a bud closed and
folded up within us. It opens swiftly or gradually, petal by petal,
through successive realisations, once the mind of man begins to turn
towards the Eternal. He who chooses the Infinite has been chosen
by the Infinite. He has received the divine touch without which there
is no awakening, no opening of the spirit; but once it is received
attainment is sure, whether conquered swiftly in the course of one
human life or pursued patiently through many stadia of the cycle of
existence in the manifested universe.
Nothing can be taught to the mind which is not already concealed
as potential knowledge in the unfolding soul of the creature. We
know the Divine and become the Divine, because we are That already
in our secret nature. All teaching is a revealing, all becoming is an
unfolding. Self-attainment is the secret; self-knowledge and an
increasing consciousness are the means and the process.
The usual agency of this revealing is the Word, the thing heard
(sruta). The Word may come to us from within; it may come to us
32 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 31
from without. But in either case, it is only an agency for setting the
hidden knowledge to work. The Word within may be the utterance
of the inmost soul in us. The word from without, representative of the
Divine, is needed as an aid in the work of self-unfolding. The
representative influence occupies a much larger place in the life of
the sadhaka. If the Yoga is guided by a received written Shastra,
some word from the past which embodies the experience of former
Yogins, it may be practised either by personal effort alone or with
the aid of a Guru. The spiritual knowledge is then gained through
meditation on the truths that are taught and it is made living and
conscious by their realisation in the personal experience. But he must
live in his own soul beyond the written Truth, sabdabrahmativartate
(6/44) beyond all that he has heard and all that he has yet to hear,
srotavyasa srutasya ca (2/52). For he is not the sadhaka of a
book or of many books; he is a sadhaka of the Infinite. An integral
and synthetic Yoga needs especially not to be bound by any written
or traditional shastra.
As the supreme shastra of the integral Yoga is the eternal Veda
secret in the heart of every man, so its supreme Guide and Teacher
is the inner Guide, the World Teacher, jagad-guru, secret within us.
It is he who destroys our darkness by the resplendent light of his
knowledge. He discloses progressively in us his own nature of freedom,
bliss, love, power, immortal being.
What is his method and his system? He has no method and
every method. This inner Guide is often veiled at first by the very
intensity of our personal effort and by the ego's preoccupation with
itself and its aims. As we gain clarity, we recognise the source of the
growing light within us. Now we begin to understand the sense of our
struggles and efforts, successes and failures. At last we are able to
seize the meaning of our ordeals and sufferings and can appreciate
the help that was given us by all that hurt and resisted and the utility
of our very falls and stumblings. We feel the eternal presence of a
supreme Master, friend, Lover, Teacher. We recognise it in the essence
of our being as that develops into likeness and oneness with a greater
and wider existence; for we perceive that this miraculous development
is not the result of our own efforts; an eternal Perfection is moulding
us into its own image. One who is the Lord or Ishwara is the Master
of our Yoga.
To be possessed by him and possess him in ourselves and in all
things is the term of all empire and mastery. To enjoy him in all
experience of passivity and activity, of peace and of power, of unity
and of difference is the happiness which the jiva, the individual soul
manifested in the world, is obscurely seeking. This is the entire
definition of the aim of integral Yoga. It is the conversion of the
human soul into divine soul and of natural life into divine living.
The divine working is not the working which the egoistic mind
desires or approves; for it uses error in order to arrive at truth,
suffering in order to arrive at bliss, imperfection in order to arrive at
perfection. The ego cannot see where it is being led; it revolts against
the leading, loses confidence, loses courage. These failings would not
matter; for the divine Guide is not offended by our revolt, not
discouraged by our want of faith or repelled by our weakness; he has
the entire love of the mother and the entire patience of the teacher.
(The four aids)
Self-consecration
All Yoga is in its nature a new birth; it is a birth out of the ordinary,
the mentalised material life of man into a higher spiritual consciousness
and a greater and diviner being. The soul that is called to this deep and
vast change, may arrive in different ways. It may come to it by its own
natural development; it may reach it through the influence of a religion;
it may approach it by a slow illumination or leap to it by a sudden touch
or shock; it may be pushed or led to it by the pressure of outward
circumstances or by an inward necessity, by a single word that breaks
the seals of the mind or by long reflection, by the distant example of
one who has trod the path or by contact and daily influence. According
to the nature and the circumstances the call will come.
But in whatever way it comes, there must be a decision of the
mind and the will and, as its result, a complete and effective self-
34 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 33
consecration. The acceptance of a new spiritual idea-force and
upward orientation in the being, an illumination, a turning or
conversion seized on by the will and heart's aspiration, this is the
momentous act. Truth of the spirit has not to be merely thought but
to be lived, and to live it demands a unified-single-mindedness of the
being. He who seeks the Divine must consecrate himself to God
and to God only.
The self-consecration follows upon the choice. The feet are
already set upon the path. The secret Teacher, the inner Guide is
already at work. Whatever difficulties and hesitations may ensue,
they cannot eventually prevail. The call, once decisive, stands. No
weakness in the nature can for long be an obstacle.
But if we desire to make the most of the opportunity that this
life gives us, it is essential that there should be an entire self-giving.
Concentration is indeed the first condition of any Yoga, but it is
an all-receiving concentration that is the very nature of the integral
Yoga. A separate strong fixing of the thought, of the emotions or of
the will on a single idea, object, state, inner movement or principle is
no doubt a frequent need here also; but this is only a subsidiary
helpful process. A wide massive opening, a harmonised concentration
of the whole being in all its parts and through all its powers upon the
One who is the All is the larger action of this Yoga.
The distinct character of man is that he is a mental being, not
a merely vital creature. As he can use his thinking mind and will to
restrain and correct his life impulses, so too he can bring in the action
of a still higher luminous mentality aided by the deeper soul in him,
the psychic being. He can master it and offer it up for transformation
to its divine Master. This higher mentality and this deeper soul, the
psychic element in man, are the two grappling hooks by which the
Divine can lay hold upon his nature.
Man can bring an enlightened will, an enlightened thought and
enlightened emotions to the difficult work of his self-development.
When he can begin to replace desire altogether by a still greater
enlightened thought and sight and will in touch with the Infinite, he
has commenced the ascent towards the superman; he is on his upward
march towards the Divine.
There must be a large, many-sided yet single concentration of
the thought on the idea, the perception, the vision, the awakening
touch, the souls realisation of the one Divine. There must be a flaming
concentration of the heart on the All and Eternal. There must be a
strong and immovable concentration of the will on the attainment and
fulfilment of all that the Divine is and a free and plastic opening of
it to all that he intends to manifest in us. This is the triple way of the
Yoga.
A concentration which culminates in a living realisation and the
constant sense of the presence of the One in ourselves and in all of
which we are aware, is what we mean in Yoga by knowledge and
the effort after knowledge. It is not enough to devote ourselves by
the reading of scriptures. All that the Light from above asks of us
that it may begin its work is a call from the soul and a sufficient point
of support in the mind. This support can be reached through an
insistent idea of the Divine in the thought, a corresponding will in the
dynamic parts, an aspiration, a faith, a need in the heart. Any name,
any form, any symbol, any offering has been held to be sufficient if
there is the consecration along with it; for the Divine knows himself
in the heart of the seeker and accepts the sacrifice. (Self-Consecration)
Sri Aurobindo
The Synthesis of Yoga
+||z+|r| |c- =|r| + |-r=+
-q= <= z|r= r=| |++ 40
40 - = |~+ (:|~+) | | -- ( |) : -||
| |- - (-| - |.) |+ |: | |+ --|+ |:
:| | -| - (:| - |-::) = ++ | |+: |-
|+|+| ||+| :+ ( + v || : | |::)
36 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 35
Never lose hope hope is a divine Virtue. The Mother, W.R.
The Light is always there ready to answer to a sincere aspiration.
The Grace's victory is sure, but quiet endurance make it quicker. The
Mother, W.R.
40- My Yoga will deliver you from the great fear and even a
little of it will bring deliverance. When you have once set out on this
path, you will find that no step is lost; every least movement will be
a gain; you will find there no obstacle that can baulk you of your
advance. (2)
=|||| |=r=r =+=++
;|| +c| =r| =||+|++ 41
41 - = |~: ( ) | |+ || | =| | : =| |:
:| ` : : ||+ (| ||;| | =|) |z | + |+ |- +
( || -| ) | - | -||: | |+ -. ( -|| | -.| )
41- There are, says the Gita, two types of intelligence in the
human being. The first is concentrated, poised, one, homogeneous,
directed singly towards the Truth; unity is the characteristic, concen-
trated fixity is its very being. In the other there is no single will, no
unified intelligence, but only an endless number of ideas. (3)
||| |=| | -c||=+
-|-==| | +|+-c-|= ||-+++ 42
|||+ -~=| =,=-|+
|z||r+;| |r~~|= |=++ 43
|r~==|+| =| .=r==|+
=|||| |= =|r<| + |<r=++ 44
4244 - ||, |+ |-|+ |: (|||: |||-)
~| |+ = -|:| (~|+| =-|) -+ + |:
-+ (-|-+:|) |+ -: |+ ||:+ =:| -| | || |+ (-
- |. |: ||--) |~ |+ |: (|~~|: |:) -|-| |++
|~= |+ ++ :-:+ |:- |-: (|||: -| | | |||:|
| - |.) = |: (: |) |~ |-| +| |+
(|~|-|) - |-|. (|: :|) |+ ++ |: =|:|:+
|.| |+ (+|||| | |:+` - |+::)
4244 - By works the Vedantins understood these religious
works, the sacrificial system, the yajna, full of careful order, vidhi,
of exact and complicated rites, kriya-visesa bahulam. But in Yoga
works had a much wider significance. The Gita insists on this wider
significance; in our conception of spiritual activity all works have to
be included, sarvakarmani. Not only is sacrifice, yajna, the most
important part of life, but all life, all works should be regarded as
sacrifice, are yajna. But the sacrifice of the Vedavadins are offer-
ings of desire directed towards material rewards, looking to a larger
enjoyment in Paradise. This the system of the Gita cannot admit;
for that in its very inception starts with the renunciation of desire,
with its rejection and destruction as the enemy of the soul. The Gita
does not deny the validity even of the Vedic sacrificial works; it
admits that by these means one may get enjoyment here and Para-
dise beyond; it is I myself, says the divine Teacher, who accept
these sacrifices. But this is not the true road, nor is the enjoyment
of Paradise the liberation and fulfilment which man has to seek. It
is the ignorant who worship the gods. (4)
zo+|+| -| |+r-or+| |= ++
|+r| |+==qr-| |+r|~r ||+++ 45
45 - -, - + | ;, + , : |:|-|+ |:+:
| (- | | |), : | ||:: |+| (|- , to rise
beyond the three modes of Nature), : | |+| (|- , free-
dom from dualities, ::||, -: |||) :| :: ||;
|: || (|-:;), |~ +|: |+| (|-:|~:, + |: ||
|+ | + +|+ |: | - `|) |+ ||: :- | + |+ +||
(||-)
45 - The Gita even seems to go on to attack the Veda itself
which, though it has been practically cast aside, is still to the Indian
sentiment intangible, inviolable, the sacred origin and authority for all
its philosophy and religion. "The action of the three gunas is the
subject matter of the Veda; but do thou become free from the triple
guna, O Arjuna." The Vedas in the widest terms, "all the Vedas,"
which might well include the Upanishads also and seems to include
38 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 37
The Divine alone is true all the rest is falsehood. And yet the Divine
is everywhere in the sinner as well as in the saint.
The Divine Grace and Love are with you do not throw them away. The
Mother, W.R.
them, for the general term Sruti is used later on are declared to be
unnecessary for the man who knows. (2/53) - (5)
||+ =-|r+ == =r=|-r+
=||+ =r= r-+ |+= |=|+=++ 46
46 - :| o| ||: `: (: ::|-:) -|-|++ |
: |- ( -||:- ||- ) | -|-| ++ :- : |- -||:, ::-
=|-+ (||-: ) -+ :|- (: :- :||-), |
=|-+ -+ |:-| :|- -|
46- As much use as there is in a well with water in flood on
every side, so much is there in all the Vedas for the Brahmin who
has knowledge. - (6)
r+||<|=rc- | =r+ -|++
| =r=| = =r| -|+++ 47
(| = |+|+ : | =: -|-
| =:: | : |)
47- + :: :||+ |+|+ |: (| = : |+|+) |z
+ =+ |+: |:| :||+ |+|+ -| (=: -|- |), + =
|| |+ (= :) -|+| (| ) :||+ :|~+ |: ||
(attachment to inaction) || -||:~ (| : | )
47- Thou hast a right to action, but only to action, never to its
fruits; let not the fruits of thy works be thy motive, neither let there
be in thee any attachment to inactivity. - (7)
|~- = ||+ = ==| <+s+
|==|=r=| =r| ;| =; |~ =r=++ 48
48 - +-a, :| + =+ |: || :|~ |+ ( :|) ||
|+ ||: |: || (|| |:| ;|) |~ +|
(|~ + ||) =:- ; |: |~ |: (; |~ ::)
48 - Fixed in Yoga do thy actions, having abandoned attachment,
having become equal in failure and success; for it is equality that is
meant by Yoga. - (8)
- r=+ = |=r|~| <+s+
r=| =+|t +| =r=++ 49
49 - +-a, |:|~: (|:|~|) | :. |- (
- :+ | +) :| ; |+ |= |+| (:` + |), |:
= || |+ :+ ::| =|-: -|+ (= : ||) |
|~ : ; |
49- "Works are far inferior" says the Teacher, "to Yoga of the
intelligence; desire rather refuge in the intelligence; poor and wretched
souls are they who make the fruit of their works the object of their
thoughts and activities.
It is because he [man] acts ignorantly, with a wrong intelligence
and therefore a wrong will, that man is or seems to be bound by his
works; otherwise works are no bondage to the free soul. It is be-
cause of this wrong intelligence that he has hope and fear, wrath and
grief and transient joy; otherwise works are possible with perfect
serenity and freedom. Therefore it is the Yoga of the Buddhi, the
intelligence, that is first enjoined on Arjuna. To act with right intelli-
gence and therefore, a right will, fixed in the One, aware of the one
self in all and, acting out of its equal serenity, not running about in
different directions under thousand impulses of our superficial mental
self, is the Yoga of the intelligent will. Will and knowledge are the two
functions of the Buddhi. - (9)
|=r=| =||= =r == - r=+
=-.|- |~| =- |~ = |++ 50
50 - ; | |-| :|~: ( | ) = :: ( ) | |+
||| - : ||+ =+ |+| ( : - :: :) ` ||:+ (||:) , =::: : | |~
| +| (:| |~| ), |~ + ` (|~ ` )
50- Action done in Yoga is not only the highest but the wisest,
the most potent and efficient even for the affairs of the world; for
40 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 39
The difficulties and mishaps are tests and must be considered as a Grace
from the Lord.
With faith in the Divine Grace, all difficulties are solved. The Mother,
W.R.
Jealousy is a deadly poison that is fatal to the soul. W.R.
Only one thing is important, it is to find the Divine. The Mother,
Mother India, Jan 74
it is informed by the knowledge and will of the Master of works
"Yoga is skill in works." - (10) Ref. 2/39
= |==| | = ==| +|+++
=, =||+=| - ~t|c +|++ 51
51 - |:|~: (||) =|-: (-|) |-: =+|+|
|-|: | |+ ( | = :|) |+ + +-+ |+| (+
||-|) - - ||. +| | :+ (-| |- ~|.)
51 - The sages who do works without desire for fruits and in
Yoga with the Divine are liberated from the bondage of birth and
reach that other perfect status in which there are none of the maladies
which afflict the mind and life of a suffering humanity. (11)
-| = || |=|==|=+|=+
=-| ~c||= |+r- =|== === ++ 52
52 - |:| :||+ |: (-| : |) |+| ~+ + ||+
| (|| |::|+|:), :|:| :| (~||- = |+ |:) |~::
-| (=:) | |~ | |-| (=|:) :|++ |: -|- ||+|
(:-| ~.|| |-:-)
52 - The scriptures are even a stumbling-block, because of its
conflict of texts and its various and mutually dissentient interpreta-
tions bewilders the understanding, which can only find certainty and
concentration by the light within. "When thy intelligence shall cross
beyond the whorl of delusion, then shalt thou become indifferent to
Scripture heard or that which thou hast to hear, gantasi nirvedam,
srotavyasa srutasya ca." - (12)
=|=||=| = -| -|=|= |+|+
=|<|| |=c--| |~|=|=++ 53
53 - =|:+ -|-||+ =+ | |- :||+ || | (=|:||:|| :
|) |:| ||+: |+ |+ |. ` (-| |:+` |-| | ||:)
:|:| :| |~| `| (:-| |~ ||), |+||:+`
53 - "When thy intelligence which is bewildered by the Sruti,
srutivipratipanna, shall stand unmoving and stable in Samadhi, then
shalt thou attain to Yoga." It is confirmed and emphasised by a
subsequent passage in which the knowledge of the knower is described
as passing beyond the range of Veda and Upanishad, sabda
brahmativartate. (6/44) - (13)
The sign of the man in Samadhi is not that he loses consciousness
of objects and surroundings. It is drawn inward even when acting
outwardly, it is directed wholly to the Divine even when busy and
preoccupied with the affairs of the world. (A
8
)
| :| :: :-| ||: |+ |+ +|| ||:+ : :| |
|+ ||+: |: :+ || :-| || -||| : :|~: ||+:
||: :| | |+ ||:+
= + =|
|-=== | |+| =||<-= +
|-=< | |r+= ||== r== |++ 54
54 - :- `: +, ||+ |:=+ | (||+
|:= | ||) |:= :- | (|:+ | |::), :-
|: (| |:) |+ :- | |: (| ::)
*~-|+ =|
=||= -| ||+ =|+ | r+|~=|++
|r+|+| = |-==c-r-|r=++ 55
55 - =~+|:- `: |:| =- |: -: ~ |+| :|
|-| (-| |- :-|~:|- ||-) :|~ :+ (||:) |+ |-: |-:: :
|: (||- = |-| :, |- ||: ~ || z |:), :|:|
: |:= | |+| (:-| |:=::)
54,55 Arjuna asks for some outward, physical sign of this great
Samadhi; how does such a man speak, how sit, how walk? No such
sign can be given, for the only possible test of its possession is
inward. The test is the expulsion of all desires, their inability to get
at the mind, and it is the inner state from which this freedom arises,
the delight of the soul gathered within itself with mind equal and still
and high poised above the attractions and repulsions, the alternations
of sunshine and storm and stress of the external life. (A9)
42 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 41
Small is his work, even if he succeeds, who labours for his own salvation
or the salvation of a few; infinitely great is his, even if he fail or succeed
only partially or for a season, who lives only to bring about peace of soul,
joy, purity and perfection among all mankind. Sri Aurobindo, The Yoga and
its objects.
- r++|+| =r+ |~=-+
==|~rz|< |-=<|+=r=++ 56
56 - | - : :~- (- : -|--|), : ||- (:
|~:|), |+ -+|~ (+|~||), |+ |+ : :, |:|+ ~:,
: |:= || (|:+ - ::)
56 - Equality is the great stamp of the liberated soul. "A man with
mind untroubled by sorrows, who has done with desire for pleasures,
from whom liking and wrath and fear have passed away, such is the
sage whose understanding has become founded in stability."- (14)
=z|+|r-c-= | o|o+
+||+=|= + | == =| |=|=|++ 57
57 - | :| |:: || - ( -|:),
:|:: |||, |- | | | -:+ (: : ||
- |-|: - |), : |:= (: =| |:|:|)
-| ==r= | r| |+ =+
||+||rc-= =| |=|=|++ 58
58 - | :- -+ :|+ |:+ +| |:- (-| ||-
), -:+ | |:|+ | | |:|~+ |+| |:+| ||- ||:+, :
|:= ( ||| ||: +:: : =| |:|:|)
58 - The first movement must be obviously to get rid of desire
which is the whole root of the evil and suffering; and in order to get
rid of desire, we must put an end to the cause of desire, the rushing
out of the senses to seize and enjoy their objects. We must draw
them back when they are inclined thus to rush out, draw them away
from their objects, as the tortoise draws in his limbs. - (15)
|+| ||+=rc |+=||== -|++
=== =r=| = = - | |+=r=++ 59
59 - | |:|+ -| (|-+||+ -|-), : |:|~+|+|
|:|+ || ||:+ (|| ||-::.) |z || |- - (+ ), |
++ -- | :+ | ||+ :+ (|+ - |), :+ |~+ |: ||
-|:|+| ( + || |-:::)
59 - It is not an external asceticism (|| |), the physical
renunciation of the objects of sense that I am teaching, suggests
Krishna. I speak of an inner withdrawal, a renunciation of desire.
The embodied soul, having a body, has to support it by food for its
normal physical action; by abstention from food (|-+||+) it simply
removes from itself the physical contact with the object of sense
(|| ||-::.), but does not get rid of the inner relation. It retains
the pleasure of the sense in the object, the rasa, the liking and
disliking; the soul must, on the contrary, be capable of enduring the
physical contact without suffering inwardly this sensuous reaction.
But how is this desireless contact with objects, this unsensuous use
of the senses possible? It is possible, param dristva (|+ - |), by the
vision of the supreme, param, the Soul. - (16)
=r=| | |rc =+= ||=+
|||+ ||+ =|c = +++ 60
60 - `:., |- |:|:+ (||- |||) : ;
(::) =|- |:+| (|||: |+ ||) - ::+ + :+ (-
+|. |) ||| ||
60 - Self discipline, self-control is never easy. Even the sage, the
man of clear, wise and discerning soul who really labours to acquire
complete self-mastery finds himself hurried and carried away by the
senses. - (17)
=||+ =||+ = = |== =+
r | r=|||+ == =| |=|=|++ 61
61 - :|:|+ | : |+ (:||- || ), |+ ~:
||, |+ |.|: |- || ( |: |+) |+ |:|+
: : (| ||| :), :+ | |+, ::+ |:= (: =|
|:|:|)
61 - Only by an absolute control of the senses can the wise and
calm intelligence be firmly established in its proper seat. This cannot
be done perfectly by the act of the intelligence itself, by a merely
mental discipline; it can only be done by Yoga with something which
is higher than itself and in which calm and self-mastery are inherent.
44 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 43
And this Yoga can only arrive at its success by devoting, by conse-
crating, by giving up the whole self to the Divine, "To Me," says
Krishna; for the Liberator is within us, but it is not our mind, nor our
intelligence, nor our personal will they are only instruments. It is the
Lord in whom we have utterly to take refuge. This is the sense of
the phrase "he must sit firm in Yoga, wholly given up to Me" three
words contain in seed the whole gist of the highest secret, yukta
asita matparah. - (18)
<|r=| |+|+ = =rc-+=|r=+
=| =s|r= | || z|r<| |=|r=++ 62
z|<| |= =r.| =r.|| -.|=|=+
-.|==| |=+|r| |=+|| +|=++ 63
62 - |+ | |.| :+|:: :+|:: (||- +|:) |-+ (|)
:|++ |: (:) || : ( ||::), ||+ |+| |-| :
(| | a|::), |-|+ |+| |+ |: (|-|: |+| ||:) (||
|+ ||::) :.||:: : ||::
63 |++ |+| :| (|:-| ||++ |+) (|+|
:| |:), :|+ =: |:| || || (:|| |:|-), |:
-| `: | || || (|:-| |-|), | -| `: |-| : (|
-|| |:)
62, 63 The mind naturally lends it self to the senses, it observes
the objects of sense with an inner interest. By that attachment comes,
by attachment desire, by desire distress, passion and anger when the
desire is not satisfied or is thwarted or opposed, and by passion the soul
is obscured, the intelligence and will forget to see and be seated in the
calm observing soul; there is a fall from the memory of ones true self,
and by that the intelligent will is obscured, destroyed even. We become
passion, wrath, grief and cease to be self and intelligence and will. This
must be prevented and senses brought under control. (A10)
=|~r+ | r=q | + ||+|r =+ +
|r|r<|| =|-|<~t|=++ 64
64 - |z (:) |- |:+||, |+ |-+ |+: |- |:, | -+|~
|+ |:+ |+| (+|~ |), : |: |:|++|+|
(| |) | |:|~ |+ (||- +-) ||- | :+
| |+ ||. | :+ (calm, peace and happy tranquillity settle upon
him, |- |+~|:)
64 - It becomes possible to move among the objects of sense,
in contact with them, acting on them, but with the senses entirely
under the control of the subjective self [inner self], not at the mercy
of the objects and their contacts and reactions, and that self again
obedient to the highest self, the Purusha]. - (19)
=|r- =- |+| ||+=r=|=|r=+
=r=r=| |o |= |=r=++ 65
65 - -: |+ ||. ||- `: (|:-) |-+ :| - + |:+ (
-|-| ||- ||::), |:: (|) |+ | : (::), :+
|: : (| |) ||+ ||.: ||: | :+ (||:::)
65 - That clear tranquillity is the source of the soul's felicity
all grief begins to lose its power of touching the tranquil soul; the
intelligence is rapidly established in peace of the self; suffering is
destroyed. It is this calm, desireless, griefless fixity of the buddhi in
self-poise and self-knowledge to which Gita gives the name of
Samadhi. - (20)
+||c- |==== + |== |+|+
+ ||= ||c=|c= = =++ 66
66 - | ++ ~: - () :+ |+|| =|- -| (|
- |.) |+ |.| -| ( - |-|) + |.|+|+| |+: | -+
(|:) ||. -| (- ||.), |+ ||. -| :+ `: (|. :
)
||+| | ==| r+| +|<r=+
=-= =|= =| |+||||=++ 67
67 - |:|~: |+ +| |:|++ (| +:| |||) |:|
() -:| ||: , (- -|+::), ||-+ |+: | -| =- :|:
|-:|- o| |-|+ -:+ (| :| -| ), | (:) |-+
(, :+) =| + :+ (=| +|:)
46 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 45
| || =|:-| , |, -|, ||, | (five perceptive senses of
sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) | || | +|, ~, ~|+, |-, |
=-.|- = ||r| |+~=||+ =+
||+||rc-= =| |=|=|++ 68
68 - ||-, |: (:|), |+ |:|+ ( |||) :|
|:+ |:|++ |+| ( ||:) |- : (|-~:||-) :+ =|
|+ : (: =| |:|:|)
| |+| ==|+| ==| =|~|= =+
=| =||= =||+ =| |+| r=| r+++ 69
69 - |+|+ |-+ |+: |:| +||: (:|-| | |-|), |+
|: :| |:+ | ( :| |~|:), |:| |+|+ |-:|+
|:+ |: (| :||- ||:), ||- (|) |=|- |-+ |+:
(|: :-) +||: (|-|)
| |-+ |:| | ||+ , :|:| +- |+ ~:+ |: - |
| :|| ::|+ |+|| +- |+|+ |-+ |+: +||:+ -:+,
|-|::, |+|+ |-+ - + +- (life of dualities) |:| ::|+
|--, |: +|, :| ||: ||: | +| =-+ |: +||:
6669 There are two possibilities of the action of the intelligent
will. It may take its downward and outward orientation in the triple
play of Prakriti or it may take its upward and inward orientation
towards a settled peace and equality in the calm and immutable purity
of the conscious silent soul. In the former, that life is the life of
desire. For the senses excited by their objects create a restless or
often violent disturbance, a strong or even headlong outward movement
towards the seizure of these objects and their enjoyment, and they
carry away the sense mind, as the winds carry away a ship upon
sea; the mind subjected to the emotions, passions, longings, impulsions
awakened by this outward movement of the senses carries away
similarly the intelligent will, which loses therefore its power of calm
discrimination and mastery. Subjection of the soul to the confused
play of the three gunas of Prakriti in their eternal entangled twining
and wrestling, ignorance, a false, sensuous, objective life of the soul,
enslavement to grief and wrath and attachment and passion, are the
results of the downward trend of the Buddhi, the troubled life of the
ordinary, unenlightened, undisciplined man. The inner subjective self-
delight independent of objects is our true aim and the high and wide
poise of our peace and liberation. Therefore, it is the upward and
inward orientation of the intelligent will that we must resolutely choose
with a settled concentration and perseverance.
It is a reversal of the whole view, experience, knowledge,
values, seeing of earth-bound creatures (common people). This life of
dualities (life of pleasure and pain) which is to them (common people)
is their day, their waking, their bright condition of activity and
knowledge, is to him (to the soul realised person) a night, a troubled
sleep and darkness of the soul; that higher being (soul) which to them
(common people) a night, a sleep, is to the self-mastering sage his
waking.(A11).
(When a person realises his soul, his view, seeing is reversed)
||+|= =s| ||c +
=- || ||c =r = ||c|r||= + ||++ 70
70 - :- () ||+| (|||) |+ |~+: ( |:
) ----+ ||- (||) : |+ |- |, ::- (:)
:-| | +| -+ |:+: -|-|- |-| : |+: (|~++ -:+) :
|. |: ( : || ||. ||. |:||:) | |~ |-| :+,
: ||. -||| (|| -), |+ | ||+ :, |+ :-| : ||:
| |+:, : |~++ -:+ |+ ----+ ||-: :- |~+- |+
|+ -|+|:+, ::- |:-| |-| : |+ |+ -|+|:+
|| ||+ =|+ |+ =|= |+-+
|+r| |+=|= = ||c|<~t|=++ 71
71 - | |- : ( | |- ) :| |-| :|~ |+ ( |- ||- || ) | |-
(|-|), :| - (|- , | |-: |:-| + ~+| | -||:) |+ |+ -
` |||+: (|-+|+ +|:) : ||. | :+ ( ||. |+~|:)
70,71 - He is an ocean of wide being and consciousness which
is ever being filled, yet ever motionless in its large poise of his soul;
all desires of the world enter into him as water into the sea, yet he
has no desire nor is troubled. He acts as others, but he has abandoned
48 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 47
all desires and their longings. He attains to the great peace. He has
extinguised his individual ego in the One, lives in that unity and, fixed
in that status (| ||:). (21)
=+| | |-|= | ++| | ||=+
|-;|=|c|r | |+|+t|=++ 72
72 - (|+: : +| ::) | :| |-| :|~ |+:, ||,
|+, +|+| :, ||, - : ||| : |+ |
- ++ ~: || |+ ||. | |+:, :- | ||:
| |+:, | ::-| | |+: (=| | ||:) = +| | +|
:- |||+ +-+ |+ |+| (=-| || - ||:) |- |:-|:+
:+ ::| | ||: | :+, :|:| : |-| | + ~:
|- | |+ (.|: || | |;| |-| |:)
72 - The status he reaches is the Brahmic condition; he gets to
firm standing in the Brahman, brahmi sthiti. He has extinguished his
individual ego in the One, lives in that unity and, fixed in that status
at his end, can attain to extinction in the Brahman, Nirvana, not the
negative self-annihilation of the Buddhists, but the great immergence
of the separate personal self into the vast reality of the one infinite
impersonal Existence. - (22)
By going back into the impersonal self the soul gets back into
greater self-knowledge and is liberated from the bondage of the works
of Nature, untouched by her gunas, free from her shows of good and
evil, suffering and happiness. The natural being, the mind, body, life, still
remain, Nature still works; but the inner being does not identify himself
with these, nor while the gunas play in the natural being, does he
rejoice or grieve. He is the calm and free immutable Self observing all.
Is this the last state, the utmost possibility, the highest secret? It
cannot be, since this is a mixed or divided, not a perfectly harmonised
status, a double, not a unified being, a freedom in the soul, an imperfection
in the Nature. It can only be a stage. What then is there beyond it?
One solution is that of the Sannyasin who rejects the nature, the action
altogether, so far at least as action can be rejected, so that there may
be an unmixed undivided freedom; but this solution, though admitted, is
not preferred by the Gita. The Gita also insists on the giving up of
actions, sarva-karmani samnyasya, but innardly to the Brahman.
Brahman in the Kshara supports wholly the action of Prakriti, Brahman
in the Akshara, even while supporting, dissociates itself from the action,
preserves its freedom; the individual soul, unified with the Brahman in
the Akshara, is free and dissociated, yet, unified with the Brahman in
the Kshara, supports but is not affected. This it can do best when it
sees that both are aspects of the one Purushottama. The Purushottama,
inhabiting all existences as the secret Ishwara, controls the Nature and
by his will, now no longer distorted and disfigured by the ego-sense, the
Nature works out the actions of the swabhava; the individual makes
the divinised natural being an instrument of the divine will. - (23)
Sankhya Yoga
Quotations From Sri Auorobindo's Essays on the Gita
1. The creed of the Aryan fighter 1, A1-A4, A6, A7
2. The Yoga of the Intelligent Will - 2, 3, 7-11, 14-22, 13 A, A8-A11
3. Sankhya, Yoga and Vedanta - 4, 5, 6, 12, 13
4. Beyond the modes of Nature - 23
5. Equaity - A5

Find the Guide secret within you or housed in an earthly body, hearken to his
voice and follow the way that he points. At the end is the Light that fails not, the
Truth that deceives not, the Power that neither strays nor stumbles, the wide freedom,
the ineffable Beatitude. The Hour of God
Object of our Yoga
The object of our Yoga is self-perfection, not self-annulment.
Buddha and Sankara supposed the world to be radically false and miserable;
therefore escape from the world was to them the only wisdom. But this world is
Brahman, the world is God, the world is Satyam, the world is Ananda.
God created the world in Himself through Maya; but the vedic meaning of Maya
is not illusion, it is wisdom, knowledge, capacity wide extension in consciousness.
The world is a movement of God in His own being; we are the centres and knots
of divine consciousness. The world is His play with His own self -conscious delight. We
are self-multiplications of that conscins delight, thrown out into being to be His
playmates. The world is a formula expressing God to Himself in His own consciousness.
Let us lead forward God's movment, play out His play, work out His formula, execute
His harmony, express Him through our selves in His system. This is our joy and our
self-fulfilment.
Perfection has to be worked out, harmony has to be accomplished. Out of
imperfection we have to constuct perfection, out of limitation to discover infinity, out
of death to find immortality, out of grief to recover divine bliss, out of ignorance to
rescue divine self-knowledge, out of matter to reveal spirit. To work out this end for
ourselves and for humanity is the object of our yogic practice.
Sri Aurobindo, The Hour of God
50 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 2 =|-|~ 49
== <| (Chapter 3)
-|~
= + =|
=|= +rc- =| |== +|- ++
= | |+ |r= | |+r|=|= ++ 1
1 - :- `: -|- -, +, |- | : |:|~ =
(249] ( | |) | :| || (: :|) ::-`: +
|-|-| = |-+ |: | | |-:|~ |+| (: |:+ | | |
|-:||) |:|~, Yoga of the intelligent will : ; |, 248,
| | = || |+ +|
1 - If thou holdest the intelligence to be greater than action, why
then dost thou appoint me to an action terrible in its nature? - (1)
||r=r+ |r+ |= |= +
=r- - |+|= + =r| ||++ 2
2 - :||+ | (||:= |:-) |+ - |-|. |+: (
| || ) |+ |+: |:| :|: | (- = ||)
:| |-|:|:+ |+| (: = |-|: -)
2 - Thou bewilderest my understanding with a mingled word :
speak one thing decisively by which I can attain to what is best. - (2)
249 |: = - `: | : |:|~ (:
; |) = |+ :|+ |~:: 238 |: `:, |+| =|-
|+ +| - |:|+: |+|+ |+ ` : -| -|| + |-|-|
+ |:| ; |:+ |+ |||+
+ |:~|- ||+ |: |+-+ |: = = +|: |:- |-:
Here is a work wholly inconsistent with knowledge, with seren-
ity and with the motionless peace of the self-delighted soul, a work
terrible, even monstrous, a bloody strife, a ruthless battle, a giant
massacre. Yet it is this that is enjoined, this that it is sought to justify
by the teaching of inner peace and desireless equality and status in
the Brahman! Here is then an unreconciled contradiction. Arjuna
complains that he has been given a contradictory and confusing
doctrine. - (3)
*~-|+ =|
|r |-.+ ||<| |+| =| |=| |++
=|+r|r~+ =||+| r|r~+ ||~+|++ 3
=~+|:- `:
3 - - (|-|||), = |+: (|- |:) | ||++ |+:
- |+ |+-| |: (||+| |-|) = | :|| |~:: : | (| +| ||,
239) ||~ + |: =|- |~ |+ |-| + |: |~
3 - The Teacher first makes a distinction between the two
means of salvation on which in this world men concentrate separately,
the Yoga of knowledge, the Yoga of works, the one implying, it is
usually supposed, renunciation of works as an obstacle to salvation,
the other accepting works as a means of salvation. - (4)
+ +| +|=| + =r+| r=+
+ =+=+| = |=|= =|<~t|=++ 4
4 - | +|+ |+| |+: ||: (| -|+:|) - | -
(|+ - - ::) |+ :|~ |+ | `: (--| = )
|| | - (|| - |+~|:) -:| |+ :| |:, ||
:| |+ |= ||+
4 - Naiskarmya (actionlessness) a calm voidness from works,
is no doubt that to which the soul, the Purusha has to attain; for it
is Prakriti which does the work and the soul has to rise above invo-
lution in activities of the being and attain to a free serenity and poise
watching over the operations of Prakriti, but not affected by them.
52 *q~-- ~=|
Establish a greater peace and quietness in your body, that will give you
the strength to resist attacks of illness. The Mother, Sri Aurobindo circle 83
There is no greater peace than that of a pure mind. The Mother, AIM
Feb-Mar 79
That, and not cessation of the work of Prakriti, is what is really
meant by the soul's naiskarmya. Therefore it is an error to think that
by not engaging in any kind of action this actionless state of the soul
can be attained and enjoyed. Mere renunciation of works is not a
sufficient, not even quite a proper means of salvation. - (5)
Reaching the inner actionlessness of the silent Purusha,
naiskarmya, and leaving Prakriti to do her works, we can attain
supremely beyond to the status of the divine Mastery which is able
to do all works and yet be bound by none. The idea of the
Purushottama, seen here as the incarnate Narayana, Krishna, is there-
fore the key. - (5A)
+ | | +| =|= |==+
|r= = |=r=or+++ 5
5 - | -+| () |:- (|:) | :| ( ||)
|: | ( |: ) || -|+|:+ (-| |:|:), |+ (| ) |:+ +|+|
( |: ) + () :|:+ | |+ |+ (
|::)
5- Man embodied in the natural world cannot cease from action,
not for a moment, not for a second; his very existence here is an
action; the whole universe is an act of God, mere living even is his
movement. - (6)
r|||+ = |rc- +=| -.=++
|||+ ||| |||= = =r=++ 6
6 - | :|:|+ : |+ ( :||| ) :-:+ |
|:|~+ | :|+ |.| |+ |: (-| | | |- + |:.), ::- =:|
(|||) |||+ |: ( |||+ :: one who is mistaken and
deluded, following a false method)
6- A man may control his organs of action and refuse to give
them their natural play, but he has gained nothing if his mind continues
to remember and dwell upon the objects of sense. Such a man has
bewildered himself with false notions of self-discipline. - (7)
|-|||+ +=| |+|=r= = ++
r|r r|~== = ||+r=++ 7
7 - -, | :- -+|+| |:|+ : |+ ( : -| |||
|- ) -||:+ () : | :|++|+| :|~+ (: | :|~ )
| :+ (|+::), : = ( ||::), |, :
7 - The mind must bring the senses under its control as an
instrument of the intelligent will and then the organs of action must
be used for their proper office, for action, but for action done as
Yoga. But what is the essence of this self-control, what is meant by
action done as Yoga, Karmayoga? It is non-attachment, it is to do
works without clinging with the mind to the objects of sense and the
fruit of the works. Not complete inaction, which is an error. "He who
controlling the senses by the mind engages with the organs of action
in Yoga of action, he excels" - (8)
|+= = ; =|r| ++
==|z|| = + |=r=-+++ 8
8 - :| |-: +| (do controlled action, ; |-: +), |+
(|) :|~: +| | | ( | ) |+ | -|+: (
) :||+ ++ +|+ +| :+ - (: ++ || || - |:),
8 - Do action thus self-controlled, says, Krishna, niyatam kuru
karma tvam; I have said that knowledge, the intelligence, is greater
than works, jyayasi karmano buddhih, but I did not mean that
inaction is greater than action; the contrary is the truth, karma jyayo
akarmanah; For knowledge does not mean renunciation of works, it
means equality and non-attachment to desire and the objects of sense;
and it means the poise of the intelligent will in the Soul free and high-
uplifted above the lower instrumentation of Prakriti and controlling
the works of the mind and the senses and body in the power of self-
knowledge and the pure objectless self-delight of spiritual realisation,
niyatam karma. - (9) |
54 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 53
No attachments, no desires, no impulses, no preferences; perfect
equanimity, unchanging peace and absolute faith in the Divine protection:
with that you are safe, without it you are in peril. The Mother, Conversations
It is by constant remembrance that the being is prepared for the full
opeing.- Sri Aurobindo, Pract. guide
=|| r+| +z |r| =++
=- |rc == =|=++ 9
9 - =+ :~: +| + ||:+ |- + |+| (=| | -)
|- + +- ( | +-) `:. , : | :| || :|~
|+ ( ) :~: (:- =+ :~:) +| ( |+) =
=+ |: || :|~ |+ + | |+ +| |:|:-| |: =
9 - "By doing works otherwise than for sacrifice, this world of
men is in bondage to works; for sacrifice practise works, O son of
Kunti, becoming free from all attachment. It is evident that all
works and not merely sacrifice [ceremonial sacrifice] and social duties
can be done in this spirit; any action can be done either from ego-
sense narrow or enlarged or for the sake of the Divine. All being and
all action of Prakriti exist only for the sake of the Divine; from that
it proceeds, by that it endures, to that it is directed. But so long as
we are dominated by the ego-sense, we act for the satisfaction of the
ego, otherwise than for sacrifice. Egoism is the knot of the bondage.
By acting Godwards, without any thought of ego, we loosen this knot
and finally arrive at freedom. - (10)
==| =| =| r=|| =||=+
r++ =|+<r+ | |-|<++ 10
10 - |+ ||-:: (|+|) |||:: (|||: |:|) = |
+|+ ~:: (=|) |- | |+ (| |) `: (|) :||:|
= =+|+| (:--) || |+| (|+), = = (=) :||:|+
() ||| : :| -|- |+ ( |+ ) , |,
10 - With sacrifice the Lord of creatures of old created crea-
tures and said, "By this shall you bring forth (fruits or offspring), let
this be your milker of desires. (10A)
-|+ |=|r++ = -| |q +
=-= |c = =|=++ 11
11 - = =+ |+| :||:|: -:| (:-- -|-) +-| +|
(|:), -:|: (+ ||-+ |+|) :||:| (: -| )
|+: + (|z) = -:+ |+|:+ |+|++ +-|+ |+| (|+|+
|.) |+ | |+| (|+ = |)
11 - Foster by this the gods and let the gods foster you; fostering
each other, you shall attain to the supreme good (|+ |
|+|) (10 B)
|+ |~|+ | | -| -|=rc = ||=|+
=- =|+-|rr| | r=rc-+ = =++ 12
12 - |:: (|) -:|: =+ |+| z (-| = ||:|)
||| : |~ (|- |~|- ) :||:| -|- |+ ( -|:.), |+:
-:|: |-| ||- |~|| (: -|-) ::| | -+|
(= -|) | |~ :+ ( :) : |+ ( .- =)
12 - Fostered by sacrifice the gods shall give you desired
enjoyments; who enjoys their given enjoyments and has not given to
them, he is a thief. (-+:| +|+| ||+| ||- |~:|+ | ::|
|-|-| |~ :+ : |+) - (10 c)
=|||+ =rc| rc =||-r++
sr= = ; || c||=+|++ 13
13 - | - |: (.) =+ | |- :+ (-:|,
|:| |-|+ ||: | ), (=| |-), ::| :| |||+ |+|
( || :.), |z |||: |-+ |+: +|:+ (:
||+| ||.), ||||: (: ||||) ||| |- :+ (
a::)
13 - The good who eat what is left from the sacrifice, are released
from all sin (=+ +| |- |+ ||| ), but evil are they
and enjoy the sin who cook (the food) for their own sake. - (11)
All active existence must be in its inmost reality a sacrifice of
works offered by Prakriti to Purusha, Nature offering to the supreme
and infinite Soul the desire of the multiple finite Soul within her.
Where sacrifice is not willingly given, Nature exacts it by force, she
satisfies the law of her living. A mutual giving and receiving is the law
of life without which it cannot for one moment edure, and this fact
56 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 55
The path is long, but self surrender makes it short.- Sri Aurobindo Pract. guide
is the stamp of the divine creative Will on the world it has manifested
in its being, the proof that with sacrifice as their eternal companion,
the Lord of creatures has created all these existences. The universal
law of sacrifice is the sign that the world is of God and belongs to
God and that life is his house of worship and not a field for the self-
satisfaction of the independent ego. - (11 A)
|- |c =||+ = +|-=-+
=|- |= = r+| = =q++ 14
14 - +|+| |:|+ | (| :||- |.), ++ |+|
| (| -| :), =+ |+| + : (=| | - |:),
+ |+| = | (= ;)
r|q ||= |==q+
=-.| =~= |+= r= |=|=++ 15
15 - + |+| | ( :|; ) | ||-| (||) |+
(+) + + |+| ; : ( + ; ), |+: (:|)
|| |+ ( ~: ) - | =: |:|: |: (|-: :=
|:|:)
| - | =:~ |+: =:- ` + +|+| + , + +|+|
, +|+| =, =+|+| + , + +|+| , + |+| |:|+ | :
14, 15 - "From food creatures come into being, from rain is the
birth of food, from sacrifice come into being the rain, sacrifice is born
of work; work to be born of Brahman, Brahman is born of the
Immutable; therefore is the all pervading Brahman established in
the sacrifice."
Sacrifice is born of work (= ;), work from brahman,
brahman from Akshara and therefore the all-pervading Brahman,
sarvagatam brahman, is established in the sacrifice. Brahman or
Divine in the workings of Nature is born, as we may say, out of the
Akshara, the immutable Purusha, the Self who stands above all the
modes or qualities or workings of Nature, nistraigunya. The Brah-
man is one but self-displayed in two aspects, the immutable being and
the creator and originator of works in the mutable becoming, atman,
sarvabhutani, Purusha poised in himself and Purusha active in Prakriti;
it is aksara and ksara. In both of these aspects the Divine being,
Purushottama, manifests himself in the universe; the immutable above
all qualities is His poise of peace, self-possession, equality, saman
Brahma (13/27); from that proceeds His manifestation in qualities of
Prakriti and their universal workings; from the Purusha in Prakriti,
from this Brahman with qualities, proceed all the works of the uni-
versal energy, Karma, in man and in all existences; from that work
proceeds the principle of sacrifice. Even material interchange be-
tween gods and men proceeds upon this principle (3/11), as typified
in the dependence of rain and its product food and birth of creatures.
For all the workings of Prakriti in its true nature a sacrifice, yajna,
with the Divine being as the enjoyer. - (12)
= |== z +|+== +
||=||=|r| | | = =-|=++ 16
16 - |+: : +| , , = |+ ||-+ :| | -:
|+ -+ -:+ : ||| | | |+ +-||- :+ (
= |:: - -:|: | | |+| | +|:)
16 - "He who follows not here the wheel thus set in movement,
evil is his being, sensual is his delight, in vain, O Partha, that man lives."
This (ceremonial sacrifice for gaining children, wealth, enjoyment)
cannot be the meaning of the Gita, for it would be in contradiction with
all the rest of the book. Ref. Ch.4
There are three kinds of works, that done without sacrifice for
personal enjoyment which is entirely selfish and egoistic and misses
the true law and aim and utility of life, mogham partha sa jivati,
that done with desire, but with sacrifice and the enjoyment only as
a result of sacrifice and therefore to that extent consecrated and
sanctified and that done without desire or attachment of any kind.
It is the last which brings the soul to the highest, param apnoti
purusah. - (13)
58 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 57
To become aware of one's deficiencies is a sign of great progress and
the door open on the road to success in Sadhana.
Repeated failures come always to those who have something exceptional
to do. The Mother, Self-Perfection, Part 3
-|=|=r= =|-|=q |++
|r+ =qc-= | + |-r=++ 17
( : |+|: = | |: |-
||- = z : | - |-::)
17 - |z | |: (: |-) ||+ |- | |+:, ||::
:| | |+: |+ ||:: z |: (|+|: =, |:, ||- =
z|), : |+~| =:| | -| (: | - |-::)
17 - "But the man whose delight is in the Self and who is
satisfied with enjoyment of the Self and in the Self he is content, for
him there exists no work that needs to be done." - (14)
+ == r=+|r| +|r=r+ ++
+ |= =r=+ |-|=++ 18
18 - |+ || ||+ :, |+ + | : :+ |+: (:
) +|+ :|- -| (::- - =) |+ + |+| |+: |:+|
:|- -| (::- - -), ::- |+ |-+ |=+ :|- -
(:: | ||= -)
18 - "He (the liberated man) has no object here to be gained by
action done and none to be gained by action undone; he has no
dependence on all these existence for any object to be gained." In
that Self and not in any personal enjoyment he finds now his sole
satisfaction, complete content, pure delight; he has nothing to gain by
action or inaction, depends neither on gods nor men for anything,
seeks no-profit from any, for the self-delight is all sufficient to him,
but does works for the sake of the Divine only, as a pure sacrifice,
without attachment or desire. Thus he gains equality and becomes
free from the modes of Nature, nistraigunya; his soul takes its poise
in the peace of the immutable Brahman, even while his actions continue
in the movement of Prakriti. Thus is sacrifice his way of attaining to
the Highest. - (15)
=-.|-== === | =|=+
=r=| |=+ =|r||= =+++ 19
19 - |+: (:|) :| -| (::) ||- () :
(| ) |+ |+| (|+), |+ (|) -| | |+: (
|+ ) |-: (|+) |+ |- | :+ (|+ |:||:), |||
19 - The secret is not inaction as soon as one turns towards the
higher truth, but desireless action both before and after it is reached.
It brings the soul of man to the highest, param apnoti purusah. - (16)
r+ | =|=|=||-=| =+|-+
|=r|| =+ = |=++ 20
20 - + - |-+ |+| ( | = |) - ||- ||: (-|- )
|| | |+| (|| ||:|) | ||+ |: - | +|| (|
= || |-) :| +| |: (: |)
20 - "Therefore without attachment perform ever the work that
is to be done (done for the sake of the world, lokasamgraha), for by
doing works without attachment man attains to the highest. For it was
even by works that Janaka and the rest attained to perfection." - (17)
- -|=|= =c-=r-r=r=| =++
= |+ =r= |c--+=r=++ 21
21 - =:|: | | :+ (= - |+|:), |+|+ |-:
( :+) :|: -+ :+ (: : =) : | |- -+| (
| +::) |+|+ |: :|: -+ :+ (| : -:::),
=.... = : : = :+
21 - Whatsoever the Best doeth, that the lower kind of man puts
into practice; the standard he creates, the people follows. - (18)
+ |||c- = |z |r+ |+++
+|+|q|q = = |+++ 22
22 - ||, |:|- |: |+ (| |: ) =:| : -|
(|~- : - |.) |+ | (-| ) | || ~| =:| -| (|
-), :||| |+: |:| (| : = )
60 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 59
Live constantly in the presence of the Divine; live in the feeling that it
is this presence which moves you and is doing everything you do. The
Mother, Conversations
Let the Divine peace be with you. The Mother, W.R.
22 - "O son of Pritha, I have no work that I need to do in all
the three worlds, I have nothing that I have not gained and have yet
to gain and I abide verily in the paths of action, varta eva ca
karmani." - (19)
|- + r= =|= +=|=+
|+=rc ++| | =++ 23
23 - ||, |- |:| (|- |:) =| -|+ (:|:)
|: . -|:| (| - ::), :|:|`: |-: |+ |-: (-|
|) |:+ -+ |+ ( -::.)
==r-|=r || + | -+
=== =| =|+||| =|++ 24
24 - |- | -:+| ( - |), :|:|`: =
|-:|+ ` ( : || :-), + ||+ |+ `
(+ :| |) |+ :|+ |+| :| |+ |-|+ |+ ` ( |
| |-|)
23, 24 - "For if I did not abide sleeplessly in the paths of action,
men follow in every way my path; these peoples would sink to
destruction if I did not work and I should be the creator of confusion
and slay these creatures." - (20)
+ ~+ |+|+ |+ |-|+ |- | |= :|+ = |||
|| ~- |+ ~:|
==| +||r=| | |c |==+
|- ||c-|==|+r|=++ 25
(| | ||:| | |. |+:
| || :| | |)
25 - |+:, =:|: :- (|| |) =+ |: ||
+|| (|) :+ (| |.), ::--:+ =|-: (:| ||-) -|
() |+ |: (|- |+ +|+ +||+ |: |+
|~| |-+ |:) | +| |: (| | |)
25 - As those who know not act with attachment to the action,
he who knows should act without attachment, having for his motive
to hold together the peoples. - (21)
+ |=r- =+r-=|+| =|+|+
|=r =||+ ||+ = =|=+++ 26
26 - =|-: (||-) =+ |: || +|| | +| =:|
+ (|-| =|-|) -: |-||. (|:-) | |+ -||:~ (-
-: ), + :| : : || ( || |+) =:|
|: |- +| |:~ (|: ) (=|-: :|~+ |- - +| -||:~)
26 - "He (the wise) should not create a division of their under-
standing in the ignorant who are attached to their works; he should
set them to all actions, doing them himself with knowledge and in
Yoga." - (22)
r= |z|+||+ or+ ||+ =+
e|=||| =|||= +r=++ 27
27 - |:+ |:|-|+ |+| (:: ) :| | |
( || ||||-), |: | |: (|+ |||) |:|+
|+:|` | |: ( :| |: -::), :| ...... :| |:
27 - While the actions are being entirely done by the modes ()
of Nature, he whose self is bewildered by egoism thinks that it is his
I which is doing them. - (23)
=q|= ||r| o+||~r|+
o+| or++ =rc |= ;| + =mr=++ 28
28 - |z (:), ||-, | :- ;, +, : + ||~+ :;
|:- ( ||~:| :;|) : : + |+: || |+: (|
: ::.) = | ||- |:-| |:: | - ( |: ;| - ::)
| |:
28 - But one who knows the true principles of the divisions of
the modes and of works, realises that it is the modes (gunas) which
are acting and reacting on each other and is not caught in them by
attachment. - (24)
62 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 61
Let the Divine fill your thoughts with His presence. The Mother, W.R.
r=o+=| =mrc o+=+
=|+-|r-| =|+ -| ||r++ 29
29 - |:+ + |+| || |: (:: |) + :
( ) |+: |` | | (:.), = v =|- |+
| (:|- |- |-) :; =|-: (|) ::|+ |+
||+ |+| ||: -|+ (- ||:) | |:+| || |- |+ |
|+ -||:~, :|+ |+| |:
29 - Those who are bewildered by the modes, not knowers of
the whole, let not the knower of the whole disturb in their mental
standpoint. - (25)
| =||+ ||+ =+=|<|r==|+
|+=||+r| ;| <- |~=e=++ 30
30 - :| |+ ~+| |+ :| + =:- |+|| |: ||
(+| :|), |+ |+: :| | |+ (| || || -)
|-| |+ ; | (~+| |) |+ |+:| :|~ |+ (|-+| |-
|~:<+ ;|) +| (+)
30 - "Giving up thy works to Me, free from desire and egoism,
fight delivered from the fever of thy soul."
There are, we may say, two souls in us, the apparent or desire-
soul, which changes with the mutations of the gunas and is entirely
constituted and determined by them, and the free and eternal Purusha
not limited by Nature and her gunas. We have two selves, the appar-
ent self, which is only the ego, that mental centre in us which takes
up this mutable action of Prakriti, this mutable personality, and which
says "I am this personality, I am this natural being who am doing
these works," but the natural being is simply Nature, a composite
of the gunas, and the true self which is, indeed, the upholder, the
possessor and the lord of Nature and figured in her, but is not the
mutable natural personality. - (26)
=|- |+=+|=|c |+|+
==|rc| +=rc| rc = | |++ 31
31 - | |: ( |-|) |+ = : ( - :) =||-
|+ |- (-: : -|+||) -| -+ :+ (=|. -.
|-: -|:|.) ::|: (: ||) + +-+ |+| (|
:.), |: :; | | -| |z || :+, ::|: :|
~|- | |+ |+: =+ +-+|+| | ||
;=-=rc| +|+|=|c =+
= =|+||c-|+ ||= +|+r==++ 32
32 - |z |||: (: ) |+ = :+ |:+||+:| |+ ( =: :
.) -+ -:+ (- -|:|.), = ||+|- |-:|+ (:|-
=|-||-) |+|| =|-: |||+| (::) |+ ||~| (-|-) |
|| (||)
:|| |: | |-: .++ | | -||| ::|: =
|-| .++ =|-+ |:|-| |+ |:+||+:|: :+ =+:| ::|:
+|++|+| | ||+|+ :|~ ++|
32- They (people in the lower consciousness, the tamasic peo-
ple, the people subject to the principle of ignorance and inertia) will
not be able to understand [the teaching of the Gita] at all, they will
find fault with this higher teaching, assert against it their present
mental experience, their ignorant idea of free will and, yet more
confirmed by the plausibility of their logic in their bewilderment and
the deception of ego and desire, lose their chance of liberation in a
deeper, more obstinate confirmation of ignorance. - (27)
=- r= -=| r==|+|+|+
|= ||c =||+ |+ | |=+|=++ 33
33 - =|- |- : (=|-|- || ) |- |: - |+: ( | ::
-) |+ ||:+ (::) :| |: |- |: - |+ |+ :+
( :||- |: ||.), |: ::+ -- |+ | | ` (|- | |+ |:)
64 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 63
By Yoga we can rise out of falsehood into truth, out of weakness into
force, out of pain and grief into bliss, out of bondage into freedom, out of
death into immortality, out of darkness into light, out of confusion into
purity, out of imperfection into perfection, out of self-division into unity, out
of Maya into God. Sri Aurobindo, Practical guide to Int. Yoga
The Divine Consciousness is at work to transform you and you must open
to it in order to let it work freely in you. The Mother, AIM Feb-Mar 86
33 - The Gita says, "All existences follow their nature and what
shall coercing it avail? which seems, if we take it by itself, a hopelessly
absolute assertion of the omnipotence of Nature over the Soul; "even
the man of knowledge acts according to his own nature."
Certainly it does not mean that we are to follow any impulse,
even though evil, which what we call our nature dictates to us. It is
a higher truth that the distinction of good and evil is indeed a practical
fact and law valid for the egoistic human life. It will be mis-seen and
misused, as those misuse it who declare that a man is what his nature
has made him and cannot be otherwise than as his nature compels
him. It is true in a sense but not in the sense that the ego-self can
claim irresponsibility and impunity for itself in its works, it must
bear the reactions of Karma.(28)
|r=|=|r =|~rr+| |-r=|+
=r|+ |~rt =| = |=|r+|++ 34
34 - |:|++ |- |- |: ( | | :) -+|~ |+
|:+ | |:| =| ||| |- (+|~::` |::`), = - |+ (+|~
+) ` -||:~ (::| - |~:), |+ (|) - :|| (:`) ||
||++ |+| +| ( ||+||:-`)
34 - Gita throws in this further injunction, "In the object of this
or that sense liking and disliking are set in ambush; fall not into their
power, for they are the besetters of the soul in its path." - (29)
=|+ -<r| |o+ =<| -+|=|+
-<r |+<+ = =<r| |++ 35
35 - |- + + | `: ( + |) | - |: +| (
- |:|), |+ + : |+ | (|++ | = |- ), |- + |+:
: `: - ( +: |-+- = ) |++ + ||- - (|++
|)
35 - "Better in one's own law of works, svadharma, though in
itself faulty than an alien law well wrought out; death in one's own
law of being is better, perilous is it to follow an alien law." - (30)
To follow the law of anothers nature is dangerous to the
soul, contrary as we may say, to the natural way of evolution, a thing
mechanically imposed and therefore imported, artificial and sterilising
to ones growth towards the true stature of the spirit. (Swabhava and
Swadharma, Essays on the Gita)
= + =|
+ r=| | =|= =++
|+t| |r+ ||- |+r||==++ 36
36 - :- `: |:, | |+|+| ||+: ( -
) | -|||: (|-- ||) ::+ ||- ||- |-:|~ +|+ -:+
(| |-:||:) |-: ||||+ :+ ( |+ ||| +|:)
36- Arjuna If there is no fault in following our Nature, what
are we then to say of that in us which drives a man to sin, as if by
force, even against his own struggling will. - (31)
*~-|+ =|
| =+ z|< =+ =r=|o+=q+
|r+| ||| |r=+| |=+++ 37
37 - =~+|:- `: | (desire), |+ (= | = |+)
|, |+ +:|+ |+| ;+ (+:|;) | - |+ (|-)
|+ |||+ (||||), | |-+ | ||-| (=- |+
||), |:-||| =-
37 - The teacher replies that this is desire and its companion
wrath, children of rajas, the second guna, the principle of passion, and
this desire is the soul's great enemy and has to be slain. - (32)
<r+||r= ||-r| r+ +
r|r-+|r=| ~c-| =r+-|=++ 38
38 - :- +|+| |: |+ +|: (| +:- ||:: |),
|| |: (|- :- ) |+ |-:+ +|+ |+| ~ |: |: (|
:- ~ |:), -:+ (:|) ||++ |+| (:-) =|- | | |:
( - |:)
66 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 65
The goal is not to lose oneself in the Divine Consciousness. The goal
is to let the Divine consciousness penetrate into Matter and transfrom it.
The Mother, AIM Feb-Mar 86
Have no ambition, above all, pretend nothing but be at each instant the
utmost that you can be. The Mother, Self-Perfection 3
|= =|+rr=+ =||+r+| |+=r|=+|+
|=.r+ |rc - r=+|+r+ ++ 39
39 - `:., |+ (|-:|+|) |+ + |-|-| |+ (- |:+
-:- ) = |-| (=::- |+:|-) =|-:+| =|- | :+ (=||--
=|- |:)
|||+ r+| |===||<|+r=+
=r=|r|r=+ =|+|= -|+++ 40
40 - |:|+, - |+ | ( ||| - |) = : | |-|+
|= |- || ( |+|- ::) = : |+ |+::+ (=:) |-|
(=) =|- | +|| (=|- |:) + = :+ (-|- |:||:)
3840 The restless all devouring principle of desire, the insatiable
fire which besieges your worldly action, the eternal enemy of knowledge
by which it is covered over here in your nature as is a fire by smoke
or a mirror by dust and which you must slay in order to live in the calm,
clear luminous truth of the spirit. The senses, mind and intellect are the
seat of this eternal cause of imperfection. (32A)
=-.| ;|||+|r-| |+ ==++
||+ =| + =|+|=|++|+++ 41
41 - ~|:: (:|) +:, :: :| |:|+ : |+
(|:-` ; ||| |-) =|-|=|- -||+ (=|-|=|- -|-) |||+
|+ (||| |- root cause of sin) |-| |- +| (=- | |)
41 - Abstention from evil-doing it declares to be the first con-
dition for liberation and always it enjoins self-mastery, self-control,
samyama, control of the mind, senses, all the lower being. There is
a distinction between coercion and suppression, nigraha and control,
samyama. The former is a violence done to the nature by the will;
the latter is the control of the lower by the higher self. - (33)
|||+ =|+|;|=|r = ++
+=q =| |=r| r= ==q =++ 42
( ||| |+|| |- |: |+ -
- : |+| | : |+: : )
42 - | | :|+: | :|+ = ( | || |+|| |-),
|:|+: - = ( |: |+ -), -: | = (- : |+|
|), |: | = : || (: |+: : )
42 - Supreme beyond their objects are the senses, supreme over
the senses the mind, supreme over the mind the intelligent will: that
which is supreme over the intelligent will, is he is the conscious self,
the Purusha. - (34)
= r= = =| =c-||+|+|+
=| z ||r| |=. - =|=-++ 43
43 - ||-, = -:+ || |: |+: | | (= : |+
|) ||+|+| |- |. |+ | |: ||+ ||- (|-|
||- .) |-| -|+ - +| (|+| - +|- |)
43 Therefore, says the Gita, it is this Purusha (soul), this supreme
cause of our subjective life [inner life] which we have to understand
and become aware of by the intelligence, in that we have to fix our
will. So holding our lower subjective self [ego, desire-soul] in Nature
firmly poised and stilled by means of the greater really conscient self
(soul), we can destroy the restless ever-active enemy of our peace
and self-mastery, the minds desire. (35)
Self-surrender in works
The greatest gospel of spiritual works ever yet given to the race,
the most perfect system of Karmayoga known to man in the past, is
to be found in the Bhagavad Gita. In that famous episode of the
Mahabharata the great basic lines of Karmayoga are laid down for
all time with an incomparable mastery and the infallible eye of an
assured experience. It is true that the path alone, as the ancients saw
it, is worked out fully; the perfect fulfilment, the highest secret is
hinted rather than developed; it is kept back as an unexpressed part
of a supreme maystery. The Gita at its cryptic close may seem by
its silence to stop short of that solution for which we are seeking; it
pauses at the borders of the highest spiritual mind and does not cross
them into the splendours of the supramental light. And yet its secret
of dynamic, and not only static, identity with the inner Presence, its
highest mystery of absolute surrender to the Divine Guide, Lord and
68 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 67
Inhabitant of our nature, is the central secret. This surrender is the
indispensable means of the supramental change and again, it is through
the supramental change that the dynamic identity becomes possible.
What then are the lines of Karmayoga laid down by the Gita? Its
key principle, its spiritual method, can be summed up as the union of
two largest and highest states or powers of consciousness, equality and
oneness. The kernel of its method is an unreserved acceptance of the
Divine in our life as in our self and spirit. An inner renunciation of
personal desire leads to equality, accomplishes our total surrender to
the Divine, supports a delivery from dividing ego which brings us oneness.
But this must be a oneness in dynamic force and not only in static
peace or inactive beatitude. The Gita promises us freedom for the spirit
even in the midst of works and the full energies of Nature. It proposes
an integral dynamic activity founded on a still passivity.
All things here are the one and indivisible eternal transcendent and
cosmic Brahman that is in its seeming divided in things and creatures;
in seeming only, for in truth it is always one and equal in all things and
creatures and the division is only a phenomenon of the surface. As long
as we live in the ignorant seeming, we are the ego and are subject to
the modes of Nature. Enslaved to appearances, bound to dualities,
tossed between good and evil, sin and virtue, grief and joy, pain and
pleasure, good fortune and ill fortune, success and failure, we follow
helplessly the iron or gilt and iron round of the wheel of Maya. It is
force of Nature, grasping us, ungrasped by us that determines what we
shall will and how we shall will it. Nature, not an independent ego,
chooses what object we shall seek at any moment of our existence. If,
on the contrary, we live in the unifying reality of the Brahman, then we
go beyond the ego and overstep Nature. For then we get back to our
true self and become the spirit; in the spirit we are above the impulsion
of Nature, superior to her modes and forces. Attaining to a perfect
equality in the soul, mind and heart, we realise our true self of oneness
one with all beings. This equality and this oneness are the indispensable
twin foundation. There is a secret divine Will, eternal and infinite,
omniscient and omnipotent, that expresses itself in the universality and
in each particular of all these apparently temporal and finite, inconscient
or half-conscient things. This is the Power or Presence meant by the
Gita when it speaks of the Lord within the heart of all existences who
turns all creatures as if mounted on a machine by the illusion of Nature.
These are the conditions of our effort. To live in God and not
in the ego.
To be perfectly equal in all happenings and to all beings, and to
see and feel them as one with oneself and one with the Divine; to
feel all in oneself and all in God; to feel God in all and oneself in all.
To act in God and not in the ego. And here, not to choose action
by reference to personal needs, but in obedience to the dictates of the
living highest truth above us. Next, as soon as we are sufficiently
founded in the spiritual consciousness, not to act any longer by our
separate will or movement, but more and more to allow action to
happen and develop under the impulsion and guidance of a divine Will.
The elimination of all egoistic activity is clearly the key. And since
in the path of works action is the knot we have first to loosen, we must
endeavour to loosen it where it is centrally tied, in desire and ego.
Therefore the first rule of action laid down by the Gita is to do the work
that should be done without any desire for the fruit, niskama karma.
The test it lays down is an absolute equality of the mind and the
heart to all results, to all reactions, to all happenings. At first we have
to learn to bear the shocks of the world with the central part of our
being untouched and silent.
But how then shall we continue to act at all? For ordinarily the
human being acts because he has a desire. The Gita replies with its
third great secret of the divine life. All action must be done in a more
and more God-ward and finally a God-possessed consciousness; our
works must be a sacrifice to the Divine and in the end a surrender
of all our being, mind, will, heart, sense, life and body to the One must
make God-love and God-service our only motive. This transformation
of the motive-force and very character of works is indeed its master
idea; it is the foundation of its unique synthesis of works, love and
knowledge. In the end not desire, but the consciously felt will of the
Eternal remains as the sole driver of our action.
The Sacrifice
The law of Sacrifice is the common divine action that was
thrown out into the world in its beginning as a symbol of the solidarity
of the universe. It is by the attraction of this law that a divinising, a
saving power descends to limit and correct and gradually to eliminate
the errors of an egoistic and self-divided creation. This descent, this
sacrifice of the Purusha, the Divine Soul submitting itself to Force and
Matter so that it may inform and illuminate them, is the seed of
redemption of this world of Inconscience and Ignorance. For "with
sacrifice as their companion", says the Gita, "the All Father created
70 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 69
these peoples", (3/10). The acceptance of the law of sacrifice is a
practical recognition by the ego that it is neither alone in the world nor
chief in the world. There is beyond itself something greater and
completer, a diviner All which demands from it subordination and service
Indeed sacrifice is imposed and, where need be, compelled by the
universal World-Force; it takes it even from those who donot consciously
recognise the law. For this is the truth in Nature, that this ego which
thinks itself a separate independent being is not and cannot be independent
nor separate, but all are linked together by a secret Oneness. Each
existence is continually giving out perforce from its stock, and always
again it receives something from its environment in return. For it is only
by this giving and receiving that it can effect its own growth. At length,
though at first slowly and partially, we learn to make the conscious
sacrifice; even, in the end, we take joy to give ourselves in a spirit of
love and devotion to That which appears for the moment other than
ourselves. The sacrifice and the divine return for our sacrifice then
become a gladly accepted means towards our last perfection.
This profounder idea of the world-wide law is at the heart of the
teaching about works given in the Gita; a spiritual union with the
Highest by sacrifice, an unreserved self-giving to the Eternal is the
core of its doctrine.
Our sacrifice is not a giving without any return, it is an interchange
between the embodied soul and conscious Nature in us and the
eternal spirit. For even though no return is demanded, yet there is the
knowledge deep within us that a marvellous return is inevitable. The
soul knows that it does not give itself to God in vain; claiming nothing,
it yet receives the infinite riches of the divine Power and Presence.
For to the soul that wholly gives itself to him, God also gives himself
altogether. Only the one who offers his whole nature, finds the Self.
Only the one who can give everything, enjoys the Divine All
everywhere. Only a supreme self-abandonment attains to the Supreme.
We should turn our whole life into a conscious sacrifice. Every
moment and every movement of our being is to be resolved into a
continuous and a devoted self-giving to the Eternal. All our actions,
not less the smallest and most ordinary and trifling than the greatest
and most uncommon and noble, must be performed as consecrated
acts. Our commonest or most grossly material actions must assume
this sublimated character; When we eat, we should be conscious that
we are giving our food to that Presence in us; it must be a sacred
offering in a temple.Even if such a discipline is begun without devotion,
it leads straight and inevitably towards the highest devotion possible.
An absorbing love for the Divine Presence to whom he feels an
always more intimate closeness, grows upon the consecrated worker.
The way of works turns by this road of sacrifice to meet the path
of Devotion.
Next, the practice of this Yoga demands a constant inward
remembrance of the one central liberating knowledge, and a constant
active externalising of it in works comes in too to intensify the
remembrance. In all is the one Self, the one Divine is all; all are in
the Divine, all are the Divine and there is nothing else in the universe,
this thought or this faith is the whole background until it becomes
the whole substance of the consciousness of the worker.
Sri Aurobindo
The Synthesis of Yoga
Karmayoga
Quotations from Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita
1. The human disciple - 1, 2
2. Works and Sacrifice - 3-10
3. The significance of sacrifice - 10A, B, C, 11-17
4. The principle of divine works - 18-22, 5A, 32A
5. The determinism of Nature - 23-33
6. The Yoga of the Intelligent will - 34, 35
7. The Lord of sacrifice - 11A

As for prayers, especially unselfish prayer for others, itself opens you to the
higher Power, even if there is no corresponding result in the person prayed for- Sri
Aurobindo, Aurobindo, Circle, 83
To do at each moment the best we can and leave the result to the Divine's
decision, is the surest way to peace, happiness, strength, progress and final
perfection. The Mother Self-Perfection 4
If you give youself entirely to the Divine without asking for anything in
exchange, if you merge your consciusness in the Divine, it will put an end to your
sufferings. The Mother, W.R.
If earnestly you say to the Divine, I want only Thee, the Divine will
arrange the circumstances in such a way that you are compelled to be sincere.
Never worry. Do with sincerity all you do and leave the results to the Divines
care.
The Mother
72 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 3 -|~ 71
= <| (Chapter 4)
=|+-|~
*~-|+ =|
|-r= |~ |=|++
|-|+ +r | +|=|r ++ 1
1 - =~+|:- `: = -|:| = |~+ | (
|~) |:| ( |:: ||-), - `: (||-
-: |), -:+ | `: (- |: )
1- In speaking of this Yoga in which action and knowledge become
one, Krishna has declared in passing that this was the ancient and
original Yoga which he gave to Vivasvan, the Sun-God, Vivasvan gave
it to Manu, the father of men, Manu gave it to Ikshvaku, head of the
Solar line. - (1) |~ |~ = +| : |+ =|-+ |:
= ==||q| =|=+r| |-
= |rr+ =| |r~| + =c++ 2
2 - = -:+ |+|+| : | +| (= |+|+||) = |~
+||: ||-| ( +| |- ), |z - | :: |+| |: (:|
|:-) = |~ ( |~) |: || ||: ( -)
2- So it came down from royal sage to royal sage till it was lost
in the great lapse of Time. - (2)
= =| | = - |~ |= =|=++
r=| |= =| |= == =- =++ 3
3 - :| |+ |+ | |: ( | | |:) || (-)
=| |- |~:;+ | :|| `:| ( |+|:- |~ | =
: |), |+ = :| |: + (| =:- +)
3 - (It) is now renewed to Arjuna, because he is the lover and
devotee, friend and comrade of the Avatar. For this, he says, is the
highest secret, thus claiming for it a superiority to all other forms
of Yoga. - (3)
= + =|
= r=| =, = =, |-=+
==- |=|+| ; |r-| |=|+ |=++ 4
4 - :- `: :||+ ||: : (: |+), +
|~:: | (|: |+) = :| :- | (=:-
||-|) :| |~:: || (; |:-` ||- |:)
*~-|+ =|
|+ ==||+ =,||+ = |= ++
=|+ - =||+ + ; =c++ 5
5 - =~+|:- `: -, |+ |+ :||+ ( : ) -
( |- ||-) ||+ ~: (::||-), :|:|+ |:-| ( :||-
|| -), |z :| -||-| (; - )
5 - "Many are my lives that are past, and thine also, O Arjuna;
all of them I know, but thou knowest not." - (4)
r=| | =|| =|+|r=| | =++
|= -||<| =||||++ 6
6 - +|:, |+ :| |+ + `: ( ||
:|-| + - ||) |-+ |:: |+|: || (| |: |+|)
|- ||: |= |+ |||+ (||| :||)
6 - "Though I am the unborn, though I am imperishable in my
self-existence, though I am the Lord of all existence, yet I stand upon
my own Nature and I come into birth by my self-Maya." - (5)
74 *q~-- ~=|
No words acts The Mother, AIM Feb-Mar 86
=|-+ | =|- |~ | =|- = (sacrifice of knowledge) |: :|
+, :| , :+ ||:+ |- |:-| -| = |:| -+ |:+: |: |+ +|:|
= =|- =
-| -| | <= ||+|= |==+
|+<= =-||+ ==|++ 7
7 - |+:, |:| ++ +-|: (-| -| | + ||- |:) |+
+ ~| |+ :o (+ |-) :|:| ||+: +:|+ (:-|
||- || |-: |-: | :+|)
7- "Whensoever there is the fading of the Dharma and the
uprising of unrighteousness, then I loose forth into birth." - (6)
|=z|+| =|<+| |+|| - =|+
<=-|+|| =|| r~ r~++ 8
8 - |+ |+ |++ |: |+ | :+|:|:|++ |-|+
|: (|+-| ||+|| - :| |-|| ) |+ + |-+ |:| |++ |: (+
||-||) :~ :~ |||+ (:~ :~ :||)
8 - "For the deliverance of the good, for the destruction of the
evil-doers, for the enthroning of the Right I am born from age to age."
The upholding of the Dharma (+ ||-||) in the world is not
the only object of the descent of the Avatar, the great mystery of the
Divine manifest in humanity; for the upholding of the Dharma is not
an all-sufficient object in itself, not the supreme possible aim for the
manifestation of a Christ, a Krishna, a Buddha. For there are two
aspects of the divine birth; one is a descent, the birth of God in
humanity; the Godhead manifesting itself in human form and nature,
the eternal Avatar; the other is an ascent, the birth of man into the
Godhead, man rising into the divine nature and consciousness,
madbhavam agatah; it is the being born anew in a second birth of
the soul. It is that new birth which Avatarhood and the upholding of
the Dharma are intended to serve.
Sri Aurobindo
Possibility and purpose of Avatarhood, Essays on the Gita
Love is a supreme force which the Eternal Consciousness sent
down from itself into an obscure and darkened world that it might
bring back that world and its beings to the Divine. The material world
in its darkness and ignorance had forgotten the Divine. Love came
into the darkness; it awakened all that lay there asleep; it whispered,
opening the ears that were sealed, "There is something that is worth
waking to, worth living for, and it is love!" And with the awakening
to love there entered into the world the possibility of coming back to
the Divine. The creation moves upward through love towards the
Divine and in answer there leans downward to meet the creation the
Divine Love and Grace. This world was a world of dead matter, till
Divine love descended into it and awakened it to life. Once the
creation is conscious, awakened, opened to love for the Divine, the
Divine love pours itself without limit back into the creation.
Great beings have taken birth in this world who came to bring
down here something of the sovereign purity and power of Divine
love. The Divine love has thrown itself into a personal form in them
that its realisation upon earth may be at once more easy and more
perfect. Divine love, when manifested in a personal being (Avatar),
is easier to realise, it is more difficult when it is unmanifested or
impersonal in its movement. A human being awakened by this personal
touch, with this personal intensity, to the consciousness of the Divine
love, will find his work and change more easy; the union for which
he seeks becomes more natural and close. And the union, the realisation
will become for him, too more full, more perfect.
The Mother, Conversations :
=, |-r | |= =q=+
==| - += , +|= |r|= =| = +++ 9
9 - -, | () |+ = |- |+ + |: ( = |-
) ||:+ |:- (:;: |), : - :|~ |+ |:` -
( - :| |- - =|:), : | | :+ (| =|:)
76 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 75
I know what is preparing behind the darkness and can see and feel the
first signs of its coming. Those who seek for the Divine have to stand firm
and persist in their seeking, after a time, the darkness will disappear and
Light will come. Sri Aurobindo, AIM Aug 74
Let us meditate
The Divine has become matter, therefore matter can become Divine.
9 - "He who knoweth thus in its right principles my divine birth
and my divine work, when he abandons his body, comes not to
rebirth, he comes to Me." - (7)
==|~rz|<| ,| |||==|+
r| =|+==| =| q||~=|++ 10
10 - -+|~ (+|~), |+ |++ |+| (:), |: |- ||
(|), |: |= (| |||=:|) -:|: =|- :||+|+| ( =|-
:||) ||+ (|:|) |+ |- |: | |+| (-| |~:|)
10 - "Delivered from liking and fear and wrath, full of me, taking
refuge in me, many purified by austerity of knowledge have arrived
at my nature of being (madbhavam, the divine nature of the
Purushottama)". - (8)
| | -rc =|c-r =|+
|+=rc ++| | =++ 11
11 - || , | | :- ||-| :+ ( | | |-:.) :
-:+ (:|- :| =) || :+ | ( ||), |- : :| |:+ (- |
) |+ |: ( | + |+ |- | |) - + :+ ( - : :.)
11 - "As men approach Me, so I accept them to my love
(bhajami); men follow in every way my path." - (9)
Men are following the path set to them by the Divine which will
in the end lead them to him and the aspect of him which suits their
nature is that which they can best follow when he comes to lead
them; in whatever way men accept, love and take joy in God, in that
way God accepts, loves and takes joy in man. ye yatha mam
prapadyante tamstathaiva bhajamyaham. - (10)
|c +| |=|= =c -=|+
| | |+r+ |r |=|=|= =|++ 12
12 - ||~ |- : : || | |+ ( | || | .)
-+:| ||-| :+ (-:| .), |+ -:|: (| |-: |:) |
+ || : ||+| | (| | || |:)
12 - Most men sacrifice to the gods, to various forms and
personalities of the one Godhead, because the fulfilment (siddhi) that
is born of works of works without knowledge, is very swift and
easy in the human world. The other, the divine self-fulfilment in man
by the sacrifice with knowledge to the supreme Godhead, is much
more difficult. - (11)
|=+ | = o+||~+
== =|=| | |==|=++ 13
13 - ;, +, : = |:|-| + ||~ -|+ ( ||~)
||+| + | |+: | (| |: ) = :|+ : | |+: | |-
(: :|+ ||) | :| |+ | ||-| (| :|+
||, | -| =: |:, immutable)
+ | ||+ ||c + =r -|+
|= | | |=|+||= | + = <r=++ 14
14 - |+: | | +| -|+|:+ (| || - |||.),
=+ |: |+ || -| (=: || -) | | = -:+ |:- (
| |: ||-||:) :+ +- - ( | - +::)
13-14 - Men have to follow the fourfold law of their nature and
works and on this plane of mundane action they seek the Godhead
through his various qualities. But, says Krishna, though I am the doer
of the fourfold works and creator of its fourfold law, yet I must be
known also as the non-doer, the imperishable, the immutable Self.
"Works affect Me not, nor have I desire for the fruits of works"; for
God is the impersonal beyond this egoistic personality and as the
Purushottama also, the impersonal Personality, he possesses this
supreme freedom even in works. "He who thus knows Me is not
bound by his works." - (12)
= =|;| = r=| |+
= r =-.| ; r == =++ 15
15 - = -:+ ||- (= =|;| + :| + :| :| :|,
|-| |+ + =+ |: |-| = | ||-) |~+ |+ ||
||++ |: | +|: (| || |) |+| ( :)
78 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 77
If you can always smile at life, you will be young always. If you can smile
eternally, one is eternally young. The Mother, AIM Ap 81
|+: :| + -:+ =||| :|~ |+ :| | |-|
+| (:| ; | |:+ : = +)
15 - "So knowing was work done by the men of old who sought
liberation; do therefore, thou also, work of that kind done by ancient
men." (12A)
| |r|= r| z ||=|+
=r= || = =|;| |r= o|++ 16
16 - | |+ -:| ( :|~) |, = |: ( | |
|:) ||::| |:|+: |:+ ( || ||:|), |: (:)
:|| | |: ` (: ||) :| ||-: ( =|;|)
:| + |+| | ||| (= |~ |+ -||:~ | |:)
16 - What is action and what is inaction, as to this even the
sages are perplexed and deluded. I will declare to thee that action by
the knowledge of which thou shalt be released from all ills. - (13)
r+| | |= |= |++
+ |= ~+| r+| ~|=++ 17
17 - | | |: ( |), |-| | :|:| | |:~
(| || |) |+ -:|+ | |:~ ( |),
|:: :; | + |o- (| ~|: ~-|)
17 - One has to understand about action as well as to under-
stand about wrong action and about inaction one has to understand;
thick and tangled is the way of works.
Action in this the world is like a deep forest, gahana, through
which man goes stumbling as best he can, by the light of the ideas
of his time. But says Krishna, in this matter even the sages are
perplexed and deluded. For by action, by works, not by inaction
comes the knowledge and the release. - (14)
+ r |+ +
= |=|+ +r++ = = -++ 18
18 - | : |+ : -| || ( | , |
|:) : |-+ |:+: ||- ( ||- -:), : :|
|+ () ++ ~: |: ( , in Yoga)
18 - What is that type of works by which we shall be released
from the ills of life, from this doubt, this error, this grief, from these
million forms of evil and suffering? No outward distinctions need be
made, is the reply; no work the world needs, be shunned; no limit or
hedge set round our human activities; on the contrary, all actions
should be done, but from a soul in Yoga with the Divine, yuktah
kritsna-karma-krit. Akarma, cessation from action is not the way.
The mind that takes refuge in physical inactivity, is still under the
delusion that it and not Nature is the doer of works; it has mistaken
inertia for liberation; it does not see that even in what seems absolute
inertia greater than that of the stone or clod, Nature is at work, keeps
unimpaired her hold. On the contrary, in the full flood of action the
soul is free from its works, is not the doer, not bound by what is done,
and he who lives in the freedom of the soul, not in the bondage of
the modes of Nature, alone has release from works. This is what the
Gita clearly means when it says that he who in action can see
inaction and can see action still continuing in cessation from works,
is the man of true reason and discernment among men ( ||-
-:). The liberated man is not afraid of action, he is a large and
universal doer of all works, kritsna-karma-krit; not as others do
them in subjection to Nature, but poised in the silent calm of the soul,
tranquilly in Yoga with the Divine. The Divine is the lord of his works,
he is only their channel. - (15)
= =r =|=| |=q|= =|+
=|+||-v|+ =|; |o= <|++ 19
19 - |+ :| :| ( : |+:|) |-| (| v|:|),
|+ :| =|-+| |: | |+ ||: (=|-||-= |), : =|-:
||: |: (: +| ||: |-)
19 - By the flaming intensity and purity of this knowledge all
his works are burned up as in a fire and his mind remains without
any stain, calm, silent, unperturbed, white, clean and pure. To do
all without personal egoism is the first sign of the divine worker.
- (16)
==| =|= |+==rq| |+=|=+
+|r=| | + ||+ r=||= =++ 20
80 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 79
20 - | =+ |: || :|~ |+ (= | :|) -| z
|: |+ |:+| |= -:+ (|-:: |-+|=), : ||
(| | ||) : =:| -:+ ( - = ||~ :+||:)
20 - The second sign is freedom from desire; for where there is
not the personal egoism of the doer, desire becomes impossible; it is
starved out, sinks for want of a support, dies of inanition. He has
abandoned all attachment to the fruits of his works, and where one
does not work for the fruit, but solely as an impersonal instrument of
the Master of works, desire can find no place, not even the desire
to serve successfully, for the fruit is Lord's and determined by him and
not by the personal will and effort or to serve with credit and to the
Master's satisfaction, for the real doer is the Lord himself. The human
mind and soul of the liberated man does nothing, na kincit karoti, it
is the Nature, the executive Shakti who does the work.- (17)
|+=| =|=|| === |=+
== |r||= ||-+++ 21
21 - | :| |-| :|~ |+: (|-+|), |+ | :
(:|||), | + ~+| :-|| :|~ |+: (: ||+), |+ ++
| |:=|: +|+ ||:+ |~: |:-| | -| , :+ ++:| ~+|-+
|+ channel | instrument | ~|:: ++:|+ |:|- | |||-:
( ++ -) :|+ |+| :+ =:| ||| - (|| -
|:||:), | - - |
21 - The liberated man has no personal hopes; he does not seize
on things as his personal possessions; he receives what the divine
Will, brings him, covets nothing, is jealous of none: what comes to him
he takes without repulsion and without attachment; what goes from
him he allows to depart into the whirl of things without repining or
grief or sense of loss. His heart and self are under perfect control;
they are free from reaction and passion, they make no turbulent
response to the touches of outward things. His action is indeed a
purely physical action, sariram kevalam karma; for all else comes
from above, is not generated in the human plane, is only a reflection
of the will, knowledge, joy of the divine Purushottama. Therefore he
does not bring about in his mind and heart any of those reactions
which we call passion and sin (|| - |:||:). This spiritual
impersonality is a third sign of the divine worker. - (18)
- t||=qr| |=r=| |==+
= |==||=r=| ;| | + |+<r=++ 22
22 - | :- | || :|:: z |: (- ||z), - , |
|, |+| |:+ ` ||:+ (|::), |- || -:+ (|+),
|| |+ || |- =|- :+ (|:` |:` ), : |+
=: |+ - (;| || - |-+::)
22 - The result of this knowledge, this desirelessness and this
impersonality is a perfect equality in the soul and nature. Equality is
the fourth sign of the divine worker. He has, says the Gita, passed
beyond the dualities; he is dvandvatita. - (19)
~=== == =|+||-= ==+
=||== = |r=++ 23
23 - | =+ |: || :|~ |+: (~:), |+ || ||+
: () |+ :-| =|-: | : ||: | |+: (=|-||:
:) |+ | :| ++ :~: +| = | :+ (=| |+:)
:+ :| : || ( |::)
23 - The Divine motives, inspires, determines the entire action;
the human soul impersonal in the Brahman is the pure and silent
channel of his power; that power in the Nature executes the divine
movement. Such only are the works of the liberated soul, muktasya
karma, for in nothing does he act from a personal inception; such are
the actions of the accomplished Karmayogin. They rise from a free
spirit and disappear without modifying it, like waves that rise and
disappear on the surface of conscious immutable depths, gata
sangasya muktasya jnanavasthita-cetasah, yajnayacaratah
karma samagram praviliyate. - (20)
The liberated man is able to do works as a sacrifice because he
is freed from attachment through mind, heart and spirit being firmly
founded in self-knowledge, gata-sangasya jnana-vasthita-cetasah.
All his work disappears completely as soon as done, suffers laya, as
one might say, in the being of the Brahman, praviliyate; it has no
82 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 81
reactionary consequence on the soul of the apparent doer. The work
is done by the Lord through his Nature, it is no longer personal to the
human instrument. The work itself becomes but power of the Nature
and substance of the being of the Brahman. - (21)
|+ ||r| +| ;=+
r =+ ~c =||<+|++ 24
24 - =+ | (| ||, ) (| ), | (| ),
| (|:`), |:| (| -:) =:- +| : |+ |
||: |: ( ||+-|), : | :+ (:- = ~.)
24 - "Brahman is the giving, Brahman is the food offering, by
Brahman it is offered into the Brahman-fire, Brahman is that which
is to be attained by samadhi in Brahman-action."
This then is the knowledge in which the liberated man has to do
works of sacrifice. "I am He", "All this verily is the Brahman, Brah-
man is this self." It is the knowledge of entire unity; it is the One
manifest as the doer and the deed and the object of works, knower
and knowledge and the object of knowledge. The universal energy
into which the action is poured is the Divine; the consecrated energy
of the giving is the Divine; whatever is offered is only some form of
the Divine; the giver of the offering is the Divine himself in man; the
action, the work, the sacrifice is itself Divine in movement, in activity;
the goal to be reached by sacrifice is the Divine. For the man who
has this knowledge and lives and acts in it, there can be no binding
works, no personal and egoistically appropriated action; there is only
the divine Purusha acting by the divine Prakriti in His own being,
offering everything into the fire of His self-conscious cosmic energy,
while the knowledge and the possession of His divine existence and
consciousness by the soul unified with Him is the goal of all this God-
directed movement and activity. To know that and to live and act in
this unifying consciousness is to be free.
The fire of sacrifice, agni, is no material flame, but brahmagni,
the fire of the Brahman, or it is the Brahman-ward energy, inner
Agni, priest of the sacrifice, into which the offering is poured. - (22)
++ +: | |+ +| =, sacrifice =+ |+::+
|| =:|=:| ++ + |~|| ~ |:| || inner Agni,
+ | |+: ||+ | <| :o, | ||+ | || ~ |:
:|~ |+ |:~|-: ||+ -:|, dynamism | |||+
-r|r= = ||~+ |=r=+
||r= = r=r+r|= |=++ 25
25 - |- | |- |~: (|:+ ||~-) -+:| :~ |+ =
:+ (- = = |||::), |- | |:- (|:+) +| |: (|:`)
=+|+| (:=- =) = | :+ (= | |:), | :|
| :+
25 - Some Yogins follow after the sacrifice which is of the gods;
others offer the sacrifice by the sacrifice itself into the Brahman fire
- (23)
=|z|-+||+r+ =||+ = |=+
=|-+ |+|++ |||+ = |=++ 26
26 - | |:- (:-) +| |: (||) = ||- |:|+
|-|: |-: (=||-|- ||| |:), |- |:-|:+ |+| |: (:-
|||) ~ ||- | |:|~+ |:|+ (~|-- ||-) |-|: |-:
(|:)
26- Some offer their senses into the fires of control, others offer
the objects of sense into the fires of sense. - (24)
=|+|||+ |+||+ |r=+
|=r|~|r| = |= =|+-|r=++ 27
27 - |- |:-|:+ (|:+) :| | (|| |||) |+
| (||| ) =|-+|+| |:||: (=|--||::) |+| |:
| :+ (|:|~|:` |:) |~
27- And others offer all actions of the sense and all actions of
the vital force into the fire of the Yoga of self-control kindled by
knowledge. There is the discipline which stills the senses so that the
soul in its purity may appear from behind the veil of mind action,
calm and still. - (25)
s=|c-r|=| |~=|c-| r=+
-|<|=|+=| = =|==|++ 28
84 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 83
28 - |:-|:+ -|- = :+ (=|), |:-|:+ ::||= :+
(::||=|), |:-|:+ |~+| = (|||, +|:|~, o:|~ =:-:|+) :+
(|~ =| :| |:+) |+ |- ; - : |: (: |::|)
+- +| = :+ (|+|=|-=| )
28 - The offering may be material and physical, dravya-yajna,
or it may be the austerity of his self-discipline, tapo-yajna, or it may
be some form of Yoga like the Pranayama of the Rajayogins and
Hathayogins or any other Yoga-yajna. All these tend to the purifica-
tion of the being; all sacrifice is a way towards the attainment of the
highest. - (26)
| |:+ |: +| |:|:-| :|: ~:| = -| |-:
Any effort for perfection in any line is termed by the Gita as
sacrifice, yajna; to gain Divine Nature we must give up our lower
nature. The effort to give up the lower nature is sacrifice. Thoughts
are coming to our mind. We are to offer the thoughts to the Divine
as often as possible. This is one example of sacrifice yajna. We are
offering the thoughts to the Divine Fire, Agni within us. The thoughts
are ghee, fuel (habih brahma, Sl. 24).
|r+ = |= |+ |r+ |+ =| r=+
|+||+~= =| |+||=|+|+
r= |+=||=| |+|+ |r++ = |=++ 29
29 - = |:|: ||| +|+ - | ||: |-: |||: -, -, |,
|| :|:+ |:: | :+
1 ||: |: |: - | |:` |: |: =|+ |- |:~
||- | |:- | +| | | | |:- | ||+ |+ |-|
| | :: ||- | || |: |+ | |+ ~|: +|+ (||:-
|: |) | =|+ |-: | | | | |+ ||- |+ ~|: +|+
(|: ||- |:) | :|+| | |:|+| + +| |: |-|: |-|
( |:) | : |-:||+| ||+:
2 ||: - | ::|- | + |+ +|| |: |:
| =|+ |- |:~ (|+:+) | + |+ :: | ||- - :||
|+ ~|: +|+ (| ||- ~: +| ||- |: |:)
29 - Here are given two methods of Pranayama for keeping
good health. The first method is long deep breathing. The second
method is (1) inhale (2) Stop the breath (3) exhale.
The Mother explains the methods (A.I.M. Dec. 79). The major-
ity of people donot know how to breathe properly. Very often the air
in the uppermost part of your lungs is not thrown out when you
breathe. You breathe only from the middle portion of the lungs and
the dirty old air in the upper parts does not get changed. A good many
troubles are due to this fact.
One of the methods that I have tried is inhale fresh air to the
full capacity of your lungs and count 1, 2, 3, 4. Then stop the breath
while you count 1, 2, 3, 4 and throw out as much air as possible again
with 1, 2, 3, 4. In this process you may breathe in with one nostril
and breathe out with the other. (Inhale by the right nostril, exhale by
the left and next inhale by the left and exhale by the right. The
meaning of Pranayama is to draw life energy. While doing the breathing
exercise, one should make a will "Let life energy, pran shakti come
into my body.") If you can push the air [energy] towards a discased
part of your body and concentrate there then you will see that the
discase will go away.
Will power method
Sri Aurobindo has given another method for drawing Pran Shakti,
Life Energy into the body in the Synthesis of Yoga, Ch. The power
of the instruments.
The control of the body and life by the mind and its thought and
will is the first step. But afterwards the mind must itself give place
to the spirit, to the spiritual force, the supermind and the supramental
force.
The play of the pranic shakti in the body is the condition of all
action. To get this pranic shakti to act more freely and forcibly in the
body is knowingly or unknowingly the attempt of all who strive for
a greater perfection of or in the body. The ordinary man tries to
command it mechanically by physical exercises; but for our purpose
it can be commanded by more subtle, essential and pliable means;
first by a will in the mind widely opening itself to and potently
86 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 85
calling in the universal pranic shakti on which we draw and fixing
its stronger presence and more powerful working in the body;
secondly, by the will in the mind opening itself rather to the spirit
and its power and calling in a higher pranic energy from above, a
supramental pranic force; thirdly, the last step, by the highest
supramental will of the spirit entering and taking up directly the task
of the perfection of the body.
Most men are not conscious of this pranic force in the body. But
as the consciousness becomes more subtle by practice of Yoga, we
can come to be aware of the sea of pranic shakti around us, feel it
with the mental consciousness, concretely with a mental sense, see
its courses and movements, and direct and act upon it by the will. But
until we thus become aware of it, we have to possess a working faith
in its presence and in the power of the will to develop a greater
command and use of this prana force. There is necessary a faith,
sraddha, in the power of the mind to lay its will on the state and
action of the body.(|| ||+ |~+: ~ |: | || ||+ -+
|:|- :| :: | |+ |+ |: || | |: | |+
|: | ||+ | : -: -: +|~+ | |||+ |+|
|| -: ||+ | | ||+ |+| || - || ||:
||- ||:+|, || | | ||: - || |z || || |
- || ||~, :|:|: || =::: - | |-| : = |
| `)
=r rr= =|r-| =|= =,+|+
=||=r=| ||c =+|=+++ 30
30 - =+ :; | ||+| (=|-) = |: (=:: : ||,
:|:: || =::) =+|+| ||| (=|: |) ::|:
:+| = +| (=| :) | () -|:- | :+
(-|:- ||.) :| =, ||+ |:+ |+ + |:|-
|+| ||+ |:: :, nectar of immortality, =+ +|
(Ref 3/13) |- |:|+ :|~ +| : =, sacrifice |+ |+| |
~ |- | : :
30 - The one thing needful is to subordinate the lower activities,
to diminish the control of desire and replace it by a superior energy,
to abandon the purely egoistic enjoyment for that diviner delight which
comes by sacrifice, by self-dedication, by self-mastery, by the giving
up of one's lower impulses to a greater and higher aim. "They who
enjoy the nectar of immortality left over from the sacrifice attain to
the eternal Brahman." - (27)
+| |r| c-== r=| + ===++ 31
31 - +:=, | = -:+ (=) :+ :|: -| ( -,
| - |.), |+:|: `: ` (: -)
31 - Sacrifice is the law of the world and nothing can be gained
without it, neither mastery here nor the possession of heavens beyond.
"This world is not for him who doeth not sacrifice." - (28)
= ;|<| =| |==| r+| r+
=|+ ||= =|+ =|r+ =|;| |r|r=++ 32
32 - =:- -|+ = (= -|+| =|) + ::+ |. : |:
( : |::|), = :|:|+ (:|- |- ) +|+| || | ||
( |- ||), | | |||+: : | | | |+| (= =|;|
|:|:)
32 - All these and many other forms of sacrifice have been
"extended in the mouth of the Brahman," the mouth of that Fire
which receives all offerings; they are all means and forms of one
great Existence in activity, means by which the action of the human
being can be offered up to That of which the outward existence is
a part and with which his inmost self is one. They are "all born of
work"; all proceed from and are ordained by the one vast energy of
the divine which manifests itself in the universal Karma and makes
all the cosmic activity a progressive offering to the one Self and Lord
and of which the last stage for human being is self-knowledge and
possession of the divine or Brahmic consciousness."So knowing thou
shalt become free." - (29)
88 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 87
=|+ s|- =|= =|+= =c+
= || | =|r+ |==|r=++ 33
33 - |+.|, =: (| =|) =|-= = (=|-=
=|-) ||, :| (| ) =|-: ||+|| : (=|:-
||+||::)
33 - Yoga and knowledge are the two wings of the soul's ascent.
By Yoga is meant union through divine works done without desire,
with equality of soul to all things and all men, as a sacrifice to the
Supreme while knowledge is that on which this desirelessness, this
equality, this power of sacrifice is founded. The two wings indeed
assist each other's flight; acting together, yet with a subtle alternation
of mutual aid, like the two eyes in a man which see together because
they see alternately, they increase one another mutually by interchange
of substance. (:|~ |+ =|-:|~ =| +| + - - |+ -:+ | |-+
- | + -:+ =| |-:|+ |) As the works grow more and more
desireless, equal-minded, sacrificial in spirit, the knowledge increases;
with the increase of the knowledge the soul becomes firmer in the
desireless sacrificial equality of its works. The sacrifice of knowledge,
says the Gita, is greater than any material sacrifice. All the totality
of work finds its completion, culmination, end in knowledge, sarvam
karmakhilam jnane parisamapyate. - (30)
=- ||= |+|r=+ |=r+ =-|+
=r-|c = =|+ =||++c-q-|+++ 34
34 - |+ |+| (|||::-), + |+| (||+:-), +|+ |+| (+|)
=|- | +| (: ||), =|- :;-: (=||-- :;-|-) :||
=|-+ |:- |- (: =|- |:-|.)
34 - We get first initiation into it (knowledge) from men of
knowledge who have seen (Essays on Gita).
= =|;| + +r|r |=|= |o+
+ =|+r+||+ s=|+r| |++ 35
35 - ||+, =|- `: ( =|;|) :| |+ |: -|+| (|-
= | - ||) |+ = =|-+ : :| |: ||: | |::
-| ||| (- :|| :||- ||- :| | |)
35 - The knowledge in which all culminates is that by which
"thou shalt see all existences (becomings, bhutani) without exception
in the Self, then in Me." For the Self is that one, immutable, all
pervading, all containing, self-existent reality or Brahman hidden behind
our mental being into which our consciousness widens out when it is
liberated from the ego; we come to see all beings as becomings,
bhutani, within that one self-existence. - (31)
| -|= |r =r |=+
= =|+rr+ |=+ =c|=+|=++ 36
36 - |- () :| :| |||: (: || ||:|) |
||| |+| (||| |), :||| =|- +| -|-+ |: (=|-:- =)
~|: ||| ||+ ` |||+| ( |- .|+|)
36 - Even if thou art the greatest doer of sin beyond all sinners,
thou shalt cross over all the crookedness of evil in the ship of knowl-
edge. - (32)
r<||= =|r=| | -.=| =r= = ++
=|+|| =||+ -.=| =r= =|++ 37
37 - -, :- (|) <| : (| |) |o ||+ | :+
(=+|| | +::), -:+ =|- +| |: (:| =|-||) :|
| :+ (|| | +::)
37 - As a fire kindled turns to ashes its fuel, so the fire of
knowledge turns all works to ashes. - (33)
+ | =|r++ =- |z| |-r=+
= - |~=|== |r+||+ |=|=++ 38
38 - = ~:: ( ) =|-+ |-|-| (=|:-- - ) || |+ =:| -|
(|| - | |-::), =|- (:) |~: || | +| :- (|~|)
: |-: |-+ ||: (|:- ||-) | :+ (||:)
38 - There is nothing in the world equal in purity to knowledge,
the man who is perfected by Yoga, finds it of himself in the self by
the course of Time, it grows within him, that is to say, and he grows
into it as he goes on increasing in desirelessness, in equality, in devotion
90 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 89
to the Divine. It is only the supreme knowledge that this can altogether
be said. To get this other knowledge, self-existent, intuitive, self-
experiencing, self-revealing, we must have conquered and controlled
our mind and senses, samyatendriyah, so that we are no longer
subject to their delusions. - (34)
==||+ r= =|+ == =r=|+
=|+ | =| ||c|r=+||<~t|=++ 39
39 - |- =||-, =|- |+ |::| (=||- :|+ ::|)
: =|- | :+ (=|- ::) | =|- | |+ (=|- +|) : |+
||. | :+ (|+| ||. |:+ |+~|:)
39 - Finally, we must have a faith which no intellectual doubt can
be allowed to disturb, sraddhavan labhate jnanam. - (35)
The Mother speaks on faith In reality, the Divine gives
to each individual exactly what he expects of Him. If you believe that
the Divine is far and cruel, He will be far and cruel, because it will
be necessary for your ultimate good that you feel the wrath of God;
He will be Kali for the worshippers of Kali, and Beatitude for the
Bhakta. And he will be the All-knowledge of the seekers of knowl-
edge, the transcendent Impersonal of the illusionists; He will be atheist
with the atheist and the love of the lover. He will be brotherly and
close, a friend always faithful, always ready to succour for those who
feel Him as the inner guide in each movement, at every moment
(+ + | ||: + +|: || |||+), And if you believe that he
can wipe away everything, he will wipe away your faults, all your
errors tirelessly, and at every moment you can feel His infinite Grace.
The Divine is indeed what you expect of Him in your deepest aspiration.
The attitude is thus very important, even the outer attitude. People
donot know how important is faith, how faith is miracle, creator of
miracles. If you expect every moment to be lifted up and pulled
towards the Divine, He will come to lift you and He will be there,
quite close, closer, ever closer. (AIM, Feb, 78)
=|==<|+ =|| |+|=+
+| |r| |c- + r=| + = =|+++ 40
40 - |z |=|-- |+ |+ |: =|- |+ : | (=
=~+|- ||) |- -| || (|-|:), : :;=|-: || -|
|-+ (|-) :| |+:| - :||:: -| ( | - |. -
|+ , - )
40- "The ignorant who has no faith, the soul of doubt goeth to
perdition; neither this world, nor the supreme world, nor any happi-
ness is for the soul full of doubts." In fact, it is true that without faith
nothing decisive can be achieved either in this world or for the pos-
session of the world above. - (36)
|~=+c-|+ =|+=|t=+
|c + ||+ |+<|c <+s++ 41
41 - +-a , | :| ++ ~: :+ (|~-. |),
=|-+ |+| |+ - : (=|-|), =:- |=|- |+
(|.) + |+| +- - (|| - |-+|.)
41 - "He who has destroyed all doubt by knowledge and has by
Yoga given up all works and is in possession of the Self is not bound
by works, yogasamnyastakarmanam atmavantam na karmani
nibadhnanti." - (37)
The Mother speaks on Karma
In the plane of matter and on the level of the ordinary con-
sciousness you are bound hand and foot. A slave to the mechanism
of Nature, you are tied to the chain of Karma, and there, in that
chain, whatever happens is rigorously the consequence of what has
been done before. There is an illusion of independent movement, but
in fact you repeat what all others do, you echo Nature's world
movements, you revolve helplessly on the crushing wheel of her
cosmic machine.
But it need not be so. You can shift your place if you will;
instead of being below, crushed in the machinery or moved like a
puppet, you can rise and look from above and by changing your
consciousness you can even get hold of some handle to move appar-
ently inevitable circumstances and change fixed conditions. (|
|-: | |+: destiny |- |+ ||:+) Once you draw yourself up
out of the whirlpool (|~+ |-|) and stand high above, you see you
92 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 91
are free. Free from all compulsions, not only you are no longer a
passive instrument, but you become an active agent. You are not only
bound by the consequences of your action, but you can even change
the consequences. Once you see the play of forces, once you raise
yourself to a plane of consciousness where lie the origins of forces
and identify yourself with these dynamic sources, you belong no
longer to what is moved but to that which moves.
This precisely is the aim of Yoga, to get out of the cycle of
Karma into a divine movement. By Yoga you leave the mechanical
round of Nature in which you are an ignorant slave, a helpless and
miserable tool, and rise into another plane where you become a
conscious participant and a dynamic agent in working out a higher
Destiny. (Conversations)
=-.|-=|+== .- =|+||=+|++
|;rq+ = |~||=r||= |==++ 42
(:| =|-:: =|-||-| |-
|;| =- |~ ||: | |+:)
42 - |+:, |+: =|-:|+ |+| ;+ |+| (:| =|-
::) :||+ = .++ (|- =- ) =|- +|
::+|+|::+ (=|- |-|) -- |+ (|;|) :|~+ |= |+| (|~
||:) |+ |+ o| (|)
42 - The doubts, the perplexities arise from that ignorance, from
the sense-bewildered, opinion-perplexed heart and mind, ajnana-
sambhutam hritstham samsayam. They have to be cut away by the
sword of knowledge, says the Gita, by the knowledge that realises,
by restoring constantly to Yoga. - (38)
Pure Jnanayoga comes by the intellect, although it ends in the
transcendence of the intellect and its workings. In reality thought is
only a scout and pioneer; it can guide but not command or effectuate.
The leader of the journey, the captain of the march, the first and most
ancient priest of our sacrifice is the Will. This Will is not the wish of
the heart or the demand or preference of the mind to which we often
give the name. It is that inmost, dominant and often veiled conscious
force of our being and of all being, Tapas, Shakti, Shraddha, that
sovereignly determines our orientation and of which the intellect and
the heart are more or less blind and automatic servants and instru-
ments. The Self that is quiescent, at rest, vacant of things and hap-
penings is a support and background to existence, a silent channel of
something Supreme : it is not itself the Supreme. The Eternal, the
Supreme is the Lord and the all-originating Spirit. Superior to all
activities and not bound by any of them, it is the source, sanction,
material, efficient power, master of all activities. All activities proceed
from this supreme Self and are determined by it. In these activities
is expressed the conscious Will of Shakti of the Spirit moved to
manifest its being in infinite ways, a Will or Power not ignorant but
at one with its own self-knowledge. And of this power a secret
spiritual will and soul-faith in us, the dominant hidden force of our
nature, is the individual instrument, more nearly in communication
with the Supreme, a surer guide and enlightener. To know that will
in ourselves and in the universe and to follow it to its divine finalities
must surely be the highest way and truest culmination for knowledge
as for works, for the seeker in life and for the seeker in Yoga. The
object of spiritual knowledge is the Supreme, the Divine, the Infinite
and the Absolute. Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, The object
of knowledge.
Jnanayoga
Quotations from Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita.
1. The possibility and purpose of Avatarhood 1-9, 11-12, 12A
2. The Divine birth and Divine worker 10
3. The Divine works - 13 - 20
4. Equality and Knowledge - 21, 30, 32 - 38
5. The significance of sacrifice - 22 - 29, 31

94 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 4 =|+-|~ 93
+ <| (Chapter 5)
= |=-|~
= + =|
=|= +| + +r|~+ =|=+
r_ ==r|r= =r, | =|+|=++ 1
1 - :- `: , :| | :|~+ | | (|
|) |+ :|~:+| | |+| (|- |~ |), = - |+ |:+:
|-:| = (=::| =) :| | |-|:|:+ |+| (:
|-|: = |) 438 |: `: =|-+ |- | =:| -| |+
442 |: :|~+ |:- |-: (o|, +|) |: :- |+:
: =|- |+ |: :|~ | | `:- :|~ | |+ |+
|+: |-:| | | :| |+| -+ | =|- | |+
:|~ |+ |:~
1 - Arjune says Lord, you have shown me two paths for
soul's liberation - the path of knowledge (renunciation, Sankhya) and
the path of works (Karma Yoga). Tell me definitely which one of the
two is best.
*~-|+ =|
=|= r|~ |+r===|r|+
=r|q =|=| r|r~| ||+r=++ 2
2 - =~+|:- `: | (:|~) |+ :|~ : (:`)
|+ | (|-:=:+`), |z (:) = - |+ |:+: (::|) |:
(||) :|~ = (||::)
2 - Renunciation and Yoga of works both bring about soul's
salvation, but of the two the Yoga of works is distinguished above the
renunciation of works. - (1)
= = |+==|= | + | + ||=+
|+r| | ||r| = =| r=++ 3
3 - ||-, |-+ =:|:+ |: -| | ||| -| ( - |
- ||:) : |-:| | ||-| ( |-:| =), |+ (|)
: +|~ (|| ||) |+ : (-|||: :.|) ||| (|-- )
-||: () |+ +-+ |+| | || (+| ::)
3 - He should be known as always a Sannyasin (even when he
is doing action) who neither dislikes nor desires; for free from the
dualities he is released easily and happily from the bondage. - (2)
=|r|r~| ~ || -|c + |o=|+
=||-= =or||=r= =++ 4
(= || ||: :| |:: =)
4 - |+ -:+ =:|:: (||) | (=|-:|~) |+ :|~
(|:|:~`) :~ | (|~ -|.), ||:: - (||:| -),
=| | -+ |+: (= || ||:) - :||:+ = |
(:| = |::)
4 - Children speak of Sankhya and Yoga apart from each other,
not the wise; if a man applies himself integrally to one, he gets the
fruit of both, because in their integrality each contains the other. - (3)
=|r |r= -|+ =- |r~=| ~r=+
= =| |~ |= = |=++ 5
5 - |+ | : | o| || |||+ (| |- ||::) :|~+ |+|
o| || |||+ (|~ || : ~::) , | | |+ :|~ =| | |
| || ( | |~ = ||:), ::+ | - ( ||:)
5 - The status which is attained by the Sankhya, to that the
men of the Yoga also arrive; who sees Sankhya and Yoga as one,
he sees. - (4)
96 *q~-- ~=|
To practise Yoga implies the will to overcome all attachments and turn
to the Divine alone. Sri Aurobindo, Practical guide
=|=q ||r| - |qr|~=+
|~r=| |+ + |r=+||<~t|=++ 6
6 - ||-, :|~ |:- (:|~:) :|~ +| |+|+|
- : (| - |), |z :|~: |-||- |+: (: |~
|-) |:+ | :+ (- |:+ |+~|:)
6 - But renunciation is difficult to attain without Yoga; the sage
who has Yoga attains soon to Brahman. - (5) The painful process of
outward Sannyasa dukham aptum, is an unneccssary process. (5A)
|~r=| |o=|| ||==|| |=r=|+
==|=|| | + |r=++ 7
7 - | :|~: , | | (|~ | ||), |+ - |+
|:|+ |-|: : (||:|| |::|) |+ |+ || |- :|
||+ ~: =; ||+ |+: (:|:||), : |+ :
|+ - (- || - ||::)
7 - He whose self has become the self of all existences, acts
and yet is not affected by his works, is not caught in them, re-
ceives from them no soul-ensnaring reaction, kurvann api na
lipyate. - (6)
+ ||+ r=||= r=| r+= =q|+
+ + -+ |=+ ~t+ -+ =+++ 8
+ |==+ ~|,+||+|+
||+||r+ =c |= <|=+++ 9
8, 9 - :|~: :;=|- | + : ( :;|) - - (|- ), =
( - ), | - (| -), | (| - ), |- (- ), ~- (~- ), - ( |- ),
| (- ), - (|-), :|~ |+ (| - ~ - ), | |+
+ +| ( | - |-| - ||) = :|:|+ | |+ || | :|:+: |-
|- | : : ( | || | |: : :. |: +|+ - ) |-: =:| +|
-| =:- |: (||~ = - :+|| |: :-:) , : ||+ -
8-9 This liberation does not at all prevent him from acting.
"The man who knows the principles of things thinks, his mind in Yoga
( :;|), 'I am doing nothing'; when he sees, hears, tastes, smells,
eats, moves, sleeps, breathes, speaks, takes, ejects, opens his eyes or
closes them, he holds that it is only the senses acting upon the objects
of the senses." - (7)
+|<| ||+ = ==| r=||= +
|r= + = |r+ z||=|++ 10
10 - | () + =+ |: || :|~ |+ ( :|) :|
(||) ~|- | |+ (| |+|) :+ (:+||:), : () |-
||:: ||- ||~ -++|+ -:+ || :| (||-) ||| |:
(||:|- - ||::)
10 - The true Sannyasa of action (|) is the reposing of all
works on the Brahman. "He who, having abandoned attachment, acts
reposing (or founding) his works on the Brahman, (| |+|) is not
stained by sin even as water clings not to the lotus leaf. - (8)
When the works are thus "reposed on the Brahman", the person-
ality of the instrumental doer ceases; (| + | |+: |+ -|| ;
:+ :+) though he acts, he does nothing; for he has given up not
only the fruits of his works, but the works themselves and the doing
of them to the Lord. The Divine then takes the burden of works from
him; the Supeme becomes the doer and the act and the result. (8A)
|r+ +=| =| r|=|r=|+
||~+ |c = ==|o=r++ 11
11 - :|~: (||~-) = |-| :|~ |+ ( : |) ||+
|: (|:) + -, -, | |+ |:|:+:+ ( |:- -|
| | ||) | |+ | ( |.)
11 - The Yogins "do works with the body, mind, understanding,
or even merely with the organs of action, abandoning attachment, for
self-purification, sangam tyaktvatmasuddhaye." - (9)
= = ==| ||c|r||= +|+
= ||r=+ =r =r=| |+<r=++ 12
12 - |-| :|~: () = :|~ |+ (= :|) |+
||. | :+ (-| ||. |:||:), |z | :|~ - (), |
98 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 5 = |=-|~ 97
The darkness will vanish and be replaced by the Light, the sorrow will
disappear and be replaced by the Bliss, the bad feelings will be shattered
and replaced by the Eternal Love. The Mother, W.R.
~ -:+ |+ =|| +|| |-|+ | :+ (=:
||:+), :+ +- (|-+::)
12 - "By abandoning attachment to the fruits of works the soul
in union with Brahman attains to peace of rapt foundation in Brahman,
but the soul not in union is attached to the fruit and bound by the
action of desire." - (10)
=||+ +=| =+=|rc- = +
+|r= r= - + + + |=+++ 13
13 - | || |: | |- |+ |||+: - (||),
: -+|+| :| :|~ |+ -| || - (|||:+
:|~ -:+) - - - +|+ | -~+: (-+ |:+:) -|:+ |:+ : |:
( |:.), : |-: =:| -:+ (- = -) |+ |-+|+| (-, -,
|+|+|) =:| -+| (- = |+-)
13 - The foundation, the purity, the peace once attained, the
embodied soul perfectly controlling its nature, having renounced all its
actions by the mind, inwardly, not outwardly, "Sits in its nine-gated
city neither doing nor causing to be done." - (11)
+ =; + ||+ |= ==|= +
+ ==r|~ -|q =r=++ 14
14 - || () |-+ (|) , + :; |+ + = |
-:+ (- || - :; - =:|~ |:), |z (:) |:: :
|: (| :::)
14 - For this soul is the one impersonal Soul in all, the all-
pervading Lord, prabhu, vibhu, who, as the impersonal, neither cre-
ates the works of the world, nor the minds idea of being the doer,
na kartritvam na karmani, nor the coupling of works to their fruits,
the chain of cause and effect. All that is worked out by the Nature
in man, svabhava, his principle of self-becoming. - (12)
+|-r= =| | + == |+
=|r++|= =|+ =+ |c =c++ 15
15 - || || (|) |:+| (|) ||| | | -:+ (-
||| - : = |-:), =|:- =|- ||+ +|: (=|:-- =|- |:)
|+: + (|-) || (:- . |.)
15- The all-pervading Impersonal accepts neither the sin nor the
virtue of any : these are things created by the ignorance in the
creature, by his egoism of the doer, by his ignorance of his highest
self, by his involution in the operation of Nature. (13)
=|r++ = =-=|+ +| +||=|++
=+|||-== =|+ ||= = =++ 16
16 - |z |+ (: |) | | =|-+ |+| (|- =|:--)
=|-:| (: =|-) |-| : (-||:), ::|+ =|:- (:|
: =|-) + -:+ (||-:) |+ :; | :+ (|+ ||:)
16 - When the self-knowledge within him is released from this
dark envelope, that knowledge lights up like a sun the real self within
him; he knows himself then to be the soul supreme above the instru-
ments of Nature. - (14)
=- =c--||+c-||c- =|+|+
~tc+=||= =|+|+<= =,+|++ 17
(: :- |- : |-| : |+||
~|. |-+|| =|-|-+:|)
17 - |+ :: :| :: |.| |-| |: (: ) :::
|+ || (: |-), ::: |+ |-| (: |-|), ::+ |+ |+ ~|:
|+ |= (: |+||), :+ |- - (|-+|| ~|.), |+ :
| =|-+|+| :| |||+|+| : (=|-|-+: |)
17 - By a long whole-hearted endeavour, by directing our whole
conscious being to that, by making that our whole aim, by turning it
into the whole object of our discerning mind and so seeing it not only
in ourselves but everywhere, we become one thought and self with
that, tad buddhayas tadatmanah, we are washed clean of all the
darkness and suffering of the lower man by the waters of knowledge,
jnana nirdhuta kalmasah. - (15)
By complete identification with the Impersonal he can, too, release
himself from the necessity of returning by birth into her (Nature's)
movement. - (16)
|-||+=r |r+ ~| |c-|++
o|+ |r |o=| =-|+++ 18
100 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 5 = |=-|~ 99
18 - |+ || ||+ : : :|:+ |:+: -| ||
::- =|-| ||:: (||:|) ||- |+ |- (|-||-|:)
|, ~+, |:, + |+ | (|: ~| |.|- |- ||: =)
:|: |- :+ | (-|-)
18 - The result is, says the Gita, a perfect equality to all things
and all persons; and then only can we repose our works completely
in the Brahman.
"Seeing with an equal eye the learned and cultured Brahmin, the
cow, the elephant, the dog, the outcaste" and knowing all as one
Brahman, that we can, living in that oneness, see like the Brahman
our works proceeding from the nature freely without any fear of
attachment, sin or bondage. - (17)
r =|= = =r~| +| =|r |-= ++
|+r- |+ | = =-.|- |+ = |-=|++ 19
19 - |+ :- ( | -) | + |: | |: | |+: (|:
| :), : :|: :|:: (: ) |-|| |+- |+:
(~ | :) , |: : |+ |-:- | (equal and faultless, |
|-:-|), |: | +| (equality) | +| : (:| :) :
| |: | :+ ( | | :|)
19 - Sin and stain then cannot be; for we have overcome that
creation (|+, ~) full of desire and its works and reactions which
belongs to ignorance, tair jitah sargah, and living in the supreme and
divine Nature there is no longer fault or defect in our works. The
equal Brahman is faultless, nirdosam hi samam brahma, beyond the
confusion of good and evil, and living in the Brahman we too rise
beyond good and evil. - (18)
+ .r+ | | +||r= | ||+
|-=|===r| |- |+ |-=++ 20
20 - : ||: | +| (| |:) |+ |+ (|+ |), | -
(mind free from delusion, ) = |+: (|- ) | ||
||: - (| || - :) |+ | ||: (| || )
| - (- |:)
20 The higher knowledge we get is that which is to the knower
of Brahman his constant vision of things when he lives uninterruptedly
in the Brahman, brahmavid brahmani sthitah. All result good or bad,
pleasing or unpleasing, fortunate or unfortunate, is accepted as belonging
to the Master of our actions, so that finally not only are the grief and
suffering borne, but they are banished : a perfect equality of the
emotional mind is established. (19)
|-r+==|| |==||+ =+
= r|~=|| =r=++ 21
21 - | | | |: -| (||: ||), | |- ||::
| :+ ( ||- ||:), |~+ |+| + ~: =:- =-
|: ( :|~||) | :+ ( ::)
21 - Such a one enjoys an imperishable happiness, because his
self is in Yoga, Yukta, by Yoga with the Brahman. - (20)
| =-=| |~| - r|+ = =+
|-cc |rc + =+ =r= <++ 22
22 - `:. , |:|+ ( | |~|) | | + |+| (| |)
:|+ - + |+ (: - :|- =) |+ :|++ ||- :- |:
::- . |: (||- . .), =|-: :|: |- -||| ( + : -
+::)
22 The enjoyments born of the touches of things are causes
of sorrow, they have a beginning and an end; therefore the sage, the
man of awakened understanding, budhah, does not place his delight
in these. The self in him is unattached to the touches of external
things; he finds his happiness in himself. (20A)
r+|=r =| | == |r|+|+
|rz|r<|q ~ = = = = +=++ 23
23 - | - :|~ +|+ |~:: ( ++ |:|| |) = |+::
( =) | |++|+| ;+ |+| ~ (|:|:+|; ~) |::+|+
|+ ||:+ (| :||:), ::+ |~ ( ) |+ ::+ | (
-+)
23 - That happiness and that equality are to be gained entirely
by man in the body : he is not to suffer any least remnant of the
102 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 5 = |=-|~ 101
subjection to the troubled lower nature to remain in the idea that
perfect release will come by putting off of the body, a perfect spir-
itual freedom is to be won here upon earth and possessed and en-
joyed in the human life, prak sarira vimoksanat. - (21) "He who
can bear here in the body the velocity of wrath and desire, is the
Yogin, the happy man". (21A)
| c=r| c=|=|c-|cr= ||=r= +
= |~ |+|+ r=| |<~t|=++ 24
( . .+|+| :| .: ||: = )
24 - | |- .+:: (||:) | :+ ( . ) |- .+::
|+| |+ ||: | :+ (.+|+| :| .: ||: = ), |~:
| || ( |~ :) |-| | :+, (|-| |+~|:)
| | :+
24 - "He who has the inner happiness and the inner ease and
repose and the inner light, that Yogin becomes the Brahman and
reaches self-extinction in the Brahman, brahma-nirvanam." Here,
very clearly, Nirvana means the extinction of the ego in the higher
spiritual, inner Self, that which is forever timeless, spaceless, not
bound by the chain of cause and effect and the changes of world
mutation, self-blissful, self-illumined and for ever at peace. The Yogin
ceases to be the ego, the little person limited by the mind and the
body; he becomes the Brahman. - (22)
rc |+|+ + +=,+|+
|;r<| =||+ ==|r= ==|++ 25
25 - |+ ||| : (|), | : (|+|),
| : |+ (:||-) |+ :| ++ |: |+-: : (:|::
+:|), =:-+| |: () |-| | :+ (|-| :.)
25- Sages win Nirvana in the Brahman, they in whom the stains
of sin are effaced and the knot of doubt is cut asunder, masters of
their selves, who are occupied in doing good to all creatures sarva-
bhutahite ratah. - (23)
|rz|<|=|+| =+| =r==|+
|r=| |+|+ =r= ||-=|+|++ 26
26 - | |+ |++|+| (| |+ | |-|), :|
(:::|), |=|- (||-:|-|) |:+ (:-|) |-| ::|+
+:: ||+=|: |: (|-| |: :::)
26 - "Yatis (those who practise self-mastery by Yoga and
austerity) who are delivered from desire and wrath and have gained
self-mastery, for them Nirvana in the Brahman exists all about them,
encompasses them, they already live in it because they have knowl-
edge of the Self." That is to say, to have knowledge and possession
of the self is to exist in Nirvana.
Nirvana is clearly compatible with world - consciousness and
with action in the world. (24)
-|+ ;| |||r|cr= =r|+
|+||r+| =r| ;| +|=|c=||=r+|++ 27
(||- ;| | || = .:+ -:|)
r=| r+| |= |+r | =| ++
|~r=t|rz|r<| =-| = = =++ 28
27, 28 - ||:|+ (||- ||-) -+|+| ||+ |+ |- (| ;|)
+ - | - - |+ |: +|| ( -:| .:+ =), -|+ |:+: | |+
||- | |+ |+ +|| (: |+) [-|| .+|+:` | ||:-` :`
;|] |, - |+ | : |+ (::|:-||) |+ |, , |+
||+|+ |+ (|~: | |+) | |-: | |+ |: ;|+ : (
|- ||+|), : -| ( -| =)
27, 28 - "Having put outside of himself all outward touches and
concentrated the vision between the eye-brows and made equal the
prana and the apana moving within the nostrils, having controlled the
senses, the mind and the understanding, the sage devoted to liberation,
from whom desire and wrath and fear have passed away is ever
free." Here we have a process of Rajayoga. There is the conquest
of all the movements of the mind, cittavrittinirodha; there is the
control of the breathing, Pranayama; there is the drawing in of the
sense and the vision. All of them are processes which lead to the
inner trance of Samadhi, the object of all of them is moksa and
104 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 5 = |=-|~ 103
moksa signifies in ordinary parlance the renunciation not only of the
separative ego-consciousness, but of the whole active consciousness,
a dissolution of our being into the highest Brahman. Are we to suppose
that the Gita gives this process in that sense or only as a special
means? We shall find reason to regard it as an aid and at least one
gate of a final departure, not by dissolution, but by an uplifting to the
supracosmic existence. This is not the last word; the last word, the
finale, the climax comes in a verse that follows. - (25)
|=|= ===| =r|r=+
=.- ==|+| =|;| | ||ct|=++ 29
29 - |~: | = |+ :||+ || (| =:||
||+), :|:|+ |+ |+||: (:| :+), :| ++ +
| ||- (:|-| - =|;|) |+ ||. | :+ (||. |:)
29 - When a man has known me as the Enjoyer of sacrifice and
tapasya (of all askesis and energisms), the mighty lord of all the
worlds, the friend of all creatures, he comes by the peace." The
power of the Karmayoga comes in again; the knowledge of the
active Brahman, the cosmic super-soul, is insisted on among the
conditions of the peace of Nirvana.
We get back to the great idea of the Gita, the idea of the
Purushottama, it is always that which Krishna means by his "I" and
"Me", the Divine who is there as one self in our timeless immutable
being, who is present too in the world, in all existences, in all activi-
ties, the master of the silence and the peace, the master of the power
and the action, who is here incarnate as the divine charioteer of the
stupendous conflict, the Transcendent, the Self, the All, the master of
every individual being. He is the enjoyer of all sacrifice and of all
tapasya, therefore shall the seeker of liberation do works as a sac-
rifice and as a tapasya; he is the lord of all the worlds, manifested
in Nature and in these beings, therefore shall the liberated man still
do works for the right government and leading on of the peoples in
these worlds, lokasamgraha; he is the friend of all existences, there-
fore is the sage who has found Nirvana within him and all around,
still and always occupied with the good of all creatures. - (26)
106 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 5 = |=-|~ 105
Karmasannyasa Yoga
Quotations from Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita :
1. Sankhya, Yoga and Vedanta : 1-5
2. The Divine worker : 7-14, 16, 5A
3. Equality and Knowledge : 6, 15, 17, 18, 8 A, 19
4. Equality : 20A, 21A
5. Nirvana and works in the world : 20-26

The call upon us is to grow into the image of God, to dwell in him and with
him and be a channel of his joy and might and an instrument of his works. Purified
from all that is asubha (9/1, |: |), transfigured in soul by his touch, we
have to act in the world as dynamos of that divine electricity and send it thrilling
and radiating through mankind, so that wherever one of us stands, hundreds around
may become full of his light and force, full of God and full of Ananda. Sri
Aurobiondo, The Yoga & its objects
Open your heart to the Grace so that it may accomplish Its miracles in you.
At each moment the Divine does what is the best for you.
The Divines love is always with you and that is the only thing that never
fails in life.
Remember your soul and its aspiration : the Sun will rise, that is certain.
In the Integral Yoga, there is no distinction between the Sadhana and the
outward life; it is in each and every moment of the daily life that the Truth must
be found and practised.
Behind the sorrow and loneliness behind the emptiness and the feeling of
incapacity, there is the golden light of the Divine Presence shining soft and warm.
White Roses
A choice you have to make every minute, every minute you are put in front
of a choice : the choice to go up or go down, to go forward or to go backward.
The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Society Annual 65
None can reach heaven who has not passed through the hell. Savitri
Limit not sacrifice to giving up of earthly goods or the denial of some desires
and yearnings, but let every thought and every work and every enjoyment be an
offering to God within thee.
Fear and anxiety are perverse forms of will. What thou fearest and ponderest
over, ... thou helpest to bring about.
Sometimes God draws and attaches us most swiftly to Him by wrestling with
us as our fierce, invincible and irreconcilable enemy.
Each man of us has a million lives yet to fulfil upon earth. Why then this
haste and clamour and impatience ? Sri Aurobindo, Thoughts and Aphorisms.
+ <| (Chapter 6)
<|+-|~
*~-|+ =|
+||== = | r=||= +
= =|= |~ + |+=|+ ||z++ 1
1 - =~+|:- `: | + =+ |: || -|+|| ( =
-||=:) |+ ~| |:|+ |+ | (| :+||:) ::+ |,
::+ |~ ( | |~ ), | = :|~ +|- (|-+|) |
:|~ +| - (| ) | | |~ - (- ) | ascetic, |||:+
|, outer renunciation.
1 - "Whoever does the work to be done without resort to fruits,
he is the Sannyasin and the Yogin, not the man who lights not the
sacrificial fire and does not the works." - (1)
=|=||= |;r|~ = ||= |o+
+ =+c-=erq| |~ |= +++ 2
2 - ||, | | |+| ( | |: |-) :|: |~
| ||-| (: |~ ||) |+ v | =+ || :|~ -|+: (|
-. v) |:- |~ ` -|+|:+ (|~ - |: -)
2- "What they have called renunciation (Sannyasa), know to be
in truth Yoga; for none becomes a Yogin who has not renounced the
desire - will in the mind. - (2)
|==r|r+r|~ |=+r=+
|~|=.= =r= |=+r=++ 3
3 - | -- |: (:-) |~: |:+| |+ |: (|~
|++:|), |-| || |+ |+ ( |+ ::) |+ | |~+
|: |:+| |+:, : ||: | |+: (|~|+) :+ |+: |.
+| +| +| (tranquil state, perfect equality, ) |+ (|+ ::)
3 - Works are to be done, but with what purpose and in what
order? They are first to be done while ascending the hill of Yoga, for
then works are the cause, karanam. The cause of what? The cause
of self perfection, of liberation, of Nirvana in the Brahman; for by
doing works wiyh a steady practice of inner renunciation this perfection,
this liberation, this conquest of the desire-mind and the ego-self and
the lower nature are easily accomplished.
But when one has got to the top? The works are no longer the
cause; the calm of self-mastery and self possession gained by works
becomes the cause. - (3)
-| | +||r+ + -++mr=+
==eq=|= |~|=.c-r-|r=++ 4
4 - =- |: |:| | |+ |: | | + |: || :|~
|+ (-| | - ||: - -::) |+ -+|+| :|
|-| :|~ :+ (v|), :|:| : |~|+ || (|~|+
:-| ::)
4 - "For when one does not get attached to the objects of sense
or to works and has renounced all will of desire in the mind, then is
he said to have ascended to the top of Yoga." - (4)
= =r=-|+||+ +||+=|-r +
|r |r+| ==|r |==|+++ 5
(:+ |-| ||- - ||- |-:
|| = | |:-| + || = |+| |-)
5 - |-: |-: |- |+ |+ |:~ (|-| ||- :+, we
should deliver our lower self by our higher spiritual self) |- +
|+ -||:~ (||- - |-:, we must not depress our lower self,
the natural self by supression, repression or coercion), |+ |-
|-: |-+ + |+ |-: |-+ (| || = |- +, || =
|- |+|)
5 - "By the self thou shouldst deliver the self, thou shouldst not
depress and cast down the self (whether by self-indulgence or
suppression); for the self is the friend of the self and the self is the
enemy." - (5)
108 *q~-- ~=|
=|+|=|+ =q|| r-| ||=r=|+
= =r= |~ =r|||++++ 8
8 - |:- | =|- |+ : |=:|+|+| :| | |+: (=|-
|=|- :||), |:- | + + (impersonal) |-|-| |-, |-||+
: (), |- |::| (||::|) |+ |+ ||, |, |: - |
( | : |~-), ::- |~ |~ || (|~ |:
::)
8 - The higher self is the Akshara, Kutastha, which stands above
the changes and the perturbations of the natural being; and the Yogin
is said to be in Yoga with it when he is also like it, Kutastha, when
he is superior to all appearances and mutations, when he is satisfied
with self-knowledge when he is equal minded to all things and
happenings and persons. - (8)
= .|,z| -|=+<- r+ = + +
=|<+| |r+ =|=||+r=++ 9
( | |+ -|- + +
|+ || ||:| | ||::)
9 - -, |, , |-+:|, + , :|~, + , |+ , |+ :|::
|+ | : =+ |:+: =- (||::)
|~ s= ===||+ =|= |-=+
=| =|=|| |+=|=|=++ 10
10 - |+: (|~) =- |- - o| : | (+| |:) : (=|)
-- : |+ (:|||) :| || |+ ~+| | :|~ |+ (|-+|
||+) -| |-+ ||: +|- ` (:: ||- a:)
or| -r |=| |-=|=+|++
+|=|_= +||=+ ||=+r|==++ 11
=rz| + ;| =|r=||z+
=||=r+ s|- |~||o=r++ 12
==||+c-= +|r|+| |==+
+|+q zr; r==|r z++ 6
(+ || |- : - || = |-| |:
-|- : :; ::: || = )
6 - | |-: |- |+: (- || = |-| |:, whose lower
self has been conquered by the higher), : |-: |-+ + (|| :
|- +), | |- : |+ |+| -| : |-: |-+ (-|-
: || = :; :::)
6 - "To the man is his self a friend in whom the (lower) self has
been conquered by the (higher) self, but to him who is not in posses-
sion of his (higher) self, the (lower) self is as if an enemy and it acts
as an enemy." To master the lower self by the higher, the natural self
by the spiritual is the way of man's perfection and liberation. - (6)
|==|+ |c= =|| =||=+
r=|+=- r+ =| |+||+r|++ 7
7 - |::| (|:|-), |. -+ (|.) |-+ ::||, - ,
|-||-::| (:- : :| |-||-:|) |+|| ||:
+|: |: (|+|| ||:), |+ : ||+ :-| | |+:
|: ||+ |- |+|| +|+ +|+ |+ ` || ||+ |+
: ||: | |+: || |+|| +| | +|| |+||+
|+| ~- |+ ~:|
7 - He has conquered his lower self, reached the perfect calm
in which his highest self is manifest to him, that highest self always
concentrated in its own being, samahita, in Samadhi, not only in the
trance of the inward-drawn consciousness, but always in the waking
state of the mind as well, in exposure to the causes of desire and of
the disturbance of calm, to grief and pleasure, heat and cold, honour
and disgrace, all the dualities, sitosnasukhadukhesu tatha manapa-
manayoh. - (7)
110 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 109
- |. |+ | |+ |||+ =+| =| |-:, :: |-| `
: |:+ + +| ||: |+ +| ::- -|:: (|+:++
||: |+ = +|:| +|- :+| | || :+ |+| |:||: |+)
The spirit within us is the only all-efficient doctor and submission of the
body to it the one true panacea. Sri Aurobindo, Self-Perfection, part 2
11, 12 - +|- |+ |: || o| : (:` -:) |||+ :|+ |+:
: |-+ | |+ |:||+ |||+ ( |- :|+) | | ||+ -
=:- (- |: |: - |: -) |-+ | |- |||: (|- |+ |-
|:||) |+ |-: | (: |:- ||) =| :-:+ (- =|
;|) - |+ |:|+ : |+ (: | | |) ||+ |:
(||:) |~ | |+ (|~ a|)
= ||r=| <|= |-=+
=r +||=| - |-|+r|+++ 13
|c|| |~=||=r= |-=+
+ = |r=| = |== =++ 14
13, 14 - -, + |+ || + |+ |+ |+ (| |:+|
+|+- ) |+ (|+) |-+ -|+ |~|~: - | +|| ( -|||
:) - |:-|=|: -|| (|- -:|-) |.|:+ | (|.||)
|- :-:+ (|~:) : +- |+ (||+:: |:) - :
|+ (- ) |: - |+ |+ ( |) | | |+, |+ ~:
|~+|+| || ( |: |+)
1014 (A process of Rajayogic meditation) In this process the
Yogin is directed to practice continually union with the Self so that
that may become his normal consciousness. He is to sit apart and
alone, with all desire and idea of possession banished from his mind,
self-controlled in his whole being and consciousness. He should set
in a pure spot his firm seat, neither too high, nor yet too low, covered
with a cloth, and there seated with a concentrated mind and with the
workings of the mental consciousness and the senses under control
he should practise Yoga for self-purification, atma-visuddhaye, The
posture he takes must be the motionless erect posture proper to the
practice of Rajayoga; the vision should be drawn in and fixed between
the eye-brows. The mind is to be kept calm and free from fear and
the vow of Brahmacharya observed; the whole controlled mentality
must be devoted and turned to the Divine so that the lower action of
the consciousness shall be merged in the higher peace. - (9)
Sri Aurobindo writesThe sitting motionless posture is the
natural process for concentrated meditationwalking and standing are
active conditions. Once the habit of meditation is formed, it should be
made possible to do it in all circumstances, lying, sitting, walking,
alone, in company, in silence or in the midst of noise. The idea on
which the mind should fix is that of God in all, all in God and, all as
God. This is the idea I have found the best All this is the Brahman.
You can concentrate in the head in a will, a call for the descent of
peace above. In the heart centre one concentrates in an aspiration,
for an opening, for the presence of the living image of the Divine
there or whatever else is the object.
sr =-||+ |~ |+=|+=+
||c |+|+=| =-||<~t|=++ 15
15 - = -:+ |~: (= |~) - : |+ (|-: |-) -|
(-|) ||: ||+ (||- a-) |-| +| |+ ||. | |+ |::
||: | :+ (|-||+| ||. | |+~|:)
15 - For the object to be attained is the still peace of Nirvana.
"Thus always putting himself in Yoga by control of his mind the Yogin
attains to the supreme peace of Nirvana which has its foundation in
Me, santim nirvana paramam matsamstham." - (10)
+|==q |r~| |c- + |c+=+
+ ||=-= =|r=| + |= +++ 16
16 - -, |z (:) |+ |-|+ (:: -), -||+ (-
=|. -:), |+ |-||+| (|: -) | |:
|+| |- (|: = ) |~+ |: -| (|~ - |.)
16This Yoga, it (Gita) says, is not for the man who gives up
sleep and food and play and action, even as it is not for those who
indulge too much in these things of the life and the body; but the sleep
and waking, the food, the play, the putting forth of effort in works
should all be Yukta (in yogo with the divine). All should be moderate,
regulated. (10A)
112 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 111
=||=||== =r= =+
=-|r|<= |r~| |= - |++ 17
17 - | ||+||+, |, |-| |~+ :| | ++ ~:
:+ ( ||+||+, , :|+), :+ |+:
|~ - + |+| | |+ || (|~ - | |:)
17 - In all states, in waking and in sleeping, in food and play and
action, the Yogin will then be in Yoga with the Divine, and all will be
done by him in the consciousness of the Divine as the self and as the
All and as that which supports and contains his own life and his
action. - (11)
-| ||+= |=|r+||=r=+
|+- =|rr| = =r= =-|++ 18
18 - |:| - | |. (-| ||-: |) ||: ||: | :+
(||- = |:::), :| |-|+ |+| (|: |-|) |~
|+ :|:| |~ | |+| (:-| |: ::) :| ::
+ |.|: ||, ||:+ :+ +: | |+, |-|:|:+ +|-+|+|
:+|:: :+|:: ||+ -:| ||:+ ||+ |- |: |+ ||+
|+| | Psychicisation | Psychic Transformation |:
:|:| - |+ || =| |:+ -:+ | (vital) |+ -:|
||+ |- |: | | |+ -:+| Psychic Transformation
-, - |+ | ||+ |- -|:| |~+ || - |+ ||
= |+| |:- | ||+ |+| +|- |+: || ||+ -
|- +|- |~+ ||+| +|- +|: - | |. +| |: = |.
+|:| :| :: |: +|| ::- || |:~
| -r| |+|=r-| +r= =|| -.=|+
||~r+| =|== sr=| |~|+++ 19
19 - :| -| o| : (|-|:) :- ||+ |. -:| (| -| -
::) ||: +|- (|- |~ a:) |~+ | + |+ (||~- :|)
:| || | || (| || :|)
rz|=r= |= |+== |~r=|+
z |+||+ ||+ =+|=++ 20
=|=|c =- |=|=|+
|= z + | |-=|= =q=++ 21
| |= | +r= +||< ==+
|-.+ |-r=| + - r+ o=+|| ||r=++ 22
= |-|- - =r|~|r|~ |~=|==+
= |+r+ |=r| |r~| |+|rr==|++ 23
20 - |~ |+|+| (|~:|) |:| .+ ||: () - |. (the
mind becomes totally silent, | |-+ |+::), | +| ||: ()
|-+ |+| (|- ||+ |+|, |-| =) |- ||: (||-) || -|
(||- |-) |- | :+ (:|:),
21 - | + |: | |: | |+: ( = | :) | :: (:| )
|:+ | ||+| (||) |- -+ (|:|. :
|) |+ |~: () |=|-+|+| ||: - (:;: - |:),
22 | +| | |+: ( +| ) |~: |: | |-
| -| |: | -||: (:: |+ |+ | - -::), |+ `:
||: | |+: (|- |:) :. - ::| ||: - (+| - :- ||
- ||::),
23 - -| + | (: - :|~ |: |~) |~ | ||-|
(|~|=: |- |) = |~ ( |~) - :|:+ :: (with firm de-
termination, |-: -) ||:|:+ (|-| ::|) | +| :
(|)
18-23 - Peace of Nirvana is reached when all the mental
consciousness is perfectly controlled and liberated from desire and
remains still in the Self, when, motionless like the light of a lamp in
a windless place, it ceases from its restless action, and by the
silence and stillness of the mind the Self is seen within, not disfig-
ured as in mind, but in the Self (||-), seen, self-perceived by the
Self (|-| =), svaprakasa. Then the soul is satisfied and knows
its own true and exceeding bliss and can no longer fall away from
114 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 113
If thy heart is troubled within thee, if for long seasons thou makest no
progress, if thy strength faint and repine, remember always the eternal word
of our Lover and Master, "I will free thee from all sin and evil; do not
grieve." (Gita 18/66) Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
the spiritual truth of its being. Not even the fiercest assault of
mental grief can disturb it. It is the putting away of the contact with
pain, duhkha samyoga viyogam. The firm winning of this inalien-
able spiritual bliss is Yoga, it is the divine union; it is the greatest
of all gains and the treasure beside which all others lose their value.
Therefore is this Yoga to be resolutely practised without yielding to
any discouragement by difficulty or failure until the release, until the
bliss of Nirvana is secured as an eternal possession. - (12)
=q |+ ||c-=| =|+r+=+
+r=r|| ||+ =c=++ 24
r+ r+==r- =| <|=~=|+
|=- + ;| + ||+-| |cr++ 25
24-25 - v-|+|+| ;+ |+| (v |-) |-|:|+ | :|~
|+ (|- ||- :: :|) -+|+| (-| =) |:|+ |+|+|
|:+| ( || .: ||-) + |+|+| (+|:~:| |) +:+
+:+ |. +| ||- |:~ (- - |+:) |+ :-| ||: |-
+|| (- | ;|) - =:| |.| || |- -||:~ (||~ ||
- |.:)
24-26 - The main stress here has fallen on the stilling of the
emotive mind, the mind of desire and the senses; but even the mental
thought has to be stilled in the silence of the self-existent being. First,
all the desires born of the desire-will have to be wholly abandoned.
One should slowly cease from mental action by a buddhi held in the
grasp of fixity and having fixed the mind in the higher self, one should
not think of anything at all. Whenever the restless and unquiet mind
goes forth, it should be controlled and brought into subjection in the
Self - (13)
r=| r=| |+=|= ++|-=+
==c-r=| |+r=-|r+ +r++ 26
26 - ~ |+ |+ - (~ |+ -) | | |+ |: |
(: : |-+|:), :|++|+| |:+| ||- (:: :: =: |-)
||+ ||- |:~ (||- = -:)
|c+= + ||~+ ==+
=r|= |c=== ==,+++ 27
27 - | +: |+ | +:|+|+| (|.+ ), |+ - |+ |
|| : ( ), =:- = - |.| + |~: (| =- |.-
||~-) : | |: | |+ ( : ) | :+ (
||:)
27 - When the mind is thoroughly quieted, then there comes
upon the Yogin, the highest stainless, passionless bliss of the soul that
has become the Brahman. - (14)
sr =-||+ |~ |~==,++
=r+ =-=c =r=++ 28
28 - = -:+ -| (= -|) |~: ||+ ~: || (|~
||- a-) (|~: ) -||: | | |+ (:-
|) |+ | :+ (:. ::)
28 - Thus freed from the stain of passion and putting himself
constantly in Yoga, the Yogin easily and happily enjoys the touch of
the Brahman which is an exceeding bliss. - (15)
==-||+ ==||+ ||++
r= |~=|| =z =-+++ 29
29 - + ~: |~ || :|:: - (|~ ||
--) |- || :|:: (||- :) |+ |- ||: :
-| || (||- :||- ::)
29 - Equal-visioned everywhere, he sees the Self in all exist-
ences and all existences in the self - (16)
| | |= =z = | |=+
==| + +|| = + +|=++ 30
30 - | | :|:: -| || ( | ||:) |+ :|:
|: -| || ( | ||:), :+ - |+|+| +| -|| ( :
- ||) |+ ::+| |+ - |+|+| |:+ - ( - |:)
30 - He who sees Me everywhere and all and each in Me, is
never lost to Me nor I to him. - (17)
116 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 115
==|-= | | =r=;||-=+
=| =|r+| | = |~ | =r=++ 31
31 - |+ :| = ` = ||+ : |+ :|:+ |:+: |
| | || |+ | :+ ( =; || : :| : | |:),
|~ `:: -|| : |:: |: ( |~ | : |:-| || | : ::)
31 - He who has reached oneness and loves Me in all beings,
that Yogin, howsoever he lives and acts, is living and acting in
Me. - (18)
The Gita brings in here as always bhakti as the climax of the
Yoga, sarvabhutasthitam yo mam bhajati ekatvam asthitah; that
may almost be said to sum up the whole final result of the Gita's
teaching whoever loves God in all and his soul is founded upon the
divine oneness, however he lives and acts, lives and acts in God. - (19)
|r|r+ =z = |= | = ++
= | |- | - = |~ =r| =++ 32
32 - -, | |- :|:: |:+ -| || ( ||:),
| |-+ : |+ -: - [|:`|:- (|-+ ~: : -| |+) |
|- | -], : = |~ ( |~ |+), = :| |+ : (:)
32 - O Arjuna, he who sees all equally everywhere as himself,
whether it be happiness or suffering, I hold him to be the Supreme
Yogin. And by this it is not meant at all that he himself shall fall from
the griefless spiritual bliss and feel again worldly unhappiness,..... the
play of dualities which he himself has left and surmounted, he shall
still see all as himself, his self in all, God in all and, not disturbed or
bewildered by the appearances of these things, moved only by them
to help and heal, to occupy himself with the good of all beings, to lead
men to the spiritual bliss, to work for the progress of the world
Godwards, he shall live the divine life, so long as days upon earth are
his portion. The God-lover who can do this, can thus embrace all
things in God, can look calmly on the lower nature and the works of
the Maya of the three gunas and act in them and upon them without
perturbation or fall or disturbance from the height and power of the
spiritual oneness, free in the largeness of the God-vision, sweet and
great and luminous in the strength of the God-nature, may well be
declared to be the supreme Yogin. - (20)
= + =|
| |~-| |= =|r+ <=-++
===| + || +;| |-|= |-=|++ 33
33 - :- `: +--, :| | = (;| ) ;:|~+
| `| (|:- |~ |), -:| :-+| ~ (~;|) = ;|
| ` | -||:| (=: |+| ||: - |||)
+ | + + || =+
==| |+ r+ |r||= =- =++ 34
34 - , |:: - ~, ||, || |+ - ( - ),
|+: |:| ( :-) | +| :- |o-, |:| +|
||- |o- (|:| : |- - +)
*~-|+ =|
= ||r| r+| - |+ +
|r=+ = |rc =|r~+ ~r=++ 35
35 - =~+|:- `: `:., |: : -| () -
~ (- ) |+ | |. +| |o- | (- |-), |z (:) | |+
+|~+|+| | |+ |||+ (|:- +|:~ ~::)
3435 Yoga is after all no easy thing to acquire, as Arjuna
suggests, for the restless mind is always liable to be pulled down from
these heights by the attacks of outward things and to fall back into
the strong control of grief and passion and inequality. Therefore, the
Gita proceeds to give us in addition to its general method of knowledge
and works a special process of Rajayogic meditation also, a powerful
method of practice, abhyasa, a strong way to the complete control of
the mind and its workings.)(20A)
==|+| |r~| - || |= |=+
|+| = ==| r| |q|=++ 36
118 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 117
36 - : |+ |-+ |: (:|-|) |~ - (|~ - ||),
|+ : ( |: |:), |z (:) ||: |-::+ ; (||: ::|)
: |+ |+|+| (|-|) |~: =:| | +| :+ (| )
36. - One who has no self-control is not fit for Yoga. To succeed
in Yoga one must have self-control and must observe the rules of
Yoga.
= + =|
|= ==r|rr=| |~||=|+=+
| |~=|=|= | ~|= + ~t|=++ 37
37 - :- `: , |:- :: =|:+ :: | ||++
|: |~ |+: |+ (=| :|:) ||: ;+ |+: |~- (|:
|~| |: |-) |+ |~|| | |+ -|+|:+ (|~|| ||)
:+ | ~|: (| ~|: ~|:)
|r||=|t|=|- +|=+
|=r| ||r| |r| + |++ 38
38 - ||-, ||++ |: |+|:+ |~|| -|++| (
|| |) |+|| |+ | - :||+|+| |~: (|-), =|::|
|:|: ` -|++|- (|:) | | + -:+ (||- ) -| -|||:-
(- -|: |), |:| | -
==r, = + ;= =r+=+
;-+ ==|= ;=| + ;-r=++ 39
39 - , |+ = :| ( =: ) ||:+ - + |+
:|: (:: |), |+ :||+ ||:+ = - + |+
|+| (| ; - |) |- |:-| | -| -| (-
||-::) - |
*~-|+ =|
| +r +|z |+|c-= |-r=+
+ | |+ |- -~|= =|= ~t|=++ 40
40 - =~+|:- `: ||, |~+ |: | |+-|+ |: | -+
|~|| |~- |+| |+ :|: | |+:|: |-| -: (: -
= - |-| |-::), |+ (|), (:|:), +| |+
|:| - ~|: - (| | - ~|: - ~|:) -: - =
| +=| ||+|+;| |= =|+
o+| *=| ~r |~=r| |=|r=++ 41
41 - |~- | | +| |: || ~| ~:|: |- | |+
(|~- |:| ||- ||) :|: - + | +|+ ||: (|: |
|;|) |+ +-:|+ +: (-| =:| ~: ||::)
| ||~+|r r |= <=|+
==|= - == |r =, -- ++ 42
42 - |, |~- | ||+ : =|- |~+ +:
(+:| ||~-| = : |:) =:- | ||: + - (-
=: | |: - :+)
=z = |= =r|~ r= |r-|+
=r= =r=| =|=r=| =+=+++ 43
43 - +--, |~-+ = : |~+ + |~ |+ | -
(: |`:-| : | :|~ ::) |+ |:` |||+ |: |
:+ (:: |:` :::)
||r=+ =r+ | r= r| | =+
|==|==| |~= =||==r=++ 44
44 - |+ (|) : |+ |+ : + ( :- =
|||:- ||) |~+ |: | (| ::), | | |~ | ||-
|: (: |~+ | |:- ) ::|: (|~ |=| ||) -+
| |: :+ (~ |::::)
44 - The knowledge of the knower is described as passing beyond
the range of Veda and Upanishad, sabdabrahmativartate. - (21)
;|- =|+q |~ =o=||-++
r+=,=|==c-r=| ||= =| ~|=++ 45
45 - |~+ : |+ ||+= |+ (;| :|- :) |~:
|~+|+| |-||| (|~ ||) - |+-|+ ||: || |
|+ (:-|) |+ ~|: | :+ (:: |+| ~|: ||:)
3745 Arjuna asks KishnaWhat is the destiny of the person
who begins Yoga with faith, sraddha, for soul realisation but after a
120 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 119
time goes astray (becomes yoga bhrasta) due to his minds diversion
and cannot succeed? Will he not be doomed to destruction failing in
both material and spiritual life, like disassembled clouds? It is only you
who can dissolve my fear.
Krishna answers If a person begins the practice of Yoga, but
discontinues after a time, the soul carries the experience to his next
life. It is never lost. A person doing good works will never suffer.
Such a soul takes birth in a rich family or in the family of a wise
Yogin. The memory of his past habit of Yoga practice comes back
and compelled by the force of past habit he begins yoga with a
greater vigour and reaches the goal of God realisation as a result of
yoga sadhana for many lives.
=|-r| |<r| |~ =|+r| | r=| |<+
|||<r| |~ =-.|- |~ |= +++ 46
46-|~ :| : = (|~ :|| |+), =|-:|:: |
= (=||- || |+), :|::| = (| |+), |+
: (:), -, ~|:: :| |~ |+| (:| |~ )
46 - "The Yogin is greater than the doer of askesis, greater than
the men of knowledge, greater than the men of works; become then
the Yogin, O Arjuna", ........ not even spiritual knowledge or power or
anything else for their own sake, but the union with God alone; for
in that all else is contained. - (22)
||~+|| =r+| - ~r=+|c=|+|+
==||+ =r= | | = ==r| =++ 47
47 - | =|:+ :: ( =||-) |.+: | | |+ (
~::- .+|-|) | | :+ (| ::), : :| |~+ |:+: (
:| || ||~-|) :|: | |+ ~: (:), |+
|: ( :)
47 - But even among the Yogins the greatest is the Bhakta. "Of
all Yogins he who with all his inner self given upto Me, for Me has
love and faith, sraddhavan bhajate, him I hold to be the most united
with Me in Yoga." - (23)
Dhyana Yoga :
Quotations from Essays on The Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. Nirvana and works in the world : 1-4, 7-15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 10A, 20A
2. The determinism of Nature : 5, 6
3. Equality and Knowledge : 16, 17, 18, 19A
4. Sankhya, Yoga and Vedanta : 21
A veil behind the heart, a lid over the mind divide us from the Divine.
Love and devotion rend the veil, in the quietude of the mind the lid thins
and vanishes. Sri Aurobindo, AIM Sept. 71
+|-+|-+ |+| || ||+ :-|+ ~: |+ ++ :-|+ ~:
:|~ ||- :+| | - |. +| - || | |:|+ =|
=| ||+ |+ |- - ||. |` |+ -, -, | ~ | |+
:-| -|| |`, |+ || |: ` =:-:|+ |: +|- |+|: |
:+ ++ -| | | |+: ` +|- :+|:: - | |. +|
:| :: +|| | |+ |:~ =| : -+ |. +|:| |||
| normal |: ||+: ` +, :||+ +: :=, :||
| ||` = |: .++ - +|+- | |- |+ ||+ |:: | |+
+|- :+|:: :~:| -: +|| |:~ :~:| ` | ||+ |+ |-+
|: |- |: +||.+
SRI AUROBINDO ON TANTRA
The Gita starts from the Vedantic synthesis... of the three great
means and powers, Love, knowledge, and Works, through which the
soul of man can directly approach and cast itself into the Eternal.
There is yet another, the Tantric, which is even more bold and forceful
than the synthesis of the Gita, for it seizes even upon the obstacles
to the spiritual life and compels them to become the means for a
richer spiritual conquest and in some direction and in some directions
it is more immediately rich and fruitful. (Essays on the Gita, Our
demand and need from the Gita)
122 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 6 <|+-|~ 121
=q <| (Chapter 7)
=|+-|=|+-|~
*~-|+ =|
|==+| | |~ s+ -|=+
= = | | =|=|= =t +++ 1
1 - =~|:- `: ||, :| :||+ - |: |- +|| (|
| -|), | | |+ (-|=) |~ (|~ a-) ||:+
|+ :| :+|+| | ( | ) :- ||- |||+
:| -| (| =|| : ) Samagram mam integrally
=|+ = =|=|+|- |r+=+
= =|;| + r| += =|=|+r=++ 2
2 - :|| =|- |+ |=|- ( : =|- |=|-) = - :||
|+:| | ( - :: ||), |:| ||-: = |+: ||- ~|
|+ =:| | -||| ( =|;| =|: - - |::),
=|- :; =|-, | =|-, |=|- |+ =|-
1,2Hear he (Krishna) says, how by practising Yoga with a
mind attached to Me and with Me as asraya (the whole basis, lodgment,
point of resort of the conscious being and action) thou shalt know Me
without any remainder of doubt, integrally, samagram mam. I will
speak to thee without omission or remainder, asesatah, the essential
knowledge, attended with all the comprehensive knowledge, by
knowing which there shall be no other thing here left to be known.
The true unifying knowledge has two aspects, the essential, jnana,
and the comprehensive, Vijnana, the direct spiritual awareness of the
supreme Being. (1)
++|+| =r-+ |- =|= |==r+
==|| |==|+| |,| |= =q=++ 3
God within is leading us always aright even when we are in the bonds
of the ignorance. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
3 - ||+ ||+ |-+ |:+: | =:-: || | |+ ; :+
(: -|| | |: :|:), ; |+ || | +|+ |:+::|
|:-|| =:-: |+ : +| | ||:+ (::| || ||-| | |
:;: |)
3 - "Among thousands of men one here and there strives after
perfection, and of those who strive and attain to perfection one here
and one there knows Me in all the principles of my existence,
tattvatah." - (2)
|=|r| +r| | r+| |=r= +
e|= = || |==<|++ 4
4 - ||, ||-, , |, ||, -, | |+ |+ (| || -
| - | |+ = ) =:- |+ |: |o |~: | :
( |: || +| |:)
4 In order to found this integral knowledge, the Gita
makes.the distinction between the two Natures, the phenomenal
(lower, apara) and the spiritual Nature (higher, para). The five
elements, mind, reason, ego, this is my eightfold divided Nature. An
eightfold Nature constituted of five bhutas,elements to which
are given the concrete names of earth, water, fire, air and ether, the
mind with its various senses and organs, the reason-will and the ego,
is the Sankhya description of Prakriti. (2A)
r=|=-+| |= ||= =|+
=-=| ||r| r- <|r= =~++ 5
5 - ||-, =| (|+: |+| |+ |:) |+ |+| |: (
|+|), |z |+ ||:+ |+ |+ =| |: |: (: : -| |:),
| |+| |: | ||-| (|+| ||), | + +|: | |+ |
~- +|+ |: (+:| | - ~ +|::), |:+|:,-| |+|
: : -|
5 - But know my other Nature different from this [Apara], the
supreme which becomes the Jiva and by which the world is upheld.
This other higher Prakriti [para prakriti] is, says Krishna, my supreme
124 *q~-- ~=|
8 - |.|, ||-: | |+|- ( +), : |
||+ (| :| |), :| -+ +|- (::- ), ||:
~ ( ~) |+ |-+ ~|: | | (- |`+ |)
r+| ~= ||+ ==||-. ||r=|+
=-+ =r=+ =||-. =|-+++ 9
9 - ||+: ||+ ~|+ (||| | ~+), |: :|| (||:`
: |), :| |+ +- (:: +-) |+ :|+ :||
(:|| :| |)
= | ==|+| ||= | =+|=++
|=|==||-. ==rc-=|-+|+ 10
10 - ||, :| | :| + -|:- | ||-| (|
:|-| -|:- ||), ||-+ | |+ :+ : (
|:| | :|-| : |)
8, 9, 10 - "I am the taste in the waters, sound in either, scent in
earth, energy of light in fire. I am the light of sun and moon, the
manhood in man, the intelligence of the intelligent, the energy of the
energetic, the strength of the strong, the ascetic force of those who
do askesis, tapasya. I am the life of all existences. I am Pranava,
OM, which is the foundation of all the potent creative sounds. Know
Me to be the eternal seed of all existences." - (6)
=|+| |=|~||= =+
<||=r=| r=+ |r| |-. ==+++ 11
11 - : |-+ |-| |+ || ( :| |
+|~ || : ), :| |+ |:+: | ++ |+ || :
(:: + |+ | |)
11 - "I am the strength of the strong devoid of desire and liking.
I am in beings the desire which is not contrary to their dharma."
Dharma says the Gita, is action governed by the Swabhava, the
essential law of one's nature. (||+ |:+ |-+|+ +| : +)
The desire meant here is therefore the purposeful will of the Divine
nature, prakritim me param. And this "I" here is Purushottama, the
supreme Being, the supreme Soul, the transcendent and universal
spirit. - (3)
==- r|+|+ =||+ =|+=<|=+
-= =~= c-|++ 6
6 - = |+| |: (=:) :| :+ ~ | ||-| (|| :||-
|-|- |: |+|+), . ~:+ || |+ |-|+ |+ (
~: :| )
6 - Speaking first of the origin of the world from the point of
view of the active power of Nature, Krishna assevers, "This is the
womb of all beings", etad yonini bhutani, "I am the birth of the
whole world and so too its dissolution." - (4)
= === +|+ ||+-|c- <+s+
| =|- |= =rz |+~+| ++ 7
7 - +-a, |: = |+ =:| -| ( |+:+ - ||~
- |.), = :|:|+ :| =|: | ~|+ -:+ |:: |= |+ |:
( - : |~| | |:)
7 - "There is nothing else supreme beyond Me." Here then the
supreme Soul, Purushottama, and the supreme Nature, Para Prakriti,
are identified. For when Krishna declares I am the birth of the world
and its dissolution, it is evident that it is this Para Prakriti, the supreme
Nature, of his being which is both these things. The supreme Nature,
para prakritih, is then the infinite timeless conscious power of the
self-existent Being out of which all existences in cosmos are mani-
fested and come out of timelessness into Time. But in order to pro-
vide a spiritual basis for this manifold universal becoming in the
cosmos the supreme Nature formulates itself as the Jiva. The eternal
multiple soul of the Purushottama appears as individual spiritual ex-
istence in all forms of the cosmos. The Jiva is the Lord, isvara, but
in his partial manifestation. - (5)
=r=| = |rc ||-. |=r|+
+ =rr-+ = |=+ ++++ 8
126 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 7 =|+-|=|+-|~ 125
in us searching for and discovering not the pleasure of the lower
Prakriti, but the Ananda of its own play and self-fulfilling; it is the
desire of the divine Delight of existence. - (7)
=||q| || =|==|c-|=| +
= =r|= =|+ ||= + ; =+ = |++ 12
12 - ||;, +||, :|| |: | |+|+| | ( =
||;| +|| :|| || :|- =) | ||-| ( |: ||), |z
||: -| (: : -), :|+ |: |: (: |)
12 - Sattwic, rajasic and tamasic they are not themselves the
pure action of the supreme spiritual nature, but are derivations from
it, "they are verily from Me," matta eva, they have no other origin,
"but I am not in them, it is they that are in Me." - (8)
- ; : :|+: -| , | + : | +| :|+:
-| :|+ |
What is meant by saying that the Divine is not in the becomings,
(: | +| :|+) the forms and affections of the lower nature,
though they all are in his being? What is meant is that the true and
supreme spiritual nature of the Divine is not imprisoned there; they
are only phenomena in his being created out of it by the action of
the ego and the ignorance. The ignorance presents everything to us
in an inverted vision. We imagine that the soul is in the body: but
it is the body that is in the soul and a result and derivation from the
soul. - (9)
|z|o+r|rr=| =|- =~+
||= +||=|+||= |r =++ 13
13 - ;, + |+ : |:+ = |:|-| +|+| ~- ||:
| |+: (=| || | - ~ ||:) = :|+:
= (= |+) |+ +|:| |-: | -|+|:+ (| -
||-||:)
13 - This lower nature of the three gunas which creates so false
a view of things and imparts to them an inferior character is a Maya,
a power of illusion, by which it is not meant that it is all non-existent
or deals with unrealities, but that it bewilders (||:) our knowledge,
creates false values, envelops us in ego, mentality, sense, physicality,
limited intelligence and there conceals from us the supreme truth of
our existence. This illusive Maya hides from us the Divine that we
are, the infinite and imperishable spirit. - (10)
- +| o+ || - ==|+
|r -rc ||r=| ==|c =++ 14
14 - |+ = -+ || (divine Maya of the gunas, =|
- ||) |: +| |-:|. + |o- (| - +:|), |:
| | :+ ( | = |-:.), ::|: = || |: |+
||:+ (: =:| || :+|.)
14 - But why is this Maya so hard to overcome, maya duratyaya?
Because it is still the Maya of the Divine, daivi; "this is my divine
Maya of the gunas." It is itself divine and a development from the
nature of the Divine, but the Divine in the nature of the gods; it is
daivi, of the godheads or, if you will, of the Godhead, but of the
Godhead in its divided subjective and lower cosmic aspects, sattwic,
rajasic and tamasic. It is a cosmic veil which the Godhead has spun
around our understanding; Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra have woven its
complex threads; the Shakti, the Supreme Nature is there at its base
and is hidden in its every tissue. We have to work out this web in
ourselves and turn through it and from it leaving it behind us when
its use is finished, turn from the gods to the original and supreme
Godhead in whom we shall discover at the same time the last sense
of the gods and their works and the inmost spiritual verities of our
imperishable existence. "To Me who turn and come, they alone cross
over beyond this Maya." - (11)
~- |+ |: :+ -+:| -||; |-: -+:| |
||- `: |+ +-
The affairs of the world are managed by the gods. Though they
are very powerful, like human beings they are not free from the three
gunas, modes of Nature and ego. To free ourselves from the bondage
of the gunas we must surrender to the Supreme.
128 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 7 =|+-|=|+-|~ 127
Sri Aurobindo writes in Savitri about the gods. (Book 1/4)
Deathless, watching the works of Death and Chance,
Immobile, seeing the millenniums pass,
Untouched while the long map of Fate unrolls,
They look on our struggle with impartial eyes,
And yet without them cosmos could not be.
Impervious to desire and doom and hope,
Their station of inviolable might
Moveless upholds the world's enormous task,
Its ignorance is by their knowledge lit,
Its yearning lasts by their indifference.
Their aloofness drives man to surpass himself.
Sri Aurobindo writes about God's help and Immortality
Even through the tangled anarchy called Fate
And through the bitterness of death and fall
An outstretched Hand is felt upon our lives.
It is near us in unnumbered bodies and births;
In its unshaken grasp it keeps for us safe
The one inevitable supreme result
No will can take away and no doom change,
The crown of conscious Immortality,
The godhead promised to our struggling souls
When first man's heart dared death and suffered life.
+ | - |=r+| | -rc +=|<|+
||.==|+| |== |||==|++ 15
15 - |:|+ |- - |:|+, , |- |:+, |+ + |:+ (- |:-
| -+|+| | + | ||=:|) |+ |:|++ =|- | | | : |+ +||:,
:|+ |- : |+ |= - (| | |: =|-| | - |-:.)
15- "The evil-doers attain not to Me," says the Purushottama,
"souls bewildered, low in the human scale; for their knowledge is reft
away from them by Maya and they resort to the nature of being of
the Asura." - 11 A
=|<| =rc | =+| =|=r+| = ++
|r=| |==|==| =|+ ==+++ 16
16 - -, ||+|+ | |-: | | :+ (:|+| |:-
-| | :.), ||+|+ `, |: ||-: |+| |, |=|
|=|- | |+ |, | |+ , =|- :;-
(|: |=| | =|- )
16 A first necessary step upward is to aspire to a higher nature,
to obey a better rule than the rule of desire, to become a right thinker
and a right doer. This too is not in itself enough; for even the sattwic
man is subject to the bewilderment of the gunas, because he is still
governed by wish and disliking, iccha-dvesa (7/27). Still by the constant
upward aspiration in his ethical aim he in the end gets rid of the
obscuration of sin which is the obscuration of rajasic desire and
passion and acquires a purified nature.
Among those who have put away the sin of rajasic egoism and
are moving towards the Divine, the Gita distinguishes between four
bhaktas. There are those who turn to him as a refuge from sorrow
and suffering, arta. There are those who seek him as the giver of
good, artharthi. There are those who come to him in the desire for
knowledge, jijnasu. And lastly there are those who adore him with
knowledge, jnani. (11B)
=+| =|+ |+== =|=||+r=+
|r| | =||+r+| = = |++ 17
17 - = ||+|+ + |:+: (:|) =|- = (=|- ||::)
: -| |+ ~: |: |+ =| |: | :+ (|-:
=|) =|-+ :. | ::+| |+ | ( =||-- | : |
|)
=-|=| = =rr= =|+ ;|r =+
||-= = | =|| |r|+=| ~|=++ 18
18 - =:| :|:+ |- (=:: = -|+|) |z =|- |+
||+ |-|-| (: =|- || =), |+ : (:), |+ |+ ~:
| || (| ||) :| ~|: +| |: | :+
130 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 7 =|+-|=|+-|~ 129
(-| ~|: | = ||:), ;|: || =, |:|-|| =
-|
17, 18 It is bhakti with knowledge which the Gita demands
from the disciple and it regards all other forms of devotion as good
in themselves but still inferior. All these movements without exception
are high and good, udarah sarva evaite, but the bhakti with knowledge
excels themall, visisyate. The Godlover who has the knowledge,
jnani bhakta, says the Godhead in the Gita, is my self, the very self-
being and all-being of the Purushottama with which he is in union.
His is the divine birth in the supreme Nature, integral in being, completed
in will, absolute in love, perfected in knowledge. In him the Jiva's
cosmic existence is justified because it has exceeded itself and so
found its own whole and highest truth of being. - (12)
+| =,+|rc =|+|+ | -r=+
|=r- =||= = || =- ++ 19
19 - =|- -+ |+-|+ =: :| |:-+` (|+:+, the
omnipresent being) =:- =|- | |+ | || ( -| -| :. |:-
|: =|-|- | |-::), =:-+| || |: - ( || - )
19 - Very rare is the great soul who knows that Vasudeva, the
omnipresent Being, is all that is, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma
sudurlabhah. - (13)
|rrc-rc- .==|+| -rc +r--=|+
= = |+|-| =| |+=| -|++ 20
20 - |+ ||+ | |-|+ |: (: : | :=|-|)
::|: |- |:+ (| :| |-:|) -|-|+ |- +-
|+ -:-+:| ||-| :+ (: : |- || -:-+:| |-::)
20 - Men are led away by various outer desires which take from
them the working of the inner knowledge, kamais tais tair
hritajnanah. Ignorant, they resort to other godheads, imperfect forms
of the deity which correspond to their desire, prapadyantenya-
devatah. Limited, they set up this or that rule and cult which satisfies
the need of their nature, tam tam niyamam. - (14)
| | | | =+ = ==||=|t|=+
== ==|| ==| =|r |-<|++ 21
21 - | =||::+ | -+|: -| |+ | :+ (
=| | | :- |: |:) |:: | |
|- (: : :|: | =| |-+||)
= =| ==| =c-=|=|<+r=+
r= == ||+ r ||=|+ | =|+++ 22
22 - -+:| ||: () | |:+ =| (:| =|
) - -+:| |+|+-| :+ (:| |+|+- ::) |+ -+:|+|+|
| | :+ ( :: ||- | ::), |z ::: |+ |+|- :::
| | :+ (| = :|- ||:|-)
21, 22 Whatever form of Me any devotee with faith desires
to worship, I make that faith of his firm and undeviating. By the
force of that faith in his cult and worship he gets his desire and the
spiritual realisation for which he is at the moment fitted. By seeking
all his good (things desired) from the Divine, he shall come in the end
to seek in the divine all his good. By depending for his joys on the
Divine, he shall learn to fix in the Divine all his joy. By knowing the
Divine in his forms and qualities, he shall come to know him as All
and the Transcendent who is the source of all things.(14A)
c= = =+| =q=qr<=|+
-|+ -r=| ||c q=| ||c ||++ 23
23 - |z |+ -+:| ||: ||+| = | (: v
+| :| : = . |:), -+:| |+|+-| +|
-+:|+ + | |+ |+ |: | :+ (- -|-
||. | | || ||.) The Godhead in these forms gives them
their desires if their faith is whole, but these fruits and gratifications
are temporary and it is a petty intelligence and unformed reason
which makes the pursuit of them its principle of religion and life. And
so far as there is a spiritual attainment by this way, it is only to the
gods; it is only the Divine in formations of mutable nature. But those
who adore the transcendent and integral Godhead embrace all this
and transform it all, and go beyond them to the very Godhead, realise
and attain to the Transcendent. (madbhakta yanti mam api). - (15)
132 *q~-- ~=|
Gita Ch. 7 =|+-|=|+-|~ 131
= |=| +rc |=+
= |=|+rc| |+=++ 24
24 - |- |-: |+ , :|, |+ +| | -|+||+
( - |+ | |-.) | ( |)
=- | | |: (| || -:.)
+| | == |~||=|=+
r| +||=|+||= |r| |=++ 25
25 - |~||+|+| |: | |: :|:+ |~: | -
( |~|||: | -), = = |-:|:+ | +|: |+
| -||:- ( | | - ||-||:)
25 - He is self-enveloped in this immense cloak of Maya, that
Maya of his Yoga, by which he is one with the world and yet beyond
it, immanent but hidden, seated in all hearts but not revealed to any
and every being. - (16)
-| ===||+ =|+||+ |= ++
|+||+ =||+ | = - + +++ 26
26 - -, ::+ :|-+ |+ |+:+ :| |+ |:
|:-| ( ::||- :|-||- ||| :||- -) |z | |:-
-||:- (: | - - -)
26He knows all past and all present and future existences, but
him none yet knoweth. (16A).
t|r+=r+ r|r+ |==+
==||+ =r.| =r~ ||c =c++ 27
27 - |+ : (:~) | |+ +|+| | |+| ( |::-)
+|+| || : :| | |-|. ( |: - :||- :|
||.)
27 - "By the delusion of the dualities which arises from wish and
disliking, all existences in the creation are led into bewilderment,"
says the Gita. - (17)
|: - |: |, |: |: liking and
disliking |+|+| + (duality) | , |:- :|, inequality,
|+ |+ =|-:| |+ | ~|:: | ` +|| |++|+|
; |+|, |. +| -| |+ ||+ |:| | ||++ |:
=|:|:+ | +|
+| ;c~= | =+|+| ++|+
= r||+=| =rc | - =|++ 28
28 - |z |+ | +|+| ||| : (: | ||
-|-| ||| .~:), ::|: +|+| ;+ |+| |+|+|
- :::+ | |::+ |+ +: | :+ (: :||-| - :| |
:.), ;.~: : .~:
28 - For escape from this circle [from dualities, from bondage
of ignorance] the first necessity is to get clear of the sin of the vital
ego, the fire of passion, the tumult of desire of the rajasic nature, and
this has to be done by the steadying sattwic impulse of the ethical
being. After a certain point of growth in the sattwic nature brings an
increasing capacity for a high quietude, equality and transcendence
it is necessary to rise above the dualities and to become impersonal,
equal, one self with the Immutable, one self with all existences. This
process of growing into the spirit completes our purification. Equality
and vision of unity once perfectly gained, a supreme bhakti, an all-
embracing devotion to the Divine, becomes the whole and the sole
law of the being. The soul then becomes firm in this bhakti, te
bhajante mam driha-vratah. - (18)
==|=+r|| |||== =|c +
= =|- -<| ||++ 29
29 - +| ++|+| | || |: | |= |+ ; :+
(+|+:|| | ||=: :|.), ::|: |+ :|||-
|+|| |+ :| :;:+ :: ||- ||:+ (: : +|
| |- ), :|- : |-
=||<=||<r- | =||<=+ |- +
|+|r | | = |- =r==++ 30
Gita Ch. 7 =|+-|=|+-|~ 133 134 *q~-- ~=|
30 - |||: |+:, |+-+ |+ |+=+ :: | |:- (
|+: |+- |+= | |- ), ::|: |+ ~: || (:
::) :+ ::| | || ||:+ (||: || | |- )
29-30 The Knowledge of the Purushottama is the perfect
knowledge of the Brahman. Those who have resort to Me as their
refuge, mam asritya, their divine light, their deliverer, receiver and
harbourer of their souls, those who turn to Me in their spiritual
effort towards release from age and death, from the mortal being
and its limitations, says Krishna, come to know that Brahman and
all the integrality of the spiritual nature and entirety of Karma.
Because they know Me..... and the truth of the Master of sacrifice,
they keep knowledge of Me also in the critical moment of their
departure from physical existence and have at that moment their
whole consciousness in union with Me. Therefore they attain Me.
No longer bound to the mortal existence, they reach the very high-
est status of the Divine. - (19)
Jnana-Bijnana Yoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. The two natures : 1-11, 2A
2. The synthesis of Devotion and knowledge : 12-18, 11A, 11B, 14A, 16A
3. The Supreme Divine : 19

Transform the animal into the Driver of the herds; let all thyself be Krishna.
This is thy goal. AIM Feb 78
To hate the sinner is the worst sin, for it is hating God.
Gods servant is something; Gods slave is greater.
Stride swiftly, for the goal is far; rest not unduly, for thy Master is waiting
for thee at the end of thy journey.
Ths & Aphs Sri Aurobindo
Gita Ch. 7 =|+-|=|+-|~ 135
<| (Chapter 8)
= -|~
= + =|
| =- |<| | =r+|=+
|<=+ | |=|<r- |r=++ 1
|<= | z -r |-.+ <=-++
|+|r =r||= |+=||++ 2 ++
1 - :- `: |+:|, | +| | |
|+: |+ |+- | |: (: | +| | | |+:
| | |+- | ::)
2 |+= |- |+ = -: :- : |: ( |+=
|- -: ) +--, :+ : : |+ |: :||
:- ||- ||:+ (| |: |-: || = |)
7 | ` , +|, , |+:, |+-+, |+= | |:
|+ - :|~+ : |-: ++ ~: :- = | ||:+
*~-|+ =|
= = -|r| <|r=
=|r|qr=| |=~ =|==++ 3
3 - =~+|:- `: |+ |+ + :; (immutable Brah-
man), + |+ +| |: (|+ + | +| ::),
|+ | + |:+|+| ;+ |+| :~ |~, |+ ||:| (:|
;++ |~ |=:)
|<= r=| | =+||<r-=+
|<r=| r|z -r -=|=++ 4
4 - -+:= (-:|+), ||++:- ~- (+ |) |+:
(|+ :), |+- (|+-:) ` | + (| + ) | ||++: - + ~-
+|+ |: |+ |:|~ |+: |+ |+= |-:, :|:+ -: |:|
|+ :| |+ =+ |:|| ( = -: |+=)
|+-, adhidaiva is Universal Soul, Kshara Purusha.
3-4 By that Brahman, the Gita intends the immutable self-
existence which is the highest self-expression of the Divine and on
whose unalterable eternity all the rest, all that moves and evolves,
is founded, aksaram paramam. By adhyatma it means svabhava,
the spiritual way and law of being of the soul in the supreme
Nature. The immutable Brahman does nothing, causes nothing,
determines nothing; it is impartial, equal, all-supporting. What then
originates? It is Nature as Swabhava. The Supreme, the Godhead,
the Purushottama is there and supports the action of his higher
spiritual shakti. He displays the divine Being, Consciousness, Will or
Power, yayedam dharyate jagat : that is the Para Prakriti. The
self-awareness of the Spirit in his supreme Nature perceives the
dynamic idea of what ever he separates in his own being and
expresses it in the swabhava. All that is in the swabhava is loosed
out into cosmic Nature for her to do what she can with it under the
inner eye of the Purushottama. Out of the constant svabhava, she
creates the varied mutations, unrolls all her changes in name and
form, in time and space.
All this bringing out and continual change from state to state
is Karma, is action of Nature, is the energy of Prakriti, the worker,
the goddess of processes. It is first a loosing forth of the swabhava
into its creative action, visargah. By adhibhuta is to be understood
all the result of mutable becoming, ksara bhavah. By adhidaiva
is intended the Purusha, the soul in Nature, the subjective being
who observes and enjoys as the object of his consciousness all that
is this mutable becoming of his essential existence. The soul in
Nature is the ksara purusa, it is the mutable soul, the eternal
activity of the Godhead. By adhiyajna, the Lord of works and
sacrifice, I mean, says Krishna, myself, the Divine, the Godhead,
the Purushottama. - (1)
(1) The highest self-expression of the supreme Lord, the Divine
the Absolute is the immutable Akshara Brahman who supports the
entire creation and in whom all moves.
(2) The supreme Nature (swabhava) of Akshara Brahman is
adhyatma para prakriti
(3) The things created or loosed out by para-prakriti are called
visargah. |~:|~ | |+ (~- |+ ~:|) |~ | |+
|: ~| |+| |:+ |+| | | ||-|- |+ |
(4) The process of creation is Karma.
(5) The mutable becoming (creation, kshara bhavah) is adhibhuta.
(6) Adhidaiva is Purusha, the Universal Soul, the soul in Nature,
the Kshara Purusha who observes and enjoys the mutuable becoming.
(7) Adhiyajna is Purushottama, Krishna, the Divine, the Absolute,
secret in the body of all embodied existences, Jiva of each living
being.
c|r |r -.=+ =| r=+
||= = q| ||= +|c-z =++ 5
5 - :+ : =| |: + |+ |:- - :|~ |+ |
:+ (.|: | = + :+ | ||:) : |+ | |
(|+ |+ | , | ||:) |: |:-| : -| (
- |.)
5 Man, born into the world, revolves between world and world
in the action of Prakriti and Karma. Purusha in Prakriti is his formula
: what the soul in him thinks, contemplates and acts, that always he
becomes. All that he had been, determined his present birth : and all
that he is, thinks, does in this life up to the moment of his death,
determines what he will become in the worlds beyond and in lives yet
to be. If the soul in the human being desires to attain to the status
of the Purushottama, there are two necessities, two conditions which
must be satisfied before that can be possible. He must have moulded
towards that ideal his whole inner life in his earthly living; and he
must be faithful to his aspiration and will in his departing. "Whoever
leaves his body and departs," says Krishna, "remembering Me at his
time of end, comes to my bhava," that of the Purushottama, my
138 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 8 = -|~ 137
status of being. He is united with the original being of the Divine and
that is the ultimate becomeing of the soul, paro bhavah, the last
result of Karma in its return upon itself and towards its source.
The Gita here lays a great stress on the thought and state of
mind at the time of death, a stress which will with difficulty be
understood if we do not recognise what may be called the self-
creative power of the consciousness. What the thought, the inner
regard, the faith, sraddha, settles itself, into that our inner being
tends to change. This tendency becomes a decisive force when we
go to those higher spiritual and self-evolved experiences. There we
can see ourselves steadily becoming that on which we keep our
minds fixed and to which we constantly aspire. But it is not a death-
bed remembrance that can have this saving power. - (2)
|| -.=+ | ===rc r=+
= =rr|= |rc =-| =q|||=++ 6
6 - .|, :+ : (:.) |:- | | - :|~ :+ (
| || | + :+ :|:) : -| |: : |
|+: || (-| : | ||: : : = =|:)
6 - The divine subjective becoming on which the mind has to be
fixed firmly in the moment of the physical death, yam smaran bhavam
tyajati ante kalevaram, must have been one into which the soul was
at each moment growing inwardly during the physical life, sada tad
bhava bhavitah. - (3)
=-.| =r+ |r+ |+-.= < +
|=r+||=|rr+==++ 7
7 - |: :| :: | + +| |+ +| (:| :
|: | -+ + ), | :||+ - |+ | | |+: |-::
:| |: ||| (| ||: :-| | | = =| )
7 - "Therefore", says the divine Teacher, "at all times remember
Me and fight; for if thy mind and thy understanding are always fixed
on and given up to Me, mayi arpita mano- buddhih, to Me thou
shalt surely come." "Remember Me and fight," means not to lose the
ever present thought of the Eternal for one single moment (4)
|=r|~r=+ ==| +|+~||+|+
= =+ |- ||= ||+|c+++ 8
8 - ||, | |~+|+| (+|- |+|+|) - |+ |+ |+ :|
:: |.|+|+| ++ ~: || (| |~:- :| - -~||-|
-|.-) |+: |- |+ |+ | :+ (|- |+ |+ ||:)
8 - "For it is by thinking always of him with a consciousness
united with him in an undeviating Yoga of constant practice that one
comes to the divine and supreme Purusha." - (5)
| =|++||==|= r+|=+| = +-.r=- +
== <|=|=|c=. ||-=+ == =c-|++ 9
|+|r +=|r+ =| r=| |~r+ +
=r|r< |+|r = = = = =+r|= |-++ 10
9-10 | - =, -|:-, ||- .| (| | +| - ||:|+ ),
(: (, :|:+ ||- :+|:|, |., + - :+ | |+
=+|++ :: (:| | +|:|+ |.+| ||-: :
|+.|), - |- |+ | + | : + : =| :-:+ |
|~+|+| | |+ - |+ | : | | +|+ |+ + :+ (|- |+
| + ||: :- -| | |~: = - :| :+
| |: - :+), : () |+ | + | :+ (:
||:)
-= -|r-| -|c ||c - =r| ==|~|+
|-trc| =|c = = - =r+ r++ 11
11 - -|- : | + | (-|- + -|.), -|
|~: `: :+ :+ (:+|~| : ||.), | ||+ |:
|+: ||- :+ ( . +|.), |-+ |
:|| ::| ` (: |- : : :)
=|=||+ = r+| .|- |+=< +
<|<||+ |+||-r=| |~<|=+|++ 12
|r=|= |=+ |+-.=++
||= ==+ - = ||= =| ~|=++ 13
140 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 8 = -|~ 139
12-13 :| | : |+, - -: |+ |+, | | +:
|+ |+ |~+|+| ||: +|- (|+|| - |- |-++ |+
| |+| |- |~+|+| ||:), +| =|+ | |+ |+
++ |.|: | - :|~ :+, : |+ ~|: | :+ ( |:
=|+ |+ | -+ - :- ||: |+| ~|: ||:)
++r=| === | | -.=|= |+=+
==| = | |+=== ||~+++ 14
14 - ||, | | -| -++:: =||:+ + :+ ( |
|-: :: --::| +|:) |-: |~+ |: (:
|-: ||~- )
9-14- He [Supreme Purusha, Purushottama] is indiscernible only
because he is subtler than the last subtlety of which the mind is
aware and because the form of the Divine is beyond our thought,
anor aniyamsam acintya-rupam. This supreme Soul and Self is the
Seer, the Ancient of Days and the Master and Ruler of all existence,
kavin puranam anusasitaram sarvasya dhataram. This supreme
Soul is the immutable self-existent Brahman of whom the Veda-
Knowers speak, and this is that into which the doers of askesis enter.
That eternal reality is the highest step, place, foot-hold of being
(padam); therefore is it the supreme goal of souls movement in
Time, itself no movement but a status original, sempiternal (everlasting)
and supreme, paramam sthanam adyam.
The Gita describes the last state of the mind of the Yogin in
which he passes from life through death to this supreme divine
existence. A motionless mind, a soul armed with the strength of
Yoga, a union with God in bhakti and the life force entirely drawn
up and set between the brows in the seat of mystic vision. All the
doors of the sense are closed, the mind is shut in into the heart, the
life-force taken up out of its diffused movement into the head, the
intelligence concentrated in the utterance of the sacred syllable OM
and its conceptive thought in the remembrace of the supreme
Godhead, mam anusmaran. That is the established Yogic way of
going, a last offering up of the whole being to the Eternal, the
Transcendent. The essential condition is the constant undeviating
memory of the Divine in life, even in action and battle mam
anusmara yudhya ca, (8/7) - and the turning of the whole act of
living into an uninterrupted Yoga, nitya-yoga. Whoever does that,
finds Me easy to attain, says the Godhead; he is the great soul who
reaches the supreme perfection. - (6)
|r= += , - ||=+
+||c ||+ =|=|= =| ~=|++ 15
15 - |+ : | || - + | +| |-: |- ` ~|
- (||- | :|: -| |: | - - | |.), |+ : :|:
| || |+ || | :+ (|+| || ~:|)
15-16 - The conditon to which the soul arrives when it thus
departs from life is supracosmic. The highest heavens of the cosmic
plan are subject to a return to rebirth; but there is no rebirth imposed
on the soul that departs to the Purushottama. To know him so and
so to seek him does mot bind to rebirth or to the chain of Karma; the
soul can satisfy its desire to escape permanently from the transient
and painful condition of our mortal being. - (7)
|+|r|| +=||=r+| = ++
|r= = |rc += , + |-r=++ 16
16 - -, :|: +|+ :| | |+| +:|:+ |-
` |:~ (|-| || |- ||:-), |z | ||: |+ |-
- (: | :|: |- - |-::)
=-~c- r+| |- +
=||z ~=-|c| = r|=|z|r-| =+|++ 17
17 - =:|+ :~: (::|||+| = ||+~+ =:|+
432 || +) |+ =|- - |+ =: |- |+ =+||:
(~|. ~|.| +||), | = | |:- (|- ) :
:|+||- |--+||:+ : :; |:- (: -| :|+||-)
=|- = =| c=|~r+
=|z|~r rc =rz|===r++ 18
142 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 8 = -|~ 141
18 - |+ |-- `: (+|~:) :| |-| +|+| |
(| | |.) |+ |+ +|| `: |:` : -
| (+||~: : = =: :.)
=| = =| ;| ;| r=+
=|z|~r | ==|~r++ 19
19 - ||, = |~ ( = :|) |+ () |:+
|:+ || |+ +||: `: | (;| ;| +||~: ::) |+
|+ |-- `: |:` || (+|~: |:)
=c--.|= |r| r+| r=| =| =+|=++
= =r+ r=+ += + |+|=++ 20
20 - 18 - |: : +| + (unmanifest) cosmic non-
manifestation, |+ |+: - =| supracosmic unmanifest |:,
eternal, :| + |-| `: |-| - (: :| | |+ -
-|:- | : :: - - |-|:)
1720 There is an eternal cycle of alternating periods of cosmic
manifestation and non-manifestation, each period called respectively
a day and a night of the creator Brahma, each of equal length in
Time, the long aeon of his working which endures for a thousand
ages, the long aeon of his sleep of another thousand silent ages. (One
age=four yugas) At the coming of the Day all manifestations are born
into being out of the unmanifest, at the coming of the Night all vanish
or are dissolved into it. Thus all these existences alternate helplessly
in the cycle of becoming and non-becoming, they come into the
becoming again and again bhutva bhutva, and they go back constantly
into the unmanifest. But this unmanifest is not the original divinity of
the Being; there is another status of his existence, a supracosmic
unmanifest beyond this cosmic non-manifestation. [Avyakta
(unmanifest) in Sl. 18 is cosmic.] There is a supracosmic unmanifest
which is eternal, not forced to perish with the perishing of all the
existences. - (8)
r=| = ==c-|; =| ~|=+
| + |+=rc ==| = ++ 21
21 - | + || :|: (||+) = ~|: |: ()
+ |: : |+| ~|: |-], | ||: || |-+ |+ ||
-||:~ ( || - |-::.), :|:+ |+ |+ +| (the highest status
of the Divine, : +| |+ )
21 - "He is called the unmanifest immutable (= =) him
they speak of as the supreme soul and status, and those who attain
to him return not; that is my supreme place of being, paramam
dhama." For the soul attaining to it has escaped out of the cycle of
cosmic manifestation and non-manifestation. - (9)
=+ = = | =| -++|+
=|c-||+ =||+ + =|- ==++ 22
22 - ||, :| |+ |:+: |: (:||- .||-),
|+|+| . ~ | |: (- - ::), |+ |+
(|+:|) + --| |+|+|: | |+ |||+ ( |+ |+ :
--| | ), ,--| : --|
22 - This eternally unmanifested Being whose status seems to
have nothing to do with the manifestation or the non-manifestation,
must be the ever undefined and undefinable Absolute. Bhakti seems
inapplicable to the Absolute. "But" insists the Gita, "that supreme
Purusha has to be won by a bhakti which turns to him alone in whom
all beings exist and by whom all this world has been extended in
space." - (10)
z |r ;+||=||=r+ ||~++
|=| ||c = | || ==+++ 23
23- +:, | : -:|~ |+: |~+ |- - (
|: |:| ||~- : -||) |+ | : -:|~ |+: |-
(|| = ||.), + | :|| ` (: | ||)
|r= ||== o +|=| ===|++
=z |=| ~t|c |r-| =+|++ 24
24 - |, ||:, |--, |, + +|+ | (| ||:
:|| +|) = : | |: -:|~ +| :|||: ||
(: |:| |- -| ~|.)
144 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 8 = -|~ 143
<r| =||zc-| + +|=| -|+|++
=z |= =||=r|~ | |+=r=++ 25
25- +|+|, +||:, |, -||-+ | (+ +|| :| ||
-||-) = : -:|~ +| |~: :| | ~:| || |-+
|+ |: (: |~ | ||: || |-:::)
or+ ~= r= =~= |r= r=+
=| |=+||=+|=r= +++ 26
26- ~:+ ||+ |+ =+|++ = | - | -||- | | (~:
: | =:: ~: |:: ::), =|+|+| | | |+ |-:|+|+|
| - | (= | -| | ||: - | | - | : :: ),
(|:-||-|::: ||: -|| -| |:::)
+r= == | =|++ |~ |= ++
=-.| =r+ |r+ |~r=| |= +++ 27
27- ||, = - | | |: | ||- (=:: : |--) |:-| |~
| |. - (- |~ - |:), -, |+: :| ::
|~ |+| (:| : |: |~ )
27 - "Therefore at all times be in Yoga." The remembrance of
the Divine Being becomes no longer an intermittent act of the mind,
but the natural condition of our activities and in a way the very
substance of the consciousness. - (11)
r-+ r=+ == -|r++ += |-+
r=|= = =|- ||-;| |~ = -|+r|= |-++ 28
28- - +-, =, :|| |+ -|- ||- | +|+| | | |
|: : |: (:- := :| -|:- = |= |-),
||- ||- ( - ||-;|) |~|+: = :|:|+ |: |+ (|~ :
::|:) |+ |-|- (|-) | :+ (|+ |- |- ||:)
Akshara Brahma Yoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. The Supreme Divine: 1-11

+ <| (Chapter 9)
=|= |- |-=|= o -|~
*~-|+ =|
-q = o= |+=r+
=|+ |=|+=|= ==|;| |r= o|++ 1
1 - =~+|:- `: ( -), |:: :| |+ |: -|- | -
(-:), |+: :|| |=|:-:+ :: |: =|-+ | ` ( -
: : |=|-|: : =|- ||) = =|- | |+: :| :|
+|+| `| ( =|;| | |:), ||+ |++
-|:|+, imperfections of our nature.
He (Krishna) is going to open his (Arjuna's) mind to the knowl-
edge and sight of the integral divinity (vision of the world-spirit, ch
XI). Arjuna is to become aware of himself as existing only in God
and as acting only by the power within him, his workings only an
instrumentality of the divine action
This vision (of world-spirit, biswarupa) is to remove whatever
doubt may still remain within his mind; it is to make him strong for
the action from which he has shrunk. Intellectual clarity is not enough;
he must see with inner sight illumining his blind outward human vi-
sion. He has been shown that there are two opposed ways of work-
ing and living, one in the ignorance of the ego, one in the clear self-
knowledge of a divine being. He may act with desire, with passion,
an ego driven by the qualities of lower Nature, bound on the world
machine, caught up in a great tangle of action and inaction and
perverse action which perplex the heart and mind and soul of man.
But he is not utterly tied down to the works of ignorance; he may do
if he will the works of knowledge. He may work here as the higher
thinker, the knower, the Yogin, the seeker of freedom first and after-
wards the liberated spirit. To perceive that great possibility and to
keep his will and intelligence fixed on the knowledge is the path of
escape from his sorrow and bewilderment.
Gita Ch. 8 = -|~ 145
There is a spirit within us calm, superior to works, equal, not
bound in this external tangle. To become spirit, no longer merely a
mind and ego is is the opening word of this message of liberation.
Arjuna has been therefore called upon first to give up all desire
of the fruits of his works and become simply the desireless impartial
doer of whatever has to be done, leaving the fruit to the master of
the cosmic workings. He has to give up the idea of being the doer
and to see that it is the universal intelligence, will, mind, life, that is
at work in him and in all others. Nature is the universal worker, his
works are hers. If he can do these two things spiritually, then the
tangle and bondage of his works will fall far away from him; for the
whole knot of that bondage lay in his egoistic demand. Passion and
sin and personal joy and grief will fade away from his soul. Action
will produce no subjective reaction and will leave no stain nor any
mark on his spirit's purity and peace. He will have the inner joy, rest,
ease and inalienable bliss of a free unaffected being. His separative
egoistic personality will have been taken up and extinguished in the
impersonality of spiritual being; his separative egoistic nature will be
unified with the action of cosmic Nature. The divine detachment
must be the foundation for a divine participation in Nature.
Throughout Krishna, the Avatar, the Teacher, the charioteer of
human soul in the world-action, has been preparing the revelation of
the secret of himself, Nature's deepest secret. "I who am within
thee," he was saying, "I who am here in this human body, I for whom
all exists, acts, strives, am at once the secret of the self-existent spirit
and of the cosmic action. Know thyself, be thyself that thou mayst
be united with Me of whom this timeless self is the clear light or the
transparent curtain. I the Godhead am the highest truth of self and
spirit." - (1)
=|=|-| =|=o |z|-=+
=|~ < == =++ 2
2 - = |-| ( -) :| |-|+ |:+: = (+||-|) |+ :|:
~||- (+|), ||+, , : |+~, +:, |+ |+
=-|:| (|| : ~: + : )
2 - What it (Gita) is going to say is the most secret thing of all.
It is the knowledge of the whole Godhead, samagram mam. This is
the wisdom of all wisdoms, the secret of all secrets, the king knowl-
edge, the king secret. It is a pure and supreme light which one can verify
by direct spiritual experience and see in oneself as the truth: it is the right
and just knowledge, the very law of being. It is easy to practise when
one gets hold of it, sees it, tries faithfully to live in it. - (2)
==<|+| =+| <=|= =c+
| | |+=rc ===|=|+++ 3
3 - |+.|, = ++ |: =|- |-:|:+ ( + =~+|-|
|+|) | -||| : +| |+ |:|-: |+ |: (| || :
|+ |- |-::.) + =|-
3 - Faith is necessary. The soul that fails to get faith in the
higher truth and law must return into the path of ordinary mortal living
subject to death and error and evil: it cannot grow into the Godhead
which it denies. For this is a truth which has to be lived and lived
in the soul's growing light. One has to grow into it, one has to become
it, that is the only way to verify it. It is only by an exceeding of
the lower self that one can become the real divine self and live the
truth of our spiritual existence. The release from the evil and the
defect of the lower Nature, asubham, can only come by accepting
a higher knowledge in which all this apparent evil becomes convinced
of ultimate unreality, is shown to be a creation of our darkness. But
to grow thus into the freedom of the divine Nature one must accept
and believe in the Godhead secret within our present limited nature.
For the reason why the practice of this Yoga becomes possoble and
easy is that in doing it we give up the whole working of all that we
naturally are into the hands of that inner divine Purusha. The God-
head works out the divine birth in us progressively, simply, infallibly,
by taking up our being into his and by filling it with his own knowl-
edge and power, jnanadipena bhasvata; he lays hands on our ob-
scure ignorant nature and transforms it into his own light and wide-
ness. What with entire faith and without egoism we believe in and
impelled by him will to be, the God within will surely accomplish. But
148 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 147
the egoistic mind and life must surrender into the hands of that inmost
secret Divinity within us. - (3)
| ==|- = =~-=|=+|+
-||+ ==||+ + | =+|-=++ 4
4 - |:+ ~|: ~ | |: | (|:-| | -
~ ::), :| |: |:, |z :|+: -| (:||-
||- : - +|:, ::)
4 - This supreme secret is the mystery of the transcendent
Godhead who is all and everywhere, yet so much greater and other
than the universe and all its forms that nothing here contains him,
nothing express him. What we see only a self-created form, rupa,
not the eternal form of the Divinity, svarupa. God is not the Becom-
ing. It is they that are in him, it is they that live and move in him. He
is not in them. - (4)
:| + |+ : :|:: |:, |z : |-: |- |
|+ :~ |+ |:-| :+ : |= |- -|+|:+ | | |+
-|+|:+ || | -| || :| :+ : +| - |- (becoming)
: - | :+ |-|-| - :| :: |: : :| +|+ |:,
|z :|+: : -|
+ -||+ =||+ |~r=+
= =r-| || =|+++ 5
5 - :| |+ |+ |~| | | |+| ( + |~ |)
|- : | :| , . ~ |: |: (:||- ||-,
94], = :| : : -, :~ |: -| (:||- - ||-, |+
+ timeless |+ spaceless, : |~| | |||+|+| time |+
space + material world - | |+:, |- | :+ |:|: :
= ~-: | |:, +|+ |:, |z |: -, involvement -| ),
:~ | |+: |, +|+ |: | ( || :|- ::) |z
:~: -| (- :)
5 - And even to say of him that all exists in him is not the
whole truth of the matter: for it is to speak of him with the idea of
space, and the Divine is spaceless and timeless. Space and time,
immanence and pervation and exceeding are all of them terms and
images of his consciousness. There is a Yoga of divine power, me
yoga aisvara, by which the Supreme creates phenomena [material
world] of himself in a spiritual, not a material, self-formulation of his
own extended infinity, an extension of which the material is only an
image. He is at once one with all that is and yet exceeds it; but he
is other also than this self or extended infinity of spiritual being
which contains and exceeds the universe. This is the mystery of his
being that he is supracosmic, yet not in any exclusive sense
extracosmic [beyond the universe]. For he pervades it all as its self;
there is a luminous uninvolved presence of the self-being of God,
mama atma, which is in constant relation with the becoming and
brings all its existences into manifestation by his simple presence.
We have these terms of being and becoming, existence in itself,
atman, and existences dependent upon it, bhutani, mutable beings
and immutable being. (Being - = , Becoming - =|+, =
qr|=, ==||+ 94) But the highest truth of these two (Akshara
and Kshara) must be found in that which exceeds it; it is the
supreme Godhead who manifests both containing self and its
contained phenomena by the power of his spiritual consciousness,
yogamaya. The highest truth of the supreme is supracosmic and all
that is phenomenal ( ~) seems a thing other than the infinity
of the self-conscious spirit, seems an image of a lesser truth if not
an illussion. When we dwell in this difference only, we regard the
Divine as if extracosmic. That he is only in this sense that he is not,
being supracosmic, contained in the cosmos and its creations, but
not in the sense that they are outside his being: for there is nothing
outside the one Eternal and Real. We realise this first truth of the
Godhead spiritually when we get the experience that we live and
move and have our being in him alone, that, however different from
him we may be, we depend on him for our existence and the
universe itself is only a phenomenon and movement in the spirit.
Thus the Gita begins by affirming that the Supreme contains all
things in himself, but is not in any, matsthani sarvabhutani, "all are
150 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 149
situated in Me, not I am in them," (9/4), and yet it proceeds imme-
diately to say," and yet all existences are not situated in Me, my self
is the bearer of all existences and it is not situated in existences." (9/
5). And yet again it insists with an apparent self-contradiction that the
Divine has lodged himself, has taken up his abode in the human body,
manusam tanum asritam, (9/11), and that the recognition of this truth
is necessary for the soul's release by the intergral way of works and
love and knowledge. These statements are only in appearance incon-
sistent with each other. It is as the supracosmic Godhead that he is
not in existences, nor even they in him, for the distinction we make
between Being and becoming applies only to the manifestation in the
phenomenal universe (material creation). In the supracosmic exist-
ence all is eternal Being and all, if there too there is any multiplicity,
are eternal beings, nor can the spatial idea (idea of space) of indwell-
ing come in, since a supracosmic absolute being is not affected by the
concepts of time and space which are created here by the Lord's
Yogamaya. There is a spiritual, not a spatial or temporal (of time) co-
existence, a spiritual identity and coincidence must be the foundation.
But, on the other hand, in the cosmic manifestation there is an ex-
tension of universe in space and time by the supreme unmanifest
supracosmic Being, and in that extension he appears first as a self
(Akshara Brahman) who supports all these existences; bhutabhrit,
he bears them in his all pervading self-existence. And, even through
this omnipresent self the supreme Self too, the Paramatman, can be
said to bear the universe; he is its invisible spiritual foundation and
hidden spiritual cause of the becoming of all existences. He bears the
universe as the secret spirit in us bears our thoughts, works,
movements. He seems to pervade and to contain mind, life and body
to support them by his presence: but this pervasion is itself an act of
consciousness, not material; the body itself is only a constant act of
consciousness of the spirit. - (5)
|||-r=| |+= | =zr~| |++
=| =||+ =||+ -|+=<|=++ 6
6 - ~- |- | -| :- ||: |: (~ |-
| |-: | |||:), ::- :| :~ |: +|: (:| ||
:||- ||-), = :| ||-| ( |: |+|+)
6This divine Self contains all existences; all are situated in him.
It is as the great, the all-pervading aerial principle dwells in the
etheric that all existences dwell in Me, that is how you have to
conceive it, says the Teacher to Arjuna.(5A)
==||+ |rc |= ||c |||+
qr +c-||+ q|r-| |==|++ 7
7 - `:., v+ : . :~ |+ |:: |- |
(v: :||- ||| |: ||.) |+ v+ ||-: | : |:`
| :+| (v|:-` :||- |- |||)
7 The Supreme from above cosmic existence leans or presses
down upon his Nature to loose from it in an eternal cyclic recurrence
all that it contains in it, all that was once manifest and has become
latent. The Jiva follows the cycle of its becoming (taking birth) in the
action of this divine Nature, prakritim mamikam, svam prakritim, the
own nature of the Divine. It becomes in the turns of her progression
this or that personality; it follows always the curve, of its own law
of being; it returns out of her action into her immobility and silence
in the lapse of cycle. (5B)
|= -| |==|| + ++
=|| - r=|++ 8
| |: own Nature, leaning, pressing down,
||| create, loose forth into various being, :| multitude
of creatures or becomings, :: | |:+ |-+ :
+, helplessly subject owing to the control of Prakriti.
8 - |- |:+ |+: |-~| | |- (| |: ) |+
|:+ |-+ : + | (|+ |:: |- |) (
:: |) = :| :~ ( :|) |:+ |:+ | :+|
(|- |- |||)
152 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 151
8 - "Leaning pressing down upon my own Nature (Prakriti) I
create (loose forth into various being) all this multitude of existences,
all helplessly subject to the control of Nature." Avastabhya is a
forceful downward pressure by which the object controlled is over-
come or limited in its movement or working and becomes helplessly
subject to the controlling power, avasam vasat. - (6)
+ | =||+ ||+ |+<|c <+s+
=-|=+-|=+== =+ =++ 9
9 - |+ |+: +| | |:+|-: +| -|+|:+ (:||- || |
- |-+ |.), |: -| |+ -|- |: | (: -|-
|-)
|<r+ |= =r= ==|=+
=+|r++ |rc =~- ||==r=++ 10
10 - |+ +:|: |:: + |+ + :~ + :+ (|
+: |: +|+ ::), |+: ~ |:+ |:+ | |+ -
| (:-- :-| ~ |||+:::)
9, 10The Divine too follows the cycle, not as subject to it, but
as its informing Spirit and guide, not with his whole being involved in
it, but with his power of being accompanying and shaping it. He is
the presiding control of his own action of Nature, adhyaksa, not a
spirit born in her, but the creative spirit who causes her to produce
all that appears in the manifestation. If in his power he accompanies
her (Nature) and causes all her workings, he is outside it too, as if
one seated above her universal action in the supracosmic mastery,
not attached to her by any involving and mastering desire and not
therefore bound by her works, because he infinitely exceeds them
and precedes them, is the same before, during and after all their
procession in the cycles of Time. (6A)
=|+|c | | |++ =+||==+
= |=|+rc| =r=++ 11
11 - =:|: :+ :+ = |+:; | -||| |-+
-+|+ | +=| :+ (| ::+ |+ | |-. |-
:- ||=: | |-|.)
||| ||r+| |=|+| |r==+
=|=|==r+ |= ||+ |==|++ 12
12 - ||| |+ |: | +=| :+ ::|+ ||, ,
=|- |- |+ | || (||| | |=|-| |::), |+
::| : |+ + + |+: +| |+ ++ |:+ |: |
(+| |+ = |: ||- |=:|)
11, 12 Deluded minds, mudha, despise, avajananti, Me lodged
in the human body, manusim tanum asritam, because they know not
My supreme nature of being, Lord of all existences.(6B)
Mortal mind is bewildered by its ignorant reliance upon veils and
appearances; it sees only the outward human body, human mind,
human way of living and catches no liberating glimpse of the Divinity
who is lodged in the creature. It ignores the divinity within itself and
cannot see it in other men, and even though the Divine manifest
himself in humanity as Avatar and Vibhuti, it is still blind and ignores
or despises the veiled Godhead, avajanati mam mudha manusim tanum
asritam. What it does see readily is only the life of the ego hunting
after finite (impermanent) things for their own sake and for the
satisfaction of the earthly hunger of the intellect, body, senses. But
to live persistently in this separtive ego-consciousness and make that
the centre of all our activities is to miss altogether the true self
awareness. All its hope, action, knowledge are vain things when
judged by the divine and eternal standard. It is a false knowledge that
sees the phenomenon (material world) but misses the truth of the
phenomenon, a blind hope that chases after the transient but misses
the eternal, sterile action whose every profit is annulled by loss.
(6C)
||+q | | - |=||==|+
=c+++r=| =|;| =||-++ 13
13 - |z | ||, | -+ |:+ |=: |: ( ||-
: - |: ||=:|), : :|: | | + ||- |+ |
154 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 153
||- --| |+|+-| :+ (| :||- =|;| ---
|.)
13 - The great souled who open themselves to the light and
largeness of the diviner nature of which man is capable, are alone on
the path narrow in the beginning, inexpressively wide in the end that
lead to liberation and perfection. The growth of the god in man is
man's proper business; the steadfast turning of this lower Asuric and
Rakshasic into the divine nature is the carefully hidden meaning of
human life. - (7)
=== =rc| | =c - =|+
+=c | =| |+==| =|=r=++ 14
14 - =:|: ; |+ - :::+ -| |~ | |
|:+ | :+, ||-| :+ |+ :| :: + :+ (:.
- :| |-:| | | -. ||:: :: :. )
14 - All life becomes a constant Yoga and unification of that
Divine and this human spirit. This is the manner of the integral
devotion; it creates a single uplifting of our whole being and na-
ture through sacrifice by the dedicated heart to the eternal
Purushottama. - (8)
=|+r=+ |r+ =rc| ||=r=+
=r;+ r;+ ;<| |r=|++ 15
15 - |:-|:+ | =|-= | =|-:|~+ |:~|- || | :+
(:- || =|- :=- . | ||::), |:-|:+ | = +
= +:| |+|+-| :+ (=:;-) |+ |- |:-|:+ |+ :| ::
|+ |: | -| || ; :+ (|:;- -+| |::|)
15 - Those who lay a predominant stress on knowledge, arrive
to the same point by an increasing, engrossing, enforcing power of
the vision of the Divine on the soul and nature. Theirs is a sacrifice
of knowledge and by an ineffable ecstasy of knowledge they come
to the adoration of the Purushottama, jnana-yajnena yajanto mam
upasate. It is a heart-felt seeking and seizing of the Supreme and the
Universal, a pursuit of the Infinite in his infinity and of the Infinite in
all that is finite, a vision and embracing of the One in his oneness and
of the One in all, his innumerable visages, everywhere, in endless
aspects of his Godhead, in all his million universal faces, ekatvena
prithaktvena bahudha visvatomukham. - (9)
z== = -<|r|+<+
r| r|=|= ;=++ 16
16 - : =+ v, : =, : =|+ :|, : +, :
, : =+ |, : | |+ |-|: ( : =
+| + = | | -:)
16 - The outward Vedic rite is a powerful symbol, but the real
sacrifice is that inner oblation (offering, sacrifice) in which the Divine
All becomes himself the ritual action, the sacrifice and every single
circumstance of the sacrifice. The Divine Inhabitant (the soul) be-
comes himself the flame and the offering, because the flame is Godward
will and that will is God himself within us. The Divine Thinker becomes
himself the sacred mantra; it is the Light of his being that expresses
itself in the thought directed Godward and is effective in the revealing
word of splendour that enshrines the thought's secret and in the rhythm
that repeats for man the rhythms of the Eternal. - (10)
[The offering of all physical works, thoughts and feelings and
reactions to any situation to the Divine is sacrifice, Yajna.]
Will is Kratu, the effective power behind the act. This will is
Agni, the flame of the Divine will or Force of Consciousness working
in the worlds. The mental will, Kratu, becomes what it at present only
represents, the divine will, Agni.
Isha Upanishad, Sri Aurobindo
|=|= =~r=| |=| <|=| |=|+
- |zr|e|= =| = r= ++ 17
17 - : ~:+ ||:|, |:|, +|:| (||- : |) ||- |: | (
~: ||:|, |:|, +|:|, ||:| ), : - + =|- |+ , |, +
- , : ||+:|+ |+ |+ (- , | , + = || |+)
17 - The illumining Godhead is himself the Veda and that which
is made known by the Veda. He is both the knowledge and the object
of the knowledge. The Rik, the Yajur, the Sama, the word of illumi-
156 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 155
nation which lights up the mind with the rays of knowledge are
themselves the Brahman, the Godhead. All word and thought are an
out flowering of the great OM, OM, the Word, the Eternal. OM
is the sovereign source, seed, womb of thing and idea, form and
name, it is itself, integrally, the supreme Intangible, the original
Unity, the timeless Mystery self-existent above all manifestation in
supernal being. This sacrifice is therefore at once works and
adoration and knowledge. - (11)
~|==| =| |+|= =+ =.+
-|+ |+<|+ =++ 18
18 - :|:+ ~. |-, +|| |-:|, ~+|, |, ||-,
|=, + (~|: :| | |-| + ), :|:+ || |+
+ |+ |+ |=|+ |-, |+ : ( |-+|- |-
)
18 - The world and fate and uncertain eventuality cannot terrify,
the aspect of suffering and evil cannot bewilder the man who has
surrendered himself to the Eternal. God to the soul that sees is the
path and God is the goal of his journey, a path in which there is no
self-losing and a goal to which his wisely guided steps are surely
arriving at every moment. He knows the Godhead as the master of
his and all being, the upholder of his nature, the husband of the
nature-soul, its lover and cherisher, the inner witness of all his thoughts
and actions. God is his house and country, the refuge of his seekings
and desires, the wise and close and benignant friend of all beings. All
birth and status and destruction of apparent existences is to his vision
and experience the One who brings forward, maintains and with-
draws his temporal self-manifestation. He alone is the imperishable
seed and origin of all that seem to be born and perish and their
eternal resting place in their non-manifestation. - (12)
=| + |+~y|==|| +
=r+ = =-=|= +++ 19
19 - -, :|| |-, ||+|+| ||- | |+ |:`
:+| ( :||| |-~|| || ), ++ +- |+ :
(: = : ), (|-:, |-|) |+ (|-|, -+
~), (, , 216]
19 - It is he that burns in the heat of the sun and the flame; it
is he who is the plenty of the rain and its withholding; he is all the
physical Nature and her workings. Death is his mask and immortality
is his self-revelation. - (13)
z|-| | =|| =||
r=|=| -~|= |rc+
= +|=|- =r=r|
|c |-|+ |-| -r|~|+++ 20
20 - |:|- -+ ( + |) |+|- - |:+ |~=||-|+| |:
=+|+| | |+|+-| |+ |+ ||- |+ ||| ~| |-| :+
(|-| = | | ||| |:|||| ~|: |:.), ::|: ||+
~:|| ~: -+:|+ |~ |~ :+ (: | :+
| ||- |-| |-|- -:|~|- |.)
= = =| -~r| ||
r+ r+ =r| ||c+
= z<+|
~=|~= ||| rc++ 21
21 - ::|: || ~ |~ |+ | `: |-+ ||+
|+ |: (: : || ~:| | |: : ::| ||.), = -:+
|:|- -+ ||: |+ |~|: |:+ |:+ |+ ||+| |+
|: (= + -|| ||| ~:|~: :.)
20-21 Outward religion is the worship of an outward deity.
Their object is to secure after the mortal pleasure and pain of earthly
life the bliss of heavenly worlds, a greater happiness than earth can
give but still a personal and mundane enjoyment though in a larger
world than the field of this limited and suffering terrestial nature.
Thus the Vedic ritualist of old learned the exoteric [external] sense
of the triple Veda, purified himself from sin, drank the wine of com-
munion with the gods.
158 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 157
Here and not elsewhere the highest Godhead has to be found,
the soul's divine nature developed out of the imperfect physical
human nature and through unity with God and man and universe the
whole large truth of being discovered and lived and made visibly
wonderful. - (14)
|~= ~ |- ||:+, |z |, |+ ~: :
:~ |+- -:+ +-+ : :~ ||+ |:+ |:~|- ||+:: |-
+- | +|, -: || ~ | +| |-: | |+: |- |:
| |+ ||:+, | || |:~ || .+: ||~ |o: :+
:| |~|+ |+ |- + ||+ - -|| || |+ || +||.+
|+
++||crc| | =+| |=r=+
=+| |+=||=|+| |~r |++ 22
22 - |: =|:|:+ :: | |.| :+ |+ ||-| :+ (
-| --| | |.. |||::), |+ ~: -| +
: |- + |~|+ |+ | + +|+ + | :+ | (: | |-:|| |-|
|~: ||)
22 - To see nothing but the Divine, to be at every moment in
union with him, to love him in all creatures and have the delight of
him in all things is the whole condition of his spiritual existence. His
Godvision does not divorce him from life, nor does he miss anything
of the fullness of life; for God himself becomes the spontaneous
bringer to him of every good and of all his inner and outer getting and
having, Yoga-ksemam vahamyaham. - (15)
+r-=| =| =rc ==||=|+
= | |r |rc =c||<++ 23
23 - |: -:-+:|+ |: ||- =|:+ :: ::|+ ||
:+ ( || -:-:| | =| |:| :.), ::|: |: ||
:+, |z : |-: -:+ (: || | = |. ||+|)
23 - Ordinary religion is a sacrifice to partial godheads, other
than integral Divinity. Gita takes its direct examples from the old
Vedic religion; it describes this outward worship as a sacrifice to
other godheads, anyadevatah, to the gods or to the divinised An-
cestors, or to elemental powers and spirits, devan, pitrin, bhutani, if
they do this with faith, then their faith is justified; for the Divine
accepts whatever symbol, form or conception of himself is present
to the mind of the worshipper, yam yam tanum sraddhaya archati,
(7/21), and meets him according to the faith that is in him. However
small or low the form of the worship, however limited the idea of
the godhead, however restricted the giving, the faith, the effort to
get behind the veil of one's own ego worship and limitation by
material Nature, it yet forms a thread of connection between the
soul of man and the All-Soul. This inferior offering is not given
according to the true and highest law of sacrifice. It is not founded
on a knowledge of the supreme Godhead na mam abhijananti
tattvena. Therefore its sacrifice too is limited in its object, largely
egoistic in its motive, partial and mistaken in its action and giving,
yajanti avidhipurvakam. An entire seeing of the Divine (with the
knowledge that all is Brahman) is the condition of an entire con-
scious self-surrender. - (16)
| ==|+| |=| r= +
+ = ||=|+|c =rq+|=|c =++ 24
24 - : :| =+ || |+ ( | =|-| ||
= ), | | +:| --|+ |+: ::|+ (-:-+:| || +|+)
|:- (: ::;- | - ||-|., : : |.)
24 All sincere religious belief and practice is really a seeking
after the one supreme and universal Godhead; for he always is the
sole master of mans sacrifice and askesis and infinite enjoyer of his
effort and aspiration. (16A)
||c -=| -|+ |=+ ||c |==|+
=||+ ||c r==| ||c - ||=r+| | |++ 25
25 - - +:| | | +|: - +:| || (- :| - |- ||.), ||:
| ||: :| | (||: :| ||: - ||.), : | : ::| ||
(::| :||- ||.) |+ | || +|: | || ( ||- ||
| ||.)
160 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 159
z = =| | =| t|=+
=- = .=|| =|+++ 26
26 - |, ||, =, ||- |- |:-|:+ ||::+ | | :+,
(| || = :| | |:), |::+ |+ ||:+:+ |-|
||+ :+| (:|- |: : ||)
r=||+ -||= mr||+ --||= +
= =|= |rc = =+ -+++ 27
27 - `:., :| | |: +|, | |+|, | | +|, | -|- +|,
| :|| +| ( :+|| || :|| --|| :||),
:|:|+ | | |+ +| (: | +)
27- This absolute self-giving, this one-minded surrender is the
devotion which the Gita makes the crown of its synthesis. All action
and effort are by this devotion turned into an offering to the supreme
and universal Godhead. "Whatever thou doest, whatever thou enjoyest,
whatever thou sacrificest, whatever thou givest, whatever energy of
tapasya, of the soul's will or effort thou puttest forth, make it an
offering unto Me." Here the least, the slightest circumstance of life,
the most insignificant gift out of oneself or what one has, the smallest
action assumes a divine significance and it becomes an acceptable
offering to the Godhead who makes it a means for his possession of
the soul and life of the God-lover. The distinctions made by desire
and ego then disappear. - (17)
o|o=rr= |r= =r++
=|=r|~=|| |r=| |r+|=++ 28
28 - = -:+ :| | | |+: + =+ +-+|+|
`| (= = +- |:), | |+ =+
||, :; | :| | :|~ +| | |: |- +-+|+|
| | :+ (| |~|| | | ||)
28- As there is no straining after the good result of one's action,
no shunning of unhappy result, but all action and result are given up
to the Supreme to whom all work and fruit in the world belong for
ever, there is no farther bondage, and there is a perfect union between
the Divine and the individual soul through an inner renunciation. The
finite nature thus surrendered becomes a free channel of the Infinite;
the soul in its spiritual being, uplifted out of the ignorance and its
limitation returns to its oneness with the Eternal. - (18)
=r| =r=+ + r+| |c- + |+
=|c = | =| | = =+ |++ 29
29 - :| |+ |: |- (:| |+ |: |+ || |-), |+
| | | |:-| -| ( :: - - | |.), |z
|: | | :+, | || , + :+, : :| |: |: |+
: :|: |: | ( : | | |. : | || : )
29 - The Divine Eternal is the inhabitant in all existences: he
is equal in all and the equal friend, father, mother, creator, lover,
supporter of all creatures. He is the enemy of none and he is the
partial lover of none; none has he cast out, none has he eternally
condemned. But it is only this perfect adoration that can make this
indwelling of God in man and man in God a conscious thing and an
engrossing and perfect union. Love of the Highest and a total self-
surrender are the straight and swift way to this divine oneness.-
(19)
| =- =||r=| =r= |++|+
=|<r= = c =~|=r=| | =++ 30
30 - |- |: - +||+ |: =|- |:+ | |+|+-| :+, :|:|
: |+ | ~ +| ( - +||+ || --| | :: |+
= .), |+ : ||. ` |||+: (| |:)
30 - "If" says the divine Teacher "even a man of very evil
conduct turns to Me with a sole and entire love, he must be regarded
as a saint, for the settled will of endeavour in him is a right and
complete will. - (20)
| |= <|| t||c |+~t|=+
|rc |==|+| + = +|=++ 31
162 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 161
31 - =:- - +||+ | : +|| |+ |+||. | :+ (|
+|| |: ||. |-~|:), `:., :| |- ||-| |+
|:| |- - (`:. |:|-| - |:)
31 - "Swiftly he becomes a soul of righteousness and obtains
eternal peace. This is my word of promise," cries the voice of the
Godhead to Arjuna, "that he who loves Me shall not perish."
A will of entire self-giving opens wide all the gates of the spirit
and brings in response an entire descent and self-giving of the God-
head to the human being. The will of self-giving forces away the veil
between God and man; it annuls every error and annihilates every
obstacle. When the soul gives up its ego and its work to the Divine,
God himself comes to us and takes up our burden. To the ignorant
he brings the light of the Divine knowledge, to the feeble the power
of the divine will, to the sinner the liberation of the divine purity, to
the suffering the infinite spiritual joy and Ananda. - (21)
| | | ||== | = |r|++
|-r| |c-| s|rc- | ||c =| ~|=++ 32
32 - ||, :|, , |+ |+ =:|:+ |-.+:
||+| |: |+ |= `: |+ ~|: | :+ [| | :| |
|| |||:|- () : || | |||=: | |+| ~|: ||.]
32 - Previous effort and preparation, the purity and the holiness
of the Brahmin, the enlightened strength of the king-sage have their
value; but even without this preparation all who take refuge in the
divine Lover of man, the Vaishya once preoccupied with the narrow-
ness of wealth-getting and the labour of production, the Shudra ham-
pered by a thousand hard restrictions, woman shut in and stunted in
her growth by the narrow circle society has drawn around her self-
expansion, those too, papa-yonayah, on whom their past Karma has
imposed even the very worst of births, the outcaste, find at once the
gates of God opening before them. (22)
| +|+| +| =| =|=+c-|+
|+== || | =- |++ 33
33 - ||- | |+ +||+ | ` ~| | |:
(::|: |+ ~|: || :|: : -| , || || :| | +|
| |-), = |-: |+ - |+ ||| |:| | |+|+-| |+
|+| (|-: | || | )
33 - "O soul that findest thyself in this transient and unhappy
world, turn and put thy delight in Me, anityam asukham lokam
prapya bhajasva mam. - (23)
,+| qr=| - |= | +-=+
|rr+|= r=||+ =|+++ 34
34 - :| :| :: | |.| +|, =| | | ||+| |+
| +|, | ||-| +| |+ | | +| ( -|
| | -+), = -:+ |+ +|~: |+ :-|+ ~: ||:
|: | |+| (= |+| ||- | | = =|)
34 This is Gitas teaching of divine love and devotion, in which
knowledge, works and hearts longing become one in a supreme
unification, a merging of all their divergences, an intertwining of all
their thereads, a high fusion, a wide identifying movement. To make
the mind one with the divine consciosuness, to make the whole of our
emotional nature one love of God everywhere, to make all our works
one sacrifice to the Lord of the worlds and all our worship and
aspiration one adoration of him and self-surrender, to direct the whole
self Godwards in an entire union is the way to rise out of a mundane
into a divine existence. - (24)
Rajabidya Rajaguyyayoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. The Secret of secrets: 1, 2, 3.
2. The Divine truth and way: 4, 5, 5A, 5B, 6A.
3. Works, Devotion and knowledge: 7-24, 6C, 16A.
4. The possibility and purpose of Avatarhood: 6, 6B
5. Equality - 23

All can be done by the Divine, the heart and nature purified, the inner
consciousness awakened, the veils removed, if one gives oneself to the Divine with
trust and confidence.
Sri Aurobindo
164 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 9 =|=| -|-=|=o-|~ 163
- <| (Chapter 10)
| |=-|~
*~-|+ =|
= ||r| + = +
= |+| || |=||++ 1
1 - =~+|:- `: ||-, :| |+ | -| ( |+
), :| |+ | |- |- || |, |+: :||+ |:+ |: |-+
`:| ( || : |:|| = ||)
1 - "Again hearken to my supreme word", bhuya eva srinu me
paramam vacah. - (1)
+ |- ==~+| + ++
||-| -|+| ++|+ =++ 2
2 - -+:| |+ |: |+ ||+ |: =:| -||:- (+~|
- |-), |+ -+:| |+ |+ ||- |+ (|
-|-| | ||-)
2 - "Neither the gods nor the great Rishis know any birth of Me.
For I am altogether and in every way the origin of the gods and the
great Rishis." - (2)
| |=+||-+ |= |r=+
= = r=+ =|r r=++ 3
3 - | | +|:, -||- |+ :|:+ :+ | |:-, ( |
-||- |:+ |), : |-+ |: | :|
|||+|+| ( :: ||| ::)
3- He is the mighty lord of the worlds and peoples, loka-
mahesvara, and governs all not only from within but from above,
from his supreme transcendence. "Whoever knows Me as the unborn
who is without origin, mighty lord of the worlds, lives unbewildered
and is delivered from all sin and evil." - (3)
|==|+=r.| | == - +
= - r||r| +|r ++ 4
|=| ==| =|c-r| -|+ r|+
|c || =|+| = = ~ |<|++ 5
4, 5 |, =|-, :| (freedom from bewilderment of mind),
|, :, | , -+ , , - , , :, , , ||, :|,
z|, :||, -|-, | |+ | ++ = | |:|+ |+|+|
| : (| =|- :| | : - - |
= || :| :| :| -|- :|-| |~
|+| || = |.)
|+ =q r ;|r=| +c-|+
q|| |+=| =|=| +| | | =|++ 6
6 - |:- |, ::|+ |~+ ||+- |+ - |+ -+|+|
( |: ;|+ :| - ;|| |-| |:|), = ~:+
:| | ::|+ | (| | | |)
6 - Seven seers are intelligence powers of Divine Wisdom which
has evolved all things seven principles. Along with these are cou-
pled the four eternal Manus, fathers of man mental beings Creators
of all this life all are their children. - (4)
==| ||= |~+ | |= =q=+
=||r+ |r~+ =r= +|z =++ 7
7 - | |+ = | |::|+ |+ |~ (|+ |~) | |:+ | ||
( =:| | |: |~ :;: |), : ||: |~+|+| |+ ~:
, |: |:-| : -| ( |:|- |:~- :: - )
7 - "Whoever knows in its right principles this my pervading
lordship and this my Yoga (the divine Yoga, aisvara yoga, by which
the Transcendent is one with all existences) unites himself to Me by
an untrembling (unvacillating) Yoga." - (5)
A prayer, a master act, a king idea
Can link man's strength to a transcendent Force. Savitri
166 *q~-- ~=|
== r| = = =r=+
|= ;| =rc | <| |=|=|++ 8
8 - :| + ||+ |+ ( ), |+ |+| :|
|:: : ( :::), =|-:- = | | | ||: :
(+| |: ;| ||:| | :.)
4, 5, 8 I am the birth of everything and from Me all proceeds
into development of action and movement. Not only is this true of all
that we call good, all that is sattwic, peace-giving, spiritually joy-
giving, understanding and knowledge and freedom from bewilderment,
forgiveness and truth and self-government and calm of inner control,
non-injuring and equality, contentment and austerity and giving. It is
true also of the oppositions, grief and pleasure, coming into being
and destruction, fear and fearlessness, glory and ingloriousness
(3A)
|=| - ~=|+| |<c =-=+
c | |+= =+|c =|c ++ 9
9 - = : |: - |+ | | |+ = :|: |+|:+ |+|+
|+ | | |-, |:|-| |+, -| :.| |+ |- | :+ ( ||
~: || | |+|+ |+ . . |-: : |. +|. )
9 - (God-lover's) whole life flows into one sea of bliss-experi-
ence. All speech and thought of such God-lovers become a mutual
utterance and understanding of the Divine. - (6)
=+| ====|+| ==| |=
--|| |=r|~ = + |||c =++ 10
10 - |: ::: |: | | |+ |+ ~: || |:|
|+ -| :+ ::| |:|~ |- (::|-| |:| :|
:| : |:|~ --||), |+|+| ::|: | | |+ ||:+ (- :
| |||.)
10 - "The wise hold Me for the birth of each and all, they love
and adore Me ....... and I give them the Yoga of the understanding
by which they come to Me and I destroy for them the darkness
which is born of the ignorance." - (7)
=+|r|+|=|+= =+
+||||r-| =|+-r+ |-=|++ 11
11 - = :| :: |+ ~: | || |+
::|+ .++ ~+:|: | =|-+ ||:+:+ ::|+ -+
+|+ -| :+| (:| = -|| || |:| =|--:|-
=|- : -|||)
11 - He uplifts the blazing lamp of knowledge within us, he
destroys the ignorance of the separative mind and will, he stands
revealed in the human spirit. - (8)
= + =|
= = <| |z = |++
=+ |= |-||-r-= |++ 12
|;-|+ =r -|++|=-c-|+
|=r=| -r| |= -r+ |+ ++ 13
12, 13 :- `: : | |+ , |+ +|, |+ ||+ -+| -|+-,
|:, -, | ||- | : :|| |: (eternal), |-, +|:, ||-:-+
|+ || | | : | |-: | | | (|- |+ |+
+| |+ || -| -|+- :| |: - | : ;| |:
| + |- ||-:- | |- = | ), -,| -;|
=r=- = r+ ,| -|= +
+ | = ~+ |= |- r- | + -|+|++ 14
14 - +, : | | |||- `| :| : | ||- :|
( | -| =: : :-) , |+, ~+|-, : | :- | |
|+| | -+:| | -|-+ |:- -||:- (: | -| -|-| - | |-)
-r|+||+ ; =r+|=+
=|+ r= -r- =~r=++ 15
15 - |+:|, :|- (:|:+ ||+ ), ::
(|+ |+||:), -+:-+ (-+:|:+| -+:|), ~:+ |+||:, :|
|-:: |-+ +| | ||+| (; = |-| ||- )
168 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 10 | |=-|~ 167
= =rr++ |-| ||=+
||||=|r|||+|-||=|=++ 16
16 - :| |:|+ ||:+|+| ~|: | | || (; || ||:|
| ||- || |:|) :||+ |- ||::|++ |: |.:|:+ |
|+| |: (|-| ||: :: | |), |,|;,
|:|||
|-| ||~-| =-| |=|c++
+ + |r+ |rc| |= ~,|++ 17
17 - |:~+, :- -| |.| |+: :|| ||- |||+ (||~-
;| -| ||+|.- |-|) ~+|-, :|| |-:| +|: |
|: |.| |+ ( |: | |. |)
|c-r=+|r+| |~ ||=+ =+|=++
=|q| r=| +||c- =++ 18
18 - -|- -, :| :||+ |~ | |+ ||::|++ | | |:`
|.||+:|:+ |+| (|- |~ ||: |.:+ ), |+ :||+
: | |- |+ || | -| (| : : :| - |.)
1218 Arjuna accepts the entire knowledge that has thus been
given to him by the divine Teacher. His mind is already delivered
from doubts; his heart, turned now from the outward aspect of the
world, from its baffling appearance to its supreme sense and origin
and its inner realities, is already released from sorrow. He accepts
the Avatar [Krishna] as the supreme Brahman, as the supracosmic
All and Absolute of existence in which the soul can dwell when it
rises out of this manifestation to its source, param brahma, param
dhama. He accepts him as the supreme purity, as the one Permanent,
the eternal Soul, the divine Purusha. He accepts him as the lord of
all existences and cause of their becoming, God of the gods, master
of the universe. Lastly he accepts him as that Vasudeva in and
around us who is all things, the sovereign powers of the becoming
by which thou standest pervading these worlds. His heart is full of
delight of it, he finds that it is delivering him from the perplexity of
his mind. He asks Krishna Thou shouldst tell me of thy divine self-
manifestations in thy sovereign power of becoming thy Vibhutis by
which thou pervadest these worlds and in what pre-eminent becomings
should I think of thee? (9)
*~-|+ =|
c = |+|| |-| ||=+
|<|+= =r= +|c-rc| |c-== ++ 19
=~+|:- `:
19 - |+ (.), +:=, |+ +|- |- ||::|++ |: :||
(|-| ||: |+|-: : |||), |+ |+ ||:+ . -|
(| |.+ . - |.), -|.:.| - |. ., | | |
19 He (the divine Teacher) says, I will tell thee of my divine
Vibhutis, but only in some my principal pre-eminences, pradhanyatah.
(10)
|| o=|r ==||-=+
||- <+ =|+|c = ++ 20
20 - |:, :| | |+ + |:+: ||+:| +|:
( :||: ||), : :| |+ ||-, + |+ . (
||- + :|-| . = )
20 In every being and object God dwells concealed and
discoverable. He is housed as in a crypt in the mind and heart of
every thing and creature, an inner self, one who is the beginning and
middle and end of all that is, has been and will be. (11)
||-=|+| |+r= ||=+| =|=o|++
=|==||-. +z|+| ++ 21
21 - ||-:+ |:+: |, ||:||+ |:+: -||-
, ++ |:+: +| |+ -||+ |:+: ||,
|+ |
170 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 10 | |=-|~ 169
-|+| =|rr-| |-. -|+||-. |=+
||+| +||-. =|+||-. =+|++ 22
22 - - + |:+: |:-, -+:|+ |:+: , | :|++
|:+: - |+ :| |:+ :-|
=s|+| e=||-. |r=r| ==|+
=+| |||-. = ||=+|++ 23
23 - ++ |:+: |+, |+ +|:|++ |:+: :+
(|:), + |:+: | (||) |+ |:+ |:+: (||+|)
+ |:
r=|<=|+ | ||= | -|=+
=+|++| -= ===||-. =|~=++ 24
24 - ||, | |+|:+ (|:+|+|) +|- ||: | ||-|,
-|||:+ |:+: ||: () |+ :+|+||+ |:+: |~+
|| | |
++| o= |~=|r-.=+
=|+| =r=||-. -|=|+| ||++ 25
25 - |+ |:+: , |+| ~+ |:+: (|~+|) =|+
|+ =+ |:+: |= |+ |+ + |:+: || :
| =
=|+| -++|+ +|=-+
~=|+| |z= |==|+| |r| |+++ 26
26 - ~+ |:+: |: ~ (), -+|+ |:+: -|+-, ~++
|:+: |+ |+ ||++ |:+: || |-
=r==|+| ||= |r=|q+
=|= ~r=|+| +=|+|+ +=||<++ 27
27 - |+|||+ |:+: | :+ |: - +|+ : ;+
|+| =| | ||-|, |:+ |:+: +|+: |+ |-+ |:+: +|
|-| |-|
|<|+| <++||-. |<+
=+||-. = =|+||-. |=|++ 28
28 - + |:+: (|+|-|) , ~| ~++ |:+: |:+-,
|+ ||+ |+ |:-+ (|) |+ ||+ |:+: ||
+c||-. +|~|+| =r+| |-=|+
|=+|| ||-. ==|++ 29
29 - ||+ |:+: (-|~|-|) -., ++ |:+: (|-|) +
-+:|, ||:+ |:+: | |+ |-| +| +|+ |:+:

g|-||-. -=|+| | =|+
~|+|+ r~r| +r= |+|++ 30
30 - -:+ |:+: |-, ||++ |:+: (:|)
|, |+ |:+: | (:~:|) |+ +| + |:+: ~+ (-::)
+ =||-. =| -=|+
+|+| =||-. -|==||-. =|++ 31
31 - ~~|+ |:+: | ||+|++ |:+: (|:|) |, +|++
|:+: +|, |+ |:+: (+||) ~+ | (+) |+ --+ |:+:
(|:|) ~| -- (|+)
=~|+|||-=c < |= ++
<||-| |-|+| |- -=|++ 32
32 - -, :| + (~||) ||-, . |+ +
|-|+ |:+: |+|| |-|, :||+ (-:|) ||. (|-)
=|+||r=| |-. =||== +
r| |r| <|=| |r=|++ 33
33 - |++ |:+: ` |+, |+ |, : |
( |) |+ : |+|:| |+ |+ :| | |+ ::
-|-
= ==|q |+=|+
|= *| +|=+| -.|=r<| <|= |++ 34
172 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 10 | |=-|~ 171
34 - :|:+ |+:| : (+ :), |+:: | ` ~|
:| + ;|+ , -|++ |:, `, |:, |:, +|, +,
|
=| =| =|| ~|z ;==|+
|=|+| |~r+| =+| =|=++ 35
35 - |:-+ + |:+: (||) |, || +
|:+: ~|, |+ |:+: |:| | (|~) |+ :+ |:+: .
: (|+)
- = ;=||-. ==rc-=|-.+|+
=r||-. -=|r||-. =q =q=|++ 36
36 - ~+ +| (:| - :), :+ :, ,
- (+|) |+ ||;+ ;
++||=r-r||-. |o|+| <+s+
++| |= +|+| |++ 37
37 - | + |:+: |:-+, ||++ |:+: +-a,
|-+ |:+: | |- |+ |+ |:+: || (-|)
-ro| -=||-. +|==|-. |=~+=|+
|+ ||-. o|+| =|+ =|+=|++ 38
38 - |+ (-:|) -, | |+ || |+ (|~:|)
-|: (`), ~||- |: (|-|) `-:| |+ =|-+ =|-
|| ==|+| = =-= ++
+ =-|c- |+| =|,| = =|=++ 39
39 - -, :| + (:|-|) +| + | +
=:- |:-| -| |:| |+ |:- | ` ||:+ ( || :|-|
: - - : |. |-| | | : +|+)
+|rc| |c- |-|+| |=+| =c+
=+ =r== |r=| |r=|c-r=| |++ 40
40 - |+.|, |+ |-||:+ . -| ( |-|-| |:-| .
- |. -|:.||.), |||- ||: |.|++ | `:| ||- ::|:
`:| (= : |:: |.+ | :~: |)
- - ||= =q *- |==r |
==r-|~t ; =r=| =-++ 41
41 - | | | | , =| | |:|| (
||: = | : = |), :|+ |+ |+ + |+| ;+ | ||:
| || (: : = ; : : ~)
2141 Among living beings, cosmic godheads, super human and
human and subhuman creatures, and amid all these qualities, powers
and objects, the chief, the head, the greatest in quality of each class is
a special power of the becoming of the Godhead. I am, says the
Godhead, Vishnu among the Adityas, Shiva among the Rudras, Indra
among the gods, Prahlada among the Titans, Brihaspati the chief of the
high priests of the world, Narada among the sages, Yama lord of the
law among those who maintain rule and law. I am the radiant sun
among the lights, moon among the stars of night, ocean among the
flowing waters, Himalaya among the mountain-ranges, Ganges among
the rivers. In living beings, I am consciousness, mind among the senses.
I am glory and speech and memory and intelligence and steadfastness
and forgiveness, the energy of the energetic and the strength of the
mighty. I am resolution and perseverance and victory, I am the sattwic
quality of the good, gambling of the cunning, mastery and power of all
who rule. I am silence of things secret, the knowledge of the knower,
the letter A among letters, OM among words, Sama Veda among the
Vedas. I am all the powers of the human being and all energies of the
universe and its creatures. God is imperishable, beginning less, unending
Time. I am all-snatching Death and the birth of all that shall come into
being. I am king of men, Rama among warriors, Krishna among Vrishnis,
Arjuna among the Pandavas. I am Vyasa among the sages. I am the
divine seed of all existences. (12)
Those in whom my powers rise to the utmost heights of human
attainment are myself always, my special Vibhutis. - (12)
| ;r+r=+ | =|r=+ =|= ++
|||- -r|r+ |-r=| =~++ 42
174 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 10 | |=-|~ 173
42 - | -, :| |- | -|+ :|:- | | (| :
=::- --| |) = . ~- |+ | =| :+ +|+ |+ +|:
|: | ( - ~ =|:- | |:)
42 - I support this entire universe with a single degree of illim-
itable power and an infinitesimal portion of my fathomless spirit; all
these worlds are only sparks, hints, glintings of the I Am eternal and
immeasurable. - (13)
Bibhuti Yoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. Supreme word of the Gita: 1-8, 3A
2. God in Power of becoming: 9-13,

The Divine is the supreme Peace. Be with the Divine and you
will be in Peace. (White Roses) The Mother
It is not what others think of you that matters, but what you are
yourself. (Practical guide) Sri Aurobindo
The true spiritual life begins when one is in communion with the
Divine in the psychic. The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Society Annual,
65
The unfelt Self within who is the guide,
The unknown Self above who is the goal.
A mighty supernature waits on Time
And garbed in beggars robes there walks the One
Behind the act a secret sweetness breathes.
* * *
He is the Maker and the world he made,
He is the vision and he is the seer;
He is himself the actor and the act,
He is himself the knower and the known,
He is himself the dreamer and the dream.
Savitri, Sri Aurobindo
|+:-, -, | |+ || = = |:+ +|- |+|: | :+
=+| :All is in God, God is in all, all is God = |+:| = +|-
=|- <| (Chapter 11)
|=. - +-|~
= + =|
-+| = o<|=|==+
;r|= rc-+ |r| |~r=| ++ 1
1 - :- `: :| |+ |: - |+ | |+ ~||- +|:;+
|:- |-| (;| -| |+ +||=: )
:|+|+| |+ | - + ` (:- | |~:), ;:| ;|
|r| | =|+| =r=| |c-=r| |+
;= z| ||| |++ 2
2 - ||, :| ++ || |+ + |: |+ :||+
||+ |: |.:|:+ :||+|+| |-:| (:|-| ||:`
|| || |.+ ;; | =::`)
1, 2 He (Arjuna) has heard the highest spiritual secret of
existence, that all is from God and all is the Divine and in all things
God dwells and is concealed and can be revealed in every finite
appearance. The illusion (of doer of actions) has passed from him.
He knows that the imperishable greatness of the divine conscious
Soul is the secret of all these appearances. All is a Yoga of this great
eternal spirit in things and all happenings are the result and expression
of that Yoga; all Naure is full of the secret Godhead and in labour to
reveal him in her. But he would see too the very form and body of
this Godhead. - (1)
=r=- | ;||+ =r=+
s|t|| = =.r= =r+|=++ 3
3 - |+:+ |+:|, :| |-+ |: | `| | | : (|
; ||- | =: =), :||+ |- +|:| | | :+| (:
+ +| ||)
Gita Ch. 10 | |=-|~ 175
+r= |- =t | s||= r|+
|r~= =r=| ; -||+++ 4
4 - , |:~+, :| |- || +| -| ||+ |:
|~ (|- : | |: -:), :|:| `: :| |
|+| -+| (:: ; ||- -), : :
3, 4 - It is invited by Arjuna in his desire to see the living image,
the visible greatness of the unseen Divine, the very embodiment of
the Spirit and Power that governs the universe. - (2)
*~-|+ =|
| =.||+ =r| =-+
+|+||<||+ |-||+ +|+|+|=|+ ++ 5
5 - =~+|:- `: ||, |+ -|-||++, -|-| |+ ||:+
: |- +|:|+ |+| ( -|-||+||- -|-| |:|- :
|-||- +||| |)
||-=|+ =+ =s|+|r+| ==c-|+
+- ||+ |||+ |==++ 6
6 - |+:, ||-:, , +, |- |+, |
(+:) |+ |~:: -:-| :- ||+: ( |- - ||| |||)
|+| (|)
r- =~ - |- ==|=+
-r o=|r |+ s|t|=++ 7
7 - |:, |+ = -: =::~ + |+ + ~-
|+| |+ |- | | | +| | |+| ( -: = +|+
~ - | - |)
+ = | r= sr+r+ -+|+
|- --|| = |~r=++ 8
8 - |z :| | = - | :+ -| -|||| (: :-- | = |
- :), :|| |- |- (: |- --||), :| |+
|+ |~ -- +| ( |~ + |)
8 - What thou hast to see, replies the Avatar, the human eye
cannot grasp. But there is a divine eye, an imost seeing, by which the
supreme Godhead in his Yoga can be beheld and that eye I now give
to thee. Thou shalt see, he says, my hundreds and thousands of divine
forms. - (3)
=s =|
==| =r=| =|=+ |r|r~r=| |=+
-||= || = =.r=++ 9
9 - a: `: |+|, |:|:~+ |+: = | (= |)
|| |+ +| -+|: (|+ + +| -||)
r+=++r+|q =-++
r+|-|=+ |-|r+r|-=|<++ 10
10 - |+ +|: |+ (:- --), :-
; : -- , :- |- |+, |+ -: |- (:- ; :
-- :- |- |+ |- :- -: |+) ||
|-||=<= |-~=|+r++
=| -+c |r=|++ 11
11 - +| |-|| |+ (|- | +++), |-~+ -:|-
|| (|-~+ -:|-) |+ |, ||:, -. |+ || (
| - -. |::|)
|-| ==-= r- ~- |=|+
|- | =- =| =|q|=c-= |+++ 12
12 - ||: |- ||+ + | =:~ (|-| |- |
~| |:|), :|:| `: | ||-+ |+ |- ` ||:+ (|
: |- | - |) |;|.| | :
=rz- =~ - |=r+<|+
r=r-= =r= |oc--|++ 13
13 - :|:| :- -+:-+ =+ -: || |~: | .
|- =::~ -| ||: (:-| || : - - +:+ :-+| |
~ = |), |:~| -
178 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 177
Yet a foreseeing Knowledge might be ours,
If we could take our spirit's stand within
Savitri, Sri Aurobindo
== = |-.||r| .r=|| <+s+
+ |==| - =|s|=|+=++ 14
14 - |+ ||: |: ||+| :- +|||~: = + - |+|
|::|+ |+ ` +|+: (:: |||:| +-a :+|| - |+|
:|a| |:)
= + =|
|| -|c- - -r =|c-| =|r+=|++
|+ |=+- + =|+=~| |-|+++ 15
15 - :- `: -+, :||+ -: (|+|:) -+:|,
. |, ||-: || |, |- | |+ |- | =
:|: -| || : | (-+ : -: |- -|- :| :|:|-
|- | |-|- |- +~|- |||)
r+| -==r+z || ;| =r=| +c=.+
+|c + < + +c-||- || |r= |=.++ 16
16 - |+|+|+ |:+, :- |--++ :||+ -. +|
:|=|: -| || : | (:- |- -+ - -. +| ;| :
|||), |z :||+ ||-, + | . `::| -| ||+| -| (|- : -
. - + - ||- |||)
|=|+ ~|-+ |z++ =r=|=|| =r=| -|qc+
|| ;| - |+= =c|- -q|+|- |=r++ 17
17 - , ~-| |+ +|+ -||- :|a+| (bright and
red dazzling) (|+|- ~|-- | : -|.) =|: <| |
|+ + ||:+ |-|-| |- :+ |+|:| +, =:- =|
|- +|: :|| -| || : | (.| - - - |: - |-+
: ;| |||)
;= = |-= ;= |= = |+<|++
; |=<r~|q| =+|=+- =r+| r=| ++ 18
18 - :| |+ + , :|: =| ||-~| |, :|: =
|+ |+ |= (; + |+ |-: ; | |+ |-+|-), :|
-|:- ++ || (; |: + ~||), :| ||++:-- |-: |+|+
~+|- (; -|:- |+), |+ : ( :)
+||-<|c+c +c|; |=r+z+
|| ;| -q;=|= -r===| ||- =c++ 19
19 - ||-, +, .-, -. ||, -. |-, --,
<| | + -:+ |+ |-+ :::+ | :|| |- | :||
-| || : | (-||-+. -. -. |- | - - -:|
::| - | :|. ;| |||)
-|||r||=-c= | |q ;rr+ |- =|+
- |q = =. =r- |z |= |+++ 20
20 - ||, :| ~ |+ ||++ |+ o| ||- |+ :| |-::
|-: | || (-|| ||:| - .+ | |- =:- ;| |
|), :||+ = ; : +| -| |:| : : (: ; : -
+| - | | |:), ; ;| =, ::- : - |:| :
:` = :| -+ -+ |:
| ;| ===| ||c |q=| |sr| ~+|c+
-c-==| |+|===| q|c ;| q|=| ||++ 21
21 - = -+:| :||+ -: :+ |+: ( + | | ;|
||.), | |:- : |::|+ |+ :|| |-| |+: (| :| |a
~|.), | |+ |: |. |.` | . ||o |+ :|| |:
|+: (|| | |: |: | ||| |:| ;| .|.)
=s||-=| =r| =|<| |r|r+| ==r||+
~=|==|===| rc ;| ||-.=|r =r++ 22
22 - +, ||-:, , |+, |:-+, |- |+, +, ||
(||:), ~+, , +, | :|:+ ||: :|| | :
(: = ||:| ;| :.)
180 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 179
=. r= ;=r+z ||r| ;| =|-+
-= ;-|=| - | || |=|c-|++ 23
23 - ||-, :||+ :- , , |-, +, ||-, -+, - |: | |+|
+| -| :| : : |+ :| : | (: - - - |- + ||-
- -+ - -|+| +| - | || |:| :| )
+- -qr++ |=|++ -q||r+z+
- | | ;| |=|c=|| <|= + |=|| + |r+|++ 24
24 - |, :||+ |||, :- | |
|+ |: -|| :||+ +| -| |+ .+|| |: :,
+ +|+ |+| -| |+ - |. |+ +|| |+| -| (-| - :-
|| |-- - || - ;| - | | |: .+|| +|: -
|||)
-|=|||+ = ||+ - r ||+=|||++
|-r| + =|r+ + r =- -r =~||=++ 25
25 - -:+, ~|| (-+:|:+| -+:| |+ ~:+ |=),
- |::|:+:+ :: |- o| |+ | - :||+ :|+ -|
|-|+| ||+: |, |+ -+ ||. -|:|+| :, :| |+ |: |+|
(-|+|||- | - |||- : ||- - | = |- - |:- - :,
-)
;| <==|= z| =r =r||+|=r+
r| s|+ ==zc-|r=| =|-.-r=| |<r++ 26
=||+ = ;=|+| ||c -|=|||+ |+||++
||| -|+|cr=+ =- rc |+r===|r++ 27
26-27 ` +|::+ :: +:+|+ | |+ , |, ,
||+ +|- ||::+ :: :::~:+ - |::|:+:+ + o| :||+
:|+: :+ |+:~ :|+ | |-+ +:|+ |+ :||+ - |:+ |:
|| ||~ | -| ~: ( |-|| +:+| : || =
:| , | :` :| - || |+ ;+|| :
-|+|||- |-||- || ||., | |: -- .:+
|| - :.)
| +-+| r|r~| =sr||| s|c+
=| =| +=r|=| ||c =|+||e|c++ 28
28 - :- --||+ - |: -|-| |-+|+| || : :+ :+,
-:+ = ||+ +: :||+ <. :|+: || :~ (| ---|
:~| || = |. :| -+:|+| : ||<|.
||- ||.)
| -q e+ =| ||c +|| ==r~|+
=r +|| ||c ||c-|| =||+ ==r~|++ 29
29 - :- |::|:+ ++ |-|: :::~:+ || <. : |:+|,
::- |-:|:+ |++ |+: :||+ :|+: :~:+ :+ |+:|
(| |:| -|| :~| - <- ||. :| = || || -||
: || ||.)
|r= =|+ =c| ||+ =|+ -r+e|q+
=r=||=| =~ = |=c-r|| =|c |r+|++ 30
30 - |, :| <. ::+ |-:|+ | |+ |:+ |:+ |-
|+| :||+ ||::+ . ~ ||+ +|+ |+ :|: (|;
-- |- ||- |- .| |: : | | ::||
~ || :||.)
||| | |+=.r| +|r|q = -= =- +
|=|=|t|| c|- +| =|+|| = |=++ 31
31 - -++, :|| | -| : | (: - ), :| |+|
(-), =:- +| :| |- | |+| (+| |- |||),
||-|+ :| |- ||- |: |, :||+ :~ | | ||+| -|
(|- +. |=|: || | : | - |-||)
9-31 The supreme Form is then made visible. It is that of the
infinite Godhead whose faces are everywhere, and in whom are all
the wonders of existence, a world-wide Divinity seeing with innumer-
able eyes, speaking from innumerable mouths, armed for battle with
numberless divine uplifted weapons, glorious with divine ornaments,
182 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 181
robed in heavenly raiment of deity. Such is the light of this body of
God as if a thousand suns had risen at once in heaven. Arjuna sees
him, God magnificent and beautiful and terrible. "I see" he cries "all
the gods in thy body, O God, and different companies of beings,
Brahma the creating lord seated in the Lotus, and the Rishis and the
race of the divine Serpents. I see numberless arms and bellies and
eyes and faces, I see thy infinite forms on every side, but I see not
thy end nor any middle nor thy beginning, O Lord of the universe.
Thou art the supreme Immutable (aksharam paramam) whom we
have to know, thou art the high foundation and abode of the universe"
(param nidhanam).
But in the greatness of this vision there is too the terrific image
of the Destroyer. This Godhead who embraces the worlds with his
numberless arms and destroys with his million hands, whose eyes
are suns and moons, has a face of blazing fire and is ever burning
up the whole universe with the flame of his energy. The form of
him is fierce and marvelous and alone it fills all the regions between
earth and heaven. It has mouths that gape to devour, it has faces
like the fires of Death and Time. The kings and captains are has-
tening into its terrible jaws; the nations are rushing to destruction with
helpless speed into its mouths of flame. He (Arjuna) cries to the
dreadful Godhead, "Declare to me who thou art that wearest this
form of fierceness." - (4)
*~-|+ =|
|r||-. | r=| ||+ =|=| =+
r= | ;| + |+|c =r |-=| =+r+ |<|++ 32
32 - =~+|:- `: ||+ | (|
| |), |-:|+ |+ |++ |: |: : | (||- |:
) :| -|+: (;| ::) :||+ |:|: | ||
|+: -||| (:-: |+| +|:| : - ||.)
32 - Destruction, replies the Godhead, is the will of my workings
with which I stand here on this field of Kurukshetra, the field of the
working out of the Dharma a world-wide destruction which has
come in the process of the Time-Spirit. I have a foreseeing purpose
which fulfils itself infallibly and no participation or abstention of any
human being can prevent, alter or modify it; all is done by Me already
in my eternal eye of will before it can all be done by man upon earth.
I as Time have to destroy the old structure and to build up a new,
mighty and splendid kingdom. - (5)
=-.| ;|= r| - |=;| z.+ =|= ==+
rrr= |+=| r |+|=|z ==||+++ 33
33 - |+: :| |+ o| (:| ; |) |+
| | +| |+ || +| |~ +| (- |;| +|
) =:| |~:: ||+ : |, ||, :| |-| | |+|
(| = =:: | = |-:| |-| | )
33 - Even without thee all these warriors shall be not, who are
ranked in the opposite camp. Therefore, arise, get thee glory, conquer
thy enemies and enjoy an opulent kingdom. - (6)
s|++ + =s+ + =|+|+| |<=|++
| =|- =| | || <- ==||= =r+ =;|+++ 34
34 - |, , , :| |- |- + || |~::
||+ : | (| :| -|- || |++|- |
:|-), :| ::| + +|, - -|+| :| +|, +: :|+ :|
|+ |||+| (; |, | ||, +, +: |;|- :||)
=s =|
==t

;| + = =|s|r|+ |=+
+-= =| + =~- ~- == +++ 35
35 - a: `: ++ = | |- ( =: - =;|)
:- |::|+ |+ | |+ (|+ :|a| -:) || || (||-)
~- ~- :+:+ : : |- | -| `: (~- ~- ::
= |)
184 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 183
= + =|
-|r+ .+r = =| =~ .+=+==r= +
=||= =||+ |-r| s|c =r +=|c |===|++ 36
36 - :- `: :, ~:: :||+ || :-+|+|
|- | :+ |+ :||+ |: -+ (~ : :| |:,
-+:: ) +|:|+ | -|-| |-: || +:+ (+|| :||- |-:|
|.), |: -|+ -| (: || -|.), | |
( |:-)
-.| = + +r=+|+ ~=r= r+|||-rz+
+c -r =~||= ;= =-= == ++ 37
37 - |-, -., -:+, ~||, :| |: =
|+ ||-:| ( || ~+: ||-: ), :|| | -|+ -|+
(| : - -:+-) :| + |+ |+ :+ :: |+:+,
|+:|, Transcendent, Supreme Lord (; +, |+ :)
37 Thou art the original Creator and Doer of works and greater even
than creative Brahma (|: =), O thou Infinite, O thou Lord of
gods (-:+), O thou abode of the universe (~||), thou art the
Immutable (+) and thou art what is () and is not () and thou
art which is the Supreme. - (7)
;||-r- =+ =|+;= |= = |+<|++
=||= -+ = <| ;| == |+c=.++ 38
38 - :| ||-:-+, :| |-: |+, :| |+ :|:+ |+|
(; ||-:-, |+| |+, ; | |+ |-+|-), :|: =|:|, =
|+ |+ +|, = |- (| - |+ +|), -. +|, :|
|||| || (;| | ::)
38 - Thou art the ancient Soul and the first and original Godhead
(||-:-+) and supreme resting place of this All; thou art the knower
and that which is to be known and the highest status; O infinite in
form, by thee was extended the universe. - (8)
|r||=+ |e =||=- |=|+
+r| +rc-q =-; + r|| +r| +rc-++ 39
39 - |, , |, +, , | |+ ||:|:| :|: :||
|+ | -| |- |- :|| |
+ =c-|- =rc- +r|q = == = =+
+c||=|z- = =|r||+ =r=||= =++ 40
40 - , :|| |~=|+|+| (|+.|) |+ |||o+ =|+|+|
(|:), :| =|+|+| -|+ :+|, :| -., ||+|: ||,
~| (|:||), :|: :|
=r|= ;| = - = + |- =r|=+
=|+=| ||+ =r- | |-| +r+ ||++ 41
||=|=r=| |= ||=|=+r|=r+++
=r||= == = |r ;|r++ 42
41-42 :, :||+ = || | -|+||+ (: - ||-
|-:|) :|| + | || (| |: ;|) =|-: | :
(|-| : |) , |-+, | ||- :|+:-:+ o| -|
| |+| ` ( ), |:|-, -, |-, |- :+|::, :
| |+ |: ||+| |+ :: |- |+:| :|+ |: :, |
| +| (||+ | |- |:- = | || : |
: | ;| : |:)
|=||= |= =|== ;= = o=~=|++
+ ;=r|c-|< r=|r+| |zr|=|++ 43
43 - ||- :|| (|:|) :| = +|+ ~:+ ||:|,
|, + |+ :|: (; +|+ | ||:|, |, +
~+|- |), |~:: :||+ |- |+ |:-| -| (|: || ;
- |.), :||: = =- |+ :- || (|+ - :)
=-.| + |+<| | =|-r ;|=+
|r= z= =r = | ||| |= - =|++ 44
44 - :|:+ | + : | ( ), :|| -+:: | |+
|| | -| |+:| ( ;| | |+| |-: ) ||:| | +, + :+
186 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 185
+ + |+ | :- | |+ |+|+ :- :+, ::- -+, : | |+
|+|+ | +| (||:| | | | | | | | |)
- .|+r=||-. - | r+ |= r+| +
=r- - - =. =- -r =~||=++ 45
45 - |~:: -:-| (- |) +| -| || (- |) |- ||:|
(|: |), |+ |+ - : | : (:- - |:),
-:+, ~||, |+| (-), |+ :||+ |-| +|:| -+| (:
= +| -)
|=|+ ~|-+ zc- t|| ;| s =r+
=r+ =.r+ =r=+ =-|r| |r= ++ 46
46 - |~+ +|+, ~-|+|+, |:: | +|: :|| (
;|) | | :+| ( ||), |- |+| +|+|+, :|
|~+ : +|: | |+| (:- ::- +:| = )
*~-|+ =|
| =r+ =|= r+- =. = -|=|r|~|+
=r=| |+c|- r, ;-r++ + - ++ 47
47 - =~|:- `: -, ( | : -) ||~+
: (|:|~|) :|| |+ ::| -. |- |+| - - +|: | (:
- ::| -. |- | |+ +| -| : ) :||+ ||:+ |~::
|- |:- = +| -| -| ( ; :-- - - | ) , :
+ -=|<r+ + -|r+ + |z||+ =r||=r+
= =. +r|r s ;-r++ ==++ 48
48 - + +, -+ =|-, =, -|-, | , | :||+ :
(- -= +- - -|- - ||| - ::|||) :||+ ||:+ |-
|:- |+ = +| -| || |+| -| (;-:-- = +|
-:|: ), |- | -
| = | | ||r| - | =. |=- r-+
r= =+| +- =r- =.|- ++ 49
49 - = |-|-| (- ) |+ |- +| -| :| |: |+ |:|+
-`| ( - |+ +| - | : | | | ||), |+
=| |+ |~+ +| -- +| (:|: :-| |- ; - :
+| = |)
=s =|
== + |=r-c-r|=| - =. -||= +
||=||= =r+ ;| + =|||++ 50
50 - a: `: |:-:+ - = -:+ (|:- - |:
|) |-+ |-+ +|:| -+|: ( :| +| -||) |+ ||
|:` |+| +|+ |+ | | - || |-: ( || |-
`| ;| : =- ||||)
= + =|
- r- |++ =. = =| =+|- ++
-|+|-. == =r=| |= ~=++ 51
51 - :- `: -|- -, :||+ = ` - +| -| (:
- ` |- +| - |) :-| +| || : | |+ |||+ +|
|| |||+:| ( -|- ::| |: ~: |)
*~-|+ =|
=- - |- =. - |+|= ,+
-| = =.= |+= -+||+++ 52
52 - =~+|:- `: :| |+ | +| -| ||| ( - +|
- |- |) +| -- +| + |o- (- - ), -+:|: = +| -|
|| ||| :+ (-| || +| |-: -- || )
+| r-+==| + -|r++ + =|+
= |r<| s - |+|= | |++ 53
53 - :| |+ | +| -|| (| | - |- |) =:-+| +|-- -
+-, :||, -|- | ||+|+| :+ - (= |+ - - - :||
- -|:-- - | )
=| ;++| r |r<| = ++
=|= s+ =rq+ r+ =c++ 54
54 - |+.| -, + =|. |+ |+|: | ||:+ ||-
|||+, -- || |||+ |+ |: :+ |+ |||+ (: --| | = |+
=|: ::;- : )
188 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 187
52, 53, 54 The gods themselves ever desire to look upon it. It
cannot be won by Veda or austerities or gifts or sacrifice, it can be
seen, known, entered into only by that bhakti which regards, adores
and loves Me alone in all things. For transcendent, universal and
individual Godhead, spirit and Nature, Infinite and finite, space and
time and timelessness, Being and Becoming, all that we can strive to
think and know of the Godhead, whether of the absolute or the
manifested existence, are wonderfully revealed in an ineffable one-
ness. This vision can be reached only by the absolute adoration, the
love, the intimate unity that crowns at their summit the fullness of
works and knowledge. To know, to see, to enter into it, to be one with
this supreme form of the Supreme becomes then possible. - (9)
,=r| q= =|= =+
|+r= =r=+ = |r|= |o++ 55
55 - ||+, | :| | :~ |+ :+, | |: |+
||:| , | |+ , |+ || -| |+ |:+| |: | -| , :
| | :+ ( |+ | : :: |-+
| =|:)
55 - Says the Godhead, "be a doer of my works, accept Me as
the supreme being and object, become my bhakta, be free from
attachment and without enmity to all existences, for such a man
comes to Me." - (10)
Biswarupadarshanayoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. Vision of the World-Spirit: 1-10.

All wealth belongs to the Divine and those who hold it are
trustees, not possessors. (The Mother)
Sri Aurobindo
|- <| (Chapter 12)
|= -|~
= + =|
= ====| =|-| |=r=+
|== =+| |~|=|++ 1
1 - :- `: | :| :: || :||
||:+ ( | = ::| ;| |||::) |+ |: ++
||-| :+ ( || +) = - |++ |:+: |~+ =|- |+
| (:| |~||)
1- Arjuna asks, "Those devotees who thus by a constant union
seek after thee, tvam, and those who seek after the unmanifest
Immutable, which of these have the greater knowledge of Yoga?" (1)
-+ |+| --+ |=:|+|+| = =|- ` :| |+ :|
+ |-:, |-:|+ :+ : |+: : |+: = |~
|- :| :: ++ ~: || +|-:-, :|~ |+ |
|- + : | | +|-``
(From the experience of the Biswarupadarsana, the vision of the
World-Spirit, Arjuna is convinced by direct vision that God is the doer
of all works, human beings are only His instruments. So he puts this
question- "Who is the greater Yogin, the devotee who wants to unite
with God through karmayoga or the seeker who wants to merge in
the unmanifest Akshara Brahman through knowledge?" The first one
becomes ultimately a dynamic instrument of God, while for the sec-
ond works have little importance from the point of God realisation,
because his aim is to merge in the inactive unmanifest Brahman)
*~-|+ =|
|r r+| | |+==| =|=r=+
==| =r|r=|rc- ==| =|++ 2
2 - =~+|:- `: |: |: (|+:|:) - |+ |+ ( |
- |:) :| :: |+ ~: || |+ =|:+ | ||-|
Gita Ch. 11 |=. -+-|~ 189
:+ (|-:| |+| =| :|:| | ||::), ::| |+ ~:
:|: |:+ (: :|), = :| |+ : ( :|)
2 - Krishna replies "Those who found their mind in Me and
by constant union, possessed of a supreme faith, seek after Me, I
hold to be the most perfectly in union of Yoga." - (2)
;=|+r- = |=r=+
=z~|c+ - <++ 3
=|+r|| =z ==+
= ||c |r ==|r= ==|++ 4
3, 4 |: | :|:+ |: |+-: |-: |-:|~
|+, |:|+ : |+, |-:- , , ||, |., (change-
less), , |-:, + + ||-| :+, ::|: |: || ( :
:|:: +:| || |- |-:- ~
|. + + |||:: : | = ||.)
3, 4 But those also who seek by a hard ascent after the
indefinable (|-:- ) unmanifest () Immutable ( +)
alone, arrive, says the Godhead, to Me. They follow a more difficult
and a less complete and perfect path. At least, to reach the unmanifest
Absolute they have to climb through the manifest Immutable here.
The manifest Immutable is my own all-pervading impersonality and
silence; vast, unthinkable, immobile, constant, omnipresent, it supports
the action of the personality but does not share in it.
The easier way of the Gita leads more rapidly, naturally and
normally to the same absolute liberation. It brings a swift and effectual
unchaining [freedom] from the phenomenal [worldly] bondage of death
and birth. The Yogin of exclusive knowledge imposes on himself a
painful struggle with the manifold demands of his nature; he denies
them even their highest satisfaction and cuts away from him even the
upward impulses of his spirit [The seekers of knowledge donot pay
attention to the full development of the soul, since their aim is to merge
in the unmanifest Absolute. 'The upward impulses of his spirit' means
the aspiration of the soul to grow into God which the seeker of knowl-
edge denies. Our soul is only a spark of God. It is constantly growing
along with our nature's evolution]. The living way of the Gita, on the
192 *q~-- ~=|
contrary, finds out the most intense upward trend of all our being and
turning it Godwards uses knowledge, will, feeling and the instinct for
perfection as so many puissant wings of a mounting liberation. (Our
thought, will, feeling, action become wings for our upward flight when
we offer them to the Divine every moment.) - (3)
r||<==rc-+|=|==r==|+
=| | ~|=- -|q=|r=++ 5
5 - + (unmanifest Absolute) |: |+ |||
|+ + (: | | :| |+:+ ), |+ -+|+:
+ || | |+ |:: -: |+ ~| (| -|;
| ~|: - ||::)
5 - The unmanifest Brahman in its indefinable unity is a thing to
which embodied souls can only arrive and that hardly by a constant
mortification, a suffering of all the repressed members, a stern dif-
ficulty and anguish of the nature, dukham avapyate, kleso'dhikataras
tesam. The indefinable Oneness accepts all that climb to it, but offers
no help of relation and gives no foothold to the climber. All has to be
done by a severe austerity and a stern and lonely individual effort.
How different is it for those who seek after the Purushottama in the
way of the Gita! When they meditate on him with a Yoga which sees
none else, because it sees all to be Vasudeva (7/19), he meets them
at every point, in every moment, at all times, with innumerable forms
and faces, holds up the lamp of knowledge within and floods with its
divine and happy lustre the whole existence. - (4)
Baby cat and baby monkey
There are two paths of Yoga, one of tapasya (discipline) and the
other of surrender. The path of tapasya is arduous. Here you rely
solely upon yourself, you proceed by your own strength. You ascend
and achieve according to the measure of your force. There is always
the danger of falling down. And once you fall, you lie broken in the
abyss and there is hardly a remedy. The other path, the path of
surrender, is safe and sure. You may follow, as Ramakrishna says,
either the path of the baby monkey or that of the baby cat. The baby
monkey holds to its mother in order to be carried about and it must
Gita Ch. 12 |=-|~ 191
hold firm, otherwise if it loses its grip, it falls. On the other hand, the
baby cat does not hold to its mother, but is held by the mother and
has no fear nor responsibility; it has nothing to do but to let the
mother hold it and cry ma ma.
If you take up this path of surrender fully and sincerely, there
is no more danger or serious difficulty. The question is to be sin-
cere. If you are not sincere, donot begin Yoga.
The Mother, Conversations.
= =||+ ||+ | =+= =|+
+r+r+ |r~+ | <|c =|=r=++ 6
=+| ===| ===|= =|~=|+
|| + |=| | |r|=-==|++ 7
6, 7 |z |: :| |: | |+ (: || ||
| -) =| |::+ |+ ~: || (|+| -:-- |:~- =)
| +|- |+ ||-| :+ (| +|. ||::), |: | | +|
| |:+ :+| |+ |~++|+| |+ :+| (| |:|:
:| :| - |+| :|+ |~+| :| ||)
6, 7 Here the actions are all given up to the supreme Master
of action and he as the supreme Will meets the will of sacrifice, takes
from it its burden and assumes to himself the charge of the works
of the divine Nature in us. And when too in the high passion of love
the devotee of the Lover and Friend of man and of all creatures casts
upon him all his heart of consciousness and yearning of delight, then
swiftly the Supreme comes to him as the saviour and deliverer and
exalts him by a happy embrace of his mind and heart and body out
of the waves of the sea of death in this mortal nature into the secure
bosom of the Eternal. - (5)
r + |<- | |= |+r+
|+|=+|= r = =< + =++ 8
8 - |:: - |+ +| (| = - |+), |:: | |-| +|
(| |-:) =|-- :| |:: | |+|, :|: : -| (: + |
= |-|| - )
8 - This then is the swiftest, largest and greatest way. On Me,
says the Godhead to the soul of man, repose all thy mind and lodge
all thy understanding in Me: I will lift them up bathed in the supernal
blaze of the divine love and will and knowledge to myself from whom
these things flow. Doubt not that thou shalt dwell in Me above this
mortal existence. - (6)
:| |:: | |+|, Thou shalt dwell in Me = |:| +
~+ | |+ || | +|| | + |- |: | |+ +-+|+|
: +; | |+ ++ |-.+: :|:+ | :+
|= =|<|= + r+||+ | |-=+
|=r|r~+ =r=| ||t|q <+s++ 9
9 - +-a, |- :| :||+ -:| |: =|.|:+ |+ |+ +||
-|++| (| | |+ |+|: - :+||) ::-`: :| :: |
+ |+ | |+ (:: | |:~-) | || | +| (|
| )
9 - The divine consciousness even when it has been found at first,
in a wonder of great moments or in calm and splendid durations, cannot
at once be altogether held or called back at will; there is felt often an
inability to keep the personal consciousness fixed steadily in the Divine;
there are nights of long exile from the Light, there are hours or moments
of revolt, doubt or failure. But still by the practice of union and by
constant repetition of the experience, that highest spirit grows upon the
being and takes permanent possession of the nature. (7)
|r==r||= =r| +
-| ||+ + |=|=|=|=++ 10
10 - |- :| | |+ (|: || |), :|:|
`: :| |+ |+: |+ |+| ( |+ ), = -:+ |
:~ |+ |:|+ |+: :| ||| |+| (- || - || ||
||)
10 - Is this also found too diifficult because of the power and
persistence of the outward-going movement of the mind? Then the
194 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 12 |=-|~ 193
way is simple, to do all actions for the sake of the Lord of the action.
Then the presence of the Purushottama will grow upon the natural
man, till he is filled with it and becomes a Godhead and a spirit; all
life will become a constant remembering of God and perfection too
will grow and the unity of the whole existence of the human soul with
the supreme Existence. - (8)
r=-r=||= = - r|~||==+
===|~ == = =||+++ 11
11 - |- :| |+ |+: |+: | | || |+ ~: ||
|+ |=: || |+| ( =:- || |~ ||=: :
|), :|:| `: | | |+ :| + = :|~ +|
(:: :||- = :|~ +)
11 - But it may be that even this constant remembering of God
and lifting up of your works to him is felt to be beyond the power of
the limited mind, because in its forgetfulness it turns to the act and its
outward object and will not remember to look within and lay our every
movement on the divine alter of the Spirit. Then the way is to control
the lower self in the act and do works without desire of the fruit. - (9)
=r| | =|+|=|= =|+| <|+ ||+r=+
<|+| ==|~c-|~|t||c=+c=++ 12
12 - |: =|- =, =|-: +|- =, +|-: = :|~
= (|| =|- | =, =|-| +|- ||::, +|-| = :|~),
:|~+|+| ||. | (:|~| ||. -.+)
12 - Abhyasa, practice of a method, repetition of an effort and
experience is a great and powerful thing; but better than this is
knowledge, the successful and luminous turning of the thought to the
Truth behind things. This thought-knowledge too is excelled by a
silent complete concentration on the Truth so that the consciousness
shall eventually live in it and be always one with it. But more pow-
erful still is the giving up of fruit of one's works, because that imme-
diately destroys all causes of disturbance and brings and preserves
automatically an inner calm and peace. - (10)
r| ==|+| z =+ = +
|+r| |+=e|= =- = ++ 13
=q === |~ =|| - |++
|=r+||=r| - = = |++ 14
13, 14 |:- |:| -:+, | :|:+ |: | ||| |+
-|+|- (:|-| :| + = ), | |-: + ~+| |
-||: (|-), |- |+ -, - : |||, |, -| z
(|-+|+ - :: z) |, - |:= |~ |+ |
- | |: | |+: ::- |+ | (:|| - |- |~, |
||: - | |)
13, 14 What then will be the divine nature of the bhakta who
has turned to the adoration of the Eternal? First, an absence of
egoism, of I-ness and my-ness, nirmama nirahamkarah. The bhakta
of the Purushottama is one who has a universal heart. A universal
love dwells in his heart, a universal compassion flows from it like an
encompassing sea. He will have friendship and pity for all beings and
hate for no living thing: for he is patient, long suffering, enduring, a
well of forgiveness. A desireless content is his, a tranquil equality to
pleasure and pain, suffering and happiness, the steadfast control of
self and the firm unshakable will and resolution of the Yogin and a
love and devotion which gives up the whole mind and reason to the
Lord, to the Master of his consciousness and knowledge. - (11)
-.|r||=r= |r| ||r||=r= +
+|+r|rr~r=| = |++ 15
15 - |+|+| |:- ||. -|||, | |-+|+| ||. -||| (|
| - |::, || - |::) |+ |- , - , |+
:~+|+| , : |+ | ( :~ |)
15 - Or, simply, he will be one who is freed from the troubled
agitated lower nature and from the waves of joy and fear and anxiety
and resentment and desire, a spirit of calm by whom the world is not
afflicted or troubled, nor is he afflicted or troubled by the world, a
soul of peace with whom all are at peace. - (12)
196 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 12 |=-|~ 195
+r o|- =-|=r+| ~=+
=|=|==|~ | q= = |++ 16
16 - |- -:| (||-, |:- :| || |+ ++ +:
| |+:), |- ||+ |+ - (| -), |- -|- (indifferent
to whatever comes), |- ~: | |:-| -| - |- -|+|:+,
| :| ++ | | , | |::+ |:-| | |+: -:+, :|
| ++ | :: ` |-: (|+: ||+:|~), =:- |+ | (
; |)
16- Or he will be one who has given up all desire and action to
the Master of his being, one pure and still, indifferent to whatever
comes, not pained or afflicted by any result or happening, one who
had flung away from him all egoistic, personal and mental initiative
whether of the inner or the outer act, one who lets the divine will and
and divine knowledge flow through him undeflected by his own re-
solves, preferences and desires and yet for that very reason is swift
and skilful in all action of his nature, because this flawless unity with
the supreme will, this pure instrumentation is the condition of the
greatest skill in works. - (13)
| + .+|= + | + ||= + ||=+
o|o|==|~ |=|+ = |++ 17
17 - | | || |-: ||+| - ( - |:) |+ | ||
- -:+ (- |), | | -:+, ||| -:+, - :|| |:+
, ::- |+ | (- ||: - | |: |||+:|~ ||-
|)
17 - Again, he will be one who neither desires the pleasant and
rejoices at its touch nor abhors the unpleasant and sorrows at its
burden. He has abolished the distinction between fortunate and un-
fortunate happenings, because his devotion receives all things equally
as good from the hands of the eternal Lover and Master. - (14)
= rz| |rz =| |+||+r|+
r=|+=- r+ = =||= =++ 18
=|+=|q|=r|+ =qr| + +|+
|+r= |-=|=|=|+ |r| +=++ 19
18, 19 |+ |, |-||-, :, - : | (:`
|: :| |- ||-:| ::|- : ), | :| |::
|| -, |-| |+ |: |, v| , | || :|:: z (||:
: |-||: `- - -| z), ~ | ||-+ |: ; || :
(|-::) |+ |+ |+ ::- ||- | |+ | (|+ |: ||-
| -+)
Aniketa The bliss soul finds and feels itself everywhere, it has
no mansion, is aniketa or has the all for its mansion (Synthesis of
Yoga, Gnosis and Ananda).
18-19 The Godlover dear to God is a soul of wide equality,
equal to friend and enemy, equal to honour and insult, pleasure and
pain, praise and blame, grief and happiness, heat and cold, to all that
troubles with opposite affections the normal nature. He will have no
attachment to person or thing, place or home; he will be content and
well-satisfied with whatever surroundings, whatever relation men adopt
to him, whatever station or fortune. He will keep a mind firm in all
things. Equality, desirelessness and freedom from the lower egoistic
nature and its claims are always the one perfect foundation de-
manded by the Gita for the great liberation. - (15)
= <|=|- r|= |=r=+
==<|+| =| =|rc-= ||++ 20
20 - |: =| |:+ |+| = : : + | :~ |+
| |+:+ |+:| :~ |+ |:+ |:+ ||- :+ ::|
|+ :. | ( : =~+|-| :| - +|: |+| |||:: :
| : ||)
20 - Exceedingly dear, ativa me priyah, are those souls nearest
to the Godhead whose love of Me is completed by the still wider and
greatest perfection of which I have just shown to you the way and the
process. These are the bhaktas who make the Purushottama their one
supreme aim and follow out with a perfect faith and exactitude the
immortalising Dharma described in this teaching. Dharma, in the lan-
guage of the Gita, means the innate law of the being and its works and
an action proceeding from and determind by the inner nature, svabhava
198 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 12 |=-|~ 197
niyatam karma. In the lower ignorant consciousness of mind, life and
body there are many dharmas, many rules, many standards and laws
because there are many varying determinations and types of the men-
tal, vital and physical nature. The immortal Dharma is one; it is that of
the highest spiritual divine consciousness and its powers, para prakritih.
It is beyond the three gunas, and to reach it all these lower dharmas
have to be abandoned, sarva dharman parityajya. Alone in their
place the one liberating unifying consciousness and power of the Eter-
nal has to become the infinite source of our action. To rise out of our
lower personal egoism, to enter into the impersonal and equal calm of
the immutable eternal all-pervading Akshara Purusha, to aspire from
that calm by a perfect self- surrender of all one's nature and existence
to that which is other and higher than the Akshara, is the first necessity
of this Yoga. In the strength of that aspiration one can rise to the
immortal Dharma. There, made one in being, consciousness and divine
bliss with the greatest Uttama Purusha, made one with his supreme
dynamic nature-force, sva prakritih, the liberated spirit can know
infinitely, love illimitably, act unfalteringly in the authentic power of a
highest immortality and a perfect freedom. - (16)
Bhaktiyoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. The way and the Bhakta: 1-16

And yet a greater destiny may be his,

For the eternal spirit is his truth.
He can re-create himself and all around.
Savitri
zr|- <| (Chapter 13)
zrz=||~-|~
= + =|
|= =+r+ z z=r +
==- r|-=|t|| =|+ =+ ++ 1
1 - :- `: +, |: |+ |+, |+ = |+
=|- |+ = = : |+ |: ||- | :+| (|: |+ =,
= = =|- = =: |-: ||)
1. It is necessary to bring out more definitely the precise rela-
tions between the supreme Purusha, the immutable Self, the Jiva and
Prakriti in her action and her gunas. Arjuna is therefore made to put
a question. He asks to learn of the Purusha and the Prakriti; he
inquires of the field of being and the knower of the field and of
knowledge and the object of knowledge. - (1)
*~-|+ =|
- == |rc z|=|<r=+
==- r| |= = |; z= |= =|-++ 2
2 - =~+|:- `: = -:| || ( - ++
|: |+::), |+ | = |:- ( =: |, : |-), :
= (+||) |: (: = |: |-)
2 - The whole of existence must be regarded as a field of the
soul's construction and action in the midst of Nature. The Gita explains
the ksetram, field, by saying that it is this body which is called the
field of the spirit, and in this body there is someone who takes
cognizance of the field, ksetrajna, the knower of Nature. - (2)
The master of existence lurks in us
And plays at hide and seek with his own Force. Savitri
Gita Ch. 12 |=-|~ 199
In everyone of us, heaven and hell are there side by side. To transform the
hell within us into heaven is the aim of integral yoga.
z=+|| | ||= =rrz+ |==+
zrz=r|=|+ == =|+ = ++ 3
3 - :|:|+ -:: (:: ||) |: = | ||-| (|
= ||), |+ =+ |: | =|- (- |+ +||+ =|-)
(:=:| =|-) =|:- : =|- (: =|-), |+ : (
:)
3 - In each embodied creature there is this one knower. It is the
knowledge at once of the field and its knower, ksetra-ksetrajnayor
jnanam, is the real illumination and the only wisdom. - (3)
= z |- - |||= = +
= | | = =|r=+ +++ 4
4 - | (: ), | |++ (|- ), :- ||+
(||++:-) || ( |||+), |+ |+| | (: ) |+ =
|- |+ :+ |+ | ( , | ), :| |+|+|
::| -| (: |:- )
4 The Gita proceeds to state the character, nature, source,
deformations, powers of this sensible embodiment of our being. We
see then that it is the whole working of the lower Prakriti that is
meant by the Ksetra (field). (3A)
|+|;<| ~= ;r=||||r< +
=zr-r =|q||+|r=++ 5
5 - |: -|-| ::+ (|| ||+ :||) | ||:+
= :; || |+: (| -+| ~:) = |: |-:
(-|.+ :) || |+ - || |-: (|- =
:|; ||-|:)
|=|+e|r=| |===r +
|||+ -r+ + |r~|=|++ 6
t| + = - =|=r=+| <|=+
== z =|r=+ =||=-|.=++ 7
6, 7 |~|: (|:||- ||:, |, :, +, |
earth, water, fire, air, ether five elemental states of matter, subtle
202 *q~-- ~=|
conditions of material energy by which all objects have been cre-
ated), |+ (ego sense) -| | (ten senses five of knowledge,
five of action), | (Buddhi), - (mind) thirteen principles constitute
the subjective (avyaktam) aspect of the cosmic energy, (4) |+ |||
| | (five objects of sense) = : | + ||-|- (this is the
constitution of kshetra) [|+, |, - |||, = (-) ,
|~ |:~|+|], |, , , - , |:, :-|, +, = : | +
||+ ( |, , , - |:, :-|, +|: =: |:- ||+
-|:) Pleasure and pain, liking and disliking are the principal de-
formations of kshetra.
6,7 Manas, mind, is the original sense which perceives all objects
and reacts upon themwhat Gita calls the outward touches of things,
bahya sparsa, and so forms the idea of the world...by aid of five
perceptive senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell. - (5) (All
human qualities good or bad, are deformations of Divine qualities)
||+;-|;|=| ||c=|= +
||r||=+ | -|||+++ 8
||r+ =|~+e|= = +
=,===|||<- r-|+|+-+++ 9
=|==+|+ z-|=~ ||-+ +
|+=+ =|=;|||+r||=+++ 10
| |++r|r~+ |==|||=++
||=r-r=|;=|== +==|-++ 11
<|=|+|+=; =q=|+|-++
=== =|+||= |==|+ -r=| +|++ 12
8-12 ||--:|, -:-:|, ||, |:|, +:|, +:+|,
||+:|, | +:|, | (||-; - |:; | | ||. |
||:|||- ` |||-), | |~+ |: |-|, |-+|+,
:, +|||+: - -- ( ||: +|~ -|+ = :,
+|||+ - :-||- --) ||-:|, | ~||-: ;-:|, |+
Gita Ch. 13 zrz=||~-|~ 201
|- |: |:| (| |-|+ ~||- | |- |||
|-: |), |: (+:) -- |, ||+ |- - o| : |, | |-+
|~ - (| -- |:~- |||+ |, || -:|;, -|-
+|:), -| |=|- --: |-|, :;=|-+ +- = :|: =|-
|:, |+ ||+:: | | =|- (+|=|-|-: ;, :;=|-| --
=: =|- |: |, : -| : =|-)
812 The Gita tells us what are the signs of the man whose
soul is turned signs towards the inner wisdom. These signs arehis
strong turning away of the heart from attachment to outward and
worldly things, his inward and brooding spirit, his steady mind and
calm equality, absence of worldly pride and arrogance, a candid soul,
a tolerant, long-suffering and benignant heart, purity of mind and
body, self control and hearts worship given to the Teacher, a firm
removal of natural beings attraction to the objects of the senses and
freedom from the claims of that ego-sense. There is no longer any
clinging to the attachment of family and home. There is a constant
equalness to all pleasant or unpleasant happenings and a meditative
mind turned towards solitude and away from the vain noise of crowds
and assemblies of men. Finally there is a strong turn within towards
the things that really matter, the Yoga of an unswerving devotion, love
of God, the hearts deep and constant adoration of the cternal
presence. (5A)
= = || =|;|=r=+
+||- = + ==|=- r=++ 13
13 - |:| ||-~| |+ |:| ||-: |-: : | +;+ :-|
| :+ ( =, =|;| : ::) =|-+ |: ` (:
||) ||- ~| |:| ` |+ -||- |+ +|:|, |:| |
=:| - ( -||- |+ , : - , - :: My eternal
supreme Brahman status which is neither existence nor non-existence),
|- : -
13 The one object to which the mind of spiritual knowledge
must be turned is the Eternal in whom the soul clouded here and
swathed in the mists of Nature recovers and enjoys its native and
original consciousness of immortality and transcendence. To enjoy
the eternity to which birth and life are only outward circumstances,
is the soul's true immortality. - (6)
== ||+|- = =r=|||r=|+
== =|=r|r =|= |=|=++ 14
14 - :|=|: : + |:|+, :|=|: , +, |+ :|=|:
| |: (: : ||| ||- : | |+ : =|:), :
~|: ~ | |: (|: |: |:|:)
14 - He is himself beyond the limitation of the senses, sees all
things but not with the physical eye, hears all things but not with the
physical ear, is aware of all things but not with the limiting mind.- (7)
=r|o+||= =r|||= =+
== =rt |+o+ o+r|= ++ 15
15 - |+ :| | + (:| ||), :||| :
:| | + :: (: | ||: ), : :|:+ ||- : | |- (
= ) : ||- (), : :| + || (:| )
: |- (|-)
15 - Not determined by any qualities, he possesses and deter-
mines in his substance all qualities and enjoys this qualitative action
of his own Nature. He is attached to nothing, bound by nothing. - (7)
|=c =|+|= =r +
=q;| =-|r= - =- ||cr =++ 16
16 - : :|:+ ||:+|::+ |: (: :|-| | . ),
: |+:+|, :| (+ + = , unmoving and moving), |: (
|+: : |+|+| |+~ - ((;| |:=), - +: | |+ +:
| :| ::+ (- + |.: :)
16 - He becomes all that is in the universe; that which is in us is
he and all that we experience outside ourselves is he. The inward and
outward, the far and near, the moving and the unmoving, all this he is at
once. He is subtlety of the subtle which is beyond our knowledge. - (8)
|=+ r=+ |=| |-=+
== == r= |=+ |+ ++ 17
204 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 13 zrz=||~-|~ 203
17 - |+ +:|++ |:+: : -|: | | - |:~
|- ::: : | |+ = (: :: | |: |
), : :| |+ ||- :|, |+ :| |+ | :| (:: |
| ) | ||-| (=)
17 - He is indivisible and One, but seems to to divide himself in
forms and creatures and appears as all these separate existences. All
things can get back in him, can return in the spirit to the indivisible
unity of their self-existence. All is eternally born from him, upborne
in his eternity, taken eternally back into his oneness. - (9)
=||=+|| =rm||=c-= =r=+
=|+ = =|+~ .|- == ||=++ 18
18 - : :| ||:+ (: ||:| || ||:), :
=|- +|++ :: (: |+ ::), : =|-, ||- ~| | |+
||+ |+ ~| , : :| |+ -: :|- (=|- = =|-~,
||- ||:)
18 - He is the light of all lights and luminous beyond all the
darkness of our ignorance. He is knowledge and the object of knowl-
edge. This eternal Light is in the heart of every being; it is he who
is the secret knower of the field, ksetrajna. - (10)
|= z =| =|+ =r+|= =|==+
q= ==- |=| q||r|-r=++ 19
19 - , =|- |+ = | |: ::| |+| ` ( |: :|
=|- = |: ), |+ = ||- | |+ |- |: |
|++ |: |~ ( =: |=| || ||-::)
19 - When man sees this eternal and universal Godhead within
himself, when he becomes aware of the soul in all things and
discovers the spirit in Nature, he puts on the light of Godhead and
stands free in the midst of the worlds of Nature. (Puts on the light
of Godhead means attains Divine Nature attains Divinity, ||
||- ::) (11)
|= =+r+ |=+|- =||+
||=| o+|r ||= |==|+++ 20
20 - |: |+ |+ : -||- | ||-| (|: |+ =
:` || -|- ||), ||+ (deformation) |+ |:|-| |:+|+| ;+
: (||+|- |- = |: :|- ||)
20 - The Soul and Nature are only two aspects of the eternal
Brahman. The Soul is without origin and eternal, Nature too is with-
out origin and eternal; but the modes of Nature and the lower forms
(||+) she assumes to our conscious experience have an origin in the
transactions of these two entities. - (12)
||=+ =r; = |==r=+
=+ =- |+| |= r; ==r=++ 21
21 - |+ + =+ : ; |:+ (| |+ : :; |: :
::) |+ - + || | + , || (| + - |-| | :; : ::)
21 - They (deformations and modes) come from her, wear by her
the outward chain of cause and effect, doing and the results of doing,
force and its workings, all that is here transient and mutable. Nature
creates and acts, the Soul enjoys her creation and action. - (13)
=+ |=r-| | r= |==|+ o+|++
|=+ o+=r|= =-=- r||+=,=++ 22
22 - || |:+ +-: | |: || |:+ |~ :+
(|+ |: | |:|- |- :), ||+ | ||-:
+ |+ ` |:+ + ~: ~ | :|++ |: | (
||- |+)
22 - Forcibly the soul, the individual Purusha, is attracted by her
qualitative workings, and this attraction of her qualities draws him
constantly to births of all kinds in which he enjoys the variation and
vicissitudes, the good and evil of birth in Nature. - (14)
=s|+c| =| |=| r=+
=|r|= |r=| -r |-.+ =+ =++ 23
23 - = -: | +| |+ |+ (|- -: |+ |+) |:+
+ | (||), -.|, :| (+ :|), ||, |+ + (:+)
|+|| || (|+|| |: || )
206 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 13 zrz=||~-|~ 205
23 - Seated in this body is her and our Divinity, the supreme Self,
Paramatman, the supreme Soul, the mighty Lord of Nature, who
watches her action, sanctions her operations, upholds all she does,
commands her manifold creation, enjoys with his universal delight this
play of her figures of his own being. - (15)
= |= =+ |=+ or+ =+
=| =|r+|| + = r||=|r=++ 24
24 - | = -:+ |+ :; |+ + :: |: :; |:- ( =
|+ |: |), : | +|:: | |:~, : |:`
|+|+ :|- - (| :|- || - ||::)
24 - Once that [the self-knowledge] is fixed, no matter how the
Soul in us may comport [behave] itself outwardly, it is in itself free,
no longer bound to birth because one through impersonality of self
with the inner unborn spirit of existence. - (16)
<|r++||+ |c |-||+|+|+
r+ =|r+ |r~+ r|r~+ |r=++ 25
25 - |:-|:+ +|-+|+| |-: |-+ |:+: || -| || (|
+|:-- |-| ||- ||- ||.), |- |:-|:+ |:|~+|+| (:-
|:- |:~-) |+ |- |:-|:+ :|~+|+| || ||+ :+ (|:+
:|:~-)
25 - This knowledge comes by an inner meditation through which
the eternal self becomes apparent to us in our own self-existence. Or
it comes by the Yoga of the Sankhyas, the separation of the soul from
nature. Or it comes by the Yoga of works in which the personal will
is dissolved through the opening up of our mind and heart and all our
active forces to the Lord who assumes to himself the whole of our
works in nature. - (17)
r+ ;=|+c =;|r+ =|=r=+
= | ||===rc = =|==|+|++ 26
26 - |-: +- |+ =|- | |+ | ||+~ ::|:
|-+|+| |- ||-| :+ (:- : = |-. :- =;| ||::),
::|: |-+|+| |- |+ ||-| |+ : |: :+ (: ||
=|:|+|| : |::+|. =)
26 - It (the spiritual knowledge) may come to us by hearing of
the truth from others and the moulding of the mind into the sense of
that to which it listens with faith and concentration. But however
arrived at, it carries us beyond death to immortality. - (18)
| =s|r= ||+ =q -|==+
z z= =r|~|=- ||= ==+++ 27
27 - ~:+ :| |++ |+ | |+ =+ :|~:
| : (| ||~ |+ ; a|:: : = :|~|)
| || (||) |+| |: | ~:- |+ |:- - +|+
|: : =
= =r+ r= |=c =r=+
|+-|+c |= = |=++ 28
28 - :| |+ |+ |:+: +|: |+:+ | -| || :
: | ( : :: |:. |+:+ ||: ||:), :|
|-| `: :+ |-| - (|- |-.)
28 - Knowledge shows us our highest Self as the supreme Lord
of her actions, one and equal in all objects and creatures, not born in
the taking up of a body, not subject to death in the perishing of all
these bodies. That is the true seeing, the seeing of that in us which
is eternal and immortal. - (19)
= + | =z =|-==+
+ |+c-|+||+ =r=| ||= =| ~|=++ 29
29 - :|:: |:+ +|: + -| ||+|:- |:+| |- |
|| |+ -|+|:+ (- |-|.), |+ : |-:| :|:: -| || |+
|+ ~|: | :+ ( |: + |- |-| | ||- -
|-|., :: |+| ~|: ||:)
29 - As we perceive more and more this equal spirit in all things,
we pass into that equality of the spirit; as we dwell more and more
208 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 13 zrz=||~-|~ 207
in this universal being, we become ourselves universal beings; as we
grow more and more aware of this eternal, we put on our own
eternity and are for ever. - (20)
r= ||+ |z|+||+ =+
|= =||+=|= = |=++ 30
30 - |:: :| :+, || :| | = :| : : :
:;- (:| = || ||||- :| ||- :|+ ||:
||:)
30 - Then we see that all our works are an evolution and
operation of Nature and our real self not the executive doer, but the
free witness and lord and unattached enjoyer of the action. - (21)
-| =~|r-+|=+
== = |c-|= =-r= =-|++ 31
31 - | : |- |- : = :: +|: |+ :|:|+
+|+| |.|+ , : | | (-| : |~ | =
:: = |.|+ -||:, :-| |-:: (| :+)
31 - All this surface of cosmic movement is a diverse becoming
of natural existences in the one eternal Being, all is extended, mani-
fested, rolled out by the universal Energy from the seeds of her Idea
deep in his existence. - (22)
+||-;||o+;| =||+
==r-|| |rc + r=||= + |r=++ 32
32 - -||- |+ |- |+: = |+|| changeless (-||-;|
|-;| |+|| ), -: || =:| -:+ |+ =::| |
- (++ || - :+||: - ||::)
32 - The spirit even though it takes up and enjoys her workings
in this body of ours, is not affected by its mortality because it is
eternal beyond birth and death, is not limited by the personalities
which it multiply assumes in her because it is the one supreme self
of all these personalities, is not changed by the mutations of quality
because it is itself undetermined by quality, does not act even in
action, kartaram api akartaram, is the originator of all activities, but
in no way changed or affected by the play of its Nature. - (23)
| =~= =|q|-|| +||r=+
=z||-r=| -r =|| +||r=++ 33
33 - :- || :|:: | |- |+ (:|+ |: =:|:+
~: ||=: -, ||+ |: (| ~: || `(| - |||::)
-:+ || -: :| o| :: | ||: -+ -|+ |+
-|:+ (:| -: +|: || - |||::)
33 - As the all-pervading ether is not affected or changed by the
multiple forms it assumes, but remains always the same pure subtle
original substance, even so the spirit when it has done and become
all possible things, remains through it all the same pure immutable
subtle infinite essence. - (24)
| |r= - || =|+
z z =| - ||= |==++ 34
34 - :- =| = | ||+| :|: (| = +|
| ||:), -:+ || (:| ) - ||+ |+
:|: ( ||:)
34 - This Brahman, the eternal and spiritual knower of the field
of his own natural becoming, this Nature, his perpetual energy, which
converts herself into the field, this immortality of the soul in mortal
nature, these things together make the whole reality of our exist-
ence. The spirit within, when we turn to it, illumines the entire field
of Nature with its own truth in all the splendour of its rays. - (25)
zrz=r|r=c= =|++|+
=|=r|+ |- ||c = =++ 35
35 - |: |+ =+ = :- ( = =:|
.+) |+ |- | | |:+ +-+|+| | ||+|+ || =|-+ :+
| |||+: ::|: |+ |- | :+ (: |: | |- ,
: |+ ||.)
210 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 13 zrz=||~-|~ 209
35 In the light of that sun of knowledge the eye of knowledge
opens in us and we live in that truth and no longer in ignorance. Then
we are liberated from the law of the lower Prakriti, the law of the
mind and body, then we attain to the supreme nature of the spirit.
That is the supreme status of the soul, para gatih, that is the divine
being and nature, madbhava, and whoever arrives at spiritual
knowledge rises to that supreme immortality of the Eternal. (26)
Kshetra Kshetrajna bibhaga Yoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo.
1. The field and its knower: 1, 2, 3, 5 25.
2. Sankhya and Yoga: 4.

To those who demand from him, God gives what they demand,
but to those who give themselves and demand nothing, he gives
everything that they might otherwise have asked or needed and in
addition he gives himself and the spontaneous boons of his love.
Sri Aurobindo, The Yoga and its objects.
With patience and perseverance all prayers get fulfilled.
The Mother
The soul when it throws itself out into active Nature is Gitas
Kshara, its mobile or mutable Purusha; the same soul gathered back
into pure silent self and essential spirit is the Gitas Akshara, immobile
or immutable Purusha. (Ksharapersonal, Akshara-impersonal).-
Towards the supreme secret, Essays on Gita.
=- <| (Chapter 14)
o+z ||~ -|~
*~-|+ =|
= || =|+|+| =|+=+
==|;| + =r =| |=|=|r=| ~=|++ 1
1 - =~+|:- `: :|| |:` :| =|-+ |:+: |+
=|-+ | : ` (=|-|-| |+ =|- ||) | =|- | |+
|-: |+ || | |+| ( =|;| : - : |+| || ~:|)
1- The soul's salvation cannot come without the soul's perfection,
without its growing into the divine nature. Therefore, says the Gita,
this is the supreme knowledge and the highest of all knowings because
it leads to the highest perfection and spiritual status, paramsiddhim,
and brings the soul to likeness with the Divine, sadharmya. It is the
eternal wisdom, the great spiritual experience by which all the sages
attained to that highest perfection. - (1)
- =|+||== =|<|~=|+
-r~| +|=|rc r + |c ++ 2
2 - = =|-+ |= ( - =|- |||=:) |+ |: (|- |:,
|+| |:, Divine Nature) | +|: ( |+ |~:|) |+ |:
- |+ |::| - -||| (:~ || - ||:., : -
|.)
2 - It is this eternal wisdom by which sages grew into one law
of being ( |+ |~:|) with the Supreme and live for ever in his
eternity, not born in the creation, not troubled by the anguish of the
universal dissolution (). This perfection, then, this sadharmya is
the way of immortality. - (2)
Gita Ch. 13 zrz=||~-|~ 211
||+- =|-.+ ~ -<|+
= ==|+| =r=| |= |==++ 3
3 - |: |+ ~+|- |- (- ||-), :|: |+
|-:| :+| (:|- ~ -+||), :|+ |+| :| :~+ ||
(:: :|-| : |:)
=r||++ |rc = =|c |+
=|=| - r||+= =- |=|++ 4
4 - :| ||-: |:|+ |: (-) | (:||- |
:|.) |: :|:+ ||- |: |+ |-:| :+|:| ||:| (
:|| ||-, - ||:|)
3-4 The Eternal puts all this movement forth as his self-
creation. He is at once the Father and Mother of the universe, the
substance of the infinite Idea, vijnana, the Mahat Brahman, is the
womb into which he casts the seed of his self-conception. - (3)
=q ==c- |= o+| |= =|+
|+<|c ||r| -r -|+++ 5
5 - ;, + |+ : |:|: = |:|-| : (; + : |:
|: :| |) -+ |:+: || +-: +|: (-:
-|- |-+|.)
5 - "The three gunas born of Prakriti", says the Gita, "bind in the
body the imperishable dweller in the body." - (4)
=z =q |+;| |+|+
==r+ <||= =|+=r+ |+++ 6
6 - ; |-, |- | | =|-+ |: | :+ |+
- |+, |- - :+ (; |-;| | -|), || =|-
|+ + |: | |+ +-: +|: (:- =|-:- +||:)
6 - The Gita applies this generalised analysis of the universal
Energy to the psychological nature of man in relation to his bondage
to Prakriti and the realisation of spiritual freedom. Sattwa, it tells us,
is by the purity of its quality a cause of light and illumination and by
virtue of that purity it produces no disease or morbidity or suffering
in the nature. - (5)
=r=| =|~| ||= =+|==q+
=|<||= |rc =r+ -|+++ 7
7 - +:| +|~|, |+ |: +|~, |, || |, :|
(|-|) |+ + (||+) ||+ |+ || + |: || |
+-: +|: (: -|- :- |-+||:)
7 - Rajas, again, the Gita tells us, has for its essence attraction
of liking and longing. Rajas is a child of the attachment of the soul
to the desire of objects; it is born from the nature's thirst for an
unpossessed satisfaction. It is therefore full of unrest and fever and
lust and greed and excitement, a thing of seeking impulsions, and all
this mounts in us when the middle guna increases. - (6)
=-=|+= ||= |+ =r-|+|+
|-|=|+s||c-|<||= |==++ 8
8 - ::| =|-:|+|+| | (: : =|- ||), ++
|-||., |:|:| | :+ (:-|-| |-), || |-, |
|+ |-| -||., : ||:, =| |+ |||-+|+| |:+|-: +|: (: |-
| |-|| |-+||:)
8 - Tamas, finally, is born of inertia and ignorance and its fruit
too is inertia and ignorance. It is the darkness of tamas which ob-
scures knowledge and causes all confusion and delusion. Tamas brings
incapacity and negligence of action as well as the incapacity and
negligence of error, inattention and misunderstanding or non-under-
standing; indolence, languor and sleep belong to this guna. - (7)
=q =r =s|= == |+ |==+
=|+|= = = |r- =s==++ 9
9 - ;: + |: |+ +:|: + |: | :+ (; :
+ | a|:) |z ::|: =|- | |+ |-: (-||., ::|,
|:|:|) | :+ (: : =|- |: |:- a|:)
214 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 14 o+z||~-|~ 213
9 - Sattwa, it (Gita) says, attaches to happiness, rajas attaches
to action, tamas covers up the knowledge and attaches to negligence
of error and inaction. Or again, "sattwa binds by attachment to
knowledge and happiness, rajas binds the embodied spirit by attachment
to works, tamas binds by negligence and indolence and sleep." In
other words, the soul by attachment to the enjoyment of the gunas
and their results concentrates its consciousness on the lower and
outward action of life, mind and body in Nature, imprisons itself in the
form of these things and becomes oblivious of its own greater
consciousness behind in spirit, unaware of the free power and scope
of the liberating Purusha. Evidently, in order to be liberated and
perfect we must get back from these things, away from the gunas
and above them and return to the power of that spiritual consciousness
above Nature. - (8)
==c-|| =q |= |==+
== =q =r = =q ==c-|++ 10
10 - |:|| +:| |+ ::| -| ; :o
(; + : | |:), |:|| ; |+ ::| -| +:|
|+ |:|| ; |+ +:| -| ::| (+
; : =, : ; + :|)
10 In every natural existence here on earth the three gunas are
there in their inextricable working and it is even said that all action
of man or creature or force is merely the action of these modes
(gunas) upon each other, a functioning in which one or the other
predominates. To act is to be subject to three qualities of Nature. But
the liberated Yogin is delivered from the guna reactions and whatever
he does, however he lives, moves and acts in God, in the power of
his freedom and immortality, in the law of the supreme, eternal Infinite,
sarvatha vartamanopi sa yogi mayi vartate, (6/31)
What moves the world is not really the modes of Prakriti,
these are only the lower aspect, the mechanism of our normal nature.
The real motive power is a divine spiritual Will which uses these
inferior conditions, but is itself not dominated, as is the human will, by
the gunas. For everything in the lower normal nature is derived from
the higher spiritual power of being of the purushottama, mattah
pravartate. (Deva and Asura, Essays on the Gita).
=|r=+ -r|-.+ | ==|r=+
=|+ -| =-| |-||= =q|==++ 11
11 - |:| -+ - +|+ +| -, | |+ |:|++ |:|- ||+
|| |+: :+, =|-+ | (-| |- -: |:+ =|- |
||::), :|:| ||-| ; | || : (:-| : ; | |:
|-|)
11 - When into all the doors in the body there comes a flooding
of light, as if the doors and windows of a closed house were opened
to sunshine, a light of understanding, perception and knowledge,
when the intelligence is alert and illumined, the senses quickened, the
whole mentality satisfied and full of brightness and the nervous being
calmed and filled with an illumined ease and clarity, prasada, one
should understand that there has been a great increase and uprising
of the sattwic guna in the nature. - (9)
| |==|= +| -|+
==r==||+ =|rc |r= ==+++ 12
12 - |, : |:| (|), : - (| |+:), ||.,
:| () |+ || = :|+ +:| | | `: | (=:||-
+| |: |:.)
12 - It is the force of desire which motives all ordinary personal
initiative of action and all that movement of stir and seeking and
propulsion in our nature which is the impetus towards action and
works, pravritti. Rajas, then, is evidently the kinetic force in the
modes of Nature. Its fruit is lust of action, but also grief, pain, all
kinds of suffering. - (10)
|r||= |r-| | = +
=r==||+ =|rc |r= =+=+++ 13
13 - ::|+ | `: | (=|-+ |+), --:| (|),
|- (: ||:, |++|-:|), | = :|+ | (=:||- :|
|: |:.)
13 - It (Tamas) is opposite of sattwa, for the essence of sattwa
is enlightment, prakasa, and the essence of tamas is absence of light,
216 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 14 o+z||~-|~ 215
aprakasa. It is opposite too of rajas; for the essence of rajas is
movement and impulsion and kinesis, pravritti, but the essence of
tamas is inertia, apravritti. - (11)
-| =rq r= = ||= -+
=r-|=|-| ||+|+ |=-r=++ 14
14 - ; | |+| : -+|+ ++ : `: (: -| :; :
- ||:), :|:| || :;=|-+ |- | ~|: :+
(:-| |-| |- ||- |:|-::)
==|= ~;| =|+ =|r=+
=| +c-|= r||++ =|r=++ 15
15 - +:| |+ : : `: (+| ~;|) : |
- ||-: |+ ::|+ |+ : : `: ||-: |:
|-.+: (| |::, :| :| - ||- |::)
+ ===|; =||q |+ =+
===q = - =|+ == =++ 16
16 - + = |- |+ ||; (: |- ||;
=), +|| + = - |+ :|| + = =:| (+ : =
- , : = =|-)
=q| ==|r= =|+ ==r=| | = +
|-r|r| =r=| r=|=|+r ++ 17
17 - ;+|+| =|- : (;| |:: =|-), +:|+|+| | :
(+ | = ), ::|+|+| |-, | |+ =:| : (:
|-:|:` =|- = :)
16, 17 Ignorance is the result of tamasic action, pain the
consequence of rajasic works, pain of reaction, disappointment,
dissatisfaction or transience. But the works rightly done the fruit is
pure and sattwic, the inner result is knowledge and happiness. (11A)
== ~t|c =q-| r< |=|c =|==|+
=+ o+|=-| r<|~t|c =|=|++ 18
18 - ;: :|: |- ||, +:|: +:, -:|:
|: |+ - ::|: |-~|: || (-:|+|+| |:- )
+|+ or+ =|= -| s|+|=+
or+ = |= q| =||<~t|=++ 19
19 - | | || |:|-|+ ||:+ + :| |- |:-| -| (-|
| : - :|+ - -||:) |+ |:|-|: =- ||+
:+ (: |+ |), :|:| : |+ :-| | :+ ( |
|+~|:)
o+|r+=|+== z+ - -=q|++
=,===|- r|r=|=r=++ 20
20 - = -+ ||+ |+ (-;|-, ;, +, : =
|:|-| ~:+ |+ |+) = |:|-| |: |+ (=:|- - |-
::) :, +| |+ - +|+| || +; | :+ ( :
+| - | - : ::)
19, 20 To see that the modes of Nature are the whole agency
and cause of our works and to know and turn to that which is
supreme above the gunas, is the way to rise above the lower nature.
Only so can we attain to the movement and status of the Divine, mad
-bhava, by which free from subjection to birth and death and their
concomitants, decay, old age and suffering, the liberated soul shall
enjoy in the end immortality and all that is eternal. - (12)
= + =|
|r-+ o+|r+=|+=r=| |= r|+
|||= =|-+ o+|+|==r=++ 21
21 - :- `: , = |:|-| |: +| | +
| ( | =:|- - |- :: |:), : + |+ :- (|
||+),| ||: :+ |:|-| |: |+ |||+ ( =:|- - |-
|::::)
21- What, asks Arjuna, are the signs of such a man, what is his
action and how is he said even in action to be above the three
gunas?- (13)
218 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 14 o+z||~-|~ 217
*~-|+ =|
|+ |=+ |r |o-+
+ | =|=||+ + |+=||+ ||=++ 22
=-|=+-|=r+| or+r| + ||r=+
o+| =c r= ||=|= +r=++ 23
=- = -- =r|||+++
=|||r| <=q|+=|=q|=++ 24
|+||+r |qqr| |z||=r |+
=|=|==|~ o+|== = =r=++ 25
22 - =~+|:- `: =|-+ | (;), : | (+:|)
|+ | (::|) - `: | -:+ | = :|+ |:|+ ~`: |+ ||
|| -: (| | | = ||- - -|, |-||- -
| |:),
23 | - |-+ - :+ |: ( - |- |-), + | |
||: |+ -|+|:+ ( - ||::), :|:+ |- |- |+:
| | | + |: (| : . |: = |:|:), ~ - (-
::),
24 |+ - : | (- ), | , | |+ :-|
||: ||: :, ||, |, | |+ +: =: ( | : |~-),
||, |-|| |+ +: |- |+ | -| ++ (: ||,
: |-| ||:, ++),
25 |-||-, | |+ |: |- (|- |-:| : |
|+|:| :), | | |-: |+: -:+, |:+ :|+ |+ =|+
|-: (|+:||+:|~), =:- =- | |:: | |+| ( |::
::)
22-25 The sign, says Krishna, is that equality of which I have
so constantly spoken; the sign is that inwardly he regards happiness
and suffering alike, gold and mud and stone as of equal value and
that to him the pleasant and the unpleasant, praise and blame, honour
and insult, the faction of his friends and the faction of his enemies
are equal things. He is steadfast in a wise imperturbable and im-
mutable inner calm and quietude. He initiates no action ( |+:
||+:|~), but leaves all works to be done by the gunas of Nature.
Sattwa, rajas or tamas may rise or cease in his outer mentality and
his physical movements with their results of enlightment, of impul-
sion to works or of inaction and the clouding over of the mental and
nervous being (| , | , | ), but he does not rejoice when
this comes or that ceases, nor on the other hand does he abhor or
shrink from the operation or the cessation of these things (|- ||-
- | |:). He has seated himself in the conscious light of another
principle than the nature of the gunas and that greater conscious-
ness remains steadfast (- ||::) in him ( | ), above
these powers and unshaken by their motions like the sun above the
clouds to one who has risen into a higher atmosphere. He from that
height sees that it is the gunas that are in process of action and that
their storm and calm are not himself but only a movement of Prakriti;
his self is immovable (- ::) above and his spirit does not partici-
pate in that shifting mutability of things unstable. This is the Imper-
sonality of the Brahmic status; for that higher principle, that greater
wide highseated consciousness, kutastha, is the immutable Brahman
(+ ).
26-27 But still there is evidently here a double status, there is the
scission (division) of the being between two opposites; a liberated
spirit in the immutable Self or Brahman watches the action of an
unliberated mutable Nature, Akshara and Kshara. Is there no greater
status, no principle of more absolute perfection? There is, it would
seem, something else; for the Gita says, "He also who loves and
strives after Me with an undeviating love and adoration (||:+
|:|:~- ::, 1426], passes beyond the three gunas and he too
is prepared for becoming the Brahman" (|- |:: | v::).
This "I" is the Purushottama who is the foundation of the silent
Brahman ( | |:| ) and of immortality (:) and imper-
ishable spiritual existence () and of the eternal dharma (|:
+) and of an utter bliss of happiness ( ||., 1427].
There is a status then which is greater than the peace of the Akshara
as it watches unmoved the strife of the gunas. There is a highest
220 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 14 o+z||~-|~ 219
spiritual experience and foundation above the immutability of the
Brahman, there is an eternal dharma greater than the rajasic impul-
sion to works, pravritti, there is an absolute delight which is un-
touched by rajasic suffering and beyond the sattwic happiness, and
these things are found and possessed by dwelling in the being and
power of the Purushottama. - (14)
|+ | ||r=+ |=r|r~+ =r=+
= o+|+ ==r==|+ | qr=++ 26
26 - | ||. |:+ :: |+ ~: || |+ +| :+ (
||:+ | |:~- | ::), : = :|+ (;, +, :
3|) |: |+ ( =:|- |- ::) ::-| | |+ |~
(| v::)
r+| | |=|==|= +
|== <= =r=||c= ++ 27
27 - |+ (|) (|+:|) + + (silent immutable Brah-
man, ), +;+ (:), + (), |: ++ (|:
+) |+ ||. + (||. ) |= (|:|, foundation)
27 That spiritual joy is no longer the sattwic happiness, sukham,
but the absolute Ananda. Ananda is the secret delight from which all
things are born, by which all is sustained in existence and to which
all can rise in the spiritual culmination. (The gunas, mind and works,
Essays on the Gita)
To be immortal is something different from this survival of death
and this constant recurrence. Immortality is that supreme status in
which the Spirit (Soul) knows itself to be superior to death and birth,
immortal, because never being born it never dies. Liberation,
immortality is to live in this unchangeably conscious eternal being of
the Purushottama. But to arrive here the embodied soul must cease
to live according to the law of the lower nature; it must put on the
law of the Divines supreme way of existence, it must grow into the
likeness of the Divine. Nowhere in the Gita is there any indication
that dissolution of the individual spiritual being (soul) into the unmanifest,
indefinable or absolute Brahman is the true meaning or condition of
immortality or the true aim of Yoga. (14A)
Gunatraya bibhaga Yoga.
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo.
1. Above the gunas - 1 14.

Man, still a child in Natures mighty hands,

He knows not what he shall achieve or when;
He is ignorant of the meaning of his life,
He is ignorant of his high and splendid fate.
The truth-light capture Nature by surprise,
A stealth of God compel the heart to bliss
And earth grow unexpectedly divine.
In matter shall be lit the spirits glow,
In body and body kindled the sacred birth;
Night shall awake to the anthem of the stars,
The days become a happy pilgrim march,
Our will a force of the Eternals power,
And thought the rays of a spiritual sun.
Savitri, Sri Aurobindo
Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo has added one more step to the knowledge of
Yoga. The new knowledge is physical transformation, transformation
of human body to divine body. This lower triple world of mind life and
body is a result of involution of higher divine Nature (para prakriti)
to lower nature (apara prakriti). So by reverse process of evolution
our lower nature can be transformed into Divine Nature. Gitss
knowledge is upto souls liberation, but integral yoga seeks to liberate
soul, mind, life and body from the bondage of ignorance. In other
words man can become divine completely. To achieve this what is
needed is aspiration in the heart and complete surrender to God.
222 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 14 o+z||~-|~ 221
+- <| (Chapter 15)
=r+|=-|~
*~-|+ =|
==<| |;=+
;=||= +||+ c- - = -|++ 1
1 - =~+|:- `: -|-: |+- - =:||| |:
~, |+ |+ |+ ||:|+ : |: , ||::|+ -+
= | | | || : -= ( +| , |-,
|||- || : -, -|)
|+- =:||| |: ~+ ~: :-| +| : |+ |+ |+=|:
|: |+:| |+:|, |+|+| |||: +| |- :
<r|= ==|c-= || o+=| |+||+
< |++=c=||+ |+=|+ ++r|r++ 2
2 - = |+ |:+ |:|-|+|+| ||, | +| | ||:
|| |:|+ |+ |+ : - :|=|: |.: | -|:+ +:|:+
~|: | |-~|: | :+ :+ =|: (|-| +|) |||:|+ -:|:
|.: |: Its branches stretch down below and it extends and
plunges its other roots of attachment and desire with an endlessly
developing action, plunges them downward here into the world of
men. - (1)
(: | | || || + :|, -:|:
|-+|- ||- + -.:||-)
+ =.r= =r|r= +|rc| + ||-+ =||=|+
r+ =|=. =r-+ - r+ |;q|++ 3
== - = |=||~= |-.+ ~=| + |+=|c +
=r |- =+ r- = |= ==| =|+++ 4
3, 4 = |+ + +|, :|+ ||-, . | | |: |- : ||+ |+
-|+|:+ ( +| - |::, :| - . - ||-, - |:|), =
- :o|+ +|~ +| (:|~ +|) : :+ - |+ [=- |+
-: - (:|~) : |;|], :|+ ||: |+ |- ( |-) |||+ |:~
(:: : |- ||+||~ :), ` ~`: |:` |+ || -||:~ (|- ~:|
- |-: |.), `+|+| = -|:- |+ | |+: : [: (= |) | +|
| :|] ||- | + + +: | |+: | =:- |::+ : +
: |+ |:~ (: = |- | + |:-)
|+|+r|| |===r-|+| <||+=| ||+=||+
r|=| =- =r=~tc| - =++ 5
5 - |+ ||- |+ | -| , |+ || :, | |+|| =|-:
|:|:, | |-| :|~ |+: |+ - +|:, ::- =|- |+:
|+ |- | :+ (|-|- || |::-|| +||-:|, ||-||,
- = ||, | : |- ~|.)
+ =q|=r= =r| + |re| + |+
- ~;| + |+=rc ==| = + 6
6 - | |- ~`: + |:` |+ |+ -|: ( ~;| - |-::.),
: |+ |+ |- (: |+ +|), |- , | |: ||:
|+ -|+|:+, ||+| -|+|:+, |+ |- |-: -||- (: -
|::, - | - ||)
16 A description of cosmic existence in Vedantic image of the
aswattha tree.
This tree of cosmic existence has no beginning and no end, in
space or in time; for it is eternal and imperishable. It is an infinite
movement and its foundation is above in the supreme of the Infinite.
Its principle is the ancient sempiternal urge to action which for ever
proceeds without beginning or end from the original Soul of all existence.
Therefore its original source is above beyond Time in the Eternal, but
its branches stretch down below and it extends and plunges its other
roots, well-fixed and clinging roots of attachment and desire with
their consequences of more and more desire and an endlessly
224 *q~-- ~=|
spiritual reality is the very Divine, however partial its actual manifestation
of him in Nature. And it means too that each manifesting spirit, each
of the many, is an eternal individual, an eternal unborn undying power
of the one Existence (:: + | +||+ |-| |-| |; |:). We
call this manifesting spirit the Jiva, because it appears here as if a living
creature in a world of living creatures, and we speak of this spirit in
man as the human soul and think of it in the terms of humanity only.
But in truth it is something greater than its present appearance and not
bound to its humanity: it was a lesser manifestation than the human in
its past (|| |+ +|+ || :), it can become something much
greater than mental man in its future. And when this soul rises above
all ignorant limitation, then it puts on its divine nature [attains divine
nature] of which its humanity [the human nature] is only a temporary
veil. The individual spirit exists and ever existed beyond in the Eternal,
for it is itself everlasting, sanatana. It is this idea of the eternal individual
which leads the Gita to avoid any expression of a complete dissolution,
laya, and to speak rather of the highest state of the soul as a dwelling
in the Purushottama, nivasisyasi mayyeva (12/8).
The eternal individual (Jiva, Jivatma) is not other than or in any
way really separate from the Divine Purusha ( = -|:-). It
is the Lord himself, the Ishwara. - (2)
+ |+ + =: +:|+ ++ |- .+: :|:+ | :+,
-||, individuality s |:
== -|r||= |z|==+
~r;=||+ =||= |~=||+||++ 8
8 - + | +|| =| - =|+ (+ ++ ||:) |:|
:~ =| -: :+ :+ || (++) |:||:, :|:| :|:
=+ ~|+ || |-|+ -:+ - |+ |:|+ ~: | (| ||
~+|- , =:||- ~;| ||:)
=|z -++ ==+ |+r +
|<| +| |+|+r=r=++ 9
developing action, plunges them downward here into the world of
men. The hymns of the Veda are compared to its leaves and the man
who knows this tree of the cosmos is the Veda-Knower. For the
knowledge the Veda gives us is a knowledge of the gods, of the
principles and powers of the cosmos, and its fruits are fruits of a
sacrifice which is offered with desire, fruits of enjoyment and lordship
in earth and heaven and the world between earth and heaven. The
branches of this cosmic tree extend both below and above, below in
the material, above in the supraphysical planes; they grow by the
gunas of Nature, for the triple guna is all the subject of the Vedas.
The Vedic rhythms, chandamsi, are the leaves and the sensible object
of desire gained by a right doing of sacrifice are the constant budding
of the foliage. Man, therefore, so long as he enjoys the play of the
gunas and is attached to desire, is held in the coils of Pravritti, in the
movement of birth and action, turns about constantly between the
earth and the middle planes and the heavens and is unable to get
back to his supreme spiritual infinitudes. To achieve liberation, it is
necessary to cut these long-fixed roots of desire by the strong sword
of detachment and then to seek for that highest goal whence, once
having reached it, there is no compulsion of return to mortal life. To
be free from the bewilderment of this lower Maya, without egoism,
the great fault of attachment conquered, all desires stilled, the duality
of joy and grief cast away, always to be fixed in a pure spiritual
consciousness, these are the steps of the way to that supreme Infinite.
There we find the timeless being which is not illumined by sun or
moon or fire, but is itself the light of the presence of the eternal
Purusha. I turn away, says the Vedantic verse, to seek that original
Soul-the highest status of the Purushottama. (1)
r|r| =r|r == =+|=++
++|+|||+ |=-||+ +|=++ 7
7 - |:+ -|:- ++:| |+: |:: +|: || -:
+|+ 6| | | :+ ( = -|:- : |: ||- - ||-
||| :|: |:)
7 - "It is an eternal portion of Me that becomes the Jiva in the
world of Jivas." This is an epithet, a statement of immense bearing
and consequence. For it means that each soul, each being in its
226 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 15 =r+|=-|~ 225
9 - +|| +| :+ ||+ |, , |:|, ||, -| |+ -
|= |+ | | |:|~ :+ ( =|, |- , +-,
| = , - |+| ||- |:::)
8,9 It [the Jiva] is the Lord himself, the Ishwara who exists
for ever as the immortal soul within us and has taken up this body
and goes forth from the transient framework (body) when it is cast
away to disappear into the elements of Nature. He (soul) brinigs in
with him and cultivates for the enjoyment of the objects of mind and
sense the subjective (subtle) powers of Prakriti, mind and the five
senses, and in his going forth too he goes taking them as the wind
takes the perfumes from a Vase. (3)
=z|c |-= || s|+ | o+||=+
|| +|+|c |c =|++++ 10
10 - +|| :- - =|+ | (|.) | -: || :-
|:|-|+ ~: | |~ :+ (|: | || a|- ||:),
= :|+ = |: -| -|||, |z =|-: =|- :+ :| -| || (||
- -||., =|- ||.)
10 The identity of the Lord and the soul in mutable Nature is
hidden from us by outward appearance. And those who allow
themselves to be governed by the figures of Nature, the figure of
humanity or any other form, will never see it, but will ignore and
despise the Divine lodged in the human body. Their ignorance cannot
perceive him in his coming in and his going forth or in his staying and
enjoying and assumption of quality until they learn to put away the
limitations of the outward consciousness and build in themselves spiritual
being. (4)
=rc| ||~+r+ c|+|-=+
=rc|=||r+| ++ cr==++ 11
11 - ; |~: |-+ -: | || -- :+ (:.
||~- ||- +|: =- ||.), |z ||| |::| |+ |:,
::|: ; |+ || -| -||| (:|- :: :. || =-
- ||.)
-||-=~= =r=| =~q|=r=|
|= |r| =r=r=| ||= |++ 12
12 - , | |+ | :: ~ |:||: :+, :
|+ | ||-| (||-:~: : | ~ |::, |
:` : : | ||)
11, 12 Man, to know himself, must be Kritatma, formed and
complete in the spiritual mould, enlightened in the spiritual vision. The
Yogins who have this eye of knowledge, see the Divine Being we are
in their own endless reality, their own eternity of spirit. But they see
him too not only in themselves, but in all the cosmos. In the light of
the sun that illumines all this world they witness the light of the
Godhead which is in us; the light of the moon and in fire is the light
of the Divine. (5)
~||| =||+ <|=|r|==|+
+|| |+< =| =|r| ;| ==|++ 13
13 - ||+: :+ |+ ( ~| ||) |- |:+ :|
: +|+ |: | (| :||- +|+||), + :| + ||
|+- :+| (+| | ;| | + |||)
13 It is the Divine who has entered into this form of earth and
is the spirit of its material force and sustains by his might these
multitudes. The Divine is the godhead of Soma who by the rasa, the
sap in the earth mother, nourishes the plants and trees. (6)
|+r=| ;| ||++| -||==+
|+||+=|= | =|<++ 14
14 - o+|| ( |) +:| |+ -: || | | |+ ||-
|+ (||+ |+| |+ |:+ | |) ~: =:~ ||+|+ ||+
|-| |-+ ( |) ;| ||-| - ||=: | |
| :|+ |||)
14 The Divine and no other is the flame of life that sustains the
physical body of living creatures and turns its food into sustenance of
their vital force. (7)
== | .|- =||r| = -.|==|+r|+++
r- =r=r r-| -|cr-|r- |++ 15
228 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 15 =r+|=-|~ 227
15 - :|:+ -: +|: ( |- ||), |+|+|
:|:+ |: |+ =|- | |+ | | ( |: =|-, :||-~),
: -+ ||-~| | ( = - -), : -|.+
- :| (-|. ) |+ -|- (-| =)
15 He is lodged in the heart of every breathing thing; from him
are memory and knowledge and the debates of the reason. He is that
which is known by all the Vedas and by all forms of knowing; he is
the knower of Veda and the maker of Vedanta. (8)
The word Veda means book of knowledge (Sankhya, Yoga and
Vedanta, Essays on Gita)
||r| =r+| |r =|= = +
= =||+ =||+ r-|= =r=++ 16
16 - = ~:: - - |+ |: (|: ` |+:`) =- + |+
=- + ( :` + + = ), . :~ + |+ |+ -
+ |+ (+ || :||- + ::)
== =+-+ =|r=-|.=+
| |z|| |= =++ 17
17 - + |+ + |+ - -+ ||:+ =- |+ |:, |-
|+|| || (- : |+ |+|| |: -|:), |-
:+ |:|: | || :|: +|+ +||: ( + |
|| ||:)
16, 17 There is a spirit here at work in the world that is one
in innumerable appearances. It is the developer of birth and action,
the moving power of life. It is itself Time and Space and Circum-
stance. It is this multitude of souls in the worlds; it is the gods and
men and creatures and things and forces and qualities and quantities
and powers and presences. It is Nature, which is power of the spirit,
and objects, which are its phenomena of name and idea and form,
and existence, who are portions and births and becomings of the One,
the Eternal. But what we see at work before us is not this Eternal
and his conscious Shakti, but a Nature which is ignorant of the spirit
within her action. The inherent Power in her hidden in its truth,
manifest in its appearances, it is the Kshara, the universal Soul, the
spirit in the mutability of cosmic phenomenon and becoming, one with
the Immutable and the Supreme. We have to discover the Spirit
behind these veils and to see all as the One, Vasudeva iti sarvam,
individual, universal, transcendent.
There is another Spirit of whom we become aware and who is
none of these things but self and self only. This spirit is eternal,
always the same, the one, the stable, a self-existence undivided and
not divided by the division of things and powers in Nature, inactive
in her action, immobile in her motion. It is the Self of all and yet
unmoved, indifferent, intangible. This spirit is timeless, though we see
it in Time; it is unextended in space, though we see it as if pervading
space. This is the Akshara, the immutable in the mutable, the immo-
bile in the mobile, the imperishable in things perishable.
The Kshara spirit visible to us as all natural existence moves and
acts pervadingly in the immobile and eternal Akshara. This mobile
Power of Self acts in that fundamental stability of Self, as the second
principle of material Nature, Vayu, with its contractual force of
aggregation and separation, attraction and repulsion, supporting the
formative force of the fiery (radiant, gaseous and electric) and other
elemental movements, ranges pervadingly in the subtly massive
stability of ether. This Akshara is the self higher than the buddhi, the
liberating intelligence, through which man returning beyond his restless
mobile mental to his calm eternal spiritual self is at last free from the
persistence of birth and the long chain of action, of Karma (8/15).
These two then are the two spirits we see in the world; one
emerges in the front of action, the other remains behind it steadfast
in that perpetual silence from which the action comes and in which
all actions cease and disappear (` :` |+:`, 1516).
The Kshara acts or at least motives action; Akshara stands
apart. Akshara is the one self of all these many souls, and it is
therefore evident that these two spirits are a dual status of one
eternal and universal existence. Isha tells us that Brahman is both
230 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 15 =r+|=-|~ 229
the mobile and the immobile, is the One and the Many, is the Self
and all existence. It too insists like the Gita that man must know and
must embrace both and learn of the Supreme in his eternity
samagram mam (7/1), as the Gita puts it in order to enjoy immor-
tality and live in the eternal.
The world for the Gita is real, a creation of the Lord, a power
of the Eternal, and even this lower nature of the triple Maya is a
derivation from the supreme divine Nature.
Akshara is para, supreme in relation to the elements and action
of cosmic Nature. It is the immutable Self of all, and the immutable
Self of all is Purushottama. The Akshara is he in the freedom of his
self-existence unaffected by the action of his own power in Nature,
undisturbed by the play of his own qualities. But this is only one
aspect. The Purushottama is at the same time greater than the
Akshara, because he is more than this immutability and he is not
limited even by the highest eternal status of his being, param dhama.
When pursued through the Akshara alone, this attempt at liberation
becomes the seeking of the Indefinable, a thing hard for our nature
embodied as we are here in Matter (12/5). The highest unmanifest
Akshara is still the Purushottama. But yet is he more even than a
highest unmanifest Akshara, because he is to be known also as the
supreme Purusha who extends this whole universe in his own exist-
ence. He is the Lord in the Kshara, Purushottama not only there, but
here in the heart of every creature, Ishwara. The Purushottama is
the cosmic spirit in Time. He is both Akshara and Kshara. - (4)
-.| ==r=| =|-| |=+
r=||-. |r r- |= =r+|=++ 18
18 - |:: ++ :: |+ +: (| +
:: +| || ), |: |+: |+ -: |+:| |
| (: |: :- |+:| |: |)
18 Thus the Divine is manifest in a double soul of his mystery, a
twofold power, dvav imau purusau, (15/16), he supports at once the spirit
of mutable things that all these existences, ksarah sarvani bhutani, (15/
16) and the immutable spirit that stands above them in his imperturbable
immobility of eternal silence and calm. And it is by the force of the
Divine in them that the mind and heart and will of man are so powerfully
drawn in different directions by these two spirits as if by opposing and
incompatible attractions one insistent to annual the other.
But the Divine is neither wholly the Kshara, not wholly the
Akshara. He is greater than the immutable Self and he is much
greater than the Soul of mutable things. If he is capable of being both
at once, it is because he is other than they, anyah, the Purushottama
above all cosmos and yet extended in the world and extended in the
Veda, in self-knowledge and in cosmic experience. (10)
| |r=r| =|+||= =r+|=+
= =|- =|= | =|r+ |==++ 19
19 - | | = -:+ | |+:| | |:-, : = |+
: | ::||:+ : ( = |+:| | |-||:,
|- |:- | |:)
19 - Whoever thus knows and sees him as the Purushottama, is
no longer bewildered () whether by the world-appearance or
by the separate attraction of these two apparent contraries (+ |+
+ -| | ||+: - |:~). He embraces and escapes them,
overcomes their opposition and becomes all-knowing, sarvavid, a
whole knower. He sees the entire sense both of the self and of
things; he restores the integral reality of the Divine; he unites the
Kshara and the Akshara in the Purushottama. - (5)
|= o= |-|-= |++
== =| |=|+ =| == |==++ 20
20 - |-||| -, = |+ | :|| `:| ( |: -
: | | ), | ||-: |- ||- |+ :: (perfect)
(=: | ||- :: |)
20 - This is the most secret Shastra, says the Teacher to Arjuna;
this is the supreme teaching and science which leads us into the heart
232 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 15 =r+|=-|~ 231
of the highest mystery of existence. Absolutely to know it, to seize
it in knowledge and feeling and force and experience is to be perfected
in the transformed understanding, divinely satisfied in heart and
successful in the supreme sense and objective of all will and action
and works. It is the way to be immortal, to rise towards the highest
divine nature and to assume the eternal Dharma. - (6)
Purushottama Yoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo.
1. The three Purushas : 1 6.

Need of Inner Meditation

Do not fall into the very common error of believing that you
must sit in an absolutely quiet corner where nobody passes by, where
you are in a classical position and altogether immobile, in order to be
able to meditate it is not true. What is needed is to succeed in
meditating in all circumstances, and I call "meditating" not emptying
your head but concentrating yourself in a contemplation of the Divine;
and if you keep this contemplation within you, all that you do will
change its quality. And life will change its quality, and you will feel
a little different from what you were, with peace, a certitude, an inner
calm, an unchanging force, something which never gives way.
You may be engaged in the most active action, for example, in
playing basketball, and yet not lose the attitude of inner meditation
and concentration upon the Divine. The Mother AIM Aug-Sept 83
+|= <| (Chapter 16)
- |= ==- ||~-|~
*~-|+ =|
=q=o|==|+r|~|-|=+
-|+ - = -|<|c- |= ++ 1
|=| ==rz|<c-|~ ||c=ro++
-| r=+r|q |- =|++ 2
== | <|= |rs|r| +||=||+=|+
|c =- -|=|== |==++ 3
1, 2, 3 =~+|:- `: |-:|, ||+:|, =|-:|~+ |, -|-,
|, =, | +-, :||, +:| (, ;|, =|-:|~
+||:, -|-, - , = , |+|, :|, | ), ||, :||-:|,
|+-:|, -|+:|, ||., |+:-| -, -|, :|, |:| (- :|), |,
|~ (||, : , :|+, :|~, ||., |- , :: - |, :| ,
|- , , ||), :|:|, |, +, ||, |-:| |+ -||-
(:, |, +|:, `, :|, -||:||-:|) = ||- -+ |::
|+| |++ || (- |- ||: |.) | ||;
-r| -r|||+ z|< |=+r +
=|+ ||=|== | =-|==++ 4
4 - -:, -|, ||-, |+, |-+:| (||+) |+ =:| = : |
+ |:+ |+ |- | | +|| |+ :|| |+ +
(|+ |- ||:)
1-4 The Deva nature is distinguished by an acme of the
sattwic habits and qualities; self-control, sacrifice, the religious habit,
cleanness and purity, candour and straightforwardness, truth, calm
Gita Ch. 15 =r+|=-|~ 233
and self-denial, compassion to all beings, modesty, gentleness, for-
giveness, patience, steadfastness, a deep sweet and serious freedom
from all restlessness, levity and inconstancy are its native attributes.
The Asuric qualities, wrath, greed, cunning, treachery, wilful doing of
injury to others, pride and arrogance and excessive self-esteem have
no place in its composition. But its gentleness and self-denial and
self-control are free too from all weakness: it has energy and soul-
force, strong resolution, the fearlessness of the soul that lives in the
right and according to the truth as well as its harmlessness, tejah,
abhayam, dhritih, ahimsa, satyam. The whole being, the whole
temperament is integrally pure; there is a seeking for knowledge and
a calm and fixed abiding in knowledge. This is the wealth, the pleni-
tude of the man born into the Deva nature. - (1)
- =- |r|| |+=||== =|+
| o =- -|=|r=||= |o++ 5
5 - -+ |- |+ |+ |+ |- +-+ |+ (- |-
|:|| |+ |-+| :|), :| -+ |- |, ~|:: :| |.|
|+ -||:~ (- |- ||: |, | )
| ==r~| |r|-.+ - |== = +
-r| |c-= |= |== | +++ 6
6 - = ~:: - |+ |+ | =|+ -+ |++, |-|+
+ |++ (|- |: ` ::~`, - |+ = ), -+ |++ -|
| |+| `, =|:| + |++ | -| (- |.+ |, |+
)
|=+ |+|=+ =+| + |- =|==|+
+ | +|| ||r=| + == =+ |-r=++ 7
7 - + |:+ |-+ : |+| =|- | +|+| |- |+|+
=|- -||: (|+| -| | |-| - |- ), | :: =|-
-| ::|+ ||+:|, ||+ | :||-:| -||: (: - ` -
||+ - || : |-::)
236 *q~-- ~=|
7 - Asuric men have no true knowledge of the way of action or
the way of abstention. Truth is not in them, nor clean doing, nor
faithful observance. - (2)
==|= = =~-|;=+=+
==== |+ |r=++ 8
8 - + |:+ |-: ~:: : | =:| -| , ::
|:|: -, + -| (: ~ :, |: -+), |++
:|~: | :, |-| :|+ ||:+ |- =:| -| (|+|+::, |-
|: |-)
8 - Theirs is a world with Desire for its cause and seed and
governing force and law, a world of Chance, a world devoid of just
relation and linked Karma, a world without God, not true, not founded
in Truth. They follow always the cult of Desire and Ego. - (3)
==| - | +||r+|q=+
q|+ | =~r=||=|++ 9
9 - = - | |+ (+ -| = :) (=:| - | ), -|+,
, |, |:|+ |-:|:+ |+ + |+ (-||-
v | |:| ~: | |.)
9 - The Asuric man becomes the centre or instrument of a
fierce, Titanic, violent action, a power of destruction in the world, a
fount of injury and evil. - (4)
|||== - = -|+-||=|+
||- ~;|=- ||+ =rco|=|++ 10
10 - =:|: - |+ |-|+ |= |+ -:, ||- |+ -
(- |+ | ||=: -: |- -||:|) |+ : || |+
(|| ||- ~;|), | :, impure resolution, :
(|:| ::.)
10 - Arrogant, full of self-esteem and the drunkenness of their
pride, these misguided souls delude themselves, persist in false and
obstinate aims and pursue the fixed impure resolution of their longings.
- (5)
Gita Ch. 16 - |===- | |~-|~ 235
|c||=r|+ |c|||==|+
|r|r|~=| ==||-|= |+|=|++ 11
|||r==| |rz|<=|+|+
rc |r|~|+|r+|=+|+++ 12
11, 12 = |-:|:+ :| |. (|.|) ||+|: |.|:
|| (||+:| |.| |||=:|) |-| :| |+ |:~ =| ,
|+ ||:+ |- =:| -| = -:+ |-|: (|:||:|~|+| =:| |:
|-|:|), : : ||+ +|:+ |+ | (||||: |), =
|:|+|+|: | |+ |: ||::+ +- | - |+
; :+ (| |~| -|:- ~|- :.)
11, 12 They imagine that desire and enjoyment are all the aim
of life and in their inordinate and insatiable pursuit of it they are the
prey of a devouring, a measurelessly unceasing care and thought and
endeavour and anxiety till the moment of their death. Bound by a
hundred bonds, devoured by wrath and lust, unweariedly occupied in
amassing unjust gains which may serve their enjoyment, always they
think, To-day I have gained this. (to 16/13) - (6).
-- | | |r= r+|=+
-c--| |+|= +<+++ 13
r=| | = z |+r+ |=|+|+
r=| |~ |=r=| |+ =++ 14
|r| |=+|+|-. |r+||c- =- r| |+
r -|=|| ||-+ ==|+|r||=|++ 15
13, 14, 15 + |:+ |-+ |.| =:-+| || = :|
||:| (- | - +), || ||,: :| || ( :-|+ || ),
|| |+ |- +- |:, || |+ ` ( - |., |- - +- ||
||:), |+ ` :| ||+:| (:` | :), |-:|+ :|
||+ (|+|- || |-:), +, |~, |, |-, (
+, |~, | |- ), +-, : , |+ |-
|+ |- |: (| |-|- |, | - - |.) =
|+ (:), -|- |+ (-|||), |:|- |+ (||-) =|-: | =
|-:|:+ =:- |: ( |: =|- |:||:|)
13, 14, 15 They think, "To day I have gained this object of
desire, tomorrow I shall have that other; today I have so much
wealth, more I will get tomorrow. I have killed this my enemy, the
rest too I will kill. I am a lord and king of men, I am perfect,
accomplished, strong, happy, fortunate, a privileged enjoyer of the
world; I am wealthy, I am born of high birth; who is there like unto
me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will enjoy." (7)
r+|=|=|c| |=|=|=|+
==| |r|r~+ =|c +=ror|++ 16
16 - =:- -|.|: || |, |. |+ |-| :|: | =
|-:|+ ::+| -+: |:+ (:- | |-|.|, || |:|, |:|:~
| :` -+: |:|.)
16 - Thus occupied by many egoistic ideas, deluded, doing works,
but doing them wrongly, acting mightily, but for themselves, for desire,
for enjoyment, not for God in themselves and God in man, they fall
into unclean hell of their own evil. (8)
|=||=| c-| <+|+-||=|+
=rc +|r=rc- -r+|||<++ 17
17 - ||||-, |-:, +- |+ |-: ~|: (|:||:|, .+|, +-
|- -||:|) ::|: -: -: | |+ |- -|||- -|: = :+
(: -::- ||+ | -| = :.)
17 - They sacrifice and give, but from a self-regarding ostenta-
tion, from vanity and with a stiff and foolish pride. (9)
e|= - | z|<+ =|==|+
||=r-r+ |+rc|=|++ 18
18 - =:-:|+ |-: |+, , -|, |, |+ = :|++
(|=:|) | :+ |-+ |+ |-+ -: | ++| | |: | |
:+ |+ +=| :+ (| |+:-: | |. |)
238 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 16 - |===- | |~-|~ 237
18 - In the egoism of their strength and power, in the violence
of their wrath and arrogance they hate, despise and belittle the God
hidden in themselves and the God in man. (10)
=|+ |+= z=|+ ==|r=+ +=|<|++
||=-o|+|==r+ ||++++ 19
19 - |+ |: |:|+| (|:), |-+ |+ | (+|-, |-)
|++ -+|+:|+ |:+ |:+ ||+ ||-: |-:| :+| (|:+
-+|+|- :|- |+ = ||- ||||)
19 - And because they have this proud hatred and contempt of
good and of God, because they are cruel and evil, the Divine casts
them down continually into more and more Asuric births. (11)
|== ||+|| | =,|+ =,|++
||r |rc =r=| |c<|~|=++ 20
20 - = |-:|:+ : : + ||-| (| |- |-
|+ ||- |||) |+ | | |+ -|+||+ :+|~|: | :+ (|
|| = :: +| ~|: ||.)
20 - Not seeking him, they find him not, and at last, losing the
way to him altogether, sink down into the lowest status of soul-nature,
adhamam gatim. (12)
|z|< +=r=- |= +|+|++
| z|<c-| |c--.|r-= z =r=++ 21
21 - |, |+ |+ | = |:|-- -++ - +|+ (| |+ :|
| - ||+ -+ |+), : ||+ |-+ |+, :: || |:
|-.++ :|| +| |-: (|- -|-) |: : ||+:|~ |+
|:~ (:| =: ::)
21 - The Asuric Prakriti is the rajasic at its height; it leads to the
slavery of the soul in Nature, to desire, wrath and greed, the three
powers of the rajasic ego, and these are the threefold doors of Hell,
the Hell into which the natural being falls when it indulges the impurity
and evil and error of its lower or perverted instincts. These three are
again the doors of a great darkness, they fold back into tamas, the
characteristic power of the original Ignorance; for the unbridled force
of the rajasic nature, when exhausted, falls back into the weakness,
collapse, darkness, incapacity of the worst tamasic soul-status. - (13)
=r=|= |rc =r||r=|-|+=+
|==|+ =c-r=| ||= =| ~|=++ 22
22 - = |:|-- +|+ -++ - +|++|+| (=: || ::||+
|) |-: ||+ |:+ |: ; :+ |+ : ~|: | :+ (-+
|- = |+|:, :: |+| ~|: ||:)
22 - To escape from this downfall one must get rid of these
three evil forces and turn to the light of the sattwic quality, live by
the right, in the true relations, according to the Truth and the Law;
then one follows one's own higher good and arrives at the highest
soul-status. (14)
|-||<== =r= ||==+
+ = |=|=|r||= + = + =| ~|=++ 23
23 - | | ||+ -|||- |- |- |:+ : ( | ||+ ||+:
:::) : ||| |+ -|+|:+, ||. - |+ |+ ~|: | |+
-|+|:+ ( || - |:||:, - , - |+| ~|:)
=-.|t|- |+ = ||||-r=|+
=|;| |-|<|r+|= =|| |=++ 24
24 - ~|:: : |+ : |-+ |+ |+ | (:|
||||::` | : | | | -), ~|:: :| |+ |+|-
||- +| |: ( ||+|:-| =|;| : |)
23, 24 To follow the law of desire is not the true rule of our
nature; there is a higher and juster standard of its works. The human
race has always been seeking for this just and high Law and what-
ever it has discovered is embodied in its Shastra, its rule of science
and knowledge. Shastra does not mean a mass of customs. Shastra
is the knowledge and teaching laid down by intuition, experience and
wisdom, the best standard available for the race. The Shastra, the
recognised Right that he has set up to govern his lower members by
240 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 16 - |===- | |~-|~ 239
his reason and intelligent will, must therefore first be observed and
made the authority for conduct of works and for what should or
should not be done, till the instinctive desire nature is schooled and
abated and put down by the habit of self-control and man is ready
first for a freer intelligent self-guidance and then for the highest
supreme law and supreme liberty of the spiritual nature. (15)
Daivasura sampada bibhagayoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo.
1. Deva and Asura : 115

The Absolute, the Perfect, the Alone

Has called out of the Silence his mute Force
Where she lay in the featureless and formless hush
Guarding from Time by her immobile sleep
The ineffable puissance of his solitude.
The Absolute, the Perfect, the Alone
Has entered with his silence into space :
He has fashioned these countless persons of one self;
He lives in all, who lived in his Vast alone;
Space is himself and Time is only he.
The Absolute, the Perfect, the Immune,
One who is in us as our secret self,
Our mask of imperfection has assumed,
That to his divine measure we might rise;
Then in a figure of divinity
The Maker shall recast us and impose
A plan of godhead on the mortals mould
Lifting our finite minds to his infinite,
Touching the moment with eternity.
This transfiguration is earths due to heaven :
A mutual debt binds man to the Supreme :
His nature we must put on as he puts ours;
We are sons of God and must be even as he :
His human portion, we must grow divine.
Our life is a paradox with God for key. Savitri, Sri Aurobindo
=q- <| (Chapter 17)
==|z ||~-|~
= + =|
|-||<== =rc ==||=|+
=+| |+| = | + =q|r| ==c-++ 1
1 - :- `: , |||: |+ |+|- -|||- |-+ +| ::
=|:+ :: || | |+|+-| :+ ::|+ |-| :- |++ ||; -,
+|| -, :|| ( |||+ =| |:| :., :| |-|
| ; + |:| :)
1- The action controlled by Shastra is an outcome of the sattwic
element in man. Mankind must first proceed through it and make
Shastra its law of action rather than obey the impulsion of desires.
Assent of the being, its conscious acceptance and will to believe and
realise, may be called by the name which Gita gives to it, his faith,
sraddha. And even if the Shastra is still a living thing and best rule
for the human average, the exceptional man, spiritual, inwardly devel-
oped, is not bound by that standard. He is called upon to go beyond
the fixed line of the Shastra. He has to learn to live in the liberty of
the Spirit. (1)
*~-|+|
|z|<| |= ==| -|+| =| -|=|+
=||q =|== =|= |= =| +++ 2
2 - =~+|:- `: |+ -|+ =| |:|- |+ ||;, +||
|+ :|| -| (:| ), -|-| -+|++
2 - The answer of the Gita first states the principle that faith in
us is of a triple kind like all things in Nature. (2)
Gita Ch. 16 - |===- | |~-|~ 241
=q|+=.| == ==| |= |==+
==|r| =r+| | _= = = =++ 3
3 - |-+ ||+ =| | || :- || |::+| || ::- (
=| ;|-+|| |:), |-+ || =| ( |+ =|), |+ =|
:-+|, :: : |: :+ |+ ||+ :+ ( = = )
=| | |- divine ` ||:+ = ||, faith | =| ||+
-:, .+:, +::- -: |+ |||+: || =|-- divine ` |||+
3 - The faith of each man takes the shape, hue, quality given to
it by his stuff of being, his constituting temperament, his innate power
of existence, sattvanurupa sarvasya sraddha. Gita tells us this
Purusha, this soul in man, is, as it were, made of sraddha, a faith,
a will to be, a belief in itself and existence and whatever is that will,
faith or belief, he is that and that is he, sraddhamayoyam puruso
yo yac-chraddha sa eva sah.
Our endeavour is to become the Divine, to be as He, madbhava.
That also depends on sraddha. It is by an act of our conscious
substance and a belief in its truth, an inmost will to live it or be it that
we come by it. And again when we try to be, to live and to do
according to the divine nature, then too we must proceed by a persistent
act of sraddha, which according to the Gita the faith of the sattwic
nature. But all or any of these things implies some kinesis [dynamic
action], ordinarily both an inner and an outer action. (3)
=rc =||q| -|+ =||= =|==|+
=|+ =~+||r+ =rc =|=| =+|++ 4
4 - ||; |-: -+:| || :+, +|| |-: + || :+ |+
:|| |-: :: || :+ (||;| -|- :., +|| +||,
:- :|| -| :|- :~|- :.)
|-||= |= =rc =r| =+|+
-|e|= ==| |=|~||=|++ 5
c ==- =|r==+
|r+|c==- =|+ |=|==|+|+++ 6
244 *q~-- ~=|
5, 6 -:, |+, |-| |+ ||+|+| ||+||: (-: |+
| | +|~ ||:|) | |:- |-: ( :: -|) |-+
++ |+ .++ | |- (++ :| . ++ |
= .) ||+ :o|+ :|| :+, ::| + |:+ | ||
(|||: |+ :| :|:., :|- |+ |-|- ||)
||=-| == |z|r<| |= |+
=c-c-| -|+ =+| -| +++ 7
7 - |: -|+ :|:+ | ||:+| |:|- |++ ( ||+ :
|| ||+ | |:), -:+ =, :|| |+ -|:-| |:|- |+ (:| =
:| -|- ), = :-:|+ -| (:| - )
| =q|r=|~= |=|= +|+
==||-v||-=| .-| ||=| =||q||++ 8
8 - | ||:+ |, |+|| |, , |:+|~ |+ |: |
(| ; |:+|~ |: |-|) +|, |=, ||+ |+ :|+
=:- ||+ ||; |-+ | (+| |=| |+| -| ||+| ||; ||)
8 - Our food, the Gita tells us, is either sattwic, rajasic or
tamasic according to its character and effect on the body. The
sattwic temperament in the mental and physical body turns naturally
to the things that increase the life, increase the inner and outer
strength, nourish at once the mental, vital and physical force and
increase the pleasure and satisfaction and happy condition of mind
and life and body, all that is succulent and soft and firm and sat-
isfying. (4)
)-+|=+-=-=-|-||++
||=| =|==r=| - r||-|++ 9
9 - |::|, |, |-|, |: ~+, |, |- |+ |-|| (||+|
|+) =:- ||+ +|| |-+ | ( : : + |-||-
||+| +| |), =:- ||++ |+| - , | |+ +|~ (- |
| -|)
Gita Ch. 17 ==|z| |~-|~ 243
9 - The rajasic temperament prefers naturally food that is vio-
lently sour, pungent, hot, acrid, rough and strong and burning, the
aliments [food] that increase ill-health and the distempers of the mind
and body. (5)
|=| ~=== |= |+=+ +
=|t| |r< |=+ =|=|++ 10
10 - | (|~:: ++|), |-+ (|--), - ~+, || (|~|--|+), |:- |
=+| |+ ||+ =:- ||+ :|| |-+ | (|:|, ~:+ ||:,
||:, | || :+ |- :||)
10 - The tamasic temperament takes a perverse pleasure in
cold, impure, stale, rotten or tasteless food or even accepts like ani-
mals the remnants half eaten by others. (6)
=||||r=| ||<|-r| =r=+
rr|= + =|<| = =||q++ 11
11 - =|| | -+| = +| : `, = - :+ - | + |+
(=|||| ` = |: - |+|) |||+ -|:+ | = +|
:| ||; = |: (||+|- = :: ||;)
|==| = = -|| +
=r= ==r= = = ||= =|==++ 12
12 - | = = |+ |: (= |+| :) | -: -+|+ |:
-|: +| , :| +|| = |: (-:| || :: : =
+| ||)
||<+=| +-|++
==||=|= = =|= |=r=++ 13
13 - | ||+-, -|--, -, -||- |+ =| - = :||
= |: (||+- | - -| =||+|: = :|
||+::)
The Gita states three main elements of the work we have to do,
kartavyam karma, and these three are sacrifice (=), giving (-|-)
and askesis (:||). In other words these acts constitute the means
of our perfection. For all dynamic action, all kinesis of the nature
involves tapasya or askesis, and energism and concentration of our
forces or capacities or of some capacity which helps us to achieve,
to acquire or to become something, tapas. All action involves a giving
of what we are or have, an expenditure which is the price of that
achievement, acquisition or becoming, dana. All action involves too
a sacrifice to elemental [lower] or to universal powers or to the
supreme Master of our works.
13 - The Tamasic sacrifice is work done without faith, without,
that is to say, any full conscious idea and acceptance and will to-
wards the thing Nature yet compels us to execute. It is done me-
chanically, because the act of living demands it, because it comes in
our way, because others do it, to avoid some other greater difficulty
which may arise from not doing it, or from any other tamasic motive.
And it is apt to be done carelessly, perfunctorily, in the wrong way.
It will not be performed by the vidhi or the right rule of the Shastra.
There will be no giving of food in the sacrifice, and that act in the
Indian ritual is symbolic of the elements of helpful giving inherent in
every action that is real sacrifice, the indispensable giving to others,
the fruitful help to others, to the world, without which our action
becomes a wholly self-regarding thing and a violation of the true
universal law of solidarity and interchange. The work will be done
without dakshina, the much needed giving or self-giving to the leaders
of the sacrificial action. It will be done without the mantra, without
the dedicating thought which is the sacred body of our will and
knowledge lifted upwards to the godheads we serve by our sacrifice.
The tamasic man does not offer his sacrifice to the gods, but to
inferior elemental powers who feed upon his works.
12- The rajasic man offers his sacrifice to lower godheads or to
perverse powers, the Yakshas, the keepers of wealth or to the Asuric
and Rakshasic forces. His sacrifice may be performed outwardly
according to the Shastra, but its motive is ostentation, pride or a
strong lust after the fruit of his action, a vehement demand for the
reward of his works. All work therefore that proceeds from violent
246 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 17 ==|z| |~-|~ 245
or egoistic personal desire or from an arrogant will is of the rajasic
nature, even if it be done outwardly as a sacrifice. Although it is
ostensibly given to God or to the gods, it remains essentially an Asuric
action. It is the inner state, motive and direction which give their
value to our works. Wherever there is a dominating egoism in our
acts, there our works becomes a rajasic sacrifice.
11 - The true sattwic sacrifice, on the other hand, is distin-
guished by three signs. First it is dictated by the effective truth,
executed according to the vidhi, the right principle, the exact method
and rule, the just rhythm and law of our works. Secondly, it is ex-
ecuted with a mind concentrated and fixed on the idea of the thing
to be done as a true sacrifice imposed on us by the divine law that
governs our life and therefore performed out of a high inner obliga-
tion and without desire for personal fruit, the more impersonal the
motive of the action, the more sattwic is its nature. And finally it is
offered to the gods without any reservation; it is acceptable to the
divine powers by whom for they are his masks and personalities
the Master of existence governs the universe.
This sattwic sacrifice comes then very near to the ideal and
leads directly towards the kind of action demanded by the Gita. The
culmination of the sattwic action at which we have to arrive is of a
still larger and freer kind; it is the high last sacrifice offered by us to
the supreme Divine in his integral being and with a seeking for the
Purushottama or with the vision of Vasudeva in all that is, the action
done impersonally, universally, for the good of the world, for the
fulfilment of the divine will in the universe. That culmination leads to
its own transcending, to the immortal Dharma. There is no personal
action, for all actions are given up to the Master of our works and
it is he that does the action through the divinised Prakriti. (7)
--|=-o=|==+ ||= +
|=| |== = =r=++ 14
14 - -+:|, |, + |+ =|-+ ||, | ||+ (`), +:|
(| ), |+ || = || |+|+ :|| |:
14 - The Gita describes three kinds of sattwic askesis. First
comes the physical, the askesis of the outward act; under this head
are worship and reverence of those deserving reverence, cleanness
of the person (body), the action and the life, candid dealing, sexual
purity and avoidance of killing and injury to others. (8)
+r~= | == ||=+ +
-|<||=+r+ |q = =r=++ 15
15 - |:- -: -|:||+|, :, | |+ |:- | - |+
|-|: | +- = :|+ || | | :|| |: (-:~+, :,
|, |: |, |+||- = || :| ::)
15 - Next is askesis of speech, and that consists in the study of
Scripture, kind, true and beneficent speech and a careful avoidance
of words that may cause fear, sorrow and trouble to others. (9)
+=|- =|; |+|||++
|=o|=|=r===r| |+=r=++ 16
16 - -+ :|, ` (++) |+, `- |, |, ||
(purification of the mind) = :|+ |-| :|| |: (- |-,
`;, `-, |||-, || |: =: |- :| ::)
16- Finally, there is the askesis of mental and moral perfection
and that means the purifying of the whole temperament, gentleness
and a clear and calm gladness of mind, self-control and silence. Here
comes in all that quiets or disciplines the rajasic and egoistic nature
and all that replaces it by the happy and tranquil principle of good and
virtue. (10)
==| =| =q =c- |z|< +r=+
=||||r= =||q |=r=++ 17
17- |+ =|:+ :: ||: |:|-|+ :|| |-: (|+| =| :
||+ :| -+) -: |:-| ||| -|+|| =||: (=||||
) |+: (:), :| ||; :|| |: (||; ||+::)
17 - Sattwic tapasya is that which is done with a highest
enlightened faith, as a duty deeply accepted or for some ethical or
spiritual or other higher reason and with no desire for any fruit in
248 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 17 ==|z| |~-|~ 247
the action. It is of the character of self-discipline and asks for self-
control and a harmonising of ones nature. Its greater culmination
will be a high purity of the reason and will, an equal soul, a deep
peace and calm. (11)
=|=|+=| =r| -r+ +
|zr= =|- |= =|== <++ 18
18 - |-+ |+| |-, |+ |+ || ||+ |: (|+ |- ||)
-: |::+ | :|| +| (-::- = :| |::), | :||+ |+
|+ ||+: | -|: -| (, without fixed and helpful principle)
|+ | (+), =:- :|| +|| :|| |: (+| |)
18 - Rajasic energisms of askesis are those which are under-
taken to get honour and worship from men, for the sake of personal
distinction and outward glory and greatness. This kind of askesis is
devoted to fleeting particular objects which add nothing to the heav-
enward growth and perfection of the soul; it is a thing without fixed
and helpful principle. (12)
|r+|r+| =| |zr= =+
=r=|=|-+| | ==|=-|.=++ 19
19 - -|. +|+|+ : |- |- (|: |- ||) | |-+
|- |++ |: | :|| +| :| :|| :|| |: (| |+
|--| :| |:: : :| -|:)
19 - If any kind of arrogance or pride or any great strength of
violent self-will or desire enters into the askesis or if it drives some
violent, lawless or terrible action contrary to the Shastra, opposed to
the right rule of life and works and afflicting to oneself and to others,
or if it is of the nature of self-torture and hurts the mental, vital and
physical elements or violates the God within us who is seated in the
inner subtle body, then too it is an unwise, an Asuric, a rajasic or
rajaso-tamasic tapasya. (13)
-|=||= =|+ -r=+||=r++
-r |r |rz ==|+ =||q -.=++ 20
20 - -|- +| : ` = | -: (-|: |:) | -|- ( -|-) |:
o| |+ |: |+ | || +| ||+ ||+|+ | -||| -|- +| (-:
|: ||: - |||+: - ::), :| ||; -|- |: (: -|- ||; : )
20 - The sattwic way of giving is to bestow with right reason
and good will and sympathy in the right conditions of time and place
and on the right recipient who is worthy or to whom the gift can be
really helpful. Its act is performed for the sake of the giving and the
beneficence, without any view to a benefit already done or yet to be
done to oneself by the receiver of the benefit. The culmination of the
sattwic way of dana will bring into the action an increasing element
of that wide self-giving to others and to the world and to God, atma-
dana, atma-samarpana. (14)
= =|=| =|= | ++
-r= |=| ==|+ =|== -.=++ 21
21 - | -|- +| ||+ ||+|+ ||: | || = | +|+ ||:
|-| ( : |- :||+| | = |~) | |-|:; |+ |-|
(||+| -::), :| +|| -|- |: (: -|- +| :)
21 - The rajasic kind of giving is that which is done with regret,
unwillingness or violence to oneself or with a personal and egoistic
object or in the hope of a return of some kind. (15)
r-|r =|+|rz -r=+
===|= ==|=-|.=++ 22
22 - -| |-: |+ : (- |:), :|~ | |-
|+ -+| +=||::+ | -|- |-| (||: : =|:
-|- -::), -|- :|| -|- (: :| -|:)
22 - The tamasic gift is offered ignorantly with no consideration
of the right conditions of time, place and object; it is a foolish, incon-
siderate and in reality a self-regarding movement, the gift offered
without sympathy or true liberality, without regard for the feelings of
the recipient and despised by him. (16)
250 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 17 ==|z| |~-|~ 249
==|-|= |+r- r| +|-|< -.=+
|+|rc-+ -| =| ||=| =|++ 23
23 - , :, = |:|-| ~+ ::: | ( :
|: ||+ |-:- :), = |:|-| ~+|+| (:-) |- |:
|, - |+ =+ | | (|+| || -| =| ||:|)
=-.|r-||=-|.= =-|+=|z|+
=rc |<|r+|=| === ||-+|++ 24
24 - |: ~ |+ |+ (:| |: -|:) |-:
|+ |+|- :: =, -|- |+ :||+ :|+ -| -|- :+ (||--|
|+|:-|| = -|- :| || :: ::.)
23, 24 The formula OM, Tat, Sat, is, it (Gita) says, the triple
definition of the Brahman, by whom the Brahmanas, the Vedas and
sacrifices were created of old and in it resides all their significance.
Tat, That, indicates the Absolute. Sat indicates the supreme and
universal existence in its principle. OM is the symbol of the triple
Brahman, the outward looking and the inward or subtle and the
superconscient casual Purusha. Each letter A, U, M indicates one of
these three in ascending order and the syllable as a whole brings out
the fourth state, Turiya, which rises to the Absolute. OM is the
initiating syllable pronounced at the outset as a benedictory prelude
and sanction to all act of sacrifice, all act of giving and all act of
askesis. (17)
=|-=+|==| = ==|z|+
-|+|z| ||<| |zrc ||||++ 25
25 - : ~ |+ |+ |+ = |-| -|+ (: |:, =
-| +| ), | , ||+ | , souls liberation, | +| :
(||| |) -|-| =, :|| |+ - |- + - |- :+ (||+| =
:| | | - |- | | | :.)
25 - The seekers of liberation do these actions without desire of
fruit and only with the idea, feeling, Ananda of the absolute Divine
behind their nature. It is that which they seek by this purity and
impersonality in their works, this high desirelessness, this vast emp-
tiness of ego and plenitude of Spirit. (18)
=q|r =|<|r =|-r== =r=+
rc- |+ =| =t= | =r=++ 26
26 - ~+ - | =| ` |.;, existence (|:+) |+
|-:| ` |, good (|+|:+) = -| : :|~ ( |: =:
::) |+ || ::| ~ +|+ (:. | :| ~
::)
r= =|= -|r+ |-|= =|-|= |r=+
=- =|-r=||<r=++ 27
27 - =, :|| |+ -|-: | |-| (:= :|| -|:- ||:) :|
|: ( |: ::) |+ =||-+ |: +| |- :| |: (:
= |: = |+::)
26, 27 Sat means good and it means existence. Both these
things, the principle of good and the principle of reality must be there
behind all the three kinds of action. All good works are Sat, for they
prepare the soul for the higher reality of our being; all firm abiding
in sacrifice, giving and askesis and all works done with that central
view, as sacrifice, as giving, as askesis, are Sat, for they build the
basis for the highest truth of our spirit (19)
==| ;= -= =c-q =+ +
=|-=r= | + = = +| ++ 28
28 - =|- | =, -|-, :|| +| (=| -:, -, :|
: :), = :|+ || ( |: ::) =:- | |
|+|: =:| = |-|-: : - : (|+|), -|
28 - And because sraddha is the central principle of our exist-
ence, any of these things done without sraddha is a falsity and has
no true meaning or true substance on earth or beyond, no reality, no
power to endure or create in life here or after the mortal life in
greater regions of our conscious spirit (:| |:+ | =|, =|
-|||: =, -|-, :|| - |+ +-: | =:| ~ |- -|+||+, =
+-:: | ( ~:+ +-:: ). (20)
252 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 17 ==|z| |~-|~ 251
Sraddhatraya bibhagayoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. The Gunas, Faith and works : 120

The double soul in man

There is a double soul or psychic term in us, as every other
cosmic principle in us is also double. For we have two minds, one the
surface mind of our expressed evolutionary ego, another a subliminal
mind which is not hampered by our actual mental life and its strict
limitations, something large, powerful and luminous, the true mental
being behind that superficial form of mental personality which we
mistake for ourselves. So also we have two lives, one outer, involved
in the physical body, bound by its past evolution in Matter, the other
a subliminal force of life, our true vital being behind the form of living.
Even in the matter of our being there is this duality; for behind our
body we have a subtler material existence which provides the sub-
stance not only of our physical but of our vital and mental sheaths
and is therefore our real substance supporting this physical form. So
too we have a double psychic entity in us, the surface desire soul
which works in our vital cravings, our emotions and mental seeking
for power, knowledge and happiness, and a subliminal psychic entity,
a pure power of light, love, joy and refined essence of being which
is our true soul behind the outer form of psychic existence we so
often dignify by the name.
Divine Life
To transcend, to exceed consciousnes of body, not to be held in
the body or by the body, to hold the body only as an instrument, a
minor outward formation of self, is a first condition of divine living.
Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo
|- <| (Chapter 18)
| -|~
= + =|
=|== ||r| =q|t|| |-=+
=|~= .+r ||+=-+++ 1
1 - :- `: ||- :, | |+ :|~+
::~ ::~ ||- | :+| (| :|~ :; | |-:
||)
*~-|+ =|
||+| +| +|= =|= r| |- +
===|~ |;c-|~ |+|++ 2
2 - =~+|:- `:
| |+ :|~ :| |-| +|: | |:,
renunciation of desire is real Sannyasa (||-| | -| |
|- ) |+ + =+ |: || :|~ =|-: :|~ |:
(=:|~ || :|~ |-)
61 |: :, | + =+ |: || -|+|| : :+, ::+
|, ::+ |~, :|~ +|- - 62 |: :, | |
|| :|: |~ | ||-|, =+ || :|~ -|+: |:-| |~
` -|+|:+
|, | |-| :|~ |+: : |, :|~, |~ :|
2 - Sannyasa and Tyaga.
When people talk of Tyaga, of renunciation, it is always the
physical renunciation of the world which they understand by the
word, while the Gita takes absolutely the opposite view that real
Tyaga has action and living in the world as its basis and not a flight
to the monastery, the cave or the hill-top. The real Tyaga is action
with a renunciation of desire and that too is the real Sannyasa.
Not the renunciation of work in the world, not any outward
asceticism or any ostentation (outer show) of a visible giving up of
Gita Ch. 17 ==|z| |~-|~ 253
enjoyment; but a renunciation, a leaving, tyaga, of vital desire and
ego, a total laying aside, sannyasa, of the separate personal life of the
desire-soul and ego-governed mind and rajasic vital nature. That is
the true condition of entering into heights of Yoga whether through
the impersonal self and Brahmic oneness or through universal Vasudeva
or inwardly into the supreme Purushottama (|-: |~+ |+| ++
~: |:|- |:+ :|~ ||- |+ ||:+ Impersonal self | + +
~:, |:-+ | dynamic universal divine-+ ~: |+ ||+ -: |
|+:|+ ~:). (1)
=|= -|+|-r=r |;+|+++
=-|+= + =|=||= |r=++ 3
3 - |:-| |:-| ||:+ :: |: -|, |: :|~ |+
|:~ (=: - :-| |: :|), |- |:-|:+ =, -|-, :|
:|~ |+ -||:~ (|:+ = -|- :| - : |:)
3- The question still arises what works are to be done? Some
would have it that all works must be excised from our life, as if that
were possible. But it is not possible so long as we are in the body and
alive; nor can salvation consist in reducing our active selves by trance
to the lifeless immobility of the clod and the pebble. The silence of
Samadhi does not abrogate the difficulty, for as soon as the breath
comes again into the body, we are once more in action and have
toppled down from the heights of this salvation by spiritual slumber. But
the true salvation, the release by an inner renunciation of the ego and
union with the Purushottama remains steady in whatever state, persists
in this world or out of it or in whatever world or out of all world, is self-
existent, sarvatha vartamanopi, and does not depend upon inaction
or action. What then are the actions to be done?
The thorough-going ascetic answer might be that solely begging,
eating and meditation are to be permitted among voluntary activities
and otherwise only the necessary actions of the body. But more
liberal and comprehensive solution was evidently to continue the three
most sattwic activities, sacrifice, giving and askesis (=, -|-, :||)
And these certainly are to be done, says the Gita, for they purify the
wise (18/5). (2)
|+ + =z =|r~ ====+
=|r~| | =+| |z|< =|==++ 4
4 - :|~+ |: |+ ||. -| (: :|:~ |- ), :|~
|:|-|+ | |+| (:|~ | ||+ |::)
=-|+= + =|= |r =+
r=|-|+ =r |+||+ +|++|++ 5
5 - =, -|- |+ :||+| :|~ |+ -||:~ (= -|- :|
- :|), = :|+ +| : (: |:) =, -|-, :|| =|-:+|
| | :+ (= -|- :| -|| = ||-||-)
==|+| = ||+ = ==| =||+ +
=|+|= | |+|= ==++ 6
6 - = :|+ |:| (: =:||- || ||) || |+ =||| :|~
|+ |+ |:~ ( =||- :| :||-), |+ |-|: |+ :
( |: |-|: :)
|+== = =|= r+| +|-r=+
||== |==|~c-|= |=|==++ 7
7 - | +| |: | | |+|- |-:, |-: , regulated
action, action regulated by Shastra, the science and art of right knowl-
edge =:- :|~ |+ -||:~ (|-: : | - ||-::)
|: :|~ |+: :| :| :|~ |: (|| : ||+:|~
:| ||+|::)
7 - Understanding these three things [sacrifice, giving and askesis]
in their widest sense, it is the rightly regulated action, niyatam karma,
that has to be done, action regulated by the Shastra, the science and
art of right knowledge, right works, right living or regulated by the
essential nature, svabhava niyatam karma (18/47), or, finally and
best of all, regulated by the will of the Divine within and above us.
The last is the true and only action of the liberated man, muktasya
karma. To renounce these works is not a right movement the Gita
lays down plainly and trenchantly in the end, niyatasya tu sannyasah
karmano nopapadyate. To renounce them from an ignorant confi-
dence is a tamasic renunciation. A renunciation with attachment to
256 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 255
inaction, sango akarmani (2/47), would be equally a tamasic with-
drawal. (3)
- |r= |r| =r=+
= ;| =|== =|~ + =|~= r++ 8
8 - | |+: - || =:- || -+ + : | :|~ +|
:| +|| :|~ |:, =:- :|~+|+| = | - (- |: =
| | ::, +| :|~ ;| :|~ = - = :)
8 - To give them [niyatam karma] up because they bring sor-
row or are a trouble to the flesh and a weariness to the mind is a
rajasic renunciation and does not bring the high spiritual fruit. (4)
||r= |+= |zr= = ++
= ==| =r+ = =|~ =||qr| =++ 9
9 - || |+ =||| :|~ |+ ( = = :|), +
: | | |-: |: +| :| ||; :|~ |: (| |:
= |-: |::, :|~ ||; :)
9 - The sattwic principle of renunciation is to withdraw not from
action, but from the personal demand, the ego factor behind it. It is
to do works not dictated by desire but by the law of right living or
by the essential nature, its knowledge, its ideal, its faith in itself and
the Truth it sees, its sraddha. Or else, on a higher plane, they are
dictated by the will of the Master and done with mind in Yoga (|~ ),
without any personal attachment either to the action or to the fruit of
the action. (5)
+ r +|++mr=+
=|~ =q=||r| <| |;=++ 10
10 - ;|| (;||), +|, - :|~ |++ - +
: |+| -| ( - |), + ::| || - (: -
- ::)
10 - There must be no attachment to pleasant, desirable, lucra-
tive or successful work and no doing of it because it has that nature;
but that kind of work too has to be done, done totally, selflessly,
with the assent of the spirit, when it is the action demanded from
above and from within us, kartvyam karma. There must be no
aversion to unpleasant, undesirable or ungratifying action or work that
brings or likely to bring with it suffering, danger, harsh conditions,
inauspicius consequences; for that too has to be accepted, totally,
selflessly, with a deep understanding of its need and meaning, when
it is the work that should be done, kartavyam karma. (6)
+ | -=| == |+r+=+
q ==|~ = =|~=|<r=++ 11
11 - -+|+ |-: | -+| || -|+|:+ (-:| || ::
: - | ) |:- :| = :|~ |+: :: :|~ |: (
: =:|~ :|~ |: |+::)
|+| |=+ |z|< + =+
==||~+| = + = =||=+| |++ 12
12 - |: + =+ |: || :|~ |+ -|+|:+ | |
(ego) :|~ |+ -|+|:+, :| ++ | :: | | : |
` -|+|:+ (:||~-|), :|~ |-:|:+ :+ ||: |-, |+
||=: = |:|-|+ = |~ |+ ~| (: |- |=
||+ = |:), |z |: + =+ || :|~ |+:, -
:, | : | | :|~, ::|: = |~ |+ -||:~ (:
||-| - +|)
12 - The three kinds of result, pleasant, unpleasant and mixed in
this or other worlds, in this or another life are for the slaves of desire
and ego; these things donot cling to the free spirit. The liberated worker
who has given up his works by the inner sannyasa to a greater Power
is free from Karma. The essence of renunciation, the true Tyaga, the
true Sannyasa, is not any rule of thumb of inaction but a disinterested
soul, a selfless mind, the transition from ego to the free impersonal and
spiritual nature. The spirit of this inner renunciation is the first mental
condition of the highest culminating sattwic discipline. (7)
258 *q~-- ~=|
Evolution is not finished, reason is not the last word nor the reasoning
animal the supreme figure of Nature. As man emerged out of the animal, so
out of man the superman emerges. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 257
r+||+ ||r| |=+||+ |+r|< +
=|r =|rc |=||+ |==r =+|++ 13
13 - :| + ||--+ |: | - -: | ||+ |+ |- | |:, |+
|+| -| ( || |: |: :|:. |||- ||- |~ |+||-, |-:|+)
13 - The Gita speaks of five causes or indispensable requisites
for the accomplishment of works as laid down by Sankhya. (8)
|<|+ =| =| =++ |<+
||<| | -r+|z +++ 14
14 - |+ |||+ |+|- (-, -, |), :|, + ( |:|+,
| |+ +), -|-||++ | | | |+ |~ |+ -+ (
|~ - =)
14 - These five are, first, the frame of the body, life and mind
which are the basis or standing ground of the soul in Nature,
adhisthana, next, the doer, karta, third, various instrumentation of
Nature, karana, fourth, the many kinds of effort which make up the
force of action, cestah, and last, Fate, daivam, the influence of the
Power or powers other than human factors. (9)
==|qr+|| |=r= +=+
+| | |== | r+r= == =++ 15
15 - |-: ++, | | -+|+| (-+ ++ | :-||) -| | -|
| |: :+, :|++ |+ = ||:|| (-| | ||+: |+::,
=:: |~ : :)
15 These five elements make up among them all the efficient
causes Karana that determine the shaping and outcome of whatever
work man undertakes with mind and speech and body. (9A)
=rz =|= =|=||+ = +
==|=;| = |= - |=++ 16
16 - + |: |++ ||| |+ : `: (: = |:) =
::| +|+| |+ -|++|+ |: (:|:|) | + |- |+ :| |
|: ( : ||- :|+ ||:), |+ |:- :
::| | -||| ( - |: - ||:)
= +|er=| |r| |== + |r=+
;|| = |r||+ + |c + |+<r=++ 17
17 - |+ :|` | -| , |+ | =: | - ( :
| -, | - ||::), : :| |- :| |+: |:| :|
-:+ ( |- ||- ;| || - |.) |+ +-: -|:|| (- |-+::)
16, 17 - The doer is ordinarily supposed to be our surface per-
sonal ego, but that is the false idea of the understanding. The ego is
the ostensible doer, but the ego and its will are creations and instru-
ments of Nature. When we are liberated from ego, our real self
behind comes forward, impersonal and universal, and it sees in its
self-vision of unity with the universal Spirit unniversal Nature as the
doer of the work and the Divine Will behind as the master of univer-
sal Nature. The work may be outwardly a terrible action like this
great battle and slaughter of Kurukshetra; but the liberated man takes
his part in the struggle and though he slay all these peoples, he slays
no man and he is not bound by his work, because the work is that
of the Master of the Worlds. (10)
=|+ = |==|=| |z|<| r|-+|+
=+ r=|= |z|< =++ 18
18 - =|-, = |+ =|:| = |:|-| |+ : | +|
(=|- = ||+=|:| ||+| :|--|), + (|+ |), , :| =
|:|-| + |= (+ :| |: ||+ )
18 - There are three things, says the Gita, which go to constitute
the mental impulsion (+|), to works, and they are knowledge (=|-)
in our will, the object of knowledge (= ) and the knower (=|:|), and
into the knowledge there comes always the working of the three gunas.
There are again three things the doer (:|), the instrument
(+) and the work done (), that hold the action together and
make it possible (, + |=) The sattwic mind that seeks
always for a right harmony and right knowledge is the governing
instrument of the sattwic man. An egoistic will of desire supported by
the desire-soul is the dominant instrument of the rajasic worker. An
260 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 259
ignorant instinct or the unenlightened impulsion of the physical mind
and crude vital nature is the chief instrumental force of the tamasic
doer of action. (11)
=|+ =| |zr< o+r-=+
|r= o+=|r+ |t + =|+|++ 19
19 - |+ :: ;, +, : = |:|-| -|+ =|-, |+
:| ::: |:|- |:|-|++ , | =|- |:|-|+, |:|-|+ |+ :|
|:|-|+ ( |:- =|- :| :-: |+| = |::), ||-
:--:+ |+| |: -| (:||- || | )
=r=+ r+ |r=+
|= |r=+ == =|+ ||= =||q++ 20
20 - | =|-+|+| ~:: |- |-|:+ +|: :|++ |:+: =|
| |+ (indivisible and imperishable) | (being) -| ||+|
|, =|- ||; =|- |: (- |: :: | =
| ::, : =|- ||; ||)
20 - The sattwic knowledge sees existence as one indivisible
whole in all these divisions (| |:), one imperishable being
( ), in all becomings ( :: ), At the highest top of knowl-
edge this seeing becomes the knowledge of the one spirit in the
world. (12)
r;+ = = =|+ +|+|||+ |<|++
|= =r+ r=+ ===|+ ||= =|==++ 21
21 - | =|-+|+| |- |- :|++ |: | =;+ +:| | -|+||+,
:|:|+ :~ - - + , =|- +|| =|- |: ( =|- : :
:: | |+|- -|-| ||- | ;- |, : =|- +| ||)
21 - The rajasic knowledge is that which sees the multiplicity of
things only in their separateness (| ;- |) and is unable to
discover a true principle of unity (=;+ + | -|+|:+), but fol-
lows the bent of ego and desire, the activity of its many-branching
egoistic will and various and mixed motive in response to the solicitation
of internal and environing impulsions and forces. (13)
= -r-|-.+ |r ==r=+
=q|-q+ = =|=-|.=++ 22
22 - | =|- |: , : :;=|-: |:|:, |:, =
=|:- :| =:- |:+ =| | | |:: |+ |:, =|- :||
=|- |: ( : v, :;|, :, =|- |: ,
: :| -|:)
22 - The tamasic ignorant knowledge is a small and narrow, a
lazy or dully obstinate way of looking at things which has no eye for
the real nature of the world (:;|) or of the thing done or its field
or the act or its conditions. The tamasic mind absorbs itself in one
movement or one routine with an obstinate attachment to it (=|-
|: ), can see nothing but the little section of personal activity.
(14)
|+= ==|==|~r+= =+
=r=+| = =||qr=++ 23
23 - =|| | :|~ |+ (=: -|) -||:+, +|~ -|:|+|
(+|:, +|~::) | |||: +| ( |-: :), :|
||; |: (: ||; ::)
23 - Sattwic action is that which a man does calmly in the clear
light of reason and knowledge and with an impersonal sense (
|:+:+) of right or duty, a work performed without attachment
(+|:), without liking or disliking (+|~::) (15)
= |r=+| =|e|r=+ | ++
|zr= ;||= = =|==-|.=++ 24
24 - |z =||| |+ | |:+:+ - ||+= |+ | +| ,
:| +|| |: (: |- |:-| ||:+ | -||
|::, : +| -|:)
24 - Rajasic action is that which a man undertakes under the
dominion of desire, with his eyes fixed on the work and its hoped-for
fruit and nothing else, and it is done with inordinate effort (-||,
-: ||+=), with passionate labour. (16)
262 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 261
+= |=|+r |=++
||-|=r= ==|=r=++ 25
25 - |+ : (||, confusion, delusion) + | =
| ` (- +), +-| , |++ |- |+ |-+ | |:-| -|+
( , ||, |`+ -:|), | | |+: +| :| :|| |:
( |+:: : :| ::)
25 - Tamasic action is that done with a confused, deluded, ig-
norant mind, in mechanical obedience to the instincts, impulsions and
unseeing ideas, without regarding the strength or capacity (|`+)
or the waste and loss of blind misapplied effort () or the conse-
quence (-+) (17)
==r|+|- <==|=|=+
|==|=r=||+||= =| =||q =r=++ 26
26 - | =: || -, |+ :| | -| , | + |+
|, ||||: ||| (, -|-, +|: | |:,
|||:| |-||+), : ||; :| |: (||; :| ::)
26 - The sattwic doer is free from all this attachment, this
egoism, this violent strengthh or passionate weakness; his is a mind
and will unelated by success, undepressed by failure (||:|
|-||+), full of a fixed impersonal resolution, a calm rectitude of zeal
or a high and pure and selfless enthusiasm in the work that has to
be done. (18)
=|~ =r=r| |=|r|o|+
+r|||= =| =|== |=|==++ 27
27 - : | (+|~), =||, |, |, | (of im-
pure mind), | :| +|| :| |: (=:, +,
||, |, |||: :| +| ||+|::)
27 - The rajasic doer of action on the contrary is one eagerly
attached to the work (+|~, : |), bent on its rapid completion,
passinately desirous of fruit and reward and consequence (=:),
greedy of heart (+), impure of mind (|), often violent and cruel
and brutal (||) in the means he uses; he cares little whom he
injures. He is full of an incontinent joy in success () and bitterly
grieved and striken by failure (|) (19)
= |= c- ro| +|=r|=+
|+|- -=z =| =|= =r=++ 28
28 - |- |: -:|~ ( ), |+ (| :, vulgar,
unrefined), - (.+, ~| :), o (cunning), = -+ ||-|+
(-|:), -- (), |s |+ -, : :|| :| |:
(:| :| ::)
28 - The tamasic doer of action is one who does not put himself
really into the work (), but acts with a mechanical mind, or
obeys the most vulgar (|:) thought of the herd, follows the com-
mon routine or is wedded to a blind error and prejudice. He is ob-
stinate in stupidity, stubborn in error and takes a foolish pride in
ignorant doing; a narrow and evasive cunning replaces true intelli-
gence; he has a stupid and insolent contempt for wiser men and
betters (-|:) A dull laziness (), slowness, procrastination
(-:|, | || |+| |), looseness, want of vigour (--:|)
or of sincerity (|-|-:|) mark his action. (20)
r=r- <r=r o+=|-|< ++
||+rr++ r;+ <+s++ 29
29 - |:+ -|:+ | |+ +|: | =|:| |:|- |+ (:
= : +:: ||+ -), :|+ ::~ ::~ | -| (|
;- :: ||- )
|=+ |+|=+ |||r |r+
= |+ | |= |= =| | =||q++ 30
30 - | |+|+| |, |-|, |, |, , , +- |+ |
= :|++ |: ||- |||+ :| ||; | |: (| |-| |
|: : + | | | | | ||;)
30 - The sattwic understanding sees in its right place, right form,
right measure the movement of the world, the law of action and the
law of abstention from action, the thing that is to be done and the
264 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 263
thing that is not to be done (| |-| ||:), what is safe
for the soul and what is dangerous, what is to be feared and shunned
and what is to be embraced by the will, what binds the spirit of man
and what sets it free (:, + |) (21)
| <<+ |+||r +
| =|+||= |= =| | =|==++ 31
31 - | |+|+| ++ |+ ||+ =|- ||:+ -,
| +|| (| + + | | = | |-||: | |
+|)
31 - The rajasic understanding, when it can make distinctions
between right and wrong, between what should or should not be
done, but not rightly, rather with a constant distortion of values. And
this is because its reason and will are a reason of the ego and a will
of desire, and these powers misrepresent and distort the truth. Rajas
with its vehement hold on the vital ego is the great sinner and positive
misleader. (22)
< <||= | +r= ==|=|+
=||+ |==| |= =| | =|=++ 32
32 - +|++|+| |: (:| |:|) | |+|+| + + | |
|+ :| |+ ||+: - |:, :| :|| | |: (|
+ + |: -::, |- ||+:| | | :|)
32 - The tamasic reason is a false, ignorant and darkened
instrument (:| | :|) which chains us to all things in a dull and
wrong light, a cloud of misconceptions, a stupid ignoring of things and
people. This reason calls light darkness and darkness light, takes what
is not the true law and upholds it as the law (+ + |: -::). (23)
<=| | <|=r= +|r+||z|+
|r~+||||=+| <|= =| | =||q++ 33
33 - -, | |+ |:|+ |-: +|| (- | ||| +:|)
++ ~: ||:|:+ |~ `+ |: | =|:| | +|: |:~ :|
||; +|: |: (| |||+| |:~- +|+::, | +|: ||;)
33 - The persistence of the will (dhriti) is that continuous force
of mental Nature which sustains the work and gives it consistence
and persistence. The culmination of this sattwic intelligence (||
|) is found by a high persistence (+|:, =|:|) of the aspiring
buddhi when it is settled on what is beyond the ordinary reason and
mental will, turned to a steady control of the senses and the life and
a union by Yoga with man's highest Self, the universal Divine, the
transcendent Spirit. (24)
| = <|||+ <=| <|=r= = ++
=r+ =|| <|= =| | =|==++ 34
34 - | +|:+|+| |-: +, |+ | |:|~: . |: |+ =
+:| =|| , :| +|| +|: |: (| +:| : + | |-
+|+::, :- =||, | +| +:)
34 - The rajasic will fixes its persistent attention on the satis-
faction of its own attached clingings and desires in its pursuit of
interest and pleasure and of what it thinks or chooses to think right
and justice, Dharma. (25)
| - | |+|- -r +
+ |+|= - r<| <|= =| | =|=++ 35
35 - | +|:+|+| |+ |-: (| - :+|) |-|, , |, ||- |+
~ :|~ |+ -|+|:+, :| :|| +|: |: ( | ||- -
= - |~|:, | +|: :|)
35 - (Tamasic) persistence of will is a persistence in the satis-
faction and dull pride of its ignorance. That is on its side of blind
action; but it is pursued also by a heavy stress of inertia, a persist-
ence in dullness and sleep, a dwelling on the fears and pains and
depressions of mind. (26)
= |;-|+ |z|< + ==++
|=|- =r= z - |c+ |+~t|=++ 36
=-r |+| |=+|rr=|+
= = =||q |=||==|-=++ 37
36, 37 |:|-|+, =|: | -| ( ||+, -|- : ), |
|- : |+ : | :+ |+ | | `: - . |:+ ( ||
266 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 265
+::, - . |-~|:), |:| :: | : , -| ( : | ) |+
: :: (||+|: ::|| ), |:| ||+ | : +| |.|+|+| ;+
(| | |- ), ||; (: ||; | )
36, 37 - Harmony and order are the characteristic qualities of
the sattwic mind and temperament, quiet happiness, a clear and calm
content and an ease and peace. This happiness does not depend on
outward things, but on ourselves alone and on the flowering of what
is best and most inward within us. It is to be conquered by self-
discipline, a labour of the soul, a high and arduous endeavour. At first
this means much suffering and struggle, a poison born of the churning
of our nature, but in the end the nectar of immortality rises in the
place of this bitterness and as we climb to the higher spiritual nature
we come to the end of sorrow. (27)
|+ r | =r|~|-=-r r=| +
|=+|r |+| == =|== -.=++ 38
38 - | | |+ |+ :|~: ;+ , :: :+
|-|-| |+ ||+|: |+ |-|-| (| | :|~|, : : ::||,
||+|: | ), +|| |: (: +|:)
38 - The mind of the rajasic man drinks of a more fiery and
intoxicating cup; the keen, mobile, active pleasure of the senses and
the body and the sense-entangled or fierily kinetic will and intelli-
gence are to him all joy of life and the very significance of living. The
joy is nectar to the lips at first touch (: ::||), but there is
a secret poison in the bottom of the cup (||+|: |) and after it
the bitterness of disappointment, satiety, fatigue, revolt, disgust, sin,
suffering, loss, transience. (28)
r |+r= = |+|++
|+s|=|r-| ==|=-|.=++ 39
39 - | : |+:+ |+| : | || |+ +|: ( :
-:+ |- |-), | |-|, |, =|-:|+|+| ;+ (|-|
| |- ), :|| (: :| -|:)
39 - The tamasic mind can remain well pleased in its indolence
(|) and inertia, its stupor and sleep (|-|), its blindness and its
error (|- ). Delusion (|-) is the beginning of this satisfaction
and delusion is its consequence. There is a tamasic happiness founded
in inertia and ignorance. (29)
+ =-|c- || | |-| -r+ | ++
=q |=r==r-|=| |z|or+++ 40
40 - = ||+: | ~: | -+:|+ |:+: =:- | (;) -|
| |:|: = |:|- +|+| (||| |-| | -: | |- : ;
- |. |: =| || |)
|+|z|| s|+|+ =c+
||+ |=||+ -|ror+++ 41
41 - |, |, |+ + :|+ ::|+ |+|:
-|:+ ::~ ::~ |~ +| : (| | || || ||
| |||-)
41 - There are four distinct orders of the active nature, svabhava,
and the work and proper function of each human being corresponds
to his type of nature. The works of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas
and Sudras, says the Gita, are divided according to the qualities
(gunas) born of their own inner nature, spiritual temperament, essen-
tial character (svabhava). (30)
r| -c- | ||c=|= r +
=|+ |=|+||c- -|=++ 42
42 - , -, :||, ||+:|, |, +:|, | =|-, |=|- (|| |:
=|-) |+ ||. (||; =|) = :|+ |+|: |+ (
-+ , - | , :|, `, ||., | , =|-, |=|-
||. = |+ )
42 - Calm (), self- control (-), askesis (:|), purity
(`), long-suffering (||.), candour (| ), knowledge, accept-
ance of spiritual truth, are the work of the Brahmin, born of his
swabhava (|) (31)
268 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 267
| =r=| <|=- | r= ||++
-|+=| |z -|=++ 43
43 - |+|, , +|:, -:|, : ||-, -|-:|, -:; ` |+|
:| = :|+ |+ |+|: (`, :, +|:, -|, : ||
||- -|-, +| | | )
43 - Heroism, high spirit, resolution, ability, not fleeing in the
battle, giving, lordship, isvara-bhava, the temperament of the ruler
and leader are the natural work of the Kshatriya. (32)
|+r~|=||+= -|=+
|=| s=|| -|=++ 44
44 - |, ~|||- |+ || + |+ ||+| +
|+|: (|, ~|+, || | , ||+|;
|| |)
44 - Agriculture, cattle-keeping, trade inclusive of the labour of
the craftsman and artisan are the natural work of the Vaisya. All
work of the character of service falls within the natural function of
the Sudra. (33)
- - +|== =|=|= r= +=+
-|+== |=|= | |=|= =t +++ 45
45 - |- |- : |-||- `: |-: ||| :+ ( |
|+: -+ || ::) |- : |-||- |: :- || |
:+ -| ( |-+: | || ||: : )
45 - Whatever a man's work and function in life, he can, if it
is determined from within or if he is allowed to make a self-expres-
sion of his nature, turn it into a means of growth and of a greater
inner perfection. And whatever it be, if he performs his natural func-
tion in the right spirit, if he turns its action to the uses of the Godhead
within, serves with it the Spirit manifested in the universe or makes
it a conscious instrumentation for the purposes of the Divine in hu-
manity, he can transmute it into a means towards the highest spiritual
perfection. (34)
= |==|+| + =|- ==+
-+| = |=|= |=|= |+++ 46
46 - |+|+| |+ :| | + |: +| (impulse to
action) |: (: :|-| |), | . ~ | |: (- -
::), |-: |- +|+| : -| |+ ||| |+ ||:+ (|-
| : || ||:)
46 - A man who devotes himself to his own natural work in life
acquires spiritual perfection, if he does it with right knowledge and
the right motive, if he can make it a worship of the Spirit of this
creation and dedicate it sincerely to the Master of the universe from
whom is all impulse to action (|). All labour, all action and func-
tion, whatever it be, can be consecrated by this dedication of works,
can convert the life into a self-offering to the Godhead within and
without us and is itself converted into a means of spiritual
perfection. (35)
=|+ -<r| |o+ =<| -+|=|+
-||+= |r||= ||-+++ 47
47 - |+|: -| `: (| +) +:| +| |-+
: | | ( -|:| |++| =|-), |+ -|:+ |+ | ,
|+: ||| - (||-: - || - |:||:)
47 - A work not naturally one's own, even though it may be well
performed ( -|:|), may look better from outside, is still inferior
as a means of subjective growth (|+|| |:+ |-+|+| |-+
| |) One's own natural work is better, even if it looks from
some other point of view defective. One does not incur sin or stain
when one acts in the true spirit of the work and in agreement with
the law of one's own nature. Action should be regulated by the
Swabhava, svabhava-niyatam karma. (36)
== |rc =r-|+| + =r=+
=|=| | -|r++ <r+|||=|=|++ 48
48 - |+|: -| `: :|~ |+ -||:~ ( :-|
|| - ::) +|+|:+ |: |+ -:+ |::+ |+: +| :|
| -| (| |+:| +:- | -|: |:|) |::+ |:-|
| |+ -||:~, (|+:| personal initiation of work) | |+: +|+
270 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 269
|~:: + | |+ |:~ | |:|+ -||; : =|+ |- |:~
| =| |+ -: | :, |z |:| |+: |++ |: - ||. `
|+| -| , =:- +|: + |: ||. |- |-| |+ |--|- +`
|:~ |: ||. -: |-: - `
48 - All human work is subject to fault, defect or limitation; but
that should not make us abandon our own proper work and natural
function (36A). We have eventually to renounce all into his hands, to
abandon all personal initiation of action, sarvarambhah. (37)
==|= =z |==|| |~=-+
+|=|= =| =|r=+||<~t|=++ 49
49 - | :| |: -|, |::| |+ |-|, : + |:
|+ + =+ |: || :|~ +| |+|+| - || | :+ |
|| |:+ +-+|+| | | :+ ( |, |:||, |~:|
|:- |+| - || |+~|:)
49 - "An understanding without attachment in all things (
|), a soul self-conquered (|:||) and empty of desire
(|~:|), man attains by renunciation (|:-) a supreme perfec-
tion (|+| ||) of naiskarmya (-)
How, while absorabed and continually forced outward by the
engrossing call to its active nature, is it to get back to its real self
and spiritual existence? (While doing works, how can we keep our
consciousness fixed in our soul?) It must first separate silent self
from active nature. It must arrive at an inner inactivity, naiskarmya.
It is therefore this saving inner passivity that the Gita puts here as
the first object of its Yoga, the first necessary perfection in it or
Siddhi. One must become an understanding unattached in all things,
asakta-buddhih sarvatra. Then all desire passes away from the
soul in its silence; it is free from all longings, vigata-sprihah. That
brings with it or it makes possible the subjection of own lower and
possession of our higher self and conquest over our mobile nature,
jitatma. And all this amounts to an absolute inner renunciation of
the desire of things, sannyasa. (38)
|=|= |rq| | =|r||= |+r|< +
=|r=r+ |rc |+| =|+= | =|++ 50
50 - (|+: |+|) - ||| +| |: :- |
|+ ||:+, :| -| (|| | | |:||: :| |:-
|-:|+), : =|-+ + +| (| =|- |+| |-|) - ||complete
inner quietism, || :|= ||+
50 - "How having attained this perfection, one thus attains to the
Brahman, hear from Me, O son of Kunti, that which is the supreme
concentrated direction of the knowledge." (39)
=| |o=| r=| <=||+ |+ +
=|-+ |+|c-=| =|~rr+| -= ++ 51
||=r= | =|||+=+
<|+r|~r=| |+= =|~ =||==++ 52
e|= - | z|< |=+
| |+ |rc| | qr=++ 53
51, 52, 53 | |+|+| ||+ ~: (|| |),
+ | +|+| |:+ |- : |+ (+:| ||- |-), ~ ||- |
|:|+ (sense objects sound, touch, form, taste and smell) :|~ |+
(~|-- ||- :|), +|~ ||+:|~ |+ (+|~ :` -), |- - |-:
| |+ |+ ||+:| , |, ++ |+ - : |+ (||:,
|, : | | |-), -| +|- | |+, +|~ +- |+ (|-:
+|-:|~ |+ +|~ |||=:), |+, , -|, |, |+ |+ ||+
(instinct of possession) ||+:|~ |+ (|) |+ ; | (~+| |)
:|~ |+ | |. ` |||+:, : | |+ (|- |.
| v::)
51,52, 53 - How then is this to be done? First, says the Gita,
through a union of our purified intelligence with the pure spiritual
substance in us by the yoga of the buddhi, buddhya visuddhaya.
This spiritual turning of the buddhi from the outward and downward
to the inward and upward look is the essence of the Yoga of knowl-
edge. The purified understanding has to control the whole being,
atmanam niyamya; it must draw us away from attachment to the
272 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 271
outward going desires of the lower nature by a firm and a steady will,
dhritya. The senses must abandon their objects (~| -- ||- :|),
the mind must cast away the liking and disliking (+|~ :` -) An
entire control has to be acquired over the mind, speech and body (:
| | |-), over even the vital and-physical reactions, hunger and
cold and heat and physical pleasure and pain; the whole of our being
must become indifferent, unaffected by these things, equal to all
outward touches and to their inward reactions and responses. This is
the most direct and powerful method, the straight and sharp way of
Yoga. There has to be a complete cessation of desire and attach-
ment, vairagya; a strong resort to impersonal solitude (||:
inner solitude), a constant union with the inmost self by meditation
(|-: +|-:|~ |+) is demanded of the seeker. And yet the object of
this austere discipline is not to be self-centred in some supreme
egoistic seclusion and tranquillity of the sage and averse to the trou-
ble of participation in the world-action (= :||: |+|:-
|:|:+ |+ |+| - + | -||:~ | |+ |: | :+ |:
|| |+ -||:~), the object is to get rid of ego. One must put
away utterly first the rajasic kind of egoism, egoistic strength and
violence, arrogance, desire, wrath, the sense and instinct of posses-
sion, the urge of the passions, the strong lusts of life (|+, , -|
| |+, ||+ |) The aim is to make the soul and mind and
life free in the end from all imprisoning I-ness and my-ness, nirmama.
The extinction of ego and its demands of all sorts is the method put
before us. For the pure impersonal self which, unshaken, supports the
universe has no egoism and makes no demand on thing or person; it
is calm and luminously impassive and silently regards all things and
persons with an equal and impartial eye. Then clearly it is by living
inwardly in a similar or identical impersonality that the soul within can
best become capable of oneness with this immutable Brahman (||+
+ : ||: |, | v::) This becoming Brahman, this
assumption into the self of eternal silence, brahma-bhuya, is not all
our objective, but only the necessary immense base for a still greater
and more marvellous divine becoming, mad-bhava. (- |, |+ |
| |+|, |+:|+ ||+, = + ||++ |: || :: immo-
bile silent impersonal self, + : ||: , = ||::| =| immense
base, - |, `+|+| || |+:+ |+:| ||+ |++ |:
|~|:, + : ||: | |+ |:~, |-|) Impersonality is a
natural condition of true being, an indispensable preliminary of true
knowledge. And to get to that greatest spiritual perfection we have
indeed to be immobile in the self, silent in all our members but also
to act in the power, Shakti, Prakriti, the true and high force of the
Spirit. In the Gitas path of Tyaga it is preparation rather for the
turning of our whole life and existence and all action into an integral
oneness with the serene and immeasurable being, consciousness and
will of the Divine, and it preludes and makes possible a vast and total
passing upward of the soul out of the lower ego to the inexpressible
perfection of the supreme spiritual nature, para prakrit. (40)
= =|| + ||= + ||=+
= =r+ r=+ q|= r= =|++ 54
54 - | | | : (:), :+ -: |- |+| :+
(||) : | -:+, ||| -:+, :|: |- :+ | |+
:+ |+ |: |+|| (- ||:, - ||:, : :: , |+|
;| ::)
54 - "When one has become the Brahman, when one neither
grieves nor deires, when one is equal to all beings, then one gets the
supreme love and devotion to Me." (41)
=| ||=|+||= ||+ ||-. =q=+
=r=| | =qr=| =|;| |r= =-+c=++ 55
55 - |- |+ |+ | +| |, = |: |-: |+|+|:
||- ||:+ (| | ||- | :;: ||-||:) = -:+ |+|+|
| +|: ||- | | :+ (:: | :;: =|;|, :--.+ |::)
55 - Here there is something yet higher than the Impersonal
(+ ), here there is the supreme Self who is the supreme
Ishwara (|+:|), here there is the supreme Soul and its supreme
nature, here is the Purushottama who is beyond the personal and
274 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 273
impersonal and reconciles them on his eternal heights. All Nature
becomes the power of the one Divine and all action his action through
the individual as channel and instrument. In place of the ego there
comes forward conscious and manifest the true spiritual individual
(soul) in the freedom of his real nature, in the power of his supernal
status, in the majesty and splendour of his eternal kinship to the
Divine, an imperishable portion of the supreme Godhead, an
indestructible power of the supreme Prakriti. The soul of man then
feels itself to be one in a supreme spiritual impersonality with the
Purushottama and in its universalised personality a manifest power of
the Godhead. This knowledge comes, says the Gita, by a highest
bhakti. When the soul has become the Brahman, it is then that it can
live in the true Person and can attain to the supreme revealing bhakti
for the Purushottama and can come to know him utterly by the
power of its profound bhakti, its heart's knowledge, bhaktya mam
abhijanati. "He comes to know Me" says the Gita "who and how
much I am and in all the reality and principles of my being", yavan
yascasmi tattvatah. This integral knowledge is the knowledge of the
Divine present in the individual; it is the entire experience of the Lord
secret in the heart of man, revealed now as the supreme Self of his
existence, the Sun of all his illumined consciousness, the Master and
Power of all his works, the divine Fountain of all his soul's love and
delight, the Lover and Beloved of his worship and adoration. It is the
knowledge too of the Divine extended in the universe, of the Self and
Spirit of the Cosmos, of Vasudeva. It is the knowledge of the divine
Purusha luminous in his transcendent eternity the form of whose
being escapes from the thought of the mind but not from its silence;
it is the entire living experience of him as absolute Self, supreme
Brahman, supreme Soul, supreme Godhead : for that seemingly
incommunicable Absolute is at the same time and even in that
highest status the originating Spirit of the cosmic action and Lord
of all these existences. The soul of the liberated man thus enters
by a reconciling knowledge, penetrates by a perfect simultaneous
delight of the transcendent Divine, of the Divine in the individual
and of the Divine in the universe into the Purushottama, mam visate
tadanantaram. (42)
=|+| =-| |r+| |=+
=|-|-|r||= |= -++ 56
56 - | |= |+ -| :| | |+ ( ||= -| ||
| ||) |+ ||:: -|:- |- (Status) | :+ ( |-|
|: |- |:||:)
56 - "And by doing also all actions always lodged in Me he attains
by my grace the eternal and imperishable status (|: |- )
This liberating action is of the character of works done in a profound
union of the will and all dynamic parts of our nature with the Divine
in ourself and the cosmos. It is done first as a sacrifice with the idea
still of our self as the doer. It is done next without that idea and with
a perception of the Prakriti as the sole doer. It is done last with the
knowledge of that Prakriti as the supreme power of the Divine and a
renunciation, a surrender of all our actions to him with the individual as
a channel only and an instrument. Our works then proceed straight
from the Self and Divine within us, are a part of the indivisible universal
action, are initiated and performed not by us but by a vast transcendent
Shakti. All that we do is done for the sake of the Lord seated in the
heart of all, for the Godhead in the individual and for the fulfilment of
his will in us, for the sake of the Divine in the world, for the good of
all beings, for the fulfilment of world action and world purpose, or in
one word for the sake of Purushottam and done really by him through
his universal Shakti. These divine works are a potent means for rising
out of this lower Prakriti to divine nature. (43)
==| =||+ | =+= =+
|=r|~||== |= === ++ 57
57 - :-:+ :| | |: | |+ (:| || | -),
|+| (|+) |:|~+ |= (|:|~ |||=:, 249] :|
:: | |.| +| (:: | )
57 - "Devoting all thyself to Me, giving up in thy conscious mind
all thy actions into Me, resorting to Yoga of the will and intelligence
be always one in heart and consciousness with Me." (44)
276 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 275
|= =- ~||+ =|-| =|=+|=+
;e|=| =|+|= |+|=++ 58
58 - :| :: |+ |.| |+:, | + |+: ( |), |+
||: :| |+|, :| ||- |: |+ |||+| ( |-| - ~||
:|+|) |+ |- |+ |+ |+ | --| :|:| :| |-|| `| (
; |+| - =||, |-|)
58 - "If you are that at all times, then by my grace thou shalt
pass safe through all difficult and perilous passages; but if from
egoism thou hear not, thou shalt fall into perdition." (45)
-e|=||== + |= |= +r=+
|r+ =|rc- |=-| |+r||=++ 59
59 - |++ |- :| -:+| | ||| (|+ ||=:
- | |: -:), :||+ v || (: = | ||), |+
:||+ |:+ :|| : +| (|: :| |-:||:)
59 - "Vain is this thy resolve, that in thy egoism thou thinkest,
saying 'I will not fight', thy nature shall appoint thee to thy work." (46)
-|r=+ |rc |+= -+ +|+
= +t|= r,|||=+=r|| =++ 60
60 - |+ : :| | | |+ | +| -| (|| : -
|) |+|: |- :|| +-: +| |: + :| |
|+ ||~ (|:- - | |- || : |+|)
60 - "What from delusion thou desirest not to do, that helplessly
thou shalt do bound by thy own work born of thy swabhava." (47)
= ==|+| .r=r= + |=|=+
=|+ ==||+ |=.||+ ||++ 61
61 - + :| ++ -: |: (+ :|-| :~: |:|:)
=| + |+: |o | :| +: ||+|+| +| +|+: (+||-
:||- || -|-)
61 - "The Lord is stationed in the heart all existences, O Arjuna,
and turns them all round and round mounted on a machine by his
Maya." (48)
A Godhead is seated in the heart of every man and is the Lord
of this mysterious action of Nature. And though this spirit of the
universe, this One who is all, seems to be turning us on the wheel of
the world as if mounted on a machine by the force of Maya, shaping
us in our ignorance as the potter shapes a pot, as the weaver a fabric,
by some mechanical principle, yet is this spirit our own greatest self.
I am secretly in spirit and shall overtly become in nature. (48A)
=r =+ ~t =|r+ |==+
==|-| =| ||c -|+ |=|= |=++ 62
62 - ::||: ::+ |= |+| (|:- : = + ~),
:+ ||: |+ ||. |+ |: |-, eternal status, | |+| (:|-|
|+| ||. |: |- ||)
62 - In him take refuge in every way of thy being and by his grace
thou shalt come to the supreme peace and the eternal status. (49)
|= = =|+||= o|- o== |+
|r=-rr++ rt|= =| =++ 63
63 - :|| ~||-: ~||- :; =|-+ |: `:| ( |: |
:+ =|- : | ||:) :| = ||- |:|:+ ||:|-| |+ |
| :|: +| (=: :: | | | :| +)
=o= + = +
r||= - ||= =r=| || = |=++ 64
64 - || : ~||- |+ = |:| |-+ -| (: |+
), :| |+ |: |, |: :||+ |:+ |: ( -
|, :: : |: ||)
64 - The Gita declares that there is yet a supreme word that it
has to speak, paramam vacah, and a most secret truth of all,
sarvaguhyatamam. This secret of secrets the Teacher will tell to
Arjuna as his highest good because he is the chosen and beloved
soul, ista. (50)
,+| qr=| - |= | +-=+
|rr+|= == = |==|r+ |r||= ++ 65
65 - =| |: |.| +||, |+ |+|, | |+|+-| +| |+
= ( =) +|, | -|+ +| (-| , , |, |
278 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 277
-+) |:=| |+ : |, :| |- | |||, :| |+ |, |+:
:|| `:| (: : |:|:-, | = =|, | |)
65 - Thus runs this secret of secrets, the highest most direct
message of the Ishwara. "Become my-minded, my lover and adorer,
a sacrificer to Me, bow thyself to Me, to Me thou shalt come, this
is my pledge and promise to thee, for dear art thou to Me. (51)
=<|+ |=== |r =+ =+
;| =|rr| ||+|| | o++ 66
66 - :| + ||+:|~ |+ :| =| |+ + |+| :||
:| |||+|+| |+ |+, | -|+|
66 - "Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone. I will
deliver thee from all sin and evil, donot grieve."
The Gita throughout has been insisting on a great and well built
discipline of Yoga, large and clearly traced philosophical system, on
the Swabhava and the Swadharma, (18/41-47), on the sattwic law of
life as leading out by a self-exceeding exaltation to a free spiritual
dharma of immortal existence beyond the limitation of even this high-
est guna and now it seems to break out of its own structure and says
to the human soul, "Abandon all dharmas, give thyself to the Divine
alone, to the supreme Godhead above and around and within thee:
that is all that thou needest, that is the truest and greatest way, that
is the real deliverance." And speaking as the Spirit and Godhead in
man and in all things he (Krishna) says to him (Arjuna), "All this
personal effort and self discipline will not in the end be needed, all
following and limitation of rule and dharma can at last be thrown
away if thou canst make a complete surrender to Me, depend alone
on the Spirit and Godhead within thee and all things and trust to his
sole guidance. Turn all thy mind to Me and fill it with the thought of
Me and my presence. Turn all thy heart to Me, make thy every
action, whatever it be, a sacrifice and offering to Me. That done,
leave Me to do my will with thy life and soul and action; do not be
grieved or perplexed by my dealings with thy mind and heart and life
and works or troubled because they do not seem to follow the laws
and dharmas. My ways are the ways of a perfect wisdom and power
and love. I repeat the absolute assurance, the infallible promise that
I will lead thee to myself through and beyond all sorrow and evil.
Whatever difficulties and perplexities arise, be sure of this that I am
leading thee to a complete divine life." (52) thou canst you can
-rc +|=-| +|=| -|++
+ |o=.+r | + | |=|=++ 67
67 - |+| = =|-+ | : | :||--, |-- | |-
| -+|- |+| |: - ( - : :|| - |, - | , -
= :) |+ | | +=| :+ : ` -||:~ (- | |:)
- = oqr=+|<|=|=+
|= | =| ;| |rr+==++ 68
68 - | = |+ ~||- :;=|- |+ + |~: || |+ (
- |+ - : |+||:), : |+ |+|+| |: | |+,
:|: : -| (| |+| | ;| | = =|:, )
+ =-.|,+r++ |r, |=+
|=| + =-.|-+ |=r=| |++ 69
69 - |-+ |:+: |||+-: |+ |:+ |+ |:-| -|
|+ :: |+ | ||+: |+ |:-| -` (-: :| |
| -, :| - |:+ | - |:|)
r<+r= < =|-|r|+
=|+r=+ =+|| =|||= |=++ 70
70 - |+ | ||+ - -+ |: |+| +| :||- +-
|+, :+|+| =|-:=:+ ||: ` ( |:| + |-
:+::, :- =|-:=- |, |: |:)
==||++= +|-| | +=+
=|| = o|r||+ || ++|+ 71
71 - =|+|- |+ -|- |+|: | |-: | |-, ::+| |||
||++ || :|: |- || (=||- - -+ | ||,
|| || |- ||- ||)
|r-= == | ;r|r+ ==|+
|-=|+=r.| +rc- <+s++ 72
72 - -, :| =| :-:+ = |||- |-|:- :||+ =|-|:
|, delusion, - + `:- (||, ;| =|: :| =: | =:
+-a, : =|- :| | -)
280 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 279
= + =|
+r| | -.|=| ;=|-|,|=+
|-r=||-. ~==r= |=r+ + =++ 73
73 - :, :||+ ||: |+ | - + : (: |- | |
-), |: | -+ +| || : | (| |: +|), | + + | | |+: |,
: - + :, =|:| :||+ |:: | |+ (| : |, ~::,
: - |+: )
=s =|
= |=r-= |= |++
=|-|r=|+-= =|++++ 74
74 - a: `:, |:-+ |+ || -+ |: |+| ; : |+
+||~+ :||- |-:| ( |: |:- |- ||
-: +| |- :=`)
|==|-| ==|+ ==- o =+
|~ |r~=| +| =|| =-++ 75
75 - |:-++ -: = |+ ~||- |~+ =|- |:~+
=+|+| |-:| (||-| =: |+ |~ :
|:~+| | =:|-)
=|=+ =-.= =-.= =|-|q =+
|= +r| + .+|| ;;++ 76
76 - |+|, = |+ -+ = ||+ |+ ; : :||-
|- |- + |+ |+|+ ||: ( -:| | ; :
|- : : - - ||)
= =-.= =-.= =.=q = r=+
|-.r| |+ =|=+ .+|| + +++ 77
77 - |+|, |++ ; : |+| + |+ |+ |:
|: |:+|, |+ |:+ |:+ ||: (:+ : :; : +| :
: |- | , |- |- ||)
z |r~= r+| z |r| <+<=+
=z *|=r| |=<| +|=|=++ 78
78 - `: |:~+ , `: +-++ || |:, :|:: =, |, |:
|+ -| -|: |: ( |:~+ , +-++ || : = |, |:
+| -|:, |:)
Moksha Yoga
From Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo
1. The gunas, mind and works : 129
2. Swabhava and Swadharma : 3036, 36A
3. Towards the supreme secret : 3743
4. The supreme secret : 4452
You who weep, you who suffer, you who tremble, not daring to foresee
the term of your ills, the issue of your pangs, behold! There is no night
without day break, when darkness is thickest dawn is ready; there is no fog
that the sun does not dissipate, no cloud that it does not gild, no tear that
it does not one day dry, no snow that it does not melt, no winter that it does
not change into radiant spring.
And for you likewise, there is no affliction which does not bring forth
its counterpoise of glory, no distress that cannot be transformed into joy,
no defeat that does not turn into victory, no downfall that does not change
into an ascension ot greater heights, no solitude that does not become a
very home of life, no discord that does not resolve into harmony, there is
no weakness so infinite that it cannot change into power.
Listen, my little child, who feel yourself so broken, so fallen, who have
nothing, nothing any more to cover your misery and nourish your pride, yet
never before have you been so great! How close is he to the summits, who
awakes in the depths! If ordeal and fault have flung you down, if you have
sunk into an abysm of suffering, do not at all be grieved, for it is there that
the divine affection, the supreme benediction will reach you! When you
have nothing left, all will be given to you. For those who are sincere and
straight, out of the worst emerges always the best.
Verily, verily, in humiliation is found the cradle of glory. The Mother,
The Supreme Discovery
282 *q~-- ~=| Gita Ch. 18 |-|~ 281
Youth does not depend on the fewness of years one has lived, but on
the capacity to grow and to progress. The Mother, AIM July 80
Work done in the true spirit is meditation.
To work for the Divine is to pray with the body.
The Mother, Practical guide to integral Yoga
:;=|-+ |: |- -:- +- -|- :+ ||+ -, -, |+
|:+: |-::-| |: |-::-| |-.+ -|| || ||+
|: | |+: = || Involution |: |: +||.+ |-.+
|+ |+| ||:|+ -| Evolution. ||+ -, -, | |-.+ |-+
|: +| :|+ -| |~ |- Divine ` ||:+ = =|-:| ||+
|:+: |: |+ +|| |||+: || +~|: | :+ | || |~:
|:+| :+| =|-+ -- =|- =, Sacrifice of Knowledge |: |
= : |-|=|:- |-: |~: + |~|| -|+|:+ =|- |~+ |
+|- - |+ Static |+ Dynamic. - |+:+ :|- |: - |. |+
|+ |:| Static Meditation |+ |.| |+ +|- +|:| Dynamic
Meditation. :| : |:, :|:+ |:+: |:, :| ,
|+ -, -, | |- .+ +||.+ , +|| |+ + =:-,
|| |+ +|| = =:-:|+ |.| |+: Dynamic Meditation
| Transforming Meditation +| || | `: |:+ +-: |
|| | , |-|:: +|| ++ = , | + : | , |:+ Lord, Ruler.
+|| |: +|+ |: +|| |:+ |: -: -:+, |z ||
|:+ |: -: |:+ | :+ |~+ |+| || |+ +|| = |
:|: | || |:+ +-+ |+| |+ : +; | :+ It
then becomes a free soul and gains true immortality.
Words of Sri Aurobindo
Sadhana through Meditation
Gita speaks of rejection of all mental thought as one of the methods
of yoga. This may be called the dhyana of liberation, as it frees the
mind from slavery to the mechanical process of thinking and allows it to
think or not to think, as it pleases.
Meditation is the easiest process for the human mind; contemplation
(regarding mentally a single object, image or idea) more difficult, but
greater; self observation and liberation from the chains of Thought the
284 On Yoga
most difficult of all, but the widest and greatest in its fruits. The perfect
method is to use them all.
What should be the object or ideas for meditation?
Whatever is most consonant with your nature and highest aspira-
tions. Brahman is always the best object for meditation or contempla-
tion and the idea on which the mind should fix is that of God in all, all in
God and all as God. This is the idea I have found the best All this is
the Brahman.
Once the habit of meditation is formed, it should be made possible
to do it in all circumstances, lying, sitting, walking, alone, in company, in
silence or in the midst of noise.
Concentration means when the consciousness is fixed in a particu-
lar state (e.g. peace) or movement (e.g. aspiration, will).
Ordinarily the consciousness is spread out everywhere, dispersed.
The first thing one does is to draw back all this dispersed consciousness
and concentrate. It may be on an object a shinning point. It may be on
an idea or word or a name, the idea of the Divine, the word Om, the
name Krishna.
Further in yoga one also concentrates in a particular place. You
concentrate in the head in a will, a call for the descent of the peace
above. In the heart centre one concentrates in an aspiration, for an
opening, for the presence of the living image of the Divine there or
whatever else is the object.
The power of the concentration in the heart-centre is to open that
centre and by the power of aspiration, love, bhakti, surrender, remove
the veil which covers and conceals the soul and bring forward the soul
or psychic being to govern the mind, life and body and turn and open
them all fully to the Divine.
This is what is called in yoga the psychic transformation. The power
of concentration above the head is to bring peace, silence, liberation
from the body sense, the identification with mind and life and open the
way for the lower (mental, vital, physical) consciousness to rise up to
meet the higher consciousness above and for the powers of the higher
(spiritual nature) consciousness to descend into mind, life and body.
This is what is called the spiritual transformation.
The power of concentration in the eyebrows is to open the centre
there, liberate the inner mind and vision.
On Yoga |-|~ 283
There is no harm in concentrating sometimes in the heart and some-
times above the head. But concentration in either place does not mean
keeping the attention fixed on a particular spot; you have to take your
station of consciousness in either place and concentrate there not on
the place, but on the Divine. This can be done with eyes shut or with
eyes open.
The sitting motionless posture is the natural posture for concen-
trated meditation walking and standing are active conditions.
The mind is always in activity. The best thing to do is to realise that
the thought-flow is not yourself; it is not you who are thinking, but thought
that is going on in the mind. It is Prakriti with its thought-energy that is
raising all this whirl of thought in you, imposing it on the Purusha. You
as the Purusha must stand back as the witness observing the action, but
refusing to identify yourself with it. The next thing is to exercise a
control and reject the thoughts. The silent mind is a result of yoga; the
ordinary mind is never silent. Grace is something spontaneous which
wells out from the Divine Consciousness as a free flow of its being, the
bhakta looks for it, but he is ready to wait in perfect reliance.
As for the way out, I know only of quieting of the mind which
makes meditation effective, purification of the heart which brings the
divine touch and in time the divine Presence, humility before the Divine
which liberates from egoism and pride of the mind and of the vital,
sustained persistence in the call within and reliance on the Grace above.
Meditation, Japa, prayer or aspiration from the heart can all succeed, if
they are attended by these or at least some of these things. I fully
believe that one who has the call in him cannot fail to arrive if the
follows patiently the way towards the Divine. The Divine knows best
and one has to have trust in his wisdom. The length of time is no proof
of an ultimate incapacity to arrive : it is only a sign that there is some-
thing in oneself which has to be overcome, and if there is the will to
reach the Divine, it can be overcome.
* * * * *
Think of your work only when it is being done, not before and not
after.
Do not let your mind go back on a work that is finished. It belongs
to the past and all re-handling of it is a waste of power.
Do not let you mind labour in anticipation on a work that has to be
done. The power that acts in you will see to it at its own time.
* * * * *
Jiva The word Jiva has two meanings living creatures and the
spirit individualsied and upholding the living being in its evolution from
birth to birth. In the latter sense, the full term is Jivatma the Atman,
spirit or eternal self of the living being. It is spoken of by the Gita as an
eternal portion of the Divine.
The self, Atman is in its nature either transcendednt or universal
(Paramatma, Atma). When it individualises and becomes a central be-
ing, it is then the Jivatman. The Jivatman feels his oneness with the
universal but at the same time his central separateness as a portion of the
Divine. It sees everything in itself or itself in everything or both together.
The soul, representative of the central being (Jiva or Jivatma), is a
spark of the Divine supporting all individual existence in Nature; the
psychic being is a conscious form of that soul growing in the evolution
in the persistent process that develps first life in Matter, mind in life,
until finally mind can develop into overmind and overmind into the
Supramental Truth. The soul supports the nature in its evolution through
these grades.
The lower Nature, apara prakriti, is this external Nature which
manifests all these minds, lives and bodies. The supreme Nature, para
prakriti, concealed behind it is the very nature of the Divine a
supreme Consciousness-Force which manifests the multiple Divine
as the Many.
These Many are in themselves eternal selves of the Supreme in his
supreme Nature, para prakriti. Here in relation to this world they
appear as the Jivatmas supporting the evolution of the natural existences,
Sarva-bhutani, in the mutable Becoming which is the life of the Kshara
(mobile or mutable) Purusha. The Jiva (or Jivatma) and the creatures,
Sarva-bhutani, are not the same thing. The Jivatmas stand above the
creation; the natural existences, sarva-bhutani, are the creatures of
Nature.
The central being (Jivatma) is the being which presides over the
different births one after the another, but is itself unborn, for it does not
descend into the being but is above it it holds together the mental, vital
and physical being and all the various parts of the personality and it
controls the life either through the mental being and the mental thought
and will or through the psychic.
The psychic is not above but behind its seat is behind the heart, its
power is not knowledge but an essential or spiritual feeling it has the
286 On Yoga On Yoga 285
clearest sense of the Truth. It is our inmost being and supports all the
others, mental, vital, physical. Its direct action becomes normal and
preponderant only at a high stage of development or by Yoga.
When the inmost knowledge begins to come, we become aware of
the psychic being within us and it comes forward and leads the Sadhana.
We become aware also of the Jivatman, the undivided Self or Spirit
above the manifestation of which psychic is the representative here.
The psyhic being is the spark growing into a Fire, evolving with the
growth of consciousness. When there is full consciousness, the Jivatman
and the psychic being join together.
For the most part the Supreme acts through the Jiva and its nature
and the Jiva and the nature act through the ego and the ego acts through
the outer instruments- that is the play of the Ignorance.
The Gita puts it that the Jiva is an amsah sanatanah of the One.
The Jivatma is above all planes, it has no fixed form or colour,
though it may represent itself in form.
The Jivatma, spark-soul and psychic being are three different forms
of the same reality. The Jivatma or spirit is self-existent above the mani-
fested or instrumental being it is superior to birth and death, always
the same, it is the individual Self or Atman; the eternal true being of the
individual. The soul is a spark of the Divine in the heart of the living
creatures of Nature. It is not seated above the manifested being; it
enters into the manifestation of the self, consents to be a part of its
natural phenomenal becoming, supports its evolution in the world of
material Nature. It carries with it at first an undifferentiated power of
the divine consciousness containing all possibilities which have not yet
taken form but to which it is the function of evolution to give form. This
spark of Divinity is there in all living beings from highest to lowest
creatures.
The psychic being is a spiritual personality put forward by the soul
in its evolution; its growth marks the stage which the spiritual evolution
of the individual has reached. It stands behind the mental, the vital the
physical nature, grows by their experiences, carries the consciousness
from life to life. It is the psychic Person, caitya purusa. At first it is
veiled by the mental, vital and physical parts but, as it grows, it becomes
capable of coming forward and dominating the mind, life and body.
When the psychic being can by sadhana become dominant and freely
use its instruments, then the impulse towards the Divine becomes com-
plete and the transformation of mind, vital and body becomes possible.
(Letters on Yoga, Vol.I)
[-, -, |::+ ~|o: |-+ |: |+| | |- |: |: |+| | |-
|: : -|| || |+| |: | |+: | |+| : -|| || |+|
: |z |+| |: :| :: |+| |:: + | +|| +|: +|+
|:, |- |+:, | ||+ |= + | +|| + ~:|+ - |
=| ` +||, central being |+ |-:| + | | :: + | |+
, basic stuff of existence, ` |+| |:+ :| |+ -| + |
+|| [75, 157] |+| |:: |-: - + | +||: |~ |+ :|
| +|+ |:) The spiritual Nature (|+| |:) which has become this
multiple personality in the universe, para prakritir jivabhuta, (7/5), is
the basic stuff of our existence: all the rest is lower derivation and outer
formulation from a highest hidden activity of the spirit. (Swabhava and
Swadharma Essays on the Gita).
That which surrenders is the Jiva, the essential soul, the original
central and spiritual being of man, the individual Purusha. It is the Jiva
delivered from the limiting and ignorant ego-sense who knows himself
as an eternal portion and power and soul-becoming of the Divine, amsa
sanatana, The Jiva released and uplifted by the passing away of igno-
rance and established in the light and freedom of his own true and
supreme nature which is one with that of the Eternal. And he who
receives our surrender is the Purushottama, the one eternal godhead.
(The supreme secret, Essays on the Gita)
The supreme Nature, para prakritih, is the infinite timeless
conscious power of the self-existent Being out of which all existences
in the cosmos are manifested and come out of timelessness into Time.
But in order to provide a spiritual basis for this manifold universal
becoming in the cosmos the supreme Nature formulates itself as the
Jiva. To put it otherwise, the eternal multiple soul of the Puruhottama
appears as individual spiritual existence in all the forms of the cosmos.
We must be careful not to make the mistake of thinking that this
supreme Nature is identical with the Jiva manifested in Time. That is
not what the Gita says : it does not say that th supreme Prakriti is in its
essence the Jiva, jivatmakam, but that it has become the Jiva,
jivabhutam. The Jiva is the Lord, isvara, but in his partial
manifestation, mamaivamsah. (The two Natures, Essays on the Gita).
(:+ ~- | |+ |- : - || | ++:| | |+ :| |
288 On Yoga On Yoga 287
|+ +|+ |: -, -, |::+ ~|o: |-+ |: + | +||
=:~ |+ +|+ |:, |z +|| |:+ |+: |:, |: -|| -|:
|+ |:+ |+: -: | - +|| - | =:, ||++: -,
+ +||+ |:|-|+ || |: -|| |: |+ |:+ |: | |+:-:
| || spark soul- |+| || +, |+ evolution
|+ =: ||+ ||+=|: =| :-| ~ :o = :-|+ -|
psychic, =:|:+ |-.++ + | |+ |:+: psychic presence |:
|- |: | : .+ || ~ :|: | || | :| | :+, |+ psychic
presence + o| : | psychic being ~o- |- + || |: | | :|
| :+, psychic being fully developed , :|: | |- + .+: +
|| || : ~|:: || | `: || |:|-| | - ||-
||~ + ( +||, central being), || (spark soul) |+ | |
|:|-| ::: =| || +||+ representative, | | ||+ :-
+|| ++ = , || ++ = |-+ |: |- |:
+||.+ || :-|+ |: | ||+ |: ||+ -
-| |: || | - +| |:- | ||+ |+| || :|
:: = :| |+| |||+ ||~, :| :: |:| |: |+ +||
||~ :|: | ||+ |: divine |+|+ |: |~|| - |. `::
|| |~ | || -, | |+ - + |+: | |+ |||+ |+
.+ +||.+ |+ |||+ = | |:| psychic transformation |
psychicisation || ||+ |: | `: =: :: |:+ |:
| |:+ |+: - | | ||~ ||+ |:+ :~ :~ |: divine
|+|+ |: |~|| =| : || |+ |: = |, |+ +||+
~::| ||, | | = | || |+ | | =| || | `:
| |+ | ::~ ` -||:~ |+ | | | `: || |: |
|:~
|| |:+ +-+|+| silent, inactive + : ||:
:|:| || ||+ :+ :| | |:: |+ |:, : =:| +|
-| |: ~:|: ||+ - || | | : Silent + : ||+
|.|: | 272 |: | ||: | |+ 1853 |: | v::
: + : || ||: | |+: || :|~ |+ :| -
|| :| | |+, :|- `: |+ silent + : ||: |
|+ || |+:| ||+ |++ |: |~|: 1868 |: :
|+:+ |+:|+ ||+ |+ |+|+|: :+ | | |+| ;| |
= =|:
|- |:- -, -, | |+ || = ||+| =- ~|+ ||+| |+
-:+ ~|- | :- ||+| | =: :: |+ |:~, -:+ -,
-, | |+ ||+ |: =: :: ||+ |: |:- =: ::
-, - |+ |:+| |: - |. |+ ||:| ||- |||+: |+ |+ |
|+ -+ |+: ||+ |+ |:+ |+: ||+ - || |+ (vital)
||+:| ||: ||+ |:+ |+: - || | || divine |+|+
|: |~|| -:+ -| | || |+ -:| ||+ - ||
||: -+ ~:: -, | |+ ||+ |: ` |:: ||+ :~ -,
-, | |+ || =|+ +|, = |:| : ~|:: |~ || |- ||
+| |:|+ || |+:, -:| | = =|-: |:|)
* * * * *
Live within; be not shaken by outward happenings. Aspire intensely
but without impatience. All can be done if God touch is there.
AIM, July 79
* * * * *
When Gita speaks of the sacrifice of knowledge, it does not mean
a giving up of anything, but a turning of the mind towards the Divine in
the search for knowledge and an offering of oneself through it. It is in
this sense, too, that one speaks of the offering or sacrifice of works,
Sacrifice means an inner offering to the Divine.
Words of The Mother
How to Meditate : Concentrate in the heart. Enter into it; go
within and deep and far, as far as you can. Gather all the strings of your
consciousness that are spread abroad, roll them up and take a plunge
and sink down. A fire is burning there, in the deep quietude of the heart.
It is the divinity in you your true being. Hear its voice, follow its
dictates. There are other centres of concentration, for example, one
above the crown and another between the eye brows. Each has its
own efficacy and will give you a particular result. But the central being
lies in the heart and from the heart proceed all central movements the
dynamism and urge for transformation and power of realisation.
There are two paths of Yoga, one of tapasya (discipline) and the
other of surrender. The path of tapasya is arduous. Here you rely
solely upon yourself, you proceed by your own strength. You ascend
and achieve according to the measure of your force. There is always
290 On Yoga On Yoga 289
the danger of falling down. The other path, the path of surrender, is
safe and sure. If you take up this path of surrender fully and sincerely,
there is no more danger or serious difficulty. The question is to be sincere.
If you are not sincere, do not begin Yoga.
The impulses and desires that come up by the pressure of Yoga
should be faced in a spirit of detachment and serenity. They should be
offered to the Divine, so that the Divine may take them up and transmute
them.
If you have once opened yourself to the Divine, if the power of the
Divine has once come down into you and yet you try to keep to the old
forces, you prepare troubles and difficulties and dangers for yourself.
Keep the will firm. Treat the recalcitrant parts as disobedient children.
Convince them of their error.
In the depths of your consciousness is the psychic being, the temple
of the Divine within you. This is the centre round which should come
about the unification of all these divergent parts of your being. Once you
have turned to the Divine, saying, I want to be yours, and the Divine
has said, Yes, the whole world cannot keep you from it. When the
central, being has made its surrender, the chief difficulty has disappeared.
The number of hours spent in meditation is no proof of spiritual
progress. It is a proof of your progress when you no longer have to
make an effort to meditate. Then you have rather to make an effort to
stop meditating : it becomes difficult to stop meditation, difficult to stop
thinking of the Divine. Then you are sure of progress.
What we are seeking is to be concentrated on the Divine in all that
we do, at all times, in all our acts and in every movement.
How to know the Divine Will (1)
The Divine Will is not difficult to recognise. It is unmistakable. You
can know it without being very far on the path. Only you must listen to
its voice, the small voice that is here in the heart. Once you are
accustomed to listen, if you do anything that is contrary to the Divine
Will, you feel an uneasiness.
To enter the spiritual life means to take a plunge into the Divine, as
you would jump into a sea. And that is not the end but the very beginning;
for after you have taken the plunge, you must learn to live in the Divine.
Offer all your movements to it, not only every mental action, every
thought and feeling but even the most ordinary and external actions
such as eating; when you eat, you must feel that it is the Divine who is
eating through you. Your one motto should be, Remember and offer.
In the beginning of the Yoga you are apt to forget the Divine very often.
But by constant aspiration you increase your remembrance and you
diminish the forgetfulness.
Equanimity : The firm basis of all spiritual power is equanimity.
You must not allow anything to disturb your poise.: you can then resist
any kind of attack. Attacks from adverse forces are inevitable : you
have to take them as tests on your way and go courageously through
the ordeal. The struggle may be hard, but when you come out of it, you
have gained something, you have advanced a step. There is even a
necessity for the existence of the hostile forces. They make your
determination stronger, your aspiration clearer.
The only way to fail in your battle with the hostile forces is not to
have true confidence in the Divine help. Sincerity in the aspiration always
brings down the required succour. A quiet call, a conviction that in this
ascension towards the realisation you are never walking all alone and a
faith that whenever help is needed, it is there, will lead you through,
easily and securely.
In any case, when an attack comes the wisest attitude is to consider that
it comes from outside and to say, "This is not myself and I will have nothing to
do with it". [The sign of hostile attack is doubt and depression]. No attachments,
no desires, no impulses, no preferences; perfect equanimity, unchanging peace
and absolute faith in the Divine protection : with that you are safe, without it
you are in peril.
The only true attitude for a Yogi is to be plastic and ready to obey
the Divine command whatever it may be. Men who possess wealth
and are surrounded by the things that give them luxury and enjoyment
turn to the Divine, and immediately their movement is to run away from
these things or, as they say, to "escape from their bondage." But it is a
wrong movement; you must not think that the things you have belong to
you, they belong to the Divine. If the Divine wants you to enjoy
anything, enjoy it; but be ready too to give it up the very next moment
with a smile. The Mother, Conversations
How To Know The Divine Will (2)
One does not know it, one feels it. And in order to feel it one must
will with such an intensity, such sincerity, that every obstacle disappears.
292 On Yoga
On Yoga 291
As long as you have a preference, a desire, an attraction, a liking, all
these veil the Truth from you. Hence, the first thing to do is to try to
master, govern, correct all the movements of your consciousness.
What is necessary is an aspiration which burns in the being like a
constant fire, and every time you have a desire, a preference, an attraction
it must be thrown into this fire. If you do this persistently, you will see
that a little gleam of true consciousness begins to dawn in your ordinary
consciousness. At first it will be faint, very far behind all the din of
desires, preferences, attractions, likings. But you must go behind all this
and find that true consciousness, all calm, tranquil, almost silent.
(AIM, April, 83)
To know the Divine will, there are four conditions : The first : an
absolute sincerity. Second : to overcome desires and preferences. Third
: to silence the mind and listen. Fourth : to obey immediately when you
receive the order. If you persist you will perceive the divine Will more
and more clearly. But even before you know what it is, you can make
an offering of your own will and you will see that all circumstances will
be so arranged as to make you do the right thing. (AIM June 78)
To choose without preference : To choose without preference and
execute without desire is the great difficulty at the very root of the
development of true consciousness and self-control. To choose in this sense
means to see what is true and bring it into existence; and to choose thus,
without the least personal bias for anything, is exactly what is most difficult
for an ordinary human being. If you observe yourself attentively, you will
see that before acting you need an inner impetus, something which pushes
you. In the ordinary man this impetus is generally desire. This desire ought
to be replaced by a clear, precise constant vision of the Truth. Some call
this the Voice of God or the Will of God. (AIM Ap 74)
O .... M : With the help of OM (AUM) one can realise the Divine.
OM has transforming power. OM represents the Divine.
Just try for an hour : If you try to silence your mind directly, it is
a hard job. If, on the other hand, you manage to shift your consciousness
into a higher domain, above the ordinary mind, this opening to the Light
calms the mind. The only true solution is aspiration for the higher light.
(AIM, Jan. 79)
On sleep : It is good to repeat a mantra, a word, a prayer before
going into sleep. And on the body its effect is extraordinary : it begins to
vibrate, vibrate, vibrate .... and quietly you let yourself go as though you
wanted to get into sleep. That is the cure for tamas. It is tamas which
causes bad sleep (AIM Mar 74)
Illness and Healing : The real disease is fear. Throw the fear
away and the disease will go. All fear must be overcome and replaced
by a total confidence in the Divine Grace.
* * * * *
Peace and stillness are the great remedy for disease. When we
can bring peace in our cells we are cured.
* * * * *
Finally it is Faith that cures. (AIM Ap 82)
Q : Sweet Mother, when one sees an illness coming, how
can one stop it?
Ah! First of all, you must not want it, and nothing in the body must
want it. You must have a very strong will not be ill. This is the first
condition. The second condition is to call the light, a light of equilibrium,
a light of peace, a quietitude and balance, and to push it into all the cells
of the body, enjoining them not to be afraid.
First, not to want to be ill, and then not to be afraid of illness. You
must neither attract it nor tremble. You must not want illness at all. You
must have a calm certitude and a complete trust in the power of the
Grace. When you have done these two things, refusing the illness with
all your will and infusing a confidence which completely eliminates the
fear in the cells of the body, and then busying yourself with something
else, not thinking any longer about the illness, if you know how to do
that, you may even be in contact with people who have contagious
diseases, and yet you do not catch them. (AIM Mar 81)
Catch hold of a peace deep within and push it into the cells of the
body. With the peace will come back the health. (Sri Aurobindo Circle83)
Each time you receive a blow from life, tell yourself immediately,
"Ah, I have to make a progress"; then the blow becomes a blessing.
(AIM Nov 85)
Victory over Falsehood : The lords of Falsehood hold, at present,
almost complete sway over poor humanity. Not only the lower life-
energy, the lower vital being, but also the whole mind of man accepts
them. Countless are the ways in which they are worshipped, for they
are most subtle in their cunning and seek their ends in variously seductive
disguises. The result is that men cling to their falsehood as if it were a
294 On Yoga On Yoga 293
treasure. Apprehensive of its safety, they take care to bury it deep
down in themselves; but unless they take it out and surrender it to the
Divine they will never find true happiness.
Indeed the very act of bringing it out and showing it to the Light
would be in itself a momentous conversion and pave the way to the
final Victory. For laying bare of each falsehood is in itself a victory
each acknowledgement of error is the demolition of one of the Lords of
Darkness. It may be an acknowledgement to oneself, provided it is
absolutely honest and is no subtle regret apt to be forgotten the next
moment and without the strength to make an unbreakable resolution
not to repeat the mistake. Or it may be the acknowledgement to the
Divine embodied in the Guru. As a result of direct personal confession
to the Guru, your resolution remains no longer your own, because, if
you are sincere, the Divine's fiat goes forth in your favour. It is the very
same power that will bring about the realisation in you of the truth when
you come in all sincerity, saying, This falsehood I want to get rid
of, and the answer which you get is Yes.
Faith : Faith is the movement of the soul whose knowledge is
spontaneous and direct. Even if the whole world denies and brings
forward a thousand proofs to the contrary, still it knows by an inner
knowledge, a direct perception that can stand against everyting, a
perception by identity. The knowledge of the psychic is something which
is concrete and tangible, a solid mass. You can also bring it into your
mental, your vital and your physical; and then you have an integral
faith a faith which can really move mountains. Faith in itself is always
unshakable that is its very nature, for otherwise it is not faith at all.
Power of Right Attitude : Is it really the best that always happens?
It is clear that all that has happened had to happen : it could not be
otherwise by the universal determinism it had to happen. But we can
say so only after it has happened, not before. For the problem of the
very best that can happen is an individual problem and all depends upon
the personal attitude. If in the presence of circumstances that are about
to take place, you can take the highest attitude possible that is, if you
put your consciousness in contact with the highest consciousness within
reach, you can be absolutely sure that in that case it is the best that can
happen to you. The right attitude not only has the power to turn every
circumstance to advantage but can change the very circumstance itself.
This truth is just the key to the whole problem of transformation. Always
keep in touch with the divine presence, try to bring it down and the
very best will always take place.
* * * * *
Studies strengthen the mind and take away your attention from its
concentration on the impulses and desires of the vital. Concentration on
one's studies is one of the most powerful means to control the mind and
the vital; that is why studying is so important.
* * * * *
When temptation comes, resist, do not yield to it. (Mother India
Feb, 69)
When you die ...... all your desires, attachments, cravings persist
with the sense of frustration and disappointment, and all that prevents
you from finding the expected peace. To enjoy a peaceful and eventless
death you must prepare for it. And the only effective preparation is the
abolition of desires. (AIM May 82)
* * * * *
Compassion and gratitude are essentially psychic virtues. (AIM
Feb-Mar 80)
* * * * *
The Grace is equally for all. But each one receives it according to
his sincerity. We find in others what is in us. If we always find mud
around us, it proves that there is mud somewhere in us.
True surrender enlarges you; it increases your capacity.
It is only in silence that a true progress can be made; it is only in
silence that one can rectify a wrong movement; it is only in silence that
one can be of help to somebody else.
All sincere prayers are granted, every call is answered. (Words of
the Mother, 3rd series)
May the Truth be our master and guide.
He who wants sincerely to serve the Truth will know the Truth.
(AIM June 78)
Soar higher : Soar ever higher, ever farther, without fear or
hesitation. The hopes of today are realisations of tomorrow.
Endure and you will triumph. Victory goes to the most enduring.
And with the Grace and the divine love nothing is impossible. At
the end of the struggle there is Victory.
The best protection is an unshaksble faith in the Divine Grace. (AIM
June 78)
Work done in the true spirit is meditation.
To work for the Divine is to pray with the body.
The Mother, Practical guide to integral Yoga
296 295 On Yoga On Yoga
Become and live the knowledge thou hast; then is thy knowledge
the living God within thee. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
To do the work that one does with all sincerity, as perfectly as
one can, is certainly one of the best ways to serve the Divine. The
Mother, AIM Nov. 81
One must have no fear, it acts like a magnet and attracts what
we fear. The Mother, Self Perfection, Part 3
If Hell were possible, it would be the shortest cut to the highest
heaven. Sri Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs
See God everywhere and be not frightened by masks. Believe
that all falsehood is a truth in the making. Sri Aurobindo, Ths &
Aphs.
When thou art able to see how necessary is suffering to final
delight, failure to utter effectiveness..., then you begin to understand
something, however faintly and dimly, of God's workings. Sri
Aurobindo, Ths & Aphs.
Yoga through work is the easiest and most effective way to enter
into the stream of Sadhana. AIM Ap.84
The divine Friend of all creatures conceals His friendliness in the
mask of an enemy till he has made us ready for the highest heavens.
Pain is the key that opens the gates of strength; it is the high-road
that leads to the city of beatitude.Ths. & Aph, Sri Aurobindo
Attitude- The same thing, identically the same, if we take it as a gift
of God, as a divine grace, helps us to become more conscious, stronger,
more true, while if we take it as a blow from fate, as a bad force, this
constricts us, weighs us down and takes away from us all consciousness
and strength and harmony.
Regarding stomach trouble It is due to restlessness and agitation.
Bring down peace, the Divine Peace, in your stomach and it will be all
right.
Regarding fever Remain peaceful and confident and it will soon
be over. Peace and stillness are the great remedy for disease. When
we can bring peace in our cells we are cured.
Conscious Will-The movements we make almost constantly in our
everyday life or which we have to make in our work if it is a physical
work, do not help or help very little to develop the muscles and to create
harmony in the body. The same movements, if they are made consciously
with a definite aim suddenly start helping you to build up your body.
Walking to go somewhere and walking as an exercise is not the same
thing. It is the conscious will which is important. Going up and down the
stairs you cannot imagine how useful that can be from the point of
view of physical culture you go up ( or come down) with the
consciousness of all the muscles which are working and of making
them work harmoniously. You will see. Just try a little. This means that
you can use all the movements of your life for a harmonious development
of the body.
You bend down to pick something up, you open a door, you close it,
there are hundred and one things you do constantly and which you can
make use of for your physical culture.- Mother, Health and Healing in
Yoga
{<l< = l < < = l< < c< c-=< << l c1 c-=< <=
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In your desire for progress, take great care not to attempt to pull
the forces towards you. Give yourself, open yourself but never try to
pull the Force towards you.
Mother, AIM May 79
c c -=, l< ~<< < = <<, Yoga means self-
giving. =<< t=c<< < c-c<< {l }:) ~<< <<= c1
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= < c<<< l = subconscious mind c<1 == =< <
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***
The following books will be helpful for the seekers of Yoga
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on
(1) Happiness and Peace (2) Meditation
(3) Prayer and Mantra (4) Surrender and Grace
(5) Transformation (6) Health and Healing in year
(7) Yoga and its objects (8) Bases of Yoga
(9) Elements of Yoga (10) Lights on Yoga
(11) Synthesis of YogaSri Aurobindo (12) Conversations-Mother
Available at SABDA, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry-2
298 297 On Yoga On Yoga