Gita Series – 176: Bhagavad Gita Chapter XVIII. Verse 67 – 71

“The secret that has been disclosed to you should not be revealed to the one, who is devoid of self control and devotion, who is unwilling to listen and finds fault with Me. Whoever imparts this supreme secret of Mine to my devotees with devotion, he shall, without doubt attain Me. No one else is dearer to me than him, nor there shall be one. Whoever studies this sacred dialogue between us, worships Me through his mind. Whoever listens to this conversation with utmost faith is freed of his sins and attains the world of virtues.”

Kṛṣṇa after having finishing His holy sermons briefly tells Arjuna about the benefits accruing on reading and listening to His holy sermons. The Lord also places some injunctions by which His sacred and secret sermons should not be disclosed to disinterested people.

Bhagavad Gita is an exceptionally a great epic from two angles. First, the Lord Himself discloses what is needed to attain liberation of a soul. Secondly, the whole Gita is a concise precept of teachings of Upanishads. The main purpose of human life is liberation, as liberation can be attained only in human life. Man forgets the ultimate aim of his birth and indulges himself in the delusionary pleasures of life and falls into the trap of desire and bondage. As a result, he goes on accruing both good and bad karmas. As long as karmas prevail, one has to undergo the pains of karmas. The Lord never interferes in the Law of Karma, but surely paves the way to become devoid of karma. This is all about Bhagavad Gita. The Lord wants everyone to get rid of karma and attain liberation. But, a bewildered man considers the enjoyment of sensory pleasures as his ultimate goal and sinks deeper into the materialistic world. Over a period of time, he gets addicted and unable to get away from the clutches of materialistic life. By the time he begins to understand the reality, his life comes to an end. This vicious cycle goes on and on without any respite for sufferings.

Mind is the most important aspect in spiritual path. Entire spirituality revolves around mind. Throughout this series, cleansing of mind has been repeatedly emphasized. Cleaning one’s mind is a tough job to do. It is easier to say, but the process of cleansing is difficult. Mind has innumerable impressions and at one stroke, it is difficult to remove those impressions. To begin the process of cleansing, one has to stop further impressions. Every action performed with “I” ness, leaves strong impression in the mind. Mind is literally controlled by emotional disorders, psychological conflict and narcissistic dominance. They are too powerful and prevent the cleansing process of the mind. They are the inherent qualities of mankind. One has to fight against these powerful forces to conquer his mind. If efforts to conquer are initiated now, the result can be reaped in future births. By initiating the process of mind cleansing, the impressions can be gradually removed in births after births.

Spiritual evolution is directly related to the level of consciousness. Allegiance to ego forms the stumbling block to purify one’s consciousness. Consciousness in most of the men is dominated by impulsive desires and animal instincts. Consciousness is the only instrument that is able to differentiate between Reality and illusion. That is why Kṛṣṇa said that impelled by desires and fruits of actions, one goes to bondage. “Ego is not overcome by seeing it as an enemy. It is one’s biological inheritance, and without it, nobody would be alive to lament its limitations. By understanding its origin and intrinsic importance to survival, the ego can be seen as being of great benefit, but prone to becoming unruly and causing emotional, psychological and spiritual problems if not resolved or transcended.

An impure mind with is filled with excessive delusion and too much of thoughts is the real enemy to spirituality. It is not by mere enquiry, spiritual knowledge is attained. To attain the true spiritual knowledge self-experience is essential. Self-experience can be attained by going through Holy Scriptures. But, at the same time, one should not continue to be associated with scriptures. Every scripture and every author have their own way of explicating the path of spirituality. Many of them speak from their own experiences and experience of any two persons is not the same in spirituality. It all depends upon one’s cerebration.

Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, that Bhagavad Gita can be taught to the one, who has the capacity to understand the foregoing. Caviling is another deterrent factor in spirituality and is the quality of those who are unwilling to listen with attention. The Lord also prohibits the revelation of Gita to them. Gita should be taught to those who respect human values, kind heartedness, compassionate, devoid of arrogance and anger. The one, endowed with these qualities is very dear to the Lord. There are many instances where men and women attained liberation out of pure love for Him. The initial knowledge should transform into love for Him for perfect liberation. Knowledge should act as a seed for perpetual love for Him. Love is a stage beyond devotion. However great a man may be, he is nothing but a tiny particle before the ever compassionate Lord.

Further Readings:

Bhagavad Gita Chapter XVIII. 64 - 66

Bhagavad Gita Chapter XVIII. 72 - 78 

Bhagavad Gita Concluded