Why does Krishna reject spiritual practices and methods? || Acharya Prashant, on Bhagavad Gita (2020)

Acharya Prashant

‍♂️ Want to meet Acharya Prashant? Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...   Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books? Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...   Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl... ➖➖➖➖➖➖  Video Information: 18.04.2020, Month of Awakening, Greater Noida  Context:  नाहं वेदैर्न तपसा न दानेन न चेज्यया | शक्य एवंविधो द्रष्टुं दृष्टवानसि मां यथा ||11.53|| Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice can I be seen as thou have seen me.  भक्त्या त्वनन्यया शक्य अहमेवंविधोऽर्जुन | ज्ञातुं द्रष्टुं च तत्त्वेन प्रवेष्टुं च परन्तप ||11.54|| But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form, be known, O Arjuna, and seen in reality, and also entered into O scorcher of foes.  मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भक्त: सङ्गवर्जित: | निर्वैर: सर्वभूतेषु य: स मामेति पाण्डव ||11.55|| He who does work for me alone, and has Me for his goal, is devoted to me, is freed from attachment, and bears enmity towards no creature-he entered into me, O Pandava.  ~ Why does Krishna reject spiritual practices and methods? ~ What is meant by single-minded devotion? ~ How to bear enmity? ~ Why do we enjoy Shree Krishna's Stories more than his Geeta? ~ Why does Geeta not enter in our lives?  Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00Chapter 11, verses 53, 54 and 55 Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor

00:17by gifts, nor by sacrifice, can I be seen as thou hast seen me.

00:25But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form be known, o Arjun, and seen in reality,

00:31and also entered into, o scorcher of foes.

00:37He who does work for me alone, and has me for his goal, is devoted to me, is freed from

00:44attachment and bears enmity towards no creature.

00:48He entereth into me, o Pandava.

00:53Does the realization of truth happen only by grace, and is not in the sadhak's control,

01:00irrespective of the sadhak's efforts?

01:05Also why has Shri Krishna catechorically made distinction between single-pointed devotion

01:12to him and Vedas, austerities, gifts, sacrifices?

01:16Because to me, devotion to Krishna meant the latter only.

01:22Where is it written that the work put in by the sadhak or the seeker, the practitioner,

01:37does not matter?

01:39The verse very clearly says, But by single-minded devotion, I may in this form be known, o Arjun,

01:47and seen in reality, and also entered into.

01:51Nowhere has it been said that realization of the truth happens only by grace.

01:58What basis do we have to speculate or imagine or raise this kind of a concept?

02:09He is saying here, have single-minded devotion to me.

02:13That is the only way I can be known, o Arjun.

02:17What does it mean to have single-minded devotion to Krishna?

02:19It means to have devotion towards truth and indifference towards falseness.

02:27The application is straightaway practical.

02:31In your moment-to-moment life, be indifferent to all the falsenesses, don't be attracted

02:40and captivated by them, and be devoted to what you know to be the truth.

02:51Will you be devoted to the absolute truth?

02:54There is no guarantee.

02:57But at least be relatively devoted to truth instead of falseness.

03:05If you cannot do the ultimate, at least do your best.

03:11Do not say, but I do not know the ultimate truth, so how do I factor in the ultimate

03:16truth in my day-to-day decisions?

03:20Even if you do not know the ultimate truth, at least begin by rejecting the false.

03:25That much you can certainly do or not.

03:29That's what is being said here.

03:36Then why has Shri Krishna made a distinction between single-pointed devotion to Krishna

03:42and Vedas, austerities, gifts and sacrifices?

03:48Because chanting of mantras and performing austerities and sacrifices etc.

03:55These are all very peripheral, very external, very secondary parts of spiritual practice.

04:06They may have some benefit, some importance, but that importance is not great, not central.

04:14The central thing is having Krishna at the center of your life, full stop.

04:22Without Krishna at the center of your life, if you keep doing all these things, oh I read

04:27a lot, you know, holy books, oh I perform sacrifices, I do this, I do that, none of

04:34that matters.

04:37And that is why in my teaching, I emphasize so much on the quality of your day-to-day

04:41life, your decisions.

04:43See what you are doing, see what you are rushing towards, see what you are avoiding.

04:48That will tell you of your center.

04:50If your center is right, then a lot would be automatically set right.

04:57And if your center is wrong, then you keep doing all your spiritual or religious practice

05:02and you will get no results from it.

05:05You will just be further deluded by all your practice.

05:13Do you not see people who have been religious or spiritual since many years and yet you

05:17look at their life, you look at their personality and there is no vigor, no power, no depth.

05:26Very easily they get terrified, very easily they get shaken up.

05:31They cannot stand their ground, they just run away and then they claim, oh we are deeply

05:35spiritual.

05:36It merely means that their religious practice has been very dishonest.

05:44Without having the truth at the heart, they have been doing all kinds of peripheral things.

05:52And doing those peripheral things is quite attractive because you get in your own esteemed

06:00opinion a double benefit.

06:03What is the double benefit?

06:04One, you get to be called a spiritual man.

06:10Secondly, along with being called a spiritual man, you get to preserve your own inner personal

06:18rotten core.

06:21You say, oh what more can one ask for?

06:25Externally I am so spiritual you see.

06:30I practice, I meditate, I read books, do that, a lot of things.

06:35Internally I remain who I am.

06:38So I get the best of both worlds.

06:41It is not the best of both worlds, you are getting the worst of both worlds.

06:49But then you are deciding not to be honest enough to see your rotten state.

06:56You just want to avoid the truth.

07:11Look at the candor with which Krishna has clarified it.

07:18Neither by the Vedas, nor by austerity, nor by gifts, nor by sacrifice can I be seen as

07:25you have seen me.

07:27None of these will work.

07:29You keep reading your books, won't help you.

07:34How have they helped you so far?

07:36Have they?

07:37You are just escaping away from reality.

07:45Books are a great help only to those who first of all honestly want to be helped.

07:59Tell me, you are sick and you are at the doctor's place and instead of talking to the doctor

08:13you pick up the book of medicines kept on his table and start reading it.

08:22Are you even desirous of health?

08:28But you are telling yourself, look at me, how sincere I am, I read so much.

08:34You are reading just to avoid that doctor.

08:39The doctor is there, instead of speaking to the doctor, what are you doing?

08:43You have picked up the fat medical book kept on his table and you are burying your face

08:50into it.

08:53It's not the book that you like, it's the doctor that you are afraid of.

08:58Why are you afraid of the doctor?

09:01Because you are in love with your weakness.

09:03You are in love with your sickness.

09:05You are not accidentally weak and sick, you want to remain weak and sick.

09:24Books can act both ways.

09:27When the teacher is no more available, then the books offer whatever support can be offered.

09:41But the same books become a very sinister defense against the teacher when you are clinging

09:50to the books even in presence of the teacher.

10:05That's why Shri Krishna is saying here, neither by the Vedas nor by austerity nor by gifts

10:09nor by sacrifice can I be seen as you have seen me.

10:16Think of it.

10:17Krishna is by Arjuna's side and Arjuna is reading the Vedas.

10:30You find that amusing, right?

10:32But that happens every day.

10:40Even Krishna had to loudly clarify this to Arjuna, Arjuna, I am here, keep the Vedas

10:46aside.

10:47Arjuna, I am here and if I am telling you to fight, fight.

10:55This is no time for havan and yajna.

10:57This is no time for sacrifices and austerities.

11:04This time dharma does not lie in vrat, upavas, daan, yajna or havan.

11:12At this point dharma lies in yudh.

11:16But you are afraid of fighting because you are body centered, so you just run away and

11:20you happily hide in your cave reading your book.

11:24That's what Krishna is warning against.

11:37Whenever you feel attracted towards a spiritual book, visualize this.

11:44Krishna is narrating the Gita and Arjuna has buried his face in the Vedas.

11:54Because the Vedas are harmless, you see.

11:57Krishna, he is ferocious.

11:59Look at his virat rupa.

12:02Arjuna starts trembling.

12:03Vedas are fine.

12:11I can comfortably read some things written here.

12:28So there can be no rule as such.

12:31The same Gita that was narrated to Arjuna later on turns into a book.

12:39And that book will be greatly useful to many.

12:44But that book itself will become a tool against Krishna if Gita, even the Gita is used as

12:53a substitute to Krishna.

12:56Gita is great.

12:59But when it comes to choosing between Gita and Krishna, you should know what to choose,

13:05whom to choose.

13:29Fast comes the argument.

13:30But when I have the Gita, then I already have what Krishna said.

13:38Why can't I just limit myself to the Gita?

13:40Even if I go to Krishna, what will he give me?

13:43Gita.

13:44So I can just, you know, make do with Gita.

13:50Sir, if you go to Krishna, he will give you your Gita.

13:56That's the difference.

13:57That's the benefit.

14:00The Gita that you have in your hand is the Gita that was told to Arjuna.

14:04If you go to Krishna, you will get the Gita that you need.

14:09The Gita that you need will have exactly the same essence as the Gita that was narrated

14:15to Arjuna.

14:16But the form will be very very different.

14:22The form will be suitable to you.

14:25The form will be customized to you.

14:34The Gita really does not contain anything that is not already there in the Upanishads.

14:38Why did Krishna have to narrate a fresh song, a fresh set of verses to Arjuna then?

14:50Why didn't Krishna just direct him to the existing body of spiritual literature?

14:57Because every moment is fresh and hence every moment demands a fresh Gita.

15:04Though the essence of all Gitas is bound to be the same.

15:08But the form has to be different because the moment is different, the occasion is different,

15:13the persons involved are different, their tendencies are different.

15:18The words that they will appreciate have to be different.

15:21The form has to be different.

15:22The teaching style has to be different.

15:29The examples that are being given have to be different.

15:32Already you see in this age, people find it a bit difficult to relate with the examples

15:39that are given in the Bhagavad Gita.

15:47Though the essence of Gita is absolutely timeless, but the form is becoming dated now.

16:00Especially the new generation finds it difficult to relate.

16:05They can still relate because at the core of Gita lies timeless wisdom.

16:11So it will always remain relatable.

16:14But the form, it's the form that I am talking of, the form becomes outdated.

16:20And therefore, you require a fresh Gita that can come from a living source to you.

16:31And all Gitas will have variously different forms.

16:38You cannot say that today's Gita will just be a modern edition of the ancient one.

16:49It would be very very different in form, but absolutely identical in spirit.

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