How to make the Universe bless you with Success?
Bhagavad Gita Verse 2.64 Explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he today must raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gita teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verse 64 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.64
रागद्वेषवियुक्तैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्चरन् |
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति || 2.64||
raga-dvesha-viyuktais tu vishayan indriyaish charan
atma-vashyair-vidheyatma prasadam adhigachchhati
Translation
One who is beyond Raag (attachment) & Dvesh (aversion); One who can control the mind, one who can make the mind obey while using his senses to engage with sense objects, gets the Prasad (grace/blessing of universe)
Commentary
This is a very important verse in the context of Bhagavad Gita, for Krishna here speaks of Raag (राग) and Dvesh (द्वेष). Together both Raag(राग) and Dvesh(द्वेष) are called the Duality.
Let’s first understand these concepts:
Raag(राग) is means Attachment
Dvesh (द्वेष) means Aversion
Both these are in a way reactions of one’s mind towards a particular idea or thought.
Raag(राग)= Attachment
We all have attachments in life. We like people and we like things. The strongest of attachments is Love. The person you love the most is also the person you are most attached with. This attachment even extends to non-living things. Like you might have a favourite bike. You might have a favourite cricket bat. You might have a favourite toy. The fact that makes these objects your favourite is due to the attachment you have towards these objects!
So we can say that we have Raag(राग) towards such objects.
Dvesh (द्वेष)= Aversion
Similarly, the opposite of attachment is Dvesh (द्वेष) or aversion. The person you don’t like is a person you have an aversion to. You don’t like their company so you try and avoid them.
A strong form of aversion is nothing but Hate. You can hate people and you can also hate objects.
For example, you like eating potatoes and you dislike eating green vegetables. This means you have Raag towards Potato and you have Dvesh towards green vegetables.
Raag(Attachment) and Dvesh(Aversion) occur in a spectrum
We like some things, and then we absolutely love a few things. Similarly, we have a dislike towards a few things, and then there are some things that we absolutely hate!
The point to note here is that we don't like and dislike everything to the same degree. At times the emotion is mild and at times the emotion is strong. Therefore Attachment and Aversion have a spectrum.
The mildest form of attachment is perhaps a slight liking, bordering neutrality, often unknown to the mind. Then comes obvious liking which is known to the person. And then comes the feeling of absolute love!
Love is Raag(attachment) at its extreme
Similarly, the mildest form of aversion is a slight dislike, again bordering neutrality. This is often instinctive. Like when we don’t instantly like bitter things. The obvious dislikes are known to the mind, and the strongest of aversions are present in the form of Hate!
Hate is Dvesh(Aversion) at its extreme
Hence both Raag and Dvesh exist in a spectrum.
Raag and Dvesh are also called Duality
Brain and mind are different. The brain is the organ in our head, and the mind is the consciousness which is present inside the brain.
Mind is present when thoughts are there. Mind is present when we access our memories. When none of the thoughts and memories are present there is no mind!
When we meditate, there is absolute thoughtlessness. We can call this state an absolute Zero or Shoonya. In the state of Meditation, Mind doesn't exist.
Mind is a collection of thoughts and memories
But whenever there is a thought, Mind exists. And with one thought comes more thoughts. A thought compels you to respond, and the moment you do, it starts a train of thoughts. The response to any thought which is born in our mind is our natural instinct. We are thinking machines. Our minds are made to think. Now the reaction is also in the form of a thought. And this thought is born from our unconscious mind.
Raag and Dvesh are our natural reactions towards any thought which occurs in our mind.
We either like the thought or dislike it. Thus we can say that there are two types of natural response to any thought or simply said a “dual” response. Hence Raag and Dvesh are called Duality, as the moment you like something, you would automatically not like a few things. Likeness for something also gives rise to Dislike and vice versa.
The degree of like and dislike can vary depending on the nature of thought. But our mind will have a natural reaction towards such thought basis our set preferences which have been developed over time through nurture and have been coded in our DNA as instincts which become our nature.
For example when we see a snake, the natural reaction is to get startled and jump back. This happens as an instinctive reaction as it is coded in our DNA. This basically means that our species has always considered snakes as a risk and has developed a strong aversion towards snakes that such memory got passed on via generations and eventually became part of our instinct. So this aversion comes naturally to us.
Similarly there are certain attachments we have towards certain activities which are coded in our DNA and hence become our instincts.
Take for example a baby. When it is taken near the breast of the mother, the baby naturally starts sucking the nipple to draw out the milk. Now, no one taught the baby to suckle on a breast, but it still does. This happens for the same reason as the above example. Suckling of the breast is so important to the survival of the baby that it has become an instinct. And subconsciously this instinct is stored as an attachment in mind.
Instincts are Ancient Memories
Instincts are ancient memories hardwired in our DNA. This memories resides deep in our subconscious mind
Hence you will see these play out in actions which are most fundamental to our existence and necessary for the collective survival of species.
When we eat something, we start chewing it. We breath without any conscious effort. The heart beats on its own. It all happens subconsciously. When we have sex, our pelvic muscles start squeezing subconsciously. When we drink water, we have a tendency to gulp. When we see a tiger, we instinctively run away.
Duality of Mind: Thoughts and Preferences exist in a set of Opposites
All these are natural attachments and aversions stored in our subconscious mind. And these exist in a pattern, as a set of opposites.
For everything we like, there are some things we dislike.
Therefor there are just two responses towards a thought. This dual response towards a thought is called as Duality.
Duality controls the Human mind
And this duality has controlled our minds since the inception of the species. It is very very hard to ignore something we love, and very very hard to ignore something we hate.
Pain for example is an extreme version of aversion. When your body is in pain, it almost impossible to focus on anything.
Similarly when you are making love to your lover, the world around you ceases to exist for in that moment of love making your lover becomes your universe and your are lost in it.
Some People break old Habits
However, there are people who with practice train their minds to break a set pattern of behaviours and break this duality to a degree.
For example, someone who hated green vegetables as a Kid starts appreciating and eating greens in his late 30s as he now knows that these are healthy and good for his body.
Similarly, someone who was in love with smoking quits smoking as he understands that smoking is injurious to his health and only makes his energy go down.
But breaking Instincts is extremely hard
While a person might succeed in changing his pattern of behaviour, changing his response towards a natural instinct is superhuman.
For example: When a man has sex, his main goal is to orgasm. Which means he wants to ejaculate his sperm. This is a natural instinct as nature wants a man to spread his seed, which can then lead to reproduction. Hence ejaculation, which is male orgasm, becomes a natural goal of sex. However when a man masturbates, ejaculation still remains a goal, despite there being no chance of reproduction. This is because the instinct is to ejaculate and it can’t differential if the act is that of sex or masturbation. So the moot point is that a man would want to ejculate, and if he doesn’t do actions which make him ejaculate, then he will feel a strong urge to do so.
But for a man not to do so, when exposed to such a situation, requires immense self control and awareness. He has to fight and rise above his animal instincts and deny indulging into the thought which comes to his mind. He is has to deny his urges and win over them. He has to win over his body and his mind both.
Winning over the urge to orgasm is a victory which makes man superhuman.
Such a response is only possible when a person is spiritually evolved. Hence winning over basic instincts like to orgasm and hunger is the foundation of Yogic culture.
For all practical purposes a man who can deny and win over his basic instincts is a Yogi.
A Yogi rises above Duality
The only way to truly rise above duality, i.e. rise above desires and aversion, to rise above Raag and Dvesh is via Yoga.
A Yogi’s life journey is towards Desirelessness!
In Yogic tradition, conserving sperm is of great importance. This is the basic tenet of Brahmacharya. Conserving sperm means avoiding ejaculation. This means avoiding masturbation and avoiding ejaculating while having sex.
Brahmacharya
Many people confuse Brahmacharya with celibacy i.e. complete avoidance of sex, but Brahmacharya means Righteous action. This means to avoid masturbating, which is indeed harmful from a psychological point of view, and avoid entering into extramarital relationships. Nothing stops a Brahmachari from having sex with his wife. Infact most famous Rishis in ancient India were married and lived with their wives in a household while maintaining an ascetic life.
But even in that set-up, these Rishis would minimise the ejaculation of sperm. They would never masturbate, and even when they had sex, they would have to fulfil the needs of their partner and they would only ejaculate when they wanted to have babies.
Now having sex without ejaculating sperm is unthinkable to a common man. Isn’t orgasm the Goal of sex?
Well, the answer is yes.
But the trick is that not all orgasms require ejaculation. Thus Yogis avoided ejaculation of sperm but at the same time were able to have a full-body orgasms.
Tantric Sex is nothing but sex without ejaculation of sperm
Tantra is one way to win over orgasm
But such a technique requires immense control of the mind and it only comes with years of meditation and yogic practices (Sadhana). But doing this essentially makes a Yogi rise above his animal instincts.
A man who can resist the pleasure of orgasm, is already a a Yogi, and can rise above duality of life
A person in control of his mind can achieve anything & everything
For such a person, self-control comes naturally and strongly. He can see things objectively and can resist being swayed away by his natural instincts.
A person who can rise above his animal instincts is already a special person. He can exercise the same control over his desires and his aversions. He can rise above this duality and even control it. This control gives him the power to use this duality to his own advantage.
For example: If you are focused on some task, avoiding distraction becomes important. If you have immense control over mind, you can easily focus and accomplish your task. Such control over mind becomes the lifestyle of such person and makes his chase and accomplish humongous goals which are impossible even to fathom for a normal person who is still bound by his basic instincts.
Such Yogis who control their mind, set their standards and goals so high, that they start walking on a very different path than normal mortals.
The mountains they choose to climb are the tallest of peaks, which a common man can’t even dare to go nearby.
And thereforewhen they reach the peak, the world adores them with a feeling of awe and wonder.
Krishna’s Message
So this is Krishna’s message to Arjun, that a man who can rise above the duality of his mind, can eventually rise above Desires.
He is no more bound by the shackles of attachment nor is he stuck in the thorns of hatered.
Such a man is a Yogi, and for a Yogi, any goal is possible to accomplish. Rising about Duality is thus a superpower, and every man who strives for this superpower can attain it through the path of Meditation and Yoga.
However, the irony is that when a man becomes a true Yogi, though he can achieve anything and everything, he is no more a slave to desire and such a person always picks endeavours which are not selfish but are selfless and are for the broader benefit of this universe.
Such Yogis become an instrument of the will of this Universe and are remembered for eternity for their selflessness and generosity. It is the Universe itself which showers its blessing upon people who are strong yet selfless. For such people no task is impossible and success is always guaranteed.
However, the point to note is that this state can take many lifetimes to attain and ultimately leads to liberation.
So no matter if you seek material wealth, fame, or material success, Yoga i.e. Meditation is the path. You have to strive to become a Yogi and you will see that nothing is impossible to attain in this life.
Success will be nothing but a milestone in your journey towards perfection. That is how the Universe will bless you!
That is the power to rise above Duality.
Only a true Yogi can rise above Duality , and is forever blessed by the Universe. He gets the “Prasad” which is the blessing of the Universe!
Hare Krishna
Chapter 2 to be continued..
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Hare Krishna
