Established in Being, Perform Action

Established in Being, Perform Action

[00:45] The God Song

Jai Guru Deva. Thank you for listening to my podcast, The Vedic Worldview. I’m Thom Knoles.

Let’s spend a few moments talking about a famous phrase which was, I would say, the favorite of my own master, my guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, derived from a text known as Bhagavad Gita.

So, obedient to Maharishi’s description of me, which was: “Ask Thom the time and he’ll tell you how to make a watch,” let’s really dive into what that text is, and then we’ll get down to a phrase known as, “Established in Being, perform action.”

First of all, Bhagavad Gita is Bhagavad, B-H-A-G-A-V-A-D, Bhagavad. Bhagavad means of God, and then Gita, G-I-T-A, is the sound that Nature makes when it’s intending the meaning of song of God. The God song, Bhagavad Gita.

What is the Bhagavad Gita? Between 12 and 13 verses of singing done by a character known as Krishna, K-R-I-S-H-N-A. Very often referred to as Lord Krishna, because in Sanskrit, we would say Bhagavan Krishna.

Bhagavan Krishna means Lord. Lord Krishna. Sung on a battlefield, a place known as Kurukshetra. Kurukshetra is north of New Delhi, about 200 miles to the northwest of the city of New Delhi, a vast plain on which some 5,000 years ago, an epic war occurred. Although most modern scholars have the dates wrong—that is to say, they make it happen far too recently compared to what the Vedic calendars tell us it was.

Nonetheless, it’s agreed that such a war did take place. And in fact, in my last reading of the Guinness Book of World Records, it was listed as one of the largest gatherings of human beings for the purpose of war on one battlefield ever in recorded history. Several million on one side of the fight, and several million on the other side of the fight.

[03:34] Mahabharata

And this story of the Song of God, the Bhagavad Gita, where Lord Krishna sings these words to somebody (which we’ll describe in a minute), is the central 12 or 13—and I say 12 or 13 because there’s some debate about whether the Bhagavad Gita is a whole 13 chapters or whether it is merely 12 chapters.

That is the central chapter of a much larger epic known as Mahabharata, M-A-H-A-B-H-A-R-A-T-A, Mahabharata. In the West, pronounced as Mahabararda. Mahabararda actually is an amusing, to the Sanskritic ear, mispronunciation of Mahabharata. Mahabharata.

Mahabharata, Maha, great. Bharata, India. Bharata is the proper name of that landmass which today we know as India. It’s only been called India by that name for the last 250 years.

India is the name that was given to the landmass by the British when they colonized the landmass starting in 1776, the same year that the United States declared its independence from Britain. Britain commenced its claiming of the landmass known as India and named it India. Prior to that, it was called Hindustan.

So then, the Bhagavad Gita, central chapters of Mahabharata, the story of Maha great, India, Bharata, as it was between the royal families of India.

[05:29] Pandavas and Kauravas

One side of the royal family, the offspring of a king known as Pandu. These were the offspring known as the Pandava, and all of their people and their whole culture and their army, Pandava.

On the other side, the brother of Pandu, Dhritarashtra by name, had his own offspring, their entire culture, and their entire army known as the Kaurava.

Pandava, P-A-N-D-A-V-A, Pandava, and Kaurava, K-A-U-R-A-V-A. The Pandavas and the Kauravas got into a dispute over who were the rightful heirs to Bharata, to India.

We are led to believe—and this is a very interesting point, and I won’t spoil it for you because there’s a twist in the plot—but we are led to believe up to the point of the Bhagavad Gita that the Pandava are the rightful heirs to the throne, and the Kaurava are those who look poised to debauch the entire Vedic culture of India.

And the Pandava, in order to prevent this, arrive en masse on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Kurukshetra, K-U-R-U-K, Kuruk, Shetra, S-H-E-T-R-A, Kuruk-Shetra, all one word, Kurukshetra.

There they arrive, 200 miles northwest of New Delhi, millions on each side, a one-mile-wide no-man’s land between them.

With the preparations for war already set, the call to battle having not yet quite commenced, some conches—these are the large shells that come from the sea, which were used as clarion horns—some conches had been winded, sounded, to make their great sound on both sides of the no-man’s land.

A few loose arrows already had begun to fly. People were shouting and eager to fight on both sides.

[08:12] Krishna’s Choice: Army or Advisor/Charioteer?

And into all of this comes the commander-in-chief of Pandava, Arjuna by name. Arjuna. Arjuna, A-R-J-U-N-A, Arjuna, who was the commander-in-chief of the Pandava, and he has asked Lord Krishna, who is neutral and refuses to fight either side because he happens to be a third cousin to each of the sides of the argument. He’s a third cousin to the Kaurava and a third cousin to the Pandava.

He declared at the beginning of the conflict, “One of you may have my army, who are trained to kill and who will fight even me if I tell them to. They’re so loyal to me. One of you can have my army. And the other can have me, but I promise I won’t fight because I have supernormal powers; I’m not going to fight.

“I’m going to be an advisor and a charioteer. I’ll drive the chariot of the commander-in-chief of the other side. So go ahead and choose which of you would like me, which of you would like to have me as a charioteer/advisor.”

The Kaurava, perhaps predictably, said, “We’ll have your army. We’ll have your army.”

And Arjuna said, “Well, it’s a no-brainer for me. I’ll have you as my advisor and my charioteer.”

[09:47] Arjuna’s Dilemma

Arjuna asks Krishna to take him out into the no-man’s land in aid of being able to gaze to the left and the right at the opposing side and to see who he can see.

And whom does he see? Well, cousins for a start, but he also sees his own martial arts instructor and the commander-in-chief of the opposite side, Bhishma.

Then he begins to think about all of their lovers, all of their spouses, all of their children, many other cousins, and a wave of sadness comes over him. He becomes despondent.

He has a mighty bow, Gandiva, G-A-N-D-I-V-A, Gandiva, which he typically would wear over one shoulder, fully strung, ready for action. Arjuna, being the most supreme archer of the age, unbeatable in battle, takes his bow, Gandiva, and throws it onto the grass of the no-man’s land to the tumultuous cheers of the opposite side who see him doing this.

You see, it’s a one-mile-wide no-man’s land, and he’s in the middle, about half a mile away. But they can espy him, having evidently thrown down his arms. “Perhaps this is capitulation,” they’re thinking.

Then he turns to Krishna and says, “I cannot and will not fight.”

Krishna says to Arjuna, “Well, I can see that right now you’re having a moment of wanting to be a pacifist. However, let me assure you that if you don’t pick up your bow within a few seconds, the opposite side will be given an enormous advantage and will win this conflict. The debauchery of India, which they certainly will carry out—it’s their nature to do it—will come to pass.

“The karma for this will not be assigned to them. They’re simply following their nature. The karma will come to you, the one who could have prevented it, the debauchery of an entire culture, but you chose not to prevent it.

“Had you wished to be a pacifist today, this could have been arranged 14 years ago during pivotal moments of your discussions with your cousins, where you then, at that time, 14 years ago, capitulated on so many different points that enabled them and strengthened them to be able to eradicate you and your family and your whole culture. Now it’s come to this, and you have to fight.”

Arjuna, completely perplexed, does pick up his bow, and he begins to ask Krishna a series of questions. The questions and the answers to which make up the body of the 12 to 13 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita.

[13:09] Go Beyond All Relativity, Perform Action

When Arjuna raises his objections to fighting, Lord Krishna opens his mouth and sings the answers. Interesting, isn’t it? Imagine somebody singing wise and trusted counsel to you on a battlefield rather than simply speaking it to you.

It was sung; that’s why it’s called the Bhagavad Gita.

And it is said that he smilingly spoke. When Arjuna says to his cousin and advisor, the embodiment of supreme knowledge, Krishna, “Tell me decisively what to do,” Krishna smilingly spoke—sang, really, to be specific about it—and his words were:  Nistraiguṇyo Bhavārjuna,  Yogastha Kuru Karmāṇi.

 Nistraiguṇyo Bhavārjuna, what does this mean? Go beyond all relativity. The Gunas, G-U-N-A—Guna means the balancing agents of the relative world. Go beyond all of these relativities and be Bhavā.  Nistraiguṇyo Bhavārjuna.

He says to him, “Go beyond all of this in your consciousness, Arjuna. Go beyond all of this and be Bhavā.”

And then, skipping a beat, says,  Yogastha Kuru Karmāṇi.  Yogastha Kuru Karmāṇi, established in the inner Unified Field of Consciousness, perform action. Established in Being, perform action.

First, transcend all of this. Go beyond all this relativity. Experience that field from which all relative tendencies issue forth. Gain the Cosmic perspective.  Nistraiguṇyo Bhavārjuna.

And then, next?  Yogastha Kuru Karmāṇi.  Yogastha Kuru Karmāṇi means, having done that, having ceased to be merely an individual, having gone into that experience of being The Universe having a human experience, then perform action.

So, rather than being a human being who is able to perhaps occasionally have a Universal experience,  Nistraiguṇyo Bhavārjuna: step beyond all of this relativity, the Gunas.  Yogastha Kuru Karmāṇi: having given yourself the cosmic perspective, then perform action.

Don’t be a human doing. Be The Universe having a human experience. Be a human being, a human being.

[16:29] How to Solve All Problems

And so this is how to solve all problems: transcend the elements of the problem.

You find yourself in a dark room, and maybe you’ve got a couple of friends in there, and you’ve formed the Committee on Darkness and decided that you’re going to solve it.

What are the problems that come from the darkness?

Well, we begin analyzing the problems. You bump your knees on tables and coffee tables and things, so let’s move all the coffee tables—once we can find them—fumble around and find them in the darkness, and slide them over to the walls. Perhaps throw a few cushions around them.

Maybe there are some existing injuries. Well, let’s get some first aid kits and start putting Band-aids and plasters and things on people’s knees, or wherever else.

Someone says, “Maybe we should see if we can harness the darkness and push it out through a window or through the doorway.” That’s tried, and it fails.

Then some bright person says, “We need a new motto. Instead of being depressed by the darkness, perhaps we can create a new motto, change people’s perspective on it, and say, ‘Darkness is beautiful.’”

“So we can start printing up some braille stickers that say, ‘Darkness is beautiful,’ because we can’t read them—it’s dark—but perhaps we can feel them with our fingertips.”

And so on and so on and so on, working on the level of the problem.

Now, if the light is turned on, a second element is introduced, and all previous solutions become obsolete.

What does light do? Light connects the Knower with the known. Light provides the means. It provides the means of gaining knowledge to the Knower and connects the Knower to the known.

So when you have a connection between Knower and known—a connection between the Knower and, let’s say, the coffee table—you have a connection between the Knower and the other people in the room. You’ve introduced a second element, and all of the solutions that you came up with in the darkness are now obsolete.

You can create other missions that are going to be helpful to community with an illuminated room.

[19:11] Brahman Saṃsparsash: The Kiss of Totality

So what we’re talking about here is the world learning how to step beyond all of these relativities and go back into the fundamental experience of the one indivisible whole consciousness field out of which all of us emerge.

To find that fundamental commonality will give us fundamental communality. The ability to let go of obsolescence—obsolete approaches to defense, obsolete approaches to sharing resources (also known as economics), and obsolete approaches to creating energy.

All of these obsolete things that we’re trying to do with all sorts of disparate theories about what’s going to work—all the conflicts of the world and all the conflicts between individuals, which frankly start in living rooms and kitchens and then spread into entire communities, and then into states, and then into countries, and then from country to country (international conflict)—are lots of stressed people trying to figure out how to get happy through all kinds of obsolete, and proven obsolete, methods of gaining happiness.

We need to experience the Brahma Saṃsparsash.

This is what’s described by Krishna a little later in the Bhagavad Gita: Brahma Saṃsparsash, the kiss of Totality. Brahman, B-R-A-H-M-A-(N), Brahman Saṃsparsash.

Saṃsparsash means contact, but more literally it means a kiss. Saṃsparsash is spelled S-A-Ṃ-S-P-A-R-S-A-S-H. Brahman Saṃsparsash.

When the whole verse is spoken, it is Brahman Saṃsparsasham. But what it means is: have contact with the field of pure consciousness. Have the kiss of Brahman—a kiss, meaning contact with your own inner Totality.

You are the Unified Field deep inside, beyond all these thoughts. Meditation does not create that state; meditation reveals the pre-existing reality of the state. Properly done, Vedic Meditation will take us out of all of this thinking world into the world of Being.

Being. Pure Consciousness. Brahman, Unified Field Consciousness.

[22:12] The Universe Having a Human Experience

Then, having loaded yourself up with that consciousness state—that is the home of all the laws of Nature and the home of all knowledge—emerge back into the world. Return to the world with broadened perspective and context, and you will know what to do and what to stop doing. You’ll know.

And when you know that, then you’re going to violate the laws of Nature less frequently and end up suffering less frequently.

All of this can be seen coming from the very simple, masterful teaching of Lord Krishna.

Lord Krishna doesn’t really have to do much besides simply say to Arjuna, “Be.” B-E. Be.

Be means stop all this thinking. Transcend all of this. Be.

This is the great mastery of that divine consciousness of Krishna:  Nistraiguṇyo Bhavārjuna.

Bhavā is the main word here, Bhavā. Before the word Arjuna is Bhavā. Nistraigunyo Bhavā, be. Be without all of this.

Then, Yogastha, having united with that state of Being, Kuru Karmani. Go into action. Go into action as the field of Being.

Don’t go into action merely as a little individual. Go into action as The Universe having a human experience, and then you’ll get things right. You’ll get it right.

This is the meaning of that: Established in Being, perform action.

Jai Guru Deva.