Gita Saar – Chapter-7

(Ishwar Putra Arun)

Gita Saar | Chapter-7

In chapter 7 of the Gita, Lord Krishna gives glimpses of the nature of the supreme father. He also speaks of the Lord in First person, thereby clearly saying that he is the avatar of the supreme father. He starts by saying that that the devotee who focusing his mind and stilling his heart, stays in the Lord’s-remembrance till a point that he can think of nothing else, such a person finds Him with ease and such a person is never reborn into this sorrow- filled world. LordKrishna further says that the fact is that most people are not aware of the possibility of knowing the Lord; nor do they seek the Lord and they continue to struggle in life after life running after temporary objects.

Lord Krishna says further in chapter 7 that – one among thousands is interested in knowing the One true Lord, and out of a group of the thousands who are interested in knowing Him, only one or two actually come to know Him till the fundamentals. Lord Krishna further says that I, the Lord of the universe, know everything-the past; the present and the future but only those who are filled with devotion for me can know Me in my true nature. Lord Krishna continues by saying that even as He comes face-to-face with the men of the world, they are unable to recognize Him since He comes wrapped in His self-created Yoga-Maya. Lord Krishna further says that People see Him but they think of Him as an ordinary person-of flesh and blood and fated to die like everyone else around them. They are simply blind to the person who stands before them. Lord Krishna further said to Arjuna that since he – Arjuna, was a sincere seeker and completely devoted to Him (Lord Krishna), therefore He – Lord Krishna, would reveal to Arjuna, the divine knowledge that has the power to liberate the sincere devotee.

Lord Krishna said that he would reveal that knowledge to Arjuna even though Arjuna lacked the divine vision that was necessary to gain such knowledge. The fact was that Arjuna’s devotion to Lord Krishna overcame that handicap and qualified him to receive this divine and secret knowledge. This knowledge is considered so potent that after hearing it, nothing else remains to be heard. This knowledge is the most fundamental of knowledge. It is scientific and logically robust and does not require the listener to suspend reason while listening to it. This fundamental knowledge is the king of all knowledge; it is the most secretive of all secret knowledge; it is the most holy and pious of all knowledge; it is the best knowledge of all since it liberates; this knowledge is capable of giving quick results; it is as per Dharma; it is easy to practice and eternal and indestructible in nature.

Then after that in the Gita, Lord Krishna gave this supreme knowledge to Arjuna. Lord Krishna further explained to Arjuna about how creation was brought about by God and how the universe was brought into existence. Lord Krishna explained that He, himself is the cause of creation of the universe and also the cause of the destruction of the universe. Lord Krishna said that All of the physical universe(s) have been created out of a combination of two parts of his (God’s) own nature. The two parts are-Higher energy and lower energy. And these two energies have been extracted from the body and mind of the supreme Lord. The lower nature provides the physical existence of the universe and the higher nature provides the consciousness that creates movement in the physical parts. Just as an electric toy consists of a physical structure and a battery to provide the energy to run the toy, the two natures created from God’s own being, create the physical universe and all the laws of nature that keep the universe in operation. Once these are created, the Lord-who is the super-soul, Himself comes into the universe, in the form of the individual souls that inhabit each pore of the universe and make the universe come alive.

This is like switching the switch of the toy on so that the toy starts moving. It should be remembered that the toy, even though having the capability to move, can only do so when someone switches it on. That someone, who switches on the body, whether of an individual or of the universe, is the soul. Thus the soul is that potent droplet of God’s soul, that has the power of God-to give life. When the soul leaves, the body drops lifeless. Lord Krishna explained that the person who comes to know of this secret knowledge and realizes it in his own life, is the person who finds liberation. Lord Krishna further said that there are four kinds of devotees.

1. The first type of devotee is the one who worships God because he wants some worldly gain or benefit.

2. The second type of devotee is the one who worships the Lord so that he may avoid some difficulty or tragedy in his life.

3. The third type is one who is curious about the world and he wants to know about the creator. He wants to know God and the nature of God.

4. The final type of devotee is the one who is knowledgeable about God and who seeks God with single minded devotion. He has no selfish motives in being a devotee. The only reason he seeks God is because he loves God and realizes that God is the only reality and that everything in the universe is made out of God stuff only. Lord Krishna further said that this fourth kind of devotee is the one who is intensely dear to Him. The person who loves God unselfishly-without any
motive and is single minded focused on Him is the one who is intensely loved back by God. Lord Krishna said in simple language – He Loves me and I love him. Lord Krishna explained the secret of liberation further. He said that the people who worship other gods and demigods are the ones who are seekers of worldly pleasures and/ or particular goals. These people are only running after objects that have been created by their minds and in their essence they do not seek liberation. These people are only after their self – imagined objects of pleasure, fame and/ or acclaim and with this aim, these people do great prayers, sacrifices and penances. (Ravana being a good example of such a person)Lord Krishna clarifies that the person who seeks boons from any particular god and does so with devotion and sincerity, to that person, He – Lord Krishna, rewards by giving him further concentration on that particular god. That person also gets what he seeks after due prayer from the god he seeks it from. But the fact is that it is He-Lord Krishna, who provides that devotee with the object he seeks, through the god he seeks it from. Lord Krishna continued and said that it was good to receive the things a devotee wanted from his favorite god, but the problem was that all those objects that were demanded and prayed for, were things that were not of long lasting value. All of them had a shelf life and were fated to end sooner or later. Unfortunately this is not known to these types of devotees who have a limited ambition and a limited brain and who set their happiness on the yardsticks that are temporary in nature. True happiness can never be the outcome of such false and erroneous attachment. Lord Krishna then said the following-“Those who worship the gods go to the gods; those who worship their forefathers go to their forefathers, those who worship the spirits go the spirits and those who worship me come to me and find liberation.” Lord Krishna ends the 7th chapter by saying that the people who don’t worship the one true father, are the ones who have been seduced by Maya through their desire to indulge in the world. Such people are ready to do anything-even lowly acts, so that they may reach the objects of their desire. Such people have no conception about the real nature of God and nor do they seek him.