Bhagavagd Gita - Session 15- Track 1503

The question is: how does one become imbued with divine nature? Sri Krishna says, other remaining verses explain the process by which one can become imbued with the divine nature. First He says that, “First of all, human beings are of various kinds”, whatever they are doing actually they are approaching the Divine, whether they know it or not; and as they approach, the way in which they approach, “So do I adjust and return to them in the same way”.

If you think that God is angry with you, then God will answer you as if He is angry with you. If you think that God is pleased with you, then God will answer you as if He is pleased with you. If you think that God is invisible, He remains invisible. If you think that God can be seen, He becomes visible. If you think that God takes a long time in answering your prayer, He takes a long time in answering your prayer. If you think He takes no time at all, as soon as you pray answer is immediately available, it will happen: you just pray, and on the spot the Divine will answer. All these are the different ways by which the Divine acts: such is the nature of God, so that all human beings are lifted; the whole purpose is the lifting of each one, and the Divine does not disturb anybody. As he approaches the Divine, so the Divine adjusts Himself, and answers in the same way.

And therefore, He says, “All the paths are my paths”. It is not as if, “My path is the one special path”; it all depends upon the path that you take, and you find that the Divine is leading you on that path. If you go on other paths, it is not as if you have gone away from the Divine’s path; there also Divine is leading you on the same way: such is the nature of the Divine work and Divine nature.

He says that actually speaking there are human beings who want quick results in the world, and who do not want to spend time in Knowledge, Tapasya, they simply are enamoured of results, fruits of action: even this is allowed, even this is also a path. If you offer all your offerings to gods, you do not need Knowledge, you do not need Tapasya, and results are available immediately on this earth: do not expect results to come somewhere else, on this earth the results will come very quickly. If you want only that, then this is the path.

But if you want the highest results, if you want the “mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ”, if you want to be of the same nature as the Divine, then there is another path, and for that He says, “I have created a kind of an order in the world; this order is a fourfold classification of human beings:

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ | (IV, 13)

Those who want to attain to the higher reaches of the divine nature, divine action, for them I have given a ladder. According to your own Guna, according to your Karma, you will find your place in the society. This fourfold society is also… “I am the creator, although you must also know I am akartā; I am the doer and yet I am the non-doer”. It is also a secret to be found out: unless you know the Divine is the doer and also the non-doer, you have not known the Divine. This is also a part of the Jnanayoga, which is involved in Karmayoga: you will not be a true Karmayogi unless you know the Divine is the doer, and yet the non-doer. And the Divine has created a fourfold ladder on which you have to work, and you have to ascend from plane to plane.

And then He explains how He is the doer and the non-doer. He says:

na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā | (IV, 14)

“I have no desire for fruits of action, and therefore, no actions cling to Me.”

iti mām yo ‘bhijānāti, “he who knows Me in this way that I am the doer and the non-doer that even the individual who knows Me becomes the doer and the non-doer. And therefore he becomes free.”

evaṁ jñātvā, “Having known this…”, the emphasis is upon Knowledge. Mere Karmayoga is not performance of action: it is a lower Karmayoga. The real Karmayoga of the Gita emphasises Knowledge: evaṁ jñātvā, “having known this way”, kṛtaṁ karma pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ. “Even in the ancient times people have been doing their Karma in this Knowledge, and therefore, kuru karmaiva tasmāt, “therefore do this action”; pūrvaiḥ purvataraṁ kṛtam, “Just as in the past people have done it, even so, you also do it.” (IV, 15)

It is in these verses that Sri Krishna gives you the Knowledge as to why the Divine takes birth, what is the purpose of that Divine’s birth. And the main purpose is to give an example of Himself, and shows how we can make people of the same nature as the Divine.

Let us go into further depths. I am taking lot of time on these verses because they are extremely important. The most important word in these 9 verses is: mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ. It is a very short word but it is of greatest importance. If this word is missed then all the 9 verses seem devoid of fundamental significance. All that Sri Krishna says in verse n°8, “To protect the virtuous, to destroy the wicked and to establish Dharma, I come into being in every age.” This is the important sentence, which can be understood fully only when the word mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ is understood.