Jnana Vijnana Yoga: Shlokas 26 to 30
If you have not already done so, I would request you to review the Chapter 6, Dhyana Yoga before studying chapter 7 as that would help set the right context.
You can find the explanation of the previous set of shlokas, 19 to 25 of chapter 7 here. Please go through that to get a better understand and maintain continuity in your learning.
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Verses 7.26 to 7.30
वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन | भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन || 26||
vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni chārjuna bhaviṣhyāṇi cha bhūtāni māṁ tu veda na kaśhchana
वेदाहं (vedāhaṃ) – I know; समतीतानि (samatītāni) – past; वर्तमानानि (vartamānāni) – present; च (ca) – and; अर्जुन (arjuna) – Arjuna; भविष्याणि (bhaviṣyāṇi) – future; च (ca) – and; भूतानि (bhūtāni) – beings; मां (māṃ) – me; तु (tu) – but; वेद (veda) – knows; न (na) – not; कश्चन (kaścana) – anyone;
I know of the past, present, and future, and I also know all living beings O Arjuna; but no one knows Me.
इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत | सर्वभूतानि सम्मोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप || 27||
ichchhā-dveṣha-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa
इच्छा (icchā) – desire; द्वेष (dveṣa) – and hatred; समुत्थेन (samutthena) – born of; द्वन्द्व (dvandva) – of duality; मोहेन (mohena) – by the delusion; भारत (bhārata) – Bharata (Arjuna); सर्वभूतानि (sarvabhūtāni) – all living beings; सम्मोहं (sammohaṃ) – into delusion; सर्गे (sarge) – in creation; यान्ति (yānti) – go; परन्तप (parantapa) – O scorcher of foes;
O Bharata (Arjuna), all beings in the material realm are deluded by the dualities arising from desire and hatred.
येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् | ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रता: || 28||
yeṣhāṁ tvanta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛiḍha-vratāḥ
येषां (yeṣāṃ) – whose; त्व (tu) – but; अन्तगतं (antagataṃ) – have come to an end; पापं (pāpaṃ) – sins; जनानां (janānāṃ) – of the people; पुण्यकर्मणाम् (puṇyakarmaṇām) – with virtuous deeds; ते (te) – they; द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता (dvandvamohanirmuktā) – freed from the delusion of duality; भजन्ते (bhajante) – engage in devotion; मां (māṃ) – to me; दृढव्रताः (dṛḍhavratāḥ) – with determination;
But those whose sins have been destroyed by virtuous deeds, they, being free from the delusion of duality, worship Me with steadfast resolve.
जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये | ते ब्रह्म तद्विदु: कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् || 29||
jarā-maraṇa-mokṣhāya mām āśhritya yatanti ye te brahma tadviduḥ kṛitsnam adhyātmaṁ karma chākhilam
जरा (jarā) – old age; मरण (maraṇa) – and death; मोक्षाय (mokṣāya) – for liberation from; माम् (mām) – to me; आश्रित्य (āśritya) – taking refuge; यतन्ति (yatanti) – strive; ये (ye) – who; ते (te) – they; ब्रह्म (brahma) – the Brahman; तत् (tat) – that; विदुः (viduḥ) – know; कृत्स्नम् (kṛtsnam) – in entirety; अध्यात्मं (adhyātmaṃ) – the spiritual; कर्म (karma) – action; च (ca) – and; अखिलम् (akhilam) – entire;
Those who take shelter in Me, aiming for liberation from old-age and death, come to know the Brahman, the whole knowledge of the Self, and that of karmic actions.
साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदु: | प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतस: || 30||
sādhibhūtādhidaivaṁ māṁ sādhiyajñaṁ cha ye viduḥ prayāṇa-kāle ’pi cha māṁ te vidur yukta-chetasaḥ
साधिभूताधिदैवं (sādhibhūtādhidaivaṃ) – pertaining to the gods and living beings; मां (māṃ) – me; साधियज्ञं (sādhiyajñaṃ) – and pertaining to the sacrifice; च (ca) – and; ये (ye) – who; विदुः (viduḥ) – know; प्रयाणकाले (prayāṇakāle) – at the time of death; ऽपि (api) – even; च (ca) – and; मां (māṃ) – me; ते (te) – they; विदुः (viduḥ) – know; युक्तचेतसः (yuktacetasḥ) – with steadfast mind;
Those who know Me as the governing principle of the material and divine aspects, and all sacrifices, they, with a steady mind, know Me even at the time of their departure (death).
Balancing Bhakti and Karma
In the previous set of verses, we discussed the various types of bhakti and why the path of bhakti and surrender was the best of all paths.
This question often comes up “living in the world and actively participating in it, can we still do bhakti?“. Narad Ji has explained that we can definitely do bhakti while living in the world, in fact he says we must do bhakti while living in the world by following the path of ‘Devotion in action‘. Sant Kabir says this beautifully as:
जहाँ जहाँ चलूँ करूँ परिक्रमा, जो जो करूँ सो सेवा जब सोवूँ करूँ दण्डवत, जानूँ देव न दूजा।
Jahān jahān calū̃ karū̃ parikramā, jo jo karū̃ so sevā Jab sovū̃ karū̃ daṇḍavat, jānū̃ dev na dūjā
Wherever I walk, I am in the mindset that I am circumambulating the Lord (parikrama); whatever I do, I do it with a mindset of service to the Lord. When I sleep, I am in the mindset of offering prostrations to my Lord; There is nothing else in my mind except my Lord. That is the nishkama karma that Shri Krishna taught us, which is to be done with a bhava of devotion.
In chapter 9, Shri Krishna will go on to say:
यत्करोषि यद अश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् | यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् || 27||
yat karoṣhi yad aśhnāsi yaj juhoṣhi dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣhva mad-arpaṇam
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever you bestow as a gift, and whatever austerities you perform, O son of Kunti, do them as an offering to Me.
Shri Krishna has said, “Live in the world and do nishkama karma“. Narad Ji says the same thing and adds “Live in the world and practice bhakti through nishkama karma“.
The message taught by Shri Krishna is that of “Renunciation IN action“. Which means that “Live in the world, but don’t let the world live in you“. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa beautifully said “Like the boat which is in water without the water being inside the boat”.
What prevents us from doing this? In one word, we can say the answer is “attachment“. This attachment is the whole problem; the world is not the problem.
In the 5th chapter Shri Krishna has said:
कायेन मनसा बुद्ध्या केवलैः इन्द्रियैः अपि | योगिन: कर्म कुर्वन्ति सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा आत्म शुद्धये ||11||
kāyena manasā buddhyā kevalair indriyair api yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śhuddhaye
The yogis, while giving up attachment, perform actions with their body, senses, mind, and intellect, only for the purpose of self-purification.
As we can see, Shri Krishna is referring to those who have given up attachment as a Yogi. He doesn’t say that the person who stands on one leg for 1000 years is a Yogi. They may be, but His emphasis is on giving up attachment and when we do that, we are to be considered a Yogi. Thus, we can be working out our material responsibilities, performing our material duties and still be a Yogi by practicing devotion in action by giving up attachment to results.
In the 2nd chapter, Shri Krishna had said:
विहाय कामान्य: सर्वान् पुमांस् चरति नि:स्पृह: | निर्ममो निर अहङ्कार: स शान्तिम् अधिगच्छति || 71||
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumānśh charati niḥspṛihaḥ nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sa śhāntim adhigachchhati
That person, who gives up all material desires and lives free from a sense of greed, proprietorship, and egoism, attains perfect peace.
Once we have followed this teaching, we will begin to see the world as the form of God, become able to perform devotion in action and live with perfect harmony between karma and bhakti.
Even when we develop bhakti, we should work hard to maintain and grow it. Usually, when we are faced with pain and sorrow, we tend to begin doubting the divine and that causes us to either slow down or go backwards on our progress in bhakti.
In order to ensure that we only keep progressing and never going backwards on bhakti, we must learn to transcend pain and sorrow.
Transcending pain and sorrow
We need to first understand what it means to transcend pain and sorrow. Transcending pain does not mean that we will not have any pain at all. It only means that we stop being controlled or strongly impacted by the pain. A great example is St. Ramakrishna, who had throat cancer, which is a very painful condition, however he was not impacted by it and he remained blissfully devoted to Devi till the end.
Shri Krishna has said that He is in the world but not impacted by the world. That is the nature of transcending pain which is the goal of every yogi. In other words, even when we experience pain, we see another dimension of ourselves which is far beyond pain and not impacted by that pain. The more we learn to identify with that dimension of ourselves the more we will be able to transcend pain.
It is like watching a very sad tragic movie that makes us cry while at the same time we realize that it is just a movie and we are not directly impacted by it. That realization helps us transcend the sadness we felt while watching the movie. Just like that, no matter what pain or sorrow we are going through, if we can learn to identify that our true self is beyond all this pain and sorrow, then it becomes easy to transcend them.
So how do we achieve this kind of self-realization? how do we realize that our true self is infinite blissful consciousness? How do we avoid being impacted by pain and sorrow just like the blue sky which is never impacted by the clouds that float under it, no matter how dark and how stormy?
Self-realization and God-realization
Being the conditioned souls that we are, it is not easy to come to this kind of self-realization. As explained by Swami Vivekananda, the easiest way to realize this infinite blissful aspect of our true self is by identifying an external God with it. In other words, we see God as that infinite blissful consciousness and then surrender to Him. Because our senses are designed to look outward, it is easier to perceive that infinite consciousness as an external God.
This is probably one of the aspects that many beginner level students get confused with. They say that on one hand we talk about “Aham Brahmasmi”, or “I am Brahman / God”, while on the other hand we talk about devotion, prayer and surrender to a God. And if I am God then am I praying to myself?
That same question is often asked about Jesus Christ when they read in the Bible that during the time of his crucifixion, Jesus prayed out to God who was his father. While in other parts of the Bible it says that Jesus Christ is God. So if Jesus is God and we say that he was praying to God then was he praying to himself? It is both true and not true. Because he was not praying to his material body that we identify him with but rather to the eternal infinite blissful consciousness which is both within him and outside of him.
The other aspect is that our soul is qualitatively the same as the supreme personality of Godhead however it is quantitatively not the same. That is one of the reasons why Shri Krishna makes a distinction between brahma-bhuta (self-realization) and brahma-samparsa (God-realization). Thus, even when we have reached the stage of self-realization we can and should continue to pray and surrender to the supreme personality of Godhead.
Great examples of this are elevated souls like Sage Narada, who are eternally in a state of devotion and surrender to the supreme Lord although they are themselves completely self-realized.
The Lord’s divine nature
In verse 26, Shri Krishna reveals a profound truth about His divine nature:
वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन | भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन || 26||
vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni chārjuna bhaviṣhyāṇi cha bhūtāni māṁ tu veda na kaśhchana
I know of the past, present, and future, and I also know all living beings O Arjuna; but no one knows Me.
This statement beautifully describes the unfathomable, all-encompassing nature of the Divine that understands every aspect of the universe and its creatures, yet remains beyond the full grasp of human understanding.
The Supreme Lord understands everything but we cannot never fully understand Him.
Time, space and matter
Some people ask ‘where did God come from?’, or ‘if God exists within the universe, where was he before the universe was created?’, etc.
These questions imply that God is bound by space and time. As we discussed in the previous chapter, God is not subject to the limitations of space, time or location. In other words, space, time and matter were all created by God and they were created simultaneously. They all had to have been created simultaneously. Otherwise, imagine matter was created first, then where would it be placed? (space). So Space had to exist and when would matter be put in that space? So time also had to exist. And if space was created first then what does it contain? And if time was created first then how do we measure it?
In his explanation of Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.11.4, Srila Prabhupada sheds light on how time and space are closely linked.
स कालः परमाणुः वै यः भुङ्क्ते परमाणुताम् । सतः अविशेषभुक् यः तु स कालः परमः महान् ॥ ४ ॥
sa kālaḥ paramāṇur vai yo bhuṅkte paramāṇutām sato ’viśeṣa-bhug yas tu sa kālaḥ paramo mahān
Atomic time is measured according to its covering a particular atomic space. That time which covers the unmanifest aggregate of atoms is called the great time.
He points out that we measure time by seeing how long it takes to cover a certain distance, which could be as tiny as the space filled by atoms. This idea highlights the deep connection between time and space. The Bhagavatam tells us that the physical world is made up of countless tiny particles called atoms, or paramanus. These atoms are so small and basic that we can’t see or divide them further. Everything we see around us is just a bunch of these atoms put together.
Srila Prabhupada further explains that the way we understand time normally is by looking at the sun’s movement. The time it takes for the sun to move across one of these tiny atoms is what he calls “atomic time.” So, when we talk about the sun passing over an atom, we’re really talking about how sunlight moves over a specific spot, which helps us measure time at an incredibly small scale.
The Bhagavatam connects time, space, matter, and even sunlight in its explanation of the universe.
What we need to understand is that time, space and matter are all God’s creations and God is not bound by or impacted by them.
Past present and future
That should explain Shri Krishna’s statement that He knows the past, present and future and also knows all living beings, however, nobody really knows Him.
As Srila Prabhupada said, “If we try to understand that which cannot be understood, then what we will be left with is just our own understanding and not the absolute truth”.
Only God knows Himself. However, He bestows His grace upon some eligible, fortunate souls, and as explained by sage Narada, only by guru and God’s grace one can truly realize God.
God can only be realized, God cannot be analyzed or understood. And God can only be realized by His own grace. And the surest way to get God’s grace is through Bhakti.
It is only our own ego, pride and delusional mindset that prevents us from receiving this grace of God.
Shri Krishna delves into the nature of human delusion, which originates from birth and is fueled by past experiences and desires. In Chapter 3, Verse 27, Shri Krishna explains this concept further:
प्रकृते: क्रियमाणानि गुणै: कर्माणि सर्वश: | अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते || 27||
prakṛiteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśhaḥ ahankāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate
Actions in all respects are driven by the three modes of nature. But the soul, deluded by ego, thinks ‘I am the doer’.
This highlights how individuals are often misled by their senses and egos, attributing their actions and experiences solely to themselves, rather than understanding the influence of nature’s qualities and the deeper spiritual forces at play.
In this cosmic play of Maya, some people, through their good actions and spiritual insights, start to peel away the layers of ignorance that clouds our view of the spiritual reality. They begin to understand and feel the deeper, spiritual truths that are eternal, beyond our everyday physical lives.
These wise and blessed individuals find real happiness in feeling close to the divine, the source of all, and they feel truly lost whenever they sense that sacred connection fading. Their path is one of gradually letting go of life’s ups and downs, focusing more on gaining a deeper spiritual knowledge and forming a closer bond with the divine.
Lord Krishna has explained previously how life is a cosmic play filled with dualities – happiness and sadness, love and hate, hot and cold, etc. In our everyday experiences, we often get tossed between opposing emotions and situations.
Krishna’s teachings in Chapter 2, Verse 14 addresses this human condition directly:
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदु: खदा: | आगम अपायिनः अनित्याः तान् तितिक्षस्व भारत ||14||
mātrā-sparśhās tu kaunteya śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ āgamāpāyino ’nityās tans-titikṣhasva bhārata
The contacts of the senses with their objects create, O son of Kunti, feelings of heat and cold, of pain and pleasure. They come and go and are impermanent. Bear them patiently, O Bharata.
This verse highlights the importance of maintaining equanimity amidst life’s oscillating experiences, advocating for a state of balance and inner peace despite external circumstances.
In 2.64, Krishna had said that “When the mind is free from both attachment and aversion, and is absorbed in devotion to God, one receives the grace of God and experiences his unlimited divine bliss.”
Iccha and Dvesha
Attachment to desires is known as iccha while aversion is known as dvesha. Both iccha and dvesha are termed as ‘moha’. Krishna here says that all human beings are deluded from the very beginning because of these two dualities of iccha and dvesha. Because of being under the influence of these, humans are not able to realize the absolute truth. Adi Sankara has noted that because of being deluded by iccha and dvesha, we suffer not only in the spiritual world but also in the material world.
We have often heard the term ‘Love is blind’. We have also heard that ‘Hatred blinds us’. As we see, both attachment and aversion blinds us. How can we see the truth when we are blind?
As a practical experiment, think of any one item that you really love or really hate. Try to impulsively describe that object or person and write down your description on a piece of paper. Now start keeping your emotion aside and start questioning the description you just wrote down. Ask questions like ‘what makes you think so? What data points do you have?”, or “How sure are you? Is it possible that you are mistaken?”. Based on how honest you are, you will invariably find that the description would change significantly once you analyze your beliefs objectively, without attachment or aversion.
That is Krishna’s message. That is why Krishna is asking us to avoid both extremes and to instead maintain samatvam. Bhakti helps us destroy our sins and nullify our karmic accounts and through that process, it helps free us from the clutches of iccha and dvesha, helps achieve samatvam and reach Him.
Shree Krishna says that those who are devoted and surrendered to Him get liberated from the cycle of birth and death forever. He bestows his divine grace on such people so that they receive brahma-jñāna or knowledge of the Brahman. These people automatically get a complete understanding of the self and the divine laws of karma.
Remember, just like human love helps us understand poetry, divine love helps us understand the Vedas which are but divine poetry.
Krishna assures us that such enlightened souls are in full consciousness of Him even at the time of death. After death, these enlightened souls reach Krishna and never have to be born again in the material world. This glorious possibility awaits us all and we can reach there just by simple, pure, humble bhakti. Sravanam and service to guru and Krishna will help us all develop our bhakti and take us to this ultimate goal.
I would like to conclude chapter 7 by quoting this beautiful verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.4.63 where Shri Krishna has said:
अहं भक्त-पराधीनो ह्यस्वतन्त्र इव द्विज | साधुभिर् ग्रस्त-हृदयो भक्तैर् भक्त-जन-प्रियः ||
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno hy asvatantra iva dvija sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ
Otherwise, I am supremely independent. But this magic wand of bhakti makes me dance, just like the snake charmer makes the snake dance.
My devotees have taken my heart. What to talk of my devotees, bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ, even those who are devotees of my devotees are very dear to me.
That is the power of bhakti. Through the other paths, we cannot realize God in His personal form. We can go close to Him but not completely realize Him or merge with Him.
In this chapter, we have learned the power of bhakti and what it takes to obtain the grace of the Lord and develop bhakti. Shri Krishna will continue to emphasize on and explain deeper aspects of bhakti in the next few chapters.
Here is the link to the start of the next chapter, chapter 8 – Akshara Brahma Yoga.
Hare Krishna.
kṛṣṇadaasa
Servant of Krishna
Aka +Vinayak Raghuvamshi