Ishavasya Upanishad: Mantra 4

d. Vyākaraṇa: Vedic grammar. With amazing depth, it explains the most complicated principles of human communication.

.. Matto bhavati o "Sabiendo eso, el devoto se embriaga."...nos referimos a un ebrio como a alguien que ha perdido el control sobre sí mismo...En realidad, un borracho es alguien controlado por el alcohol...Saber a Dios es perder por completo nuestro control sobre nosotros mismos...Nuestro control sobre nuestras acciones no es más que un control del ego, de hecho el ego es control, la verdadera religión consiste en la entrega absoluta y total de todo el control a Dios...Sólo entonces serás controlado y poseído por la existencia, por la vida y por el amor...Tal y como un ebrio se embriaga por el alcohol siendo poseído por éste, el iluminado se embriaga con Dios, el amor y la vida misma... siendo poseído por ésta...En cierta forma ya no es responsable de sus actos, no produce karma...Ya no es él quien actúa sino que la vida misma a través suyo, actúa bajo la intoxicación de la droga del amor divino...En repetidas ocasiones, diversos profetas y santos han sido considerados dementes y locos por la sociedad...He aquí una de las grandes diferencias entre la psicología y la religión, la primera se esfuerza por adaptar a la persona a la sociedad, a que la persona sea capaz de desenvolverse en el mundo, la religión va mas allá...La religión busca lo supranormal, trascender el mundo...La psicología comienza en lo inadaptado para adaptarlo al mundo...La religión comienza en lo normal para ir en pos de lo supranormal...La sociedad es una expresión del ego, el mundo es la mente...El demente y el profeta tienen algo en común, ambos no se adaptan a la sociedad, sólo que el trastornado mentalmente aún no ha alcanzado el nivel de la normalidad, mientras que el iluminado lo ha superado... ha ido más allá...Ambos se encuentran fuera de la mente, sólo que el idiota está debajo, el santo está por sobre... la ha trascendido...Y en realidad, observando a nuestro alrededor veremos que todos somos dementes en cierta medida, en el sentido en que algunos están locos por el dinero, otros por el honor, la fama, el sexo .

If I like what happens, I accept it and become attached and if I don’t like it, I reject it…Not accepting the situation in which we find ourselves, or being in conflict with it, is to reject the present….It is important to understand that santoṣa is not only being satisfied with what is happening, but it is our attitude towards what is happening….Our surrender to or acceptance of what is happening, of “what is”, of reality, is acceptance and surrender to the will of God....On many occasions we must do what we interpret as disagreeable, in the absence of any alternative. At times we are obliged to remain in places that we abhor. To do something while we internally oppose it, to resist being where we are, and to remain in a futile argument with the situation, is to deny the present and what is; it is to create totally unnecessary pain…Only the unconditional acceptance of what is, as it is, will be the door to liberation, the door that leads outside the mind….Only then we will give up our continuous flight and pursuit, and engage ourselves in living....Our life will stop being an escape from what we do not like and a pursuit of what we like; a struggle to avoid what we find disagreeable and a tremendous effort to obtain what we consider agreeable…We will free ourselves from the chains that represent rāga and dveṣa… which will allow us to live from a much deeper level where peace and imperturbable serenity reign, regardless of surface conditions…We can try to change what is happening in our lives and in the world, but without rejecting what is happening, never from conflict, condemnation and violence… but from the peace and harmony that comes with profound acceptance, never from conflict, condemnation and violence….We all wish to progress, to be better, to develop… if some change happens, it will not come from our self-condemnation, but from our self-acceptance….Situating ourselves in the now is to grow, is to develop, without struggling to overcome our weaknesses, but by allowing the changes to occur by themselves with the blessings of life.

 

For example, the punishment for premeditated murder is much more severe than for involuntary manslaughter.It is thus essential to feed our mind with elevated thoughts to purify the desires that enslave us, and convert those desires into aspirations that liberate.Just as attitude influences activity, our motivations influence us.We find examples of these ideas in the different castes of Vedic society, which are each distinguished by their motivation. The motivation of the śūdra is sensual pleasure; of the vaiśya, riches; of the ká¹£atriya, power; and of the brāhmaṇa, God. The śūdra acts out of fear, the vaiśya and the ká¹£atriya act out of a desire for gain, while the brāhmaṇa acts from inspiration.Unfortunately, due to the limited nature of knowledge in our degraded age of Kali, many believe erroneously that the varṇa-vicāra system is related to family or birth. Those who think so believe that a person can be a consumer of meat, a smoker, a drunkard or a drug addict, but he will be considered a brāhmaṇa by the simple fact of having been born to a family of brāhmaṇas. It is madness to think that one can allow the son of a doctor to practice medicine, just because his father is a doctor. According to the Vedic scriptures, it is the nature, qualities and motivations of each human being that finally place him in the corresponding group. In the Bhagavad-gÄ«tā (4.13) it is very clearly explained in the following way:cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁguṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥtasya kartāram api māṁviddhy akartāram avyayam“According to the three modalities of material nature and the occupations associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I remain the nondoer, being immutable.”And in the 18th chapter, verses 41 to 44, it is further explained:brāhmaṇa-ká¹£atriya-viśāṁÅ

अनेजदेकं मनसो जवीयो नैनद्देवा आप्नुवन्पूर्वमर्षत्‌ ।

śruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niścalā samādhāv acalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi Traducción:Cuando tu mente confundida por lo oído se aclare, y permanezca inmóvil, entonces habrás realizado la Conciencia Trascendental.Comentario:El ego es lo que creemos ser, no lo que realmente somos. Todo este cúmulo de ideas y conceptos acerca de nosotros mismos, consiste en lo que hemos escuchado de nuestros padres, amigos y profesores. Oímos lo que se dijo y lo creemos, desde nuestro nombre hasta nuestra nacionalidad...La mente no es más que una confusión, una mente inmóvil o yadā sthāsyati niścalā... es un estado de ausencia mental o samādhi, al cual Śaṅkarā se refiere como... asmin samādhīyate iti samādhiḥ... o "aquel estado en que uno se establece en el Ser"...Establecerse y ser el Ser es la realización de la Conciencia Divina o la Conciencia Pura Trascendental...

irajya viṣaya-vrātāddoṣa-dṛṣṭyā muhur muhuḥsva-lakṣye niyatāvasthāmanasaḥ śama ucyate“The state in which the mind continuously rests in the contemplation of its goal, having become detached over and over again from the host of sensory objects through seeing their faults, is called śama.” (Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, verse 22)śamas tāvat śravaṇādi-vyatirikta-viṣayebhyo manaso nigrahaḥ“Śama is the restraining of the mind from all objects except listening, etc.” (Vedānta-sāra, verse 19)Generally śama tends to be translated as control, or mental discipline. However, it is actually the interiorization of the mind which constantly seeks to externalize itself through the senses. This term refers then, to the serenity and tranquility that spring from dispassion and detachment.Without detachment, the mind becomes contaminated and depleted, due to the constant effort to obtain pleasure through the senses, which leads to attachment to those pleasures when one acquires them. Śama refers to the rest or relaxation of the mind as a result of the complete renunciation of the enjoyment of the senses. This virtue manifests itself only when we realize that real peace is never received from sensual pleasure, but only from Brahman, our authentic nature. It is liberation from pain, due to an indifference towards the gratification of the senses, and it is a state of serenity produced by mastery over the mind. Peace, serenity, and tranquility are important in creating the best conditions for meditation. The craving for enjoyment creates emotional and energetic states that become real obstacles to religious life.3b. Dama or control over the senses:viṣayebhyaḥ parāvartyasthāpanaṁ sva-sva-golakeubhayeṣām-indriyāṇāmsa damaḥ parikīrtitaḥ"Turning back the two groups of sense organs from the sense objects and placing them in their respective centers is called dama." (Viveka-cūḍāmaṇi, verse 23)damo bāhyendriyāṇāṁ tad-vyatirikta-viṣayebhyo nivartanam“Dama is the restraining of the external organs from all objects except those related with them.

The only difference between the state of sleep and wakefulness is our level of attention and awareness. Enlightenment is to be fully conscious or awakened. The enlightened being is awake even when he sleeps, while the ordinary person sleeps even when he believes he is awake. However, the distance between both is not as great as we might suppose. The only difference is that the former focuses his gaze within, while the latter does not even attempt it.

तद्धावतोऽन्यानत्येति तिष्ठत्तस्मिन्नपो मातरिश्वा दधाति ॥ ४॥

1.1 The Ṛg-Veda or “the Veda of verses”: This is the principal of the four Vedas. It is a deals mainly with glorification of the devas and the powers of cosmic manifestation. It is divided into ten maṇḍalas or books containing a total of 1,028 hymns, or sūktas, and is composed of 10,580 verses. The Vedic priest who specializes in the chanting of these hymns is called a hotṛ. The principal deities of the Ṛg-Veda are: Indra, Agni, Soma, Mitra, Varuṇa, Uṣas, Savitṛ, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Pūṣan, Bṛhaspati, Pṛthivī, Sūrya, Vāyu, Āpas, Parjanya, Vāc, the maruts, the ādityas, the viśva-devas and the ṛbhus.

Aṣṭāṅga-yogaAṣṭāṅga-yoga is another name for this ancient wisdom. In the second pada, or chapter, of the Yoga-sūtras of Patañjali, it is explained that the process of rāja-yoga is subdivided into “eight limbs” or aṣṭāṅga. This discourse of the sage Patañjali, along with its six principal commentaries listed below, is the most respected and authoritative work on yoga:The eight steps lead the seeker through a process of preparation and evolutionary development that will create the ideal situation for enlightenment to take place. The eight steps are: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi.Yamas and niyamasLike other religions, Hinduism requires its adherents to keep certain observances and established norms of conduct, which are called in yoga, yamas and niyamas. These are not rules intended for a certain group of people in a particular time or place, but universal norms applicable to every person, place and time.Rules and regulations are of central importance, since they form the foundation which supports the structure of our spiritual life. This path of realization is an internalization that leads us to the depths of our interior world. By rooting ourselves in the tenets of yama and niyama, we are purifying, sweeping and cleaning our interior, since nobody would feel inclined to enter into a dirty or impure place.It must be noted that these sacred vows help us cultivate befitting attributes to create the foundation or the appropriate situation for the Transcendental to manifest within us. This preparation consists in the adoption of a system of moral and ethical principles that governs all aspects of life for those who take refuge in the sanātana-dharma. The yamas have a more prohibitive character, and provide us with moral and ethical foundations, while the character of the niyamas is more practical and constructive and its purpose is to create physical and mental foundations.Patañjali mentions yamas and niyamas explicitly in his Yoga-sūtras (2.

As human beings we live with the deep feeling that we are not what we should be or what we are supposed to be, that we lack something, that we are not yet whole…

 

This classification includes the collection of ancient books on the laws of Hinduism, or the code of laws of the Sanātana-dharma religion. These writings are intended both for the purification of the heart, as well as to elevate society with the system of varṇāśrama-dharma. These texts explain the implementation of dharma as defined by behavior and habit, as much in the individual sphere, as in the collective. There are 18 Dharma-sāstras: the Laws of Manu, of Yājñavalkya, of Parāśara, of Viṣṇu, of Dakṣa, of Saṁvarta, of Vyāsa, of Hārīta, of Śātātapa, of Vasiṣṭha, of Yama, of Āpastamba, of Gautama, of Devala, of Śaṅkha and Likhita, of Uśanas, of Atri and of Śaunaka, with the first three being of highest importance. In our time, it is impossible to follow all the ancient laws, since the circumstances, society, and times have changed. The laws were established to serve humanity, not to hinder or enslave it. Today it is much more important to learn to live within the spirit of the laws, rather than seeking to follow them to the letter. In this regard, the guidance and direction of an authentic spiritual master become essential.

anejad ekam manaso javiyonainad deva apnuvan purvam arshattad dhavato 'nyan atyeti tishthattasminn apo matarishva dadhati

Moreover, along with the ego, death, fear and desire are also born, so that the ego becomes the origin and basis of fragmentation in all spheres of existence.

 

”Other examples of this devotional attitude in the Ṛig Veda are verse 1.171.1, where the saint Agastya honors Indra and the Maruts, verse 8.14.10 in which Indra is praised, verse 1.156.3 in which the glorification of God is mentioned, verse 1.156.2, referring to the repetition of the Holy Names and surrender to the Lord, verse 8.98.11, which mentions the love of God, verse 6.47.17 which refers to the search for God by his devotees, or verse 10.82.3 which refers to God as our most intimate beloved.Sayaṅa has classified the deities of the hymns of the Ṛig Veda into three different groups: the earthly deities (Agni and Soma), the middle world deities (Indra and the Maruts) and the celestial deities (Varuna, the Sun and Uchas).In spite of the fact that the upanishads are the base and foundation of jnana yoga, they are not exempt from the spirit of bhakti. In many of their pages, we can find verses of a devotional character. An example may be seen in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.18)yo bramāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁyo vai vedāṁśca prahiṇoti tasmaitaṁ ha devaṁ ātmabuddhiprakāśaṁmumukṣurvai śaraṇamahaṁ prapadye“First I created Brahmā and then I introduced the Vedas. I, who am a seeker of liberation, take refuge in the radiant Lord who reveals the self-knowledge in the mind.”In the same Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23) we read:yasya debe parā bhaktiḥ yathā debe tathā gurautasyaite kathitā hyarrthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥprakāśante mahātmana iti“He who has transcendental love for the Lord and for his spiritual master is truly a great soul. The truths explained by such a person will reveal their own meaning.”Another example is found in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.23):nāyamātmā pravacanena labhyona medhayā na bahunā śrutenayamevaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyastasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām“The Self cannot be understood through learning, through the power of the intellect, or by hearing it from many sources. It can only be understood by one whom the Self Itself chooses. Before him, the Self reveals its identity.

His Holiness Śrī Swami Jyotirmayānanda Sarasvatī

“The ṛṣis are speakers of the truth.”

To awaken the anāhatais to discover a door to our universal oceanic dimension. List of the properties of theAnāhata-cakraMeaning of the name: The word anāhata means “without striking” or “without beating”. In our chest beats not only our heart, but also the heart of creation. Our heartbeats can be perceived through our physical senses, as a sound created by the shock of two physical bodies. In the anāhata-cakra, the heart of the universe beats without being able to be heard by those who are disconnected from it; that is to say, it beats without beating. The sound of a heartbeat, just like all sound produced by the shock or friction of two bodies, is physical. Because it has not been created by any physical phenomenon, the anāhata-nāda or the primoridal sound is the eternal sound that lacks a beginning and an end.Other names of the chakra: Another nameof this center is hṛd-padma, or the lotus of the heart.Withintantric terminology this center is also known under the following names:anāhata-pūri(the unstriked city), dvadaśa(the twelfth one), hṛt-paṅkeruha(the lotus of the heart), dvadaśa-dala(the twelfth leaf), hṛdayāmbhoja(the lotus of the heart), hṛdābja(the lotus of the heart), hṛdāmbhoja(the lotus of the heart) , hṛdaya(the heart, the essence), hṛdaya-kamala(the lotus of the heart), hṛdayābja(the lotus of the heart), hṛdayāmbuja(the lotus of the heart), hṛdambuja(the lotus of the heart), hṛdaya-sarasija(the lotus of the heart), hṛt-padma(the lotus of the heart), hṛt-pankaja(the lotus of the heart), hṛt-saroruha(the lotus of the heart), padma-sundara(beautiful lotus), hṛt-patra(the leaf of the heart), sūrya-saṅkhya-dala(the leaf with the essence of the sun). In theVedas we find references to theanāhata-cakraunder the following names:hṛdaya-cakra(the chakra of the heart)anddvādaśāra-cakra(the twelve-spoked chakra).Kṣetra or location: It is found in the center of the chest, at the height of the heart, within the suṣumnā-nāḍī; it isdirectly related to the cardiac plexus. From this center, fifteen nāḍīs arise.

Translation:

His Holiness Śrī Śrīmad Naraharidās Bābājī Mahārāja

The Self is motionless, and even faster than the mind. The senses cannot reach Him because He goes before them. In His quietude, he exceeds the speed of any runner. Because of this, Matarishvan, the activities of every living being is maintained.

A physician cannot heal a patient if he confines himself to alleviating the symptoms instead of treating the cause of the illness. Similarly, we can never heal humanity’s problems if we focus only on the symptoms, but overlook their origin, the true problem or disease.

You are not located anywhere, but you are, intensely. And when you truly are, then God is there. It is important to understand that you can be somewhere, yet not be, and that you can be without being anywhere. To be somewhere is to occupy a space and nothing more, but to be is to be somewhere and at the same time to be fully present in this moment with all your being, with all that you can be. To listen is to realize yourself as silence, since you are the space that is revealed to you, is you. Silence is your infinite interior space, empty of words, conclusions, ideas, concepts, interpretations, it is your wide internal sky, without the clouds of the mind…Silence is God, as is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.38), when LordKṛṣṇa says that He is…maunaṁ caivāsmi guhyānāṁ... or " the silence of the secret”.The ordinary man speaks even when he is silent, but the master, the man of the Light remains in silence even while speaking, because true silence is not only an absence of noise, but of ego, of thoughts, of conditioning. It is not an absence of words, but of someone, of a speaker. Authentic silence cannot be disturbed by words, sounds, or clamor, since it is not physical, but is the stilling of the roar of the mind. The enlightened being is a musician who does not need an instrument. He does not need to play any music, because he has discovered and realized his own internal melody, the music of silence.In the world of plurality and multiplicity, the rays of attention disperse in different directions in as we pay attention to sounds. In directing our attention towards silence, however, the consciousness is integrated and internalized. Sounds disappear and evaporate and we enter into the dimension of soundlessness. Although noises are many, you will be surprised to discover that silence is one. Noise and sound belong to the realm of diversity while silence is of the one without a second. When speaking, we are two, but when silent we become one.

At a certain level of development, we quickly realize that while the original guru dwells within us, as long as we have not reached a corresponding spiritual height, the inner guru will remain nothing more than an intellectual concept, a theory or a belief. Spiritual geniuses, like the great saint of Arunachala, Sri Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950), do not need a guru. However, he himself said in his famous Guru Vachaka Kovai: "An external guru is needed because the desire-filled, infatuated mind rushes out without listening with love to the truth unceasingly proclaimed in the Heart by the Self, being-consciousness." Obtaining the association, guidance and direction of a guru, accepting refuge under the lotus feet of a realized being is more than a necessity; it is divine grace, as is confirmed by Shankara in the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi (3) ...durlabhaṁ trayam evaitat daivānugraha-hetukammanuṣyatvaṁ mumukṣutvaṁ mahā-puruṣa-saṁśrayaḥ"Unusual and difficult to obtain are these three: a human birth, an ardent desire for liberation, and the capacity to completely surrender to a sage; these three are really rare and wherever they are found it must be understood that they are the result of divine grace.”In the Guru Gita (24) it is said…yajno vrataṁ tapo dānaṁjapastīrthaṁ tathaiva cagurutattvam avijnāyamūḍhāste carate janāḥ"The practice of japa, the rituals of sacrifice, vows, penance, charity and pilgrimages are all a waste of time without a proper understanding of the guru principle.”We can try to learn music on our own, but if we wish to save time, it is better to enlist the aid of a teacher. One can try to learn math and algebra alone; however, a year in a high school or college will save hours of effort and an incredible amount of energy and time. Do you believe someone would be willing to take his child or person under his care to a dentist who studied only according to the method of “do it yourself?” Would you be willing to be counseled by a lawyer who had received his degree in this way? Would you want to be cared for by a doctor whose knowledge comes from one of those books “Medicine for Idiots?” Maybe not.

The Viśva-dharma guides us toward unity, while, at the same time it understands and respects the manifold expressions of that unity. Only the blindness of fanaticism and egoism can claim to package all human beings within a single uniform way of understanding, seeing, feeling and experiencing the truth.

Commentary:

Krishna se dirige a Arjuna como “hijo de Pṛthā”. Si retrocedemos veremos que la primera vez que El Señor se dirige al gran arquero y kshatriya de esta misma manera es en el capítulo anterior, verso 25. Allí El Señor despierta sentimientos de apegos familiares en Arjuna, el cual después de exponer sus propios conceptos acerca del ideal de la familia y en relación con éste hablando del amor, la paz y la no violencia, Arjuna decide finalmente no luchar en esta batalla.Kṛṣṇa nuevamente se refiere en este verso al guerrero como “hijo de Pṛthā”, refiriéndose a él de esta manera en relación a su madre, quien fuera hermana del padre de Krishna, Vasudeva. Esto también le recuerda al Kshatriya que su padre es ni más ni menos que Indra, el cual es un gran guerrero y emperador de los planetas celestiales. También, basándose en el ideal familiar y en los deberes para con respecto a esta, Kṛṣṇa se refiere a los sentimientos de Arjuna, no como "compasión" sino que como simple "cobardía" indigna de un Kshatriya, es decir no ofrece dignidad ni aél ni a su familia ni a sus ancestros … El Señor le ofrece a Arjuna un ángulo completamente diferente de ver todo el asunto.Arjuna habla en el primer capítulo acerca del dharma o deber, sin embargo, tomando en cuenta su Kshatriya dharma, su actitud es repudiable y El Señor le indica claramente que ésta debe ser abandonada de inmediato. La orden del Señor en la última palabra del verso es clara... parantapaha o castigador de los enemigos.Kṛṣṇa desea a Arjuna cumpliendo con su deber y combatiendo.

...”naiva kiñcit karomītiyukto manyeta tattva-vitpaśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrannaśnan gacchan svapañ śvasanpralapan visṛja ngṛhṇannunmiṣan nimiṣann apiindriyāṇīndriyārtheṣuvartanta iti dhārayan“A person in divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, receiving, evacuating, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects (and that he is aloof from them).” (Bhagavad-gītā 5.8-9)The karma-yogī offers his service in a spirit of giving and surrender, with deep love and attention. Any work performed according to the wisdom of karma-yoga will always be engaging and interesting, because boredom is simply due to a lack of observation...An excessively egoistic person cannot work without contemplating the compensation and benefits he will receive. He cannot detach his mind from his anticipated reward. Since all goals only exist tomorrow, the search for results prevents us from locating ourselves in the present. Pursuing benefits converts us, inevitably, into “tomorrow-ists”… It disconnects us from the present, wresting us from the now, from reality...Ultimately we begin to understand that meditation cannot be disconnected from our lives: it does not come to an end when we open our eyes. The ‘art of action’ in karma-yoga is an invitation to transform our actions into meditation in movement. We occupy the hands with work and labor, while the mind flows toward the Divine, emptying itself and becoming dissolved in God....The karma-yogī acts without any emotional involvement, which allows him to have a deeper and more coherent view of life. Actions do not hinder the internal silence or the mental and emotional equipoise of the karma-yogī. Free of anxiety about the results, he acts without a calculative mentality. There is no place for deception or the feeling of being utilized or exploited. The karma-yogī lives without expectations, so there is never any disillusionment or frustration. He can perform his work like a bank teller, neither overjoyed when there is a large deposit, nor dismayed when there is an even greater withdrawal.

From this mantra to the eighth, the Upanishad describes the Self, the soul or Brahman. This kind of upanishadic descriptions are spiritual treasures and eternal religious monuments of the humanity, because as they constitute direct testimonies of the experience of the Truth, they transcend the borders of the mind, as well as of traditions and cultures.

In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.3.1), the esteemed disciple of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī, offers the following definition of bhāva:śuddha-sattva-viśeṣātmāprema-sūryāṁśu-sāmya-bhākrucibhiś citta-māsṛṇya-kṛd asau bhāva ucyate“When bhakti rises to the transcendental plane of pure sattva it is like a ray of the Sun of love. In that moment, devotion makes different pleasures pierce the heart, and then the devotee is situated in bhāva.”In this very interesting verse that appears also in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (madhya-līlā 23.5), Rūpa Goswāmī refers to bhāva as prema-sūryāṁśu or “a ray of the sun of prema”. In this way, if bhāva is a ray, the love of God, or prema, is the Sun itself. Both are qualitatively the same, but different with respect to the quantity of light and heat. In the early morning we see at first a very dim light. However, when we see this light we know that the sun will appear very soon. This dim light of the early morning is like bhāva, and the sun is like prema; the first announces the appearance of the second. The sun of the love of God announces its presence by warming our heart through one of its rays.Rasa is made of five bhāvas: eternal affection and the four types of emotional experiences that intensify this affection:Vibhāva or “cause of ecstasy”: That which stimulates our eternal affection for Kṛṣṇa.Anubhāva or “subsequent to ecstasy”: the action that results from the intensified affection for God, which in its turn helps to heighten that affection.Sāttvika-bhāva or “existential ecstasy”: an involuntary reaction that results in the intensification of the affection for Kṛṣṇa, which in turn helps enhance this affection.Vyabhicāri-bhāva or “aggressive ecstasy”: an emotional experience that results in the intensification of the affection for the Lord, which in turn helps to embellish and enhance that affection.

ṛṣayaḥ draṣṭāraḥ na kartāraḥ

Motion is a purely physical phenomenon that is defined as the change of position in space undergone by bodies of a system, relative to themselves or to other another body that is used as a reference point. For this definition we draw on mechanics, which is the branch of physics that describes the movement of bodies and their evolution in time, when subjected to forces.

na ca śaknomy avasthātuṁ bhramatīva ca me manaḥ nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśava Translation:O Keshava, I feel I am unable to stay here any longer. My mind is spinning. I see nothing but omens of situations which will cause misfortune.Commentary:In this verse, Arjuna addresses Lord Krishna by the name Keshava, as Krishna has killed demons such as Keshi. By doing that, Arjuna indirectly appeals to the Lord, that just as He has killed demons like Keshi and others in order to protect his devotees, in the same way to destroy the demon of illusion in his heart and thus protect his devotee who has fallen into such a horrible situation. This interesting marginal note is found in the commentary of Madhusudana Saraswati.Slowly, the Gita goes on exposing more and more symptoms of this phenomenon called maya or illusion. One who acts in illusory consciousness has more or less enthusiasm according to what those activities promise him, in terms of benefits, pleasure or personal satisfaction, in the future. The religious person acts from a completely transcendental consciousness. Arjuna weighs up the results of his actions according to the previously described symptoms, and in consideration of his own pleasure or incommodity he reaches the conclusion that this entire situation leads to misfortune.Evidently, this conclusion, based on personal convenience, deprives him from any enthusiasm and desire to fight.Arjuna does not see (pasyami) anything but disaster in the results of his actions, but what possibility do we really have to see or analyze our situation, when we are covered by the illusion and the ignorance, that do not even allow us to see who or what we really are? It is interesting that in the vedic literature, the wise ones are called "rishis" or seers, meaning, those who really see.

The Self is motionless, complete in the tranquility of his perfection because, just as we have pointed out, motion includes evolution, change and transformation in space and time, and Brahman is immutable as it is transcendental to these... the omnipresent is obviously static, as it is present in every place, and as there is no place where it is absent... that is to say that the term "motionless" in this mantra does not have to be understood as a limitation of God, but rather on the complete contrary, it refers to its omnipresence. It remains absolutely clear that the omnipresent can be only that which does not undergo changes of any kind and is essentially static, although this motionlessness is related to its preexistence...

We must renounce our mental world, which is made of bubbles…we must renounce our past, that past that we project as an imagination on the future…we must renounce our expectations. … renounce We must renounce this mental world, in order to yield, to surrender ourselves… to reality…to Kṛṣṇa … to what is.

 In another interpretation, guru is translated as "heavy”, or as the opposite of laghu, "lightweight", suggesting that the guru is one firmly established in the Truth and unmoved by earthly temptations and illusion.The term guru is a classic and traditional concept that is so ancient that it is mentioned in the Manu Smṛti, or Laws of Manu. In the tradition and culture of classical India, and according to the Vedic religion, accepting a guru, or spiritual master, was basic and essential upon reaching the age of twelve, at which time one received his mantra, his dīkṣā, or sacred initiation, as well as guidance and direction about spiritual life, religion, enlightenment and sādhanā...In the same text of the Śrī Guru Gītā (10) it says...gūḍha vidyā jaganmāyādehe cājnāna saṁbhavāudayo yatprakāśenaguruśabdena kathaye"Māyā or illusion lies in the human body. The one from whose light true wisdom is born is called guru.”The necessity of a spiritual masterIn the West, it is accepted that if we are Jewish, we will follow the guidance of a rabbi, if we are Catholic, we will follow the teachings of our priest, if we are Protestant we will seek the counsel of our respected pastor, and if we are Muslim, we will follow the direction and guidance of an imām. Unfortunately however, due to cultural obstacles and ignorance, we encounter at times a disrespectful attitudes towards the sacred tradition of the guru as a religious and spiritual authority, as well as a resistance to accepting the legitimacy of Hinduism as a religion as worthy of our respect as any other.Within the Guru-disciple tradition, it is a duty of Hindu fathers to educate their sons, by which they learn that having a guru is not only a requirement for yogis and sannyāsīs. The work and service offered by a guru is not limited solely to giving his disciples a mantra, but has a very important place within every Hindu family. Every traditional Indian family has a spiritual master or guru who is consulted not only about religious and spiritual topics, but who offers his support, guidance and counsel in practically each and every one of the aspects of family life.

लोकवेदेषु तदनुकूलाचरणं तद्विरोधिषूदासीनता। ११lokavedeṣu tadanukūlācaraṇaṁ tadvirodhiṣūdāsīnatā |Translation:Performing secular and sacred activities, one only performs those which are favorable, and maintains oneself indifferent toward the negative actions.Commentary:During my life I knew many religious people who never know a religion... and also many people who know religion living and acting cruelly and anti-religiously.That led me not to accept religions but to love religion, I noticed that those who had realized in their lives the ideals of religion do not seem very religious...Favorable is everything that in one way or another contributes to create the appropriate situation for the blossoming of love, which gets us near to our true nature or God... negative or unfavorable is exactly the contrary, everything that takes us far away from the pure consciousness and of divine love. In other words, the good and the bad are directly related to what helps or hinders the development of our Bhakti... Rupa Goswami, the great bhakti-yogi of the Guadiya lineage of Sri caitanya, mentions in the second verse of his book Upadesamrita, the nectar of instruction, the principal obstacles that hinders the proper development of bhakti in the heart of the bhakti, meaning, the activities that are considered unfavorable.atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś caprajalpo niyamāgrahaḥjana-saìgaś ca laulyaṁ cañaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyatiBhakti can be destroyed especially by the following six faults: 1) eating more than is necessary, or accumulating more funds than is required; 2) striving too much for mundane things that are not obtained easily; 3) talking about mundane subjects without necessity; 4) following the rules and regulations of the scriptures only for continuing them as matter of tradition and not in order to develop spiritually, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and work in an independent or whimsical way; 5) associating with people with mundane inclinations that are not interested in development or evolution; 6) aspiring mundane achievements.

Upon reading the Upanishads we frequently find apparent "contradictions", just as in this mantra, because the part, when it tries to relate itself to the Whole from its own perspective, that is, taking itself as a part, is only capable of grasping fragments and pieces, never the Totality... When seeing parts, without realizing the Whole, they appear contradictory. However, upon realizing the Complete, or upon seeing in Totality, we realize these polarities not as contradictory but as coherent and complementary... Because in spite of the diversity and multiplicity in movement that we perceive through our senses, only the reality is... only the existence is... The whole, which we call Brahman...

atra śūrā maheṣv-āsābhīmārjuna-samā yudhiyuyudhāno virāṭaś cadrupadaś ca mahā-rathaḥTranslation:This army has a great number of heroic archers, like Bhima and Arjuna, as well as the great soldiers Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada.Commentary:The word yuyudhāna directly refers to Sātyaki...Subhadra refers to Abhimanyu and Draupadeyāh directly refers to the various sons of the five Pandavas born from Draupadī, directed by Pratibindhya.

vetam uraittānum vetiyar veḻvikkāy

¡Oh, hijo de Pṛthā!, no cedas a esta cobardía. No es digna de ti. Abandona esa mezquina flaqueza del corazón y levántate a luchar, ¡oh, castigador del enemigo!

It is impossible to understand ātma-sākṣātkāra on an intellectual level. As egos, we learn about this concept in books and at religious discourses, but we believe our own idea about the perception of the Self. Therefore, in our search for the truth, we must be very careful because we are running the risk of making efforts to reach a goal that is nothing more than a mental interpretation.In our ordinary state of consciousness, we do not live from an authentic perception of our reality but from a belief about what we are. The egoic phenomenon consists in our self-objectivization; we perceive ourselves as “something” separated and disconnected from the Whole. Atmaṣātkāra is our disappearance as “someone”, the perception of the Self constitutes our disappearance as an “I”-idea or “I”-concept.No one can claim to be an enlightened being, because when the light of truth appears, it only reveals its absence, therefore there is nothing there to be “enlightened”. To think that you or I can be enlightened is simply an absurdity, because the only function that this “I” can accomplish is to be an obstacle. In essence, we are all enlightened, since enlightenment is completely transcendental to what we believe ourselves to be or what has become of us, as egos we have no relationship with That.In society we have been trained to develop our acquisitive powers, which increase the more successful we become. However, in the spiritual sense what we develop is our capacity of renunciation, with which we cease to acquire, not because we cannot, but because we transcend our sensation of lack, and therefore our need to possess and accumulate.Enlightenment does not consist in adding but in subtracting, it is not to gain anything that is missing but it is to divest ourselves of excess, it is not the acquisition of something that we lack, but the renunciation of the ideas, beliefs, concepts and conclusions that have been projected, accumulated and accepted as our identity.Religion is a path that leads from darkness to the light, but it is a road for losers, because the more we advance, the less we possess.