BG4.37

The nectar of Gita is going to be drunk from a great place today [5th November, 2007]. In kamya vanam we are at pithalini sila. It means slippery rock. Just like the slopes in parks for kids to play, this is a natural slope, where Sri Krishna and friends used to play. A slip play in this will ensure we do not have any slips in our life. Nearby is Vyomasura guha or cave where demon Vyomasura hijacked the cowherds and hid them. Sri Balarama thereafter fought with the demon and killed him and restored the children. We will now see the 35th sloka:

yaj jnatva na punar moham
evam yasyasi pandava
yena bhutany asesani
draksyasy atmany atho mayi

"Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are equal, or, in other words, that they are like Me."

Let us see how this sloka is a continuation of the previous slokas. In 33rd sloka, He told that the Gyana part in yagna is more important than the dravya part. This gyana has to mature and result in atman sakshatkaram. Maturing of the gyana requires the guidance of an Acharya. Then only we can acquire more and more knowledge. He also told how we have to be humble and respectfully serving to an Acharya and get our doubts resolved. By learning this way our knowledge matures and ultimately result in atman sakshatkaram. Let us assume a person has stomach pain or typhoid or jaundice. He takes medicine to cure his ailment. Then the body comes to normal. Then we can take food of our liking. So, there are three stages. First, the suffering due to the ailment. Second is the system returning to normalcy after taking medicines. Finally the normal stage, when we can eat what we want to. Similarly in philosophy, we are in the first stage when due to papa acquired in the past we are suffering. To cure this we have to seek an Acharya and get his guidance. We practice what we learnt and uninterruptedly perform our daily and occasional routines [nitya naimittika karma]. This will eliminate our papa. Immediately we can not get atman sakshatkaram. So, we have to again approach Archery and with his advice on atman our knowledge matures leading to atman sakshatkaram. Our Karma yoga is like the medicine destroying our sins. A sinless atman only can acquire true knowledge of atman and mature. With the ailment we can not eat what we want. We have to eradicate the ailment, come to normal and then only we can eat the normal food. Karma yoga to eliminate our papa and approach to Acharya for maturing of the knowledge. Yajjnatwa = after understanding from the Acharya, na punar = never again, moham = the confused knowledge that atman is body, yasyasi = will attain. Yena = by acquiring this knowledge, asesana = without residue, bhutani = all living beings, atmani = as equal to you [Arjuna], drakshyasy = see or view. Not only that, atho mayi = even equal to Me [Sri Krishna]. So, by gaining this knowledge from Acharyas, we will not see others as male, female, animal or tree, but all as atman and equal to us. This is the matured ultimate stage, when we will view all as equal and also equal to God. Without this knowledge we see the differences like one's education level or sex or intellectual inferiority. Body and apparent intelligence makes all the differences. The moment we see the atman in others we will realize that all are equal in intelligence and appearance. In this slope also while playing all are equal and none thinks one is superior. In the next stage when Sri Krishna also plays, we find He is equal to us. This feeling will come only when we see atman in all. When He says this will also make us to view us equal to Sri Krishna, it is equal in Gyana. What all He knows we [our atman] will know. We are still His servants only. Papa punya makes us to see the differences and by eliminating them we slowly gain the knowledge to view all as equal.