The Soul, Atman.

The Anglicised version is ‘Self’ for ‘Atman’. This is not a suitable word and there is no alternate word in English that can express Atman properly, not even the word ‘Soul’. We should, hence, avoid these terms as much as possible and use only Samskruta terms. So, ‘Knowledge of the Self’ is Atmavidya or Brahmavidya. Also, there are no capital letters (upper or lower case) as in English and the capital letters when used to transliterate the terms in Samskruta language will give wrong meanings (say, Brahman for brahman, where B is bh); so also V or M becomes just a  .  (dot). Hence, we should be careful while expressing these things in English.

    Thus, we come to the realm of higher knowledge, para vidya, the knowledge supreme, also known as Vedanta. The knowledge of the Self discussed here is of utmost importance to all those who have reached their evening of life, vruddhapya. But, the beginning has to be made sometime very early since it is not possible to study the ancient scriptures and take to yoga in old age when the physical body and the senses are weak. Most of the people die without attaining this ultimate knowledge, the knowledge concerning the Self and take to repeated births and deaths. The shackles of the chain of births and deaths cannot be cut without the sharp instrument of this atma-jnyan, ‘Knowledge of the Self’. This entire exercise has been advocated to only those who have experienced life, in toto, are happy, and say, ‘enough’! May be it is also for those who are totally unhappy and say ‘enough is enough’!!

   Anyway, all of us, the mortals, the embodied souls as jivas, will ultimately seek redemption one day or the other. This rendering of the divine principles selected from the scriptures will come handy to rescue us, those who seek redemption, mukti. It is needless to state that these are the ‘intuitive knowledge’ of the visionaries, great sages. These have come down to us as if a gift of our elders, Guru or teachers. This is our cultural heritage. It is advisable to keep a copy of this book at bedside and give a cursory glance now and then before going to sleep. It pays rich dividends.

The True Nature of the Universe

    Born as humans, promoted from the state of homo sapiens erectus (with ability to hold) to homo sapiens sapiens (with ability to think), we face a number of riddles like the questions posed by the Sphinx of Egypt. We are baffled with the problems for which we do not know either the causes or solutions. Hence, we look to some ancient scriptures or learned people who know the scriptures for guidance. Even if the answers are forthcoming, our ability to understand is extremely limited.

  Here, “The Advent of the Soul” takes us to unknown depths of the vast ocean of Consciousness, ‘sudha sindho’, and presents an invaluable insight into a world of immense joy and beauty. It is rather trying to present what is inexplicable, the hidden treasures of creation. It unfolds the vista, hitherto unheard of, and what is not heard (anahata) will be heard and what is not seen (adrushta) will be seen here. Since this is a spiritual journey inward reaching the innermost centre, the core of the entity, within, when the traveller realizes that it is one’s self only and there is no another, and the experience felt is one’s own and, as such, incommunicable. At this stage of exalted heights of consciousness one does not exist at all for all practical purposes (with awareness of body mind and senses) since the jiva has entered its own inner precincts- sanctum sanctorum, closing all the doors to the external world. In a way, it is ‘death’ or removal of the outer sheaths of the soul. ‘Death’ here does not mean the end of the journey. It is rather leaving for the next destination. In this long journey of the soul, what all that is experienced is the supreme bliss. It is ‘fulfilment’.

    We do not realize that are living in a magical world. The entire phenomenal objective world can be touched! Everything comes out of nowhere and ‘nothing’ and incidentally, the word ‘nowhere’ and ‘nothing’ contain the words ‘now’ (Time) and ‘here’ (Place), and ‘thing’ (Object) that emanates, manifest from nowhere! Thus, we find the three prime factors- Time, Space, and Object, come into existence from nowhere and nothing! This nothingness is not ‘void’ (shunya) as some are prone to think. It is the supreme quietude, ‘Absolute Silence’ (mahattanta shanta). It is called ‘brahmn’; the absolute abstract, nothingness (but not void), the unmanifest that is 'nowhere' and still everywhere in an invisible state; thus, what is called 'brahmn' is the source, origin of everything and everything ultimately merges into 'It'. The 'brahmn' contains the entire universe in a nutshell and manifests as the objective phenomenal diverse universe; it is manifestation of itself, its 'Self', the supreme Self- paramatman! The 'parmatman' and the individualized Atman are the same! The Vedic doctrine is Atma eva brahm |

   Further, it may seem surprising that, “that which does not move appears to be moving”. Also, that which is non-existent appears to us as real! Is it not strange that light comes out of darkness, knowledge out of ignorance, sound out of silence, baby out of the mother’s womb, and father out of Father in Heavens?

   The Biblical saying is “Let there be Light”, said the Lord, “Lo, there was Light”. The vast, deep, dark, space consists of innumerable galaxies. There is unimaginably dark space (distance) between each star. The distance between the Sun and the nearest star Sirius (Jyeshta) is 1.4 Light Years. The ‘Milky Way’ in which the Sun, a moderate sized Star, of our solar system is a spiral disc containing myriads of stars and planets. The Sun, a hot gaseous mass, is said to be born 4.56 billion years ago and would last another 7.44 billion years during which all its energy would radiate rendering it a cold, gross, inert body. We are all bound by this time and time is energy. The individualized Self, jivatman gets embodied due to the divine will, and its body is entirely made of the soil (food) and water. This embodiment of the Self, the Atman, the jiva jyoti, is the problem! To get this out, extricate the embedded soul is the goal, sole purpose, of the enlightened persons! The process begins almost at the end of the journey, the last  life, that too, hen the jiva realizes its true nature and seeks liberation, emancipation.

The Immortal and the Eternal Within Us

  Normally, the belief is that "all that is born shall die!" However, we do not understand that it is the physical body that has been developed on the constant supply of food and water that deteriorates and perishes in the long run. The core of the substance, the soul, remains the same spark of fire whether inside or outside of its embodiment. The Newtonian concept of Energy is at the root of all that exist. "No energy, no mass (body) or velocity (movement) is the rule. Thus, when we realize the fact that we entered the earth a photon, a particle of fire, the spark of the distant star and built a nest of nerves and neurons enmeshed by skeleton, flesh and blood made of earth (food), we will  know the truth. The soul is eternal, immortal, unborn and imperishable. However, it is the embodiment that creates the problem!

  Lord Shree Krishna says, “Arjuna, there is no time when you and I never existed” (Bhagavad-Gita, IV-5). We have been in existence (as stellar material in some elemental form?) even prior to the birth of Vivasvan, the Sun. Several are our lives and you do not remember the past ones, whereas I know the past, present and the future. Bhagavan Shree Krishna manifests here as pure Consciousness, the Witnessing Self (Sakshin) and Arjuna is depicted as born out of the sacred word (the mantra putra), blessed son of Indra, the Deity of the Mind!

   Now it is certain that all the jivas are taking a long journey on this earth with repeated births and deaths, as if changing the worn-out clothes. There is no beginning or end to the jiva’s ignorance. All the jivas live and work in a mysterious world that has no real existence of its own! The earth is borne out of the Sun, rather Solar flares, and the jivas survive on sun rays. Further, the jivas live on an unstable earth- rotating and revolving, subject to unexpected jerks, shaking now and then due to earthquakes, and volcanoes spewing gas, dust, boulders and magmatic material and lava flows, besides the vagaries of climate like storms, cyclones, floods and famines, tsunamis, etc. These are really the cause of great worry. Our very existence is at stake.

   It is no more a surprising fact that the earth is always on the move- rotating on its axis and revolving at a terrific speed, going around the Sun. The entire Solar System in our Galaxy called ‘Milky Way’ or ‘Akash-Ganga’ is racing along with millions of galaxies in the direction of the Pole Star. There is no safety and security or stability here. Still we all live and work peacefully, and sleep quietly every night as if nothing happens!

   The Earth, as a Planet of the Solar System was born 4.53 billion years ago from the solar flares. It has undergone cooling, condensation, and solidification for millions of years to reach the present state- Land (21%) found within the shallow depths of the earth’s surface and the inner core of the earth is plasma of boiling Nickel and Iron. The surface history of the earth is quite interesting. Six great convulsions of earth’s crust, upheavals have taken place so far and the face of the earth has changed remarkably over the billions of years by tectonic processes, orogenesis (mountain-building), weathering, denudation- erosion and deposition. But, these changes are slow and imperceptible. Many a deep Sea basins have been gradually filled with deposits of sediments by agents of weathering and denudation such as wind, rain, and rivers and new lands have been created. Many ancient lands (like the Atlantis) have disappeared under the sea. Mountains stand where there stood vast stretches of narrow sea. The Himalayas, for example occupy the place that was once a Sea of Tethys, the remnant of which is the Mediterranean Sea. There are large areas of land below sea level, dykes have been built to prevent flooding of the low-lying Scandinavian countries- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Netherlands, and the entire Europe is a low-lying plain. These are exemplified in the epics as avatars of the Lord- varaha avatara, kurma avatara and matsya avatara to resurrect the earth and restore the Veda. Upliftment and submergence of land masses have taken place along the Western coast of India. Crustal movements and subsequent eustatic changes causing change in seal levels are common.

   As regards the origin of the solar system, the Sun is a Hydrogen-Helium spiraling boiling gaseous body, rotating on its axis and moving at a great speed in space. It is a million times larger than the Earth. Several smaller planets and satellites including the Earth and Moon have formed out of the spilling gas of these solar flares. It is on this unbelievably small mustard-sized planet, as compared to the Sun, that life is found in multitude of forms in different ecosystems like the marshes, forests, grasslands and deserts, mountain slopes, sea coasts, lake-sides and river-sides! May be several hundred such Earths are there around us!

      When we see all these and think about the appearance of life on earth, one feels that definitely there must be a powerful force, an unseen (adrushta) power (shakti) that create and govern all these. There is a higher power that sits everywhere, within us, too, driving the universe as a chariot by a charioteer like Lord Shree Krishna (driving the Chariot of Arjuna) in the epic Mahabharata War. It is He who creates jivas at His Will and pleasure and infuses prana, desires, dreams, ambitions, aspirations, thoughts and ideas, give imagination, forms, and motion and drive jivas around in all their pursuits. We do not believe that “He, the God is within us” and, do not realize that “It is He who breathes in and out within us as the life-force and consciousness!”

  There are people who abuse God for their ills. They do not understand the fact that, God has nothing to do with people’s behaviour and actions, for He has given them ‘Free Will’ to do as they like and ultimately pay for it. Let us be clear that He, the God, has not created anything like a country by name Aryavarta (India), America, Australia, or Africa, nor did He create the Varna (colour and creed), Ashrama and its divisions, dharma such as Brahmin (priestly class), Kshatriya (fighting clan or Royal families/kings), or Vaishya (tradesman), or a Shudra (farmer). Nothing prevents a wandering soul from continuing its journey in any part of the earth taking any form it likes! Sage Vishvamitra may take birth as an Alexander or a Galileo or Newton if he wishes so. In fact, He, the Lord says, “Everything is Him only.” These castes and creeds, the names of States and their divisions and demarcations of boundaries are all of people’s own foolish making! First they mark a boundary and then they cry foul! He, the Lord only exists in all. Is it not a miracle that we live and work together despite all our jealousy, infirmities, ignorance, poverty, squalor and deficiencies as if nothing happens? Rishis, discoursing on Brahman, ask: Is Brahman the cause? Whence are we born? By what do we live? Where do we dwell at the end? Please tell us, O ye who know Brahman, under whose guidance we abide, whether in pleasure or in pain. Should time, or nature, or necessity, or chance, or the elements be regarded as the cause? Or, he who is called the purusha the living self? [Yajurveda, Sveta. Upa. Part I, Chapter 1, 1-2].

    The supreme Lord manifests in numerous forms. In the Bhagavad-Gita, He asserts that, “maya is created in my seeing. People are mesmerised by this maya. ‘My’ maya is so sweet, a person cannot understand how very sweet is this ‘I’ is. Oh Arjuna, do not forget me; is you do not forget me, maya will not be able to do anything to you.” Further, He, the Lord goes on to say, “See the characteristics of maya! She created a huge lake and birds and insects! Observing this, it all appears to be true, but it is nothing. There is no escape from the hands of maya. Yet God saves one who takes refuge in Him. That person alone whom God bestows his grace can escape the hands of maya.”  This ‘i’ is the maya. The jiva goes on saying ‘i did this’, ‘i did that’, and ‘i am so and so’, etc. It disappears as soon gets into deep sleep (sushupti) every night or day. The moment one gets out of sleep, this ‘i’ appears! None has understood where this exists and when it makes its appearance. All the problems of the jiva are created by this ‘i’- the ego (ahankara). The moment this ‘i’ disappears (as saint Kanakadasa said), the jiva is liberated from the clutches of maya, that binds the jiva due to ignorance. Thus, ‘i am’, ‘i is’, i only, is the maya. This i merges in Brahman every night when we are deep sleep and the jiva enjoys a blissful existence unaware of the world! This i only will come out ignorance refreshed after a night-long sleep.  “This gross body of liberated souls will decompose; yet, even if the body goes, their powers remain; it does not go.” The vasanas, karma kleshas form the seedlings for next birth. People unmindful of this go on quarrelling themselves. They create divisions. So long as there is divisive thinking, divisive actions, so long will people create sects. If the divisive attitude departs, the upadhi, false identification, is destroyed. At the destruction of the upadhi, the tender hook on which the jiva is suspended one becomes aware of one’s divine consciousness. The realization comes when one realizes that “One Brahman has manifest as many". When one becomes pure, one will have the understanding that: "I am verily Vishnu. I am a child of Vishnu.” 'Shivo'ham' is the total awareness!

    Our existence on this planet is almost a miracle. Mysteries surround our birth and death. So far, no plausible explanation is forthcoming for our existence. It seems ‘no purpose is served merely eating and sleeping, whiling away time in seeking joy in extraneous things’. Moreover, all our thoughts and actions, behaviour, problems of hunger, disease, old age and death are not in our hands. Life is full of and probabilities. Nothing is certain here. What we see and believe may not be true at all! Things have to be seen in the background of an unstable earth, a vast expansive universe that is ever on the move, a universe of no known magnitude or dimension, and of illusory nature bound by Time and Space. In fact, this Time that creates Space by its movement is by itself an illusion! If Time is illusion, the space created by it as well as the objects that fill it and endure are also illusion. Illusion of illusion is delusion. Thus, there is no end to this delusion, ignorance. We, as the humans, should realize the fact that we are nothing but specks of dust, star-dust at that. These jivas or vibrant life-forms are like sparks of fire flying out of flames. Once we realize ‘who we are’, where do we come from, and where do we go from here when we die, or how we give up one mortal body and take another soon after, the ‘Reality’ dawns on us. We are truly the spiritual entity- the atman, embodied in an earthen shell like a pot made of clay susceptible to leakage and breakage. Symbolically, a pot filled with water is broken at the time of cremation of the dead bodies. This signifies the fact that the inside and the outside separated by an earthen shell is no more, and everything is one! 

    However, the purpose of our existence is yet to be defined. The ancient scriptures are our best guides. But, we neither have the complete texts of these, nor do we ever understand their coded language. The story of the arrival and departure of a jivatman on this planet is narrated here. It is an autobiography of the soul. Thus, the soul only speaks here. It is an intuitional knowledge obtained from parame vyoman in yogic trance.

     This spiritual study, like any other discipline calls for determination, steadfastness, keen interest, focused attention, concerted effort, and serious practice of yoga, and devotion to Guru. There should be a sense of purpose in life in order to attain to the highest level of existence and enjoy supreme bliss that is possible for any human being. Spiritual journey is more arduous than the journey in the material and sensuous world. Material world is also hazardous full of uncertainties, failures, disappointments, disillusionment, and frustrations. It is endless, with countless wants, insatiability, cravings for more and more, and finally, ordained to repeated births and deaths. The spiritual path is no less unpredictable and hazardous- full of unknown twists and turns and glaring mysteries, secrets, and coded secret words (mantra) that may often lead to doubts and disbeliefs, and sudden loss of faith and interest.

   Another hazard of this spiritual journey is that the sadhaka moves slowly away from the lower, ’here’, the concrete, the sensible, logic and sensuous gibbering towards the higher, ‘there’, abstract, nonsense, rather senseless(?), and silence. Worldly people are prone to treat this as madness. Most of the teachings of Great Masters are based on these principles and still people run to them! It seems paradoxical that people want solace in times of their distress and look to these renunciates, but do not want to follow their teachings in their daily life! For instance, if one tries to become a Raghavaendra Tirtha, one should follow in his footsteps and take to sanyas at the early age. If one follows his footsteps, the first casualty would be his wife and the next, his mother. As we know, Raghavaendra Swamy’s wife Saraswati Bai committed suicide and his mother died in distress. In fact, most of the mystics have undergone untold misery and sufferings in their life before looking to higher spiritual power for solace. 

  The teachings of Acharyas like Shankaracharya, Madhava (Vidyaranya), or Badarayana can never be understood unless one experiences the times and way of life they lived. Shankara experienced untold misery and things have changed over time. It seems thus impossible for a common man to come to spiritual field, adhyatma, giving up the hearth and home, sensuous worldly life. Nobody wants to leave the cosy life of comforts and take to a life of a recluse and do severe askesis (tapas). Hathayoga is out of question. Even those who have tried and succeeded to some extent have suddenly fallen from grace!

     What we mostly see around us as spiritual seekers or teachers of yoga are not what they should be, with exception, of course. Self-Realization (Atma sakshatkara) is not easy. Those who have attained to this highest state of spiritual state, pure consciousness, do not have any interest in worldly affairs for they have crossed the Mental-mental state of evolution and have stepped into Spiritual realm (See Aurobindo) after discarding conscious awareness of their mundane existence, albeit, they spend time here till they cast off their physical body. They live a life of absolute bliss unaware of the happenings to other earthlings. This should not be construed as a selfish way of life since these blessed souls have been emancipated, redeemed, or liberated! They rejoice in Brahmn consciousness.

   Sri Krishnananda, Shivananda Ashrama, Hrishikesh, says: “Nothing that comes from outside is of any help in attaining to the knowledge of the Self.’ In fact, thousands of teachers and preachers go on talking and talking without any substance. Many do not know what they are talking about. This can be verified from their life style. If some boast of 50,000 followers, some boast of 400 ashrams all over the world; some say, they have never read a scripture in their life but still talk like “devil quoting the scriptures’. The truth is very simple: “If i suffer from stomach pain, i only should take the medicine”. Unless i learn to sit in a place for just two minutes a day nothing is possible. The first step is taken when you take a crash course in Transcendental meditation and ashtanga yoga. It must be remembered, the first four steps of Patanjali yoga sutras such as yama, niyama, pratyahara, aparigraha, and Ishvara pranidana can never be followed in this life.

   It seems impossible to attain to Samadhi remaining in worldly life, hearing lectures on philosophy, religion and spirituality. This is the reason why some serious seekers leave everything and rush to Himalayas and undergo tremendous hardships. We want bed-tea and timely breakfast, lunch and dinner and friends to chat, and at the same time aspire for enlightenment! Lo! There are guru and swami who advice to stay in family, develop anasakti yoga, get vairagya (renunciation). The result is riding two horses (suti and asuti) at the same time. Contemplation, dharana and Samadhi are very important for attainment of atma jnyan and emancipation. This needs solitude.

   An attempt is made here to present altogether a different version of our understanding of the universe, and our place in an ever-changing universe in the light of recent findings in physical and biological sciences, as well as, the ancient scriptures. In fact, even the existing scientific theories are subject to change, but not the findings in Vedanta. What is so special about it? It is intuitional knowledge (shuddha vidhya) derived from a transcendental state, meditative or contemplative mode is samadhi, that needs no proof (pramANa).

The True Nature of the Universe

The True Nature of the Universe

    Can we ever know the true nature of the universe? Sage Ramana Maharshi says, "No, never"! Why? the answer is very simple. In the first place, we are all within it. One can know it(the true nature of the universe) only when one comes out of it! It is, thus, possible to know the true nature of the universe only when we come out of the universe that is constantly changing. The universe is what we can grasp by the senses, mind, and the buddhi. The true nature of the universe reveals itself once we withdraw these senses and mind from their outward going tendency!

    Born as humans, promoted from the state of homo sapiens erectus (with ability to hold) to homo sapiens sapiens (with ability to think), we face a number of riddles like the questions posed by the Sphinx of Egypt. We are baffled with the problems for which we do not know either the causes or solutions. Hence, we look to some ancient scriptures or learned people who know the scriptures for guidance. Even if the answers are forthcoming, our ability to understand is extremely limited.

  Here, “The Advent of the Soul” takes us to unknown depths of the vast ocean of Consciousness, ‘sudha sindho’, and presents an invaluable insight into a world of immense joy and beauty. It is rather trying to present what is inexplicable, the hidden treasures of creation. It unfolds the vista, hitherto unheard of, and what is not heard (anahata) will be heard and what is not seen (adrushta) will be seen here. Since this is a spiritual journey inward reaching the innermost centre, the core of the entity, within, when the traveler realizes that it is one’s self only and there is no another, and the experience felt is one’s own and, as such, incommunicable. At this stage of exalted heights of consciousness one does not exist at all for all practical purposes (with awareness of body mind and senses) since the jiva has entered its own inner precincts- sanctum sanctorum, closing all the doors to the external world. In a way, it is ‘death’ or removal of the outer sheaths of the soul. ‘Death’ here does not mean the end of the journey. It is rather leaving for the next destination. In this long journey of the soul, what all that is experienced is the supreme bliss. It is ‘fulfillment’.

    We do not realize that are living in a magical world. The entire phenomenal objective world can be touched! Everything comes out of nowhere and ‘nothing’ and incidentally, the word ‘nowhere’ and ‘nothing’ contain the words ‘now’ (Time) and ‘here’ (Place), and ‘thing’ (Object) that emanates, manifest from nowhere! Thus, we find the three prime factors- Time, Space, and Object, come into existence from nowhere and nothing! This nothingness is not ‘void’ (shunya) as some are prone to think. It is the supreme ‘Silence’, atyantaabhava (mahattanta shanta), that is called ‘brahmn’; the absolute nothing that is nowhere; thus, what is called Brahmn. The Brahmn contains the entire objective, phenomenal, world as a manifestation of its Self, the supreme Self- paramatman! Further, it may seem surprising that, “that which does not move appears to be moving”. Also, that which is non-existent appears to us as real! Is it not strange that light comes out of darkness, knowledge out of ignorance, sound out of silence, baby out of the mother’s womb, and father out of Father in Heavens?

   The Biblical saying is “Let there be Light”, said the Lord, “Lo, there was Light”. The vast, deep, dark, space consists of innumerable galaxies. There is unimaginably dark space (distance) between each star. The distance between the Sun and the nearest star Sirius (Jyeshta) is 1.4 Light Years. The ‘Milky Way’ in which the Sun, a moderate sized Star, of our solar system is a spiral disc containing myriads of stars and planets. The Sun, a hot gaseous mass, is said to be born 4.56 billion years ago and would last another 7.44 billion years during which all its energy would radiate rendering it a cold, gross, inert body. We are all bound by this time and time is energy.

   Time begins with the radiation of solar energy; but, our Almanac, Calendar, does not reflect this although it is based on the Solar Principle (Surya Siddhanta). During the last 4.53 billion years (since the origin of the earth), seven manvantara have elapsed (each manvantara consisting of four quarters called the ‘yuga’ – each of multiple duration, together lasting 3.42 million years) and another seven more manvantara would follow. Each one begins with a Sun as the first manu (from which the word ‘manvantara’ is derived). We are supposed to be living in Kali yuga, the fourth lap of the Seventh manvantara called the vaivasvata manvantara. The Calendars followed by different religions, castes and sects tell different stories and all these do not bring out the exact date of the beginning of the origin of the universe, the solar system, or that of the date of birth of the Earth and the Moon.

  To be precise, the Calendar that we follow reads like this- As on April 2014- vaishakha masa, Uttarayana, Shree Jaya nama samvatsara- 5114 years have elapsed from the first day of the First Quarter (prathama pada) of Kali yuga according to Hindu almanac. We are living in the 28^th Kali yuga, the last lap of the Seventh manvantara called the Vaivasvata. It is the Seventh since the birth of Sun as Vivasvan, the first manu. So far, 18025 kalpas (Six manvantara) are over and we are in the 18026^th kalpa called Shveta varaha kalpa. The life span of Solar System is about 36,000 kalpas and the earth would last for 8640 Million Years. However, these figures may not agree with the Gregorian or Christian and the Hijri Calendars. In India, the Hindu calendar, Shalivahana Shakha Panchanga, we have the paksha masa of two weeks from pratipada to Amavasya or Purnima based on the revolution of the Moon (constituting a year from April to April) around the earth and, the solar calendar of a year from January to December.

Gita in the Light of Ancient History and Mythology.

   Normally, we the people who read the scriptures like the Veda, Upanishads, Brahmasutras and the like think that these are written by somebody at some time in the past. But, when we read in the published sources, the fact that the Gitopadesha was imparted by Bhagavan, the supreme Lord, nirakara parabrahmn (vibhuti yoga in Ch.X) the question arises who said these to whom and when? So also, the Brahmasutras given by Sage Badarayana who is none else but Sri Hari Narayana, or for that matter, the "Veda that is said to be 'apourusheya' (written by no one!)"  Sri Krishna says, no one knows Me and My powers of manifestation, problem arises as to who spoke when?
   We normally forget the fact that the faculties, antahkarana (inner instruments), like the mind, buddhi, ahankara are the basic powerful forces at work in our intellectual, spiritual, pursuits. The mind (manas) is said to be akasha, brahmn- kham brahmaa, manan brahmaa. This mind is both inside and outside of us! This manas, mind is the primary aspect of humans (man) that runs the life. so, also, the buddhi or the Intellect runs our life! So all these scripture we possess today are the spoken words of the Lord (in Akash, mind) who is seated within us as the 'antaryamin'. Thus, all knowledge manifests in us only as the 'jnyan' emanating from the Atman, the soul. The sages and the seers experienced in their transcendental meditative mode (turiyaateeta prajnya)!  We, too, rather anybody can reach this level of Sage, Seers, and experience the doctrines of creation, sustenance, dissolution and merger in brahmn.
   The Bhagavad-Gita does not come under the epic, mythology, or ancient History of India like the Mahabharata, and even Ramayana does not, in this sense! There are several passages that clearly state, "This visible phenomenal objective world and the universe are created by my 'yogamaya', magical powers; I am the magician, mayavin! There is no limit to my manifestations! No one, not even the learned sages or the gods, can ever know Me. I am the 'knower' (jnyata) and the 'known' (jnyeya). Jnyan only exists!" In fact, the concept here is: "The perceiver and the perceived are one"!

   What all said remains abstract thoughts, the will of the Lord and what we read here as mythology or ancient history of India are all later perceptions of great thinkers, Seers, and those visualized the inner secrets of creation! The Bhagavad-Gits is a good example where "Bhagavan speaks"!

  As the mythological account goes, the Bhagavad-Gita comes as an interjection in the Bhishma parva of the great epic Mahabharata due to the condition laid down by Lord Ganapati who was taking the dictation of the epic Mahabharata from Vyasa Deva. The condition was that Vyasa should go on dictating the text while Ganapati, the scribe, goes on writing. However, the omniscient Lord Ganapati was faster and Vyasa got stuck at some stage for want of suitable matter for dictation and thought about Arjuna’s reluctance to fight was surging! He had to speak something and he blurted out the Gita which he remembered, quickly without waste of time, lest the scribe should leave! So Vyasa, Sri Krishna Dvaipayana narrated the Gitopadesha that was first imparted to Vivasvan, Surya deva, at the beginning of creation!

  Thus, here comes this short ‘adhyatma bodha’ in the form of “Sri Krishna’s advice to Arjuna”. Later on we will find that this is not even a dialogue or a conversation between two persons, but a monologue that appears like a dialogue between the embedded ‘Soul’ (jivatman) lamenting for its sad state, in confused mind (personified here as Arjuna, born as result of the Indra mantra uttered by Kunti), and the latter seeks guidance from the supreme Lord, Poorna-prajnya, (pure consciousness), personified here as Shree Krishna paramatman (seated within as the Self!).

   In fact, this entire episode is totally unconnected with the main text of the Mahabharata war and the battle field ‘Kurukshetra’ is a field, ‘kshetra’, known to only the ‘kshetrajnya’. Finally, the ‘kshetra’ and ‘kshetrajnya’ (jnyata and jnyeya) become one- Shree Krishna as the Field as well as the Knower of the Field. Whether it is Shree Krishna, Vyasa, or Ganapati, the ‘knower’ and the ‘known’, the preceptor and the perceived, are one. Jnyan, chit, consciousness, or the “sat” is the ultimate reality; all else is its manifest forms. Hence, the Lord proclaims, “I only exist and nothing exists besides Me!”

  It may surprise the sadhaka if it is stated that “there is neither a vyasa who is dictating the Gita, nor is there a Ganapati taking down the dictation!” It is, at best, a dialogue between ‘paramatman’, the pure Consciousness (chit) and the blemished soul, a vibrant mind (chittavrutti), full of attachment, ego, anger, etc. The distressed mind Arjuna is seeking guidance from ‘purna-prajnya’, Shree Krishna. All the characters depicted here (in the epic Mahabharata) are just characters with blemished souls, may be, that seek emancipation form their embodied states. In fact these characters are not like us, the human beings on earth, since the earth is yet to be born at the time when the Lord is imparting the gitopadesha to Vivasvan (Ch. IV. verse 1). Vivasvan is Surya deva stated to be 4.56 billion years old. There are lots of secret codes, symbolism, metaphors, similes, and words that hold many secrets in the Gita.

इदं तु ते गुह्यतमं प्रवक्श्याम्यनसूयवे। ज्नानं विज्नानसहितं यज्ज्नात्वा मोक्श्यसे शुभात्॥ (९. १)

 The Lord says, “Arjuna, I shall reveal the utmost secrets to you”. If this knowledge revealed by the Lord is the most secret of the ‘vidyas’ how can the mortals understand it? Moreover, what is that most ‘secret vidya’? He, the Lord, reveals that this knowledge is the supreme, ‘brahma vidya’, and a ‘yoga shastra that redeems the embedded jiva’! Hence, here are the secrets of creation, sustenance, and dissolution revealed to vivasvan, the Sun God, 4.56 billion years ago, even before the earth and all its living beings appeared! Hence it must be construed that the supreme Lord, Parabrahmn was contemplating upon creation in his meditative trance, yoganidra, about creation. Since Lord Krishna transcends time, rather, He being omnipotent and ‘kaal’ (Time) by Himself, nothing prevents Him from this. The secrets are known to Him only, He is imparting this to Vivasvan, who in turn imparted it to the first manu and then it came to King Ikshvaku a descendant of Vivasvan (suryavamshi). This has been repeated time and again as and when it was lost due to dissolution, adharma, floods and devastations, and other reasons. This is the secret yoga of creation; it is the lila; srushti, sthiti, laya, vilaya, anugraha, and mukti patha, the path of renunciation and emancipation of the embedded souls.

  The fundamental principle (mahat tattva) is “‘I am”’ (so’ ham); the term I refers to the Lord. The term ‘am’ is His manifest forms, the principle of ‘sat’, existence. The one Supreme Soul paramatman is reflected in the myriads of individual souls as the one sun or moon is reflected in myriads of glass pieces!

 The Soul Atman is ‘cit-shakti’. It is ‘Energy’ particle, a photon- the eternal, unborn, immutable brahmn. As it is Energy, it goes without saying, cannot be created or destroyed and, it is the support of all that exists, well may we say, as paramatman? Paramatman is “the Supreme Soul, supreme energy”. The soul is thus a charged particle of an ‘ion’ of this ocean of consciousness, ‘chit-shakti; it is a particle of radiant energy, a particle of star dust; stellar dust, full of knowledge, intellect, creative power. This ‘Consciousness’- an individualized unit as ‘Jivatman’, has come within the limitations, ‘niyati’, of time, space, and causality, as in contrast to the ‘supreme soul’ – the unlimited, vast, immutable, unchanging, and eternal ‘paramatman’. Shiva, the unlimited, is thus reducing Himself to jiva, a limited entity. This is ‘kanchuki’, limitation.