The Song of God

    The Bhagavad-Gita is a beautiful poem that can be put to melodious tune and hear the supreme Lord speak about Himself as to ‘Who He Is’, as also, ‘What this Creation Is’, ‘Who these Jivarashi are’, and having come a long way from Him ‘How to Reunite with Him’. There is also a ‘Secret of all secrets’ (guhyatama guhyam) here as ‘the Lord Himself says’! He reveals brahmavidya and yogashastra to us all through Arjuna (a deluded Mind!).The supreme Lord imparts this ‘Adhyatma vidya’, Atmajnyan, so that the earthlings as jivarashi find solace in distress and revert back to their pure and pristine state, a satte of ‘oneness’ with the Lord. This is what this Gita is all about!

   The supreme Lord, takes by His hand all His earnest devotees and leads them Step by step to ‘kaivalya’. He reveals ‘how to get reunited with Him’ through ‘karmasanyasayoga’, bhaktiyoga, jnyanayoga, dhyanayoga, and nirasaktiyoga and total surrender (prapatti)! In fact, He, the Lord, Bhagavan Shree Krishna, makes us realize ‘who we the hapless jivas are’ in the first six chapters of the Gita through imparting ‘atmajnyan’ and ‘brahmavidya’. And then, He describes ‘His true nature of formless, attributeless and eternal, immortal and immutable state’, as also, ‘the diverse manifest forms’(Bhagavad-svarupa) in the next six chapters. Then, He explains ‘how to reunited with Him with the help  of yoga’. It comes thus as a yogashastra in the last six chapters. This is also a treatise on the principle of tattvamasi !

   The beauty of this divine song is that Bhagavan Shree Krishna is narrating ‘Who He Is’! Hence, this may well be treated as An Autobiography of God. This is a unique unwritten scripture handed down to us, albeit, many authors have twisted and narrated the story according to their own understandings. The printed copies are full of alterations and insertions than what Bhagavan said initially! Many authors have used this scripture to promote their own interest as missionaries laying stress on any one of the concepts such as karmayoga, bhaktiyoga, jnyanayoga or dhyanayoga and have established their own schools! It is strange that none of these schools of thought has ever attempted the last secret of muktiyoga for fear of losing their clients! In fact, the importance of the Gita lies in this last Chapter where the supreme Lord insists that “One who is interested in liberation, emancipation, mukti should give up all worldly pursuits, develop vairagya, and return to isolated places for penance or deep meditation, contemplation on brahmn”. There is no salvation for an embedded jiva from metempsychosis, cycle of births and deaths! Once born here in this death knell (mrutyu lok) all jiva are bound to suffer old age, sickness and death. All are afflicted souls. The cause of suffering is ‘desire’ due to ‘avidya’ and the eternal bondage ensues as a result of the actions and reactions and their consequences. The solution lies in the ‘Realization’ of the true nature of the ‘Self’. Bhagavan Shree Krishna stands here as Yogacharya and teaches step by step how to practice yoga, asana, pranayama and attain to ‘samadhi’.

    Ultimately, ‘realization of the Self’ in the state of samadhi is extremely important! However, there is a word of caution here. The Bhagavad-Gita is like a mirror. One sees his own face as an index of his mind! When a school boy or girl who sings Chapter 10 or 11 of the Gita during Gita abhiyan week gets applause is so innocent as to know the meaning and import of what is sung by him/her on the stage! An adult who is in a dilemma as to the right situation may take recourse to Gita and may find a solution to the problem. Not all are interested in nirasakti yoga, or sanyas. Life is to enjoy and there is no problem in enjoyment. However, the problem is one of disillusionment, misery, unhappiness, and disappointments even after attainment of the desired objects! Every jiva is born in ignorance (avidya), lives in ignorance (avidya), and dies in ignorance! This ignorance or avidya i.e. knowledge covered by desire, attachment, ego, and arishadvargas is the problem. This ignorance cannot be removed unless the jiva takes recourse to Shree Krishna’s teachings. Whether one has lived a successful life or suffered and seeks redemption, the Gita is the only answer if one seeks emancipation, mukti from repeated births and deaths. The Gita starts with the revelations of secrets of creation and ends with dissolution. The relevant verses are given in the text.

   There are several intriguing questions about the scripture presented to us, its author, subject matter, meaning and purport of what the Bhagavan said, etc. All these are all taken up for an in-depth analysis as a spiritual inquiry (nidhidhyasana) here. It is indeed a meditation on God, ‘Gitopasana’. The credit of retrieving these God’s own words as an invaluable guide to mankind from the Shanti Parva of the great epic Mahabharata goes to the credit of Sri Shankaracharya. However, the very authorship of the epic is open to question? These words spoken by the Supreme Lord, Bhagavan Shree Krishna, is definitely not of any ordinary person, but of a mahapurusha, an avatara of Mahavishnu. In fact, the Lord is addressed by several names in the Gita as Govinda, Madhusudhana, Achyuta, Ananta, Devesha, etc. In fact, there is a whole lot of a thousand names in the ‘Vishnu sahasranama’ as an adjacent scripture retrieved along with the Bhagavad-Gita! These two scriptures are, indeed, redeeming the jiva from its state of transient existence! The entire scripture is of mythological nature attributed to Sage Veda Vyasa whose very name is an intriguing matter! The relevant verses are quoted here for reference to prove the points. These are matters of esoteric nature and require practice of yoga to understand. The authorship attributed to Sage Veda Vyasa is taken up first and the following picture gives us an idea.

The Spiritual Essence of the Gita

What most of the Commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gita miss is the spiritual essence in it. They all consider Arjuna as a warrior of the Mahabharata epic war and Shree Krishna as his Charioteer forgetting the fact that neither there is an Arjuna born to any human parents nor there is a Krishna of the epics Mahabharata or Bhagavata ! The Commentators forget that Arjuna is the mantrasysya putrah and Krishna is pure Consciousness, poorna-prajnya. Hence a new commentary is given here. Bhagavan Shree Krishna explains who He is in Ch. X in Vibhuti Yoga and He is nirakara parabrahma.

1.  The Bhagavad-Gita reveals the utmost secret of Brahma vidya and yogashastra for redemption of the embodied soul.

2.  The Source of the Bhagavad-Gita- Unknown! In the words of Bhagavan, “It was first imparted to Vivasvan, the Sun (4.56 billion years ago!)”. (See Ch. IV. Verse 1). It is the spoken words of the Lord as stated in the Gita (Bhagavan uvacha). Since He, the Lord, is the self of all, seated within us all, anybody can hear His voice if intently looks within in a transcendental state of mind (samadhi yoga) as desired and there is no doubt in this!

3.  Who is the author of the ‘Divine Song’ the Gita?

It is none other than the supreme Lord, parabrahman, Shree Krishna Dvaipayana who later came to be known as Veda vyasa since he classified the voluminous (over a lakh verses) Veda. (See Ch. X) These are His own pronouncements regarding this.

4.  Who gave this instruction (upadesha) to whom and when?

Bhagavan Shree Krishna, as pure Consciousness, imparted this secret knowledge of ‘brahmavidya’ and ‘yogashastra’ to the confused Mind (Arjuna) as repeatedly stated at the end of each of the eighteen chapters of the Gita..

5.  Who is Bhagavan Shree Krishna?

At the outset, Bhagavan is ‘Param-Atman’, pure consciousness (purnam-prajnyam). He, the Lord is divine non-dual; however, may enter anywhere, pervade (pravishat) as in divi dual consciousness, manas (Mind) as Arjuna!

     There are several sources cited in this regard viz, the Srimat Bhagavata purana, the Mahabharata, and the Gita itself (Ch. X) where the answers to this question is available. According the epic, Krishna is born in Mathura to the parents- vasudeva and devaki, kept in jail by the wicked King Kamsa. Devaki is the sister of Devaki and Kamsa is thus the maternal uncle of Krishna. Both Vasudeva and Devaki were kept in the prison for the fear of by King Kamsa for the fear of being killed (as told by akashavani and warned) by the eighth child born to Vasudeva-Devaki.. He was rejoicing after his sister’s marriage and this warning came to him and he was about to kill her and vasudeva. But, he was counselled that he need not kill her and it is the child that would kill him! So he decided to kill all the children born to her and kept the couple in the prison. Krishna was born in the prison at Mathura. So the eighth child was shifted to Gokula of the King Nanda and Yashodha sister of Vasudeva. However, Bhagavan Shree Krishna says, That He is never born nor does He die. He says, “He always exists as parabrahman without any attributes (nirakara). Thus, Bhagavan Shree Krishna is the birthless, deathless, attributeless, and formless (guna-ateeta and nirakara) ‘parabrahman’. He, the Lord, further says, “Neither the learned sages, nor the Gods and Goddesses, will ever know Him. He cannot be known by the study of scriptures or by any other means!” This is because, “He only exists and nothing else exists besides Him!” Further, He asserts that, “He, the Lord Paramatman, exists in all as the Self (Atma) of all” If He only exists and nothing else besides Him, it is for us to see Him within us, and realize, experience, visualize, and become one ‘merged in Him’- discarding all that we have acquired as body, senses, mind, intellect, ego and all the qualities associated with Prakruti (Nature). This is the essence of the Gitopadesha. Krishna means that which has no limit of time that will not diminish with time (‘Krish-na’).

6.  Who is Arjuna?

 Arjuna is the individualized consciousness, albeit ‘divine’, a blemished mind (polluted by desire, ego, and other qualities) the blessed child ‘mantrasya-putrah’ of blessed by Indra, the ‘God of all Gods’ (devaadideva). In fact, all the Pandava are born by the ‘Grace of Gods’, the boon (in the form of mantra) given to Kunti, and not born as children from King Pandu like ordinary mortals!

7.  What is the main theme of the Gita?

  As ‘brahmavidya’ and a ‘yogopanishat’ the theme of Bhagavad-Gita is ‘liberation of the embodied soul’. The basic concept is that the “the jiva existed in the beginning in its pure state as an ‘energy particle’- chaitanya (prana), chit (prajnya), and vital-airs. It got enmeshed as a jiva on the earth!! The pure energy particle, chaitanya, ‘prana’, has now become a ‘prani’ (living being) embodied in an earthen shell (sharira). This prani, jiva, looks out for liberation, release from its earthly existence! The jiva is locked in a chain, condemned to a repeatedly embodied state in one form or the other. Once, the jiva realizes its predicament it (as confused mind) looks for guidance to a higher power (pure consciousness). Here comes the Gita as “Words of Bhagavan” that helps the jiva to revert to its pure state! The supreme Lord only comes here to teach ‘yoga’ and ‘Atmajnyan’ and ‘brahmavidya’ and thereby, helps the troubled souls to revert to their pure state. With the help of the Gita, the jiva can get cleansed of all its karmaklesha and merge in Bhagavan. Here, yoga, meaning, ‘yuj’, is taught so as to ‘get united’, ‘merge’, with the Lord. It does not matter whether one accepts or not this fundamental principle! The Lord knows this and says, “Let them perish if they do not believe in My words”! The exact way of creation of life-forms, as well as, their release from cycle of rebirths, bondage, is described here. Hence, the purpose of this entire unwritten scripture, spoken words of Bhagavan Shree Krishna, is to enlighten the ignorant jivas and liberate them from suffering; it comes as a guide, a handbook, for all humanity to live a fruitful life, seek solace in times of distress and revert back to the pure pristine formless state!

8.  What is ‘Brahmavidya’?

‘Brahmavidya’ is the highest knowledge, ‘para-vidya’. It is the ‘Knowledge supreme’ (vedanta)! It is the Knowledge of the Self, Atmajnyan, brahmavidya.

9.  What is ‘yoga Shastra’?

Yoga is the means of attaining to ‘unity-consciousness’, ‘oneness (‘yuj’) with brahmn’. Having arrived on this Earth (mrutyu lok) where all that is born has to die, death is certain, besides ill-health, sickness, and old age, the suffering jivas look forward for some divine help and appeals to God! The Gitopadesha comes as a divine help, the means of emancipation, liberation, getting back or reverting to pure state, of Consciousness, ‘chit’ , gains knowledge of the Self, Atmajnyan, and ‘enlightenment’’.

10.    Mukti and moksha as revealed in the last Chapter of the Gita is a very important indtruction imparted by the Lord. It is the ‘Realization of the Self’ or ‘Atmajnyan’ that brings about liberation.

    Bhagavan Shree Krishna comes here as friend, philosopher, and guide not only to Arjuna, but to all of us. As a friend, He says “I am always with you. I shall take care of you.”. As a philosopher, He advises us not to worry, whatever happens, happens. It is beyond your limits!” And, as a Guide, Bhagavan gives several options and allows you liberty to pick and choose whatever means that suits you. Finally, He, the Benevolent Lord, assures that “Ultimately all will reach Him!”

11.    What is taught by the Lord here and what is the methodology”

The Bhagavad-Gita deals with emancipation step by step. It starts with the troubled mind and ends with enlightenment. The supreme Lord, Bhagavan Shree Krishna goes on advising we the mortals through ‘Arjuna’ how to attain to ‘Self’. First, He, the Lord, advises us (through Arjuna) to perform our ordained duties without any expectations (‘nishkama karma’) and then goes on to explain how bhakti, jnyan, dhyana, and samadhi  as regular practice, ‘abhyasa yoga’ and ‘nirasakti yoga’ will help the troubled souls, confused minds, seeking solace to realize its true nature, and thereby, get released from bondage.

    Since the Lord Himself is seated as ‘antaryamin’, the very consciousness of the jivas, the spoken words of the Lord is not very difficult to understand by any ordinary person. Here Bhagavan Shree Krishna speaks in very clear terms. He, the Lord, says, “The jiva can obtain knowledge and wisdom and thereby gets discretionary power (viveka) to know ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do’. Then, the jiva takes to sacrificial rituals, yajnya, daana, and finally, sanyasa (renunciation). Thus, the jiva is redeemed from its bondage, released from the shackles of kaala, niyati and other limitations (‘maya’).

Once the jiva is enlightened as to its true nature- sat chit, and ananda, the shackles of karma are broken and the consequent rebirths (punarjanma) in different forms and the associated sufferings end.

Nothing is Created, and nothing Destroyed (The Gita)

   The Bhagavad-Gita explicitly makes it clear that everything that we witness always exist! There is nothing like 'a beginning' or 'an end' in this universe. The universe is always there in one form or the other. It is all about transformation, manifest form of one only in many a diverse forms. It is only a trans form at ion (eye on?). There is a lot to 'contemplate' on these issues. The Rk Veda clearly says, "One only becomes many". It is the desire of the Lord, the 'will' that manifests as the world- a phenomenal objective paraphernalia. In fact, "I only become my wife and children". The 'desire is at the root of all creation. Even a person whom i marry is the object of my desire and, incidentally, she, too, is the desire of her father? Thus, my children, my relatives, friends, society, nation and the world are all the products of my desire and exist as long the desire remains! If i do not desire to marry there is no question of having a wife or children; and, if i do not 'relate' to anybody, there exist no relations, at all. What all is created is the one that my 'desire' creates and that depends on my sweet will and pleasure, my mind and moods. But for me, where is the world?   

The Creator and the Creation

Who created the Universe? 

    There is a saying "God created man and Man created God".  Behind this creation, from the macrocosm to the microcosm, everything is created by a subtler force that may be traced to vibration, sound and the subsequent alpha and betas, rather, the alphabets. The simplest earliest source of all creation is 'desire'. "Desire is brahmn". The desire is fire of imagination, creation of images, thoughts or vibration of thought force. Everything is rooted in desire. This desire is by itself the fundamental particles, the 'God particle'. "The Lord Willed", says the Veda. There is nothing that is impossible for the God and God needs nothing to create or destroy the world. This God is the 'Will', the 'desire'.

    In the Gita, Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, “I am the seed of creation”. Everything is ‘chaitanya’, energy inherent in spirit as we as matter that is unborn, eternal and immortal. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy is derived from sun, also known as Aditya (and distant stars, too,) as far as earth and its living beings are concerned. The Sun is the chief source of energy for us. As regards the actual process of creation or evolution of life forms, there are a number of sources and Vishnu purana and Devi Purana are the important ones. Some of these details are given later. However, in brief, it is stated that “Eighty-four thousand species are created by cosmic force Adi parashakti. Two opposite forces-equal and opposite are created as Satyarupa (Aditi) and Diti as consorts of Kashyapa, the self-effulgent, svayambhuva manu. From Aditi are created Sun, vayu, soma, Indra, agni, varuna, aryaman, pushan, ashvin, vasu- all considered the Vedic Devata. The human beings are created by svayambhu manu, the manifest forms of Aniruddha, the mixed impure sattva!

   Kashyap and Aditi while all others including the demons are created by Diti. Brahma creates, Vishnu nurtures and Ishvara neutralizes the forces of fusion and fission. The energy component of the Trinity- brahma, vishnu, and Ishvara will be reflected in the human beings as the ‘Atman’. The Atma is the chaitanya of vishnu, intellect and creativity comes from Ishvara, and, finally the humans can cognize and realize Atman and experience sat chit and ananda only through self-awareness. There are no physical entities or parents and off-springs as such here. Body, mind and intellect as well as the soul spontaneously generated tuned to cosmic energy of the supreme spirit sol, paramatman. The scientists are still busy in finding the mystery involved in the creation of life. The molecular biologists have discovered the constituents of the structure and composition of the cell- the protein gel membrane that covers the cells, the genes and their inherent characteristics, the DNA and RNA chains, the amino acids, enzymes, the vitamins, hormones, and the chromosomes are all now known but for the exact source of their energy component, may be traced to an extraneous source that can never be described! The following illustrations will give us some idea about these. 

The True nature of the Jiva

   As far as the activities of the jiva are concerned, almost all spend their entire life in acquiring some knowledge and skill so as to enable oneself to get sufficient food and live comfortably. There is hardly any time left for any other pursuit, much less to know about the very purpose of such a living! The neglect of the soul by the ignorant jiva has created a mess and little does the jiva knows about this. Only a few sensible persons have ever thought about it and pursued the knowledge of the soul, Atmajnyan. Almost all the people die without knowing this simple truth. The tragedy is that the most successful persons in public life who achieve laurels like Nobel Prize, and national recognition like the Bharat Ratna, die without knowing who the real person is, the One who has taken the form of a body, ‘purusha’, (paramatma). tad srushtvaa tadena anupravishat | who created and entered the jiva- pura/deha)! So far, none has ever given a thought to how the jiva arrived here on earth as a sub-atomic particle (an atomic energy particle), in the form photon, (particle of ‘Light’) emitted by a distant star; it entered the clouds, rain drop, soil, food particle and became a ‘spermatozoa’ It entered the would-be mother’s womb and, remember, the chance of impregnation is almost nil! What all the jiva, as a human being, later attains (as a famous doctor or engineer, scientist or philosopher) is just a faculty (bit of material knowledge, that too, an insignificant part of the total knowledge) of their selected field of interest, or by force of destiny and chance!

    Once a person realizes the ‘truth’, who he/she is, the objective phenomenal world falls off like a house of cards! The jiva is liberated from its repeated cycles of births and deaths, metempsychosis’ the moment it realizes who it is! All the attachment to the worldly objects disappears. This is the end of all desires and attachments. Here is an anecdote from the Jataka Tales. When Gautama became the Buddha, he was brought to his father’s Palace and introduced to his father, wife, and son. But, the Buddha did not recognize anybody! He said, “I have no father, wife, or son”! 

   Then, one of them asked Rahul, son of Gautama, “Who are you since your father disowns you?" Rahul said, “I don’t know! I have not seen my father ever since he left before I could see and know him, nor do I know anything about my father’s mother! I am told that 'she was already dead by the time my father could see her'!” etc. etc.

   This gives us an idea about how we all are attached to the world due to ignorance of our true nature. The phenomenal objective world is transient and subject to death decay and dissolution. There is nothing permanent about it and we somehow cling onto it!

    The same is the story of many an orphans, forlorn children abandoned, or sold for a price, or adopted by some foreigners, or for that matter, even those saved from a hospital fire, or accident site. These kids do not know anything about their antecedents. 

    And, Lo! There are people who boast of their religions, caste and creed, and belief systems and harm others who do not follow them! All these are eye openers to a person who is enamored by attachment, greed, ego, and suffers from ignorance.   

    But then, “Who am I?” This question is persistently asked by every jiva when it gets puzzled as to its role in life. It is confused. It is always somebody and not the real self. Hence it seeks an answer. What is the answer? The answer is very simple and direct. When all that are called ‘me and mine’ are discarded what remains is ‘that’ pure self. This pure self is inexplicable. It is pure bliss, total awareness of the true self. This state is found in deep sleep as well as a state of samadhi yoga. It is not an unconscious state; it is total awareness of the self and everything else within its self. 

   A living being, jiva, rather, an embodied soul, will ultimately find out who he/she is after a long introspection, quest, taking an inward journey in search of truth! It (the jiva) discovers that it is an embodiment, acquisition of a material gross physical body and it is constantly changing with time; hence it is not the ‘sat’, true self. So also, the fickle mind is always thinking about this and that, called ‘manovikalpa’, or 'chanchala chitta’, together with the perverted intelligence (vipareeta buddhih), is not the true self. The ‘ego’ (ahankar) that rules the jiva, too, is not the self. All these- manas, buddhi and ahankar, are at rest when the jiva when the jiva goes to deep sleep. So, the jiva finds that all these appendage- physical, mental or psychosomatic entity that is of no avail to find out the true ‘Self’, that is covered by avidya.

     Finally, a Guru (Yogacharya Shree Krishna) comes, as if by divine providence, to help the confused jiva (Arjuna) to redeem it from all this mire of mental or physical, earthly existence. However, it is not that easy; this needs a bit of carryover of the fruits of action (karma phala) carried over from the past (purvarjita), God’s grace (anugraha), and the blessings (ashirvada) of the departed souls, teachers, and elders. 

     The jiva has to prepare for this long journey taking recourse to yoga through spiritual practices (adhyatma sadhana), satsang, and study of scriptures. Finally, the jiva comes to know that it is not ‘this’ and this’. It finds out that the true nature of the jiva is nothing but the ‘truth, consciousness and bliss (sat-chit-ananda) and, it is finally redeemed. This may happen instantly or may take several lives! This is a big question mark? It is all a question of discarding what all is acquired from birth, rather than adding accumulating wealth and appendages, prefixes, affixes, and afflictions to the name, form, and function, or revel in the mire of earthly existence, enjoying a sensuous life knowing full well that it is transient!

LIFE- Just Chemical Bonds of Cells?

What is Life?

   ‘Life’ as ‘energy’ is a ‘force’, that goes to make the living beings live and work.  It is extremely difficult to know and understand what this ‘life-force’ is and where it begins and where it ends. ‘Life’, is called a ‘Life-force’ (prana), found in all the five elements (pancha mahabhuta- akash, vayu, agni, jal and pruthvi). It is always there and it has no beginning or an end! It exists as ‘energy’ (€) everywhere in an invisible form. It has the ability to enter and exit anything and thereby, create or destroy a living-being! Thus, any living being is classified as a ‘moving’ or ‘non-moving’ object like a plant, fish, bird, or animal, that can grow and propagate or reproduce. Behind these lie the inorganic substances supporting soil, minerals and compounds, water and other materials. Thus, it is clear that a living being is a mass of substances supported by life force, ‘prana’. All living beings are subject to decay or death. There are billions of species of living beings and the human species alone accounts for almost a 830 million! The animals, birds, and small insects are of varied forms and functions. It is still not clear whether there exists life-forms of this kind in any other planet other than ours, called the ‘living and pulsating earth’. The tiniest form of a life-form is a microbe, of the type of an unicellular amoeba. Much research is in progress in the study of ‘cell’ and its structure (like ribose, DNA) and we know very little about the tiniest organisms that may exist in deep forests! The true nature of life is thus ever eluding! This is elaborated later in the text here.

       The search for a common universal ancestor is still on and what all we know so far may be summed up here as follows:

   May be, there existed a single nuclear particle, an entity that qualifies for a living entity, existed 3.5 billion years ago when the earth was too hot and was undergoing cooling. This may be a kingdom of microbes from which evolved three prominent types of living entities such as: the bacteria, the archeans, and the eukaryotes. Deducing from what is known to the depth of the unknown, the effort is to trace the starting point and the archetype. The different environments and ecosystems pose a challenge here and it is difficult to arrive at an agreeable conclusion. It ends up in probabilities. However, it is now possible to trace the ancestors of the present day living creatures with the help of the genes decoded from the amino acids – ribosomal RNA and the DNA chain. The DNA letters- A, T, G, C, are an indication to this! Each letter of this signifies the clan and may take us to the primordial one. Hence, the earliest life-form to appear on earth is yet to be traced! However, it may be presumed that the earliest creature must be the tiniest that can survive enormous heat, that of volcanic magnitude. It is also predicted that the life-form adapted to extreme heat is dated back to million years after the earth gradually cooled from its gaseous and molten state. It is almost an invisible unicellular microbe that evolved later into bacteria, archeans and eukaryotes. Which constitute the universal ancestors. All that exists as different forms of life such as insects, birds, and aquatic, amphibian, arboreal, and land animals belong to these three. Archaic one, may be a sort of weird one, is believed to be the earliest! The DNA studies have facilitated an easy way of learning about life-forms. The first full DNA, or genome, of a bacterium has been decoded. One of the four letters of the DNA chain– A T C G, of the links of the chain, must be holding a secret. Most probably, we assume, the letter A of the DNA chain holds the key.

      This, we infer from our Vedic knowledge that ‘brahmn’ initially holds everything that manifests later as powers that can create any and every diverse objective phenomenal world!  Here, the same DNA chain that contains the four links or ladders- A G C T are full of knowledge, intelligence, creative power and energy, as well as, creative skill. These may be interpreted as- ‘A’ as brahmn, ‘G’ as Gods of different powers/shakti, ‘C’ as Consciousness, cit, and ‘T’ as Time. The Ribosomes (RNA) get these from DNA as genetic code and converts it into a function (deciphering the genetic code) in the cells that form the amino acids (that shapes the organs, also hold the key).

     However, it may be safely concluded that the very ‘concept of life’ is yet to be understood properly. As and when compared to the materialistic way dealing with the scientific methods, the spiritual path taking recourse to yoga with the assistance of an attained soul and attain samadhi to visualize the truth seems to be far more reliable.

‘Who am I’?

    Before answering this significant spiritual question, it is important to note what Bhagavan Sri Krishna says about the three constituents of the human being (jiva)- the adhibhoutika, adhidaivika and the Adhyatmika. The human body has four main components- physical body (sthula sharira), the mind (manas), nervous system (nara-nadi), and the soul (Atman). The nervous system consists of an extensive network of nerves and neurons, although included in the physical body as a gross entity such as the alimentary canal or the food pipe, the wind pipes, blood veins, and smaller and smaller veins that constitute the subtlest of subtle aspects of the jiva that carries signals like sentiments, emotion, pain, pleasure, love, compassion, and many other invisible forces!

    The outer material body or the earthen shell is made of soil and water, rather food, and support the tissues, organs and the body that comprise of small invisible cells numbering about several trillions! As a matter of fact, the jiva is a gross body (sthula / adhibhuta) made up of the five elements- (a) pruthvi /earth/soil and minerals (food), (b) jal- water, (c) agni-fire, (d) vayu/air, and (akasha) space.

   The second one is the Mind (manas / adhidaiva); it is both gross and subtle according to its changing states- mind and mood (chitta). Mind and mood play a very dominant role in the life of the jiva.

    The third one is the subtle causal spiritual entity (karana sharira / adhyatma) which normally does not play active role, unless activated by the Mind (manas) and the Intellect (buddhi). This the subtler aspect of the jiva. It is a complex system of nerves and neurons that carry all that is subtler and vital to the very survival of the jiva. These are partly visible and partly invisible carrying currents of sensation, life-force, thoughts and feelings, emotions, and, as such, very little understood by the jiva. The entire body is a network of these nerves and neurons numbering 36 000 on each side of the body totaling 72 000. One central nerve only branches out into a hundred, which in turn each one into a hundred and thereby cover the entire body. These nerves and neurons play a very significant role in the life of the jiva conveying the life-forces, emotions, signals and enable the organs to function. Of these four major constituents of the jiva, the outer physical body depends on food, water, and air. It is controlled by the Mind that interacts with and through the physical instrument of brain located in the head. The Mind, however, is greatly influenced by food, drinks, and the objects of the world including the waves and tides! However, the soul remains a mere spectator, unless called for with the help of yoga with the help of a learned spiritual teacher. 

   The fourth component is the Soul, Atman, the core of the jiva. The living being, jivatman, is a noble aspect of creation. It is the invisible essential part of the entire system! In fact, it has all the knowledge, information and technology, ability to create and transform whatever it needs! This is the divine aspect of creation, may be, the Creator only! There is nothing besides this in all the universe and entire universe is the manifest forms of this invisible powerful divine entity! 

  What is mysterious about the jiva, as a living entity, is the system of living cells- pindanda. This unique biological phenomenon is a conglomerate of a very complex system of intelligent cells (andanda)! These cells, almost invisible to our naked eyes, perform wonders! Each biological cell (jiva kosha) is equipped with Consciousness (chit), knowledge and intelligence (jnyan and buddhi), and an immense capacity to function in multifarious ways, such as, understanding, considering, discerning, disseminating, connecting, coordinating, conducting and conveying (without itself moving!), diligently organizing, dividing and destroying, etc. These cells, initially, one single entity consisting of amino acids, ribosomes, di oxy ribonucleic acids (DNA), enzymes, vitamins, genes, Harmons, chromosomes, and a host of other invisible forces and power that can execute the signals such as desires (ichha), dreams, imaginations, and the like of the jiva!

    Each and every organ of the jiva is a complex system of tissues made of cells. The cells that constitute the heart, the lungs, the kidney or the liver, the brain, the nerves and neurons, the bones and bone marrow, the blood, the skin, and all the minute organs of the body are nothing but the pulsating cells, and nothing more than that! More than all these, the cells have the innate capacity to construct or destroy whatever they deem fit and the decision making capacity is inherent in each cell, thereby, the body grows, matures, deteriorates, and dies!

    The scientists are working out the ways and means of making these cells constantly rejuvenate endlessly, keep the body young without ageing and deteriorate and collapse. However, it is difficult for the maturing cells to go back in time- from old age to childhood!

Need for Gods

   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!”

   Despite our understandings, we do not know full well how and why there are gods with animal face or gods ridng animals and birds, and even plants and humans behaving like animals?

  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. Also, let us be clear that He, the Lord, 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 Brahmn, ask: “Is Brahmn 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 Brahmn, 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?” [Yajur Veda, 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.”He, the Lord, says, “My maya is so sweet, a person cannot understand how very sweet 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. "The moment this ‘i’ disappears, the jiva is liberated from the clutches of maya. Maya binds the jiva due to jiva’s ignorance, not due to it power.‘Maya’ disappears the moment jiva looks at it and realizes what it is! Thus, ‘i am’,I, me, mine and you, she, it, they are allmaya. Maya is in a way the hypothetical non-existent, mental creation. This ‘I’ merges in brahmn 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. “The gross body of liberated souls will decompose when they are discarded; yet, even if the body goes, their spiritual, super-human powers remain; their power does not go.”

The vasanas, karma kleshas form the seedlings for next birth.Every desire, thought, resolve and action becomes a seed 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 are selfish and create sects. If the divisive attitude departs, the upadhi disappears, false identification is destroyed. At the destruction of the upadhi, one becomes aware of one’s divine consciousness. The realization comes when one realizes that “One Brahmn has manifest as many.” When one becomes pure, one will have the understanding that: “I am verily Vishnu. I am a child of Vishnu.”

    Our existence on this planet is almost a miracle! It has no logical or rational explanation. 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, attitudes, 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.