जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वत: |
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन || 9||
janma karma cha me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
janma—birth; karma—activities; cha—and; me—of mine; divyam—divine; evam—thus; yaḥ—who; vetti—know; tattvataḥ—in truth; tyaktvā—having abandoned; deham—the body; punaḥ—again; janma—birth; na—never; eti—takes; mām—to me; eti—comes; saḥ—he; arjuna—Arjun
Translation:
Those who understand the divine nature of My birth and activities, O Arjun, upon leaving the body, do not have to take birth again, but come to My eternal abode.
Commentary:
The essence of the Upanishadic declaration “Brahmavit Brahmaiva bhavati” is restated in this verse. One who knows Brahman becomes that. Between knowing and becoming, there is no distinction in Brahmavidya. It is different in the objective world; there the knower and the known are different. But in the realm of the Self, knowing and becoming are one. In other words, only he who knows Him becomes Brahman. But what is this knowing of Brahman? It is certainly not an intellectual conclusion, drawn by logic and argument from a study of the Sastras. One may be convinced by the logical argument that Brahman alone is real, and yet he may be far far away from realising Him. This is not knowledge of Brahman. Knowing Brahman means the direct experience of Atma which is beyond the body, senses mind and intellect. This is to know Brahman in the essence (Tattatah).
In this verse, the Lord states that he who knows the essential principle of His divine birth and action enters Him and has no further birth. By deep mediation and ecstasy of devotion, man becomes one with the Lord. To know the nature of the Lord is Sadhana, and to become one with Him is Sadhya. The first is practice the second is the goal. One must know Him Tattvatah (i.e) by impersonal realisation according to the injunctions of the Sastras.
Divine: The life and work of the Lord are divine and they cannot be compared with those of mortal beings. The Lord is the master of Maya, whereas all mortals are enslaved by Maya. Their birth and action are controlled by Maya. On the other hand, the Lord controls Maya and acts in His own state of supreme perfection. The man who is able to understand the mystery unites himself with the Lord and has no need to go through the cycle of birth and death. It shows that birthlessness is not a negative state of emptiness or nothingness, but a positive state of perfection and blessedness. The doubt that the ultimate state can only be a state of nothingness is common to many people. Being habituated to confusing life with the operations of the body, senses, and mind, man is not able to conceive a state beyond these planes. But it is made clear here that unity with the Lord comprehends life at all levels and in all planes of existence and is infinitely more beyond.
Having abandoned the body: One should note that abandoning the body is not a precondition of realisation. Even when the physical body remains, if a man comes to know by meditation and devotion the ultimate mystery of the Lord, he becomes free from Samsara, the cycle of birth and death. What is here mentioned is only to affirm that there is no more birth for the knower of the Lord.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
It will be sufficient for the youngsters who come here if they know only two things. If they know these, they will not have to practise much discipline and austerity. First, who I am, and second, who they are.
(Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
MASTER (to Mahima): “For a long time I have wanted to tell you my spiritual experiences, but I could not. I feel like telling you today.
“You say that by mere sadhana one can attain a state of mind like mine. But it is not so. There is something special here [referring to himself].”
Rakhal, M., and the others became eager to hear what the Master was going to say.
MASTER: “God talked to me. It was not merely His vision. Yes, He talked to me. Under the banyan-tree I saw Him coming from the Ganges. Then we laughed so much! By way of playing with me He cracked my fingers. Then He talked. Yes, He talked to me.
“For three days I wept continously. And He revealed to me what is in the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, and the other scriptures.
“One day He showed me the maya of Mahamaya. A small light inside a room began to grow, and at last it enveloped the whole universe.
“Further, He revealed to me a huge reservoir of water covered with green scum. The wind moved a little of the scum and immediately the water became visible; but in the twinkling of an eye, scum from all sides came dancing in and again covered the water. He revealed to me that the water was like Satchidananda, and the scum like maya. On account of maya, Satchidananda is not seen. Though now and then one may get a glimpse of It, again maya covers It.
“God reveals the nature of the devotees to me before they arrive. I saw Chaitanya’s party singing and dancing near the Panchavati, between the banyan-tree and the bakul-tree. I noticed Balaram there. If it weren’t for him, who would there be to supply me with sugar candy and such things? (Pointing to M.) And I saw him too.
“I had seen Keshab before I actually met him — I had seen him and his party in my samadhi. In front of me sat a roomful of men. Keshab looked like a peacock sitting with its tail spread out. The tail meant his followers. I saw a red gem on Keshab’s head. That indicated his rajas. He said to his disciples, ‘Please listen to what he [meaning the Master] is saying.’ I said to the Divine Mother: ‘Mother, these people hold the views of “Englishmen”. Why should I talk to them?’ Then the Mother explained to me that it would be like this in the Kaliyuga.
“Keshab and his followers got from here [meaning himself] the names of Hari and the Divine Mother. That is why the Divine Mother took Vijay away from Keshab’s party. But Vijay did not join the Adi Samaj. (A sect of the Brahmo Samaj.)
(Pointing to himself) “There must be something special here. Long ago a young man named Gopal Sen used to visit me. He who dwells in me placed His foot on Gopal’s chest. Gopal said in an ecstatic mood: ‘You will have to wait here a long time. I cannot live any more with worldly people.’ He took leave of me. Afterwards I heard that he was dead. Perhaps he was born as Nityagopal.
“I have had many amazing visions. I had a vision of the Indivisible Satchidananda. Inside It I saw two groups with a fence between them. On one side were Kedar, Chuni, and other devotees who believe in the Personal God. On the other side was a luminous space like a heap of red brick-dust. Inside it was seated Narendra immersed in samadhi. Seeing him absorbed in meditation, I called aloud, ‘Oh, Narendra!’ He opened his eyes a little. I came to realise that he had been born, in another form, in Simla (The section of Calcutta in which Narendra was born.) in a kayastha family. At once I said to the Divine Mother, ‘Mother, entangle him in maya; otherwise he will give up his body in samadhi.’ Kedar, a believer in the Personal God, peeped in and ran away with a shudder.
“Therefore I feel that it is the Divine Mother Herself who dwells in this body and plays with the devotees. When I first had my exalted state of mind, my body would radiate light. My chest was always flushed. Then I said to the Divine Mother: ‘Mother, do not reveal Thyself outwardly. Please go inside.’ That is why my complexion is so dull now. If my body were still luminous, people would have tormented me; a crowd would always have thronged here. Now there is no outer manifestation. That keeps weeds away. Only genuine devotees will remain with me now. Do you know why I have this illness? It has the same significance. Those whose devotion to me has a selfish motive behind it will run away at the sight of my illness.
“I cherished a desire. I said to the Mother, ‘O Mother, I shall be the king of the devotees.’
“Again, this thought arose in my mind: ‘He who sincerely prays to God will certainly come here. He must.’ You see, that is what is happening now. Only people of that kind come.
“My parents knew who dwells inside this body. Father had a dream at Gaya. In that dream Raghuvir said to him, ‘I shall be born as your son.’
“God alone dwells inside this body. Such renunciation of ‘woman and gold’! Could I have accomplished that myself? I have never enjoyed a woman, even in a dream.
“Nangta instructed me in Vedanta. In three days I went into samadhi. At the sight of my samadhi under the madhavi vine, he was quite taken aback and exclaimed, ‘Ah! What is this?’ Then he came to know who resides in this body. He said to me, ‘Please let me go.’ At these words of Totapuri, I went into an ecstatic mood and said, You cannot go till I realise the Truth of Vedanta.’
“Day and night I lived with him. We talked only Vedanta. The Brahmani used to say to me: ‘Don’t listen to Vedanta. It will injure your devotion to God.’
“I said to the Divine Mother: ‘Mother, please get me a rich man. If You don’t, how shall I be able to protect this body? How shall I be able to keep the sadhus and devotees, near me?’ That is why Mathur Babu provided for my needs for fourteen years. ……
“I have practised all kinds of sadhana: jnanayoga, karmayoga, and bhaktiyoga. I have even gone through the exercises of hathayoga to increase longevity. There is another Person dwelling in this body. Otherwise, after attaining samadhi, how could I live with the devotees and enjoy the love of God? Koar Singh used to say to me: ‘I have never before seen a person who has returned from the plane of samadhi. You are none other than Nanak.’…….
But did Mahimacharan understand the import of these words? Even after hearing them, he said to the Master, “These things have happened to you on account of your meritorious actions in your past births.” Mahima still thought that Sri Ramakrishna was a sadhu or a devotee of God. The Master nodded assent to Mahima’s words and said: “Yes, the result of past actions. God is like an aristocrat who has many mansions. Here [referring to himself] is one of His drawing-rooms. The bhakta is God’s drawing-room.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
—–
Questioner: “The Master used to say: ‘I have made the mould; now you may cast the image.’ What does this mean?”
Sri Sarada Devi: “To ‘cast the image’ means to meditate on the Master, to think of the various incidents of his life.” [Source: Sri Sarada Devi: A Divine Life in Pictures, by Swami Chetanananda]
Swami Bhuteshananda: “What do they look at? I am not good looking, an old frail man with a dark complexion.”
Swami Chetanananda said: “You are their guru.”
Swami Bhuteshananda: “If they think of this form of Bhuteshananda as the guru, then they will have no end of grief. One devotee came and said: ‘I have no peace of mind. How can I get some peace?’ I said: ‘There is a way that is simple and straightforward.’ ‘What is it?’ I said: ‘Give up all your desires.’ The devotee said: ‘We live in the world. How can we give up all desires? That is impossible.’ ‘Then you have to suffer,’ I said. ‘There is only one way—giving up desires. If you cannot do that, you will never get peace.‘ The Lord says in the Gita (9:33): ‘Having come into this transitory, joyless world, worship Me.’”
(Source: Stories of Vedanta Monks, Vol. 1)
If one loves the Master, one’s life grows to resemble his. — Swami Vivekananda
Sometimes Narendra told the devotees wonderful stories of how the Master’s sadhana had originated from his deep passion for God, and he charmed them with descriptions of the Master’s glory. Quoting from The Imitation of Christ [by Thomas à Kempis], Narendra said: “‘The life of anybody who truly loves the Lord will be perfectly moulded in His pattern.’ Therefore, whether we truly love the Master or not will be proven by this.” He reminded the devotees of the Master’s teaching: “First tie the knowledge of nonduality in a corner of your cloth, then do as you please.” Narendra then explained to them that every one of the Master’s ecstatic moods arose from that nondual knowledge; so they should strive to attain that knowledge first. (Source: Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play)
Related Articles:
- Among thousands of men, one strives for perfection and even among those who strive and succeed, one knows Me in essence. (BG 7.3)
- At the end of many births the man of wisdom seeks refuge in Me, realizing that Vāsudeva is all. Rare indeed is such a high-souled person. (BG 7.19)
- Who knows Me as the birthless, without a beginning, the Lord of all the worlds, he among mortals is undeluded and freed from all sins. (BG 10.3)
Question: Who attains union with the Lord?
Answer: He who knows the mystery of the birth and work of the Lord in its essence attains union with Him.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4 
(42 Verses)
