Sampoorna Mahabharata • సంపూర్ణ శ్రీమహాభారతము • Episode 708

Episode 708: BG Chap 7

People do not think of God merely because troubles arise. Devotion does not arise by listening about Him. Only a few develop devotion. Hence not ārtas & arthārthas are meritorious. Meritorious beings are those who when sunk in difficulties or when seeking fulfillment of desires, worship Him & perform meritorious deeds without engaging in sin. Jignyāsas & Jnanis are always meritorious. Never do they indulge in sin.

Elephant Gajendra is ārta devotee. Trusting his own energy, for very long he tried to come out of his difficulty. When his energy totally drained, he sought refuge & got uplifted. Parikshit and Uddhava are examples of Jignyasu. Sugriva and Dhruva are arthārthi. Shuka, Narada, Sanaka, Bhishma, Prahlada are Jnanis.

Irrespective of the level, if one worships Paramatma with devotion, he is meritorious.

teṣāṁ jñānī nityayuktaḥ ekabhaktirviśiṣyatepriyohi jñāninotyartham ahaṁsa camama priyaḥǁ17

Among them, Jnani who eternally fixes his mind on Paramatma & who has devotion only for Him is supreme. I am very dear to Him & He is very dear to Me.

Jnani is in eternal union with Paramatma. He has no other object to worship. He has exclusive love and devotion for Paramatma alone.

It is well-known that to every being his Self is very dear. Jnani treats Bhagavan as his Self & holds him dear. For Vāsudeva, the Jnani is his Self & hence very dear.

Are other devotees not dear? Bhagavan will clarify-

udārā ssarvaevaite jñānītvātmaiva mematamāsthitassahi yuktātmā māmevānuttamāṁ gatimǁ18ǁ

All other devotees are also great & good devotees loved by Me. However, he who knows Jnana is the Self for Me, in my original state. Because, he firmly rests his mind on Me, has Me as the goal, & while making attempts to reach Me, seeks refuge only in Me.

No devotee is unloved by Him. He says- Sādhavō hŗdayam mahyam sādhūnām hadayastvaham- The heart of the Sadhus belongs to Me. I am their heart.

All devotees are Sadhus. But Jnani is extremely loved. If other devotees are His heart, the Jnani is His Self! He sees the Jnani as non-different from Himself.

By saying that such Jnanis are extremely rare, He praises them.

bahūnāṁ janmanāmante jñānavān māṁprapadyatevāsudeva ssarvamiti samahātmā sudurlabhaḥǁ19ǁ

After innumerable births, the person attains Jnana & understands that everything is Me and thus reaches Me. Such Mahatma is extremely rare.

To obtain Jnana, the right samskaras are crucial. To create them the being takes innumerable births. In the end, he gets Jnana & realizes Paramatma as his Self. He realizes that everything is Vāsudeva. He is a Mahatma. There is none equal or superior to him. In many thousands, 1 Mahatma exists. The Lord considers the Mahatma as His Self.

kāmaistaistairhṛtajñānāḥ prapadyantenyadevatāḥtaṁtaṁ niyamamāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāssvayāǁ20ǁ

Propelled by their past birth vasanas, & with their minds deprived of Viveka due to their desire for objects, humans undertake austerities to please deities and seek shelter under them.

Desires steal wisdom. Those who lack wisdom, seek refuge not in Paramatma but in other deities & diligently adhere to all disciplines to please that deity.

Samskaras of many past births is responsible for this. This nature makes them disregard Paramatma & hold on to other deities to fulfill their desires. Hence one must cultivate good samskaras, develop unflinching faith that Paramatma is everything & hold on to Him.

Here Bhagavan is not condemning worship of other deities. He is saying that those who worship other Devatas should learn to see that Devata as Paramatma & see non-difference between himself and that Devata.

yoyo yāṁyāṁtanuṁ bhaktaḥ śraddhayārchitumichatitasya tasyācalāṁ śraddhāṁ tāmeva vidadhāmyahamǁ21ǁ

Whatever Devata a devotee seeks to worship and with whatever level of faith, I only ensure that his faith towards that Devata remains unflinching.

Based on one’s faith a person can worship any Devata mentioned in the Vedas for fulfilling his desires. It is not wrong. It is healthy. Instead of latching on to sinful, unrighteous methods to fulfill desires, it is good to tread the righteous path and pray to the Devatas for its fulfilment.

Due to his svabhava the faith with which he desires to worship any Devata, Bhagavan intensifies that faith towards that Devata in him. Due to the increased faith, gradually he develops the right samskaras and steps into Jnana path. Hence it is incorrect to ridicule those who worship Devatas for desire fulfilment.

satayā śraddhayāyuktaḥ tasyārādhanamīhatelabhateca tataḥ kāmān mayaiva vihitānhitānǁ22ǁ

He who, filled with desires, worships other Devatas, does so with faith. He fulfils his desire through the deities which actually has been arranged only by Me.

Sarvadēva namaskāraḥ kēśavam pratigacchati- Whichever Devata we bow to it reaches Paramatma whether we seek it or not.