Gita Acharan

' Namaste ' or ' Namaskaaram ' is used to greet each other in the Indian context. Its meaning is 'obeisance to divinity in you'. Greetings used in various cultures convey a similar message and have origins in "Seeing the self in all beings and all beings in the self and see the same everywhere" (6.29). When such greetings are exchanged with awareness, they have the potential to realise divinity in oneself as well as others. Seeing the 'same everywhere' is the path of 'formless' or niraakaar , which is considered to be a tough path. Krishna immediately makes it easy and says to see ME (paramatma) everywhere and see all in ME (6.30), which is the path of 'form' or saakaar . These verses give the paths of realising paramatma through 'form' as well as 'formless' and all spiritual paths have their foundation in one or another. The un-manifested is limitless whereas the manifested is divisive and bound by...

Existence is the coherence of the manifested like our body and the un-manifested or atma (self). We perceive existence either through the manifested or through the un-manifested. We are familiar with the first one where we distinguish between people, situations and things as our senses are capable of perceiving only the manifested. We hardly recognise the un-manifested behind the manifested as it requires going beyond the senses. For example, when we see a person we first see whether it's a man or a woman. Then we see how well one dresses and behaves; and how influential or wealthy one is. Subsequently, we recall the good and bad memories associated with them. Our behaviour depends on the judgements that we make based on these divisions.  In this regard, Krishna says that united with the self, he sees the self in all beings and all the beings in the self, he sees the same everywhere (6.29). This is the path of going beyond the five senses. Metaphorically, it is like di...

Samatva or equanimity is the crux of the preachings of every enlightened soul that has ever roamed this planet. Words, languages and methods could vary but the message is to attain samatva . Any preaching or practice contrary to this is dogmatic.  In the context of the mind, it is the balance between the senses on one side and intellect (buddhi) on the other side. If one leans towards senses, one gets drenched in desires. When intellect dominates, one would be an aware person but might look down on others as they may lack compassion. That's why Krishna says that the best Yogi is he who feels for others, whether in grief or pleasure, even as he feels for himself (6.32). It's the coherence of awareness and compassion.  Krishna told us to treat things like gold and rock as the same; a cow, an elephant and a dog as the same. Later he told us to treat all people including friends and enemies as equals. Another way to understand this is that there are three different l...

Change is constant in the physical or manifested world of objects and the unmanifested or atma remains changeless. So, a mechanism is needed to bring coherence between these two worlds. Metaphorically, it's like the ball bearing mechanism between a stationary hub and a rotating wheel or like a gearbox handling two different speeds from the engine and wheels. Similarly, it's a mechanism of senses, mind ( manas or chitt ) and intellect (buddhi) between the changeless atma and the ever changing world of objects. Krishna gave a hierarchy (3.42) that the senses are superior to sense objects, the mind is superior to the senses, and superior to the mind is the intellect. Superior even to the intellect is the self or atma .  The physical part of the senses automatically responds to changes in the physical world. The mind is a combination of the controller part of the senses along with memory and is expected to handle every outside change brought to it by the physical pa...

The Brain is an amazing organ for many reasons. One of its attributes is that it doesn't feel pain as its tissue doesn't have pain transmitting nociceptors. Neurosurgeons use this attribute to perform surgeries while the patient is awake. Physical pain and pleasure are the results of the comparison with a neutral state of the brain. This analogy applies to mental feelings of pain as well as pleasure where there is a neutral point in all of us and the comparison is what gives the polarities of pain and pleasure. This background will help us to understand what Krishna says, "When the mind, restrained (nirodh) by the practice of yoga, comes to rest and in which he sees the self by the self and is thus self-satisfied" (6.20).  Coming to rest is the key. It is bringing that ever wavering or oscillating mind to rest. To achieve it, Krishna suggests restraint. The restraint doesn't mean the suppression of feelings nor their expression. It's witnessing th...