Chapter XIV - 77 Home | Index | Previous | Next

"Srinvanthu viswe amruthasya puthraah!" is the call. "Listen, O! Ye, children of immortality, all over the world!," that is the invitation. The heritage of immortality must be recognised and experienced; it must be won back. The bonds of name and form must be removed; they are but bonds made of dream-stuff. They are changeable and temporary. They are not genuine natural characteristics of the Jiva. Real wisdom consists in recognising that man is pure bliss; bliss that persists from the past into the present and the future. Escape from grief for a brief period of time and the attainment of joy for a short time - these are not signs of real liberation. "If you seek this steady, genuine pure state of bliss, you must be attached to Me," said Krishna.

"Arjuna! Whoever does spiritual practice after attaching himself to Me with a view to liberate himself from old age and senility will know all-that-is-to-be-known of Brahmam, Karma, and Atma. I am master of Adhibhutha, Adhidaiva and Adhiyajna and if I am thus worshipped, the worshipper will develop equanimity and full control of the vagaries of the mind. Besides, such a person will dwell on Me without forgetting Me even in his last moments. For that reason he will reach Me too. That is to say, he will merge in Me."

"Arjuna! Every one is anxious to avoid old age and death; it is human nature so to be anxious. But of what avail is mere anxiety? One's conduct and behaviour should be in accordance with one's objective. If one has sincere yearning and if one places full trust and faithfully surrenders to the Lord, the fog of grief will be dispersed by the rays of His grace. If on the other hand one places his trust on the objects of this world, the consequent grief will never end; nor can they be ended by any other than the Lord. Serve the master of Maya, the designer of all this dreamland rather than the dream itself. How can attachment to delusion yield anything but disappointment? How can joy be won by such pursuits? If joy is not won and grief avoided, how can liberation be achieved!" Krishna asked.

Arjuna intervened. "Krishna," he said, "cannot such men attain you? You say that grief must be conquered before one can attain you. Well, what is the origin of that grief? How is it to be tackled? How does it arise? How can one try to overcome it without knowing its origin and course of development? Please tell me how this grief arises in the human mind?"

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