My Lord! Verily, the mind is fickle and turbulent, obstinate and strong, yea extremely
difficult as the wind to control.


Lord Shri Krishna replied: Doubtless, O Mighty One, the mind is fickle and exceedingly
difficult to restrain, but, O Son of Kunti, with practice and renunciation it can be done.


It is not possible to attain Self-Realisation if a man does not know how to control himself;
but for him who, striving by proper means, learns such control, it is possible.


Arjuna asked: He who fails to control himself, whose mind falls from spiritual
contemplation, who attains not perfection but retains his faith, what of him, my Lord?


Having failed in both, my Lord, is he without hope, like a riven cloud having no support,
lost on the spiritual road?


My Lord! Thou art worthy to solve this doubt once and for all; save Thyself there is no one
competent to do so.


Lord Shri Krishna replied: My beloved child! There is no destruction for him, either in this
world or in the next. No evil fate awaits him who treads the path of righteousness.


Having reached the worlds where the righteous dwell, and having remained there for
many years, he who has slipped from the path of spirituality will be born again in the
family of the pure, benevolent and prosperous.


Or, he may be born in the family of the wise sages, though a birth like this is, indeed, very
difficult to obtain.


Then the experience acquired in his former life will revive, and with its help he will strive
for perfection more eagerly than before.


Unconsciously he will return to the practices of his old life; so that he who tries to realise
spiritual consciousness is certainly superior to one who only talks of it.


Then after many lives, the student of spirituality, who earnestly strives, and whose sins
are absolved, attains perfection and reaches the Supreme.


The wise man is superior to the ascetic and to the scholar and to the man of action;
therefore be thou a wise man, O Arjuna!


I look upon him as the best of mystics who, full of faith, worshippeth Me and abideth in
Me.”


Thus, in the Holy Book the Bhagavad Gita, one of the Upanishads, in the Science of the Supreme
Spirit, in the Art of Self-Knowledge, in the colloquy between the Divine Lord Shri Krishna and the
Prince Arjuna, stands the sixth chapter entitled: Self-Control.

SEVEN: KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE


“Lord Shri Krishna said: Listen, O Arjuna! And I will tell thee how thou shalt know Me in
my Full perfection, practising meditation with thy mind devoted to Me, and having Me
for thy refuge.


I will reveal to this knowledge unto thee, and how it may be realised; which, once
accomplished, there remains nothing else worth having in this life.


Among thousands of men scarcely one strives for perfection, and even amongst those who
gain occult powers, perchance but one knows me in truth.


Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and personality; this is the eightfold division of
My Manifested Nature.


This is My inferior Nature; but distinct from this, O Valiant One, know thou that my
Superior Nature is the very Life which sustains the universe.


It is the womb of all being; for I am He by Whom the worlds were created and shall be
dissolved.


O Arjuna! There is nothing higher than Me; all is strung upon Me as rows of pearls upon a
thread.


O Arjuna! I am the Fluidity in water, the Light in the sun and in the moon. I am the mystic
syllable Om in the Vedic scriptures, the Sound in ether, the Virility in man.


I am the Fragrance of earth, the Brilliance of fire. I am the Life Force in all beings, and I am
the Austerity of the ascetics.


Know, O Arjuna, that I am the eternal Seed of being; I am the Intelligence of the intelligent,
the Splendour of the resplendent.


I am the Strength of the strong, of them who are free from attachment and desire; and,
O Arjuna, I am the Desire for righteousness.


Whatever be the nature of their life, whether it be pure or passionate or ignorant, they are
all derived from Me. They are in Me, but I am not in them.


The inhabitants of the world, misled by those natures which the Qualities have
engendered, know not that I am higher than them all, and that I do not change.


Verily, this Divine Illusion of Phenomenon manifesting itself in the Qualities is difficult to
surmount. Only they who devote themselves to Me and to Me alone can accomplish it.


The sinner, the ignorant, the vile, deprived of spiritual perception by the glamour of
Illusion, and he who pursues a godless life – none of them shall find Me.


O Arjuna! The righteous who worship Me are grouped by stages: first, they who suffer,
next they who desire knowledge, then they who thirst after truth, and lastly they who
attain wisdom.

Of all of these, he who has gained wisdom, who meditates on Me without ceasing,
devoting himself only to Me, he is the best; for by the wise man I am exceedingly beloved
and the wise man, too, is beloved by Me.


Noble-minded are they all, but the wise man I hold as my own Self; for he, remaining
always at peace with Me, makes me his final goal.


After many lives, at last the wise man realises Me as I am. A man so enlightened that he
sees God everywhere is very difficult to find.


They in whom wisdom is obscured by one desire or the other, worship the lesser Powers,
practising many rites which vary according to their temperaments.


But whatever the form of worship, if the devotee have faith, then upon his faith in that
worship do I set My own seal.


If he worships one form alone with real faith, then shall his desires be fulfilled through
that only; for thus have I ordained.


The fruit that comes to men of limited insight is, after all, finite. They who worship the
Lower Powers attain them; but those who worship Me come unto Me alone.


The ignorant think of Me, who am the Unmanifested Spirit, as if I were really in human
form. They do not understand that My Superior Nature is changeless and most excellent.


I am not visible to all, for I am enveloped by the illusion of Phenomenon. This deluded
world does not know Me as the Unborn and the Imperishable.


I know, O Arjuna, all beings in the past, the present and the future; but they do not know
Me.


O brave Arjuna! Man lives in a fairy world, deceived by the glamour of opposite
sensations, infatuated by desire and aversion.


But those who act righteously, in whom sin has been destroyed, who are free from the
infatuation of the conflicting emotions, they worship Me with firm resolution.


Those who make Me their refuge, who strive for liberation from decay and Death, they
realise the Supreme Spirit, which is their own real Self, and in which all action finds its
consummation.


Those who see Me in the life of the world, in the universal sacrifice, and as pure Divinity,
keeping their minds steady, they live in Me, even in the crucial hour of death.”


Thus, in the Holy Book the Bhagavad Gita, one of the Upanishads, in the Science of the Supreme
Spirit, in the Art of Self-Knowledge, in the Colloquy between the Divine Lord Shri Krishna and the
Prince Arjuna, stand the seventh chapter, entitled: Knowledge and Experience.

EIGHT: LIFE EVERLASTING

“Arjuna asked: O Lord of Lords! What is that which men call the Supreme Spirit, what is
man’s Spiritual Nature, and what is the Law? What is Matter and what is Divinity?


Who is it who rules the spirit sacrifice in many; and at the time of death how may those
who have learned self-control come to the knowledge of Thee?


The Lord Shri Krishna replied: The Supreme Spirit is the Highest Imperishable Self, and Its
Nature is spiritual consciousness. The worlds have been created and are supported by an
emanation from the Spirit which is called the Law.


Matter consists of the forms that perish; Divinity is the Supreme Self; and He who inspires
the spirit of sacrifice in man, O noblest of thy race, is I Myself, Who now stand in human
form before thee.


Whosoever at the time of death thinks only of Me, and thinking thus leaves the body and
goes forth, assuredly he will know Me.


On whatever sphere of being the mind of a man may be intent at the time of death, thither
he will go.


Therefore meditate always on Me, and fight; if thy mind and thy reason be fixed on Me, to
Me shalt thou surely come.


He whose mind does not wander, and who is engaged in constant meditation, attains the
Supreme Spirit.


Whoso meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, more minute than the atom, yet the
Ruler and Upholder of all, Unimaginable, Brilliant like the Sun, Beyond the reach of
darkness;


He who leaves the body with mind unmoved and filled with devotion, by the power of
his meditation gathering between his eyebrows his whole vital energy, attains the
Supreme.


Now I will speak briefly of the imperishable goal, proclaimed by those versed in the
scriptures, which the mystic attains when free from passion, and for which he is content to
undergo the vow of continence.


Closing the gates of the body, drawing the forces of his mind into the heart and by the
power of meditation concentrating his vital energy in the brain;


Repeating Om, the Symbol of Eternity, holding Me always in remembrance, he who thus
leaves his body and goes forth reaches the Spirit Supreme.


To him who thinks constantly of Me, and of nothing else, to such an ever-faithful devotee,
O Arjuna, am I ever accessible.


Coming thus unto Me, these great souls go no more to the misery and death of earthly life,
for they have gained perfection.

The worlds, with the whole realm of creation, come and go; but, O Arjuna, whoso comes
to Me, for him there is nor rebirth.


Those who understand the cosmic day and cosmic night know that one day of creation is a
thousand cycles, and that the night is of equal length.


At the dawning of that day all objects in manifestation stream forth from the Unmanifest,
and when evening falls they are dissolved into It again.


The same multitude of beings, which have lived on earth so often, all are dissolved as the
night of the universe approaches, to issue forth anew when morning breaks. Thus is it
ordained.


In truth, therefore, there is the Eternal Unmanifest, which is beyond and above the
Unmanifest Spirit of Creation, which is never destroyed when all these being perish.


The wise say that the Unmanifest and Indestructible is the highest goal of all; when once
That is reached, there is no return. That is My Blessed Home.


O Arjuna! That Highest God, in Whom all beings abide, and Who pervades the entire
universe, is reached only by wholehearted devotion.


[The following material (between the asterisks) is an example of what may be a `doctored’ inclusion.
It does not jibe with the rest of the material because it is not presented as metaphor and clearly
implies that worldly phenomena are spiritually determining. Maybe it was added by an individual
or individuals who were less cognizant than the originating author. Or maybe was ‘craftily’
inserted to function as a sort of litmus test – those who get `taken in’ by it may be recognized as not
having `spiritual discernment’.]


*Now I will tell thee, O Arjuna, of the times at which, if the mystics go forth, they do not
return, and at which they go forth only to return.


If knowing the Supreme Spirit the sage goes forth with fire and light, in the daytime, in the
fortnight of the waxing moon and in the six months before the Northern summer solstice,
he will attain the Supreme.


But if he departs in gloom, at night, during the fortnight of the waning moon and in the six
months before the Southern solstice, then he reaches but lunar light and he will be born
again.


These bright and dark paths out of the world have always existed. Whoso takes the
former, returns not; he who chooses the latter, returns.*


O Arjuna! The saint knowing these paths is not confused. Therefore meditate perpetually.


The sage who knows this passes beyond all merit that comes from the study of the
scriptures, from sacrifice, from austerities and charity, and reaches the Supreme Primeval
Abode.”


Thus, in the Holy Book the Bhagavad Gita, one of the Upanishads, in the Science of the Supreme
Spirit, in the Art of Self-Knowledge, in the Colloquy between the Divine Lord Shri Krishna and the
Prince Arjuna, stand the eight chapter, entitled: The Life Everlasting.

NINE: THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCES AND
THE MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES

“Lord Shri Krishna said: I will now reveal to thee, since thou doubtest not, that profound
mysticism, which when followed by experience, shall liberate thee from sin.


This is the Premier Science, the Sovereign Secret, the Purest and Best; intuitional,
righteous; and to him who practiseth it pleasant beyond measure.


They who have no faith in this teaching cannot find Me, but remain lost in the purlieus of
this perishable world.


The whole world is pervaded by Me, yet My form is not seen. All living things have their
being in Me, yet I am not limited by them.


Nevertheless, they do not consciously abide in Me. Such is My Divine Sovereignty that
though I, the Supreme Self, am the cause and upholder of all, yet I remain outside.


As the mighty wind, though moving everywhere, has no resting place but space, so have
all these beings no home but Me.


All beings, O Arjuna, return at the close of every cosmic cycle into the realm of Nature,
which is a part of Me, and at the beginning of the next I send them forth again.


With the help of Nature, again and again I pour forth the whole multitude of beings,
whether they will or no, for they are ruled by My Will.


But these acts of mine do not bind Me. I remain outside and unattached.


Under my guidance, Nature produces all things movable and immovable. Thus it is,
O Arjuna, that this universe revolves.


Fools disregard Me, seeing Me clad in human form. They know not that in My higher
nature I am the Lord-God of all.


Their hopes are vain, their actions worthless, their knowledge futile; they are without
sense, deceitful, barbarous and godless.


But the Great Souls, O Arjuna! Filled with My Divine Spirit, they worship Me, they fix
their minds on Me and on Me alone, for they know that I am the imperishable Source of
being.


Always extolling Me, strenuous, firm in their vows, prostrating themselves before Me,
they worship Me continually with concentrated devotion.


Others worship Me with full consciousness as the One, the Manifold, the Omnipresent,
the Universal.


I am the Oblation, the Sacrifice and the Worship; I am the Fuel and the Chant, I am the
Butter offered to the fire, I am the Fire itself, and I am the Act of offering.

I am the Father of the universe and its Mother; I am its Nourisher and its Grandfather;
I am the Knowable and the Pure; I am Om; and I am the Sacred Scriptures.


I am the Goal, the Sustainer, the Lord, the Witness, the Home, the Shelter, the Lover and
the Origin; I am Life and Death; I am the Fountain and the Seed Imperishable.


I am the Heat of the Sun, I release and hold back the Rains. I am Death and Immortality;
I am Being and Not-Being.


Those who are versed in the scriptures, who drink the mystic Soma-juice and are purified
from sin, but who while worshipping Me with sacrifices pray that I will lead them to
heaven; they reach the holy world where lives the Controller of the Powers of Nature, and
they enjoy the feasts of Paradise.


Yet although they enjoy the spacious glories of Paradise, nevertheless, when their merit is
exhausted, they are born again into this world of mortals. They have followed the letter of
the scriptures, yet because they have sought but to fulfill their own desires, they must
depart and return again and again.


But if a man will meditate on Me and Me alone, and will worship Me always and
everywhere, I will take upon Myself the fulfillment of his aspiration, and I will safeguard
whatsoever he shall attain.


Even those who worship the lesser Powers, if they do so with faith, they thereby worship
Me, though not in the right way.


I am the willing recipient of sacrifice, and I am its true Lord. But these do not know me in
truth, and so they sink back.


The votaries of the lesser Powers go to them; the devotees of spirits go to them; they who
worship the Powers of Darkness, to such Powers shall they go; and so, too, those who
worship Me shall come to Me.


Whatever a man offers to Me, whether it be a leaf, or a flower, of fruit, or water, I accept it,
for it is offered with devotion and purity of mind.


Whatever thou doest, whatever thou dost eat, whatever thou dost sacrifice and give,
whatever austerities thou practisest, do all as an offering to Me.


So shall thy action be attended by no result, either good or bad; but through the spirit of
renunciation thou shalt come to Me and be free.


I am the same to all beings. I favour none, and I hate none. But those who worship Me
devotedly, they live in Me, and I in them.


Even the most sinful, if he worship Me with his whole heart, shalt be considered
righteous, for he is treading the right path.


He shall attain spirituality ere long, and Eternal Peace shall be his. O Arjuna! Believe me,
My devotee is never lost.