Knowledge of the Self is eternal

Yog of Knowledge and Action

 

Chapter 4, Verse 2

 

evaṁ paramparā prāptam 

imaṁ rāja-rṣayo viduḥ 

sa kāleneha mahatā 

yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

 

And so it came down from royal sage to royal sage till it was lost in the great lapse of time, O Parantapa.

 

“O Parantapa.” Here the Lord again addresses Arjuna as ‘Parantapa’ saying, “You strike fear into your enemy! You have victory over your enemy!” By referring to Arjuna as ‘Parantapa’, Krishna is telling him, “You have already defeated these enemies.” 

In this verse, Krishna says that, in the beginning, all knew about this knowledge: all had realised it, since they were spiritually advanced souls. You were manifested with this knowledge and had incarnated in several lifetimes with this knowledge. When this knowledge was active, when the mind knew about this supreme knowledge, you were like sages, rishis and kings. Through this knowledge, the kings knew how to rule their kingdoms. If a king ruled the kingdom with pride, then he would not be able to manage his kingdom properly. At that time, a king would never consider his kingdom as something separate from himself. The knowledge of the Self is a must for one to be able to help people, to be able to work with people. Without the knowledge of the Self, one can’t help others. That’s why nowadays, the governments usually last five years. At that time, the duties and responsibilities of the kings were handed down to their descendants. There was a chain of that knowledge, of that wisdom; they had the knowledge of how to practise Karma Yoga with spiritual awareness, so that they could do their duties properly.

 

But due to desires, people started running after the objects of the senses, after the mind. They gradually developed an attachment to the outside world and this supreme knowledge disappeared: it was not lost, it just became dormant. As is mentioned in the Ramacharitamanas, Vashishta gave this true knowledge to Sri Rama. He was well aware of the importance of this knowledge. Vashishta requested Rama to, “Give this knowledge to the people!” Sri Rama answered, “No. It is not yet the time to again reveal this true knowledge. Peoples’ minds are too attached to the outside. Why should I give this knowledge? They are not ready! Let them first be ready! When they’re ready, I’ll give it. Let this knowledge be dormant for now. In My next incarnation, I will give this knowledge for the benefit of humanity, but not in this incarnation.”

 

The Book of Genesis in the Bible says that, in the beginning, mankind had the knowledge of the Self, they had Realisation. They were peaceful, the animals were peaceful, everything was in perfect harmony. But when Adam ate the fruit of desire, which was not meant to be eaten, he lost this awareness, this purity. He lost the supreme knowledge of the Self. That’s why Adam and Eve started to hide themselves, because they had become aware of their body consciousness. Due to their ‘sin’, their inner Consciousness had changed, and the supreme knowledge was forgotten. They had moved from the inner awareness to the outer awareness. They started to feel hungry and thirsty and they became attached to the objects of the senses.

 

Nevertheless, since time immemorial, this knowledge had been kept secret and was given through Diksha. The Guru would only give it to the disciple who was ready. The control of the senses is portrayed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita in the analogy of the chariot, “Lord, this body is the chariot, my senses run like horses, but you are the charioteer. Please hold my senses tightly. Guide me!”

 

“...it was lost in the great lapse of time...” How many people are searching for spirituality, longing to realise themselves? This world has seven billion people. But of these seven billion people, how many long for God-Realisation? How many long to attain God Consciousness? How many long for God Himself? Even within the spiritual field, there are many people who practice numerous kinds of yoga, but they don’t have this knowledge of the Self, because it is only through bhakti that one can have this

knowledge of God Consciousness. Just to do yoga postures or to sit down and meditate is not enough. Even in those moments, your mind is not there; your mind is roaming around or is still hanging onto what you have been doing. It doesn’t help much. So can you imagine how many people, out of seven billion, have this bhakti inside and long for God? Very few.

 

In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, showed that when the mind runs only towards the outside, towards sense pleasures, and is devoid of the knowledge of God, people become like animals. They drag themselves down and down. That’s why Krishna calls Arjuna, ‘Parantapa’, meaning, ‘victory over the enemy!’ He means, “Victory over all these things which are keeping this knowledge veiled! Due to this victory, you are hearing me talk right now, because you have conquered all these desires. Know that the knowledge of the Self is eternal. Even if it has not been visible, it has never disappeared.”

Bhagavad Gita