One sees the Divine within oneself

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 38

 

na hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ 

pavitram iha vidyate 

tat-svayaṁ yoga saṁsiddhiḥ 

kālenātmani vindati

 

There is nothing in the world equal in purity to knowledge; the man who is perfected by yoga, finds it of himself in the Self in the course of time.

 

Here Krishna says that the knowledge of the Self is a greater purifier than the practice of charity, sacrifices, fasting, penance, pranayama, japa, meditation, and taking a dip in the holy rivers. If people just do all these things mechanically, without knowing the deeper meaning of what they are doing, they don’t profit from them. Someone doing japa mechanically will think, “Swamiji said to chant 16 malas every day. I am forcing myself to chant, but I don’t want to do it.” If one is hypocritical towards oneself, one doesn’t attain that supreme knowledge, but if one does a practice wholeheartedly, the practice becomes like the Ganga and Yamuna: it purifies one. 

By complete surrender, one gains the knowledge and realises the Truth. Once one attains the Truth of God, one’s sins are removed, one is cleansed of all negative qualities, and one becomes absolutely pure. The mind, the senses and the body, become exceptionally pure, reflecting the Light of God, and one become a shelter for others. But first, one sees the Divine within oneself. And through that knowledge, one becomes a purifier for the society, for the good of mankind

Bhagavad Gita