Bhagavad-gita. Ch 7 . Text 16--19

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Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

Lord Krishna says in Gita. 7.16

 

'Four types of virtuous men (women) WORSHIP ME, O Arjuna:

the man in DISTRESS,

the man seeking KNOWLEDGE,

the man seeking WEALTH,

and the man IMBUED with WISDOM, O the best of the Bharatas.'

 

'Blessed are they WHO keep GOD as their GOAL and strive accordingly.

Zeros have NO VALUE, but they GAIN in VALUE when LINKED to the number

ONE.

God is the number ONE and ALL the WORLDLY things are ZEROS!

 

Independent of God, they are MERE ciphers, but ASSOCIATED with HIM,

they GAIN in importance.'

 

-Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

 

Gita.7. 17

 

'OF these, THE WISE SEEKER, EVER STEADFAST and DEVOTED to ME, EXCELS;

for, SUPREMELY DEAR AM I TO the WISE DEVOTEE and he is DEAR TO ME.'

 

Gita 7. 18

 

'NOBLE indeed ARE all THESE, but the WISE SEEKER with PURE DEVOTION

to Me, I DEEM, to be MY VERY SELF.

 

For, STEADFAST IN MIND and HEART, HE IS ESTABLISHED "IN ME ALONE", AS

THE SUPREME GOAL.'

 

Sri Ramakrishna further explains -

 

'A master is NATURALLY drawn to the servant who serves HIM

WHOLEHEARTEDLY and to the BEST OF HIS ABILITY.

 

When their MUTUAL LOVE and FIDELITY get FIRM-ROOTED the MASTER may

some day ENTRUST the management of HIS ENTIRE property to the

SERVANT.

 

AKIN to this ACT of MAN, the LORD HOLDS HIS DEVOTEE as HIS OWN

SELF !'

 

BG 7.19

 

'bahUnAM janmanAm ante jnAnavAn mAM prapadyate,

vAsudevaH sarvam iti sa mahAtmA sudurlabhaH'

 

 

At the END of many, many births, the man of WISDOM takes REFUGE in

Me, REALIZING that Vaasudeva (Lord Krishna) is ALL that IS.

RARE indeed is that GREAT soul.

 

Vaasudeva connotes the 'pratyagaatman' - that which is immanent in

everything sentient and insentient, movable, and immovable, good and

bad.

When 'sadhaka' begins to give practical shape to his learning that IT

IS GOD WHO HAS BECOME EVERYTHING, he is syled as JNANI.

 

But quite a number of 'sadhakas' take innumerable births BEFORE they

GAIN COMPLETE REALIZATION and get FIXED in the TRUTH that God ALONE

puts on the appearence of the PHENOMENON.

 

The man who has ATTAINED this ACME of REALIZATION is indeed RARE in

this world.

He is verily GREAT SOUL among men.

 

'Beholding diversity is born out of delusion; beholding unity is born

of ENLIGHTENMENT'- Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

 

The GREAT SOUL is referred also in the third stanza of the same

chapter.

 

'manuSyANAM sahasreSu kazcid yatati siddhaye,

yatatAm api siddhAnAM kazcin mAM vetti tattvataH'

 

(B.Gita 7.3)

 

'Among thousands of men SCARCELY ONE strives for PERFECTION, and

those WHO STRIVE and SUCCEED, SCARCELY ONE KNOWS ME IN TRUTH.'

 

The HIGHER the IDEAL, the HARDER is the ACHIEVEMENT of it.

Pitfalls are too many in the path of Divine Perfection.

COMPETENCY for IT is rarely found among men.

 

The RIGHT ATTITUDE, the RIGHT UNDERSTANDING, the RIGHT ADJUSTMENT,

the RIGHT APPLICATION - these fourfold INDISPENSABLE VIRTUES that

lead the aspirant to Divinity.

 

Men who are FULLY EQUIPPED with ALL these Divine qualities are RARE

INDEED.

 

(Adapted from the traslation by Swami Cidbhavananda of Sri

Ramakrishna Mission)

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!