Idhika Turya - शान्ति कैसे प्राप्त हो ।Praket Ehimay - Sudama and Krishna
Chapter 7 notes : Based on Swami Hari Har Maharaj Jee’s lectures
This chapter is called Gyan-Vigyan Yoga. What is the difference between Gyan and Vigyan ? The knowledge about Ishwar (God) is Gyan (knowledge). The entire universe emanates from him, one who has this perception has Gyan or knowledge and is known as Gyani.
Vigyan means everything is there and God exists in those things. A person who understands everything about all things made by God is a Vigyani. One who looks at the things and understands that there must be a mastermind behind this has Vigyan (scientific knowledge).
An example that Maharaj jee quotes for explaining Gyan is of gold jewelry. All jewelry comes from Gold in its ore form. This is an example to explain what is Gyan.
The analogous example for Vigyan that Maharaj jee cites is that of buildings and architecture. When a person looks and admires the impressive architecture of a building, he/she knows that since this building exists, there must certainly be an engineer/architect behind this cosntruction. This type of knowledge is Vigyan.
Further to explaining the difference between Gyan and Vigyan , Maharaj jee explains that there are eight elements- Fire, earth, sky, water, air, Man(mind), Buddhi (intellect) and Ahankar (ego). All these eight elements are the forms of ‘Prakriti’ and form the subset ‘para-prakriti’ . However besides these there is one more type of Prakriti which is the Jeevatama or the individual soul which is the subset ‘apara-prakriti’.
Maharaj jee quotes that while explaining Gyan Vigyan Yoga to Arjun, Bhagwan says
I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.
I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.
I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.
I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am the desire which is not contrary to religious principles.
Maharaj jee explains that God is the center of this universe and life should revolve around that. While grinding grains on a traditional stone style grinder, the grain which is the farthest from the center, gets grinded to a paste, while the grain very close to the center of the grinding stone remains intact. Similarly a person who makes God as the center of his life, does not feel the strain and stress of the material world. However one who is ignorant about God and maintains a disinterest in even trying to know God, feels that the material world and the accompanying problems have stressed him/her out.
There are four kinds of devotees
1. One who remembers God only when they are undergoing some trouble
2. One who has curiosity
3. One who needs some material gain from God
4. One who really wants to know God and be of service to God
Though Bhagwan says he likes all these four categories of devotees, the one who wants to know and serve God is a gyani and is God’s favorite type of devotee. However such types of devotees are rare. These types of devotees don’t criticize anyone.
God also says praying and worshipping variety of deities and Gods is good, but praying to HIM directly is the best, because worship to all other Gods is an indirect prayer or worship to Krishna himself. Therefore; one should try to establish a direct relationship with Krishna.
