146 - We Build Our Own Spiritual Destiny | Swami Tattwamayananda

Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta

17th verse: “Extremely conceited, haughty, filled with pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform all sacrifices with great ostentation disregarding all ordinances.” This is the literal translation. The meaning of the verse is that such people do things in an improper manner without any consideration for propriety.
Kama refers to desire – the mind wants to go after worldly desire all the time. Dambha refers to religious or spiritual pride and superiority. Māna means they think they deserve more honor than others. Mada means delusion, an over estimation of one’s abilities. These are characteristics of people who become conceited and indulge in showmanship.
Sri Ramakrishna refers to three types of devotees – Sattvic, who are serene and contemplative. Rajasic who are externally expressive. And Tamasic who worship in a careless manner.
18th verse: “Filled with egotism, power, insolence, lust and anger, such people hate Me. They do not recognize the presence of the divine spark in themselves and in others.”
There are two types of strengths. In the first type, one has wealth, power, status but he is self-restraint. He does not have aversion towards anyone. In the second type, the power is accompanied by extreme likes and dislikes.
It is important to combine any kind of power with humility and self-restraint. If a wealthy or powerful person is humble, it is a blessing to society.
Ramanuja says in his commentary on the 18th verse: “The very idea of Viveka (discrimination) and Vairagya (renunciation) never comes to them because they have no genuine devotion to God. Their mind remains impure, and they always criticize. They think of someone who exercises self-restraint as weak. They think of knowledge without showmanship as ignorance.”
19th verse: The literal meaning is: “These people – who are proud, malicious, cruel and born of evil qualities – I hurl them perpetually in the wombs of the demons.” The interpretation is: “Those who deliberately do sinful deeds, they fall into perpetual demonic state.”
There is no eternal damnation in Hinduism. Only Madhvacharya talked about it. The majority do not accept this view. God is not the arbitrator.
Gita says that we should build our own spiritual destiny. We reap according to the types of seeds we sow. According to our own actions, we create heaven or hell like conditions in our life.
If we take refuge in God’s grace, our destiny will change. But we have to make ourselves graceworthy with our own self effort. Such refuge requires complete self-surrender. If we do so, it will be difficult for us to do anything wrong.
Prapati is the highest state of a devotee of God. Prapati means complete surrender and is composed of the following characteristics. (1) Always having a positive outlook in life, full of sattvic qualities such as serenity, wisdom, compassion, and broad mindedness. (2) Rejecting all the opposing qualities such as skepticism and self-doubt. (3) Strong faith that God will protect me. (4) Total self-surrender.
One of the Brahma Sutras says: “God is taking care of everything. Everything happens according to our previous deeds.”
Though everything comes from God, God is not responsible for what we do. We act according to our own samskaras. Just professing a belief in God will not change our life. Prapati or complete self-surrender will have an immediate effect.
20th verse: “Those who hate others and reinforce their own evil character, they continue to rotate in this cycle of samsara.”
21st verse: “There are three gates to a hellish life – hellish conditions created from our own actions. These three gates are lust, anger and greed (kamah, krodhah, lobhah). These three should be abandoned.”
Every wrong action has desire or lust as its source. Once we have a desire, we direct our senses and energy to fulfill that desire. Not all desires are fulfilled. When the desire remains unfulfilled, we become angry. And then there is endless greed.
Patanjali prescribes five yamas (important) and five niyamas (auxiliary) in Yoga Sutras. When we practice yamas and niyamas, these three gates are closed.
The five yamas are: ahimsa (non-violence, satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (right use of energy) and aparigraha (non-hoarding). The five niyamas are: saucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (study of scriptures) and Isvara Pranidhana (surrender to God).
In terms of inquiry, there are two types of seekers. (1) Those who are humble, straightforward and inquisitive. Once they are convinced of the truth, they become champions of that truth. Swami Vivekananda was such as seeker. (2) Those who ask questions without any seriousness. They pretend to be convinced, but they keep asking the same questions again.
A spiritual seeker should practice friendliness (Maitri) towards fellow spiritual seekers, practice compassion (Karuna) towards those who are less evolved, practice happiness (Mudita) towards those who are more evolved, and practice a filtering attitude (Upeksha) towards those who may shake his faith.