Viniyoga

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 8
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Having reached me , the wise men do not gain another birth, which is the abode of misery and is finite ; they have reached the ultimate success.

If there are two objects, one cannot assume the nature of the other. Each has its own attributes. If one becomes the other , the nature of one or both of them is destroyed. For example, if you add water to milk , you will have a liquid of a different density from either water or milk. Therefore, one object cannot gain identity with another. An object enjoying its own attributes cannot enter into another and remain the same object .
Suppose one object , is indeed the other object. Then the separation is only due to ignorance. Ignorance is the cause of separation between Isvara and jiiva. Therefore dwelling on Parameshwara is only to attack that ignorance and to remove that orientation. Gaining identity with Bhagavaan is possible because it is an accomplished fact.
Wise men who have recognized me as their own self do not gain another birth. They do not assume another body, which by nature is subject to pain. The only real success is Moksha and this they have gained . Those who have gained this freedom will not come back.

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 8
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

For the one who constantly remembers me , I am easily gained.

Partha ( Arjuna ) ! The one who has a mind that sees no other , who remembers me constantly, for a length of time , for that yogi who is always united with me , I am easily gained.

Ananya -cetas, the one whose mind is not in any object or devataa other than oneself. The one who does not look upon Isvara or anything else as other than oneself is ananya- cetas.
How long must one contemplate?
The lord says - constantly.
You can only bring back to the mind what you already know. It means dwelling upon something and implies contemplation. The person spoken of here has undergone exposure to the sastra and analysed it but still has the orientation that he is the body .
A simple confusion requires clarification only once. An orientation or habitual error requires repeated correction.
‘ I ‘am the body , is such an orientation, which is why even when the confusion is resolved by the sastra, you continue to have problems that are due to this identification. It is because this notion has prevailed for a long time. When you have lived your entire life with the notion that you are the body , how are you going to remove it just because someone said ‘tat tvam asi ‘? The orientation has to go , for that constant dwelling of the fact that ‘ I am Brahman ‘ is necessary. You must constantly dwell on this knowledge until the orientation is corrected.
One contemplates until one requires no more contemplation.
Bhagavan says ‘ I am gained easily ‘.
To gain Brahman , Bhagavaan says , you must dwell upon Brahman , the source of all love. What effort do you require to dwell upon love ? Loving does not require any effort; it is very natural. Here it is you ; Atma is Parameshwara. Atmas nature is fullness ; so dwelling upon that is joyous.
Nothing new is produced . So , it is not born of any effort. It is born purely of recognition the fact because it is already an accomplished face. No production is involved . Nothing new is added . Nothing old is removed.
A Nitya - yukta is one who is endowed with a mind that is always tranquil. It is under control , it does not have any problem in dwelling upon Bhagavaan. Whenever the mind is free it goes towards Bhagavaan.
It is like a person in love. His mind always goes naturally towards his beloved. Here the mind naturally goes towards paramaatma because he has understood it. Where else will the mind go ? Until he gains such a mind , he continues to do contemplation , reading , Satsang , and uses his will to dwell upon the lord. Later the very subject matter takes over and he does not require any will. All that is required is the initial choice. Being the one who is ananya - cetas , whose mind is committed to Parameshwara , he remains absorbed.

Restarted writing Sri Rama Jayam after a long time. Feels so good. Neem Karoli baba wrote two pages of Rama Nama everyday. He says writing of rama Nama makes all his endeavors successful. Whether you chant or write Isvaras Nama , whether you do with Bhakthi or not , isvaras grace is guaranteed

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 8
Swami Dayananda Sataswathi.

Om as a word for contemplation

Om is a word for Brahman. The shastra says that Atma , the conscious being , is Brahman and that Brahman is Om. You contemplate upon the meaning of Om as yourself being everything.
In Prashnopanisad , Satyakaama asks his guru , what kind of loka a person will gain if he meditates on Om and he is told that omkaara can represent both param-Brahma and aparam Brahma. It is apara if it is a symbol for Ishwara. It is para if is contemplated upon as paramaathmaa who is identical with pratyagaatmaa.
When omkaara is chanted , the last letter makaara, resolves into silence , which is pure Conciousness, neither waker , dreamer nor sleeper. From that silence Akaara rises. When you chant Om , the word is pervaded by Conciousness , which itself is not affected by Akaara, ukaara or Makaara; A U M. Everything resolves into that which is neither waker Conciousness, nor dreamer Conciousness, nor in between Conciousness, nor sleeper Conciousness, nor unconsciousness; this is what is called Conciousness which is Atma , Om , the word for Brahman.

Meditation on Om and its results.

Closing all the gates of perception ( sense organs ) , withdrawing the mind into the heart , placing one’s breath at the top of one’s head, being the one who remains holding one’s breath by yoga , chanting the single syllable Om , which is Brahman , giving up the body , the one who departs, remembering me , goes to the most exalted end.
1.Having closed all the gates . The gates are the ways through which the world enters into you , the sense organs.
2. Taking the mind inward . Withdraw the senses from their pursuits. Just turn the mind towards yourself.
3. ⁠Placing one’s praana at the top of one’s head , one does not allow the breath to be exhaled.
4. ⁠chanting the single syllable Om , which is the name of Brahman , thinking of me , Isvara , one continues to hold one’s breath at the top of one’s head. And continuing to hold one’s breath in this way , giving up one’s body , the one who departs , he goes to the most exalted end.
Death is only for the body , not for the jiiva. The jiiva keeps traveling until he knows he is Atma, which is eternal. Then the superimposition upon Atma dies. The jiiva does not die at anytime because the truth of jiiva is Atma.
So the one who leaves his body in this manner , goes to the most exalted end.
Krishna says , ‘ Because of his great meditation , holding his breath , thinking of me and chanting Om , he leaves the body and goes straight to Brahma- Loka.’ There he asks Brahman the knowledge. Brahman teaches him Atma - jnaana and he is released. Paramaa - Gati is the end , which is the discovery of the self being Brahman . This is moksa, but gained in Brahma - Loka and is called karma - mukti.

Chapter 8 Bhagavat Gita
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Paartha ( Arjuna ) ! Reflecting in keep with the teaching , with a mind endowed with the practice of yoga that does not stray to anything else , he reaches the limitless self - efflulgent person.

The meditator goes to the self-effulgent person. There is no possibility of him being anything less than the limitless person who is everything, from whom nothing is separate.
How do you achieve it ?
By contemplating or meditating, according to the sastra. Contemplating on the words of the saastra.
Here , thinking , contemplating is just seeing a fact that you have already come to know through the saastra, which are conducive to arriving at its vision. So he points out the kind of mind that is required.
By a mind that is endowed with practice , by a mind that does not go to anything else.
Only the chosen object is allowed to occupy the mind. Anything else is dismissed as it arises. It is important to note that meditation does not stop when other thoughts arise . If that were the case , meditation is not possible. When you meditate on a given object , there is always possibility of getting distracted. Whenever the mind strays from the chosen object of meditation, you bring it back . Bringing the mind back to the object of meditation is also part of meditation
He meditates upon Parameshwara who is described by the following words.
1.Kavi - Bhagavaan is called Kavi , because he sees everything- past , present and future. Kavi here means the one who is all knowledge.
2. Puraana , the one who is ancient , who is eternal.
3. ⁠Anushaasitaa - the one who rules the whole creation. , because of whom the laws of dharma and other laws in creation exist.
4. ⁠Anoh aniiyaan-the one who is subtler than the subtlest thing you can ever conceive of.
5. ⁠sarvasya dhaataa- the one who is the ordainet of everything. He is the giver of the fruits of all actions.
6. ⁠acintya - ruupa, the one who’s form cannot be thought of. How are you going to imagine or even appreciate omniscience or all- pervasiveness , the one whose form is the whole creation ? He is not available for objectification.
7. ⁠Aaditya- Varna , the one whose form has the appearance of the sun. The form of the sun is nothing but light. It is not a light that comes and goes; it is always in the form of light ; and it illumines everything. Similarly Isvara is in the form of consciousness, which is not subject to increase and decrease. Like the sun , it always illumines without any motive or intention. Everything shines after it. It is untouched by what happens in the light.
8. ⁠Tamasah parastaat- it is above darkness. It illumines both light and darkness. It illumines particular knowledge as well as ignorance. It is pure consciousness.

Therefore krishna says here that the one who contemplates on Parameshwara in this manner , that is , in keeping with what is said in the shaastra, reaches that Parameshwara. This is knowledge.

Krishna starts by saying that the one who knows him as Isvara , being always in him , comes to him after death. There is no rebirth for this person.

Another person who contemplates upon him as Isvara , having gained from Shaastra the knowledge that Atma is Parameshwara , he too does not come back after death.

Then there is another person for whom the contemplation is coupled with pranayama , he too reaches Isvara.

Chapter 7
Bhagavat Gita
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Therefore the Lord says ‘ Those who know me in this form are non separate from myself’. First you recognize Isvara as Isvara as Paroksa , that is , you understand that this entire jagat is Isvara . Then ,you internalize the whole thing and understand, ‘my own body , mind , senses are Bhagavaan. The pratyagaatmaa ,consciousness, behind this body - mind - sense complex is the truth of Bhagavaan.
Those whose minds do not have an inhibiting factors , know me like this even at the time of travel , death.
There is a belief , that what kind of course the departing soul takes depends on what the final thought of the person was when he or she was dying.
However, it is not easy to remember the Lord at the time of death. Unless all one’s lifetime one has lived a life keeping the Lord in mind, it is not possible. Even a great upaasaka is not going to remember his upaasya at the time of death because his attachment to his own children and so on , is so much that he will remember only those things. Or he will think of what he has done and not done and will be riddled with guilt and hurt. Unless a person is very mature , it is not easy to have the thought of the Lord at the time of death.
The Lord says ‘ if you know me , there is no such problem. Whether it is at the time of death or not , there is no question of your losing sight of me.
Without knowing the Lord , it is a question of Naaraayana Nama smarana, remembering the Name of Narayana. But here it is , knowing the truth of Bhagavaan as yourself. Here there is no ignorance of Bhagavaan at all. The knowledge ‘ Naaraayanah - aham , I am Naaraayana’ is not subject to forgetfulness. Ignorance cannot come back. Even if a person goes into coma , it does not really create ignorance. The mind may not function and may be incapable of responding to the external world but the ignorance gone is gone. It can never come back.
Therefore Bhagavaan says , ‘ even at the time of death , they know me ‘. When the jnanis are alive and well in the body and mind with strong commitment they put forth adequate and proper effort to know Bhagavaan. They know all that is here is Bhagavaan. They also know Bhagavaan , Isvara , who is in the form of all this , is not separate from themselves. And they know this even at the time of death when there is forgetfulness. It is because there is no dependence on memory for this knowledge unlike the knowledge of other things in the world. Self - knowledge is not to be remembered. Only self - ignorance has to go . This is because the self is always evident. Therefore the Lord says these people are yukta - cetasah, and do not have any inhibiting factor that prevents the knowledge, know me even at the time of death.
The lord says with reference to the final moment also means this , ‘ Even those who know me at the time of death , who gain this knowledge then , or those who have been living with this knowledge are not swayed from it right up to the time of death because it is so clear , they know . Those minds are united to me , know me , not just remember me , even at the time of death. There is no return for them ‘. They are Brahman.
When I am everything and everywhere , who is to return , and from where? I can go to some place and return , if I am not there already . If I am only here , I can go to heaven and come back. But heaven is also me, the heavenly bodies are me , the devataas are me , the angels are me, the celestials are me. The local world is me , the sun , the moon and stars , the physical body , mind and senses, are all me because I am Brahman. Tell me now , who is to go and where?
Those who know these five , that is Adhyaatma ( pratyagaatmaa Their innermost self , the body - mind - sense complex) , karma in its entirety, adhibhuta, adhidaiva and adiyajna as Brahman , for them their knowledge of the identity between themselves and Isvara stands firm and unaffected even at the time of death. They are free while living ; they are free even after this body has fallen.

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 7
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

What is this Brahman that these people come to know totally ?
Those who know me as centered on the physical world , the devatas and rituals , whose minds are absorbed in me , even at the end of their life, they know me.
Having taken refuge in me , those who make the effort for freedom from old age and death , they know that Brahman wholly as themselves.
He says those who know me as Saadhibhuuta( the five elements - earth , water , fire , air , space ) ,saadhidhaiva ( all the devas ) , saadhiyajna ( the rituals , yajnas) , know me as themselves. Brahman as jagat - kaarana is adhibhuta, adhidhaiva ,adhiyajna. This Brahman they know as themselves. ‘ All this is myself ‘ . I am the one who obtains in the form of devas , in the form of factors related to yajna, in the form of Bhutas , the five elements, the body -mind - sense complex; it means Sarvam - brahma , all this. Everything is Brahman.
The lord says , they know me ,Isvara , who is saadhibhuta , Saadhidaiva and saadhiyajna. Isvara , the one who exists in the form of sun , moon , stars etc , and all the devatas thereof. Bhagavaan is the one who is in the form of yajna , the very ritual , he is the receiver of the offerings in the yajna , and he is in the form person performing the yajna and he is the one who is the form of the giver of the results of the yajna. He is the one who is in the form of karma - phala - daataa.
These people recognize me as the one who is in the form of the world , adhibhuta , from whom nothing is separate and also as the devatas, as adhidaiva , the one from whom no devata is separate . Yajna means a ritual. Thus he says , ‘ These people see that the karma , the result of karma , and the devatas invoked are me. They recognize me as the truth of karma.
Adhyaatma is what is centered on the individual. These people , also know Isvara as Adhyaatma. Adhyaatma is also Brahman. That is , they see themselves as Brahman. Then what is left out? Nothing ! Everything is Bhagavaan. The world is Bhagavaan , the devataas are Bhagavaan , your physical body , mind and senses together called Adhyaatma and pratyagaatmaa are all Bhagavaan. Nothing else is here in the Universe other than Bhagavaan.
Those who know me in this form are non- separate from myself.

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 7
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

The wise know Brahman as not separate from themselves.

Having resorted to Parameshwara , these people come to know that Brahman . Aashraya is in the form of enquiry and result is that they come to know Parameshwara as not separate from themselves. Taking refuge in Isvara , the cause of everything , coming to him , they naturally know everything.
That knowledge is for freedom from old age and death. It means all you require for freedom is knowledge. But by knowing how can you escape old age and death? All the jnaaniis are dead and gone! That is , the bodies of the Jnaanis are gone. A jnaani is never gone because he is param brahma; he is not separate. Bhagavaan has said , ‘ I consider the jnaani as myself ‘ .
They know Brahman entirely as themselves. You have to see Brahman as totally identical with yourself. The truth of Atma happens to be identical with Brahman. The one who knows this understands everything connected to Atma as identical with Brahman.
Because of this , they now understand karma also very well. One understands, ‘ I do not do any action nor do I cause anything to be done .’ At the same time actions are done. The truth about karma is that the doer , the object of action , the means of doing the action , the purpose of doing the action , from where the action originates , anything connected to the action , and locus of action are all Brahman.
In a ritual , the means by which an oblation is offered , the oblation itself , the fire into which it is offered and the one making the offering are all Brahman. In one’s vision , karma is neither opposed to Brahman nor is it something that has Brahman as its result. The one who knows this sees Brahman every where.

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 7
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

How does one seek freedom from death ?

Taking refuge in Isvara , they make the effort. Pursuits based on their likes and dislikes are given up , and now they are seeking Isvara. After analyzing their experiences, they find that fulfillment of likes - dislikes is not exactly what they are seeking.
Now that you are no longer under the spell of likes and dislikes, and the tendency for improper actions is also gone , there is discrimination. You want only to know what Parameshwara is and seek his grace for that knowledge. To know Parameshwara is to know him as yourself. There is no other Isvara. He is not separate from you nor is he separate from the world. If there is any sense of separation it is due to ignorance. Therefore Bhagavan says “ taking refuge in me , invoking my grace , they seek to know me”. For this they take efforts. How ? With a mind absorbed in me through shravana, manana and nididhyaasana - these three keep you absorbed.
To see the difference between this pursuit and all other , just observe your mind when you turn the pages of an attractively printed catalogue. Potential likes and dislikes would surface. You see something you had never even thought about and suddenly it’s a want.
Then see what happens when you read the pages of the Upanishads or Gita . The mind is entirely different. The words of the sastra create a mind that is fulfilled, resolved , the opposite of a mind in pursuit, which is why they say that , listening to the shastra is to be done again and again . It creates an orientation even though what is to be understood is only one , tat tvam asi , the elaborate study of the shastra is to keep the mind exposed for a good length of time to this thinking about realities.
Spending your time in these three , shravana , manana and niddhidyasana , is reflecting on Parameshwara.
Reflecting on the subject matter , talking about it to others and discussing with fellow students , trying to understand and help each other is all part of Brahma abhyaasa. This is what is meant by taking refuge in Parameshwara.
I ( Swamiji )read in one commentary long ago that interpreted taking refuge in Isvara to mean going to him for protection as even you would go to a stronger person when you are in trouble. Such appeals will definitely bless you. Any good karma will give its result. But to think that Isvara is just another person who is protecting you is simplistic. Parameshwara- aashraya is something that requires understanding. It is not that simple. It is an absorption, a committed thinking and dwelling upon , which is accomplished by shravana, Manana , nididhyaasana.

Bhagavat Gita
Chapter 7
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

Those who lack discrimination consider me , the one who is unmanifest as one endowed with a form. So, they do not know me.

The truth of Isvaraa

The truth is, Isvara is Conciousness , Brahman ,conditioned by maayaa. Maayaa is the upaadhi for Brahman . At this point one may ask as to what is the difference between Isvara, which is Brahman conditioned by maayaa- upaadhi , and Brahman? Maayaa does not exist apart from Brahman. It depends upon it entirely. Being mithyaa, maayaas reality is Brahman , so , Maayaa is also Isvara . And Isvara is nothing but Brahman.
The material because of which he is called Isvara , his maayaa - upaadhi , becomes the material cause for the whole world. As a material cause , maayaa must undergo changes to become this variegated world and is therefore , a material cause that undergoes modification. Maayaa changes to become space , air , fire , water , earth , plants , food , a physical body etc. The whole world is maayaa. And Maayaa is Isvara. Therefore the world is Isvara , who in reality , is nothing but Conciousness, Brahman. Brahman , however, does not undergo any change . It is something that does not undergo any change and yet makes all changes possible. Thus Brahman is therefore material and also efficient cause for this entire world because Isvara is nothing but Brahman.

Srinivasa Ramanujan, the brilliant Indian mathematician whose fame exploded when G.H. Hardy discovered his unique genius. It is always depressing when one thinks of Ramanujan's life in Cambridge; how he struggled with the cold weather, an alien culture and absence of familiar vegetarian food; which is brought out so well in 'The Man Who Knew Infinity'. One has always been fascinated by his devotion to Namagari, his Kuldevi who he said would write equations on his tongue when he was sleeping at night.

One felt restless at the thought that despite his intense connection with his Kuldevi, his deep Tapas, he had no respite from problems and went on to develop serious health complications and ultimately returned to India to spend his last days. One felt a kind of childish anger at the thought that the Devatas are so unkind to their Bhaktas. Why this is so.

1. In Hindu thought, devotion is not a contract

Hinduism never presents bhakti as a transactional bargain: “I pray, therefore my life will be easy.”
Even the most fervently protected devotees—Prahlada, Dhruva, Draupadi, the Pandavas—endure intense suffering.

The Kuladevi is not a dispenser of comfort, but a guardian of destiny and dharma. Protection does not mean insulation from hardship; it means guidance through it.

Ramanujan himself never believed Namagiri Devi existed to make his life comfortable. He believed she existed to reveal truth.

2. Karma operates independently of devotion

A central Hindu doctrine—clearly stated in the Gita, Upanishads, and Brahma Sutras—is that:
Prārabdha karma (karma already fructifying in this birth) must be lived through, even by saints and jñānis.
Devotion can:
give clarity
give inner strength
give direction
sometimes soften the blow
But it does not erase prārabdha karma.
Śaṅkara himself died young.
Ramakrishna suffered cancer.
Ramana Maharshi endured illness.
Ramanujan endured poverty, social isolation, and illness.
In Hindu metaphysics, this is not injustice—it is cosmic continuity.

3. His suffering was inseparable from his genius

Ramanujan’s mathematical creativity did not arise from a stable, modern academic environment. It arose from:
solitude
obsession
near-ascetic intensity
a mind unencumbered by institutional conditioning
The same conditions that made his life hard also made his work unprecedented.
Hindu texts repeatedly show that extraordinary instruments are forged under pressure, not comfort. The Devi does not shape her instruments gently.

4. The Kuladevi gives artha and artha-ātīta outcomes, not luxury

In many South Indian traditions, the Kuladevi is approached not for wealth or ease, but for:
buddhi (intelligence)
pratibhā (creative intuition)
smṛti (retentive memory)
anugraha (grace)
Ramanujan received these in overwhelming measure.
If one measures divine grace by material stability, his life looks tragic.
If one measures it by civilizational impact, it was astonishingly abundant.
Few humans have altered the course of a discipline so profoundly in so short a life.

5. Hindu theology never equates suffering with divine neglect

This is a crucial civilizational difference.
In Hinduism:
suffering ≠ abandonment
struggle ≠ divine failure
hardship ≠ lack of grace
Often, suffering indicates that a being is walking a non-ordinary path.
Ramanujan himself said that equations came to him as visions, which he then had to justify rationally. That is not the language of someone who felt forsaken.

6. The Devi gave him exactly what he asked for

Ramanujan did not ask Namagiri Devi for:
money
comfort
longevity
social recognition
He asked for truth.
And Hindu theology is brutally honest about this:
Truth is not gentle.
Genius is not comfortable.
Grace does not promise ease.

7. A Hindu way of reading Ramanujan’s life

From within the Hindu framework, Ramanujan’s life is not a story of unanswered prayer.

It is a story of terrifyingly precise grace.

The Devi did not make him prosperous.

She made him immortal.

*And in Hindu terms, that is not a tragedy.*

Chapter 7
Bhagavat Gita
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi

In the taittiriiyopanisad there is Pancha Kosha - prakriyaa. Analysis of 5 levels of experience of oneself.
It begins with the physical body - Anna- rasa - maya, which is like a cover , kosha, because every one mistakes it for Atma. It is born of the essence of food that is eaten. We generally conclude that the body is Atma. Therefore shruti points out that there is another Atma , which is more interior , Subtler.
This is praana, the physiological function , praana- maya. If you think this is Atma, the shruti leads you further to another Atma, Mano - maya , the mind , and from Mano maya to vijnaana- maya , the doer , then from vijnaana maya to Aananda - maya.
Sukha, happiness is also experienced in different degrees. So within Aananda - maya , priya is the first stage of happiness. Something that is pleasing or desirable to you is sighted; that is priya. Then what is desired is possessed by you ; this is moda. The third stage in which it is experienced by you is Pramoda. These are the degrees of Aananda. But in all three - priya , moda and pramoda , what is present is Aananda . That Aananda is myself , and that is Brahman.