Spiritual Quest

Perception of Spirituality

Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 4c

Amidst the vividness of our lives, we seek tranquility not just for a moment or two, but in perpetuity. To attain a state of unperturbed bliss and calmness is a utopian aspiration of humankind.

Yet, humanity has had many expeditions to crack the code. On one hand, we witnessed kings, emperors and business tycoons who wielded power and influence to remain at the helm of the groundbreaking products and services to live a luxurious life. And we also saw disillusioned accomplished yogis such as Shri Krishna, who claimed to know the universe (and beyond) in its entirety. Not only that, they achieved the epitome of spirituality for themselves; they proclaimed to show the same exalt realizations to the worthy seekers.

While the former expeditions have contributed a great deal to the upliftment of quality of life of human race, they miserably failed to assure tranquility. Some readers may even argue that such advancements have made our life more miserable on those fronts.

The latter has its own limitations. While these accomplished yogis promised to elevate humanity to a higher state of being, their practices are susceptible to mutations for two reasons. First, spiritual seekers require discourses on the spiritual science during their practice. In the absence of accomplished yogis, other “yogis in the making” fill the gap to satiate them. This gives rise to differences in meanings and variations in spiritual practices. Second, with the changes in lifestyles, seekers have become passive receptors. In most cases, they are complacent to follow the trend and comply to the status quo rather than arguing constructively to uncover the spiritual secrets.

In this section of chapter 4, Shri Krishna connects these practices with a common thread of Yagna and evaluates their potency to reach the end goal — epitome of spirituality.

Shri Krishna says that a spiritual seeker’s life is akin to a Vedic Yagna. there are three aspects of Vedic Yagna: the purpose, the fire, and the offerings. A seeker’s life has it all.

a. The Purpose: Her purpose is to attain the epitome of spirituality — to know it all and to become unanimous with the universal consciousness.

b. The Fire: Seekers have the will of fire. Her unfettered dedication and insatiable desire to settle for nothing else is the fire that takes her offerings.

c. The Offerings: Offerings vary as per their perceptions. There is a widespread variation in offerings for spiritual ascend. Sadly, not all lead to the desired goal.

Shri Krishna concludes that the one that leads to the spiritual success is different. Of all the dedications of life (Yagnas), he emphasized on the following two.

Gyan Karma Sannyasa Yoga

Gyan Karma Sannyasa is the state where the yogi is constantly in a meditative state and doesn’t bother about his livelihood. His actions and deeds are to serve the higher goal of life. To serve humanity and bring them to light. e.g. can be the saints, preachers and pundits who constantly immerse themselves in spiritual explorations without bothering about their livelihood.

Such a seeker dominantly resorts to the Vi~Karma to achieve the state of consciousness.

Karma Yoga

Karma Yogi balances the Karma and Vi~Karma to achieve the consciousness. They live a material life of high esteem and ambitions. And because of their resolute dedication to the cause, they often achieve magnificent feats. Think about accomplished Kings who had built empire before they took recluse in the spiritual achievements.

What sets Karma Yogis apart from an ordinary human is their determination and dedication to spirituality. They take serious steps to gain spiritual ascend and achieve a higher purpose of life.

Way Forward

In Chapter 5, Arjun pleads to Shri Krishna to differentiate between the Karma Yoga and Gyan Yoga and suggest the one that is best for him.

Stay tuned. Seek Spirituality.

Related Post: My realization on other chapters of Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta: Chapter-1; Chapter 2a; Chapter 2b; Chapter 3; Chapter 4a; Chapter 4b

Where can I get the access to the original text?

Beginners may find this useful.

For deeper insights, get a copy of the book from Vihangam Yoga. If you are in the US, contact North America Institute of Vihangam Yoga.

These revelations are based on my over twenty years of immersion in Swarved, The Encyclopedia of Spirituality. Swarved is available on Amazon and on Google Play store in multiple languages.