Yoga uses words of power – ancient words, vibrating with the energy of the sages of India, words that reveal the mysteries within.
Specific combinations of Sanskrit words that open up your understanding of your life, better yet – your understanding of yourself. Mantras.
However, all words are powerful. They don’t have to be Sanskrit words to be powerful. I remember being about 8 years old and using a schoolyard chant:
Sticks and stones will break my bones
But words will never hurt me.
While I was chanting it aloud, I knew it was a lie. I used the little ditty because other kids were saying words that did in fact hurt me.
All words are powerful. Words of love are powerful. Words of hatred are powerful. Which ones do you remember longest? Is that about them or is that about you?
The good news is that yoga gives you such a deep inner sense of your own being that others’ words don’t hurt you. Is that even possible? That other people’s opinions of you don’t determine your sense of personal value, of personal identity, or your own worth?
Yes, it is possible. More than possible, it is predictable, completely reliable, just like the sun comes up every morning. Yoga gives you a sense of worth that comes from inside. It’s called — self-worth. When you look for others’ opinions to make you feel good about you, it’s called other-worth, not self-worth.
It’s a deeper sense of self that you need. And when you uncover it, you still care about others – but it’s because you care about them. It’s not because you depend on how they see you. This is one of the many freedoms that yoga promises.
Every tradition, every religion, every ancient culture, every meditative system has words of power. Examples include OM in Hinduism and yoga, Adonai in Judaism, agape in Christianity and nammanittoom in the Algonquin language. When you use these words of power, they have an effect.
Yet these different words in different languages and different traditions actually have different meanings and provide different effects. Most of them are about connecting with God in some way, as though God were separate from you.
In yoga, we use words that point you to God within – to your own Self. In yoga’s language, Shiva is being all, including you. So you use words that turn your mind and heart toward Shiva on the inside – toward the One who is being you, your own Self.
All the other words you use are about chopping the world into bits, then comparing them. It’s like the clouds in the sky yesterday, white puffy shapes marching across a brilliant blue sky. I could compare the clouds to each other, even find one I liked better than the others, and it would be gone in an hour. But the sky remains.
In yoga, you look inward, into the background of your own being, the foundational essence of which you are made. Then you discover, you are the one who IS the background, that which underlies your own existence underlies all of existence.
Because your mind grabs for words, you need words to find your way in. Then you discover that you are…
Once you know your own Self, it is easy to see the Divinity shining in everyone and everything. Then you cannot label anyone as bad or wrong. Labels disintegrate in the light of Consciousness.
Yet you need not worry that the state of Self-Knowingness is a state of drunken romanticism. While seeing the Divine in the mundane, you will have clarity about whether something is working well or not. It will be obvious whether someone is focused on their own selfish purposes or giving themselves to a higher purpose.
You will easily see if they are entrapped in their mind and memories, or if they are living in the reality of the here-and-now. And you will see if they are making mistakes — but it’s OK if they do. After all, how did you learn most of your lessons? You made a few mistakes along the way, too.
It’s easy to understand that, when you become enlightened, you will stop judging others. You will be more understanding. You’ll know when to help and when to back off. That means that all you have to do is more yoga and you’ll eventually “get there.” But there is no “there” to get to. It’s all here, right here.
This chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is both profound and practical. It teaches the importance of performing one’s duty without attachment to the results.
Arjuna listening to Krishna explaining Karma Yoga1
Krishna explains to Arjuna that action is essential and that it should not be avoided. In Karma Yoga, the emphasis is on selfless actions, which are performed as an offering to the Divine. This helps in purifying your mind and leading you towards liberation from the cycle of birth & death.
Krishna advises Arjuna to act according to his dharma, his duty as a warrior — to fight for justice without any desire for personal gain. Krishna further clarifies that performing one’s duty with the right attitude, without selfish desires, and with a sense of devotion, transforms mundane actions into acts of worship.
Describing kama (desire) and krodha (anger), he points out the way to conquer them. He encourages the cultivation of equanimity, where success and failure are met with the same serene disposition.
By practicing Karma Yoga, you can rise above your ego and achieve a state of inner peace and fulfillment, realizing your true purpose in life. This chapter is a guide to living a life of righteousness and dedication, ultimately leading to spiritual growth and enlightenment.
The Dialog
Arjuna says, “With words that seem contradictory, you confuse me. If knowledge is superior to action, then why do you involve me in this dreadful war? Therefore, tell me that one thing by which I shall reach the Highest Goal.”
Krishna says, “There are two paths: Jñana Yoga for the followers of the path of knowledge, and Karma Yoga for the followers of the path of action or work. No one can live without doing work. Everyone, without their choice, is compelled to do work by the qualities of their birth.
“Controlling your senses with your mind and commencing the discipline of Karma Yoga, by action without attachment, is the best. Actions, other than sacred actions (Yajña), bind this world. So, perform your work as sacred action, without attachment. Nourish the Gods with sacred action and they will nourish you.
“Beings are born of food, food is produced from rain, rain arises from sacred action, sacred action is born of performing prescribed duties. Duties are prescribed in the Vedas, the Vedas are born from the Imperishable Paramatma (Supreme Self). Therefore, know that the Supreme Being is eternally present in sacred action (yajna).
“The one who performs all their prescribed duties in an unfettered spirit will attain the Supreme. For myself, there is no duty for Me in these worlds. There is nothing unattained or to be attained for me. Yet I am also engaged in work. These worlds would perish if I did not perform work.
“While the worldly-minded work with attachment, deluded by egoism, thinking ‘I am the doer,’ the wise act without attachment for the welfare of the world. Perform all actions for Me, with your mind fixed in Atman (Self), free from hope and egoism, act without mental agitation.”
Arjuna asks, “But, what impels man to commit sin, even against his wishes?”
Krishna replies, “It is desire, it is anger, born of the active impulse of action, all-consuming and creating sin. Know this as the foe here in this world. Knowledge of the Self is enveloped by desire and anger. It is covered by this ceaseless enemy, insatiable like fire.
“The senses, the mind, and the intellect are the seat of desire. Control first these senses, thus, killing this sin-causing desire, which destroys knowledge and Self-Realization.
“They say that the senses are superior to the body; superior to the senses is the mind; superior to the mind is the intellect; one who is even superior to the intellect is the Atman. Having known Atman is greater than the intellect and restraining the mind by the intellect, conquer the foe, in the form of desire, no doubt hard indeed to conquer.”
Chapter 4: Jñana Yoga — The Yoga of Wisdom
Krishna now expounds on the significance of knowledge and wisdom in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.
Jñana Yoga emphasizes understanding the true nature of reality, Self-Realization and the importance of acquiring knowledge that leads to liberation.
This chapter is profound and enlightening. It teaches that true liberation comes from understanding the eternal nature of the Self and the universe. By acquiring Divine knowledge, practicing self-discipline and performing selfless actions, you can rise above spiritual ignorance and attain the highest state of spiritual enlightenment.
Krishna emphasizes that all paths of yoga ultimately lead to the same goal — Self-Realization and liberation. Whether one follows the path of knowledge, action, or devotion, the essence remains the same. He explains that a wise person sees unity in the diversity of the world, recognizing the Divine Presence in everything and everyone.
He also shares how a realized being perceives the oneness of all existence. Such a person transcends the dualities of pleasure and pain, success and failure, and remains established in the eternal truth. This state of Realization brings inner peace and fulfillment.
In conclusion, this chapter is a guide to living a life of wisdom, righteousness and devotion. It inspires us to seek knowledge, cultivate inner purity and realize our true purpose in life. Through Jñana Yoga, we can achieve a state of inner peace, fulfillment and ultimate liberation.
The Dialog
Krishna continues, “This undying Yoga of Action was taught to the Sun by me at the beginning of creation. The Sun taught it to his son, the Moon, who taught it to his son Ikshvaku, then it was handed down in succession from generation to generation.
“However, by long lapse of time, this Yoga was lost to the world. This same ancient Yoga has now been taught to you by Me. This is a supreme secret.”
Arjuna asks, “You were born after the Sun. How am I to understand that you taught it to him in the beginning?”
Krishna smiles and says, “Many births of mine have passed by, as well as yours. I know them all but you don’t. I manifest Myself whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of evil.
“For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of dharma, righteousness, I take birth in every age. Those who understand the Divine nature of my birth and my activities, upon leaving their body, do not have to take birth again, but come to my eternal abode.
“Free from attachment, fear and anger, being absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire of Knowledge, many have attained My Being. In whatsoever form one seeks Me, I reach him in that form, for all humankind tread in the paths I laid down for them.
“The four castes were created by Me according to the division of gunas and karma. Actions do not taint Me, nor have I any desire for the fruits of action. He who knows Me thus is not bound by his actions.
“The one who sees action in inaction and inaction in action is the wise one. He who has given up attachment to the fruits of action, who is always content, and who depends on nothing, though engaged in action does not do anything.
“Brahman verily shall be reached by the sacrifice (sacred action), by anyone who always sees Brahman in all actions. There are many types of sacred actions in the Vedas. All who know the secret of sacred action, and engage in it, progress toward liberation.
“Learn the Truth by approaching a spiritual Master. Learn from him and serve such a one who has seen the Truth.
“Certainly, there is no purifier in this world like Divine Knowledge. One who attains perfection through yoga finds this knowledge in the Self in time. Actions do not bind one who has renounced actions by yoga, whose doubts are dispelled by knowledge and who abide in the Self.”
Chapter 5: Karma Sannyasa Yoga — The Yoga of Renunciation of Action
Now Krishna addresses Arjuna’s confusion regarding the paths of renunciation and selfless action.
He elaborates on the importance of performing one’s duty without attachment to the results. True renunciation does not mean abandoning action altogether, but rather renouncing the desire for the fruits of actions.
Krishna explains that both the path of knowledge (Jñana Yoga) and the path of selfless action (Karma Yoga) lead to liberation.
Karma Yoga is more suitable for those who find it challenging to renounce all actions and to meditate constantly. By performing their duties selflessly and dedicating their actions to the Divine, they can attain the same state of enlightenment as those who follow the path of knowledge.
He emphasizes that a true sannyasi, the renunciant, is the one who neither hates nor desires, and is free from the dualities of life. Such a person is always content and self-sufficient, finding peace within themselves.
Krishna explaining to Arjuna the true Sannyasi & Realized Being6
Krishna also introduces the concept of the realized being, who sees all beings with an equal eye, recognizing the same Divine Presence in everyone. He further explains the nature of selfless action, stating that actions performed without attachment, ego and desire do not create bondage.
By understanding the eternal Self, which is beyond birth and death, one can transcend the limitations of the physical body and mind. This knowledge leads to inner peace and freedom from the cycle of birth and death.
This chapter teaches us the significance of performing our duties selflessly, without attachment to the outcomes. It inspires us to cultivate a balanced and equanimous mind, free from desires and aversions. By following the path of Karma Sannyasa Yoga, we can achieve spiritual liberation and experience the eternal bliss of the Divine.
It’s not fireworks, not volcanoes firing off, no comets flying by – the moment of enlightenment is a letting go. It’s not orgiastic. It’s not amping up.
It is – finally – standing down off red-alert. There’s no need to prove yourself anymore, nothing to get from others, no push to become more, learn more, go more, do more, have more, BE more.
You ease into the Beingness that you already BE.
The sage K.semaraaja, in his commentary on the Shiva Sutras describes it this way “…the yogi… [in] continuous repose and delight within himself…” You ease into your own Self, you settle deeper and deeper within, until you are so deep that inside — is outside. It’s all you.
Just like your hair is part of you, as well as your fingernails and toenails. Your breath is part of you. In this way, you discover that the universe is within you.
The first time I experienced this, I was doing an arati to my Guru’s Guru. We call it the Standing Arati, for you stand while chanting in Sanskrit for 30 minutes. It starts with candle flames being waved to Nityananda, with bells, drums and gongs, while conches are being blown.
After several minutes of this, my body vibrates – the energy of Consciousness climbing my spine — Kundalini. Climbing my spine and spreading through my whole body.
After the conches and flames and bells and drums, then we chant: (singing) “Arati avadhuta, jaya jaya arati gurunatha…” Plus another 25 minutes of chanting. Ending with cymbals and drums again.
Morning and night – every day. Great bookends on your day!
One day, when I was still learning the chant, still stumbling through the Sanskrit, I was looking at the page and then looking up at Nityananda’s murti, his life-size statue – then looking at the words, then at his murti again.
My eyes became riveted to his form – I couldn’t look down, so I couldn’t chant. My gaze became fixed on Nityananda. My gaze narrowed and strengthened, like a laser beam. I was boring into his form.
Then my eyes closed and I was boring into my form – deeper and deeper, into my own form. Narrower and narrower, deeper and deeper, vast and black inside, like I was boring through time into the origin of the universe…
