Become free of karma through the knowledge of the Self

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 37

 

yathaidhāṁsi samiddho’gnih 

bhasmasāt kurute’rjuna 

jñānāgniḥ sarva karmāṇi 

bhasmasāt kurute yathā

 

As a kindled fire turns its fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge turns all karma to ashes.

 

When fuel is put into a fire, the fuel is burned and disappears. In a similar way, when one has the knowledge of the Self, the ignorance which makes people identify themselves with the body is burned and also disappears. All doubt is removed and all the karma from this life and the past lives is burnt.

 

“O Arjuna, the fire of knowledge.” – when one really wants to surrender to God and attain Him, whatever one does, is only for Him. Every meditation that one does, is only on Him. Every action that one does in the world, is only to serve Him. Like that, one will become like Him. And as He is not bound by any karma, one will also become free of karma through the knowledge of the Self. All His qualities and His tendencies will awaken inside of oneself.

Bhagavad Gita 

All the karma gets burned and one is freed.

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 36

 

api ced-asi pāpebhyaḥ 

sarvebhyaḥ pāpa-kṛtamaḥ 

sarvaṁ jñāna plavenaiva 

vṛjinaṁ santariṣyasi

 

Even if you are the greatest doer of sin beyond all sinners, you shall cross over all the crookedness of evil in the ship of knowledge.

 

The lives of Angulimala, Valmiki and St. Paul the Apostle reflect very much what is mentioned here. Krishna says that those who have surrendered to God, to the Master’s Feet, even if they are great sinners, who don’t have any knowledge of the Self, they will succeed in attaining this knowledge. They will automatically and immediately be redeemed of their sins. Through the Grace of the Master, the divine virtues will awaken in them. They will renounce all sinful acts and they’ll be free. When people take shelter at the Lotus Feet of the Master, even if they are sinful, the Master’s Grace will redeem them. It’s like the Master takes them from the boat which is taking them to Hell, pulls them up and puts them in the boat which will take them to Heaven.

 

The story of Angulimala is very beautiful. He was a terrible criminal who used to cut off the little fingers of everybody who was going into the forest and he would steal everything from them. Everybody was scared of going into the forest. One day when Buddha was passing by, Angulimala went to attack him. Buddha offered him his finger to cut off and he was taken aback thinking, “Why is this one giving me his own finger to be cut off? I have never met somebody like this!” At that moment, through the Grace, he asked, “Why are you not scared of me?” Buddha said, “Well, why should I be scared? Who will you kill? I’m not scared of dying, you can’t kill me. Do you want this little finger? Take it! Do you want to kill me? Take my life! But will you be free? No, you will not be free!” At that moment, Angulimala realised that whatever he had done in his life for happiness hadn’t led him anywhere. He surrendered at the Feet of Buddha, and through the knowledge of the Self, he was freed.

 

It was the same for Valmiki. He was also a terrible criminal, a thief, who had killed many people. Yet he got the Grace of his Master, Narada, and by surrendering to Him, he received the Grace to write the Ramayana. St. Paul, the Apostle, who was killing all the Christians, got enlightened by surrendering to Christ.

 

“... you shall cross over all the crookedness of evil in the ship of knowledge.” Krishna says that the one who is surrendered, even if one has a lot of sins, a lot of arrogance, and a lot of bad karma, through the act of surrendering to the Feet of the Master, by the Grace of God, through the Master, through the Guru, one is freed. Because the Master gives the knowledge of the Self. He gives you the sadhana to do, and when you start focusing on your sadhana, all the past karma will be erased. Furthermore, if one has the knowledge of the Self, Brahma Jyaan, by focusing on the Divine and seeing Lord Narayana Himself inside oneself, one will stop creating any more karma. All the karma gets burned and one is freed.

Bhagavad Gita 

When one perceives Love of God inside, one will automatically love everyone.

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 35

 

yaj-jñātvā na punar-moham 

evam yāsyasi pāṇḍava 

yena bhūtāny-aśeṣeṇa 

drakṣyasy-a‌tman-yatho mayi

 

Possessing that knowledge, you shall not fall again into the mind‘s ignorance, O Pandava; for by this, you shall see all existences without exception in the Self, then in Me.

 

“Possessing that knowledge, you shall not fall again into the mind’s ignorance.” By surrendering humbly to the Master, and through the Grace of the Master, the Truth is revealed and one doesn’t fall back into ignorance. One perceives the vision of the Divine within oneself, and through that vision of the Divine within, all new karma that is created, is burned off straight away. When one sees unity everywhere, one overcomes grief and delusion.

 

Here Krishna addresses Arjuna as ‘Pandava’. Krishna says to him, “You shall see all existences without exception in the Self, then in Me.” First you perceive the Self, God, inside of you. Then, you perceive the depth of that Truth: “Everything is in My cosmic Body, there’s nothing outside of Me. It’s all in Me.” When one has the knowledge of the Self, when one has realised the Truth about God, one will not fall back into delusion. One perceives and recognises the Self as all-pervading and infinite, and treats all as one treats one’s Self. That’s what Christ says in the Bible: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbour as yourself.” When one perceives this Love of God inside, one will automatically love everyone.

Bhagavad Gita 

Master will give the knowledge of the Self

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 34

 

tad viddhi praṇipātena 

paripraśnena sevayā 

upadekṣayanti te jñānaṁ 

jñāninas-tattva-darśinaḥ

 

Learn that by worshipping the Feet of the Teacher, by questioning and by service; the men of knowledge who have seen the true principles of things, will instruct you in knowledge.

 

Here He says that if you approach an enlightened soul, a Guru, and prostrate yourself at the Feet of the Guru, render service, and with a humble heart, show that you are interested in being enlightened by the Guru, and in letting your heart be guided by the Guru, He will instruct you in this divine knowledge, the knowledge of the Self. There is no other way. The Master will guide you, the Master will carry you.

 

When one always tries one’s best to listen, to live in accordance with the word of the Guru and to surrender to the Will of the Master, one will know the Truth about God and will attain God-Realisation. Here, Krishna says, “Go to a Teacher, go to a Guru who has already attained that state of oneness with the Divine.” Not every guru has attained this state. 

So even Lord Krishna says how important it is to find one’s Satguru in life, and taking shelter at His Feet. Only by surrendering to the Satguru, only by the Grace of the Satguru, will one know the Truth and be free from the bondage of karma; one will be free from the cycle of birth and death and one will attain God-Realisation.

 

Grace is what leads one out of darkness, what frees one from the ignorance of this big ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. Without the help of the Guru, this kind of knowledge is very difficult to attain. Therefore, ask Him the Truth about God. Learn the Truth about God. And have this great urge to know who you are. Do your sadhana! Put in practice what the Teacher is teaching you. If you ask and have humility in your heart, then the Teacher, the Master, the Guru, will guide you.

 

There are many people who say, “Oh, we don’t need a Teacher. We don’t need a Guru.” They will never realise this knowledge. They will never realise that there is something greater than what they see in life.

Most of the people who live in the outside world, don’t know what they have inside of themselves. Sometimes they even forget that they are living beings. They roam the world like robots, forgetting that they have an Atma, a soul inside of them. When you talk to them, they say, “Ah, when we die, we die, it’s finished!” They are not interested in knowing more about life, so they come back again and again. They are bound by the wheel of time.

 

Krishna says, “Learn by serving.” He didn’t say, “Go just sit by the Guru’s Feet and that’s it! Laze yourself around.” Here Krishna says that you will attain good punya, you will attain good merit in life, by faithfully serving the Guru. Be devoted! Always try your best to please Him in every way, by acting in accordance with His wish. It’s through faith, reverence, and by accepting the Master’s guidance with humility, with an open heart, that one attains this knowledge from the Master. Only then will one master this knowledge and get to know about God-Realisation. When a deep longing to achieve something greater than just this mundane life awakens inside the heart, and when one is fully ready with humility, the Master will give the Brahma Jyaan, the knowledge of the Self, to the disciple and guide him.

Bhagavad Gita 

Sacrifice of knowledge is greater than a material sacrifice

Yog of Knowledge and Action 

Chapter 4, Verse 33

 

śreyān dravyamayād yajñāt 

jñāna yajñaḥ parantapa 

sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha 

jñāne parisamāpyate

 

The sacrifice of knowledge, O Arjuna, is greater than any material sacrifice. Knowledge is that in which all this action culminates, O Paartha!

 

“The sacrifice of knowledge.” If you have the knowledge of the Self, you are constantly immersed in the awareness that to attain God Consciousness, God-Realisation, is far “greater than any material sacrifice”, which means that it is far greater than any external offering. Because you are immersing yourself in the Divine inside of you, where the Divine reveals Himself. You are not offering something outside of you, but you are offering everything inside of you.

 

“‘Knowledge is that in which all this action culminates, O Paartha! This knowledge of the Self, Brahma Jyaan, is the aim of all action. Whatever you do is to attain this knowledge of the Self. And once you have reached the state of this supreme knowledge, my dear, that’s the greatest sacrifice, that’s the greatest offering! So practice the yoga of the Self! Find the Divine inside of you! Realise yourself and be free from bondage. Attain the true knowledge of God. It’s through this knowledge of the Self that I’m giving you, this Brahma Jyaan, that you will attain Realisation. And if you offer this knowledge, this Jyaana, this awareness, this Realisation as sacrifice, you’ll not be attached to it, and you’ll be free.”

 

In the case of material sacrifice, the devotee, the bhakta renounces worldly objects. They don’t involve themselves in trying to gain anything: they offer everything to the Lord. But from the core of that knowledge, one attains the Divine. And if one realises that, in everything one does, it is God Himself doing it, this Realisation is far superior than making a second-hand offering to God saying, “This comes from my work. Let me offer it to God!” If one does an offering with the attitude that everything is Him and it is Him doing everything, this sacrifice of knowledge is greater than a material sacrifice.

Bhagavad Gita